Diabetes Update

Well we just got home after a day of being in the doctor's office. Turns out I didn't have to go for more testing (just height, weight, and 1 blood test) but the majority of the day was spent in "class". We were with 3 other couples who also needed to get the low down on gestational diabetes.

The morning started off with the Diabetes Nurse Maria - she went through how to test our blood sugar...which I now have to do 4 times a day! (HUFF)! I have to test my blood when I first get up and then 2 hours after every meal. We even had to do a "test" there - and it didn't hurt as bad as the finger pricks from Dr. Killion's office (my pediatrician) - I always hated the stupid finger prick part! My blood sugar was normal (82) - they want it under 130.

The next person to come in was the dietician. We each got strict diets based off our current weight, pre-prego weight, height, etc. Mine really isn't that bad. I just can't have juice (which is what I have lived on most of my pregnancy) and I can't start my day off with fruit. Other than that - I'm pretty close to what my diet already was. There were some women that I was like...are you serious??? One woman told us she eats 1 meal a day (which wasn't even breakfast) and with that meal she drinks a 20oz bottle of PEPSI! I was SHOCKED! Can you say...issues??!!

The next visit was with the Nurse practitioner who basically told us what diabetes was and why we need to stick to the diets and if the diets don't work about putting us on insulin.

Finally - we go to see the doctor...who was VERY nice! (he had on a great red sox tie too!) Turns out...with the 1 hour glucose test I was only elevated a little - and with the 3 hour test, only 1 test was elevated. So I do NOT have gestational diabetes (which is good) - but he wants me to follow the diet just to be on the safe side. He said it won't hurt me - and once the babies are born if I stick to it, I will take the pounds off faster! I have to go back next Tuesday for a follow up appointment with him - so we shall see how I'm progressing.

That's the news on the prego front...time to eat dinner!

29 weeks

Merry Christmas! We made it to 29 weeks - had a little scare this week thinking I was going into labor, but I was just on my feet too much cooking and preparing for Christmas Eve. I thought we were going to have to go to the hospital Tuesday night - the contractions were about 7-10 minutes apart, but they stopped and I finally fell asleep. (thank goodness!)

I did get the results of my glucose test - and unfortunately I have elevated levels. On Tuesday I have to see an Endocrinologist to go over what the next steps are. The nurse said my levels weren't that high that I’d have to give myself insulin shots, but i will probably have to follow a strict diet (ugh!) - But rather be safe than sorry!!! I go Tuesday and they told me to expect to be there most of the day! I have no idea what I'm in for!

Merry Christmas - and Here's to an EXCITING 2009!

28 weeks

Well I had my doctors appointment yesterday and all looks good! I put on 8 lbs - which I wasn't happy with, but the doctor said it was fine. He said he was very impressed that I've made it to 28 weeks with no bed rest - and no swelling in my hands / feet. I'm now measuring at the size of a 35 week singleton prego person.

I also had my glucose test done yesterday! I had to go drink this nasty orange flavored stuff and get blood drawn. It's to test for gestational diabetes. Well I got the call today that I failed the test . I now have to do a 3 day diet that I start on Friday - Sunday and then Monday morning I go for my 3 hour glucose test. I hope I pass this one!

We have our next ultrasound on January 12th so we can see the position of the babies and how big they are. Dr. Pang said that pretty soon they'll stop moving around and they will be in their "delivery" position - so he wants to monitor them so he can see what their positioning is so we can determine if I need a c-section or not.

I only have 60 days at max of this pregnancy left - woo hoo! I hope it ends quick - but as Shanni said today I have to enjoy myself before the babies come! I'm just so excited and can't wait!

Also - an update on the storm situation...things are still messy here. We got 4 inches of snow today - expecting 12 inches on Friday and then another big storm on Sunday! I heard a while ago that the Farmer's Almanac is saying this is going to be the coldest / snowiest winter we've seen in a while..I have a feeling it's right! I HATE SNOW!

We survived the storm...

