Marisa has this pregnancy app that includes a timeline of milestones during pregnancy. One of the milestones is being able to feel the baby kick on the outside of her belly, but instead of wording it that way it says "first kick for daddy". This has pretty much been an ongoing joke between us as I every so often ask her when the babies will "kick for daddy".
Anyway, we're sitting around watching Shark Tank on Friday night (we are the life of the party!) when Marisa says "come feel my belly, I think I just felt them on the outside!" And sure enough, I got to feel our babies kick for the first time! What an incredible feeling! There were a couple more moments like this throughout the weekend, and at one point we actually saw her belly move from them kicking! I have a feeling this is just the beginning and they are only going to become more and more active!
On a slightly related note, we had a doctors appointment yesterday morning to have echocardiograms on their hearts. They would not stay still! In the end the ultrasound tech got all of the images she needed to, but it was definitely a challenge. The doctor saw us after the ultrasound was over and told us that everything was normal and Marisa said "so they look good?" And he said "actually, better than good- they looked great!" He then made a comment to us about what a nice little family we have. There are so may reasons in a day to smile. Life is good.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
20 weeks!!
Wow! 20 weeks! It is hard to believe we are half way there!! Most likely, we are a little more than half way there, but officially the little ones have made it to the half way point. With each day that passes, it feels more and more real. I've got quite the bump now and I have started to feel little movements from the twins. No big kicks or punches just yet, but after seeing the size of their feet on the ultrasound today, it's only a matter of time! ha!
Anyway, today was the big 20-week ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine (the high-risk place). They have much better ultrasound equipment compared to the OB, so we always love the pics that we get from them. The ultrasound lasted for about an hour and a half. And again, the ultrasound tech was awesome! We even got a few 3d shots!! :) There's always a doctor that reviews the photos afterwards and comes in to check on how things are going. Today's doctor was like a football coach! lol Andrea said she thinks he missed his calling in life. =P
So the short version of this 1 1/2 hour ultrasound is that everything is looking good. Baby A is still a girl... Edyn Carmel. And Baby B is still a boy... Harrison Lee. Edyn is 12 ounces and Harrison is 13 ounces. Thats over a pound and a half of baby!! Edyn's heart rate was 148 bpm and Harrison's was 132 bpm. Both heart rates are in the normal range. Everything else (heads, hands, feet, legs, etc) is looking good and normal! Edyn was in a odd position, so it was a little harder to get her to cooperate, but after the ultrasound tech jiggled her around a bit, she was good! Harrison was a little more chill and cooperative. He also wanted everyone to know that he was a boy! Over and over again!
We have two more appts coming up in the next two weeks. One on the 17th at the OB and one of the 22nd at MFM. The one of the 22nd is the fetal echocardiogram, so they will be looking exclusively at their hearts. The next appts after that are not until mid-November and early December.
In other news, we recently purchased cribs, mattresses and bedding, so we are making progress in the nursery! :D
Anyway, today was the big 20-week ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine (the high-risk place). They have much better ultrasound equipment compared to the OB, so we always love the pics that we get from them. The ultrasound lasted for about an hour and a half. And again, the ultrasound tech was awesome! We even got a few 3d shots!! :) There's always a doctor that reviews the photos afterwards and comes in to check on how things are going. Today's doctor was like a football coach! lol Andrea said she thinks he missed his calling in life. =P
So the short version of this 1 1/2 hour ultrasound is that everything is looking good. Baby A is still a girl... Edyn Carmel. And Baby B is still a boy... Harrison Lee. Edyn is 12 ounces and Harrison is 13 ounces. Thats over a pound and a half of baby!! Edyn's heart rate was 148 bpm and Harrison's was 132 bpm. Both heart rates are in the normal range. Everything else (heads, hands, feet, legs, etc) is looking good and normal! Edyn was in a odd position, so it was a little harder to get her to cooperate, but after the ultrasound tech jiggled her around a bit, she was good! Harrison was a little more chill and cooperative. He also wanted everyone to know that he was a boy! Over and over again!
