Follow-up to the Follow-up

Yesterday I had my follow-up to the follow-up appointment. While waiting for the doctor to arrive, the ultrasound tech got lots of shots of the girls (they were finally cooperating!) and took their measurements. That was nice – it wasn’t scheduled for that day, but she had time to kill and figured she’d “play” while we waited. Although the doctor has a more precise way to tell, the way we’ve been able to tell the girls apart throughout the pregnancy was based on their size. Since our initial ultrasound at 8 weeks, baby A has been about 2 days behind baby B in size. I guess baby A had a growth spurt since the previous week because both girls were measuring at exactly the same size this time. They’re up to approximately 1 lb 4 oz. Although the 2 day difference wasn’t significant, I was pretty pleased to hear they’re now exactly the same given how paranoid we’ve been about the risk of twin-twin transfusion.

Here are some pictures from the appointment. The first set is baby A and the second set is baby B.

The doctor was pleased that the medication worked, but still wasn’t real happy with the way my cervix was looking. She doesn’t want to do surgery at this point because she thinks it would likely cause more serious contractions and could send me into labor. She said that if I delivered at this point (at 23 weeks) the babies would have a 90% chance of having cerebral palsy, but that every week going forward that percentage would go down. So she wants me on strict bed rest until 28 weeks when the odds go down to 10%. Although it sounds nice to be off of bed rest in 5 weeks, I think the joke is on me because at that point I’ll be so large that I won’t be able to be on my feet much anyway.

I go back in next week Friday (9/2) for my normal bi-weekly appointment. In the meantime (and likely through the remainder of my pregnancy), the doctor wants me to monitor for contractions twice a day. A nurse came out to the house today to drop off a monitor and show me how to use it. Basically I have to be hooked up to the machine for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and then for an additional hour if I start feeling contractions in between the normal monitoring times. After the hour, I hook up the machine to a super high tech 56K modem and dial in to send them the results. A nurse then calls within half an hour to discuss the results and make sure I’m doing okay. Although it’s a pain, it is kinda nice to have a nurse checking in a couple times a day. It gives me the opportunity to discuss anything unusual and determine what to do from there.

Follow-Up Visit

We got to the doctor’s office right when they opened on Tuesday and she saw us right away. Based on the ultrasound, it looked like there was no change in my cervix from the previous week. I kept apologizing for the false alarm, but she wasn’t convinced that that’s what it was. She hooked me up to a contraction monitor and saw 1 over the course of about 45 minutes. She gave me medication to try to stop them from occurring and asked to see me back on Friday to see how it was going. I continued feeling contractions throughout the day, but fortunately the medication worked and by the next morning I was feeling fairly normal again – just exhausted.

At the doctor’s visit I was officially put on bed rest. Previously she had had the attitude that she was ready for me to stop working whenever I said the word, but this time it was no longer my choice to make. I had said all along that, at a minimum, I wanted to make it to my promotion to manager before going on leave. Well Sunday (8/21) my promotion was effective and I made it a whopping 1 workday as a manager before going on disability. Not quite what I had in mind, but I guess it works. Since I made it past my promotion date, my disability benefits get even better and I’ll accrue more vacation days while on leave, so that one day was fairly significant.

Labor and Delivery Trial Run

I guess we did speak too soon. All day Sunday I felt really off – I couldn’t quite explain it, but something was weird. I felt really blah and didn’t have any appetite. Then Monday I was more tired than usual, still didn’t feel like eating and started having stomach pains which got worse as the day went on. I kinda thought it was nothing but after hearing horror stories from other twin mommies, Luke and I were pretty paranoid about pre-term labor. Around 8:30 pm Luke finally convinced me that we needed to make a trip to the hospital to make sure nothing was wrong. I felt really dumb because I was so sure it was nothing and figured they’d tell me it was just gas pains or something, but after the doctor’s warning the previous week we didn’t want to blow it off. So off to the hospital we went. On the bright side, at that time of day there was no traffic on the roads so it only took 45 minutes to get there.

When we got there they sent us straight to the nurses’ station in the labor and delivery wing. I was surprised – no waiting room, no paperwork, just wandered straight there. Within 2 minutes of being there they had me in my own room and changing into a gown. Unfortunately we just missed my doctor. It didn’t even cross my mind to call the doctor before we left the house. She said to go to the hospital if we had any problems, so we just got in the car and went. Lesson learned for next time I suppose. So they got me all hooked up to the monitors and then we got to the paperwork. I was really impressed with how smoothly it all went.

