Dr Apt today

It went great!!! This one was the short visit quick cervix check (by ultrasound), my weight and then a meet with the Dr.

My cervix is holding steady at 3.2mm which they were really happy with and then my favorite tech gave me a quick peak at my boys... and a few pictures :) Love her!!!

Jamison, my sweet little boy was practicing "swallowing", I guess that is how they learn to breath. If you look at his pictures you can kind of see his mouth a little open in one :) It was very cute.

Weston, my little wild man.... well as you can see by the blur of his face, he was all over the place....and he is fast!!! It was like he was boxing in there. If you look at his pictures you can see his little arm up in one and down in the other... I think he may really give me a run for my money :)

Then was the dreaded scale........... 28 lbs!!! Holly cow!! They are not worried and think I am right on target by MY GOODNESS does it sound rough. My belly is sticking out pretty far (obviously I guess since I am packing extra poundage) so I asked if I was abnormally large for this point in my gestation and she said no that it is because I am short (I know hard to believe with my big hair and high heels, I can usually pull a good 5'7, but when they are gone I shrink back to a pint sized 5'2) but more so, I am short waited so they babies have no where to go but out.... I guess it will be like a torpedo :)

So I have about 15 weeks left and they wanted me to gain 50 lbs, minus the 28 I have 22 left... not bad I guess 1.5 lbs a week... so if I continue like I have, I should be right where they want me to be at delivery and have 2 nice and healthy babies!!! Can't wait to meet them!!!

I had a lady ask me today when my baby was due... when I told her October she had that surprised look on her face so I made sure to follow up with "but I have two in here" hahaha. It was nice though. Being so far away from all of our friends and family and not getting to leave my couch makes for very rare occasions that I really get to gush over the babies so it kind of made my day :)

Looking forward to this 3 day weekend with my hubby... and even better we are having some friends in from FL!! Should be a great visit, Mike and Pat have been friends since grade school!!!

We have also been working on the nursery (when I say we... I mean Pat does and I watch, I make a great cheerleader) so hopefully I can post some pictures of the progress soon :)

~Heather

HELLOOOOO Daddy!!!

Pat finally was able to feel his babies!!!! I was sooooo excited!!! Probably because I have tried putting his hand on my belly approximately a million times with no success....but not tonight :)

It seems these little guys are pretty active everyday about 6:00pm-ish and then again between 10:00 and 11:00 pm. So they were up to there normal playtime this evening and had been all over the place, around 6:45 Pat got home, as soon as he was through the door finaI made him run over to feel, of course... nothing... they stopped.

So he goes up to take a shower and they start kicking away.... momma was on a mission!!! I hurried upstairs and bounced through the door and of course they stop UGH!!! I mad him hold it there for an extra minute and he finally got a little wack :) I was like "did you feel that?" and waited for the answer even though it was written all over his face.. he said "ya it felt like a big heart beat" with a big smile on his face... then he waited a few more minutes and got one more right on his thumb.

I was soooo excited to finally share it with him.... probably even more then he was... :)

Then he of course ruined my excitement shortly later as I was getting in the shower, he asks me "hey do you know who you look like?" and I answer "no" because I have no idea where he is going with this... and he says "Peter Griffin"!!!!! The dad on Family Guy (a cartoon) with a huge beer belly. SERIOUSLY!!! I have always thought my husband was a very smart man but boy oh boy lately I have been second guessing that...........................

~Heather

21 weeks!!!

One more down!!! Yippeeeee!!!! Three more to go and we will be past viability, amazing! So as of today our little one are now the size of a banana. Approximately 10.5 inches long and 12.7 ounces each.

I have to say I can for sure tell the boys are getting bigger because their kicks most certainly are. Pat has still yet to feel them move :( Yesterday I told him they were kicking so he puts his hand there and of course... they stop... he moves his hand... and of course they start again... big ones, enough that I could see and feel them from the outside.. So I open the door to get Pat to try again and... his hands are full of bags of Maggie poo.... he went to try and I was like "um no thanks ... lets wait till you wash those hands". They were pretty quiet for the rest of the evening until of course bed time. Pat was already asleep and they were having a party in my belly, a jig on my bladder, a little break dance on my ribs and tap dancing on my girlie bits (um boys I love your kicks however mommy would really appreciate if you skipped that last area) Oh well maybe tonight we can try again, I can't wait till he can finally feel them :)

