5 Months Old And Then Some

Well the girls are 5 months 2 weeks old today so I figured it's time to update the ol' blog.

We've had fun this past month. I've taken the girls on a couple shopping trips to craft bazzars with my mom and DJ's niece Adrianna came to visit us for the week of Thanksgiving. It's been fun getting out a little bit, although I still haven't truly gone out with the girls by myself.

They're both growing like crazy. Last time we were at the Dr. Anya was just over 12 lbs. and Ziva was just over 11 lbs. They just started eating a lot more so my guess is they're headed towards another growth spurt.

Anya is my little cuddle bug. I still call her my little pudding baby because when I hold her she just snuggles right in and is quite content just staying that way. While on the other hand Ziva is so busy moving around and looking at everything that she can't seem to find time to cuddle as much. It's very easy to make Anya laugh these days, you almost don't even have to touch her and she'll giggle. It's so cute! Ziva isn't laughing so much, but she's very physically active. She rolls herself over the minute I set her in the crib, and then she does these fantastic push ups so she can look around. Ziva also will stand on our legs when we hold her up and she seems to be very proud of herself when she does it.

They're both very sweet and fun to play with. We were really looking forward to having fun with them on Thanksgiving but Anya had a total melt down and wouldn't calm down enough to play. The only break we had was right when it was time to eat, and then when we were done she woke up and started crying again. We ended up leaving early because they were both tired and cranky. Oh well, I'm hoping that Christmas will be better but I'm not counting on it. :)

Six Months Old! Hurray!

Anya & Ziva's sixth month in this world started out with a big bang and a terrible Dr's appointment. They both seemed to know what was coming and started crying looooong before they got their 4 shots each. But we did find out that Anya weighs 13 lbs and 13 oz. and is 23 inches long. And Ziva is 12 lbs 8 oz. and 22 3/4 inches long. So they're slowly but surely getting to be about the same size. :) Little Anya is such a chunk now, and Ziva is starting to get little rolls of fat around her wrists, so cute!

They're both starting to recognize their own names and they're becoming more coordinated with their hands. Ziva can almost put her pacifier in her mouth by herself and Anya can take the velcro'd butterflies off her bouncy seat. They're both getting better at sitting up, and Anya is getting better at standing with help. They are both full of smiles and seem to be such joyful little girls. They smile and laugh ALL the time now and are a lot of fun to play with.

We're still nursing, which is always an adventure in patience. We talked to our pediatrician and decided to delay solids for another month. Once they're able to sit up better without support they'll be ready for solid foods. They still don't have teeth yet, but they're very drooly and put their hands in their mouths all the time so I'm sure teeth are going to be here soon.

We're hangin' in there. :P DJ is on vacation until after the new year so thankfully he's been around to help out and I've been able to get some rest. Which is much needed because the girls are getting over their first colds. Thankfully it's been a mild case of runny noses and sneezing and with some saline and extra momma's milk they seem to be doing a LOT better! Just in time for holiday festivities! We're planning to spend the day at my parent's house and hopefully we're able to create time for the girls to rest so that they don't get overtired and melt down like they did on Thanksgiving.

The Day of Firsts

Yesterday my girls were just blossoming so I thought I'd share.

Ziva rolled over for the first time by herself! I was so shocked, but I guess I shouldn't have been because she's been turning her head and arching her back to reach for her pacifier for the past week. I didn't see her do it, but I went to wake her up from her nap and she was on her belly sleeping! I was so happy and terrified at the same time! All the SIDS info warns about putting your baby on their back to sleep, so I was really worried about how I was going to keep her on her back now. But I called her pediatrician and she said that she might not do it again for some time, and also that there's a train of thought that if she can do it herself then she's probably strong enough to keep herself from sufficating. So I said a little prayer and put it in God's hands. Yikes!

AND... a few hours after that during a feeding, Anya reached out and grabbed Ziva's hand! And she kept staring at Ziva and Ziva's hand and let go and grabbed it again and again! She must have done it 4 or 5 times so I know she was trying to do it and it wasn't just an accident! It was SO sweet! Their first physical interaction! They've been interested in each other before but it only amounted to looking at each other, but now they held hands! It was so precious!

