16 Weeks + Dr.'s Apointment #3 + Ultrasound Results

Once again, sorry for the delay in posting. I wanted to wait to do the '16 week' post until after my doctor's appointment yesterday.

I had to wait over an hour in the waiting room for my appointment, which the receptionist said was not normal when I asked about it. I had read on the internet that Dr. Wagner is known to be behind schedule because she gives her patients as much time as they need, so I wasn't upset or anything.

I had a full physical, which I ended up not being nervous for at all. It helps that she's a very comfortable person to be around. It also helps that I'm getting used to doctors.

We discussed the results from my ultrasound last week, and so far everything is looking good.

DATA	BABY A	BABY B
Head Circ.	113 mm	112 mm
BPD	30 mm	29 mm
Abdominal Circ.	90 mm	93 mm
Femur	14 mm	15 mm
Gestational Age	14 weeks + 4 days	14 weeks + 5 days

Based on the above measurements, my due date would be April 1 and April 2, but they won't let me go longer than 2 weeks before that, which is March 18. Jon's last day of school before spring break is March 18! Hopefully I can last to the very end because it would be perfect! Jon would have a whole week off to help out...couldn't ask for better! Fingers crossed!

I got to hear the babies' heart beats yesterday as well: Baby 1 (on my left) had a heart rate of 154 bpm, and Baby 2 (on my right) had a heart rate of 163. Pretty much the same as last time. The longer Dr. Wagner listened to them, the closer in rate they got, around 157 bpm.

They also had some of the results from my blood work back (I had gone on Tuesday). My 'blood count' (?) was measuring low at 113 (don't know what that's a measure of), so I have to go on vitamins in addition to my prenatal vitamins. She said it was pretty normal for people having twins because you have to provide twice as many vitamins to the babies. No big deal.

I haven't taken my 16 week picture yet, so I promise I'll post an 18 week picture.

Other than that, nothing else is new. Jon and I are both still fighting our colds...Jon's had his for 9 days and me for a week. It's so unusual for me to have this hard of a time fighting a cold (thanks a lot babies!). It's really taken a toll on me. I think I'll be missing church AGAIN tomorrow. I had a 2.5 hour nap this afternoon, and hopefully I'll have a good sleep tonight so that might help fight it. I'd rather go to work feeling 100% this week. Last week dragged on and it was only a short week.

Anyways, my family is waiting for me to watch a movie with them and they've told me to stop typing so much.

'Til next time!

Ultrasound #3

Yesterday we had our 3rd ultrasound appointment, at 2:00pm by Oakridge Mall. Jon had classes at UBC that morning so he bussed there from UBC and my Mom and I drove. Parking is A PAIN in Vancouver. So glad I don't have to go there more often. I was a little rebelious and didn't drink the full 1 L...I drank about 500-750 mL.

When we got there, the receptionist freaked out when she saw that my requisition form said I was having twins because I was only booked for one time slot (if you recall in my prior entry, the receptionist at SMH Prenatal Clinic booked me for the first available ultrasound and knew that I needed two time slots rather than just the one that she had me booked for...and asked that I play dumb) but I needed two slots. She said she might not be able to see me. I complained and said that it was not my fault that the doctor's office didn't schedule me in for the correct number of time slots, and she said that I should have called to double-check. I played dumb and said that I didn't know I needed two time slots and assumed that the doctor's office had done it correctly. She ended up saying I was lucky that I had shown up a little early so hopefully the technician would finish the appointment before mine early so that there would be extra time for me. Luckily, it worked out. I ended up going in the room at 1:50pm and quickly learned that I was not going to get the same "ask all of the questions you want" treatment as I had received during my first two ultrasounds with Genesis Fertility Clinic. I asked the technician when I first saw the screen "oh, is that the two of them?" and she responded with a frown on her face so I told her I wouldn't ask anymore questions. She took measurements for about 40 minutes. During that time I could barely see the screen. I started getting really warm from lying in one position the whole time, and I started getting clausterphobic because we were in a tiny room in the basement of a building. Thank goodness she finished shortly after that because I thought I was going to pass out! She then called my Mom and Jon in and very quickly showed us the monitor, took a few quick pictures and sent us on our way. Oh well, at least I got to see two heads, four arms, four legs, and two heart beats...a few waves of arms/hands and a couple kicks! Oh, she also said that they are both laying breech right now, and I think they are both facing my stomach because of the angle of the pictures. I'm assuming the doctor will discuss the results with me when I go for my next appointment next friday afternoon.

