23 weeks!

Here we are at 23 weeks! This is the 'age of viability' where babies born at this gestation have a 15% survival rate. It's small, but a chance nonetheless. These girls are going to stay nice and snug in here for much much longer though!

I'm feeling pretty good. The back pain hasnt really been bothering me much. I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to it, or if I've corrected my posture enough for it to take some pressure off my lower back. Either way, I'm happy!

In 3 months, M&B will arrive in Minnesota to await the birth of their daughters! I will be between 35 and 36 weeks at that time, which is full term for twins, so they can make their appearances anytime after that point. If they decide to come a little earlier, I think the plan is for M to come immediately and for B to follow when he can. I'm aiming to keep them in until April 1st no matter what, so hopefully they will both be present for the birth.

Speaking of the birth, I need to start doing a birth plan. Nothing crazy...just that Chris, M, & B are to be in the room with me at all times, M&B can cut the cords if they want to, they get to hold the babies as soon as they're cleaned off, in the case of a c-section I want M to be in the operating room with me, etc. The plan is a little more important with this birth than with my own kids, because I need to make sure everyone understands that all the typical things that happen after birth need to include M&B before anyone else. I also need to work out how to get 3 ID bands for us, because they HAVE to give me one since I'm delivering the girls, but they typically only give one other (to the birth partner/spouse/whoever). The ID bracelets are important because you only get access to the babies in the nursery if you have matching bracelets. So I'd like to get one for both M&B so they can go get the girls in the nursery whenever they want instead of only one of them being able to. Just a technicality. I also need to pre-register for the hospital, although when I did that before Quinn was born it did no good. I showed up expecting just to check in and everything, but had to fill all the paperwork out AGAIN. So we'll see!

Here's what's going on with the girls' development this week!

• Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since she hasn't begun to form body fat.
• Bones located in the middle ear harden.
• Your baby is able to hear. (Dads, did you know: low-frequency sounds mimicking a male voice penetrate the abdomen and uterine wall better than the higher frequencies of the female voice?)
• The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
• The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. She has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
• If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, her odds going up with each passing day.
• The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.
  

And here is my new belly pic! I decided to bless you all with my bare belly this time so you can see that its more round these days. The stretchmarks arent showing too bad, either.

100th post!

This is the 100th post in this blog! I guess I've had a lot to talk about this year! :)

I've been having 'growing pains' for about 2 hours now. I just KNEW I was going to have a growth spurt this week. Most twin surros I've talked with had a spurt around 22 weeks. I've also had a foot (I think) in my ribs. It feels like Baby B is turning herself around from transverse to breech, and back...and pressing out against my belly to aid her gymnastics. Baby A just kicks and squirms like usual. They have been extra squirmy today...no doubt caused by needing to expand their home a bit.

I'm getting some more stretch marks, too. And I'm sure there are plenty more to come! Let's just say I am glad the holidays are over and I can get back to NOT eating fudge, cookies, cake, etc. We hadn't spent much time at home over the past couple of weeks so we were at the mercy of my inlaws (and their tasty treats!) and several restaurants. The girls have been eating a little TOO well, thats for sure! Back to normal now though. :)

OH...and this may be too much information for some of you, but I am producing colostrum (early milk) already. I definitely didnt produce any this early with my kiddos, so I think its interesting, and worth noting.

Well thats all for now. I just thought I would take note of my suspected growth spurt. I will have a new belly pic on Friday, along with my 23 weeks update!

22 weeks!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We sure did! Sorry for the late update, but today is Chris' birthday and we have been gone all day.

Everything is going great. Just getting bigger and bigger by the day! I'm starting to be able to sense the girls' personalities...well, the best I can at this point anyways. Baby A is the more active baby. She moves around quite a bit more than Baby B. Baby B gets wiggly while I'm eating, and then in the evening while I'm relaxing. But Baby A wiggles and kicks periodically throughout the day. I'm willing to bet that Baby A is going to be the more active of the girls, and Baby B will be the more laid back one. It will be interesting to see if I am correct. Only time will tell...M&B will have to let me know someday. ;)

Well here's what the babies are up to this week:

• Baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
• Baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
• Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
• Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
• Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth, especially in what's called the germinal matrix. This structure deep in the middle of the brain serves as a kind of factory for brain cells and disappears shortly before birth. But the brain's amazing expansion program continues until around the five birthday.
• With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
• If your baby is male his testes begin their descent to the scrotum.
• Primitive sperm have formed and he is producing testosterone.
• Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).

I thought about doing another belly pic today but decided the change will be easier to tell if I give it some time between photos. I've heard a big growth spurt occurs around 22 weeks...so we'll see!

21 weeks!

