Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Time Flies
Well not bad. It has been less then a year from my last blog. The twins turn 1 and that statement sums up the last year. We have been extremely busy with them and keeping up and balancing life, work, and them has taught us many things, but mostly patience. Without patience, everything falls apart. I am so lucky to have Andy in my life and go through this ride with me. With that, he made an amazing video summing up Trenton and Verona's first year. The songs have a special meaning to us. The first song we considered the title a name for a daughter for about 2 weeks then we came to our senses. The second song came from a movie that we saw the summer I was pregnant and I balled through most of the movie. The third song is by an artist that I like a lot and it just seemed to flow for us both. Enjoy and I will attempt to blog more this year. <
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Double the Joy
Wow, when I last blogged I was 31 weeks. A lot has changed since then and I am sorry for the late post.
One of the biggest decisions we had to make last year was about insurance. We were on a PPO plan through Andy's work and we had the option to changing up our plan. We were looking into an HMO only because it cover's EVERYTHING! We would be paying more per month but thought that once we had a kid we would be going to the doctor more often. Once we found out it was twins, we knew, HMO it must be. The only hitch, the new insurance would not go into effect until January 1, 2011.
This meant the twins would need to stay inside until 12:01am on the 1st. The days leading up to the 1st were at times stressful. Any little ache, pain, or cramp was cause for me to sit down and put my feet up. We just kept telling the kids they needed to stay inside for just a wee bit longer and then they could come when they wanted.
And boy did they decide to come.
On the 4th of January at around 12:20am I got up to go tot he bathroom. As I was headed back to bed, the urge to relieve myself came upon me again so I walked quickly back to the bathroom and didn't make it. I was confused. Did my water just break? I stood there with wet pajamas's pondering this for about 2 minutes. Crazy I know. I then changed pj's woke up and Andy and told him. He went into daddy mode real quick. Turned on the lights, asked if I was having contractions and what not. I on the other hand was in denial. I said to let me wait and see. Called the Dr. Office and explained the situation. The on-call nurse asked if I was having contractions and I said no. I then told her I felt fine and would call back later. I decided to go back to bed. I got up at around 5:45 and got ready for work. Andy looked up my symptoms on the internet (bad I know) and I decided that I must be incontinent. I was having ZERO pains at all. So I drove to work and worked ALL DAY LONG. I called the doctor again in the afternoon to explain hat I was still leaking and was this normal for incontinence. The nurse said she would call me back. 30 minutes later I got the call that would change it all. The nurse said the doctor thinks my water did break and that I need to get to Labor and Delivery right away.
I left work and told a manager that I was probably going to have my babies and needed to leave. I was scared, but calm. Calm enough to stop and get gas. Only me.
I met Andy at the hospital and we headed to L & D. I went to the "maybe baby" room. This is where the weed out the crazies who THINK they are in labor from the one's who are in DENIAL they are in labor. Guess which category I fell into? The nurse Tammy did a fern test that would say for sure if my water broke, and sure enough it had. By now it was 6pm, 18 hours my water had broken. I couldnt' believe it. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. The twins were supposed to wait until I was 37 weeks, when they would be larger and I would have my Leave of Absence until the end of April!
At this point the on call ob/gyn came in to check the babies. He did an ultrasound and as usual Twin B was transverse (crescent shaped with head towards the top) and Twin A was head down. And he gave me the bad news. I was 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant. The hospital has a strict 34 weeks policy, meaning that I wasn't 34 weeks, I wasn't in danger so I needed to go have these twins at a larger hospital. Boo. But then it got real exciting. I was told I would be helicoptered down to Sacramento! My first helicopter ride!! Andy was left with the task of calling my parent's and using his best calm voice to explain what was happening and then driving down to Sac to meet me.
The ride was so strange. I was put on my left said strapped in with my catheter bag(double boo) and loaded up. All I could think about was that episode of ER when the mean red headed doctor get's his arm chopped off by the blades of a helicopter as they loaded me up. I was right next to the pilot and had a great view, even if it was 9pm. He used the spotlight a few times and it felt like an episode of COPS.
I got to the hospital and was met by a nurse who said there was a "very worried Mom on the phone". Had to be for me. My mom was freaked out and for good reason. You get a call from your daughter's husband saying she is being flown to a large city to have her babies.
Once I got checked in, found out that I would NOT be delivering right away. I was so bummed. I was all prepared to have my babies that night.
The next morning we were met by the on call ob/gyn. Had an ultrasound done and Twin B turned!! We couldn't believe it, Twin B was now head down and I would be able to deliver naturally like I wanted!! The induction was schedule for 4am on Saturday the 8th, when I would be exactly 34 weeks. The next 3 days were filled with me being poked (still had my gestational diabetes), prodded (had to have blood drawn many times)and hooked up to a fetal monitor for what seemed like hours. Each baby had it's own monitor and Twin B as usual never stayed in the same spot so the nurses could never get an accurate reading. At this time I also was hooked up to a monitor for contractions. I finally found out that these "pains" I was having at the top of my stomach were not in fact Twin B pushing it's head,but contractions. Oops. And they didn't hurt at all, just annoyingly tight.
So at 4am, my nurse Heather woke me up and checked me and I was already at a 3 all on my own. She started the pitocin and at 7 I was 4cm. At 9am I was 5cm. At 11am I was 6cm. And that's where it all stopped. I didn't have any pain medication, I wanted to go as natural as possible. And the funny thing was I wasn't in any pain at all. I started watching the Seahawks-Saints game. That took my mind off of everything. The doctor came in at around 1:30 or so to tell me that if I wanted to keep going I could, but that when Twin A comes out, Twin B could float to the top of my uterus and he would have to reach up and grab a foot to get Twin B to come out. Excuse me? I will take the C-section please!
