Taking One For The Team

(10w2d)
The first few days after our appt with Dr. Peri and our phone consult (90 minutes long!) with Dr. El.liott were overwhelming. I was drowning in stats... most of them not very favorable. It took me a few days, but I did come to realize that the answers we were looking for would not be found in the statistics. Partially because there is very little relevant data in regards to quints, and even less in terms of the situation with the twins and the effect they may have on the rest of the fetuses. The numbers cannot tell us what will happen in our particular case (especially as I am not known for following the averages...). Dr. El.liott was great and at least somewhat reassuring although the twins (in particular the fact they aren't doing well and their location) make this an unusual situation and even more high risk than a "normal" quint pregnancy. Well, of course. Not only can I not just get pregnant like others, or just have one or two fetuses like everyone else... no... I have to get pregnant with quints and even then I manage to come up with a complicating factor (i.e., the twins) that hasn't been dealt with in a quint pregnancy to term before. Fabulous.

I am calmer and more peaceful than last week. For reasons I won’t get into here, it became clear to me over the weekend how we should proceed...

Plan A: Move to Arizona in two months if still have the quintuplets
Plan B: Stay home and deliver triplets if we lose the twins
Plan C: Do another few IVF cycles or take a cruise around the world and forget the whole "having children" thing if this all goes to pot and I lose the entire litter.

Now we will just wait and see what is in store for us.

I finally gave in and went maternity clothes shopping today. None of my summer clothes fit, and it is already getting warm where we live. I bought a B.ella band to prolong the amount of time that I can stay in my jeans, and I bought several tops to wear with the few pair of nice pants I can still fit into for work (granted, with the top button undone…)

Dr. El.liott told me I should be eating 5,000 calories a day. I am already significantly behind the weight goals for a quint mom. I have much catching up to do. According to him, my ideal food is a Big Mac, a fudge sundae or a banana split. He considers all veggies to be “junk food” and “empty calories” and I should avoid them whenever possible in favor of high calorie foods. I know it sounds fabulous! Who wouldn’t want to eat as much fattening junk food as humanly possible every day? And although it is nice to be able to eat what I want when I want it… it is a serious shift in my diet and is difficult to get used to. And eating such food every day is not nearly as fun as it sounds. But as I told Dr. El.liott, I suppose I will sacrifice by eating a fudge sundae and “take one for the team.” :-)

I am waiting to hear when my next US will be (either late on Wednesday or sometime on Thursday).