I'm off work now, but it feels like it's non-stop appointments now.
Today was the first non-stress test for me and the boys. They apparently flew through it with 2 gold stars!!! Their heartbeats were perfect and went up and down during/after movement. She said they were perfect. One tiny tightening of the uterus towards the end, not even enough to be braxton hicks. Next one is next week.
U/S last Thursday also went well. Boys are growing, really growing. They estimate A is over 5lbs now. Both still have big bellies. B is so high up, under my ribs its hard to get really good head measurements. Really hard to get good 'pictures'. She thinks they both have hair too. I really can't wait to meet them.
Yesterday, I had the first autologous blood donation (storing my own blood, just in case). I bled at the right rate. And for a few hours after, had normal blood pressure. I used to give blood all the time, but this is so much nicer. Its in a private room, just me and the nurse. I had a TV. They use an IV with saline because of course pregnant women cant get dehydrated. And more, they numb the area before the needle goes in. I felt nothing. Of course with GD, no juice and cookies for me after. I did have an ensure though (they are better than they used to be). Next one is next week.
Saw the OB today. My regular Dr was off, so I saw a fill in. It went well. Not much to worry about because it was only a few hours after the NST. I'm measuring 45 weeks. Uh yeah.
So, its business as usual. I'm to spend as much time as possible sitting and lying down. That's easy. I tire very easily and sleep lots (drool city).
So all seems well with me and the boys. Still no crib. I specifically picked one in stock that could be delivered that week (April 27th). They moved it from the Monday to the Wednesday. Then on Wednesday morning they called to say the crib wasnt at the dock when the picked it up, but would call to reschedule. No call. I called yesterday and apparently no one has done anything. So now a trace is put on it, she thinks they are out of stock. No call back yet. I'll be calling again tomorrow. There were more than 3 in stock when I paid for it. It wasnt my first or even second choice, but it was in stock and was a good one. Now they are saying it might be July. Um, no. Not going to happen. I have a pack and play that they can use for few weeks if necessary, but they had better fix this. I can guarentee that when it comes time to get a second crib, it will not be from s.ears if they don't fix it this week.
Okay, off my soap box now.
Updated giant belly shot soon. I promise.
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ultrasound. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
The countdown begins
Sorry, I’m behind in blogging. I will admit some of it is because I’m more tired now (and lazy). Some is because there is someone in my building who drains the internet feed each night so that I have a few hours (when I’m normally online) that I can’t connect. I’ll be calling the internet company soon, but then they have to put a trace on and it will take a while. Meantime, I’m just living with it.
All appears to be well, or at least as well as can be expected. Let’s see, updates from last time.
I’m taking 4 insulin shots a day now. 2 are slow acting and 2 are fast acting. The 'pens' make this so easy to administer and most of the time is totally painless. The doses for both have been increased. I see the diabetic Dr every 2 weeks. She suspects as the pregnancy progresses that we’ll have to continue to increase until it goes away. I had a blood test to confirm that I wasn’t an undiagnosed diabetic before the pregnancy (just in case). It came back negative. So I’ll be able to stop the shots, cold-turkey the day I give birth. Right after the doses are increased, I track my blood sugar at 7 key times during the day. Then I can track only 4 times a day in between. So far, it’s not overly high, just a bit higher than they like. It’s never been really low (but I carry the sugar and candies with me just in case). My blood pressure appears to have gone down the tiniest bit (still high). Since the GD insulin and monitoring is the only change, it may have contributed (it may be a coincidence). I’d like it to go down a tiny bit more.
As expected, the last scan confirmed the placenta isn’t just sitting over the cervix, it’s firmly attached and not going anywhere. It’s so centered that they have a hard time seeing the cervix in a trans-abdominal scan and need the dildo-cam wand. They’d need the wand anyway to measure the cervix so no big deal. Happily, it’s still very closed and quite long (4.5cm). And still no spotting. But it does mean the c-section is a total done deal. In fact, I now have a delivery date (don’t know the time yet, but I really hope for morning). The boys will arrive in the world on May 27th at 35w1d, 3 days after their mother’s 43rd birthday. The best birthday present I could ask for. I’m donating a pint or two of my own blood, just in case. That gets sucked out at the end of April (and I’ll have closer to normal blood pressure for a day or two). I am hoping the boys are at least 5lbs each at this time and I don’t think I need to be concerned. I know inter-uterine weight estimates can be quite off, but at best guess, as of Tuesday, they weigh 3lbs 2oz (A) and 2lbs 12oz (B), for a combined weight nearing 6 lbs. I weighed 5lbs 2oz at full term birth. They are a bit bigger than I was……..
B remains transverse, all the time it seems. His head is to my left. If my bladder is fuller, raising the uterus up, he’s behind my ribs. A either remains in a breech position with his butt slightly to my right, or he lies down in a transverse postion, with his butt around center. Both roll over when transverse and have been facing forward, backward, up and down. When A is sitting in the breech position, he leaves himself very exposed to being knee-ed in the face by B. When he’s lying down, he seems to get kicked in the face, a no win situation. But the way he stays, he doesn’t seem to go far enough over to kick B in the head. I can feel A move almost all the time. B still scares me lots because I feel him less. I don’t relax during a scan until they show me him moving and I can see his heartbeat. Next scan is the end of this month.