I got ready for the epidural. The numbing agent lidocaine was sooo painful, the needle used for the epidural, dint' feel a thing. I was getting excited and nervous. We would finally meet these twins! As they wheeled me towards the operating room my parents, Andy's parents, and his brother were all at a spot where I could see them. Inside the operating room it was crazy. There were so many people. It was bright and loud and just buzzing with excitement. Since NOBODY knew what we were having it just seemed to be more fun for everyone to spend a Saturday afternoon.
At 3:07pm, Twin A was born. A boy we named Trenton. He was rushed over to a warming table and given oxygen. At 3:08pm, Twin B arrive, a girl we named Verona. I was beyond excited. I knew from the time I was 20 weeks, that Twin A was a boy and Twin B was a girl. I told everyone that as well. No one believed me. At times I thought 2 boys, but I knew. I immediately told Andy we were done. No more kids. We got one of each and had the perfect family.
I told Andy to go take pictures, and check on them. He did and they were rushed off to the NICU. After they were done stapling me (yes that's right 13 staples) I was in recovery for about 2 hours or so. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep and eat. Once back in my room, Andy showed me pictures of the kids. There were lots of tubes and monitors,but I didn't care they were alive and getting the best care available. At around 1am, we headed to the NICU so I could finally see them. I was overjoyed. Trenton was on a CPAP for his breathing and Verona was Intubated for her breathing. Luckily they were each only on these for 24 hours, then Verona was on a CPAP and Trenton was breathing on his own. They both had Central Venous Line's, first in the hands, then that vein gave out, then in their feet, then those vein's gave out and finally in their heads. They looked like unicorn's so we called them the unicorn IV's. Verona had an umbilical line as well. It was tough having them in the NICU. They were hooked up to so many monitor's and were in incubator's. But they got the best care. They were on a schedule of 11,2,5, and 8. That is when they were fed, changed and had their temps taken. As parent's we were encouraged to attend each of these times to do their changing's, temps,and feedings. It was so great. We got to bond with them and hold them even if they weren't allowed to be out of the incubator's for too long. They both had feeding tubes, so what ever they wouldn't take from a bottle was gevaged in. We became really good at knowing all the beeps and sounds from the monitors and could distinguish if they were having any issues from those.
After about 5 days we made the big push to have them transferred to our local hospital. They were stable, and just needed help eating. After a long drawn outprocess on the 20th, they were transferred by ambulance to our hospital. While they were in Sacramento, I stayed with my amazing friend Melissa. She lived only 15 minutes away and I spent usually 10 hours at the hospital without leaving. It was emotionally draining. Andy would drive from work down to Sacramento to see me and the kids and then drive home. It was a very difficult time for all of us.
Once they were in Chico, it was so much better. I was able to sleep in my own bed, see my husband everyday, and he could spend more time with the twins as well. We finally got the ok from our pediatrician that they would be discharged. On the 26th, 18 days after they were born, nearly 3 weeks, we got to bring our beautiful twins home!
Once we got them home it was just surreal. We didn't' know what to do exactly. We kept the hospital's schedule,which was now 9,12,3, and 6. That first afternoon we let them sleep and just monitored them. That night as we put them down in the same crib, Andy read them a story and we got all our blankets and slept on the floor. And we slept like crap. They made so many grunts and groans we didn't know if they were sleeping, being fussy or what. Turns out they were sleeping! Just noisy sleepers they are!
My parents arrived on the 29th (when I would have been 37 weeks) and stayed for 2 weeks helping us. Doing yard work, cooking, sewing, getting up and doing feedings in the middle of the night with us. It was amazing to have them with us. It was difficult to say goodbye. This week it has been just me and the kids, all day long. And so far so good. It has been super stormy and cold outside so I have been bundling them up inside, which in turn led to Verona getting heat rash. Oops. Poor thing, mama was just trying to keep her warm. I am wanting some nice weather so we can go for a walk to the park my our house, but instead we stay inside all...day...long. So glad I don't live where it rains all the time anymore.
At this very moment, it was pouring rain, and I have Verona snuggled up on my chest while I type. Not sure how I will get a shower in today, but I see it happening shortly!
Thank you to all for the cards, flowers, and well wishes. We are so thrilled with our new additions.
Here are their stats:
3:07pm. Trenton Richard 4lbs 11 oz, 17"
3:08pm. Verona Marie 4lbs 14oz 18.5"
One of the biggest decisions we had to make last year was about insurance. We were on a PPO plan through Andy's work and we had the option to changing up our plan. We were looking into an HMO only because it cover's EVERYTHING! We would be paying more per month but thought that once we had a kid we would be going to the doctor more often. Once we found out it was twins, we knew, HMO it must be. The only hitch, the new insurance would not go into effect until January 1, 2011.
This meant the twins would need to stay inside until 12:01am on the 1st. The days leading up to the 1st were at times stressful. Any little ache, pain, or cramp was cause for me to sit down and put my feet up. We just kept telling the kids they needed to stay inside for just a wee bit longer and then they could come when they wanted.
And boy did they decide to come.
