24 Weeks

I was just reading online about the 24th weeks of gestation and how my twins are growing. Here are some of the details. The babies are growing fast, they most likely gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts them at just over a pound each. They are also almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn). Their bodies are filling out proportionally and they'll soon start to plump up. Their brains are also growing quickly now, and their taste buds are continuing to develop. Their skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

I'm really excited to be at this point in the pregnancy! We are far enough along that my babies can survive outside the womb and yet delivery still feels a good distance away (14 weeks)...plenty of time to get all the essential things taken care of around the house!

Double Digits

That's right, we officially have 99 days until my babies break out of their shell!!!! Ignore the baby ticker that says "113" days to go, that takes us all the way to 40 weeks and we are only going to 38 weeks. YAY!!!!

Twin Baby Dolls

Steph got Hannah and Olivia twin baby dolls to share. The girls love them and have somehow decided between themselves which doll belongs to each of them. Hannah's doll is the girl in the pink outfit and Olivia loves the doll in the green outfit. Olivia won't play with the doll in the pink outfit and if you try to give it to her she shakes her head "no" and runs to get the doll in the green outfit...weird. Olivia loves wrapping her baby up in a blanket and kissing her, it's so cute! They both love to put their babies in our doll strollers and run around the house like wild children.
Here's Olivia kissing her baby!

And now her baby is all snuggled up!
Thank you Steph!!! The girls are thrilled!

On a side note...Hannah realized something very important at dinner last night. She was eating quietly, obviously thinking about something and said "Mom, When the babies come we won't have enough chairs. How will we all eat together?" She's right we are short 2 chairs so that's something we'll have to fix soon. It makes me happy to hear her talking about the twins so much, I'm proud that she understands this very complicated way to make a family and accepts it so willingly.

OB Appointment

Steph had her OB appointment today and everything looks great with our twin baby girls! Baby A's (aka-Tinkerbell) heart rate was 140bpm, apparently she was being stubborn so it took a while to find her heartbeat. Baby B's (aka-Rex) heart rate was 150bpm.

Steph's looking good with no weight gain this week and measuring 25 weeks (we are 21.6 weeks)! Thanks Steph for growing our babies so well!!!!

The Great Debate: Clothes for Twins

I've been thinking a lot about how I will dress my twins, especially more now that I know they are both girls. I have so many choices...identical outfits, coordinating outfits, the same outfit in two different colors, or two totally different outfits. I don't have an exact plan because I think all options are acceptable with pros and cons.

Why dress them the same: For one thing, I think it will be easier to dress the twins alike. I'm going to be exhausted and probably won't have the patience to choose two outfits, much less two outfits in the right size that are temperature, activity and style appropriate for the days events! Don't forget I have to dress two other small children as well! When I see twins dressed the same I think it's cute and fun. And it sure does make for nice pictures! That being said I was just at the mall looking at outfits for my twins and I had a difficult time purchasing the exact same outfit. I kept asking myself Why am I spending money on two of the same outfits when I can buy two different cute outfits. I don't know why I was having such a hard time, it's not like we are having any other children so it really doesn't matter what I buy because no one else is going to wear it.

Why not to do it: I haven't found any specific research that indicates that dressing twins the same could cause any lasting negative affects on them. However many psychologists do recommend against it for parents that wish to emphasize individuality. Of course I want to emphasize individuality.

I guess I feel like there is no right or wrong way to dress my twins. I think I'd prefer coordinating outfits but I'm not opposed to identical outfits at all. I'm positive the occasional identical outfits won't harm them. I'm sure after the age of three they'll be able to express their own opinions on the matter.

I'm very fortunate to have a great friend who has twin daughters. She mostly dresses them the same and they always look adorable! I recently went to their baby boutique (their basement) and found some great clothes at a marvelous price. Here are a few of my favorites!

I'll put a poll up to get all your opinions on this very important debate! Please take a few seconds to vote!

