I Never Thought I'd Say...

I never thought I'd say that I have a super cervix, but apparently I do! Went to see Dr. K again today, both boys have stayed head down (and they'd better if they know what's good for them!) and are looking fabulous. She checked out my ultrasound report from the Women's and Fetal Health Office and said everything appears great. She then kept reading down the report and got all excited, "Wow, your cervix is 4 cm! That is REALLY good, even for just one baby. If things continue to look this good hopefully those babies will be just fine - as long as we can keep these contractions under control."

So, there you have it - I have a super cervix. I can't lie, it made me really excited to see her so happy about it and let me know that at least that part of my body is holding up. Nobody's getting out, that sucker's on lockdown.

She is referring me to an MFM over at the Women's and Fetal Health Office just to double check everything and make sure I get to know him if things begin to take a turn for the worse. Also, this week I am 24 weeks along, however my belly says I am almost term for a singleton. Yep, I'm measuring a rather large 36 weeks! No wonder Kevin has to put my shoes on for me already.

We also start our Multiples class tomorrow. I hope it doesn't scare the crap out of me. Okay, honestly I hope they don't show us that wretched birth video like they did in birthing class *gag*. I have a feeling my luck just ran out though.

First Growth Ultrasound

I had my first growth ultrasound last Friday. Both boys are doing excellent! Baby A's estimated weight is 1 pound and 5 ounces. Baby B's estimated weight is 1 pound 5.9 ounces. A is apparently the wild one (I had a feeling all along). He was constantly kicking his brother and rolling around. We STILL don't have all of the measurements on him, but the tech will keep trying each time we go in. B is my stubborn little guy, but I think he puts up with a lot from his brother already. He finally moved from being stretched out across my belly and into the head down position! Now we just have to hope and pray that neither one of them decides to move around too much, the thought of a C-section freaks me out.

Kevin and I ventured out for a little while on Saturday. We are almost done stocking the nursery with baby essentials. We purchased matching onesies to bring them home in. They are baby blue and say "all good things come in two's" - nothing too extravagant. Kevin also thought it would be a good idea to bring them home in two different colored pairs of socks to make it easier to tell them apart. I guess he thinks the hospital bracelets are coming off right away?

I have another appointment with Dr. K tomorrow, so we'll see what she says about my recent L&D activity and if she will have me see an MFM. I'm still getting contractions frequently and am having to continue the Terbutaline pills to keep them at bay. The good news though, is that the L&D OB added on an order for a cervical length check to my growth ultrasound. Things look really good and it is measuring 40 mm. The L&D OB said 30 was a good number, so that makes me even more happy.

I hope to update soon on what happens at my appointment tomorrow.

Slight Complications

So yesterday as I was getting up to get Evan ready for school I started feeling like I was having slight contractions and period-like cramps. I didn't really think too much about it, as my round ligament pain is always in full-force after getting up. After Kevin and Evan left for the day, I got back into bed since the pains had not subsided.

Fast forward to around 10:30 when Kevin called to check in on me, he had no idea what was going on. Deep down I was pretty concerned, but I have to be careful when I tell things like this to Kevin because he has a tendency to get overly worked up and brings more stress to the situation. He told me to call the Dr's office, I was thinking of the same thing.

I called in to speak with Dr. K's nurse...only she wasn't there, and neither was Dr. K. Yep, they are both on vacation this week. The receptionist took my information and told me to get back into bed and she would call back in an hour to check on me. As my crappy luck would have it, on Wednesdays they close at 1. In the meantime, Kevin was on his way home and bringing me some lunch.

I scarfed down my Taco Bell and we proceeded to talk about what the plan of action was going to be. The contractions weren't super strong and they were actually pretty difficult to time because they were often masked by constant dull cramping. The Dr's office called back and asked how I was feeling - not any better, so she requested that I make an appearance to Labor & Delivery.

Of course I hadn't showered yet for the day, so I hop in quickly (although Kevin thinks it was not so quickly) and get ready to go. CRAP - what about Evan?? Will we be done in time to pick him up from school? We decided to play it safe and dropped his car seat of at Kevin's parents just to be sure.

We get to the hospital and they hook me up to the monitors...at first I had one huge contraction, made the machine go beep crazy and both nurses looked up in surprise. Then things started to calm down. The contractions were in no way earth shattering, but they were definitely showing up on the monitor...and every three minutes! Holy crap, good thing I went in, right? So they make me do the pee in a cup thing, checked that out and it all came back fine. At this point there were still a few people in front of me to see the Dr.

The nurses come back in holding a lovely surprise that I spied right away - a needle. I ended up getting a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. It worked really well, but made me feel like I just ran a marathon or guzzled down 5 cups of coffee. It made my heart race and gave me the shakes. They hooked me back up to the monitors just to make sure it was working properly and everything looked good. At this point, I was hoping to go home.