On the 4th of January at around 12:20am I got up to go tot he bathroom. As I was headed back to bed, the urge to relieve myself came upon me again so I walked quickly back to the bathroom and didn't make it. I was confused. Did my water just break? I stood there with wet pajamas's pondering this for about 2 minutes. Crazy I know. I then changed pj's woke up and Andy and told him. He went into daddy mode real quick. Turned on the lights, asked if I was having contractions and what not. I on the other hand was in denial. I said to let me wait and see. Called the Dr. Office and explained the situation. The on-call nurse asked if I was having contractions and I said no. I then told her I felt fine and would call back later. I decided to go back to bed. I got up at around 5:45 and got ready for work. Andy looked up my symptoms on the internet (bad I know) and I decided that I must be incontinent. I was having ZERO pains at all. So I drove to work and worked ALL DAY LONG. I called the doctor again in the afternoon to explain hat I was still leaking and was this normal for incontinence. The nurse said she would call me back. 30 minutes later I got the call that would change it all. The nurse said the doctor thinks my water did break and that I need to get to Labor and Delivery right away.
I left work and told a manager that I was probably going to have my babies and needed to leave. I was scared, but calm. Calm enough to stop and get gas. Only me.
I met Andy at the hospital and we headed to L & D. I went to the "maybe baby" room. This is where the weed out the crazies who THINK they are in labor from the one's who are in DENIAL they are in labor. Guess which category I fell into? The nurse Tammy did a fern test that would say for sure if my water broke, and sure enough it had. By now it was 6pm, 18 hours my water had broken. I couldnt' believe it. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. The twins were supposed to wait until I was 37 weeks, when they would be larger and I would have my Leave of Absence until the end of April!
At this point the on call ob/gyn came in to check the babies. He did an ultrasound and as usual Twin B was transverse (crescent shaped with head towards the top) and Twin A was head down. And he gave me the bad news. I was 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant. The hospital has a strict 34 weeks policy, meaning that I wasn't 34 weeks, I wasn't in danger so I needed to go have these twins at a larger hospital. Boo. But then it got real exciting. I was told I would be helicoptered down to Sacramento! My first helicopter ride!! Andy was left with the task of calling my parent's and using his best calm voice to explain what was happening and then driving down to Sac to meet me.
The ride was so strange. I was put on my left said strapped in with my catheter bag(double boo) and loaded up. All I could think about was that episode of ER when the mean red headed doctor get's his arm chopped off by the blades of a helicopter as they loaded me up. I was right next to the pilot and had a great view, even if it was 9pm. He used the spotlight a few times and it felt like an episode of COPS.
I got to the hospital and was met by a nurse who said there was a "very worried Mom on the phone". Had to be for me. My mom was freaked out and for good reason. You get a call from your daughter's husband saying she is being flown to a large city to have her babies.
Once I got checked in, found out that I would NOT be delivering right away. I was so bummed. I was all prepared to have my babies that night.
The next morning we were met by the on call ob/gyn. Had an ultrasound done and Twin B turned!! We couldn't believe it, Twin B was now head down and I would be able to deliver naturally like I wanted!! The induction was schedule for 4am on Saturday the 8th, when I would be exactly 34 weeks. The next 3 days were filled with me being poked (still had my gestational diabetes), prodded (had to have blood drawn many times)and hooked up to a fetal monitor for what seemed like hours. Each baby had it's own monitor and Twin B as usual never stayed in the same spot so the nurses could never get an accurate reading. At this time I also was hooked up to a monitor for contractions. I finally found out that these "pains" I was having at the top of my stomach were not in fact Twin B pushing it's head,but contractions. Oops. And they didn't hurt at all, just annoyingly tight.
So at 4am, my nurse Heather woke me up and checked me and I was already at a 3 all on my own. She started the pitocin and at 7 I was 4cm. At 9am I was 5cm. At 11am I was 6cm. And that's where it all stopped. I didn't have any pain medication, I wanted to go as natural as possible. And the funny thing was I wasn't in any pain at all. I started watching the Seahawks-Saints game. That took my mind off of everything. The doctor came in at around 1:30 or so to tell me that if I wanted to keep going I could, but that when Twin A comes out, Twin B could float to the top of my uterus and he would have to reach up and grab a foot to get Twin B to come out. Excuse me? I will take the C-section please!
I got ready for the epidural. The numbing agent lidocaine was sooo painful, the needle used for the epidural, dint' feel a thing. I was getting excited and nervous. We would finally meet these twins! As they wheeled me towards the operating room my parents, Andy's parents, and his brother were all at a spot where I could see them. Inside the operating room it was crazy. There were so many people. It was bright and loud and just buzzing with excitement. Since NOBODY knew what we were having it just seemed to be more fun for everyone to spend a Saturday afternoon.
At 3:07pm, Twin A was born. A boy we named Trenton. He was rushed over to a warming table and given oxygen. At 3:08pm, Twin B arrive, a girl we named Verona. I was beyond excited. I knew from the time I was 20 weeks, that Twin A was a boy and Twin B was a girl. I told everyone that as well. No one believed me. At times I thought 2 boys, but I knew. I immediately told Andy we were done. No more kids. We got one of each and had the perfect family.
