30 Weeks

My blog looks live I've been seriously trucking along the last couple days - 3 weeks in 2 days ;) If only it actually went that fast, right? There is still a list of things I'd like to tackle and get done before D-Day arrives but I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. I'm ready to stop lugging around this huge belly. Ready to be able to lay down in bed again. Ready to have shirts that actually cover my belly. Ready to have more patience with the kids.....well, at least I like to blame my lack of patience some days on the hormones ;) I'm ready to not go to the doctor every week. Ready to get outside and get my kids in and out of the car on my own more often - it would also help if Spring would hurry up and show it's face.

Anyway, today was my 30 week appointment and growth ultrasound. It was the first time we've attempted to take the kids with us to an ultrasound & it was scheduled right at lunch time. I endured an epic tantrum from Hadley all the way to town and to the doctor's office all because she saw the snack cups I made and then watched me pack them in my purse instead of giving them to her. That girl has a serious temper. Anyway, the ultrasound went well & the kids behaved. They sat and ate quietly for the majority of the time we were in there. Elliot was very excited to see his baby sisters & he did a good job narrating everything that was going on. Jessica, our ultrasound extraordinaire has kids relatively close in age to mine so she did great talking to them and asking questions.

Baby A is mostly head down - for now at least. It looked like she was way down there but I've thought that before and she's managed to flip around. Both girls have their heads on my right side with their bodies laying on top of each other. It's so interesting to see them on the ultrasound & see the positions they're able to get themselves into. At this point it's getting harder and harder to tell what belongs to who & we eventually gave up trying to differentiate which cord belonged to which baby since we couldn't follow it on the ultrasound (there was always some body part in the way). Their growth discrepancy was 12% at our last ultrasound but today was only 7%. They're now back measuring within 4ish days of each other as opposed to being a week apart last time. Baby A measured in at 29 weeks, 6 days with a weight of 3lb. 4oz. with a heartrate of 130 and Baby B is measuring about 29 weeks, 2 days with a weight of 3lb. 1oz. and a heartrate of 132. Jessica was still pretty confident about their sizes being accurate but did say that as they get bigger it will probably get harder to get really accurate weight estimates. Still, it is a bit crazy to think that at 30 weeks pregnant I already have over 6lb. of baby in there!! Amniotic fluid was measuring at just over 6cm in each sac and my cervix was measuring 5.75 which is awesome. Everything else at my appointment checked out well - my blood pressure was back down into it's "normal" (normal for this pregnancy at least) range and my fundal height was 41cm. this week which seems a little more in line.

Yesterday was my initial consultation with the diabetes center. I hate that I have to do the gestational diabetes stuff but it is what it is. I was rather enjoying eating when I felt like it and not thinking too much about it. Still, I think this time will be better than my last rodeo with GD. I was in the hospital and severely limited on food choices. This time I am able to cook, shop and make my own choices and therefore have a lot more variety. I've got the finger pricking thing down & that doesn't bother me but having to think about my snack before I grab it and stuff it in my mouth is new territory. So far the only number I've had trouble with is my fasting blood sugar which I take first thing in the morning - oh and the unfortunate incident the fast food burger caused after lunch today (OOPS!!). I was told that the extra hormones I'm making could very well lead to a higher than normal fasting blood sugar & it could have nothing to do with what I'm eating. This first week is really a trial and error week for me as I figure out which foods I can handle well and which ones seem to be more of a trigger for high blood sugars. It's a learning process that's for sure but it is a good one. It's never a bad thing to have to learn how to be concious about what I'm eating and how healthy it might be for me!

********I'll be back later to add some 30 week pictures of myself and at least one of the girls!!

Egg Hunt

Sunday, April 10, 2011

It's that time of year again!! I love Easter. I love that it means Spring is here (usually at least) and I love the reminder of what my Savior did for me. I'll also admit I do enjoy some of the cheesier aspects of the holiday as well - like coloring eggs, filling and hunting for eggs, the bunnies, ducks and getting together with family. We're planning to have an egg hunt for the kids at home but we also wanted somewhere for them to go in the community. We knew we were going to miss the egg hunt in Peosta since we were planning to visit family the weekend it was happening so we happened to hear about one at Heritage Manor in Dubuque.

