19 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh approximately 8 ounces and are about 6 inches from crown to rump. The exterior layers of skin tissue are developing to form your babies' one-of-a-kind fingerprints. Even though identical twins (or triplets or quads) may have the same blood type and look exactly alike, they each have unique fingerprints. The amniotic fluid that surrounds your babies allows them to freely move their arms and legs and is also sometimes swallowed to practice digestion.



*Your baby has the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. He has a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.
*Throughout baby's body, nerves are being coated with a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves so that impulses can flow smoothly.
*Scalp hair becomes apparent this week. It has sprouted and continues to grow.
*The milk teeth buds have already developed and over the next few days the buds for the permanent teeth will begin to form behind the milk teeth.
*If baby is female the uterus starts to develop. If you're having a girl, the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place.
*If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable.
*Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are making urine.
*Your little one's size is around 6.02 inches (15.3cm) and 8.47 ounces (240gm).

18 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh about 6.5 ounces and are nearly 14 centimeters long from crown to rump, or about the size of a large pickle. Their digestive systems are starting to produce meconium, their first fecal matter. Some new moms are scared at the sight of it in their newborn's diapers and think something must be wrong with their baby, but it's perfectly normal and will only last a few days after birth







*Vernix (a white cheese-like protective material) forms on baby's skin with the lanugo (soft, lightly pigmented hair covering the body and limbs); both serving to protect your baby's skin during the months in water.
*Your placenta continues to grow and nourish the baby. Don't forget those prenatal vitamins!
*Tiny air sacs called alveoli begin to form in lungs. He'll be putting these lungs to good use in just a few months!
*Her vocal chords are formed. She goes through the motions of crying but without air she doesn't make a sound.
*Features of your baby's heart, including ventricles and chambers, should be visible during an utltrasound.
*Your baby measures about 5.59 inches (14.2cm) this week and weighs about 6.7 ounces (190gm).

No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Cherish the ones you love, & live everyday to the fullest...

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:

'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

'She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.

Well, I guess this is it.

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said:

'Never save something for a special occasion.

Every day in your life is a special occasion'.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work..

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything.

I use crystal glasses every day...

I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.

The words 'Someday...' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary.

If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now...

I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.

I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.

She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.

I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.

It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

17 Weeks....

Your babies are each approximately 5 inches long (crown to rump) and weigh just less than 5 ounces. They should weigh more than the placenta from this point on. Since your babies' hearing has become more finely tuned, they may respond to loud noises and you may feel movement at the sound of a slamming door. Epidermal (skin) and fatty tissue are developing all over their bodies to protect them after they are born and a substance called vernix is beginning to form on the skin tissue to protect it from the long exposure to amniotic fluid.



*By week 17, your baby weighs about 4.97 ounces (140gm) and is 5.12 inches (13cm) long.
*He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. She holds her head more erect and her body and limbs are longer in proportion to her head.
*Pads are forming on his tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent.
*Her eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed.
*Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. This black gooey substance will become your baby's first poop!
*The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger and continues to rush blood and nutrients to your growing baby.
*If your child is male the prostate begins to develop.
*Her skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

Interesting Study....

Moms of twins may live longer, study says
Having two babies at a time is associated with a longer life, according to a new study. But that's not because doubling up on dirty diapers increases life span; instead, moms of twins are physically stronger in the first place.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42981556/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/moms-twins-may-live-longer-study-says/from/toolbar

2nd Doctors Appointment...

So this morning I went to the doctors for my check-up. I was getting pretty annoyed because I sat in the waiting room for an hour before they even called me back to the exam room where I had to wait again! I love love love my doctors but I can't stand having to sit there and wait forever to see them.

Once I finally got back into the exam room everything went really well. I only gained a pound, which is good. Dr. R came in and we were talking she was asking me common questions about my pregnancy and if I had set everything up for my sequential screening and stuff. I told her that I already had it all done. I went to Booth Radiology for the first ultrasound to determine my due date and then they sent me to the maternal fetal medical center for the sequential screening where they did another ultrasound and did some blood work. I told her I had to go back at 16 weeks for more blood work. She was just like, ok great so it's all taken care of and the baby is doing good. I looked at her and said, "Dr. R. you do know I'm having twins again, right???" She looked at me a little shocked and embarrassed and started riffling through my file. She was like "oh my, congratulations! Becky must have put your results & paperwork underneath all these papers!" I just laughed. So then we talked some about the kids and twins & triplets. I told her I am feeling better as far as the morning sickness goes and it seems to have passed, now I'm just exhausted. I guess that's normal though when your growing babies. So she checked the heartbeats and they were both perfect! I absolutely LOVE hearing the sound of the babies heartbeats. She found the heartbeats pretty quickly and easily. One heartbeat was definitely faster than the other one. So my guess is still that it's a boy and a girl. I know they say one has a faster heartbeat over the other. I think it's boys. So that's what I'm still sticking with. We'll be finding out in a couple of weeks for sure and I can't wait :)

16 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh just over 3 ounces and measure about 4.5 inches long. You may have an ultrasound scheduled soon which may tell you whether you're carrying boys, girls or both...if you want to know. About two thirds of all twins are fraternal. Half of these pairs are boy/girl; one fourth are girl/girl; and one fourth are boy/boy. Your babies' fingernails and toenails are now fully formed, and internally their urinary tracts and bladders are functioning, emptying about once every hour.