I found a fabulous photographer to do maternity pictures for us and I am super excited for them so last night I was trying on some of the clothes I wanted to wear (um... to be sure they still fit, and for the record my jeans do, even though I think I actually heard them squeal when I put them on) Since I was in my sports bra I checked out my belly and decided it wasn't looking too bad right now so if I was ever going to take a full "belly" picture now is the time... no stretch marks (yet I am sure there will be some in my future) and its big but not abnormally crazy large yet so I have added it to the line up of normal Monday photos.... at least for this week :)

Pat had given me a little love tap on my ONE butt cheek this weekend... it made my entire butt and thighs jiggle hahahaha. I am going to have ALOT of squats and lunges in my future.....

Since you all know by now I am an open book and tell all, I will give some more TMI.... I have really been hoping that I am able to nurse the babies, better for them, better for me, and with the price of formula, better for our wallets :) So I am happy to report my "girls" are already leaking hahaha I NEVER expected that this early and I don't think I ever thought it would make me happy to say that... however I am kind of excited because it looks like my "parts" are functioning :) You figure with as large as they have gotten at least I can put these bad boys to some good use!!!


Apt Wednesday I will keep you posted!

~Heather

A year.....

Ugh it is nearing that time again.... it is almost my birthday.... Some people love having birthdays I however am not all that fond (minus gifts from the hubby... those are always fine).. it means one year older... this year I am crossing into a new decade, that's right folks the big 3-0. Good lord!!!

I am a big ponderer... I really use this time to reflect and look at whats happened in a years time. Some people like to do this at New Years, I always throw together a resolution but really I like to do the big reflections at my birthday. I have a list of "things I want to accomplish". Each year I update it, some I have done, some I keep on there in hopes of accomplishing the following year.... and some that have been on there for YEARS I should probably hop to :)

On the list last year of course was to finally have a baby... if my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law remember, over some FANTASTIC fajitas from Cody's, I also mentioned this happened to be my New Years resolution this year as well..... even though Pat said it wasn't a true resolution.. I was sticking to it... I will save weight loss for 2011 hahahaha... (sidenote seriously I would saw off an arm to have a fajitas from there right now... apparently, its the only restaurant they don't have in the D.C. area)

So anyways, this time last year we had 3 IVF's fall through at this point... There was supposed to be one in Jan, then April then June.... which was probably the worst since I had already gotten my medication and dates for transfer of the embryos... When you are dealing with a hormonal mess like I was, and I thought it would finally be our shot at having our baby... lets just say.... it was rough when it got canceled, especially just before my birthday.

My birthday brought so much fear and resentment last year because the statistics for IVF is that a 28 year old has the absolute best chance (there is a spike there, so a 28 year old would have a better shot then say a 23 year old) of having success.... and with the 3 canceled cycles I would officially be 29 at the time of my treatment. To a normal person its just a few months... whats the big deal right??? Well anyone who has been through IVF will tell you.. at this point you really aren't dealing with a "normal" person, emotional and hormonal really is a much better way to describe it... and at 29 I was beginning on the slippery downwards slope of IVF fertility (ok...really it starts going downwards at 32 but again I was not a rational "normal" person ) ... So I was a bit sad and Pat really, really did his best to make sure I had a great day.... Presidential Suite at a fabulous hotel, nicest one I have ever seen in real life... if you know my husband you will know this is a BIG DEAL since he is known for being a Priceline.com hotel guy and never likes to spend more then say $35 a night... bugs are cool right??? Don't mind the blood stain on the walls... they are no biggie... you can imagine my amazement when he took me to the suite... I totally thought it was a joke... and was waiting to see our "real" room... it was very very sweet of him, although he made me promise to not get used to it :)

So our IVF didn't happen until October... we were both sooooo excited waiting for that one baby to come and complete our family.... yes I said one... we had planned on everything going fantastic and only transferring one embryo. If you had a great embryo, the clinic likes to just transfer one, the success rate was 85%, which is awesome for IVF. This made Pat happy because at the time, he only wanted one baby. So the day we got to transfer we found out that instead of A grade we had B's so they would be transferring 2.... they assured us these were still great little embryos and we still had a great chance of success and then they handed us a picture of our "babies". It was amazing to see the change in my husband in seconds... he went from wanting one child to immediately wanting two... wanting them both to live and become our babies... The drive home we talked about our "twins" and what it would be like... You can imagine how upset we were when it didn't work. I was a wreck, Pat was upset but did a great job at holding it together for me... and he was my rock through a very crappy time...

