Week 10

I can't believe we've made it to 10 weeks! Double Digits! This week has not been fun. I've been so sick with allergies, cold, sinus stuff. Being pregnant and sick is miserable. I had some issues with extra morning sickness and evening sickness and had to take double my meds. This past week was nothing crazy. My weekend was spent sleeping. I'm very much looking forward to relaxing over Christmas break and spending time with family!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

How Far Along: 10 weeks

Size of babies: Babies are the size of prunes (yuck again this week).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 1 pound from pre-pregnancy weight

Maternity Clothes: Not as of this morning. Although I feel like I majorly popped today! I'm even include a picture of my new belly!

Gender: Not sure! I was very confident in boy/girl but I've had a boy/boy feeling today... yikes!

Movement:  Nothing that I can feel!

Sleep: This weekend was miserable! I was in bed from Friday evening until Monday morning. My sleep was completely off. I've also been waking up super early and not able to fall back asleep. Today was the first day I made it until 6:30!

What I miss: Being able to take any type of cold medicine that I saw fit! 

Cravings: Bagels with butter

Symptoms: Nauseous. All. Of. The. Time.  This weekend my Zofran started wearing off in the evenings, leaving me to have night sickness every night. I've started taking a pill as soon as I wake up and then one again at 6:30. 

Best Moment this week: Getting out for Christmas break! So excited to be done with school, spending time with family, just relaxing and enjoying my time with Jay and my babes :)

Baby's now the size of a prune!With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.)

The BEST Day!

Today is one of the best days of my life. I had a dream that one of the twins had died and that I hadn't miscarried yet. Thankfully that was not the case this morning! After a restless night filled with worry and anxiety we went in for our ultrasound. Immediately upon arriving at the office I proceeded to get sick in their bathroom. This morning sickness is no joke!  Both of our babies are doing perfectly! They are measuring a little ahead of schedule with Baby A at 9 weeks and Baby B at 8 weeks 6 days. The doctor adjusted my due date and as of today I am 9 weeks along! He said that this ultrasound is much more accurate than the last one. Heartbeats were fast and strong, with A at 182 and B at 174. The doctor said the variance is completely fine and that we must remember they are two different babies and will grow the same way that two babies in separate wombs would grow. They are now both over an inch long with Baby A measuring at 2.36cm and Baby B measuring at 2.17cm. I am also so thankful that the doctor told me to stop taking my medications (yay for saving $14 a day on one medicine!) and also put me on Zofran, which I've heard is a miracle drug.

Today I actually feel like I am pregnant with twins. My excitement has overcome my worry. I am so happy about our future!  Upon leaving the clinic we were presented with a little parting gift. Our doctor and nurse gave us two "Made in Charlotte" onesies along with a sweet card, and discounts to several baby places. All of the staff members that we had worked with throughout the process came out of their offices to hug us and wish us well. We felt so loved. I feel like we finally made it! I actually started crying as we took the elevator downstairs. It was so bittersweet to leave this clinic that has taken us on an emotional roller coaster over the past year. I am so thankful to be on the other side, but scared to leave the support of my awesome nurses at REACH.

Here are a few pictures from our ultrasound.

Week 9

After my ultrasound this morning, my due date has been changed again! I am now due on July 18th and am currently 9 weeks along. Crazy how 4 days ago I was 8 weeks. The doctor told me that this ultrasound was a much more accurate measurement compared to the last one. I am just so thankful that the babies are healthy and growing. It is just SUCH a relief and a blessing. I am so happy to be a mommy! I've been in the BEST mood all day and cannot wait to start shopping for my little ones!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, December 13th, 2011

How Far Along: Baby A is measuring at 9 weeks and Baby B is measuring at 8 weeks 6 days so the doctor says I'm 9 weeks.

Size of babies: Babies are the size of green olives (yuck).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 1/2 pound from pre-pregnancy weight

Maternity Clothes: Nope, hoping to hold off because I'd rather spend money on their outfits than maternity clothes!

Gender: After today's ultrasound my guess is that Baby A is a girl and Baby B is a boy. I'm feeling more strongly about my guess for Baby B.

Movement:  None that I can feel but Baby B put on a show for us today. It was so adorable. Baby B was moving all over the place!

Sleep: Had a hard time sleeping last night due to worrying about our babes but I'm thinking I'll keep sleeping just as much as I have been now that I know they're okay.

What I miss: Again, foods that I used to enjoy!

Cravings: Definitely Rusty's Mixed Cheese Spuds with only american cheese (these have been a favorite since I was little) 

Symptoms: Nauseous. All. Of. The. Time. Excited to start my Zofran! My breast have also grown out of control. Where did these come from?!

