At 36 weeks it became official...I no longer have my cute little ankles. Someone has replaced my nice feet with ogre feet (okay, so maybe they are in desperate need of pedi so "nice" isn't the best adjective). It started with just my toes which was pretty funny, but then I realized that my ankles had been swallowed up by an extra layer of fluff. The cooler temperatures mean I have been wearing pants so I don't really notice my feet until later in the day. All I know is that when PJs went on two days ago, I was completely shocked.
I had considered getting a pedicure today but found out I can't wear nail polish to my c-section--I wonder if this applies to hands only or to both hands and feet? I would be upset to learn that I had somehow ruined my surgery with a little cuteness on my toes. It just seems wrong to get a pedicure and not have polish involved. Sadly I am still sporting the remains of purple polish I put on for my sister's wedding just over a month ago. I can't get close enough to my feet to remove what is left or to throw more on top. I've been wearing my stretched out Fit-Flops that I have had since being pregnant with Eleanor so everyone around me has been able to see my horrible toe paint... that is if they can even tell with the puffed up toes.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
10 days and counting...
So I guess it is apparent that I am no longer working and trying to get everything situated at home before my big surgery. Nothing like blogging a lot in the last few weeks to give a hint that something is different. :-)
Ten days. That is nothing. As a kid, when Christmas was in ten days I was going crazy with excitement--heck, even now when the excitement is mixed with anxiety over getting everything done, ten days is still really close. I can't even imagine how the parents must be feeling right now. They had a big shower at work a few days ago and were able to experience one more part of becoming parents...and had a car stuffed full to show for it. The diapers and formula are stocked. The cribs and toys are ready to go. The closet is overflowing with matching clothes...now they just need their babies!!!
Just a few more days until my pre-op appointment at the hospital. Then I guess the real details start coming at me. I am great at growing babies and even recovering from child birth...and as much as I am fine with the c-section, the fear of the unknown is still there. I am hoping with such an easy pregnancy that my body will be in an ideal condition to recover. I haven't had any issues with high blood pressure or too much weight gain and I know that will be a plus over the next few weeks.
My biggest concern is how things will go at home. I plan to take it easy, very easy, but that is hard when you want to get up and help your kids or your spouse. It is hard to just sit around and let the household function around you. So I find myself reading lots of post c-section comments on websites and when I can begin exercising without worry of causing problems with the incision. I tend to research things well beyond necessity and that hasn't changed now.
Ten days. My journey will be over and a whole new one will begin for these two little boys. One child that is very mellow and has always behaved well for heartbeat checks, ultrasounds and non-stress tests...and another that is always wiggly with his hands up near his head (causing the smallest little bump that is almost always visible on the upper right of my belly). I will miss them in a way, but also know I will feel the same sense of relief that came with my last surrogacy. I've done my part. I did what was promised to the best of my ability. Knowing you have taken that tiny little frozen embryo and done exactly what you had hoped and prayed for--grown it into the child that two people have always wanted--comes with a huge array of emotions. In ten days life will be different for all of us. You can't go through this process and not be changed in some way.
On a fun note, a great friend at work has started her own surrogacy journey!! Injections are still in the single digits as she starts her medical protocol. It has been a long process for her already but I am so thankful that she has chosen this path too. I know I can't physically help everyone that needs a baby and at some point my family deserves to have all of me back, but thinking that I have influenced others to pursue surrogacy rivals the feeling of seeing a newborn with her parents.
Ten days. That is nothing. As a kid, when Christmas was in ten days I was going crazy with excitement--heck, even now when the excitement is mixed with anxiety over getting everything done, ten days is still really close. I can't even imagine how the parents must be feeling right now. They had a big shower at work a few days ago and were able to experience one more part of becoming parents...and had a car stuffed full to show for it. The diapers and formula are stocked. The cribs and toys are ready to go. The closet is overflowing with matching clothes...now they just need their babies!!!
Just a few more days until my pre-op appointment at the hospital. Then I guess the real details start coming at me. I am great at growing babies and even recovering from child birth...and as much as I am fine with the c-section, the fear of the unknown is still there. I am hoping with such an easy pregnancy that my body will be in an ideal condition to recover. I haven't had any issues with high blood pressure or too much weight gain and I know that will be a plus over the next few weeks.
