Twins, Two!

21 months old

2009-05-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Time has flown and the girls are talking so much already. They are still nursed a lot but finally are sleeping a lot more at night. As of last month, we have all four children sharing one room for bedtime!

It's always monkey see, monkey do. And together they are a team of destruction. We have had to baby-proof in ways we had never imagined. Thanks to Dayton's martial arts skill, they cannot get into the kitchen drawers. Though last week, they figured out how to pull out the drawers anyway and climb up like a ladder. Sigh.

Here are pics of the girls now at 21 months old. Shira is talking the most and a leader most of the time. She gets her revenge on all by being the hair-puller. Her favorite toy at the moment is a cheapo Barbie that now has no arms or legs. She is also the houdini of getting clothes off and helping her sister strip down as well.

Miriam is our little entertainer and more nurturing, at least as dolls go. She gets her revenge as the biter! We found her holding Shira down and biting her over and over again on her back. Shira then sat up and yanked out some of Miriam's hair. And of course one minute later they're hugging and singing and lifting up their shirts to tickle each other.

For just a 5 minute window, no one was crying, every one was dressed and clean, and it was Easter Sunday morning!

update pics and new shoes and haircuts

2009-02-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pictures from Christmas time.

The girls loved their new baby strollers! We are now at the stage where we have to have 2 of everything or they play tug of war and scream at each other over the one toy.

And here are all four children on Christmas morning.

Not a great picture, but they're sporting their new shoes. Shira's are blue and Miriam's are pink.

Grace cut their hair, and it looked awful. So I've given both of them boy haircuts... at least it will grow out thicker and more evenly! Sorry no pictures of that I'm willing to share.

Oh the biting!!!! And shoes x 4.

2008-10-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

The girls have figured out biting to get their way. It started with Miriam biting Shira to get Shira to give back a toy or to get out of her way. Then Shira would bite back because she was upset. I usually comfort the bitee first with kisses. The biter gets a stern "NO BITE!!!" And the the biter usually bursts into tears, which ends up in comforting too. Last night Miriam bit Shira, Shira runs to daddy, Miriam comes over and points at Shira's leg to show him where she'd been bitten! I've been told that twins will continue biting for a while at this stage and the only thing I can do about it is try to prevent it.

When Isaiah was 1.5yr, our pediatrician mentioned he may need special shoes. At 2.5, we took him to a specialist and he was diagnosed with Hallux varus. A brief description from PodiatryNetwork.com: "Hallux varus is a condition in which the great toe is pointing away from the 2nd toe. This can be considered the opposite of a hallux valgus or bunion deformity. In contrast to a bunion, however, the 1st metatarsal remains in its anatomical position while the great toe is deviated towards the middle of the body.

Hallux varus most commonly occurs as a complication from bunion surgery. However other causes can lead to this condition. These include: congenital deformity, tight or short abductor hallucis tendon [Isaiah's problem], trauma, absence or surgical removal of the fibular sesamoid.

The presenting symptom is most commonly pain. This can occur from the toe rubbing against the side of the shoe. Occasionally, this deformity can also lead to problems with ingrown nails as the nail fold is pushed into the nail border by the shoe.

The diagnosis of hallux varus is fairly simple as the great toe can be seen to be deviated away from the 2nd toe [the specialist knew in 30sec what the issue was!]. A careful history will often assist in determining the cause of the hallux varus.

This is a condition that is not uncommon in children. A congenital deformity is most commonly the result of a tight or short abductor hallucis tendon. This tendon attaches to the side of the great toe. It opposes the pull of the adductor hallucis tendon that is on the opposite side of the great toe. By working together, these tendons assist in keeping the great toe straight. However, when the abductor tendon is tight, it will overpower the adductor tendon and pull the toe toward the midline of the body. The diagnosis can be made by attempting to reduce this deformity manually and feeling the tightness of the tendon.

The fibular sesamoid is key structure in the development of a hallux varus. Because the adductor hallucis tendon attaches to this structure, any disruption of the fibular sesamoid can lead to a hallux varus. This can result from a condition referred to as agenesis of the fibular sesamoid. In this condition, the fibular sesamoid fails to develop from birth. Therefore the normal attachment of the adductor tendon is absent, causing the abductor tendon to pull the toe medially.

Treatment of this condition is dependent on the cause. In children with a tight adductor tendon, treatment should be focused on stretching this tendon. This can be done with stretching exercises, splinting of the toe and straight or reversed last shoes. If conservative care fails to correct the deformity, surgery may be necessary. This is performed by selective sectioning of the tendon with a small incision on the side of the toe. The toe is then splinted in a neutral or straight position."

Isaiah just needed special shoes. Good thing we live where special made shoes are 1/4 the price of shoes in the USA! It was a difficult age to start shoes like this when we live where no one wears shoes in the house. Plus the shoes were hot, needed socks, etc, and the boy just loves to run around barefoot. We found a pair of sandals to compensate for rainy days. At his checkup with his regular pediatrician last week she said she thinks that once he outgrows his shoes that he won't need them any more.

But then the twins. They've got it too. And MUCH WORSE. Shira's is not as bad because she's been walking longer. One foot is turning in more than the other. Miriam's is really bad. I've been doing the foot stretches like I did with Isaiah. The pediatrician feels that no amount of stretching and regular walking will correct something so extreme, so we will go back to the specialist and have both girls put in corrective shoes. Obviously this is a genetic thing and we suspected early on that this would be a repeat condition like Isaiah. At least at this age (now 15mo), they love shoes! I bought them their first shoes (sandals) for outside play a couple days ago and they wanted to wear them all day. Shira insisted on going to sleep with them on!

