Switching Over...

Now that Kaitlyn and Molly have joined our family, this blog is complete. In-Vitro has been quite the experience and in 2 pregnancies has given us 4 children. Our family is complete. :) To follow the family, you will need to read the family blog: domrese.blogspot.com

This blog will remain open and active for those friends and family that are going through similar infertility experiences and for those that want to remember the journey that brought us Kaitlyn and Molly (and Thomas and Joshua).

Thank you for all the friends and family that offered support during the experience. We could never have made it without you to lean on. Everyone should be as lucky.

1 Week Old

Can you believe it's already been a week? Last Tuesday I woke up pregnant and by the time the night was over, these two little girls had blessed us with their presence.

1 Week Stats

Molly-
Weight- 5 lbs, 9 1/2 oz (over her birth weight...hooray!!!0
Height- 20 inches
Head Circumference- 13 1/4 inches

Kaitlyn-
Weight- 6 lbs, 11 oz
Height- 20 3/4 inches
Head Circumference- 13 1/4 inches

The appointment went great. The girls were fairly easy going and took everything in stride. The boys kept pretty busy and enjoyed tormenting each other during the appointment. Last time I forget to bring snacks! Oops! :)

First Outings

Mommy has cabin fever. After 3 days at the hospital and 3 days at home, it's time to get out. Yesterday we got out of the house for a short trip to the carousel. I sat with the girls while the boys, daddy, and Ba rode the carousel. The amazing part was that Ba (Aunt Kim) got the golden ring twice in a row! After that, I was done and the girls were done, so Dan dropped us off back home and went back down for a few more rides. I didn't take any pictures of the girls at RFP as they slept covered in the stroller.

Tonight we went to Applebees for Uncle Adam's birthday. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about multiple parts of this adventure. For one, just getting out of the house takes an unimaginable amount of time. Since dinner was at 4:30, I started packing the diaper bag and getting everything laid out an hour earlier. This works well until it comes to feeding time. It's tricky to try and feed the girls and get the maximum amount of time before the next feeding, but also get enough time before traveling that they aren't spitting up (or choking on spit up) while driving to the destination. Both girls decided to be hungry (again) at 4:05. Dan got the boys in the van and got gas while I fed the girls (again) and tried to get them in car seats. I was pretty impressed that we were only a half hour late. The girls were extremely well behaved and sat quietly through all of dinner. I was nervous we'd have to do a feeding at the restaurant which in itself is not a big deal, except it takes quite a while, so occupying the boys could have been an issue. Luckily, the girls were good and we escaped the outing unscathed.

More pictures tomorrow as the girls will be a week old!

We're Home!

After a long night of pumping and running milk up to Molly she was finally released to us. We just had to convince her the drinking was better with us! She came down yesterday (Thursday) morning with the stipulation that we would spend the day at the hospital making sure she ate well and kept up on feedings. No problem! We love the hospital and were in no hurry to go home! The boys spent the day with Grandma Nancy and Dan and I spent the day with tons of doctor visits, lactation consults, etc. I did manage to sneak in a nap though! :) We finally left at nearly 7 PM and got everyone settled.

We are so thankful Molly was released and able to come home with us. She is such a great little girl, so easy going. Both were up the majority of the night enjoy a multitude of feedings. They are both great little nursers and seem to really enjoy mommy time. The boys are doing great and have so much energy! It's amazing how big they seem now with the girls home!

Currently we have shut our doors to visitors so we can have some bonding time with Molly and kind of get settled. Dan, however, would like to state that food DOES allow some exceptions! :) I'll try and update again later when we are a little more rested and a little less overwhelmed.

Blessings from God

As I sit here, I realize that my life will never be the same. I went into our regular OB appointment on Tuesday prepared to beg my way into being done with this pregnancy. It appears I didn't need to do much begging. I went from barely being dilated to a 4. He actually had to move Molly's head out of the way in order to check (sorry if that's TMI). He said that I could go home and get stuff ready and scheduled the c-section for that night at 9:00 PM. I immediately called Dan home and we prepared for the hospital.