My biggest concern is how things will go at home. I plan to take it easy, very easy, but that is hard when you want to get up and help your kids or your spouse. It is hard to just sit around and let the household function around you. So I find myself reading lots of post c-section comments on websites and when I can begin exercising without worry of causing problems with the incision. I tend to research things well beyond necessity and that hasn't changed now.
Ten days. My journey will be over and a whole new one will begin for these two little boys. One child that is very mellow and has always behaved well for heartbeat checks, ultrasounds and non-stress tests...and another that is always wiggly with his hands up near his head (causing the smallest little bump that is almost always visible on the upper right of my belly). I will miss them in a way, but also know I will feel the same sense of relief that came with my last surrogacy. I've done my part. I did what was promised to the best of my ability. Knowing you have taken that tiny little frozen embryo and done exactly what you had hoped and prayed for--grown it into the child that two people have always wanted--comes with a huge array of emotions. In ten days life will be different for all of us. You can't go through this process and not be changed in some way.
On a fun note, a great friend at work has started her own surrogacy journey!! Injections are still in the single digits as she starts her medical protocol. It has been a long process for her already but I am so thankful that she has chosen this path too. I know I can't physically help everyone that needs a baby and at some point my family deserves to have all of me back, but thinking that I have influenced others to pursue surrogacy rivals the feeling of seeing a newborn with her parents.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ice (or Why my dentist is going get all my money when I am no longer pregnant)...
So the last few weeks or maybe months, I have had this huge craving for ice. I know it can mean your iron is low and in all honesty, last time it was checked it was borderline...there is just this need for ice that has intensified the more pregnant I get. The enamel on my teeth is bound to be looking rough yet I am crunching it on the side that isn't in need of two crowns (don't want to crack an already iffy tooth you know). My hope is that I can make it through the next two weeks without causing any tooth pain as I fill up on my favorite food-beverage-snack ever...until I am no longer pregnant and then won't care one bit about it.
For a while after work, I was even swinging by Sheetz every day for a large cup of their crushed variety. It was awesome, even better than hospital memory and softer on the teeth too. I didn't know it at the time, but I could have gotten it for free if I just got the ice. I always added just a little bit of lemonaide to give it a touch of flavor. Very quickly I was earning free drinks so it was worth the $.89 that the huge cup cost with my card. :-)
The heartburn is getting so bad these days that even ice gives me heartburn, but for some reason if I eat some ice, that almost primes my stomach and allows me to eat real food. Right now real food isn't something I really want...nausea has started hitting again but I am going to blame it on the heartburn/reflux. I love to eat and I really love to eat when pregnant, so it is unfathomable that I woud not want anything right now. I stare at the pantry just waiting for something to look good and nothing really does. I guess the closest things would be watermelon or anything involving coconut. I think these baby boys want me to go on a tropical vacation for all my hard work these last few months so they are priming my taste buds. (If anyone wants to send me on a tropical vacation, I am happy to take them up on the idea!)
But seriously, my ice maker doesn't make enough to keep the habit going so I have hours on end where I just sit and sip my water, waiting to hear the crash of the ice in the freezer. I guess that is what life is like now that I am not working. Big and pregnant, with my only focus to fatten up babies and trying not to crack a tooth on the ice I can't stop eating...life is good. :-)
For a while after work, I was even swinging by Sheetz every day for a large cup of their crushed variety. It was awesome, even better than hospital memory and softer on the teeth too. I didn't know it at the time, but I could have gotten it for free if I just got the ice. I always added just a little bit of lemonaide to give it a touch of flavor. Very quickly I was earning free drinks so it was worth the $.89 that the huge cup cost with my card. :-)
The heartburn is getting so bad these days that even ice gives me heartburn, but for some reason if I eat some ice, that almost primes my stomach and allows me to eat real food. Right now real food isn't something I really want...nausea has started hitting again but I am going to blame it on the heartburn/reflux. I love to eat and I really love to eat when pregnant, so it is unfathomable that I woud not want anything right now. I stare at the pantry just waiting for something to look good and nothing really does. I guess the closest things would be watermelon or anything involving coconut. I think these baby boys want me to go on a tropical vacation for all my hard work these last few months so they are priming my taste buds. (If anyone wants to send me on a tropical vacation, I am happy to take them up on the idea!)
