Doctor Visit - 21 Weeks

It's only been two weeks and a day since I was seen my a midwife & had the ultrasound, but I haven't talked to any professionals (besides nurse friends and neonatologists at work) since I found out I was having twins (because my ultrasound was after my midwife appointment). I was getting tired of not having a practitioner and not knowing what the plan was going to be for the rest of my pregnancy! So today I felt like I finally got to discuss the twin situation with my new doctor. I actually went with a different doctor than I originally intended, because the other doctor couldn't see me for another 3 weeks, and I thought that was too long. Maybe I am just impatient.

So... here's the update :)

The medical assistant was able to hear both heartbeats right away. They were both strong, although I didn't get the exact bpm. The medical assistant is actually the mom of 6 year old identical twin boys! So I told her... "I guess it is possible" ;) Weight gain so far: 13 pounds.

The doctor did a full physical exam on me because I am a new patient. My fundal height is 25cm. (For a singleton delivery, the fundal height approximately matches the gestational age in cm's.. give or take a few cm's... so I think 25 cm is good for twins). And she didn't mention anything else so I guess everything else is fine :)

I am going to be seen every two weeks from now until 32 weeks. Then, I will be seen weekly. And I will be having monthly ultrasounds to check the growth of the babies. So lots of monitoring! My next ultrasound is two weeks from now. They said they are sending me to the best ultrasound tech at the clinic, because they want to get really good shots, and see if they can tell one more time if they babies are in separate placentas. (This would be the best situation as far as the level of risk). They are definitely in their own sacs within the placenta though.. so that is good. Also at 26 weeks I am getting two steroid shots, 24 hours apart, to help develop the babies' lungs in case they are delivered early. Since twins are more likely to be delivered.

Also my doctor talked to me a little about the actual delivery. (Which is exactly what I wanted to discuss!) And let me just say... my goal has always been a natural, epidural-free birth.. but that was before the twins & before I heard about my birthing options with twins. Now I'm thinking the epidural sounds preettty good, but we'll see what happens.

So, the doctor said she has never had to deliver twins with a combination of vaginal & c-section. This was music to my ears, because the recovery for that sounds pretty intense. She said if there is no medical necessity/emergency and twin A is vertex (head down), she usually tries a vag delivery. Then twin B usually is floating around in a strange position, so usually a little manipualation is needed (as in the practioner grabs the feet), and twin B is usually delivered breech. This is safe since the cervix has already dilated and delivered one baby. I asked if both babies are ever delivered vertex.. and she said it does happen if twin B rotates into that position after the first birth, but it's much more common for the second to be breech. So it sounds like I will only get a C-section if I really need it.. which is good.. but the whole manipulating the baby while he's still inside scares me a little! She said all the doctors in the practice have the same philosophy too, just in case I am delivered by an on-call doctor.

Also, she said she's only had a couple of twins that had to stay for any length of time in the NICU, but she said it was very common for one or both twins to either transition in the NICU or stay for 3 or 4 days. She said most of her twins are born between 36-39 weeks. She doesn't like them to go much further due to growth problems. If my babies do have to go to the NICU... at least I will know the staff taking care of them :)

Soo... I think that is about my entire doctor update. Kudos to you if you got through it all! :)

**On a personal note... I am exhausted today. Working the last 2 days in a row (12 hour shifts, mainly on my feet) without a lot of sleep before either shift has not been good for this mommy. I had to drag myself just to get up and take a shower today at 11:00am so I could make it to my doctor appt. Now that is sad!**

It's TWO BOYS

Baby A:

Baby B:

(I accidentally deleted this post... it was supposed to show up before the 21 week update)

Yes we're having twins!! We found out at our 19 week sono (April 19th). I almost fell off the table when they told me.

First the tech said, "This is the baby on the bottom left... we'll name this 'A'." I thought she was just talking about where the baby was, and naming the picture "A" arbitrarily. She let us know the baby was a boy.

Then the words I will never forget: "Ok, now let's look at the other baby."

Umm, what?! I just looked at her and said, "You're joking."

She said, "No I'm not, there's two babies in there... I wasn't sure if you knew or not."

By this time it was pretty obvious that I didn't know as I was breathing faster, my heart was racing, and I kept repeating "Are you serious?"

