Pioneer Stock

32 weeks 5 days pregnant

Yesterday at work, I was told that I am pioneer stock. That I am like a pioneer woman, and I could walk all day and all night, pop these kids out on the side of the road, and continue right on. It's a compliment.

Most people at work thought I'd be gone on bedrest by now. A long time ago actually. To be honest I'm a little surprised too. At this point though, sitting at work in a chair for 8 hours a day, getting up and down to get loan files, things off the printer ect... is tough. It's much more comfortable to be in jammies at home where I can lay down. Especially since my feet and hands are swelling a lot. My work clothes aren't fitting so well. I should be allowed to wear pajamas to work. Haha!

Well today we had an Ultrasound, Non-stress Test and Dr.'s appointment. First the ultrasound went good! Baby A weighs 4lbs 6oz and Baby B weighs 4lbs 13oz!
Um holy crap! They're growing like crazy! No wonder everything is getting so much harder, I'm walking a little slower, and feeling more tired! I'm really glad they are growing so well.

Then the NST was fine. They got me hooked right up and the babies were cooperating pretty good. They did have to do sound wave stimulation again, but this time it was to wake baby A up. They did monitor two contractions during my NST. They were just little and I didn't feel them. Monday I woke up with terrible lower back pains and some really strong, painful contractions! I was worried. But I only had about 3 really strong ones and then they wore off. I still feel some smaller ones occasionally.

After the NST I went and saw Dr. L. She said she is thrilled with the way they are growing. But the fact that Baby A is still breech isn't such a great thing. She said he still has time to flip, but c-section is becoming more likely. I'm preparing myself for a c-section to be honest. I don't think the little bugger will flip, unfortunately. I told her about the contractions i've been having, and she said it is ok, as long as I don't have more then 6 in an hour. So I need to monitor them really carefully. My feet and hands are swollen, she said it's ok for now. Then she checked my cervix. I was nervous for this part thinking I might have dilated a little. Still closed! It's a good thing! But I think her checking me has caused stronger contractions :S Uh oh! Hopefully it didn't aggravate it too much!

So I'm still working, still chugging along day to day, week by week. It's not getting much easier, but the longer these little guys can stay in the better! I'm grateful for every week that they are still in there and healthy!!

31 Weeks 6 days pregnant My dad took this picture last night. It looks great, doesn't it?! My dad recently bought a new camera, and he loves playing with it and editing photos. He enhanced it a bit, but I definitely need it at this point! Thanks Dad!

So far so good I guess! No contractions, or signs of pre-term labor yet. But I think I am getting to the point where I'm just uncomfortable all the time. Yesterday I ended up going home from work early cause I was so worn out! I thought I was uncomfortable cause I didn't sleep well. But last night I slept awesome, and I'm still uncomfortable today. It's to be expected though. Tomorrow I'll be 32 weeks which is a huge milestone! It's considered their 'viable' point! Yay! So it could be anywhere from 2-4 weeks! That is just crazy to me!

Yesterday I had another NST (non-stress test). It went SO much better. It was a night and day difference. I only waited in the waiting room for 2 minutes, the nurse took me back, hooked me right up and I got to relax for 20 minutes! Baby A passed on his own, but Baby B was so sleepy they had to wake him up. They took a little device that looked like a flash light but makes low decibel sound waves and put it up to my belly to wake him up. When they did it, it almost felt like I was being shocked! But it was just the babies jumping from being startled by it! It was crazy, but it did the trick! So both babies passed within the 30 minutes! Thank goodness!

Well, I'll keep it short and sweet! Until next week!

Such a cute face

20 weeks 5 days

Baby B Profile

This was the only printed baby picture we got today. But we have plenty so it's ok! Their scrap book is already going to be full before they get here! Haha! But isn't that the cutest little face ever? I might be biased but really, that nose is too cute! Just like his daddy's!