Weight gain is up to 19 lbs now. Still progressing nicely. I realized last week that I’m going to have to face the scale going over the 200lb mark for the first time ever sometime before the pregnancy is done. Now before anyone tells me not to worry etc, I know that I need to gain weight and will do anything and everything to get these boys safely delivered. But to anyone who has battled weight, 200 is a psychological milestone. My brain needs to get past it. Don’t worry, I won’t diet or try to avoid it. It will happen and I’ll drop back down once the boys come (I think the boys, their sacs and placentas alone will more than take care of it). But it is something I have to get my head around.
Still nothing major in the symptom world. I get heartburn once in a while. It’s usually at night, but sometimes during the day. It’s not as bad as most people get and I rarely have it while lying on my left. My hair is noticeably straighter and less oily. Actually, all my hair is straighter….all of it, everywhere, yes, I mean there. I’m not sure if this is a common symptom or not. Oh, my feet are often swollen, particularly at the end of the day. I try to keep them up as much as possible, but I can’t really lay claim to an A width foot right now. Shoes all still fit because most were laced as tight as possible before and are just laced looser now. I move quite slowly now. I just don’t have the energy for anything else. I’ve got a maternity band that makes walking even the few blocks that I do go easier. But then it pinches when I’m sitting so I take it off when I’m sticking around somewhere for a while.
There is a Baby Fair tomorrow that I’m going to. It has some good seminar/talks that I want to listen in on, including baby and toddler first aid. Of course I’d love to win some prizes too, but will be happy with samples. Sunday is the next Twin Club meeting.
I’m still organizing at home. I need someone to move two bookcases out of my bedroom (I sold a few hundred of my several hundred books) and there will be enough room for the crib. Really, that’s what would be needed to be done for the first 3-6 months. The rest can be done once the boys arrive, but I’d like to get a bit further into things before they arrive. I’ll just go by how much energy I have and when. I’m going to put my not-used-in-a-while 55 gallon aquarium on cr..list next week and that will quickly clear out a section of the living room too.
I met the 3 week old baby boy down the hall last week. They are in a much smaller 1 bedroom than I am, with 2 adults, 2 dogs and 3 cats. I can see how that can easily work until the baby is mobile. Oh, the floor of my building is/will be baby central, mostly boys. A couple doors down one way is a 4 month old baby girl. 3 doors down the other way, she is expecting a boy in early August (5 weeks later than my official due date). The baby boy mentioned above is just 3 weeks old and adorable. It’s going to be great having so many of us so close in dates so close together.
Although I constantly worry, I am so happy there appears to be no problems with the boys. I’ll take the high blood pressure, GD, limited activity and all over them having issues. There are some women out there in the online buddies groups who aren’t as lucky. Some are still struggling to get or stay pregnant. Some are dealing with issues and concerns with one or more of their little ones. I wish I could do something for them. Words of support seem so little comparison to their struggles. I so admire their strength and determination. And it makes me more grateful each day for the health of my boys.
I’ll see about loading some of the more recent scan pictures later. Depends on if the internet is up, and if I’m up.
All appears to be well, or at least as well as can be expected. Let’s see, updates from last time.
I’m taking 4 insulin shots a day now. 2 are slow acting and 2 are fast acting. The 'pens' make this so easy to administer and most of the time is totally painless. The doses for both have been increased. I see the diabetic Dr every 2 weeks. She suspects as the pregnancy progresses that we’ll have to continue to increase until it goes away. I had a blood test to confirm that I wasn’t an undiagnosed diabetic before the pregnancy (just in case). It came back negative. So I’ll be able to stop the shots, cold-turkey the day I give birth. Right after the doses are increased, I track my blood sugar at 7 key times during the day. Then I can track only 4 times a day in between. So far, it’s not overly high, just a bit higher than they like. It’s never been really low (but I carry the sugar and candies with me just in case). My blood pressure appears to have gone down the tiniest bit (still high). Since the GD insulin and monitoring is the only change, it may have contributed (it may be a coincidence). I’d like it to go down a tiny bit more.
As expected, the last scan confirmed the placenta isn’t just sitting over the cervix, it’s firmly attached and not going anywhere. It’s so centered that they have a hard time seeing the cervix in a trans-abdominal scan and need the dildo-cam wand. They’d need the wand anyway to measure the cervix so no big deal. Happily, it’s still very closed and quite long (4.5cm). And still no spotting. But it does mean the c-section is a total done deal. In fact, I now have a delivery date (don’t know the time yet, but I really hope for morning). The boys will arrive in the world on May 27th at 35w1d, 3 days after their mother’s 43rd birthday. The best birthday present I could ask for. I’m donating a pint or two of my own blood, just in case. That gets sucked out at the end of April (and I’ll have closer to normal blood pressure for a day or two). I am hoping the boys are at least 5lbs each at this time and I don’t think I need to be concerned. I know inter-uterine weight estimates can be quite off, but at best guess, as of Tuesday, they weigh 3lbs 2oz (A) and 2lbs 12oz (B), for a combined weight nearing 6 lbs. I weighed 5lbs 2oz at full term birth. They are a bit bigger than I was……..
B remains transverse, all the time it seems. His head is to my left. If my bladder is fuller, raising the uterus up, he’s behind my ribs. A either remains in a breech position with his butt slightly to my right, or he lies down in a transverse postion, with his butt around center. Both roll over when transverse and have been facing forward, backward, up and down. When A is sitting in the breech position, he leaves himself very exposed to being knee-ed in the face by B. When he’s lying down, he seems to get kicked in the face, a no win situation. But the way he stays, he doesn’t seem to go far enough over to kick B in the head. I can feel A move almost all the time. B still scares me lots because I feel him less. I don’t relax during a scan until they show me him moving and I can see his heartbeat. Next scan is the end of this month.
