18 Weeks

This was a pretty good week. I am starting to feel a little more normal, whatever that means.  My headaches have been controllable and usually occur early in the morning.  I am able to take something for them and then sleep it off for a couple of hours before getting up.  BIG PLUS!  Downside is that I have had bad allergies this week.  My sinuses are on fire!!!

Let's see what happened this week....  I got to work on Wednesday, which was great.  I taught 3rd grade (the same kiddos I worked with last year).  That was kind of fun.  It was nice to get out of the house and see some people too.  Another highlight was finding my Graco twin pack n play on Craigslist for $60 less than I was able to find it on Amazon.  The perk is that it's never even been out of the box!  SCORE!!!

Best moment of the week...I felt BOTH twins kick on Wednesday night.  Usually, when I go to bed, I like to lie there and enjoy some quiet time with them.  This time, they started moving.  I could totally feel it with my hand too, so I called Jeff in.  He was able to feel them as well.  That was so exciting!  I've been feeling them regularly ever since.

I came to Redding to spend the weekend with my parents this weekend.  Jeff had a wedding to attend and I didn't think it would be good for me to travel with the way I've been feeling.  Mom and I went in their hot tub Friday night.  I think it's time to buy a new swim suit!!

DATA:

How far along? 18 weeks

Babies are the size of an: sweet potato 

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah!

Have you told family and friends? Yes.

Stretch marks? Not from the pregnancy  ;)

Symptoms: This week I’ve had mild headaches (I’ve been catching them early) and major allergy symptoms.

Sleep: Same as last week.  Not sleeping well due to discomfort and awake around 3am.

Best moment this week:  Babies both kicked enough that Jeff and I could both feel it.  They are becoming more active.

Miss Anything?  Feeling normal.

Number of times I get up to pee each night: I think I am back down to about 5 times.

Movement: Starting on Wednesday, I have been feeling them fairly regularly.

Food cravings: I don’t think I really had any this week.  I would love to have a beer though.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells still bother me, but not as much.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, especially at the end of the day, after trying to eat enough food to feed these little monkeys.

Gender: Big reveal next week!!!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? In

Mood: Blah

Looking forward to: We have an appointment with a genetic counselor on Thursday (because of my Hydrocephalus and the fact that we’re having twins).  Hopefully they will be able to confirm genders for us.

Weight Gain: 7.8 pounds.

COME BACK NEXT WEEK IF YOU WANT TO KNOW IF OUR MONKEYS ARE BOYS, GIRLS OR ONE OF EACH!!!

17 Weeks

Let's see if I can remember what happened this week. They are all starting to run together. Oh! Over the weekend was Jeff's birthday. Since that was part of this week, I can tell you what I did. I had the ultrasound on Friday and had the technician write in a birthday card what the genders are. The card was awesome too! It said on the front "Happy Birthday Dad, from Both of Us..." Then on the inside, it said "Headache #1 and Headache #2". I thought that was appropriate since I have been getting such severe headaches and I am sure, in turn, giving some to Jeff as well.

My friend Ale and I went to Kohl's, where we picked out two boy outfits and two girl outfits. I then took them back to Customer Service and had the person back there look at the card, and wrap the two outfits that matched the genders specified. Ale and I wandered the store while they did that. I didn't want to find out before Jeff.

That evening, I was so excited! I had him open the box that night. You'll have to stay tuned for the result. We are having another ultrasound on March 7th and I want to be SURE before we post anything online.

The following day, we went to lunch with Jeff's parents and then Skyped with mine afterward. I had made a cake with 2 layers in the appropriate colors for the sex of the babies. When we cut into the cake, the parents got to see what we are having. It was a fun weekend!! I think they are all very excited!

The rest of the week was much of the same as the past few weeks. I've had several headaches, but I worked a couple of days this week. I always like to get out of the house. It often makes me feel better. We also had an appointment with my neurosurgeon yesterday. I wanted to check with him about an epidural for the birth. I had heard that because I have Hydrocephalus, that would be out of the question. I wasn't sure how I would deliver these babies without some sort of medication, especially if I have to have a c-section. He assured us that an epidural is fine and that we can try for a vaginal birth, if we want. He wasn't going to push either way. We just need to keep our OB and him informed of how I am feeling at the time. Also, the headaches don't seem to be shunt related, which I already figured. They are just an unfortunate side-effect of being pregnant. It's alright. It will be worth it!!!

DATA:

How far along? 17 weeks

Babies are the size of an: onion

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah!

Have you told family and friends? Yes.

Stretch marks? Not from the pregnancy  ;)

Symptoms: This week it was just the headaches. My sinuses have also been giving me some trouble, but I think that is mostly allergies.

Sleep: Sleep is hard to come by these days. I am having more trouble getting comfortable and as soon as I do, I have to get up and pee.

Best moment this week:  I don’t know if this counts as this week or last week…but we found out the genders. We also met with my neurosurgeon yesterday and found out that I CAN have an epidural. That makes me feel great!

Miss Anything?  I really miss being able to lie on my stomach.

Number of times I get up to pee each night: I think I topped out at 8 this week.

Movement: I swear I felt a baby kick, twice in the same spot.

Food cravings: I had a craving for spinach dip, so I made some. Too much onion and garlic!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells still bother me, but not as much.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, especially at the end of the day, after trying to eat enough food to feed these little monkeys.

