Another Friday butt-kicking

Maybe Friday's are just harder than Wednesdays? I woke up Friday with swollen feet and they stuck around all day and are still nice and swollen on Saturday. Since the doc said he's not concerned with the swelling, I'm at least relieved although a little uncomfortable.

I drove the kids on the field trip and read my book while they explored a Science fair. The principal was so worried about me driving, she made sure there was another adult in my vehicle-on the off chance I went into labor I guess. Turns out we made it back to school without any labor at all!

I didn't get my nap on Friday and I crashed hard around 5:30. I woke up around 9:30 and did the 'tuck in' thing with the kids. I then returned to bed to watch some TV. I was back asleep by midnight, but found I had a restless night of sleep. It never felt like I'd fallen asleep, but the clock always said it was much later. I tend to wake every hour or two to change positions or go potty. My best sleep comes between 3 & 6. I can sleep in any position at that point, and it just feels good.

Saturday we had a 10:15 basketball game. The boys finally won and Logan played very smart again. He also scored 4 points and had a few rebounds as well as a few assists. After basketball I had a hair appointment. Most of my layers had apparently grown out, which explains why I hated how it looked when I wore it down. She's now got it reshaped and the curl is better, so hopefully when I do it myself tomorrow I'll be pleased.

I then came home and took an hour nap before heading out to hear about softball recruiting and how that works and doesn't work for college. We're still a few years off, but it's always nice to be prepared and know what we're really dealing with.

After sitting for 2 hours I headed straight for the shower when I got home and gave Brian permission to just pick up pizza rather than make the pork chops I'd planned. I intend to spend the rest of the evening in bed-awake or asleep, not so sure.

The babies have been loving avocado the last few days and I've resorted to eating it with salami on wheat. This choice went over great on Friday, today it's given me heartburn! There's still plenty of movement to keep me on my toes and relaxed about how they are doing.

34 weeks belly pictures

Here's the belly at 34 weeks. You may notice that the belly hangs out if I don't pull the shirt down constantly. Also the pants won't stay up on the belly and insist on sitting below the belly-which is comfy, but with the shirt problem I feel like I'm constantly flashing someone.

Circuit City is going out of business and we had a gift card that we needed to use. So we picked up a new camera on Sunday. It's not a high end fancy one, it was just around what we had on the gift card, so we feel like it was free. The new camera does however pick up the numbers on the measuring tape much better than our old camera. If you look close you can see where I marked our early January measurements and where it hits now. I'd say the babies are a growin'!

The day in review

This morning we all got up with the intention of going to school. Logan had come home sick on Wednesday, but was feeling much better by the evening. He got up easily and took his shower. As soon as he got out of the shower, his belly started hurting again. We decided he should stay home another day, but that he would go with me to the OB appointment and I'd pick up his school work. He got busy on his work right away and only has 2 small assignments to finish tomorrow at school, plus he read his chapter of Johnny Tremain.

So off we go to the OB appointment. I am really enjoying Logan at this age, he has so much going on in his head and he has no issues sharing those thoughts. The down side is it seems he always has something to say and especially about things that my brain just doesn't think of. It was still nice to spend the day alone with him though. At the OB appointment he moved around so that he could see the ultrasound screen while doc was talking about what he could see. He claimed he wasn't interested, but he was clearly checking it out.

On the way home we checked the mail and there was a Christmas gift for the kids from Aunt Lee, a Toys R Us gift card. Logan was so excited and asked if we could go today. Apparently he'd really been wanting the Club Penguin figures that his cousin received for Christmas, but he didn't want to spend his money on them-a gift card is totally different though.

So I took my nap while Logan finished up his schoolwork and then we picked up Ciera and headed to Toys R Us. Logan ended up with 2 Club Penguin figures, a Nerf gun and a bottle of candy. Ciera also managed to spend almost all of her gift card. She picked up some wacky stuff at the toy store-rubber ducky's, pens and bottle lids (as close as I'll let her come to buying a bottle). They were both quite pleased with their haul and left happily.

Brian met us at the store and he and Ciera headed off to pitch and hit. Logan and I returned home and he immediately tore open the Nerf gun. He spent the next 2 hours shooting Nerf darts and asking me to 'watch this one'. Since I couldn't JUST watch Nerf darts, I got busy reading the 'back story' of others' blogs. You may have noticed that there are several 'followers' and it only seems right to follow their blogs also. But many of them have been blogging for quite a while and I've only read their current entries. So today I got caught up on A History of a VERY Special Journey. Their little girl is now 6 months old, but she was once a little embryo as well. Dad is a very good writer though, and I'm now questioning all of my rambling and how it sounds to others as they read it. I'm guilty of not proof-reading before I hit publish. The most I get to is spell checking. Over the course of the next month I hope to read all of the 'old entries' on everyone's blogs I follow.

Logan and I decided we'd have pigs in a blanket and baked beans for dinner. This is not something we'd want to eat every night, but once in a while it's not so bad. Then it was time for basketball practice again. Unfortunately 'someone' took my chair out of the van, so it was a very long hour! I came home and took a hot shower before settling in to watch the latest episode of Sober House.

Everyone is now tucked away in bed and fingers crossed, will be asleep soon. Tomorrow is a fairly easy day. Ciera does have a school field trip and I will be driving for it. I will not be participating in the field trip though. I will hang out in the van while they spend 3 hours walking around checking out science experiments. The seats actually recline quite nicely and I'm sure it will be fine.

The babies' movement has not bothered me so much today as Baby B's head just seems to be jutting out of my skin and it's a bit sensitive. I've also had a bit of pelvic/upper, inner thigh discomfort, but I know this is entirely normal considering I'm 34 weeks and there's at least 8 pounds of baby in there.

34 week OB appointment

I am still pregnant and the babies still have heartbeats-that's about all the OB appointments can ever tell me. My blood pressure was fine 128/70, pulse was good and I'm still gaining more than enough weight! I don't feel like I'm eating a ton, but I'm certainly gaining. The doc wasn't too worried about it though, so I'm not going to either.

He took me back for a quick heartbeat scan on the ultrasound machine again. Little girl is still in the same spot, head down with her back along my left side. Little boy is still transverse, but seems he can't make up his mind as to which side he wants to lie his head. His head is now on my right side again with his bum on my left.

I go back next Thursday and will do my Group B strep test then. Until then I just get to take it extra easy, as he reconfirmed that if I go into labor at any point now they won't try to stop it (although I would do my best to get them to try to stop the contractions at least once before calling it a day). He even went on to let me know he'd be at the hospital this weekend if I were to come in. I definitely have NO plans of delivering this weekend, and quite honestly I have no plans to deliver before Feb 19 at the earliest!

So we had our big talk about the reality of a VBAC for BOTH babies. My biggest worry was a vaginal delivery for Baby A but having to have a c-section for Baby B. He concurred that it was the worst case scenario and he definitely doesn't want to do it both ways. His stance was as long as A could come out, then we should have no problem with B even though he's lying sideways. He said most of the time (even with just 1) a transverse baby will end up head down as a result of the contractions. He also said they can manipulate externally baby B if necessary. He pointed out that we could absolutely schedule a c-section (but not until March), but that he really thought the odds of a vbac were very good. SO, I guess we just wait and see still. The next big ultrasound is 36 weeks and we shouldn't have a problem getting to 36 weeks.

I'm still amazed at how much easier everything feels this time. Perhaps the worst is still to come in the next 3 weeks, but so far I'm not feeling too bad (as long as I do nothing). Thankfully the weather here is still cooperating. It's been mid 50's and I find it very comfortable. I'm also loving lying around in bed without pants on for most of the day. My pants all 'technically' fit, but the belly is so much happier without any sort of band on it. PJ pants are working out, but there's a good chunk of lower baby belly that hangs out-not super pretty.

