Last Thursday (the 21st), put us right at the beginning of 7 weeks. If my calculations are correct, we will start the 13th week (the second trimester) on March 4th, the day after my birthday. That will be a wonderful birthday gift in itself. My next appointment with the Ob/Gyn is Wednesday, Feb. 3. So far, the twins appear to be determined little ones, and Puck and I just happen to be the closest members of their cheering section. I’ve been blessed by a lack of morning sickness, with only a few queasy moments, and by a wonderful partner on this great adventure.
In fact, speaking of my husband and the father of my children (doesn’t that sound nice?), he has been doing his best to keep me stuffed with proteins, calcium, fruits, nuts and vegetables. After doing some research (Puck’s first line of attack on any new challenge), he headed off Friday evening to do some shopping and returned with a ton of food. Our freezer is now completely full of all types of meat, and we also have plenty of cheese, 2 more gallons of milk, fruit, yoghurt, a variety of nuts, eggs, veggies, etc.
My wily husband has also taken to dosing me. He adds several spoonfuls of powdered milk to the big glass of warm milk I try to drink every day just to give me some extra calcium. On Saturday and Sunday, he also made us a delicious lasagna (instead of pasta noodles he used layers of steamed veggies. Yum! It appears to have become his personal goal to keep me from ever feeling the tiniest twinge of hunger again. After a few days of being spoiled by my husband, I felt like I must have gained 20 pounds already, but when I finally dared a trip to the scales, I had only gained 2 pounds.
Creating new life and knowing that it is developing inside you is truly a miraculous experience, but it can also be a bit frustrating. There is so much we can’t control. We simply have to do everything that we can to nurture that life and keep it safe, but in the end, we have to wait and hope and adapt to what comes our way.
Yesterday afternoon was a whirlwind of joy, but it was preceded by sadness. First, a bit of the back story:
The Stressful, Sad Times
[Some “graphic” details coming up] Tuesday night after midnight I bled a good bit and passed some tissue. At the time, we thought I had miscarried. We hugged, cried, stayed up late watching TV until we felt we could fall asleep. The next day, Puck drove me to campus so I could teach my 8 AM class. After class, he picked me up and we called to make an appointment with our family doctor – Barbara Renwick. They squeezed us in at 3 PM. Puck took me to Border’s to buy a book to make me laugh – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and then we went to buy some comfort food for brunch. I thought I wanted French Toast with peanut butter and real maple syrup. Yum. But Puck also picked up a few things to make an English breakfast for us another day – bangers, ham, eggs, and baked beans. By the time we made it to the house, I was suddenly ravenous…and I all I wanted was that English breakfast with all that meat (hmmm…maybe that funny book was having a bad influence on me).
Puck made us a delicious English breakfast that I devoured, and then we trundled to our room for a nap (after our late night the night before). We got up in time to head to the doctor’s office. Dr. Renwick was very sweet and asked lots of questions about what I had experienced the night before. Puck was picking up on a lot of her body language, and he noticed that she seemed thoughtful after I described what had happened. She asked if I was still having any pregnancy symptoms (I didn’t yet know to add cravings to that list), and she referred us to get an ultrasound–telling us that we might still be pregnant and telling us a personal story about a similar experience she had had when pregnant with twins.
When we left the office, I told Puck, “I don’t want to get my hopes up.” So he kept to himself what he thought after the appointment. After a day with torrential rain that sometimes pelted you hard enough to sting, we were surprised when we left the doctor’s office and the clouds had cleared enough to let some sunshine through. On the drive home, we saw a rainbow with the brightest colors I ever remember seeing in one, and it just seemed like a sign of hope, though I wasn’t sure what kind of hope exactly. At home, Puck did some Internet research on the sly. Little did I know, he was already suspicious that I might be or had been pregnant with twins after his research. That evening, we went out for dinner, and once again I found myself ravenous for protein. We were going to have to wait until 2 PM the next day to see an Ob/Gyn and get our ultrasound.
Hope on a gray day.
The Rainbow after the Storm
Thursday morning was defined by waiting, waiting to know where we stood, what our next steps would be. It was a bit tense and sad. I picked up Puck from work to go to the appointment with me, and we watched the expectant mothers and mothers with their kids in the waiting room. I had taken the first available Ob/Gyn from the practice, and it turned out that was the only fellow in the group. He was a very nice Irish man. He asked us a few questions (though not as many as Dr. Renwick) and soon was doing the ultrasound. He described what he was seeing, but I was holding my breath waiting to hear if anything was alive in there. Then, he reached over and flipped on the sound. After a few moments of static, a fast little heartbeat filled the room. I couldn’t quite believe it, not even when he said, “There’s your baby’s heartbeat.” I had to ask, “So it’s okay? It’s alive?” I just had to hear the hope confirmed. Then he looked around a bit more and turned the sound on again…and announced that we had a second heartbeat. Once again, I just had to make him confirm that I was understanding correctly. Yes, there were two babies in there with their hearts beating away.
Dr. Wilson made sure we knew that the pregnancy was still risky because of my age, because I’m pregnant with twins and because I’ve had some bleeding. Still, the heartbeats sounded good and the one he could see best who was lower in the uterus (Twin A) looked good. And they were both a good size for their age.