Well - we have survived the massive storm that hit us on Thursday night / Friday a.m.. Thankfully, our power came back on Friday eve., but there are still so many without power. We currently have David's parents and their dog staying with us because their house got to 32 degrees by yesterday morning. This place is a disaster area - and if you aren't here - you really have no idea! We were fortunate - but others are being told they may not have power for at least another week!

26.5 weeks

Well – I’ve made it to almost 27 weeks with no bed rest – phew!!! That is hopefully a good sign – I’m starting to get really tired, uncomfortable and having a hard time getting around (especially with the cold air and my asthma!). I guess that all comes with carrying 2 babies in your belly! J

David and I have been finishing up the nursery. All of their clothes are washed and put away – the cribs are made up – and the room is really starting to come together! We are now just looking for another bureau and book shelf – other than that – the room is done! (Minus the pictures on the wall…I’m just waiting on getting one of the pictures that I found online – but I’ll wait til after Xmas!) I have my 27 week check up on Friday! I have to do the glucose tolerance test on Friday (not looking forward to that) but I hope I pass and don’t have to do the 3 hour test!!!

Not too much is new – just trying to rest up and take it easy. As I said – I’m getting really tired and uncomfortable and even sitting down for a long period of time doesn’t feel too good! I’m hoping the babies make it to at least 34 weeks – but at the rate I’m going – David thinks I’ll deliver tomorrow! Hahaha

3-D Ultra Sound

We had our 3-D ultrasound on 11/28 - talk about amazing! We brought Dominic, my mom and Joyce (David's mom) with us - it was an unbelievable experience!!! We were able to see the babies interacting with each other (including baby girl kicking her brother in the head!) We have a DVD and about 40 photos of the entire experience. At the ultrasound, they confirmed we are indeed having a boy and a girl - YIPPEE!!! The ultrasound tech spent 1.5 hours with us and she had as much fun as we did. Dominic thought it was great - and kept laughing at the babies (especially with the "private parts")

Baby Shower

Our baby shower was held on Saturday, November 22nd at dbar. The work that was put into my shower from the food, to decorations, to favors, to gifts, and everything in between was absolutely amazing! Mom made the cutest favors and they were such a huge hit. She sewed 3 wash cloths together to make baby pj's and they hung clothes lines all over dbar and had them hanging all over the restaurant! Brian and Chris did such a great job with the food too! Everyone had such a great time! The cake was absolutely beautiful - Mom and Heidi did a great job on that!! (I'll post pictures soon)

We got so many amazing gifts and I can't beleive how wonderful everyone is! Our parents got us the car seats and bases for the car, we got our stroller from Paula, Mimi and Jeanne, and we got so many clothes, blankets, and special gifts for the twins. It took 3 car loads to get everything home and for a while we couldn't even walk into the living room. Mom and Steve came back to our house afterwards and we went through everything again. David didn't see most of it the first time because he was too busy playing bartender! We organized everything and even put a few things together!

I'm so excited to wash everything and put it away so the nursery comes together even more!!! A huge thank you to Mom for organizing everything and making sure everything went perfectly! A special thanks to Heidi and Nana for making the trip from Nebraska! It was so special to have them both there to share in my special day! And i can't forget Lynn, Shanni and Marci - without you three I think I'd still be opening my gifts! Love you all!

24 weeks

Well as I'm sitting in my office - everything is packed - I only have my laptop and phone (oh and a random spoon) on my desk...we are finally moving to our brand new Admission Office! The excitement is in our office because we finally have a new change! It's been a long time coming...

I'm starting off this blog with the changes at work and referencing it being a long time coming...that's how I feel today with this pregnancy. I am just so excited and so overwhelmed. This weekend is going to be busy! I'm leaving work tonight to head into Boston. I'm having dinner with Heidi and Nana (who flew in from Nebraska). They made the special trip for my baby shower (which is this weekend). I'm staying over Brian's and spending the day with Heidi tomorrow and Nana is then coming to Leominster for dinner and to see our condo.

