Class & Baby Movements (24 weeks 4 days)

The breastfeeding class last night at the hospital was a good one, but it is still freaking me out. I don’t know if I’ll be able to feed both of the babies at the same time though it would be nice if I could. I think both the hospital one and the UW one are pretty good. The hospital one they gave us dolls to pretend we were feeding our babies – so, of course, she gave us two. It was a bit strange as everyone else has just one. They did all saw “awww” when they heard that we are having twins. Then we watched a video of multiple women feeding their babies. I’m going to try my best to breastfeed our babies.

So last night I did end up feeling one of the babies move around – I’m pretty sure it was the girl. I coughed and I think that startled her as she started to move around quite a bit. I thanked her for the reassurance that gave me. Our baby boy might have moved a little last night too. :-D

One thing that bugged me a bit last night was that I had this constant pain under the top part of my ribs that would bug me each time I lifted up my left arm which I do a bit lately to steady myself when I get out of bed. With the soreness in my inner thigh, it makes the first few steps a little wobbly. And for the past couple days, I am finding it difficult to lift up my leg which causes a bit of a problem when drying my leg after getting out of the shower or when trying to put on some pants. I’ve pretty much given up on putting on my own socks – I need some help with that one. I’m hoping when my PT appointment comes around, she is able to help me with my walking and leg lifting issues as well as my back and hips.

Tomorrow is the first of many baby showers I’m going to. Then in the afternoon tomorrow, Jon’s parents are coming up to visit with us. On Sunday, Jon and I are going to the Infant CPR class given by the hospital, then after that, we’re meeting up with some friends to play some games on their Wii. Before the class, vanpool girl is coming over to bring a swing that her son doesn’t use anymore. That’s pretty much our weekend. At some point this weekend, I need to find some kitty food that isn’t a part of the recall or pretty much anything that isn’t manufactured by Menu Foods. My kitties are expecting their wet food for dinner and I don’t feel comfortable giving it to them even if their food wasn’t part of the original recall.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

Anxious & Update (24 weeks 3 days)

I’m a little anxious and concerned today. I haven’t felt the babies move in a while and it is making me anxious. I’m sure they are o.k., but their movements give me some reassurance that everything is truly o.k. so when they don’t move, I start to freak out. My next ultrasound and OB appointment wasn’t supposed to be until April 18, but the OB had to reschedule so now I’m seeing her a day early. I couldn’t get the ultrasound on the same day as she likes so I’m seeing the ultrasound people the day before on the 16th. At least, I get to see them 2 days earlier than expected. I don’t know if I can wait that long though.

Because of the above, I’m finding it hard to concentrate on my work though I still have lots to do. It would be helpful though if people responded to my phone calls and e-mails.

Oh, the Zantac seemed to have worked better last night. I took one before going to bed as that’s when it usually happens and I didn’t wake up to heartburn as usual. So yay! I’m still getting up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom though. Another thing that I’ve forgotten to mention is that my inner thighs are sore – not sure why – I thought maybe it was the pillow between my legs but I took that away and they’re still hurting. Makes it difficult to walk for a little while right after getting up from laying or sitting.

Tonight will be another busy night – Jon and I are going to a breastfeeding class through our hospital. It will be interesting to compare it to the UW one with multiples.

To answer Jaimie’s question from one of my last posts, my parents are doing better. My dad is back to working (though not at his old job as that involved a lot of standing). He lost quite a bit of weight since he’s been out of the hospital, which is good, but at one point the medication they had him was working too well in getting out fluids so he was cramping in his legs – they took him off that medication, I believe. My mom is also doing well – though her kidney doctor was a bit of an ass to her, I think. Just total lack of bedside manner and any tact.

Well, that’s about it for now. Just trying to get through this workday – hopefully, the afternoon goes by quickly!

23 weeks 4 days - baby girl

23 weeks 5 days - baby girl
Originally uploaded by heathercim.

Latest ultrasound picture of our baby girl...

23weeks 4 days - baby boy

23weeks 5 days - baby boy
Originally uploaded by heathercim.

Latest ultrasound picture of our baby boy...

Insert Title Here (24 weeks 2 days)

I just want to clarify something from a post I made yesterday – the month of baby showers are not all for me. This weekend is a support group friend’s shower. Then next weekend is the one my mom is throwing for me in Spokane. The week after is another support group friend’s shower. Two weeks after that is my Seattle one. And finally, the week after is another support groups friend’s shower. I may be having one at work too, but I have no idea when that will be.

Thanks for the comments on my photo posts – I’m getting used to the hair – it is nice to have it this short when it is time to clean my hair. And, of course, the belly. It is getting bigger (and with that comes an increasing inability to get myself out of bed – I think my husband helped me out a couple times last night when I got up especially after my latest Charlie horse this morning).

A couple people learned today that I’m having twins and one woman looked at me as if she was scared of what I will be going through. I realize it is going to be a lot of work, but I don’t know. I guess I just don’t like those reactions.

