MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We're still around, I promise! It's just that life with two four and a half month olds (already, yikes!) is pretty crazy.  Those of you who have twins and still have time to blog regularly, I'd love to know your secret! So, I'm off again, hopefully you'll see more of me in the new year.  Here's a pic of the twins getting ready to open gifts yesterday morning...

You've got to be kidding me!!!

Um, I think I got my period. WTF!  After the c-section I bled for almost two months, but it stopped about 2 weeks ago- then all of a sudden this morning- blood!  It's not super heavy, but my periods have always been really light anyway.  Here I was thinking that I would be period free until I stopped BFing, whenever that was!  Because of the twins crazy schedules I only manage to pump every 4-5 hours, at night maybe 6.  This works out fine because I typically get about 10 ounces total per pumping session, occasionally 12 ounces if it's been 6 hours.  I did read that if you pump/ bf less frequently your period may come back sooner, but I never thought it would be this soon!  With the post c-section bleeding I've only had 2 weeks free of bleeding in the past 10 weeks!  Maybe if I can manage to pump more often it will go away again?? Or when they are able to keep up with my fast letdown and I can stop pumping and start BFing again??  Is this possible??  Can it go away again??

On a happier note- last night Ben slept from 9:30-4:30!!! Of course Mia was up at 1:30, but it's progress!  New favorite thing? The Woombie!! They both sleep so well in it, and its so much easier than having to wrap them up when they are sleeping/falling asleep which inevitably wakes them up, AND it also unzips from the bottom for easy diaper changes- LOVE!

Emerging from her cocoon! 

Two Months!

Two months old!! Well actually, they're about 9 and a half weeks now, I'm a bit late posting this!  I've actually been working on a lengthier post, but, well, can't seem to find the time to finish it!

I guess the main thing that has changed is BFing.  I am now exclusively pumping and bottle feeding. Crazy, yes.  I am pretty bummed because initially I thought I was going to be one of the lucky ones, and for a while I was- no need to supplement, great latches straight off the bat, tandem nursing no problem, and then.... turns out I have too MUCH milk, and way too fast of a letdown.  Essentially the babies were drowning in milk whenever I fed them- chugging, gulping, choking and gagging.  Of course this only made the reflux issue worse, not to mention an already bad gas problem!  I tried different positions etc. etc.  and nothing helped.  My only other option was pumping before I fed them.... right, well, since they aren't on strict feeding schedules,  I can't imagine waiting until they were hungry to pull the pump out and pump first!  So, bottles it is... for now!  Hopefully in another month or so they will be able to keep up and I can stop pumping!

Anyway, my favorite thing right now is baby smiles!! Mia especially is quite the ham! Ben likes to make you work for them.  I was taking some two month pics last week, and well, I had a hard time picking my favorite smiles!  Sorry for the overload!

Serious Girl

 

My buddy the Giraffe

 He's a funny guy

 Really funny

 OK, Hilarious!!!

Yes, I'm cute

So am I!

Like I said, sorry for the picture overload, couldn't help it!

Still Here!

I'm still here!  I've been a pretty bad blogger of late- life with two newborns is pretty crazy!  I can't believe that on Tuesday Benjamin and Mia will be one month old!  They are absolutely amazing and despite being very sleep deprived we are in heaven!

They are both doing doing great- both have above average weight gain (each adding a pound or more to their birth weight!), and other than the first few days have not needed any supplementing (thank goodness, because that whole tube along my nipple thing to avoid using a bottle was pretty annoying!). I am so happy to not have pump anymore! I had managed to have them on the same schedule and had been nursing them at the same time until about a week and a half ago when they both developed reflux. We've had to modify our feeding routine quite a bit with separate feedings to accommodate new positioning (I need to breastfeed with them sitting up straight), which has doubled or tripled feeding time because, in addition to feeding them separately, they both need to be upright and burped for about half an hour after they eat before they can lay on their backs again. Mia is on medication as her reflux is a bit worse.

My favorite thing? Their Pack n' Play that we have set up for them to sleep in next to our bed.  The mattress vibrates and they LOVE it!  It's pretty much the only place they sleep (or at least where they are happiest sleeping).  I had really thought that they would love their swing and vibrating bouncy chairs, but that turns out to not be the case at all!

Well, that's all I have time for now! I'm trying to catch up on all of your blogs, It seems everyone has had their babies! Congratulations!!! Sorry that I'm lacking in the commenting department, I'm working on it!

Here's a few shots from my favorite time of day... Lazy mornings in bed :)

THEY'RE HERE!!

On Tuesday August 9th my water broke. Mia Lynn was born at 12:17pm weighing 4lbs 12oz, and Benjamin Andrew was born at 12:18pm weighing 5lbs and 11oz. They received perfect bills of health- neither of them needed any additional help and have never left our sides!  We are so incredibly blessed and are so completely in love with them. We are all home and adjusting- they are truly amazing. For now, here are a couple pictures!

