We are doing some home projects (still) like building a fence, finishing our guest room, "mowing" the grass and planting grass. It's all coming along very nicely. Well...that's all I have to say. Short and sweet.
21 weeks
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
21 Weeks and 3 Weeks Left of Freedom
Well, nothing really exciting happening lately. I am feeling lots of kicks, from many directions. Sometimes they kick at the same time...sometimes it starts with one, then they alternate. It's actually pretty amazing.
We are doing some home projects (still) like building a fence, finishing our guest room, "mowing" the grass and planting grass. It's all coming along very nicely. Well...that's all I have to say. Short and sweet.
We are doing some home projects (still) like building a fence, finishing our guest room, "mowing" the grass and planting grass. It's all coming along very nicely. Well...that's all I have to say. Short and sweet.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
19 weeks (19.4) and a Month of FREEDOM
We went to our 19 week appointment this week with the OB and everything was still great. He measured my stomach and it measures at 24 weeks (if that gives you an idea of how huge I feel). This is normal for twin pregnancies. Baby A was breech and Baby B was head down- literally with his feet on Baby A's face. Aww...brotherly love.
I feel pretty good though, besides feeling large. I don't get nauseous really anymore but I still have food aversions though sometimes I am too hungry to care. Sometimes I can't really stand and have to bend over (hands on knees) to talk but I chalk that up to all the weight in the front. Did I mention I feel huge? Cuz I do. And it will only get worse!
We picked out names! Yep. Only took a few days to figure out what was best but we did. With Gavin, I thought I would forget his name since we really didn't say it much before he was born, because it was a secret. Now that we have TWO babies to know names of...I'm leaning more towards wanting to tell people.
Here is a picture of 19.4 weeks:
I feel pretty good though, besides feeling large. I don't get nauseous really anymore but I still have food aversions though sometimes I am too hungry to care. Sometimes I can't really stand and have to bend over (hands on knees) to talk but I chalk that up to all the weight in the front. Did I mention I feel huge? Cuz I do. And it will only get worse!
We picked out names! Yep. Only took a few days to figure out what was best but we did. With Gavin, I thought I would forget his name since we really didn't say it much before he was born, because it was a secret. Now that we have TWO babies to know names of...I'm leaning more towards wanting to tell people.
Here is a picture of 19.4 weeks:
And....their names are William Michael Kludt (Will) and Nathan Lee Kludt (Nate)
Monday, March 19, 2012
An Analogy for our MoMo Pregnancy
Fraternal Twins are basically like this: The babies have their own apartments (sacs) with their own kitchen (placentas).
Monoamniotic Dichorionic aka MoDi (Identical twins): The babies have their own hotel rooms with their own beds (sacs) but must eat at the same restaurant (share placenta).
Monoamniotic Monochorionic aka MoMo (Identical twins): The babies basically have a studio apartment. They share a bedroom (sac) and kitchen (placenta).
Monoamniotic Dichorionic aka MoDi (Identical twins): The babies have their own hotel rooms with their own beds (sacs) but must eat at the same restaurant (share placenta).
Monoamniotic Monochorionic aka MoMo (Identical twins): The babies basically have a studio apartment. They share a bedroom (sac) and kitchen (placenta).
Saturday, March 17, 2012
39 days until inpatient
39 days does not seem that long...and then again, it feels like forever. In "39 days" (give or take a few depending on what the doctors decide), I will leave my home for a possible 10 week stay in the hospital. Most of you who have had children before or had hospital stays can not imagine being at the hospital this long...I can't either. But, I will say that I hope I do stay 10 weeks, that means the best for our boys.
Some of my FB people wonder what it is like to be pregnant with twins at 18 weeks (well, this is 18.3 weeks) and I will tell you... it's probably a lot like being 25 weeks with just one baby. Our last doc appointment (3/14), the babies were each 8oz, which is right on track and perhaps a little more than "average." So, against my husbands will, I am going to post a picture of what it looks like...at 18.3 weeks pregnant with twins (the second pregnancy around).
And on that note... my pizza is done. :)
Some of my FB people wonder what it is like to be pregnant with twins at 18 weeks (well, this is 18.3 weeks) and I will tell you... it's probably a lot like being 25 weeks with just one baby. Our last doc appointment (3/14), the babies were each 8oz, which is right on track and perhaps a little more than "average." So, against my husbands will, I am going to post a picture of what it looks like...at 18.3 weeks pregnant with twins (the second pregnancy around).
And on that note... my pizza is done. :)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Inquiring Minds Want To Know...
What does it look like to be pregnant with twins at 15 weeks? Here... I will show you:
Not impressed?
Recent cravings:
Meat (this isn't recent but it's what I like) Mostly... beef and bacon...some venison. Not very much chicken unless it's with honey mustard or it's bdubs...or chinese.
Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter spoonfuls in it (this is just recently as of last week)
Salad that I can make myself (mostly just restaurant style...I am too lazy to have all those ingredients just chilling in my fridge waiting for me to eat a salad)
Fried egg sandwiches with cheese and miracle whip on toasted bread
Bacon and/or sausage- dipped in syrup (also toast dipped in syrup)
Sausage and cheese kolaches (this had been a must from the beginning)
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
Pizza and garlic planks (from a local place)
Taco meat (I could care less about the rest of the toppings) and cheese
Bagels and cream cheese (strawberry on plain or plain on cinnimon raisin)
Split pea soup (I haven't had any yet but I want some) I tried to eat this today and I opened the can and about puked so... nope.
Dislikes:
Most any candy- I just don't have the urge to eat candy really
The smell of Gavin's milk cups or the kitchen sink
Prints' dog food...yuck. Smells gross
Mac and Cheese... (Velveeta)
Chicken in all other forms than listed above
Poptarts
Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches
The list goes on...
Not impressed?
Recent cravings:
Meat (this isn't recent but it's what I like) Mostly... beef and bacon...some venison. Not very much chicken unless it's with honey mustard or it's bdubs...or chinese.
Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter spoonfuls in it (this is just recently as of last week)
Salad that I can make myself (mostly just restaurant style...I am too lazy to have all those ingredients just chilling in my fridge waiting for me to eat a salad)
Fried egg sandwiches with cheese and miracle whip on toasted bread
Bacon and/or sausage- dipped in syrup (also toast dipped in syrup)
Sausage and cheese kolaches (this had been a must from the beginning)
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
Pizza and garlic planks (from a local place)
Taco meat (I could care less about the rest of the toppings) and cheese
Bagels and cream cheese (strawberry on plain or plain on cinnimon raisin)
Dislikes:
Most any candy- I just don't have the urge to eat candy really
The smell of Gavin's milk cups or the kitchen sink
Prints' dog food...yuck. Smells gross
Mac and Cheese... (Velveeta)
Chicken in all other forms than listed above
Poptarts
Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches
The list goes on...
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The PLAN
Yesterday, I received a phone call from my OB with "the plan." He told us at our last appointment that he would get on the phone and talk to his perinatal friend (Dr Charlie Brown... funny right?) and come up with the best plan for us for our situation. So here it is:
Dr. Brown suggested that I need an ultrasound every 2 weeks starting now until 24 weeks (viability). This is every 2 weeks at the Texas Perinatal Group (TPG) because their ultrasounds are more hi-tech and can measure cord flow and other things that can let us know if something is wrong.
On top of every 2 weeks seeing the TPG, I will still be going every 2 weeks to my regular OB. I am guessing I should stagger these appointments or that will be 2 doc appointments in the same week every 2 weeks. My OB is still measuring my weight (yuck!) and other things they normally do for a regular pregnancy...along with more ultrasounds (just mostly to check for heartbeats and measurements).
If all is well at 24 weeks, I will be admitted to Breckenridge hospital in downtown Austin until the babies are delivered via c-section. 24 weeks starts April 25th. (HOLY SMOKES! 9 weeks away!) What this means is I will be admitted to the hospital- for the entire duration of the rest of the pregnancy. Technically as I have researched, these momo babies are delivered between 24 weeks and 34 weeks depending on how their vitals are inside. We will welcome our twins between April 25 and July 4th (maybe a day or 2 afterwards).
Breckenridge hospital is where Dr. Brown works and they have a perinatal doctor at the hospital 24 hours a day so it is our safest bet. If there is any cause for concern that the babies need to be born early (I will be monitored possibly 3 times a day to check their vitals) then the hospital will contact my OB and he will come do a c-section immediately. This could quite possibly be a very long stay in the hospital for me..and probably a long stay for our babies after they are born. Many babies born before 34 weeks measure 4lbs and under. I have read some born at the 24 week mark are only a little over a pound. It is a bit scary but we are going to grow these babies the best we can... they are already measuring a week ahead!
On that note... where is some meat I can eat...?
Dr. Brown suggested that I need an ultrasound every 2 weeks starting now until 24 weeks (viability). This is every 2 weeks at the Texas Perinatal Group (TPG) because their ultrasounds are more hi-tech and can measure cord flow and other things that can let us know if something is wrong.
On top of every 2 weeks seeing the TPG, I will still be going every 2 weeks to my regular OB. I am guessing I should stagger these appointments or that will be 2 doc appointments in the same week every 2 weeks. My OB is still measuring my weight (yuck!) and other things they normally do for a regular pregnancy...along with more ultrasounds (just mostly to check for heartbeats and measurements).
If all is well at 24 weeks, I will be admitted to Breckenridge hospital in downtown Austin until the babies are delivered via c-section. 24 weeks starts April 25th. (HOLY SMOKES! 9 weeks away!) What this means is I will be admitted to the hospital- for the entire duration of the rest of the pregnancy. Technically as I have researched, these momo babies are delivered between 24 weeks and 34 weeks depending on how their vitals are inside. We will welcome our twins between April 25 and July 4th (maybe a day or 2 afterwards).