Weight gain is up to 19 lbs now. Still progressing nicely. I realized last week that I’m going to have to face the scale going over the 200lb mark for the first time ever sometime before the pregnancy is done. Now before anyone tells me not to worry etc, I know that I need to gain weight and will do anything and everything to get these boys safely delivered. But to anyone who has battled weight, 200 is a psychological milestone. My brain needs to get past it. Don’t worry, I won’t diet or try to avoid it. It will happen and I’ll drop back down once the boys come (I think the boys, their sacs and placentas alone will more than take care of it). But it is something I have to get my head around.
Still nothing major in the symptom world. I get heartburn once in a while. It’s usually at night, but sometimes during the day. It’s not as bad as most people get and I rarely have it while lying on my left. My hair is noticeably straighter and less oily. Actually, all my hair is straighter….all of it, everywhere, yes, I mean there. I’m not sure if this is a common symptom or not. Oh, my feet are often swollen, particularly at the end of the day. I try to keep them up as much as possible, but I can’t really lay claim to an A width foot right now. Shoes all still fit because most were laced as tight as possible before and are just laced looser now. I move quite slowly now. I just don’t have the energy for anything else. I’ve got a maternity band that makes walking even the few blocks that I do go easier. But then it pinches when I’m sitting so I take it off when I’m sticking around somewhere for a while.
There is a Baby Fair tomorrow that I’m going to. It has some good seminar/talks that I want to listen in on, including baby and toddler first aid. Of course I’d love to win some prizes too, but will be happy with samples. Sunday is the next Twin Club meeting.
I’m still organizing at home. I need someone to move two bookcases out of my bedroom (I sold a few hundred of my several hundred books) and there will be enough room for the crib. Really, that’s what would be needed to be done for the first 3-6 months. The rest can be done once the boys arrive, but I’d like to get a bit further into things before they arrive. I’ll just go by how much energy I have and when. I’m going to put my not-used-in-a-while 55 gallon aquarium on cr..list next week and that will quickly clear out a section of the living room too.
I met the 3 week old baby boy down the hall last week. They are in a much smaller 1 bedroom than I am, with 2 adults, 2 dogs and 3 cats. I can see how that can easily work until the baby is mobile. Oh, the floor of my building is/will be baby central, mostly boys. A couple doors down one way is a 4 month old baby girl. 3 doors down the other way, she is expecting a boy in early August (5 weeks later than my official due date). The baby boy mentioned above is just 3 weeks old and adorable. It’s going to be great having so many of us so close in dates so close together.
Although I constantly worry, I am so happy there appears to be no problems with the boys. I’ll take the high blood pressure, GD, limited activity and all over them having issues. There are some women out there in the online buddies groups who aren’t as lucky. Some are still struggling to get or stay pregnant. Some are dealing with issues and concerns with one or more of their little ones. I wish I could do something for them. Words of support seem so little comparison to their struggles. I so admire their strength and determination. And it makes me more grateful each day for the health of my boys.
I’ll see about loading some of the more recent scan pictures later. Depends on if the internet is up, and if I’m up.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Latest U/S
Today was my second detailed scan. It was a different U/S tech, just as efficient as the 19 week one, but she was more about business than showing me every part of the boys. That's okay, she told me everything I needed to know.
Both boys are growing well (they are 'big') and progressing nicely. Limb checks all worked out, spine, femur length, head and belly sizes are normal for both. Both boys have almost identical head circumferences (within 1 cm). Baby A is still breech (it likely wont matter) - which explains all the kicking low down. Baby B is transverse, lying as high up as possible with his head under one set of ribs and his feet booting into the other set of ribs. The U/S techs thought I would have lots of discomfort from it, but its not too bad (so far).
While Baby A is normally more 'photogenic' today he was bit less so. There is one good shot of him. Baby B was great at the start and there is a sequence of shots of him moving his hands to suck his thumb. Of course, when it was time to take the measurements, he became far less helpful.
My cervix is very long and tightly closed (yeah!!!). However it looks like I might be facing a c-section. I still have total placenta previa - it hasn't moved a centimetre from 4 weeks ago Whatever is needed to get them here safe and sound. But my friends who are functioning as birth partners are going to love the two hours alone with the screaming hungry babies while I am in recovery. I'll be able to feed them after I'm back in my room (this is what happens at the hospital I'm giving birth in). But while they get to listen to screams, they will also get to see the first the first yawn, first movements and likely get to change the first diapers. I'll get one of them to film it while the other tries to stay sane.
The last 2 pics are belly shots. I'm up to about 11 pounds gained. I definitely look very pregnant though, much more than the almost-6-months that I am.
My docs consulted and they are thinking that perhaps I'm metabolizing my BP medication much faster than normal (its a slow 24 release version). So now I'm taking two doses a day, 12 hours apart. It will take a few more days to see if that helps.
No call yet about GD clinic appointment. But I'm reviewing a book I already had at home on GI index. And picked up a nice diabetic cookbook today.
Oh and I was blog tagged. I'll be posting for that next. It will give some of you a chance to learn more about me.
Next scan is in 4 weeks.
