Let Me Count the Ways . . .

Number of Diapers I changed in a 25 minute time period:  5
Consecutive hours of sleep I usually get at night (with babies at 5 months old):  4-5
Number of bottles I make in a day:  12-15
How much formula we go through:  One can a day  :0(
Number of strangers who want to see/touch/talk about our twins when we go to the store:  4-5
Weeks spent pregnant:  34
Days spent in the NICU:  11
How much weight I gained during pregnancy:  about 50 pounds (eek!)
Number of times I've been asked "How do you do it?!":  1,192 times (just a rough guesstimate)  :0)
Number of burp cloths we go through in a day:  5 on a good day, 8-10 on a bad day
How many times I do baby laundry during the week:  4-5
How heavy they feel while carrying them in their car seats:  250 pounds
How long it takes me to get everyone ready before we actually walk out the door:  20-30 minutes
Number of smiles I see during the day:  20-50

How much we love these babies:  how do you make an infinity symbol on the computer?!  :0)

So VERY true

I found this funny video on another twin mom's blog.  Maybe you have to be a mom of multiples to appreciate this video.  I can SO relate to this conversation. 

Life is Crazy...I mean, Beautiful

I have fully intended to keep this blog alive.  I really want to write about life with twins.  I remember when I was pregnant with twins, I wanted to read all about other twin moms' experiences.  I promise that I WILL keep up with this blog...but let's face it:  life with twins is CRAZY!  Incredible, but definitely crazy.

So please forgive the few and far between posts.  Most of my free time is taken up by napping, lying down, and doing my best to keep my sanity in tact.  I love my babies and I refuse to give up baby-snuggling time for computer time.  I will do my best to get on here and write about life with twins!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these beauties:

Broken Water

Our Twin Birth Story

Okay, it's time to share the birth story! Life has been a whirlwind but I finally have a few minutes to sit down and share this.

It all started at about 5:00am on June 30, 2010. I woke up because my water had broken! I jumped out of bed and told Daniel, "My water broke!" Being half asleep, Daniel reached over to my nightstand and was checking to see where I had "spilled" my glass of water. After a minute or two, he finally realized what I was saying.

I grabbed my cell phone and ran to the bathroom. I texted my sister and told her that my water broke and I needed her to come over to sit with Hayley so we could go to the hospital. Thankfully, she headed right over. My mom was away at girl's camp, but she still had her cell phone with her. I tried to call her and she didn't answer. My mom has a silly habit of turning her phone off at night, or not having it by her at all. Here I was, doomed to have my babies and I couldn't get ahold of my mom! I called my dad at home and my other sister and told them what was going on. They worked hard to get ahold of my mom.

In the meantime, my sister and her husband showed up to watch Hayley and we rushed to the hospital. Thankfully, we live virtually right across the street from the hospital. I had called ahead to Labor & Delivery to let them know we were coming. When we got there, they were all prepped for a premature twin delivery. They had called in extra employees.

After my water broke the contractions started coming like crazy. Due to previous pregnancy complications, I was scheduled to have a repeat cesarean. I was not excited about having to experience contractions and labor pains knowing that I'd be having a c-section. Why should I have to suffer through both?! I was hoping they would hurry and start the process.

I knew that since my water had broken I would definitely be delivering the twins that day. I was scared and nervous since I was only 34 weeks and 1 day along. Technically my local hospital can deliver a baby as soon as you hit 34 weeks. However, I knew that there was still a very strong possibility that my babies would need breathing help that my hospital could not provide.

The nurses started the admittance process and the doctor rushed to the hospital. When my doctor arrived, he checked me and said I was dilated to a 1. When he checked me twenty minutes later I was just about a 3. The contractions were coming like crazy and were sending labor spiraling out of control. My doctor sat down and gave me the option of delivering at my local hospital or transferring me to a better hospital 50 minutes away. I could attempt to deliver at my local hospital, but if either of the twins needed extra breathing help, they would be transferred to the other hospital anyway. And I would be stuck at my hospital until I was discharged 2-4 days later. I couldn't bare the thought of not being where my babies were. I also wanted the babies to be right where the necessary help was available if they needed it. I didn't want them to suffer having to wait to be transported to the other hospital.

So although I was nervous about delivering in an unfamiliar place and with unfamiliar doctors, I knew it was the best for the babies. Nervously, I decided to be transferred to the better hospital.

The doctor immediately called the other hospital to prepare them for my arrival. He called for the ambulance and also ordered shots to stop my contractions so we'd actually make it to the other hospital without delivering in transit. I was grateful because those contractions were hurting like crazy!

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and loaded me up for transport. The doctor told them to take me "lights and sirens". I was nervous, but I knew we were making the right decision, no matter how scary the situation was. The EMTs were given a handful of shots to give me to slow my contractions. The shots worked well, but only for a few minutes. After about 10-15 minutes, the contractions would start up again and I'd need another shot.

Daniel was able to ride in the ambulance, but he had to ride up front. I hated being away from him. At first he said he just wanted to drive our vehicle down and not ride with me. I freaked out a little because I was nervous he wouldn't make it in time for the delivery. I knew everything was going to be rushed from here on out. Thankfully, Daniel finally agreed to ride in the ambulance.

The ambulance ride down was incredibly uncomfortable. I was laying on a tiny gurney, my belly was huge and uncomfortable, and I badly needed to use the bathroom (something about two babies pressing on my bladder). The road was bumpy and I felt like I was getting thrown around like crazy, with nothing to hold onto. It felt like it took an eternity to get to the other hospital.

