38 Weeks - Induction Time!!

She had her 38 week ob appointment today and after anxiously pacing the house, she called to say that her cervix has thinned out but she's still dilated at a 5.

So they're going to induce her tomorrow morning at 1030!!  

I was really relieved to hear this because I've been reading about the dangers of letting twins go past 38 weeks; APGAR scores are lower, their placentas could abruptly separate from the uterine lining, umbilical cord issues, etc.  Things I probably shouldn't be reading but idle hands are the devils playground.

So we fly out to Madison tomorrow morning and should get there a little after 9am.  Hopefully after they start the dilation, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.  We're both extremely excited, and a tad nervous, about finally meeting our girls!!

Week 37 - More Waiting & Dilated to 5

Our carrier just had her 37 week ob appointment and everything with the twins looks great.  Her blood pressure was lower than last week so the doctor just wants to let nature take its course; no need for intervention.

Good news is that she's dilated to almost 5!!  Bad news is that they moved back her induction date from week 38 (next Wednesday, June 4th) to week 39.  I'm not quite sure why she wants to move this date back but it does have me a little worried since I've read that the mortality rates for twins after week 38 increases.

So now we wait some more (while my car is still in WI) and hopefully this journey will come to an end in the next few days.  If it doesn't, she's scheduled to see the ob again next Wednesday to discuss an induction day.  I feel that I've been pretty calm about all this but knowing that we have to move across the country in 4 weeks has my nerves a little frayed at this point.

Week 36.5 - False Alarm

On Wednesday, May 21st, our carrier sent me a text stating that she was having more irregular contractions and that she felt she was having more cervical changes.  After hearing this and already knowing that she was dilated to 3 from Monday's appt, I felt it was probably a good idea to go ahead and get on the road to Wisconsin.  Since most twins are delivered between weeks 34 to 36, I was sure that it would happen any day.  Well, we totally jumped the gun on this.

Fourteen hours after leaving VA, I finally made it to Madison and I was exhausted.  The next morning, Chris flew in to be there too.  Since this was our first time there when it was warm and we didn't have to walk through feet of snow, we walked all over town hitting up the zoo, the UWM campus, and a brew pub.  We tried to keep busy so we weren't just sitting around going crazy waiting for that phone call.

A little later that day, she texted us saying that her husband was taking her to the hospital at around 5 because she was having more pain and since she's never felt this way in her other pregnancies, she wanted to get things checked out.  Her blood pressure was a bit high for her (137/90) and she had a headache so they were concerned about preeclampsia.  After the lab results came back and spending about 7 hours in the hospital, they decided to send her home.  I felt really bad that she had to spend all that time there and I think all of us were hoping that they would go ahead and get the delivery process going but it just wasn't time yet.

After they sent her home, we decided it wasn't likely to happen anytime soon so we booked a flight home for Saturday morning.  On Friday, we made plans with our carrier and her husband to have dinner and see a comedy show.  I was kind of hoping that a good belly laugh or two would kick things into drive but with the two comics that were there that night, this was not likely to happen.  Oh well.

The next morning, we left my suv (fully loaded with all baby gear) at the long term parking so we could have it ready to go when we flew back in town.  Unfortunately when we got to the airport (after waking up at 5am), we found out that our flight to Chicago was canceled and the only way we could make it home was waiting until that afternoon and getting home around 10pm.  This wasn't going to work for us so we took a 3 hour bus ride to Chicago to make our 2pm flight home but when we got there at 11am, we found out that our flight was delayed 2 hours.  It was a pretty fitting end to our brief trip there; it wasn't a disaster, just annoying.

So now we wait to see how her 37 week appt goes on Thursday, May 29th.  I'm hoping that they decide to go ahead and induce but even if they don't, they won't let her go past week 38 (June 4th) so either way we're just days away.

Week 36 - 3 cm Dilated!!

She had her 36 week check up today and apparently she's dilated to 3 cm already and the ob could feel Twin A's head!!  Both of the twins had heartbeats in the 130's and everything looked great.

The ob felt that a scheduled c-section wasn't necessary and wants to keep on track for a vaginal birth.  She did recommend an epidural (our carrier wanted to go "all natural") in case they had to internally or externally manipulate Twin B; I've read that this can be very painful.  Also, if she has an epidural, it would be an easy transition in case a caesarean is needed.

Yesterday she had a couple hours of false labor but didn't call us because she knew it was the real thing.  After four kids of her own, I'm confident that she knows her body but I'm extremely tempted to get in my (already packed) car now and start heading up to Wisconsin.

She has an appt for next Thursday but I'll be shocked if she makes it that far......we will see!!

Week 35 - Only a Couple More Weeks!!.....And We Have a Court Date

Our carrier told us that she noticed the twins have dropped this week which has made it easier for her to breathe now but that she's also had to pee more often.  There really is no set time frame from when the babies "drop" to when she goes into labor but hearing this just reminds me that we're super close to our surrogacy journey coming to an end.

