Maternity Photos!!!

Here they are!! Maternity Photos are here! I really like them. They are so sweet. I only wish I had worn my hair straight, but oh well. Otherwise, they are fabulous. Again, they were done by the fabulous Josh Harris out of Hendersonville. So excited about how they turned out! Hope you like them. The quality isn't the greatest, b/c I converted them to a slideshow, but you get the idea.

30 Week Ultrasound appointment

Well, I guess we are now considered on the fast track. It has been about 2.5 weeks since our last appointment, and now we are at the "go every week" point, which is crazy scary. That means soon we will be having babies!!

The appointment went GREAT. I am amazed at how good I am doing. I never in a million years thought I would do so well. And as it turns out, my crazy large ovaries are actually a GOOD thing! Because my left ovary is really big and low down on my abdomen, it is actually pushing my cervix closed. How cool is that? (For those who don't know, when your cervix starts getting thin, short, or open, thats when the bad things happen: pre-term labor, early delivery, etc, especially with twins. Gravity is against you there, and two babies put alot of weight on it, causing it to possibly open).

The babies are doing wonderful. Baby Boy has sped ahead. He weighs 3lb, 8oz. He is measuring very well ahead of where he should be. Baby Girl is doing great too, she is right on target measuring 3lb, 1oz. She kept yawning during the ultrasound, which was beyond cute. Our tech pointed out her fuzz around her head, which was hair! She also said that she thought they didn't look alike, which I was pretty excited about. Not that I don't want them to look alike, but I also want them to not look like mirror images of each other. They are now parllell to each other, kind of diagnol. Both are head down, but Baby Girl is stacked right on top on Baby Boy.

Oh, and the BIG news - we have a delivery date!! Now, I know that this, of course, may not happen. After all, the babies will come whenever they want to. Buuutttt, since my doctor thinks we'll go full-term (for twins anyway) she wanted to go ahead and set and date and book the operating room for our c-section. So, here we go!!! It will be:

Friday, January 8th at 8:00 am

How exciting is that??? Its honestly unbelieveable. It seems like tomorrow. Whew...

Our next appointment is next Wednesday, and we will go every week thereafter until delivery!

Pics are below :)

Emergency! Emergency!

THE FIRST SIGNS OF STRETCH MARKS HAVE APPEARED!! AAAACK!!!!

Thats all.

28 Weeks- Update on Me!!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like what you see, please take a second and vote for my blog to help keep it ranked. Just takes two clicks. Thanks!!

We are officially in the 3rd Trimester!!! Can you even believe it???? I can't!! Hell, I still can't believe I am actually pregnant, that there are actual babies in here, and that there will actually be babies in my arms in less that two months!! I am still just Alice in Wonderland - in a make-believe fantasy world. After all of the trying to conceive, heartbreak, months and months of wishing and hoping, we are really in a semi-safe zone. (Of course I am still freaking out - I haven't yet opened #2 of things we are getting at baby showers, just in case something happens - I know - I am insane, right??? I really need to relax)

Birthing classes are going very well. Well...if you ask ME, they are going really well. If you ask Jake, well, thats a different story. He's not as gung ho as thinking they are worth the $100. If you ask him, he says he can give me a massage at home for free. LOL - they make the boys give massages to us at the end of each class, ya know, learning how to be a "support person" and all. (but the thing is, he is forced to give me a massage too, and its wonderful!!)

Names....oh, to find a name for these little munchkins. We are still no closer to naming them. I know we still have time, but we just can't decide. Every week we like something different. So, we promise we will tell you when we've decided! You guys have voted on Jackson and Julia on the separate names poll, and Jacob and Jillian on the twins poll. So, you all are obviously no closer than we are.

We, so far, have had three FABULOUS showers. I honestly could not have asked for more special showers. They were all so special in their own separate ways. I will talk about them later in separate posts. But I am so excited!! We have received so many beautiful and useful things. We only have to buy a few things here and there ourselves, which is such a blessing. I never in a million years would have believed it. We have one more left, which Jake's work is throwing for us.

