24-weeks Exam

2/6/13: I was nervous about switching doctors since I'm used to how my old doctor handled things. Well, I had my new patient appointment with my new doctor this morning, and I'm very happy with her so far! I was mad at first, though, because I assumed I'd be getting a sono since I'm due for one (monthly). The nurse told me it'd be a "normal" appointment with no sono but I asked, "Even though I'm having twins?" and she was like, "Oh, let me tell the doctor." So I sat there waiting for a good 30 minutes, and I'll admit: I pouted the whole time. I know I should count myself lucky that I get to see my babies at every appointment unlike singleton mamas. I was still bummed, though! Anyway, the doc came in and told me that she wants me to see a perinatologist, who will do my sonograms from here on out. That made me feel so much better. My doctor measured me (first time!), and I'm measuring at about 27 weeks, which she said is normal for twin pregnancy. I asked her about my weight gain since the Internet told me I was overdoing it, and she said I'm doing fine and should gain more with twins. She measured the girls' heart rates, and Twin B clearly did not like it one bit. She kept moving away from the doppler wand, hehe! Such a little firecracker already!!! But both have healthy heartbeats and I can't wait to see them tomorrow! I'm very curious to see whether they've flipped over or otherwise changed positions.

2/7/13: My favorite time of the month: when I get to see my girls. :) I went to a perinatologist at Presbyterian Hospital in Plano for my sonogram, and the sonographer was very business-like. It was so fun to see them again. A month is a long time to go without seeing my babies, although I do understand that singleton mamas don't get a sonogram every month. Everything looked great, and Twin B has finally gotten a little bigger than Twin A at 1lb 12oz. Twin A weighs 1lb 10oz. No wonder I feel so heavy sometimes, especially when I'm tired! Twin A's heart rate was 153 bpm, and Twin B's was 150 bpm. I just adore hearing their little hearts beating!!! Both girls are already bonding--they were head-to-head when the sonographer started the exam. They are both breech right now (they were both vertex at last month's exam), which explains the flutters I feel below sometimes. It tickles sometimes! And the jabs I've felt near my belly button have been the girls' arms and hands. It's just so awesome and scary to think they'll be here in just about three more months! I have sooo much more to do to prepare the house and their nursery for their arrival. The cats have settled in the new house pretty much already, and once I get more stuff unpacked and put away, they'll likely feel 100% at home. I know I will! But I love our house and can't wait to make it a home.

Twin A isn't camera shy. :)

Twin B already seems like a feisty one! :)

24th week

It's crazy how much different two weeks make, especially in terms of belly size and frequency/intensity of the pains and aches that accompany pregnancy. I feel like it was just overnight that my belly just popped and made itself undeniably known. That's the first kind of comment my colleagues have been saying lately. My administrators said last week, "You went from 'not pregnant' to 'pregnant' overnight!" when they saw me for a meeting. I suppose my maternity clothes help accentuate my growing bump, as well. BTW, maternity jeans are heaven!!!!! I have to find a way to wear them when I'm not pregnant anymore! So so so so comfy! :) By the end of the day, I feel full. There's really no other way to describe it...I mean, I don't feel like I just ate two Thanksgiving dinners. I just feel like the room in my belly has shrunk so much that there just isn't any more give! I have feared for my twins running out of room before they're big enough to survive outside of the womb! I go to my new doctor on Wednesday, and I won't worry myself needlessly unless she says as much, especially about how much weight I've gained. According to my scale at home, I've gained 28 pounds, which is supposedly 4 pounds over where I "should" be. Again, I'm not going to stress about it unless my doc tells me to be more careful.