She had the growth scan today and Twin A has a heart rate of 142 and is weighing 5lbs 9oz; she is also head down in the "first out" position right at our carriers cervix.  Twin B's heart rate is 140 and is weighing 5lbs 3oz; unfortunately she is breech and her butt is right next to A's head jockeying to be the first one out.  She has an appt with the ob on Monday to discuss whether or not she will have to have a c-section since B is breech.  I feel bad because I know that she really doesn't want one but on a selfish side, if a caesarean is scheduled then it will allow us to plan our trip to Wisconsin instead of making a mad dash up there when we get the phone call.

The ultrasound also showed an "appropriate" cervical length which is great; she isn't effacing or thinning which means that the girls will likely stay cooking a bit longer.  The girls appear to have no developmental issues at all and both have good blood flow in their cords.  At this stage, the main thing the girls will be doing is putting on weight since the developmental process is complete.  Even if they were born now, they would likely spend little (if any) time in the NICU.

Our attorneys contacted us a few weeks back to inform us that the court date is set for June 9th.  Given that the twins will be born no later than the 4th (38 weeks) and that they told us that we would have a court date prior to delivery, this then began a string of heated emails between me and the attorneys.

One of the main reasons we went to WI at the 28 week ultrasound was to sign the court documents so our attorneys could file them with the court in order for us to get a court date prior to birth.  This was to expedite the whole court process and would allow us to take the girls home faster.  I asked them why we didn't get a court date prior to delivery like they said we could get and they replied that it was up to the judge.  I then asked them to call the court clerk or the judge to get this date pushed up by explaining our situation that we are out of state, that we were moving a few weeks later and that there is no legal reason to have it done after delivery.  In short, they refused.  Needless to say we are not on the best of terms right now and Chris is their primary contact.

Now it really is just a waiting game.  Most twins are born between weeks 34 and 36 so it could be any day now!!!

32 Week Update

Our carrier had her 32 week ob/gyn appt today and apparently both girls were practicing their breathing which is a great developmental milestone.  Twin A is measuring at 4lbs 4oz with a heart rate of 133 bpm and she is no longer breach!!  Needless to say our carrier was relieved to hear this news.  Twin B is weighing in at 3lbs 12oz with a heart rate of 142 bpm.

The babies could still move and change positions although I'm not sure how since it doesn't appear that they have much room left but they really won't know their final position until labor begins.  Our carrier's blood pressure is normal and her weight is still looking great but she said she's no longer looking at the scale at home.

They no longer check her cervical length so she will just be paying attention to her body to look for signs of cervical thinning and contractions; neither of which she's noticed or felt at all.  

The next appointment is set for May 5th - week 34.

30 Weeks and the Name Decision

Our carrier surprised us with 95 ultrasound pictures that were taken at the clinic this week and I picked 4 of the best ones....I can't believe the fantastic quality of these pics!!  I have probably looked through them all no less than a dozen times now and seeing their perfect little faces is really starting to make all this seem so real; I can't believe we're just 6 to 8 weeks away.  :-)

Not much to really report except that both girls are still doing great.  Baby A has a heartbeat of 150 and apparently a full head of hair.  Baby B's little heart is going at 147 bpm but no report on her hair situation.  It seems that Twin A decided to flip right side up so she's now breach which is leaving our carrier a bit discouraged.  She really wanted to have a vaginal birth so she's hoping that this will change but since there's not much room left to move around, time is running out for that to happen.

Quite a few people have asked how we're going to decide which girl will get which name.  I asked this question to Chris while we were in the car a few weeks back and he said that he feels that the twin with the lighter colored hair will be Londyn and I was relieved to hear this because for whatever reason, I felt that the darker haired twin will be Dylon.  We agreed that if both of the girls have the same colored hair at birth (which is highly likely), we will just look at the girls and decide which name "fits".  So basically we have no idea so for now they will be Twin A and Twin B.

We still haven't heard back from our attorneys about getting a court date but I'm holding out hope that it will still happen in April; May will just be too busy.  I don't think I posted this before but the new due date for the twins is now JUNE 4TH.  The ob doesn't want her to go past 38 weeks so that's the latest the girls will cook but of course, this could all change.  

28 Weeks; the end of the second trimester

We flew out to Wisconsin this past weekend to visit with our carrier and her family but we also had the 28 week ultrasound appt with our doctor and a meeting with our attorneys.

We were thankful that it was 30 degrees on the positive side of the thermometer instead of on the negative side like it was back in January but it was still too cold to do anything outside.  Our appointments with the doctor and the attorneys were both on Monday so the weekend was basically spent catching up on sleep, going to the movies and watching tv.  Not that I'm complaining because I know that will all change here in the next couple of months but I was ready for Monday morning to come.

At the doctors visit, we had an ultrasound tech that had 30+ years experience so she was super zippy with that wand on her belly.  She got all the measurements she needed to get and was very thorough but we didn't get any good ultrasound pics to take home and share.  I mean, we got a femur, an ear, and a shot of their cranium which is basically just a white circle....nothing to really gush over.  I was a little disappointed so I asked if we could get some 3D pics.  She was very accommodating but she did warn us that since there wasn't much fluid in the sacs, the quality wouldn't be as good as they were for the 20 week pics.  She was right.

