Reaching my second trimester

I have to say, just a few months ago, it never even entered my mind that I would be 13 weeks pregnant today. We were trying so hard to be pregnant, our lives just consumed with numerous visits to the infertility clinic, an insane amount of pills and timed injections, and lots and lots of anxiety and uncertainty.  We had maybe a tiny glimmer of hope that kept us pushing through the journey. But believe me, it was only a tiny glimmer. It was so small that we became too afraid to think of a positive outcome, since it would only disappoint us if we got our hopes up.

Ever since we got that positive pregnancy test, I've been pinching myself (figuratively, not literally) almost every day to make sure that I am not dreaming. To be where we are today, to be pregnant, to have reached the second trimester... today being today just made all of the blood, sweat, and tears over the last three years so worth it. I know that there are too many couples out there who are still trying, testing, hoping, crying, praying, wishing, dreaming. Some have been in this journey for years, far beyond what DH and I had to endure. I think about them and of our journey very often because I want to always remind myself (and DH) to never ever take where we are today, and our children, for granted.

First trimester screening = normal!

Heard back from the perinatal clinic today. The NT test and blood test from the first trimester screening came back normal, showing a low risk of Down syndrome or trisomy 18. What a relief!

First trimester screening (11 weeks 5 days)

Well believe it or not, we're about a week and a few days away from the start of our second trimester. We had our first trimester screening today and if you recall, the first trimester screening is an optional screening test for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18.

I am happy to report that this visit went really well. Since we're having twins, I had to have my appointment at a perinatal clinic that specializes in high-risk pregnancies. The clinic was located on the hospital grounds of where I plan to deliver, so it was nice to see that we'd only be about 3 minutes away from the hospital (after we move to our new place in early Fall).

The visit was also far less overwhelming than my first OB visit, perhaps having had the information sunk in a lot earlier. The ultrasound technician did a pretty lengthy 30 minute ultrasound scan, taking over 20 pictures of every possible angle and measuring everything possible (I only came home with a few duplicates though). But today also marked another first... I got to see my babies in 3D, which was very, very cool. I didn't catch their length and weight measurements, but I did get to hear their wonderful heartbeats again and caught glimpses of the outlines of their brains, stomachs, and the umbilical cords.

The great news is that they are both growing normally, in accordance to their estimated due date. The tech said they're also reacting to the pressure from the ultrasound wand, which was a good sign. As a part of the screening, she measured the nuchal translucency (NT), which is almost like a pocket of fluid behind the baby's neck. Both of the babies had the fluid visible, but both appeared to measure within normal ranges.

By the way, the tech kept chuckling as she did the ultrasound since both babies were rather squirmy and active, and it was initially difficult for her to get some good shots of them. She even predicted that Baby A will be our stubborn child, since he/she was REALLY not cooperating with having his/her picture taken. But after much prodding (via ultrasound wand), she finally managed to get some good angles on him/her. Here are the 3D scans:

Profile of Baby A (heartbeat was 168 bpm)

Front of Baby B (heartbeat was 169 bpm). In case you are wondering, no he/she isn't putting itself in a chokehold. The doctor said those lines by the head were just parts of the skull.

After the tech left the room, the perinatalogist came in and did another ultrasound, verifying everything that the tech had said. Her exact words were, "You can leave the clinic today knowing that the ultrasound is normal." What a relief to hear. She then went over some of my and DH's genetic history and reviewed some future steps in the unlikely event (she was very careful to say this) that the blood test comes back indicating a higher risk for Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18. Fingers crossed we won't have to go there!!! A painful finger prick later and some blood drawn, and I was home free. We should be expecting the results in about 3-5 days.

I was also reminded to come back for my 20 week fetal anatomy screening where we will most likely learn the gender of the babies, which will be in 8 short weeks! I can't wait. Any predictions so far?

9 weeks 6 days OB visit

Went for my first OB visit today. First and foremost, everything is looking great with the twins today. The gestational sacs look healthy and so do both babies. In fact they were finally big enough to see with an abdominal ultrasound (they're about 1 inch long right now). While my OB didn't measure the heart rates or the fetal growth today (so sorry, no cool pictures today), the heartbeats were visible on the screen. In fact the ultrasound caught Baby A breaking into a series of different moves - first time I was able to visibly see fetal movement, which of course, was very cool.

