Happy Friday! I LOVE Fridays...not only are they the end of the work week, but Friday, March 18th was the day we transferred our embryos that have become our two miracle Twinkies. So, each Friday is one week closer to meeting our babies.
Today marks exactly 36 weeks. And, in less than 14 days, we will FINALLY be able to hold our babies in our arms, look deep into their eyes, coo sweet-nothings into their ears, have them wrap their tiny hands around our pinkies, tickle their soft feet, watch them yawn and smell the tops of their heads! We're almost in SINGLE DIGITS until we meet them!!!
Although the lyrics have no relevance, I've had the chorus of Europe's "The Final Countdown" running through my head all day. What else can I say, except that I was a teen of the 80's - when male rockers had big hair, wore makeup and tight leather pants, and looked more like women than dudes. (Although the whole neon clothes, rubber bracelets, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts, big hair bows, leg warmers and shoulder pads is something I won't miss if we never see those fads again in my lifetime).
I confirmed Monday that my c-section is now officially scheduled for Friday, November 18th at 7:30 am (so we have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am) and will be performed by Dr. Porreco - the "Oprah Winfrey" of Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors in Denver - there is no one better.
This week, my nausea has persisted, my belly grew again (I put back on 3.5 lbs and now appreciate help getting out of chairs), and back pain has finally kicked in. I often feel like someone took a belt and tightened it right around my upper rib cage. A bath and once-a-week massage do seem to help, but I am fortunate that I have held out this long with almost no back pain.
I did develop a new side-effect in the last two days - nose bleeds (oh joy!). I think they're being caused by the combination of the blood thinners I'm on, the dry weather and the change in seasons.
Yesterday evening, when I went to take my blood thinner shot, I noticed that my belly dropped. Like any woman nearing her due-date, I immediately Googled to find out more. The consensus was that it happens because the Twinkies are running out of room, and it doesn't necessary mean that I'll go into labor soon. One woman even said they could shift higher again...ugh!
Within the last three days, I strongly believe my male labrador has caught on that we're having babies. He's suddenly been sniffing my belly and won't let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes. He even sat outside the shower today waiting for me to finish. Poor puppy (yes, he's about 13 years old, but he'll always be a "puppy" to me) - little does he know his world is about to be turned upside-down!
I can't tell you how many people don't believe us when they ask the sexes and we say "We don't know." I guess it's the norm these days, but I have actually had many people say to me "You know, but you're just not telling, right?" No, we honestly don't know...and it doesn't matter.
As I've written before, the Twinks love live music. Last Sunday, we went to a Mexican restaurant and there was a Mariachi band playing. The Twinks were dancing the Paso Doble - stomping their feet and snapping their fingers. Today, it's a dance recital in Mom's belly, tomorrow they might be a contestant on one of my favorite reality shows - So You Think You Can Dance.
Yesterday (Thursday), I was fortunate enough to find a deeply-discounted, last-minute seat to a matinee performance of The Lion King (did I mention that I LOVE not working?!). Knowing that my due-date was so close to when this play was coming to town, I was hesitant to buy a ticket. By Tuesday I was willing to take my chances that the Twinkies would not arrive in the next 24 hours. It was a WONDERFUL play - the acting was great (especially the actors who played Zazu - the bird who acts as Mufasa's advisor, Timor & Pumba - the warthog and lemur who sing "Hakuna Matata" and the singer who played Rafiki the baboon), the sets were astounding , and the costumes were exquisite. With the incredible job Julie Taymore did on this production, it's hard to believe that Spiderman After Dark was such a flop. I am so glad the Twinkies and I had a chance to see it! In their usual fashion, the Twinkies "sang and danced" the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes.
On Halloween, we had our quarterly all-employee meeting at work. Since I had a Dr's appointment that ended just before the time the meeting was to begin, and the two offices are not that far, I "sneaked" into my office for the one-hour meeting. It was good to see everyone...I do miss them. An hour was definitely my limit - by the time the meeting ended, I was ready to come home and nap (which is exactly what I did).
Like most years, we had lots of Trick-or-Treaters visit our house. Our neighbors turn their yard into a haunted "village" (complete with their friends as actors), so people drive to take their kids to see their house. This year, it seemed like we had more little munchkins Trick-or-Treating and it got me so excited for next year - when we get to dress up our Twinkies!
As for shopping, Amazon has become my new BFF. I love that they give "Moms" one full year of Amazon Prime for free (as long as you order at least $25 of stuff that is "Amazon Mom" eligible). You don't even need to be a Mom to sign up - Dads,Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles can sign up too! It Seems like I check their site at least once a day to see what's on sale. Most recently, I ordered the CD and companion book of Marlo Thomas' "Free to Be You and Me" (you should know this if you were a child in the 70's), a couple more flannel Halo sleep sacks, and some Aden & Anis 47" x 47" swaddle blankets (so many moms rave about them).
