Cletus the Fetus

They are no longer embryos, they're Fetus'!!!
We had our first High Risk appointment today which means we got another ultrasound. Baby A was a moving and a shaking. Baby B was just hanging out, making a move here or there to let us know he/she is there. It will be interesting to see if this pattern continues. Already taking after mama and daddy, A is high strung like me and B is just chilling like daddy. Both were measuring right on target at 9 weeks. Their hr were both in the 170s, which they said is right where it is supposed to be for this gestational age. They are definitely fraternal. As the doctor described it, they both have their own rooms (sacs) and own air conditioners (placentas.) Not having to share their only source of nourishment eases my anxieties a bit. The Dr. said I can continue to work 12 hr shifts until I feel I can't, then he will just follow my lead (sweet! we know how I like to have control!)

This is what is going on with them this week
"Cartilage and bones begin to form. The basic structure of the eye is well underway and the tongue begins to develop. The intestines start to move out of the umbilical cord and into the abdomen as the body grows and makes room. The fingers and thumb have appeared but are short and webbed.

Multiples: The babies are developing just like singleton babies. Each baby is about one gram in weight and about the same size as singleton babies." They are both just shy of an inch. They are about the size of a green olive. 

Clearly Baby A wants all the attention because he/she kept pushing brother/sister out of the way. So this week you get to see all A and minimal B.

We have our first OB appointment tomorrow, of which I have to fly solo because G couldn't get off of work. I'm sure they will just be doing boring stuff, so I'd rather him get to see the babies at the High Risk. We will get to see the little buggers every 3 weeks until 34 weeks then every week, unless something comes up. Next appointment to see them is Valentines Day. Is there a better way to spend it? I think not!!

Crib!

Buying a crib was just like buying a wedding dress. I looked and looked and when I finally saw one I liked, I stopped looking. We had been to target a few times and just didn't like anything we saw. I went today to get some new linens for the spare bed (figured there be a lot of guests in the future) and low and behold they got a new line of cribs. It was love at first sight! God bless my amazing and patient husband... after a long day of work he still went to buy AND set it up.  He's so good to me. I guess after 10 years of being together he knows I would have put it together by myself tomorrow and he wanted to safe me the aggravation. Smart man!  The dogs didn't know what the heck was happening. That is Boston's room. He prefers to sleep in there by himself on the bed at night. Now he will have to share it with his brothers/sisters. Hopefully those kids will be used to barking by the time they come out of my belly. After much reading and talking to other multiples families, we've decided to co-sleep them for the first couple months. Well, basically until they start playing with each other instead of sleeping. They even make twin crib dividers. We will see how it goes but hopefully we can make it to 6 months or so. I just love the idea of snuggly best buddies. I'm happy that they will have a best friend and built in playmate for life.  I always thought twins were so interesting. They have their own language, can sense things without having to speak. I'm so excited to see how these guys will grow up! I'm getting ahead of myself already. We go to the High risk doctor tomorrow and the poor guy does not know what and how many questions are coming to him. I pray he has patience with me.

Daddy putting it together of course under the supervision of Bobo!

It makes it so real to have this up. The boys will be such good brothers to the babies! Maybe we'll finally get to sleep without one or both of them in our bed. Go ahead boys, protect those babies, keep a close eye (i beg of you!!)

Our First Presents!

Very early after finding out we were having twins daddy made a quick stop at walmart for no doubt some random request of mine and came home with two adorable Binky's. Of course they were a soccer and baseball Binky. When I pointed out there is a possibility we will have girls, he of course said "No daughter of mine will be foo fooy, they'll play sports." Well alrighty then, tom girls it is. (I secretly hope for this if we have girls too. It is no secret I'm not the girliest of girls. It would be pure torture to have to live through princess/makeup/dressing rooms through teenage years but whatever will make them happy....)

Aunt Misa bought them their first article of clothing and I died when I opened it. Two perfect little ducky socks. For some reason holding those two pairs of socks in my hand made every thing so real. Something tangible instead of just the idea of two babies. Man are these babies going to be spoiled by their Aunt Misa. They, and I am so lucky to have such an amazing best friend. I'm certain she has done, and probably will do more shopping for these kids then anyone.

I'm pretty sure by the end of this I will be committed to psych.  At just 8 weeks I am already stressing about getting their nurseries ready, getting their car seats in the car. For the love!!! My OCD/micro managing is in high gear. I think this all derives from my very real fear of being trapped in a bed for the last part of my pregnancy. Basically all the MoMs (moms of multiples) I've talked to were on some kind of bed rest by 25-27 weeks. I'm just not the type of person to sit back and watch everyone else get my house ready for the babies (unless of course you are offering to come clean, then by all means!) Dear Lord, please give me the peace to enjoy this pregnancy and not drive my husband and family insane! Love always, crazy pregnant lady ohh and thanks for that burst of energy you gave me to clean my disgrace of a house tonight. My husband also says thanks!




I mean really!!! Aren't you dying like I did. Just beyond too cute!!

We Graduated!

We are no longer patients at the Infertility Clinic! For a lot of years, I thought we would never be able to say it. That word, Infertile, has defined a large part of your lives for the last 4 years. Now, I'm just a pregnant lady! I get to go see a regular OB just like everyone else. I also have to go to a High Risk OB, which means more ultrasounds; who'd complain about that?