When Isaiah's shoes were made, the shoemaker said the blue color was out of stock, so he could make them "pink & white" or "red & white". Obviously, red and white.... and they looked like clown shoes when they were done. Thankfully the girls will have a pink option!

The Twins are One!

2008-08-28T01:55:00.001-07:00

Well, they turned one on July 18th that is. We were in the United States for our every other year trip. It was such a wonderful time getting to see our families and friends.

The babies are not such babies anymore. Shira is walking, has 4 teeth, hugs her baby doll, and gives smooches to everyone. Miriam is trying to decide if she wants to walk, has 5 teeth, has a shoe obsession, and is quite vocal.

Here are some pictures from their birthday.

Their personalities are so different. Miriam is usually the entertainer and Shira is usually the cuddler. In these pics Shira is in green and Miriam in yellow.

Shira is a great eater. She'll try anything and dig right in.

Miriam took a little longer but finally got in on the action. Both were a mess to clean up.

We took them to the park and they loved sharing the baby swing. It took a while to get this shot but I love it!

The next day I found that big sis had put them up on the piano bench to try out a piano trio!

We're famous!

2008-05-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

I post regularly on Mothering.com and a few months ago, one of the mothers had a great idea to do a video montage to educate women about twin births and how twins CAN be birthed naturally. We are birth #3 in the video. Some big twins in there too!

Natural Childbirth of Twins and Triplets!

7 months old update

2008-03-02T22:58:00.001-08:00

Where has the time gone!?!?! Those little babies are now little 7 month old bundles of energy! When it's not trouble x2 in opposite directions, it's trouble X2 attacking and destroying together. Their daddy (a Star Wars fan) calls it "Attack of the Clones" (this picture is Miram on left and Shira on right.... Shira was trying to pull Miriam off of the sofa)

By 6mo old, the babies were crawling. Real crawling, not that army scootch thing. Over a month ago, they also started pulling up onto things to see the new view. As of last week, they don't get stuck in a standing position and can get down to explore other areas. So these babies are fast and it's too early for me! Baby proofing is back! They also like to cruise along the furniture, and if you sit down, they're pulling up onto you. Miriam does a growling sound and when you hear that, watch out because she's honing in on your hair to try to pull it out!

They love bath time. I've started getting into the bath with the older two children and take the babies in one at a time to kick and splash while be shampooed and washed.

I'm still breastfeeding them exclusively. No solid foods at all and I probably won't for as long as I can. It's so much easier to completely skip that cereal and mashed foods stage. They would love to shove our dinners into their mouths, just as they already love to try to eat paper, toys, etc. they find on the floor. Miriam has had her first solids though.... I found blud playdoh in her diaper last week. Isaiah loves to make little tiny playdoh balls and line them up on the table to make snakes. I guess one rolled off the table! Isaiah also loves to torture the babies. At breakfast Isaiah was eating his yogurt. Miraim cruises over to his chair to say hello. Next thing I know, Isaiah is plastering her head with yogurt! That's life here!

Personality-wise, they are quite different. Shira offers up smiles and is quite sociable. While Miraim is sociable, she's also more reserved. She's the explorer though... very interested in what's under my bed at the moment! They do realize that each other exists, but they don't exactly care if the other is there. They'll smile at each other when they happen to make eye contact. Sleeping together isn't working so well because whoever is asleep is at the mercy of whoever is awake. They love to crawl on top of each other and pull hair! Last night was so funny. Miriam was trying to crawl away, but Shira kept grabbing the back of her shirt to play with it so Miriam was frustrated and fussy because she couldn't escape.

Here are some recent pictures:

Shira and Miriam are constantly trying to get into the bathroom when the older two are doing their baths. We've had to put up the baby gate. It wouldn't matter so much if we gave a full bath every day, but we don't because babies really don't get that dirty. BUT if one happens to get into the bathroom, Grace and Isaiah like to dump buckets of water over them! (Shira on left, Miram on right)

Shira was investigating the camera. She's got those lovely ears and check out the eyes which are NOT brown!

I bought a new laundry basket and the kids were playing with it. I went to put Shira down for a nap and when I came back out, Grace had put a blanket and pillow into the basket. Then she proceeded to hoist Miriam into the basket to be baby Moses! She was surprisingly tollerant of the whole thing!

4 months old

2007-12-01T00:47:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful babies are now four months old! They're doing "baby pushups" and rolling from front to back, and they're scooting around by pushing with their toes. They coo and screech... so funny. When they nurse together, they hold hands, poke each other in the eyes, grab hair, or just grin at each other. My favorite thing to do is put them on their tummies facing each other and watching them interact.

Identical or fraternal???? - results are in

2007-11-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

(Sorry I haven't posted in a while... we had some modem malfunctions for over a month!)

The #1 question we always get is "are they identical or fraternal?" Identical twins are monozygotic, meaning they come from one egg that splits after fertilization. Fraternal twins are dizygotic, meaning they come from two fertilized eggs.

We decided that since they each had their own amniotic sac and possibly two merged placentas that the only sure way to know was a DNA test. We decided to use Affiliated Genetics in Utah because they can do it completely by mail with just cheek swabs. It was kinda fun doing it and the babies had plenty of drool to contribute.

The results are in and they are: IDENTICAL!!!! Even as different as they are, what we can't see is identical. I'll post new pics in a few days.

