Welcome!

Welcome to the Benke Family Blog! This is my first time blogging, so bear with me. My husband, Todd, and I have a 3 year old son named Brody and I am currently 29 weeks along with twins. Here is the story of how we got this far!

We found out I was pregnant on July 13th. We were thrilled to be expecting our 2nd child...or so we thought! On August 5th, I had some bleeding and of course, thought the worst. I had my HCG levels checked that day and they came back at over 100,000, which for 7 weeks along is a very high level. Todd and I went for an ultrasound on August 6th and sure enough 2 little heartbeats were found right away. After this shocking news, the tech continued on to make sure she couldn't find any additional heartbeats. After a couple of minutes, she was satisfied that there were only 2. Needless to say, Todd and I were both relieved!!

The biggest scare from that ultrasound was the threat that the twins might be mono-mono twins, which means they had no separation between the two of them. This results in an extremely high risk pregnancy. On September 2nd (Jack's 4th birthday!), we went for a 2nd ultrasound. This time they were able to find a membrane separating the two babies. This was fantastic news!

Due to the twin pregnancy and only having 1 placenta, we were scheduled to have ultrasounds every 4 weeks. The biggest thing they are watching is for the babies have equal fluid levels and growing at a similar pace. The existence of only 1 placenta means that the babies are identical, so 2 boys or 2 girls!

My next ultrasound was on October 6th at 16 weeks along. The babies were both growing well and weighed in exactly the same at 5 oz. each. The following one on November 10th put me at 21 weeks. At this ultrasound, baby A weighed in at 1 lb and baby B at 14 oz. They are not concerned about the weight difference until it is more than 20%, so we were in the safe zone. Also at this appointment, we learned we were expecting identical twin boys! This was even more special, because my grandpa is an identical twin. I think he was really excited that they were boys!

After my doctor consulted with the high risk doctor, it was determined that I should be having weekly DVP fluid checks. This is where they find the "deepest vertical pocket" of fluid for each baby. In addition to these weekly ultrasounds, I would still continue to go every 4 weeks for a full ultrasound to check on the babies' measurements. These weekly ultrasounds started on November 26th and will continue until these babies are born.

At my next full ultrasound on December 10th, both babies were back to weighing the same. They were up to 1lb 12oz.

We have started the process of getting all of the baby stuff out and buying some doubles that we think we will need. Thanks to craigslist, we are trying to save some money on the doubles!!
Now we just need to get everything cleaned.

It has been such an exciting, nervous time...and the adventure has only just begun...