Life with the twins!

So it only makes sense that it's taken me 5 months to write any updates on the twins, right? I'm actually using this blog post to avoid doing laundry. I have two loads on the bed that probably have to be re-dried... I shoved way too much into the dryer. AND a load in the washer and the dryer. What the heck?? 

Babies make a lot of laundry.

I always tell Matt that if I kept the kids alive, it was a successful day. But then there are two subcategories of a successful day. Thrive days and survive days. I'd like to think that I have a lot more thrive days where I actually get on the floor and play with the kids, there is more giggling than screaming and crying, and that we take all of our naps. But we have had quite a few survive days. Where I am literally counting down the minutes until their next nap, or I had to rock and hold one of them (cough cough, Kaylee) to sleep, and I almost cry with relief when Matt walks through the door. 

Motherhood is hard work! 

Matt is still working 60 hour weeks. This makes life even harder. We keep being told that this is abnormal and that the hours will decrease. But I call bullsh*t. Sorry - I do. They've been telling us the hours will decrease for forever. We know we aren't the only ones pissed because an abnormal amount of people have quit recently! (The turnover rate is pretty high I believe). And to top it all off, he has worked many a Saturday and then is the ward financial clerk on Sundays and doesn't get home from our 1pm church time (naps suck those days) until 5:30!

Rant over. I love my life. Honestly I do. In Relief Society a couple Sundays ago someone asked if anyone could raise their hand because they were content with where their life was at. And I'm not saying that I'm content, but it made me realize that I am literally living my dream right now. I work hard all day long, but doing something that I love! The kids make it quite easy and enjoyable let me tell you. 

Oh my gosh they are beautiful. 

They LOVE tummy time. And they love it so much that they actually sleep on their tummies! Kaylee hasn't gotten quite good at rolling over. Caleb is probably a week or two from really getting it down but it's so fun (and sometimes nerve wracking) to see them succeeding in different areas. 

Caleb Matthew was 12 lbs 10 oz at his 4 month appointment and Miss Kaylee Jo was 12 lbs 9.9 oz! We are still in very low percentiles for our gestational age, and the zero percentile for our actual age. But they are both following healthy curves and eating well. Caleb has turned into such a talker. He had a week or so after they turned 3.5 months where he was constantly squealing and mumbling. It was cute and then got quite persistent, haha. He is really good at making eye contact with people, and after he does he will give you one of his million dollar smiles. 

Kaylee is such a goofy girl. Like I have said before she is either completely happy or really mad, so she has actually lost her voice a few times from screaming and crying. It didn't help that these instances occurred after getting a little cold. But it was really pathetic to hear her try to coo and babble with a raspy hoarse voice, but then as her voice healed we started to realize that she was continuing to do it?! She thought it was fun to play with her voice and make herself all raspy!

The twins have been sleeping through the night since about 2.5 months old! Our schedule is around a variation like this.

5:50am: Mom gets up and pumps 23 oz of milk (I know, I'm a cow. Moo)

6:15: Babies wake up/changed/fed and everyone goes right back to sleep

9:30: Babies wake up/fed/changed and dressed and then have play time and/or a bath

10:45: Morning nap while Mom pumps, gets ready for the day, does laundry, cleans bottles, eats breakfast (you get the picture)

12:00: Babies wake up/fed (I wait a little while for this diaper change... they always poo after or during this feeding) and then play

If I need to run any errands for the day this is the best time to do it. The babies are the most happy and can last the longest before needing to go back down. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon now a days and I am so fortunate to have family that can bring me groceries or Matt will grab something like milk on the way home. 

2:00: Back down for a nap while mom pumps, eats, cleans bottles, etc. etc. 

3:30: Babies wake up/fed/changed and then we either play at home or go on a walk with the dog. 

*Charlie, our dog, is still young and so he can really be another kid to look after sometimes. But he is learning and adapting to having two new family members. I just need to remember to be patient and that I like him ;)

5:00: Back down for a short nap. Mom pumps, yada yada yada.

6:00: Babies wake up/fed/changed and have play time! I will usually put them in their high chairs and have them in the kitchen with me while I make dinner. 

7:45 (or later...*grumble*): Matt gets home!!!!!!!!!!

8:30: Bed time routine - everyone goes upstairs, gets changed into PJs, and then fed in a rocking chair. 

9:00: Asleep!

So there are a few tricks to the Gregson twins that I feel like make for much easier days. 

Sleeping: So putting the twins to bed is something I am quite proud of. We put them down awake and they usually don't cry or fuss for longer than 5 minutes. They will cry longer if I have kept them up too long (the struggle is real). I will lie one in the crib and distract them with the mobile while I rock the other one. Then we switch! Tada!

