8 week ultrasound: Meet Pea 1 AND Pea 2!!

It's official...we're having TWINS!! We are just so blessed and thrilled but mostly thankful to all of the amazing doctors and nurses who helped us get to this point. We saw both heartbeats at our ultrasound today and I have officially graduated to the OB. I have my first appointment there on August 11th for blood work and then to schedule another ultrasound with the doctor.

As far as symptoms this week, I'm still having the nausea but it's on and off. It went on a two day absence but returned yesterday. It's not that bad at all really and I've tried to stay on top of it by never letting myself get hungry. Still exhausted most days, but naps help! Just resting and taking care of myself and the babies. Our babies are now the size of a kidney bean and eyes, nose, and lips are beginning to form! We are just so very excited!

Oh and check out the ultrasound from exactly 2 weeks ago and look at the amazing growth at this stage!! It's about 1mm per day. Pretty amazing stuff!

7 week update

Well, I'm pretty sure that nausea (without throwing up) has started to rear it's ugly head this week. Only it's not "morning sickness" but "evening sickness." It strikes at the oddest times, too! Several things I know for sure: 1) I can't ever let myself feel hungry or it gets worse; 2) I have to eat dinner before 7:00 p.m. because my "evening sickness" kicks in around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. most nights; and 3) By 10:00 p.m. I'm feeling pretty good (so good last night that I decided to eat some cake!). Another thing I've noticed is that I get tired a lot quicker. I have to take a nap at some point during the day or I'm ready for bed by 9:00 p.m. Finally, I pee all the time, but this is not new. It's been with me since the onset of OHSS and now is the result of the pregnancy. But no complaints about any of this from me. I just can't believe how quickly things change in my body, it's truly amazing!
This week our baby is the size of a blueberry and has grown 10,000 times bigger than it was at conception. Arm and leg buds are also forming and it has gone through three sets of kidneys by now. The set it grows this week will be permanent and will begin the job of waste management. In about a week our baby will start producing urine!
Today I went to the grocery store (my favorite...ugh) since we have virtually nothing to fix meals in this house. After an hour in the store and a forever and day long checkout I called Peter and told him he should probably NEVER send me to the grocery alone. This is because I bought everything that sounds good to me this week: 3 frozen pizzas and two bags of french fries...yum! I'll probably hate them next week! And hey, I stuck to the list and bought some healthy things, too. I was also starving when I was there and any good shopper knows you should never go to the grocery on an empty stomach. The last reason I shouldn't go there alone is because I had a nauseous moment in the pickle and salad dressing isle and almost ran someone over trying to escape that yucky stuff!
Whew, crazy things going on this week!!! Can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring.

6 week ultrasound

Just got back from our ultrasound and it's nothing but good news to report. The doctor was able to see one sac and it even had a heartbeat that we could see. There was something else there too but he was not sure if it was a developing sac just yet, it was a little too early. We have another appointment in two weeks and will know more then. For now we couldn't be happier with one little pea!

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!

So this is my favorite picture from my vacation to Disney World! I can't post it anywhere but here but it will be in the nursery. We had such a great time! I was so excited to tell Mickey we were having a baby (maybe 2). The symptoms from OHSS made me look really pregnant and Mickey was so excited to put his hand on my "belly." I didn't bother to tell him I was only 5 weeks and 5 days at the time, it wasn't important. And he told Minnie we were having a baby and she was excited, too! As you can tell, I absolutely LOVE Disney World and everything about it.
I was a little worried about being able to walk around the parks and I even had a wheelchair note from the doctor. But I didn't need it. I actually felt better after walking and it really seemed to help me, especially my back. I took frequent breaks and, of course, couldn't ride some of the rides but that was fine with me. I enjoyed people watching...there are some interesting ones!
So I'm anxiously awaiting my ultrasound today at 2:45 p.m. I am really nervous and am glad we will be able to see something today. I'm so worried that the embryo(s) didn't implant in the right place or that something might be wrong. I know it's not good to be stressed out about it but I can hardly stand not knowing what's going on in there. As of Monday when I peed on a stick, I was still pregnant. Now that I'm deflating from OHSS I feel better but am now worried about the baby(ies). I know I'll feel so much better in a few hours after I see what's going on in there. I know God will give us what we need and I have faith that He will protect our little pea(s). Will update upon returning from the doctor. Please pray for us!

