Update time...

Well the ultrasound went really well.  It was a measly 2 hours instead of 3. {thank goodness!} Everything looked great! Babies A & C {the girls} are estimated at about 1 lb 11 oz. and Baby B {the boy} is estimated to be 1 lb. 14 oz.  Quite the bruiser already!  They were all really active and I even got to see Baby C yawn.  I didn't even know that was possible!  Baby B and C are breech at this point and poor Baby A has the bottom bunk, laying across my hips.  So not too much to report there.

I did my dreaded glucose tolerance test and all the other labs yesterday.  All the "other labs" turned out great and normal.  The glucose test, not so much.  Apparently I have developed Gestational Diabetes.    When my doctor told me, I have to admit I was in a bit of shock and then I started thinking wait a minute... I am not obese.  I eat healthy.  I talk care of myself.  I have never had this with previous pregnancies.  I don't get it.  The doctor assured me that it was nothing I did, in fact she was kind of expecting this.  What?  She said,  it is caused by a hormone released by the placenta.  Obviously with three placentas my odds were much greater in developing GD.   It made me feel,a little better knowing I didn't do anything to cause this.  Still not happy, but a little better.  

I just found out last night so I don't know too much about my personal case and how exactly it will be handled.  I do know that the doc ordered a class for me to take and a consult with the fetal health specialist and nutritionist to go over how to manage everything.  I will also have to be testing my blood sugar throughout the day with a little finger prick machine and keep a log of the numbers to bring with me to the doctor.  Then, depending on the trend, I will manage it through diet, pill and/or insulin injections.   I sooo thought I was done with injections...

This does explain a lot as to how I have been feeling lately though.  Usually when I'm hungry my tummy's rumbling and I may get a little crabby.  Lately though it feels like my entire body is weak.  Like I don't want to hold the phone to my ear weak.  So I eat something and depending on what I eat, I feel better or worse.  I've been noticing if I have a handful of cashews or a protein shake made with blueberries, I feel better.  If I grab an apple or some crackers, I feel worse.  Good to know there is a reason behind it and I can start to plan my meals accordingly now.   

I don't really know too much else about it, but I do know {based on my Google research} there are a slew of things that can happen if not managed properly.  I won't get into all the nitty gritty now.  I'm just gonna' take it one day at a time and hopefully I can get a handle on this quickly.    In the middle of all this, I'm just so thankful the babies are continuing to grow and develop every day. 

The 20 week Ultrasound

So, I'll start with the fun stuff.  I went in for the big 20 week ultrasound last week.  My IP's got to come out and visit too!  The ultrasound took about 2 1/2 hours and I had to do a lot of rolling and moving to keep things going along.  Laying on my back for that long is very uncomfortable.  It was so amazing to see how much these babies have grown in 4 weeks!  It was also wonderful to see their parents glued to the screen and hanging on to their every movement.  All three babies still look great and are right on target.  They are each about 10 inches long now.  I guess that means I have about 30 inches of baby in me!  Wow!  Thank goodness we did not have any surprises this time.  The count is still the same and it is still 2 girls and 1 very active boy.  

I also had another check up with my OB and everything looked good there too.  I have to admit I was a little nervous because I have been having the occasional Braxton Hicks.  I know this is normal with pregnancy, but apparently should not be taken lightly with triplets.  Lucky for me though my cervix was still just fine.  In fact, everything looked so good, the Doc said I could go another 4 weeks until the next check up and ultrasound.  Woo hoo!  After that I will be going in for both bi-weekly.

I do have to apologize.  I have been so bad about blogging lately, but I have a really good excuse.  I am carrying triplets and I'm tired!  It seems like every time I sit down and have a free moment, my eyes start to get really droopy and before I know it I'm out.  I usually just cat nap for a few and feel much better.  I really didn't think there would be THAT much difference from carrying one baby to carrying three.  I know, I know wishful thinking and very naive on my part.  I am a can do kind of person though.  As it turns out, there are a lot of differences.  For instance, you know that extreme fatigue you get in the first trimester?  It never stops.  In fact it gets worse!  I find myself planning my days with a couple of breaks in the middle for cat naps.  It's crazy how much energy these three munchkins are using up.  

