Thanksgiving Visit

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Nathan's family on Wednesday, then on Thursday I went up to OK to visit with LD and her family (Nathan was working).  I got to meet pretty much the WHOLE family (uncles... aunts... cousins... the works!).  It was cool.  I stayed Thursday and Friday nights, then came home on Saturday.

Thursday night was cute.  LD's kids and I had a "slumber party" in the living room.  We were snuggled in to watch Wall-E and I think I fell asleep about 10 minutes in. ;-)  I woke up and saw we were back on the main menu and asked "Why are you starting it over?"  To which K answered "It's over."  And then David comes out and tells the kids "Stop talking in there!  As soon as the movie is over, you need to go to sleep!"  I told him "It's my fault.  I asked a question."  He laughed and said "Well, you go to sleep too!" ;-)

Friday the kids left for their dad's and LD and I had the afternoon to ourselves.  We went maternity clothes shopping! LOL.  I've never done that before.  She looked so cute!  I know she's annoyed that she already has a belly, but I have to say it's absolutely adorable. :-)  We also went to a movie with her best friend, then came home and hung out with David.  It was a good day. :-)

I was sad to go, and apparently so was my car.  It decided to flash a warning light at us as we were heading to lunch (I was planning to leave after lunch).  We read in the owner's manual that it meant I needed antifreeze.  So we headed to Auto Zone (after we went in LD's mom's car to lunch).  Unfortunately, the guy helping us didn't know what kind of antifreeze to recommend and asked for the manual.  So we went back to the house and picked up my car and took it back to Auto Zone (and the light did not turn on this time).  The guy looked through the manual and after much head scratching decided to call someone.  He came back from the phone and said that my car apparently requires a type of antifreeze that is only sold by VW service centers.  Great!  So he looked in the phone book and the only one was on the north side of OKC (about 30 minutes in the opposite direction of where I needed to go).  LD and I went back to the house and looked online to see if there was anything in the other direction.  There wasn't.  So we made the road trip up to the VW dealership in OKC.  No lights came on once again, but I didn't want to risk driving 3 hours and possibly overheating.  We arrived at the dealership at 2:15.  Apparently on Saturdays they close at 2:00!  I was about ready to cry.  One of the sales people said I could put water in "for now" and it would be fine.  I prayed she was right...

We went back to LD's house (still no warning light) and waited for the engine to cool off so we could add water.  Around 3:30 I was able to add water and head home.  I had no problems whatsoever along the way.  I have NO idea what the deal was.  Guess I'll be taking my car by the VW dealership tomorrow after my doctor's appointment.

So tomorrow it's back to the grind.  :-P  I don't wanna go!  Especially since I've got Book Fair this week and I'm going to be exhausted!

Little gummy bears

Well yesterday was wonderful. It was great getting to see Niki, Nathan, and his family...and of course the babies! I haven't quite relaxed yet, so I was a bit nervous before the ultrasound; but seeing the little ones quickly reassured me. It was so cute watching one of them move all around while his/her sibling slept. I'm very excited to see how much they grow between now and our next u/s! Anyway, here are the pics of Niki's and Nathan's babies! Aren't they cute?!?

8 weeks, 5 days

Dr. Appointment 11/25

The whole gang (Nathan, his mom, sister, brother, and I) all headed up to OK yesterday around 10:30ish.  We stopped around 1:00 to grab a quick bite at McDonald's and then we drove the remaining 15 minutes (I was going nuts being so close!).  We arrived just in time.  I hopped out of the car and delivered the goodies (Ben & Jerry's ice cream) before we got back in the car and went to Dr. K's office.  We got to the office right on time (whew!).

We thought this was going to be a general OB work up, with the added bonus of an u/s, but we were apparently mistaken.  All we got was the u/s (there's no way we would have left without one! ;-) ).  But that was enough to put smiles on all our faces.

We were all crammed into the little (and warm!) u/s room waiting for Dr. K to come in.  When he opened the door I think he was a little surprised at the number of people in the room...  Kinda like a clown car!  We introduced ourselves (how cool that we got to say we were Mom, Dad, Grandmother, Aunt, and uncle!!!) and then he got started.

Up popped our little gummy bears!  Two perfect little babies. :-)  One was wiggling its little head while the other was taking a nap.  I told LD "I knew they'd be on different sleep schedules!"  She said she'd try and work on that before she evicts them. ;-)

I haven't scanned the u/s pics into the computer yet (but LD has them on her computer).  If she doesn't do it first, I'll try to get it done later today.  They're starting to be recognizable as little people! :-D

Tomorrow I get to go back up to see LD and her family!  I can't wait.  :-D  I miss them already!

