We finally had a great dr appointment! It was a difficult 2 weeks worrying about Aliya not growing and wondering what they would do this time if she had continued not to grow. I was not expecting good news because I have gained very little weight in the last month, no matter how much I'm trying to eat. A possible delivery was one of the options the drs had thrown out there, which is definitely not ideal. But in just 10 days, both of these girls had a huge growth spurt! Rianna is 2 lbs 4 oz and in the 63rd percentile for growth (big!) and Aliya is 2 lbs 2 oz and in the 48th percentile (almost right on target). We were elated to hear this and the dr was amazed by their growth and didn't even know what to say! We're so lucky.
We found out that Cheryl can be put on the birth certificate right away (some hospitals require gay people to leave it blank and then be amended after the adoption process, which may take about a year). She will also be considered the other parent and will be able to see the babies whenever she wants in parent status.
The dr said that a final diagnosis for the baby will probably not be made until the baby is born and they can see better what is going on. I can't believe that we are getting near to the end of this crazy journey. I feel different the last few weeks. Just getting very uncomfortable, sometimes in pain... it just feels like my body is changing very quickly all of a sudden. Next up is the fetal echocardiogram on Jan. 3rd. They will be able to take a better look at the heart and will start making a plan for what they will do as soon as Aliya is born. Jan. 4th is the growth scan and high-risk dr appt. That will make sure the babies are still growing, doing well, and I'm not near labor. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, as we did. =)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Update
We have been really bad about updating this the past month so this will be a short, short update on everything. Cheryl had her thyroid surgery and they took out half of her thyroid. It took a week to get back results and they came back negative and so she is cancer-free! She has healed well, although it took awhile for her to feel back to normal since the cyst was so huge and hidden. That Sunday, I was sweeping and mopping and started bleeding. We had a fetal ECHO to be done the next morning. It's complicated because she has 4 heart defects - her heart is in the middle of her chest pointing to her right side, she has a hole in her heart, no pulmonary artery or valve directiing blood from the heart to the lungs, and abnormal tricuspid valve. She will need many surgeries. An operation in her first days of life, one when she is 6 months old, one when she is 5 years old, when she is a teen, and an adult.
I was in Labor & Delivery twice that week for bleeding or contractions 3-5 minutes apart. They gave me medicine to stop the pain with the contractions. At our next dr appt, we talked a lot about planning for everything. After our next fetal ECHO on Jan. 3rd, we will meet the surgeons and they will devise a plan for us based on those findings. Then I had a growth scan... the first appointment that Cheryl couldn't make it, too. It wasn't a good appointment. Although Rianna is growing right on target, Aliya is not growing at the same rate. 50th percentile is the average (and where Rianna is) but Aliya is in the 10th percentile overall, and her tummy is in less than the 3rd percentile. They also told me that her umbilical cord is inserting on the side, rather than the front, and this could be compromising how much nutrition and oxygen she is getting in. Her lack of growth could also be related to her heart condition. They will have to closely moniter her and if she starts showing other signs of distress or stops growing, we will have to deliver both babies. The dr made it seem like the goal is to make it to 30 weeks pregnant, which would be the first week of January. Very scary. It's hard to relax at this point and it's terrifying to think that this birth will be happening soon and don't really know how to emotionally prepare for it, especially since we feel like we are going through it alone.
Next appointment is Tuesday where we have another growth scan and see if Aliya will amaze us and grow a huge amount!
I was in Labor & Delivery twice that week for bleeding or contractions 3-5 minutes apart. They gave me medicine to stop the pain with the contractions. At our next dr appt, we talked a lot about planning for everything. After our next fetal ECHO on Jan. 3rd, we will meet the surgeons and they will devise a plan for us based on those findings. Then I had a growth scan... the first appointment that Cheryl couldn't make it, too. It wasn't a good appointment. Although Rianna is growing right on target, Aliya is not growing at the same rate. 50th percentile is the average (and where Rianna is) but Aliya is in the 10th percentile overall, and her tummy is in less than the 3rd percentile. They also told me that her umbilical cord is inserting on the side, rather than the front, and this could be compromising how much nutrition and oxygen she is getting in. Her lack of growth could also be related to her heart condition. They will have to closely moniter her and if she starts showing other signs of distress or stops growing, we will have to deliver both babies. The dr made it seem like the goal is to make it to 30 weeks pregnant, which would be the first week of January. Very scary. It's hard to relax at this point and it's terrifying to think that this birth will be happening soon and don't really know how to emotionally prepare for it, especially since we feel like we are going through it alone.
