4/30/06 - 30 weeks 3 days

Ooops.. it’s been a while since my last post.. sorry to all my adoring fans! Ha ha did anyone even notice?

I have to tell everyone what a wonderful husband I have! J So going to the grocery store is quite the challenge for me. I’m back in the nauseous phase and thinking about food is no fun. The last time I went I came home w/ $77 worth of food and realized as soon as I unloaded it at home that I hadn’t gotten anything but snack foods that sounded appealing to me. We got by for a few days and then finally needed to go back. I asked Tom if we could go after he got home from work. He said, “sure, just make up a meal plan.” I said I would… I didn’t. I started, but 1) I got bored and 2) as I mentioned before thinking about food is no fun these days.

So my darling husband comes home to me in my sweats still w/ no meal plan feeling like crap. So he finished the half ass meal plan I had started then asked me if I would rather stay home… which of course I did! .. he went to the grocery store… prepared dinner and all I could do was bitch that he hadn’t gotten any ice cream! (I mean do I – the pregnant wife – REALLY have to remind him to get ice cream?) I realized my lunacy and apologized for complaining! Ha! I’m so lucky to have such an accommodating husband! Would you believe that he didn’t even complain.. not once! J Wow, I’m a lucky girl.

I did tell him that I will try my hardest to remember all of the great things he did for me while I was in late pregnancy after the babies are here.. to not ride him too much about not helping in ways that I may want him to, but that I wasn’t promising anything! J He just rolled his eyes and laughed.

I’ve managed to not have to sleep on the couch again since my last post.. again, Tom gets up to let Phoebe out now.. damn I’m lucky! J I generally get back to sleep pretty easily after my many trips to the bathroom AND Phoebe’s bathroom break.

I’m on weekly appointments now w/ a cervical check.. starting on Monday – I guess this is when you know you are getting close. The doc said that 50% of twin moms go into preterm labor during this phase of pregnancy so they want to monitor me closely. I have to signs of it thusfar.

All is well – we still just wait! Mom and dad are getting here in about 4 weeks.. so these babies have my permission to come any time after that, so long as they are healthy and ready!

I’m working on our birth plan.. is the ultimate control move on the nurses/docs or is it just me that feels that way!? I’m hoping that it’s mostly helpful for Tom … so that he doesn’t remember the things that I wanted when I’m in labor and in pain and he just wants to focus on getting our babies here safely. I trust his judgment 100%! (Am I indicating that I don’t by working on the birth plan? Well he’s helping w/ it!)

That’s all for now!

4/19/06 - 29 weeks

The babies heartrates are a bit closer together again.. I'm not sure why they change, but baby boy's heart rate was 157 and baby girl's was 161. :) Mom has officially gained 40lbs. GEEZ! It's sure going to be fun to watch it all melt away! At the chiro yesterday she told me my face was looking fuller - Isn't that just GREAT news! I should have said, "Oh yeah, you think that looks fuller you should get a load of my legs!" ha ha

My dad is currently doing some "Life changes" to his diet and exercise program and is dropping LBs about as fast as I'm picking them up. At last count he was at 205 and loosing so we are narrowing the gap - I'm 184 (gained 3 lbs last WEEK!). We'll have to be sure to get a photo of us at the end of the pregnancy.. the one and ONLY time I will weigh more than you dad! :) ha ha

And on that note... I'm officially feeling HUGE! For real this time.. though I'm sure I'll look back on today and say, "Geez, I wasn't that big.. NOW I'm big!" ha ha I said I had entered the uncomfortable zone before, but I think I was lying and didn't know it.. I'm now uncomfortable.. I've taken to spending a couple of hours a night on the couch... after Phoebe gets up at some ungodly hour to go to the bathroom I can't fall back to sleep.. I usually lay there for about 2 hours before I give up and go lay on the couch.. I sleep there until Tom is about to get up and I go back to bed for about 3 more hours.. At least I'm sleeping I guess.

I just took a bath and much to my disappointment I BARELY fit in there now. There's no use in even bothering now.. When I try to roll over onto my stomach to take pressure off my back my belly hits the bottom of the tub... not comfortable! HA!