The babies are definitely taking up more space though. There's not much lower space left and the upper space is extending further than it used to, the breasts definitely have somewhere to rest their heads.

So for now we try to relax, prepare for the birth, make guesses as to when they will come and when STE should come to town, and find studies to verify that mass amounts of Hershey's chocolate will delay the birth and is actually good for the babies.

Pictures to come later tonight!

33 weeks 6 days!

I got all of my 'errands' finished up within an hour this morning and headed back to bed. Around 11 I received a call from Logan that he still wasn't feeling well. This morning after his shower he complained about his tummy hurting, but at recess (9:45) he said he was fine. So I picked him up and we both headed back to bed. We both fell asleep and only woke because I set my alarm.

After picking up Ciera and her friend, Logan decided to take some Tylenol, as he was absolutely burning up. The thermometer got to 101 before we gave up taking it because it was making him so cold. Once the Tylenol kicked in he was feeling much better. We'll see how tonight goes. I'm expecting to keep him home for at least another day though.

We had french bread pizza with pepperoni, mushroom and olives. Brian and Logan claimed it was way better than Little Caesar's pizza, so that felt good. We then got to move on to dessert. I found Girl Scout Thin Mint ice cream at the store and I'd been waiting all day for some. It was definitely as good as I remembered it being.

I'm going to try to get some school work done with Logan while he's feeling up to it and then head to bed. You'd think after sleeping all day and afternoon I wouldn't be tired in the evenings, but I'm doing just fine getting to bed-and still sleeping quite well.

Tomorrow is my OB appointment. I have a ton of questions about the delivery and what our actual odds of a vaginal delivery are. I was going to visit a friend after the appointment, but that will have to be rescheduled now that Logan's not feeling great. I'd hate to get her kids sick also.

My swelling has been much better the last few days and I've been feeling quite normal (normal for a 33 week pregnant woman that is). The babies have continued to be active all day, but they've been taking turns better.

What's going on?

As I sit here this morning trying to get through my e-mail and blogs, the babies are both kicking the crud out of me! I'm not sure what's up. I even fed them this morning, and this is the thanks I get? When one is moving around it's tolerable, but when they both gang up on my I start to feel a little nauseous!

Almost 34 weeks!

Vacation days are the best!

The kids did not have school today, so we all got to sleep in. Logan and I were both up by 10, but it felt SO good to sleep in on a week day. When I came downstairs Fed-Ex had already dropped off the pre-birth order documents. I resisted the urge to sign Brian's name for him and will send the documents back tomorrow.

It was a very relaxed day, but good. Logan and I played Othello and reviewed his homework. We all did a lot of lying around watching TV. I did finally get up to make dinner, and both kids actually ate happily. It's hard to go wrong with bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese burgers.

I then read in a hot bath, just because the water feels so nice at night. The back pain has been fairly non-existent. The heartburn still comes and goes and there seems to be no way of pinpointing the cause. I wish I could say the hemorrhoid situation was under control. It's manageable with OTC treatments, but I'm aware of them every day. Some days are worse than others though so I try not to complain about them most days.

I 'think' little girl had the hiccups today. There was a fairly rhythmic 'thumping' coming from down low. I've also noticed movement in 'new' areas, makes me wonder if there's been position changes or if they're just growing really big. Maybe that's what was going on Saturday, someone was setting up a new home? There were also quite a bit of BIG movements today as well.

Not much on the schedule for tomorrow. The bug guy is coming to remove our little furry friends and I've got about 10 minutes of copying to do at school. I'll send out the Fed-Ex envelope and pick up a few things at the grocery store for dinner-french bread pizza and ice cream for dessert. The kids both have a friend coming over after school, so I thought dessert might be nice, plus I really want the ice cream tonight, but I'm holding out.

Not bad for a Tuesday!

Monday, 33 weeks 4 days

Today has been a good day!

The bug guy came and set up traps for the mouse/mice that seem to love our garage. He'll be back Wednesday to 'remove' the little guys. He says they are actually quite easy to get rid of. I hope that's true. Logan has asked for us to get rid of the mice for his birthday-a fairly small request I think.

I got a hold of the lawyer doing our pre-birth order today. The documents should be here tomorrow and within a week or two we should have our pre-birth order. For those unfamiliar, the pre-birth order is what makes it possible for STE & S to go directly on the birth certificate at the hospital and my name is not mentioned anywhere (which is exactly how it should be). It also insures that the hospital staff will recognize them as the parents and the ones to make all parental decisions for the twins' care. Things went so smoothly last time as a result of the pre-birth order and no one even once asked me a thing about the twins' care-they knew I was not the mother (which was also great to not have to explain over and over). Last time we had our pre-birth order well before 33 weeks, so we've all been a little anxious about it. It feels great to know that the ball is rolling and it will be done soon.

I then headed back to bed and figured I'd read or watch TV since I wasn't feeling tired. Of course I did fall asleep and enjoyed the nap immensely. I had a lovely steak, stuffed potato and asparagus lunch. I was a little afraid we wouldn't have enough left over for dinner, but we did. It was just as good a second and third time.

Ciera and I then went to the dentist at 5 and as expected her teeth were terribly dirty within 3 months of having her braces put on. Our hygienist is great though and really spent time showing her how to properly clean her teeth with the braces and gave her lots of tips. Hopefully when we go back to the orthodontist next month they will notice an improvement. This was our last trip to the dentist before the babies are born and the ladies are all so excited to see pictures when we come back in May. They all commented that I hardly look to be carrying twins. I am thankful that I carry two so well-the long torso must help. I definitely feel like there's two in there though.

Logan and Brian got to go out and play basketball in the daylight and now Ciera and Brian are off to pitch. Logan and I have some more Johnny Tremain to read and then a game of Yahtzee. Although I'm feeling quite good today, I'm SO ready to climb back in bed to watch TV tonight.

Overall, it was a pretty good day, lots of movement and lots of rest. I can't ask for more than that, except maybe a Symphony bar.

If you haven't checked out the ticker lately, please do. They are so cute sucking on their little thumbs!

Doing MUCH better!

I woke up today feeling MUCH better! There were points in the night where I thought I might still need to go to the hospital in the morning to check on things, but after a bowl of cereal I was feeling great.

I've still got swelling in my feet, but not anywhere near painful yet. Plus, swelling in the feet is normal although uncomfortable. I've been checking my hands and face all day for signs of swelling and so far, so good.

There has been a lot of movement today, especially from little girl. There were some really BIG swoops of movement from little girls feet or butt or something in my left middle area. They were so fast I barely had time to see it, but WOW!!

Ciera and Brian headed off for softball practice this morning and Logan and I spent the morning lying in bed watching TV, reading and playing with the dog. We then decided it was time to give the dog a bath. It's so nice when he's soft and clean smelling! Then we headed out for another soccer game.

Logan got to play goalie again and he played REALLY aggressively. He dived on several balls and even collided with a kid. He came home with a sore finger and rug burns from the astro turf. In the 2nd half he got to play forward and set up a kick for the first goal of the game. It was a very even matched game, but we won 2-0. He had a great time despite getting hurt and is doing so well at adapting to indoor soccer.

I spent the rest of the afternoon lying in bed reading The Queen's Fool and resting my eyes. Brian and I had a delicious dinner of steak, stuffed potatoes, asparagus and garlic bread. The kids both claimed to not like the meat or the potatoes, so more for us! We actually had enough leftover for dinner tomorrow night as well. Dinner came from the Omaha Steak package I received from STE and family last week. I've never really cooked steak before because I'm so afraid of messing it up and wasting a good cut of meat. It really was as easy as the directions made it sound-and it was delicious!!

