20 Weeks, lots to share

Time is flying by, it's helpful to have a job that keeps me busy and keeps my mind (and stomach) off of baby extravaganza. Todd and I made more progress in the house - we narrowed down the stroller and carseats we're going to get, we painted the room, Todd cut chair rails as well. It will look very cute, I'm very excited to have a newly decorated room. Still hasn't quite hit me yet that there will be babies in there in 4 months but the room is cute :)

I'm a little behind in my posts so for 19 weeks pregnant our fruit was the MANGO! Todd requested a side shot to show there's a belly growing. And yes, it feels weird every week taking a picture in the produce department and people always look at me like I'm crazy.

For the 20 week picture, we are officially measuring head to foot (previously it was head to rump) so they are both 10.5 inches long which is the size of BANANAS and each baby weighs about 2/3 pound. I must I dont quite see how these bananas really make sense, you would think i'd be much bigger if i'm holding bananas in my belly.

I'm just feeling fat. There's no other way to explain it - I don't feel pregnant, I'm not with the cute "baby bump"...no, I think I just look fat. Maybe once the babies push out past my current belly I'll feel different but I'm mentally not feeling good about how I look. Which makes it even more frustrating when people touch my stomach. It feels to me like people walk up and are jiggling the belly, not feeling the babies since I don't see it. I don't know of a nice way to tell people to not approach me - there are people that it's like a target they hone in on as soon as they see me. I don't even let Todd touch my belly at home anymore, he's learned to ask if it's OK first. Todd recommended carrying a bag or a sweater and always have my arms crossed...then there's the option of wearing a t-shirt that says "I don't come up and grab your belly, give me the same courtesy"..but that's sassy.

I don't know if this is normal but I'm just really grumpy about being pregnant right now. I don't like people touching me, I don't like people asking me how I'm feeling especially if I just saw them yesterday, I don't want oodles of advice on diapers or sleeping patterns when I'm not asking for it. I just don't want to talk about it since I'm not feeling any different. Maybe it'll catch up with me and I'll wish I did pay attention to the advice or the stories but right now I'm just indifferent and going on with my normal life with the exception of shopping or room decorating. I don't want to be treated differently or have every conversation revolve around the babies. Hopefully it's just a phase, maybe when I "feel" pregnant it will change and the motherhood instinct will kick in. Or I'll just wait it out until I have one baby in each arm on the operating table and it will kick in then.
 
We did find out the sexes to try to kickstart that motherly vibe, I thought if I knew what they were it would help me connect with them. It did...for a few days. Then I thought if I started telling people then their excitement would bounce onto me so we started telling a select few...and that worked...for a few days. So then I thought if I told more people then it would really sink in...and that worked...for only a few hours. I'm just waiting for that lightning bolt "AHA" moment where I feel like a mother of twins and that realization that it's only 4 months away. What are we having? One of each!

 On a different note, my dogs are great and they keep me energized every day. Macy is quite a handful but she's just the sweetest pup and really loves her mommy and wants to cuddle all of the time. I think they'll adjust to the babies really well - MacGyver will be the official "house protector" and attend to every cry and little noise the babies make. Macy will be the "hoover" and lick everything up that the babies spill and then lick their faces to make them giggle. And she'll probably play with all of their toys too and want to cuddle in their blankets. Builds the babies allergy tolerance early I guess.

Next appointment is Tuesday 4/3 for a general 20-week check up...weight check (ugggg), measurement, heartbeats, and Q&A. Anticipating an uneventful check up but there's officially less time than we started with and these appointments should get more interesting. 



Mothers Know Best

This past weekend was fabulous (and food-filled!). My parents were able to make it down to Florida, first time we’ve seen them since Christmas so it was nice. I don’t remember my dad loving buffets and food variety so much, but Friday night was buffet, Saturday was a BBQ meat-fest, and Sunday was another buffet! Needless to say, I think the doctor will be please with my weight gain next time we go! Last week the food to compare the babies to was a turnip – I don’t know what a turnip looks like and I don’t think Publix carried them so I waited until this week when the vegetable was BELL PEPPER (just in length, not in total size!) To avoid this picture looking like the avocado or the lime I went with yellow peppers for a little differentiation.

Mom was a huge help this past weekend helping me to calm down and set realistic expectations about what we needed. I had doubts that furniture would fit in the room, thinking I needed more furniture than we do, overwhelmed by the options and variety at the baby stores, and just mentally exhausted with too many options. I think mom was overwhelmed too at Babies R Us – she kept saying how much things have changed and there are too many options. Mom put some good things in perspective, and she left with a homework assignment to sew some very cute curtains for the room:

1.       Babies won’t really need a formal “dresser” in their room. Baby clothes are so tiny, and they can be hung or stacked. For things that need drawers, the Tupperware ones will work just fine in a closet. Save space and be practical.