Reflections - Transferring Hannah

It was hard to sleep the night before our transfer but somehow I managed to fall asleep just after midnight. When I awoke the morning of our transfer I was filled with excitement, disbelief, and anxiety. I knew it would be an incredible day!!! The alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. Darin and I rushed to get ready and headed out the door. We drove an hour to pick up our friend and surrogate, Lisa and then had to drive another hour to get to our clinic in San Francisco. Darin, Lisa and I nervously talked in the car. We mainly had “what if” conversations…positive and negative. We arrived at the clinic around 7:30a.m. and were immediately taken back to the pre-op waiting area. Darin stayed in the waiting area while Lisa and I headed back to the operating room. I waited just outside the door while Lisa undressed from the waist down and covered up with a blanket. The embryologist stopped by our room and gave us our embryo report. They all looked beautiful so we decided to transfer 3 grade A, 3 day fresh embryos. The embryologist also let us know that we’d be freezing 8 for sure and keeping an eye on 2 (the two never made it to freezing). It was nice to know that we had 8 beautiful embryos left…just in case. I was given a picture of our embryos (one is now Hannah) that we were transferring. It was a magical moment! But it’s even more magical for me today. I sometimes sit and stare at that picture of those little embryos and wonder which one is Hannah.
Our three little embryos on July 3, 2004.

Dr. Ryan came in the room and got set up for our transfer. The nurse set up the ultrasound machine so we could see inside Lisa’s uterus. The embryologist brought in the catheter containing the three embryos and Dr. Ryan placed it into Lisa’s uterus. Lisa and I stared in amazement as my little embryos entered her uterus. We could actually see all three little embryos on the ultrasound screen as they were inserted. It was an overwhelming moment for me. I remember feeling so hopeful! I was willing and begging one or all of those embryos to grow! After our transfer Lisa had to sit for 15 minutes and relax. We all went out to lunch and back home! Now we would have to wait 11 days to find out if Lisa was pregnant.
The day before our beta (blood pregnancy test) I called Lisa. I was crying and so upset because I was feeling bad, I was scared that our transfer didn’t work. She just started laughing and said “Oh I’m pretty sure it worked, I feel nauseous and gross.” She offered to go get a pregnancy test and to call me with the results. She called about 30 minutes later with our good news! The rest is history! Lisa and I shared some really great moments, she’s a very laid back woman with an amazing heart. I will always be eternally grateful to her!

Hannah at 7 weeks! Hannah at 9 weeks! Me, Lisa and Darin. Lisa was 6 months pregnant with Hannah!
Happy Birthday Hannah! March 14, 2005 This is Hannah today! She's a beautiful 3 year old!

Positioning of the Babies

Some friends of mine were laughing and making fun of my drawing of the babies in the previous post, they thought Hannah drew it. So I decided to spend a little more time today drawing a new picture. Please remember that I'm not a professional artist so this is the best that I can do. Sorry Steph...I didn't mean to give you such a big butt or belly button!!!

Baby Girl A

Baby Girl A was being a bit stubborn yesterday! She was face up for the first few seconds of our ultrasound but quickly turned face down so we couldn't really see her and she never turned back up. She was being cute though! She had the hiccups, it was so fun to watch! At one time she was touching her head, it looked like she was twirling her hair just like big sister Hannah does. Baby Girl A's foot! You can also see Baby Girl B's head to the left of the photo!

Baby Girl A's arm!
Here she is sticking her butt out at us! She's a stinker!
This photo is hilarious! You can see Baby Girl B's head on the left side of the photo and Baby Girl A's legs and feet on the right side of the photo. Baby Girl A was kicking Baby Girl B's head constantly. At one point she (A) even punched her (B) in the face. It was amazing to see how close they are inside Steph's tummy.
Baby Girl A is measuring 2 days behind at 19 weeks 6 days! She weighs 11 ounces (317 grams), she is just slightly smaller than her sister right now! She had a heart rate of 137 beats per minute! She's doing awesome too!