We have two more appts coming up in the next two weeks. One on the 17th at the OB and one of the 22nd at MFM. The one of the 22nd is the fetal echocardiogram, so they will be looking exclusively at their hearts. The next appts after that are not until mid-November and early December.
In other news, we recently purchased cribs, mattresses and bedding, so we are making progress in the nursery! :D
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| Edyn's 3D picture - Her little arm was in front of her face! |
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| It's a GIRL! |
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| Edyn's profile - so cute! |
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| Harrison's 3D picture - He also likes his hand in front of his face. =P |
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| It's a BOY! |
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| Harrison's profile - Adorable! |
Monday, September 10, 2012
16 week ultrasound!
We went in today for our 16-week ultrasound! Probably the most exciting ultrasound yet! Both babies are looking good. Baby A had a heart rate of 150 bpm and Baby B's was 161 bpm. They are both about 5 ounces and are very active. We also had the blood work done for the second part of the sequential screening, so we'll be hearing more about that in 3-5 business days.
They were also able to tell us the sexes!! Baby A is a GIRL!!!! Baby B is a BOY!!!!
We are so excited and grateful! We would have been excited no matter what, obviously! But one of each is such a blessing!! :) We can finally buy more clothing that is NOT yellow!! lol
They were also able to tell us the sexes!! Baby A is a GIRL!!!! Baby B is a BOY!!!!
We are so excited and grateful! We would have been excited no matter what, obviously! But one of each is such a blessing!! :) We can finally buy more clothing that is NOT yellow!! lol
Sunday, August 19, 2012
13 weeks! End of Trimester #1!
"Things will happen in your life that you can't stop, but that's no reason to shut out the world. There's a purpose for the good and for the bad"
"We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in, I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am. I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough."
Now that we made it through the 1st trimester, I've been thinking back on our journey so far. I've feel like I have learned so much not just about conception and pregnancy, but also about life and personal growth. When we started this process, I thought I would just get pregnant... easily! With no family history of fertility problems and all diagnostic tests in normal ranges, I thought it would be a piece of cake! The first failed IUI attempt was disappointing, but I was hopeful that the next attempt would be successful. When the second and third attempts failed, my hope started to fade. I was angry, sad, hopeless, and jealous all at the same time. I found a renewed hope when we switched to Dr. P and the Sher Institute and moved on to IVF. It was a big step, but one that I knew we had to make. Our conversations with Dr. P were enlightening and reassuring. However, I was still nervous and worried about another failed attempt. So I did everything in my power to "make" this work. When the first IVF cycle failed, I was devastated... beyond devastated. I wanted to give up... I told myself I couldn't do it anymore. It was too hard to hear over and over again, "I'm sorry, the pregnancy test came back negative". I don't know if I can accurately describe what it feels like to hear that over and over again after putting your everything into a cycle... hope, energy, time, money, etc. Some people will know what I'm talking about, but most won't.
Anyways, my point is not to make this a negative post, but instead to set the stage for the change that took place within me throughout this process. At the start of IVF #2, I started to shift my focus to gratitude. I thought about everything that I was grateful for...sure we had failed cycles, but we also were able to DO those cycles. So many couples either don't have the time or can't afford it. I became more and more grateful for what I already had... a great loving family, a wonderful wife, amazing friends, a roof over my head, a job that I love, adorable cats, etc etc. I also began to realize that all of my worrying and at home efforts to "make" this work were useless... "I" was not going to "make" anything work. So after getting over the initial disappointment of the first failed IVF, I had a complete change of attitude. I didn't focus all my energies on getting pregnant or "making" it work. I focused on being grateful. And I prayed. Everyone has an angel. So I prayed to my angel and stayed positive and grateful.
