13 Weeks!

Another milestone down!  With our first trimester screening results looking healthy and another ultrasound down, we are looking forward to our vacation (“babymoon” – like honeymoon, but a trip you take before the babies arrive) and some relaxation!

At this point, we have also told the news to all of our friends, family, and even posted on facebook! Everyone is of course overjoyed for us. People who already have twins welcome us to the “twins club”… 

This society just seems fascinated with twins, like it’s some supernatural phenomena.  :-)    

3D picture of you both snuggled up together

12 Weeks!

Sorry I haven’t written for 3 weeks! I have been tired, sleepy, more nauseous than ever before, and just uncomfortable in general. I had a week-long business trip to Chicago at 10 weeks and spilled my beans (literally) to my co-workers and my boss. Everyone was so nice and offered to do things for me, like moving my chair across the room. One of my co-workers, Michael, even got you guys a baby book of tongue twisters about the Fox in The Sox. It was so sweet! During that trip, I also shoveled food onto my plate every chance I got and ate it all. I also supplemented with protein shakes all day since it’s easier to drink your calories than to eat them when you’re trying to gain weight. 

But here we are at almost 12 weeks and I have a visible bump now, but still weigh 113 pounds! I just don’t get it – every day I eat SOOO much more than I used to eat pre-pregnancy and I don’t  burn my calories during intense exercise anymore. It’s pretty much down to walks in the park with Chaser at this point. I guess gaining weight is much harder than I thought!  According to my twin book, I should have gained close to 15 pounds by now, but I just don’t see how that would be possible. I can only hope my appetite revs up as I get into 2^nd trimester and I can actually gain some fat. So far, everything I am eating seems to go straight to my 2 little beans.

Technically, each of you is the size of a lime this week. But you’ll always be my little beans. J  We can’t wait for our first trimester screening and the next ultrasounds – both in 2 days!  They might even be able to guess your genders then!

Almost 9 Weeks!

Well the time just ticks on by week by week. M and I are wrapping up our trip in Las Vegas and I am ready to come home. Never thought I’d get tired of Sin City, but these two little beans are wearing me out. I take naps during the day, so I can stay up until 11:30pm (if I am lucky). Even though I usually eat something before going to bed at nearly midnight, I wake up at 7:30am so hungry I could eat cardboard. The hunger makes me feel a little nauseous and the combined hungry/sick feeling carries me out of bed and to a nearby café to get food. At home, I can just go to the kitchen, eat something, and go back to bed. On vacation, I almost need to stash some snacks in the room, so I can sleep in. I suppose if that’s the worst of my pregnancy symptoms, then I don’t have it bad at all. Two more days until my little beans are 9 weeks old!

Double the Good News!

It’s been two days since M and I have been absorbing the shocking, yet blissful news that our “little bean” is after all TWO little beans!!!  Sitting together in the ultrasound room in complete stupor, looking at the monitor and listening to two strong heartbeats made this real for us.

Each, just a tiny ½ of an inch long and yet 2 strong hearts beating away at 150 beats per minute!  It was the most beautiful sound to hear!  As the pictures on the right suggest, from now on you guys are not “beans” (although you are each the size of a kidney bean now) as far as our doctors are concerned, but Baby A and Baby B.

You should have seen M’s facial expression when I said out loud as soon as the first image came on the screen: “Is that TWINS?!”   He was literally picking up his jaw from the floor. 

  

While I thought I might have read enough baby books and prepared myself enough by making a baby registry and designing the nursery, I left the doctor feeling like I am in no way prepared anymore. Back to square one!! Now, it’s all about the Mothers of Multiples Club, parents of twins message boards online, and all about twin books. We are scared, but thrilled! We can do it!

The doctor won’t let me go past 38 weeks and over 50% of all twins don’t even make it to 37 weeks before birth, so chances are we’ll get to meet you guys in late September / early October! Now, the guessing game begins about the gender. Girl/Boy fraternal twins are the most common, but I have a suspicion that you are both little girls. We’ll see if my instinct is right!  I claimed that I had a feeling about there being two of you, but M doesn’t seem to believe me! So, I am putting my gender prediction in writing! Never discount a mother’s instincts! J

I still haven’t gained any weight really. I eat the same amount as before. 8 weeks along and 112.5 pounds with a flat tummy!  As I type this, M and I are sitting on a plane on the way to Las Vegas for a long weekend and I plan to get plenty of pool time. I bought some maternity clothes in case I blow up all the sudden and need to take them on this trip, but I packed some sexy “party” clothes instead because 1) they fit the same and 2) they will be missed for a long time when you two start growing & competing for space in this tummy!  :-)

Four More Days to the First Ultrasound! Eeee!

My morning sickness has been gone the last few days and I haven’t woken up at night as much, so I feel lucky. I still have some food aversions – the sight and smell of deli cuts or even raw poultry or fish is grossing me out. I ate some chicken nuggets last night in a wrap and that went down easy, but overall just trying to avoid meat right now. It’s all about veggies, crackers, eggs, beans, and soup. Sometimes I wish I had the morning sickness back, so I could feel pregnant and not worry. Thankfully I only have 4 more days to wait!!

