23rd Week...time for Glucose Testing

Welp, I survived my glucose test this morning!  Let's hope it comes back in the normal range 🤞🤞🥴.

Fruit Punch flavored...yumm🤮

Since I've been pregnant 6 times prior...I'm no stranger to these annoying, yet understandably necessary glucose tests.  With my others however, I remember them sending it home with you the appointment prior to save and drink from home on the morning of the test (since you have to be fasting) then come in and get your blood drawn.  Not anymore.  I guess the honor system is no longer honorable 😜🤷🏼‍♀️.

Anyway, when I arrived at my appointment the nurse gave me two options of glucose flavors.  Fruit punch or orange?  Knowing what I'm about to consume will taste nothing close to good...I go for the fruit punch.  She then shares that I need to drink the entire contents within 3 minutes and then once complete, I need to set a timer for 60 minutes on my phone to let me know when it was time to walk to the lab for my 1 hr glucose check.

Okay so once the drink goes down (surprisingly not as horrible as I anticipated) it's time to be called back for the ultrasound portion.

As you can guess these babies are moving around a ton in there, hyped up on that glucose syrup 😜! The ultrasound tech started with Baby A (girl)...she was active and kicking around the entire time.  She is in a head down position currently with her feet up top...and apparently from what we saw, kicking her brother (Baby B) in the head!  Poor babies, it looks so squishy in there!

Her heart rate was in the 140s which is lower than it has been in all previous ultrasounds, but the doctor assured us that it's still within the normal range and even though she only has a two vessel cord, her weight was measuring a little above average...at 1lb 4 oz.  

Here are some of her beauty shots below 👇:

Since she's head down and closest to my cervix, it's a lot harder to get a clear 3D photo...he also said she's so active, it makes it really hard for a clear picture!

Next was Baby B's (Boy) turn.  He is currently sitting in a breech position, feet down, head up.  Which now makes a lot of the movements and bumps I feel...make a lot more sense! 🤣

Baby B's heart rate was also in the 140s, he was very active in returning those kicks and jabs to his sister.  He is slightly bigger, weighing in at 1lb 6oz, which is also a little ahead of the average😊

Here are some of his handsome shots below 👇:

This last one you can see Baby A's feet in it!  It's amazing to see just how close they are and how they interact with each other.  Literally when one kicks you see the other move!  They are slowly running out of room, which makes me feel for these little guys!  I'm sure their growth will slow soon...but for now we are so happy that they are healthy and seemingly very happy so far!

As for me... Heartburn has surpasses headaches for the #1 source of pain spot. 😜 I've really had to start altering my diet to avoid onions, tomatoes, and any type of sour or spicy foods.  I've also made it so my larger meals are eaten earlier in the day.  It seems to help for the most part, but man..it can be brutal!

Other than food aversions to avoid heartburn, I really have been feeling a lot better overall!  I'm not too uncomfortable yet, but definitely bigger than a single pregnancy would be at this time.  

The doctor gave me an A+ rating for my pregnancy so far.  I've gained a total of 10lbs this pregnancy (3lbs this month) and my blood pressure is looking good at 128/82.  (Still high for me, but they seem to very happy with it!)

The doctor warned me that twins will give me an increased chance of not passing my glucose test...so to mentally prepare just in case. 🤞🤞 I'm really hoping I won't have to go through this again.  Wish me luck! 🍀

19 Week Anatomy Scan (Twins)

So yesterday marked 19 weeks 1 day for these little babies growing inside.  This week the average singleton baby weighs approximately 8oz (.5 lb) and measures about 6".  They are comparing their sizes to Mangoes this week🥭🤷🏼‍♀️.  Not sure if that's accurate...I better check out the size of Mangoes again🤣.

Twins, I've been told, don't grow quite as fast as singleton babies, due to room and sharing resources...but these babies are measuring right on...well maybe a little ahead of track! 🤣. 

We had our 19 week anatomy scan for both of the babies yesterday, (I was told it would be approximately an hour per baby, so to come prepared with snacks 🤤).  Although I didn't need snacks, I did need some water so I'm glad my sister was there to help a sister in need!

