Seth's Big Boy Room

This last weekend, my dad, Ron, and step-mom, Bambi, came to visit and to really help us get Seth's "Big Boy" room ready for him.  This room has been our guest room and catch-all room since we moved in, so we had some work to do.  Thanks Dad and Bambi!  You guys rock!

Here are a few "before" pics.  What you don't see is the wall and closet full of comic book boxes that Scott had already moved out to the garage (his idea, not mine) by this point.  

And here are the "after shots."

The big "reveal."

Seth was thrilled with his new "Big Boy" bed with cars on it!  

We hadn't really planned for him to start sleeping in it yet.  We figured we'd just start with a few naps, but from that first night he begged us to sleep in his "Big Boy" bed.  He's spent the last three nights in there and so far so good.

Here are some pics of Daddy reading with Seth before bed.  Pretty cute!

Potty Training in 3 Days or Less

Seth is going to go through a lot of transitions this summer (moving to a different room, starting preschool, BECOMING A BIG BROTHER TO TWO) so we decided we'd better get started with potty training as soon as I was done with school.  A few months ago, I happened upon an article on BabyCenter.com (http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-in-three-days-or-less_10310078.bc) about potty training in one weekend.  It sounded way too easy and too good to be true, but I decided we'd better start somewhere. 

The basic premise is this: NO MORE DIAPERS!  For the weekend in question, you completely clear your calendar and keep your couches and chairs covered.  Then, you strip your child down completely naked, offer juice and popsicles constantly, and keep a potty chair nearby.  When your child goes, you make a big deal (and a big fool of yourself) by dancing and cheering.  We picked the "Chicken Dance" for our celebrations, but you can do whatever you want.  There are no other bribes, no candy, no stickers, no nothing.  

We were skeptical at first, but within a half-hour Seth came to me and informed me that "no pooping on the floor mommy."  "That's right buddy, let's go sit on the potty."  Within a few hours, he had it down!  We had no accidents at all that first day! 

It's now been over three weeks.  The article recommends leaving him naked whenever you're at home, but he seems to be fine with loose shorts (no diapers, no pull-ups, no undies). We have had a few accidents where Seth will get busy doing something  and then inform me "I peed on the floor mommy!"  I gently remind him that pee-pee goes in the toilet and we clean it up together.  We have had no Number 2 accidents, at all (knock-on-wood).  I know that there will be some regression when the twins come, but for now, we are thrilled!  

27 Weeks and 4 Days

Here's the latest belly picture from last week.  Things are going pretty well, I have developed a few complications, but no bed rest yet, so I am happy to be up and moving as much as I can: 

-I am officially bigger around than I was at the end with Seth.  For awhile there I had convinced myself that maybe I wouldn't get any new stretch marks... but, I guess twice as many babies means twice as many stretch marks for me! Blurg.

-I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, but the Dr. checked me last week and said that I have no other signs of pre-term labor.  My cervix is still the best on the block, thank you very much!  She did say that because I am contracting, I have now relegated myself to weekly check-ups.  Blurg.  At least we'll keep a close eye on those little guys.

-Also, it was bound to happen, but I now officially have Gestational Diabetes.   I had G.D. with Seth, so I already had a very high chance of getting it.  Then there's the fact that I have a family history of Diabetes, plus apparently your chances of getting it with twins is something like twice as high, so it was destined to happen. But a girl can dream, right!?  I just barely flunked the 1 hour glucose test, so I was ever hopeful to pass the 3 hour test, but to no avail.  I now have to check my blood sugar levels 4 times a day with a finger prick and a glucometer. 

I was able to control my Diabetes with my diet with Seth, so hopefully it will be the same with this pregnancy.  I don't mind pricking my finger 4 times a day, but I don't really want to have to give myself insulin shots (Ami, you may not be afraid of needles, but I am).  Blurg.

All in all, things are still going very well and the Dr. has every hope for me to make it to at least 37 weeks.  She said that at that point, they will be looking for any reason to deliver these babies as I will be pretty miserable.  So, that leaves only 9 weeks to go!  

I can do this.  

No problem.  

Piece of cake.  

Oh... wait... no cake for me.  

Too much sugar.

Blurg.

25 Week Sonogram

These are the photos from our 25 week sono. on May 15th.  At that point they were 2.2 pounds each.  They were measuring a few weeks big (more like 27 or 28 weeks) which is great because we need them to be as big as possible in case they are premies.  This first pic is baby A's profile:

This was the best pic we could get of baby B that day as he was not cooperating!  Shades of years to come I'm sure.

Here are the tops of both of their heads.  At that time, they were both head down with their heads right above my left hip bone.  Baby A was across the bottom of my uterus and baby A was curled up and around with what the technician called a big old mess of arms and legs in the middle!

We have another sono this Friday for their 29 week appointment.  I promise not to wait so long to post the new photos.

23 Weeks and 3 Days

Only 17 more weeks to go!
Yikes!
They say when you're pregnant with twins, you run about 6 - 8 weeks ahead of singleton pregnancies. So, 23 weeks looks more like 30 weeks.
I would agree that it definitely feels like that!
I am doing well, just uncomfortable. My back and my ribcage is killing me right in the same spot all the time. Heat helps and I make Scott give me a back rub every chance I get. I avoid walking as much as possible and am looking forward to getting in the pool as soon as possible (have one I can use?). I have 14 school days left before the end of the year (but who's counting?) and hope to be able to finish. Did you know that you can teach kindergarten sitting down?
Check out our name poll and let us know what you think.
No guarantees we'll stick to it though!

