Tomorrow is the big day we welcome our precious little twins into the world!! I can't wait to meet them!! My c-section is scheduled for 930am. I'm not nervous yet but I think tomorrow morning as we head to the hospital, I will be!! Praying that it's a smooth delivery and our babies are both healthy. I just can't believe I've made it full term with twins, especially after our scare at 27.5wks.
It's been a long road to get to this day. We started trying to get pregnant in 2005, and in 2006 did two IVFs which ended in BFNs. That RE had no hope for us but fortunately another RE locally did, and we had success with our son in 2007. We never thought trying for a sibling would be so heartbreaking.... we had two miscarriages and another BFN at our local RE. It was a sad and lonely time.... thankfully CCRM gave us renewed hope for one last try for a sibling or two. We took a huge leap of faith to travel to CCRM and I'm so thankful we did!
It's so crazy to think about our embryos created on Aug 13, 2010 and transferred on October 14, 2010 are our little ones that we will meet tomorrow! I still don't think it's hit me! I'm really having a baby.....two babies!! It's so surreal!
I hope to post pictures to the blog... will update as soon as I can!!!
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers throughout our journey!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
35 weeks!!
I turned 35 weeks yesterday!!! I can't believe I've made it this far with twins and after the scare I had at 27.5 weeks!! What a relief it is! These babies might not even have NICU time!! It would be wonderful to take them home with us:) At my OB appt this past week we set a c-section date for June 13!!!!! I will be 37wks 2 days along on that day. We'll see if I make it!!
I've been doing pretty well considering my belly is HUGE!! I tire out easily if up on my feet much. But no swelling at all. Blood pressure is great. I do get lots of braxton hicks if up a lot. I am on my feet quite a bit more now than I was from 28wks-32wks. We feel like I"m in a safer place now so we are a little more relaxed about things. I still use my wheelchair if we want to go out shopping. I just can't walk very far anyway!! It's exhausting!
Sleep is going better since I started taking pepcid twice a day. Makes a world of a difference. The heartburn was to a point where I was miserable, but now, it's very very mild if at all. I toss and turn some at night due to the discomforts of my huge belly and get up quite a bit to pee. I also have lots of dreams about going into labor and sometimes wake up not sure if it is a dream or not!! Overall, sleep isn't bad...could be better but not bad.
My next appointment is on Wednesday. They will do a growth scan, I can't wait to find out how much they are estimated to weigh. I know they are getting bigger... cause my belly is getting overstretched and I even have some stretch marks (started noticing about 2wks ago). They are very light, and I think they will fade, but I just hope it doesn't get worse!
I'm getting nervous about how feeding is going to work out with two babies!! I had trouble breast feeding my son, so I met with a lactation consultant. I think it took me about a month to get him to latch well! I had a few private sessions with this lactation consultant and just thought she was amazing. I gave her a call this week to talk about the twins. I'm pretty sure I'll set up some private sessions with her this time around too.
Here's a picture of my huge belly at 34 weeks!!
I've been doing pretty well considering my belly is HUGE!! I tire out easily if up on my feet much. But no swelling at all. Blood pressure is great. I do get lots of braxton hicks if up a lot. I am on my feet quite a bit more now than I was from 28wks-32wks. We feel like I"m in a safer place now so we are a little more relaxed about things. I still use my wheelchair if we want to go out shopping. I just can't walk very far anyway!! It's exhausting!
Sleep is going better since I started taking pepcid twice a day. Makes a world of a difference. The heartburn was to a point where I was miserable, but now, it's very very mild if at all. I toss and turn some at night due to the discomforts of my huge belly and get up quite a bit to pee. I also have lots of dreams about going into labor and sometimes wake up not sure if it is a dream or not!! Overall, sleep isn't bad...could be better but not bad.
My next appointment is on Wednesday. They will do a growth scan, I can't wait to find out how much they are estimated to weigh. I know they are getting bigger... cause my belly is getting overstretched and I even have some stretch marks (started noticing about 2wks ago). They are very light, and I think they will fade, but I just hope it doesn't get worse!
I'm getting nervous about how feeding is going to work out with two babies!! I had trouble breast feeding my son, so I met with a lactation consultant. I think it took me about a month to get him to latch well! I had a few private sessions with this lactation consultant and just thought she was amazing. I gave her a call this week to talk about the twins. I'm pretty sure I'll set up some private sessions with her this time around too.
Here's a picture of my huge belly at 34 weeks!!
Monday, May 9, 2011
32 weeks!!