We started the scan with Baby A.  Who is currently breech, bum down and facing my back.  She was (is) very active, and in very close quarters with her brother (Baby B).  It made the ultrasound very challenging to understand what was what🤣.  At one time we had two circles up on the screen, that the tech froze to do some measuring, but only on one of the circles.  So I had to ask, what he was measuring and then of course, what the other circle was that he was leaving out?!  He said oh, the circle on the right is Baby A's abdomen, I'm measuring the circumference.   The circle on the left is Baby Bs head and we aren't going to focus on him right now 🤣🤣🤷🏼‍♀️.  It made me giggle.  This is definitely a first for me.  Although I've been through SEVERAL pregnancies and ultrasounds...never before have there been two! Haha it was such a cool experience!

Baby A's weighing in at approximately 9oz, heart rate was cruising in the 160s, she loves to have her hands by her face, and seemed to be drinking or sucking a lot!  She's very active and has an adorable little profile, just like her bigger sisters did (still do)!  

After an in-depth scan and multiple measurements of Baby girl A, we moved on to Baby B.   Who wasn't patiently waiting, he made several impromptu appearances in his sister's pictures and scans.  He was also sitting breech, in a similar position to his sister.  4 weeks ago they were both laying transverse or horizontally one on top of the other...this week however they are now side by side, bum down. 🤷🏼‍♀️😁

Baby B, weighed in at approximately 10oz, had a heart rate in the 140s, was non stop moving, and appeared to be sucking his thumb🥰.  The ultrasound tech commented on how active they both were, so I'm getting that they are used to more chill babies 🤣😜.  (Sorry Shavonne...hope this isn't an indicator of how they will be outside of the womb😜🤞🥰.)

After the anatomy and profile scans our tech provided us some 3d and 4d scans of each baby.  Since they were moving so much, it wasn't super easy for him.  The picture of Baby A is a little wonky and you have to put on your squinty eyes to make out some of her features...but Baby B had a pretty clear picture of his little nose and eyes.  When my sister pulled up a picture of his late paternal grandfather, you could see the resemblance!  I'll post the scans 👇 below.

Baby A ☝🏼

Baby B☝🏼

After our scans we were told the doctor wanted to speak with us and go over the scans, which was kind of odd, because we heard he was in delivery and we would be seeing the NP instead 🤔.

After a lengthy wait in the exam room, Dr. F. finally arrived.  He told us that the anatomy scans on both babies looked great, but there was one item that was noted for Baby A.  She has a "two vessel umbilical cord". He went on to explain that typically when there are only 2 vessels vs 3, there are common anatomical issues that are also present, typically impacting the heart or kidneys.  He assured us however that those organs currently, look great and show no indication of not being normal or functioning incorrectly!  If you're interested in learning a little more about a 2 vessel umbilical cord here's a link that I found helpful.

2 Vessel Cord Explained

So what's next?  We continue to monitor babies for growth every 4 weeks by ultrasound.  Nothing special needs to be done or changed.  I do however have my glucose appointment scheduled in 4 weeks🥲.  Which is so much sooner than I ever did it for any of my single pregnancies.  The doctor mentioned that twins require twice the amount of extra insulin to be produced so there is a good chance I might come up short and be gestational diabetic.  I'm sure my age and size don't help either 🥴😭.  But here's to hoping my body can overcome the extra need for insulin and I can keep my diet as is!🤞❤️. So far this pregnancy I've gained a total of 5 pounds (3 being in this last month).  So, I'm grateful for a body that's been so accommodating to it's new occupants and nourishing them so well!  Let's hope everything continues to stay on track 🤞🏼!

How I feel:  I'm still recovering from that cold/flu over the holidays.  Don't feel bad, just a lingering runny nose and cough, boo.  Headaches have not been a huge issue this week, thank goodness!  Unfortunately I started to develop heart burn after eating some salsa at 2pm on New Year's day and after still dealing with it's effects at 9pm that night decided I'm never eating spicy food again😭.  That was brutal.  So after mentioning it to the doctor yesterday, I was given the green light to take Pepcid maximum strength.  (Took one last night and it totally worked!)  So happy...lets hope the headaches and the heartburn stay away! 🙏🏼😁

Babies are super active and I can feel them throughout the day and night constantly.  It's hard to make out which ones which since they are so close together 😜🤩. Since they are still small, they don't pack too big of a punch yet (🙏🏼) so they don't keep me up at night or make it hard to relax or breathe just yet.

