I am starting to feel better...finally. I have my good days and bad...but mostly now I am just really hungry. Hungry for fruit and carbs and soda. Basically lots of calories. I don't have that "cute pregnant look" yet so I am sorry to those who want to see pictures of my belly...ain't gonna happen. I still look like I have 2 big fat rolls with a crease at the waist. My belly button is getting shallower by the day so hopefully the waist will disappear and I will look rounder and more pregnant. Then I will post some pictures. Here I am wishing for roundness....I am sure in another 8-10 weeks I will be so uncomfortable!
I do look pregnant in my maternity shirts and waddle when I walk so most people get it, specially if I hold my tummy. Right now the tightest part of my tummy is the top roll. Baby A on the bottom (Chance) is constantly moving and jostling Baby B (Zoe). So Baby B is trying to get away from Baby A by crawling up under my stomach. I can still breath well but eating is a whole other story. And Yes, those are names we have picked out, if I haven't mentioned them here before. And No, the genders are not confirmed yet. I have my level 2 ultrasound scheduled at 21 weeks and hopefully the babies will cooperate and we will get some sort of idea. I will let you all know what we find out.
I am starting to accumulate baby stuff already. Being the thrifty person I am, there are lots of hand me downs coming my way. I already have one pack and play (a small portable crib and what my babies will be sleeping in) one infant car seat (still being used by my niece Cecelia) two boppie pillows and covers, one bouncy seat, one swing, one backpack style carrier and a great baby monitor. I have an antique dry sink that with a handy me down changing pad will be the changing station. I have chosen an antique dresser that I picked special from Bama's house for their clothes. (Robb's beloved Grandma who is no longer with us). Oh and I have heard about two new fleece blankets lovingly made by the babies Grandma Twila...but I haven't seen them yet. :)
I have a garbage bag and laundry basket full of new born - 9 months clothes from my sisters in law. I did a good job of grabbing all the neutral stuff I could. Which was really hard because the last 3 born on Robb's side of the family were girls, the first, second and third girl after 4 boys! So there was a TON of cute girl stuff....so I took some of that too. So now I need to unpack the clothes and take inventory of what I need. This weekend is the annual garage sale for my Mothers of Multiples Group. So I am trying to get Robb to go with me to pick out more of the larger ticket items at a good second hand price. Keeping it out of the landfill...that's what I am all about!!
I am half way through my pregnancy. Twins are usually born at 36-37 weeks instead of the normal 40 week for a singleton. Most of the time there is simply no more growing room and the placenta's start to deteriorate triggering delivery. If that doesn't happen I have heard it is pretty common for Dr. intervention around 37 weeks. I am determined to have as natural a birth as is healthy for me and the babies. So we will just have to see how things go.
I hope my update finds you all happy and healthy. Blessings and good Karma all around!
Elizabeth :)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Week 17 Dr. Appointment
Greeting to you All,
I am feeling much better this week. The nausea and yacking seem to be done, thank goodness!
I gained a whole pound in three weeks, I guess it is better than losing. Hopefully I can starting adding some healthy weight in the next 2 weeks. I am excited because it is Apple Season. My favorite are Honeycrisps and I am getting some in my fruit and veggie box from the community farm I am a member of, tomorrow.
I did get more clarification from my Dr. about what happened a week and a half ago. Here I was thinking I tore my uterine muscle. When I mentioned it that way today the nurse corrected me. I guess I have slight placenta previa, which is a small bit of placenta over my cervix. That was what caused the bleeding. The Dr. is not worried because as my uterus grows it should pull the placenta up and out of the way. I was also told there may be more bleeding as this adjusting takes place and to keep them updated.
What a relief to know that was the issue. Here I was starting to worry that my vision of a natural birthing would be effected by a torn muscle. Needless to say I feel better knowing it wasn't as bad as I thought. And getting the heads up about more bleeding will make me feel less panicky if it should happen again.
Hubby wants to go shopping...so I am off to Lowes.
Blessing and good wishes for health and happiness!
Elizabeth :)
I am feeling much better this week. The nausea and yacking seem to be done, thank goodness!
I gained a whole pound in three weeks, I guess it is better than losing. Hopefully I can starting adding some healthy weight in the next 2 weeks. I am excited because it is Apple Season. My favorite are Honeycrisps and I am getting some in my fruit and veggie box from the community farm I am a member of, tomorrow.