Bottle feeding: Upstairs we sit in our big rocking chair and I criss cross my legs and prop them up on the outside of my thigh - sandwiched between the sides of the chair. Downstairs I will put a couch cushion at a 45 degree angle in front of me. 

Out in public!: Holy moly the Baby Jogger City Select double stroller has saved my life. We also have the car seat adapters so when I'm by myself I don't have to unbuckle and then buckle both of them. Car seat bases are a godsend. 

The only twin specific items I could think of that we have loved has been our twin Z pillow. The twins quite literally lived in it their first month. We had it just set up on the couch and so whenever they took a nap or I was alone and couldn't be holding both of them, they went into the pillow. 

I feel like I need to keep writing because the twins are taking an absurdly long nap right now. But I won't jinx and maybe go deal with that laundry... boo.

Tell me what I should write about next time. I feel like when I'm not sitting at the computer I have all these ideas and then I sit down and poof, they're gone.

bye.

Caleb and Kaylee's Birth Story

I have to apologize first that this has taken me so long to write! But it's a story worth waiting for - I promise!

So I had only had a few contractions leading up to Friday, January the 15th, and even on Thursday night I felt completely fine and normal. I took a long shower before bed and if I remember correctly, I even fell asleep quite quickly and soundly. Then at 4:30 in the morning I was woken up by my water breaking! It felt so bizarre - literally like someone had poured water between my legs. I yelled at Matt, "My water just broke" and shook him a little bit. He sat up rather quickly and looked around really confused. Then he said, "What? What do we do?"

Hahahaha that is going to be one of my favorite parts of retelling this story. Matt was roused from such deep sleep that he was barely conscious at first. He had no idea what was going on for the first minute.

So I had heard so many stories about how long labor can take and that once you get admitted you can't eat anything. With that information I decided I was going take my time to get ready and make sure that I ate before we got there. I wasn't having any contractions (or at least non that I could feel yet) so we didn't even get to the hospital until 5:30. At this point I was feeling some contractions (I wasn't timing them because we were on our way to the hospital and so I figured it wasn't super important really) but they were more annoying than painful. Matt dropped me off at the entrance and went to park the car. Vainly - I was starting to do the math and realized that I hadn't had a bowel movement in a couple days and was determined that if I went to the restroom I would be able to get something out before I pooped on the delivery table! Like I said - stupid and vain. So I went and tried to use the restroom but to no avail. Even after we checked into triage I tried to go to the restroom again. At this point I was starting to really get uncomfortable. The triage nurse said they were going to run the test to make sure it was actually my water that had broken. HA. I was leaking all over the place. I knew it was my water. When it came back positive I asked her if they were going to check to see how dilated I was and she responded "No, we don't want to introduce bacteria." What? So triage nurses introduce bacteria but any other person that would check me will not? Ugh.

She was trying to get both babies on the monitor at this point and kept asking me if they were usually synced - meaning that they had the same heartbeat and beat at the same time. I responded with a resounding no. They had never ever been the same. The nurse stepped out and I began to realize that all of my labor pain was in my back. And that was getting me annoyed. Since puberty I have had rather rough periods and have always thought that I would be able to handle contractions pretty well because of the pain tolerance that I had established. But now I was being cheated of looking strong and in control because these contractions in my back were going to be the death of me. I got up on my hands and knees in the bed and focused on breathing. Then I realized that the sensation of needing to poop was not going away and started to panic that maybe my babies were coming! At my appointment that Tuesday before I had only been dilated to a 2, but I had been 80% effaced. So here's where I might have cheated the system a bit - I told Matt to buzz the nurse and tell them that I felt like I needed to push. Oh man I had two nurses in there so fast, it was kind of awesome. The second nurse asked the one that had already been assisting me if she had checked my cervix and, to me, it sounded like she sheepishly responded, "No." The new nurse checked (while I was still on my hands and knees) and announced I was a "stretchy 3." Whatever that means... but I guess either the term "stretchy" is code for "we need to get her back to labor and delivery STAT" or the fact that I was in so much pain, they decided I was ready to be admitted. Matt started to ask if they were going to make me walk to my room and my now favorite nurse said, "Uh no, she's in no condition to walk anywhere. We are taking her in the bed." So I got whisked down the hall in the bed from triage all while I was now more loudly moaning "OW, ow, ow." I was in so much pain I had no idea if my hoo-hah was even covered, but Matt assures me that it was.

