Lots of Fun News - A Catchup Post at 18 Weeks...Warning - Long One

Yes - I am still around. It's just been a busy few weeks - so my computer time has been limited.

They finished painting the interior of our home. The painters were good about moving all our stuff so they could get where they needed, but we were responsible for putting the stuff back - so it's still a work in progress. Painting is almost like moving - you don't realize how much crap you have until you need to put it all back.

Dad went home last Saturday morning - and we needed some playtime - so we went to the mountains for the Frisco BBQ Festival (see last post). Sunday was occupied with running the errands we hadn't run the last couple weeks and getting ready for Mom to arrive on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Mom arrived right on-time and we drove downtown to have dinner on the 16th Street mall at one of my favorite restaurants - Rialto Cafe. It was a beautiful night - the weather was perfect for  patio dining and there were musicians performing in the middle of the promenade.

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail about buying a speciality hospital gown for my delivery. I didn't even know that something like this existed and thought it was a terrific idea! After all, who likes to wear hospital gowns? Since $60 seemed a little steep to me for something I thought wouldn't be hard to sew, I performed an Internet search and, sure enough, found a free pattern. I e-mailed Mom to ask if we could make a gown when she came to town. She never replied  so I figured she missed the e-mail and thought I would ask again when she came to town.

Shortly after we sat down for dinner, she handed me a present. Guess what was inside?!!! My very own, Mom-made gown!!! I felt so special!!!  She even made a few modifications to the pattern - for example she added trim. Here's a pic:

The fabric even has pictures of twinkies!



Yes, I may be strange to have asked for such a gift, but I can't wait to wear it!!!

On Thursday, my doctor's office was kind enough to move my checkup so that Mom would be in town and could see "her" twins. It was so cute - one twinkie was playing with their piggies!!! The other one was just hanging out on their belly. Click here for a link to a video. (Warning - they tried to capture a 3D picture. The babies do not have any fat on them, so they look a bit like deformed aliens at this point).

On Friday, we went to Babies R Us to start creating a registry and look for nursery furniture. When we arrived and headed for the clearance area, there was a sales associate putting together a beautiful, solid wood changing table with rails. When the baby outgrows the changing table, the rails come off to make a dresser with cabinets on either side:

The salesperson says to us, "I've got the matching crib in the back - but I only have one. Since it's a closeout, you might have trouble finding another." Well, considering the crib was marked down to about 1/4 of the original selling price, we just couldn't pass it up - so we said we'd take it. I figured that if the cribs didn't match, it wouldn't be terrible.

To cut to the chase, the associate calls to the last few stores around the country that are showing inventory in their system, and each store can't find it in stock. Therefore, I accepted that we probably wouldn't find a matching crib. On Saturday afternoon, we took a tour of the hospital where I'll be delivering (more on that later). After the tour, Mom says, "Why don't we take a ride across town to see if they can help us find the crib. We have nothing to lose except time."

Amazingly, the associate at the other store finds a brand-new crib in Kansas and asks to have it shipped to Colorado!!! But wait, it gets even better...

He then realizes that someone had ordered one and had never come in to pick it up - so they have it in a box in the back. He asks his manager if they can release it - and they do!!! So, we found the second crib!!! I don't mean to brag, but isn't it beautiful?!!!

In the front of the store, they had another closeout on a magnificent bedding set in the perfect colors to match the nursery - robin egg blue and brown.  Each set had EVERYTHING plus more - two fitted sheets, a comforter, a bed skirt, bumpers (which I might use to make a valance), a fabric storage basket, two little pictures, and even a teddy bear!  They even had the matching mobiles!

Here's a preview of how most of the set looked when we set it up in the nursery earlier today. It's not the best picture, but you get the idea:

Total cost for two solid-wood cribs, two soy mattresses, one changing table, two bedding sets, and two mobiles? Under $900!!!

As mentioned earlier, we also took a hospital tour. Since I had not ever been to the hospital where I will deliver, I didn't want to wait.

It's an older hospital - so the L&D, NICU unit and recovery rooms are on different floors. Not ideal, but they're supposed to have the best care in the city - so I need to keep remembering that.

I always assumed I'd deliver my baby in something that looked like an emergency room. Nope, they perform all deliveries (even c-sections) in a private room with a private bath and a soaking tub. After the babies are delivered, all post-natal activities (e.g. - APAGAR score, initial vaccinations, circumcision) are performed in this room. If the babies need to be brought to Level III care, they stay on this floor.

When Mom is well enough to walk (usually 3-4 hours later), she is transferred to a private room on the 11th floor. There is a nursery and small nutrition-area of this floor. There is either a bed or fold-out couch for Dad and a basinette (or two in my case) for each little one - so they can either go to the nursery or stay in our room.

