Still 2 babies!

We had our second prenatal appointment today and our second ultrasound!

First they did all the basic tests: pap, chlamydia, gonorrhea. Then they filled me in out what to expect out of a twin pregnancy. They said it will probably be pretty difficult because I am so small in stature (aka... I'm nearly a midget.) They also said that reaching 38 weeks gestation is ideal and that's what we will really really try to shoot for. I run an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes with twins. I will begin seeing a high risk doctor at 20 weeks. I will go in every 3 weeks after that for growth scans to make sure that the babies are progressing and growing properly. If both babies are head down I will be able to deliver vaginally, but if one or both are breech I will have to have a C-section.

Then they tried to do a transvaginal ultrasound. They were not able to do the ultrasound in the office because I have a giant cyst from my left ovary blocking the view of my uterus thanks to PCOS. (It's like 8cm in diameter.) So they set us up with the state of the art ultrasound machines downstairs in the high risk doctor's office. They were able to get great pictures with the abdominal ultrasound because their machines are so good! One thing they were checking on in this ultrasound was to see if there was a membrane between the two babies. If there isn't, there are more risks of certain twin related complications such as one twin stealing the blood supply of the other twin. They were not able to detect a membrane today, but they said it may just be too early. The tech said it is easier to see as the babies get bigger. So, with that being said, I have another ultrasound appointment in 4 weeks, which is the same day as my next prenatal appointment. They are both on my birthday, January 29th and I will be at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. They are doing this ultrasound to 1. check on the membrane and 2. to check growth.

On a good note, I think I've finally stopped losing weight. During the pregnancy I'm supposed to try to put on about 30lbs. Not sure how that's going to work out with the gastric bypass, but my ob/gyn said the most important thing for me right now is getting enough calories. So if the only thing I can eat is ice cream, then so be it because my prenatal vitamins will help with the nutrients my food is lacking at least until the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Baby A - This baby is measuring 8w5d with a heart rate of 154bpm. It is already a little mover and shaker. It gave the ultrasound tech a hard time getting it's heart rate because every time he would get locked on and start scanning it the kiddo would wiggle. The baby's rump is on the left and head is on the right.

Baby B - This baby is measuring 8w6d with a heart tate of 173bpm. So far it seems to be the more mellow of the two. This baby's rump is on the left and head is on the right as well.

1+1=4?

So yesterday around 5pm I went to the restroom and found blood in my undies and when I wiped. This, of course, immediately freaked me out. I called my OB's on-call nurse who told me, based on the bleeding and the clots I passed in addition to the back pain I was having I should be seen within the next 4 hours. Thayer and I went straight to the ER in my hometown (we are out of state visiting family). The got me back in a room and did blood work and had me pee in a cup. Then we waited for an ultrasound tech to come in. They don't have one on staff 24/7 because it's such a small hospital so they had to call her in. At about 8pm we went back to have our ultrasound. Of course I was expecting the worst.

They started with a transabdominal US and took some pictures of my ovaries and uterus, but couldn't get a clear picture of what was going on in my uterus. She then switched to an transvaginal US. After lots of looking and measuring the ultrasound tech zooms in on my uterus and says, "Looks like we have two kiddos in there." She then proceeded to show us Baby B followed by Baby A. She took pictures and measurements of each and checked their heart rates. Baby A had a heart rate of 174 and Baby B had a heart rate of 177. There are 2 yolk sacs, and based on the fact that I ovulated out 2 eggs, our best guess at the moment is that they are fraternal twins.

Both babies are measuring 8w3d as of yesterday. It was pretty hard to get measurements on them because they were pretty wiggly and one wanted to hide some. Based on the day I ovulated instead of my last menstral periods I should be 8w4d as of yesterday (by LMP I would be 9w1d). The on-call OB I saw said things look good, and they couldn't pin point the cause of the bleeding. Since last night, the spotting has stopped. I'm on pelvic/bed rest until I see my regular OB on Wednesday.

Needless to say, we are a little bit shocked. We didn't really expect this at all. 3 1/2 years of trying for one little baby and not being able to manage it, all of a sudden we're having two. Guess I can look at is as I only have to go through morning sickness, pregnancy, labor/delivery, etc. once because we only plan to have 2 children.

We were too shocked, I think, to even ask for a print out of pictures of the little bugs. We should have those on Wednesday though because they were planning on doing and ultrasound that day anyways.

8w4d with TWINS!

8 weeks

Things have still been going well. Not really any morning sickness today. Not sure how I feel about that. It's one of those double edge sword situations. Does the absense of symptoms mean something is going wrong? Yesterday I was miserable. Due to the Zofran (morning sickness, nausea medicine) I was incredibly constipated (lol, tmi I know). Finally took something to help and it was... painful. I still haven't gained any weight, but I think I've finally stopped losing weight. I've been making sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat good food in addition to my protein shakes.

I'm doing the very best I can. It does depress me some to know that even with me doing my very, very best it might not be enough to make this little bug stay safe and growing in my uterus. I try not to think about miscarrying again, but from time to time it does cross my mind. I keep reminding myself not to count my chickens before my eggs hatch because I know that at any moment this blessing could be taken away from me. It's a hard pill to swallow, especially when so many women I know can get pregnant in the blink of an eye. I really don't know how much heartbreak I can survive at this point, and I just hope that this is finally my time.

We are telling my in-laws tomorrow that we are expecting. My parents already know; they've known since the morning I got my BFP. They live overseas so tomorrow it will technically be Christmas day for them. We're also planning on announcing on Facebook after we have our next doctor's appointment. I have a SUPER cute idea for how to do it.

 

 Not the best picture. So is the little pooch bloat or the start of the bump? I'm betting on bloat... lol. I do know that because of my surgery I will tend to "pop" sooner than most first time moms because I'm stretched out muscle wise like I've been pregnant before.

 

Symptoms: Nausea, enlarged, tender breasts (1/2 cup size already), sensitive nipples, tired a lot, feeling very lethargic, constipated.