Beautiful Babies Due in 2011 (Combined Group)

[Reenie100]

Jamila-Just got on quickly to say congratulations. Hope all is going well and your recovery is uneventful.

To everyone else-I'd love to post comments/responses to so many of you, but the twins are keeping my hands full. I'm hoping to get a peaceful moment in the next few days to post more.

To Mellow, Ryann, baby_blu, and Leora-get ready and get some help. Twins are a lot of work. They are more than worth it, but you will have your hands full. Especially if you decide to breastfeed.

[karin1]

Mellow....are you on bedrest for contractions? I'm sure that little Claire is catching up and will be just fine. I'm pretty much doing the same as you. Hang in there! We have a long way to go! BTW....love the pic!

Gina.....They put me on procardia too. I am on 20mg every 6hrs or as needed. I started on 10 and it wasn't enough. How long have you been on it? Try to rest and keep relaxed. Believe me....I know how hard it is. Seems simple enough....but not really. Are you on bedrest?

Klinger.....How cute is your picture!

Lou....Hey HOT mama!

Ryann.....Good to hear that things are going great for you little ones.

Jamila.....CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your little girl! Salima is a beautiful name!

AFM.....I had another episode of contractions the next day, Wednesday and was back at L&D. This time they were coming and I was laying on the couch doing nothing. They did another u/s and my cervix was 3.3. They gave me a prescription for procardia and sent me home. I'm taking 20mg every 6hrs or as needed. I was told to do nothing. I saw my OB on Friday and she did a test, not sure what it's called. It's a test to check to see if you would go into labor within 2wks. The results were negative...thank goodness. She said we'll be doing it every 2wks. I have an appt this week with my MFM. Then I have another OB appt on Friday with the stand-by OB...since I haven't met her yet. It's alot of appts, but it will give me peace of mind. I have been in bed or on the couch. I get up to get something easy to eat or drink and potty. I walk outside sometimes with my dog for fresh air and that's about it. DD has been doing laundry all weekend. I supervised the sorting and she brings them to me to help fold. She's helped out alot. She even cooked dinner last night...with my supervision....and it was good. I'm calling around trying to find a housekeeper. Not easy...since we just moved here. It's really hard to lay and do nothing, but if I stand or sit upright for 10 minutes they start again. I'm laying in front of my computer right now in a big chair because I was bored. My boys are doing great...other than the contractions. Now to just keep my irritable uterus as quiet as possible.

Sorry my personals were short and that I missed some of you. I need to get back to the couch or bed. This chair sucks!

I hope you ladies had a wonderful weekend.

[mellow4]

Hi Karin~ Contracting yes, but not like you are thankfully. Actually I am on bed rest because one of our babies umbilical cords didn't form in the placenta (velamentous cord insertion) and she isn't getting enough oxygen through blood flow to grow, or enough nutrients to grow properly. So the thinking is, if I lay on my left side all day long everyday, that my body isn't using up an energy and that all the blood flow will go to the girls...and hopefully all the extra calories I am eating and not using will go to them as well. My little A was measuring 2 weeks behind in her growth, so it's kind of scary. I am seeing a different Perio this week for another opinion and more information on what to expect. My bed rest is to help my babies grow and thrive...because the only way to make this better is to deliver early, so the bigger they are, the better. We need a belly pic of you...must be popping out there too, huh?

[gina55]

Karin: I'm taking 20 mg every 4 hours right now, when that doesn't work I can up the dose to 30. I'm still contracting and should probably call my OB tomorrow I just cannot stand the thought of being sent to the hospital again. Both boys are kicking and moving like crazy so I know they're fine. Rest as much as you can and keep those babies cooking.

Chris: I also have the Sonoline B 3 mhz. I googled it and found it for $57.95 with the gel and I believe free shipping.
http://www.pulseoximeteronline.com/fetaldoppler.html

Mellow: Love the bump pic, too cute!!!

I hope you all have a great week

[Waitingkay]

Hi ladies,

I'm in the middle of a scare here, so don't do any personals yet.

Any help, advice and reassurance needed urgently!

I started bleeding, this time much more seriously than 10 days ago. It started as pinkish then deep red with very few clots and after 3 hours is now brownish. Last scare we had, OB said to come if I have heavier bleeding than AF. It is hard to know right now, and DH is away until Thursday and I really would not like to schedule an appt without him. I heard many stories about SCH and other types of bleedings especially with twins, but I'm having a singleton. I thought I was getting to the safer weeks now, what a terrible start to week 10 today.