We talked to the kids about hunting for eggs before they took a nap on Sunday and when Elliot woke up he was ready to go! He helped me find their baskets and then anxiously waited for his sister to get up. When Daddy got home from church we loaded up the munchkins and headed to town.

It was such a beautiful day but unfortunately it was pretty toasty inside the building and it was a bit difficult to keep our little people occupied while we waited for things to get underway. The children were all split up according to ages & fortunately both Elliot & Hadley were in the same group. They can be pretty lost without each other sometimes. They had a great time walking the halls with the other kids and when they were given the word to begin collecting they got right down to business. Elliot was a little machine and had his basket full in no time at all. Hadley was a bit more methodical but it didn't take her long to get her basket mostly filled up as well. It was so much fun watching them snatch the eggs and fill their baskets!!

29 Weeks

Twenty-nine weeks. It seems sort of hard to believe we're already this far along but believe me when I say I am ready for this to be over with! Of course I don't want these girls to come NOW - they need more baking time before they're ready to come out but I am ready to not be pregnant anymore!

This was probably one of my worst doctor appointments :( Fortunately it was with one of my favorite doctors so I was able to discuss some things with him. The Saturday before this appointment I sat in the lab for 3.5 hours taking my second glucose tolerance test. I did manage to get half way though a book and the ladies drawing my blood did a great job. I can be a hard stick sometimes so I was pleased that the bruising was minimal & everyone was really great. The one good piece of news from my doctor's appointment is that my cervix is still closed. The not so good news is that my blood pressure was high: 140/86 high which shocked me. It's been high for me this whole pregnancy but those numbers just sound SCARY. I mentioned it to the doctor and he didn't seem overly concerned about it but we'll definitely keep an eye on it. Then, I got the news I failed my glucose test. It wasn't a total surprise but still a major bummer to actually hear it. I failed the first draw by a few points, the 1st hour after the drink by 15ish and then passed the other two hours with flying colors. So, I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes & a referral to the diabetes center was sent in. At least I got to see the girls again and watch them moving around. Neither of them were head down but they were in some odd looking positions all curled around each other.

I'm also at the point where my body is feeling like it's reaching it's limit. I was measured at 45 centimeters at this appointment. Which means if I was carrying a single baby that would be the equivalent of being 45 weeks pregnant. I mean I knew I was big but wasn't prepared for THAT big of a number. So, add up all the little bummers from this appointment and it really made my mood take a nosedive. My aches and pains have gotten exponentially worse in the last week. It's now at the point where I can no longer lay down in bed and when I do try to lay down I last about 5 minutes before my body is screaming in pain. So, I've been sleeping in a chair in our living room or propped up on pillows in our bed. It's not the most comfortable solution but at least I feel like I can walk when it's time to get up & I don't want to spew expletives while trying to get in and out of bed. I talked this over with the doctor and it sounds like it's something I will just have to deal with until after delivery. Yet another reason for the next several weeks to go quickly!! We're hoping for 6-7 more weeks until baby girls make their appearance. It seems so far away yet there's so much we'd like to get accomplished in that time and I'm sure it will be here before we know it!

28 Weeks

Yikes - I'm behind! I can't believe the last time I sat down to post anything was April 1st.

So, here is my brief 28 week update :)

The baby bump is continuing to grow. It feels like it will soon be at astronomical proportions although I'm guessing I'll feel like I wasn't so big at 28 weeks when I compare it to the the belly I'm sporting on delivery day. Still, for now, it feels BIG and I can tell it's definitely riding lower than it was even a week ago. Not only can I feel it but I could see a difference just from looking at the weekly pictures. Doctor's appointment went well & there wasn't much to report. Blood pressure normal, weight about the same, cervix still long and closed. I finally met the last doctor in the practice so I can officially say I've met everyone. My opinions on my "favorite" haven't changed. I have pretty good confidence in all of them but there are a couple I feel much more comfortable and at ease with.

I'm definitely starting to feel very pregnant. My body is also telling me when I do too much. I haven't had consistent contractions but they are popping up more and more as well as those pesky braxton hicks. Fortunately none of them have changed anything so I don't have cause for concern. A lot of my parts that have been sort of achy the last few weeks are entering into the full on OUCH stage. Not looking forward to any of that getting worse although I'm sure it will. In the end it will be worth it and I'm sure I'll look back and think "oh it wasn't THAT bad" - well maybe.