I'm feeling bigger in certain areas and can almost feel these babies growing bigger each day! Although, I was told on Friday that it looks as though I've dropped-not sure about that, but I'm definitely measuring bigger. I've also noticed some other changes that are less exciting. I do in fact have breast changes occurring, so hopefully there will be plenty of colostrum right away! I've also got some 'skin changes' occurring. I'm breaking out regularly in the same spots and in places that I haven't ever broken out before.

Tonight is bed fluffing night and I'm very much looking forward to it. Tomorrow should be a great day of rest. The bug guy is coming in the morning and Ciera has a 5:00 dental cleaning, but that's it for commitments. Plus the kids have the day off of school on Tuesday, so we'll all get to sleep in! Thursday and Friday are my big days. Thursday I have an OB appointment and Friday I am driving on a field trip (unless they don't need my 7 seats). I don't plan on participating in the field trip and driving I can still do so I'm not too worried about it.

powerful lessons learned

Well, I learned some big lessons Friday! I had plans to have lunch with a friend (which was great), but figured while I was out I would make a grocery stop at Walmart and a return at Kohl's. First of all, I probably shouldn't have sat in a restaurant booth for 1 1/2 hours. While doing my return at Kohl's I did keep myself from walking through the store just to browse. This may have been the only smart thing I did all day.

I then went to Walmart. I was only in there for about 50 minutes and I really didn't feel too bad when I left. While at Logan's basketball practice I noticed that my feet were VERY swollen! This is the first time this pregnancy that my feet have gotten very noticeably swollen. I was still technically feeling OK, but a bit concerned about the swelling.

After practice Logan and I went down to meet Brian and Ciera at his parents' house. Brian's cousin, wife and 18 month old daughter had come to the area and were leaving the next day, so of course the whole family got together to spend as much time with them as possible. We hadn't seen them in about 10 years. It was very nice to catch up and to meet their little girl, who was absolutely adorable!

I got to bed around 10:30 and was still physically feeling fairly normal. I didn't have any body pains or aches, just concern over the swollen feet.

Saturday we were up early for a 9:00 basketball game. I ate a pretty big breakfast and was feeling a little 'overfull' at the game, at least I was hoping that's why I felt a bit funny. I finally broke down and brought my own chair to sit in rather than the bleachers, which made things far more comfortable. It was a pretty close game and they almost won.

After the game we headed back down to Brian's parents house to spend a couple more hours with the cousins before they left town. Logan went home with his cousins to play for the afternoon and Brian and Ciera made a trip to Sam's Club for me to get the staples we needed for the week. After Friday I'd decided that I would start having Brian do my shopping for me, unless it was a quick trip.

By the time I got home I was starting to really become concerned about the 'funny feeling' I was having. I couldn't quite pinpoint what felt wrong, I just knew that I felt off. I drank another 30 oz of water and tried to lie down for awhile. I was able to fall asleep for a bit and woke up still feeling iffy. I decided to see if I felt better after a bath-or if I could at least figure out what was feeling different. I figured if I wasn't feeling better after the bath I would go ahead and take a trip to the hospital just to have them verify that I wasn't contracting. I don't really think I am, I think what I typically feel is just movement, but I was starting to worry that maybe I was having painless contractions. During the bath things started to feel much more normal-and babies' movements decreased (they'd been very active all through my 'nap'). The swelling had gone down in my feet after lying for a few hours and things seemed to be OK, although I was still on high alert for anything 'odd'. I headed back to bed to rest some more.

After another hour or so of resting I got up to get some dinner started. I was feeling 100% better and went about my evening putting away groceries, starting laundry and getting an easy dinner ready. I finally caught Sober House and was able to watch the first 2 episodes-what a train wreck! I'm feeling MUCH better, but have definitely learned it's time to take it very easy, to stop combining trips and to rest as much as possible. Just another thing to talk to Doc about on Thursday!

Sunday Ciera has softball practice and Logan has a soccer game. I will only do the soccer game and will spent the rest of the day hanging out and resting. I don't really care for the swollen feet, but I care even less for the idea of these babies coming anytime soon-we still need a pre-birth order, names and time for them to fatten up! The calendar looks pretty clear for the next 5 weeks though, so we should be good!

The "other" babies

...aren't really babies anymore!  As sad as it makes me that I can't squeeze and cuddle P&L like I used to, it's been just a blast to see them grow up.  In the last few months it's been an explosion of words and personality.  I love to see what fun little people they're turning into - and it's hard to imagine that the next two could be as enjoyable.  (though don't get me wrong, we're very very excited)

These past few months we've been trying to prepare P&L for a new brother and sister - not sure if it's really sinking in yet.  This weekend we're off to the mall so they can each buy a gift for the new babies (probably security blankets).  Anyone else have advice on how to prepare 2- 2 year olds for the arrival of 2 new babies?

33 weeks belly pictures

Once again, I have no idea what is on my shirt or where it came from!
Ciera decided it was time she joined me for a shot or four.

I am measuring slightly larger than 2 weeks ago-from top to bottom (47 cm) as well as around (37 inches). Grow babies grow!

33 weeks! How did that happen?

I need to come up with another adjective besides amazing, but I'm continually amazed at how close we are to these babes being born! 33 weeks is within the time frame that many people deliver twins! I of course am holding out until at least 37 weeks, and feel fairly confident that we'll meet my goal, but 33 weeks is really far along!

I tried the semi-reclined on my back sleeping last night and got a way better night's sleep. I really want to be sleeping on my side, so I of course tried it a few times only to wake with hip pain, so on my back I slept.

I finished up my 'big' copy job today and now will only have about 15 minutes of copies to do each week (for as long as I'm feeling up to it). I finally got to Target and took my last 'full lap' of the store before the babies are born. I'm sure I'll still end up at Target, but only for specific items and I won't look at everything. While there I realized I need to start really preparing 'my house' for the birth. There are some items I need to buy and pumping things I'll need. It's probably easier for me to pick them up now than to send Brian out to get them while I'm stuck in bed (of course in my head I'm assuming c-section recovery, as this is the worst case scenario). I need to have Brian pull down my 'end of pregnancy' box and see what I already have.

After Target it was time to eat. I was very hungry this morning (and last night, I had to get up for a quick bowl of cereal before I could fall asleep). I went to lay down around 12 and figured I'd just watch some TV in bed. I woke to my alarm 2 1/2 hours later. It was a good nap (on my back), but I was very aware that I was making horrible noises that quite often come out of Brian's mouth while he sleeps. So although sleeping on my back, semi-reclined, is more comfortable I don't know that I can live with the knowledge that it causes me to snore horribly!

On the way to pick up the kids I decided it was time to act on my craving that I've been fighting since Monday. We were going to stop by McDonald's for a sundae! It turned out to be a good day for it, Logan was quite upset about a school project that he wasn't understanding. It gave us a chance to really talk about the project and what's bothering him about it. Anyone want to explain metaphors, similes and imagery to a 9 year old? Hopefully his dad can explain it better than his teacher did.

So I forgot to take the ground beef out of the freezer for dinner. We can either have a small turkey meatloaf or maybe the Hamburger Helper Chili Mac will sound as good to the kids as it did to me. I haven't had Hamburger Helper in years, but when I saw the box at Target it sounded SO good!!

We had another cool, drizzly day and I thoroughly enjoyed the change in temperature. Ill get a 33 week belly picture taken tonight (although probably headless as I have opted to pull my hair back all week rather than mess with it-haircut is next week). Hopefully I can even get it posted tonight. Logan has basketball tonight and that's it, everyone in bed by 9!

Cooler again

It finally cooled back down! We had a lovely overcast day that only reached mid 50's. We've had a bit of light rain as well. It was so nice to put on my jeans and not feel entirely overheated. I was still able to comfortably wear my sandals, but this is a nice temperature. And it should stay in this range for at least another week!