Both babies are looking really good! They both weight about 1lb each now, and are still measuring a week ahead! Yipee! They checked other things like their bones, heart, brain, cord and lips to make sure there were no birth defects. They passed! There are no signs of any birth defects! It's such a blessing to hear the doctors say that they look great, and are healthy! During the ultrasound I started to feel nauseated and really warm. I told the tech and she said, ok I'm going to have you roll over onto your left side. Instantly I felt better. It was crazy! She said that as I get bigger and the more weight that is pushing down on my back can do that. She rose the head of the bed a little and said that it will take some pressure off your back while we finish. And throughout the rest of the ultrasound I was fine! I loved that little trick! So now I know if I start to feel nauseated and a little warm to just turn on my left side!

We also saw Dr. L today. She was happy with how healthy I am, and that my ankles aren't swelling at all, and there are no complications. She said I look really good for being 5 months along with twins. I had some questions about traveling, weight limits and things like that and she was able to address them all. Luckily I can still do minimal traveling, like trips in the car, and if they're over an hour to just make sure I try to elevate my feet, keep my legs moving and drink lots of water to keep the swelling down. But we don't really have any plans to go anywhere, it's just good to know. She also said with single babies they say no lifting over 40lbs, and with twins she suggested 30lbs but to pay attention to what my body is telling me.

So... everything is great, and right in line with where it should be! I'm really lucky. I'm so blessed that I'm having a great pregnancy. I know it could be a lot worse! Even though I have just "one of days" every once and a while (like yesterday) things are really great. I know people who go through their whole pregnancy nauseated, with complication after complication. These 5 months have been easy! Yeah, I had a little nausea, but I have been told several times that I'm really lucky that it went away! I feel very blessed! I'm so grateful to be these two little boys mommy. Every day I think about them and can't wait to meet them!

Getting big right? Haha, at least that's what I think!

My sister said I'm still tiny and questions if there is really two in there, even though she knows there is, she just likes to give me a hard time! Love you Sis!

I can't wait for...

19 weeks 4 days

This.

Isn't that the cutest picture?!

I just want to meet them. I love seeing their little faces on the ultrasounds! They have the cutest little noses ever! I can wait, cause the longer they bake, the better! But the anticipation of knowing what they'll look like is killing me!

On Saturday night I was laying in bed and the babies were awake. I told Justin to come feel them. he said "You're lying" cause in the past when I've told them they're awake and he tries to feel them, he can't. So we laid there for a minute. He was patiently waiting and all the sudden, all 4 of their little legs started moving everywhere! He felt them moving!! YAY! He said it feels like a heart beat to him. Which is exactly what it should feel like. I could feel it a lot more, but it was exciting to share that with him finally!

We went to the Ultrasound Dr. last Wednesday. I really like the ultrasound tech. She's so nice and super funny! While we were doing the ultrasound she noticed that Baby B had flipped. So they are now both face to face with their feet down. I can definitely tell that their feet are down. They stomp on my bladder a lot! Silly little boys. While she was looking at the legs, she said "Look at all those legs! I can't tell which goes to which!" It was just a cluster of feet an legs everywhere! It was pretty cute. Then when she was measuring one of their feet, she wrote Fot instead of Foot. I don't know why it was so funny, but we were laughing SO hard! I think it was the way she said it or something. So on the video recording you can see my stomach bouncing from laughing! We had a good time.

Every 4 weeks they take measurements, and then every 2 weeks they do anatomy. So the measurement check-up was at the first of January, and the anatomy check-up was the one we had on Wednesday. It was really cool, they checked their little lips to see if they had any sign of cleft lips, they checked their aortic arch, they look at everything! They still look at anatomy when they do measurements, but I guess it's a rule that they only take measurements every 4 weeks. The Dr. said that there was no sign of Twin-to-Twin. Which means they are both getting equal share of blood and food supplies. Sometimes one can take more than the other, but it looks like they're already sharing with each other :) We're glad about that!

So everything looks great! These little boys get bigger every day! Our next appointment with Dr. L and with the Ultrasound Dr. is on February 9th! I have a lot of questions for Dr. L so I'm looking forward to seeing her.

Another thing I can't wait for...

I'm going to say it again, I have the best big sister ever. She has done such a great job planning my baby shower! I can't wait for it! The theme is SO cute! I got to see the invitations this weekend. But it's still a secret. We're getting the invitations mailed out this week. I can't wait to see my sister. She's so great for being willing to drive 11 hour up here by herself with my 3 year old nephew, while being 7 months pregnant! She's been so good about helping me along with things I'll need, questions I have and stuff since I don't know what I'm doing! She's the best! I love her!