One thing that seems to be getting worse is the heartburn. My doctor told me to try Zantac instead of Tums (because I’ve had kidney stone issues in the past and Tums is full of calcium) but the Tums seems to work a whole lot better and faster. Zantac just upset my tummy and made me feel nauseous.

Quick question – I’ve been thinking we need to look into finding a doctor for our babies – out of curiosity, what are people’s feelings on the subject of using a family practice doctor versus a pediatrician? I was thinking of using the family doctor I used to go to (and one of my support group friends is a family practice doctor).

Well, that’s all for today. Work is busy. Tonight will be busy as Jon and I go to a car seat safety & installation class at our hospital. This is one thing that the multiples classes didn’t really talk about except briefly and even then, I think it was only because the teacher was handing out a piece of paper on the subject.

23weeks6days

23weeks6days
Originally uploaded by heathercim.

I wanted to share this one too - Oliver is giving me the love. Aww!

I also uploaded the past couple weeks worth of pictures - just go to my flickr page to see them!

23 w 6 d

23 w 6 d
Originally uploaded by heathercim.

Here's me with my new do and Oliver, as usual, looking on. Look at that belly!

Busy...(24 weeks 1 day)

Busy times here at work, but I wanted to take a moment to blog before my lunch break is over.

Things are going well with me – we’ve made it to 24 weeks, which I’ve read is the point of which babies are considered viable. So yay! Hopefully though, it will be another 12-13 weeks before these babies make their appearance outside the womb.

I’m feeling the babies move from time to time – usually when I’m laying down and relaxing, but this morning I felt them move while sitting here at my desk. It felt like a wave of movement – such a weird and wonderful feeling.

I made an appointment with a physical therapist, but the earliest I could get in is April 13th – Friday the 13th! They had an appointment on the 5th, but I’ve already made plans to meet some college friends for dinner and since it took us forever to get a date set, I didn’t want to have to reschedule with them – it might have been impossible.

This past weekend was a bit busy though not too much. I finally got around to getting a haircut. People at work say it looks cute, but I don’t know. It’s just nice to have it shorter (a lot shorter it feels like – it almost makes me feel like I got a “mom haircut”). I wish we had done our weekly belly shot on Saturday after my appointment when it was looking really cute, but we waited until Sunday. I will try to upload those pictures tonight (as well as those from the past few weeks) so you can see the new do and the growing belly. It’s funny how people are saying I look “so round”.

After the haircut, I went back home to clean our place as Jon invited over his classmates for a BBQ but since it was rainy, we decided to get pizza instead. Although…one of the guys brought some veggies to grill so Jon started up the BBQ and attempted to burn down our deck in the process. Luckily, he didn’t succeed.

Then on Sunday, I met with a couple fellow bloggers for some lunch – it was really nice to see them! I can’t wait for our next meeting!

These next few weekends are going to be quite busy though since I’m about to start on the month of baby showers or Jon and I will be busy going to classes at our hospital. After I came back home, Jon and I put together one of the cribs. Hopefully, the other one will be put together this weekend but we’ll see – I need more hours in the day and days in the week.

Well, I should end here and start working again!

23 weeks & 4 days - U/S & OB Appointment

The ultrasound went very well this morning - both babies are bigger than what they should be at 23 weeks & 4 days - our baby girl is weighing at 1 pound 9 ounces and our baby boy is at 1 pound 11 ounces. I can't remember the percentiles, but it was somewhere around 89 and 93 respectively (I'm pretty sure on the last one but not the first one). I guess the marginal cord insertion isn't hurting our baby girl...and hopefully, that continues. Next ultrasound will probably be on the same day as our next OB appointment which is on April 18, I believe. I still need to make the u/s appointment though.

Last time we had an ultrasound, our baby girl was laying head down on the right hand side of my belly while our baby boy was laying transverse with his head on the left hand side of my belly. Well, I guess our baby boy is finding that positions quite comfy because he hasn't moved while our baby girl decided to move into a breech position. I think all that movement I felt the other day from her might have been her getting into this new position though I wonder if it is a nice one as I can only imagine her brother might be hitting her head with his feet.

One thing I found kinda funny was that I was so super excited for this appointment but when she was measuring the cervix and the ovaries and such, all I wanted to do was fall asleep. I just wanted her to get to the excited part of the ultrasound! The ultrasound room is nice and dark so it would have been very easy for me to sleep there...but I didn't.

That's about if for the ultrasound appointment. A couple hours after the ultrasound appointment, we went to my OB appointment. The OB was pleased with the size of the babies - she actually seemed quite surprised at their size. She said that my belly is measuring to what a 30 week pregnant woman would look like with a singleton. She gave me the prescription to go to physical therapy. She told me last time to not take Tums because of my history and my family's history with kidney stones, but I (well, Jon actually tattled on me) told her I couldn't resist them - the heartburn is just too painful at times and it doesn't seem to matter when or what I eat. So she recommended that I take Zantac so I need to go pick up some of that and see if that helps. She said it will only get worse and if this doesn't help then she can prescribe some medication for this.