Would you like some whine with that?

I woke up spotting again on Saturday. Luckily, it was gone by that evening. I know it's common and all, but it sure startles me. I'm feeling more pregnant than ever and I whine all the time (David will confirm this...lol); yet I can't help but worry if everything is OK in there. I can't wait until I can pick the babies' heartbeats up with my doppler and feel the babies move, so I have that extra reassurance. Luckily, we have an OB appointment tomorrow and we'll take a peek at these little ones. I can't wait to see them and I'm very excited to see Niki, Nathan, and his family too!

I get to stop injections on December 4th. Eleven more shots, but who's counting? :)

I'm thinking/hoping/praying that the second trimester will be much more enjoyable. Second trimester starts Christmas Day! Merry Christmas to me?! :)

Making Milk

Yesterday I went to my GP to see if he could do something for this stinkin' cold I've got.  Sadly, there's not much he can do, since it appears to be viral.

But while I was there I talked to him about my desire to induce lactation for the twins.  He didn't know anything about it (other than it was possible), which I'd anticipated, so I showed him the book I have on the subject.  Well, the whole book is just about nursing in general, but there's a section on inducing lactation.  He glanced through the pages, then said he would make copies and have his "research assistant" (his wife, who is also a doctor) look into it.  He went ahead and gave me a prescription for the BCP, though, since I need to be on them anyway and he figured there was no point in starting me on one thing and then switching me next month when I start the protocol.

So I'm on my way to making my body ready to nourish those babies!  I'm excited that I may be able to provide for them in this way, even though I couldn't provide the shelter and nourishment they need for this first 9 months.  But this will be the next best thing!

Getting bigger by the day

So I'm standing in the kitchen today, helping Kyrsten with her science fair project. She looks at me and says, "Mom, no offense, but you're tummy has gotten a LOT bigger in the past couple days." She then proceeds to pat my tummy and ask if I can feel the babies move yet. Kids!

However, she's not the only one. At clinicals last week, a patient was saying he wanted a pizza and a beer. Then he said he knew he couldn't have a beer and he'd give it to me, but I apparently can't have it either. He then pats his own belly and said he's as big as me, but there's no baby in his. Humph. Probably all that beer.

Don't get me wrong...I *love* having a baby belly. It would just be nice if I was far enough along to be showing...lol. My jeans no longer fit and my yoga pants are on their way out too.

Only a few more days until I see Niki, Nathan, and their babies again!!!! And I, too, am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Niki!!!! :)

God's trickery?

I think God knows how anxious I'd get waiting without distractions, so He's supplying them in abundance!  

The day after LD started spotting, I landed myself back in the hospital.  It appeared that my skin was having some kind of reaction to the dermabond used to seal me up after surgery.  But my doc was worried it could turn into an infection and wanted me to be in the hospital and on IV antibiotics.  Which turned out to be a pretty good idea, considering we also found out that the lead they fixed wasn't going to cut it.  So we're now looking at having yet another surgery.  But not until after I finish the 3 weeks of IV antibiotics in my lovely PICC line.

All of this to say, I've been distracted big time from the waiting and believe it or not, we're SO close to our next appointment!  We will be going up to OK to see LD and the babies on Tuesday, Nov. 25th.  We'll come back same day, since we'll be having our Thanksgiving meal with Nathan's family on Wednesday.  But then I get to go back up and spend Thanksgiving with LD and her family!!!! :-D :-D  I'm SOO excited.  Next week is going to be FABULOUS and it's almost snuck up on me because of all the distractions last week.

NOW I get to be distracted by my upcoming visit with LD and family to keep me from thinking about the next surgery!  See, God's lookin' out for me! ;-)

7 weeks and causing trouble already...

Well there was a slight startle Wednesday night. I started spotting. Yesterday, it had faded to brown, but I went to the dr anyway after clinicals and all is well. Both babies were doing great with healthy heartbeats. He reminded me that spotting is very common with IVF pregnancies and even more common with twins. While I knew that, it's still scary to see. The spotting was completely gone by last night *knock on wood*, so I'm a bit more relaxed now. Ugh. I hope it doesn't come back! Anyway, Dr. K said he'll be seeing us every 2 weeks until we're 12 weeks at least. He also said we can have an u/s anytime we ask, so that's very comforting.

Here are the most recent pics of the babies. They don't look much different than last week, but they have gotten bigger!

