A milestone of sorts

Well, I've officially been mobile longer during this pregnancy than I was during the last one!  I've surpassed the point in which I was put on strict bedrest last time.  Woo-hoo!  So that means that even if I'm put on bedrest again, it will at least be less than 67 days!!  Hey, I gotta maintain a positive perspective, right?  I'm just thankful for every day that I still get to go to work and do my job.  I never, ever thought I'd say that.  But as I was laying on my couch last time, I would've given anything  just to go back to work!

The girls are learning more and more every day.  Adalyn's vocabulary seems to have exploded in the past couple weeks.  Fish, shoes, cow, go, ball, and no (unfortunately!) are just several of the new words she now says.  Alivia is still working on talking a bit more.  I think she tends to let Addi do the talking for her sometimes.  She can identify every picture under the sun that you ask her to: sheep, flower, socks, ball, teddy bear, owl, etc., but she's still working on saying some of it.

Addi's standing on a chair helping Livi finish her supper.

They seriously look like they've done something wrong.  Such guilty faces!

Kids are (sometimes) easily entertained

All I'm doing is bouncing a big blue ball off my head and catching it.  Little Miss Alivia thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  She was laughing hysterically for about 5 minutes before Nate and I even thought to break out the video camera.  And she continued to bust a gut for several minutes after shutting it off.  As you'll see, even when the ball gets away, she keeps coming back for more!!  She laughs so hard that she loses her breath!

Just a helpful tip for those who aren't computer savvy.  If you watch it on the blog, part of the screen is cut off and therefore, Livi gets cut off at times (not a huge deal).  But if you want to see the full screen, click on the video to make it play and then click on it again...it will open up Youtube.

Hip-hip hooray!!

I had a fantastic OB appointment two days ago (yeah, I'm a little slow in writing about it...that's what happens when you have two toddlers).  As usual, I saw Dr L's nurse first.  She asked if it would be okay to see a med student before seeing Dr L.  I didn't mind, I saw plenty of them while I was pregnant with the girls.  So we talked for a bit about how I'm feeling, if the baby is active, if I have any major concerns or questions, etc.  Then he listened to the baby, the heartrate was in the 150's, and measured my belly which was again right on track at 26cm.

Then he went to get Dr L.  She came in with the ultrasound machine and measured the exit out.  Although it shortened almost a full centimeter from 4.4cm two weeks ago to 3.6cm this week, the funneling has completely disappeared...which is wonderful news!  We'll do another cervical length check in 3 weeks and if the number is favorable, she said I don't have to have any more.  I guess she's been addressing my "case" with Dr M who is a high risk doctor from my hometown (so they do phone consults).  I had no idea that I was high risk again this pregnancy.  I knew I was last time simply due to carrying twins.  But yeah, in addition to Dr L keeping an eye on me, Dr M has been getting routine updates as to how this pregnancy is progressing.  And today, I was given an A++ for my efforts.  However, I'll still have the same lifting restrictions for a while yet. 

Anyway, at my visit in three weeks, I'll also have the gestational diabetes test done.  I passed it with flying colors last time so I'm hoping the same holds true this time.

And just a couple bonus pictures...

Alivia's first ponytail/top knot courtesy of Aunt Chelsea

Adalyn had to make sure she was sufficiently prune-like before getting out of the pool.

Pregnancy survey - take 2

How far along? 25 weeks today

Total weight gain/loss: A gain of about 13-15 pounds or so.

Maternity clothes? Seriously?  I haven't been able to hide the belly for a looong time...I even have a couple maternity tops I'm about to outgrow!

Stretch marks? I'll just copy and paste what I wrote last time...it still applies!! Oh, there's plenty of those. But not from this pregnancy. In fact, if I were to get one from this pregnancy, I'm not sure I'll even be able to tell!

Sleep: On the couch, away from my husband.  I need the back support and he probably wouldn't appreciate feeling me get out of bed 6 times a night to go to the bathroom.

Best moment this week: Having a couple days where I didn't have any heartburn.  Since it kicked in several weeks ago, it seems as though I haven't been able to escape it!  But I had two glorious days free from its grasp.

Movement: Uh, yeah.  This is one active little bugger.  I sometimes actually wonder if he ever sleeps!!

Food cravings: I'm not sure I really have cravings versus just not wanting certain foods.  Unfortunately, that means that anything that's probably healthy for me is what I'm really not in the mood for.

Gender: Still don't know and still don't want to know.

Labor Signs: Hoping to keep them at bay for quite a while yet!!

Belly Button in or out? It's still an innie...we'll see when that changes!

What I miss: Not being able to sleep longer than 2 hours at a stretch - or sleep in general.

What I'm looking forward to: OB appointment on Wednesday.  Though I'm kinda nervous too.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't let a toddler jump on your belly - it doesn't feel very good (pregnant or not!)

Milestones: I've started to feel the baby get the hiccups in the past 1-2 weeks! 

Water Babies

These were taken over the course of a few days.  I think we took the girls outside to go swimming 3 times in one week.  And they really did enjoy it!!

Addi went straight for the sprinkler.

Livi preferred to stay as far away from it as possible!

Jumping and landing on her bottom.

Making splashes.

Just horsin' around.

This is Addi's classic surprise face while she says "ooohhh"

In and out, in and out. They can never just stay in.

Another OB appt

I saw Dr L on Wednesday.  My blood pressure remains good.  I'm still measuring right on track at 24cm.  And the baby's heartrate was in the 140's.  Because of how I've been feeling lately, she decided to do a quick ultrasound in the office to take a peek at the "exit out."  I'm having some of the same feelings I did when Addi was head down and knocking on the door.  So of course that had me a bit worried.

Turns out that despite the contractions I'm having and the pressure I'm experiencing, the exit out is still looking really good.  However, there was one little concerning thing that she was able to identify on the ultrasound, so we'll be following up on that in 2 weeks.  For the curious, it's called funneling.  At this point, it's not terribly concerning but it's definitely something we'll be watching over the next couple of months.  Because of the funneling, Dr L told me that I'm no longer allowed to do any heavy lifting...that includes carrying both girls at the same time.  She doesn't even want me carrying one of them for any long length of time.  So that's going to be a bit of an adjustment.

I have another scheduled appt in 2 weeks.  It was originally going to be in 3 weeks, but Dr L is going to be on vacation that week.  And she agreed that given my history, she would like to see me sooner rather than later.  I was put on bedrest at 26 weeks plus a few days during my pregnancy with the girls and as we're quickly approaching that timeframe, I can feel my anxiety increasing.  So I'm glad she wants to start keeping a closer eye on me.