Random Facts

I've been tagged by my sister, Kelli, over at The Coughlin Family blog.

Rules for the “Five Random Facts”:

Each player starts with five random facts/habits/stories about themselves. Anything will do. Be creative.

The person who is tagged needs to write a post on their own blog (about their five things) and post these rules.

At the end of your blog, you need to choose one person to get tagged and list their name/blog. Don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

Let's see...

1. (This is going to be long!) My first pregnancy was extremely rare and very high risk. Natalie and Hillary are monoamniotic-monochorionic twins, also known as MoMo twins. MoMo twins occur in 1% of all twin pregnancies. This means that they developed inside the same inner and outer amniotic sacs and aside from conjoined twins, are the only type of twins that actually touch in utero. Unfortunately, monoamniotic twins are at great risk for health complications due to the close proximity of the two umbilical cords in the amniotic sac. This makes it particularly easy for the twins to become entangled in each other’s cords, or to compress one another’s cords, endangering their oxygen and food supply. The survival rate for monoamniotic twins is approximately 50%. After the 28th week of prenancy, many women enter the hospital, so that they can be constantly monitored. Aggressive monitoring can help to lower the risk of fetal death considerably. I stayed in the hospital for four weeks before delivering and had 3 NSTs and 1 ultrasound a day. On top of all of that stress, early on the doctors realized that the twins had another condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS. 1 in 1000 identical twin births are affected by TTTS. In short, this means that abnormal blood vessels form inside of the placenta. As a result, blood flow becomes imbalanced and one baby begins to act as a filter for the placental blood. Known as the donor twin, this twin pumps blood for both himself and his twin, causing excessive heart strain and poor development. Meanwhile, the recipient twin receives too much blood, and begins to develop too quickly. Treatment is essential if you are suffering from TTTS. Without treatment, between 80% and 100% of babies die, either in utero or shortly after birth. With treatment survival rates increase by between 20% and 50%. However, many babies are born with physical or developmental disabilities even with the treatment. Luckily, there are four levels of TTTS and I hovered somewhere between level 1 and 2. Jay and I contacted world-renowned Dr. Ruben Quintero of Tampa, Florida about surgery while the twins were in utero if the TTTS were to worsen. Our Dr. back in Boston (Dr. Cohen - who met with us at 11PM our very first appointment, he's very busy, and stayed with us until 1 in the morning - he is the BEST!) was leary of the surgery because there is a huge risk that comes along with preforming surgery while the babies are in utero. And on top of all that, Natalie was eventually diagnosed with yet another term known as Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction, or IUGR. In short, she completely stopped growing weeks before delivery, pushing their weights even further apart. We ultimately decided that it was out of our hands and were left to wait out the pregnancy. Throughout the entire pregnancy, 3 doctors that examined me wrote written letters recommending termination. BUT On September 27th, 2004, at 32 weeks gestation, Natalie and Hillary were delivered via caesarean section with 21 doctors and nurses standing by. They were in the NICU for 4 and 6 weeks and had not one setback while there. So aside from normal developmental delays early on due to the prematurity, they are now developing right on target. Wow, are you still reading this? I haven't written anything in depth before about their birth because it really doesn't define them. They are just like every other three year old running around at the play ground - just way more special to us because they are our miracle babies! Oh and two things, Dr. Quintero's office has contacted me twice since their birth just to check in on them (he is extremely busy and we never even ended up being his patient - I think that says a lot about how much his team cares.) And two, I sent the cutest pictures when the twins were about six months old to those three doctors who recommended termination. Yeah, they were only doing their job but it felt great!

2. My very first car was a mid 80's VW Fox that I bought from a friend of a friend for $50. It was red with one grey door but I loved it! It was also a standard, which scared the crap out of me. My father tried to take me out the day we bought it to teach me how to drive. I made no progress from that one lesson but convinced him that I'd be fine if he would just let me take it out alone for the night. I stalled all over town. I drove it for an entire year and never got the hang of it. Whatever happened to the car? A year after I bought it, I sold it back to that friend of a friend for $50 - HA! As of a few years ago, I heard it was still on the road and running FINE! Crazy huh?

3. My next random fact is no surprise to those who really know me well. I hate animals. And I feel awful for even saying that because I don't hate animals, but I really don't like them. Any animal. Although, I do have a soft spot for small, furry, little dogs (with the exclusion of Emmit of course, just kidding, he is cute when he's not touching me.) But honestly don't be afraid if I come over and you have a pet, I won't kick it or anything! You just won't find it curled up on my lap. Sadly, I think I may have rubbed off on my daughters. I've never told them to dislike animals! They just genetically share my strong feelings towards all fuzzy creatures.

4. When I was in cosmetology school, I won third place in "Media Day." Which is a fancy term for a makeover contest. I beat out hundreds of participants from six schools. Jay still says I should have won first place. But he has to say that because I am his wife. That or the fact that he is a sore sport when either of us loses. But I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Thanks again Jonathan for letting me chop off all of your hair!

5. This is kind of boring, I know, but I really hate eggs, peanut butter and any type of pie (except key lime!) I eat each of them at times, when they are cooked certain ways with certain ingredients, etc. But for the most part, these are three of my most hated foods. On the flipside(and Kelli feels I should share,) I classify dips/sauces as another food group because they are very important to me. I am a dipper. And now my kids are dippers too. Wow, they really are like little sponges huh? Unless that was passed down genetically too!

So I did it! Hope I didn't bore you to death. And the torch is passed on to my sister, Mary, over at The Shaughnessy Tribe. Can't wait!