We know!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was our BIG ultrasound.  Wes and I were so anxious all day long to find out what the babies are.  He has to take a half day for our appointments because he is not allowed to leave early so he went home at noon to let Milo out and do a few things around the house.  He met me in my classroom at 2:45 and we rode together.  I was told that I needed to drink 16 oz. of fluids before I got there so on the way there I chugged 20 0z. of water and a little 6 oz. bottle of Sunny D (I was hoping that the sugar would keep the babies moving).  When we got into the appointment at 3:15 I had to pee so bad and the nurse said that actually I don't need to drink the fluids and that I could go to the bathroom.  There was a short line for the restroom and so after about 5 or so minutes I came back to the room and Wes was like "What took you so long, I'm dying in here?".  The tech and I both  laughed - he was soooooo excited.  

We did find out the sexes of the babies but it took some prodding. Baby A was very revealing and didn't make us wait, but Baby B on the other hand was very shy.  The tech had to push on my belly about 4 different times to get the baby's legs to move so we could see what we came for.  I was 18 weeks and 5 days yesterday and the babies were measuring 19 weeks, 3 days and 19 weeks, 1 day - so we are a little ahead of schedule.  Both babies are doing wonderfully and everything looks just like it should.  The ultrasound took a half hour to do and laying on my back for that long does not work.  For the last 5-10 minutes of the ultrasound I started to get very hot and feel dizzy.  I couldn't completely hear what the ultrasound tech was saying but I didn't want her to stop because one of the babies was being very shy and it took longer to see the "goods".  I wasn't leaving without knowing so I didn't say anything about my feeling of a dizziness.  When we were finally finished and she had me sit up I told her how I was feeling.  She said that the weight of the babies was pushing on a major vein or artery (or something) and the blood flow to my head was cut.  I am no longer allowed to have the ultrasounds done on my back.  I will have to lay on my side.  

After the ultrasound we had an appointment with the doctor.  She said again that I am doing just fine and that my weight gain (which I am estimating to be 15 pounds) is just where it needs to be.  She measured my belly for the first time and said that it is measuring what a 26 week belly would be with one baby.  No wonder my skin feels stretched......those ladies had an additional 7 weeks to let their skin stretch slowly.  Needless to say I look very pregnant.  I am writing this post at school and do not have the capabilities to put pictures up here so I will have to add those in another post so that you can see me and the most recent u/s pictures.

When the appointment was over, Wes and I went shopping.  We actually went CRAZY buying all kinds of clothes.  It was so much fun.  We went to Kohl's, Old Navy, Babies 'R Us, Baby Gap and Children's Place.  It was so fun to go home and spread it all out.   We also picked out our furniture at Babies 'R Us.  The carpet is being installed in the room this weekend and we are ordering our furniture this weekend, as well.  We already got our glider - thanks to a certain generous someone.  So, the room should be finished in the next few weeks - minus the bedding since we registered for that.  I cannot wait and will post pictures when we are done.  Ok, this got very long so I will wrap it up now.  

Movement

I finally felt the babies yesterday!!!!!! We had a teacher in-service day and we were listening to a speaker all morning.  He was very interesting but I was not comfortable in the auditorium seat so I kept crossing and uncrossing my legs and repositioning myself.  When I put my legs out in front of me and stretched really big one of the babies responded by kicking me a little below my belly button.  It was such a cool feeling and it was much harder than I would have thought at first because I was told it is more like a flutter when they first start.  It didn't hurt but I was absolutely sure of what it was.  I was so glad because I had been dying to feel them move.  Then last night while I was doing my grade cards and watching the Buckeyes game with Wes I kept feeling tapping in different spots in my belly.  So I'm pretty sure that it was both of them because it was happening on opposite sides of my belly.  I can't wait for Wes to be able to feel it too!!!!!!!

I will be 17 weeks on Thursday and I am happy to say that I am feeling fantastic.  The headaches are gone and my sciatic nerve pain has even diminished.  The body pillow my mother-in-law got me for Christmas is very helpful, but I am not super comfortable when I sleep.  I think before long I will be sleeping on the couch so that I can lay elevated on my back.  This sleeping on my side thing is not working out for me.  My arm that I am laying on gets all cramped up.  Before I was pregnant I always slept on my stomach or back, and so this is very foreign to me.

