31 Weeks

Here's the latest belly shot from 31 weeks. 

I went to Dr. Weisert yesterday and everything looks great!  My blood sugars are good, my cervix is "a rock," I'm finally drinking enough water (1.25 gallons a day) and I gained 2 pounds!  

I know, as someone who has always struggled with my weight, I would usually lament gaining weight, but this pregnancy has actually been really hard for me to put on the required weight.  All the books recommend gaining at least 35 pounds with twins (even for someone with my Body Mass Index).  I had gained about 15 pounds, but then lost 3 in the past month, which Dr. W wasn't so happy with.  So, we were both happy to see me up 2 pounds!  

So, I know lots of pregnant ladies take beautiful photos of their gorgeous stretch-mark free bellies to post, but unfortunately my tummy is not so flawless regardless of the amounts of Curel Pregancy lotion I slather on it.  

Last night, our friend Tony brought over a honey-dew melon and when I saw it I laughed out loud.  It reminds me of a certain belly I know (popped belly button and all)!

My Incredible Diaper Shower

This past Saturday, my great friends Lori, Georgia and Karen hosted a diaper shower for me.  The idea was to help us out with some diapers, but who can resist all the cute baby things out there?  Thank you so much to everyone who came. 

 

I got some beautiful and amazing gifts including our crib sets (thank you Pat and Dick), outfits (lots of matching things!), receiving blankets, burp cloths, bottle sterilizer, gift cards, and two beautiful hand-made (hand-tied, that is) blankets for the boys (thanks Peoria Martins), plus lots more.  

This is all in addition to 1,678 diapers!  We figure these should last us for at least a few weeks, right? ;)  

Thank you again to Lori, Georgia and Karen.  A special thanks to Georgia for opening up her home to all of us.  You guys rock!

Lori, Georgia and Karen (the hostesses)

My niece, Victoria, and me
We played some fun "twin" baby games.
The girls made a special reduced sugar brownie sundae dessert that I could eat!  They topped it off with Twix (get it? Twix? Two babies?).  They also gave out DoubleMint Gum as the party favor!  Too cute! Or should I say two cute?
Two Cute as a Bug outfits.  Who can resist?

Our crib sets!  Thanks again Pat and Dick!
The boys like the ice cream and brownies!

The preggos. Me, 30 weeks with twins, Heather, 31 weeks, and Georgia, 21 weeks.
Heather and I compare bumps while Georgia looks on.  She's probably thinking "I hope I don't get that big!!"
The bellies from above.

Then, after the shower, Georgia opened up her pool to anyone interested.  I was definitely interested!

Thanks again ladies!  It was a great day and we are much more prepared now!  Love spending time with my girlfriends!

Uncle Tim, Aunt Donna and "Auntie" Victoria Visit

My brother Tim, sister-in-law Donna and niece Victoria came down to visit from Phoenix last weekend for the shower.  Seth had a great time entertaining them and it was so great to see them!  The only thing that would've been better is if my niece Brittny could've come too.   We figure the next time we all get together, we might have two new family members!

Seth and "Auntie" (cousin) Victoria read some Five Little Monkeys

Everyone (including Grandma Bambi and Spiderman) participates in a rousing rendition of the Itsy Bitsy Spider!

Then Uncle Tim teaches Seth another childhood classic: YMCA!
Victoria feels the babies moving and grooving!

A Whole Lotta Baby in There!

Hi Everyone!
Here are the latest sonogram pictures from this last Friday. Both boys are doing great! They look very healthy. They also look very robust!

When we went in 4 weeks ago for our 25 week appointment, they told us both babies were 2 lbs. 2 oz. So, Scott and I were taking bets on if they would be at the 3 lb. mark this time. Me, the one carrying them, insisted that they would be, but I almost fell off the table when she reported that Baby A is 3 lbs. 8 oz. and Baby B is 3 lbs. 13 oz.!!!! For those doing the math, that's 7 lbs. 5 oz. of baby in there! That means that Baby A gained 1 lb. 6 oz. and Baby B gained 1 lb. 11 oz. in ONE MONTH! I still have 2 months to go! That means that each of these babies could easily reach the 6 lb. mark which would be awesome for them (not so great for me)!

I was concerned by the discrepancy in size, but the technician assures us that twins start to become more discrepent around week 30. Plus, as she put it, they are both gaining sufficient weight. I'd say so!

Baby A's Profile

Baby B's Profile

Baby A's Hand

Baby B's Feet

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.