The babies are looking fantastic! Everyone was still saying how "perfect" they were. Not my words but I sure like the sound of it. Baby A was measuring 8weeks and HR was 167; Baby B was measuring 7weeks5days and HR was 174. The most exciting news was they said there is a possibility they may be identical. This never crossed my mind since we transferred 3 embryos. But we transferred them early enough that one could have split. The reason they say this is a possibility is because their sacs are so close together they can't tell if it is one or two sacs. Either way it's pretty cool!

We also like to look up what is growing and changing each week so here's what they say....
"An ultrasound done at this stage should show a fluttering heartbeat. Elbows begin to form in the arms and fingers start to develop. The leg buds begin to show feet with tiny notches for the toes. The face continues to change as the ears, eyes and the tip of the nose appear. The intestines start to form in the umbilical cord. Teeth develop under the gums."
Less like a tadpole, more like a human! I like it!

As far as we go; I'd like to smack whoever named it morning sickness. Lies!!! It's all day, all night sickness. Apparently, when you have two in there symptoms are magnified. Club crackers and ginerale are my main source of nutrition. I was looking forward to the ms being over by 12 weeks, but from what I hear from other twin moms, it's likely to last until 15. So I've already asked for some Zofran to help that situation out. It's hard to hide the belly already. I still have nightmares from the day I googled how big twin pregnancy bellies get. Geo I think is suffering from some sympathy pain. His stomach has been bothering him all week too. But he is so good to me. At 8 last night we made an emergency run to McDonalds for a cheeseburger and carmel sundae. (did I mention I ate double portions of meat at dinner just an hour before...hey when you  can tolerate food you eat!)

Without further adieu here are the munchkins. The picture isn't so great because they are getting to big to put in the same picture. But Baby B is on the left and his/her head in facing down. Baby A is on the right and head is facing to the right.

What a day

We are sad to say last night my mom called and told us grandpop cini did not make it through his surgery. I loved him so much and some of my best childhood memories were with him. We went crabbing, he taught me how to make gnocchi from scratch, and my first driving lesson (at age 11) was from him. We knew there was a chance he might not make it through surgery because his heart was so weak, but I was really hoping he would make it. My mom said he was ready and in good spirits going in. I'm so glad we got to say goodbye this weekend and tell him I love him and also tell him about the babies.

When my mom called, I got up off the couch really quickly. I doubled over in pain in my abdomen. It hurt so bad.  I was worried at the time but was able to go back to sleep. I decided to go into work this morning, but walking in I still had a lot of abdominal pain. I started thinking about horror stories I had heard about miscarriages. Of course the first time someone asked me how I was doing, I broke down into tears. Fortunately I work with an amazing and supportive group of women and they immediately picked up the slack and I went home.  Soon as I got in the car I called the doctor and they told me to come right in and get an ultrasound. I have never been more afraid. Geo was in D.C. and couldn't come, I'm pretty sure I gave him a heart attack though. Fortunately he was able to be on the phone when the doctor came in. Immediately the tech said there were 2 heartbeasts. Phew! Talk about relief! I don't remember how they were measuring but Baby A's heart rate was 138 and Baby caught up and heart rate is 132. The doctor, tech and nurse kept saying how perfect they looked. Boy have they done some growing! You can see their heads and body shape. Right now they are back to back and look like best buds :) Needless to say mama and daddy can breathe....for a little bit.  The doctor assigned me to the couch for the rest of the day and thinks I either pulled a muscle or my left ovary is giving me some trouble (which isn't that new).  We also talked about my 12 hour shifts. She wants to see how I feel next week but I could tell she wasn't happy about the idea of me being on my feet for 12 hours. Like I said I work with a great group of people, but I still feel bad for having to rely on them so much. It's surprising to me how infertility has changed my view on pregnancy. I've wanted to be pregnant for so long, but now I want it to just be over. Not because the actual pregnancy sucks but I'm just so worried. I just want to see their faces and know they are ok. Please forgive me for being a nervous wreck for the next 30 or so weeks.

Here are our little one's! They have grown so much in just a week! I still couldn't hear their heartbeats but  I could see the flicker. So cool!!

Our Story

Hi All! We are so excited to be starting this blog and this journey. We decided it would be best to do this so everyone can keep track of what's going on with us and the babies. Some of you know how we got here but for the rest of you, let us bring you up to date.

So if you don't know, now you know. Twins are joining our family this summer. It has been a long journey to get here. But we'll spare you and give you the cliff notes. If you are asking, do twins run in their family.... no they don't. These blessings are coming to us via modern medicine. We struggled for almost 4 years and 2 failed IVF cycles to get here. We won't bore you with the gory details, but let's just say we truly didn't think we would ever have our own biological children. That makes this pregnancy that much more amazing! In case you are wondering, YES they are biologically ours. It just took us and our doctor to make them.

Now that you are up to speed on how we got this 2 piece mcnugget, let me update you on how they are doing. We had our first ultrasound last week at 6 weeks 3 days. Both babies were measuring 5w6d at that time. Twins generally measure behind because they have less space to share. Baby A's HR was 115 and Baby B HR was 105.  I(K) am of course freaking out about Baby B HR being so close to the bench mark of 100, but our doctors assure us they look perfect.  We have many milestones to cross before I'll stop worrying (probably not until they graduate college.) Our next ultrasound is this coming Friday. Hopefully we can actually hear the heartbeats.

We plan on (trying) to keep this blog updated each week so you, our friends and family, can keep updated with this exciting times in our lives. That is of course if I can keep my eyes open for more than 2 hours at a times :) We hate that we live so far from most of you, but hopefully this blog will help you feel more connected to us and vice verse. Welcome to the chaos!

Introducing our B's in a pod