Happy V-Day!

Of course, I'm not talking about the holiday in February when you send your sweetheart flowers and chocolate. The "V" I'm referring to here is Viability. I am 24 weeks pregnant today, and at 24 weeks  babies have a good chance of survival outside the womb should something happen to make the mom go into preterm labor. Now, obviously we want the boys to keep baking for as long as possible, but a lot of women (myself included) breathe a little easier at this point. In my book, this day is even better than the other v-day!

That being said, I had an OB appointment today and everything looks great; my doctor said she had no complaints! I will have my 1 hour glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes at my next appointment, and after that appointment I start going every two weeks instead of monthly. It feels crazy but exciting to be here already!

In other news, Ryan and his dad started painting the boys' room this weekend. We chose 2 beautiful shades of blue and the room is looking really good! I will post a picture of the nursery once it is finished.

Since I have no new ultrasound pictures, I will post a bump picture for you. It is getting increasingly difficult to get in and out of my Honda Accord coupe, so much to Ryan's dismay, we'll probably be switching cars soon!

As a reminder, here I am at 16 weeks:

And here we are today at 24 weeks:

 

 



These boys are getting so big, and I still have a ways to go!

I will have another MFM appointment in a few weeks and an OB appointment in a month. Until then, we're going to have fun working on the nursery and start getting things ready for the boys' arrival in a few months!

Love, Amanda

Oh boys!!!

I apologize that it has been awhile since my last post! However, even though I hadn't posted it here, on Christmas Day we decided to share our fantastic news on Facebook:

 

 

This was actually more of a surprise to us than you would think! We didn't tell anybody, but at our November appointment my MFM said he was "pretty sure" we were having one of each, so we started planning accordingly. We had a boy name and a girl name picked out and were thinking of gender neutral nursery themes. Luckily, we had a few boy names that we liked. Baby A, who we were referring to as Caroline Michelle quickly became Colin Michael. Kieran James has always been Baby B's name. Kieran is a tribute to my mother, Karen, and Michael is a tribute to Ryan's Aunt Michelle; both of whom are very special ladies who are no longer with us. It's so exciting to be able to refer to the babies as "the boys" and to call them by their names!

 

I had another appointment with my MFM today at 23 weeks along. The boys are doing great and are actually measuring a little ahead of schedule, which is fantastic! We have some big boys on our hands, they weigh 1.5 and 1.8 lbs already! We've got some head shots for you. In case you can't tell, Kieran is sleeping :) I'm guessing they both were sleeping, not too much movement today during the ultrasound.

Colin

Kieran

 

I have been feeling movement from the both of them, which is awesome! It took me longer to feel Kieran since he has an anterior placenta, which means he implanted toward the front of my uterus and the placenta is acting as a cushion between him and my belly. This doesn't mean anything in terms of his health, but it explains why it took me longer to feel his movement.

 

I see my OB next week; no ultrasound, but I do get to pee in a cup! Don't worry, I won't post pictures of that, LOL! I'm also assuming I will have a test for gestational diabetes soon (usually between 24-28 weeks), which makes me a little nervous since diabetes runs in my family, not to mention the fact that I have the biggest sweet tooth ever! I'll ask my OB when I get to take that fun test, which involves a lovely drink that I hear would make my sweetest cupcakes taste sugar-free!

 

Until next time :)

Love, Amanda, Ryan and the boys

 

 

 

 



If you need me, I'll be in the bathroom!

This has been the theme of my life lately since my poor bladder is at the mercy of my large uterus. I am 16 weeks, 4 days along today, and I'm sure it's just going to get worse as the babies get bigger! They may as well move my office into the bathroom. In addition to the many potty breaks, I have learned that if I sit upright too long, my bum starts to get sore. I need to experiment with different kinds of pillows in my chair I guess. But, those minor annoyances aside, I have been feeling pretty good!

