32 Weeks

32 weeks seems like a good number to hit. To the best of my understanding, the babies are fully developed and gaining weight at this point. They would have a really good chance of survival if they were born at this point (I am NOT hoping or wishing for that) and would likely just be in the NICU to gain weight and learn to suck/swallow/breathe.

At this point they weight about 3.75 lbs each, and should continue to gain about a half pound a week (yes, EACH) until birth. Twins often do slow down earlier than singletons though. I'm guessing they'll be between 6 and 7 pounds. What would you guess?

I was looking around the internet for some belly mapping pictures to help "show" you how the twins are situated and I found these.

My Right                                                         My Left

This is pretty close to how they are positioned. Dean, twin A, would be the presenting twin (presenting=closest to cervix) and Dani, Twin B, is the twin on my right. Her head generally feels as though it sits on my right hip. I'd also guess that Dani sits in there like this:

Right Occiput Posterior

And that Dean sits in there like this:

Left Occiput Anterior

So, pretty much exactly as is shown in the twin picture I used first. I have a lot of women ask me about movement and what it feels like. It feels exactly like having a singleton, with twice as many body parts! Similar in that they still have their wake/sleep patterns, and their preferred positions (although I'm not sure how easily they could actually switch positions at this point) but different in how many limbs move at once! I am still waiting for them to get hiccups at the same time as I imagine that will be a unique sensation! I am so thrilled that both babies are vertex and presenting well.

I'm not sure what's up with the goofy smile.

As for me, I'm doing well. I think last post I wrote was a pretty big downer but there are good days and bad days and those were some bad days all in a row. I feel bad for even complaining: I have been incredibly blessed to have a smooth, uneventful pregnancy so far. I haven't had morning sickness to speak of really, or pre-term labor, or any signs of the many other things that often go wrong in a multiple pregnancy. So I'll take my few discomforts and be glad to inhabit a body that seems to do pregnancy "well".

I have such a peace about this being my last pregnancy, and I never thought I would. I loved pregnancy the first two times, and I still enjoy a lot of parts of it this time. I thought I would really struggle and be sad knowing that it was the last time I'd get to feel a little baby squirming around in there but for now, I am completely at peace knowing I won't be doing this again. Maybe that's the unexpected blessing of extra physical discomfort! It seems to go beyond that, though, in the knowing the God is closing this childbearing chapter of my life. I know I'll miss the sweet newborn stage but I'm sure I can find somewhere to volunteer to get my "fix".

No strange fruit or veg, just cute little faces!

I've started to have some pretty funny encounters with strangers lately regarding my size. I can't even count the number of times I've clarified them as twins and gotten a relieved, "oh, I THOUGHT you were too big for one!" The best encounter I've had lately though was at the pool. I was chatting with a sweet couple and we were talking about our kids. I had just finished telling the husband how old Shane and Azaria are, when he asked if they were twins. Ahhhh, clever! I told him no, but the ones inside were! That started an amusing argument between the husband and wife about whether or not he'd guessed I was having triplets or just multiples. And for every time I've had someone tell me they don't know what they'd do if they had twins, I've probably had another person tell me how much they wanted to have twins. I find, as I've said every pregnancy, that it's best to not get offended by the awkward things people say or intro questions they ask as generally they are just looking for a way to start a conversation with you. Pregnancy and babies are something people of all ages seem to love! (Do I NEED to start singing the Circle of Life song?)

In the morning, I look bigger than I feel, and by night time, I feel bigger than I look. I haven't had any swelling in my legs, ankles, or feet, which is wonderful, and while my fingers are definitely puffy I can still get my rings on and off. My face is certainly puffier, which is annoying but just an expected part of it at this point. 

