29 weeks

Lots of excitement over the past few weeks..... Braxton Hicks turned painful plus a shortening cervix landed me in the hospital two times in two weeks. Luckily I got away with IV fluids and a couple steroid shots to encourage babies to grow quickly in case they come early.

I am trying to "slow down" but don't even feel like I'm pushing it too much with Don's mom here helping so much. At this point we are just hoping the babies stay put for another 6 weeks. It feels like they are growing very fast, my back is screaming and my body aches. The only time I'm comfortable is in the pool or in bed.

The babies' room is finally done, and we are soaking up all the time we can with Maggie before our lives are taken over by these two bundles. I am getting so excited to meet them and snuggle and counting our blessings that these babies are still baking safely inside.

Half way point

Hard to believe we are at the half way point already. But also hard to imagine how much more uncomfortable/larger/tired I will become as the pregnancy progresses. Although the nausea has almost completely left, my body aches as I carry around these babies which are only the size of a zucchini, supposedly.

At this point during my last pregnancy, I had a lot of energy and felt great. This time its quite the opposite so chasing after a toddler/dealing with toddler tantrums has been difficult.

The best news I received was at our 19 week anatomy scan. The MFM MD said both babies look great. They didn't share a single concern with us, which was music to my ears and will help me plug on, knowing my body is working so hard to grow these babies.

What a blessing it is to have two tiny humans growing inside. I am excited that we only have 4 months left but don't want to wish away this incredible experience!

13 weeks - then and now

It's so hard not to compare how I feel in my body during this pregnancy to how I felt during my pregnancy with Maggie even though I know I shouldn't be. Pregnancy symptoms started at 5 weeks (looking back my symptoms with Maggie were nothing compared to this time), I starting showing much earlier, and I am already feeling baby flutters in my belly. Luckily my weight gain hasn't been bad, yet.

I loved being pregnant with Maggie, I felt beautiful and embraced the changes happening to my body. At 13 weeks, I am now beginning to feel those same feelings, and starting to embrace the idea of growing two babies. How lucky am I to have the chance to experience such a miracle? I'm definitely enjoying the opportunity to eat for 3 but trying to balance the enjoyment with my fear of gaining too much weight.

I found this old picture of pregnancy at 13 weeks with Maggie, and happened to be wearing the same shirt (this shirt is very comfy and stretchy). A fun comparison for me and explains why I feel so different.

11.5 weeks

Here we are at 11.5 weeks pregnant. The terrible first trimester symptoms are slowing down, thankfully. Now I only get nauseous when I go too long without eating (more than 2 hours), if I overeat, or if I eat something greasy (or any take out food).

Couple fun facts...

• We've been told these babies are fraternal (not identical)
• My belly is the same size at 11 weeks as it was at 16 weeks with Maggie
• Their estimated due date is August 19th but we are told to be ready early, because most twins come early
• There is a 50% chance we will have 1 boy and 1 girl (no, we are not finding out in advance)
• I must deliver in the OR even though we are not planning on a C-Section
• Maggie likes the babies, for now

2nd Pregnancy. 1st Sonogram

When I found out early December that I was pregnant, I was elated. Although we had had a few false positives in the past, this time it felt different. The line was dark, and given that it was the night before I was expecting my period, I felt like that was a good sign.

A few days later, the exhaustion started to set in. Then the nausea. I couldn't believe it was happening already. I was complaining already to my friends "its too early for this!"

At 6.5 weeks I called my midwife, begging for an appointment. She agreed to see me right away. (Thanks Gaia!) I complained to her about how sick and exhausted I had been feeling. She showed me sympathy but told me it was a good thing, and probably meant the pregnancy was a healthy one. She agreed to write me a rx for an early sono, I knew seeing that heartbeat would make be feel a little better about it all.

At 7.5 weeks I went for the sonogram. I was so excited to see this baby and make sure everything was okay. I went to a Maternal Fetal Medicine center, where they insisted on doing a trans-vaginal sonogram since "I was soo early".

Within 2 seconds of the sonogram, I saw them. Two black sacks. I shouted "IS THAT TWINS???"
The sono tech gave me a look, which made me second guess myself. But no, I was right. Within 5 minutes of the sonogram, I was looking at two babies, two heart beats. I couldn't believe it.

The rest of the sonogram was a blur, I couldn't focus because I was in such shock.... and my mind was racing....We didn't plan for this!! How are we going to have 2 more babies?!? Don is going to flip out!!!

That evening was filled with emotions. Fright. Excitement. Fear. Happiness. Disbelief. Here we are 4 weeks later, and I am still feeling some of those same emotions. Most of them actually. But the idea of having 2 babies at once is slowly sinking in. As the nausea slowly creeps away, the excitement is creeping in.