Roomies, Mia and Benjamin

 Home sweet home!

Who's Next?

There are several blogs that I've been following of fellow mommies to be- about half are like me- with twins, and half with singletons.  We all also all have due dates varying from one day to a couple weeks of each other.  Well, in the past 3 days I've seen two birth announcement posts- one from the twin camp and one from the singleton camp.  I guess this means that the ball has officially been set in motion, and now it's just a matter of who will be next...  It's kind of crazy to think that we've reached this point already, and it could really be any day now for any of us!

Funnily enough before we were finished with all our preparations for the twins I felt like I couldn't go into labor because, well, we weren't ready. Now that everything is officially ready for them- car seats in the car, nursery done, hospital bags packed etc.  I feel like I'm going to go into labor any second!  I'm so happy to have passed the 34 week mark, and just cannot wait to meet my babies- even though for their sake I hope they stay in there at least a couple weeks longer.

As much as I hope we can all keep our babies cooking for as long as they need, I can't wait to see all the birth announcement posts rolling in!

On another note, I had an OB appointment today, and everything still seems to be looking good, cervix long and closed, lots of fluid etc.  Seeing as Baby B is bigger and breach, and my doctor doesn't think he has room to flip around again, she strongly recommended I have a c-section.  She says that there is a good chance that I could deliver baby A naturally, then need a c-section for B, a scenario I really don't want. Anyway, It's scheduled- September 1st!  That's about 38 weeks.  She says that she highly doubts that I will make it to that date, but she's not allowed to schedule it sooner unless there is a complication. 

Frankly, I kind of hope that I don't make it to 38 weeks- 36 or 37 sound just dandy to me!  I am SO uncomfortable these days- Sleeping is a nightmare, and eating is still torture! Also, I can barely walk because my hips hurt so badly, and my knees kill every time I have to stand or sit, which makes my trips to the bathroom every 30 minutes or so pretty darn painful- I guess they're not used to carrying around 40 extra pounds! Hanging out on the couch doesn't solve anything either, because I just can't get comfortable. OH!! The doctor said today that I was measuring at 41-42 weeks!! and in her words "No wonder you're so uncomfortable".  Wow, that was a lot of complaining- sorry, should have warned you!

Pretty much the only thing that makes me feel better is being in the pool- and that's what I've been doing on the weekends with my hubby, but I might just start going during the week too!  It's kind of amusing, and I feel a bit like a freak show, because if there are any kids at the pool when I show up, they essentially just stop dead in their tracks and stare at me with their mouths wide open. The other day a little boy actually fell over a pool chair because he was so busy staring that he wasn't looking where he was going! I guess I don't blame them, I'd probably do the same if I saw someone who looked like this...

Nesting! Yikes!

I've mentioned before that I have had zero energy pretty much throughout the pregnancy, and that even standing for 30 seconds is hard for me.  Also, as a result pretty much everything I thought I'd be exited to do became not so exiting.  I've also said that I'm so thankful that we painted, got furniture and registered around 20 weeks, and that my mom came to visit around that time and pretty much washed and put away all the baby stuff too, because I literally have not done a thing since then (other than put the artwork on the walls because my hubby insisted that we not procrastinate anymore).  I've been walking by the nursery every day, thinking about how I need to wash stuff that we've subsequently gotten at showers, re-organize the closet and dresser (didn't love the way my mom had it arranged),  pack my hospital bag, and arrange all the extra diapers and gifts that we have in our loft that aren't going to be used for a while.  Of course just thinking about it just made me feel exhausted and overwhelmed, so, I always ended up back on the couch.

UNTIL a couple days ago.  I suddenly got the overwhelming urge to conquer it all!  I actually had to make a conscious effort to remember to not stand for too long at a time, which is pretty crazy, because, like I said, being on my feet for any amount of time usually makes me feel like I'm going to pass out. So anyway, by the end of the day I felt much better- I had washed the rest of the baby stuff, reorganized the closet and dresser, sorted and packed away all the baby clothes bigger than 3-6 months, tidied the loft, packed the hospital bag- PHEW! Then it occurred to me- I'm nesting!! This completely freaked me out, because, I've always heard that, as one website put it-  "Many women acutely experience the nesting instinct in the final days of their pregnancy, and this can often be a sign that labor and delivery is close at hand."  Even my own mother says that the day she went into labor she had gotten the overwhelming urge to paint the hallway to my room (and did!). I know that I'll be 34 weeks in a couple days, and that the average for twins is only 35 weeks, but although I cannot wait to meet them, the thought that it could be so soon is scary!