I also asked her about when I should consider slowing down at work and she said that maybe in 4-6 weeks, depending on how things look, I might go down to 30 weeks and then a little while after that (at 34-36 weeks, I think) I might want to stop working altogether. I mentioned this to my boss and I guess she was thinking of getting a temp into our office sometime in May (possibly the same guy that temped with us last summer that went through infertility and now is adopting a child from China), so it might work out just fine. Of course, when I got into work today, I learned that my duties are going to increase for a while to help out another coworker. I barely have the energy for the work I am doing, but I am going to try to do what I can.

Next time is when I have to do the glucose test by drinking that lovely juice. I hope I pass. :-D

One last thing, Jon and I went to the newborn care class at our hospital and I have to say that I liked this newborn class better than the multiples ones at UW. We actually got to practice on baby dolls - which may sound corny - but I appreciated it b/c then I could figure out swaddling since I've never done that before. The UW class was still good though!!!

Owww!

One of the babies (our baby girl) was pressing against something earlier today - it really hurt! It hurt more when I was standing or walking so I sat down, but a while later, our baby boy decided to join in on the pressing so it hurt on both sides! Sometimes it feels like he is grabbing a hold of a rib or something! Curious what those two are doing in there!

Anyway, I felt like I should write that down so I can fully document the pregnancy.

Classes & More

Last night’s pregnancy exercise class was alright – it was nice to learn some exercises that I can actually do right now. One thing though – getting down to a mat and especially, back up from a mat – not exactly easy for me these days. I probably should do some of the exercises now while sitting at my desk especially since my back is really hurting right now, as are my hips. During last night’s class, we were talking about twins and twins running in the family, etc. when I mentioned that we did IVF and how our beta numbers were high so were thinking there was a good possibility it was twins so we weren’t entirely shocked when we heard the news. One of the ladies there then asked what a beta was. It’s interesting how I thought that this was a common term in the world of pregnancy, but maybe only those who have gone through infertility know this term?

Another thing that was mentioned last night was the possibility of swimming or some type of water exercise to help with pregnancy discomfort. I may need to look into this.

Anyway, our next ultrasound is getting even closer – yay! Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.! Then at 11 a.m., we meet with the OB. Then our plan is to meet some of Jon’s coworkers for a birthday lunch they are having for one of the ladies there, so I’ll be getting into work quite late tomorrow. Unfortunately, I really do need to come into work so I can’t just take the day off.

Tonight, Jon and I are going to a class involving newborn care. Although I had already done this class through UW that specifically dealt with multiples, my husband didn’t get to go, so we are still going to tonight’s class (as well as others offered through the club membership through our hospital). It will be interesting to do a comparison between the two classes.

That’s all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Variety of Topics (23 weeks 2 days)

I was just reading another blog and it got me thinking about my grandmother’s twin pregnancy with my aunt & uncle. My aunt and uncle are 43 years old now. My grandmother is a small woman – she’s maybe 5 feet tall – maybe. I’m 5’4”. I wonder how she did it too when this was her last pregnancy and she had other kids at home. My grandparents had 5 other kids before the twins came. My uncle, the youngest at the time, was around 2; my mom, being right in the middle, was 10; and my eldest aunt was probably 17 or 18 at the time – maybe my mom can confirm this for me. How did she do it? I only have my furbabies to take care of and well, they’re kitties so they take care of themselves pretty well. I can’t imagine taking care of other children while I was pregnant with twins.

Another thing that I’ve been thinking about is something that came up last night with my husband – would we want to do IVF again to have another child once the twins are a bit older? And the answer I have right now is no. Even if we had the money, I’m not sure if I could do it again. I realize that many women have done IVF several times and I only did it once, but once was plenty. As a person who hates needles, it was a lot to do IVF that one time. I was a brave woman, I think, to take on all those shots and even more, to do some of the shots myself! If we were to have any other kids, I think it would have to happen without the help of the medical world – it would have to be a miracle conception.


Right now, just sitting her at my desk on my lunch break, I am having trouble catching my breath. I don’t really like this feeling – it feels like I just went on a good long run. I am very much feeling myself slow down. I’m just not able to do some things like I used to. Walking around Greenlake would be impossible for me right now without many rest stops. And last night, it took me close to an hour and a half to get home and by that time, my hips and back were just killing me! The last thing I wanted to do was clean and I really needed to do that. At least tonight is my exercise class with the PT that we will actually do some exercises so I’m hoping that will help some.

On to some news that I love - last night, our baby girl was moving around so much. At one point, it really felt like she was trying to fight her way out of her current home. And at another point, I think I felt her move what could have been her legs and her arms as I felt it in two different spots.

And our baby boy had hiccups early this morning – poor little guy -though it is nice to feel them in anyway I can get it. Have I mentioned that I love feeling them move?

