I had a missed miscarriage in May of 2009, I was 12 weeks along when it was discovered. Subsequent pathology reports came back indicating a Partial Molar Pregnancy. 3 months worth of weekly (& then bi-weekly) blood draws were required to track my HCG levels back to zero. Needless to say, the summer of 2009 was a rather emotional time for me. Finally on August 31 my HCG levels had returned to zero. No more blood draws! My OB advised Jeff and I to wait another 3 months before we tried to conceive again. 2 months later we found out we were pregnant. (shame on us!) :-D
I will now attempt to give a recap of my pregnancy, from finding out I was pregnant until the day we welcomed our little miracles!
November 1, 2009 - It was a Sunday, I remember sitting in church having a variety of cravings, ranging from my mom's brown sugar glazed carrots to an omelet from the deli across the street from our church. I leaned over to Jeff during the service and said, "Can we go to Charley's for lunch? I need an omelet." Yes, it was a need. He said, "Sure." (it's one of his favorite places too). I got my omelet that day, and I devoured it in about 10 minutes. Later that night we had my parents over for pizza. Halfway through my second slice I felt like I was going to throw up. This was it, I just knew it.
November 2, 2009 - Did I mention I went to bed Sunday night at 8pm? Yes. I slept like a rock and didn't wake up until my alarm went off 10 hours later. On my way home from work I stopped at the dollar store and got a pregnancy test. Jeff wasn't home from work yet. I took the test - instant positive. As soon as Jeff walked in the door I told him the news, aside from being excited he said, "Wow - we're fertile." (It was the second time we'd gotten pregnant on the first 'try').
In the days that followed I felt a variety of different symptoms. I was still ravenous, tired and nauseous. I remember one night coming home from work and telling Jeff I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to sleep. He said, "But the baby needs to eat - he's hungry!" I replied, "No, he's tired." "No SHE'S hungry!!" "No, she's tired and she wants to go to bed." This went back and forth until I finally said, "THEY are tired, and THEY need to rest." My subconscious seemed to know. Bizarre. Don't worry, I ate dinner that night. But I also went to bed at 8pm. Again.
November 5, 2009 - Since we'd had a prior loss, my OB wanted to measure my HCG levels from the moment I found out I was pregnant again. I raced to the office after work and found out the next day, my HCG level was 403 and my progesterone level was 40. I distinctly remember the nurse telling me on the phone, "For progesterone, anything over 20 we consider a nice healthy pregnancy!!" My mind started spinning - 40 was exactly DOUBLE that number.
November 7, 2009 - I went for another blood draw to ensure my levels were doubling. Since this was a Saturday I didn't find out the news until 2 days later. The same nurse called me to tell me my level was at 885, and that I was doing "A good job". Gee, thanks. Since my levels were good I was scheduled to come in for an ultrasound a week and a half later. My OB was confident we'd be able to see whether or not the baby was on track and that we might possibly be able to detect a heartbeat as well!
November 18, 2009 - I had to go to work in the morning since the ultrasound appointment was at noon. I also had to return to work when it was over. Jeff and I met at our 'halfway spot' (a big parking lot, where I left my car and jumped into his. I didn't want to have to drive back alone if we got upsetting news.) We arrived right on time for our appointment. For whatever reason, the tech was running a little behind. I was upset, mainly because I had a nice full bladder and I knew I wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom until after the ultrasound. Finally we were called back. It seemed to take forever. A good 20 minutes passed and I shot Jeff a worried glance. I will never forget the look I got from him in response, a half eyebrow raise as well as a big goofy grin. Did I mention he could see the screen on the ultrasound machine? Yes, he could. I could not. (Thus the worry). Finally about 5 minutes later the tech turns the screen so I could see it, too. "Ready for the surprise?" Oh my God, here it comes! Nobody says that during an ultrasound! "There's TWO!" My eyes started pouring tears of happiness as I asked her, "Are they both in there?" (Yes, that was my response. Apparently that's all I could come up with at the moment.) She assured me that yes, they were both "in there" and proceeded to zoom in on each little flickering speck. Both of my babies were there - with perfect heartbeats. I wasn't even 6 weeks pregnant yet. Jeff was at a loss for words but I do remember him giggling the entire way back to our 'parking lot meeting spot'. Before we had left the building, I remember standing outside the office and waiting for the elevator to come up to our floor. Something the tech had said was bothering me, "One of the heartbeats is a little slower...it will probably catch up, but I am required to tell you." I told Jeff I was a little worried about what she had said, and then we looked at each other, remembering old wives' tales we said at almost the exact same time, "Maybe it's a boy and a girl?"
