First, let me say Woo-Hoo! Today these babies and I have reached 30 weeks. It seems like it's gone crazy fast, and yet, we still could have 2 more months before they make their arrival. Then again, maybe not...
Now, about the OB appointment I had on Thursday. As I was walking into the clinic, an old man was dropping off his wife. The timing was perfect for us to walk in together. I said hello and she responded by saying how lucky I was to be so blessed to be having a baby. She told me she was never able to have kids, but her sister was kind enough to share hers.
She had to have been in her 70's, maybe in her 80's. She could have been me in another 30 years or so. I have been pretty fortunate to have a sister that has shared her kids with me. I told the lady that it's taken us over 14 years and a lot of extra help to get pregnant, so I understood.
She stopped at the bench just inside to wait for her husband and I continued down the hall, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. The difference between her and I is that I live in a time where we could seek fertility treatments. She did not. While my sister has shared her kids with me, she has also shared a part of herself that had allowed me to have a family of my own. These past few days, I have often wondered if what I said might have been hurtful to her. How could I understand where she was coming from, when I am obviously pregnant and about to have my own children? I do understand the pain of not being able to have any kids, but I don't understand what it's like to grow old and still be in that situation. That's something I have feared but haven't experienced, and Lord willing, I won't.
As I sat down in the waiting room, another lady sat a few chairs away from me and struck up a conversation. Of course she wanted to talk about my pregnancy. Sigh. She said it looked like I would be having my baby pretty soon. I told her my due date, which produced a puzzled look on her face. I explained that there is two babies. Then she wanted to know if I knew what they were. And of course, this led to her excitement about how it's perfect because I'm getting one of each, a boy AND a girl. Aren't I just so happy?
I cannot even begin to tell you how many times a day I have this conversation with people. Yes, I am very happy. But I would have been just as happy with two boys or two girls. People don't seem to get that. I often hear how I can be done with my family if I wanted, because I'll have one of each. That makes absolutely NO sense to me. I know plenty of people that DON'T have twins, but still stop at two boys or two girls, even though they came from separate pregnancies. Also, it's exhausting to even think about explaining to people that we don't have a choice in the matter anyway. We won't be extending our family beyond these babies. We have no embryos left and we are at the end of our financial limits. Besides that, my sister was an egg donor for us and I am not about to ask her to go through that again. Hubby and I don't want to go through it again either.
I absolutely am so happy that we are blessed with two babies out of this deal, but we would have been happy with one. We also would have been happy with two girls or two boys. Just because we are getting one of each, does not make it any sweeter. How could we not feel immensely blessed, regardless of their sex, when it took us SOooo long to get here?
Okay, on to the appointment. Everything is going fantastic! I cannot believe how fortunate I am to not have had any major complications so far. The issues I have had are so minor in comparison to what some people go through.
My blood pressure was 117/78, actually down a little bit from my previous appointment. I was afraid it would be going up since I had started swelling, but the swelling hasn't even been too bad yet. My urine sample came back normal. My rash has mostly gone away, except for my right boob which itches constantly. The worst thing I have going on right now is carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. My middle fingers are in a constant state of numbness and my other fingers join in the fun occasionally as well. My hands do hurt pretty much all the time, but I can live with that. The trade off is far too great to get upset about it. I can live with sore hands if it means I get two babies at the end of all this.
Dr. P told me I am doing brilliantly! She cannot believe how well I have been handling this twin pregnancy. I love her! She is still continuing to monitor my liver, as my liver enzymes are still elevated, but remaining stable. Not a big deal at this point.
Starting this next week, I will be going in twice/week for Non-Stress tests (NST). My first one is on Monday. I'm kind of nervous and excited for it all at the same time.
It's funny how 2 months can sometimes seem like such a long time, but in pregnancy the weeks just go by so quickly! I can't believe I am at the point that I need two appointments/week already.
My goal is to work through the next pay period at work, which will be December 19th. I asked Dr. P if that is a reasonable goal, and she said she thinks for me, it is, because things are going so well. That will put me just shy of 33 weeks. That is only 19 days away!!!! Say what? How is that possible?
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Things Are Getting Harder
I feel like I reached a turning point this last week. I had an appointment every single day after work, for one thing or another.
Monday: I got my haircut and covered my gray. I really would have liked to grow it out a bit more, but it was just getting to be more than I could handle. It took too much work to comb it all out (I don't use a brush, or I would have an afro), and I couldn't leave it down to sleep on because it was too much work not to lay on it. I can barely roll over as it is without having to lift myself up to get off my hair! So, I got 4-5 inches cut off. It's still past my shoulders and can be pulled into a pony tail, but I feel so much better.
Tuesday: Our entire software system at work is getting replaced so we had to attend a 2 hour software training to learn the new program. It effects all our scheduling and how we get paid, so it was kind of important.
Wednesday: My work baby shower. I was overwhelmed with the love and support that was shown to me by the members here at the club. There were about 60 members in attendance, and many more that contributed gifts or money toward a gift certificate. I've worked here for over 8 years, and I've made a lot of friends. It was amazing. I received $510 in gift certificates! Not to mention the actual gifts received. As I said, it was very overwhelming, but much appreciated.
Thursday: I had an OB appointment and met with a different doctor at the clinic. I was not impressed. He wasn't very personable at all, so now I can only hope he is not the one on call when I deliver these babies. I did learn that I am measuring at 38 weeks pregnant already! Yikes! That means, if I actually do make it to 38 weeks, I will measure as if I am 11 months pregnant. Oy.
Friday: I don't work on Fridays, but I did have a lot of stuff that needed to be done. It was really, really nice to be able to do stuff at my leisure though, and take breaks as needed. Once I did my grocery shopping in the afternoon though, I was done in! That really zapped my energy. That night, my in-laws came over to help move the furniture into the nursery and help get it put together. I absolutely LOVE the nursery! The walls are done being painted, the cribs, dresser, and changing table are put into place, and the window topper is hung. It looks so great! I love it. We did rearrange the furniture a few different times to try to find the best fit. Two cribs make the room seem very small! I will share pictures after we get a little more done.
Saturday: We celebrated Thanksgiving with Hubby's family.
Sunday: We went to see the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. Holy smokes, the babies were having a gymnastics meet in my belly during the movie! It had to be the effects of my own adrenaline from watching the movie. There were times that I jumped at different scenes, and got teary eyed at others. They were moving all over the place! Then we had Hubby's parents over for dinner afterwards.
So, things are getting harder. I don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace with working. I only work part time, but with something going on EVERY afternoon, I might as well be working full time. This week is no different, other than I get an extra day off for Thanksgiving! Woo-Hoo!
Last night, Hubby and I took our Infant CPR class at the hospital. I'm so glad that we did. I actually used to teach first aid and cpr in college, but that was a long time ago. I feel better having it refreshed. It makes me feel like I will be able to remain much more calm should a situation arise with our little ones.
