9 Weeks Update

Weight:  +5 lbs. (alright, fine!  add two more pounds if you're looking for complete honesty)

Fitness:  Prenatal yoga DVD done twice this week

Food Cravings:  fruit and ice cream sundaes with hot fudge

Sleep Count:  8 hrs. nightly, 1 hr. afternoon nap

Another awesome visit.  We heard two hearts beating at around 170 bpm again.  Dr. Skywalker still insists on calling the baby on the left 'Baby A' and the one on the right 'Baby B'.  For a while they were both situated butt to butt, but in this picture 'B'  is facing the camera (already a ham).  I even got to watch 'A' wiggle from side to side (probably singing 'I like to move it, move it . . .').

After a week of fear-ridden panic about carrying and raising twins, I finally found some books on twins that were worth buying.  I'm not too thrilled about the overwhelming statistics leading us towards premature babies.  

For example, a full term twin pregnancy is 37 weeks (not 40 for singletons) but the 'experts' claim 50% of twin pregnancies deliver before 37 weeks.  Here's what chapter two of Twin Set by Boyle & Stahl had to say about preemies:

"According to national statistics, twins are born at 34 weeks on average (remember that twins born before 35 weeks are considered premature).  Furthermore, about 50% of twins spend some time in the neonatal intensive care unit."

Luckily I know a cool chick (Anna's new sister-in-law) who has fraternal twin boys (born at 30 weeks, 5 days).  She's promised to give me every bit of advice she can about what to expect with twins.  Hers were in ICU for 5 weeks hooked up to tubes.  She said the positive side of the experience was having an entire support staff at the hospital to guide her through everything on how to care for twins.  When she got home, the boys already had a routine, and she had 5 weeks to learn from the medical experts (this is why I think she's cool. . . she's so positive about her preemie experience).

Well, we finally bought a Christmas tree and somehow it has to get decorated . . . I better go direct Dave on ornament placement (kidding . . . kinda).