December 1, 2009 - Had I not gone in for early testing, this would have been my first 'official' OB appointment. I was almost 8 weeks pregnant. The nurse assistant didn't even bother putting me in a 'regular' exam room, I was escorted right to the Ultrasound room. Needless to say, I was a ball of nerves. My doctor finally came in and immediately started discussing delivery options with us. "If they are both head-down at the end, we will go for a vaginal delivery, if baby A is head-down and baby B is breech we can do a vaginal delivery then I can manually flip baby B, if both babies are breech it will be a c-section." This conversation seemed to drag on and on, and I felt like saying, "I'm only 8 weeks pregnant - can we please just turn on the ultrasound machine and make sure everything is OK?!" Finally, we did just that. My little flickering specks looked more like tiny gummy bears now, and were growing perfectly.
January 5, 2010 - I was almost 13 weeks pregnant. I remember in the weeks between these 2 appointments fearing for the worst. This had been the 'fateful appointment' back in May. The one where they calmly told me, "The baby stopped growing 3 weeks ago... I'm sorry." Ugh...anyway, Jeff and I had been in the midst of remodeling our bathroom and I had been on my hands and knees on the floor laying ceramic tile and grout with him. I remember being so worried because, aside from the constant nausea, I felt perfectly fine. I thought I would have been 'showing' by then, especially since there were 2 babies! I was almost sure I'd get the same bad news that day. The appointment was at 7:30am (how do I remember these things?) I barely slept the previous night. We pulled into the parking lot, and snow had just started falling. It was beautiful. But I was still worried - all I wanted was to see my babies again. I had an ultrasound almost every month and was certain I'd have another one this time. I was placed in a regular exam room at first (this terrified me - all I could think was, "Put me in the Ultrasound room!!") but sure enough, I was eventually taken to the Ultrasound room and as soon as my doctor turned on the machine there they were - BABIES, with arms and legs just dancing and floating around! They even had personalities, baby A was being a little stinker - we decided it was a girl and she was feisty like me. She was upside down and backwards, we could never catch a good 'profile shot' of her, just her (upside-down) spine. Baby B was cool, calm and collected. Floating so effortlessly, giving an occasional kick of his foot. We decided this had to be the boy, with a personality just like his Daddy! He gave us a perfect little profile shot. I was in love.
February 2, 2010 - I was a little over 16 weeks pregnant. By now I was feeling slightly better in the nausea department, which (not surprisingly) worried me. This time I was put in a regular exam room again, and my OB came in with a Doppler. For the first time ever, I was able to hear my babies' heartbeats. Two very distinct sounds (one still slower than the other!) on opposite sides of my belly. Music to my ears! That night, I went 'public' on Facebook. Jeff and I then went to celebrate the great appointment with dinner at Olga's. He brought his iPod and kept updating me with peoples' comments to congratulate us. It was a fun night :)
February 4, 2010 - I was exactly 17 weeks pregnant. I did not have an appointment this day but it is still worth noting, it was the day I felt the first kick! I had just left work and was at the light at Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. and Eisenhower Pkwy. I felt a couple pokey sensations and put my hand down there, sure enough someone was kicking me! Based on the location of the faster heartbeat 2 days prior, I decided it was the little girl I was feeling (have I mentioned the genders weren't even confirmed yet? Talk about Mother's Instinct!)
February 14, 2010 - I thought this was the first day it looked like I had somewhat of a baby bump starting. Just a little over 18 weeks pregnant, I posted this on FB with the following caption: "Nothin' says lovin' like TWO buns in the oven!!" Valentine's Day 2010
February 15, 2010 - We realized the inevitable, we HAD to get a new car. Jeff's lease on his 2007 Saturn Aura would be expiring, when? Right when the babies were due, naturally. Not only did we decide he needed a new car, but I insisted it had to be bigger than the Aura. We had been considering a 2010 GMC Terrain, and had been completely 'sold' on the fact that the middle row was adjustable, offering the most leg room in its class. Also due to some awesome rebates (including an early lease turn-in incentive, GM loyalty {since we also own the Vibe} as well as employee discount), we decided to buy it. The monthly payment actually ended up being cheaper than if we would have leased, crazy right? And best of all, in a few years it will be MINE!
Obviously this is the 'stock' photo, but this is the color we decided on. Love it.