21 weeks! Nothing new here. Just feeling the girls kick and squirm more and more, as they get stronger! Last night Baby A had the hiccups for a few minutes. I kept feeling "thump....thump...thump". Too cute. I have gotten bigger over the past week, I think. I definitely feel like it, and some of my pre-preg t-shirts dont even come close to fitting over my belly anymore! I have a new belly pic that I will post at the bottom of this post so you can see for yourselves. I think this may be the last belly pic in which I can wear my OSU shirt. Time to retire it, I suppose! Although I've heard that some of my readers will be glad that it goes away! ;)

Here's whats going on with the girls this week:

• White blood cells are under production. Leukocytes (or white blood cells) form our body's defense system. They help fight infections and diseases.
• Your little one's skin has changed from translucent to become more opaque.
• Your infant's tongue is fully formed. If you were able to peek you might catch your son or daughter practicing giving you a raspberry!
• If your baby is a girl, her womb and vagina are formed. Unlike males, females have a limited supply of eggs in their lifetime. At this point your daughter will have 6 million eggs. This amount decreases to approximately one million by birth.
• Baby swallows more this week. After your baby takes in amniotic fluid, his body absorbs the water in the liquid and moves the rest into the large bowel. This is good practice for his digestive system!
• Wake and sleep periods become more consistent. Some research suggests that baby sets her internal clock to match the outside world's even before birth! Your eating and sleeping habits as well levels of light and noise serve as her signals.
• Length is now measured crown to heel.
• Baby measures about 10.51 inches (26.7cm) and weighs nearly 12.7 ounces (360g).

So they each weigh almost a pound, and are almost a foot long! I can really tell! LOL

Here's my big ol belly:

Next appointment is Jan 5th. :)

20 weeks!

Well I will jump right to the good stuff since I know you've all been waiting....

We had the ultrasound this morning and both babies are measuring right where they need to be. Both have all organs and body parts, no deformities or anything. And both babies are.....

GIRLS!

The choice on the poll that got the least votes is what they ended up being. Even I was wrong, as I was sure there were one of each. But there were clearly no boy parts on either baby. I could just sense the visions of pink & purple girly things going through M's head. Hopefully one of them will grow up to like hunting/fishing/sports for B's sake, but I know they are both going to be daddy's little girls.

We got some good pictures of the babies so I will post some but will leave out the gender shots. I dont know how they'd feel about their babies' girly bits being put on the internet, so I will err on the side of caution and not post those here. Each picture tells you which baby you're looking at.




















So congrats to M&B on your two healthy beautiful baby girls! Now we just cruise on through to the finish line! :)

Appointment today

Well I had a prenatal checkup today and everything was great. I've gained lots of weight, which my doctor was happy with (thank goodness) and my uterus is measuring right on track. The babies' heart rates were good, although very different. The baby on the left's heart rate was slower than the baby on the right. My doctor said that if there is any truth to the correlation between gender and heart rate, she bets I am carrying one boy and one girl. I told her that has been my guess all along. So we'll see on Thursday! The gender poll closed today, and most of you think its one of each as well. :)

My next checkup is Jan 5th. I'm hoping to not have TOO much weight gain since we're going through the holidays here. Lots of goodies and treats to eat!

In other news, we have been slammed with snow lately. I am hoping we get the last of it for a while tonight. We dont need any delays or issues with M&B's flights into the city! I think the snow is beautiful but I hate driving in it!

Well I will update again later in the week when I have the big news to tell. :)

19 weeks!

Every week that goes by is another celebration! Less than a week until the ultrasound and then we'll know for sure that both babies are healthy and their genders. I will make sure to update everyone as soon as I get the 'all clear' from M&B. After the ultrasound I will just kind of be on autopilot for a while. I will have a gestational diabetes test somewhere towards the end of the second trimester, and besides that, I'm pretty sure we'll just be crusing towards the finish line. Pretty soon I will be receiving more frequent ultrasounds and 'non stress tests' where they check the babies' movements and heart rates.

So here's what's going on at 19 weeks:

• Your baby has the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. He has a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.
• Throughout baby's body, nerves are being coated with a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves so that impulses can flow smoothly.
• Scalp hair becomes apparent this week. It has sprouted and continues to grow.
• The milk teeth buds have already developed and over the next few days the buds for the permanent teeth will begin to form behind the milk teeth.
• If baby is female the uterus starts to develop. If you're having a girl, the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place.
• If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable.
• Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are making urine.
• Your little one's size is around 6.02 inches (15.3cm) and 8.47 ounces (240gm).

I'm sill feeling good overall. The back pain is getting worse though. I went grocery shopping the other night and within 20 minutes my back was killing me. It's sciatic pain, so it was my lower back, down through the back of my thighs. Last night I made some cookies, and then had to make dinner, so standing in the kitchen for a couple hours killed my back too. I couldnt even clean all the dishes...I had to go sit down. I'm not sure what I can do about this back pain, so I just try to stay off my feet as much as possible.

Well the next time I update it will be after the ultrasound. If you want to vote in the gender poll to the right, you only have until Monday! :)