Best Moment this week: Learning that our babies are doing so well! Feeling thankful, blessed, and excited to become a family of four! Also, the doctor encouraged ice cream eating to help me get my calcium. ha! :)

Baby's now the size of a green olive!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!

Pregnancy makes me tired!

Written on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011.

I'm a little over 8 weeks and completely not feeling like myself. I'm nauseous from the time I wake up until about 12:30. On Sunday's post, I thought that the morning sickness was going away only to have it back in full force this morning! I am also so tired. I barely have the energy to stand while I'm teaching and could definitely use a nap at 2pm. I'm hoping to take off from work a little early today for a nice afternoon nap :) I know that I said I would be so thankful when I was pregnant that I wouldn't complain one bit about all the side effects that come with pregnancy, but I didn't know how hard it would be! I am so ready for the second trimester! Only a few more weeks.

Week 8

This week has been busy and the babies have not been cooperating with momma! I've had some late nights, major food aversions, and more morning sickness to deal with. Babywise, this week has been a little boring. Sometimes I don't even remember that I'm pregnant! I'm looking forward to Wednesday when we are able to see our babies again on the ultrasound. I keep praying that both are still hanging out in there and thriving! I also just noted that I needed to change a few of the questions on here to make them plural! I've also been thinking about things that I thought I would do when pregnant. The first was to eat only whole, organic foods. Ya, so much for that one. Maybe I'll try it once that morning sickness subsides but for now I'll eat whatever my stomach can tolerate. The second was that we would not tell a soul until we were at LEAST 12 weeks along. Our struggles to get pregnant definitely changed that for us but we've had fun telling our best friends and family. I've seen a lot of people announcing on Facebook that they are due in June and I can't wait until we are far enough along to announce to all the rest of our friends!

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Sunday, December 11th

How Far Along: 8 Weeks (I can't believe I'm two months!)

Size of babies: Babies are the size of raspberries.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 2 pounds

Maternity Clothes: No, I've been wearing a few pairs of pants I found at Old Navy that have elastic waist bands (I swear they're not a mom-jean as they sound). I'm almost afraid to try my regular jeans on! My belly has grown a tiny little bit but I think it is mostly just bloat. yuck.

Gender: No Clue! Still having visions of a boy and a girl nursery.

Movement:  None yet! 

Sleep: Exhaustion continued the first part of the week but I was able to stay up later towards the end of the week. I was surprised I made it until 1am after our party! Still waking up around 7:30 on my own.

What I miss: Again, foods that I used to enjoy!

Cravings: Still Coke Icees, bland cereal (Special K, Crispex), bagels 

Symptoms: Tired, Heightened sense of smell, Nauseous all the time, a few bouts of morning sickness, getting tired easily when walking long distances, up hills, etc. 

Best Moment this week: Sleeping when I got a chance! Also spending some quality time with Jay on Sunday evening watching football and talking about our babies :)

your baby's the size of a raspberry!

Now she weighs in (yay!) at about .04 ounces and measures about .63 inches. This week, she's growing about a milimeter each day.

Thoughts and fears about pregnancy

So it is still hitting me that I am pregnant, and with twins! I am gently reminded every morning ;) I have waited and dreamt so long for this to happen. I thought I would be so excited, instead I am so nervous. I am so nervous to become a Mommy. Have I done enough in my life pre-children? Will we be okay financially if I decide to stay home? How will our marriage change? Oddly enough, these are all questions we asked ourselves a year and a half ago when we decided we were ready for a family and we knew all the answers and were very confident. Why the change? Is this how normal women feel when they get pregnant? Is there always some level of anxiety when thinking about the biggest change that will happen in our lives to date? Am I normal? Ha!

And then the twins are an entirely different worry. I felt confident in my skills to parent one child. How am I feeling about two? How do you parent two babies, two children, two teenagers? What do you do for birthdays? What if we have a boy and a girl, how do you get mom to bond with the boy and dad to bond with the girl? It always seems like boy/girl families always have a tendency for the boy to do a lot of boy things with the dad and the girl to do girly things with the mom. As one of three girls, I am thankful for the "boy" opportunities my parents gave us, building us a train table, taking us to baseball games, teaching us to play football, as well as the girly things too; having every Barbie, American Girl, and cabbage patch doll know to man!

So again, are these normal first time Mommy fears or am I just paranoid and over-analyzing? Which I do have a tendency to do!

