26 week bump

excuse how i look here... I spent the entire 80+ humid degree day scrubbing the house
How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1-2
Maternity clothes? got my tankini this week - and a bunch of new shirts.
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Last night was ROUGH. I must've had acid reflux and choked on it in my sleep - i stumbled out of bed (ouchy on the knees) hacking and gasping on acid... ran over to the sink to spit it out, started brushing my teeth and the taste of the acid over-took me and I threw up everything from earlier that day... multiple times (it was 2 am... that food would've been digested and gone if I wasn't pregnant)
Movement: seems to be stronger. Occasionally if I haven't felt anything for awhile... I make sure to thank them for kicking me. Baby A (lower baby?) seems to be more active when I'm working and with patients. Baby B (upper baby?) is very active in the evening.
Food cravings: cheesy popcorn
Foods aversions: anything that adds to the reflux
Gender: LOVE my two little girls
Labor Signs: nothing new
Preggo PITA symptom: I get full so FAST now and then start with the reflux... I can't get enough in! Wondering when I'm gonna have to switch to protein/calorie drinks
Mood: Had a bunch of tearful moments this week, but otherwise pretty good. I got the entire house cleaned today (windows, floors, dusting, everything!)
Arthritis severity: overall 2. Had another angry trigger the other day, but nothing I couldn't work around
What I miss: eating whatever I want! I thought pregnancy was the time to indulge! I can't fit anything in there!!!
Fundal height: 34 cm
BP this week: 116/66 and 128/78
Milestones: getting bigger and stronger... next goal is 28 weeks
Other:
No news on the glucose test - must've passed :o) thank goodness

Talked to the specialist's nurse about my 24 hour urine. My kidneys ARE working harder... which she said we should expect, but my results are NOT critical and we should expect to do our next test around 31-32 weeks. I really like hearing explanations like that better than "it was normal"

Mark started painting the babies' room today - pink :) it looks GREAT

25 week bump

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 21 pounds... actually having trouble gaining (!!!)
Maternity clothes? need more shirts... running out of options. And my scrub top is definately getting tighter
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Mark installed the bedroom A/C last night - I slept FANTASTICALLY well! (I'm up every 1-3 hours to pee... but no problems falling back asleep) Something I haven't noted is how bad my snoring must be (per mark)... I have to wear breathe-right strips to bed every night (with relief though)
Movement: last night mark and I got to watch them do the "wave" across my belly. I was also able to feel limb movement by carefully pressing on my upper mid-belly... I know this sounds dumb, but its becoming more and more real - THERE'S an actual BABY (x2) in there!!!! Movement seems to be located most near the left and upper/mid belly. they rarely spend time in my right lower belly... I believe they (still) both share my upper left belly (where my stomach is)... I'm getting full quicker, feeling nauseated if I eat too much, and having problems with severe reflux of stomach contents. (hmmmm... WONDER WHY?!)
Food cravings: garlic... mmmmm(garlic flavored bread, garlic butter, garlic noodles...)
Foods aversions: adding chipotle burritos to the previous list... caused severe... very uncomfortable reflux and heartburn for about 8 hours after eating it
Gender: 2 princesses
Labor Signs: nothing new
Preggo PITA symptom: heartburn, reflux, and exhaustion (same... learning to deal)
Mood: improved from last week. I cried in the OB's office on Wednesday because she said I only grew 1 cm in the last 4 weeks (I measured when I got home - completely wrong. my fundus is very deep and hard to measure) I got upset with Mark on Friday about something and then felt so guilty about it I spend an hour crying... finally just decided to go to bed at 8 because I knew my mood wasn't going to improve without sleep. It worked. The effectiveness of sleep on my mood has been INCREDIBLE - what the heck am i gonna do when they get here?!
Arthritis severity: Last night my knees were circling an 8 or 9... getting up off the couch/toilet was painful enough that I tried to avoid it when possible. Back to a 3 today. Hands have been pretty good - thank GOD!
What I miss: Today - nothing. Although a lot of my blogging has been complaining about my symptoms and such, I LOVE being pregnant. I LOVE knowing that I have two precious beautiful little girls coming to join us. I LOVE having them so close to me and with me all the time. I couldn't be anymore overjoyed with the blessings God has given us
Fundal height: doc estimates 27 (rolls eyes at OB... if it was that short than baby B isn't even in my uterus... she's in my intestines... there's no way she can kick that high!) According to my measurements, I'm around 33 - again the top of my uterus is deep and hard to measure unless I'm having a contraction
BP this week: 122/80
Milestones: another week bigger and stronger. My babies better be sharing in there! (I talk to God about this frequently in my prayers... "please let my babies share their nutrients and grow equally"

Other:
Did my glucose tolerance test this week... results pending! (cross your fingers!)

Finishing my 2nd trimester 24-hour urine today.