Got to labor and delivery and I had the whole freaking maternity staff in the room with me. It was close to shift change now and so I had someone trying to get the babies heart rates monitored and two people trying to simultaneously figure out which arm was going to take an IV. I have the veins nurses cringe at because of how tiny they are. In my left hand they poked me twice trying to thread it and were unable so they finally did in my right. 

I was still on my hands and knees with my face pressed into the bed trying to stifle my own cries. I'm pretty sure Matt felt extremely helpless. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and claimed that because of how quickly my contractions were coming and how much pain I was in that they would administer my epidural while I was on my side curled in fetal position. That was a pretty miserable minute or so as she gave me a "double dose" epidural. 

After the epidural life was bliss! I started cracking jokes about how embarrassed I was about the amount of commotion I had caused but the doctors and nurses were all so nice and assured me they believe my pain was well founded. Turns out I had gone from that "stretchy 3" to a 7 in about an hour and a half. The doctor that was there told Matt that he needed to make sure to pay attention to the doctor during delivery because Matt would be the one delivering our next pregnancy because I probably wouldn't be making it to the hospital. The doctor even wrote in my chart that I am a "fast and furious laborer." Ha!

My sister-in-law Emily then arrived and we found out that she would have permission to join Matt and I in the OR during my delivery! We have known since finding out about the twins that we would be delivering in the OR regardless of a vaginal delivery just because of the risk of C section. Then both my parents arrived and we continued to wait. The nurse had told me to let her know if I ever felt the need to push, or a consistent need to poop. I might've waited a little too long. I promise I never felt a consistent need to poop. I finally called the nurse back in around 1 and said that I thought she might as well check my profession. She didn't even need to check - Caleb was already crowning! The nurses kind of scrambled to get things together including gowns for Matt and Emily. We wheeled into the OR and after about 20 minutes of pushing Caleb was out at 2:03pm!! He was 5 lbs 14 oz and 18.5 in with a full head of hair. Pushing was almost anticlimactic because my epidural was so effective (how lame to even complain about, huh?) but Caleb came out screaming. Matt left to be with him since we knew there would be at least some time between him and Kaylee. I thought it was so funny that the first thing Matt said was "I know he's mine, he's got the Gregson webbed toes!"

Kaylee's entrance was a bit more dramatic. During active labor they kept an ultrasound on Kaylee to check her positioning so that the doctor could follow her feet since she was breech. We knew there was a risk of delivering Caleb vaginally and then Kaylee by c-section so making sure the doctor was able to grab her feet was key in her delivery. So the doctor went almost elbow deep and did a footling breech extraction and Kaylee was born at 2:05pm weighing 5 lbs 10 oz and 18 in. I didn't know until afterwards why having a footling breech extraction was such a miracle. Most doctors refuse to do them because after you deliver baby A the cervix will start to close and can squish baby B - making it impossible to deliver. If my doctor hadn't been able to stop my cervix (get her hands in fast enough) or if Kaylee had moved too quickly after Caleb had been delivered and she hadn't been able to grab her feet, Kaylee's recovery would've been quite different. She only needed to be on the CPAP machine for about a minute but after that she let the whole world know how mad she was to have left her nice warm womb!

I had the worst shaking when I was wheeled out of the OR, which I was told was a side effect of the epidural and adrenaline. We were only in the hospital for 2 nights and the only things that ever had us worried were the babies blood sugar levels which took a while to come up and Caleb failing his car seat test (dumbest thing ever). We were about to have Matt take him home on the bus because there was a possibility him not passing would mean a third night there. 

My recovery was quite quick - definitely helps that the twins were small - and now I need to write another post about life since we've been home! Whew. 

33 weeks (this is taking forever...)

How far along? 33 weeks and I am beginning to think I will be pregnant forever.

How big are the twins? Well most apps are beginning to agree with one another and claiming that I hold two pineapples in my poor stretched belly. Pineapples are big and heavy if you ask me!  

Total weight gain? 25 pounds. Holy mama, 4 lbs in the last three weeks has been quite a transition. Let's address clothing shall we?

Maternity clothes? I feel ridiculous most of the time! Maternity clothes look like pre-pregnancy clothes on me if you really want to know. They totally tent on the bottom instead cutting in all cute. My belly is usually poking out of the bottom of shirts even and I need to get some good yoga pants to just wear everyday for the next 5 weeks. Even Matt's shirts are starting to barely fit me. 

Wedding ring on or off? Off and I worry that it'll never fit again! (I guess I feel quite dramatic today).

