4 has always been our magic number, the number of kids we’d always planned on having. We planned out when we wanted to try and conceive, but unfortunately I had to have an emergency ovarian cyst removal and with recovery it just kind of threw off our plans. So, when we found out we were finally pregnant again, we were SO excited! This would be our last and we just wanted to enjoy all the little things about it all.
We didn’t tell the girls we were pregnant yet, but started prepping them by telling them that we wanted to get pregnant and asking about their feelings about having another sibling. They were all very agreeable and Kenzie said “I know you’re gonna have 2 babies in your belly, Mommy!” To which, my response was that this would be the last baby I had because Mommy’s body is ready to be done after this. She then replied, “You will only be pregnant one more time but you’re gonna have 2 babies in there.” Aaron and I were like, “Okay, crazy lady,” because at the time we only knew were pregnant and nothing else.
However, I started to wonder if my intuitive little Kenz was correct because my morning sickness was absolutely unbearable. I was sick pretty much all day every day and I would think to myself, “It’s either a boy or twins because this is SO much different than my first 3 pregnancies.” There were days where I would have to lay down pretty much all day or felt so tired that I couldn’t imagine getting through another day. I’m sure others have had it worse, but I felt I could barely function after giving all of my energy to my kids at school and then again to my babies at home.
We went for our dating sonogram around 8 weeks and I was nervous. I just wanted to see a little peanut and a heartbeat. The sonographer had a concerning look on her face and the image on the screen looked like an empty sack. My heart dropped and then she said “Oh, there’s the heartbeat!” Aaron and I looked at each other and smiled, squeezing our hands together. And when I looked back over at the sonographer, she was making this face that I can only describe as confused with a dash of excitement. My thoughts went immediately to my extreme morning sickness and Kenzie’s prediction... and I asked “Just one, right?” She didn’t answer for what felt like forever and so I repeated, “Just one, right?!” She finally replied “Oh and there’s the other one, congratulations you’re having twins!”
I immediately started crying uncontrollably, to the point where the sonographer had to stop the exam for a minute. I still to this day cannot describe my feelings in that moment. I think maybe I was just having all the feelings at once, feeling just overwhelmed. Aaron’s response was literally “What the f*?” He then asked if she was joking, she laughed and said, “No.” We sat there for a few minutes just hugging and holding hands and apologizing to the tech for our reaction. She assured us that it was a pretty normal reaction and even if she was lying, it made me feel better.
After the exam, I think we were both just in shock. Pretty much the entire ride home we mostly sat in silence and once in a while one of us would say “Oh my gosh,” or “Is this real life?” Toward the end of the ride we were reassuring each other that we can do this and everything would turn out amazing. But we still felt in shock, wondering if this was real. We also wondered about our treatment plan in regard to NAIT.
We got in touch with my MFM, Dr. Blakemore and she informed us that the treatment protocol for twins would be the same as it was for a singleton. It really seems that when it comes to NAIT, there are always more questions than answers and no one quite knows why or how treatment even works. So we came up with a plan for once weekly infusions until around 30 weeks and then we would plan to double up. Another question we had was about the zygosity of the twins (whether they were identical or fraternal). They each had their own placenta, own amniotic sac and their own umbilical cord but apparently there’s still a small chance they could have been identical based on when the egg splits. We ended up getting a DNA test where they take my blood and separate mine from the babies’ and determine their zygosity. We found out they were fraternal, but we literally found out nothing else about them, as their wasn’t enough fetal DNA in the sample to run other tests.
I started treatment around 12 weeks and have had 8 treatments so far. The first 5 were rough, as my body was trying to get used it. I also had pneumonia, bronchitis, the stomach bug and 2 sinus infections alongside starting and adjusting to treatment. With those first few treatments I dealt with unbearable headaches, nausea, stomach issues, double vision and extreme fatigue. I’ve just recently been able to figure out how much hydration I need to keep the headaches at bay this time around, but still get the body aches, fatigue and stomach issues after each treatment. It’s kind of just become my new normal and I know I probably won’t feel better until about Wednesday.
I was lucky enough to get my nurse Maggie from my last treated pregnancy and she is just the absolute best. She brings the girls donuts every Sunday and buys them little treats, but most of all she is just a genuinely kind and sweet person. She makes treatment so much better than if I had to have a stranger every time or even try to adjust to someone new. She didn’t even mind continuing my treatment through Kenzie’s birthday party and dealing with my crazy family and million kids running around! I’m very lucky to have her.
We have had a lot of ultrasounds already, many to check the Middle Cerebral Arteries in their little brains in order to determine if bleeding is occurring. We’ve also had anatomy scans, so yes we know their genders but we are not sharing that news yet! We are just so excited for our little miracles and could not be more grateful for their health and clean brain scans. Our next step is to figure out a Fetal Blood Sampling plan as well as a date for my C-section. I’ll try my best to keep you all updated as we are so grateful for all of your support and love. It really means the world to us!
