Yesterday's Appt.

Yesterday we had our 32 week appt. with Dr. Xmas.  From now on we will be having weekly appointments on Tuesdays to monitor the babies, monitor me, as well as to catch me if I go into labor.  The appt. started off with an ultrasound.  They didn't check the baby's weights, but will do that every couple weeks.  I hope they do it next week because I think it's fun to see how much they weigh!  The babies look GREAT though and they were even practicing breathing on their own.  The ultrasound technician said this was awesome and extra credit for them!  We definitely have some VERY active babies on our hands (we've known this since the beginning of my pregnancy), but this makes me so happy because this means they are healthy.  Little Miss had her legs stretched out which makes sense because I've been being kicked in the ribs a lot lately.  The u/s technician couldn't get both legs in the picture (b/c the babies are too big), but below is a picture of one of her legs stretched out...and you can see her lady parts. ;)  She's def. a girl!

Lil Miss was also kicking her poor brother in the head (yes, he's still breech).  In fact, he had one of his hands over his neck...we were guessing to protect himself!  Poor baby boy...the fighting has already started. ;)  See baby girl's foot below and baby boy's head...it's easier to see the foot than the head.  I just love looking at this picture of that sweet foot and toes!  

Once we saw that all was well with the babies, they hooked me up for a pregnancy stress test.  This test monitor's the babies movement and heartbeats, and also monitors me for contractions.  They want me to be hooked up to this test for 20 minutes.  After five minutes we all passed the test with flying colors!  But they still kept me on it for 20 minutes because that's their protocol for this test.  They kept mentioning how active our babies are and we were all laughing.

Once the stress test was done, in came Dr. Xmas.  As he walked into the room he had a huge grin on his face and said, "Betcha didn't think you'd see 32 weeks, did you??!?!?!"  No we sure didn't, especially when I was put in the hospital at 20 weeks.  He was sooo happy to see me make it to this point and doing so well.  He's not even checking my cervix anymore because it is what it is and to make it this far is just awesome.  He said if I were to go into labor in the next week or two they would try and slow it down, but once I hit 34 weeks it is what it is.  I asked him when he think's I'll have these babies.  I told him I know he doesn't have a glass ball, but if he had to guess.  He said if he had to bet on it he'd bet I'd have them around 35.5 weeks.  He says he always wins that bet.  There was no real reason for this, just because that's average for a twin pregnancy birth.  That is THREE WEEKS people.  Three freakin weeks.  Holy crap.  I think my eyes got the size of my head when he said that...but how super exciting.  After this they checked my blood pressure and that was great and we went on our way.

We were so happy to have such a great appt.  The hubs and I went out to dinner to celebrate...well, and to use up a Living Social coupon before the munchkins get here.  :)  Then we both couldn't sleep last night.  For me it was just from the excitement of yesterday and thinking "when will I go into labor and have these babies??"  And now I'm getting more paranoid about going into labor any day now, so the hubs and my parents are all on high alert!  

Please say prayers that we make it to 34 weeks at least.  That would be such a huge blessing.  But already, we have been blessed beyond words.  I keep thinking about all we've been through to get to this point and it just brings tears to my eyes.  We are so close.  Thank you all for your incredible support, these babies are going to be some VERY loved babies :)

32 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

We went to church this morning and I was all ready for a picture in my dress, until I forgot (pregnancy brain much?)!  Oh well, here's one instead in my husband's EXTRA LARGE t-shirt...no more wearing my medium sized t-shirts, gone are those days!

How far along? 32 weeks!  Feels good to check off another huge milestone!  Next goal, 34! :)

Baby’s size? We will find out tomorrow and I'll let you all know...my guess is around 4 pounds each

Total Weight Gain: Haven't weighed myself since my last OB appt. a couple weeks ago.  My guess would be 32ish pounds.  I will find out on Friday at my OB appt.

Stretch marks? Still the same faint ones on my hips, nothing new from that so far...slathering myself in Palmer's cocoa butter!

Sleep:  Still going well...so happy about this!  Peeing every hour it feels like, but thankfully I go right back to sleep.  Hoping to get in tons of sleep before we become sleep deprived!

Best moment this week: Getting the nursery even more prepared and ready.

Miss Anything? A cold glass of beer would be nice on a nice Spring evening, but not much longer!

Movement: Oh yes.  I love it!  Every move the babies make I can see...so amazing.  Here is a video below I just took of some movement today.  Please excuse the big white belly.  Pay close attention to the top of my belly (will be the lower part of the screen).  I'm pretty sure the movement on the video is from baby girl's legs and baby boy's arms.  I constantly have to push them off my ribs and if I rub lightly they will move.  I feel them alllll the time.  Love these precious babies :)

Food cravings: Still none...sweets are still high on the list though.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Gender: Girl and Boy :)

Labor Signs: No, just typical Braxton Hicks, but they aren't bad at all and not too often.