Here's the full report we got in the mail:

Results of Zygosity Determination
Using DNA Polymorphisms

Person requesting test: Dayton Kannon

Individuals tested: Shira Kannon and Miriam Kannon

Birth date: 07/18/2007

Address: -----

STR Marker Result

D3S1358 Concordant
THO1 Concordant
D21S11 Concordant
D18S51 Concordant
D5S818 Concordant
D13S317 Concordant
D7S820 Concordant
D16S539 Concordant
CSF1PO Concordant
Penta D Concordant
vWA Concordant
D81179 Concordant
TPOX Concordant
FGA Concordant

The twins are concordant for fourteen out of fourteen STR DNA markers. The twins are monozygotic (i.e. “identical twins”) with a greater than 99% probability.

Date: 11/27/07
Kenneth Ward, M.D.
Laboratory Director

My babies turned 2 and 4 last week!

2007-09-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, my baby Grace turned 4! Amazing how much has changed since then. She's a big girl now and loves school. She's also in love with Spiderman! Better than lots of pink princess stuff LOL Here's a picture of her at 1 day old...

And last Saturday my baby Isaiah turned 2! He is such a precious little boy with beautiful brown eyes. He loves staying at home with his mommy and being a little daddy to his dolls. (He breastfeeds them as well!) Here's a picture of him 2 days old.

And here is a pic taken of the baby's last week. Some great onesies sent from a great friend in the USA. And I couldn't resist a pic of Shira's spiky hair! If it weren't for her hair, we'd have trouble telling them apart. They've started smiling and cooing and holding their heads up.

5 weeks old

2007-08-25T02:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a long-awaited update. The past 5 weeks have flown by and I can hardly remember any of it LOL. Sleep deprivation does that to you!

Shira and Miriam are doing wonderful! Easy babies, thankfully. I weighed them last night, and in 5 weeks, they've gained about 1.5lb each! Shira is now 9lb and Miriam is 9.5lb. Breastfeeding and no formula supplementation!!!! Yes, twins can be breastfed!

My mom was here for 6 weeks, and we were so sad to see her leave. She has no idea that we couldn't have done it without her. Childcare, cooking, etc.. She was sad to leave, knowing the next time she sees the kids that they won't be the same. She taught Grace and Isaiah songs and played a lot with them. I miss having an adult around the house to talk to! She left the night before Dayton's first day of school. Then I was on my own! Speaking of school...

We decided at the last minute to enroll Grace into 4yr old kindergarten. We were going to keep her home, but with no full-time maid available, I can not breastfeed two babies, keep the older two from fighting, homeschool Grace, and keep them occupied all day. We assumed that there were no more seats available, but the elementary principal told us there was room for Grace if we changed our minds. We were shocked there was room available and decided school was the best option for Grace. My mom taught K4 for years and said all summer that Grace would do wonderful in school. The cut-off date to be 4 for K4 is Sept. 1st. Grace won't be 4 until Sept. 5, but the school made an exception since she's a native English speaker and mature enough, for as mature as a 4yr old can be! Her first days of school have been interesting..... let's just say that a high-strung, super-independant, natural leader has been in the time out seat at school quite a bit. I really wanted Grace home with mommy, but I can't give her the attention she needs, school-wise. I miss her so much during the day, but it really makes her time at home special.

Here is a family photo of all of us before church. Babies are about 3wk old here. And Dayton has since shaved off his hideous beard and mustache... but not before getting his school ID picture done. Blech! And notice Isaiah's long hair...

And here it is a few days later! He screams and cries during the whole procedure. Not fun when doing a trim every few weeks. Forget that. Now we'll just buzz it off every 3 or 4 months!

That's about it for news for now. Just a quick update. I hope to get all 3 of my blogs going again soon.

Birth Story & Pictures (very long!)

2007-07-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the birth story you've been waiting for. It's very long but I wanted to type it out before I forgot anything!

My husband and I had decided after the homebirth of our second child that the next birth would an unassisted birth at home. I was pregnant again and doing my own prenatal care. At around 10 weeks pregnant, I knew something wasn’t quite right. I had two times the nausea and fatigue, and my uterus was measuring way bigger than it should be, even for a 3^rd pregnancy. I decided that at 12 weeks along, I’d go in to see my obstetrician for a quick ultrasound to make see if my guess that we were expecting twins was correct. And sure enough, there were two little head and two little sacs as clear as can be.

Everything changed at that moment. Should I continue doing prenatal care myself? Where were the babies going to be born? What risks did I have during the pregnancy? There were so many questions. I read a lot, made myself scared a lot, and then was reassured through many places. I worked through my fears, realizing that my pregnancy and the birth would be the safest with minimal professional care. I knew that some kinds of twins had more risks, but mine did not, so I did most my own prenatal care.

At 20 weeks, I went in for a quick ultrasound to check for abnormalities that would not work with a homebirth. Also found out we were having girls. At 28 weeks, I established care with a hospital around the corner in case of transfer. At 34 weeks, I reestablished care with my obstetrician. He said both babies had to be vertex for him to “allow” a vaginal delivery. The first baby was breech and the second vertex. At 36 weeks, I went to see him again and both babies were vertex. But the OB, while outwardly trying to portray confidence, did not give me the reassurance that he was not actually planning on forcing a C-section anyway. This OB was the least interventive of any, yet even he was questionable. So, because both babies were vertex, I had good iron levels, I’d gained enough weight, felt so healthy, and had made it to full term, my husband and I decided we would continue with our original plan: unassisted birth at home.