So we got our follow up and new plan of attack... and of course you all know how that has worked out... We really are having our "twins" and we are both sooooooo excited to finally have our family.

It kind of makes me laugh because I remember being in high school and planning out my life... thinking I would have 3 kids by the time I was 30... Well I am soon to be 30 and I am pregnant with 2, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Being on bed rest makes having lots of fun to celebrate kind of out of the question, there will be no awesome hotel or weekend trip... however my sweet sweet husband did offer to move the couch to the other side of the room to give me some new scenery :)

Next year I will have sooooooo much to reflect on :) Maybe this 30 stuff won't be so bad after all!!!

~Heather

Bed.....

Obviously I have LOTS of time on my hands nowadays so I am always finding new websites to waste time on or cruising through sites I visit on a regular basis....

So its 11:00 pm and Pat is sleeping so I decide to visit one of my twin pregnancy sites. The boards on there aren't too busy so I don't visit that one too often... I get there and I am lurking through the posts and I find a new one titled "bed"............ hmmm... so I check it out.

I am dying as I am reading it.... So this poor girl 24 weeks pregnant (obviously pretty large at this point) and was really worried because she can't get out of bed on her own... her husband every morning comes to her side and helps lift her out and help her to her feet... the problem is that he has to go out of town for work for a few weeks and she is REALLY nervous about getting stuck in her bed....

So at first I am like.... really??? Really how bad could this be???? So I start reading through the responses.... I guess pretty bad because there are14 of them... 14 different strategies for getting your pregnant butt out of bed from other twin mommas.. So maybe it can be a real problem??? Not sure, but I literally was laughing out loud... of course this is me now thinking its hysterical, maybe 4 weeks from now I won't find it as funny hahahaha

My personal favorites:

"When I was pregnant I tied a rope to my nightstand and another rope to my dresser so I could grab the end and pull myself out of bed"

"Don't worry about getting out of bed... be sure to stick to showers while he's gone because you don't want to get stuck in the bath tub like I did"

There were a few others that were note worthy, one suggesting to sleep in a recliner chair so you can "propel" yourself up when its morning... another that suggested putting a regular chair next to the bed so you could have some leverage and then a place to "sit and rest" after you manage to get up....

Now my question is.... does this getting out of bed become an issue for all pregnant ladies or is more of a twin problem???

I am still fully able to get out of bed on my own (thank goodness) but latelyI have been feeling like my boobies were inching their way up to my neck, either they are moving up or my new found double chin is on its way down to meet them, or they are meeting somewhere in the midde.... whichever way I feel a bit strangled... so I was messing with my sports bra tonight (I find these to be the best at wrestling them back in place and flatten them out) while Pat was making dinner and he says "you are home all day by yourself why don't you just take off your bra" and I look at him and try to come up with some clever excuse... I come up with nothing so I tell him the truth... "because if I don't wear a bra my boobs now sit on my belly and it totally grosses me out" and his answer... promise if he had been standing closer I may have slapped him... "well thats because you now have national geographic boobs"...... I love him..... no really I do.....

~Heather

Random...

So I have really avoided looking at my rear view... pretty much since I got pregnant.. I like to think my weight is all in my belly, because of course that is where its supposed to go right???? So a few weeks back when my sweet husband who always knows just what to say to make me feel beautiful...... (RIGHT!!!)..... mentioned that my butt had gotten bigger.... immediately of course trying to take it back... so the next day when I was all by myself I got out my trusty little hand mirror and took a look.... sure enough he was right... it had gotten bigger, in case you were wondering, no I didn't tell him he was right. So I called my friend Corinne who unlike my husband ALWAYS knows what to say, she assured me not to worry... it will go back....

So spring ahead a few weeks.... my dad was sitting in the bathroom with me while I was doing my hair.... there is a small bench seat directly behind my sink/mirror and here is what he says...

"you know the old wives tale about how your carrying? You know.... the way you are gaining weight?"

and I answer...

"yep, if you carry girls, you gain weight in your belly and if you are carrying a boy you gain in your butt..."

