Moving On…

We are now officially parents. The twins were born on January 9, 2012. I really feel this blog should remain dedicated to infertility and that we need a new start for our new lives as parents.

If you’d like to follow our new stories, please visit us here. Thanks for sharing our journey with us.

New Year New Life

This year is going to be such a new and exciting one for C and me! Oh, the adventures that await us in twin-parenthood!

As of right now, the babies are still here. I’m 35 weeks and 6 days: 1 day shy of my ultimate goal of 36 weeks. We had an appointment on Tuesday (everything looked fantastic) and because of their amazing growth and a tiny little blip of a heart rate scare (thanks, Baby Boy) we went ahead and scheduled a c-section for next Friday, January 13th.

Friday the 13th? You might ask…isn’t that a bit of an unlucky date to schedule the birth of your twins? First, nonsense, you superstitious ninny. And second, I think it is pretty cool because if you recall our egg retrieval (and fertilization, and therefore conception) was on Friday, May 13th! Exactly nine months later! What could be luckier for these little miracles?

However, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t go into labor at any time before then! Everyone, including Dr. G, seems to think that I won’t really make it until next week. We’ll see! Until then I am just waddling around the house, nesting and getting things organized. I’m pretty uncomfortable (contractions, low back pain, separated pelvis, etc) but I’m hanging in there and taking lots of naps. Here is a pic from last week…I’m even bigger now! Wish us luck, and I’ll keep everyone updated.

Wow.

Talk about a delay…or a dead blog. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I took a little bit of a blogging hiatus since, well, October apparently!

So much has happened since those days when I first started feeling these little babies moving around! We are so lucky to have made it this far into the pregnancy without any major complications. As of today I am 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Just a few days shy of the ultimate goal of 36! Let’s see if I can make a list of significant events in Baby Girl’s and Baby Boy’s lives so far…

-Names have been officially agreed upon and tucked away until the babies are here. It’s a surprise!

-Nov. 11: (28 weeks) Pediatrician interviewed and selected.

– Nov. 5 & 26: (27w & 30w)I was the recipient of two amazing, generous showers compliments of C’s family and my family.

-Nov. 19: (29w1d) C and my mom painted the nursery. The color is amazing! We also got the cribs put together and the dresser up. This is starting to get real!

-Nov. 22: (29w4d) I made it to my short-term goal: Teach until Thanksgiving. My doctor’s were not confident that I would make it this far without going on bed rest, but I did it!

-Dec. 3- (31w1d) Our first pre-term labor scare. We went to the hospital at about 11pm. I was having a lot of regular contractions, getting closer together. By the time we made it to Labor & Delivery they were only 4 minutes apart! I was given fluids and terbutaline to stop the contractions. It worked, the babies were fine, and we were able to go home the next morning.

-Dec. 12- (32w3d) I made it to my mid-term goal: Direct my own Christmas Concert! I was so pleased (and relieved!) that I was able to be there for the concert. I don’t know what we would have done otherwise, so I’m glad everyone was cooperating. It went beautifully, too!

-Dec. 18- (33w2d) Second pre-term labor scare. Pretty much identical to the first hospital trip, only a lot less scary because we knew what to expect. Again, we were sent home in the morning and everyone was doing great.

-Dec. 21- (33w4d) Long-term goal demolished. I successfully taught through the entire first semester, just like I had planned, with only a few minor bumps along the way. Boo yah. :)

Since then I have been enjoying the holidays (especially the food!), finishing up the nursery, spending time with family and friends, counting contractions, and waiting for these two to make their appearance. They’re moving so much that my belly looks like a lava lamp. It seems so crazy that a few short months ago I was only able to feel the tiniest flutter!

There are so many other little milestones, joys, discomforts, victories, and concerns that almost makes me forget how we got here in the first place. I am so incredibly happy and grateful. It shouldn’t be too long now before they are here! Wish us luck!

See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Hear Me

**So, I tried to post this last Wednesday, but apparently WordPress had other ideas and deleted half of my post, then did not publish it. Not incredibly pleased, but whatever.**

Alright. Though today’s latest exciting baby milestone can in no way compare to the touching tragedy of the end of The Who’s “Tommy,” and of course I am unable to hear my babies yet, it really seems as if they are definitely trying to make themselves known as of late. Many of you know that last week C was able to feel the twins move for the first time. I thought that was pretty neat, I guess (meaning I cried I was so excited). Today was something else, though!

I was expecting this, but in no way expecting this…Today I was sitting in a meeting and Baby B (I’m assuming from where he was positioned last week) gave me a big kick above my belly button. As I looked down, he kicked again but I SAW it! It was insane! The actual skin on my belly moved. I even said to my co-workers next to me “Holy cow! I just SAW one of the babies move!” So he looks at my belly right as Baby B kicks again and my co-worker saw it too! I was so excited that I cried a little again (yes, in the meeting. I’m pregnant. What do you want me to do?) and I couldn’t wait to get home and see if C would be able to see it, too.