I haven't found a good schedule for working out (walking and swimming), but we just moved into our house two weekends ago, and I'm still recovering from the lack of sleep, extra stress, and extra toll it took physically on my body. I'm ecstatic to live in a house, for sure, but I'm hoping I can bounce back from the fatigue and overall lethargy I'm feeling. My commute to and from work isn't bad, but I do have to go to bed at least an hour earlier to compensate for an earlier wake-up time. Don't even get me started on the workout it is just to get out of bed for nightly bathroom trips!!! I have a feeling one of my girls' heads/feet are up in my ribs because by the end of the day, it's difficult to breathe due to the pressure there. I am hoping the doc suggests what I can do to alleviate some of that discomfort as the girls get bigger. Round ligament pain has become much more noticeable, as well, but I know if I exercise more regularly, that will help with it. I walked and swam all last weekend in the morning, and the school librarian has established a walking group that will meet after work. I am eager to join. I'm used to crossfit and weightlifting workouts where there's a sense of community, and I've been missing that quite a bit since I've stopped and stuck with less intense exercise. Not sure how my commute home will be on days I leave 30-40 minutes later, but I think the trade-off will be worth it.

Belly pics aren't going to look so great compared to my birthday pic, but here they are.

22 weeks 3 days

24 weeks 1 day

21 Weeks

21 weeks has been quite an interesting one! I finally felt one of the babies kick and move around! Earlier in the week, I woke myself snoring, and I felt a flutter in the area where Baby A's legs and feet are. It was amazing!!! I felt her kick quite a bit, and even Kason could feel it. :) After that, I felt her moving and kicking pretty regularly. It's usually after I drink something cold, am hungry, and wake up to pee. I complained a bit on the birth boards about not being able to feel my babies kick yet, but now I feel Baby A at least four or five times a day. I think I've felt Baby B a few times, but she's in an anterior placenta so it's more difficult to feel her. What a miracle, though! It blows my mind sometimes!

Yesterday, Kason and I became home owners for the first time. We get to move into our house next Saturday, and I can't wait to prepare the nursery and everything. Later we went to Melting Pot for fondue and then a show for a belated birthday celebration. I'm going to go swimming tomorrow and Monday, and it's going to feel great! I've had this nagging ache in my right hip for a while, especially in the morning. I'll have a longer commute, but it will be worth it living in a house!

Finally in my 20th week!

It feels great to be at the 20-week mark! I suppose I'm over halfway there since I'm having twins, but it's been fun to read about everyone else's relief and excitement about being halfway there on the birth boards. I go to the doc in an hour, and hopefully I will be updating with the sex of both babies. :) Here's a baby bump pic in the meantime. Pollux decided to photobomb this one.

UPDATE: Everything is normal, both babies are healthy and growing well, and we're having two GIRLS!!!! Seeing their little heinies in the air made me giggle so hard! I drank orange juice before my appointment because I'd read that it makes babies more active during a scan. Well, Baby A was pretty relaxed, but Baby B was wiggling all over the place. The tech had a bit of trouble getting her measurements, haha! Baby A's heart rate is 145, and Baby B's is 150. I'm so relieved they are doing fine, and they were both head-down. It was adorable to see them with their heads close together, even. We're not disclosing their names just yet, but I will announce sometime soon. I'm just so happy my girls are doing great! I might have to change doctors, though, since my current one delivers at only two hospitals--one of which is way too far away from our new house, and the other one does not accept our insurance. I'm sure I will find another awesome doctor. At any rate, if I don't switch before my next appointment in four weeks, I will go in and take my glucose screening test and have another ultrasound.

19th Week

We made it safely to and from Atlanta for the holidays! It was great fun visiting family and seeing little Alex and Parker again, but I was more than ready to be back in Texas in my own bed and with Castor and Pollux. The neighbor took really good care of them, and we paid him back with a big pack of Bud Light. :) Actually, I had a bad sinus infection for our entire trip until Kason took me to an urgent care in Atlanta. The doctor gave me a Z pack, and that fixed me right up. I hadn't slept for a week and a half. Getting up multiple times to pee is tolerable because you can do it half-asleep, but I would be wide awake blowing my nose and coughing at least every hour or so. It was awful!!! I'm sure the twins wondered if the earthquakes would ever end.


