Friday, June 27, 2008

We definitely have movement!

Over the past 4 weeks or so I have been feeling some slight movement. It was ever so slight to the point that I really wasn't convinced it was the babies and figured I was just gassy. Too much information?? Oh, you'll live. And actually, over the last 2 weeks, it has become much more regular and has felt more like little taps and bumps than little butterflies or gas bubbles.

Well, as of about 3:45 this morning, there is absolutely NO denying that the babies are having themselves a little party in there. I couldn't sleep (no surprise there), so I went to get the computer to play solitaire and try to find some soothing music to put in the babies' bedroom. As I was listening to some classical music, Baby A (the one on the left) went absolutely crazy. I put my hand on my belly and could feel tons of kicks and rolls and head butts. And what shocked me the most, is that when I took my hand off, I kept staring at that area of my belly...and wouldn't you know it, my belly moved! Not just a little and not just one time either! He/she was going nuts rolling around. I told Nate this morning that Baby A will be his little classical music baby because Nate absolutely loves classical music.

Baby B remained fairly quiet the whole time Baby A was dancing up a storm. But of course the minute I turned off the computer to try to get some more sleep, Baby B decided it was time to be wide awake. The kicks and jabs weren't quite as strong as Baby A, but enough to keep me from falling asleep for another 30 minutes or so!

I did have my ultrasound on Tuesday. They looked at my liver, gall bladder, and kidneys. About 5 minutes into it, the ultrasound tech said "well, I'm pretty sure I know what your problem is." Immediately I said "so I'm not imagining things?" And she said "no, you're not crazy." Of course she couldn't tell me what she thinks it is because the radiologist has to look at it. But she did assure me that it would not threaten the pregnancy and I am not going to die. Good to know! So I will just wait to get my results on Tuesday from my OB. I'm not in any hurry. I could call to find out sooner...but what are they going to do for me anyway? So I'm content to just wait until my appointment.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

First trip to L&D

So I ended up in L&D last night -- not by choice. I was at work which always seems to make my Braxton Hicks contractions occur more frequently. So I was just writing them down to make sure I really didn't have more than 6 in an hour for a couple of hours in a row. And I didn't. But right toward the end of my shift, I had similar pain to the pain I had on Sunday and Monday, but not quite as severe. I didn't say anything to anybody, but the nurses suspected something wasn't right. Two of them asked me if I was feeling okay because I "didn't look good" and I guess I appeared to be clammy and pale. So I told them that I was in some pain but I'm sure it would go away soon.

They told me I needed to call the doctor and when I insisted that the pain was not as bad as it was several days ago, they paged the doctor instead. The doctor told them to have me check into L&D to monitor the babies.

So, downstairs I went -- escorted by one of my coworkers because they probably thought I was some type of flight risk!! Once there, they listened to both babies for about 15 minutes. Both were so active that they kept kicking at and punching the doppler machine. Heart rates were in the 140's. Then they attached me to the ToCo monitor which watches for contractions. I was on that machine for about an hour and a half. I only had a few contractions during that time, which didn't surprise me at all because I was lying down!! I know that when I rest, the contractions tend to go away.

The pain ended up subsiding quicker than it did on Sunday and Monday. It probably took about 30 minutes after I laid down for it to let up a bit. I will still be having an ultrasound on Tuesday to look at my gallbladder, appendix and probably my ovaries. There is still question as to whether I may have pulled a deep muscle in my abdomen which would definitely cause quite a bit of pain!!

Anyway. The babies and I checked out just fine as I thought we would. I mean, I WAS a little worried. But I had a gut feeling that if I just laid down for 15 minutes, the pain and contractions would subside. I actually wanted to lay down before jumping the gun and going to L&D, but when you work with a bunch of Mother Hens, they get nervous and concerned about you too!! As I was leaving L&D, I told the nurses that I don't intend on seeing them again for another 15 weeks!!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Appointment day and shocking news

So let's start with the numbers. I am 20 1/2 weeks pregnant. Though Dr. L measured my uterus today, and it is measuring as if I am already 25 weeks pregnant (if I was carrying 1 baby). When they measure the uterus, they measure it in centimeters. And the number of centimeters should correspond to how many weeks pregnant you are. So being that I am 20 1/2 weeks along, the measurement should have been about 20-21cm. But of course with two babies in there, I am going to be measuring larger. By the time I am 32 weeks, I could very well be measuring as if I was 40 weeks pregnant!!!