Anyway I clearly overdid it, because by the end of the day I was in so much pain! My hips, knees, feet, back, belly- OUCH! I was actually limping because my hips hurt so badly, and I'm still quite sore 2 days later! I saw my doctor yesterday, and she said my cervix was still measuring 4.1, so luckily I didn't do any damage there. BUT she also said, that at this point, the cervical length is a good sign, but I could still have my water break or go into labor at any time regardless of how long my cervix is.  I was also happy to have her tell my husband that if he comes home and the house is clean and dinner is on the table, then I've been really overdoing it, which made me feel much less guilty!

Surprisingly I don't think my belly has grown much in the past couple weeks, but here it is anyway at 33 weeks 5 days

Couch Potato Birthday

Well, it's my birthday again, 31!  I can hardly believe that I'm 32 weeks 5 days pregnant today, I am SO happy and SO grateful!!  It's funny, despite my massively growing belly, a nursery, classes etc. it still doesn't feel real a lot of the time.  I guess after 3 years of TTC it's sometimes hard to believe that this is all finally a reality. Even though I only have a few weeks left, I don't think it will hit me that this is actually happening and isn't just some crazy dream until my babies are in my arms- I can't wait! Going to enjoy a fun filled birthday of... couldn't you guess? Hanging out on the couch!

So.. yesterday I checked my FB.  I noticed pictures pop up of my husband, who appeared to be at some sort of party.  I looked closer, and realized that he was at a baby shower.  I assumed it was for someone he worked with.  Then I looked closer, and realized that he was the one opening the presents!! You guys, my husbands co-workers threw him a baby shower!! A baby shower complete with banners, cake, balloons, the works! He was in complete shock!  Anyway he came home with a car full of gifts, and LOTS of diapers! I was trying to do a rough count last night, and we have currently been given just under 1000 diapers ranging in size from newborn to size 2!! Plus almost 2000 wipes!  I have a sneaky feeling that we are going to be very surprised at how quickly they all disappear!

This morning as I walked in for my NST, all the nurses were saying "Uh oh, here come the trouble makers!"  Yes, my babies aren't even born yet and have already earned themselves a reputation.  They are also called the "wiggly ones", as they never stop moving.  I usually spend about double the normal time at my NST's and end up with at least one RN, sometimes two, who can't leave my bedside as they are having to constantly readjust my monitors or hold them in place as the babies have a dance party in there!  If this is any indication of what they will be like after they're born I'm going to have my hands full (I've been told this several times too!)

I think this weekend will finally be the weekend I pack my hospital bag.  My mother keeps calling and asking why I have not done it yet.  According to her, it's like an umbrella, if I have it I won't need it, and if I don't have it I will.  She has an uncanny way of always being right, so I think I'll pack it just to be on the safe side (and to avoid any "I told you so's"). Also, I think these will finally make it into the car this weekend- I'm surprised my husband has managed to hold off this long!

A Scare, A Meltdown, and a Stress Test

Now for part two of my crazy week which was much more eventful, and even included my biggest meltdown to date!

On Thursday was my growth scan.  As always baby girl was pretty hard to measure, especially her head since it's so low.  In the end she ended up weighing in at 3lbs 12oz (39th percentile), and baby boy ended up weighing in at a whopping 4lbs 4oz (59th percentile)!  So yes, that's a 20% difference... the ultrasound guy said that the girls percentile was likely off because of a poor head measurement.  My doctor called me that evening once she got the results, and said that she was concerned enough about the 20% difference that she was sending my results to the Perinatologist.  She knew that the measurements were likely off, but she wanted to be on the safe side...   The next day she called again after talking to her, and said that they were still both in the normal range, growing, and were in fact both pretty big despite the difference, so she would not worry about it. PHEW!  PS. That's 8 pounds of baby in there!

Then there was the meltdown... There have definitely been a few irrational meltdowns, but this time, as far as I was concerned, it was well justified! My husband came home on Wednesday asking for his passport, as some business associates were in town the next day and wanted to go see one of their factories across the border in Mexico, then go out in Tijuana afterward.  Of course I immediately started picturing him being kidnapped, murdered etc, as, well, Tijuana isn't exactly the safest of places, and frequents the news here in So. Cal. regarding kidnappings, shootings, etc. Therefore in my eyes, a meltdown (or two or three) was completely appropriate. There was one that night before bed, one the next morning before he left for work, and one later in the day.  I pretty much begged him not to go, asked him how I was going to raise twins on my own if anything happened to him, what if I went into labor while he was in ANOTHER COUNTRY  etc. etc. You get my drift.  He on the other hand, thought I was loosing my mind. He kept trying to reassure me that he would be completely safe, they were all being driven together by someone who actually lives across the border and commutes every day, reminded me that said "other country" is only about 15 minutes from his work, and above all, it was an important business obligation.  Wouldn't you guess? He ended up making it home safely after all!

