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.