I am now 32 weeks 2 days along!! At my appointment last week the babies estimated to weigh 3lbs 14oz (girl) and 4lbs 4oz (boy)! My belly is now getting huge and is much like a full term singleton now!! Sleeping is getting more difficult... I find myself shifting from side to side during the night. Heartburn has been worse too, the other night it was soo bad!!! But last night I slept really well.... so that was a big relief.
I am hopeful I'll make it to 34 weeks and keeping two week goals for now. Right now 36 weeks seems too far away with how big my belly is getting, but if I can get to 34 maybe 36 won't be so bad. At my last appointment the peri didn't feel like she needed to measure my cervix since at this point they don't measure the cervix just monitor for symptoms of pre-term labor. I did have my cervix measured for peace of mind...and it has shortened to 1.7cm (so not sure if I got the peace of mind I was looking for)... but the peri wasn't concerned. Just keep my activity restrictions and monitor for signs of pre-term labor (regular contractions, bleeding, cramping, increased discharge, etc).
Bedrest is going much better than I thought it would, it's really not so bad. I'm not on strict bedrest so I get up in the morning for a shower, get up for meals, go to appointments, even putz around the house a little bit. We're renting a wheelchair so we can go out shopping every once and a while. Today we went to babies R us to return some items and also stock up on more baby stuff I didn't get at my shower.
Speaking of showers- I was supposed to have a work baby shower while I was in the hospital. It was a bummer that I missed that one, I was really looking forward to it and I know my coworkers were too. They did bring all of their gifts to my house, including an adorable diaper cake. I love diaper cakes.... they are too cute! I've always wanted to make one for someone, I hope to someday!
I had another shower this weekend. My good friend flew out from North Carolina to help throw the shower.....so sweet of her. She LOVES throwing showers and did an adorable job on the decor. The theme was pink and blue. It was a fun day!
I am hopeful I'll make it to 34 weeks and keeping two week goals for now. Right now 36 weeks seems too far away with how big my belly is getting, but if I can get to 34 maybe 36 won't be so bad. At my last appointment the peri didn't feel like she needed to measure my cervix since at this point they don't measure the cervix just monitor for symptoms of pre-term labor. I did have my cervix measured for peace of mind...and it has shortened to 1.7cm (so not sure if I got the peace of mind I was looking for)... but the peri wasn't concerned. Just keep my activity restrictions and monitor for signs of pre-term labor (regular contractions, bleeding, cramping, increased discharge, etc).
Bedrest is going much better than I thought it would, it's really not so bad. I'm not on strict bedrest so I get up in the morning for a shower, get up for meals, go to appointments, even putz around the house a little bit. We're renting a wheelchair so we can go out shopping every once and a while. Today we went to babies R us to return some items and also stock up on more baby stuff I didn't get at my shower.
Speaking of showers- I was supposed to have a work baby shower while I was in the hospital. It was a bummer that I missed that one, I was really looking forward to it and I know my coworkers were too. They did bring all of their gifts to my house, including an adorable diaper cake. I love diaper cakes.... they are too cute! I've always wanted to make one for someone, I hope to someday!
I had another shower this weekend. My good friend flew out from North Carolina to help throw the shower.....so sweet of her. She LOVES throwing showers and did an adorable job on the decor. The theme was pink and blue. It was a fun day!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Appt Update- Good News!
Yesterday I had an OB appt and GOOD NEWS.... my cervix lengthened to 2.5cm (was 1cm upon admission to the hospital)!!! She didn't disturb the cervix to check for dilation but it looked closed on the u/s and definitely didn't look worse.... but much better. Actually the funnel at the top looks a lot smaller. My OB thinks the bedrest is what has helped. She wants me to continue to bedrest. I was thankful b/c I was just hoping it wasn't worse and they might re-admit me to the hospital. Ughh!! So good to know the bedrest efforts seem to be helping!!! She did give me a prescription for a medication to stop contractions if they start happening frequently. But so far all has been quiet!! My next appt is Monday at the perinatologist.
Monday, April 11, 2011
I'm home!!
I did get discharged home from the hospital yesterday!!! It is nice to be home, so tempting to get up though!! There's so much to do- especially since we just moved.... it's so hard! I want to get all organized!! But I know I will get in trouble if with my husband if I do anything....and of course I don't want any regrets either. My in-laws are here right now. They are helpful with my son and have done some unpacking and organizing throughout the house, but I know my mom will be more on top of it when she comes on Wednesday. My mom is super organized :) I feel like she'll take better care of me too. Can't wait for her to get here!!
My next appt is Thursday at my OB. So it will be interesting to see if she scans my cervix!! I wonder what it is doing??? Will update if anything new happens and how my OB appt goes Thursday!!
