15 weeks: oranges!

baby purchase #2

were these today - i was shopping for d's new baby (see the post above) and found this matching set..... had to have them. (in case you can't read it - they say "worth the wait")

i finally broke down

and bought my first thing for the babes. carter's was having a memorial day sale yesterday at the outlet mall, so my sister and i went - i said i wasn't going to buy anything, but these wrap-me-up blankets were calling to me from the 50% off rack....

-
.... so they're mine! or theirs, should i say?

14 week belly pic

How far along? 14 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: still – 3 pounds... i'm kind of worried that i'm not gaining - will ask dr. e about it on wednesday.

Maternity clothes? still in 'em. ready to get out of 'em.

Stretch marks? not yet.

Sleep: much better, now that i have my snoogle pillow.

Best moment this week: it's not pertaining to me, but my best friend d's water broke while we were at olive garden last night. =) she's in l&d right now - please pray for her to speed up!

Movement: i think i feel something, then won't feel it again for a few days. i know these little goobers are active, though, because they are kicking and rolling against the doppler probe.

Food cravings: still watermelon.

Gender: i honestly have no “intuition” on this one anymore. who knows.

What I miss: shopping at my normal stores, like ann taylor.

What I’m looking forward to: finding out what we're having on june 9th.

Weekly wisdom: nothing new to input.

Milestones: nothing new here either.

potential boy/girl bedding

since i have nothing better to do at work, i've been wandering through babies-r-us and target.com to get ideas on decor for the nursery.

i figured a girl/girl or boy/boy nursery would be the easiest to do, and i haven't found much in the way of matching boy/girl bedding..... until i found these:



it's a zoo theme for a boy and a farm theme for a girl. not exactly a total match, but the patterns are similar and with matching cribs and furniture, i think it would work.

i've made the switch to blogger

finally! i'm so much happier here.... prettier layouts, easier to navigate, and pics upload so much easier. so update your links - the old one's staying active for a little while until everyone gets updated.

i've managed to spend the entire morning moving all of my old posts over here. they'll still show up as being posted in may, but i've left the original post dates in the subject line so it's easier to follow.

thanks for following me over here!

fruit of the week: lemons!

Your adorable little fetuses (or is it fetii?) are busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over their bodies for warmth.

05.19.09 i only *thought* i had popped before.....

helllooooo, belly! nice to meet ya.... again.

How far along? 13 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: still – 3 pounds
Maternity clothes? starting to buy size mediums now. i’ve found i’m most comfortable in cheap little old navy sundresses, like the one i have on in the pic.
Stretch marks? not yet – thank you jesus – although i am sure they are to come.
Sleep: the middle of the night peeing has started again. =(
Best moment this week: being able to consistently find both heartbeats in the same spot. leftie seems to be up high, and righty likes to sit down low.
Movement: i’m feeling some sloshy/rolling movement, but it could just be my underactive bowels starting to churn again.
Food cravings: watermelon.
Gender: i honestly have no “intuition” on this one anymore. who knows.
What I miss: climbing up on stuff… kitchen counters, chairs, etc. now jeff makes me come get him when i can’t reach something.
What I’m looking forward to: registering, once we finally find out what these two are. i feel like we’re on hold until we’re able to know the sexes, but once we do, everything will kick into high gear.
Weekly wisdom: jeff insists that i need to buy a bottle of vitamin E oil and slather it on my stomach every night. i went to the store and bought palmer’s stretch mark cream (with vitamin E and cocoa butter) but he swears it’s not enough. um, i’d rather use this and smell like a tanning bed than have a greasy belly.
Milestones: getting my first stranger asking “when are you due?” at work today.

***** p.s. please send some “go into labor soon” thoughts to my best friend d! she is due on thursday. =) *****

05.15.09 fruit of the week: peaches!

This is the last week of your first trimester and your baby weighs 14 to 20 grams. The crown-to-rump length of your growing babies is 2.6 to 3.1 inches. Your babies are each now about the size of a peach. Fetal growth is amazing from now through about the 24th week of pregnancy.
At this point of your pregnancy, there is a steady flow of pregnancy hormones in your bloodstream. Your body will adjust to the changes and morning sickness might stop and other early symptoms will begin to ease. Because the second trimester is approaching, feelings of anxiety or nervousness may also diminish. You have probably gained some weight by now. You are losing your waist and your clothing is probably fitting snugly.

