Two tiny heads at 8w5d!

In the 8 week stretch... tomorrow makes 9!
I know it's not a trimester, but for some reason that feels like much more of a milestone than 6 or 7 weeks. So far we have taken two belly pictures (will post soon!). I had to laugh because there is already a noticeable difference! Yes, I have quite the pooch for this early on. In fact, at our doctor's appt yesterday I found out that now the weight gain so far is... drum roll please... 8 lbs! I've read that since I was slim to begin with and the fact that there are two, this is normal, and from what some of my books are saying, it's good to gain early. The more weight you can put on earlier pregnancy with multiples the better, as it correlates with a higher birth weights in many cases.

Wednesday was our first appt with the new OBGYN.
Things went really well! We liked both his warm personality and what he had to say with regards to what lies ahead. While he doesn't have tons of experience delivering multiples (6-8 a year, which he said is fairly average for a typical OB), he does have a plan of action, should this pregnancy turn high-risk. We will be seen 1x each month before Week 20, every other week between Weeks 20-30 and once a week after Week 30. If something should come up where we/he is concerned, he will bring in a specialist to assist. We also talked a bit about where we would deliver. Anything before week 31 will be at St. John's, no questions asked. They have the NICU set-up that allows them to be able to best care for preemies. Anything after week 32 is up to us, though I think we're still leaning towards St. John's.

Also, while 37 weeks is considered full term for twins, he said that most of his patients with twins go to around 34 or 35 weeks on average. This is also the average that many of the books I'm reading state. We chatted about the "what-to-do's" and "what-not-to's", most of which I was already aware of, and then we discussed the flu and H1N1 shot. I was on the fence about the flu shot, but opted to get it done that day, but am still not so thrilled about H1N1 since it hasn't been tested much yet. I've got some time to think about it still, as the vaccine doesn't even get distributed until mid-October.

The best part about Wednesday - Seeing the babies!
We weren't entirely sure if we'd have an ultrasound done at the first appointment, but we were thrilled when we were able to see them again. What we loved the most - they now have very distinguishable little heads!! So, so adorable. And, this time, we got to "see" their tiny hearts beating in their chests. I can't even describe that moment. It was awesome to see those little lives growing before our eyes. Just amazing.

Of course, we got some new pics to show off, though the ultrasound machine at this office isn't quite as fancy as the one at our last doctors - stink. And the pics, well, they don't even look as detailed as the screen did, but that's ok. You can definitely see those little heads!! I tear up every time I look at these. Thank you God!

Tweedle 1 - Measuring 21mm at 8w5d

Tweedle 2 - Measuring 20mm at 8w4d

He also said they were measuring right on target - one at 8w5d and one at 8w4d. I was put more at ease when he said the likelihood of a miscarriage is about 3% now. I almost didn't even want to write that in here, but I did because I have to keep reminding myself that each day is a milestone and one step closer to our babies!

One thing that surprised us though was when he said, "Did they talk about if they were identical or not?". Us: "Um... no." He said that even though they are in separate sacs, there is still a 5% chance they could be identical. Something about it has to do when they split, if they did in fact split, instead of two implanting separately. This site talks a bit more about it... I should ask when this scan will be! Sounds like that will tell us a bit more. Other than that though, we won't know more until 1) We find out the genders. If they are opposite sex, then we know they're not identical. 2) If they are the same gender, we won't know until either after their born!

7 Weeks, 5 Days and We Have Cribs!

What's New with Mommy...

Weight Gain to Date: 4 lbs! Who knows where this is all going...
Recent Cravings: Anything salty. Not really interested in desserts much these days.
Clothing: Pants beginning to get tight. Recently bought a couple sizes larger to "grow" into!
Symptoms: My lower back has really given me fits the last couple days. Still feeling queasy off and on throughout the day (no vomiting though) and am forced to eat about once every 1.5 hrs to keep the nausea at a minimum. Heartburn has been killer, but I'm trying to eat things to keep this at bay too. Still more tired than normal. I've been taking a nap at lunch and it generally takes me about an hour and a half every evening after work to get my second wind. When you factor in an earlier bedtime, my days seem so short!
Random Thought: I'm exciting about buying my first bottle of baby lotion, oddly enough! I can’t wait to give our babies their first bath!