My big project this past week was to get all of my carpets cleaned, which is a huge job but it needed done desperately and I really did not want to have to do it after the twins were born. At this house it's not at simple as just cleaning the carpets though. I have to empty the room, clean the windows and wipe dirty hand marks off the walls (which I have to do all the time anyway), and THEN I can vacuum and steam. I actually go over the carpets twice because they just collect SO much dirt and grodiness. Thanks to my mother's training, I don't see any point in cleaning a floor if everything else above it is dirty. I did ignore the ceiling fans though. I'm absolutely certain they are disgusting, but I didn't look because I didn't feel it would be terribly wise to be teetering on a step stool to clean them at the point. When I did the living room, Nathan shoved the love seat into the play room and then he moved the big couch for me. I love having the little couch in the playroom! I feel like I spend so much more time playing with the kids again, so we left it there. Because the floors were such a project I didn't get much else done other than sewing a shirt, but the was probably the most physically demanding project I had left so I'm just happy to have it done! On to the three overflowing baskets of (CLEAN!) laundry I've been ignoring, the hospital bag I should start thinking about, the baby stuff I should start bringing in the house, the paperwork I need to do, and the million other things on my to do list!

27 and 28 Weeks {4 Days}

Sorry guys, I don't have any of the cute fruit/veggie pictures with the kids for these two weeks. 27 weeks were two rutabagas. I'm not entirely sure I'd recognize a rutabaga, much less know how to eat two of them!
27 weeks brought a few strange pregnancy symptoms. I discovered that the odd, smooth patches on my tongue devoid of taste buds are what is known as geographic tongue--sometimes brought on my the hormones of pregnancy. In my case it's utterly painless, just...odd. I had my 3am insomnia return, but thankfully only for for or five days. I also noticed that my skin is incredibly sensitive sometimes. So sensitive that even the brush of one of the kids touching me makes me just want to scream. It seems to be most concentrated in my legs and torso, but thankfully it's not constant!

At 28 weeks, the twins should be around 2 1/4 lbs each, or around the size of an eggplant. Again no picture with the kids because I can't stand eggplant, so what would I do with two?!

Do I look tired? Cause I feel tired. Obviously I'm so tired I didn't clean the mirror after Shane "cleaned" for me.

The twins seem to be doing well, and I think I am as well although I won't lie, I'm certainly feeling large! Can I just tell you how heavy this belly is? I feel like I'm nearly full term with a singleton. Evening walks (waddles?) are pretty out of the question for me, as I'm in quite a lot of pain from my hips and I seem to have a lot of BH contractions when I walk in the evenings. The pool is as much as necessity as ever; what a blessing that I'm having this pregnancy in a place where I can be in the water nearly every day.

My favorite time of the day is the evening, when I lay down and watch the twins move. It's incredible to see how big and obvious they are already as they dance around, and they still have 10ish more weeks to grow! It creeps Nathan out to watch or feel them. He says it looks like aliens dancing around under my skin and it's creepy. So I guess it served him right that the last time he tried yelling at my belly to wake them, he got a thump in the mouth! Haha.

Oh, and lest I forget, I failed my second one hour glucose test. Even though I passed the three hour with flying colors last time, they wanted to diagnose me with GD since I failed the one hour a second time. I refused to go to the MFM (my insurance won't cover them!) and told the nurse I wanted to take the three hour again. I won. Yaaay? Lucky me. Darn double placentas!

25 and 26 Weeks {and three days}

26 weeks marks the end of my second trimester...woohoo! I can't believe how much this second tri has draaaaaaagged by. I felt like this pregnancy was flying by before the summer--we were doing something every day, whether is was a pre-school swap day (three days a week), bible study, church, or finding a fun free activity. Once summer hit we were down to bible study and church and time has not been ticking by as quickly! Of course now we go swimming most days and there are still a lot of fun things to do in the area but it has just seemed slower.

Cauliflower sized at 25 weeks

My kids ditched me for last week's picture and I didn't realize I had dropped something on my stomach, so be forgiving. I spent that week slaving away over a dresser and nightstand that I wanted to refinish for the babies. They were both side of the road freebies and worked well, just needed a little sprucing up! I spent hours outside in the hot sun, wearing a mask, sanding and cleaning and priming and painting and sealing. Between trips outside I worked on a couple of things I wanted to organize, washed and stored some baby stuff, and cleaned the house top to bottom. That Friday (when I turned 25 weeks) my dad kicked me off the remainder of my project (the dresser drawers) and finished painting and sealing them for me. That sounds like it should have been a simple project but the drawers are ornate and detailed and had to be completely painted with a tiny paintbrush. I had primed them all and by the time I finish my hips were dying from sitting on a stool hunching over the drawers. It sounds like it shouldn't have been much work at all, but it was unbelievably exhausting! Then my parents spend the weekend with us, and this past week I volunteered at our church's vacation bible school all week. That also sounds like it should've been easy, and was also an exhausting week! Saturday we ran errands all day, and yesterday I started volunteering at church so I was there all morning. In the afternoon we packed a picnic supper and spent a few hours swimming. Ahhhh, water. Sweet rejuvenating pain relief! I so love the pool. So to recap, the last two weeks have been busy, although fun, and I'm tired!