I did get more clarification from my Dr. about what happened a week and a half ago. Here I was thinking I tore my uterine muscle. When I mentioned it that way today the nurse corrected me. I guess I have slight placenta previa, which is a small bit of placenta over my cervix. That was what caused the bleeding. The Dr. is not worried because as my uterus grows it should pull the placenta up and out of the way. I was also told there may be more bleeding as this adjusting takes place and to keep them updated.
What a relief to know that was the issue. Here I was starting to worry that my vision of a natural birthing would be effected by a torn muscle. Needless to say I feel better knowing it wasn't as bad as I thought. And getting the heads up about more bleeding will make me feel less panicky if it should happen again.
Hubby wants to go shopping...so I am off to Lowes.
Blessing and good wishes for health and happiness!
Elizabeth :)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Week 16
Well it has been an up and down week.
Last Friday after a little romance with the hubby in the morning I felt what I would call a charlie horse of the uterus. The pain was sharp enough to have me calling in sick to rest. Later around 4:30 I got up from napping to find I was bleeding. A quick trip to the local Dr's office sent me racing to the emergency room. Robb was already half way to Indiana for a paintball trip and most of the people I thought to call right away were on the other side of town and an hour or more away in rush hour traffic. As I sat waiting and trying to remain calm I remembered my sister in law, Kyria, lives 15 minutes from my house. A quick call to her and she was sitting next to me keeping things light and humorous, offering me snacks from the vending machine and keeping me calm. A BIG thanks Kyria for being there!!
The Doctor in the emergency room was able to see that the babies were fine but with the their limited equipment were not able to tell me the cause. Just "rest over the weekend and call your Dr. on Monday". I called Robb on the way home from the hospital. He decided to leave right away Saturday morning to be home with us, which I found very sweet. I was surprised when I called my Dr. Monday morning on my way in to work that they were not worried at all and didn't see any reason to see me until my following appointment. A week and a half away!! I tried to remain calm and figured if I got scared again I would make them see me.
Well I got scared Tuesday morning and was able to be seen by an ultra sound tech later that afternoon. I had a sugary soda in the morning and a little while after that had lots of varying pain in my uterus. As a new Mom I still was unsure if I could feel the babies yet or not. Well....now I know... after giving the babies so much sugar they were having a disco in my belly and what I was feeling was them bouncing off the walls. It is funny to think of now.
The tech was able to tell me that I had a nice sized blood clot from a tear to my uterus. It is already healing and not interfering with the babies in any way. Baby A likes to kick the healing spot...so I feel that quite often. The babies are 5 oz, each about the size of a burrito and already up under my belly button. They are drinking amniotic fluid (which is normal) and have a healthy amount of fluid around them. So far they are healthy and growing just fine. I am on uterine rest for a few weeks to allow the tear to heal. In layman's terms...that means no more getting laid! A small price to pay for healthy kids. :)
I would say the best part about my week is now I can feel the babies. I can tell the difference between simple moving and active kicking. If I sit quiet and watch, I can actually see the movement from the outside which matches all the activity I feel inside. My extra padding keeps the movements to only visual right now. I would guess in another week or two Robb should be able to feel them moving around too.
So after last week's adventure I am content with all my aches and pains, knowing the babies are growing well and are just fine. I hope everyone who is reading is happy and healthy as well.
Love to you all,
Elizabeth
Last Friday after a little romance with the hubby in the morning I felt what I would call a charlie horse of the uterus. The pain was sharp enough to have me calling in sick to rest. Later around 4:30 I got up from napping to find I was bleeding. A quick trip to the local Dr's office sent me racing to the emergency room. Robb was already half way to Indiana for a paintball trip and most of the people I thought to call right away were on the other side of town and an hour or more away in rush hour traffic. As I sat waiting and trying to remain calm I remembered my sister in law, Kyria, lives 15 minutes from my house. A quick call to her and she was sitting next to me keeping things light and humorous, offering me snacks from the vending machine and keeping me calm. A BIG thanks Kyria for being there!!
The Doctor in the emergency room was able to see that the babies were fine but with the their limited equipment were not able to tell me the cause. Just "rest over the weekend and call your Dr. on Monday". I called Robb on the way home from the hospital. He decided to leave right away Saturday morning to be home with us, which I found very sweet. I was surprised when I called my Dr. Monday morning on my way in to work that they were not worried at all and didn't see any reason to see me until my following appointment. A week and a half away!! I tried to remain calm and figured if I got scared again I would make them see me.