Next appointment is Tuesday where we have another growth scan and see if Aliya will amaze us and grow a huge amount!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Meeting with our new Perinatologist
So we met him, our new high-risk OB (periniatologist). All we can say is "eh". It sounds like he will be the one mostly just checking to make sure I'm not going into preterm labor and that both babies have a heartbeat so we don't need to love, love him.
The babies heads are both in the front where my belly button is and their bodies are extending to my back. Maybe this is why my back pain started kicking in. I've been doing really light exercise but still get these Braxton Hicks (fake) contractions so I asked him about exercise. He told me that is "inviting trouble" and recommended swimming. I am so sad. It will be so hard for me to give up but I know my days are numbered. Whatever I need to do tho! We have a pool here. I just hope it's warm in the winter!
I got my flu shot. Now all of you have to help me convince Cheryl she needs to get hers.=)
We found out we will be delivering at UCSD. However, if baby Aliya needs surgery (and she will most certainly will), Aliya will be transferred to Rady's Children's Hospital while me and Shae will be stuck at UCSD. There is no freakin' way I am staying behind while my child is having open heart surgery. I either will have to recover immediately or they will need to ship us all out to Rady's. I'm feeling pretty nervous about all of this. Not to mention that Cheryl would be torn between being with me and Shae, and being with Aliya. If I'm forced to stay, Cheryl would go to Rady's to be with Aliya and I would stay with Shae. It would really suck to be separated like that but I just want everything to have a happy ending and that's the most important thing.
Good news is that the Dr said Aliya has a relatively stable condition during pregnancy so I should have a pretty normal twin pregnancy.
It's pretty cool... I am 5 months pregnant this week. I'm grateful for every day that I'm still pregnant and both of these babies have a heartbeat inside of me. Now if something goes wrong, I will be going to Labor & Delivery, not the ER, so I'm progressing to a "viable" pregnancy. My nausea is getting so much better and I'm only taking anti-nausea meds maybe once every 3 days! Now I'm just starting to feel uncomfortable.
Upcoming is a growth scan next week, appt with Dr on 11/09, and info meeting with nurse practioner on 11/16. Cheryl's thyroid surgery is also on 11/10 and she'll be spending the night. That's all for now!
The babies heads are both in the front where my belly button is and their bodies are extending to my back. Maybe this is why my back pain started kicking in. I've been doing really light exercise but still get these Braxton Hicks (fake) contractions so I asked him about exercise. He told me that is "inviting trouble" and recommended swimming. I am so sad. It will be so hard for me to give up but I know my days are numbered. Whatever I need to do tho! We have a pool here. I just hope it's warm in the winter!
I got my flu shot. Now all of you have to help me convince Cheryl she needs to get hers.=)
We found out we will be delivering at UCSD. However, if baby Aliya needs surgery (and she will most certainly will), Aliya will be transferred to Rady's Children's Hospital while me and Shae will be stuck at UCSD. There is no freakin' way I am staying behind while my child is having open heart surgery. I either will have to recover immediately or they will need to ship us all out to Rady's. I'm feeling pretty nervous about all of this. Not to mention that Cheryl would be torn between being with me and Shae, and being with Aliya. If I'm forced to stay, Cheryl would go to Rady's to be with Aliya and I would stay with Shae. It would really suck to be separated like that but I just want everything to have a happy ending and that's the most important thing.
Good news is that the Dr said Aliya has a relatively stable condition during pregnancy so I should have a pretty normal twin pregnancy.
It's pretty cool... I am 5 months pregnant this week. I'm grateful for every day that I'm still pregnant and both of these babies have a heartbeat inside of me. Now if something goes wrong, I will be going to Labor & Delivery, not the ER, so I'm progressing to a "viable" pregnancy. My nausea is getting so much better and I'm only taking anti-nausea meds maybe once every 3 days! Now I'm just starting to feel uncomfortable.
Upcoming is a growth scan next week, appt with Dr on 11/09, and info meeting with nurse practioner on 11/16. Cheryl's thyroid surgery is also on 11/10 and she'll be spending the night. That's all for now!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Another day, another diagnosis...
We spent the last week and a half researching what our previous dr. thought was wrong with our baby girl. Hypoplastic right heart syndrome, a very rare and commonly fatal heart disease. The information we found on the internet was not promising and the more and more we read, the more and more depressed we got.