By 37 weeks pregnant, I was so miserable. All of the stories of premature twins that worried me earlier in the pregnancy now made me wonder, “Why did I worry, now they’re on time.” I had experienced contractions on and off for a couple of weeks, but nothing that made me think the birth was coming any day soon. The day before the birth, I had a few contractions but just figured it was the same as usual. That evening the “Braxton Hicks” contractions (well, I assumed they still were), got regular, 3 to 4 minutes apart. I thought nothing of it because I’d had contractions like that for hours every night for up to two weeks before the births of my other two children.

The contractions were a little uncomfortable, and I stayed up timing them for a while. By 2:30am, I figured they were going away and went to bed. Usually they went away with sleep. But at about 5am they woke me up, and then I knew from what I told my childbirth classes: If you can’t sleep through them, then you’re probably in labor. The contractions were still 3 and 4 minutes apart but very uncomfortable. I had no idea how dilated I was or how long the birth would take. But I knew from previous experience that from the time I felt the way I was feeling until I usually birthed a baby was maybe three hours.

At 6am, my husband called my friend “M” who was going to help me with labor support, childcare, or whatever I needed. He also called “J” who was going to take pictures. He also called upstairs to my mom to tell her not to do her morning walk but that we’d call her when we needed her. Here’s where it was helpful that M took notes. I must say that I felt totally in control of the labor the whole time. I was in my “labor bubble” yet still able to communicate exactly what I wanted.

At 7am, M and J were there just staying out of the way and letting me labor in the bedroom. The contractions were getting stronger and coming every 3 minutes or so. Sometimes it would be a small contraction and then a big one. I knew that this labor could take a lot longer with an over-stretched uterus, so I figured I wasn’t progressing that fast since I was handling the contractions so well and they didn’t seem long enough. My husband told me that I may have not felt they were very strong, but it was obvious that I was in heavy labor. During the contractions, I did a variety of things. I would stand, sit on the birth ball, sit on the toilet, sit on the edge of the bed. I also used combs in my hands for acupressure. My husband and M did knee presses or foot massage. I know that having good labor support is what really helped me get through the birth. I wasn’t scared, but I needed the people around me!

At about 8:30 am, the contractions were so painful. My son’s birth had been almost painless, so this time I was telling myself, just one more, just one more. I was falling asleep sitting up between contractions, still not realizing that at this point I was in transition. My sense of timing was that the contractions weren’t painful enough, close enough, or long enough.

At about 9am, I felt myself snapping out of “labor land” and more chatty, excited, etc. That usually happens when I’m out of transition and ready to push. But I felt no urge to push though the contractions were continuing. I decided that after the next contraction, I’d go to the bathroom, pee, and see if I could reach inside and feel anything. Sure enough, way up high, there was a hard little head! I went back to the bedroom and had more contractions. I tried pushing with some of them but they never felt right. I did not want my cervix to swell, so I asked for some arnica. I checked the progress every few contractions and realized that I was feeling the amniotic sac bulging and that it was preventing me from getting the head down with the small pushes.

At 10am, J goes to get coffee for everyone. (And almost misses the birth… only time to grab the camera and not set up the video camera). I started pushing more and feeling the progress. It helped to touch the head and feel it descend. I had planned on moving to the living room and birthing over a mat on the floor, but sitting on the toilet really helped with the pushes. Finally, I gave one big push and the water broke… (hey it is less messy birthing over the toilet)! I yelled, here comes the first baby, and my mom and kids came and ran it and sat on the edge of the bed and watched. One minute later I feel a head and my husband lends a hand to catch the rest of the baby.

10:33am, Shira Faith was born. She cried immediately and was totally covered in vernix. Her cord was quite short so it was good that we’d planned on clamping and cutting the cord as soon as she was breathing well so that we’d be able to handle the birth of the second baby a little easier. The cord was barely clamped and cut in time.

I felt a huge contraction and pushed with it though I couldn’t feel the head of the next baby. The next contraction was a sharp pain right on the nerves of my spine. Ouch that hurt! Then a huge bulge appeared. At first it was so big I thought that baby had flipped breech. But nope, it was the amniotic sac of the next baby, and it was fully intact. My husband said, “Here’s the head.” I pushed very hard and out came the baby with the bag breaking as the feet came free. Born “in the caul” is considered lucky!

10:41am, Miriam Joy was born. She came out in a direct posterior position still in her sac. After my husband cleared the sac off of her face he turned her over. A little grunt and then a big cry! She was also completely covered in vernix. Two cheesy looking little babies! I sat there on the toilet just amazed looking at this little baby. One labor but two babies is so overwhelming. I started feeling contractions again so asked for the baby’s cord to be clamped and cut. One more contraction, and at 10:51am, the placenta plops out into a big bowl. That placenta was huge!! It was over 8in in diameter and probably an inch thick. We’re not sure if it was one shared placenta or two that merged together.

I felt myself getting a little woozy and told everyone I was going to pass out. No surprise there because I’d warned them about it happening at my previous birth. I just made myself slide off the toilet to sit on the floor so I wouldn’t fall over and hurt myself. My husband and M splashed my face with water and talked to me and I woke up in a few minutes. They gave me lots of juice. My blood pressure had dropped and I hadn’t eaten in hours. The mat that I’d planned to birth on was dragged into the bedroom between the bed and bathroom floor, so all I had to do was crawl to the mat. They handed the first baby to me and I tried to nurse her. By 11:30, I was resting and M and my mom weighed the babies.

