Dr's Appt

Yesterday, Latrice got an ultrasound and the results were good (mostly). Today we had another Dr's appt and Latrice is doing well. She is walking a bit slower and her restroom urges have increased, but she is healthy. We were also able to use the Expectant mother's parking spot at the hospital, so that was a bonus.
The babies are healthy and very active. However, one of the boys (Joaquin) is starting to get bigger than his brother. Since the boys each have their own placenta, we are about 99% sure that the boys are fraternal twins. So of course, they are going to be different according to their genetic make-up. They are essentially 2 different eggs that were fertilized by 2 different sperm that are sharing mommy' belly. According to the books we read, fraternal twins grow at a different rate in 20 to 25% of all twin pregnancies. The good news is that we know it is NOT Twin-to-Twin Fetal Syndrome (TTFS), an abnormality where twins share a placenta and one twin sucks all of the nutrients from the placenta and the other twin essentially starts to starve. Our best guess is that it is genetically related and not an internal problem. However, the doctor is going to start monitoring their growth more aggressively (means more dr. appts) to ensure that Jacob is not in any sort of distress. Another bit of good news is that Jacob (the smaller twin) is actually growing at the projected rate for his gestational age. So, that is a bit of relief. We would be a bit more worried if Jacob was not meeting the milestones for his gestational age. Joaquin is simply growing faster than expected for his gestation. I remarked to Latrice that Joaquin will probably be a football player and Jacob's gonna be a band kid. We shall see...
Today I had a thought as to why pregnant moms walk so slow. It occurred to me at Chick-Fil-A where we had lunch today. I parked the car as usual, leaned over and gave Latrice a smooch, opened the door, and then locked it once her door was open. I got down as normal and waited for her at the rear of the car so we could hold hands and walk inside as is our S.O.P. Well, today that wait was a LOT longer. As I stood alone at the rear of our car I could hear some slow faint grunts but none that would cause alarm. My mind started to wonder and the wait became longer. After a while, Latrice finally waddled over at an extremely slow pace looking very uncomfortable. I looked at her and she looked really pregnant so I took her hand and started walking at about the pace of a cane-ridden 80 year person. I started to get worried we were going to get hit by a car as we crossed the parking lot and that's when it hit me --> Get used to it buddy, you ain't going anywhere fast! I guess this is simply nature's way of preparing the father for the reality that is coming. Once we have babies, our world is going to come to a crawl. Say good-bye to the simple pleasures of getting out of a car without the worry of car seats, strollers, diaper bags, 2 unhappy babies, a tired mommy, etc...

~Javier