Vocab Explosion

Miss Hadley has had an explosion. No, not the diaper sort of explosion - that's never really been her style - but an explosion of words. Every day she's been busting out new words and new phrases which is so much fun to hear. I love her little voice and when it's saying words I can actually understand it just melts my heart.

So, here's a quick rundown of some of her new words. I'm sure I won't get all of them but here is what I've got off the top of my head:

1. Shoe
2. Mimi - this means Mickey :)
3. Piya - this means Pirate aka Jake & the NeverLand Pirates
4. Did it!
5. Made it!
6. Buckle
7. Seat
8. Sit or Sit down
9. Baaaa - sheep sound
10. Moooooo - she tends to think everything is a cow ;)
11. Stairs - sounds a bit more like star though
12. Hat
13. Baby
14. Box
15. Piece - she usually says this while playing with brother's Thomas puzzle ;)
16. Mum-Mum
17. Peesh - this is please & while she's known how to sign it for a long time she's now saying it at the same time too and it's too cute :)
18. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee - she loves to say this when we're going up or down hills in the car or when she's running around the house. 
19. Lucky - her & Elliot have a big bouncing horse named Lucky. It's also the name of the dog at my parent's house.
20. Eat - she also does the sign with this one consistently.
21. Run
22. Ni-Ni - this means night night & she tells us and her brother every night :)
23. Yeah
24. Mine
25. March
26. Nose

She has such a big personality! She loves to put hats on or make anything into a hat - we find clothes, food, toys, etc. on her head and just chuckle. She has this cheesy grin that gets you every single time. Hadley absolutely hates diaper changes and will run and "hide" when the word diaper is mentioned. Her favorite word to say is "Nooooooo" and shake her head while saying it. She definitely has some pretty strong opinions on things these days!

27 Weeks!

Our little sweet P's are growing, growing, growing! We had another growth scan (these happen every 3-4 weeks) yesterday. It's always so much fun to see the girls and get an estimate on their size. Both of them were bopping all around while we were trying to get their measurements. Needless to say it was really hard to get any good pictures of them! Their heartbeats registered at 154 & 150 which is perfect. Baby A is measuring right on at 27 weeks 1 day with an estimated weight of 2lb. 6oz. Baby B is measuring about a week behind with an estimated weight of 2lb. 2oz. Baby B's head was measuring smaller which we think threw off the measurements. Still, it's only a 12% growth discrepancy and as long as it is under 20-25% we aren't worried.

Baby A had previously been in a head down position. Both babies are now breech with their butts toward the exit. We were able to see Little Miss A doing some practice swallowing and then stretching her legs alllllll the way out. While it was really sweet to see I couldn't help but think that her poor sister was getting really cramped! We were also able to see a couple contractions which just look strange on the ultrasound!

In other news from my appointment yesterday I haven't gained any weight, my blood pressure was 134/78, my cervix is measuring over 6.5 cm long and is closed (yay!). My fundal height is 38cm which means I'm measuring full term and I can definitely feel it. I get worn out a lot faster and I just plain hurt everywhere. At the end of some days it hurts just to lift my leg to get into bed and forget trying to roll over and move once I'm in bed - lol. I also talked to the doctor about a couple episodes of seeing spots I've had in the past week. The worry is pre-eclampsia but since I don't have any other symptoms and they went away he's not worried. If they happen again and I'm not able to get rid of them then we would worry. He did tell me not to get any ideas about an early eviction for these ladies. Basically he told me to just keep doing what I'm doing and chugging along but that he would never wish twins on anyone - haha.