Both boys are growing well (they are 'big') and progressing nicely. Limb checks all worked out, spine, femur length, head and belly sizes are normal for both. Both boys have almost identical head circumferences (within 1 cm). Baby A is still breech (it likely wont matter) - which explains all the kicking low down. Baby B is transverse, lying as high up as possible with his head under one set of ribs and his feet booting into the other set of ribs. The U/S techs thought I would have lots of discomfort from it, but its not too bad (so far).
While Baby A is normally more 'photogenic' today he was bit less so. There is one good shot of him. Baby B was great at the start and there is a sequence of shots of him moving his hands to suck his thumb. Of course, when it was time to take the measurements, he became far less helpful.
My cervix is very long and tightly closed (yeah!!!). However it looks like I might be facing a c-section. I still have total placenta previa - it hasn't moved a centimetre from 4 weeks ago Whatever is needed to get them here safe and sound. But my friends who are functioning as birth partners are going to love the two hours alone with the screaming hungry babies while I am in recovery. I'll be able to feed them after I'm back in my room (this is what happens at the hospital I'm giving birth in). But while they get to listen to screams, they will also get to see the first the first yawn, first movements and likely get to change the first diapers. I'll get one of them to film it while the other tries to stay sane.
The last 2 pics are belly shots. I'm up to about 11 pounds gained. I definitely look very pregnant though, much more than the almost-6-months that I am.
My docs consulted and they are thinking that perhaps I'm metabolizing my BP medication much faster than normal (its a slow 24 release version). So now I'm taking two doses a day, 12 hours apart. It will take a few more days to see if that helps.
No call yet about GD clinic appointment. But I'm reviewing a book I already had at home on GI index. And picked up a nice diabetic cookbook today.
Oh and I was blog tagged. I'll be posting for that next. It will give some of you a chance to learn more about me.
Next scan is in 4 weeks.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
23 weeks!
I know 23 weeks is not a huge milestone, but it's been a big one for me as it's the cutoff for survival. Of course I hope to make it to 37+ weeks, but I can only get there one week at a time. To celebrate 23 weeks, I'm doing my first baby wash. I'm not quite ready to remove tags from new things and wash them, but the items I've gotten at the swap meets and the twin meet are in the washer now. Yes, I'm really washing baby clothes for my babies!
I saw my GP today for the last time this pregnancy. Next week, I start with the OB. My BP is still up. At home, it has been down the last couple of days, down, not low, but not down. It was up at the office from the last few weeks. She didn't make any changes today but is going to talk with both my OB and a cardiologist that specializes in pg women to get their advice. Its either leave it like it is for now, up my medication or change my medication. I should hear from her sometime tomorrow about the consensus.
I did the 1 hour GD test last Thursday and got the results today. The good news is that I don't have to do the 3 hour test. Of course I don't have to do the test because I failed so badly that I'm confirmed as having GD. Canadian uses a different base measure, but I converted for my American friends. Over 140 mg/dl would result in the three hour test. Over 200 is commonly accepted as having GD, although 15% of those women don't have it. When its over 226, 100% of women have GD. I managed to do slightly better and came in at 227 mg/dl. At this test result level, most women require insulin shots. I suspect I'll be one of them. Once I knew it was possible, I started researching and I've been tracking my diet and it's almost a perfect GD diet already, so nothing to change. The more I read about GD over the week, the more certain I was that the test would come back positive. While my weight continues to go up slowly, the boys are growing in leaps and bounds and at 21 weeks had a fair amount of fat on them. Also, I often really want to sleep right after eating. I will sleep after eating when I can, but the need goes away within 3 minutes anyway. So I wasn't overly surprised.
I should get the referral date to the GD clinic for sometime within a week. I have my next detailed scan on Thursday. I meet the OB on Tuesday. Looks like I'll be missing more work. Oh well. They've been really good about it. We don't have any official sick leave but unless time off is being abused, they don't seem to mind (they gave me 2 weeks after my surgery a few years ago).
I saw my GP today for the last time this pregnancy. Next week, I start with the OB. My BP is still up. At home, it has been down the last couple of days, down, not low, but not down. It was up at the office from the last few weeks. She didn't make any changes today but is going to talk with both my OB and a cardiologist that specializes in pg women to get their advice. Its either leave it like it is for now, up my medication or change my medication. I should hear from her sometime tomorrow about the consensus.
I did the 1 hour GD test last Thursday and got the results today. The good news is that I don't have to do the 3 hour test. Of course I don't have to do the test because I failed so badly that I'm confirmed as having GD. Canadian uses a different base measure, but I converted for my American friends. Over 140 mg/dl would result in the three hour test. Over 200 is commonly accepted as having GD, although 15% of those women don't have it. When its over 226, 100% of women have GD. I managed to do slightly better and came in at 227 mg/dl. At this test result level, most women require insulin shots. I suspect I'll be one of them. Once I knew it was possible, I started researching and I've been tracking my diet and it's almost a perfect GD diet already, so nothing to change. The more I read about GD over the week, the more certain I was that the test would come back positive. While my weight continues to go up slowly, the boys are growing in leaps and bounds and at 21 weeks had a fair amount of fat on them. Also, I often really want to sleep right after eating. I will sleep after eating when I can, but the need goes away within 3 minutes anyway. So I wasn't overly surprised.
I should get the referral date to the GD clinic for sometime within a week. I have my next detailed scan on Thursday. I meet the OB on Tuesday. Looks like I'll be missing more work. Oh well. They've been really good about it. We don't have any official sick leave but unless time off is being abused, they don't seem to mind (they gave me 2 weeks after my surgery a few years ago).
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
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".
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".
