Just a Day in the Life of a Mom with Twins

Gender Prediction Time! What will the Piontkowski Babies be? Two Boys? Two Girls? One of each??? Help me figure it out by using some old wives tales. Old Wives Tale #1: Heart Rate If the baby’s heart rate is above 140 bpm, it is said that the baby will be a girl. If it is under 140 bpm, then it will be a boy. Prediction Outcome: Both Girls Old Wives Tale #2: Shape of Belly If you are carrying high with a big, round belly, you are having a girl. If you are carrying low with a smaller belly that sticks straight out, it’s a boy. (It seems like every week my belly shape changes) Prediction Outcome: Boy and Girl Old Wives Tale #3: Acne If you have acne while pregnant, it’s a girl. It’s thought that acne during pregnancy is caused by extra hormones. (My skin is crazy. One week it will be clear, the next I’ll be breaking out) Prediction Outcome: Boy and Girl Old Wives Tale #4: Cravings People believe that if you are craving salting foods while pregnant, you can coun...

Today was our first High Risk OB appointment. We're going to Dupage Medical Group in Naperville. The Doctors are Julie Jensen, Kathryn Kemnetz, Kellen Patten and Michele Carney. I saw Dr. Patten today and she was great. Lots of energy, and full of information for us.  Our Ultrasound was at 10:00 am and we were able to see both babies moving around in there. Baby A is still a jumper as he was moving all over the place. It was difficult to get a heartbeat because he kept moving away from the dopplar. He then flipped all the way around and was facing the other way when we tried to measure him. He's quit energetic and will be interesting to see his personality after he's born! He measured at 12w0d and his heart rate was over 150. Baby B was pretty chill again, moved a little here and there but nothing like his twin. He measured at 12w3d and his heart rate was also in the 150's. I am 12w2d today so babies are measuring well. They said they'll take + or - 7 days unti...

We had our 10 week ultrasound today. I always get super nervous right before one of these appointments because I always think something might be wrong or we’ll find out some devastating news. Luckily none of that had ever happened but as a mother I am always going to worry about them even before they are born. The babies both looked great. Baby A was moving around like crazy. At first he was kicking his little feet, then was wiggling all around. Then as he settled down he got the hiccups. He was all over the place! Baby B was completely chill the whole time. I honestly worried a little bit because he wasn’t moving but as we measured him, his little heart was beating and be began to move around – I think telling us to go away and let him sleep. Baby A measured in at 33.9mm 10w2d (right on target) heart rate was in the 170’s. Baby B who has been measuring a tad bit larger than A was 34.5mm but 10w2d (same as A and right on target). So even though the ultrasound picture looks lik...

Diclegis has been my best friend for the last week. It has taken the edge off of my morning sickness. I still get queasy but I’m able to function unlike before. Before I felt like I was walking around with the stomach flu. I couldn’t keep anything down, was running to the bathroom every 30 minutes, and was really achy… I thought I was dying. I mentioned it to my nurse as she was taking blood last week and she said she would give me the Diclegis to see if that would help. It was at this same appointment that we found out we were having twins and the nurse then said, “No wonder you’re miserable, you’re having two.” It’s nice to know that I’m having these symptoms for a reason and I will never take it for granted but man is it uncomfortable! My next appointment will be August 31 st  at 11:00am. We’re doing an 8 week ultrasound. There we’ll get to see the babies’ heartbeats again and measure them to make sure they’re still growing like they should. I always get really nervous be...

We had our 8 week ultrasound today!! I was super nervous. I pray for my little ones every day that they both will be healthy and grow stronger and be where they need to be at, at each milestone. Of course being a part of a support group you see a ton of miscarriage stories and you hear about abnormal phenomenons and it gets your mind to wander! The scariest thing I keep thinking about is the Vanishing Twin Syndrome . I’m so worried that we’re going to go to an appointment and one will be missing. So of course I was nervous about going today but I was also really excited to see my little jelly beans again. Ok so checkup update…. I am 8 weeks and 4 days today. Baby A is measuring at 8w4d (right on target) 19.9mm and the heartbeat was 171. Baby B is measuring at 8w5d 21.4mm (“he” was also the bigger baby last time too. Think we might have a chunky monkey on our hands!) The heartbeat was 177. We got to see Baby A “wave” at us. “He” was moving his little hand, and it ...