My blood pressure looked good again today. It was 104/68. The results of the big ultrasound are officially normal. The ultrasound tech had told us that everything looked good, but that the radiologist still needed to read the measurements and I would get the results from the doctor. So I am happy to report that both babies are right on target. The kidneys, spines, brains, bladders, limb lengths, etc. all look really good and there were no abnormalities present. Yay!

I am scheduled to have an ultrasound of my gallbladder next week. Dr. L also wants them to take a look at my appendix. I have been in constant pain for the past 4 weeks. But, the past two days have had me doubled over in pain to the point that Nate wanted to take me to the ER...to which I graciously declined. Both incidences lasted about 3-4 hours and then seemed to let up. Well, back to the constant semi-manageable pain I have been having for the last month. But at least it wasn't a stabbing/knifing, make me want to vomit pain!! She did check me for hernias today. That was negative. Though I now have clear instructions from Dr. L to come to the clinic ASAP if I experience that pain again because she wants to see me. And if the clinic is closed, I am to immediately go to L&D (Labor and Delivery) to have it checked out. I'm just praying that I don't have another episode. I can live with this chronic pain, but that other pain...eeeek. Not so much! So anyway, ultrasound scheduled next Tuesday just to look at my gallbladder and appendix -- no views of the babies that day!!

And finally, the shocking news. I was told that I have ketones in my urine. Apparently, when the body begins to break down fat for energy, you will often end up with ketones. Ummmm, what? How can my body be breaking down fat?! I have gained 8 pounds in the last 4 weeks...so I am averaging a healthy 2 pounds per week. I am now up to about 12 pounds gained in the entire pregnancy. But the fact that there are ketones present still means that I am NOT eating enough. Despite the healthy weight gain track I am on, my body still feels like it is not getting enough and is therefore, breaking down fat stores!! So guess what this means -- I have to eat EVEN MORE!!! I am already stuffed to the gills, so this should be interesting. But, I will try to do what I need to do for the babies. Good golly, they better appreciate me when they get older!! Haha.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Photo-op with the babies!

The big ultrasound was today. We came away with an astounding 24 pictures of the kiddos. TWENTY-FOUR!! We are going to have to invest in a baby book just to hold all of our ultrasound pictures. Our tech was fabulous and told us that we can request her when we set up our next ultrasound. You can bet that we will be asking for Paula!

The babies are fantastic. Both babies were actually head down at this visit, whereas at my appointment last week with Dr. L, one was head down while the other was head up. So one baby flipped in the last week and a half. And they will continue to flip back and forth until about 30-32 weeks or so when they will simply run out of room. Hopefully by then they will both decide to be head down.

Anyway, Baby A was pretty active in the beginning but then got tired and fell asleep on us. Baby A is on my left side and is the gatekeeper of the entrance out! And speaking of the entrance out, my cervix is holding up just fine. We want it to remain long and closed. And because I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions in the last 2 weeks, I was a little worried that they might be shortening my cervix. But it is still measuring a long and strong 4cm. Baby A's placenta is posterior, meaning it is attached in the back closer to my spine.

Baby B was a little fart once again. This kid is very hyperactive! The tech had a hard time getting him/her to sit still to take good measurements. She had to chase Baby B all over the place! Baby B's placenta is anterior, which means that it is attached in the front closer to my belly. So yes, there are definitely 2 placentas.

So here are the babies and their 2nd internet appearance. Sorry about the quality -- our scanner isn't working, so I had to take pictures of the pictures. At times they are kind of blurry, but they will have to make due.