Sleep? Well lets just talk about this, shall we? My lovely husband decided to leave me for the past two weeks!! Both of them were for very legitimate reasons mind you but the babies wanted to make his exit as dramatic as possible I guess. So the night before the first week he would be gone I ended up going to the hospital because of severe heartburn. Pathetic right? Well what happened exactly is that I have been on Zantac for most of this last trimester and it's been great. But taking a pill twice a day has been an adjustment so on Sunday night I took my pill almost 5 hours later than I was supposed to. That night I had indulged in almost everything in the no-no heartburn list, including chocolate, and I was feeling quite remorseful. I couldn't lay down without putting myself in a lot of pain so I was propped up trying to wait for the drugs to kick in when I had to run to the toilet and vomit. Throwing up from heartburn is not completely new to me so I cleaned myself up and went back to lay down. I remember thinking in the dark that my vomit looked kind of weird but chose not to stress just yet. Then an hour later when I finally tried to lay down, I again had to bolt to the bathroom again. That's when I noticed that it looked like I was throwing up coffee grounds. I was so confused. I hadn't eaten anything of that consistency - and decided to Google it. I guess coffee grounds is the exact description of when you are throwing up blood. At this point I was still in a lot of pain, 31 weeks pregnant and thought it would be really stupid to just ignore it so I called my clinic. The nurse transferred me to the on-call doctor and it just so happened to be my own lovely doctor, Dr. Bair. He said he wanted me to check into labor and delivery to have the babies monitored but was sure, like I was, that I had just damaged my esophagus pretty bad. So my poor husband who had to leave for the airport at 5:30am went with me to the hospital at 1:30am. The babies were completely fine and I ended up being prescribed Prilosec for the rest of my pregnancy (strong stuff!) but never got to sleep. So then I played nomad for the next two weeks and slept either at my parents or my in-laws so that I wasn't alone. Didn't sleep super great but now that Matt is back home and I am sleeping in my own bed it is SO MUCH BETTER. 

Genders? Luke and Leia :D Here are shirts that I made with my mom for Matt and I to wear to the Star Wars premiere this weekend!

Best moment this week? So I'm going to change this to important moment this week because of what happened at my 32 week appointment. I got to talk to my doctor a lot about how long these babies are really going to be in me, what to expect if we have a c-section, and the few contractions I have been having. So I can't remember if I talked about Leia switching from breech position to transverse at my last ultrasound, but she did. What that means is that after Luke is born there is a lot higher risk that she would not be in a good position to come out vaginally and we would have to do an emergency c-section. So then I would recover from both a vaginal delivery and a c-section and I don't know about you, but that is not on my wish-list this Christmas. If Leia is still transverse at my 34 (next week!) ultrasound, we will go ahead and schedule a c-section for January 25th-ish. They of course will do another ultrasound the morning of the c-section again and if she has moved back breech, we will be induced for a vaginal delivery. I feel really good about this option and I honestly just want to do whatever is safest to get these precious babies here!

Symptoms? I had a couple days during the 30/31st weeks that I could tell I was pushing it a little bit. I am measuring 43 weeks pregnant so bending down is pretty annoying but I was still doing it and maybe walking a little too much. I was starting to get contractions that would stay for a little longer than both my doctor and I were comfortable with so I am officially on "modified bed rest." AKA be lazy and try to sit down as much as possible. It was so nice to be with my family these last two weeks and I got totally pampered at both my parents and my in-laws.

Food cravings? Pizza. Qdoba burritos. Taco Bell. Pretty much all fast food. OH my goodness and soda. All I want is soda. :(

Food aversions or anything making you sick? It's hard to actually eat more than one main meal a day. I just want to drink my calories in the form of soda and then have one big meal. But that is NOT HEALTHY at all and so I'm trying really hard to be good. 

Labor signs? Contractions and silly Luke is sitting SO LOW. My doctor didn't want to do a cervix check because if I am dilated at all, it could potentially put me into labor. So we will for sure be trying to catch a look at my cervix at my ultrasound next week but I have a feeling that with all this bed rest and not moving it has helped. Before taking it easy it almost felt like I had a tampon "up there" that was about to fall out all the time and there was so much pressure. Luckily that is gone now!

Belly button in or out? Flat. Flat as a freaking pancake. Nothing is making a mark in shirts necessarily but I think these next few weeks will definitely push it out. Darn it all.

Stretch marks? OH yes. And I still get itchy!  

Movement? These little turkeys are treating mom's uterus like a jungle gym. I was told there was going to be a point where the movement decreased because they ran out of room but I don't think I believe them. The best part of the movement though is that there is always something for someone to feel. All of my siblings and parents have felt the twins doing crazy stunts so that has been way fun actually.

What I miss? Being able to sit comfortably for any period of time. Church is the worst because I feel so improper. My belly is so low I can't sit with my legs closed and I'm sure that's exactly what everyone wants to be looking at is a huge pregnant lady with her legs open.  