So here we are, 26 weeks, and according to everyone I've talked to lately, "not looking very big". The camera doesn't lie, people. Some days I feel massive, and some days I feel small. But the camera captures how I look! Can I just put this out there...

Shane, left, 36 weeks. Azaria, middle, 35 weeks. Twins, right, 26 weeks.

Babies: The babies should be about 14 inches long and about 1 2/3 lbs now, around the size of a head of lettuce. Supposedly they can hear our voices now, and are practicing breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid.

Weight Gain: I don't know. Azaria used my scale as a stool and now it just blinks. I haven't put much effort into fixing it yet.

Stretch Marks: No new ones yet!

Belly Button: Bulgy. Unfortunately I have an umbilical hernia, which is when a small hole rips in the membrane that holds your guts in and a small piece of inside pokes out. That's a really simple explanation but thankfully mine is small for now and it's nothing I did, it's just my third pregnancy and I'm stretching out fast. It hurts a lot, sometimes I have to press on it for a while to sort of push it back in and I've hit it on the corner of a chair or the couch a few times and I almost passed out from the pain. 

Maternity clothes: I've outgrown a couple shirts. :( Mom made my volunteer shirt into a maternity shirt, so now that we know how to do that we'll probably just get some t-shirts and convert them instead of buying bigger maternity shirts. Those things are expensive, and if I buy a bigger size to accommodate the twin belly they'll be way big up top, where converting a t-shirt allows for tailoring the top half to suit.

Movement: Feeling the movement has always been my favorite part of pregnancy, and it's even cooler with twins. I think Dani is the one who is more active, usually on my far right side. Sometimes I'll feel her moving, and then I think Dean kicks her back and they play footsies and wiggle together. It's not uncomfortable for me yet, although I've gotten a few zinger hits to the cervix, but my ribs are intact for now!

Sleep: I need naps and hours and hours of sleep, but I get neither. That's life! Thankfully I'm not terribly uncomfortable while I am sleeping, but I do always end up on my back and that puts my hips out which is painful. I've also found myself doing a lot of grunting and pulling on things for leverage to help me roll over. Some days I feel so tired and like I can't go on that I just want to cry my eyes out, but God gives me strength to make it to another bedtime.

I have no particular cravings or aversions, just a to do list a mile long and a limited amount of time in which to finish it! I hear that a lot of twin moms just hit a wall around 30 weeks and can't do much after so I'm trying to get as much as I can done now. Even at this point I find myself trying to limit how many hours I'm walking around at events because I start to get regular and uncomfortable braxton hicks. We haven't done many of the festivals or things like that this summer because of that, and thankfully the kids aren't really old enough to know. We just spend extra time at the pool! Any time I think of how uncomfortable I am or that something hurts, I remind myself that I have a long way to go and I am certainly not the first woman pregnant with multiples! I also tell myself that my kids know I love them even if I'm not on the floor with them much anymore, and they really like cereal, oatmeal, and sandwiches, so they forgive me on the nights I don't feel up to cooking a healthy, balanced meal. Excuses? Maybe. I like to call them temporary modifications I can live with.

20 Weeks

20 Weeks! Halfway again. Or, it would be halfway if I were having a singleton pregnancy.

This week we change the way we measure the babies: we're going from head to rump to head to toe measurements. They babies should be about 10 inches now, and about 10.5 ounces--about the size of a banana. They are practicing swallowing and starting to produce meconium.

Sorry, the kids ate all the bananas so you are stuck with my frozen smoothie/ice cream bananas. Also, I'm not sure if I still have toes but since I can mostly walk without falling down I am assuming so.

Said bananas were extremely cold, and Shane was not happy to have to hold them. Also, both kids were having an apple when I wanted to take these pictures so here you see my ten seconds they gave me to snap a picture.