There is a milky membrane that surrounds each of your babies. It is pierced by the umbilical cord and is made up of two layers, which are fused together. The placentas provide most of the nutrients and oxygen that your babies need. By this week, the placentas are well formed and ready to take over hormone manufacture from your ovaries. The placentas will produce progesterone and estradiol. These hormones will be crucial in the maintenance of your pregnancy. Tissue that will form your babies’ bones is being laid down, especially around the head and limbs. The nose and chin are becoming more prominent. Your babies’ eyelids meet and fuse together and they will not open again for nearly four months. The eyes started out on the side of your babies’ heads and they are now moving closer together on the face. The ears come to lie in their normal position on the sides of the head. If examined outside of the womb, you will be able to distinguish male from female at this time.

The sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gums, and vocal cords are beginning to form.

05.13.09 i'm already "that" mom....

the one that can’t tell her children apart. =) these pics are over a week old, but i’ve had alien pic requests, so here ya go. i don’t know which one is which in the pics…. hopefully by june 9th, we’ll have some definite “markers” (turtle or hamburger, for those who know what i’m talking about). please excuse the horrible cellphone pics.

here’s one…. doing the ”police! hands up!”…..
and, of course, jeff says the big white blob in the middle is a penis. more like an umbilical cord, i think:

and here’s the other, kicked back and lounging with its arms behind its head:

05.12.09 our first present!

my dad came by our house last night to drop off our first baby gift…. my double stroller! it’s the “melbourne” graco duoglider, and the swirly pattern is too cute. there’s matching carseats we’re planning to get that snap into the seats (rear-facing). thank you, dad! =)

05.11.09 12 week belly pic

okay, i added an extra pic just so you can see the difference…..

belly hidden in scrubs:





belly in all its glory in regular clothes:





How far along? 12 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: - 3 pounds
Maternity clothes? my size smalls are getting too small. =(
Stretch marks? not yet!
Sleep: i’m officially unable to sleep on my stomach now…. time to get a snoogle pillow.
Best moment this week: hearing “happy mother’s day!”
Movement: probably none yet, but i’m getting little twinges that feel like popcorn popping.
Food cravings: kleinpeter chocolate milk.
Gender: we find out June 9th.
What I miss: frozen margaritas. i wanted one so bad last week i was tempted to order a virgin one.
What I am looking forward to: finding out what they are so I can start buying stuff!
Weekly Wisdom: nothing new to add.
Milestones: nothing new, really – I don’t have any new pics since i’m not going back until the end of May. =(

05.07.09 12 weeks: plums!

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your babies’ fingers will soon begin to open and close, their toes will curl, their eye muscles will clench, and their mouths will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your babies will squirm in response, although you won’t be able to feel it. Their intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into their abdominal cavity about now, and their kidneys will begin excreting urine into the bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your babies’ brains, synapses are forming furiously. Their faces look unquestionably human: the eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and the ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your babies-to-be are just over 2 inches long (about the size of a plum) and weigh half an ounce each

05.05.09 11w5d belly pic

How far along? 11 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: - 3.5 pounds
Maternity clothes? i just bought a pair of maternity scrub pants that (of course) don’t come in petite, so mom is hemming them for me. i can’t wait to get into them… no more drawstring or thick elastic cutting into me.
Stretch marks? not yet!
Sleep: still can’t get enough of it, athough it’s getting uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach.
Best moment this week: Baby Grand is this Saturday at the hospital, so I’m looking forward to going.
Movement: probably none yet, but I swear about once a day I feel *something* that doesn’t feel normal.
Food cravings: granny smith apples.
Gender: we find out June 9th.
What I miss: actually feeling “normal”…. I thought about that last night, about how all this nausea and gagging has pretty much become the standard for me now, and realized that I’m probably never going to go back to that pre-pregnancy feeling.
What I am looking forward to: finding out what they are so I can start buying stuff!
Weekly Wisdom: nothing new to add.
Milestones: nothing new, really – I don’t have any new pics since I’m not going back until the end of May. =(

04.30.09 fruit of the week.... limes!

much cuter than last week's prunes. =)

Your babies continue to grow and are now approximately the size of a large lime! The crown-to-rump length of your developing children is 1.75 to 2.4 inches each. The weight of the fetuses is approximately 8 grams each at this point. The growth of your babies is phenomenal now and your babies’ length will double in the next three weeks. The head is grossly out of proportion and is almost half of the baby’s length.