Symptoms: Some tiredness, sometimes sore back if I'm on my feet too much, and sometimes slightly swollen feet if I'm on my feet too much in the heat.  That's about all I can complain of though, still feeling great!

Belly Button in or out? Pretty much almost out!

Wedding rings on or off? Off :(  I probably could keep them on, but at this point it just makes me nervous that they'd get stuck.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, excited, nervous and still can not BELIEVE that we will be having TWO babies in no longer than a month.  

Looking forward to: Our 32 week appt. tomorrow with Dr. Xmas and then our OB appt. on Friday to determine when our c-section will be.  eeekk!!!  I will update tomorrow after the appt. :)

31 weeks!

How far along? 31 weeks!  

Baby’s size? At my 30 week appt. Baby A was 3 lbs. 5 ounces and Baby B was 3 lbs. 3 ounces...so if I had to guess I would think they are around 3 lbs. 11ish ounces now.  We will find out in a week at our next appt...by then they should be close to 4 pounds!

Total Weight Gain: At my OB appt. last week (30 weeks) I was up 28 pounds...I'm happy with this.

Stretch marks? Still the same faint ones on my hips, nothing new from that so far...slathering myself in Palmer's cocoa butter!

Sleep:  Fabulous!!!!!  I am waking up much more to use the restroom though, but thankfully I fall right back asleep.  I think I woke up about 5 times last night to use the potty!  Oh my!

Best moment this week: Celebrating my Mom and all the Mom's out there on Mother's Day.

Miss Anything? No!

Movement: Yes, yes, yes.  The cool thing is that their movements are not just kicks anymore but every tiny movement they do I feel them and it definitely is more intense then ever.  It's the coolest thing to watch them move and see my stomach do crazy things.  Someone is getting under my ribs from time to time and that doesn't feel great, but at the same time I love it.  Not sure if it's Baby girl's feet or Baby boy's arms.  With having one baby breech and one baby not, I'm getting kicked EVERYWHERE.  Wouldn't trade it for the world though :)

Food cravings: Really not any.  I have been loving my sweets lately though but trying to not go too overboard with them.  A few brownies a day isn't overboard...right??  ;)

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Gender: Girl and Boy :)

Labor Signs: No!

Symptoms: Ok, I jinxed myself...they are finally coming.  Having to use the restroom much more often, my back starts to ache at the end of the day if I'm on my feet too much, getting more tired, and starting to slightly swell----more so though if I'm on my feet too much.  Oh and Braxton Hicks contractions, although I've been having these for the past few weeks.  I guess it's about time for these symptoms to start!

Belly Button in or out? Hubs says it has popped out, but...I can't see it anymore, lol.  It still feels flesh with my skin though!  

Wedding rings on or off? Just took them off....sad day.  If feels SO weird to not be wearing them!!!  I don't like it :(  I hate going out in public with a big ole belly and no wedding rings.  Oh well.  With the warmer temperatures we are having this is causing me to swell slightly so I figured I better take them off now to be safe.

Happy or moody most of the time: HAPPY!  But definitely getting teary eyed thinking of the day I birth these two babies.  What an incredible moment it will be!

Looking forward to: Hitting 32 weeks and my next appt. with Dr. XMas a week from today!  This is a BIG appointment for us so crossing my fingers everything continues to look good.  I feel good so far, so I think all should go well.  We are really on the home stretch!  Crazy exciting!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day first and foremost to my incredible mother.  Without her I would not see life in such a positive way and I would not be who I am today without her.  She has a heart of gold and loves and supports her children in more ways than one.  She is a woman on the go who never sits down, yet always finds time to do good for others.

Another Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother in law!  Thank you for accepting me into your family on day one of meeting and for your love and support throughout the years.  I am so blessed to have two amazing Mother's as role models and those that love me so much!

The hubs got me beautiful tulips and candy for Mother's Day.  I told him I didn't really feel like I deserve this day yet, but then I think more about it and what I've been through so far and then I say, well maybe I do deserve it!  We are constantly amazed lately how there are two good sized babies in my belly right now.  And the fact that they will be here in the next month or so.  Pure craziness.  I can't believe it.  We are SO excited.  I absolutely can not wait to be a mother of a precious son and daughter.

