Not Much

Nothing really doing. My mom and her boyfriend were here for Thanksgiving and the weekend. Thanksgiving dinner went well even though there were nearly no carbs on the table. :-) They left a few hours ago, and I hope they are having a dry trip home.

Even with watching what I'm eating I still seem to be gaining too much weight and it's driving me batty. *sigh* What am I going to do? As much as I hate exercising, I wish the docs would let me do something because I'm sure as heck not burning enough calories. It doesn't really work to eat 2000 calories a day and be sedentary--even when you're pregnant with twins. Well, at least I'll be able to exercise when I'm breastfeeding and hopefully I'll be able to lose the baby weight (and thensome).

I must say this is really obnoxious, though. I thought I would be able to stop thinking about my weight when I got pregnant, and now it's all I think about because I'm terrified of gaining 75+ pounds during this pregnancy. It's just making me miserable!! :-(

OB Appt

In all of my craziness, I forgot to tell everyone about the OB appointment from last Tuesday. I gained WAY too much weight--again--so the doc wants me to cut out carbs. No carbs? That means no pumpkin pie, no stuffing, no cookies, no fun. :-P But hey, I'd rather cut out carbs and not finish this pregnancy at 200+ lbs, you know? So it's gotta be protein, fruits, veggies, dairy, etc. Seriously, I want to go in two weeks from now and not have gained a pound (maybe even have lost a few). It's gotten waaaaay out of hand, so even though you're not supposed to diet while pregnant, seems like I have to diet anyway. lol

Now before you all jump on me and say "BUT YOU CAAAAN'T DO THAT!" let me remind you that from Sept 10 to Nov 25 I gained nearly 20 lbs. Yes, thats right--20. And for someone who was already 35 lbs overweight when she started this pregnancy, gaining 20 lbs at the beginning of 2nd trimester is unreal (and disgusting). The vaaaast majority of that is fat, not baby, not amniotic fluid, not uterus and not placenta. The babies weigh less than 1 lb each, so if you add up two babies with all their extras, they probably weigh a total of 4-5 lbs together. And even if you factor in a pound or so of extra blood volume, it still doesn't come close. I don't need the extra fat lol. So, I gotta get rid of some of it while still making sure the babies are well fed. Trust me, if I go back in for my next OB appt and am 2 lbs lighter, I don't think the doctor will frown at me.

Aside from the weight gain, both babies are doing great. Awesome heartbeats and a closed up cervix. Woo hoo! We have another ultrasound in a week and another doctor's appointment in two weeks, so we'll get more fun baby updates then. In the mean time, have a piece of pumpkin pie for me!!!! :-)

Thanksgiving

My mom and her boyfriend are coming to visit for Thanksgiving weekend...we waited until the last minute to buy food...turkey takes too long to thaw...so hubby bought chicken with no recipe in mind...so now he's going BACK out to the supermarket to buy something so we can make a chicken recipe (mind you it's almost 11pm). *sigh* While at the supermarket, he called to ask if I could find him a salmon recipe when he couldn't find turkey, but then he found turkey and I told him to call my mom to ask if she wanted us to make it. He didn't call me to even mention he was going to get chicken, and since NOTHING is open tomorrow, he stormed back out the door to get an ingredient we need for the chicken recipe. Honestly!! Why couldn't he have just called me to say he was getting chicken?? He does this all the time and it's starting to get on my nerves. He could save a lot of gas mileage by calling me right before he checks out so I know what he's bringing home. Since it's hard for me to walk, I can't always go shopping with him, but if it means he's going to have to go back (and cause us to both lose sleep), then I should just suck it up and go shopping with him. But when I go on bed rest, I won't be able to go shopping with him... Grumble.

Fast forward 10 minutes: Just got off the phone with the hubby. He actually called me from the supermarket to make 100% sure there was nothing else we needed. So we went through the menu and he even found some fruits that weren't at the first place he went to. So it shouldn't be a total loss. And he gets bonus points too--I just called him again to tell him to get several cans of stewed tomatoes (that's what he went back for) and he said "I've got 4". Heh...he's a smart man.

Now that that's settled, I can be thankful for things. :-)

1) Very thankful for my wonderful hubby who does go shopping and lets me stay home to relax. I'm so very glad that I married him.

2) Incredibly thankful to Hashem (that's G-d for those of you non-Jews out there) for giving me two miracles who are snuggled away in my tummy for the next few months.

3) Especially thankful for my family (mom, sister, mom-in-law, several sibling-in-laws, and of course Grandpa Irv) for always being supportive and loving.

