These past few months have been filled with birthdays, moves (I'll update you on that next), "vacations" (I say that lightly) and an ultrasound that left us so shocked that it has taken me a few months to actually grasp what we saw that day.
We're having TWINS!!!!!
We found out in April that we were expecting again. After a very early loss the month before, the nurse practitioner wanted to do a viability ultrasound to make sure that this one was, well, viable. We also did some blood work to make sure that my HCG levels were in range with where they should be. At almost 6 weeks my levels came back at 3791. Within range of what a 5-6 week pregnancy should be. So we waited for our ultrasound to see if this pregnancy was viable and whether we would see a heartbeat.
So at 7w5d, we nervously got settled in the ultrasound room. Immediately upon putting the wand on my belly, we saw one beautiful baby with a strong heartbeat. We were relieved. The baby was measuring perfect and as the ultrasound tech began to finish up measurements I joked "so only one in there?" As she moved the wand around she gasped. We thought she was joking. But right there on the screen we saw a second baby with a beautiful heartbeat. Mike and I both stared in disbelief. What did this mean? Are we seriously about to have TWINS?
Honestly, when I got home I cried. Like Kim Kardashian ugly cry (google it). I was terrified (still am), but mostly I cried for Courtney. I felt like she was going to lose so much once the babies got here. Will she hate us for having two more babies? Will she miss out on lots of things now that we have two more babies to take care of, pay for, love.
We told family right away. How could we not? OMG - it's TWO. We waited to tell others (close friends and family) once we saw both babies again at our 12 week ultrasound. I can't believe how much they grow in just a few short weeks.
Since our move (remember? more on that in another post), I've found a new OB/GYN and have also been referred to a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor or a Perinatologist (a subspecialty of obstetrics concerned with the care of the fetus and complicated, high-risk pregnancies.) We saw Dr. R (MFM) at 18 weeks for our anatomy scan. This is the ultrasound that checks the brain, heart, limbs, pretty much everything on the babies to make sure they are healthy and show no signs of chromosomal abnormalities, cleft palate, club foot, etc. Both babies looked amazing and were measuring at 8oz a piece. Not only that, we also found that we are expecting TWO MORE GIRLS.
Baby A
Baby B
Have I overwhelmed you yet? I know it's a lot to digest. We see my OB every month and the MFM every 3-4 weeks for an ultrasound. The MFM measures the girls to make sure they are growing appropriately and it also includes a check of my cervix length (which so far has stayed long and closed - thank you God!)
I'll finish with some pictures of the girls from my last MFM appointment at 21 weeks 4 days. They were both weighing in at 14oz.
Baby A
Baby B
