The Not-So-Sexy Infertility Adventures of a Girl in the Big Apple

Monday, April 9, 2012

10 Weeks - Update

It's been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd write an update.  Things have been going pretty well in the last week and a half.  I bought a book on pregnancy with multiples and learned some interesting things about desired weight gain during the first and second trimesters.  The concept is that since almost all multiples are born preterm, the goal should be to get the birth weight of the babies up as much as possible before birth.  Because of the rise in multiples with IVF, doctors now have enough data to study pregnancy weight gain and it's effect on babies' ultimate birth weights.

The authors of the book maintain that the weight you gain in the first trimester is the most important to your babies ultimate weight and health, followed by second trimester weight gain (third trimester weight gain does little for the babies, according to them).  They also say that you need to gain a lot more weight than was previously recommended - like 40 - 56 lbs, instead of the 25 - 35 lbs that is recommended with a singleton.  Their view is that because multiple pregnancies used to be much rarer, the medical community didn't really have enough data to give appropriate recommendations in the past.

The general concepts in the book definitely make sense to me, although I am finding them daunting.  By 20 weeks I am supposed to have gained 20 lbs!  That seems pretty crazy to me, and I'm not sure given how small I am that I will get there.  But I am going to shoot for at least 15 lbs, as opposed to the 10 - 12 lbs that I was going for before.  I am trying to eat more substantial meals, with a higher amount of protein and fat than I was eating before.  And I think that in addition to making me fatter (which it definitely is!) I am also feeling less nauseous when I eat more.  Maybe some of the really bad nausea I had at 7 - 8 weeks was due to not eating enough substantial food?

In other news, I had an ultrasound this morning.  I was going to wait until the NT Scan, but I decided that I wanted one more before I went home and announced the news to my family.  Would be terrible to tell them and then find out something had gone wrong.  Because my OB's office only does monthly u/s, I did this one at a radiology lab.  It took forever, but we finally got the great news that both babies are doing well - very relieved, I had some lingering fears about Baby B.  Also exciting was the fact that they did the u/s on the belly for the first time!  No more vag cam for me!

I am also weaning pretty quickly off the meds - am down to one estrogen patch every other day and have stopped progesterone.  If my blood test results from today are good, hopefully I'll be able to stop everything.  I think getting off the progesterone has also helped with my fatigue and nausea somewhat - it didn't help me very much in that department.

I'm leaving on Wednesday for my trip home - am so excited to tell my family, it's going to make everything seem so much more real.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week and that there is nothing but good news while I'm gone.  Off to eat dinner!

13 comments:

  1. What great news!! Have an excellent trip.

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  2. Wonderful news....and have a fabulous trip. I am sure your family will be absolutely thrilled :-)

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  3. So glad all is perfect. Can't wait to hear how your family takes the news. Good luck with the weight gain, can't wait to see your healthy chubby babes.

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  4. Have a great trip! Your family is going to be ecstatic! So happy for you. That is really surprising the amount one has to gain in the first trimester, wow, I'm glad you are getting all that great info to have amazingly healthy babies. I can't wait to hear the gender!!!

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  5. So glad things are going so well!!! I know you are excited to tell everyone at home the great news. Enjoy your time with them all.

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  6. Great news newbie! Have a fabulous trip!

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  7. Glad to hear the babies are still doing well and that Baby B is on track! Have fun telling your family!

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  8. How fun to see the twinks! Glad to hear everything is going well! Have a great trip.

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  9. Hope your having a great trip!

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  10. I hope you're enjoying your trip! Let us know how the big reveal goes.

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  11. That must have been a pretty special moment to have the non-invasive ultrasound, and find out that both bubs are developing nicely. Great news to be able to tell your family (make sure they're sitting down).

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  12. checking in on you - hope you are doing well!

    mo

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  13. Hi! Found you through Dear Infertility, and yay! fellow twin pregnancy!!

    It sounds like you're reading "So you're expecting twins, triplets, or quads" or whatever that book is called. OMG. SO SCARY. That book is really full of scare-tactics. Take it as well-meaning advice but I don't think you need to follow it so closely. At least, I'm not. I'm trying to gain weight but it is ridiculous to say that the most important time is in the 1st trimester, when most twin moms are so nauseous that it's hard just to keep from losing weight.

    Anyway, glad to find another twin pregnancy to follow! Hi!

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