Meet Sebastian and Sienna

Yes. November 21, 2012 is the day that we've been waiting so long to have.

Sienna Ann and Sebastian Luke were born yesterday afternoon. We'll share more details over the next few days but wanted to let everyone know that both the twins and our amazing surrogate are doing great.

Here are a few quick pics from yesterday (about 20 mins after they were born)!

This is the best Thanksgiving that we could ever have hoped for.

Sebastian:

 Sienna:

36 Week Scan: Live From Delhi

We made it.

After a long few weeks full of work, packing and questioning whether or not we have everything we need, we landed in Delhi. The trip over was pretty uneventful, apart from some "interesting" formalities that we had to go through to leave the airport (I'll post about those once we are back home). We arrived at the hotel around 3am and you'd think that we would have been exhausted. Instead of exhaustion, we found ourselves wide awake. We tried to sleep for a few hours but ended up drifting in and out of dreamland before we had to get up and head to the ultrasound appointment with our awesome surrogate.

We walked into Dr. Jolly's office and met two guys from Australia who were doing the same thing -- waiting for their surrogate to arrive to see how big her belly has gotten, as well as stare at the screen as their baby comes to life through the power of video. We were in the waiting room when we peeked out the door to see our surrogate waiting outside of the exam room. She looked great. There is something about her that is truly magical. She's a very shy woman and when we went into the exam room and said hello to her, it was her smile that stole the day. You could tell what a happy person she is and as we tried to have a broken conversation via a translator, her positive vibes made us both feel at ease.

The ultrasound was incredible. We got a few good videos and some great 4D pics of one twin, like the one below. The other was hiding his/her face and at one point actually turned his/her head as if he/she was looking at a camera, only to turn it away a second later, so we couldn't get a good shot.

Everything is looking good overall. The report came back today and they are happy with it. Both twins are measuring a bit smaller than the norm, but I guess that's pretty common with twins. Here are the latest stats (we are 36 weeks 2 days by our calculations):

Twin 1 -- 34 weeks 2 days
BPD- 85mm 34 weeks 4 days
HC- 312mm 35 weeks 0 days
AC- 292mm 33 weeks 2 days
FL- 66 mm 34weeks 1days
EFW- 2281grms (5.02 lbs.). Cephalic presentation.

Twin 2 --35 weeks 4 days
BPD- 88mm 35 weeks 5 days
HC- 327mm 37 weeks 1 days
AC- 305mm 34 weeks 3 days
FL- 68 mm 35 weeks 0 days
EFW- 2572grms (5.67 lbs.). Breech presentation.

We should know more on Monday but the latest estimate is that they would do a c-section on Nov 26 or 27 if everything continues to go well. That means we have just over a week to hang out and wait in Delhi. Any day trip suggestions?

Off to bed now. This time, I'm going to sleep.

34 Weeks + Art

So we're at 34 weeks tomorrow and I can't believe it. Really, this is kind of unreal. I'm officially in the "freaking out" stage. I think the roller coaster of emotions goes somewhat like this:

Anxious (to get things started) ----> Excited (that things have gotten underway) -----> Nervous (that you have to wait for news on the transfer) ----> Over the moon (that it worked) ----> Nervous (that you have to wait again to see if it really worked) -----> Over the moon (that there are heartbeats) ------> Patient (as you wait for the next scan) ---------> Reluctant (to get too excited because there is a long road ahead) ------> Excited (that all is going well) BUT --------> Hesitant (to do anything because so many things can go wrong) -------> Reluctantly excited (as scans come back positive) ------> Denial (that this could really be happening and that it will all be OK) ----------> Continued Denial (that this is all OK... and that you should be excited) ---------> Desperate (for more information, thinking that there is no way you can get enough information to calm your nerves) -------> Reluctantly happy (that you are actually shopping for stuff and telling people about the good news... but will everything actually be OK?) ---------------> Overwhelmed (with the amount of stuff that you have to do before the new arrivals make their debut) --------------> Freaking Out (that this is just two weeks away).

Such a roller coaster, but in just a few more weeks, it will all be worth it. We leave for India in two weeks. Even writing that makes me nervous. Though I guess that's normal for anyone who is about to welcome twins into their world.

We've gotten one bag packed (full of diapers so wasn't too tough). And the rest of the packing of the baby bags is happening this weekend. We'll be as ready as we can be, just in case they decide to make an early debut. I'll share our full list once we finish up packing.