She showed us "Baby B" (At this point I realized why she had named that first picture "A") She let us know he was a boy too!

I was completely shocked!! Alan was there when we found out; he was taking a video of the whole thing. He didn't change expressions as we found out, he told me later he was in "filming mode" It definitely hit him later though :)

On the way home from the ultrasound, I kept thinking about having two carseats in the backseat instead of one. For some reason, this made the news seem real... and it seemed like such a huge responsibility to take care of these two little people. This got me a little overwhelmed and teary. It is a huge responsibility, but hopefully we will be up to the challenge :)

21 Week Update

(Me in my work scrubs)

Baby Movement: The babies are getting stronger. I think I felt them from the outside 3 times in the past few days. Mainly I just feel stronger nudges/flutters from the inside than I did before. A lot of the movement is on my left side.. which is where baby "A" is hanging out. I dunno if he is more active than baby "B" or if it's just his position in there.

Weight: Gained 12.5 pounds so far. Maternity clothes that seemed huge just a few weeks ago now fit me quite nicely.

Appetite: Noticed an increase in appetite especially from week 17 on. Now that I know there's two, I've been really trying not to skip meals & concentrating even more on drinking as much water as I can. I really really want to carry these babies for as long as possible (being a NICU nurse I know every week counts... and we see so many twins that it makes me nervous), so I am trying to eat good food & keep myself hydrated.

Energy Level: Not too bad. Definitely improved from the first trimester, although I still get worn out faster than pre-pregnancy. Also trying to get some exercise.. but to rest when I'm tired.

People's reactions: Definitely more people staring at my stomach as I pass. I feel like I'm getting bigger every single day. Also I get two completely different reactions when I tell people I'm having twins. 1) "Really? But you're so tiny" or 2) "I knew you were popping out really fast!" So I really don't know which one it is! It may just depend on what I wear.

Doctor: I was being seen my a group of midwives that delivers at the hospital where I work. However, when they found out it was twins, they kicked me out! (I would have gone with a doctor anyway... just because of the higher risk of complications with two... but they didn't even let me make the choice, lol). I chose a doctor... but it has been a huge pain getting the midwife office to send over my medical records & to get an appointment. Yesterday the doctor's office FINALLY called saying the received the records & made an appointment with me. But I was not at home & didn't have a calendar in front of me. So I'm not sure now if they appointment is this coming week or 3 weeks from now (which I would not like.. I haven't been seen since I got the news). So I am calling them on Monday to double check.

Baby Supplies/Nursery: We decided on a nursery theme & colors (the boys will be sharing a room). Alan has almost finished painting. We are doing a dark chocolate brown on the bottom 1/3 & a baby blue on the top 2/3. :) Our theme is going to be "Safari Team" from Babies r Us. It's four different animals.. and each of them has a different sports ball they carry (football, basketball, soccer, and baseball). It is really adorable. So far we just bought the lamp & some sheets of the set, but we registered for the rest of it. Our baby registry is almost complete now, woo hoo! :) Yesterday I got some used stuff from a friend of mine's mom. So we now have a double stroller, a swing, a bouncy seat, a highchair, and a crib. I gave the crib to my mom so she will have a place to put at least one baby :)

Also I forgot to mention this on my last post... but the babies weighed 10 oz. each at my 19 week ultrasound. The tech said I was "growing them well." Also she said everything looked good health-wise.

I Have Noticed...

...People staring at my belly instead of my face as I talk to them. I think it's funny, but I don't mind at all because it finally makes me feel pregnant! I think I really "popped out" fast, as far as looking pregnant to other people. This morning, as I was minding my business (putting my lunch in the fridge before getting report at work) one of our NICU respiratory therapists was shamelessly staring at my belly. Finally he said, "what's wrong with you?" lol. Is that proper etiquette to say to... well, anyone?? I guess he hadn't realized I was pregnant before today, but I gave him a hard time about asking me that all day.

19 weeks today with my sono on Monday!!