So, that's the news from our little corner of the planet...
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
34 Weeks - Delivery Getting "Real" and Waiting on a Date
This week was busy one...
When we were first convinced that this pregnancy was going to "stick", one of the first things I purchased were our car seats - Chicco Key-Fit 30 in Graphica:
After all, you never know how soon the babies would decide to make their appearance into the world...
On Saturday, we signed up for a "clinic" at our local hospital to learn how to install the car seats properly. The instructor gushed over the model we purchased saying how much he liked it - so I guess we did something right! It was actually much easier to install the bases and seats than I thought - and now I feel prepared on that front.
In other news, a co-worker of mine (who works at our headquarters site) and his partner were expecting a baby girl in mid-December. On Friday, I got an e-mail saying their daughter was born that morning (no other details - so I have to assume the baby is ok). Although my mind knows this, when I saw the email it suddenly hit me like a ton-of-bricks that our babies can be born at ANY moment now. I am not sure why that email had such a great impact on me, but it did...it made our impending delivery "real".
Doctor Appointment Update
My doctor's appointment went great yesterday! I had a comprehensive ultrasound and the Twinks are doing fabulous! Baby A (now head-down on my right and the more active of the two) is weighing in at 5 lbs and Baby B (still with their head in my left rib and feet under my belly button) is at 5 lbs 4 oz.
My blood pressure was a little low (but still normal) and I lost 4 lbs, which means my total weight gain during the pregnancy is still hovering around 25 lbs total. The nurse still thinks it's water weight, so she's not concerned about the weight loss. My Heparin challenge tests all came back great - which tells them I am on the correct dose.
I am still dealing with severe nausea (Sunday night I was tossing-my-cookies all day and for 30 minutes straight before I went to bed), so they switched my nausea med to Promethazine (generic Phenergan). It's a medication that's also used to treat allergies, so it makes me tired. That's ok though - I'd rather be tired than nauseous. Interestingly, one of the side effects is nausea / vomiting. Go figure...
I think I've started having contractions this week - but not enough to start counting or timing.
We put in a request for a delivery date of 11/11/11, but it's not looking good. The one doctor on-call that day is the head of the practice (they usually have two doctors) and, because he is THE BEST Maternal Fetal Medicine OB in the city, he is in very high demand. It would be the equivalent of requesting Oprah to deliver your baby if she were an OB. Since I will only be 37 weeks, he may push me back a week - but the nurse said he likes delivering multiples, so maybe we we will get lucky and he'll agree to take my case. Fingers crossed for good news tomorrow. Even if they agree to an 11/11/11 delivery date, it doesn't mean the babies will wait until then. It just means that I will have a definite "end date." Will update with a firm delivery date as soon as I know more.
I asked the nurse about life after birth and one thing that I didn't realize is that even if I don't have to get up to feed the babies, I will still need to pump about every 3 hours for the first several weeks. I am sure this is easier than having to feed / diaper them too, but was hoping I could get a good 5-6 hours sleep. Oh, the sacrifices we make...(and this is just the beginning)!
When we were first convinced that this pregnancy was going to "stick", one of the first things I purchased were our car seats - Chicco Key-Fit 30 in Graphica:
On Saturday, we signed up for a "clinic" at our local hospital to learn how to install the car seats properly. The instructor gushed over the model we purchased saying how much he liked it - so I guess we did something right! It was actually much easier to install the bases and seats than I thought - and now I feel prepared on that front.
In other news, a co-worker of mine (who works at our headquarters site) and his partner were expecting a baby girl in mid-December. On Friday, I got an e-mail saying their daughter was born that morning (no other details - so I have to assume the baby is ok). Although my mind knows this, when I saw the email it suddenly hit me like a ton-of-bricks that our babies can be born at ANY moment now. I am not sure why that email had such a great impact on me, but it did...it made our impending delivery "real".
Doctor Appointment Update
My doctor's appointment went great yesterday! I had a comprehensive ultrasound and the Twinks are doing fabulous! Baby A (now head-down on my right and the more active of the two) is weighing in at 5 lbs and Baby B (still with their head in my left rib and feet under my belly button) is at 5 lbs 4 oz.
My blood pressure was a little low (but still normal) and I lost 4 lbs, which means my total weight gain during the pregnancy is still hovering around 25 lbs total. The nurse still thinks it's water weight, so she's not concerned about the weight loss. My Heparin challenge tests all came back great - which tells them I am on the correct dose.