I had a good dream last night too – I dreamt that I was standing in front of some sort of machine that sorta looked like an ATM but was some kind of ultrasound machine and I was able to see our baby boy’s face so clearly and he had his eyes open and smiling. What a cutie! I didn’t see our baby girl though – maybe because I woke up before that could happen. I appreciate good dreams.

Babies & Dentist (23 weeks 1 day)

I received an e-mail last night from a support group friend who announced she gave birth to a baby boy last week. She is, so far, the only one who decided to keep the sex of her baby/babies a surprise. So exciting!! Her due date was the same as another friend of mine (tomorrow) – but I haven’t heard from them yet!

I received another baby shower invitation in the mail yesterday. This one is for another support group friend – she is having twin girls. The invitation is so cute! If I ever host a baby shower, I have some good ideas for invitations from the past two I’ve received!

My husband and I went to the dentist this morning and we told them we were having twins. Of course, everyone had to ask if twins run in my family and I answered truthfully that I do have fraternal twins in my family but we did IVF. The lady that was my hygienist today said that she has a friend who is having her retrieval this Thursday – it does seem that everyone knows someone going through infertility. Everyone there was very excited for us. It’s things like this that make it hard for me to go elsewhere even though I no longer work downtown or go to school at UW or SU, so it really isn’t that convenient for me anymore (though it is for my husband).

Because of my pregnancy and the timing of when the next 4 month appointment would be, I don’t have my next appointment until October. Yay! 7 months without the torture from the dentist! Though when I do go back, it probably isn’t going to be a fun cleaning (though it never really is).

When I got into work this morning, I had to park so far away that I was very tempted to park in ‘guest parking’, but I was a good girl and I didn’t. However, I must have looked uncomfortable walking from BFE to my building as one of the security guys saw me in their little cart truck thing and asked me if I needed a ride. I took him up on it. Normally, they have a little shuttle, but I guess it stops running after 10 or something.

Just Another Manic Monday

I can't get that song out of my head! It's a good song, but after it's been replaying in your head numerous times, it gets a little annoying and my husband has my iPod today! Anyway...

I was supposed to go to a dentist appointment today to be tortured (I mean to have my teeth cleaned), but since there is a war protest going on downtown at the time that my appointment would be, my dentist office called to say they were closing their office down and rescheduled my appointment for tomorrow morning at the same time that my husband has his. I won’t be seeing my favorite hygienist because Jon will, but that’s o.k. It is kind of annoying that I drove into work today instead of taking the vanpool because of the appointment. Now I’ll be driving in all 5 days this week (so much gas guzzling).

This weekend was one of emotional breakdowns – mostly over nothing in particular – sometimes over a sense of feeling of overwhelmed and feeling alone. I did have a friend talk to me about this yesterday, which was nice as I needed to let it out. I am very much looking forward to my husband being done with classes (tomorrow night is his last final). I don’t know how women do it that are single or their husbands are away a lot or have other children to take care of. Last night, I got upset because Oliver (one of my furbabies) was getting upset when I wouldn’t let him jump up somewhere he felt he had to go to and then he hissed at me! It just made me start thinking of how he might react when the babies come. UGH! I’m sure a lot of this is just hormones, but I do have a fear as to how he’ll react and I’m sure I do take things more personally that people said or did or didn’t say or do that I would have before (of which I wasn’t so good at dealing with before).

Anyway, so far so good today on the emotions. As far as physical pain, I did have a bit of abdominal pain earlier, but it has since gone away thank goodness.

I finally got a scrapbook to start my pregnancy scrapbook. I want to try to get it up-to-date by the time of my first baby shower (which is on April 6 over in Spokane) so I can bring it with me. I plan to start the scrapbook with what it took for us to this point. I’m trying to put a timeline in place as to when everything took place – thank goodness for blogs or else I would have forgotten some of the timeline. There are a few things that are missing from before I started my blogs, but I’m doing my best to get the timeline straightened out. I also need to order the belly shot pictures once I figure out which ones to put in there.

Well, that’s about all for today.

Good news & Thoughts for the day

Yesterday was a bit of a busy day (or lazy day once I got home) that I didn’t get a chance to write on my blog.

The most exciting news I’ve heard today is that another friend from my support group let us all know that her last cycle worked and she is pregnant with twins! That makes 4 of us in my support group that are pregnant with twins. I am so excited for her – it has been a long, hard road for her and her husband.

Speaking of my support group, we haven’t met on a weekly basis like we used for a long time. I miss these ladies so much because I didn’t feel so alone in going through infertility when I met with them every week. I certainly keep in contact with them, but it isn’t the same. And those who are still struggling to get pregnant, I don’t want to sound mean or anything but after struggling with infertility, I guess I need to have that friendship when going through the pregnancy too – a friendship where someone asks how I’m doing. Not to say I’ve been the best friend a person can have – I need to do better at this myself.

