Pictures from Keller's "5th" birthday party at Mimi's house

12 WEEKS!

Here is the belly bump this morning at 12 weeks, and of course, Saylor kissing "her twins". These little beans will be spoiled from kisses from their big sister!

THE DREADED 12 WEEKS IS OVER!!! I think every pregnant woman looks forward to that 12 week mark... and I am NO exception!!! We are heading into the wonderful 2nd trimester (well not sure if it's this week or next, but I'm going with sooner than later). We were supposed to head home yesterday, but plans changed and we'll head home either Monday or Tuesday. No one ever has to twist our arms too hard to stay at Mimi and Didi's house!!! I am beyond thankful for the last month spent here at Mimi's house. I don't care how old we get, it's always nice having "mom" take care of us, and taking care of us is ALL Mimi has been doing!!! I don't know how she does it, but she has done so much for us with a grateful attitude. She is amazing. She will soon be mothering and helping my older sister as she is preparing for the birth of her 2nd child.

I asked Saylor the other day what she thought the babies were and she said "one boy and one girl". I then said, "Well would you be happy if there were 2 boys" to which she replied with an emphatic "NO". I proceeded to tell her that we needed to be thankful for whatever God decides to give us and He may have planned it to be 2 boys. (I just want to prepare her so she is not so disappointed). After that comment, she broke down in tears. The poor thing just wants a sister so bad... and even though the gender is already in place and determined, I'm praying for one little girl for her sake!

I'm a little behind in posting belly shots, but here is my 9 week belly shot.... I'm excited to see how big my belly can actually get!!!

My morning sickness has FINALLY tapered down and actually feels like regular m/s that I had with both Keller and Saylor. It usually only hits me around 4pm and I just "feel" sick, I no longer vomit! What an answer to prayer at this point. I was starting to think I'd NEVER feel better, but it was a way of life. I am not taking for granted every minute I feel "normal".

We had a fun weekend here at Mimi's house. Keller's 5th birthday is September 13th, so we celebrated with a little party early. He wanted a "Ben 10 alien force" birthday, so he got all Ben 10 stuff and even had a Ben 10 cake. Mimi and Diddy sure know how to make birthday's special (not to mention the T-bone they grilled for him).

Believe it or not, I'm beginning to feel the babies move already. Last week I thought I felt them, but I just brushed it off as nothing, but now I'm sure that I'm feeling them move/slightly kick. This is always the fun part of pregnancy for me.... I woke up this morning and either one or both had made their way to the front of my lower stomach... I felt a huge KNOT and rubbed it and they disappeared...

We are getting ready to head home this week... but here are a few pics from Mimi's house.

STARTING MY 12th WEEK.....

Here are some answers to questions I've had lately:

1. Are you showing yet?

Answer: Yes and No. I feel I was "showing" even BEFORE I got pregnant....lol.... but honestly, probably not. With twins, it's recommended to gain 15-20 in the first trimester and will the sickness I've had, I've managed to actually lose 9 lbs. Never thought of getting pregnant to LOSE weight! I do feel my uterus getting bloated, but not ready for maternity clothes just yet.

2. Do twins run in your family?

Answer: Yes, my grandfather (on my dad's side), Leland Ramsey was a fraternal twin.

3. Are you having a C-section?

Answer: I PRAY I do not! There obviously is a higher chance of delivering via C-section given multiple babies, but my Dr. will deliver vaginal with 3 stipulations: 1) BOTH babies must be head down. 2) I can not deliver in a delivery room, must be in the Operating Room and 3) Unlike my other pregnancies, I have no option for epidural, I must have it. (sniff, sniff)

4. Will you find out the sexes?

Answer: Do any of you KNOW ME???? I have NO discipline to wait... of course we will, given both babies cooperate.

5. When is your due date?

Answer: My 40 week due date is March 13, 2008, but I am expecting to deliver early February.

6. How are your Dr.'s visits different than with a single baby?

Answer: For starters, I go to the Dr. every 2 weeks instead of every month. After 20 weeks, I'll go every week, whereas I don't think you do that with a single until around 35 weeks. One of the nice things is I get an ultrasound (with pics and video) everytime I go into the Dr.'s. I will also being seeing a perintologist throughout the pregnancy in addition to my OBGYN (guess it's standard procedure for this hospital).

7. Why are you considered "high risk"?

Answer: Apparently just carrying multiples puts you into the category of high risk. There tends to be a higher miscarriage rate with twins, higher chance of developing gestaional diabetes and preeclampsia. Other than those concerns, twins that are in the same sac and/or share the same placenta are at risk for TTTTS (twin to twin transfer syndrome) and the umbilical cords could get tangled up!

8. Are your twins fraternal or identical? (my first question to my Dr!)

Answer: There is no way of knowing (unless you have one boy and one girl on gender u/s, which would mean fraternal) until after they are born and even then it is difficult to tell. They can send the placenta to a lab for testing to find out for sure.

9. Other twin mom's have asked, Are your twins di di or mono di?

Answer: Mine are di/di (diamniotic/dichorionic... which essentially means ... they are in their OWN amniotic sac and have their OWN placenta.

Feel free to ask me any questions.... as I'm learning about this as I go.

Pictured above is TWIN B on top and TWIN A not wanting to be left out, so he/she is waving hello from below.
2nd pictures was 8.5 weeks. There is a yolk sac (not ANOTHER one) that should go away in a week or so.

Well I'm new to blogging, but figured this would be the easiest way to keep friends/family in the "know" of how we are doing with the twins.