We've gotten through two of our 6 birthing/child bringing home.. or whatever classes. I can't remember what they actually call it, but the first three days focuses on birth and the second three days focuses on what to do w/ the baby(ies) when you get it(them) home. :) So far we both feel like some of it has been helpful and other parts are kind of "duh" moments! :) The first day we saw a birth video and it was an "oh these babies have to come out" moment, but the lady's labor was pretty standard.. no drugs and she was fine. :) Yesterday we saw more video of the three stages of labor... we saw the placenta come out.. damn that thing is HUGE and I have TWO.. no wonder I got so big so fast! ha ha I've heard that sometimes twin placentas fuse together.. that should be interesting! :) We also learned and practiced some coping techniques. For those of you that watch a Baby Story or any of those and you see where the couple is kind of slow dancing w/ the woman putting her weight on hubby, well I'm here to tell ya that when you are the same height and super pregnant.. that DOES NOT work! ha We got a good laugh out of that one! Our instructor was teaching us how to breathe through contractions.. I'm now calling her Meg Ryan.. I was almost embarrassed to be in the same room w/ her! She wanted us to practice and I looked at Tom and said, "I AM NOT doing that right now!" ha ha If I was passing in the hallway and didn't know what the class was I would have thought it was a masterbation class not a birth class. I think I'll just wing it when I get there and concentrate on breathing and let it come out sounding however it sounds. HA We also talked about meds in the class and I think I'm more afraid of someone putting a catheter - or whatever - in my spine than I am going through labor - TWICE! I'm pretty sure we are going to opt to use a Spinal if we have to do a C-section after I've labored for a while... I'm hoping to stick to my guns and remember that the pain is temporary (IF baby boy turns and I'm able to labor) and get through it naturally if I can... my main concern w/ not using and epidural was if I had to have an emergency C section I didn't want to have to be knocked out for it. Well, w/ a spinal it's an injection - YES, into your spine - and it's almost immediate. As soon as they give it to you they lay you on the table and get those babies out.. so there is also less chance of the drugs getting to the babies before they are pulled from my body!

Still being flexible about the birth and just going to do whatever is best for the little ones, but it was interesting hearing all the med options.. and watching Tom's face as they described how the epidural works.. he wasn't excited about the whole spinal tap thing either!

Oh, another neat little tid bit of info - the hospital that I'm delivering in uses cloth diapers! I thought that was pretty cool! So the first 3 to 4 days is on them! They wash them.. yippee! :)

Today is 29 weeks.. the weeks are still slipping by though each day seems a bit longer. It's hard to believe that they say 32 weeks is GOOD and anything after that is icing... well geez.. I'm hoping for a good bit of icing then! I'd only be 3 weeks away if I had them at 32 weeks.. that's just NUTS! So I guess technically it could be any day now... though I'm still aiming for June 15th!

We haven't decided how this whole thing is going to go down in respect to contacting everyone.. I suppose it will just depend on how quickly things progress. YOU WILL get a call don't worry... and pictures will be forthcoming.. remember that IF I have a C section I will be in the hospital for 4 days at least.

Keep your fingers crossed that these babies come out healthy and ready to go home. Just say NO to the NICU!

4/14/06 - 28 weeks 1 day

Happy THIRD TRIMESTER to me! :) YEAH! This is a great milestone. Now the babies have a 90% chance of long term health if born at any minute... though I'm sure I have a ways to go! :)

I passed my 1 hour glucose test.. YEAH!! No 3 hour test and I can still eat ice cream.. PHEW! I don't know what I would have done if I had to give up the ice cream! ha ha They said my iron is low so I'm taking an extra supplement now. That must be why I've been craving ice so much and I've been feeling a bit run down during the day! :)

I added photos of my 28 week belly! HERE

It's supposed to be 80 degrees here today.. YEAH!!!! :)

4/12/06 - 27 weeks 6 days

I had an OB appointment today. Drank the sweet sunkist tasting Glucose drink and gave them my blood... I think it will be about a week before I hear whether or not I passed.. I think I did. I also got my Rhogam injection b/c I'm A- (if you are negative they give you a rhogam injection at 28 weeks in case your blood and babies blood mixes during delivery - or something like that).