2.       Full-size cribs will be safer and last longer than the mini-cribs. I doubted that 2 full-size cribs will fit in the room, but now that I’m no longer thinking about a dresser they will both fit fine. Mom said that I was able to crawl out of my crib at 9 months old and we would jump and climb all over the inside so the bigger it is it may be better.

3.       Register for what we will need immediately when we get home from the hospital and don’t think about all of the extra peripherals.

4.       What kind of stroller would you REALLY be comfortable pushing around most places? When I think of strollers and when I’m going to use them the first and pretty much only thing I think is “how will this stroller work at Disney”. There are SO many more places that I will be using a stroller outside of Disney!!

5.       Babies aren’t going to know if they’re “deprived” of anything fancy…as long as they are fed, comfortable, and changed they won’t know if they have the fancy swing or the regular swing, if they are sleeping in a crib or a play yard.

I still have a few things I’m meddling over if they are “necessities” or “nice to have” or even which option:

• First is a play-yard with a bassinet. Do babies need bassinet, or can you get a padded positioner and swaddle them so they feel tight and safe? 
•   Strollers for two – side by side or back to front? Once the kids are sitting up I would always feel bad for the kid in the back who has no view of anything except the back of the other kid’s head (again, thinking of Disney the kid on the front can see everything and the kid in the back gets nothing). But, the tandem strollers are much easier to fit through doorways and have better storage compartments so practicality of a tandem stroller is much better. 
•    Bottles – so many kinds and brands. And are the drop-in ones still relevant? I think the convenience of that sounds great – to not have to wash bottles and just throw away the liners rather than washing out 10 bottles a day? And can you just put bottles in the dishwasher or do you need those fancy sterilizers? 

•  Car Seats – SO many options at a huge variety of price ranges! I know Tampa General will give us a free one but there’s no guarantee to which brand/type it will be so we don’t know if it will fit into a stroller. So, should we purchase the infant car seats with the infant stroller; then 6 months later have to purchase 2 more car seats and a completely different stroller?  That’s $700 right there in car seats and strollers.

On a different note – I’m very proud of myself for some huge strides this past week. I registered for ALL of the baby classes we wanted to take (CPR/First Aid, Caring for Newborns, Labor & Delivery, Hospital Tour, Breastfeeding), I signed up for MOMS (Mothers of Multiples) with the hopes there is a yard sale or some good information on what we need, and I bought my very first pack of diapers at the grocery store! I combined a store coupon, competitor coupon, and manufacturing coupon and got a package of Huggies diapers originally $10.99 for $3.49 PLUS a free pack of Huggies Wipes. That’s a steal, I was excited. And Todd patiently waited as I gathered my coupons and proudly handed my stack to the checker.

We go to get an “anatomy sonogram” on Friday. Making sure the babies have heartbeats, two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, and we’ll also quite possibly find out the genders (and keep it between us) because this is the longest pregnancy ever and I just want to know something more than their heartbeats!

A few forgotten nuggets...

I can't believe I forgot these nuggets in my last post! Something else I learned from the Multiples class was that the reason that babies have opposite schedules of their mother's when they are first born is because when they are in the womb during the day is when I'm walking around, getting up, and the womb makes a "swaying" motion like a cradle putting them to sleep. When you sit down or lay down for bed is when it is still so it no longer has them sleeping, they think it's time to play! I never put those two thoughts together but I thought it was pretty interesting. Maybe that "waddling pregnant lady" thing has something to it, we are making a natural swing for them inside.

The second nugget is that Dr Lynch has a very excellent track record of predicting babies prior to their birth. She even predicts in the womb with multiples each one, not just "one boy and 2 girls" but "baby A is this, Baby B is this, Baby C is this". So, of course yesterday after she measured and listened to the heartbeat she was very certain that Baby A (on the left side, closest to the cervix) is a boy. Unquestionable she said that it would be a boy. Baby B (on the right side, sitting higher) she thinks may be a girl but she is not as certain on that one. Her nurse said it would be 2 girls, but Dr Lynch quickly corrected her and told her there was 1 boy in there for sure. So, we may have a purple situation growing in my belly.

And, Todd and I finalized our top baby boy name and top baby girl name yesterday at dinner. They are fantastic. And they are staying in our heads until the babies are here :)

Avocados!