Nursery is looking beautiful, if I do say so for myself. I will post updated pictures soon, but I want to get a couple of more things done first. I just am in love with it. So classy and beautiful. It is exactly how I wished it would be.

The maternity photos are done!! I haven't seen all of them yet, as I don't have the CD of images yet, but I was able to get a sampling. I will post them all once I get them, but here are a couple....

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +28 pounds. Still under where I need to be, and I honestly am eating like a cow. I think I probably don't need to worry too much though b/c apparently I will gain about 11 pounds this trimester. Yikes.
Maternity clothes? I haven't bought anything in two weeks - yippee! And probably won't buy any more. My showers are basically done, as are the maternity photos, so no more pictures! LOL
Best moment this week: Wow, this question is hard this week. We had a great u/s doctors appointment - my doctor said I was the "model twin patient". Everything is just going perfectly, which is amazing. She also warned me that anything can change in a day, BTU I'm still happy. The three showers are done, and they were all perfect - I couldn't ask for better friends and family.
Movement: They are still moving around like crazy! The girl is still diagonal, but now she has flipped completely backwards. Her head is now on my right side, and her feet on my left. The boy is now diagonal as well, with his head on my lower right, curved around my belly button up with his feet more to my left. Absolutely crazy how they have moved so much in two meets!
Waist Diameter: 42.5 inches. I don't understand this at all. I feel HUGE. And I am! I am currently measuring 37 weeks (for single pregnancy). So, I am growing, growing. Just not out, which I don't understand. I really expected this one to be much larger.
Food cravings: Mmmmmm...chicken biscuits. Mmmm....baby shower cake...Mmmm, anything spicy or chocolate....
Gender: Baby Stribs are a boy and girl. No extra parts.
Labor Signs: No, thank God. Everything is still closed up nice and tight.
Belly Button in or out? We are still in outie-ville.
What I miss: I am now so achy when I wake up in the morning, after I do things in the nursery, after I do laundry or any housework, or after working a long day (Oh heck, let's face it I feel like a 90 year old woman now). Everything is achy. My hips, legs, shoulders, etc. You name it.
What I am looking forward to: Getting the nursery 100% completed. And at our next doctors appt, we get to do another growth scan - woohoo!
Milestones: Is there a better milestone that to be in the third trimester now??? I think NOT!
Realization of the week: I cannot do everything I used to do, and I need to be ok with that. Now is the most important time to take it easy. I need these babies to stay in there as long as they can!!

28 Weeks - a Chinese Cabbage

These are late - sorry!! I am actually 29 weeks, but I like being on a every 2 week update schedule, so there are from last week that I forgot to post.

Literally.....huh? A chinese cabbage? These are just getting silly. However, they usually feel like cabbages in there.

Baby Stribs - 28 Weeks

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. (Mine weighed over 2 pounds at my 26 weeks appointment- so we must be way ahead of schedule)She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

How your life's changing: You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester. (Oh Great!!!)

At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. (Already have been for a while now) Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. (Oh I can already have the babies by this point) Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. (Already done, and passed - Whew!, LOL - just kidding mom) Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven't yet had follow-up testing, you'll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. And if the blood work done at your first prenatal visit showed that you're Rh negative, you'll get an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby's blood. (Mine is, so I have already has two shots throughout this pregnancy so far - yea...)

Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. (Well, I haven't "relaxed" or slept well thsi entire pregnancy, so hmmmmm) If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what's known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). No one knows for sure what causes RLS, but it's relatively common among expectant mothers. Try stretching or massaging your legs, and cut down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse. Ask your caregiver if you should try iron supplements, which can sometimes relieve RLS.