This evening we were sitting on the couch and I was waiting for them to start to monkey around in there. Once they really started moving I told C to look at my stomach, expecting a reaction somewhere between awe and reverence once he saw his babies moving from inside my belly. Instead, when he saw the little protrusions that our babies were causing he just said “Ugh. Gross!” Sigh.

 

Daddy Time

Tonight we met another pregnancy milestone; C was able to feel the babies move! Up until this evening I have only felt stirrings and flutters. Nothing could really be described as a “kick.” Then tonight we were sitting on the couch and suddenly I felt a for-certain kick low on my belly (Baby Girl?). It was so strong how could someone not feel it externally? C placed his hand on my stomach and almost immediately was able to feel a few good kicks. Incredible! He is very excited and I cried a little (surprise).

They’re getting so big! As of last week at the anatomy scan Baby Girl weighed 11oz and Baby Boy weighed 12 oz. Everything looked great on both of them, except Baby Boy has a little bit of fluid build up in his kidney, just like mommy does! This is somewhat common, so the doctor is not concerned and will check him out again next week.

I go in on Thursday so they can look at my kidney and make sure that everything is still within normal ranges. I’ve been battling some pretty intense pain on and off since the hospital visit, but I’m trying to drink lots of water and keep it under control. Other than that, things are going great! I’m loving this beautiful weather and can’t wait for fall to really start. Each day is another day closer to meeting our babies!

Jiggity-Jig

Home again, home again.

I got to come home from the hospital today after my impromptu two-night hospital stay. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am feeling much better, am drinking lots of water, and trying to rest. Again, the hydronephrosis is a for-sure diagnosis, but it is not harmful to the babies. Though it will be a chronic issue that I’ll have to deal with throughout the entire pregnancy, my OB doesn’t seem to think that I’ll have such an acute attack again, now that we know what is going on.

For now I am just going to try to take it easy and rest up, because it is back to work tomorrow!

Little Scare

So we had a bit of a scare yesterday. It was a normal Friday afternoon and I had just eaten lunch and was teaching my 5th hour class. At around 1pm I began to feel what I had assumed were gas pains in my lower right abdomen, but the sensation kept growing more severe and painful. After a few minutes the pain was such that I couldn’t take a full breath and I began sweating and got quite flushed. While my Spanish students were doing an activity, I called my assistant principal to watch my class while I caught my breath, or whatever, in the bathroom. He sent a secretary in after me…who sent a counselor in after me…who sent the principal in after me…who sent the nurse in after me.

In a very crowded small bathroom I was attempting to control the pain, not freak out, and stop crying. So many things were going through my mind! Pre-term labor, appendicitis, fetal distress, a possible helicopter ride to the nearby hospital with a Level III NICU. I was so scared that I think I was in denial about how serious the situation was, and kept insisting I would be fine to go back to teach class. When the pain got so bad that I realized I really needed to go home, I still was adamant that I could drive myself. I am incredibly lucky to have such thoughtful co-workers who have more sense than a pain-crazed pregnant woman. They made sure I was given a ride and got home safely.

As soon as I got home C and I got in the car and headed to the ER, which luckily is located only about 3 minutes away from our house, and arrived at 2:40. There were four or five people waiting out front when we got there and I felt so self-conscious. I am obviously pregnant, sobbing, and gasping from the pain. They (like me) probably assumed the worse.

We didn’t have to wait long to get through triage and get a room. They took blood and urine samples, checked the babies’ heart rates and did two ultrasounds. The pain was so severe that I just kind of “let go” after I found out that the babies were fine. My mind checked out and I didn’t really care what happened to me; I just knew that they were safe. After a few hours the doctors were able to rule out the very scary possibilities such as appendicitis, gallbladder issues, and kidney stones. Due to the my pain coming and going, they were afraid that it could be pre-term labor, so they called my OB who admitted me to the mother/baby unit for overnight monitoring.

It was a VERY long night, during which neither C nor I got much sleep. I was incredibly exhausted, but kept being awoken by  beeping, alarms, monitors, medications, and nurses. This morning my OB came back to look at the results from last night’s monitoring and definitely ruled out pre-term labor. Instead, he said that I have hydronephrosis, which is swelling of and fluid buildup around the right kidney. It caused by the babies pressing against the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder/urethra and can be incredibly painful. Hydronephrosis is relatively common in twin pregnancies, which was reassuring. It is not incredibly serious as long as I stay active (no bed rest…hooray!), drink lots of water, and keep the pain under control. Unfortunately, it will be a chronic problem until I have the babies.

