23 weeks 2 days

Update on my MFM appointment from today. My cervix is funneling right down to my cerclage stitches. My MFM told me that if I hadn't had the cerclage, I would have delivered by now. I think that was a little dramatic, as I have heard stories of rescue cerclages, etc., but I certainly am happy I have this added protection. I thought maybe if it went well today, I could treat myself to a quick stop at Old Navy for some more yoga pants (wow, my idea of fashion has changed a lot in the past couple of months), but no such luck, I am back on the couch and will be here until at some point, I get put in the hospital. There is good news though, Baby C is 1lb6oz and Baby B and Baby A are each 1lb3oz. He said they are looking great and still no signs of TTTS, so I believe we dodged a major bullet on this, although it is possible this could show up later. The ID's (A & B) are working a little harder at getting everything they need from their shared placenta, but the overall cordflow is fine, Baby C is completely normal. I am so happy they are doing well. My MFM told me not to worry about how much weight I am gaining and to keep on eating. As for weight, I have gained about 44 lb's and I probably have about 20 more to go, wow!

A little bit about names for the girls, we have picked them out and are super excited about them, but have decided not to tell anyone until they are here, so even though we can't surprise people with the sexes, which is what we planned with a singleton pregnancy, at least people will get a surprise with the names. Don't worry, they are not going to be named Apple or Pear or anything like that.

I also have to extend a special thanks to all of our friends and family who have brought over food and have brought me news of the big world outside as my butt becomes permanently affixed to the couch. I love you all and really appreciate your help getting through this miraculous, once in a lifetime, crazy experience.

By the way only six more days until the election, I am pretty darn ecstatic that very likely our daughters will be born in the same year that a bi-racial American is elected to the White House and even more importantly that we can create some real changes where we need it most in this country. I hope everyone can get out and vote next Tuesday. I already have through my absentee ballot, wow, I must say that is the way to go, no lines, no wait, no rush, maybe I will do this every election.

22 Weeks 5 days

This past Wednesday some wonderful people came over for another little baby shower for us. I am attaching some pictures from the evening:

This was the second shower we have had, the first was at my work, which was a really nice lunch where I got a lot of essentials for the babies. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that day.

Other good news is that at my ultrasound on Thursday a.m. my cervix had not continued shortening, so no additional restrictions, which is wonderful, since I can't imagine increasing my time on the couch, as it is, it is really getting old!

21 weeks 3 days and counting!

Yesterday was another ultrasound and everything looks great with the girls. They are now 14, 15 and 16 oz (A,B,C) and are measuing 35th, 50th and 75th percentiles respectively. This is great news that all of them are continuing to grow (of course I am doing my best to continue to feed them copious amounts of food. One thing that isn't so great though, is that my cervix is shortening, almost one cm, from 3.7 cm to 2.8 cm. Dr. J is telling me to take it easy and I have both my husband and my mom yelling at me if I try to do too much. I must say sitting (or rather laying) on the couch all day is highly over-rated. I really miss working and using my brain, I feel like it is simply melting into mush. Unfortunately, mush is better than being stressed out with my law practice and having my blood pressure go up.

However, to try and counteract some of the mush, I have been keeping up with my Spanish studies and just ordered the new translation of War & Peace. I tried to read W&P when I was in high school and didn't get very far. Hopefully, with all of this time I have, I will really get into it. After all, my mom was reading Anna Karenina when she was pregnant with me, so I have to at least triple the page count for this pregnancy, and I think I will be pretty close!

Starting after week sixteen of my pregnancy, we began seeing Dr. Jazayeri, our MFM, every other week and then Dr. West in the weeks in between. At the appointments with Dr. J, we get a full ultrasound, with measurements to document how big the babies are. At 16 weeks, the babies were about 5-6oz, 18 weeks, 8oz and at 20 weeks, A & B (the identicals) were at 11 oz and C at 12oz. It is amazing that they grow so fast.

One other thing that we are concerned about are twin to twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS. It effects about 10-15% of identical twins who share a placenta, basically, one of the twin gets the blood from the placenta, the other twin becomes small, anemic and loses amniotic fluid. The recipient twin becomes large, with too much fluid and there is stress on the heart. Luckily, Dr. J has said he hasn't seen any signs of TTTS yet, but it can start happening at any point, so we are praying we continue to get a good report at every ultrasound.

I had started to feel some fluttering in my abdomen at about 14 weeks or so, but at about 20 weeks, I started feeling movements more consistently and now, as I write at 20 wks, 6 days, I can pretty much tell who is moving when. Baby A, is near my cervix and is head down, Baby B is on my left side, head up, and Baby C is on my right side, head up. Every time I feel them move it makes me so happy that they are still doing well, as I am a bit claustrophobic, it kind of scares me to think that they are all packed in to my tummy. Of course, I know right now they have plenty of room, it is really going to start to get crowded in a few weeks.

I think all pregnant women have some discomfort in the pregnancies and unfortunately, I am no exception. Not only am I measuring approximately 10 weeks ahead (so I am almost 2.5 months bigger than a woman carrying one child), I have gained about 37 lb's and my back is rebelling, making it difficult to carry out any task for long without having to lay down because my back is seizing up. Last Friday evening, my OB had me go to he hospital to get monitored by labor and delivery to make sure I wasn't having contractions and thank goodness, I absolutely was not having any contractions. Not a lot of fun, but I am glad that the babies are still doing well.