Molly Joanne Domrese- 5#7, 19 inches, 9:20 PM

Kaitlyn Ruth Domrese- 6#14, length unknown, 9:22 PM

Both girls were taken for observation in the NICU initially for breathing too fast. Kaitlyn came down with us later that night. Molly is now being held hostage (at least that's what it feels like). Kaitlyn is a voracious eater, and has her own little personality already. She hates bright lights, doesn't like it when I eat ice, and hates clicking noises. :) She has a huge mop of brown hair that is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! She is an easy baby and very very cuddly. Molly is just a little petite girl. She is absolutely a doll. I have not been up to see her too often because she will just stare at me with these big eyes and clutch my fingers as if she'll never let go. It's devastating and extremely emotional. So far I am pumping and she is eating a bottle, but I have faith that if she's released tomorrow she'll become a great nurser.

We are being released tomorrow, and are hoping to bring Molly home with us. If not, we may try and stay for another day just to be closer to Molly and hope that she can get home the next day. Mere, my sister-in-law and savior, came to the hospital tonight and fed Molly one of her feedings. She needs to successful feedings in a row in order to be released. After that first feeding Mere made me feed her. It was successful too! No promises on her release, but I'm feeling much more confident in my feeding abilities and I'll fight for her release tomorrow.

I sit here, holding Kaitlyn as she cuddles and mews in her sleep. She's darn adorable. I cannot wait to put her and Molly together to rejoin them at last.

The Babies Are Coming!

Surprise! I just got home from my appointment. It went really really well. I was prepared to beg and cry for these babies to come out but it turns out I'm dilated further, so apparently I'm in labor already. The c-section is scheduled for 9:00 PM. Updates will either come tonight or tomorrow morning...as soon as possible!!!!

Stickers Galore

Almost 36 weeks...

*Thomas took the pictures in case you were wondering! Joshua AND Thomas put on the stickers.

Is it wrong to argue with the child that is in utero?

Kaitlyn and I are arguing tonight. She has decided that even though she holds the most room and is entirely stretched out that she has now run out of room. She is stretched all the way on top. Tonight she has decided to insert herself into my ribcage. Not just a little bit, but enough that I can't breathe or even move when she does it. And she's not just putting an arm or something simple, oh no, she's shoving her entire upper body up there. I'm really only comfortable when Dan sits next to me and uses his entire arm to lay across my body and push her down. She fights and squirms, but it is way more comfortable for me. The poor doctor will get an earful on Tuesday at my appointment. I'll try and get some pictures taken tomorrow to update the blog.

Hospital Round 1

Last night around 1 AM, I woke up feeling extremely nauseous. I tried to eat, drink, walk around, change position, but it just wouldn't go away. I texted Dan to come home from his buddy's birthday just in case it was food poisoning or labor. Dan then timed contractions and they were about every 2-3 minutes lasting about a minute. We decided to call my mom and have her sleep here while we got checked out.

As is the case right now, the girls are just happy to be in utero, no matter the circumstances. Monitoring at Sacred Heart showed that the contractions were steady at 6 minutes apart and that I am more effaced (70%), but still only dilated to a 2. We were released to go home at about 5:00 AM. The doctor and nurse that we spoke with both seemed to think that labor progressing was just a matter of time, so we'll see!

We arrived home around 5:30, sent mom back home and attempted a couple hours of sleep before the boys woke up. They then let us (me...Dan of course was able to ignore them) rest until about 9:30. We are EXHAUSTED!

I had a nonstress test at 10:30 this morning. Everything looks good. I was still contracting about every 6 minutes, but nothing that showed any real progress. I refused to make my appointment for next week until I talk to my doctor on Tuesday.I don't plan on still being pregnant next Friday! :)

I then went to my ultrasound. It seemed to look really good. It was a new techinician that I'd never seen before. She was extremely surprised at how low Baby A is and that you can't just see her hanging out. It was difficult to get any real good readings on her. However, both babies are practicing breathing and are moving as well as they can with the limited space. She kept saying she couldn't believe how much baby there was in there. **I will get a call this afternoon with the results of the ultrasound if anything looks new or interesting.

Now to answer questions:

**I PROMISE I'll post on Facebook when things are changing. Please do not call. We are generally dealing with the doctor or getting information. If we do not update, it's because we cannot. AND, if we are sleeping, we need it!
**Hospital visits are welcome once the babies arrive. Please call first. Once home with babies, we generally close our doors for one week to absolutely everyone. This allows us time to bond as a family and adjust to a new lifestyle. This might change as the week progresses since the boys might very well lose their mind, but we appreciate you respecting this distance for the first week.

