High Risk Vanilla

Michael and I were giddy as we sat waiting to see our doctor. We kept looking at the sonogram photos and smiling uncontrollably. Michael kept saying, “you son of a gun!” The ultrasound technician had explained just a few minutes earlier that she could tell my body had released two eggs, and Michael was impressed that I had seemingly worked overtime that month. What a funny guy! I was in shock. Excited, but definitely in shock. We were having twins. Twins. TWINS!

We were finally called back, and we got to meet our doctor. She was super cool, and super excited as she walked in. “Congratulations, you guys!” Why, thank you. Thank you very much! Please excuse me while I sit here dumbfounded and giddy. She was great.

We talked about some of the basic medical things. She was glad to see that the babies were both within a week of my gestational timetable, measuring just a few days further along than I was. Better that we all grow as a team. She also explained that our babies are diamniotic dichorionic (di-di) twins. Listen, get pregnant with twins, and your vocabulary will increase dramatically. Trust me. Di-di means that our babies each have their own sacs and their own placentas. They live in the same apartment, but with their own rooms and their own refrigerators. This is the most “vanilla” pairing of twins, because there is no scare that one baby may end up taking more than their share of nutrients at the expense of the other. Vanilla is good. Especially when we learned having twins automatically means a high risk pregnancy.

We also talked about some of the things I hadn’t considered before, mainly because I had never considered that I would have twins. There is now a chance that bed rest may be in my future. She also let us know that the “stars would have the align” for us to be able to deliver naturally. Most, though certainly not all, twins are delivered via cesarean section due to the fact that the second baby normally flips after the first baby is born, because they finally have room to move, and there are so many new laws about delivering breach babies. Preterm birth is also another concern with twins. So many new things to learn and then try not to worry about!

The silver lining of having a high risk pregnancy means that we get to see the babies a lot more than we would if our situation were different, or if we had a normal singleton pregnancy. Singleton is another one of our new vocabulary words. It is the term used to describe a pregnancy with one baby as opposed to multiples. We have an appointment and an ultrasound scheduled every month for now, and I’m sure that may increase as we progress.

Our next appointment is scheduled for December 12th, and we can’t wait to see the twins. We’ll be twelve weeks along by then, and we should be able to see them moving and possibly hear their heartbeats! Keep those prayers coming!

-KB-

First Ultrasound Surprise

My new doc scheduled blood work for October 25th to confirm the home pregnancy test results. At this time, I was about 5 weeks pregnant. I received my results a few days later via the online patient portal which is pretty darn cool. I did a happy dance as I read her note of congratulations. She also asked if my dates were correct, because my hcg (human growth hormone indicating a growing baby) levels were a bit higher than someone 5 weeks along. I believe somewhere in my mind I entertained for perhaps a millisecond the idea that maybe there was more than one baby as elevated hcg levels can indicate twins, and then dismissed the thought entirely. You see, Michael, my wonderful, amazing, handsome, funniest man I know, husband is an identical twin. But science tells us that twins are determined by the mother, not the father. My coworkers laughed as I explained once that twins are based on the homeowner, not the visitor.  But I digress. I confirmed the dates I’d provided to my doc were right on target, and just took it as a sign that I was FOR REAL pregnant. Our first ultrasound and doctor visit was scheduled for November 10th (over two weeks away!), which would put us at 7 weeks and 5 days on the day of the appointment. Far enough along to hear healthy heartbeats.

Sidenote: Have I mentioned that I’m not a very patient person? I mean, scheduling infertility testing after only 7 months should have alluded to that. But in case someone needs me to spell it out for them, the waiting was A.W.F.U.L. I was terrified that once we got into the ultrasound room, there would be no heartbeat or baby to see. I know now the extreme anxiety was probably due to hormonal mood swings. But not expecting such extreme hormonal changes so early on, I just spent lots of time crying and praying.

Slow as molasses, November 10th finally arrived! After apologizing to Michael for being snippy in the parking lot (those darn mood swings again), we walked into the ultrasound room prepared to see our baby. Exciting stuff!

Picture it. We’re directed to a small, dimly lit room. I’m laying down in the patient chair. Michael is sitting to my left. The technician and her monitor are to my right. Michael and I are watching the screen on the wall projecting the technician’s screen. The technician was very sweet. She started by saying, “First, I like to just take a look around and see how many babies we’re dealing with…” I thought how nice, she’s giving us a play-by-play because she can see how anxious I am. After just a few more seconds she finished her thought by saying, “and in your case, we’re dealing with two!”

Hold. The. Phone.

I excitedly, and a bit too loudly for such a small room, gasped, “are you serious?!” Then I tried not to get whiplash as I quickly turned to look at Michael who was just beaming. That man, I tell ya. Swoon. I felt silly because I kept looking between Michael and the technician. Then I realized I was missing the opportunity to see our BABIES on the screen in front of me. I focused on the screen and teared up a bit as she volleyed back and forth between the two flickering heartbeats.

There was Baby A, who received that name because they were closest to the camera, with a healthy heart rate of 169 beats per minute and measuring crown to rump at 7 weeks 6 days (one day ahead of me). Then there was Baby B measuring crown to rump at 8 weeks 1 day (three days ahead of me). The technician, Michael, and I were all so excited that we forgot to get Baby B’s heart rate, and ended up having to do another ultrasound that revealed Baby B also had a healthy heart rate of 175 beats per minute. The technician printed off the first pictures of our babes, and sent us back to the waiting room to wait on our first official visit with our doctor. I’m pretty sure we floated out the door on cloud nine.

-KB-

We’re Expecting!

What a lazy Saturday morning it was when we found out. I was the first out of bed that morning. A few days earlier I had become quite discouraged when I experienced some cramping and assumed another negative test was coming our way. I was only one day late, and only had one home pregnancy test left. I weighed the emotional chances of how another negative test would impact my heart, but threw caution to the wind and decided to take it anyway. Living dangerously, I tell ya!

I always thought I’d keep my cool after receiving a positive test. I’d planned to keep it a secret from Michael until I could tell him in a very sweet, memorable way. Turns out, I had absolutely no chill once I saw the test go positive. Zero chill. All plans went out the proverbial window. I staggered out of the bathroom in my pajamas with crazy bed head and said, “hey, babe, um…” Then quickly went back to the bathroom and double checked the test a few more times before poking my head around the corner again. “Hey…so…I just got a positive test.” Michael, having just woken up to a slightly panicked wife asked, “and what does that mean?” And that was the first time I got to say “we’re pregnant.”

We’d been trying for over half a year, and I was getting worried that something was wrong. I’d actually called my doctor the Thursday before to set up a appointment to discuss infertility testing. Imagine the awkward conversation I had when I called the nurse again the following Monday to say I needed to change the infertility testing appointment to a prenatal appointment. She definitely thought I was crazy. Turns out that doc was retiring and wouldn’t be delivering by the time I was due. So, the hunt for a new doctor began. After researching our options, the hunt lead us to a new doctor in a new practice in a new hospital. Lots of new things to kick off our new journey!

-KB-