Another OB appointment today. Two weeks since my last one so you know I was terrified something was wrong. Two weeks is about as long as I can stand not seeing the twinks.
My new worries... I have been incredibly tired lately. I'd go shopping with a friend and within fifteen minutes I need to find a bench to sit down. At roughly 3pm I become so tired I have to lie down and nap. In fact I nap about two hours a day. And still get plenty of sleep at night. (I know....I am EXTREMELY lucky to have help...how many mom's of toddlers get to take naps?!).
The OB said this is totally normal with a twin pregnancy. That I'm not being lazy. I'm being a mother to two new babies. She said I need to listen to my body and not push things. She also said between 24 and 34 weeks is a critical time in twin pregnancies. We don't want the babies to come too early so I need to really take it easy then.
My next worry... new pains. I had Round Ligament Pains with Bea. You know...the sharp knife stabs that happen when you sneeze or move to quickly. I'm used to that. The last week or so I have felt new pains. Constant pains. Pains when I'm just sitting down. A fullness. A tiredness. An achey - ness. In my head my cervix was shortening and at least one of the babies was in distress.
So I asked for an u/s. My husband came today because we knew I was going to get an u/s and there was a chance we'd find out sexes. He wasn't with me when I found out Bea was a Bea. I have adorable text messages of me telling him, but I wanted him here.
So off to the u/s room. The tech saw that I was 15w5d and asked if this was just for gender. No. i wanted to see my cervix!
As usually I turn away until someone says they see heartbeats. This time it was my husband saying "They're both moving!" Phew! I can look.
I asked if she'd check my cervix. It's always been over a four. She said as long as it's over a three we're okay. It was a 4.71!! Huge!!
So babies alive. Cervix fine. Now we can move to gender.
I told her that we're pretty sure Baby A is a boy but Baby B has been coy with us. Well Baby B wasn't coy today. We got a great potty shot and Baby B must stand for Baby BOY!
Then we checked Baby A and it's still a BOY! So Bea and I are going to be outnumbered!
My husband was over the moon. So excited for him. I'm thrilled with boys, I just have to get used to the idea. I've been a girl mom. That's what I am. I need to figure out what it means to have sons.
I keep having images of these two strapping TALL young men hugging me as they graduate from high school. It's so exciting.
After teh u/s I went to a local baby store and bought adorable little boy hats. We used them to tell Grandma, Gak and Uncle David the good news. We then called Abuela and told her. (I can not keep this a secret for long).
Sometimes I think about how amazing my life is and I can't believe it. How did I get so lucky? everything is so damn awesome I want to cry!
New u/s is the big anatomy scan in a little over two weeks.
Thankfully the week my bloat dies down and I have a smaller bump than before is the week I have 2 count them 2 doctors' appointments with ultrasounds.
First my RE. She did a quick little u/s where we got this cute picture of the twinks in the shape of a heart.
Then it was off to the OB's office for the first time this pregnancy. I love love love my OB. She's got Bea out quickly and with no tear. I love my OB's office. They are so great at doing whatever you need to feel comfortable. I was thrilled when I went there and everyone remembered me. There was a lot of "weren't you just here?" and I kind of was. (Well 17 months ago).
First we got another u/s. I don't look this they say "There are two heartbeats." Then it's game on. The kids are huge. 86mm and 82mm each. So roughly a week ahead. Then I asked the u/s tech if she'd look at gender. Instead of blowing me off she was all "of course...let's do it!" Baby A was showing the goods and if it's not a HE I'll be shocked. It was all on display. Baby B was being a bit more demure. We never got a good shot. Tech thought Boy I thought I saw 3 lines (girl). So let's say TBD. In fact TBD in about two weeks at my next appointment when I'll be 15w5d and the bits and pieces should be even more obvious.
Then I see my OB and all the questions I had were answered just the way I want.
1. My NT scan blood results were great. No advanced risks!
2. My OB does not cut off sex at 20 weeks or 24 weeks with twins. She basically said she'll let my body tell me when it's done.