36 Week Dr Appt

Dr. Barrong is out of town, so today I saw a nurse/midwife. Nothing much has changed (despite my efforts). I am now officially dilated to a 2, and 50% effaced. Any person reaching in likes to comment on the fact that Molly's head is so low. I find it amusing that they think I might actually be surprised by this information. Have they seen me walk? I measure at 44 weeks, so I measure at the same size as someone with 1 baby, 4 weeks overdue. I know this to be true because my skin is fully stretched. It is beginning to tear from the inside out. This happened last time as well and is the number 1 reason that labor is welcome at this point. If you put a hand on my stomach (which I don't mind you doing) you will feel Kaitlyn everywhere. That girl has the most room and yet she is pushing out at every angle. You can feel her head, her rear, her knees, EVERYTHING. This girl enjoys her space!

It seems as though I'll probably make it through the weekend and see what happens next week. I have my ultrasound and nonstress test on Friday, so I'll update then unless something happens earlier.

It's Confirmed...I'm A Catholic

We were really worried about making it through Easter Vigil tonight. I was sure I would be in labor and unable to attend, but we made it without a hitch! The Easter Vigil is about 3 hours long, so one of my class instructors brought a recliner and I sat in the back in my comfy recliner and listened to the service. When it became close to my time to be a part of the service I joined friends and family in the hard wooden pews. The contractions seem to still be fairly inconsistent, but are gaining momentum. I'd guess they were about every 20-30 min throughout the church service. Here are some pictures from beforehand. I'm currently 35 weeks, 2 days.

35 Week Appointments

Non-Stress Test- Babies did great. Molly is WAY down low. She's always so relaxed and today she was PISSED that they dare monitor her. Both babes looked good and moved around a lot and had great baseline heart rates.

Ultrasound- Again, all looks good. The ultrasound tech didn't like that Molly was so still and tried to wake her up. She zapped her a few times with the vibration thing and that ticked Kaitlyn off, but Molly was obstinate and refused to move. I think it was mostly annoying for me.

Dr Follow-Up- At this point I will be a c-section. I just don't see a way around it, so I'm trying to deal with it. I am absolutely and totally not wanting one, but it appears it's my safest route, so I'm going to let go of all of my cons (and there are a lot of them). The reason for the c-section is that Kaitlyn is still not head down and she is quite a bit bigger than Molly. They worry about a contraction making her unable to breath if she gets stuck in the birth canal. Plus, I was told I couldn't deliver anything about 7 pounds and we're too close to that weight to be safe. The saddest part of it all is that Dan will be unable to be in the operating room during the c-section. He will miss our children being born and will most likely not be the first to hold them. Dan is a "passer outer" and is worried about drawing attention away from what is important...the birth itself. Mom will come in with me, which will be neat, but I'll miss that family moment. It also means Dan will have to take off more time from work so that I can recover.

I am now dilated to a 1-2. Nothing much, but I guess it's started. We'll see what happens this weekend!

Stats-
Molly- 5#11
Kaitlyn- 6#6
BIG BABIES!!!

The Traditional Pictures

With the boys, born in October, Dan painted my stomach into a pumpkin. CUTE! This time, with anticipated April babies, Dan painted an Easter egg. It's a little harder to find body paint this time of year, so I made some using cold cream (thanks Jenn), cornstarch, and food coloring. The black is cake frosting. :)

When we did the pumpkin, I went into labor the next day (I was 34 weeks, 5 days). This time, I waited until 35 weeks exactly, just in case. :) Here's the pictures of both!

Could I get a large cup of ice please?

Yup. That's my order at Sonic. Every day. Maybe even twice a day. I realize this is a little obsessive, but it's so yummy. It's my one big craving (aside from Easter peanut M&M's) this pregnancy. I think it becomes a bad sign when they greet you at the window with, "Hello again today."Oops. They apparently look for me every day. I explained that if they don't see me that day, I might not be back. I'm hoping this need for ice will pass after the pregnancy! However, in the meantime, I guess I'll just be the most loyal ice eater that goes to Sonic. Even if it is just 22 cents every time I go. :)

On another note, things seem to be changing. Will it be soon? I don't know. When I chatted with my nurse she said within the next 2 weeks probably. I'm really working on day by day at this point. Molly has moved down even further and any more movement and she will be waving to everyone (TMI? Sorry.). They are still pretty active, so I'm hoping I'll get through Easter Vigil on Saturday evening, but I'll do my best to update as time moves on. I either have a sore back from carrying twins, or I'm contracting more than I think in my back....hmmmmm....we'll see!!

