37 weeks

Kinda surprised I still have these babies in my belly! It would be perfect if I had them tonight since my in laws are staying with us and we wouldn't have to call anyone to come be with Chase. It is kinda gray and cloudy out. Not sure if we will get in a 3 or 5 mile walk today. Definitely some jumping jacks though!

My induction is set for Wednesday! Can't believe only 4 days until we meet our little miracles.

36 weeks

I want to try to take pictures at least once a week and I want to try to take a picture before I go to the hospital in labor since I don't have pictures like that of my pregnancy with Chase. But don't expect any more glamour shots. I don't plan on doing hair or make up again unless I have an induction date and even then maybe not. I wonder if I'll still be pregnant on Valentine's day...

30 years old and 35 weeks pregnant with twins

It's my 30th birthday!

We are going out to dinner with family and friends tonight. My boys have been spoiling me today.

Twinsies update: Baby a is head down and 6 pounds 1 ounce with hair! Baby b is transverse, 6 pounds 3 ounces and doesn't look like he has hair. Which means we can go ahead with a natural delivery and I'm so excited. My doctor mentioned induction at 38 weeks so I'll be doing lots of walking trying to get things moving before that.

I can't believe we are so close to meeting our boys!

Dear baby b, you were your brother's first favorite

33 weeks pregnant tomorrow and having a hard time sleeping. Getting up to go to the bathroom and getting back in to bed right before your husband's alarm goes off is the worst!

I am enjoying getting up before Chase and having a little time to myself to eat my cereal and blog.

I mentioned it on facebook and twitter but Chase totally has a favorite brother already. For awhile he has said that baby b (he calls him by his name) is in his tummy. Yesterday kind of sealed the deal on the whole favorite thing. He wanted to help me pack my hospital bag and was all ready to go to the hospital. I told him the babies decide when it is time to go and probably won't be for another month or so. Later I asked him if he wanted to go to the grocery store. He said no, I want my baby. He calls blankets babies so I didn't know if he was cold. Then he said, "I want my baby, (baby b's name). See, he has a favorite!

He seems to understand that there are two babies. He will tell you if there are one or two things so that seems to be a concept he understands. Last night at dinner he was saying two brothers, two boys. My first instinct was to worry a little bit that baby b is the early favorite but this morning I can laugh about it. I'm sure my three boys will all have different relationships with each other and all I can do is try to help them develop. It is an interesting family dynamic we have been handed but I know God planned it this way.

Monday morning chat

I'm taking some inspiration from my friend Shannon and taking these few moments this morning before Chase wakes up to just chat and catch up with my blog readers! I miss blogging but it is getting to be crunch time around here with getting ready for the twins to arrive.

This weekend we had plans to take maternity pictures. I was going to get my hair done and it was going to be great. Then the weather decided to be cloudy with chances of rain which it hasn't been for like 34 days! My friend that was supposed to take the pictures also texted me the morning of saying her son was sick. Luckily my sister-in-law lives super close to the location I wanted to use and was available and takes amazing pictures. Chase is such a ham and I think it might have been a little bit for auntie so maybe we got better pictures using her.

I love the pictures so much. My favorite is the bottom left with Chase on his tip toes. All I see when he kisses my belly is the top of his head so I had no idea he goes on his tip toes and I'm so glad we have a picture of it.

I'm going to be 33 weeks on Wednesday. Yesterday, I was really starting to feel it. A twin uterus at 32 weeks is the same as a full term singleton uterus. It frustrates me to have to tell Chase I need to sit on the couch or that I can't make dinner for the family. I'm trying to listen to my body and slow down.

This cold/flu season has been awful for our family. Last week Hubby was sick and we have lost track of who gave it to who. Knock on wood we are all starting to feel better but I'm so paranoid about scheduling any play dates with friends.

On the to do list today is dishes and folding and putting away laundry. I think I will have to at least take Chase to the park. Mom guilt is pretty bad lately. Last night when I told him I had to sit on the couch he said, "I not want to sit on the couch." I said, "I know mom is no fun lately." He said, "yeah". I thought about reminding him that I had colored with him and played t-ball with him but he's 2.