I had plans to have lunch with a friend today, but she sounds just as miserable as I was last week. So, another day of rest for me. I intended to take just a short nap, but found myself sleeping from 10-1:30. It sure feels nice though.

Logan got to go to a friend's house after school today and was thrilled to learn he'd get to play for 3 hours! He's doing very good with his Johnny Tremain reading. We set a schedule of a chapter every 2 days and he thought it would be impossible, but he's finding it very easy to get through 10 pages at school just during silent reading time. And the best part is he's actually enjoying it (as am I). The first chapter was a little slow, but chapters 2 & 3 have been great. I'm reading it along with him so that I know if he's getting it when he gives me his chapter summaries.

Since Logan was with a friend, Ciera got to do some shopping at Ross. We have a new Ross in town and it's never very crowded. I'm able to comfortably send her in with a phone while I wait in the van. She doesn't usually find much except shirts, but she's enjoying getting to go in and 'browse'. Then she was off to pitch with her dad.

I'm feeling very congested in my head again and can feel the ache behind my nose. I'm just hoping it's a temporary thing. I guess I'm back to drinking hot tea and using my saline spray. Dinner is cooking, wild rice with mushroom and turkey soup and bread. The family really enjoyed this soup the last time I cooked it, so we'll see.

Tomorrow I've got a bit of copying in the morning and then some more resting. We'll see how long it takes before all of this resting gets old-so far I'm enjoying it immensely. I did find it difficult to sleep soundly last night and I'm not sure if it's because I slept so much during the day or if it's pregnancy related. I find myself waking up and having to flip over because my hip is hurting from lying on it. I may try to sleep more reclined tonight and see if it helps.

The babies have become fairly predictable with their movements. I don't know when it will happen, but the spots where I feel movement are always the same. STE sent me over a picture of a baby born still inside of the placenta and it was amazing to see. It's amazing how scrunched up they really are and how little room they have to move around. There's no flailing around-just pushes.

Ah, Tuesdays!

I did take a hot bath Monday night and used my heating pad as well. I thought that would be enough and I'd just be able to go to sleep. Falling asleep was easy, staying asleep was not so easy. I finally got up at 12:30 and took some Tylenol to take away the pain in my leg. The rest of the night was much better.

Tuesday was such a great day. I took the kids to school and was back home and in bed by 9:30. I woke up at 1 in the afternoon, starving! I am really loving the Multigrain Cherrios with sliced bananas. When I finally came downstairs, I was so surprised to see a package sitting on the porch. At first I assumed it was Ciera's new shoes, but the box was so big! I opened the door and it was an Omaha Steak box! STE and family sent a wonderful surprise full of steak, pork chops, burgers and stuffed potatoes (that I can't wait to try). Logan was so excited when I told him there were pork chops in the box. I can't wait to try them out as soon as we eat up the fresh stuff in the fridge. Thanks again for such a thoughtful surprise!!

After school we headed to Coldstone for our Tuesday ice cream. The Oates family came to share ice cream with us and we had a very nice visit. Logan even went out and played light sabers with their son (most of you know that my kids aren't real big on interacting with other kids they don't know, so this was huge). Coldstone stopped their 'buy one get one free' Tuesday special, but we're almost out of our gift card money anyhow. I think we did pretty good stretching it as far as we did.

Brian beat us home today and then went out to play 'full court' basketball at the park with Logan. They had a really good time and got home just in time for the Costco pizza (on sale with a coupon) to come out of the oven. After some nice dinner conversation about the inauguration, Brian took Ciera out to pitch.

Somehow the day is almost over and I'm ready for bed again. Physically I feel much better today. I'm still a bit irritated about all of our sunshine and upper 60 degree days. The weather channel says it should soon start cooling off again-I sure do hope it happens soon.

The secret to feeling good at 32 weeks with twins

Apparently, I'm feeling so good because I'm doing next to nothing. Today I went to Costco (less than an hour of walking through the store) and walked through the mall with Ciera (also less than an hour). I was so tired by the time we left the mall. I seriously think I should teach Ciera how to drive so she can fetch the car and pick me up at the curb (she loved this idea).

After lying down to watch a movie my legs felt much better, but I still have no energy left tonight. I'm debating whether or not to get in the tub-I probably will before the night is over.

We had an easy dinner that everyone requested (except me of course). They had turkey caesar wraps (with the cook your own tortilla's from Costco). I found the turkey to be a little too close to chicken and could barely stand the smell as I heated it up for them. I had leftover home fries, a quesadilla and I'm looking forward to a bowl of Multi-grain Cherrios with banana slices when Brian returns home with milk. That's right, even though I went to Costco I still had to send Brian out for milk. Would you believe that Costco was entirely out of Non-fat milk?

Everyone goes back to school and work tomorrow, so it should be a good resting day. I just need to get some laundry done, again and a quick return at Target.

The babies were quite active again today. There was a lot of pushing out with body parts again. It's amazing to feel a big, hard lump and know that it's the body part of an actual human being. I'm continually amazed that this is how humans are born!

32 week weekend update

Logan's first indoor soccer game, playing goalie.

This weeks game was just as great as last weekend. The weather was beautiful, again-67 degrees! As you can tell by the sun shining, they are not actually playing indoors. It's just an enclosed turf field with indoor soccer rules. They play off the walls and they sub in just like hockey. It's such a different game and has been a blast to watch. They won again today 5-0 and Logan had 3 assists. He's still learning the differences between indoor and outdoor soccer, but he's loving this new experience. It's also the first time he's been on a winning team, ever. Now, we know that winning is not everything, but it sure does feel good to finally be a part of a winning team and still get playing time.

I am finally feeling so much better! I'm still a little congested when I wake up, but that's fairly normal for the pregnancy. It feels so good to feel healthy again. Ciera had a friend over for the night Friday and Logan had a friend come for the day before he went to basketball practice. I've only been going to one of the two practices for basketball and apparently I went to the wrong one this week. Brian came home from Friday's practice with so many great things to say about how Logan played. They scrimmaged another team and Logan actually gave point guard a try-and did great!

Saturday we had a bye for basketball, so we got to sleep in a bit. Ciera had a pitching lesson at 11, but Logan and I got to just hang out all morning. While flipping through the channels we came across Coneheads. Logan thought it was very funny. I enjoyed seeing all of the old Saturday Night Live people looking so young! We really didn't do much on Saturday. We had pork roast, mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner-and everyone ate, again! We then watched The Fall, which was OK, although I wouldn't want to watch it again-just an odd movie.

I slept great Saturday night. I slept straight through from 12-7:30 without having to get up to potty! Considering I was getting up every 2 hours, I was thrilled with 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I've been much thirstier the last few days, so I was really surprised. Sunday Ciera and Brian went to softball practice, where Ciera was worked hard again. She came home and could actually feel the dirt on her face! Logan and I spent the morning watching TV and reading the first chapter of Johnny Tremain. This is the book for his February book report. All of the 5th graders are reading the same book. He'd had a little trouble understanding what was happening in the '8' pages he'd read on his own. He said they talked weird (which was Ciera's complaint about historical fiction). I thought if I read the first chapter aloud with him and explained things as we went along that it might help him to get through the rest of the book on his own. He says he can read the rest on his own now, so hopefully that's true. The book report must be written in cursive and have a summary for each chapter. It's not due until February 20, but that's right around the time that babies could be born, or at the very least I might not be able to be right on top of him. So I want it done and just needing a final draft by the last week. I figure it can't hurt him to have it done early.

After soccer Logan's friend got to come for a sleep over. He hasn't had a sleep over with a friend (besides his cousins) since summer. The family had burgers, home fries and baked beans for dinner. Since we had burgers for lunch we were short buns and we were using the frozen burger patties, which I just don't care for. So I had enchiladas and home fries. Another successful meal that everyone enjoyed.