The doc measured me and I'm measuring at 36 weeks, I've now hit 181lbs for a total weight gain of 37 lbs! Wowza.. and I've still got a ways to go. I told the lady that when she parks the big weight at 200lbs I'll be upset, but until then it's kind of fun to watch the scale go up! ha ha

The doc told me that baby boy is in the 43 percentile - I asked him what this meant and he said that IF I go to term he would weigh around 7lbs or more and that Lily would be around 6lbs 10oz. or so. He said he's predicting that I will go into labor all on my own between 36 and 37 weeks. I'm not convinced... they seem pretty content in there, but we'll just have to wait and see. He said if I got too uncomfortable after that point and wasn't going into labor on my own he would induce me if I WANTED it, but that as long as we are all healthy he's happy to let me go as far as I wish. :) We'll see what happens when/if June 15th comes and goes! He also said that there is no reason to schedule a C-section even if baby boy stays in the position he is in. He said he could turn during labor and that they would do an ultrasound when I showed up at the hospital to see how things were going. I'm happy to hear that. I plan to just play it by ear and won't make any decisions about C-section until I get that ultrasound at the hospital after labor has already started. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind should I hit 38 weeks and am miserable. I'm flexible man! ha ha

So all is well and we are still cooking some healthy, strong, growing babies! :) Now we just need to name that boy and we're good to go!

We start our birth classes tonight (so I guess that's really the last piece) - they are every Wednesday from 6:30 - 9pm (which cuts right into my ice cream time.. :( ) and go for 6 or 8 weeks! AFTER that we'll be READY or as ready as we're going to be! :)

4/11/06 - 27 weeks 5 days

We had our 28 week ultrasound today. It was great to have Tom there with me this time... even though it wasn't as much fun. Last time I got to see the 3D/4D of the babies w/ their heads together. This time we didn't get a 3D/4D and I was feeling too nauseous to even ask! They were moving quite a bit - as usual - so maybe that's why he didn't do it... or maybe it was b/c he seemed nervous that I wasn't feeling well and might pass out on him! ha! :) I did lay on my side most of the time to prevent the nausea, but laying on my back is NO GOOD!

Baby Boy (to be named later) has moved. He is no longer head down! BUMMER! He's got some time to move back so let's hope he does. Right now he has his head over on my left side and his feet over on my right.. known as TRANSVERSE. UGH! If he stays this way I am guaranteed a C-section. I guess the good news is we could just go ahead and schedule it. (though I REALLY want to go into labor naturally and have a vaginal birth) Baby Girl (we're currently practicing calling her Lily to see how that sits.. so far so good) has stayed head down and her feet swing around so she can kick her brother in the face... which she seems to enjoy! :)

Baby Boy is measuring 2lb8oz. and Lily is measuring 2lb6oz. The doc - who has 5 year old twins - said that they are measuring and growing on schedule as if they were singletons. As she said this she had a pained look on her face. I said, "good for them, not so good for me." This just means I could have normally sized babies and thus be huge and miserably uncomfortable as we near the end - provided they stay in there! She also said that I have a "beautiful cervix"... um thanks, and I'm sure you are all glad I shared that info. That means that my body - so far - is perfectly happy to keep those babies inside... this is good news. (ask me again if this is good news when I hit 37 weeks and have NORMAL sized babIES in there!)

The scans didn't come out as clear and nice as they have in the past.. not sure if it was the tech or the different machine. I'll try to get some decent shots of them and post them in the ultrasound folder in "My Photos", but no guarantees.

As I mentioned earlier in the post we are trying "Lily" on for size. We're pretty sure the little girl's name will be Lillian Payton Mount, but the boy's name is eluding us! The latest name we are trying out is Isaac and I don't think either one of us is really attached to it yet.. we'll see. We want his middle name to be Everett after my great Uncle so we're looking for something that works with that. Tom likes the name Everett and I think he would name him Everett, but I'm not excited about calling my child Everett... it works for my 80-something Uncle, but I have a hard time calling a child that.. I don't know.. we'll see where this takes us. Thomas is always an option! Ha Ha Just kidding! Tom has vetoed any Jr's and I think it's time for me to put the name Tom to rest for my family! ha!

4/8/06 - HAPPY SPRING!

Ah.. the plants are budding if not bluming.. the grass is green again and sometimes the sun even shines! Here are some pics of Phoebe and us on the porch enjoying some Vitamin D from the sun along w/ a funny pic of my belly... hmm.. looks like my face might be a bit puffy huh? ha ha

4/6/06 - 27 weeks

THREE MONTHS UNTIL MY DUE DATE! AHHH!

