22 weeks- Level II ultrasound

Little Miss London Little Miss Sydney

Well today went really good and all is well. So far so good. I am estatic. They said my cervix is shorter than it was the last time but that it was still within normal range. There are no weight differences between the girls. Both are getting equal amounts of blood and oxygen. They both weigh a pound each. They both had their hands in their mouths. London was sitting indian style and Bad Sydney had her cord in her hand. I have know idea why she was playing with that thing. The u/s tech even did a 3D u/s. Londons came out good, but Sydney wouldnt keep her bad but still. I got to seee them in 3D but the pictures didnt turn out that great so I wont post them. She said that when they get a little bigger they wont be able to move around as much and she can get better 3D pictures. I cant wait but from what I did see they look just like Babe....go figure. If they come out with that forehead they are going to be the only babies with bangs cut in their hair. Here I am doing all the work and they look like him. I didnt even have to see Dr. Atlas today. Its bad news if you have to see him after an ultrasound. Mommy did pretty good too she said some crazy stuff but she was well behaved thank God. I went to my favorite store Walmart. Why do these stores make it seem like they have better deals on line? It was actually cheaper to get the things I wanted from out of the store. Remember those expensive carseats. I got both of them today $100 for both of them, brand new....not bad. Next we have to tackle the swings and the crib sheet sets(which are super expensive), then TADA Im done shopping until after the baby shower YAY!!!!!

22 weeks and counting

Still hanging in there. I feel like I gain 10 lbs everyday. This belly is getting huge. Im always hungry and irritable, amongst other things. I really need to vent but I will try to keep it to a minimum out of respect for my father because he reads my blog. I had a rough week. Babe is under alot of pressure so i'm trying to take care of him. The kids are on spring break this week and i'm taking care of them. The baby is in his terrible 2's and he is a terror. I need to market, wash clothes, clean a little and finish shopping for these babies before i get tired. Yes Im having a babyshower but some of the big things we have to budget in so we dont break the bank. I just want to have everything in order just in case the girls come early, or just in case they put me on hospital bed rest. Im only one person though. Babe is the money man its all up to me to make all these decisions about stuff. I been going clothes crazy for them. I swear Im going to dress them up everyday like 2 little doll babies. But i'll admit I shouldve been buying other things. I have purchased diapers, wipes and bottles, but mostly clothes. Can you blame me though? Ive been buying boys clothes for the last 10 years and finally a change. Mommy is buying the cribs so thats a blessing. And she wont admit it but I know shes probably going clothes crazy too. I was looking for some carseats on sale....damn they are high...they actually had one in the store for $259...it really wouldnt be so bad but since we have to buy 2 its a little pricey but its all good, as long as my little princesses get here healthy and safe.

On a lighter note these little girls have been kicking up a storm. They just recently gave their daddy a kick at first they wouldnt kick for him. But he lays on my tummy and makes the noise that Chewbaka makes...lol...they like that, I have no idea why. I swear I feel them all in my ribs and lower abdomen. Its funny because I can tell that its 2 of them. With my singletons I couldnt feel movement up that high this early. I told babe it feels like they have a set of bunk beds in there. I go back to the specialist tomorrow...more opportunity for him to scare the living hell out of me. Babe is staying home with the older kids. My mother is going. Why? Why? would I decide to torture myself and my doctor this way. My mother is a piece of work but I love her dearly. She knows everything though, shes probably gonna ask the man questions he cant even answer. This should be funny. I must admit Im a little worried but not as worried as I have been in the past. I just take it one day at a time. Hopefully they are sharing and have no weight differences because if they do then its a problem. But he told me the symptoms to look out for. He said my belly would be lopsided because one twin would have more fluid and that if my stomach got enornously big overnight than those would be red flags. I haven had any of that but dr's dont know everything. So hopefully all is well, I just have to keep the faith. And I have a mean a$$ support system in my family, thats all I need. Faith, love and support. Everything else is void. Im just trying ti get my baby girls here I deal with the rest of the ''BS'' later. Lets see how tomorrow goes.....cant wait to see how big Little Miss London and Little Miss Sydney have gotten. Pics will be up tomorrow...Gn Family.