Twin A has a heartbeat of 134 and approximately weighs 2 lbs 11 oz.  Twin B's heartbeat is 129 and weighs 2 lbs 7 oz.  Everything at the appt went well and the doc said that the girls looked great.  Oh right....so remember the white spots on their hearts that the doc was a little concerned about?  Well they are completely gone now!  It just reaffirms what I read online and what I heard from other parents that were told this; that these spots are nothing to worry about and that they will likely disappear.  I wasn't overly concerned about them but it was lingering in my mind so it was a definite relief to hear this news.

After the doctors visit we headed over to the attorneys office to sign some paperwork.  It turned out that there was a lot more involved legally than I had originally thought.  Of course we had twice as many documents to review and sign so we were there for quite some time.  Since we were able to sign the all the documents before the girls made their arrival, the attorneys will file the court documents this week and we will get a court date in the next couple of weeks to meet with the judge.  The court process is pretty routine apparently.  In short, we will have to acknowledge that we will be the parents of the twins, assume all financial responsibility, etc and our carrier and her husband also have to show up and testify that they have no biological relation to the babies and will not seek to gain parentage.

A super big advantage to doing the court stuff before the girls actually get here will mean that we won't have to stick around for a couple of weeks after they're born.  Now that we'll have our court date in the next couple of weeks where the judge signs all the paperwork, all the attorneys will have to do is take the signed documents to the dept of vital records the day the girls are born and we'll get our birth certificates just hours later!  If we waited to sign the documents after they were born, we would've had to stay in WI until our court date came up which would have been weeks later.  Now, assuming there's little or no NICU time in the hospital, we can leave just days after birth!!

Our attorneys should contact me this week sometime and give us the court date.  We'll likely just fly out that morning and fly back that night.  The whole process apparently only takes an hour or so.

Let the third and final trimester begin!!!

24 Week Update & Baby Names!!

Yesterday was the 24 week appointment and the twins seem to be doing great!
Twin A has a heartbeat of 143 bpm (120 - 160 is normal but this will gradually slow down as the baby develops) and she is a whopping 1lb 8oz; most babies at around this age weigh about 1 pound.  The spot on her heart is still visible but the doctor isn't too concerned about it.

Twin B has a heartbeat of 153 bpm and she weighs 1lb 6oz.  The OB will start comparing the size and weight of the twins to make sure that one isn't stealing nutrients from the other; right now there's only a 6% difference which is a good level.  Since they are fraternal twins and in separate sacs, this isn't so much of a concern but it will still need to be followed.

Our carriers cervical length is 4.8 cm which means she is at an extremely low risk for a preterm delivery.  She's added some iron supplements but her weight gain and blood pressure are great so no cause for concern there either.

Ok so we thought we had until week 28 to give our twins' names to our attorneys but they were a bit eager to start the birth certificate process.  I'll be listed as Parent A on the certificate but we will have to add Chris's name as Parent B through the courts.  Anyway, we have names!!!

Dylon Michelle Porterfield and Londyn Emily Porterfield

Twin Girls!!

Last weekend (Jan 25-27) we went to Madison, WI to visit our carrier and her family but also to find out the sex of our twins.  This was THE weekend I had been looking forward to since it was confirmed that we were pregnant.  I was so antsy and nervous for weeks leading up to this trip but it really set in on the drive to the airport.

The appointment wasn't until Monday morning but we flew in on Saturday night because we had plans to have dinner with our carrier and her family Sunday night and we wanted some time during the day on Sunday to see the area.

(to be continued........)

16 Week Ultrasound (and my first mini panic attack)

Our carrier had the 16 week ultrasound today and the babies' measurements looked great.  They're both measuring right on at 16 weeks, 1 day and Twin A had a heartbeat of 150 and Twin B's was 160.  Twin A is breech and Twin B is laying across her belly.  Oh, and apparently her cervix is long and "perfect"; I'm not too familiar with the female anatomy but I guess that's good news.......it's good news for the male anatomy at least.  :-)

During the ultrasound, the doctor noticed a spot on Twin B's heart and said that it could be a soft indicator of Downs.  Not going to lie, my heart sank and I panicked a bit.  I kept reading the email and the doctor said not to be too concerned and that this is seen often and is quite common at this stage.  I instantly took to Google and it confirmed what the doctor said.  Many babies have these bright spots called an echogenic cardiac focus and it shouldn't case the baby any problems.  It's not a heart defect and won't increase the babies risk of having a heart defect down the road but it does increase the chance of the baby having Downs.

We won't do any invasive testing to determine whether Twin B has any chromosomal defects because even if he/she does, we wouldn't do anything about it anyway.  What is meant to be, will be.

She's going to put today's ultrasound pics in the mail so as soon as I get them, I will add them to this post....I'm hoping for some good ones to share.

The 20 week ultrasound is also set for January 27th to check on their progress and to finally find out what we're having!!!  Chris and I are flying out that weekend to spend some time with our carrier and her family on Sunday and then the u/s is set for Monday morning....these next four weeks can't come soon enough.