22 Weeks

It's hard to believe that I finally have reached a point in this pregnancy which is uncharted terroritory for me.  I've never gotten this far in a pregnancy and although 22 weeks is not an accomplishment I would be proud of if it were to end here, I am happy that it means we are 2 weeks closer to viability and then my goals of reaching further and further continue.

Matt and I spent our last weekend in Michigan before these babies will be  born. With my doctors permission as long as I took baby aspirin every 2 hours and stopped to get out and go to the bathroom we were allowed to travel home. It was kind of a bittersweet moment.  One that kind of felt funny as we left.  We both mentioned to each other that hopefully when we return "home" to the mitten state next time we will have not one but two bundles of joy to bring with us. We don't talk much about being parents and having kids  and what life will really be like when it's not just the two of us because it has yet to happen but guilty or not it made me feel a little funny... Like aww no more just us.  But on the flip side, I was so happy to share my growing belly with friends and family.  

So hopefully the next two weeks will be a breeze (24 weeks) , the next four weeks after that will be great (28 weeks), the next four (32 weeks) just kind of happen, and I make it to the next four (36 weeks), and anything extra is just an added bonus (37).  

I missed my 21 week pictures but Matt snapped a few this week....  

                        

How Far Along: 22 weeks 2 days

Cravings: fresh Lemonade sounded amazing the other day

Total weight gained: 26 pounds and counting.... That was pre-poop and after eating a lot of junk this weekend. 

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep: I have had better but I'll take what I can get 

Nausea or Queasy: still a yes... One week I hope to say it's over but I think given it is girl twins I'm still going to puke here and there this whole pregnancy.  

Wedding rings on or off: on

Signs of labor: no let's keep it that way for a long time

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: hmmmm just continuing to be pregnant 

Belly Button in or out: in

Movement: yep and getting stronger.   MAtt loves to feel them kick.

Baby Dreams: I don't remember any. 

Complaints: not this week.  I hate to say it but I feel pretty good.  I think I'm in my quick honeymoon period of pregnancy.  Even my sister in law noticed I was looking and feeling better.  She cracked me up.  When we got home on Friday she nicely said that I was looking much better than what I did at Christmas time.  I naively said.. Oh really.  Which she and my brother in law both laughed and said OH Yes!! You were looking pretty green over Christmas.  So apparently I looked as bad as I felt.. Hehe I tried so hard to play it off.  Hopefully I continue the good days and have less of the bad

21 Weeks

How Far Along: 21 weeks 3 days

Cravings: carrots!  Oh they taste so good.  For a while I was having a hard time eating veggies so I am happy that I can stomach salad and veggies again because I do love them.

Total weight gained: 23 pounds and counting.  In the beginning I wasn't really gaining weight so I drank Boost Protein shakes but now I seem to be gaining weight just fine!  Must be the extra sweets we've had around the house... Oops 

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep: I still have been tossing and turning but am thankful Matt can sleep right threw it... 

Nausea or Queasy: still a yes... One week I hope to say it's over but I think given it is girl twins I'm still going to puke here and there this whole pregnancy.  

Wedding rings on or off: on but they are feeling a bit tight if I eat too much salt or get too hot.  

Signs of labor: no let's keep it that way for a long time

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: getting to is Saturday so I can say I officially made it to 22 weeks.  That's such a big accomplishment and means my body is doing what it needs to and all of the surgeries, drugs, shots, and doctors appointments are working to keep these little ones in the womb.

Belly Button in or out: in

Movement: babies kicks at getting a wee bit stronger.  The other night I felt like they were having a wrestling match for space or just couldn't get comfortable because I could feel them moving back and forth from one side to the other.  I usually feel them at separate times not all at once.