On Friday was my second non stress test.  The name is pretty funny to me as I find them to be pretty darn stressful! On one hand it's reassuring to sit and listen to their heartbeats (and hiccups this time!). On the other hand, it seems to be a recurring theme for the RN to have a heart attack about how many contractions I have, which makes me really paranoid.  This time she came in saying "Wow, you're having some pretty organized contractions here- seven minutes apart, and not tiny ones either... are you sure this is normal?".  Um, yes. Quite sure.  I asked her if it's more than she usually sees for people with twins, and she said yes, I was having more, in a more organized fashion, and more intense than would be considered normal.  She said that mine were something that a doctor would be usually pretty concerned about someone having so early on.  Great.  Of course she did compare them to my printout from Tuesday, and it was pretty much identical. I brought it up to my doctor later in the day, who said that it was just the norm for me and I shouldn't worry unless they got more frequent or intense.  Of course when you have someone who is so concerned about your contractions, it makes you quite a bit more paranoid, so now I find myself over analyzing every contraction that I have all day!

WOW!

I am officially half way done with my crazy week! This morning I had an OB appointment, I'm 31w 3d, and she said I was measuring 38 weeks!!!! Holy cow, last week was only 35 1/2!!  Does this mean that in a couple weeks my body will decide that it's full term and go into labor??? The good news is that my cervix was measuring 4.1, and the OB was pretty surprised that it was still so long.  She was also pretty surprised that I still have no stretch marks- fingers crossed it will stay that way!  What do you think? 38 weeks? 

Yesterday was my first non stress test, and I'd say it went pretty well.  The nurse had initially said that starting next week when I am 32 weeks, the babies would have to meet stricter criteria in terms of their heart rates in response to their movement.  At the end of the appointment she said that they were already meeting them this week!  It was pretty comforting to sit and listen to their heart rates for 40 minutes, such a beautiful sound.  My contractions were also measured, and I had 4 while I was there, two of which I couldn't feel.  Funnily enough, the nurse came in afterward saying "I don't want to alarm you... but are you on medication for your contractions? You had 4."  In the meantime, I had been frustrated because I had had so FEW compared to normal, and was hoping that what was typical for me would have been documented.  She said that if it was normal for me and my doctor knew, then she guessed it was ok.   I swear, these contractions are the most confusing thing! 

All hooked up!

On Monday we had our maternity tour at the hospital.  I think that of all the classes etc. that we have been to in the past week, this made everything seem the most real!  Walking around the maternity ward- seeing where we would check in, labor and delivery rooms, post partum rooms, operating room etc. etc. We also got to meet and talk with the anaesthesiologist. I LOVE that your baby never leaves you from the time it's born- unless it needs to go to the NICU, and that everything they need to do with baby is done in your room. Let's just hope I can keep these two in there long enough that they don't need the NICU!

Tomorrow is my growth scan.  I'm really hoping to hear good news regarding the size of the girl.  It's not a problem now, but I know that if the size discrepancy between the two gets too big they could decide to have me deliver early.  One thing I do know, is that she may be the smaller one, but she's definitely the feisty one!

Busy Busy Busy

Today I had my 30 week 3 day OB appointment.  The good news is that my cervix is still holding up well, measuring 3.8 with no signs of funneling! The not so amazing news is that baby B who has been head down the past three weeks has decided to flip once more and now has his head right under my ribs! His sister on the other hand is, as she has been since week 12- head down and very low, showing no signs of moving.  My OB said that as long as she remained that way they could let me try to give birth naturally. BUT they do like the bigger baby to come out first... meaning that because baby B is bigger, I may need to have a c-section regardless of how he is positioned.  Oh, I'm also up 37 lbs- YIKES!! It appears that It's all in my belly though!

Also, because I continued to express how concerned I am about my ever present and continuous contractions that I've had since week 20 (at this point sometimes up to 8 an hour, which even she thought was a little much), she decided to move the start date for my twice weekly stress tests to next week- 31 weeks instead of the following week to give me peace of mind. I've heard people complain about them, but quite frankly I'm exited- I'll take any reassurance that I can get! This means that I'll have 3 appointments per week now! Next week is a little crazy though- this is what my schedule looks like-

Monday- Labor and delivery tour
Tuesday- Stress test
Wednesday- OB appt.
Thursday- Growth scan
Friday- Stress test

Thats's pretty much an appointment every day! This week is a bit crazy too, only with classes.  Last night we took the Infant CPR class, which was the class I most wanted to take.  Tonight we have the Baby Care class (my husband really wanted to take it!),  and on Thursday is a breastfeeding class.  I actually joined a "Moms of Multiples" group, and went to a class that they held on breastfeeding twins a few weeks ago.  There were about 6 other moms there, 4 of whom had their infant twins with them- the oldest set being 4 months old.

