Facebook Announcement

It hasn't been a secret for a few weeks now, but I was still intent on not posting on Facebook.  There's just something about letting the WORLD know about our pregnancy and knowing that there is always a chance that something could go wrong.  I also am not big on being the center of attention.  Okay, I admit, I like it to be all about me sometimes (lol), but it's also kind of uncomfortable and awkward at the same time.

Hubby was ready to tell our families after our 9 week appointment.  I wasn't ready and he agreed to wait until we reached the second trimester.  Although, we did let a few people know before then, like our parents, and a few aunts and uncles, but mostly we kept it to ourselves.  Once we made the big announcement to our families, Hubby immediately wanted to post on Facebook.  I made him wait some more.

I saw another IF friend's announcement picture, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I saw it!  It was perfect.  Not too mushy or cutesy, and it screamed Amber and Tony.  I thought it was a PERFECT idea.

Part of the reason I hesitated to make the FB announcement was because I have learned how hard those are on so many facing IF.  I've never really been bothered by the baby announcement, pictures, etc, but I know that there are many that feel a crushing blow every time they see one.  (The one exception for me was learning my cousins were pregnant via FB when they KNEW my story.  I really thought I should have been told before seeing it on FB.  FYI, I am over that now though.)  I wanted to make sure that my announcement was sensitive to others, and also maybe help bring a little awareness toward infertility.  I also needed to keep it short and sweet, as Hubby is a fairly private person and I wanted to respect that as well.  He told me I could put whatever I wanted, so I did have his approval, but it still took me awhile to come up with what I wanted.

Without further ado, here's what I posted:

16 years of marriage
14 years of trying for a baby
2 years of medical intervention
2 losses
which finally = 2 babies arriving January 2014!

 

 

 

 

I have to admit, it was a LOT of fun after the post was made!  Within seconds the "likes" and comments started rolling in.  Of course, a lot of people already knew, but many were shocked and excited to hear the news.  As of right now, the status has received 195 likes, and we have well over 100 congratulations.  Amazing!  It makes me feel a little self absorbed to tell you those stats, but I can't help it.  Hubby and I had so much fun reading all the comments and are blown away by the support.  I suppose I didn't expect anything less, but it is fun to finally share our news and feel the love come pouring in.  We also have received several texts as well.

 

I even had one person send me a private message, telling me about their miscarriages and reason for it.  She asked if I had a similar issue and what sort of medical treatment did we get.  As it turns out, we don't have the same IF problems, but I was able to refer her to our clinic and offer her some advice.  It felt so good to be able to help someone else.

 

It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that I finally broke down and made our news officially official, now that it is on Facebook.

 



16 Week Anatomy Scan

Yesterday at 16w4d, we had our initial anatomy scan with MFM.  They will do another one at 20 weeks, which will give a lot more detailed information about the organs and such.

So far so good!  We got to see little fingers and toes, their hearts, kidneys, spines, bladders, femur bones...  So much and so amazing!  Both are measuring right on target, with Baby B being just a few days ahead.  Speaking of a HEAD, apparently Baby B has a nice round head that measured at about 18 weeks!  Say WHAT?  Apparently that is not a big deal.  It just measures big because it's so round.  I decided not to worry about it because the Dr. was very adamant that there are no concerns at this time and everything is going well!

They also measured my cervix, which is nice and long.  That has been a concern of mine, since I've read about cervical issues during pregnancy and with multiples can sometimes even be more of a concern.  At this time, we have nothing to worry about there either! 

So things are going great!  I see them again in 3 weeks. 

In the meantime, I have an appointment next week with my OB.  I'm excited about that because I'll get to hear the heartbeats again.  If I can just keep having all these appointments to keep reassuring me that things are going smoothly, I will be a happy camper.

They gave me a CD that was supposed to have pictures on it from the u/s, but when I got home and plugged it into the computer the disk was blank.  Otherwise, I would have shared a few pics for you, but I got nothing.

Actually, they did print out a pic of each baby for me, but I have no idea how to use my scanner to get it into the computer.

