Viability Day!!

How far along:  24 weeks! 

Babies are the size of:  Cantaloupes. 
What's happening:  Skin is becoming more opaque and has a new pink glow, thanks to small capillaries that recently formed.  Lungs are developing and practicing breathing movements already.
Maternity Clothes:  Lots of maternity clothes and some of my regular clothes still.
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep:  Hit or miss, last night was pretty decent though, thankfully!  
Symptoms: The heartburn isn't quite as bad as last week, but it's still there.  I've been a little more uncomfortable this week, the babies seem pretty low, it feels like a lot of weight and pressure in my pelvis.  Oh, and I pee like three times an hour.  
Best Moment of the Week:  H coming home from China and hitting viability today!!  
Miss Anything:  Putting my socks on with ease.  Sounds silly, but I'm already a tall girl, my feet are far away at the best of times - they seem extra far away now, trying to reach around this growing bump!
Cravings/Aversions:  The only consistent thing seems to be fruit, specifically, pineapple.  I think we have had pineapple in the house every day since I got pregnant.  It's just so damn good!
Showing Yet: This is just getting repetitive.  I can still hide it under some larger sweatshirts and jackets - which aren't really doing up anymore, by the way.  I also don't know if he's saying it to make me feel good, but H says I still don't look pregnant from the back - I'll take it, either way!  :)
Mood: So unbelievably happy to make it to viability.  I plan to keep these babies cooking a lot longer yet, but in the early weeks, this felt like an eternity away, and now, here we are.  It is comforting to know that (knock on wood) in case of emergency, they'd have a real chance.  I feel like that's a huge milestone and I'm so excited to be here :)
What I am Looking Forward to:  My mom and I are going OOT for two nights to her friend's B&B.  I was sort of on the fence about it, H just got back, we have a lot of things to do, but she posted on FB about how much it means to her to have one last mother/daughter get away before life gets crazy.  We're so close, it will be nice to have this time away together, and I know my list of things to do will still be here when I get back.  

24 Weeks - Viability day!

23 Weeks - time is flying!

How far along:  23 weeks! 

Babies are the size of:  Grapefruits. 
What's happening:  The face is fully formed, just need a little fat to fill it out!  They can hear my voice and my heartbeat and even loud sounds around me. Their bodies are also more proportionate and the pancreas is functional.
Maternity Clothes:  Lots of maternity clothes and some of my regular clothes still.
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep:  Better than it has been.  I won't complain...this week.
Symptoms: My heartburn made a nasty return this week, and I've had some overall back and hip pain here and there.
Best Moment of the Week:  Well it certainly wasn't H going back to China.  I'll say the wicked good deals I found this weekend.  My high chairs were half price this week, and I found the bouncy/rocker infant chair I wanted for half price at a mommy sale in the community - brand new, still in box!  I love a good deal :)  Oh, and I almost forgot!  H and I actually had a good and productive discussion on baby names and came up with a short list - still subject to change, but we at least agreed on some options.  Mini victory :)
Miss Anything:  My husband :(
Cravings/Aversions:  Um yes, and they change frequently.  This week I stuffed my face this these yummy bars - pretty sure it greatly contributed to the heartburn, not that that has totally stopped me.  ::shoulder shrug::  
Showing Yet: I'll go with yes on that one.  Last week was my first ever encounter with a stranger (not in a baby/maternity store) who told me what a cute bump I have and asked when I was due.  Turns out, she is also a twin mom!  And she gave me the earring backs I needed for free - made my day :)
Mood: Tired, therefore missing feeling more energetic.  I really hate when H is away, and I am really missing him this week.  We have so much to do, and I'm realizing I'm more limited these days in doing those things (like moving furniture).  I also love being a puppy mom, but Abby is a high energy dog, who is still nuts and won't go on walks around the neighbourhood, I am finding it exhausting to be alone looking after her this week.  I know, I know, call the Wahmbulance.  This is mostly to say that I miss H and I am really so appreciative of how great he is with Abby.
What I am Looking Forward to:  Monday when H gets back!  (I'm not good at being alone, haha, even if I'm really not alone these days!).  I'm seeing a really good friend tomorrow who I haven't seen in ages so I'm really looking forward to catching up with her.  