An interesting fact about Terbutaline, it only lasts about an hour when you get the shot, so they needed to keep me at least another hour to make sure the contractions had subsided for good. An hour goes by and slowly but surely the contractions creep their way back onto the monitor. The nurse comes back in and gives me the oral version of the drug via pill.

At this point the Dr. comes in and is explaining things and got to use her niftly speculum (yay for me, right?!?) Everything looked good on that front and she aslo did a Fetal Febernectin Test, which also came back negative.

So the consensus is that my body isn't handling this pregnancy well already. She told me to pretty much turn myself into a sloth and also mentioned "it's as if your body has been invaded by two little aliens...and they are literally sucking the life out of you." Nice, right? At least she had a sense of humor. Actually I REALLY liked this Dr. She took the time to explain in great detail of what to expect, what to look out for and everything else under the sun. She really put my mind at ease and made me realize once again that this is in fact not a regular pregnancy and I shouldn't view it as such.

I ended up with a ton of prescriptions, including the Terbutaline pills, just in case the contractions continue. I am also on Prometrium (again). I go tomorrow for another level II ultrasound to check out the boys' growth. I have a feeling I will also be referred to an MFM for a few appointments.

The L&D Dr. says she will definitely be seeing me again - I guess I'd better get used to this.

Mind and Body

Apparently my mind either a) has not received the memo my body sent out, or b) didn't read or understand it completely. I still think I should be able to do things and am running into problems shortly after I make my attempt. Even picking up Evan's toys from the floor is proving to be quite difficult, the contractions start almost immediately.

A few days ago, I was feeling adventurous and anxious to get out of the house. I figured a short trip to Target wouldn't hurt anything. Wrong! I was there less than an hour and began to get extremely tired. When I went to the front of the store to finalize my purchases I even started to feel like I was going to pass out. Oh, and just an FYI, one o'clock in the afternoon is NOT a good time of day for a Target run - I swear everyone was there and wanting to check out at the same time.

Things got so bad I even considered sitting on the floor a few times. And of course I accidentally left my cell phone at home on the couch, so I couldn't even call Kevin. Anyway, I made it home okay and went to rest in bed with my glass of water.

I just hope I start to realize my limits aren't what they were when I was pregnant with Evan. I am constantly amazed at how different having two of them inside of there is from just one. So, needless to say, I am still trying to adjust.

Quick Update

I had another appointment yesterday and overall things are well. Babies look great and are getting bigger. My belly is measuring at 30 weeks (I'm really only 22) and apparently I'm not doing so good on the 24 pounds in 24 weeeks goal. I am up a total of *one* pound from when I came in for my first appointment back in December. My doctor looks at things a little differently though since I lost around 8 or so pounds in the beginning, and points out that in her eyes I have gained about 9 pounds total so far (getting me back to a little over my previous weight).

The past week I had been experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions and didn't really think too much of it. I guess I am in need of some more "twins" education, as I got an ever so slight lecture from the doc about how I am a high risk patient and shouldn't take things like this lightly. She went on to explain that pre-term labor does not have to feel like real labor, you know the screaming in pain, huffing and puffing part, and can feel like regular old BH contractions. So, as of now I'm supposed to start keeping track of them - any more than six per hour and I am to lay down with a glass of ice water in hopes they stop. If they don't then I get to make a trip up to Labor & Deliver to get checked out. She also wants me to start taking things a little more easy than I have been. I have to admit, I've kind of been pushing myself to my limits lately.

Dr. K went on to tell me that she's sure I'll get to know the L&D nurses really well because most MoMs end up having to get checked out at least a few times before they actually deliver. Gee, I can't wait. :/

We are checking into getting Evan in daycare full-time so I can actually have a break when I need one and not have to worry about finding someone to watch him on days he isn't enrolled, etc. Things are getting more and more real by the day.

Room and Board

Last week I was visiting different websites about being pregnant with twins so that I could get more informed. I came across the suggestion that MoMs (moms of multiples) should have their hospital bags packed and the carseats in the car at around 28 weeks. This immediately sent me into panic mode and I started envisioning the to-do list that seemed about as long as the list of Jolly old St. Nick.

So, the following Sunday (while I still had some energy) we headed out for an early morning run to Babies R Us. We ended up getting a changing table, the carseats, mattresses, bedding sets and other things to help decorate the twins' nursery. Apparently the store has a "twins discount" which no doubt helped out, but in the scheme of things seemed almost non-existant on our receipt. After the horrifying reality of our bill wore off we headed home.

Of course I sent Kevin off to the room to get it emptied out - it's previous role was "guest room". Kev was such a good sport the whole day. I'm so thankful to have a husband that realizes when he needs to help out and get things done, without complaining too!