After the long ride down, we finally arrived at the other hospital. The entire situation was surreal. I felt like I was watching someone else's life or a movie or something. It was hard to believe this was all happening to me. I was SO not ready to have these babies yet.

Once I arrived in Labor & Delivery, they immediately prepped me for surgery. I was miserable at this point and was ready for them to hurry the process along. They were amazingly fast at prepping me and before I knew it, I was walking to the O.R.

The room was smaller and less intimidating than the O.R. at my local hospital. The doctors were very kind and friendly. The anesthesiologist was a great guy who offered a lot of comfort and I was very grateful for how amazing he was. Everything was happening very quickly and it was difficult to take it all in.

Once I was finally laying on the operation table, they brought Daniel in. I expected to feel nervous and rushed and worried and scared. However, I was overcome with this incredibly comforting feeling. I didn't feel nervous at all. I felt calm. Incredibly calm. Amazingly calm.

I quietly prayed for the well-being of my babies. Before I knew it, the doctor said, "Here's little Wyatt!" I heard the sweetest little cry ever. The doctor then said, "Oh yeah, what a little stud . . . OH WAIT! That's not Wyatt, that's Ava!!" The doctors were shocked that she had managed to slip out first since she was the baby higher up. She was Baby B and was expected to be born second. The doctors joked that Wyatt was a gentleman and so he let her come out first. Either that, or they said Ava must've been very competitive.

They brought Ava around the curtain and held her up for me to see. She was beautiful.

One minute later, I heard another perfect little cry. They held Wyatt up for me to see. Just like his sister, he was beautiful.

Ava Grace was born at 9:11am, weighed 4 lb 15 oz and was 18 in. long.

Wyatt Jacob was born at 9:12am, weighed 5 lb 8 oz and was 18 in. long.

The babies were immediately taken to another room and I told Daniel to go with them. I could still hear them crying in the room next door so I knew they were doing well. In that moment, I felt so blessed. It was hard to believe that these two beautiful babies came out of me. I was overcome with emotion and I cried tears of immense joy. It had been a long and difficult pregnancy and I had finally seen my reward: two amazing babies.

The next little while in the O.R. was horrible. The medicine started creeping up to my chest and head and I felt horrible. I was nauseous, sick, and miserable. Not fun at all. The doctors noticed my tummy muscles had spread apart (which is normal for a multiple pregnancy) so they sewed them back together before finally closing my incision. It felt like an eternity before I was in recovery.

After quite some time in recovery, Daniel finally came to the room. He informed me that both babies were well, but having some breathing problems. Wyatt was doing much better than his sister, but still needed the assistance of high-flow to help assist his breathing. Ava needed the assistance of the CPAP to breathe. These babies, especially Ava, would definitely have needed to be transferred to this hospital so I'm glad we'd made the decision to deliver there.

The babies were surprisingly resilient. It was difficult to see my babies in the NICU and in isolettes with wires and IVs all over, but I knew they were here safe and would be healthy soon. I had done everything I could to get them here safely, and I am grateful that we at least made it as far as we did in the pregnancy. Wyatt recovered quickly and just needed to learn how to eat on his own. Ava was slower to recover, but soon caught up with her brother.

After 11 long days in the NICU, we were able to bring our sweet babies home. It was a great day!

Both babies are doing well. Due to the change in elevation from where we delivered to our home, the babies had to come home on oxygen. Wyatt only needed it for about two days and Ava came off at about six days.
They are great babies. Tiny babies, but great babies. Right now I feel grateful that I've been able to nurse them. It takes some getting used to, but I'm able to manage both at once.

I feel so grateful to be blessed with twins. The pregnancy was a nightmare that I soon hope to forget, but I feel so lucky to have been given these sweet babies. How lucky am I? I am so grateful for the prayers of our families and friends. I have felt the power of those prayers and I know they have made a difference.

My babies are here safe and I can't wait to watch them grow! I love them like crazy!!!

My Reward(s)

How can you look at these adorable faces and
not realize that every terrible moment
of the pregnancy was SO worth it?

Freak Show

I understand that twins are an amazingly unique thing. I feel super blessed! However, it's insane to me how crazy people go over twins. I have so many people chomping at the bit to come see these babies. Literally, going nuts to see them. I have random people drop by all the time to sneak a peek.

It's strange because most of the people are people who would never have visited me if I'd just had one baby. It is a small bit annoying how crazy people are to see these twins.

I hope I don't break everyone's hearts, but I have a small newsflash for you . . . they just look like normal babies. It's the truth. They look like any baby, but there's just two of them. People act as if the babies are going to put on a top hat and dance the jig. Sorry, they just don't do that! They are just normal, genuine babies. There just happens to be two of them.

Please don't misunderstand, I don't mind having visitors (for the most part). I'm especially receptive to the idea when people actual call before they come by (let's face it, I stay in my jammies most days). :0) It just amazes me how nuts people go over seeing these babies. It's adorable in a way, and I feel flattered.

I'd love for any family and friends to come see the kiddos . . . just don't expect them to do anything phenomenal. They are just babies.

For the record . . .

It is SOOOOOOOOOOO nice not being pregnant anymore!!!

:0)

Twin Bond

Having twins is so much fun. Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's so awesome to see these two sweet babies and know that they are mine. I'm so blessed!

