Two babies!

"Two babies" is the phrase I hear from my sister almost every time we have a conversation. my 2 year old niece now does the same. These are the most recent pictures of our little blessings and things look good. Baby A is a little smaller (actually, Baby B is a little bigger), but both appear healthy and are developing nicely.

  Baby B is a thumb sucker and it was the cutest thing to watch as its little arms were over its head and covering its face until finally it found its thumb and all was well with the world again. We opted for the genders to be a surprise, but we have a pretty good guess about them at this point. My husband tells me every day that he can't wait to meet them in person. I agree, but at the moment, I am enjoying their active little kicks and punches and flips. Pregnancy is amazing!

Side effects I continue to deal with these days include hiccups (STILL!!) and issues with food. I certainly get hungry, but nothing sounds good. I eat, but am full almost immediately because there isn't much room in there. I am pleased that my earlier food aversions have basically ceased and I am once again able to stomach sweet treats like ice cream and chocolate (though I still watch it on this stuff). Also, sleeping is a bit of an issue. about 3-4 nights out of the week, I wake up between 2 and 3am and find myself to be wide awake for a solid 2-3 hours before I am able to fall asleep again. This is NOT typical for me as I am usually a solid sleeper. I guess it must be practice for after the babies are born.

Our most recent OB appointment was a lot better than the previous one. At this one, no concern was made about my weight. She appears to be okay with it given the development of the babies. Also, my blood pressure was within normal range at the appointment, so no medication just yet. I am still to monitor it at home and will return in 3 weeks for another check. She also mentioned something about wanting to do another ultrasound to check on growth in the next month, so I'm looking forward to that as well. At 19 1/2 weeks, I was measuring at 30 weeks compared to a singleton pregnancy. My OB believes I will get HUGE and asked if I was prepared...as if I have a choice. I think I can do this though and she agrees. She commented on how good things looked and how pleased she was at this appointment, so I am feeling much better in general about how things are progressing.

We got new windows in the bedrooms yesterday, so the nursery is no longer drafty. It remains mostly empty since we removed all the furniture and make a downstairs living space to make room for these little ones. Our shower is in a couple of weeks and our nursery (and house) will likely be overflowing with lots and lots of baby stuff. From there, we will assess our needs and start adding furniture and other baby essentials as we are able. As this pregnancy goes on, I am getting more and more excited!

Still going strong

This was a photo of our babies at 12 about weeks gestation. Twin "A" was chilling at a different angle than its sibling, so its view is of the top of its head, but twin "B" gave a nice profile shot for this one. I had intended to do a better job of chronicling this pregnancy, but alas I have let the ball drop so far. This picture was taken a month ago, so in a couple of weeks, we'll have a new picture to post of even bigger babies!

After an initially rough start to pregnancy, things have been much smoother. My first trimester, I had almost no nausea, but I had terrible gas until about 12 weeks. I stopped fitting into my clothes at about 9 weeks, but my bump really started showing at about 13 weeks. Second trimester symptoms have included some heartburn and daily hiccups. Also, it is becoming noticeably more difficult for me to get off the couch or out of bed. It takes much more effort, which is shocking to me because I don't feel like it should be that difficult already. Trips to the bathroom are a little less frequent than they had been a few weeks ago (for now). I have more energy, but get more winded when I do things.

My first OB appointment was scheduled at 12 weeks, but because my doctor got called away to deliver 2 babies, we were rescheduled for the following week. Fortunately, I was still able to get my ultrasound and blood work taken care of, so by the time we did get to see my OB, the test results were back and she was very pleased with how everything looked. It was a HUGE relief to know that she was okay with my weight gain of 2lbs in a week, that I am at low/no risk for gestational diabetes, and my blood pressure is good so far.

Tomorrow will be the official 17 week mark in my pregnancy and I swear I have felt some movements occasionally since about week 15. This morning, I distinctly felt some movement and I am looking forward to being able to feel even more. What I really can't wait for is when my husband will be able to feel and see the babies moving. He kisses them every night before I go to bed and tells them goodnight. It's so sweet!

We officially broke the news of our twins on Facebook. It was initially a passive announcement, noting that we are starting our pediatrician search and wanted some recommendations. While our close friends and family have known for quite some time, there were several of our FB friends who didn't have a clue. We have been getting lots of congratulations messages from people since the big announcement. It never ceases to amaze me how genuinely excited people have been for us, not only because of our pregnancy after years of infertility, but because we are having twins! While I would be lying if I said I was not excited, I live with it every day and know we have several more weeks to wait until we meet these blessings, so I am not jumping up and down with excitement as much as some of our friends and family have been. I told my husband that it makes me feel good to know how excited others are for us, which perhaps makes me feel less like bopping up and down myself. Also, our infertility journey has been so long and so physically and emotionally draining. I feel so very blessed to be pregnant after all we have been through to make this happen, but I feel like it wasn't like, "Surprise, you're pregnant! Bet you didn't see that coming." It feels more like, "It's about time, geez!" Of course, my husband and I are the only ones who really understand this feeling we both have. We are VERY excited, but just overwhelmed at how much it took to get to this point. Last night, we agreed that it would be amazing if we were able to get pregnant on our own after this, or with much more minimal treatment (if we even want to try again someday).

This has been a long road and I am so glad we have finally had some success. I pray every day that our babies continue to be healthy and that I continue to be healthy and that all goes well. Our official due date remains January 14, 2014 a this time, but we are still expecting these two amazing blessings to appear before the close of 2013.