In the left corner, we have Baby A --
Measuring exactly 20 weeks (1 day ahead of schedule)
Weighing in at 12oz (3/4 of a pound!)
Heartrate is 147bpm

We have a little baby butt!

And a right foot.

And a left arm and fist (Baby A is facing away from the camera)

Finally, a precious little face.
Another profile picture with a hand up by the mouth.

In the right corner, we have Baby B --
Measuring exactly 20 weeks (like his/her sibling)
Weighing in at 12oz (again, like his/her sibling)
With a squirrely heartrate of 153bpm (UNLIKE his/her sibling)

We have a baby foot and thigh.

And a perfectly shaped spine (head on right, butt on left, legs tucked underneath).

And another little baby bottom. The baby is looking away from us. If you look closely at the head (on the right) you can see a little ear.

A beautiful baby face.

Another profile picture -- this time the baby has its chin to its chest with its hands positioned like he/she is playing the clarinet!

Last but not least, we have a couple of pictures with both babies playing nicely in the womb. Actually, they weren't playing so nicely. Baby B punched at Baby A, which made Baby A retaliate by kicking Baby B. There was a whole lot of shoving going on in there!

Baby B's face is on the left underneath Baby A's belly. Baby A's head is on the right "kissing" the top of B's head.

Two round baby heads.

I'm sorry about the pictures galore. But when you are given 24 of them, it is really hard to pick which ones to show off! So all is well. The babies are right on target and so far, are sharing nutrients nicely. I will continue to go in for big ultrasounds once every 4 weeks to measure growth. The babies need to keep weighing approximately the same amount. If there is a weight discordance of 20% or more, they start to worry that one baby is stealing all of the food and not leaving any for the other baby -- which might prompt an early delivery. So in 4 weeks we will have more pictures to share!! I know you're happy...

Monday, June 9, 2008

19+ weeks, over half way there

Saturday marked 19 weeks. So we are officially over half way there!! In some ways, it feels like this pregnancy is flying by. Yet at other times, it feels like the babies will never get here. I continue to get bigger by the day. We have our big ultrasound on Friday. I am hoping the sonographer tells us how big each of the babies is measuring. From the research I have done, each baby should be right around 12 ounces. If that is the case, then I've got 1 1/2 pounds of baby growing in there right now!

As our big ultrasound gets closer and closer, there is a part of me that really wants to know if we are having baby boys or baby girls or both. However, I am pretty sure we will stick to our guns and leave it as a surprise for delivery day. But I think it will definitely be tough at each one of these big ultrasounds to not find out!! Hopefully Nate is feeling stronger in his decision not to know then I am right now!

Otherwise, there really isn't much going on right now. I guess that is a good thing. I would like to keep this pregnancy as uneventful as possible.

Just for fun (and because so many people are asking), here is a belly picture. Taken at exactly 19 weeks. Excuse the tired eyes, I just rolled out of bed!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Update about my appt

I had an appointment with Dr. L yesterday. My blood pressure looks good. It was 102/64. I don't know why I worry about my blood pressure before my appointments -- maybe it's because carrying twins increases the risk of many pregnancy complications. From pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), to gestational diabetes, to pre-term labor, to lower birth weights (even if born at term). So yes, I worry.

Mom was with me for my appointment. She sat out in the waiting room while the doctor and I talked. When it was time for the ultrasound, my doctor went to get her. Both babies were fairly inactive yesterday. The baby on the right side was head up and feet down, while the baby on the left was feet up and head down. Oh, and I have identified our trouble maker! In case you are wondering, it is the baby on the right. And here is why...

He/she was MOONING his/her sibling! Sitting right on the face of the little baby on the left. Now, if you can use your imagination a little bit, I have drawn a picture to capture the moment from my perspective about what this little circus act looked like. Forgive me for my drawing skills, I am far from being an artist!
You can see that the baby on the right side (left in this picture -- I drew it as though you were looking at my belly), propped its little butt right on top of the other baby's face. So...in the end, I am thinking that this baby MUST be a boy, right? Only boys do stuff like that!

