Two By Two

Has it really been almost a month since I updated?? I'm such a slacker.

The pregnancy is going well. I'm 20 weeks now (20 weeks 3 days to be exact). I am seeing the perinatologist weekly now and the OB every 2 weeks. It's been interesting to say the least. The girls are still measuring differently (there is a 23% discordance) or at least there was at the last measuring a week and a half ago. Baby A was 6 oz and Baby B was 9 oz. But other than the size difference they are both doing beautifully. A has a heart rate of 155 and B has a heart rate of 145. Fluid levels look great and they are just going to keep a close eye on us.


We had a bit of a scare this past week. Monday I got a call from the OB office asking me if I could come in ASAP to meet with the OB to discuss some of the results of my blood work I had done. So I told her that my next appointment was scheduled for Thursday. She said the doctor wanted to see me sooner than that. Asked if I could come in at 4:15 that day (mind you it was 2:15 at the time). OK... yes I'll be there. Come to find out, the blood test for Down Syndrome came back positive. However the doctor is fairly confident that it's a false positive as there have been no other indications that would suggest they are at risk for the condition. My guess is they are off on the due dates and I'm further along than they had in their records (which I know to be true as the paper work has my due date as 10/5 for some reason which is over a week after my actual due date). This difference alone could be enough to ensure the false positive. However, it's something I'll be following up with the perinatologist on Monday (my next appointment) for sure .

One of the nice things about being a high risk pregnancy, I get to see the girls weekly. It's wonderfully good for my anxiety levels (which are admittedly through the roof this pregnancy) and that means I get lots of pictures to share with those who love them :)



In other news....

Journey is going in for surgery on Tuesday the 18th for tubes for his ears. We has an appointment with the ENT who feels that it's a good move to make. This past Tuesday we went in for the anesthesia consult.. something about a heart kid makes anesthesia freak out every time he needs to be put under. She cleared him for surgery barring the cough he has (which has has had for weeks due to drainage from his nose we're assuming) hasn't gotten worse. She also said that since this is the 2nd time he's had a clear consult and a clearance from the cardiologist that the next time (let's hope there isn't a next time) he needs a surgery we don't need the consult with anesthesia as long as nothing in his medical history changes (ie his heart doesn't get worse or he develops other issues that may make anesthesia difficult). So we'll get official surgery time Monday night and go in on Tuesday morning for what will hopefully be a very quick, in and out procedure.

Other than his ears, he's doing fabulously. He is FINALLY starting to talk a bit more. He tries to use words although most of them are still unintelligible to even those who know him best but he's TRYING. He will say some words clearly if he mimics you "Can you say Dog?" "Dog" that kind of thing. He's still getting speech therapy once a week and we are going to be having his transition meeting set up any time this summer to start transitioning him to the school system since the Early Intervention program only lasts until 3 and he'll be 3 in February. Not much going on in the growth department. His weight has pretty much held steady or grown some.. We're still below 30 lbs by 2 or 3 lbs at this point. And he's hanging out on the 25% for his weight. His height is all but the same... he's around the 5th% on that but hey that's okay. He's such a beautiful little boy.





River has been having a rough go of it lately. We aren't sure what is going on with his behavior but it's gotten really bad. He's extremely defiant. He back talks constantly. He is aggressive to his teacher and fellow class mates. He doesn't listen. We took him in to see a behaviorist at the local mental health clinic and after seeing her 3 times she informed us she was leaving the company and someone would be in touch with us to further his care.. that was 3 weeks ago. I've been in contact with them twice to try and get someone to see him because SOMETHING is definitely going on. We've heard ADHD, ODD, PDD, all sorts of possible diagnoses and reasons for his behavior but no one is willing to truly diagnose him.

His school has been just as bad about continuity of care with him. They requested someone from the school system special needs resource department come out and evaluate him at the school. We were told months ago that they had 60 days to follow through on the request. I asked a few weeks ago if the coordinator knew if it had happened or not. She said she knew that the evaluator had come out and done the evaluation but didn't know what the recommended or anything and that she would look into it. After giving her a few weeks I went up there 2 days ago and discovered that she no longer works for the company and the gentleman who replaced her had NO clue about any of it. So we now have the ball rolling on that end again. Hopefully with enough time before the school year ends on June 9th to get SOMETHING going to help him out.

