What. The. Heck.
2 babies!? That's just nuts. Twins don't even run in my family. I don't know how this happened. This is the story of how all this went down...
Had a first prenatal appointment with my midwife. Drew some blood, peed in a cup, got weighed, all that stuff. At the end of the appointment our midwife said that since my pregnancy was considered very low-risk, there would be no need for an ultrasound except for one around 20 weeks.
We were bummed. She could tell.
So she told us about this study that Vandy does about healthy pregnancies and the things that contribute to them. They did nothing invasive except for early ultrasounds and phone interviews. Got signed up, and had an ultrasound 5 days later.
Picture: Me lying on a table. Hubby standing right next to me. Ultrasound picture pops up on the screen. We see one little baby that looks like a peanut that has arms and legs and a little beating heart. Ultrasound tech moves the probe.
Mirror image baby pops up. Another little peanut with arms and legs, and also a strong beating heart.
Hubby: "Would that be another baby?"
Ultrasound Tech: "Yes it is, congratulations, you are having twins!"
Hubby's mouth drops to the floor and he plops his butt down on the chair.
Me: "What?! No way! Oh my goodness!"
We then continued to watch the 2 little miracles that we made dance around and wave at us on the screen.
I felt feelings of being overwhelmed, scared, happy, nervous, and excited. all at once. It was awesome.
I'm still in shock. I don't think the shock will ever go away, but it's a good thing. I think. Hubby wants the babies now, he is so pumped! I'm just trying to enjoy my pregnancy day by day. Which so far, is awesome. I have had only one day of morning sickness. But that's all I'm going to say about that so I don't jinx myself.
Cravings. Let's talk about pregnancy cravings. I had weird cravings before I was pregnant, so they really haven't changed much. The only craving that I have that is pretty constant is for spicy foods. True pregnancy cravings come from a lack in nutrients. If you have low iron, sodium or calcium, you will most likely crave meat, salty foods or dairy, respectively. I think that's awesome how our bodies will make us crave exactly what nutrients we are lacking.
So I was randomly craving cinnamon sugar pretzels. Like the big ones you get from the mall. I guess my body was lacking in sugar : )
These pretzels are surprisingly easy to make and so delicious. I just made cinnamon sugar flavored, but they would also have been delicious buttered and salted.
Below is a picture of our twins that Jeremy made. One of the twins is holding a wiimote+nunchuck, and the other has an ipod with earphones. Haha!
Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels
Adapted from the PurpleFoodie
1 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/8 tsp dry active yeast
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups flour
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups water (for boiling pretzels)
2 Tablespoons baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cinnamon sugar
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the brown sugar. Let sit and get frothy for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Put in a greased bowl and let rise 40-60 minutes.
After the dough is risen to about twice its original size, divide the dough into 6 or 7 parts. Roll out each dough part into a long thin log, about 1/2 inch in diameter, with the edges thinner than the middle. Shape them into pretzels by folding the log around to where the 2 ends meet. Twist the 2 ends together and connect them to the other side of the rounded log (Sounds confusing, but it's not hard to figure out).
Preheat the oven to 450.
Boil the 2 cups of water, and add the baking soda. Drop the pretzels in, one at a time, and boil it for about 5 seconds. Immediately remove it and set it on a towel to drain.
Put the pretzels onto a greased or non-stick baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the pretzels are golden. While they are cooling, brush the pretzels with the melted butter, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.
*To make salted pretzels, just dust with course salt instead of cinnamon sugar! Herbs would be a nice substitute as well.
In case you get more pretzel cravings, I just discovered a place up here that has pretzel-croissants. Amazing. In case you feel the need for baking experiments; I feel it could be done.
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