3. She said I could MAYBE travel to Paris at 23 weeks. MAYBE (better than a no)
4. When I asked if there's a chance of a vaginal delivery she said "My favorite thing is twin vaginal deliveries" The babies need to be roughly the same weight. And Baby A needs to be head down. But she was there for Bea's birth. She had a a FRONT row seat. She knows my body can handle it. I'm really hoping I get to try.
5. She didn't even mention my weight gain! God love her.
It ended with lots of "I'm so happy for you"s and hugs and good warm fuzzies. And of course a blood draw.
Some might say second trimester. I says that awesome time when you start to feel better but can't feel the babies kick yet so you let your mind think the worst.
Fun times!
I have two u/s scheduled for this week. On Wednesday I go see my RE again. (I know...I thought I graduated too) and on Thursday I see my OB for the first time. Hoping she'll have my NT blood results.
I'm sure you can tell by the title of this post that we had our NT scan today. The twinks are both measuring about a week ahead. All other measurements looked great. The highest of the NT measurements was Baby A's 2.2. I know that's in the "normal" range. I know the doctor said over and over he's not concerned. I know the bigger the baby the higher the number and my GIANT kids are measuring HUGE. But I still wish it was under 2.
Anyone that's read this blog long enough (i.e. no one) knows that I always have to find something to worry about. I can never just be happy. I've never had a bad u/s. Today's went so well. The babies look happy and healthy. We have one of the best doctors in all of Los Angeles. The one that is recommended over and over again. The one who the only negative thing people say about him is he's too thorough. He sees things that might not be there.
And he saw NOTHING. Nothing to worry about.
Blood work results in 7-10 days. First OB appointment on May 3rd.
And my stomach is already huge. Is it any wonder? These babies are growing fast.
Oh...the tech made a guess of a boy and a girl. She's got a 50% of being right.
We had an amazing u/s today. The twins are measuring ahead (3 days and 6 days respectively). One of the babies is easier for us to see. He's just at a better angle. And wow did we see a lot! Fingers. Ears. A nose. His femur. His little legs bent at the knee. It was amazing. My RE saw no fluid behind the neck so I'm expecting a really great NT scan.
Here's a video of some of it. It's not the best quality but there is a moment when I point to his (yeah, I know I keep saying he, him, his....I have a hunch) hand in front of his face and then he slowly turns and stares at us. In a creepy alien face way. It was the ultimate half awesome/half horror movie moment.
I'm not the only person due on Nov. 4th. I've been following a blogger railcitybaby.com. She's due with her first child on Nov. 4th too! Her blog is great. She's smart and funny and I cried my eyes out reading the posts where she shared the amazing news with her parents and Inlaws.
So Rail City Baby was kind enough to nominate me for a blog award. (thank you so much!) It's called the versatile blogger.
I've never been nominated for an award before so bare with me in my awkwardness. I'm supposed to list 7 things Rail City probably doesn't know about me so here we go...
1. I'm tall. Like SUPER tall. (6feet 1inch). I met my husband online. In my profile I lied and said I was 6 feet even. (I don't know...I guess it sounded less intimidating?) He lied and said he was 6 feet 1 inch (he's 6 feet even). On our second date I wore boots with heels, we looked at ourselves in the window of a store we were passing and realized we couldn't fake it any more. I was the tall one in our relationship. I don't have any heels left.
2. I was born about 60 years too late. I love movies and music from the 30s and 40s. I couldn't list more than 2 Lady Gaga songs but I can tell you everything Sophie Tucker sang. I haven't seen a single Twilight movie, but I've seen dozens of William Powell films.
3. I'm a sitcom writer. It is the greatest job in the whole wide world. I also hate it at least 50% of the time. The hours can be VERY long and a good chunk of the time you have to bend to the wishes of someone else even if you know in your heart they're wrong.
4. My Best Friend is also my writing partner. We are close. WAAAAY close. We call each other wifie. When my DH proposed to me we then went to her house and he had a little ring for her too. We are a packaged deal. We live blocks from each other. We met our husbands on the same dating website within weeks of each other. We work together sometimes 18 hours a day and still text each other at night to catch up on what we missed. We both had to do IVF to get pregnant. We have the same blood type. We drove across country together from NJ/PA in matching purple cars when we moved to Los Angeles. In fact the only thing we don't have in common is our size. She's only 5 feet 3/4 of an inch tall.
