One week!

Five weeks is a really long time for this infertile turned pregnant mama. Thankfully, the growing and firming belly serves as a nice reminder that my body is changing because there are a couple of tiny babes in there growing more and more everyday.

One week from today we will FINALLY get to see our babies again. Only seven more sleeps. The wait is killing me! Add to that the possibility of maybe finding out who these babies are, and I am SO ready.

PS. Just in case I forget by next week, last night I needed... like NEEDED sour patch kids and potato salad at about 8pm for second dinner. I'm thankful that I'm finally finding my appetite, but could I crave anything more unhealthy? I guess I'll just be thankful it wasn't something fried :)

14 weeks

How Far Along: 14 weeks 

How Big are the Babies? The size of lemons.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 3lbs. post retrieval. No change from last week.

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing maternity more and more. The belly is growing, and because we aren't completely out of the pregnancy closet yet, I'm still hiding the baby bump in some groups. 

Gender: I can't wait to find out!! I'm crossing my fingers that we can tell at 15 weeks. At most we are six weeks away from finding out!

Movement: I've felt a weird feeling a few times.. I'm still not convinced its the babies. 

Sleep: Sleep is great when I'm able to stay asleep :)

Belly button in or out? In, but it is starting to feel pretty weird.

What I miss: Pizza without heartburn!

Milestones: I'm in the second trimester... it feels SO good!

Food Cravings:  Fruit and veggies. 

Aversions: Still just eggs. I managed to eat a hard boiled egg over the weekend, then I attempted it again and it was a MAJOR fail. I guess I'm not ready for them yet!

Symptoms: Pretty much the same... nausea if I let myself get too hungry, back pain, fatigue, headaches, constipation, sore nipples, a healthy dose of heartburn, and hunger in the night. 

Best Moment this week: Letting a few more people in on our secret.  Listening to my grandmother tell me about all the twins in our family- I didn't burst her bubble and tell her these babies had nothing to do with genetics. I just let her have her moment. 

Funny Moment: Walking into a friends house and having her 18 month old daughter say... 'Hi W and W, Hi babies!' 
Tip of the Week: Just keep eating. Skip the pizza... no matter how good it sounds!

What I'm looking forward to: the next ultrasound-- A week and a day... it is FINALLY getting close!

I've Arrived!!!

They say at 13 weeks 3 days you've reached the end of the first trimester... which means TODAY at 13w4d I'm officially in the second trimester!!!! I am so incredibly happy to be here- especially with very few and very minor complications along the way. I'm celebrating the accomplishment by going to my first baby shower as a pregnant mama :) Something tells me this one will be A LOT easier than any of those that I've attended in the last 3.5 years.

It is so surreal to be here.. I guess it might be time to let the world know about these babies that are getting big in my belly and flipping our world upside down!

Baby Stuff...

We're finally feeling confident enough in this pregnancy to start buying things for the babies as we see things we love. Daddy would buy everything under the moon if it was up to him, I'm still reining him in a bit until we know the sex of the babies because his choices don't tend to be gender neutral. While we were on vacation we bought a couple of boyish out fits, a couple of neutral gowns and two Christmas bibs and Halloween bibs that were on crazy clearance. The previous week I bought a couple of muslin swaddling blankets that seem to be all the rage with new mamas and before that I found a diaper bag at a big discount. It is so weird to start seeing a pile of baby things in their room. Now, if we could just get the rest of our stuff out of that room and start thinking about the bigger baby items. I can't wait to go into that room and see two cribs for the babes in my belly :)

13 weeks

How Far Along: 13 weeks one day

How Big are the Babies? The size of peaches.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 3lbs. post retrieval. Woah. Though I lost 8lbs early on, I've now gained 5 of them back. However, we just got back from vacationing for the last 5 days so I'm wondering if this may change as I get back into my normal routine. Either way, it is for a great cause and I don't mind the weight gain, I was just super surprised when I stepped on the scale this morning. 

Maternity Clothes: I have several maternity tops and a few pairs of pants. I still haven't worn several of them, but I'm sure it isn't too far off. 

Gender: I can't wait to find out!! I'm crossing my fingers that we can tell at 15 weeks. 

Movement: I've felt a weird feeling a few times.. I'm still not convinced its the babes. 

Sleep: Sleep is great when I'm able to stay asleep :)

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing! I'm in awe of my body everyday!

Milestones: The belly is growing and I'm almost out of the 1st tri... HOORAY!!

Food Cravings:  Fruit and veggies. 

Aversions: Still just eggs.

Symptoms: Pretty much the same... nausea if I let myself get too hungry, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, constipation, sore nipples, a healthy dose of heartburn after eating pretty much anything and the newest is hunger in the night. 

Best Moment this week: The growing belly and having lunch with E and baby Alexis!!

Funny Moment: The crying has GOT.TO.STOP!
Tip of the Week: Have a snack with you at all times- and keep drinking the dang water!!!

