Weeks 16 and 17

I'll do a bigger update next week, but for now here's a quick Mac 'N' Cheese update.

At 16 weeks, the babies were about the size of avocados: 4.5 inches and 3.5 ounces. I was feeling movement, but not regularly and it was still very light. Babycenter told me that my uterus should be halfway between my belly button and my pubic bone. 

Ha! I think Babycenter is unaware that I am on a third pregnancy, and it's twins. My uterus is more like halfway between my belly button and my ribcage! If I have a full bladder and I'm lying down, I can palpate the top of my uterus about at the bottom of my ribcage.

 As usual, Azaria looks to Shane to make sure she is doing her job correctly.

At seventeen weeks, my helpers deserted me to run through the sprinkler out back with Grandma. However, the twins are supposedly the size of onions (which are smaller than my avocados, but whatevs).  The babies are about five inches long, and weigh about 5 ounces. That's a nice growth spurt, and I can tell as my stomach got better and I've started feeling regular strong movement! One of the babies, A I'm guessing, can usually be felt to the lower left of my belly button. The other, B I think, is mostly often in the very top right of my uterus, in my ribs. Azaria spent most of her time lodged on my right side in my ribs, and I well remember how uncomfortable it could get!

Babies skeletons are turning from cartilage to bone now, and they are practicing sucking and swallowing. I've started to get some energy back finally, which probably has to do with the amount of naps I've been able to get while I've been staying at my parents--between one and two hours every day the first weekend, plus every day of the week that my dad was home during the kids' rest hour. It was amazing!

Randomness...

I think Piglet had a growth spurt this week, because he is seriously up in my ribs now! I started noticing last weekend that I could feel his body from the outside (well, I don't know which is head and which is butt, but I can feel them both and his little body) and throughout the week it has gotten more and more obvious.  He seems to prefer my right side, with either head or butt under my ribs.  I think my days of leaning forward are over because that seems to really wedge him up in there. He will get out sometimes if I rub him gently, but he seems to really like it up there. It's really neat to be able to feel what part is where instead of just a random kick here or there. So far he's not doing any rib breaking but I am sure that is coming. It's not comfortable to have him up there, but it's another neat feeling in the miracle of baby-growing! And let me tell you, it is a WIERD feeling to have somthing moving around UNDER your ribs. Way different than in your belly. I believe he is between three and four pounds at this point, and around the size of a 5 lb bag of taters so he's got to be getting a little smushed. That's a lot to stuff in your midsection! ;)

Yesterday I had to stop at The-Armpit-of-the-Earth for some hamburger and the (very nice) checkout lady looked at me and said, "Honey, you must be just about ready to pop any second now!" I snickered and told her I wasn't due until the end of May. I saw surprise, horror, and a little embarrasment cross her face and she finally said, "Oh, well I guess he'll be a big baby then huh." Snicker Snicker. Guess so. Also, I had a man (from our church) tell me, "Holy crap you're getting huge!" this weekend.

Now, I realize that a lot of preganant women find both of these things offensive. But really, I am getting big. And there's nothing wrong with that! It simply means that I'm growing a healthy baby in there. As long as the doctor says everything is good, then I refuse to be concerned about if my belly is larger or smaller than that of other pregnant women. I measure exactly right for how far along I am. And as long as people are saying these things with nice intentions I don't see any point in getting upset. Just laugh it off! They are just showing their concern for you.

I do, however, still draw the line at belly rubs by strangers...

And for a final piece of randomness, I woke up yesterday and realized that if Piglet comes at what is technically full term, 37 weeks, which I have given him my permission to do, he could possibly be here in under eight weeks. Eight. Weeks! Yikes! No wonder people have been asking me if I am ready. I guess it is pretty close. Realistically since I am a first time mother it isn't likely that he will be here before 40 weeks, if not later. But it was still like a bucket of ice water in the face. That is NOT VERY MUCH TIME!

Happy Birthday honey!