Waaaaay back in my 13 week update I talked a little bit about how uneasy I felt through much of my first trimester, knowing how many things could go wrong. I was thinking this morning about how much that's changed, about how I feel so relaxed about this pregnancy now and confident that things will be ok. Peace that passes all understanding, for sure! It also helps that I can feel regular movement now. Goals for the pregnancy are to stay off bedrest, make it to full term, have to babies that don't have to spend time in the NICU, and deliver both vaginally. Lofty maybe, but what's life without goals!

The most exciting part of the week for me is that I started feeling movement from the outside last Thursday (19 weeks 1 day)! So cool. On Sunday I even videoed them moving but it's not very clear. I think I'm feeling them both although I always feel the movement really low while I can feel the hard lump of one somersaulting high on my right side, often even wedging into my right ribcage. Because of that I've wondered several times if righty has an anterior placenta and I'm really only feeling movement from one baby, so I guess we'll find out at my anatomy scan next week. Nathan still hasn't felt them because he's never in bed with me during their busy time. 

In way less thrilling news, I took my three hour glucose test last Friday. The three hour test is more complicated than the one hour: you fast after midnight, get a blood draw, drink 100mL of the most disgusting straight sugar in a drink you've ever tasted, and then get your blood drawn three more times. The first hour, I was sick to my stomach, dizzy, shaky, and "high". The second hour was mostly ok. The third hour I crashed, could barely keep my eyes open, and by the last fifteen minutes my ears were ringing, I started having tunnel vision, and I knew I was going to pass out soon. I kept telling myself, just get through or you'll have to do this again. Just get through. I laid there with my eyes shut until my timer rang for the last blood draw, walked to the lab as slowly and carefully as possible, and sat down. The lady asked if I as okay and asked her to take my blood as quickly as possible and get me a juice! She got me a juice and some crackers and I sat in the waiting room for a little while until I was able to see clearly. I was pretty wiped out for the day after that...it's such an unrealistic test, if you ask me.

To sandwich the bad between the good, I also found a maternity swimsuit that fits and has plenty of room to grow in the tummy, managed to get WIC, and took a tour of the Labor and Delivery Unit at our hospital. I was encouraged to hear that the nurse giving the tour is also a Doula (and the Doula certifier for our area!) as well as being one of the two hospital lactation consultants. I think it would be a huge boon to have her as my nurse, so I'll be praying for that! In trying to see the positive, I think that the benefit of delivering in an L&D unit associated with a midwife run birth center is that the nurses are used to working with midwives and tend to do things and be open to doing things more naturally. For example, during the tour we were told the the nurses encourage movement and position changes during labor. There were several other things we were told that were great, and I also like that they really focus on giving mommy/daddy/baby a lot of bonding time before they start doing the weighing and the bathing and all that business. They've even recently changed policy so that even C-Section moms are getting immediate skin to skin with their babies. (Obviously, everything I'm saying is based on maternal/fetal health). I still am struggling with the loss of they birth experience I had desired and birthing in a hospital, but I am praying desperately that I can still have good birth experience along with my healthy babes.

And for my final good news, I don't have gestational diabetes! I still haven't gotten a call from the office, but I remembered tonight that I could check if my results were in through the patient portal. All of my numbers were nice and low (but in a normal range), except the final number. You know, from the blood drawn as I was blacking out? Yeah, that number is 39. Normal would be from 65-139. That explains a lot! They have the final result highlighted, notated as PANIC LOW, and starred underneath as **verified by repeat analysis**. I find these results vindicating, and a confirmation that they high number from my one hour truly was user error. Glory Hallelujah! On to repeating the same test in seven weeks!

Weeks 18 and 19 {Halfway!}

18 Weeks

Here's the requisite (Ha! Neglected!) list of questions:

How far along: 18 weeks

Size of babies: 5.5 inches, head to rump, and about 7 ounces--the size of a green pepper!

Total Weight Gain: 10 pounds.  I hovered at 2-5 for the first tri, then gained a few quickly when the twins seemed to have a big growth spurt. I've not gained again since then. I don't think ten pounds is terrible for halfway through a twin pregnancy.