Well that's the update I have for this week! ❤️

15 weeks Down, 25 to Go!

This week has been my best week so far, when it comes to morning/all day sickness!  Sunday was the first day I really didn't feel nauseated for a good portion of the day and after dinner was even able to make and decorate sugar cookies with the kids, which was a huge win! 🥰🤩

Monday & Tuesday were much like Sunday, with the exception that I went to work 🤷🏼‍♀️😜.  I still had some usual sicky time, but the thing that has been the greatest is the food aversions seem to be dwindling, so when the nausea creeped in, not being super picky about a snack was super helpful in getting me back to feeling good!

Today, was my 15 week appointment, so we were able to take a peek at the babies with an ultrasound 🥰

It's so crazy how much they've grown and so cool to see them interacting so closely with one another!  Gone are the days of individual ultrasounds, for each baby 😂.  Both babies seem to continually photobomb each other during their scans (which was so entertaining to watch!). Here's baby A's head....and boom Baby B's booty shows up right next to it😂.  True story! Haha I'll photo dump the ultrasound pics below..which will include a very clear picture of both baby A's and B's anatomy😃👇🏼

Baby A (girl) is still anterior (which means closest to my cervix and down lower) she's laying transverse, (horizontal) and Baby B (boy) is laying right on top of her, head to toe ying yang style also transverse.  

Baby A's heart beat was cruising at about 169 beats per minute today, while Baby B was around 142.  They are measuring exactly the same right now, which is great news!  It means both are getting nurished equally and on track!  

In the scans we were able to see both babies bumping and pushing eachother constantly and it was fun to see the sibling rivalry starting so early.  My sister and her husband will definitely have their hands full🥰💞!  

I gained 1lb over the last 4 weeks which puts me at 2lbs overall for this pregnancy so far.  I'm sure now that the sickness is ending AND babies are expected to double in size over the next few weeks...that my next appointment might see some changes on the scale. Hopefully not too much! 😜🤞🏼🥰 I actually paid attention to my blood pressure reading today, which they said was great at 117/76.  I still think that's high for me...but I'm glad it's good for where I'm at!🥳. The doctor gave me all "A+'s"...which he seemed pretty excited about...so I'm gonna take it! 🤩 

My next appointment will be in 4 more weeks...where I'll have the in depth scans for both babies anatomy, which they warned me will take a few hours!  So something to look forward to 👍🏼😃

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Photo dump below⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Officially 12 weeks!

It's finally here!  You might be thinking that I'm excited to be safely into the second trimester stage...which is definitely true, but I'm also excited for one other milestone...

No more PIO shots or Estrogen pills!  Its only been 3 months but holy moly does it seem like having to be home by 9:20 has been a part of my life for so much longer!🤣⏰

No more shots!  My bum can finally start to smooth those lovely knots out🥰❤️.

We had our second OB appointment on Wednesday...and my oh my has it changed since I last came with my own pregnancies.  It's like a 3 hour ordeal now!  

My appointment was at 10AM and was supposed to consist of lab work, an ultrasound, and an exam, which it did...but each was treated like it's own appointment because they send you back to the waiting room in between!  

I first had to go and leave a urine sample, so fun.  Then I was called back for my ultrasound.  (Definitely the highlight)

I was told this particular ultrasound was to check the thickness of the tissue of both babies necks to check for Down Syndrome.  I of course gave the shrug and obligatory nod like ok, whatever you need to do.  He then says, "Now you're using donor eggs, right?"

Probably a perfectly normal question...but it seemed so odd to hear it that way!  I paused for a second...trying to process what he asked..and then he broke the silence and said, "Or was it just the sperm donated?"

Haha I had to giggle and say, "The whole kit and kaboodle are donated.  The eggs were my sister's and fertilized by her husband...implanted via IVF.  So...I guess you can say they were donated to me until they are born...then I'm giving them back!"