February 17, 2010 - I was 18 weeks, 6 days pregnant. Today was the BIG day. It was time for our 'big ultrasound' where the babies' genders would be revealed! I laid on the Ultrasound table and the tech asked if we wanted to find out the genders. Jeff and I both said, "YES!" As soon as she put the wand on my belly she confirmed what we'd been guessing all along, "It's one of each!!" Both babies were laying in the exact same position, and she happened to put her wand right on their rumps! The rest of the ultrasound went perfectly and both babies were measuring exactly the same size-wise. The funniest part of it all was after the tech revealed their genders I pointed to the right side of my belly (where I'd felt the kicks) and asked, "Is the girl on this side?" Yep, sure enough. What was that I said about Mother's Instinct? :)March 6, 2010 - Jeff and I initially had a trip to Vegas scheduled for right around this time. Once we found out we were having TWO babies rather than just one, we canceled our trip. Most OBs don't advise traveling much past 24 weeks. We did take a weekend trip to Cleveland though. Here is a pic of us inside the "Christmas Story House" (who knew?)
I don't even look pregnant... this picture cracks me up, I had just told Jeff to 'touch it!!' (the leg) and he refused. I thought it would be funny :-P
Here's a pic I took in the hotel. I thought I looked 'cute', haha. Please excuse the un-made bed, we were getting ready to check out. This was when sleep began to get terrible for me. I could never find a good position. I was bummed, that bed was super comfortable too!!
22 weeks
26 weeks
April 18, 2010 - We had our first baby shower! The babies received TONS of good stuff. Here is a pic of Jeff and I on that day. We had a blast!
April 22, 2010 - This was the day I took my 1-hour 'glucose test'. Yuck. I failed it. I also failed the 3-hour. But it was stupid completely unfair. For the 3-hour you have to fail 2 of the 3 blood draws. For the first one, it had to be below 180. Mine was exactly 180. Seriously people? Seriously. That was the ONLY reason I failed (I forget the other #). The 'diabetic consultant/dietician' I spoke with actually laughed that my OB sent me to her. Absolute bologna. ANYWAYS...From mid-May up until I delivered, I had to monitor my blood sugar levels by poking my finger 4x a day. Yeah, that was fun. Apparently I was supposed to control my blood sugar levels 'by diet'. I did take the dieticians suggestion and skip my usual carb-filled breakfasts. She suggested breakfast sandwiches with sausage, biscuits, egg and cheese. This is not normally something I would eat for breakfast since it's so fattening delicious, but delicious it was and I think I ate one nearly every day. I never did anything differently aside from that and my levels were consistently normal. Did I already say this was dumb? I'm still irked, obviously.
Somewhere around this time it was determined that both babies were head-down. They continued to stay in that position until the day I delivered!
May 7, 2010 - My last day at work. 30 weeks pregnant. Since I was going to be a stay-at-home-mom, I essentially got to 'choose' my last day. From the very beginning, my OB had said I probably wouldn't feel like working much past 30 weeks. I actually had planned on leaving a week earlier (April 30), but for certain work-related reasons I decided to stay another week. Surprisingly I was still semi-comfortable at this point, but had to get up and walk around constantly. I also still fit in my car. I'd read stories of MoMs (mothers of multiples) who could no longer fit behind their steering wheel towards the end. I'm not kidding!! I'd also read stories of MoMs who couldn't fit in a booth at a restaurant. Now, that is one thing I *almost* couldn't do. I think I had an inch to spare (I had to sit up perfectly straight). We usually requested tables with chairs. Even then, I had a hard time 'scooching' in close enough to the table. Sigh.
May 8, 2010 - Baby shower #2! Thrown by Jeff's family. It was amazing! Our families are truly the greatest.
And now a picture:
I wish I had a picture of myself from behind. Everyone told me (and not to 'toot my own horn' but it's the honest truth..) I did not even look pregnant from behind! Yeah, I gloat on that one a bit... Oh well :-P
The next month and a half was a complete blur of weekly appointments, a couple visits to the Labor & Delivery floor of the hospital for high BP. 24 hour urine tests (had a couple of those, the less-than-attractive part of pregnancy for sure, nothing like having to collect your own pee for 24 hours. ICK.)
Oh, here's a picture from 34 weeks. I crack up because Jeff decided he wanted to show off his 'bump' too. He's so cute.
June 23, 2010 - 36 weeks, 6 days pregnant. I'd been sent to the L&D floor 2 times in the prior week. This appointment we discovered that not only was my BP sky-high (that's why I was sent before...) but now I was 'spilling protein' in my urine. A sign of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is relatively serious, and my doctor was especially concerned since I was having multiples. A quick call to her colleague and she reappeared in the exam room, "Let's get those babies out!!!" is what I remember her saying. Fortunately Jeff was with me, he knew we were down-to-the-wire now since I'd been sent to the hospital for the past 2 appointments already!! Here's a pic he shot with his camera phone. Can't believe this was it!! I was a ball of nerves, as usual.