So to help combat the fatigue, I have had to limit myself to one, maybe two "things to do" in a day besides the usual feeding and caring for my two busy boys.  Yesterday, my project of the day was laundry.  Today, I went on a field trip with my sons preschool to the fire station.  I felt pretty good after wards so I pushed the limit and went to the grocery store.  Whew!  Let's just say, the my little hiney is glued to the recliner.  It's gonna' take some thing really good to pry me off of here.

Well, that's the long and short of it.  I'm still hanging in there.   I'll post some pix soon!

*UPDATE*
Here's some pix of the wee ones.
Baby A (girl) Top
Baby B (boy) Middle
Baby C (girl) Bottom

 

Triple Loop Part 2

Fast forward three weeks. I had my first appointment with my local OB, Dr. N.  All was looking good.  A few days later, her nurse calls me and says that Dr. N received the records from Dr. S and she was not happy with the lack of information she received.  She ordered a full ultrasound to be done ASAP.

So I went and got the ultrasound a few days later.  I knew almost immediately I was about to be thrown for another loop.  I was looking at the screen and thinking there must be something wrong my eyes.  I was seeing three heads.  The techs jaw dropped and I watched her move her wand around looking for heartbeats.  By this time I was getting the shakes and holding my breath.  The tech put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Sweetie, you are not carrying twins.  You are carrying triplets.  Just breathe." 
I asked her if she was sure because I had had two in office ultrasounds from two different doctors saying otherwise.  She was very sure.  She had even checked the heartbeats before she told me.  When she placed the camera on Baby C, it was waving at the camera.  Almost as if saying "Hi!".  Once again all my mind could say was WOW!!! 
I was there for about two hours while she did all of her measurements just trying to make sense of all of this.  I was such a mix of emotions.  I would go into shock and forget to breathe for a bit, then I would stare in amazement at what I was seeing on the screen and then I would start to worry about all of the "what ifs" that go along with a high risk pregnancy.

I thought I was in shock the first time I was told I was carrying triplets, but this was unbelievable.  Here I was at 15 and a half weeks just finding this news out.  I just kept thinking, "I can't believe I have to tell my IP's this news again."  I was so nervous to tell them.  I don't quite know why I felt so nervous or what I expected them to say.  Regardless, I knew that we were in this together and that I was about to rock their world's even more so than mine had just been rocked.
I called them that evening after I had talked with my husband and we had our little freak out session.  The response was quite similar to my own.  Speechless.  We talked for quite a while and when we were getting off the phone I told A how nervous I was to tell them they were expecting triplets {again}.  As we were getting off the phone A said I am hanging up with a smile on my face.  I knew that things would be OK and everything would work out.  It may not be exactly how we planned, but the babies are healthy, I feel pretty good at the moment, my IP's are excited and looking forward to meeting their babies.

I told you this one would be long...but I do have one more little snippet of news for you.  The tech said with about 90% certainty...Baby A is a girl, Baby B is a boy and Baby C {AKA Houdini} is another girl.   

My IP's are supper exited.
So that's all for now folks.  Let's all hope it's smooth sailing from here on out. 

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend.  :)

A Triple loop in the surrogacy roller coaster Part 1

Ok, this is going to be a long post so bare with me here.  I'm going to start at the very beginning...Hopefully it's not too confusing.  

So remember when I had a little scare?  Well I have a confession.  Two days after that ultrasound, when I landed in the ER,  I was told that I was carrying triplets.  This was such a complete and utter shock and we all {my IP's and hubby and I} agreed that it was a good idea to keep it quiet for the time being.  You never know what will happen and odds are not all three would stay with us. This news definitely explained a whole lot regarding the spotting/bleeding, but not quite what I was expecting to hear two days after being confirmed pregnant with twins.

Sooo we all {A, S, hubby and I} went down to LA a few days later for the 6 week ultrasound.  Dr. S {IVF doctor} confirmed that I was in fact carrying triplets and that all three had heartbeats.  One was a little smaller than the other two but looked pretty good also.  All I could say was Wow!  I was a bit overwhelmed but I had a feeling things would work out exactly how they were supposed to.