Stretch marks: No new ones. I can see mine starting to stretch back out though.

Maternity clothes: Always!

Gender: We haven't had it confirmed for certain yet, so you still have to wait to find out! ;P

Movement: Oh definitely! I love feeling their little pops and wiggles. 

Sleep: I don't have to get up to use the bathroom every night anymore (blessed 2nd trimester relief!) but I don't sleep very well either. My pillow is too flat, and my bed is too uncomfortable. Haha, how's that for complaining! I'm very grateful to get the amount of sleep I do, because I know it's going to be a lot less very soon!
What I miss: Not much yet, although my hips are terribly out of place so I guess I miss walking without pain or getting "stuck" on the floor because my pelvis moves out of place. I haven't been to the chiropractor yet but I need to get in sooner rather than later!
Food cravings and aversions: Nothing in particular. I'm really into cold watermelon. My best summer purchase this year was popsicle molds. I dice up watermelon really small, and then fill them the rest of the way with honest kids juice, which is super low in sugar. I also fill them with leftover breakfast smoothies. The kids are huge fans! I can think of about a million combinations, so I'm excited to have the whole hot summer to eat popsicles. No aversions, particularly.
Symptoms: Not much, other than a big belly! With Shane I had horrible heartburn. With both kids I was nauseous and felt gross all first tri. So far, this has been my easiest pregnancy symptom wise, with the exception of my poor messed up pelvis. I know that I'm carrying double so the end will be hardest, but no complaints so far!
Best moment this week: Home again after a long time away!
Worst moment this week: Azaria SCREAMED in the car most of the way from OH to D.C. Not like crying screaming, but this thing she does where she just screams for the fun of it. Frustration, Anger, Exhaustion, Hunger, Fun, Excited; you name it, she likes to scream for it. My poor dad will probably never go on a trip with us ever again!
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the babies again next week.
Excercise this week: Is that a real thing? Haha. If it doesn't involve pushing a stroller behind a three year old on a bike, or pushing two kids on two swings, it probably doesn't involve me! Haha. I like to consider chasing my kids and doing housework excercise. Shh, don't break my heart with your truths.


On the weekend in between 18 and 19 weeks we took the kids down to the boardwalk to see the pirate festival! A couple pictures of these two were so cute I couldn't help but share, even thought it's a maternity post.

Shane was wearing the Jake and the Neverland Pirates shirt Miss Tara spoiled him with before she left. One of the activites at the pirate fest was a headscarf, beads included. And then Mommy and Daddy spoiled him a little with a wooden sword. I want to point out that we did NOT ask him to get into the stocks, he and Azaria just found this little child sized one and wanted their picture taken!

We might have taken them to the pirate festival, but their one true love is sand so after much begging and pirate watching we went down to the beach.

I mean, tell me these two are not the cutest things ever?! Ok, I know you think your own kids are so actually don't tell me. I'd rather live in my jaded ignorance.

19 Weeks

Mango babies? Only if a mango is 6 inches from head to bottom! I feel that my mangoes were smaller than my green peppers, but if they'd been African mangoes they would have been a proper size! I'm also relatively sure that my mangoes weighed more than my approximately 8.5 oz twinskies. In biggest news, 19 weeks is considered halfway in a twin pregnancy! Yay, halfway! 

This past Thursday I went and did my one hour glucose test. For the non-pregnant among you, it's where you go drink 50 mL of glucose, wait an hour, and they test your blood sugar. I don't love the test--it made my super dizzy and shaky and "high" feeling. But I did it, and it's done, and the most wonderful part is that I had to do it early because of my twin placentas and so I have to do it again in eight or so more weeks. I also had a checkup, and the twins look fine. Or they both have heartbeats, which is apparently the same thing in pre-anatomy scan lingo.

Friday the kids and I went to visit the preschool Shane will be attending in the fall. The public school system here only does full time preschool on a needs basis, and I feel that full time is too much for a four year old. I really wanted him to go to a Christian school anyway, and so I was thrilled to find a church-based preschool under five minutes from our house. It's not going to be the easiest thing to drag four kids out of the house twice a day, but it will be so perfect for my social little man and I know he will thrive with the attention mommy might not have the ability to give him once the new babies come.

