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I shake my head repeatedly, suddenly feeling panicked. There are still so many things that could be wrong.
Asher slides his arm under my head and around my shoulders, cradling me. He leans close to my ear and softly says, “Hey, it’s okay. Breathe, Allie.”
“What’s happening?” Bug asks.
“She’s experiencing a little anxiety over the ultrasound,” Hudson tells her. “It’s perfectly normal. Allie, lie back and relax. Your pregnancy has been going well. There’s no reason to believe it won’t continue to go well. Just give me a few minutes. They’re awake and moving around which makes this a bit more difficult. Okay, here we go.”
A fast heartbeat thumps and echoes through the room, calming me momentarily.
“Is that one of the babies?” Bug asks, taking a step closer for a better view.
“That’s Twin A,” Hudson says.
“How do you decide which is A and which is B?” Asher asks.
“Twin A is the one closest to the cervix. At twenty weeks, there’s still room for them to reposition, so they may flip-flop a bit, but with boy-girl twins, it’s easier to keep track of which is which.” He concentrates on the screen while moving the wand. “Right now, Twin A is the girl.” He types on the keyboard with his other hand.
“Does she look okay?” I ask, still trying to slow my heartbeat.
“So far so good,” he says, taking more measurements. “There.” He points. “See her feet?” He presses a button that freezes the screen and types some more. “Ten toes.”
Asher squeezes my shoulder.
“Femur is measuring perfectly,” he mumbles more to himself than to us. “Spine looks good. There’s a hand. Wait, that’s not hers. Looks like we’ve got a little sibling rivalry going on in there.”
I release a drawn-in breath, relaxing a bit at his playful manner.
The more time he spends pointing out parts of their anatomy, the closer Darla comes, until she’s standing right next to Asher, her eyes glued to the ultrasound screen.
We hear Twin B’s heartbeat and then get to see all his fingers and toes.
“Looks like you’re carrying two healthy babies, Allie.”
I smile when Asher leans down and plants a quick kiss on my lips.
“Can you show me their faces again?” Bug asks.
“Sure.” Hudson moves the wand around until the profile of one comes into view.
“Which one is that?” she asks.
“This is Twin B. The boy.”
“There’s his hand,” she says in amusement. “He’s not sucking his thumb, is he?”
“Could be,” Hudson says. “Another fun fact: it’s not uncommon for them to use their placentas as play toys.” He prints out a photo and hands it to her, somehow knowing she may want one for herself. Then he finds the other one. “And here’s Twin A, your little sister.”
It’s hard to keep my face from breaking into a massive grin.
He prints that one as well. She stares from photo to photo, then looks up at Asher. “Twin A and Twin B sound like Dr. Seuss names. I think you should name them for real.”
“Oh, you do?” Asher says, loving her sudden interest.
“Why don’tyou?”I say on a whim. “I mean, I really want your dad to name the boy, but Darla, how about you name the girl?”
“Hold on there.” Asher flashes me a look of concern. “Maybe we should talk about this.”
Hudson clears his throat, wipes the gel from my stomach and hands me several ultrasound photos. “I’ll see you back in four weeks.”