I start doing non stress tests this week. At first I felt like it was an unnecessary annoyance. I have to go twice a week until I deliver. But after yesterday and being in pain I'm looking forward to checking on my little guys and making sure they are ok. My plan for today is use my maternity belt and ace bandage to try and save my body some aches and pains. Hopefully the maternity belt still fits!

27 weeks

Feeling so blessed to have made it to 27 weeks with twins pretty easily.

I have my glucose test Monday and I'm hoping it goes well. I don't feel like I have gestational diabetes but I am at a higher risk since I'm having twins. Dr.'s appointment Friday and ultrasound on the 17th! The 17th will be 6 weeks since we've seen the boys. The longest stretch since seeing them at 6 weeks. I can't wait to see how they are growing. Just yesterday at the grocery store the woman giving Chase a cookie said, "you are so tiny! I would have never guessed it was twins."

My big boy wanted to get in on the pictures this week. Was hoping to capture a precious pinterest worthy moment where you could see the belly underneath my big boy but his legs are too long!

This amazing blessing has not come easy

   This is the last picture taken of me pregnant with Chase. I am two days past my due date. Earlier that day Hubby called me on his lunch break and I was crying hysterically. At 38 weeks I was dilated 1-2 cms and everyone thought Chase would come early. At 2 days past my due date I was done. I was convinced Chase was never going to get out of my belly.
   I've always regretted being miserable the last 2-3 weeks of my pregnancy with Chase. Any calls or texts or facebook messages asking "no baby yet?" pissed me off. I often wouldn't respond.
   I think our society has made it seem like we are supposed to be miserable at the end of our pregnancy. I think I've talked about it before that it seems like people expect us to be miserable our entire pregnancy but especially at the end. Oh you poor thing you must be miserable! When are you due? Etc. etc.
   Now looking back at this picture not only do I regret being grumpy I kind of want to laugh. I'm telling you I think I'm the same size or bigger now! I'm 27 weeks pregnant with twins and even though I am so excited to have twins I want to smack myself upside the head and tell myself how lucky I was.
   Yesterday, I was telling a twitter friend that I am getting to the point where making dinner is painful. My back and my hips really hurt. She asked if I had any of the same aches and pains when I was pregnant with Chase and I honestly don't think I did. I had a boring pregnancy with Chase. It was easy. I just got my hopes up at 38 weeks and I'm not a very patient person.
   I want to talk about the differences between having a singleton and having twins. I realize that singleton pregnancies have their complications. I know all of you at the end of your pregnancies probably want to punch me and say this is not easy! I am uncomfortable and huge. I'm just comparing my experiences.
   I've often said from the moment the ultrasound tech said there were two sacs I worried. You hear a lot of horror stories. I've always said I was naïve when pregnant with Chase. I didn't have an ultrasound until 13 weeks with him and just thought everything was fine and it was. I remember after I started feeling Chase kick thinking to myself I haven't felt him kick in awhile or doing kick counts. With a singleton you feel a kick you know who it is. I've got two in here to worry about now! I'm constantly trying to make sure I've felt both of them kick.
   I never thought for one second about pre term labor when I was pregnant with Chase. When they told me I was 1-2 cms at 38 weeks I hadn't felt one contraction. With twins I worry that every ache and pain is pre term labor.
   That hip pain I was talking about earlier? I know I have a high tolerance for pain. I was 6-7 cms when I got to the hospital. My hip feels like it is going to shatter. I know if it is bad enough to make me want to cry that it would have some women calling their doctor. I lay on my right side to give my left hip a break and then the whole time worry because you are supposed to lay on your left side.
   I'm a substitute teacher. With Chase I went on maternity leave at 38 weeks when I started having contractions. If my water broke while I was teaching I'm not sure what I would have done. At 21 weeks with the twins I was teaching one day and my legs were KILLING me. Again, I have a high tolerance for pain and I was in so much pain I wanted to cry. I tried putting my feet up which didn't really help. Plus it wouldn't look good if someone came in and the sub had their feet up so I made the decision to go on maternity leave. I saw no way for me to be able to be on my feet and come home and take care of Chase without being in excruciating pain.
   I'm not sure if I can explain it well enough for everyone to understand. It might be one of those things unless you experience it you can't understand. It is so important for us all to appreciate how lucky we are which I hope everyone thinks I do. To take a minute and to think about how someone else might be feeling. When I hear Britney Spears say she wants twins it just irks me. Again, they are the biggest blessing I have ever received but they don't come easy.