It's interesting to see the bond that already exists between these two. Twins definitely have a bond that is unlike anything I've ever seen . . . I love it!

If I bring one of the babies downstairs and leave the other one upstairs, within a minute the one left upstairs will start fussing. It's like they know that they aren't by their twin anymore!

And when we're downstairs the babies sleep in different bassinettes. The other day the babies were both a little fussy and I couldn't figure out why. After exhausting every other option, I finally decided to lay them by each other in the same bassinette. They snuggled right up together and didn't make single peep again. They just missed each other! Amazing!

4 Week Stats

I do have an awfully lot to blog about and I will catch up one of these days. The computer I'm using won't let me copy and paste, so the twins' birth story is coming as soon as I get on a different computer.

Today I wanted to blog about the twins' four-week-old check-up. Everything went well and here are their stats!

2 weeks old:
Wyatt: 5 lbs 4 oz
Ava 4 lbs 11 oz

4 weeks old:
Wyatt 6 lbs 8 oz
Ava 5 lbs 10 oz

We are proud that the babies are doing well and gaining weight. They are still tiny, but they seem big to me (compared to how little they were in the NICU). Yay for good appointments!

They're Here!

The twins had a mind of their own and decided to come a little early.

Wyatt Jacob and Ava Grace were born June 30, 2010 at 34 weeks 1 day gestation.

They are currently in the NICU, but both are doing really well. Wyatt just needs to eat well for 48 hours and then he'll come home. Ava is slowly being weaned off her oxygen assistance (she's on high-flow now) and should be as healthy as her brother in the next day or two.

I'll post pictures and the whole story as soon as I am well enough to sit at the computer.

Keep our kiddos in your prayers! We'll update soon!

Dream

I had a dream last night that I had the babies. They were a little small, but very healthy. I was so happy! I felt great physically and was up and dancing around. It felt so good to have these babies out of me!

Then...

The nurse came in and said, "The doctor decided he wants the babies to grow for a little bit longer. He's going to put them back inside of you for a few more months."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Needless to say, it was a very scary dream. :0)

It's Official

I am finally at the safe point of this pregnancy where I can have my babies at our local hospital.

YAY, YAY, YAY!!!

I've been praying for this milestone to get here. I'm so happy!

Baby Update

The babies are still looking great. The last time they were measured was three weeks ago, and both babies measured 4 pounds at that time. So we are hoping they are about 5 pounds by now. The babies will get measured again in about a week.

Baby Boy is still head down and his head is really low. I guess that explains the frequent trips to the bathroom. Baby Girl switched from being head down to being in the transverse (sideways) position. Strange!

I still don't understand how both babies fit in there, but I guess they do somehow. I'm glad both babies have looked healthy during this pregnancy. Now we just need to get two more weeks of growth in and we'll be set!

The Heat Is On

I'm hot. All the time. It's crazy! At night I turn the AC down to 69 (although I'd really like to set it lower), I have the ceiling fan on, and I point a standing fan straight at me. Cooking twins gets hot!!!

My husband is so sweet to put up with it. He's a hot body and even he has been freezing in our room at night. Oh well, he can always put more blankets on. :0)

Countdown!

For once, the birth of the babies finally seems close. My doctor says he won't let me go more than three more weeks. Yay! Hopefully he'll keep his word.

Three weeks still seemed far away until the cute receptionist lady at Labor & Deliver said, "So when are we going to finally see you here with those babies outside of you?" I told her that it would be three weeks at the most. She got all excited and said, "Wow! That's really close! I can't wait!"

It was great to finally have someone acknowledge that delivery is close. Usually the nurses say, "You've still got a LOOOOOOONG time," and I just hate that. On the other hand, her excitement kind of knocked me upside the head. For the first time I thought to myself, "Holy cow, that is really close! Am I really ready for this?!"

Ready or not, they should be here in three weeks. YAY!

Belly Shot - 33 Weeks

My pregnant twin belly at 33 weeks. CRAZY! I actually think this picture makes it look smaller than what it really is, too.

Yes, all my maternity shirts are stretched to the max!

Almost Bed Rest

I understand that the doctor's want me to be on bed rest. I completely agree with that decision. What I don't understand, is how they expect me to sit home and relax when they schedule me five appointments each week! Give me a break, I'm getting exhausted going to appointments!

I really wish doctors and nurses could come to me. That would be nice. That would be true bed rest. :0)

Twice the Love

I realize that I complain a lot about this pregnancy. It's true, I am miserable. Aside from all the discomforts I've had with this pregnancy, I am truly grateful for being blessed with twins. I feel like it's such a miracle and sometimes I feel like I'm pressing my luck asking for two healthy babies.

The most amazing thing I've experienced with this pregnancy (besides the awesome sensation of feeling two separate beings move inside me), is the love I feel for both babies. I feel just as much love for each child as I do for my other children. It amazes me that I can love them so completely and so separately at the same time. I have so much love for each of these babies - as two separate children.

It's hard to express in words, but it is such a neat experience to feel such immense love for these two babies. I can't wait to meet them. I'm sure the feeling of love will be even more overwhelming.

Here's Your Sign

After complaining to my doctor about the horrible parking at the hospital, he was kind enough to give me a temporary handicap parking sticker. Yay! The only places I go anymore are to the doctor's office and the hospital, but it still wears me out. And the parking at the hospital is horrible.