Yesterday just made my heart warm. :) They're growing and changing so fast I can hardly believe it.

Four Month Update

Well the girls are now 4 months 1 week and 3 days old!

They had a check up last week and everything looks good. Anya is now 10 lbs. 8 oz. and Ziva is 9 lbs. even. So Ziva is catching up! The pediatrician was concerned about the shape of Ziva's head, he was worried that she had a problem where some parts of the skull fuse together before the other parts and it can create a mis-shapen head. So he sent us to a surgeon who specializes in that kind of problem and she said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ziva, that her head shape is most likely due to genetics and her sleeping positions. We knew that nothing was wrong with her, so we weren't worried about it, but we were relieved just the same to hear the news.

Each of the girls are really starting to show their own personalities and traits. Anya is still our little spit up queen. It makes me so sad every time she spits up and screams afterwords. I wish there was something I could do for her besides give her her meds and comfort her. So most of the time she seems to be a very serious little girl, but I think that's mostly because of her tummy woes. When she is feeling well she's smiley and has even started to giggle when we tickle her. She still loves her food and she loves to sleep. She's also started to grab at the toys hanging above her bouncy seat and will sometimes pull the ring that plays music.
Ziva wasn't the first to smile, but she's really making up for lost time! Seems like every time I peek down into her crib she's smiling back up at me. Just the slightest touch and she's spilling out her giggles and grinning from ear to ear! I've started calling her my little sparkler. Anya has been out of her swaddle for a while, but we just started letting Ziva sleep without it and she's doing pretty good. Only problem is that she moves around so much in her sleep that she turns herself in circles! We tried putting a blanket rolled up under her so that it would help with her head shape, but with all the moving she does it really isn't going to make a difference.

They're both now sleeping through the night, and by that I mean from about 10pm til 6 or 7am. So I'm finally starting to get a decent night's sleep most of the time.

In other news, DJ has switched back to night shift so we're making some adjustments. We've also bought a new car which means more freedom for me and the girls! Their car seats barely fit in our old car, and our double stroller didn't fit at all. So now we have a car where everything and everyone fits so now I can actually attempt to go out with the girls by myself! I haven't tried it yet, but I'm working up the courage to give it a shot. I'll let you know how that goes. :P

Three Month Update

Well the girls are officially 3 months old today! YAY! I've made it through what most people tell me is the hardest part, and I'm still walking, breathing, and forming complete sentences. Hurrah!

As of their last weight check on Sept. 5th Anya is 9 lbs 3 oz. and Ziva is 7 lbs. 2 oz. Anya is holding her head up really well now, and Ziva is still trying but isn't as strong as Anya. They're both smiling now and coo'ing which is really making our lives brighter and happier. I've had little conversations with each of the girls this past week, and DJ had a really nice long 'talk' with Ziva after one of the feedings. DJ thinks that Anya might be the first to walk but Ziva might be the first to talk. lol, it'll be a lot of fun to see.

We had fun this last weekend. An old friend from high school came over for lunch (Christina for those who are interested). Her husband made us this wonderful Indian meal with authentic bread and everything. It was delicious! It was really fun to catch up with them and find out how they've been getting along.

We also went to our birth class reunion. It was great to share birthing experiences with other new parents and see all of their cute little babies. It's amazing how different all the babies were! We shared breastfeeding experiences and talked about tips and tricks we've learned so far. It was great info and conversation. :)

This Friday I'm going to go get a pedicure with mom, it'll be my first one since the girls arrived and I'm really looking forward to being pretty again! Plus I'm really looking forward to my mom seeing the girls and how they've changed in just the past two weeks.

Babies & Zuccini

Well time flies when your feeding babies around the clock! Seems like the past 2 or 3 weeks have been an absolute blur.