Blessings to all,
K

[leorira11]

Kay - that's so scary! Can you go in for an u/s, to let you know if everything is okay? Turning brownish hopefully means it's stopping. I had two bleeds, both much heavier than a period, and things are fine. I'm so sorry week 10 is off to a bad start. It's especially hard without DH to hold your hand. I'll be thinking of you.

Karin - that sounds scary! I'm glad they stopped the contractions. Those babies need a lot more 'cooking' time!

Reenie - congrats again on your twins. I think it's really starting to hit us that we will most likely have 2 newborns in October - UH OH! I watch my friends struggle with a singleton and I'm freaking out about caring for newborn twins. Hopefully I'll be okay! Have you considered hiring a night nurse? My cousin had twins 4 years ago and she says the only way she survived was hiring a night nurse. That way, she would take care of the babies all day, but be guaranteed 8 straight hours of rest at night. She was breastfeeding, but she would pump to leave milk for the night nurse. I'm seriously considering that.

Jamila - I saw your pictures on facebook - she is adorable! Enjoy, momma!

Chris - I bought a cheaper doppler (a Contec BabySounds B for $30 on ebay). I haven't picked up the heartbeats (as of 9w2d) but that could be a ton of different reasons. (I have my fair share of 'extra padding' in the lower tummy area!)

AFM - I spent yesterday in the doctor's office and the hospital. After our great u/s in the morning, I couldn't stop throwing up. Even just a sip of water, or nothing at all. It wouldn't stop. So I went to the doctor and got IV fluids (2 whole liters!) and some meds. But the meds didn't stop the vomiting, so they sent me to the hospital. Another liter of fluid and some stronger meds and I was discharged. UGH. I was diagnosed with HG again. I'm on the 'good meds' now!

People keep suggesting smoking pot. Apparently, marijuana is great for relieving nausea/vomiting and is apparently safer while pregnant than some of the drugs. I think I would consider it, but I've never smoked pot before and '"illegal drug use" scares me a little bit (I'm succchhh a goody-two-shoes!).

I'm taking my meds regularly and feeling a lot better..... 10 weeks tomorrow!

[mykel1922]

Thanks for the warm welcome ladies!

jamila: congrats on the birth of your baby girl! enjoy motherhood!

mellow4: your belly looks so cute! praying for claire's continued growth and health.

lou: i see you're in illinois too. may i ask where? i'm actually in the west suburbs. wasn't the weather great yesterday? btw, you look fabulous! i really want to get a ticker, but am scared that i will jinx myself. it was so painful to delete it the last time. i'll do it eventually, cuz i think they are so cute!

leorira: so happy the babies are doing well. i was reading when you had those bleeds and was praying very hard for you and the little ones. who cares what people think about you puking in public! they have no idea what you've been through. what's HG? "dildo-cam?"- freaking hilarious! never thought about it like that.

to_have_fun: i have been reading your story over the years and am super excited for you. i'm thinking of getting a doppler too, but i hesitate b/c not hearing the HB will just stress me. but at the same time, i know i'll need that reassurance.

karin1: sorry to hear about the contractions, but glad DD is a big help to you. bedrest must be extremely challenging. how far along are you? you have an OB and an MFM? how often do you see each? my RE suggested i use an MFM due to my last pregnancy loss, but i don't want to do both. however, the MFM won't see me without a referral from an OB.

waitingkay: sorry that your 10th week has started out so scary. it does sound like the brown blood is a good sign. i know several women that have had bleeding with a singleton (some as much as AF!) and everything turned out fine. if you feel comfortable, i would try to get in for a US asap. if not, wait until DH gets home so you have some support.

afm- i'm only 8 weeks and find that i'm getting fatigued very easily. i read about some of you working out and i want to start, but i wasn't working out prior to getting my BFP. any suggestions on how to ease into it? want to try prenatal yoga, but don't think that will be enough. anyone watching 'a baby story' or 'bringing baby home?' i dvr these shows. on one episode i watched this weekend, the husband dropped the baby on the floor cuz he fell asleep while the baby was asleep on his chest! the couple woke up to the baby crying, but they couldn't find her. OMG!

[to_have_fun08]

mykel - if you going to start exercising, just do it slow and easy. for the first few weeks only do 20 to 30 minutes and don't let your heart rate get over 140. I have found that when i am really tired when I get home from work, i can get on my elliptical and once i do that for awhile, i have a lot more energy. I just have to make sure i get on my elliptical before i sit my behind down on the couch and fall asleep.