What I'm looking forward to: the next ultrasound-- TWO MORE WEEKS!

This and That...

The insomnia may kill me.

I woke up at 2:30 on Thursday morning. Once I was up and had gone to the bathroom I realized that I was starving. Eating some peanut butter crackers and drinking a big glass of water solved that problem, but it didn't solve the sleeping issue. I was wide awake for 2 whole hours. Lame. The only positive about the wake up was putting my hand on my belly when I woke up and realizing that HOLY CRAP it seemed huge and really firm.

I can feel the firmness of my uterus all the way up to just below my belly button... at 12.5 weeks. I'm nearly positive I am going to be some kind of freak show by the end of the summer. And I can't wait :)

Growth is happening in other places beyond my belly too... I'm going to need to look into some new bras in the very near future.

Hubs is hilarious about not wanting me to do things. I love it- he is so protective of me and these two little babes of ours.

I'm trying to make sure I eat frequently, but if I don't, it is very obvious when it is time to get some more food in this body of mine.

I love life without progesterone suppositories!

I love all of the changes that are happening with my body, and I'm in awe constantly of everything that is happening.

Most importantly.... 19 days until we get to see our babies again!!

12 Weeks

How Far Along: 12 weeks

How Big are the Babies? The size of plums.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down about 6 pounds. It appears I may be finally gaining some weight back. I still doubt I'll gain the 3-4lbs in the first trimester that all the books talk about, but I'm ok with that. 

Maternity Clothes: I'm starting to build a maternity wardrobe. For the most part I don't NEED it yet, but I haven't seen a ton of things that I love, so I'm slowly picking up things as I find them. 

Gender: I can't wait to find out!! I'm crossing my fingers that we can tell at 15 weeks. 

Movement: I felt a weird swishing feeling yesterday while I was laying on the couch- it could have been a gas bubble but it just felt different. 

Sleep: I sleep great most of the time, but I've been waking up REALLY early in the morning and having a hard time going back to sleep which usually lead to an annoying morning headache.  

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing! I'm in awe of my body everyday!

Milestones: So happy to be 12 weeks, and even more happy to be off all hormone supplements! That me no more PROGESTERONE!!! I'm down to just my thyroid medication, prenatal and DHA capsule. 

Food Cravings:  Nothing significant- fruit mostly.

Aversions: Still just eggs.

Symptoms: Pretty much the same... nausea if I let myself get too hungry, fatigue, dizziness, constipation, sore nipples, a healthy dose of heartburn after eating pretty much anything and the newest is hunger in the night. 

Best Moment this week: Buying new furniture for our living room- time to get a few things done before these babies get here!

Funny Moment: Crying at EVERYTHING. Have you seen the new-ish pampers commercial? wow.
Tip of the Week: Keep drinking that dang water- I am horrible at this!

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling my belly grow more and more. And, I'm counting down the days until our next ultrasound... THREE.MORE.WEEKS.

Haha!!

You guys were cracking me up yesterday as I was laying on the couch nursing a nasty headache! Don't worry, we aren't buying anything just yet, especially anything big. We ARE however researching and choosing exactly what we want so when we are ready... closer to 20 weeks, we can just pick up the things we're already set on.
From what I've read from other twin mamas, things start getting kind of uncomfortable around 24 weeks and lots of twin pregnancies see some level of bed rest sometime in the final 12 weeks. Hence, the research and early-ish shopping.

At this point, I'm even more confused than before about what kind of chair to get. I think I'm officially putting the idea of a glider to rest, that just doesn't seem feasible if indeed I'm able to tandem (please for sanity sake let it work!!!). I've read a few things about not wanting something that rocks when you have two babies precariously attached to your nipples on some big pillow- makes sense. But, a big comfy recliner seems like a grand idea if they are going to be up a million times per night nursing. I am assuming I'll do a lot of the daytime nursing on our bed or the couch, but after Hubs goes back to work it will be ideal to be somewhere other than our bedroom at night.

Also, did I tell you that I went to the bookstore to look for a twin pregnancy book? Yeah- nothing that wasn't published at least ten years ago. Everything I looked at seemed a little irrelevant. One of them spent about half the book talking about who has twins and how they happen. While I'm sure that is interesting (at least somewhat) to someone who has spontaneous twins, I know EXACTLY how these babies were made and I'm way more interested in knowing what I should expect over the next several weeks. I did buy one book, but it is more about the first year.... Holy overwhelming! So, if you have a twin pregnancy book recommendation I'm all ears!

Calling all Mamas....

I know it is early, but we are looking at doing our baby shopping in spurts. Knowing that the bigger ticket items will not be purchased for us as shower gifts, we're considering getting a head start on some of them in the next couple of months.

The items we are thinking about right now are the cribs and the chair for the nursery. I have a feeling the average glider may not be ideal as I'm *hoping* to tandem nurse and those gliders just don't seem wide enough for one mama, two babies and a giant nursing pillow... am I right? What do you suggest? Where is your favorite place to nurse your babies? Will I want something that rocks, or is an over stuffed chair a better option? A rocking recliner?