He replies....

"yep... that sure is true for you...." and then he laughs at himself because he thought that was just HYSTERICAL!!!! Right!!!

They do say you you marry a man just like your father....

I had not looked at my butt since that first meeting with my hand held mirror... had no intentions too... until this weekend...

I was getting ready for bed and I was standing in my underwear... and no I have not switched to maternity underwear... and for the record I have no intentions to :) ... so I was minding my own business when my sweet hubby just had to mention again the state of my behind... "hahaha ya your butt is getting bigger hahaha" Yep... really funny so I waited till he went in the potty and I grabbed my mirror and he caught me mid view... of course after that he felt bad and tried to tell me it wasn't that bad....

I went to get into my pj's and since he has been in charge of laundry, my pj supply is very dwindled... So I dig and dig in my drawer and find some old shorts that I was never able to wear because they were to big... I am thinking "perfect" so I slide them on and they are.... to small :( So small I was brave enough to take the rear view back to the mirror and the site was so awful I threw them away.....

Awe the joys of pregnancy :) It will go back.... sometime after October..Right? RIGHT?????

The good news is yesterday Pat drove me down to our community pool so we could sit outside and read for a bit... I can't swim because of my cerclage but it was nice to be outside.. So while we were there another couple came in.. the husband pretty muscular and in good shape the wife... pregnant :) So Pat and I were checking them out, we are big people watchers... he looks at me and says.. "are my arms bigger then his arms" and I told him they were, my hubby has nice arms :) So I look at her and ask Pat "am I smaller then she is???" hahaha he said I was... maybe making up for telling me I had a big butt the day before but I am thinking he was telling the truth, the man can't lie to save his life.... I found out she is due within a week from me with a little girl...only one baby, she is bigger hahahaha ... Pat and I were laughing at ourselves, he likes to be bigger and of course I was happy to be smaller :)

~Heather

PS So if yo notice in my more recent belly shots my shirts are fighting me a bit on covering the ole belly... they are called Long and Lean, by Mossimo, I love them, wear them all the time.. however no longer am I long or lean so I think they are revolting against me :)

20 weeks!!!

20 weeks!! Not only is it another weeks I am no longer in the teens!!! I am officially a twenty-something hahahaha For more weeks and we will be viable!!! Crazy thought that in less then a month god forbid if I went into labor our boys will be able to live outside my belly :) That will be a day of celebration for sure.

Of course I want many more weeks after that but I have been setting myself small goals to get through all of the bedrest so its not so overwhelming... first will be 24 weeks, when we get there my next goal will be 28 weeks and then 32 and finally 36---- Baby time!!!! It helps I swear :)

So the boys today are now approx 10.5 oz (of course my little men are already bigger but these are the standards for this gestation) 6.5 inches from head to rump, 10 inches from head to heel of their tiny feet about the size of a cantaloupe.

My little cantaloupes have been soooooo active lately I love it. Unfortunately Pat has yet to feel them... they will be kicking away and as soon as he puts his hand on my belly... they stop. Hopefully soon he can feel them.

~Heather

Photo session on my boys!!!

So we had our level 2 anatomy scan yesterday... and it was .... FANTASTIC!!!! The boys got an A+. The Dr. told us they look "beautiful" and are nice and big.. the average baby at this point is about 8.0-8.5 oz and both babies are 11 oz each!!! My dad loved it. When they began the scan she was looking at the inside of the brain and he said "is that the inside of the brain?" and she answered yes... he said "now that is COOL!!!" and hopped up to get nice and close so he could get a good look. Of course he said these scans have come a long way since my brothers and I were born. We got to see their hearts, blood flow to their cord and bladder, their little kidneys and the length of the bones... in typical fashion Jamison was super cooperative and little Weston was kicking away :) I love them!!!!!

