18 Weeks Pregnant... and a Reveal!

I have long neglected this blog due to life being crazy chaotic around here. I am thankfully still pregnant with our twins, and simultaneously navigating selling our home (a two bedroom apartment won't cut it for our soon-to-be family of 5!) and parenting our 3.5 year-old son, Rowan.

Twin pregnancy has been very different to that of my first pregnancy. Everything has stretched faster, ached faster, everything has in fact been faster - including baby movement, which I felt the first flutters of at 12 weeks pregnant! Now, at 18 weeks, flutters have become pokes and I can distinctly feel a baby on each side of my tummy which is kind of fun. 

I am carrying monochorionic-diamnotic twins (or Mono-Di for short), which basically means the babies are each in their own amniotic sac but share a single placenta. This means extra monitoring via ultrasound (scans every two weeks starting at 16 weeks, and will progress to once per week from 24 weeks on). The extra scans are to ensure that both babies are growing as they should be and that one isn't getting more or less blood flow than the other. So far so good with our scans, but I'm always cautiously optimistic as I've been told that things can change very quickly in mono-di twin pregnancies. 

So, want to see our babies? Since 12 weeks, Baby A has been in a better position for photos (the twin closer to the front of my uterus, therefore easier to scan) so we've gotten some great shots. Baby B remains a little more elusive and is very wriggly (but I know we'll get that gorgeous profile shot at some point!).

Our twins at 12 weeks (Baby A on the left, Baby B on the right)

Baby A at 16 weeks (with a profile and nose just like Rowan!)

Baby B at 16 weeks

Twin bump growth at 12 weeks vs 14 weeks (when I started to really pop quickly)

16 week twin bump (see what I mean??)

And lastly, at our 16 week scan we were able to find out what we were having, I'll leave Rowan to fill you in with the details! ;)

It's BOYS!

7 Weeks... it's TWINS!

Yesterday we discovered at our first ultrasound that there are in fact TWO babies on the way!

On the trip  home from the scan Matt and I started discussing the logistics of not being able to fit three child/baby seats across the back of our car and what that would most likely mean for our family (I don't like driving huge cars/4WDs), double prams, and will we ever get any sleep again after the babies are born?!

However, it's all so far away (and yet.... it isn't!) and as we're both thinkers (as opposed to do-ers) it's time to start talking about it. Then there's the fun part of coming up with extra baby names (squee!) and deciding such things as finding out the sex of the babies before they're born. We were leaning towards waiting until birth to find out had there been one baby, but now that there's two we'll probably find out for practicality reasons. Not that I'm displeased with that, unconsciously I think I probably wanted to know anyway.

Three children when both Matt and I saw our family with two? If this all works out, we are definitely done now!!

So here is what we know so far:

• The babies are identical
• Our single embryo split into two before it implanted into my uterus (basically a 48-hour window between the embryo being thawed and implantation beginning)
• Each baby has their own amniotic sac (a VERY good thing, I'm so relieved!)
• The babies share a placenta (so there is a potential risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome developing, worst case scenario)
• My due date is still in early March, but it's likely that they could come in Jan/Feb, depending on how everything goes (scary...)
• I'll be monitored more closely because of the twin pregnancy, mostly through ultrasounds (which could be as often as every 2-3 weeks)
• This will make one heck of a pregnancy scrapbook!

When it was all sinking in yesterday (put it this way, Matt's initial responses to the ultrasound technician telling us that the embryo had split and there were two babies was a loud "OH SHIT!", and I could barely say a word except for muttering "TWO! ..... TWO! ..... TWO!"), my best friend gave me a good laugh. She said that the weakest of our embryos (as I called it, this one took 6 days to get to the 5-day blastocyst stage suitable for freezing) thought "I'll show them..." and went above and beyond the call.

