Ultrasound

Roy, Lily and I went to the 16-week ultrasound yesterday afternoon.  Baby A (on my left) cooperated nicely and the tech let us know that Baby A is a HE!   Lily was still holding out for Baby B (on my right) to be a girl, and this one didn't cooperate so well.  Baby B's legs were facing my back at first. The ultrasound tech really moved the wand around a lot to prod Baby B to move. Finally Baby B moved enough to show HIS little boy part!  So we are having two boys!  Lily wasn't exactly thrilled, but she's getting used to the idea of being the only Diva/Princess in the house.  I'm the queen, of course. 

Coming up on 16-week ultrasound!

Our 16-week ultrasound is tomorrow afternoon and Lily gets to come along.  Aaron is really weirded out by the alien babies, so he's staying home.  Maybe he'll come around once we get some more pictures. 


I suppose it's too much to ask what genders these babies are (too early), but I want to know so bad!  I'm going to at least ask the ultrasound tech for her best guesses. For some reason I would really like a boy and a girl.  I suppose it's my OCD tendencies, as my sister would say.

I've felt some tiny kicking here and there, mostly when laying down quietly. More on my right side than my left. I have noticed quite a bit of squirming. One side of my belly gets tight, like maybe a head or a tushie sticking up?!  So weird knowing there's two babies in there.  


I'm hoping to keep working until at least October 16th, my 10-year anniversary with TFS. Then I'll have a lot more paid leave time if I need it for bedrest and maternity leave.  Really, my job is not stressful and I'm sitting on my booty all day.  Barring no complications, I should be able to work for a good long while yet. Please God?!


I've had more energy now that I'm in my 2nd trimester. I actually loaded the dishwasher last night - wow, Roy was impressed.  Roy and Aaron have been working on cleaning out the basement to make space for Aaron's new room.  I'd love to just throw everything out, but my hoarder tendencies get in the way.  We plan to set up a downstairs nursery area in the dining room while the babies are little, especially since I'm having a c-section again.  Stairs = Ouch. A c-section is definitely planned, no other option for me.  I'm fine with that, really!  I just won't make the mistake of trying to sleep on a regular bed in the hospital like I did when Lily was born - that was too much too soon.  


TMI ALERT..........
I've been reading up on nursing twins at the same time.  Maribeth U. has been very helpful with my questions!  Hopefully we can get breastfeeding established with both of the babies without too much trouble. We have a deep-freeze lined up for pumped milk, extra food, etc. 


I mentioned to my sister that we were thinking about making our own baby food with a food processor, and she said, "Yeah, right!"  So maybe that won't happen, we'll see.  
I admitted to Roy that I've been "milking it" sometimes, so he's been pointing it out now and then.  We were at Sam's and I wanted to get a 24 pack of pop, and I looked at him expectantly like, "Are you going to get that for me?" and he called me on it. "What would you do if I wasn't here?!"  Ok, I'd pick it up no problemo. Got me.  


I've bought some maternity clothes, and some loaners from friends and my sister. I should be set for awhile!  I outgrew my regular clothes in no time, plus it was depressing to wear the bigger clothes I'd just slimmed down from (I'd lost 25 lbs with Weight Watchers before the pregnancy).  I bought the new maternity clothes in the next bigger size, so hopefully they'll fit all the way to the end.  37 weeks will be December 13th. Will we make it that far?  I hope so, only God knows. We keep praying for healthy babies, healthy momma, and no bedrest!  I'm looking forward to being home and cozy with the babies during the cold winter, at least the 8 weeks of maternity leave I'm planning on. 


Well, this is long, and I'll post more tomorrow after our 2-hour ultrasound and appointment.  Good thing I have Thursday afternoons off!  

Weird Dreams

I've had some of the weirdest dreams EVER.  Mostly too creepy to talk about, much less the odd people included.  If I look at you weird, you were probably in one of them.  Sorry. 
Roy knows it's been a bad dream if I wake him up to hold me.  I've had to start sleeping on my side.  Too much belly to sleep on my back or stomach anymore.  I went to the chiropractor today, and it was so nice to lay down on my stomach!  The table folds down to make room for my tummy.  Ahhhh...drool.