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
5 Months and counting.....
Sorry I left the teaser up for so long, I was hoping to have some more info the next day but didn't and was following up on some other things.
So to put every one's mind at rest right away, the anatomy scan went incredibly well. There was nothing in the report to indicate an issue. Let's see if I can get you the details in a logical way (I suspect not).
At my Dr appointment on the Monday, my urine was fine, I've gained another 1.5 lbs (we'll round up and say I've gained 7 pounds total). My blood pressure, which has always been on the border (even when not pg) was up slightly. Nothing to panic about, but I'm now hovering on the border instead of just below it. It's something to watch. I'm now up to seeing her every 2 weeks instead of every 4. She also was going to try to move the appointment with the OB up (its now 10 days earlier and I'm on a cancellation list).
Then Wednesday was the scan. I'll start off on a really, really happy note for me. I no longer need a full bladder for scans. In fact, I'm to have a totally empty bladder!!!! But I'm sure you don't really want to know about me.
I was able to see both babies very clearly. They have 4 heart chambers each, 2 kidneys each etc. Baby A has a posterial placenta and Baby A has anterior placenta. This explains why I can feel Baby A moving lots and Baby B not so often. The heartbeats continue to be about 10 beats apart, with B being faster. Once again, B did not want to cooperate and took more time and belly poking to get the views needed.
Once we were done with the abdominal scan, it was onto every one's favorite wand. Yes folks, I'm back to needing the dildo-cam again. This was to check on the lower placenta. It was the one less happy note from the scan. At the moment, I have total placenta previa. For the few who don't know, this means the placenta is lying completely over the cervix. Since I haven't had even a drop of bleeding since mid-Dec (knock on wood), the only thing it means is that if it doesn't resolve itself, I'll need a c-section. As the uterus continues to grow, it can move with the growth and this could change. This will be checked at each scan from now on.
I did not get to find out the gender(s). I was one week too early to be told. He did say that if he could easily tell, that he'd put it on the report to my Doctor. This was the reason for the teaser, I was hoping to find out. But there was nothing about gender on the report. I tried to look and I think, maybe, that one is a girl, but I'm not sure. So, I managed to book a scan at a 3D/4D clinic for next week, (the 18th) so I can find out gender (and see them again). My next detailed scan isn't until Mar 5 and I just didn't want to wait. I'll be posting some of those pics for sure.
I asked about size, particularly with my slow weight gain (that I think is picking up a bit). He said that they are well into the top percentile for singletons and at the very top for twin growth. That explains the belly and makes me less concerned about my weight gain (I did put on 15 pounds between the previous DE attempt and this one so maybe some of that is being used).
I have more sonograms, but I need to do some minor cropping. I'll load them soon. But the one I loaded in the teaser is my favorite anyway.
Oh, I do have the Dr Luke book and have talked with my doctor about some specifics. So far, since nothing other than watching my BP is causing a concern, we'll keep going as is and hope there is a cancellation with the OBs office so I can get in sooner.
I also joined the local parents of multiples group. They were an amazing resource right away. One is even an OB herself. It does seem that care varies greatly from Dr to Dr and even twin pregnancy to twin pregnancy within a single doctor. It gave me some reassurance and some great local women who've been wonderful. There are a few other pregnant women in the group, although all are further along than I am. The first meet I went was happily a swap meet. Its one of the few times I wish I had a car. There was even a crib, free to good home that I had to pass on. Knowing genders would have been even better since I didn't want to take the very gender specific clothes. As it was, I'm loaded up on some more gender neutral clothes, every lamaze baby toy ever made, board books for babies and even a playmat with gym. Since I was in total baby mode after that, I took the bus all the way home and then all the way back to a consignment store that was nearby. I lucked out there and got a twin nursing pillow for less than 1/3 the cost of a new one (and there would have been shipping too).
A coworker is giving me a baby bath. So the smaller things are starting to come together. It's the stroller that is going to kill me. I've been researching and talking to people and unless I want to buy multiple strollers in the first couple of years, then I need to bite the bullet and get the one I really want right away. The Bob Duallie is a good choice, but its not recommended until the babies are at least 4 months. The valco is a good option that is usable from birth. One of the families at the local group had one and loves it. But apparently it wont fit in any car trunk so would be hard if going somewhere with friends. And at almost 700, that's a concern. I was 'test driving' some that I know local stores carry and I am totally in love with the Mountain Buggy double. Its usable from birth, has an adjustable push bar (for short people like me) and will turn into a great jogging stroller when the kids turn 1. Last years colors are on sale right now for 750(cdn), about 270 less than this years model(oh yeah, this years comes with a cup holder - big deal). There are only a few left at the lower price so I need to make a decision soon. There is only 1 orange one left and I love orange. I didn't want to buy anything big until 23 weeks. But I may have to. It steered so well and I've looked and looked but can't find a bad review on it anywhere (other than the price).
Anyway, off on a tangent there. My next Dr appointment is on Monday. The 4D scan (yippeee) is on Wednesday. The next full U/S is March 5 (with another one 4 weeks after that.
I'm starting to face the reality that I will likely have to stop working at the end of April. I really need the money but the safety of the kids comes first. They're giving me a key to the first aid room so I can go lay down whenever I want and I'll probably start doing at this every lunch as a preemptive measure. I'll likely start working from home 1-2 days a week by the end of this month. I've already starting busing to work every day (uphill) and busing home most days (even though its not a long walk).
Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate them.
