The Third Trimester!

We have made it to the final trimester. It feels good! I hadn't even been thinking about it, and yesterday I was reading my "Pregnancy Week by Week" book and it welcomed me to my last trimester! I am glad we're here!
We went to the Dr. yesterday. I get SO excited to go to the Dr. It is my big day out! We certainly know the routine. We go in, I step on the scale, get my blood pressure taken, answer a few questions about the babies movement, pee in a cup, undress from the waist down, check on the babies, check on the cervix, talk to the Dr., wipe the gunk off my belly, get dressed, go home!
The appointment yesterday went really well. The boys are looking great. They are both still head down and have that been that way now for over a month. Baby A had both of his arms crossed over the top of his head - he was just taking it easy!
I am also pleased to report that I am "stable" in the words of my Dr. She said that there is no change from last week, and so at this point we just keep taking it one day at a time. I am thankful for each and every day that they are staying put and just getting bigger. She wouldn't guess on how long she thinks I might make it. She said she doesn't play guessing games - but she's hoping that I can make it to 32 weeks. Less than 5 weeks to go!
I am feeling great and bed rest really hasn't been too bad. The days seem to pass by pretty quickly and I know it certainly helps to have such incredible family and friends surrounding us. I can't thank you all enough for your emails, phone calls, meals...I have really been blown away by how much we're loved!
Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts for our family. We're doing good!

It's About Time!

Really, what is my excuse of not updating my blog more frequently when I'm on bed rest? I guess the lack of exciting things to share may be a part of it - that is unless you would like to read a play by play of my amazing days in bed!
I did want to post some pictures though of the nursery. Chris has put so much work into it and I must say that I love it even more than I thought I would! Even he now admits that he is glad we painted it!
I also have a couple new belly shots taken Saturday to share with you all. The number on the scale keeps getting higher and higher!
The days and weeks are continuing to go well. It is hard to believe that Thursday will make it one official month of bed rest. The time has gone fast so far and we are almost to 27 weeks!
The boys are really kicking frequently and HARD now! I love it!
Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts for our family. We are feeling really peaceful about everything and just taking it all one day and one week at a time!

Before: Chris drew a line on the walls to mark where the chair rail would go.

Before: All taped off and ready to go!

During: The walls are painted! Now just putting up the chair rail.

After: Isn't it just a little boy's dream?

After: I love how it ties all the colors together. I also love how talented my husband is!

Here I am in all my glory at 26 1/2 weeks.

This is exactly the way I look right now as I am typing this! This is the spot where I spend about 10 hours of every day.

My Placenta Goes to School

Last night I was reading a book called "Everything You Need to Know to Have a Healthy Twin Pregnancy." I was reading the chapter on labor and delivery (yikes) and I was reading about how after delivering the babies you also deliver your placenta. I had heard that before but I then read that the placenta can possibly weigh anywhere from a pound to a pound and a half. I mentioned to Chris that it would almost be like delivering a third child! I think that's how the dream I had last night came to be.
Here is my dream:
The day arrived when my babies would be brought into this world. I delivered two beautiful children. One of them was an African American boy and the other was a blond haired, blue eyed girl. Now I did not deliver babies, I delivered children. They were probably both about 10 years old and they were able to sit and talk with me about the entire experience. (Luckily my dream did not have details of the actual delivery of these rather large children) I remember being a little shocked that we had a girl. I was sad knowing that we wouldn't be able to use both of our little boy names. Instead, we named her Makayla. I remember thinking that we would have to change her name eventually because that is the name of my friend Dana's daughter and that just wouldn't be fair to copy her name!
Here is where my dream gets a little odd...well, at least even more odd. I had to breastfeed my babies and I was nervous about how it would go the first time. I noticed though that there was a monitor on each child. The monitor had two sides. One side said hungry and the other side said full. The hungry side was lit up until I began to feed them, and then it would ding and the light would switch to full. I thought this was so handy and my ten year old babies were so good at breastfeeding! Sick isn't it?
Since my newborns were already ten years old they obviously had to go to school, so in my dream we enrolled them. We also though enrolled my third child, the placenta.
Right about there is where my dream stopped.
Anyone want to take a crack at interpreting that one? :)

Belly Shot Time

After shower, dinner, a couple phone calls, and an episode of Dawsons (thanks Kristy!) I am feeling much better and decided to take a few belly pictures at 25 weeks! I feel like the pictures don't quite do the belly justice. I at least feel much bigger than it looks!