You heard me right.
At just 7 weeks, we have already purchased the babies' cribs! Anyone who knows me would realize that’s not too terribly strange. I’m a planner by nature (thanks Mom!) and as much as infertility taught me to go with the flow, I can’t help myself every now and then. I had a perfectly good reason to do this one so soon though. Babies ‘R Us is/was running a Trade-In deal where if you take one out-of-date safety type item (car seat, bassinet, crib, etc) into their store to give up, they were giving 20% off any new item of certain brands. We ended up saving about $88 all together on two cribs that are pretty good quality. Not top-of-the-line (it’s nothing for one crib to cost $300!), but very nice still! Here's a pic of it...

No Time to Spare - Let the Bargain Hunting Begin!
We have also done more extensive math to figure out what these kiddos will cost us upfront - you know, all the gear they'll need. Let's just say that I'm up to around $2k (Wal-Mart prices and all), and that doesn't include clothing or any of the on-going monthly expenses. So, needless to say my bargain-hunter instincts are kicking in full force already. I figure we should get a start now, because come next spring, I will either be too pregnant and on bed rest, or the babies will come too soon before yard sales even arrive. Jay and I went to a couple yard sales this past Saturday and I bought a bunch of little onsies and sleeper sets for just .25 a piece. Not too shabby. Also, my Mom went to a resale shop and bought a couple handfuls of little boys shirts and stuff on the cheap too. At this point, I'm making an attempt to buy gender neutral stuff, if possible, but I'll take the sex-specific clothing too if it's too good to pass up. Worst case is that one of our babies will be wearing blue when she "should" be wearing pink, but I don't think she'll ever know, nor care :-) Yes, we will be finding out what we're having as soon as we can, so you can be sure I'll let everyone know that way we can start planning a little more specific.

Anyway, so far, I have done three loads of baby laundry but have no place for any of the stuff yet! We still need to decide which room will be the babies' room and then, of course, we need to buy/build storage of some sort. Still lots to do!

Also on the bargain front, we are going to two kids/baby resale events - one this week and one next. We're hoping to get larger things like the double stroller ($150 normally! gasp), pack-in-play, etc. at these sales. Of course we'll also be scoping out the smaller stuff, but don't worry, I'm confident we'll still have PLENTY of stuff to add to the baby registry when the time comes. I'll just have to keep track of what we have and what we'll still need.

Jumping the Gun?
Maybe. But, here's my theory. I'd rather do this stuff now while I can enjoy it and pace myself, vs. saving it all to the end. Who knows what the next several months will hold. Bed rest? Giving birth earlier than expected (hope not, but it's a possibility)? I just don't like the idea of feeling stressed out when I'm that far along. I say there's no time like the present to start preparing for our babies!

Books and Books Galore!
Yesterday I ordered about nine or so books from Amazon and Half.com. Everything from pregnancy with twins, to birthing, to tips on raising twins. We are not playing here people! There is a lot to learn in a VERY short time (yes, to me this is short considering all that I feel like I want to know). Realistically, we know you can't have everything figured out and expect for there to be no bumps when they arrive. However, I/we will feel MUCH more prepared by reading loads and loads of tips, what-to-expects and how-to's in advance so that we can develop somewhat of a Plan A, Plan B and of course Plan C. I'm sure what we'll actually end up doing will be a nice mixture of all three and some new stuff thrown in there too, compliments of baby(ies) demands. Boy this is going to be fun! ;-)

Let the Exercises Begin!
So, I didn't have the best exercise habits before getting pregnant (as in pretty much none existent as of late), but especially knowing I'm now carrying two babies, we thought it was VERY important we work on this. Sooner than later. So, Jay has really taken the reigns on this and found several pregnancy-friendly work-outs I can do and he is doing them with me. The *goal* is every other day until we can't do them anymore. I can only imagine what my back will feel like and how tired my arms will end up being once the babies come, so anything at all that I can do now, the better off I'll be. So far it's going great - it helps that I have one of the best coaches!

Two Tiny Heartbeats!

Today just couldn't get here soon enough - our second ultrasound and the day we were able to heartbeats for the very first time! I learned two amazing things today - the sound of two tiny heartbeats at just 6 weeks of age is a miracle in and of itself. To think our babies still have "tails", yet they are now helping to sustain their own very lives by this one little continuous beat puts me in complete awe. The other thing I learned is that while the road to our babies was difficult and full of uneasy moments, this pregnancy will be something that has an entirely new set of concerns.

Last night I woke to my uterus contracting and the site of a bit of blood. Talk about scary. This was the third time already during this pregnancy that has happened. Jay managed to calm me down and, since we already had an ultrasound scheduled for today, we just decided to wait it out and see our doctor had to say. Then, to my surprise, my Mom showed up at the appointment! I had e-mailed her that morning so that she could be praying because of what had transpired during the night, and she decided to just hop in her car and make the drive. She is awesome - it meant so much!