Once again I'm feeling pretty darn good for 32 weeks pregnant with twins. My mom observed on Saturday that it looks as though my feet are swelling a little. Really it's just my cankles, the feet don't look too bad. And honestly I think they look great for 32 weeks, but I'll be sure to point it out to the doc next week. We have big plans for tonight, we are going to fluff the feather bed!! It's nice most days, but it's exceptional the night we fluff it!

We've still got quite a bit of movement happening and it's pretty neat to rub my belly and feel little boy body parts-if only I knew what parts!

Monday should be pretty nice as well. We all have the day off and Logan will get to play with is friend. Brian claims he may finally get his hair cut, but we'll see. Ciera and I are going to exchange a pair of pants at the mall and then stop by Costco for some 'staples'. I think we'll get through the day!

Journey of Hope Baby Girl is here!!

She was born at 7:24 her time (eastern I believe). She weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces (I don't think anyone guessed the right weight). She had a 9 and 9 on her apgars!

I am so excited for her parents and can't wait to hear all about it, including her name! What a special day!

A baby is being born today!!

Journey of Hope and Sharing a Dream are in labor and at the hospital!! They are 37weeks 2/3 days and expecting a precious little girl. I am so thrilled for them. They worried about not making it to the hospital in time and labor starting at night. Well it looks like neither of those things happened.

I'm not sure what I could say that would top this news. Little boy actually woke me up Friday morning at 3am with some intense movement! This is the first time they've woken me up. Every day I look at my calendar to see what's coming up and I just can't believe we are so close to the finish line. February seemed so far away in July and honestly it's right around the corner! I'm taking it easy and being very cautious and practical about what I do, but I honestly feel so much better at 32 weeks than I did last time in the middle of July. My back is not hurting as much as it did even a month ago, and same with my legs. I really am expecting pelvic issues and pains as well as things move around and with little girl's head there, but honestly aside from having to use the bathroom before I walk anywhere, it's not been too bad (yet). Plus my cold is almost entirely gone and perhaps that's why I'm feeling 'soo' good.

Movement video, or two or three-for those with patience and a deep desire to see the babies move

These are videos from last week as I was playing the babies the CD that their family made for them.

There's a tiny nudge on my left side. It comes after I touch my belly the first time, but before I touch it the second time. Look closely!



This one is a bit longer, but there's some pretty good movement in it starting about 1/2 way through. I tend to point out where the movement occurred, after it happened. You may want to start in the middle of the clip.





Here's one final clip. This one is much shorter and has a pretty good bump/wiggle towards the beginning.






If you made it through and saw any movement, Congratulations!! You have amazing patience!

32 weeks belly pictures

Wow!

Here's what my weekly newsletter said about baby this week:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb.


It's amazing to me that they can gain so much in 7 weeks!

32 week ultrasound

I'll get right to the point-we have no ultrasound pictures. The tech said they are just too big to get a good picture.

But the good news is that the babies are getting big!! Baby girl is still head down, in fact she's now so far down that it was difficult to get a good head measurement. They had to take it several times by two different techs before they decided the measurement was correct. Her little(big) head was measuring 34 weeks and is becoming elongated since she's so far down. The tech said she didn't thing there was any way she could flip at this point (but 'these' babies are capable of anything). Her heart rate was 133 and most of her measurements were right on target. Her leg is measuring 31 weeks, but the tech said it was nothing to worry about. She is weighing in at 4 pounds!!

Baby boy is still transverse, but he has flipped to the other side. He's now lying with his head on my left, tucked up under my ribs. His little leg is measuring bigger than his sister, but his head wasn't a whole lot smaller. His heart rate was 156. He was moving the whole time, active little man. He's weighing in at 3 pounds 10 oz!!

My cervix still looks great and the placentas look good as well. The tech said the pressure between the two was very balanced, which is a good thing. So, things are looking pretty good at 32 weeks.

My cold is getting better, I haven't had to use the saline spray all day, nor have I taken any Tylenol since yesterday! My face has broken out and my hair seems to need to be 'reshaped', but soon I'll be able to breathe through my nose again! I slept really good from about 10 until 3:30 when the dog had bowel issues again and needed to be let out. I couldn't get back to sleep until 6. I went ahead and showered and had some Cream of Wheat, got Ciera up and then went back to sleep until 7.

The hubby is still sick and Ciera stayed home from school sick today as well. Hopefully I can get Brian to upload my videos and pictures sometime today to make up for no ultrasound pictures.

I'm over stressing out about the weight gain and what to do about the birth. By pouring out my thoughts here it allows me to not obsess about them in my head, perhaps I should edit my thoughts before I post them. I've decided to wait until my next OB appointment on the 29th and really have a good chat with the doc about our options and the likelihood of the various outcomes. Until then there's no reason to obsess about it.

Considering I've been fighting a cold for almost 1 week, I feel pretty good for being 32 weeks with twins. I'm definitely feeling better in the cool temperatures than I did at 104 in the summer.

OB appointment 31 weeks 5 days

Yesterday I had an appointment with the other OB in the office. An hour before my appointment another ultrasound machine had been delivered, still old, but newer than the one Dr. Eddy used last week. The doc called me back and then excused herself to go 'review my chart'. When she came back she chuckled and said it was a good thing she checked it. I guess Dr. Eddy hadn't filled her in on our surrogacy status. She had some questions about why someone would want to carry for someone else, but I have to wonder why someone would want to go to school for so long and see patients all day. Everyone fits somewhere.

Anyhow, I typically get weighed in the mornings and today it was an afternoon appointment. I gained .3 lbs in 5 days-I can live with that. Blood pressure was at a decent 122/80, but my pulse was racing. This did not surprise me. We've had a bit of a HOT streak this week and I was in winter clothes (pants that covered my knees). I was also explaining to the nurse all of my woes-hotter than heck, cold that's miserable and I still have to pee into those teeny tiny little cups. If I can just remember to bring something bigger with me to pee into first, I could stop peeing all over myself in the public restroom!

OK, ultrasound! Again, this was just a quick peek to verify both babies heartbeats. And in fact, we are still expecting two babies. They were both hanging out in the same positions as last week. Little boy is transverse with his head on my right and little girl is still head down.

So then of course it's the doc's duty to talk with me about the VBAC risks. She is actually a proponent of VBAC, but is still required to talk to me about the 'increased' risks of VBAC-ing twins. She basically tells me/STE to make sure we do our research and decide what kind of a birth we are wanting. We're getting far enough along, that we need to know what we want should I go into labor. Well, until the visit, we did know what we wanted. Now I've got all kinds of fears and worries again about what the right choice is. I'd been under the impression that if the babies are delivered vaginally, they have a better chance of not having breathing issues (that whole chest being squeezed on the trip through the birth canal). Doc says that as long as they are 'term' (37 weeks) than it shouldn't really make a difference and that honestly a VBAC is in my best interest-not the babies. Well, I think we all know that I'm more concerned with the babies' best interest over my own-so I'm back to doubting the VBAC. There's obviously pros and cons for both, but I really do feel this ultimately is STE & S's decision to make.

If we just plan a c-section, it might make it easier to plan when they should come down. But at the same time, I don't want to take them too much earlier than they would come out on their own. I figure in 2 weeks when I see Dr. Eddy again I'll talk with him about what dates are available with him for a c-section and what the hospital would really do in regards to baby B once baby A is born vaginally. What's our game plan for getting B out if he's still transverse and how much time will we give the little guy to come out before we do a c-section anyhow. I think the answers are different for different dr.'s and hospitals.

Here's an interesting tidbit I found when researching VBAC-ing twins:
Neonatal outcomes were similar by birth order, except that second-born twins of cases had significantly longer NICU stays than controls.
Basically they are saying that little boy could end up with a longer NICU stay as a result of a VBAC vs. a c-section. Now that's not encouraging. It was however a small study. Most results show a very low risk. OY! What to do!