Pictures

Here are some pictures from last night, they are at 34 weeks and 3 days. I currently measure at just over 43 weeks...nice. In the last few days my belly has definitely changed. I can no longer roll over in bed without a shove from Dan or at least a good start. Getting up and down is getting more and more difficult. Breathing is becoming more of a challenge at Kaitlyn is spending a fair amount of time way up in my ribs. Joshua felt Molly have the hiccups last night. He then got the hiccups (for real!) and put his belly against my belly so Molly could feel his hiccups. It was so cute!




The last picture is me with the boys at 34 weeks, 4 days.

34 Weeks, 1 Day (Non-Stress Test #1)

From now on, Fridays are busy, busy, busy!

The morning started off with my first non-stress test. I had taken my book with the theory that I could read while they monitored the babies. No such luck. First they hook you up to the fetal monitors. Not a big deal except Baby A (Molly) is always difficult and hard to find, so once they found her they had to push down on her and hold the monitor on her at all times. Ouch! Instead of reading my book I had to sit and push a button every time one of them moved. My poor finger was so tired by the end of it. After a while, baby A wasn't moving enough (so far, she's my mellow child) so they got out a little zapper. At least that's what it looked like. It just made this huge vibration across my tummy. Baby B totally flipped out and started kicking like crazy. Unfortunately that meant she was kicking Baby A's head, so then Baby A got in on the action. After a certain amount of time the babies must get settled back down. That seemed to take forever after all the effort to wake them up. Overall...the babes passed with no problem. We go back again next week for the next one.

Next I went to my OB's for an ultrasound. It was much quicker this time since there was no measuring, just checking things off a list to make sure they are acting correctly. I know they looked at movement (again Baby A needed a little jolt), breathing (both girls are practicing breathing), amniotic fluid level (there is plenty) and position. There are 8 things because I was told they both scored an 8/8. Again, the ultrasound technician commented on Kaitlyn's amount of hair. She said it was a lot of hair because it was so clear on the monitor. Poor hairy baby! :)

I then met with my OB. After showing him my glucose numbers he commented, "Your numbers look great, you're not diabetic." Have I said this before? That test was screwy because every single time I checked my blood sugar, I've been totally fine. Not even riding the line, but totally and utterly fine. He requested that I check my blood sugar once a day, probably not going to happen, but way better than 4 times a day. He said everything looks good and that I complain way less than his other twin mom's. Hooray! It's really because I save all the complaining for Dan. :) He measured my tummy and I am now measuring 43 weeks (meaning I'm as big as someone carrying a singleton at 43 weeks). Can't really complain, am feeling great...which makes me feel that I might not be too far away.

I've done some massive nesting lately. We are almost ready for babies to come. I'll try and pack my hospital bag this weekend and we'll put in baby car seats this weekend. It's crazy that it could be this close! The boys were born 1 week from today (gestation-wise). Crazy!!!! More updates to come as things progress.

33 Week Ultrasound

The ultrasound today was fantastic. I'm there so often she's beginning to remember me and immediately does the stuff on my back and then lets me flip to my side for the remainder of the ultrasound. Since it takes an hour, I'm really appreciative! Baby A (Molly) is still tucked way down under my pelvic bone. Baby B (Kaitlyn) has taken the whole rest of the stomach. She stretches across the entire top and down each side...must be nice.

Stats: Baby A- 4#11, Baby B- 5#0
-I measure the same as someone who is 39 weeks pregnant. This is WAY smaller than last time...hooray!
-I only gained one pound last week. This means the gestational diabetes isn't playing a huge roll in the pregnancy. So far, I've only gained about 35 pounds this pregnancy. Doesn't seem like much since I gained around 65 with the boys!

My appointment was at noon. At 1:00, I was taken back to an exam room. At 1:30 (an hour and a half after my appointment time) I was informed that my OB had just been called out for a delivery. I could wait for him if desired. I left. Since I have another appt next Friday, I'm not too worried about it. I like to see position of the babies and know the weights, then I'm happy. I guess I'll have another update next week!

Finger Pokes...OUCH!

So today was my first full day of poking my fingers 4 times a day to monitor my blood sugar. I was pretty stressed about it, particularly because I hate anything to do with needles and poking myself. It turned out to be not a big deal and my numbers today were fantastic.

