13 Weeks: Second Trimester Here We Come!

Another week has come & gone without much to report. The "agony" of the 2 week wait from last appt to this one proved too much last Sunday. I broke down & had Kyle take a look at the babies while he was at work. Of course they were perfectly perfect, kicking, sucking their thumbs & playing with their umbilical cords, little hearts beating away. Our OB appt was yesterday morning. We had another ultrasound. Mac's heart rate was 164 & Cheese's was 161. She didn't measure them this week. I guess after 12 weeks the CRL (crown-rump length) measurements aren't as accurate & it's too early to start measuring individual limbs & organs. They should be about 3 inches long now & each weighs about 1 ounce! My mom took me shopping a couple days ago & bought me 2 pairs of super comfy maternity pants (1 pair capris, 1 pair shorts) & a cute maternity shirt. The shirt makes me look very pregnant :) Just what I wanted! I've been waiting to look pregnant for a VERY long time!! My Aunt treated my sister & I to an amazing pedicure & a day of relaxation! It was good to be pampered :) Also, my friend, Alicia, gave me the cutest pregnancy journal called "The Belly Book". There's a place to put a pic of my growing baby bump every week throughout my pregnancy! I'm glad we've been doing a good job of taking frequent belly pics. I am so lucky to have such loving & supportive friends & family.

Back to my OB appt...I have officially been released to return to work!!! (desk job only, of course) But, man am I ready! I think it will feel good to get out of the house more & become a contributing member of society again :) I'm still to take it easy, no long walks, no house cleaning, no heavy lifting. She wants me to get a temporary handicap placard...woohoo. And when I can, I'm supposed to use a wheelchair or motorized cart...yipee. Whatever it takes to keep the babies safe, right? Another big milestone...no more Progesterone injections! I'm SO EXCITED about this. My OB was very nervous about stopping, but decided it was okay. I'm to call immediately with any cramping or bleeding. So far, so good.

12 Weeks!

I'm so excited to be able to say, "I'm 12 weeks pregnant"!! Woohoo :) I'd be even more excited if we had gotten to hear their little heart beats today. We'll have to wait until next Wednesday for our next appt. My sister got me the cutest "Twin Mommy to be" shirt. I can't wait to show it off when I get a little bigger :) Thanks Kristyl!!! I called my OB office today to ask if I could stop my Progesterone injections since I'm 12 weeks. No such luck. She wants to wait until next week when she's able to check on the placentas & heart beats. She said she may have me continue the Progesterone until I'm 14 or 16 weeks! Major Bummer! I've already been on them for 10 weeks...that's 70 shots so far in my hips. Needless to say, they're a little sore. It probably doesn't help that I'm sitting or laying on them all day every day!

So, not much to report this week and no new pics. Just hanging out, growing some babies. By the way, Mac & Cheese are now the size of limes! 2 limes hanging out in my uterus...that explains my expanding waistline :)

11 Weeks

This week we went to the Perinatologist & to my OB. Two more chances to see our children :) It is so cool to see how much they grow & change in just a week! They now have a cute profile, with their forehead, nose & mouth very distinguishable. We were told we have really "big babies", both Mac & Cheese have always measured bigger than average. That is a good sign. On Wednesday at my 11 week appt, Mac measured 11w1d & Cheese measured 11w5d. My mom had the opportunity to come to the appt & got her first glimpse of her grandkids!! What an exciting time, she had tears in her eyes as she watched them wiggle & flip & heard their heartbeats. I'm so glad she was there with me :) Their heart rates were about the same as they have been, in the 170s. We saw the Perinatologist on Monday. He was very nice & informative. Basically, he was impressed with the babies' development & wasn't too worried about the pregnancy. He wants to see me again around 20 weeks for an in-depth ultrasound to check for abnormalities. Otherwise, I will continue frequent ultrasounds with my OB to monitor the bleed & the babies' growth. I will have labs drawn to monitor my thyroid (which was a little overactive 2 weeks ago) & my clotting times (to make sure the Lovenox is doing its job). Also, I need an anesthesia consult sometime during my 2nd trimester to discuss these clotting times. As long as they are within a certain range, I should be able to get an epidural when the time comes. It's nice that my doctors are thinking ahead to delivery...that's a good sign, right!!!!

My next OB appt is in 2 weeks...I've graduated from weekly appts! Another positive sign :) I think it'll be a LONG 2 weeks, but I am feeling more & more comfortable with this pregnancy every day. I am hoping to have my complete bed rest downgraded to modified bed rest soon so that I can return to work (only doing desk work, of course). I'm still experiencing quite a bit of nausea, still vomiting every once in a while, especially if I haven't taken my medicine. I'm taking Zofran & Unisom once a day, sometimes twice. Hopefully I will start feeling better soon, with the end of my 1st trimester in sight! My baby bump is growing by the day :) So exciting! I promise to post pictures of my belly in the next couple weeks.

10 Weeks

We have decided to nickname the twins Mac & Cheese until we find out which is our little boy & which is our sweet girl. I have been eating at least 2 boxes of macaroni & cheese every week this pregnancy, so the names seem fitting :)

This is Mac, previously known as Twin A. Mac was doing body waves for Mom & Dad on Wednesday! It was so amazing to watch. Mac is now a whopping 3.12 cm long and has a heart rate of 170 bpm.

This is Cheese, previously known as Twin B. Cheese was showing off by waving a hand & making Mom & Dad very proud! Cheese is our little chunk, measuring 3.74 cm long with a heart rate of 176 bpm.
I am a little late in posting, I actually turned 10 weeks on Wednesday & this is when these pictures were taken. My 2nd OB appt went well. The most exciting news is that the bleed is almost indistinguishable to the rest of my uterus! That means it is healing very nicely. Yeah! My OB likened it to a healing bruise in it's final "yellow phase". What a relief! We also found out Wednesday that I won't be returning to work until after these babies are born! Yikes! My OB really thinks this is my one shot to have a baby so we will take all precautions. She doesn't want me walking up & down the halls of the hospital taking care of sick kids. In 3 or 4 weeks I can start going places in a wheelchair. Hopefully my manager can find me some kind of desk job then. I am running out of paid vacation time! We have our first visit to the Perinatologist on Monday. I am anxious to hear what he/she has to say about the babies & the bleed. I hear they have extra high-tech ultrasound machines so we should get some more good pictures of Mac & Cheese. With another 6 months of bedrest in my future, my mom bought a couple books for me to read about twin pregnancies. I didn't realize a twin pregnancy was that different from a singleton pregnancy. A few things I've learned...Because twin pregnancies are often cut short due to preterm delivery, more weight has to be gained in a shorter amount of time. The amount of weight you gain in the first half of your pregnancy has a significant impact on your babies' development in the second half. Bring on the food! Although I haven't gained any weight yet, I do have the beginning of a "baby bump"! Quite exciting :) In a couple weeks I bet you'll really be able to tell. We started taking pictures the day we found out we were pregnant. I'll post them when the true bump appears.