It's A....

16 weeks 6 days pregnant

Yesterday we had our 16 week appointment. We went and saw Dr. L, she listened to their heart beats and measured my growing belly! She said that they sound great, and we were right on track. After the appointment with Dr. L we went to have a big ultrasound! After being 45 minutes late, due to the appointment that went over with Dr. L and having to register, it was finally time! I have been anxious for this ultrasound for WEEKS! I think everyone else was just as anxious. I was getting texts and facebook messages like crazy!

I laid down on the table, and the AWESOME ultrasound tech put the warm gel on my belly. Within 15 seconds or less, she said "I know what they are!" I was shocked! I had been scared all week that they wouldn't be able to tell yet! After about a minute she told us what they were! I got sooo excited! I laid there and watched the screen they had on the wall, as she probed over my tummy. That's when I felt the overwhelming excitement. It was awesome! We got to see every inch of both babies. Here they are:

Baby A front of face

This is Baby A's profile (even though it says B in the corner)

Baby A's Profile

Baby B's Profile

Baby B's Little Foot

Baby A's Leg

I'm a BOY! (B)

I'm a BOY too! (A)

BOYS!! Yay!! I'll be honest. I was kind of set on girls, I've always wanted girls. But when I saw them, and finally knew what they were, I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy! I couldn't be more happy! These boys are going to be so much fun!!

Baby A is actually on my left side. Right now he's breach. So his head is up by my ribs and his feet are down by my bladder. He was a good little boy when we were looking at him. I think he was sleeping. We got some great shots of everything! Heart, bladder, kidneys, brain, arms, legs... everything! It was sooo cool to watch. Baby A is measuring at 17 weeks 5 days & 6oz. He's right on track. Actually he's a week ahead of my due date!

Baby B is on my right. He's opposite of his brother. His head is down by my bladder, and his feet are up by my ribs. So kind of like a yin-yang! Baby B was more active. He must have been awake. Some of the shots were blurry cause he was moving quite a bit! But we still got to see everything that we did on his brother! Everything checked our just right! Baby B is measuring at 17 weeks 6 days & 8 oz. Which is right on track as well. The Dr. said the 2 oz difference isn't a big deal. But they are still going to watch them closely to make sure that they're both growing equally and getting the same share of blood supply and food supply.

We got 11 pictures from the ultrasound! We also got a 17 minute DVD! The ultrasound ended up being about 45 minutes to an hour total, so 17 minutes of both of the babies is awesome! I'm so glad we have it!!

My ultrasound appointments and my appointments with Dr. L are completely separate. Dr. L wants to see me every 4 weeks right now. So my next appointment is in February. The ultrasound Dr. wants to see me every 2 weeks. WOW! She just wants to make sure they're growing, getting the right supply of blood and food, and make sure they are fine. I guess this is normal for twins to be checked so often. Talk about EXPENSIVE! But I think that's ok, we'll get to see them lots! I'm excited for that! So my schedule is going to be busy! Not to mention I have to drive from Bountiful to Murray for each of my appointments! The ultrasound Dr. told me to plan on delivering around 37 weeks. My due date is still June 24th, but my 37 week mark is on June 3rd! Crazy!

I don't like these pictures, but that's ok! I'm still going to post them!

Both of our families are really excited! Everyone in our families said they were girls except for my youngest brother and Justin's youngest brother, Kyle. They both said "I told you so!" They're really excited for boys. After the initial shock, every one's excited for boys! Girls would have been fun, especially since there aren't any girls on either side, but these boys are going to be SO spoiled and loved. I know it. We all are so anxious to meet them!

My little nephew, Lincoln's reaction was soo cute! My sister works graveyards at the Hospital in Arizona. So when I called them they were both taking a nap. She called me about an hour after the appointment and told me that when Lincoln woke up from his nap, he told his mommy that they were boys. All along he's been saying that Auntie Em is having girls. But today after his nap, he said boys. So when I told my sister that he was right, she flipped!! She was soo excited! Then she told Lincoln that I was having two boys, just like him. She said the smile on his face got huge. Then he said to me on the phone "I was a baby at the hospital, and I cried" It was really cute! It's going to be so fun to have boy cousins to play with! Our boys are going to have 4 boy cousins! And my sister's baby is still a mystery. She's not finding out! So they'll either have 4 boy cousins and a girl, or 5 boys cousins! It's going to be so much fun!

