A long overdue one I might add. So where do I start? From the very beginning? I’ll try to keep it brief ;)
We found out I was pregnant after our second IVF attempt early October. If you read my IVF post in September, you know the final day of the 2 week wait can be pretty dreadful, but somehow we made it until about 4pm when our nurse rang and gave us the happy news! My husband kind of stole my role as the emotional one while I went into business mode and asked a million questions. It wasn’t until I took an at home pregnancy test after the call (I mean, I had to make sure, right?) that tears overwhelmed my face at the sight of that double pink line. My dozens of negative sticks (aka my once enemies) quickly flashed before me and it was like fate lived and breathed in this one special stick the entire time. The test still sits in my bathroom drawer because I don’t have the heart to toss it and I’m not sure I ever will (gross?). We couldn’t find out if 1 or 2 embryos implanted since it was very early (in deciding how many to transfer my fertility dr advised “1 if you’re trying to avoid twins, 2 if you really want to get pregnant” so our decision was pretty easy!), but my HCG level was 707, much higher than a typical HCG level for someone as far along as I was so it was a good indicator (side note-a high number in most situations usually just means a woman is further along in her pregnancy, but since we knew our exact transfer/conception date it was a bit more informative here). That said, we tried not to jump to any conclusions, and though deep down my instincts told me I was having two babies, we waited patiently for our first ultrasound later in the month to see what was going on in there.
We told our parents a few days later we were pregnant (we gave them each a pair of baby shoes-sandals for my parents who live by the water, and UGGS for Hunter’s parents to play off his Australian heritage) called a couple friends and by week 6, I was sick. Like, couldn’t get out of bed. Which for me, someone who’s usually up and at ‘em around 6am with tons of energy, meant REALLY sick. I’d go to the kitchen to make breakfast and after one minute would start shaking and have to sit down. Hunter instantly took over breakfast duty and made me an english muffin with PB & J every morning (the only thing that appealed to me) for days. I threw up a handful of times, slept 13 hours a night and even took naps on top. I think I went almost a week without leaving my house! Sounds glamorous right? Believe it or not, I had never been so happy to be ill in my life. I was probably so sick because I was on tons of IVF hormones still (estrogen patches and progesterone). Oh, and little did I know, my body was busy making two little brains and two little hearts <3 <3
We made it to our first ultrasound, when my fertility doctor took a look and said non-chalantly, “there’s two in there” and moved on to the next subject. You know…no big deal. We sat there and we’re like, come again??? I screamed and cried and a wave of gratitude and pure joy overcame me. You’re telling me there was a chance we might never get pregnant, and now…TWO BABIES?! AT ONCE??
God is Good.
Of course after the appointment I ran to a Baby Gap to buy just one little matching outfit set for our twins, and then kind of went on with my day in silence. Thinking. Reflecting. Smiling. We gave each of our parents another pair of their respective baby shoes to share the twin news, but told no one else about the duo until our gender reveal party over Thanksgiving (which I’m sharing in another upcoming post)!
I started to feel a little better each week after month 2 (I actually got a prescription to ease the nausea – email me if you want the name of it!) and by month 3 I was back to myself again. I woke up one morning week 13 and just felt like a new person (I actually worried that something was wrong because I felt so good)! Now I’m flying high with more energy than ever-and trying to take advantage because I know the third trimester might be a different story…
So now the fun stuff:
Weeks Pregnant: 18 (babies are the size of artichokes!)
Gender: Coming soon:)
Doctor: It was hard to say goodbye to my fertility doctor & nurses who I felt like I’d grown so close with, but I’m now with an OB and love her! She specializes in twins and she likes to see me every week or two so she can monitor the babies growth and development more closely. No complaints here!
Food Aversions: I had A LOT during the first trimester. Salads, Veggies, Fish, Yellow Eggs (unless hidden in a sandwich-which actually was a good go-to), Nuts, Meat…a lot of things that had been major parts of my pre-pregnancy diet. One night at a nice restaurant I ended up eating nothing on my plate and had to stop at a diner on the way home for a PB & J – haha! I didn’t cook for a month, because I never knew what I wanted to eat until about 15 minutes beforehand and therefore it was pointless to buy groceries that would go to waste (thank goodness for UberEATS)! Now that I’m in my second trimester, many of these aversions have gone away and I’m eating like an adult again:)
Cravings: Since so many things made me nauseous, I only wanted to eat bread, cheese, chicken noodle soup, sweet potato fries, PB & J, and other very specific sandwiches. I also carried saltines in my purse and by my bed to snack on, and lived off of ginger-ale. Now I want cold crunchy salads, cold fruit, hummus, pasta, and other normal pre-pregnancy stuff I was eating. Instead of my old 3 large meals a day habit though, I usually eat about 6 small meals to keep my energy levels up!
Movement: As I shared on my Instagram, I recently felt my babies move for the first time! It was on New Years Day on the way to dinner with my hub which was pretty special (and their first movement was actually to an Australian song that he loves, so he was excited haha!). I felt something and a smile instantly went to my face before I could really comprehend what was happening. My doctor said it would feel like “pitter patter.” I know, WTF is “pitter patter?” My thoughts exactly. But now that I’ve felt it, I wouldn’t describe it any other way, except that it’s the best feeling I’ve ever felt. Baby A (to my lower left) is pretty mellow but surprises me here and there with some flutters, and Baby B (my upper right) is crazy active! It’s pretty cool I can tell them apart. Now we’re just waiting for some big kid kicks.
Sleep: I often hit the pillow by 9! Some nights I sleep a long 10 hours, other nights I sleep 3. It’s weird, but I’m wondering if lack of sleep is my body preparing for what’s to come with raising two newborns in a few months? Or just my wild mind thinking over all the things I have to do before the babies arrive ;)
Exercise: as an avid exerciser, it was tough at the beginning of my IVF treatments to tone down my fitness regime, but after the procedures I really didn’t want to move much. Then during my first trimester I didn’t have the energy to do anything but walk here and there (IF that). Now I’m taking it all in baby steps (no pun intended). Physical therapy per my DR’s direction, pre-natal pilates and pre-natal yoga. If I go to a regular group class, I take it very easy. I’m overly cautious since you can never be prepared for the arrival of twins. They could come super early, and though I know exercise is healthy during pregnancy, I’m not doing anything strenuous to encourage pre term labor.
Nursery: zero progress. It’s an office/storage room right now, so we’re planning to start clearing stuff out this month, and then paint (“Phase 1” in my Book)!
Style: whose-mine or the babies?? :) Keeping mine super basic with tees, leggings, maternity jeans and layering with cute cardis/jackets. Plus some classic pieces and accessories. I love H&M’s maternity leggings & tops, and Michael Stars has some great non-maternity pieces that stretch and work for both pregnancy and postpartum (this dress & these tops are my fave)! I think the babies will have a lot of neutrals in their closet (warm creams and greys) with some hipster outfits. I don’t care what people say, but they’re definitely hitting up Gjelina and our other go-to Abbot Kinney spots with us. 4pm dinner anyone?
What I’m wearing above (all non-maternity):
Current Elliott Jacket, Michael Stars Top, TopShop leggings, Chanel booties (similar here), and 360 Cashmere Hat (similar here).
And that’s it for now! I plan to do shorter, more frequent updates so stick around. Here’s a few behind the scenes pics, and I promise our gender reveal is coming soon!
SHOP MATERNITY BASICS:
tops:
pants:
dresses:
Love, love, love this post and your four! The photos are too cute!