6 months!

Well I'm officially 6 months along today!  My oh my has so much happened since my last post!  C and I went on our annual fishing trip to Canada.  We enjoyed our stay and enjoyed the fishing!  The trip is such a nice break from 'reality', as there really are no time schedules, no cell phones, and no computers which all lead to a relaxing time.  Along the way we had to stop and get this little gem:

This is our Week 22 Photo (Papayas) as we were up in Canada!

On Tuesday June 4th I had an appointment with Dr. Lehman at the OB office.  Everything is going well, so the appointment was quick.  The next appointment will bring the glucose test, which I asked if I could skip out on and got denied!  Darn...  After the appointment at the OB office, I drove downtown to the Perinatal Center where I met up with C.  We had an ultrasound to check out Baby B's heart and do a general growth check on both.  Baby A weighed a whopping 1.6 pounds and was head down.  Baby B weighed slightly less at 1.2 pounds and was transverse across the top of my belly.  Baby B was a little stinker and wouldn't budge at all during the ultrasound.  The little guy's heart was almost directly below my belly button, which caused the ultrasound tech to struggle to get good shots of his heart.  After 1 hour and 45 minutes, the tech got as many pictures as she could!  

Once the ultrasound tech had compiled the pictures, we then met with Dr. Drake.  Dr. Drake checked over the ultrasounds on both boys and mentioned that they looked great, including both hearts!  She asked us if we knew why we were doing such an extensive check on the hearts, which we responded yes - IVF.  She made mention that there is a possibility that there are heart defects with IVF babies, but in her entire years at the Perinatal center, she has yet to see an IVF baby with a heart defect.  We were very much excited to hear the good news!

Next appointments for both the OB office and Perinatal center fall on July 2nd.  Ultrasounds in the morning and glucose test in the afternoon.

Here's some of the most recent photos:

This was while I was in Wahpeton, ND for work... I felt like I had popped - 6/5/2013

Until next time,
Love Amber & the Boys (C, Max, & Babies)

Bananas!

Heyyyyy all!

C and I went to the first heart check up on Baby A today.  As far as we know things are okay... I asked the ultrasound tech if she would tell us if something was wrong or if we would have to wait until after the heart check up with Baby B at the next appointment.  Obviously she couldn't really say too much, but she did mention that if she saw something suspicious that she would have the doctor talk to us before we left the clinic.  Well, we never spoke with the doctor and she never gave any indications of anything being wrong... so all's good for Baby A!

We absolutely loved being able to see our boys again!  When we arrived the boys were both breech, but by the end of the appointment (45 minutes later), Baby B was transverse again and Baby A was still breech.  Baby B stuck up for himself this time and head butted Baby A - give me more room!  Baby A must be our little acrobat... as we got a shot of him with his legs curled up and feet above his head!

Here's the previous two weeks worth of belly progress photos!

 

Until next time,

Love Amber & "the Boys"

19 Weeks!

Here's a few photos recent photos with a couple from our ultrasound day.

Baby A is a BOY!

Baby B - Profile Shot

Baby A's foot by Baby B's head - Right around the time A kicked B!!

We're scheduled to go back to the Perinatal Center for a check up on Baby A's heart on Wednesday, May 15th at 1:45 pm.  Because our babies are IVF babies, we were told that the doctors like to do a more thorough check of the hearts of both babies.  Due to the extensive checking, they are only willing to do one heart at a time.  Our next appointments fall on the same day.  I'll have a general check up with my doctor June 4th @ 9:15 am and then we're scheduled for another appointment at the Perinatal Center on 10:15 am to check Baby B's heart and general check of both at that time.  We'll meet with the Perinatologist at 11:30 am to talk about the results of both heart examinations.

Until next time!
Love from Amber and "the boys" (Corey, Max, & the babies!)

Ohhh Boy!