When all was said and done we spent less than an hour and a half at the hospital. The contraction monitor didn’t show any significant activity and the on-call doctor was confident I’d be fine through the night. The babies’ heartbeats were normal so it looked like they were okay too.

I did get quite a lecture before we left though from the doctor about the need to slow down. I tried to explain to him that I had slowed down by comparison to my normal, but he didn’t seem to like that answer. It was kinda funny because, as he put it, he has “one like me at home.” His wife had a similar mentality to me when she was pregnant with their twins and although their babies were fine, he didn’t like the idea of me doing the same things she was doing.

They called my doctor before sending me home and she said she wanted me to come in for a visit first thing the next morning for a more thorough look at what was going on.

22 Week Visit

Yesterday we had our 22 week ultrasound. The girls are staying on track (still small but not losing any ground) and have continued to share like we’d want them to. Baby B is 2 days behind where she should be and Baby A is 4 days behind.

Here is the only picture from the visit. We didn’t have much time alone with the ultrasound tech, so all we got was a creepy headshot again from the doctor and we're not sure which baby it is.

I’m not sure if it was just because she was in an unusually good mood that day, but at the 20 week ultrasound the doctor seemed very optimistic about the pregnancy and lack of complications. I kept thinking that hopefully she didn’t just jinx it. Although the babies are doing well, my cervix has now started to shorten, so the doctor warned me to start watching for contractions and to come to the hospital immediately if they started to occur. I’m not sure what they would do at this point if I were to go into pre-term labor, but I’m hoping I don’t have to find out. In the doctors words “It would be really not good if that were to happen.”

We’ll see how things go, but we’re trying to stay optimistic about it all. Hopefully going on bed rest will be easier on my body and will reduce the risk of having complications. I’m trying to make it to September 1 while still working so that I can finish up the remaining projects that are on my plate – I’m counting down the days at this point.

In the meantime, I guess my baby bump has now gotten big enough to where people generally know right away that I’m pregnant. Just about daily I have awkward conversations with complete strangers about it – most often in the elevator at work. Some of the recent gems…

Random lady: “Wow – you’ve got to be miserable, it’s really hot outside”

Me: “It’s not too bad, I just try to stay indoors as much as I can”

Random lady: “I guess that’s what happens when you plan to have a baby in the hottest part of the year. Mine was due in September too, so I understand”

Me: “Actually I’m not due til December…”

After a horrified look from her I clarified that I was having twins

Today I was in the elevator with a food delivery guy who didn’t speak much English

Delivery guy: “Do you have a baby in there?”

Me: “Yes, two actually”

Delivery guy: “Are they twins?”
Is there some other option that I’m not aware of? I’m going to chalk that one up as translation issue.

Breastfeeding Classes

Today we had breastfeeding classes from 9am-4pm. The first 5 hours were for everyone, and the last couple hours were specific to breastfeeding multiples.

The class started by everyone introducing themselves, telling their due date, baby name (if chosen), the reason why we are interested in breastfeeding and the concerns that we have with it. We got the usual reaction when telling the group we were having twins. It’s funny to us at this point because we kinda look to each other like “wait for it….” and then the group gasps in unison and turn to their significant other like “aren’t you glad we’re not them!” I’m just glad we can laugh about it- it doesn’t really phase us anymore.

So around the room the instructor went and asked the list of questions. A lot of the women mentioned that they were concerned about how it would work when they went back to their jobs 6 weeks after their baby was born. It was reminder of how fortunate I am that I can take 24 weeks off after the girls are born. Just about all of that will be full pay and full benefits. The idea of 2 babies is a bit overwhelming, but it’s such a relief to not be stressing about the financial aspects of it. The last couple years of work have really kicked my butt, but now I’m so glad I stuck it out. Anyhow, back to the class…

The instructor showed A LOT of videos to demonstrate what we’d need to do. We kept hearing “use one hand to do….use the other hand to do…” Unless I just haven’t made it to that chapter in the “what to expect when having twins” book, I don’t think you grow an extra set of arms when you deliver twins. Luke and I kept looking at each other like hmmm….how is that going to work.

Then, towards the end of the first class the instructor says “a lot of times when babies are born early, like 36 weeks or earlier, they don’t have the muscles developed to be able to suck, so you can’t breastfeed them the normal way. But that shouldn’t be a problem for most of you.”

