Good Riddance 2010!

This was definitely, by far, the WORST. YEAR. EVER.  So why should I expect anything less than to send 2010 off with a bang?  I spent the last morning of the year in L&D Triage with right lower quadrant pain.  I've had the pain on and off for the last couple of days, and thought it was just round ligament pain (normal pain from the uterus growing - and considering I have put on a couple of pounds over the holidays, I deserved that!).  But I also noticed that the area was tender when pressed, and although I had no other symptoms I was worried (paranoid?) about appendicitis.  So when I called the doctor's office, and considering my history, the doctor wanted to see me right away.

All the lab work came back fine, and another ultrasound and cervix check were equally fine.  But my irritable uterus is back....basically, the irritabilities are like minor little contractions, occurring because I have a smaller build and there are two babies crammed in my belly.  So after a shot of Terbutaline (which is equal to having a lot of expresso - makes you very jittery!) I was sent home with a prescription for Procardia to take every 6 hours for the duration of the pregnancy.  The Procardia is actually a blood pressure medication, used off label to help smooth the uterine lining so I hopefully won't have contractions. 

I'm thankful everything is fine, but I am heading toward the weeks where I started experiencing changes in my last pregnancy, so it's hard not to be worried and scared.   I'm basically living appointment to appointment, and know that at any time I could end up on bed rest or in the hospital, but I have faith that everything is going to work out this time!

GOOD RIDDANCE 2010!  I'm off to celebrate the new year - here's to 2011 being a MUCH better year!

Anatomy Scan

On Wednesday I had the big anatomy scan, and the babies look perfect!  Heart rates are good, and they are measuring in at 11oz and 12oz - right on target.  Very relieved, although I wasn't really expecting any issues to be noted with the babies.  I was more concerned with my cervix...

The doctor is always very quiet when measuring my cervix, and I swear I hold my breath for 5 minutes during the exam.  I could tell from the ultrasound screen that it didn't look too bad, but of course I'm not an expert (although I should be with as many ultrasounds I've had).   Then she started asking me about my recent activity level, and of course with the holidays I had been a bit more active between shopping and parties and everything...so I started babbling about how I always make sure to rest and not shop longer than 2 hours at a time without sitting down, etc.  And in the end, my cervix was fine - hovering around 4 cm, not much change from 2 weeks ago.  WHEW!   

Halfway There!

Today is the halfway mark for me - 19 weeks!  Technically halfway would be 20 weeks, but since the doctors have already said they would induce at 38 weeks (May 5), I'm halfway there.  I know I've said this before, but I really am surprised at how quickly the time has gone.   There's lots of milestones coming up though....anatomy scan on Dec 29 (almost 20 weeks), then 23 weeks (when I ended up on bed rest), then 24 weeks (very important - the babies become viable at 24 weeks, and that is when I went into the hospital).  That puts me through the end of January.  It's going to be a rough month to get through, but if I make it to 24 weeks with no issues, I'm going to be happy.

Chili Dinner and Tree Dedication

After the loss of Scott and George, our wonderful friends and family raised money to plant trees in the park in memory of the twins.  They raised so much money that they could purchase two oak trees, plus had over $1000 left that was donated to March of Dimes.  Truly amazing and I'm really speechless every time I think about it. 

About a week ago, the Olmstead Parks Conservancy planted the trees at Seneca Park down by Big Rock.  The trees are planted just on the other side of the playground, and we can walk there from our house.  Scott and I went down for the planting; he got to help shovel dirt, and due to my pregnancy I just gave orders.  ;)  

In order to thank our friends and family that donated for these beautiful trees, we decided to have a chili dinner.  It was a little last minute, since we didn't have much notice when the trees were planted, and it's also the holiday season.  But all things considered, we had a wonderful turn out last night of about 60 people.  Scott and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family - without their love and support we would not have been able to make it through this difficult year.     

We're Having.....

two boys again!  Kind of shocked but very excited.  I know we've been spreading the news amongst friends and family for a few weeks, but now that we've had 4 appointments with different ultrasound techs that have all said the same thing, we're pretty safe to assume no mistakes have been made.  :)  My big 20-week anatomy scan is Dec 29, so we'll get to see the babies in greater detail and hopefully learn that they are perfectly healthy.

Names are still under discussion, but will be released when we make our final decision!

Tis the Season....

....for progesterone shots!! Yes, last Thursday at 16 weeks I began a weekly progesterone shot.  It's a different formulation of progesterone than what I had daily during the first trimester after IVF.  This progesterone is to help prevent preterm labor (PTL). The first shot was not so pleasant....I had an adverse reaction (ha ha - a little work lingo) of itching, swelling, and redness at the injection site, and it seemed to last for days!  So far so good today with the second shot though - Nurse Scott must have gotten his groove back with the needle.  Thank goodness he can administer the shots (and he's pretty good at it too!) - some people have to go into the doctor's office weekly to get these (and pay to have them administered, on top of the price of the medication). 

I can't believe I'm 17 weeks pregnant today - time is literally flying by.  And to top it off - Scott and I both felt at least one of the babies move last night!  It really is an amazing feeling.  It's still early so we may not feel them move again for days or a couple of weeks, but I love having the reassurance that the babies are still alive and kickin', especially since I didn't have a doctor's appointment this week.