Plans for round 2

   The lovely, Shelley, helped inspire today's blog post so I must first give her a shout out.
   I've already talked about how I'm not decorating a nursery this time around. Like I mentioned in that post I'm waiting for big brother to be ready to move to a new room and bed. My plan now that I know we are having more boys is to keep the décor in the nursery pretty much the same and have a crib and things ready to go and make the big switch in one weekend.
   As most moms quickly figure out we can make a lot of plans but they rarely go the way we want them to. It's crazy how little I've talked about this pregnancy on the blog! So let's talk labor first. With twins baby A has to be head down for you to even talk about a natural delivery. If baby A is breech c section time. I read a few chapters of a twin book and my mantra this pregnancy I got from that book. It is turn worries into goals. So I don't have plans, I have goals. My goal is to delivery both babies naturally with an epidural of course. If baby A is head down and baby B is breech I could face a painful turning or delivery of a breech baby but I talked to another twin mom and I won't give you the lovely phrase they shared with me but she made it sound like no biggie.
   Since a twin pregnancy has a higher risk for preterm labor I also have the goal of making it to 37 weeks or beyond. Also have the goal of avoiding gestational diabetes which I am at a higher risk for and preeclampsia.
   Another goal is to nurse them both until they are 1. I nursed Chase for 15 months and while it had its challenges I am mostly a fan of how much money we saved. I've got the ginormous twin brest friend already. I plan to get a pump from the hospital, need to talk to insurance about how all that works. Oh and the hands free pump bra. I know that its best to nurse them at the same time so you aren't constantly nursing. I've looked in to positions. I don't know when you are supposed to pump, gotta ask my twin mom friends that one. Is it still just after the first morning feeding or is it more often? I also need to do research on getting my milk to come in faster. I'll be turning to my love Nancy Holtzman and Isis parenting and breast feeding webinars for those questions. Chase got dehydrated waiting for my milk to come in and he had to drink a bottle of formula. My friend that nurses her 6 month old twins had to supplement with formula at first in the hospital.
   I remember around 6 months when Chase started to crawl and notice things around him I had to start nursing him when he was sleepy and in his room in the dark. I know that might not be an option since I now have a toddler so nursing until one is a goal but we understand there are a lot more challenges this time around.
   Like I said in the nursery post, the plan is to have the twins in a pack and play in our room at first. I think I will just swaddle for bedtime. Chase was swaddled all the live long day it seemed like because we thought it made it easier for people to hold him or something. I am hoping I can be relaxed about the twins nap schedule and just let them sleep when they sleep and not stress like I did with Chase. They will probably sleep in our room longer than the 3 weeks Chase did because we are waiting for big brother to be ready to move.
   We plan to keep their names secret. We are pretty sure the names are set. We've let them slip to a lot more people this time around but we would like some people to be surprised when they arrive. I think some people want to be surprised too.
   Since we are having two more boys I don't think anyone is throwing us a shower. No one has said anything to me about it at least.
   I think that's everything. Let me know if you have any more questions. You guys know I'll tell ya anything you want to know!

23 weeks!

Twin gender reveal party details

Check out yesterday's blog if you want to see our reaction to finding out we were having two more boys. Today I'm posting pictures of the details. I have to say again that my cousin and her friend took care of all the details. They get all the credit. Seriously, every single detail was color coordinated. Pink symbolized is we were having two girls, blue for two boys, and yellow for one of each.

Here is my cousin's staircase banner decorated pink, blue, and yellow.

Guests were asked to sign a onesie with their guess.

Blankets were wrapped for each baby to reveal the sex.

Even the drinks and straws were color coordinated! Pink lemonade, lemonade, and blue koolaid and mason jars with yarns in a bow.

Adorable hand made pink, blue, and yellow wreath on the front door.

