12 Weeks

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Survey Says...

How far along? 11.5 Weeks
Total Weight Gain/Loss? 4lbs at last dr appt, sure to increase at next week's appt
Maternity Clothes? Making good use of the belly bands, but still wearing my clothes
Stretch Marks? Nope
Sleep? 2nd night of sleeping thru the night and not getting up to go to the bathroom. Also, haven't had an 'afternoon nap' all week.
Best Moment This Week? Great date night/concert with Superman on Tuesday night
Food Cravings? Milk- Can't seem to get enough of it. We're on our 4th gallon this week.
Genders? Too soon to tell
Labor Signs? Nope
Belly Button? No change
What I miss? being able to button my size 2's...
What am I looking forward to? Next Tuesday's dr appt.
Weekly Wisdom? Husband's should not tell their wives where they can/cannot get sick. If the wife is holding a trashcan, there is no need for her to run to a sink/toilet- she's holding a trashcan!!
Milestones? Wearing the belly band.

9 week Glamour Shot and New OB

We met with Dr. W for the first time yesterday and couldn't be more happier with him. We both felt very much at ease with him and I think he sealed the deal with Superman when he told him to enjoy his sober driver for the next few months... hmmm, not sure if I liked that...

Anyway, we discussed everything from exercise to bed rest to 'my window of comfort' (which apparently will be very slim!) to delivery options. He mentioned that I'll have more frequent doctors appts, more ultrasounds (YAY!) and, as I like to put it, am just a little more 'special' than a singleton pregnancy. I use the word 'special' as a way to calm myself of any issues/complications that are there for me to dwell on.. :)

I went into the appt telling Superman to act like we haven't had an ultrasound yet- just because I wanted to check in our little babes. Luckily, we didn't have to fib and were walked into the u/s room from the very beginning. The babes have developed so much since our last u/s. They have distinguishable heads, arms and legs. They danced and wiggled for us- it was so amazing- I loved every second of it! Dr. W said that I should start feeling them in about 6 weeks ('cause us twin moms are 'special'!!).

I'll go back in about 3 weeks (and hopefully get to see them again). Here's the kiddies latest picture. Can you see them smiling??

OB Appt and All day sickness

After speaking with Dr. A, Superman and I have found an OB. Our first appointment with him will be on September 1, so more to come on that later..
I did want to touch on choosing a hospital- which was the main focus of our last week or so. Initially, we had decided on an area hospital that some friends had used for both of their kids' births. It is well respected, close to our house and, most important to us- it is not a 'baby factory'. The rooms are birthing suites, so you're not wheeled up and down hospital halls while in labor. The nurse to patient ratio is nice and high.
Dr. A agreed with our choice, noting that pretty much any hospital in the STL area would be well equipped to handle pretty much any situation that could arise.
I am now in full swing "all day sickness". (WARNING: the following is not for the faint of stomach.) I wake up at about 5:45am, feeling sick.. wander into the kitchen and make myself breakfast, TRY to choke it down and then lay on the couch and watch the morning news for about 30 minutes or until I start to feel human again. After I shower, which is EXHAUSTING by the way, I have to sit on the floor of my bedroom and put make-up on using my closet mirror. I usually gag a dozen times before I walk out the door- sometimes over a sink, sometimes not. The drive to work is usually uneventful, I drink either a large glass of water or a can of ginger ale, depending on how I'm feeling.
Once I'm settled at work, I start 'snacking' around 9:30 or so, to combat any potential gagginess. I have a family size box of crackers stashed in one of my drawers. By 11:30, I start feeling pukey again, so I eat lunch. Around 1:00 or so, the gagginess is back and I am usually ready for a nap, so I eat a healthy snack- yogurt or cottage cheese.. today, it was an apple. By the time I get home, I am super tired and crash on the couch for about 2 hours. Superman makes dinner (He has been AMAZING throughout all of this!) and cleans up afterwards. I usually fall asleep by 9:00 and wake up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom- FUN.
While I am eating a lot more than I usually do, I have found that my eating habits are much better. Sweets just don't sound good to me these days. I'd rather have some steamed broccoli or a decent sized salad. No midnight runs to DQ for Superman... yet.
I feel like crap about 85% of the time, BUT the all day sickness means that the babes are growing and doing what they are supposed to be doing- so the crap is a good thing and I'll take it every day of the week ;)

Steve and Lisa- 6 week Glamour Shot

We have officially graduated from Dr. A. We had our final ultrasound with him this morning and everything looks great. Both babies are about 8 mm long and had a great heart rate of 130bpm- right where they should be, Dr. A even gave us an "A" for the appt. The babies are over-achievers already.. they must take after me :)

For being only 8mm right now, these two are sure doing a number on my system. It is definitely not morning sickness... it's all day sickness. I just feel crummy most of the day and then I go home and take a 1.5 hour nap on the couch. I'm up a few times at night to go to the bathroom (practice for late night feedings, I'm sure...). Superman is a huge help. Before I ask for anything, he's handing me crackers, ginger ale, making dinner, etc.. I married a great guy!!

Here is the babies latest glamour shot. We're in the process of finding an OB, so we probably won't have another u/s for a while, but it's something we can look forward to!!