Mom was amazed at everything she saw -- from two strong heartbeats, to one of the baby's ankles being crossed, to another baby having his/her hands up in front of the face, to a small wave from one baby, to the detail of how the spines look. Even I was amazed at how much they have changed in the 5 weeks since I last saw them! Now Nate and I look forward to our big ultrasound on June 13th. Dr. L said that they will look at and measure everything...3 times!! I was told to prepare to be there for about 1 to 2 hours, depending on how well the babies cooperate during the measurements. We should also come away with some higher quality pictures so that I can post them for you to see. I do get pictures during every visit, but they are not the best quality and harder to make out. So stay tuned around June 13th or so! The babies will make their second internet appearance!

So the end result of this appt was more good news. The hearts look very strong, the fluids levels around each baby look really good and appear to be equal, we saw 4 arms, 4 legs, 2 big bellies, and two round heads in fairly good detail and my blood pressure is doing well. Despite all of this good news, I will now be going in for biweekly appointments. I knew it would happen sooner than if I was carrying one baby, but I didn't expect it quite this early. However, Dr. L likes to monitor twins much closer. She's being very pro-active about keeping this pregnancy running smoothly, and I like that!! So every 2 weeks now, I will get to see the babies!! In addition to that, both Nate and I will be able to see the babies on a big ultrasound machine once a month. So 3 times a month we will get a little peak at the munchkins.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Our first purchases!

So we've begun the task of buying some things for the nursery and of course some other things "of interest." Haha. We were going to wait until after our 20 week ultrasound when we would be given the assurance that everything looks okay with both of the Monkeys, but a lot of the things we really like have been going out of stock. I was afraid that by the time we decided on making some purchases, we would have to settle for our second choice for everything! Instead, we decided to get busy today and buy some things. Although we will NOT open or assemble any of them until after our big ultrasound...which by the way, is scheduled for June 13. Friday the 13th! I'm not superstitious, so I'm not overly worried. Nate isn't superstitious either, so we're good to go!

This will be our crib. Of course, we bought two!

The crib converts into a toddler bed (then a day bed and full size bed if we so choose).
I like the drawer underneath for some extra storage space!
The changing table. Again, I like the single drawer for the smaller items like nail clippers and bulb syringe. The diapers will be kept in the open spaces for easy (and quick!) access!!
The carseats. Yes, green and brown. Gender neutral, remember? We will not be finding out the sexes.

Finally, the matching double stroller.
It was an exciting day today. I now have a little less anxiety about not being "prepared" for their arrival. I know we are only 18 weeks along right now, but that panic has kind of set in about clearing out the nursery of all the miscellaneous things in there (bed, computer desk, 50" TV that Nate swears he is going to fix, boxes of almost anything you can imagine, etc.), doing finishing touches on the painting, and then finally putting in the nursery furniture. So the fact that we got a small start today makes me feel a bit better.

I have an OB appointment on Tuesday. I am really looking forward to it, of course! I will get to see the wee ones on another small ultrasound machine...and that is always cool. I wonder what both of them will be doing. One time, the baby on the right was squirming around while the baby on the left was sleeping. And the next time, it was vice versa! So it will be interesting to see who is doing what on Tuesday!! Will update then.

Monday, May 26, 2008

One year ago today...

We tied the knot! Neither of us can believe how fast the time has gone. Here is a little blast from the past...
The rehearsal dinner.

Saying our vows.


Lighting the Unity Candle.


Nate was aware that there would be NO cake in the face!
Finger-licking good!!!


And finally, a few pictures from our honeymoon.

What a year it has been! Something tells me that this next year is going to be just as much of a whirlwind as the first!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

17 weeks and going strong

We have been back from vacation for a few days now. But you know how it is...you come back from vacation more tired than the day you left! I worked early in the morning the day after we got back, so it took me a few days to recuperate. I think I am finally feeling back to normal.

