Yesterday was very exciting, we met our OB for the first time. He will be our doctor for the next 6 months and if all goes as planned, will deliver our babies. He is part of a practice so it's kind of whoever is on duty at the time. It was an exciting appoint because for the first time, we had an appointment where we talked about the babies actually coming into the world. It was it all so real in an amazingly wonderful way.
Our doctor is an MFM which stands for maternal fetal medicine. It is basically a specialized OB for high risk pregnancies. This pregnancy is considered a high risk pregnancy because I am of advanced maternal age (I hate this phrase), anyone over 35 falls into that category, because I have multiples, because I am on blood thinners and because of the complications early on in the pregnancy.
About 2 minutes into meeting him, I knew he was the doctor for me. He had actually delivered my friends twins so I knew he was capable, I just also really liked his personality. He knew of my IF journey and he reassured me that since we had worked so hard to get where we were that he would do everything to ensure these babies are safe and healthy and so am I.
He made a comment about how I probably know a lot already about being pregnant and I said I really didn't. The last 5 1/2 years I have spent researching getting pregnant, I have no idea what I am doing from this point on. He assured me that even though I don't know what I am doing, my does and it is doing everything it can so that the babies are getting what they need.
He did an ultrasound and this part was very exciting. It was an ultrasound from on top of my stomach, no more vaginal ultrasounds!!!! This alone is a reason to celebrate. He said everything looked good and the babies looked great. He didn't see anything to be concerned about. He also did a pap smear because it had been two years since I had one done. Thankfully he skipped the breast exam because mine are so painful right now.
We talked at length about a vaginal birth compared to a C-section. He would prefer a vaginal birth which I would too. He gave me a 60% chance of having one which is what all people carrying twins gets. In order to deliver vaginally, the baby further down needs to be face down and needs to be bigger than the top baby. We will figure this out much later, but he did tell me that baby B is the baby that is further down so that's the one to watch. The other exciting news it that he calculated my due date. For twins, they won't let you go past 38 weeks, so if my water doesn't break before that, they will induce on Dec 21st (my birthday) for a delivery on Dec 22nd. I am so excited about that. Our nephew was born on Dec 24th so lots of Christmas babies in this family. I am also excited that I will deliver at Sharp hospital, which is the same hospital I was born at.
He then talked about what the next 6 months will be like. He started by saying I come in every month for ultrasounds and an OB check. I freaked out when he said this. I am so used to weekly appointments that monthly sounded like an eternity. He then said he would do an appointment very two weeks for me to help ease the anxiety and keep my calm. This really did help and reassure my choice in doctors.
Here is the quick recap of my notes and the questions I had for him:
- My RE had a weaning protocol for baby aspirin but he wants me to stay on them the entire pregnancy
- for the next two weeks, I can walk and drive, then after that I can do yoga and swim. After 68 days of bedrest, this was music to my ears.
- He wants me eating 2500 calories a day. I am nowhere near that because food is super gross right now. I'm working on it though..
- For nausea, he wants me to try taking B6
- I asked if there was anything I could do for breast tenderness and he said not really. The good news though is that the height of the pain is around 11 weeks and that is less than a week away so it's almost over.
- I asked what books he recommended and he like What to Expect and the Mayo Clinic Guide
We finished the appointment by talking about all the testing to be done. We walked next door to the lab and I gave about 10 vials of blood. This was called first trimester screening. We will get the results at our next appointment which is June 22nd.
Thanks for Reading,
HEATHER
On the other hand, there really aren't too many words to explain the heartbreak we are dealing with for Baby B. We were literally one day away from being let off bed rest, entering the second trimester and starting to celebrate the pregnancy. Instead we were hit with the horrifying news that Baby B would be lost to us and would not survive much longer after birth. Having to decided to end that pregnancy to give Baby A the best chance is the hardest thing we have ever had to do. I will never forget that appointment or the feeling of having to say goodbye to our sweet baby.
