Category Archives: Pre-natal

Before the twins arrival.

Avere Molti Bambini Maschili!

We had another one of our regularly scheduled ultrasounds. Standard, typical, move along folks – nothing to see here. Until the tech’s mild mannered inquiry . . .

“Are you guys keeping the gender a secret?”

“Nope.” I replied, barely letting her finish her sentence. “If you know something, we would very much so like to know that same something.” (I think Jon rolled his eyes at me here.)

“Ok. This one looks like a boy.” (Note: during the ultrasounds, they examine each baby individually for size and other interesting medical tidbits. The majority of the time is generally spent trying to get Baby B to sit still.) Jon and I agreed it very much looked like a boy. When pressed though, the tech told us she wasn’t allowed to make a definitive statement. I wasn’t concerned, there didn’t appear to be much room for error.

We moved on to Baby B. After several failed still photo attempts, we watched a slo-mo version of the tracking video as the technician commented, “This one appears to be a boy as well.”

Two boys!

The doctor came in shortly thereafter to chat with us and review the images/movies. She shared that our technician has never been wrong about the gender because she won’t guess if she’s not certain. Suddenly she gave a very hearty laugh from behind her computer investigation. (Any unexpected reactions from medical personnel unnerve me.)

“They are most definitely boys! No question about that.”

Two boys! I grinned. Jon looked at me and said, “Put up the tent. It’s gonna be a circus.”

I called my Dad at work. It doesn’t take a genius to know he was going to be excited. He picked up the phone sounding slightly concerned about why I was calling him at work (when I should also be at work).

“Hi Dad.” I said calmly. I’m at work, so I obviously can’t talk long, but I thought you’d be interested to know that you’re going to have two grandsons in August.” I actually had to pull the phone away from my ear as he started screaming.

“Due boys! Due boys!” he shrieked repeatedly. He was so excited he couldn’t even keep his languages straight . . .

Others had more muted reactions – but everyone appears excited about the little rascals.

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Four Months and Counting

March 17, 2010 - Four Months Pregnant

Jon grinned and gave me a huge smile. “It’s so cute!” he said staring at my tummy. I smiled back at him.

“You’re HUGE!” I stopped smiling.

In my (potentially overly hormone induced) opinion, I do not think I am huge. I think I look like I am four months pregnant with twins.

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It’s a New Generation – One with Many Ultrasounds

Most parents-to-be have three or four ultrasounds throughout their entire pregnancy. I’m approaching twenty. I suppose one might consider that a perk of being “high risk,” we get to see the twins quite often. It’s like pre-natal Skype.

They are quite photogenic. Being our firstborn, it’s already expected that they’ll be photographed ad nauseum by sleep-deprived, overly excitable parents (“Look honey! He drooled! Isn’t that the cutest thing ever?!”), proud grandparents and their legions of enamored aunties and uncles (“How sweet. Your children are reading The Three Musketeers at only 7 months.”) So, we got them started early.

Prepping for the next Kodak moment.

Our first snapshot clearly shows a snowy television screen that the doctor tried to pass off as a “photo.” We have more images a week later distinctly portraying the lima beans (blinking lima beans in the motion picture version). A couple weeks and about 47 Polaroid’s later, I am pleased to share that Baby A waved at me!

“Look! He’s waving. My child is obviously a genius!” I was grinning from ear to ear. The ultrasound technician calmly explained that the little ones were far to undeveloped to do anything conscious, and were obviously just exhibiting jerking reflexes. I eyed her warily, trying to convey the notion that she seriously needed to stay out of my hormonal fantasy world.

As we rounded the first trimester and sprinted into the second, the twins have really begun to show their personalities (I continue to reject the reality of ultrasound technicians and substitute my own much more interesting one). Baby A is generally very content to suck his thumb with the occasional wave to the camera. He turns and stretches as the mood strikes with an “I can’t be bothered with the paparazzi” attitude.

Baby B is a bit more . . . rambunctious. I’m pretty sure I saw him punch Baby A at one point. It’s actually been quite difficult to get a still photo of Baby B. Every time the camera tries to freeze frame, for something like a medical measurement, Baby B thinks it’s hilarious to jerk and move away as quickly as possible. We also think he’s had the hiccups several times. Flailing about, clearly warming up for as many 90-foot sprints as possible, Baby B is clearly the frontrunner in the mischievous category.

Jon and I can’t wait to meet them. Stay tuned for the next post – we’ll give you an early introduction too.

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You Want a Family? You’re Going to Have a Family!

Getting the News:

At 9 a.m. the nurse called me. “I’ve got some good news.”

Jon and I are going to be parents! After several weeks of guarded optimism Jon and I arrived back at the doctor’s office to see our little lima bean at six weeks old. After what seemed like an eternity with the ultrasound doo-hickey (get to the baby already!) the nurse said, “Well, you have two healthy little heartbeats.”

“Are there children attached to both of them?!” I blurted? Jon’s jaw just dropped.

Sharing the News:

It was a very merry Christmas in the Stream household. Our last Christmas season as “the kids.” (This may even warrant a move to the grown-up table at family dinners!)

We decided to share the news in person with our families. I wrapped up the book “Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul” and gave it to my mom. She smiled immediately and cried, “I knew it!” (She didn’t.) The new Grandpa looked quizzically at the book. “Why’d you get your mother a cookbook?” (Read the whole title Dad . . .) Jon presented his parents with the ultrasound photo. Grandma Nancy squealed. Both uncles, Paul and Jeffrey, were instructed to start warming up their rotator cuffs.

Then after an eternity and the blink of an eye, it was time to share the news with our friends. We live and work in the heart of the Silicon Valley, so why not take the high-tech social media route. We each posted the news on Facebook.

Jon wrote, “So I’ve been told it’s not a secret anymore, so here goes. Tricia is pregnant . . .with TWINS!”

I followed up with the news as well, “So the rumors are true. Jon and I are expecting Baby #2 in August. Baby #1 is due several minutes before Baby #2.”

We always knew we wanted a family. We just never expected an instant family all at once. In the wise words of Jon, “Put up the tent, it’s going to be a circus.”

The double trouble act comes to town this August. Get ready world!

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