13w, 6d
Had an appointment with MFM on Friday. First up was an u/s. Apart from the long wait, it was a good time. Never thought I would say that about a medical test! Baby A was chillin' and scratching his/her head. Then s/he started sticking out his/her tongue which was totally the cutest thing ever. Hard to believe we could see that tiny detail on a baby that is only the size of a peach. Baby B was much more active this time than s/he was last time. S/he kept flipping from side to side making it nearly impossible for the tech to get a heart rate on him/her. Both of their heart rates dropped from around 160 bpm two weeks ago down to 140 bpm this time around. Both babies measured slightly ahead of schedule as they have been doing. My right ovary increased from 14 to 16 cm across. It is supposed to be shrinking by now but instead it grew about 2 cm in the past two weeks. I was sent on my way with an u/s report in hand to go down to MFM. Of course I read the report along the way. There wasn't really anything interesting on it. It did note that I currently have placenta previa as Baby A's placenta is covering my cervix but since there are no symptoms that this is likely not a problem. My dr at MFM never even mentioned it. From what I remember of others having placenta previa is that the placenta can move out of the way as the pregnancy progressing. Also, since I am already pretty much counting on a c-section, it won't be any surprise if down the line the placenta over my cervix is just one more reason I can't deliver vaginally.
At the MFM office, instead of having a specific dr that treats your throughout the pregnancy, you get rotated around and pretty much see whoever is there on the day of your appointment. So, different dr this time than last time I was in there - a very nice woman. There was no exam or anything, just talking. I had a few questions (and finally got drugs for my UTI) mainly about cervix checks. Just trying to be an advocate for myself, which I am not always that great at being. The dr wants me to come back in 2 weeks to have the ovary checked out just because it is not shrinking yet but did say that the course of action is likely to remain wait and see what happens and essentially do nothing since it is not causing me any problems. Cervix checks will be done at 18, 21, and 24 weeks. I asked if it would make sense to do a baseline cervix check while I am getting my u/s in two weeks. She said that yes, that actually would probably be a good idea. High five to myself for being awesome and advocating for myself successfully! She did say that they like to do baseline cervix checks no earlier than 16 weeks for an accurate reading and I will be just short of that so it could be a little off, but better than nothing. So far my pregnancy weight gain is -1 lbs. I lost 6 lbs back when I was really sick and in the hospital so I guess I am slowing gaining it back. My anatomy scan will be scheduled for sometime when I am around 18 weeks along at which time we want to find out the genders.
Had a very busy weekend, at least busy compared to my normal schedule that involves laying on the couch and showering. Doing my best to rest up today.
Been reading When You're Expecting Twins, Triplet, or Quads by Dr. Luke as recommended to me from various sources. Although I don't like how some of it is written, it is very informative. Much of what I read so far is focused on altering your diet to make the best possible growing environment for multiple pregnancies. The research Dr. Luke has done shows the best way for a woman pregnant with multiples to gain weight is to gain quickly in the beginning. For one reason, gestation of multiples is typically shorter than the normal 40 weeks so you have less time to gain weight. Also, the babies take up more room faster so eating a lot and gaining weight later in the pregnancy is more difficult than with a singleton. Plus, and I found this fascinating, twins, triplets, and quads tend to grow faster and develop more quickly than singletons, likely because they are usually born earlier so the babies are compensating for the potential early arrival to the outside world and needing to survive on their own. (However, multiples also tend to slow their rate of birth much earlier than singletons also contributing to the need for mom to have provide all that extra nourishment early on when they are still growing most rapidly.)
According to my BMI and my weeks gestation, apparently I should gain 18 lbs by tomorrow. Yeah, I lost 1 lb so far. I'm not to worried about it. I am trying to follow some of the guidelines about how many servings of each of the food groups the book suggests because I know my diet hasn't been all that varied. I still have trouble stomaching some foods (for awhile there I couldn't eat a single bite of fruit) but that is getting better so it should be a little easier. That is if I stuff myself and eat constantly to try to fit all this nourishment in.
