Checkin' in at 13 weeks and 5 days!

     A great improvement from last doctors visit, we got to see the ultrasound tech! And the doc, but yea, yea. We have pictures and we got to listen to the heartbeats, although it was a very brief listen. Also, despite what the nurse practitioner said last week about the pregnancy being just like a singleton and having twins is no different..... she was wrong. After talking to the ultrasound tech and doctor Lewis, they both informed me that we will be checking on their heartbeats every visit with an ultrasound since the doppler gets confusing with two heartbeats going on. :) Yay! 

     So we will see them again in about 4 weeks! Then almost 3 weeks after that, we will have our anatomy scan to check all their parts and maybe (hopefully) find out genders so I can start really getting stuff together! 

     They are looking good and healthy! Baby A was chilling on its belly, and baby B was on its back. They both wiggled around for us to see. Baby A's heartbeat was 142 and Baby B was 144.(just for fun, Lucy’s was 163 at 13 weeks) They are officially "too big" to get in the same camera shot, except for one picture we got of their heads, haha! I thought since they were growing we would get better pictures but these are still kind of hard to see. Another thing that I found very interesting is that they are not together- like one baby is on one side and the other on the opposite. With transferring the embryos in the same catheter, I assumed they would stick together to implant or at least be in the same area. Turns out, they each have an independent spirit and split up to implant. Looking forward to seeing that in their personalities! ;)
Our due date is August 2nd.... but that would be 40 weeks. 

     The ultrasound tech was awesome, and although the doctor was laaaaaate (we had the first or second appointment and instead of 8:15 she came in at 9- but polar vortex, right?) she was also great. We documented the itchiness and decline of nausea. We talked about making it to 38 weeks and that my kind of twins (fraternal) was the lowest risk of twins because they have their own placenta and nutritional source, and made a plan to stay healthy.  

   This ultrasound was another sigh of relief and we can rock and roll for a few more weeks before checking in on them again. 

    In the life of Lucy...she still has no idea, haha. Although she is too smart for her own little 2 year old self. She even asked me why I had a doctors appointment. She was content with the answer, "to get my belly checked." She's more concerned that the zoo is not open in the winter....she really wants to "walk through the beads and see the alligators. The bats are soon tute because they're so tiny. I want to feed the lorikeets water because they are thirsty. I only like the baby gorilla, not the big ones..." Deep breath child! 

     So she is busy making her own big summer plans and winning royal rumbles... and being a ridiculously cute toddler. She's basically an expert at stalling before bed- which is earlier than I anticipated. She can talk circles around needing milk, a different baby doll, no a different one, needa tell you somefing, kisses, hugs, stories, songs, blankets, no a different blanket, yada yada yada- until she's blue in the face. We've been using pictures of bedtime procedures since before the big girl bed and she was and is great with all that (thanks conscious discipline!) but the closing of her eyes and quieting her mouth have become our greatest challenge. Too much to say and too much to see! She's the definition of inquisitive toddler! All is well! 

Now I'm Normal?

    I could basically copy and paste my blog post from our first visit to the regular OBGYN with Lucy.....

Except, I knew what to expect this time and was even more disappointed. :( 

They took blood work, urine sample, asked the same questions several times. The nurse I had was unbelievable. You could tell she was the "mother" of the staff. Everyone reported the problems to her and she was able to direct the other ladies seamlessly to cover everything all while concentrating and being super attentive to me. She was awesome. I would love to have her help every time! 

So when I asked if they told her I was coming from the fertility specialist and expecting twins- I was shocked when she said there was no report. She even seemed surprised that no information was passed on. The only information they passed on was my appointment time. That made me feel so unimportant. I seriously called and explained all the details, let them know I was bringing paperwork, and even made kind of a big deal about having multiples- not a care was given. TAKE ME BACK TO DR. KRAUSE!!!

     So I got over it and carried on. I had a limited and quick conversation with the nurse practitioner, set up the first available ultrasound appointment (Next week!) and got done and out- although all that took over an hour. Part of that hour was spent in the waiting room (no big deal, waiting is part of the game) listening to a pair of mothers guess when their teens had sex by comparing the due date given by the doctor and where the teens were and when. So here I sit just being "normal." 

Some awesome-ness though, I went to yoga tonight. Before the transfer, I was hardcore working out every Tuesday and Thursday with a cool group of fit camp buddies. Since the transfer, I have been taking it SO easy. Like walking was the extent of my exercise. :) I missed that hour twice a week. Tonight was awesome. It was relaxing and so good to stretch and chill. 

More awesome news, I haven't thrown up since last Tuesday! Yay!!! I woke up last Wednesday and the nausea was barely there and it's only gotten better! Here I am listening to every sign and signal from my body, trying to focus on what my body is saying. I still have the itchiness- so theres a sign things are still moving and grooving. I almost miss the nausea because it was a sign that things were happening. Almost.  I still feel tired but I can get stuff done! The last few weeks I was just working on surviving. 

A huge THANK YOU for being part of my circle!!

All is Well

     

     For some reason, this appointment made me so nervous. I had no signs or signals to be, but it was really stressful to wait two weeks after seeing that everyone was okay to check in again. I was slightly losing it.... 
Here's the thing about infertility. Heck, it might be the same for every pregnant person- I don't know. So our first go round with IVF, we assumed everything was fine all the time. We got that positive result that we expected- even though we knew the stats and data on the fifty percent success rate. So after that it was hopeful, but pretty confident about the whole process and development. It was assumed every appointment would be easy and every update would be great. And then, we had this summer of disappointment and failure. That changed everything. We now had this first hand knowledge of loss and empty promises. It wasn't assumed everything would be successful this time. It was amazing, and a ridiculously over joyous moment when we found that happiness again. Now, we celebrate every happy moment! We don't assume it will always be perfect- even though, so far, so good! It's harder on the in between times- so much harder. It also makes each check up a gigantic sigh of relief. 

Baby A

Upside down Baby B

     The great news is, everything and everyone is great! We were able to see heartbeats and sweet wiggly babes. Baby A is great at waving and Baby B is great at fist pumping, river dancing and front flips. We happened to be checking on Baby B while I was laughing and that certainly stirred things up. 
     Another super exciting development, I am done with progesterone shots!!!!!! I am also finished wearing the estrogen patches!!!! I am on my last pack of progesterone suppositories too- so almost done!!!! 

 In not so exciting news... I am still throwing up occasionally, itch like crazy most of the time and I am soooooo tired. So. Tired. 
Here we are at 11 weeks though! We graduated from our dear Dr. Krause at the IVF specialists. Usually IVF patients stay until 10 weeks but our timeline worked out that we got to see her 10 weeks 6 days. That was reassuring for me. We are scheduled for our "meet and greet" at the regular OB-GYN in two weeks. There won't be any exciting news though. This is the appointment when they start treating you like any other pregnant person, lol. We don't even get an ultrasound! How rude, right? :) So all my favorite people were at Fertility and Endocrine to see us off- if you ever know anyone that is looking for a place to go- let them know that Maddie, Karen, Donna, Julie, Cassie and Dr. Krause are like family and will make sure to take care of them. 
Also, Lucy still knows nothing about this adventure except 'sometimes mommy's tummy feels yucky.'