21 weeks, 5 days...as big as 30 weeks...

I had my appointment on Tuesday (sorry for the delay in updating the blog!) and all is still going well. My BP was completely normal (110/68), and my charting of BP over the two weeks was normal, so I don't have to be seen again for 3 weeks. Unless of course it starts to creep up over the next week, then I'm to call and change my appt to two weeks. Hoping all stays on track. I gained four pounds in the two weeks, according to their scale, but I'm not sure that's accurate. It's fine if it is, but I don't think it was since I weigh myself every day at home, and was closer to just over 2 pounds gained. But the doc said sometimes it can be water and timing, so nothing to worry about...unless I show up with higher gains at each visit. It's not that it was totally high (and I'm at a total of 14 pounds gained) but at this stage, I should be closer to 1 pound a week, maybe 1 1/2, not 2. Although, looking at my pics, I still cannot believe it's only so little. Looks like a heck of a lot more has been put on. I measured at 30 weeks for a normal single pregnancy...and I'm just now 22. I'm a bit (ok...a LOT) scared of how big I'm going to actually get! I accidentally pushed Allan off a step in the garage because my belly was bigger than I realized and I didn't stop before it smacked his head and down the step he went...laughing, thankfully!











The twins are still on track and doing well. Baby A measured 21w6d, weighs an estimated 1 pound, and had a heart rate of 138. Baby B measured 22w2d, weighs an estimated 1 pound, 2 ounces and had a heart rate of 140. I'm really starting to feel them move a lot lately. Started after my last post, and really only on one side. But within the last couple of days I'm feeling them all the time and from every which way! Only a few of the movements can be felt outside yet, but one shot was a big one and my belly totally moved like an alien! I love this part of pregnancy!!!



This is hard to tell, but it's a face with his arm up and hand in front of him. He had been waving to me.



This is a 3D shot I think of the same pose. So hard to know.



And this one looks like we could have a thumb sucker on our hands!


We are still putting the nursery together. After the score of the one crib, we realize they don't match. Well, they match enough that we're not giving in to buying another one, but they're different enough to be noticeable (which had me in tears...darn hormones!). We did misplace the hardware from Allan's crib, so we had to purchase screws for it from the company, which was a bit nerve wracking since they don't make this crib anymore! Nothing's ever really just easy for us, is it?! It's frustrating not to have it work out the way I pictured it perfectly in my head, but as a good friend pointed out, the boys certainly aren't going to care, and if that's the worst of my problems, we are doing pretty darn good!



This is a shot from the hallway looking through the bedroom door as you'd walk into the room.



This is looking to the left of the cribs. The only place the glider will be able to go so it can be reclined.



This is taken from the corner by the closet looking to the bathroom and into Allan's bedroom.



And this is another shot of the two cribs, showing they're definitely similar, but different in size, and different in where the mattresses will be placed in each crib.

Hopefully my next blog entry will show the new decor and bedding and it will all come together!

There's not much else to report. We all had colds this last week, but appear to be over them now. The outside temps are crazy hot these days. Today and tomorrow are in the high 90's, maybe even hitting 100, but with the heat index, it puts today at 106 and tomorrow at 110! Who the heck scheduled the timing of this pregnancy?! It's almost too much for me just to walk to the mailbox in this stifling mess! Allan and I are hoping to meet up with friends tomorrow at a park...I don't know how long I'll make it, but we'll try it out! I've been told it's a great shady park with a breeze from the river, so hopefully that'll hold true tomorrow! Otherwise, I've been trying to keep Allan busy with indoor activities. We've been to Chuck E Cheese's, Chick Fil A (a fast food place with great indoor playareas), and O2B Kids (a great indoor place we can spend the entire day!). It's been good and cool and keeps him busy, however I have a feeling that's why we caught the summer cold, too!

Assuming all continues to hold steady with my BP this week, my next appointment isn't until Aug 19th, so until then, take care, keep cool and stay well!

19 weeks, 5 days...all is still going (mostly) well

The babies are doing great! At 19 weeks, 5 days, both boys measured 20 weeks, 2 days. Baby A had a heart rate of 138, and baby B's was 141.



The above photo is Baby A's profile with his hands folded in front of his face like he's praying.



The above photo is Baby B's face looking straight at camera with his hand up by his mouth. Poor thing seems a bit more squished than his brother!


I have gained another 4 pounds (in 3 weeks) for a total of 10 pounds so far...already more than I gained the whole pregnancy with Allan! (I won't be posting photos of me this time, but hopefully will have another profile belly shot of me for the next update!) It appears my blood pressure is going to make a scene again. When I got there, the first reading was 143/84. When they retook it before I left it was 132/88. Darn it. So, I'm now under orders to take it twice a day at home and to call them if it reaches high 140's or mid 90's.

