32 Weeks

Another milestone week! All that's left is 35 weeks (Thanksgiving) and then every day after that is just gravy. Maybe we'll start calling them butterballs since A weighed a whopping 4 lbs 15 oz at today's ultrasound and B weighed 3 lbs 11 oz. I'm not sure how accurate the measurements were, because the tech didn't spend a lot of time on them like she usually does, and I sort of got the "good enough" vibe. Either way I can safely say that they are both about 4+ pounds, which puts them on pace for 5 pounds each by turkey day and will hopefully keep them out of the NICU. YAY!

Because I was concerned about the suddenly large difference in weight, we're beginning their non-stress tests a week early next Friday at 33 weeks, instead of the standard at 34 weeks for twins. Let's just ignore the fact that it's Friday the 13th.

B continues to be stretched across the top and hugging my ribs...if only it felt like hugging!

I took my bonus picture with KFuj (courtesy of Mr KFuj) because she's halfway to 32 weeks with half as many babies on board, and I like the math in that! By the way, I have no idea why it looks like I have a huge stain of some sort on my shirt...we inspected said shirt immediately following the picture and found nothing. As for the expression on my face, well that's part of the reason I take headless shots ;)

And finally, Striker and I have decided that we've tortured you all enough. The boys names are Beau(A) and Cole (B)!

28 Weeks

Lots to report today:

Glucose test was normal. YAY!!!!!!!! I get to continue enjoying my ice cream...oh happy day! And no more nasty lemon lime stuff or 3 hour glucose test - YIPPEE!!!

Iron levels were a little low, which is normal with twins, so I've started an iron supplement with bonus doses of Vitamin C, Folic Acid and something else I'm not remembering right now. Going to try taking it before bed tonight since I have to take it 2 hours after eating (hard to do when you eat every two hours) and then have heart burn for several hours after taking it. Hoping I can sleep through the heart burn.

We had our 28 week ultrasound today and, no joke, the first thing she said was "These guys are overachievers". Striker and I burst out laughing. Apparently A has a big head like his parents (hey, at least we know he's ours) and both are weighing above average for singletons. Apparently no one told them they were twins. :) "Average" is 2 pounds 4 ounces at 28 weeks. A is 2 pounds 14 ounces (yes, almost 3 pounds!) and B is 2 pounds 7 ounces. Holy 5 1/2 pounds of baby!!!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think average weight gain for the baby each week in the third trimester is just under half a pound? I'll let you do that math on that one ;)Size wise, A is measuring at 30 weeks and B is 29ish.

A is still head down and very happy in his position...when she tried to push him up he adamantly refused and kicked violently against my diaphragm. B is sort of at a 45 degree angle...in between the 7 & 11 formations. Sigh. He's the one most likely to be seen and felt since he's closest to my belly button...A is wedged behind him and the one most likely to be doing headstands on my bladder. These kids definitely have personalities of their own!




And finally, here's the belly:

My big maternity shirts all fit now. Some of the smaller ones barely cover the belly. The XL t-shirts that I wear most of the time (you know, since I'm on house arrest with the furries and they prefer me not to get dressed up for them so that we can snuggle) are also starting to provide a bit of a draft at the bottom.

27 Weeks (plus 1 day)

I intentionally posted this week's belly picture a day late as a result of today being the 2 year anniversary of my Chiari decompression surgery. It was definitely one of the most life changing moments for me and will always hold a top 3 spot (along with meeting the hubby and having the boys).

My belly is a topic of conversation wherever I go (granted that's not many places), and I am continually amazed by how many people are, have, or know twins. My dentist is a twin and he has twin boys. My insurance guy has twins. The list goes on and on...I am also amused when people tell me how small I am for twins...direct result of my sitting around doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and drinking water. If I were working, I'm certain that I'd be a lot bigger due to a less healthy diet, less water drank, and more water retained. I still only get cankles temporarily if I sit with my feet down for too long, but they go away pretty quickly after I put them up and drink extra water.

