It's been one month since my last post!

Yikes! Sorry it's taken me so long to update... Fortunately, it's been an uneventful month with the pregnancy which is a great thing. I am now 16 weeks and 3 days strong with the twins. I'm definitely feeling them move a lot, it's really a party in there. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because they are moving so much. I think they take turns moving around so there's constant movement. It's nice and reassuring though so I don't mind.

I had my OB appointment last Thursday and everything is looking good so far. She did a quick ultrasound just to see the cardiac activity of the babies. They are getting so big!

I have my anatomy ultrasound this coming up Friday 7/11 at 17 weeks and 1 day. They are doing it early to get good measurements of both babies. They always have a hard time getting clear shots of baby B because of the position he's in. Hopefully they are able to see them both clearly on Friday.

My IF's sent me Belly Buds so that they can send over recordings of their voices for me to play for the babies. It's an awesome invention! Especially for surrogacy in my opinion. It will be nice for the babies to know their father's voices.

I feel like time is going by quickly. I'm almost halfway there, how crazy! It was just yesterday that I was meeting my IF's for the first time. And soon enough they will be meeting their sweet babies! So exciting.

Taken on 7/2/14, almost 16 weeks! *excuse the messy hair* bad hair day =)

Officially OFF of meds & Ultrasound!

Today I am 12 weeks & 1 day along with the twinies. My last day of medication was yesterday, YAY! What an awesome milestone to be done with.

This morning I had my Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound. We dropped the kids off at our daycare lady and headed to my appointment. We didn't realize how long this appointment would take, but it was all for good reason. We Skyped with one of my IF's during the ultrasound.

The ultrasound tech performed my ultrasound. She got Baby A's measurements easily, but Baby B was right under my belly button and she was having a hard time getting good photos of him. I say "him" because she said she thinks baby B is the BOY and baby A is the GIRL. We'll find out for sure at my next ultrasound on July 11th. 

All looked great! Baby A is measuring 12w4d and Baby B is measuring 13w3d. Both babies are growing and thriving well. Chances of chromosomal abnormalities are very low for both babies.

I feel like this pregnancy is going by pretty quickly. I'm so excited to spend some time with my IF's in August when they come for a visit. I'm feeling pretty good, slight headaches and minimal nausea. I think I'll be feeling even better now that I'm off of medication.

Photo Credit: Elora babe, my 4yo

Weaning off of medication!

This is a huge milestone that I totally forgot to blog about. As of the 16th, I started weaning off of the hormones that I've been injecting in my lower back. After my blood work came back, my hormone levels are high enough to start weaning.

The placentas will be taking over now and producing these hormones naturally so I will no longer need to stay on the medication. I am VERY excited about this! Lots of credit to my fabulous husband, Brandon for doing the injections for me everyday. This is a big deal since he HATES needles. He's been a trooper for the past few months.

June 5th will be my very last day on meds! 14 days left, but who's counting ;)

10 weeks today!

I meant to post an update sooner but I kept postponing it. Sorry for those of you following my journey. I didn't realize how many have been following my blog so I want to say thank you for your support.

I'm 10 weeks along today! We are now in the double digits baby! WOO HOO! That's definitely something to celebrate. So far I've been feeling pretty good. I'm hungry all the time and sometimes it's a pain in the butt to snack all the time. I've been drinking lots of water as well. I get full pretty quickly.

Here's the ultrasound from last week on 5/14 at Kaiser....

It was hard to get a good picture of both babies but this one is great!

Baby A

Baby B

My OB wanted me to do an early glucose screening since I've had "big" babies and I'm pregnant with twins plus I have a higher BMI. After doing some research, I decided to ask my OB for another option. I read this great article about the "Glucola" drink that they give you for the test.

http://avivaromm.com/dont-drink-glucola-gestational-diabetes

She gave me the alternative to check my blood sugar levels at home with a monitor. I picked up the monitor and everything for it on Tuesday and met with one of the diabetic nurses to go over how to do it. It's surprisingly SUPER easy. It's been two days so far and my levels have been great according to what they are looking for. I check my BSL (blood sugar level) first thing in the morning, then two hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Four times a day for a week. It sounded like a lot at first but it's really not. I will email my OB after a week with my readings and she will go over it. I encourage all pregnant women to do the alternative instead of the Glucola drink.