21 weeks-Irritable

I am in the worst mood of my life today. My damn sides hurt. I went to the dumb ass Dr. and he tells me its round ligament pain. Hmmm lets see...let me describe what it feels like...it feels like a samuri is taking a sword and twisting it into my sides. In lay mans terms my uterus is stretching to make more space for both of the babies. Imagine being in pain and its nothing you can do about it. On top of that I feel like a fat ass cow. No one cares...all people care about is calling me with there stupid problems...dumb shit that can be fixed in 2 minutes. Its going to be a few months before my problems are fixed and I just deal with it. Then I get so tired of people saying ''well when i was pregnant'' excuse my expression but bitch have you ever carried twins? I have 3 children, that means 3 full term pregnancies and this pregnancy is unlike any of them. My body feels like it felt when I was 7 months pregnant with my other children. I am 21 weeks and yesterday my Dr told me I am measuring 30 weeks...go figure. I stay in the house all day with the baby. I need to get the hell out of here and I cant. Babe doesnt understand. I guess he assumes that Im okay because Im home....that couldnt be further from the truth. So what he goes to work. I work too. Im a mother, daycare provider, teacher, nurse, psychiatrist, a maid, and a cook. I need a break sometime but I cant get one. Im about to blow my top here.

Happy 21 weeks too Me!!!!!!

If I was carrying a single baby I would be at the half way point but since I am carrying two, I am 2/3rds done Yayyyy!!!!! Well I have finally started getting things together. I am having a baby shower but those who know me knows that Shirnell doesnt bank on anything, I still do what I have to do. Well me and babe went to Sams club and brought a case of 200+ diapers and a case of 600+ wipes. That was about $60. One of Sams Club cases are equal to about 2 cases in a regular store. And if one baby goes thru a case per month, the girls will be using about 2. I must admit Im beginning to get a little bit overwhelmed here. Everytime we buy something its so expensive because we have to get 2. From now until D day we are going to get all of the big purchases everytime he gets paid...there goes eating out for awhile. Im complaining but i'm not complaining because Babe will always make sure our family is okay. I wanted to go back to work after I have the girls but I dont see how that is possible. Not paying daycare for 2 infants. Its like now that my due date is getting closer Im getting a little SCARED....DAMN HORMONES!!!....Babe says not to worry. I put my trust in him, he has never let me down but I wish he didnt have to work so hard. Im sure things will work out, its just my anxiety acting up. My biggest fear is that I will be inadequate, I take good care of my 3 boys but can I take care of 5? And 2 babies at one time AHHHH!!! I dont have a choice. Well I could pack a bag and buy a one way ticket to california...hahaha...but thats not an option...I think I'll just stick round for awhile and roll with the punches.
Now as far as body changes I feel like a pig, I stop sleeping in the bed because the couch offered me more support. I am officially too big for the couch and plus Babe was sleeping on the floor next to me, he really should be in the bed. So Im back in the bed now and I cant sleep. I have 2 of the supposed best pregnancy pillows on the market and I cant lie I also use Babe as a prop. At first the pillows were great because it was something new now not so much. I suffer from chronic insomnia anyway, but its not much I can do about it during pregnancy or after because of breastfeeding. So I just do what I do best...be a nerd...google all night, anything I dont know I research, I was intellectual beyond my years before but now, Im a freaking genius. Im not feeling any big kicks yet, just a few rolls and bumps, nothing spectacular but my Dr. reassured me that the girls are very active. I have an appointment Tuesday 3/23/10. I read on google (told ya) that something called anterior placenta can block me from feeling their kicks until later on in the pregnancy. Im still very fatigued and its getting worse but I manage to get alot of things done or boss everyone else around to get things done. I have been getting alot of round ligament pain(uterine stretching) lately as if I can get any bigger. I am amazed by my pregnancy, sometimes I just look at my belly and say hey girls....I feel better about my situation for now. Next week I go back to the specialist, then I'll be a nervous wreck because he is the one that is tracking every little thing and does those long ultrasounds looking for every little thing that could be wrong. Excuse my expression but he scares the shit out of me. But he is the best that Mercy Medical Center has. I googled him. :-)