Honestly it was a bit scary in a way to hear their stories- they all had a LOT of trouble in the beginning- and they all had to supplement for a while, one for almost a month! AND, none of them used bottles to supplement to avoid nipple confusion, they all had to finger feed which I gather was a pretty difficult.  The good news is, that they all survived, and are all breastfeeding successfully now, so that gives me hope.  I asked each one how far along they were when they delivered- one of them said that she had to be induced and 39 1/2 weeks!!!!! She wasn't a very big person either- probably only about 5'6 and very slim, AND it was her first pregnancy! She said that each twin weighed 7 lbs!  Actually, she was the one who had the most difficulty breastfeeding, and had to supplement the longest, so I guess when you give birth and  how big the babies are doesn't necessarily dictate how easy breastfeeding will be.

This weekend we finally got the nursery finished!  Here are a couple pics of artwork we put up..

Lampshade I made, and Etsy prints

"Hoop" artwork I've been working on! (my husband made the duck and little train :)

Etsy Giraffes 

A Real Baby For Once??

One of these days (hopefully before the babies come) I'm going to have a NORMAL dream about being pregnant that results in the birth of an actual normal human baby.

I had a few dreams that I was pregnant before I actually was, but usually woke up before I had the baby.  Since I've been pregnant, I've had several dreams, especially recently, where I actually had the baby, or usually more accurately, the twins, only..... they aren't exactly.... well... human.  You see, I've had dreams ranging from giving birth to dolls to kittens.  Usually dolls.  Although, I do have a vague memory of a dream where I woke up in a dirt hut after a huge earthquake that basically demolished the entire world, to find that I had been in a coma for three months and had given birth to triplets... only they were all the size of a coke can despite being three months old and totally healthy- then I woke up.

Last night was the closest that I've come. I dreamed that I had a doctors appointment, and she said they had to be delivered that day, so I checked in and needed to have a c-section (normal so far), only they had to put me to sleep for the procedure, and for some reason my husband wasn't there (getting a bit strange). Anyway, I woke up in my bed at home (definitely strange) which was supposed to be the hospital I guess.  The nurse came in with the babies and handed me the boy who had lots of dark brown hair (normal though not expected!), and I looked over at the girl who had really deep red hair (hmm.. strange, but at least they're real live babies!!).  Anyway, I walked to the top of the stairs, and yelled for my husband to come up and see them. By the time he got upstairs and walked into the bedroom, the babies had turned into 10 year old kids, who stood there staring at us like- who are you? I don't remember what the girl looked like, but the boy had apparently changed ethnicity, and was now black with a HUGE afro (Um, definitely not normal anymore).  I was instantly convinced that the doctor had gotten my husbands sperm mixed up with someone else's.  More than anything I was pissed that they were only babies for about 2 minutes, and started thinking about the nursery, about how after all the work that went into it, it would now have to be redone without being used, and about what we were going to do with all the baby stuff.  Then I woke up.

Weird, I know. Then I proceeded to fall asleep again and have another dream where I was put to sleep, had a c-section, woke up and went shopping, apparently forgetting that I had just had babies! *sigh*.  One of these days I tell ya!  On the other hand, my husband woke up one morning and told me that he knew what the babies looked like because he had a dream that HE had given birth to them (well, had a c-section) and saw what they looked like!!!

Anyway, I guess it's been a couple weeks since the last official belly shot, so here it is at 29 weeks and 4 days.  Oh, at my doctors appt. on Wednesday, I found out that I'm measuring at 35 weeks- yikes!

 I seem to be outgrowing my trusty "picture outift"! The top is barely covering the full panel completely!

Mumu City

Meet my mumus (that's what my husband likes to call them!) These are my new uniform. I simply cannot STAND anything with a waistband! First of all, the full panels make me itch like a dog with fleas, second of all, I already need to pee like every ten minutes, so even the slightest pressure on my belly makes it even worse, and third of all, I already feel like I can't breathe, and the feeling of anything around my legs makes it even worse!  Actually, the same goes for bras- HATE them! For them to be tight enough to fit properly/stay up, I feel like I can't breathe.  Luckily that is also solved with these dresses! No need for a bra! I guess it helps that I don't have huge boobs, although they are definitely MUCH bigger than they used to be.  My mother keeps telling me that if I don't wear a bra the girls are going to sag- but right now, all I care about is being able to breathe.  To be honest, at home I just lounge around in my PJ's, these are my "leaving the house"outfits! 

It's pretty funny, on the.. oh I don't know, maybe once a week occasion that I actually do leave the house and go somewhere with my husband I'll say "Honey, what color mumu would you like to see me in today?". BUT whenever I wear them, people constantly ask me where I got them, so I guess they're not so bad after all!