Shira Faith was 6lb 8oz (2.9kg) and Miriam Joy was 6lb 14oz (3.1kg).

God’s protection and timing were completely in this birth. We knew that we wanted an unassisted birth with no interventions. We wanted a family event. We wanted a safe birth. All of the little details, leading up to the birth and for the birth, were perfectly in place, better than we could have hoped for.

Now at 3 days old, (Shira on L, Miriam on R) we really wonder if they are identical or not. We’d been told fraternal, but we’re still wondering. Miriam is a half pound bigger and if Shira had her sister’s chubby cheeks, they’d look even more alike! They have matching little hats but we’ve had to pin a pink diaper pin and pink cord tie on Shira and a purple pin and tie on Miriam for quick ID! Both are nursing wonderfully and though life is going to be crazy for the next few months, we are so excited to be starting this new adventure!

Twins born this morning!

2007-07-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Dayton and Erin are pleased to announce the birth of their twin girls! The babies were born July 18th, 2007 at home in Bangkok, Thailand.

Shira Faith
meaning “song of faith”
10:33am
6 lb 8 oz

Miriam Joy
meaning “tears of joy”
10:41 am
6 lb 14 oz

Erin and the babies are doing very well. Grace and Isaiah got to watch their sisters be born and are so excited. Dayton has realized there aren’t enough arms to hold all four children!

Praise God for our many blessings!

I'll post a birth story and pics in a couple days. Dayton did awesome helping catch two babies! Grace is trying to help. And poor Isaiah is just clueless! Can't believe how great I feel considering I just had 2 babies! Praise the Lord it's one labor though. We did have an unassisted birth and it was exactly how we prayed for it. Babies came out yelling, I had no post-partum hemorrage, and the whole family got to watch.

37 weeks and counting!

2007-07-17T00:06:00.000-07:00

After all that unnecessary worry about the babies coming early, here I sit just waiting for them to come!

I went in for an appointment last week. I agreed to do a biophysical profile (BPP) which is a more in-depth ultrasound. It shows blood flow to the babies, the cords, placenta(s), etc. Babies weighed at about 6.5 lb each, and are now both vertex!!! I felt like doing a little dance, because head-down babies are way less risky to birth. The doctor was then willing to discuss vaginal birth. But I'm still not happy with his reasons for certain procedures. We've decided we're staying home for the birth unless we see a need to transfer at some point. Birth supplies are ready to go.

I'm miserable. Pubic bone feels like it's going to split. Uncomfortable no matter where I sit or stand. Ankles swollen more than previous pregnancies. Come one babies, please make an appearance soon!

36 weeks!!!

2007-07-07T05:52:00.001-07:00

I'm now officially carrying twins to full term! I'm not one of the 30% who end up with preemies... so exciting. And because they're full term, we can do a homebirth!

My mom arrived two days ago and that's been fun so far. Last night I had my mom and two other friends (with families) over for dinner. And then after that we discussed my birth plans, who does what, etc.. All are so supportive of our birth decisions. My mom is in charge of childcare. Ju will do pictures/video. Merri will help with birth supplies, labor support, etc..

I went to see my doctor last week (at about 34.5 wk) for the first time since 20 weeks. We did an ultrasound and the babies were measuring about 5lb 5oz and 5lb 8oz. The doctor was surprised at how big they were for twins, each measuring what is normal for singletons. He said that I need to keep doing what I've been doing because it's working. I asked if he liked to induce twins at 38 wk (the norm in the USA), and said, oh no, whenever if fine, though 40wk would be torture! One baby was vertex and the other breech, which is normal. Neither have engaged so we don't know which is coming first. Next week I go in for another quick scan and we'll have a better idea. If the first is breech, it depends on what kind of breech (4 kinds) for if we do a homebirth or not. Also had my iron rechecked, which was even higher than before... great for twin pregnancy.

I took Dayton up to see the birth rooms at the hospital and it was good for me to look at the rooms as a pregnant mom instead of a doula. They make me feel so claustrophobic. Dayton and I both agree that the location of the operating rooms being right next door is just a little too convenient. I will try to avoid all of that!

Everything is ready for the babies to come. No sign of them yet though!

Need to find a current belly pic... getting huge! I'm now measuring 45cm instead of 36. And my waist is now...... 51 inches! No wonder I can't roll over in bed anymore =)

33 weeks

2007-06-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe we're at 33 weeks already. If we can just make it 4 weeks more, we're good to go for a homebirth.

Everything is ready go. We have all the cloth diapers we need, ordered a couple slings, prepped Grace for watching the birth, baby clothes are washed. Trying to prep for my mom to come. Still looking for a bigger vehicle.

I'm now measuring 42cm and have gained almost 40lb. I figure I've got about 10lb to go! Both babies were vertex. And then last week I ate something very spicy and the babies didn't like it. Now baby A is still vertex and baby B is all over the place... at this moment switching back and forth from breech to transverse. All that really matters is that A stays vertex!

I'm going back to see my regular OB in a week or so to re-establish care in case of transfer or necessary C-section. Not sure if I'll do bloodwork or consent to any other testing through.