Bed Rest Blues

Warning: This entry is a total pity party. You don't have to come. :)

This is the picture I added to my facebook page yesterday and sometimes it's just how I feel. This bed rest thing isn't always easy! I remember thinking back in August how wonderful it would be if I could go on bedrest. I pictured myself taking leisurely trips to Target, strolling through the baby aisles sipping whole milk. I imagined myself sitting in the nursery with my perfect little belly folding up little boy clothes and putting them away. I remember a friend of mine saying to me "If you get put on bed rest I think you'd be way too bored." I thought she was crazy. But...here I am...2 weeks into it, and it's not always fun! The dreams I held in my head of what these days would look like aren't quite how they always are. My hair is totally disheveled and looks like I have never owned a hairbrush, my hips ache from laying down in this bed all day, and sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself! I have mounds of things around me that I could work on or watch or read, but sometimes I don't want to do any of it! Sometimes I just want to run around the house and scream!
I feel bad because dear friends and family call and I don't want to call them back because I'm in a mood and they don't need to hear me complaining over the phone.
I need to suck it up! I know that it won't last forever, and I also know how important this is! Every time I feel the boys move I am reminded about the job I'm doing and why I'm doing it - it's just not as fun as the first half of the pregnancy was. :)
Alright, that's the end of my venting session. Sorry. I might as well be honest though right? Chris has been amazing - truly. I don't know what I'd do without him. His skinny little self (everyone looks so stinkin' skinny!) just left to go to a football game with some of his friends tonight. He told me that he was craving some Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. As I laid here in bed all sprawled out I gave him the look of death and told him to have a wonderful time. It was dripping with a bit of sarcasm. :) He reminded me that tomorrow he was going to be painting the nursery all day, and the look on my face instantly changed!
Now it's time for a shower and dinner. Those two things always cheer me up.
How incredibly worth it all of this will be in just a few short months!

Lookin' Good

The appointment this morning went really well. 25 weeks tomorrow! I am due to post some new belly shots before too long aren't I?
First of all, I passed my glucose test this morning - so no diabetes for me! I was thankful for that news! The drink wasn't really all that bad. It tasted just like flat Sprite, but it was a nice change from all the water I've been drinking!
Boy A and Boy B are looking, in the words of my dear friend Bullock, "FANTASTIC!" :) They are still head down but have shifted a bit. They are laying diagonally in my stomach with their heads on my lower right side and all four feet up on my left side. I was wondering why I was feeling all those kicks up by my ribs! I thought it was all Baby A's fault, but I guess they're both going to town there!
Their measurements look great and the approximate weight right now is Baby A weighing in at 1 lb. 11 oz. and Baby B coming in a tad bit larger at 1 lb. 12 oz. The Dr. said that they are big boys and about a week ahead of where they should be right now!
We tried doing a 4D ultrasound today, but they wouldn't cooperate! They kept blocking their faces with their hands, or turning their entire bodies away from the camera. They must be camera shy like their mother. :) We will try again another time. We will be going every week, so we should have plenty of opportunities!
I am also happy to report that I am showing no change in my cervix so that is good to hear. I just need to keep on taking it easy because it seems to be working for now.
We are just taking it all one day at a time and crossing off each day on the calendar counting down the weeks to the arrival of these incredible gifts. Our sons. I can't wait to meet them! Well...yes I can...but you know what I mean!