It's annoying when people, who I don't even know, ask me "hey, what's wrong with your feet?" It makes me want to ask "What's wrong with your face?" You don't just ask someone that! If it's someone you know and they know you don't normally walk around with a limp like an old school pimp then okay, but usually they ask "Did you do something to your foot?" not...what's wrong with you!!! So what IS wrong with me?  God made me special. haha No really... He really did. Doctors all the time say "it's not bad....it's just different...." everything about me. Ask me about it one day, I'll share some stories. Anyway back to my feet... here's the story. Back on August 19th I threw a baby shower for a friend. My right foot starting hurting that day after the shower and I figured it was just from running around decorating, hosting, cleaning up, etc. The feeling was a dull pain, more like achy feet so I didn...

I had my first ultrasound on Wednesday August 16 th  and guess what….it’s TWINS! Eric and I are so excited to be growing our family by not just one but two!! My nurse was saying no wonder I’ve been sick as a dog, I’ve been growing two babies. The doctor ended up giving me a safe prescription for the morning sickness and it has done wonders. I’ve been on it for two days now and I still get nauseous but not at the extreme that it was. At first I thought I had food poisoning and then it felt like the stomach flu. I kept taking my temperature thinking I was getting really sick but turns out it was just the babies letting their presence be known. After the appointment Eric was looking me in bewilderment. I asked him what he was thinking and he says “You’re going to get huge…” I said WOW! Did you REALLY just say that? Realizing what exactly he had said he said “No! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant you are so short that the babies don’t have anywhere to go but outward…...

I am currently 6 weeks and 1 day today and let me tell you I’m on the struggle bus this morning. I’ve had the morning sickness for 6 days straight now and it’s not just in the mornings. No, it’s ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT LONG. I feel like I’m walking around with the stomach flu. Luckily I’ve only actually thrown up twice and it was while at home and at night. I haven’t found the perfect remedy to get rid of my nausea but I’ve found that peppermints and freeze pops take the edge off. I’m trying to stuff down crackers because everyone tells me how much they help but I have a hard time with them because I hate the way they taste. I bought preggie pops on Amazon and they should arrive today. I really hope those pops work because it’s becoming hard to focus and get my work done when I feel like I have to make a bathroom trip every 30 minutes. Not to mention my co-workers probably think I’m crazy. Other symptoms I’m having include pregnancy brain (mind fog), heightened sense of smell, food ...

I'm really feeling pregnant today. I was sick most of yesterday with morning sickness/nausea. I ate a peppermint and felt a little better. I'm going to have to start doing some research on what's best to eat and stay away from. I ended up getting really sick last night. Pretty sure it was my left over chicken... I don't know if I left it out for too long, or if it was just because it was country fried chicken and I can't handle fried foods right now but man I'm so sick today. It was also a new restaurant  and a friend's chicken wasn't cooked all the way...so idk maybe a combination of things?? I still went to work... Just counting down the time before I can leave at 12. I am 5 weeks and 5 days today.  Symptoms: MORNING SICKNESS, Fatigue, Sore Breasts, Engorged Breasts, Mind Fog/Pregnancy Brain - I can't remember anything! Off balance, Cold/Flu like symptoms (runny nose), headache, Back ache, food aversions, strong sense of smell...

It’s hard not to feel guilty during this infertility journey. I still can’t believe I’m pregnant. This is something I battled within myself for some time now, that it might never had happened for us. But God had bigger plans. We are currently five weeks and two days pregnant today, a miracle within itself. It is today though that I find out one of my precious friends who also has gone on her own infertility journey, has miscarried again. My heart completely breaks for her and I’m not sure how to process the news. She does have a beautiful daughter, a rainbow baby after so many years of trying but that doesn’t stop the hurt from this most recent loss. I feel guilty. I feel bad for sharing the wonderful news that I am pregnant, and talking about my betas and how I’m feeling when internally she has been dealing with her loss. I know this isn’t my fault. I know God has a bigger plan for us all. One in which we cannot begin to comprehend the outcome. I know that I should not feel b...