I've officially entered the "uncomfortable zone"... I was feeling so big and uncomfortable last night. No matter how I sat/ layed I just couldn't get comfortable. It took me about 30 mins (that's pretty quick for me these days) to fall asleep. Then I woke up at 4am to let the dog out.. went back to bed.. got hungry/nauseous, got back up to eat something and go to the bathroom, couldn't get comfy and was still kinda nauseous .. got up AGAIN for some water thinking maybe that was the problem. Went back to bed still unable to get comfortable and the babies were moving around like crazy. I think I finally got back to sleep around 6am. Then woke up at 8:30am when Tom left for work and felt naseous/hungry again and had to get up to eat again. This is all after having had a bowl of cereal at 10pm to try to avoid the hunger in the middle of the night. Guess I need to eat more during the day.. these kids are obviously going through a growth spurt. UGH! I can always feel baby lumps now and their kicks/punches/rolls reverberate through my abdomen. I swear the boy kicked yesterday and rocked the bed! ha This could go on for another 10 to 13 weeks.. EEE GADS!

This might explain why I feel so ENORMOUS!


I added some photos of the house... to show mom's work! I still have a bit of work to do upstairs before I'll be ready to post pics of the bedrooms and office, but I'll get there! :) You can view the photos by clicking HERE.

4/5/06 - 26 weeks 6 days

Okay.. I dropped mom off at the airport yesterday and she made it home safely. All I can say is THANK GOD she came. We... I mean to say SHE.. got so much done while she was here. The nursery is complete - you can view photos by clicking HERE. It looks fabulous. I had no idea what we were going to do when she first got here then we were at Home Depot on one of the first days and were looking at paint. I picked a green and a blue that I liked... held them together and said, "how about stripes w/ a white stipe in between?" and a day later it was done! WOW! Now that's efficient! We shopped till we dropped - both at the Moms of Multiples sale and various other locations like Target, WalMart, Baby Depot and SAMs. I think we have all that we need to be prepared for the babies arrival!

Mom also finished painting our living room and dining room and took all the old door knobs off upstairs and polished them - I can't believe how much they sparkle now. I'll post pictures of that AFTER I clean up all of MY crap - not to be confused w/ any of Tom's crap because most, if not all, of it is mine! UGH! I'm a very messy marvin!

I'm still feeling pretty good and was able to take breaks as I needed them. We have another ultrasound next Tuesday and I've been changed to OB appts every two weeks - I feel like this post is moderately redundant.. if it is.. my apologies! I'll update again after my ultrasound next week! :)

3/29/06 - 25 weeks 5 days

Had another OB appointment the other day and still all is well. I only gained 2 lbs in the last 2 weeks... I was surprised.. I'm used to my 8lb gain in a month. The doc said I was doing just fine. My running total now is 32 lbs! She said they wanted at a minimum 35 lbs (guess I'll hit that just fine), but more in the range of 45 to 55lbs. I'm on my way! :) HA HA

The babies heart rates sounded good.. though it took a bit longer the find them. I think they may have flipped to a breech position b/c of the kicks I'm getting - or their location rather. Baby girl's heartrate was 167 and baby boy's was 143. Now they are in line w/ the old wives tale.

My mom has been out for almost a week now and we have been working away to get ready for these little ones. She's in there slaving away in the nursery right now as I take a break - translation stop standing, bending and sitting on the floor. She painted the blue and green we picked out and we bought a crib and bedding set. It's looking VERY cute (and kind of easter eggish) in there! HA HA It's quite different from the dark colors in the rest of our house, but it's fun and I think it will last through toddlerhood! Once we get everything mostly situated in there I'll post some pictures. We picked up some wood at Home Depot today to make some more shelves and changing platform for the closet... I won't be partaking in any shelf building! :)

I worked the Moms of Multiples sales on Saturday - more work than I've done since quitting my job - damn was I tired at the end of that day! Mom came and shopped for a while, but ended up spending most of her time at Burger King and McDonalds - the sale took place in a VERY small town just north of here called Waunakee ... she looked for a Starbucks, but they don't have one! ha ha I got some GREAT stuff including a Pack N Play, Snap N Go (stroller), a swing, a bouncy seat (along w/ a bonus free bouncy seat that a lady gave me), a twin nursing pillow, crib sheets and mattress pad, many odds and ends and tons of clothes for 0-3 months and 3-6 months. It was all quite the score and totally worth a day of work. I got all of that for what it would have cost me to buy just the Pack N Play and the Snap N Go new!

Mom also finished painting the living room and helped put together the Pack N Play where the babies will spend most of their time during the day. We've (mostly she) have accomplished more in the 5 days she has been here than I've managed to accomplish since I moved here in November! :) Next she is going to paint the dining room and install dimmer switches in both the dining room and the nursery... damn Grandma's are handy huh? :)

We're getting close and I'm very excited and thankful that Mom came out to do most of it!