The cold is still here and the hubby has picked it up pretty good as well. Even the dogs have become sick. Our older dog spent all of yesterday lying around, throwing up and spending large amounts of time squatting outside. Our younger dog, had some bowel issues at 4am this morning in his kennel-not what I had hoped for. They both seem to be doing just fine now though.

The kids are both starting their second semester at school. This means Logan now has to do all of his writing in cursive. I don't really feel like they 'worked up' to this and Logan was a bit overwhelmed. He also has a report due this week that must be entirely written in cursive. The poor kid spend at least 2 hours last night writing his 1st paragraph in cursive-nearly 3/4 of the page. It's written very neatly though and anytime he wasn't sure how to combine the letters, he practiced first on a separate paper. They have minimum days on Thursday and Friday, so we will have a lot of work being done at home this week-thankfully we all feel healthy!

I was able to return Ciera's defective shoes and they are sending a replacement, should be here in 5 days. Unfortunately, it seems that all of her other shoes are either 'ugly' or too small. She's chosen to squeeze her feet into shoes that are too small rather than wear perfectly acceptable athletic shoes to school (shoes that she wore all the time last year I guess just don't go with Skinny Jeans).

For those of you unaware, the new season of American Idol started last night. Now, this show holds no interest for me, but Ciera loves it and Logan was enthralled the entire 2 hours-making us all late for bed last night. I think Ciera will watch it faithfully, not so sure it will continue to hold Logan's interest once they are through with the initial auditions. It was fun to hear them both laughing so hard though.

We had another successful dinner. I think the most enjoyable part is that we all know we'll be eating at the table and everyone laughs so much. We don't really talk about much of anything, but there is certainly a lot of laughter. And there's been some considerate 'drink getting' by everyone. I think we really will make it through our menu for the week. The days have been mixed up, but we're still eating what was planned.

Tomorrow is the big 32 week ultrasound!! I have to be all the way downtown by 9am, which means being up and showered before dropping the kids off early. Hopefully we all can go to sleep a little early tonight.

The babes are consistently active, but not causing a great amount of discomfort. I can't wait to see how big they are measuring!

Almost human

I am feeling SO much better today-not 100%, but functioning. I took my last Tylenol dose at 2pm yesterday and I've been OK without it. There's still mild pressure behind my nose and in my head, but tolerable. I'm less congested and finding everything to be draining a bit more today, so that's bothersome, but again tolerable.

I have an OB appointment this afternoon and I will stop by the mall and see about returning a few things for Ciera. (She bought a $65 pair of shoes 43 days ago and both shoes are pulling apart from the sole. I'm hoping for a replacement pair, $65 shoes should hold up better than that.)

I would really like to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few items for the week, but we'll play that by ear. I'm certainly not up to pushing myself today.

We've done really good with the meals at home lately. The night the family got Little Caesar's was the last night we've eaten out. They even finally helped me come up with a 'loose' menu for the week (which is why I need to go to the store). I'm hoping if we can just get through the first couple of weeks eating at home, they won't want to eat out for every single meal. Last night was breaded chicken tenderloin, which they all ate up, but I couldn't bring myself to eat more than 1 bite. I had some cream of wheat and a pop tart instead.

The babes have been very active this morning, pushing and prodding all over. When I played the recording for them last night, they instantly started moving around. Logan was so cute and wanted to know what they were listening to, especially when you could hear P & L talking. At first he asked why I was doing it and then he said "Oh, so that when they're born they know who their family is!"

Logan and I also talked some this weekend about the birth. I told him I may have to miss one of his basketball games and if he knew why. He said because I'll be having babies. I was pleased that he did not seem bothered by the fact that I may miss 1 game, but at least soccer should be over the weekend or two before they are born.

Maybe it's because it's still so far away, but I think I might be in total denial about the whole birth thing. I'm not really worried about STE not making it in time. I think we'll just know and she'll have plenty of time to get here. I'm also not really worried about 'birth' in general, a vaginal or a c-section delivery. Perhaps I have too much faith in the epidural.

So here we are, almost 32 weeks and I'm feeling pretty optimistic about everything.

Woe is me

I don't have enough time to go back to bed before picking up the kids, so I may as well update some. I went back to bed this morning and slept from 9-2, virtually uninterrupted (I only had to go potty twice as opposed to every 2 hours last night).

Friday, Logan stayed home because he wasn't feeling well. He hung out in the recliner all day while I napped in the morning. I was having congestion on Friday, but not feeling horrible. I knew something was trying to take hold, but I thought I was still winning. The babies did a lot of BIG stretching, pushing out on the belly and distorting the shape.

Saturday we had Logan's basketball game at 9. Logan scored 6 points and played a great game, although they did lose. He was feeling much better, just explosive sneezes, but I was starting to feel worse. My eyes were really bothering me and aching quite a bit and I was developing a deep cough that would come and go. So I spent the rest of the day in bed sleeping, reading and watching movies.

Sunday when I woke up my eyes felt much better, still congested but I looked a little bit alive I thought. Logan had his first indoor soccer game and it was so much fun! We had a blast watching it and he had a really good time playing, despite his nerves about having never played indoor soccer. They even won and Logan got to play offense, defense and goalie! The babies were quite active during the game and would jut body parts out all over, but they were gentle.

My head is pounding today and I'm still quite congested. I broke down this morning at took 2 Tylenol and had to take two more just now. Once the headache goes away I feel almost human, but all I want to do is sleep. My poor belly isn't even screaming for food (although I've given it a few snacks in my awake hours-the babies are still hungry I'm sure). Maybe this is why I gained so much weight, so that the babes would be fine when I needed to sleep 3 days straight!

Babies are good-me not so great

I've had a cold trying to take hold since last week and I think it may be winning. The babies were well behaved and quite active all weekend. I've got lots to say, but me eyes desperately want to be closed and in bed. I'm hoping to sleep away the cold and wake up one of these days feeling human again.

31 weeks

Ciera and Logan have had a 50% success rate remembering to take their lunch to school this week. I can only hope that next week is better. I'm also wondering how all of the other kids have managed to get their lunches to school all week!

For several weeks now, I've had a hard time figuring out what I want to eat. There's not really anything that I 'want' to have, but there are definitely things that sound bad. The family will throw out ideas, and they all sound bad. Well, I've finally figured out what I want-mashed potatoes! I can't seem to get enough of them, especially if there's some form of meat with them (except chicken of course). I've done mashed potatoes with ham, turkey burgers and my mushroom patty burgers. I actually got everyone to eat dinner again tonight. Brian, Ciera and I all had mashed potatoes with mushroom patties and green beans. Logan only ate the meat, but at least he didn't fix something else to eat. And, nobody made Top Ramen today!!

Ciera got a new wire for her braces today and a new spot for her rubber band! Logan had a consultation and we're now debating whether to do his teeth in 2 phases, expander and something with his bite now and braces when he's 12, or just wait and do it all in 2 years. I think we're leaning towards the 2 phase model. He's pretty crowded already, which makes flossing very difficult and it's only going to get worse as his adult molars come in over the next two years. Plus she suggests doing a removable retainer which would make it very easy for us to keep up with his dental hygiene, rather than a fixed appliance that could make cleaning difficult for us all. If you have any opinions or experience we'd love the feedback.