Gender: Not telling yet

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? In

Mood: Blah

Looking forward to: We are going to see Jars of Clay tonight (with a bunch of other bands). I am looking forward to exposing the monkeys to some good, loud music.  J

Weight Gain: So far, I have only gained 5 pounds.

16 Weeks

This week was pretty normal (for me anyway). I am still having LOTS of headaches, mostly in the morning when I first wake up. I think it has something to do with lying down. I have also gotten them in the afternoons when I have tried to lie down to rest. Needless to say, I am not getting much rest because of my discomfort. I have had a few great days though. On these day, I try really hard to be productive. The weather was nice this week, so I tried to get outside as much as possible.

I am also doing better at gaining weight. I met with the dietician at UC Davis this week. She informed me of how much protein I should be getting in my diet, as well as how many calories I should be eating. Good grief this is going to be difficult!! As of this week, I have only gained about 3 pounds. It's funny how when you are trying to lose weight it's near impossible (or you end up gaining weight), but now that I am trying to GAIN weight, I am really having a heck of a time!

On Friday (the day I hit 16 weeks) I went for an elective ultrasound to find out what we're having. You'll have to stay tuned for the reveal. We're not ready to go public yet. I did, however, get to hear their heartbeats again. Oh do I love that sound!!! I love these babies SO much. I never thought it was possible. Anyway, stay tuned!  :)

DATA:

How far along? 16 weeks

Babies are the size of a: avocado

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah!

Have you told family and friends? Yes.

Stretch marks? Not from the pregnancy  ;)

Symptoms: Pretty bad headaches (mostly in the morning) and slight nausea at random times. WAY better than it has been though.

Sleep: Sleep is hard to come by these days. I am having more trouble getting comfortable and as soon as I do, I have to get up and pee.

Best moment this week:  For Valentines Day, Jeff took me to Taro’s (sushi). We’ve been there a few times during the pregnancy, but I always get the cooked stuff. This time, I got ONE piece of salmon nigiri (the raw fish on top of rice). I savored it my entire meal and it was SO GOOOOOOOD!!!

Miss Anything?  Feeling normal.

Number of times I get up to pee each night: Too many.

Movement: Not likely.

Food cravings: Mmmmmm SUSHI.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells still bother me, but not as much.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, especially at the end of the day, after trying to eat enough food to feed these little monkeys.

Gender: Not telling yet

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? In

Mood: Blah

Looking forward to: I have an appointment with my neurosurgeon next week. I hope I can get some answers about these headaches.

15 Weeks

This was the first week of my second trimester and I am glad to report that I have been feeling MUCH better.  I still have the occasional bout of nausea, but it's far better than it has been the past few weeks.

 

On Saturday, I actually got out of the house for the first time in a long while.  It was Free Museum Day, so Jeff and I went to the zoo.  I did fine walking around for hours and it was so nice to get out in the fresh air and sunshine!  I was a little disappointed with the zoo though.  There are a lot of animals that you typically see at a zoo that we just don't have here.  I am sure that our twins will love it though.  I look forward to when they are old enough to go with me.

Sunday was the Super Bowl and we hung out with a few friends to watch the game.  Again, it was good to get out of the house and hang with other people.  That's the most football I have watched in my entire life and probably the second time I have watched it voluntarily.  I actually enjoyed it.  On Monday, I got to go to work.  It was a great day and the first day in a long time that I didn't have an excruciating headache.  It was great to see my coworkers and all of the kiddos.

On Tuesday morning, I had the worst headache of my entire pregnancy so far.  It was about an 8.5 out of 10 and I was not handling it.  I finally took my prescription meds at 730 and the headache was gone by 9.  I spent most of the rest of the day in bed, since the headache completely drained me.  We're in the process of trying to get an appointment with the neurosurgeon so we can talk about all of my symptoms and what will happen with delivery.  Tuesday afternoon, we had our ultrasound.  It went great.  The babies are growing and moving around A LOT!  They are looking more like little skeletons than blobs at this point.  We were unable to find out genders at this point.


Today (Friday) has been a great day.  I woke up this morning and didn't have a headache, and I didn't take my meds in the middle of the night either.  I went to work at 11:30, so I took them right before I left home because I could feel one coming on.  It was a good day and I felt great!!

DATA:

How far along? 15 weeks

Babies are the size of a: orange

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah!

Have you told family and friends? Yes.

Stretch marks? Not from the pregnancy  ;)

Symptoms: Pretty bad headaches (mostly in the morning) and slight nausea at random times. WAY better than it has been though.

Sleep: I sleep until at least 5am, and then I have to get up to pee. It is sometimes (often) hard to get back to sleep.

Best moment this week:  We got another ultrasound on Tuesday.  It was really cool to see how they have changed.  They now look like little skeletons.  Still very active!!!  I am in love.

Miss Anything?  Feeling normal.

Number of times I get up to pee each night: Topped out at 6 one night this week.

Movement: I swear I have felt fluttering, but it is most likely air in my intestines or something.

Food cravings: I am really loving bagels and cream cheese for breakfast.  Tastes WAY better than toast.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells still bother me, but not as much.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but my dr. told me that I am tiny.  It was kind of disappointing.

Gender: We asked and the dr. wouldn’t even look.  She said 18 weeks.  That’s SOOOOOOOO long!!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? In

Mood: Blah

Looking forward to: My glucose test next week.  NOT!!!

Baby info: Twin A is still measuring larger than Twin B.  B was about 8.5 cm long at our ultrasound, and A was more than a cm longer.  Both are VERY active!