I told Andy to go take pictures, and check on them. He did and they were rushed off to the NICU. After they were done stapling me (yes that's right 13 staples) I was in recovery for about 2 hours or so. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep and eat. Once back in my room, Andy showed me pictures of the kids. There were lots of tubes and monitors,but I didn't care they were alive and getting the best care available. At around 1am, we headed to the NICU so I could finally see them. I was overjoyed. Trenton was on a CPAP for his breathing and Verona was Intubated for her breathing. Luckily they were each only on these for 24 hours, then Verona was on a CPAP and Trenton was breathing on his own. They both had Central Venous Line's, first in the hands, then that vein gave out, then in their feet, then those vein's gave out and finally in their heads. They looked like unicorn's so we called them the unicorn IV's. Verona had an umbilical line as well. It was tough having them in the NICU. They were hooked up to so many monitor's and were in incubator's. But they got the best care. They were on a schedule of 11,2,5, and 8. That is when they were fed, changed and had their temps taken. As parent's we were encouraged to attend each of these times to do their changing's, temps,and feedings. It was so great. We got to bond with them and hold them even if they weren't allowed to be out of the incubator's for too long. They both had feeding tubes, so what ever they wouldn't take from a bottle was gevaged in. We became really good at knowing all the beeps and sounds from the monitors and could distinguish if they were having any issues from those.
After about 5 days we made the big push to have them transferred to our local hospital. They were stable, and just needed help eating. After a long drawn outprocess on the 20th, they were transferred by ambulance to our hospital. While they were in Sacramento, I stayed with my amazing friend Melissa. She lived only 15 minutes away and I spent usually 10 hours at the hospital without leaving. It was emotionally draining. Andy would drive from work down to Sacramento to see me and the kids and then drive home. It was a very difficult time for all of us.
Once they were in Chico, it was so much better. I was able to sleep in my own bed, see my husband everyday, and he could spend more time with the twins as well. We finally got the ok from our pediatrician that they would be discharged. On the 26th, 18 days after they were born, nearly 3 weeks, we got to bring our beautiful twins home!
Once we got them home it was just surreal. We didn't' know what to do exactly. We kept the hospital's schedule,which was now 9,12,3, and 6. That first afternoon we let them sleep and just monitored them. That night as we put them down in the same crib, Andy read them a story and we got all our blankets and slept on the floor. And we slept like crap. They made so many grunts and groans we didn't know if they were sleeping, being fussy or what. Turns out they were sleeping! Just noisy sleepers they are!
My parents arrived on the 29th (when I would have been 37 weeks) and stayed for 2 weeks helping us. Doing yard work, cooking, sewing, getting up and doing feedings in the middle of the night with us. It was amazing to have them with us. It was difficult to say goodbye. This week it has been just me and the kids, all day long. And so far so good. It has been super stormy and cold outside so I have been bundling them up inside, which in turn led to Verona getting heat rash. Oops. Poor thing, mama was just trying to keep her warm. I am wanting some nice weather so we can go for a walk to the park my our house, but instead we stay inside all...day...long. So glad I don't live where it rains all the time anymore.
At this very moment, it was pouring rain, and I have Verona snuggled up on my chest while I type. Not sure how I will get a shower in today, but I see it happening shortly!
Thank you to all for the cards, flowers, and well wishes. We are so thrilled with our new additions.
Here are their stats:
3:07pm. Trenton Richard 4lbs 11 oz, 17"
3:08pm. Verona Marie 4lbs 14oz 18.5"
Sunday, December 19, 2010
It's been a hard day's night
It has been some time since my last post and I apologize. We left off at 20 weeks and half way. Wow, lots of things have changed.
-I am now 31 weeks and huge.
-I am the not so proud owner of gestational diabetes
-My kids feel the need to kick and move during the night now
-I can no longer wear my wedding band. : ( Swelling of the hands.
-I can barely tie my shoes
-I keep getting mistaken for someone having a Christmas baby
-I have become extremely good at cooking eggs in a stainless steel pan
-I work retail, so the holidays have prevented me from providing a more consistent posting schedule.
Ok, so 31 weeks pregnant. I had an ultrasound at 29 weeks, the twins were measuring just fine. TA is head down like a proper baby should be. TB has a mind of its' own. Head is up, and body curves like a crescent moon with the feet towards my left side. So I get the benefit of a head popping up looking like a cone, AND getting kicked on the side of the ribs. TA likes to push it's little bottom up and then push its' feet against my stomach and ribs. I like to lay on the couch, pull my shirt up and watch the show. Andy finds it to be totally weird as do I. It's strange how I am not grossed out by this. I mean imagine, you are just minding your own business, watching TV and you feel some strange movements in your stomach. Wouldn't you normally call the hospital or think you have some sort of parasite inside you?
Gestation Diabetes: I was pretty upset when I failed the 1 hour glucose test, imagine how I felt when I found out I failed the 3 hour test. I got all hormonal and poor Andy was left standing there holding me while I cursed myself for drinking Juicy Juice Boxes for lunch EVERYDAY for the past 5 MONTHS! Obviously that didn't cause the diabetes, but I felt like it at the time. (It's 100% Juice, I thought I was doing something good!) I met with a nutritionist/dietitian lady twice. Disliked her wholly and have quit going to the program. I know I am not a doctor, but neither was she. Telling me things that just stressed me out. So I am now in control of my own health. And am doing VERY well. I have to be under 90 while fasting over night. And since I stopped going to the program, I have been. I eat animal protein (steak, hamburger, chicken etc) about 1/2 to an hour before I go to bed. That usually helps. Apparently the diabetes is because of the hormonal changes of my body and the placentas are taking all the good stuff and my pancreas can't keep up with the production of insulin so glucose can't be properly digested and hangs out instead. At least I think that is how it works. Either way, I don't eat any simple carbs (cookies, cakes, candy, chips, french fries, junk food). Now my meals consist of MEAT and vegetables, and small amount of some complex carbs. Nothing like eating a hamburger patty at 10 at night with some mustard. The other part of this that I like is that I am eating more consistently. Breakfast is always the same. A piece of double fiber bread toasted and plain. A slice of Pepper Jack Cheese, and 1 or 2 hard friend eggs on top, then a little salsa. Followed with a glass of milk. I always have a healthy snack 2-3 hours later (string cheese or mandarin orange or granny smith apple) then a good lunch. Then afternoon snack of yogurt, apple or mandarin or peanuts. Then dinner, then a night snack of MEAT.