Well I got scared Tuesday morning and was able to be seen by an ultra sound tech later that afternoon. I had a sugary soda in the morning and a little while after that had lots of varying pain in my uterus. As a new Mom I still was unsure if I could feel the babies yet or not. Well....now I know... after giving the babies so much sugar they were having a disco in my belly and what I was feeling was them bouncing off the walls. It is funny to think of now.
The tech was able to tell me that I had a nice sized blood clot from a tear to my uterus. It is already healing and not interfering with the babies in any way. Baby A likes to kick the healing spot...so I feel that quite often. The babies are 5 oz, each about the size of a burrito and already up under my belly button. They are drinking amniotic fluid (which is normal) and have a healthy amount of fluid around them. So far they are healthy and growing just fine. I am on uterine rest for a few weeks to allow the tear to heal. In layman's terms...that means no more getting laid! A small price to pay for healthy kids. :)
I would say the best part about my week is now I can feel the babies. I can tell the difference between simple moving and active kicking. If I sit quiet and watch, I can actually see the movement from the outside which matches all the activity I feel inside. My extra padding keeps the movements to only visual right now. I would guess in another week or two Robb should be able to feel them moving around too.
So after last week's adventure I am content with all my aches and pains, knowing the babies are growing well and are just fine. I hope everyone who is reading is happy and healthy as well.
Love to you all,
Elizabeth
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Week 15 Dr. Appointment
OK...I know...3 posts in one night....but I like nice clear cut reading.
I get to the clinic and wait 15 minutes alone in the waiting room. (I am sure I will complain about this a lot) I lost 5 pounds for which there was lots of "concern". Whatever...lots of people lose weight in the first trimester when morning sickness is the worst. The babies are still little parasites. They take everything I eat first. I had noticed that after a week of eating for less than one I was feeling weak and malnourished. But hey...that goes with the territory. Plus I started out with "extra padding" which is nature's way of making sure I have enough calories for all of us to live on.
The best part was getting a quick peak at the babies. They are now almost spooning with one right on top of the other. I had a new nurse to the clinic who grabbed a Sr. nurse to help her with the equipment. The Sr. Nurse couldn't stop laughing. "I just haven't seen two babies stacked up like that in a long time." They were both sleeping until all the jostling woke them up. Then Baby A on the bottom started to kick and poor Baby B would fly "up in the air". Then we watched as Baby B tried to squirm away from the offending kicks. It was so adorable.
I am sure some of you have wondered how my Multiple Sclerosis plays out during the pregnancy. The good news is that it should have no effects at all. For women who have more reoccurring symptoms they often find a reprieve during pregnancy with no symptoms at all. There are actually studies going on trying to pin point what it is about pregnancy that keeps symptoms at bay (which reminds me I need to call my Dr.) The only down side is there is an 80% chance of some sort of flair up, episode or "symptom" within 6 months of delivery. I am praying that if and when that happens to me it will again, be mild, and I can continue with out daily meds until I have weaned the babies.
That is all for now. We still don't know the babies true genders. I may be able to find out in two weeks at another appointment. But the two hour ultra sound is scheduled for 21weeks and by then we should be able to confirm genders. That is unless one of the babies is shy...but for those of you who know my husband...could any of his children ever be labeled as "shy"?
My Love and Best Wishes for Health and Happiness to you all,
Elizabeth :)
I get to the clinic and wait 15 minutes alone in the waiting room. (I am sure I will complain about this a lot) I lost 5 pounds for which there was lots of "concern". Whatever...lots of people lose weight in the first trimester when morning sickness is the worst. The babies are still little parasites. They take everything I eat first. I had noticed that after a week of eating for less than one I was feeling weak and malnourished. But hey...that goes with the territory. Plus I started out with "extra padding" which is nature's way of making sure I have enough calories for all of us to live on.
The best part was getting a quick peak at the babies. They are now almost spooning with one right on top of the other. I had a new nurse to the clinic who grabbed a Sr. nurse to help her with the equipment. The Sr. Nurse couldn't stop laughing. "I just haven't seen two babies stacked up like that in a long time." They were both sleeping until all the jostling woke them up. Then Baby A on the bottom started to kick and poor Baby B would fly "up in the air". Then we watched as Baby B tried to squirm away from the offending kicks. It was so adorable.
I am sure some of you have wondered how my Multiple Sclerosis plays out during the pregnancy. The good news is that it should have no effects at all. For women who have more reoccurring symptoms they often find a reprieve during pregnancy with no symptoms at all. There are actually studies going on trying to pin point what it is about pregnancy that keeps symptoms at bay (which reminds me I need to call my Dr.) The only down side is there is an 80% chance of some sort of flair up, episode or "symptom" within 6 months of delivery. I am praying that if and when that happens to me it will again, be mild, and I can continue with out daily meds until I have weaned the babies.