But seriously, my ice maker doesn't make enough to keep the habit going so I have hours on end where I just sit and sip my water, waiting to hear the crash of the ice in the freezer. I guess that is what life is like now that I am not working. Big and pregnant, with my only focus to fatten up babies and trying not to crack a tooth on the ice I can't stop eating...life is good. :-)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Twin Experience
So last time I posted I was a little complainy and well, that isn't going to change this post either. :-) I was really excited to be pregnant again after I finished my last surrogacy and really wanted to carry twins. My amazing cousin has done it twice (completely naturally both times!!) and felt like after the huge singletons I had carried, that I could physically do it. I guess something a little different always seems fun in the beginning...
And really the beginning was easy. I am still amazed that we are nearing the end of our 33rd week as the time has gone so quickly. Working seems to have made a big difference as we stay on schedule all week. Up at the same time every morning and to bed at the same time every night. I knew my kids thrived on a schedule but I guess I do too.
The middle of the pregnancy was really easy too--I had one doctor tell me that with twins, the traditional "feel good" phase that typically comes in the second trimester only lasts a few weeks and that is the truth. Huge energy bursts, lots getting done, hurray for me!! Then you start feeling rough and get reality checks about things like c-sections and how big your diameter has gotten.
I must say that the last few weeks have gotten progressively harder. Luckily I am managing to sleep well and eat well enough that for the most part I feel good...it is just harder to do basic things, like get dressed, roll over and get out of a chair. The last few days have been really rough and I am starting to get really tried from basic things. Clothes are starting to get tight and I pretty much have four work outfits that I rotate through the four days each week that I work. My hands are getting just slightly swollen as are my feet, so while I can still wear rings and shoes, it is noticeable that they are no longer comfortable.
The twin experience is actually better than I thought it would be for the most part and I must say I do feel incredibly lucky that the contractions I have been having haven't actually done anything other than be obnoxious. My body is holding tight to these little boys (so tight that I get heartburn now from almost anything eaten--yeah, that is one of the not so great sides of the twin experience). Some very strange sensations seem to come with having four arms and four legs nestled inside. Someone always seems to be moving or hiccuping or stretching. With one, you get periods when you can tell the baby is resting, but with twins they are all over the place all the time. I keep thinking they will run out of room yet somehow they just keep stretching things out so they can keep on rocking.
In 11 days we will be at 35 weeks when, should labor strike, I will be allowed to deliver. Crazy how time is flying and how soon it will all be over. I wonder if I will miss it so quickly like I did last time or be thankful to have my body back? As much as I am done being pregnant, I have been able to do something that a lot of women can't. Hubby and I talk about being done, done, done helping others and getting back to our lives but then we have moments where we look at each other and think that if the right people come along and the right situation presents itself, we may consider it again. The hard part of that is, so many people have been through so much heartache and I know I can't help them all. There will always be a family with a heartbreaking story and a desire to experience as much of the pregnancy as they can. There will always be someone that would be a great "match" to help.
I have to get to the point where my family gets me full time, 100% me...no belly, no hormones, no exhaustion. I guess a lot will depend on how the delivery goes and how the next year moves forward. So much depends on this delivery and afterward. My twin experience won't be completed until I am recovered fully which may take weeks or months...and then I guess we will decide what is best for us. I just feel lucky to be able to have these choices at all.
And really the beginning was easy. I am still amazed that we are nearing the end of our 33rd week as the time has gone so quickly. Working seems to have made a big difference as we stay on schedule all week. Up at the same time every morning and to bed at the same time every night. I knew my kids thrived on a schedule but I guess I do too.
The middle of the pregnancy was really easy too--I had one doctor tell me that with twins, the traditional "feel good" phase that typically comes in the second trimester only lasts a few weeks and that is the truth. Huge energy bursts, lots getting done, hurray for me!! Then you start feeling rough and get reality checks about things like c-sections and how big your diameter has gotten.
I must say that the last few weeks have gotten progressively harder. Luckily I am managing to sleep well and eat well enough that for the most part I feel good...it is just harder to do basic things, like get dressed, roll over and get out of a chair. The last few days have been really rough and I am starting to get really tried from basic things. Clothes are starting to get tight and I pretty much have four work outfits that I rotate through the four days each week that I work. My hands are getting just slightly swollen as are my feet, so while I can still wear rings and shoes, it is noticeable that they are no longer comfortable.
