Update. Mommy With Two Sets of Twins; Where Are They Now?

UPDATE:

I apparently never wrote about my second set of twin’s birth! Oh my goodness. Time surely does fly. It really is true what they say, “The days are long but the years are short.” So to update you all: the girls were both born at 38weeks and 3days without complications. They both weighed 6lbs 10oz each! Neither one spent any time in the NICU. I once again had trouble breastfeeding; I ended up pumping and formula feeding. I was really sad to once again miss out on breastfeeding. But I was happy that they were alive, thriving and healthy.

The crazy thing is that Baby A from the first set and Baby A from the second are so similar! And viceversa; Baby B from both sets are boy/girl but almost identical in so many ways! The embryos are frozen in tubes at random; it is as if our A’s and B’s were supposed to be “twins” in my womb at the same time, but they got mixed up. And the Baby A and Baby B in both sets are polar opposites. So I have 2 type A and two type B personalities. Life here is stressful, busy, trying, humbling, beautiful and blessed.

Yes, it has been a while since I wrote. But I really am still here. Life with 2 sets of twins can be crazy, hard, and beautiful all at the same time. It is hard to believe that my big kids are 3 now, and that my "babies" are almost 2! I vacillate between expecting the babies to act like the big kids and treating them like 5 month olds. It is really strange to have so many kids so close in age; they are close enough that it tricks your brain into thinking they all share the same capabilities, yet far enough apart that they are in totally different stages of development.

The 3 year olds are now almost 100% potty trained. We have a few accidents once in a while, and sometimes they still pee while sleeping, but for the most part we only have 2 in diapers now. Woohoo! The babies think they should be potty training now too though, and they are insistent. Almost every time the big kids go potty the babies are whining to go also. They insist on sitting on the potty, and then proceeding to get up and down 100 times and run around the house naked, often peeing on the carpet. Ugh. Cute, but also frustrating. I do think they are close to being ready. They tell me 1/2 the time when they need to poop or have pooped, and they certainly want to use the potty like big girls.

Potty training 4 kids is stressful and time consuming. I feel like I spend a majority of my day cleaning poop from butts or pottys. The rest of the day is spent preparing food, serving food, cleaning up children and said food, and then cleaning the surrounding areas. I often find myself feeling like I am doing the same thing over and over again. We have breakfast for 5 people, snack for 5 people, lunch for 5 people and dinner for 6! It can be hard to not feel like my days are monotonous; filled with the same routine over and over again. That kind of life could literally drive you crazy. So I try to find ways to make it a little different each day.

Now, any mom of multiples will tell you that schedules are a must; that her family lives and dies by a schedule lol! However, I have found that we can survive just fine with a schedule that has some flexibility to it; it may just be the thing that keeps us sane.

I am so thankful that the weather is starting to get a little nicer. Now we can slip some outdoor play into our day. Someday soon we may even be able to go for a "walk" in our quad stroller (now if only someone would just come push me in it too...) and maybe go to story time at the library, yes, with all 4 kids. No, I am not certifiably insane. Yet. I even went so far as to set up an outdoor play/climbing cube in our basement and a large play kitchen in the hopes of providing some indoor entertainment.

My house officially looks like a daycare center. If you have any great ideas or tips for indoor toddler entertainment or energy burning please comment below or shoot me an email.

The Twins WIll Be Born Tomorrow!

Hey ya'll! Just wanted to write a quick post to let you all know that our twin girls will be born tomorrow morning, Tuesday 7/29/14 via c-section at 10ish am! 

We really wanted to try for a VBAC, and we had clearance from my high risk doctor, assuming that all circumstances were perfect, such as my blood pressure, babies heart rates, baby positions etc. We were right on track until last week when the doctor found that what I thought was Baby A had moved up under my ribs and is now completely transverse (sideways). They are not too fond of vaginal deliveries of twins when they are not both head down with all of my high risk factors.

The interesting thing is that we were so back and forth on what delivery method to go with. We finally thought VBAC after being given a semi green light. However, last Tuesday night my husband casually mentioned that he was worried about me delivering vaginally. So that of course shook my confidence. That night I prayed about it and then Wednesday, on the way to the hospital for my non stress test (NST) I prayed pretty heavily about what God's will was for this birth and that it would be revealed to me. So then the doctor does an ultrasound and finds that the one baby is no longer head down. This means that a VBAC is all but off the table (no pun intended) and that my only hope for a VBAC would be if the baby miraculously turned head down in the next week-ish.