And one last thing... I have to brag on Tom. He got a raise!!! :) It's great to have him working for people that appreciate his hard work and know how to show their appreciation!

3/18/06 - Seattle Shower

Lynda and Larry put on a fabulous shower for Tom and I while we were visiting Seattle. We are both so blessed and loved to have had almost FORTY people attend! It was great fun to see everyone and share my big belly - everyone was so sweet to say.. "you don't look at BIG as I thought you would!" ha ha

We got a ton of beautiful baby stuff - you can check out the loot under the "My Photos" link at the bottom left of the front page!

It was wonderful to be back in Seattle for a while and to feel the love and excitement of our friends and family over our coming attractions! It was funny - as people left the shower Tom generally got a hand shake while I got a "good luck w/ that" along w/ a gesture toward my belly! :)

Thank you to everyone that came to the shower - we are so lucky to have you all in our lives!

3/14/05 23weeks 5 days

My ultrasound went really well today! The babies are both measuring right on schedule and are both 1lb 7oz. So I guess they are sharing and getting along so far. I added pictures to the photo album. We got 3D pics of both babies today! Their heads are both down low and really close together so when we were looking at them with 3D it looked like baby boy was kissing his sister's head, though I'm pretty sure her head is just resting on his face. This explains why he pushes her a lot. When the tech was trying to get a 3D shot of the girl she was holding her hands in front of her face - it looked like she had already learned to block punches from her brother! :) It was so amazing to see them in there in 3D. I always thought the 3D was really over rated, but it is pretty exciting and special to see them as they may look. I'm still not convinced that they are all that accurate as to how the babies actually look when they come out... I guess time will tell.

All looked good with me too. They checked my cervix.. tight as a vice. And checked on a low laying placenta - it looks like the edge of the placenta is right up against my cervix, but the doc is pretty convinced it will move up over time. It's the anterior (on the front) placenta so as my belly expands - and it IS expanding - it will pull the placenta up higher. Worst case if it doesn't move I will have to have a C Section - which I already have a 50/50 % chance of having. I'm still hoping for a vaginal delivery, but when it comes down to it.. it's not really about me anymore!

All of a sudden I am really enjoying this pregnancy. It's not that I didn't enjoy it before - it was just something that was happening to my body. Now I think the reality of it is settling in and I find myself tearing up just thinking about my two little miracles in there. To think of all that it takes to make one perfect little baby, much less two. I think feeling them so much helps too! And the hormones certainly contribute to my tearfulness! I can't wait for the day we get to meet them and hold them and kiss them.

I'm ready to start getting this house ready - surely I'm not nesting already. I'm just enjoying the prospect of them being here! I'll post pictures of the nursery - and the rest of the house - after mom comes and works her magic. :)

3/13/06 23 weeks 4 days

My OB appt went as they usually do.. nothing alarming! :) I've officially gained 30 lbs! Oh my GOODNESS!!! The good news is I don't feel like I've gained 30lbs! I'm at 174 now! I'm measuring at about 30 weeks (comparison to if I was carrying only one - not sure why they do this) My heartrate was normal (for me, for pregnancy) and the babies heartrates sounded good.. baby boy was 156 and baby girl was 152.

So all is well. I start going every two weeks now and in four weeks I have to do the gestational diabetes test.. Blechk. I've heard nasty things about that test... tastes bad, have to fast and get light headed and nauseous.. sounds like fun! haha Hopefully I will pass and won't have to do the three hour test!

I'll update tomorrow after my ultrasound as to baby stats! :)

3/12/06 23 weeks 3 days

I made my first baby purchase!!!

I guess I've finally started to feel like this is really happening.. strange to say w/ my large belly! ha ha

I have been looking into clothe diapering - it's an overwhelming topic to say the least!!! I found a great little store here in Madison called Happy Bambino - www.happybambino.com - they have wonderful FREE classes!!! Today I attended Cloth Diapering 101 and the Art of Babywearing! The clothe diapering class really helped to cut through all the enormous amounts of information and gave me a pretty good idea of what I needed to get started and what I would need to do to care for the diapers. I'm really interested in this for a lot of reasons namely (and not necessarily in order of importance) cost, environment and toxins on my babies skin. It will certainly be an adjustment / learning curve to get in the swing of things w/ this as it will be more high maintanence than disposable diapering, but I am determined to make it work. This is not to say that I don't plan to have a stash of newborn disposables on hand in the beginning in case things get overwhelming here and there. Thankfully I will have help for the first three months.. thanks mom and dad -- Dad.. you choose - change diapers or wash them.. ha ha :)

So I took the plunge! I bought the little store out of prefold diapers!!! They are going to call me when their next shipment comes in (soon) to purchase the last bunch I need. I'll be using prefolds and covers in the beginning.. there are many MUCH cuter and MUCH more expensive options, but this will get me going! :) I'm washing the diapers right now so I am committed.. there is no turning back.