In other news, our DNA kits have arrived at the Embassy and are awaiting our arrival. So all smooth on that front.

Check out this painting that C drew and painted for the nursery. It's amazing. So perfect for the elephant/giraffe theme of the room! This is where having somebody who can draw, paint and take pictures comes in handy. I told him he should start to do it as a business along with his photography! Right?

32 Week Ultrasound (and a few shower pics)

Now that we are getting closer to the big day, time seems to be flying by. I haven't had a chance to update the blog at all as work travel has been uber insane.

The positive? I have been in the US alot so have been able to see my prego sister and my mom.

In fact, I went to my mom's house two weeks ago and her and her girlfriends surprised me with a shower! It was awesome. Carlos was in the UK so he couldn't be there... :( but we sent pics and Facetimed him in. Isn't this a cool cupcake cake that they ordered???

The next week, my US colleagues got together and threw us a surprise shower in the office. It was such a great surprise and everyone has been super cool. Cute elephant and giraffe cake, huh?!

Last week, we got an update and our 32 week ultrasound. Everything is looking good. The pics didn't show much again (grrrrrr!) but the important thing is that the twins are both growing well. The small echogenic intracardiac focus didn't show up in this last scan...so fingers crossed that whole thing is all over with. The only issue that we are dealing with right now is our awesome surrogate having gestational diabetes but they have been treating that with insulin everyday and that seems to be working.

So here is what is happening with the twins. The scan was done at about 31 weeks 5 days:

TWIN- I

Cephalic presentation

The approx. gestational age is 31 weeks 0 days

BPD- 77 mm 31 weeks 0 days

HC- 292mm 32 weeks 2 days

AC- 259mm 30 weeks 1 days

FL-. 5.9 mm 30 weeks 5 days

EFW- 1607grms

TWIN- II

Breech presentation

The approx. gestational age is 32 weeks 2 days

BPD- 81 mm 32 weeks 4 days

HC- 297mm 32 weeks 6 days

AC- 286mm 32 weeks 5 days

FL- 59 mm 30 weeks 5 days

EFW- 1909grms

 

I guess we should start to get ready for the trip, huh? We are scheduled to leave for India in just 3.5 weeks. This is so crazy. Is this really happening?

I've finally started to get stressed out. Mostly about the details of things like passports and visas... luggage and lists of what to bring...

Details...details...details.

So many updates...

I have been the worst blogger. Ever.

So more than a month has passed since our last blog. I don't know what has happened with the time. Carlos and I have so much to update everyone on. So here we go...

Just after I wrote our last blog we received an email from Dr. Shivani. Our awesome surrogate had completed her diabetes test and unfortunately they found that she has a mild case of gestational diabetes. Of course, I went straight to Google -- the absolute worst thing to do. I read a ton about the condition and it made me worry even more than I already was. That said, everything has gone just fine since then and our surrogate is responding well to her daily insulin doses so I guess we shouldn't worry.

Since our last scan, we have had another scan, one surprise shower with friends and family and one virtual shower with everyone from the U.S. I have gotten my DNA test done (we used Chromosomal Labs in Arizona and I had my DNA collected when I was home in the US last weekend) and we have put together the cribs.

Our 28 week scan came just on time (two weeks ago). Pics aren't great, but here they are:

TWIN- I
Cephalic presentation
Approximate gestational age is 27 weeks 4 days
BPD - 69mm, HC - 259mm, AC -220mm, FL - 5lmm, EFW : l020gms

They still see the small echogenic intracardiac focus. Ugghhhh.

TWIN- II
Breech presentation
The approx . gestational age is 28 weeks 5 days
BPD - 75mm, HC - 268mm, AC - 239mm, FL - 50mm, EFW: 1169gms

Last weekend, we went to see friends in Chicago. Little did we know that they had planned a surprise shower for us and my dad and step mom flew in to surprise us as well! It was a great weekend and something we'll always remember and tell stories about for years to come. Oh, and the bloody mary bar was awesome. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us and my family and friends for organizing it!

This weekend, we had a virtual baby shower with our friends and family back in the U.S. It was so great to see everyone and share our new pics of the nursery with them! Before the shower though, we had our day-long Caring for a Newborn Baby class here in London. It was just the two of us so we had our own personal teacher for the day. Most of what she went through was pretty straight forward and actually the material that she taught from was free material that anyone can access.