The twin experience is actually better than I thought it would be for the most part and I must say I do feel incredibly lucky that the contractions I have been having haven't actually done anything other than be obnoxious. My body is holding tight to these little boys (so tight that I get heartburn now from almost anything eaten--yeah, that is one of the not so great sides of the twin experience). Some very strange sensations seem to come with having four arms and four legs nestled inside. Someone always seems to be moving or hiccuping or stretching. With one, you get periods when you can tell the baby is resting, but with twins they are all over the place all the time. I keep thinking they will run out of room yet somehow they just keep stretching things out so they can keep on rocking.
In 11 days we will be at 35 weeks when, should labor strike, I will be allowed to deliver. Crazy how time is flying and how soon it will all be over. I wonder if I will miss it so quickly like I did last time or be thankful to have my body back? As much as I am done being pregnant, I have been able to do something that a lot of women can't. Hubby and I talk about being done, done, done helping others and getting back to our lives but then we have moments where we look at each other and think that if the right people come along and the right situation presents itself, we may consider it again. The hard part of that is, so many people have been through so much heartache and I know I can't help them all. There will always be a family with a heartbreaking story and a desire to experience as much of the pregnancy as they can. There will always be someone that would be a great "match" to help.
I have to get to the point where my family gets me full time, 100% me...no belly, no hormones, no exhaustion. I guess a lot will depend on how the delivery goes and how the next year moves forward. So much depends on this delivery and afterward. My twin experience won't be completed until I am recovered fully which may take weeks or months...and then I guess we will decide what is best for us. I just feel lucky to be able to have these choices at all.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Reality...or 30 weeks pregnant with twins
I don't know how it really is just now hitting me that, yes, I am pregnant with twins, and yes, they will have to exit my body at some point. The "some point" is the item that I have been ignoring because surgery seems to be winning over the more familiar form of childbirth for me. Maybe I should be thankful that my doctor is already talking about a c-section. After all, the boys have been breech now for the last 8 weeks and I know that for certain I do not want to labor and push one out and then still have to have a c-section for the other. I guess that really does fall under worst case scenario. For some reason, the idea of it all just seems overwhelming. Is it wrong to say that I have never felt more fulfilled as when pushing a child into this world? For surrogacy, it takes it up a notch even higher to bring forth this child and watch the moment when the baby is handed to the parents. I don't want to miss that and surgery seems like it would take it all away.
I got the call yesterday that my doctor wanted to go ahead and schedule. All along she had been optimistic about waiting until 32-33 weeks to see if the boys would turn--really if just baby A would turn as she was confident that having the lower baby head down was all I needed to get the "go" for the vaginal delivery. I have now seen two different doctors since last seeing my own doctor so maybe I will feel better after talking with her tomorrow. The other kicker is that my doc had been talking 36 weeks all along and now the dates that are being considered for surgery will put me at 37weeks2-5days. Don't get me wrong, I want those boys to cook for as long as possible and that date is fine, but I wish she had told me I would need to do all the way to 39 weeks then surprised me with something in week 37.
At 30 weeks pregnant, my belly measures what it did at 38 weeks with my last pregnancy. So as big as I am now, I only had one more week to go. This go round, I have another 7 weeks left to get even larger. My plan is to work another four weeks if I can. Work has make this pregnancy fly by (house hunting/buying/moving and the kids have had something to do with it too) and I am hoping to stay active as long as possible. It is getting harder and harder just to get dressed in the morning and by the time I have showered, done my make up and hair, gotten the kids breakfast...I am exhausted. But when I show up to the office, I can still be productive. If I were at home I am sure I would be resting more, but I would have nothing at all to show for it.
The next few weeks will be busy and I hope my body continues to plug along showing no signs of change. My children start school in less than a week, so this weekend will be filled with back to school preparations. The following weekend my baby sister gets married and we will be busy celebrating from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding, followed by the reception. My kids are both in the wedding and I am something of an "honorary" bridesmaid. I didn't want to let my sister down if I was unable to stand up with her, but I am getting my hair done and have a dress that coordinates wonderfully with the other bridesmaids. I will just sit myself in the front row wondering where the last ten years have gone since she was just a kid in my own wedding.
