Identical or Fraternal Twins?

Forgot to mention something we learned about identifying whether the twins were fraternal (2 fetuses formed by the fertilization of 2 separate eggs) or identical (2 fetuses formed through the splitting of 1 fertilized egg). Btw, a fertilized egg in the early stages is called a zygote :).

The doctor showed us an ultrasound scan of the 2 developing embryos, each with own heartbeat, enveloped in a clearly visible membrane -- the egg sac. This means that the twins were formed from a single zygote -- we got identical twins!! If they were fraternal twins, each of them would be in their own egg sac.

Another implication of having identical twins is that we will have either 2 boys or 2 girls. No negotiation about that!

At this point in time, the doctor told us that one of the complications of having twins (yes, he did warn us that there are usually more risks involved in a multiple birth) is the possibility of the twins being conjoined -- more commonly known as Siamese Twins. He then proceeded to show us on the scan that the 2 heartbeats were quite 'far' apart from each other, therefore indicating that they were not conjoined. We are very thankful to God for that!!

Before we left, he told us that the next thing to look out for at the next checkup, is that each of the twin has its own chorion membrane. Having an individual chorion around each baby greatly reduces the risk of entanglement of the umbilical cord, as each baby would be encased within its own chorion. There are instances where both twins share the same chorion, surrounded by the amnion.

Stay tuned for my next post! :)

Triplets??? :O *Faint*

Posting something a little lighter for tonight.

There was this time that my wife went to see the gynaecologist again after we discovered we had twins, as part of her regular visits. And having been 'clued-in' on how to identify the babies by looking out for heartbeats on the ultrasound monitor, I looked intently for 2 little blips that go on & off as the doctor moved the scanning device across my wife's stomach.

Then all of a sudden, my heart skipped a beat when I thought I saw a third blip on the screen :O!! After getting the 'shocking' news that we were having twins, I almost fainted when I thought I saw the third one! I am not kidding! Well, fortunately for our bank account & for the sake of our mental health, it turned out to be a false alarm :P. Else, I would need to take up another 2 more jobs!

After this personal encounter, I could understand & appreciate the following joke at a deeper level :P:

There were 3 nervous, expectant fathers at the waiting area in the delivery ward. The doctor came out with news for the first father, "Congratulations sir, you have twins". The first man replied, "Oh, what a coincidence!! I work for Tucows". Soon, another doctor came out with news for the second father, "Congratulations sir, you have triplets". The second man replied, "Oh, what a coincidence!! I work for 3M". At this, the third man promptly fainted on the floor. When he finally came to, everyone asked him what happened, and he said "I work for 7-Eleven".

We're Having Twins!!

I can still remember the intial excitement I felt (this is more than 1 month back already) when my wife went for her check-up with the gynaecologist during her pregnancy.

On that fateful day, I went to the clinic after parking the car. And as I entered the room, I could overhear the gynaecologist talking to my wife, saying "You got more than you bargained for...". The good doctor beckoned me over to the ultrasound machine. Not knowing what to expect, I went over with some apprehension. To me, the ultrasound image on the machine was a maze of white dots on black, with faint outlines of various shapes. To his trained eye, he quickly pointed out to me that there were 2 heartbeats!! :)

At that moment, I don't know how to describe my feelings!! I was filled with joy & excitement :D. Hey, it's not everyday that you get twins. Of course, it quickly dawned on me that expenses on the household would definately go up :(. Our plans to re-use the bottles, cot, clothing, pram, etc. from our first child had to be re-looked at again :(.

The doctor let us enjoy our moment of happiness first, before he went on with business -- he reminded us that the risks associated with twins are significantly higher than that of a single child :(. He didn't want to worry us unnecessarily, but told us to take things in stride & we will overcome each obstacle one at a time, should they surface.

Will post more about subsequent visits to the clinic another time.

Life... something that we often take for granted

How often it is that we take life for granted, living each day selfishly -- thinking only about ourselves, our dreams, our wants, etc. Not many of us stop to appreciate the fact that we are breathing, thinking, being alive.

Then something sobering happens once in awhile, to jolt us out of our complacence, to remind us that life is a precious gift from God. And that we should really, really look at what is important to us -- family, friends, simple beautiful things, nature, the world around us, etc.

This sobering event just happenend on Tuesday -- my friend's 2 day old newborn baby died :~(. Seeing my friend and his wife mourn the loss of their child caused me to instinctively hug my daughter closer, kiss her another time, hold her hand longer. To celebrate the fact that she is here with me. Whatever problems, troubles of the day pale in comparison when put in the proper perspective. Who cares if you missed your deadline? Who cares if you made a mistake at work? At the end of the day, we should not lose sight of what is truly important.

Now, I just hope and pray that my friend, his wife & their extended family members would be able to come to terms with their loss and start the healing process as soon as they are done mourning. Life is too precious to be spent on the nitty gritty.

I am thankful that I woke up this morning to the rising sun, to breathe the air of a new day, to be given a chance to live another day on earth; a chance that my friend's baby was not given.

A recent song by Tim McGraw -- Live Like You're Dying comes to mind:
I went skydiving
I went Rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull name Fu Man Chu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’
And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying

Voyeur Fashion Show @ The Heeren on 16 April 2005

The pictures have been moved to http://stoppingtime.blogspot.com/

First blog-day

Today is my first blog-day. Just wanted to find out what's so fantastic about the blog world.

Been reading various raves, rants, etc. blogs for awhile now. Will probably post some pictures in the following week.