8:00- 68 (goal 60-90)
9:30- 1 hour after breakfast 121 (goal- under 140)
1:30- 1 hour after lunch 109 (goal- under 140)
6:45- 1 hour afer dinner 113 (goal- under 140)

I have an ultrasound and follow-up with Dr. Barrong in the morning. I'm hoping that Baby B (Kaitlyn) has turned head down and that Baby A (Molly) remains head down. With all the activity taking place, I have no idea who is where. It seems as though there are body parts everywhere!

The poking continues tomorrow and I'm sure it will continue for at least another week. I'm down to weekly appointments. After this Friday I get a 1-hour Non-Stress Test, a 1-hour ultrasound, and a follow-up appointment. Hopefully the poking will decrease if my numbers remain good. And while the ultrasounds sound exciting and great, I now have to do them on my side as there is too much pressure on my lungs and back if I lay down flat. Ah,the joys of having twins. :-)

BTW---- 33 weeks today! 15 days from now will mark when the boys were born. Yikes!

Sibling Preparation Class

I forgot my camera...augh! Dan took some photos with his phone, so hopefully we can post those.

The boys were very excited to get to go to a class of their own. We told them it was all about them and how they get to be big brothers, and they were so thrilled. The class talked about the babies and where they live now, and how that will change when the babies are born. Then, the boys got to learn how to hold a baby and change a diaper. It was so cute. Thomas, generally not interested in having anything to do about babies, loved holding the baby and changing it's diaper (at least for a few minutes). Joshua, on the other hand, soaked up all the information possible. At one point, Thomas handed me his baby, and I was holding it with one arm, and he managed to instruct me in how to hold a baby, always with two hands. Sweet!



Thomas kept up his usual talkative personality through the whole class. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but the boys were definitely the youngest in the class by quite a margin. When she talked about what the babies would eat, Thomas went into depth about how cows give milk. When she talked about how to hold a baby so it wouldn't fall, Thomas let her know that he would make sure to catch the babies when they fell down. It was an hour long class and I think Thomas talked for about 90% of it. Hopefully, the other people found it endearing and not annoying.



**On another note, I want to make sure to remember how the boys are at this point. Thomas is fairly indifferent to the babies. He's more annoyed that I can't do what we use to do. He will talk about it for moments at a time and then is ready to move on to other things. Joshua, on the other hand, is unable to focus on anything BUT the babies. When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he does is crawl in bed with me and ask to talk to the babies. This continues throughout the day. It is adorable, however I wonder if he'll be devastated when they actually arrive and the tummy is no longer their home.

Glucose Results and Iron Changes

Well, this certainly has become more of an eventful pregnancy. Can't these girls just settle down and let me enjoy it?

My glucose test results came back today. I was hoping to stave it off until Monday so I could eat freely. Luckily only 2 of my blood results came back elevated.

After fasting: 81
1 hour: 197
2 hour: 214
3 hour: 125

I still get to go speak with a dietician and get a diabetic training class. It's not that I take this lightly, but seriously, I have two diabetic parents, I kind of know what to expect. And I'm also a little skeptical at this point. I'm so close to done, I'm not sure that a total change in diet is going to really help anything. Also, if you've ever met me, you know that changing my diet is a near impossibility. I can cut out sugars and eat more fruit, but cutting carbs and varying my diet is never going to happen. Pricking my fingers multiple times a day is probably also not going to happen. Unless by not doing this I am somehow hurting those babies, I will probably take it fairly lightly. We'll see how the training goes next week.

On the iron-side of things, it seems to be improving a little bit. I made myself eat some waffles, drink some OJ and take 2 iron pills last night. I felt horrible until about 2 AM and then I was able to drift off to sleep. I will either try to take 2 every night or try to alternate between one and two. I felt kind of crummy this morning, but it left quickly.

While I love being pregnant and want to remain pregnant for a while longer to enjoy it more, the drama of having all these tests and failing is taking it's toll. I'm ready for some quiet time without calls from the doctor and smooth sailing from here on out. Wish me luck!

32 Weeks

Crazy to think that we only have 3-4 more weeks left. It doesn't seem like it could be that close! We are nowhere near ready. Here are some pictures I had Dan take of me tonight. If it appears that I am not happy, I am. This is the best smile I've got right now!

The second picture is me last time at nearly 32 weeks, just to compare!