26 weeks

26 weeks! Petey and I were both excited to make it past the 25 week mark and move past the point where we had all the troubles with Elliot's pregnancy. Although I did mark the same point in my pregnancy by getting incredibly ill. Fortunately it was a quick bout of whatever it was but while I had it was absolutely miserable. I haven't felt 100% for a long time and I feel kind of sick after I eat no matter what it is & sleep has become more difficult so I'm often tired. I didn't think anything of feeling kind of icky and really tired on Sunday & just chalked it up to some extra 'morning (ahem....all day) sickness' and the fact that I hadn't slept well the night before. By Sunday night though I knew something a little more was off. I knew there had been some stomach bugs going around but I was still hopeful that this was something that maybe just didn't agree with me. Wrong. Not long after Petey put the kids to bed I started throwing up and dry heaving. Let me tell me......doing that business while pregnant is not fun. Doing it while looking and feeling full term is nothing short of torture. Needless to say my trusty friend Bucket stayed with me at all times after that! I managed to stay pretty well hydrated but every time I tried to eat a cracker I would fall asleep after only a bite or two. I thought I knew what it felt like to be utterly exhausted. Again - wrong. I felt so weak and soooo tired. A tired I can't even begin to explain. Luckily Petey was able to take Monday off and take care of the kids for me. I'm not sure how it would have played out if he hadn't since I was out until about 2 in the afternoon on Monday. I can only imagine the havoc Elliot and Hadley could have caused if I was that out of it all day while trying to take care of them! We have been trying to conserve his time off so he can use it when the girls are born but I do not feel badly about using up that one day!!!

In other baby related news things seem to be looking good. I had another weekly check-up this past Wednesday where I learned that I have lost yet another pound. Not sure how that's possible but whatever. My blood pressure has also been coming down a few points each of the last few times I've been checked. It wasn't abnormally high before but it's still nice to not see it rising. I haven't made any 'progress' meaning there's no sign babies will be attempting to make an appearance anytime soon which is good! It's still too early for our comfort! The doctor measured my fundal height at 37cm which means I'm officially measuring full term for a single baby.......at 26 weeks. Anyone else thinking about how much more uncomfortable things might get before these two are born? Poor Petey has to put up with all my whining and I'll admit that some days there is a LOT of whining in this house and it isn't ALL from the little people ;) I am apparently starting to take up more space in bed too since every morning I hear about how little space my husband had to sleep in. Sorry honey....... 

25 Weeks

Wowza - 25 weeks. This week brings a lot of anxiety with it as it's the same point in my pregnancy that I began having all sorts of issues with Elliot, landed in the hospital for 8 weeks and gave birth 7 weeks earlier than planned. I'm hopeful we'll avoid all that this time!!

This morning was the first of my weekly appointments. It's crazy that from here on out I'll be in that office once a week! Luckily I've been pretty happy with all but one of the doctors. Some of the stats from today:

Weight: Down 1 pound

Blood Pressure: 134/70; seems high to me but it's been consistent this whole pregnancy so I guess it's the new "normal" for now.

Cervix: Closed - YAY!!!

Fundal Height: Not sure. I forgot to ask :/

I'm definitely feeling pregnant. Oh boy am I feeling pregnant. I have pain in places that shouldn't be painful and I'm so ready for that part to be over! Sleep is hard to come by due to not being able to get comfortable and having to pee all.the.time. My belly button is getting closer and closer to popping which only started to happen just before Hadley was born at 38 weeks, 5 days which leads me to believe I'm probably measuring close to 37 or 38 weeks. I definitely feel that way and sometimes find it hard to believe I'm ONLY 25 weeks. As much as I'm ready for this pregnancy to be over I'm not ready to meet these beauties yet. They need more cooking time, more time to grow, more time to mature. I'm aiming for another 9-10 weeks. That would get me to 34-35 weeks. It's hard to imagine how much larger and more uncomfortable I'll be by then......

In other news I think all four of us are fighting some sort of head cold ickiness. Petey and I both have sore throats and I can feel my sinuses getting congested. I'm hopeful we'll all kick this quickly as I really don't need anything else to kill my energy level!!!

24 Weeks

Wow - 24 weeks! To some people this may not seem like much of a milestone but I am very excited to know we've reached the age of viability for these girls. Of course we don't want them to make an appearance anytime soon and if they did it would be a very uphill climb but it's still nice to know we've reached that point.

I feel like I've expanded to an astronomical size already but the baby bump just keeps on growing and growing and growing. Petey & I enjoy watching the girls bop around at night and they seem to enjoy kicking Daddy when he puts his hand on top of them. Their kicks and punches are starting to become painful. Every once in awhile they'll hit me good enough that I feel like I need to stop and catch my breath. Well, I feel like I need to stop and catch my breath a lot of the time anyway. Elliot and Hadley have each gotten a chance to feel them as well although they're not all that excited about it. Elliot likes to inform us and anyone else who will listen that his mommy is having two babies which is just adorable.