Feeling a little brave, I decided to pay homage to KT and her 27 Week Belly, and also humor GI Jane with these...though now I think it's only fair that Jane posts her Demi Moore pictures ;)

Wow, my belly is really white! Though I'm rather happy that it's white and not streaked with red stretch marks or the weird brown line. For this picture my belly button even stayed in...which is surprising, because it's usually out a little. There really isn't much left since it's been stretched so far. My scars from my appendectomy no longer match up...the circle used to be centered under the horizontal incision line, but now it's completely off to one side, not under the line at all (you can't see it in the picture, but I find that amusing).

I am almost done being able to wear my wedding rings...I have trouble getting them off and think I'll be wearing the ring that's normally on my right hand for the duration...don't want my finger to fall off! ;)

Whoa Belly!

On Sunday my sister and I attended the baby shower of one of her friends. If you've been enjoying my FFSUs, then you've seen us regularly discussing our food cravings of the day...nothing strange, we just love food ;) She's having a girl and it was rather strange for me to see so much pink after seeing nothing but blue for several months now. She's also torturing her family and friends by not telling anyone Baby Girl Brown's name until she's born. See, I'm not the only mean one.

We're about 8 weeks apart and when I saw this picture of the two of us, I immediately thought about this one...I'm 25 1/2 weeks. Clothes and boobs greatly affect the appearance of belly size...though I think I'm pretty close to triplet belly. I would like to point out that both boys are measuring about a week ahead of schedule...I bet the triplets were small ;)

Maternity Open House

Tonight was Maternity Open House at the hospital...woo hoo an hour (plus drive time) out of the house!

First off, it was way nicer than I thought it'd be...there were snacks, beverages, AND raffle prizes! The grand prize was a breast pump (which of course EVERYONE wanted) but I did not win it. I did however win a red Moby wrap...YAY!!! When they called your number (everyone got something) they asked if you were having a boy or girl...I of course answered "boys" which earned me instant celebrity status - and the envy of all the girl dads ;) - and the upgraded prize since I definitely need a Moby wrap! Those whose numbers were drawn after mine may have been a bit bitter with their picture frames and onesies, but HEY, it's not like they gave me the breast pump! And in my defense there was another Moby wrap given out.




















When leaving the parking garage, I was told by the security guard that I needed to pay at the parking pay station located back at the front of the hospital...um, NOT convenient and they really should prevent you from leaving the hospital without notifying you that once you waddle over to the parking lot or structure that you'll be trapped unless you've paid first. I waddle back over to the pay station with several of the dads following me like ducklings (Striker was bowling strikes tonight and really didn't miss anything that won't be covered in the MANY other classes we are going to...this was basically orientation), and find a sign indicating that the machine was only taking cash (in denominations of $1, $5, or $10). Good thing I had cash on me! I stood there feeding all of my ones, fives, and tens into the machine, but it wouldn't accept any. I gave up and the dad behind me tried...no luck. He was about to take off towards the gift shop and main lobby when I said "Wait up! Follow me! I'm going back to the structure and pulling the pregnant card and handing the security guard my ticket and $2 and begging him to let me leave." Seeing the wisdom in my approach, we headed back to the structure together. He headed for his car (and his pregnant wife) and I immediately went to the guard booth. I stuck out the belly (though it does that on its own these days) and pleaded my case. The result? Free parking for us all :) As I headed back to my car I told all of the dads I passed to just say they were with me so they'd get free parking too :) Oh yes, I'm officially known as Twin Mom and have acheived celebrity status among the 15 other couples or so...or they hate me...either way, I love being pregnant with twins! :)

24 Week Belly

I busted out the big maternity shirt yesterday for the 24 week picture...it sort of gives me a faux butt...YAY! Rest assured that it's all belly in the front though. Sorry the belly picture is a day late...I had a lot of sleeping to do :)

24 Week Ultrasound

Baby A is weighing in at a little over a pound and a half and is measuring about 8 days ahead of his gestational age. It appears that the poor little guy is inheriting his parents' big heads. The good news is that he's head down now...could be because it weighs so much...though this means that he's been head butting my bladder...sigh.