My Family

This past weekend all members of my immediate family flew out from Minnesota to be with us. I was so excited just thinking about them coming. My sister-in-law Renee spent her morning Wednesday cleaning the house for us to help prepare for their arrival and it meant so much to me! It felt good to have our house in order before they arrived. Chris planned the menu and did all the grocery shopping - so we were ready to go!
Mom, Dad, and David arrived Thursday afternoon. They seemed to enjoy the view as I appeared in the doorway after they pulled in. They all thought I was pretty large! It was such a great reunion and nice to have them here. We came inside and I laid down. They each took a turn feeling the babies kick. They are quite the entertainment!
We had a very laid back evening with them and Friday Mom and Dad got to work! Dad washed our windows and Mom went through all the clothes we had received as shower gifts and started washing and sorting them into their correct sizes. She and I had so much fun oohing and ahhing over all the cute little boy clothes. She did so much work!
Friday evening Chris and David went to pick up Michael and Hayley from the airport. They got back here around 12. We woke up to see them before we all crashed back into bed. Such a sweet reunion!
Saturday we had a quiet morning around here before attending our baby shower. My mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousin, nieces, and dear friend put so much time and effort into the shower. There were the cutest favors and decorations. The theme of the shower was "Two Peas In a Pod." They had two peas in a pod plates, napkins, punch, balloons, cake, mints...the list goes on and on! I was so touched!
Chris brought our recliner from home so I was banished to the chair where I did my best to keep my feet kicked back the entire time. The shower was a blast and I was exhausted afterwords! We came back home and visited with my two cousins who came down for the day, and then I went off and took a nap for the afternoon. That evening we had a great dinner and played some family games before heading off to bed around11:30.
They all had to leave yesterday morning to catch their flights back to MN. It was so strange to say goodbye to them knowing that the next time I see them we will have two little boys with us! There was an excitement in our goodbye though in anticipation of all that is to come!! What a great weekend!

Mom tackling the nursery.

Schmoodie and myself

Dad washing windows!


Look at that cake Dana made! I was so in awe!The Berres Bunch - what a gift.

I'm Back!

Thanks to my incredible sister-in-law and friend Marf I am now back in the land of blogging! She is graciously letting me borrow her laptop and I can now comfortably check email, surf the web, and update my blog all from the comfort of my bed!
I feel that there is so much to update, especially after the fun past week we've had!
I'm going to blog first about my appointment and shower last week and then I may post a few other things today as well.
Last Tuesday we went to the Dr. for another check-up. We looked at the boys via ultrasound and as of last week they were still both head down. They looked great and their heartbeats looked strong, so we were thankful for that. They also checked me and it was a relief to hear that things had stayed the same since the week before. The Dr. told me to keep it up because what I was doing was working, so laying around it is!
After we left there we went to my school where I was able to finally say goodbye to my kids. It was such a great feeling to walk into my classroom and be surrounded by 21 nine year olds in a huge group hug. They are precious kids and I do miss them. The long term sub, who I have worked with before, seemed to have everything under control and I am just so thankful to her for popping in there last minute like she had to do.
We then went up to the school library where my sweet co-workers put on a baby shower for us. We were overwhelmed with the generosity and love that everyone showed us. Here are a few pictures from the party.

