And the news is . . .

TWINS!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?!

I was, and still am, in a little bit of shock to find out that I am really and truly pregnant with twins.  Especially since the day didn't start out too well . . .

I got a couple hours more sleep this morning after typing the earlier blog post and was up a little after 8 to get ready for our 10:00am appointment.  I was still having some fairly sharp pains in my side and then after I used the bathroom I noticed what looked like a little bit of spotting on the toilet paper when I wiped.  So naturally I started to get worried.  I tried to think about all the other people I know who have had some spotting during a pregnancy and it's turned out to be nothing . . . just kept telling myself "it can be normal, it can be normal, it can be normal."  Needless to say I was really glad we were leaving for our appointment so we could hopefully figure out what was going on.

Michael, of course, told me I was worrying over nothing, but when it's taken you six years to get to the point where you're finally pregnant, you don't want to see anything that looks like spotting.  We ended up waiting for about 25 minutes before we were called back, and I tried to stay positive and relaxed, listening to my iPod and taking deep breaths.

My favorite assistant, Annabelle, came for us, and I was really glad she was going to be with me today.  She has a calm energy about her that I really love.  Plus, she had been with me a few times early on in my IVF cycle and knew everything that had happened to get us to this point.  

When Dr. Lee came in to greet us, he asked how things had been going and I told him I hadn't been feeling particularly great lately--that I'd had some light spotting this morning and cramping since I started the progesterone weeks ago.  He suggested we get right down to it and just start the ultrasound so we could see what was going on.

First he measured my ovaries and said they were still somewhat swollen from the fertility drugs.  I also still have some fluid in my abdomen from the drugs (hence my bigger-than-six-week-pregnancy belly).  Then he centered the probe to focus on my uterus and I got scared because I didn't see anything moving--Eileen had told me that she and her husband had seen the baby's heart beating when they had their ultrasound.  Dr. Lee calmly said, "Here's a gestational sac," and proceeded to measure a dark circle that stood out against the lighter dark of my womb.  "And look what we have here," he said.  As he moved the cursor on the ultrasound screen, a tiny little white part of the sac came into view and began beating!  I think I stopped breathing for a few moments while I watched the heart beat.  Then he nonchalantly moved the probe to explore the rest of my uterus and said, "And here is another gestational sac."  Again the wait while he measured it, and then the flick of the cursor to reveal a second beating heart.  "Congratulations!" he said and then when neither Michael nor I said anything for a moment, "Is this good news?"  Poor guy.  I can just imagine what popped through his head.  We both replied "Yes!!" in unison and then Dr. Lee went back and measured each little tiny embryo within its sac, from "head to rump" or something like that.  When he did that, he hit another control and we heard the tiny hearts beating one at a time.  They were strong and steady and that is when I started to cry just a little. 

Dr. Lee said they look great--their heartbeats are strong and are over 100 beats a minute and they measure just the right size for a six and a half week pregnancy.  He also said I shouldn't worry about the spotting--that it could be from any number of things and is likely normal.  Hopefully it's just some residual implantation spotting. 

So we got our wonderful, wonderful news and were left to absorb it.  Dr. Lee spent about 10 minutes with us after the ultrasound was over, just chatting about how happy he was for us and how glad he was that he got to be with us for each major step along the way.  He asked where we're planning to go for prenatal care and I told him that I'd like to have a midwife but didn't know if they handle twin pregnancies.  He said that they do (his wife is a certified nurse-midwife), but that he would recommend I also have a perinatologist follow the pregnancy and be available in case there's a need.

We got a congratulatory gift bag from OHSU with a week-by-week pregnancy book, a magnetic calendar and a postcard for us to fill out and send after the birth of the babies.  Even though we've officially "graduated," Dr. Lee said they would still be available to do another ultrasound for us if it takes a while for us to get an appointment with a midwife and perinatologist. 

We left in a happy daze and headed over to SW Portland for lunch at my new favorite place, "Laughing Planet."  We parked in the parking structure at Good Sam hospital, but were both so distracted that we didn't pay attention to what floor we were on.  It made for a good amount of searching on our way back, but we eventually found our car and headed home.

What a day, friends, what a day.  Not only pregnant, but pregnant with twins.  Can you believe it?!