My appointments are now being changed to every two weeks instead of three so it can be monitored a little more closely already. I'm hoping it was just my nerves (and the morning traffic!) that made today's pressure rise, but we went through this with Allan, so I'm assuming we'll be monitoring it closely for the duration of the pregnancy. Fingers crossed and prayers said it doesn't turn into anything more serious.

My doctor made up for some of the points he lost last week. We had a good talk and he answered all my outstanding questions. He apologized for the last visit when he was so late and so rushed and not in a great mood. So, he's back on the top of my list!

Allan is a joy through all this. I'm so excited to see the big brother he'll be! He rubs the side of my belly and tells me he's rubbing Baby A, then he moves to the other side and tells me he's now rubbing Baby B. He also always kisses my belly twice, but not just two kisses in the same spot, he kisses each side. I am sure having him at some ultrasounds has made it easier for him to understand there are two brothers in there, and they're in different spots. Allan still talks of all the things he'll teach his brothers, too, like talking and walking and laughing and playing. It's just so sweet. Then I watch Allan jumping from the couch and I think to myself of ALL the things he'll really teach them! Goodness...we're gonna have our hands full with three boys!

Tom is traveling again. He was gone last week, home over the weekend, and gone again this week. He was a busy, busy man over the last two weekends, though, and we've (read that as HE'S)nearly finished the nursery painting and woodwork! He applied a bead board style wainscoting that goes up about 6 feet on all the walls. The wainscoting will stay white and the upper 4 feet of wall is a sage-y green.










I was able to score a spanking deal on a crib that matches Allan's, so we didn't have to buy two new cribs! I also purchased the bedding for both cribs, which is turning into a safari or zoo type theme. One bedding set has a giraffe and the other an elephant. I love that they are not the exact same sets, but coordinate really nicely! Once the room is finished with cribs in place, I'll post pics for you all to see what we've done. I wish everyone could just come see for yourself, but since most of you are thousands of miles away, I won't hold my breath!

My next appointment (and therefore next update) is scheduled for Wednesday, July 28th.

Yep...still boys!

Let me start by saying I apologize for not posting sooner! We've had a very busy day today and I just couldn't get on to do it till now! Let me also apologize in advance for no pictures. I got pictures from the appointment today, but no really good ones, just measurements of craniums and femurs. Even the money shots today were more like monopoly money than true currency, so I just am not going to take the time to scan and post them. Hopefully the doc will have more time to play next time and we can get some good profile full body shots for everyone to enjoy!

OK. Enough apologizing. Today's appointment was good in the sense the babies and I are doing well, but it was a long day in the office. I had to bring Allan with me, since I scheduled on a Wed and he's home! Of course it was a later appointment (11:15), too, and they were backed up...REALLY backed up. I was called in to the nurses station for weight/BP/Urine at 12:05, and then sent back to the waiting room! Finally called into the exam room at 12:30, but the doc didn't get in until around 12:50! Seriously! Thank goodness I love this doc and it wasn't my first visit...'cause if it had been, I might be looking for another doctor! But, as I said, I love him, and hopefully next time will be easier. I scheduled on a Tues (no Allan) and at 8:45, so too early to be THAT backed up!

Both babies are STILL boys :) For anyone hoping for a different outcome today than originally posted...get over it...we're having two more boys and that's that! Both heart rates were beeping (Allan's term) at rates of 141. Baby A measured 17 weeks, 5 days and baby B measured 17 weeks, 3 days (I am 16 weeks, 6 days today). My BP was normal (enough) at 123/80 and I'd gained 4 pounds in the three weeks, so I'm up 6 pounds so far. My doc did say I should be gaining roughly 1 to 2 pounds per week, so I feel great that I'm doing just that! We want these boys to grow, grow, grow so they can arrive at great weights!

Allan was excited to see the babies again today, too. He did so well waiting so long! I only had one toy with me, and a baggie of cheese it's, which thankfully he shared! :) It was probably the bribe of ice cream on the way home that did it, but really, even I was about to lose my cool after that long in a waiting room!

Allan does say he's having two brothers now, but usually follows that with "but I don't know what we're going to call them". He loves the babies so far and loves to rub my belly (especially in public...thanks for that!) and kiss it twice! He really is very cute about it all. I love my big boy oh so much!

I guess next on our agenda is naming these children. And we've got to get serious about the nursery, too...and strollers, car seats, cribs, oh my...so much to do!