Looking back now, I realized that I had a lot to learn. I had to learn how to let go of things in the past and move on, how to persevere and stay strong, how to get back up after falling down, how to trust in something greater than me, how to be patient, how to be grateful for the present moment, how to stay positive and believe that this was going to work for us, that nothing is guaranteed, how to be okay with not being in control. I had lessons to learn that were going to repeat themselves until I learned them. And that is what made IVF #2 different from the other cycles, I had a completely different outlook that had slowly evolved as a result of everything that happened along the way. Every step that we took along the way prepared us for this wonderful gift! :)
So, long story short, I am infinitely grateful for these two wonderful little miracles of ours! Our road wasn't always easy (like I thought it would be in the beginning), it was "bumpy". But those "bumps" in the road taught me important lessons.
Today I am grateful that we have two healthy little ones growing and that we are officially at the end of our first trimester!! 2 more trimesters until we meet them!! :)
"We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in, I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am. I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough."
Now that we made it through the 1st trimester, I've been thinking back on our journey so far. I've feel like I have learned so much not just about conception and pregnancy, but also about life and personal growth. When we started this process, I thought I would just get pregnant... easily! With no family history of fertility problems and all diagnostic tests in normal ranges, I thought it would be a piece of cake! The first failed IUI attempt was disappointing, but I was hopeful that the next attempt would be successful. When the second and third attempts failed, my hope started to fade. I was angry, sad, hopeless, and jealous all at the same time. I found a renewed hope when we switched to Dr. P and the Sher Institute and moved on to IVF. It was a big step, but one that I knew we had to make. Our conversations with Dr. P were enlightening and reassuring. However, I was still nervous and worried about another failed attempt. So I did everything in my power to "make" this work. When the first IVF cycle failed, I was devastated... beyond devastated. I wanted to give up... I told myself I couldn't do it anymore. It was too hard to hear over and over again, "I'm sorry, the pregnancy test came back negative". I don't know if I can accurately describe what it feels like to hear that over and over again after putting your everything into a cycle... hope, energy, time, money, etc. Some people will know what I'm talking about, but most won't.
Anyways, my point is not to make this a negative post, but instead to set the stage for the change that took place within me throughout this process. At the start of IVF #2, I started to shift my focus to gratitude. I thought about everything that I was grateful for...sure we had failed cycles, but we also were able to DO those cycles. So many couples either don't have the time or can't afford it. I became more and more grateful for what I already had... a great loving family, a wonderful wife, amazing friends, a roof over my head, a job that I love, adorable cats, etc etc. I also began to realize that all of my worrying and at home efforts to "make" this work were useless... "I" was not going to "make" anything work. So after getting over the initial disappointment of the first failed IVF, I had a complete change of attitude. I didn't focus all my energies on getting pregnant or "making" it work. I focused on being grateful. And I prayed. Everyone has an angel. So I prayed to my angel and stayed positive and grateful.
Looking back now, I realized that I had a lot to learn. I had to learn how to let go of things in the past and move on, how to persevere and stay strong, how to get back up after falling down, how to trust in something greater than me, how to be patient, how to be grateful for the present moment, how to stay positive and believe that this was going to work for us, that nothing is guaranteed, how to be okay with not being in control. I had lessons to learn that were going to repeat themselves until I learned them. And that is what made IVF #2 different from the other cycles, I had a completely different outlook that had slowly evolved as a result of everything that happened along the way. Every step that we took along the way prepared us for this wonderful gift! :)
So, long story short, I am infinitely grateful for these two wonderful little miracles of ours! Our road wasn't always easy (like I thought it would be in the beginning), it was "bumpy". But those "bumps" in the road taught me important lessons.