Puck was standing next to me, holding my hand and affectionately rubbing my head during this whole process, and when we heard that first heartbeat it was an amazing feeling. My hands started trembling and I cried. When we heard the second, well, it just felt overwhelmingly wonderful. After the doctor left us, we laughed and held each other. We were so excited that after we scheduled our next appointment (in two weeks), we completely forgot to get my blood test downstairs and headed right out the door and for home. I caught Dad on his cell phone when he and Mom were driving out to walk the dogs, and after excitedly sharing the news with him, Puck realized we had forgotten the blood test. Back we went.
Then our evening was full of joy and phone calls, and we are still absorbing the fact that we are pregnant with twins–something completely unexpected but very welcome. I keep sending those two little tykes all the positive thoughts and energy I can. I fell asleep last night with my head on Puck’s chest and my hand on my lower belly, and this morning I woke before the alarm and just rubbed my belly, wished them well and healthy and enjoyed the knowledge that they were there inside me with those little hearts beating.
Hunter-Gatherer reconsiders his plan...
Guest Post From Puck:
First, I should amend my token gloat:
“Aren’t we just TERRIBLY fertile?!“
Or, perhaps I should amend again:
“Exactly how FERTILE are we?!”
Riding a Two-Day Rollercoaster
I’ll be honest and say that this was a rough couple of days for us. The last year dropped some real doozies on us, but in this instance the saving grace was that we got to face this challenge together. I’m left feeling very blessed and very aware of the serious responsibility and trust being placed in us.
First, for those wanting to follow along at home I have found a useful web site for twins pregnancies:
Baby Countdown – The Double Header
I wanted to mention this first because this is a serious situation with an uncertain outcome. Right now we are in a 5 week danger zone and we’re going to do everything we can to protect and nurture these two through this risky patch. If we can make it to week 12 (right around Mary’s birthday) we clear a serious hurdle and things relax a bit.
I’m scrambling to update my research and prepping new plans so that we are as ready as we can be for the next 5 week sprint. Thoughts and prayers are gladly accepted. One of the true joys of Mary’s life is that she can reach out to her family and friends with both joys and sorrows.
For the record, we just started week 7.
The other Baby Countdown updates:
- We are pretty certain we have a first class birthing center lined up. (Literally one of the best in the United States.)
- We’re very close to having an OB-GYN.
- The birthing center and OB-GYN all mesh well with our insurance.
- If things go normally for delivering twins we are looking at 35-38 weeks which is probably August.
I still have plenty of plans left to think about.
WifeWatch 2010
Food
In what was probably our clearest clue that something was still going on, Mary’s cravings kicked in with a vengeance on Wednesday before the ultrasound. She went from wanting to love and cuddle all of God’s creatures to wanting to eat and devour all of God’s creatures. (I suspect at one point while waiting for her dinner that she seriously considered cannibalism.)
Mommy-body has kicked into protein overdrive which according to my newly updated research is a normal twin-mommy phenomenon. If she can gain some weight early in the pregnancy it is “money in the bank” for the twins later. (Early weight gain also lowers the risk for premature labor.)
What did I do with this information?
- When my wife and I got home, I immediately started stuffing her with milk, yogurt, fruit, vegetables, and protein (of course).
- I started prepping my new grocery list as if I lived with a ravenous she-bear.
Mood
You can imagine how this has been for us. We really tried not to get our hopes up and hearing the words “Second Heartbeat” it washes over you like a wave of bliss. Mary cried and I rubbed her head and held her hand. In the space of a few moments we went from sorrow to joy and I won’t forget that anytime soon.
She has been wandering around smiling and putting her hand on her tummy. I suspect if I left her unattended she would roam the streets hugging random people and telling them she’s got twins on the way. She is euphoric.
It would make a funny story to say that I panicked, but it wouldn’t really be honest. While I am stunned, thanks to John and Teresa I have at least some sense of what I’m in for and all I can think is “Bring it on!” Whatever hard times we have had in our lives prepared us for the work and effort required for this most wondrous thing. Let’s just say that manly machismo is better calculated by how we respond to hardship while we care for those around us. I’m looking forward to my future with both eyes open, a smile on my face, and I’m not blinking.
Sleep
Twins also explain Mary’s power naps. According to my research, fatigue is very common in the first trimester for a twin-mommy. She has got a lot going on under the hood so she is going to tire out more quickly.
Conclusion
Our formal due date is September 7 (229 days), but we may be looking at several weeks earlier than that. Keep us in your hopes and prayers as we go through the next 5 weeks and expect that we will make certain to share anything new as soon as we have the news.
It has been a long, wonderful day, and I need to get myself to bed. Puck and I have called our immediate families to let everyone know that we were wrong. We are still pregnant…with twins. Many of you who read this will have heard the story already, but I will try to write it down tomorrow for the blog. For now, Puck and I are so very thrilled, and we enjoyed talking to so many members of our family tonight. Yes, we are still on the beginning of this journey, and we are so thankful for the two little lives, the two little heartbeats inside of me.
Before I go to sleep, I’ll post the first images and stats of our twins below – twin A (lower in the uterus) and twin B. Love you all!
Twin A's first photo.
Twin A's stats, the little one at 9.4 mm, that's less than half an inch.
Twin B's 1st photo.
Twin B's stats, the larger one at 9.9 mm.
It turns out it wasn’t quite time for our family to grow by one and that plan is delayed a bit. We’ve had a short trial run of almost 6 weeks, and we have a better idea of what to expect for the next time. I will be taking the blog posts about this experience down in a week or so, but I won’t be throwing them away.
I am very thankful for my wonderful husband who has taken the day off for us to spend together and who is a most amazing companion in life. We are both a bit sad but we are doing fine.