Like Mother, Like . . . .

I know I've been absent for a while. Too long. In this case, no news is a combo of good news and horrible morning sickness.

Let's start with the morning sickness. Every day. Nausea. Burping, oh dear god the burping. Uncontrollable retching. Vomiting. The only time I didn't feel like death was when I was asleep. You'd think that's good, right? Because most pregnant women get really tired in the first trimester. During my first pregnancy, I got the best sleep of my life until it ended at 10 weeks. My head would hit the pillow, any time of day, and I'd be out.

Now? Nope. No sleep. Why, you ask? Because I've managed to develop a case of pregnancy-induced Graves Disease. That means that my thyroid has gone hyperactive. My heart is constantly racing and feels like it's pounding in my chest. My ability to sleep past 2 am is minuscule, and I have trouble falling asleep. Add those symptoms to horrific nausea and you get a really special brand of misery. It kept me off the computer unless I needed to be there, hence the radio silence.

I asked my OB for something for the nausea. At that point, I was down 7 pounds from my starting weight, which I told her. Her response? "Yes, it's worse with twins. Try eating crackers." It was a 'let them eat cake' moment if ever one existed. Needless to say, I'll be seeing other OBs in the group from here on out.

But that takes us to the good news portion. Two weeks ago, I went to the U of M's MFM center for CVS testing on the babies. After that, DH and I held our breaths and waited for the next shoe to drop. It never did! The FISH results revealed two healthy girls! We are over the moon excited.

I got the babies' full karyotypes back yesterday. The genetic counselor was great and told me everyone was healthy. Then she told me that Baby A is a totally normal 46xx, while Baby B is a 46xx with a pericentric inversion of chromosome 9. I guess there's no denying that one is mine!

I am madly in love and desperately hopeful that I'll start feeling human again soon.

Maybe They Are

Maybe they are. . . my lines, that is. Second ultrasound was on Tuesday. I've been really nauseous. I threw up for the first time over the weekend, and it's been mind over matter to keep from heaving at various points since then.

Despite that, the 'what ifs' crept in.

What if your morning sickness is just psychosomatic?
What if they stopped developing, but your hcg is still up so you're still sick?
What if they turn out to have heads shaped like cornmeal muffins, because that's the only thing you're eating?

It wasn't pretty.

The ultrasound on the other hand, that was pretty. Two perfect babies. They've gotten so much bigger since 6 weeks. We could see brains and spines and arm buds developing. And both had beautiful, strong heartbeats. Watching them on the ultrasound probably goes on the list of the most amazing experiences of my life.

So that's it. I'm released to my OB. I have two more weeks of smurf crotch, and then I get to go drug free!

We still have to clear the genetic testing hurdle, and I'm scared of that one. I found out last week that I have a mutation of the ATM gene on my chromosome 11. That means I'm screwed up on both 9 and 11. I worry about what that might mean for these babies. But I love them, and despite the nausea and the burping, I am so damn happy to be here - almost 9 weeks pregnant, with two babies who have heartbeats!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Remember when I mentioned how messed up it was to want morning sickness? I also mentioned that even though it's messed up, I still felt that way, because it would give me some confidence I was still pregnant with growing babies?

Um, yeah. I got my wish. And while it does actually provide some infinitesimal measure of comfort that my hcg level hasn't tanked, it also doesn't help stop the fears of: 'what if one stopped growing?', 'what if they're both growing, but there are genetic issues?', 'what if there are no heartbeats at the next ultrasound?'

I will try to chalk this up to learning points #1 and #2 of being a parent:
#1: Your kid(s) will make you sick. Maybe that's via pinkeye or the cold going around school. Maybe that's via morning sickness. Either way, get used to it, it's unlikely to stop soon!

#2: You will always worry about your kid(s). You'll worry while they're growing inside you. You'll worry when they're out and struggling with friends or school or any of the million things that kids struggle with. The fact that you love them and want the best for them pretty much consigns you to a life of at least some worry.

While I'm getting used to those learning points, I'm trying to keep food down and not going near the computer as much, because I have this odd motion sickness from focusing on the screen. Since I was the girl who loved riding in the backward facing seat in the station wagon, and who read voraciously while driving, motion sickness is entirely new. Still, if less computer time means less violent nausea, well then I'll write to you again in the second trimester!

A Miracle or Two

The last 11 days have been some of the roughest in my memory. I have bled every single day. I bled on days I stayed still. I bled on days I was active. I bled while sleeping and while sitting on the sofa. I also cramped.

I told myself those can all be normal pregnancy symptoms, because they can.

As for the rest of my symptoms, they vanished. No sore boobs. No nausea. Nothing.

I told myself that can be normal too.

So I took a few home pregnancy tests. The cheapies from China. The Wondfos. A week ago, they were distinctly lighter than they had been. Took one this morning, at 6 weeks, 3 days. For those of you not into peeing on things, the dilution of your urine can have an impact. I'd "held it" for 5.5 hours. The line? Lighter than it was back on 13 DPO when I had my first beta done and only "held" for 4 hours.

That? That I couldn't justify away. There's no logical reason for a super light line. Today was ultrasound #1, and with a light line, I figured there was no chance of a happy ending. I took the afternoon off work and planned on spending it coordinating a d&c in the coming days.

But I guess miracles do happen. Because yesterday, three days after my 10th wedding anniversary, and on the due date of my first loss, the ultrasound showed two perfect heartbeats.

We have a long way to go yet, but for this moment, I'm head over heels in love.

On the Way Out?

Severe cramping yesterday. Awoke to brown spotting and more cramps. The end, I guess?

Then There Were None

I should be five weeks exactly today. It was right around now that my first pregnancy stopped developing, although I didn't know it for another five weeks. 

All my symptoms vanished yesterday. The bloat's gone. The indigestion is gone. My boobs are still sore, but not as bad. There is absolutely no mild nausea any longer. Even my racing heart rate has slowed down.

How utterly fucked up is it that I'm sitting here hoping for a serious case of morning sickness? I mean, really, who wants nausea and puking? Who wants to feel terrible? Women who've had losses and would do anything to know, on a daily basis, that their pregnancy is still progressing, that's who. And I fall into that group. 

Thus, I sit here, desperately hoping for the best, but expecting to see another loss when I go in for my first ultrasound on the 16th. Expecting to hear, again, that there's no heartbeat. Our tenth wedding anniversary is on the 13th. We're going away for a long weekend to celebrate. How do I celebrate now?

Risk Hope?

In early pregnancy, doctors expect hcg levels to double every 24-72 hours. A 48 hour doubling time is considered good and a promising sign. There is a bit of data to show that longer doubling times, while not automatically a problem, are correlated with worse outcomes.

My initial hcg was 249.9 on 13 DPO.

My second hcg was 837 on 15 DPO.

That's a doubling time of 28 hours!

Those are really damn great numbers. (That's the first time I've been able to say that about ANY of my test results in the last 8 months.) Those are numbers that mean this isn't another chemical pregnancy. But my first pregnancy ended in a blighted ovum, which would have had much higher hcg levels than those above. And that means these numbers don't automatically mean a "take home" baby.

So, do I risk having hope? I want to be hopeful that this pregnancy is going well and will stick around. I want to be hopeful that I'll see a heartbeat in 16 days. I want to be hopeful that maybe, just  maybe I'll get a happy ending.

Don't know what the answer is, but I'm going to stick with an affirmation a woman in my loss group shared: Today I'm pregnant and I love my baby.