Yucky Testing

So today I had to go in for my 3 hour glucose test. I was not looking forward to it. I had to stop eating at 8:30 PM the night before with nothing except water until the testing was complete. I woke up a little nauseous just from lack of food and hoped that I'd be able to manage. Once in the doctor office, I was given instructions to drink the glucose liquid (like the syrup from uncarbonated pop) in 5 minutes. On an empty stomach, chugging syrup in the amount similar to a can of pop is not good. I asked if I could chew on some ice that I had brought and was told not to for a while so that the glucose didn't get dilluted. :( I was taken to an exam room where I discovered they did not have internet access for me so all I could do on the laptop was play Hearts and Majong. Blood drawing then occurred every hour on the hour for 3 hours. 2 pokes in each arm. Nice. The first two hours were horrendous. I would puke it up and then have to swallow it down. If you puke it up, you have to reschedule and do it again...no way was that happening. I managed to catch a couple 20 minute naps on the exam table when I got bored enough.

Now I'm home, have eaten a large Quizno's sandwich and am starting to burp and gag a lot less. Dan is home for the rest of the day to assist with the children. I'll get my results on Monday hopefully. Until then I'll be snacking on my Easter candy and such just in case! :)

Update

Finally home from the doctor office. The ultrasound went well. I forget how unenjoyable ultrasounds are towards the end. She finally let me lay on my side and finished the ultrasound...these babies are heavy!

Baby A (Kaitlyn) is head down and curled into a tiny little ball. She weighs 3 lbs 12 oz and is growing well. We didn't get very many statistics on her because she was so curled up and hiding.

Baby B (now Molly?) is still transverse and enjoying my rib cage...no joke. She is so high up the the ultrasound almost became a little too intimate for me. :) She is nice and stretched out and enjoying the high life of having all the room. She is the big baby right now weighing in at 4 lbs 4 oz. During the ultrasound the tech showed me some great pics of her. The tech pointed out little fat rolls. Cute! I've never had a baby with fat rolls (at least until they are nearly a year), so that would be neat. She also showed me Baby B's hair waving on top of her head. Apparently she'll be a good match to Joshua, who was SUPER hairy when he came out!

As of now, the difference in their weights and the fact that Baby B would most likely be breech means we are gearing up for a C-Section. We discussed my fears and dislikes for this and I am left hoping that Baby A goes through a nice growth spurt.

He commented that my contractions seem to be under control. Basically, I'm past the point of utter scariness so if I go into labor, the babies will be fine. However, I'd much MUCH rather wait a fwe more weeks. Seriously, if I can make it to 35-36 weeks I'll be golden. Scary to think that's only 3 weeks away.

Tip of the day from the doctor: Take orange juice with iron pills so you don't feel like puking all the time. Not sure if this works, but it's the advice he gave me. We'll see!!!!!!

Morning Update

I timed the contractions for 2 hours last night and after 4 bottles of water and some complete rest in bed, the contractions nearly stopped (down to maybe one an hour). As long as I can keep the number of contractions down, I'm in good shape! Really I just need to make it to my ultrasound/appointment on Monday to make sure nothing is changing. Dan has volunteered to take the boys for the day and let me rest in bed to make sure I make it to tomorrow without checking into the hospital. Angie will have the boys in the morning while I go to my appointment, so hopefully everything looks good and he sends me right home. I'll pack a bag just in case since last time we were caught totally off-guard.

Back Labor

It's been a busy busy week and weekend. I've been totally exhausted. I'm hoping that's because of the anemia and now that I'm taking iron pills, I'm hoping that will get better.

Friday started off with some lower back pain. I believe that lower back pain was just sore muscles due to doing too much the day before. I took it easy on Friday and things seemed to get better.

I started my iron pills last night. They are horrible. They make me totally nauseous and make my stomach really upset. I'm about to take my last dose of pills for the night and in order to make it at least tolerable, I'm eating chicken nuggets at 11:00 PM just to have food in my stomach.

I'm starting to think that I am having back labor. It isn't painful, so I just can't be sure. But the fact that I don't feel regular contractions makes me a little leary. For me, this back thing is more like all the sudden the skin tightens on my back and I can feel a massive blood flow up and down my spine. I have no idea what this means, but at the moment I'm timing them, so I guess they must be contractions. If they get to be too frequent, I'll get to be a visitor at Sacred Heart tonight. If they calm down I'll reassess in the morning. I have an OB ultrasound and appointment on Monday, so I'm really REALLY hoping to make it to then. However, these back contractions seem to be more frequent that I thought they were, so keep your fingers crossed.

