The Day Our World Changed

So I'm gonna back track a few days first.

I had a doctors appt on Oct 14th and everything was fine. Blood pressure was normal, urine was normal, babies heart rates were good, so nothing to worry about. Well a few days later I started to get the dreaded morning sickness again and sleeping a lot. Friday the 21st rolled around and I was still feeling that way. We figured it was getting close to being time, my doctors did tell me that I would more than likely "feel" sick when we were approaching delivery time. Our csection was scheduled for Nov. 11. Although I knew in my heart I wasn't going to make it until then. All throughout my pregnancy I would joke that I had a feeling that I would be going into the hospital on my birthday (Oct. 24). Little did I know. Anyways by the time my husband left for work on Friday that Friday I was having a few contractions but nothing really to be concerned about since I had been having them off and on for a few weeks at that point. They weren't close together or no real pattern so there was no real reason for concern. As midnight rolled around I started to get this pressure that made me continuesly throw up and the pressure would not go away. Then the rib pain came, good lord it hurt to bad. So I took a shower in hopes of it relaxing me...... boy was I wrong. At that point my husband said call the doctor. So I did and she said to go in if nothing else then to get checked. 

By this time it was 2:30am ish.... so I made sure my hospital bag was ready to go just in case. By the time my husband got home from work and we got to the hospital about an hour had passed and the pressure still hadn't let up and the rib pain was still there. After going to the triage area I did the urine and blood pressure my urine was fine but my blood pressure was a few numbers higher than it has been my whole pregnancy so nothing really to be of concern on its own. They decided to give my an iv on the off chance I was dehydrated just as a precaution. I kept complaining of the rib pain that the nurse decided she would do a blood draw just in case. A different nurse came in to check my cervix and good lord I never moved so fast in my life!! She was not easy and nice by any means, I swear she was going in to make the game winning point. By this time I was crying and didn't want her near me anymore that when my original nurse came back to check on me I told her that the other one had hurt me and she felt a little bad by having her do it. The babies were being monitored the whole time as well as my contractions. They were perfectly fine, didn't show any signs of distress. I was actually having more contractions than I thought I was having but not enough to actually be in active labor since my cervix was still closed. By this time a ob resident came in and said that I wasn't in active labor that I was probably just dehydrated but he would talk to my ob to see what they said. Right about now it was shift change so my nurse introduced us to her replacement and said that she had to do another check on my cervix I was so clenched at that point I didn't want anyone near me. Thank god this nurse had angel fingers cuz there was no pain. We were still waiting on the lab work at this point but it looked like I was getting released. So we were waiting on the discharge papers, literally in a matter of minutes our world changed!!

Oct 22, 2016 was by far the scariest day of my life!!!! I was diagnosed with Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura which in turn made me have the highest form of preclampcia (hellp syndrome). The next thing we know everyone was rushing in to prep me for emergency surgery. Due to this I was put to sleep and my husband was not allowed in the operating room. 

Both babies had to go in the NICU. Due to my condition I was not aloud to go up there until like 11pm. Baby boy was having an issue with his platelets as well, he pretty much got it due to stress from the delivery. Both babies ended up getting out on a tube to help them eat until they could learn to suckle. Baby girl got off the tube within a few days. Baby boy is still on it but it doing so much better. They both had high bili numbers, baby girl's went down without having to have the phototherapy however baby boy needed it. Baby girl was released yesterday from the NICU however baby boy is still in there. He is off of the heater, off of the phototherapy, his platelets are finally coming up so it's just a matter of time before they are within normal range, he is getting better with eating. So hopefully he will be home soon. 

I would like to officially announce that Colton and Lillian have made their entrance into this world!!!!

October 22, 2016

Colton(baby a) at 10:14am

18" long

5.15lbs

Lillian(baby b) at 10:15am

18" long 

5.10lbs

             

Fertility Coverage Misconception: Tricare

So ever since starting treatment and sharing our story I have been asked so many times as to why we had to pay out of pocket since we have tricare. Well that's the misconception tricare doesn't cover everything, in fact there is a lot more that they don't cover than what they do cover. Even though I did a post awhile ago that touched on this topic, I decided it's time to try to help break down this misconception.

So let's start with what the tricare website states on this topic:

        

I am going to break this down for you to make it a bit easier to understand. 

•Tricare covers all diagnostic testing that is required to come to a diagnosis, this includes both parties. 

•Tricare covers all oral medications required for timed intercourse(ti) and some injectable(not all). 

You can do TI as many times as you want there is no "cap", however at some point your doctor will advise you that it is time to move on. At which time 90% of the treatment tricare has now high tailed it out of covering your treatment

You might remember that I did a post on what our next course of action was after TI didn't work and I explained what it was, if you don't you can click here. 