The invitation and color coordinated flowers

The candles were wrapped in pink, blue, and yellow chevron.

Gender Reveal

Ok, I don't want to bombard you with too many pictures so today I will share pictures of us finding out we were having two boys and then tomorrow I will post pictures with details of the party.

I guess I need to explain the reveal first. So, in my family, my aunt makes all the babies blankets. So my cousin decided for the reveal we would open gifts that had blue or pink blankets inside.

I should also mention that I've thought all along we were having two boys and kind of wanted to wear blue to the party but thought I would wear pink to make the pics better. I think my ig friends picked the shirt too.

Ok, here we go. Opening the gift that would reveal the sex of baby A.

Blue!

Opening the gift to reveal the sex of baby B.

Baby B's blanket is blue and green. All I saw was green and I was confused what that meant.

Oh, it's blue!!!

I'm having two more boys!!!

Proud parents with both blue blankets.

Big brother wasn't so sure about two more boys.

Until he heard he could have a cupcake then he was fine.

My cousin and her friend planned the whole party and took care of all details. I literally showed up so they get all credit!

Boys!!!

Chase is getting 2 BROTHERS!!!!

My cousin and her friend threw us an amazing gender reveal party! Our family and close friends were there and it was just perfect. My aunt makes all the babies in the family blankets so she whipped up four blankets for the reveal. Then we unwrapped the presents to reveal a color blanket to reveal the sex of our baby.

I mentioned briefly that I thought we were having two boys. At my 18 week ultrasound we closed our eyes when she was looking at the legs and genitals so she could write it down and put it in an envelope for my cousin's friend. When the dr came in and was trying to find where the umbilical cord attaches to the placenta for baby a I thought I saw a penis. I also thought Chase's leg was his penis in his ultrasound so I wasn't placing any bets.

We opened baby a's blanket first and it was blue! I said I knew it! Then we opened baby b's blanket and it was blue and green and threw everyone off for a second but I think my aunt said that's the boy blanket!

We have it all on video and my cousin's friend took a ton of pictures for us. Just waiting on everyone to get those to me and then I'll share.

We are all thrilled for more boys. I love being a boy mom and Christmas with my three boys and my cousins' three boys will be crazy but the best kind of crazy.

Luckily, I have my niece to take shopping and get manis and pedis with. She is going to be pretty spoiled as the only girl grandchild for my in-laws. I may have to force her to do ballet. But we don't have to pay for any weddings!

I think we even have the names picked. We probably won't reveal those until they are born though.

Now time to figure out what I need to buy. Luckily not much. Just some sheets and maybe a crib skirt and letters to paint.

20 weeks with twinsies

Today is the day!!!

   I wanted to write down my thoughts and feelings before we find out the sex of the babies in a few hours! This is 99.9% probably the last time I get to experience this. I've said all along that I wasn't in a big hurry to find out the sex of the babies because I like daydreaming about it.
   Will it be two girls? Will Chase go from a boy centered house to a girl centered house? Will I break the bank buying matching twin girl outfits? Will our days be filled with pink and bows and ballet and tutus and princesses?
   Any girl brought into this family will be around a lot of sports. Chase is all about football and baseball already. Hubby is excited to have a foursome to golf with. I'm excited for a whole day to myself someday when they are old enough to golf. I'm guessing day one of bringing the babies home Chase will be telling them to ride the scooter with him or play baseball or ping pong.
   Will it be two boys? Will every window in our house be broken by balls? Will no pillow ever be on the couch? Will there be 3 bikes being ridden around and around while I play "Life is a highway" by Rascal Flatts over and over again? (This might happen with two girls too).
  Will it be one of each? Will Chase get a buddy to rough house with and a sister to protect? Will we get a combination of the things I mentioned above?
   How many weddings will we have to pay for? Will I be a mother-in-law to three girls or one girl and two boys or two girls and one boy? This kind of makes me want a daughter. How dramatic will junior high and high school be?
   It's funny the things people assume I want after they hear I have one boy already. Yes, I think I'm having two boys based on physical symptoms and my hcg levels and comments from the doctor but I also feel like wanting a girl means I don't adore my boy. I tell people I'm totally ok with three boys. I like boys!
   I've had my fleeting thoughts of will I be able to bond with a girl. I think I grew up such a girlie girl that I will be able to and I trust that I will love my babies the minute I see them.
   These two little ones are 99.9% going to complete our family and I look forward to having that completed family feeling. Everything is about to get a lot more real!

