33 week pictures

Ugh, just wrote a post and it got erased....hate when that happens!  Anyways, I am so lucky to have a good friend that dabbles with photography on the side.  She is so talented (and free!) and it's fun to have her take some pregnancy pictures for us.  Here are some of my favorites...

Yesterday we had our 33 week appt. which we thought would be with Dr. Xmas, but it was with a different doctor.  Hubs and I thought it was a weird appt. all around.  Our ultrasound technician was different and not the best, and then the dr. we saw was pretty much worthless...and super old.  I don't know, it was just not what we are used to.  I think schedules were off from the long weekend.  The ultrasound went well...babies look great.  I can't believe how big they are getting!  They are going to do their weights next week...I can't wait. :)  Then they put me on the stress test and that went pretty well.  Baby girl was being quiet which is unlike her, so the nurse had to put a buzzer to my belly to wake her up and eventually that did the trick.  I only had one big contraction during the 20 minute stress test, so that was good.  Then the dr. came in and really didn't have anything important to say.  But I guess that's b/c everything looks so good and after he looked at my charts he was happy to see us this far (as is everyone!).  When I got home yesterday I made sure to call to check that we are seeing Dr. Xmas next week for our 34 week appt.  We have been through everything with him and he knows us well and when we are down to the wire I want to continue seeing him.  So I'm glad next week we will be seeing Dr. Xmas. 

I just put a call into my OB to see if they have scheduled our c-section yet.  I know she is a SUPER busy woman and will call me when they have it, but call me anxious and excited, b/c I am!  And with this being a short week, I know this makes things even more crazy for her schedule, but thought I'd call and leave a message...figured it wouldn't hurt.  We should hear something by the end of the week.

I can't believe that we are heading into 34 weeks and JUNE...the month of baby girl and baby boy Hoffman's birth!  Super exciting!

33 weeks!

Twins at 32 weeks, but you get the idea

How far along? 33 weeks!  

Baby’s size? Not sure, will hopefully find out tomorrow at our appt.  Hopefully a little more than 4 pounds each!  If so, that would mean I have about 10ish pounds of baby in me...no wonder I feel VERY pregnant now!

Total Weight Gain: At my OB appt. last week 35 pounds...weight is really packing on and fluids are really increasing.

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

Sleep:  I have my good nights and my bad nights . Have had a couple of great sleeping nights which have felt amazing.  Before that had a few bad sleeping nights.  Waking up about every couple hours (or more depending) to use the bathroom.

Best moment this week: Making it to 33 weeks :)

Miss Anything? Being able to go for a walk in this picture perfect weather we are having.

Movement: Yes!  Wild babies!

Food cravings: None as of late.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Gender: Girl and Boy :)

Labor Signs: More noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing crazy.

Symptoms: Officially swelling, it's so gross.  Def. have cankles.  It makes the hubs and I laugh.  Feeling tired from carrying this load, and oh, I've been meaning to mention this but always forget.  My voice is horse ever since about 30 weeks pregnant...???  So weird!  My only thought is that it's the pressure from the belly on my lungs??  My voice also always cracks, like I'm a 13 year old boy.  So weird. 

Belly Button in or out? It's pretty much out.

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy and getting so excited!

Looking forward to: Our appt. w/Dr. Xmas tomorrow and getting a date for our c-section!  I also have my last prenatal massage scheduled this week and a pedicure.  Both will be very nice to have before the babies come!

*One more week until my goal of 34 weeks!!!  Eeeekkk!!!  :)  The car seats are in the car and we are officially ready, however we still want baby girl and baby boy to cook 2-3 more weeks if they can hold on!  I am having some pregnancy pictures taken from a good friend this week so I will post some when I can.  Not feeling very picturesque these days from feeling so huge and swollen, but it's all good.  If this gives us healthy babies, then bring it on!

Today's OB appt.

I had an OB appt. this morning and all went well.  They hooked me up to the stress test, but only because they had planned to do it and didn't know Dr. Xmas would do it this week as well.  From now on I'll only get the stress test done at Dr. Xmas' office...no need to have it done twice a week...unless there is reason to.  The test went great...I was on it for 20 minutes and only had one contraction and the babies were moving like the crazies they are.  The nurse said that they are true rock stars...I swear, these  have got to be the most active babies EVER.  But, that makes me happy!  They also took my blood pressure which was normal.  I am thankful for this because I know it can creep up toward the end of pregnancy's...especially multiple pregnancy's.

It is official that I will be having a c-section.  Baby B boy is still breech and it's highly doubtful he will move at this point.  But honestly, I am happy with a c-section.  Call me crazy, but I've heard too many horror stories of having the first twin vaginally and then the next twin by emergency c-section.  Heck no, that would be AWFUL.  So c-section all the way it is.  Now the big question....did we get a date set for the c-section??!  Almost!  My OB wants to discuss it with Dr. Xmas and she will call me sometime next week with a date.  EEEEKKK!  It will either be at 36 weeks or 37 weeks depending on what Dr. Xmas feels.  Although, they both think I'll have the babies around 35ish weeks (again, average for twins), but who knows....if not, we will have the scheduled c-section.  I am excited to get this date next week!  When I do, I'll be sure to let you all know.  Oh and they typically cut the cerclage at 36 weeks.  This is a painful procedure, I REALLY hope that they just take it out when I have the spinal before having the babies so I don't feel it.

At the appt. we also discussed how we get in contact with my OB if I go into labor and all the signs of labor.  My OB checked my cervix and could feel baby girl's head...she is supppper low!  Good news is that I'm not dilated yet, but my cervix is starting to thin because of the pressure from baby girl's head.  My OB was not worried about this though...but again, more reason why I think these babies may make their appearance in the next couple weeks or so.

As of the last couple days, I am officially feeling pregnant with twins.  I am completely exhausted all the time (I think more so than the first trimester----but maybe I'm just forgetting), not sleeping great, feeling huge, uncomfortable and feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions much more.  It is so hard to get in and out of bed, up and out of the couch/chairs/car, and bending down to say feed the dogs is a joke.  I do it, but with many grunts and moans.  Although I feel this way, I hate complaining, because I am SO thankful that we finally got and stayed pregnant after a hard and long journey to get here.  We sure are blessed and although I haven't had the "easiest" of pregnancy's, at the same time---it's really been great.  That may sound crazy, but I have loved being pregnant.  I know God has a plan (this has been out motto all along) and He will bring these babies out when they are ready.  No rush baby boy and girl, y'all keep cooking!  Mommy and Daddy want you well done when you come out of the oven :)  But whatever God's plan is, it will be great as He's already taken me farther in this pregnancy than I would have thought.

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)