Anyway, back to good, positive stuff. Our baby girl was punching or kicking pretty hard this morning – I was so surprised that my husband didn’t feel it. I moved his hand down to where I was feeling it and that’s, of course, when she stopped. I loved feeling it though because I needed some reassurance from her that she’s doing well. Only 1 more week to go until I get to see our two wigglers!

Next week, I have two friends that are due with their babies – one from my support group and another is someone who has become a friend of mine when she married a friend. I can’t wait to hear of the arrival of their babies!

Well, I think that’s all for now. Oh, just because I feel like I need to document this whole pregnancy - I had a bit of an emotional breakdown outside the pet store when I forgot the food I just bought because I was distracted when I thought I had lost my gift card and AMEX credit card. Luckily, I remembered later that I had left the cards in my jacket pocket when I walked over to a store nearby and didn’t want to bring my purse. Oh, and I dropped my cell phone and it came apart. I put it back together, but it’s been acting weird. I’ve had this phone for quite some time – it might be time to get a new one. However, after all this, I became emotional about other things (mainly baby stuff) and was happy my kitties were there to give me some comfort.

Alright, that’s really it for now. I just have one thing planned for this weekend so that will be nice and that one thing is a pretty laid back event, so I’m hoping I can get a lot of rest this weekend.

A Variety of Topics

The massage yesterday was good though I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of the prego-pillow that was used. It was certainly nice to lay on my tummy, but toward the end there, the need to go to the bathroom was so strong that it made things a bit uncomfortable but I didn’t want her to stop the massage. Getting up from the pillow wasn’t exactly easy either. I think if I go a next time, I will ask to be massaged while lying on my side.

Tonight is the 2nd night of the 3 week-long series on keeping comfy during pregnancy. This week, the PT is talking about the pelvic area. Next week’s class will be better as we will actually do exercises.

A week from last night, my husband will take his last final this quarter and officially be on his spring break – I am so very much looking forward to that. Last night, he came home early and it was nice to have him there. We went to bed at the same time last night, which during the week that never happens. Our baby boy was moving around a lot last night and my husband got to feel him move. There really is nothing like that feeling – I was actually giddy feeling those movements. Our baby girl moved a little bit, but nearly as much as her brother. I love these babies so much – I can’t wait to see them again on the ultrasound.

My husband and I have been thinking of names lately and I think we might have our names, but we also want to have back-up names, so to speak, in case we see our babies and we think the other names fit them better. We probably won’t share the names until they are born as we want to keep something that only Jon and I know (though a couple people do know what their middle names will be).

Just a little while ago, I was looking for blogs of parents of twins so I can get an insight as to how their lives have been. I found quite a few listed on this site. While looking at some of the blogs listed, it made me start to think about a conversation I had with a friend a while back on whether I would change my blog name to something else once the babies come (if I even have time to blog). I feel like I should start a new blog (while continuing to link to this one) with a new title to something more centered on the babies than my struggles with infertility. Have others thought about this once their babies come?

Massage & Babies

Tonight…I have a massage. I am very much looking forward to this massage. I hope I like the person I’ve selected. It’s good timing too as last night, just as I got through thinking I hadn’t had a Charlie horse in a while, I get a Charlie horse in my right leg. OMG did that hurt – I screamed out in pain that Sophie perked up her ears and looked at me in confusion while Oliver came over to me to check me out. I was really wishing Jon was home and a few minutes later, he walks in the door – I quickly got him to start rubbing my leg as I felt I couldn’t move.

Before that, I was lazily lying on the couch watching TV and felt something good. I was feeling both babies move around. What an awesome feeling. I tend to feel them a lot more when I’m lying down, so I wish I could leave work, go home and lay down.

For lunch today, I walked over to a craft store to find a scrapbook as I want to put together sometime documenting this pregnancy. I cannot find a scrapbook I like anywhere, and I really need to find one soon or it just won’t get done! Anyone know of good places or websites that sell nice scrapbooks?

I got an invitation to a baby shower in the mail yesterday and it is the cutest invitation I’ve seen in a long time. It’s got this safari theme to it (as the baby room has a safari theme) and shaped like a big postcard. I’m looking forward to this baby shower, as I’ll get to meet a support group friend’s baby that she adopted a month ago. He’s such a cutie!

Well, I can’t think of anything else to write about.

Baby Stuff

I went to the multiples group sale this past weekend, and it is definitely good to be a member because as soon as the general public was let in, it was WAY too crowded. I did manage to find some maternity shirts, as well as a bunch of baby things like receiving blankets, onesies, socks, etc. We even found (well, actually, a friend from my support group found) two little pink and blue hats that said “Baby’s 1st Christmas” on them – our babies will look incredibly cute in these, I’m sure. :-)

After the sale, Jon and I did some other shopping, then I dropped him off at home and I was on my way to North Bend to go look at some baby stuff that our vendors (best way to describe her, I guess) had for us. She had a TON of baby boy clothes from preemie to maybe 18 months or so (I haven’t gone through everything yet). She also had a bouncer seat with a bear on it (which, of course, I love since it has a bear on it), a gate, exercise mat, and some other things. Now, we have so many boy clothes and not nearly that many girl clothes. I spent part of yesterday going through all the clothes to determine what we would need in terms of clothes, and it is looking like we will need more girl clothes and possibly, some preemie size clothing for both the boy and the girl as she didn’t have that much preemie stuff.

