Update

Well I just got off the phone with the Dr.'s office and it looks like bedrest for the weekend (HAPPY NEW YEAR). I'm supposed to be doing 4 hours a day (which I did for about 3 days) but it seems close to impossible to do with 2 little ones and a husband (and a house that needs cleaning!)... I had a urine culture done and there is blood in my urine, apparently not good for 30 weeks pregnant:) So the party will be held on the couch (my bed) this weekend! I wish you all well....

50 Days... and counting

The maximum time left is 50 days! I'm feeling it now as the swelling has started! Oh how beautiful and puffy we can be late in pregnancy...lol. I'm hoping and praying it's normal swelling and nothing related to pre-eclampsia or high blood pressure.

Babies are well.... I think they got into their first fight yesterday. One would kick, then immediately the other one would kick back and on and on it went. I believe our little boy had the last kick.... it was entertaining for awhile.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful New Year!

The couch...

Well I have officially termed the couch MY OWN BED! Ordinarily, it's not that comfortable, but with all the weight of my belly it's nice that it molds to my body. I don't have to shove pillows under my belly to keep it up! Sleeping is getting more uncomfortable by the day, but I'm thankful I can still sleep horizontal. My Peri had told me that I'd probably reach a point where only a reclining chair will work b/c of the pressure on my lungs! For now, I'm just thankful to get a few hours sleep and to be sleeping horizontally.

The only other "fun" thing to report is the swelling! Some days it's worse than others, but stepping out of bed (my couch) and walking in the morning is a little painful! Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just keeping everyone informed of the exciting things we encounter with pregnancy! Knowing what is to come is worth every bit of pain and uncomfortableness! In about 53 days (or less) I'll be holding my precious little ones.... I can't wait!

Few more pics...

29 Weeks!

I hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We sure did... but it was mostly due to the excitement our kids created. They are at perfect ages to enjoy the hype of the holidays! Since our family is ALL back east, we celebrated Christ's birth (by giving gifts:) home alone this year. Keller reminded me so much of ME as a kid. He had trouble falling asleep b/c of his excitement... then was talking in his sleep about santa coming down chimney and eating cookies... etc (he does know santa isn't real, but loves to play up the story). He woke up at 2:00, 4:00 and then at 7:30 asking if Santa came yet. He raced downstairs and was just yelling and running around screaming about 100's of presents (which was the furthest from the truth)! Saylor wanted to sleep in with daddy and didn't care to even go look! (FOR SURE KINGSLEY'S GENES IN THERE) I had told Kingsley, "it's a matter of seconds before he comes racing up and wanting us to come down and see"... and before words were out of my mouth we heard the pitter patter of his feet come racing up the stairs.... "mommy, daddy, you HAVE to come see this, hurry, HURRY". My heart just melted and tears welled up (yes, it's pregnancy related) because I remember that EXACT moment I had every single Christmas as a kid. (I'll admit .... it's not as fun being the parent:) That moment was priceless. Needless to say, we had a great morning!!!

Later in the afternoon, we had our closest friends drive up with their 4 kids to spend the day with us. They added so much fun and joy to our day. My UTI started acting up (on ALL days!) and I was unable to cook, stand, etc... I felt so helpless. My good friend (who is ALSO pregnant, 26 weeks along) took over the kitchen and cooked, cleaned, managed 6 kids etc. I don't know how she did it, but I must have thanked God for her 100 times yesterday afternoon. I am now a FIRM believer in superwoman... meanwhile the boys all played games on the Wii and we had fun watching them....

It was a fun and memorable day! Next year we'll have little 10 month olds crawling everywhere and eating the paper I'm sure:)

I PASSED!

Well the news I've been waiting for ... for almost 29 weeks.... I passed the GT 3 hour test! I was quite excited to hear the news so that I could enjoy all the "fixings" on Christmas Day. My OB heard their heartbeats nice and strong and my uterus measured normal for twins at 29 weeks. The only negative side to the appointment is that I think I have UTI (infection).... I had to go to the lab right after my appointment. I find out today if that is the case. I am kind of praying that IT IS... because if not, then the symptoms lead more towards pre-eclampsia which is quite dangerous! So all went well yesterday.