What I'm looking forward to? Making it to my last baby shower! Haha it is scheduled for the 2nd of January so I will be 35 almost 36 weeks pregnant. That just seems so far away to me so once I get there and survive it, I will feel like I am officially ready.

Happy or moody most of the time? I'm a grouch. I'll admit it. Matt and I will have one miscommunication and then I am just so moody and can't shake it for a while. 

30 weeks

How far along? We are 30! At the most we have 9 more weeks to go! I will probably either be induced or have a c-section during my 38th week so I'm rounding up. 

How big are the twins? They are such good babies. They are a very healthy 3 lbs 5 oz EACH. I have close to 7 lbs of baby in there right now. What. Well when I'm measuring 42 weeks I better have a lot of baby in there to justify that.  

Total weight gain? We have hit 21 lbs gained. I know that a lot of women don't like to answer this question, but honestly I am EXTREMELY proud of that number. I was told at the beginning of my pregnancy to expect to gain about 50 lbs. I have tried to stay as active as possible while still being safe and I know that these last few weeks will warrant quite a bit more weight gain with each baby gaining 1/2 lb a week. 

Maternity clothes? Oh brother. We have moved from maternity clothes, to husbands clothes, and are now onto no clothes. I have about three outfit changes during the day depending on what I am actually doing. When I get up I readjust my garments (underwear) as best I can and then put a robe on. I might be in the robe until my dog Charlie needs to get walked in which case I go put on my sweats and a sweatshirt, though I will be wearing my husbands sweatshirts soon. Then if I have anywhere special to go I'll dip into my rotation of pregnancy tops with either my maternity jeans or maternity leggings. Shoes consist of Sperry's or Uggs. Church clothes are getting harder to get creative with. 

Wedding ring on or off? Off for good. My wedding band got tight when I had swelling after thanksgiving dinner (soooo yummy) and I decided I didn't want to risk it getting stuck anymore. I have a fake ring that I was wearing for a while, but it was turning green, so nah. I feel naked on that finger now. 

Sleep? I have good nights and bad nights. Luckily more good than bad though! On bad nights it usually means I didn't take my Unisom/B6 combo (aka anti-nausea concoction) which the Unisom part is a sleep aid. I end up waking up to my babies' dance parties at 5am and can never get back to sleep. Naps during the day don't happen anymore either because of the constant movement. And a goodnight of sleep includes only getting up for the bathroom a maximum of 3 times. 

Genders? Baby A is our boy and Baby B is our girl! We had another ultrasound yesterday and had close to a 3D quality glimpse of baby girl's face! It was awesome. Of course the picture just turned out creepy because of the eyes but my MIL Debbie was there with me and we got to watch both babies drinking lots of amniotic fluid and move around like crazy. Baby boy has the cutest profile and baby girl already has very squishy cheeks. It's getting more and more real!

Best moment this week? OK so this is supposed to be a week by week thing that I haven't updated in 6 weeks. So definitely the highlights that I have had since I last posted have been my first two showers! I am getting very spoiled and had a shower with most of the women from the ward I grew up in where we played ridiculous games to guess what the twins would look like and learned about crazy rituals that happen around the world during childbirth. Hooray for western medicine. And then over thanksgiving we had a huge STAR WARS THEMED PARTY for the twins where all the cousins on my mom's side got to participate and I had family travel just to see and celebrate my growing family. It honestly was so amazing to feel so loved. Matt and I are so blessed with the best people around us that make this next step seem feasible. 

Symptoms? Well Zantac is my best friend and I only get heartburn when I forget to take it. I had to quit my job a couple weeks earlier than we had planned though. I was not able to stand during my whole 8 hour shift because my heart would randomly start to race and I was struggling to get it back down. My doctor warned that I could end up at the cardiologist talking about PAT and a diet change if I didn't find a way to sit at work. Unfortunately Jamba Juice is not a sit down job so I have been home nesting and resting. I just feel out of breath quite often. Sitting at church is super uncomfortable and there is no more room in my body for my stomach or my bladder! Getting my calories is a chore. 

Food cravings? Bread. I ate a lot of rolls over thanksgiving. And hot dogs are a new craving. Luckily since Matt and I meal plan I am able to have healthy leftovers for lunch instead a hot dog, but I think that I'll let myself indulge in one today. 

Food aversions or anything making you sick? No, I just can't eat as much as I used to. And if my dog Charlie is ever chewing on a bone and starts to gag it definitely makes me nauseous. 