I decided not to get upset about the mistake, because I did get at least those two photos, and because it was such a great appointment with great news!  I don't want anything to over shadow that, so I decided to just be happy :)

What Could Have Been A Day of Overwhelming Sadness

Today could have been a really sad day for me, but it wasn't.  I'm not sad.  I'm more....reflective.  There are two things that I am missing out on this August 23, 2013 day. 

One thing is the Hood to Coast Relay.  This would have been my 9th time running this race.  It is a 198 mile relay that starts at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and ends in Seaside, Oregon.  It is an amazing event to be a part of.  It is two days of little to no sleep, running 3 legs of the relay for a total of approximately 18-20 miles, standing in loooonnnnggggg lines for a port-a-potty, lots of delirious laughter, stinky smelly bodies, and extremely sore muscles at the end that make it incredibly painful to sit on a toilet for days after.  Ahem.  It is approximately 14,400 runners on the road and over 3600 volunteers.

But it is something that I gladly give up for a good cause.  My teammates have sent me text messages with updates and posted pictures on Facebook.  I may miss being out there with them, but I am gladly sitting at home with these two babies I'm carrying.  I would make that trade off any time.

August 23rd.  Today was also our original due date.  It is very crazy to think that today could have totally been a different day.  I still would have missed the Hood to Coast, but I could have also been holding my baby today, or waiting for him/her to arrive any day.  I could have had the next baby in our family.  Instead it will by my sister in September and a Cousin in October having their babies before me.

Today could have been, and maybe should have been, a completely miserable day.  But it wasn't.  I don't know why I'm not sad.  I feel reflective, but definitely not sad.  I do feel a little afraid, but again, not sad.

Sometimes I don't feel like I responded to my miscarriages the same as other women do.  I didn't even count my first one as a miscarriage until recently.  It was a chemical pregnancy.  I only half way thought I was pregnant for 2.5 days.  Half way because I didn't quite believe it when they told me the results of the beta HCG because I was bleeding.  It was confirmed that it wasn't true 2.5 days later when I had the second beta test.  We never POAS that go round.  I waited for the beta results, so we didn't have any prior days of celebration.  I had started bleeding the morning of the beta so fully thought I was starting my period and was in disbelief when they told me otherwise.  I just never really counted that as an actual miscarriage.  Until recently when I read about others going through the same thing, and knowing how devastated they were.  Until my OB and the MFM doctor said it counted as a miscarriage when they asked our background.  Don't get me wrong.  It was emotionally challenging and hard to go from knowing we weren't pregnant, to being told we were, to then being told we weren't.  At that time we were still hopeful though.  We thought we had more tries left in us.  Then our next IVF cycle was canceled because my body didn't respond and didn't produce the eggs.

We moved on to donor eggs, thanks to my sister.  We were successful on the first attempt with her eggs!  Our due date was August 23rd.  Today.  However, at 9w5d's, we found out that Bob was Dead.  We were heartbroken.  I spent days crying and hiding from family.  I spent months drowning my sorrows in food.  I was angry.

I think there are two major reasons why I have been able to move on and am accepting of that loss.  The first is that we chose to have the tissue of the baby tested after the D&C to determine the cause of the miscarriage.  Our baby had Trisomy 18.  It would have been a very sick baby.  Most babies with Trisomy 18 miscarry, but of those that do make it to birth, less than 10% survive to their first birthday.  Knowing the reason for the miscarriage, as awful as it was, at least provided us with answers for WHY.  We know WHY we lost the baby.  I was really angry to be in that less than 1% category for it happening, but at least we knew why, and that gave us some peace.

The other reason I feel like today has not been such a bad day, is because I am fortunate enough to be pregnant again.  Tomorrow will mark the 16 week mark.  I am still fearful that something could go wrong, that I won't be able to carry these babies all the way to the end, but we have made it further than we ever have before.  Our chances of a happy ending increase every single week.  We might end up with our family after all.  I may not be the next in line to add a baby to the family, but I am IN line.

Maybe I should have been more sad today.  Maybe I should have shed a few tears.  Maybe I should have locked myself in the house and stayed in bed all day feeling sorry for myself.  The truth is though, that I feel like I'm in a really good place.  I'm realistic enough to know that anything could still go wrong, but I'm also optimistic enough to believe that everything could absolutely go exactly right. 