Ahh to have ice cream and cookies.
The kids are moving like crazy. It's fun and strange. We are getting excited to find out what they are. Each week it changes. This week I am convinced it is 2 girls. For the past few months I thought it was B and G. Andy is hoping for B and G, but thinks they are Boys. I think deep down they are boys, but I am hoping for at least 1 girl to drive Andy crazy as a father. : )
Swelling is not too bad. My fingers are swollen when I get up in the morning and for a few hours. I have tried forcing on my wedding band, but it's like a squeezing a sausage into a casing. I have given up and instead wear this ring I got in Venice, Italy. I bought it and Andy and I pretended to be engaged when we were in Germany with our day camp group because apparently the year before the 2 counselors the had actually did get engaged. Hmmm, funny how that worked out for us.
Working retail is not that bad. I like working with the public, even though 30% of them are crazy. The only problem is it is very busy and I keep getting asked "When are you due?" "Looks like a Christmas baby!" "You look ready to pop." I have started responding with yes, it is a Christmas baby, yes I am ready to pop. But I am more forthcoming to those who ask when I am do. I say February, watch them squirm and then say with Twins. I have been getting lots of "Good Luck" and "Wow!" from those folks.
I now go to the doctor every other week. I should also mention that with this new diabetes diet I have lost some weight. I was concerned, but the doctor said not to be worried. 1. I was obviously eating some not so healthy stuff before. 2. Since I am carrying twins, and came into the pregnancy with a little extra stuffing, I should only gain 25-35 pounds. With that, counting the loss from my last appointment which was last week Thursday, I have only gained 17 pounds. The doctor is pleased with this and said that because I work retail and walk to much (3-4 miles a day) He is ok with this weight.
But this is what the weight that I am carrying is from.
Babies: 6.5 pounds
Placentas: 4-5 pounds
Amniotic Fluid: 4-5 pounds
Blood Supply: 2-3 pounds
Fat stores(?)- 5-8 pounds
Uterus: 4-6 pounds
I think that I am burning off MY weight, and not the weight that is for the babies. In my head that is what I think. I keep getting told my face looks thinner, and have had several people be behind me at stores or customers at work be behind me, and I turn around and they are like "I didn't know you were pregnant, you don't look it from behind" This could be taken several ways but take I take it as a major compliment. I am ALL BABY BUMP. And my belly button I think is going to pop soon. I really want it to so I can give it a spa treatment.
I will update as information changes. I hope you have a healthy and happy Christmas and New Years!
-I am now 31 weeks and huge.
-I am the not so proud owner of gestational diabetes
-My kids feel the need to kick and move during the night now
-I can no longer wear my wedding band. : ( Swelling of the hands.
-I can barely tie my shoes
-I keep getting mistaken for someone having a Christmas baby
-I have become extremely good at cooking eggs in a stainless steel pan
-I work retail, so the holidays have prevented me from providing a more consistent posting schedule.
Ok, so 31 weeks pregnant. I had an ultrasound at 29 weeks, the twins were measuring just fine. TA is head down like a proper baby should be. TB has a mind of its' own. Head is up, and body curves like a crescent moon with the feet towards my left side. So I get the benefit of a head popping up looking like a cone, AND getting kicked on the side of the ribs. TA likes to push it's little bottom up and then push its' feet against my stomach and ribs. I like to lay on the couch, pull my shirt up and watch the show. Andy finds it to be totally weird as do I. It's strange how I am not grossed out by this. I mean imagine, you are just minding your own business, watching TV and you feel some strange movements in your stomach. Wouldn't you normally call the hospital or think you have some sort of parasite inside you?
Gestation Diabetes: I was pretty upset when I failed the 1 hour glucose test, imagine how I felt when I found out I failed the 3 hour test. I got all hormonal and poor Andy was left standing there holding me while I cursed myself for drinking Juicy Juice Boxes for lunch EVERYDAY for the past 5 MONTHS! Obviously that didn't cause the diabetes, but I felt like it at the time. (It's 100% Juice, I thought I was doing something good!) I met with a nutritionist/dietitian lady twice. Disliked her wholly and have quit going to the program. I know I am not a doctor, but neither was she. Telling me things that just stressed me out. So I am now in control of my own health. And am doing VERY well. I have to be under 90 while fasting over night. And since I stopped going to the program, I have been. I eat animal protein (steak, hamburger, chicken etc) about 1/2 to an hour before I go to bed. That usually helps. Apparently the diabetes is because of the hormonal changes of my body and the placentas are taking all the good stuff and my pancreas can't keep up with the production of insulin so glucose can't be properly digested and hangs out instead. At least I think that is how it works. Either way, I don't eat any simple carbs (cookies, cakes, candy, chips, french fries, junk food). Now my meals consist of MEAT and vegetables, and small amount of some complex carbs. Nothing like eating a hamburger patty at 10 at night with some mustard. The other part of this that I like is that I am eating more consistently. Breakfast is always the same. A piece of double fiber bread toasted and plain. A slice of Pepper Jack Cheese, and 1 or 2 hard friend eggs on top, then a little salsa. Followed with a glass of milk. I always have a healthy snack 2-3 hours later (string cheese or mandarin orange or granny smith apple) then a good lunch. Then afternoon snack of yogurt, apple or mandarin or peanuts. Then dinner, then a night snack of MEAT.