Today, I am getting a massage! Yay!!! But.... it still means I won't get home until late afternoon.
Tomorrow I have another OB appointment.
How it's getting harder:
I'm hoping that I can make it through the next pay period, which means I would be working until Dec. 19th. We REALLY REALLY SUPER DUPER need for me to bring in one more paycheck. I will be just shy of 33 weeks at that point.
I can't believe we are actually going to have babies pretty soon. It is so surreal. It's also scary. I'm nervous for my doctor's appointment tomorrow. I'm going to ask her what she thinks is a realistic time line for me to continue working. I'm afraid that time is going to be sooner rather than later, now that my feet have started to swell. We will see....
Monday: I got my haircut and covered my gray. I really would have liked to grow it out a bit more, but it was just getting to be more than I could handle. It took too much work to comb it all out (I don't use a brush, or I would have an afro), and I couldn't leave it down to sleep on because it was too much work not to lay on it. I can barely roll over as it is without having to lift myself up to get off my hair! So, I got 4-5 inches cut off. It's still past my shoulders and can be pulled into a pony tail, but I feel so much better.
Tuesday: Our entire software system at work is getting replaced so we had to attend a 2 hour software training to learn the new program. It effects all our scheduling and how we get paid, so it was kind of important.
Wednesday: My work baby shower. I was overwhelmed with the love and support that was shown to me by the members here at the club. There were about 60 members in attendance, and many more that contributed gifts or money toward a gift certificate. I've worked here for over 8 years, and I've made a lot of friends. It was amazing. I received $510 in gift certificates! Not to mention the actual gifts received. As I said, it was very overwhelming, but much appreciated.
Thursday: I had an OB appointment and met with a different doctor at the clinic. I was not impressed. He wasn't very personable at all, so now I can only hope he is not the one on call when I deliver these babies. I did learn that I am measuring at 38 weeks pregnant already! Yikes! That means, if I actually do make it to 38 weeks, I will measure as if I am 11 months pregnant. Oy.
Friday: I don't work on Fridays, but I did have a lot of stuff that needed to be done. It was really, really nice to be able to do stuff at my leisure though, and take breaks as needed. Once I did my grocery shopping in the afternoon though, I was done in! That really zapped my energy. That night, my in-laws came over to help move the furniture into the nursery and help get it put together. I absolutely LOVE the nursery! The walls are done being painted, the cribs, dresser, and changing table are put into place, and the window topper is hung. It looks so great! I love it. We did rearrange the furniture a few different times to try to find the best fit. Two cribs make the room seem very small! I will share pictures after we get a little more done.
Saturday: We celebrated Thanksgiving with Hubby's family.
Sunday: We went to see the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. Holy smokes, the babies were having a gymnastics meet in my belly during the movie! It had to be the effects of my own adrenaline from watching the movie. There were times that I jumped at different scenes, and got teary eyed at others. They were moving all over the place! Then we had Hubby's parents over for dinner afterwards.
So, things are getting harder. I don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace with working. I only work part time, but with something going on EVERY afternoon, I might as well be working full time. This week is no different, other than I get an extra day off for Thanksgiving! Woo-Hoo!
Last night, Hubby and I took our Infant CPR class at the hospital. I'm so glad that we did. I actually used to teach first aid and cpr in college, but that was a long time ago. I feel better having it refreshed. It makes me feel like I will be able to remain much more calm should a situation arise with our little ones.
Today, I am getting a massage! Yay!!! But.... it still means I won't get home until late afternoon.
Tomorrow I have another OB appointment.
How it's getting harder:
- My feet started to really swell over the weekend. They aren't TOO bad yet, but they are getting there. I can't find a pair of socks that don't cut off my circulation, no matter how loose fitting they are. I'm getting nice indents on my legs from where my socks sit.
- Swelling aside, my feet just plain hurt if I stand on them for very long.
- I have a serious case of pregnancy induced carpal tunnel. The middle fingers on both of my hands are in a constant state of numbness, with the forefinger and thumb joining in the fun every time I lay down.
- It is a major workout to bend over and pick anything up off the floor. Or get dressed. Or do just about anything that requires movement.
- I can't move in bed hardly at all to change positions. It's not just uncomfortable, it actually hurts.
- I am exhausted.
I'm hoping that I can make it through the next pay period, which means I would be working until Dec. 19th. We REALLY REALLY SUPER DUPER need for me to bring in one more paycheck. I will be just shy of 33 weeks at that point.
I can't believe we are actually going to have babies pretty soon. It is so surreal. It's also scary. I'm nervous for my doctor's appointment tomorrow. I'm going to ask her what she thinks is a realistic time line for me to continue working. I'm afraid that time is going to be sooner rather than later, now that my feet have started to swell. We will see....
Saturday, November 23, 2013
The Stork Award
The Stork Award is a new blogging award, created by my wonderful bloggie friend Teresa at Where the *Bleep* is Our Stork?. Not only is Teresa a bloggie friend, but she is also a fellow Oregonian that I had the opportunity to meet in person this past summer, which made us officially real life friends as well!
About the Stork Award:
Teresa thought of the hummingbird when developing this new award. The hummingbird generally symbolizes playfulness as well as adaptability. Additional symbolic meanings are: lightness of being, enjoyment of life, playfulness and joy, swiftness, and resiliency.
Teresa has found that many of the blogs she reads, remind her of the hummingbird. The strength and resilience that so many of you have is fascinating and inspiring.
I agree with her. I have found so much inspiration from the stories you share. We learn from each other how we might better handle loss, grief, struggle.... and we also learn how to be humble and conscious of others when we experience success.
Each of our stories are important, and each of us have something in our individual stories that can help someone along the way.
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| Teresa and me |
Teresa thought of the hummingbird when developing this new award. The hummingbird generally symbolizes playfulness as well as adaptability. Additional symbolic meanings are: lightness of being, enjoyment of life, playfulness and joy, swiftness, and resiliency.
Teresa has found that many of the blogs she reads, remind her of the hummingbird. The strength and resilience that so many of you have is fascinating and inspiring.
I agree with her. I have found so much inspiration from the stories you share. We learn from each other how we might better handle loss, grief, struggle.... and we also learn how to be humble and conscious of others when we experience success.
Each of our stories are important, and each of us have something in our individual stories that can help someone along the way.
How it works:
1. Include the Stork Award icon in your post
2. Link to the person(s) who nominated you
3. Answer the 10 questions about yourself
4. Nominate as many bloggers as you want to receive the award
1. Include the Stork Award icon in your post
2. Link to the person(s) who nominated you
3. Answer the 10 questions about yourself
4. Nominate as many bloggers as you want to receive the award
5. Ask your nominees 10 new
questions
6. Link your nominees and
let them know they've been nominated
7. Post the Stork Award
icon on your blog side bar if you are so inclined
My Questions from Teresa:
1. Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? I tend to be spontaneous. Some of our best vacations have been the ones we fly by the seat of our pants without reservations and decide as we go what we want to do. We once traveled to Pennsylvania to watch Oregon State football play Penn State. Our only planned activities were the game, and to spend one night in Philadelphia site seeing. After that, it was a toss up. We ended up visiting Gettysburg, then driving down to Delaware where we had dinner and spent the night. The next morning we took the Cape May-Lewis Ferry across to New Jersey, drove to Atlantic City where we walked on the boardwalk for an hour. Then we had to make a quick drive back to Philadelphia to catch our flight home. It was an amazing trip, and we did SO much in just that one weekend!