As for my pregnancy, Friday marked the end of 17 weeks, so I'm just a scooch under half-way!!! Unbelieveable!

My stomach grows by the week (and probably my hips, waist, thighs, and every other body part too), but that's ok. I think I might be able to feel the babies when I lie on my stomach, but I'm not positive. It won't be long before it's definite, so I am in no hurry and am just enjoying the time now. The nausea comes and goes - I have good days and not such good ones.

My medical plan requires me to order meds through the mail - so I ordered a refill of my anti-nausea pills about a week-and-a-half ago. The US Postal Service messed up my order and sent it from my local area across the country - so it looks like it's now on it's way back to me and should arrive by Tuesday or Wednesday. In the meantime, I am out of pills and the pharmacy wouldn't authorize more until they spoke to my doctor - so hoping I can get a prescription filled for a few pills tomorrow. In the meantime, I just have to grin-and-bear it. Oh well, it's just uncomfortable - not fatal. I'll live...

Hope all my readers are doing well! Know I am thinking of many of you too!

A Rough Day...

So far, physically my pregnancy hasn't been too bad. I consistently wake up at 1 am (who needs an alarm clock?) to pee and eat a snack, and then can usually fall back to sleep.

Yesterday was a different story...it was my roughest 24 hours of all.

When I woke up, I tossed and turned for hours and didn't fall back asleep until about 5 am. When my alarm went off at 6, I battled with the snooze button about 3 times, then took control and just turned the darn thing off. I finally got out of bed about 8 am and didn't get to the office until 9:30 am.

All day, my hips and back hurt and the nausea persisted - despite taking a zofran pill. The ginger ale and saltines that they say help usually don't do a thing for me and today was no exception. I even tried drinking a Coca-Cola - which helped for about an hour.

I was in luck in that I previously had a massage scheduled for after work. Despite shifting positions several time, I still felt like I was going to barf and just couldn't get comfortable.

Finally, my massage therapist suggested I apply acupressure on the web between my thumb and index finger. That seemed to help a bit.

Today I feel much, much better! Glad that 24 hours is done!

Today, my mom comes to town so we can do "girl stuff." I am so excited!

Each time I talk to her she asks "How are 'my' twinkies?" It is my pleasure to relinquish ownership of them for the weekend.  I just hope she feels the same way after they are born! :o)

Father's Day Weekend - 2011

My husband is not the sentimental type - so Mother's Day passed with minimal fanfare - no cards, no special dinner out, etc. Like most men, holidays do not cross his radar - and I've known that about him ever since we started dating, so it's ok. Knowing that two miracles are growing inside of me is reason enough for me to have been thrilled this past Mother's Day.

To celebrate Father's Day, we took a drive to the mountains to attend the Frisco BBQ Festival. Having spent many, many years in the southeastern United States, I LOVE good BBQ. I typically make an annual trip to join my friends in Kansas City on a BBQ crawl each spring.This year, I had to skip it (for obvious reasons). Frisco, which is a small town about 15-miles from Brekenridge, was beautiful - warm in the city, but surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The festival was jam packed and many of the vendors sold out. We brought our chocolate lab (who insisted I take his photo this morning):

Each time he found a scrap on the sidewalk, it was like he was in heaven!

I restrained myself and only ate two baby back ribs (one for each baby) and some kettle corn. I think the twins take after me with regards to BBQ - they seemed to like the ribs, but held an uprising against the kettle corn (oh, but the mix of salty and sweet tasted so good to me)!

On Sunday, I wrote a note to my husband from the twins telling them that even though they were too little to write the note themselves, they were looking forward to all the things they know he is going to do with them and teach them - long hikes on the trails of Colorado, how to do their calculus (my husband is a math-geek at heart), taking them to their first Led Zepplin concert, and teaching them all about superheros (he's also collected comics since he was a young boy). To sum it all up, we bought him this sculpture from David Gerstein, an Israeli artist whose work I have admired for years:



I saw it and just knew it was perfect!

Later in the evening, I took him to my favorite creperie and then we headed to the theater to see Rock of Ages.

Overall, the perfect day for a Dad to be!



Drama Queen...

Thanks for all your kind words on losing our sweet girl. I miss her, but knowing she is in a better place wagging her tail, smiling and singing her "Rrrrrr's" makes it easy to cope.