Here are the pictures...

First picture is of Baby 1, which is laying on my left side. You can see him/her (honestly, I always call it a 'him'...or...'the alien' lol) laying on their right hand, and the left hand is up by their chin. You can tell because you can see both forearms. You an also see the baby's right thigh/knee/shin...it's laying in a fetal position.

Second picture is of Baby 2, laying on my right side. This picture isn't as clear, but you can make out the arms, stomach area, knee caps, and right leg/foot. I think at the bottom right in the the separate sac (?) you can see Baby 1.

Anyways, nothing else new to report. Jon's fighting a really bad cold right now so he didn't even go to school. He opted to sleep on the couch last night so that hopefully I don't get sick. I must admit, it was nice to have the whole bed to myself :)

Oh, I should mention that I finally caved in last weekend and bought some maternity clothes. It's definitely MUCH more comfortable wearing dress pants now...now I don't have to worry about cutting off the circulation to my lower body when I'm sitting at my desk. The pants are almost TOO comfortable to be dress pants lol. I might not ever stop wearing them :)

14 Weeks + Doctor's Appointment #1

I contemplated postponing writing this blog for another day, but I can hear my mom's voice telling me to just do it because some people are waiting for an update. So, here I am, typing this at 10:30pm when I should probably be heading to bed.

Yes, it's 10:30pm. I've definitely noticed over the last two weeks that I've gained a lot of my energy back. I still try to be in bed by 9:00/9:30pm, but when I'm up, I'm alert and actually able to get some stuff done (SIGH...it was nice not being "able" to do anything!). It's nice being the 'me' I'm used to.

I should apologize for my last post as I've received some negative reactions to it. I don't want people to think I was/am ungrateful or unhappy...I think I was just really struggling with exhaustion and learning to deal with Jon being at school for so many hours a week. After having him home and able to cook/clean it was definitely an adjustment getting used to his new schedule (Mondays 6:30am-8pm, Tuesdays 7am-8pm, Wednesdays 6:30am-6pm, Thursdays 7am-6pm, Fridays 6:30am-12:30pm). But I'm dealing. I spend a lot of time (and a few dinners) at my parents' house so I can at least have some company.

Let's see, what else is new? Nothing much, I don't think.

I received a phone call from a nurse at Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) yesterday letting me know that they hadn't received any medical records for me at all. I explained that Dr. Shah should have sent them over, and that the most informative ones about the pregnancy would be at Genesis (which should have been sent to Dr. Shah). I asked her if she knew we were having twins, and she said she didn't. She said she was going to try to get a copy of my records sent over before my appointment today (11am).

When we got to SMH this morning we met with a nurse who showed me where to weigh myself when I got there and how to test my own urine and record the results. Once that was done, we went over my (and our families') medical history because the only document they ended up receiving from Dr. Shah stated "pregnant" (strike 1 for Dr. Shah's office). She was shocked at how healthy I was and how boring my history was.

Dr. Wagner then joined us and reviewed some of the history, and then went over what was going to happen over the next month or two. Because I'm having twins, she will only see me as a patient until I'm about 20 weeks, and then I'll get referred to a multiples specialist. Apparently I should have been referred to the multiples specialist right away (strike 2 for Dr. Shah's office).