Other than the behavior issues he's doing wonderfully. He's incredibly smart and playful. He is so excited about having 2 baby sisters coming. He loves his brother. The boys are now sharing a room in hopes of opening up the 3rd bedroom for the girls when they are ready to be in their own room (whenever that is). It's working beautifully for both boys most nights. They both seem to sleep better having someone in the room with them which is great.




Hopefully I'll remember (find the energy) to get on here again before another month has passed.

Well it is official!

We are proud to announce that we are expecting IDENTICAL TWIN GIRLS!!!!!!

I was SO expecting blue too. Even though this pregnancy has been a world of different thus far I figured it was just because it's 2 of them. So we told her that we wanted to know if she could get a good shot of the goods. So as she was doing measurements for Baby A (the doctors office calls her Maria) LOL she was SO not shy about it and gave a few great peaks and she said. Oh that's a girl! I said are you sure?????? She said I've been doing this for 21 years and I've learned not to call a gender unless I'm sure. So then we tried Baby B (Who the peri office is calling Isabelle) who was in some God awful position and she tried EVERYTHING to get her to give us a shot but she as being a total booger and just wouldn't do it. But once we got a look at the placenta she said well there is only one placenta so that tells you Isabelle's gender :) WOOOOT!

So now that the shock has worn off a bit, here's the rest of the appointment info that I wasn't coherent enough yesterday for.

Baby A (Maria) is measuring at 15 weeks 2 days and is approximately 4 oz in weight currently.
Baby B (Isabelle) is measuring at 16 weeks 4 days and is approximately 5 oz in weight currently.

The perinatologist said they don't worry about the size discrepancy until it gets to be about 10 days to 2 weeks. We're at about 9 days now. So they want to monitor us VERY closely.

The girls are laying one or top of the other kind of pancaked in. So depending on which way they are laying they do a whole bunch of kicking each other in the head. LOL

Because of my history a child with a genetic anomaly and congenital heart defect. They are going to be monitoring me even closer. Normally they see you every 4 weeks for a scan with twins. For me they'll be seeing me every 2 weeks for a while and then probably every week. They are going to do fetal echocardiograms on BOTH girls when we are between 20-22 weeks So in about 3-5 weeks.

I go back to the OB on April 28th (next Wednesday) for a regular prenatal and he'll do a scan in office just to lay eyes on the girls and get heart rates (they won't rely on Doppler with twins) and I think I start seeing him every 2 weeks after that.

I go back to the perinatalogist in 2 weeks (May 4th) for another scan. They want to measure their abdomens because Baby B's abdomen is measuring a little large and Baby A's is measuring a little small and that can be another sign of TTTS (Twin to twin Transfusion Syndrome) and they won't to monitor amniotic fluid levels and cord blood flow.

The peri said that because of what type of twins they are (Monochorionic/Diamniotic) they WILL deliver early. He wouldn't discuss how early though, just said that depends on the girls and how well they continue to grow as the time gets closer. But it's looking like they will most likely end up August babies.

On Thursday morning I went in to take my NCLEX-RN exam. When I took the NCLEX-PN to become an LPN I had the minimum number of questions before the computer shut off and although I was nervous for the next few days, I was pretty confident that I had passed. This time around, I had all 260 questions and was JUST as confident that I had failed. So the next morning when I signed on to the website to see my results I was fully expecting to see "FAIL" under the status. Much to my delight I saw....
So it's OFFICIAL. I am OFFICIALLY a Registered Nurse. WOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

In other news.. the ultrasound has finally been scheduled (after much issue with the insurance company to get the level 2 ultrasound covered). We have our ultrasound (and find out the genders hopefully) on April 20th at 8am. We are VERY excited.

I'll do a better update after the ultrasound on the 20th.

I had an OB appointment today. It was my first time meeting this OB. Before this I had been seeing a midwife but being that I'm high risk it's better for me to be followed by an OB. So the OB decided that since this was his first time meeting me he wanted to get an ultrasound real quick so he could see the babies for himself.

He said they look great. Baby A is measuring right along with my due date at 13 weeks 6 days (I'm 14 weeks 2 days) and Baby B is measuring a considerable amount smaller at 13 weeks even. He was slightly concerned about the difference in size especially as he said it looks like they are sharing a placenta. He said that his machine isn't all that great but from what he can see there is only one. So what does that mean?It means that the twins most likely are monochorionic/diamniotic (MoDi). Which means they are in separate amniotic sacs but share a placenta. It also means that most likely the are identical! YAY!!!