Labor signs? Well kind of? I don't really know if this qualifies but I had my first contractions yesterday. We were driving to Target down a super bumpy road and it became uncomfortable really quickly. I then had the dumb idea to continue to walk around Target which I think just made it worse but as soon as I went out and sat in the car they went away. 

Belly button in or out? Would you believe me if I said it's still in? Haha, success! 

Stretch marks? Oh heck yes. It started out as kind of a bulls-eye shape around my belly button and has turned into this hurricane swirl ever expanding from that point. Luckily it hasn't covered my whole belly but I have a feeling that it will just continue to get worse. Oh well. 

Movement? Ha. I would pay my twins to stop moving for a moment if I could. I swear they take turns. The weirdest part is when one of them sticks some part of the body so that it stretches my belly, and then they draggggg it across so I can literally watch them move. Unfortunately with all this moving baby B is no longer breech and is now transverse. My babies are making a giant T in my belly and my doctor says if she doesn't move before delivery that I am more likely to need a c-section. Cross your fingers and pray that she is cooperative!!

What I miss? Sushi. 

What I'm looking forward to? Continuing to set up the nursery and get all our gadgets and clothes all put away so that it's functional when they decide to arrive!

Happy or moody most of the time? Oh the pregnancy hormones are starting to rear their angry head. I was so good until this third trimester and with the flip of a switch I have gotten so moody about the most pointless things. The worst part is that in the moment I KNOW I AM BEING CRAZY. Like I have said, my husband is a trooper. He might not be completely understanding but he is really good as just laughing at me when I am like this and making sure we find a solution. 

Speaking of crazy and husbands... guess who's husband is ditching her for TWO WEEKS?! Haha I can't get too mad. Work is sending him to Orlando for training next week and then the week after that he will be working on site for a client about 2 1/2 hours away in Washington. Matt is such a hard worker and we never anticipated twins who would throw off our whole plan for expecting in February and instead make the holidays crazier than they already are. They always say to be on stand-by from 30 weeks forward but luckily these babies seem like they will be staying put for a while longer so I am not too worried about his trips. I will be heading to my parents home to crash for the majority of the time anyways so my mom and I plan to prep lots of freezer meals!

24 weeks

How far along? We are 24 weeks this week, woot woot 

How big are the twins? Getting bigger and bigger every day. Luke (Baby A) is measuring at 1 lb 9 oz and Leia (Baby B) is measuring 1 lb 10 oz! At this rate they could be 7/7.5 lbs babies by the time we deliver! Fingers crossed.  

Total weight gain? Probably 13 lbs - my weight fluxates a lot and I don't ever agree with the Doctor's scale when I'm wearing shoes and so much clothing... 😉  

Maternity clothes? Ohhhh baby. Yes please. I love wearing skirts and loose shirts all the live-long day. Really need to go buy maternity garments... Heh, it's on my to-do list. Right now I am measuring as if I was 35 weeks pregnant with a singleton so that's just awesome. If you see me in person tell me I look small and healthy please!

Wedding ring on or off? Wedding band is still on and I am probably dumbly optimistic about being able to wear it through the rest of my pregnancy. It's finally getting cold outside so any swelling in my fingers has started to reduce! 

Sleep? I am quite proud of myself for sleeping so well for as long as I did. This last week was not so fun, I had a few really restless nights but I seem to have gotten back to only waking up once again the past few days. I definitely see a trip to go get a snoogle (pregnancy body pillow) in my near future though just cause I have tried sleeping with a pillow between my knees a few nights and it was very pleasant  

Genders? Still a boy and girl! I had them double check at the ultrasound today just because it still seems a little surreal. It was really hard for the ultrasound technician to keep up with them today and I felt quite validated that they were so squirmy for her. Luke is ALWAYS kicking up into my ribs and I was so surprised at how much Leia was moving. She has an anterior placenta - meaning it almost acts as a barrier between me and her, so I don't feel her quite as much. She was full on punching Luke and we even got an awesome picture of Leia practically sitting on his face. 😂

Best moment this week? So the past few weeks have involved quite a bit of excitement with our dog Charlie. He is a 7 month old puppy and unfortunately found some rat poison and had to be hospitalized. Luckily he is perfectly fine but then he got neutered not even a week after that. I felt so bad for him and made sure to give him plenty of snuggles between two very dramatic vet appointments. Matt doesn't think there has been any change in Charlie's behavior since he was neutered but I think he has calmed down a little bit and I hope that by the time the twins arrive he is much more obedient...

Symptoms? My biggest complaint at the moment is heartburn. Oh my goodness I eat Tums like candy. My doctor recommended taking Zantac in the morning and at night so I think I'll be going to pick that up today. I haven't quite figured out what sets it off necessarily - pepperoni pizza is not my friend - but I have to make sure I don't lie down too early after eating or its guaranteed to be horrendous. 

