How are we growing?

Preggo update week #33

Today I headed in to see good 'ol Dr Ramsey again. =) I am so glad I like my ob! She is so caring and always on the cautious side when it comes to protecting me and these babies. I headed to ultrasound first. I was a little nervous b/c last week I was told she saw a few calcified spots on the boy's placenta, so we were checking growth measurements a week early to see if he was getting proper nutrition. He sure is!!! Both he and his sister weigh 4 lbs 8 oz each! Man...that equals 9 lbs of babies. I thought I felt bigger than when I had Graham and now we know my belly has stretched to new levels. Graham was 8 lbs 10 oz when born. And to think I have the potential of 5 more weeks...Wowza!
When she checked my cervix, it had shortened from 2.9cm to 2.6 and from 2.5cm to 2.3 when I bear down. Dr. Ramsey's line of concern has always been 2.5. She asked if I would be okay to get a steriod shot to help the babies' lungs develop a little faster just in case my water decided to break this week. She said she is pretty darn confident that I'll make it to at least 36 weeks, but wanted an "insurance policy". We'll see! That would be a little over a week before Christmas. =) What a gift they will be.
So I scheduled my appt for next week and headed down to triage for my lovely steriod shot in the booty. If you haven't had a shot in your booty before, it makes you feel like you really worked out your butt. Odd. I go back 24 hours later for the 2nd shot and then we watch me grow.
I know the uncomfortableness of this time in my life will fade away, kind of like the memories of sleep deprivation will fade. You can't truly remember it until you experience it! But just to help me remember...tonight I decided to lay down in our bed on my left side and hug a body pillow to get some back relief. It felt pretty good so I laid their for an hour or so. THEN I had to pee. I called Adam to help me up. In a weird way, I wish we had it on video of how crippled I was! It took a few minutes for me to slowly let myself get pulled up and swing my legs to the floor. My hips are as loose and sore as they have ever been. Makes me not look forward to walking in my 90s. =) Adam had to be my "walker" all the way to the bathroom until my hips remembered how to work. Pretty humorous. After that Adam forbid me to lay down in our bed again until after the twins are here! hahaha I am recliner bound according to my husband (and my body). I think I need one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" buttons if I am going to lay in my bed again these next few weeks. Maybe a forklift would help???
Seriously though, we are praising God for how these babies are growing! Dr. Ramsey is in awe that they are growing just like a single baby would be growing. She came into my appt today just bubbling happy about that fact. I am very relieved and ready to become a Mama whale in the next few weeks. People are telling me that I don't look pregnant with twins, but I always say being 5'10'' can hide a lot, along with a few good wardrobe choices. I have the outfits that make me look pregnant with twins...don't you worry. =) Please continue to pray with us that these babies will come in their timing, fully able to sustain life once out of the womb.
My next decision is whether I will try a vaginal delivery or opt for a c section. Baby girl has always been head down and Baby boy has always been sitting on her head! (so like a brother!) and is head up. She said she will let me decide if I want to attempt to deliver or have surgery. I would love to deliver them myself, but I'd rather not mess up my whole lower half with a vaginal delivery and a c section. Just praying for clear direction on the right thing to do for us. Oh yes, and it looks like both babies have a little hair on their heads! Bring on the bows for baby girl. =)

32 weeks

We are getting out some new baby supplies and old stuff too! Graham helped me put together our new bouncy seat, or should I say infant to toddler rocker (thank you Elly & Ryan!!!). He immediately ran to get his monkey and rock him. Graham will tell you who these new items are for when asked. We'll see if he lets the babies really have them once they are here. =)

Graham's baby...Monkey!

Me...comfy in my sweats...sporting a 32 week preggo belly!!!

Ay caramba! And to think we have the potential for another 6 weeks of growth!

Today was a BLESSED DAY! 5 of my friends from high school showed up at 9:00am with cleaning supplies and equipment ready to tackle our dirty home. I can't tell you how humbling it was to sit on the couch and watch my busy friends take their family time on a Saturday morning and spend it deep cleaning my dirt. Adam and I are soooo grateful. Adam and I have different ideas of a "clean house" so it was wonderful to get some amazing worker bees in here and tackle it together. I mean we are talking, all baby clothes=clean, baby equipment=brought out from garage and attic and cleaned, floors were swept, mopped, vacuumed, AND steam cleaned, new sheets on all beds, baseboards, windows, fridge, ceiling fans, pictures in nursery hung...you name it- it got cleaned!
I will forever be grateful for such a kind act!!! Don't I have amazing friends? Not to mention all of the meals that have been brought by friends, friends of our parents, and other amazing, kind people! We are being well taken care of. Operation "keep the twins in as long as possible" is in full swing and has been supported by my great husband and our friends and family. LOVE YOU!!!!

In other news...the baby nursery is almost ready and Graham's big boy room is complete! We decided that tonight would be the night to let Graham sleep in his big boy room. We've been talking all week about how this weekend Graham would get to sleep in his big boy bed. Most of the time he would shake his head no and say, "No, sleep baby room". Well last night and today he was so proud to show off his big boy room to our friends that I think he liked the idea. He is in there rolling around in is new bed as we speak. He didn't fuss at all, so after his bedtime routine we laid him down in the twin bed and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I love the video monitor! So far, so good. I'll let you know how it goes!!!