Thinking of a Friend

A friend of mine just received the dreaded "Push to Day 6 Transfer" call and has learned that her numbers have decreased (but are still good). Please say a prayer for Cathy and Jay as they prepare for transfer tomorrow.

MIA for a few days..

Superman and I took a much needed vacation. Last Saturday, we drove 12.5 hours to Destin, FL and spent a few days on the beach with my family and some family friends. We played in the ocean with a 17 month old and 3 year old, ate great food- some cooked in the condo by my mom (aren't the meals your mom cooks always better than anything you can get in a restaurant?!) and just plan relaxed after our whirlwind of a summer. Superman went fishing with 'the boys' and I got a much needed pedicure with 'the girls'. (Question- has anyone ever had Black and Decker SANDER used to scrape all the dead skin off their feet? Seriously, they pulled out a power tool with a little cone shaped sander on the end of it and proceeded to sand our feet. Chunks of dead skin were FLYING around the room, it was disgusting! .. And my feet aren't even that bad!)
Anyway, we left Wednesday morning and drove the 12.5 hours back to STL because we had our first u/s appt on Thursday!! Superman met me at the drs office and we walked in completely nervous about what was to come. A few of the nurses asked how I felt and to each I replied that I felt like I was going to throw up- not from morning sickness, just pure nerves.
Dr. A took a few minutes to come into the u/s room, and Superman paced and played with anything he could get his hands on.. magazines, the placement of his chair, my folded pants.. FINALLY, Dr. A came in and asked if we were ready to see the 4 babies.. HUH?? I think Superman and I both turned white and I told Dr A that if there were 4, he was responsible for their college tuition. He laughed and told us what we should expect to see- the yolk sacs, the babies, and that he thought it was still too early to see a heartbeat. I was really disappointed to hear that. I REALLY wanted to see heartbeats.
I assumed the position and Dr A immediately confirmed that we're having twins (YAY!!) He also said that they both look fantastic and both had very strong heartbeats. We got to see and hear both of them! It was AMAZING. Both babies look great- right where they should be. Dr A was happy and said the possibility of losing either of them was pretty slim at this point. (Whew!).
We have another appt on Thursday morning, so we get to look in on them again soon. I have a feeling I'm going to get spoiled with all of these ultrasounds. I am trying not to get used to them!
We have told most of our families, those who we haven't told, our mom's have taken it upon themselves to inform :) Our friends who knew the dates of transfer and beta have also been informed and have been asked to keep the news quiet for at least a few weeks. Both of our bosses know, but not everyone in our offices knows. We haven't decided when to come 'out' but I'm sure it'll happen sooner rather than later.
Friday afternoon I had my second and final IVIg infusion. Last time, I was there for 6 hours. I was told that the IV drip would be sped up this time, but because my appt was at 1:00 on a Friday afternoon, I think they sped me up a lot more than they should have. I left the office at 5:15 feeling kinda sick to my stomach and avoided the highway route home, just in case I had to pull over. My dad wanted to take Superman and I out to dinner and I picked at my food- something I normally don't do. I barely touched my dessert- again, that never happens. Superman took me home and put me to bed.
Saturday, we ran some errands and I slept most of the day. When I was awake, I felt nauseous. At this point, I'm not sure if it is the IVIg infusion or if morning sickness has arrived. For the past week or so, my eating habits have been WAY off. While I normally have a severe sweet tooth, I have no desire to eat ice cream, cookies, etc.. I am wanting salty things- salsa sounds great. The other morning, I woke up (at 6am) telling Superman I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich. As I write this, I am drinking a can of caffeine free ginger ale. It helps my stomach. I have already taken a 2 hour nap, and it's not even 3 pm ( I woke up at 9am). And you know what? I love it! I am finally pregnant and all of these things, as uncomfortable as they make me feel, are signs that I'm pregnant. If I have to deal with these things, that's fine..bring it on. I'm having twins :)
A few other things to note- Cathy, a friend from my IES group, just had her fert report and it's AMAZING. She has 29 fertilized right now and is waiting to hear her transfer date. My fingers are crossed for her and she and her husband are in my prayers!
Another friend, Maureen, is on the count down to her shots. I think she has 11 days left. She and Jacob are in our prayers as well!
Lastly, we sold my car. I loved my car. Superman's brother works for an Auto Auction and can help us buy a car for about half of what we would get it for at a dealership. The original plan was to sell my car and buy something similar, if not newer and nicer, and have a lower car payment. I loved my car.. did I say that already!? Anyway, that WAS the plan.. Then we found out we may have twins, so I started working on Superman for a small SUV.. something that would fit our larger family better than my Honda Accord. He drove our friends Highlander and agreed we needed something bigger than a sedan. Score one for me, right? Not so fast... Superman talked to his brother who suggested we look at Minivans because we can get one for practically nothing, with all the bells and whistles.. arrrrghhhh. So now, Superman is on a HUGE minivan kick. We even went to a dealership so I could test drive one.. Luckily, we were totally ignored by the salesmen. I understand that a mini is totally logical, responsible and practical for our quickly expanding family. I even agree it's the right thing to do. I do not, however, have to like it.