We Had a Little Talk

On Thursday evening the boys and I had a little talk about what was going on right now. We talked about how excited their Dad and I were to see them, but just not yet! I called them by name and reassured them that baking a bit longer was just what they needed to do. :)
On Friday morning I called the Dr.'s office to ask a few questions as far as my bed rest limitations were concerned. I also thought I would just mention the fact that I had been feeling some pressure in my lower abdomen. The pressure started Wednesday evening and had been carrying through until Friday. I almost ignored it and just thought it might have been me overreacting, but I thought I would leave that decision up to them. The nurse checked with the nurse practitioner on call and they told me to come on in for a fetal fiber nectin test. This is a test that looks for a protein that could possibly indicate whether or not you will go into labor in the next 10-14 days.
I called Chris and he was heading home from Richmond. He was about an hour from home and said he'd make it home in time to bring me up. We got to the clinic and they did an exam to check and see what was going on. They did find that I needed some medication to be treated for bacteria, and they said they would call with the results of the fetal fiber nectin test later on that afternoon as it had to be sent to a lab first.
We left feeling reassured and at peace with everything. We had lunch together, got my prescription order put in, and in the meantime we went to Home Depot to shop for the rest of our nursery decor. Chris found a motorized cart for me to use, so I puttered around Home Depot picking up paint, chair rail, a new light fixture, a dimmer...it was so much fun!! We are going to have one sharp looking nursery if I do say so myself!
We came home and walked in the door. As soon as we did the phone rang and it was the practitioner from the morning. She said that the results of the test came back positive. I was shocked once again. She told me that she had gotten in touch with my Dr. who was on call at the hospital, and she wanted me to come on in and get hooked up to fetal monitors to see if I was experiencing any contractions.
I was freaking out a bit, but Chris was the greatest soother. He kept things light as we traveled back up the interstate again - although I know he was nervous too.
We got to the hospital and had to get registered before they could do anything. At least that step is now done! They laid me down on a bed and attached three things to my belly - two monitors to listen to the boys hearts, and one to check for contractions. They brought me some water and I laid there for an hour.
Our Dr. came in and told us that they were seeing no contractions at all. She said that often times this early in a pregnancy and with this being a multiple pregnancy the results of the test can be skewed and show false positives. She told us that she wasn't changing her plan or diagnosis at all, but just to keep resting and drinking lots of fluids. She reassured us that we were doing everything right and she really saw nothing to cause her concern right now. She even said to not pay much mind to the pressure, but to be more observant for contractions instead. (The pressure has since subsided too!)
Big relief. She did say that it wasn't a bad thing that I came in, and that it's better to be safe than sorry. I just really appreciated their encouragement and expertise. I feel like we are in such good hands there.
It was really neat to lay there and listen to the boys hearts beating away. It sounded like a little marching band in there. They both have strong heartbeats and the nurse and Dr. were AMAZED at their hearts for being only 23 weeks. I asked why and the Dr. said that it showed that our boys had advanced brain development. She said that our brains know when to speed up or slow down our heart rates depending on our activity level - but that usually at this point in a pregnancy the babies don't know to do this. Usually their heart beats at the same rate pretty much all the time regardless of whether they are active or laying still. She said our boys though were already making the connection and she was impressed with our smart boys! That was a nice thing to hear! They must take after me. :)
And so here we are...back at home. Bed rest may get a little long, I have realized this already - but it's so important and it's for such an incredible cause. How worth it all this will be if I can carry these boys many more weeks and deliver them healthy and strong.
Thank you for your continued prayers, emails, and calls. We are so blessed to have so many awesome people surrounding us!

Bedrest

What a shocker! We went to the Dr. yesterday for our quick check-up on the boys and found out that my cervix has weakened a bit in the past two weeks. Due to this the Dr. turned and looked at me and said "That's it!" I asked her if she meant I should possibly start working part time. She said "Nope, you're done." I said, "Do you mean soon?" She said , "You're not going back tomorrow!" So there you have it! Just like that I am out of work.
The boys themselves looked great. They have flipped themselves all the way around and are both head down right now. Their hearts were beating away and their fluids looked good - it's just a matter now of keeping them in there for as long as possible.
We are making our goal right now the 32 week mark - which is 9 weeks away. At that point the Dr. said they can be born healthy and usually have no long term problems. If we can make it past that point we will be thrilled...but at this point we are taking it one day at a time.
THANK YOU ALL for your phone calls, emails, prayers. I feel overwhelmed and in awe of the love from our family and friends. These boys are so loved already!
I truly feel peace about the entire situation and just want to make the most of this time these next many weeks. I am going to take it seriously and I plan on doing nothing much more than just lay on the couch and eat food to get these little men as big as possible before their big debut. My hopes are high and I am feeling great right now.
Please continue to pray though that my cervix would regain strength and that any feelings of contractions or pressure would not come. I do feel like I am walking on eggshells some - so I just want to stay off my feet as much as possible.
I may a bit bad on the blog here until I get a computer that I can lay in bed with. I don't even like to sit up!
I also just want to say that I work for an AMAZING school and work with an AMAZING team. They responded amazingly well yesterday and just soothed all my fears and feelings of guilt for putting it on them so suddenly. My teammates Irene and Cheryl are truly remarkable and I don't have words to express my gratitude towards them and all that they are taking on as they deal with me leaving so abruptly. THANK YOU BOTH!
I'll be in touch and give updates as I can.
Love you all.