Yesterday was our 9 week milestone. I can't believe we have made it this far. I still have the aforementioned bleeding/spotting some days more than others, but always there. I did end up telling my parents because they wanted us to drive 8 hours for Thanksgiving with my sister, who is very ill right now. Unfortunately, the car is not my friend right now. It would not have been doable on such short notice and because I am a terrible liar, I just let them know.
I knew they would be happy, but not super enthusiastic. My mother had 4 m/c prior to the birth of my oldest brother, so she is never really enthusiastic until the 20 weeks is over. To this very day, after having so many children, and being 80 years old...the memories are still painful for her. Primarily because the doctors blamed her for the first three. They told her she was too athletic, that her abdominal muscles were too strong and they "pushed the baby out". Horrible. Retched. Painful. Now we know better.
So they are cautiously optimistic. I actually didn't even tell them. I kind of made them guess. It was unintentional but I never ended up saying the P word.
I am waiting to hear if I got accepted to the maternal fetal specialists that I wanted. They have to review my records and see if I "qualify" for their services. I guess I'm hoping that I am "high risk" enough to get in. Odd. But I hope to hear from them soon. I have become accustomed to getting a weekly ultrasound due to the bleeding and I am glad I am not bleeding like I was, but the u/s IS as addictive as I have read! It might be weeks, WEEKS before I get another one. I am sure that the new MD is booked out a bit.
I have been reading about multiples, prenatal vitamins, and nutrition lately. I recently read a book by Dr. Barbara Luke, on multiples and nutrition. I have lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I haven't meant to, I eat every 2-3 hours to keep the morning sickness at bay, but that doesn't seem to matter to my body. I guess I am not eating volumes due to MAJOR acid reflux. I have been pretty sedentary on my self-mandated "pelvic" rest too. It's a mystery to me. WW assures me that in the 2nd trimester I will want to eat the furniture.
She is still quite overwhelmed by the thought of twins, but my god that woman is optimistic about the pregnancy. Whenever I tell her that I read some awful birth story or something...she asks me why I read those stories, why do I want to put those images in my head, why do I want to walk around being afraid of something that may never happen??? Um, I don't know, because I am a hormonal mess? I am afraid and insecure? I want to be prepared for the worst? None of these answers are satisfactory to her. She believes not only that everything IS okay, but will be okay, until they are out...then she is planning a nervous breakdown. I'm lucky. She gives me a sense of well being I couldn't provide on my own.
The more time goes by the more hopeful I feel that this might work out for us. Three more weeks until the 12th week. I can't wait until I see the babies again and the clot/bleed thing. I really hope it is getting smaller or gone.
Since I am in reading mode, are there any books you guys recommend?
12 comments:
ok, first and foremost - DON'T READ THE BAD PREGNANCY/BIRTH STORIES!!!!!!
You don't need to hear them. For any bad one there are thousands of good ones. And you don't need that added stress. If you see a story, a book, have someone start to tell you about it, turn it off, put it down, or tell them you don't want to hear it. You need your peace, and that will not help you.
Second, and not really second, YAY ON 9 WEEKS!!!!!!! I have been checking obsessively, hoping that you are ok. I'm so thrilled to hear you are!!
And let's see, over 40, pg with twins, bleeding in 1st trimester. If that doesn't qualify you for high risk these guys are elitist yahoos, and you should try another group. You definitely need a perinatologist, whether in lieu of or in addition to your OB. That way you will get the kind of care to which you have become accustomed, and you will have much more peace of mind. Just remember, though, those factors don't mean you have anything to worry about - it just means that you get dumped into the high risk bucket. I was there. I had a beautiful, healthy boy.
Just make sure you eat as you can. Don't worry about weight gain or loss. The important thing is to hydrate and to try to keep up with nibbles throughout your day. Your prenatals will take care of much missed nutrients.
Oh, Daisy, my heart just sings for you! And I"ll pray that those awful bleeding episodes are at an end or soon to be at an end, so you can relish every step and feel good about where you are. Remember, bracing yourself for bad things only takes away time you could have had joy. Let yourself have that joy. You deserve it so much.
Oh - sorry -pregnancy reading - old cliche, but a good one - What to Expect When You Are Expecting. Easy to follow good breakdowns, and DON'T READ THE PART ABOUT ISSUES/PROBLEMS. Be careful with other publications - many are written from the"what can go wrong" perspective.
You WILL want to eat the furniture in the future. I think that I started feeling better about 16 or 17 weeks and then was ALWAYS starving. I ate and ate and ate and still only gained about 18-20 pounds with a twin pregnancy.
Cheryl
www.wemadeit.wordpress.com
have to admit, I wasn't that crazy about the Dr. Luke book - what I got from my read was "eat the house, you suck if you don't/can't and if in doubt of anything, stay on your ass and if the babies come early, it's all on you because there are things you could have done to prevent it."
Now, I am SURE that I was probably in a mood when I read it, but gosh, it just wasn't what I wanted to read.
I love the Mayo Clinic Book on pregnancy, even though there are only a few paragraphs on multiple births. But if I were being honest, I would have to confess that I rely on my blog pals and IRL friends for hints of what's to come.
And every bone in my body is singing for your 9 weeks so far. The u/s ARE addictive and I got tsk tsked by the nurse for asking for one last week. BUT I got the whole skinny today at our maternal fetal medicine appt (we didn't really have an option of providers - only 1 in the area and well, their office is next door to my ob/gyn) So that was easy.
Cannot WAIT to hear what you are having. Posting later tonight to tell you mine...
For twins I liked "Twins! Pregnancy, birth and the first year of life. " Connie Agnew MD was one of the authors. It was written back in 97. What can I say my twins are 11. :-) As for any books, if you don't like how a chapter is going, skip to the next one.
Carissa
Go you! No book recommendations at the moment; just pleased as punch that things are moving along well.
Oh. I just thought of something. I would be looking on the yahoo groups list for women who are pregnant with multiples, and if you can, women who are due when you are (or get on two separate lists). One of the best things that I ever did was to get on a listerv with women who were due around the same time I was. It was great to have someone to talk to, to find out that I wasn't abnormal, etc.
9 weeks rock!! CONGRATS for that!! What kind of books are u looking for?
Glad things continue to go well. I have very high hopes for these two.
I found it hard to relax too. But everything was FINE.
I prefer the Elizabeth Noble twins book. Not as scary, mich more reassuring about a woman's ability to grow and birth two babies
xx
I found your blog through Stirrups. I have been through 12 IUIs and a failed IVF and am currently possibly looking at donor eggs. You give me hope. Thanks so much for that! I hope things go well for you. (((HUGS)))
Tammy
www.twondra.blogspot.com
9 weeks!! WHOOHOO!!! SOO happy for you guys :-)
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