It's November!!! (34 Weeks)

Hello November, we've been waiting for you.  Our "twin due date" month has arrived which makes everything that much more real - OMG babies are going to be here soon!!!

I'm feeling good, just very cumbersome and ready for Mom and Dad to take over the sleepless nights.  Besides slowing down a lot these last couple of weeks, my nights are pretty restless as I'm up every 2 hours or so to either change positions (which is no small task), use the bathroom, make a lap around the house to stretch out my hips or change things up by moving to the couch - where I can sleep a bit more upright.  Most nights I can fall right back to sleep but I've had a few insomnia episodes where I find myself watching AFV at 3:00 am.  Acid reflux had gotten bad at night again so I'm on a new medication to keep that in check.  Babies are VERY active - the movement in a twin pregnancy is crazy -  and I'm feeling lots of pressure, even pain at times at the "exit".  I keep reminding these babes they'll be using the trap door so to please be kind and knock it off. LOL  No real signs that labor is near.  Braxton Hicks (BH) contractions have been frequent but rarely intense unless I have a full bladder.  I had some minimal spotting the other day, may or may not mean anything though.  I am noticing a bit more swelling in my hands and feet, but that's expected as we near the end.  Besides the fact that some days - just based on my size -  I'm convinced I'm about to burst, I think these babies are pretty comfortable in their cozy little rental space.

Our appointments are becoming very frequent, I'm being seen by the OB twice weekly now and we have what will probably be our last MFM appointment coming up on Thursday to check babies growth.  They are still measuring big - as in big enough for the doctor to question whether or not my GDM was being well controlled.  My sugars have been in check and pretty easy to manage with diet, as long as I pass on sweets and don't over indulge in carbs.  However, she thought maybe my glucose monitor, which I'm still using 4x per day, was giving inaccurate readings because these lil ones are still in the upper percentiles.  We ran some additional blood work and my A1C levels were within normal range - as I've said all along J&W just gave me big babies to grow. My OB would like to see us get as close to 38 wks as possible, lung maturity is the biggest concern right now, and each day they stay put the better for them.  However, based on my history (delivered previous surrotwins at 36w4d) I'm not sure that that's gonna happen. ;)   They'll continue to monitor me closely with the frequent appointments and weekly NST (non-stress tests) but there is no plan to schedule a c-section until we reach 38 wks.

Jason and I had the pleasure of spending an impromptu evening with J&W at their home last night.  We stopped in briefly to get some paperwork squared away and ended up staying into the early morning hours just chatting and enjoy one another's company.  The lower level of their house has been under full remodel for several months and now it's all finally coming together - just in time.  The nursery has fresh paint and carpet and the crib is going together today.  I love seeing their excitement as they get ready to welcome these two little ones.

You all have a little more time to get your guesses in for the baby pool, I'll close it out after Friday (11/6) which puts us at 35 wks (average twin gestation).  Still hopeful to keep them baking another week or two, or possibly three but it's definitely just a matter of time now!

I'll update again later this week after our appointments. :)

Bump

32 weeks, about another month till we meet these babies!!

More Fall Fun (GS#1)

We were able to sneak in a visit to a favorite fall destination, Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch over the weekend.  This time we were joined by my first surro-family - Giovanni and his parents A&T.

It was a beautiful day and the kids had fun as usual running through the haunted house, jumping on the bouncy pillow, visiting the exotic animals and playing in the corn crib.

Mr. G is now in Kindergarten and the transition went well.  He's enjoying school and making friends.  IF couldn't wait to put Giovanni in soccer so he's being introduced to that now and having fun with it.  The family also recently moved out of the city and more towards the suburbs closer to grandparents.  We are looking forward to seeing their new space when we visit again in December, which will be here before we know it.

I have a few pics to add to the photo album, can't believe how big this special guy is.  He's grown so fast!

Pumpkin Patch 2015 (GS#2)

Although we just saw the boys recently at their 3rd birthday party, we were also able to sneak in our annual Pumpkin Patch visit with the twins last weekend.  It was fun to see Ryan and Mason and Daddy.  The boys enjoyed pony rides, inflatables and snacks and kept us all busy as they explored with our girls.  This year we opted to stay a little closer to our hometown since I'm carrying J&W's lil ones and feeling very pregnant these days.

Here are a few pics of our day.

Mason taking the lead pony

Howdy Mason

Giddy-up Ryan

An Incredible Loss

Yesterday evening the surrogacy community was rocked as news poured in that a fellow experienced surrogate from Idaho had just lost her life near the very end of her current journey. She was 37 weeks with twins, scheduled to be induced today, but suffered from complications yesterday and could not be saved. She leaves behind a husband and 3 boys. The surrotwins she was carrying, who were delivered by emergency cesarean, are in critical condition and fighting for their lives.

This outcome is rare, the first I've heard of in the eight years I've been involved in this process, but the news comes at a vulnerable time seeing as I am 31 weeks pregnant with surrotwins myself.

 While we surrogates understand that there are risks involved when helping others expand their families, we make informed decisions along the way and have many backup plans in place just in case, knowing its all worth it to help ease the heartache of an infertile couple. Until the worst case scenario does happen. My heart is so heavy over this situation. Please keep this family, and the twins family, in your thoughts and prayers.

(Nearly) 30 weeks

Can you believe we are headed into the home stretch!  At one point this pregnancy felt like it was going to go on forever and now here I am packing a hospital bag and making arrangements for delivery day and IPs are painting the nursery and moving in furniture!

Baby A (top) Baby B (bottom)

Babies are very active and continue to grow and grow.  We have another visit with MFM coming up for a growth u/s to get an estimate on their sizes.  Here are a couple of sweet images from the last OB appt.  Getting a lil baby squish on them now!!!  Aren't they just too cute!!!

Things are going well.  I did end up not passing the 3 hr GTT so I've been diagnosed as having gestational diabetes (GDM).  This is a first for me and although it comes with a few risks to myself and babies, if well controlled we all should do just fine.  My OB suggested I start modifying my diet about 6 wks ago and that was going well but, unfortunately with the GDM diagnosis not only do I have to watch what I eat but I also have to monitor blood sugar levels so, on Friday I met with the dietitian and picked up my glucometer.  I take my blood sugar readings 4x daily, once after waking up and then an hour after each meal and I also have to document what I'm eating throughout the day.  If anything the dietitian was concerned with how infrequently I was eating so I'm being very diligent about taking in enough nutrients by getting in three decent meals and a few snacks while still keeping a close eye on my carb(sugar) intake.  I follow up with both my OB and the dietitian in about a week to find out if the GDM is being controlled well enough by diet alone or if we have to consider medication.  Fingers crossed for a good update.

Just for fun I'm adding a baby poll to this post and it will also be available in the sidebar with the full blog layout.  Would love to hear your guesses.  Remember, full term due date is December 11th but due to being multiples, if I don't go into labor on my own before 38 weeks (November 27th), my OB will deliver babies via c-section right around that date .  Babies have been measuring big and we DO NOT know gender of either A or B.  Have fun!!!!