So Exciting & 27 week U/S stats

I'm excited to finally share my news that I posted almost two weeks ago! My parents are moving back to Charlotte! My Dad just accepted his new job and put in his notice at the old one. Technically, my dad will be moving and working right outside of Philadelphia. He and my mom are going to buy a house in Charlotte and she'll live their full time. He'll fly out to Philly on Monday mornings and fly back to Charlotte Thursday evenings or my mom will fly up to stay with him. I am so excited for this awesome opportunity for him :) I'm also excited because Philly has some of the best children's museums in the country and it'll be fun to bring our little family up to visit :) The Atlanta house will be going up for sale soon and we've already been emailing links for Charlotte houses.

In other news, I finally had my ultrasound yesterday and learned why I haven't been feeling Holden kicks on my right side. Seems like this little fella is nestled quite comfortably across my upper stomach. His feet and Emma Cate's feet are in the same spot. So I've been feeling him kick this whole time. He is also quite the mover and I can see him wiggle across the top of my stomach especially after I've been drinking orange juice.

via

This is one of the only pictures I could really find explaining that shows somewhat what the twins look positions look like. Holden is a little higher up, basically sitting right under my breasts (oh that's why its hard to breathe!). 

The babies are measuring really well! At my last ultrasound they were a few days behind schedule but now they are measuring right on and a few days ahead!

Here are the 27 week stats:

Emma Cate is weighing in at 2lbs 4oz. She is measuring at 27 weeks and 1 day. She's calm and peaceful with a heart rate of 137.

Holden is weighing in at 2lbs 5 oz. He is measuring at 27 weeks 3 days. He was a busy little boy and had his heart rate up to 144.

Both my blood pressure and weight gain were perfect (thank God!) and my cervix was holding strong at 4.67 cm. Average for a singleton baby is between 4cm and 5cm. Anything below 2.5cm puts you at risk for preterm birth (and bed rest).

The doctor I saw yesterday was very confident that I would make it to 38 weeks and they would schedule at C-Section at my 38 week due date, July 4th. He also told me that I could schedule it for the 5th or 6th if I didn't want them to be born on July 4th. 37 weeks is the average delivery time for twins so hopefully I'll go into labor on my own but if not we know they'll be born by July 6th :)

If the babies' stay in the same position they are in now, I will definitely have to have a C-section. Emma Cate has been in the same place every ultrasound and Holden has moved from breech (feet down laying beside her) to this lovely transverse position. My doctor said he wants both babies head down in order to even try for vaginal birth. I'm not thinking that we are going to have the option.

The ultrasound tech tried to get us pictures of the babies but it was hard. Their isn't a lot of room and she couldn't get body shots, only ones of their face. This was NOT my favorite ultrasound tech so hopefully the next time we'll be able to get some 4D pictures before they are too squished!

I also thought I spotted my first stretch mark but instead it's a lovely spider vein about the size of a pencil eraser. It popped up near my right hip of all places. I don't know which one is worse!   Besides that, my lower stomach is stretching out pretty good but no marks yet. My belly button ring scar is super tight and looks strange. I still have a pretty deep belly button and I'm wondering if it will every turn outie!

Week 27

As I've learned last night, I've almost made it to a huge milestone. Evidently with twins making to to 28 weeks is a great step. The next big one is 32 and then 36 is basically home plate.  

Jay and I enjoyed our first baby class last night. The class was supposed to be about multiples but it seemed more like it was general baby knowledge with "but you'll need to do this with twins instead" thrown in along the way. Jay and I watched our first birthing video and OMG I know its natural but a C-section is looking pretty good to me right now... Jay was so cute and had me write down questions to ask the doctor as the class progressed. The class covered a lot about preterm labor and I feel better about knowing the signs now. The lady that taught the class was a triage nurse at my OB's office and encouraged us to call the OB nurse line at anytime if we had questions. We also talked a lot about breastfeeding and I'm still committed but overwhelmed trying to make it work with two. Evidently boys like to eat around every 2 hours and girls every 3-4 hours. I think my whole day is going to be spent feeding these little ones. We have another breastfeeding class tonight taught by a lactation consultant who specializes in twins. It will be interesting to compare the two. 

