We Made it to 26 Weeks!

Yesterday, we officially completed 26 weeks of pregnancy. That means I am officially 6 1/2 months pregnant! Our goal is to make it to 34 weeks, which is just before Eddie's birthday at the end of August. It is a little intimidating thinking of being in the hospital for another 8 weeks, but is has been working so far! Eddie told me that if I can hold out to week 34, then I will never have to buy him another birthday present for as long as he lives. The babies will be the best birthday present ever!

We had another ultrasound on Monday, June 25 and the babies look great! Iggy is measuring 1 pound 13 ounces and Hermie is measuring 1 pound 12 ounces. (Iggy and Hermie are nicknames - not their real names. For the full story email me back!) Their heights, etc, are still measuring for October 7. So our preterm labor hasn't affected them. They are constantly moving and teasing the nurses by moving around when they are trying to listen to heartbeats. One of the nurses says the babies are having fun because my tummy is basically a big swimming pool for them right now and they have plenty of room to move around. Soon, though, they will be out of luck! My tummy is getting really big and when I stand up I can't see my feet any more.

Eddie has been baking for the nurses and they are all in love with him. He even made cookies for Dr. Hartford and I think Dr. Hartford is starting to think of me as a real person and not just a patient. He described Ed's Toffee Cranberry Cookies as "perfect." Eddie already has orders for pies and cookies from the nurses for July 4th.

Bed rest is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I feel cut off from the rest of the world and actually miss being outside in the incredibly hot sunshine. I don't know how people function watching television all day long. I am heartily sick of soap operas and the repetitive programing on cable. Luckily, I am working at mastering Sudoku (one of Mom's friends gave me a book of puzzles) and have already finished a baby blanket with the yarn Eddie's mom brought over. When Eddie comes to visit, we get to go out for a spin in my wheelchair. We make the most of our 45 minute jaunts by sitting out on the patio under the Jacaranda trees.

The nurses are letting me wear my own nightgowns, which is awesome! I never realized how many pink nightgowns I own! Pink is much better than the hospital gowns though. It is bliss getting to wear my own things.

Dr. Hartford is cautiously optimistic about the babies staying put. He has me on the lowest dose of Magnesium Sulfate and they only raise the dose if I start having too many contractions. They are mostly Braxton Hicks contractions and as long as we keep them from occurring too often, they won't cause me to go into labor. He says there are other things we can do if the magnesium stops working, but they have side effects and he would rather avoid them if at all possible.

Time for us to go take a nap!

5 Months Along and Growing Strong!

As I sit here, the Twinsies are having a kick-boxing match in my belly! We have officially completed 21 weeks (that puts us in the 5 month category). The babies have grown very fast in the past few weeks and are really healthy. Dr. Hartford did an extra long ultrasound yesterday to measure them and they are growing just like a singleton baby. They are still measuring due on October 7. Iggy (the boy - it's his nickname, don't worry) is has claimed the left side of me for his own and likes to fight Hermie (the girl - her nickname, too) for dominance. So far, Hermie is winning though. In the ultrasound, she is a good four inches higher in my stomach than Iggy is. As of yesterday, she is about 5 inches above my belly button.

The babies have been very active in the late morning, late afternoon and just before I go to bed. Today, though, they have been kicking me for the past 3 hours. Wow! Is this what we have to look forward to? We can't wait!

As the babies have been growing, so has my belly. I was just complaining to Eddie that I did not look pregnant. I really need to keep my mouth shut! All of a sudden, my belly has been growing and every day, it seems to have grown more. I am wearing this fun contraption called a Baby Hugger to help lift the babies and support my belly and back. It looks very intimidating, but it is really helping.

My nausea has decreased, but pops up every once in a while. Usually, it pops up when I have to go to work or I get in a car. Now I am mostly just tired, and it is a wonderful excuse to take a nap.

My sisters are planning an All-Girl baby shower for July 15th and our really-great friends are planning a Friends and Family baby shower luau for July 29. Watch the mail! You will be receiving invitations soon. If you can't come, we will miss you terribly!

We don't have any new pictures, but maybe I'll get Eddie to take a picture of me so you can see how much the three of us have grown. A lady today asked me how far along I was and when I said 5 months, she was stunned. When I told her I am having twins, she seemed relieved. :)

The Answer to the $64 Million Question

Today we went for our official Genetic testing. Once we made it super clear that we weren't interested in an amnio, the genetic counselor told us that Dr. De Vore is actually world-renowned for diagnosing birth defects using 4D ultrasounds and we would not need to have an amnio. He still managed to scare Ed pretty badly, but that was only until the ultrasound started. Dr. De Vore measured the babies' heads, their neck folds (I didn't know babies had those). their heart efficiency and a few other things.

And then he asked us the big question, "Are you interested in knowing the babies' sexes?"

"Yes," we both replied, enthusiastically!

"The baby on the right is a girl." Yay!

"And the baby on the left is a boy!" Yay again!

Ed was so overcome with emotion that he didn't even see the images on the screen where you could definitely see one was a girl and one was a boy. Needless to say, we have played that DVD (they gave us one for free!) over and over again. He now has proof!

We are beside ourselves with excitement. Oh, and both of the babies are very healthy and there is no sign of any kind of problem. Even better -- we get to go back every 3 weeks to see them again and make sure they are growing properly.

Ed and I went a little crazy at Babies R Us this afternoon. I'm not even sure what we registered for. Luckily, I can go back and edit things on the internet. Who knows if we really will need 10 packs of diapers. Although, everyone keeps assuring me that I'll go through a pack a week. Yikes!

Bumps and Thumps

We thought we'd share some wonderful news with you.

This has got to be the most amazing week of our lives! Last week, I started feeling some squirming (for lack of a better word) in my lower abdomen. Since this is my first pregnancy, I wasn't sure if it was the babies moving or if it was my crazy digestive system. But this week, things totally changed. I was lying on the couch on Monday and I put my hands on my belly just below my belly button. All of a sudden, I felt this bump that has never been there before. Not a smooth bump, but something that felt totally alien. I called Eddie over and put his hand on my belly. "Is that one of the babies?" he asked. "I think so!," I said. We both cried! It was wonderful.

Then, a few days ago, the squirming feeling got a little bit stronger and I realized that it was centered right where I felt that strange bump. I couldn't feel movement outside of my belly, but I could definitely feel something going on inside.

Eddie has been away this weekend on a business trip, and each night, he calls to read the babies and me our bedtime story: the next day's entry in the pregnancy journal and a couple of poems from Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. I was lying on the couch again and I turned on the speaker phone feature on the headset and placed it on my belly. As he read to us, the bump moved! It shifted from it's position over toward his voice! I couldn't believe it. The more he read, the closer it moved. We were blown away! A few hours later, the bump/baby was back in its normal position and I put my hand on it. I put a little pressure on it because I was hoping to figure out what I was feeling. It moved away from my hand. It was playing Hide and Seek with me!

We've been waiting so long for something other than morning/all-day sickness to prove to us that I am actually pregnant and voila! Here it is!

This Wednesday we have another OB appointment and on Friday we have an amniocentesis scheduled. Our doctor has told us that we don't have to do the amnio and that the doctor who usually performs it will do an extra long ultrasound to see if there is anything wrong with the babies. We hope to be able to see if the doctor can determine the sexes of the
babies.

Baby 1 and Baby 2

This is what we saw when Dr. Hartford did my first ultrasound:

What words are there?

Except: Yay! Oh, my goodness! Holy Moly! Wow!