 

Outie!!!

Lost my Mojo

Well, it's been a while since my last post.  I guess you could say I've lost my mojo..
Seriously, I just don't want to do ANYTHING! It's pretty frustrating, because the only thing I feel like I have the energy (or motivation) to do is sit on my couch.  I was thinking that I need to go out and buy stuff for my hospital bag, like a nightgown, robe, nursing bras etc. but I'm contemplating just crossing my fingers about sizes and ordering them on amazon because I don't even want to think about going shopping! Unfortunately this isn't a new development. I've felt like this for most of the pregnancy- it's just that initially it was more of a mental thing, while now I also physically feel like I can't.

It's kind of sad because things that I always looked forward to doing once I was pregnant, I have completely lost all motivation to do. Things like belly casts, filling out a pregnancy journal, maternity pictures, and.... are you ready for this one?? A baby shower. Yes, I had my friend cancel my baby shower.  The more I thought about it, the more it was stressing me out, so I just asked her to cancel.  Now, my husband has a huge family in MN so they are throwing me a "Skype" baby shower in a couple weeks- meaning that essentially I don't need to leave my couch, which sounds perfect to me! I even did my registry on amazon, so it's been fun getting packages on my doorstep all the time.  Honestly, most of our "people" are in MN anyway.  We both went to college there, and my hubby is from there. Neither of us have any family here in California (which will be a bit of a bummer when the babies are here!).

I know I'm anemic, which could be the reason for my utter lack of energy, but even though I've been taking iron supplements, and recently doubled my dose, it's not helping.  Or, perhaps I feel like this because I haven't gotten a good nights sleep since... maybe December?  At this point I'm down to about 4 hours of very interrupted sleep per night- as in, waking up every hour to pee, then not being able to go back to sleep. I try to nap in the day, but that doesn't usually work very well either. I feel like I'm a hermit on self induced bed rest- If I stand for more than about 30 seconds I feel like I might pass out, so I'm very literally lying down most of the day.  If my doctor were to tell me tomorrow that I had to be on bed rest, my life would not be much different to the way it is now.

I'm so happy that we were ridiculously early in getting the nursery situation figured out. We've had cribs, and all of the furniture in the room for a couple months now.  All we have left to do is hang the art (which we also already have) on the walls. We received a massive amount of baby clothes early on (I mean enough for sextuplets at least!), and when my mom came to visit a month ago she washed, and helped me sort and put everything away. I'm really hoping that the nesting instinct will set in at some point, and give me motivation and energy to do... something... anything!  But for now... I'll just lay here on the couch.........

Confusion

I saw the Perinatologist on Friday, and then had another anatomy scan today. All I can say is that I'm pretty confused at this point. I'll try to summarize what I got from the two appointments. 

1. I was told by the Perinatologist that baby girl is smaller than baby boy by about a 10 days, and should be closely monitored. WHAT??  She has always only been 2-3 days behind, up until a week ago.  Today at the anatomy scan I was told that she was 4 days behind. She weighed 2lbs 3oz, while he weighed 2lbs 7oz. Who do I believe?

2. Baby girl has much less amniotic fluid around her.  She says that I shouldn't be concerned, as she's doing fine, and it has likely always been like this.  She also said that that is probably why I feel her moving much more than the boy.  Today at the anatomy scan when I asked, they confirmed that yes, she has quite a bit less fluid, and is in much tighter quarters than the boy. But, they said that it wasn't too little fluid, it was still a satisfactory amount and I shouldn't be concerned. They did say that since she was a bit squished she was harder to measure so the dates could be a little off...

3. On Friday she said that they are measuring in at the .... I don't really remember... 20 something and 30 something percentile. WHAT? Just a week ago I was told 55 and 47?? I don't understand how they could fall behind so much so fast.  Of course she said that this is a perfectly normal percentile for twins, but it doesn't make me happy.  Today, well, I don't know the percentiles yet- my doctor will tell me when I see her on Thursday. BUT they are both still measuring a few days earlier than their due dates, so you would think that that would put them in a percentile higher than 20-30 percent...

4.  I have a large ovarian cyst.  She was surprised that no one had told me about it before, and said that if it moves or twists etc. it could cause me severe pain and have to be removed.... surgically... or she said that it could otherwise be removed if I have a c-section. She said that it had obviously been there for some time, and could be the reason for my elevated WBC.  Luckily she also said that I was pretty big so hopefully it shouldn't be able to move and cause any problems... All I can say is that I hope it stays put.