So, it has been over 2 weeks since my scary incident that brought me to the ER. ***TMI alert! Squeamish people just skip this paragraph!*** I am still having some minor bleeding/spotting, but my OB said as long as the blood is brown (sorry!) and not a lot, it should be fine. The hematoma was not visible on the last ultrasound I had, so it is just old blood making its way out. She said it is pretty much going to either drain out or absorb; it just seems to be taking its sweet time! I got released from bed rest at my OB appointment last Friday, so I have been working all week, but with some adjustments. I am not to lift anything over 5 pounds, so I ask for help quite a bit with the large files that we have to deal with. Also, Kim is driving us to work instead of taking the bus so I don't have to walk as far. Even though I'm off bed rest, I'm taking the attitude that if I'm not at work, for the most part I should be resting until the bleeding completely stops. Luckily, my husband has been doing an amazing job taking care of me, the dogs and the house!

My next appointment with the MFM is on 12/12, which feels like a long time from now. I'm hoping that we will have some big news to share after that appointment (pink, blue or both?!), so let's hope that the babies cooperate! We already know that one baby (the one we've been referring to as Baby A) doesn't like to sit still to get their heartbeat measured. At the OB last Friday the nurse got the heartbeat monitor out and she found Baby B's heartbeat no problem; however she said Baby A kept moving! We finally got it, but it took awhile. I guess Baby A had better things to do!

No new ultrasound pictures to share right now, but here is a picture of the 3 of us :) Sorry my face is kind of blocked... actually, I'm not sorry, I kinda meant it to be that way ;) But at least you can see the bump in all it's glory!

 

BTW - I took this picture in my bathroom... goes along with the title of this post :)

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Love, Amanda

Rough Day

After more than 14 weeks of a relatively smooth pregnancy, we hit what will hopefully be our only speed bump along the way. Before I go further, I'll go ahead and tell you that the babies and I are doing fine, but we had a scary day yesterday.

 

Disclaimer: If you are squeamish, you may want to have someone read this to you and give you the gist of it :)

 

Yeserday I went to the bathroom before lunch and noticed I was bleeding much like a period. My OB told me if that ever happens, go to the ER. I went to get Kim and told her that I needed to go to the hospital. The ambulance was called and I was taken to St. Joseph's ER since I was at work downtown. (BTW, this was now the second time I have left work in an ambulance!)

 

While I was at the ER, I had A LOT more bleeding. Scary amounts of bleeding. At this point, we were thinking the worst; that we were losing them. It was the most horrible feeling ever. :( Finally after 10 years (or 4 hours) they got me into ultrasound. I couldn't bear to look at the screen, but after several minutes of taking pictures, the ultrasound tech said the most beautiful words we have ever heard: "They won't hold still long enough so I can measure the heartbeat!" They were still there! Ryan and I both broke down, we were so relieved! The doctor told us that there was a subchorionic hematoma near Baby B and that Baby B might be in distress; the heartbeat was lower and they may not be getting enough oxygen. I was eventually released and put on bedrest since the doctor knew I had the appointment with the MFM specialist today.

  

Well, my MFM appointment went great! The babies both look perfect and neither is in distress. Both heartbeats were good and we saw them shaking fists and kicking legs! The doctor did say that I am higher risk now with the hematoma, but as long as I rest we should be okay. He said that most pregnancies with this issue turn out fine. I was told to stay on bed rest until I have had 2 days of no bleeding/spotting. I am doing much better today, the bleeding has slowed down substantially, which is very good.

 

In the meantime, here are the babies!

 

Baby A:

 

 

Baby B:

 

 

 

They are gorgeous :)  I have an appointment with my OB next Friday, and I will see the MFM again in 3 weeks. Until then, I'll be resting up and thinking positive thoughts!

 

Love,

Amanda



Almost out of 1st Trimester!

It's about 7:45, so I figured I would give a quick update before I pass out LOL. I am 13 weeks, 1 day today and I'm so excited to be almost out of the first trimester... what a milestone!