My next appointment is the morning of July 13th. I will be just shy of 20 weeks then. Crazy how quickly time seems to be passing! Hopefully I'll have great news then and great pictures to share as well! OH...I forgot...I got a special request for a picture of me. Well, it's my belly she wants to see. So, Peggy, here you go! I'm 17 weeks tomorrow...good Lord...how big will I get?!?! :)

Boys, boys everywhere!

I know I said my next appointment wasn't for three weeks, and it's not. However I had a sneak peak ultrasound done yesterday and we're as certain as possible it's two BOYS!!! I think my heart is holding on to a slightest possibility one will actually be a girl, but as we saw, and you can hopefully see from the pics below...we're having two boys!

So many of my friends were guessing two girls all along. Tom was guessing two girls, too. I was thinking one of each. Only one of my friends actually said she thought two boys, so if this had been a money funded bet, she'd have taken the pot!

The visit was just a friendly ultrasound, so there's not much to report. But both babies looks good and healthy and were moving and playing and being stubborn. Allan even got to hold the probe and move it on my belly and see the babies for himself! How excited he was for that!

Here are the pictures of our two baby boys!

Boring is good

Another uneventful doctor appointment means things are normal...there's that word again! Normal!!

I am 14 weeks along today and all is...yep...normal! I gained 2 pounds since my last OB appointment 3 weeks ago: normal. My blood pressure was 112/72: normal. My results from the first trimester screening I had done last week: better than normal. (Apparently normal risk is 1 in 300 for my age, IVF, twins, etc. My evaluated risk assessment-ultrasound measurements and blood work-came back as 1 in 3500 for one disorder and 1 in 6700 for the other two.)

Baby A measured 14 weeks 5 days today with a heart rate of 154. Baby B measured 14 weeks 3 days with a heart rate of 162 (this one was moving around like crazy this morning!). What do these numbers all mean? That's right, people: NORMAL!









There was a problem with the ultrasound machine and the photos got all jammed, so she quickly took a few extras for me to take with me. In doing so, though, she forgot to change the baby's info on the machine so the handwritten info is correct for the two face pictures!

It was a lot of fun watching them moving around today. They both just look so much like babies now! We even had a great view of Baby B's fingers and yep...they're all there!

Oh, how I wanted to know the genders today, but no such luck. Baby A was almost showing the goods, but it's just so early. Baby B barely sat still for a heart rate, no chance of seeing anything down there! My next appointment is on 6/23, so I should be able to get a better shot and have some answers!

I have to go have some more blood work done before my next appointment. One test is for the spina bifoda screening. The other is the follow up Fifth Disease test. So far I've had no symptoms so I'm just going to assume I'm in the clear and either didn't catch it from Allan...or Allan didn't have it! Who knows!

Speaking of Allan, he is FOUR YEARS OLD NOW!!! His birthday was on Saturday and we celebrated with bunches of his friends at an indoor inflatable slide party place! So much fun was had by everyone! The day after his birthday, Tom took him out and about. One stop they made was Toys R Us and Allan, out of the blue on the way there, said he thought the babies might like a toy. Oh, that boy melts my heart so often! I sure hope these happy loving feelings for the babies continues after they're born!!


Here he is after coming down a slide.


Here he is with his inflatable crown in the inflatable throne! King for a day for sure!

Gosh, three weeks until my next doctor appointment. I might go crazy not being able to get a glimpse of them for so long! I've seen them nearly every week, so three weeks is a long time for an impatient person to wait! Hope you'll all be patient with me, as I won't be updating again till after the next doc visit!

I had my first appointment with the ROC (Regional Obstetrics Consultants) today and was once again told everything looks normal! YAY! That word is the one word I hope to hear! There's not much to report, since it'll take about 2 weeks to get the final results from today's screening. They explained to me again why I'm at a higher risk for many challenges and complications, but also said that many in my position (age, multiple miscarriages, twins) go full term with no problems. I'm certainly hoping to fall into that category!

Both babies are doing well. They measured exactly the same (13 weeks 2 days, HR 155). I am 12 weeks 6 days, so they're both still measuring ahead, which is good...fine...normal. Baby B was much more cooperative than Baby A, so I'm going to see if that holds true throughout the pregnancy...then throughout life!

Here are the pictures taken today. They're really starting to look like babies now, aren't they?! It was still too early to even hazard a guess at gender, but hopefully soon! You know us...we're dying to find out!


