Anyway! I'll stop blabbing! I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity to be a mom to these cute little boys! I can't wait to meet them!

Fraternal or Identical?

12 weeks pregnant

Now... That date up there... It was changed today. We went and saw our new specialist today! She's a great Dr. She is very informative and really good at explaining things to us! We never waited for her for one minute, she was quick to get into our room, but when she did, she was thorough and took her time with us.

First we talked about the twins being fraternal or identical. I told her that we haven't established that yet and things were really up in the air as far as the measurements of the twins and the actual due date were concerned. I knew they might back track me. She also talked to us about high risk pregnancy. She said we'll have a lot more ultrasounds, and high risk is more likely to have the babies early, go on bedrest, c-sections and things like that. She said they always try to work around those things, but sometimes they just happen.

Then we got to look at the babies! She looked at them good and long! It was nice to see them. Baby A was all curled up sleeping. Baby B was a little mores stretched out. She was able to measure them at about 12 weeks which puts my new due date at June 24th, 2011. So we took a step backward, but that's ok. We knew it was very possible that it would have to be changed according to the measurements of the babies.

I hate this picture. I snapped it one night on my cell phone. I think I look fat.

Dr. L commented on how active the babies were. She said it's always a good thing! We listened to their heartbeats and they were nice and strong! Then we got talking about Fraternal or Identical again. She explained to us that fraternal is two separate eggs which both get fertilized, and do not share the same placenta or anything. Which we already knew that. Then she explained that there are two types of Identical. Di/Di and Mono/Di. Mono/Di twins are one egg that gets fertilized and splits. They share a placenta, but two different sacs and they each have their own blood source. There is usually a very thin membrane that separates them. This is the most common type of twins. Then there is Di/Di. They share the same placenta and sac they share the blood supply, there is no membrane between them.

Dr. L determined that our twins are IDENTICAL! They are Mono/Di twins so they share the placenta but have their own sac and blood supply. These are the safer of the two identical twins to have! Which means we will either have two BOYS or two GIRLS!

I am way more anxious to find out the genders now! My mom says she keeps having dreams about 3 baby girls on her lap (my sister is pregnant too, so my 2 plus hers). My mother in law has also predicted girls. So we will see! We will have an appointment to get the official ultrasound in 4 weeks! I cannot wait!

Hopefully the ultrasound pictures make sense. I will get better belly pictures on here later! I need to be better at taking them!! I know I'll be mad at myself it I don't do it now!

The Beginning...

7 weeks 4 days pregnant

I'm a Slacker. I can't believe it's been since August! Sorry. I've had so many people tell me that I need to update my blog. But really, not a ton has been going on. Well not up until about 2 weeks ago when we told our Family and Friends that we are expecting Twins!

I want to start writing more frequently on my blog so it will be a story for me. So I can go back and reflect on how it started! So here is the story of how it started. Sorry, it's LONG!

Justin and I have been married for 3 1/2 years. Babies were never a huge topic until recently. I've always wanted children, and the last year I've really wanted one, but have been patient in waiting for my hubby to be ready also. I guess you can say that we weren't really trying. We weren't counting the days, just waiting for it to happen when it was suppose to.