Saturday is the big day! Mom has been going non-stop trying to plan everything and get everything organized for the shower! I'm so excited and looking forward to it - I'll post more about it after Saturday as well as some pictures.

As I type this, David is sending me instant messages saying he is doing a pool for the babies due date / time. So...if you want to purchase a square, let us know! hahaha

I don't think I wrote about this before - but those of you who don't know, my best friend Lisa is pregnant too! The very strange thing is we have the same due date (March 12) - It's been so exciting going day by day with our stories and being able to share this pregnancy with someone (who knows what I'm goign through...well for the most part) She only has 1 baby in her belly...which we are now calling "Baby Elvis" - her mom is a huge Elvis fan and her dad thinks it would be funny to name the baby Elvis! Lisa and Matt are not finding out what they are having and so it will be a real surpise if "Baby Elivs" is indeed a girl...which I think it is!

As for this week - I'm feeling good, but I'm starting to get a sore throat. I must load up on Vitamin C and make sure I'm taking my vitamins. I can't afford to get sick! My belly is still growing by the second and the babies are kicking like crazy! It feels like they are having a disco in my belly!

That's the news for now on the prego front! Have a good weekend...it's going to be a COLD one!

Doctor Update

Well I had my 23 week check up yesterday - all looks good in baby land! The doctor said that my uterus is measuring at a 29 week pregnant person (no wonder I'm so huge!!!!). He said that after looking at my ultrasound pictures that both babies are measuring a week ahead of schedule - and he said that's good! I've only gained another 5 lbs since my last appointment...so I'm not gaining 500lbs which I thought I would do!

On another note - was really sick again last night! I am at work (yes it's Saturday) but I'm going on 3 hours of sleep. I've been up since 1:30 and was sick as a dog!!! I'm thinking it must have been the Pizza I had for dinner - but then again - who knows! I'm just so tired of puking and I can't stand it anymore! I just can't wait to get my babies out of my belly so I can get my body back to some form of normalcy - I don't know how anyone is bullemic - I hate puking! hahah

23 weeks

Well I've made it to 23 weeks - I'm hoping to get to the 35 week mark but after this week, not sure if I can...I was up at 12:30 this a.m. - wide awake until about 4:30! I'm going for my check up tomorrow and hopefully the doctor can give me some sort of sleep aid - this is getting ridiculous! I also got sick...AGAIN this morning. Huff!

On a positive note - I received a few more baby clothes from my friend Shanni's sister - they are so adorable! That's it for now - back to work for me!

22.5 weeks

Things are going pretty good - It's been a rough week. I'm starting to have a hard time getting around due to the fact I am HUGE! LOL I'm going to my 23 week check up on Friday - so hopefully all looks good. I'll be having another ultrasound on "black Friday" - (the day after Thanksgiving). I'm excited for this one because it is a 3-D & 4D ultrasound. We will get a movie of the babies playing in my belly...and they set it to music too!

The nursery is coming along - David hung up the shelf his brother Greg made and I put a few of my willow tree "twin" statues on it - along with a "two peas in a pod" picture frame I found. I also bought the kids "Take Home" outfits. I saw them and I just fell in love with them! The pink sweater that is with Baby Girl's outfit - is the sweater I came home in...And it matches the outfit. My shower is less than 2 weeks away - so I want to make sure everything in the room is set and put away before we bring home more gifts :-) I'm so excited! Mom and Bri have worked hard to get everything ready - and Heidi and Nana are flying in ... I'm just so excited I can't wait!!!!!!

The downfall of my week has been we had to find my kitties a new home :-( David hated all of the cat hair and didn't want the babies to be around it all - but the big issue was Dominic is now allergic to cats! We found a friend to take both of them and it was VERY hard to let them go. I think I cried all day Friday & Saturday. If David looked at me wrong I started to cry! They are with our friend Brooke who has twins as well - they are 6 years old and they love the cats! Brooke sent me a few pictures of them and the first night Oreo was curled up in bed with her son and Midnight was in the carrier basically saying - bring me home! The 2nd day they hid under her bed all day and right before she put her daughter to bed - one of the kitties peed on it! (OOPS) - They want to come home...and I don't blame them! :-)

That's the news for now on the prego front...

