19 Week Ultrasound

On Friday we went in for our routine 19 (usually done at 20-22 weeks, but we were wanting to check out the location of the placenta because of some issues) week ultrasound. We took Alex with us so that he could see the baby. He really liked seeing Kaitlyn move around last time and I think it helps them to see that there is indeed a baby growing and moving in there.

We got some great pictures, so I'll share those first!

Yes, that is two heads labeled A and B. The second picture is an individual picture of both babies. We're having TWINS!!!

We went in and told the ultrasound technician that we didn't want to know the gender since we already have one of each, so we wanted this one to be a surprise for fun.
She said okay and put the wand on my belly. She got a picture in focus and quiet for a second as we looked at 2 circles on the screen, each with a black pulsing thing in them. I was about to ask her if one was the heart and one was the brain when she said, "see those 2 black pulsing things? Those are 2 heartbeats...." long pause.... "you guys- you're having twins!"

And then we freaked out.
I think I said Oh. My. Gosh. at least 10 times. It was probably the craziest moment of our lives yet. 2 days later, I think we are finally over the shock. The whole thing is still a little daunting, but it's feeling more manageable every day.

After we found out we were having twins we told the tech that we wanted to find out the genders after all because twins were surprise enough for us and twins may require a little more planning gender wise if they were the same sex.

After seeing that they share the same placenta (but separate sacs) she found that both are BOYS!
It is highly likely that they are identical since they share the same placenta.

For those wondering, twins do not run in our families, but in the case of identical twins genes don't play any factor anyway.
The splitting of a single egg is a totally random thing and could happen to anyone. Where twin genes come into play is in the case of fraternal twins which is 2 separate eggs. This could be due to hyper-ovulation which may be a genetic trait passed from a mother to her daughter.
If all twins pass on a twin gene or were simply more likely to, the number of twins in the world would multiply much faster.

We are very excited to welcome 2 little boys to our house hopefully in September, but it may be the end of August.