It’s National Infertility Awareness Week! As many of us know, difficulty conceiving a child is not uncommon. It's estimated that about 7 million couples each year in the United States are unable to become pregnant without medical assistance. That averages to about 1 in every 6 couples. Needless to say, Nick and I are one of those six. After years on infertility, we have been blessed with our first pregnancy…our two miracles babies, fraternal twins.
Infertility shouldn’t be a taboo subject. Be aware, be informed, and be supportive. Please watch this amazing video, which gives a little insight into how someone with infertility may feel.
http://www.tearsandhope.com/emptyarms_video.html
Here are a few of my favorite infertility links:
www.bethany.org/step/
www.infertilityeducation.org/brochure.html
www.dancinguponbarrenland.com
www.resolve.org
http://www.hannah.org
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
THIS BLOG IS OFFICIALLY ONLINE
I emailed out the link to this blog to family and friends on April 19th. And in just a little over one week, I’ve received a lot of great feedback and support. Many of those are people saying they know of someone going through infertility and have forwarded it on. And a few who are going through it themselves that I had no idea about! I hope they can all benefit from reading my blog. Wonderful! I was nervous about emailing out this blog link to everyone in my email address book and also on facebook, thinking they might think I’m crazy because I'm way to open about talking about this. But I decided if it helped reach just one more person who needed it, then it was worth it! I'm glad I did!
Monday, April 19, 2010
WEEK 12 - 14 SYMPTOM UPDATE
Week 12: I’ve definitely started showing now. (I finally admit it although the bump actually appeared around week 9 or 10!) The baby (babies) bump has arrived! My lower back is really starting to hurt at certain points in the day if I sit or lay too long. Eating is continuing to becoming easier and my daily naps have cut down, so my energy level has definitely improved!
Week 13: Eating is still my biggest thing. I need to eat every 2 hours and snack often or else I fade fast…very fast. I get very weak and my stomach hurts in a way I’ve never experienced before. The doc said the babies take the food and nutrients they need first, which is great! So of course, I’m the one who ends up getting weak and not getting the nutrients I need. Therefore, I need to stay on top of my eating so it doesn’t get to that point! I’m also very ready for maternity pants and need to go shopping very soon!
Week 14: My upper legs/buttocks are still very sore from the progesterone shots. It’s a numb sort of feeling and if it gets touched it hurts. Also feels bruised but there are no markings. We stopped those about 4 weeks ago and I thought they’d be healed by now. The doctor said what probably happened is when giving the intramuscular shots, some hit veins causing some little blood clots and it’s making the area sore. There’s no reason to fear that it will be a big blood clot and travel to my brain or anything. He said it will go away in time.
I made an exciting purchase this week – a full body pillow for $10. What a deal! I use it to prop under my belly and rest my leg on while sleeping. (Thanks for the advice, Emily!) It really makes laying on my side a lot easier and provides a nice barrier between Nick and I. Ha!
Week 13: Eating is still my biggest thing. I need to eat every 2 hours and snack often or else I fade fast…very fast. I get very weak and my stomach hurts in a way I’ve never experienced before. The doc said the babies take the food and nutrients they need first, which is great! So of course, I’m the one who ends up getting weak and not getting the nutrients I need. Therefore, I need to stay on top of my eating so it doesn’t get to that point! I’m also very ready for maternity pants and need to go shopping very soon!
Week 14: My upper legs/buttocks are still very sore from the progesterone shots. It’s a numb sort of feeling and if it gets touched it hurts. Also feels bruised but there are no markings. We stopped those about 4 weeks ago and I thought they’d be healed by now. The doctor said what probably happened is when giving the intramuscular shots, some hit veins causing some little blood clots and it’s making the area sore. There’s no reason to fear that it will be a big blood clot and travel to my brain or anything. He said it will go away in time.
I made an exciting purchase this week – a full body pillow for $10. What a deal! I use it to prop under my belly and rest my leg on while sleeping. (Thanks for the advice, Emily!) It really makes laying on my side a lot easier and provides a nice barrier between Nick and I. Ha!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
THE FIRST HEARING OF OUR BABIES' HEARTBEATS!
We had another doctor appointment today. I’ve gained 2 pounds since my last appointment so all seems to be going well in that area. But the most exciting thing was that today was the first time we heard the babies’ heartbeats. Who knew that “shwish shwish” sound would be so beautiful? It was like music to our ears! I’m so nervous going into the appointments because I just want both babies to be okay so badly! But hearing those beautiful heartbeats was amazing. It’s really starting to become real that there are 2 little miracle lives growing inside me!
After hearing the heartbeats, I asked the doctor if he was SURE it was really two separate heartbeats. (I’m so paranoid about both of the babies being okay.) He said, “You don’t trust me!?” in a very funny tone. He’s a comical guy – although after this appointment - I think he thinks I’m a spaz! He said to me, “You’re a planner, aren’t you?” After I replied yes, he said, “You’re going to have to stop planning, cause I was one once too before kids and it just doesn’t work!” We all got a good laugh out of that one.
Our doctor also measured my fundal height. (You measure in centimeters how far it is from your pubic bone to your fundus, which is the very top of your uterus.) Basically the number in centimeters should correlate with how many weeks along you are. For example – I’m 13 weeks along, so it should measure 13 centimeters with a single baby. But since there are twins, one’s uterus expands much larger to accommodate two babies. He said I’m measuring 16-17 centimeters, which means my uterus is the size of someone who’s 16-17 weeks along. No wonder I’m showing already! Yikes…this could get very interesting as time passes! Time for some maternity clothes shopping!
We took this photo on Easter morning. About 13 weeks pregnant but measuring around 17 weeks with the twins. Definitely a "babies" bump!
After hearing the heartbeats, I asked the doctor if he was SURE it was really two separate heartbeats. (I’m so paranoid about both of the babies being okay.) He said, “You don’t trust me!?” in a very funny tone. He’s a comical guy – although after this appointment - I think he thinks I’m a spaz! He said to me, “You’re a planner, aren’t you?” After I replied yes, he said, “You’re going to have to stop planning, cause I was one once too before kids and it just doesn’t work!” We all got a good laugh out of that one.
Our doctor also measured my fundal height. (You measure in centimeters how far it is from your pubic bone to your fundus, which is the very top of your uterus.) Basically the number in centimeters should correlate with how many weeks along you are. For example – I’m 13 weeks along, so it should measure 13 centimeters with a single baby. But since there are twins, one’s uterus expands much larger to accommodate two babies. He said I’m measuring 16-17 centimeters, which means my uterus is the size of someone who’s 16-17 weeks along. No wonder I’m showing already! Yikes…this could get very interesting as time passes! Time for some maternity clothes shopping!
We took this photo on Easter morning. About 13 weeks pregnant but measuring around 17 weeks with the twins. Definitely a "babies" bump!
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