I took a picture of everything we have gotten so far and the baby room that is a complete disaster area (though some progress has been made as of yesterday) – maybe I’ll post some of the pics…maybe. Some of my friends may think this is amusing, but one day when my husband and I were out shopping, we found some bibs that said "It's all about me" (name of my other blog that I rarely write in anymore) - of course, we had to get them.

On Sunday, I went to lunch with a support group friend how has a 3-month-old baby girl – what a cutie! We had a good time catching up. She told me about her pregnancy and birth and being a mom after going through infertility. It was a good chat.

This morning, I woke up completely exhausted. I hadn’t got a whole lot of sleep over the weekend due to being uncomfortable, heartburn, acid reflux, etc., so waking up this morning at 6 to go to work was not easy. I was seriously considering staying at home and I probably should have. I got into work and just felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown – if I’m like this now – how am I going to be when the babies come? Then I read about a fellow blogger losing her kitty, and it just made me so sad to read that. Her kitty looks a lot like Oliver, my tuxedo kitty and I know Oliver has been such a wonderful kitty in being super affectionate to me when I needed it. Sophie has been a lot more affectionate lately too. I just couldn’t imagine losing either one of them, so my heart hurts for this person.

Anyway, I talked to one of my bosses about it and she completely understood as she’s been there too. I really appreciate that I have such wonderful and understanding bosses. Now, if only I could go home and take a nap.

Staring

I find myself staring at my latest ultrasound pics a lot. I am so happy I have these babies growing inside of me. Sometimes I look at the picture given to us at transfer and amazed that those little embryos turned into these little babies in the ultrasound pics. The next ultrasound cannot get here soon enough. Only 2 weeks to go.

Class & Other Stuff

TGIF. I still have half a day left, and I just don’t know if I’m going to make it. I didn’t get home until about 10:20 last night (which is late for me these days) – the class was supposed to end at 9:30, but it went a bit longer. Last night’s multiples class was on care of newborn twins (or other multiples) – it was a good class – she gave a bunch of handouts that I plan to read on the way home in the vanpool. She talked about stuff that we would need and how to recognize post-partum depression. She said that if you were prone to depression beforehand, then you have a higher chance of post-partum depression. She also showed us how to swaddle and bathe a newborn and some other stuff too.

While at class, we learned that a fellow classmate had her babies 2 weeks at 32 weeks!!! They weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces and 3 pounds 6 ounces. What tiny babies!!! Then a friend mentioned that her babies are measuring small and she’s been having a lot of contractions and was put on bed rest this past week and may have to continue with bed rest until the end of her pregnancy. She, like myself, would like to continue working until the time of delivery, so this is hard for her though, of course, she wants the best for her babies. I truly hope I am not put on bed rest, but if it’s needed, of course, I will do it!

Tomorrow morning, I’m going to a multiples group sale then after that a person I’m going to someone’s (who works closely with my employer) house in order to go through her baby boy stuff. Unfortunately, my husband can’t come with me so I’ll be going on my own unless I somehow talked any of my friends into going with me. After this, I plan to go home and rest as much as I can though I may try to clean the living room area by going through some magazines and deciding which ones to toss.

Then on Sunday, I’m going out to lunch with a support group friend who had her baby last year. I haven’t seen her since she left the group so it will be really nice to see her again. Hopefully, she brings her baby girl so I can meet her too!

Oh, to answer some questions regarding stair climbing – I can avoid the stairs around here – it’s just that sometimes I forget when I’m with a bunch of people and I just start going up the stairs though most of the time these days, I’m avoiding the stairs.

Oh, and some exciting news (at least to me), what I believe to be my little boy was moving a lot last night – including what felt like hiccups as each movement I felt seemed to be in a regular pattern. I love feeling them move.

O.K. one more thing – when we were at the OB’s yesterday, we got to hear the heartbeats – both babies are doing well thank goodness. She also checked my cervix which is where it is supposed to be. So we got good news yesterday.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Just a Quick Note

Everything looked fine. The doctor seems to think it might have just been stretching. She checked my cervix and listened to the heartbeats and everything was normal. She did say if it happened again to call back.

OWWWW!

I was just sitting here eating my breakfast and drinking my water and my chocolate milk when all of a sudden this intense pain started in my belly that quickly radiated to my back. It hurt to move. Once things seemed to be quieting down, I called the OB’s office but while I was on hold, the pain came back again. The nurse I spoke to said that she thinks I should come in and get checked. The pain went away, but I keep having shooting pains in my vaginal area and as I’m writing this, I feel like the pain is going to start up again at any moment.

