25 Week Belly Bump

It's a day early, but I'm sure we'll be busy (EATING) tomorrow! I went to the Dr.'s yesterday and everything was great... again. The only thing that has changed was the expected bedrest. It's not too bad... 3 hours a day off my feet. I think it's much needed at this point. He also advised me NOT to travel:( Apparently labor/delivery moves quickly and sometimes unexpected with twins whereas a singleton you can see symptoms a little earlier and "prepare". We still plan on going to Arizona. My dad is friends with a good OB out there in case anything happens. We are excited to see Mimi and Diddy again before life gets too hectic!

Prayer...

Well yesterday's opthomologist appointment did not go as well as our previous appointment. Keller's vision in his left eye is starting to deteriorate again. It's back to 20/50 with glasses!! It seems the amblyopia (or lazy eye) is starting to return. Once the brain stops using the eye, there is nothing they can do to "fix it", so our attempts are to help the brain use the eye before it completely gives up. This has been an on going struggle. These last few months Keller had the option of wearing his glasses all day or patching for 2-3 hours. Since we "lost" (or Keller hid) his glasses we ended up patching, but not consistently. Now he MUST wear his glasses everyday, there is no option. I will also patch each day in addition. Once he reaches 7-8 years old his vision issues will be permanent, so our goal is to improve it as much as possible. It breaks my heart to see him realize more and more of the severity of his eye mutation. He saw a cross disection of an eye at the Dr. office and asked if his looked like that. We explained he was missing the "strings" that connect the eye to the brain. In his sweet innocent voice he says "Mommy, I'm all done having a hurt eye, will God give me a new healthy one soon?".... The Dr. we go to is a believer and she grabbed his leg and said "Keller God does NOT make mistakes, even if we think they are mistakes, God knows better than we do and we need to trust Him"! She encouraged him through a few stories as well. She has been a HUGE blessing in our lives. I didn't realize how little he can see with his left eye. When she patched his right eye he said "where did mommy go?" I had been sitting a few feet away from him! He's been so dependent on one eye, and we had little idea how he was shutting off from using the left eye! All that to say, if you think about it, please pray for him and for his vision to improve!!!

Interesting facts (2)....

Where
YOUNGEST MOTHERS/FATHERS OF TWINS & TRIPLETS
Details
--YOUNGEST MOTHERS OF TWINS--
The youngest mother of twins is Donna Dowman of England, conceived twins at 13 and had Rachel and Rebecca at age 14 in 1997. Nicola Doherty of England had her twins Courteney and Caitlyn April 20, 1997 when she was 14.

--YOUNGEST FATHER OF TWINS--
The youngest father of twins is James Sutton of England, who was 13 when his girlfriend Sarah Drinkwater (age 17) had identical twins Leah and Louise in late 1999.

--MOST TWINS--
Mrs. Fyodor Vassilyev of Shuya, Russia (1702 or 07- June 16 1782) gave birth to 16 sets of twins (in addition to 7 sets of triplets & 4 sets of quads.). She had a total of 69 children, 67 of whom survived infancy who were born between 1725 - 1765. Mrs. Mary Jonas who died in 1899 had 15 sets, and all were boy/girl.

-LONGEST INTERVAL BETWEEN TWINS--
Mrs Peggy Lynn gave birth to Hanna on November 11 1995 and twin Eric on February 2 1996, 84 days later, the longest interval between twins. The previous record was held by Mrs. Danny Berg of Italy, who had Diana on December 23 1987 and her twin Monica on January 30 1988, 38 days later. The Keys family of Louisiana had their twins 95 days apart, in 1994 and 1995.

24 Week Peri appointment

My suspicions were confirmed at this weeks Dr. appt. Our little girl did indeed go transverse (sideways) and is still in that position! Our little guy however decided to go into a breach position! His position is the only one I'm concerned with as we get closer to delivery, because he is considered "twin A", the closest to the cervix. He is the one who will be delivered first, so his position determines whether we attempt a natural delivery or a c-section. They can of course still flip and change positions multiple times in the weeks to come, so we still have time to manipulate him to get into the right position!
Both babies weighed in at a whopping 1.5 lbs! They are expected to be 3 lbs. by Christmas! They are right on track in the growth department. Not too big or too small. Our little guy got bored of taking pictures and turned his back to us before the 3D machine was turned on, but our little girl was quite the little model! She was opening and shutting her eyes, opening and shutting her mouth, sucking on fingers, scratching ear, etc. She reminded me so much of Saylor when I saw her at my 38 week ultrasound. They have the same little nose and mouth! From what I could tell from the 2D ultrasound, our little guys seems to have Kingsley's nose. Because she is transverse and he is breach, her feet are right on top of his head and he is getting a facial beating from her constantly!!! I guess it's payback for him kicking her a few weeks ago! I can't wait to hold them both and kiss them to no end.
The only other thing they checked was that there was equal amounts of amniotic fluid in both placenta's, and there was. Their cords were not wrapped around their neck nor did they have any obvious knots in either one of them. The Dr. measured organs (heart, kidney's, bladder, etc) and everything is growing right where it should be.
My cervix is still 4-4.5 in length which was the BEST news, because now we can travel to Mimi's and Diddy's for thanksgiving. We weren't planning on going since my OB didn't want me traveling after my 24th week, but since the appt. went so well I believe we can take a little car ride over to Arizona for a few days! Get that broccoli casserole ready mom.... I'm coming for it!!!

23.5 Week Belly Bump

It's late, but here is a picture of this week's progression... I seem to be carrying low now... so maybe our girl turned? We'll found out on Thursday at the peri appt.

