Big one, little one.

Our appointment on Wednesday went pretty well. Still no change in cervical length, so no complaints there. In fact, he said that at this point he sees no need to check it any further, which I'm totally not complaining about! Babies were moving around wonderfully, both head down (yes, she did flip after all) and turned inward, facing each other. Picturing this absolutely melts my heart! To think they might, from time to time, take turns looking at each other, touching faces and possibly even exchanging baby kisses :)

The only thing that leaves me wondering, and a bit concerned (even though the doctor isn't at this point), is their weights. Baby boy is HUGE. To set things up, the average singleton around 31 weeks is 3lbs 7oz and, with twins, they tend to favor being smaller, generally speaking, though I know this isn't always the case. Anyway, he is 4lbs 2oz!!!! That's about 2 weeks ahead of where he should be. Baby girl, however, is quite petite, weighing in at 2lbs 12oz. This just so happens to be 2 weeks behind schedule, the opposite of baby brother. How weird is that! Our high risk doc said that this does put her in the 21st percentile (20th is when they start looking into things and the 10th is when issues typically arise), but since they both have their own sacs and placentas and there is nothing alarming about actual measurements (like their belly measuring different than their femur, for instance), fluid levels look good and since we're not seeing this in the early 20s, week wise, he's not too concerned. He also added that ultrasounds are often off by 6oz or so either way, anyway.

Of course, I still worry to a degree. Like every parent, I suppose, I just want my babies to be healthy and I worry this could put her at a disadvantage if they were both born soon. Then again, I know weight isn't everything... and certainly God has taken care of us throughout this, so I have faith that he would protect her in this instance as well. In the meantime, I am adding back in Carnation drinks full of vitamins and extra calories to try and beef her up a little :)

On the way out that day, the woman at the desk setting our next appointments said, "Ok, we're going to do one for next week that will just be monitoring (looking for decelerations in the babies' heartbeats, which they do for most people around this time) and we're going to do an appointment the following week for another growth ultrasound and monitoring... sounds like he doesn't see any point in setting up anything further out...". We were like "Oh really, why's that?" To which she replied, "Oh, he didn't tell you? Well, you didn't hear it from me, but it sounds like he thinks you'll deliver around or before then."

At this point we burst into laughter. It's weird to hear someone put a date on it like that. She went on to comment that with the babies measuring different, and if baby girl is still behind, they may want to induce so that it gives her a better advantage at gaining weight outside of the womb. Then again, we may go in two weeks and things have caught back up and we continue on... as usual, there is no real way to know what lies ahead for us in these next several weeks, so we'll continue to go with the flow. On thing this does do is put a little extra motivation in our to-do list!

Here are a few belly pics from the past couple of months. It's so funny how much it's changed... right along with my now chubby face :) No matter. I love our babies!

Ignoring my embarrassingly dirty bathroom mirror...
this was during week 20, a few days before I went into the hospital.
I'd originally planned to send this to Jay who was out of town
at the time, but never got the chance.

Here I present you two seriously hot pics of me, taken at 26w4d. ;P
This was after coming off magnesium sulfate for the third time. I realized I
hadn't had a belly pic taken since I was admitted at 21 weeks and,
with being sent back to L&D, I wasn't sure how much longer I had at the time.

My most recent: Me and the babies at 30w6d :)

And today makes 26 weeks!

Not so long ago, this day seemed nearly unattainable. To have come this far is the best feeling ever right now. On days when I feel frustrated, I return to this. I relish in the fact that I can still feel our babies kicking and hiccuping away in the depths of my belly, ever thankful the beautiful picture of our growing family is coming into view once again. It alone keeps me going.

Speaking of the babies... several new things have taken place over these past few weeks that I don't want to loose sight of. Around the 22nd week, I began to feel both of them more often and their little kicks were more pronounced. As of today, lets just say I would describe their movements like little firecrackers! They are so obvious that you can easily see my stomach bouncing as they perform their baby gymnastics. I love to just lay there and imagine what all they might be doing in there. If you ask me, I think they should just wheel the ultrasound machine around to all the moms so we can watch our babies in action for 15 minutes or so. After all, they're what were working so hard for! Instead, I get weekly cervical checks (my big wheelchair outing, and the only time I ever get to escape my room) and get a peek of them as they're checking fluid levels and their heartbeats. I relish the moments when I catch a glimpse of tiny feet or hands and get to see their ever-changing facial features.

They do, however, doppler them twice a day in my room. Generally, baby boy is an easy find - sister has him pinned down low and to my right. Baby girl is an entirely different story. This girl is an escape artist! She knows the sound and feeling of that silly doppler and runs from it 90% of the time. On several occasions its taken the nurse upwards of 20 minutes to locate a beat long enough to count. They laugh because she kicks at it like crazy and today she turned her body completely over to try and throw them off; her little heart races out of frustration and movement. I lie there laughing, rolling my eyes and think about the possibility of us having a very strong-willed little girl on our hands... not that she'd be taking after anyone, or anything... ;-)

As you can probably imagine, my belly is getting noticeably larger by the day. I just love it when the nurses who I had a week prior look at me and say "You've definitely grown since I last saw you." I always say I'm trying my best to make two chubby babies! I just love pinchable baby cheeks. Hopefully soon I'll manage to get an updated pic or two worked in here.