Baby Girl A is head down! We are hoping she stays like that for delivery! Baby B is currently transverse, sideways in Steph's tummy. So they look like this....

Baby Girl B

Baby Girl B was being so adorable yesterday, here she is sucking her thumb! She was moving and turning a lot, showing off for her two older sisters! She was being a perfect model for pictures too! Baby Girl B's profile, she has such a cute nose!

Baby Girl B's legs and tummy!
Baby Girl B's foot! Footprint ultrasound photos are my favorite!
Baby Girl B's face! Her hand is touching the left side of her face!
Baby Girl B is measuring ahead at 20weeks 2 days! She weighs 11 ounces (323 grams)! Her Heart rate was 144 beats per minute! She's doing awesome!

Level 2 Ultrasound

Darin and I are happy and excited to share with you the results of our ultrasound today!!! First off the twins are both doing wonderfully! They are healthy and right on target with growth!

Only 12% of those who voted in our guess the genders poll guessed correctly, 88% of you were wrong! That's right we are going to be a house full of sugar and spice and everything nice...It's Twin Girls!!! Darin's master plan to create an all-Berg women's swimming relay team for the 2020 Summer Olympics is well under way! We are so excited!

The girls were very good today considering that they were in the car for over 13 hours! Hannah had some very cute things to say about the babies and today's ultrasound. Before the ultrasound today Darin and I asked her what she wanted to name our babies. At the time we were in the car and she was watching movies. She decided that she wanted to name the babies Tinkerbell (I don't think I need to explain this one) and Rex (the dog from the Little Mermaid). After the ultrasound today we were looking at our wonderful pictures and she said "It's pretty dark in Stephanie's tummy." The ultrasound pictures have black surrounding the babies. She keeps us laughing!

Here are a few photos from today! I'll post the ultrasound photos tomorrow with a bigger update on each baby girl!

Here's a photo of Steph and a small update on her too! She's measuring 23.5 weeks pregnant, we are currently 20 weeks. She's had some swelling lately so Dr. Richman suggested she decrease her intake of salt and increase her intake of protein. She looks beautiful as you all can see!
This is us after our ultrasound today!
The big girls and I at the Waterloo mall picking out some cute clothes for our two little girls!

Genders

We have our level 2 ultrasound tomorrow and will be finding out the genders of our twins...YAY!! We are so excited to see them both again and to finally be able to start seriously discussing...FIGHTING about names. We'll be back late tomorrow evening with lots of new pictures of Steph, us, our girls and our two little babies to share.
The "guess our babies' genders" poll is closed. The results are below!
Two Girls...7 votes
Two Boys...17 votes
One Girl/One Boy...30 votes
We've decided the winners should get a really good prize...How does changing a few diapers sound???!

Halfway!!!

We've hit our halfway mark in this pregnancy!!! We are 19 weeks today!! We'll have a scheduled induction at 38 weeks so we are officially halfway to our grand finale. The babies weigh about 8.5 ounces now and measure 6 inches each from head to bottom. Each baby is about the size of a large heirloom tomato now. They are starting to sprout hair. Some research suggests that our babies may be able to hear voices now. Due to this research Darin and I are debating making a CD with us reading and the girls singing. Steph would play our CD and let the babies listen to our voices through headphones on her tummy. We did not do this for Hannah or Olivia and we didn't have any bonding issues with them but we may give it a try this time just for kicks. I think it would be fun for Hannah and Olivia to do something special for their new baby siblings.

Hawaii Vacation- 2008

We are home from Hawaii!!! It was a long and fabulous vacation but we are happy to be home and ready to get back to real life. We have so many things to look forward to in the New Year! Here are a few of our photos!

Update

Steph's OB appointment was great yesterday. Both babies are doing well and had great heartbeats!!! Steph was able to schedule our level 2 ultrasound and her next OB appointment together so Darin and I could attend both. We hope to find out the genders of our little ones on Friday, January 9, 2009! Big sisters, Hannah and Olivia will be going with us to celebrate that day. Hannah is hoping for two girls and Olivia doesn't have a preference, they are both excited!

