Misconceptions About Conception

First photos

2012-01-23T06:44:00.001-07:00

I am working on a post about the boys' birth and the events leading up to it. . . but in the meantime, here are a couple of photos. First family photo The boys within the first hour after their birth. AJ is on the left, MJ on the right.

They're here!

2012-01-21T04:13:00.001-07:00

I don't have time for a long post but wanted to let you know that our boys arrived late Thursday night. Alexander (Twin A, hereafter AJ) weighed 5 # 5 oz, and Mason (Twin B, hereafter MJ) weighed 5 # 6 oz. Each has done well and avoided the NICU entirely so far. I, on the other hand, have had a bit of a difficult time. I will write more detail when I can, as the boys are coming to be fed soon.

Hospital Day 3

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am behind in updating here, but with good reason. After spending an uneventful weekend on home bed rest last weekend--including a monitoring session at the hospital with a good NST and decent blood pressures on Sunday--I was admitted to the hospital on Monday afternoon. Ironically, I thought there wasn't really even much need for me to go in for a doctor's appointment that day. While at the

Preeclampsia

2012-01-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have it. It's been an eventful past few days. After my last post, I was on home bed rest, as I'd described. I continued to have a dull headache, but no other new developments: no increased swelling, no visual changes. Monday afternoon I went to my OB's office for a follow-up appointment. My blood pressure was still up (140s/90s), and I was sent to the hospital for a non-stress test and

Um yeah so

2012-01-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

At the end of my last post, when I said I was trying to finish up a few small projects at work so that everything would be in an OK position for when I started my leave. . . . yeah, that's not gonna happen. Yesterday morning, I woke up early (around 3 a.m.) with a bad headache. The pain was similar to migraine pain but not similar to *my* typical migraines. (And I've only had two migraines

32 weeks

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have now gained 18 lbs from what I weighed the morning of our embryo transfer. (I lost 9 lbs in the first trimester and have regained it plus 18. . . so, in a way, a total gain of

2011 retrospective

2011-12-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

Most of this year has been consumed by our efforts to become parents, but in a good way this time. It's hard not to be continually preoccupied when you are spending boatloads of money on treatment and then feeling physically subpar every day once it works. I am so thankful to be ending 2011 (very) pregnant, despite the physical discomforts. I know the arrival of our boys will bring challenges

31 weeks

2011-12-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have now gained 18 lbs from what I weighed the morning of our embryo transfer. (Really, I lost 9 lbs in the first trimester and have regained it plus 18. . . so a total gain of 27 lbs.)

30 weeks

2011-12-21T06:00:00.002-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have gained 12 lbs from what I weighed the morning of our embryo transfer. (Really, I lost 9 lbs in the first trimester and have regained it plus 12. . . so a total gain of 21 lbs.)

Yikes

2011-12-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

I just realized that, if I deliver at 37 weeks exactly, the boys' arrival is only 55 days away. As much as I can't wait to meet them (and to not be pregnant anymore), I don't feel ready. AAAAAHHH! (And MM keeps helpfully pointing out that many twins arrive even earlier than 37 weeks. . . . )

29 weeks

2011-12-14T06:00:00.013-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: As of Monday's OB appointment, I have now gained 12 lbs from what I weighed the morning of my transfer. Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now. I'm still able to wear a

How do people do this?

2011-12-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

After this morning's follow-up appointment with the diabetic educator, it sounds like I am going to have to start on an oral hypoglycemic to control my blood glucose levels. (Long story short, my fasting levels are higher than they should be, regardless of my carb intake at bedtime.) I don't mind the idea of taking medication in and of itself. Even if I'm told at some point that I have to take

Baby dream

2011-12-08T09:54:00.001-07:00

Despite having more dreams than usual since I've been pregnant, I haven't had a dream about our babies since early July (see this post). But I had one last night, and as most dreams are, it was weird. Our boys had arrived, and we were taking them to visit some family members. Oddly, when we arrived at these (unidentified) extended family members' home, there was a little girl there who was

28 weeks

2011-12-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have now gained 9 lbs from what I weighed the morning of my transfer. Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now. I'm still able to wear some of my own shirts (though not all of

Spectacle

2011-12-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

(Warning: pregnancy discussed in this post. Click away if you don't want to read about that right now.) I have reached a point in my pregnancy where I feel like a bit of a spectacle. Any time I am in a public place, people inevitably stare at The Belly (which, at the rate it is growing, may need its own zip code soon). Even people I work with, who see me nearly every day, seem to be unable

Post & dash

2011-12-01T11:37:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share a couple of quick items. . . . I went for a teaching appointment with the diabetic nurse educator at my perinatologists' group this morning. Even though I am not entirely ignorant of what causes diabetes or dietary recommendations for its management, I figured it would be worthwhile to learn more. After all, I haven't worked as a nurse in over ten years, so there were

27 weeks

2011-11-30T14:45:00.003-07:00

(Today's post is all about pregnancy. Feel free to click away if you don't want to read it. Hope to see you again soon.) **************************** Total Weight Loss/Gain: As of yesterday's OB appointment, I am up 9 lbs from the morning of our embryo transfer. I think that's a little skewed because I had an afternoon appointment when I usually go in the morning, but I'll take it. I

Gestational diabetes

2011-11-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

I got a call from my OB's office on Wednesday afternoon letting me know that I tested positive for gestational diabetes. I wasn't particularly surprised, given all my risk factors, but was a little bummed out nonetheless. For now, all I've been asked to do is check my blood sugar four times a day and keep a log. I will be given further instructions on dietary recommendations this week (

26 weeks

2011-11-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

(Today's post is all about pregnancy. Feel free to click away if you don't want to read it. Hope to see you again soon.) **************************** Total Weight Loss/Gain: I am still at a net gain of 4 lbs from what I weighed the morning of my transfer. Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now. I'm still able to wear my own shirts (though fewer and fewer of them). I am going

Ah, the irony

2011-11-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

I believe I have mentioned my lifelong struggles with my weight on this blog. Apart from infertility, being overweight is the only health problem I've had so far. (I've been very lucky in that regard.) I do come by this problem honestly. First, genetics: nearly everyone in my mother's family is either overweight or obese. Second, habits: my default is to eat a "typical American diet," and

Keepin' it real

2011-11-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

(Warning: this post is all about my pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I understand.) Some of my goals in continuing to write on the same blog I started while in the throes of infertility has been to be sensitive to my readers who are still trying to get pregnant, to not forget what it took me to get to this point, and to be grateful for--and enjoy--my pregnancy.

25 weeks

2011-11-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have now gained 4 lbs from what I weighed the morning of my transfer. Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now. I'm still able to wear my own shirts (though not all of

Different

2011-11-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

I often think that women with infertility probably experience their pregnancies differently from pregnant women who have not experienced infertility prior to conception. There are probably a variety of ways in which the experience is different, but I imagine that one key difference is a difference in anxiety levels about how the pregnancy will progress. I suppose that "fertile" women mostly

24 weeks

2011-11-09T06:30:00.002-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I have now gained 2-3 lbs, depending upon the day's weigh-in. At last! Actual, sustained weight gain! Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now. I'm still able to wear my own

23 weeks

2011-11-02T06:30:00.003-07:00

(Today's post will be all about pregnancy. If you don't feel like reading about that right now, I completely understand. Hope to see you again soon.) ************************* Total Weight Loss/Gain: I think I may have gained a pound, but it's not consistent. Overall I think I am still at the break-even point I was last week. Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants all the time now.