Wooohoooo we’ve made it to the second trimester!! It feels like I JUST returned from
India. Where has the time gone?!?! I received an updated USG scan today along
with an email saying that everything looks normal and the twins and surrogate
are both doing well. It also says that
my surrogate has completed her first trimester.
I swear I thought it would take forever to reach this point but time really flew by. I
wonder if the rest of the pregnancy will fly by too? I hope not because I have so much I need to do. The only downfall of being in the 2nd
trimester is that I will only receive USG scans once a month; I’ve gotten
used to receiving scans every 2 weeks.
Here is the most recent USG scan of my babies (I don't know which twin is which. I can only make out a couple of the sonograms. Perhaps someone can teach me LOL):
The Hotel
Now that I’m in the 2nd trimester, I need to
seriously sit down and map out a plan to bring babies home.
The Flight
How did you go about booking a flight? Did you wait until the last minute since you
never know when the babies will arrive? Did you book a ticket that allows you
to make last minute changes? Which
airline did you fly? I was very
impressed with Emirates and will likely fly them again. I was thinking about calling them to see if I
can get some special seating since I will be flying with two infants. I’ve read
that they have bassinet available and will accommodate you. I am
thankful because my Godsister “T” will be meeting me in India to help me bring
home babies (maybe this will help me avoid the “where’s the wife” questions
too). I’m thinking about how to coordinate our departure tickets
also. I will arrive in India before she
will but I want to make sure she is on the same returning flight and seated
next to me. Should we just book one way
tickets each way? If you book a
round-trip flight, how did you know what returning flight to select You don’t know when you will be done with all
of the paper work. What if you finish
earlier than expected? Should I take a
baby carrier/ stroller to get through the airport? I am going to drive myself mad LOL.
Where should I stay? I’m strongly considering staying at the
Hilton Garden Inn (next door to the Svelte) this time. Kim (client manager) stayed there to check it
out and raved about the hotel. Kim has
always been honest with me and I trust her opinions; she may have swayed me. Also, the Svelte is very expensive and this
will not be a one-week stay like It was in December. I need something reasonably priced, clean,
convenient, safe, accommodating, etc. How far in advance
did you book your hotel? I was thinking
about waiting until the 3rd trimester (btw….every time I’ve typed “trimester”
in this blog, I’ve mistakenly typed “trimesterday.” I thought this was kind of funny). It freaks me out that once you are near your
due date, the babies can come at any time and you just have to be ready. Also,
how do you know how many nights to book your hotel? You never know how long all
of the paper work will actually take? What if you book for 3 weeks and end up
finishing earlier.
Birth Certificate,
DNA, Passports, Exit Visa
I am dreading this part the most. I wish I had a price list that covers the
costs of bringing home babies. Any
advice on quickly obtaining the birth certificate? Any recommendations on DNA labs? How far in advance should I have the DNA kit
shipped to the US Embassy?
Needless to say, I will be pouring over everyone’s
blogs and bugging Kim with questions in order to come up with my own bringing home babies plan. For now, I will just sit back, and celebrate
reaching this milestone. I hope everyone
is having a great day.
Hi Fred, good to see all is well. I'm pasting a blog link below that is very helpful. It helped me, but I didn't necessarily followed all the suggestions. For example, I used Advanced Genetics (just today) instead of Chromosomal Labs. Ideally, the DNA kits for the twins need to arrive one-month prior to the expected birth. I had mine sent today as it takes several weeks for it to be confirmed by the US Embassy. For accommodation, we decided to rent an apt instead of hotel (too expensive) and we are in the process of reserving it. For the airlines, we chose United although Emirates and other European airlines have better service and planes -- we didn't want to stop by Dubai and get asked "Where is the mother?" and be in a country where being gay is a crime. United would need the names of the twins once they are born and will charge 10% as far as I remember -- you could request for a basinet then. We were advised to come on week 37, but we decided to come on week 36 in case the twins come really early. Please read the blog below as it is very helpful. Here is the link for the other blogger:
ReplyDeletehttp://aaronandeddy.blogspot.com/
Thanks sooo much. That will be very helpful! Where is your layover? Another idea for me would be to fly from Newark, NJ as they have direct flights to and from New Delhi. Newark is about a 3 to 4hr drive but perhaps worth it for the direct flight.