Florida was a blast. The weather was gorgeous. It only rained one day, but it didn't even last very long. We stayed pretty busy throughout the whole vacation. Though we did manage to come back to the hotel each afternoon for a couple of hours so that I could rest my feet and take a little snooze to refresh myself! Once again, Nate was wonderful at making sure I didn't overdo it. There was one day that we were at the Magic Kingdom and I think I had gone too long without eating or drinking anything -- not good for anyone in hot weather, let alone someone pregnant with twins. We were on Tom Sawyer's Island waiting for the raft to come pick us up to take us back to the "mainland" when I told Nate that we had to get back quickly before I passed out. Well wouldn't you know it, shortly after I said that, things started to become really blurry. Nate told me to breathe...and I told him that I was well beyond the breathing part! I used to pass out a lot, so I know that once my vision becomes blurry, it's just a matter of seconds before I get tunnel vision and take a digger! So we stepped out of line, just as our raft docked to get us...and I laid down. Nate searched the island for a pop machine. And I ended up downing a 20oz Sprite in about 5 minutes flat. I wanted to get myself rehydrated and get some sugar in my system. Once we got back to the mainland, we went to get some lunch and I felt immensely better after that. From then on, we carried water bottles with us and I made sure to eat before we left our hotel every morning! But Nate took such good care of me and wouldn't let me whine about ruining his vacation because of the breaks I needed to take, etc. We have sooo many pictures, but I haven't downloaded them onto the computer yet. Sorry!

In baby news. I seem to have grown exponentially larger while on vacation. I wore my regular jeans on the flight down to Florida. And then I wore maternity shorts while there, because let's face it, they are just plain comfortable! Well, when I went to put my jeans on for the flight back home, they were FAR too tight! So whenever I was sitting, I unbuttoned my top button like I just got done eating at a buffet. Haha. All the literature says that the babies are going through a growth spurt for the next couple of weeks, so hopefully that accounts for at least some of my own growth spurt! It is either that or all of the yummy food I ate down at Disney!

Right now, each baby is about 5 inches long and each weighs between 5-6 ounces. So they are definitely getting bigger.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Graduation and other things

I officially have my master's degree!! I graduated on Saturday. It's hard to believe that I am no longer a "student." There is some safety in being able to call yourself a student. Now I've entered the real world and I still won't be finding my "real world" job. I will be keeping my job at the hospital until the babies are born and then will hopefully land a job while I am on maternity leave. So I won't be making use of my hard-fought master's degree until sometime in 2009. Yikes!

Anyway. It was such a good time. Nate's parents were here, as were my parents and brother and sister-in-law. It was so nice having so many loved ones there to support me. We took some nice pictures...most of which are on my mom's camera. And we went out to eat to celebrate. We laughed a lot and had a good time.

Mom got tears in her eyes, which she said surprised her. But if you think of everything that has happened with her "baby girl" in the last year, it's not that surprising. I got married to a wonderful man who they LOVE to death (as do I!). I got pregnant with twins (with Nate's help of course!), and now I graduated with a master's degree...all within less than a full year. That is a lot to digest! She's a wonderful, wonderful mother, and I never could have gotten this far in my life without her constant support. So a very Happy (belated) Mother's Day to a fantastic woman. I love you so much!! (in case you're reading this, which I know you are!)

If you look really closely, you can see me on the stage getting hooded.

Two happy campers that this phase of our life is now over.

In other news, Nate and I will leaving for vacation TOMORROW!! Yay! We are headed to Florida and will visit the great parks of Disney. Nate has never been there. And considering that I worked for Disney for 5 months, it made planning pretty easy. We will be gone May 13-20. Not only do we need a get-away, but the vacation will celebrate both my graduation as well as our upcoming one year anniversary! I can't believe it has been a year already. But that is a different post for a different time.

I will post again when we get back!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Questions everyone asks...

Q: Are you going to find out what the sexes of the babies are?
A: We are actually hoping to wait until the birth to find out. Some people have called us crazy for doing this, but we already have the nursery painted, and there are plenty of cute gender neutral clothes, necessities, accessories, etc. out there, so it's not a big deal.