The girls had their 2 month check up which included their first shots since leaving the hospital. They did ok for the shots, they cried, but that's to be expected. What wasn't expected was we learned that they weren't gaining weight the way they're supposed to. So now instead of just breastfeeding we have to do all this other stuff each feeding. And when I say other stuff I mean I breastfeed, then pump, then fortify the pumped milk with formula, then feed them that via bottle. Oh, and I found out I have a yeast infection in my nipple, so I also have to swab each of their mouths with some medication on a q-tip after each feeding too. So much fun let me tell ya! But the good news is that after one week of doing this they were both back to gaining weight like champs. We have another weight check tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll pass with flying colors. At the last check Anya was up to 8 lbs. 11 oz. and Ziva was up to 6 lbs. 8 oz.

In other news, I'm being bombarded with zuccini! Seems like everyone who comes to my house assumes that I'm in need of some. I realize that this is the NW and that zuccini grows great here, but good grief just because I didn't plant any this year doesn't mean I want to fill my fridge with it anyway! I've already made two loaves of bread and frozen away enough shredded zuccini to make 6 more loaves, but yet the zuccini keep coming. I think I'm going to have to put a sign on my door that says "No more zuccini!" They say if you live in the NW you either give or get zuccini. Maybe I have to plant some next year just to fend off those who like to give it. lol So does anyone have any good recipes for zuccini???

Oh Can't You See What Love Has Done?

As of the girl's Dr. appointment on Monday Ziva is 5 lbs. 10 oz. and Anya is 7 lbs. 7 oz. So they're growing well and doing great. The Dr. did give Anya a prescription for her reflux issues. He said that it may be interfering with her weight gain a bit, her growth was ok but not stellar this time. But to be honest I expected a slight slow down in growth with the transition to breastfeeding last week.

I added a song selection to my profile today by U2. This song has a definite spiritual impact on me. "Oh can't you see what love has done? What it's doing to me?" It just seems like the theme song of my life right now with the girls. I feel so filled with love for them, and in turn it makes me realize how much Christ must love us. Because as much love as I feel right now, I know that He loves us so much more and so much greater. How amazing!

6/11/07

Well I have another growth scan today, I'll let you know how that goes. I can't believe I'm almost at 34 weeks! I'm starting to get more and more excited about the girls being here rather than in my belly. I'm still enjoying being pregnant at this point though, so I'm not too miserable. :) I'm trying to savor every little bit knowing that it might be my only pregnancy. I am starting to have more BH though. For the past couple nights I've had them from about 7pm on until I go to bed at 11pm. Not frequent enough or painful so that's good. I'm also experiencing some of that 'evil crotch pain' that I've heard some of the new twin mom’s mention. I went to BRU with DJ yesterday, and afterwards I could barely move. UGH! But other than that things are going pretty good. :)

5/31/07

Well I had another growth scan on Tuesday. My dad came with me this time. My parents have decided that they don't like the idea of me going to my appointments alone anymore. I don't mind them coming to the growth scans though because those are the ones where they might potentially tell me to head to the hospital for emergency C-section. So anyways, the girls both look good. Baby B is now 5 lbs. (YIKES) and Baby A is 4 lbs. For a second they were a bit concerned about Baby A's leg growth from the last scan to this one because there wasn't much change, but then after graphing her leg growth overall they decided that they probably mis-measured last time. They both look like they have plenty of fluid, and Baby A's cord blood flow has actually improved so that's great! So everything looked good and healthy and normal. Yay! I still can't believe I'm carrying around 9 lbs of baby inside of me… no wonder I feel so uncomfortable!

5/25/07

Had another Dr's appt. yesterday and the babies are both doing just fine. They've turned and are no longer transverse, YAY!!!! Let me tell you, two babies going sideways is NOT COMFIE!!! So now Baby A is breech, and Baby B is head down. And even though their current position would still mean c-section for me I'm just happy that I'm more comfortable. And my guess would be they're more comfortable too.

Also the Dr. said that my cervix is long and closed, and I'm not having any Braxton hicks contractions, so therefore my body is handling the pregnancy very well and I'm looking good for carrying them the long haul. Only thing that would bring them early would be if Baby A slows down or stops growing. My next growth scan will be next week, so we'll see what they have to say then.