Tom's out of the country again, so I've added all the pics so he can be a part of this, just like the rest of you...from afar! He's due home late Friday night. I'm so not used to him traveling so much anymore! It's taken it's toll on both Allan and me, but we are hanging in there. We are both extremely excited he'll be home for Allan's birthday and party on Saturday! I just hope he'll be able to have fun and participate. He's in Australia, so the 14 hour time difference and 28 hours of traveling to get home in time may hinder him a bit the next day for a bunch of toddler/preschoolers jumping and bouncing!

I'm scheduled to go back to the ROC in four weeks. I will see my OB next week, though, so I'm sure I'll update again then!

I think I’ll start with Allan this time. Poor thing’s already being ignored and the babies aren’t even anywhere near being here yet! Last week, Allan went to our final RE appointment with us. The nurses all love him so much, they made me promise to bring him instead of planning the appt while he was in school. I am so glad we did!

Allan got to see the babies in the ultrasound and was pretty thrilled with it. He especially likes telling people one of the babies is upside down in his bubble! I think seeing the ultrasound made it all real for him. He talks about the babies, about holding them, and about how he loves them and how he will teach them to laugh. When he hugs me, he makes me stand up tall so he can “feel the babies hugging him”, too. Allan also talks about holding one of the babies and I can hold the other one. When Tom asked which he could hold, Allan told Tom “Dad, there’s only two of them!” This child completely melts my heart on so many occasions!

My blood work from the Fifth Disease workup came back no exposure, now or previously. This is good news for now, but means I will need another test in a few weeks. Basically the best result would have been if I had been previously exposed, having antibodies in my blood, since that would mean I couldn’t get it again. Because it’s completely negative (which, by the way, is the FIRST time the nurse reading the results had ever seen that!) I could technically still catch it! Nothing is ever just easy with me, is it?! But, it’s good I don’t have it currently, so hopefully it just all stays that way!

My OB appointment went well today. As the first appointment, I met with the doctor first, had an ultrasound with him, then I met with a nurse for the initial patient history and pregnancy overview. It was a looooong day at the doctor!

The babies are doing just as well as they have been! I am 11 weeks along today. Baby A measured 11 weeks 4 days with a heart rate of 180 at first, then remeasured at 168 (she was moving all around!). Baby B measured 11 weeks 1 day with a heart rate of 162. Here are their pictures!








My next appointment with my OB isn’t for three weeks, scheduled for June 3rd. I have an appointment on May 26th with the local High Risk Clinic. My doctor is a high risk doctor, but there is a clinic in town that has all the great equipment for all sorts of high risk patients. I may see them along with my doctor throughout the pregnancy. I am high risk for various reasons (elderly maternal age(!), twin pregnancy, previous miscarriages).

I learned from my appointment today I will definitely be having another c-section. He said they would be ok with a VBAC (vaginal delivery after cesarean) if it were a singleton pregnancy, but with multiples, they do not do VBACs, period. So, c-section it is. Dr Chafin said we shoot for 36 weeks and hope for even longer as a bonus. Many twin pregnancies make it to full term, and many don’t. So, we just keep on going with each day and hoping for as long a gestation as we can get. He did say no long distance travel, no work (or excess mother’s work!) beginning at week 28. He said most complications will show during or after week 28, so no need to exert anything extra. A pregnant mother carrying twins at 28 weeks is roughly the size of a full term mother carrying a single baby. So, after that, the body typically just needs more energy to sustain a longer pregnancy, so he doesn’t want me using energy on window washing (he said it…but I don’t do that anyway! LOL!)

I received TONS of information from the nurse! I walked out of the office with two bags full of things. One had different samples of prenatal vitamins (yay for samples!!!) and the other had a bag full of magazines, sample diapers, coupons, hospital information, etc. Lots of reading for me to do! I also got a cute little pregnancy calendar/journal to document all the info from appointments, as well as jot down my questions to ask at my appointments. I love free things! Here's pics of the tons of info...see...not lying...tons!






I have been feeling well. Still some mild heartburn, but nothing Tums isn’t taking care of and I need the extra calcium now anyway! I’ve been extremely tired lately, but even that seems to be getting a little better. This week was tough on exhaustion because I was playing single parent while Tom was out of the country the last ten days. I’m looking forward to his arrival home tonight, that’s for sure! My Mother’s Day present is a two night stay in a hotel…alone…no Tom…no Allan! I plan to read, nap, shop, nap, sleep, did I mention undisturbed reading and napping?! I’m just going to St Augustine and plan to hit the outlet mall there. They have a Motherhood Maternity store and I’m looking for a few more items. I have my clothes from Allan’s pregnancy, but I’m already using them…EEK! 11 weeks and can’t button my pants!

I think that’s all I have to fill you in on this week! Thanks to everyone for your kind words and notes! I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog and hope I can continue to keep it up!