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Update on the (Maybe Not So Identical) Twins

aplusaaplusa Posts: 1,919
edited November -1 in Pregnancy and Babies
Hi all!

We had our first appointment with the MFM/perinatologist today. We were very excited to learn a wee bit more about our twins. After our consultation that was something out of a Seinfeld episode, we had an ultrasound to check on the little ones.

They are close together in there, but oh so adorable. Baby B had a little hiccup and Baby A took a moment to wave as we were checking on things. They both had the same exact heartbeat, too!

But the most exciting thing we learned was that each baby has its own placenta! We have been waiting for medical confirmation of this since 7 weeks. Now, this may not be very exciting or strange for some, but here's a little snippet of our conversation with the perinatologist.

Peri: So you have Di/Di twins with 2 placentas.
Me: Um, well. I think so, but no one will confirm for me.
Peri: Well, you got them from IVF so the usual thing is Di/Di. They put 2 in, you get 2 out. How many did you put in?
Me: One.
Peri: Oh. Well that does complicate things. It is rare, but it can happen that they split right away and then you have two placentas with IVF.
Me: Yes, but we did a 5 day transfer, not a 3 day transfer. Isn't that too late for Di/Di twins from IVF?
Peri: Oh. Yes.
Me: So, I don't really call them Identical-Twins. I call them Oops-Twins.
*Chuckle, chuckle.*

In short, we have half the confirmation I was expecting -- our twins are likely not identical! What, what? Now my partner is coming around to learning the sexes of the babies purely to have more evidence they are fraternal (boy/girl) before they are born.
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Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger

Comments

  • shauna2710shauna2710 Posts: 769 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Congrats on the separate placentas! I am so stressed reading all about my Mo/Di twins (shared placenta). That has to be a huge relief.
    Cycle 6 was my lucky cycle! BFP!!!
    EDD 12/13/2013
    It's identical TWINS! They're GIRLS!
    7/20/2013 Sweet Baby A lost her battle with IUGR.
    8/26/2013 Feisty Baby B was born via emergency CSection 16 weeks premature
  • aplusaaplusa Posts: 1,919
    edited November -1
    Oh! Thank you, Shauna. It is all so stressful. Your mo/di twins are in good hands though - you are a smart mama who knows how to get what she needs to make sure they are taken care of. And the risks are so scary, but it really is such a small, small percentage of mo/di twins who have any of those issues. I am so excited to follow along with you as both sets keep getting bigger!
    7NZpm4.png
    Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
  • K&HK&H Posts: 3,368 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm confused. I thought I knew a lot about twins, but how can your twins not be identical if there was only one embryo?
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  • aplusaaplusa Posts: 1,919
    edited November -1
    That's why I call them an oops, K&H. There are two logical conclusions:
    1 - My babies are freaks of nature. (I'd totally believe this.) And split after the window and somehow crocheted their own placentas. We will not be able to confirm or deny their identical-ness until DNA testing after birth.

    2 - They did not just put in one embryo, even though that is what we agreed to with our RE and signed for on our transfer report. If you look at our embryo picture from the day of transfer there's another little blastocyst right there in the frame. I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility that one pipette accidentally sucked up two embryos. Our RE had made a side comment to this effect (ie, if you discover they are not identicals, we will have to speak with our embryologist). Soooooooo ... yeah.
    7NZpm4.png
    Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
  • shauna2710shauna2710 Posts: 769 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Maybe a second sneaky embie got a free ride up the cervix express ;-)
    Cycle 6 was my lucky cycle! BFP!!!
    EDD 12/13/2013
    It's identical TWINS! They're GIRLS!
    7/20/2013 Sweet Baby A lost her battle with IUGR.
    8/26/2013 Feisty Baby B was born via emergency CSection 16 weeks premature
  • K&HK&H Posts: 3,368 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    That's totally wild!
    Maybe they're sesquizygotic twins! Although, I would think they would have seen that in the Petrie dish if so..

    http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1603799,00.html
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    CmQMm4.png
  • Jen727BFJen727BF Posts: 2,304
    edited November -1
    Wow! I'll be curious to see if it was the RE's office or not. In the end, you clearly were destined to have twins!
    183190fb-4512-4f04-a781-76af2d6d42b0_zpsrvzisual.jpg
    TTC No. 2 since Aug. 2014; IVF #1 - Cxld; IVF #2 - BFN
  • CRWHNW0909CRWHNW0909 Posts: 599 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The first article, I found very interesting. We knew from the first us they weren't identical. It was real neat to lean about the different types of twins (and scary) My BIL is an OB and he would scare the heck out of me when his stories. Once I hit 20 weeks he was so happy as we had a better chance of survial outside the womb. He said he won't let his wife get pregnant because he himself is scared of multiples. There last baby was a twin but had vanishing twin syndrome.
    http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_different_types_of_twins_are_there