So my favorite ultrasound tech gave us lots of pictures..... all in 3-D hahahahaha my little aliens still look like aliens but these are pretty cute... they can actually touch each other now... I guess the membrane between is only as thick as plastic wrap :) My favorite of these is where Jamison is "kissing" Westons little head. The ones of just their face are marked A and B, Jamison is A Weston B.... She told me Jamison will probably have my nose.... poor kid LOL

For now, I will be going to the Dr. every two weeks... alternating for type of apt, next one will be a cervix check (via ultrasound) and non-stress test... this test checks to see if you are at risk for labor within 2 weeks (pretty amazing they can check for that) then two weeks after they do the full measuring of the baby the the next two weeks is switches back... I guess my little ones are a bit high maintenance like their momma :)

In other news.... I did get my Red Lobster..... YUMMMMM Maybe that is why when they weighed in with a grand total of 24 lbs!!!! OMG Oh well I guess I met my goal of 24 lbs by 24 weeks since made it at 20... maybe I am just an over achiever :)

~Heather

19 weeks!!!!

You all know this is my favorite day of the week.... the clicker ticks over and its officially one more week down and one closer to meeting the babies!!! So excited... and of course this is our big ultrasound week... a great milestone!!!

Today the boys are now the size of a mango (back to fruit, for some reason that sounds cuter then veggies LOL) Approximately 8 1/2 ounces and 6 inches long from crown to rump each... hmmmm 8 1/2 per baby thats less then 2 pounds of baby in my belly where did the other 18 lbs go??? hahahaha I will worry about that after they are born :)

I have a funny feeling that eating light will not be on the menu this week since my Dad will be here... he has been wanting a Philly Cheese Steak from the place around the corner... As soon as he heard it was one of the best around I think he started planning his trip :) Then on Wednesday if my Dr. gives me a free pass to go out to eat (I have been sooooooo good about staying off my feet so I am hoping he gives me the OK) We are going to hit Red Lobster for lunch... yummmmm nothing beats their cheddar biscuits.... Pat has been making great dinners... but its been almost a month since eating out and I am REALLY REALLY looking forward to it!!! Awe the excitement food brings to a pregnant lady :)

~Heather

PS- I noted the belly placement in the weeks picture, its getting close to taking up the whole frame... oh boy!! I think I am going to start having Pat take them again so he can get further away... each week he will have to add a step back :)

Sometimes I just have to confess.....

I am in pain... big time pain.... Remember a few weeks back when I went to the E.R because of severe pain.... It happens often... really often... I try so hard not to complain because I wanted I these babies more then anything and I knew the actual carrying of the babies was going to be hard on me, (not any of the silly pregnancy side effects, just in general). Of curse I would do it all over again to be able to have my sons, but I had no idea at the time how much pain I had in store...

My friends and family always ask how I am feeling and I always answer "fine" or "great" I really am, I am soooo happy to be having the boys and I usually keep this part between Pat and I ... but I just have to let it out... It hurts terribly and it scares me...

Ever since my first stomach surgery back in 2001 my body produces these adhesion's where my organs stick together... I have had them removed 6 times since to help ease the pain. The problem with these is that they grow back. My most recent surgery was last January and the surgeon did a great job removing what she could but there is no way to get them all and of course its been over a year so I am sure some of them have grown back. With the babies getting bigger they put a lot of pressure throughout my belly which of course really pulls on these parts that are fused together... my left side is where it comes from the most but occasionally it will be other places.

In the beginning when the pain would start I could usually find some relief by laying down or moving around but that doesn't help any more......

Today (technically yesterday???) has been absolutely horrible. I was in tears all day and nothing seemed to be help. I can't tell you in words how much this hurts because its really unlike anything I have experienced before. Overall I have gained a pretty substantial pain tolerance from all of the procedures in past, but this brings me to my knees and I am scared to death what the rest of my pregnancy will feel like as these boys get bigger.

I took some tylenol in the afternoon and it just didn't get any better... at about 10:00pm I took a left over RX pain pill from my cerclage and figured I could try to sleep it off....no luck... I played on the internet until about 2:00am... just laid there tossing and turning until 4:30am when I gave in and took 2 more RX pain pills (the bottle says 1-2 every 6 hours but I try not to take to much medication especially heavy duty stuff) and it hasn't even made a dent in the pain... at 5:30am I have given up. I can't sleep... it hurts too bad and I felt bad for keeping Pat awake so I came downstairs made some breakfast and I am starting off the day with not one minute of sleep from last night.

I could go to the E.R. but there is nothing they can do for me except give me stronger pain meds...right now I am just trying to get through it but if it doesn't ease up by this evening I will have to go.

In all of this, at least I know its just me suffering, the boys are fine which at this point is all I care about. They have been moving all over the place.... THAT is amazing no matter what hurts.