Anyways, because they don't have any records for me they scheduled me for the first available ultrasound they could, which is on October 5 at 2:00 by Oakridge Mall. They've asked me to 'play dumb' about having twins because they only could get me an appointment block that is normally for singletons. Ultrasound appointments for twins are usually twice as long because they have to do twice the number of measurements/tests.

On October 15 I have an appointment with Dr. Wagner for a complete physical. Umm...awkward? Never had a COMPLETE physical before. Guess I have to start getting used to being some-what naked in front of strangers. Awkward.

Dr. Wagner took my blood pressure and said it was perfect, 123/80. Jon was jealous. Can't get much more perfect than that.

We ended the appointment by an attempt to listen to the heart beats with two Dopplers...which was successful! They warned us that they might not be able to find/hear both because of their positioning and/or the rate. If they were both on top of each other and the rates were the same they probably couldn't hear both. They started on my right side and found the first heart beat really quickly...it measured at 163 bpm. They found the second heart beat on my left side, measuring 149 bpm. PHEW! Two good heart rates! Kinda crazy to think that there are two living babies in me.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the ultrasound pictures on Wednesday! It will have been 5.5 weeks since our last ultrasound so I'm sure they're going to look SO MUCH DIFFERENT. They'll actually look like babies. And not just blobs. Exciting.

Anyways, I should head to bed. Luckily tomorrow is Saturday and I can laze around as much as I want to.

Definitely thankful for such a smooth pregnancy so far. It almost seems too good to be true. God is good.

12 Weeks

Not much change, so this won't be much of a blog. Sorry!

We finally got an appointment with an OB/GYN...for October 1. Her name is Dr. Christine Wegner (or Wagner, can't remember) and she's at the prenatal clinic is Surrey Memorial. I guess that's where we'll be delivering!

It's been hard to work this past week. I find that around 9am/10am I hit a 'wall' and am super tired and often have a headache. On Monday I went home...but when it happened again Tuesday I realized that I'm just going to have to suck it up. Go away 1st trimester symptoms!

I've also found that the past 2 weeks I've had very intense pains whenever my bowels are doing their thing (sorry if that's too much info...I just don't want to forget this in the future!). I'm not sure if it's a normal pregnancy thing or if maybe my ovaries are still enlarged and thus have started getting squished when things move around in there, especially because my uterus is bigger now? I'm going to google it, but I don't think I'll find much because it is only sometimes a side effect of getting pregnancy by in vitro. It worries Jon every time because I start wincing in pain. Definitely cannot be normal. I'm hoping to just tough it out until my appointment and then I'll discuss it with her. We'll see if it gets worse otherwise I just might have to visit my family doctor and get a requisition for an ultrasound to check out my ovaries.

Time to do some quick googling and then head off to bed. Night!

10 Weeks

Sorry for not updating last week. By the time I remembered I hadn't done it yet it was already a few days later so I figured I would just skip that week. Not much happened anyways.

I'm not posting pictures yet (sorry!) just because there's nothing overly exciting happening. Those who know me best can tell that I'm pregnant, but it's not substantial enough to post. Maybe next week?

I had an appointment with my family doctor this past Monday (to get referred to an OBGYN), although when I got there I was told that he himself was in the hospital so they had a substitute doctor. I was not impressed when I met her. She seemed to know NOTHING about the whole in vitro process. She asked me how far along I was and when I had found out and practically got mad at me when I said I had known for 5 weeks already:
"And you're just seeing a doctor now?"
"Actually, I've been seeing my doctors at Genesis and have already had two blood tests and two ultrasounds."
"I guess we should send you for some blood work so we can determine your blood type."
"I'm A-...I've already had a few blood tests"
"How come you haven't come in for a pap smear for the past two years?"
"Umm...because I was never told to and I've been to see my family doctor quite often within that time frame and he didn't seem too concerned about it." What does that have to do with getting a referral anyways?!?!?
"Oh."
"So can I get a referral?"
"The receptionist will do it. You're done."

