The bellah! (Both of them)

J insisted that we take a "Battle of the Bellies" picture, so here we are in all our glory. Of course, I'm sucking it in and he's letting it all hang out, but you get the idea! I'm going to continue to blame my ginormous belly on the fact that the two babies are sharing space with the two fibroids. Otherwise, there's simply no excuse for me looking like this at just under 14 weeks.

I may have to go to a wide-format blog layout by the time I post my 30-week belly. Lord help us!

I'm a slackin'

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted! It's not like we don't have anything interesting going on in our lives this week. My stepdaughter is in town for her Spring Break, and we've been having oodles of fun. She's 14, has her first boyfriend, but it's still cool to watch movies as a family and even partake of a rousing game of Pictionary Man in between texting friends (and said boyfriend).

She and I went on a date for sushi last night, as her dad had to work a little late. (Don't worry, I only ate cooked rolls.) This is where I finally learned about the boyfriend she's apparently had for a month, but was afraid to tell her dad about. I can't blame her; she's grown up being told she wasn't going to be allowed to date until she's 40.

I had my monthly doctor's appointment yesterday and got to hear Luke and Leia's heartbeats on a doppler for the first time. (We've heard them a few times on ultrasound, but this was the first time with the little stick.) I'm never going to get tired of that sound!

I'm gaining exactly a pound a week, which I've been told is spot-on for a twin pregnancy. My blood pressure was perfect, and other than my left ankle repeatedly swelling up like a balloon animal, everything's going well! Going to start with the belly pics this weekend. I promise. 'Cause there's definitely already a belly there, and I might as well share it with the Interwebs!

Tomorrow we're going to a theme park where I won't be able to ride any of the rides. And I couldn't care less!

Babies 2, Fibroids 2

Well, the number of fibroids I have has caught up with the number of babies I have floating around in there. The suckers are pretty big, but the doctor doesn't seem concerned at this point, so I'm not going to worry, either.

Both Baby A and Baby B passed their NT scan with flying colors, although Baby A had us wondering if we were going to have to go back for a third time. After walking around, coughing, laughing, jumping up and down, chewing some sugary gum and drinking some cold water, "she" finally flipped for us. (Please note: I don't know whether or not aforementioned activities actually had an effect on the baby. I just didn't want to have to come in again, so I was doing everything but cartwheels in the hallway.)

They measured at 1.7 and 1.4 which is great. They want them to be under 3.0, so they were total rock stars! Both measured spot-on at 12w5d. And Baby B was a perfect angel this week, so I'm not sure what that does to my sex predictions I made last time. The good news is they told us today we should find out at our next appointment in four weeks. Although J and I honestly agree at this point; we're just hoping for "all the fingers, all the toes, and all the marbles," as a friend of ours likes to say.

Now, on to the good stuff! B's on top this week. Baby A looks a little strange 'cause "she" wouldn't stop wiggling!

Twins DO run in my family!

I've been warned about all the strange, obtrusive comments one can get when you tell someone you are having twins. "Better you than me." "Are they natural?" "Did you take fertility drugs?" "Want to be the next Octomom, huh?" Honestly, I've been dreading the IF comments. If someone asks me if my twins are "real", I will probably deck them.

But the nicest surprise is that, almost without fail, the question I keep getting is, "Do twins run in your family?" Because you know what? Yes, yes they do. It's so nice to respond like a normal, fertile person when I talk about my babies. Twins run rampant all over my mom's family, on both her paternal and maternal sides. In fact, there is a chance that I had a vanishing twin. Of course, I didn't know that until about six months ago when my mom dropped the info like she was asking me if I wanted chicken salad for lunch. "Didn't I tell you that before? Huh."

So far I haven't had to discuss my ovaries with anyone. Not one little convo about endometriosis. Or diminished ovarian reserve. Not even a chit chat about uterine fibroids. And I guess I can thank the fact that I look young for my 37 years, because no one appears to be associating my advanced maternal age with a need for a reproductive assist.

Don't get me wrong; I am not ashamed of my infertility. I am proud that I am carrying two little IVF success stories, and have been very open about our process with the people I feel comfortable sharing with.