If you're someone who volunteered to come play with the boys if things got rough, start looking at your schedule. I'm going to try and prepare a back-up plan just in case.

31 Week Update

My goal is to have Dan take a picture tonight, so all you wanting a picture, check back then.

Today I am 31 weeks. I'm getting so close! I'm hoping to make it 4-5 more weeks, which doens't seem to be too far away. I'm more exhausted than I ever remember being with the boys. Somedays I just can't even function.

My glucose test came back this week. I failed, miserably, with a 200. With both of my parents being diabetic, these numbers are familiar to me. Ugh. I get to go back next week for a 3 hour glucose test. I'm not looking forward to it and wondering if I can complete it without puking since I can't eat for about 15 hours straight. An empty stomach is not going to go over well. I am also extremely anemic. This is not so surprising. I just get to take extra meds now...neat. However, amidst all my complaints, I'll take it all over bedrest, so I consider myself to be doing fairly well. Contractions are at a minimum (maybe 1-2 a day) and even though I have no energy, I seem to be managing fairly well considering there are 2 toddlers running around all day long.

In fact, those toddlers call.

30 Years and 30 Weeks

Yesterday I reached my 30 week mark. 30 weeks at 30 years old. Last time I'll ever hit that mark!

I've been a little nostalgic the last few days. I know I'm nearing the end (around 6 weeks left) and I'm just not ready to be done yet. I want to feel them move more. I want to be pregnant more. This is my last time and I'm not ready for it to be over. I like when people feel my belly and feel the babies move (even though these girls are really quiet). I like being huge and answering a gazillion questions about the pregnancy. I know I'll miss it when it's gone, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment. The sheer exhaustion of having toddler boys and being pregnant with twins makes that difficult, but I make it my goal to connect with the girls during rest time every day.

Speaking of which, the girls are getting on a fairly consistent schedule (Lord knows that will change once they're here, but for now it's nice). As soon as I wake up they are kicking and moving and telling me they are hungry. I know it's 2:00 (rest time for the boys) because the girls just start moving around knowing I should be sitting still for a while. Yesterday we went to a basketball game and I could tell when 2:00 hit because the girls just started squirming like crazy. They also like to be up late at night. Anytime after midnight is fair game for them to start fighting, touching, pushing, or whatever they are doing in there.

Now that we've found the camera again, I'll try and get a picture. This is the really fun growing time so there should be some good changes over the next several weeks.

28 Weeks Picture

I'm a little slow at taking pictures. Seems like I wasn't real big for a while so there wasn't much change, but in the past 2 weeks, these babies have grown! The first picture is me right now, the second picture is me with the boys at about the same time....compare!

Ultrasound and Dr Appt (27 Weeks)

I had my ultrasound on Thursday and my follow-up appointment today. Apparently everything is still on track. Both girls weigh 2 1/2 pounds which is exactly 50th percentile. There is lots of amniotic fluid and there are no signs of pre-term labor. I am now at appointments every 2 weeks which becomes really fun!

The girls have nearly been permanently named. Joshua use to call them Bumblebee and Homer but has recently switched to Kaitlyn and Emily. I'm still holding out for Madeline instead of Emily, but I guess we'll just wait and see what she looks like. Kaitlyn is a definite name and we will call her Katie, although you will be welcome to call her ALMOST anything you like. : )

The ultrasound picture is only of Baby B (Emily). Baby A (Kaitlyn) is very very low and refuses to have her picture taken. We've not gotten one decent picture of her because she chooses to hide behind my pelvic bone at every ultrasound. Maybe the next one we'll get a good one!

Picture

Here's the picture as promised. 25 weeks, 4 days.

25 Weeks Still Going Strong

Just a short update, sorry no pictures. I can't remember the last time I even had the energy to get dressed. I'll get dressed for church tomorrow so I'll try and have Dan take a picture. I hit 24 weeks and all the sudden I hit utter exhaustion. Not just tired, but to the point where I can't even function. The boys have taken it extremely well and let me rest on the couch while they play independently or together. Dan comes home and takes over so that I can go to bed.

I called my friend tonight who had twins and then a singleton and asked if it was the same with her singleton as it was with the twins and she assured me that the singleton, while tiring, was so much easier than twins. It gave me just that little bit of reassurance.