You are almost at the end of your first trimester and while changes continue to occur quickly in your babies, they are happening at a slower rate in you. Your uterus has been growing with the fetus inside of it and is now almost big enough to fill your pelvis. Your uterus may be able to be felt in your lower abdomen, above the middle of your pubic bone. You are not able to feel the babies moving inside of you at this time. You might also be noticing changes in your hair, fingernails, or skin around this time. Some women notice an increase in hair growth and nail growth during pregnancy and others lose small amounts of hair. You are burning up calories at a faster rate than you did before you became pregnant! The amount of blood being pumped around your body will increase and you might feel warmer than usual.



External genitalia are beginning to show distinguishing features and the development of male or female will be complete in three weeks. The two placenta’s blood vessels increase to provide your babies with the nutrients and oxygen he needs for continued growth. Your babies’ ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of their head. Inside of your babies’ abdomen, the intestines are developing. Because the intestines are so large, some of them project into the umbilical cord and they will return to the abdomen within the next week or two.



At the size of a plumb, your babies are now able to swallow. The urinary systems function. The babies swallow and urinate the amniotic fluid and the fluid is continually replaced. The babies is kicking but the mother cannot feel it yet. All vital organs are formed and, for the most part, function normally. From now on, they will grow in size and efficiency.

04.30.09 first OB appointment - check

had my first appointment with dr. e yesterday, and everything looks good.

- i’m still worried about my weight, which is down to 127 today (i was 132 on iui day), but they don’t seem to worried about it. i guess that’s my clue not to worry about it, either.

- dr. e was able to pick up both heartbeats on the doppler, much higher up than i thought they would be – right underneath my belly button. i did preregistration for the hospital and had my initial bloodwork done.

- dr. e told me that there’s basically a 2/3 chance that i will have to have a c-section. the only scenario he will allow a vag attempt is if both babies are head down. if one is head down/one is breech, or both are breech, then it’s off to the operating room.

- he also said that he will allow me to go to 37 weeks before induction or sectioning, so we’re looking at a new date of October 29th.

- i have an appointment set up with maternal fetal medicine (mfm), or the perinatologist, on june 9th. i don’t know how often i will have to see him yet – hopefully not much. since i’ll be 16 1/2 weeks at that appointment, we can probably find out what the babies are!

04.27.09 10w4d ultrasound

today was my last visit with dr. d, who has officially sent me to dr. e for the rest of my care. i was excited knowing i was getting to see the twinks again, but sad at the same time because i was leaving the people who were able to get me to this point. =(

baby b, HR 171, length 3.80cm:

baby A, HR 176, length 3.82cm:

04.27.09 if this is what we're in for....

then we have a long road ahead of us. =) check out the activity from Baby B in the link below. for the life of me i cannot figure out how to embed this video into the blog, so you have to click the link.

http://http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=34obxud&s=5

04.27.09 10 week belly pic.... can we say "popped?"

holy crap…. i can’t believe what a difference 5 days makes.





How far along? 10 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: will find out tomorrow
Maternity clothes? my low rise pants are totally too tight now…. full panel is all i can fit in comfortably without going up to a size L.
Stretch marks? not yet!
Sleep: almost 11 hours straight on the weekends…. wish i could do that every night.
Best moment this week: i finally heard a heartbeat on the doppler! it’s still kind of difficult to find because all i can hear loudly is my own, but instead of the whooshing sound that matches my heart rate, i heard the steady “clop – clop – clop” about twice as fast as my own!
Movement: no movement yet.
Food cravings: strawberry crepes from IHOP.
Gender: i’m still predicting two boys. hoping we can find out around my birthday.
What I miss: being able to just “pick up and go” without having to carry a barrage of snack food with me.
What I am looking forward to: my first true prenatal appointment with my OB.
Weekly Wisdom: nothing new to add.
Milestones: graduating from the RE tomorrow – kinda sad because i’ll miss going in to see the twinks every week, but an important milestone because it means i’m stable enough to be passed off to my regular OB.