After the room was cleared he was put to work assembling the new crib we purchased last week and the changing table. It took quite a while since he didn't really get much help. He was even a dear and helped dress the cribs with the bedding sets. The only thing I really did on my own was put up the wall decals. Smart move, Kev...no offense, but if you would have done it, it might have looked like the monkey exhibit at the zoo spewed monkeys and dots across the room.

Anyway, the room still needs a ton of work and all of those "cute finishing touches", but the basics ares done for now. I think it is really cute and am quite pleased with it.

"It's Really Embarrassing!"

So, we had our first pregnancy check-up knowing there were two babies in there today. I asked Kevin to come along since we had not talked to a doctor about the new...err...situation. Of course Evan was in tow as well (poor little thing hates seeing his mom in the setting of a doctor's office and turns on the crocodile tears every time.)

The whole family makes it back to the exam room and I begin to hear some commotion outside of our door. I have to admit, I giggled a bit because I had an inkling as to what it might be about. A few seconds later the nurse knocks on our door, pokes her head in and mumbles, "uh...are you guys...?" before she could get another word out Kevin reassures her that she does indeed have the correct ultrasound report, and YES we ARE having twins!

I recognized the shock in her face immediately and exclaimed, "that's exactly how I looked!"

She then apologizes for not knowing ahead of time (I guess the Fetal Health Office was supposed to call them?) and leaves to prepare the OB's ultrasound room. Meanwhile, Dr. K comes in - equally as shocked - and gives us a quick crash course in the events to follow. As soon as the other room is available we are whisked away so that she can see the babies with her own eyes.

Just for the record, there are still two in there - and it wasn't some bizarre dream sequence :) I have to start having appointments every two weeks now and will get an ultrasound each time. I am excited at the thought of seeing my little teddy bears so often! Everything looks good, so as of now I am not being referred to a specialist unless I develop any complications down the road. Dr. K measured my belly...which is measuring at 27 weeks!

While we were chatting it up, she had mentioned that I was her first...yep her first patient that she had "missed" a twin in. She's been practicing for over 15 years too. I felt so bad for her, you could tell it was eating away at her on the inside. While on our way out she had mentioned that "it's really embarrassing" to have missed something like this. Poor thing, I wanted to give her a hug. Love you Dr. K, hope your day gets better!

The BIG ultrasound and the BIG news!

It has taken me a few days to even have the focus to write about this monumental event. We have some extremely exciting (and scary) news to share!

Friday, February 27th was quite the eventful day. It started out with the armagedon of diaper blowouts followed by a bath, disassembling a highchair, and placing said highchair parts into the washing machine. From there, Evan and I had to rush to get ready for an appointment with a nice lady from an alarm company to bid a system for our house. And this was all before 10:00 am!

After the alarm lady left we quickly got ourselves together (again) and had just enough time to scarf down a speedy lunch. Kevin took half of a day off from work so that we could make it to our BIG ultrasound at 1:45. Of course as our luck would have it, the OB's office schedules the appointment at the fetal health center for you, and clearly does not take into consideration when your toddler's naptime is.

Evan fell asleep almost immediately in the car and we even sat in the parking garage for an extra ten or fifteen minutes to let him sleep a little longer. It turns out our extra efforts weren't really all that useful. He was a handful the second we walked through the office doors. We knew it was going to be an eventful appointment to say the least...little did we know!

We are called back and while on our way down the hall to our room, the nice lady informs us that she is in training and still a student. I'm not sure where she was from, but her accent was incredibly thick. In very few words she went on to state she would only be getting a few measurements and that her overseeing ultrasound technician would soon be in for the remainder of our ultrasound.

The warm jelly is squirted onto my belly and the wand is gently moved into position. There it is...our first look at our precious little baby up on the monitor. At this point it is clear the student is having a difficult time getting her measurements, but isn't saying a whole lot. I glance up at the monitor and see two large white circles. They appear to be heads, but I MUST be sorely mistaken as we KNOW there is ony one baby in there. The student is still quiet and concentrating intently. Surely she would have said something if there really were more than one in there...but WHAT IS that other circle??

At this point what I'm guesstimating to be about fifteen minutes have elapsed. There's a knock at the door and the overseeing ultrasound tech slowly steps into the room while glancing up at the screen. You can clearly see the shock on her face. That shock was immediately followed by reprimanding the student about how she should have come and notified her right away.

I quickly shoot my husband a concerned look and he reciprocates. What could be wrong with my baby??

The student is urgently rushed from the room as the ultrasound tech takes over the duties. She leaned over, and asked me in a flat voice, "Do you see what I see?"

I blurted out my suspicions. "There's two of them in there, isn't there?"

"Yes, honey, it appears you are having twins!"

So there you have it folks, we have two on the way in just a short amount of time. Kevin and I are scared out of our minds with worry, but absolutely thrilled.