I guess there is a lot of reality hitting around here lately, beyond just the pregnancy. My baby just turned 6. Birthdays make me think of birth and since I do tend to be very sentimental, I always think back to the moment my children enter the world. She came into this world so much easier than her brother. One push and here she was...with me from the moment she was born. Not whisked away to the NICU or handed off to her parents, but mine. She was the baby that was born to me and put to my chest right away. With her birth, everything was perfect. My husband and I had her all to ourselves and in that moment saw our family was complete. I never had a defining moment with her where I knew all was going to be okay because nothing was ever going wrong. My role as a mom changed that day when I had two children to take care of and knew my world would be different from now on.
I am thankful that my own children are happy and healthy and that I am blessed enough to give someone else their own children to cherish. I know in my heart that even if I don't get to see these boys delivered directly to their mother's arms, that I will still have created a family and done something very special. The reality is that two people have waited ten years to have their own children and I am going to make that moment happen.
I got the call yesterday that my doctor wanted to go ahead and schedule. All along she had been optimistic about waiting until 32-33 weeks to see if the boys would turn--really if just baby A would turn as she was confident that having the lower baby head down was all I needed to get the "go" for the vaginal delivery. I have now seen two different doctors since last seeing my own doctor so maybe I will feel better after talking with her tomorrow. The other kicker is that my doc had been talking 36 weeks all along and now the dates that are being considered for surgery will put me at 37weeks2-5days. Don't get me wrong, I want those boys to cook for as long as possible and that date is fine, but I wish she had told me I would need to do all the way to 39 weeks then surprised me with something in week 37.
At 30 weeks pregnant, my belly measures what it did at 38 weeks with my last pregnancy. So as big as I am now, I only had one more week to go. This go round, I have another 7 weeks left to get even larger. My plan is to work another four weeks if I can. Work has make this pregnancy fly by (house hunting/buying/moving and the kids have had something to do with it too) and I am hoping to stay active as long as possible. It is getting harder and harder just to get dressed in the morning and by the time I have showered, done my make up and hair, gotten the kids breakfast...I am exhausted. But when I show up to the office, I can still be productive. If I were at home I am sure I would be resting more, but I would have nothing at all to show for it.
The next few weeks will be busy and I hope my body continues to plug along showing no signs of change. My children start school in less than a week, so this weekend will be filled with back to school preparations. The following weekend my baby sister gets married and we will be busy celebrating from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding, followed by the reception. My kids are both in the wedding and I am something of an "honorary" bridesmaid. I didn't want to let my sister down if I was unable to stand up with her, but I am getting my hair done and have a dress that coordinates wonderfully with the other bridesmaids. I will just sit myself in the front row wondering where the last ten years have gone since she was just a kid in my own wedding.
I guess there is a lot of reality hitting around here lately, beyond just the pregnancy. My baby just turned 6. Birthdays make me think of birth and since I do tend to be very sentimental, I always think back to the moment my children enter the world. She came into this world so much easier than her brother. One push and here she was...with me from the moment she was born. Not whisked away to the NICU or handed off to her parents, but mine. She was the baby that was born to me and put to my chest right away. With her birth, everything was perfect. My husband and I had her all to ourselves and in that moment saw our family was complete. I never had a defining moment with her where I knew all was going to be okay because nothing was ever going wrong. My role as a mom changed that day when I had two children to take care of and knew my world would be different from now on.
I am thankful that my own children are happy and healthy and that I am blessed enough to give someone else their own children to cherish. I know in my heart that even if I don't get to see these boys delivered directly to their mother's arms, that I will still have created a family and done something very special. The reality is that two people have waited ten years to have their own children and I am going to make that moment happen.
Monday, June 18, 2012
24 Weeks Already!
Wow! Time is surely flying this go round. Nothing like the end of school and a big move to really preoccupy you for a while. The last month has been a whirlwind and luckily, the pregnancy has been nice and boring.