Q: But how can I buy baby gifts when I don't know the sex?
A: The same way people bought gifts for hundreds of years before the invention of ultrasound. Or just send diapers!! We will need a lot of those!! Haha.

Q: Because there is a membrane separating them, that means that they are fraternal, right?
A: Not necessarily. The membrane just means that each baby has its own amniotic sac. They could still be in the same chorion, which would make them identical. We may or may not be able to find out before the birth if they are identical or fraternal.

Q: How much weight are you supposed to gain?
A: The recommendation has been to gain about 35-45 pounds, with the the higher end of that range being optimum. I am also supposed to gain the weight earlier rather than later because toward the end, I will run out of room to eat a lot and will need some extra padding to nourish the babies! I might have to start drinking supplements because trying to eat as many calories as I am supposed to every day is like eating a Thanksgiving dinner every day! Not easy to do! So we'll see.

Q: So when will the twins be born?
A: Well, the due date is November 1st. But now we are realistically looking at mid-October at the latest.

Q: Do twins run in your family?
A: Yes. Nate is an identical twin. My mom is an identical twin. And my great-great grandma had triplets. However, the fact that Nate is a twin has no bearings on whether or not we would have twins. Apparently, only the maternal line really has any influence regarding multiples.

Q: How have you been feeling?
A: Much, much better in the past couple of weeks. I don't feel sick anymore, though I will have a wave of nauseousness every now and then. And my energy level is beginning to come back! I felt so bad for Nate in the beginning because I had become a permanent lumped fixture in our bed! It was sad...and pathetic. But overall, I am feeling more and more like myself again.

Q: Will you breastfeed?
A: I certainly plan on trying. I have surrendered to the fact that I will become a mommy milk truck for a while. If breastfeeding itself doesn't work out, I am going to try my hardest to pump as long as possible. So wish me luck!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Happy Birthday to me!

So it's my birthday. I am now 26. It kind of snuck up on me this year. I guess with much of my attention being focused on the babies, stuff like that happens. In fact, I probably could have forgotten my birthday altogether if it hadn't been for the cards I received yesterday from my parents, my in-laws, and a friend. Of course, I was also reminded of my birthday at 12:01 this morning by my cousin! He likes to do stuff like that. So when I talked to my mom on my way to my internship this morning at 7am, she was saddened to hear that she was not the first person to wish me a Happy Birthday on my actual birthday! Instead, my cousin Jordan beat her to that. I told her to make note for next year...she will have to set her alarm and call at exactly midnight! I'm sure I will be up with one of the babies, right?

I was not only reminded by several people that it's my birthday, I was also reminded by my good friend Heather that this is the last birthday I will celebrate as a non-mommy. Then my sister-in-law Chelsea sent me a text message telling me to "enjoy the peace and quiet because next year at this time it will be a different story!" Yes, she is very right.

Well, I am off to celebrate my big day...at a night class. I just got home from my internship, and now I am headed to my last class as a student! It stinks that it is on my birthday, so Nate and I can't do anything tonight. However, I am SOO excited to finally be done! I have 1 week of my internship left and then I graduate on May 10th. Oh how life is changing...

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Appointment Day!

I had an appointment with my OB today. She is such a fantastic lady. She walked in the room with a huge smile on her face, congratulated me and Nate up and down, and then gave me a hug. We solidified some plans for how this pregnancy will be monitored, so that helped to put my mind at ease. Our ultimate goal will be to deliver these monkeys at 38 weeks, which takes us to October 18th. But our first goal will be to make it to 34 weeks (which is September 20th) because our hospital is not equipped to take babies any younger than that. So if they would happen to make an early entrance, they would be flown out to another facility. Obviously, not what we want. So everyone keep your fingers crossed we make it to at least September 20th!!

As for the plan from here...I'll be seeing Dr. L again in 5 weeks. Shortly thereafter, I may get bumped up to biweekly appointments, depending on how things are going. At each appointment, she will do a quick ultrasound in the office just to check on the heartbeats. The picture isn't that great, but it's great seeing how fast they grow!!