It was early Friday morning October 8th. I have staff meetings at 8am on Friday's so I get up earlier than Justin to get in the shower. I wasn't late quite yet, but just decided to take a test. Out of curiosity. I was expecting another negative, since that's all I had seen for a while. But all the sudden, the faint second line started to appear. I'm sure I had the biggest smile on my face. I put my robe on, and went into the bedroom and turned on the lamp. I said, "Justin look." He was not happy I was waking him up before his alarm. He grunted but then turned over. He looked at the test and said "What does that mean?" In a sarcastic way. And I said, "That means I'm pregnant!" He smiled and said "Well it's not mine, so who's is it?" again sarcastically. I said, well of course it's yours. The next thing he said was "You're not telling your sister." Just 2 months before my sister called me at 12:45am crying cause she had just taken a test and it was positive! She expected that same call from me when it was my turn. But I knew I had to respect my husbands wishes, because there would be wishes that I want him to respect as well. I smiled and kissed him, then went and got in the shower. Really I think he was happy. I know I was! It didn't seem real yet.
I think the first person I told was one of my best friends Kara. Oops... I wasn't suppose to tell anyone, but I was just too excited! She said she bounced up and down in her chair when she got my picture of the positive test. It was fun having at least one person that could celebrate with me.
Over the next month, I was feeling great. I hadn't had any sickness (unlike the first time) and I was feeling just dandy! And boy, it was hard not telling people. Especially when my sister called me about 2 weeks after my positive pregnancy test and asked if I was yet. I had to lie, but it's all out of love! I made my first Dr.'s appointment for October 29th at 9:00am. It was the longest 3 weeks! That appointment couldn't come any quicker. Justin really wanted to come to that appointment, so he had to tell the secret to his boss. He had to swear him to secrecy though, cause his boss is in his parents ward. He told him if his parents found out before we told them, we would know exactly who to blame :) They kept their end of the secret.

Finally my 8 week appointment rolled around. I was nervous, yet excited. Dr. B was very excited for us, since he knows a lot of my family already. He sat down and we talked about a lot of things. Then he started the ultrasound. As I laid there, he panned over my stomach for about 2 minutes and my heart was sinking each second that passed. Nothing...

I said "I don't see anything" and Dr. B said "I know" in a somber tone. Then he stopped and I got excited and said "Look there's the heartbeat!" That was a relief! Then he said "Well, it looks divided, and I'd expect the baby to be bigger at 8 weeks, I just can't see much" So he turned off the machine, and said "We're going to order an official ultrasound to find out what exactly is going on." So they had the official ultrasound set for 2:30pm. Never once did he say the word Twins or multiples i got dressed and was somewhat disappointed. I was hoping to go and everything be just perfect. But that's not always the case. I was bummed all afternoon. We both went to work, and decided we would meet back at the clinic at 2:30. All through work I thought about what could be wrong. I never really thought about things being right. That goes to show how much I really wanted this!

So we met back at the clinic at 2:30 and the tech started an abdominal ultrasound. She had the same results. She couldn't really see much at all. So she stopped and decided to do an internal ultrasound. That was MUCH better!I couldn't see the screen, but Justin could. The first thing she said to us was "Have you guys been doing invitro?" We said no, of course! She said "Well I see 3 sacs, but hang on!" Justin and I looked at each other with wide eyes! We waited another minute. She started measuring a baby and typed "Baby A" then she moved and started measuring and typed "Baby B" At that point Justin's eyes got big and he held up two fingers and mouthed "There's two!" and the ultrasound tech said "Yes, there is two" I was in disbelief. I kept shaking my head like "No way, you're kidding me" then I head a thumping noise. It was the heartbeat of our Baby A. It was 144. I'm told that is good. Then again, it was Baby B's heartbeat. 144 also. It was such a huge relief to hear their hearts beating. It definitely comforted me. The ultrasound tech said everything looked good, but the babies were measuring about 6 weeks and 3 days. Which is appropriate for the date. And that there are 3 sacs, but only 2 embryo's. We weren't sure what that meant. We later found out that that meant that I was pregnant with triplets at one point, but the other two basically absorbed the 3rd embryo. Weird, huh!

So that night we went over to my parents house and I had made little Halloween treat boxes for each of my parents. Inside was a onesie with this on the front:And an ultrasound picture. Their reactions were classic! My mom is a twin. And actually my moms twin sister was at the house too for my Grandpa's 80th birthday party! So they found out the news together at the same time! My mom said "Wait, is this yours? You're pregnant?" I shook my head and said "Yes" and then she paused and said "Wait... There's Two?!" again I said "Yes". Everyone started cheering and my mom gave me a huge hug. My mom and aunts thing was always "Two peas in a pod" So it meant a lot to them! They cant believe that they are going from 1 grandchild to 4 in the next 7 months!

