22 Weeks

I am now 22 weeks 1 day pregnant. I had an OB appointment yesterday, and all went well.

The babies had good heartbeats. I don't know their exact size because they weren't measured at this appointment, but they looked bigger.

Baby A is now vertical and head down. Baby B is still transverse.

My cervical length is holding steady at 4.7 cm. My doctor, Dr. Jick, is very happy with this number. He said that I shouldn't have to worry about having any issues with my cervix giving out too soon. Hooray! One less thing for me to worry about.

I gained 4 lbs. since my last appointment two weeks ago for a total of 23 pounds. However, I am pretty sure that at least one of those pounds is actually water weight in my feet and ankles.

The heatwave that we had a couple of weeks ago definitely took its toll on my feet and ankles, and they haven't recovered yet. Ante & I continue to be shocked at how large my feet can get. The left foot is worse than the right for some reason. There have been several evenings when I can't hardly bend my toes or flex my foot because it so swollen. On the plus side, I am now the owner of two new pairs of clogs with excellent arch supports. So, at least I no longer have to fear being barefoot & pregnant.

My next appointment is in two weeks on Sept. 25th. At this appointment, I'll have a detailed ultrasound during which the babies' growth will be measured. I'll also have my glucose test to make sure that I don't have any blood sugar level problems.

On Saturday night, while attending the musical "Wicked", I felt my first movement from the babies. It was a tiny flutter from Baby B. I have felt it a couple more times since. Hopefully, I'll be able to feel Baby A soon. I'm sure the feeling will get stronger over the next few weeks, and I'll get better at recognizing it.

Last night, I attended my first meeting of the local Twins Moms Club. It was a clothing exchange. I went with my friends Elizabeth (her twins are 16 weeks old) and Janet (her twins are due two weeks before mine). At this clothing exchange, moms of twins bring clothes that their children have outgrown. In return, the moms can help themselves to any of the clothes that other moms have brought. If you don't have any clothes to give away, you can contribute $5 to the club's charity fund. So that's what I did. I was able to get a few matching items which are pretty cute and some onsies, etc. It is a pretty cool arrangement. They do this twice a year. I am going to attend a new members meeting next week.

Ante & I start our first childbirth preparation class on October 3rd. I'm looking forward to it. I think it should be interesting.

This weekend, I will endeavor to set up my baby registry. I'm sure it will be overwhelming trying to decide which specific items I want as there are many decisions to be made. I've already devoted too much time to deciding which diaper pail would be best for me. I think that once I get into the swing of it, the decisions will come easier, and I'll have fun.

Oh, and I was wrong about Ante & I being close to making our furniture decisions. Ante wasn't keen on what I had chosen (mainly due to cost), so we're going to do some looking together.

And I need to start making arrangements to interview pediatricians. There is so much to do! But it is all good. I'm happy.

20 Weeks

I am now 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I had my growth ultrasound yesterday and am happy to report that everything was fine. Whew!

I went to a perinatologist for the ultrasound. He measured the size of the babies’ heads, thigh bones, & abdomens. He checked to make sure that their heart chambers were formed correctly and that their kidneys looked normal. He also checked their spines and the length of the nuchal fold on the back of their necks. He checked the amount of amniotic fluid in each of their sacs. Everything was normal. Ante & I were very relieved. I'm really happy to have that peace of mind.

The babies are still transverse (sideways). They are very close in size; Baby A is just a little bigger than Baby B. Baby A’s overall measurements put her at 20 weeks and 2 days, and Baby B’s overall measurements put her at 19 weeks and 5 days. These measurements are fine. Their heartbeats were fine too.

I’ll have another growth ultrasound in 4 weeks. Now that I know there aren’t any problems (for now), the remaining growth ultrasounds will be done at my OB ’s office. I shouldn’t need to go back to the perinatologist.

In between the growth ultrasounds, I’ll continue to have regular ultrasounds every two weeks to check for heartbeats.