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Size of babies: A head of cauliflower. The babies are 13.6-14.8 inches long and weigh between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds (still in the same ranges as last week). 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to my scale, 18 pounds so far. I've averaging about three pounds a week for the past month and and am feeling huge! Everyone is noticing how big my belly has gotten and and I don't know how I feel about it. Before I had only gained inches in my belly but now I feel like I've gained a bit in my thighs too. My arms are quite puffy and cardigans are my best friends. Time to start really watching what I'm eating and getting that exercise in! My gluclose test is in a week and I waiver between stuffing my face with sugary things because I think it will be my last week or eating really healthy to get a jump on helping lower my blood sugar levels. My doctor thinks that I will probably fail my gluclose test because of my PCOS, levels at the beginning of pregnancy, and that I'm carrying multiples.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.Although I saved some money by wearing a pre-pregnancy dress to my baby shower. It kept riding up in the front and was a bit awkward. School is cracking down on too short dresses so I'm playing it safe in maxi-everything 

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: Earlier in the week movement had slowed a lot. It picked up yesterday and today. I woke up to full flips last night. I can see them moving around a lot from the outside. Most of the kicks are happening on the upper left half of my belly. Occasionally I'll get some fighting moves where I feel one baby kick or punch and then the other baby gives it right back. Cannot wait for my ultrasound tomorrow to see what the little boogers are doing in there!

Sleep: And I thought last week was tough... my back hurts so badly that I cannot get comfortable to sleep by the end of the night. I am back sleeping a ton because I just can't get comfortable on my side. I woke up at 2am last night burning up and wide awake. After tossing and turning for an hour I fell back asleep hard until 6:45. I'm going to start trying Tylenol PM at night to help me make it through the night. 

What I miss: sleeping soundly, being comfortable in my bed, being free of back pain

Cravings: Last night I wanted a McDonald's cheeseburger. I got one. It was gross and my stomach was upset all night. I've been eating candy like a fiend. Time to grocery shop so I have healthy foods to crave!

Symptoms: Major back pain. I cannot find a comfortable position at all. I haven't watched any tv lately because I can't get comfortable on the couch. I've also had a return of trucker like belches. Yuck. At our pregnancy class, we learned about braxton hicks and were told that everyone will have them at some point and that we should feel our uterus harden like a ball. I've been getting cramps that feel more like period cramps and haven't felt any hardening sensations.    

Best Moment this week: Seeing all of my best girlfriends (minus Nikki and MC) and my family at our fabulous baby shower! Pictures to come when Mom visits this weekend!

26 weeks 1 day

26 weeks 6 days

Your baby's the size of a cauliflower!

At 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, she's not just getting bigger, she's getting smarter.

Week 26

First of all, sorry for the no news update. I'm not allowed to share yet but will as soon as I can! We've had a fun-filled family week this week. Last Wednesday was my last day of work and my mom popped in from Atlanta to do a little baby shopping, furniture delivery, and apartment hunting. We visited buy buy baby for a marathon trip to do some returning and confirming. We figured out how our carseats really fit into our strollers and I feel much more comfortable with the adapters now that I know how to use them correctly!

Thursday brought a fabulous lunch at Terrace Cafe. Their adult grilled cheese is absolutely delicious! Shortly after lunch I started working on painting the armour my mom brought for the babies' room. I got the piece sanded and started painting the first coat only to have my mom take over (she is much better at these things) followed by a take over by Jay. Everyone wants to help the baby stuff :) On Thursday night we did a little apartment hunting for my sister and applied for the place she wanted to live. Unfortunately, there were several applicants and we weren't sure she was going to get it. Mom laid the on the pressure to the guy that owned the place and during dinner that night Bo got an email letting her know the apartment was hers! Great news! She's going to be living over near East Blvd starting in May and I'm so excited for her.

Mom and Bo left early Friday and Jay and I worked around the house and he put in some major time in the babies' room. Crazy but we can't remember for the life of us what we ended up doing Friday!

Saturday was spent doing a little shopping for some maternity clothes, getting my nails done and getting ready for a wedding we were attending that evening. My acid reflux had gotten so bad that on Saturday while out running errands I actually threw up all over myself while driving. It came out of nowhere and I had to drive home in just my cami because it was so terrible! Now that I moved out of morning sickness, I've got this!

We spent Saturday night at the beautiful wedding of my friend Lauren. She was married at the Morehead Inn and the entire wedding and reception was lovely. The weather was perfect and the outdoor ceremony was beautiful in the back garden. I really enjoyed listening to the minister and it always reminds me of our wedding and our commitment to one another.

