Third Time's a Charm?

We repeated what is turning into our weekly emergency visit with our doctor on Friday. Unfortunately the spotting came back Thursday night, so the doc had to check it out and make sure everything was okay. This was actually the most surprising time of all three because I was on day 9 of bed rest which had always worked in the past. Dr. De La Pena does not work on Fridays, but he wanted to see me so he had me meet him in Labor and Delivery for an exam since he had a C-section to perform that morning. In Tony's words it was all "too real." He asked if we would see any babies and I assured him we most likely would not. Haha. Little did I know the first thing you walk by before the L & D nurses station is the nursery... sure enough there were two adorable babies in there... girls all wrapped in pink :0) I did have to agree that it was a little odd to be in a room in the bed I would be delivering the babies in. I was thankful so Dr. De la Pena made time to do an exam and take time to discuss what was going on with me. It is the same situation as has been the last 3 weeks. My cervix has healed a lot and looked closed and long which is great! The doc was sure this was not related to an incompetent cervix at least at this time. He cauterized the spots that seem to be bleeding, so we will wait and see if the third time around is any different. The doctor was definitely not in a hurry to get me moving. He didn't give me any idea when I would be off modified bed rest (I can move from bed to couch to chair to bathroom), but said he would see me every 1-2 weeks and tell me if he thought I was ready for more privileges. I could be back up next week or at 35 weeks. Only a difference of 17 weeks!

The babies are doing great (and growing!). We didn't have an ultrasound machine in the hospital room, but heart beats were 161 (baby A) and 153 (baby b). The guessing game of heartbeats and gender is driving us (especially Tony) crazy. We know it is a total myth, but still a fun way to guess. The myth is that heart rates above 150 are girls :0) Less than a week until we know for sure! Tony was sent down to admitting and missed the entire hour long exam... poor guy has not been handed the fun jobs lately. Although, he is in Maui as I write, so I don't feel too bad!

Back in Bed

This week we have a few more answers, but unfortunately the solution is more bed rest for me! After taking 5 days off for bed rest last week I headed back to work on Monday. I was nervous all day that I would start spotting again, but did my best to teach sitting down. By Tuesday after school I was feeling great and really thinking whatever "episode" we had last week was in the past. Unfortunately, Wednesday morning was ready to be a repeat of the Wednesday before. Tony and I headed back to the doctor to see what the story was. The bleeding is still coming from the external cervix... so the babies are fine! The cervix is still swollen and rubbing causing the bleeding any time I walk! The cure for this, of course, is laying down. The good news is that my cervix is long and closed and doesn't seem to be changing. The test results also came back negative from last week, ruling out any infection. More good news! My directions are to be on bed rest for 7 days with no spotting. I was hoping today would count as day 1. I was wrong again! I had to drive to the perinatologist for bloodwork this morning, and that little amount of activity proved to be too much. Maybe tomorrow will be day 1?

In the meantime Hula, my pajamas, my pillow, Tivo, and I are having a party in my bed.

Avocados

Today's weekly email informed me that the kiddos are now each the size of an avocado. The updates used to talk about all of the new organs and/or parts they would be growing that week. This week they just talked about growing! Apparently each of them should double in weight and gain 2 inches in length in the next couple weeks... does that mean my stomach doubles too?!?! Yikes! At least I will have a pregnant belly for a bathing suit in Maui in 2 weeks and not just look fat! That is if I get to go to Maui...

So far, so good! I was on bedrest from Wednesday to Saturday and everything cleared up completely by Friday morning. My mom took great care of me (and my house!)while we got to visit and chat. Sunday we had my first "outing" to the nail salon (still a recliner right??) and lunch. Today I went back to work and tried my best to take it easy. So far, everything seems back to normal. The doctor will have more information on what caused the bleeding and if I am allowed to travel at my appointment next week... and hopefully a gender check!

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

The Twinkies Give Us a Scare

I received a text from Tony the other day where he referred to the babies as the twinkies and I thought it was so cute! They are continuing to grow well as I have officially gained my first pound (or two!). My monthly check up with Dr. De La Pena was Monday and everything and everyone looked healthy and perfect! Unfortunately Tuesday was not quite so perfect...