Shower invites are out. Much of the registry is put together and people are buying stuff!!! (trying hard not to lurk too much). I also wanna note how much FUN we've had picking out EVERYTHING for these babies.

Cribs are here! I cried yesterday when we picked them up. This is seriously getting to be sooo real!

Mark is currently working on removing the Gawd-awful wallpaper border from their room and hopefully we'll start priming today (and by "we"... probably just him... unless he lets me help). My current jobs are laundry and working on the transformation of my prior "exercise room" into the new office.

Bailey and her babies

It's funny, when I lay down, my belly will relax as you can see here, but when I'm standing it's hard as a rock... thought this pic was cute

24 week bump

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: still lingering around 20 pounds gained (there... I told the truth)
Maternity clothes? I noticed one of my maternity shirts creeping up... and easily exposes the belly (WTH!)... I hope I don't have to switch to a larger size that my shoulders SWIM in...
Stretch marks? nopers!
Sleep: good sleep this week, need MORE. I'm finding that sleeping with a fluffy pillow between my legs has been supporting my hips and decreases pain. Mark offered to buy me one of those ridiculously expensive maternity pillows yesterday. I declined... those things are huge! I may have to kick him out of bed if we get one...
Movement: I'm starting to notice my belly move when they do... :)
Food cravings: nothing new
Foods aversions: I've cut out ketchup which has helped the heartburn
Gender: GIRL x2
Labor Signs: a better week than last week with braxton hicks
Preggo PITA symptom: heartburn, reflux, and exhaustion
Mood: very moody this week. 1) Snapped at a co-worker, then immediately started crying because I knew what I got upset with her about was STUPID. 2) A patient yelling at me (about something that was completely NOT my fault) made me start bawling. 3) After a serious error was made (can't really go into detail) I flipped out at the person calling to report it. Actually, I don't even wanna blame pregnancy on my reaction on that one... that error SHOULD NOT have been made. period. (my mom suggested I take monday off to get more rest and hopefully re-set my stress level. My boss was very sweet about it and tomorrow is REST day)
Arthritis severity: knees are at a 5. standing up and climbing stairs are pretty uncomfortable (I missed a dose of my arthritis med)
What I miss: KETCHUP!
Fundal height: ??? taller!
BP this week: 120/70
Milestones: finally a "real" milestone - 24 weeks = viability! Our babies have a 50% chance of survival if born today. (still keepin em cookin!)

23 week bump

(please excuse how terrible I look... I didn't feel well)
How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I gained 4 pounds as of last monday... and 0 today (I'm thrilled with 2# per week)
Maternity clothes? Yay for Becky's hand-me-downs. Still can wear many of my hoodies and XL t-shirts, but they are getting tighter (see pic above...)
Stretch marks? no belly marks!
Sleep: good days and bad days. Had bad hip pain over the weekend. I couldn't get my right hip to crack/pop back into place. Heartburn kept me up one night. My biggest complaint is that there's never enough TIME to get as much sleep as I'd like in...
Movement: getting stronger!!! Doesn't wake me up or anything like that. Mark has been able to feel even more. You can tell he loves feeling his babies!
Food cravings: ice cream with peanut butter sauce is a huge hit. I bought 3 small sundaes this week (at once)... but haven't finished them yet
Foods aversions: tomato sauce. not because I don't like it... but because it BURNS SO BAD
Gender: two little GIRLS :)
Labor Signs: braxton hicks/hard belly was bad enough this week to call the OB. They told me not to worry unless contractions were timable (they were not), every 10-15 minutes, or if there was bleeding or leakage. Still had me pretty worried, but I just chugged fluids and rested as much as I could
Preggo PITA symptom: OH the HEARTBURN is BACK!!! Nauseating at times... ugh! Also, I have started my FOURTH cold sore this pregnancy... didn't even realize that's what they were until now. Thank God they rest in the corner of my mouth so you can't see them...
Mood: Pretty GOOD this week! :)
Arthritis severity: the hip pain was bad that one night (7)... overall... 2
What I miss: not worrying about money (eh, who am i kidding... we always worry about money!)
Fundal height: ??? taller!
BP this week: 119/69

Milestones: cribs are picked! not yet bought, but they are picked... pics to follow!!

Mother's Day! 2010

Today is my "1st" mother's day or pre-mother's day... I guess you could already consider me a mother. I am always worried and concerned about my babies, their safety and well-being... and I am SOOOOOOOO in love with them!!!

