How far along: I have entered the double digits and I am now 10 weeks pregnant! I am D-O-N-E taking estrogen and I only have one more week left on progesterone. It's a tad nerve wracking to go off these medications which have been supporting my pregnancy but it mostly (99%) feels awesome to think that after all.these.years of infertility my body will finally know what to do on its own!
Weight gain: I'm up to 145lbs, so I only gained a couple ounces last week. HOWEVER we went "trunk or treating" at Arie's school last week and he got a coupon for a free cup of frozen yogurt at my favorite frozen yogurt place! So sometime this week I will have to take him for that treat and make up for lost poundage. ;-)
How are you feeling: More of the same. Nauseated and tired.
On Sunday I completed a freezer meal workshop with my friend Sara who sells WildTree products (super yummy, free of junk seasonings/sauces/mixes/spices/etc). Normally I set aside an hour every afternoon to prepare a healthy meal; feeding my family is something that I take pleasure in and that is important to me. Since I started feeling nauseated I haven't been able to cook at all. It's been frustrating. We've had friends bring us dinner and we've been eating a lot of store-bought freezer meals (cringe). I'm thrilled to have a freezer full of healthy, homemade meals again! (And I would like to take a moment to thank my awesome husband John who did all the grocery shopping and helped me with the raw-meat prep!) I think our stockpile will carry me through the end of my first trimester at which time I am planning to feel better... hopefully.
Noteworthy moments: I made a major dent in collecting maternity clothes! I got some from friends and some from thrift shops. My belly isn't quite big enough to warrant them yet, but my regular jeans are uncomfortable so I'm mostly wearing leggings. It's getting quite cold here in Michigan though and leggings are starting to feel a little too light! I probably will regret wishing this when I'm a large barge later in my pregnancy, but I hope I fit into my maternity jeans soon!
Of even greater note: I had my 10 week ultrasound yesterday! It was my first abdominal ultrasound and my first time having to drink a torturous amount of water to fill up my bladder for a "better picture." On the phone the nurse told me to drink 32 ounces and hold it for an hour. Ummm... what!? I would probably have peed on the table even before pregnancy. On my written instructions it said to drink 20-24 ounces, which is probably more reasonable... for people who aren't pregnant. I already have to pee every hour, so I drank about 18 ounces 45 minutes before the ultrasound and it was perfectly fine. Well, the picture was fine. I still really, really had to pee.
John was meeting me at the OB's office and I texted him, "I'm going in early and if they can see me before you get there I'm doing it because I CAN'T HOLD IT ANY LONGER!" He did miss the first few minutes but it was worth it just to pee a few minutes sooner. Do they make you hold you pee for every ultrasound, even later into the pregnancy? Please tell me no!
Anyway. Moving on from the bladder to the uterus: there are two healthy little babies in there! This ultrasound was my favorite so far. The babies actually look like babies now as opposed to blobs and even better, we could see them moving around! John was amazed watching them and asked, "Can't you feel that Jill!?" Nope, not yet. The sonographer said I would feel them between 16-20 weeks, but maybe earlier since they are twins. I turn 16 weeks pregnant on my 30th birthday! I'm going to go ahead and request fetal movement as my gift.
This ultrasound was also different for me in an emotional way: during my first two ultrasounds the primary emotion I felt was relief but for this one it was happiness. I have been very patient with myself as I let all the fear of loosing these babies slowly and surely fall away. I knew the day would come when I finally felt like I was actually going to meet these babies and yesterday was that day! The fear is substantially diminished and joy is taking its place! I know many of you have been praying for me and I thank you. The LORD hears your prayers and has been so good to me.
Baby A was measuring 8 days ahead at 11 weeks (ultrasound was done 9 weeks 6 days) and had a heartbeat of 161.
Baby B was measuring 7 days ahead at 10 weeks 6 days and had a heartbeat of 172. Both great measurements and numbers!
Tomorrow I will meet my OB for the first time! This is a very important relationship to me so I am hoping she and I have a good rapport.
Get a little spiritual: Through my infertility I resonated deeply with the first half of this verse from Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." I can't tell you how many times I have spoken that sentence aloud in my prayers and wondered how long I would walk around heartsick. After my ultrasound yesterday I opened my bible and read the second half of that verse, "...but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." It is almost beyond me to tell you how exactly that describes what I am experiencing! My sick heart is healing and in its place grows a tree of life. I feel like I am coming back to life, better and stronger than before. I praise God for walking me through the valleys of the last two years. How beautiful it is to be on the other side!