PS – I think you’re a girl. I felt that way for weeks and we won’t know for sure until 18-20 weeks (late May – early June), but I just have a feeling.

Countdown to the First Ultrasound

You’re almost a blueberry (7 weeks) but I still like to think of you as my little “bean” – hope you don’t mind. It’s a term of endearment. :-)

We are getting closer to March 13^th – our first ultrasound and appointment. I just hope it will only be good news and feel secretly scared to think otherwise.

This past week, I have definitely been feeling differently than before. My middle of the night trips to the bathroom are more frequent, I am nauseous in the mornings and randomly throughout the day… I also crave something one minute, then go to get it and before I can even take a bite I instantly feel disgusted by it. Lemon water and pomegranates are my friends – these 2 things I can always stomach.  On Sunday, I ate pizza for all of my meals (and that means you did too – sorry!).

M and I have started kicking around ideas on what to name you. M is so picky! He is much pickier than me.  I think if you’re a boy, we are really going to struggle to agree on names. We barely agree on the two boy names we have now!!  

Telling the Parents & Nursery Designs

Well, we are not even 6 weeks along yet, but the nursery design is 100% complete with paint, furniture, and décor all picked out!  When you get to know me in the many years to come, you will understand how much of a planner I am. When I get excited about something, I go into full on attack mode with measuring, sketching, pinning ideas on Pinterest, emailing stuff to myself, you name it!

The other exciting news is we finally let the cat out of the bag with our parents. Of course both were utterly thrilled for us! My mom cried and M’s was not far behind. Now it seems that’s all they ever email/talk about! 

The Wait

The wait certainly goes on. No news is good news, I suppose! I have figured out the secret to sleeping without cramps at night – having a glass of milk before bed. Speaking of sleep, I easily sleep for 12 hours a night.  Around 9:30pm, I get ready to turn the light off – this is so out of character for me, but I listen to my body! And this is the kind of sleep that bears go into when they hibernate for the winter.

Our first ultrasound couldn’t come soon enough! Its 3 full weeks from today! Ahhh…

Now, I am obsessed with planning your little nursery room. I am thinking Winnie the Pooh – it’s a sweet cartoon that even I watched growing up, plus its gender neutral.

Telling Someone Finally

Well today was certainly an exciting Sunday! After faking my way through a virgin strawberry daiquiri last night, I was ecstatic to tell a friend about our news today when I had my girlfriends over. My BFF was so excited for us! It was a huge weight off my shoulders and nobody even questioned my pink mocktail with a lime! Sneaky sneaks.

M and I made plans to tell our parents next weekend. Wait, did I already tell you that? Well, I have baby brain to blame now. I really hope this news will encourage mom to at least try to quit smoking. I can't remember the last time she felt like 100%; seems like something is always bothering her. They come over Friday night - 4 more LONG days to wait! We will tell M's parents on Sunday and Saturday we are splitting up for guys and girls night. I plan to tell another friend that day! They say the general rule is: don't tell anyone you're pregnant, unless you're willing to tell them you're miscarrying... Sorry my little bean, I am just terrified of losing you - my biggest fear in life in right now!

I am so wiped out right now, after cooking all day, entertaining, and clean up! It's only 9pm, but it seems to be my new standard bedtime each night now. Last night, we went to the movies with Matt and Christina. M got tipsy and the three of them goofballs wanted to go to a bar, so I drove us there, where they proceeded to have more drinks. We left by 11pm, but to me it felt like 3am. Last night was also the first night that I needed Tylenol to go back to sleep when my lower tummy cramps woke me up... Hopefully they won't be as bad tonight because I am tired!! Thankfully I did yoga this morning; stretching out my sore limbs helped. Kind of interesting to be the most muscular girl in the yoga class, but yet one of the newest and least coordinated people in the class. It's a new kind of challenge for me! I wish I never stopped when I got good at it about a year ago...

Valentine’s Day Celebration!

Well, my little bean (actually you’re a poppyseed right now, not even big enough to be a bean!) – today M and I are celebrating the Day of Love and what better gift to give each other than a gift of life (you!). Not to sound corny or anything, but we have been waiting to share this moment for so long!

The lines on my pregnancy tests are getting darker as you grow. Last night, I could hardly sleep as I had major cramps in my abdomen – the uterus growing and stretching to ready itself for a growing embryo. So exciting!  The cramps won’t stop me from exercising though. As I type this, Chaser is circling me and whimpering, demanding to be taken for a jog. So, off we go in a few!

I just can’t WAIT to tell our parents about the news. Not a soul knows so far besides M and I. We were sitting in bed last night looking at creative ways to tell the parents we are expecting you. So, we finally agreed to give them a “I love my grandparents” decorative picture frame with a letter from you framed inside… M is making me wait until you’re at least 7-8 weeks, but it’s already so hard. Mom is my best friend and I tell her everything, so to keep this from her especially while she’s been the shoulder to cry on through all of our trying to conceive just kills me.  I want to tell my friends too! My BFF told me she was pregnant at just 7 weeks!