5th Doctor’s Appointment…

I went to the doctors this morning for my monthly check-up. I’ll right about the good stuff first and then I’ll go on a little bit in a rant. Everything is going really well with the girls and they are both doing great! They both have nice strong heartbeats and my measurements and everything were good.

When I first got there I ended up sitting in the waiting room for over an hour just before I got called back into the room. The nurse seriously pissed me off! She weighed me and when I looked at the scale and was like OMG did I seriously gain ___ pounds??? She replied, well actually it was ____ pounds. I said, OMG that’s a lot… isn’t it? Her reply was, well yeah for one month it is. She seriously couldn’t just write the extra pound in my chart and leave me thinking it was only ____ pounds??? I was so pissed I wanted to punch her right in the face! You could tell I was obviously upset about it already and then to act like a total bitch (mostly because of the way she said it) just really pissed me off. So then she stuck me back in the room to wait for the doctor. My blood pressure was good and everything. So the doctor finally came in about 20 minutes later. We talked about the weight gain and she said it was ok for the month because I was a little behind from not gaining weight in my previous months but I just want to make sure I don’t gain that much in the next 2 or 3 months. I’m about even where I should be now.

We also talked about the whole c-section thing again. This was a different doctor in the practice that I saw this time compared to my last couple of visits. Of course it sucked because John wasn’t with me. My mom had to work and couldn’t go in late so he stayed home with Aiden. Anyway, we were talking about how at my last ultrasound baby “A” was breech and baby “B” was transverse. I asked her if there is anything I could do to get the babies moving to where they should be so that I can avoid a c-section. I explained to her my reasoning and how it is a much harder recovery because it is major surgery and I have a very rambunctious 2 year old and then have two newborn babies I just don’t know how I would be able to do it. John is going to take 2 weeks off of work to help me out when they come but still. It’s going to be rough. So anyway, I went on to tell her that if the babies or myself were in danger I would of course give my consent for a c-section but other than that I won’t. She said she understands my reasoning BUT now days most twin births end up with a c-secetion. Then she went on to give me a couple of different scenarios of what could happen. The one was that if baby “A” moves to be head down that I could deliver baby “A” vaginally but then if baby “B” gets distressed I would end up with a c-section anyway. She said the recovery from a c-section is much harder after a long labor than the recovery from a scheduled c-section. Plus the fact that then I would have to recover from a vaginal delivery as well as a c-section. The second scenario was that I would go into labor and not be able to deliver either baby vaginally and end up with an emergency c-section which puts us again into the recovering from a c-section after a long labor being a much harder recovery than a scheduled c-section. Or I could just schedule the c-section and not go into labor and just have to recover from a planned c-section. This all really bothers me big time! I do not want a c-section unless it is absolutely necessary! I called John as soon as I left the office and told him everything that we talked about and he said not to worry about it. We’ll see what happens at our next ultrasound and then when I go to my next appointment I will talk to the other doctor which I’ve never seen and see what she says. My next appointment will be in 4 weeks and that is when they are going to do my glucose test. They already warned me it is going to be a long visit which I already know from when I was pregnant with Aiden. Not with the doctor but waiting for the nasty stuff to set in or whatever before they do my blood work to check my sugar level. That stuff they make you drink is so nasty! Last time I was gagging on it the whole time I was drinking it down and I drank it as fast as I could. So I’m totally not looking forward to having to go through that again but I know there is no avoiding it.

So basically that is everything. The girls are doing awesome which is great and I’m doing really good as far as all of my stuff goes. The only thing that I’m unhappy with is the whole c-section thing. I guess that I’ll just have to do some serious soul searching because in the end unless it is a true emergency I have the right to refuse a c-section. I’ll also give it some time to see what happens and if the babies turn around to the head down position.

26 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh almost 2 pounds, measure around 14 inches from head to heel, and hear noises, respond to light, and are generally more aware of their surroundings. In the same way that you can see a flashlight if you hold it against your palm, your babies can see the light coming through your belly. You may notice increased activity when in brighter light and decreased activity in darkened rooms. Their hearing is fully developed, and as they react to sounds, their pulse increases. Your babies may even move in rhythm to music!









*Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length.
*To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
*Air sacs in the lungs form now.
*Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
*Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
*Retinas begin to form.
*Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
*Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn her head, which according to researchers, means her optic nerve is working.

A long overdue update & rambling…

So I know that I said that I was going to try to write an entry once a week and obviously that hasn’t happened. Life has just been so crazy busy with work, taking care of Aiden, the house and I honestly just haven’t been feeling well. So I’m going to try to write a decent update on everything that has been going on.

I’ll start off with Aiden and how awesome he’s doing. I love being his mom even when he has me to the point that I feel like pulling my hair out of my head. Believe me, I’ve had a few of those days lately. I guess Aiden is at that age where he just tests us on everything. He wants to do new things and explore and I understand that but at the same time I can’t tell you how many times my heart has seriously skipped a beat because he’ll do something and fall and I’m afraid he’s going to get hurt. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think he’s going to be like the next Evel Knievel. He has a t-shirt that someone bought him and it says “I do all my own stunts” and boy isn’t that the truth! Twice this week he did a crazy forward roll off of the sofa. The one time I tried to grab him but missed and the second time I grabbed him long enough to break his fall. I get so upset when he gets hurt and I feel like it’s my fault and I wasn’t there protecting him when I should have been. I know I seriously need to get over this but it’s a tough one. He loves reading and throwing his balls around. He’s even trying to play John’s Wii. At first he would just sit there and watch John but now he takes the remotes and will swing them around and stuff. It’s seriously the cutest thing ever! The other day he had me upset because I was working from home and I had a pen laying next to me, he picked it up and threw it and it landed on my laptop. Well, it must have hit just the right way and broke off my “P” key. I seriously wanted to cry. I know it’s just hormones, stress, and other things but I was still upset. I haven’t been able to get the key back on so my brother in-law is going to look at it this weekend. Hopefully he’ll be able to fix it but until he does I have a ghetto-fabulous laptop! The only other thing that’s been going on with him is that for like the last week he must be having nightmares or night terrors. He’ll be sound asleep and then all of the sudden he’ll just start saying “no no” and then wake up so upset and hysterical. John and I wake right up if I’m not already up and will just rub his back or his belly and tell him that everything is ok, mommy & daddy are right there. Hopefully the dreams or whatever they are will stop soon! So anyway, to make a long short, Aiden is awesome and I love him more than anything in this world. No matter how much he tries my patience it doesn’t matter I just look at him and smile and love him just as much if not more than before.

As far as how I’m feeling well, I am seriously beyond exhausted at this point. I’m pretty much up all night long because I just can’t get comfortable. My hips and back have been killing me and I just haven’t been feeling well. I ache and hurt and I know it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I go back to the doctors this Thursday for my monthly check up so I’ll ask her about it while I’m there. I’ve been having pains in my belly and other places that I want to make sure they are all normal. Other than that I’m ok, we’re just so busy with life and trying to get stuff done before the girls get here. It will be here before we know it because time is flying by so fast! I can’t believe that I’m going into my 26th week of pregnancy already and only have like 14 weeks left. Everyone keeps being so kind as to remind me that twins are known to make their appearance early so I may not have that full 14weeks to go. Thanks guys. Haha.

The other day when I was at work John and Aiden re-arranged the master bedroom so that he could bring the rocking chair in from the nursery so that when my hips start bothering really bad at night I can just get out of bed and sleep in the rocking chair. I thought it was really sweet of him to do.

Now onto the pregnancy and the girls. They are both doing awesome and moving around like crazy!! My belly does all sorts of crazy waves and movements all the time. I swear they beat the crap out of one another in there. Haha. It’s insane because my belly will be jumping all around and I’ll tell John to come look and as soon as he comes into the room it’s like they both freeze! He sees nothing because they both totally stop moving. Aiden used to do the same thing to him so I shouldn’t be surprised. Today we went for our 3-D ultrasound. It was cool to see them in there moving around and being crazy. They seriously look so squished up in there! The pictures are good but not as good as the ones we got of Aiden. I’m not sure if it is because they are so squished in there or if it was because it was like a good 3 weeks earlier into the pregnancy than the ones I had done of Aiden. She said that we had to do it before 26 weeks because if I go after that all I will have is nothing but a bunch of pictures of arms and legs. So that’s that. Oh, and I had her check the sexes again to make sure that they were both girls because I had a dream again the other night that I had the babies early and it was a boy and a girl. She said they are both definitely girls! Anyway, I think that the pictures that she took today and labeled Baby “A” are actually of Baby “B” from the hospital ultrasounds and that Baby “B” is actually Baby “A”. The last time we went for our hospital ultrasound Baby “A” was breech and Baby “B” was transverse. Well today one of the babies was transverse and the other one was head down. So I’m thinking that the breech baby moved into the right position and will hopefully stay there and Baby “B” will hopefully be turning head down soon too so that I can avoid a c-section.

