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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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...

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!!

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!

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.

Morning Sickness

Sorry about the lack of an update. I've been knocked down by morning sickness again. I've been meaning to write in the past few days, but I've felt so miserable. I'm just wondering who exactly coined the term "morning sickness." I figure it had to have been a man (no offense to the men out there!). But it had to have been named by someone who had never experienced it. Because for me, it has been morning, noon, night and middle of the night. Thank goodness I've had my good days. However, those days I feel sick, I feel sick pretty much all day. Though I shouldn't complain because I know some women who have had it MUCH worse...hospitalization, IV's, ports in their arms, etc. Of course, I also know those women who have not had a hint of morning sickness -- and I'm severely jealous!! I'm just hoping the 2nd trimester brings some relief.

Other than that, not much has been going on. It's amazing to think that we've known for 4 weeks that we're expecting twins. But I still don't think it has fully sunken in yet. Maybe it's because I'm still not showing. I thought for sure I would've created myself a little belly by now. But it's not there. However, I have definitely gotten thicker around the middle!! I've certainly expanded sideways a bit. I'm waiting and waiting for the belly, wishing it would make its arrival. Though I'm sure I will be loathing my belly once I am big, miserable, and unable to walk without looking like a penguin! But penguins are cute, right?

The day we found out

So I'm backtracking a little bit to the day we found out we were expecting. Actually, I found out a couple days before I made the announcement to Nate...

On February 20th, a Wednesday morning, I decided that I was going to take a test just for the heck of it. It was still pretty early, so I didn't have my hopes up too high. So I took the test, left it in the bathroom and returned after the allotted time. I thought that *maybe* there was a faint line there. I stared at it and stared at it. Finally I concluded that I was just seeing things. When you want something so badly, it's pretty easy to hallucinate!! It's like being stranded in a desert and seeing a watering hole (not that I've ever been stranded in a desert...but you get my drift).

The next morning, I tested again. I took the test and left it in the bathroom. When I returned, I thought that I was seeing a faint line again! But it still wasn't a dark line like I had hoped. So I was kind of disappointed. I decided that I probably waited too long and that the line was just an evaporation line. So another test, and another "iffy" result.

The next day, Friday, February 22nd, I tested yet again. And again, there was a faint line (or so I thought). I decided I had had enough of trying to read lines and drove to the store to get a test that would spell it out for me -- "pregnant" versus "not pregnant". I got home, immediately took the test and decided to watch as it processed the info. Within 30 seconds, it said PREGNANT!! I just smiled and began devising a plan as to how I was going to tell Nate. I had the day off, so I had some time...

Nate called me and asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch during his break. It was soooo hard keeping the secret from him! But I already knew what I was going to do to tell him. So after lunch, I drove to the store to get a cake and some frosting. I brought the cake home and spelled out "Congrats Daddy" on the cake with the frosting. When he called telling me that he was on his way home, I told him that when he got home, he was not allowed to go into the fridge because I was busy in the kitchen all day making him a surprise. He agreed.
When he got home, he went to take a shower. I got the cake out and put it on the counter and put the pregnancy test in front of the cake. When he was done showering I made him close his eyes and I lead him out to the kitchen and sat him down on the stool. I then backed up with the camera, counted to 3 and told him to open his eyes. The first thing he did was LAUGH!! Later I found out this was because his first thought was "she didn't make this cake!" Haha (and yes, he was right). And then he finally read what was ON the cake, took a second to process it, and then yelled "are you serious!? Oh my God!" It was priceless. Needless to say, I didn't catch that moment on the camera because I snapped the picture right when he opened his eyes, thinking that would be the best reaction.

The giggle.

The shock.

Of course we had to do a re-enactment of his best reaction. Oh...my...God!

2:30am feedings stink

So the babies aren't even here yet, and I'm already not fond of the 2:30am feedings. The past few days, I've been waking up ravenous. I try to ignore it and go back to bed -- because after all, it's 2:30am. However, after laying awake for another 30-45 minutes, I figure I might as well go eat something if I'm ever going to fall back to sleep. It's been frustrating, but I guess it's also preparing us for what's to come! I've been trying to eat something right before I go to bed hoping that it will stave off my hunger till the morning, but it hasn't been working. Does it work with babies?? Maybe that will be my strategy with them. Feed them right before bed and pray they can make it till morning. Wishful thinking, I know. ;) People can dream, right?

Other than that, things have been going well. The "morning sickness" has lightened up quite a bit (knock on wood) and I'm beginning to get some energy back. Nate has been wonderful these past 4-5 weeks. He has allowed me to rest as much as I need to and has been taking care of the household duties that I've been neglecting. And of course, he continues to cook for me, though it's been hard for him to find too many things I'm actually hungry for. I've been living on Wendy's baked potatoes as of late, specifically their broccoli and cheese baked potato. Yummy!!

So that's about it. Will write again within a week I'm sure. There isn't much to report at this stage of the game. I'm sure as we get further along, there will be more to write about. So bare with us till that point!

1st OB appt, all is well

I had my first prenatal appointment yesterday, and everyone is doing just fine. My biggest fear was alleviated...the fear of Vanishing Twin Syndrome. Go ahead and google "twin pregnancy" or even just "twins" and you are bound to read something about Vanishing Twins. It's where one of the twins is absorbed by the body and there is no sign that a second baby even existed (except for the early ultrasound that proved there were two). The mother may or may not experience signs of miscarriage. Experts believe that it occurs in approximately 20-30% of all twin pregnancies diagnosed by early ultrasound. Some even believe the rate to be as high as 70%!! As much as I hate math, I've always been a statistics person. So of course those stats scared me. Plus, the fact that this twin pregnancy WAS diagnosed early -- just shy of 8 weeks -- really had me worried that at my next appointment, they would only be able to find one.

BUT, both babies are doing well. The nurse practitioner decided against trying to listen for the heartbeats via doppler since I'm not quite over 10 weeks yet. It's really hard to find the heartbeat till the pregnancy is 10-12 weeks along. Couple that with the fact that she would be trying to track down two heartbeats, she just decided to do a quick ultrasound in the office. It was a pretty grainy picture, but both heartbeats were visible. And one of the babies was doing somersault after somersault after somersault. He/she was just bouncing around like a little ball in a pinball machine!! The NP also reassured me that the chance of Vanishing Twin Syndrome at this point is now very minute. Yay!

My next visit will be in 4 weeks when I meet with the doctor. I can't wait!