2. What embarrasses you? Feeling stupid in front of people.
3. What are some of your favorite websites? The websites I spend the majority of my time on are kind of boring in that it is nothing unusual. Blogger so I can read all of your blogs, Facebook, and Pinterest. That's about it.
4. How would you explain your basic life philosophy? Growing up, I lived by the philosophy that if I had to hide what I was doing, I probably shouldn't be doing it. I was a goody two shoes. Now, I try to live by the idea that we CHOOSE our response to what life throws at us. We can't control what all life has to hand us, but we CAN choose how we respond to it. CHOOSE to be happy. I am not always successful at this, but I try to be.
5. Would you rather be hated or forgotten? Ouch. This is a really tough question. I absolutely can't stand to be hated, or to have people mad at me. On the other hand, it's kind of a terrible thought to think that I might not make an impact on the people around me and they forget me. Between the two, I guess I'd rather be forgotten, because I probably wouldn't know the difference. If someone hated me, it would grate on me forever.
6. What do you like least about yourself? My insecurities (read above). I wish I was a more self confident person. I know who I am and what I stand for, but it turns me inside out to have someone be mad at me.
7. Do you have a favorite number? Any particular reason why you like that number? In high school, playing sports, I always had #11 or #12. No particular reason that I can remember at all. Right now, my favorite number is each week I get to count down in this pregnancy!
8. If you could try out any job for a day, what would you like to try? I would want to be on the coaching staff of a softball team playing in the College World Series!
9. If you could go back in history, who would you like to meet? Jesus. Without question.
10. How are you, really? I am extremely happy to be growing these twins, but this past week has turned a corner on the difficulty level. I am getting more exhausted more easily. My hands hurt and seem to be getting worse due to pregnancy induced carpal tunnel. I don't sleep very well at all, and I have been really emotional this week. I am otherwise doing very well!
All of you who have shared your stories, and also have shared your friendship with me in this blogging community, mean more than simple words can express. Any time I nominate my bloggie friends for awards, I inevitably leave some of you out. Please know that all of you are important and have a special place in my heart.
For this special award, I am nominating those that I have felt the most love and support from through the ups and downs of my journey this past year. Your friendship is immeasurable and truly appreciated.
My nominees:
1. Teresa at Where the *Bleep* is Our Stork
2. Erin at The Gypsy Mama
3. Em at Teach Me to Braid
4. Stacie at Life As I Know It
5. Aubrey at Two Hearts and One Dream
6. Tonisha at I Can Do This
7. Aimee at Is It Time Yet?
8. Kimberly at No Good Eggs
9. Jane at Mine to Command
10. Aramis at It Only Takes One
11. Melissa at Ask An Infertile
My questions for you:
1. If you could live anywhere in the world (besides where you live now), where would it be?
2. What is your hidden talent that few people know about?
3. Who has been your biggest role model/mentor?
4. What is your fondest childhood memory?
5. If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
6. What is your favorite holiday and why?
7. Do you have any collections and if so, what are they?
8. What is your most prized possession?
9. What is your love story? How did you and your husband meet?
10. How would you describe your personality?
One of my favorite thing to read on other people's blogs is answers to these types of questions. I love learning more about you, so I hope that you will participate! If not, well, I thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blog :)
*Even if you are not listed as one of the nominees, please feel free to answer the questions if you want to!
5. Aubrey at Two Hearts and One Dream
6. Tonisha at I Can Do This
7. Aimee at Is It Time Yet?
8. Kimberly at No Good Eggs
9. Jane at Mine to Command
10. Aramis at It Only Takes One
11. Melissa at Ask An Infertile
My questions for you:
1. If you could live anywhere in the world (besides where you live now), where would it be?
2. What is your hidden talent that few people know about?
3. Who has been your biggest role model/mentor?
4. What is your fondest childhood memory?
5. If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
6. What is your favorite holiday and why?
7. Do you have any collections and if so, what are they?
8. What is your most prized possession?
9. What is your love story? How did you and your husband meet?
10. How would you describe your personality?
One of my favorite thing to read on other people's blogs is answers to these types of questions. I love learning more about you, so I hope that you will participate! If not, well, I thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blog :)
*Even if you are not listed as one of the nominees, please feel free to answer the questions if you want to!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Two Truths and A Lie
Okay, I'll play. I follow several bloggie friends that have done this, so I've been tagged multiple times. However, I'm only going to list TWO truths and ONE lie, even though I've been tagged more than that.
If you are reading this, well, now YOU are tagged and you have to play because those are the rules :)
Tell us 3 things about you and make one of them a lie. Try to think about what other bloggers might already know about you, what they might not know, and what might shock them. The trick is to make it difficult to figure out which one is the lie.
Here are 3 things about me:
If you are reading this, well, now YOU are tagged and you have to play because those are the rules :)
Tell us 3 things about you and make one of them a lie. Try to think about what other bloggers might already know about you, what they might not know, and what might shock them. The trick is to make it difficult to figure out which one is the lie.
Here are 3 things about me:
- One of my favorite things to do is to take my nieces and nephews to play in the park.
- In high school, my friends and I stole toilet paper out of port-a-potties to tp people's houses with.
- While in college, a group of friends and I snuck onto a golf course in the middle of the night to go swimming for golf balls in one of the ponds.
THE RULES:
Comment below with which one you think is a lie.
Make a new post on your blog and play the game.
After you get a bunch of guesses (or whenever you feel like it), make a new post to reveal the two truths and the lie and explain them if you want.
Tag! You're it!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Christmas Babies
Lady in grocery store: "you look like you're about to pop."
Me: "I still have quite a ways to go yet."
Lady: "maybe you'll have a Christmas baby."
Me: "I really hope not."
Lady launches into a story about the Christmas babies in her family and how much fun it is, reassuring me that it is the greatest thing ever, totally didn't hear me when I said there's two babies in there. I ended up walking away to finish my shopping.
This same conversation, almost word for word, has happened 5 times in the last week. FIVE TIMES! All but one of these conversations were with total strangers.
Okay, it's not that I have anything against Christmas babies. However, I would really like to NOT spend Christmas in the NICU because my babies are born so early. I will be 33 weeks at Christmas. Chances are that they would be healthy and be okay, but it's a little too early not to expect time in the NICU at that point.
I find it funny and a little annoying all at the same time. I enjoy people being excited about our pregnancy and our babies. I really don't mind at all when people touch my belly. I think it's kind of fun actually. However, that is limited to people I KNOW! I really don't understand total strangers asking when your due date is, or giving advice, or TOUCHING you without asking.