Even though we're still keeping it secret until their big debut into this world, we have in fact, officially chosen names! We are both very excited and relieved. It's been fun to begin using them back and forth in conversation between the two of us. They feel just perfect really. Perfect for us and the little people we are so looking forward to meeting!

17 Weeks Tomorrow! Have I mentioned I love my new belly?

Because I do! Sure, the bigger it gets the more challenging things are becoming, but that's just part of it. I am too much in awe of the little lives that are at work here to focus on the aches and pains for too long. I bought my first official maternity pants a little over a week ago and, let me just say, those are heavenly. They are the next best thing to pajamas or nudity. :) They feel so much better on my tummy and are much easier than dealing with the belly band rolling up and down all the time.

In other belly news, I am getting not only growing in the front, but also out to the side (I laughed at the thought of possibly eventually looking like a moo cow!). I attempted to capture this in the pic below, but it's harder to see straight on than I originally thought, though you can see a hint of it on my left side in the pic.

And if you're not totally done with belly shots by this point, the one above is my newest side at 16 weeks and below is an updated slideshow with weeks 14 & 16 added. Life is good!

We can feel you babies!

I've not noticed you "kicking" yet, but for the past two weeks off and on, I have felt different spots in my uterus become balled up and firm... it must be your sweet little bodies curled up and rising to the surface. I love every second of it! Last night was the first time your daddy was able to feel you, too. I was laying in bed getting ready to call it a night when I felt one of you (Tweedle A)... I called him over and after several seconds he said he could feel you turn or move! Further proof you are growing bigger and bigger by the day.

I am quite proud of being able to show you off now!

Just look at how much you are making mommy's belly poke out!!

{16 weeks}

In just two short weeks we will go to the doctor to get an ultrasound to find out what each of your gender is! Daddy and I have been talking about names and have a few ideas we like that we keep coming back to. We've decided to keep your names secret for now and will surprise everyone with them the day you both are born! It is so exciting that you will share this occasion with each other for years and years to come.

God has created each of you with a mind and independence of your own, but has also given you a life-long friend and confidant to share lots of laughter and even troubles with. I pray that you will never take this for granted, treasure what he's given you and will always stick by each others' sides no matter what.

We love you forever!
Mommy & Daddy

Week 12: Approaching the 2nd Trimester!!

Tonight we are going to our first child birth/rearing class, entitled "Preparing for Life with Multiples". Geez, they makes it sound like a life changing event, or something ;-) I have a feeling this will be the best $60 we've ever spent... at least I'm hoping so. In total, we be taking five different classes between now and the end of January. Between these, the holidays and finishing prepping the house for the babies, we should be quite busy. I just hope the weather cooperates so that we can get them all in!

Last night I got cute, but convenient "mom haircut". You know... like mom jeans, only not so embarrassing. :P Yes, I got it chopped, which isn't odd for me. I've had my hair cut short many times, but I usually wait until spring or summer to get it this short. Not this time. Since my hair is so thick it is a pain to maintain. Blow drying takes me a good 15 minutes or so, which frankly tires me out getting ready right now. Plus, I figure the more short the cut, the easier it will be to wash and dry and not mess with too much. Realistically, I don't see how I'll be able to devote tons of time to something like that once the babies arrive. A trade-off I am more than happy to comply with!

Belly Update: Over the weekend I noticed that my lower stomach has really taken off. This belly is actually starting to look more like a pregnant one and less and less of a "I don't get off the couch" one. I've updated the slideshow if you'd like to take a peek. Also over the weekend, I experienced my first official belly rub. My mom just couldn't resist! As she was "petting" it I said, now I do hope you realize your really rubbing two McDonald cheeseburgers and fries, not so much babies at this point. Either way I don't think she cared. The idea that she now had something more tangible was enough for her. :-)

Saturday marks the start of the second trimester - 13 Weeks! It hardly seems real that it's been that long already. I have seen the ultrasounds, have felt them and yet I still am amazed that I am carrying and growing two beautiful babies in MY belly. Mine. Just amazing! It may sound corny, but I get so much enjoyment from pausing and envisioning them floating around in there side-by-side, moving their little arms and legs. Even more neat to think about is the idea that they will soon be interacting with each other. I stumbled on a site which says "...Ultrasound experts have reported seeing twins hitting each other, while others have seen twins playing together, gently awakening one another, playing cheek-to-cheek, and and even kissing!!"

Belly Pics!

Well, here you have it. Pics at 6 weeks, 8 weeks & 10 weeks! Grow belly grow :-)