I have another gushing moment for both of my kids. Generally the first week back to school after a break has been brutal for Logan. He'd complain about the work and have difficulty planning out how much work to do each day (he gets a weekly plan and has to decide how to get it all done by Friday). He brings home the assignment sheet on Monday's and we read through it and discuss when to do what assignment. He generally doesn't take my advice about how to schedule it, but it at least assures me that he's read the entire assignment sheet so that there are no surprises come Friday. He had an all day field trip on Wednesday and I was certain that he wouldn't have all of his work done if he didn't bring some home in the evening. I was shocked to hear this afternoon that he'd already finished all of his weekly work except for a pie chart and he needed to start his outline for an assignment that is due next Friday. And, he hasn't complained all week about the amount of work-which is also a first! Ciera told me on Tuesday that she had an essay due at the end of the month, a persuasive essay and she chose to write about why they should not wear school uniforms. Well last night when I went to tuck her in she told me that she'd finished her essay. She was in between books, so she decided to do her research and write the essay that afternoon (all on her new laptop). Now I'm hoping she'll use the next few weeks to continue editing it, but I'm so proud of her for getting it done, on her own without any nagging from me! Ever since she started school our biggest fear was that she'd be a procrastinator like her father and do the bare minimum to get by. I'm so pleased to see that there's some self-motivation within her.

I had a pretty nice day as well. I picked up a couple of movies and some ground turkey and potatoes for dinner. I picked up Becoming Jane and found that I'd already seen it. I still enjoyed the beginning and the end, plus I was able to take a little nap during the middle of it. Logan had basketball practice tonight and it was a pretty fun practice to watch. We're of course running late getting to bed, but soon we'll all be asleep.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The only thing I have to do tomorrow is take lunch to the kids. I imagine I'll read some more, watch the other horrible movie I rented and nap some more. It definitely feels good to take it easy. At this point in the pregnancy there are a lot of little movements and sensations that aren't 'comfy' and every time I feel something 'odd' I worry that it's a sign of pre-term labor and I worry that I won't notice in time to stop anything. I didn't have any pre-term labor last time, so I probably have nothing to worry about, but I worry anyhow. Since I haven't really contracted in over 9 years, I'm worried that I won't recognize it until it's too late. I don't mean to give the impression that I worry all day long, but taking it easy and resting is always on my mind. I don't ever want to feel as though I just overdid it. So here's to 8 weeks of taking it easy and trying not to worry too much.

31 weeks, already!

Here's what the babes are supposedly up to (and I'm inclined to agree): (Don't forget to double everything)

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt.He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Little boy had some hiccups today!

I hung out in a comfy chair at the library all day while Logan had a field trip there. While sitting and reading I laid my hand across my belly for a good portion of the time. I felt a big movement and then a rhythmic 'thump' that lasted for almost a minute. It wasn't something I could see or even feel if my hand hadn't been there. I wonder how many times he's had hiccups and I never noticed due to the placenta being in the front and 'cushioning' a lot of the sensations.

I'm going to complain a little bit about little boy now. Little girl has spent a lot of time pressing on my 'sensitive parts' at random intervals, but little boy seemed to be behaving quite nicely and not causing too much discomfort, again probably something to do with the placenta. Well today my stomach has had it! I am so sore about 4-5 inches above my belly button! I'm feeling very stretched and well, just sore! There's a spot right in the middle above my belly button where I can almost always feel a 'jabby' body part, I'm guessing an elbow, knee or foot. It's extra sensitive/sore at this spot.

I also had quite a hard time getting to sleep last night. Falling asleep on my back doesn't quite work, so of course I try the side. My stomach just feels very upset when I lay on my side. It's an odd sensation and the closest I can come to describing it is just 'queasy', but I'm not really upset in the tummy. I think it's that I'm lying on the babies and they're moving around in protest. The sensation is really hard to just fall asleep and ignore.

So today has been a hungry day, despite the fact that I'm still in shock over having gained 30lbs in 11 weeks. Some days I'm just hungrier than others and today was the day. It actually started last night. I had a bowl of cereal and some crackers with cheese before bed, in addition to my glass of milk. Today I've had a serving of cream of wheat (1 cup milk, 3tbsp cream of wheat), a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat, a fiber one bar, 4 mandarins, 1 prune, 3 fruit and grain bars, 2 servings of potato soup with ham, 1 turkey burger, 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes, 36 oz of water, 25 oz of decaf tea (to help with this morning's congestion), 10 Hershey's Bliss squares and it' s only 6:15! I'm pretty sure there will be some sort of snack between now and bed, if not an actual meal. Next Thursday's ultrasound better show that these babies have grown REALLY big!!

The rest of the day was a basic Wednesday. I thought left-overs sounded like a great idea for dinner, the rest of the family disagreed and they just got back with a Little Caesars pizza. It's really hard to pass up a $5 pizza that's ready when you walk in the door.

I took a couple of clips last night trying to capture movement, but when I replayed them I was never sure if it was movement or if I moved the camera. I'll keep trying though. Tomorrow we begin our 31st week! In less than 8 weeks these little babies will be in their parents' arms!

Tuesday-back to napping

Today was a good day!!

I awoke without a headache or achy legs, but I did have some congestion and I still felt awfully tired at 7am. By 10am I was back in bed and fast asleep. I had intended to read, but I never even opened the book. I woke for lunch at 12 and then ran my Target errands, time to refill a prescription and pick up shampoo and conditioner.

After school we headed to Coldstone. I tried the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle (very raspberry) and had a taste of the lemon sorbet (not bad, for lemon). Nothing really jumped at me, so I just chatted with the kids while they had a double scoop (making up for the weeks we haven't been going). Logan won the prize at school for reading the most pages over the Christmas break. He did not read difficult books, but he read virtually every night and finished 1500 pages! He also read a lot since Thanksgiving. We are very proud of him, especially since this is the same child that has had a hard time finding anything he wants to read. We're just hopeful that he'll keep it up.

We ALL had the same dinner tonight, potato soup with ham and cornbread. It is so rare that we all eat the dinner. There is usually someone that makes something else to eat later on in the evening.

The babies have remained quite active. I'm off to play them a recording and hopefully get some video of them reacting-fingers crossed!

30 weeks 4 days OB appointment

This morning started off pretty good. The timing was perfect for everyone to get a hot shower and I thought we were going to make it into the car on time (we needed to leave a few minutes earlier than normal due to my OB appointment). As I'm loading the car, Logan comes out and tells me that Ciera has spilled her Top Ramen all over (this was to be her lunch). I return to the house to find that at least it all made it down the sink, after spilling onto her wrists. I didn't freak out and I calmly asked her what else she could take for lunch. We sent her off with a thermos of hot water in hopes that it would be hot enough to make her Cup of Noodles. The other oops of the morning was Logan neglected to bring his lunch box with him to the car. He knew I was going to be gone all morning so he made due with some extra snacks at school. Tomorrow the lunch stuff will go better.

On my drive to the OB I tried to relax and breathe and not worry if I was late. I really didn't want to see the blood pressure go wacky due to a hectic first morning back to school. The appointment had originally been scheduled for 10:30, but they called and asked me to come in at 8:30-who does that to a pregnant mother?

So I get there at 8:32 and am supposed to somehow pee into a little tiny cup. This had been getting difficult, but it was darn near impossible today. I've never gotten so little of it into the cup before. If I can remember I'll bring something with a bigger opening for next time. I did question my Dr. about whose bright idea that was and he admitted that he had never really thought about how difficult it could be.

We'll start with the weight. When I go back for my next appointment (next Tuesday) I'll have to ask for my weight at each appointment. But according to what I have written down, I have now gained at least 50 pounds at 31 weeks!!(insert jaw dropping emoticon here) Here's the worst part, my numbers show I've gained almost 30 pounds since I was 20 weeks (30lbs in 11 weeks?) I'm not quite sure what to think. I know the babies have a lot of growing to still do, but I remember still gaining quite easily in the last 8 weeks. I of course still have to eat, but I guess I should pay a little more attention to what I'm eating. I'm certainly not going to obsess over it, but I do find it amusing that STE was so worried during the first pregnancy about how on earth someone could gain as much weight as the twin book recommended. Unfortunately, the book doesn't address if you gain too much weight.