Baby B weighs just under a pound and a half (That's 3 total pounds of baby in the belly!!!) and is measuring about 3 days ahead of his gestational age. He was much more cooperative today. However, unlike A, he is laying across the top of the belly like he's in a hammock or something.

They are positioned so that their legs and feet are closest together (picture the number 7 - B is the top, A is the side), so there really is kickboxing going on in the belly!

21 Weeks and counting...

Here's the belly!

Highlights from this week:
-Daddy felt A kicking on Tuesday night, when I thought for sure he'd feel B again. Any surprise that B didn't cooperate?
-My doctor decided to keep me off work for the duration of my pregnancy.
-B kept moving around at our doctor's appointment so that it took FOREVER to get his heart rate...again, is this any surprise?
-My aunt painted the boys' room in record time. About 12 hours from starting prep to finishing clean up! Daddy finished painting the dresser. My glider and ottoman arrived. Pictures coming soon.
-The boys are carrot sized this week and I've made an allowance in my weekly ban...baby carrots don't count since they are WAY smaller than regular carrots (and thus do not represent the boys). I only eat baby carrots and I eat them often...does anyone still peel regular carrots and eat them?

I'd better start planning my outfit for 22 weeks...green shirt?

20 Week Bananas, Belly, Boys, and a Bonus Fashion Tip

Why Bananas? Because there are 2 left in my kitchen and I refuse to eat them because the boys are banana sized this week. Twin bananas...I mean really, how could I eat them? :)
















Today was their 20 week ultrasound...I am sticking to a 4 week schedule for at least the next two. Four weeks between ultrasounds seems so long, but it means we're lookin' good!

Baby A was well behaved for his photo shoot and gave us a nice profile shot...isn't his nose cute? :)















Baby B is our little trouble maker. He was always the hardest to get pictures of in our early ultrasounds, then he was the guy with the hematoma, and now he's back to being stubborn for pictures. He refused to turn over so we could get a profile shot despite our attempts at maneuvering...so technically this is a shot of his face, but you really can't make out a whole lot. (If it helps, the top of his head is to the right.)
















As you know, I've been Julie Chen's maternity fashion police. I received the following picture from Queen B tonight (because Julie Chen's fashion faux paus doesn't count as a spoiler):
















What you can't see in Julie's picture is that the bottom of her skirt is a bubble skirt giving the dress the appearance of a circus tent. From the belly up, I'd almost consider this an acceptable outfit, despite the Queen's dismay that it appears Julie's chest is in the same place as my rear end. I don't think she has much of a chest anyway, so I'm letting that part slide.

As soon as I saw Julie's outfit, I was inspired to wear this outfit for my 20 week belly shot. I mean really, how could I not?

Halfway!

At least I'm hoping we make it to 37 weeks (and 2 days). I'm a day late on the half way picture....I didn't put real clothes on yesterday.

I'm also just about forced to wear maternity shirts 100% of the time (assuming I wear actual clothes and not just the hubby's t-shirts). There are only one or two of my regular shirts that are long enough to cover my belly still. The positive is that I'm going to get a lot of wear out of my maternity clothes...good thing since this is most likely my only time to be pregnant.

18 Week Belly

Almost half way! The boys are bell pepper sized this week, which is creating a dilemma for Striker since eggs with bell peppers are a breakfast food of choice.

I've been feeling the little guys moving around just about every day, but not consistently yet. I've actually been feeling them sporadically for a few weeks now, but wasn't sure. I'm going to be in big trouble in a few weeks as A is already practicing his tap dancing on my bladder.