Haha I think as I said it, he remembered either me from the last appointment where we had both my sister and my husband there (probably odd to have so many people at a first ultrasound) or it noted in my chart🤣.  In either case he totally laughed and said that's right...gestational carrier.  

Now with the pleasantries out of the way, he got to scanning.  He was super easy to talk to, since the proverbial ice had been broken, so I asked a bunch of questions as he was looking at things.

First, he labeled the baby on the screen "baby A".  So I had to ask...is Baby A always just the first you happen to see?  He said no, it's the baby closest to your cervix, or lowest in the uterus.  Ahh...so we finally have a rhyme and a reason to the A and B thing.  Okay this was good to know!  

He let me know that baby A was on the lower left side and seemed to have their hand over their face 🥰.  They were perfect for all scans.  He was able to get a beautiful measurement of that neck tissue he was going for along with lots of great silhouette pictures.  

Baby A side view 

Baby A was measuring right on track for 11 weeks 5 days.  Heartbeat was cruising at a 171 beats per minute.  They were active, I could see them kicking and moving the entire time🥰.

On to Baby B!  Baby B is above and to the right, and happened to be facing my back. So I was asked to cough so baby would turn around for us.  I honestly was a little skeptical...but it worked!  Baby B moved right on around.  He was able to catch the scans he needed and recorded a heartbeat of 165. 

Baby B was measuring 2 days ahead at exactly 12 weeks.  Everything on both looked great!  As he was going back and forth between babies it appeared as though one baby was literally kicking the other!  So I asked how close they were and if they could feel that?!  (Literally, I think A kicked B in the head mid scan😲.  Sibling rivalry is already starting!)

He said they are right next to each other.  Only separated by the amniotic sac membranes, which he said are about as thin as a rubber band.  So yes they can feel each other!  So crazy and amazing to watch them fidget and kick around together.  I hope they enjoy the room while it lasts! 😕😬

So twins are getting too big to be on the same scan, so he did a split screen so he could capture one then the other but put them both on the screen.  As he was capturing babies he caught a cute little frog legged pose from baby A. (Pictured below 👇🏼)

Baby A frog leg pose

Then he went over to baby B and tried to capture the same thing.  He then asks, "Do you already know the sex of the babies?"  I said yes, one boy and one girl.  He said well I am seeing some anatomy on Baby B that would suggest he's the boy!  (Pictured 👇🏼 below ... would you agree🤭?)

Anatomy between the legs of Baby B

So I'm excited to know the difference between baby A and B now!  B for boy ...super easy to remember too!

After the ultrasound and an additional trip to the waiting room, I was called back for my exam.  It went pretty seamlessly.  I gained 1 pound, my blood pressure was great, and I was told the twins look very healthy and happy!  So I should keep doing whatever I'm doing 👏🏼😁

I was scheduled to come back in 4 weeks, December 6th (which would make me 16 weeks by then) and was scheduled for another ultrasound during the same appointment...so they can check fetal growth.

I waited for a third time in the waiting room and was called back for my blood work shortly after.  The cute lady who maybe only seemed about 10 years older than me, whispers to me..."So twins?!"

Haha I reply yes, that's right!  Twins.  She said wow you're handling this so well.  I was a little confused but simply responded with an uncomfortable, "haha I guess so far, so good!". 

She then starts reading her notes and says, "Oh, these are donor eggs?!  So you aren't too worried about down syndrome then, I bet?"

Oh my goodness, what is up with this office support staff and not reading their notes?🤣 I just said well ...I'm a gestational carrier for my sister.  These babies are on loan with me for a little while, then I'm giving them back!  Her entire demeanor changed and she got so happy and said how wonderful it was that I was willing to do that for her.  (It always makes me feel awkward when people tell me how wonderful I am...I feel like I'm doing something that most people would do, if it were possible.  Maybe I'm different, maybe I'm special...but I don't feel that I am. 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Anyway, after the 9 vials of blood they took and the funniest stories from this conversation starved phlebotomist, who probably missed her calling as a hair dresser, I was finally on my way!  I arrived at 9:54 and left at 12:55! Crazy.  

