Yesterday was busy! I started out with an ultrasound at 10. It had been four weeks since I'd had an ultrasound except for the super quick look at the hospital, and I was really anxious to hear about the babies' growth rates. At my last appointment, they had only a 6% difference, which is really good. I've liked all the ultrasound technicians that I've seen, and I was hoping it would be my favorite--the one that I had for the sex ultrasound and one other. She told me my babies had "gorgeous brains" and "lovely livers." She was kind of a nut, but it was entertaining.
Instead, I had another tech that I hadn't had before. She was very nice too, and I really appreciated that she took my concerns about my cervical length seriously. She measured me first thing and then after looking at the babies did a transvaginal measurement. Both measurements were 3.4cm!!! I was so excited that it had grown from the 2.5cm a couple of weeks ago. It seems like the bedrest is working.
The babies were looking great. Baby A weighs 3 lbs, 5 oz and Baby B weighs 3 lbs, 3 oz. The weights are +/- 7oz, so it's definitely not the most exact measurement in the world, but I'm really excited that they're likely near or over 3 pounds. Good growing, babies! Both of them were looking at my back, so we couldn't see their faces, sadly, but all their parts were measuring on track. Each of their heartrates was also in the normal range. I don't have to go back for another four weeks, which seems crazy to me--I'd rather be going every two weeks, but for now I'm going to trust them. I may ask the peri at my appointment next week about whether I should be getting growth updates more regularly. I suppose for a multiples pregnancy I'm low risk, but any risk is too much to me!
Next up: the perinatologist. It was my first middle-of-the-day appointment, and I was very annoyed that I had to wait an hour to see the doctor. Patience for that sort of thing is not one of my virtues. I'm a professional too, and if I have an appointment with a client, I am going to be on time come hell or high water. I don't think it's professional or courteous to allow an office to get that backed up. I understand that emergencies happen, but I think the office should call patients who are going to be affected and tell them to come 45 minutes later or whatever. It's rude to just have people show up and then have to wait for that length of time.
Anyway, when I finally saw the doctor, I was surprised that it wasn't the doctor that I've been seeing for all my prior appointments. I didn't even know his name! But I ended up really, really liking him. He was very jovial and cheerful, whereas my regular peri is very business-like and curt. Not rude, but definitely not warm and fuzzy. This doctor was much more like me, I think, personality-wise. We had a good conversation about KV and the progesterone fiasco, and he agreed with me that KV is acting like a patent troll.
He did not seem very concerned about me, as it seems like bedrest is doing the trick for keeping my contractions at bay. I asked about cervical changes, and he said it is a dynamic organ and can grow and shrink at any time. Scary! But mine seems to be heading toward "long" again, so I'm just going to keep on that train, hopefully.
Finally: dietitian. As I had been doing so much research online ever since getting the diagnosis, she didn't really have a lot to teach me. It was good to get the special guidelines for twins (hint: I get to eat a lot), but it was also disconcerting to know that it's also going to be harder for me to control the diabetes with diet the later I get in the pregnancy. Having two placentas and all those extra hormones....very hard on the body!
The helpful part of the appointment was learning how to use my test kit. The company that is hoping to make a lot of money off of me by selling me test strips and lancets gave me a starter kit with lots of samples, a reader, and the sharps disposal container. Good times.
Here's what the kit looks like--everything I need folds up into a little carrying case. (Shown next to a contact lenses case for perspective.)
Here's the kit open. The zippered side on the left is where I keep the lancets (needles). The test strips are kept in that little cylinder at the bottom right that looks like a film canister (remember those??). The reader is the little computer thing, and the thing in the middle is the poking gun. I'm sure that's not the official name for it, but that's how I think of it.
Here's a picture of a test strip and a lancet. Both are pretty tiny! The cap of the lancet snaps off once it's been loaded into the poking gun.
The lancet gets pushed into the poking gun....
and then the top part of the lancet pops off to reveal the needle. Then the top of the poking gun gets snapped back on.
Finally, the test strip gets loaded into the reader, you poke yourself by pressing the blue button on the gun, and squeeze out a drop of blood onto the strip.
So far it hasn't been too bad. The biggest trick has been making sure I squeeze out enough blood. Holding my hand downward helps a lot. This part doesn't hurt--the initial prick isn't pleasant, but I can handle it. I can handle whatever I need to do to keep these babies safe and growing!
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