*Fat begins to form underneath skin, providing your baby with insulation for the coming months.
*Did you know that both baby and placenta are now about the same size?
*Your little one has reached 4.57 inches (11.6cm) and approximately 3.53 ounces (100gm).
*His head and neck are held straighter now.
*This is a week of "mights!" You might hear the tiny thumps of his heartbeat with an external monitor now. The genitals are developed sufficiently that an experienced sonographer might be able to determine if your baby is a boy or a girl.
*Her heart is pumping as much as 6 gallons of blood a day and beats at a rate about double your heartrate.
*If you could take a peek inside, you would witness your child's reflexes in action!(Sucking, swallowing and blinking are now evident.) She is probably even hiccuping even though you don't feel it yet!
*Your baby has learned to breathe! This is apparent from the regular movements of his chest. Isn't it amazing that he is able to breathe "underwater," inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid? These actions help the lungs to develop and grow.

Our Mother's....

Our Mothers give us life, change us, feed us, stay up with us countless nights when we are sick, hold our hair back so we don't throw up in it, rub our tummy's when they ache, sing us songs to calm us when we are scared...they give us so much LOVE and are always there to listen and never judge no matter how many countless mistakes you make until you get it right....then we become mother's ourselves and the cycle continues through us... Thank you for all of this and soooooooo much more!! Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

Happy Mother's Day...

I've carried 3 amazing & unique children and I have 2 more on the way! I've kissed boo boo's, dealt with temper tantrums and mended their tender and innocent broken hearts. I've been puked on, peed & pooped on and spent sleepless nights comforting my children, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I must say, I am proud to be a Mommy - Happy Mother's Day weekend to all! May you all enjoy your families and blessings...

15 Weeks...

Your babies each weigh about 2.5 ounces and are approximately 4 inches in length (crown to rump). Their hearts are growing strong and, even though little, they are pumping between 20 and 25 quarts of blood every 24 hours! By the time you are ready to deliver, your babies' hearts will be circulating up to 300 quarts of blood every 24 hours. Many fetuses develop their future hairlines this week, although it can take quite a bit longer for others.



*You may begin to feel some fluttering movements as baby kicks, flails, twists and turns (but don't panic if you don't yet). She can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck her thumb!
*Your baby's legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head.
*And you'll be happy to note that he is moving those arms and legs often!
*His skin is very thin -- so thin blood vessel are visible. It's covered by a fine, soft layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo comes from a Latin word meaning "down." This hair is thought to help insulate your little boy.
*The three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden. The auditory centers in your baby's brain haven't developed yet, so she might not really understand what you say but her hearing capacity is in the process of developing.
*Fingernails and toenails are growing.
*Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair his head is sprouting. It will probably change color and texture after birth.
*All this and your little one is an amazing 3.98 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.47 ounces (70gm).

The Cat's Out of the Bag...

Today we had a little family BBQ for John for his birthday and we told everyone our good news! I had my family, his family and a couple of his friends over. We had a really nice day. Everyone came over to the house and we just hung out, talked and ate. There was plenty of food, good times and family & friends!

Everyone ate and then when it was time to sing Happy Birthday to John and blow out the candles I sent John upstairs to get the "other" cake. Yeap, that's how we broke the news. I wrote "we're pregnant with twins" put one of the ultrasound pictures on the cake and then "Happy Birthday John." When he first brought the cake down and put it on the table in front of everyone, they were all clueless. No one even noticed what the cake said or that the picture was on there. Finally John's mom told his sister Sue to go look at the cake. So she came over and read it and was like oh my god, i knew it!!! So then everyone else started to pay attention. lol. We got a lot of dropped jaws, a few congratulations and OMG, if you're happy... I'm happy! They asked when I was due and stuff and then just kind of didn't bring it up again. I haven't heard from any of them since they left that day. Kind of disappointing but it is what it is. I know it's going to be hard having 5 kids 5 and under but we will make it work.

There are a couple of family members that are very happy for us and made sure we knew it. The others maybe are just worried about us? I don't know. I've been trying not to think too much about it. I guess their thoughts and feelings on the whole situation really don't matter. We have gotten a few lectures on how hard it is going to be, etc., etc., etc. and we already know all of that. These are the things that have been keeping me up at night for the past 4 months!

I guess my family isn't as close as it once was. People change and I guess their lives go in different directions. I can understand that with friends but family is family. I hope that me, John and our kids are always very close. No matter what!

Wow, this really turned into a rambling of sorts and probably doesn't make much sense. I'm going to leave it the way it is though...