30/31 Week Update

 This blog will be for 30 and 31 weeks. My maternity pictures were done at 30 weeks by the wonderful Twila Allen. So all the pictures will be from 30 weeks. I am currently 31 weeks and just had a drs appointment so the information on how I'm feeling and how the twins are doing will be current. Below are a few of my favorite maternity photos. I just love them. When you feel huge and pregnant it is nice when someone can capture it in a pretty way ;-) Again, all the photos were done by Twila Allen photography. You can find her site here: http://www.twilasphotography.com/

Ok for the 31 week update:
 How Nolan and Brayden are doing:  I went to the Dr on Monday and had our biweekly ultrasound to check the boys' growth. When the ultrasound technician pulled up the screen all I could see was arms and legs everywhere. I swear it looked like there were 4 babies in there. Even the technician was having a hard time at first figuring out how they were laying and who's legs where who's. Luckily she is an awesome technician(she has done almost all my ultrasounds this time and did my ultrasounds with E) and was able to figure it out pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the way they were laying made it hard to measure how big Baby A was so she did the best she could but said that he might be a little bigger than what we actually measured. Baby A was measuring 3lbs 15 ozs and Baby B (or big boy B as we will call him ;-) was measuring 4lbs 9ozs. E was 8lbs 6ozs when she born so I am officially carrying more baby than I was at 40 weeks pregnant. Which will explain this next part....
How I am feeling: HUGE and UNCOMFORTABLE. Lol. Really, I feel as good as one can possibly feel carrying this much baby around. I haven't had any more complications, my blood pressure is good, I have semi ok energy(as long as I make sure to rest during E's naps) and I am still sleeping somewhat ok as long as I have my 5 pillows and 3 blankets to help get me comfortable. (I'm not exaggerating...I LITERALLY use 5 pillows(one being a pregnancy pillow) and 3 blankets (I usually get rid of one in the middle of the night when I start getting too hot) I do get Braxton Hicks a lot. Almost every day I have a spell of them. Sometimes I'm not sure if they are really contractions or not so that has caused some stress and worry but my Dr. said just to drink water and lie down and then to worry if they won't go away or are evenly spaced. The thing that seems to bring on the most Braxton hicks is not eating/drinking enough throughout the day and over doing it because I think to myself "oh I'm only 31 weeks I can still ____(fill in the blank with random housework items or just being on my feet active all day)"
Overall I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and that the boys are growing well and staying put for now. I am also thankful that E is such a great girl who is ok if mommy and her sit and read books to let mommy rest and still takes her naps pretty much every day. She is so laid back and I am truly thankful for her sweet, kind, loving self.  I am also very thankful for the friends and family that have come and cleaned my house or brought me lunch or brunch, it is completely unexpected, always means so much and I feel so blessed to have people who will help me in ways that they know are helpful and/or important to me.

27 Week update!

Well as of Friday I am officially 27 weeks. The last few weeks have been going very well. At 24 weeks I had a small incident of contractions and the Dr did a fetal fibronectin test. This test is to tell you if you have a chance of preterm labor or not. A negative test means that you won't go into the labor in the next 2/3 weeks and a positive test means that there is a chance you could go into preterm labor in the next 2/3 weeks. My test came back positive, which of course was scary, but my Dr. assured me the chances were low. She just said that we would need to be extra careful the rest of the pregnancy to monitor for contractions or preterm labor symptoms. Luckily, it has been about 3 weeks since the test and I haven't had anymore contractions (thank you Lord for answered prayers)! I am not on bedrest as my Dr. doesn't like to do bedrest unless absolutely necessary. I am very thankful for this because I would probably go CRAZY on bedrest and I really want to keep things as normal as possible for Emery. Due to my contractions and positive test, I wasn't able to travel down to Alabama for my shower that my family was throwing for me. I was really sad about not being able to go, but luckily my family is awesome and they all traveled up here and threw us a shower. We had such a great time! I have another shower coming up in April which I am excited about too!