And indeed it did! It also made me realise that this little one decided upon the stealthy 'divide and conquer' approach to survive, so now I have dubbed their collective tummy name as 'The Overlords'. No peas in a pod around here, that's for sure!

(and it's amused me today because I can throw random comments into the conversation such as "the overlords are hungry" and "the mission for uterine domination continues". Ahh, small things :P)

So here they are, meet the Overlords, both measuring at 6w5d (Rowan always measured two days smaller also).

In the picture, you can see one yolk sac in front of the other (the circles in the middle), with a baby at the top and bottom.

My Pregnancy Scrapbook [in Full]

I've made this post public for two reasons: 

1. To share with my family and friends who have listened to me talk about this project for a long time now; and

2. To inspire anyone who happens to find this post through search engines that there are many ways to document a pregnancy, and digital scrapbooking is one of them. :)

Just after Christmas, I finished working on my pregnancy scrapbook which had been over two years in the making. I taught myself digital scrapbooking when I was pregnant with Rowan so that I could undertake this project, and when I look back over my earlier layouts to the more recent ones in the book, I can really tell the difference. I thought about remaking a few of them before printing, but resisted the urge because I have memories associated with these earlier pages. So instead I tweaked the shadows and fixed up any glaring mistakes, and sent it all off for printing.

I printed with an Australian company called 123Cheese, as I had a coupon I'd bought earlier during 2012 with this purpose in mind. Basically, I got a $100+ project printed for $30, including postage/shipping. I was impressed with that, and had printed with the company before (photobooks, not digital scrapbooking projects) so I could vouch for their printing quality. Blurb are another printing company that I recommend, their quality is phenomenal but they are more expensive (you can search out coupons online pretty easily though, there are generally 15% coupons floating around; even up to 25% off before Christmas).

Anyway, back to the book... it was quite literally a labour of love and although I've shared pages here and there from it before, I've never posted it in its entirety before now. So without further ado, here are some pictures of the printed book itself and all week-by-week layouts. Lots of text (mainly for me to look back on, plenty of belly pictures and all the things I deemed important to tell at the time. I've had people ask me if I'd go to this much "effort" for subsequent pregnancies and I've said no, though I'd probably do a more abridged version if time allowed.

Some of the text/pictures might be difficult to make out, but that's due to the compression and resizing. In the printed book, everything looks crystal clear - even the thin journalling fonts. :)

The book itself; hardcover and linen-bound, printed in 12x12".
Hand for size comparision!

An example of layouts in the book (weeks 16-17)

The printing quality is exceptional, though a stitch-bound album would have been lovely,
glue-bound was only available from this company.

Following the week-by-week pages, I have his (lengthy) birth story, and a spread of 10 photographs of Rowan's first week in the world

ONTO THE ALBUM!

To view all pictures at a better size, click on one of them and it will take you to a full-windowed gallery (displaying bigger than in this post)

Inside front cover

34 Weeks

Our last (or so I hope!) growth scan happened during the week and, after letting my doctor's comments about small fundal heights and fluid levels get to me a little, everything appeared to be 'normal'. Sure, I haven't had my follow-up appointment with the doctor as yet, but the fact I didn't get a phonecall within a couple of days of the scan is a good thing *big thumbs up*.

At 34w1d, baby boy (who was again confirmed to be a boy!) weighs in at 4lb8oz (about 2.5kg) and is measuring within a week of his dates - just with very long legs as per usual. I know that ultrasound weights can vary by quite a bit and aren't completely accurate, but it's nice to have that indicator that my body is growing a healthy baby, one that is measuring along the growth curve documented at 20 and 28 weeks via ultrasound. Even if my body needed a hand to have egg and sperm meet in the first place, it's reassuring that it's been possible to have a so-called normal pregnancy (one that doesn't differ from anyone else's, besides a couple of extra scans).