This week is the last week I will not (hopefully) have any trips to the doctor which just seems crazy! After next week I start going weekly for OB appointments. I will continue to have growth scans every 3-4 weeks and by 32 weeks we'll be doing weekly NST's (non stress tests). I'm hoping/guessing all these extra doctor visits will help things go more quickly. There is still a lot that needs to be done but I feel like I've been pregnant forever and I'm ready to feel like myself again!

23 Weeks

I have officially crossed the 23 week pregnancy threshold!! To say I'm excited would be an understatement. It's one step closer to viability and one step closer to meeting these two new beauties! We are pretty settled on their names but won't be sharing until after they're born. Naming two at one time proved to be a lot harder than we thought it would be!

At 23 weeks I am measuring about 34cm, have gained about 20 pounds and my blood pressure was 132/74. My blood pressure has been running a little high this whole pregnancy but has remained consistent so so far there is nothing to worry about there! I met another one of the doctors from the practice today and was impressed. So far there has only been one doctor I am less than excited about which isn't too bad. She informed Petey & I that she had 4 kids in 4 years so she sort of understood our situation. I have to admit it is nice to know one of the doctors can appreciate the additional challenges that will come with having so many little, little kids buzzing around the house! She told me everything was looking great and progressing well but that I need to start easing up on my activity level at home which shouldn't be a problem as my body definitely lets me know when I've done too much or pushed it too far!

We had an ultrasound this morning which is always exciting! I think I could have one everyday and be just as excited for each and every one. Have I mentioned before that I love our ultrasound extraordinaire? Well, if not let me say again how awesome she is! She also has little kids about the same age as ours so we usually spend some time laughing about the crazy things our kids are doing & she always takes the time to get a good look and some fun glimpses of our girls before starting all the measuring. She also understands and appreciates how important a picture can be & she takes a lot of them for us! This morning both girls were moving and grooving quite a bit - almost too much as it made getting some of the measurements hard to do! It's so funny to watch them already interacting together! When we started they were both head down & looking right at each other. We didn't have luck getting pictures of the two of them together & it likely will be harder and harder to do from now on. Baby A's heartrate was 148 & she was estimated to weigh 1lb. 3oz. and Baby B's heartrate was 141 and she is weighing in around 1lb. 2oz. Both of them are measuring a few days behind my LMP but within days of each other so that is reassuring!

In other 23 week news Petey and I have been able to watch them moving from the outside which is amazing. Petey has been able to feel them moving a lot more which I think is exciting for him and I'm guessing makes it all more real. Like I said we're pretty decided on their names and the spelling of said names. We're getting ready to make our big purchases & after that's done there won't be too much left that we *NEED* for these girlies. My goal is to have this house ready and as organized as I can be by 28 weeks. Not that I'm intending for them to come at that point but for my own sanity I'd like it to be done early so it's one less thing to worry about later on down the line.

Would You Like Some Cheese With That?

Full disclosure: This post will contain a fair amount of whining. If you don't want to "listen" to said whining feel free to skip this one. And, don't say I didn't warn you ;)

As of today I am 23 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I feel like poo. There are parts of me that HURT that I never had any idea could hurt or at least not as badly as they do. I'm hungry all the darn time and there's no room for said food. Or, I'll eat something that I thought sounded delicious only to find it's left me wanting to sit next to a bucket for the rest of the day. The lack of energy is astounding. I feel like I need a caffeine or some other comparable injection come mid morning and again mid afternoon. It seems I have to pee at least every 20 minutes. I constantly feel like I'm 'touched out'. Between the two little people running around the house and the two little people be-bopping on the inside I just can't handle much more. My house looks like a bunch of frat guys moved in minus the beer bottles of course but sheesh it's awful. Never doubt the ability of two toddlers to demolish a clean house in 2.5 seconds. I feel dizzy so often which often leads to more feeling sick. *sigh*

I know...I know most of this is just regular ol' pregnancy related stuff but once in awhile a girl needs a good old fashioned pity party. I must admit it feels better to 'air' those....umm...grievances.