My next ultrasound is June 6th for the NT scan. I'm already starting to show a little bit and my clothes are surely tighter. This photo is from last week. I love it because Elora, my 4 year old daughter took it for me.

Surro~Mama Angela

First OB Appointment!

I was so nervous for my first OB appointment. A little background with my previous pregnancies, I've had three home births with Midwives so this is my first experience with an OB. I had high expectations for this particular OB since Dr. Hesla recommended her and a few moms in my mom's group mentioned that she was really great. I knew going into this journey that I wouldn't have a home birth and it would be a whole new experience for me. But reality really has started to set in and my anxiety is elevating.

My appointment was at 2pm. I arrived 15 minutes early like they requested. Checking in was a breeze and the lady was very nice. I didn't wait very long before a nurse called me back into a room. She asked if I had my forms that they mailed me, but I told her I mailed them back last week. Unfortunately, they didn't receive them yet. It's a bit weird since it should have only taken a day or two to get there. So I had to fill it out again.

Dr. Ann Stanek came in and she was so sweet right off hand. Great first impression. She spent a lot of time talking to me about what to expect as I told her this is my first experience with an OB/hospital and my first time with Kaiser. She assured me that I would be in good hands. She did a breast exam and did a vaginal swab for chlamydia and gonorrhea. We did a quick ultrasound but the machine was terrible. It was super grainy and you couldn't see much at all. We did see both babies' hearts beating away but she couldn't get any good pictures for us. She said she would order me an ultrasound at the Kaiser ultrasound facility in Beaverton to get better measurements and photos. She said that I would be seen more often since I'm having twins. She mentioned that they would do an ultrasound at pretty much every visit since they can't palpate the stomach like they normally do with a singleton. Ultrasounds is their way of monitoring everything.

It took me the whole weekend to process everything we talked about at my appointment. There was so much information, it was very overwhelming. I was there for about an hour and a half. I'm just going to take this pregnancy day by day and hope for the best. I don't want to stress over anything at all. I have my ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday 5/14 first thing in the morning with Kaiser. Then I have an appointment with ORM on Friday 5/16 for another ultrasound and blood work. I will be doing the First Trimester Screening blood work and a glucose test on Friday for Kaiser as well. They are wanting me to do the glucose screening early due to my history of having 'large' babies and my higher BMI level. It's a precaution protocol for them. If these were MY babies, I would decline it. But since they aren't mine, I am going to go through with it. I've never had gestational diabetes before with any of my pregnancies. I hope I don't get it this time around just because it's twins.

I'll update more when I can. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around everything. This is going to be one heck of a journey!

Surro~Mama Angela

Hungry Hungry Hippo!

Wow, carrying twins is no joke. I swear I am constantly hungry. And if I don't eat right when I feel hungry then I feel nauseous. I have to be consistently snacking throughout the day. 

I'm 7 weeks and 1 day today! Symptoms include: nausea, exhaustion and laziness. But I've been pushing myself to stay motivated and keep busy with my kiddos. 

I've been craving fresh fruit a lot lately. Today the girl's and I shared some fresh strawberries while their brother napped. 

These were delicious and refreshing!

Then 10 minutes later I was starving again, haha! 

My first born, 4.5 years old Elora babe. Love her!

Today was a great day! Nothing particular happened. I just enjoyed spending quality time with my family. I am very blessed and so grateful. God is good. I'm so excited to be giving this precious gift to my IF's, times TWO! 

I received paperwork from my OB with Kaiser and filled it out right away and put it back in the mail. My first OB appointment is next Friday, May 9th at 2pm. She was recommended by Dr. Hesla and Brandon and I did some research online and she seems great! I hope I love her. And I hope they give us an ultrasound so we can see the babies! 

Happy Friday all! Enjoy your weekend with your loved ones!

Surro~Mama Angela

Me + 87 degrees = No bueno!

Happy May Day!

Crazy heat wave has attacked and I'm not loving it one bit. It's funny because so many of my friends LOVE the sunshine and warm weather, but I'm totally over it. San Diego born and raised, I've had enough. I'll take rain and clouds any day.

I was drinking water like a fish today. I was feeling a bit puffy from the heat so I kept drinking more and more water to flush it all out. It's important to say very hydrated, especially while pregnant. (& with twins!)

I had about 10 of these or more today!

Surro~Mama Angela