Thanks for letting me vent a bit.................

~Heather

Things I didn't know

Ok so I have had ALOT of time on my hands the last few weeks.... so I have been thinking of all of the ... um... fantastic things about pregnancy no one ever told me about... now these aren't necessarily things that everyone experiences... but these are up till now the very surprising side effects I have experienced :)

I will start by saying I LOVE being pregnant, being able to feel my babies move... its pretty fantastic. My nails have never looked better, very long and strong and of course there were the common pregnancy symptoms every one warned me about, the exhaustion, morning sickness (which as you know I was super lucky to avoid), frequent peepee trips, my ever growing baby bump and gianormous boobies.... now for the things people didn't tell me....

1) Of course this would be my "bathroom" issues which have yet to show any improvement... 6 fiber pills, 3 softeners, 3 table spoons of mineral oil and a few suppositories.... daily.... and NOTHING

2) Heartburn... I had never experienced heartburn before.. My mom and dad would complain here or there and I know in my moms purse at all times there are a pack of Rollaids or Tums.. and I was always like "how bad could it be?" OMG !!!!! The pain with heartburn can be pretty unbearable!! It starts off as a nice slow burn then increases to a 3 alarm fire up through my entire chest and throat... those Tums and Rollaids are no match for the burn however they do ease it enough that I am able to eventually go to sleep... I now have ALOT of sympathy for anyone who has to experience this.

3) Breathing... through my nose... it use to be a normal everyday thing I would never even think twice about... because in normal people, you know it just kind of happens... I personally have not really had this luxury in months... MONTHS.. you wouldn't think its something you would miss but after you blow your nose 150998987787 times a day and there is still no ease, I promise you will miss it... It is so common during pregnancy it has a name, rhinitis of pregnancy.... not that I had heard it before because I think some of you lovely lady like to keep these little tidbits to yourselves :) I don't mind sharing, as Pat would say... I am "keeping it real"

4) My skin... my poor skin on my face is soooooo dry it actually peels, even my lips.... it started pretty early, before 8 weeks... I thought it may be from the change in climate moving to VA but no such luck... relentlessly it still peels no matter how much lotion I slop all over.... it looks like I am constantly healing from a sun burn.

5) Um... gas.... now I have heard about pregnant woman being a little gasy... and in my household gas is pretty typical... My husband lets them go ALL the time, however in his defense the are loud and obnoxious but never smell... Maggie (our puppy) has some VERY loud and horrible smelling toots... so much so she lets them go, looks around as to say "why did you do that" and then gets up and leaves the room... no I pride myself on really never ever having any (hey its my story and I am sticking to it) however since these little ones have been on board.. I have had some silent but pretty deadly.. um... gas... seriously... again I had no idea my reign as telling Pat how gross he is and me being fart free is officially over.

6) Veins... I remember back when I was trying to get pregnant looking for veins on my boobies because I heard that was a symptom... So I would look at them until I swore I saw more veins and take it as a sign (yes I went a bit CRAZY during this time) so when it finally happened I was SHOCKED at what "more veiny look to them" really meant. I was having a hard time fitting in my bras so I made a trip to Target a few weeks back, I went to try one on and OMG I was like what the heck happened to them!!! I have ROAD MAPS all over the place, this most definitely is NOT a slight change.. I couldn't wait till Pat got home so I could show him how weird they looked and his response was "Ew gross what happened, why did you show me?" my standard answer is "We are in this together right?"

7) This has been my most shocking.... enough that it demanded some questions to my Dr's office... come to find out... TOTALLY normal... (again I ask you ladies why there were no warnings form my sister-in-laws, mom, mother-in-law, friends... but that is way I am passing this along) So I hopped out of the shower the other day and as I was drying off, caught a glimpse of "down below" in the mirror and was like WHAT HAPPENED!!! My girlie bits were crazy swollen... like double the size... and looked FREAKY!!!! So unfortunately I will be a freak for awhile but the good news, I have been told not to worry they will shrivel back to their original size shortly after the boys come :)


I couldn't be happier to have these little guys on the way and as enjoyable as the experience is, there are just lots of hidden pregnancy treasures along the way and as you all probably figured out by now... I am an open book I tell everything good or bad :) So I just wanted to give some warning to those that will soon have babies on the way in case any of these crazy things happen to them, they won't be too surprised :)

~Heather


PS MY HUBBY IS BACK!!!!! Yippee I missed him this week :)

Great Check Up!!!