22 Weeks

I'm definitely feeling more than a wee bit pregnant these days! While taking pictures Petey remarked at how much bigger I looked tonight. Remind me to thank him for that comment later ;)

Yesterday, while trying on bridesmaids dresses for Anndee's wedding the consultant thought I was eight months along. Imagine the surprise on the alteration woman's face when I told her I was only 22 weeks. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how large I end up!

I'm feeling a lot more movement these days. Most of it seems to be concentrated really low although every once in awhile I feel movements up higher. A few different times I've felt the stretching pushing movements which are more painful than the quick jabs and quicks! It's fun and reassuring to feel the girls moving around and I can't wait until we see them again. It feels like it's been ages when in reality it's only been a couple weeks since our anatomy scan and a week since my last doctor's appointment. Our next appointment and ultrasound is next week. I'm interested to find out what I'm measuring and how the girls are growing!

The shopping monkey

Hadley the shopping monkey. That accurately sums up Miss Hadley lately.

This past weekend she went on three different shopping trips and did fabulously. Almost too fabulously. I'm starting to fear just how expensive she might be in her teen years. There's no doubt this girl loves shoes. Now, there's no doubt she loves to help pick out clothes - particularly her own and her little sister's.

Saturday my mom, Hadley and I went on a marathon shopping trip at the outlet mall in Williamsburg. It was so strange to only have one child & a small umbrella stroller. Usually when I go there I'm with two other friends and a total of 7 children. Yes, it's crazy. Crazy fun as well. Anyway, Hadley had a blast checking everything out & holding clothes up to herself to see how they looked. She also had a good time relieving some racks of their burden..... Sunday she went shopping with Mum-Mum & Papa at Kohl's which was a short but still exciting trip for her.

Yesterday, she came along while I picked out a bridesmaids dress for my best friend's wedding. Seeing all the blingy, pretty things at the bridal store was almost too much for her! And all those mirrors where she could admire herself. Yes, there's no doubt she's our little diva.

Hadley has also been quite the little monkey. Several times a day I pull her off the top of the kitchen table and I tell her to sit down 1,000,000,000,000,000 times a day before she falls off of something and breaks an important body part. She's easily surpassed her brother in the number of bumps and bruises she's acquired. Suffice it to say she's not afraid of much and is quite the little dare-devil.

21 Week Appt.

I think I have a new favorite doctor. Today I met one of the docs I'd only talked to on the phone previously & he's officially my new favorite. He's very personable and seems to know his stuff. Both babies were moving and grooving when he checked heartbeats. Baby A is sort of head down (head on my right side) with her body laying across. Baby B is pretty much in a complete transverse position with her feet in Baby A's face ;) In other news here's a rundown of some of the stats:

Weight Gain: Up about 8ish lbs. from pre-pregnancy

Blood Pressure: 134/82 - kind of high for me but it's been running higher this whole pregnancy

Fundal Height: 33cm!!!! Two weeks ago it was 24. Holy moly.

Cervix is still closed - YAY!

In two weeks I have another growth scan and another appointment with another doctor. So far this pregnancy has kind of wiped me out physically but at the very least baby girls seem to be growing and doing well!

21 Weeks

Wow....21 weeks. Already. On one hand it feels like time is flying by and on the other hand it feels like I've been pregnant forever. We're 3 weeks shy of viability although baby girls are not allowed to join us for quite awhile after that! I think the threshold of viability is way more exciting after almost having a baby at 25 weeks in the past. I'm feeling really big and finding myself going to the bathroom more than I thought was humanly possible. I've been working on teaching the little people not to climb on or push on Mommy's tummy - it hurts!! I'm feeling a lot more movement from these little ladies. It's still not as consistent as it eventually will be but it's very exciting to feel them. I have an appointment tomorrow to check everything out and I'll probably be back to update after that!

Tommy Train

Most people probably know this character better by the name of Thomas but to Elliot he is Tommy Train. For someone who has never watched the Thomas the Train show he sure is obsessed. His Tommy Train puzzle is one of his most favorite things to do. He asks (ahem....begs) daily for me to help him put it together. I usually oblige a few times only to have him tear it apart and ask for it to be put back together again. He is getting pretty good at figuring out which pieces go where & his favorites to put together are Thomas' number and his face. He's a regular ol' pro with those pieces! Sometimes it amazes me how the simplest things can bring him such joy and it never ceases to put a smile on my face! Elliot is so proud of himself after we have it put together!

