Butterflies, babies and bedding

I can definitely say that I am feeling movement now. It's nothing big of course still, kind of like when I get butterflies or nervous but more constant. It is usually when I'm sitting down or laying down for bed sometimes I can feel little flutters in my stomach. Sometimes I think I can feel both babies but in general I think I usually am feeling the baby on my left side. It's kind of crazy to realize that those feelings are our baby girls growing and developing...probably shoving each other around in there a little. I am still excited for the day when Jeff and I can both feel them or even see them on the outside but this is pretty darn cool too. It's nice to have the reassurance too that they are alive and kicking (literally) in there. We are settling in on two names that we like but still haven't 100% decided of course.

I've also read up a little more on the SUA (single umbilical artery) condition from hopefully reliable internet sources not just crazies. It concerns me a little more and there does appear to be some more reason to keep a closer eye on things in some ways. I'm sure our doctor and others that we see will know what to keep an eye out for. I will definitely be asking Dr. B about it more and if there is anything else to be aware of at our next appointment. I'm sure both girls are fine but it's always good to know all you can too.

I am getting more excited at the prospect of two adorable little babies in our home at the end of this year (still hoping very first part of next though). Dr. B says that he doesn't allow twins to go beyond 38 weeks though because he believes it is just asking for trouble. Maybe if I make it that far though he will still consider it based on my height and hopeful ability to carry a little longer. Cause I'm definitely still hoping for January babies and not Christmas ones. Can we agree on that girls? I mean really do you want a birthday that close to Christmas? I'm just trying to look out for you already hehe

I've basically settled in on colors for the nursery too. Jeff says all decorating choices are up to me. I don't love pink but I'm learning that I'll prob need to be okay with it when it comes to clothes and some other things. But for our nursery I think I am settling in on black, white and then teal and a shade of purple. The cribs and dresser are already black so I'm thinking just hints of black on bedding and then splashes of color to make it feminine but not super girly. Of course there is nothing in way of bedding that matches my minds eye so I'll likely be sewing the bedding myself...oh boy. Good luck to me in this endeavor. I know how to sew but I've never taken on this size of project before. Hope it turns out okay.

Update: 19 weeks 5 days

How far along? 19 weeks 5 days

Maternity clothes? I bought some pants from Ross (love a good deal). Two levis and some gray khaki's...all long enough :) Yeah Also have tried to get other shirts but the empire waist thing never fits my chest right :P I wore a full-on maternity outfit to work on Saturday and it was comfy. I love the maternity pants so much more then my snug pants now...comfort and no trouble getting in my car. Side note: The bras didn't fit (too small) and I had to reorder different sizes. Hope they get here soon...I'm so sick of the uni-boob that my maternity sports bra gives me :P but better then marks/welts.

Symptoms: I still feel good. I get butterflies and some of the "movement" stuff makes me a little queezy at times. I still have the hiccups but not nearly as much (I don't think...maybe I'm just getting used to them).

Stretch marks? nope...hope they don't happen. I ordered some stretch mark lotion to make the cut-off for free shipping with my new bras so one can hope that works hehe

Sleep? I generally sleep good still. I got a body pillow for side sleeping and it helps I think. I can't get myself to stay on the left side yet but I figure the girls are still small enough it's okay.

Best moment this week? This week...finding out we're having two girls. It's good to know and it helps me get more excited and prepared for planning things I think. Also feeling like I'm finally feeling movement (I think). Also hearing Jeff say goodnight to the twins by their hypothetical names was cute.

Movement? I think so. I'm pretty sure. I feel stronger butterflies now and occasionally a more pronounced feeling a movement. The first really noticeable one was on a girls-night-out with work after eating ice cream with candy (I think it was the sugar). So now sometimes I'm naughty and have a little sugar just to see if they do anything hehe

Food Cravings? I don't think so...just stuff I normally like. This week I really wanted french onion soup but now after making it a couple times I'm over it. Usually nothing sounds that great and definitely nothing I must have.

Gender? Two Girls! This was a surprise to Jeff and I both as we were both betting on other combinations.

What I miss? Nothing compared to where I am. And nothing much has changed drastically so that helps.

What I'm looking forward to? my (hopefully well-fitting) bras to come in the mail...again. Being able to feel the babies more and having Jeff be able to feel them too.

Milestones: Finding out the gender of our little woogits. Feeling (or pretty sure feeling) them move a little.