20 weeks -fatigued

I am so so tired today...I have to finish washing clothes. Two more baskets, I am trying to take it easy but I am the type of person that likes to go ahead and get things done and rest later. I do not procrastinate. I know that i'm suppose to be resting but I still have to maintain my responsibilities as a wife and mother. Baeb leaves at 4:30 a.m. and doesnt get home until 5:30p.m. I know that he doesnt mind but it it doesnt seem fair to have him do all the housework. He makes dinner when he gets home and cleans the kitchen. I take care of The baby and try to get some house work done while the 2 older boys are at school, But half the time I lay down at 10 am and i dont wake up until like 4p.m. These little girls are wearing me out. I washed and foled 2 loads and I have 1 left in the dryer. Screw it i'll get it later...I have to take a nap....Zzzzz

20 WEEKS

Well a few weeks ago I didnt think I would make it this far but Im beginning to feel more confident that I will make it to the end. But Im still not out of the woods yet because I have the fear of Twin to Twin Transfusion syndrome looming over my head. I posted a question in a twins forum about TTTS and out of like 100 women maybe 10 started to show signs of it but not so bad that they had to have anything done. 1 women did say that she had to get her laser surgery to have her placenta cut in half but that both her twins still survived. It only affects like 10% of twins anyway but Im still concerned because it can happen.

I had some pain today in my sides and in my lower abdomen. My doctor said it was probably just round ligament pain but that if I needed some reassurance to come in. I stayed home only because it was more of a discomfort because I couldnt get comfortable to take a nap because it was stinging. I finally dozed off and it went away. My Babe brought me this really cool pillow called a snoogle, its like a big gigantic cheese curl. You can twist it all types of ways. Its can even be twisted into a breast feeding pillow. So it is well worth the $55. It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud...I think Im in love...I also brought a wedge so when I sleep on my side I can put it under my belly.....heaven....I swear. I still dont feel the girls much, just light taps here and there. With my boys by now they were giving me spectacular performances. A friend told me to ask my Dr if I have a ''anterior placenta''. That can mask the movement and I wont feel them move until later in my pregnancy. I'll ask him when I go in next week.

Overall I feel pretty good, just tired but no one understands, well, a few people do. Its like Im totally drained. I must say this is truly a different experience. Women carrying single babies should never complain. And a woman that has never carried twins would never understand. But thats neither here nor there I know what I have to do to take care of myself and Babe takes good care of me also. No sense in complaining about things that you cant change....right.

19 weeks still...

2 more days and I'll be 20 weeks. I am getting there but my body is getting tired....I wonder if its because the girls are sharing the same placenta,IDK. It feels good not to worry about them so much since I found out that they werent mo/mo eventhough they are still at risk. But I feel good about my situation. It feels good to actually look at baby clothes instead of avoiding the baby section altogether. I feel like crap today, i have the most incredible nausea, I normally talk to my sister on the phone or chat but I really feel yucky :-(
I hope I have a better day tomorrow.

19 Weeks-Pictures!!!!!

Baby B-->Sydney Darlene Boone

Baby A-->London Earlene Boone

19 weeks-Good News!!!!

Well I went to my first Perinatolist appt today and they found the separating membrane. Dr. Robert Atlas, he is suppose to be very good and is very well known in his field (google and word of mouth), I am so happy now I dont have to worry about them being strangled or dying from cord compression in utero. I am so thankful because I have been praying hard for them and I will continue until I have them in my arms healthy and safe. They are sharing the same placenta which still has risks. But atleast instead of a 50% chance of survival it is now 85%. They are at risk for TTTS or Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, meaning that one twin can take all the nutrients from the other twin. One twin can get really large and the other one could be really small. My Dr told me not to worry because right now they are exactly the same size and that the cords are right in the middle of the placenta. Normally when the cords are in the middle there is a very low chance of TTTS. They normally only worry when one or both of the cords are on the outter edge of the placenta and when there starts to be a 25% weight difference between the babies. He told me not to worry but then he went on to tell me that the onset of TTTS can be very rapid and happen at anytime in the pregnancy....I thought he said not to worry...but technology is really advanced nowadays and there are plenty of things that they can do to control it until they can take them out, but I'm not worried about it.