Today was our first appointment with Dr. Levy, our pediatric cardiologist. As usual we were both a little reluctant to meet a new dr. out of fear of hearing more bad news. We arrived at UCSD Hillcrest for our echocardiogram. They got us in quick and got right down to business! Nicole and I stared at the black and grey screen as Dr. Levy and the ultrasound tech zoomed in and out of what was our babies heart. They discussed amongst each other, took notes and took pictures as we patiently awaited any new information.
Once the echo was completed, Dr. Levy sat down with us and a piece of paper and drew a picture of a normal heart. Next he drew our babies heart. There are 4 chambers in a heart, our babies' bottom 2 chambers are reversed and are angled to the right instead of the left. Normally this would cause the blood to not mix and flow to the lungs correctly. In our case though, her blood will mix normally even though the chambers are reversed. The problem is they think the arteries that pump the blood to the lungs are abnormally small. In this case she will need heart surgery right after birth and 2 other surgeries within the first few years of being born. They can't fix her heart completely but they can make it functional so that she can lead a relatively normal life. She also has a hole in heart but the Dr. says they're not worried about that and its actually a good thing in this case.
The Dr. seemed hopeful and at no time did he mention terminating the pregnancy unlike our previous Dr.'s. They're still hoping that the arteries to the lungs develop more alleviating the need for surgeries. Hearing that your child has a very rare and complex heart defect is never good news but we walked out of there feeling hopeful again. As soon as we got home we started researching the various medical terms they gave us and this condition has a much better prognosis than the one they previously diagnosed her with.
We have an appointment with the new OB/Perinatologist next Tuesday and will schedule our next meeting with the Fetal Cardiologist for another ECHO cardiogram in 4-6 weeks.
Both babies are growing according to schedule! In fact, baby b who has been behind this whole time is bigger than her sister now! Nicole finally looks pregnant enough for random strangers to ask how far along she is. She's incredibly beautiful and has the most perfect pregnant body ever! She can feel the babies moving around now. From todays scan they seem pretty active, rolling around and kicking each other! We finally decided on both names, Aliya Cherene and Shae Azlyn. I don't foresee us changing them again but you never know!
We scooped a new poodle from the Humane Society this week. We saw her there. She is 2-3 years old with sad shelter-puppy eyes. We took a chance bringing her home not knowing her temperament or background, or even get along with our cats. It turns out she's a hella good dog. She doesn't bother the cats at all, totally potty trained, gives high-fives, and is already a part of our family. We named her Snoop D-O double gizzle. Fo shizzle.
I had my pre-op appointment today. My surgery is scheduled for November 10th. I'm less than excited about letting anyone in the Navy do surgery on me. They'll take out half or my whole thyroid depending on whether or not its cancer. I was considering not showing up for it at all but now my mom is threatening to post embarrassing pictures of me on facebook if i don't. Blackmail at its best!!
Today was our first appointment with Dr. Levy, our pediatric cardiologist. As usual we were both a little reluctant to meet a new dr. out of fear of hearing more bad news. We arrived at UCSD Hillcrest for our echocardiogram. They got us in quick and got right down to business! Nicole and I stared at the black and grey screen as Dr. Levy and the ultrasound tech zoomed in and out of what was our babies heart. They discussed amongst each other, took notes and took pictures as we patiently awaited any new information.
Once the echo was completed, Dr. Levy sat down with us and a piece of paper and drew a picture of a normal heart. Next he drew our babies heart. There are 4 chambers in a heart, our babies' bottom 2 chambers are reversed and are angled to the right instead of the left. Normally this would cause the blood to not mix and flow to the lungs correctly. In our case though, her blood will mix normally even though the chambers are reversed. The problem is they think the arteries that pump the blood to the lungs are abnormally small. In this case she will need heart surgery right after birth and 2 other surgeries within the first few years of being born. They can't fix her heart completely but they can make it functional so that she can lead a relatively normal life. She also has a hole in heart but the Dr. says they're not worried about that and its actually a good thing in this case.
The Dr. seemed hopeful and at no time did he mention terminating the pregnancy unlike our previous Dr.'s. They're still hoping that the arteries to the lungs develop more alleviating the need for surgeries. Hearing that your child has a very rare and complex heart defect is never good news but we walked out of there feeling hopeful again. As soon as we got home we started researching the various medical terms they gave us and this condition has a much better prognosis than the one they previously diagnosed her with.