I'm currently working on decided who comes to the birth and what role they have. Obviously Dayton and I will be focused on the birth. But still working out who watches the kids depending on if it's day or night time. Also lining up a friend to do video and pictures. Can't be without that! Also a very good friend will be my doula/assistant, etc. for whatever I need or to give Dayton a break. I'm hoping 3 adults besides us isn't too much. I tend to go into a birth bubble and not even notice those around me, but I do feed off of negative attendants. If they are scared, unsupportive, etc. I really don't need them to be there. When my mom arrives in early July, I'll have to see if I can figure out where she fits into the whole picture. Not sure if I want her to be around me during labor and/or birth but I want Grace to be there and she needs someone to watch her. So we're obviously still figuring all of that out!

Here's a picture from 4 days ago. Can't wait to see how much bigger next week! My stomach is now starting to be lumpy in wierd places. I guess with 2 fighting for the same space it's going to look wierd.

30 weeks

2007-05-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

This Friday I'll have made it to 30 weeks!! It has been a huge challenge to get in the protein, calories, water, and sleep needed to grow these babies. I had a little bit of preterm labor a couple weeks ago and I totally attribute it to trying to do too much. I'm the size of full term but my brain keeps saying, oh you're only 6.5mo you can do much more. As of this week, no more meetings, teaching, or other responsibilities.

At 30 weeks, I'm measuring 39cm. Gained over 32lb. Totally healthy though tired. The stretch marks from my first pregnancies are filled out and I've noticed a tiny bit more...it's only gonna get worse! I'm also so much wider this time. I can find both babies heartbeats easily with my fetoscope. I'm also thinking both are headfirst, but it's still a little early since they have some room for moving around. And the names are picked out! Nope, we don't share until after the fact.

I went to a local hospital and lined up a backup/emergency doctor. Did not tell him our birth intentions, just that I have babies fast (true), my regular OB is far away (true), and that I'm not happy with my options there (true). I'd still prefer to birth at my regular hospital if I have to go at all. The backup hospital is so so old-fashioned. No food or drink, in the bed with monitors, no spouse allowed, no active labor at all. Yikes, but good for emergency.

While there I asked for my iron levels to be tested. At 28 weeks, the iron should show a huge drop. Not for me!!!! At 28 weeks, my iron levels were HIGHER than 20 weeks. I attribute it to taking lots of Floradix, a natural, herbal iron supplement.

We hired a fulltime nanny/maid about 3 weeks ago. The kids like her, we understand each other, she lives in our apartment complex, and she would love to work for us a long time. She's my age which makes it enjoyable too. She speaks no English which is fine for me since I'm doing great with the language and the kids will learn from her.

Isaiah has been so so "I want mommy" the last couple weeks. He doesn't understand that I'm pregnant other than a very prominent belly button he likes to poke at. But he must sense that things are changing. No one can comfort him like I can. Makes me just a little bit scared about how I'm going to be able to comfort him when I've got my arms full of newborns! He's just so tenderhearted I hate to see what it's going to do to him! And he won't be my little baby anymore.

My Babies, My Body

2007-05-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a paragraph from Sheila Kitzinger's The Complete Book of Pregnancy & Childbirth. It's the last paragraph on the Expecting Twins chapter, under "Your Babies, Your Body". She's a world famous writer about birth and homebirthed her twins by herself. Anyway, this has been my "mantra"

(Italics are mine)

Bear in mind that a multiple pregnancy may increase your blood pressure, cause aches and pains and varicose veins, and put stress on your pelvis, simply because there are two or more babies bouncing around in there and being nurtured by your body. Yet there is no reason that the whole experience of pregnancy should be medicalized. It can be an exciting and happy experience in which you are in charge. Examine the evidence, weigh the advice the professionals give you and come to your own decisions about the birth.

This really reinforces my belief about birth and backs up our feelings for how and where our babies will be born.

26 weeks pic

2007-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Took this tonight. I compared it to my full-term picture with baby #2 and it's almost the same size!

Past 24 weeks now

2007-04-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

I figured it was time for a quick update.

Health-wise, it's been a struggle the past 2 weeks. Had the flu Easter weekend and missed church. Thankfully just fever and soreness and no other more dehydrating symptoms! Grace and Isaiah got it as well. Dayton skipped it! Then last week during spring break, we went to church camp. Great trip and lots of fun and naps for me. Tried to go to sleep Friday night and ended up with excrutiating earpain, where nothing I had would help. Ended up going straight to the doctor Sat. afternoon at a local Thai hospital and as expected, I have an ear infection. I'm 28 and this is my first ear infection ever. And I hope to never have one again! Now on day 5 out 7 for antibiotics. If I were in the USA with many natural options, I wouldn't be doing antibiotics. At least I have some acidophilus and probiotics to counteract it. Many don't know the risks of taking antibiotics during pregancy. Raises the risk of yeast infection in the mom and a much higher risk of the baby developing thrush, thus much more difficulty with breastfeeding. At least I've got a ways to go to fix or prevent all of that!

Pregnancy-wise, I'm doing great. I truly believe I'm getting better prenatal care doing it myself. Much more involved every week than a once a month hurried OB appointment. I just don't get why women use OBs at all unless they're very high-risk. Low-risk pregnancies usually get high-risk management and an abundance of unnecessary tests and procedures during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Sorry! Just a small rabbit trail there, but it's true! So, my blood pressure, etc. is fine. Been doing loads of iron to keep that up... probably the most challenging part. I'm up to 25lb weight gain!! I'll try to post pictures in the next week or so.