I’m scared, but hopeful that it isn’t anything big. Maybe I just need to rest. Just before this happened, I did climb a couple flights of stairs and I climbed a bunch of stairs last night after my class – maybe that’s what did it? I don’t know. It doesn’t look like the pain is coming back thank goodness. I’m waiting for my husband to come pick me up as I rode in the vanpool today.

The class last night wasn’t anything like I had expected. I had thought it would be more of an exercise class, but it was a lecture. The actual exercise doesn’t take place until the 3rd class, but last night’s class was still useful in trying to find ways to help the back not feel so painful – particularly ways to sleep to help alleviate back problems and the usual talk on posture while standing and sitting. Also, the PT recommended orthopedic inserts of which I should probably go find when I am looking for shoes that don’t squish my feet. Oh, and she also recommended compression stockings (especially if you stand a lot) though they can be quite expensive.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll write more when I come back from the doctor’s office.

Cribs & Icky Dreams

With the help of a couple friends, we got the crib and mattress home yesterday. Thanks Robert & Jennifer!!! Now, we just need to put it together along with the other crib.

Last night (or early this morning, actually), I had a horrible dream. I had dreamt that I was at my ultrasound on the 23rd (and was happy that it was the 23rd already) and the ultrasound person told us that our baby boy looked great, but that our baby girl wasn't looking so great and she gave the baby girl a 15% chance of survival. I was devastated and for some reason Jon wasn't in the room with me and I was frantically yelling for him to get in there. The next thing I know, I'm at work working in the lobby for some reason and one of the guys I work with came up to me to ask me about something and he said I didn't look so good. I told him I was having a really bad day. I'm not sure why I would have went to work after hearing such news, but I was there. I started to cry and then I woke up and continued to cry and couldn't stop for a while. Oliver, my tuxedo kitty, was such a sweetie and giving me extra affection. I went back to bed eventually and Jon had woken up since I started to cough after swallowing my water the wrong way and was there to comfort me. What a horrible dream!

I think what may have brought that on was that I hadn't been feeling much movement from where I think our baby girl is - I feel more from where our baby boy is. And on top of that, I guess a little part of me is still worried about the marginal cord insertion though I know it is common.

It was just an icky dream.

Well, I'm about to go to lunch with one of my bosses and her friend...at least I hope so - I'm HUNGRY!

Today's ramblings

Yesterday, I got a bunch of boy clothes from vanpool girl – mostly 1
year and under clothes, but some even bigger than that. There was a
lot and I haven't gone through it all, but what I did see was in very
good shape and didn't seem all that worn. I need to go through all the
clothes we've received and separate them into sizes so I know exactly
what we have and what we still need.

I made an appointment with a massage therapist who works out of her
home which is just on the other side of the freeway from me. The
appointment isn't until next Tuesday, unfortunately, and because this
was the best time available to both of us, I have to reschedule a
dinner I was going to have with a law school friend that night.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to a pregnancy exercise class – it is on
Wednesday nights for 3 weeks. I'm interested to see what exactly they
have us do. I guess tomorrow's class is all about "babying" your back - which is rather good timing. Tomorrow, I'm also going to have lunch with one of my
bosses and her friend that has boy/girl toddler twins. It will be good
to hear about her experience with taking care of twins. Then on
Thursday night, the last multiples class at UW. This one is on newborn
care of multiples.

Well, that's all for today.

20 weeks 6 days

20 weeks 6 days
Originally uploaded by heathercim.

It's a little blurry, but here's the latest picture taken yesterday evening. I'm wearing my "my pod has two peas" shirt.

The Weekend

Another busy weekend – I will always have a busy weekend!

After my CLE (Continuing Legal Education) on Saturday, my husband and I went to go purchase the second crib and mattress, two car seats, and a diaper bag/backpack (that we hope is big enough for two babies worth of stuff). Unfortunately, the crib and mattress won’t fit in our car, so we enlisted the help of our friends with bigger cars and/or trucks. I think we may have found someone but I’m not certain. It was fun to purchase these things and I can’t wait to put the cribs up (I’m sure my kitties will have fun exploring those). That might happen when my husband is on his spring break – I hope – in a couple weeks. We also need to put together the filing cabinet I bought the other weekend. I ran into a woman I know from my multiples class at the baby store - she said she was having her baby shower the next day. It was nice to chat with her for a bit and she gave us some info on the car seats. We were about to purchase another type of car seat when she mentioned that she heard that those ones don’t fit into the double snap n go strollers – I think I faintly remember hearing something like before – so we went back to the one we were originally thinking of getting. The baby store employee agreed because the other kind was slightly bigger than the other ones we ended up purchasing. Oh, and it was nice because this store has a twin discount on purchases such as the car seats (and other specific items).