It's nice to know that I won't go into labor walking a mile to get into the hospital anymore. Hooray for awesome doctors!

Time is Gold

We had a scare that resulted in me being placed on bed rest. Not fun.

At 31 weeks I went to the hospital for my normal bi-weekly nonstress test. As if timed perfectly, I started having contractions like crazy right when I got there. They monitored me for awhile and were concerned. They ran a Fetal Fibronectin Test, which tests for a protein that can predict the likelihood of you going into labor within the next couple weeks. To the nurses' surprise, my test came back positive. A negative result is more reliable and gives you a 99% promise that you will NOT go into labor within the next two weeks. Mine was positive, which means that I have a higher chance of going into labor within the next two weeks. A positive result is not as helpful as a negative result, but it still increases your chances of preterm labor. The nurse said, "I've worked here nine years and this is only the second positive I've ever seen...and the other lady who had a positive delivered her baby a few days later." Needless to say, I was kind of freaking out.

They gave me several shots of Terbutaline to relax my uterus in hopes of stopping labor. Thankfully, it worked and my contractions slowed down. They did an internal exam and found that my cervix was still closed. Good news! The nurse was surprised that I was still closed since I'm having twins and was contracting. At least one part of my body is cooperating!

Since there was a definite concern of preterm labor, they decided to give me Betamethasone steroid shots to help develop the babies' lungs faster. I received two shots over a 24-hour time period.

I've been given Nifedipine to take at home to control contractions. The medicine seems to be working and each day seems to be getting better. We'd really like to get these babies to at least 35 weeks. Let's hope my body cooperates!

My body is definitely drained. It's done so much and I can tell that it's ready to be done. I'm already measuring 46cm - which is like I'm a month and a half overdue. Sound like fun? It's not. I really think that my body is trying to go into labor so soon because of how large my uterus is. I feel guilty for putting my body through so much but I'm glad it's been relatively strong for so long. Just give me 2-3 more weeks!

So for those who have been worried, I'm doing okay. I'm stuck laying down all the time, but it will be worth it for every extra day I can give these babies. We'd love to ask for your prayers in helping us make it as long as we can.

And . . . my sweet sister loaned me her laptop for awhile so I'll be able to get online again. Yay! I'm so thankful for helpful people!

And throughout all the monitoring, the babies have looked great. Not a problem with them at all, we just need to bake them a little longer. It felt good to hit 32 weeks, because then the babies had a 99% chance of everything being completely healthy and normal in the long run. They'd obviosuly need to spend a few weeks in the NICU if they were born now, but they'd survive and be just fine. So that's a little bit of comfort. :0) We're still shooting for no NICU time.

Down for the Count

I am not purposely neglecting this blog. This is a result of one of the joys of being pregnant with twins - being stuck laying down all the time. And since my husband and I are apparently stuck in the stone age, we don't own a laptop. It's been too hard for me to get up to my computer and sit down long enough to blog. I really do have lots to say though. And if I can get a laptop to use, you won't be able to shut me up.

All is still well, just too uncomfortable to get online. The only time I get up and leave the house is for doctor's appointments.

I'm glad it's finally June, but I hope this month flies by fast. I'm going nuts!

Belly Shot - 25 Weeks & 28 Weeks

I'm behind on posting this, but here it is for your viewing pleasure:

(drum roll, please)

Look Comfy?

Well it's not! Ha ha! I know I've been a slacker on this blog, and it's truly because I'm too big and uncomfortable to sit at a computer. How I wish we had a laptop!

Believe me, I have lots to say and I will catch you all up soon. Everything is still going great with the pregnancy, besides the fact that I'm miserably uncomfortable. :0)

Gettin' the Itch

When I was pregnant with my first, I always promised myself that I'd NEVER be hugely pregnant again in the summertime ever again. However, I'm not one of those lucky people that can plan when I get pregnant. I just have to take what I can get.

So here I am breaking a HUGE promise to myself: I'm hugely pregnant and due in July AND having twins. Lovely.

And when I get hot my stretching skin itches like crazy! We've barely hit the 70s here and I'm already itching like a mad woman. When I get hot I want to rip off my clothes and just itch like crazy. It is not fun being outside or in public when I get the itches. I have to ignore it and my belly is just screaming to be scratched!

Although I had to break the original promise to myself, I now vow a new promise: I will stay inside my air-conditioned house as much as possible for the entire summer!!!

Say What???

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Again. I guess I need to start getting used to it because they are going to start happening two to four times a week soon. As of now, I just go weekly. But that will all change soon. I'll have my normal OB visit, my specialist visit, and two non-stress test appointments at the hospital every week. Can we say FUN?!? ;0)

The appointment went great. I am getting sick of the nurses not being able to find the heartbeats though. It really irritates me. That's always the worst part for me (since the devastating day we found out my firstborn son had passed away). I wish the nurses knew how horrible that is for me. Especially when they say, "Hmm . . . well I can't find them, maybe I'll go get another nurse to help me." My heart always skips a beat. NOT FUN. I wish they'd just stop searching for the heart tones and put me on the ultrasound machine to start with. Then there's no doubt that my babies are fine. *sigh* Oh well, c'est la vie. No worries though, we always find the heartbeats (eventually).

The doctor checked my cervix and it is completely closed and very tight. That's good! That's what we want to hear! He'll continue checking it every week from now until delivery. Super fun.