5/15/07

We had a bit of a scare yesterday. I went in for my regularly scheduled NST (non-stress test) and the nurse had a hard time finding Baby A's heartbeat. So they did a quickie ultrasound and found her all scrunched up down in the bottom of my uterus and Baby B was taking up all the rest of the space. But they did find Baby A's heartbeat and measured her amniotic fluid and her umbilical cord blood flow. They thought her blood flow was too high and her fluid was too low, so they sent me over to maternal fetal medicine that afternoon for a full growth scan. They also let me know that they would contact the Dr. on call and let her know what's going on and warn her that I might need an emergency c-section that day. Yikes!!! So I called my dad first because he's retired and I knew he'd be available to at least come and hang out with me until my appt. And then I got ahold of DJ and his boss let him get out of work so he came too. So the three of us went out to lunch to kill time before my appointment.

At maternal fetal medicine they did the full growth scan. There's actually some good news, Baby A is now in the 32nd percentile (she was in the 28th percentile 3 weeks ago) and according to their machines her fluid was just fine. Her umbilical cord flow rate is higher than they'd like to see, but not dangerous at this point. They are now both transverse, Baby B is at the top of my uterus and Baby A is at the bottom. They did think Baby A was in a tough position, but they didn't seem to think it was anything to be worried about. So no c-section for me yet. YAY! I was so worried they'd send me directly to the OR. I know it wouldn't be the end of the world to have them at this point, but it's certainly not ideal either. So we'll see what they say at my next appointment on Thursday. In the meantime DJ says my assignment for today is to pack a hospital bag.

5/1/07

I've decided that I'm done with my cooking days. I just can't be on my feet for that long anymore. My mom says she's going to cook up some freezer meals for me and if she does that should finish up to my goal of 60 meals.

The baby shower was really fun! We got lots of great stuff. My mom went overboard (as usual) and gave us 2 months of diaper service, 2 diaper pails (one for upstairs and one for downstairs), some disposables and wipes, and diaper rash ointment. And she let it slip that for my next shower (on Saturday) that she's going to give us the stroller and car seats. Woo hoo! Genette got me my diaper bag from my registry and completely filled it with all kinds of great stuff: nursing pads, nursing shawl, preemie outfits with hats and mitts, health care kit, pacifiers, etc. All kinds of stuff! Rita & Lindsey who had recently been on vacation in Hawaii gave us two little Hawaiian sun dresses that will fit perfect next year. I got a bunch of other cute outfits and money too. Plus my mom made me a sugar free blueberry cheesecake using splenda so I actually got to partake in desert! Yippie! It's amazing what they can make with splenda and how many products you can find that are sugar free or low sugar, makes me super glad I didn't have GD say 20 years ago.

I swear, my belly is SO HUGE, and it's just gonna get bigger. Yikes! Last week I measured 33 weeks! I seriously look like I'm about to give birth any day now except that I have 2 months to go. DJ swears that my belly grows overnight. I’ve grown out of all the clothes Karin loaned me, and I’m now wearing XL maternity t-shirts and L dress shirts.

4/28/07

Well I had a peri appt. on Thursday along with u/s. He said that they both look healthy and normal, except for the fact that Baby A is so much smaller than Baby B. But this time Baby A was up to 28th percentile, which is great! He said that if Baby A was a singleton we wouldn't even be talking about her health. Baby B is up to 64th percentile. He says I'm still at a low risk of pre-term labor, the only reason they'd be born early is if Baby A looks like she's in distress or stops growing the way she should. So that sounds promising and I'm really just not going to worry about it.

My first baby shower is tomorrow, I'm so excited! The next one will be next weekend at my house, so we're working on cleaning things up and putting stuff back in order after our whirlwind weekend last week.

DJ got to feel a really strong kick last night for the first time, so that was fun. Before he just felt sort of a bump which wasn't as exciting.

Pregnancy Journal 4/10/07

Well, my appt. was very interesting to say the least. It was about a two hour ultrasound and then after that another 30 min. or so with a parrinatologist (sp). Both the babies were wide awake and not making it easy to get certain measurements. In fact when we started the ultrasound baby B was transverse and by the end she was breech! So lots of movement going on which was fun to see. :) Didn't get many pictures though because it was strictly a medical ultrasound.

