Summer 2011 Pregnancy Group - Welcome! Pg.1 Has Intros!

[annashope]

Easley I am not having twins but for me this pregnancy is already quite different than my son. I assumed that the main difference for me is that it has been 10 years since I had my son but I am totally with you on every account and I am also surprised by it. My boobs have heart terribly almost since the first beta and have grown probably a cup size but I assumed it was normal. However I have not gained any weight yet and somehow have gained 3 inches in my waist already. With my son I could ware my regular clothes until almost 12 weeks but now I am already noticing that my jeans are a bit snug on the belly. For me I am contributing it to the fact that I am not 18 anymore and so this must be normal. Also I think your nervousness is understandable about managing twins but since you already have 2 kids I think you will get into the groove of things much faster and it will be fine. My mom and aunt are identical twins and my grandmom always told me that twins are not that hard since they usually want to do everything together so hopefully they will eat together and sleep together and it won't be as hard.

as per heartbeats its a close call some see it by 6 weeks ( we were 6 weeks even last Thursday and saw a heartbeat) but sometimes it is still early.

[gina55]

Easley,
Congratulations on your twin pregnancy! This is my 4th pregnancy and its definitely different. The twins are taking all of my energy. I've had the sore and growing boobs too, since the beginning and they're still sore. My all day sickness is still with me, although I didn't start actually vomiting until week 9. You may not hear heartbeats this early, we didn't until 7 weeks but everyone is different! Best of luck with your ultrasound tomorrow! Our next one is Wednesday.

[riogirl71]

Easley - were your other two pregnancies a result of IVF? I am sure having twins will accelerate all your symptoms but I also think that a pregnancy with IVF takes more of a toll on your body because you already went through so many hormones and progesterone and E2. Good luck on your US!

[baby_blu73]

Easley - Welcome and congrats on the twins! I wanted to chime in about the extreme symptoms with twins. All I can say is WOW! My boobs don't hurt as much now as in the beginning, but they are massive! I lost weight in my first trimester, but my stomach looks like it did when I was 6 months along with my oldest! I mean, I'm BIG already at 13 weeks. I definitely agree with Anna that it could be that I'm not 18 anymore, and with Rio that the IVF (and OHSS) took a major toll on my body prior to the actual pregnancy affecting it. The "morning" sickness just will NOT go away, though I do have more energy now than I did a few weeks ago. Heartburn and indigestion have already begun. Horrible constipation, nosebleeds, dizziness, ridiculous dreams... I feel like if it's a pregnancy symptom, I have it in full force!

I have a FABULOUS book my MIL got for me called "The Everything Twins, Triplets, and more Book" written by Pamela Fierro. It's really helped put the fear of multiples into perspective. Most of the "double trouble" and "two of everything" ways of thinking come from those without the blessing of multiples. It explains that parenting multiples is DIFFERENT, not more difficult. It comes highly recommended by me.

[zoegirl]

Hi Easely,
I am with you - I am 5 weeks today with twins and I have been exhausted, hungry, and my boobs hurt awfully. I had my first bout of morning sickness yesterday (no vomiting thankfully). I have a hard time sleeping too . . my heart rate is faster and stronger than usual - when I lie quietly I can feel it pounding and it keeps me from sleeping at times. I read that this can happen in multiple pregnancies and is made worse by progesterone injections.
I have nothing to compare this pregnancy to, as I had OHSS with my first pregnancy and so I was incredibly bloated from a week past transfer and wore maternity pants at 5 weeks because of fluid on my ovaries that lingered until the middle of my second trimester.
I had been hoping to wear normal clothes until second trimester as I shopped a bit during my cycle to distract from worrying about the cycle . . . However, I'm too big already to fasten most of my pants. I think I'll pick up a belly band this week. Today my pants are fastened with a binder clip from the office!! LOL!! Long shirts and sweaters are the name of the game! I'll probably hold out for a while to get my maternity clothes out of storage because I am still so afraid of losing one or both twins as it is so early in the game.
I can't wait for my next ultrsound on 1/7 . . . praying there are no more and no less than 2 on the us screen this Friday!
Would love to be part of this thread . .. !

[karenthescorpio]

HI everyone. A big huge welcome to those who just came on board. Sorry I've been MIA. I have the worst cold of my life the entire christmas/new year holiday season. Literally from the Thursday before Christmas until New Years Eve I didn't feel good. By New Years Day I felt kinda normal. Thank goodness we planned on a very lowkey holiday this year b/c I didn't even cook! It didn't feel right but I just couldn't do it. I was too ill and tired. I just kept reminding myself I have the only gift I really wanted right here in my belly. And my awesome husband, too.

I see lots of twin mommas popping up on here. So, if any of you ladies are interested I have two twin/multiples pregnancy books that you can have. All you have to do is pay the shipping. One is When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein. The other is TWINS- Pregnancy, Birth and the First Year of Life by Connie Agnew, MD, Alan Klein, MD and Jill Ganonn. I found both had helpful info. I also have an expectant father book that my DH read through once and isn't interested in it anymore. It is called The Expectant Father- Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-be by Armin Brott and Jennifer Ash.

I have my first cervical length scan on Wednesday. This will be used as my baseline length to make sure nothing starts to change too soon. So excited to see our little baby again. I"m kind of worried about him/her since I was so darn sick. I know in my heart all is ok (mostly b/c I still have nausea, hunger, strange sleep and full looking belly!). But I want to see it on the u/s screen with my own eyes!!!!!

Other than the above, not much happening. Can't wear any of my pants anymore. I have gained 11 pounds since I started my IVF cycle. I feel sick about this, but oh well. I'm just happy to have my little one growing and healthy!