So to put every one's mind at rest right away, the anatomy scan went incredibly well. There was nothing in the report to indicate an issue. Let's see if I can get you the details in a logical way (I suspect not).
At my Dr appointment on the Monday, my urine was fine, I've gained another 1.5 lbs (we'll round up and say I've gained 7 pounds total). My blood pressure, which has always been on the border (even when not pg) was up slightly. Nothing to panic about, but I'm now hovering on the border instead of just below it. It's something to watch. I'm now up to seeing her every 2 weeks instead of every 4. She also was going to try to move the appointment with the OB up (its now 10 days earlier and I'm on a cancellation list).
Then Wednesday was the scan. I'll start off on a really, really happy note for me. I no longer need a full bladder for scans. In fact, I'm to have a totally empty bladder!!!! But I'm sure you don't really want to know about me.
I was able to see both babies very clearly. They have 4 heart chambers each, 2 kidneys each etc. Baby A has a posterial placenta and Baby A has anterior placenta. This explains why I can feel Baby A moving lots and Baby B not so often. The heartbeats continue to be about 10 beats apart, with B being faster. Once again, B did not want to cooperate and took more time and belly poking to get the views needed.
Once we were done with the abdominal scan, it was onto every one's favorite wand. Yes folks, I'm back to needing the dildo-cam again. This was to check on the lower placenta. It was the one less happy note from the scan. At the moment, I have total placenta previa. For the few who don't know, this means the placenta is lying completely over the cervix. Since I haven't had even a drop of bleeding since mid-Dec (knock on wood), the only thing it means is that if it doesn't resolve itself, I'll need a c-section. As the uterus continues to grow, it can move with the growth and this could change. This will be checked at each scan from now on.
I did not get to find out the gender(s). I was one week too early to be told. He did say that if he could easily tell, that he'd put it on the report to my Doctor. This was the reason for the teaser, I was hoping to find out. But there was nothing about gender on the report. I tried to look and I think, maybe, that one is a girl, but I'm not sure. So, I managed to book a scan at a 3D/4D clinic for next week, (the 18th) so I can find out gender (and see them again). My next detailed scan isn't until Mar 5 and I just didn't want to wait. I'll be posting some of those pics for sure.
I asked about size, particularly with my slow weight gain (that I think is picking up a bit). He said that they are well into the top percentile for singletons and at the very top for twin growth. That explains the belly and makes me less concerned about my weight gain (I did put on 15 pounds between the previous DE attempt and this one so maybe some of that is being used).
I have more sonograms, but I need to do some minor cropping. I'll load them soon. But the one I loaded in the teaser is my favorite anyway.
Oh, I do have the Dr Luke book and have talked with my doctor about some specifics. So far, since nothing other than watching my BP is causing a concern, we'll keep going as is and hope there is a cancellation with the OBs office so I can get in sooner.
I also joined the local parents of multiples group. They were an amazing resource right away. One is even an OB herself. It does seem that care varies greatly from Dr to Dr and even twin pregnancy to twin pregnancy within a single doctor. It gave me some reassurance and some great local women who've been wonderful. There are a few other pregnant women in the group, although all are further along than I am. The first meet I went was happily a swap meet. Its one of the few times I wish I had a car. There was even a crib, free to good home that I had to pass on. Knowing genders would have been even better since I didn't want to take the very gender specific clothes. As it was, I'm loaded up on some more gender neutral clothes, every lamaze baby toy ever made, board books for babies and even a playmat with gym. Since I was in total baby mode after that, I took the bus all the way home and then all the way back to a consignment store that was nearby. I lucked out there and got a twin nursing pillow for less than 1/3 the cost of a new one (and there would have been shipping too).
A coworker is giving me a baby bath. So the smaller things are starting to come together. It's the stroller that is going to kill me. I've been researching and talking to people and unless I want to buy multiple strollers in the first couple of years, then I need to bite the bullet and get the one I really want right away. The Bob Duallie is a good choice, but its not recommended until the babies are at least 4 months. The valco is a good option that is usable from birth. One of the families at the local group had one and loves it. But apparently it wont fit in any car trunk so would be hard if going somewhere with friends. And at almost 700, that's a concern. I was 'test driving' some that I know local stores carry and I am totally in love with the Mountain Buggy double. Its usable from birth, has an adjustable push bar (for short people like me) and will turn into a great jogging stroller when the kids turn 1. Last years colors are on sale right now for 750(cdn), about 270 less than this years model(oh yeah, this years comes with a cup holder - big deal). There are only a few left at the lower price so I need to make a decision soon. There is only 1 orange one left and I love orange. I didn't want to buy anything big until 23 weeks. But I may have to. It steered so well and I've looked and looked but can't find a bad review on it anywhere (other than the price).
Anyway, off on a tangent there. My next Dr appointment is on Monday. The 4D scan (yippeee) is on Wednesday. The next full U/S is March 5 (with another one 4 weeks after that.
I'm starting to face the reality that I will likely have to stop working at the end of April. I really need the money but the safety of the kids comes first. They're giving me a key to the first aid room so I can go lay down whenever I want and I'll probably start doing at this every lunch as a preemptive measure. I'll likely start working from home 1-2 days a week by the end of this month. I've already starting busing to work every day (uphill) and busing home most days (even though its not a long walk).
Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate them.
Friday, January 16, 2009
16w3d - I guess that's 4 months
And true to the norm for twins, I measure/look 6-8 weeks ahead of this. I really don't mind. I like looking more pregnant and less fat.
