Week 16 Update

As slow as this is all going, I can’t believe I’ve made it this far. Every week that goes by just blows me away.

Today I am 16 weeks pregnant. With twins. Yes, this is my life. This is really happening to me.

Overall, I’m feeling pretty good. In fact, I am usually in a disgustingly happy mood. Even Chris is wondering what the hell is wrong with me. All I know is that I want to bottle this shit — it’s that good.

What’s going on with my body this week? My gums started bleeding when I flossed, a normal occurrence during pregnancy. (Yes, I floss. I started when the dentist told me back in October that I had some gum recession. I’m motivated to continue because gum disease can cause pre-term labor.)

The beginning of a linea negra has also appeared, going up to about halfway to my belly button. So interesting!

I’ve gained about 15 pounds to date, so I’m on track with that now. I have now matched my highest weight ever and there’s nowhere to go but up now. I’m only about 15 pounds behind Chris. Eeek!

And that brings me to my first OB appointment at the new practice. WOW, what a difference! I adored the doctor. He said he used to practice psychiatry before moving to obstetrics and he sure does have a good bedside manner.

Without prompting, he talked all about the kinds of things I can expect throughout the course of my pregnancy and my care with them. He was surprised that I hadn’t had an early gestational diabetes screen or thyroid screen (or whatever they do with the thyroid). He let me ask all my questions and didn’t rush through anything. And he didn’t even get mad about me reading so much! (The old OB got pissed when I kept asking questions about TTTS and said I was “reading too much” and that I only needed to listen to him.) In fact, he brought up the Discovery Channel and how it’s perfectly fine to bring up scenarios and questions spurred from that. Wow!

He then did an ultrasound. Chris & I had all the hopes in the world that we’d hear two great things: 1) the sex of the babies; 2) that the placenta had moved so we could shag again. We ended up 0 for 2. The ultrasound was quick and not a very good resolution, so all we saw were two skeletons lying side-by-side and kicking each other. So we’ll have to wait till July 7 after all to find out the sex. 19 more days.

The doctor also saw right away that the placenta hasn’t budged an inch — it’s still a complete previa, which means no sex, no orgasms. And, if it doesn’t move soon, no vaginal birth. Please tell me it’ll all be worth it!

So I have to do an early gestational diabetes test before my next appointment. He wants to see me right after the ultrasound with the maternal-fetal specialist, so I’ll see my fab doctor again on July 9th.