Yesterday was Nathan’s 24th birthday. Happy birthday honey! Now we’re the same age again. I made him a spice cake at his request and his mom brought over some B.lue B.ell, which is his favorite kind of ice cream. Melissa and Thomas and Mom and Dad Vines came over to have cake with us. Piglet was doing a happy birthday dance for his Daddy, but his Daddy was busy and didn’t get to feel. I think those were some of the strongest kicks I have felt yet--guess Piglet likes B.lue B.ell ice cream too! Nathan even got all of his candles out on the first blow! Good thing, too—with a pregnant wife I don’t think he could afford extra girlfriends.

A fellow blogger was talking about Braxton Hicks and it made me realize I never posted about having them. I got my first one right around 17 weeks after we got back from Ohio, when we were at S.onic. Since then they’ve gotten more frequent as I’ve gotten further along, but most of the time I don’t even notice them anymore. I forgot to tell Dr. H about them at my last visit so I will have to try to remember this next time. I never can remember anything I want to tell/ask him. He really liked my Christmas cookies though! I told him I’d bring the nurses brownies when I went into labor. Butter them up so they’ll be extra nice to me. He laughed and said that he was sure the nurses would appreciate it.

And speaking of labor, I got a lot of laughs out of this lady’s blog. I wish she would keep posting but I haven’t seen anything in a while. It’s at itsababynotbrainsurgery.blogspot.com/

Not sure how I got from Nathan’s birthday to labor and delivery, but between the missionary and the pregnant brain I’m about to be certified in rabbit trails…

Thanks to all of you for your comment on my last post. I really appreciate the encouragement.

21 weeks, 2 days

I just want to say that a ten and a half inch banana is a very long banana. And Piglet is probably longer than that anyways, since he was measuring ahead at our last ultrasound. Piglet is also tasting everything I eat now, according to popular websites. In the next four weeks, Piglet will have a growth spurt and will double his current size. And Nathan wonders why I fall asleep so early every night!

Nathan got to feel Piglet move last night. He said he wasn't sure if he was really feeling him move or if it was just his hand but I told him it was Piglet, since I felt a big kick at the same time. Apparently he was pretty excited that he might feel him move because when we went to bed he put his mouth on my stomach and said, “Piglet, it’s Daddy. Wake Uuuuuup.” Then he cuddled up to me and laid there with his hand on my stomach for quite a while. Unfortunately for N, Piglet was being a good boy and sleeping while mommy sleeps.

What does it feel like?

This is a conversation N and I had a few nights ago about what if feels like when Piglet plays:

Me: I can’t wait till you can feel Piglet. It’s the neatest thing feeling him play around in there.
N: Oh, is he moving around right now? What does it feel like?
Me: Yah he just kicked me. It feels like…um…you know how sometimes you have a really big fart coming and you know it’s coming because you feel a big bubble go across your stomach and then it goes away and then you fart?
N: Yeah….
Me: He feels like one of those fart bubbles. Mostly. But different too. I can tell the difference.
N: (laughing) So piglet’s just a fart waiting to happen?
Me: Yeah, a nine month fart.

And last night I told him it was also like the feeling you get in your stomach when you go over a hill really fast.

Also last night my sweet husband looked at me and asked:

N: Did I tell you yet today that you're beautiful?
Me: No, but you still have time...
N: You're beautiful. And I think you're even more beautiful than ever now when you're carrying my baby.
Swoon. I melt.

Movement?

I do believe that Piglet has finally decided to make his presence known. I’ve thought I felt him moving around in there for several weeks but I’ve never been sure. It’s not been daily, and usually I only feel “it” once or twice when “it” does happen. So I’ve always dismissed it as some sort of digestive thing. But today it seems different. I keep feeling something in there, and it seems odd that my stomach would have that much to do that would seem out of the norm. So I’m going to attribute it to Piglet playing around. If I’m wrong, well, I’m wrong, but it’s so very nice to think that it might be him. I’ve really been looking forward to feeling him!