Then he measured the height of my uterus. For those who don't know, when you are pregnant with one baby, your uterus usually measures as many centimeters as you are weeks (example, if you are 35 weeks along then your uterus will measure 35 centimeters). Well here I was, 25 weeks pregnant and I was measuring 36 centimeters. AHH! With twins they expect you to measure about 8 weeks bigger. So even for a twin pregnancy, I am measuring a little big. Not a huge surprise though, I always measure a little bigger.

Then I nervously asked my doctor, "So when my uterus reaches 40 centimeters, will my body think it's time to deliver the babies?" He said, "Oh, no. You'll be surprised at what your body can do. You'll probably hit 44 cm before we're all said and done with."

Then the nurse said, "In fact, we measured a twin mom yesterday who was 50 centimeters and still hasn't delivered!"

SAY WHAT?!?!?! Wow. Well, at least I know that it's physically possible for a body to stretch that far.

So 50+ centimeters, here I come!

Throw Me A Bone

Yesterday was exhausting. It was picture day at the dance studio I work at. The picture part wasn't too stressful, surprisingly. The part that was difficult was all the comments I got from parents about my belly. Here are a few of them:

"Wow, look how big you are!"

"So you must only have a couple weeks left."

"Whoa, how do you carry that thing around?"

"You. Are. HUGE!"

"How does your back not break?!"

Etc. Etc. Etc. times a million!

Thank you everyone. Thank you for the over 50 comments I got about my huge belly. I feel like a beautiful princess now. Thank you. There are so many thoughtful people in the world. ;0)

Specialist Visit #2

We had another visit with the specialist last week. As much as I really hate driving 45 minutes to see a specialist, I enjoy the peace of mind I get from having another doctor check the babies. Everything looked great, but we did have one false-alarm scare.

The ultrasound tech took all the measurements and looked at all the anatomy. When the doctor came in the room he said, "There is one part of the anatomy that we aren't seeing." Apparently there was a part of the heart on Baby B (the girl) that the ultrasound tech couldn't find. However, when the doctor looked he realized that Baby B was clear over on my side. After he had me roll on my side, he was able to get a good look at the heart and see that everything was perfect. It was a stressful few minutes for me though!!!

Here are some ultrasound pics from my appointment:


The heads of my sweet babies


Hard to see (it's at the top, sideways), but a front shot of Baby Boy's face (you can basically just see the skeleton)


A profile shot of Baby Girl. She always seems to be more photogenic.

Again, a little hard to see, but this is a picture of the bottom of the girl's feet.

New Best Friend...

.
...okay, not literally. I was just surprised to get in the car yesterday and have my pregnant belly touching the steering wheel. Crazy! Luckily, I can scoot my seat back a little and still (barely) reach the pedals. In another week or two I don't think I'll fit at all. Insane!

Flip-Floppers

These kiddos just love to switch their positions. Last week the boy was breech and the girl was vertex (head down). This week they were both breech! I will be having a repeat c-section anyway, so their positions really don't matter. Although it doesn't seem to hurt my pelvis as much when they're breech.

I guess they better get all the wiggling in that they can . . . because in a week or two, they'll probably be stuck for good!

Priceless Advice

Here's the advice I got from one of my pregnancy books regarding two separate pregnancy symptoms I've been having: night hunger and frequent bathroom trips at night

1) "If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night due to hunger, try eating a small snack and having a small drink before bedtime."

2) "If frequent trips to the bathroom are waking you up at night, avoid drinking or eating anything before bedtime."

Thank you. Now my problems are completely over! That was some priceless advice. So pretty much I can't win. I'm glad the doctors who wrote the book spent so much time in college so they'd be educated enough to give such sound advice. ;0)

My advice? Choose which symptom of the two you'd rather have. As for me, I'll be visiting the bathroom several times each night. So much more convenient than waking up to eat!

Hello, Mr. Heartburn

A peek into my world: lately I've been singing this Dixie Chics song in my head. To make it more fitting, I changed the word "Mr. Heartache" to "Mr. Heartburn" so it would be more fitting to my current situation. I just think this song explains it so well. I only get heartburn when I'm pregnant and I hate it. Enjoy!

Hello Mr. Heartburn,
I've been expecting you
Come in and wear your welcome out
The way you always do
You never say if you're here to stay
Or only passin' through
So hello Mr. Heartburn,
I've been expecting you

When I don't feel like company
You make yourself at home
Even though you know
I'd rather be alone
Sleep walked out on me
And didn't even close the door
Next thing I know I'm starin'
At your shadow on the floor

I wish I could say it's nice
To see you back again
We're not exactly strangers
But we're not exactly friends
You know you're not invited but
You keep on comin' round
The last thing that I need is you
To kick me when I'm down

So, hello Mr. Heartburn,
I've been expecting you
Come in and wear your welcome out
The way you always do
You never say if you're here to stay
Or only passin' through
So hello Mr. Heartburn,
I've been expecting you

I've been expecting you
I've been expecting you
I've been expecting you

Ultrasound Pics

Here are some of the many ultrasound pics I've had done:

These first two pics are from the first time they looked at the genders. As you can see it says "Possible Boy" and "Possible Girl"

Here is a pic of their cute little heads! I still can't believe there are two in there!

.

This is a blurry picture of baby boy's face.

This is the front of baby girl's face.

Baby Girl was more cooperative (or just in a better position) so we were able to get a profile shot of her.