Ahh to have ice cream and cookies.
The kids are moving like crazy. It's fun and strange. We are getting excited to find out what they are. Each week it changes. This week I am convinced it is 2 girls. For the past few months I thought it was B and G. Andy is hoping for B and G, but thinks they are Boys. I think deep down they are boys, but I am hoping for at least 1 girl to drive Andy crazy as a father. : )
Swelling is not too bad. My fingers are swollen when I get up in the morning and for a few hours. I have tried forcing on my wedding band, but it's like a squeezing a sausage into a casing. I have given up and instead wear this ring I got in Venice, Italy. I bought it and Andy and I pretended to be engaged when we were in Germany with our day camp group because apparently the year before the 2 counselors the had actually did get engaged. Hmmm, funny how that worked out for us.
Working retail is not that bad. I like working with the public, even though 30% of them are crazy. The only problem is it is very busy and I keep getting asked "When are you due?" "Looks like a Christmas baby!" "You look ready to pop." I have started responding with yes, it is a Christmas baby, yes I am ready to pop. But I am more forthcoming to those who ask when I am do. I say February, watch them squirm and then say with Twins. I have been getting lots of "Good Luck" and "Wow!" from those folks.
I now go to the doctor every other week. I should also mention that with this new diabetes diet I have lost some weight. I was concerned, but the doctor said not to be worried. 1. I was obviously eating some not so healthy stuff before. 2. Since I am carrying twins, and came into the pregnancy with a little extra stuffing, I should only gain 25-35 pounds. With that, counting the loss from my last appointment which was last week Thursday, I have only gained 17 pounds. The doctor is pleased with this and said that because I work retail and walk to much (3-4 miles a day) He is ok with this weight.
But this is what the weight that I am carrying is from.
Babies: 6.5 pounds
Placentas: 4-5 pounds
Amniotic Fluid: 4-5 pounds
Blood Supply: 2-3 pounds
Fat stores(?)- 5-8 pounds
Uterus: 4-6 pounds
I think that I am burning off MY weight, and not the weight that is for the babies. In my head that is what I think. I keep getting told my face looks thinner, and have had several people be behind me at stores or customers at work be behind me, and I turn around and they are like "I didn't know you were pregnant, you don't look it from behind" This could be taken several ways but take I take it as a major compliment. I am ALL BABY BUMP. And my belly button I think is going to pop soon. I really want it to so I can give it a spa treatment.
I will update as information changes. I hope you have a healthy and happy Christmas and New Years!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Half Way
Sorry for not doing this post on time. I had my 20 week ultrasound and appointment a few weeks back. Let's start with the appointment.
Heard both heart beats, and gained 7 pounds from my 16 week appointment, which brings the grand total to 14 pounds gained since I became pregnant. I wasn't sure if this was enough weight. I hear about all these other women gaining 50-70 to pounds. My dr. was not worried at all. He said, that for twins this is fine because most of the weight is baby goo (my words not his). Placentas, blood, sac's, all the things that babies need to live inside me, but will disperse once they are here. Ideally, he said I should only gain 35-45 pounds. Sounds fine by me. I measured perfect for how far along I am as well.
Now for the fun. The ultrasound was great. My dear husband got to come and see them for the first time. He did "see" them at the 8 week ultrasound when we found out it was twins, but let's be honest, at that early stage they were just grayish blobs. Our tech started on my right side and immediately found TA (Twin A). As from my last ultrasound,TA was a moving and a shaking while the tech was attempting to measure him/her. We saw the diaphragm, kidneys, bladder, and 4 chambers of the heart. It was very cool. We let her know that we did NOT want to know the sexes and if she could let us know when she went south to measure the legs.
TB (Twin B) was next. TB was giving us perfect profile the entire time. Saw the diaphragm, kidneys, bladder and 4 chambers of the heart. We also so on both kids, their cerebellums. Our tech was so nice enough to take 3D pics of the kids. She got a great one of TB, and then moved over to TA. TA was not having it. But now we know why TA is always moving. TB uses TA's head as a pillow!! In the ultrasound, the tech showed us how TB keeps laying it's head on TA!! Poor little TA. The Tech got 2 pictures of TA, but TB's head is in both pictures. Apparently, their sac's are only separated by 1mm of thickness. Crazy!
I will post pics at the end. I finally felt them kick yesterday. Since everyone feels kicking at different stages I wasn't too worried. I could feel them moving (drink a bunch of water on an empty stomach then go jogging, that sloshing feeling is what it feels like). We were watching football yesterday, and out of no where, kick, then kick, I told husband to put his hand on my belly, and he felt a kick too! I have been waiting for this for awhile now. My dr. said twins are funny like that. Some will kick early because there isn't much room, but some times, they like to wait a bit longer. I don't mind one bit.
Twin B has both hands brought up to the mouth.
If you look closely, Twin A has a frown, and is holding a fist up to the left cheek. We call this pouty face.
Twin A with Twin B's head on the left.
Heard both heart beats, and gained 7 pounds from my 16 week appointment, which brings the grand total to 14 pounds gained since I became pregnant. I wasn't sure if this was enough weight. I hear about all these other women gaining 50-70 to pounds. My dr. was not worried at all. He said, that for twins this is fine because most of the weight is baby goo (my words not his). Placentas, blood, sac's, all the things that babies need to live inside me, but will disperse once they are here. Ideally, he said I should only gain 35-45 pounds. Sounds fine by me. I measured perfect for how far along I am as well.