We had a quiet little Easter, just the two of us. Our church service was great and all the pews were full. We've missed everyone from church so much! It was crazy showing up with my huge belly! Our sweet pastors all stopped by our pew to give us hugs and let us know we've been missed. It is so nice to be a part of a church that really gets to know its members. Following church we enjoyed a fabulous brunch at Mimosa Grill. We ate until we were stuffed. My favorite were the biscuits and gravy. Their sausage gravy was amazing. Sunday night included a short amount of family time. We drove to Greenville, SC to meet my mom and sister. My sister had left her car in Charlotte when she went to Atlanta with my mom so we picked her up, ate a quick meal and drove back to Charlotte.

I had an ultrasound scheduled for 8am Monday morning at my OB's Huntersville location (the other end of the world). At 7:51 they called to let me know the ultrasound tech called in sick and they needed to cancel. I also had an appointment with a doctor there (not my normal one) but it wasn't until 9:20. Jay's mom had woken up early Monday morning to drive into Charlotte for the ultrasound. To say we were all disappointed is an understatement. We met for a quick breakfast and then Jay headed back to work and his mom went back to our house to wait for me to get home. It was 10:00am before the doctor even called me back. I was pretty furious. The doctor was very kind but I wasn't able to ask a lot of my questions (mostly dealing with the babies' size, weight, delivery estimate, etc) due to the ultrasound not happening. I did get a prescription for my acid reflux and some recommendations for a pediatrician, which Jay and I have to start meeting with/interviewing this week! My MIL and I finished up the day by running a ton of errands to prepare for our beach trip! She was such a good sport hitting up all the stores with me. We left for the beach early Tuesday morning and it was the smoothest trip leaving ever (these are normally very stressful around our house) because everything was prepped and ready to go!

We're now enjoying our time at the beach :)




Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Size of babies: Eggplants. The babies are 13.6-14.8 inches long and weigh between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds (still in the same ranges as last week). 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to my scale, 15 pounds so far. I asked the doctor why I had all of a sudden put on a ton of weight (like 9 lbs in 3 weeks!) and she told me it was all baby and they had just had a huge growth spurt, which I could have figured seeing as to how large my belly got recently. Luckily, no stretch marks yet, but my cave of a belly button is starting to get smaller.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: They love food and I use orange juice to make them move around when I want to feel them :) I've started to feel more movement on Holden's side. The movements have gone from kicks to more rolls and flips that feel like waves. You can find me staring down at my tummy a LOT.

Sleep: Its getting tough! Luckily my new acid reflux medicine is helping a lot! I was sleeping propped up by pillows all last week. My stomach is getting big and when I sleep on my side it feels really heavy so I have to put a pillow underneath. Absolutely no more belly sleeping for me!

What I miss: sleeping on my tummy

Cravings: Sweets. My glucose test is coming up in two weeks and my doctor thinks I'm going to fail based on my PCOS so I'm enjoying them while I can. Brownies and cake have been favorites along with peanut butter anything!

Symptoms: Not a lot now that acid reflux and heartburn are gone. When I get up after sitting my uterus (I'm guessing) feels really really heavy like I need to hold it up! Pregnancy brain. I accidentally scheduled all of our bills to be paid on the wrong day. Yikes. 

Best Moment this week: Easter with my husband!

delicious breakfast in bed from my sweet husband

boomers favorite spot to lay

painting and sanding

belly explosion

practicing with the stroller

pretending to talk to the babies

here we come!

Easter brunch

my handsome hubby

yum

Easter 2012

25 weeks 4 days

relaxing at Seabrook

my view. my lower thighs got sunburned yesterday but the upper part that my belly is covering is completely white...

how we spend a lot of our time. feeling for baby kicks!

Week 25

Time really is flying by! The bump.com tells me I only have 105 days left which means I have less than that due to delivering twins. I've definitely grown this week and the numbers on the scale aren't lying! I tried prenatal yoga with a friend on Monday and it was tough. I was sore afterwards. It was weird to use my muscles since I've been pretty sedentary this entire pregnancy. 