As for my symptoms, there isn’t anything new. I still get occasional back pain in my mid & upper back, and I continue to have swollen feet and ankles. I think it is time for me to invest in some new shoes that I can easily slip on because I can no longer wear most of my shoes. Sigh.

I’ve chosen the bedding for the babies room (with Ante’s input), and we’re close to making a decision on the cribs & baby furniture we want. I’m hoping that we can visit a couple of baby furniture stores this weekend and make our final decision. In case we have to wait weeks for the furniture to arrive from the manufacturer, I want to get our order placed soon.

The bedding we’ve chosen is the Litto Kids Silly Owl Crib Set.

I’ve also been researching car seats. Fortunately, I already know which stroller I want thanks to the advice of my friend Elizabeth.

Tomorrow, I go to my OB for my regular check-up.

That’s all for now.

18 Weeks

I had my 18 week check up today. It all went well.

I've decided that I am going to use these postings as my pregnancy journal. So, if it seems that I am including more information than any of you really desire, now you know why I'm doing it. You can skip the boring parts. Also, you shouldn't feel obligated to send me a reply or comment.

Today, I am at 18 weeks and 2 days. Ante came with me to my OB appointment. (He has attended most of my appointments.) I had an ultrasound, and Ante & I enjoyed getting to see our babies again. It makes us happy. Their heartbeats were good, and their sizes looked fine. They still have girl parts, so I think we can conclusively say that a mistake was not made when they were first identified as being girls.

We got to see Baby B yawn. She opened her mouth real wide then closed it. That was very cool.

Baby A has moved back to her original transverse (sideways) position. So, both babies are now stacked sideways on top of each other with their heads at opposite ends.

My cervix length was 5 cm which is nice & long. (Long is good.)

I gained 3 pounds since my last appointment a little over two weeks ago. I've now gained a total of 16 pounds. So, that's good too. My goal is to gain 40 pounds. I need to average 1 - 1.5 pounds per week to meet my goal.

Today, Dr. Jick measured my fundal height for the first time. This is the length of my uterus from the top to the bottom. It measured 24 cm which is right where he said it should be. This means that even though I am 18 weeks pregnant, my belly is the same as a woman who is 24 weeks pregnant with a singleton. In other words, I look as though I am over 5 months pregnant. I intend to take a belly picture any day now. I'll send it to all of you.

As for symptoms, I'm sure I'll look back on these days as the salad days. I have mild upper back pain and occasional acid reflux. My ankles swell up almost every day, and I wake up several times a night trying to get comfortable. I'm trying to get used to sleeping only on my sides, not my back, but I'm not quite used to it yet. Fortunately, I still only have to get up once per night to pee. All in all, I really have it pretty good.

My next appointment will be on August 28th with a perinatologist for my 20 week growth scan. During this ultrasound, the doctor will carefully examine each babies' organs for defects and will take detailed size measurements of their limbs, body, etc. I am anxious to know that everything is okay, but I'll just have to be patient for a couple of more weeks.

16 Weeks

I am now 16 weeks pregnant. I had an OB appointment today, and I'm happy to report that all went well.

I had an ultrasound, and the babies' heartbeats were both good. Everything else checked out well - amniotic fluid, placentas, size of the babies, & length of my cervix.

The sonographer was able to double check that Baby B is indeed a girl. Baby A wasn't giving us a good view today, so we weren't able to double check her parts. But I highly doubt that a mistake was made at my previous ultrasound.

Baby A is now head down and positioned vertically. Baby B remains in a transverse position (horizontal). Their positions can change many times between now & their birth.

I learned that one placenta is anterior (on the front wall of my uterus), and the other is posterior (on the back wall of my uterus). This means that I essentially have padding on the front & back of my uterus. As a result, I may not feel the babies' movement for a while.

I had my blood drawn for the AFP test which tests my risk level for fetal spinal or cranial defects, chromosomal abnormalities as well as other possible birth defects. I should get the results back in two weeks. Since my egg donor is only 25 years old, I'm sure my risk level for these problems is quite low.

My next appointment is in two weeks on Thursday, August 16th.