Since we know the girls will be born at or before 36 weeks, this was pretty frustrating for us. So we just sat through how many hours of class only to hear we don’t have enough arms and most of what we just learned doesn’t apply *sigh*

The multiples session was slightly better but seemed to keep going back to “it’s different in every situation and you just have to talk to someone at the hospital and figure out what works.”

I think there was probably some value to the class and figuring out the basics, but I’m interested to see how this all works in reality with 2. I’m SO glad this was our last full day of classes. We have an infant CPR evening class and then I think we’re officially done with classes all together.

The Least Incompetent Father-To-Be

A new voice! The dad! Yes, it's me, and I'm just happy to be here. People keep asking me if I'm scared or nervous, and I don't think I'm any of those things yet. Two pooping machines and no sleep may get me there, but for now I'm just awe-struck. I think that's the difference sometimes: I know it is going to get bad. real bad. So I can sleep in a bit later for now and play my video game just a bit longer...

We went to a class titled "Life With Baby" and it had singleton parents in there as well. We all went around the room saying what our due date is and what the gender is, and it's almost comical at this point. I say something like "yes, our due date is December 22" and everyone goes "awww" and gives us this kind look, and then I finish with "and we're expecting identical twin girls" and their faces immediately flip to horror and between the gasps and the deep "oh my goodness" we've learned to just hold our head high. Not that we're naive, but that we're ready to take it on!

I have to say, I thought I would be totally behind the curve in this class. I'm not necessarily a baby person -- just never really had a need to. However, once I heard that someone in the class pronounced uterus as utter-us, I realized I would be totally fine. I'm surprised that the little bits and pieces I was able to help with nieces actually seemed like a big part of what is coming up! Anyways, we learned some good stuff (this technique where you jiggle the baby and make noises like Niagara Falls either makes them pee or go to sleep), I learned I'm a pretty good swaddler, and I confirmed that I am the least incompetent father-to-be. At least in that room. Im sure I'll be plenty incompetent in the girls' room at 2AM trying to get one of the girls to get to sleep so daddy can finally close his eyes...

20 Week Ultrasound

The big news this week is I hit the 20 pound weight gain goal. It was a lot harder than I would have expected. I can remember being conscious of my weight (and ability to gain easily) as early as elementary school, so it was quite a surprise to me that I’ve had a really hard time gaining. I feel like I’m eating all the time and had to add ensure high protein/high calorie drinks to my daily diet to try to fatten up quickly. Being told to gain weight sounded like a lot more fun in theory than it was in actuality. I always hear of people who are really hungry throughout their pregnancy and just can’t get enough to eat. I tried to just eat when I was hungry for a 2 week period and I didn’t gain anything, so now I’ve had to really force myself to eat whether I want to or not in order to give the girls what they need.

So anyhow, hitting the 20 pound milestone was definitely a victory for me. Now the doctor says I can “slow it down” to 1.5 pounds per week since I’ve caught up to where I needed to be.

The girls have continued to grow at a normal rate and have been sharing like we’d want them to, so we’re in good shape for now. Baby B flipped and is now head down on my right side with her feet up in my ribs. Her kicking is quite painful, but it’s a reminder that she’s doing well. Baby A is somewhat head down as well, but is stretched horizontally across the lower part of my stomach with her head on the right side too. At one point the girls looked like they were boxing each other which explains some of the discomfort I’ve had lately.

Now that baby B has moved, we were finally able to get a good look at her. The first one is baby B and the second is baby A's face.

My mobility has really gone downhill fast over the past few weeks. My back (especially on my right side where I’m carrying ¾ of the weight) isn’t handling the additional weight very well. It’s probably not good for me, but I’ve been trying to push through my to-do list while I still can. I got all the painting (it’s not wall paint – so it doesn’t count as breaking the doctor’s orders…) done in the nursery, which is a relief.

Luke was taking pictures of me as I worked on it last week. Fortunately the tree I painted is well above belly height – otherwise I think I might have kept dragging my stomach across wet paint.

 

Here are the final products. The first picture is the wall that I painted and the second one is the vinyl tree/animals that I ordered off of Etsy. I plan to put the rocker below the tree I painted once it is delivered.

This picture was taken today. It’s funny how my concept of being large has changed over the course of the pregnancy. I felt huge early on, but now when I look back at those pictures I realize that was nothing. I’m sure I’ll feel similarly about my 20wk size by the time I hit my 3^rd trimester.