I left that appointment feeling really bummed that the option of a VBAC had been snatched from me, but also sort of content with the fact that I had prayed for and possibly received a sign of God's will for this birth. But a large part of me still held out hope that the baby would turn and we would be right back on track. Here it is 9pm the night before my scheduled surgery and I guess no one turned (she hadn't as of Saturday) so it looks like I will be in surgery tomorrow! 

Please keep all of us in your prayers!

35 Weeks of Pregnancy

Today I am 34 weeks and 6 days pregnant; exactly at the point where I gave birth to my last set of twins 18 months ago. I didn’t go into labor last time so I am not exactly expecting to deliver today, but it is an interesting day for me; wondering what if? When we went on our tour of the new hospital we were told that any babies born before the 35 week mark automatically went to the NICU. So my goal since then has been to just make it to 35 weeks at least. I really want to avoid the NICU. I really want to hold my babies right after they are born. I want that immediate skin to skin contact. I want to offer the breast as soon as possible. All things that did not happen last time.

Tomorrow I hit the big 35 weeks, so praise the Lord on that one. Last time I had an emergency c-section because my blood pressure was steadily on the rise. However, this time my blood pressure has been perfect throughout. One doctor put me on a regimen of 1 81mg aspirin and 1000mg of calcium per day, because there is some evidence that this can help keep blood pressure down. So I don’t know if that is why my blood pressure isn’t going high this time or not. 

I have a lot of painful contractions this time around too, but they don’t seem to be affecting my cervix. Oh, but I wouldn’t know because the OBGYN practice that I switched to wont examine me in any way. It’s ridiculous.  The last doctor who saw me thinks I may just make it to 38 weeks. Gasp! On the one hand, hurray! On the other, oy vey; I am tired and huge!! 

The great debate lately has been whether I will attempt a VBAC or just a c-section. I am very torn. Most of the doctors in the practice do not recommend a VBAC. I have too many risk factors: twins, second set of twins, twins only 18 months apart, previous c-section; to name a few. On the other hand, one doctor told me that my risk factors only raise my chances of a ruptured uterus to slightly above 1%. Ah, but that percent still exists; and that is scary. I want to do a VBAC to have a full pregnancy plus delivery experience. But is it really worth risking my life or my children? I just don’t want to be selfish about it. My one hope is that I can carry long enough to go into labor on my own and at least get to experience that. 

I have no delusions that labor is this magical painless thing that I am missing out on. I want the epidural etc. I just want that connection with my children if that makes any sense. For all I know this may be the last time I am pregnant (but hey why stop at 4 kids?) and I just want to know labor and to see my babies immediately after, and be given the chance for skin to skin contact and breastfeeding. All things I was robbed of last time. 

Bottom line, we are blessed with our children. I am about to give birth in the next couple of weeks. My scheduled c-section is July 31. I am thankful for this and I simply pray for a smooth delivery; whatever the method.

31 Weeks Pregnant

I am about to find out what it is like to have 4 children; and i am a little nervous. I am currently 31 weeks (in my 8^th month) pregnant with my second set of twins and I feel like I am going to pop. Sometimes I feel like I am cheating because this is only my second pregnancy, yet I will have 4 children. Sometimes I am happy that will not have to endure 4 pregnancies, but some days I am saddened that I won’t experience 4 separate pregnancies…make any sense?

My last pregnancy I was delivered via c-section at 35 weeks due to high blood pressure. The average gestation of twins is 35 weeks in general, which means that I could possibly give birth in 4-6 weeks. Yeah, reality check. My husband and I just realized this over the weekend and it dawned on us that we don’t have 2 cribs set up, we don’t have mattresses, we don’t have 2 extra cars seats, etc. I swear we are less prepared for this set of twins than the last set of twins. So now we are in rush mode. Put up cribs, buy mattresses, bottles, bibs…take a tour of the hospital. Oh yeah, new hospital this time and new doctors. No stress there.

As long as these babies are in my body it is pretty easy to have 4 kids (haha) but as soon as they are born…then what? What will life be like with 4 children under the age of 2? Just think of the diapers! I am mostly convinced that I will never leave the house again! I know the new babies will have doctor’s appointments and such, so I will have to figure it out. I am thinking about buying a quad stroller to fit all 4 kids. I have only really found 2, one is by Foundations and the other is by Angeles. Both are very expensive, heavy, and large. I would have to order it online and just hope that it fits in our van along with 4 car seats. I have heard that the quad just isn’t worth it but I don’t see how else I can get them around. Wish us luck, seriously. 