I haven't forgotten Bob, or the heartache we experienced at that loss, but I have been able to move on.  August 23rd might always be a day that I remember, but it's one I can look back on with reflection, rather than overwhelming sadness.

Last Week's Events

Softball may be over, but last week was still a pretty busy week with lots of fun things happening. 

Monday: As you already know, last Monday was my follow up MFM appointment.  I met with the same Dr. as before, that had left me feeling confused previously.  We talked about the whole weight gain thing again and I felt much better about it.  She said that while I am not obese, I am starting out a little overweight.  Because of my risk factors for preeclampsia, it is important that we don't let my weight get too high so that my blood pressure stays down.  Almost every time I go into the doctor my BP tends to be either high, or borderline high.  Rarely normal.

We talked about a birth plan.  As long as Baby A is head down come time for birth, we should be able to plan on a vaginal delivery because I'm in pretty good shape.  They can be head/head or head/butt, but Baby A cannot be butt down.  I will need to plan on an epidural though, because of the higher risk of bleeding because of twins.

Tuesday: I actually can't remember what I did on Tuesday!  Which means I probably went grocery shopping after work and then came home and took a nap.

Wednesday: I FINALLY got my hair done, which means I no longer have gray hair.  Or at least visible gray hair!  ha!

After my hair appointment, I had about 20 minutes when I got home before we would be leaving to go watch my niece drive her race car.  During that short time, I caught a really quick cat nap.

This was only E's third time driving the car, so she is just learning.  She was very excited that her Auntie and Uncle T were coming to watch her.

Getting all strapped in and ready to go!



Isn't she so cute?

Thursday: Much like Tuesday, I really can't remember what I did.  So.... if I didn't go grocery shopping on Tuesday, that is what I did Thursday for sure.  And I probably took a nap, because that is what I do.

Friday: This was the start of a very busy weekend.  I met a former softball player for lunch.  Then I went and picked up my niece for her belated birthday date with us.  I was in California and missed her actual birthday.  She got to go to my doctor's appointment with me that afternoon.  Lucky her!  She did get to hear the heartbeats though, which she thought was "so cool!"

I didn't actually see my OB, just the nurse practitioner, which was fine.  When she first put the doppler on my belly to search for the heartbeats she asked if there was two babies in there.  I told her yes.  She then said "okay, good."  I asked her why that was a good thing, as I thought it was an odd thing to say, and she said "because you are so big!"  Meaning, I am big for how far along I am.  She said I'm measuring about 20 weeks, when I was actually only 14 weeks.

Okay, this was the only part I was annoyed with during the appointment.  I was only one day shy of 15 weeks.  They have my due date as Feb. 10th, when it is actually Feb. 8th.  I tried to correct her on this, and she said it's only a two day difference so not a big deal.  I can talk to the doctor about it if I want to.  Grrr.  Okay, I KNOW how far along I am.  Hard not to when I have an EXACT fertilization date and transfer date.  Yes, it's only two days difference, but when a person is celebrating each week that passes, well, two days seems like a lot!  Oh well.  I know the truth.

The purpose of this appointment was to take an early glucose test.  I chose the lemon-lime flavor.  It wasn't pleasant, but it sounded better than the orange.  It was still disgusting.  Then E (my niece) got to wait with me for the hour mark to pass so I could get my blood drawn.  I still haven't heard anything on the results, which I am just going to take as a good thing.

After that, we met Uncle T for dinner and then had some time to kill before our movie, so we went browsing at baby stuff.  E had a lot of fun helping us "pick out" a crib, a stroller, car seat, and other stuff.  She told us at one point, "with two babies, it sure is going to cost you a looootttt of money!"  The insight of an 8 year old.  We laughed and said "yeah, we know!"

Then we went to watch Smurfs 2.  We took her to watch the first Smurfs movie when it came out and had a smurfing good time quoting it for MONTHS afterward, so we knew we had to take her to the second movie when it came out for her birthday.  We laughed a lot during the movie and again came home with some good one liners.  My husbands favorite part was "every time a smurf farts, a person smiles."  Of course that would be his favorite part.  He's such a guy.  lol.  Okay, I admit, I laughed at that part of the movie too.