Eating for Three

I've learned from books and other twin moms to eat PROTEIN and lots of it!  At first, I tried eating a lot of meat, which my body just isn't used to processing.  I felt awful on Monday.  I posted a status about it on Facebook and got tons of unsolicited advice - okaaaaay!
Those protein shakes are really good, and I've been drinking chocolate milk and paying attention to balanced snacks that have protein - apples and peanut butter, bananas and cheese.  Honey Nut Cheerios and Milk has a ton of protein too. So far I've avoided the pregnancy curse of constipation - lots of fruit!!  TMI. TMI. I know. 
I seem to be craving Culver's a lot, both the food and lemon ice coolers with raspberries.  Cottage cheese has sounded good off an on too. I've been avoiding tomato-based foods and sauces because I get an icky tummy, but the only food that I can't stand has been popcorn.  Weird. 

BOGO! (13 weeks)

When we thought we were having one baby, we had already decided on the name Cameron for a boy, and Camryn for a girl.  Since we need to think of more names, I suggested "BOGO" (Buy One Get One)" or "Bo" until we know their genders!  I am a dork, but Roy loves me that way.

On Sunday at church, we got to talk to the head pastor and his wife.  They also had "just one more baby" and ended up with twins - 4 kids total!  She said she just cried and cried when they found out about their twins.  Roy and I just laughed - I keep saying, "God must know what he's doing, because we don't!"  We had everything planned out for 1 more baby, and boom! - here's TWO.  We had already ordered a RAV4 with a 3rd row seat, thinking that would be plenty of room for a carseat and everyone else.  Now we're not sure, but we'll make it work.  I see a minivan in our future though - sigh. 

Sunday night Roy took me out on a date.  We went to Granite City and I chowed on Idaho Nachos so much that I couldn't eat any of my chicken wrap.  It made a nice lunch on Tuesday though.  We finally got to talk about logistics of TWO babies.  We had already planned to build a non-conforming room in the basement for Aaron, so the babies will share Aaron's old room.  We're going to Freecycle the dining room table and chairs, and make a downstairs mini nursery area, especially since I'll be having a c-section again. Stairs are not a good thing after a c-section, trust me. Unfortunately the only bathroom is upstairs, but it'll work. 

We have very good friends that have 1 year olds and want to give us their baby stuff.  Once the dining room is cleared out, we'll have a place to put stuff so we can figure out what we'll still need.  Sarah told me we won't need two of everything, really, especially the big stuff. 

I've had no energy to do anything.  I can fall asleep in 5 seconds flat.  Since I'm 13 weeks now, I hope to get some energy back soon.  I've been eating practically non-stop I swear!  Our friends down the street gave me some yummy protein shake mix to try. I had one this morning mixed with chocolate milk and it was SO good.  I'm going to try one with fruit later.  Food tastes SO good or SO bad. I can't stand popcorn, even the smell of it.  Somebody at work had made microwave popcorn at 8 A.M. the other day.  Yuck!

It's Sinking In....

It's been a week since we found out about the twins on the way, and the news is sinking in. We usually say "babies" now, instead of "baby".  We found a book about Twins, Triplets, and Quads that is pretty helpful about nutrition, although fairly extreme about eating meat.  I've had some advice from friends/family about how to add protein to my diet without just eating meat all the time.  My belly is definitely growing!  I read that I'll measure about 6-8 weeks ahead of a singleton pregnancy, so I look about 20 weeks prego now.  I was kind of wondering why I was showing already (before the ultrasound).  It helps to know it's because of two babies!  

I spent most of Friday getting nothing done at work.  I showed the twins' ultrasound picture to anyone that walked by, plus some people at lunch, on break, etc.  I couldn't shut up!!  I think the more I told people, the more it sunk in for me. 

On Saturday we went to a wedding, and I could still wear my empire waist dress - good!  I told one of the wedding guests we were having twins - a complete stranger!  I am a dork. 

The reception was outside, and it was a very humid day, so I didn't last long in the heat.  We came home and relaxed in the air conditioning for awhile.  Ahhhh.....

Ultrasound Surprise - TWINS!!!