Other than that life is good… just busy. Aiden is taking a nap right now and should be up soon. As soon as he gets up we are heading out to a pool party to let him go swimming. So I’m going to go now and get ready before he gets up.

25 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh about 1.5 pounds and measure 13.5 inches from head to heel. They are becoming stronger as their stem cells continue to develop into bone tissue, and their bones become solid through a process called ossification. They are gaining more fat to help them regulate their body temperature after birth (and give them those adorable baby rolls) and pigment is developing in their skin.





*The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body.
*Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
*Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
*The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
*Her swallowing reflexes are developing.
*Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm.
*Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pound (660gm).

24 Weeks...

Around 24 weeks, your babies enter the stage of viability. This means that if they were born today, there is a 90 percent chance they would survive with medical intervention. This will no doubt cause you to breathe at least a little sigh of relief. Your babies each weigh about 1.2 pounds and are a little less than 12 inches from head to heel. Their lungs have started secreting surfactant, the substance that keeps the moist, interior surface of the lungs from sticking together; and they are practicing breathing. Now that their eyelids are unfused, you may see them opening and closing their eyes on an ultrasound. They are watching for light and their ears are listening to your heart beat and your stomach growl.









*Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
*Her body begins to fill out with her appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
*Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste.
*Little creases have appeared on her palms. The muscular coordination of her hands has improved as she sucks her thumb.
*Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
*Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
*This week your baby is officially considered viable.
*Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

Third Ultrasound...

This afternoon we had an appointment at the hospital for our monthly appointment to see our lil lovebugs and see how they are doing. It was crazy because we thought for sure we were going to be late because we got stuck behind every slow and crazy driver you could possibly imagine on the way. I swear it must be a full moon or something. It was funny because as late as we thought we were going to be, we were like 25 minutes early. Anyone that knows me knows that I’m never early for anything. LOL.

Anyway, back to the girls. They are both doing awesome and growing as they should be. Baby “A” is in a transverse position and weighs about 1 lb. 6 oz. and Baby “B” is breech and weighs about 1 lb. 8 oz. The ultrasound tech said that there is still plenty of time for them to turn to a better position for delivery because as I’ve said before I’m going to avoid a c-section like the plague unless it is a serious emergency and something will happen to either my girls or me. She checked them both again to confirm they are both girls and she said that they definitely are. I just wasn’t sure because the tech we had last time kept telling us that ultrasounds aren’t 100% accurate in determining the sex of a baby. I understand that because they have to protect themselves but to say it like 10 times, I wasn’t too sure if the tech was sure. Haha. They both have nice strong heartbeats and my cervix doesn’t show any signs of premature something or other. The girls heads are right next to each other so they must constantly be knocking heads. She gave us a picture of it that I’ll post later. It was also awesome because she switched over to the 3-D ultrasound to give us a little peek of them. Baby “A” was very cooperative today and posed nicely for all of her pictures while Baby “B” was taking no interviews. LOL. So we got a great 3-D shot of Baby “A” but the shot of Baby “B” is an ear shot with her covering her face. It’s crazy because the shot of Baby “A” has Baby “B”’s foot up under her chin and it looks like she’s giving her a kiss. It was seriously awesome and John and I were so excited she did it. They usually don’t do the 3-D ultrasounds there but the tech was a sweetheart and did it. So that was a nice surprise, totally cool and we’re stoked that we actually got to see our little lovebugs. It’s crazy because I think I still have like 17 weeks to go until I hit my due date of December 2nd and it looks like they are getting so cramped in there already. I just don’t know how much room they’ll have as they get bigger.

I felt all stupid because once again I almost passed out half way through the ultrasound. I started getting really uncomfortable and hot at first. Then I started sweating my butt off and was like “John, can you give me a drink of water.” Of course that did nothing for me but I tried to hang in longer. Then I was sweating even worse and started feeling like I was about to puke so I asked John if there were any paper towels at the sink that was behind him and if he could run a few of them under cold water so I could make a compress and put it on my forehead. The tech was like “are you ok?” and I was like “no, I’m not feeling too well right now.” So she had me roll over to my left side a little bit while she took a few more pictures she needed. I started feeling worse and worse so I finally asked if I could sit up for a minute and take a breather. She was like “of course!” so I sat up and John got me more cold paper towels and I put them all over the back of my neck. It was crazy because there was serious sweat dripping down the back of my neck and my hair was all wet. It was gross. I think my deodorant actually started to wear off. LOL. After sitting up for like 5 minutes with the cold compresses and drinking some water I started to feel better. She said this happens all the time but I was still totally embarrassed. It was all ok though because I laid back down and she finished taking the pictures and everything that she needed and said that both baby girls are doing awesome! So John and I are happy about that and we go back in another 4 weeks to make sure they are still growing as they should be and everything is ok. It was a great day and we got to see our baby girls again and they are doing great! Now, I’m exhausted and I’m going to go and spend some time with my favorite two boys in the world.

Here are some of the good pictures from the ultrasound. I didn’t post the ones showing their girly bits because seriously how many times do I have to show the world my baby girls cooters. Haha.
1. Baby “A” profile shot
2. Baby “A” & Baby “B” head shot
3. Baby “A” getting a kiss from Baby “B” (awww)
4. Baby “B” hiding her face and not taking any interviews (haha)

23 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh about one pound and are approximately 11.5 inches head to heel. They are continuing to develop facial features and you are probably feeling a lot of movement as they continue to explore their bodies and each other in the comfort of their own personal "living womb." They now have eyes that open and close, ears that can hear, and thumbs well worth sucking. If you suddenly feel regular, jerky movements, don't panic - one or more of your babies has the hiccups!







*Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat.
*Bones located in the middle ear harden.
*Your baby is able to hear. (Dads, did you know: low-frequency sounds mimicking a male voice penetrate the abdomen and uterine wall better than the higher frequencies of the female voice?)
*The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
*The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. She has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
*If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day.
*The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.

Happy 2nd Birthday Aiden Grey!!!

Well, Aiden is officially 2 years old now. I can’t believe how fast he’s growing up. Everyone told me to enjoy every second of him because they grow up so quickly and boy were they right!

We’ve had a really nice day today. We woke up this morning and we all just hung out and spent some nice quality time together. Then we got ready for his birthday party and sadly I think his teeth started to bother him or he just wasn’t feeling well. He’s actually been like that all week long to where he would just get really upset over no reason and he’s been running a slight fever. I don’t know if it is because his teeth are bothering him again or maybe he just has a touch of the stomach bug or something. He fell asleep in the car on the way to his party so we just sat in the car for a while so that he could at least get a little bit of a nap. I eventually went in so that I could greet the guests and then when he woke up about a half hour later John brought him into the restaurant. He wasn’t very happy at first and everyone that tried to say hi, happy birthday, or even look at him for that matter just set him off into a tizzy. He was so upset and I of course felt terrible. He eventually got over it and was ok, I guess maybe the Tylenol kicked in. So then he was ok and of course a little lovebug running all over the place. The food was good and the cake was delicious! I think for the most part he enjoyed his day and so did everyone else. I tried to take some pictures but didn’t get a whole lot of them. My sister Tommie was taking pictures so hopefully she got some good ones. Aiden’s party was nice and we got to spend some time with friends and family that we haven’t seen for a while, so I’m a happy girl. He got lots of presents that we still haven’t opened yet. I’m exhausted, John’s tired and Aiden’s tired because he really didn’t have much of a nap today. He just slept for that little while in the car. So I’m going to go and do some more laundry that needs to be done and then go and spend some time with my favorite two boys in the world.

Happy 2nd Birthday Aiden Grey!!!! Mommy & Daddy love you lots and lots!