One of the biggest obstacles in our way was the surrogacy insurance.  It has a clause in there that cancels your policy if you are expecting more than twins.  This is HUGE!  There are so many unknowns with pregnancy in general but with triplets...you get the idea.  So we all came to decision to take it one day at a time and see where this crazy road would lead us.

Two weeks later, A and I went down to LA again to have our 8 week ultrasound.  Dr. S did his thing and quickly told us that it looked like Baby C had stopped growing and he could not find a heartbeat.  This was very bittersweet.  On one hand we knew that everything happens for a reason and that this would give Babies A and B a better chance.  On the other hand it was just sad.  Very bittersweet.  So as we left there I selfishly felt a sense of relief because I knew how hard it would be to carry three, but in seeing how much it had upset A I felt really sad too.  I knew I had done everything in my power to keep the babies safe, but as a surrogate, I also feel a certain sense of responsibility for this precious bundle I am carrying.  I am carrying someones hopes, dreams and future in my womb. 

Another two weeks went by and A and I went down to LA for another ultrasound with Dr. S.  This one was pretty uneventful and we were told that the twins looked great and were developing perfectly.  At the end of the ultrasound, almost as an after thought , A asked if Dr. S was going to check to see if Baby C was "absorbed".  The doc said there was no point...

  Insurance had been reinstated and my care transferred to a local OB.  So on we went with plans for the twins.

10 week Ultrasound

So I flew down to L.A. late Tuesday evening for my 10 week ultrasound.  I didn't get into my room until 9pm and I was starving {as usual}so I ordered room service.  I am almost ashamed to say this, but I at a bacon cheese burger while watching The Biggest Loser. Ha!

When I was done I set my tray outside the door and...oh crap!  I locked myself out!  I had just washed my face and had my hair all clipped and put up out of my face.  I was wearing sweatpants, no shoes, and a t shirt I like to sleep in.  Lookin' good Heidi!  Thank goodness I still had on my bra!  Seeing how I had no phone, my only choice was to go down to the lobby and try to get them to let me in.  So they asked my name and room number which I promptly gave.  Then they asked for the address on file with the credit card used to pay for the room.  Well seeing how it was not my card that did the paying, I didn't know the address.  Fan-tas-tic. To my complete and utter mortification, they called security and I had to be escorted back up to my room and show them my ID.  Talk about embarrassing! 

Anyway, on to the ultrasound.  The babies are looking great and measure at 11 weeks.  They are already quite advanced for their age. :) We got to see them moving and wiggling all around and can I just say how awesome that was?  I just think ultrasounds are so amazing!  So all is well with the little bambinos...

Dr. S also said that it looked like a lot of the pooling that he had seen previously in my uterus was absorbed.  YAY!  So this means there may be light at the end of the tunnel sooner than later.  I am still on bed rest until  spotting stops completely, but I have now graduated from the IVF doctor to a regular OB in town.  That will be nice to not have to travel so much.  So now on to the daunting task of picking the best hospital and Doctor I can in a hurry.  Anyone in the Sacramento area have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

8 week Ultrasound

Well I had the privilege of spending my birthday yesterday flying to LA and back for my 8 week ultrasound.  The babies are measuring at about 8 weeks 5 days and looking great!  They each are about the size of a Lima bean.  It is always so wonderful to see and hear those little heartbeats.  

Me, on the other hand,  well, I am still on bed rest.  bleh.  The doc could still see a pooling of fluid in my uterus and until I stop spotting, I am parked.   I go in for another ultrasound in two weeks and I hope, hope, hope, things will be back to normal by then.  I am also really starting to show which surprised me for this early on.  I guess it's time to bring out the old maternity clothes. 

So that's all the news about me, but I did come across kind of a sad story in Surro news this week.  Rest assured, there is a happy ending.  This story really puts the spotlight on the need for educating people regarding surrogacy.  This kind of thing should not be happening. 

Click here for the full article.