Family history of twins or fertility treatment?

As I explained in Twin Reaction Quotes people have been overwhelmingly positive when we tell them that we are having twins. Now that we know the twins are girls I get a few more "good lucks" and "serves you rights," but nothing that is insensitive. That said there is one question that What to Expect When You're Expecting indicated we would probably get a lot of:

Do twins run in your family or did you use a fertility drug?

In the beginning we were asked this question a few times, but as our happy news has spread the question has become more frequent. The question itself isn't annoying, but it is being asked too often.

To answer the question, Jamie and I did not undergo fertility treatments and twins do not run in our family. However, had we undergone fertility treatments I can see where this question could become uncomfortable to answer. The twins could be identical, which is not affected by a genetic predisposition or fraternal which typically does run in families.

To head the question off I've worked telling people that we did not use fertility treatments into my pregnancy announcement. Something to the effect of

Jamie is pregnant, with twins. Twins don't run in our family and we didn't use any fertility drugs, so it's a real surprise.

We understand all too well that people are curious about multiples. Since twins make up only 1.9% of the world's population people are bound to have questions. When someone announces to you that they are having multiples ask as many questions as you like, but I would recommend thinking twice before asking about their conception.

The Steele Babies are Ladies

Yesterday Jamie and I had our second specialist appointment at Perinatal Associates of New Mexico. During this visit our ultrasound was again one and a half hours, but we learned some very exciting news: our twins are girls!

Funny enough Jamie was more disappointed by this news than I was. She was convinced that she was having one of each. Going so far as to say that Baby A was a girl and that Baby B was a boy. I on the other hand was convinced the twins were going to be of the same sex. I was not sure if they were boys or girls, but I knew they'd be the same.

After informing us that the twins were girls the doctor proceeded to tell us that the twins might be identical. As I explained in Types of Twins, identical Dichorionic-Diamniotic (DiDi) twins can occur if the zygote splits within four days after fertilization. This came as a surprise to Jamie and I as we had been told in January that it was likely our twins were fraternal. Even though we understood the facts about DiDi twins we had put the thought of identical twins out of our mind. We will not know if the girls are identical until after birth and even then only if we perform a DNA test.

In any case, we could not be happier with the news. Both the twins and mom are extremely healthy. Everything is progressing normally and our next specialist checkup is in a month.

It's not Steele Baby but Babies

We are having TWINS!

After 3 weeks of tests and ultrasounds, we are happy to announce that on Wednesday, January 19th we were able to hear both of the babies heartbeats. Both heartbeats are healthy and strong. Talk about an out of body experience. Andrew and I were in a moment of complete JOY.

The due date is somewhere between August 11th - September 8th. Twins usually deliver around the 36th or 37th week, but full term would be September 8th.

This is truly one of the greatest blessing and miracles that we have ever received and we are excited for the coming months and being able to share it with all of you!