Other than that I'm starting to swell a little (in the mornings)... which I did with both Keller and Saylor, so it's no surprise. Standing hurts, but now sitting does as well. Laying down is the only way to relieve the pressure of both babies being head down. I was ordered to spend 2 hours on my left side (laying down) in the morning/afternoon and 2 hours on right side in the late afternoon!

Babies are doing well.... not kicking as much as moving. I feel huge body parts protruding out and it's fun to kind of push them back in! My little girl isn't so mean anymore.... she doesn't mind you touching her like she used to!
So that is the update for now.

I think I need to go put some Christmas music on and start wrapping some gifts! It will be such a fun Christmas (well as fun as it can be w/o mimi and diddy playing Santa Claus)!!! We are having our very good friends come up in the afternoon for some food, fun and sledding (hopefully). Their family means so much to us, so it'll be nice to still be with "family" on Christmas. I pray (and I just did so that I didn't lie in writing that) that everyone who reads this has a blessed Christmas and remembers the reason we celebrate.... the birth of our Saviour....

SNOW!

He's LOVING the snow!

Professional sledders!








It's not often we see snow here.... come to think of it the ONLY time you see snow in southern California is if you DRIVE to see it! So that is what we did. We drove north about 30 minutes to let the kids "experience" snow. We found a great little place for sledding. Keller had such a fun time sledding with Daddy while Saylor complained it was too cold the whole time! For a kid who didn't enjoy teeball too much, Keller sure enjoyed throwing quite a few snowballs! It was such a fun and memorable afternoon! We hope to do it again soon.

little man

Here is our little man at 28 weeks gestation. He kept us entertained the whole time:)

Saturday...

Well I made it! Not sure if I passed the GT test, but at least made it through w/o fainting! I got pretty dizzy and the nurse was checking on me every 5 min, but all went well and I've got some nice bruises on both arms to show for my labor:) I'll get the results on Tuesday.

Today is going to be an exciting day for both our kids.... we are driving to see SNOW! Keller saw snow in Ohio when he was around 1, and we saw a little snow in Phoenix (of all places) 2 years ago, but this will probably be the first time both kids REMEMBER the snow! They are quite excited and have gathered their sweatshirts (sad they don't own coats!) and scarves! I'm hoping we can borrow some sleds so they get to experience what "real sledding" is like. Our little town imports snow (which lasts a few hours) for our boat parade, but it's not the same as having hills and hills of REAL SNOW! I'm quite excited as well (though I'm not sure I can do the sledding thing), but it will remind me of the good ole days I had in Ohio as a kid. My dad always took us on some incredible snow sledding adventures. I loved seeing my dad act like a kid when the sleds came out... he would dodge trees and zip around bushes (sometimes we landed in them!) I loved that he encouraged us to be daring and take risks.... we always had the most memorable experiences even when we got hurt it made it even MORE fun! Thank you dad!

Well I have 2 more hours to kill at this glucose test... So I figured I'd update my blog from my peri appointment! Everything went perfectly, in fact it was better than I expected! Both babies are head down right now (thus the incredible pelvic pressure). I thought just our son was down but I guess his sister followed his lead! They both looked huge on the ultrasound! She is weighing in at 2.8 lbs while he is 2.6 lbs! It was amazing to see all 4 chambers of their heart! At this point they would notice any irregular heartbeat or murmur.. Both hearts were pumping beautifully! Their spines and other bones and organs all looked perfect as well! Our daughter was the shy one this time so we didn't get any pictures of her... But got a few good ones of our little man! He was so busy playing with his foot the whole time! He seemed fascinated by his toes and both hands were playing with it like it was a toy! So adorable!
I had asked the peri why they don't let mothers of twins go to 40 weeks. He said because twins mature (lungs develop etc) at a faster rate than a singleton... Full term or 40 weeks is 37 weeks for twins! Said after that point the placenta doesn't really nourish them and can deteriorate. He said even though I am 28 weeks the twins are developed at a 31 week fetus stage! Thus the reasons twins can be born at a premie stage with nothing wrong with them! That was quite comforting to hear! He said average twin births occur around 35 weeks.... That is February 3 for me!
So that is the update! The kids love going and seeing their "twins" and we were blessed to have Kingsley join is too! I know it's possible for one or both babies to change positions... I pray they stay head down!
I am so thankful to God who has allowed me to sail through this pregnancy with no problems. I know He is in control of all things! How comforting!
She (the nurse) is calling me in for another blood draw. She was nice and used small needles today. I asked her why would use bigger needles.... Apparently they can do that if you upset them! I've been kissing some butt with her to avoid big needles!

