Of Blood and Names

After 72 excruciating hours, five movies, nine meals, thirteen episodes of MTV reality shows, and roughly 8,000 phone calls on the couch, Rach got cleared by the doctor to slowly resume normal activities. We had an appointment today at ROC, which is a cool acronym for Regional Obstetrics Center. They did an ultrasound and found no remnants of the chorionic bleed that sent Rachel into purgatory on the couch. Although she is still spotting a bit, they said it's all old blood making it's way to the exit.

The other news of the day is that our twins were, for the first time, referred to as "those two stinkers." It seems that "Twin A" was too busy jumping to sit still for the UltraScreen - a test for Down Syndrome and two chromosomes that can cause birth defects. After the nurse finally caught the first twin in a moment of rest, she moved on to the other. "Twin B" then spent about 10 minutes mooning the sensor before cooperating. This prompted the nurse to sarcastically mutter about "those two stinkers" before getting the pics she needed. I am no Miss Cleo, but I have a premonition that this will not be the last time they will be called stinkers.

Both twins were in the normal size range, and visual tests showed no reason for alarm. We have to wait 5-7 more days for the results of the blood test, but all signs today pointed towards normal, feisty 12 week old twins.

There is one issue that is bugging me, though. I feel it is awfully impersonal to refer to them as "Twin A" and "Twin B." For this reason, Rachel and I have been trying to come up with "womb names" for our children. These names will have no bearing on what they will be named once they are born, but will be a better way to refer to them until then. Since we do not want to know the sex, we are racking our brains to think up unisex names. I think the best way to name them is to give the twin on the right a unisex name beginning with the letter R, and the twin on the left a unisex name beginning with the letter L. Our preliminary names are Ryan and Leslie, but we are open to suggestions. Let us know what you think.

Finally, many people have already inquired as to what we'll name the children once they arrive. Sorry to break the news, but we won't release the choices until the birth. However, I thought it would be fun to clue everyone in to what we will not be naming the twins. So, without further ado - here are the first two names out of our baby name book that we will not name our children: Geraldo, Alfonsina.

BK

What did you say? Bed What?

Okay, okay. We all know Billy has a much better way with words then I do. It’s true, I did put him up to this “Blog thing”, but periodically I think I will add my two cents. You will know it’s me. I cannot spell! And Billy says I like to add unnecessary punctuation like the exclamation mark I just used after my last sentence. I think it’s the teacher in me. I always want to make things sound exciting!!! See???

The reason I am posting today is because I am BORED out of my mind. (Oh yeah, not only do I use excessive exclamation marks, but I also like to capitalize words for dramatic effect). This morning I had a little issue when I went to the bathroom. I don’t want to be too gruesome, so I will just say that it scared me… badly. Billy and I called the on-call midwife from our OBGYN practice, and she told me to get back in bed and call as soon as the office opens. She actually used the words “bed rest”. I do not like those words, but I took it with a grain of salt because I was so worried.

To make a long story short, we had an early appointment with an ultrasound. The babies are great. It was actually the best viewing yet. They were both flailing around. Billy says one was karate chopping and the other was playing Dance Dance Revolution. It brought tears to my eyes. The cause of my issues is yet to be determined. The doc said that I have an infection that is probably causing the bleeding. She said it’s probably a subchorionic bleed which occurs when there is an acumination of blood between the uterus and the placenta. She took a sample and we will hear back in about a week. BUT HERE’S THE KICKER… those two hated words that I mentioned earlier came back to haunt me… I have to be on BED REST for the next 3 days just as a precaution. After the 3 days, I am still to remain with a very “high risk life style”. She said no more 2 mile walks with the dog. She said no more walks around the block with the dog! Those of you that know me, know that pre-pregnancy I was quite the active person. I was frequent at the gym and went on regular 2 to 3 mile jogs with Ty-man. So, to hear those dreaded words, “bed rest” and “High-risk life-style” was really hard on me. But, if I stop thinking selfishly for one second and recognize why this is happening, I know it is all worth it!

Welcome to the Crew

Did you guys know there are already blogs named "The Klug's" and "Klug Family?" Well, there are, so Rach and I decided to start our own Crew. It's not much like a dance or rap crew, but more like an alliterative way to remember our little blog. I got roped into doing this blog by Rachel, who finally decided to put my journalism degree to good use. You will know my posts because they will be funnier and have better punctuation than Rachel's posts.

Hopefully you all know by now that Rachel and I are expecting twins in August. Do you guys see those two black blobs? Those are our kids. We assume they will be much more handsome/pretty once they grow faces. Some book Rachel bought said that happens in the 13th week. This blog is our means of keeping you all updated on the pregnancy and the dynamic duo (once they arrive, of course). Please feel free to respond to our postings (no curse words Grandpa).

We plan on posting pictures of Rachel as her stomach grows during the pregnancy. If it gets too gruesome, I will just draw a sketch and post that. I have been practicing by drawing a snowman with the bottom and middle snowballs switched. Rachel doesn't think it looks like her, but next time I will draw hair and makeup. That should help. Be sure to offer words of encouragement as Rachel's belly grows to roughly the size of Rhode Island. You can offer me words of encouragement as I have to pay for multiple pairs of designer elastic pants. I still can't believe that J. Crew has a maternity line.

Oh yeah, and welcome to our blog.

BK