23 Weeks!

22 Weeks!

How far along:  22 weeks! 
Babies are the size of:  Papayas.  Babies are probably about 1lb now. 
What's happening:  Eyebrows, eyelids and fingernails are fully formed now.  They’re beginning to look like newborns!  Nerve endings are formed enough they can experience the sensation of touch!
Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing a mix of maternity clothes and my regular clothes.
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep:  It's been rough, but last night I finally managed to get a decent sleep - it was glorious!
Symptoms: Today is all about the hip pain.  It is so achy and throbbing non stop, I can't seem to find relief no matter how I sit/lie.  
Best Moment of the Week:  We had a great long weekend with the family, it was hectic and exhausting but it was awesome!  I also came home with a car seat and a bag of baby clothes!  We are accumulating more and more baby stuff around here, it's making it all feel a lot more real.  I've also been feeling the babies kick and move a ton, which I love!  H felt them again too the other night, it had been a while for him.  Then he saw my stomach move when baby boy kicked and the look on his face was priceless - awe, meets horror, meets WTF?!  I died laughing.  Then he scolded me and told me not to disrupt the babies with my hysterical laughter :P
Miss Anything:  A non-aching body.
Cravings/Aversions:  Not much at the moment.
Showing Yet: Um, yes.
Mood: Slightly sad to see some of my 2nd tri energy dwindling, haha, I hoped it would stick around longer.  But I've heard growing two babies will do that.  I'm trying to make the most of my new work schedule, I have quite a list of things to do, so I've been trying to be productive with my days off.  And back to being stressed about the family/parental situation, it feels like a relapse to 6 months ago and I am just so not wanting to be back there.  Sigh, that's enough of that for now.
What I am Looking Forward to:  Starting to work on the nursery.  We have to move my office downstairs first, which I'm not as excited about, but I am looking forward to getting moving.  I feel like I'm only going to get more tired and uncomfortable as time goes on, I really want to get some important things done in the near future.

22 Weeks!

AW Alert!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to my Canuck stalkers, hope you all enjoyed the long weekend!  We had a very busy but awesome weekend, saw both our families, which was great but I was, and am, seriously exhausted.  I think that amazing 2nd tri energy is fizzling away - noooooo!!!!

Before the weekend, after hearing that everything from our A/S looked good, and with a little encouragement from a few friends, H & I decided to post something on FB about my pregnancy.  We figured we either do it, or just let pics speak for themselves, being that it's more and more obvious every day!  H kind of wanted to do it, and include Abby, and I realized that IF has already taken so much from us - the excitement of seeing two lines, the surprising of H with a pregnancy announcement, surprising our families and close friends that knew - we have already had to make peace with the fact those things were tainted by IF.  I felt a little like this was one way to say FU IF, you can't take this from me too.  I wanted to embrace some excitement, rather than just all my nerves.  So, we did it.  We posted on FB.  This is what we did:

It feels good to get it out there, once and for all, and we got a lot of nice comments, which was really nice and helped the vomit feeling pass, haha!  In the end, I'm glad we did it so I don't have to think about it anymore, and I can post pics from our SF trip without thinking twice :)

For Thanksgiving weekend, we went up to my ILs and while most of the family was off doing the Annual Fall Classic, golf game, my SIL and I went to BRU.  It was so great to go there with someone with experience!  She was so helpful in what we need/can pass on, what she's happy to give us, recommendations on brands, etc.  I was exhausted by the end, but it was so great to have that time to do that together (she lives about an hour away, so we don't get the chance too often).  We also talked about strollers a lot.  I have done a lot of reading and research and was pretty set on the City Select Baby Jogger double stroller.  We happened to be looking around online, she googled a few baby stores near her and it must have been a Thanksgiving miracle, because there was a sale on MY stroller, WITH the second seat kit!!  This is what I have been looking at getting, and there it was, on sale - which, in all my time looking at this stroller, I have never seen.  Two stores actually had the exact same sale, so I'm guessing a manufacturer sale or something, but either way, my stroller was on sale!  So....I bought it.  Hey, I cannot pass up the opportunity for a good savings, it was just over 20% off!  And they only had 1 left in teal, which is the one I wanted, look how pretty it is:

Now all we need to decide is whether to get the car seat adapters for this one, or whether to get the snap and go, but that part wasn't on sale, so I have a little more time to decide.  So, that was my weekend!  Hope you all had a great one!  And if you made it this far, I think I owe some people some Reese cups ;)

                                                         

ETA: I forgot!  My SIL also sent us home with our first car seat!  My nephew outgrew it so they're giving it to us!  It seriously made it feel very real to see a baby car seat in the back of my car!  There is pretty much no one else I think I would trust getting a car seat from, but I know how gently used this was, how well taken care of it has been, etc.  And I am so grateful that we only have to buy one more :)  And my MIL, who love all of her boys (she had two sons, and now has 2 grandsons, with another on the way) is so excited to have a granddaughter coming too!  She went and bought some adorable outfits for baby girl next summer since Carter's was having an amazing sale.  My family is seriously incredible, and generous and I am one grateful woman.

21 Weeks!

How far along:  21 weeks! (and one day)
Babies are the size of:  Pomegranates, about 10.5" long.  At last week's A/S baby boy weighed 304g and baby girl was 283g.
What's happening:  They are regularly swallowing amniotic fluid, preparing their digestive systems.  Baby girl already has her lifetime supply of eggs - about 6 million!  At this point they are also more aware of each other and interact more!
Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing a mix of maternity clothes and my regular clothes.
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep:  It has not been great, I cannot get comfy and wake up every time to roll over.
Symptoms: The heartburn is still around.  I have also been rudely awakened a few times with horrible cramps in my calf - it has me thrashing in bed, waiting for it to subside!  Then my whole calf feels knotted and tight for a couple days.  I'm not a fan.
Best Moment of the Week:  We bought our nursery furniture yesterday!!  I should clarify, we were gifted most of our nursery furniture, which is so incredible, I am so grateful.  I can't wait to get the nursery read (cleaned out and painted) so we can start putting it all together :)

               

 

Miss Anything:  Sleep.
Cravings/Aversions:  Reese peanut butter cups.  The right blend o chocolate and peanut butter - mmm!
Showing Yet: I think the bump grows by the day now.
Mood: Pretty happy overall!  It's still surreal that all these baby things we're getting are for MY babies.  And not my one day babies, like my actual, pomegranate sized babies!  I am just so grateful and so happy to be where we are right now.  I'm also making the most of my new found freedom (i.e. reduced work schedule) and had a very busy two days off - including getting the nursery furniture - it's been a productive week!
What I am Looking Forward to:  Thanksgiving weekend!  And of course the food that goes along with that, lol!   And my SIL is taking me to BRU, I will be grateful to go in there with an expert who has some advice for me!

21 Weeks!

Grateful

I am one lucky, and very grateful, mom to be right now.  On Friday, I had exactly 3 things for these babies, now?  Let me tell you!  My SIL gave me a huge box of baby clothes, yay!!  I looked through every piece with my mom and just kept thinking, of all the times I've looked at adorable tiny baby clothes, now I'm actually saying, "These are for my babies".  My sappy streak continues.  She also got me the twins breast feeding pillow (which is kind of comically huge!), a Baby Bjorn and a sling carrier and lent her me prenatal yoga dvd - score!  She's already mentioned she has a few more things for me, it's just so kind and so appreciated.

The my mom's neighbour, a really sweet woman - I met her and her family, her youngest is about 6 months now, she gave me two swings - one is nice and compact and easily stores/travels, a bouncy chair, an infant bundle/fleecy thing for the car seat, some toys and some new receiving blankets she never even opened, plus a few other things.  I was honestly speechless, I couldn't believe her generosity.  She seemed really happy to be able to pass them on to someone.  Especially in those early months, they go through things so very quickly, I think she's happy to see someone excited about it all and who can use it again.  She also said she'll continue to pass things on as her son outgrows them.  Now I'm just working on an appropriate way to thank her.  Again, I kept looking at this stuff thinking, holy crap, I still can't quite believe this is all for MY babies!  This weekend was like a mini shower, I got so much stuff!  I am seriously so incredibly grateful.