04.23.09 double digits already.... 10 weeks: prunes!

you’d think thebump.com would come up with something better than prunes. although they would be, um, beneficial right now, i can’t stomach them.

This week is somewhat of a landmark for your developing babies. By now, your babies’ complete body plan is laid down. Your babies will continue to develop and grow for the remainder of the pregnancy. The fingers and toes have separated and the tails has disappeared now. Your babies have taste and tooth buds at this point, which will continue to develop. The brain will continue to grow at an amazing rate and nearly a quarter of a million new neurons are produced every minute! The embryonic heart is completely developed. External genitalia are not apparent until next week, but a male’s testes will already be producing testosterone.

04.21.09 9w5d belly pic.... and yes, i am holding a half-eaten peep. =)

how horrible is that? i can’t stop eating for two seconds to take a decent belly pic. =) these are all starting to look the same to me, but maybe one day, each one will show more growth.




How far along? 9 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: zero
Maternity clothes? bought a few new tops last weekend.
Stretch marks? not yet!
Sleep: much better since dr. d told me i could take unisom at night… helps immensely with the morning-noon-night sickness, too.
Best moment this week: there’s a twin mom in my office that i talk to on the phone all the time – she has twin girls. today she came in for the girls’ well check appointments and brought me two books on multiples, plus a super-sweet card. made me cry!
Movement: no movement yet.
Food cravings: popcorn indiana kettle corn.
Gender: i’m still predicting two boys. we’ve settled on a boy/girl name set, i’ve got a girl/girl proposal to run by Jeff, but we’re still butting heads about boy/boy names. If it’s two boys, Jeff insists on naming the first one born after him. I’m all about fairness, though, and don’t want one to have to ask us why he wasn’t named after daddy. I don’t know what we’re going to do about boy/boy names.
What I miss: being able to do stuff i normally do without having people holler at me! like lifting boxes, climbing on the kitchen counters to reach stuff up high, standing on chairs at wedding receptions, etc.
What I am looking forward to: my ultrasound next week, and becoming a “graduate” from the specialist. i’ve been kind of antsy having to wait two weeks between appointments now, and i know it will only be worse once i’m seeing my regular ob. i also can’t wait to hear the heartbeats on my doppler….. all i’ve heard so far is my own heartbeat and my lovely bowel sounds. =)
Weekly Wisdom: nothing new to add.
Milestones: a rapid decrease in morning-noon-night sickness.

04.17.09 9 weeks: olives!

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like… well… a baby!

(p.s. i haven’t been able to pick up heartbeats yet on my home doppler – i’ll try again in a few days.)

04.15.09 8w4d ultrasound (lots of pics!)

both of them!

baby a’s measurement:



baby a’s heartbeat tracing:



an arm and a leg (that Jeff is convinced is a penis):



baby b’s measurement:

baby b’s heartbeat tracing:

the coolest thing was seeing baby b move…. it’s whole body kind of wiggled. =) we go back in two weeks to see dr. d and officially “graduate” to my ob, dr. e.

04.13.09 8w4d

How far along? 8 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: back up to pre-pregnancy weight
Maternity clothes? i have found that they are not true-to-size….. sadly, i am already in medium pants and they are getting too tight.
Stretch marks? not yet, but itchy
Sleep: it’s getting better, although i’m still sweating to death at night.
Best moment this week: making Jeff’s easter basket and getting to buy a “happy easter, daddy!” card.
Movement: no movement yet.
Food cravings: mcdonald’s hot fudge sundae.
Gender: i’m still predicting two boys, but my niece riley says it’s going to be “two girl babies”. i don’t put much stock in hers, though, since she told me i was having “one, two, three babies”.
What I miss: going a full day without nausea.
What I am looking forward to: my doppler to come in – i ordered it last week.
Weekly Wisdom: not much to add, since it’s been a slow holiday week
Milestones: bawling like some hormonal pregnant lady while watching birth day, a baby story, marvelous multiples, extreme makeover home edition, etc. =)

04.11.09 8 weeks: raspberries!

