21+1 weeks

This was QUITE a week.

I turned 36 years old on Tuesday. I always take my birthday off from work and this year was no different. I love to take the day entirely to myself, with no obligations at all. Tuesday's goal was to create a baby registry, since my baby showers are happening in the middle to end of September. I got that accomplished, which was a great relief. 

Hubby and I had no registries for our wedding. We'd been living together quite some time already and didn't like the idea of "stuff" - so we asked guests to make a donation to a charity and tell us about it. We learned the hard way that people don't like to do things out of the ordinary.

This time around, even though we live together, we have almost nothing baby related. So we are taking advantage of the baby registry idea to get the items that we need. But it was causing me some stress that I hadn't started the process. On Tuesday, I spent about 4 hours and got the job DONE. It felt good.

Tuesday was also the day I made a Facebook announcement. Some friends had accidentally dropped lines on my page (that I asked them to delete) about me being pregnant. And last weekend, after a lovely outdoor concert, a friend posted pictures of me - looking pregnant. I untagged myself.

It was really important to me that any FB announcement paid homage to the difficult journey it took us to get here. So that no other infertile, upon seeing my announcement, would assume it came easily and get sad. I hated the idea of someone else wanting to throw her computer or break something else because of our news. So I made clear reference to the length of time, amount of losses, and need for medical intervention. The response was overwhelming - over 100 actual comments and over 200 likes. Then I got personal messages from people offering their support and love. It was a very special day.

I'm feeling great, but for a few minor problems.

Symptoms:

--- FEET HURT SO MUCH
--- heartburn kicked in this week
--- I am needing to eat more regularly or else I hit a wall fast and need desperate intervention

The projects I told you about last week all got done:

--- driveway refinishing - check
--- touch-up painting - check
--- blinds cleaning - check
--- window and screen cleaning - check

This week was HECTIC around the house and it exhausted me. We were supposed to be camping this weekend with friends - plans we've had many weeks. We left home with the car packed around 7pm on Friday night and got about 90 minutes into the 2 1/2 hour drive before I told hubby I had to turn around. I couldn't get comfortable in the car and was really anxious about not being comfortable all weekend. In the tent, on the camping chairs, anywhere. I have to go into work on Sunday to finish up some projects and the idea of getting home tired, only to go into work, and then to work hard Monday and Tuesday before my mother arrives, then to take a one week vacation (leaving home, meaning I have to pack stuff up), was just too much for me. I needed to go home and have this weekend at home.

So around we turned. I slept on the trip home, which only took about an hour because there was no traffic by then, and crawled into bed right away. I slept better than I've slept in weeks. Woke up Saturday around 8, walked the dog, then got back into bed and slept another 90 minutes.

Once we were both up, today was a busy project day.

We went to REI to choose a running stroller. Hubby is a big runner and the idea of him being able to take the girls running (i.e. him getting a break running and me getting a break from them) sounds delightful to us both. We chose a BOB running stroller, which my mother has asked to buy us.

Then we went to some local furniture stores. Hubby has sanded and refinished our bedroom furniture - it was his uncle's in the 60s and now we are making it into the girls' bedroom furniture. Which means we treated ourselves to new bedroom furniture. We have been searching for a few weeks but today we found some "Made in Oregon" in our pricerange and we ordered it. Should be here in about 3 weeks, which excites us, because we have hubby's guy friends coming over on August 24 to help move all the furniture in the house around.

Here's a photo of hubby doing the final staining:

Finally, we found a braided rug to go on the floor of the nursery - ordered that.

Hubby's mom and step-dad have asked to buy us our cribs, so we did some online searching for that. They're visiting next weekend so we'll go shopping with them when they're here.

On the baby bump front, I am still growing. In fact, one of the local furniture stores we were in today, the guy looked at me and said "you don't have 8 weeks left, do you?" when we were discussing how long the rocker would take to come in. I look much bigger than someone pregnant at 21 weeks with a singleton. It's pretty fun, actually, although I am slightly mortified and freaked out about HOW big my belly will get! For now, though, here's my belly (taken at 21+1 because we were rushing at 21 exactly to get our houseguest to the train station):

20 weeks (and we have movement!)

20 weeks came along rather uneventfully. I even forgot to take a bump photo this morning because I was rushing for work. So I took it tonight.