My Dr appointment didn't really tell me anything different, that I didn't already know.
My weight went up 1 pound in the 4 weeks for a total gain of 5 pounds. Since I still have lots of fluff and the babes are growing well, I'm not worried about the slow gain. I'm not dieting and not really doing anything called exercise (although I'm thinking of going swimming tonite).
We listened to the heartbeats, which is always nice, but since I have the rental doppler, I do that fairly regularly myself.
She's trying to get through to the OB to book a first appointment. I'm going to have to prod the office to find out what's taking so long.
My detailed anatomy scan will be on Feb 4th. To answer the oft asked question, yes I want to know gender. I'm not certain they will tell me. Its very clear on their form that they wont tell gender until 24 weeks and I'll be just over 19. Why 24 weeks you ask? Well in Canada, you can get an abortion until 23 weeks and there are people (too many) who will abort a female fetus (grrrr!). I'm hoping they will let it slip or it will be too obvious to not notice. If not, I'll book a 3-D scan and find out (I want a 3-D anyway).
I can sometimes feel minor movement from the babe lower down. It's a bit of a thumping, drumming feeling. I call this one Thumper. The upper babe sits behind a placenta and its harder to find the heartbeat and I cant really feel the movements yet. I call this one Little Rascal, shy with a playful nature. So collectively they are the babes or bump and individually Thumper and Little Rascal. I like these names (not once their born!) as they represent their known personalities so far.
On to names. I have a few picked out, but nothing definite. Anytime I see a name I like, I write it down to add to the list. A few things I want are a name that wont be constantly mispronounced, a name that is not in the top 50 names (not in the top 100 if I can swing it), a name that flows and does not produce initials that spell anything. I also don't want to use a name of anyone around my life. I don't want to seem to be playing favorites, nor do I want someone to mistakenly think the baby was named after him/her. I don't really want to share names with people in advance since I'm prepared to change my mind at any point until the papers are signed. I'm hoping to have several name options in my head and name the babies after they are born and I can meet them in person.
I still have no distinct pregnancy symptoms, which is okay now that I can hear the heartbeat occasionally and see the growth. I have had a horribly sore/tight neck that has caused headaches for the last week or so. I saw a register massage therapist yesterday. Apparently some of the knots were so bad she was surprised I was able to sit or stand as fluid to the brain was blocked. She obviously doesn't know my high tolerance for pain. It certainly has helped, but it will need more than one I think as my neck/back muscles seem to like being knotted. But that will have to wait until the tenderness goes down a bit. For now, I'll survive.
That's about it for how things with me, Thumper and Little Rascal are going. I'll try for another belly shot soon.
My Dr appointment didn't really tell me anything different, that I didn't already know.
My weight went up 1 pound in the 4 weeks for a total gain of 5 pounds. Since I still have lots of fluff and the babes are growing well, I'm not worried about the slow gain. I'm not dieting and not really doing anything called exercise (although I'm thinking of going swimming tonite).
We listened to the heartbeats, which is always nice, but since I have the rental doppler, I do that fairly regularly myself.
She's trying to get through to the OB to book a first appointment. I'm going to have to prod the office to find out what's taking so long.
My detailed anatomy scan will be on Feb 4th. To answer the oft asked question, yes I want to know gender. I'm not certain they will tell me. Its very clear on their form that they wont tell gender until 24 weeks and I'll be just over 19. Why 24 weeks you ask? Well in Canada, you can get an abortion until 23 weeks and there are people (too many) who will abort a female fetus (grrrr!). I'm hoping they will let it slip or it will be too obvious to not notice. If not, I'll book a 3-D scan and find out (I want a 3-D anyway).
I can sometimes feel minor movement from the babe lower down. It's a bit of a thumping, drumming feeling. I call this one Thumper. The upper babe sits behind a placenta and its harder to find the heartbeat and I cant really feel the movements yet. I call this one Little Rascal, shy with a playful nature. So collectively they are the babes or bump and individually Thumper and Little Rascal. I like these names (not once their born!) as they represent their known personalities so far.
On to names. I have a few picked out, but nothing definite. Anytime I see a name I like, I write it down to add to the list. A few things I want are a name that wont be constantly mispronounced, a name that is not in the top 50 names (not in the top 100 if I can swing it), a name that flows and does not produce initials that spell anything. I also don't want to use a name of anyone around my life. I don't want to seem to be playing favorites, nor do I want someone to mistakenly think the baby was named after him/her. I don't really want to share names with people in advance since I'm prepared to change my mind at any point until the papers are signed. I'm hoping to have several name options in my head and name the babies after they are born and I can meet them in person.
I still have no distinct pregnancy symptoms, which is okay now that I can hear the heartbeat occasionally and see the growth. I have had a horribly sore/tight neck that has caused headaches for the last week or so. I saw a register massage therapist yesterday. Apparently some of the knots were so bad she was surprised I was able to sit or stand as fluid to the brain was blocked. She obviously doesn't know my high tolerance for pain. It certainly has helped, but it will need more than one I think as my neck/back muscles seem to like being knotted. But that will have to wait until the tenderness goes down a bit. For now, I'll survive.
That's about it for how things with me, Thumper and Little Rascal are going. I'll try for another belly shot soon.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
12 Week Update
This post is going to be a bit happy of an update. If you're in a bad place, you may want to skip this one. I'll understand.
I had my nuchal scan yesterday. The neck folds were 1.0mm and 1.6mm, both very far under the 3mm risk level. Both are measuring on schedule, a day or 2 ahead as they were at the first scan. Baby A is 5.77cm and Baby B is 6cm. For those not into metric, these translate to just over 2 1/4 inches.
