We are having TWO girls! We are SOOO excited!
I'll post more later but I just had to share the exciting news!
It's been too long since my last post. I've been super busy. I haven't uploaded pictures on my computer in weeks. I can't believe I am 17 weeks, and just 2 days away from 18 weeks. Time flies!
My pregnancy is going very well. My last appointment was a week ago. We heard both heartbeats: 140s and 150s. It was amazing to hear their heartbeats the second she put the doppler on the right and left sides of my stomach. She said I was measuring 20 weeks for a singleton pregnancy.
By the way, we have some big news to share...
We are MOVING! Like moving THIS Saturday!
Josh was given a wonderful job opportunity so of course he had to take it. We are so excited about the move! We will be living in western North Carolina. We love the mountains of NC! We will be a lot closer to our families. We are going to miss our friends dearly but we are looking forward to staying in touch with everyone.
As soon as we found out we were moving I started looking for a new ob that delivered babies at a hospital with a NICU. After several recommendations from friends and my current ob I found a new practice that delivers at a wonderful hospital with a Level III NICU. My first appointment is Monday. It's an initial consultation. I can't wait to find out the sexes of the babies. I'm assuming I will be scheduling my big ultrasound appointment on Monday.
I will post lots of pictures soon. Once we get moved in and settled, I should have more time to blog.
Happy Fall!
My last appointment was very exciting because I got to hear BOTH heartbeats. The first heartbeat she found was in the 150s. The second heartbeat was in the 160s. My OB said I was 13 weeks and 2 days but I thought I wasn't even 13 weeks. She said that our fertility center faxed her more records and based on my last ultrasound at 8 weeks my due date had changed to March 14th. I measured 5 days ahead at that ultrasound so maybe that's why they changed it, but only by 2 days? Oh well! At least we know our twins are due in March.
I'm feeling great these days! It's wild how the morning sickness and the exhaustion just disappeared after 12 weeks. Some days I do not even feel pregnant, and I'm like "Aren't I supposed to be exhausted? I'm pregnant with twins!" I'm enjoying these days because I'm sure at some point in the near future I will feel pregnant with twins 24/7. My doctor reminded at my last appointment that I do not have any restrictions just because I'm pregnant with twins. I'm assuming that could change in the future though.
I do have one complaint: sleep! I'm waking A LOT throughout the night to go the bathroom or just turn. I've have a bump and I'm reminded of it at night because I'm constantly turning from side to side to get comfortable.
My next appointment is 4 weeks away, well, October 3rd! We will find out the sexes at the end of October. And then I will not go back for another month. Appointments will pick up after 24 weeks and I'll start going twice a month, and I'll have an ultrasound once a month. Yay!
My first OB appointment was at the beginning of August. It went very well! I decided to switch OBs for several reasons but the most important reason was the hospital. I will be delivering our twins at a nearby hospital with a Level III NICU. It makes me to feel better to know a NICU is available if needed. The hospital is 30 minutes away which is nice too. My new OB's practice has several high risk OBs on board. My OB actually had triplets last January. I really enjoyed talking to her about my twin pregnancy. She said that moms of multiples have a instant bond and she's become good friends with a lot of her patients that have had twins.
She highly recommended a book which my insurance company is sending me. Of course I went to the library to pick it up because I'm sure my insurance company will not be sending it for a few weeks. I've already read through most of the book. It's called "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads". So far I've really enjoyed reading it. It's all about research proven ways to have a long, healthy pregnancy. It really stresses the importance of eating healthy and gaining most of your weigh during the beginning of the pregnancy instead of trying to gain it at the end. Her reasons make a lot of sense. As of last week I've gained a total of 10 pounds. The book recommends gaining 25 pounds by 20 weeks. So I've got 15 pounds to go in 10 weeks. I'm sure I will not have a problem gaining weight. I gained 60 pounds with Stella. Yes, that's right! 60 pounds is the maximum weight recommendation for a twin pregnancy, not a singleton pregnancy. Thankfully it came off quickly and I'm hoping the same will happen after the twins arrive.
My OB said that we are going to aim for a delivery around 36 weeks. She said if we get to 38 weeks, it will be amazing! She said most women deliver twins around 36 weeks. So my due date is actually going to be mid February. She highly recommended that I stop taking care of teachers' babies after Christmas break. I'll be 30 weeks when the teachers' go back to work. She said by 30 weeks it will be enough work taking care of the twins inside of me and Stella. She also recommended that I not commit to taking care of babies after the twins arrive. So Josh and I decided to go with her recommendation. I will stop working after Christmas. Stella is going to miss her friends dearly because she has always had friends to play with during the week. But I think we will enjoy our time together before the twins arrive, and our time with the twins next spring. She LOVES babies so I'm sure she will be in love with them.
My next appointment is at the beginning of September. We will get to hear the heartbeats!
I haven't been doing a good job of taking bump pictures. Maybe I'll do a picture on Sunday when I'm dressed up for church. I definitely have a bump going on. It's exciting and I love, love, love it.
My morning sickness is hit or miss. Some days are better than others. It's definitely still there and I do hate that part of pregnancy. I never experienced morning sickness with Stella's pregnancy. I was very lucky. I tried the Vitamin B6 and Unisom for a couple days. It helped but I didn't feel okay with taking a sleep aid every night so I stopped.
I'm not sleeping well at night because I'm constantly going to the bathroom. Oh well! It's okay. Overall I feel that this pregnancy is going very well. I'm excited about our future.
If you have any advice about twin pregnancies, please send it my way!
I am sorry for the lack of updates. All is wonderful! Our second ultrasound went very well. It was exactly two weeks after my first ultrasound. The babies had grown so much. They both measured 8 weeks and 5 days. I thought I was 8 weeks and 0 days but I guess the babies decided to do a little extra growing.
I've been tired. I've also had a constant feeling of nausea. But recently it's kinda went away. I hope it stays away. I felt great today! My fertility doctor recommended taking 25 mg of Vitamin B 6 three times a day. He also said to take Unisom at night. Unisom is a sleep aid. I thought that was a weird combination but he said that research shows the combination seems to knock out morning sickness. I'm going to ask my OB about it tomorrow. Hopefully I won't need it any more any way.
I have my first OB appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to a new OB. I'm very excited. Her practice specializes in multiple pregnancies. She actually had triplets last January. She delivers in Savannah, GA at a hospital with a Level III NICU. Hopefully our babies will not need to be in the NICU but just in case, it's there.
I'm very hopeful for a long, uneventful pregnancy, just like with Stella. I'm anxious to get my due date on Tuesday, and talk twins with my OB. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully sooner than later!
Oh, and the subchorionic hematoma went away. I haven't had any spotting or bleeding since that first and only episode around five week. Thank God!
I was sooo nervous on our way to Charleston this morning. Josh kept saying "Calm down! It's going to be okay."
It was okay when we saw TWO little hearts beating this morning! It was amazing to see those two little miracles. We are very excited and thankful. We are happy that Stella was there to share that special moment with us. Our family feels complete! One baby measured 6 weeks. One baby measured 6 weeks and 1 day. Both seem to be doing very well right now.
When we first looked at the screen, I thought I saw three sacs BUT our RE explained that the third sac was a subchorionic hematoma. He said it was the cause of my bleeding and he said that he wouldn't be surprised if I had more bleeding over the next two weeks. He said eventually the subchorionic hematoma will be absorbed into my body. I can't remember the explanation he gave me for why it occurred but it seemed like something normal.
We were given a 5% chance of miscarriage and a 10% chance of a vanishing twin.
I'll post ultrasound pictures soon. My next ultrasound is Friday, August 5th!