But man oh man was today an overwhelming day. I gotta say, I'm kinda missing my fertility clinic a little bit with their handholding and my nurse's personalized attention and follow through. Perhaps I should have mentally prepared for this first visit. They asked us a million and one questions about our health history and family history, and in return, threw us a million and one pieces of information. The doctor then went over this abbreviated overwhelming list of topics:

1. Cord blood banking and see if my insurance covers it (it doesn't)
2. Alcohol is bad
3. A possible early delivery date (we are to expect an EDD of somewhere in week 36, which will be early November)
4. The possibility of a C-section, which we will have to do if one of the babies is breached.
5. First trimester screening between weeks 11 - 13 (which is like over the next two weeks) to screen for Down Syndrome and other trisomy disorders.
6. The choices we'd have if the screening comes back positive, including what the law says is legal (you can imagine my panic level at this point)
7. Other tests we should do if the test comes back positive or negative
8. The risks of miscarriages if we do other tests
9. Types of cheeses and fishes I should not eat
10. Types of cheeses and fishes I should eat
11. How to cook steak (he talked a lot about food)
12. Caffeine consumption (which he says I'm clear to have - whoopee!)
13. Makes sure DH cleans the cat litter
14. My symptoms and when they should go away
15. Stop zumba or kickboxing.
16. Light walking or running is fine, as long as my heart rate does not exceed 140 bpm.
17. That I will be seeing the OB at least once a month because of the twins (oh joy).

Right now I'm trying to digest it all and also schedule my appointment for the first trimester screening next week. Because I am carrying twins, unfortunately I will have to go to the perinatal clinic at the hospital for the screening, since it is considered high risk. Hopefully all continues to go well.

8 weeks 1 day ultrasound

We had our last visit at the fertility clinic today. According to the RE, everything is looking great in there. Here are some pictures from this morning's monitoring.

OK I just have to share the twins' portrait first. This picture is my absolute favorite because Baby A (on the left) looks like he/she is waving on the screen. Baby B just kinda lazes around (already taking after me apparently).

Twins' portrait

Baby A measures 17.03 mm, right at 8 weeks 1 day.

Baby A

Of course we had to take videos of the heartbeats again this morning. My favorite sounds in the world so far! Our Baby A's heartbeat was a strong 178 bpm.

We were also happily bemused when the doctor announced that both babies are now developmentally the same gestational age (they were one day apart in our last ultrasound). 

Baby B

Baby B measures 17.06 mm, also at 8 weeks 1 day.

And here's the heartbeat for our little Baby B at 174 bpm.

Bloodwork results are normal as well. My beta numbers are up to 162,791 and my progesterone level is looking good. In fact, they are stopping my progesterone in oil shots (I can almost break into a happy dance for this one because as you know, they are brutal), estrace, and metformin. I'm now on progesterone suppositories twice a day, which is probably a million times better than these shots. And I'm down from taking 12 pills a day to only 3... what a win for me!

We left our clinic today with a big smile and a bunch of parting gifts: a USB of our ultrasound pictures, a parenting magazine, and my medical records. The nurse said this morning, "Congratulations, you've graduated from the clinic!" Graduating from the clinic sounds about right because truly, I feel like we have accomplished something. Something meaningful, something truly amazing that's nothing short of a miracle. We are pregnant and in a few months, we are going to be parents. We are building our family. The joy of just getting to where we are today is truly a triumphant one for us, given the odds.

This afternoon, after my nurse's update on my bloodwork, we said a joyous but bittersweet goodbye to each other. After over three years of trying to conceive, it's hard not to feel emotional about the wonderful people that you meet throughout this journey. Hopefully we'll continue to meet wonderful folks who will support us for the next part of our journey.