We got the nursery all painted over break and we are having the room measured for the new carpet tonight.  Once that is laid in about a week we will be ordering the furniture.  I am so excited because it looks really nice.  I do realize that I am ahead of the game with this but I wanted to be sure that it was done before I am unable to help.  Plus, my shower is March 21st and I wanted the room put together before that point so that I can bring the stuff home and put it away.  I will post pictures of the room when we get the carpet and furniture.  We painted the walls a dark sage green and carpet is a tannish friese (shag).  The furniture is cherry.  Can't wait to see the finished product!!!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Yesterday Wes and I went to our monthly check-up and all is going well. It was just a quick how are you doing kind of appointment and answering a few of our questions. We got to hear their heartbeats again and she checked my belly. I have been gaining some weight as well. I think that I have gained about 10 pounds so far, although their scales confuse me. I don't have a scale at home so I just go with what they tell me. I do know that I gained 3 pounds since my last appointment less than two weeks ago. I have no issues with gaining weight and the doctor said that I am doing just fine. She will let me know if I haven't gained enough or if I've gained too much. I just love that the more that I'm growing, the more the babies are growing. I still haven't felt them moving yet and I cannot wait for that day. It should be any time now I would think. It happens sooner with multiples since they have less room to move around and I will be 15 weeks tomorrow so we will see. We scheduled our next appointment (January 20th) and if the babies are cooperating that day we will get to find out what they are!!!!!!

The questions that we asked about were mostly about delivery. I asked how many times she's delivered both twins naturally or if I needed to start getting used to the thought of a C-Section. She said that she will definitely let me try vaginally if both babies are head down but that probably I should start to prepare myself for a C-Section. I also asked if I am going to have a C-Section would it be scheduled. She said that we try to schedule it but with twins they generally don't make it to the scheduled date, as they cannot predict when I will go into labor. I just really don't want an emergency c-section or another doctor performing it. I want our doctor who knows me and my babies well. I guess we will see what happens but I'm hoping for the best.

Finally, my sister said that I really need to post more pictures on here. I haven't taken many of myself that I would want to share but I promise to start doing so. My mom, my sister and I are going to register at Babies 'R Us on Saturday and maybe I will take some then. Until then here is a picture of Ashley and I before attending the TranSiberian Orchestra concert at the Palace on Sunday night for my mom's surprise birthday. I am 14 weeks and Ashley is 21 weeks.

Hello Heartburn

I'm approaching my 14th week and pregnancy has decided to grace me with some heartburn. It is the strangest feeling. I've never had it before I was pregnant and it feels weird. To me it feels more like esophagus burn. It is above my heart and it just feels like I put icy hot on throat. Strange, but not unbearable.

I am continuing to get headaches. They are not constant anymore but now the really sharp stinging painful ones come on often and I have no warning. They make my eyes water and I can't even really keep them open. It happens at school and I just have to turn away from the kids or step in the hallway. It happened while I was driving home from work today and I almost pulled over because I'm sure it is not very safe to be driving that way but just as I was about to pull over it subsided. I could really do without those that is for sure. I'm hoping that the hormones are leveling out and they will lessen up. I'm also planning to get a massage and see if aligning my back won't help a little bit. That also is very achy. All in all though this pregnancy is going wonderfully. I can't really complain. This is everything I wanted and I'm so glad that I can say that I am a happy pregnant person and everyday my body amazes me with all that it is doing.

We go back to the doctor next Monday and I'll hear the heartbeats again. Our BIG appointment will be scheduled next Monday but it will be sometime in January. I CANNOT wait to find out what concoction of kids we will have! :) My friend, Kelly, told me that the first dream about the babies that you have when you are pregnant will tell you what you are having. That happened last week and it was so amazing!!!!!! They were so perfect and it was one of each so we will have to see! The only weird thing was the girl was 8 lb. 12 oz. and the boy was 5 lb. 12 oz., so they were very different. Of course that won't happen but it seemed so real in my dream. After Christmas it will just be a few more weeks and we will know! Can you tell I'm excited?!?!?!?!?!

Scary days

Yesterday and today have been pretty scary for us.  Yesterday morning I woke up to some spotting.  I hadn't had any of that up to this point and I was feeling really relieved that I wasn't going to have to stress about that.  I was frantic and very upset.  I called the emergency number for my doctor's office and the doctor on call said I needed to call the office as soon as they open and that they will need to do an ultrasound.  Wes and I got subs for the morning and I got ready.  I was out of my mind nervous the whole time thinking I was going to lose one or both of the babies.  The office opened at 8:00.  They wanted me in at 9:00 and they did the ultrasound right away.  As soon as they came on the screen I started crying.  The babies were both completely fine and I could hear their hearts beating away.  One of the babies heart rates was even stronger than last week.  I cannot describe the relief that we felt.  After the ultrasound I saw the nurse and the doctor.  They had to give me a shot of RhoGamm because I am RH negative and so anytime there is bleeding during pregnancy I will need this.  It will make sure that my body doesn't build antibodies to future babies since my children are more than likely all RH positive like Wes.  The doctor said that bleeding during pregnancy is very common.  She said that while she can't tell me why I was bleeding for sure, she can tell me that everything is completely fine.  