Then we got on webcam with my sister. We just started a normal conversation. Then there was a pause. And I held the ultrasound picture up to the camera. She screamed at the top of her lungs! "WHAT?!? I SEE TWO! Is this your? No, this can't be yours! Really?" She was totally shocked! It took us at least 2 minutes to convince her that it was ours! I had to show her the name on it, and we had to email the ultrasound to her. She was so excited! She's been waiting for this since she got pregnant! We got off Skype, and we talked on the phone for another 30 minutes or more. It's so great to have a sister so close that I can share this experience with! Unfortunately though, I wont make it down to Arizona for her baby's birth, but she said hopefully she will be able to come up for ours and possibly stay with me for a week or so while she's on maternity leave.

The next day was my Grandpa's 80th birthday party. There I gave my grandpa a picture, and he announced it to the whole family. That was fun and a bit overwhelming! Haha. Then later that night we headed up to Justin's parents house to tell them. We did the same thing and gave them Halloween boxes. Justin's mom was scared at first to open it cause she thought something was going to pop out. Justin's dad went for it and started laughing with excitement. His mom wasn't sure what was going on and I told her she HAD to open it now. She finally did and didn't get it at first. Then his dad showed her the ultrasound and she looked at it and said "Your pregnant?" I said "Yep!" then I told her to look closer at the ultrasound. His dad said "There's two!" His mom still looked at the ultrasound and it took her a minute to see the two, but she got it and kept saying "I TOLD YOU! I knew it!" She has predicted from the beginning that we were going to get married and have twins. She was so excited! She called Justin's grandma who had twins (Justin's moms brother and sister are twins) and she was so excited as well! Then we text a picture to his sister. At first I had the wrong phone number! Oops! The title of the picture message was "Call us!" so we got a phone call all ready to talk to his sister, and some guy answers and says "Hi, uh... I just got a picture message from you. It looks like an ultrasound or something and it said to call you." I was confused... The guy was even more confused though! I told him we had the wrong number. I got the right number and sent it off to his sister. It took her a little while to call us, but when she did, they were so excited!! She said she had to show her mother in law to make sure she was seeing two babies! She definitely was!

Then that night, we had friends over for Carmel apples and to watch a Halloween movie! We decided we would play a game. We handed everyone an envelope (with a copy of the ultrasound in it) and told them they couldn't open it until we said. So everyone got their envelope and opened it up. Except for Zack and Nicki who were handcuffed together! Haha! Justin told them the rules were they had to do what it said. So people were a little confused. One of our friends said "Am I suppose to get pregnant?" It was funny :) But then others were yelling out "Oh your pregnant!" I smiled and said Yes, but to keep looking at the picture! Then my friend Lindsay leaned over to me and said "Is there one or two?" I said "Two, but wait, I wanna see how long it takes" Then one of our friends who is expecting said "There's two!" Everyone caught on after that. It was really fun!

It was a long two days! Finding out we are having twins was overwhelming! Then telling everyone too! But it was really fun to see and hear every ones reactions!

The babies are set to come June 11, 2010. But will most likely come in May. Some friends at work are already placing bets that I'll be on bed rest by March, but we'll see!

So far, I've only had minor nausea. The nausea set in at the beginning of November. But it's pretty manageable. It mostly comes at night around 5pm too. Weird... Why do they call it morning sickness then? Sometimes in the morning if i don't eat, then I can feel nauseated, but if I eat pretty regular then it's not even noticeable! The one thing that I can't even stand the thought of is:

Yuck. Even the smell of it makes me sick.

That is the main one, right now at least. Other things just don't sound good, or I don't want them.

Things that are really good to me are:

Dole Strawberry Jello with peaches Cups

Granola Bars

Smoothies from Keva

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Popsicles

and Country Time Raspberry Lemonade

It's fun experiencing these things, but the nausea can be hard sometimes! But it will all be worth it! There is so many things to do. We'll have to find a bigger place. We're not sure where yet. Plus there is so much to buy! I don't want to start buying yet though. It's crazy that we have to buy double everything!

We are excited for this fun adventure and can't wait to find out if they are boys, girls or one of both!