Monday, June 13, 2011

Week 10 in review

We have been such bad bloggers lately -- and the twins aren't even here yet! Wren and I have just been in our own little world the past few weeks. We did meet with our OBGYN 2 weeks ago for our first visit. I would say it went well. It is just difficult leaving our fertility Dr and staff whom we have worked with for almost 2 years and built that rapport with. We don't really have a choice in this Dr, she is the only high risk Dr in the area. We haven't actually met with her yet, but Wren does know her and has even been to a dinner party at her house (all work related) so there is SOME chemistry there.

Wren had a board meeting at the beginning of the month at which she made the announcement that we were expecting and laid our her leave plan. She has also told her staff, 2 of which just had babies of their own and have been very gracious with advice, passing down maternity clothes, etc, etc. I, on the other hand, have not made the announcement at work yet. My work partner knows (she herself just had a baby girl in Feb and is also passing out advice left and right) but I still have to turn in my letter to my supervisor and Chief (I work for our city's police dept).

Last week Wren officially went off the fertility meds!! What a huge relief! No more va-jay jay medicine which no longer makes it a restricted area :)  Her body hasn't quite caught up with the hormone levels though and she got hit with her first pregnancy migraine last Monday. Luckily it was gone by early evening and hasn't been back since. Her morning sickness is not as bad as it has been. I think she has figured out though that by eating every 2 hours during the day and a midnight snack gets her through the day and less nauseated in the morning.

 And that puts us into our next topic: -- Wren's Calorie Intake
One of the things we talked about during our visit with the OBGYN was nutrition and calorie intake. Now, let me bring you up to speed -- a little over a year ago, Wren and I started a weight-loss and overall health journey. This came after watching Super-Size Me and Food, Inc. We decided we wanted to loose some weight and then really began understanding where our food comes from or what all it's "filled" with. We began a mostly raw food diet -- fruits, veggies, nuts and what meat we do eat, we make sure the chickens are not filled with antibiotics and are cage free. Also that beef is grass fed. Cutting out processed food was the best thing we have ever done for ourselves. We both immediately started loosing weight and felt so much better. We have continued that lifestyle and wish to remain doing so. Now grant it, I'm not saying we don't slide through the McDonalds or Chic-Fil-A drive through every now and then, but overall -- this is the food lifestyle we want now. This spring we planted a good sized garden for the two of us and some neighbors including white and yellow potatoes, beets, peas, carrots, lettuce/spinach, tomatoes, and green beans. Also a small herb garden (that I need to finish planting....but that's another story). SO, onto my point -- according to Wren's BMI and age and shoe size and whatever else they use to calculate all these things -- Wren is supposed to eat 3200 calories a day! WHOA!!!! Do you know how hard it is to eat that much food??? She has been keeping a food journal and the closest she has gotten so far is 2700. She is literally eating all the time and hasn't met her calorie intake -- nor has she gained a single pound! She is actually loosing weight! I'm starting to think she has hungry hippos in her tummy, not hungry little birds! Maybe we should re-name the blog! The point is, we are trying to make healthy, nutritional decisions for the babies and not just pump them full of big macs to meet the calorie number. Any of you have advice????

Aside from that, we are just busy nesting. We are both total type A personalities and have our pregnancy check list going to make sure we are well prepared when the babies are born. I think we have EVERY book published on multiples and lesbian parenting. When we say, "We are 10 weeks pregnant" it doesn't sound very far at all, but the way our brains think is --- "realistically, multiples are full term at 36 weeks and that means we only have 26 weeks left!"  I know it goes by fast. Take for instance the Monkeys -- I feel like they just announced that they were pregnant and little monkey was the size of a blueberry. Now, they are almost due and he is up to the size of a melon!!!!

Hope you are all having a good summer so far! Enjoy your week!
~Finch

12 comments:

  1. Are you both going to stay home to raise the babies?

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow, thats is a lot of calories!!! The midwives told me that the calaories are lest important. She said that a pregnant woman only needs 300 extra calories a day. It is more important to eat protien (helps prevent pre-eclampsia) and other essentials. I'm eating as I normaly do. Only trying to eat more protien (as close to 100g/day as I can) and not worrying about the calories as much.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heather read my mind :)

    It's not so much how much you eat, but what you eat. Protein is *very* important. Have you considered eggs? Or protein powder? Both will add protein and calories!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on getting off the fertility meds and setting up the appointment with your OB! How exciting! Also, wow, that is a lot of calories. What about nutrition shakes? I know that some people who are having trouble eating at all get told to drink ensure--maybe it would work to top up her calories, too?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wowee! That IS a mind-boggling number of calories! Has anyone recommended the book When you're Expecting Twins, Triplets, and Quads to you yet? They've got a lot of advice... we found it super useful when my partner was carrying our girls.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I definitely think When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets and Quads is amazing. It has tons of recipes and charts for helping write it all down. I definitely think you're right with your intake. Hope has been drinking Boost High Protein since she just cannot eat enough during the day. People have really been annoying about it when we say how much she's supposed to eat...a lot of people are just conditioned to think that twins aren't "that high risk" and that you should just eat "more than you would with just one"...but it's so much more complicated than that.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the ideas ladies! However, Wren is all ready drinking the ensure and protein shakes. Eggs are wonderful and nutritious but this month for Wren, not so delicious. Eggs make her want to vomit. And we do own When you're expecting twins, trips and quads -- full of great advice.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I understand about the dr thing, finding OPTIONS in this area is no fun at all! Thank goodness we have a WONDERFUL doctor! That calorie count does seem kind of high...I would hate to have to meet that quota daily!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What about some higher calorie fresh produce - can she tolerate that? Avocado, bananas, coconut? You're right to avoid the Big Macs and bacon and whatnot - that stuff is just full of awful chemicals. But I also think what others said makes sense - while calories ARE important, the nutritional density of the food you're eating is much more so. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I disagree about the When You Are Expecting Twins, etc book. We have it, and the amount of food they recommend you eat is not just impossible, but insane. Our doctor was horrified by the advice in that book. Now, who is right? Our dr or the book? Who knows, but I know that the advice in the book is unrealistic.

    V made sure to eat breakfast - usually toast with lots of Olivio spread (adds calories and satisfied her craving for rich buttery tastes but it's made from Olive Oil, so it isn't as heart-unhealthy as butter), lunch and dinner and then snacked whenever she was hungry, and everything was fine. I wouldn't stress too much about the actual calorie count.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am so excited for the both of you...wow, twins! Enjoy every step of the pregnancy...my partner and I are now at the 39th week and I feel like it was just yesterday that we were at 10! Before you know it, you'll be snuggling those two little babies! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I wouldn't stress out too much about the calorie count either. I made myself insane a few weeks trying to get those calories down. In the end, I just made wise food choices, gave in to my cravings--which DID include fast food a couple of times and snacked throughout the day.
    I don't know anyone who was able to keep up with the insane amount of calories that books says.

    Very exciting~

    ReplyDelete