Literally, visit this site and go to the "Your Newborn" tab at the top, it has everything you need to know including a few videos. It was nice to be able to ask questions and try a few things out but really could have saved the money and just read most of this on our own. We did get baby and child first aid and CPR though, so that was a plus.

The shower was amazing. Even though it was virtual. We did it in the nursery so that everyone could see. Here are a few pics of the virtual shower and the latest happenings in the nursery (ignore the screwdriver on the floor and the little table between the cribs -- it's leftover from the guest room):

Looking Good!

Right on schedule, we received our latest ultrasound results yesterday. Everything appears to be on track. One of the twins is measuring about six days behind the other one, but guess a few days is nothing to worry about. There is plenty of time to catch up! That pesky small echogenic intracardiac focus is still seen :-/ I wish it would go away...

The pics that we got this time around weren't that great so you won't see much, but here are the details and pics:

Normal active and passive movements are seen.
The liquor is adequate .
Placenta seen along anterior and posterior wall , low lying, not previa, grade 0

TWIN- I
Variable presentation
The approx. gestational age is 22 weeks, 6 days
BPD 56 mm, HC - 204mm, AC - 18lmm, FL - 39mm, EFW : 540gms
Nasal bone is seen. The fetal head shows normal ventricular system. The fetal spine, limbs, cord insertion, 3 vessel cord, KUB, four chamber view, stomach bubble show no obvious abnormality. Small echogenic intracardiac focus seen.

TWIN- II
Variable presentation
The approx. gestational age is 23 weeks, 5 days
BPD - 59mm, HC - 220mm, AC -190mm, FL - 39mm, EFW : 594gram
Nasal bone is seen. The fetal head shows normal ventricular system. The fetal spine, limbs, cord insertion, 3 vessel cord, KUB, four chamber view of heart, stomach bubble show no obvious abnormality.

We went to the beach today since the weather was awesome and ended up popping into a store after lunch and walking out with a few more baby items.  We couldn't resist. Check out some of the super cute stuff they have in their new Baby Elephant Collection.

OH! And we ended up ordering our cribs last weekend! They are scheduled to arrive around September 20. That was pretty exciting as well. Here's what we ended up picking out:

OK. No more shopping for us. We now need to put all that shopping time into reading baby books so that we know what to do once these two new additions arrive. Seriously, if you handed me a baby right now, I'd have no clue how to even hold it. I guess that's easy to learn, right?

That was easy...

We're finally back from a few weeks of travel and I'm really excited to say that telling work was a piece of cake. I wasn't too stressed out about it but was definitely anxious to tell everyone and make it all official. My boss was amazing. My team was equally amazing. And colleagues that found out were super excited. I have to say, the fact that I work for one of the world's coolest company's makes this all so much easier. I'm going to take four months off -- the best benefit that we probably have as a company.

Last week I was in the US again for work and spent the weekend with my mom. We went shopping and bought a few things. She got the twins the cutest bedding ever. Check it out on Pottery Barn Kids. We got some more clothes, a few other small things, and I found the stroller that we want at Buy Buy Baby (LOVE this store) for about $300 less than it would have cost us to buy it here in London. So I bought it (Baby Jogger City Select). I should have taken a picture of me lugging a massive duffel bag and three large boxes back to London by myself. Thank god for car services.

Today, we're going to check out a few cribs and then try to get our list of stuff we need together as my step mom (P) and dad (ok, mostly P) is putting together a virtual shower type thing for us since we are all alone in London with the family being back in the U.S. and in Mexico. They are coming to visit in two weeks so can't wait for that!

One question, will just bringing two Phil & Teds Cocoons to Delhi be enough to get the twins around in and let them nap and stuff or do we need to bring something else like a stroller, pack and play, etc.???

This weekend all of our friends are hanging out in Chicago and we're kinda wishing we could be back there with all of them. Such a fun weekend in summer. Carlos and I were just talking about how nice it would be to be out on a boat with friends again. I think it's because we have this pic in the house from one of our last boat trips in Chicago before we left and it made us just a little homesick this morning. But alas, we have the Olympics. We saw the 3m men's diving finals on Tuesday and I saw the women's beach volleyball finals on Wednesday, where the U.S. brought home the gold. Guess I can't really complain.