Weeks 16-18 The moment of truth!

Twin Skulls

It seems each couple weeks becomes more and more eventful as we move forward. I am feeling the babies alot these days. We have progressed from bubble popping to full out kicks, punches and maybe some head butts! It is by far my favorite time of the pregnancy. My nausea has subsided, my pelvic pain comes and goes and I only have bouts of sleepiness here and there. I have an appetite which is nice but every time I sit down to eat I manage to only fit about a third of the food I want to eat. At my most recent Doctor Appointment I weighed-in with only a two pound gain from the start. My Doc is not so happy about this, "with twins you should have gained 6-8lbs by now." She advised me to start consuming two Boost protein shakes a day to ensure the babies will be a good birth weight. In addition, I had some good news too, my second thyroid screening revealed that I no longer have any abnormal hormone levels and that I do not have hyperthyroidism after all!! Hip hip hooray! My new symptom this month is Braxton Hicks. Yes, some may say, "that sure is early for that" but not for a multiples pregnancy. My uterus is growing at a much faster rate giving it more opportunities to spasm. There is no rhyme or reason to them. Some days I have multiple and other days none. I can be sitting or standing and there are no patterns. As I get larger they will come more and more. For those who don't know the feeling, my stomach tightens and gets hard like a bowling ball. The pressure causes you to feel like you need to use the restroom. They can be very uncomfortable at times but mostly annoying because they stop me in my tracks!

Now onto the the news everyone has been waiting for! All three of us went to the ultrasound appointment. We had snacks and games on hand for Austin because these appointments tend to last about 2 hours! He was a trooper. Austin sat in daddy's lap the whole time I was on the exam table. Right away we discovered that Baby A might not cooperate so our tech measured Baby B first. A couple measurements here and some others there and then it was time! Baby B is a BOY! No surprise there really, he was very proud to let us know! I will be honest, I was very nervous at this point. We really want to have a girl and we are only one more chance away from getting her.

Baby Boy parts

 My heart was pounding as we finished up with Baby B and moved down to see if Baby A was ready to cooperate! Yay, it was, it was not in the greatest position but we had to get measurements first anyway. It was me that first noticed the difference with this one. As the tech measured leg bones I saw what I wanted to see....nothing! Meaning no penis, "oh my gosh, was this a girl??" Yes! She was, the tech announced, "well looks like you get to have your GIRL!" We were so happy and I was crying happy tears and so relieved! What a perfect family, two boys and a little girl!!! It's the combination I have always wanted! Our ultrasound Doctor came in then and confirmed they are for sure girl and boy and that so far our genetic tests show that our babies are normal. Each weighs 8 ounces and baby B the boy is measuring just slightly smaller than baby A. They also have their own placentas and have not fused so we shouldn't have any problems with them growing at the same rate. We will now be having an ultrasound every 4 weeks to keep any eye on them! As of now Baby A is breech, it is very early and she could move positions. If she does not decide to move though, I will be having a C-section delivery.

Baby Girl parts

Now the fun begins, I had been patiently waiting to find out the gender before I started spouting off names. We do have a girl name in mind that has several spelling alternatives to decide on but once again we are at a complete loss for a boy :/ It will be neat to come up with two names we love! I am so happy that I have all the boy clothes I need and that we have plenty of people offering up a girl wardrobe for her! I am not matchy matchy when it comes to twins so I am glad that they are different genders. That will allow them to have their own clothing identities with an occasional color coordination. Case in point, their very different red, white and blue outfits below yet appropriately matching :)

Baby Girl profile and Baby Boy frontal face view

My attempt at Austin Announcing

The official facebook Announcement!

Weeks 12-15 A BIG Surprise, the announcement and lots to think about!

Week 12 has arrived and I am headed into the Doctor for that first genetic ultrasound. My mom is with Austin and I tell Paul to go to work because it's just routine stuff! Ha! After drinking my huge water and not using the restroom for the best photo results, I climb up on the table, get covered with goo and joke with the tech,

Me:  "Well, I am here to see if there are two in there!"
Tech: "Let me check some quick things and then we can investigate."