These past few days have been very interesting.  On Thursday afternoon we found out we are having TWINS!  At our 11-week visit with Dr Olson, we decided to have a screening for Down's Syndrome, which includes a blood draw and an early ultrasound, between 10-13 weeks.  Down's is not likely at aLl, but we would want to know to prepare if that was even a possibility.  Since I was 12 weeks, 4 days on Thursday, it was perfect timing. I told Roy he didn't need to come with me, because it would be quick and it's too early to find out the gender anyway.  Was I wrong about now having him there!  I laid down on the bed and the ultrasound tech barely got started when she said something like, "Looks like two babies here."  WHAT?!  All I could do was grin with a "deer in the headlights" look on my face, I'm sure.  I asked her how she could tell so fast and she told me "18 years of experience". Okaaaay.  She just said it bluntly, but I suppose people would react in all kinds of ways to that kind of news.  
The twins (!) are looking great.  One measured 12 weeks, 4 days, and the other measured 12 weeks, 5 days, so our timeline was right on.  Their neck measurements (the reason for the ultrasound) looked normal.  They'll do another measurement in a few weeks to compare. The twins each have their own placenta, so likely they are fraternal.  
We'll have an ultrasound every 4 weeks now - next one at 16 weeks might be too early to determine their genders, we'll probably need to wait until I'm 20 weeks for that info.  
After the ultrasound, the tech let Dr Olson know about the twins, and she made room at the end of her day to see me for a quick chat.  She greeted me, "Hi there Fertile Myrtle!"  Love her!  She knew we were planning on just 1 more baby, so she wanted to make sure I was okay with the news.  I was still stunned, but goofy happy about it.  She told me to gain about 10 extra pounds, and to eat lots of meat/protein to keep my iron up.  And drink lots of water. 


I was at the office for close to 2 hours!  Roy and the kids had gone swimming with some friends, and I was going to meet them after my appointment, since I wasn't planning on a long visit.  I called my sister on my way to the car and told her about the twins. She said, "You're lying! No way!"  I had to convince her, telling her exactly what the ultrasound tech said.  It must have been the same tech they had - told them about their twins the same way - BLUNTLY.


I wanted to tell Roy in person, but Mom's office is very close to the doctor's office, so I called to see if she wanted to see the ultrasound pictures.  She reluctantly agreed - "how much can you tell from those anyway?".  Dad was picking her up that day, so he was already in the parking lot waiting for Mom.  I got in the van and didn't say a word about TWO babies. I handed him the pictures of Baby A, which he said looked like David (what?!), then I showed him Baby B.  He caught on that they said "Baby B?  What's that?"  I said, "There's two!" and Dad said, "Well, outstanding!" and chuckled.  Then I showed him the pictures of the babies together. 
Mom came out and I showed the pictures to her the same way - Baby A, then Baby B.  She asked me why the pictures were flip-flopped, "Do they take an ultrasound from your back now too?"  "Nope, there's two babies!"  "WHAT?!!!"  Her boss Jo came out and I showed them the pictures of both babies.  


I'M STILL ROYALLY STUNNED AT THIS POINT.  Roy and the kids were wondering where I was, so I headed home to change into my swimsuit, since I didn't let on about anything.  I just couldn't text or call him about TWINS!!!
When I was almost to the beach, I asked Roy to come to the parking lot and help me carry stuff - I wanted to catch him alone to tell him.  He was waiting for me, so I showed him the pictures.  He had his sunglasses on, so I couldn't see his eyes, but his mouth was hanging open!  He accused me of using my sister's ultrasound pictures of her twins!  I showed him my name on the pictures - definitely our babies!!  He just started smiling and chuckling, again with the deer in the headlights look on his face.  
Our friend Beth and her kids were also at the beach, so I showed her the pictures of the twins together.  It took her a little bit to catch on, then she couldn't believe it!!  She laughed because we'll have more kids than them now!
We called Aaron and Lillian over and told them about TWO BABIES!  They both took it in stride, grinning and surprised like us. 
My sister and her twins came out to the beach too, mostly to see how we were taking the news.  Everyone was about done swimming, so we went to grill some burgers and brats near a playground area for the kids. 
We spent the evening just looking at each other with glazed looks on our faces, in shock!  My sister got a big kick out of us, since she'd been through that whole experience herself.  Gee, thanks!
After she left, she texted our brother Jared to be sure to call me back.  He was surprised, that's for sure!  I told them to be careful, as the odds for twins in our family seems to have suddenly changed.  Uncle Jared was happy for us. 
Roy took uploaded a pic of the TWINS!!!!!!!!!!! ultrasound pic to Facebook, and soon the whole world knew!