My next appt is Thursday at my OB. So it will be interesting to see if she scans my cervix!! I wonder what it is doing??? Will update if anything new happens and how my OB appt goes Thursday!!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Go home??
Yesterday morning when the perinatologist visited me he said I may be able to get to go home today! They had me on motrin around the clock to keep my uterus calm, but if it stays calm without the motrin (which they stopped yesterday) then I can go home. The nurses check my contractions and monitor the babies about every 6 hours. My uterus has been remained calm :)
The peri says the fetal fibronectin swab is still very accurate with twins (5% negative error rates vs 1% negative error rate with singleton). So there's a very good chance I won't have these babies for about 2wks from the swab (they did the swab Wed night). So that's very reassuring. He says that there's 50% chance I'll have the babies before 34wks...so 50% chance I'll have them after 34wks :)
They're not fully certain how to treat a shortened cervix... bedrest is not proven but it's all they know to do. There's other options like vaginal progesterone to help the cervix(but I may be too late gestational wise for that and it doesn't work the same with twins), there's a cerclage but that's also not as successful with twins and I am also too far along for that. He sounded pretty confident I'd go home today if my uterus was quiet and no other symptoms- cramping or bleeding, etc. I will still be on bedrest, but it would be nice to be home :)
Will update later today!!
Here's a recent belly pic from earlier this week:
The peri says the fetal fibronectin swab is still very accurate with twins (5% negative error rates vs 1% negative error rate with singleton). So there's a very good chance I won't have these babies for about 2wks from the swab (they did the swab Wed night). So that's very reassuring. He says that there's 50% chance I'll have the babies before 34wks...so 50% chance I'll have them after 34wks :)
They're not fully certain how to treat a shortened cervix... bedrest is not proven but it's all they know to do. There's other options like vaginal progesterone to help the cervix(but I may be too late gestational wise for that and it doesn't work the same with twins), there's a cerclage but that's also not as successful with twins and I am also too far along for that. He sounded pretty confident I'd go home today if my uterus was quiet and no other symptoms- cramping or bleeding, etc. I will still be on bedrest, but it would be nice to be home :)
Will update later today!!
Here's a recent belly pic from earlier this week:
Friday, April 8, 2011
Admitted!!
I was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening after my 4pm appt at the perinatologist. My cervix is now at 1.0cm!! The peri sent me straight to the hospital for monitoring and bedrest. I am not showing other signs of labor- so that's good. The fetal fibronectin swab was negative- reassuring to get a negative swab indicating I shouldn't go into labor in the next 2wks(although possibly not as accurate with twins).
The babies both look great... they did a growth scan quickly before I left to the hospital... both babies are estimated to be 2lbs 9oz. The peri thinks I could be admitted for about 2wks, but all depends on how things are going. The Dr's keep reminding me that it is great I am almost 28wks (turn 28wks Sat) instead of 24wks or less. Babies have a great chance of doing well even at 28wks with low chance of long term complications- especially when comparing to 24wks. Yesterday morning I was checked internally and the peri says I am 2cm dilated!! Ughh. She was even considering letting me go home if I wasn't dilated. She says I'll at least stay another week, probably two but maybe could go home in a week if my cervix hasn't changed.
I haven't updated on how this all unfolded in the last weeks... so at 25wks I went to the peri's office and had a cervical scan and my cervix had changed from about 4.0cm to a 3.1cm. I was concerned about the change in just a week but he wasn't at all. He said anything over 2.5cm is great and not to worry. So I went on my way!! The next week at 26wks I went to my OB and she scanned the cervix which still was 3.1cm but was concerned about the shortening from the previous 4.0cm. She knew I have a job on my feet (I am a nurse- work part time about 24hrs/week). So she put me on disability. I was quite upset, not sure what to think about the conflicting opinions of the peri and my OB. I wasn't ready to leave work! I stressed over it that entire day, called HR to learn about my leave and how all of that works, etc. I called my husband's cousin who is an OB and got her take on my situation. She didn't seem concerned since my cervix was long and closed at 3.1. She said I could still work too. The next morning I called my OB again and talked it over and decided to go with their recommendations and go off work. It wasn't an easy decision especially when they peri said everything is fine.
So I went off work that week and rested more. My OB wanted me to be on modified bed rest which she described for me as just "taking it easy" I could still take care of my son, go to the store, etc. But try to keep my feet up and rest as much as I could. And no work!! I followed those instructions and also kept the peri's opinion in mind so maybe did a little more than my OB would have wanted.