[2bunsinoven]

Kay- I came across your message, I'm from the May 2011 babies. I started bleeding exactly at 10 weeks and they said it was a SCH from the very beginning, but were never able to see it. I started off with brownish blood for about a week or 2, then went to bright red for a couple of days, then pinkish for another few days, and finally back to brown blood. The red and pink blood happened every time I would wipe myself after using the restroom. The brownish blood was a constant thing and more so when I wiped as well. It lasted about 5 weeks and I know how scary it can be. I did have clots the whole time along with cramps which made it even worse, UGH. Everytime a new color started I would go to the doctor that day, they sometimes would send me to the hospital if it was after 5pm. Basically because I was scared to death, wanted to make sure the babies were still ok, and so I would stop panicking. They would check me and gave me an ultrasound every time, I think I went in a total of 4 times. Worrying and stressing about it is just as harmful to yourself and the baby and my doctor agreed with me on that one. If it were me I would go in because I know that's the only thing I would be thinking about 24/7. I'm sure everything is ok, but It's just better to be safe and take all precautions. Take a friend/family member if you don't want to go in without you hubby. Hope this helped a little.

[Waitingkay]

Hi everyone,

Thanks Leora, Mykel and 2buninoven!

Well, I spoke to my general physician who suggested waiting until tomorrow morning to see how it proceeds.

2buninoven - What you're writing IS helpful, and thanks - I'm a bit concerned though because I know bleedings for singletons aren't as common as for twins. But I'm sure knowing it wouldn't have made your situation any easier while you were bleeding, and for such a long time. I'm a bit shocked cause it was was by no means "spotting". It was immediately blood, and quite honestly I believe at least equals the amount of a period - which is what our obgyn told us to regard as a mark. I guess I'll wait until tomorrow morning. Speaking on the phone to hubby wasn't easy. He is always trying to calm me down and at the end of it I regret cause he is alone and worried and having it just as bad as me.
The blood is back to being red - strong red - and after putting the progesterone suppository I say there was more. Even if the quantity doesn't now seem very alarming, just like you said, 24/7. Like it's all that matters.

Blessings and thoughts,
K

[annashope]

So here is a quick pic of me at almost 21 weeks

BabyBump20weeks.jpg

[klinger13]

annashope - You look GREAT!!! Love that pic you posted!

waitingkay - Hope you can go to the doctor's today to get looked at and give you some peace of mind.

leora - Sorry the HG has found you again! But glad they got you on the good meds now. Happy 10 weeks!

karin & gina - hope your contractions calm down so you can keep those little boys comfy and cozy until they're ready to come out.

mellow - Hope tomorrow's appointment goes well and you get great news on Claire's growth.

[to_have_fun08]

waitingkay - Sorry to hear about the bleeding. Can you get in for an u/s to see how the baby is doing. Many women have issues with bleeding regardless if it is twins or a singleton. I know it isn't easy and defiantly stressful. Hoping everything is OK.

[leorira11]

Anna - you look great!

so.... Today is exactly 10 weeks! I made it to double digits! Woohooo! 1/4 done! For some reason, the 10-week mark is really exciting me.

I tried using my fetal doppler again. The only heartbeat I could pick up was my own - but I'm confused. The heartrate I picked up was about 90 bpm. That's much to slow to be one of the babies - but awfully quick to be my own.

I have no idea what my regular resting heart rate is. When I was working out regularly, it was about 70. I haven't really been to the gym in about 2.5 years now (between IVF cycles, being pregnant, and being lazy/depressed). But 90 seems way high. I tried looking up online if your RHR changes when you are pregnant -- I've found that the resting hr goes up about 10-15bpm while pregnant, or even more if pregnant with twins. Is my resting heartrate really so high? Isn't that dangerous?

[annashope]

Leora

My pre-pregnant hreartrate was also about 70 but since I have been pregnant it has been a steady 90-95 and if I excersize or get stressed out it jumps to 120. I asked my OB and the high risk docs and they both explained that it is perfectly normal because of the need for a higher metabolism during pregnancy and the extra blood. I hope this puts your mind at ease. As for the doppler...it took my OB a long time to find the heartbeat at the 12 week appt and I too am not overweight so don't worry you will hear it soon.

Yay for making it to double digits