So, after blogging almost once a week for over two years, I suddenly (unexpectedly) took three months off. Why? I was sick as could be. For over a month, I didn't leave the house. I either lay on the couch or in my bed when I wasn't running to the bathroom. There was no blogging because many of the fun things got canceled. The things that did happen, I wasn't there for and didn't feel like writing about. Family vacation was cancelled. Family activities were cancelled. Dode did his best to get out with the kids but it made me sad to be left behind. My life became centered around trying to make it through the day so I could go to bed at 8:00 pm and not feel sick until I woke up in the morning.
The children started to wonder at this strange sickness that mom just couldn't shake and a few of them were getting seriously concerned for my health. It was time to spill the beans. I was pregnant! Some of the children were absolutely excited from the beginning. Others were neutral. Some were horrified. "Just knowing how babies are made makes me cringe to think about it."
During pregnancy I've always been nauseous and I've often thrown up early in pregnancy but this time, it was like no pregnancy before. There was no way I could do anything. I didn't even feel safe to drive. It hit me at 5 weeks and just kept getting worse and worse. I thought that maybe because I'm a mom of "advanced maternal age", my body was just having a hard time. Well, being a mom over 40, I was eligible to have an ultrasound to screen for Down Syndrome. When we went in to the ultrasound at 12 weeks, we got a big surprise. Twins! Now I knew why I was so sick!
Being pregnant with twins is exciting and terrifying at the same time. I'm not even thinking about the exhaustion, chaos, and diaper bill when they get here. Right now, my biggest worry is keeping them safe and sound inside me until they are ready to face the world. Another worry is helping them grow nice and big. I was given a prescription for Zofran by my doctor. It helps with the nausea but by the end of the afternoon, I am very sick. I often sit at the dinner table and stare at my food, trying to force myself to eat. Elizabeth is very concerned for me so while I'm sitting there with may face in my hands, staring down at my food she'll ask, "Mom, how are you feeling?" I just want to snap at her, "How do you think I'm feeling! Look at me!" Since the beginning of my pregnancy, I've gained very little weight. I never thought I'd step on the scale and be frustrated that it's not moving upward!
I've delivered four babies. Twice with a Family Practice Dr. and twice with an OB. I prefer using a family doctor because they deliver their own babies, as opposed to an OB who is only on call certain days of the week for deliveries. I also like the "one stop shopping" approach of a family doctor. Any non pregnancy health issues can be taken care of at checkups. After the baby comes, the same doctor can do my after care and take care of the baby. So, I started off with a family practice doctor this time, against Dode's wishes. Dode prefers that I am seen by someone who specializes just in pregnancy since I've had a hard time each time. Well, as soon as we found out I was having twins, I became a high risk pregnancy and it was time to switch to an OB. The doctor who helped with Elizabeth and Miriam has retired from doing OB so I am using one of his partners, who happened to have performed the C-Section on Miriam.
As a mom of advanced years, I qualify for a new screening test called Cell Free DNA screening. I never knew this, but floating around in the blood of a pregnant woman are DNA particles from the fetus. (We asked if women have DNA from all the babies they've ever had floating around inside and they said the test is still so new, they aren't sure how long the DNA lasts.) Through a blood test, they can isolate those particles and test for Chromosomal abnormalities. This test does away with the risky amniocentesis test, which can cause miscarriages. At my age, the chance of an abnormality are 1:10. We have absolutely no intention of ending a pregnancy if something was amiss. I just wanted to know so that we could prepare and make sure that the doctors were also ready to start helping from the first minutes of life. My screening results came back a few weeks later, normal.
A side benefit of the Cell Free DNA screening is the discovery of gender. With a single pregnancy, the gender verification is over 99% accurate. With a twin pregnancy, not so much. The test only looks at the presence of a Y chromosome. So, the results we could get are: there are no boys or at least one boy. We told the doctors office that we want to find out the gender when we're all together as a family and I recently received an envelope with the results inside. I'm a bit hesitant to open it since it might not give us an answer. I have an ultrasound coming up in a few weeks and am thinking of holding off until after that.
One thing I'm excited about with this pregnancy is getting a big tummy. I've always had a tiny baby bump, so much so that on that last "40 weeks" photo, I have to place my arm around my bump to press my shirt down and make it more visible! Well, this time that shouldn't be a problem. In fact, I had to stop wearing my normal clothes pretty quickly.
Dode says I'm breaking my own rule by creating a blog post with no photos. I've felt so sick, there was just no way I was up to smiling for the camera. Hopefully, that will soon be gone!
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