I know this will be what is best for my baby and best for the environment.. not to mention our pocket book. I THINK I discussed this with Tom already.. uh, but I'm not sure! ha ha Hopefully he will agree w/ me that the added hassle getting used to it in the beginning is worth it!

Here are some links to clothe diapering website if you feel so inclined. You will not be tested and few of you will ever even change the diapers yourself. :)

Cotton Babies
Diaper Pages
Natural Babies

I also bought (well had to order) a baby pouch! It's from Kangaroo Korner. It's a fleece pouch - yes I realize my babies are due in July... the fleece holds up better to weight and resists stretching.. in the beginning we will be spending most of our time in climate controlled areas. The lady at the store said that her experience has been that these are better for twins. When they get older I may invest in a ring sling to carry them individually, but this will get me started!

I also purchased some used baby clothes at about $2 to $2.50 each - SCORE!!

All told I'm very excited about my purchases .. 1) because it's fun and 2) because that means I'm obviously feeling the reality behind this.. FINALLY!

I've also got some stuff that I borrowed from friends - most of it from Mrs. Julie Sweet (thanks Sweet's). I borrowed a co-sleeper, 2 boppys, a bjorne, many maternity clothes, a changing pad, books and a baby einstein play mat. So I've got some stuff. :) Karen is also sending me her two car seats (a HUGE savings) and some other odds and ends she has around the house. (Thank you!!!)

My mom is going to come out to Madison after I return from Seattle and my shower. I will then know what I need to go out to buy myself to be ready for these babies! We are getting closer! By the time mom leaves I hope to have things mostly if not all set up and ready to go so that I can sit back and cook some babies! By that point I will be almost 28 weeks and will - I imagine - be pretty big and not too mobile. I will be in the home stretch and my main job/concern will be to keep these rascals in as long as I possibly can... every day counts!

I'm very excited about my trip to Seatlle so that I can see everyone and so that all those that helped us through the process to get where we are today can see my big belly - and maybe a few baby kicks - to share in the joy that we are feeling! Thank you all so much for the shower... it means a lot to us!

No pictures right now - Tom is in Taiwan and will be meeting me in Seattle - so I haven't taken any. I will update the photo album after my return from Seattle. I have an OB appt tomorrow and another ultrasound on Tuesday.. I will try to get some new photos of them in the album.

2/28/06 - 21 weeks 5 days

They are already trying to escape!!!

I was sitting on the couch last night and got a good kick. I told Tom that I think you could have SEEN that one. He told me to lift my shirt and we proceeded to watch the babies do the samba in my belly. After they calmed down a bit Tom walked away and I got one good kick or punch in my lower abdomen - it looked like our little girl was trying to escape!!! I can't imagine what it's going to look like when they are older ... it will really look like they are trying to break out of there!

I can't decide what is more fun.. watching my belly move or feeling it with my hand. That came so fast.. I didn't think we would be able to see it for quite some time yet.

Only 4 more months.. AHHH!!! Who sped up the clock?

2/27/06 - 21 weeks 4 days

We have movement!

I felt some little tap taps from the outside for the first time on Saturday Feb. 18th. We were up late talking and I had my hand resting on my tummy when (the girl I believe) I got a few quick kicks. It's been sporadic since then, but seems to be getting more frequent... especially when I lay down and relax for a while. Still no good wallups, but I'm sure they are coming! :)

The trip to SC was good. I was nervous about flying - I know it's fine, but I still worry and I think a lot more about my morality then I ever have before. A lot of people looked at my belly, but no one jumped up to help me on my flight out. I lugged my own bag around and even lifted it into the overhead myself... nice gentlemen on my flight! ha ha I've decided that I am for sure checking my bag when I go to Seattle! :) I had a layover in Detroit and all I have to say is thank goodness for the moving sidewalks! I can't walk too far before my stomach starts to contract and I'm supposed to take it easy so I would just jump on the moving sidewalk and stand for a while - yes I felt like a loser, but oh well!