23 Weeks

Always a new and FUN symptom to experience and this week it's the HEARTBURN!!! The myth is that it means the baby has a lot of hair... not sure how true that is, but if it is, with doubling the amount of hair, I have double the heartburn!!! I seriously feel like I'm breathing fire most the time. It's an awful feeling, but I try to remember what the end result of all this is!

A new difficulty, or something that is close to impossible is shaving!!! I just can't bend or flex in too many positions.... nor can I see past my belly, so having 2 smooth legs won't happen anytime soon. Apparently I had a few rough patches, and Saylor was QUICK to point them out to me... (yes, we are still wearing shorts here in CA)

I should be experiencing a big growth spurt in the next 4 weeks. The babies are supposed to double in size by week 27-28! I can't imagine getting twice the size I am, but we'll wait and see I guess. Today was quite interesting. Our little girl decided to go transverse (sideways) for about 20 min or so. I could feel her moving and I looked down to see a giant growth like thing (her head) protruding out from the right side of my belly! I know not to touch or poke at her as she kicks or head butts quite hard... so I just sat and watched. I had this big round pregnant belly with a HUGE growth on the side... it looked really funny! After awhile she adjusted and found a more comfortable position. For a few minutes I just sat and imagined the day I'd be kissing her sweet head. It's amazing to realize just a little skin, some fat, muscle and tissue separate her head from my hand.

I will have to upload the belly shot later.... I have a hot date tonight and need to get ready (add about 2-3 hours of cleaning!)

Double Digits!!!

99 days left until my due date..... (just subtract 21 days from the rotating baby on the right).... that puts me 37 weeks.... full term for these two little ones... Funny because I feel like I could go in 10 days!

Another appt.

The appointment went well. My blood pressure, weight, babies weight and uterus growth is right on track.... They always ask if the twins are "active" and I said "well, my little boy is, but my girl is lazy".... The Dr. wanted to make sure there was ample supply of amniotic fluid around them, so I received another ultra sound. Both were active (VERY active) with good strong heart beats. They looked HUGE to me... they are over a pound each and are over 8 inches from head to "rump". I asked him a few questions and we were on our way. I know you may get tired of reading about boring appointments, but boring appointments are always good from my perspective....

More pictures

Pictures are of Pismo Beach and Morro Bay

22 Week Belly bump

22 week belly! This was taken on Pismo Beach, where our resort was located. Kingsley and I had such an amazing (and much needed) weekend away at a marriage retreat! We had a chance to talk (without interruptions), and dream/goal about our family. Part of our homework was to come up with a "mission statement" (most businesses have them, churches, etc... so why not a marriage?) It was really wonderful to think and ponder about where we want to take our family and what we want to portray to the world. I am blessed and beyond thankful for my family and the responsibilities God has given me. I want to be more purposeful in my days so that each minute is truly working towards our goal as a family...

Aside from the incredible seminars, Kingsley and I traveled north to Cambria, CA. We ate the best (beef:) ribs in the world, then went and shopped around in Morro Bay. We got to see quite a few dolphins and sea lions swimming around! We then drove down to the Apple Farm for MORE food and headed back to the beach!

It was the perfect weekend!

22 weeks

22 weeks down and 15 to go (hopefully)! Kingsley and I are up in Pismo beach at a marriage retreat so I don't have a picture to upload... But thanks to the iPhone I can atleast post!
The twins are doing well... Or atleast I think they are! I actually spend WAY too much time laying on my back and watching them go crazy! Other than my uterus hitting my diaphragm and making breathing almost impossible (and making digestion difficult)... I am doing well!
I met a woman at the retreat with boy/girl twins (now 21) and it's been fun picking her brain and hearing stories!!! It got me even more excited for the opportunity ahead... But also nervous for some of the "things to come"!! She was explaining that towards the end, her belly got so big and heavy that she would black out if she laid on her back! I've read about that but never met anyone who had the joy of experiencing it. She said it made ultrasounds very difficult. They could only do a few minutes at a time before she started blacking out. I'm sure she'll share more stories as the weekend continues, and I can't wait to hear ALL of them!

The kids are staying with friends and I miss them so much already. I can't wait to see their little faces when we return. B... if you are reading this, words can't express my gratitude for your willingness to help.... especially with your "plate" full right now. What a blessing you are to me! I love you.

It's ELECTION DAY!

If you are an American citizen... GO VOTE!!! Not to mention you'll get a free starbucks coffee, krispy kreme doughnut and a scoop of ben and jerry's ice cream.....

My first try at bed rest....

Well I failed my first try at bed rest! As of Friday I was put on full bed rest due to some MINOR spotting. (just until Monday, today) I wasn't even going to call the Dr., but figured with the weekend approaching and if it got worse, I wanted to know my options. SO...... since I down played it they said I could stay home, but had to be on full bed rest. If anything changed I would have to go into labor and delivery to have my cervix checked to make sure I'm not going into early labor!!! It could just be a capillary. Needless to say, the first 2 hours were great, but then it quickly got old. Just 2 days (ok, 1 day... went to church on sunday and ran errands) was horrible. I have so much to get done (and am moving slower by the day). I am really going to try to slow down and rest more so that I can avoid ANY bed rest in the future.

The GOOD part about the weekend, was that we got a HUGE storm (storms just don't happen here in CA... EVER!). I woke up 3am on friday morning thinking I was back in OHIO! In the 10 years of living here, I've never heard thunder or seen lightning and rain is a 5 min deal in the afternoon. SO.... to wake up to such a rare event was GREAT! I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I know you Ohioians think I'm crazy, but it was such an fun thing to experience (and have kids experience). It rained and stormed most of friday as well.

I'm off to get a few things done while I'm feeling "energized". Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.