It's different when you are actually engaging with that person who is a stranger, but I find it odd when you are just going about your business and they specifically go out of their way to stop you.
I told my husband early on that I never realized that people get a little weird around a pregnant woman. It's as if normal rules of etiquette fly out the window. I made that observation way back in the first trimester. Little did I know then what I would be in for now!
For the most part, I do find it funny and get a kick out of it. However, I suspect the whole Christmas baby conversation is going to get a little old, especially when it's already happened 5 times before Thanksgiving....
Me: "I still have quite a ways to go yet."
Lady: "maybe you'll have a Christmas baby."
Me: "I really hope not."
Lady launches into a story about the Christmas babies in her family and how much fun it is, reassuring me that it is the greatest thing ever, totally didn't hear me when I said there's two babies in there. I ended up walking away to finish my shopping.
This same conversation, almost word for word, has happened 5 times in the last week. FIVE TIMES! All but one of these conversations were with total strangers.
Okay, it's not that I have anything against Christmas babies. However, I would really like to NOT spend Christmas in the NICU because my babies are born so early. I will be 33 weeks at Christmas. Chances are that they would be healthy and be okay, but it's a little too early not to expect time in the NICU at that point.
I find it funny and a little annoying all at the same time. I enjoy people being excited about our pregnancy and our babies. I really don't mind at all when people touch my belly. I think it's kind of fun actually. However, that is limited to people I KNOW! I really don't understand total strangers asking when your due date is, or giving advice, or TOUCHING you without asking.
It's different when you are actually engaging with that person who is a stranger, but I find it odd when you are just going about your business and they specifically go out of their way to stop you.
I told my husband early on that I never realized that people get a little weird around a pregnant woman. It's as if normal rules of etiquette fly out the window. I made that observation way back in the first trimester. Little did I know then what I would be in for now!
For the most part, I do find it funny and get a kick out of it. However, I suspect the whole Christmas baby conversation is going to get a little old, especially when it's already happened 5 times before Thanksgiving....
Monday, November 18, 2013
28 Weeks and Another Shower
Saturday marked 28 weeks for these babies of mine! I can't believe we have made it this far. I feel the babies moving around all the time now. Actually, we can SEE the babies moving around also. Such a cool thing to watch my belly ripple and jump. Hubby actually got to see it the other night too. He was so excited.
I still worry. I don't think that will ever stop. I worry about all the things that could go wrong, because I know that it DOES happen sometimes. My worst fear is to have one of them be delivered stillborn. I know too many people, in real life and in the blogoshere, that have had stillborn babies to not have that be a real fear. I will worry until I get to see them and hold them, and then a whole new set of worries will begin!
Anyway, enough of that! Saturday was also my second baby shower! This time it was with my side of the family and friends. I had a few friends from high school and college that came and it was so great to see them! I can't even begin to express how much it meant to me that so many came to help celebrate my babies.
Saturday also happened to be my Grandma's 80th birthday. After the shower, the men in the family joined us and we had pizza and cake to celebrate her birthday.
Here are a few pictures from the day:
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| My sister has a good friend that makes cakes and does an incredible job decorating them! |
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| The entire cake was edible, including the little babies on top. Although nobody ate them.... haha! |
Do you remember me telling you about my cousins announcing their pregnancy via Facebook? The same cousins that announced at Christmas last year that they were pregnant, only to later have a miscarriage? Well, anyway, they just had their baby girl in October. Between my newest niece, my cousin's new baby, and these twins, we are going to have lots of babies running around our family! By the way, I should mention that I am incredibly happy for my cousins and their adorable little girl. I just had a hard time with both of their pregnancy announcements when they happened.
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| My cousin-in-law and my sister with the newest members of our family. |
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| Getting some practice at holding two babies. Oh wait! I'm holding FOUR babies! |
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| Hubby's turn! |
Hubby is pretty funny about holding babies. When they are newborn, he absolutely has to sit down to hold them. He is petrified of "breaking" them. He loves babies and loves to hold them, but he must be sitting down. Actually, he has recently gotten better and will sometimes stand to hold our niece, but he absolutely refused to stand while holding these two. I think he's going to have to get used to it pretty quickly, because in a few months, he's not going to have a choice!
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| Feeling very much like a beached whale at the end of the days festivities. |
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| My adorable 8 week old niece with her mohawk. She was born with a lot of hair, but this is what she has left! Haha! |
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| All the loot from the shower |
Okay, and now I will close by sharing my 28 week belly pics:
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| And there it is.... or should I say, there they are? |
Friday, November 15, 2013
MFM Appointment
I know I promised to update yesterday and tell you all about my appointment, but....well, that just didn't happen, as you know.
The appointment went really, really good. I am so happy with where we are at right now. It actually seems quite unbelievable how well things have been going, minus a few minor hiccups here and there.
We got to see both the babies, although now that they are bigger, the image seemed very obscure to Hubby and I on the screen. The u/s tech said it may seem that way to us, but to her, she is able to see what she needs to a million times better. She is able to zoom into each organ and see details so much more clearly now. For us, we are just lucky she is telling us what she is looking at or we would never know! How would we know that little line on the screen was the diaphragm? Or that certain blob was the kidneys? You get the idea. We can tell the heart, since you can see it beating. And of course we could make out their profiles... barely. ha!
Anyway, both babies look good. The tech still wasn't able to see the one arch in the heart that has been eluding us every time on Baby A. Baby girl is just not in a good position for the tech to see it. The MFM doctor says that there is no reason to suspect any abnormality there though because everything else looks so good.
Both babies are head down. Baby A has been head down every single time, but Baby B seems to go back and forth. As of Wednesday, he was also head down. Hopefully he stays that way. Initially, only Baby A had to be head down to attempt a vaginal birth. However, Baby B appears to be ginormous! His head measures 3 WEEKS bigger than his gestational age! Dr. MFM says that is okay, because it's symmetrical to the rest of his measurements. However, if he ends up breech, they do not want to attempt a vaginal birth because that would risk his head getting stuck. That just makes me shudder to think of his little (giant) body being delivered, but his head stuck inside. I mean, what the heck do they DO in that situation. I agree with her assessment. I don't want to find out. As much as the thought of a c-section terrifies me, the other scenario is much more terrifying. But, maybe he will behave and stay head down and we won't even have to worry about it.
Right now, Baby A is 2 lbs, 4 oz. Baby B is 2 lbs, 15 oz. He's basically 3 pounds already!!! I have no idea what percentile these measurements put the babies in, but I know they are on the upper end, especially our linebacker. When Dr. MFM was talking to us about delivery scenarios, she mentioned our due date being Feb. 7th. I corrected her and told her it's the 8th. She laughed and said, "oh my gosh that makes Baby B even BIGGER!" We all thought that was pretty funny.