He wants me to go in for a level 2 ultrasound as soon as the insurance does the pre-authorization and we can get the appointment set up to make sure they are in fact sharing a placenta. Sharing a placenta puts them at increased risk for TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome) which can be a completely devastating condition resulting in losing 1 or even both of the twins if not monitored very very closely. So hopefully we'll have a Level 2 Ultrasound date tomorrow.

Baby A-- face shot


Baby B

I GOT MY AUTHORIZATION TO TEST!!!!!

April 8th at 8am I will be taking my NCLEX-RN.

I am SO EXCITED!

In other news.. I'm 14 weeks today. And I am already showing quite well... (please excuse the mess that is my bedroom.. I have not had the energy to put away the laundry)
We decided this past weekend that it was time to cut River's hair. He's only had 3 hair cuts in his life. The first was at 2 when we trimmed his hair to keep it out of his eyes and get the fly aways tamed. The 2nd was right before he turned 3 when he got lice from somewhere. We shaved his head that time. This time he is 4 years 2 months and we decided of our choice to shave his head. He hasn't been wanting us to brush it or wash it and he was looking raggedy so off it came. It will grow back quickly I'm sure and it will keep him cooler during Florida summers. (I'm trying to add pictures of the cut but blogger is being stupid)

Both boys are sick. They have strep throat. Awesome. They've been on antibiotics for about 3 days now and River is feeling a lot better but Journey still sounds pretty rough and isn't having very good nights right now. Other than being sick though Journey is starting to talk a lot more which is great. He tried to imitate a lot of the sounds and words we make which is a great start.

The big news for this update???

I AM OFFICIALLY IN THE 2ND TRIMESTER!!!! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!! I am 13 weeks pregnant today.

And with the 2nd trimester has come the freedom from the nausea (for the most part) and a bit more energy, which I am VERY thankful for. I still get nauseated if I go too long with out eating and have a bit of nausea first thing in the morning but it's short lived.

OK on to the boys.

River has been having some behavior issues with school. Acting up. Not listening. Back talking. He's been having behavior problems at home. So we talked with his pediatrician about it and (surprise surprise) she thinks ADHD. So we are taking him to Clay Behavioral for evaluation and a 2nd opinion. His appointment is tomorrow. He wont' be put on any medication even if he does have ADHD for at least a few years as it's not recommended for a child under age 6. So hopefully they'll be able to give us some techniques or some direction on how to help him calm down and focus. Other than his behavior, he's doing amazingly well. He loves school, loves learning. He is fully potty trained during the day, the night time is still a ways off as he sleeps so heavy but that's okay.

Journey is growing well and doing good. We are officially done with his Synagis injections. For those who dont' remember/ know what they are for... they are injections he gets every 28 days for RSV prevention. He gets them from October through April both last year and this year. But now that he is 2 he is out of the "danger age" for RSV and no longer has to get them. He is still getting speech therapy once a week and although we've seen an improvement he is still way behind on his expressive speech ( his talking) but he's ahead in his receptive (understand and comprehension of what's said). So who knows. He is so smart though, he knows 1/2 of his letters by sight, can recognized numbers up to 10, knows some of his shapes, and some of his colors. he know tons of animals and the sounds they make. He is such a love bug still and I LOVE it.

Our problem with him recently has been night time. He goes to bed easily but then an hour or 2 later he wakes up crying and about an hour after that he wakes up again and can't be consoled back to sleep. Doug has taken to sleeping on the couch with him so that he doesn't wake River (they are sharing a room now in preparation of needing the extra room for the babies) or I (he tends to want to play when he comes to bed with me). And we really need to break him of the habit but neither of us is willing to let him cry it out. Hopefully it's fixed before the babies come though.

So that's our update for now :)

I had an appointment today with my MW and for an ultrasound. The appointment was quick and so was the ultrasound. Both babies look wonderful. They are measuring 9 weeks 1 day which puts my due date at October 5th. But I will still deliver in September. Baby A has a heart rate of 178 and Baby B has a heart rate of 183 :) I go back April 7th for my next appointment.