4) Thankful that my husband and I actually have jobs in this stinky economy that allow us to pay our mortgage, buy groceries and pay various other bills.

5) Thankful that my family and I are all pretty healthy with no serious problems that would cause me to worry. (Grandpa Irv really needs to stop scaring us...I gotta save all my worry for the twins.) :-D

6) Ginormously thankful for my two best friends, David & Melanie, without whom I would just go crazy. David-because I can talk politics with him and not find myself in an argument. Because he always has and always will make me laugh with his antics. Melanie-because with her I can still play violent computer games (Heroes III & Baldur's Gate) and kill zombies whenever I want. Because she'll go see movies with me that no one else would (Prince Caspian, Wall-E, etc.). And because I can say whatever I want to either of them and not be worried about being offensive or crossing "the line".

7) Thankful for all of my other IRL (in real life) friends, bloggie friends, and alllll of my readers out there. Without you guys, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. And I certainly wouldn't have kept blogging if I didn't know someone was out there reading all of it.

8) Thankful that this holiday means I get a day off from work!!! W00t!

I can't come up with anything else, but I think you get the point. :-) Happy Turkey Day! Don't forget to have some stuffing for me!

Prematurity Awareness

Have you signed the March of Dimes' Petition for Preemies?? Go sign and tell everyone you know to do the same. Post on your blog and/or send out a mass email. This is sooooo important, so do it now!

Funny Story

I have a very funny story about the name we picked for our little boy. One of the people I told is my best guy friend from college. We talk online nearly every day and generally once a week on the phone. We never dated, but we're very close friends. In any case, my son's first name will probably be the same as my friend's, so I wanted to warn him not to be shocked when we name the baby. I explained why we chose that particular name and then told him the middle name as well. And my friend goes "So you're naming him after me?" I replied "Not quite...what's your middle name??" And of course he replies that it's the same as we picked for Baby B. Luckily he is honored and not offended, even though it was 100% by accident. I did know deep down in my subconscious what his middle name was, but it didn't occur to me until he said it. Heh So I guess my best friend and my first born son will have the same name. Go figure! :-)

We Picked

We chose names for our twins, but they are always subject to change depending on our mood or if anything tragic (G-d forbid) happens between now and April. Sorry, but we're not telling. :-) It's another Jewish tradition that the names aren't publicized until the babies are officially named (at the boy's bris/circumcision and at the girl's naming). Obviously we'll fill out birth certificates before then, but no one except my immediate family (and one or two of my really best friends) will know the names. But I just wanted everyone to know that the controversy is over and everyone is happy. Yay for compromising!

Names

My hubby and I are in a quandry about what to name our twins. In Jewish (Ashkenaz) custom, we only name after people who have passed away, and although some people choose not to name after anyone, this is not what we would like to do. Our twins will have Hebrew names--possibly translating into English depending on the name. For example, my name is Elana in both Hebrew and English--there's no translation. But my husband's name is Shmuel in Hebrew, which translates to be Samuel in English. It all depends on the name picked. Anyhoo, both of our father's passed away in 2005, and we would like to name after both of them, but one of our babies is female and it wouldn't look nice naming her Isaac/Yitzchok or Daniel. Isaac doesn't have a female equivalent and I don't really like the names Danielle or Daniella. Thus, we are in a situation. We're trying to come up with possibilities, but if we want to keep the first letters the same, there aren't lots of choices. I came up with two female names beginning with the letter D and five that begin with Y...not all of them are great either lol. So this is what we're going to spend the next 4 months figuring out... :-) Maybe I should take my best friend's advice and name someone Baruch after our next president. HAHAHA Actually, I would use Baruch or Bracha as a name but only because it means blessed--and these babies are so much of a blessing for us that it is definitely in consideration, but only for that reason!!!

In other news, my doctor says I do not have UTI! YAY!

100th Post!

I crammed a whole bunch of posts in the last few days so I could have my 100th post be really awesome. I had my BIG ultrasound today, so I'm posting pictures from that and we'll finally get to see actual genders. I also updated my belly pic, so you can check that out on the side bar as well.

The ultrasound went great--both babies have all necessary body parts (brain, nose, 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands, 2 feet, stomach, kidneys, etc.) and they're all looking good. Baby A's heartrate was 150bpm and Baby B's heartrate was 161bpm. Now for the pictures!!

First is Baby A's profile


Next is Baby B's profile


This is a cute picture of Baby B with his arms covering his face


This is a really neat photo of Baby B's right hand


And...what you've all been waiting for..."the goods"...

Baby A is
A GIRL!!!!

Baby B is
A BOY!!!!