20 weeks

Well - I'm officially 1/2 way there! I had my ultrasound today - and it was so amazing! Both babies look very healthy and were constantly moving. Their feet are jabbing into my ribs - so that could be why my sides hurt so much. They have grown a lot and are now about 1.5 lbs! We found out that baby B is a boy (we saw his weenie dangling in the breeze) and we are 85-90% sure that Baby A is a girl. The Umbilical cord was between her legs blocking our full view - but from what we saw, we "think" it’s a girl...so time will tell!

18 weeks

Well - I hit the 18 week mark today - I'm at the 1/2 way mark (hopefully). Nothing new and exciting has happened this week - just super busy with work!!! Travelling to all of these high schools early in the morning and then doing late fairs is really kicking my butt! I'm trying to come home if at all possible if I had an early morning and just relax - but the past 2 weeks, that really hasn't been feasible! A few days I was on the road at 5:45 a.m. and didn't get home until 9:45 p.m.!

My belly seems to be getting bigger by the minute - and I apologize I don't have a picture for you. My darling husband is working tonight so I have no one to take one (Oreo and Midnight aren't that talented)! I can't hide that I'm pregnant anymore - it's totally obvious! haha! A few people have even asked if I am 6 or 7 months along - and I have to laugh and say 4!

We have painted the babies' room and put the 2 cribs together. We painted one wall sage green and the others are tan. We wanted to do an accent wall where the cribs will be and I have designed my own theme for the babies room. We are doing "Two Peas in a Pod" - so all of the bedding / room decorations we registered for are light sage gingham and solid sage. We are just waiting to have a yard sale now to get rid of a bunch of stuff we don't have room for / don't need any more so we can finish organizing. It seems everything for the yard sale is stored in the baby’s room right now.

I have my next Doctors apt. next Friday - October 17th - the day before David and I's 5 year anniversary! Boy how time flies! :) Two weeks from today we hopefully find out what the sexes are! I've also made an appointment for the Friday after Thanksgiving to do a 3-D/4-D ultrasound. It will be pretty cool! Its not your typical black and white ultrasound where you can't really see things - its actually in 3 and 4-D and you get to see the facial features and see what the babies actually look like! I'm super excited for that. We will even get a DVD from the ultrasound visit and they put everything to music.

15.5 weeks

Not too much new since my last update a few days ago - but the most exciting is David and I almost have our room done. We are moving into the basement and the carpet was installed yesterday - and David painted the room. For those of you who have seen it - it's a HUGE improvement from the sea foam green carpet that was in here! hahaha As I'm sitting here typing this, David is bringing down our bed (sorry can't lift anything - oh its great to be pregnant and actually have a legitimate excuse!) :-) Once we are done with this room - we will then start putting stuff in the babies room.

15 weeks

I've really "grown" I'm starting to feel much better with a few occasions of getting sick – but for the most part, I'm holding down my food. I had my 15 week check up on Friday and the Doctor said everything looks great! I've only gained 2 lbs since my last apt. 4 weeks ago – so I'm at a total of 8lbs and its all belly! He did say that my stomach is the size of someone who is 20 weeks pregnant (5 months) but that's due to me having twins. Lucky me!!! David and I were able to hear 2 separate heartbeats and it was really neat! The babies moved and are no longer sitting on top of each other. I have 1 on the left side and one on the right side.
The most exciting news is…We find out boys or girls at 2:30 on 10/23!!! I can't wait!!!