House Arrest

And the house arrest continues...my doctor won't let me go back to work or resume normal activity until the subchorionic hematoma that was on my last ultrasound is gone. Next ultrasound is in 2 weeks. I have to wait for the scheduled Fetal Diagnostic Center's ultrasound because they are the only technicians that have been able to find it - it probably helps that they have the newest and fanciest machines. Sigh. At least I finally got all of my disability paperwork so that amused me this morning :)

17 Week Belly

And there is the belly that was MIA last week!

I love these pants since it appears that my rear has returned. Illusion or not, I'll take it!

It's going to bug me forever that the door is open on the left! See, the boys' room is the door in the middle (yes, it also just occurred to me that I've been taking the belly shots in front of the boys' room) and it's completely empty with clean carpet. The open door is Striker's office where just out of sight and blocking the door from closing is a dresser which will be painted and put in the boys room eventually. We moved it out so the carpet could be cleaned and Striker will be taking it down to the garage for painting this weekend. I'm waiting for the curtains so that I can match the paint colors. Room painting will likely commence next weekend. Not that I'll be doing any of the actual painting myself. :)

Bonus Belly Picture!

16 weeks, 5 days. Looks a lot bigger than the last one....not sure why that one looked so small. I'm convinced the boys have a growth spurt over the weekend though because I always feel bigger on Mondays. They must like it when Daddy is home. :)

The much anticipated doctor's appointment was this afternoon. I was literally 1 block away when they called me to reschedule because she had to leave for a delivery. The soonest they could reschedule me for is next Tuesday afternoon. Ugh! I can call everyday to see if they have any cancellations....yay. At least that will give me something to do.

In the meantime I continue bed rest and help these boys grow!

16 Week Belly

So sitting around the house doesn't really make for great blog material.

The most noteworthy development this week (other than confirmation that the twins are boys) is that Oskar has grown super protective of me. Yes, I realize that this is rather humorous given that he weighs all of 12 pounds, but he uses his ferocious bark to scare away potential enemies. Of course, potential enemies are all noises heard from his post on the couch next to me. And then he barks continuously until I either yell at him loud enough or distract him with something really good. This has resulted in a headache several times this week. He has also returned to sleeping while touching me, evil pillow and all. Sigh.

I started crocheting baby blanket #1 today. Going with basic baby blue. It's the same pattern I've used before, aka the "Sydney" blanket. I'll post a picture of my progress sometime soon.

Twins Regularly Scheduled Ultrasound

So one of the perks of a twin pregnancy is that you get tons of ultrasounds. Throw in a few "episodes" and you get even more! Even though I just had a super thorough ultrasound last week, the Fetal Diagnostics Center still wanted to see me this week.

YAY! This meant that Daddy Striker got to come for the first time in 8 weeks - poor guy, we let Grandma Barbie come to the 10 week, no one came to the 12 week, then there was the scary 15 week that GB got to come to as well, so finally Striker got to see them after 8 weeks. This meant that he was also there when we got confirmation that both are...BOYS!!!!

Yes, names have been selected, no we aren't telling until they are born.

Let's just hope that everything goes well and I have to wait the 4 weeks until the 20 week ultrasound.

Twins - Week 15

First, please note that I got dressed specifically to take this picture for y'all. :) I am now once again in one of the hubby's t-shirts.

I have concluded that there are 2 reasons I don't look any bigger this week in this picture. 1) black is slimming and 2) I've been sitting or laying all day and the belly looks bigger after I've been walking around all day letting gravity do its thing.

Today was Day 1 of 13 on bed rest. I was bored by 8:30, but managed to find enough things to do to pass the time, and yes, napping was involved. Bianka FFSUing while having contractions filled some time as did the Big Brother premiere. Probably won't BBB every episode, just sporadically.

The lemons are now apples. Temp names are Fuji and Mac :) I guiltily ate sliced apples today until I justified that they were neither Fuji or Macintosh apples. Yes, I avoid eating whatever size food they are for that week.