At 27wks 4 days is when I went to the peri and found out my cervix had now shortened even more and here I am at 27wks 6 days laying in my hospital bed. Ughhh! I do feel like I am having a lot less braxton hicks contractions with the bedrest. They monitor me every 8hrs for one hour to check on the babies and measure my contractions. The most contractions I've had is 2 in 1 hr... which is just braxton hicks and totally normal. I got both doses of the steroid shots which help the babies significantly if born in the next couple days.
My inlaws are visiting now to take care of my son and help unpack/organize the house.
So thankful for their help! My mom is coming up in about a week and will probably stay for a long time since no matter what if I go home I will be on bedrest and need the help. We have other offers for help so maybe they can give my mom a break at times and she can go home for a week or so at a time. (she lives about 10hrs drive or 1hr flight away in Southern CA).
So for now- I just wait a week here in the hospital. Glad I have my laptop and internet!!! It's so nice to be able to stay connected on the internet. Can still do my online billing, etc. Can still shop online :) Check on the blogs, post on the forums. Got my phone here- so I've had some nice telephone chats with friends/family. Hasn't been too bad yet although the first day/half I was very emotional about staying here. I guess I will take it day by day and week by week and get through it. I've seen some very encouraging stories of similar situations with cervix shortening/dilating and most have been able to continue to carry for at least another 4-8wks. So that gives me lots of hope!!!
Will keep you all posted :) Thanks for your thoughts and prayers...
The babies both look great... they did a growth scan quickly before I left to the hospital... both babies are estimated to be 2lbs 9oz. The peri thinks I could be admitted for about 2wks, but all depends on how things are going. The Dr's keep reminding me that it is great I am almost 28wks (turn 28wks Sat) instead of 24wks or less. Babies have a great chance of doing well even at 28wks with low chance of long term complications- especially when comparing to 24wks. Yesterday morning I was checked internally and the peri says I am 2cm dilated!! Ughh. She was even considering letting me go home if I wasn't dilated. She says I'll at least stay another week, probably two but maybe could go home in a week if my cervix hasn't changed.
I haven't updated on how this all unfolded in the last weeks... so at 25wks I went to the peri's office and had a cervical scan and my cervix had changed from about 4.0cm to a 3.1cm. I was concerned about the change in just a week but he wasn't at all. He said anything over 2.5cm is great and not to worry. So I went on my way!! The next week at 26wks I went to my OB and she scanned the cervix which still was 3.1cm but was concerned about the shortening from the previous 4.0cm. She knew I have a job on my feet (I am a nurse- work part time about 24hrs/week). So she put me on disability. I was quite upset, not sure what to think about the conflicting opinions of the peri and my OB. I wasn't ready to leave work! I stressed over it that entire day, called HR to learn about my leave and how all of that works, etc. I called my husband's cousin who is an OB and got her take on my situation. She didn't seem concerned since my cervix was long and closed at 3.1. She said I could still work too. The next morning I called my OB again and talked it over and decided to go with their recommendations and go off work. It wasn't an easy decision especially when they peri said everything is fine.
So I went off work that week and rested more. My OB wanted me to be on modified bed rest which she described for me as just "taking it easy" I could still take care of my son, go to the store, etc. But try to keep my feet up and rest as much as I could. And no work!! I followed those instructions and also kept the peri's opinion in mind so maybe did a little more than my OB would have wanted.
At 27wks 4 days is when I went to the peri and found out my cervix had now shortened even more and here I am at 27wks 6 days laying in my hospital bed. Ughhh! I do feel like I am having a lot less braxton hicks contractions with the bedrest. They monitor me every 8hrs for one hour to check on the babies and measure my contractions. The most contractions I've had is 2 in 1 hr... which is just braxton hicks and totally normal. I got both doses of the steroid shots which help the babies significantly if born in the next couple days.
My inlaws are visiting now to take care of my son and help unpack/organize the house.
So thankful for their help! My mom is coming up in about a week and will probably stay for a long time since no matter what if I go home I will be on bedrest and need the help. We have other offers for help so maybe they can give my mom a break at times and she can go home for a week or so at a time. (she lives about 10hrs drive or 1hr flight away in Southern CA).
So for now- I just wait a week here in the hospital. Glad I have my laptop and internet!!! It's so nice to be able to stay connected on the internet. Can still do my online billing, etc. Can still shop online :) Check on the blogs, post on the forums. Got my phone here- so I've had some nice telephone chats with friends/family. Hasn't been too bad yet although the first day/half I was very emotional about staying here. I guess I will take it day by day and week by week and get through it. I've seen some very encouraging stories of similar situations with cervix shortening/dilating and most have been able to continue to carry for at least another 4-8wks. So that gives me lots of hope!!!
Will keep you all posted :) Thanks for your thoughts and prayers...
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