| Appointments Page 2 |
| November 17, 2003 (19 weeks) "AFP Results" 8th Appointment This was a quick appointment to go over my latest blood test results. These included my AFP (triple screen) and glucose tolerance . (Which came out just fine after being recalculated for the twin factor - I guess its not as simple as dividing the numbers by 2 :) She also took a quick listen to the heartbeats. We were informed that our due date will most likely be pushed up 2 weeks because 38 weeks is considered "full term" for twins. This means our babies will possible arrive at the very end of March or early April! More good news. We were told that from now on we will be getting ultrasounds every 2-3 weeks - which means more pics of the babies! |
| December 4th, 2003 "21 week Ultrasound" 9th Appointment All went well at this latest ultrasound appointment. We've had the same technician all along who is very nice and talks us through the entire time. She let us know that this time the babies are both head down, but are constantly moving - flipping and flopping :). Once again she had us look away while she measured the thigh bones - as we've decided not to find out the genders. She also gave us the great news that our babies continue to grow and develop as they should. Baby A now weighs a whopping 1 lb, while Baby B is just below that at 14 ozs. That is practically double what they weighed last time! She also educated us on fetal growth saying that babies grow the most in the first trimester as the cells are dividing by the minute - also mentioning that if they continued to grow at this rate over the entire pregnancy, by the end of the 40 weeks a baby would weigh 300 lbs!!!! (I'm glad they slow down :) The second trimester is the developmental stage - important for the organs' growth, while the third trimester is when the little ones pack on all that weight. |
| December 16, 2003 10th Appointment Today we had an appointment with a different OB in the office. They want us to be familiar with everyone in case our usual Dr. is not "on call" on the big day :) This Dr. was great....she heard the heartbeats and thought one of the babies was VERY active and based on that she made a gender prediction (sorry, still a secret :) She also went over our birthing options and their recommendations (c-section, etc) - this is starting to get serious. We were also told that we should pre-register at the hospital where we plan to give birth....which is Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. I was told I would have to take another glucose test - like I did in Week 17. This determines how well my body handles sugar. So I'm going back December 23rd for blood work. |
| December 19th, 2003 "23 week Ultrasound" 11th Appointment The babies are growing so fast. Today at our appointment the technician told us that Baby A weighs in at 1.7 lbs and Baby B is close behind at 1.4 lbs We were able to hear and measure the heartbeats again. Baby A was beating away at 146 bpm and Baby B was beating away at 150 bpm. We were able to see Baby A once again sucking its thumb but this time as we were talking about it - the baby took its thumb out of its mouth faced us and put it back in. They are really starting to be very active and react to the technician while she scans them. We are able to see them curling up and stretching out. They are both measuring above average for weight and size for their age. See the ultrasoundII page for pics from this appointment! |
| December 23rd, 2003 "glucose test 2" 12th Appointment Just a quickie appointment to take some blood to check my glucose level after drinking the "sugar drink". I'll get the results at our next appointment. I also had to talk to the Dr. about me having the 'flu'. She did not seem very concerned at all :) - so I just suffered through it - drug free. |
| January 9th, 2004 "26 week Ultrasound" 13th Appointment Today we had an amazing ultrasound! First, we saw that both babies are growning and developing perfectly. Baby A weighs in at 2lbs 3ozs and Baby B is not far behind at 1lb 15ozs. (both well within the norm for their age) Next we saw a close up shot of a very sleepy Baby B yawning....mouth wide open and tongue out! Finally, we were able get a GREAT 3 D shot of Baby A. The tech recorded a pic and the ultrasound maching viewed it from all angels and turned it into a 3D image. (Its not an exact picture - but looks pretty darn cute :) - see pictures on ultrasoundII page. |
| January 30th, 2004 "29 week Ultrasound" 15th Appointment Another great ultrasound appointment. The only disappointment was that we could not get a good picture of Baby A. It seems they are running out of space in there and its not as easy to get them to move around for a good pose :) However, the great news is that they are growing rapidly. Baby A is weighing in at 3 lbs 6 ozs. while Baby B is not far behind at 3 lbs 1 oz. The tech said that is VERY good for twins because by this time twins' growth tends to slow down compared to that of single babies. Both babies were very active and had the same heartrates of 133 bpm. |
| January 15th, 2004 14th Appointment Just a very quick appointment at the OB. All went very well. I have gained total of 19 lbs and my latest glucose test came back normal. My Dr. said that normally she would start seeing me every two weeks at this point, but since I'm doing so well we can make it three weeks. So I thought that was a great sign. |
| February 3rd, 2004 "Hospital Pre-registratrion" Just a quick meeting at the hospital to fill out some insurance paperwork and got information on birthing classes. |