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!!!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
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!!!
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
Friday, January 31, 2014
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........)
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........)
Thursday, January 2, 2014
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
12 Week Ultrasound
Today was the 12 week/first trimester screening at the hospital and apparently the visit was a great one! Obviously the picture below doesn't show them in action but our carrier said that they were both very busy and wiggly on the screen. The doctor confirmed that they are indeed di-di twins meaning that they have separate sacs, separate cords and separate placentas. Being di-di twins also reduces the mortality rate of the babies to about 9%.
Baby A measured right on at 12 weeks and "his" heart rate is 165 bpm. Our carrier said he was very active and was sucking on his fingers. His nuchal measurement was 1.1 and anything less than 3 is great; the nuchal measurement can be an early indicator of a chromosomal abnormality like Down or Edwards syndrome. In the picture below, Baby A is sitting upright facing Baby B and has his legs pulled up to his chest.
Baby B measured at 12 weeks/2 days and "his" heart rate is 160 bpm. Our carrier said he was a bit sleepy until she went to the bathroom, then he woke up and played with his hands and that he looks like a finger sucker too. The nuchal measurement for him was .8. In case you're having trouble seeing Baby B, he is upside down in the pic below facing Baby A.
She also had some blood work done today to check for abnormal levels of fetal proteins and/or hormones. The scan also showed that both babies had obvious nasal bones. I didn't really know why this was important at first but apparently the absence of a nasal bone can further increase the likelihood for Down syndrome to more than 95%.
Her next OB appointment is Thursday, December 12th, and then on January 1st, 16 weeks, she will have another scan to check the babies' growth and to monitor cervical length. People have asked if we are going to find out the sex of the babies and that is a most definite YES. That will be done at the 20 week ultrasound sometime late January and both of us will go up to Wisconsin for that appointment.
Everything is going extremely well!!
Baby A measured right on at 12 weeks and "his" heart rate is 165 bpm. Our carrier said he was very active and was sucking on his fingers. His nuchal measurement was 1.1 and anything less than 3 is great; the nuchal measurement can be an early indicator of a chromosomal abnormality like Down or Edwards syndrome. In the picture below, Baby A is sitting upright facing Baby B and has his legs pulled up to his chest.
Baby B measured at 12 weeks/2 days and "his" heart rate is 160 bpm. Our carrier said he was a bit sleepy until she went to the bathroom, then he woke up and played with his hands and that he looks like a finger sucker too. The nuchal measurement for him was .8. In case you're having trouble seeing Baby B, he is upside down in the pic below facing Baby A.
She also had some blood work done today to check for abnormal levels of fetal proteins and/or hormones. The scan also showed that both babies had obvious nasal bones. I didn't really know why this was important at first but apparently the absence of a nasal bone can further increase the likelihood for Down syndrome to more than 95%.
Her next OB appointment is Thursday, December 12th, and then on January 1st, 16 weeks, she will have another scan to check the babies' growth and to monitor cervical length. People have asked if we are going to find out the sex of the babies and that is a most definite YES. That will be done at the 20 week ultrasound sometime late January and both of us will go up to Wisconsin for that appointment.
Everything is going extremely well!!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
First visit with the Ob/Gyn
Our carrier "graduated" from the fertility clinic and is now seeing a new ob/gyn. On Thursday, she established care and had another ultrasound at the new office and this time her husband videotaped the ultrasound for us!! The baby sitting lower in her uterus was easy to see from the get-go and his heart was just fluttering away like crazy. It was a good profile shot so his head and little stubby appendages were visible and looked just like the pics I've seen online for 9 week old embryos. The baby sitting higher in the uterus took them a bit longer to get a decent shot but I could sort of make him out; not as clearly as the first one though.
According to our carrier, this appointment was VERY awkward but they were kind, they listened and gave easy to understand information. This is a new ob/gyn for her so when she initially set up the appt with the nurse, the nurse started to ask her all about her medical history assuming that she was the biological mother and also about the fathers history. Obviously she didn't know this info right off hand and so she had to explain to the nurse this unique situation. The nurse and our carrier had a good laugh on the phone about it all and I'm sure the ob/gyn office will find their new patient quite interesting.