I am officially 5 weeks today! I’m starting to feel pregnant. I was up a lot last night with nausea. I’m also starting to feel really tired all the time no matter how much sleep I’m getting. I downloaded this app which is called Ovia Pregnancy. I had Ovia Fertility while we were TTC so I figured why not. I enjoyed the fertility app so I would probably like the pregnancy one too. I’m glad I did because it’s full of information. It gives daily updates with the ability for you to add your own notes, symptoms, and other information. Today it says “Baby P now looks like a tiny tadpole and is approximately the size of a black peppercorn. The heart is already starting to form its different chambers and may even show up on an ultrasound now. Baby P is still growing like crazy, nearly doubling in size each week.” Grow baby grow!!! I am truly blessed to be at this spot in my life. I never thought I would be here counting my weeks and measuring to see how big my baby is. It’s an exciting ...

Today has been a crazy day for us. It was my second beta test and the number came back at 1309! This is why I wanted to double check what the first number was because if it was only 95 then it jumped 13x the amount, not just doubled. But if she said 695 then it would be right on track for doubling. The crazy part of the day and the thing we were most worried about was Eric’s Dad’s triple bypass heart surgery. His surgery was scheduled at 2:00pm. They started about 2:30 and didn’t finish until after 9:00pm. We learned that his heart was much worse than they originally thought. They got him opened and realized his heart is pumping at about 10% and they were only able to do one bypass and not the other two. As most people know surgeons aren’t the best at bedside manner, they usually tell it how it is. The Surgeon kept saying if he wakes up… so that all had us extremely nervous. Eric was at the hospital all day with his dad. I think he got home about 1:00am. I hadn’t been sleeping wel...

Today we find out if we’re pregnant...  We woke up early, about 6:00am, and took two pregnancy tests. One was First Response (pink lines) and the other was a digital Clear Blue test. I peed on the sticks and left them in the bathroom for the two minutes they said they needed to sit. I told Eric to go look and see. His response was "how am I supposed to know if it's positive or not?" I told him the blue one will either say pregnant or not pregnant...You'll know. He went into the bathroom and I stood outside in the hallway. He looked at the tests and then looked at me...my heart was pounding. We've been trying for over a year. No positive pregnancy test up to this point. Would this one be any different? He gave me a thumbs up. I said no way and rushed in with him to look for myself. They both came back strong positives. There was no guess work. I was pregnant. I cried as the news sank in. Finally! We were finally pregnant!! We didn't say anything to anyone ...

Wow. This past week has been crazy. We finally told the world that we’re expecting our babies this coming spring and I’ve receiving nothing but congratulations all week long. I strategically planned out our announcement as I’m not one for personal attention. I tend to shy away and knew I would need a week of a few “congratulations” and hugs here and there before I really started to see people and be overwhelmed by hugs and questions, etc. The internet is different, I have time to respond and think about how I’m going to answer certain questions but when you’re face to face with someone you don’t have a lot of time to think and it at times can make me anxious. Any way the cat is out of the bag and everyone knows now and I’m excited to be sharing my journey now publicly. I love posting pictures and writing updates. Even if people weren’t interested in our story I think it’s a nice keepsake to look back on and remember the journey it took to get to this point and the enjoyment of pregnan...

We’re pregnant!!! Since posting about our exciting news of expecting twins on Social Media I’ve been getting a few questions about them that I thought I would just make into a post. When are you due?  April 8 th  however my OB will not let me go past 38 weeks due to a higher risk of something going wrong (i.e. running out of space/fluid for the twins, Cords around necks, and stillbirths). I will be 38 weeks on my birthday, March 25 th . I’m praying they come on their own before then – I do not want to be induced. How far along are you now?  13 weeks this past Sunday Will you have a C-Section?  I would love to have a natural birth. Usually as long as the first baby is head down they’ll deliver both naturally. If they are in distress I will of course do whatever is best for the babies and that might mean changing my birth plan. I will not schedule a C-Section if I don’t go past 38 weeks. Some women have the first naturally and the 2 nd  has to ...