Your babies are developing at an amazing rate during these early weeks. Eyelid folds and ears are forming. Your babies’ eyes are still very wide apart on the sides of his/her head, but will eventually center themselves out. The tip of the nose is actually present at this time as well. On ultrasound you can see that the aortic and pulmonary valves of the heart are present. The tubes that lead from the throat to lungs are branching and your babies’ torsos are getting longer and beginning to straighten out. Just a few weeks ago, your babies’ arms were tiny buds. Now the elbows are actually present and the arms and legs extend forward and have grown longer. Fingers and toes are becoming visible also.

04.07.09 7w5d belly pic

How far along? 7 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: up a pound and a half – woo hoo!
Maternity clothes? i am in loooove with destination maternity! it’s a combination of motherhood / mimi / a pea in the pod, and they’ve got all sorts of cool stuff.
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep: it’s getting rough because i’m hot all the time – the temp in the house this morning was 68 degrees and i was throwing the comforter off of the bed at 3am.
Best moment this week: having someone ask me if i was pregnant…. i guess i really look like it now.
Movement: no movement yet.
Food cravings: not much this week, still having yuck-stomach.
Gender: won’t know for a while, but i’m predicting two boys.
What I miss: cokes – i’m subbing with sweet tea.
What I am looking forward to: 10 weeks, so i can order my doppler. =)
Weekly Wisdom: “if the babies want it, the babies can have it.”
Milestones: i haven’t woken up in the middle of the night to pee in over a week.

04.07.09 7w5d ultrasound

because of the holiday weekend, and some cramping i had yesterday, i went in early this week for my ultrasound. the pics aren’t that great because i snapped them with my phone…. i keep forgetting to bring the disc in to the dr’s office every week. =(

they’re a little more distinguishable now, and they’re starting to look halfway human! baby A is lower down in my uterus, so he/she always gets the clearer shots:

and baby B sits up in the top of my uterus, and since he/she is farther from the ultrasound probe (ugh… the word probe makes me cringe), we can’t get a really clear pic of it, but it’s clear enough to still see the heartbeat:

04.03.09 7w1d ultrasound

another shot of the twinkines – baby A was facing to the front, and baby B to the side (that’s why they look so different).

we got a good side view of baby A – you can see the head tucked in at the top, and the end of the “tail” is at the bottom. baby A’s heart rate is 136:



baby B was tucked around to the side, so we couldn’t get a really clear view, but was able to at least get the heart rate, which is 145:

04.02.09 7 weeks: blueberries!

3
Baby’s brain — both hemispheres! — is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby’s third!) is now in place.

03.31.09 6 week belly pic

i know this is late, but morning sickness hit me hard on sunday night, so this is the first chance i’ve gotten to post.









How far along? 6 weeks, 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: still down 2 pounds
Maternity clothes? i bought some cute scrub tops that have black stretchy sides (i’m modeling one above) – no one carries maternity scrubs, and they are ugly anyways, so i’m substituting.
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep: i actually slept for thirteen hours last friday night and it felt wonderful.
Best moment this week: seeing heartbeats.
Movement: cramping is less, no movement yet.
Food cravings: it’s mostly been food aversions this week. =(
Gender: won’t know for a while
What I miss: not having nausea
What I am looking forward to: next ultrasound on friday
Weekly Wisdom: “don’t raise your arms above your head! you’ll strangle the babies!” – coworker, when i reached for a chart that was filed on the top shelf
Milestones: the sea bands are leaving permanent dents in my wrists… does that count?

03.27.09 houston, we have heartbeats!

baby a: heart rate 114



baby b: heart rate 107

and the “dynamic duo”, as jeff calls them:

dr. d, my fertility specialist, wants to continue seeing me for weekly ultrasounds until i reach 10 weeks, when i’ll be released to my ob, dr. e. i’ll see dr. e for my initial visit, then be referred to maternal-fetal medicine at the hospital at around 15-16 weeks, but will continue seeing dr. e at the same time.

stay tuned for the next “belly pic monday” and “ultrasound friday.” =)

03.26.09 sweet peas!

Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week’s end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.