The First Trimester Remembered

Having been through two pregnancies prior to this one, I knew what to expect. Foods that I love before becoming pregnant would now make my stomach turn at the thought of them. Smells that I savored would leave me running for fresh air. Last, but surely not least, morning bouts of nausea that always returned in the evening. My favorite morning tradition was a cup of cinnamon sticky bun coffee and now Kevin had to make his coffee in the garage or buy it, it surely could not be made in our home.

I guess in retrospect I should've known we were having twins when my nausea lasted all day long and the hallways of Waynedale High School looked like a very appealing place to take a nap. I was exhaused beyond explanation.

I think I failed to mention that Kevin was not with me at the appointment when I found out we were having twins. After the doctor confirmed there were two, my cell phone rang and Dr. Vacarriello thought that was perfect timing. It was Kevin. I answered crying, and all he could ask was if the baby was ok. I kept crying and he has since told me, he feared the worst. He thought that not only had something happened to the baby, but that something was the matter with me as well. I told him "there's two" and his response was "What? Twins?" I don't think having twins had ever crossed our mind, even though my grandfather is a twin (identical) and Kevin's mom is a twin (fraternal).

I was hesitant to tell many people that we were having twins. I knew the first trimester had risks of losing one with the possibility of vanishing twin syndrome. Kevin felt otherwise. He thought the news needed to be shared--if for no other reason than to gain support from friends and family. He was overwhelmed and I was suddenly more excited about this pregnancy than I ever could've expected.

After finding out we were having twins our next appointment was scheduled at 11 weeks. This appointment went well, we saw two heartbeats and everything looked great. We suddenly realized how spoiled we were to be having ultrasounds at every appointment. We were going to see our babies many times before we actually met them. Our next appointment was scheduled for 14 weeks. That's when we crested the first top of the rollercoaster.