The Dr. was very detailed in explaining things to us. He said that there are three main things that Dr.'s worry about with twins. First, pre-term labor. He said that I'm at a very low risk for PTL because my cervix measures 4cm and usually they're happy to see 3cm so that's a huge positive! Second he said they worry about pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure is always great whenever I go in, and I told him that I'm simply just not going to have that problem. I've decided. :P He said, "Ok, we'll just mark that complication off the list then." And then thirdly the thing that they worry about is growth problems.

He said growth problems can be caused by three issues in fraternal twins. One is a virus, which he said is not an issue in my situation. If it was there would be other obvious problems with both babies and there isn't. Two is a chromosome abnormality. He said that in 95% of cases with chromosome problems there are also other visible defects in the baby, and he said that other than her size Baby A looks perfectly healthy so he said he'd be VERY surprised if that were the case here. Three is some sort of placenta problem. He said at this point he can't really tell if there is a problem with Baby A's placenta, but that as time goes on it would become more obvious if there was. He said it could just be that Baby A's placenta implanted in the uterus in a place where the circulation isn't as good. And he said that since the babies came from separate eggs that it could just be that the two babies inherited different genetics that play a roll in how big or small they will be.

He said the good news is that since my cervix is so long that we have plenty of time for Baby A to grow enough to be healthy. He said that at some point I may want to have an amino test to verify that there is no chromosome problem with Baby A, but at this point he said that was too risky. He said right now he only has one point of info, so he'd like me to come back and have another ultrasound there in 2-3 weeks to check on Baby A's growth.

Pregnancy Journal 4/9/07

We had an ultrasound on Monday that confirmed for sure that we are having two girls. So now we just have to nail down names! We’ve pretty much agreed upon Anya for a first name for one of them, and we were toying with Elsa for the other one but DJ nixed it. So now we’re back to the drawing board. I’d really like their middle names to be Jean & Lynn after our mom’s middle names. I think that’d be an awesome gift for our moms. But really we’re undecided, so we’ll see.

At our ultrasound they discovered that Baby A isn’t growing like she should. Last time she measured in the 11th percentile, and this time she measured in the 6th. So I have an appointment with maternal fetal medicine today to run more tests and find out what’s going on. They did say that all her systems look healthy. They measured the flow of the umbilical cord and it was the same for both babies, which is a good sign that they’re getting enough nutrition. And just to reassure me, she was moving around like crazy yesterday, probably more than I’ve ever felt her. So I’m actually feeling pretty positive about my appt. today.

It was a good Easter weekend for us. Great one even! :) We had Lee & Sabrina over on Saturday for a BBQ and had lots of fun even though it rained and we ended up watching a movie instead. Sabrina is throwing a shower for me, so she asked me lots of questions about what I wanted or what I liked/disliked. I pretty much gave her free reign to do what she wanted with a few exceptions (such as I really don't want everything to be pink). Lee & DJ moved all the exercise equipment downstairs to the garage, so that’s one more thing to check off our list of things we needed to do. And then DJ and I went to church Sat. night and the sermon was really good. :)

Then on Sun. morning we went to an Easter brunch with Mom & Dad, Aunt Darlene, and Suzy Wayne & Jalen. The food was good, and there was lots of good conversation. And when I got home I felt so energetic that I weeded nearly our entire yard! lol It was sunny and beautiful and I guess I just wanted to be out in it after the rain the previous day. Now I have all kinds of great ideas about what I want to plant this year. I may go buy some plants today if the mood takes me.

Pregnancy Journal 3/27/07

We had a very busy but good weekend. On Saturday we went to a Breastfeeding & Baby Care class. It was much better than I expected! I read a lot, and cruise these boards all the time for info, so I wasn't sure how much I'd actually get out of it. But I actually did learn quite a bit, and took a lot of notes. And I think it helped reality to set in for DJ.

