24 weeks!

Today marks 24 weeks! Every day brings us further past the halfway mark and closer to the goal! If all goes well, I have 13ish weeks left to carry these babies.  From what my OBGYN tells me, 37 weeks is optimal and the longest they'll let me carry is 38 weeks.  Fortunately (or unfortunately?) for me, the next 13 weeks are SUMMER! I love summer, BUT being pregnant during an Okanagan summer is....challenging. It's hot to say the least.  Good thing for me, I have a kiddie pool and a fairly private yard so me and my whale-esque figure can lounge half submerged in my kids' pool.

I had an ultrasound on Friday and as far I know, everything is looking good.  I had a great tech who was quick and efficient. She showed me the girls' hearbeats actually beating (which is pretty cool to see!) and I could see them kicking each other - feet to feet.

Tuesday, May 27th I had another visit to my family doctor. Things are progressing well. I'm measuring 30 weeks, which is normal.  The babies heartrates were both 155 and sounding good.  My blood pressure was again low, which accounts for my lightheadedness.  She's happy with that though. Better low than high!

I've started taking weekly photos. I bought this chalkboard for my kids for Easter, but I've sort of commandeered it from them for my own use ;)

This was 23 weeks. 

And today at 24 weeks.  

Time for some fun facts:

Fun facts (or not so fun) for pregnancy week 24
Maternity Clothes: Pretty much everything. Maxi dresses are great. So glad they're in style right now. I can wear non-maternity maxi dresses. 

Sleep: Pretty decent.  Unfortunately, the nighttime trips to the loo have resumed.

Food cravings/Aversions: I've had a thing for ice cream lately...

Weight Gain: 22 pounds! Right on track.

Gender: Twin GIRLS!

Belly button in/out: Out.  I have a small umbilical hernia too that's not helping with the outie.

Symptoms: Easily tired out.  Lots of hip and low back pain.  Less nausea - I cut back to two pills at bedtime now, so that's great! I've been able to use that "extra money" to get a massage once a month. Hopefully that will help with the back and hip pain.

Best Moment of the Week: Visually seeing the girls' heartbeats.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Not too sure about this one. I'm just trying to get through each day right now.  We have a lot coming up in the next couple of months. Both Lucia and Mason's birthdays, a garage sale, houseboat trip, painting the "new" house, and moving! That's all before the babies come.  So just taking it day by day for now. 

That's all for now!

Tamara

The Big Reveal!

It has been a busy spring so far! I thought I would wait until after last week's appointments before sharing again as not much was new.

My last two doctor's appointments went well.  Everything (and everyone) is progressing as they should At my 16 week appointment I was measuring 20 weeks (which is normal) and the babies' heart rates were 145(maternal Left) and 160 (maternal Right).  At my next appointment, on Tuesday last week, the heart rates were the same again. I really started thinking that Baby A's a boy and baby B's a girl. Dr. R. also checked my blood pressure which she said was really good. It was 90/50 so that's pretty low to me, but she would rather have it low than high (which is a risk in multiple pregnancies). That would explain why I get dizzy or feel lightheaded often though.  I think it may even contribute to not being able to stand for too long, but that might just be because I'm a wimp...just joking. I know there's a lot happening inside right now.

Wednesday, April 30th I had an ultrasound. This is the BIG ultrasound where they take all the measurements of both babies.  It's a pretty long exam as measurements are taken of the head, length of arms, legs, crown to rump, along with all the other things they do (I don't even know).  It was about 2 hours. Lucky for me, the sonographer let me go pee halfway through as she could tell I was getting a wee bit uncomfortable.  I'm not sure which was worse - trying to sit up after lying flat on my back for an hour or those 10 steps to the bathroom!

The sonographer wasn't able to tell us the genders of the babies, but she was able to tell us she could see the genders of both babies.  JP, Mason, and Lucia came in for a short "viewing" of the babes in utero and then we were done. We have a whole bunch more pictures (which I have no idea what to do with! We're nearing 30 ultrasound pictures!) and just a few more days to wait until the big reveal.

Thursday, May 1st, I met with the OBGYN. I'd never met her before, but she came highly recommended to me by quite a few people.  Her office is GORGEOUS. It's so bright and all my fav colours (aqua, green, and a few others). Very fresh and feminine.  I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork asking very personal questions including a fair share about bodily functions and then leave a urine sample.  You'll never know how important your pee is until you are pregnant (or get really sick).  Oftentimes, your urine is an indicator that something else is going on in your body. This is based on colour and content. If there is sugar or blood in your urine, something's up, so when you're pregnant, they keep a close eye on things.  With twins, the risk of Gestational diabetes is higher than in a singleton so that's something we want to be sure to catch right away.  That also means I can't eat as much ice cream as I want :(.

I met with the OBGYN and she was very nice and informative.  She spent a good amount of time with me (almost an hour!) and answered all of my questions.  She used the Doppler to check the heart rates which were 150 and 160.  My blood pressure was 130/80, which is understandable as I was pretty nervous going in.  I told Dr. M about our plans for the gender reveal so when we were finished, she wrote the results on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope and taped it closed. She handed it to me and I folded it in half and stuck it right in my purse. I had the results! Eek! Now, no peeking. I just had to make it to Friday when I could pass them off to Louisa who would do the rest. 

Friday morning the kids and I went dumpster diving.  I needed a big box.  I stopped at an appliance store and asked for a dishwasher box. Turns out that was WAY too big.  I went around the back and found a whole bunch of collapsed boxes in a big recycle bin so I just pulled two out.  One would work for sure.  I took them home and decorated one with "BOYS, GIRLS, or BOTH?" on the front. Then Louisa came and took the results (gulp) and the box home.  She was going to open the envelope and be the first person (outside the medical field) to know the genders of our babies!).  

So that night, Lou got a bunch of helium balloons (pink for girls, blue for boys, or both for girl/boy) and met us up at the orchard.  I was sooo nervous! My heart was racing and I wanted to tear the box open.

Here's what happened next:

And just like that, we'll be welcoming twin GIRLS to our family! Definitely a surprise!  Now to figure out some girl names!!


Fun facts (or not so fun) for pregnancy week 20
Maternity Clothes: Pretty much everything. I can still get away with some long t-shirts and elastic waist bands (like the maxi skirt above). And socks. I wear normal socks ;)

Sleep: Pretty good lately! Some crazy dreams though. Last night, I dreamt there was a black widow spider in my bed! Eek!

Food cravings/Aversions: Not "cravings". I've been eating a lot of snap peas and strawberries. And pickles. But JP is too. Eating pickles.

Gender: Twin GIRLS!

Belly button in/out: Both at times. Depends if I'm standing or laying.

Symptoms: Mostly just fatigue.  I think the nausea has lessened. I've dropped one pill a day (yippee) and will try to drop another in a week or so. Some back pain.

Best Moment of the Week: Opening that box. And realizing how much my husband loves me. (I didn't blog about that, but through the kind words of a friend, I really saw how much I'm loved. It's such a good feeling.)

What I'm Looking Forward To: Planning! Dreaming of the babies' future room, deciding on names. I'm excited for the weather to warm up so we can spend more time outside!

Sorry it was so long today! There was a lot to share! Thanks for sticking with me if you made it to the end of the post!

Blessings,

Tamara