All in all babies are doing well!  I'm still experiencing sickness...some mornings and evenings are just worse than others, but definitely manageable.  I can still fit into my stretchy jeans but that waistband is definitely starting to dig in 😕.  Instead of wearing my self proclaimed "cute and trendy" clothes to work, I've opted for "cute and comfy"🤣.  Leggings and sweaters are where it's at for me right now.   I'm always cold and I'm always ready for a nap.  Comfy clothes make both of those things manageable 😘😃!

Graduation Day🥰

So today marks 9 weeks 5 days and is officially the last ultrasound or appointment I will have at the fertility clinic!  So bittersweet 🥲!  

Other than the typical morning and afternoon morning sickness...I'm feeling pretty good!  My sister in law sent me the sweetest package to help with it too!  She sent me "Preggie Pops", peppermint life savers, and vitamin B6 all things that helped her survive pregnancy while working🥰. I haven't opened them yet, but I'm so excited to try them...anything to help would be amazing 🤩!

Okay so these babies threw me for a loop...again!  The nurse practitioner takes a look at "Baby A" and the heart rate is cruising at 182 beats per minute!  He/she is moving their little limbs, clearly very active!  I'm also excited at this point because "Baby A" must be the same as last week..finally I can tell them apart 🤞🏼😊!

On to "Baby B", who is also moving and wiggling all around!  (So cute to watch!) As she hovers over to record their heart rate, I'm shocked to hear that it's 172 beats per minute?!  So wait...is this Baby A from two weeks ago?  Or did Baby B kick it up a few notches?? I'm at a loss?! 😜

Overall results both babies are the same size now (Baby B was measuring right on time and Baby A was measuring a little ahead two weeks ago) and have heartbeats within 10 beats of eachother 🤷🏼‍♀️😀.

So it throws my theory of being able to tell them apart at this stage... completely out the window 🤣😜 but the important part is the nurse practitioner said she reviews thousands and thousands of ultrasounds and early IVF pregnancies and these are among the strongest and healthiest fetuses she's seen! ❤️. Picture perfect in there ❤️❤️

Such a relief to hear, I know we still have a long way to go...but I'm excited that everything is cruising along just as it should be for now!🥰

Ultrasound Pics and comparisons:

9 weeks 5 days

Cute little wave from one of the babies!👋🏼

This week compared with 2 weeks ago!

Baby heartbeats💓💓💓

First OB Appointment, 2 Ultrasounds

 Today was an extremely long, but exciting day!  It's been a few weeks since my last ultrasound so let me fill you in on how things have been progressing!

I'm currently 7 weeks 5 days pregnant with twins today. A boy and a girl (we just don't know which is which). The last ultrasound (shown again below) showed us two beating hearts within two little seed sized embryos!  They were separated quite a bit in my uterus, so I'm excited today to how much they've grown and hopefully see two strong heartbeats 🤞🏼🥰.

(Previous Ultrasound Twins at 5 weeks 5 days)

Today I have not one, but two appointments.  I have my last appointment with the fertility clinic and then my first appointment with my OB!  After doing research and polling friends and reading reviews...I ultimately decided to go back to the same OB that delivered my last three children.  The visits are about 40 miles and two hours apart, so let's hope things run smoothly!

First appointment and ultrasound picture:

Twins at 7 weeks 5 days

The first thing I noticed was how much they've grown in the short two weeks since we've peeked at them last and how much closer together they are now!  The nurse practitioner at the fertility clinic is so thorough and was able to explain everything she was looking at and had all good news to share! She said as they grow gravity will pull them closer together.  

"Baby A" (not sure if this is the same Baby A as last week) was measuring a little bigger than Baby B.  Baby A's heartbeat was recorded at 172 beats per minute and everything looked amazing she said.  Baby B's heartbeat was recorded at 152 beats per minute and was looking absolutely wonderful ❤️!  

She got several pictures of their little umbilical chords and their little yolk sacs, which she said is rare to see so well🤷🏼‍♀️😃?!  She was thrilled at how well they are progressing and asked if we would be willing to come back for one more ultrasound before graduating to an OB in two weeks? Of course I wasn't going to turn down another opportunity to see their growth and progress, so we have another ultrasound planned in two weeks🤞🏼🥰!