21 Weeks Belly Shot

Since I've had so many requests, I finally caved and posted a picture of my pregnant belly. It's not that I'm not proud of my pregnant belly, I love it! I just don't love the double chin and the super-size hips that go along with this pregnant belly.
.
This is me at 21 weeks. Insane, huh?! We've got a long way to go!!!

Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

It was very hard to sleep last night! It felt like both babies were dancing the jig all night! I loved it - it's so amazing to feel them move. It does, however, make it very, VERY hard to sleep. :0) Imagine if there were 5 cats using your belly as a trampoline and jumping and flipping on you all night. It would make it hard to sleep, right?!

I'm Lovin' It though!

And . . . my husband actually felt them move on the outside for the first time last night. He was so excited! He's been wanting to feel them for weeks now. I love all these milestones!

Music to My Ears

Another day, another appointment. I always love good appointments though!

I think it's funny that every time I've had an appointment lately, there's been a student from the college there, too. I don't mind the extra bodies - the more the merrier, right? Plus, once you've had kids, nothing is sacred or embarrassing anymore. Although the medical/nursing students are always a little nervous, they are excited to be in the room with a twin mom and see how different it is. I'm all about education so I don't mind one bit. In fact, it makes me feel kind of special!

The babies heartbeats looked great again today. There isn't a sweeter sound in the world than hearing your child's heartbeat!

It's exciting to know that my twins are dichorionic diamniotic twins. In simpler terms, that means they each have their own sac and their own placenta. They are completely separate. The great thing about dichorionic diamniotic twins, is that they are the safest kind of twins to have. Yay! We like safe!

Below is an example of the different types of twins:


Another thing I learned today is that our baby boy is vertex (head-down) and our baby girl is transverse (laying sideways). I think I'd like to have them both vertex. Then maybe my belly won't be so wide!

Four weeks ago, the doctor said my uterus measured to be about 18 weeks along. I was excited because then it meant I wasn't too big. However, today my uterus measured in at a whopping 32 weeks! Holy Shmoly! That makes me a little nervous because what will my uterus do when I measure 40 weeks along? Will it try to start labor early? Scary stuff. The doctor said I'm measuring fine for a twin pregnancy, but it's still a little scary to me.

All in all, it was a great appointment. I'm trying to stay positive and hope that everything will continue to go well. The power of positive thinking, the power of positive thinking, the power of positive thinking . . .

Specialist Visit #1

Yesterday was our first visit with our specialist. The appointment was good. He didn't really tell me anything different than my normal doctor tells me, but it was still nice to see the kiddos again on the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech said she'd print us LOTS of pictures, but she only printed four. Apparently in St. George, four is a lot. ;0)

I was glad to see that we are still having a boy and a girl. The only thing that changed is now the boy is labeled Baby A and the girl is labeled Baby B. All that really means is that they think Baby A will come out first. Daniel was happy because he thinks it's pretty important that the boy be born first. Men are so silly!

It was a pretty in-depth ultrasound and everything looked wonderful on both babies. Yay! Now our biggest concern is preterm labor. I'm not having any symptoms of that, but I am very aware that it could happen at any moment. Scary stuff.

The doctor gave us different statistics as to what our babies chances would be if born at certain points. If the babies are born at 24 weeks, they have a 58% chance of survival and only an 8% chance of being physically and mentally normal. If the babies are born at 28 weeks, they have an 80% chance of survival and an 80% chance of being physically and mentally normal. If the babies are born at 32 weeks, then they have a 99% chance of survival and a 99% chance of being normal. No matter what, we are shooting for at least 32 weeks!

My main goal is to make it to 35-36 weeks. Let's pray!

I will post the pictures from the ultrasound soon. As for now, I'm just gonna keep on cooking these babies!

Hello, Belly

For those of you who don't know, I teach dance at a local dance studio. Today while I was teaching my cute little three-year-old class, I noticed that two little girls could NOT stop staring at my belly. It was hilarious. They weren't just looking at it with curiosity, they were looking at it with their eyes bulging out of their heads! They were hypnotized and couldn't look at anything except my belly. The look on their faces made me laugh. I'm sure they were expecting an enormous basketball or a huge beach ball (or quite possibly a killer whale) to pop out from under my shirt. It was classic!

I also teach a Mommy & Me class. Two of the moms in the class have actually had twins so it's fun to visit with them. Today while I was attempting to sit on the ground for one of our stretches, one of the other twin moms just busted out laughing. She was staring at me and just laughing. She said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it! I was just remembering what that was like!"

I'm sure it's very entertaining to watch me get up and down off the floor. It really is quite an event. And me trying to stretch is getting ridiculous. It's a good thing that I'm dropping two of my classes in the next two weeks. I'm sad to hand them over to another teacher, but it's just getting too hard (and I'm getting much too big) to teach anymore. Thankfully, I'll still be able to do my older classes for another month. The girls already know their dances so I can just sit on a chair and boss them around. I think I can manage that ;0)

Dear Pelvis,

I'm sorry. You tell me every day how mad at me you are. I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise. So please stop sending me signals about how much pressure you're under. I get it. Please help me through to the end. My babies need you!

Forever yours,
Jenny

Just Say NO!

I've always been the type of person to say YES whenever anyone needs me to do something or be somewhere. Being pregnant with twins, I'm learning that I have to start saying NO to things. It's difficult for me to do! I've always been able to help others out and keep up with life, but I'm just finding it too hard these days.

