(10) Blueberries and Larry’s

The next week passes without too much excitement.  I am still sticking that big ol’ needle in my butt and it’s starting to feel tender.  But, that is okay!  I know that my little passengers need it.  Until my body is up to speed with making the necessary hormones, I can live with the soreness.

Unfortunately, I officially got the boot from my own OBGYN.  She wanted absolutely nothing to do with my 45 year old self, pregnant with twins. I had high hopes she would take me since I’m otherwise healthy, but sadly no.  It would have been so much more convenient for me, since she is less than a 10 minute drive from my home, whereas the MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) doctor is 30+ minutes away. 

For my first official MFM visit, I’m treated to a full workup:  blood, urine and an ultrasound.  Everything looks good, except for my slightly elevated blood pressure reading -- but apparently it’s elevated only at the doctor’s office.  They refer to this as “white coat syndrome”, a fictitious condition brought about by nervousness while in a doctor’s office.  I don’t feel nervous, but my blood pressure says different, oh well.  They are not concerned yet because my readings are not that high, and when they do a re-check, it falls back to normal levels. 

The MFM office is very specialized and very high-tech.  They have the latest and greatest sonogram machines on site.  While the sonogram technician is checking out the little blueberries (that’s how big the twins are now), she suddenly changes imaging mode and displays them them in 3D.  It was pretty cool!    

3D image of Twin A (left - Twin B (right)

I’m 7 weeks and 4 days pregnant at this visit. The little BBs look like little frogs with flippers, and they are so darn cute!  I didn’t see the MD today, just the triage RN.  She apparently does all “new” patient check-ins and sees women experiencing emergencies.   She actually had an emergency while I was waiting, with a sad outcome.  It’s heartbreaking to see and it makes you realize how delicate life is at this stage.

 May 3rd - 8 weeks!

Cinco de Mayo has arrived, so the four of us (or should I say six of us?) meet for dinner at a central location since we live in different states.  We met at the strangely named “Who Songs and Larry’s” Mexican restaurant, which is located right next to the beautiful Columbia River, on the Washington side.  Holly and Darren traditionally go out for dinner on Cinco de Mayo (Holly is a Spanish teacher), and this time they wanted to include their kids.  We had a great time, even though I couldn’t have my traditional beer.