We are still in Hawaii and are hoping our flights on Saturday get delayed a few days. It's so relaxing here. We went to a great beach this morning, the kids played in the water and built a sandcastle. We are going to our first Luau tonight, I think both the girls will be mesmerized by the dancers. Hannah is at the movies right now with her Nana, Papa and cousins...I don't quite understand going to a movie while in Maui but at least I get to enjoy a little quiet time completely by myself!

Back to Steph and my babies...the last craving I heard about was for onion rings. I hope Steph was able to satisfy everyone with a pile of onion rings. Steph has promised a belly picture so hopefully she'll deliver soon...maybe with a little begging from all of you (hint)!!!

I'll update more when we get home from this glorious vacation (I'm still in denile that I have to go back to temperatures below 0...it's 85 here today)!

OB Appointment

Steph had a great OB appointment today...except for the one hour wait (how dare people go into labor during her appointment)!!!

Steph grew 3 cm since her last visit, my babies are getting big fast! Dr. Richman was able to find both babies' heartbeats on the Doppler very easily today! Baby A's heartbeat was 140bpm and Baby B's heartbeat was 145bpm!

I'll be in Hawaii during our next appointment but I'll try to update everyone assuming I can spare 5 minutes off the beach!

16 Weeks

Our twins are 16 weeks today!!! Here's some information on how they are growing. In the next few weeks, the twins will double their weights and add inches to their lengths. Right now, they are about the size of an avocado each. 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. Their legs are much more developed, their heads are more erect than they have been, and their eyes have moved closer to the front of their heads. Their ears are close to their final positions, too. The patterning of their scalps have begun, though their locks aren't recognizable yet. They've even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside their little bodies as well. For example, their hearts are now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as the twins continue to develop.

Steph has an OB appointment tomorrow so I'll update with all that good info soon!

Ultrasound photos - 13 weeks 6 days

Here are the latest ultrasound pictures of our twins. They were taken at 13 weeks and 6 days.

Baby A...it looks like this baby is picking her/his nose.
Baby A's legs and feet!

Baby B's profile!

Reflections...Waiting for Our Fertilization Report and Our Transfer

Reflections...Waiting for Our Fertilization Report and Our Transfer

My primary nurse, Anne, promised us that she would call the day after my retrieval with our fertilization report. I was a nervous wreck but Darin was very confident that everything would work out for us this time. For me it was a very long wait because at the time I was a teacher and school was out for the summer so I really had nothing to occupy my time. It was really easy to let my imagination get the best of me and only think of the worst possibilities. It’s easy to do when you have no control over the situation. When Anne called late that afternoon I was so nervous so I got very quiet. She went on to tell me that everything looks good for transfer and blah, blah, blah. Everything she was saying was great but I really just wanted to hear a number and she finally told us the news we’d been waiting to hear…13 of my 17 eggs fertilized!!!! Hearing the news was such a relief, I think I actually started jumping up and down in celebration. After my mini celebration Anne told me that she would call the following day for our next update. We still had two more days of waiting before our transfer. I called Darin at work to share our happy news and we went out to dinner that night to celebrate the fact that we had successfully jumped through another hoop. It didn’t matter that we still had a million more to go, we were so happy about this victory. The next day was filled with the same excruciating waiting. 5 minutes felt like hours to me. Our little embryos still had so much growing to do before transfer and it was hard not to worry about them. Only another person who has been through IVF knows this kind of pain. Anne finally called that afternoon and told me that all of our embryos were still growing and dividing perfectly! She said our transfer was scheduled for the next day and that she was going to call our Gestational Carrier, Lisa, to give her the information! As soon I got off the phone I got back on to call Darin and share our news. Our transfer was the next day, July 3rd 2004 at 7:45 a.m.

