i carry...

i didn't know what to expect when i found out i was pregnant.  i mean, i hadn't been researching any of it, so much of it so far has surprised me.  a definite new learning experience that i have to chalk up.

so far, what has REALLY surprised me though is that i carry in front.  i know that i'm only 21.5 weeks pregnant, but i feel like i've been carrying in front up until this point.  don't get me wrong- i know that if i turn to the side, you can definitely see that i am PG.... but, i've been told that if i turn around, you then can't tell.

to me, that's so strange.  strange for two reasons:
1. i've always been fascinated when/how girls can carry in front, and where you can't tell from the back. it's so weird that we have such different bodies and how pregnancy displays itself.
2.  i've always carried "my" weight in my mid-section.  i take after my dad in that part, and i've not been too happy about that since that would be my weakness come bathing suit season....

i guess pregnancy will continue to surprise me... i mean, i haven't had the most orthodox of symptoms, so far (no morning sickness- just nausea from my prenatals and how they taste, i take shots 2x/day, DVT/leg cramps- which ones?, super exhaustion, etc...).

yet, somehow, i feel that as my body does take its shape, toll to accommodate these two little beings, i still am fascinated by what it's becoming....

a soapbox at 18 weeks

tomorrow, we go for our 21-week ultrasound ("u/s" for danielle :)). our previous appointment was very different than any other.

they did the full-anatomy screening on both babies.  imagine having an ultrasound for an hour and a half.  yup, roughly 45 minutes each baby.  the worst part is that the tech was one whom we hadn't had before, and she was quite UNpleasant.  now, i go to u/s every two weeks, and yes, i have questions, AND i have the right to ask any question i want.  for heaven's sake, i have TWO BABIES in my womb!!!  apparently, she did NOT like that and could not multi-task... do her job and answer my questions whenever i asked them.  she got beyond annoyed, and i could tell by her facial expressions, voice, mood, tone, and body language.  for instance, i asked, are we going to be able to compare the fluid around both babies once both babies' screenings were complete?  (for twin-to-twin transfusion which they told us about at our last appointment)  she became frustrated and upset when i asked that and told me that we weren't at THAT point yet in the u/s.  i knew that we weren't at that point, but i was setting the foundation for which i wanted her to point out to me later.  that was only the beginning...

[note: it's UNUSUAL to carry multiples... especially WHEN they're unexpected joys like ours!   it's hard to explain, except i'm sure any woman who has experienced pregnancy has felt this newfound desire to protect everything about the pregnancy/baby.  to know everything, pay attention to everything because it is a RIGHT.   it's a necessity.

well, just imagine your first, you're carrying double, and instead of showing concern for one, you're now responsible for two.  that's where i am.  it's this overwhelmingly feeling of protection, responsibility to my babies, my husband, my family, and especially God.  throw some (sarcasm to it's highest degree) high-risk, 70 mg lovenox injections, twin-to-twin transfusion possibilities in there, and voila!  it WOULD be UNREALISTIC to not be REALISTIC about the situation and concerns that any new mother may have.  we have to prepare for anything and everything.  any answers are appreciated and encouraged.]

normally, we have the most awesome tech... this younger woman (probably late 30's)... she's great about answering questions, providing feedback, multi-tasking, and the face of professionalism!!!  for some reason, we didn't get her this time, which obviously wasn't the best scenario.

for the rest of the visit, she at least reassured us that, once again (for the third time "finding out") that we're having girls.  inside i was LOL!!!  also, she said that the babies are measuring right on schedule for how far along i am.... it's so weird that i have two little babies in there, and every time we go to an ultrasound, i'm genuinely shocked that they're still there.  it's still strange to admit, experience, and feel that i am even pregnant.  i mean, a year ago, i would have laughed if this is where you told me i'd be.... just because i was so sick and almost passing through to the other side... i honestly didn't think there was MUCH possibility in ever getting pregnant after what i went through.  i went through so much medically.

when we finally saw the dr. (who is my fav. by the way, and i hope he delivers my babies since he is well-renowned across the U.S. for multiples), he answered my few questions.  i asked if it's okay to be around my pups (yes), how to solve my problem with prenatals (take two flinstones), if my tailbone's stretching is common (yes, i'm further along than singleton pregnancies since i'm carrying twins), how i deal with heartburn (tum'... 1 every 4-6 hours), and is it normal that i'm having a difficult time coughing/breathing deeply (yes)?

for our 21-week appointment, we are going to the downtown office since it's closer to my work.  since we see a different dr. each visit, it doesn't really matter which location we visit.  we're just praying for healthy baby girls!!! :)

supplements to alleviate leg cramping

i'm 20 weeks.  my chief complaint is leg cramping.   yes, i eat a banana a day in my smoothie.  i drink a lot of water, but it seems to not be helping.  still, i'm awoken several times in the night with HORRIBLE pains similar to my DVT, and i went to sprout's to see if there was any potassium supplement that i could take to help my situation.

the lady told me that actually it was a lack of magnesium which was probably the root of my leg cramping. who would have thought?!  i didn't even know where you find magnesium... meaning, in what food?  well, in LOTS of food!!!  it's in nuts, seeds, whole grains, veggies, beans, etc... AND, she also told me that the root of a lot of diseases, scientists have found, were traced back to a lack of magnesium.... apparently, magnesium is needed by some 300 parts in your body... wowsers!!!  amongst many things, it helps out asthma, blood clotting, leg cramping, allergies, muscle weakness, ADHD (i have most of that right now, especially ADHD my whole life)!!!  here's more information.  AMAZING!!!  i even read that a magnesium deficiency can lead to death due to heart failure!!!