We have an appointment with the new OB/Perinatologist next Tuesday and will schedule our next meeting with the Fetal Cardiologist for another ECHO cardiogram in 4-6 weeks.
Both babies are growing according to schedule! In fact, baby b who has been behind this whole time is bigger than her sister now! Nicole finally looks pregnant enough for random strangers to ask how far along she is. She's incredibly beautiful and has the most perfect pregnant body ever! She can feel the babies moving around now. From todays scan they seem pretty active, rolling around and kicking each other! We finally decided on both names, Aliya Cherene and Shae Azlyn. I don't foresee us changing them again but you never know!
We scooped a new poodle from the Humane Society this week. We saw her there. She is 2-3 years old with sad shelter-puppy eyes. We took a chance bringing her home not knowing her temperament or background, or even get along with our cats. It turns out she's a hella good dog. She doesn't bother the cats at all, totally potty trained, gives high-fives, and is already a part of our family. We named her Snoop D-O double gizzle. Fo shizzle.
I had my pre-op appointment today. My surgery is scheduled for November 10th. I'm less than excited about letting anyone in the Navy do surgery on me. They'll take out half or my whole thyroid depending on whether or not its cancer. I was considering not showing up for it at all but now my mom is threatening to post embarrassing pictures of me on facebook if i don't. Blackmail at its best!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Anatomy Scan
The last couple of weeks have been kind of uneventful, in a good way. I feel like I'm growing bigger, getting a little more uncomfortable, and the babies have seemed to be ok every time we go into the doctor's office. I still like to projectile vomit; sometimes the anti-nausea medicine is what makes me do it... but once I get it down, I feel good. We decided easily on the name Aliya Cherene for Baby B. Jordan and Cheryl won the vote for Baby's A name- Savannah Shae. A couple of days ago, I was telling Cheryl how relaxed and happy I felt... we wondered if we were in denial and trying not to think about what's going on.
The last day I have just felt this heavy weight and ominous, dreading our anatomy scan today and not feeling good about it at all. I thought this 4 weeks in anticipation of it would be hard. But it turned out, those 4 weeks were the best I had in this whole pregnancy and I didn't want it to be ruined. These appointments with these high-risk specialists are so stressful and hard to get through. I always try really hard to remain calm until I can get to the car and start crying but that never happens. We were both quiet all day and didn't even speak the whole car-ride to the appointment. Cheryl came picked me up to take me to the appointment after her work.
First, we had a genetic appointment and that was easy. My family and medical history wasn't really significant and the donor's wasn't either. We got out early and got a bite to eat.
Then was the anatomy scan for Baby A, Savannah. Her heart rate was 157, which is great. She weighs 6 oz. Everything about her is completely normal. Both babies seem pretty low down in my uterus (especially Savannah), and the u/s technician asked if I had been having contractions yet (which I do when I'm on my feet too long or exercise at all), and this worried us a little. But the dr later tells us later that the positioning of the babies are just fine.
Like last time, the ultrasound technician suddenly grew more quiet when it came to Baby B, Aliya. Her heart rate was 145, which is still normal. She confirmed that both babies are girls. The stomach is now in the correct place on the left. However, the heart is still on the right side. She has 2 kidneys and weighs 5 oz. Her growth measures about 3 days behind Aliya's, which has been the case since the beginning.
Then the u/s technician left to get the dr. We were left sitting there for a very long time. A new u/s technician came in (who is certified in cardiac) along with 2 other drs. I got that same feeling of dread and knowing something was wrong. The u/s technician took some more scans of the heart and the dr went ahead and continued to tell us... that the heart is abnormal. He fired off some medical terms like hypoplastic right heart, a possible double ventrical outlet, a small right side of the heart. The left side of the heart is rotated over to the side and to the back. The left ventricle is in the front instead of the back. I asked if there was a chance that the baby could die before being born; he said "No, that's unlikely" but that I'm still at high risk for something going wrong at some point in the pregnancy - like the baby may stop growing, signs of non-reassuring signs from the fetus, or of Aliya compromising Savannah's wellbeing. He went over again options of terminating, which is not something we're considering unless something drastically changes. He told us that our chance of having a baby with Down's Syndrome is more like 15-20%. He recommended amniocentesis, which I dont' want to do because of the chance of miscarriage and if one baby miscarries, they both will. We will not be delivering at Scripps La Jolla, like I was so wanting. It will now be at UCSD because we need a tertiary level of care, with a high-level NICU and surgeons. In fact, all of our care is being transferred from my OB that we love to a high-risk specialist for the remainder of this pregnancy. We were told that this baby has a complex heart defect that will most likely require immediate surgery after the baby is born, and probably multiple surgeries (maybe even a heart transplant from what we see online). We will not be able to take the baby home from the hospital for quite some time. Next up is an ECHO cardiogram with our new pediatric cardiac specialist in 2-3 weeks. We will find out more specifics and also a prognosis of survival. We also have to consider an amniocentesis and see if that's something we will re-consider.