Saturday: We drove to Bend (3 hours) for a wedding.  The bride has been my assistant softball coach for the high school team for the past 4 years.  It was a beautiful wedding on the river and a gorgeous day.

Hubby and I waiting for the wedding to start

After the wedding and reception, we had a relaxing evening just hanging out in our hotel room.  It was nice to just get to spend some time together and not worry about doing anything else.

Sunday: Besides getting to see my babies again on Monday at the MFM appointment and hearing their heartbeats on Friday, this was my favorite day!  I finally got to meet my blogger friend Teresa from Where the *bleep* is Our Stork?  We now have officially crossed over from being just blogger friends to IRL (in real life) friends.

Teresa and I

Hubby and I met her for breakfast Sunday morning and were able to get in a nice visit.  Her husband was on a fishing trip, so we missed out on meeting him, but I am just so, so incredibly happy to finially have met this awesome, wonderful, caring lady that has been a friend to so many in the blogging world.  She brought us LOTS of veggies from her Dad's 2 acre garden (2 acres!!!!) and a gift bag of several baby/kid books and two Auntie onesies.  This was such a sweet gesture.  She included a card that said,

"even though I bought some stuff that says 'Auntie' I bought it so the kiddos will know how cool their real Auntie is.  Her amazing gift brought you life.  Your story is amazing and inspiring!"

 

Teresa, YOU are amazing and inspiring in the friendship that you give to others.  I LOVE that we had the opportunity to meet and I can't wait for the day to come that we can meet again.

 

P.S.  You were right!  The corn was Ah-Maze-Ing!

 





Holy Boob Itch!

One of the first pregnancy symptoms that we look (or feel) for is sore boobs.  Well, I didn't get sore boobs at first.  At all.  Not even a smidgen.  I didn't get sore boobs for really much of the first 10 weeks or so.

And then my nipples started to be at a constant state of attention.  And holy smokes, now my boobs just seem to be in a constant state of ITCHING! 

I have always been prone to itching.  Before pregnancy, my belly always seemed to itch.  A few times it was actually explainable because it also came with a crazy rash.  That doesn't explain the rest of the times though.  Honestly, I think it's usually when I have put on a few pounds here and there and it was probably changes in my skin because of that.  I'm just guessing about that though.  The doctor could never explain it to me.  I've always had weird skin, prone to rashes, hives, dry skin...

And now my boobs itch.  A LOT!  I am a little scared for what the next few months will bring as my belly and my boobs get bigger.  Will I be able to stand even being in my own skin?  We will see....

14 Weeks

Actually, I am 14 weeks, 2 days today.  Woo-Hoo!  Today I go back for another MFM appointment so they can try to get that nuchal fold measurement on Baby A since she/he was being so difficult and wouldn't get in a good position for it last week.  I'm so excited to see my babies again!  I still worry every single day about whether they are still doing okay or not and it is so nice to get the reassurance of an u/s.

Now, let me tell you about Saturday, when we hit the 14 week mark.  Saturday was the big day of telling our families.  We are officially no longer carrying any secrets and word is out not only amongst each of our families and our softball team, but also it's spreading like wildfire around our small town.

First I met with my family for breakfast.  Hubby ended up having to go to work, so it was only me.  I started off by confirming to the family that we are officially done coaching softball for about 7-8 years.  Because.....I'm pregnant.  Lot's of excitement and a few tears of joy.  Then I announced that we are having twins.  Holy babies!

My family is going to be full of new little babies this next year!  My sister is due in September.  My cousin is due in October, and I am due with TWINS in January!  There is also another baby due in January from my aunt and uncle's niece on the other side.  There is going to be so many babies to snuggle and love on!

Then that afternoon, my in-laws hosted a BBQ at their new place.  They bought some property out of town a few months back, and it was a good excuse to get everyone together because not everyone had been out to see their new place.  The highlight of the night (before our announcement) was a trip out to see the pigs.

At first glance, it might look like they are sitting on a log.  It's actually a very large pig named Amelia!

