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.