March 6th has come and gone...that was the date of our next baby appointment. It's disappointing to go for these check-ups, I anticipate so much more excitement and really the doctor talked to us, measured my belly, listened to the heart beats, and sent us on our merry way. I don't know what I was expecting - but there isn't a whole lot of fanfare that goes with check up appointments. What she did say (that I was very surprised to hear) is that I haven't gained enough weight! Since the new year I've gained 7 pounds, which is pretty much just the 1st trimester. I thought that was a lot, I don't think there's really any reason to gain weight in the first trimester at all. And considering my eating roller coaster I'm surprised that it is only 7 pounds! Doctor recommended that I should be grazing all of the time, and eating "smart" foods - fruits and veggies are good, but I need to pack on the protein and calories so she recommended lots of milk, cheese, Ensure, peanut butter, etc. I don't know what she's talking about, I don't see how I only gained 7 pounds when none of my old pants fit and my bras are all way too tiny. She shouldn't worry...that weight will all pack on very shortly...

This week's fruit was AVACADOS. Looks surprisingly like the limes picture but they are different!

We also went to our first baby prep class - Preparing for Multiples. Again, kind of disappointed, not sure what my expectations were. I was hoping it would be a full class, meeting other young moms, networking...there were 2 couples in there including the Burchie's. The other couple in the room was a very nice domestic partnership couple who also went through USF IVF to have their babies; nice ladies, just not people that I think we'll be lifelong friends since they were a bit older than we were and lived over the bridge. We did get some good nuggets of knowledge that I didn't know regarding Tampa General Hospital and how they deliver multiples:

• Multiples are guaranteed the bigger rooms (YESS!!!). They have small rooms, and then they have the larger rooms and multiples are guaranteed to have the larger private rooms on the 4th floor of the women's center. during the general TGH tour of the hospital they only show the small rooms to set people's expectations but not for us!
• Multiples always deliver in an operating room, even if it's not a C-Section. Just in case there is a complication they like to have the OR ready to quickly retrieve the babies.  So, VERY glad to hear that because that means it will be guaranteed to ONLY be me and Todd in the room when the babies come out :) No audience for me.  And, there will be a nice peaceful recovery time for me alone in the OR with the babies alone for a good hour while they sew me up. I get really excited and even get the chills when I think that perhaps our babies can be delivered in the exact same O.R. that they were implanted in!! Retrieved, concieved, implanted, and delivered all in the same room would be the coolest story ever.
• We saw a video of C-Section. Remarkable. And of course, Todd cringed so we know he will only be on the front side of the sheet and not anywhere near the delivery area. If it's a planned C-Section I can skip all of that back pain, heavy breathing, water breaking nonsense of labor which would also be awesome. The recovery would just really suck. And with a planned c-section it takes longer for the milk to come in unforunately so that is another downside to it.
• The nurse gave some really good advice regarding some home preparations for us to consider. for example, instead of buying infant bath tubs and having to bend down to give a bath after a c-section, she said the kitchen sink works great and it will be easier on my abdomen. (Just have to get the dirty dishes washed first...) I wouldn't have even thought about the pain of that.
• For a shower, if people don't want to give a gift they can give an alternate gift of "their time" and have a sign-up to bring over dinner or offer to do a chore for us one night after the babies are born. Isn't that a clever idea?
• Bed rest before delivery is almost guaranteed (Noooo!!).
• Babies get into their "routine" after about 2-3 months. Which, of course, is convenient for Todd and not me. The plan is for me to take my 12-weeks leave to care for the babies and then Todd would take an unpaid 12-weeks afterwards to care for them so we do not have to have child care services until 5 months old. Of cousre the babies will be in a nice routine by the time I go back to work...
• Most importantly, she emphasized that a postive attitude will lead to a positive pregnancy. Multiples pregnancy can be more difficult, but that is only if you think it will be difficult.

We have been productive around the house - we emptied out the front bedroom so it is ready to be transformed into a nursery. That was a big step to figure out how everything will fit in a small room. Hopefully the space constraints will prevent us from accumulating too much crap that we don't really need. Next big step is to think about registering and what we actually need. Any advice on what is "required" to have for newborns??

Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!

Some books we've read say it starts at 12 weeks...some say 13 weeks...some say 14 weeks...but since we are in our 15th week of pregnancy it's official to say "Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!" There's no doubt about it anymore, we've passed that first trimester and are trucking along in the second. The books say the nausea should be gone and the energy level should be back and the books are exactly right! I don't "feel" pregnant anymore from a tired or upset stomach perspective, I'm able to function during the day without a nap, and my appetite has gone back to normal from its previous roller coaster. I can also officially say that I never once threw up of morning sickness, never once had to call into work feeling too ill to function. I've had many headaches and many grumpy Kelly days but not enough to hold me back. So far, so good and I'm considering myself a very lucky lady. Supposedly in the next few weeks the pregnancy brain & forgetfulness is supposed to start kicking in, hopefully I'll bypass that as well...