Well I will start from the beginning. The kids and I decided to drive out to Cave Creek during July 4th week and dog sit for my parents while they were out of town. It was an unforgettable trip on many levels. It was the first time Keller actually started swimming on his own. He is like a fish in the water... truly amazed me. On July 2nd I decided to take a pregnancy test. I was only a day late, and we weren't trying, but I usually test monthly anyway, just to be on the safe side and to stop caffeine intake, etc. For 3 years the tests show up negative, so I expected nothing other than a negative, but on July 2nd, when I returned to the test I sat there in UTTER SHOCK as 2 very dark lines stared me in the face. I've never had a test show up that dark, so the result was unquestionably POSITIVE. I of course was THRILLED, even though it wasn't expected. I showed the kids right away and explained to them that God (with Kingsley's help) had put a baby in mommy's tummy. Right away there was the fight for who was going to get a brother or who was to get a sister. Saylor came up to me later that day and said, "I know Mommy, maybe there will be 2 babies, a brother for Keller and a sister for me"... I quickly laughed and said "Oh no honey, there is only one, and we'll let God decide if it's a boy or girl". I should've listened to her reason at that point... I told them both it was a secret as I wasn't sure how to tell Kingsley. We continued our fun for the week and picked up Diddy (Dad) at the airport on Saturday. That night Saylor was in the kitchen with him and she said "Diddy, mommy has a baby in her tummy, but SHHHH it's a secret and we can't tell". LOL... guess the cat was out of the bag at that point. I called Kingsley the next day and he was so very excited.

The next week I became HORRIBLY sick with morning sickness... it was very odd, b/c I never got it that bad with Keller or Saylor, but with this baby, it was like something I've never experienced. It came on fast... around 4.5 weeks and just made me become useless. I couldn't eat, couldn't walk, couldn't think, all I could do was dry heave and vomit constantly. I have a new compassion for those who experience m/s in this way. It's absolutley horrible on every level. We have always wanted 4 kids, but I had told Kingsley "With m/s being this bad, you better be praying for twins, b/c I can't go through this again". I will admit, I never really thought twins would be something in my life, but I did find it ODD that the pregnancy test came up positive SO fast, m/s came on strong and fast, my grandfather (on my dad's side) was a fraternal twin and I had a dream about twins... it had crossed my mind... but I still never thought it possible.

Around 6 weeks I began to spot... it was an "oh too familiar" feeling. I obviously know God is in control of all things, and a miscarriage was outside of my control, so I accepted this as a possible result and called my OBGYN. They called me in to do a viability ultrasound, and so on July 22nd, I drove (with the kids) to the hospital. I sat in the waiting room praying I wouldn't start dry heaving in front of everyone. I got called in and got on "the table". Dr. Frields turned on the u/s machine and I quickly saw a little bubble with a flutter... I knew INSTANTLY my sweet baby was alive... but he threw me off b/c he skipped right over the baby and didn't say anything... I got a little worried. I said "You know Dr. Frields, we wanted 4, but this m/s is SO AWFUL, let's try and knock twins out on this one" and he replied calmly "Andrea, that won't be a problem for you". That comment went over my head... I looked back at the monitor, and seemed he was having a hard time finding the heartbeat. I asked, "Is it ok"? He said, "Oh yes, this one up here has a good strong heartbeat, but this over here isn't coming up as strong because of it's position". I SAT STRAIGHT UP AND SAID "WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, do you mean this one over here, What is one over here mean, what are you talking about"???? The nurse just laughed and said "Oh honey, did you think he was kidding? You are having TWINS". I just sat there in disbelief, but those two little sacs on the monitor just were staring back at me. It was like time just stood still. He instructed me to lay back down and then we saw the 2nd baby's hb beating away nice and strong. He then kept looking ... I asked "what are you doing now" and he said "making sure there isn't a third" .... lol... at that point I almost fainted. He had noticed some cervical bleeding and had told me to rest as much as possible and he'd see me back in 2 weeks. I just sat in the parking lot shocked as could be!!!! Called Kingsley and said "be careful what you wish for" and told him. I don't think he believed me until he saw the u/s picture!

Fast forward a few weeks (since all I did for 3 weeks was lay in bed and puke). I realized quickly that I wasn't able to care for the other 2 kids in my condition. They were helping themselves to food and eating saltine crackers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was an emotional and physcial wreck. I finally solicited mom and dad for some help. After my 8.5 week checkup, my dad flew out and drove me and the kids to Arizona. Words cannot express my thankfulness for their love and willingness to help me in such a time as this. I know that to have us can be a burden at times, but they never make us feel that way. So for 2 weeks I laid in bed, never came out of the room, just prayed and prayed the sickness would go away. I couldn't eat, couldn't function. then on August 17th I woke up and ALL MY SYMPTOMS were gone... not just sickness, but ALL the symptoms associated with pregnancy!!! I called my Dr. right away as I knew this wasn't too normal. I had read alot about the high risk of m/c with multiples and realized once again that God was totally in control of the results. On the 20th my dad had called a golf buddy of his and told him the situation. He is an OBGYN and had me go into his office that night. We (mom and kids) all went in and I saw the most precious sight my eyes could behold... 2 little babies, with hands, arms, legs, feet, knees, just jumping and kicking and rolling all over the place! They couldn't sit still! I couldn't believe my eyes... again, time just froze... I just watched them in awe.... my first thought was, whoever says at 11 weeks a fetus isnt' a baby is a fool. They are alive as alive can get! And to see 2 of them.... just an amazing moment in my life!!

I know this is a LONG post, and I promise future ones won't be so long, but I wanted to catch you all up to date... .It is Thursday, the 21st and I'm still in AZ. I plan on driving home next Wednesdsay and go to my appt. on Thursday the 28th. I'm sure I'll have more pictures to post....
Thanks for reading....

Andrea