That is all for now. We still don't know the babies true genders. I may be able to find out in two weeks at another appointment. But the two hour ultra sound is scheduled for 21weeks and by then we should be able to confirm genders. That is unless one of the babies is shy...but for those of you who know my husband...could any of his children ever be labeled as "shy"?
My Love and Best Wishes for Health and Happiness to you all,
Elizabeth :)
Weeks 14-15
Time is a flying.... week 14 had me feeling better. I was able to keep most food down but still not enough for 3 people. I also had to make a trip to my local Motherhood Maternity store to look for clothes.
Thankfully the store by my house does carry plus sizes. Two pair of work pants, 2 tops, a sweater, a tank top and various undergarments later I racked up quite a bill. An FYI to those of you who may end up shopping there...they run quite the racket!! I heard the sales lady say "all sales are final" and something about "returns within 10 days" which I took to mean the two summer tops I was getting on sale would not be returnable. But to my dismay, I had some buyer remorse and decided to return a few things. I was so excited I didn't even pay attention to how much I was spending! So I go back within "10 day" only to find out they will not give me cash or credit, even WITH the receipt! Instead I get a gift card for in store credit. I am still angry about it!! I am in the largest size they have now and by the end of my pregnancy I am sure it will be Mu Mu's from the Lane Bryant Catalog in size 30. So my friends be wary of how you spend in their store....
Week 15 is not going as smoothly as I had hoped. I have been sick again. Mostly heaving all morning again until around noon. I eat...get sick an hour later...lose half...eat some more...get sick an hour later...and repeat the cycle until the food finally stays down, which it eventually does. All the while sipping on cold water.
My sister in law, Kyria, asked about cravings in a comment. My first trimester it was mostly sour stuff. Sour lemonade, sour candy, limes in my water. It all tasted good but I don't think the acid helped my stomach much. The last few weeks it has been carbs. My guess would be since I am only getting enough food for one person, my body is demanding high calorie, dense carbs. Pasta and Rice is what sounds good right now. A major aversion is meat. It makes me queasy to see it raw. When I try to eat it, it just tastes yucky. Fish and Crab (my favorite) have not been a problem. And this last weekend Robb made his first "official trip to the store" to get me what I was craving. French Silk Pie
Thankfully the store by my house does carry plus sizes. Two pair of work pants, 2 tops, a sweater, a tank top and various undergarments later I racked up quite a bill. An FYI to those of you who may end up shopping there...they run quite the racket!! I heard the sales lady say "all sales are final" and something about "returns within 10 days" which I took to mean the two summer tops I was getting on sale would not be returnable. But to my dismay, I had some buyer remorse and decided to return a few things. I was so excited I didn't even pay attention to how much I was spending! So I go back within "10 day" only to find out they will not give me cash or credit, even WITH the receipt! Instead I get a gift card for in store credit. I am still angry about it!! I am in the largest size they have now and by the end of my pregnancy I am sure it will be Mu Mu's from the Lane Bryant Catalog in size 30. So my friends be wary of how you spend in their store....
Week 15 is not going as smoothly as I had hoped. I have been sick again. Mostly heaving all morning again until around noon. I eat...get sick an hour later...lose half...eat some more...get sick an hour later...and repeat the cycle until the food finally stays down, which it eventually does. All the while sipping on cold water.
My sister in law, Kyria, asked about cravings in a comment. My first trimester it was mostly sour stuff. Sour lemonade, sour candy, limes in my water. It all tasted good but I don't think the acid helped my stomach much. The last few weeks it has been carbs. My guess would be since I am only getting enough food for one person, my body is demanding high calorie, dense carbs. Pasta and Rice is what sounds good right now. A major aversion is meat. It makes me queasy to see it raw. When I try to eat it, it just tastes yucky. Fish and Crab (my favorite) have not been a problem. And this last weekend Robb made his first "official trip to the store" to get me what I was craving. French Silk Pie
Baby Noses
OK here are the nose pictures I was talking about. Baby B is on the left and is the one on top. Her (because I think that is my girl) forehead slopes with a slight brow ridge (Robb's side) into a straight nose and a bit of upper lip can be seen. While Baby A on the right is on the bottom. He (because I think that is my boy) you can see a much more distinct profile with no brow ridge a button nose and lips. We will have to see if their faces change more as the pictures get better.
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