So happy, the apt went great!! I met with my ultrasound tech first and my cervix was GREAT!!! My original measurement was 3.5, when I went in for my 16 week check and it had decreased to 2.3-2.5 and now with my cerclage and bed rest I am back to 3.3-3.5!!!! Yippeeeeee!!! She said that the Dr. did a great job, the stitches are really high so they shouldn't go anywhere :) Of course then I got to take a peak at my little sweet potatoes and they are great... hearts beating nice and loud and as normal, little Weston moving all over and little Jamison totally relaxed and hanging out. I can not get enough of seeing them! I love love love that I have gotten a scan at every apt! I have been spoiled :) I also told her how excited I was that my Daddy was going to get to come to my next apt, the big level 2 scan, typically done at 20 weeks....

Next up was checking my weight............ only 2 lbs in the last two weeks, sounds great until you add it to my old total..... 20 lbs so far!!!! Holy cow!!! Although I know I am right where I am supposed to be 18 weeks- 20 lbs , remember they want me to be at 24 lbs in 24 weeks so looking good but boy does it sound rough... hahahaha.... Please lord let my babies be REALLY big when they are born :)

Then I met with my Dr. he was happy with how everything went, he ordered some routine bloodwork and then said to schedule my level 2 for.......2 weeks out.... I said oh well they already have it scheduled for next week (I will be 19 weeks 2 days) and he said, "well you won't be 20 weeks yet (um only a few days away!!!) so we will reschedule for the following week", so I of course was going to do what he said but I was sad because then I would have to go by myself and my Dad would miss it.... when my awesome ultrasound tech pipped up and said "oh Dr. Bronsky she can leave it... we are very busy the week after and her babies are big and easy to see, she will be fine next week" wink wink :) I was so happy, she is awesome and she knew how excited I was to have him come with me so she spoke up and of course the Dr. gave us the OK. Can't wait!!

~Heather

18 weeks!!!

Wow 18 weeks!!! I am 1/2 until they will give me a C-section!!! I can not believe I am half way to meeting my babies!!!! How exciting.... although it still seems like a very long time before they are here we are really trucking along :)

The boys are now the size of Sweet Potatoes, approx 5.5-6 inches from crown to bottom and weigh approx 6-7 oz :) I was looking at this weeks belly picture... still doesn't seem like their is much of a change between the last few weeks, so I will be curious to see my weight gain at tomorrow's apt. From what I hear there will be some weeks I gain lots of weight and others just a little bit... I guess I will know tomorrow, maybe it went to my butt instead hahahaha

And the other great news I got today.... MY DADDY IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!!! Yippeeeeee!!! He is coming on Monday of next week and staying until Thursday :) It will be so nice to have some company during the day and ... not going to lie... I miss him, Pat does too so we are both looking forward to the visit :) Best part... next week is my 20 week level 2 scan (with my favorite ultrasound tech) and Pat wasn't going to be able to make it. This is the final big hump in pregnancy, they check the babies full make up, all of the organs, their brain and their growth and my Daddy will get to come and watch, he loves all of the high tech stuff so I am sure he will really enjoy seeing his grandsons on screen and moving all around, especially since the ultra sounds have gotten so detailed since my mom was pregnant :)

~Heather

Finally!!!

So after some nudging from some of my wonderful girlfriends I went to post an update yesterday and the site was down, I checked thirty minutes later and then another thirty min.... all the way until 1:00 AM and nothing.. Started today and same thing all the way until now at 6:30 pm... Oh well I guess you can't complain, its a free sight hahahaha

So for my procedure.... We got there at 7:15 am, and they couldn't find my file... I was like "I was just here less then 24 hrs ago and it was right across the hallway???" Anyway got settled in about 10:00.... yep over 2 1/2 hours later, got my IV and then they started talking about the spinal... I was sooooooo nervous about the spinal I couldn't not stop shaking. But I was really lucky the staff at this hospital was really fantastic and very comforting... Right before they got started they checked the boys heart rates and they were 160 and 150, doing great :) After the spinal the rest was pretty smooth sailing. It was over in about 20 minutes and the Dr. told us it couldn't have gone any better... before I left the operating room they checked the little ones again and their heart rates were still exactly the same at 160 and 150.