Food cravings? I think I love to drink calories. Working at Jamba Juice is definitely the best possible thing for that. I make orange juice from concentrate a lot, drink smoothies, love juice, and love soda. Soda is a special treat for me since it's really not healthy but when we go out to eat... Yum. 

Food aversions or anything making you sick? Nope! I love food!

Labor signs? No, thank goodness. 

Belly button in or out? Belly button is still in - but I am shocked at how close it has gotten to being flat. I kid you not I am so sure it'll never pop out... But my family is convinced otherwise. 

Stretch marks? Not really? I don't know really, I can hardly see the underside of my belly even in the mirror. My hips are what I think will get stretch marks first, I put vitamin E oil and cocoa butter on them every night and that is really helping with how itchy they have gotten. 

Movement? These children will break my insides I swear. I think I am permanently bruised on my right side from Luke's legs and now that they are getting bigger and into each other space I think it's going to get worse. I feel them a lot after drinking something sugary and I think they just love when I eat in general. 

What I miss? I miss not having to hold my breath when I tie my shoes, or putting pants on, or bending over in general. I want to paint my toes nails and do stuff around our house to get ready for these babies but there's only so much I can do when Matt isn't here! So frustrating...

What I'm looking forward to? Painting! That's our next big project before they get here and so we will need to find colors and pick how we want the twin's room to look and whatnot. I'm not a big fan of any bedding I have found so far so feel free to send me anything cute you find!

Happy or moody most of the time?

Happy most of the time. Especially if I get lots of sleep. At night when Matt gets home is unfortunately when I start to get tired and grouchy so I feel bad, but luckily we have had a few good weekends where he has seen the happier side of pregnant Rachael 😉 

21 weeks

How far along? We are 21 weeks everyone!! Over halfway there since these babies will hopefully make their appearance around 38 weeks. 

How big are the twins? They are the size of pomegranates, 10.5 in. and at our 20 week ultrasound found out baby A is 13 oz. and baby B is 12 oz. That means there is officially over a pound of baby inside me... And yes it does show. Haha

Total weight gain/loss? We have gained weight! My goal was to put on 10 lbs before my 20 week ultrasound and I think we are just shy of that.  

Maternity clothes? Yes, yes and yes. I feel like I look full term already, but in reality I am not that big. I just took advantage of a couple great sales online and am patiently waiting for shirts that aren't my husband's to wear. And plenty of dresses and skirts. 

Wedding ring on or off? Off. I have both an engagement ring and wedding band and so my engagement ring has gotten a little snug and I have taken it off, especially because at work I get my hands wet a lot and my fingers swell because of it. But luckily I think my wedding band is a little bit bigger and I will be able to wear it longer. 

Sleep? *knock on wood* Sleep has actually been awesome lately! Occasionally I'll wake up to use the restroom but I would say I have more nights of sleep all the way through than nights that are restless. My dreams are getting weird again, which is how they were in the first few weeks of this pregnancy. But otherwise I am readily enjoying how well rested I feel in the morning. 

Genders? We have a little boy and a little girl! Baby A is our boy, he is in the bottom right hand corner of my uterus and is already head down, so hopefully he will still be that way when it gets too cramped in there to move - which my doctor believes could be around 30 weeks. And then our little girl is in the top left side of my uterus but in the breech position. It would be optimal to have both babies head down for delivery but as long as baby A is head down we can attempt a vaginal delivery and just deliver baby B breech. 

Best moment this week? Revealing the genders to friends and family last Tuesday! All of my dreams the night before were about being told what the genders were and I don't think I slept more than 5 hours that night because of the anticipation. Both babies are very healthy and growing on pace. In twins they want to make sure that they are both growing at the same rate and right now our little girl is only 6% smaller than her brother which is awesome! It isn't until there is a 20% difference that they worry so we are definitely in the safe zone. 

Symptoms? I have had an awesome week so far. Besides the obvious movement issues of getting out of bed, in and out of the car, and off the couch I am feeling really good. Supposedly a cold is going around right now so I think I'm gonna run to the grocery store and stock up on vitamin C!

Food cravings? I had a dream about a subway sandwich last night...? Haha my dreams are really weird let me tell you. So I guess the only real consistent craving has been carbs - specifically white bread. I. Love. Bagels. 

Food aversions or anything making you sick? Not as strong as they used to be. Cooking meat was really hard but I actually don't mind it as much anymore. 

Labor signs? Nope!!