5.  The good news is, that my cervix both Friday and today was measuring about 4.3 which makes me really happy!

Now I guess I just wait for Thursday, and hopefully my doctor can make sense out of all the discrepancies for me. Tomorrow I will go in for my glucose tolerance test. When I had my baseline one done in the first trimester I had no idea what I was in for. I was in complete shock when I was handed the bottle of stuff to drink, told to drink it, then sit down, and not walk around/ move at all for an hour till the blood draw. I was bored out of my mind! Tomorrow I will make sure I have a book or something to do.

Anyway, since today happens to be exactly 27 weeks, I guess I should put up a belly shot... All I can say is I feel HUGE! I cannot even imagine being any bigger! I've escaped the stretch marks so far, but I'm not sure how much longer this will be the case!

And.. my favorite outfits (pretty much the only matching ones)!! Love the little crabby butts!

Things that scare me

I finally got around to scheduling my classes at the hospital- 4 in total.  Unfortunately, they are only scheduling them for July at this point.  Essentially all the classes will be between the 5th and the 11th.  This kind of freaks me out, as I'll be 30-31 weeks by that point.  What if I end up on bed rest? What if I go into labor early and don't get to go to any of them?? I emailed my doctor about it, and she said that it would be pretty tough, but to do what I can.  Here's hoping it all works out!

The other thing that scares me- I have no idea who will be delivering my babies.  We switched health insurance at the beginning of last year to one with much better coverage for IF treatments.  While I have been happy with this so far, and I adore my doctor who I have seen every two weeks since the beginning of my pregnancy, when it comes to actual delivery it pretty much comes down to whoever is on call at the time.  The only thing that would increase my odds would be a scheduled c-section which I don't really want.  There are several other things that scare me right now, those are just at the top of my list for today!

On a happier note, look what we found on our doorstep! Early baby registry gift from my aunt :) I had to talk my husband out of putting them in the car already!

And.. The nursery- our attempt at a gender neutral color scheme (bedding all made by my MIL!). We do like pink and blue, we found out that we just don't really don't like them together, so this is the compromise!

Good, Bad, and Bizzare

We had a doctors appointment yesterday, and, I'm pleased to announce that I did not forget my underwear there (although I had considered going there commando just to make sure it didn't happen again!).

We got the detailed results from our follow up anatomy scan a couple weeks ago, and from my bloodwork last week. The good news is that the babies are doing great- they are in the 47th and 55th percentile, and are both a few days ahead of their due dates! The doctor said that she was actually surprised that they are so big, as usually twins are smaller than average. I am actually measuring at 30 weeks even though I am only 25! Plus, I'm only 5'5 so it makes me look even bigger. Funnily enough, if you saw me coming from the front, you may not realize at first that I'm pregnant at all, but from the side- WOW!  See for yourselves..

Funnily enough, I feel like whenever I leave the house I need to justify my size to people.  It's  been pretty obvious that I'm pregnant for a couple months now, but up until about 3 weeks ago, people's questions were pretty much "Do you know what you're having?" and "When are you due?". NOW, it's pretty much all comments like "Oh wow, any day now!" or "Wow, not much time left huh?"  I pretty much usually answer with something like, "Actually, no, I'm only ____ weeks".  At this point they get this look of shock and confusion on their faces, so I usually follow it up with "I'm having twins, that's why I'm so huge".  At this point it's like "OOH, ok, now that makes sense!" It actually doesn't bother me at all, I just think it's funny that I have to justify my size to everyone these days!

Anyway, the somewhat bad news from the doctors visit is that my white blood cell count is pretty elevated.  Normal range is between 4 and 11. Mine is 20. At my first trimester screening it was a bit elevated at 15, so it's going up. My doctor is pretty confused as she sees no sign of infection anywhere, so she is referring me to a Perinatologist. I guess I will now see both of them for the rest of the pregnancy. I already see my doctor every two weeks, so I guess I'll be spending lots of time in doctors offices!

Walk of Shame

On Thursday I had an appointment with my OB.  Everything went well, but on my way out I couldn't shake the feeling that something was... well... not quite right. It wasn't until I was about halfway home that I realized what it was...
No underwear.
I had forgotten my underwear in the doctors office!!

I mean seriously, of all the times for pregnancy brain to strike! I was so embarrassed, I called my husband and told him what I had done. His response was to laugh so hysterically that I thought he might be crying! So much for sympathy! Then he asked if I was going to go back for them! Really?? As if I'm going to drive back there (mind you someone else is probably in the room by now) and be like "Hi, I think I forgot my underwear... Do you have a lost and found". Hell no.

My only hope is that they fell behind a chair or somewhere inconspicuous so that by the time they found them they wouldn't know whose they were!

Anyway the good news is that the twins are looking great. I actually had to go in to the hospital for another hour long anatomy scan on Saturday to make sure that both twins were developing at the same pace. They are, and right now that's all that matters :)

Pictures and Stats

My parents are still here visiting (well, my step dad left, but my mom extended her stay until next week), so I've had no time to be on here at all! Even now we're about to head out, so here is an update in pics and stats!