Breckenridge hospital is where Dr. Brown works and they have a perinatal doctor at the hospital 24 hours a day so it is our safest bet. If there is any cause for concern that the babies need to be born early (I will be monitored possibly 3 times a day to check their vitals) then the hospital will contact my OB and he will come do a c-section immediately. This could quite possibly be a very long stay in the hospital for me..and probably a long stay for our babies after they are born. Many babies born before 34 weeks measure 4lbs and under. I have read some born at the 24 week mark are only a little over a pound. It is a bit scary but we are going to grow these babies the best we can... they are already measuring a week ahead!
On that note... where is some meat I can eat...?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Momo Babies and what you need to know (or what I know)
Our identical twins are in the same sac which means they are Monoamniotic (Monoamniotic-Monochorionic). Basically, when the egg travels down into the uterus and does it's doubling, the egg split instead of just doubling, giving us 2 babies. Depending on how early the egg splits, you get 2 babies each in their own sacs- attached to the same placenta, 2 babies in the same sac- attached to the same placenta, or 2 babies conjoined together and attached to the same placenta. This all happens in the matter of days. The first stage is the first 3 days, the next the following few days and the last at the very last moment before attaching to the uterine wall. Monoamniotic twins are rare, with an occurrence of 1 in 35,000 to 1 in 60,000 pregnancies, corresponding to about 1% of twin pregnancies.
The dangers of this pregnancy are: cord compression and entanglement or also the Twin to Twin Syndrome. Cord entanglement happens when the babies are able to move around without any boundaries between them and the cords are wrapping around each others cords and making knots and twists. This can cause restrictions in the cord, cutting off nutrients and blood supply to one or both babies. (Let me just say right now, I got to see a ball of umbilical cords inside at our last ultrasound and it made me ill) Twin to Twin Syndrome is when one twin gets more blood and nutrients than the other twin. One twin can become much larger than the other twin while the other twin remains the same because it isn't getting what it needs to grow. It can be dangerous for both twins getting too much blood or not enough. If one twin dies at this point, the toxins from the baby will be released into the amniotic fluid and can cause mental retardation in the living baby (this is only the case after the baby is around 20 weeks or more).
Right now, we wait. We go into the doctor next Monday at 13 weeks, 5 days. We get ultrasounds every doctors appointment. We visit our OB again on February 27th (we go every 2 weeks). We return to the specialist (in Austin) on March 1st at which point we are 16 weeks. The specialist will look again at the babies and check to make sure they are both doing well. From that point on it is either a weekly or bi-weekly visit to both my OB and the specialist (separately). At 23 or 24 weeks they will determine when the babies are viable- which means one or both would likely survive being born if they had to be. Depending on what we decide, I can be admitted to the hospital from 24 weeks on to have the babies monitored a few times a day- OR- I could do outpatient monitoring, in which case I would have to drive to Austin every day and be monitored for a few hours and go home and return...every day until 34 weeks or whenever they decide to deliver. Momo babies are ALWAYS delivered early because of restricted space. We have to think that we might have these babies as early as April 25th (24 weeks) and as late as July 4th (34 weeks).
That's about all the info I have for you now. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any and I will try to get them answered as best as I know.
The dangers of this pregnancy are: cord compression and entanglement or also the Twin to Twin Syndrome. Cord entanglement happens when the babies are able to move around without any boundaries between them and the cords are wrapping around each others cords and making knots and twists. This can cause restrictions in the cord, cutting off nutrients and blood supply to one or both babies. (Let me just say right now, I got to see a ball of umbilical cords inside at our last ultrasound and it made me ill) Twin to Twin Syndrome is when one twin gets more blood and nutrients than the other twin. One twin can become much larger than the other twin while the other twin remains the same because it isn't getting what it needs to grow. It can be dangerous for both twins getting too much blood or not enough. If one twin dies at this point, the toxins from the baby will be released into the amniotic fluid and can cause mental retardation in the living baby (this is only the case after the baby is around 20 weeks or more).
Right now, we wait. We go into the doctor next Monday at 13 weeks, 5 days. We get ultrasounds every doctors appointment. We visit our OB again on February 27th (we go every 2 weeks). We return to the specialist (in Austin) on March 1st at which point we are 16 weeks. The specialist will look again at the babies and check to make sure they are both doing well. From that point on it is either a weekly or bi-weekly visit to both my OB and the specialist (separately). At 23 or 24 weeks they will determine when the babies are viable- which means one or both would likely survive being born if they had to be. Depending on what we decide, I can be admitted to the hospital from 24 weeks on to have the babies monitored a few times a day- OR- I could do outpatient monitoring, in which case I would have to drive to Austin every day and be monitored for a few hours and go home and return...every day until 34 weeks or whenever they decide to deliver. Momo babies are ALWAYS delivered early because of restricted space. We have to think that we might have these babies as early as April 25th (24 weeks) and as late as July 4th (34 weeks).
That's about all the info I have for you now. Feel free to ask me questions if you have any and I will try to get them answered as best as I know.
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