Blood pressure? Today I was 120/80 with a pulse of 90 something. They didn't mention it, so I guess it must be OK. So Dr. comes in and usually checks the heartbeat with the doppler, all the while telling me that there's no real way to know if we're hearing two separate heartbeats or just one. Today he tells me there's an old ultrasound machine available and asked if I'd like to play around. Uh, yeah! So off we go and he wasn't kidding. It was a very grainy, blurry old machine. But he was able to pull up baby girl's head right away (still head down, for now) and see her heart beating (no rates or measurements, just a peek). He then quite easily found little boy's head on my right side, still lying transverse, and his little heart beating.

With nothing else to really do, we talked some about the birth and the possibilities. He's still not opposed to trying a vaginal birth should I go into labor before a set c-section date and even agreed that we could consider inducing around 39 weeks if labor hasn't started on it's own. Now if little boy continues to be transverse, we can see what happens once his sister comes out. He could quite easily be manipulated into the correct position, or not. Nothing is really certain except that I do have options, which is nice to know. We'll wait until the 36 week ultrasound and see how things are looking then.

I'm now on every other week appointments and we'll just continue to monitor things. Both OB's will be out of the office in two weeks, so I'll go back for a recheck next Tuesday instead and then our 32 week ultrasound on Thursday.

As for my back pain, it's nonexistent as long as I don't overexert myself. I used the heating pad Saturday night, but I hadn't used it for over a week. I think I will be using it tonight though. I spent a little too long sitting at the computer trying to figure out where I wanted to buy my Bella Band from.

Next on the schedule was an oil change, and apparently a 15,000 mile service. Thank goodness for the prepaid maintenance plan. They had me out the door in less than 2 hours, I didn't even get to finish my entire book. I then headed off to the mall to try and find the Bella Band. Of course my Nordstrom only carries size 1 and 2-not even recommended if you're carrying multiples. So I stopped by Winco to pick up some more soda for the family and a few other items and then head home.

I enjoyed a lovely lunch of leftover spaghetti with meat sauce and then headed to bed. I finished up the last few chapters of my book, The Reader, and then snuggled up with the puppy for an hour nap before picking up the kids. I had somehow forgotten how good and decadent a lunchtime nap felt. I think I can get used to that again.

After school Logan and I played two rounds of Uno and then snuggled in the bed while he watched some horrible show and I rested my eyes. Lasagna is now in the oven and then we can all go to bed early. I woke up this morning with a headache and achy body, so I'm hoping that my body was just tired and I feel much better tomorrow.

Just a nice day!

Today was a great last day of vacation. We woke Ciera up at 8 to prepare for Monday and Logan got to sleep until 10:20 since he has no problem falling asleep and needs the extra sleep. The kids and I went to an 11:50 showing of High School Musical 3. We waited so long to go see it because I was 'making my point' that it was wrong for the first two to be shown on TV and the 3rd one was a theater release-wrong in my opinion. I refused to pay full price for that, so we waited for it to hit our $3 theater, only it's $3.75 on the weekends (yes, I almost skipped it when I found out they charged more on the weekends). Logan didn't like it as much as the first two and Ciera did enjoy it. I, being the hormonally charged one, cried at least 3 times during this G rated movie meant for an 8 year old! Pathetic, I know!

Ciera then had a pitching lesson with her dad and Logan and I had some lunch at Panda Express. Mostly Logan had lunch, as I still can't find much to eat there (the Chicken with String Beans just didn't look super fresh). We then went next door to Walmart and picked up some yarn for him. He's learned how to 'crochet' at school and was excited to pick his own yarn. Logan does not generally go to the store with me, and I had a really nice time being with him and chatting about all sorts of things. He really is growing into such a neat person and I'm just so proud to call him mine.

We had a hodge-podge of left-overs for dinner and we all watched Footloose. The soundtrack and the dancing was exactly as I remembered it, but I did not remember how boring so much of the dialog was. We did manage to get through it and I was saddened to find that I just could not dance with this belly! We all played a round of Uno and then it was bedtime already. Ciera will of course stay up for another couple of hours reading and packing her things up for school, but Logan should be done reading and fast asleep within 10 minutes.

The babies behaved fabulously today. We slept well last night and there were no gigantic movements that caused even brief discomfort, just the mild wiggling and nudges so that I know they are still there. I didn't even have heartburn today! Unfortunately, the other H twin has reared it's ugly head again. Logan and I had a lovely conversation about them and what causes them (since his pregnancy is when they first appeared). He feels confident that he will never have them.

Tomorrow I see the OB bright and early and we'll see just how much weight I've gained. I'm thinking the number will be a tad higher than expected/hoped for. The weight seems to have come on much easier than it had at the beginning of the pregnancy when the babies were denying me all sugar. Then I'll take Brian's car in for an oil change. I'm also hoping to stop by the mall and try on a Bella Band and see if it works any better than the horribly tight and constantly shifting knockoff I bought at Motherhood. If it works it will allow me to continue wearing my shirts that 'should' fit but will soon be showing the bottom of my belly to everyone. The rest of the day should be fairly easy. I think we'll go ahead and have the lasagna for dinner tomorrow as well, making dinner just as easy.

Happy Monday everyone!

30 weeks 2 days belly pictures

I've done a really good job of remembering to apron up before cooking and doing the dishes so that I don't get a wet belly. Well, I forgot tonight while I was doing the dishes. The shirt is honestly not stained, I just got all wet. This is the same shirt I wore on Christmas Eve and I'm pretty sure it covered my belly better then.

30 weeks 2 days

Measures 45 1/2 cm

Measures almost 36 inches

We found ham!!

I was scared to go to Costco on a Saturday with only a hope that they would have a spiral cut ham. I was shocked to find no lines AND a ham, plus they are now carrying the turkey burgers with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese that I had found at the beginning of the pregnancy (I'm sure I blogged about it). I had to walk to the back of the store to get the ham and I was still able to get in and out in under 10 minutes. My Costco never has short lines, so I was amazed today!

So dinner went on as planned, ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, Yukon potatoes baked in the pineapple/brown sugar ham sauce, and peas. The birthday person gets to pick the menu and my lovely daughter chose peas-and potatoes. We had berry sherbet and brownies for dessert.

We all had a nice time, played some games (Skipbo and Blokus-thanks again), watched some football and played some pool. I paced myself throughout the day so I really wasn't stressed about anything, but I'm a wee bit tired and ready for a bath. Some of it was intentional though, as I only got 6 hours of sleep last night. I'm hoping to be able to fall asleep tonight before 2am. I love our school breaks, but it's so hard to get back on schedule, 6:45 comes so early.

Logan had basketball pictures this morning. Brian took him, but I sent him off with good looking blow dried hair. I love his hair when we blow dry it, not so much when it just air dries (it just gets a tad poofy). Then I ran to Costco after a quick house clean-up. Finally it was time for Logan's first basketball game of the season. It went pretty much as expected, we hadn't gone over defense at any of our practices. We were also playing probably the best of the 5 teams. We did get creamed, but Logan played a fantastic game. He scored the first basket of the game and had many rebounds and even a blocked shot. The best part was seeing him smile out there though. Logan's got basketball practices on Thursday and Friday nights and will begin weekly Saturday games. I believe his indoor soccer games start next Sunday as well.

Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. Ciera has a pitching lesson and then we'll go see High School Musical 3. I think we all would be willing to take another week off, but at least the kids don't complain about going back anymore. They're just happy to be able to see their friends again.

I've been measuring the belly for a while now and it's definitely bigger, although it could just be the babies changed position again. The photos will be uploaded tonight, hopefully.