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I'm silently saying to myself - 'just remember there's twins in there, just remember there's twins in there'.[/caption]Doctor's Appointment Update: This week we had our twenty week ultrasound and our first official visit to the high risk clinic. The babies look great - everything is measuring where it is supposed to; they are between 6-7 inches long and weight 13 oz. each. It took about an hour to complete the scan since they were doing a lot of anatomy measurements, so I pretty much got to stare at the babies for that entire time...not a bad way to spend an hour. Baby A, as always, is a show-off and gave us many good photo opportunities. I realize these photos are probably only interesting to Nick and I and the grandparents, but you'll just have to deal with it. :)
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Profile shot of Baby A (boy)[/caption][caption id="attachment_277" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Baby A's face (boy)[/caption]And, more importantly, we finally got to see Baby B's face! The ultrasound tech had to work some miracles, but she turned just long enough for us to capture a few images.
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Baby B profile (girl)[/caption][caption id="attachment_280" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Baby B's face! She has one! Yay! Also, note her brother photo-bombing the pic with his butt in her face.[/caption]Everything looks great on my end as well. Blood pressure is good; they are no longer concerned about the cervix shortening. We also found out that Baby A's placenta has moved off my cervix so that is no longer a concern, as well. They didn't have the results from my glucose screen back, so I'm not sure about that yet. Regardless, though, I will get tested again at 26-28 weeks. I was told I am a very uninteresting high-risk case and that's the way they want it.
The nurses kept telling us that this would be our first official visit to the high risk clinic and I sort of nodded my head and smiled as if I understood what they were talking about. I didn't really understand what that meant as it's not as if I am physically going to a different location than I have been. I've been seeing the doctors that work in the clinic throughout our pregnancy, so I didn't get the 'clinic' concept. I finally understood what they meant yesterday, though. The clinic is just a fancy way of saying this...first, the nurse comes and gets you and takes all your vitals, weighs you, etc. Then, a resident comes and talks to you about how things are going, whether or not you have any concerns, answers questions, etc. Then, the resident goes and presents your case to the attending. The attending then comes and checks in with you as well. I've never really been in a teaching hospital environment, so I found all of this sort of charming and Grey's Anatomy-esque. I'm weird - I know.
I absolutely adore the nursing staff at this practice...they are always so sweet to us and I'm pretty sure I am a favorite patient as multiple nurses always come in to see me and tell me how great I look, that I'm glowing, etc., etc. However, I may have taken what I perceived as favoritism of me a bit far...I happened to notice that my charts had happy faces stamped all over them. Of course, I - in my utter ridiculousness, assumed that this was some type of ranking system for patients and CLEARLY, the happy face meant I was an awesome patient. I was preening over this and mentioned something about it to the front desk attendant. She quickly assured me this had nothing to do with my awesome-ness and was just a signal that they would not be converting my records electronically as part of a new system. :::Balloon Deflates:::
Because everything looks so good, I don't have to go back for another four weeks. This will be the longest stretch we've had without a doctor visit and ultrasound, but I'm so grateful that it is because we are healthy all around! I don't know what I'll do with all my free time...maybe get off of Pinterest and actually start working on the nursery. :)
Size of Babies: Bananas...this makes no sense. Last week we were small cantaloupes and this week...bananas? I did learn that Baby A is head down and closest to the cervix while Baby B is transverse.
What I'm Doing: Honestly?! I am still laughing at the picture of Baby A sticking his butt in Baby B's face.
Cravings: I really should just take this portion of the weekly updates out. I don't have any cravings really.
Sleep: Let's not talk about it it...not great.
Sex of Babies: Still a boy and a girl! I have to admit, I was very suspicious/nervous that the doctor was going to tell us something different at this week's appointment. It's part of the reason I've been downplaying the genders a bit since we found out, because honestly, I was scared that it would somehow get changed. Not that it would be the worst thing in the world because healthy babies are healthy babies, but one of each is just too gloriously perfect. I'm glad to know fairly definitively...we still have a son and a daughter on the way. Now that I feel more comfortable, I'm ready to start really tackling the nursery. Just because we're having a boy and a girl does not mean we're going gender-neutral. We are going full on PINK AND BLUE!
Symptoms: My back hurts right between my shoulder blades almost constantly; I have to put heat on it quite a bit to get to sleep. I finally made an appointment with the chiropractor so hopefully they can help me out. Other than that, I feel pretty great! Maybe a little more tired since my sleep isn't great.
Fetal Movement: Lots of movement, which I got to see on the ultrasound screen. They are moving near constantly. I saw Baby A drinking and Baby B doing a lot of arm waving.
What I'm Looking Forward To Next Week: Lots of fun plans with friends this weekend and a baby shower for my dear friend Ali who will be having a baby boy by the end of September - so exciting! Looking forward to play dates with her and my other soon to be mom friends. Also, I am super excited that my parents are taking a two-week trip to Ireland...not so much because I want them to be gone, but because they definitely deserve a break and a great trip! Drink some beer for me!
Best Moment of the Week: I would say this is sort of the best and worst moment of the week - but, registering. Best, because OMG, the cuteness plus Nick was having the time of his life scanning things. Worst, because gah...so much STUFF. I am convinced the plastics industry is in cahoots with the baby product manufacturers. How can something so small need so much...stuff??? Overall, though, it was so much fun and another one of those milestone moments that you think about a lot when you are going through IVF.
Special Thanks To: All of the great friends and family who have offered to let us borrow baby 'stuff' but especially my friend Ashley who has really gone above and beyond and is letting us borrow several big-ticket items that collectively are saving us hundreds of dollars. You are the bestest, my friend. Also, special thanks to my friends who reviewed our registry and told me what we could live without (Nick's whirpool baby tub) and what we absolutely needed to add.
What I Want The Babies To Know This Week: Guys, your mom sometimes has a habit of trying to be the BEST at EVERYTHING. She's not, obviously. (I mean, MOST things she is the best at...but not all. Like, she is not very good at mowing the lawn). I realize that this is something I'm going to have to let go of with motherhood. Luckily, your father is pretty good at calming me down and making me be more present. However, I just want it noted for the record that I'm trying...and it is already starting. So...cloth diapering. I really, really, really want to do it. A lot. For a variety of reasons - the savings, the environment, the holy crap adorableness of cloth diapers. But I know, deep down, this is something I have to let go of. I'm sure other twin mommas out there do it just fine, but I am going to have to let go of this because I know I will drive myself crazy. And I am bound to be really crazy when you all actually get here, so please mark this day down...the day your mom decided to forego cloth diapers for sanity. You're welcome. :)
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