Next was my OB appointment...which was actually kinda funny at first.  I guess it's not everyday you have a patient come in at 7 weeks 5 days and know that they are not only pregnant, but pregnant with fraternal twins.  The staff had to ask me, how I was so sure😂...I should have come up with some witty comment.  If I channeled my husband, I would have.  Instead I re-explained that I was a gestational carrier and had gotten pregnant, via IVF and have been being monitored by the fertility clinic.

Still skeptical they called me back to do an ultrasound to confirm.  I was relieved to find that they were going to do an on the tummy ultrasound! (Whew!) My vag was not looking forward to another wand today 🤣!

Two hours and some change apart and this ultrasound confirmed exactly what the first one did.  One twin had a heart rate of 172 bpm and the other had a 152 bpm heart rate!  The measurements were the same, showing one twin slightly bigger also!  They were also able to let us hear both heartbeats...which was pretty amazing!

So the annoying thing is I'm learning that "Baby A" is whoever the ultrasound tech sees first!  (Both places) So I was excited to finally be able to start telling them apart myself!  Baby A from now on will be the bigger one with the faster heart rate (I'm thinking the girl 😜) and Baby B will be the smaller one, with the chill heartbeat...I'm thinking the boy🤭)

After the ultrasound tech confirmed it was a twin pregnancy we met with my OB.  Who was actually way cooler and more "chatty" than I ever remember him being when I was here 14 years ago!

He put my mind at ease with his ability to deliver twins but also handle my high risk pregnancy.  He let me know the main difference between this pregnancy and my prior pregnancies would be the level of ultrasounds and monitoring, especially towards the 28th week.  He said the largest concern is making sure that both babies are growing and thriving.  Competition for those resources is steep towards the end and one twin can end up taking more than the other.  Made sense and it was good to know that they will be watching them (ultrasounds two times a week) towards the end! 😲

He shared that the twins look very healthy and based on we what he saw and the fact that both embryos were tested for genetic abnormalities prior to being implanted, that my chances of having a miscarriage was very minimal and to start planning for a healthy pregnancy!🥰

He will see me in 4 weeks😀

Today's the Day!

It's finally arrived, the second (and hopefully final) transfer day!  This time I didn't have acupuncture scheduled before hand, so I decided not to overfill my bladder, like last time.  I arrived 30 minutes early (as requested) and was pulled back for my blood draw and then put into a different room to change into my transfer gown, hat, and booties.

This time, being a little more experienced, I wore a dress.  So I would only have to remove my underwear prior to transfer, which was a lot quicker and I felt way more decent under my gown😛👍🏼

I actually had the gown backwards on accident...

Matching booties 😛

After slamming water for the next 20 minutes, it was finally time to go back.  Since I was not overly full this time, the walk was so much better...well everything really was!

This time it was our actual doctor performing the transfer, his bedside manner is just so much better.  He was talking the entire time, but not awkward, just the right amount.  He was able to find the location for the transfer so much quicker than the last doctor!  

Also no more Austin Powers yelling when they were ready!🤣 It was just a calm, "we are ready."  A woman came from behind the door carrying a thin tube and called out who the embryos belonged to (my sisters name) and then who they were being transfered in to (my name) then handed them to the doctor, who then put the tube into the catheter type tube he already had inserted and within a few seconds we could see the little white bubble in my uterus.  He said we will confirm both embryos are inside that bubble in a minute.

He gave the tube back to the woman who brought it, she went back through the door and within a few seconds she responded, "clear".  Which meant yes, no embryos were left in the tube, and both were in fact contained in that little air bubble on screen!

So crazy how amazing this whole process is.  You can take a frozen embryo, dethaw it, and place it in another human...and it has the possibility of growing into a human!

So after the quick procedure, I went back to a recovery room and experienced some acupuncture to help relieve stress and increase circulation.  

It takes approximately 24-72 hours for these little guys to implant🤞🏼...hoping this time it works!  I'm supposed to relax and take it easy for the rest of the day, so that's the plan.  I'm working from home the rest of the day and have a road trip planned to Southern Utah for a wedding tomorrow.  That should be relaxing, right? 😊 

Ultrasound, showing the little bubble with the embryos inside❤️