Other than continuing to progress through the week, no new developments here. We see the doctor again on March 6th for our next check up - we will make sure to tell them right when we walk in that we do not want to know the gender!  While I don't feel any different, I do feel like I look different in the mirror, especially my lady-lumps which are getting bigger and bigger!! To anyone that would see me and didn't know I was pregnant they would think I look heavy or overweight; for those that do know I'm pregnant they say I am starting to show. It was very cute last week Todd was staring at my belly as I was laying down and he said "I can see them! You have a bump!" I don't see the bump outside of my normal overweight stomach but he said he definitly sees a  bump under my belly button that carries differen than my normal weight. We also went to Disney with some good friends this weekend and they both said that I was looking "more pregnanter". So I guess we can also say it's official that the baby bump is starting to pop out. Makes me wish I had done better with weight loss pre-pregnancy, there would be less confusion on "fat" vs "pregnant" if I had taken care of that "fat" part.

According to the books, 15 weeks are about 4 inches long (inches now not centimeters anymore!) and their organs are fully developed and just need to grow more. In fruit terms, they would be the size of an orange :) Todd and I decided we'd find the fruit of the week and take pictures during our weekly grocery shopping. Last week they were limes.

We've also finalized on a baby nursery theme. I was thinking farm or colors and shapes and then the absolute perfect thought came to mind as an inspiraction from a picture hanging on the wall. A beach theme with a hint of Disney. This photo is the inspiration...a little beach, a little disney, and a lot of relaxation. I think this makes the room easier to decorate too - lots of Florida type decorations and colors should be good. A friend had a great idea too of adding in the accents from their beach umbrella by finding a fabric and making curtains or crib skirts out of the red/yellow striped fabric. Or getting extra long beach towels and making pillows or curtains out of that. So many great ideas - hopefully I'm motivated to do cute things.

Until next week when there's more exciting updates...we continue to be thankful and blessed for all of the excitement surrounding our arrivals. Thank you for your continued interest in our little miracles' developments. 

1st Trimester Screening

Today we did the first trimester screening - a non-invasive ultrasound that looks to check to see if the babies have nasal bones (if they don't it could be a sign of downs syndrowm), and to check the fat sacks on the back of their necks. Good news - both measured just fine, and they are measuring right along with the due date. It was nice to have an ultrasound today and not have to wait another 4 weeks!! Although I'm still unsure if my insurance will pick that up - I didn't have to pay a co-pay today with my visit which makes me nervous.

Here are the best pictures she could get.

Baby B measuring 12 weeks 3 days. "B" just means further away from the cervix, not less important or weaker. Unfortunately Baby A had the hiccups and was hiding so he/she didn't get a solo shot.

Both babies in one picture! I like how they are facing opposite directions, it's like they're saying "hey we are twins but we are totally different".



12 Weeks check up

We had our 12-week check up yesterday with our new doctor group at USF - just the general OB/GyN department. The plan is to rotate through the doctors since it's a doctor's group so unfortunately we won't see the same doctor every time. Both Todd and I walked out of the appointment a little disappointed yesterday and I realized why: through the IVF procedure we really created a 1 on 1 bond with our doctor and nurse coordinator. They knew us, they knew our history, they knew exactly what day and what was going on, they provided us a calendar and everything.. We saw them so frequently, looking back at my calendar we visited Dr Mayer/USF IVF over 20 times in a 5 month period. It was a huge peak in visits, started out slowly, then during the shots process we were going everyday for blood work and follow up, and then back down to ever 2 weeks. Now our visit schedule is every 4 weeks! How anticlimactic?! I know it will pick back up towards the end of the pregnancy but right now we were on such an excited high and we're slowing down.

We officially signed up for our first baby class - we are going to the "Preparing for Multiples" class on March 6th at TGH. I'm excited, I should be showing more by then but most importatnly we'll meet other couples who are having twins in the tampa area and make some relationships and get some ideas back and forth for how to deal with certain things. I'm also considering joining the local chapter of the Mothers of Twins Club to get more info and advice. People at work are hearing about it now and for those people I'm not comfortable giving the whole IVF story to i just tell them we're having twins. When they ask "do twins run in either of your families?" I smartly answer..."THEY DO NOW!!" Always gets a chuckle.

At this point I guess no news is good news for us - we heard both heartbeats again yesterday and this time it was through my belly! I didn't have to get undressed or anything, they were able to pick up the heartbeats just through the external doppler. Even the intern was able to pick up Baby #1's (on my right side) immediately. Baby #2 was hiding a little but still had a normal heart rate. She also said my uterus is up towards my belly button already (whatever that means) but i think it means my belly is growing even if you can't see it under my jelly rolls.

Happy 12 weeks! 24 more weeks to go for safe twin due date!