So you are now knee deep into a new treatment plan which includes Intrauterine Insemenation (IUI)

•Tricare covers oral meds

•Tricare does not cover the sperm wash

•Tricare does not cover injectables

•Tricare does not cover the actual "procedure"

•Depending on how your doctor runs their office tricare can cover the appointments and diagnostic testing and monitoring for those cycles (they did for ours). Some doctors offices once you get to IUI, they stop billing insurances and do a "package deal" type of thing, so if this is how your doctors office works you have to pay for everything. 

So let's say this treatment plan didn't work for you either.... the next step is IVF.  Which can cost 20 thousand plus. Sorry to say it but tricare is gone you are on your own. Now you are probably thinking Jane Doe had it covered and only paid half. Here's the huge misconception on this one. Tricare DID NOT cover it, I know shocker. There are 5 Military Treatment Facilities(MTF) within the tricare network: 

Walter Reed Army, Washington, DC
Wilford Hall Air Force, San Antonio, TX
Balboa/Point Loma Naval, San Diego, CA
Tripler Army, Hawaii
Madigan Army, Ft. Lewis, WA

These facilities have a government grant that covers treatment, it is not covered through tricare in any way shape or form. With this grant the medication is covered and you only pay half if not less (depending on location) for everything else. Getting into these facilities can be difficult depending on location. Each location has a set number of patients they take per fiscal year and they split that up into cycles. So there can be a rather long wait list. There have been people to be lucky and get right in and others that are waiting years. 

I hope this clears up a lot of misconceptions for people. 

Edited on 10/21/2016

I have had a few questions from viewers so I thought I would add the answers in to this post. 

•Tricare does not cover seragency. That is all out of pocket for you. If this is a route you are taking please make sure you educate yourselves on the laws for the state in which this is taking place. 

• Tricare does not cover egg/sperm adoption. 

You might have seen in the news that Tricare covers cryobank storage fees if your spouse is deploying. To clarify this is a pilot program it has NOT come into play yet. People had to apply to be apart of this program. The pilot will last roughly 2yrs and then from there they will come up with the final perameters and then it will either take effect or they will stop doing it. 

You might have also seen that the VA will cover one round of ivf if the military member has a combat related injury. This is true however please know there is a difference between combat injury and service related injury(which they won't cover ivf for this). There is also a long road on getting a combat related injury for fertility treatment documented. It is not something that happens over night. In some cases it has taken years. 

Hot button topic: Mom Bashing

                      

So there is this huge war raging on between mom groups (not all of them though). Mom bashing is a huge problem amongst moms and it needs to STOP!!! I am going to touch on what I've experienced so far. Again, this is my experience!!

So I have had a few run-ins with "crunchy" moms. If you don't know what a crunchy mom is, they are moms that believe in a more natural lifestyle. Not all crunchy moms are against those that choose other lifestyles, however, there are a select few that will do whatever possible to get their point across and that includes bashing others that don't agree with them. 

•I have been told that even though Baby A is breech I shouldn't listen to my doctor or what is safe for the babies and myself. That I should still deliver vaginally and that he will be fine. They know Joe Blow has a cousin that his sister's brother's girlfriend delivered a breech baby vaginally and the baby was fine. Ummm what?!?!? Yeah no, you aren't in the medical field so I will not take your advice. 

•Apparently if I have a c-section I am not really delivering my babies so I can't say that I have given birth. 

•Since we are choosing to vaccinate the twins, I have been told that they deserve to get the "conditions" that vaccinations cause. 

•I have been called names for choosing to give birth in the hospital instead of a birthing center. 

I know crunchy moms that support others even though they choose a different path. So like I said, it is not all that are mean or judgmental. 

I don't understand why we have to beat each other down just because we choose different paths. All that should matter is that these little humans are healthy and happy. It should not matter that I choose a different path than you. 

Being a mean mom is a form of bullying whether you want to admit it or not!!! If you've been following my blog for awhile or know me in general you know that I will not stand for bullies. So for those that are going through this and are feeling like bad moms, you are not a bad mom; you are an amazing mom!!! Don't let others tear you down just because you don't agree with them. They are not you, they are not your children's parents. They are not experts on your life. 

28wks

Holy Cow it's been 8wks since the last time I posted. I have been so busy these last 8wks. So before we get into the Bumpdate let me catch you up a bit.

So for the last 8wks I have been preparing for the babies. The nursery is practically done, but since the baby shower was last week I have to reorganize the nursery. The official theme is StarWars and Mermaids. I promise I will take pictures once it's all complete. Not only preparing for the babies I was still working, which I officially have resigned. On top of that I was still running my etsy shop, which is now on vacation until we get the twins on a decent enough schedule. I will be working on new designs for the relaunch until then. Man now that I type it all out that is a lot!! 