Baby Dreams: I had quite a few baby dreams this week but by far the best one was the dream I had about my mother-in-law wanting to "try" my pregnant belly on.  Some how magically I was able to remove and unstrap the ever growing tummy so she strapped it on and within seconds her belly button protruded out.  We laughed because my belly button was still an inny and hers was definitely an outty.  Then I unstrapped the babies from her and put them back on and just like that the belly button went right back to being an inny.  So weird and strange but I got a good chuckle out of that one.  The best part is she doesn't know I had this dream and will only know after she reads the blogs!!  

Complaints: I think I'm doing pretty good considering I'm over half way!  Just the dang side pain... It really hurts like a bitch sometimes in the evening!  Im thankful for my couch and heating pad at night time!! 

One hurdle at a time...

I've reached a new milestone in this pregnancy, I've successfully made it past the day I previously went into labor 3 years ago.  I don't talk in detail about that day very often and only the very few close to me know how much it has really affected me but today I will celebrate this milestone and praise God for getting us past this first hurdle.  

Each day and each week I am more thankful that I get the chance to grow and nurture two beautiful miracles inside of me.  Each day and each week also come with a lot of anxiety and fear.  Fear that it will end just as abruptly as it did but in my heart and with all of the people praying and pulling for these two precious little miracles I think they are going to make it!  

I often daydream about the day that I will be able to hold a child.  It's something I yearn for so bad.  It's been 3.5 years since Matt and I started this journey of growing our family.  Instead of baby laughs and sounds of crying children it's been many days of silence and tears.  Not always but on the hardest days it seems like it.  I am sure once we have twins and our house is filled with two crying babies and I'm at my wits end that I will yearn for silence but as the saying goes ... The grass is always greener on the other side right.  So for now I'll keep dreaming of gut busting baby giggles, snugly little infants, and enjoying friends and families babies until Matt and I have our own.

20 Weeks

                                                 

How Far Along: 20 weeks 1 day

Cravings: none this week

Total weight gained: 21 pounds!  I did it!  20 pounds by 20 weeks was my goal weight.  For those of you wondering why so much weight so early I'm following "when expecting twins, triplets, and quads" diet plan.  Evidence Based shows that when carrying multiples they have a better outcome if the mom gains weight earlier rather than later in her pregnancy.  

Stretch Marks: no, phew I thought I saw some.  Matt confirmed for me that they are just veins

Sleep: I am having a harder time sleeping these days.  I toss and turn and frequently use the potty.  Guys I'm just getting ready for late night feedings. 

Nausea or Queasy: Saturday's must be my day to puke.  Last Saturday right before we were headed out for a double date (nice timing right) and yesterday morning or evening.  I can handle one day a week though, I got this! 

Wedding rings on or off: on

Signs of labor: no let's keep it that way for a long time

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: getting past the 20 week mark (pray for us) with no signs of labor, bleeding, or contractions

Belly Button in or out: in

Movement: still feeling  little flutters however 2 weeks ago I felt some pretty intense moving/flipping and I'm pretty sure it was Baby B changing positions.  Previously she was head down and the ultrasound that we had this week confirmed she is now breached or feet down and bouncing from side to side.

Baby Dreams: I'm known for having strange dreams even while not being pregnant.  This week I had a dream I had a c-section and had two baby girls and once it was over th doctor told me my left kidney was no good and I would most likely need it taken out.... I'm not sure where the kidney thing came from but as far as I know it's working just fine!

Complaints: oh man the right sided rib/back pain continues!  I tried some new stretches 

Gender Reveal for Twins!!!

A few years ago when we were expecting our first baby we went home and had a fun gender reveal party with my family and Matt's family.  We had already known the sex of the baby since we had done PGD, which is special genetic testing you can do to screen for genetically normal embryos, and as an added bonus we knew even before we implanted that the baby was a boy.  We kept the sex a secret as long as we could and around 14 weeks we shared the news.  Just for memories I've saved those pictures and found a video of our reveal.

This time around I just couldn't get myself to do anything big.  I do love gender reveal parties but after the emotional roller coaster we have been on I didn't want to repeat last time.  For those of you who weren't there here's a memory of our big "reveal" last time.