Here's his latest mugshot (though difficult to make out facial details because of bone causing shadows and the fact he's squished down low in my pelvis already) -


34 weeks (click image to see bigger; tilt your head to the right to see his face)



I've now started my maternity leave, which is both exciting and odd at the same time. Only a week into leave and I can feel my responsibilities with the Kindergarten beginning to melt away (although it's been a slow separationl; I haven't been employed in a teaching capacity since January and have been in the office). Part of me worries if the place can survive without me, part of me knows that it can and will - and that before long I'll be a distant memory there too. As I said, it's a little odd. We're lucky here in Australia to have access to up to 18mths leave by being employed by the Education Department - I've applied for the full amount but it's entirely possible that I'll do a little emergency (relief) teaching come 2012 before making the decision on whether to return to my workplace in September.

Pictures from my last day at work before starting maternity leave.





It was also my birthday yesterday (I turned 29). My parents came to visit - Mum in the morning and Dad in the afternoon - and I took myself out for a solo lunch (I'd been craving a big ol' iced chocolate with plenty of cream; it was as tasty as I'd been imagining!). The most special part of the celebrations was Matt's card to me, where he signed it from him and the baby... and wrote down the baby's name.

I'm beyond thrilled that our little man now has a name (presuming we think it still 'fits' him one he's here in this world), and even happier that Matt was able to play a big part in its choosing. Last night I dreamt of our son with his chosen name... and it just felt right. I'm relieved and thankful. :)

34 week tummy, baby's weight is getting heavier in my uterus and I've had some ligament pain again as his sac continues to grow.

28 Weeks (ultrasound pictures)

Welcome to the third trimester! I did it, we're finally here....yippee! :D

This week we had the pleasure of seeing our gorgeous baby boy again, in a medically-ordered scan (our OB likes his IVF patients to have a 28-week scan as part of pregnancy care; he said it's to make sure that everything is continuing to go on track, as IVF babies can sometimes come earlier than naturally-conceived babies).

However, all looks to be well! Placenta is perfect, baby is weighing in at 1260g (2.5lb) and if he continues to follow the growth curve observed at our 21-week scan and this one, he'll be about 8.5lb at birth. Of course, this is only a guestimate but it's nice to know that he won't likely be an 11lb'er! ;)

Here are a couple of pictures of the little man (who has put on some gorgeous chubby baby fat in the last seven weeks). Go here to see pictures from our previous scans.

I love his profile

Snuggling against the placenta, umbilical cord over his shoulder

Beautiful sleepy face (hubby and I agree that he has my nose!)

Ultrasound Says...

....

....

....

....

We will soon be buying more clothes that look like this:

Yes, baby is very much a little BOY!

(measuring right on schedule, everything is exactly where it should be)

So how does it feel to know that this baby is in fact a little man? Surprising, and yet wonderful at the same time! I have been feeling definite girl vibes for most of this pregnancy and went as far as to call myself 75% certain. There you go... that goes to show that the universe likes to save the best surprises for the most important of times.

Laying there on the bed while the ultrasound technician (the same woman who did our 13-week scan) waved her wand on me, manatee squirmed and wriggled, barely giving us all two minutes before he decided to change position and show us his goods. Previously, legs were crossed and I joked to hubby that it would figure, we wouldn’t get to find out the gender today and the technician said “oh, I already know what it is, do you want to know?”. Umm, yes please! She repositioned the wand and zoomed on in, and asked hubby and I what we thought we were looking at. Not three lines, but a something.

“Is that a boy?”, I kind-of-squeaked (wondering if she’d laugh at me if I was wrong).

“Yes, it’s very much a boy”, she responds.

Hubby and I squeeze hands, grin and while she takes pictures and continues the scan the tears stream down the outsides of my eyes. Happy tears, and the realisation that we were going to be parents to a manatee boy.

Yes, it figures that we had all but agreed on a girl’s name and hadn’t yet settled on a name for a boy (we decided not to push it anymore and come the 20-week scan, we might not need to have that conversation anymore!).