She talked to us about how if/when we make it to 38 weeks, that will be January 25th, and they will want to induce at that point. She said they would be very comfortable if we can even just make it to the 36 week mark, which would be January 11th. It was so exciting to be talking about all this. It still seems so far away, but yet, it's really not. I just hope things continue to go smoothly and we actually can keep these babies cooking until that point.
I was very pleased that Dr. MFM also took the time to talk about my liver issue and the rash I have. At this point, I only have one liver marker that is elevated. Not a lot, but enough to just keep an eye on. She talked about how they have ruled out the 3 serious situations that could be the cause for my rash. It's difficult to diagnose the rash, other than it just being a straight up pregnancy rash due to the stretching of the skin and hormonal changes my body is going through. It could be PUPPPs, but it would be a very mild case at this point. She called it a mystery rash that seems to be nothing serious, just annoying. They did prescribe a steroid cream that I can use, but I have hesitated on rushing to get it. I haven't even taken Tylenol this whole pregnancy. I've always been one to take medicine only as a last resort if absolutely necessary. She assured me that the topical steroid is safe, and we are far enough along in our pregnancy that everything is already formed in the babies and we don't need to worry about birth defects. At this point, their (the babies) job is to just keep growing!
That made sense to me, but I asked her, what about autism and things like that. I loved her answer in that Dr. MFM explained that there is not conclusive evidence as to what the specific causes of autism are. She talked about several studies she has participated in, and all the research that is being done on autism, but there just aren't solid answers at this point. I appreciated the fact that she didn't just come out and say it's nothing to worry about. She doesn't THINK that it is a concern, but she couldn't guarantee it either. Her final recommendation was, if one of the babies were to come out and ended up with something like autism, to ask myself if I would look back and regret using the cream and always wonder if it was to blame? My thoughts at this point: I don't know. For now, I am choosing to suffer through the itching.
Also, I passed my glucose test that I took on Tuesday! Wooooo Hooooooo! I am soooo happy that I don't have to worry about that! Dr. MFM said she was very impressed and that I had an outstanding pancreas. Go me :)
We got a few profile pics of the babies, although, as I mentioned earlier, they aren't the best or most clear images.
The appointment went really, really good. I am so happy with where we are at right now. It actually seems quite unbelievable how well things have been going, minus a few minor hiccups here and there.
We got to see both the babies, although now that they are bigger, the image seemed very obscure to Hubby and I on the screen. The u/s tech said it may seem that way to us, but to her, she is able to see what she needs to a million times better. She is able to zoom into each organ and see details so much more clearly now. For us, we are just lucky she is telling us what she is looking at or we would never know! How would we know that little line on the screen was the diaphragm? Or that certain blob was the kidneys? You get the idea. We can tell the heart, since you can see it beating. And of course we could make out their profiles... barely. ha!
Anyway, both babies look good. The tech still wasn't able to see the one arch in the heart that has been eluding us every time on Baby A. Baby girl is just not in a good position for the tech to see it. The MFM doctor says that there is no reason to suspect any abnormality there though because everything else looks so good.
Both babies are head down. Baby A has been head down every single time, but Baby B seems to go back and forth. As of Wednesday, he was also head down. Hopefully he stays that way. Initially, only Baby A had to be head down to attempt a vaginal birth. However, Baby B appears to be ginormous! His head measures 3 WEEKS bigger than his gestational age! Dr. MFM says that is okay, because it's symmetrical to the rest of his measurements. However, if he ends up breech, they do not want to attempt a vaginal birth because that would risk his head getting stuck. That just makes me shudder to think of his little (giant) body being delivered, but his head stuck inside. I mean, what the heck do they DO in that situation. I agree with her assessment. I don't want to find out. As much as the thought of a c-section terrifies me, the other scenario is much more terrifying. But, maybe he will behave and stay head down and we won't even have to worry about it.
Right now, Baby A is 2 lbs, 4 oz. Baby B is 2 lbs, 15 oz. He's basically 3 pounds already!!! I have no idea what percentile these measurements put the babies in, but I know they are on the upper end, especially our linebacker. When Dr. MFM was talking to us about delivery scenarios, she mentioned our due date being Feb. 7th. I corrected her and told her it's the 8th. She laughed and said, "oh my gosh that makes Baby B even BIGGER!" We all thought that was pretty funny.
She talked to us about how if/when we make it to 38 weeks, that will be January 25th, and they will want to induce at that point. She said they would be very comfortable if we can even just make it to the 36 week mark, which would be January 11th. It was so exciting to be talking about all this. It still seems so far away, but yet, it's really not. I just hope things continue to go smoothly and we actually can keep these babies cooking until that point.
I was very pleased that Dr. MFM also took the time to talk about my liver issue and the rash I have. At this point, I only have one liver marker that is elevated. Not a lot, but enough to just keep an eye on. She talked about how they have ruled out the 3 serious situations that could be the cause for my rash. It's difficult to diagnose the rash, other than it just being a straight up pregnancy rash due to the stretching of the skin and hormonal changes my body is going through. It could be PUPPPs, but it would be a very mild case at this point. She called it a mystery rash that seems to be nothing serious, just annoying. They did prescribe a steroid cream that I can use, but I have hesitated on rushing to get it. I haven't even taken Tylenol this whole pregnancy. I've always been one to take medicine only as a last resort if absolutely necessary. She assured me that the topical steroid is safe, and we are far enough along in our pregnancy that everything is already formed in the babies and we don't need to worry about birth defects. At this point, their (the babies) job is to just keep growing!
That made sense to me, but I asked her, what about autism and things like that. I loved her answer in that Dr. MFM explained that there is not conclusive evidence as to what the specific causes of autism are. She talked about several studies she has participated in, and all the research that is being done on autism, but there just aren't solid answers at this point. I appreciated the fact that she didn't just come out and say it's nothing to worry about. She doesn't THINK that it is a concern, but she couldn't guarantee it either. Her final recommendation was, if one of the babies were to come out and ended up with something like autism, to ask myself if I would look back and regret using the cream and always wonder if it was to blame? My thoughts at this point: I don't know. For now, I am choosing to suffer through the itching.
Also, I passed my glucose test that I took on Tuesday! Wooooo Hooooooo! I am soooo happy that I don't have to worry about that! Dr. MFM said she was very impressed and that I had an outstanding pancreas. Go me :)
We got a few profile pics of the babies, although, as I mentioned earlier, they aren't the best or most clear images.
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| Baby A's profile |
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| Baby B's profile |
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| Both heads together. You can see how much BIGGER baby B's head is! Holy cow! |
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
27 Weeks and A Baby Shower
This last Saturday was a busy day! It also marked 27 weeks for me and these babies. At first it seemed like time was going by very quickly and I was feeling like we may not get things done in time, but now it feels like time has slowed down and I can't count these weeks off fast enough. I know it will speed up again soon, but I just want these babies to be here safe and sound already. Not literally here right now. I actually want them to stay cooking a lot longer, but I want those weeks to tick on by so we are in the safe zone! Is there such a thing?
Saturday was my first baby shower with Hubby's side of the family. It turned out very nice and I really enjoyed it. There were quite a few people that weren't able to make it because they were sick, so it was kind of a small shower, but I did enjoy visiting with those that came.
I was very excited to get some much needed items for the babies. I've been stressing about everything that we may have to go buy if people only got us clothes and blankets (the fun stuff), but I'm feeling a little more relaxed about that now. We got both of our Rock n' Play Sleepers, a high chair, and a Play Mat, which are all higher ticket items that add up! We also got a lot of bath wash and lotions, a few bottles, diapers, and other items as well.
One person that lives out of town sent two cards, one for each baby, and a $50 gift card - for each baby! Having that $100 in gift cards, and knowing that people at work are going in on a large gift card for us as well, provides a lot of stress relief, knowing that we will have that to use to get any other necessary items that we don't receive at the showers.
It feels pretty selfish wanting to get all this stuff at our showers. I always thought it would just be a fun party to celebrate the babies and get cute baby stuff, but when it comes down to NEEDING all this stuff for the babies, I find myself thinking more about what I hope people gift us with! That makes me feel pretty awful actually, but we are SO tight on money right now. I don't know how we are going to make it without my income for those months that I will be off. And I don't want to have to go back to work, but I'm pretty sure that is not an option.
I wanted to share pictures from the shower, but I didn't really get any good ones. I have one picture of me with my MIL and Hubby's Aunt who threw us the shower, but it turned out super dark with my camera phone.
My sister took one picture of my super cute little niece and sent it to me.
But that's all I got for pictures.
While us girls were at the shower, Hubby and his brother tore out our moldy bathroom ceiling and replaced it, along with a new high powered bathroom fan. The venting system was so bad that it wasn't pulling the moisture to outside and it was just pooling on the attic side of the ceiling which was causing us major problems. They put in new venting and rerouted it so hopefully we won't have this problem ever again! We still have some more work to do in there, but we have to wait for my BIL to make the trip down next weekend to finish it up. They live a few hours away from us. He builds houses for a living and I am so grateful for his help.
I don't have any before pics of our bathroom. I am so bad at taking before pictures! I always get the after....
On Sunday, we painted the nursery. Okay, let me rephrase that. Hubby painted the nursery. I helped tape up the walls, but then I was outta there. The walls are grey, and this week we are going to paint a big navy stripe on the wall above where the cribs will be. Then we are going to put a thin red line on the top and bottom of the navy stripe. On the opposite wall, I am going to put baseball stitching on the right hand upper corner and lower left corner. It's hard to explain, but once we get it done, I WILL take pictures!
This Friday we are getting our carpets cleaned and then this weekend Hubby will start putting the cribs together! I'm so excited to see how the nursery will look once we start getting it put together. I also have another baby shower this weekend with my side of the family/friends. Next Wednesday is my work shower. I'm sure we will have more baby stuff than we'll know what to do with!
This afternoon we have a MFM appointment and ultrasound. I am super excited to see the babies again. I am also super nervous. Until I see that each baby is okay, it is very nerve racking going into these appointments. I'm also really curious to hear what the MFM doctor has to say about my liver issue. I will try to update tomorrow about how the appointment goes.
Saturday was my first baby shower with Hubby's side of the family. It turned out very nice and I really enjoyed it. There were quite a few people that weren't able to make it because they were sick, so it was kind of a small shower, but I did enjoy visiting with those that came.
I was very excited to get some much needed items for the babies. I've been stressing about everything that we may have to go buy if people only got us clothes and blankets (the fun stuff), but I'm feeling a little more relaxed about that now. We got both of our Rock n' Play Sleepers, a high chair, and a Play Mat, which are all higher ticket items that add up! We also got a lot of bath wash and lotions, a few bottles, diapers, and other items as well.
One person that lives out of town sent two cards, one for each baby, and a $50 gift card - for each baby! Having that $100 in gift cards, and knowing that people at work are going in on a large gift card for us as well, provides a lot of stress relief, knowing that we will have that to use to get any other necessary items that we don't receive at the showers.
It feels pretty selfish wanting to get all this stuff at our showers. I always thought it would just be a fun party to celebrate the babies and get cute baby stuff, but when it comes down to NEEDING all this stuff for the babies, I find myself thinking more about what I hope people gift us with! That makes me feel pretty awful actually, but we are SO tight on money right now. I don't know how we are going to make it without my income for those months that I will be off. And I don't want to have to go back to work, but I'm pretty sure that is not an option.
I wanted to share pictures from the shower, but I didn't really get any good ones. I have one picture of me with my MIL and Hubby's Aunt who threw us the shower, but it turned out super dark with my camera phone.
My sister took one picture of my super cute little niece and sent it to me.
But that's all I got for pictures.
While us girls were at the shower, Hubby and his brother tore out our moldy bathroom ceiling and replaced it, along with a new high powered bathroom fan. The venting system was so bad that it wasn't pulling the moisture to outside and it was just pooling on the attic side of the ceiling which was causing us major problems. They put in new venting and rerouted it so hopefully we won't have this problem ever again! We still have some more work to do in there, but we have to wait for my BIL to make the trip down next weekend to finish it up. They live a few hours away from us. He builds houses for a living and I am so grateful for his help.
I don't have any before pics of our bathroom. I am so bad at taking before pictures! I always get the after....
On Sunday, we painted the nursery. Okay, let me rephrase that. Hubby painted the nursery. I helped tape up the walls, but then I was outta there. The walls are grey, and this week we are going to paint a big navy stripe on the wall above where the cribs will be. Then we are going to put a thin red line on the top and bottom of the navy stripe. On the opposite wall, I am going to put baseball stitching on the right hand upper corner and lower left corner. It's hard to explain, but once we get it done, I WILL take pictures!
This Friday we are getting our carpets cleaned and then this weekend Hubby will start putting the cribs together! I'm so excited to see how the nursery will look once we start getting it put together. I also have another baby shower this weekend with my side of the family/friends. Next Wednesday is my work shower. I'm sure we will have more baby stuff than we'll know what to do with!
This afternoon we have a MFM appointment and ultrasound. I am super excited to see the babies again. I am also super nervous. Until I see that each baby is okay, it is very nerve racking going into these appointments. I'm also really curious to hear what the MFM doctor has to say about my liver issue. I will try to update tomorrow about how the appointment goes.
Friday, November 8, 2013
"Do Twins Run In Your Family?"
As interfiles, we learn to deal with a lot of awkward conversations. In the beginning, we were asked the common questions of "when are you going to have kids?" by people you know, or "do you have kids?" from people you don't know.
Those questions never really bothered me too much, although I know that others find those types of questions rather painful. Even though I never got upset by those questions, it was still an awkward conversation to have at times. You get lots of unsolicited advice, and I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I was asked if I'd ever considered adoption, or asked "why don't you just adopt?"
In fact, my MIL and another good friend of mine always felt the need to call me when they knew of a child in need of adoption. They'd give me the whole story, tell me I should call so and so, and think that we could magically just adopt this child in need. Little did they know that there is a whole entire process that has to take place. Also, the child's extended family isn't able to just pick who they want to adopt their little one. The system unfortunately doesn't work that way. I'd always get my hopes up and think well, maybe, what if, every time this would happen. Another factor that people don't realize is that adoption is expensive!
Now, fast forward to our present situation. We are finally pregnant after 16 years of being married and 14 years of trying for a family. The questions have changed, especially now that I am obviously pregnant with my growing belly.
Remember I work in a fitness club with the public, so I see a lot of people on a daily basis at work. When people find out I am having twins, it never fails that they ask "do twins run in your family?" Actually, now that I think about it, I've been asked that by a few nurses as well! Everyone just seems to jump to that question.
This is how the conversation typically goes down:
"Do twins run in your family?"
Me: "No."
"Oh, so it was a surprise then? Were you and your husband shocked?"
Me: "Nope. We knew it was a possibility."
Then comes the befuddled look on the person's face. Sometimes I will tell them that we had a lot of help from science, or we had to undergo fertility treatments to get pregnant. I have not had ANYONE respond to that and the conversation usually ends there. It's always awkward, but I really don't mind that either.
The one question that does get me a little bit though: "is this your first baby(ies)?"
Yes. And our last.
Even if we were only pregnant with one baby, this would still be our last. I am 39 years old and Hubby will be 41 in January. He's already a little freaked out that we are going to be (almost) 60 when these kids graduate from high school.
Besides that, it's not like we could just decide to have another baby even if we wanted to. We are in debt up to our ears getting pregnant now, and it took us 14 years to get here. It also required an egg donor. Yes, these will be our first babies, but they will also be our last.
We've decided there is one really great thing about all this infertility stuff. Hubby doesn't ever have to worry about getting snipped!
Those questions never really bothered me too much, although I know that others find those types of questions rather painful. Even though I never got upset by those questions, it was still an awkward conversation to have at times. You get lots of unsolicited advice, and I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I was asked if I'd ever considered adoption, or asked "why don't you just adopt?"
In fact, my MIL and another good friend of mine always felt the need to call me when they knew of a child in need of adoption. They'd give me the whole story, tell me I should call so and so, and think that we could magically just adopt this child in need. Little did they know that there is a whole entire process that has to take place. Also, the child's extended family isn't able to just pick who they want to adopt their little one. The system unfortunately doesn't work that way. I'd always get my hopes up and think well, maybe, what if, every time this would happen. Another factor that people don't realize is that adoption is expensive!
Now, fast forward to our present situation. We are finally pregnant after 16 years of being married and 14 years of trying for a family. The questions have changed, especially now that I am obviously pregnant with my growing belly.
Remember I work in a fitness club with the public, so I see a lot of people on a daily basis at work. When people find out I am having twins, it never fails that they ask "do twins run in your family?" Actually, now that I think about it, I've been asked that by a few nurses as well! Everyone just seems to jump to that question.
This is how the conversation typically goes down:
"Do twins run in your family?"
Me: "No."
"Oh, so it was a surprise then? Were you and your husband shocked?"
Me: "Nope. We knew it was a possibility."
Then comes the befuddled look on the person's face. Sometimes I will tell them that we had a lot of help from science, or we had to undergo fertility treatments to get pregnant. I have not had ANYONE respond to that and the conversation usually ends there. It's always awkward, but I really don't mind that either.
The one question that does get me a little bit though: "is this your first baby(ies)?"
Yes. And our last.
Even if we were only pregnant with one baby, this would still be our last. I am 39 years old and Hubby will be 41 in January. He's already a little freaked out that we are going to be (almost) 60 when these kids graduate from high school.
Besides that, it's not like we could just decide to have another baby even if we wanted to. We are in debt up to our ears getting pregnant now, and it took us 14 years to get here. It also required an egg donor. Yes, these will be our first babies, but they will also be our last.
We've decided there is one really great thing about all this infertility stuff. Hubby doesn't ever have to worry about getting snipped!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Results and Other Stuff
After my u/s and blood work yesterday, I was told that it would be a few days for the results to come in. Shockingly, I got a call from Dr. P yesterday afternoon with the results!
The u/s that they did on the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, and aorta showed no abnormalities. The blood work showed my liver enzymes to still be elevated, although slightly improved. Overall, it was great news. However, Dr. P said they wanted to keep a close eye on it, so they want me to go in once/week. I thought she meant to repeat the blood work panel each week, but when the person called to schedule all the appointments, I was told I would actually be meeting with one of the doctors each time. Dr. P is not available for the next two weeks, so I will be meeting with another OB at the clinic instead. I don't mind this actually, since it's not guaranteed Dr. P will be the one on call when I deliver. This gives me a chance to meet a few of the other doctors.
I was pleased to hear that everything appears normal for the most part, but after thinking about it for awhile, I started to question that. If it's not anything to be concerned about, then why do I need to go in every single week? I mean, I already have an appointment with either the MFM or Dr. P every two weeks as it is. Dr. P has forwarded all this info to the MFM doctor so she is aware of the situation as well.
I actually have THREE appointments next week: Tuesday I go in for a glucose test, Wednesday is my MFM appointment and u/s (I can't wait to see my babies again!), and now Thursday I will be meeting with an OB. It seems a little overkill, but I am not going to complain because I am just so glad that I have doctors that are taking a strong interest and wanting to monitor everything. It's just time consuming and interferes with my afternoon nap! lol
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In other news, we have most of our kitchen put back together, with the exception of a few pictures still not hung and our food cupboard still not brought back in the house. Hubby and his dad tried bringing it in the other night, but....the new flooring sits about a 1/2 inch taller than before and the cupboard doesn't fit! So back out to the garage the cupboard went. Fortunately, there is a little space on the top and bottom of the cupboard that can be sawed off. Until then, our dry food continues to sit in totes on the floor...
Friday, Hubby will begin painting the nursery. Yay! And Saturday, his brother is going to come over and replace our bathroom ceiling fan and reroute the vent so water can actually escape to outside rather than collecting on our ceiling and causing everything to mold.
Also this Saturday is my first shower! I should clarify, this is my MIL's baby shower, not really mine. I say that in jest, but really, it's true. It's her party. I had nothing to do with the guest list even. Of course all the Aunts and Cousins are invited, but then it is all of my MIL's close friends. She keeps telling me so and so is coming, and I'm like, great! I haven't seen that person in about 15 years, but okay. It really is okay, but I do find it humorous. I am super excited for the shower.
Then the following weekend is a shower with my family/friends, and on that Wednesday, they are throwing me a shower at work. I am soooo excited to start really getting stuff for the babies and figure out what necessities we will still need to buy. I am very nervous about that part. We don't have a lot of extra money to spend since we will shortly be losing my income. And my income is necessary to help pay our bills! I'm not sure how it's all going to work out, but we will find a way. Hopefully...