Now for the fun. The ultrasound was great. My dear husband got to come and see them for the first time. He did "see" them at the 8 week ultrasound when we found out it was twins, but let's be honest, at that early stage they were just grayish blobs. Our tech started on my right side and immediately found TA (Twin A). As from my last ultrasound,TA was a moving and a shaking while the tech was attempting to measure him/her. We saw the diaphragm, kidneys, bladder, and 4 chambers of the heart. It was very cool. We let her know that we did NOT want to know the sexes and if she could let us know when she went south to measure the legs.
TB (Twin B) was next. TB was giving us perfect profile the entire time. Saw the diaphragm, kidneys, bladder and 4 chambers of the heart. We also so on both kids, their cerebellums. Our tech was so nice enough to take 3D pics of the kids. She got a great one of TB, and then moved over to TA. TA was not having it. But now we know why TA is always moving. TB uses TA's head as a pillow!! In the ultrasound, the tech showed us how TB keeps laying it's head on TA!! Poor little TA. The Tech got 2 pictures of TA, but TB's head is in both pictures. Apparently, their sac's are only separated by 1mm of thickness. Crazy!
I will post pics at the end. I finally felt them kick yesterday. Since everyone feels kicking at different stages I wasn't too worried. I could feel them moving (drink a bunch of water on an empty stomach then go jogging, that sloshing feeling is what it feels like). We were watching football yesterday, and out of no where, kick, then kick, I told husband to put his hand on my belly, and he felt a kick too! I have been waiting for this for awhile now. My dr. said twins are funny like that. Some will kick early because there isn't much room, but some times, they like to wait a bit longer. I don't mind one bit.
Twin B has both hands brought up to the mouth.
If you look closely, Twin A has a frown, and is holding a fist up to the left cheek. We call this pouty face.
Twin A with Twin B's head on the left.
Monday, September 20, 2010
I am 16 going on...............
So I had my 16 week appt a few weeks back. (I was on vacation and too busy packing to write). My regular dr. had to perform some sort of surgery. So another dr. from the practice did my check up. She was so sweet. Did the usual "how you feeling, what are you eating, are you exercising", my annswers "fine, everything, but vegetables, and I walk lots". So then she got out this little machine that has a speaker on one end, and a prober type item on the other to hear the heartbeat(s). I say singular because last time my dr. said it would be difficult to tell them apart since they are twins, yada yada. This sub dr said " We can try and hear them both, you never know".
So she started on my right side, and Twin A was a beating away. Then I heard this SWOOSH sound. She said it was movement. Like a dolphin swishing it's tail in the sea, sonar picks up that sound. Similar, but Twin A is in a much smaller sea. Twin A was moving like crazy, but still to early for me to feel anything.
She moved over to my left side. Twin B's heartbeat was CRAZY fast!! Not abnormal she said, but much faster then Twin A. But B wasn't really moving at all.
Now this leads me to my 12 week ultrasound. Andy and I decided to take part in California's Pre Natal Screening. The tests are genetic testing of my blood and the kids. All of the results are given to the State Dept of Health for research. If this can help researchers than we were on board. So my 12 week ultrasound was about measuring the neck of the kids to make sure that it wasn't too thick. Apparently this is how you can tell if a fetus has spinia bifida, down syndrome, and a few other disabilities. When the tech was doing the ultrasounds, Twin A would NOT hold still. Kept moving all over the place and she wasn't able to get a measurement for some time. Finally A cooperated. Twin B on the other hand was having a siesta. Lying perfectly in a left profile position.
My mom has taken this to mean that Twin A is me,and Twin B is Andy. And now they both think I am having one boy and one girl. Hmmmmm.
I have my next ultrasound appt in a few weeks. We have to make sure and tell the tech that we do NOT want to know what we are having. We are enjoying not finding out what we are having. I find myself saying "him,he" sometimes, but I don't think anything of it. I would like 2 girls only to watch Andy go weak at the knees and be so out of his element. The though of 2 boys is overwhelming to me, but I know that I could hose em' off outside instead of giving them a bath if they are dirty. As for one of each, all I can think of is puberty. One of each, going through puberty. I would die. Andy would die. Each of them crushing on the other's friend or something? Oh man. I am so not ready for puberty.
So she started on my right side, and Twin A was a beating away. Then I heard this SWOOSH sound. She said it was movement. Like a dolphin swishing it's tail in the sea, sonar picks up that sound. Similar, but Twin A is in a much smaller sea. Twin A was moving like crazy, but still to early for me to feel anything.
She moved over to my left side. Twin B's heartbeat was CRAZY fast!! Not abnormal she said, but much faster then Twin A. But B wasn't really moving at all.
Now this leads me to my 12 week ultrasound. Andy and I decided to take part in California's Pre Natal Screening. The tests are genetic testing of my blood and the kids. All of the results are given to the State Dept of Health for research. If this can help researchers than we were on board. So my 12 week ultrasound was about measuring the neck of the kids to make sure that it wasn't too thick. Apparently this is how you can tell if a fetus has spinia bifida, down syndrome, and a few other disabilities. When the tech was doing the ultrasounds, Twin A would NOT hold still. Kept moving all over the place and she wasn't able to get a measurement for some time. Finally A cooperated. Twin B on the other hand was having a siesta. Lying perfectly in a left profile position.
My mom has taken this to mean that Twin A is me,and Twin B is Andy. And now they both think I am having one boy and one girl. Hmmmmm.