I've been loosely coming up with a plan for the next few months. Long ago I set some goal weeks that I want to get to. First up was 12 weeks. Managed that. Next up is 14 weeks, so just one more day to go. I am still holding back on purchasing anything we need for these babies just because we still have so long to go until I will feel at all confident that these babies are going to be a long term part of our lives. Once I hit the 24 week point, I will start to feel a little better about that, but that won't be until the middle of October. October is going to be my month to do everything. Christmas shopping will be done. Then the last two weeks of the month will be spent getting what we need for these babies. Come November I want to be able to just have an open schedule to be able to handle whatever comes to us - early babies, bedrest, etc. Still hoping to make it until 2011 with these babies inside and one of my tactics to accomplish that is to be able to do as much resting and relaxing as possible in those last couple months.
At the MFM office, instead of having a specific dr that treats your throughout the pregnancy, you get rotated around and pretty much see whoever is there on the day of your appointment. So, different dr this time than last time I was in there - a very nice woman. There was no exam or anything, just talking. I had a few questions (and finally got drugs for my UTI) mainly about cervix checks. Just trying to be an advocate for myself, which I am not always that great at being. The dr wants me to come back in 2 weeks to have the ovary checked out just because it is not shrinking yet but did say that the course of action is likely to remain wait and see what happens and essentially do nothing since it is not causing me any problems. Cervix checks will be done at 18, 21, and 24 weeks. I asked if it would make sense to do a baseline cervix check while I am getting my u/s in two weeks. She said that yes, that actually would probably be a good idea. High five to myself for being awesome and advocating for myself successfully! She did say that they like to do baseline cervix checks no earlier than 16 weeks for an accurate reading and I will be just short of that so it could be a little off, but better than nothing. So far my pregnancy weight gain is -1 lbs. I lost 6 lbs back when I was really sick and in the hospital so I guess I am slowing gaining it back. My anatomy scan will be scheduled for sometime when I am around 18 weeks along at which time we want to find out the genders.
Had a very busy weekend, at least busy compared to my normal schedule that involves laying on the couch and showering. Doing my best to rest up today.
Been reading When You're Expecting Twins, Triplet, or Quads by Dr. Luke as recommended to me from various sources. Although I don't like how some of it is written, it is very informative. Much of what I read so far is focused on altering your diet to make the best possible growing environment for multiple pregnancies. The research Dr. Luke has done shows the best way for a woman pregnant with multiples to gain weight is to gain quickly in the beginning. For one reason, gestation of multiples is typically shorter than the normal 40 weeks so you have less time to gain weight. Also, the babies take up more room faster so eating a lot and gaining weight later in the pregnancy is more difficult than with a singleton. Plus, and I found this fascinating, twins, triplets, and quads tend to grow faster and develop more quickly than singletons, likely because they are usually born earlier so the babies are compensating for the potential early arrival to the outside world and needing to survive on their own. (However, multiples also tend to slow their rate of birth much earlier than singletons also contributing to the need for mom to have provide all that extra nourishment early on when they are still growing most rapidly.)
According to my BMI and my weeks gestation, apparently I should gain 18 lbs by tomorrow. Yeah, I lost 1 lb so far. I'm not to worried about it. I am trying to follow some of the guidelines about how many servings of each of the food groups the book suggests because I know my diet hasn't been all that varied. I still have trouble stomaching some foods (for awhile there I couldn't eat a single bite of fruit) but that is getting better so it should be a little easier. That is if I stuff myself and eat constantly to try to fit all this nourishment in.
I've been loosely coming up with a plan for the next few months. Long ago I set some goal weeks that I want to get to. First up was 12 weeks. Managed that. Next up is 14 weeks, so just one more day to go. I am still holding back on purchasing anything we need for these babies just because we still have so long to go until I will feel at all confident that these babies are going to be a long term part of our lives. Once I hit the 24 week point, I will start to feel a little better about that, but that won't be until the middle of October. October is going to be my month to do everything. Christmas shopping will be done. Then the last two weeks of the month will be spent getting what we need for these babies. Come November I want to be able to just have an open schedule to be able to handle whatever comes to us - early babies, bedrest, etc. Still hoping to make it until 2011 with these babies inside and one of my tactics to accomplish that is to be able to do as much resting and relaxing as possible in those last couple months.
Labels: placenta previa
posted by AM | 8:08 AM
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