I have noticed that my cats have been much more interested in and demanding of sitting on my bump. It started well before I had a bump but it's quite obsessive now. Even Emma (not pictured below) - who has never been one to sit on people - does it all the time. Anyone else experienced this phenomenon? I googled it a bit and learned that it could be a hormonal thing they're picking up on as well as them noticing my slower movements and more lying around than before. Whatever it is, it's fascinating!

Symptoms this week:

--- my feet still ACHE and I noticed last night at an outdoor concert, that my knuckle on my left pinky is all swollen. Ouch. I have been icing my feet as much as I can and it helps ... temporarily.
--- HOLY ITCHY SKIN! My neighbor gave me some oil against itchy skin a few weeks back and I didn't think I'd need it. And then this week struck and I have been lathering myself with it. My tummy is so so so itchy!

WE HAVE MOVEMENT! I started to officially feel the girls move. By "officially" I mean I think I've been feeling them move for a few weeks now but now I know it's them. They tend to be more active in the early morning and then in the afternoon. It's a wild feeling, not strong enough for my hubby to feel, but definitely something I'm aware of. Which is a new cause for concern when - like yesterday - I didn't feel them much and I go into a panic and pull out my doppler (long live the doppler!)

Four more weeks to viability and then 4 more weeks until our RE said she'd be ok with them coming out (28 weeks) and then 7 more weeks until we are ok with them coming out (35 weeks).

On the nesting front, we have been doing mad house projects:

--- each summer, I clean the windows and screens. Am too tired to do that this summer so we're having them professionally cleaned for the first time ever. I'm excited to see how they turn out!
--- we're having a hole in our driveway resurfaced
--- we had our blinds professionally cleaned - they've been up for about 6 years and we have a lot of fur creatures - again, I'm excited to see how they turn out.
--- we are having paint jobs that have been on the "to do" list done.

ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE HAPPENING IN THE NEXT WEEK!

Our bedroom furniture was my hubby's uncle's in the 60s. My hubby is sanding and restaining the two pieces and they're becoming the girls' room furniture. We will be investing in some lovely new bedroom furniture for ourselves!

And, finally, I have allowed talk and planning on baby showers to occur. One in Chicago and one in Portland, both in September. Which, as someone pointed out last night, IS ONLY SIX WEEKS AWAY!

On the non-planning side, the babies enjoyed another concert last night. We saw a Portland group - Pink Martini - at an outdoor venue with friends last night. It was just spectacular and knowing they can now hear (that's what I've been told, at least) made me so happy. It must be great for their developing brains to hear such beautiful voices and instrumentals. Simply marvelous evening.

19 weeks

Accodring to Baby Center's "My Pregnancy" app, the girls' "sensory development is exploding!" Their brains are designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch and there is some research to suggest they can hear my voice now. I'm not sure if they can hear my voice through my body or if they can also hear my hubby's voice, but either way, it's fun to know they're listening to me!

It has been hot hot hot here in Portland and I have been feeling very big (already) this week. And tired. And overheated. And my arches and back hurt a bit. I guess that's what being 19 weeks with twins feels like!

Hubby and I met some of the resolve support group women and their hubbies for a fun night of karaoke on Tuesday. I'd seen many of them individually (they've become good friends) but not all of them. One woman who is new to the group since I "graduated" didn't know I have twins inside. She was shocked at how big I am already - until I told her there are two. Yes, I am big. Hubby and I walked another donor egg pregnant lady to her car at the end of the night. She's pregnant with a singleton and only 5 weeks behind me - still, she's barely showing. Hubby said "I guess a lot happens in 5 weeks" and then I reminded him that my uterus is about 6 weeks larger than a singleton's at this stage, so I'm more like 11 weeks ahead of her. Such a difference!

Symptoms:

--- still taking almost daily naps, even if they're only 10 or 12 minutes in length (i.e. on my office floor when I can snag a quick nap)
--- arches are still sore
--- few more random nose bleeds this week
--- hips and knees and ankles still sore when I sleep
--- I am someone who always falls asleep immediately - not this week, though. I've been lying awake for a good 15-20 minutes, which is really unusual ... and exhausting!

We've been looking into classes and found a "all things twin" class that we're taking at the end of September. I've also found a breast feeding class and a few other interesting classes that I'll register us for. And I finally registered for the "Moms of Multiples" group locally so I can take advantage of all they have to offer.

Finally, here is week 19's bump photo:

18 weeks - they're GIRLS!

We had our anatomy scan at 17w6d. While we were both excited to confirm our suspicions that they were girls, we were more anxious about the actual scan. We agreed that we would forego knowing their gender until birth if it meant we had healthy babies. We got lucky - we got both!