It was an all day class on Saturday (9-4pm), and DJ had worked Friday night from 10pm to 6am Sat. So he was EXHAUSTED! I'm amazed that he was able to stay awake for the whole class, although I know there were parts he missed because he was starting to zone out. So needless to say we didn't get a whole lot done on Sunday because we were both pretty tired. But we did do a lot of talking on Sunday about how we're going to re-arrange things, and what pieces of furniture we need to buy so that we'll be ready. One of the things we decided we need is 2 twin beds to go on the spare room. DJ's family will be coming from out of town to see the babies, so it will be good to actually have extra beds to sleep in. Plus, who knows how this whole thing will work out. We may end up hiring someone to come help out at night, or my parents my come help out at night when DJ goes back to work. Or one of us may end up sleeping in the spare room when we're on baby duty.. who knows! Either way though it would be helpful to have some extra beds. Plus, eventually they'll become kids beds, so they'll get long term use. So I've started looking for 2 matching twin sized beds on craigslist and hopefully I'll find something good. :)

We've also decided that the best place to start is to finally get some closet organizers for our closets. We built this house 2 years ago, and so far we've been living with only a wire shelf and bar to hang things in our closets, and we REALLY need to get something better so we actually have places to put things. So that's gonna be our next project.

Yesterday I went and got a spa facial w/ my mom. It was really awesome! I've never had a facial before like that. They had us change into bathrobes, and we sat in this room w/ relaxing music before they came to get us for our treatments. And then we each went to separate dimly lit rooms and laid down on these massage type tables. And a beautician came in and put layer upon layer of goop on our faces. They used a LOT of different kinds of massage on our faces, shoulders, neck, arms, hands, even our scalp! The whole thing lasted about 2 hours, and when we were done we both felt SO relaxed! Then we went out to lunch. It was really fun! :)

When I got home, DJ was spinning around our house like a whirlwind cleaning! Our house was SO disgusting, hadn't been cleaned in a long time. And I was THRILLED to see him cleaning from top to bottom! So now my house looks perfect and even smells good! He even had dinner going! What a guy!

My blood sugar numbers haven't been that great this week. When I last met w/ the dietician she thought I was cutting back too much on carbs, so I've been eating more of them this week and even though I've started insulin I'm on a very low dose. My guess is that when I see my Dr. tomorrow she will tell me to increase my dose. I'm ok with it at this point, I'm happy to do it for healthy babies.

I’ve been feeling lots of kicks and a few rolls from the babies. I feel Baby B quite a lot throughout the day, and I feel Baby A about once or twice a day. A couple days ago I felt them both just moving and rolling together! It was so cool!

I’m getting a LOT bigger. A few of Karin’s shirts don’t fit me anymore. I’ve also started to have rib pain, especially on the right side. I guess it’s just from everything getting pushed up. I saw Minga on Friday, and she said that the reason my right side hurts more is because my liver is on that side, and it’s getting shoved up to make room for the babies. So there’s pretty much nothing that can be done about it until after they’re born, and then I’ll probably need a major adjustment.

Pregnancy Journal 3/8/07

Well my glucose test came back on the high side, so I had to do the 3 hour glucose test yesterday... I don't recommend it! I didn't eat anything from 7:30 the night before until the test was over at around noon the next day! I was SOOOO hungry that by the end I was wobbly on my feet! Luckily DJ came with me because I don't think I would have been ok to drive myself home. Anyways... Dr. called today w/ the results and they were high. So the next step is an apt. w/ a dietician. Man... I'm so BUMMED about that!!!!

Anyways... /sigh

DJ and I printed off a list from the SSN web site and we narrowed down our list of names to 13! Out of those I think there's two that really stand out, Anya & Elsa. What do you think?? We're still working on middle names.

I'm absolutely huge already dang it! I don't know if I mentioned but at my apt. last week when I was at 19 weeks, they measured my belly and I measured at 24 weeks! I'm 20w now, so my guess is I'm bigger than 24 weeks at this point! Yowzerz! I definitely look like I'm in my 3rd trimester not my 2nd! And it's weird, the left side of my belly where Baby B hangs out actually sticks out more than my right side! I thought I was just imagining it, but DJ confirmed, I'm definitely lop sided. Baby B is just a little bruiser I guess. I'm definitely feeling movements on that side now. I think I'm starting to feel Baby A on the right, but it's not very often.

