20 Weeks!

Wow!  We received these 3D shots yesterday and although we wish they were clearer, it is still so exciting to see the outline of their faces...blurry as the images may be, you can tell there are little people's faces in there!  Pretty fun.

I have been traveling like a crazy person - as I have mentioned many times.  Last week I was back in DC and NY for the third month in a row and all this travel time gives me a little too much time to worry about the pregnancy - 6 1/2 hours from JFK to LAX is way too much time for roaming thoughts about 'doomsday', 'what if' scenarios.  I guess you never feel safe about these fragile pregnancies until the babies are in your arms.  The truth of the matter is that we have had an uneventful pregnancy this time around.  Statistically, a third miscarriage in a row would be pretty unlikely, right?  It is medically not even considered to be a miscarriage after 20 weeks.  Even still, I found myself using the in-flight internet to search 'Dr Google' en route from NY back to LA on Friday.  I found a disturbing study on triplet to twin, reduction pregnancies.  In the study, 11% of the pregnancies ended at 21 or 22 weeks.  Ok, so two more weeks of worrying!  Crazy thoughts, I know.  I just keep thinking about the fact that 28 weeks is considered the 'point of viability'.  Of course we don't want preemies at 28 weeks, but the idea of only having 8 weeks to go until the babies could likely survive on their own, outside the womb, is a date 'in bold' on the calendar.

I know the next 8 weeks will fly by.  I am in Vegas for a trade show all next week, in Boston the week following and in Chicago after that.  Steve's mom is arriving for her annual visit in June as well.  It will be July before we know it and then back to India in August.  Whew!

It is exciting to see that so many of our surro buddies are getting closer and closer to delivery.  As Dr Shivani recently reported on her blog, SCI currently has over 50 ongoing pregnancies and many of these start to go to term in June/July/August!  I can't wait to see all of our friends' births posted on line, one by one.  Good stuff.

Terry & Steve

Quick Update - Almost 18 Weeks...

This will be quickie!  I am so sorry for not posting sooner.  My travel schedule with work has been nuts!

We were to have had a scan at 16 weeks but our surrogate was a bit under the weather - nothing serious, a few antibiotics, all better.  So, we had a scan at 17 weeks (last Tuesday), but I haven't had the time to post!  Here are the two little ones.  We are just one day shy of 18 weeks...

Twin 1 (measuring 17 weeks 5 days) at 17 Weeks

Twin 2 (measuring 17 weeks, 1 day) at 17 Weeks

Can't wait for the 3D pics at 20 weeks!

Terry & Steve

14.5 Weeks

It seems like I should be posting a 2 week update, but everything is perfect ('touch wood' as Dr Shivani says).  We received our most recent scans this morning and both babies are progressing perfectly.  At the time of the scan today we were at 14 weeks 3 days and Twin 1 is measuring at 15 weeks 1 day and Twin 2 is measuring at 14 weeks 5 days...so both right on track if not ahead of schedule!  I can honestly say we are both relaxing finally.  If all goes according to plan and they come at 35-36 weeks, then they will be joining us around the last week of August - that is only a little over 4 months from now!!!  WOW!

So, given all is well, I thought I'd post something different this morning.  I really don't stop often enough and just appreciate the amazing place we live.  When Steve and I left the house this morning for our early morning walk with the pups, the sun was just rising.  I was so taken with how beautiful things are with the arrival of spring - so green and in early bloom.  We have peaches galore, limes and our apple tree is covered in new buds of growth.  We have an 8' wall of jasmine on the left, front entrance to our home and while they bloomed a month ago, the buds are still there and we are now getting an unusual second round of blooms - the fragrance is so strong you smell them from the street.  Steve is a landscaper and an avid gardener so things are always immaculate, but this morning I just had to grab a couple of photos...

And then there is just one more fun little note...we actually added a third 'fur baby' to our family a couple of months back.  Everyone thinks we have lost our minds - 3 dogs + 2 kids?!?!?!?  Seriously?  Yes, we fell in love with the idea of a Havanese.  They are the most amazing dogs and I ran across a breeder on the west coast that had 2 puppies that were chocolate/white mix - a rare combo.  We drove and met her in Sacramento and then there were three...introducing Lucy! We are officially like the old lady who lived in a shoe...had so many kids she didn't know what to do...have I mentioned Steve is going to be a stay at home dad?  I think he will be a natural based on the looks of this.

Next post at 16 weeks!

Love,
Terry & Steve

12 Week Update

Here they are - our twins - at 12 weeks 2 days.  Scans all look terrific and they are both measuring over a week ahead.  Twin 1 is measuring at 13 weeks 3 days and Twin 2 is measuring at 13 weeks 1 day.  YAY!  YAY!  YAY!