This week's highlight was definitely my baby shower. So adorable and so much fun. So thankful for my friends. After the shower we came home and set up the stroller and put the infant seats in. Unfortunately, they don't click in as well as I expected. I'm torn between the chicco seats and the maxi cosi. We've learned the things we really need to "test" car seats for now (do they fit in the backseat of Jay's car, how easy do they snap in the stroller, how easy do they snap in the base, how hard is it to install the seat in the car without the base, etc.). We were also gifted a beautiful swing that once we put together we realized only ran on batteries. I'm thinking we'll go broke replacing D batteries so the swing is going back to the store and we'll shop for a new one. What I'm learning about baby products is that you really have to use them to figure out what you'll need and the ease of the product. I've been a review and consumer reports JUNKIE but have little hands on experience with the actual products. Our plan is to spend a lot of time at buy buy baby this evening trying out items we registered for to make sure they are what we want! 

I've been noticeably more tired this week. I'm not sleeping well due to my new hugo stomach and major acid reflux/heartburn. I'll see the doctor in just under a week and I'm planning on asking him to prescribe something because the over-the-counter meds aren't doing a thing.

This weekend Jay worked on the twins nursery. We headed to Lowe's to find a better paint color for the bottom half of the walls. I was thinking more white-ish cream but Jay definitely wanted white. Unfortunately that means he'll have to paint all of the trim in the room including the closet doors (there are 4 and they all have slats). The babes' closets are getting full and I need to start taking things down and washing them soon. Any suggestions on baby detergent? Do I really need to shell out the money for dreft or can I use tide free and gentle?

Jay also got a lot of yard work done and I think the neighbors are so happy we finally got a lawn service to kill all of our weeds! On Saturday, we had an additional cable outlet installed in our basement office for guests and got a new  wireless cable box which meant we could finally move the TV in our bedroom to the hutch it belongs in. My dad helped me move it around while Jay was doing yard work. I went to dust before installing it and, this is so embarrassing y'all, but I found a 3 inch thick layer of dust on top of the hutch. I don't think it has been cleaned since we moved in 3 years ago! I went into mad cleaning mode and dusted EVERY surface of our bedroom. Maybe the nesting is kicking in a bit?

Other weekend highlights including spending time with my family. I'm lucky because all of these showers means that I get to see my mom a lot. My dad decided to join her this weekend and I enjoyed entertaining everyone! We had a delicious meal out at Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed Ben & Jerry's afterwards followed by a trip to the bowling alley. My sister is taking bowling in college and my dad was a pretty decent bowler back in the day. My mom and I enjoyed watching him give her lessons. 

Jay and I also cemented out Easter plans this week. For the first time, we're spending the holidays by ourselves. Kind of crazy but we're both looking forward to just being with each other. We're planning to go to church (also sad to admit we haven't been since I've been pregnant) and then to one of our favorite restaurants, Mimosa Grill, for lunch.   

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of babies: Eggplants. The babies are 13.6-14.8 inches long (big growth spurt this week! No wonder I feel huge) and weigh between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Lets hope they are around the 2.5 mark. Praying for big babies!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to my scale, 12 pounds so far. 

Maternity Clothes: Yes. Loved the dress I wore to the shower. I'm thinking you'll be seeing it at a wedding I'm attending Saturday night and at church on Easter. 

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: Kicks have slowed down. I read today that the babies can move to face inwards or face out and if they are facing in I won't be able to feel much. I would guess that Emma Cate is facing out and Holden is facing in most of the time. Excited to see them at my ultrasound on Tuesday! Last night Jay and I were able to see them move. It looked like (very tiny) ocean waves were rolling through the top part of my belly. I think I could stare at them for hours!

Sleep: Going to bed around 10:30. Waking up around 5:30 to use the restroom. I wish I could make it just one more hour! I sleep really well between 5:30 and 6:30 and have a hard time getting out of my bed!

What I miss: my normal sized chest (same from last week)

Cravings: mac and cheese. Anything to settle my heartburn! Jay did my first craving run last night to HT to pick up Velveeta shells and cheese. He was all too happy to drive his Jeep to the store.

Symptoms: The heartburn/acid reflux is terrible. I'm burping like a trucker. I had a hard time at yoga doing any of the inverted poses! Must remember to take meds prior to yoga-ing next time. Starting to have a little back pain because of my ever growing belly. Time to get out the Mom-EZ supporter now that my incision site has healed almost completely.

Best Moment this week: Baby shower and family time

Now that we've set a new mirror up in our bedroom and I brought out my camera, I'm going to try to better at taking belly shots. I wish I would have done this earlier but you've got to start somewhere! Here are the shots from this week. It amazes me how I look like I'm carrying really low sometimes and then really high the next day. These babies can't decide where they want to live!
{Warning- Bare belly shot below}

25 weeks- looking large and in charge in this dress! 

