Could There be Twins... AGAIN?!?!
Mid August 2014: Newly Pregnant
What I'm about to say isn't new news: My past history of miscarriage and infertility makes me an absolute crazy pregnant women. Even though I learned with Nolan and Judah that I am crazy the ENTIRE pregnancy, I am the worst basket-case during the 1st trimester. This is explainable by the fact that our miscarriages occurred during this time, the 1st trimester, statistically, has higher risk of miscarriage than the other two trimesters, and the fact that you are rarely seen by a doctor and you have no reassurance of feeling kicks from the baby or a growing belly. My worrying cripples me and there isn't much that can help me during this time. The information that helps me get by, just a little, is receiving my beta HCG levels. Let me explain...
Upon first finding out, with a blood test, that I really was pregnant, my doctor's office has you get your beta HCG numbers checked. In case you didn't know, HCG is the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which is produced during pregnancy. It is made by cells that end up forming the placenta. In general, these levels should double ever 48-72 hours. For "normal" patients, I think, they have you check your levels once, go in at least 48 hours later, and get them checked again. If they doubleish, you are done checking and they have you set up an appointment at 12 weeks (that is INSANE to me by the way).
These beta HCG levels are basically as addicting to me as ultrasounds, I will fight to have them checked as many times as they'll let me. They are all that gets me through those earliest weeks; the only reassurance I could ever have that things are okay.
Once getting your blood drawn at a Sparrow lab, you may wait for your doctor's office to call you, usually in the next business day, wait until the results show up on a my MySparrow account online, or, you can call the operator (open 24/7) and give them your special patient ID number and they will read you results once they are in.
You don't have to be a genius to figure out what I do... repeatedly and incessantly call the operator until the results are in. Do you really think I'm going to wait until the next day or later for my doctor's office to call me?! Please.
In the seconds before the operator, a complete and total stranger, who doesn't realize that he/she is giving me reassurance or a crushing, devastating blow, reads my levels to me, my heart stops, my breathing stops, everything stops.
Beta HCG levels can also be an early detector of multiples. Since you have more than one baby in there, those cells that make up your placenta are working overtime as well. So, HCG levels in multiples may triple or more instead of doubling.
Suffice it to say, as I was getting my early numbers in, they were looking eerily similar to when I was pregnant with the boys. In fact, one of my readings almost quadrupled.
Could this pregnancy be twins?! Natural twins?! WHAT?!
What I'm about to say isn't new news: My past history of miscarriage and infertility makes me an absolute crazy pregnant women. Even though I learned with Nolan and Judah that I am crazy the ENTIRE pregnancy, I am the worst basket-case during the 1st trimester. This is explainable by the fact that our miscarriages occurred during this time, the 1st trimester, statistically, has higher risk of miscarriage than the other two trimesters, and the fact that you are rarely seen by a doctor and you have no reassurance of feeling kicks from the baby or a growing belly. My worrying cripples me and there isn't much that can help me during this time. The information that helps me get by, just a little, is receiving my beta HCG levels. Let me explain...
Upon first finding out, with a blood test, that I really was pregnant, my doctor's office has you get your beta HCG numbers checked. In case you didn't know, HCG is the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which is produced during pregnancy. It is made by cells that end up forming the placenta. In general, these levels should double ever 48-72 hours. For "normal" patients, I think, they have you check your levels once, go in at least 48 hours later, and get them checked again. If they doubleish, you are done checking and they have you set up an appointment at 12 weeks (that is INSANE to me by the way).
These beta HCG levels are basically as addicting to me as ultrasounds, I will fight to have them checked as many times as they'll let me. They are all that gets me through those earliest weeks; the only reassurance I could ever have that things are okay.
Once getting your blood drawn at a Sparrow lab, you may wait for your doctor's office to call you, usually in the next business day, wait until the results show up on a my MySparrow account online, or, you can call the operator (open 24/7) and give them your special patient ID number and they will read you results once they are in.
You don't have to be a genius to figure out what I do... repeatedly and incessantly call the operator until the results are in. Do you really think I'm going to wait until the next day or later for my doctor's office to call me?! Please.
In the seconds before the operator, a complete and total stranger, who doesn't realize that he/she is giving me reassurance or a crushing, devastating blow, reads my levels to me, my heart stops, my breathing stops, everything stops.
Beta HCG levels can also be an early detector of multiples. Since you have more than one baby in there, those cells that make up your placenta are working overtime as well. So, HCG levels in multiples may triple or more instead of doubling.
Suffice it to say, as I was getting my early numbers in, they were looking eerily similar to when I was pregnant with the boys. In fact, one of my readings almost quadrupled.
Could this pregnancy be twins?! Natural twins?! WHAT?!
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