In 6 weeks, we are scheduled to have our big "fetal anatomy" ultrasound. From that point forward, we'll be going in every 4 weeks until they're born for an ultrasound to check on their growth. We want both of them to be growing at relatively the same rate. They will tell us at each ultrasound how much the babies are estimated to weigh, though this can be off by several ounces. But it'll be fun to see them on the really high-tech scanner every few weeks!!

So between all of the appointments and all of the scheduled ultrasounds, we will get to see these babies a lot! I was simply AMAZED at how much they've changed in just 4 weeks. At my last appointment, they were still little blobs. It was really heard to decipher what we were exactly looking at (head, belly, butt, etc.). Today, there was no denying what we were seeing! They look exactly like miniature human beings now!! The baby on the right side of my uterus -- the one who was bouncing around like a maniac last time, was sound asleep! Of course the baby residing on the left side -- the one who was completely mellow last time, was folding his/her arms across the chest and then flailing them out. He/she was also crossing and uncrossing the legs furiously!! Again, both heartbeats were nice and strong at about 160bpm. And the amniotic fluid levels look great. All in all, Dr. L said she "has no complaints" and wants all of our appointments to be this smooth.

As for mommy. The morning sickness has again lightened. Though I'm afraid to say that because the last time I blogged about that, it came back with a vengeance. I have gained a whopping 1 pound thus far. No one is concerned quite yet, but we'll now be shooting for a weight gain of about 1 1/2 pounds (or maybe a tad bit more) per week for the rest of the pregnancy! Something tells me I might have to put away the fruits and veggies and start packing in some more calorically dense foods!!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

13 weeks

So the babies are really growing. At this stage, they are each 3 inches long. And that is just from crown to rump/butt. If they extended their little legs, that would give them even more length! Three inches is quite a bit longer than I had imagined. Nate and I were in the store yesterday, and we happened to walk past the tape measures. So I had to pull one out to take a look...holy cow!

In addition to that, we now have 2 full ounces of baby. Each little one is measuring at a whopping 1 ounce. Plus, they are surrounded by about 2 tablespoons of amniotic fluid. AND, if you want to know about the placentas, each of those (considering there are two) is also weighing in at an ounce a piece.

You would think I would be a little bigger at this point considering everything that is going on in there. We're talking 6 inches and 2 ounces of baby, 2 ounces of placenta, and 2 ounces of amniotic fluid. I'm sure it won't be long now until I have myself a little pregnant belly!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Comments

So I completely forgot to write about the most amusing comment I've heard so far during this pregnancy. A little over a week ago now, I was at work at the hospital. Everyone knows that I'm pregnant and that we're expecting twins. There is one lady there who I really do like; however, she can be so brash at times. Anyway, I went to get some water out of the kitchen and as we were walking out, she said to me..."well, your ass has sure gotten bigger!" Ummm, thanks? At that point I had gained about 1 pound during the entire pregnancy. Could she really tell that it had gone to my ass?

Now let me tell you. This pregnant lady is not afraid to fire back. Fortunately, I didn't this time. But it was oh so tempting. I have a few quips of my own, but I kept them to myself. I easily could have said "yup, and your mouth is expanding at the same rate as my ass." And there are a few that are not quite so nice, but I didn't say those either. I do try to control myself...because I don't know, it's polite?

So here's what I know. I know that I'm pregnant and therefore, have to gain weight. I also know that I'm pregnant with twins and therefore, have to gain more weight than the average pregnant woman. I'm a smart chicky. I have that all figured out. What I don't need is for people telling me where every pound I gain has decided to make its residence. If my ass happens to grow at a faster rate than my belly, so be it. If my face takes the brutal end of the weight gain, then that is how it will be. I need to gain weight, and that is the bottom line. I don't need to be made aware of where it has gone...because I'm pretty sure by looking in the mirror, I can figure it out myself (again, I'm a pretty smart chicky!).

Rant done.