5 days to go in the first Trimester.  Almost past another milestone.

THANK YOU DR SHIVANI!!!

Estimated due date is end of September which means they will likely join us the last week of August or the first week of September.  We are finally getting excited about the reality of what this might be.  Is this really happening?  Are we really going to have a family?  All we can do is keep on praying and keep on thinking happy, positive thoughts.

Ten Weeks - Twins

I cannot believe it has been a month since my last post.  Yes, I have been very busy with work, but the truth of the matter is that I have been unable to think about posting until I knew the fetal reduction was complete.  I must say the entire notion of losing one of the triplets - intentionally - has been a very tough thing for me.  As a Catholic, being right in the midst of the Lenten season, my emotions have ran the gamut on this issue.  On the one hand, I feel as though we were wreckless by transferring four embryos - on the other hand, we do not have an infinite pipeline of money for future attempts at conceiving.  And then there is our age - At 42 and 41 we need to do this now or not at all.  I have justified myself inside and out.  I am not going to make this post all about the 'pro-life' or 'pro-choice' psyche, but suffice it to say, I've been very touched by this entire development and it has forever altered my sensitivity to a woman's right to choose.  It has not changed my position on this issue, but it has moved me in a way that is inexplicable.

All that said, the procedure is complete.  We received a text from Dr Shivani this morning that let us know that the prognosis for the surrogate and our twins was positive.  These days we pray that these are, in fact, 'our babies'...the ones that fate has written as our destiny.  I am still struggling to accept this as reality.  Neither of us ever really believed it would be possible for us to have a family until we found surrogacy in India.  As much as we read about all those ahead of us who have brought home babies - or are about to do so - it still seems like an unlikely possibility.  Maybe that is just us being guarded so if something goes wrong we are not devastated.  So, here we are at 10 weeks - 3 weeks until we tell an extended group of friends and co-workers about our news.  God, please let these be our babies.  We will love them more than anyone can imagine.

xxxx
T&S

Triplets!

Yes, we have three live babies - all three with strong heartbeats!  Got the news yesterday and was confirmed with the reports I received this morning.  At 6 weeks + 1 day, the three are measuring perfectly on track:  Baby #1 is measuring 6 weeks + 2 days and Babies #2 and #3 are measuring 6 weeks + 1 day.  Two have heart rates of 137 and one is at 126 - all very solid.

So, here I sit both ecstatic and miserable.  Any higher order pregnancy is risky, but three or more are particularly so.  For those readers not familiar with surrogacy contracts, it is common for the contracts to protect the surrogate against a risky triplet pregnancy.  By contract our surrogate is prohibited from carrying more than twins.  We have known this all along and well understand the reasons for this protection, but now that it is a reality, I couldn't be more sad.  Should all three babies continue to grow normally for another couple of weeks, we will be looking at a procedure called 'selective fetal reduction'.  There is a link to follow that explains this about as well as any site I've seen.  It is not uncommon.  It is not without risks.  At the end of the day, however, it is less risky than attempting to carry triplets to term.  Yes, there are successful triplet, quadruplet and as seen in the news recently, octuplet deliveries...but they are generally not born without complications...often with one or more babies arriving with permanent disabilities.  The risks to the birth mother are also considerable.

http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/dp/topic/tn10007/dp.htm

For now, we can do nothing more than wait and pray - wait to see if nature may take care of one of the babies on it's own - and pray for the three of them while we wait. 

I know we are not prepared for three babies and I know it is not our choice, but after trying so hard to have a family, the idea of losing one that is healthy is heartbreaking.  The health of two babies and a beautiful, caring surrogate, however, must take precedence. 

Thanks everyone for your prayers and warm messages.  Hopefully we will be heading to India in September to pick up two beautiful, healthy twins!

Love,
Terry and Steve

1 + 1 + 1 = 3

In the early morning hours yesterday, we received the following text from Dr S:  'three sacs'.  The ultrasound shows three well defined gestational sacs - two with yolk sacs and one without - this was at 5 weeks + 1 day.  We have said all along that twins would be a welcome blessing and by the same token I have worried all along that four embryos might turn into more than twins - and then, the dreaded 'selective reduction' procedure.  Well, here we are with three sacs...the heartbeat scan is next week so no need to worry just yet.  One of the sacs is slightly smaller than the other two (and it happens to be the one without a noticable yolk sac), so there is a chance that nature will take care of this on its own. 

For now, we celebrate!