Cleaning-wise. Our full-time helper left, and I'm back to watching the kids by myself and (not) cleaning the house. Dayton tries to help where he can. I just have half the energy this pregnancy, and I'm thinking I've only got another 6 weeks until I'm pretty much napping all day. Please pray we can finder another helper fast so I have time to train her! The only other help I have is a highschool student who comes in 2 days a week after school to do dishes, play with the kids, help cook dinner, etc. Better than nothing!

Weather-wise. It's just super hot! Upper 90's or low 100's. With the humidity, the heat index is 115F or higher! I just don't go outside during the day anymore.

I just realized that if I'm 24 weeks now, I could easily have babies here in hopefully 12 to 16 weeks... it's gonna fly. I've had fun collecting cloth diapers and other odds and ends. Ordering my twin breastfeeding pillow this week and possibly a couple pouch slings too. Still looking for an affordable mini-van that is mini enough for me to drive in Bangkok.

Off to nap while Isaiah naps and Grace watches her Circus Barney video! I feel bad with all the TV the kids are watching, but I just don't have the energy to do much else.

doctor's visit @ 20 weeks

2007-03-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm done announcing that we're having girls, on to the appointment.

Did the ultrasound first. Babies looked good. Measured exactly where they should for 20 weeks. Heart beats seen, all parts of heart and brain seen as best as possible considering the ultrasound machine wasn't one of the high-resolution ones. The OB wanted to schedule me for a level II ultrasound to make sure everything else is OK. I said, no I'm trying to avoid unnecessary ultrasound. He said, Oh, but ultrasound is very very safe. I didn't say but thought, Yeah right... show me the research that proves that. I told him that for us, Less is More. I'm okay with an ultrasound or two, but not 6 - 10 which is what would happen with most twin pregnancies!

Then we sat down to talk. Dayton and I had a list of questions written up.
1) Q: Are there any routine procedures that are different for this hospital when it comes to vaginal birth of twins? (The reason I was asking is because a lot of hospitals require the birth in the OR, with an IV, and an empty epidural.) A: Nope, this hospital still practices Active Birth set up by the WHO (world health organization).
2) Q: Under what conditions are your comfortable with a vaginal birth of twins? (I asked it this way to get his true comfort level with philosophy). A: Vertex/vertex. This is with both babies head down. Dayton asked, well what if the 2nd one is breech? (All over the world this is typical and is still a vaginal birth.) The OB said, oh no, Cesarean is safer. Which is absolutely NOT TRUE!!! Well, with those answers, we had no need to go further, because vertex/vertex is the only way for vaginal birth with him. Unfortunately, he's my ONLY chance for a vaginal birth at any hospital here.

I asked my son's pediatrician an hour later at his appointment what she thought about it. She's very pro-natural birth and said that my OB has tons of experience with breech but is now scared of litigation. Blech. The upside is that I was able to ask her about the NICU here in case the babies come early, and she said they can handle babies born at 26 wk gestation, insist on breastmilk from the beginning, and that was her original specialty before wanting better working hours and going back to general pediatrics. So happy to have her on our side!

I did consent to all of my bloodwork being checked. I usually decline the gestational diabetes test, but since it was offered so soon, I knew I'd pass. It's totally flawed for twin pregnancies... easy to fail later on even if not diabetic. So I figured with a passing test, it might give me bartering power later on. I don't want to appear like a problem client. My iron levels were great for me. I'm always anemic during pregnancy, and this time they were the highest ever. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing to keep them up and push them higher. The biggest iron drop happens between 20 and 28 weeks, so I'm doubling up. My Rh+ antibodies were also checked. Isaiah was Rh+ and I'm Rh-, so I had to have the Rhogam shot to fix any blood mix possibilities after his birth to not have an affect on future babies. If one of these is Rh+, my body would possibly attack it as a threat to my immune system. But no sign of that!

So what do I do? At this point, I am not going back to the doctor. I can do my own prenatal care. I can go to a local clinic to get my iron rechecked later. I will not content to unnecessary testing and ultrasounds. I will not consent to a Cesarean that is not for a very good reason. If I feel like something is wrong, of course I'll go get checked out. BUT, I have the philosophy that birth is safe, and all will go as God wills it to go. Interventions/testing are the risky parts. As for where to give birth? I will stay home unless I need a C-section. Why go to the hospital for a vertex/vertex birth when that's easily done at home. Will I have a midwife? If mine is available. If not, we'll do it ourselves. I know not all people agree with this, but research shows it is safe, and our health and medical issues (if you can call birth a medical issue) are best without doctor intervention. We are well-informed and prepared.

I'm so excited to see where all of this leads!

we are having...

2007-03-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Went in for our appointment and found out what we're having...

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GIRLS!!!!

Stressing out

2007-03-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

I will be so glad to have my appointment on Friday.

My first appointment at 12 weeks was exciting to find out we were expecting twins, but very disappointing in discussion with my OB. He said that he did have experience with twins and breech birth. Breech birth is a big issue, because a lot of the time one baby is breech. He then proceeded to tell me that C-section is safer for breech birth. So I said, what about the statement put out by ACOG (he's a member) that said they had to retract C-section being safer and restate it as equal risk by C-section or vaginal birth. He says, oh no no, C-section is safer. This makes me upset. Here's why. He uses the ACOG statements only when he feels like it. He ignores them for me, yet insists on them for other women. Basically he uses what he wants to get the results he wants. So I guess he's willing to "let" me "attempt" a vaginal birth if XYZ are in place. We are writing up an in depth list of questions for him for Friday. But wording them in a way so as to find out his real philosophy and intentions.