About two minutes of basic measurements...

Tech: "Well, you are right, there are two babies!!"
Me: "Oh my God, really!" As I cup my hand over my mouth in shock and say, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh," giggle alittle, "oh my gosh," tears start streaming!
Tech: "See, there are two sacs"
Me: "Does that mean they are fraternal?"
Tech: "Most likely but not always"
Me: "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," more tears!

She proceeds to measure both babies and get their heartbeats. 160 and 158 BPM and measuring 12w1day each! She hands me a roll of photos and I stare in amazement still absorbing the information. The Doc comes in and goes through the risks of a multiple pregnancy and informs me that now I get to have an ultrasound every 6 weeks! Yay, that's exciting, I only had 1 total with Austin.

Now to tell Paul. I call him in the elevator as I leave.

Me: " Hi Honey, well I have some really big news!"
Him: Silence
Me: "You want to guess?"
Him: "Oh no, no, no!"
Me: "Well, you guessed right then, we are having twins!"
Him: "How sure is it, this early?"
Me: "Very sure, wait till you see the pic, they are both in it!"

Baby B and Baby A

I let him go then, he needed space. I am glad he wasn't with me, he would have taken away from my happy tearfilled moment. I knew it would be hard on him. He asked me later in the day for the photo and was just stunned at the quality! The afternoon and evening consisted of calling everyone with the news and announcing it to the Facebook world a couple days later making it officially out in the open.

My 12 weeks Belly, I would like to note that I was not this large with Austin until 16 weeks!

Many things have gone through our minds in the past weeks. How long can I work, do we have enough money? When can I return to wotk after? What about vacations? Money money money! Oh, will I never sleep again? Can we do this? They will out number us. What things do we need? I yi yi!

A week or two later, the shock is over and we have decided to find out their genders at the next ultrasound, who wants to pick out 4 name scenarios... Not us! We didn't find out with Austin. So many different things this time around.

Fraternal Twin at 12 weeks

In the meantime, my nausea has mostly subsided and I'm off the meds. I now take extra folic acid and slow release iron along with my prenatal vitamins. I have gained 2lbs back to 117 and gained 2 sometimes 3 inches in my belly, it changes throughout the day. I have developed a very nasty pain in my pelvis. It feels like it's bruised or broken. Certain actions are terrible. Getting in and out of the car, tuning in bed, getting out of bed. Walking in general, standing from a seated position. The Doctor said this is normal as the baby weight is still very low. As they start to move more up and out, I might experience some relief. I am trying to limit heavy lifting, groceries, laundry and my heavy toddler, I guess carrying him on my hip is a big NO NO!

 I can feel the babies move internally, not externally with my hand yet. Feels like popping bubbles, sometimes stronger like a real kick.

 We also have wonderful news that my cousin Chip and his wife Lindsay welcomed the first Keller twins, two boys! We are excited to have someone in our boat and I love chatting with Lindsay about what I should expect. Next up, ultrasound on April 21st, my grandmas birthday!

Weeks 10-11 A new diagnosis!

Week 10 has finally arrived and I finally get to go to my first Prenatal Doctor visit. First you meet with the nurse for your vitals, family history and receive the fun book, " How to have a happy and healthy pregnancy." Next comes the Doctor. She is not my favorite Doctor in the world. I have been lucky to have my uncle and also my friends Dad be my doctors. They personally know me. It's just different because I have no history with her. I am not afraid to express my uncertainty about her. In fact I am still considering switching to someone else in the practice!

Well, anyway onto the visit. It was too early to detect the heartbeat with the Doppler...major bummer! We discussed having some genetic testing done which consists of an ultrasound at 12 weeks and another at 18 weeks, it also involves 2 rounds of blood work. I agreed as long as our insurance covers it, which it does, supposedly. I say this because we received a nice statement informing us that it costs $7000 a visit. WHAT?!?!? Luckily not a bill as of yet!