anyway, through more reading, i found that a lack of calcium and potassium also can inflict leg cramping.  not to mention dehydration.  i did pick up a potassium/magnesium supplement.  over the counter, the max amount that they can sell of potassium is 99mg, so my supplement has that in it and 300mg of magnesium.

at my next ultrasound, i will double check with my dr. if it's allright that i'm now taking this supplement. :)

here's Baby Center's information/tips about leg cramping.

are they leg cramps or DVT?

since i have the history of DVT (blood clotting in my left leg) and PE (pulmonary embolism- side of my lung), i started to get super nervous when i started to develop leg cramps in my SAME problematic leg!  it started around when i was 8 weeks, and i went to ER since i had the SAME exact symptoms as my DVT- i mean, the pain hadn't gone away for several days, and for that, i grew even more nervous.

well, i went in, and hours later only to find out that they were severe leg cramps.  oh great, i felt silly and frustrated.  how do you know when they are for real or just the pregnancy taking its toll on you?

all i know is that i mentioned to my dr. and chiro my situation.  the recommendation was to eat a banana for potassium each day.  okay, got it.

then, i started drinking smoothies quite frequently, such as every morning, and regularly, i would throw in a  banana....

didn't develop anymore "cramps" until about 17 weeks... we were staying in CA, and suddenly it's 5a.m., and what do you know!  i feel like i'd rather chop off my leg than scream in pain!!!  the pain was so similar, if not identical, to my DVT, and the thing is- i developed my DVT a year ago at 5a.m.!!!  so, you see why i was extremely nervous....

well, i put my husband right to work to massage my left leg while i was screaming for bloody murder!  who knows how long it took for me to be able to get comfortable again, but the weird thing is- the pain shot to my right leg, and i thought, oh great, how's he going to massage both?  that leg!  no, that leg!  back to that leg!  it was so frustrating for both of us!

then, this past week, again, 5a.m., and bloody murder!  this.pain.was.the.worst.  blood curdling screams.  my right toes felt like they were on fire and going numb, and this pain was just bad.  the following night (or should i say 5a.m. morning?  lol), similar episode, and just felt like my toes were bending weird... know what i mean?  that awkward feeling... well, throw in there some fire-burning feet and annoyingly painful cramps!

FINALLY, i thought- i ran out of bananas!!!  nooooooooo!  need them now!  haven't had them in a few days, which is why i got the stupid, but avoidable cramps!  when we woke up that morning, i immediately sent my husband to go buy some bananas, and threw a few of them into that morning's smoothie!!!  lol

coincidentally, just read that leg cramping is super bad right around now... halfway through the pregnancy!  FYI!

had a minor cramp since then, but seriously... EAT A BANANA each day!!!  if you don't like them, then throw them in a smoothie- tastes yummy!  prevent this awfully painful episode!!!  your sleep, your legs, and your loved one will thank you.  :)

(oh, disclaimer: for a DVT, your leg swells up, hardens like a rock (especially when you touch it- rock hard), red like a tomato, feels boiling hot, and the pain is beyond unbearable.  go to the ER if you have leg cramping that is like that and it doesn't go away!!!)

high-risk???

yes, i'm high-risk... i don't think i ever said what really happened late last summer...

i was immediately hospitalized with DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in my left leg, and also had a PE (pulmonary embolism)- blood clot in my left lung!

well, 9 days down, including a few in ICU, 3 private rooms, 3 surgeries, 3 or 4 ultrasounds, 2 cat scans, and $130,000+ bill (or was it more?) of which my co-pay was less than a grand....... i was released from the hospital.

on anticoagulants for the rest of my life.  my-lovely(i mean that in the highest regard- he saved my life)-and-obama-cloned-dr. discovered in the first surgery that i had may-thurner syndrome.
may-thurner syndrome
what is that?  well, i was born with it, and we have this center vein below our chest called the iliac vein, and mine looked like a traffic jam.  blood wasn't flowing through properly; thus, it got backed up, and i got DVT, PE...

coincidentally, i also had foot surgery a month before that, and wasn't able to move my left leg very much because of the black brace, HOWEVER, i would have developed the DVT, PE regardless because of my condition.  it was inevitable.

SO, i left the hospital on lovenox (shots taken twice a day that my lovely sister/gab administered... hated that needle, and we'd have a disagreement every time he/she was about to STAB me!  lol).

eventually, they moved me to coumadin, which i took for the next 8 months... until i found out i was pregnant.  coumadin is REALLY bad for babies and can cause birth defects and all sorts of craziness!  it's a small enough molecule that crosses the placenta...

AS SOON AS we found out i was PG, they moved me back to lovenox (oh joy!  doesn't cross to the placenta- small enough molecule), and i then had to start taking that twice a day, 70 mg/day.... gab was giving it to me... UNTIL one saturday, he left the house, AND we forgot to give my shot... a quick call to tirz that lasted for nine minutes with my sis convicing me to take the shot.

but, i HATE shots.  despise them.  do.not.like.them.and.flinch.every.time.  and, this needle is LONG!

well, since then, it's all me.  i have a routine down. 

i do this for my babies.  i need them to be as healthy and safe as possible.

because, i'm high-risk, i go every two-three weeks... and, these high-risk specialists are now going to deliver my babies...

the plus side?  have tons of photos and get tons of ultrasounds!  i've had six so far and i'm ONLY 16 weeks!