Next was yet another frustrating WIC appointment, in which I took out both kids at naptime, my proof of income was STILL not sufficient, and at which Azaria decided screaming loudly at any child that came near her or her brother would be a great way to act. Ugh. Back again next week, lets hope we can get it right next time.

Finally, I got a call from the nurse that told me I was "too sweet". As in, I failed my glucose test by three points and now I get to go back for the three hour glucose test. Sigh. As I thought about it, I realized I pretty much did it to myself. See, the nurse told me I could eat beforehand but only protein. Well, I don't really eat meat often but I thought maybe I should this time, so I grabbed some lunch meat from the commissary. I didn't think about it being honey smoked ham. High sugar protein! Then, as usual when I have to leave the house with the kids, I was in a rush and didn't get a chance to eat until after I dropped them off at my friend's house. So basically I ate a sugary food directly before I drank a sugary drink. Let's just chalk it up to a pregnancy brain mistake and stupidity! Anyway, three hour test here I come. Super-sarcastic-sounding yaaaaay.

38 weeks

Here’s me:

And here’s one of the highlights of my 37th week! Look how bright and pretty!

Melissa and Thomas came over for dinner Friday night and Melissa wanted to do my toenails for me. Not only did she do my nails but she took off my old polish, clipped and filed, massaged, and THEN painted. It was heavenly, and very loving of her. I am in love with the color and glad to have nice toes for when I have to go to the hospital. I can’t thank her enough—feet don’t gross me out but I know they do a lot of people so I feel very humbled when she takes care of my feet.

After they left I bounced on my exercise ball for a while and then Nathan and I curled up on the couch to watch M.A.S.H. Soon I started to get really bad indigestion and nausea, which I attributed to supper. Except that the bathroom runs were timeable and the “cramps” didn’t feel like Braxton Hicks. What’s worse is that my husband was the one who was pointing it out to me. Me, I like denial. Indigestion was my malady and I was sticking to it. “Besides”, I told him. “I’m exhausted. I can’t go into labor now.” (I realize looking back that my statement was not entirely logical and I may not get a choice.)

“So sleep while we watch MASH,” he says as he pulls out the stopwatch on his phone. I wasn’t about to get excited, even if they were real contractions. I continued to claim indigestion. I don’t plan to go to the hospital until I am WELL into labor so that there is less chance of too many interventions. Plus I have to be sure sure sure sure because my mom will be buying a plane ticket when I go into labor! Everything tapered off into the morning though, and eventually we went to bed. I had a few more good contractions when I got up but haven’t had anything since. Which is fine, I’m not in a big hurry. But after just those few puny little contractions my uterus felt sore like a muscle that got a huge workout. I couldn’t believe it when I got up the next day. Makes me wonder what it will feel like after the real thing! Nathan said he was excited and scared! But I’m proud of him that he paid enough attention to the Lamaze DVD that he remembered that the body frequently “cleanses” at the beginning of labor, and that he could see a little pattern in my contractions. I feel more and more confident of him as my birth partner as I see little things that show me he was paying attention and this is important to him.

I was on the internet Saturday morning and found that there are acupressure points in the arch of the foot, between the ankle and Achilles tendon, and four fingers up from the ankle bone that are said to help in bringing on contractions. The first two of those are places that Melissa was rubbing during my foot massage. So we are thinking that her massage is probably what got me contracting. (Maybe combined with bouncing on the ball?) Which wasn’t the point of the massage, but hey—progress is progress people! I have an OB appointment this afternoon and Melissa says that if I’ve had any progress that she gets to share the credit with Nathan.

36 weeks, 5 days

I had an ultrasound on Tuesday, and Nathan and my MIL Daphne got to go to see the baby. It was really neat because we could actually see bones and skin and all sorts of things. We sort of got to see his face but not very well since it’s so low in my pelvis and he was turned away. I did see him stick his tongue out, silly boy. Unfortunately since he was moving so much and he was in a bad place the ultrasound tech was unable to get a picture of his face. I did, however, get a picture that confirmed the boyness of it all, and another of lots of hair. Which proves that all the heartburn is not in vain. He is also estimated to weigh 7 lbs. Which means that at an average weight gain of ½ lb per week, by 40 weeks he will weigh around 9 lbs and by 42 weeks he will weigh around 10. Oh joy. I was hoping for a little 6 or 7 lb peanut that would sort of just slide out. Maybe he’ll come a little bit early.

