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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Letters to my Babies: Week 12


         We are so thankful for this pregnancy! After sharing our journey through infertilty on the blog, I knew I wanted to log our newfound 40 week journey of pregnancy on the blog as well.Not knowing if I’ll ever be able to experience pregnancy again, I have chosen to log our pregnancy by writing occasional letters to our babies. The letters will keep my readers posted on how we are doing each week, but the letters will also, someday, be something that our little ones can go back and read over, as a reminder of how much he or she was loved from the very beginning of their existence. You can read week 5 here , week 7 here. and week 9 here.

 
We made it to 12 weeks of pregnancy this past Friday! That was a big milestone for us. For one, I no longer have to take 200 mg. of progesterone each night….yay!  Also, it indicates that the end of my first trimester is near.  I am already feeling better.  I still don’t have a lot of energy, but I’m no longer feeling sick all of the time.  I’ve also officially started to show within the past two weeks.  I think I’ve felt bloated and fat most of this pregnancy lol, but around 11 weeks, a pregnancy bump was definitely evident and has continued to grow.

Twin Baby Bump - 11 Weeks
Twin Baby Bump - 11 Weeks

Twin Baby Bump - 12 Weeks

Twin Baby Bump - 12 Weeks

We had our 12 week ultrasound and appointment on Friday.  It was our first ultrasound with our OB.  Overall, it went well, but we quickly noticed that it was less personable than all of our RE appointments and ultrasounds.  I’ve seen our OB numerous times prior to this pregnancy.  It’s the same doctor I have seen for a few years, and the same doctor who discovered some of our fertility issues and referred us to a fertility specialist.  We have a very good doctor.  Apparently, she is so good that everyone seems to want her as their doctor.  As a result, the nurses tell us she is one of the hardest doctors to get an appointment with.  All of my past appointments have always felt a bit rushed, but I will say that she has always listened to me and my needs.  Friday’s appointment was no different.  Both our ultrasound and 12 week appointment felt a little rushed, and once again made me ponder the benefits choosing of a midwife and a home birth over a typical doctor/hospital birth.


Midwives have become very popular with other women my age.  Some hospitals even let midwives or dulhas assist in the births at the hospital.  To my knowledge, our hospital does not have that policy.   I also do not believe that our insurance covers it, and with Daddy’s insurance changing in January, only offering a high deductible plan, we are already a little curious about how high our delivery cost will be.  We plan on delivering you at St. Vincent Carmel, and while the facility is very nice, I am a little hesitant.  For example, I don’t like the idea of knowing that my doctor may not even be delivering you.  Which ever doctor is on call will be delivering you, so there is a good chance it will be a doctor I’m not even familiar with.  I also know that there may be some complications with twins that may require a c-section.  I am obviously open to a c-section if it is necessary, but I don’t want to feel pressured into to having a c-section.  I haven’t even discussed a birth plan with our doctor yet, but seeing as how this may be the only pregnancy I get to experience, I truly do want to experience every aspect of pregnancy…...even delivery, as crazy as that may sound.   


Daddy is completely against the idea of a midwife or home birth, considering the possible complications of this pregnancy.  I too understand that a midwife may not be for us, considering the fact that medical technology has played a big role in how the two of you were conceived and have continued to thrive thus far.  However, I do love the idea of a midwife.  In my ideal world, we would have said years ago we wanted to have a baby…..gotten pregnant right away….hired a midwife….had a joyous uncomplicated pregnancy……delivered at home naturally…..and would have even hired professional birthing photographer to capture all of the emotions of birth on film for us to have for a lifetime (maybe I’ve been reading too many pregnancy blogs lately lol).  But we do not live in an ideal world.  In my real world, we couldn’t get pregnant right away.  We sought medical treatment to help get us pregnant.  We DID get pregnant with help…YAY….but we were told it was high risk for the first trimester and had to be watched carefully up until this point.  So in my real world, I will not be surprised if I have a not so ideal labor.  Realistically, my labor and delivery will happen how it happens, and that's just the way it is.

 
Other than feeling a little rushed at our appointment on Friday, it went fairly well. The ultrasound showed two healthy babies with two healthy heartbeats.  Baby B has always been a little bigger than baby A, and this third ultrasound showed the slight size difference once again.  Neither baby was active in Friday’s ultrasound. The ultrasound tech said you were both probably sleeping.  They did find a minor problem with Baby A.  Baby A has not moved up into my upper uterus like Baby B.  Apparently, Baby A is content to stay low and grow right over my cervix, creating a condition called placenta previa. Placenta previa is not a huge concern at 12 weeks, but it is something to keep an eye on.  We have to go back at 16 weeks for another ultrasound to see if Baby A has moved away from my cervix.  If not, then we may be a little more concerned.  We are trusting that Baby A is just a little slower than Baby B and will move up in time. Right now it’s not a huge concern, but it could definitely cause some complications in the second half of my pregnancy if Baby A doesn’t move up into my uterus.  Basically, placenta previa can cause hemorrhaging and early labor. You can read more about placenta previa here. 

 
I don’t have any 3D ultrasound pictures to show today.  The pictures that I do have are not the best.  We had a new tech on Friday.  As I said before, it was a little rushed.  Only a few quick pictures were taken to see that the two of you were healthy, and then the ultrasound was over.  Such a change from the first two ultrasounds, where our RE and tech were just as excited to see the two of you on the screen as we were.  In both of those ultrasounds, they took the time to get us the best pictures they could, and they always labeled the two of you Baby A and Baby B.  Friday’s ultrasound was just less personable, and you were labeled Fetus A and Fetus B.  I am sure that is just proper protocal, but you are not just a 12 week old fetus.  You are my precious babies that I have watched grow every few weeks and will continue to watch grow over the next two months.  By the time you are 20 weeks, I will have had five ultrasounds.  Not too many people get to see their baby’s grow inside of them, so it has certainly been special to watch the life inside of me grow from only six weeks of pregnancy.  There is no doubt that you are life!


Baby A 12 week ultrasound


 
Baby B 12 week ultrasound


Love,
Mommy

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