I swear my head isn't up my own ass!

   If you follow me on twitter or instagram you know that we are having a gender reveal party Saturday!!! Someone on twitter recently posted this blog about gender reveal parties and I have to explain myself!
   First, my cousin really wanted to throw us this party. So, we are not throwing it for ourselves. I also know it is a sex reveal party and I haven't even seen the invitations but I don't think she called it a gender reveal party.
   The blog mentions how cutting in to a cake is so 2 years ago. It is so funny everyone that hears we are having a gender reveal party says, "Oh, are you doing a cake?" I didn't find out until recently that we aren't doing a cake or balloons. I can't wait to find out if she is going to use one of my ideas or if she came up with one of her own!
   Everyone seems really excited to find out what we are having so I think the blog is wrong that no one else cares. The twin thing makes it more exciting I think. Maybe she just doesn't care. I care. I care what my friends are having. Even if it is their 4th (Allie ;)).
   We don't know the sex of our babies. We had the doctor write it down and put it in an envelope. The envelope was giving to my cousin's friend to coordinate the reveal. I'm really excited to have pictures that capture our reactions to finding out. Is that self-absorbed?
   I don't know if we are going to have a shower too. No one has offered to throw me one, so unless someone wants to throw one we won't be having one.
   I'll be sure to share what we are having and pics from the party. I know you all care ;)

16.5 weeks #2 and #3

16.5 weeks!

I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. Everything went great. I got to hear both heartbeats which is the best part. My doctor said I'm growing like a weed! I've gained 11ish pounds.

It is definitely starting to hit me that we are having TWO babies! I've been feeling them move for awhile now. It isn't very often and it is more of a rolling around not kicks or flutters.

My belly button is already starting to stick out!

I'm in maternity pants and long stretchy tops or maternity tops.

Doing good. Looking forward to hearing from the perinatologist about scheduling our 20 week ultrasound!