Boy parts

All that blurry white stuff by the writing is hair.

 

I had an internal exam and Dr. H said I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. I’m not getting too excited because it doesn’t mean I’m close really, just that my body is gearing up for the big day. I told Nathan it would be cute if he was born on Mother’s Day, but that is way soon I think. I was just kidding.

And here I am, huge and getting bigger! I’m doing ok. Tired but finding it a little difficult to get comfortable. Piglet is still very active and I really enjoy that. Well, 99 percent of the time anyway. I don’t like being woken up by the breath stealing kick to the ribs, haha!

26 weeks

Ahem. Do you see my ticker, over there on the right hand side of the screen? And do you see the estimated number of days left in my pregnancy? That’s right, folks, we broke into double digits! Seriously though, I can’t believe I’m under 100 days! So here we have a 26 week belly shot…

Am I really that big? I think it's the angle. And this is our vegetable for the sixth month (that’s an awfully big eggplant)…

Mom: I’m sorry because I know you like the continuity, but this will have to be the last time I have a belly picture in the polka dot shirt. It’s not a maternity shirt, and it won’t be fitting over my belly again anytime soon I don’t think. I will try to pick another shirt that looks like it will fit me until the end, so that you can continue to have continuity. But holy moly look how big my belly is! I promise you that it was not that big at the beginning of this week!

Here’s a little survey:

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Total Weight Gained: A lady never tells…

Maternity Clothes: Always. Except for the polka dot shirt, which, as I said above, will be retired after today.

Sleep: I love to sleep, I do a lot of it, and I’m still doing ok with it. Not especially comfortable, but not especially uncomfortable. I love all of my pillows and can’t stand sleeping on my sides. Haven’t gone back to having to get up in the night to potty, but I’m sure it will come with the 3rd trimester.

Best Moment of the Week: Dropping below 100 days left!

Worst Moment of the Week: My brother in law’s dad died yesterday, and all of the arrangements and everything fall to him. Please pray for him—I can’t imaging losing one of my parents right now, and he’s only a couple of years older than me. That was also basically his only parent because he is estranged from his mother.

Movement: All the time!! I am growing a little soccer player. (Or if you’re going to take my husband’s side, a football kicker) I love that I can see it bigtime from the outside too.

Food Craving: I haven’t craved anything yet. I do like fruit and Asian food though. Ok, I just like to eat.

Food aversions: Some Italian. Haven’t even been able to think of it since it made me sick my first trimester.

Gender: It's a boy! We have a name, but I’m not putting it on here until after he’s born. If you want to know, you can email me.

Belly Button: Definitely in. But shallower than pre-pregnancy. It feels weird when you push on it. I’m not sure if it will pop. Nathan thinks it will. When I was a little kid, I thought that the baby’s umbilical cord connected to the mommy’s belly button, and that was how the baby breathed.

Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton-Hicks

What I miss: Walking like a normal human being. My SPD is coming back with a vengeance and it really hurts to walk. People think I have the pregnant waddle but I’m actually just limping and walking gingerly. I have to be really careful not to slip and getting in and out of the car or bed because if my legs go too far apart it feels like my pelvis ripped in half. I’m hoping to see a chiropractor soon. I know it’s all worth it for the end result though!

What I look forward to: Getting my nursery furniture! I ordered it and can’t wait to get it and see it put together in Piglet’s room!

Milestones: He’s getting pretty close to 2 lbs!

As an addendum to the waddling bit, Nathan and I were walking around the mall earlier this week and I was pretty sore from walking all day so I was gimping. Nathan looked at me and started to do a penguin walk to make fun of me, except he exaggerated it a lot. When I told him he was just drawing attention to us he said he guessed I could just be his penguin. Silly boy, he always makes me laugh.

20 weeks, 2 days

Wow, I can’t believe I’m halfway through being pregnant. It seems like I’ve come so far, and yet have so far left to go. I have so much left to do and yet I’m so eager for him to be here. He’s the length of a banana now. Growing big and strong! And, my uterus is around the level of my belly button. Piglet is breathing amniotic fluid and making meconium. He’s also covered in vernix now.