I browsed Babies R Us and Target online today. Why are bottles so darn expensive?! I expected a fortune for diapers and formula, but bottles?! I asked KT for the rationale and unfortunately her BB was near death so we had to put that conversation on hold. Same with the Pampers vs Huggies debate - Pampers cheaper with Sesame Street characters vs Huggies with Disney characters.

With the now likelihood that both are boys, Striker and I began discussing names. We involved the Queen since she is good at naming stuff and she was surprised/baffled/astonished to learn that Striker's middle name is Martin, thus sharing the same first and last name as the Queen's dad and grand dad. (I suppose that if you don't know the Queen's maiden name or Striker's real first name, that was really confusing.)

I am NOT Normal

Sigh. Bonus ultrasound picture from today! You may remember 3 weeks ago when I said I wasn't getting another ultrasound for 4 weeks? Math doesn't quite add up. That's because I had my third bleeding episode and will likely be on bed rest for awhile. (I'm calling my doctor in the morning for the duration of this round.)

The good news is that the babies are super! They are measuring about a week bigger than they are and each weigh about 4 ounces. My mom met me for the ultrasound today because Will was an hour away and wouldn't have made it to the hospital in time. I clearly get my impatience from her because she asked the technician if she could tell whether they were boys or girls. The official answer was: "it's still too early to be sure, but if I were to give you my best guess, they are both boys. I see something, but then I don't. " We'll just have to wait a few more weeks to be sure!

Drumroll please...

I'm 12 weeks prego today, and if you recall, that means it's...belly picture time!














Things I noticed about this picture:

1. My butt has completely disappeared. Apparently it's being pregnant that causes the rear ends in my family to go MIA.
   
2. Belly is quickly catching up to boobs. Will pregnancy make my boobs appear smaller (relatively speaking of course)?
3. If this is 12 weeks, I'll need to be standing against the wall by the time I get to 36 weeks!
4. The hubby is sorta anal...I suggested that he stand in the same spot every week for consistency...he then lined up the bottom of the door and carefully cut off my head so I wouldn't feel obligated to do hair or makeup...this will be vitally important when I'm huge and off work!
5. I will not be eating dinner before next week's picture to ensure that I don't have a larger upper belly due to it being full :)
6. For not having gained a pound, I am certainly larger!

Today I had my 12 week ultrasound...aren't they cute?














According to our weekly email, they are the size of limes this week. This prompted the Queen to dub them Bud and Miller since they both have lime flavors. Striker votes for Corona and Corona Light. :) Other notable mentions: Ace & Base (Ruth), Venti & Grande (Paula), Almeda and Bauer (KT), and Kramer & Cosmo (Grandpa to be). For some reason I can't commit to a temporary set of names...I do like the beer names for this week though. Let's hope naming them is easier!

We're going to have to wait 4 weeks for the next ultrasound :(

4 AM Club

If you've ever been pregnant, you are familiar with your bladders desire to wake you up in the middle of the night. If not, welcome to my world. Typically I wake up around 3ish, but I stayed up later last night, so I woke up around 4ish. I may need to talk my bladder into making this a permanent time slot since I had several people to "talk" to.

First, the Queen randomly BBM'd me in response to something I sent her last night after she went to bed. It was 6 AM her time, but she's almost never up this early! :)

I continued my routine of checking facebook, the blogs, and Google and People news. I commented on both Ruth's and Jane's posts, and low and behold Ruth replied to my comment! Another 4 AM buddy! (This also left me wondering if and when Ruth ever sleeps???)

Then, what do you know? Bianka commented on my Facebook status. No real surprise there since she's nocturnal. I wonder what will happen now that she's on maternity leave?

Anyone else want to join our 4 AM club? Paula? Andrea? You guys can get away pretty easy since it's 7 your time ;)