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.

Date Day and Dr. Appointment

We were driving home from a friend's house late Friday night when we saw a lady trying to push her Blazer up a hill. Alone.  Nathan quickly flipped a U and ran to help her push.  He managed to get it out of the intersection and then hooked up a tow chain and towed her into a parking lot.  Thank God we were in the truck and not my car!  Then he found out she lived across town and didn't have a ride home so we gave her a lift.  She was very grateful, and we were glad to help.  My honey is such a gentleman. Well, usually!

Since Nathan was able to be home this weekend and the weather is nice we went to the Fine Arts Festival in downtown Fort Worth. It's free!

 

It was PACKED.  We saw a comedian, El Gleno, doing a funny little act as a zebra. 

We didn't stay too long. I would've loved to look around more, but it was just SO crowded that I couldn't stand it. And, to be really honest, we were there walking and standing for about and hour and a half and that is just really pushing my limits at this point. I feel like a wuss because I would normally have spent all day at this kind of thing, but that's just the way it is right now.  And we had fun for as long as we spent there.  

Once we managed to get out of the parking garage, which was an adventure in itself, we went to a big field near where we used to live to fly my old kite.   Apparently Nathan was the kite flying champion in Elementary school but try as he might he couldn't get that kite up.  I guess there's a reason the kite was on sale for five bucks--the little side fins bring it spiraling down as soon as you get it up! So we went to Wal---- to find another kite, but they were sold out. So, we drove up the highway to T.oys R Us and found a kite that he liked. It looks like a Macaw.  We saved it to fly on Sunday though, because we had planned to see a movie that night.

After we bought movie tickets we got supper in the food court and walked around for a couple of hours until the movie started.  We saw How to Train Your Dragon, which was super cute.  I actually liked it enough to buy it. 

On Sunday we didn't go to church, because I was half asleep and didn't set the alarm right.  Oops!  Instead we helped SIL and BIL go get their new couches, and they gave us theirs which are only about a year old.  A little upholstery cleaner and they'll be good as new! We are so grateful to finally have comfortable furniture that looks nice.   

This morning I dropped Nathan off at the warehouse and went to my appointment with Dr. H.  I went last week but my morning sugar numbers were a little high so he gave me a week to get them under control.  Today he said that all of my numbers look good--better than 90% of preggo's who don't have G.D.  So yay!  He also gave me a lovely compliment, saying that he admired my discipline to have quit smoking when I found out I was pregnant and now to be monitoring my blood sugar and trying to eat properly and learn about diabetes without the benefit of  all the classes and the personal nutritionist consult.  It made me feel good.  Piglet is growing well and I have to go back again in a week to get my Strep B test done.  I'm not sure if I'll have to keep going in weekly or if I'll be able to go back to the two week schedule for a while but it doesn't really matter as long as its to keep us both well. I'll also have an ultrasound a bit later on, probably around 36 weeks. That will help Dr. H determine Piglet's size and whether or not I can wait to go into labor naturally (which is my goal). Oh, and I actually lost a pound!

30 Weeks

30 weeks, wow! Can you believe it? 3/4 of the way through. And BIG!!

The hospital called me to schedule my diabetes education this morning. I was supposed to have a 90 minute one on one with a dietician, and a 60 minute one-on-one with a RN to go over how to test and get a meter and everything. The soonest they could get me in was April 14th, which I wasn't thrilled with, but better than never.  Then I had to call the preadmittance counselor to find out what my crap insurance would pay. Eventually she called me back to say that my insurance would pay nothing, and that each class was going to cost me around 500 dollars.

For REAL!?!?!? Obviously there isn't any way I can do that. I can't even buy frigging groceries, which is probably why I ended up with GD in the first place, and they want me to shell out close to $1000 to learn how to eat? Thanks, I'll keep the money and buy something to eat. When I can. And yes, I have applied for Medicaid, and Chips, and goverment assistance, but guess what? I'm an actual citizen, and Texas is so over-freaking-populated with immigrants that there isn't any aid left for me. But if I quit my job, yeah, I could live off  all y'alls tax money. I'm angry, and frustrated. Supposedly they are going to see if they can get me some in-office education and maybe they could bill it as an office visit. That would be good. That would help. But today, right now, I want to be mad for a little while.

I'm not all mad though. I'm really excited about my baby showers this week and weekend! I'm praying that through the showers God will provide the things we need before Piglet comes.
How Far Along: 30 weeks, 2 days
Sleep: Not terrible. Not great.

Best Moment of the Week: Having the weekend away.
Belly Button: In. Might be popping a little

Labor Signs: LOTS of Braxton-Hicks.

What I look forward to: Baby showers! March 24th (church) and 27th (family/friends/coworkers)

FAIL #2

Fail.

Again.

I have the diabeetus.

GD.

Say it out loud. Doesn't it sound like some sort of horrible STD?

And yes, I do know how to pronounce Diabetes. It's just more fun to call it diabeetus. It rhymes with fetus.

