Birth Story

Babies are here! 

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Tuesday, January 8th

2:00am

I woke up with a pretty intense pain in my back. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but my back had been hurting for a few weeks so I didn't worry too much about it. An hour later, the intense pains were still coming and going and I remembered I had read on my OB's website if I was experiencing more than four contractions in an hour to go immediately to Labor & Delivery. I woke Chad up and told him something didn't feel right. He had me count how often I was having these "episodes". I had four in 45 minutes - although they were sporadic, I knew it wasn't right, so off to the hospital we went.

Once we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to a machine that allowed them to hear the babies heartbeats and see my contractions. From what they could tell, my uterus was "irritable" and I wasn't actually having contractions. I was so embarrassed! They then gave me a shot which calmed my uterus down and the contractions whatever you want to call them had subsided. They then gave me a fetal fibronectin test - basically it would tell them if I was going to be having my babies in the next two weeks. If it was positive it was a 1 in 5 chance it was actually positive (there are a lot of false positives), however if it was negative, there was a 99.9% chance it actually was negative. So we were hoping for negative, but knew if it was positive, it was most likely a false positive. Make sense? Well, it was positive. My Doctor gave me lots of prescriptions to help with contractions and told me I was now on bed rest. He also mentioned if I had any contractions between now and 35 weeks, he wouldn't hesitate to put me on hospital bed rest. I had an appointment with him that upcoming Friday, so he told me he would then check to make sure I hadn't dilated and everything was good - if so, I'd be taken off bed rest. Little did I know, my babies would be here by then.

Wednesday, January 9th

Nothing to report here. I hung out at home, caught up on Pretty Little Liars, obviously, and seriously missed being at work. But I was willing to do whatever I needed to to keep my babies healthy and safe.

Thursday, January 10th

I woke up and everything was normal. Around 1:00pm, I started having more "episodes", however they weren't in my back like the other night. These felt like actual contractions. I immediately took some of the medication the Doctor had prescribed me to help alleviate the pain. Nope. I texted Chad and let him know I was having more pains. We texted back and forth for a little over an hour (him asking if I thought he should come get me, me telling him I'd be fine (all the while I was freaking out inside), etc). At around 2:30pm, I decided to time the contractions. I had 4 in about 20 minutes. There was a huge snow storm, the roads were horrible, and I knew it would take Chad at least an hour to get home, just to pick me up and drive me right back to where he was. I was in too much pain so I called my mother-in-law, Dani, and asked her to take me to the hospital. 

While we were in the car, I had five or six more contractions and Dani said to me, "I'm afraid you're not going to be leaving the hospital this time, Kate".  I agreed and was so disappointed to be put on hospital bed rest for the next 10 weeks. I couldn't believe everything that was happening - and so quickly. My pregnancy had been perfect! Sure, I was big and uncomfortable, but overall, I felt great.

Chad showed up at the hospital just as they were taking me back. When they got me in a hospital bed and hooked up to a monitor to check my contractions, they were coming on much stronger and faster. They were so painful - oh my goodness, they were painful! I remember thinking, "man, these kill, I can't even imagine what actual contractions are going to feel like!". Well, these were actual contractions! The nurse watched the screen for about 30 minutes and I was having contractions every three minutes. She hooked me up to magnesium sulfate to try and slow down the contractions but it wasn't working. She desperately wanted to check to see if I was dilated, but she couldn't get a hold of my Doctor to get the OK. Three hours later, he showed up (all the while I was still having contractions every three minutes apart) and did an ultrasound. The babies weren't in distress and seemed just fine. He decided to check to see if I had dilated. I was at a 6 and 100% effaced.

"Well, it looks like you're having these babies today, Katelyn", he said.

I was in utter and complete shock. I stared at him and immediately broke down. 

"NO!", I screamed. "They aren't ready yet! I'M not ready yet!"

The doctor was just as shocked as I was. I looked over at Chad and he had his head buried in his hands, crying. Till that day, I had never seen Chad cry - it was absolutely heartbreaking. 

