First OB Appointment

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! 

Big Sister

8 Weeks

6 Weeks

Second Ultrasound

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!

TWINS!!!

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!

Power of Prayer

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of your thoughts and prayers.  It really means a lot to us and we are very thankful.  Your kind words make me smile and I really appreciate them.  So thank you again for all of your comments.  I read each one and smile.

The power of prayer is amazing!  I haven't had any spotting since Sunday.  That's pretty amazing!  I really thought that last weekend's spotting was the beginning of the end.  I hate be so negative but after all that we've been through it's just hard to be hopeful at times.  You never know that to expect with infertility.  It's like a roller coaster of highs and lows.  It just sucks.  I hate it for me and for anyone else that has to go through it.

I feel like my life usually flies but not recently because we've had a lot of waiting and hoping to do.  I feel like Friday is never going to get here.  We are less than 48 hours away from our first ultrasound.

Stopped Again!

So it stopped again.  I haven't had any problems since Sunday.  Let's pray it stays away!  I'm beyond ready for Friday's ultrasound.  Stay tuned!

It's back...

...as of noon today.  I just can't get excited any more because what if it's the worse case scenario: an unhealthy pregnancy and/or beginning of a miscarriage.  If it's going to be over, I want to know so I can move on.  I don't want to wait all week to find out.

"Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise"

Knee Deep by Zac Brown and Jimmy

It's gone, for now!

If I was going to miscarry, I think things would get worse not better.  So far things are better.  I haven't had any spotting today.  I'm so thankful.  I feel like maybe my nurse was right.