Good Pregnancy Workout Videos

Can be found at YouTube under doctorcathy's channel. She has cardio, yoga, strength training, & stretching exercises that are all safe for pregnant women. Woo hoo. I actually bought a set of weights so I could do all of the strength training exercises. So this morning I did the strength training video twice and then the cardio video once. Hopefully the little one in there gets some sort of benefit for this ;)

Happy News

So, Alan and I are expecting our first little baby on September 9th. We are so excited!! I am 18 weeks along (that just shows how bad I am about updating my blog :p), and I just started getting a baby bump at around 16 weeks. The baby bump is really exciting to me, because during my first trimester it felt like nothing was happening... I wasn't very sick, I didn't have a Midwife appointment until week 11, and my stomach was stubbornly staying flat. So now, it finally feels like I am making some pregnancy progress! (I know that is silly).

I think I am starting to feel the baby move everyday, but it's not a strong, definite kick sensation yet. It is more like little popcorn kernels popping or something. I feel it in distinct spots every time... all in the area the baby should be right now... so I'm pretty sure it's the baby. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to start feeling those movements a little stronger.

Next Monday is our big ultrasound appointment, and we definitely want to find out the gender. I can't wait to find out!! I also want to be reassured that everything is growing properly & that the baby is healthy. I worry a lot my pregnancy, and I think it is because I work in the NICU, so I never see normal pregnancies... only the ones that go wrong. After we find out the gender, we are going to start getting our nursery set up, which I am really excited about!! Alan is going to paint the walls & we are going to start picking out our nursery furniture & setting up our baby registry. I think it's going to start seeming very real after that :)

Exercising has not been going as well as I would have hoped. I try to get in some good exercise a few times a week, but the fatigue in the first trimester really threw my schedule off. I also don't feel very comfortable jogging anymore because I feel like the baby is being jostled too much (see I'm a worrier), so I've been doing some weights & pregnancy yoga kind of things.

My appetite has been increasing over the past few weeks too. I was getting tired of all the jokes about being a hungry pregnant woman before, because I didn't feel any different (except for the food aversions), but now I am definitely a hungry pregnant woman :)

I've gained about 6 or 7 pounds so far, net. I did lose 5.5 pounds due to getting some kind of stomach bug in the first trimester, but I have gained that back, plus 6 or 7 additional pounds. That is right on track with what I've been reading is a normal weight gain for 18 weeks.

And I've gotten to hear the little baby's heartbeat twice so far! The #1 best moment of this pregnancy was hearing the little heartbeat for the first time. There is something very special & humbling about having that proof that there is a little life inside of you. You can read about it & hear about it, but having a life actually inside YOU is just amazing. The heartbeat was 164 the first time (11 weeks) and in the 140's the second time (15 weeks).

The other best moment of this pregnancy was the moment I saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test :)

So everything seems to be on track so far. Just waiting for our ultrasound on Monday!

Where Do I Live Again?

Because I thought I lived in Texas. Where it is supposed to be warm and sunny. I think someone may haved missed the memo on this, because this winter has been crazy! Yes we have had a few days of 70 degree weather, but it has been interspersed with ice days/blizzards and now... today... more snow than I have ever seen fall in Texas. It snowed all day, from around 8:30am on. And it is still snowing.

In contrast to the ice & the blizzards though, today has actually been enjoyable :) The roads weren't too bad because the temperatures were above freezing. My brother David came over & we worked out together. Then we went on an adventure outside to get Subway for lunch & then he went with me grocery shopping. (I thought that was really sweet because we were way overdue on a shopping trip, but I really didn't want to drive in the snow.)

Then, after David left & Alan came home, we made a MASSIVE snowman in the backyard. Alan named him Epic Man. Epic Man is a full head taller than Alan, and wayy taller than me.

He is facing towards our living room window, so when the window in open... Epic Man is staring into our house. (It's a little creepy actually, lol)

All in all in was a good day. I am just so thankful I was not scheduled to work today... and especailly thankful I am not working tomorrow because it is supposed to freeze tonight. If you are driving tomorrow, please be careful!

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In an update to my last post about my car: I got a quote on the damage. It would be $2500 to fix. (Which I think is crazy!) Also it is an older car, so more things are going to go wrong with it. So, we are looking at buying a new car. (At the moment Alan is driving my banged up car... It works fine but it makes a strange noise, we're pretty sure it's not going to pass inspection, and it just looks bad). This new car will be Alan's... but we decided the next car is going to be a family car.. and it will be mine :)