While 24 weeks doesn't sound like much, when you are carrying someone else's child (or children in this case), knowing you have made it at least to the point of viability does slightly reduce the stress level. Not that I want these boys to be born anytime soon...honestly (and I will kick myself in a few weeks for saying this) but as long as they want to cook, I am happy to grow them. Little boys, especially, little white boys, have a harder time coming early. In all of my research and talk with folks in the medical field, it is almost like a joke because the difference can be huge. Little girl comes early and she does great (for the records, frozen embryos that are female tend to do better and more girl babies are born from IVF done with frozen embryos than little boys)...little boy might have a harder time and even get NICU time versus the female counterpart.
I do have to admit when I found out it was twins part of me hoped for little girls--I have never gone into labor early (unless you count 39w1d early by some strange means) so I wasn't concerned about having to work hard to maintain twins, but I know the odds for little boys and it does add to the stress level. What reduces the stress level is the fact that at 22w4d the boys were already measuring close to 24weeks and my cervix was twice as long as the length that concerns doctors (5.8 vs the 3 that starts to make them nervous). So my body is doing what my body is good at...making nice, big babies and for that, I am so thankful right now.
At the last visit, my uterus was also measuring around 31 weeks...so while I still have another month of my second trimester I am starting to feel like I am halfway through my third. My maternity support band has been pulled back out and that is helping tremendously. I get more support for my pelvic floor and my lower back, both of which are feeling the weight of two babies. I am hopeful that with summer here, I can start to spend more time in a pool getting the benefits of the water weightlessness. The next seven weeks will be busy and fun while the kids are out of school and we are settling in to the new house, so will continue to keep my fingers crossed that these babies settle in for the long haul and decide that fall is definitely a better time to be born than mid-summer.
And drum roll please...at last check both babies were head down, so until I am told otherwise, I am putting the thoughts of a c-section out of my mind!! Anyone reading needs to say a little prayer that they enjoy being upside down together and decide to stay that way. :-)
While 24 weeks doesn't sound like much, when you are carrying someone else's child (or children in this case), knowing you have made it at least to the point of viability does slightly reduce the stress level. Not that I want these boys to be born anytime soon...honestly (and I will kick myself in a few weeks for saying this) but as long as they want to cook, I am happy to grow them. Little boys, especially, little white boys, have a harder time coming early. In all of my research and talk with folks in the medical field, it is almost like a joke because the difference can be huge. Little girl comes early and she does great (for the records, frozen embryos that are female tend to do better and more girl babies are born from IVF done with frozen embryos than little boys)...little boy might have a harder time and even get NICU time versus the female counterpart.
I do have to admit when I found out it was twins part of me hoped for little girls--I have never gone into labor early (unless you count 39w1d early by some strange means) so I wasn't concerned about having to work hard to maintain twins, but I know the odds for little boys and it does add to the stress level. What reduces the stress level is the fact that at 22w4d the boys were already measuring close to 24weeks and my cervix was twice as long as the length that concerns doctors (5.8 vs the 3 that starts to make them nervous). So my body is doing what my body is good at...making nice, big babies and for that, I am so thankful right now.
At the last visit, my uterus was also measuring around 31 weeks...so while I still have another month of my second trimester I am starting to feel like I am halfway through my third. My maternity support band has been pulled back out and that is helping tremendously. I get more support for my pelvic floor and my lower back, both of which are feeling the weight of two babies. I am hopeful that with summer here, I can start to spend more time in a pool getting the benefits of the water weightlessness. The next seven weeks will be busy and fun while the kids are out of school and we are settling in to the new house, so will continue to keep my fingers crossed that these babies settle in for the long haul and decide that fall is definitely a better time to be born than mid-summer.
And drum roll please...at last check both babies were head down, so until I am told otherwise, I am putting the thoughts of a c-section out of my mind!! Anyone reading needs to say a little prayer that they enjoy being upside down together and decide to stay that way. :-)
Friday, May 25, 2012
And its a....
Set of twin boys!!! The parents came up last week and we had our big anatomy scan that also provided the answer to the much pondered question of what is actually growing in my belly. The boys look great and are already on the big side--my babycenter.com newsletter says that at 20 weeks, they should be around 10.5oz. and we were 19w4d and they were 11oz and 12oz. That is a lot of baby in there at this point.
