Growing twins

Josh and I were hopeful that we can add more children to our family. In 2016, I learned that I have continued to have problems and had another surgery to remove another cyst. We hoped that this would make it easier to get pregnant, but we still had no luck.

We decided to try another route at the very beginning of Summer 2017 and started looking into IVF.  After some additional testing and discussion of IVF routes we could take, we started the real process at the very beginning of July 2017. My sister Rachel was so helpful during this whole thing--she was so kind to watch Matthias and Lizzy on several occasions when I had appointments up near her house. 

The process was hard (especially on me with all of the shots and hormones), but hopeful. Retrieval was the hardest appointment which left me in some pain.

At the retrieval appointment.  You can tell how we are both feeling.

About a week after we were set and went to our transfer appointment.  This was much easier than retrieval and Josh was all gowned up so he could join us for this appointment.

We decided to transfer two embryos since this increased our chances of getting pregnant with one baby.  We knew this also increased our chances of multiples, but we were happy to take that chance.

Look at how happy we are.

First picture with new babies

Our healthy little embryos.

Then the waiting game began.  It was during this time that Matthias was baptized, our house was packed up, and we moved to Reno.  It was hard because I wasn't allowed to lift things during this time.

After waiting about two weeks I took a pregnancy test and we were so excited to see that sometime worked and we were now expecting.  The question was, were we expecting one or two?  

On August 30, we had our first ultrasound.  We brought Matthias and Lizzy with us to this appointment, so that they could see  We were very happy to see that both embryos had attached.  It all felt very miraculous and we were all very excited.

Two babies!

We set about figuring out how to best announce to everyone our good news, but it was hard to wait.  We used all of the syringes (that I'd saved--a few were missing) and two cute onesies (that say made with a lot of love and science) to create our image.  Then we sent the following poem along with the picture to our families.

We prayed for another to add to our crew,

God laughed instead and blessed us with two!

This was such a happy and exciting time.  I didn't get too sick while pregnant (I only threw up once and it seemed like a fluke), but got tired quickly.  I also started to show really quickly. It felt like I got huge quickly too, but I didn't know what huge was at the beginning.

Two babies growing (end of September)

Small twin baby bump at the beginning of October

Slightly larger twin baby bump at the end of October.

When people found out we were having twins, I quickly made a couple of twin mom friends.  One of my friends told me that it felt like she was straight from first trimester symptoms to third trimester symptoms.  I was really hoping that I would get the energy boost at the beginning of the second trimester, but, even though the nausea abated a little bit, the fatigue and achy-ness started.  And I was still so tired.

At 20 weeks we brought Matthias and Lizzy with us to the ultrasound appointment to find out if we were having two girls, two boys, or a boy and a girl.  They really enjoyed watching the ultrasound for a time.  I thought for sure we were going to have a boy and a girl (and felt certain that baby A was a girl).  I laughed out loud when we learned that both babies were very clearly boys.  After learning this Matthias fell asleep in his chair and Lizzy tried to identify the rib cage, heart, and other things as the doctor was going through the full check.  The babies were growing well and measuring well at this point.

Baby A's (Ian's) placenta was also in a really low spot for the first couple of months of my pregnancy and I had been diagnosed with placenta previa--making it necessary to deliver by C section.  At my December appointment we learned that this had resolved somewhat and my diagnosis had changed to partial posterior placenta previa.  This still meant delivery via C section, but reduced risks for other complications.  Josh and I both felt really relieved.

It was during this time that I realized it was going to be more and more difficulty to keep up with me 32 hour work week (also there were problems with insurance since I was on my own plan and would need to switch to Josh's family plan).  I started talking with my boss about reducing my hours and changing the end of my contract (to the end of March instead of the end of May).  She was super nice and flexible about it.  On December 1, I switched to working 19 hours a week and only coming in on Tues, Wed, and Thursday.  This worked out really well and I was generally able to manage my fatigue a little better.

Sleeping also became a problem earlier with this pregnancy.  Every position was uncomfortable.  Luckily, Josh saved the day by getting me an awesome pregnancy pillow for Christmas, which helped me sleep so much better.  It also reduced the aches in my hips and lower back.  He also got me a pregnancy massage for Christmas, which was amazing.

Despite all of these things to try to make myself more comfortable, I was still really uncomfortable.  My doctor never put me on bed rest, but frequently suggested that I decrease my activity and lay down every couple of hours to rest.  This wasn't always possible (like at work), but I did my best to relax.

Beginning of January belly

Josh wanted a picture too. :)

End of January belly shot (about 6 months pregnant)

During the last month (or so) of this pregnancy my right foot hurt a lot and it became very hard to walk for long distances.  I had to park about 3/4 of a mile away from work and could no longer walk that far to my office.  I found that the campus shuttle made it possible for me to get to and from my car with minimal walking (my steps goals went down to 5,000/day, but I was happy if I made it to 3,500).

Middle of February belly (about 7 months pregnant)

The babies continued to grow nicely.  It was great to be able to see them at each appointment.

 

The week before Ian and Evan were born the doctor ordered non-stress tests.  This was supposed to mean that I would sit in a comfy chair for about an hour while they listened to the babies' heart beats.  It ended up being only a 15 minute appointment because both boys' heart rates responded exactly as they should really quickly.  That's a great thing, but it also meant that I needed to get up again sooner. 

Set up with two heart monitors for the non-stress test.
I had to post this picture because my skin was so uncomfortable
I often sat with my belly hanging out.

I could see the numbers on the scale growing and could definitely feel myself becoming heavier, but didn't realize how huge my belly got until I saw these pictures of myself near the end of my pregnancy.  No wonder I was so uncomfortable.

Beginning of March

Nothing fit, so I wore comfy pants under my dress to church.

Eating snacks and trying to pay attention in Sunday School.
I had my own little table. Beginning of March 2018