My friend's response when she picked me up was - YOU'RE HUGE! Ha ha Thanks!

We spent our weekend relaxing and eating.. both work for me. After I felt the babies move all I wanted to do was sit around with my hand on my tummy! :) The girls surprised me and had a shower for me.. so sweet! It was fun to get some pink and blue stuff and got me closer to the reality that I really am pregnant and this is going to result in TWO babies! :)

On my trip back one woman took an interest in my well being and offered to let me go ahead of her and then helped me get my bag down when we were deplaning! I won't lie - it was nice! :)

Two days after I returned from SC Jennie came out from Seattle to visit. It was so nice to have a little piece of Seattle here with me and to have someone to hang around with! :) We spent a couple of days here in Madison really just checking out local coffee shops then we headed to Chicago on Saturday and stayed over night. We were hoping Julie and Todd would be able to come up, but they are still nursing themselves back to health so it was just Jennie and I. :) I can't walk very far and Jennie is less than excited to walk around in the cold so we were quite a pair touring the big city. .. along w/ the fact that we had some clueless moments that made us feel like country bumpkins! We ate some good food and toured around Michigan Avenue.. Jennie scored a great hotel right on the Ave.

I was sad when she left.. my little piece of Seattle.. my friend! That's when it hit me that ... Oh wow.. I live in Wisconsin!!! Why it took so many months to figure that out I'm not sure. This is permanent! We could be here a while.. AHHH!!!! I'm okay.. and we'll be fine, but damn did that hit me like a ton of bricks! ha ha I'm blaming it on the pregnancy hormones! :)

It also dawned on me that these babies will be here in just over 4 months.. AHH.. how did that happen? I was looking forward to getting home from Seattle and relaxing.. as my girth increases my movement becomes more limited!! Then I realized I would just be waiting for babies.. then I realized.. oh CRAP.. I'll only have a little over 3 months to wait by that time! I've done NOTHING to prepare! ha ha

Here is my 21 week picture! :) Jennie swears I grew even in the short time she was here.. those babies are packing it on in there!

2/15/06 19 weeks 6 days - the BIG ultrasound

The ultrasound went great.. it was so much fun to see those little babies in there squirming around. They really did put on a show for us!!

They looked at Baby A first and all the while Baby B stayed in it's little corner, but when it was time to check out Baby B, Baby A started punching Baby B in the face as if to say, "hey, I'm the star of this show, come back over here."

They were moving a ton, but gave the u/s tech everything she needed.. 20 fingers and toes! :) We saw the four chambers of both hearts, their little tummys and bladders.. their kidneys... well EVERYTHING! It took about 1.5 hours and about 20 mins in I felt like I was going to pass out! Thankfully the tech let me kind of lay on my side and all was well after...

And of course the genders...we are BLESSED to be having one of each.. one perfect little boy and one perfect little girl! We are thrilled.

When she said Baby A is a boy I started thinking... "would I do this again just to try for a girl?" then when she showed that Baby B is a girl I GASPED - literally out loud - and almost cried. I'm so happy! We've waited so long and I guess I was just hesitant to think that we would get exactly what we wanted... though I would be happy with whatever.. this is perfect! :)

Hopefully now we can move on from the names Jimothy and Bobert (sorry Tom) and get serious about naming these little ones!

Here's some pictures of my ALMOST 20 weeks belly!

2/14/06 19 weeks 5 days

Happy Valentines Day!

I'm back from the OB.. and thankfully we heard two nice strong heartbeats... one at 160 and one at 156. I weighed in at 166lbs (GASP!) that makes for a total weight gain of 22 lbs (DOUBLE GASP!) ... guess I will have no problem hitting that 24lbs by 24 weeks huh? I'll post a picture tomorrow so you can see for yourself!

I asked the doc about the sharp burning pain I have been getting at the top of my belly just to the left and she said it's normal. It's a ligament that holds my liver in place getting stretched by my belly growth. The good news is it goes away almost instantly after the babies are born.