The next few hours were a whirlwind. They immediately called the anesthesiologist to get my epidural. Blessed epidural. Chad called my mom, his family showed up, and we waited until it was time. The doctor could tell in my ultrasound that baby A was head down, but baby B was transverse (horizontal). He explained I would be able to deliver baby A vaginally, and he would then try to re-position baby B over my belly. If she wouldn't easily move, he'd have to then do a c-section to get her out. My worst fear - having to experience both a vaginal delivery and a c-section. He explained that he didn't want to put any trauma on baby B because she was too fragile. 

Three hours later I was wheeled into the OR to deliver the babies.

 

(Right before the delivery)

9:17pm 

Our sweet Avery Renee was born. 2 lb 8.9 oz and crying. It was the best sound I had ever heard. She was absolutely amazing. I wanted so badly to examine every part of her, but they immediately took her away. She had a whole team of doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists working on her. Hearing her cry, I knew she was going to be okay, but my body was aching to hold her and tell her how much I loved her.

(I'm not normally a fan of the "right after birth" babies covered in icky stuff, but I had to post this to remember just how tiny she really was)

9:30pm

Harper Dawn was born. 2 lb 8.9 oz (just like her sister). The doctor held her up for me to see but, unlike her sister, she wasn't crying. Not a sound. She was blue. Before I could ask if she was going to be okay, she was whisked away. When they took her, they took my heart as well. All I could hear was doctors voices, talking quickly to one another. It wasn't real. I couldn't believe any of it. This was not how I had played my children's birth out in my head. I was supposed to be able to hold them, kiss their heads, look at how beautiful they were, and let them know how long I had waited to hold them in my arms. I didn't get any of that.

(Chad was able to snap a photo of her for me while she was being intubated) 

To be continued...

continued...

read this part first 

"Katelyn?"

"Yes?", I shakily replied.

"How are you?", she said with a smile in her voice.

"Ummm, I'm okay...", I said. Somewhat annoyed she hadn't already gotten to the point.

"This is so-and-so from Dr. Slater's office. I'm calling with the results from your blood test this afternoon".

"Yeah, okay...and?"

"Well, you're pregnant!", she said ecstatically.

IMMEDIATE RELIEF.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh", I said. 

I really, genuinely, didn't even know what to say. I was completely overwhelmed with about a million emotions. Everything we had experienced the last three years was gone. All the pain and heartache. The countless negative pregnancy tests. The jealousy. The anger. The tear soaked pillows. The continual prayers for one special blessing and not understanding why He was making us wait so long. It was all overcome with a happiness I'd never experienced. Truly, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or fall on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for putting me through the hardest trial of my entire life, because it was all leading to this tiny moment. 

She continued on, telling me the blood count numbers, what they meant, etc. But to be honest, the rest of the conversation was a blur. I just wanted to call Chad and let him know he was going to be a father! 

Much like the previous conversation, the rest of the day was a whirlwind of emotions. We let family know, surprised Chad's parents, and thought about just how blessed we were. 

Two weeks later, we had our first ultrasound. We were going to get to see our baby! OUR baby! When the nurse came in to get started, I was literally shaking with excitement. Yet, I was so nervous at the same time. Is the baby still in there? Is it healthy? What will it look like? My mind was racing. But all that craziness in my head was washed away when we saw this:

Yep, two babies. Two. TWO! Not only were we pregnant, but we were pregnant with twins. Oh my. Chad was so cute during the ultrasound. He had the biggest smile on his face. He wouldn't look away from the screen. And for the first time since I've known him, his eyes welled up with tears. I was so excited, I didn't know how to express it. But Chad was able to express enough happiness for the both of us. I'd never felt a feeling like that. Pure joy.  

So, here we are. Halfway through the pregnancy of our first children. I've never felt better. I've never been happier. Sure, I've had some scary moments. Have I been sick? Yes. Am I uncomfortable? Of course. Is it worth it? My goodness, yes. I feel ungrateful when I complain. Heavenly Father has given Chad and I the greatest gifts we could've ever asked for. Not only is He blessing us, but He's putting His trust in us to raise two of His children here on this earth. I would never want Him to feel anything from me other than pure gratitude.

Below, you will find updates via instagram from the last 20 weeks or so. 