How I've been feeling: Good, but big and emotional.. lol! I am already the size I was at about 36 weeks with Emery, which I should be since I am currently carrying about 4 lbs or a little more of baby! The last ultrasound (2 weeks ago) the babies were a little under 2 lbs each. I've been emotional because it is frustrating to me that I can not do everything I was doing before (I'm not on bedrest but there are certain household chores and things that I am not suppose to do) and it is hard nesting and not being able to mop my floors (I know, I am weird). haha!  Plus on top of all of that Emery turns 2 next weekend and I just can't believe how big of a girl she has become. Those things coupled with knowing that soon it won't be just me and Emery makes me a big emotional mess some days, but I have been doing better the last few days with it.

What Emery thinks: Emery still occasionally talks or sings songs to my belly. She is fascinated by my belly button, which is almost an outie. She keeps pressing on it and laughing. She knows that I can't pick her up as much as I did before but has truly been wonderful and understanding of "momma's back hurting". Sometimes she will grab her back and say "my back hurting". I am guessing it is from seeing me do it. Another funny thing she did last week was while we were eating supper. I asked her if she would like more to eat or if she was all done. She looked at me then looked at my belly, pushed her stomach out as far as it would go and said "I all full" patting her belly. She is at such a fun age and I can't wait to see what she is like with the boys.

Cravings: I was craving steak or hamburgers for a while and learned that I am anemic. Once starting my extra iron supplements those cravings went away. While taking iron I am not suppose to eat dairy within a few hours of taking the pills so that it can absorb better, so of course, I started craving ice cream. I like ice cream, but have never craved it with either pregnancy until now. Go figure it would be when I can't have it as much. ;-) I still love cereal and apples with p.b. and I still eat either toast or a bagel with p.b. for breakfast  many days. I also have added in oatmeal as a go to breakfast food.

The goal for these babies is to make it to May before delivery. If I make it all the way to May I will be at about 36 weeks which will be a much safer and healthier for everyone so please just pray that they will stay in there until then and that we won't have any other complications. Thank you!

23 weeks update!

And BOOM! just like that I'm 23 weeks. I missed my picture at 22 weeks thanks to a local restaurant giving me and David food poisoning. You DO NOT want the details, but needless to say pictures were out of the question that week. Here is a comparison picture of me at 20 weeks. Am I the only one who thinks it looks like I added a whole extra baby in those 2 weeks? I promise it is still just twins.

     The past few weeks have been busy and for some reason the second I hit 22 weeks I started panicking. Probably because David said, "Oh wow, the furthest the dr will let you go is 16 more weeks". That comment right there kept me awake for hours thinking of everything we still need to get done. Luckily, we still have close to 16 weeks (praying they stay in there cooking for at least close to that long)

     So we've been working like crazy to start getting things ready. We have found a lot of used baby items and have had so many sweet friends give us things that they are no longer using! We bought a matching crib and have it up and in the room and we have moved the changing table in there as well. E is still in the other crib, but we will be moving her soon. E turns 2 in just a few weeks, which has made me even more emotional than the usual level of pregnancy emotions I carry around so be careful what you say around me. I could go off on, cry, or laugh at any moment. ;-)

    

    

Pregnancy Update: 1/2 Way!

Today I am 19 weeks. According to my Dr., that means I am half way to the furthest point we will allow these twins to go. The goal is to make it as close to 38 weeks as possible but she said we will not go past 38 weeks. It is truly amazing how fast the time is flying by this pregnancy. I guess when you are chasing around a toddler you lose track of time. It feels like just last week I was bringing my baby girl home and now I'm 19 weeks or less to bringing home 2 baby boys. I wanted to post a quick update and just talk about how this pregnancy has been different from my last (besides the obvious fact that there are 2 babies in there instead of one) and answer a few questions I often get from people.

(This photo is from 18 weeks. The left is current and the right one is from my last pregnancy. I did not look at the old picture when I made the new one, so apparently at 18 weeks is when my appetite really kicks in LOL )

Food cravings/aversions: I love eating fruit and cereal like last time. One new craving is that I love buffalo wing flavored things (I may have ate Buffalo Chicken Dip for lunch, but don't worry, I ate a salad and 2 mandarin oranges too) The only down side is that spicy food immediately gives me heartburn. As far as food aversions go I can NOT eat sweet potatoes for the life of me even though I usually love them. I also can't stand biting into onion chunks even if they are cooked. But for some reason on a sandwich red onion is ok. It is weird I know...but I really have no control over it.