And now for my birth story: (This is C&P from an email I had written to a family member on July 1, 2010.)
"I am feeling a lot better as compared with this time last week. I was induced starting Wednesday evening (6/23) at 36w6d due to high blood pressure. Since my pressure was high and I was 'spilling protein' in my urine, I had to be on magnesium sulfate during the induction to lower my BP as well as help prevent seizures (a side effect of pregnancy-induced hypertension). So from Wednesday evening until 24 hours after delivery I was completely bed-ridden. Not only was I bed-ridden but the magnesium sulfate made me feel really sick/flu-like. I kept telling Jeff my mouth was on fire, but the nurse wouldn't let me drink water OR have ice chips because they were monitoring how much IV fluid they were putting into me as well as how much I was 'outputting' via a Foley Catheter (note: these are not fun if you don't have an epidural yet, ick). Talk about torture. I remember being SO hot from the mag sulfate and everyone that came in (Mom/Dad, Jeff's parents, etc..) complained about how cold the room was - apparently we had the thermostat set near 60 :) I don't remember much about what went on Thursday (June 24), I do remember them breaking my water around 9am - that was the most unbearable pain I think I've ever been in. I could NOT stop screaming. I was only 3cm dilated and 80% effaced when they did it. From then on, every time they checked me I was writhing in pain. The doctors said not many patients are in pain during internals but clearly I am of the minority. I don't want to relive THAT anytime soon. I also remember getting my epidural immediately after they broke my water which relieved the pain from the contractions but I could still feel my cervix opening and it was just as painful as the internals! By the time I got to 10cm (12 hours later) I couldn't take it any longer. My energy was just completely gone. They topped off my epidural at 9:30pm in hopes I'd be able to push, and at that point I started feeling weird. I got a metallic taste in my mouth and told the nurse. She took my BP which ended up being 70/40! I remember drifting in and out of consciousness and seeing about 7 nurses and my doctor rush to my bed. I then started dry heaving like crazy at which point Jeff thought I was convulsing and the nurses thought HE was going to pass out so they laid him on the couch. Then my doctor declared "c-section!!" since she wanted me to be able to hear the babies' first cries before stabilizing me. Within minutes I was being rushed down to the OR. I do remember their first cries, and the doctor saying Jeffrey peed all over him when he came out. lol. I don't remember anything else though, like the fact that Jeff said he left as soon as the babies left (5 minutes into the surgery) and they worked on completing the surgery for another 30-40 minutes or so. I don't have much recollection of being wheeled back to my room either... Maybe I had fallen asleep, who knows!
Recovery was pretty brutal since I was still on the mag sulfate day 1 (bed-ridden), then day 2 they expected me to be able to get up (by myself) and go to the bathroom! Not only was I in a great deal of pain but then I was expected to start walking! Doctors spent both days trying to stabilize my BP, which had been high all along (after that ordeal I don't see how it couldn't be!) They couldn't bring the babies to visit me since they were in the Special Care Nursery, and I wasn't allowed to visit them because sitting up straight both hurt and made me feel like passing out and they didn't want to raise my BP even more. They did surprise me on day 2 by bringing Jozlynn in for 15 minutes. But poor little Jeffrey I didn't get to see until late Sunday :(
Both babies were immediately sent to the Special Care Nursery after their birth due to feeding issues: they both didn't want to eat and Jeffrey threw up a lot. Jozlynn finally caught up on feedings and they did multiple x-rays on Jeffrey's belly to make sure there weren't any blockages. They put him on antibiotics, IV fluids and stopped feeding him formula for 24 hours. X-rays showed a little air in his bowels but no major issues other than that so they started up the feedings again and slowly he started tolerating them and keeping everything down. Since I was unable to see them, Jeff constantly went to the nursery to take pictures/videos for me to look at. He was also there during most of their feedings and diaper changes. He was such an amazing support both in taking care of me (he never left my side, even during my most painful episodes he was always there holding my hand) and checking on the babies. I truly thank God for him and feel that this experience has brought us even closer together."
June 24, 2010 - a day I will never forget!!!
By 2 weeks 'post delivery' I had already lost 42 of the 46 pounds I'd gained. Yep, I was ALL babies. My current weight is still about 2lbs more than my pre-pregnancy weight, but considering I barely have time to exercise... I'm perfectly fine with it. I do fit into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes and have for a while now, that's all that matters right? :)