OB Appointment

Steph had her OB appointment this afternoon. Dr. Richman couldn't find the babies' heartbeats on the Doppler so they took Steph back for an ultrasound. Both babies look great! Baby A had a heart rate of 152 and Baby B had a heart rate of 145. Steph called me during the ultrasound so I could listen to everything. It was awesome, I got to hear both heartbeats. Steph had to finish her OB appointment after her ultrasound so she'll call me with the rest of the info later. Our family is off to visit friends for Thanksgiving so I'll update the rest later. I'll also post the ultrasound pictures as soon as I receive them.

Reflecting back on my Egg Retrieval

Reflecting back on my Egg Retrieval

Darin and I arrived at our clinic at 8:30 a.m on June 30th, my retrieval was scheduled for 9 a.m. My mom accompanied us because Darin needed to head to work after my procedure. The nurse set me up with a paper gown and hat and prepped me for surgery. Just before surgery I had to go to the bathroom to empty my bladder. I said goodbye to my mom and Darin and was wheeled into the operating room. The operating room was small and just had one door and a window that attached to the IVF lab. I was transferred over to the operating table to get started. There were two nurses, the Embryologist, the anesthesiologist and Dr. Ryan (my reproductive embryologist – the one taking my eggs from my body) in the operating room. The nurse had a very difficult time finding a vein for my IV. This always happens to me, I have invisible veins. Most nurses try several needles on me and then end up using a butterfly needle (the ones made for babies) because they can’t find a big vein. A few minutes after the nurse got the IV in my anesthesiologist gave me some sedation drugs and I was out. I only remember how bad the sedation drug stung going all the way up my arm and into my chest.
When I woke up in the recovery area I was very groggy but anxious to hear how many eggs my doctor was able to retrieve. Darin came in and told me the great news…we got 17 eggs!!! My doctor was very optimistic about the maturity of my eggs and thought that most of them would fertilize. The nurse came in to offer me crackers and Gatorade. I was starving because I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after 8:00 p.m the night before so drank an entire bottle of Gatorade and stuffed the crackers in my mouth as quickly as possible. I still felt very bloated and huge, doctor Ryan said it would take a few days for all the swelling to go down and for my ovaries to return to their normal sizes. It was such a relief to have my part done and to know that my eggs were out and being fertilized with Darin’s sperm! After my retrieval I went home with my mom and Darin went to work. I had to stay with my mom until Darin could come pick me up. When I wasn’t sleeping I was chugging Gatorade and peeing…peeing a lot. I had to flush my system out.
Darin picked me up that night after work and we reflected on my retrieval and the whole experience that day. He told me all about his experience too. He had to give a fresh sample at the same time my eggs were being retrieved. From Darin's description of the room I'd say that the movies have this aspect of IVF correct, the room was fully equipped with movies and magazines. Darin also let me know that PFC (our IVF clinic) really needs to change the layout of their facility because the special man room is placed right next to the waiting room. Apparently my mom was in the waiting room talking very loudly. Poor Darin had to perform under some serious pressure. Thankfully he was able to block my mom out and focus.
Just before we left that day Dr. Ryan said that the clinic would call everyday before our transfer to give us our fertilization report so we anxiously waited for our phone call.
It's amazing to think that Hannah, Olivia and our twins were all created that day...June 30, 2004.

12 Weeks...YAY!!!

Today I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders...we are finally 12 weeks pregnant. This is such a happy milestone!!! I read my "pregnancy weekly" email and book today and here are the details of what is happening with our twins this week. They now have REFLEXES. Our babies' fingers will soon begin to open and close, their toes will curl, their eye muscles will clench, and their mouth will make sucking movements. Their kidneys will begin excreting urine into their bladder. When I read all these things about our babies I just feel in awe, creating life is such an amazing process...it truly is a miracle. I also read that our babies are about the size of a lime now and they weigh half an ounce.

On a side note...The babies in my ticker are so cute now, they are all bunched up in the fetal position and seem to have some hair. I also want to point out that my ticker is now out of the 200's...Yay!!! We are getting closer!