I am just grateful that the conversation hasn't come up in the produce section at Publix.

I'm sure I have plenty of time for that to happen. And the more I start showing, the more the stranger comments will start pouring in. But, at least for now, they haven't been bad. Perhaps I should use this time to come up with some witty comebacks just in case. I don't want to get arrested for punching a loose-tongued stranger in the baby section at Target.

Maternity pants and brain-eating babies

So, we've decided that if the babies don't like what I have for lunch, they eat my brains in the afternoon. That's the only logical explanation we can come up with for all the missing brain cells. I am also convinced that trouble maker Baby B runs around inside my legs tickling me from the inside out. Hence the insane itching that makes me want to peel off my skin and hang it from a hook so I can really get to it with my fingernails!

As for maternity pants, I'm incredibly grateful to not have buttons or zippers digging into my oh-so-soft mommy flesh anymore, but I'm having trouble keeping some of them up at this point. And I'm honestly not sure what to do about shirts, yet. The few actual maternity shirts I have hang down to my knees (lovely look), but regular shirts are rather tight on my belly. For some reason I feel funny showing this early, so I'm still trying to hide the ever-growing bump.

Of course, I think part of the bump is the fibroid. I told J last night that with the addition of the fibroid, it's like carrying triplets. The upside is we only have to buy Christmas gifts for two of them.

And have I mentioned that I'm eternally glad it's Friday afternoon? We're donating some of the excess furniture that's currently in the den/nursery and it's being picked up tomorrow. I'm eager to get the room cleaned out so I can start on the fun stuff. Painting and wallpaper! Gawd, I love to decorate. It's been years since I've done a room from scratch, and I can't wait.

Pictures!

Well, the babies were a day shy of being old enough to have the NT scan done yesterday, but we still got a nice, long look at each of them. Baby A was nice and cooperative (I'm sure that means she's a girl) and Baby B was rambunctious and doing somersaults through most of the scan (so of course the difficult one is a boy). We've got four arms, four legs and two very strong heartbeats.

Oh, and apparently I've sprouted a new fibroid as well. The good news is the doc says that it's very rare that fibroids actually create an issue for the babies. It may be less than fun for me to have a third, uninvited guest at the uterine party, but honestly I couldn't care less. As long as these babies are healthy, that's all that matters.

So, enough blather and on to the good stuff! Baby B was so busy doing acrobatics the ultrasound tech couldn't get a good shot of them together. So, here are their first individual class pictures!

No more needles!

Well, I'm sure there will be any number of blood draws during the rest of this pregnancy, but I'm no longer a human pin cushion! Yesterday was my first needle-free day since Christmas Day. Hopefully it won't take long for the bumps and bruises to disappear from my tushie, and I can revel in the fact that the only medication I'm on at this point is prenatal vitamins!!!

Don't get me wrong, every stick was well worth it, and J didn't seem to mind getting to "poke me in the butt" on a nightly basis, but I'm seriously happy to put those giant needles to the side.

NT scan on Monday. We should have fun, new pictures next week!

New day, new doc

I had an appointment with my new OB/GYN on Friday. Loved him! On a completely un-baby-related note, he's only 41 years old. Which is only four years older than I am. I've had various scenarios make me feel old in the past, but realizing that the person you're entrusting your medical care to is basically the same age as you is somewhat disconcerting.

Anyway, I honestly think he's as excited we're having twins as we are. He literally told me we'd skip the blood work and save it till next visit because he wanted to see the babies! I had specifically asked if I would get an ultrasound at the first visit, and was told it would be medical history, pee in a cup, blood work...typical boring first visit. Not with Dr. B! So, I got to see two adorable little sacs in "bunk bed position", with two strong heartbeats.

Dr. B has all his multiple patients see an MFM as well, which I'm happy about. So, I'll be seeing Dr. P in a few weeks for my NT scan, and will continue to see him throughout the pregnancy.

Dr. B's old-school. We started off the appointment in his office, not in an exam room. And he actually attends all his patients' deliveries, unless he's out of town. No sharing duties with the other doctors in the practice!

So far, so good. So far, very good!