I wish everyone a joyous and baby-filled 2011! The next 6 months are gonna be wild!!!!

[lt81]

Hi Ladies

I hope you don't mind me joining your group. I had an unsuccessful first round of IVF in September (I suffer from premature ovarian failure and DH has some low counts).

We discovered at Christmas that I am pregnant - naturally! Cannot believe it. My cycles have been a bit messed up since the IVF so I'm still waiting to find out how far gone I am, but suspect I am about 8-9 weeks. I have my first appointment with the midwife on Wednesday this week and have so many questions for her! I have seen my GP (well it was a locum standing in for him) but he wasn't bothered at all. Just said I had to see the midwife. Wasn't bothered about the fact I conceived so close to an IVF cyle (not sure if that should be a concern or not but conscious that the consultant wanted us to wait for 3 natural cycles before we could have an IVF cycle again).

Having been on these boards throughout the summer this seems a more natural place for me to be than a bog standard pregnancy board - hope you don't mind!

[gina55]

Welcome zoegirl and congratulations on your twins. There are lots of twins on this thread which is great, definitely love having others to compare symptoms, etc. with.
I have the same heart pounding symptoms, its the increase in blood volume. Best of luck on your ultrasound, its so much fun watching them grow!

[zoegirl]

Thanks, I am actually still a bit nervous . . . maybe I shouldn't be calling it twins yet . . . the ivf coordinator reminded me that one did not show a yolk sac yet . . . but I was only measuring at 4wk1d and 4wk2d. I read that the yolk sac can show up as late as 5 weeks or 5 1/2 weeks . . . and since I am measuring small maybe it won't show until I MEASURE 5 weeks. . ..

The RE wants to do my next scan himself. Against all reason I am hoping for twins. We can't afford twins but I have always wanted them secretly even though DH is very unhappy about it.

If anyone has stories of later yolk sac appearances I'd love to hear them . . . Thanks.

[gina55]

Zoegirl, my 2nd didn't show up until week 7, along with the heartbeats. Good luck!

[anacris]

Hi all,
Zoe I think it is really early, with my twins I did an us at 5w2d or 5w3d don't remember exactly and we only saw one sac with the yolk, we did not even saw another sac, then at 7 weeks we saw two sacs with two healthy heartbeats.

Talking about symptoms it is very strange because with the twins I was very lucky and did not have nausea at all, I did show very early, but I had mild ohss and my ovaries were huge, I always thought that was the cause, this time I am pregnant with a singleton and have way more nausea, and am also showing, this time I did a FET so my ovaries are normal size, I guess I show early? I also have heard that with the second child you show earlier? Because of my big belly for 7 weeks every person I tell is just one baby give me the same line... Hmmm I think one of them is hiding... I do not know why but I think everyone close to us have made up the idea that we were going to have twins again. I am super happy either way, I just prayed hard for one healthy baby, and told God I was confident he was going to send me whatever DH and I could handle...
What I have had both pregnancies is tiredness, I could really sleep all day long if didn't have anything else to do. I have small boobs and that hasn't change with either of my pregnancies... Having vivid and crazy dreams is always my first symptom, even with my chemical pregnancy I started having them... Aside from symptoms I am really hoping for healthy pregnancies for all of us!

I have an us tomorrow afternoon, praying that everything will be OK...

Hugs to all,
Ana

[easley4]

Hey everyone, thanks SO much for all the feedback on having twins! It's so great to know you are all having the same crazy things going on with your bodies as I am! And what is with all the werid and vivid dreams?!

@Zoe~Our first U/S was at 5wk3d and we saw twins but only 1 yolk sac but today at 6wks2d we saw 2 beautiful little heartbeats! Twin A is measuring 6wks2d and Twin B is 6wks3d. They did see a buildup of fluid under the babies and told me I might have some bleeding so to take it as easy as possible. Little nervous about that but they said they'd recheck it on Monday (10th). Other then that everything is looking great. Hope everyone else is doing well!

[Happy Bunny]

Is anyone having the Second Trimester Quad testing for Down's? My OB doesn't do the First Trimester ultrasound so this is it. I've been reading and I don't like what I have read about the Quad screening. First, there is something like a 15-20% false negative rate. Then, there is about a 95% chance that a positive is going to be a false positive. The point is, if you test for increased risk, you are advised to have an amnio.

I understand that a lot of people feel that amnio is safe but it's going to take more than a test with an accuracy rating less than that of a Magic 8 Ball to let anyone convince me to allow a needle anywhere near our fetus. I'm going to have the test done then carefully evaluate the data before arriving to any conclusions about what to do.

Is anyone else having this test? What are your thoughts on it?

[gina55]

Barbara, I had the nuchal scan at 12 weeks with great results and will not be doing any of the other testing, especially an amnio. We've had enough complications without sticking a needle in my belly and possibly risking a miscarriage, not happening. My doctor told me I only have to do the tests that I want to do, umm no kidding doc, lol. We are keeping them no matter what!

Easley, congrats on your twins and their great heartbeats

[mellow4]

I with you Gina, won't be doing any unnecessary testing.... it's not worth the risk, and it wouldn't make a difference.

We had a great ultrasound today! Both heartbeats at 171, and they both were dancing for me. I am in love! My bleed hasn't grown, but it's not any smaller either. So, my family is going on a trip and I am staying home. Oh, well, I will do anything for these sweet little beans. The RE can't tell if they each have their own placenta or if it's one...she is leaning toward one...wouldn't that mean they are identical? They have separate sacs for sure, but wouldn't one placenta be telling of that? Hmmm.....I guess we wait and see.

Glad to see so much good news today!

Easley, congrats on seeing those little heartbeats...makes you feel a lot better when you set your eyes on such a thing of beauty! Happy for you.