The bleeding had stopped and I was relieved.  However, again this morning when I woke up I was spotting again.  I wasn't so nervous because I had just seen the babies yesterday and they were fine.  I called the office when it opened and the nurse said that I may have it for the next few days because of the vaginal ultrasound they had done yesterday.  Again the spotting stopped and I am calmer.  I just wish there was no bleeding whatsoever.  Our next appointment is December 22nd and I am so glad because I couldn't stand waiting several weeks.  

The other thing that confused me is that my due date has not been moved however each time I go there I am not correct about how far along I am.  I swear they are changing that.  Originally it used to be that I started the next week on Mondays.  Then it moved to Tuesdays.  Now they said yesterday that I was 12 weeks and 5 days  ( I thought that I was 13 weeks, 1 day).  So now apparently I will be 13 weeks tomorrow and the start of each new week begins on Fridays.  Confusing stuff!  Oh well.  Everything is okay and I am at ease.  All I want is to have healthy babies.  I am hoping that the rest of the pregnancy does not include any more scares.  

The new ultrasound pics look almost exactly like last weeks so I decided not to post them because scanning them in is a little annoying! :)

Moving along!

I am about to begin week 13, which is the last week of my first trimester! Woo hoo! I do realize that I will become more uncomfortable as the pregnancy progresses and I become larger than a house but up to this point it has been a piece of cake. Ok the headaches suck, but if that is all I have to endure then I could be pregnant forever. I love this. It is so amazing to think about all that my body is doing to create the 2 lives growing inside of me. I absoltely cannot wait to feel them moving. I read in my books and I've seen on the ultrasounds that they have been moving around inside of me for quite some time but they are just too small for me to feel it. The first time I feel it is going to be so amazing.

We got some awesome news on Friday. My sister found out that she is having a little girl! Sophia Grace (we will call her Sophie) should be making her appearance in late April. I love everything about my nephew, Will, and so I cannot wait to meet this little girl. I was babysitting Will Friday night while my sister and Craig had a work Christmas party. I felt a little sad when I was cuddling with him before I put him to sleep because I am very close to Will. I spend a lot of time with him and I pretty much always know what is happening in his little world. That makes me sad because since Sophie will be born in late April and I will probably have my babies in the middle of May I won't get the chance to bond with her as often as I do with Will. He and I will always have that special connection I think just because he was a major part of what got Wes and I through our hard times of trying. We spent so much time with him and he filled the "baby time" we needed. He is also our Godson. I will always cherish that relationship and I will just have to try extra hard to have the time to do the same with my sweet little niece. Either way those two children are more than blessed to have the awesome parents that they do. Sophie wouldn't notice a difference because she will be so loved and well cared for. My sister is the most amazing mother. She always knows what Will needs and when he needs it. He is honestly such a good, happy, content and well-rounded little boy and that is thanks to how he is being raised! I hope with all of my heart that I can be the same kind of mother to my twins.

12 weeks!

Today we had our third ultrasound. I will be 12 weeks tomorrow so the babies are much more human-like now! They are almost exactly the same size and everything looked perfect. Their heart rates are 158 and 164, which is exactly where they should be. What a relief to have no complications. It was a wonderful day for Wes and I. It continues to amaze us to watch our babies grow. Each appointment is more exciting than the last.

We go back on December 22nd just for the monthly check-up and we won't get an ultrasound at that appointment. We will have the BIG ultrasound in January (and yes we are finding out but not telling until the shower - so please don't ask because that is going to be so hard for me to keep a secret) and then every appointment from that point on the doctor is planning to do an ultrasound to be sure that the babies are growing together and that they are the same size. I am considered high risk and so that is a precautionary measure, but we love it because we get to see our angels so often!

Here is what they looked like today:
This is a view of the tops of their heads. This is the only one we got that they are both in. They are just too big now!
These are all Baby A - I can't wait until we can call them by name instead of Baby A and Baby B!
And this is Baby B - look how incredibly precious these pictures are. The baby is sucking it's thumb! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait wait to meet these little miracles!!!!!!!!!! We were such a proud mommy and daddy today!