Surgery Scheduled...

Please keep our family in your prayers!
I am scheduled to have my cerclage next Tuesday around 12pm. I feel confident that this will help me carry these babies to term, or as close to term as possible. We met with our perinatologist yesterday and it was great...we discussed the surgery, got it set up and then sat around and talked about everything under the sun, including how to be an environmentally conscious parent. It was great and such a relief to see the human side of a doctor that is putting 3 lives in his hand. His walls in his office are covered with pictures...many of multiples. We will add a picture to that wall when this is all said and done (knock on wood).
So, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I will update as soon as I am physically able to after next week, or you can always call to check in...

Holy Cow!!!

I just received a call from the company that is going to be supplying me with weekly needle torture...have I discussed that I get to pay for a nurse to come to our house on a weekly basis to stab me with a needle in the behind and give me a good dose of progesterone (studies prove that it helps stave of preterm labor...so I am a big fan of it).
Looks like we are going to be paying dearly for this. The upside? We will meet our out of pocket rather quickly for our insurance. Adam has great insurance (which isn't great by any means, but much better than what the majority of Americans are stuck with)...in fact, a lady I spoke with at our insurance company agreed with this wholeheartidly. Anyways, we are responsible for $1000 out of pocket for all in network services (which, thank God this time around all of my services are in network...unlike the last time I was pregnant with twins and we ended up with $11,000 worth of medical bills). $300 of our $1000 out of pocket is straight up deductible...the other $700 is at 80/20 (meaning we are responsible for the 20 part). The grand total of these shots (which, if you know me, you know I hate needles) is $904. My doctor's office has already informed me that we owe $420 out of pocket for the delivery (they, like most offices, like to have all of the money before they give you what they are there for...your baby/babies). I think my doctor's office will lose on this battle considering the shots will occur and be billed far prior to me giving birth (or, that is the plan). Couple that with the fact that I see a perinatologist who bills ultrasounds through the hospital (he works at the hospital and I am just assuming that the awesome ultrasound machines are property of the hospital) and we will hit the grand total way before these babies are even allowed to come out! :) In fact, I don't know if the shot company will get all $904 that they are after, but in the long run, they all get paid regardless, it will just be a nice insurance company cutting the check instead of us!
So, after that long ramble, it makes me think about the sad status of healthcare in our country, and it makes me glad that we have decent healthcare this time around. And, for those of you that say it isn't your job to make sure your neighbor has good healthcare, I am sure you would be preaching a different lesson if you had to walk a mile in a person's shoes that doesn't have healthcare, or has it but it is lousy. We shouldn't kick people down when they are down...I believe in the goodness of humankind and believe that it is our responsibility to make sure that we take care of our neighbor.

Another day...

Just another day in this pregnancy...I called my perinatologist this morning to discuss with him what his collegue had discussed with me. Of course, I have not heard back from him or his office (I called almost 6 hours ago). This seems typical...when you really want to discuss medical options with someone, it takes them an eternity to call you back!
I also called my OB's office to talk with the doctor I saw on Friday and he isn't in today, but will be giving me a call back tomorrow. I just would like to figure out this whole cerclage business. I just can't think about the possibility of losing these babies because a doctor wants to take a gamble and see if I can carry them to term (or close to it) without the stitch. If this was my first pregnancy, I might feel like taking the gamble, but I really do believe that stitch helped me to avoid 24/7 bedrest and early early labor.
Oh well! Otherwise, I am feeling pregnant. I have a belly that can't be passed off on just eating too much, and I can really feel these babies moving around more every day. I still have limited patience even though it was my resolution for this year to be more patient, but I am still able to control it a bit more through breathing. Perhaps I need to take up meditation?!?!?!
The girls are getting really excited about being big sisters...I think we might take them to one of our next appointments so that they can see the babies. I think they would really enjoy that since they already like looking at the pictures we bring home when we disappear for an hour or more.
Adam is a lifesaver. Sometimes I don't know how he does it, but he is really concerned about me carrying these babies to term, too, so he has been a big help around the house. Logistically, I haven't been put on restrictions as of yet, but we aren't willing to take any chances. I have given up vacuuming duties to him but still feel that I can handle most of the day to day business. We are most concerned for when he starts his final class for his Masters degree...it will be similar to a thesis...which equates to a lot of work. I have faith that we will be able to work through this, that we will have help if we need it, and that my children won't end up feeling alienated from their mommy if she gets put on bedrest (one of my biggest fears at the present).

Long Awaited Pictures

This is a great picture of Baby B (you can see it's head near the center of the picture at the top...the long thing blocking it's ear area is it's arm...hand is fisted). Body continues down below the head (you can make out a nose shape and chin). Here is where it gets tricky...find that baby's bottom...or where it would be...see that round thing with a dark shadow? That is Baby A's head. If you follow that to the left, that is Baby A's body. It looks warped in this picture because it was really difficult to get them to cooperate (already...before they are born??!?!?!).