Morning sickness: This has been the biggest difference between the 2 pregnancies. With E I felt sick off and on until about 15 or 16 weeks and if I ate something I usually felt better. My sickness would also get better as the day went on. This pregnancy, I started feeling sick within a week of finding out I was pregnant (which should have clued me in that it could be twins). The Dr. put me on Diclegis at night and that helped but didn't take it away. I also felt sick all day every day and it seemed to get worse as the day went on instead of better. Luckily, I am THRILLED to say that at around 17 weeks I was able to come off of the nausea meds and even though I have had a few short moments of feeling sick it is pretty much gone.

Belly Bump: My stomach is definitely getting big faster this time around! And due to that, I've had more back and ligament pain that before, but not really anything too bad yet. I know the picture above doesn't look like much of a difference but I can tell a big difference in the thickness of my waist, the spread of my hips, and the size of my stomach compared to last time. I've already gained 15 pounds so far (I only gained 25 with E the whole pregnancy) and I am always worried I'm gaining weight too fast, but so far the Dr. has said I'm on track for a twin pregnancy (she said should gain somewhere around 35 pounds).

Thoughts and Emotions: I am definitely more emotional this pregnancy. I know there are a lot of extra hormones floating around in my body right now so that explains a lot. I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am adjusting to the change headed our way and dealing with a sweet, loving, but sometimes cranky almost 2 year old. Plus being pregnant and preparing for these babies makes me reminisce about how little E was and how fast she is growing and learning new things.

David is adjusting well to the idea of twins. He is such a planner and go getter that he was already talking about what we needed to buy/get rid of/ move around to fit these babies into our house the very same day we found out we were having twins! He has said that it still seems surreal that in a few months we will have 2 more babies here. On a side note, if he keeps calling me Big Mama or asks me again if the furniture is creaking when I sit down (he isn't being mean, he likes to joke) then he may spend the rest of this pregnancy on the couch ;-)

E's view of the pregnancy: E knows that there are babies in my stomach, but that is about all she understands right now. Some days she doesn't say anything about it and some days she wants to lift my shirt to talk to the babies multiple times(sometimes she tries to in public lol). She is such a sweet little girl and has done so many cute things lately but I'll just mention my 2 favorite so far:

1. the other night I had stickers out for her to play with and she insisted on putting some on my stomach "for babies" as she said. She had the best time sticking them to my belly and saying "share" to tell me she was sharing with them.

2. My back is usually sore by the end of the day lifting her, but the other day it was extra sore and so I told her Daddy would have to lift her in and out of the car because momma's back hurt. The rest of the night she kept talking about how my back hurt and then she would hug, kiss, and pat my back. It really was the sweetest thing! I know she is going to be such a great big sister to these boys and a big help to her momma.

Well there you go! We are slowly adjusting and preparing for these twins and we are very excited about the adventure ahead for our little, soon to be much bigger, family!

5K

      "Is this your first ultrasound? Well then I have a surprise for you!" These words from my ultrasound technician were not what I was expecting in the least and will forever be the beginning of the story of the twins.

     I still have a hard time believing our family is going from a family of 3 to 5 in a matter of a few months. My husband came up with the nickname 5K for our family. I liked the name for many reasons, but one being one of the last big things I did before getting pregnant with Emery was run my first 5k race with Special Kids. I'm not an avid runner, so training for a 5k was difficult for me and I spent many runs wondering how I was ever going to build up enough endurance to do a whole 5k (for you avid runners, I know this sounds silly, but for a girl who could barely run a mile it seemed like a lot at the time). One thing that doing a 5k taught me is that I could do more and push myself further than I thought I could go. That is what this miracle of having twins feels like right now. Like I'm being pushed beyond my limits. What if I can't handle 3 kids 2 and under? What if I'm not a good enough mommy? How will this change things financially with me being a SAHM?

