On October 27, 2012 we found out I was pregnant again just 5 months after Declan was born. Boy were we surprised- happy and filled with joy, but surprised. You can imagine how even more surprised we were when we found out on November 9 that we were expecting TWO little bundles of joy. That day in the ultrasound room is one that I will never forget. The ultrasound tech was very quiet and I was worried that something was wrong when Tom said, "Uh.... Are there TWO babies in there?" and the tech said, "Yup. You're having twins!" I sat there stunned and Tom laughed for like 10 minutes. Nobody believed us at first when we told them. Tom's mom and my mom thought we were joking at first.
So began a complicated and high risk pregnancy. The first hurdle was that I had hyperemesis gravidarum. I had it with Declan too. For those that don't know what HG is, it is severe (and I mean severe!) vomiting and nausea during pregnancy. It is NOT morning sickness. I was throwing up between 10 and 20 times a day. I lost about 20 lbs. I threw up so much that it eroded parts of my esophagus. It stripped the enamel off my teeth and I have to get dental work done for the first time in my life. I pulled muscles in my abdomen and chest from throwing up. Since my pregnancy I have learned that I have a hiatal hernia in my esophagus which may be related to HG. I was in the hospital several times for severe dehydration and malnutrition, where they would put me on IV fluids and in the process blow my collapsing veins. At home, I would throw up so much I would pass out and Tom would have to carry me to the bed. It was bad. And unlike morning sickness, HG does not stop at the 12 week mark. Both pregnancies I was this sick until around the 22 week mark.
Right before Christmas we had our first appointment with the high risk doctor. They did an ultrasound and told us that Baby B (Lucas) had a lot of problems. They pointed out a thickened nuchal fold which is a marker for Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 21 (down syndrome). They saw a heart defect and fluid in his lungs. They weren't very optimistic that he would make it.
A month later at another ultrasound I was told that we had Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This is where one twin is getting to much blood from the placenta and is at risk for heart failure and the other twin is not getting enough blood and is not growing. Basically the only chance they have is through surgery or by drawing out the excess fluid from the baby who is getting too much. It is a very serious condition. The doctor who delivered the news was cold and just told us and left the room, like we were taking up too much of her time. I refused to ever see this doctor again. We were then sent to LeBonheur Fetal Center to see a specialist who told us that we did not have TTTS. During the month of January, we were also told that Lucas' heart was horizontal and some of his organs were misplaced. We saw a pediatric cardiologist a couple of times over the next few weeks.
In February at 22 weeks pregnant I was in the hospital for signs of preterm labor. I was put on strict bedrest again. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios which meant that I had too much amniotic fluid. I had enough fluid to support quadruplets. This condition puts the mother at risk for preterm labor and severe bleeding during childbirth. Another big risk with it is that if your water breaks, there can be such a huge gush of fluids that it can pull the cord out before the babies, which can be very dangerous for the babies.
All in all it was a pregnancy with a lot of complications for the babies and myself. Luckily I had two amazing doctors (regular OB and high risk doctor) who took really good care of me.