Once everyone dished up their food and settled in, Hubby and I made our grand announcement.  Of course they were all excited.  Their were lots of hugs and congratulations.  We spent the rest of the evening talking about babies.  An aunt asked to see u/s pics, so my MIL got out the pictures we had given her a few weeks prior.  This aunt swears up and down that Baby A is a boy and Baby B is a girl.  She is absolutely convinced she is right, based on their position, size, and heartbeats.  We will find out soon...

I told Hubby that I needed him to take a picture of me.  He of course made a joke, asking "can it be a naked picture?"  Which I got irritated at because that's what I do.  Then I explained that I wanted him to take a belly picture for me.  Being a guy, he had to ask what we needed a belly picture for and what are we going to do with it.  Sigh.  I explained to him that I wanted to document the pregnancy over the next couple months and, oh, I don't know, scrapbook them?  I shake my head now thinking back on that conversation.  He did humor me though, and we got a picture.

My belly really popped out just this past week!

14 Weeks

Now that our families have been told, the secret is out and there is no holding back!  I am hoping nobody will post anything on Facebook until we have a chance to do a FB announcement ourselves.  I'd like to hold off on it just a bit longer.  Planning to do it in another few weeks or so.  One of Hubby's aunts is going to take some pictures for us.

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I just got home from my MFM appointment.  Both babies look great and show very low risk of Down Syndrome!  Their heartbeats are great and they are still wiggling about.  All is good.  At least so far.  Our next appointment will be around 16 weeks for an initial anatomy scan, and then again at 20 weeks.  I feel so extremely fortunate for all the u/s we are getting.  Right now, I am feeling blessed.

Morning Sickness

It has to be noted - I'm posting two days in a row!  Miracle of miracles.

So about this morning sickness thing.  I actually consider myself to be quite lucky, but I'm afraid my luck might be coming to an end.  In 13 weeks, 5 days, I've only actually gotten sick, as in actually puked, 3 days in all that time.  I've had other days where I just didn't feel very good, but nothing too severe. 

It's funny how an infertile person (me) puts so much stock into pregnancy symptoms.  After everything we've been through, we just need that reassurance that something is going on.  Whether it's sore boobs, nausea, food aversions/cravings... It doesn't matter, those symptoms just help provide peace of mind and it's something that we LIVE for.

Even though it's nice to have those signs of life still growing inside of you, I have to also say I've been pretty fortunate.  Only 3 days of actual vomiting?  I know that makes me lucky.  I also didn't have sore boobs for the longest time.  In fact, my boobs themselves don't really hurt, but oh boy do my nipples.  Yikes.  My nipples have been quite sensitive and achy for the past few weeks.  I can live with that.

I do have to pee several times throughout the night.  At least twice, but usually 3 times and sometimes up to 4 times.  That makes me very nervous for down the road when I'm sure that number will increase.

Eating breakfast is a challenge.  I simply do not want to (or can't) eat very much in the mornings.  I try to force myself though, because if I don't eat much, that is when I feel the most nauseous, which again, hasn't been too bad for the most part.  I consider myself lucky.

Did mention how that luck might be changing?

The first time I got sick was a Sunday afternoon, way back on July 7th.  It was the only softball free weekend we have had the entire summer till now.  I was very thankful I was home that day.  I made french toast for breakfast.  It didn't taste very good to me that day and within minutes of taking my last bite, it all came back up.  I thought, Cool! and I bragged to Hubby that I just got sick for the first time.  He proceeded to celebrate too.  I didn't feel nauseous or anything that morning.  I simply just couldn't keep my breakfast down.  I knew I needed to eat something and feed these babies, so a little later, I ate two peaches.  As soon as I took my last bite, those immediately came up too.  Hhmmm...  Well, that kind of sucked, but again I didn't FEEL bad.  I was a little hesitant to eat anything again the rest of the day for fear of puking again, but I managed to make it through the day and didn't have a repeat incident again until last week.  Sorry if any of this makes you lose your appetite for french toast or peaches.

