Week 17 - "scare quotes"
Aug. 12th, 2014 12:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jexiaJamie clutched her husband's hand and laughed. The grainy black and white image on the screen jumped as the ultrasound handpiece pressed against her slippery stomach jiggled in time with her laughter.
"Two?! What do you mean 'two'?!"
The white-coated technician looked at her and grinned. "Just what I said, there's two in there! You're having twins. Congratulations!"
Jamie's laughter turned to sobs, gasped exclamations of "Twins! What are we going to do?!" and back to laughter again. She hiccuped, and looked at Mike, who hadn't taken his eyes off the screen. "Honey? Are you okay?"
He looked at her, his face expressionless. She could almost see him running mental calculations of increased costs, carseats and cots, clothes and college, but he suddenly squeezed her hand as a giant smile spread across his face. "I'm great."
"Twins! I guess that's why I've been so sick. Everyone kept saying I should be feeling better by 14 weeks."
The technician slid the handpiece over her rounded belly, methodically measuring and searching. "Look here," she said. "They each have their own placenta, and... this line, here, means that they're each in their own amniotic sac."
"What does that mean? Are they identical or not?" Jamie asked. She pictured two girls, with shiny dark curls like Mike, dressed in matching dresses, and then imagined a pair of boys with her blonde hair and blue eyes.
"You'll hear it called 'di-di' but it's the lowest risk twin pregnancy. We can't tell if they're identical or fraternal until they're born- unless it turns out that they're boy/girl twins. You can try to find that out at the 20-week scan."
The technician handed her a towel to mop the clear goo from her skin. Jamie wiped it off as best as she could, and adjusted her clothing. She was suddenly conscious of the precious heaviness within her, in a way that hadn't seemed real before. Two babies!
As she sat up from the reclined bed, her stomach lurched and she quickly put her hand to her mouth and breathed carefully. The technician assessed her pale face and quietly said "Bathroom's across the hall." Jamie lumbered off the bed and scurried across the hallway.
Mike made a brief motion as if to follow her, but instead turned helplessly to the technician. "It's three o'clock. So much for "morning" sickness!"
"Two?! What do you mean 'two'?!"
The white-coated technician looked at her and grinned. "Just what I said, there's two in there! You're having twins. Congratulations!"
Jamie's laughter turned to sobs, gasped exclamations of "Twins! What are we going to do?!" and back to laughter again. She hiccuped, and looked at Mike, who hadn't taken his eyes off the screen. "Honey? Are you okay?"
He looked at her, his face expressionless. She could almost see him running mental calculations of increased costs, carseats and cots, clothes and college, but he suddenly squeezed her hand as a giant smile spread across his face. "I'm great."
"Twins! I guess that's why I've been so sick. Everyone kept saying I should be feeling better by 14 weeks."
The technician slid the handpiece over her rounded belly, methodically measuring and searching. "Look here," she said. "They each have their own placenta, and... this line, here, means that they're each in their own amniotic sac."
"What does that mean? Are they identical or not?" Jamie asked. She pictured two girls, with shiny dark curls like Mike, dressed in matching dresses, and then imagined a pair of boys with her blonde hair and blue eyes.
"You'll hear it called 'di-di' but it's the lowest risk twin pregnancy. We can't tell if they're identical or fraternal until they're born- unless it turns out that they're boy/girl twins. You can try to find that out at the 20-week scan."
The technician handed her a towel to mop the clear goo from her skin. Jamie wiped it off as best as she could, and adjusted her clothing. She was suddenly conscious of the precious heaviness within her, in a way that hadn't seemed real before. Two babies!
As she sat up from the reclined bed, her stomach lurched and she quickly put her hand to her mouth and breathed carefully. The technician assessed her pale face and quietly said "Bathroom's across the hall." Jamie lumbered off the bed and scurried across the hallway.
Mike made a brief motion as if to follow her, but instead turned helplessly to the technician. "It's three o'clock. So much for "morning" sickness!"