So there you have it. I was right all along--it's one of each! :-D

Found It!

Thanks to some l33t google searching, I found a mathematical equation that gives twin premature survival rates. P(m) = (375 x P(s)) / (275 + P(s)) with P(m) being the survival rate for multiples and P(s) being the survival rate for a singleton pregnancy. As you will see, the rate of survival for multiples is very slightly higher than for singletons even though they may have a smaller birth weight. I will do the math for you and make a chart!

21 weeks or less: 0% single & multiple
22 weeks: 0-10% single / 0-13% multiple
23 weeks: 10-35% single / 13%-42% multiple
24 weeks: 40-70% single / 47%-76% multiple
25 weeks: 50-80% single / 57%-84% multiple
26 weeks: 80-90% single / 84%-92% multiple
27 weeks: > 90% single / > 92% multiple

These are all rounded down to the nearest percent. It is true that there have been babies born at 21 weeks and earlier that have survived, but the rate is so very low that it's not really measurable. This is why I have kept it at 0%. These rates also depend a lot on weight of the baby/babies at birth. A lower weight baby is going to have a far smaller chance of survival than a higher weight baby born at the same gestational age. They've also shown that female babies have a higher rate of survival than male babies born at the same gestational age. How far has science come!

Chart

As Nancy so aptly pointed out, the previous post is a chart for singleton births. I'm still searching for a twin chart and will post it when I find it. Btw, Nancy, did you know that if you google search "gestational age survival rate", your blog post is on the first page? :-)

Survival Rate by Gestational Age

My blogger friend Nancy posted this chart a while back, and I want to have it for my own records. It's a great chart and I encourage everyone to make a copy for themselves.

There are more detailed charts out there, but this one is nice and basic.

Advances in medical care have made it possible for many premature infants to survive and develop normally. However, whether or not a premature infant will survive is still intimately tied to his or her gestational age:

21 weeks or less: 0% survival rate
22 weeks: 0-10% survival rate
23 weeks: 10-35% survival rate
24 weeks: 40-70% survival rate
25 weeks: 50-80% survival rate
26 weeks: 80-90% survival rate
27 weeks: greater than 90% survival rate

(note: many charts simply list the first number. This one gives a better range.)

I am the AWESOMEST

I do matchmaking for a website called SawYouAtSinai. For those of you who are not Jewish, let me explain. For many Orthodox Jews, people are still matched by parents, matchmakers and friends before going on dates. There are lots of Jewish dating websites out there, but this is the only one where a matchmaker has to set you up before you can see the other person's profile. There's no searching on your part--it's all 3rd party. I know that when most people hear "matchmaking" they're thinking Fiddler on the Roof and not meeting your spouse until the wedding day. That just doesn't happen in Judaism any more. People are set up, they go on dates, and if they're not compatible, they end it--if they are compatible, then they go on more dates. Some people date for a month and get engaged, some for three months, some for longer (generally, the more Orthodox you are, the less time you spend dating the person before getting engaged and the less time there is between engagement and the wedding). In any case, I just made my first official shidduch (match) on the website!! Oh, I've had many people go on dates since I first started matching with them 2 years ago, but no engagements--until now!! The man is a 40-year-old who has never been married before and the woman is a 30-year-old widow. I'm soooo happy for them and wish I could make it to the wedding. Unfortunately it's on a Tuesday night in December, and I don't have any more vacation days. Nor do I want to drive to NYC all by myself... Anyways, this makes me the awesomest!

No news back from the doctor on my possible UTI--but I will be calling them on Monday to get results and see what has to be done.

ER

I went to the ER last night (sorry I didn't tell you when we were on the phone, Mom, but I didn't want you worrying needlessly on your birthday...) :-) Anyhoo, I'm fine, babies are fine. I went because I was having the most bizarre cervical pain. Like someone was pinching it. So I called the doc on call and he said that since it's twins that I should come in. So I did! My cervix was beautiful and so are the babies, but they checked my urine and think I have a UTI! We're still waiting for the cultures to come back with a definite "you are sick and need antibiotics" or "you're not sick and will be just fine". But in the mean time, I'm not in any danger nor do I have any awful UTI symptoms (THANK G-D!). I also want to give a big A+ to the doctors at St. Elizabeth's (where I plan to deliver). I was in and out of there in 2 1/2 hours, was treated with respect and the best bed-side manner I've ever seen.

While at the ER, though, I heard THE FUNNIEST LINE EVER!! So if you're pregnant and pee when you laugh (or sneeze...or breathe), please get a Depends pad ready. Right, so the guy in the room next to mine was having some problem with his foot and the nurse was asking him all sorts of questions. Finally, she asked him "has it been x-rayed"? And he replies "I've had so many x-rays, I'm surprised I don't glow in the dark!" Tee hee. I could just picture him glowing in the dark!!!