Last week we were in California with our softball team for Nationals.  We were eliminated from the tournament early and had a free day on Friday before we were scheduled to return home.  Instead of ending the week on the disappointment of losing, we celebrated our success of the summer by taking the team to California's Great America, a theme park.  We had just arrived at the park and the girls, along with several parents, were in line for their first roller coaster ride of the day.  I was sitting in the shade with two other parents, when suddenly I didn't feel very good.  And then I thought, wait, I think I might throw up.  So I asked where the bathroom was and started that way.  It wasn't very close.  I did my best to get out of the crowd of people.  I made it around a corner and lost my cookies.  Right there on the concrete.  Then I turned and found a bush to finish in.  There were people on the other side of the bush, but I don't think they paid much attention to me.  Phew!  After that, I made my way to the bathroom, washed my face, rinsed out my mouth, and I was good for the rest of the day!  I wasn't nauseous and felt great after that.  I was actually thankful for the reassurance that, okay, there's still something going on in there!  My babies must still be there.  And yay!  They are!

Then today....  Ugh. 

By far the worst day so far.  I had my first client at 6:00 this morning and then another at 7:00.  As soon as I finished with my second client, I really didn't feel well.  I went into the bathroom, feeling like I was going to be sick.  I hung out in there with my head against the wall, wanting to just get it over with.  It took a few minutes, and I wasn't sure it was actually going to come.  I was afraid to walk back to my office and lose everything on the floor in front of members on my way.  I waited it out because I was feeling so poorly.  I wanted to curl up on the bathroom floor, but...ewwww.

It was the most violent I have been sick in a long time.  My nose was running, my eyes were watering.  I just wanted to lay my head on the toilet seat, but again, gross.  Not on a public toilet!  I cleaned myself up and noticed that I had red spots under my eyes.  Apparently, I broke a few blood vessels under my eyes during this fiasco.  I looked a mess. 

Fortunately, I had a break in clients for the next hour.  I went next door to Jamba Juice and got some oatmeal.  I knew I needed to eat something since I just lost all my breakfast.  I was able to keep it down, but I felt really crappy the rest of the morning through my next couple clients.  I had another appointment scheduled at Noon with a new guy.  I still felt like I might be sick again so I decided to call him and reschedule.  I didn't think it would be a good idea to maybe ralph all over a new client during our very first session.  I left work, came home and took a nap. 

I feel a little better now, but am wondering if I am entering a new stage of pregnancy.  Maybe I skipped the first trimester morning sickness and I am going to be lucky enough to have it in the second.  I don't mind feeling a little nauseous, but it's totally another thing when you are afraid you are going to throw up at any second.  I actually don't even mind that part, as long as it's like the first two times when it went away completely right afterwards.  But how does a person make it through work feeling like that all day long?  I know where all the bathrooms are at work, and I've scouted out the garbage cans just in case, but God forbid I lose it in the weight room or on the cardio floor one of these days.  I would be mortified!

When all is said and done, I am so extremely grateful for having to worry about this.  I feel very fortunate and lucky that I have escaped morning sickness to date, for the most part, but am nervous for what may be in store.  Today was pretty miserable.

So Much to Say

First, I am sad to admit I have turned into a bad blogger.  I basically have something I want to write about almost every single day, but when I get home, I want nothing more than to lay down and take a nap.  Some days I think, I'll just sit on the couch and relax for a few minutes before I sit down in front of the computer.  But then, I simply can NOT keep my eyes open and another day goes by.

Ever since softball season started, I got behind on my blog reading as well as my blog writing.  I've been about 2 weeks behind everyone else for MONTHS.  I finally got caught up and was only a week behind.  But then...our softball team went to California last week for Nationals and suddenly I am 3 weeks behind!  I am madly trying to catch back up so I can be on the same page as everyone else.

When I logged on to write this post, I discovered I've lost a follower.  That makes me a little sad actually.  It's hard not to think if only I'd write more, maybe I'd be more interesting.  But then the thought also crosses my mind, that maybe it's someone struggling in the throws of treatment and it is simply too hard to read about a pregnancy.  I know that can be difficult for some.

 

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Okay, on to better things!  Yesterday was my first appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine.  It was a three part appointment.  First we met with a genetic counselor to go over our family medical history to discuss potential genetic/chromosomal abnormalities.  She talked to us about different tests we can do.  Hubby and I both agree that we do not want to do anything invasive that could potentially harm the babies.