Today I am grateful that we have two healthy little ones growing and that we are officially at the end of our first trimester!! 2 more trimesters until we meet them!! :)
Thursday, August 9, 2012
11w3d
almost done with the first trimester!! woop woop! some people say it ends at 12 weeks and others say 13 weeks... either way, we're close. :)
yesterday, we went into the high-risk pregnancy place for our first consultation and the sequential screening test, which included blood work and an ultrasound. first, one of the nurses chatted with us for about 45 mins about pregnancy things and answered some of our questions. then they took us into the ultrasound room, where they checked out everything... obviously seeing the babies was the most exciting part! =P they look like humans now! we could see their little arms and legs and even their little hearts beating away. One had a heartbeat of 176 bpm and the other was 167 bpm, both looking good! they also measure the skin on the back of each baby's neck as a part of the sequential screening test, and that all came back normal! yay! the blood test won't come back for 3-5 days but they said no news is good news, so as long as i don't hear anything, it all came back as "normal".
the next step is at 16 weeks, i go back in to get another ultrasound and more blood work to give us a more conclusive result of the screening.
in the meantime, we have an appt at the OB next friday.
yesterday, we went into the high-risk pregnancy place for our first consultation and the sequential screening test, which included blood work and an ultrasound. first, one of the nurses chatted with us for about 45 mins about pregnancy things and answered some of our questions. then they took us into the ultrasound room, where they checked out everything... obviously seeing the babies was the most exciting part! =P they look like humans now! we could see their little arms and legs and even their little hearts beating away. One had a heartbeat of 176 bpm and the other was 167 bpm, both looking good! they also measure the skin on the back of each baby's neck as a part of the sequential screening test, and that all came back normal! yay! the blood test won't come back for 3-5 days but they said no news is good news, so as long as i don't hear anything, it all came back as "normal".
the next step is at 16 weeks, i go back in to get another ultrasound and more blood work to give us a more conclusive result of the screening.
in the meantime, we have an appt at the OB next friday.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
9 Weeks 1 Day
So I've been a little bit late to the blogging game lately. IN FACT I haven't posted since we got our BIG FREAKIN' POSITIVE!!!! Needless to say I am beyond excited and I can't wait to meet these two little people that are currently living in Marisa's belly!
So yesterday we had a Dr. appointment and an ultrasound. And guess what? Those little babies are starting to have legs and arms! It was the most amazing thing to see them moving around in there, they are really starting to take shape! When we had the 7 week ultrasound (that Marisa posted pictures of) Marisa was 7 weeks pregnant - baby A was 6 weeks 6 days old and baby B was 7 weeks 1 day old. Yesterday Marisa was 9 weeks 1 day pregnant, and both baby A and B were 9 weeks day pregnant- so it looks like everyone is getting in sync with each other. They both had strong heartbeats of 176 BPM. Everyday I just become more and more amazed by these little babies! It brings a huge smile to my face just thinking about it! So here are the latest pics.
So yesterday we had a Dr. appointment and an ultrasound. And guess what? Those little babies are starting to have legs and arms! It was the most amazing thing to see them moving around in there, they are really starting to take shape! When we had the 7 week ultrasound (that Marisa posted pictures of) Marisa was 7 weeks pregnant - baby A was 6 weeks 6 days old and baby B was 7 weeks 1 day old. Yesterday Marisa was 9 weeks 1 day pregnant, and both baby A and B were 9 weeks day pregnant- so it looks like everyone is getting in sync with each other. They both had strong heartbeats of 176 BPM. Everyday I just become more and more amazed by these little babies! It brings a huge smile to my face just thinking about it! So here are the latest pics.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
8w3d update!
Andrea said she was going to update the blog, but that hasn't happened... so here's the most recent update. :) We went in for the first OB visit on Monday. It wasn't an ultrasound visit or anything fun, just talking and updating charts. While we were there, they gave us some info about screenings that we could opt to do. We decided to do the sequential screening which needs to be done at this other doctor's office around 11 weeks. However, we were going to be calling this other doctor's office anyway because we technically have a "high-risk" pregnancy because we're having twins and this doctor's office specializes in high-rish pregnancies. (don't ya love the sound of that?... we're having twins!!) Anyway, after we left the OB, I called there to set up a consult and the screening. Not only did they schedule that first appointment for me but they also set up a follow to the screening at 16 weeks, which is just blood work. And they set up an appointment for our 20 week ultrasound already!