Birthing Class #2 (a little late)

Sorry for the late post. Our second birthing class was last Wednesday, and our third is tomorrow, which reminded me to update on class #2. Ooops!! Pregnant Brain - what do you expect??

We were a little tardy to class number 2 by about 15 minutes and I felt really bad..but we had to eat!! And by the time we got there I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad, but decided to wait b/c I felt like we were in trouble when we got there. The good news was is that there were mini pumpkin cheesecakes there as snacks, and they were quite yummy!

The class over all was, I think, good?? This class was all about labor, which hopefully, won't pertain to me as I am expecting a c-section, but thats beside the point. We got to watch multiple women go through a natural childbirth and through all stages of labor (NATURALLY!!!) I know there are probably a few of you out there that did this, and more power to ya, but no thanks for moi. And I do mean, NO THANKS. Those poor women looked miserable. And even worse was they kept putting time frames up on the screen, so then it went from 2 hours, to 4 hours, to 8 hours, to 16 hours, to 24 hours, etc. CRAZY SCARY. And what was worse is we (again) had to watch the births and again, these women really need to take into consideration that they are on a birthing class video and might have needed to groom a bit down there. That almost made me sicker than anything, LOL.

Anyway, the next part we focused on was breathing and we breathed through some contractions and I think I did outstanding at that, (although no contractions, LOL, so it was pretty easy). Then Jake learned how to be a perfect support person. He learned how to give a labor massage and at the end of class he got to massage me for a good ten-fifteen minutes. Woohoo! I REALLY loved that part. He didn't say, but I am almost positive he loved it too. Ha!!

Our homework for this week's class is to bring a "comfort bag", which will include all kinds of things from your house to help you through labor, like massage tools, music, pictures, etc. I wonder if I can bring my kitties.

Ultrasound appointment, week 26

We had yet another ultrasound this week! I get so excited when ultrasound week starts. On Sundays, you will hear me say, "YAY! It's BABY WEEK!", then "YAY! IT'S BABY DAY!" on my appointment day. I get so excited. If I could get an ultrasound every day, that would be great. I don't know what I would do if I was just carrying a singleton and could only go every few months. I would go nuts!!

Anyway, babies are doing great!! Baby Girl Stribling is measuring just behind her brother, weighing just at 2 pounds. The u/s tech asked if any of us have long fingers (when she saw hers), and I sadly said that nothing on me is long, so I guess she is taking after Jake in that arena. I don't really remember the heart rate exactly, but hers was in the high 150's (I wish I could remember them both each time, but I just can't! Maybe I'll instruct Jake to write them down next time) Baby Boy was measuring a little heavier, at 2 pounds, 3 oz. He is a few days ahead of 26w3d, (26w6d) and she was a few days behind (26w). I am so excited to hit the 2 pound mark. It just sounds so much heavier, since we saw all those poor 1 pound babies at the Baptist NICU. His heart rate was in the 140's. Positionally, they are still weird. She is diagonal with her head up in my ribcage and her feet on my left side. Baby Boy is horizontally still with his head on my right, his legs on my left. He moves up and down, though, and they are sometimes head-to-head. They also measured the kidneys, arm and leg bones, and heads. They are both doing great and measuring really, really well.

I am doing good as well. Still an excellent appointment for me. Nothing bad going on. My cervix has shrunk a little, but it's still good and long, so that's good. Both placentas are nowhere near my cervix too, which is good. Ovaries are still out of control, but oh well. The tech always does a vaginal u/s to measure my cervix and check out my ovaries at each appointment. She saw the left one immediately, as it looks like Antarctica over my cervix, and she dug around until finally I was like "OW!". She said she was looking for my right ovary, and I said, "Oh, you won't find it down there, its up next to my ribs, you just should have asked." I also had to take another glucose test to check for Gestational Diabetes, so hopefully that will come back looking good again. We go back in two weeks! YAY!

Pictures are below in another slideshow, since they are so many(thank goodness we had a different u/s tech this time!)