Poor LD. :-(

I can sympathize a little with LD.  Yesterday I threw up 3 times and I've been continuously nauseous since surgery.  I finally got some food to stay down for breakfast this morning, but I still don't feel great. :-(

I am feeling better than yesterday, but I think I'm due for a nap.  I've been up since 6:00, when they took me down for an x-ray, and I'm feeling groggy.  Hopefully when I wake up I'll feel better.

Yesterday I got to share the news of our impending parenthood with tons of people here at the hospital.  Nearly everyone in the OR working on me had met me in September, so I felt the need to share.  They were all super excited for us.  And when I told Dr. D that we were having twins he called us overachievers. ;-)  At least I have something positive to think about while I feel like crud.

LD, I hope today is better for you!  Love you, girl!

Blah.

Today's been rough. I woke up really queasy, ate some breakfast, got a little queasy, ate some crackers, got a little queasy, took a nap, woke up really queasy, ate a small lunch, got a little queasy, at a small snack, got a little queasy, ate a good dinner, got a little queasy, and I'm about to eat another small snack. See the pattern? LOL Good thing I didn't work or have class today, as I would've been totally unprepared. I was thinking it's a good thing I'm not vomiting at least, yet I think I'd feel a lot better if I did. Let's hope tomorrow is better! :-P

Seeing double!

Friday was a very wonderful experience. Despite waiting in the waiting room for so long with my stomach growling, the ultrasound ended up being worth it. I was laying on the table, staring at the screen, when the dr began. I heard Niki "gasp" when she saw the first flicker of a heartbeat. Soon, we saw the flicker of the second heartbeat. I could hear Niki and Nathan react, but I was afraid to look at them. I had a feeling I'd be in tears if I did. Once the ultrasound was complete, I sat up and sure enough, they both had happy tears in their eyes. What a great feeling that was! I was able to hide the tears until Nathan called his mom. I could hear the excitement and her happy tears in her voice. It was then I could no longer control mine. I feel so blessed to be carrying the children and grandchildren of such wonderful people. There's not one doubt in my mind that these babies are going to be loved and oh so spoiled!


Here's Thing 2 (top) and Thing 1 (bottom).


And here they are again with their heartrates underneath. Thing 1 is on top and Thing 2 is on bottom. Although Thing 2's heart rate faded, it was just because of the position he/she is in and the dr had a hard time getting it. Heartrates were 110 and 111.

goodbye r2-d2...

As a little boy in the 80s, I grew up with robots. R2-D2, Optimus Prime, Johnny 5, KITT, and a wealth of others helped spark my imagination throughout my formative years. While I may have been less than enthused when I beheld a robot in the first ultrasound photo, the promise of a little robot of my very own has definitely grown on me.

Today, staring at the gigantic flat-screen TV at the OB's office, my newfound dreams of robot baby were thoroughly crushed as what had once held the promise of two robotic eyes had decidedly engorged into two distinctly embryonic sacs. Peering into the first, a small blip within an oblong shape flickered binarilly between bright and dark. Niki and I were not looking at a robot. We were beholding the heartbeat of a flesh-and-blood child. Our child. It was truly one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. A beating heart in a tiny us only 0.52 cm long... With a matching flicker in the sac next door! We've got two healthy hearts beating within LaDonna's belly!

Honestly, I don't think I can ever thank LaDonna enough for giving us this opportunity. I've heard people talk about seeing their children's ultrasounds. While it's always sounded "neat" the concept has never really hit home. I can now vouch that the whole process is awesome. With a very literal emphasis on "awe." My mind is still reeling from it.

It's even more awesome than having my own robot.

Finally!

After the slowest week ever, the day is FINALLY here!  Today Nathan and I will get to see our little ones on an ultrasound for the very first time.  I have so many emotions swirling around inside me right now.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  Nervous because I'm hoping we will see two heart beats today.  Not zero, not one, and not three (or more).  Two.  Two heart beats will be a perfect blessing today.  

Twice as much fun!

I haven't personally updated in a while. Guess I'm still trying to let the fact it's twins sink in. Twins? Where? Who? Me? Wow.

Things seem to be progressing well so far though. I'm tired all the time. I have strong cravings, indigestion, and constipation. And don't expect me to remember anything you told me 5 minutes ago. I have a major case of "preggo brain". So things seem to be going well, wouldn't you say?

I'm very anxious for the ultrasound Friday, not only because we get to see the babies, but because I'll get to see Niki and Nathan! Only 3 more days!

OK, time to go...we need a nap now...