Week 7

We had an awesome week this week and got to see our babies (that's right there are TWO) for the second time. The first was during the transfer when they were just little embryos and this time we were able to see them on the ultrasound and hear their precious heartbeats. I also learned that I calculated my due date wrong so the "6th week" last a few extra days! Posts will now be coming on Sundays.

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Sunday, December 4th

How Far Along: 7 Weeks (over the halfway mark of the first trimester!)

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a blueberry.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Back to normal

Maternity Clothes: No but stretchy pants are feeling pretty good right now! 

Gender: No Clue! I have a weird feeling about a boy and a girl so we'll see.

Movement:  None yet! 

Sleep: Still very sleepy. I'm pretty much in bed by 9 or falling asleep on the couch. I also get pretty tired around 2 and try to sleep a bit at my desk. I woke up early (4:21am) this morning for the first time to use the bathroom.  Other than that I've been sleeping until around 7:30 or 8.

What I miss: Food! Nothing really sounds good to me besides cereal. I'm also missing my energy!

Cravings: Coke Icee's. They seem to settle my stomach a bit. I'm also getting really worried about gestational diabetes because I was overweight before getting pregnant and because there are two babies in there! Hopefully, I'll get to meet with a nutritionist soon to discuss my eating habits!

Symptoms: Tired, Heightened sense of smell, Nauseous all the time, a few bouts of morning sickness.

Best Moment this week: Learning that we are pregnant with HEALTHY babies! I was just so relieved to learn that they are measuring at the same length and their heartbeats are close together and strong. Also really enjoyed sending my ultrasound pictures to our close family.

your baby's the size of a blueberry!

Your .51-inch embryo doesn't exactly tip the scales just yet but she's developing like crazy. She's already doubled in size since last week.

Hey! Two for the price of one!

That is what our doctor announced to Jay and I yesterday during our 6week3day ultrasound (I thought I was at 6w5d so the due date will change). Jay and I are expecting twin babies in July. I cannot even begin to describe the emotions I felt upon learning that I was carrying two healthy babies.

Yesterday was such a crazy day with a huge range of emotions. I burst into tears while sitting in the waiting room. I was so overcome with emotion that I had sat in that waiting room for almost a year trying to get pregnant and here we were about to see our baby for the first time. I was just so thankful, scared, nervous, worried, and blessed (and hormonal!) all at the same time.

At the beginning of the ultrasound the doctor commented that he saw two gestational sacs and that he could definitely see the baby and the heartbeat in the larger/closer sac. We held our breath and waited for what seemed like forever before he located the baby and heart in the smaller sac. He told me both sacs were actually the same size, one was just closer to the ultrasound wand. Their little heartbeats flickered and hearing them beat was the coolest sound! Jay was practically leaning over me to get a closer look at the monitor. On another note, the doctor told me I could stop progesterone shots, begin working out (walking only), and needed to keep a very close eye on my diet.

I was so floored to learn that we were pregnant with twins. I was so overwhelmed. I was tearing up and my chest was tightening with anxiety all at the same time. I kept feeling like I was going to pee on the ultrasound wand! The nurse had to ask me if I was ok. I was so thankful to have two healthy babies but terrified at the same time. Dollar signs flashed through my head! I'm just praying everything will work out from the health of our babies, to our sanity, to raising two babies at once! Without further ado, I present the twins:

Baby A is on the left and measures at .63cm with a heartbeat of 124 bpm. Baby B is on the right and also measures at .63cm with a heartbeat of 127 bpm.

Birthday Celebrations!

I had so much fun celebrating my birthday this year! To start the celebrations, my entire family came to Charlotte to hangout for the weekend. We enjoyed tons of food and football! The day before my birthday several sweet friends took me out to dinner at the delicious Nolan Kitchen. On my actual birthday Jay kindly asked me where I wanted to go out to eat to celebrate. I asked if there was any way possible we could skip the dinner and go shopping instead, luckily he was fine with that idea and I got a few cute new things :)

sister secrets

Als and Brett

Momma

The head of the table

Enjoy a huge Sunday breakfast

yum

Birthday celebrations

MC, Kathryn, and Allison

Delicious dessert!

Jen and Lauren

All the girls.

A huge thank you to MC and Kathryn for putting this together. Ya'll are such sweet friends!

Reunion!

Two weeks ago most of my best girlfriends from college all came back to Raleigh to cheer on the Wolfpack! We had so much fun tailgating and catching up! We've decided to make this an annual event!

Jess, Mary Clare, and Nikki

Yummy low country boil

Zeta's for life!

Lovely meeting up with Mrs. Boehm!

A great win and a great night!