And last but not least, as wonderful as this day is to celebrate those Mother's we love, it also makes my heart heavy to think of those who have lost their mothers, those that have had miscarriages and are hurting for their unborn child and/or those that are having a difficult time getting pregnant.  This time last year Mother's Day was hard on me.  I wondered if I would ever become a mother.  So today I am thinking about all of those women who are going through similar situations.  Your arms may be empty, but your hearts are full.  I promise there will be a day where you will hold your sweet baby in your arms.

I will be back tomorrow with a post on 31 weeks!

Belly growth

I had my 30 week OB appt. today and it was another boring appt. thank goodness.  But, get this...my belly is measuring 35.5 weeks which is almost full term for a single pregnancy!  holy.moly.  If I make it to 37 weeks I will be MASSIVE.  But, if that means two healthy babies than that's all that matters. :)  I will see my OB again at 32 weeks and then they will start seeing me weekly after this (same goes with Dr. Xmas).  My OB will also start stress tests at 32 weeks (and there on out) just to make sure all is well with the babies.  At my next OB appt. at 32 weeks we will schedule a date for the c-section.  It still hasn't been confirmed that I will be having a c-section, but I am 95% sure that's what will be happening.  I'm excited to get a date on the calendar in a couple weeks!  We are really getting down to the wire here!

30 weeks! A baby shower and a good appt.!

How far along? 30 weeks!!!!!  

Baby’s size? Today at our appt. Baby Girl A weighed 3 lbs., 5 ounces and Baby Boy B weighed 3 lbs., 3 ounces.  Dr. Xmas was VERY happy with these weights!  Turns out there is no need to worry about Baby Boy B, he is gaining just as he should :)

Total Weight Gain: Not sure...will find out tomorrow at my OB appt.

Stretch marks? Still the same faint ones on my hips, nothing new from that so far...slathering myself in Palmer's cocoa butter!

Sleep:  Still going well!

Best moment this week: Man, there are lots.  Main one was my wonderful baby shower on Saturday.  Family came in from out of town and many friends from in town were there.  We were truly showered and spoiled!  We got many items from our registry as well as some stinkin adorable clothes and lots and lots of diapers and wipes!  Woohoo!  We pretty much have everything we need for these babies.  I am going to make a run out to Babies R'Us sometime this week to get a few more things but after that we are all set.  Now I'm just working on the fun part which is organizing the nursery, getting all the baby clothes washed and put away, swings up, working on some DIY wall art for the nursery, pretty soon we will install the carseats (!!!) and I am in the process of packing my hospital bag.  Another great moment was today's 30 weeks dr. appt. with Dr. Xmas.  As told above, the babies are measuring great and are looking very healthy.  Baby Girl A is still SUPER low on my cervix but they aren't worried about that.  She's so low that they couldn't get a good look at her head...silly girl.  Baby Boy B is still breech, but we weren't surprised about that.  For the first time in a few weeks Dr. Xmas didn't do a Fetal Fibrinectin test on me, woohoo!!!!  And today was probably my last vaginal ultrasound...another WOOHOO!!!  My cervix looks "kick ass" in the words of my doctor and he says I'm now his boring patient.  That's what we like to hear!  He wants to see me again at 32 weeks and then I'll most likely be taken off bed rest because he said once I hit 32 weeks we are in the clear.  PHEW.  Two more weeks of bed rest,  I can do this!  Honestly, it hasn't been that bad at all, but it will be nice to just listen to my body and do what I feel like (within reason of course).  :)

How cute is this diaper wreath from our shower??  The diapers are usable too, but I hate to take it apart!

Miss Anything?  Sleeping on my back and stomach when I want to.  I'm a big side sleeper anyway, so it's not that big of a deal but it would be nice every once in a while.  I can't complain too much though, I'm just happy everything is going well so far.

Movement: Ooooh yes.  These are VERY active little babies!  Seeing them move through my shirt is a crazy thing! 

Food cravings: None, but the hubs has brought me Jersey Mike's subs recently and oh.my.gosh they have tasted out of this world for some reason!!!  They just seems to melt in my mouth and I can't stop talking about them after I eat them, haha.  So they have turkey, roast beef and bacon on them, but at 30 weeks pregnant I'm over the whole not eating deli meats, so whatev, bring them on...in moderation of course.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Gender: Girl and Boy :)

Labor Signs: No!

Symptoms: Honestly, still not many.  I have been VERY lucky in this department.  I def. feel huge these days, but not really in a bad way.  Just makes it harder to put on shoes, bend over/down, get out of bed, change positions in bed, etc.  Other than that though I feel great.

Belly Button in or out? Still flush with my skin...I wonder if it will ever pop out???