My weekend was uneventful. I slept A LOT, and didn’t do much else other than clean the house and do laundry. The best part of my weekend by far has been feeling Piglet moving around. I can’t even describe the warm fuzzies that I get from feeling him. It’s the best thing ever! My mom tells me I will miss feeling him after he is born, and I believe her. It is so special to know that I am growing this little life, and for now, just for these few months, I can nurture him and protect him and know him in such a special way. I know that in a way that relationship will continue for much of his life but it won’t be the same as it is now. Physically, we are the closest we will ever be. I’m able to bond with him and keep him warm and well fed and the reality is that as a parent you have to let your kids go eventually. You have to let them make their own decisions and their own mistakes and hope pray that they will remember the things you’ve taught them. But for a few more months, I don’t have to do any of those things. I know where he is at every moment of every day and I have a pretty good guess at what he’s doing. Every day I love him a little bit more.

Psalm 139:9

"For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb."

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you...

And, to commemorate the half-way point, BELLY PICTURES!  (All in the same shirt, to please my mother.)

4 weeks

10 weeks

20 weeks

16 weeks and holiday treats

16 weeks! Seems like it was just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant. My little poppy seed has grown to an avocado, and in just a few short days we will see it again. Don’t be modest, little one! This is the only time Mama will ever want you to show your bits. And in honor of being 16 weeks preggo, here’s a picture!

This weekend I finished unpacking and organizing my house. I bought some super-classy (sarcasm) shelves for the garage, and spent my Saturday banging nails into the wall for cords and various hangable items, and arranging other stuff all over the shelves. I went through all of the plastic tubs and organized and sorted, and even went through my books and weeded some out.

Tear.

But everything is very organized. Then I decided, well, that wasn’t enough work for the day, so I figured I’d make Christmas treats! I made puppy chow, and several batches of two different kinds of Christmas cookies. I was planning on cookie plates for nine people so I had to make plenty.

I made Puppy Chow first.  This is Nathan's favorite holiday treat and I make it for him every Christmas.  I also don't believe that my family has ever had it and I wanted to take some up to Ohio. (EDIT: I lied. I forgot my family helped make many batches of puppy chow for our wedding favors.) I only made a single batch of this.  You need: One box rice cereal, one bag chocolate chips, one jar smooth peanut butter, 1/2 stick butter, and 3/4 bag of powdered sugar. Put the jar of PB, the bag of chocolate chips, and the 1/2 stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt. Stir occasionally.  Dump the cereal into a large bowl. ( I don't have a super huge bowl so I do half, dump it out, and do the other half)  Pour your melted mixture over cereal and stir gently until coated.  Pour some of the powdered sugar into a bag ( I used a garbage bag. Yes, it was clean.) Pour your coated cereal in, and cover with more powdered sugar.  Shake. When covered, spread out on wax paper to dry.  Store in airtight container. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS VERY VERY SWEET.

Then I made Christmas cookies. I can't remember their names, but they are cookies we traditionally make in my family.  They are super-yummy!

The cookies you see in the ziploc baggies are the cookes I have to take to Ohio with us.  There were many, many more than you see in the picture!

(Oh, and to get those ziploc baggies, I had to go to The Armpit Of The Earth--otherwise known as Walmart--after church on Sunday. Not. A. Good. Idea.)

Anyways, I filled up 9, yes 9, little plates with my festive Christmas bites. Four for the men than helped us move. Two for my bosses.  One for my baby doctor (and his note says from Baby!). And one for my parents-in-law, and one for my sister-in-law and company. Nathan helped me by covering them in green Saran-wrap.

And then, since I couldn't walk like an upright human, I hunched and stumbled my way to the couch where I begged a foot massage from my newly-arrived-home husband.

Sunday was church and then an afternoon spent buying car parts, picking up Nathan's motorcycle, picking up tools, working on the car to ready it for our much anticipated journey, and picking up my cookie mess and doing dishes. Blech! Yet again I worked myself into painful hobbling, and didn't get to bed until waaaaay past my bedtime, but all-in-all it was a very productive and enjoyable weekend.

The moral of the story is: You. ARE NOT. Superwoman.  So CHILL!!!!