Also, I've been looking at nursing pillows and it seems the overwhelming majority prefer the twin 'My Breast Friend'. Nearly every review I've read says it is worth every penny that was spent on it. Anyone?

11 weeks

How Far Along: 11 weeks

How Big are the Babies? The size of a small lime.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down about 7 pounds. It looks like I've gained a pound this week. Maybe because I've been off the metformin or maybe it was all that yummy Superbowl food :)

Maternity Clothes: When I wear pants other than sweats, they are almost always maternity jeans. My regular jeans still work on occasion, but they get pretty uncomfortable if I eat much. 

Gender: I cannot wait to find out!

Movement: I'm so excited to feel them!

Sleep: I'm still tired, but the exhaustion seems to be letting up a little. I'm also starting to sleep better at night.

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing! I'm in awe of my body everyday!

Milestones: First freak out. There was just a little spotting at 10w3d, but nothing since. 

Food Cravings:  I can't think of anything specific, but I'd do just about anything for a REALLY good doughnut!

Aversions: Still just eggs.

Symptoms: Still the same... nausea if I let myself get too hungry, fatigue, dizziness, constipation, sore nipples and a healthy dose of heartburn after eating pretty much anything.

Best Moment this week: My first OB appointment and getting a quick blurry look at the babes.

Funny Moment: I can't think of anything this week!
Tip of the Week: Don't forget to eat and drink A LOT of water!

What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward watching and feeling these babies grow more and more. And, I'm counting down the days until our next ultrasound... FOUR.MORE.WEEKS.

All is well...

Thanks for all of the encouraging words after my last post about the spotting. After a little more rational thought and analysis of the situation I am feeling pretty good about everything. Here's the deal- and possibly a little over sharing....

We all know about the less than glamorous side effects of pregnancy. Read: constipation. On Friday things were not moving, lets just say things did finally move but it was difficult. I'm guessing that may have been part of the spotting incident later in the evening. Today prunes have been added to my diet in an attempt to remedy this situation!

There hasn't been another single spot of blood since 8am Saturday morning, not even on the endometrin applicator. Everything is fine. After looking through the paper work that I got from my OB last week my mind was put even more at ease. I was scheduled to reduce my endometrin dose on Saturday to a single dose, but after the spotting and knowing it might be tricky to get in to see my doctor over the weekend if there was an issue, I decided not to. Now that it is Monday and I've been without issue for over 48 hours I decided to reduce my dose today. I'm feeling super confident that everything will be fine- and it is an added bonus to know that the nursing staff and my OB are just a phone call away if there is anymore spotting.

11 weeks tomorrow :)

Ten but not eleven...

So, last week in my 10 week update I said something about making it to ten weeks without any complications.... I will not be making the same claim on Tuesday in my 11 week update.

Friday night when I went to the bathroom to do my PM dose of endometrin, I found some brownish blood on my panty liner. I.freaked.out. Hysterical crying began within seconds and after a swipe with the TP, I saw more brown blood. I sobbed for about 10 minutes before I pulled myself together and looked at the situation as the informed infertile that I am, instead of the emotional one.

First, it was brown. There was not any hint of red, or even pink. After wiping multiple times, it was over. When I finally had it together enough to do my endometrin, there was very little brown blood on the applicator.
Second, we knew there was a third sac in there. It was very hard to see because of its placement in relation to baby B, and the assumption was that it was a fluid filled sac and may bleed.
Third, we're already doing everything we can to ensure these babes are delivered healthy- worrying will get us nowhere. Wow, was that a rational thought? Amazing.

The only decision I made friday night was to continue taking 2 doses of endometrin per day. As of Friday, I was supposed to taper down to just a PM dose. After the blood, I decided to keep on with two doses over the weekend and call my OB on Monday to see what she thought.

I was up multiple times in the night to go to the bathroom and didn't see a speck of brown blood on any if the 3 trips to the bathroom. When I woke up for the day I did see a little more brown CM when I wiped, but absolutely nothing since then.

I am hoping and praying that was the first and the last of it...

First OB Appointment...

I had my first appointment this morning with our OB. Everything went really well and I'll be sad to leave them when we transfer to a larger office in the group in order to deliver at a hospital with a NICU. Our doctor said we could deliver at the smaller local hospital, but she said it was absolutely not an issue to transfer and she completely understood why we would want to do so with twins.

I asked all my questions, got every answer I was looking for, did a urine sample, had some blood drawn and the best part was the quick ultrasound to see our little babes. It was the first abdominal ultrasound I've had since becoming pregnant and it was super blurry, but perfect just the same. I saw each of their blurry little bodies with a little flicker of a beating heart in each. She said they both looked great and scheduled me for an appointment and ultrasound in 5 weeks at 15w1d. I'm already anxious to see them again... 5 weeks seems SO FAR AWAY!

So, the countdown begins. 5 wholes weeks.