23 Weeks Pregnant

Here I am at 23 weeks pregnant with my second set of twins. I am feeling eh, not too bad. Since I am over halfway through this pregnancy, I figured I would share some answers to some commonly asked questions:

What am I craving? Sweets. Chips A’Hoy cookies, Star Crunches, and Pop Tarts mainly.

How am I feeling? Easily exhausted. Sore abdomen, sore legs, and headaches. Super heartburn and indigestion. Oh, and insomnia has set in.

What do I miss? Eating. Everything makes me sick with heartburn and indigestion, and the twins have my stomach squished to the size of a tennis ball so I can barely eat much at all. Yet my taste buds and brain scream “ I am still starving!” oh, and sleep.

Weight gain? About 20lbs. Although it feels like 50.

Baby movement? Yes! They are acrobats! Just like my last twins. They are especially active in the evening.

Best moment this week? I had some painful Braxton Hicks contractions and I could distinctly feel a baby’s head during them!

Maternity clothes? Please, I am measuring about 30 weeks pregnant so I have been in yoga pants for a while now. I just recently had to switch to specifically maternity tops because they are made to be longer and cover my new bump.

Pregnancy Can Be Scary

As of today, I find myself 4 months pregnant with twins as I try desperately to console my cranky 14 month old twins who are teething, hitting some developmental milestones, and recovering from 3 vaccinations (don’t get me started on that!)

I have read and heard that each subsequent pregnancy can be harder than the previous one on your body, and I have to say that I agree. I am feeling everything sooner this time (as in unpleasant symptoms) and the physical strain of caring for other children adds to it. But this pregnancy there is more to it for me. My last pregnancy I didn’t have any complications except pregnancy induced hyperthyroidism and late term high blood pressure. It was a breeze really. And with no children at home I could nap when I pleased and take good care of myself.

This twin pregnancy, however, brought with it a new scare. Around 8 ½ weeks into this pregnancy I had a sudden gush of blood which led to an ER visit. They did an ultrasound and found a sub chorionic hematoma around twin A, otherwise known as a hemorrhage. Now, when I hear the word hemorrhage I think of blood, the brain, and death. It does not paint nice pictures. Of course the ER doctor couldn’t tell me much at all except that my OB would want to follow up with me and that I should be on bed rest.

Bed rest is kind of hard when you have twins at home! But alas, I did as I was told. Two days later I experienced fresh bright bleeding and went back to the ER. After a 2^nd ultrasound, it was discovered that a new hemorrhage had formed around twin B. Now I had 2 hemorrhages. If you have ever used the internet, you know that looking up an ailment is the worst thing you can do. Search results strike fear into the hearts of all who look upon illness related results. Even scarier, I have a few friends who have lost babies due to these hemorrhages.

To add insult to injury, the new doctor at my OB’s office who saw me last wasn’t even concerned. She didn’t want to see me for a month. A lot can happen in month! It was also found that twin B had half the size of a gestational sac as twin A, which could cause the baby to die.

Yeah, second pregnancy, first trimester; scary! Apparently all women have a 25% chance of miscarriage in the first trimester. Thanks doc for telling me that, very reassuring. So I did what any frightened mom to be would do, I forced my way into an appointment with my perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor) and asked his opinion. He said he wasn’t too concerned about the hemorrhages because they were small, but that I shouldn’t lift my kids. And he was more worried about twin B’s gestational sac size, at least until I entered the second trimester.

So I left that appointment feeling a little better. Fast forward and I didn’t have any more bleeding praise the Lord! We, and a lot of friends, sent up an abundance of prayers in the 3 weeks that followed. I even bought an FDA approved medical grade fetal heart Doppler to use at home, just to reassure myself that the babies still had heartbeats. (It is great by the way!)

I want to pause right here to convey the heart of this post; God is so big and so good and so merciful. He always shines through the darkness. My pain is always worth it because it ends up glorifying God and showing the world His mercy and love.

At 12 weeks and 2 days I had an early anatomy scan at the perinatologist’s office. Little did I know, this day would be filled with unbelievable joy. They performed an ultrasound and found that Twin A and Twin B were growing only a few days apart in size! They also found that both hemorrhages had just disappeared! Oh, and they told me that it looks like I am having a BOY and a GIRL again!

I couldn’t have asked for better news. When we learned about the hemorrhages, I had no choice but to trust God. The hemorrhages really gave me the opportunity to trust God and God only. It also showed the love of God as He used people to bless us. We had so many friends step up and into our lives to help on a daily basis.

So thank you to all of you who helped us in any way! Now we just wait and believe that this pregnancy will continue without any other complications.