     Luckily, I have a wonderful husband and a few good friends and family members who support me. They remind me how strong I am. They remind me that God gave us these precious children for a reason and that He knows that I will be the best mommy for them. And when I feel completely scared and overwhelmed they remind me that God never gives us more than we can handle. So in the end, I know that I will step up to the challenge and discover that the limits I thought I had were only fears that held me back.

The 5 Stages of Sleep Loss

The story goes like this: You go through the nightly sleep ritual with your baby: putting their sleeper on, reading a story, brushing your baby's teeth, nursing or rocking or whatever your nightly ritual is. You lay your sleepy angel down in their crib to let them fall asleep. Their sweet little yawns and closed eyes give you hope, but alas, it is false hope because they don't go to sleep. Instead their bright eyes pop open and they choose this time to practice their new skill of sitting up/standing/crawling. Or maybe they are sick and need extra cuddles. Or maybe they are just not sleepy at the moment. I don't know where you are but if this story sounds familiar you will understand (and hopefully get a laugh out of) what I'm about to write. You have lost something very precious to you...your sleep. I don't know about you but I love my sleep and grieve its loss. So here are the stages us moms go through.

The 5 Stages of Sleep Loss:

1. Denial:  She was asleep! How did this happen? Did I really hear her cry? Maybe she was just whimpering in her sleep. Or maybe she will just lay herself back down in a minute and go to sleep. She isn't going to do this again tonight, she is too tired. It can't be my turn to go in and check on her...can it? I lay in my warm bed hoping that the crying will stop and she will go back to sleep.

But once you realize that they really are awake(or staying awake) and not going to put themselves back to sleep you enter stage 2:

2. Anger: You are angry at your husband for getting to stay in bed this time, angry that the floor is so cold, angry at your dog for snoring while being curled up in a warm ball on the couch, and angry at yourself for not doing a better job sleep training. Or at least this is my experience. (I hope I'm not the only mom that wonders if she has failed as a mother because her child doesn't sleep well!)

3. Bargaining: You bargain with your husband. Will you please go get our child? I will get up with her in the morning and let you sleep in? You bargain with your child (even if they can't understand you) If I rock you for 5 more minutes will you go back to sleep? You pray to God that He will help you get this beautiful baby He created to go to sleep. You become desperate. You will do anything if you can just get your child to go to sleep.

4. Depression: I don't know that I would call it being depressed, but at some point in all of this I definitely feel defeated. Especially if you are going on months of not getting a full nights sleep. Maybe you do feel depressed because you are so tired. All I know is I am worn out and sometimes feel like this will never end and that I will never have a good sleeper.

5. Acceptance: You have arrived. This is definitely the best place to be. You accept that you are up with them and you do whatever you need to do to comfort your precious baby and get them back to sleep. You realize that this is only for a short amount of time (it can't go on forever...right???) Your sweet baby will only be this small once and that this sickness or sleep regression or needing to eat during the night will eventually get better. You will help/comfort your child tonight because you are their mommy and that is what mommies do.

Maybe you move through these stages every night or maybe you have slowly been moving through them over the past months. Just know you are not alone. Your baby isn't the only one having trouble sleeping and you are not the only one exhausted. And your baby not sleeping well definitely does not mean you are a terrible parent. Get yourself a cup of something caffeinated and hang in there mama, you can do this!

Holiday Pork Loin

Today I am sharing a new recipe that I tried out. I call it Holiday Pork Loin because it reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas with the onion mix and cranberry, but the website I found it on just calls it "Cranberry Onion Pork Loin". Best of all, it is SUPER easy. I mean like 3 ingredients in a crock pot easy. I always serve it with roasted sweet potatoes and it is one of our new favorites. The recipe is found here.

Ingredients:
-Pork Loin
-1 packet of onion soup mix
-1 can of cranberry sauce(whole berry kind)

Put pork loin in crock pot. Sprinkle onion mix on top. Spoon cranberry sauce over the loin and onion mix. And 1/8 to 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours and voila!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!