(Note: We don't know the sexes, so I am just going to use male pronouns below to make it easier to type)

My Dad has been in town helping us supervise the painting. My Dr's office was kind enough to do an ultrasound today so dad could "meet the twinkies!" He probably won't be back until September (baby shower) or possibly even until they're born - so it was wonderful that my Dr's office was so accommodating.

They both measure about 6" now and weigh about 1/4 lb each.

Instead of being on his back facing up, our mellow Baby A was on his stomach sleeping. He moved his head a bit, but generally just looked comfy and cozy.

Baby B started on his belly too, but rolled over and acted like a drama queen. First, his hand went up to his cheek, then it rested on his forehead as if to say "Phew, being a baby is tough. I'm having such a rough day..."

Total drama queen!

Can already tell life is going to be fun, fun, fun with them!

The End of an Era...

Another week closer - I'm now in my 16th week. 4 months! Where did the time go?

I had my husband try to take some pictures of my bump this morning, but I look like I weigh 400 lbs (seriously) - so I will have to find a better photographer or, more realistically, lose weight before I am comfortable posting a picture - sorry ladies.

The nausea and tiredness have both come back full-force. This past weekend, I had to take a nap both Saturday and Sunday.

The house painting is coming along. Can't wait to see it finished! I expect they'll be done by the end of the week. It's been a bit chaotic - cleaning closets, clearing the pantry, taking stuff off shelves, but that's ok - better now than later.

On Thursday night, we had to put our dear, sweet female lab down. She was ok on Monday. She was eating and didn't appear to be in pain. We even had her at the park. By Thursday, however, she refused food and wouldn't move off her dog bed.

For years, I have been saying to my husband  "I don't know who's going to be a bigger basket case when it's time for us to let go of her - me or our male lab."

The few times we had to take my female lab out without my male, for example to have tests at the vet, my male lab was extremely stressed. It's strange - I honestly believe my male lab understood this time because he hasn't been sitting by the door whining and waiting for her to come home. In fact, my Dad's girlfriend (they're visiting to help supervise the painting) said that my male laid down nose-to-nose with my female and then got up, looked at her, and shook his head "no" before plopping down again.


Having seen her before we made the decision, I was very at peace with the whole process. My husband, who NEVER gets emotional, was upset. I wish I could have taken away his pain.

Rest in peace my dear, sweet girl...

Fingers and Toes!!!! 1st High-Risk OB Appointment

I had my first appointment at my new OB's office on Monday and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them already!

The intake appointment was scheduled for two hours - an u/s / Dr's consult @ 1 pm, followed by a discussion with the nurse @ 2 pm. I was in there for FOUR hours (but every moment was WONDERFUL)!

First, I had a THOROUGH ultrasound. The machine was so clear that we could see five FINGERS on one and five TOES on the other!!!  I know I have been excited by all my other ultrasounds, but this one was one of the best!!! In the beginning, baby A was sleeping, but I could slowly see him/her wake up and start to move. Baby B, as usual, was putting on a show. At one point, the tech said he/she had a hand between his/her legs. Never too early to learn how to diddle, eh? Just convinces me further that at one of them is a boy!

They also checked my cervix (thought I was done with the dildo cam - oh well) - and it was low and closed.

Next, the doctor came in and spent at least 20 minutes going over things with me and answering my questions. Even though my file is about 6" thick, I could easily tell that he took time to read through my history. What doctor has time to do that nowadays?

We talked about vaginal delivery vs. a c-section (and the benefits and drawbacks of each) and how the babies look. They are both measuring on-track, but as is typical with twins, one is a little smaller than the other. So, I asked "Would that have anything to do with my DH being 6'5" and our donor being 5'4"?" He answered the question with respect (no, that shouldn't matter) and I appreciated that.

Finally, I spent about 2 hours with the nurse going through so much information - resources / support groups for twins, vitamins I should be adding (fish oil, B12), nutrition (gotta up the protein - she gave me some great tips) and exercise (only yoga, walking, and swimming).

They will be monitoring me every two weeks, but she explained that she understands what I've been through and if I am feeling nervous and want to pop in for an u/s,  no problem - just call.

Next, she gave me a full physical. While we were in the room, there was an u/s machine in there and I asked if we could please take one more peek at them. "Of course!" she said. It was so much fun - the machine wasn't as high-tech as the first one, but I could see their skeletons. Both babies were on their stomachs doing a "doggie paddle". It still makes me smile when I think about it  - I could have watched them for hours! We also saw them kicking / pushing the separator between them (I forget the technical name) and I asked if she thought they knew one another was there - "absolutely" she replied.

Finally, they took about 8 vials of blood to do a full panel and check my levels.

Everyone at this office treated me like I was their most important patient. By the time I left, I felt like I had been working with them forever. The nurse even gave me a hug before I left.