Now on to the Bumpdate

Baby A is roughly 3lbs and 3ozs, Baby B is roughly 3lbs and 2ozs. Both babies are now breach (which I'm not too happy about) however we still have roughly 4ish weeks for baby A to flip again. If Baby A flips then vaginal is back on the table however if not then it's a csection for me. Babies are now snuggling each other instead of fighting. 

As for me I am beyond uncomfortable. Sleep is a thing of the past, it's catnaps at this point. The only way to relieve discomfort at this point for me is the shower. I'm always hungry but yet don't have an appetite, which makes it so I have to force myself to eat. I passed my glucose test!!!!!

20wks

Currently I am 20wks4days

Babies stats: 

• both babies are roughly 15oz (chunky little monkeys)
• they are about the size of a Belgian Endive (roughly 10inch long)
• Their skin is still in the process of being covered with vernix
• Baby A is head down (and using my bladder as a pillow)
• Baby B has officially taken up residence in my ribs (and loves to kick them)

Mama stats:

• I am measuring between 27 and 28wks for a single baby
• Hips are starting to hurt
• Shortness of breath has kicked in
• Still uncomfortable when I try to sleep so I now have a pillow fortress to help
• Appetite is starting to increase finally
• I have been craving Taco Bell lately

I found out the sexes at my 17 week ultrasound but I refused to tell A, because I had a surprise up my sleeves for him. We did the gender reveal already on Facebook and all so I figured it was time to tell the rest of the world. So sit back and enjoy this little video (there is some adult language).......

                                  

I want to thank his awesome deployment team for helping me make this reveal possible. 

We have their names but for the Blog they will be called C and L. I am currently working on getting their nursery together, once that is finished I will do a post on the theme. We are beyond excited to have one of each and cannot wait for them to make their grand entrance into our lives. They are already spoiled and loved greatly. 

17wks

17wks!!!! Time is sure flying by!!!! I know I have been slacking on doing blog posts but to be honest I have a lot to do to prepare for the twins.

                  

Babies development:

• each baby weighs about 4.9oz 

• each baby is roughly 5inches long now

• their brains are beginning to coordinate with their other developing systems, like the way it’s starting to regulate their heartbeat, instead of letting it beat willy-nilly like it has been. 

Mom's symptoms:

•Round ligament pain

•being comfortable while sleeping is a thing of the past

• I am measuring 25wks for a single pregnancy, so that should tell you just how "big" I am

I am going to rant a bit, some people really need to think before they speak. I am getting really tired of people critiquing our registry saying we don't need this many of certain items (I even had someone tell me we don't need 2 car seats). Mind you these people that are saying these things are not twin parents. Also people fail to realize most twin pregnancies don't make it to full term. Technically I am at my halfway point now.  There are people telling me we have plenty of time before the babies are here to get everything. Here's the thing y'all are failing to understand even though I have said it multiple times, I AM GOING ON BED REST!! There are no ifs ands or buts, it is happening. The question is if I will be on home bed rest or hospital bed rest. I have 2 months, yes 2 months, before this happens!! Everything needs to be in place by then!!! Our situation is extremely different than other pregnancies. We are literally fighting the clock on every aspect!!! So instead of telling me we have until nov 22 (my technical due day) how about you offer help to make sure everything is done prior to bedrest. 

*A majority of people understand these things, but I am only speaking of those that aren't seeming to understand these things* 

This pregnancy feels like it's flying by, that might have something to do with the fact that we are also in the middle of a deployment as well. It's crazy to think that I am literally halfway through my pregnancy already. It feels like I just found out that we were successful. I am trying to cherish every moment I can.  I will try to do updates more often from here on out but I want to make sure my husband knows everything before I post these things. 

                                                   

12wks

I am going to try to do a weekly update...... Try being the keyword lol.

So I am going to backtrack a little. The first few weeks were rough, my symptoms went from 0 to 60 in less than a day (my doctor said that was because of it being twins). Well I had ended up in the hospital for dehydration cuz it had gotten so bad, that was the turning point, it started to get better after that. 

Which leads me to now.......

I am 12wks4days (at time of post). I don't really have any cravings as of now although the babies do like their fruits and veggies the most. I started to get sick again after everytime I eat so I'm gonna try even smaller meals to help with that. I told A the other day that there's and Old wives tale that girls make you throw up more. Since our twins our fraternal the likelihood of the sex combo goes in this order boy/girl, girl/girl, then boy/boy being the least likely. Our twins are didi twins which mean 2 sacs and 2 placentas which is the most common. 

Babies Development:

•They are developing lanugo, which is hair that will cover them and keep them warm until they start gaining more weight.

•They weigh about .49oz

•They are each about the size of a ripe apricot. 

I haven't taken a "bump date" picture for this week. I haven't felt too good with getting sick again, plus my belly still looks like it did last week. 

                                    

We want to thank everyone for all of their love and support.