20 weeks and counting!

A few updates since the last post:

1) We found out the sexes of our twins and we are SO excited that we'll be having a boy AND a girl! We couldn't be happier or more excited to start our little family of 4!

2) I am 20 weeks now and have posted a picture of my bump growth through 19 weeks. 1st and 2nd trimesters have been a breeze for me; I'm very fortunate! I know the 3rd trimester may be a different story, but I'm really enjoying pregnancy for now.

Onward and upward into the second trimester!

I'm now 14 weeks along and last week we got to see our twins via 3D ultrasound at our appointment with Maternal and Fetal Medicine. It was really cool to see them, even though they resemble tiny aliens right now:

What I took away from the appointment is that there are a lot of risks carrying twins (including the risk of miscarriage through 20 weeks), I need to gain more weight (shouldn't be a problem, although I don't know how many more calories I can take in), I should be a couch potato (not going to happen except for 8pm-10pm), Baby A is very bouncy and wiggly (takes after Ryan), our due date of 11/11 is "laughable" and I will more than likely deliver at 36 or 37 weeks (end of October), and we find out the sexes on June 13 (18 weeks). We will be followed by my OB and Maternal-Fetal Medicine throughout the pregnancy. I see the OB next on 5/18/2012.

Every Sunday, Ryan does a photo shoot of my growing belly and here's what we have so far:

We are now telling EVERYONE that we're expecting and I made the official social media announcment on Facebook on Mother's Day.

UPDATE

Okay, we're way overdue for an update. Lots going on! I am officially 12 weeks pregnant and feel much better about things now that I've cleared the first trimester. So, I feel very comfortable annoucing the fact that we are expecting.... TWINS!!!!

It was a huge shock for some reason, even though we knew Dr. Filer put 2 blastocysts in. We are very, very excited for our family to double in size this fall. We feel very fortunate and blessed that we got this buy one get one free deal! (You can tell we're in a good place since we can make jokes like that).

We have officially been discharged from The Fertility Center and are being followed by my OB/GYN and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist since it's twins. We have a 3D ultrasound scheduled for May 9th and will post that picture once we have it. We plan on finding out the genders and were told that would likely be at 18 weeks. We will keep you posted!

So Far So Good...

Sorry for the delay! We've been very busy adjusting to our move (from Mount Joy to Lancaster) and trying to get settled. But, as of now things are still going strong with the pregnancy. I had another blood test on Ryan's birthday (3/9) and the HCG levels had skyrocketed to over 3,000 so the doctor's office was very pleased with that. They were going to keep checking them until they were over 1,000 so we surpassed that after just 2 blood tests. When they informed me of those numbers, they said it was time to schedule my prenatal appointment. That just seemed to surreal to me, but very exciting! So that appointment was yesterday (3/20). The nurse practitioner did an exam and reviewed diet and exercise restrictions. She said I should keep taking my progesterone and estrogen until 4/15. I also scheduled our first ultrasound which will be on 3/27!! We are VERY excited for that because they think we should be able to hear the heartbeat. We'll also find out if we are expecting 1 or 2!! Lots of exciting stuff ahead. We'll be sure to post a picture of the ultrasound. We've been through many an ultrasound during the diagnostic and monitoring phases, but it will be so nice to actually see something in the uterus this time!

As of now, I am 6 weeks and 3 days along. My due date is 11/11 (pretty cool, huh?). I've been feeling good, but hungry constantly (not too far from normal). And a little more fatigued, but not too bad. I haven't fallen asleep on any patients (yet).

We'll be back with an update after the ultrasound next week!

Cautiously Celebrating

After a day to digest the news, we have come back down to Earth. Although we are EXTREMELY happy and excited, we have decided to adopt the concept of "cautious celebration" until my HCG levels are where they need to be and we are completely confident that it is a viable pregnancy. We will not be making our pregnancy common knowledge (to those with whom we have not shared this journey) until we get to that point. Thank you for all the well wishes we've been receiving. A few more blood tests will hopefully increase our confidence and make this feel more real...

Baby...Baby...Pirate? Aw... Wait, pirates are wild! We're pregnant!!!

In one of my favorite scenes from The Simpson's, the character Apu's wife - Manjula - is taking a pregnancy test, and the results are delivered slot machine style - one symbol at a time. First, an image of a baby appears, next a second baby, finally, a picture of a pirate appears and they groan, before reading the directions and finding out that pirates are wild. So yes, three of a kind - they are indeed pregnant. I've always thought it would be neat to find out you were pregnant with a slot machine style pregnancy test - but I guess I'll take this way too...

Just when we thought there was no help left, together with the love and support of all our friends and families - we are now at the top of this ever so steep uphill climb. We found out today the results of Jen's blood work - and well, I guess you can figure out it was excellent news. We'll hold off on our big, mega, huge blowout celebration for 9 months (Nov 10th?), but we can finally let out a long - LONG - overdue sigh of relief. Finally, FINALLY, we can let tears of joy flow from our eyes instead of those stinging tears of pain, sorrow and frustration... There is still more bloodwork to be done, and ultrasounds to go through, but for now, we wanted you all - our biggest supporters - to know where our journey has led us. From the depths of our hearts, a giant THANK YOU for being there for us!

Still waiting...

All the books, articles, blogs, forums, etc. that we have read over the past 2 years did NOT exaggerate how difficult the infamous "2 week wait" is. Now, we've been in the 2 week wait many, many times (27 to be exact) while trying to conceive over the past 2 years and 3 months, but nothing compares to the 2 week wait after IVF. We actually feel like we have a chance this time and cannot wait to find out if this will be our answer. Our pregnancy test is scheduled for 3/5 at 11:30am and then they will call me later that afternoon with the results. We probably will not update this blog before then because we are keeping ourselves VERY busy this next week. We have things planned with each other, friends or family, work, or fantasy baseball (in Ryan's case) every day and evening this week. We have every intention of keeping our minds off of what is to come, BUT we would love for all of you to keep us on your minds with thoughts, prayers, positive vibes, and fingers crossed!!

In the meantime, we leave you with a very touching poem I came across while reading Every Drunken Cheerleader Why Not Me? by Kristine Waits, a book I'm reading for an infertility support group I recently joined. We'll be discussing this book tomorrow evening. This poem hit a cord with both me and Ryan as we try very hard to be patiently waiting at this time...

Patiently Waiting

Baby I love you though God has not yet given you to me,
I have spent my whole life learning patience and that is now what I am trying to be.

I love you though we have not met, and though you are not yet real;
Somehow you are in every thought, and love is all I feel.

You're a dream I didn't know I had, a prayer I didn't know I would pray;
A song that I would sing for you, if only you would stay.

We want you in our life to share a love that is so strong;
And we will continue to wait for you - it does not matter how long.

We believe God's perfect plan so you will come when the time is right;
And though you are not yet real, you are already Mommy's delight.

I want to hold you in my arms and teach you to be great;
I want you to be our legacy, our destiny, our fate.

Your daddy and I love you and we can't wait for the day;
When we hug and kiss you gently and you will not go away.

We have a wonderful marriage, maybe this hardship is our test;
But holding hands together, we continue to pray for the best.

That you will grace our lives with greatness and make us a family;
So the love that is too much for two can soon be shared by three.