I had a plan. I wanted two children. My first daughter was a winter baby, and after a gloomy postpartum period, I decided my second should come in the spring, so I could be out and about during maternity leave. When Lucy was two and a half I got pregnant, with a due date in late May, according to the plan. Pregnancy symptoms came fast and furious, which I had heard was normal for a second pregnancy. By my first prenatal appointment at seven weeks, I had violent morning sickness and my pants were tight. Within the first few seconds of the ultrasound, the reason became clear: two heartbeats. The doctor smiled and I hyperventilated. My husband, perched on a chair across the dark room, tried to understand what was happening. [Read more]