I am still dealing with severe nausea (Sunday night I was tossing-my-cookies all day and for 30 minutes straight before I went to bed), so they switched my nausea med to Promethazine (generic Phenergan). It's a medication that's also used to treat allergies, so it makes me tired. That's ok though - I'd rather be tired than nauseous. Interestingly, one of the side effects is nausea / vomiting. Go figure...
I think I've started having contractions this week - but not enough to start counting or timing.
We put in a request for a delivery date of 11/11/11, but it's not looking good. The one doctor on-call that day is the head of the practice (they usually have two doctors) and, because he is THE BEST Maternal Fetal Medicine OB in the city, he is in very high demand. It would be the equivalent of requesting Oprah to deliver your baby if she were an OB. Since I will only be 37 weeks, he may push me back a week - but the nurse said he likes delivering multiples, so maybe we we will get lucky and he'll agree to take my case. Fingers crossed for good news tomorrow. Even if they agree to an 11/11/11 delivery date, it doesn't mean the babies will wait until then. It just means that I will have a definite "end date." Will update with a firm delivery date as soon as I know more.
I asked the nurse about life after birth and one thing that I didn't realize is that even if I don't have to get up to feed the babies, I will still need to pump about every 3 hours for the first several weeks. I am sure this is easier than having to feed / diaper them too, but was hoping I could get a good 5-6 hours sleep. Oh, the sacrifices we make...(and this is just the beginning)!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A 30-Something Week Update
It's time for another "me" update...
Well my ticker says I am at 34 weeks, but my nurse said I am at 31.5 weeks - so I am somewhere in the 30's with a due date of mid-November. You pick the week...
Last night I bought myself a last-minute ticket to see the Broadway touring production of "Hair" and Baby A was "singing and dancing" the entire three hours! Could it be that Baby A is a reincarnated "flower child"? Clearly I am now going to have to buy the soundtrack!
To stop working was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made! If you are like me and are in agony over letting go of work vs. taking care of yourself during your pregnancy, I hope you will do the same. I promise you won't regret it!
While I feel like we won the Power Ball Lottery by being pregnant with twins and do not mean to complain, this pregnancy has taken a bigger toll on my physical energy than I ever imagined. I am still battling nausea most days and just walking the pups down the block requires effort I rarely have anymore. I am still sleeping at night, but having the flexibility to take a several-hour long nap in the afternoon is an activity I need and relish right now!
I set very small goals for myself each day, like running an errand, meeting a friend for lunch, doing a load of laundry, or going to the doctor. Sometimes these goals get done, and sometimes they don't. Either way, it's ok...right now I know I need to take each day as it comes, and there's always tomorrow.
Our current small project is to select a pediatrician. So far, we met with a woman who was a pediatric nurse for many years. She has two grown children of her own and liked what she was doing so much that she decided to go back and get her MD. This impressed me. We appreciated that her practice is close to our home, they have a Saturday am walk-in-clinic and they don't schedule healthy kids at the same time as sick children. Just to be sure we are making the right decision, we are planning to interview at least two more.
So far, things are going excellent. I am still seeing the nurse once-a-week and still haven't had any contractions (at least not that I recognized as contractions). I was up .5 lb between this week and last week - so my total weight gain so far is 25.5 lbs - below average for twins. I am still within the normal range - so my nurse is ok with my progress.
Within the last few days, the kicks have gotten stronger again - to the point where I can sometimes tell the difference between which baby is kicking. Baby A (which is lower in my abdomen) is definitely more active than Baby B.
I received two more great pieces of news this week - I passed my most recent Lovenox challenge and glucose tolerance tests!
Lovenox is a daily blood thinner I take that helped me to carry this pregnancy in the first place. Each month, they test me to verify my body is processing the drug correctly. Very soon, I will be switching to another blood thinner called Heparin - because the Heparin is easier to reverse when I do go into labor. If I were to go into labor today, they would try to delay it as long as possible to give my body some time to express the Lovenox.
For those of you not familiar with the glucose tolerance test (often called "GTT"), when a woman is pregnant she is still producing insulin, but the insulin and blood sugar no longer know how to "play nice in the sandbox", so the woman has to watch her sugar intake like a hawk.
Since I am at a higher risk for diabetes (my Dad has type I and I started this pregnancy with a few - ok more than a few - extra pounds), I convinced my nurse to do a 30 week GTT. They wanted my blood sugar to be below 130 and last week mine came back at 135. Consequently, I had to do a three-hour test on Monday.