Pregnancy Journal 3/2/07

We had our full anatomy ultrasound yesterday. Babies both looked great; all major systems looked healthy and functioning as they should be. No abnormalities to report. The tech had a hard time getting pictures of their spine because they were both laying on their backs, so I'm going to have to go in again so they can get that certain picture they need. They were moving around a lot, but not in the way that was helpful for the tech! :P And we tried everything, she even had me get up and jump around a bit. :P But they were both comfy and wouldn't budge.

They're both head down right next to each other. Baby A is on the right and B is on my left. And their placentas are both right across the top of my belly, so she said I might not feel them move on a consistent basis for a few more weeks. Baby B is measuring ahead of Baby A, but they've pretty much been that way since the very beginning. She said as long as their growth stays consistent for 'them' (not in comparison to the other baby) then there's nothing to worry about. So if Baby B is the bigger one then I think I might really have felt that one the other night. It makes sense that I should feel the bigger baby first.

They're both girls! lol Poor DJ...he was really hoping for a hunting buddy. I told him that you never know, maybe one of the girls will take to it. But he says he doesn't want to turn one of our girls into a tom boy just because he wants a hunting buddy. :P So I guess the circumcision debate we were having will go right out the window. Now we just have to debate about names! Oh geez.. it's gonna be brutal. I like old fashioned somewhat traditional names and he likes trendy modern names... ugh! He's all Madison and Piper, and I'm Analise and Esther. Another thing he likes to do is name them something that's really a nick name instead of the full name, like Jessie or Kate... and I just think that's so wrong! :P Why Jessie rather than Jessica??? I just don't get it. It's gonna be an uphill battle that's for sure!

Pregnancy Journal 2/11/07

I got my library books about freezer cooking, and man it sounds like the first cooking day will be crazy, but then I won't have to do it again for a month and even DJ could pull out dinner and warm it up if I'm not feeling good that day. After 4 months of me not cooking we're both getting SO sick of take out and fast food.

I haven't started feeling anything and the Dr. said I might not until later because of the position of the placenta. At the last ultrasound the babies heart rates were between 120-140 bpm, which was kinda interesting because the time I had this ultrasound was about the same time that I usually take my nap and when the house is really quiet. I was a little worried that their rates were so low, but the Dr. didn't seem at all concerned.

You know how they say that the first thing the babies hear is their mother's voice? I swear the first thing my kids are gonna hear is me yelling at our dogs. I'm kinda worried about how loud and crazy our house is and how they will sleep. We live near the train tracks, and you can certainly hear it plain and clear, especially when they blow their horn. And then of course there's our crazy herding dogs always running around and yipping at each other.. yikes!

Pregnancy Journal 2/6/07

This week has been crazy.

Last Sunday morning I started to come down with stomach flu, apparently it's really been going around. And by Tuesday night I woke up at 2am with vomiting and diarrhea. Called my Dr. Wednesday morning and she wanted me to go to the ER because she was concerned about dehydration. So I went w/ DJ and they gave me an IV and some Zofran. They also did a quickie ultrasound to check the babies’ heartbeats, and they were VERY active and fine.

Then Thursday I had my regularly scheduled OB appt. and ultrasound. My parents came, which was fun. The babies seemed to be resting with lower heart rates. They moved around a little bit, but not much. I think it was such a different time of day than when I saw them at the ER the previous day that we caught them at their nap time. The tech said that she thought they both looked pretty 'girly' but wasn't completely sure, especially about one of them. So we're kinda thinking one is most likely a girl (I could see the 3 lines on the screen that are usually girl parts so I feel pretty sure about that one), and the other who knows.

Then Friday I was feeling a LOT better so I went and got a haircut. Ended up WAY shorter than I'd like... GRRR!!!! I've always had very long hair, and it was starting to bother me, especially tossing and turning at night. So I wanted to go shorter, but seriously, my hair hasn't been this short since jr. high. At least Locks of Love is going to get a nice donation.

Then this weekend DJ and I went and bought a freezer for the garage. My mom has been pushing me to freeze away meals for after the babies are here. She suggested 60 meals. So I've been doing some research and now I'm actually really excited about the idea. I think it'll be so convenient to just pull dinner out of the freezer instead of trying to figure out what we're gonna eat each night and then making stuff from scratch all while caring for newborns. The freezer should be here in 3 weeks, so that gives me lots of time to try out recipes and decide if we like them enough to make it in bulk.