I then begged her to put me on some nausea medicine as I have been miserable. She initially told me to suck it up, " most woman go through this" (yeah right lady!!!) But in the end I got to take Diclegis which has been a life saver. It only took the edge off, not totally eliminating my symptoms but anything is better than what I have endured. Then off to the lab I went for the routine blood work and urine sample.

Fast forward a week and the results come back that my thyroid test is irregular and a couple days later I'm at the Endocrinologist. I have hyperthyroidism! So that is why I have been so sick or so we think. The Doc explains that my elevated pregnancy hormone Hcg is tricking my thyroid into producing too much T4 making me extra sick, tired and lose weight. Well, that sure is a relief, except all I have stuck in my head now is...hmmm elevated Hcg, that could mean twins? I express my concern with a few people, my friend Susan and my parents, that I think there might be twins inside but we more joke about it than anything. I guess Paul must have blocked those conversations out......dun dun dun!

Weeks 4-9 This baby must be a girl, I am so sick!

It was time to deliver the news to the 3 most important parties. First we told Grandma Keller, she happens to be the first person I told about Austin as well. Paul offered up a riddle. " You have 1 now, 3 soon(Chip's twins) and then there will be 4!" Of course she got it right away and was very excited for us!

Next came my parents, " So we have a date for you to write down on the calendar!" Again no surprise there, my mom knew we had started trying!

Next was Grammy Barb, Paul was telling her how many kids were invited to Austin's birthday party with the addition of an extra child who wouldn't be seen! Ha, yep she got it too, hers was the funniest, "What? This is how I find out! "

 Everyone was very excited! The following week was Austin's birthday and man was I tired but I pulled it off!

Well, then good old week 6 arrived and man was it terrible. For the next 4 weeks I was a complete mess. I had 24/7 neasea. I was so sick, it felt like the flu. I couldn't leave my bed. Poor Austin was barricaded on the second floor so I could rest all day. I was not really working during this time frame, I managed maybe once a week. I just cannot express how miserable I was. I couldn't move without gagging. I had determined at this point the baby had to be a girl because it was so different than Austin. Along with my nausea I wasn't eating like I should and dropped to 115 pounds. How was I going to manage to get through life until the second trimester? I was so frustrated and unable to accomplish any daily tasks. Even showering was a chore! My first doctor visit is finally coming, maybe there is a cure!

Austin in bed with his very sick Momma!

Weeks 1-3 Home for Christmas!

With the inspiration from my cousins wife Lindsay, I have decided to do the blog thing so our close family and friends can know the scoop about our second pregnancy.

It all begins....As Austin was approaching age 2 and Paul doesn't much mind the time frame between children, I on the other hand do. I had already decided that the closer Austin is to age 3 the better. Back in October I decided to get my body ready for baby! My routine includes, going off preventative drugs, taking prenatal vitamins, cutting back on alcohol consumption (not the easiest task) and trying to eliminate fried foods from my diet to get my weight under control! With Austin, I started this in November and prepared my body for 6 months before trying in April and WAM-O! First try and we are pregnant.

This time around I wasn't sure if it would be right away again or would we have months of trying this time? Well, let's just say I jumped the gun with the excitement of a possible new baby and we tried in November and nothing. Then December came along and my body apparently decided to start working again and my ovaries both released an egg, little did we know what was happening. We were home for the Christmas holiday and I distinctly remember my fabulous uncle Rick challenging me to catch up with Chip over Christmas dinner now that he was having twins....dun dun dun....if we all only knew!

Well anyway a few weeks later at 3 weeks it all began suddenly just like with Austin, super nauseous and gagging at random smells! Well, maybe I should take a test? Last month I took two tests with no symptoms (again jumping the gun). What do you know, I was right this time! Baby number 2 is on its way HURRAY! I ran down the stairs and said honey, "I'm pregnant" with a HUGE grin. He said like last time, " Already, what? You just took a test?" And that's about it, he's a man of little words when it comes to pregnancy!