CBR

I've had it on my to do list for a few months and finally got around to finalizing the CBR (cord blood registry). We banked both Keller and Saylor's cord blood stem cells and are so thankful we did, as stem cell research is curing things we never thought it could (Type 1 diabetes, cerebral palsy, leukemia, etc). Of course our prayer is that we never have to use it, but in the case that we do, it's priceless to have. Selfishly (but never a reason), I'm thankful because for the mother you have 100% match. Father's aren't as "lucky", I believe their chances for a match are 25%. Many of you know our beliefs in medicine and drug therapy, so to have all of our children with banked cord blood stem cells is such a blessing. I thank Kingsley for allowing us (in philosophy and financially) to make the decision. (If you happen to read this honey, I love you). I have a few relatives and friends pregnant right now, so if you are interested, I can give you my contact guy at CBR... he is great! One of the best parts of the process is the collection. Because it takes 10-15 minutes to extract the stem cells from the umbilical cord, they place my babies on me all gooey and bloody (and still connected to me with umbilical cord) for those 10 minutes instead of rushing them off to be cleaned up. It is the most precious 10 minutes I have with them! I'm getting all teary eyed just thinking about it.

I'm also 28 weeks complete today.... so on to my 29th week. I will sigh a sigh of relief once I hit 32 weeks as the problems they will have (if born that early) will be minimal (Lord Willing). I also go to see my Peri today. I always look forward to getting a glance of my 2 babies... and it's almost as shocking as first finding out I was having twins. I still can't believe it. I have a hunch (could be WAY OFF) that our little boy is head down? Either that or he's kicking less and using arms to hit more... I'm feeling the kicks higher instead of lower now.

I'll post the HUGE belly picture later... hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Nothing new

I'm not posting much, because there is really nothing to post. All is well. My stomach is getting larger by the day making ordinary tasks quite hard. Sleeping is not as restful as it has been before as I wake up every time I turn b/c of the weight of my stomach hitting the mattress! Our little guy is much more active than his sister. I have a peri appointment on Thursday and then my 3 hour glucose test on Friday, and a regular OB appointment Tuesday. It'll be a busy week.

a pregnancy moment....

There are so many times I forget something, or do something stupid, trip, put clean laundry BACK IN WASHER TO CLEAN or put clean dishes in fridge, etc.... but last night was a good one. We were invited to my neighbor's HUGE Christmas party and with Kingsley out of town, I thought it would be fun to take the kids. So we all get dressed up and go over. I'm there almost an hour (meeting a ton of people), when I keep feeling something scratching my neck. I reached up and realized I had put my shirt on INSIDE OUT and BACKWARDS... the tag was just sticking out for everyone to see. I quickly ran to the bathroom and changed it, but it was completely obvious and completely ME! I'm not so sure it was pregnancy related since I've had that happen on numerous occasions..... I guess Kingsley is right about one thing... I do need to work on being more observant!!!

27 week belly bump

3rd TRIMESTER BEGINS!!!

It's the home stretch... the 3rd trimester! Right now the little one's are weighing over 2 lbs each... which is great if I go into early labor! I've gained almost 20 lbs. in this pregnancy and if I keep it to 1 lb a week over the next 9 weeks... I should keep it under 30 which is INSANE considering I gained 40-45 with Keller and Saylor! Not sure why the difference. Maybe it's the extreme morning sickness that did a number on me or it could be that I just can't eat as much since there isn't room in my stomach (nor do I want heartburn). Whatever it is, it hasn't been too intentional!

The twins have been nice to me lately, not too much movement. I get a tad worried at times, but then i'll feel a little flutter here or there. I believe counting kicks to make sure they are OK starts at 28 weeks.

I can't wait to see who/what they look like... I'm getting excited to hold them both and love on them. It's just a few weeks now and I'll be able to kiss them to no end. For now, they receive plenty of kisses from big sister Saylor. She loves to hug and kiss on the belly and tell them how much she loves them. I'm praying her excitement stays when we bring them home!

Off to finish Christmas Shopping....

