One of the things about twins is, as during most of their childhood, I imagine, in pregnancy everything happens sooner and more intensely. I started showing at about eight weeks. I knew it when my toddler patted my stomach and said, very solemnly, "that's a big Mama."
I had my first prenatal at eleven weeks, and the doctor said I had a "15-weeks sized uterus". I'm also noticing symptoms that started around 10 weeks, symptoms I didn't experience in my first pregnancy until four months or so (ligament cramps, lightheadedness). I started pulling out maternity clothes a few weeks ago, and now that everyone knows we are pregnant I get to start wearing them rather than the layers of baggy stuff I've been wearing lately. From what I've read about twin pregnancies, I'm going to look full-term around seven months. (Oh great, two months of feeling like Jabba the Hutt instead of a week or two.)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Cat's Out of the Bag
Finally we are "out" about our latest creative endeavor! Here's the timeline of our last few months:
2/11 - consultation with fertility doc. Complained of mood side effects from Clomid, so we decided to switch to Letrizole with next treatment cycle. Tally is now seven cycles of IUI, four at the midwife clinic, three at the fertility clinic, six of those with Clomid.
2/13 - began to suspect that we were pregnant
2/16 - BFP, which was a little surprising because with Mini-Me #1 I got several negative test results before a positive one 18 DPO. This time it was 12 DPO.
2/17, 2/19 - blood tests to confirm pregnancy. Got a call from the fertility clinic to say that my labs looked good. Actually what the nurse said was "yes, you're very pregnant." (The mathematician in me was vaguely annoyed. After all, it's a binary process, right? Either you are or you aren't, not like you can be "very" pregnant or "a little" pregnant... just wait, joke's on me!)
3/1-3/8 - took Mini-Me #1 to my parents' house across the country for a visit. Was exhausted the whole time, took advantage of the built-in grandparents childcare, took lots of naps, found that sitting up for an hour or two made me tired. Also threw up in the shower once while brushing teeth. Was puzzled because I was nowhere near this exhausted with first pregnancy, but chalked it up to pregnancy + travel + toddler care. Was sure Mom and Dad had guessed I was pregnant.
3/9 - back home, first ultrasound. Doctor asked how I was feeling. Complained of mind-numbing fatigue and worse nausea than I had experienced with first pregnancy. He said "well yeah, I'd expect you to be twice as tired and twice as sick because you're twice as pregnant." Thunk.
So, twins. Two little white beans on the ultrasound for me to see.
Each black blob is an embryonic sac. Each little white bean inside is a growing baby.
This and subsequent ultrasounds have helped determine that these twins are "di-di", that is, they do not share a sac or a placenta. This is good news, as it is the type of twins that are least likely to have medical problems later on in the pregnancy. It also means that they are fraternal. There is a 50% chance that they are boy-girl, 25% chance both girls, 25% chance both boys.
The last six weeks have been a haze of fatigue and stomachaches. I have never experienced anything like it before, though it reminds me of my best friend from high school describing her weakness while recovering from mono. Eighteen hours a day in bed sometimes. Appetite hit or miss. Waking up every hour or two at night, spending 45-60 minutes trying to get back to sleep. It's been a real drag, but it's starting to improve. Some days I actually have the energy to do TWO things (bring toddler to the park AND go grocery shopping) in a day, though it usually knocks me out to the point where I spend a few hours in bed at dinnertime. My child has had her brain turned to mush by too many Elmo videos and she and I are both getting by on triscuits and cheddar cheese and grapes, sometimes more than once a day.
Husband has been complaining that I haven't been very excited about this pregnancy, but honestly, I'm thrilled. I just didn't have the extra energy to be cheery.
2/11 - consultation with fertility doc. Complained of mood side effects from Clomid, so we decided to switch to Letrizole with next treatment cycle. Tally is now seven cycles of IUI, four at the midwife clinic, three at the fertility clinic, six of those with Clomid.
2/13 - began to suspect that we were pregnant
2/16 - BFP, which was a little surprising because with Mini-Me #1 I got several negative test results before a positive one 18 DPO. This time it was 12 DPO.
2/17, 2/19 - blood tests to confirm pregnancy. Got a call from the fertility clinic to say that my labs looked good. Actually what the nurse said was "yes, you're very pregnant." (The mathematician in me was vaguely annoyed. After all, it's a binary process, right? Either you are or you aren't, not like you can be "very" pregnant or "a little" pregnant... just wait, joke's on me!)
3/1-3/8 - took Mini-Me #1 to my parents' house across the country for a visit. Was exhausted the whole time, took advantage of the built-in grandparents childcare, took lots of naps, found that sitting up for an hour or two made me tired. Also threw up in the shower once while brushing teeth. Was puzzled because I was nowhere near this exhausted with first pregnancy, but chalked it up to pregnancy + travel + toddler care. Was sure Mom and Dad had guessed I was pregnant.
3/9 - back home, first ultrasound. Doctor asked how I was feeling. Complained of mind-numbing fatigue and worse nausea than I had experienced with first pregnancy. He said "well yeah, I'd expect you to be twice as tired and twice as sick because you're twice as pregnant." Thunk.
So, twins. Two little white beans on the ultrasound for me to see.
Each black blob is an embryonic sac. Each little white bean inside is a growing baby.
This and subsequent ultrasounds have helped determine that these twins are "di-di", that is, they do not share a sac or a placenta. This is good news, as it is the type of twins that are least likely to have medical problems later on in the pregnancy. It also means that they are fraternal. There is a 50% chance that they are boy-girl, 25% chance both girls, 25% chance both boys.
The last six weeks have been a haze of fatigue and stomachaches. I have never experienced anything like it before, though it reminds me of my best friend from high school describing her weakness while recovering from mono. Eighteen hours a day in bed sometimes. Appetite hit or miss. Waking up every hour or two at night, spending 45-60 minutes trying to get back to sleep. It's been a real drag, but it's starting to improve. Some days I actually have the energy to do TWO things (bring toddler to the park AND go grocery shopping) in a day, though it usually knocks me out to the point where I spend a few hours in bed at dinnertime. My child has had her brain turned to mush by too many Elmo videos and she and I are both getting by on triscuits and cheddar cheese and grapes, sometimes more than once a day.
Husband has been complaining that I haven't been very excited about this pregnancy, but honestly, I'm thrilled. I just didn't have the extra energy to be cheery.
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