Emotions: I've been more emotional lately. Not horribly so but I get upset over certain things and apparently Jeff's says I've been a little cranky and sensitive. Sorry babe :)

* Lil' Miss Cooperative...cute profile pic...although the tech didn't print much else for us

*Lil' Miss Stubborn...no profile pic hehe She also wouldn't move her head out of my pelvis so she was hard to see much...well except her naughty bits but I'll keep those private

*closest we could get to a face shot...arms in "karate" stance and a faint hint of a face (I think)

It's a girl and a..... (100th post)

Well I have been putting off posting because I thought it would be fun to post the big news for the 100th post on this blog. We had our first appointment with the new ob/gyn today (Dr B) and we really enjoyed him. He was very friendly and knowledgeable. I think he will be awesome and look forward to him as our doctor. Anyway we went to this appointment and he asked if we knew what we were having yet and we said no we had an appointment later today to find out. He said let's take a look and see if we can find out for ya. He took a look (the ultrasound he did made us realize the babies had grown a lot and were a little more crowded cause we couldn't tell a lot of what he was looking at) and told us that he was strongly sure that one was a girl and was pretty sure the other was a girl also. Two girls! Wow! We weren't expecting that. We also got to hear their heartbeats again (and their office puts all ultrasounds on DVD for you...should've been going there sooner). Dr B congratulated us and joked about the cost of weddings and I joked with Jeff that he would need another shotgun now (he said he would just make it a double-barrel). Dr B also talked about our future appointments and it sounds like they do ultrasounds each time (especially with twins) and that they do their own anatomy type scan (maybe they won't once they get results from the one later that day) and a 3-D scan (yeah that'll be cool).

We had a break in between appointments and got Jeff's car emission and inspection done, we ate some breakfast and then headed to the anatomy scan. I have to admit I kind of hoped for a boy to appear with the baby in question but the anatomy scan determined they were both definitely girls. Jeff was perfectly happy with girls right off the bat and I took a little adjusting as I was sure we'd have a little Jeff and I'd become attached to the idea of Riley Ethan (a boy) that had been talked about since we were dating. We are both thrilled now though of course. Just rethinking and redesigning the nursery and things like that.

The anatomy scan went well. One baby was fairly cooperative and the other was more difficult to get clear images of with her head down and close to my cervix. Both babies kept putting their hands/arms up in front of their faces so we couldn't get a frontal face view. It was cool to see all the little parts though. The only issue we are known to be facing is that one baby has a one artery-one vein umbilical chord. The chord is supposed to have two arteries and one vein (as it is with the other baby). The perionatalogist explained that the biggest risk (20% actual rate) this brought was with birth weight being lower. The babies are the same size right now but he said he wouldn't be surprised to see this baby diverge a little later on and have a smaller birth weight. He didn't seem too concerned about this. He also explained it can mean a risk for Downs Syndrome or Tay Sachs but that with the age of mother (or eggs and mother/myself in our case) that this risk was 1% or less. He said that it is somewhat more common to see this condition happen with twins so the relative risk was pretty great but actual risk is still pretty low. We aren't too worried about it beyond the birth weight which we expect to deal with anyway having twins. We hope both babies will be born healthy though.

Maternity shopping...

I finally went on my first maternity shopping "spree". I mainly went with the purpose to find new bras. I have grown out of any bras I had and the bra I bought at the store. The one I was wearing had been leaving marks, indents and I even ended up with a bruise once but I was putting off shopping. Anyway I couldn't find bras in my size at regular stores (Walmart, Target, Shopko, etc) and I wanted to get nursing bras to avoid future expense. So I went to Motherhood Maternity and had the girl size me for a bra (with the too tight one on). She measured me a cup size above what I was wearing and said she didn't have a lot of this size on hand. She pulled what she could and did not have the right band size and cup size together. I tried on some just to get an idea of what cup size to order online (yeah...holy cow...I ordered 36F...are you kidding me?) I really hope I don't get any bigger (with the exception of when the babies are born and I expect them too and I really hope they go down with nursing).

Anyway the cute girl asked how far along I was. I told her 4 months and she was like wow you're so small and then she asked if I knew what I was having...I told her twins and she was even more surprised saying I was barely showing at all. I really didn't feel that I looked pregnant walking in the store so it was strange. I felt like an imposter. I even tried on the "belly belt" they give you and that made me feel even more strange. Seeing the soon-to-be-me with a belly and maternity pants on. The jeans were actually long enough for me (yeah!) but I will have to come back later for them when I really need them. I did buy some dress type pants though for work since I figure I will need those first and I liked how they fit. I hope I like the bras I ordered too and they fit for as long as I need.