The scan went great. They were, as usual, uncooperative in that they were moving a ton and pushing each other out of the way. One was literally using my bladder as a trampoline which was so fascinating to watch on the screen since I couldn't actually feel it. The tech started with A but B was so persistent that she wanted her turn that the tech moved to B and then went back to A. It was hilarious. I have a feeling B is going to be the more pushy baby / human but time will tell.

Going into the scan, our chance of Down's was 1/240 and had we seen any markers or red flags, we would have done an amnio. The scan, however, showed no soft (or hard) markers and the measurements were all spot on. That cut our risk down to 1/480. While I might have still considered an amnio just to know, when asked "so no amnio?" by our MFM, my hubby quickly answered "No!" I agreed immediately and that was our decision.

There was also no sign of TTTS which is just fantastic!

And my cervix was long and closed, even with pressure put on it to mimic standing (4.5 verus 4.2 with pressure).

They are amazing. I cannot believe how much we could see - bladders, kidneys, stomachs, 4 chambers of their hearts, brains, bones - and how much they look like little humans. WOWOWOWOW! The feminist in me still staunchy believes that they don't have rights yet (*** I am not interested in a debate on this statement ***) but the mother-to-be in me is just amazed at their development and how amazing they are.

And they are GIRLS!!! We spent about 90 minutes after the appointment calling every immediate relative (my hubby has 5 brothers, they each have partners, he has 4 parents, I have three parents and a sister, and he has a grandmother). The reactions were priceless and precious and we were beaming. Literally had sore faces from smiling so much. We were, if you will, tickled pink!

Hubby's dad - who was right on the other 3 grandkids - was sure we were having boys. So we called him up and said "you're getting two more Bears fans" and he said "I told you so!" and then we said "two more pink Bears fans - they're girls!"

To my mum, we said "we all have something more in common!" and she picked up on it immediately and said "you're having two girls" (my mother has two daughters). My dad, who is one of the smartest humans I have ever met, didn't pick up on it so fast. We said "you and [my hubby] have one more thing in common!" and my dad thought we were talking about the fact that he and my hubby each have a penis. My hubby said "nope, that would not be a new thing in common." Then my dad said "oh, it must be an extension of that then" (meaning two boys). It was absolutely hilarious to be talking about penises with my father!!!

Here they are!

This was taken the following morning, at my 18 week mark. Looking bigger, I think!

I left work early yesterday and bought a pink hydrangea. Initially - before calling everyone - we had planned to have a photographer friend take some photos of us in black & white and then with a pink hydrangea (my hubby's favorite flowers are hydrangeas). But we had too much fun calling people.

This now decorates our living room:

And then today (18w1d), I sent my hubby to work with pink cupcakes. He reluctantly took them (claimed he didn't want to annouce but I know him - he was just embarrassed), but then soon called me to say there was a spontaneous party and his secretary even found some pink streamers and made a sign about the girls! I could hear it in his voice that he was just thrilled and so happy.

So, in a nutshell, we're over the moon. Shit got REAL after Wednesday's ultrasound. We might actually get to be parents out of this!

As far as symptoms go, my only new one this week was to get two nosebleeds on Tuesday. But I haven't had another since.

17 weeks - half way to a car (???)

Still here. Still pregnant. 17 weeks today and amazed by and in love with this whole thing.

At our first u/s at the MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine), hubby and I shook hands on top of my belly and made a pact with the babies: you stay in until 34 weeks and you get a car on your 16th birthday.

Today marks the half way point on that pact.

(many of you have lovingly asked whether they'll have to share a car and my answer is (1) yes, they share a god damned placenta so they can bloody well share a car and (2) they're always so snuggled up in there that I can't imagine they won't WANT to share a car!)

The past week and a half has been fun. The babies went to their first concert - Fleetwood Mac - and even though the MFM told me they can't hear yet, I am certain they can feel vibrations so I'm counting it. They also went on their first camping trip. We took a trip to the Olympic National Park over the 4th and camped there. They did great and only woke me up to pee twice a night ... every night ... !!!