I also asked her about some contractions I've been getting if I walk to far.. she said that I'm at the point in the pregnancy where I'm going to have to really listen to my body and scale back when that happens. She said the real critical point will come between 24 and 28 weeks. I'll need to really scale back and take it easy during that month because of my risk for preterm labor (because of the twins) and that if the babies were delivered during that month technology could keep them alive, but it's hard to say what the quality of that life would be. So after my trip to Seattle - I'll be 24.5 weeks when I return - I will be RELAXING! :)

Everything went well and I can't wait to see the little buggers tomorrow. They were moving around a lot while the nurse was using the doppler so now I know what it really does feel like to feel them move.. GAS! ha ha

I'm sticking w/ my guess of two boys and Tom is sticking w/ his guess/hope of one of each. I have no real reasoning behind my guess.. well I guess the lowish heartrates makes me think boy... and the fact that we THINK we saw a penis.. and since their heartrates are so close together all the time the old wives tale would indicate the same gender.. ha ha

2/13/06 - 19 weeks 4 days!

Only two more days until my big ultrasound! Keep your fingers crossed that the babies cooperate this time! :) I haven't taken a belly shot in a while. I'll take one on Wednesday to post with the results of my ultrasound!

I took a trip down to see Julie, Todd and Cooper this past week. It was so nice to see them and to take a look around thier new home. Cooper has gotten so big and is looking like a little boy now! I can't believe he will be a year old next month! Where has the time gone? He's crawling like a mad man and walking with assistance from mom and dad or his new walking toy. He's babbling quite a bit and I'm sure his first words are coming soon! The poor little guy was sick when I first got there and the Sweet family has taken a beating in the health department since Cooper started day care! Ceanne (Grandma C) came over to the Sweet house and watched Cooper on Thursday to give him a break from day care and it seemed to work wonders. By the time I left on Sunday he was getting pretty cleared out and seemed in good spirits. Hopefully he can hold onto his health this week at day care. I took my camera, but didn't get any shots of the little guy... though you can check some out at www.sweetsinseattle.com

Right before I went down to visit Todd took Jack to the vet because of a major nose bleed and they discovered that he had a tumor in his nasal cavity that was pressing on his brain. Jack has been feeling anxious and disoriented since the move. The vet said that they could do 20 days of radiation then maybe have Jack around for another year. Of course there are no guarantees as to how quality Jack's life would have been. Todd and Julie made the difficult decision to put Jack out of his misery and send him to doggy heaven. He was put down on Friday 2/10/06. I'm thankful that I got to spend some time with him before he had to go. I took this photo of him (he's not so keen on having his picture taken) the day he went to the vet.


In loving memory of Jack.

I'm feeling good... tired, but good. I'm excited for my ultrasound and will post back on Wednesday with pictures and updates!

1/26/06 - 17 weeks - You are REALLY showing now!

The nausea happened two days in a row so I now have a bucket of cashews and a bottle of water by my bed. I can snack on them when I get up for my numerous potty breaks. This morning no nausea... it was great!

We took new photos today and Tom's response was, "Oh, you are really starting to show now." Translation: Damn girl that belly is getting HUGE! ha ha This statement came after he had just taken a photo of me with my shirt down... apparently he needed the CLOSE look at my belly to make the HUGE assessment! j/k He's very cute about the belly thing! He just tries to be careful not to use the words "large", "big" or "huge" when refering to anything to do with my body... because he's smart!

Here is the photo: (I also added it to the photo album if you want to compare to my last photo)

1/24/06 - 16 weeks 5 days

The nausea gets me when I think I'm getting past it. This morning I woke up and while I was in the bathroom it hit hard.. I had to eat and I had to eat NOW! I don't think I ate enough last night. I had to crawl around the kitchen getting a bowl and cereal boxes and milk from the fridge. I ate the first couple of bites while I was sitting on the floor until I could get up and add my banana then go about my merry way.. oh speaking of I need to go take my vitamins.. no way was I doing that this a.m. I'm feeling much better now!

I think I started to feel the babies last night. I'm still not sure. I feel a bubbling sensation, but it's much lower in my pelvis than I thought it would be. Last night I felt it mostly after I uncrossed my legs so I thought maybe I was cutting off blood supply and would feel the blood returning when I uncrossed my legs. So I've been much more conscious and haven't been crossing my legs. I've been feeling it a lot today. It only lasts a couple of seconds - maybe the babies turning around - I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to wait it out to see what develops.

My friend Suzanne gave me a changing pad and it got dropped in the dining room when I got home. Earlier today I was on the computer and heard something crunching around. I looked up to see Phoebe doing circles on the pad to make herself comfortable. She plopped down and lay there for a while... she either thinks it's for her or she just wanted to lay by the heating vent in the same room as me... here's a pic of her saying "WHAT? You're the one that put it on the floor!" haha