A couple of weeks ago, Cheryl found out that her thyroid biopsy came back abnormal (her primary dr found a lump on her thyroid). The dr is concerned and wants her to take out either half of her thyroid and her entire thyroid. If she takes out her entire thyroid, she will have to be on hormone medications for the rest of her life. If she takes out half of her thyroid, there is a chance it could function fine or it may burn out and she'll still have to take out medications. She's opting to take out half of it and see from there. The dr is suspicious that it is cancer but wants to do more tests on it once it's out. Next week, she will get a pre-op appointment and then will probably be scheduled for surgery soon after.
We've been having quite the health scares lately. Send us hopes and wishes or whatever else you believe in. =)
That's all for now!
The last day I have just felt this heavy weight and ominous, dreading our anatomy scan today and not feeling good about it at all. I thought this 4 weeks in anticipation of it would be hard. But it turned out, those 4 weeks were the best I had in this whole pregnancy and I didn't want it to be ruined. These appointments with these high-risk specialists are so stressful and hard to get through. I always try really hard to remain calm until I can get to the car and start crying but that never happens. We were both quiet all day and didn't even speak the whole car-ride to the appointment. Cheryl came picked me up to take me to the appointment after her work.
First, we had a genetic appointment and that was easy. My family and medical history wasn't really significant and the donor's wasn't either. We got out early and got a bite to eat.
Then was the anatomy scan for Baby A, Savannah. Her heart rate was 157, which is great. She weighs 6 oz. Everything about her is completely normal. Both babies seem pretty low down in my uterus (especially Savannah), and the u/s technician asked if I had been having contractions yet (which I do when I'm on my feet too long or exercise at all), and this worried us a little. But the dr later tells us later that the positioning of the babies are just fine.
Like last time, the ultrasound technician suddenly grew more quiet when it came to Baby B, Aliya. Her heart rate was 145, which is still normal. She confirmed that both babies are girls. The stomach is now in the correct place on the left. However, the heart is still on the right side. She has 2 kidneys and weighs 5 oz. Her growth measures about 3 days behind Aliya's, which has been the case since the beginning.
Then the u/s technician left to get the dr. We were left sitting there for a very long time. A new u/s technician came in (who is certified in cardiac) along with 2 other drs. I got that same feeling of dread and knowing something was wrong. The u/s technician took some more scans of the heart and the dr went ahead and continued to tell us... that the heart is abnormal. He fired off some medical terms like hypoplastic right heart, a possible double ventrical outlet, a small right side of the heart. The left side of the heart is rotated over to the side and to the back. The left ventricle is in the front instead of the back. I asked if there was a chance that the baby could die before being born; he said "No, that's unlikely" but that I'm still at high risk for something going wrong at some point in the pregnancy - like the baby may stop growing, signs of non-reassuring signs from the fetus, or of Aliya compromising Savannah's wellbeing. He went over again options of terminating, which is not something we're considering unless something drastically changes. He told us that our chance of having a baby with Down's Syndrome is more like 15-20%. He recommended amniocentesis, which I dont' want to do because of the chance of miscarriage and if one baby miscarries, they both will. We will not be delivering at Scripps La Jolla, like I was so wanting. It will now be at UCSD because we need a tertiary level of care, with a high-level NICU and surgeons. In fact, all of our care is being transferred from my OB that we love to a high-risk specialist for the remainder of this pregnancy. We were told that this baby has a complex heart defect that will most likely require immediate surgery after the baby is born, and probably multiple surgeries (maybe even a heart transplant from what we see online). We will not be able to take the baby home from the hospital for quite some time. Next up is an ECHO cardiogram with our new pediatric cardiac specialist in 2-3 weeks. We will find out more specifics and also a prognosis of survival. We also have to consider an amniocentesis and see if that's something we will re-consider.
