My Story, Part 2

Double the Everything

I will start by saying the shock of the twin pregnancy never went away, and to this day we still find ourselves saying "can you believe there are two babies?!"  Oh, and I must not forget to mention that no matter what went on - whether it was emotional, physical, preparational, or mental - it was double!  The most common thing people said (and still say) to me in reacting to our twins is, "double the trouble!"  It really should be "double the everything!"  And that's just a fraction of it. 

So, in the midst of the shock (double the shock, of course), the next best thing one can do in such a situation is prepare.  However, I could only think about the gargaturan task of preparation for the first trimester. I spent most days laid out and hardly able to move - I had horrific headaches, extreme fatigue, and the most excruciating, unimaginable, unbearable hip pain.  These symptoms had begun earlier and with greater severity than all of my other pregnancies - and no wonder - I had double the hormones and double the babies to cook!  I would literally lay in bed ALL day long, rarely getting up to even eat as the nausea would override my appetite.  My older children (then 4, 2 and 1) ran around like newly freed cage animals, screaming in delight, fighting every other second, and taking advantage of mommy in her bedridden state (actually, this sounds like the state of my house daily, minus the bedridden part).  But at that point in time I could care less.  My husband did a lot to help, thankfully, because it took everything I had to just exist.  So right when the misery started to taper off, I began my routine check ups.  Of course, this was after my ER visit which also required a follow up with my midwife as I had then been diagnosed with a subchorionic hemorrage and was terrified of what complications might arise. 

After 3 pregnancies and childbirths one would think that I would be a pro.  The complication and twin pregnancy was so new to me that the only thing I was a pro at during that time was asking questions.  I came to her office with a list (below) which she answered quite concisely, and in the most comforting manner:

• What are the risks associated with a subchorionic hemorrage?  
• The main risk is a threatened miscarriage of either one or both fetuses.  
• What is a subchorionic hemorrage? 
• A subchorionic hemmorage is when the placenta detaches from the wall of the uterus and causes bleeding during pregnancy. In many cases, it heals itself over a long period of time. (Mine was a moderate hemorrage).
• Can I do normal day-to-day activies? 
• Daily activies must be modified. No lifting heavy items (laundry baskets, children, grocery bags), no excercising. Bed rest is not necessary at this point.
• How much do I have to eat? 
• Expected weight gain is 50lbs. Caloric intake should increase by 600 calories per day. The nutritionist at the pernitatologist's office will track weight gain and diet and adjust as necessary.
• How many vitamins do I take? 
• Two babies = two prenatals.  Plus calcium, vitamind D, selenium, and omega-3.
• How can I possibly breastfeed twins? 
• It's easy...that's why God gave you two breasts!
• How often will I have ultrasounds? 
• In this office, the standard 20 week ultrasound, but the perinatialogist will do approximately 1 per month to monitor the twins' growth and development.
• Will I have to be on bedrest at a certain point? 
• Only time will tell!

The funny part is, I didn't expect any of the answers she gave me!  Shortly after that appointment I had a follow up with the specialist/perinatologist and it was with both of their guidances and recommendations that I had an extremely healthy pregnancy.  The hemorrage was the biggest stress as we were terrified of miscarrying, but I was extremely careful.  I noticed that I would have increased bleeding on the days I was more active (grocery shopping, family outing) even if it had subsided significantly in the days before.  I even went in for a "viability check" once because I thought the activities of the babies had decreased.  Everything was fine, and each month's ultrasound showed the placenta had reattached bit by bit, fully healing at 20 weeks.  It was then my restrictions were lifted.

The nutrition aspect was extremely important and highly stressed in my prenatal care plan.  After the "sticker shock" of having to gain 50lbs, I was also burdened with the increased risk of gestational diabetes.  Our families have a history of diabestes in each generation, and that adds to the already increased risk a twin pregnacy alone presents. That being said, the nutritionist suggested I eat low carb...and let me tell you, I have never followed a diet so carefully as I did that one.  I actually kept a food journal and would count and record every meal, snack, and dip in the candy dish.  It was recommended that I eat between 200g and 300g carbs per day, but my daily records proved I would hardly reach the 200g mark.  Before I started counting my carbs, I craved loaded baked potatoes and would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and often times more than one!  That must be why I was able to be so strict - I had maxed myself out before the cut!  To my surprise, however, that low amount of carbs was keeping me from gaining the proper amount of weight.  At my appointments, the nutritionist would actually graph my weight (every time) and show me where my growth/gain was in relation to the suggested curve.  For many weeks, I was below the curve and not gaining enough.  Finally I was told "add nuts (nuts are caloric) to everything you can...and milkshakes, drink a milkshake everyday!!!"  Those were the best doctor's orders I have ever received and I had no problem following them! 

The rest of my pregnancy was a healthy one, but I was SO miserable with each growing day! Remember the hip problem I mentioned earlier?  Well it only grew worse.  I felt like my pelvic bones were slowly cracking.  There were many days where my husband had to literally drag me around on his back because it was too painful to walk.  My husband works at night, so when he was gone I remember laying there crying because I literally couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom.  I would fall asleep with the lights on, hold my pee in for hours and just feel sorry for myself.  I couldn't even get up to answer the phone.  If an axe murderer attacked me in the middle of the night I would have been an easy kill in my incapacitated state!  The only thing that slightly helped was a maternity suppport belt, but my doctor didn't prescribe it to me until I was 33 weeks despite my begging at every check up!  And then of course, there was the whole sleeping issue.  I had about 25 pillows which varied in shapes, sizes and firmness that I would position just perfect for me to fall asleep.  But of course, I could never stay asleep because my arm would go numb, my belly would hurt my back, my leg would cramp...it was miserable!  That was in addition to the insomnia.  Biologically, you would think pregnant women would sleep so sound and comfortably for 9 months in order to build up energy for the future countless sleepless nights spent caring for newborns - TWO newborns in my case (many cases) - but no, biology didn't work that way...for me, at least!

And so, with a elephantine twin-housing belly comes an exponential amount of elephantinely rude comments regarding bellysize, family size, living accomodations, and so on and so forth.  And I shall end there, because not only does this topic infuriate me, it requires an elephantine amount blog space...