You're welcome:

 13 weeks

 14 weeks 

 15 weeks

 17 weeks

 Halloweenies 

 18 weeks

 Big ol' belly

19 weeks

I have more ultrasound pics, but I don't feel like scanning them right now. Maybe next post?

STATS:
How far along: 20 weeks tomorrow!
How big is baby: About 7 inches each
Total weight gain: 8 pounds
Sleep:  Not bad - just switching sides a lot. My hips hurt if I lie on one side for too long.
Best moment of the week: Feeling these babies kick up a storm. They sure are active little things!
Food cravings: Frozen yogurt and fresh strawberries
Food aversions: Costa Vida...ick.
Symptoms: Heartburn, lower back pain.
Gender: We know...but that won't be announced till after Thanksgiving :)
Movement: They are having far too much fun in there. I feel them kick a lot, but I'm also noticing when they're changing positions. They also really like Taylor Swift. No joke, every time I turn her new album on, they go nuts in there. It's pretty adorable.
What I'm looking forward to: Wednesday - I get to see my family and FINALLY announce what the twinlets are!
What I miss: Nothing - I'm loving it all.
Next appointment: December 10th

March can't come fast enough!

well?

Welp, turns out I'm the worlds worst blogger. A LOT has been going on in the last few months, and to be completely honest, I've felt so overwhelmed I was a little nervous to even try to tackle this post, so I've decided to break it up. Too much info to cover in one post!

First off, IVF is amazing. I have no other words to describe how blessed we were. I thank God everyday for giving us this opportunity. 

So, should I pick up where I left off? Okay, I can do that.

The post below shows a calendar of how the best case scenario for this round of IVF. They used a lot of words like "give or take" or "possible transfer". Basically, don't go exactly off this calendar because your body would have to react perfectly to everything. We're just giving you an outline so you have an idea of what to expect. Well, my body reacted perfectly. We retrieved the eggs on Sunday, July 15th. Easy peasy. I fell asleep and they did all the work. That day I was a little sore, but back to work the next day. Blessings. They were able to get 16 eggs which was fantastic! Chad and I were hoping for 10 so we were thrilled. They told us they'd call the next day to let us know how many made it to the next stage - most likely about half. When they called me on Monday, they told me 15 of the 16 had made it! WOOHOO! I couldn't believe it. The lab tech who called me said they'd watch the eggs for five days and go from there. 

When we went in five days later for the transfer, two eggs had made it to the full-on implantation stage. Dr. Slater said it was up to us how many we chose to implant, but they'd continue to watch the other eggs so we'd know for sure how many we could freeze (for the record, two more made it to implantation stage - so we now have two little icicle babies). She told me I was a "candidate" for implanting just one egg, but we wanted to be sure we'd get pregnant so we decided to implant both fertilized eggs - just to be safe. The transfer was simple, about 10 minutes, and we were done. I had to lay low for the next two days (which was fine because the transfer was on a Friday, so I didn't have to take off any work - blessings, again), and I'd go back a week later for a blood draw. 

The morning of my first blood draw, I took a pregnancy test, even though they told me not to (it's possible to get a false positive from the HCG shot I had to inject myself with before the retrieval, or a false negative if it's taken too early). When I took the test, I was sure it would be negative. When I looked down two minutes later, I saw a big fat positive - however I showed no emotion. I refused to get excited. I put the test in the top drawer of my bathroom counter and told myself not to think about it again. When I went in later that afternoon for my first blood draw, they told me they wouldn't be calling with the results, because they needed two blood samples on different days to be sure. That was frustrating! I just wanted to know! But I totally understood why. As I was checking out, I told the nurse I had taken a pregnancy test earlier that morning. 

Her immediate response was, 

"Oh honey, don't get too disappointed. It's still pretty early, and things could totally change. This is why we don't want people to take pregnancy tests! They see a negative and immediately jump to conclusions." 

"Well, it was positive..", I replied.

"POSITIVE? Either you have a strong pregnancy test, or you're having twins...", she said.

My response? "It was just the Target brand...?"

She laughed and told me, excitedly, to just hold my horses and wait until the next blood draw. 

