Dichorionic Diamniotic (DCDA) twins - Identical or Fraternal?

We were told very early on that the type of twins that we were having were Dichorionic Diamniotic (DCDA) twins.  We were also told at our very first (6 week) scan that our twins were identical.


Future doctors and ultrasound technicians told us that our twins were fraternal.  For the first few months, we would explain that we had been told right at the beginning that they were identical and were told time and time again that no, they were definitely fraternal.


Because they had their own sac and own placentas.


I did quite a bit of Googling of this type of twins and found that:


* They were the safest type of twins you could have. 
* DCDA twins have the lowest mortality risk at about 9 percent, although that is still significantly higher than that of singletons
* Although the majority of DCDA twins are fraternal, 10% will be identical
* Dichorionic diamniotic twins form when splitting takes place by the third day after fertilization
* They may or may not have separate (or fused) placentae


The girls' placentas were on the back wall of my uterus so an ultrasound could not truly see whether it was fused or not.


The below diagram shows Dichorionic Diamniotic (DCDA) Twins:

Pregnant with Twins - the Second Trimester

Every book you read talks about the second trimester being easier..  all the morning sickness disappears and you start to feel movement so you actually physically feel pregnant.. you can feel your babies growing inside of you.

You also get to find out what sex your baby or babies are.  If you want to.  We didn't even have to discuss it as having two, we definitely needed a heads up.

My Mum came along to the Morphology scan, which we were told would take 1.5 hours per baby as it would check every part of their growing bodies to ensure everything was A-OK.  It actually only took about 1.5 hours in total and was pretty special.  There were legs, arms, nose and mouths.. and we found out that Twin A was... a girl!

Now, at the beginning of my pregnancy when we had our first scan, we were told that we were having identical twins as she could see that I had only ovulated once.  Subsequent scans had our health professionals telling us that they were fraternal as they had their own sacs.  More on DCDA twins later, but we were unsure as had had mixed comments.

So, Twin A is a girl and if Twin B is a boy, then they are definitely fraternal.  And Chris and I were both sitting there thinking, "a boy could be nice.. one of each"   But Twin B was a girl too which meant we were still in the running for identical girl twins!  Which we both agreed would be pretty awesome and special.

The second trimester was a long one and whilst I had more energy, could stay up later and do long walks, it was still all pretty tiring, especially towards the end as I got bigger and bigger.

Pregnant with Twins - the First Trimester

Having never been pregnant before, I have no other experience to compare it too.  I can only tell you my experience of my first trimester.  And it was awful!

I did my pregnancy test the weekend I was due to get my period and it showed up straight away.  Rightly or wrongly, I had had several glasses of wine before I took the test.  Possibly because I JUST KNEW that those two blue lines would show up and that would be the end of alcohol and my addiction to cigarettes right there.

I think you are supposed to wait 3 minutes before you look, but I couldn't wait that long and I didn't have to.  Wham Bam Thank You Mam..  Your Done.  Your Impregnated.

The week after I took the test, the fog started to bear down on me.  I felt tired, emotional and rough.  I had this sick feeling constantly but it wasn't as bad as it would get over the next few weeks.

The only way I can describe it is as if I was living in a fog of sickness. It never went away and I could get no relief.  I would sleep as much as I could and I found it tough to even get up to eat or go for a walk.  Getting motivated to work was really hard, but I persisted because I had to (I was lucky enough to work from home) and I constantly had my head over the toilet.   I got to know that toilet pretty damn well!

I had cravings, but not anything crazy.  I wanted fishfingers, packet mashed potato and tinned spaghetti.  I needed KFC (which I never actually had until the 7th month).  I craved After Eights, which were only sold in England and being in Sydney, I managed to track down an English Lolly Shop in Kings Cross that had only one box left for 20 bucks which I reserved and begged Chris to pick up on his way home from work.

The funny thing about my 'cravings' was that as soon as I had said food, I wouldn't want it anymore.  This resulted in a freezer full of fishfingers and an almost-full box of after eights that sat in the fridge for months.  I think the problem with the chocolate was that I had left it by the bed and then had to deal with the minty-chocolate smell all night so by the time morning came, I couldn't face them.  At all.

There was also the time that I cooked lamb shanks in the slow cooker.  Now, pre-pregnancy, I LOVED lamb shanks.  But being in that apartment all day with THAT smell..  When Chris came home, I just couldn't face them.  We went up the road to get pizza!

The entire first 15 weeks (at least) were hideous.  I don't know how people get up and go to work 5 days a week, having to get public transport and deal with all the hideous smells that cause you to gag constantly.  Chris once got me out of the house after 5 days of 'wallowing' only for me to gag at everything on our 1 hour excursion and collapse onto the bed in exhaustion once we got home.

And then there's the tears.  About everything.  From stubbing my toe (uncontrollable crying) to Chris 'not understanding'.  I spent many days and nights with the covers pulled over my head, tears soaking the pillow and not really understanding why I was crying so hard!!

Whenever I think back to that first trimester, I have nothing but relief that it is over!  If you are reading this and are in the depths of the morning sickness despair, I pity you!  But remember, it soon passes..  Just not quick enough!

Finding out you are expecting twins!

My partner Chris and I were sat on our bed the night before our scan joking with his Mother that we might have twins.  Lots of laughter, even from me who wasn't feeling too flash at 6 weeks with morning sickness.  We were lucky enough to have an early scan after I experienced some bleeding and our fantastic doctor referred us, just to be safe.

We were up early and arrived at the clinic with a little anxiety and a lot of excitement.  In my apprehension, I had  continued taking pregnancy tests just to be sure that I was still pregnant and those two little blue lines kept on appearing!

Our ultrasound technician was a bubbly Irish girl who had been in Sydney for a couple of years and as she placed the gel on my belly and started the procedure, I noticed two small bean-like images.  "What are those two things?" I asked.  "Oh,' came the reply.  "It could just be some bleeding.  I'll have to check"

Chris and I continued watching, not really understanding what was going on.

"Well, the first thing I can tell you is that you are having Twins!"

"Shut up!" I exclaimed.

Never in my wildest dreams had I expected to have twins.  Not even when I saw the two little beans on the screen.  Never when I imagined my child (a little girl) a few years from now.  Twins didn't even factor in our family!!

The rest of our appointment continued in a blur.  I know we paid for the scan.  I know we politely said goodbye.  I know Chris and I didn't speak to each other for 5 long minutes after leaving the clinic.  Both in our own little world of terror.  Finally Chris spoke.

"I'm never going to have another day off in 20 years"

For the next hour and a half, we walked around the Westfield Shopping Centre, me dragging him in to every shoe shop for a blissful 5 second distraction.  We rode the escalator up.  We rode the escalator down.  We weren't going anywhere in particular.  We just needed to walk.  And throw in the occasional statement / question:

"What are we going to do?"
"We need a bigger car"
"How did this happen?"
"We need to move"
"We need a bigger house.  Now"
"Oh my God"
"What did we do to deserve this?"
"I'm not going to be able to work at all"
"How are we going to cope?"

The shock remained all day.  The shock continued all week.  All month.  In fact, it didn't really get easier throughout the pregnancy!  I still didn't know how I would cope.  How we would cope..

Only time would tell.