20 Weeks

It's official folks - I've hit that almighty 'halfway point' although I can say with 100% sincerity that I hope I'm further than halfway! From what I understand most twin pregnancies don't go past 38 weeks and are considered full term by that time. My personal goal is 36 weeks which would be May 31. We'll see what these little princesses have in store for us though. And, yes, with 99.9% certainty we can say princesses :) Elliot is going to be one busy big brother!

This morning was our 'big' anatomy/anomaly scan at my OB's office. Jessica, our ultrasound extraordinaire, was fantastic as always. I'm so glad we have someone we get along with so well and that is very personable. Both babies are head down so she was able to get some really fun pictures of the two of them together. She informed us that most times one is head up and the other head down so it makes getting pictures of them together pretty difficult. One of the cutest things from this morning was seeing all four little feet kicking at each other. They are definitely active little girls - they'll fit in well around here! For a few moments they were even looking facing each other. So precious.

Both girls were measuring pretty consistently for them. Baby A was measuring 19 weeks 3 days with a weight of about 10 ounces and Baby B was measuring right at 19 weeks with a weight of about 11 ounces which means they have a 2% growth discrepancy which we are completely fine with at this point. Baby A checked out perfectly and all major organs were accounted for and appeared to be doing their job. Baby B almost got as good a report but we want to take a closer look at her heart next time just to make sure everything looks ok. Since she's small & wasn't in a super great position today we weren't able to get all the measurements we needed & it looked like there might be something there that shouldn't be. But, it's nothing to worry about at this point! I love having a chance to get a peek at our little babies and it's so much fun to see them moving and grooving all over the place. I can't wait to see what they look like when they're born & who they'll resemble more. I'm also anxious to know how alike they'll look since they are identical. All in due time....all in due time.

I've attached just a few of our pictures below. We got quite the chunk of pictures to take home with us as well as a CD of the images - 26 total. Jessica took nearly 130 for the doctor to peruse!

Two little baby heads :)

Our identical little princesses!

All smushed up inside Mommy.

Baby B's face shot

Baby A's face shot

Waterpark Weekend & SuperBowl 2011

Friday afternoon Petey and I packed up the car and loaded the kids into their carseats. We headed to Des Moines for a fun filled weekend with some of my mommy friends and their kids. All of us have kids Elliot's age and a few of us have younger ones as well. We got there a little before 8 on Friday night and since the kids had napped on the way they were all wound up. We dressed them up in their suits and Daddy took them to the kiddie pool area. It quickly became apparent that I should have gone too. Elliot had his little beach ball taken away right after being run over by kids who were too old and too big to be in that pool. He was kind of upset about his ball but was just so shocked at the craziness going on around him that he didn't seem to notice. Fortunately, they were really cheap & I have several so it wasn't a big loss. Still, my mommy heart hurt for him :( Needless to say that was a quick trip to the pool!!!

After the kids were asleep that night I got a chance to sit and talk with Amy and Melanie. They ended up kicking us out of the pool area a little before midnight which was a bummer but it was great talking to them. It was the first time Melanie had met Amy or I face to face but we already knew each other well enough that it wasn't the slightest bit awkward.

The next morning the kids played together before the pool opened & got right in the middle of the action. It took Elliot and Hadley a few minutes to warm up to the water but in no time at all they were having a blast! Elliot discovered his love of waterslides and was begging Daddy to take him. They went down the BIG water slides countless times. Hadley even loved them too! She had a blast sitting in the water and splashing around and got very, very upset with us when we took her out. We all hit up the mall after the first swim adventure of the day & then the kids napped. We took them back in the water later that afternoon and they had a blast again & again through a fit when it was time to get out. Our group ate supper poolside that night which was an adventure for sure! Toddlers don't understand having to wait for food to be prepared after it's ordered and most of them were so tired and worn out from swimming and playing all day. Our kids only made it to 7 before being put to bed!