Wedding rings on or off? Still on, I don't want to take them off yet!  We are having a weird (cooler and rainy) Spring and I think we are to get warmer weather the end of this week.  Once I notice a slight bit of swelling I'll take them off.  I'm sure that will come with the warmer weather.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy :)  This is all feeling more and more real and I'm getting so very excited.

Looking forward to: Our breastfeeding class tonight.  This may sound silly, but I'm excited to learn more about how to feed these precious babies once they make their arrival.  We've found a lactation consultation (who's class we are going to tonight) who will be on call for us 24/7 once we've had the babies and if we need any help with feeding.  And do you want to know the cool part?  She's FREE!  Don't ask me how that works, I have no idea, but I love it.  I'm sure breastfeeding one baby is hard enough, double that, and man, I've been nervous about it.  But knowing that we have this two hour class tonight and then someone I can call whenever I need help really eases my mind!  

 Sneak peak of the nursery.  Don't mind all the boxes and stuff, not near finished, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of the AWESOME mobiles my sister in law made for us!  How precious are they???!!  I'm so in love with them.  The babies will love them!  (our nursery is elephant themed if you didn't know)

29 weeks!

Getting ice cream with the girls.  Really looking huge here...yikes!  Two babies in my belly is no joke!  More pictures to come of our shower when they are sent to me :)

How far along? 29 weeks!  

Baby’s size? About the size of cabbage...

Total Weight Gain: At my OB appt. almost a week ago I was up 25 pounds.  I'm only having myself weighed at the OB's office as I don't want to get caught up in the number.  As long as I'm gaining enough, I don't want to know.  It's scary enough seeing the scale go into numbers you have NEVER seen before.  

Stretch marks? Still the same faint ones on my hips, nothing new from that so far...slathering myself in Palmer's cocoa butter!

Sleep:  Still going great...been lucky so far with this.  I do have to wake up every time I move/switch sides b/c of this large belly, but thankfully I fall right back asleep.  And of course I'm up a couple times at night to use the bathroom, but again, I can fall back asleep very easily.

Best moment this week: Having my sweet, sweet friends surprise me from SC!  I was supposed to have a baby shower in SC last weekend, but since being put on bed rest and obviously not allowed to travel, that shower had to be canceled.  The hostesses instead still sent out the invitations and included a "change of plans" note in the shower.  The change of plans were to send the gifts to my parents house and then my friends would come up this weekend and surprise me and we'd have our own shower here.  Well they did and it blew me away.  It was such a nice, relaxing girls weekend.  Catching up with these girls was sooo nice as we only see each other about once a year, if that.  The hubs and I were so blessed with the gifts we got.  A car seat, crib mattress, my (twin) breast friend, our video monitor, our Baby Einstein Stationary Jumper, FP cradle swing, my diaper bag, Skip hop activity gym, stinkin ADORABLE clothes and the list goes on and on.  So fun :)

Miss Anything?  Not at the moment, I love being pregnant :)

Movement: Ooooh yes.  These are VERY active little babies!  

Food cravings: So I think eggs has dropped off my craving list...I still like them but don't really crave them anymore.  In fact, all my typically cravings aren't so much cravings anymore.  Haven't had many strong cravings recently.  I have had no aversions this whole pregnancy, except I noticed I have not liked gum at all while pregnant.  I'm not a huge gum person anyways, but the smell of it makes me cringe.  The hubs had some gum out in the kitchen the other day and I had to put it in a drawer b/c the smell was too strong and grossing me out, haha.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Gender: Girl and Boy :)

Labor Signs: No!

Symptoms: Still not many.  I've been noticing Braxton Hicks the past couple weeks, but my Dr. says this is normal.  I had a charlie horse last night and I haven't had one since 20 weeks pregnant...I had them allll the time during early pregnancy.  I hope they are not coming back, OUCH!  Other than that, I can't name any other symptoms.  I am really noticing my bigger belly.  It really is getting big and I feel HUGE.  I better get used to it, I know.  Thank goodness summer is about here and I can just get by in big, comfy dresses.  I don't know how woman do it who are pregnant in the winter...jackets, pants and a big belly= no fun.  

Belly Button in or out? Still flush with my skin...I wonder if it will ever pop out???

Wedding rings on or off? Still on, but I think I may take them off after my shower this weekend.  We will see.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy...starting to feel more relaxed about everything.  Although this could change in an instant...thanks, hormones.

Looking forward to: My next shower this weekend!!!  Lots of family is coming in for it and I'm so excited.  Should be another fun weekend with these babies getting even more spoiled.  Also, I'm looking forward to my prenatal massage this afternoon...ahhh...this is gonna feel good!