My mom and I also did a little crib shopping.  I found a crib I love, nice solid wood, decent price (all things considered) with a matching dresser.  The only hitch is, can everything fit in the nursery?  Our townhouse is not big, the rooms are tight, and with two cribs, even tighter.  So my awesomely amazing and nerdy engineer husband opened his work laptop and (this is going to get very nerdy!) designed the room and cribs and dresser in 3D so we can actually arrange them in the nursery to see if they can actually fit, try different options, etc.  Being someone who loves playing around in photoshop and stuff, I was so digging this, and it was so much cooler than I expected!  Leave it to H to have to go all out, a simple sketch outline wouldn't do, no, we had to build everything in 3D!  He even put the details on the crib, lol!  It actually looks awesome, and really helps me figure out how we can possibly arrange that room to fit what we need in there.  He so knows the way to my heart :)

So overall, a very baby focused weekend, which is probably good seeing as I'm over 20w and have done pretty much nothing yet!  Our next goal for this week is to go pick a colour to paint the nursery.  This is kind of the colour for the walls I'm thinking, something nice and zen-like:  
                         

Half Baked!

How far along:  20 weeks!  Half baked officially, but with twins, I was likely there a few days to a week ago!
Babies are the size of:  Bananas (according to TB but I'm getting the impression that twins might be starting to diverge a little more from the info here for singletons.  A twins site says that from crown to heel (rather than rump, like previously measured) they are approximately 10.5".  
What's happening:  Hair on their heads is starting to sprout!  More complex nerve connections are forming in relation to the 5 senses, apparently in newborns smell is the most developed, allowing them to recognize mom immediately.  They're moving like crazy (which I can feel now!).  They're swallowing amniotic fluid, good practice for digestive systems.  Their hearing is also improved, they can hear conversations - talking and singing to them can help make your voice more familiar after birth.
Maternity Clothes:  I am wearing a mix of maternity clothes and my regular clothes.
Stretch Marks: Nope
Sleep:  It's not great, but it's also been worse, so there's that.
Symptoms: This week it's all about the heartburn.  My poor H deals with nasty heartburn regularly, I really feel for him, this is awful.
Best Moment of the Week:  Finding out we're team purple!  I have not come down from cloud nine!  I am so beyond excited!!  I keep thinking or saying out loud "my son and daughter" and have this surreal moment where I can't believe I'm saying it, and it's true!  I feel so full of love - I am super sappy and cheesy this week!  And he'd kill me if he knew I was writing this, but H is honestly so amazingly excited, it makes me heart burst!  He was never one to think baby stuff was cute or be moved by it, but this week, he is such a sap!  We start talking about the babies or I show him a cute baby something online and I can see him get emotional and maybe even a little teary.  I can't even begin to describe how much it warms my heart to see how excited he is about these babies.  We even went to BRU yesterday to do a little registry shopping - and he didn't complain, not once!  (And this is a man who hates shopping like you wouldn't believe!)
Miss Anything:  This week, every single sacrifice is more than worth it.  I warned you, I'm feeling sappy!
Cravings/Aversions:  Not really, to be honest.  People keep asking about cravings, but nothing really, especially not like what you see on tv - send the H out at midnight because you just have to have pickles and ice cream or whatever.
Showing Yet: I'm going to go with yes!  H said I even look bigger than yesterday!
Mood: I think I covered the cheesy/sappy vibe.  I am honestly in disbelief that this is my life, that I am actually this happy right now.  I have never been this happy in my life (not that I haven't had great years/months/memories/whatever, but this is like nothing else).  I am so in love with my babies and my husband.  I am thankful and grateful every day for these two little miracles.  I also can't believe I'm 20 weeks already!  The twins site mentioned how common bedrest is and suggested getting stuff done - no pressure though!  We are going to get moving, picking a paint colour for the nursery, crib shopping, etc.  I want to get stuff done before this growing bump gets too big!
What I am Looking Forward to:  I'm so happy right now, I don't even know!  I'm just going to live in this moment a while longer :)

20 Weeks - half baked!