    http://multiples.about.com/od/funfacts/tp/uniquetwins.htm
    04/11/2011=BFN 06/08/2011=BFN 07/05/2011=BFN 11/25/2011=BFP!!
    Beta 1: 2,489 Beta 2: 5,603 TWINS!!
  • aplusaaplusa Posts: 1,919
    edited November -1
    Thanks CRWHN for those links. We were told our twins were mono/di from our first ultrasound with the RE and that they were obviously identical since they came from one embryo. I went home and started researching all that meant. I stumbled upon some ultrasound pictures and said, "But, mine don't look like that!" Mo/di are in one black hole, as I say. You can see this is Shauna's adorable ultrasound. Mine were always in two distinct black holes. I'll dig up the 8 week ultrasound. Sooooo! Now we grow some babies! :)

    I think my RE knew right away, but wanted to save her own tushy for a while. At our second and final ultrasound with her she did say, "if it's one boy and one girl, give us a call, as we need to speak with the embryologist . . . " Since that would imply they are not identical in utero. (Though, as K&H points out, there are a few different options! There can even be identical twins of different sexes when an intersexual embryo splits and one baby gets the X and the other gets the Y. It's crazy what you find when you start really researching development bio in regards to twins!)

    8518b9e2-b69a-4b08-8da3-b8c0a2d044c0_zpsd3d72390.jpg
    7NZpm4.png
    Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
  • shauna2710shauna2710 Posts: 769 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Your little babies are so cute! And yes, definitely in two black holes!
    Cycle 6 was my lucky cycle! BFP!!!
    EDD 12/13/2013
    It's identical TWINS! They're GIRLS!
    7/20/2013 Sweet Baby A lost her battle with IUGR.
    8/26/2013 Feisty Baby B was born via emergency CSection 16 weeks premature
  • babybabybabybaby Posts: 1,564
    edited November -1
    wow! there is so much i don't know! that's amazing!
  • tc0104tc0104 Posts: 579 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    It will be interesting to see how this unfolds!! Regardless, you are up for one great experience being the parent of multiples :)
  • TheOtherLovingMomsTheOtherLovingMoms Posts: 1,481 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    so much I didn't know either and I am a mom of 27 year old identical twin girls!! Shauna my twins are mo/di twins and identical in every way. Even at 27 if they dress identical there are times I have a hard time telling who is who, they love to trick people, still lol. Although if it really came down to it all I would have to do is lift up there shirts and see who has the dimple net to her left breast lol. My twins were born at 30 weeks and one had to have a chest tube put in bc her lung collapsed. They are perfectly healthy now though. Have fun with your twins!!! BTW aplusa, I wanted boy/girl twins soooo bad bc I was afraid I wouldn't know who was who lol. Also because I already had a 3yr old daughter I wanted a son so I wanted my twins to be boy/girl. It's so cool that you all know now that you are having twins. Being I didn't find out I was carrying twins until I went into premature labor at 5 months and had my first ultrasound. My ob was even shocked because more than once he would move the wand around on my belly trying to find a second heart beat and their heart beat was ALWAYS together, they never found a second heartbeat when listening with the doppler lol. The reason why is because they were transverse inside me facing each other and their heart beats were together lol.
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    I just turned 50 and fabulous!!! Enjoying life with my amazing family!!
    Mom to Rachel 33, Bethany 30, Rebekah 30, Zachrey 20 and several angel babies
    Grandma to Larissa 11, Brittney 11, Trevor 11, Destiny 7, Jayvin 6, Jackxon 3, Kaleb Joshua Rian 1. Grandbaby #8, Sariah Grace born 11-17-16
  • CRWHNW0909CRWHNW0909 Posts: 599 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Oh wow! Other that's crazy!! I would have lost my mind!! I will say I was excited for g/b twins. I thought I was having two boys. They found Jax first and my SIL said please let the other one be a girl. She was going to walk out because she was worried how I would react. I wanted a b/g because I know what I put my mom through during my teenage years and I didn't know what to so with two boys. Nick now thinks when we try again we'll have to try twice if they're not twins so they'll each have a same sex sibling. But I think we all know the outcome of that lol.
    04/11/2011=BFN 06/08/2011=BFN 07/05/2011=BFN 11/25/2011=BFP!!
    Beta 1: 2,489 Beta 2: 5,603 TWINS!!
  • aplusaaplusa Posts: 1,919
    edited November -1
    Thanks, J! Vomiting has not improved, but it seems ... Not so severe. Maybe I'm getting used to it! :)

    I just find the whole thing fascinating!!
    7NZpm4.png
    Lucky Cycle 14: IVF!! Antagonist Cycle with Lupron Trigger
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