I am feeling more uncomfortable in my stomach area and getting off the couch and such. I feel like I'm gonna "pop" any day now but we'll see. 10 more days until the anatomy ultrasound :) Yeah!! Excited for that.

16 1/2 week update

How far along? 16 weeks 4 days

Maternity clothes? I still only have the one shirt and haven't worn it yet... I'm kind of hoping to make it through summer without needing any capris (although some of my capris are getting a little snug). Then I can just buy maternity pants for winter and some shirts and call it good.

Symptoms: I honestly don't feel pregnant beyond mild bloat and getting uncomfortable to bend over. I have hiccups all the time and have for the past month or so...they are getting to be both old and just standard. No other symptoms.

Stretch marks? nope

Sleep? Still sleeping pretty good...been trying to sleep on my sides (due to what I read online) and that's making me sleep a little less comfortably.

Best moment this week? Not sure...nothing phenomenal has happened. I get butterflies sometimes that make me think "maybe that's the babies moving" but not sure enough to say.

Movement? Not sure...maybe. Still waiting to feel something that's more certain.

Food Cravings? Not really...actually nothing really sounds that good. Everything I think sounds good (sandwiches and fried eggs on toast) are things I'm not supposed to be eating :P I still like milk, ice cream, fruit and don't have any food aversions.

Gender? Still think it's two boys or one of each...Jeff is convinced it is one of each.

What I miss? nothing compared to the excitement to start this new phase in life.

What I'm looking forward to? feeling the babies move, finding out the sexes and actually having a need to wear some maternity clothes hehe (still the same)

Milestones: We put a crib together HAHA... about 4 months too early but oh well. Now to paint the nursery someday.

Emotions: I'm pretty even keel...I guess you'd have to ask Jeff to get the real story haha

This much we know...

If you are going to put a crib together do one of two things. Measure or get measurements of said crib and know if it will fit through the halls and doors that you need it to. Or construct the crib in the room in which you plan to leave it. If you don't follow these two simple rules you will find yourselves as we did...trying to fit a crib down the hall (snug fit but it worked) and through the door in which there was no way it would fit. Thus leading us to take it apart in order to fit it through the door and then put it back together once inside the room. Oh boy! What a fun little ordeal...at least we were laughing. At least now we have experience for the next crib we put together.

*crib in the empty/unpainted/undecorated nursery*

*our little dog testing out the crib...I don't think he liked it*

So it begins...

I found an awesome deal on the crib that I wanted. I had seen it on Walmart.com but it was $190 and Jeff and I just couldn't see spending $400 just on the cribs (no mattresses). So we talked ourselves into the cheaper cribs for $125 and I saved them in the cart to buy later. Later came and the rollback price was bumped and they went to $135 (not bad but it got me looking again). I searched the name of the one I liked online and was able to find a site that offered them at a slightly cheaper price and an extra 20% off sale. So for the two it would be $311 (including shipping). So that made them only $20 more a piece (plus delivered right to our door not in-store pickup). Yeah!! I was happy to finally have that out of the way. I talked to Jeff and ordered them and they are on their way.

Also I am mostly finished with the dresser I have been working on for a year now. My friend, Lisa and James, her hubby, were cleaning out their basement and Lisa wanted to get rid of it and I was quick to say I would love to have it. It needed a little work but nothing serious and I could totally see a gem of a dresser (hoping in my mind at the time for a nursery down the line). I think I started on it last summer and it was a weekend project when I was off work. Then I messed up a step and had to start over. I have filled in dents, sanded it all down, painted it and antiqued it. Now I am back to just needing to clear coat it and it will be done. I hope I can do it right and that the clear coat goes on clear and it will be perfect. I love the dresser and I think it will go great with the cribs and nursery stuff.

Now I will just start brainstorming about ways to decorate. We find out what we are having on August 17th...so that will make decorating decisions easier. We're also considering going to a different doctor then the one Dr L was going to pass us onto. I hope we end up with someone we really like.

Update: We are now having the ultrasound appointment on the 19th as well as our first appointment with Dr B. I know my friend Brooke (who had twins) really liked him and likes the clinic he runs out of, also stating that they typically did an ultrasound at every appointment with her twins since things can change so quickly. I'm looking forward to meeting him but disappointed that I will not be seeing Dr L anymore. I loved her and definitely owe her a thank you before her move to Texas.