The three hour test involves fasting overnight, taking a baseline blood draw, drinking a beverage that is multiple times sweeter than Coke, and taking my blood at three-hour intervals. If I failed two of the four blood tests, I would have been on a severely restricted diet. Fortunately, I passed all four!!!
Based on these results, my nurse thinks that if I don't start having contractions and the Twinks stay put, I will deliver the week of November 14 and probably not on 11/11/11. That's ok - the longer they stay inside the better (and the faster they will sleep through the night).
Before closing, I'd like to give an extra special shout out to my nephew, who recently sent us a library of all his favorite books! It was such a surprise to open the boxes and see all the books that "Grandma C" has been telling us about like "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", "Goodnight Moon" and "Spoon" who goes to visit his "Aunt Sliver" every Saturday! We know the Twinkies are going to love these stories too!
Well my ticker says I am at 34 weeks, but my nurse said I am at 31.5 weeks - so I am somewhere in the 30's with a due date of mid-November. You pick the week...
Last night I bought myself a last-minute ticket to see the Broadway touring production of "Hair" and Baby A was "singing and dancing" the entire three hours! Could it be that Baby A is a reincarnated "flower child"? Clearly I am now going to have to buy the soundtrack!
To stop working was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made! If you are like me and are in agony over letting go of work vs. taking care of yourself during your pregnancy, I hope you will do the same. I promise you won't regret it!
While I feel like we won the Power Ball Lottery by being pregnant with twins and do not mean to complain, this pregnancy has taken a bigger toll on my physical energy than I ever imagined. I am still battling nausea most days and just walking the pups down the block requires effort I rarely have anymore. I am still sleeping at night, but having the flexibility to take a several-hour long nap in the afternoon is an activity I need and relish right now!
I set very small goals for myself each day, like running an errand, meeting a friend for lunch, doing a load of laundry, or going to the doctor. Sometimes these goals get done, and sometimes they don't. Either way, it's ok...right now I know I need to take each day as it comes, and there's always tomorrow.
Our current small project is to select a pediatrician. So far, we met with a woman who was a pediatric nurse for many years. She has two grown children of her own and liked what she was doing so much that she decided to go back and get her MD. This impressed me. We appreciated that her practice is close to our home, they have a Saturday am walk-in-clinic and they don't schedule healthy kids at the same time as sick children. Just to be sure we are making the right decision, we are planning to interview at least two more.
So far, things are going excellent. I am still seeing the nurse once-a-week and still haven't had any contractions (at least not that I recognized as contractions). I was up .5 lb between this week and last week - so my total weight gain so far is 25.5 lbs - below average for twins. I am still within the normal range - so my nurse is ok with my progress.
Within the last few days, the kicks have gotten stronger again - to the point where I can sometimes tell the difference between which baby is kicking. Baby A (which is lower in my abdomen) is definitely more active than Baby B.
I received two more great pieces of news this week - I passed my most recent Lovenox challenge and glucose tolerance tests!
Lovenox is a daily blood thinner I take that helped me to carry this pregnancy in the first place. Each month, they test me to verify my body is processing the drug correctly. Very soon, I will be switching to another blood thinner called Heparin - because the Heparin is easier to reverse when I do go into labor. If I were to go into labor today, they would try to delay it as long as possible to give my body some time to express the Lovenox.
For those of you not familiar with the glucose tolerance test (often called "GTT"), when a woman is pregnant she is still producing insulin, but the insulin and blood sugar no longer know how to "play nice in the sandbox", so the woman has to watch her sugar intake like a hawk.
Since I am at a higher risk for diabetes (my Dad has type I and I started this pregnancy with a few - ok more than a few - extra pounds), I convinced my nurse to do a 30 week GTT. They wanted my blood sugar to be below 130 and last week mine came back at 135. Consequently, I had to do a three-hour test on Monday.
The three hour test involves fasting overnight, taking a baseline blood draw, drinking a beverage that is multiple times sweeter than Coke, and taking my blood at three-hour intervals. If I failed two of the four blood tests, I would have been on a severely restricted diet. Fortunately, I passed all four!!!
Based on these results, my nurse thinks that if I don't start having contractions and the Twinks stay put, I will deliver the week of November 14 and probably not on 11/11/11. That's ok - the longer they stay inside the better (and the faster they will sleep through the night).
Before closing, I'd like to give an extra special shout out to my nephew, who recently sent us a library of all his favorite books! It was such a surprise to open the boxes and see all the books that "Grandma C" has been telling us about like "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", "Goodnight Moon" and "Spoon" who goes to visit his "Aunt Sliver" every Saturday! We know the Twinkies are going to love these stories too!