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Last night, I registered online for us to take an Infant CPR class at the hospital. We aren't taking any other classes, but that is one we both agreed would be important. The thought of having those babies home and one of them stops breathing scares me to death. I want to be as prepared as possible.
We probably should take some sort of birthing preparation class for Hubby's sake, but I've been through Lamaze class with my sister for her first baby, and have been there for three of her four kids being born. Besides that, the class cost $70 each AND takes more time, so we decided to pass.
We did sign up for a tour of the birthing center though. The tour is free, and we'll just be that much more prepared for when the time comes. Even though I've been through it with my sister, it is different when it's myself! Plus, I've never seen the NICU or the operation room. I don't know if either of those are included in the tour, but I do know that both are real possibilities since we have twins. I've heard that they always have twins deliver in the operating room because the chance of having an emergency c-section, or needing a blood transfusion is so high.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Liver Update
I realize I've kept you all hanging since my last post, but until yesterday, I really didn't have any update to give you. Plus... I've been lazy about getting on the computer. We've been so busy with all of our house projects, and between that and me not sleeping at night, I just don't have the extra energy to muster when I get off work.
I finally heard back from Dr. P yesterday with the rest of the results regarding my liver function. Most everything came back normal, except for one thing (which I can't even begin to remember what it was). The number came back at 66, and normal is considered 60. Dr. P said that because it is just barely above normal, they aren't really too concerned, and if I were to repeat the blood work it very well could come back normal because it is so close.
Just to stay on top of things though, she wanted me to get an u/s on my gallbladder to rule things out. She did also want me to repeat the blood work. She's also forwarded all this info to the MFM doctor so everybody will be aware and keeping a close eye on any complications that may come about.
So today I went in for the u/s on the gallbladder. I got the same tech that always does my baby u/s. She does a fantastic job and I was so happy to see that she would be doing the test. In addition to the gallbladder, she also looked at the liver, kidneys, and aorta. Off in the distance on the screen, she pointed out one of the babies, but you couldn't really see it that clearly. I was hoping she would do a quick scan of the babies for me, but she didn't and I didn't ask her too because I know that's not what I was there for. DARN! We get to see the babies again next week anyway, so oh well.
After the u/s, I had to go to the lab to repeat the blood work. I was a little nervous about them being able to draw the blood since I was pretty dehydrated. I had to fast for 8 hours prior to the u/s, and I wasn't sure if that included drinking water so I had only taken a couple sips of water all morning. My experience has been that the more hydrated you are, the easier it is for them to do the blood draw. And then, what do you know? She also wanted a urine sample. Uhhh? I told the gal I was going to need some water in order for that to happen. It's a good thing my bladder fills pretty quickly! I was able to get a little trickle out for her, but it was pretty ugly (very yellow/brown) since I basically hadn't drank anything all morning. I don't know if or how that may or may not effect the results of the urine sample compared to usual when I am typically fully hydrated.
It's going to take a few days for all these results to come back and then I will be hearing from Dr. P again. Hopefully, it won't be anything to worry about.
In the meantime, I am still struggling with my rash. It is so uncomfortable and itchy all over my belly and spine. Unfortunately it is worse at night! They say that pregnancy rashes generally go away once you give birth. It's too bad that's still (hopefully) two plus months away!!! I can't imagine itching like this for another two months! My skin is going to be shredded. Not too mention being stretched beyond belief with two babies.
I did go get some Grandpa's Pine Tar soap and have been using that when I shower. It has a weird smell, but it lathers great. I really can't tell you if it's making a difference or not, but I've been told it's the best thing to use. Dr. P gave me a prescription for a topical steroid, but I haven't filled it yet. I am just so leery of using or taking anything. That's nothing new really, I've always avoided taking medicines whenever I could help it. I think I'm going to have to break down and go get the prescription filled though.
Other than the rash and the right side rib pain, which is most likely from the liver, I am feeling pretty good. Oh, and the whole lack of sleep thing, but I think I'm getting used to that so long as I can get that nap in during the day.
I finally heard back from Dr. P yesterday with the rest of the results regarding my liver function. Most everything came back normal, except for one thing (which I can't even begin to remember what it was). The number came back at 66, and normal is considered 60. Dr. P said that because it is just barely above normal, they aren't really too concerned, and if I were to repeat the blood work it very well could come back normal because it is so close.
Just to stay on top of things though, she wanted me to get an u/s on my gallbladder to rule things out. She did also want me to repeat the blood work. She's also forwarded all this info to the MFM doctor so everybody will be aware and keeping a close eye on any complications that may come about.
So today I went in for the u/s on the gallbladder. I got the same tech that always does my baby u/s. She does a fantastic job and I was so happy to see that she would be doing the test. In addition to the gallbladder, she also looked at the liver, kidneys, and aorta. Off in the distance on the screen, she pointed out one of the babies, but you couldn't really see it that clearly. I was hoping she would do a quick scan of the babies for me, but she didn't and I didn't ask her too because I know that's not what I was there for. DARN! We get to see the babies again next week anyway, so oh well.
After the u/s, I had to go to the lab to repeat the blood work. I was a little nervous about them being able to draw the blood since I was pretty dehydrated. I had to fast for 8 hours prior to the u/s, and I wasn't sure if that included drinking water so I had only taken a couple sips of water all morning. My experience has been that the more hydrated you are, the easier it is for them to do the blood draw. And then, what do you know? She also wanted a urine sample. Uhhh? I told the gal I was going to need some water in order for that to happen. It's a good thing my bladder fills pretty quickly! I was able to get a little trickle out for her, but it was pretty ugly (very yellow/brown) since I basically hadn't drank anything all morning. I don't know if or how that may or may not effect the results of the urine sample compared to usual when I am typically fully hydrated.
It's going to take a few days for all these results to come back and then I will be hearing from Dr. P again. Hopefully, it won't be anything to worry about.
In the meantime, I am still struggling with my rash. It is so uncomfortable and itchy all over my belly and spine. Unfortunately it is worse at night! They say that pregnancy rashes generally go away once you give birth. It's too bad that's still (hopefully) two plus months away!!! I can't imagine itching like this for another two months! My skin is going to be shredded. Not too mention being stretched beyond belief with two babies.
I did go get some Grandpa's Pine Tar soap and have been using that when I shower. It has a weird smell, but it lathers great. I really can't tell you if it's making a difference or not, but I've been told it's the best thing to use. Dr. P gave me a prescription for a topical steroid, but I haven't filled it yet. I am just so leery of using or taking anything. That's nothing new really, I've always avoided taking medicines whenever I could help it. I think I'm going to have to break down and go get the prescription filled though.
Other than the rash and the right side rib pain, which is most likely from the liver, I am feeling pretty good. Oh, and the whole lack of sleep thing, but I think I'm getting used to that so long as I can get that nap in during the day.
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