We decided before the ultrasound not to learn the sex of our baby. Then, 30 seconds in, we find out we are having twins. The ultrasound technician explains to the MD who popped in that we don't want to know.

Wait, did the MD just refer to baby A as 'she'? I swear she just said 'she.' I don't say anything to Darlin. I'm unsure, and that is the same as not knowing.

The technician takes all the measurements of Thing 1, while Darlin and I talk and watch for recognizably human images in the ultrasound screen--a pair of feet, a spine, a beating heart, a head. Then she moves on to Thing 2. After a few minutes, she says, "Now, close your eyes." And we do, until she says, "Okay, you can open them."

As the woman wraps up the exam, she shows us a picture of our babies from the top of Darlin's rounded belly. It shows the shape of two heads as seen from above; it's as if we've caught them talking things over, comparing notes. "And how is your side of the womb?"

They are plotting against us, we'll joke later. But truthfully, the power of the image was apparent the instant it appeared on the screen. It looks for all the world like exactly what it is: two small monkeys silently resting with their heads close to one another. Close as can be. We practically shout, "Print that picture!"

Afterwards, we ask ourselves, "Why did we have to close our eyes when certain views of Thing 2 were on the screen and yet we never had to close our eyes with Thing 1? A day or two later, we are still talking it over. I believe that Thing 1 is a girl and Thing 2 is a boy.

I think this over so much over the next few days that I realize that I have had it with surprises. I want to know the sex of our twins.

Darlin is surprised when I tell her. There are so many uncertainties with twins, I tell her. For example, will she be able to carry them to full term? Will she even be able to attempt to labor and give birth naturally, or will our babies reach 36 or 37 weeks wedged breechwise in her womb with no options (in the minds of our midwives and obstetrician) but removal via an incision in Darlin's abdomen?

I email the midwife. Is there a record of the gender in our file? No. But since we're having twins, we'll have ultrasounds every 4 weeks or so throughout the pregnancy, she writes. We'll have another opportunity. So we wait.

A few weeks later, we are back. Thing 1 is a girl. Hooray! We like girls, and we have a proven track record of making nice ones (2). Thing 2, as we suspected, is a boy, our first.