I attended a waterbirth presentation by Dr. Tanit a couple weeks ago. He is more like a midwife than a doctor. He trained my OB, started the natural birth and waterbirth suites at my hospital, and is just an amazing man. At 70 years old, he has over 40 years experience and just a 5% c-section rate... well below the World Health Organization recommendations! I was able to talk with him at length, and he said that even if they were double breech, vaginal birth is still better for twins, especially since this is my 3rd pregnancy. Too bad he'll be back in the UK when they're due! He was so positive about my situation but said pretty much "good luck" at finding a provider who wouldn't emotionally blackmail me into a C-section. Sooo, not looking good huh.

My favorite quote from his presentation: "Obstetrics is the number one medical profession that does not practice evidence-based care." I totally agree... based on routines, not current research.

Friday's appointment should glean some good info for Dayton and I to make some better decisions.

Here are two pictures (finally). The belly pic I took tonight. The ultrasound is from 8 weeks ago. Hopefully I'll have new ones to share soon!

Long Update

2007-03-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Identical or Fraternal?

Of all twin pregnancies, 30% are identical and 70% are fraternal.

For those of you wanting a mini-science lesson, the midwifery student in me is dying to explain a little more.

Identical twins are actually "monozygotic" (MZ) meaning 1 egg, 1 sperm, then it splits.

Fraternal twins are "dizygotic" (DZ) meaning 2 eggs, 2 sperm, and no split. Well if it then split, it would be triplets. DZ twins are siblings of the same age.

Did you know there's a 3rd kind of twin... quite rare. "Sesquizygotic" (SZ) is when one egg splits and then the two halves are fertilized by different sperm. So they're fraternal from the dad's side but identical from the mom's side.

We are most likely having DZ twins. Because of late cycle ovulation and because of still breastfeeding, it's more likely to have 2 eggs pop out. Also, my OB studied the placenta(s) and showed markers in the placenta that point toward DZ.

We find out Mar. 16 what the genders are. We weren't going to find out, but now that it's two, I've just gotta know. If they are the same gender, then we'll do genetic testing to make sure of MZ/DZ. If they are MZ, it's good to know for future medical issues that may come up. If they are DZ, we have a 25% chance of them being boy/boy, 25% for girl/girl, and 50% for boy/girl.

Prenatal Care
I had planned on doing all prenatal care myself this time around. But at this point, I do need a care provider who will be willing to help me if we decide to have the birth at the hospital. I'm not sure how happy he's going to be when I go in next week, and I'd skipped my other appointment. Instead of going in every 4 weeks, I'm doing every 8. The reason? I don't want multiple ultrasounds and testing done. Pregnancy is not an illness and I'm not going to be treated like I'm sick. I called my midwife in Australia and she said, "Do not consent to any test unless something can be done with the results." I'm holding to that, especially with ultrasounds. My OB said, well we have to do an ultrasound everytime to make sure they're growing. Huh? And if they're not? Not like anything can be done about that!

BUT, it's not like I'm not getting any care. I'm doing it myself. And having fun. Every week, I check my weight, blood pressure, height of the uterus, check for babies' heartbeats, and urine. I can do all of that myself. All of which the doctor would do each time anyway. But I can do that myself w/out the ultrasound risks.

I found a heartbeat!
I was using my fetoscope last week to try to find heartbeats. 18 weeks is the earliest one can be used and I just happened to find one baby! Nice and loud and strong, but then the baby floated away. I think I found the other baby last night. I'm feeling more movement on my left side and very little on the right. By listening with the fetoscope, I can hear more placenta on the front side on my right, so that's probably what's blocking heartbeat and movement from the other baby.

Not the usual pregnancy

2007-02-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

I had totally planned on doing my own prenatal care, seeing my doctor 2 times, and birthing the baby at home by ourselves.

So I started doing my own prenatal care at 4 weeks pregnant. Nothing much, just keeping track weekly of my weight, blood pressure, etc. I've gotten good at taking my own blood pressure, though I really wish I had a third hand to help out!

Around 10 weeks along, I was still feeling exhausted and nauseous. And I noticed that my uterus was measuring high. I just figured it's because I was so stretched out from 2 previous pregnancies.

At 11 weeks, I wrote "fundal height???" in my notes. My uterus was measuing a couple inches under my belly button which is normal for 16 weeks. All weekend I started thinking about twins, and that it was possible. Read up a little bit.

At 12 weeks, I decided to go see my doctor. I hadn't planned on going until 20 weeks, but I just had to know for sure. I don't like ultrasounds at all and had only planned on one for the whole pregnancy. But the stress of not knowing and sleeplessness from not knowing was worse!

I go to my appointment, dragging both kids with me. I go through the normal weighing, etc. bit and go in to see my doctor. He said, "well, I assume the only reason you're here is because you're pregnant." I told him my LMP date and that I felt I was measuring quite big even for a third pregnancy. He says to hop up on the table.

Isaiah sat in his stroller. Grace stood on a stool next to the table and watched the doctor squirt goo on my stomach. Yes... my stomach. I was that big so he realized a transvaginal ultrasound was unnecessary! Within 10 sec of the transducer on my stomach, the nurse gasps and I say, "OH MY!" at the same time. It was so obviously twins. Two sacs, two heads! The doctor said, I don't have to tell you what I see because you can see it for yourself! I spent the rest of the appointment in discussion with my doctor (that's a later post).

Even though I had suspected twins, nothing really prepares you for finding out that it really is twins!

Next post: Fraternal or Identical?