If I wasn't convinced that I was pregnant before, I'm definitely convinced now. I generally don't eat chicken. Not because I feel bad for them or anything, but because I just don't like the taste. I've been craving chicken for days. Unfortunately, kosher chicken is rediculously expensive so I can't possibly have it all the time. I bought some chicken to make Tuesday dinner (and give some to my friend who just had a baby) and ate a whole piece on Tuesday night and another whole piece on Wednesday night. For me this is huge...I almost NEVER eat a whole piece of chicken!! LOL Well, if all the ultrasounds and feeling baby movements wasn't convincing enough, this surely is. :-D

Birthing Class

So here's where you get to know Elana more than you thought possible...

I enrolled in a birthing class today. Now for the background story. :-) When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by pregnancy and childbirth, but also completely embarrased by it. I could watch the same footage of someone on a TV show giving birth (completely fake, of course) a zillion times, but I'd be rediculously embarrased if someone was watching with me or if someone "caught" me watching it. It's not like I was watching pornography, but it still felt weird. Anyhoo, if someone else was in the room, I couldn't even watch someone on TV in a birthing class without my face getting all red! So now you know how I feel about this. I'm terrified that I'm going to be all embarrased just being in a birthing class with my hubby! Heck, I'm terrified that I'm going to be embarrased giving birth in front of anyone--hubby, nurses, even the doctor. So I'm all excited to be going to a real birthing class (where I probably know all the info anyway from watching all those tv shows and reading everything in sight), but I'm also embarrased that I'm even signed up. lol Maybe I should just stay home and give birth by myself in the bathtub. :-) I'm a weirdo, but that's why you love me!

Ebay Shopping Spree

I had some fun on Ebay and bought a few things for myself at much cheaper prices than I'd ever find in a store. There are two more things I have on my watch list, but these are the things I bought in the last few days...

First is a black skirt with sparkly gold stripes


Next is a pink and white blouse


This is a pretty black dress with some kind of flower design


And finally, this is a brown dress


All things with long sleeves, most with high necklines--and those with lower necklines can be worn with a shirt underneath, and the skirts safely below the knee!!

Award

I got a bloggy award thanks to my good friend Blue @ Operation Offspring!! :-)

Answer the following questions with single word responses. Then pass on the award to 7 other bloggers:

1. Where is your cell phone? Next to me
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Rochester
5. Your father? Heaven
6. Your favorite thing? Sleep
7. Your dream last night? Bizarre
8. Your dream/goal? Motherhood
9. The room you’re in? Den
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Death
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Right here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Submissive
15. One of your wish list items? Baby
16. Where you grew up? Rochester
17. The last thing you did? Feed Guinea Pigs
18. What are you wearing? PJs
19. Your T.V.? Days of our Lives
20. Your pet? Guinea Pigs
21. Your computer? Ancient
22. Your mood? Happy
23. Missing someone? Pookie
24. Your car? Small
25. Something you’re not wearing? Shaytel
26. Favorite store? Wegmans
27. Your Summer? Too hot
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Don't remember

Right, so I didn't do so well on using single words, but it's difficult to do that! :-) Anyhoo, here are the people whose blogs I absolutely love (trying to avoid people who already have this award...)

1) Shauna @ Serendipity Lost
2) Sherry @ Sherry's World
3) Molly @ The Logical Mommy
4) Margelina @ What a Long Strange Trip I'm On
5) Cate @ Why is it Always So Cold Next to the Lake?
6) Murgdan @ Conceive This!
7) Fuentes @ Life at 335

Mazal Tov!

One of my IRL friends here had a baby girl on Friday!! She had been thinking it was a boy, but I had had a dream (waaay back before even I got pregnant) that I was playing with three babies--twin boy & girl, who were mine, and another baby girl, who I assumed to be my friend's. Well, I was right and she was wrong. :-D I believe both mother and baby are doing well and hope to see them within a day or so (they live about 5 houses down the street). The poor thing was in labor for 29 hours--half at home with a doula and the other half in the hospital so she could get an epidural. I know she wanted to go natural (as do I), but even I would be begging for something if my labor dragged on like that!