Bump shot: My first bump shot! Pretty wild that I'm already starting to show at 10 weeks but I guess that's normal for twins. I can tell it really is the babies too because my stomach is firm, not just puffy like it is when I'm bloated and swollen from my meds.
I'm wearing maternity clothes in this picture so I can continue to wear the same thing as my belly grows. Well, until I outgrow it at least!
xo
Weight gain: I'm up to 145lbs, so I only gained a couple ounces last week. HOWEVER we went "trunk or treating" at Arie's school last week and he got a coupon for a free cup of frozen yogurt at my favorite frozen yogurt place! So sometime this week I will have to take him for that treat and make up for lost poundage. ;-)
How are you feeling: More of the same. Nauseated and tired.
On Sunday I completed a freezer meal workshop with my friend Sara who sells WildTree products (super yummy, free of junk seasonings/sauces/mixes/spices/etc). Normally I set aside an hour every afternoon to prepare a healthy meal; feeding my family is something that I take pleasure in and that is important to me. Since I started feeling nauseated I haven't been able to cook at all. It's been frustrating. We've had friends bring us dinner and we've been eating a lot of store-bought freezer meals (cringe). I'm thrilled to have a freezer full of healthy, homemade meals again! (And I would like to take a moment to thank my awesome husband John who did all the grocery shopping and helped me with the raw-meat prep!) I think our stockpile will carry me through the end of my first trimester at which time I am planning to feel better... hopefully.
Noteworthy moments: I made a major dent in collecting maternity clothes! I got some from friends and some from thrift shops. My belly isn't quite big enough to warrant them yet, but my regular jeans are uncomfortable so I'm mostly wearing leggings. It's getting quite cold here in Michigan though and leggings are starting to feel a little too light! I probably will regret wishing this when I'm a large barge later in my pregnancy, but I hope I fit into my maternity jeans soon!
Of even greater note: I had my 10 week ultrasound yesterday! It was my first abdominal ultrasound and my first time having to drink a torturous amount of water to fill up my bladder for a "better picture." On the phone the nurse told me to drink 32 ounces and hold it for an hour. Ummm... what!? I would probably have peed on the table even before pregnancy. On my written instructions it said to drink 20-24 ounces, which is probably more reasonable... for people who aren't pregnant. I already have to pee every hour, so I drank about 18 ounces 45 minutes before the ultrasound and it was perfectly fine. Well, the picture was fine. I still really, really had to pee.
John was meeting me at the OB's office and I texted him, "I'm going in early and if they can see me before you get there I'm doing it because I CAN'T HOLD IT ANY LONGER!" He did miss the first few minutes but it was worth it just to pee a few minutes sooner. Do they make you hold you pee for every ultrasound, even later into the pregnancy? Please tell me no!
Anyway. Moving on from the bladder to the uterus: there are two healthy little babies in there! This ultrasound was my favorite so far. The babies actually look like babies now as opposed to blobs and even better, we could see them moving around! John was amazed watching them and asked, "Can't you feel that Jill!?" Nope, not yet. The sonographer said I would feel them between 16-20 weeks, but maybe earlier since they are twins. I turn 16 weeks pregnant on my 30th birthday! I'm going to go ahead and request fetal movement as my gift.
This ultrasound was also different for me in an emotional way: during my first two ultrasounds the primary emotion I felt was relief but for this one it was happiness. I have been very patient with myself as I let all the fear of loosing these babies slowly and surely fall away. I knew the day would come when I finally felt like I was actually going to meet these babies and yesterday was that day! The fear is substantially diminished and joy is taking its place! I know many of you have been praying for me and I thank you. The LORD hears your prayers and has been so good to me.
Baby A was measuring 8 days ahead at 11 weeks (ultrasound was done 9 weeks 6 days) and had a heartbeat of 161.
Baby B was measuring 7 days ahead at 10 weeks 6 days and had a heartbeat of 172. Both great measurements and numbers!
Tomorrow I will meet my OB for the first time! This is a very important relationship to me so I am hoping she and I have a good rapport.