The babies are growing and kicking harder day by day. For a few days they didn't move at all and I started to worry. It was also the beginning of the exhaustion, so I wondered if maybe they were growing. Dan made a good point that if they were growing and not moving, they were probably hungry. Lo and behold, I upped my caloric intake and began eating more often and they are now constantly moving and kicking. Definitely a good sign, although difficult to eat something substantial nearly every hour. I've also upped my water intake so that I'm drinking nearly 5 liters of water a day. It's a ton, but it's really helping and I know it helped with the boys. I can tell the days when I don't drink enough.

Ok...hopefully pictures tomorrow! I think you'll be surprised at the recent growth!

Follow-Up with Dr. Barrong

Today was my follow up with Dr. Barrong. He said everything looks great. He said they want to see 2 cm of amniotic fluid, one baby has 4 cm and one baby has 6 cm, so they are doing great. They are growing at exactly the same rate, and each weigh 1 lb 3 oz right now. Overall a great appointment! I have another ultrasound/appointment in 4 weeks and then I go to every 2 weeks. Crazy to think it's already down to the 2 week appointments!

Ultrasound at 23 weeks

This morning was my ultrasound. Bright and early...7:30! The girls were difficult as always. It took a long time to locate some of the parts that last time they were unable to see. The girls are pros at turning at exactly the time the technician finds the aorta or the nose and lips. Everything looks great. I have my follow-up with Dr. Barrong tomorrow. As soon as I laid down for the ultrasound, she asked if I'd been drinking water to keep my amniotic fluid levels up since they were low last time. I had a mini freak out having not been told my levels were low. She looked again and said they were low, but totally fine. She checked them again today and said they were high so I guess it was just the day or the technician or something. I generally drink 6-10 bottles of water a day and then follow-up with a little juice or Diet Caffeine Free Coke, so there is almost always liquid going in. As far as I could tell the girls look as though their growth is on track. Baby A is all the way down hiding behind my pelvis bone. Baby B is living the high life in my ribs and has plenty of room to stretch out. The pictures from today were not great since they couldn't get any real facial shots due to the girls always moving around. I can see that ultrasounds will not be as enjoyable from this point on. By the end of the hour, I was about ready to beg to be done.

Pictures By Thomas

A few days ago I was feeling particularly large and wanted to document it. What ensued was Thomas attempting to take pictures of my tummy. No, these are not flattering, but Thomas tried SO hard to get a good one! :) Afterwards, both boys insisted I take a picture of the babies inside their tummies too. Cute!!!

Today---- We were all cuddling in bed and the babies were moving around a lot. I took Josh's hand (then Thomas') and placed them on my tummy. The boys were thrilled and a little scared to feel that kick under my skin! It was pretty neat to watch them. "That baby kick me!" Thomas then made me put my hand on his tummy and proceeded to move his tummy around so I could feel his baby kick too. So cute!

Movement

A little note about movement. These girls are either lazy or just calm. I choose to think calm. :-) I feel them move way less than I ever felt the boys move. I'm sure I won't be complaining about this next month, but sometimes it makes me nervous. One baby is still carrying really low (making walking a bit awkward) and one baby has moved way up high (making for some lovely heartburn). It makes it easy to distinguish kicks, but kind of painful in day to day activities. I'm sure Baby A will move up soon. Sometimes I lay down just to make them move and make sure I can feel both of them. Tonight I laid my head on Dan's lap (after beating him 2/3 in backgammon I might add) and they started kicking away. I put Dan's hand on my tummy and they really went crazy. It's the first time he's really gotten to feel them move. 21 weeks, 5 days for the record. The boys and Dan have both felt random kicks but this time they were really moving against his hand. It was pretty neat. I promise to post some pictures soon!

New Calendar

Trying to find a calendar that works. Give me some feedback so I know if I need to change it. I'm looking for something where you guys can add your own stuff. That way if you want to spend some time here after the girls are born helping out, you can mark that time on the calendar and everyone else will know that that time is filled. Also, it will help those that need to request time off work! Thanks to everyone who is volunteering to help!

Last time when people signed up they mainly came over to do dishes and switch laundry and do a general pickup so that I had time to nurse/feed/rest/bond with the boys. I have a feeling this time will be different as the boys will need more attention too. If you are a friend of the mommy here, and just want to clear off a time and day for a playdate, go for it! The boys will love the time with other kiddos and I can always pump while you hold babies! :)