Then DJ and I both ended up buying shoes. I really needed some shoes I could just slide into without bending over, and DJ needed new casual shoes which isn't easy to find for him because he has triple wide feet. But we were successful and ended up finding shoes we like and that fit.

So after having a few good days I thought maybe my m/s was over... HA HA HA!!! I went out to lunch w/ DJ yesterday at Ruby Tuesdays and ended up throwing up in my soup bowl. I'm still feeling pretty yucky today. So I think it's time to eat a snack and take a nap.

Pregnancy Journal 1/30/07

My throat is all good. It actually only bothered me for like a day and after that I was fine. I think it's all due to the awesome multi-vitamin I'm taking. I switched brands about 4 months ago and I notice a HUGE difference in how I feel and how healthy I've been.

I saw some matching cribs on craigslist.com and we went out and bought them on Saturday. They're in pretty good shape, but after doing some research about new cribs I discovered that by buying these I'm saving $90 per crib! So I'm glad because there's other things I'd rather spend money on. The only thing I'm gonna miss out on is picking out a crib for myself, but like my mom said, what makes a crib really cute is the bedding. So I'm gonna go w/ that theory.

So I felt GREAT on Friday and Saturday, thought for sure it was the end of my m/s. And then Sunday was the PITS and yesterday wasn't much better. And this morning I felt so bad that I skipped out an an important meeting because I felt like I couldn't leave the house. Although I definitely have more energy, but I'm just wide awake and feeling rotten. Oh well.. the end is in sight right??

I'm scheduled for our next ultrasound on Thursday. My parents are gonna be there because I'm hoping we might find out the genders. It should be very exciting! DJ and I still can't agree on any girls names... Now he seems to think that it's gonna be 2 boys. But I'm still hoping for a boy and a girl.

Pregnancy Journal 1/20/07

I've had some good days and bad days with the m/s. I'm guessing that's improvement because before it was only bad days. I thought I was doing good yesterday, but last night I was in the WORST way! I kept having these tummy pains (definitely felt digestional) that kept waking me up. And then finally around 2am I threw up. Made a huge mess too because I basically just leaned over the side of the bed. Yuck. But I guess it's not too bad because this was only the second time I've lost my cookies through this whole process.

I woke up yesterday w/ a sore throat and white spots on my tonsils, so I went to my PCP right away and found out it isn't strep and that it's just viral. So I'm feeling kinda yucky all around. Oh, and by going to my PCP I found out that SHE has twin boys! She said that they were born on their due date, and they both weighed over 7 lbs. AND she breast fed for 4 months. So it can be done!

I got this awesome book called Mothering Multiples that I'm reading right now and it's mostly about BF'ing twins. It has all these pics of women BF'ing two babies at once. I showed it to my mom and she said, "I see it, but I still can't believe it can be done!" ROFL I'm definitely gonna try it.

Pregnancy Journal 1/7/07

Well Christmas went well at our house. Afterwards I felt completely wiped out though. Pretty much did nothing but eat and sleep the following day. We didn’t do anything for New Years and I was actually in bed before the main event. I’m just SO tired and sick feeling all the time. So far I’ve only thrown up once, but I’ve felt nauseous almost all the time. I just hope I start feeling better soon.

We had our first Dr. appt. on Friday. We got to hear one of the babies heartbeats, the other one was being so active that she only caught the heartbeat for a second and it was REALLY high 185 beats per minute! She said it must have been from all the jumping jacks. :P She also said that when my progesterone levels test came back that they were the highest numbers she’s ever seen (And she’s been a Dr. for over 25 years). Which is good because it’s healthy for the babies, but bad because that’s what’s making me so sick. She said some Dr’s prescribe progesterone as a sedative, so no wonder I feel so wiped out and exhausted! I seriously have maybe 1 or 2 good hours each day and the rest of the time I feel horrible.

So next week I’ll be officially in the second trimester. YAY!!! I hope that means an end is coming to my sickness.