Our next ultrasound at the OB is this coming Tuesday afternoon. Can't wait!!!! :) I feel like we've been waiting forever to see them again!
So I realized I haven't talked a whole lot about symptoms. So far, no vomiting (knock on wood!). Just nausea that started around 6 weeks. It started off very mild, just here and there, and then progressed to more like "moderate" nausea. Some days I'm great and I feel like I can eat whatever I want. Other days, I stick with crackers and things that are fairly bland. I feel like the good days are becoming less and less prominent. I have also found that "grazing" all day is the best thing for me. The constant eating of little snacks actually makes the nausea go away, at least for a little while. In fact, if I eat a big meal, I feel terrible. So snacking is for me!
I have had some crazy food aversions. Basically anything I liked to eat is now completely repulsive. I used to love cabbage salad... well I made some around 5 weeks and I ate it for 2 days, and on the 3rd day, I couldn't even stand to look at it when I opened the fridge, so I put it down the garbage disposal. We also made this one bean dish that I used to love... not anymore! I had to have Andrea get rid of that one, cause I couldn't go near it without feeling like I was going to vom!
I also have had a little bit of indigestion and heart burn, but not too bad (again, knock on wood!). And I've had a LOT of gas! i know, i know... TMI!! but that's been terrible! The one day I even burped and farted at the same time! what the hell! =P
Besides that, I pee all the time and sleep all the time because I'm constantly exhausted! which is another reason why I haven't done much lately. I'm kinda glad that my first trimester is during the summer because I don't know how I would fair at work! AND i'm already showing just a little bit! :)
Some days I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but I wouldn't trade any of this! I LOVE that I'm pregnant and I LOVE that we are having twins! and I'm so grateful for this whole experience!!
Currently, one of my favorite quotes... "Never give up, for that is just the time and place that the tide will turn". There were times that I wanted to give up and stop trying, but I'm soooo glad we didn't! Everything that happened (and didn't happen) along the way prepared us for these moments! And I'm thankful for each and every moment!
Our next ultrasound at the OB is this coming Tuesday afternoon. Can't wait!!!! :) I feel like we've been waiting forever to see them again!
So I realized I haven't talked a whole lot about symptoms. So far, no vomiting (knock on wood!). Just nausea that started around 6 weeks. It started off very mild, just here and there, and then progressed to more like "moderate" nausea. Some days I'm great and I feel like I can eat whatever I want. Other days, I stick with crackers and things that are fairly bland. I feel like the good days are becoming less and less prominent. I have also found that "grazing" all day is the best thing for me. The constant eating of little snacks actually makes the nausea go away, at least for a little while. In fact, if I eat a big meal, I feel terrible. So snacking is for me!
I have had some crazy food aversions. Basically anything I liked to eat is now completely repulsive. I used to love cabbage salad... well I made some around 5 weeks and I ate it for 2 days, and on the 3rd day, I couldn't even stand to look at it when I opened the fridge, so I put it down the garbage disposal. We also made this one bean dish that I used to love... not anymore! I had to have Andrea get rid of that one, cause I couldn't go near it without feeling like I was going to vom!
I also have had a little bit of indigestion and heart burn, but not too bad (again, knock on wood!). And I've had a LOT of gas! i know, i know... TMI!! but that's been terrible! The one day I even burped and farted at the same time! what the hell! =P
Besides that, I pee all the time and sleep all the time because I'm constantly exhausted! which is another reason why I haven't done much lately. I'm kinda glad that my first trimester is during the summer because I don't know how I would fair at work! AND i'm already showing just a little bit! :)
Some days I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but I wouldn't trade any of this! I LOVE that I'm pregnant and I LOVE that we are having twins! and I'm so grateful for this whole experience!!
Currently, one of my favorite quotes... "Never give up, for that is just the time and place that the tide will turn". There were times that I wanted to give up and stop trying, but I'm soooo glad we didn't! Everything that happened (and didn't happen) along the way prepared us for these moments! And I'm thankful for each and every moment!
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