25 weeks

24 weeks 6 days

24 weeks 6 days

24 weeks 6 days

24 weeks 5 days

24 weeks 5 days

24 weeks 5 days

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

During month six, the average fetus measures about 13.6 inches to 14.8 inches and weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.

Gender Reveal Party

Can you tell I got all of the pictures off of my mom's camera this weekend? We had our gender reveal party on February 4, 2012. Jay and I had found out the genders about a week before and had a hard time keeping them a secret! I only slipped up once and that was to my sister the day before the party when she was helping me fold napkins. I was telling us that both the ultrasound techs had been correct but they were switched (we had two different ultrasounds to be completely sure) I tried to play it off but we looked at each other and I burst out laughing and said "I just told you what the genders are didn't I." She said yes that she had figured it out but wasn't going to say anything to me unless I realized it. She was good and kept our secret. I felt so silly for telling her but it was so fun talk about boy and girl things with her!

I had a really hard time finding things for the reveal so I made a lot of stuff as we went along! Jay was a great helper and together along with my family made all of my crazy plans come together and had an awesome party :)

The Invitations

The Decor

Everyone wrote down name suggestions for the babies. Jay and I cracked up laughing as we read some of the names after everyone had left. Highly suggest this activity, especially if you have funny friends!

I got the baby blankets at walmart. They came in a pack of three of each color and were great decorating tools. The wooden letters came from Michael's. The baby safety pins said "It's a girl" and "It's a boy". They came from either Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

Front door fabric wreath my mom made

Flag banner also made my mom

My mom found these cute "sprinkle" decorations of pacifiers and clothes pins at Hobby Lobby. We sprinkled them on our living room coffee table.

These coasters also provided lots of entertainment. They had funny trivia questions about babies (how many diapers they go through, how much they cost, etc.) My mom picked these up but I'm not sure where!

This little banner was made from onesies that I found on sale at Target. The middle ones say 100% boy and 100% girl. Luckily we're having one of each and will actually be able to use them! I strung them up with twine and clothes pins. The little booties I found at Dollar Tree and the bows in the middle and corner where from my wedding "bow-quet" of all the gifts I opened at my bridal showers.

Balloon streams. So easy and inexpensive adorned the kitchen windows.

All of our ultrasound pictures formed a banner strung across the fireplace. 

our gender poll sign. Unfortunately no one voted on this!

Gender stickers from Allison Kizer Designs on Etsy. She designed all of the paper goods for the party and did two of my other showers as well. She's great to work with! 

We laid the stickers out on the buffet in the dining room. I filled mason jars with candy for snacks. The baby bottles were in blue and green and pink and green. The white frames had ultrasound pictures from our 3d/4d ultrasound. The hurricane glasses with candles in the middle are always on my buffet and I change them out for the season. For valentine's day/gender reveal, they were filled with conversation hearts. 

The Food

I used more of the baby blankets from Walmart to help decorate the food table. The utensils were rolled in pink and blue napkins and secured with piece of lace. I bought pots for plants at hobby lobby and used them to hold the utensils. 

the spread

we had cucumber sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches, caramelized onion tart, veggies and hummus, a fruit tray, crab dip, spinach dip, pear with prosciutto and goat cheese, sausage balls, and orzo pasta salad 

I made and hung the pom pom balls a la Martha Stewart. They were really close to the lights and I thought they would burn but everything turned out fine! 

My handy food-carving husband made these babies out of fruit! We used toothpicks to keep the eyes (blue berries) in place

the cakes were from blushing bake shop. I love their cupcakes and cake. The frosting is just okay. I brought them an invitation and thought they did an amazing job creating the cake from the invite!

The drink station

water bottle labels via Allison Kizer Designs

We had "plain" and "peanut" M&Ms 

Making the baby boy punch

my mom looks so excited in this one

The baby girl punch had to be frozen and then dumped in the punch bowl to make it slushy. By the look on my sister's face, the punch was a little too frozen...

Bo, Anni, Allie

Please excuse my mess of hair and no make up! I had been cooking and hadn't gotten ready for the party yet!

we added pineapple sherbet to the boy punch and it was frothy and delicious

still working on that frozen punch

finally all set up!

The Votes

Two Boys

Two Girls

One of Each

Getting ready to cut the cake

Gran on the left and GiGi on the right cutting the cake to reveal the genders

GiGi got blue icing!

Gran got white (it was supposed to be pink! good thing we knew ahead of time!)