Did I mention that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this practice?!!!

The Reveal...

To ensure history did not repeat itself, my husband has been waiting to tell his family about our news. He wanted to be as certain as possible that the pregnancy would stick. Last night, we finally gave his immediate family a call.

His mom can be outspoken, but in general, his parents are very stoic. I expected a reaction like "Oh, that's nice. How's the weather been?"

I just had to share the conversation with his Dad:

Husband: Hi Dad.
Dad: Hi son.
Husband: Just wanted to share the good news - Flygirl's pregnant.
Dad: Get Outta Here!
Husband: Yeah, and it's twins!
Dad: Get Outta Here! How did that happen?

I was ROTFL...it was so funny.

After we talked to them, we called his brother and sister-in-law and they were overjoyed. So, now the cat is mostly out of the bag. I just have a few more friends to tell...

The baby shower yesterday was lovely. The mom looks terrific and the nursery is adorable.

At the shower, another woman shared with me that she is going to CCRM too and using a gestational surrogate. It still astounds me that once you are open about your difficulties, how many couples admit they are having trouble too. I bet the numbers are much higher than what we hear in the media. Maybe someday our society will wake up and realize that this is a very common condition that deserves more attention and support.

Another week gone by...

Has it really been almost a week since I last posted? I didn't even realize!!! I guess between taking last Friday off and the holiday last Monday, I lost track of time. I just checked my ticker last week and can't believe it...I'm in my 15th week already!!!

First, a huge congratulations to RD on the birth of her baby girl the other day! My eyes filled with tears as soon as I read her brief birth announcement the other day. I am so, so happy for all of you!

HopefulinColorado, you're next! Hope you make it these last few single-digit days!

Second, I want to shout out to Auntie Em and her babies and let them know I am so relieved that they are doing ok (I know many of you read her blog too).

Third, for those of you who have been following my story for awhile, you've known that there was only one co-worker who knew because his wife saw me at the RE's office. Well, she's down to the last few weeks of her pregnancy and her baby shower is tomorrow. Since I feel like I now have a special connection to this baby, I don't think I've ever been so excited to attend a baby shower!

OK, now on to my world...lots going on.

I am getting my energy back and the nausea has become MUCH BETTER since my Dr. wrote me a prescription for Zofran. I definitely have a baby bump and can pick up heartbeats (not sure if it's the same one, but I'd like to think that I can pick up both) pretty easily.

We had our last appointment with our regular OB last Tuesday and this time he made a video (at my insistence). I was hoping to spruce it up a bit with some music and subtitles, but my knowledge is not that technologically advanced - so click here if you wish to see the "raw vanilla" version.

We got the good news on Tuesday that we were accepted into the high-risk practice, so I have my first appointment on Monday. It's going to be a long one - over two hours! I'll get to see the twinkies again! Can't wait!

This week has been one of the most fun ever because I told most of my extended family, friends and people at work. This may sound silly, but I've been overcome and stunned by their reactions and how happy they are for us! I wasn't expecting it, at all...

It's still too early to feel kicks, but I expect that will happen in the next 2-4 weeks. The other question people immediately ask is "Are they boys, girls, or one of each?" The more we've thought about it, the more we want to be surprised - so I'm pretty sure we're leaning toward not finding out. We are so happy to be pregnant, and over-the-moon excited that it's twins, that we honestly don't care. Really.

The Nursery

I haven't been doing much shopping, but this week I purchased an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper off Craig's List for a great price. The couple said their daughter hardly used it - so it's nearly brand new. Most parents have given this item rave-reviews and it was highly recommended in the "Baby Bargains" book too. So, if we don't have cribs as soon as the little ones arrive, we'll be ok.

Later this week, painters come to paint the interior of our house. We are going to leave the nursery the same color the previous owners painted it (they didn't have kids) - a very pale blue called Silverpointe. It is neutral enough to go with just about any other "baby" color - pink, blue, brown, lavender, yellow.

Final Thoughts
I know that many women who follow this blog are still somewhere in the beginning or middle of their journey. I wish that there eventually comes a day where no woman has to go through the uncertainty, pain, tears and heartbreak it took for us to get here. Being on "this side of the fence" is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Each day, I still wake up and pinch myself to convince myself that this is really happening.

I assume that someday, some woman struggling with infertility is going to look at our family and ask "why me" - just like I did thousands of times myself. I almost wish there was a bubble above my head to tell these women what it took for us to get here and not to assume it was so easy.

Know that I am saying the above out of a very deep care and love for all of you who are still going through the process. My thoughts, hopes and prayers are with you.