Very late, very cute Easter photos

Ok, so these babies aren't even born yet, and I'm already neglecting Seth! I totally forgot I took these adorable photos of Seth's Easter Egg hunt on Easter morning until I went to upload my latest "belly" shot. So, everyone pretend like it's still April and I'm a loving and doting mother of my 2 and a half year old... also, ignore the clutter in the background

and pretend like my house is spotless.

Isn't Seth cute and brilliant?!

A hug from Daddy to say "Job well done!"

Sonogram Photos and Results

I haven't had the chance to post any of our ultrasound pics, so I sat down over the weekend and scanned them all (so far) to put up.  We have a quick ultrasound every time we see any doctor, and from here on out, we'll go over to St. Joes for a more in depth, and much longer, ultrasound where they check all the plumbing and the growth every 4 weeks.

Here's our first one from our 9 week appt.  Congratulations!  It's two blobs!  (Me: You're kidding me!)

Here's from our 13 week appointment.  This is one of the babies straight on. 

(I know, I don't see it either).
The babies were laying with their heads next to each other 

and their bodies laying on either side.
Here are the latest pictures from April 16th, 20 weeks 5 days.  This was the first of the long ultrasounds that we will now have every 4 weeks.

Here's baby A's profile of his head (see his cute little nose) and part of his torso.

He's definitely a boy!  Those are his legs on either side and his 

"manhood" in the middle, right under the word BOY.

This is his brother, Baby B, from the side profile as well.  This one's from a little further out. You can see his head, body and part of his leg.

Definitely another boy! His "manhood" is just above and 

to the left of the word TWIN in the picture.

Both boys look GREAT!  They were already a pound each, Baby A was 15 ounces and Baby B was 16 ounces.  That's great news because the doctors would be worried if one was much bigger than the other.  That could be a sign on Twin-to-Twin Transfusion, where one baby is getting more blood and nutrients than the other.  The technician agrees with the doctor that they might be identical, but she couldn't tell whether the placenta was one long one with two umbilical cords or if they each had their own that met in the middle.  I guess we won't know for sure until they're born and they can study everything.

Also, all of their organs look good; hearts, livers, kidneys, bladders, upper lips, etc.

Another part of the exam was to check my cervix which apparently the shortening thereof can be a major problem and cause premature labor in multiple pregnancies.  I'd like to report that mine apparently was "the best of the day."  Way to go me!  No worries of premature labor yet!

When we left, Scott said to the technician 

"Ok, so I'm just throwing this out there, but it sounds like things are going pretty much as well as they can, right?"  

To which the technician said,

"The only thing that could make this better is... (I held my breath) 

if one was a girl!"

We'll take that for our only complication!  Let's hope that's the worst problem we have!

Big Brother Update

When people ask him "What's in mommy's tummy?" Seth holds up four fingers and says "TWO babies!"  Also, when asked "Who's going to be a big brother?" he emphatically claims "SETH!" I'm sure he doesn't really understand yet, but I think he's starting to get the idea. 

Last weekend, he wanted me to get down on the floor to play "tracks" with him. When I explained it was too hard for mommy to get up and down off the floor right now, he did the next best thing and brought the tracks to me!  Always resourceful!

Half-way there!

Friday marked the half-way point, 20 weeks.  About half of all twin sets are born early, but the longer they "cook" the better, so we are aiming to be part of the other half, so, 20 weeks to go...

Part of me thinks "Wow, we're already half-way there!" then, I look at my huge belly and feel my back pain and think "Wow, we're only half-way there!"

Here's a photo of 19 weeks 5 days, I swear I've grown 2 inches in the last few days since this photo was taken:

In other news, I can really feel the babies moving now.  I've been able to feel flutters for the past several weeks, but now they're really kicking and I can definitely tell them apart.  Baby A is very low, so I can feel him several inches below my belly button and Baby B is on top, so he's just below my ribcage and very busy.  Scott actually felt Baby B kicking yesterday during the loud music at church, so they are obviously a lot stronger now.  It's been fun getting to know them individually.

Identical vs. Fraternal?

A lot of people have asked how we know that our twin boys are identical.  The short answer is that we don't know for sure, and probably won't until they're born.  But, that being said, the Dr. is pretty convinced that they're identical.  Here's the long answer:

The "amniotic sac" that everyone refers to is actually made up of two layers.  There is an outer layer called the Chorion and an inner layer called the Amnio layer.

Most twins, be they identical or fraternal, will have their own Amnio layer or membrane.

Fraternal twins will have their own outer, Chorion layer as well because they developed from two separate eggs.

Identical twins could be in their own Chorion layers too, if the egg split very early on.

But, most often, identicals split a little later and share that Chorion layer while they still develop their own inner Amnio layer.  Our Dr. explained it as they are sharing an apartment, but still have their own bedrooms.

Occasionally, identical twins who split much later, end up sharing both the Chorion AND the Amnio layer.  This isn't ideal and can lead to complications such as conjoined twins.  

So, our Dr. thinks the boys are identical because the membranes separating them are so thin that she struggles to see it on the ultrasound.  This means that they have their own Amnio layer, but probably share a Chorion layer.  If they each had both, the membrane would be thicker and easier to see on the monitor. So, for all you med. students out there, our twins are probably Diamnionic Monochorionic (two Amnios, one Chorion).  

Hope this clears up confusion and doesn't add to it!!