Today was the day I've been waiting for!  We were able to see baby A and B!  Apparently there are two Perinatal Centers in downtown DSM, and of course I managed to go to the wrong one....  I left the doctors office with plenty of time to get to my next appointment.  So I sat in the parking lot waiting for C to join me.  We strolled into the clinic at 10:30 (appointment time) and went to the receptionist desk to check in.  This is where I about had a coronary.  They told me that I wasn't scheduled for an appointment and then mentioned that maybe I needed to go to the Methodist Perinatal Center not the Mercy Perinatal Center (where we were).  Considering we were just barely on time at the wrong clinic I about died wondering how far away was the right clinic?!?!  C and I managed to find the right clinic and strolled in at 10:45.  The receptionist there mentioned that I was supposed to check in at 10:15 to get paper work completed for my 10:30 appointment.  Thanks for the reminder that I already know I'm late.  She wasn't sure if we would be able to get in for the ultrasound as we were late... about had a melt down...

They managed to get us in and get the ultrasound completed. *WHEW* This took about 1.5 hours!!!  I can't believe how fast time flew while we were looking at our babies!  Baby B (the higher baby in a transverse position) was spread eagle so the ultrasound tech knew right away that baby B was a boy!  She took lots of different angles and pictures of the hands, feet, heart, skull, spine, etc.  Baby A was a little bit more of a struggle as they were head down and curled up!  Their feet and hands were all snuggled up by the head!  After shifting side to side, going to the bathroom, and her shaking the ultrasound wand all to get baby A to move....we were finally able to see that Baby A was also a boy!  Was so much fun to see the movements of their hands and feet "live" on screen.  Baby A was caught kicking Baby B in the head... most likely just the beginning of more 'fighting' between the two or the famous line "I'm not touching you..."

Here are the two previous week's progress photos!

Progress!

Still playing the waiting game until the 30th which is our next appointment with the doc.  After our appointment we'll be driving down town DSM to the Perinatal Center for an ultrasound.  I can hardly wait to see Baby J a & b!

Things are going well and I know my bellykins is getting bigger... here's a little bit of proof (not too much of a difference between the two weeks, but I sure feel different!):

14 Weeks +

Today brought our second appointment!  We were really excited to see the babies but unfortunately as much as I tried and tried to trick the doctor into giving me an ultrasound, we'll have to wait until the next appointment!  Dang!  The nurse used the Doppler and was able to hear both heartbeats.  One heartbeat was ~155 and the other was ~163.  The sound is so amazing, but I know that in a month the ultrasound will be even more amazing!  The next appointment is on April 30th at 9:15 am!  Until then you'll have to wait for updates!  Here's some photos C and I took in the past couple weeks.

This is the puzzle I had my Grandparents put together to find out we were expecting and expecting twins!

Announcement soon to be very much public!

9 Weeks - Ultrasound Photos from Mid-Iowa Fertility

14 Weeks!  Navel Oranges!

First Appt - 1/2 Way to 2nd!

C and I went to our first appointment at Lakeview OB on 3/4/13.  The staff failed to mention to me on the phone when I made the appointment and when their nurse called back to ask me 30 million health questions, that I would need to provide a urine sample upon arrival!  Well, being as prepared as I could be for the appointment, I took care of that before I left work!  I gave 'er the all American college try, but I couldn't provide a sample... hah!  They provided me with a huge glass of water so I could leave a sample on the way out!  Note to self... come with a full bladder next time! 

The appointment went well.  Dr. Lehman just started talking about anything and everything, which was all informational.  She asked if we had any questions, but at that point I really didn't have much to ask!  I am sure that I'll come up with some good questions down the road.  Dr. said that we would have just had an ultrasound if the ultrasound tech had been there that day, but instead she attempted to hear the heartbeats with the doppler.  She was able to hear one heart beat if not both.  She said she thought she had heard one in the high 170's and the other in the low 180's, which is right on par with the last appointment on 2/21 we had at the fertility clinic.  She tried for quite a while to hear the heartbeats and said that the babies were movin' and a groovin' - making things tougher!

Our next appointment is on 4/1, and I'm not foolin' you all.  We can't wait to see our baby J's on the screen again as we'll be starved for over a month from the last time we saw them!

Waiting game is on again!

Until next time,
ALJ