                                                                     21 weeks

                                                                   

22 weeks

THE BELLY

New favorite dress! Having a REALLY hard time wearing pants, even maternity ones

Pre- pregnancy ribcage - 29 inches

Current- 32 inches

Pre- pregnancy fullest part of boobs- 32.5 inches

Current- 36 inches :) :)

Pre- pregnancy waist/ belly- 27 inches

Current- 41 inches!!!

Pre pregnancy weight- 127 lbs

Current- 150 lbs- right on track with the lower range for what I should have gained by this point with twins.

21 weeks

So, I was too lazy to upload a picture this week, so instead, I thought I'd post one of how I feel- in a word, HUGE!

How far along: 21 weeks, 3 days

Symptoms:  Fatigued, sore boobs, short of breath, racing heart, zero appetite, heartburn, constant peeing, can't sleep.

Baby Related Purchases:  We now have 2 cribs in a painted room!!! Complete with bedding that my MIL made for us, and a dresser.

Maternity Clothes:  Entirely!! I have gotten way too huge to even imagine being able to fit into my regular clothes. I have noticed however, that although I love my full panel pants, they make my belly itch like CRAZY! I mean, I literally can't go more than about 15 seconds (even that's pushing it) without clawing at my belly when I wear them.

Sleep:  Ever so slightly better, I'm still up about 3 times a night to pee, and rolling from side to side hurts my belly, so it must be done with extreme care!

Best Moment of the Week:  Seeing my doctor a week after the anatomy scan, having her go through the results with me, and being assured that everything looks perfect and on track :) Of course seeing my babies at the appointment was amazing as always! Also found out  that I'm already measuring 4 weeks ahead of where I am!

Strangest Moment: I know I said it in my last post, but it's still so strange and surreal to me to see our former guest room as a nursery. We are getting the bedding piece by piece in the mail as my MIL makes it, so every few days the room looks a little different as the cribs look more and more "finished".

Movement: Lots!

Cravings: nada

Gender: boy and girl

Belly Button: Flat! It's actually been pretty flat for almost two weeks, although now it seems to be making it's way out!

What I miss: Sleep, energy, a love for food.

What I am looking forward to: My parent's are coming to visit for a week and get in today!

20 Weeks (and out of order posting)

I'm going a little out of order with my posting here. I posted about my 19 week anatomy scan last Monday, but now I'm going to go backwards to the Sunday before, and then I'll end up with present day :)

Well, it was our 7 year anniversary on the 17th- I still can't believe that we've been married for that long! What did we do? Well, funnily enough, we spent pretty much the whole day at Babies R Us registering! It was such a surreal experience, walking around with the scanner among all the other pregnant women, and shopping for baby stuff for ME- not for someone else's baby shower.

I have to say, I'm really glad that we did it that weekend, because as exciting as it was, and as much as I have always dreamed of the day that I would be registering for baby stuff,  it was physically really uncomfortable.  I was light headed, short of breath, and my back was killing me the whole time! This meant lots of trips to "try out" all the rocker/gliders!  Now that I've seen everything in the store, I'm pretty sure I can finish up registering for whatever I forgot on line. That sounds a lot more fun to me at this point than walking around a store for hours!

I've come to the realization that I'm going to have to start getting things done a little earlier than I had planned if I actually want to enjoy the process. I initially wanted to wait till at least viability at 25 weeks, BUT my doctor said that once I hit 20 weeks (which I am now) I'm suddenly going to start getting huge! I already feel huge, and have noticed that with twins, I have already passed most of  my pregnant peers in size- even some of those a lot farther along than me! People, I have gained 20 lbs!! It seems like it's all belly and boobs though. As huge of a number as it seems to me, I guess I'm at the bottom of the weight gain range that I'm supposed to be in at 20 weeks with twins (which is 20-30lbs)!

Another exiting happening- I'm lucky enough that my MIL is custom making all the crib bedding out of fabric that we chose.  But, seeing as the cribs we chose are a little smaller than standard size- thus being different from standard size patterns (oh, and the cribs not being in stores to go look at and measure)- to see if the stuff would fit, and to get more precise measurements, we had to get the cribs and mattresses! I supposed we only needed to get one crib to measure, but then why not just go ahead and get them both?? They arrived last week, but once assembled, they can't fit through doors, therefore they needed to go in the nursery..... but they would be cumbersome to paint around when the time came....so we had to paint!  So, what I'm trying to say, is that at 20 weeks and two days, we have a painted nursery, complete with 2 cribs! One word- SURREAL. I keep standing in the doorway just staring in at the room trying to convince myself that this is really happening!
                                      
20wks 2d- Yes, I am intentionally wearing the same thing in all the pics :)