Petey got to hang out with some of the other dads that night. They raced cars in the Nascar Simulator several times which was a blast I'm sure. Some of us moms hung out on couches, ate twizzlers and chatted. It may not sound too exciting to some but it was fantastic for us. We don't get a chance to get together too often so we have to take full advantage of the time we do get together! We've already started brainstorming ideas for our next big get together :)

Sunday we packed up and headed out. Our plan was to go to Cornerstone for church. Both of us miss it there quite a bit but our timing was way off. I fought the urge to burst into tears all the way to Ames. It only got worse when Elliot saw the church & started begging for his friends. That boy sure knows how to break his mommy's heart! It turned out to be a good morning anyway. We grabbed some food and then got a coffee to share from Starbucks. I forgot how gloriously delicious their Raspberry Mochas were (we had white mocha which is awesome as well). We drove through the ISU campus & saw several changes that have happened just since May, drove past our old apartment & then hit up Wal-Mart. The kids each got to pick a Hot Wheels car which they were over the moon excited about! They were worth the 98 cents/piece just to see their excitement at getting to pick a new car. After that we met my parents and cousin Dawn at Hickory Park for lunch.

After lunch Elliot ended up going home with Grandma & Grandpa. He didn't have to do too much convincing ;) Hadley enjoyed her time as an only child & took a good nap for Mommy and Daddy all the way home!!

Once we got home Petey put together the dip for our Superbowl party & we were on our way to Greg & Stacey's soon after that. Petey & I were both pretty worn out from the weekend so we spent most of the game lounging on a comfy couch while Hadley played with the other kids and baby-sitter upstairs. The game ended up being pretty exciting and we had a great time hanging out with friends!

Now, we're on to the Monday blahs.....hopefully I'll find a cure soon!

19 Week Appointment

Today marked the first day we braved taking the kids to the doctor with me. I know some people do this all the time and it's no big deal but I prefer not having to be concerned about them the whole time I'm there and being able to concentrate on what the doctor and I are talking about. Fortunately Petey was able to come along as well so there was an extra set of hands. I packed a bunch of their favorite books, Elliot's mini magna-doodle, Hadley's kitty and some snacks. The novelty of the office and the snacks kept them occupied pretty much the whole time.

I've finally gained a few pounds. Typically I would NOT be excited about that but it seems that all the extra hunger has been adding up to a whopping 4ish extra pounds since finding out I was pregnant. Since I'm a fluffier gal to begin with I won't need to gain as much weight as a skinny minnie but I do still need to gain SOME & I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen. My blood pressure was 132/80 which is a bit high for me but that's pretty much exactly where it's been since my first appointment so I guess it's my new normal for this pregnancy.

Elliot and Hadley got to see their baby sister's for the first time on the little portable ultrasound machine they use to check the babies heartbeats. Both babies were head down (YAY babies ;) which gives me a glimmer of hope that they might have the correct idea about how to exit. Elliot was head down at our 20 week ultrasound & never deviated from that. Hadley was never head down and spent the entire pregnancy in every other position imaginable. I would love, love, love to have a vaginal delivery with these two new little bundles. A c-section scares the ba-jeezus out of me & the thought of not being mostly out of commission with 4 little ones is even scarier. Actually just the thought of 4 little ones is a little scary! ;) Anyway, they were both moving and grooving and had great heartbeats. Elliot was a little disappointed the 'movie' wasn't any more exciting than that - haha.

So, next week (Tuesday) we go in for our 20 week anatomy/anomaly ultrasound. I'm so excited to get a good long look at both of them and get some new pictures. A week after that I meet another one of the doctors and two weeks after that is another ultrasound & another doctor visit. I think we are all going to know each other well by the end of this pregnancy!

Um, yes, I feel ginormous already. I was HUGE when Hadley was born at 38 weeks, 5 days. I can only imagine (it hurts me to do so) how large I will be by the time these little ones make their appearance!

Meow

Seriously, how adorable is this? Hadley has been hauling this kitty around the house for the past week or so. She gets upset when her brother takes things from her but this is one thing that she will absolutely not tolerate him having. The epic tantrums when he lays a hand on it are evidence of that. I always know where she is when she's carrying kitty because I can hear her 'meowing' over and over. She's also on my side in trying to convince Daddy we need to get a real kitty for our house. So far I've had no luck......