When I asked Dr. Ahlering about the sensation I felt, he said that, yes, they are actual contractions (crazy!) and are more common in multiple pregnancies and to not be surprised if they continue. He noted that the progesterone supplementation I am getting can also sometimes trigger these (which makes sense, since we did an injection last night). As he started the ultrasound, he noticed a bit of blood near one of the babies, inside my uterus and said that, most likely, was where the blood was coming from and to also not be surprised if I saw more over the next few weeks as that spot goes away. So, no cause for alarm, but I would MUCH prefer to not have this happen again.

On to the BEST part! Dr. Ahlering quickly located each of the babies, confirming all is well with size (8cm in fetal length, each baby measuring the same) of each baby. Then, he was able to call out each of the babies and their own little beat! Jay was amazed. He didn't think they would be able to do that at this point in time. And then we heard them. Each babies beat was anywhere from 125 bpm to 130 bpm - right on target for 6w6d of age. Praise God!



Here are the latest ultrasound pics of our little growing babies. Soon they will *look* like little people!

Here they both are!

Pose number two!

This is one of the babies.

And this is the other!

Our good friends, Chris & Donna, celebrated the occasion with us with these cute little gifts for the babies. The "2 Beats" illustration at the top was the tag on the gift bag. I just thought that was one of the best parts! Thanks so much!!

The first time I felt both of you!

We're nearly at the half-way point! Thursday is the big day when we get to hear your tiny little heartbeats for the very first time. We know that each one of these steps is a HUGE milestone in your growth and in you joining soon. While I have admittedly been a bit worried at times, today, I think you've given Mommy a sign.

This afternoon I felt pinching sensations near the bottom of my uterus (that's one of you!) and then, later in the evening, I felt another set of pinches towards the top (I just knew that was your sibling!). This was the first time I've felt a pinch towards the top - typically whomever is on the "bottom bunk" (as Dr. Ahlering put it during our first ultrasound), has been doing most of the squirming. These are sensations that I am thankful to have and I try my best to stay still and enjoy every moment.

We look forward to hearing your beats on Thursday little ones!

~ Love you ~
Mommy & Daddy

Double the blessing: It's Twins!!

I can hardly believe this as I'm writing it. Today, I am 5w4d and at our first ultrasound, while we were simply wanting to hear good news of one healthy baby, we were surprised with the news that there will be two, teenie tiny babies to add to our family next year! Yes, two!

Grandma Carla (or, Gram2, as she's already affectionately referring to herself!) was able to be there with us today and I wouldn't have changed it for the world! As Dr. Ahlering was identifying the gestational sac and yolk sac, he called out "two". My instant reaction was "Shut up! Are you serious" (Yes, I told the Dr. to shut up and I believe I have my long time fav show Friends to thank for that. :-). I was thinking, there is no way this is even possible! Jay was grinning from ear to ear and when I looked back at Mom she looked like a deer in headlights. :-) Today will be a day we'll never, ever forget!

The entire ride back to work I kept saying "Oh my goodness" over and over and Jay said my face was flush with color. Every time I looked over at Jay he had this HUGE grin on his face. I called him a "giddy schoolgirl" but I don't think he liked that term. Let's just say he was BEYOND happy. I can honestly say I don't think it came as much of a shock to him. He's been saying all along "It's babies, not baby." "I just know we're going to have twins."

I've been praying for whatever God had in store for us and knew that could mean two. I'll admit though, I kept telling myself there was no likely way we'd have more than one. Really, I mean us? It seemed like each embryo would take one good look around my body, quickly determine there was no possible way two could take up residence in there (It just seems like I'm not really built for this!) and decide which one would get to stay and which would have to go. Not that I wanted that at all, but it seemed the most logical really. :-) Turn's out God's logic is driven by completely different means and, as far as my body is concerned, where there is a will there is a way!

After making many, many celebratory calls to friends and family we wrapped up the day by trying to soak it in just a little bit more. Or at least I did. All I can think now is that the timing on preparation, planning and child-rearing eduction just got MUCH tighter! No time to waste while I'm able to move about and am not dealing with (knock on wood) tons of symptoms just yet.

Our next ultrasound is scheduled for next Thursday, September 10 at 10 am. We will be looking to hear/see the heartbeats at this appointment, as I will then be 6w6d along. Keep us in your prayers that our babies are growing strong and healthy, as this is a critical point in development which helps to further ensure these babies will be around for the long haul!