Just in Time for the Second Trimester



My new best friend...

 Tomorrow, we officially move into the second trimester.  Statistically speaking, our miscarriage risk is less than 1% now...and our next worry becomes pre-term labor in about 7 more weeks.  Today, Adam and I spent a lazy day at home.  This morning, I was napping on the couch while he watched a movie.  I decided to try our fetal doppler, which to this point had been fairly disappointing. 

There was no fanfare and no videos were taken (since I wasn't anticipating the event), but the moment was almost magical for Adam and I.  After just a few minutes, I was finally able to pick up each baby's heartbeat!  Baby B was around 155 and Baby A was around 169...consistent with our past 2 ultrasounds.  Both heartbeats were steady and strong...and within an inch of each other.  We listened for a minute or two with each baby, and then put the doppler away.  It was totally amazing to hear the heartbeats of these two tiny lives inside of me and made them feel so very real today!

At some point, I'll try to have Adam record the sounds of each baby...maybe once they are a pinch easier to find.  Every milestone in this pregnancy is so very special to us and I can't wait for the next one to happen!

12 Weeks and Some Early "Personalities"

Yesterday, we went to Nashville for our 12 week appointment and labs.  One nice thing about getting to stay under our RE's care is the fact that we get ultrasounds every 2 weeks...which means we've gotten to "see" our babies grow!  Since many ladies only have 2-3 ultrasounds during their entire pregnancies, we are very blessed to have had 6 so far! 

Our babies have had consistent "personalities" now for the past 2 ultrasounds.  Baby A (on the right side) is our mellow little one.  This time, Baby A was stretching here and there and playing with his/her umbilical cord.  Baby B seems to be our little fireball.  This Baby is super active, to the point where measuring his/her heartbeat is super difficult!  Yesterday, we watched Baby B kick through his/her sac and literally indent the sac of Baby A...which made Baby A flinch every time!  I feel kind of bad for Baby A...and this kid is being beaten alive by his/her brother or sister!

 Firecracker B!

Mellow A!

Our next, and likely last appointment with our RE will be September 10.  It will be bittersweet, as we've gotten to know several staff members and our MD...and we will miss the wonderful care we have received.  We will then be handed off to an OB and a Perinatologist for the remainder of our pregnancy. We are still thrilled that we've come so far and are doing so wonderfully!

10 Weeks and Going Strong!

Today was our 10 week appointment and everything looked great.  Both babies are now positioned with their heads close together and were VERY active!  We have some nice printed photos of them (at least their heads, arms, and legs together), but they didn't scan well at all so I didn't include them. It's impossible to get a shot of both babies together, as they are in different planes and wiggly.  We were able to see so much more today than 2 weeks ago, including hands, heads, tummies, legs, and even the spinal column of each baby.  While most women talk about their strong emotions when seeing a heartbeat...I had MUCH more emotion today seeing the babies moving!  It was amazing and almost unbelievable that Adam and I could be parents of these little miracles!  We did forget our nice camera today, so the video was taken with a cell phone...held sideways.  I think it still gets the point across though!  On other news, last night was my official last hip/butt injection!  I'm now being transitioned to skin patches and pills...which is so nice compared to the shots!  My hips are thanking me already!  As always, our doc was very happy with everything and has decided to keep us a minimum of 12 weeks and probably more like 16.  After our journey, I find this comforting!

Our next visit is August 20.  I don't expect much in the interim...but will post with any news that may arise.  These babies are the answer to many, many prayers and we feel super blessed to have made it this far with little ones who seem to be thriving!

Our 6th Anniversary!

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary!  For those who have read the blog for quite some time, you may remember that last year we celebrated our anniversary in New Orleans.  At that time, Adam laid 3 quarters at the tomb of Mary Laveau...hoping to be blessed with a few babies.  One year later, our request has been granted!  My gifts this year consisted of a beautiful jewelry box (since wood is the traditional gift), flowers, a nice card, and a new charm for my Reflections bracelet (amethyst is the 6th anniversary color).  I bought Adam a new radar detector and a Star Wars post-it set that makes weird noises...VERY romantic!

