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Still here. Still pregnant. Still trying to figure out what to do with this blog. As these things go, I've had a pretty short term as an infertility blogger, going from Public Blog to Pregnant in just over five months. And on my first-ever ovulatory cycle, too. I feel kind of like an IF poseur.

There's still oh so much that can go wrong. On the IF(ish) front, even though we've seen the heartbeats, there's still a chance we could lose one or both babies. Then there are all the complications that go with twin pregnancy in general, including higher rates of preterm labor, incompetent cervix, preeclampsia, and intrauterine growth retardation. (Can you tell we had our first appointment with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist this morning? We did.)

I think I'm going to keep blogging, at least for now. When we hit 10w or so, I will probably change the little blurb in the sidebar to alert newcomers as to my status. I don't think I'll change my blog title, though, or my name. I hope nobody minds.

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As I said, we met with an MFM doc today (also commonly referred to as a high-risk OB). I'm not sure I consider myself high-risk, but apparently the other OB in this practice (the one that Dr. Quixotic recommended to us) thought we should meet with this guy. And apparently meet with him first, since Dr. Regular OB (better name to follow when we finally meet her!) is booked up and then on vacation, and we couldn't get in to see her until the middle of my twelfth week, but she wanted us to have the chance to discuss some prenatal testing before the screening windows closed for some procedures. So...maternal-fetal specialist it is.

The appointment was fairly early in the day, but we spent a good half-hour in the waiting room before a nurse called us back into an exam room. A blood-pressure check and mini-medical-interview ensued (Is this your first pregnancy? Yes. So, no miscarriages? Um...no...what part of "first pregnancy" didn't you understand?), followed by another half-hour wait before the doctor walked into the room. With his fly open.

Is Dr. McFly too literal a moniker? I don't think he's engaged in time travel yet, but perhaps if we buy him a DeLorean he can fast-forward us to 38 weeks and a pair of healthy babies. Or at least some properly fastened pants.

Anyway, since (it appears) Dr. McFly will not be my primary doc, we did not engage in any of the usual first- appointment chit-chat beyond: "How are you feeling?" "Tired." "Happens to the best of us." He launched right into selling advising us on the early risk assessment screening, which combines a nuchal translucency ultrasound with bloodwork to give you your adjusted risks for Down Syndrome, other trisomies, and some cardiac issues. After pinning him down on the false "positive" rates, we decided it was probably worth going for.

And then...another ultrasound! Oh joy of joys! We get to see our little ones again! (You'd never believe that, prior to this pregnancy, I was all crunchy-granola-no-prenatal-testing-and-give-birth-in-the-woods, would you?) He left the room so I could strip, I took a quick trip to the loo, and and Ezra and I burst out in giggles as soon as I got back. Because, come on: fly open, kinda funny.

You'd hope that someone else in the office (a nurse or receptionist or something) would have noticed by then and told Dr. McFly (discreetly) to zip up, but no. When he came back into the room, I almost immediately turned my head to face the ultrasound monitor so that there would be no more inexorable pull of my gaze toward the unzipped crotch. Anyway: baby pictures! This time we saw the heartbeats right away, and the embryos resembled slightly more humanoid space aliens (rather than mere blobs). I think Dr. McFly swapped the "A" and "B" labels (as compared to the IF clinic's assignments), but it's really no big deal. One kidlet is clearly attached off to one side, the other is clearly sitting much higher up. They're in separate sacs and have separate placentas, and appear to have some territorial issues to boot. Or maybe they just don't like each other. Too bad: they're going to be sharing a room (and probably a crib) for quite a while.

Baby A (per Dr. McFly) measured at 7w1d, which puts the kid right on target for six days of growth since the 6w2d measurement last Tuesday. Baby B initially measured at 6w5d, which freaked me right the hell out. I insisted on Dr. McFly getting a second measurement, and after some maneuvering and adjusting, he found a clearer angle. The new measurement corresponds to 7w2d: also on track for a 6w3d embryo from last week.

My cervix is long and closed (I forgot to ask how long), and my ovaries appear stimulated (duh). Dr. McFly wants cervical checks every three weeks; I presume each of these involve an ultrasound, but what do I know, really? But I certainly hope all these sound waves are okay for the kidlets, because so far my hippie-dippie prenatal and birth plan is shot to hell.

One more trip to the IF clinic next Thursday for another ultrasound and appointment (with Nurse Patient this time). Then NT screening and cervical check on July 21, and our first real prenatal appointment on the 25th.

Next up: Eating Habits, or, Why These Kids Are Going To Weigh About Three Ounces Each At Birth.