Babies Abound!

This week, I learned two of my girlfriends are also pregnant! One is due on April 30th, just 4 days after us; the other is due in late July. We're incredibly excited to be able to share our pregnancy ups and downs with our close friends. Also, I visited another good friend, Josie, yesterday and her 8 week old baby is doing really well. She loaned me some maternity clothes and a few books to help get me started (except on the books since I've ready gone through about 7 twins books).

As for the babies, they are the size of medium shrimp (3 inches long) and weigh nearly an ounce. Their Fingerprints have formed on thei tiny fingertips, their veins and organs are clearly visible through their still-thin skin, and their bodies are starting to catch up with their heads— which makes up just a third of their body size now. If baby A is indeed a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries.

I still feel great. I went to the gym 6 days this week and continue to do lots of cardio (not running...seems too weird) and some light weights like I used to. I'm also attending weekly yoga, but I wonder how that will evolve as my tummy gets bigger. I've put on a few pounds, but I still fit into my clothes and I don't think anyone can tell I'm growing.

Until next week....

12 Weeks

Today we had our 12 week ultrasound. They test for all sorts of stuff to make sure the babies are developing all of their pieces and parts correctly. They also test for downs syndrome. The doctor said the babies are "perfect" and everything looks "normal." What a relief. It was incredible! They took tons of pictures while they did the ultrasound. I've attached one for you to check out.

BTW, the doc is convinced Baby A is a girl. Not so sure about Baby B.

10 Week Appointment

I had my 10 week prenatal appointment yesterday. I was a bit worried because I knew they were going to use a doppler fetal heart rate monitor and 10 weeks is the earliest they can detect a heart rate with this device. It's a little probe they put on your belly and it has a speaker that broadcasts what it picks up; it's pretty generic if you ask me. Since I've heard a lot about "vanishing twin syndrome" (don't get me started, it's scary), I was stressed that she would only be able to find one heartbeat. Well, she squeezed goo all over my lower belly and started searching. Baby B (right) was detected right away with a heartbeat of 178. Baby B is about 1 inch below and to the right of my belly button. She searched and searched for Baby A (left) and finally found he/she about an inch by my left hip bone -- really far away from Baby B. Baby A's heart rate was 171. They probably don't even know they are sharing the womb with each other! Over time they will soon realize they are sharing space. Those heart rates are normal and that was really the extent of my doctor's appointment except for my doc asking if we had local family to help us. She suggested we get a postpartum doula to help us, especially at night. No problem; I can follow doctor's orders! She also said I will only go to 38 weeks; they will induce if I don't go into labor by then. She also said it's likely that I may go on bedrest around week 24. There's nothing I can do to prevent it, it's just the norm, unfortunately. That's really going to SUCK!

I'll write again at week 12, which is when we will have elective genetic testing -- another sonogram with a nuchal translucency blood test. It will detect downs syndrome and other chromosonial disorders. Soon after, we're going to finally tell everyone the secret we've been dying to tell everyone since August 30th!

Baby Kumquats

We're at week 10. They are finally fetuses or is it feti? I feel great and spent the Columbus weekend in Boston walking miles and miles all day.

Here's what's going on with their growth -- Though they are 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, the most critical portion of development is complete.
The fetal period is a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

They are 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. Details are starting to form like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

Boston

We had a fantastic time in Boston checking out the sites (freedom trail, various museums and galleries, shopping, eating well, etc). We just happened to be there on Columbus Day and here's a picture of us with Chris.

Two Grapes

Well, here we are in the 9th week. The babies are an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weigh just a fraction of an ounce. They are starting to look more and more human. Their essential body parts are accounted for (how amazing!). Other changes: the babies heart's finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do their tiny teeth. The organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Their eyes are fully formed, but eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. They have tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. This is all according to the typical development pattern and that's what I'm hoping is going. I still feel great.

I've been learning a lot this week (already read a book on twins and starting another). What is stressing me out mostly is eating enough. I've read twice that I need to eat about 3,200 calories. I think that has to be extremely high for my size and it's something I'm going to follow up with my doctor on at our next appointment (she said 2,200 calories with one baby). I will also likely put on 35-50 pounds. I'm going to be HUGE!!!! Also, something to chat about with the Doc. Also, I'm up at night thinking about logistics -- How I will nurse them? How will I manage them in a dual stroller? Should we set up one nursery or two right now? How does co-sleeping work? How will I do this when I'm all alone after David goes back to work and all the visitors are gone? I need to remember tons of people have done this and I don't need to figure it out right away.

The News Gets Even Better

After a bit of a scare this weekend (a tiny bit of bleeding and I freaked out), the doctor sent us for an early sonogram. I'm 8 weeks -- a critical period -- and we were worried about miscarriage. Since we weren't due to hear the heartbeat until our next prenatal appointment on October 17th, I was very anxious. The technician checked out my uterus, ovaries and then went for the embryo (btw, it's not a fetus until 10 weeks). After what felt like 15 minutes waiting, I questioned what the dark splotches were on the screen and if there was heartbeat. She pointed to the dark splotch and said here's the baby -- AND HERE'S ANOTHER!!!!! Yes, we're having twins. Yes, we are freaking out. This only happens 1.1% of the time naturally, so I guess we're just super lucky and fertile. They are fraternal or dizygotic, which means they have their own sacs. From what we've read, we have 50/50 odds of them being same sex or both sexes. We're excited and scared and DYING to tell everyone, but we're waiting until week 12, just to be safe. She said everything looks great -- totally normal for 8 weeks. The heartbeats were 172 and 181, for Baby A and B. My doc says to rest this week and then I can go back to the gym. I also have to take 500 extra miligrams of calcium. For those of you who are wondering, I feel great. I have not had morning sickness at all; I only feel a bit tired. I am incredibly lucky -- to be carrying twins and to feel so well. P.S. I've included the first pics of the babies. It's amazing!

Best Birthday Present Ever!

On August 30th, I was given the best 34th birthday present -- a positive pregnancy test. The weekend couldn't be better as we were spending it with my family at our lake cottage in Michigan, just like I did every summer as a child. It just seemed to be appropriate to find out such incredible news with the some of most important people in my life there, including my 87 year old Granny. However, we didn't tell anyone. They will just have to wait.

Starting a Blog

Here we are, Creating a blog! We could just pick up the phone and call you, but we thought this would be a fun way to keep our family and friends up to date on our hectic lives. This was David's idea back in October 2007 and we never kept it up. Well, now we have a real reason because there are lots of changes underway--We're having a baby! We're just not yet out of the woods yet, so these posts will be here for you to view once we hit 12 weeks. I'll recap the events as we go along.