At this point, I was getting somewhat excited - I mean, if a nurse was surprised by my positive pregnancy test, how could I not be?  Two days later (the morning of my second blood draw) I decided to take one more, just for funsies. It was positive again. I tried not to get excited, but at this point, I was feeling pretty good. I felt optimistic we were pregnant, but again, didn't want to give myself false hope. I kept telling myself I'd know for sure in just a few hours. 

I went in for my blood draw, went back to work and held my breath. I had my phone attached to my hip - I was NOT missing this call! Chad kept calling me to see if I knew (which was very frustrating because I'd feel my phone vibrate and immediately start freaking out, only to find out it's just Chad). For some reason, he seemed to think I would forget to call him after I heard the news. What a weirdo.  

About three hours after the blood draw, I got the call that would change our lives forever.

In Vitro

So I officially started the IVF process one month ago, and a few people have asked how the whole process works. I decided I'd document my progress and a basic overview of what all takes place.When I began, I started out just taking birth control pills (I know, seems a little backwards, huh? It's to manipulate when the retrieval takes place and to get everything regular) and a prenatal vitamin, which I was already taking. No biggie. 

 This is all my medication. A bit overwhelming, no? 

On June 20th I began taking Lupron. Lupron basically stops ovulation. 

Quick ramble: This whole IVF process is super scientific. And manipulating. And freaking awesome. Seriously, these doctors are absolute geniuses. I'm so blessed to be able to be working with such an amazing team. 

Okay, where was I? Yes, Lupron. Every morning I inject 10 units of Lupron into my tummy. I'm also continuing to take the prenatal vitamin, DHA, a baby asprin (it improves blood flow to the ovaries, improving follicle development, and improves blood flow to the uterus, improving the quality of the uterine lining), and a Doxycycline, an antibiotic (just preventative - Chad has to take the same antibiotic as well), twice a day. Phew! I really thought taking all this medication would cause my body to freak out, but it really hasn't been that bad. Only a few times have I felt abnormally irritable, a few hot flashes (Lupron tricks your body into thinking it's going through menopause...yahoo!), and one bruise in my tummy after an injection. 

I know I look fat, but Lupron makes you bloat...bad. I already look pregnant right now, no joke.

I was given a calendar showing what I will be taking, how many times a day, for how long. It's been an absolute lifesaver! Next week, beginning July 4th, I will be taking 2 additional medications (Bravelle and Menopur - they stimulate egg follicles to grow within the ovaries) which will be mixed and injected into my tummy in conjunction with Lupron. I am, however, off birth control now and will be getting an ultrasound on July 3rd to make sure the Lupron is doing everything right and to learn how to mix the Bravelle and Menopur. 

I just scanned and uploaded the calendars - don't mind my ugly handwriting.

The following week I will go in everyday for ultrasounds to determine when to do the egg retrieval. Provided everything goes as planned, our tentative egg retrieval date is Sunday, July 15th. It's a quick procedure and painless for me, I'll be put under! They're going to take out as many eggs as they can. The last few ultrasounds I've had, they found lots of follicles (immature eggs) so hopefully it stays that way! Once my eggs are out, they'll do their thing with Chad's sperm (he's going to hate I put that on here. I can talk about my ovaries, eggs, follicles and uterus like it's no big deal but the minute I talk about Chad's sperm he gets all sorts of embarrassed. Whatevs). Once they've injected his sperm with my eggs, the specialists will monitor them everyday for five days, then do the transfer. Hopefully we'll get a good amount of fertilization, but they're only going to transfer two fertilized eggs, which I'm good with. The 25% chance of twins is enough for me. I can't even begin think about triplets! They'll then freeze the other fertilized eggs for potential siblings (it's $500/yr to keep them frozen - not bad). 

After all that, we wait. I know the exact day I will find out if I'm pregnant or not, but I've decided to keep that one a secret. It's the one secret we have in this whole process and we want to be able to share it in our own time. I really don't want people calling me up and bugging me about it if for some reason it doesn't take. However, I feel very optimistic and know this is the right thing for us to be doing right now. We've had so much help from family members, both emotionally and financially, and are eternally grateful for their contributions. I am truly in awe at how blessed we are.