5. I have four cats. The only reason I don't have more is that I think society would judge me. If I ever got a large sum of money I would want to open up a no-kill cat shelter. I get made fun of at work because I can hear a story about someone getting tortured and murdered and it might elicit a "aw, that's terrible." But if I hear an animal even almost hurt I will be in tears. This includes in movies and tv shows. There is a long list of movies I will never see because an animal is injured/killed in it and I can't take it.
6. I get obsessed with a TV show or movie and I will watch it so many times I have it memorized. Over the years this has included: The Simpsons, The Golden Girls, Band of Brothers, Newsies, MST3K, Independence Day ....the list goes on and on. I'm proud of the TV shows...the movies...not so much.
7. I over use ... I just love it so....much.
Now I'm supposed to nominate 15 blogs I follow. I can promise you most of these blogs don't read my blog so it will be a secret nominiation ;o)
This Is Why I'm Broke - I dare you DARE you to go there and not find at least a dozen things you want to buy
Lay Baby Lay - Amazingly gorgeous nursery design. And a super cute daughter about Bea's age.
Advanced Style - Senior Citizens showing off their amazing style.
The Well Rounded Mama - I'll let their mission statement do the talking "It is time for some common-sense information about pregnancy in women of size....without scare tactics or judgment. It is time for frank discussion about how fat women are treated in pregnancy, birth, and parenting, and how care in this group of women can be improved. "
The Fearless Formula Feeder - a good friend of mine who was fed it with being treated like a pariah because she didn't breast feed. This blog is a great place for other formula feeders to get support. As she puts it "standing up for formula feeders without being a boob about it". Baby Makes 2 - a single woman in Canada trying to start a family through fertility treatments - I'm really rooting for her
Dish Baby - possibly the two cutest twins you'll ever see - and a mother who channels Martha Stewart around all the holidays
Pre Baby Blog - though now post baby. A gorgeous photographer getting though the mindfield that is the first few months with baby.
Starring Scarlett - I've been following this blog for over a year. This adorable little girl (a month older than Bea) was diagnosed with a inoperable brain tumor when she was two months old. Guess those doctors are wrong, because she's cancer free and thriving!
Live and Love in the Petri Dish - a cancer survivor and her husband have been trying to have a child for years. They've had SEVEN miscarriages. But are now not only pregnant but just had a great NT scan. She's so honest about her fears. It's hard not to cross all your fingers that this is their take home baby.
Baby Lucas - this is my BFF's son's blog. Just over four months ago he was born at 29w1d. He thriving and is awfully cute
Two Whole Cakes - another great blog about being comfortable in your own body
Hidden Musings Recited Tales - another good friend. Hannah writes letters to her son Ryder. They are so sweet and heartfelt. It'll make you melt. Not to mention Ryder is one of the cutest kids you'll ever see
Okay I know that isn't quite 15...but it's close enough, right?
10 Weeks. Wow! On Thursday I have my last RE appointment (hopefully). On April 24th I have my NT scan. I'm so close to the second Trimester I can feel it.
How did this go so fast?
I'm still very tired. I sleep as much as I can. I can't do anything for very long...unfortunately that includes taking Bea to fun places.
This pregnancy is very different from Bea. I throw up more. I'm nauseous a lot more. I'm more tired. And it's not just sleepy tired. It's I can not move my body any more kind of tired. With Bea my hair got thicker. With these kids my hair is starting to fall out . Thank God. I have a ton of hair. Super thick and super long. It could use some weeding.
I'm already starting to show. With Bea I could hide it to the 20s.
And one more waaay TMI thing.... With Bea sex hurt. Which kind of sucked. Especailly for my DH who went celibate until we got close enough to full term that I wanted to do whatever it took to get the baby out.
I finally lifted our self imposed abstinence clause last night and it was pain free. My lucky husband might actually get a little something something these up coming months.
35. IF. MFI. OOP. 1 Failed IVF. 1 Successful IVF. Sweet Bea born 11-17-10. 1 Failed frozen IVF. Another Successful IVF. Twin boys born 9-29-12. Oh...and I have cats.