                  

This time around we did not do any genetic testing so we have been in the dark just like any "normal" pregnant woman.  So after many weeks of waiting and anticipating what these two little babies are we finally have our answer.  So coming July 2016 we are expecting ...... 

                                            Twin A                                               Twin B

                

Yep two baby girls.  We are just as shocked as you.  Matt's nervous about being out numbered but we will get used to all the female hormones around here once they arrive.  It's taken me a little bit of time to come to terms with two baby girls.  I selfishly had my heart set on a boy and girl.  A baby girl to fulfill my want and desire for a daughter and a baby boy to replace the son we lost in 2013.  I'm very happy and feel so blessed with two healthy baby girls thus far but it hasn't come without tears.  Sounds awful to say but it's the truth. 

It's funny how this has all worked out. The first time we found out we had one embryo to implant and it was a boy, I was dissappointed it wasn't a girl but after awhile I was so excited to welcome a baby boy into is world.  The second time we had another embryo to implant, that too was a boy which my heart melted because it was a son to replace the baby boy we had lost.  

And now, we have two girls growing inside me which I am getting excited for and getting used to the idea of lots of pink.  Thank goodness we have girl cousins for lots of hand-me-downs because currently all I have is a lot of boy stuff in the closet. 

On a positive note Matt and I had our 20 week anatomy scan this past week and the girls are looking strong and healthy.  Baby A is 11 oz. and Baby B is 10 oz.  All the major organs are present and are working like they should.  I got a clean bill of health and am able to go 4 weeks until my next appointment.  I'm just praying that all goes well over the next couple of weeks.  So once again keep praying for us that my body continues to hold these babies and they continue to grow and stay snuggled in their tiny wombs.  

19 Weeks

19 weeks and counting.  I've had increasing anxiety as I get closer to my true milestone of hopefully passing the 20 week mark when I last went into labor and I am inching closer.  I feel like it has been a race like the tortoise and the hare.  Time seems to move at a snails pace but when I blink and look up the week or month seems to fly by.  I'm slowly starting to get optimistic as I get further that this actually might be happening but as soon as I get excited my guard quickly comes up and I remind myself how fragile life can be and in a blink of an eye this could all be over.

I've had some tears this past week thinking that in 1-2 short weeks I could have to say good bye to the precious little miracles growing inside my body but I'm hanging on to hope and my faith in God that he won't let that happen to us again.  I've had so many prayers from everybody that I feel like if it happened so many of our friends, family, and stangers who follow my blog would be just as sad and dissappointed as we would be.  I can't describe the fear I have each day but I hope that as I get further each week my fears slowly turn into excitement.  

I am looking forward to this week.  We have our anatomy scan this week, which is the "big" ultrasound that they do to confirm if Twin baby A and B will be boys, girls, or a boy and a girl.  They also check all of the little growing parts to ensure they are growing how they should be.  I find this ultrasound to be scary but exciting.  We'll keep you all updated once we know the sex.... Any guesses??? 

Here's my 19 week picture.  Matt agreed to let me take his picture this week.  My bump is definitely growing and my clothes and back/ribs are feeling it.

         

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Cravings:  Red rope licorice... I caved!

Total weight gained: 19 pounds

Stretch Marks: no

Sleep: it depends on the night, sometimes I sleep like a baby and other nights I'm up 5+ times a night

Nausea or Queasy: yes but far and few between.  I think I'm going to puke this whole pregnancy 

Wedding rings on or off: on

Signs of labor: no let's keep it that way for a long time

Gender: still unknown... Well kind of.  

Looking forward to: my next appt. when we can confirm the gender.... Boy or girl? 

Belly Button in or out: in

Movement: yes and Matt is finally getting to feel the little flutters.  

Baby Dreams: none this week that I can remember 

Complaints: I've had some pretty intense right rib and back pain.  As long as I don't wear a bra and lay down all day I don't have any pain but the minute I am up and about or put "real people" clothes on I feel a little miserable.  If this is what I am going to have to deal with to get my babies home though, I'll take it!!