After the technician confirmed our realisations, hubby laughed and replied “that’d figure!”.

So now starts the journey of suitable names for little boys, names that will carry on through to adulthood painlessly. The list of ‘I hate it’s is lengthening, but the list of ‘I don’t hate it, but...’ is growing. Perhaps we’ll see eye to eye soon, or maybe when our little boy is born we’ll know the perfect name? Either way we won’t be sharing any names online before the birth!

Post-ultrasound, we emerged with an envelope of highly-prized pictures, DVD and big grins on our faces. It was a relief to also discover that the baby’s head isn’t overly huge (even though he currently weighs in at 380g or 13oz, which sets us on track for an 8lb+ birth at full-term), which was the case with my brother who required a forceps delivery during his birth. Dissimilarly, I practically slid out at a tiny 6lb 13oz (at 38 weeks; whereas hubby was born at 42 weeks and weighed over 9lb, if I remember correctly).

He. I have to get used to saying that. I’ve been so used to saying ‘it’ that there’s that adjustment period.

Now the fun of buying little jeans, overalls, t-shirts, rompers and shirts begins. And we couldn’t be happier. :)

Letter to a Little One [13wks]

Hello baby, we saw you today and heard your heart beating at 160bpm. You're measuring 6.75cm from head to rump right now, and that doesn't include your legs (the ultrasound tech said you'd be closer to 10cm realistically!).


Everything looks good - your brain, heart, kidneys, body, cord, feet and hands. Unlike last week's scan you decided to surprise us by being still (and more than just a little bit stubborn... I think you take after me already!). As soon as the tech flipped into 4D mode you put your hand up in front of your face as if to say no more!! We'll get you used to the camera yet, there's plenty of time. ;)

The next time we see you will be on November 25th, when I'll be 20 weeks. Hopefully you co-operate and let us discover who you are!

Love you.
xxxxxxxx

12 Weeks (!!)

Today I had my first appointment with the obstetrician and he surprised us with a quick ultrasound....cue much excitement (and nervousness!) on my part!
We got to see our baby on the screen.... not a blob, but a fully-formed (but tiny) baby! Sure, this picture doesn't quite do the experience justice, but it was amazing to see it moving around on the screen. In fact, the obstetrician commented on how active he/she was, and that may be a sign of things to come.... oh my! :O

Measuring three days ahead too - it must have our tall genes... I've never been so proud. :)




(Not the clearest angle, but here's our little one's second picture! (head to the left, legs to the right)
We have our 'proper' scan next week, so I'll be sure to update then.



And my twelve week tummy picture. Nearly out of the first trimester!!

P.S. - Hubby and I made the pregnancy public on Facebook tonight, now it's officially out there. :)

8 Weeks

The last week has been a whirlwind affair, starting off with the all-important first ultrasound which made me cry when I got to see this on the screen:

Pregnancy at 7 weeks & 0 days

With a heartbeat of 133bpm, it was truly a beautiful sight to behold (even if it's difficult to make anything out yet). This little one was measuring ahead, which the technician said could either be because of our genes (I'm 6'0" and hubby is 6'2" - or in metric terms, 181cm and 186cm!) or that the blastocyst implanted early. Either way, I feel proud already. :)

We have officially 'graduated' from the IVF clinic and are currently in the process of being referred to more local care at a nearby private hospital. Our last HCG blood test results were really good, with the numbers being in the 105,000's! :O

Both families now know about the pregnancy and everyone seems thrilled for us! I'm ecstatic we've been able to share the good news with them all (even if we're not making it completely public until after our 12wk ultrasound).

I've been sleeping a lot more lately (tending to nap at about 3pm when I get the chance) and morning sickness is still fairly non-existant (I've only had a couple of days where I've woken up a little queasy).

And I think that's my update?

Oh wait, I forgot to show you what's appeared during the last week, a little teeny-tiny (probably all bloat) protrusion: