31 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh approximately 3.5 pounds, measure just over 16 inches from head to heel, and are getting used to the world of light and dark by opening and closing their eyes. Their facial muscles continue to strengthen, and they can make different expressions. Their lungs are nearly mature; however, these last few weeks are crucial to healthy and complete lung development.





*The rate of physical growth slows down just a bit, but even though she doesn't get much longer, she will gain a lot of weight the rest of the pregnancy.
*Fat continues accumulating. This layer of fat turns her skin from red to the rosy pink she will have as a newborn.
*Calcium, phosphorus and iron are being stored and her bones are growing and hardening.
*Your baby is 16.2 inches (41.1cm) long and weighs 3.3 pounds (1502gm).
*Her brain enters another period of rapid growth, producing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells! Amazing!
*She may move to the rhythm of music. Studies with heart rates show that she also prefers some types of music to others -- already!
*Lungs are the only major organ left to complete development. Remember, that while you may be anxious to meet your little one that these last few weeks can be vital - with each day increasing your baby's ability to breathe on her own.

6th Doctor’s Appointment…

This morning I had my monthly appointment with the doctor to check on the girls. I had to be there early this morning because I was scheduled to have my glucose screening test done so I had to go in and drink that nasty stuff and then sit there for an hour waiting to have my blood drawn. I was scheduled to see a new doctor in the practice that I’ve never seen before so I was kind of excited to get her input on the whole c-section thing. Well, I’m standing there signing in and getting my bottle of nasty stuff and I hear the one receptionist talking on the phone and saying oh, ok… so you’ll be like an hour late? She gets off the phone and asked if I was there to see dr. ____. I said yes, and she replied that dr. _____ was going to be late because she had to scrub in for an emergency c-section. I just rolled my eyes and laughed and she was like, well if you don’t mind seeing Becky the nurse practitioner you can see her. I replied, well who is she? She said she can basically do everything a doctor can do except for deliver a baby and surgery. So I said sure why not, I don’t feel like sitting here waiting forever as the patients piled in the door and I didn’t feel like having to reschedule so I agreed. I asked if Becky would be able to answer some questions for me and she said of course and if I wasn’t comfortable with that I could just ask the doctor on my next visit. I have plenty of time because I’m only 28 weeks. I replied, “no, I’m 30 weeks”. She got a look of horror on her face and said, you were supposed to take your glucose test at 28 weeks. I told her I have no idea when I was supposed to take it, they never said anything to me and at my last appointment they told me to come back in 4 weeks and I would do it then. She went and got a nurse and told her I never took it (like it was my fault) and asked if it was still ok if I took it. The nurse said it was fine, so I went to my seat and drank the nasty stuff. It’s seriously horrible. It makes me feel like I’m going to puke and I was choking it down as fast as I could.

About 10 minutes later they called me back to the back room to take my weight and see Becky and stuff. I was all happy because I only gained 3 lbs. last month. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was good as always and then I sat and waited for Becky to come in. She was very nice and I talked to her for a while about a bunch of different things. She checked the girls heartbeats and they were both nice and strong. It was crazy because you could actually tell the two different heartbeats apart this time. The last few times they’ve checked it at the doctors office it was kind of like they sounded about the same. So I talked to her about my hips and the cramps and pains that I’ve been getting and she said it was all normal for a twin pregnancy. I also asked her opinion on the whole c-section thing. She talked to me for a while about it and explained a bunch of different things. She said that she totally understood where I was coming from and unless it is a medical emergency it is totally my call on whether to have one or not BUT… there goes that but again. She basically said the same thing that Dr. R said and that if baby “a” stays head down and baby “b” is transverse or breech that I may be able to deliver baby “a” vaginally and that they could try to turn baby “b” to a head down position to get her out but sometimes when they have to do that the doctor runs into problems with the cord getting tangled or sometimes even ripping off. She told me that she didn’t want to scare me but one time she was in the delivery room with the doctors and the cord got ripped off while they were trying to turn the baby. It wasn’t a good ending. She also said that I could just wait and see what happened because most of the time they deliver twins in the O.R. for in case of an emergency c-section having to happen so if baby “b” doesn’t flip down on her own once baby “a” comes out that I could make a judgment call then on whether to deliver baby “b” via c-section. So basically we had a good conversation about it and I just have a lot of thinking to do in the next few weeks. Of course I’ll talk to John about it all and see what he says. I go for my next ultrasound on October 7th so hopefully by then both babies will be facing head down! I also start going for my check-ups every 2 weeks now with the doctor. So yeah, time is serious flying by and my baby girls will be here before I know it.

10 weeks and counting…

Well, as of today I officially have 10 weeks until my due date. It’s crazy how fast this pregnancy flew by! People keep telling me that twins come early so I guess the girls could decide to come in like 7-10 weeks. I say 7 because the doctor said that twins are considered “full term” at 37 weeks. I’m going to keep these lil girls in there baking as long as I can no matter how uncomfortable and miserable I get. Haha!

We’ve been getting stuff done around the house in preparation for the girls arrival. I’ve been going through the stuff that we already got for them. Trying to figure out what we still need and everything else. John brought the crib into the house over the weekend and put it together. So things are moving along slowly but surely. There is such a huge rush of emotions right now! We’re excited yet really nervous about it.

It’s crazy because I still don’t know if I’m ready to have two newborns around the house. John’s just like “well, you better get ready!” haha. He takes everything so calmly. I know that this is awesome and we’re truly blessed to be pregnant with not only one lil girl but two!

One of my concerns is that I really feel bad because I feel as if I’m going to be taking something away from Aiden. He still seems so little and young to me. I’m not going to be able to give him all of my attention anymore or spend the time that I have spent with him for the past two years. I don’t think he’ll understand. I’m going to have to split my time between him and the girls. I just hope that he adjusts to having them around and doesn’t get too upset. We’ve been trying to talk to him about the babies and his sisters and when you say anything to him about it he just says “noooooooooo”. I ordered a big brother book off of Ebay the other day and we’ve been trying to have him help us in the nursery setting things up. We’ll talk to him and say this is going to be your sisters room and stuff trying to get him used to the idea of it. Hopefully he’ll mature a lot in the next two months. I’m sure it will all work out it will just be an adjustment period. I just worry about everything.

Other than that things are going well with my pregnancy. I’m just exhausted and uncomfortable as usual. The girls move around like crazy! I go to the doctors on Thursday for my monthly appointment and I’m sure things are still going really well.

It’s been a rough week because Aiden has been sick since Saturday night. He’s been running a high fever and just not feeling well. He started throwing up on Monday night. He’s just exhausted and hasn’t been sleeping at night or napping, I guess because he feels so yucky. He really hasn’t been eating much either. I try to get him to eat toast or crackers and make sure that he has plenty of fluids. I just feel so bad for him because it’s like he’s inconsolable. I called the doctor and he said to give it another day or two and if he isn’t feeling better I would have to bring him in. I just hope that he feels better soon. It breaks my heart to know that he is hurting and not feeling well. Yesterday John came home from work early to help me out with Aiden because he was sick and just so upset so I was very thankful for that. Aiden just wanted to be held and rocked all day and he’s just too heavy for me to hold for any long amount of time. At one point Aiden got really upset and was hysterical, I honestly don’t know what set him off and I was trying to comfort him and stuff and he wanted nothing to do with me. John kept yelling at me saying that I can’t hold him and carry him around. So needless to say I ended up in tears. So there was me crying my eyes out and Aiden crying his eyes out and poor John standing there trying to calm us both down and console us. So yeah, it’s been a really rough week but hopefully Aiden will feel better tomorrow.

30 Weeks...

From about now until you deliver, your babies' growth will be slower than if you were carrying a single baby as they are quickly running out of room to grow! Your babies each weigh around 3 pounds and are about 16 inches from head to heel. An ultrasound image may show your babies holding hands or sucking their thumbs, and you may also notice that your babies don't move at all during your Braxton Hicks contractions. This is because your muscles tighten and constrict their movement. By now your babies are probably more used to Braxton Hicks than you are!









*Did you know your baby is nearly three pounds now?
*Her head is getting larger to accommodate a period of rapid brain growth. Don't forget to continue to "teach" your baby in the womb by exposing to music, literature, and simply talking to her.
*A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her. As she grows and fills your uterus, the amount of amniotic fluid will decrease. Funny, you certainly won't feel any lighter!
*She spends more and more time practicing opening and closing eyelids. Her eyes can move from side to side, following a light source. She may even reach out to touch the light.
*Early lanugo is beginning to disappear that served to protect your baby's skin from the water in the womb. Your little one's own hair may begin to appear.
*Toenails are entering their final growth stage.
*Bone marrow is now in charge of red blood cell production. These red blood cells will continue to service your child's body by transporting oxygen and removing the wastes (carbon monoxide and other gases).
*Your baby has the capability now to produce tears -- yes, within the womb.
*By the end of this week, your baby is now 15.7 inches (39.9cm) long and weighs 2.91 pounds (1319gm).

Insert witty title here...

It’s been a really rough week mentally, physically, and emotionally. I’m past the point of exhausted at this point and I haven’t been feeling well. I pretty much don’t sleep and it’s starting to take its toll on me. Between constantly having to get up throughout the night to pee and how bad my hips hurt. It’s just insane! People that know me, know that I am not one to complain when I am sick or in pain. I pretty much just suck it up, deal with it and wait for it to go away. I’ve tried taking Tylenol a couple of times before bed to see if it helped at all but it doesn’t really. Everything hurts and I’m just so uncomfortable. I have such a preggo waddle it isn’t even funny. My hips and back hurt so much at night it’s getting hard for me to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. It’s like my hips just don’t work or something. I didn’t think that this pregnancy would be so hard on me physically. I know it’s harder to carry twins than a single baby but jeez! I know it will be worth it in the end but it’s just getting really hard right now. I’ve also been getting really crampy lately. I guess maybe my body is just getting ready to go into labor in a few weeks? Who knows? I go to the doctors next week for my check-up and I’ll ask her about it then.

The other day I was in walmart with my sister and half way through the store I got this horrible cramping pain in my belly. It was so bad I thought I was going to throw up, it took my breath away and i was having a hard time walking. All I kept thinking was I can’t go into labor already, it’s too early! We hurried up and checked out and I came home to relax. The pain was there all night but luckily when I got up the next day it was gone. A couple times since then I will get bad cramps almost like period cramps for about 5 minutes or so and then it will pass. I just feel so crappy and I feel bad that I’m even complaining about this. Once the girls are born I will have forgotten all of these aches and pains but right now it’s really tough. I keep telling John that I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

A couple of times this week I woke up feeling like a complete selfish bitch and just horrible. While I’m just lying in bed or sitting in my rocking chair wide awake all I do is sit there and obsess and think. Well, a few times this week I started thinking maybe a c-section wouldn’t be so bad if the doctor said I should have one at 37-38 weeks. Now everyone that knows me knows that I am pretty anti c-section unless there is a medical reason behind it. That is the ONLY reason that I would have a c-section, if there was a medical emergency. I’ve talked about this a million times throughout both of my pregnancies so I won’t go into it again. Anyway, I just felt like maybe I could just do it to get it over with so that I wasn’t so uncomfortable. I know it’s horrible and I’m sure I wouldn’t do it but I just felt very selfish and bad for even thinking about doing it. I know that the girls will come on their own when they are ready to and not a minute before. So after I beat myself up about being so selfish I try to put it out there to the universe and just remind myself that I can do this and it will all be worth it in the end.

Anyway, enough complaining!! The girls are doing awesome and totally kicking my butt. John was sitting here the other night with his hand on my belly feeling them dance around like crazy. Usually as soon as I say look John, they freeze and don’t move. Haha. Not this time, they were going crazy! We got some stuff done last weekend around the house and in the nursery. We’ll be doing a lot more of that this weekend. I don’t know if I mentioned it before but John and I made a baby registry a few weeks ago. Not for a shower or anything but so that for my birthday, which was last weekend and the holidays and stuff people can just buy us stuff for the girls. I don’t personally need anything, I have enough crap. I would rather people buy us stuff for the girls which is what we need. So for my birthday my family members bought us some stuff for them off the registry so we need to go through that stuff, get it washed, and set up. I was so happy! We’re going to take the gift cards and cash that I got this weekend and go buy some more stuff off the registry that we need. Having babies is so expensive! Haha. We’re using what we can from Aiden but now that there’s two of them and they are both girls we still need more stuff. I’ve made like a million receiving blankets for them. I have so many fabrics that I love, I just can’t decide which ones I want to use. LOL.

Aiden is doing awesome as usual. He wasn’t feeling well the beginning of the week. I think it was from getting his flu shot. He would be fine one minute and a hysterical mess the next. I felt so bad for him. He seems to be doing better the last two days though. He’s talking more or at least I say he is. This morning I swear he said “wake up mom”. It was too cute! I wasn’t even sleeping, I was just laying in bed with my eyes shut. We’re going to take him tomorrow to go and get his 2 year pictures taken. I know we are a bit behind but we’re trying. Hopefully he’ll sit nice for the photographer and we’ll get some cute pictures. We haven’t had his pictures taken since September of last year.

Anyway, I’m going to go and get some stuff done and spend some time with my lil munchkin. He’s been very patiently waiting for me.

29 Weeks...

Your babies are each about 15.5 inches from head to heel and weigh about 2.7 pounds. They continue to be active and grow; however, you are probably feeling fewer kicks and punches. This is because even though your babies are getting larger and stronger, they also have less space in which to gain momentum for these movements.

Your babies' blood is now being produced from the stem cells in their bone marrow. Many expectant parents choose to collect and freeze their babies' umbilical cord blood after they are born and the cords are cut. This usually-discarded blood contains stem cells, which may be invaluable in case the family needs them in the future. Some scientists believe that in the future we will all be treated with our own stem cells to cure conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, and heart disease.





*Your baby's head is in proportion with body now. She appears more like a newborn each and every day!
*Fat continues to accumulate under the skin -- only now preparing for entering the *real world*.
*Your baby's brain can control primitive breathing and body temperatures.
*Her eyes can move in their sockets. Soon she will be able to follow a blinking light.
*Your baby is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste, and smell! *Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences (or disdain) for particular tastes or odors at this stage.
*She is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, she will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if she is performing somersaults for a circus act!
*Her length is now approximately 15.2 inches (38.6cm) and weight is 2.54 pounds (1153gm).

T.G.I.F.

I’m so happy that it is Friday and the week is finally over! It’s been crazy busy at work and at home. It’s like we still have so much to do before the girls arrive and there just doesn’t seem to be any time to do it. The nursery needs serious work. We have stuff that we have gotten for the girls and stuff that people have given us in there. Like, just kinda of sitting there in serious need of being put away. The one crib is up there and put together but the second crib is sitting in the garage in pieces. Hopefully this weekend we’ll get to get some of that stuff done. We still have to go and buy a bunch of stuff for them too. It’s just so stressful! This pregnancy has flown by so fast!! I can’t believe that we only have 11 ½ weeks left until my due date. We seriously need to get our butts in gear! Haha.

The pregnancy is going well. The girls move around like crazy!!! I either have a couple of gold medal gymnasts or world champion kick boxers in there! Haha. My belly does all sorts of crazy jumps and twitches. I’m exhausted because I never get to sleep at night. My hips hurt so bad! I last between 45 minutes and an hour before I have to get out of bed and switch to the other side and that goes on all night long. My back has been bothering me, my feet keep swelling up, and I get short of breath all the time. Other than that I feel great. Haha. I guess it’s all good and will be well worth it in the end.

Aiden is doing awesome as always. He’s my lil lovebug! He’s been talking a lot more and saying more words. I love every day of being his mommy. Every day is a new adventure!

Anyway, I’m going to go and try to get some stuff done and then spend some time with my favorite boy in the world!

This was off one of my pregnancy tickers today:

Day 185: If you are having twins they have no trouble finding each other now with their eyes open!

Aiden’s two year check-up…

Today we had to take Aiden to the doctors for his 2 year check-up. Let’s just say it was not a fun day! His appointment was at 12:00 and I had to go into the office today because John was off so we planned on just meeting at the doctors office. Around 11 or so I looked outside and there were horrible storm clouds in the sky. It seriously looked like something out of the movie “Twister”. So I called John to make sure he had given Aiden some Tylenol and that they would be leaving on time. About 20 minutes later the sky opened up like crazy and it was raining sideways!!! I left the office and of course didn’t have an umbrella so everyone at the office was laughing at me because there was no way that I wasn’t about to get soaking wet. I called John once I started heading over to the doctors office and told him about the weather. He said that they had already left and they were on their way but that it wasn’t raining where they were. He said you could see lightning and hear thunder in the distance but no sign of rain. I told him it would be there don’t worry. I got to the office first and it was still pouring rain so I ran into the office and got soaking wet! I signed Aiden in and John pulled up out front right after so he ran Aiden up to me really fast so that he didn’t get too wet. Anyway, enough about the crappy weather.

We sat in the waiting room waiting to be called back to the room. Aiden was fine in the waiting room, playing with the busy beads and watching the fish swim in the fish tank. As soon as the nurse came out and said his name and it was all down hill from there. We went back into the room and stripped him down to his diaper so that the nurse could weigh and measure him. He of course screamed and cried. He now weighs 30 lbs. 5 oz. and is 36 1/2 inches tall. So he’s in the 90th percentile for his height and the 75th percentile for his weight. So he is doing really well with that and is just a bit taller than most kids his age. I’m not surprised because John is really tall. Anyway, she left the room and said the doctor would be in shortly. We waited and waited and waited. I just don’t understand why they call you back into the room, have you strip you’re your kid down to their diaper, and then leave you sitting there when the doctor is no where ready to come in to see you! Aiden was crying and hysterical the whole time so John was getting upset. I told him not to worry, every kid there was crying and didn’t want to be there… you could hear them from the other room. The doctor eventually came in to check him out (of course while he continued to be hysterical). He said that Aiden has a great set of lungs on him (LOL), he’s got a great heart rate, and he has all of his teeth (including his 2 year molars). His height (95th percentile) and weight (75th percentile) were good and everything was just good. He gave Aiden his flu shot and we were on our way. Luckily we don’t have to go back again until he’s 3 years old. So John and I are happy and Aiden is doing really well.

Luckily by the time we were leaving the rain had seriously slowed down a lot and it wasn’t as bad. I went back to work and John brought Aiden home for some more Daddy & Aiden time and after watching movies and playing for a while Aiden took a really long nap! He had a really rough day! Haha. He gets himself so upset over nothing and I just don’t know why he does it. John does the same thing though, so I guess he not only gets his temper from his daddy but that as well.

28 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh approximately 2.4 pounds and are a little under 15 inches from head to heel. They have been gaining weight steadily during the past 27 weeks as their stem cells develop into organs, blood and immune systems, and bones. However, from this point forward, your babies' weight gain will be due to increasing amounts of body fat.









*Eyebrows and eyelashes are now very noticeable!
*Hair on baby's head is growing longer. Some babies are born with almost none at all, while others appear to be ready for their first haircut!
*Eyes are completely formed now. Quite a view from inside!
*Your baby's body is getting plump and rounded. Most of that increase is muscle tissue and bone. Fat will be added during the third trimester.
*Muscle tone is improving. Preparation for the Olympics feels like it is taking place in your womb!
*Lungs are capable of breathing now(but baby would still struggle and require medical attention if born now)
*Talk to your baby often, reading stories, singing songs and more. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later on!
*Your baby weighs in now at 2.2 pounds (1005gm) and is 14.8 inches (37.6cm).

Fourth Ultrasound...

So today we went for our monthly check-up to see our lil munchkins. Everything is going awesome and both girls are doing great! They are right where they are supposed to be and there is only a couple of ounces of difference between them so they are growing about the same. Baby “A” is measuring in at about 2 lbs. 14 oz. and Baby “B” is measuring in at about 2 lbs. 12 oz. So that’s great! Baby “A” is now facing head down but now Baby “B” is now breech. Again, I’m not worried because there is still time for them to both turn to the head down position *crosses fingers & toes*. I feel bad for Baby “A” because Baby “B” has her butt right in her face. Haha The ultrasound tech printed out a picture of that for us and also a profile shot of Baby “A”. Baby “B” on the other hand once again was very uncooperative while posing for the pictures so we didn’t get any of her. The tech even had a hard time getting her measurements because she just wouldn’t sit still. We’re really happy that we got to see the girls again and that everything is going well. They are both doing awesome, they both have nice strong heartbeats, and my cervix is still holding up nice and strong. So we go back in another 4 weeks to check on the girls and make sure they are still progressing the way they should be. Here are two of the pictures that they printed out for us.

1. Baby “A” profile shot
2. Baby “A” head shot with Baby “B”’s butt right in her face. LOL

After some serious thought...

Ok, so after much thought and me doing some serious soul searching I decided that I don’t care what the doctor says about me having a scheduled c-section. I’m sticking to my guns once again and unless either the babies or myself are in danger I am not going to consent to having a c-section. Especially not for the reasons she says too. It’s insane how doctors are so quick to jump on all of the reasons you should just have a scheduled c-section without there being a medical reason for it. It is major surgery! I’ve thought about it and thought about it and I can do this. I know I can. I talked to John about it and I told him my plan and he totally agrees with me and said he will help me fight my battle with the doctors BUT if they say you have to have one now because the babies are in danger or I am in danger then I must consent to having a c-section. I can live with that. I know I’m not going to need one because I can do this!!!

I’ve talked to like 3 people that I know that have had twins in the last 3 years and they all had their babies the good old fashioned way and on their own. No scheduled c-section or c-section at all. So obviously it is possible still to have a good old vaginal birth with twins. I even know a girl that has a friend that delivered her twins at home, naturally! So all this crap about the doctors trying to bully people into getting c-sections for no reason other than what seems to be convenience for the parents and the doctors is insane!

We go on Monday afternoon to the hospital for our next ultrasound so we’ll see what position the babies are in then. Hopefully they are starting to get into position and turn head down.

27 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh approximately 2 pounds and measure nearly 14.5 inches from head to heel. Their facial features are almost fully developed and synchronizing enough that they may make faces that are visible on an ultrasound. Their skin is becoming thicker and fleshier and increasingly wrinkled, thanks to the amniotic fluid. Their skin will remain wrinkled for the first month or so after birth - just think about how your hands or feet look after you have been in the water for just 30 minutes! During this week, their brains continue their rapid development, and their lungs continue to mature.





*Your little one's brain continues its rapid growth. Don't forget to share music, conversation, and even books with your baby!
*Response to sound grows more consistent toward the end of the seventh month, when the network of nerves to the ear is complete. Your baby's hearing continues to develop, he or she may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner's.
*Lungs continue to grow and prepare for functioning outside of the womb. Each day in the womb greatly increases survival rates!
*She also continues to take small breaths and although she's only breathing in water and not air, it's still good practice for when she's born.
*Eyelids are now open more. Your baby can distinguish between light and dark.
*Retinas have formed.
*Your baby will grow over 1/2 inch this week alone! You may suspect this phenominal growth rate repeats in the preteen years!
*Average size is now 14.4 inches (36.6cm) and 1.9 pound (875gm).