"If you can dream it you can do it!"

Even though this is how I still currently feel (and feel like I look), I'm bound and determined to make it to Disney World in a few days. Sure, Dumbo's cute and he can fly but he's still a huge elephant. Despite this, we are planning to leave on Wednesday morning and will be in the park Thursday through Monday. I'm so excited to go and I really think this is what I need! I will feel so much happier, despite being bloated and slightly uncomfortable, when visiting MICKEY! So what if I can't ride all the big rides, I'm definitely going to enjoy people watching and just taking a vacation I thought we'd never get. But just to be safe, I'm clearing it with the doctor tomorrow. I don't suspect he'd object.

This weekend I did some things I didn't expect to happen so soon:

1. I purchased new and larger underwear (one and two sizes bigger than I normally wear). As distraught as I was about this, I feel so much more comfortable. And, get this, I didn't even consider going to Victoria's Secret even though that's the only kind I wear. Something tells me those won't make me feel any sexier.

2. I was asked how far along I was...how do I answer that? I just avoided it with the "I'm really bloated from medicine" comment

3. I purchased new and larger pants so that I can at least feel decent about myself if I'm going to look sixth moths preggers at five weeks.

4. I purchased six new and larger shirts that I would have never purchased two weeks ago let alone two years ago, in order to disguise my huge self. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed but I'm not sure how to explain all this and I'd just rather not. I just want to feel pretty again!

5. I compared my huge self to my father-in-law...it was a close call! hahaha

6. I realized I probably can't get in a swimsuit due to swelling in places down south that I didn't know could swell...that's enough information about that!

I'm actually coping with all this pretty well and I realized today that really this is a good thing. If anything, it's a preview for about seven months from now.

Every blind squirrel finds a nut at some point!

Well the news you've all been waiting for...it's a BIG HUGE OFF THE CHARTS POSITIVE! My beta was 300, leading them to believe that both of them might be in there! We actually did it this time!!!! Now just typing that has finally allowed it to settle in. You see, we've known since Monday when I went to the doctor with symptoms of Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Basically it's when the ovaries are over-stimulated by the medication. I developed it shortly after our embryo transfer (Father's Day to be exact) and then it got worse as the week progressed. The following Wednesday I noticed some relief but as I said in my previous post, it came back again last Friday, and with a vengence. So I spent the weekend being miserable and decided to see the doctor this Monday because I was dry-heaving (not fun). I was keeping down fluids but at that point had gained 6 pounds of water in less than a week.
So while I was in his office he decided to do the beta blood test and reassured me that these symptoms were a very good thing, especially that they went away and came back. That almost always indicates a conception. I also got an AWESOME shot of Demerrol and Phenergen (anit-nausea) which made me feel FABULOUS. I slept most of the remainder of the day until the nurse called with the news. I was barely coherent enough to understand what she was saying but thank goodness I had the ability to ask about the numbers. She said "You are very pregnant, the number is 300!"
So now that it's all confirmed, I have had this awesome bloating to deal with. You would never recognize me, I'm so huge. I have no curvature in my back and places are swollen that I didn't know existed. I am not complaining but just really uncomfortable. But I am determined to get to Disney World next week so I'm up and at 'em to get the fluids moving. Any other advice appreciated, especially if you've dealt with severe bloating before. I'm drinking tons of gatorade and avoiding all the salty cravings I already have. I actually wanted to drink salsa the other day while out with a friend at lunch, it was so amazing. And yesterday I hobbled myself to Kroger for some pickles because I desperately wanted them. Not sure if those count as cravings but I'm sure there's more to come!
Oh and by the way, the word is mum for a while...I'm sure you all understand! We have an ultrasound scheduled for July 16th and should know by then if we have one or two. We're hoping for two!