Pregnancy

So, I was pregnant…with twins!  This concept did not actually sink in for me until I had both babies home with me.  But that part comes later.  First there is my pregnancy to discuss.

The first time I did IVF I was positive I was pregnant.  I think I thought that because in my head I was trying to be positive and was like, “How could this not work?!”  The second time around I was determined!  I actually joined an IVF support group through my fertility office and I did acupuncture.  Both of these things I give a lot of credit to towards helping me get pregnant the second round.  And, while I didn’t want to get my hopes up at all, I really knew this time that I was pregnant!  1-2 days after my transfer I got heartburn for the first time in my life!  Then, even though the fertility nurses and doctors will beg you not to take pregnancy tests at home because of the possibilities of false positives, especially with all the hormones you’re still shooting into you, I took 2 of them that both came back positive!  So, there I was pregnant…with twins!

Fertility is the best because for the first 8 weeks of my pregnancy I got to go to the doctor every week for a check-up and sonogram.  Hearing both babies’ heartbeats for the first time is one of the most amazing sounds you can imagine!  Actually, you really can’t imagine it until you hear it!  But, I was literally nauseous from the second I woke up in the morning until the second I went to bed at night.  Chances are I was nauseous in my sleep too, but thank god I was sleeping so I didn’t know it!  Nothing worked and I tried everything – those sucking candies and lollipops they sell at Buy Buy Baby, club soda and cranberry juice (which by the way is a perfect drink to get at a bar to fake out your friends when they still don’t know you’re pregnant!), everything with ginger in it, but nothing worked.  However, I was never so happy!  I didn’t care that I would walk into walk, gag in the bathroom and then have to put on a smile!  After trying so hard to get pregnant, nothing would spoil it for me!  I never actually got sick, just felt like it every day until about 16 weeks.

After that, I have to say, I had a fabulous pregnancy!  I felt good, I was working out and I LOVED my maternity clothes!  They make the coolest maternity clothes now!  I had Sevens and Citizens of Humanity jeans, adorable dresses and tanks.  I’ve since passed my wardrobe onto 2 other pregnant friends and I totally got jealous seeing them in some of my clothes – not because I wanted to be pregnant again but because I really had some cute pieces in that wardrobe!

Anyway, I really felt good and looked good!  My husband and I got the baby room painted, we moved the furniture form my nephew and niece that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave us, and my parents ordered a second crib.  A second crib?!  Ridiculous!  Everything was getting ready.  We registered at Buy Buy Baby and had a lot of fun with that.  For any of you pregnant with twins – you don’t need 2 of everything!!  And when you do buy 2, buy 2 different colors or different patterns.  I would say the most important things to have 2 of are bouncy seats, boppy pillows, swings and nap nannys. But, I’m digressing…..my pregnancy, right.  At about 30 weeks my doctor said everything looked good but to start taking it easy.  Stop working out and try to relax as much as possible.  Another great thing about being pregnant with twins is that after fertility kicked me out at 8 weeks I went to a high risk doctor with a certification in fetal and maternal medicine.  This means I got to go to the doctor for sonograms much more often than a singleton pregnancy which was great because I always felt like I knew what was going on and that everything was okay!

At about 34 weeks I called my doctor because I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions all weekend.  This was on a Monday.  He told me to come in for a check.  I went by myself because I assumed nothing was wrong and he monitored me, said I was fine and of course took urine and my blood pressure.  I literally never walked into the doctor’s office without getting my blood pressure checked and giving urine!  Anyway, my blood pressure was high.  The doctor took blood and I was instructed to come back Wednesday.  I went back Wednesday and my pressure was still high but everything else was in check.  My platelets levels weren’t great, but I was told to come back Friday.  By this point, I think my husband who hadn’t come with me to these 2 check-ups, was getting a little nervous.  So, Thursday night we packed the hospital bags and Friday morning he told work he would be late and came with me to the doctor.  My pressure was still high, my blood work didn’t look great and now there was protein in my urine.  In other words I had developed preeclampsia and the only cure is to have the babies.  I was 34.5 weeks pregnant….