After that, we were both tired so we went home and just crashed though after a while, I got up and started moving things out of the babies’ room to downstairs and some things upstairs. That became tiring after a while though, so I had to rest. We have so much stuff in that room from the clothes that I’m donating to some presents I need to give my sister and her family to a bunch of baby stuff (of which more is coming tonight as we’re getting some more things from vanpool girl – she’s giving us some boy clothes so now our son will have more than 2 things to wear). :-D Wow, does that still weird me out – I am going to have a son and a daughter!!!!

On Sunday, I went out to brunch with some friends then some of us took a ferry over to Kingston for the day. I had never been over there before and the last time I was on a ferry…well, it was a long time ago. I can’t even remember when it was, but I think my husband and I (and I’m not even sure we were married at the time actually) went to the San Juan Islands. The little town of Port Gamble was cute though the museum that a friend wanted to show us was closed which was too bad.

Some exciting news, this morning when I was having trouble finding a good position to lay in, I felt one of the babies moving up a storm (I’m guessing it’s our baby boy as he seemed to be quite the jiggler when we had the last ultrasound and he seems to be in the right spot). It was just one jab after another for quite a few minutes then I guess he found a good place to relax because it stopped. My coworkers say they can tell that there is a baby on the left side because that side seems fuller than my right. Hmm, I can’t really tell other than I know I feel something on the left. I hardly ever feel something on the right so I’m thinking our baby girl is a bit on the quiet side (much like her mother) or she’s already too cramped to move (which the ultrasound tech commented on).

That's all for today. Looking forward to being at home and resting my achy back, which reminds me I need to call the massage therapist I've decided on. I'm looking into physical therapists.

Pregnancy after Infertility & Update

Something I’ve been thinking about since yesterday’s anonymous comment and something my sister mentioned in her blog is whether one who goes through infertility gives up the chance to complain about something – anything regarding their pregnancy, even if you are only complaining about your insurance coverage of massage therapy. If we had been trying for nearly 5 years, does that mean that once I do become pregnant, I will have the most perfect pregnancy ever? Only those who had no problems conceiving can complain about their pregnancy? The last thing I want to do is hurt someone by complaining about something happening with this pregnancy, but I do want to write down what’s going on because I doubt I will ever experience pregnancy again and well, this blog is my journal.

Please know that I am incredibly happy that I am pregnant and with twins too and a boy and a girl! I am excited that it worked out this way because I know we wouldn’t be able to afford to do IVF again. However, just like any pregnant woman, I do have back pain (I even had back pain before pregnancy which is why I went to a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and to a spa for a massage); I do have swelling; I do have many of the other things that pregnant women experience. This blog is here for me to document what is happening to my body as we went through infertility and now, as we go through a pregnancy. Am I not supposed to be honest with what’s going on with my pregnancy just because I experienced infertility? It would seem to me something I should be allowed to do – especially since it’s my blog.

Also, I just want to point out that I rarely ever complain about this pregnancy. My back is usually the only thing that bothers me as it always has. My friends can probably tell you that when I see them, I don’t typically complain about it. I’m excited to show off the latest ultrasound picture or to talk about the latest kick or flutter I’ve felt (which I am starting to feel on a more regular basis, I think – so yay!!!!). I am grateful that I finally got pregnant. I do the happy, I’m pregnant dance all the time even when my back is killing me. I can’t believe my luck that IVF worked the first time. Of course, I rather it would have happened naturally, but unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards for us. I’ve come to terms with that even if time to time I’m jealous of women who got pregnant with no medical help whatsoever and never had to experience the heartbreak of infertility.

Anyway, that’s all I’m going to say about that.

In other news, I’ve been doing a bit more things on my list of things to do including cleaning out my closet and getting rid of clothes I haven’t worn in possibly 2 years so my husband can move his stuff out of the closet in the babies’ room to our room. When I get back to my regular size, I probably won’t have any clothes to wear! That was tiring, but there is a lot more room in that closet now and I might just now get around to dry cleaning and packaging my wedding dress – it only took me 8 ½ years!

Next up, is to clean up the closet in the babies’ room and start putting away the clothes we got for them. I’m still looking for a dresser – I’m hoping I might be able to find something at the multiples group sales next weekend.

This weekend, my husband and I are going to purchase one more crib and the two car seats with the coupon we have for the big baby store chain so hopefully sometime soon, we can put the cribs together and start making the nursery look more like a nursery rather than a dumping ground for all the gifts we have received so far (mainly hand me down clothes) and the diapers we bought at Cos*tco when there was a coupon for that.

Hopefully, the 4 inches of snow we got last night/early this morning has melted so we won’t have to deal with that this weekend. I have a class I have to go to tomorrow and Saturday to keep up with the state bar requirements and it’s up north where they got even more snow so come on sun – melt that snow – at least on the roads.

Well, that’s a long enough post for now. Have a good weekend – I probably won’t be posting again until Monday unless something super exciting comes up before then. :-D