It was kind of funny, as the nurses would find out there are twins in my belly they would get all excited and ask all kinds of questions and then pass the info along as the next nurse would come into the room and it started all over... in recovery (at this point it was after 2:00 and I had no breakfast or lunch) the nurse was like "Oh honey you are eating for three you must be starving" and brought me one of every flavor of cookie and cracker they had... of course I wasn't complaining :)

The really cool part was my recovery area and the recovery area for labor and delivery C-Sections were right across from each other so I got to see little tiny babies while I was waiting :) The one mom directly across saw her baby for the first time in recovery and she cried and wiped tears off her cheeks... and I cried right along with her :)

Over all I felt pretty good that day but I was just really really tired... the next day however I was really sore.... not exactly where I expected to be sore (you know.... down ... there) but my back from the spinal was horrible and achy. It probably didn't help that I am not really mobile right now anyway... but now that its been a few days I am as good as new.

I can for sure tell when I have stood to long or done too much because the pressure and little shooting pains are a big tell tale sign its time to take it easy.... I am being strict and following Dr's orders, but it happens in the time to take a shower or grab a bowl of cereal sometimes and I just relax and lay down and usually within minutes I feel much better.

On one of my online groups someone posted a link to site about I.C. (incompetent cervix- the technical name for my issue) and I checked it out as I was waiting for this site to be up and running yesterday. OH MY... the tone of the site is a positive one but most of those woman didn't know they had I.C. until a late term loss (16-24 weeks) in a previous pregnancy and knowing it now they are having the cerclage in their following pregnancies.... I can only say at that point how much I am thankful for my Dr's and the practice for being so pro-active in my care so I didn't have to go through such a terrible loss. We are so lucky to have caught this so early.... I am thankful every day to have found such a great practice and I know we are in really great hands :)

I go tomorrow for my follow up and I will keep you posted!!!

~Heather

Great procedure!!!

Well we had our cerclage done today and......... it went great..... so relived. I will post more tomorrow, tonight its an early bedtime :)

Todays update....

Well, there wasn't much of an update. Go figure LOL

I got to the hospital at 7:15 am got all checked in, changed into the hospital gown got an IV and then the surgical staff started to visit...... The anesthesia nurse started talked to me about my blood thinners, asking when the last time I took it etc and got really concerned when I told her it was the evening before......... let me back up by saying when the nurse called on Saturday to go over the pre-op instructions this came up and she told me to continue them, so I did........... so she then informed me that they could no longer do a spinal/epidural. Not gonna lie I was pretty happy at the thought of avoiding that bad boy until the rest of the news slowly came in... The anesthesia Dr came by next and went over the issue and his thought was they would either admit me and do it in the evening, or the could do it under general. So of course I asked if general was safe for the babies and the nurse in the back scrunched her face with "UH OH" written all over it and he said, "well yes but of course there are risks, I will talk to your surgeon and get back to you" then the other nurse looks at me and says "are you nervous now???" Um seriously!?!?!?! Yes I was very nervous! She leaves and I am sitting and sitting and sitting there all by myself, all kinds of crazy things racing through my head and finally begged a nurse to bring Pat back....

So he comes in all smiles asking if I was ready to go and I filled him in and got this for an answer.... "Seriously Heather!!! Why are you always a problem???" and then he laughed at me... Gotta love him, doesn't he just warm your heart LOL

So like an hour later the Dr. comes in and tells us we are going to reschedule, she was a little concerned with the anesthesia but mostly worried about me bleeding... she has a heavy foreign accent "oh no risks, too risky no no no we must wait" but she was able to get me in tomorrow which is fine. We were very fortunate Pat was able to work his schedule around it and be there with me tomorrow as well... I am sure he will have lots of wonderful supportive things to say to me then hahahaha We were left there at 10:25, over 3 hours, to turn around and do it all tomorrow :)

The only difference is instead of my original surgeon, who happens to run the entire practice I will have my little foreign Dr. I spoke to today... all the Dr's in the practice have great reputations so I know we will be in good hands.

I have to admit even though it was a bit of a bummer to wait a day (make myself worry all over again) I was happy the Dr's there like to be conservation and cautious and really made sure both the babies and I will be safe and taken care of :)

I will keep you posted on our progress tomorrow!

~Heather