Baby A-->London has a white dot on her heart, there is a very long term for it but they call it EFI for short. Its common in babies with down syndrome but healthy babies sometimes get it also, for a reason they dont know, it doesnt hurt anything, it just something thats there. He said that he sees the white spot probably 5 times a day. My down syndrome test came back negative anyway so Im not worried. He said that they did a studdy on like 500 babies with the white spot and they all came out normal. Otherwise London was very cooperative today.

Baby B-->Sydney had no issues but was very uncooperative today which is odd because she is normally the good one.
I have to see the High risk Dr and have an ultrasound done every 3 weeks on top of seeing my regular OB/GYN every 2 weeks, I'll do whatever they tell me to, I dont care as long as the girls are okay.

I Love You London Earlene and Sydney Darlene Boone :-)

19 weeks Tuesday 3/9/10

Feeling a certain kind of way about tomorrow. I'm finally going to the perinatologist tomorrow to get my little mo mo's checked on. I swear I fake like I'm not worried about it but I am. I have so much on my plate right now. I have to take care of my boys, my home, my husband and myself. And poor Babe he does the best he can but he cant do it like me, he still has to work. Sometimes I feel worthless because I dont think Im pulling my weight being on bedrest in all. My husband does the best he can with my mixed emotions, he loves me, he has to because if I was a man I wouldve left my ass alone. But thats what makes him a man, a good one. I feel so in adequate...maybe its just hormones. I wish I could see the future because I dont know what to expect tomorrow, I just hope its good news.
I always tell people that me and my cousins are best cousins. Cleanna always come to see me and gets my big behind out the house sometime. Shes the one that makes me accept things for what they are. Its nothing I can do to make the situation any better or any worse. We are very close. Kia my little cousin, My rational Kia, she doesnt judge me, shes a big time confidant. Shes alot like me, she did her research on my condition and she understands where Im coming from. She calms alot of my fears. I love both of them. If I didnt have the support system I have in them, I probably wouldve miscarried or been dead by now. Cleanna is coming to see me today(foood food food) and I'll probably talk Kia to death this evening, and my poor sister Shirell I'll probably keep her ass up all night. I wont be able to sleep tonite. Im hoping for the best but I also have to be able to accept bad news also. This mess is stressing me out. Its going to be along day for my mother, sister, husband and cousins today. Thats my team right there.

19 weeks

Well I made it to week 19, but 24 weeks is still a long way from now. Today is Monday 3/8/2010 and I will finally see the specialist on Wednesday 3/10/10 at 7:30 am....pretty early and the appointment is 1 to 2 hours for one baby...Im having 2 so how long will I be there...who knows. I dont even really care as long as my babies get here safe. I have accepted my situation and Im at peace with it. I love my girls and I want them, I pray for them everyday. I have alot of support from my husband, my family and friends (the real ones). Not to mention I have the best sister in the damn world, who else can i call when i cant sleep at 3am and they calm my fears...i love her and I am so thankful for her. Some people are only in your life for a season and this situation has showed me that...I am very nervous about Weds. I did purchase a fetal doppler so whenever I get nervous I listen to their heartbeats and I talk to them. But Weds Me, Babe and the Dr's will establish a game plan. Most of the time they find a membrane later on Im praying they do. On a lighter note my belly has really did some growing its amazing that its this huge already. I feel the girls move all the time. I cant wait until Babe and the boys can feel it.

I Love You London Earlene and Sydney Darlene Boone :-)

The Rundown from conception to 19 weeks.

Im going to give you all a run down of my pregnancy to this point lets start at the beginning:

November 2009
I was on birth control at the time, Nuva Ring to be exact. How it works was simple, insert it for three weeks, take it out the fourth week and during the fourth week my menstrual cycle would come. Oh yeah it was like clock work, for a year.

December 2009
Well around December 1st I take the Nuva Ring out and low and behold NO MENSTRUAL CYCLE...I wasn't worried because that can happen with birth control so I went ahead and re-inserted my ring and kept it moving no worries. I didnt even bother to tell Babe because I figured it was nothing.
Christmas was coming and I was feeling crappy so I started to worry a little but not much. I went out one day with a very close friend of mines and confided in her my fears, she suggested I get an at home pregnancy test but I laughed...Nuva Ring is 99.9% effective and it was working out fine. I hadn't been on any medications, I was never late removing it or re-inserting it. After much thought I said ''F@#k'' it and bought the damn test. It sat in my purse for awhile...awhile being I waited to see if I would get a period in January.

