Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Nephew Love and 8 Week Ultrasound

I spent all of last weekend snuggling with my little nephew as much as possible. He is one of the most adorable little things I've ever seen, and it was so great to spend the whole weekend with him. He has SO much hair, is super mellow, and loves to eat. He really looks just like my sister with my BiL's ears. He is such a sweet little guy and I already miss him so much.

My sister and BiL are doing amazing. They are both so relaxed and happy. I took a ton of pictures of Ben and spent a lot of time caring for him. I certainly didn't get up in the middle of the night with him, but I spent both mornings with him while my sister slept for quite a few hours. She's pumping and supplementing with formula so I was able to care for him while she slept. W changed a few diapers and I had to laugh that Ben decided to pee while he was changing him and then also decided he wasn't done pooping. Quite the first diaper of Ben's to change for W. Little Ben has a ton of head strength and would pick his whole head up and look around. It really surprised me at first since he was under 2 weeks old. My sister and I gave him a bath and he loved it. He just looked around, completely content. I really wish they lived closer and I could see him more. I love that little guy so much.








My sister also gave me about 6 pairs of maternity pants. We are really close in size and I'm glad I won't be buying any for a while. I'm still fitting into my jeans so I probably won't need them for a little bit. It's really nice to have them though. 

On Sunday night we headed down to NYC to stay for the night before our Monday morning ultrasound with Dr. Br.averman. Everything went really well and both babies looked great. They both measured 7w6d and I was technically 8w. They more than doubled in a little under a week. I asked him how they label the babies A and B and he said there's no rhyme or reason to it. It's not always consistent. One baby's heartbeat was 156 and the other was 166. They still kinda looked like blobs, but are starting to look a little more human-like. Dr. B made some jokes, of course, and asked us if it was sinking in yet. He said it will seem more real when we leave Babies 'R Us with double the bill. 

The blood flow to my uterus was the same, but blood flow to both babies looked great. He said he wanted to see us again around week 10 or 12, so we scheduled for week 12. He wanted me to get in to see an OB so I finally called and got an appointment for next Thursday. 

These babies are really starting to kick my butt. I'm so nauseous and my appetite has disappeared. A week or two ago I would feel a little queasy, but once I ate would feel fine. The nausea has stepped it up quite a bit the past few days. Being around little Ben was a great distraction and I felt mostly OK there. Since then it's been pretty rough. I don't want to eat and feel pretty sick most of the time. It's really making work a challenge. I'm thinking of emailing one of the nurses at Dr. B's and asking for an anti-nausea drug. Other than the nausea, I'm still really exhausted and sleep a few hours every afternoon. Everything else is pretty much the same. I do get a strange pain/tingling sensation in my boobs when I get up after lying down for a while. I feel like my belly is bulging a little more in the middle, but I doubt it's noticeable to anyone else. W can see it but he's the only one who sees me with my clothes off : ) 

The babies are about .63 inches. They are starting to lose their little tails and are growing little webbed fingers and toes. Neural pathways are beginning to form in their brains and they are starting to spontaneously move. 

We got to tell a bunch of people about the twins this past weekend. Although my sister had asked, I didn't really want to tell her over the phone so waited. I showed her the picture and she immediately knew what it was. We then went out to lunch while W stayed home with little Ben. We talked about it a bunch over lunch and she was really excited for us. Later that day we showed my BiL the pic and he also knew immediately what it meant. He was excited and scared for us. We then all discussed how to pick up a newborn with one arm. He put Ben down on the floor and picked him up with one arm. We told him to hold the cat in one arm (representing another baby) and try to do it again. We all had a good laugh over his demonstration. 

We also told my step-mom. It was nice to sit around the dinner table and talk openly with 4 other people who knew. My dad is really excited for us. We still haven't told my mom because she can't keep her mouth shut. She, my step-dad, and brother are in Costa Rica until June so we have to figure out when/how we will tell them. She was in town last week for the baby but it just seemed too early to tell her. 

It was such a great weekend between all of the time with Ben and our ultrasound.

 Can anyone tell me what to expect at my first OB appointment? Will they do an ultrasound? I know I can look this up some of this information online, but would also like to hear from others what their experience was. Thanks!

9 comments:

  1. At our first ob appointment they went over my history, she didn't do a pap because I'd had one within the past year (but said they usually do one), she felt around my uterus and stomach and did a quick ultrasound just to listen to the heartbeats only. She also reviewed the visits I'd be having and when and because I also had twins, I went to maternal fetal medicine for a few ultrasounds. Congrats!!!

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  2. I am so happy for you. Being pregnant with twins is such a magical thing and so exciting after going through infertility. I'm 19 weeks now with twinkies and some days it still feels so unreal! My first OB appointment was at 7 weeks 2 days. They didn't do an ultrasound at that appointment because I just had one that week with my RE. He did a vaginal check, Pap smear, blood work and measured my uterus. I saw my RE up until my 10 week and then graduated and had my first ultrasound with my OB at 12 weeks. I know each doctor does their own thing but this was my experience. Wishing you all best!!!

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  3. At my first OB appointment with the boys we went over history, talked a little about what to expect and she did a very quick ultrasound with a portable divice in the exam room just to check for heartbeats and confirm for herself that it was twins. I didn't need a pap because I'd recently had one, but it's typical if you haven't. They also tested my urine and took a couple vial of blood. I think it's important to talk about future visits at this appointment, make sure you are comfortable with the level of monitoring you'll receive throughout your twin pregnancy. We also talked about hospital options at this appointment and made our decision to swap providers due to the fact our first OB only delivered at a hospital without a NICU and it was important to us to be prepared just in case. Good luck- I remember those first several weeks well, they were HARD!

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  4. I have been feeling more and more nauseous this week. I am pretty sure it's only going to get worse and I am not really looking forward to it.
    Glad everything is progressing so well with your little ones :)

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  5. For the first OB appointment, they did history, a quick ultrasound for confirmation and dating (even though us infertiles know when we got pregnant) and drew a load of blood for a bunch of routine tests. I got an ultrasound every time I went in for an OB appointment and I hope you will too! It helped me to know that both of them were indeed okay :) Again, so happy for you!! Please let me know if you have any twin questions... I just had my 2nd set so I have been there :)

    http://urzaandluna.blogspot.com

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  6. So happy for you!!

    My first was pee in a cup and BP, review my history, projected due date discussion, take off your pants so they can feel your uterus and a brief funal height measurement. I seem to remember an ultrasound that day, too. And a big goodie bag full of prenatal vitamin samples.

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  7. I've always wondered about the Baby A and B labeling. So it really is just random?

    Anyway, I am so excited for you! My first OB appointment included a blood draw to retest all the things I had to be tested for before IVF (STIs and HIV, blood type, total blood count, etc). I wasn't scheduled for an u/s but I got one anyway because I just happened to have a little spotting the day of my appointment. Usually you will get a pelvic exam and cervical swipe and check on your first visit, possibly a pap if you are due, but probably not. You will also talk about optional first trimester screenings (NT scan, etc).

    I also talked a lot about IVF and my fears about pregnancy and made sure I felt understood and supported. If I wanted extra ultrasounds to reassure me that everything was okay, I wanted to make sure they would be able to honor that wish.

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  8. Omgoodness, how I love the picture of little Ben with all his little wrinkles and rolls!! So adorable and yes! A lot of hair! I absolutely love being an Auntie! Congrats to you on your sweet nephew.

    And congrats on your twins! I'm glad the u/s went well. I am so excited and happy for you!

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