Get a little spiritual: Through my infertility I resonated deeply with the first half of this verse from Proverbs 13:12, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." I can't tell you how many times I have spoken that sentence aloud in my prayers and wondered how long I would walk around heartsick. After my ultrasound yesterday I opened my bible and read the second half of that verse, "...but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." It is almost beyond me to tell you how exactly that describes what I am experiencing! My sick heart is healing and in its place grows a tree of life. I feel like I am coming back to life, better and stronger than before. I praise God for walking me through the valleys of the last two years. How beautiful it is to be on the other side!
Bump shot: My first bump shot! Pretty wild that I'm already starting to show at 10 weeks but I guess that's normal for twins. I can tell it really is the babies too because my stomach is firm, not just puffy like it is when I'm bloated and swollen from my meds.
I'm wearing maternity clothes in this picture so I can continue to wear the same thing as my belly grows. Well, until I outgrow it at least!
xo
EK!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that lots of women have trouble drinking all that water and not peeing before an ultrasound, but I was not told to do that for any of my three babies--and I had ultrasounds at three different locations! Thankful, but I wonder why I didn't have to. I am one of those people who has to pee a lot (often suddenly), and would have had a VERY hard time holding it like that, pregnant and with someone pushing on my belly!
ReplyDeleteI never did the full amount of water. Just chugged what I could hold and it was always a good picture. So happy to see those babies! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteThis brought tears to my eyes! I'm so happy for you! I've been following your blog for a while and have been so uplifted by your positive attitude and reliance on God.
ReplyDeleteI also had an early miscarriage (in January) and am currently 6 weeks pregnant after a double embryo transfer! My first ultrasound is tomorrow and I'm praying it goes as well as yours have! Oh and I also turn 30 soon -- in 8 weeks :)
How cool Megan! Our journeys are so similar. I pray your ultrasound goes great tomorrow!
DeleteI just revisited this to check out your symptoms and thought I'd update. I'm officially also pregnant with twins :) I'm 8+2 today and so far, all has been going great! Can't wait until I'm close to the 2nd tri like you are now! Hope your nausea subsides soon!
DeleteHooray for a happy ultrasound! Ugh, I remember the first one when I had to drink all that water. I was literally in tears - my bladder hurt SO BAD! That ultrasound is the only one that they ask you to do that, thank God! :o)
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you Jill, John and Arie!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I think you will have to fill your bladder and hold your pee for all ultrasounds. At least I did. One time I even drank too much, and had to release just a little bit.... NOT EASY. :S
Congrats!
I never drank the full recommend amount and ultrasound was always fine . congrats on the good news!
ReplyDeleteAfter I was "released" from care at the RE's office and became an OB patient, I never had to have a full bladder again for an ultrasound. Hopefully that's the case at all other OB offices! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat?! I never had to hold
ReplyDeleteMy bladder for an ultrasound when I was pregnant. In fact, I had to give a urine sample at the beginning of each appointment. While it is a suggestion, I doubt it is a necessity to hold it through ultrasounds. We could see my baby just fine with an empty bladder. I say relieve yourself from here on out!
that's so exciting! I am 20 weeks and due in March. If you need a winter coat, they just put some puffy, longer ones on Old navy, and with the 30% off they are half the price of the other ones I have seen...This is my 3rd pregnancy and the first time I have had to buy a winter coat! It's one of the only ones I have seen that covers my butt, which is necessary because I am only planning on wearing leggings for my last trimester : ) Hope your nausea abates soon--so happy for you!
ReplyDeleteI too never drank the water, mostly because they always called me back too early for me to drink it. I was fine every time. I wouldn't sweat it honestly.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on two healthy babies!!!!
I never had to drink water and hold it for my u/s- I think different techs do it different ways.
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you!!
Jill I came across your blog yesterday after a friend of mine sent me the link to it. Our stories are so very similar.
ReplyDeleteMy history is diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve, endo, 3 blood clotting disorders and balanced translocation of chromosomes 1 and 15. After 3 consecutive miscarriages of iur own genetics, we are 2 weeks away from transferring 2 adopted embryos into my womb. I've had 2 laps, 2 hysteroscopies and 1 D&C overy the last 3 years. I am also on baby aspirin and take lovenox during pregnancy starting the day of the FET.
I'm so nervous but so excited. Your blog is very inspiring. Thank you for sharing!