January 2010
So I finally decide to take the freaking test since my menstrual cycle did another ''No Show" in January. Not to mention Im feeling deathly ill. Still didnt tell Babe. I guess he didnt notice, he works all day. I go in the bathroom and locked the door. Babe comes knocking at the door and wants to have a whole conversation about his day...totally not the time. I told him I had diarrhea, that got him away. I take the test and i'm sitting there waiting the three minutes. At that point I really felt like I had diarrhea. I see two lines. I wanted to fall off the toilet, the only words I could manage to get out was ''BABE!!!!"
My husband has an old soul...he's happy..he embraces me...he's cool with it. His only concern was picking up some overtime to support our growing family. I know he will take care of his family no matter what but Im scared. We have 3 sons 9, 5 and 2. We had just made a decision to downsize from a 3br 2 bath house to an apartment so we could get our savings higher. And most of all I did not want to get fat or sick. I had just lost weight. I needed to know if everything was where it was suppose to be so we took a trip to the ER just to check. They told us everything was where it was suppose to be and the baby had a heartbeat.
A week later I was sitting in my ob/gyn's office looking at the wall. The nurse tells me i'm already at the end of my 1st trimester, 3mths, I told her not to judge me. They draw some blood and give me a referral for an ultra sound, this is where the story starts to get interesting.

February 2010
I started to accept that it was a miniature person growing inside of me. It has to grow up to be special if it got through birth control...I mean really it was only a 1% chance. I am totally sick and worried. I was so worried about the baby because of a previous miscarriage. I started praying for a girl. Everytime I had a free moment I was praying for a healthy baby girl. Feb 9, 2010, we go in for our routine ultrasound just to check the fetal age. According to my mnstrual cycle thats 15 weeks. I ask the ultrasound tech if she could possibly determine the sex of the baby she said she would try. I was still praying GIRL GIRL GIRL. She squirts the jelly on my belly and gets rolling.She yells Oh My God!!!! im like what is it something wrong.. she says look there's 2 of them. I wanted to get up off of that table and run out the door. 2 what the hell did she mean 2, 2 what, babies. . Oh my God was correct. I look over at Babe and he turned another color said something about needing a cigarette and walked out the door. Then she says they are identical and they are girls....mustve prayed a little bit too hard. She tells us they have no separating membrane and that she had to make sure they werent conjoined...they werent...but not having a separating membrane and 2 babies sharing the same placenta did not sound good. I was still so excited when I broke the news to everyone. No one knew I was pregnant but my sister and mother.
I am such a nerd so when I got home I hopped straight on google to get information about twins. My twins are what medical professionals call Monoamniotic Monochorionic or MoMo twins.
Basically they only have a 50% survival rate because their cords can strangle each other or they can cut off blood flow and oxygen from each other also referred to as cord compression. I immediatly start crying Im so scared... I couldnt even bring myself to name them....I could go to the Dr one day and they could be fine and the next time they could be dead. I start gathering all the information I can. I wanted to call my dr but it was friday night and he was closed.
Monday morning 8 am my phone is ringing, its Dr Julian he wants to see me immediately, there are somethings we need to discuss. I get there around 11 am. He gives me the run down 50% chance of survival, the girls could die in utero blah blah blah. The only thing he could do was refer me to an Perinatolist and together they would try to get my girls to the point that they would be able to survive which is 24 weeks or 6months and he said that they would take them then if they had to. He put me on bedrest as a precaution until then. Told me to stay off of google, not to worry myself and sent me out the door. How can he expect me not to worry when my children might not make it here? I did more research and joined a website for families in my same situation and alot of their babies survived. I met alot of interesting people, and found hope in light of my situation. I feel detached from my babies because I could lose them. I cant plan for them. I am playing the waiting game thats how it feels. Everyone is excited about them, they dont understand. I know let go and let God but how, I have not one but two little darlings to be worried about. Now we are up to date....to be continued.....