Thank goodness. I was NOT impressed. I went back to work and had to vent to them all. The receptionist told me (when I called her the next day for my appointment time with an OBGYN) that she has "7 to 10 days to get me an appointment so she'll call me when she has one" in her sassy tone. Sigh. Time for a new doctor. Any suggestions?

On a different note. We have to start dressing in our business casual wear again on Tuesday, so I tried on my dress pants. They don't close. I'm going to try a pair of Candice's older ones are that are a size bigger to keep me going for a few weeks, but I'm going to have to cave sooner or later and buy maternity pants. I might trying making my own belly band out of an old (but looks brand new) tank top that's quite tight. I'm so dutch lol. Any other suggestions? At least I haven't grown out of my tops yet.


Week 8-9 Symptoms
HUNGRY? I don't seem to be quite as hungry as last week, although I do make sure that I'm eating frequently. My portions at breakfast, lunch, and dinner have decreased, probably due to the fact that I'm eating more often.

CRAVINGS? Nope, not really. Although I could really go for some bacon right now.

POOR SLEEPS AT NIGHT? Better. I still wake up every night..sometimes at 1:00am, sometimes at 3:30am.

TIRED? Yes, almost all of the time. I try to make sure I'm in bed by 9:15pm (one hour earlier than I used to) and then I don't get up until 6:15am (one hour later than I used to) which gives me roughly 9 hours of sleep a night. I used to survive perfectly off of 7 hours of sleep...but now 9 doesn't even seem like enough. The other morning I woke up perfectly rested, but by 10:00am I was already yawning. I haven't napped during the day, so I must be getting a decent enough amount of sleep otherwise I'm sure I would sleep on the couch after dinner, which I don't.

MORNING SICKNESS? Nope...same as always. I eat 2 graham crackers before getting up and I'm good to go for a bit.

WEIGHT GAIN? Not much. I weighed myself last week maybe, and I was only up about 2.5 pounds since my last 'weigh in'. Too bad I can't remember when that was...maybe a month ago? I figure I've gained about 9 pounds since May (I did a lot of 'eating in May to fill my lonely afternoons, and then couldn't go on my daily walks anymore starting in July). At least I don't have to feel guilty about gaining weight.

MILD CRAMPING? This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were the worst yet. Today is much better. I was starting to get concerned that either I was miscarrying or my ovary ruptured or something (is that possible?) but it has definitely subsided. It's not painful cramping...more like a constant reminder that I have two babies in my uterus. I guess they had a growth spurt!

SHORTNESS OF BREATH? Yes! I have definitely noticed this the past couple of weeks. Climbing up the two flights of stairs to work makes my heart race and my breathing heavier.

Church this past Sunday was a struggle for me physically. By the end of the service I had to sit down during the song because I felt I was going to pass out. My mom said she had the same thing when she was pregnant. I wasn't even warm or anything. I think it must be because of the energy required to stand and sing? Who knows.

Anyways, I think that's it. Getting closer to be doing with the first trimester. I cannot wait! As each week passes I get less nervous and more excited. Although it was mentioned to me that you never stop worrying with kids. I just hope I can get to that point :) Things are looking good though!

Oh, and I should mention that you're free to tell whomever you would like now. We're not keeping it a secret anymore.

Ultrasound #2

I was a little nervous on the drive over to Genesis today because anything could have happened over the past week and a half (since our last ultrasound). It didn't help that I had to wait in the change/waiting room for approximately 30 minutes wearing my paper skirt around my waist until the doctor was ready for me. I was getting pretty frustrated. And we didn't have our own doctor, we had the newest one to join Genesis, which I was also a little disappointed about.

