Since announcing that we're having twins, I've gotten lots of questions from lots of people, so I thought maybe I'd take a few minutes and answer them.
Q: ARE YOU SERIOUS?
A: Yes. Completely serious. We are really having twins :)
Q: Are you guys excited?
A: YES, YES, YES. We are absolutely thrilled. I was actually afraid that people would be able to guess just by looking at me because it was really hard to reign in gigantic smiles! Adam is a little better at hiding his emotions, but he's excited, too, as demonstrated by the fact that he will, on his initiative, go check out baby sections of stores on his lunch break and then report to me what's on sale and that he kisses the babies every day and other totally sweet stuff like that.
Q: When?
A: Sometime in May. That's vague, but twins are even more unpredictable than singletons. Forty weeks would be May 29, but twins average 37 weeks, which would put us at May 8. Hopefully they don't come earlier than that, because we want them to be healthy and not spend a lot of time in the hospital...but hopefully they don't come too much later than the 8th because I'm going to be HUGE.
Q: Do you know what you're having?
A: Yes, babies. :) It's too soon to tell if they're boys or girls.
Q: Are you going to find out? And if you do, are you going to tell us?
A: Yes and yes! For a long time, I thought I'd want to wait until delivery to find out, and then a few years ago, I realized I was nuts for thinking that! I mean, sure, I might like the surprise...but technically, it's still a surprise; I just get to find out at 20 weeks in the doctor's office instead of at delivery. And I like to plan ahead--I started planning college in 4th grade, so the fact that I have to wait 'til 20 weeks to know this is killing me! As far as telling people, keeping this pregnancy a secret for so long was hard enough! I can't keep ANOTHER secret for that long!
Q: What do you want to have?
A: BABIES! :) Honestly, we will be happy with whatever we get. Right now, I'm kinda hoping for a boy and a girl, because I think that will be the easiest combination! I think two boys will have tons of energy and destroy the entire house, and I worry that two girls will be super competitive and hate each other! But really, we just want babies, and whether they're boys or girls doesn't really matter.
Q: How are you feeling?
A: Pregnant! Overall, I think I'm doing really well. My main problem has been absolute exhaustion! (No one warned me that being "extra tired" meant barely able to stay awake, to the point that I would worry if there was something really wrong with me!) I have had plenty of days where I've been nauseated all day, and I'm getting tired of eating crackers to try to stave off that feeling, but I haven't really thrown up. Now that I've entered the second trimester, I'm starting to feel achy and sore and my muscles are tight! (I mentioned that to my doctor today and he said, "I've got a solution for that, but I can't give it to you for about 5 or 6 months.")
Q: Do you have names picked out? Are you going to tell us what they are?
A: Not yet, and no way, Jose. I used to have a bunch of lists of names I liked, but I don't know where they are anymore...somewhere in NY somewhere, probably. I can remember some of the names on the lists, but those ones have mostly been claimed by other people or have been ruined in some way (like Isabel...loved that name until Twilight ruined it.) Adam doesn't have any suggestions at this point...but someone please remind me to tell you after delivery the one name that he has actually said he might like! Once we do decide (assuming we actually decide before the babies are born), we're not telling people so that no one has the chance to tell us why those are dumb names or about their cranky old aunt or uncle who has that name or whatever other annoying or even rude comment that some people feel the need to share. (I realize most people aren't that rude...but all it takes is one dumb jerk, so you all get to wait.)
Q: Are you going back to work after you have the babies?
A: HECK NO! I've actually got a countdown on my computer for when I quit...and have ever since we found out we were expecting. That's not to say I hate my job or anything, but being a librarian doesn't even begin to compete with being a mother. I've wanted to be a mother for my entire life, and there's nothing at the library that makes it worth giving up those precious moments with my babies. When I was in fourth grade, I had to draw a picture of what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I drew a picture of me with my 14 kids. I highly doubt we'll end up having 14 kids, but still, I'm finally, finally, finally going to get to do what I really want to do with my life, and I'm not giving up a single second of it for the crazy people we deal with at the library (or even the nice ones).
Q: Do you know if they're identical?
A: No, we don't know for sure, but we have a really good guess. The babies are completely separate, with two separate placentas, which doesn't necessarily mean anything, but in our case, one placenta is on the front of the uterus and the other is on the back, meaning there were two different implantation sites, which is a pretty good indicator that they're probably fraternal, not identical.
Q: Do twins run in your family?
A: Um...no? I don't know of any twins on my mom's side. I'm not sure about my dad's side, since I think he has about eight million cousins and stuff (or, that's what it seemed like at family reunions anyway). However, Adam has twins on both sides of his family.
Q: Are you showing?
A: Yup...and it's just going to get worse! I've read that by 28 weeks, I'll pretty much look like I'm 9 months pregnant with one baby...and then I'll just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger...(Not so excited about that part of things...)
Q: Can I touch your belly? (Okay, no one has asked this one, but I'll just address this now.)
A: NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. The very idea completely creeps me out. If you do, I will probably hit you as an instinctive, protective reaction. I know some people are pretty open, but for me, this is something very personal and the only person besides me who is allowed to touch my pregnant belly is Adam.
Hm...I think that's about it...but if you have more questions, you can ask.