Our anatomy scan also revealed that any spots of blood inside the uterus are gone...we actually found this out a while back, but well, I have been slack at documenting this go round (I guess when you feel good, you don't sit around at the computer, you get up and do something!). My cervix is long and my doctor even remarked that I had twice as much as they like to see!! Yay cervix--keeping up with the good ol' uterus. :-)
In the last week or two I have also finally started feeling pregnant. I would never have guessed that twins would have been easier to this point than a singleton, but apparently my body really likes to grow baby boys and little girls tend to make me more tired and nauseated. The neat thing about having a boy and a girl myself means I did experience two very different pregnancies with each of them and my surrogate pregnancies have seemed to follow the same course.
Most people would kill me for saying this, but I went through the first trimester relatively unscathed. I stayed up until 10pm and was still up by 5:30am every day. I had a few days of feeling yucky but typically as long as I was good about drinking my water and eating often, I did pretty well. Now by 4pm I am pretty much done. I manage to keep it all going until the 8pm kid bedtime but at that point, I need to get my feet up. My weight gain has been really good and I think my solid effort to eat plenty of fruits and veggies has made a huge difference. I let myself eat what I crave if it is convenient. I haven't had to run out for anything specific just yet and a most fast food actually makes me feel pretty cruddy.
The parents are getting really excited. Now that they have a gender to work with, they can begin the preparation for their little boys...nurseries and names...it is all very real at this point. Our Pre-Birth Order is on the way to the hospital attorneys and we have a hearing already on the books. We need to get a birth plan in order so that all scenarios can be outlined. I guess the farther we get in the pregancy, the more we can udpate things--very different situations on having pre-term twins at 24 weeks than a spontaneous vaginal birth around 37 weeks. The babies are still moving a lot so the doctor says we have plenty of time for them to decide that head down is best. Both babies were very active during our ultrasound and flipped every which way (but head down!) during the course of the two hours.
We go back in about three weeks for a follow up scan and check up. After that visit at 23 weeks, we will become weekly patients. While I am glad to be closely monitored, I just hope we can have a nice uneventful summer with quick doctor visits. My goal is to make it past Labor Day weekend before we have to slow down...my next goal is just to get the kids back in school in early August. If I need to take it easy, at least they will be busy all day long and rest will be easy.
Our anatomy scan also revealed that any spots of blood inside the uterus are gone...we actually found this out a while back, but well, I have been slack at documenting this go round (I guess when you feel good, you don't sit around at the computer, you get up and do something!). My cervix is long and my doctor even remarked that I had twice as much as they like to see!! Yay cervix--keeping up with the good ol' uterus. :-)
In the last week or two I have also finally started feeling pregnant. I would never have guessed that twins would have been easier to this point than a singleton, but apparently my body really likes to grow baby boys and little girls tend to make me more tired and nauseated. The neat thing about having a boy and a girl myself means I did experience two very different pregnancies with each of them and my surrogate pregnancies have seemed to follow the same course.
Most people would kill me for saying this, but I went through the first trimester relatively unscathed. I stayed up until 10pm and was still up by 5:30am every day. I had a few days of feeling yucky but typically as long as I was good about drinking my water and eating often, I did pretty well. Now by 4pm I am pretty much done. I manage to keep it all going until the 8pm kid bedtime but at that point, I need to get my feet up. My weight gain has been really good and I think my solid effort to eat plenty of fruits and veggies has made a huge difference. I let myself eat what I crave if it is convenient. I haven't had to run out for anything specific just yet and a most fast food actually makes me feel pretty cruddy.
The parents are getting really excited. Now that they have a gender to work with, they can begin the preparation for their little boys...nurseries and names...it is all very real at this point. Our Pre-Birth Order is on the way to the hospital attorneys and we have a hearing already on the books. We need to get a birth plan in order so that all scenarios can be outlined. I guess the farther we get in the pregancy, the more we can udpate things--very different situations on having pre-term twins at 24 weeks than a spontaneous vaginal birth around 37 weeks. The babies are still moving a lot so the doctor says we have plenty of time for them to decide that head down is best. Both babies were very active during our ultrasound and flipped every which way (but head down!) during the course of the two hours.
We go back in about three weeks for a follow up scan and check up. After that visit at 23 weeks, we will become weekly patients. While I am glad to be closely monitored, I just hope we can have a nice uneventful summer with quick doctor visits. My goal is to make it past Labor Day weekend before we have to slow down...my next goal is just to get the kids back in school in early August. If I need to take it easy, at least they will be busy all day long and rest will be easy.
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