Do I want to help cook meals for three neighbors? Yes. But can I currently do that? No.

Do I want to help cover someone's teaching day at preschool? Yes. But can I quickly run errands and plan a lesson in a few hours? No.

Do I want to work through the end of the season? Yes! But can I realistically do that when I am so tired and sore? No, not even close.

Do I want to carry my daughter and take her to play at the park? Certainly! But is it in the best interest of these babies for me to do so? No.

Can I shop at Walmart for more than 20 minutes? No. Can I show my dancers how to do pirouettes and leaps? No. Can I fly my daughter around the room and listen to her giggle? No. Can I travel for three hours one-way to attend a family event? Probably not.

As you can see, I'm learning to say NO. I don't always like it and it's not always easy, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get these babies here healthy. So if you are a recipient of one of my NOs, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you one day!

Just try to remember that saying NO right now means saying YES to healthy babies later on!!!

The Results Are In . . .

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The doctor thinks we are having a girl and a boy. Yay! I don't think I could be more excited!
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Hayley and I made these cute little boxes and picked out the stuff to put inside. We gave the boxes to my parents to open in front of my family. They were all so excited! All the Rowleys were excited for us, too, but we couldn't wait two weekends to tell them so we just told them all over the phone. :0)
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This wasn't my official 20-week ultrasound. Apparently that has to be done with a specialist in St. George. So we should have some good pictures to post of that ultrasound in a couple weeks.

Winning the Lottery

I had another wonderful appointment today (more details to come later). Why is it that I feel SO lucky every time I have a good appointment? I feel like I am undeserving to be blessed with twins. It's like winning the lottery. It's so hard to wrap my mind around such a blessing!

I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

Karate Kid(s)!

I have felt the babies move off and on for quite some time now. Today we were driving home from the store when I got kicked so hard it made me jump. It was awesome! Daniel was like, "Holy cow!" because I think I scared him when I jumped. It was the strongest kick I've felt so far.

It's awesome though. There's nothing like feeling a baby move inside of you . . . and feeling two babies is twice as amazing. I look forward to every kick, wiggle, elbow, and back flip that these kids will do inside of me. I'll try to remember to cherish every movement when they wake me up in the middle of the night in a couple months from now.

So when I start complaining about sleepless nights because of the acrobatics going on in my tummy, please help remind me of how grateful I am!

The Love Gain

I know it's very important to gain weight when you're pregnant with twins. I understand that and I'm trying really hard not to freak out everytime I get on a scale or look in the mirror. I know that every pound I gain is a step closer to having healthy babies. And I want my babies to definitely weigh over 5 pounds when they're born. So I'll do my best to gain weight for these kiddos.

However, it's still hard to take. It blows my mind to look like I'm already 6-7 months pregnant and I'm only 17 weeks. I'm always big when I'm pregnant, but this is crazy! I don't mind getting bigger (okay, maybe I do mind a little), but when I look at my bulging belly and think of all the many weeks still left in this pregnancy, I tend to go a little nuts. Just how big is this thing gonna get?!?!

I have to apologize to my current stretch marks because I'm sure even they are going to get stretch marks. How far can skin stretch anyway? I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Dedicated Twin Talk

I have so much I want to talk about with this twin pregnancy! I don't want to post every single day on our family blog about our twin pregnancy (since some people might get sick of hearing about it). That's why I've dedicated this blog to talk all about my twin pregnancy.

Feel free to follow along. I'm hoping this will serve as my journal during this pregnancy. I've reposted some of what I've already written on my family blog so I can have everything in the same place. I invite any and all interested family and friends to follow along on our journey.

Overflowing Heart

There is nothing in the world like hearing/seeing your baby's heartbeat. Now imagine the joy I feel when I see TWO heartbeats! It's honestly indescribable.

Today I had a great doctor's appointment. He was just doing an ultrasound to make sure everything still looked good. I'm always nervous before appointments (I'm sure you'd understand why).

At first the doctor just looked at one baby, checked the heartbeat and said, "Ok, your baby looks great! See you in four weeks!" I gave him a confused look and said, "Well, are both babies okay?" Once again, he turned red. He was embarrassed because he had totally forgotten that I was having twins! He humbly started the ultrasound again and saw the other baby. I was happy to see that the second baby had a strong heartbeat and was moving around like crazy. It was almost comical to watch this little baby move. It was like the baby was showing off, saying, "Oh, you couldn't see me before?? Watch this!!!"

My heart is overflowing today. I feel so blessed. I know I've got a long way to go with this pregnancy, but at this point in time, I couldn't ask for anything more. I'm just enjoying the moment.

God Has a Funny Sense of Humor

God has a funny sense of humor. At least, that's what my doctor told me. Ha ha ha, laugh it up. ;0)

I take back all those times that I thought life was unfair. I regret all the times I was sad because women were having babies faster than me, even though they were younger than me. I'm sorry I ever felt like I wanted everything to even itself out so that I could feel better. I'm embarrassed by all the times when I wondered if Heavenly Father REALLY knew what he had planned for my life or if He'd just forgotten me. I should've known better after all I've been through. There's a reason for everything. I regret so much.......because now I think life is being a little TOO fair to me. ;0)

I've had lots of emails and questions about this pregnancy, so I figured I'd answer them all in this post. As some of you are aware, we had been trying to get pregnant for almost two years. We did conceive right away at first, but then miscarried a few months later. That was over a year and a half ago, so we were feeling pretty down thinking that we'd never get pregnant again.

