Released

It's strange for me to start sharing our fertility journey of these twins having kept it quiet for so long. But it's something that I think people need to be aware of. I think most of us have been touched in someway by someone who has walked this road. Either a relative or a friend or a friend of a friend. It's much more talked about and accepted than it was years ago.

We met with our fertility doctor, Dr. Long, today. He's with the Alabama Reproductive Technologies (ART) Program. It's based in Birmingham, but they have offices in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville. The only times we had to travel to Birmingham were for the initial appointment and then any Saturday or Sunday appointments. Since cycles don't take weekends, they are open on the weekends for procedures that cannot wait until Monday or be done on Fridays, such as monitoring blood work/ultrasounds or doing IUI's.

Anyway, we had a video conference with Dr. Long.

He's fabulous. Calm. Knowledgeable. Matter of fact yet gentle. Speaks and yet listens. Doesn't make you feel stupid.

We talked basic pregnancy stuff like food and nausea and medicine and weight gain and the babies' health. He reiterated that no matter how much (or little) nutrients I get, the babies will get what they need. Amazing how God works! We talked about the H1N1 vaccine and the pros/cons of taking/not taking it.

And then we talked some about twins.

According to our doctor, 80-90% of women deliver twins via c-section. I've read as low as 50-60% online though. It all depends on how twin A is positioned and what twin B decides to do! :) We'll see!

95% of twins are born before 37 weeks.

The magic number: 34 weeks.

All organs, lungs, everything is developed by 34 weeks with twins. After that, they are just getting bigger.

Again, absolutely amazing how God works! Two babies are squished into a much smaller space. Therefore, they develop faster so they can come sooner! Amazing! Perfect!

Our first goal: 28-30 weeks (end of February)

Our second goal: 32 weeks (mid-March, Addie's birthday)

Our final goal: 34 weeks (beginning of April)

I had 37 weeks in my head. You know, end of April.

I was a little taken aback to think that we've basically got to have everything ready by the end of February, just to be safe. That's about 4 and a half months.

And then he released me to my OB. No more weekly ultrasounds. I will miss those!

So who wants to help us move the guest bed, sofa, and desk out of the guest bedroom and box up the books? And paint. And make bedding (after we find out what we're having). Like soon...

Ohhhhhh, nevermind...I'll worry about that later. For now, I'm just going to try to get some food down!

Fun times coming...