 

Then we had an ultrasound to measure the nuchal translucency.  This test is done to determine a potential risk for Down Syndrome and a few other possible chromosomal abnormalities.  Baby B cooperated and allowed the tech to get a good measurement.  Baby A on the other hand was very ornery and would not allow a measurement, regardless of which position I laid in.  We also tried a vaginal u/s, which also didn't work.  So I have to go back next week so they can try again.  Darn!  That just makes me so sad that I HAVE to go back and see my babies again.  I hope you are catching my sarcasm, because I'm actually ecstatic that I get to get another u/s so soon!

 

Both babies were moving and having a little dance party in there.  Both have two arms and two legs.  Both have stomachs, bladders, and nice solid heartbeats.  We didn't actually get to hear the heartbeats, which I was a little bummed about, but we did get to see them on the screen so that was okay.

 

After the u/s, we med with the Perinatologist.  She said that Baby B's nuchal measurement looked good and is not suspect of any problems.  She also said that Baby A's looked good visually, but they just couldn't get the exact number measurement.  She said we should have nothing to worry about with either baby.

 

I went into the appointment with a list of questions that she happily took the time to answer.  I must say though, that I am more confused on a few of them than before I went in.  I've been concerned about my nutrition.  I really don't think I eat too bad, but I also really don't think I'm getting what I need.  I absolutely know I don't get enough protein.  So I asked if she had a nutrition checklist that I could work from. 

 

She recommended the book When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads by Barbara Luke.  I told her that I actually have that book, but I've only been able to skim through it so far.  I had skimmed through the nutrition section previously, and one of the things it recommends is drinking a protein drink every day.  After reading that, I had purchased some Ensure protein shakes.  It concerned me how much sugar is in each one of those drinks, 22g for just a little bottle!!!  The doctor agreed with me that the sugar content was very high and I should probably stay away from those drinks since I am considered at risk for Gestational Diabetes.  Okay.....but that book highly recommends those drinks and you are telling me to follow the book.  Confusion.

 

We also talked about weight gain.  This doctor told me that I should expect to gain about 20-25 lbs for this pregnancy.  What?  Hold on!  Uhhhhh......  for twins????  Again, confusion.  This book (that she was recommending) recommends a weight gain between 38-47 lbs.  Unless I'm obese, in which case the book recommends a gain between about 25-36 lbs.  This makes absolutely NO SENSE to me.  I am not obese.  Yes, I did start out a little overweight, but I am NOT obese by any stretch of the imagination.  Isn't a weight gain of 20-25 lbs normal for a singleton pregnancy?  More confusion.  I'm not sure what to think about this.  Especially since she was highly recommending this book, which was written by a nutritionist.

 

 

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As of this coming Saturday, I will be 14 weeks.  We've made plans to tell all of our extended family on that day.  We are meeting my family for breakfast.  I don't know if my Grandma will make it to the breakfast as she doesn't get out much.  If she doesn't come, Hubby and I will make a special trip out to see her. 

 

Saturday night, my in-laws are hosting a BBQ at their house for all the Aunts, Uncles, and extended family.  They just moved to their new place a few months back, so the BBQ is under the pretense of having everyone out to see their new property.  They were planning to do something like that anyway so it works out perfectly for us to make our announcement to everyone.

 

I'm still a little uneasy about our pregnancy being advertised to the world, but it's becoming more and more noticeable.  Kinda hard to hide TWO babies growing in there!  It's also really difficult to get EVERYONE together at the same time, and we'd really like to tell people in person.  So here goes...

 

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Softball is officially over.  For the third straight year, our travel team qualified for the ASA/USA National Tournament, something we are incredibly proud of.  As of last week, Hubby and I are retired from coaching for about 7-8 years.  We figure we'll probably get involved in it again around then, with our own kids.

 

I'm going to wait another 3 weeks or so until I resign my coaching position from the high school.  I'll wait till school gets back in session.  That's going to be hard.

 

It's going to be difficult to walk away from these girls and their families.  I'm sure we'll still be out watching a lot of softball games.  These girls have been OUR kids on the field for a long, long time.  We will miss them, but we are looking forward to this next adventure in life.