I feel like it's been forever since my last ultrasound, but in reality it's been like a week and a half :) Still, it seems like an eternity when I was getting bi-weekly ultrasounds from the get-go! My next ultrasound is on November 14 when I go see the MFM specialist, and I am very much looking forward to seeing our little cupcakes again. I'll be 14 weeks, 2 days when we go, so we should get some good pictures!

An update on me: I am slowly making the transition from regular pants to maternity pants. My regular work pants are pretty snug. My regular jeans still fit (they are also made with a slightly stretchy material), but on Saturday they were also a bit snug so I have a pair of maternity jeans on standby. I am still wearing regular tops, but only loose ones.

My co-workers are starting to guess that I'm pregnant from my belly. I still feel like I just look like I ate too many cookies, but I guess I'm not fooling some people! Maybe I should just wear a pregnancy shirt on a Friday so people won't have to awkwardly guess (but it's kind of fun!)

I'll post again after my appointment... maybe I will post a belly pic along with the ultrasound pictures!

Amanda

Graduation Day!



I had my last appointment at my fertility clinic on Monday. They kicked me out because the babies are too big for their ultrasound machine! It was bittersweet because I love the staff there, especially my doctor who was not in the office that day, however it's great to know that the babies are doing so well and are growing like weeds!

 

I have officially "graduated" to my OB, who I saw today. Now I'm just a regular pregnant girl... well, a regular girl pregnant with twins, anyway :) My OB wants me to see a doctor that specializes in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in addition to her. An MFM has had additional training to handle higher risk pregnancies, such as multiples. I have a feeling we'll be able to fill an entire album with ultrasound pictures, which is just fine with me!

 

Speaking of pictures, let's get to the good stuff! Individual Cupcakes:

 

 

Um... so I can't tell the difference between Baby A and Baby B anymore. My fertility doctor's office labeled them with each ultrasound, but not so much at the OB. I'm sure once they get bigger it will be easier to tell, especially if we have boy/girl twins, which I read today is the most common grouping of twins.

 

Group shot!

 

 

Everything looked great and I will go back to my OB in a month (the day after Thanksgiving, actually), but I'm sure I will see the MFM before then. In other news, I've already bought some maternity bottoms (a skirt, pants and jeans) because who knows when my belly will pop and I won't be able to fit any of my regular clothes anymore! When it does, I will take a picture of me and my bump to post :)

 

Love,

Amanda

 

 

 

10 weeks!

It has been awhile since my last post, but everything is going GREAT with the babies! I am at 10 weeks today, and the babies both measured 9 weeks 6 days at my appointment this morning, which is really good! I am starting to ween off my medications and in a couple weeks my fertility doctor is going to give me the boot, LOL and I will start seeing my OB like a normal pregnant woman. Here is some more information from www.babycenter.com about what's going on with the babies at 10 weeks (don't be confused by the "he", this is the language from the website; we do not know the genders yet!):

 

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

Here's Baby A! This little one was dancing for me this morning on the ultrasound, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen! That is why this picture isn't as clear as Baby B's picture. Shake it, Baby A!

 

 

Now we have Baby B! You can see it looks like Baby A is kind of in a laying down position (upside down) where as Baby B looks to be more sitting up... I don't know if that is what's really going on, but I wanted to give you a frame a reference just in case you have NO clue what you're looking at :) Since Baby B was more still, you can make out their teeny little arms. YAY!



 

 

And now we have the group shot! I can't wait to show them all these pictures when they are old enough :)

 

In a couple weeks I will be out of my first trimester and I will be able to breathe a bit easier having hit this milestone. I am still feeling pretty good, no morning sickness (KNOCK ON WOOD!). It's kind of hard to get veggies down, all I seem to want is carby goodness, but I will try to sneak some in! (In the meantime, thank goodness for prenatal vitamins!)

 

Ryan and I are already head over heels in love with these babies, we can hardly wait until April or May to meet them, but we'll have to wait because they still have quite a bit of "baking" to do!