Since getting back, I was peeing three times by 1am, so I got a little worried. Was that a sign of something going wrong (TTTS or something else)? I was also a little consistently crampy. So I called the MFM and went in for an u/s on Tuesday. They're still in there and they're still looking perfect. They're wiggly little things, which is fun to watch. And the peeing thing is just a result of my ever-growing uterus. (no pics from that ultrasound)

Symptoms:

--- My hips / knees / ankles ache at night.
--- I now am craving sushi (as a vegetarian, I don't have to give it up!) and no longer want those fold-over PB&J that I was craving 2 weeks ago.
--- When I eat too much (which isn't much at all compared to a few months ago), the left side of my ribcage hurts and I have to massage it. I have been told that my stomach is up in there / behind my ribs now.
--- Insomnia is gone for the most part, but I'm getting up to pee so many times that I am still really tired.
--- I'm sleeping later than I have in my entire adult life. It's hard for me to get out of bed before 6:30 and on the weekends when things are quiet, I have been known to sleep past 8 am (for anyone who knows me, you know that I get up with the sun, so around the solstice, I am up around 4:45 am!).
--- I am totally showing (see picture below). And loving it. No more trying to hide it.
--- Was in court on Tuesday on the 7th floor of an old courthouse. It was hot and I was standing up next to my client, speaking on his behalf. I suddenly got clammy and overheated. Sweat started to pour out of me. I had to tell the judge "I need to sit down" (and I NEVER sit while my client stands) and then, at the end of the hearing, I had to bolt out of the courthouse to take my suit coat off and get some fresh air. I apologized to the judge afterwards, which meant a fun conversation about me being pregnant. But it was not a fun experience. MFM told me that has to do with my blood circulation and it not getting back up from my legs and feet as easily / quickly.

I've gained between 20 and 25 pounds. Right before the transfer, I had been running a lot so I had a lot of muscle mass. That's all gone so that's why it's hard to tell whether I'm up 20 or 25. Either way, I am pleased with this weight gain as all the twin books suggest weight gain in the first trimester is very important for development and in the 2nd and 3rd is very important against pre-term labor. That's the hope, at least! Remember, babies, THAT CAR IS YOURS IF YOU JUST SIT TIGHT!!!!

I also added "The Bump" page so I can put all the photos there and I can see the transition (as can the rest of you).

Picture from this morning:

16 weeks

Happy 4th! We made it to 16 weeks pregnant ... HOLY SHIT!

Not much to report. This past week has been busy for us but also relatively symptom free for me. I still really only want fold-over PB&J sandwiches and have added 3 high protein Boost drinks per day to my diet (to try to avoid TTTS). We had an ultrasound on Monday with our OB to try to learn gender but the little ones were not cooperating. Then we saw them again yesterday with our MFM and again, they weren't fully cooperating. Hubby and I are still convinced they're both girls, so we will see. Next ultrasound is our anatomy scan on 7/17 so we *should* know then!!

Monday night, hubby says to me "I don't know how to raise girls." I reminded him that he also really doesn't know how to raise boys. Then he said "what if they don't like me?" I giggled and told him "they're going to adore you. They're going to follow you around like little ducklings. You'll be their daddy!"


Here's a picture from yesterday's scan. They're lying head to toe in this one and still are all snuggled up.

And here is a 16 week belly scan from this morning:

15 weeks today

Hot diggity, how on earth did I get to 15 weeks already?! I am so busy ignoring my pregnancy and hiding it from the real world that I can't believe I'm here already. My supervisor at work asked me when I'm going to announce, since it's a little hard on her to answer questions about my reduced caseload without being able to spill the beans. Also, I'm TOTALLY showing so it's a little silly that I just walk around pretending I can hide it by drawing my cardigan around my tummy.

Symptoms: I have some light cramping and INSOMNIA still. Which means EXHAUSTION still. We see our OB on Monday* and I will ask her to check my iron and B12 levels, just to make sure.

Also, my craving for fruit is GONE. I don't really want anything to eat, and have to force myself to eat. I have weird cravings now, like last night I asked for two soft boiled eggs (from our chickens, so I am ok eating soft boiled) and some baby carrots. I've been eating a lot of fold over sandwiches with peanut butter and my own home made jam (which is interesting because in all the years I've been making jam, I have never been interested in eating my own jam, even though it's delicious!).

I'm approaching the time when TTTS can start in an identical twin pregnancy, so I'm really upping my protein intake. Fingers crossed we don't fall into the 15+% of people who have to deal with TTTS.

Finally, here is a bump picture from this morning. I'm really showing!

And, because I don't think I ever added it, here's a photo from June 19th, when I was 13w6d (doc said "everything looks perfect" at that point):

* We hope to learn gender at the OB appointment on July 1!