The details

You know I love to overshare. So here are the details:
- After the miscarriage we were told to wait 2 cycles. Several people told me they didn't listen to their doctors about that and got pregnant and everything was fine. You know how obsessed I am with this website http://pregnancyloss.info/. There is also a few facebook groups you can join that involve the creator of this website. She recommends waiting at least 1 cycle for your own peace of mind. From my fertility friend chart it doesn't look like we listened to either of their advice. I started temping and charting 10 days after the miscarriage.
- It took awhile for my body to get back to normal. I kind of talked about it here. I had 3 normal cycles and started to get frustrated. We got pregnant with the miscarriage the 1st or 2nd normal cycle after weaning Chase.
- So I once again turned to my favorite website. I decided instead of not temping and not paying attention I would try the sperm meets egg plan and see if that worked.
- My chart looked perfect and we did everything perfectly according to the plan. I was so convinced I was pregnant randomly in the middle of the day on 8 days past ovulation (June 18th) I took a pregnancy test. I was bummed that it was negative. Hubby couldn't believe I had taken a test so early and told me to wait until 10 days past like we agreed. So I listened to him and took a test the next day ;)
- At 9 days past I had a very faint line. I was relieved that I was pregnant after all our hard work! I called my doctor and made the first 3 appointments. I also asked if I could go in and have my hcg levels taken.
- At 10 days past I woke up with Hubby to take a test and couldn't wait the 3 minutes for it to turn positive I had to go downstairs and get food to calm my nausea. When I came back Hubby said it's positive and I said I know. So romantic right?
- At 11 days and 13 days past I had my hcg levels taken. At 11 days my levels were 58. Totally in the normal range. My dr told me my numbers, "were low but doubled appropriately". Not all that reassuring.
- So we tried to be excited. We facetimed our parents and told them. On July 4th we told Hubby's brother and his wife.
- I still wasn't having a ton of symptoms. That was one of the biggest clues that I was having a miscarriage. So I called my doctor and they scheduled me for an ultrasound at 6 weeks on July 22nd.
- One of my besties called me a few days before the 22nd to talk about this and that and she asked if we were still trying and she said she could tell from my voice that I was pregnant. I told her we were planning on telling our close friends after the ultrasound in a few days.
- The 22nd- the 6 week ultrasound- Hubby came with me to the ultrasound. The tech scared us half to death asking us if we had taken a pregnancy test. She looked all around my uterus and said she would come back. So finally she says something about two sacs and I was so nervous about what we would see that I didn't say a word. Hubby heard her but apparently thought there were always two sacs. So she starts with the first sac and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a little heart fluttering away. Then she said something about let's look at the other one. That's when Hubby realized there were two babies. He was all excited and said, "We got our 3!" I told him to hush and wait and see. And then we saw another beautiful little heart fluttering away. She printed out a picture of the two sacs to give us and then wanted to tell my dr about the twins.
- I immediately texted the picture to my sil. She was babysitting Chase. She had been babysitting him the day we found out I was having a miscarriage and she volunteered to watch him for this nerve wracking appointment. My dad had originally been booked to babysit but I couldn't stand the thought of him seeing me after hearing bad news. So I knew she was sitting at our house a nervous wreck waiting for news. She was obviously so shocked to hear there were two babies! I also texted my friend that knew we were going to the appointment. She was freaking out and dying for me to call her and tell her everything. I texted my mom who knew about the ultrasound and was in a training so she had told me to text her. I guess she gasped out loud in the training and someone next to her asked her if she was ok and she showed them the text.
- My nurse came over and just kind of congratulated us and said, "have you been having more symptoms?!" I had an appointment scheduled for the next week so we just agreed to keep that.
- Then we walked outside and called my father-in-law. He said, "Oh sh!t!" My dad said, "I was just thinking how you guys want 3 kids and having twins would get that out of the way."
- I continued to be nervous. Twins gave me two things to worry about. Hubby came with me to my 7 week appointment and we were definitely relieved that they had both gotten bigger.
- My mom came with me to my 12 week ultrasound and it was so amazing to see them looking like little babies and that they are still both doing amazing. Baby a measured at 12 weeks 4 days and baby b was 12 weeks 2 days.

Other frequently asked questions:
- Do twins run in your family? Were you on any fertility drugs? Are you over the age of 30? Yes, twins run in our families. But I have identical twin aunts and that doesn't run in families. My husband having twins on his side of the family doesn't affect my ovulation. I think it was just a fluke. Might have had something to do with the miscarriage and my body getting back to normal. My aunt also saw somewhere that tall women are more prone to hyper ovulation. I was not on any fertility drugs. I turn 30 February 1st.
- Are we going to find out the sex? When will we find out the sex? Yes, we want to find out what we are having so we can nail down name choices. My cousin is super excited to throw a gender reveal party. I don't really care what we are having. I don't know when we will find out the sex. I see my doctor again on the 18th and I'm going to discuss seeing a perinatoligist (a high risk doctor). I don't feel high risk but other twin moms have recommended it. I would be more closely monitored and have an ultrasound monthly. I'll keep you updated! My plan is to find out with Hubby, Chase, and our parents at the gender reveal party. I might ask my sil or cousin to come with me to the ultrasound so they can witness everything. With Chase my mom and I both closed our eyes and always had a tiny bit of doubt since we didn't see it in person which is silly.

13 weeks

Pregnancy announcement

Who is good at math?!

We are expecting...

TWINS!!!!!

 

I'm about 12 weeks. We saw our perfect babies on Wednesday and I've been dying to get a picture taken so I could spread our exciting news.

 

They will probably arrive mid February.

 

Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers during this tough start to our year. We are shocked and humbled by God's amazing love. I knew he had a better plan than me but I could have never imagined this. I thank God every day for all the blessings he has given us especially these two little miracles.

 

We would appreciate your continued love, support, and prayers that this pregnancy continues to be easy. Praying we avoid bed rest and early labor. Since he is God and gave us these miracles I'm praying for the miracle that I can deliver them both naturally. I am not stressing about the what ifs. I know He will bring our babies to us in His perfect way.