Baby A profile...head to the right of the picture...you can see the bottom area and a leg coming from it...this poor kid is squashed in there right now!

Profile of Baby B (fuzzy because the silly kid never stopped moving...our little dancing bean if you will!). Head to the left followed by the belly and some legs...

14 week appointment

We went to both of our doctors for our 14 week appointments yesterday. It really did turn out to be a long day, but we were able to see our babies at both appointments, so that was just amazing. We went to see our perinatologist first and ended up seeing his collegue for our consultation. We were able to get a really good look at the babies and their personalities; however, we were not able to get a good look at their genders! :) Perhaps next time...
The babies looked good and healthy, were measuring rigth on track and the technician seemed pleased with everything in that sense. My cervix was short, again, like it was with the girls. We met with my perinatologist's collegue who talked with us about the cerclage, and then went on to list all of the reasons why we shouldn't have it done (a stitch to keep the cervix from shortening and dilating prematurely). He said that he would suggest me not having it done. I felt positive about what he had to say, but the more I thought about it, the more concerned I became with these babies being born early, spending months in the NICU and me saying, "What if I would have done the cerclage."
By the time we went to my second appointment at my OB's office, I was confused. We were scheuduled to see my OB's collegue (we knew about this one...she is on maternity leave right now) and we discussed with him the report we had received in the morning. He agreed that the cerclage is over-performed, but also agreed that with my history, I am the perfect candidate for a cerclage. Ah, the joys of the medical field...just shows that there isn't just one belief in the field...
I feel if both of my appointments yesterday were with my doctors and not their collegues, I would feel more positive about everything. I am going to call my peri on Monday (since my OB is on maternity leave until February 19th) and discuss this with him. I was determined to have the stitch put in next week until we went to our appointments yesterday.
Sorry if that was TMI for anyone, but that is what is going on in my life now. I guess I have to weigh the pros and cons myself and this is what I think...I am going to wind up on bedrest or have restrictions this pregnancy because I did last pregnancy (and Adam and I both agreed that I am to start restricting myself now). I know that the cerclage worked, or at least in my mind have convinced myself that it is why I carried the girls to 34.5 weeks...my cervix didn't budge the whole time I was pregnant after the stitch. And, bigger than that, I know that I will beat myself up if these babies wind up in the NICU and I didn't get the stitch (considering that I already beat myself up for the fact that Hadley and Gretchen were in the NICU for 6 days, which isn't long at all but seemed like an eternity at the time...so much respect for those couples that spent weeks and months there).
So, that is the update for now. We have an appointment with my OB on February 19th and our level 2 ultrasound on February 22nd with my peri. We should be able to find out genders at that appointment. I will post pictures later today from our ultrasounds. They are pretty amazing (well, at least of Baby B, who stole the show).

Almost 14 weeks...

Just thought I would add some photos since we just took one of my ever expanding waistline! All is still well here. I had a rough weekend battling some nausea again, but have made it through and am feeling better! Of course, there will be more of an update on Friday afternoon!

Once again...

Hello everyone!
Adam and I found out that we are expecting our 2nd set of twins on November 26th, 2007. We were shocked, to say the least. In fact, for the following few weeks, I really think we walked around in a daze, and suffered through various emotions regarding this unexpected surprise (face it, 2 sets of twins in 3 years is a tough pill for anyone to swallow, especially since we will be raising our growing family on Adam's income). I think we were a bit nervous of complications as well, and losing the pregnancy after experiencing a loss over the summer. Once we had a few doctor's appointments under our belt, it really started sinking in that we were going to venture down this road again!
All is well. I am officially 12 weeks along now (as of January 9th) and am finally feeling like the demands of the first trimester are behind me. We will be seeing 2 doctors this time around (just like we did when we were pregnant with Hadley and Gretchen) and feel confident that my 'staff' of doctors will help us carry this pregnancy as far as the babies and God will allow.
I will be frequently updating this page with news about us and this pregnancy as an easy way to update family and friends on their own time (plus, it will help cut down on the amount of emails I need to send out).
So, a quick up to date on all of us. Adam is in his 3rd year of teaching and really excelling with it. He is in the process of completing his Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and will hopefully be finishing up right when these babies arrive (oh, due date is July 23rd, but I doubt we will go to term). I am staying at home to raise our growing family and have really been busy recently with our twin 2 year olds and battling nausea and fatigue.
Hadley and Gretchen are absolutely amazing little girls. It is a bit scary how quickly babies grow into toddlers and then into little kids...we are just holding on to every amazing moment and enjoying the best years that life has offered us. They are very excited to meet the babies...Hadley walks around saying 'two babies' all of the time and Gretchen likes to talk to my belly and give it high fives.
We have two doctors appointments on Friday, January 25th, so we should know more at this point. If you could all keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a healthy pregnancy, we would appreciate it!
More later...
Heather