So I am excited that today is mother's day and all, but I truly didn't expect to get a gift from Mark (or my children) today... but I did (and he did really well... made me cry) A beautiful precious moments figuring to add to my collection







Surprise! His mother/step-dad also got me a present for mother's day (which also made me cry)... actually anyone who wished me a "happy mother's day" made me cry... including the clerk at babies r us. Here is the figurine they got me:



and the beautiful card:

Visiting Mason/Preparing for mother's day

Today I went over to visit Becky and Joe and their family including 3 week old baby Mason. OMG is he adorable!!! It was soooooo fantastic to get to hold a new baby. I know that sounds dumb... but the last time I did that, my nephew Ricky (who is now 5? 6? is long gone in my mind...) They asked me to burp him, and I looked like a giant moron... YES, I know how to burp a child, but apparantly am too gentle (and was seriously scared to dislodge one of his tiny little bones or eyeballs by hitting him too hard...) (sorry no pictures...)

Becky also gave me a giant BOX of her maternity clothes and I am soooooooooo ever greatful to her for generosity in sharing with me! I remember how much I hated hand-me-downs as a kid... who knew how much I would ADORE them as an adult!!!

Today I also spent the day preparing gifts for Mark's and my mother for mother's day... I figured I could give them pictures of their new granddaughters in a nice frame, but ended up having way more fun dressing up the frames... and even made one for the girls for their room (that matches their new bedding... still need to add the matching bow, but you'll get the point)


For Grandma L. (my mom)


For Granny S. (his mom)


For the girls' room

ultrasound!

Today we had our 22 week 4 day growth scan...
Again... babies look fantastic (love my girls - and yes... confirmed again. girls!)
Cervix is closed and 3.7 cm

Baby A


SIZE: 1 lb. 3 oz - 43% on the growth curve. (showing to be RIGHT ON on the twins growth expectancy chart for 23 weeks)
HEARTBEAT: 150.
POSITION: Baby A is lying cephalic (head down and on my left)

Baby B


SIZE: 1 lb. 5 oz - 50% on the growth curve (showing to be 1 week ahead on my chart!)
HEARTBEAT: 149
POSITION: upper transverse. She is lying across my upper belly... head on the upper right

Baby A's butt is in Baby B's face... nice going ladies
In the first picture above... you can see the other baby's spine in the background - pretty sweet!

22 weeks bump

How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Steady gain, but I don't feel like I'm growing. Starting to worry me actually... but the babies are kicking harder and more frequently, so maybe they are growing and I'm not
Maternity clothes? Mostly... I can still fit in XL tshirts, but I only have a few of those to work with. I haven't worn all my "work" business casual shirts yet... I still think they just make me look like a fat chick with a belly, not pregnant
Stretch marks? nope :)
Sleep: When I AM asleep its good... no problems at all. But I've been drinking tons of water throughout the night because it's getting warmer out... so I'm up every 1-1/2 hours to pee. I'm so lucky I fall back asleep so easily
Movement: !!! Lots. Nothing uncomfortable. They are just sweet little nudgers... and they are all over the place. If I ever get worried they aren't moving enough, it only take a few minutes for me to get nudged again. So much LESS of a worried momma here
Food cravings: still really rocking the cheese :) (I'm gonna miss the amount of cheese I can eat when I'm not pregnant anymore... ugh WEIGHT WATCHERS)
Foods aversions: chocolate. cinnamon. but ice cream is officially off the list! (had it twice this week)
Gender: two little GIRLS :)
Labor Signs: Well, whatever I have called "braxton hicks" (BH) before was perhaps just growing pains, because I felt something much stronger (but still not painful, and still ALL belly HARDNESS) Friday and Saturday nights. Made me wanna sit down. Friday's hardness was EVENTUALLY relieved with gallons of water (it was hot friday, I didn't drink enough water... and ate tons of salty foods - MUHR). I spent every hour of Friday night drinking a glass per hour, peeing, then waking up the next hour to do it again. I never want that to happen again. Trying to be proactive from now on... and hoping not to see any cervical changes on my U/S on Friday. Then will know they were BHs or yet again... growing pains (hopefully not really labor progression)
Preggo PITA symptom: heartburn is a lot better this week! I wonder if taking TUMS on the first sign of discomfort has helped it get less out of control... also stopped eating in the middle of the night which helped IMMENSELY. I had a couple episodes of nausea this week, but they didn't last long
Mood: kinda down this week. Lots of tears, but one very supportive, good listening husband. It's just that there is so much to do, so little time and Mark's bathroom project is taking forever (it's going to look fantastic and he's doing a beautiful, PERFECT job on it... but after 3 trips to lowe's in one day and yet another forgotten part, I burst into tears on Thursday - claiming we'd never have anything ready for these babies.
Arthritis severity: 2. not bad!
What I miss: I really could've enjoyed a rum & diet this week on my tearful day to help me relax. I would NEVER do that... but it still sounded really good.
Fundal height: ?
BP this week: 120/70

Milestones: Mark felt a kick on Friday evening!!!
I bought our first toys for the babies at a mom's resale at St. Joes. Great deals and it made me so happy to finally have some more baby-related items in our home. They're coming this summer... whether we are ready or not. This helped my mood a little bit too