Well, what's next? We're now moving forward to my regular OBGYN, who will continue to care for the pregnancy for the next 8 months. We have an appointment on May 8th (one that is thankfully NOT at the crack of dawn anymore). Hopefully things continue to go smooth sailing for our little ones in there.

Ultrasound 2: Two heartbeats!

We were in for our second ultrasound today, after 10 days of anxiously waiting (but seemed a lot longer). At one point I got so impatient, I almost called the nurse last week to see if I was able to come in on Friday instead. I'm glad I waited.

Yes, as the blog title goes, we have TWO heartbeats! DH was there with me again this morning, holding my hand as the doctor did the ultrasound. The doctor immediately saw the heartbeat of Baby A (I had trouble seeing from where I was lying) but DH, who had a MUCH better angle, said it was like watching a really cool flicker on the screen.

We whipped out my IPhone to try to capture the scene on camera but it is still a bit hard to see. We did however, capture the moment we heard these beautiful sounds:

Baby A measured 6.3 mm and is currently 6 weeks 3 days old. Heartbeat was a strong 113 bpm.

Baby B measured 7.32 mm and is currently 6 weeks 4 days old. The doctor said that it's pretty normal for fraternal twins to be a day or so apart. Heartbeat was 125 bpm. I immediately teared up after hearing Baby B's heartbeat too... possibly out of relief that they're both still there, hanging on strong. We are just so, so grateful and hope that they will continue to develop normally.

More ultrasound pictures... you can tell they're starting to look more and more like a baby:

Baby A

Baby B

Both together - looks almost yin yang, doesn't it?

We are SO over the moon right now. Just so grateful. And this certainly makes all of the shots and the gazillion different medications totally worthwhile.

Bloodwork results came back this afternoon, and my beta numbers are 78,271 and progesterone level is 19. We're due back in 10 days for another bloodwork and ultrasound and then we are told to make an appointment with my regular OBGYN. Hopefully that means I'm close to graduating from the fertility clinic.

Our estimated due date now is December 5th, although with twins, it is possible for an earlier due date.

Beta #3 and First Ultrasound

Finally, after what seems to be a standstill of a week, we finally went in for our first ultrasound with great anticipation. The doctor sticks the magic wand in and we got our first glimpse of what's going on in there. Here's what we saw:

Baby A

and... wait for it...

 

Baby B

So yes, folks, we have confirmation that both embryos took. DH dubbed them as "Walker" and "Texas Ranger" (from one of our favorite Will Ferrell movies, Talledega Nights)

DH and I were pretty much left in disbelief. We held hands as the doctor showed us the parts of the forming yolk sacs. From the first two pictures, you can see a whitish line separating two parts of the embryo - according to the doctor, that's quite possibly where the baby will begin to grow. But everything looks great so far - the embryos implanted where they should be and they measure at a normal length at this point in time.

We are feeling very, very overjoyed. Seeing truly is believing and seeing them for the first time today made it real that we are actually having a baby x2 (well, the nausea and unbelievable fatigue ALSO make it real for me, but this really struck us today). DH had tears well up in his eyes when the doctor left, as we just sat and stared at the screen for a few short moments. Finally, we are pregnant.

We sat in the parking lot and immediately called our parents and our siblings with the good news, even though we had initially thought we'd wait until we hear the heartbeats. But we were just far too excited to share the news. No doubt, both sets of parents are thrilled - these being the first grandchildren for both sides of the family. My dad, being a traditional Chinese man, was all too joyful that we will be having Year of the Dragon babies... something we never even thought about. I just read an article on the Wall Street Journal that talks about how so many Chinese parents (even fertile ones) are doing IVF just to have the chance to get a Dragon child, who is considered lucky and auspicious. Hopefully we're off to a good start!

My beta number came in at a whopping 15,398 and my progesterone level is at 18. The nurse who called was pretty happy with my progress and said that our ultrasound pictures looked "beautiful" today. She sounded pretty excited, which made me excited. We are due back in for a second ultrasound on April 16th. Hopefully we'll have a chance to see and/or hear the heartbeats.

While there's certainly lots to think and worry about with twins, I would not trade this for anything else in the world. We are just extremely thankful and feel so blessed.