Our carrier has confidence in the OB since she has experience with twins and also because she is not a proponent of interventions without evidence backed practice which sits well with her (and with me). We'll likely have more ultrasound scans with the twins because while fundal height (a measure of the size of her uterus to assess fetal growth and development) is a good indicator of growth for a singlet, it doesn't give a clear picture of whether twins are growing like they should. They will keep an eye on the placentas as they develop and since there is a higher chance of gestational diabetes due to the extra placental hormones, they will also closely monitor her blood-sugar levels.
Overall, the OB was optimistic about the pregnancy, happy with her weight gain and blood pressure and felt good with the records of her other pregnancies. Everything is going well!
She now has a first trimester screening (blood work and a high quality scan) on December 4th so hopefully we can get some pics to share on this blog and then a regular OB visit on December 12th.
According to our carrier, this appointment was VERY awkward but they were kind, they listened and gave easy to understand information. This is a new ob/gyn for her so when she initially set up the appt with the nurse, the nurse started to ask her all about her medical history assuming that she was the biological mother and also about the fathers history. Obviously she didn't know this info right off hand and so she had to explain to the nurse this unique situation. The nurse and our carrier had a good laugh on the phone about it all and I'm sure the ob/gyn office will find their new patient quite interesting.
Our carrier has confidence in the OB since she has experience with twins and also because she is not a proponent of interventions without evidence backed practice which sits well with her (and with me). We'll likely have more ultrasound scans with the twins because while fundal height (a measure of the size of her uterus to assess fetal growth and development) is a good indicator of growth for a singlet, it doesn't give a clear picture of whether twins are growing like they should. They will keep an eye on the placentas as they develop and since there is a higher chance of gestational diabetes due to the extra placental hormones, they will also closely monitor her blood-sugar levels.
Overall, the OB was optimistic about the pregnancy, happy with her weight gain and blood pressure and felt good with the records of her other pregnancies. Everything is going well!
She now has a first trimester screening (blood work and a high quality scan) on December 4th so hopefully we can get some pics to share on this blog and then a regular OB visit on December 12th.
Friday, November 8, 2013
8 Week Ultrasound
Our carrier had another ultrasound today and she told me that the doctor was able to see both babies right away and that they are measuring right on at 8 weeks; 8 weeks 4 days for one of them and the other at 8 weeks 0 days. Not sure why there is a four day difference since insemination and transfer all happened at the same time but I guess the one guy is just a hair bigger.
On the ultrasound, the baby on the left was laying on his back and the other seemed to be standing up on the right side of her uterus. Our carrier said that they look like little sea monkeys with stubby appendages; cute sea monkeys of course.
The doctor at the fertility clinic said that everything looked great and that our carrier will now "graduate" to her regular ob/gyn. Her first ob appointment is on Nov. 11th which I think will be fairly uneventful; should just be establishing care, no testing.
I was hoping to hear about the heart rate of the twins but apparently no value was given, the report only stated that "cardiac activity" was observed. Kind of frustrating really but hopefully we can get some numbers at the appointment next week. The normal fetal heart rate ranges from 120-180 beats per minute (adults average 80-85 bpm) so as long we're in that range, I'll start to worry less about any potential miscarriage.
The next ultrasound will be at 12 weeks when the first trimester ends so there likely won't be any updates on the blog until then unless something major happens.
On the ultrasound, the baby on the left was laying on his back and the other seemed to be standing up on the right side of her uterus. Our carrier said that they look like little sea monkeys with stubby appendages; cute sea monkeys of course.
The doctor at the fertility clinic said that everything looked great and that our carrier will now "graduate" to her regular ob/gyn. Her first ob appointment is on Nov. 11th which I think will be fairly uneventful; should just be establishing care, no testing.
I was hoping to hear about the heart rate of the twins but apparently no value was given, the report only stated that "cardiac activity" was observed. Kind of frustrating really but hopefully we can get some numbers at the appointment next week. The normal fetal heart rate ranges from 120-180 beats per minute (adults average 80-85 bpm) so as long we're in that range, I'll start to worry less about any potential miscarriage.
The next ultrasound will be at 12 weeks when the first trimester ends so there likely won't be any updates on the blog until then unless something major happens.
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