My Extreme Babysitting Adventure: (15) Wendy’s and Walgreens here I come!

In the last 7 days, I’ve had three MFM visits, all with ultrasound checks. So I got to see the little Kung Foo fighters more than usual, which is OK with me. I’ve even convinced all the ultrasound techs to give me their gender guesses. They’re pretty good at it (since it is part of their job, after all), but my own eyes can see what’s happening down there too. Circles, lots and lots of circles! With these latest checks, and the earlier ultrasound tech guess, I’m very sure one of the babies is a boy. I’m a little less confident in my guess for the other baby, partly because the guesses weren’t unanimous among the medical staff. We’ll officially find out in a few weeks, but I’m planning an early surprise for Holly and Darren with my guesses.

For the surprise, I decided to take some muffins I bought at Costco, put some gender neutral frosting on the outside, and fill the inside with the gender colors. Why Costco muffins? (1) I already had them (minimum preparation!), and (2) they taste like chocolate chip cupcakes (yum!). I just had to whip up some frosting. So just one day after Holly and Darren returned from their “Babymoon” in the Bahamas, we met them for dinner at Wendy’s near the Portland airport. It’s a nice mid-way meeting point for us (from Oregon) and them (from Washington). It was a fun “reveal”. Watch the video below (taken by Kaela) to see their reactions.

Two boys! Darren was a little worried about this possibility, thinking two boys might conspire against him with some extra-clever mischief. We’ll see! Anyway, I’ll get my scheduled anatomy scan in a few weeks, where we’ll officially learn the genders. Even though I say I’m not completely confident about the genders, I’m pretty confident. I’ve been looking at them for a while now, so I think I know. Kaela came with me to my recent doctor visits, so she has seen too. Tom has not, so he was in the dark as much as Holly and Darren.

The next week Holly accompanied me to one of my appointments. Almost always, I have company during my visits, but who comes varies depending on people’s schedules. Usually, it’s all of us only when there is a big sonogram scheduled. Today, it’s just me and Holly, and we both get to see the “boys”. Early on, they were saying “Baby A” was on my right side, and “Baby B” on my left. They determine this by who is closest to the cervix. Baby A would be born first if I went into labor. Well now they’ve changed, and are saying the baby on my left is Baby A and the right is Baby B. So confusing! Geeze, one more thing to keep track of!

The regular check shows my blood pressure is high yet again! They asked me to bring in my home tester to verify it is calibrated, since my BP is fine at home. But even before this check, Dr. Merrill decides it’s time to start BP medication. I’m worried about any medications, and their possible effect on my passengers. Dr. Merrill assured me that the benefits far outweigh the risks, especially since he is prescribing a low dose (30mg Nifedipine). These doctors are fetal specialists, so I have to trust that they know best. While we’re at it, I also ask for some better Pepcid because my heartburn is out of this world uncomfortable. I have had acid reflux for about 10 years now, and now that I’m pregnant (with twins), it’s not exactly improving. Luckily I live in a time where these drugs have been proven safe with pregnancy.

Side note: I referenced "circles" earlier and I'm sure everyone was confused. That was a message to Holly. I'm sure she had a good laugh and I'll fill you in now. Holly told me when she was younger she referred to the male anatomy "testicles" as "circles". I could see "circles" on both boys clear as day when I hit 12 weeks and even better as time passed. If only the nurse hadn't planted the seed of doubt in my head, baby B could watch this video with confidence!