My mom was thrilled to see me and told me that I remind her of the Madonna--serene and calm as a pregnant lady. That made me smile because I do feel happy and calm about my pregnancy. It's been relatively easy considering all the potential side effects I haven't had to endure. Not to say that the heartburn and sheer exhaustion during the first trimester were fun, but I do count myself lucky to not have the problems I've read about on the baby birth boards. I suppose I'll have a glucose test at my next appointment, but I don't foresee a positive result. Kason has made my pregnancy a happy and enjoyable one, too, because he's always telling me how beautiful I am and is very attentive to what I need or want. It's extremely helpful to feel supported and loved with my body going through so many changes. I have about five to six more weeks of my second trimester to go, so I'm going to enjoy the extra energy and break from heartburn while they last. It's such an indescribable feeling to watch my growing belly and to feel the changes going on. Such a miracle! I'm beyond curious about what the twins will look like and who each one will favor. I'm pretty sure they'll both have brown hair and eyes, but I can't wait to see how their facial features and other characteristics turn out. Mom wants me to call her when I'm still in the ultrasound chair to tell her what I'm having when I go back on the 9th. I wanted to send her a box of balloons, but she insisted that I call her right away and that it was much too long to wait for a box to get to her. Haha! We're going to send a box to Kris, though, as I know she'll enjoy the surprise.

16 weeks! Can't wait for Thursday!!

Castor decided to photobomb this one!

I'm 16 weeks along today, and I am looking so forward to Thursday's doc appointment, it's hard to contain myself! I do have to prepare myself for the possibility that the kiddos won't cooperate during the u/s and will therefore hide their sexes from the tech, but I'm hoping so badly that they are relaxed and letting it all hang out (haha). I've started showing a lot more since last week, and colleagues and students always comment on my bump. It gets tiring sometimes to hear from students, "Miss, you're getting bigger!" or "Miss, are you going to be able to walk next month?" I just tell them, "Yep, that's what we want, right?" and "We'll see, won't we??" I guess they're showing me their enthusiasm and close attention to my growing bump, but seriously? Same questions and comments every week?? Get more creative, please! Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good most days, except my lower back gets sore sometimes, especially from having to sleep with a body pillow. I won't miss that at all once the twinnies are here!!! Will update after my appointment on Thursday, the 13th. Then we're going to see The Hobbit the next day (hoping it's not sold out as the theater we want to go to doesn't do online ticketing)! One more week of work and then it's winter break! Can't wait can't wait can't wait!!!!!!

Update: appointment went well, but the tech couldn't tell the sex of Baby B (she was completely sure about Baby A), so it's still a secret for now until I go back January 9. No Xmas reveal, but that's all right. It'll be more fun once we are 100% sure of both sexes. It was very neat to see each baby's different organs, skeleton, and brain. They seemed a bit tired today compared to last month's scan--neither was wiggling or flipping as much. However, when the tech was pushing harder to get good readings on Baby A, I felt Baby B move to my left side. Last month, both babies were hanging out in my right side. Baby A's heart rate is 155 and is 17 weeks 1 day along; Baby B's heart rate is 150 and is 16 weeks 4 days. The tech said everything looks fine and normal, and the doctor agreed. Baby A weighs about 7 oz. (!) and Baby B is about 4-5 (can't remember exactly what the tech said). That seems heavy to me, but they're healthy and that's what matters. I asked if it's OK to sleep on my back, and doc said it's fine as long as I lie on a pillow or something so I'm not completely flat on my back. Whew! I hate lying on my side, especially the left, right now--it isn't comfortable at all. Doesn't seem like the twinnies like being scanned because I felt mild cramping sensations after my appointment. I don't think I'd like to be poked, either! Well, one more week and a day left of working before the break. January 9 will be here before I know it. :)

Almost time again!

Second trimester is going pretty well! I don't feel like I'm going to die from starvation, I have a lot more energy, and I don't have as many food aversions. Had first In N Out since Kris and Tom were in town last July. The twinnies are going to really like In N Out and Mexican food--that's pretty much what I crave nowadays. I would eat El Fenix and Chipotle everyday if I could. I also always want raw veggies and fruit, so hopefully the kids will, too. I usually have waited to take a bump pic every other week, but Tuesday I looked like I'd popped. The ladies on my birth board are betting I'm having a girl, and I do hope I have a girl and a boy. My next doc appointment is next Thursday. I'm crossing my fingers that both babies cooperate so the tech can guess their sexes! If she can, then I'm going to reveal at Xmas with onesies for Mom and Kris. :)

Preggo belly ring! It glows in the dark. :)