Risk Factors

I knew I had a few for most possible pregnancy complications, but I was hoping they wouldn't come into play. Lets see
I'm "older"
First pregnancy
Carrying multiples
Existing BP issue controlled by med

This put me at a higher risk for high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. I've been over every book and site on the subjects and there is nothing that can be done in advance and no way to predict in advance. I feel really great, but apparently I'm a mess on the inside.

My appointment yesterday was a bit frustrating. The higher dose of BP medication has resulted in only a small decrease in my BP. The doctor went back over the med specs and it can, for some people, take up to 14 days to show results, so it may still be okay. I have to go back next week to follow up on it.

But then, for the first time, there was sugar in my urine. Oh joy. The Dr and I went over everything I had eaten that day and it was nothing in my diet. She did say that with the volume of pregnancy hormones I have, my body may not be able to cope and I could be one of those who needs insulin to control it. So tomorrow I'll go for the 1 hour glucose test. Honestly, I'm expecting to fail and bracing myself for the 3 hour test. With the extra growth of the boys at this early stage, it's quite possible that I have GD, and have for a while. I guess it's a good thing I had a sugar aversion in the first trimester and no real taste for sweets now.

Anyway, from what I can tell, the boys are still fine. Definitely still growing. My next u/s is on March 5 so I'll know more then. I see the OB on March 10th. Again, I'm feeling really great.

I'm 22 weeks now. Each week counts. At 22 weeks, there is very little chance for survival (69%) and only palliative care would be offered. At 23 weeks the rate of survival is more than double (20%), palliative care is recommended, but medical intervention is possible. And so on. The Women's Hospital put out the stats and guidelines for micro-premies over the Christmas holidays. They highlighted a great success story on the cover of a girl born at 23 1/2 weeks who was celebrating her second birthday. She is the exception and not the rule. My ultimate goal is of course the full 37 weeks. But each time a problem crops up, I need to remind myself that they may come sooner and try to educate myself on the details. I'm living week-by-week right now, hoping for the best, preparing for other situations.

A Request

As some of you may remember, I agreed to contribute to a series for CBC Radio about my journey to become pregnant, including the trip to the Czech Republic. Alison has been following me along the entire way and even made it to CZ to interview me there along with some of the Doctors. Now she is looking for input from those around me. The details she has are below. She refers to email, but I suspect comments in the blog would also qualify.
While I'm not going to be anon for this show, you're contribution would be. Please read Alisons information below and let her know.

Hello friends of Chris:

As many of you know, I'm doing a two-part radio documentary for CBC Ideas, the second hour of which will focus on Chris's journey to the Czech Republic to start a family. One of the aspects I will be focusing on in this hour is how important the internet has been in facilitating this sort of endeavour -- not only in setting it up, but also in getting support and advice from friends near and far.

I would really like to be able to include a few of the authentic email messages in the show. I am particularly interested in messages that offered emotional support and specific advice about travelling to Zlin and what to do when you find out you are pregnant wih twins.
The question is: would any of you mind if I used your emails on the show? The author will not be identified and I will have actors reading the emails. They may be like a collage of good hopes sending her off to the Czech Republic.

Thanks for your help and understanding!
Cheers,
Alison

Alison Motluk
416-465-0497

They showed their "goods"

Today I went for the 3D U/S I scheduled because I really wanted to know genders. It was great.

I was a bit concerned because at only 21 weeks, I was worried things wouldn't be distinguished enough or that they'd be too skinny (I've heard that from people). But it was wonderful and they are not skinny at all. Wow.

While not a diagnostic scan, I was able to check lots of things out. They both have lots of fluid around them. Baby As heartbeat was 154 and Baby Bs was 158 which is the same as I get at home. Both are fast, but still in the middle of the range. Add to that, I was able to see that lips are fully formed (no hairlips), hands all have 5 fingers, feet each have 5 toes, ears are adorable. I was a bit concerned of birth defects because of isci and my blood pressure medication and the prednisone etc. That's not to say there aren't issues, but nothing that shows externally.

Oh, you probably want genders now? You'll have to follow along to find out. Don't worry, one will come out very quickly.

We started with Baby A. With instant cooperation, we were able to see the little boy bits right away. He is not overly shy. The pictures of him from this part are very sweet. He seems to be hugging his placenta. At times, he tried to suck on his thumb and his fingers (and I swear at one point he was sucking on his placenta). Then he rolled a bit and showed off his umbilical cord.

Onto Baby B. As per all the other scans, B was not overly cooperative at first. Having an anterior placenta also created some shadows making it a bit more obscured. After some checking and more checking, we were able to get the bottom up view of B showing his boy parts. Yup, that's right 2 boys. It was harder to get the cute shots of this boy. The video shows some nice views, but the stills weren't as great. Then the little boy rolled over again and put his arms behind his head. Along with a perfect shot, it was so neat because this is the exact pose I was in on the U/S bed, reclined with my hands behind my head. So cute.

Then we tried for some shots of the brothers. Um yeah. Now they were both awake and very active. A was doing somersaults at one point. Then they kept hitting and kicking each other (in the head). It was great to watch and gave me a view of what it will be like for the next many years.

I'll load a few pictures now and may load some more later. I'm not sure how to tag them on blogger, but hopefully you can tell from my descriptions which shot is which.

While it would have been great to have one of each gender, seeing them and knowing they are healthy more than made up for it.

On another note, my blood pressure has not gone down at all. So my Dr increased my medication on Monday. I get it checked again next week. I did some quick research, and it turns out my previous dose is lower than any listed value I could find, and my new dose is the lowest that you can get in the US. It made me feel a bit better.

I'll be doing another post tomorrow with a request for input. For now, enjoy the "pictures".