I have my next ultrasound appt in a few weeks. We have to make sure and tell the tech that we do NOT want to know what we are having. We are enjoying not finding out what we are having. I find myself saying "him,he" sometimes, but I don't think anything of it. I would like 2 girls only to watch Andy go weak at the knees and be so out of his element. The though of 2 boys is overwhelming to me, but I know that I could hose em' off outside instead of giving them a bath if they are dirty. As for one of each, all I can think of is puberty. One of each, going through puberty. I would die. Andy would die. Each of them crushing on the other's friend or something? Oh man. I am so not ready for puberty.
Friday, September 3, 2010
I'm what?!?!?!
Finding out you are pregnant is not an easy thing to describe. It's different for everyone. I have made a list of what I would compare it to for everyone.
Finding out your pregnant is like:
*winning the big ticket item at a raffle you never thought you'd get
*your favorite college football player going #1 in the draft to your favorite team
*coming home from work and seeing your favorite dish all prepared
*going to the grocery store and seeing all ice cream is on sale
*getting a bill in the mail that says you over paid and don't have to pay this month
*going to the dentist and being told "your teeth look great keep it up"
*sitting on an airplane in the window seat and the person in the middle seat doesn't show up, letting you have a little extra space.
Now finding out you are pregnant with twins is something I CAN describe. Since I was a little girl and first saw "The Parent Trap" I have wanted twins. My entire life, I just thought it would be so fun to have twins. My family thought I was crazy as did most of my friends. When I told Andy this he thought I was out of my mind. I used to day dream about having twins. This is how much I have always wanted twins. When we went in for our first appointment, 8 weeks, the Dr. went through all the regular pregnancy stuff, eat healthy, exercise, this is your due date. I wanted to get to the Ultrasound. He told us we may not see a heart beat since it was a bit early. We got lucky. He found a sac with a heart beat. We both sorta tuned him out at the point and were just happy that the sac had a heartbeat. But then the Dr, kept moving around the wand to see more. I wasn't sure what was going on. Then he says this "Oh, and here we have a second sac with a heart beat, you are having twins"
EXCUSE ME?!?!?!? I sat up, looked at him and said "Your kidding me?" He said, I wouldn't kid about this. Andy went blank and silent, I asked a bazillion questions, (what are the chances, are they conjoined, are you sure) He took us back to the exam room, went through some "Twin" facts, (born early, smaller weight) told us congrats and left us. I looked at Andy and just cried. From shock. You see, Andy had kidded me for years he did NOT want twins. I felt crushed, probably from the hormones and asked Andy "Are you mad at me, is this ok?" Of course he wasn't mad, of course he was ok, he was just in shock he told me. This explained why I was getting larger so early. I spent the better part of the morning freaking out and crying. The poor nurse where I had to have blood work done was the first victim of my crying freaking out. She was so nice.
But the reason for this post is this, how can I describe what it's like to find out your having twins? Like this. Finding out I was having twins was like the time I wished for a pet pig and got it.
I had asked for a pet pig for my birthday every year since I can remember. For my 17th birthday I got one. I was in such shock that I got what I had always wanted. That's how I can describe having twins.
Finding out your pregnant is like:
*winning the big ticket item at a raffle you never thought you'd get
*your favorite college football player going #1 in the draft to your favorite team
*coming home from work and seeing your favorite dish all prepared
*going to the grocery store and seeing all ice cream is on sale
*getting a bill in the mail that says you over paid and don't have to pay this month
*going to the dentist and being told "your teeth look great keep it up"
*sitting on an airplane in the window seat and the person in the middle seat doesn't show up, letting you have a little extra space.
Now finding out you are pregnant with twins is something I CAN describe. Since I was a little girl and first saw "The Parent Trap" I have wanted twins. My entire life, I just thought it would be so fun to have twins. My family thought I was crazy as did most of my friends. When I told Andy this he thought I was out of my mind. I used to day dream about having twins. This is how much I have always wanted twins. When we went in for our first appointment, 8 weeks, the Dr. went through all the regular pregnancy stuff, eat healthy, exercise, this is your due date. I wanted to get to the Ultrasound. He told us we may not see a heart beat since it was a bit early. We got lucky. He found a sac with a heart beat. We both sorta tuned him out at the point and were just happy that the sac had a heartbeat. But then the Dr, kept moving around the wand to see more. I wasn't sure what was going on. Then he says this "Oh, and here we have a second sac with a heart beat, you are having twins"
EXCUSE ME?!?!?!? I sat up, looked at him and said "Your kidding me?" He said, I wouldn't kid about this. Andy went blank and silent, I asked a bazillion questions, (what are the chances, are they conjoined, are you sure) He took us back to the exam room, went through some "Twin" facts, (born early, smaller weight) told us congrats and left us. I looked at Andy and just cried. From shock. You see, Andy had kidded me for years he did NOT want twins. I felt crushed, probably from the hormones and asked Andy "Are you mad at me, is this ok?" Of course he wasn't mad, of course he was ok, he was just in shock he told me. This explained why I was getting larger so early. I spent the better part of the morning freaking out and crying. The poor nurse where I had to have blood work done was the first victim of my crying freaking out. She was so nice.
But the reason for this post is this, how can I describe what it's like to find out your having twins? Like this. Finding out I was having twins was like the time I wished for a pet pig and got it.
I had asked for a pet pig for my birthday every year since I can remember. For my 17th birthday I got one. I was in such shock that I got what I had always wanted. That's how I can describe having twins.
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