It was so wonderful to watch them wiggle and kick and wave. Baby A cooperated perfectly. Baby B must have felt put out or something for not being scanned first, since when the tech finished with A and moved onto B, B rolled over and presented the butt side out. The tech tried to jiggle to get the babe to roll over. No luck. Then the Dr came in and tried the same thing. Still refusing to turn. So I got to go to the bathroom (again) and was told to jump up and down a bit and jiggle my belly while standing up. That must have done the trick. The Dr was able to measure B right away when I got back.
Sorry about the size of the picture. I scanned it in with higher rez but can seem to edit that one, so you get this one.
I rented a Doppler last week. Its been hard to find the heartbeats. I can sometimes find one, but don't seem to be able to find both and can't even find the one regularly. The U/S yesterday reassured me. Hopefully I can get the wav file loaded. It sounds alot like a train. 174 beats per minute.
http://members.shaw.ca/homedoll/IMGP5150.WAV
There is not much difference between my 8 wk and 12 wk belly shot. I haven't gained weight, but the babes are growing on schedule so all is good. The lower belly has gotten a bit harder and pushed the fat to the upper belly. Ah well. I always carried my weight in my stomach and have been mistaken as pregnant when I wasn't (get offered seats on buses etc). I didn't like looking pregnant when I wasn't, I don't mind it now.
I cut my progesterone in half today. Same for tomorrow. Half again for the next two days then off it completely. The plancentas should have started to produce progesterone starting a couple of weeks ago. I really hope so.
That's it for now. One more week and I'm done my first trimester.
I had my nuchal scan yesterday. The neck folds were 1.0mm and 1.6mm, both very far under the 3mm risk level. Both are measuring on schedule, a day or 2 ahead as they were at the first scan. Baby A is 5.77cm and Baby B is 6cm. For those not into metric, these translate to just over 2 1/4 inches.
It was so wonderful to watch them wiggle and kick and wave. Baby A cooperated perfectly. Baby B must have felt put out or something for not being scanned first, since when the tech finished with A and moved onto B, B rolled over and presented the butt side out. The tech tried to jiggle to get the babe to roll over. No luck. Then the Dr came in and tried the same thing. Still refusing to turn. So I got to go to the bathroom (again) and was told to jump up and down a bit and jiggle my belly while standing up. That must have done the trick. The Dr was able to measure B right away when I got back.
Sorry about the size of the picture. I scanned it in with higher rez but can seem to edit that one, so you get this one.
I rented a Doppler last week. Its been hard to find the heartbeats. I can sometimes find one, but don't seem to be able to find both and can't even find the one regularly. The U/S yesterday reassured me. Hopefully I can get the wav file loaded. It sounds alot like a train. 174 beats per minute.
http://members.shaw.ca/homedoll/IMGP5150.WAV
There is not much difference between my 8 wk and 12 wk belly shot. I haven't gained weight, but the babes are growing on schedule so all is good. The lower belly has gotten a bit harder and pushed the fat to the upper belly. Ah well. I always carried my weight in my stomach and have been mistaken as pregnant when I wasn't (get offered seats on buses etc). I didn't like looking pregnant when I wasn't, I don't mind it now.
I cut my progesterone in half today. Same for tomorrow. Half again for the next two days then off it completely. The plancentas should have started to produce progesterone starting a couple of weeks ago. I really hope so.
That's it for now. One more week and I'm done my first trimester.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
8 hours of agony
My U/S is in just over 8 hours. 8 long hours. To make it that much worse, I had an 'issue' this morning.
I got up around 4 for my second nightly pee break. Nothing unusual about that. I peed, the normal amount. So far so good. I wiped - blood. I grabbed some more tp and wiped again, more blood. Lots and lots and lots of pink blood. Needless to say, going back to sleep wasn't an option.
I've spent the last couple of hours surfing, finding success stories and stories of doom and gloom. I don't know what is going on.
I've since been hitting the bathroom every half hour or so, just to check. The first followup was mostly darker leftover looking stuff. But since 5 there has been nothing.
Of course I'm concerned. As planned, in anticipation of a good u/s, I told my C level and HR VP yesterday. Was I being too optimistic. I don't really believe in jinxing, but was I wrong to be happy for a while?
Anyway, time will tell. My scan is in just over 8 hours. It could be bad news, it could be good news or it could be one of those horrible "we're not sure" trips. Sigh.
I'll post an update after my scan or if I start to bleed again.
I got up around 4 for my second nightly pee break. Nothing unusual about that. I peed, the normal amount. So far so good. I wiped - blood. I grabbed some more tp and wiped again, more blood. Lots and lots and lots of pink blood. Needless to say, going back to sleep wasn't an option.
I've spent the last couple of hours surfing, finding success stories and stories of doom and gloom. I don't know what is going on.
I've since been hitting the bathroom every half hour or so, just to check. The first followup was mostly darker leftover looking stuff. But since 5 there has been nothing.
Of course I'm concerned. As planned, in anticipation of a good u/s, I told my C level and HR VP yesterday. Was I being too optimistic. I don't really believe in jinxing, but was I wrong to be happy for a while?
Anyway, time will tell. My scan is in just over 8 hours. It could be bad news, it could be good news or it could be one of those horrible "we're not sure" trips. Sigh.
I'll post an update after my scan or if I start to bleed again.
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