A couple of weeks ago, Cheryl found out that her thyroid biopsy came back abnormal (her primary dr found a lump on her thyroid). The dr is concerned and wants her to take out either half of her thyroid and her entire thyroid. If she takes out her entire thyroid, she will have to be on hormone medications for the rest of her life. If she takes out half of her thyroid, there is a chance it could function fine or it may burn out and she'll still have to take out medications. She's opting to take out half of it and see from there. The dr is suspicious that it is cancer but wants to do more tests on it once it's out. Next week, she will get a pre-op appointment and then will probably be scheduled for surgery soon after.
We've been having quite the health scares lately. Send us hopes and wishes or whatever else you believe in. =)
That's all for now!
Monday, October 4, 2010
They're girls!
Since our last posting lots has happened! We took the babies to their first concert to see Tegan and Sarah and Paramore. The following week we went to a Padres game. I hope this doesn't mean that they will turn out to be Padres fans! We finally graduated from sleeping on a mattress on the floor to a real bed! Nicole was struggling to get up every morning so I figured it would be a good time for that! :) We've been busy getting the house together and trying to plan what type of nursery furniture we want and how to decorate. Baby's R Us had some sweet deals on car seats this past weekend so we scooped 2 that will look pretty sweet in the back of my car.
Our ultrasound was last Tuesday and everything is looking good so far. They basically just wanted to show us the heart beats to ease any concerns we had. Both heart beats were strong and they're both growing so fast! The ultrasound tech was super cool and let me video the ultrasound with my phone and take some pics! She also checked the genders of both and they appear to both be girls! We met with our Dr. after the scan and she hooked up the Doppler so we could hear the babies' heart beats. Baby A's was easy to find and Baby B decided to hide behind the placenta that day so we couldn't really hear.
We had the perfect boy and girl names picked out. We were so sure that that's what we were having! Man, were we thrown off! We already know that Baby B will be named Aliya Cherene. We're still deciding between Shae or Savannah for Baby A.
This Thursday will be a pretty thorough anatomy scan of each baby and we're both a little nervous and not knowing what to expect. I'm hoping that Dr. Death has the day off and we get someone not so insensitive. We should find out more about the status of Baby B's heart condition. We're keeping a positive attitude throughout this whole process, thats whats best for both babies.
Will update more after Thursdays scan!
Our ultrasound was last Tuesday and everything is looking good so far. They basically just wanted to show us the heart beats to ease any concerns we had. Both heart beats were strong and they're both growing so fast! The ultrasound tech was super cool and let me video the ultrasound with my phone and take some pics! She also checked the genders of both and they appear to both be girls! We met with our Dr. after the scan and she hooked up the Doppler so we could hear the babies' heart beats. Baby A's was easy to find and Baby B decided to hide behind the placenta that day so we couldn't really hear.
We had the perfect boy and girl names picked out. We were so sure that that's what we were having! Man, were we thrown off! We already know that Baby B will be named Aliya Cherene. We're still deciding between Shae or Savannah for Baby A.
This Thursday will be a pretty thorough anatomy scan of each baby and we're both a little nervous and not knowing what to expect. I'm hoping that Dr. Death has the day off and we get someone not so insensitive. We should find out more about the status of Baby B's heart condition. We're keeping a positive attitude throughout this whole process, thats whats best for both babies.
Will update more after Thursdays scan!
Friday, September 17, 2010
The journey from the beginning
Wow, starting from the beginning. It seems like so much has happened already. On July 4th, 2010, we found out we were pregnant. We were so shocked, it felt surreal. We watched as the lines on the pregnancy tests quickly became darker every day, and our blood test results were HIGH. They were so high we actually thought they might be triplets! The first 2 ultrasounds, the fertility dr. said he saw a second little sac but didn't expect this second baby to make it or grow. However, she just kept growing!
I was barely 4 weeks pregnant and at work with no CNA, so that meant lifting patients on my own. I started bleeding and I didn't stop for 4 weeks. It was worse at work than at home. My new OB/Gyn didn't seem concerned and at my 8 week appointment, I met with the nurse practioner, not with him. I felt like something was wrong or maybe Baby B wasn't there anymore but I wouldn't meet the dr until I was 3 months pregnant and my next ultrasound was scheduled for when I was 5 months pregnant. I switched OBs.