All is well

Everything checked out great today. Both babies are still in the breech position. Our little girl's heartbeat was around 150 and our little guy's was 155. Blood pressure, weight, etc... are all where they should be. The only bad thing was he (Dr.) did not give me the green light to go to vegas... not even a glimmer of hope... it was an absolute NO!!! (so to my wonderful friends who steered me away from the idea of going..YOU WIN:) So I'll be home this weekend... and ON BED REST! He wasn't impressed that I haven't been off my feet for 2-3 hours in the afternoons.... so starting my 28th week (next week) he wants 4 hours bed rest a day! YIKES. I did come home and lay down for 2 hours .... so I'm starting to get the "obedience" concept:)

As I suspected...

Well it's off to the 3 hour glucose test... AGAIN FOR THE 3rd TIME! After drinking 50 grams of sugar, my blood sugar levels didn't come down far enough for the cutoff levels. I barely missed the mark. I figured that would happen since it happened with both Keller and Saylor. I dread the 3 hour as it's a fasting test, then spikes your insulin and it drops, etc.... I almost passed out with Saylor! I'll probably go a in for the test in a few days. I'm debating going to Vegas this weekend, and I don't want to stress about it all. I have another Dr. appointment tomorrow, so hopefully there will be more to report...

75 days left.... 10 weeks and counting.

When I think about 10 weeks ago (which seems like yesterday) I realize how fast the twins will be here. I keep thinking "I have time, lots of it", but in reality ... I DO NOT! I guess even when you are not pregnant life is like that. We all assume we have tomorrow or next week, but we aren't promised that. So with that in mind... I'm packing my hospital bag. I remember with Keller that there wasn't time to pack my bag once my water broke, so I was glad I had packed WELL IN ADVANCE (he was 3 weeks early too). It feels like forever since I've been in the hospital and I forget what I may need. Feel free to email or post any creative suggestions that may help!

Part of my urgency to pack came last night when I thought I was on my way to L & D (labor and delivery). I started dozing off on the couch when I was quickly awakened to such a painful, very painful feeling. Saylor had jumped right on top of my belly with her little 38 lb body and every muscle in my uterus contracted and wouldn't relax. For 20 minutes I laid there in pain, just crying b/c I couldn't move. Keller instantly was by my sides rubbing my back and getting me water, hugging me and giving me all the "i love you's" i could possibly ask for. I called Kingsley who came home and got the kids in bed. Once the muscles relaxed (and I relaxed) I started having painful contractions .... just a few of them... but they were not the typical braxton hicks! I debated calling my OB, but I thought, "he'll only ask far apart they are" and at that point they were not close enough to warrant a visit into L&D! So with this in perspective, I need to make sure I'm ready at any given time. (again, even when not pregnant, a good principle to live by). I pray I can cook these two little ones long enough to a safe delivery..... maybe I'll invest in a shield to protect them for now:)

Saylor kept getting out of bed and peeking over the balcony. I realized that because she internalizes everything that she was probably having trouble getting to sleep b/c of the situation. I hobbled upstairs and she just grabbed me and hugged me like she never has before. She very quietly kept asking "mommy, which twin did I hurt" (i'm sure she was hoping nothing happens to her beloved sister)... she was trying to hold back her tears, which made me lose it. I kept reassuring her that it's going to be O.K. and that it was an accident, and she has nothing to be sad about. She asked me to stay with her until she fell asleep. It was a precious moment to know that she just wanted reassurance that mommy loved her.

So ... now to finish packing my hospital bag!

26 Weeks and glucose tolerance test

Well today ends my 26th week and begins my 27th week! What better way to celebrate than with the yummy glucose test? I went in for the one hour screening test... . I usually fail the 1 hour and pass the 3 hour test... so we'll see if my body reacts the same with twins. The nurse seemed to think that most her patients with twins went on to have gestational diabetes. There is something about the placenta constantly putting glucose in the blood???? Not sure, I'll have to google that one, but if it's true, 2 placenta's would make my pancreas work twice as hard! I should get the results back on Tues when I go to my OB appointment!

Belly Button

It's official... my innie is now an outie..... I will spare you the pictures!

My sweet Saylor

Here are a few more pictures of our weekend in Arizona. We had such an amazing time with "Mimi" and "Diddy".

Thanksgiving Day

Here is how we spent our Thanksgiving Day....