My OB is keeping me tonight for observation as well, just in case. I hope I get to go home somewhat early tomorrow!

C’mon Baby, Feel the (Loco)Motion

My little babies are each weighing about 7 ounces now and are about the size of bell peppers. I prefer to think of one as a red pepper and one as yellow, because I do not particularly care for the green bell peppers, unless they are cooked in a fajita or on a Philly cheese steak (neither situation, I feel, applies to my twins, so you can see why I chose red and yellow peppers).  And yes, since you were most likely wondering, both of those dishes sound incredible right now and it is 7:30 in the morning. Food cravings and ravenous hunger are pretty common in this stage of pregnancy, especially when one is growing two people…it is hungry work; like roofing or threshing or the like.

As of yesterday I am 18 weeks along, which in a twin pregnancy (due to the high probability that we’ll deliver early) means I am HALFWAY done! It is exciting and still quite unbelievable; except for one little thing…

I felt our babies MOVE yesterday! It was so thrilling, and exactly what I have been waiting for! I was sitting at my desk before school started, just typing some emails when suddenly I felt this sensation slightly up and to the right of my belly button. This sounds strange, but it almost as if there was a hand wiggling its knuckles on the underside of my skin. There were other sensations, as well; “popcorn-like” pops, large bubbles, and flutters. It was amazing and lasted for about two minutes.

I also know it was not a fluke, or gas, or hunger pangs, because I felt them several other times throughout the day…including when one of my Spanish I students was doing a speaking test. I felt them as he was counting from 1-30 in Spanish, and I got so distracted that I let him get all the way to 39 before I noticed and stopped him! A few times last night as I was reading I could feel them, as well. So exciting!

So, overall, I am pleased to report that I actually, 100% am pregnant with twins. I finally got my confirmation yesterday…at 18 weeks. :)

 

Just a Happy Post

Today I had a routine OB appointment after school (My doctor is so amazing and lets me make appointments after the last one of the day so that I don’t have to use sick days!). There really is nothing incredibly special to report, I’m just feeling a happy, pregnant glow since everything is going well.

I’ve been feeling good, with only a few bouts of nausea here and there. Though I still am unable to feel them move, I’ve just been getting bigger and bigger. My stomach is measuring at 22 weeks…even though today I am only 17 weeks and 5 days (right on target for twins)! Everything looks fantastic, according to Dr. G. My blood pressure is spectacular, and I’ve gained 12.3lbs, a very respectable number for expecting two of these little buggers.

The best part of today’s appointment, however, was getting to hear them again on the Doppler. A Doppler is a hand-held device (kind of looks like a small microphone with a battery pack) that sends and receives sound waves through skin and tissue, then amplifies that sound. It allows us to hear the heartbeats of the babies without an ultrasound. Last time I heard them it was very exciting because you could clearly hear two distinct heart beats; the rates and even the cadences were even different! It was a great reminder that these little turnips are individuals and not necessarily just part of a “set.”

Today’s Doppler session added another dimension to the abdominal auditory voyeurism. Along with the heart beats, today we could hear them moving! I can’t feel them yet, but we could hear them turn around and shift and kick! I didn’t know what the sound was until Dr. G said “That’s her! She’s moving around!” When we shifted over to our little boy he was kicking up a storm, not just rolling over…the kicks were so loud! It sounded like someone was slapping their hand over a microphone. So awesome!

I’m just feeling happy tonight, and so lucky that C and I were able to experience this. As of Friday we’ll be halfway there…it’s going by so fast! I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. :)

Nuptial Reality Check

Today is the wedding day of our very good friend and C is a groomsman. Last night we attended the rehearsal and dinner at the winery where the wedding is being held. Of about 18 people in attendance THREE of them were pregnant women. What a crazy percentage!  This is going to sound strange but, when I saw them, it was such a shock!

When you are pregnant for the first time it is quite a selfish time in your life (This, too, is strange, because it’s also one of the most selfless times since you are growing people and whatnot). As a pregnant woman it is very easy to accept the attention and excitement from well-wishing family, friends, colleagues, and strangers and to focus exclusively on “me.” Therefore, when one encounters another pregnant woman it is unsettling! I am pregnant…how can she be pregnant too? This has nothing to do with jealousy or anger at losing attention…it is more like surprised amazement that other people can be going through the same thing as me, and have their own little world inside them as well! Obviously I realize that there are simply thousands of pregnant women in the world at any given moment, but it is so strange to think that all of those women can be having the same thoughts, emotions, fears, and excitement as I am when this pregnancy of mine is unique, and my babies so special!

I am not sure if I successfully conveyed what I was trying to convey here, but I hope you get to general idea. Pregnancy does weird things to you.