Reflecting Back on Stimming for my Egg Retrieval

I started this blog mainly for my children. At the end of this journey I'm going to print out each post and make a book for my kids. It's extremely important to me that each one know exactly how they came into the world and made our family. So I'm going to take a few posts to reflect back on my stimming process, my egg retrieval, and on each embryo transfer. If it were't for any of those things none of my kids would be here today. So I'll start my "Reflection" posts now!!!

Reflecting Back on Stimming for my Egg Retrieval

When I think back to June 2004, I get a little teary eyed…At that time I had no idea what my future mommy status would be. I still can’t believe that Darin and I are going to have 4 children. I started my stimulation drugs on June 19th to start my egg production. It was both a very exciting and frightening day. Darin was a little scared to give me my first dose of Follistim and Repronex (that’s right two different shots) but I was down right panicked. Needles are not my friend so I was sobbing and at one point Darin was chasing me around the house with the first needle. It’s really funny to think about now but at the time it wasn’t funny at all. We had been through this process once before and had failed so this was our second attempt, which made the whole process worse because we both knew exactly what to expect. I felt like a wimp after that first shot was over because it really didn’t hurt at all but I knew it wouldn’t I was really scared of failure again. We had to repeat the shots daily and go in for frequent ultrasounds to measure my follicles (each egg sits inside its own follicle). These are hormone injections so they come with some nasty side effects, I was a weepy mess…even commercials made me sob. At about day 5 of the injections I started to feel bloated, my ovaries were getting really big and uncomfortable. On day 7 I had another ultrasound and found that my follicles were measuring perfect so it was time to slow them down to give my eggs some time to mature. So I started Antigon that night, now I was taking three injections a night. I stayed on Antigon for a few days and on day 10 all my stim drugs stopped. It was time to take my final injection-the biggest, fattest, scariest injection of them all…my HCG trigger. The HCG trigger injection releases the eggs from the wall of the follicle so my doctor could go in and retrieve the eggs. Our retrieval was set for June 30, 2004 at 9:00a.m.

Our Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound

We had our Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound Test today. This test helps Dr. Richman (Steph's OB) assess our babies' risk of having Down syndrome. The ultrasound tech measured the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of both our babies neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.
The NT scan must be done when you're between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. Our Ju-Ju Bees are 11 weeks 4 days today and both measured FAR BELOW the abnormal range. They both looked very healthy and BIG!!!
This is Baby A! Baby A was flipping like crazy today, doing a happy dance. I think she/he was happy to see mommy! She/he actually waved at me! This is a face on shot, you can she the skeletal structure really well. Baby A measured 12 weeks even today and had a heart rate of 160 BPM.
Baby B was very calm compared to Baby A. He/she woke up from a nap for a few seconds to say hi but not much movement out of Baby B. Baby B measured 11 weeks 6 days and had a heart rate of 156 BPM.
Steph is doing great and showing a little!!! Cyn you'll be happy to hear that she was craving a cheese burger today!

11 Weeks

According to Babycenter.com our babies are over 1.5 inches long and about the size of a fig!!! Steph says her tummy is protruding now, I can't wait to see her on Monday. I can just envision two little figs in there. Babycenter also said that their hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under their gums, and some of their bones are beginning to harden. They are also already busy kicking and stretching, and their tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. We have our next ultrasound on Monday and both the girls are going with me. Hannah can't wait to see "her babies"! I'll have to remember that description on Monday during our ultrasound because Hannah could definitely relate to that one, she loves any kind of ballet. I can just hear Hannah now talking to her friends saying...my babies are doing ballet in Stephanie's tummy.
Here's a photo of me, Steph and Darin (my DH), we were all deliriously happy after our 9 week ultrasound!

Our Family with our Family Pumpkins

Here we are last night just before Trick or Treating! We are with all of our pumpkins including our two baby pumpkins!Hannah and Olivia all decked out ready for trick or treating! Hannah is a Flamingo and Olivia is a Skunk! Our family of Pumpkins! I'm the mean one!
And one last photo of my little stinker!