14 weeks

I'll be 14 weeks along tomorrow and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again!!! After being really sick for 3.5 weeks of non-stop vomiting, the doctor put me on some medicine and I'm calling it the "miracle" drug. So far so good and I'm starting to have more energy and feel like me again! My belly really popped the last few days and I'm fully in maternity clothes! UGH! We registered for some of our stuff on Saturday at Babies R Us & Target – and we had Dominic help us with that. He had a lot of fun and we even let him pick out a few toys for the babies. He's been giving us suggestions for names and he seems pretty excited. It was very overwhelming and somewhat confusing – but it is all starting to feel real now! I felt my first "flutter" in my stomach on Saturday – which I think is early – but since there are 2 in there – who knows! It was a very strange feeling and I haven't felt it since – so as David says…it was probably gas! hahaha Our biggest purchase so far is our new vehicle – we sucked it up and traded in my SUV for a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. Yep – I'm now a mini-van soccer mom! With the double stroller and all of the "double" paraphernalia we'll need – plus Dominic's stuff – we figured that's the best option. It seats 7 people - has automatic hands free doors & trunk, plus a few other bells and whistles (sunroof, navigation system, DVD player)! We picked it up yesterday and so far I love it! It's navy blue with grey leather interior

12 week email to family & friends

Dear Friends: The Manzello Family is doing well - and as a matter of fact (if you haven't heard yet...we are expanding!). I am expecting twins (yes you read that right) in February! David and I are very excited - but also very nervous at the same time - OMG 2!!!! Things are going well - and I had my 2nd ultrasound today! I had to laugh because Baby A (as we call it now) was totally acting like me - Every time the technician went over Baby A - it waved its hands and kicked its feet as if to say "Look at me - I'm in here!" - Baby B on the other hand was very mellow - just like David! It put its arm up 1 time as if to say Hey - and then that was it! (so David!) Both babies seem to be doing well - both have great heart beats (140 bpm) - and both are making their mother VERY sick!!! Both babies are sitting 1 above the other on my right side - and they haven't moved yet. That's where they were when I had my first ultrasound as well.

11 weeks

Well I had my first official appointment with my doctor yesterday – he said all looks great. Today I hit my 11 weeks mark! (boy time flies!) I will be having another ultrasound in 2 weeks – so we shall see how the babies are growing! He said all seemed to be fine and he will be able to calculate my potential due date after he looks at the next ultrasound. At first I thought I would be due Mid March, but with twins the latest they would take you is 37 weeks – which puts me at Valentines Day!
The coolest thing about yesterday's appointment was we were able to hear the heartbeats! It was absolutely AMAZING!

Eating for 2!

Well - today we had an ultrasound and found out we're expecting twins! OH MY! We went in for a routine ultrasound. I jumped up on the table and the tech began her exam. I couldn't really see the screen when she was doing the exam but I saw David's face - I saw him huff and thought he was going to pass out! The tech said - oh well we have 2 sacks - Me being VERY dumb at that point said...well what does that mean? She answered me as if I asked the dumbest question in the world and was like...TWINS (but i could sense a DUH at the end of it!)

Now our adventure really begins!!!!!!!!

We're expecting!

After many tests, 3 IUIs, fertility drugs, and finally IVF we are pregnant! On Wednesday, June 18 I had my egg retrieval, which consisted of me going under anesthesia and having the eggs extracted. I was very sore and uncomfortable the next few days. On Thursday afternoon, they called to tell me that 5 of my eggs had indeed fertilized and we’d be going in on Friday for the implantation. We arrived at the surgeon’s office on Friday a.m. and David was able to go into the operating room with me. We received a photo of the 2 eggs they were going to implant and we even got to watch the implantation on the computer screen! It looked like two little shooting stars!

A long 10 days went by and I was going in for blood work on July 1st, but I was itching to find out! So on the morning of June 30th (Grammie’s birthday) I took a test. I placed the test on the counter and took a shower, got dressed and then realized I hadn’t looked at the test again! I had butterflies in my stomach and was afraid of another disappointment – but to my surprise the test was positive! I ran downstairs to find David and we shared our excitement together!

During many years of trying to conceive, we dealt with the usual trials that an infertile couple faces. So many times I felt like such a failure and saw all of the wonderful things happening to our friends and family. Of course, we were so happy for each of them, but it was hard because we felt like our lives were just standing still and we wondered when the plans we had made for our family would finally start.