So, and here's a twins update (probably one of many:)). I found out that they are not for sure fraternal. Most twins are fraternal, and they always have two different placenta. Identical twins often share a placenta one way or another, but if the fertilized egg split right away into two, identical twins can grow separately in-utero. Statistically they probably are fraternal twins, but we won't know until either they end up a boy/girl set (obviously they aren't identical then) or when they are born (even then, we might need genetic testing).
I still think they are fraternal because of two things. One, my only increased chances for having twins was that I had just come off of birth control. That slightly increases your chances to hyperovulate (drop more than one egg). Also, not to get personal here, but I cramp when I ovulate. Weird, I know, since that's when you need to have sex to get pregnant!! It happens every time though and is pretty common for woman actually. We get pregnant the first time we try every time (this is the 4th time counting my miscarriage, so I was 95% sure December would be the month after we decided to have another baby). Anyway I'm making a short story long, I had cramping that was stronger than my usual light ovulation cramps that lasted day 14 and 15 of my cycle. So day 14, I was like, "yay, we're getting pregnant!" so the next day when I still was cramping, I thought it was weird but didn't think twice about it again. Now I'm thinking I released 2 eggs! So we'll see!
Looking back, I really had a ton of signs right away that it was twins. The whole process was actually painful. First, was the ovulating cramps. Three days later, my uterus became sore, but and I would feel sharp little pains here and there. That lasted until just a few weeks ago. It started with implantation, but then I'm guessing the rapid growth rate of my uterus was causing the pain. I never spotted or had any complications, so I never worried. Of course I was showing by 3 weeks pregnant, and took a positive pregnancy test 4 days early. I should have known! The funniest thing of it all is that we have been talking about having twins since we got married when they don't run in our family or anything. I think we always knew. It was one of those things that Heavenly Father prepared us for, I think!
To answer the twins in the family question, no, twins don't run in the family. Jimmy's sister has twins from infertility treatments, so that doesn't lend to genetics nor is James' side supposed to make a statistical difference since he is providing sperm not eggs. The only gene linked to twinning is a gene on the X chromosome to hyperovulate. So that gene either had to be on my mom's side (no twins there) or my dad would had to have been a twin or someone on his material line. CONFUSED YET!? Moms give X chromosomes to all children; dad's give X or Y, girl or boy. So males are XY and can carry the twin gene to their daughters (obviously they don't hyperovulate themselves :)). I explain all of this because my dad's dad was a twin, but my very first OB doctor back with Brooke, and ones since, and all research says it doesn't increase my chances. That's because my grandfather gave my dad a Y that can't carry the gene so even though my dad gave me an X, it couldn't have been the hyperovulation gene because his X is from his mother. So really the only one in the family that had increased risk for twins recently is my dad's sister. She could have gotten a X from her father with the twin gene if that's even the X he got from his mother (remember women are XX so she passed on one X or the other to her son). Since my aunt has had 5 births, I'm guessing she didn't get it anyway. If she had, it would have been the whole "skipping a generation" effect that you hear of with twins.
I'll stop now, because you're probably bored :).
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