Anyways, Carol, my favorite of Dr. H's nurses, called to tell me the news and kept calling me sweetie and told me not to worry that it would all be ok. Lol. IT'S NOT OK.  I WON'T BE EATING ANY MORE JUNK FOOD!!! HOW IS THAT OK?!?! And I'm pretty sure N will not be ok with it either, because I ain't gonna bake it if I can't have any of it.AND HOLY MOLY I DON'T WANT A TEN POUND BABY! Which is why I will be following what they tell me to eat. AND DADGUMMIT THEY CAN'T INDUCE ME I AM HAVING NATURAL DRUG FREE LABOR!!! Which is why I will put my faith in God that whatever happens is His will.

I think my freak out is over. But man this sucks. Pardon my vernacular. But it's true. The bright side, come on Pollyanna, what's the bright side.  The bright side is that I will be getting extra sonograms and my Dr has 3D built into his machine, if I get the right one. The bright side is that I can request Angie to do my sonograms, because she is a really sweet person and will give me pictures. The bright side is that I won't gain much more weight, because I won't be allowed. The bright side is that I won't be allowed to have a ten pound baby, because they would induce long before then. The bright side is that if they did induce, my mom could be here when the baby is born.

What Carol said is that they are going to send me to classes to learn how to eat for GD. I will have to take my blood sugar several times a day (um, fun. not.) I will have to keep track of my numbers and call them in.  I will be going to the Dr. more frequently. I will have sonograms and NST's (Non-Stress-Tests) to monitor Piglet.That's all I know right now.

29 weeks and the 3 hour test

I had my three hour test today. They drew blood when I got there, then gave me the drink. I got red this time instead of orange. I think it was better.  Then they drew again every hour on the hour for three hours. I should know the results in 24 to 48 hours. I am hoping and PRAYING that I don't have the diabeetus. It was really hard to keep the drink down this time and it was not much fun to go without eating for that long. I would recommend taking something to eat as soon as you are done--I almost passed out when I left. That's why I took Nathan! I guess the test wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.

As for blessings, God always shows himself to us in little ways. I have a light jacket that is a velour zipup hoodie from Liz Lange. I got it when Mom and I went to the O.nce U.pon a Child in Ohio. It's the ONLY jacket I have that is a maternity jacket and closes over my belly and it's very light so it's perfect for TX. Well I was wearing it to my Dr. appointment last week but took it off when I got warm and put it through my purse straps. Unfortunately when I got home I realized that I didn't have it. I was really bummed because I liked it and I don't have the money or the inclination to buy another one.  I really didn't believe that I would ever get it back but I went back to the office a couple days later anyways to check. And guess what? Some kind person had hung it on a doorknob right inside the door, so it was the first thing I saw when I walked in.  Thanks God! It made my day.

How Far Along: 29 weeks 2 days

Sleep: Not terrible. Not great.

Best Moment of the Week: Finding my jacket

Movement: Piglet's new trick is to wedge his head/butt up in my ribcage on the right side. If I rub it I can actually distinguish parts. It's not exactly comfortable, but pretty cool to know I'm really touching my baby!

Food Craving: Nah. Got Chipotle's for lunch today though. That made up for the glucose test!
Food aversions: None, but feeling pretty nauseous.

Gender: Team Blue!!

Belly Button: In. But getting shallower by the week

Labor Signs: LOTS of Braxton-Hicks.

What I miss: I don't know. I am really just trying to enjoy being pregnant, aches and pains aside. To be really honest, I miss smoking. But that is a blessing in disguise, because I don't think it's a very good testimony for a Christian to smoke anyway and I needed to quit because as we all know, it's extremely unhealthy and really not. It's also a blessing because N has finally quit as well. And no, I won't be starting again once Piglet is born. (With God's strength--I'll want to!)

What I look forward to: Girls weekend with Mellissa this weekend!!!!! Yay! We are going out of town—she does photography and was hired for a wedding that weekend, and I’m her handy assistant! We are going to have a BLAST. Baby showers! March 24th (church) and 27th (family/friends/coworkers)
Milestones: His head getting stuck in my ribs--funny!

FAIL

I just got a call from the Dr's office. I failed my glucose test, dadgummit! Now I have to take the three hour test. Do you know how many times they draw your blood for that test? FOUR!!  I'm going to ask them to put a catheter in my hand and leave it. If they try to stick me four times in the elbows I won't be able to move my arms! Ugh! I have to go for the test on Monday.

I went to lunch today with some of the girls from work. One of the girls in the office is Laos and she has introduced me to a lot of ethnic food, including a Thai noodle soup called Pho. Pho is pronounced Fuh, like in "funny".  Well we went to a new (to me) place today and as we drove in I noticed that the restaurant is named Pho King Way. Say it out loud but pronounce Pho the right way, how I described it above. I thought it was hilarious.  Innapropriate, but hilarious!