As I am writing this I have officially been laying or reclining for over 24 hours. Ugh! Yesterday morning I woke up to some very light spotting. We called the doctor and he told me to come right home from work and put my feet up, but not too worry. He assumed it was from lifting (probably playing with my adorable niece and nephew this weekend), was normal, and would go away. I followed the doctor's orders, but woke up this morning with much more severe bleeding. Luckily it is a workday, so we could meet the doctor right away this morning. He assured us that the babies are fine and healthy, as are the placentas and everything near the babies. He is concerned about my cervix and having me stay in bed for a few days (no work until Monday) to make sure the bleeding and irritation stops. We are praying this is not a sign of a non-cooperative cervix in the future! As for now, this is either due to activity (which is now limited to walking and 10 pounds of lifting for the duration of the pregnancy) or an infection from bacteria. He started me on antibiotics today just to be safe. I am hoping the next 4 days in bed just make this problem disappear! And of course Mom is on her way down to stay with me for the weekend while Tony flies North for a wedding. At least Hula will have her best pal Abby to keep her company since I can't play with her or take her on walks.

No More Secrets

I decided it was time to announce the babies to my staff and students today. I had a feeling I would start getting questions soon, but didn't really think that many people were suspicious. Boy was I wrong! I was blown away by how many people told me they suspected I was pregnant before I said anything. I hope I'm not looking too big yet!

To tell the staff I found a cute poem about twins online and bought bagels with "pink" and "blue" cream cheese to set out in the teacher's lounge:

Healthy Babies!

Today was my first visit with the Perinatologist, Dr. Bradley. I loved her! They did all the genetic testing for Down Syndrome and Trisomy.... everything looked great! It was so much different than the ultrasounds with my regular OB. The bed you lay on is facing away from the ultrasound machine, which scared me that I would not get to see my little ones. I was wrong! She handed me a pair of high tech looking glasses to wear that had the image of the screen inside them... very cool! Both babies were moving and wiggling like crazy today which made me feel so much better since baby B was so still last week. It was my first external ultrasound and we could see the babies so much better! Today was the first day we could get really clear images of baby b and them together. The doctor did doppler to watch/listen to the bloodflow in me and the babies. The screen turned red and blue around their tummies where the cord is connected! I didn't think the appointment could get any better, but the doctor got this picture of the twins and turned it into 3d 4d! They looked exactly like little gummie bears. The pictures definitely lost some detail in the scanner, but you can still see both gummybear babies.


Baby A (I love the little hand!)


Baby b close up

Twins!

Tony and I had our first appointment with Dr. De La Pena this morning. I have been counting down for weeks, waiting for today. I have been so nervous to see if the baby has a heartbeat. I have heard so many stories of positive pregnancy tests where a baby never formed, or a heart never started. So the ONLY thing on my mind when we went in this morning was "is there a heartbeat?" Never did it cross my mind to think of more than one heartbeat. When the doctor first started the ultrasound he asked if multiples ran in our family to which I instantly replied, "Nope. Well... my sister has triplets but no one else in our entire family ever has had multiples." I figured this was a question he asked everyone before a first ultrasound. He was very calm and spent a few minutes explaining what everything we were seeing on the screen was before pointing out the "first" embryo. I didn't catch this clue (although this is when Tony had a heart attack). When he went on to the "second" embryo I quickly understood what was going on. Poor Tony was just waiting for a third! The doctor stayed very calm and continued talking, not allowing us to freak out. I think I was in a state of disbelief. I was definitely not freaking out about the idea of raising two (thanks to Amanda), but so genuinely shocked that there were two, I don't remember much of what was said after that. The babies both measured at 5 1/2 weeks, which is 2 weeks less than where I thought we would be. I am a bit confused as this would put my positive pregnancy test before they were even conceived! The doctor assured me everything was fine and they would be able to measure much more accurately at my next appointment. Now we have to wait 4 more weeks to see them again!

Both babies!



Baby A



Baby B