I had procrastinated trying Clomid because I really wanted to avoid that if possible. Plus, we aren't loaded with cash so I knew we'd only be able to afford a few months worth of it. I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which, when related to fertility, causes me not to ovulate as often as I should. Rather than ovulating 12 times a year, I was ovulating more like four times a year. That makes it very hard to get pregnant, especially when it's so unpredictable. I had been taking a few medicines that were supposed to help balance out my hormones so I would ovulate, but they just hadn't been working. So after nearly two years on those medicines, I finally caved in and agreed to try Clomid.

Clomid is a drug that helps stimulate ovulation. I took oral pills to help get the eggs ready. Then when I got mid-cycle, I received a shot to help release the egg. Before I got the shot, the doctor did an ultrasound and told me that I did have two eggs that were ripe enough to be released. We crossed our fingers that everything would work out just fine. And so it did.

I found out I was pregnant during Thanksgiving weekend. We were so excited, but also a little hesitant to believe it, too. It seemed too good to be true that we'd be so lucky to conceive on our first round of Clomid. I have so many friends who were on Clomid for months and it never worked. Sure enough though, I took two more tests several days later and they were all positive. I was thrilled.

Since I've had pregnancy problems in the past, and since I have PCOS, my doctor wanted to see me at 6 weeks just to do an ultrasound and make sure everything was going okay. So early December, I went to the ultrasound technician so she could do my ultrasound. She looked and said, "Wow, there's two in there."

She had to look pretty hard for the second one, but it was definitely there. It's funny because Daniel was a little late getting to the appointment. He wasn't there when I first found out there were two. He came in a few minutes later and the first thing he did was say, "Now there's not two in there right?" and he laughed jokingly to himself. The ultrasound tech said, "Actually, there are." Daniel froze. It was so funny! He was dumbfounded.

So for a week we were in shock. We could hardly believe there were two in there! We were excited and overwhelmed and shocked and nervous. Visions of buying (and changing) double diapers and many countless sleepless nights raced through our heads. We were worried.

Then a week later we met with the doctor. He said that he wasn't really sure if there were two in there or not. He did an ultrasound and said, "Nope, there's just one." I told the doctor that the ultrasound tech had to look pretty hard for the second one. He said, "No, I'm sure. There's only one. Sometimes the machine can give off an echo and make it look like two." I assumed he knew what he was talking about. Plus, he was SO sure of himself.

We breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt a lot more confident about carrying just one baby to term.

Over Christmas, we announced to our families that we were pregnant. They were all so excited for us. I think a lot of prayers were said on our behalf that we'd be blessed with a baby. Come to think of it, maybe we had TOO many people praying for us . . . ;0)

At our next appointment the doctor did another ultrasound. As soon as the screen popped up he said, "Oh, wow. I'm going to have to eat a huge slice of humble pie right now. There's DEFINITELY two in there!" I think I said, "Oh, no! Don't tell me that!" Ha ha ha. It's not that I'm NOT thankful for twins, because I am. What an amazing blessing. However, being pregnant with twins doubles my worries. Now I worry about preterm labor and I worry if my body can successfully carry TWO babies to term. It seems like I'm asking too much now to try and get two babies here safely. It seems like too much to ask.

And remember that my sweet son, Parker, made it full-term and then died unexpectedly, without any reason. Part of me worries that maybe my body just couldn't sustain him to term. My doctor delivered Hayley a few weeks early because he was worried that my body couldn't carry her to 40 weeks. He didn't want to chance it. And since there is no known reason why my son died, my doctor just wants to be safe.

Knowing that, you can see why I worry about my body being able to carry twins. I know it can happen and that I really can have two healthy babies, but I still have worries in the back of my mind. It makes it twice as scary. I try not to think about it too much though. I am trying to stay positive and optimistic. I will take everything one day at a time and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep my babies healthy.

Both babies are measuring perfect and have nice, strong heartbeats. That's all we can ask for at this point.

We are very excited and feel incredibly blessed to be having twins. We are a little worried about how we'll afford twins and how we'll fit them (and all their stuff) into our house, but we know it will all work out. I believe that there is a reason behind everything that happens. The Lord will provide a way.

As far as how I've been feeling, I'm sure you can guess. I've been twice as nauseous, twice as hungry, and I've been feeling twice as big. I go to the restroom twice as often and I am tired all the time. I am doing my best to take it easy. I'm hoping to avoid bed rest, but I know there's a strong possibility that it could come up during this pregnancy. I'm just hoping I can do whatever it takes to keep this kiddos healthy and inside of me for as long as possible.

Thank you all for all of your prayers and support. We are so excited that it's finally our time to have a baby.....I mean, TWO babies (I'm still kind of in shock about it). We feel so grateful and we can't wait to meet our little ones.

So I think God does have a sense of humor, even if it isn't always immediately funny to us (although it was pretty funny to see my doctor make fun of himself for being wrong). But more than that, I think God has a huge sense of timing and a huge sense of love. It's amazing how His plan is so much better than the one I would have made for myself. Although His plan includes hardships, tears, and pain, it also includes more learning and love and blessings than I ever could have imagined for myself. Thank you, Father. Thank you for being a hundred million gazillion times infinity smarter than me. Thank you for life, and thank you for loving me.

Now bring on the twins!!!