Other than that, nothing's been happening. My belly almost always feels like it's stretching...and it's totally unconfortable. For those non-preggo's and males out there, you know what it feels like after Thanksgiving dinner when you KNOW you've eaten WAAAY too much and your bellly feels like it's going to explode? Yeah, that's the feeling 24/7 over here. :-) Not complaining, as I'll take any symptom pregnancy brings me, just stating a fact. Also been having some trouble sleeping...like I just can't get comfortable on my left side and I REALLY want to sleep on my back. I tried to prop myself up a bit, but by the time I woke up in the morning, I think I'd been sleeping nearly flat on my back for hours. WHOOPS! Oh well, not much I can do about it.

Bed Rest

I had some questions about why I was talking about bed rest. Firstly, I am not currently on bed rest (although I wish I was confined to the house so I didn't have to go to work...) :-) Secondly, my OB as well as every Perinatologist I've seen have all told me that I will be going on bed rest at some point...most likely around 6 months. There are a few reasons why--#1) Because it's twins (duh) #2) Because it's an IVF pregnancy and therefore even higher risk than twins that occur naturally #3) Because I'm a small person and we don't know how my cervix is going to react to the double pressure of twin babies once we get further along. Rather than risk my cervix opening prematurely, they want me to be on bed rest in order to try to avoid it.

In other news, I'd go into the horrific day I had at work today, but I'd rather not talk about it...it just pisses me off. I am, however, very happy about Barack Obama being elected president, so that makes it a little better. :-)

I do believe I'm starting to feel little kicks as well as movements. This morning I woke up with my hubby's alarm for a bathroom break and felt a kick while I was on my way to the bathroom. I actually said "oof" out loud. lol I can't wait to feel more of them!!

Belly Button and other things

When I was in high school, I was convinced that my belly button was "unfolding". Yes, I was a bizarre child, but I seriously thought it was just going to come apart. Now, I know it's not unfolding, but it's definitely getting shallower. :-)

I follow a lot of blogs, and today I read something that I really want to share. My blogger friend Nancy has one post today about childhood vaccinations and another about the flu shot. I think everyone should read them (especially those who are nervous about vaccinating their children or even themselves). Thank you Nancy!!

In other news, I'm 16 weeks today!! I'm just recharging the batteries for my digital camera and then I'll upload my newest belly pic. It's definitely getting bigger and sometimes I can feel it stretching, and BOY does it hurt! But I'll take it! I've also had some headaches for the last few days, so hopefully those will go away soon. I also voted today, and I hope everyone else has done the same!

I did go maternity shopping last Sunday and bought a winter jacket, a black blouse and 3 bras. Holy cow I'm so happy about those bras. I'd been wearing regular ones 24 hours a day and they were starting to get small. I don't actually think my boobs have gotten any bigger, but my ribcage/chest has. So I'm one size up for chest, but the same cup size. That makes a huge difference in comfort, though! I had actually given myself a sore under my boob and it hurt like mad! Now I have a bra that is specifically for sleeping and two other ones that I can wear during the day.

Today I had the second blood draw for my Sequential Screen, so I will hopefully find out the results of that next week at my OB appointment. And the Big Ultrasound is two weeks from today!!! My sister and brother-in-law are coming in for it, so I'm really psyched to see them too. Then, my mom and her boyfriend are probably coming to visit for Thanksgiving, so that will round out November nicely. I'm going to get spoiled seeing my family so much! But after November I probably won't see anyone again until the babies arrive, unless I get visitors while on bed rest.

Yikes!

Well, this has been a really dull week. It's already Saturday night and I haven't posted a thing since Tuesday. Whoops on me! So, here's the scoop.

One of my IRL (in real life) preggo friends is in the hospital--not pregnancy related, thank G-d. I won't go into any more detail than that because it's quite personal. She actually referred me to my current OB (who is AWESOME). I visited my friend on Wednesday evening and ran into my OB on my way out (she was on her way in to visit my friend). It was very funny. This friend also has a guinea pig who I am pig-sitting. I have 2 guinea pigs, so the humans in my household are currently outnumbered by guinea pigs...

I'm planning to go maternity clothes shopping tomorrow as I find that 4 outfits just don't work when there are 7 days in a week... I have a $100 gift card to Motherhood Maternity, so I'm psyched for a spree!! (Thank you mypoints.com)

I can't believe I'm going to be 16 weeks on Tuesday. I'm going in for the 2nd part of my sequential screen that day. The sequential screen is like the triple/quad screen except they test you twice...once at 12 weeks and once at 16 weeks. They then use those results combined with the neuchal translucency to give you the chances of your baby/babies having Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 13 or Trisomy 18. I'm not particularly worried seeing as the NT values for both babies were very low. (Both under 1mm) And my age works for me even though my husband's age is working against. And then I can go vote!! Man, Tuesday is going to be a big day.