The ultrasound went really well! Both babies (yes, they're still both alive and kicking...well, not quite, but you know what I mean) are doing really well! Baby A (the second picture...also is not necessarily Baby A from last time) is 16mm long (which makes its gestational age 7 weeks 6 days) and has a heart rate of 178 bpm. Baby B (the first picture) is 17mm long (gestational age is 8 weeks) and has a heart rate of 176 bpm. I googled the average length (CRL, or crown rump length) for a baby between 8 and 9 weeks and the site I found said it should be between 15mm and 21mm. So we're doing good! If you look at the ultrasound pictures you can see the yolk sack 'above' each of the babies, and you can see Baby A's arms/legs. Pretty crazy.

We're officially done with Genesis now (or in their words we've 'graduated') and so now I have to make an appointment with my family doctor and get a referral or recommendation for an OB/GYN. Yikes. Just another new phase in this all that I have to learn. I'm assuming I won't have another ultrasound for a while now which I'm going to miss.

Oh, also, my ovaries are both still quite enlarged (my left one is 6cm in diameter and my right one is 4cm) which is still the OHSS. This means that I have to take it easy still (and no sex) until they're back to normal size, otherwise I could risk twisting one (or both). I once again googled it and most people's ovaries seem to be back to normal size after their first trimester. 4 more weeks!

Anyways, I'm trying to type this quickly so that I can get to bed...I was in bed and asleep by 9:15pm last night so that I could have a good 9 hours of sleep. And I was still tired today, as if I had only gotten 7. C'est la vie.

I'll write up another post on Thursday when I'm 9 weeks.

8 Weeks

Today marks 8 weeks. YAY! I think we've known for 3.5 weeks now that I'm pregnant, so luckily time is passing pretty quickly. I found that this past week I was thinking ahead more...boys? girls? both? layout of room? stroller?...which kind of scares me because I'm starting to bank on everything working out perfectly...so I don't have to remind myself that there still are 4/5 weeks before things are more 'safe'. Luckily we have another ultrasound on Tuesday so we'll be able to see the progress of their growth and measure their heartbeats. Hopefully both are still doing great!

I think I'll start taking the classic 'belly shots' for week 9. I'm hoping to always take the picture in the same place in the house so we couldn't take it today anyways because we're not home. There's not much to see (unless you want to see my fat?). lol.


Week 7 Symptoms

HUNGRY? I don't seem to be quite as hungry as last week, although I do make sure that I'm eating frequently. My portions at breakfast, lunch, and dinner have decreased, probably due to the fact that I'm eating more often.

CRAVINGS? Nope, not really.

POOR SLEEPS AT NIGHT? YES. I guess it doesn't help that we're camping so when I wake up it's boiling hot in the tent. Thank goodness we brough along a bedside fan so that I can stay in the tent a little longer in the morning to try to sleep before I die of heat.

MORNING SICKNESS? Not at all. I started a new type of prenatal vitamin on Sunday (given to my by Genesis) and the directions say to take the morning pill on an empty stomach for optimal absorption. I did that...and felt quite naucious that morning until I ate a meal and allowed for that to digest. I didn't throw up though! Since then, I've been taking it after I've eaten a few graham crackers. I think I've been quite fortunate...although maybe it could start yet? What's the latest that anyone's had it start?

WEIGHT GAIN? Not quite sure, it's been a while since I've been on a weigh scale and I haven't had to wear pants at all this week. It's been a bathing suit for the majority of the day...and I've gotten used to my slightly larger midsection.

MILD CRAMPING? Yes, on and off all day long. Not overly painful, just a bit annoying. At least I know my uterus is growing! It's been my one constant symptom and so it's been comforting because it's a reminder that yes, I am pregnant.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH? Yes, but I think that's because of the extreme heat here in Penticton (it's been upper 30s every day). I spend about half of the afternoon in my parents' trailer, enjoying the a/c. If I'm outside for too long I absolutely die.

I think that's it for now...if I think of something I'll add it in later, but I wanted to get the basics down before I forgot.

I'll update again with our ultrasound results/pictures on Tuesday.