Belly button in or out? Still in. Like I said I have a really deep belly button (awkward to say?) so depending on how big I get I don't think it'll every pop out, maybe just get flat?

Stretch marks? No and I am actually pleasantly surprised. I always envisioned that I would get them quite quickly since I even have some from just going through puberty, but I am realistic about them showing eventually. I do a really good job at not itching, because it has started to itch right around my belly button. 

Movement? Holy moly I feel them all the time. It's almost gotten to the point where it's weird to not be feeling one of them poking or prodding me.  OH! I completely forgot to mention that we already have nicknames for them. My side of the family is obsessed with Star Wars, and with my anticipated delivery date so soon after the new movie comes out and the fact that one of the most famous set of boy/girl twins happens to be from this franchise, our babies while in the womb will be referred to as Luke and Leia. I KNOW HOW DUMB THAT SOUNDS. Haha but it's just because we honestly had so many people joking and teasing us about it, that we just decided to get ahead of the joke and embrace it. We actually won't be announcing the names we have chosen until they're born for a few reasons, one of them being that we honestly haven't even decided on any yet. 

What I miss? I'm starting to notice how in the way even the smallest belly can be so I miss knowing how big my body actually is. I also miss sleeping on my stomach (!!) and not having to eat so often. It can be a hassle because I get nauseous if I am not eating often enough. 

What I'm looking forward to? When Matt can finally feel the babies kicking. I think at this point they aren't strong enough to be making movements that he can feel, or if they are strong enough he just isn't quick enough to get his hand on my belly. 

Happy or moody most of the time?

Lately I have been very happy and super motivated to start getting my ducks in a row for the babies to come. Maybe I am already getting to the nesting stage? Everything does seem to happen a little bit faster with two babies!

17 weeks

Well God really does have a sense of humor. Guess who just got called as the missionary meal coordinator?! Haha I almost laughed out loud in the Bishop's office - but this just means I get to practice making meals for them more often right?

So we are 17 weeks today, and we have our first appointment with the new doctor in the morning! I plan on doing another update after that because I have a feeling that I'll get a lot more information than I did last week with my old doctor...

Last Tuesday I had my last appointment with my old doctor (she was unaware of this) and it lasted for about 15 minutes. Because it is hard to tell which baby's heartbeat you are listening to with the Doppler you get an ultrasound every visit to check on the twins. Well my ultrasound lasted about 7 seconds. I'm not even joking. AND I'm pretty sure she only even looked at Baby A. It was quite obvious during our first ultrasound at 11 weeks when the tech moved from Baby A to Baby B so when my doctor "moved" and claimed we were now checking on Baby B's heart rate I knew she was completely wrong. My doctor was literally rushing through every step of my appointment and I left realizing I hadn't been measured or had any of my questions addressed. I was really frustrated but I get a do over! My wonderful mother-in-law got me a coveted appointment with her amazing OB and I am so excited. Hopefully we get to look at the twins again. 

How big are the twins? About the size of a white onion, and 5.1 inches and 5 oz. 

Total weight gain/loss? It's offical! I have gained a pound!

Maternity clothes? Amazon is shipping me a belly band as we speak! I am very excited to try it and see if it is worth purchasing more colors. My pants fit everywhere but my belly at the moment so if the belly band works it will allow me to wear my pants unbuttoned (even unzipped?!) and offer support to my belly!

Wedding ring on or off? Still miraculously on. But I guess I haven't really gotten to the swelling stage yet. 

Sleep? I have good nights and bad nights. Luckily on the bad nights I usually get to come home from work and get a good long nap in - naps are the best! But I am definitely starting to favor sleeping on my left side - which is supposedly the side you're supposed to sleep on anyway? 

Symptoms? Heartburn has reared its ugly head. But I will survive because heartburn is actually correlated with hair on babies so I won't complain 😉. 

Food cravings? I had a real hankering for ice cream tonight that Matt and I satisfied with a few Oreos and milk. But other than that, my only aversion is still meat - it just has to be cut super duper thin and have zero fat. 

Genders? 3 more weeks! It came quite quickly!

No updates on my belly button popping or stretch marks. 

What I miss? I miss being able to move however I wanted. I feel like I already waddle a little bit at times and then my belly is really getting in the way at work. I practically have to get on my hands and knees in order to get low! Ha

What I'm looking forward to? Starting to get the nursery set up. We have a crib that I could put together but since it's a really nice crib that we got for free in struggling a little bit with how we are going to buy another one that doesn't look obviously cheaper?! Any recommendations? 

Happy or moody most of the time? Definitely happy. Matt and I have actually been flirting quite a bit lately because I don't feel as sick (thank heavens) and it definitely helps that I am in a better mood.