Despite nice gifts, our best gift is the love we have developed with each other these past 6 years and the life we have created for ourselves.  Between finishing training, moving several times, a struggling private practice at times, changes in his jobs and going back to school, and our infertility struggle...our marriage has been tested quite a bit!  Somehow though, we've done just fine and couldn't be much happier than we are now!  Obviously, our pregnancy has been the icing-on-the-cake this year.

I photographed the bottle charm, since I meant to post about it awhile back.  Adam bought it for our February cycle, as he just knew it would be successful.  When it failed, he stored it away (said he never thought of returning it) and waited until we finally knew we were pregnant.  I can't wait to put it on the bracelet...just haven't had an occasion yet!

Tomorrow is our 10 week visit and ultrasound.  Hopefully all is going well on the inside and the babies are growing nicely!  Will post something tomorrow...and hopefully some photos as well!

8 Weeks and Counting!

Today was our first "official" OB ultrasound and started the 8th week of our pregnancy!  The twins looked perfect and had beautiful little heartbeats of 165 and 169.  Twin A even moved a touch for us...though he/she decided to stop when we tried to watch!  Other than a bleed last week from a mild subchorionic hemorrhage (which is no longer even visible on the ultrasound), I have done wonderfully!  I certainly have lots of pregnancy "symptoms," but nothing that I can't handle with lots of gratitude for the opportunity. 

As you can see by the photos and video, Adam is one seriously proud Daddy!  He brings his camera to every appointment and anxiously awaits "permission" to take a photo or two. 

We are very happy that all is well and will likely announce our news to the world (aka Facebook) around week 12.  But, for our faithful blog followers, these are for you!

6 Amazing Days Later...

Our babies!

Today was our second ultrasound and was somewhat "informal."  One of my collegues offered to do it for us, since we were anxious to verfiy that the babies did indeed have beating hearts.  He and his wife/nurse were in the room with Adam and I.  Since we all know each other, it was nice to share a moment like this with people who really cared about us and knew what we had endured the past 2 years to get to this moment!  Once he placed the probe, both sacs and babies were easily seen...with their tiny hearts just beating away!  It was really amazing to see them "wiggle" (more like a vibration) and to see them so close to each other!  Both are measuring perfectly and seem quite healthy!  On a side note, we did see a tiny sac of Embryo/Blast #3...but clearly it didn't make it (which we suspected based on our third blood test results). 

We are thrilled and so happy!  The blood flow to my uterus was wonderful (which was a change from our previous studies) and each baby had a healthy developing umbilical cord with good blood flow. 

Our next ultrasound is July 23.  I can't wait, as that will be 8 weeks!  We feel very blessed for every moment that we get with this pregnancy and can't wait to see who these two little "beans" become!

Houston...We Have Twins!!!

Today was our first pregnancy ultrasound, and things could not have gone any better!  We are officially 5 weeks and 4 days pregnant!  Our ultrasound today was mainly to count the number of gestational sacs and to look for any "problems" that could be occurring with the pregnancy.  At this stage of the process, we didn't expect to see anything but gestational sacs...no babies or heartbeats.  But...we were super fortunate today because we saw two fetal poles (soon-to-be babies) and both had a little "flicker" of a heartbeat!  They measure 2 days ahead, which is a good sign as well!

For those who know little about ultrasounds (and since most people never seen an ultrasound this early), the little"x's" mark the ends of the fetal poles.  The big black spot is the gestational sac.  If you can't make heads of tales of it...don't worry...more will come!  I couldn't help but smile when I saw a little "twinkle" in our doc's eye...and when one of our nurses was cheering behind him while he did the ultrasound!  I can't wait for our main nurse to hear the news, if she hasn't already!

Obviously, this is super early and lots of things can change on a dime.  But for now, we are blissfully happy and just hope and pray these little ones stay in place for another 31 weeks or so!!!