DeleteWe are flying via Newark, since United flies direct from there. When we first visited, we flew Lufthansa to Delhi via Frankfurt. I didn't like the planes (old 747-4), except for one flight from DEL to FRA it was the new 747-8. I'm picky about the jets I fly. :)
DeleteLOL I'm seriously considering the direct flight from Newark too. I can't wait to hear your review of it.
DeleteHi Fred,
ReplyDeleteI stayed at Hilton Garden Inn. It was amazing. The staff was very helpful and great before and after the twins were born. Being in the mall was also helpful since food and baby items were super accessible.
i flew Virgin Atlantic. Layover was in London. DEL to LHR was awesome and super easy. they put us in the bulk head. Had the same for LHR to the states but this flight was less accommodating. The lead attendant was not so nice and non-helpful, so one of the twins had to be held the entire flight. Virgin Atlantic assured me this was not standard policy and was apologetic. I would fly them again though, it was comfortable and London was an easy stop over.
I sent my DNA tests 2.5 weeks early. They arrived and were accounted for 3 days after I ordered them. I used chromosomal labs in Arizona. They are really great. The boys were born near the 4th of July weekend and they did everything they could to get things out quick.
The embassy is really a piece of cake. You shouldn't worry about it. They will help you out with anything you need. One note is that some say you can pay in Rs for the DNA testing guy to swab you and the kids. This is NOT true (although if you play dumb, like i did, you might get away with it). You need a money order of sorts. Your hotel or a bank there can do it.
FRRO is a beast. But it totally doable. check out my last BLOG entry. it's really not that bad.
You'll be fine. CONGRATS on 2nd trimester!
Thanks! Seems like people are pretty impressed with Hilton Garden Inn. I stayed at the Svelte last time and liked the area and the Hilton is right next door. Chromosomal seems like the lab everyone is using; I keep hearing that name. I'll definitely check out your last blog for FRRO. I'm hoping they don't give me much of a problem. I'll have my Godsister with me. I'll just play like she is my wife LOL.
DeleteCongratulations on the great scan.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I can't wait to get the 3D scan like you received. Your daughter (I think its a girl too) is beautiful!!
Delete15 months into twin parenting and I can't really recommend any twin specific things besides the stroller. When buying double items...car seats, high chairs etc, I would recommend not buying two of the exact same since it is easier tO quickly differentiate who belongs in what seat. This is most important for the car seat because the car sseat satraps will be specific to each child.
ReplyDeleteYou will want to take carriers for the airport return home trip. We love the ergo and also love how you can put the sun shade up to protect them from germs and people trying to get a peek.
Congrats on making it to the second trimester!
Thank you! Everyone is giving amazing tips.
DeleteCONGRATS AGAIN TWIN... I can't wait till its my turn. Love all the information too!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! We are having twin too!
ReplyDeleteWe flew United though Newark and booked tickets in advance since we were flying around the December holidays. My husband spent an hour or so on the phone with them (we use the Elite line, one of the few benefits of Silver Elite on United) and he managed to get us tickets with a very low change fee. We ended up flying out three weeks early and home earlier than our return flight. The change fees were nominal. I suggest calling and discussing your potential dates. The agent was very excited by our plans and really wanted to help. You also want to make sure to call American customer service once in India for your return home if you need to change dates. The Indian reps told us there were no available flights for three weeks. The American rep got us tickets for the next day.
ReplyDeleteWe used Chromosomal Lab too. I called the day before my son was born and the kit was at the embassy (Mumbai) within days.
Good luck!