Starting at week 9, I got terribly sick and exhausted. I couldn't make it on my drive home without having to sleep or throw up. I threw up 10 hours a day and felt like lying in a ball in a dark room somewhere for the rest of the day. Cheryl came home and found me laying in a ball on the floor crying... I was miserable. Then I got Zofran, which is a miracle drug! I still feel like crap but at least I'm not puking. Cheryl was so cute and got my medicine for me, and scrubbed the toilets extra well so I could lay all over it without being grossed out. =)
I was working all weekend and exhausted.. I came down with a bad cold that just kept getting worse (especially the coughing). On Monday, I woke up bleeding and with cramps. My dr sent me to the ER. I was diagnosed with a "threatened miscarriage" and "upper respiratory infection" and told not to work until I could see a high-risk specialist. At the ER, they found both babies growing well with strong heartbeats and no active bleeding on my part, so we were very relieved.
On Wednesday, we saw the high-risk specialist. I was expecting to hear the reason for why I was bleeding so much but expected only good news. Boy, was I wrong. Totally not prepared for the words about to come out of his mouth. First, the ultrasound technician spent a lot of time measuring and looking at the babies. With Baby A, she was talkative and saying everything looked good. When it came to Baby B, she got far more quiet. She left the room and said she'd be back with the dr. Not good, right? We still didn't suspect anything. When the dr walked in, they did another ultrasound and when she was showing him Baby A, he abruptly said "Let's focus on Baby B". We knew then something was wrong. First, he told us the reason why I was bleeding. I had a blood clot (or subchorionic bleed) between the outer membrane of the baby and the placenta, which increased chance of miscarriage and it was average size. He also told us that Baby B has a very rare condition called heterotaxy. The baby's heart and stomach were located on the opposite side of where it should be. He talked about 5 minutes on terminating the baby if we "didn't want to deal with it". He also spent a lot of time avoiding looking at me since, by this time, I was sobbing. He said if I was going to miscarry Baby B, Baby A would be miscarried also because of his lower position. Cheryl likes to call him Dr. Death now. We thought it was a death sentence. We pictured a baby hooked up to tubes and laying comatose on a table for it's whole life.
THEN we did a lot of research and found that's not the case. Granted, there ARE challenges and multiple surgeries involved for most cases, but there's a good chance this baby can lead a normal life.
A few days ago, we had another ultrasound and dr appointment that lasted a good 2 hours. So much information! Both babies are growing great with strong heartbeats. The subchorionic bleed is completely gone!! Also, Baby B might be a girl! The ultrasound technician did confirm the heart is on the right side but the stomach is on the correct left side, where it should be. Maybe the stomach grew into the correct place?? We got our blood test results back (for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18 and other genetic defects) and all were negative for both babies. We found out I'll be delivering at Scripps Memorial La Jolla, which was the hospital I wanted because of the reviews and a higher level NICU since we'll probably need it. Dr said it's common to deliver 4 weeks early with twins, so to expect a Caesarean to be schedule late February, but we'll probably deliver mid-February. I have been cleared to do light exercise again! And I love our new Ob... she seems so knowledgeable, compassionate, and on top of things. Baby B has a pediatric cardiologist now and a high-risk specialist we'll be consulting with. I think we're in good hands.
The only things to dappen our day was that we found out Dr. Death told the OB Baby B has a "low prognosis for survival". Why? We don't know. Is he just making a generalization with the condition or is there something different about this baby that makes him think that? She also told us that he felt if the baby was going to die, it would best earlier than later, because then it will be putting Baby A at risk. She said that the tricky period is week 20-28 because this is when babies with this condition usually die in utero, which is *not* early in pregnancy. Therefore, I am out of work until after these babies are born and we'll have dr's appointments every week or every 2 weeks depending, just to check up and make sure the baby is still thriving in there. The OB seems to feel bad we are hearing such terrible things right now and feels like such a horrible diagnosis shouldn't be certain at this early stage. She wants us to try to relax as much as possible and be as stress-free as possible. A lot of upcoming news to come. We have an ultrasound on September 28th and might possibly find out the gender of our babies. We have a full anatomy scan on October 7th which will tell us the severity of this problem. And then we can go from there. Thank you to those who have checked up on us and care about us. We need all the support we can get. =)
Most people haven't heard of heterotaxy. Heck, our own OB has never had a case like this. We found this page on a simple definition on what it is if you're curious:
http://heterotaxy.org/what_is_heterotaxy.aspx
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