My baby is a big boy now...

Sesame Street Live!

Well it was Daddy's birthday weekend and Adam's wish came true! He got to see Sesame Street Live. =) OK, so maybe it wasn't Adam's b-day wish (since I caught him looking at his i-phone during the show!!!) but we had a great time. Graham loved it! It was fun to take him to the show together as a family of 3. The show was in Owensboro, so we had about an hour drive there. I'm supposed to be resting, so I laid down in the back of our van in the 3rd row with a million pillows and got dropped off at the front of the theater. haha! The things I'm willing to do in order to get out of the house for a bit!

Graham enjoying a sucker pre-show!

We got some good snuggle time since Graham could see better sitting on our laps.

WOW! It's starting! He was yeling out the names of all the characters as they came on stage!

We had pretty good seats too. It's funny attending a show mainly for toddlers. SO much talking and screaming! Pretty fun.

Hi Oscar! He is really into Oscar the Grouch this week. It changes weekly who the favorite is.

He's a pretty big Ernie and Bert fan too...

Second half of the show...getting a little sleepy...

It was a very well done show! I recommend it to anyone who has a child that likes Sesame Street.

Graham loved the "stars" and the "moon" on the ceiling during a nighttime song. He kept asking where the moon went after that song.

Sweet boy!

Um...

Words can hardly explain this HILARIOUS set of pictures, but I will try to explain. We are all for doing things early this Christmas season, since we have no idea when our babies will decide to make their big debut, so I suggested we put up our Christmas lights (but not turn them on yet). It was super warm this weekend, so on Friday we bought Christmas lights and the hooks to keep them on our roof. I sent Adam out during nap time and expected to see them all done when Graham and I woke up but alas, he didn't get too far. He decided he wanted to wait until he had some sponges to sit on (like he used when he did roofing work one summer job). So Saturday morning he borrowed some sponges and told me he was going to put the lights up before it started to rain. When Adam came out of the bedroom dressed in his "outfit", my reaction was as you would expect. =) I've loved this man a long time and somehow he still surprises me with the things he chooses to wear sometimes. THEN he told me he was going to wear his bike helmet in case he fell off the roof!!! hahahahahaha I told him Graham and I would most definitely be outside for that. We rushed to get our clothes on and the spectacle began. Adam did a great job and the lights are up and look great! Honestly, I'm glad Adam is cautious, but something tells me that if he were to fall off the roof, the bike helmet wasn't going to do too much. =)

Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy 29th birthday, Adam! What a crazy, beautiful day for a birthday. I think the high was 75! We enjoyed the day together as a family since it was Friday and Adam had the day off. Graham was so excited to go wake up his Daddy with a birthday balloon and card that he colored for him. The night before his birthday, when Adam came home from work, Graham went running to him and kept repeating, "Daddy! Birthday! PResents! Card! Upstairs! Come on Daddy!" We were "hiding" his birthday things upstairs and Graham was quite excited to celebrate right then. He was a little sad when I told him that we had to wait until the morning. I think it's becoming a birthday tradition to wake up the special birthday person with presents in bed! What a fun way to wake up!

First thing in the morning! The best present helper around!

Adam reading my cheesy card. =)

Adam and Graham in their pretty fall shirts by our one and only tree! =) What a beautiful day it was for a birthday!

Our house in the fall!

Dinner at Dave and Joyce's house. Graham was so excited to sing happy birthday to his Daddy! We practiced all day but when the big moment came, he was a little shy. =) That's okay- we got to hear it about 10 times during the day- SOooooooo cute! He loved that it was his Daddy's birthday!

The best part! Blowing out the candles- he thought the smoke was pretty funny...

Preggo Update

Last Tuesday, I had my regular ob appt and ultrasound to check the babies' growth and my cervix. The babies were growing beautifully! Baby girl was 3 pds 4 oz and baby boy was 3 pds 3 oz, 54th and 52nd percentile. She said they were growing just like 2 single babies would be growing in there. I wasn't too surprised at their size, since I had seen my own belly growing signficantly lately. It was amazing to think though, that at only 30 weeks of pregnancy I already had 6 1/2 pds of children inside of me...plus all of the extra stuff too! No wonder I'm the waddle queen already. =) So that was the good news!
The bad news was that my cervix had shortened to 3.1 cm and when I bear down it shortened to 2.5. I knew the magic number of 2.5 being what she had told me would require bedrest, so I nervously waited to see the dr. She wanted to see me the very next day to do a fetal fibronectin test. This is the "glue" that helps bond your baby inside your uterus and shouldn't be seen in your fluid until after 35 weeks. If the test was negative then that would mean I had a 95% chance of NOT going into labor in the next 2 weeks. If it was positive, she was going to stick me in the hospital overnight to monitor me and my contractions and possibly do some steriods to stop them. Thank you, Lord, that the test was negative! No hospital stay for me! So let the rest begin. I'm definitely resting as much as possible, but I do have this little person in my life named Graham that keeps 100% resting impossible. I feel guilty with the amount of TV this child is getting to watch, but I know it's just for a season.
Yesterday I had my cervix checked again and it had shortened a little bit more- 2.9 and 2.5 when I bear down. She told me these next 3 weeks are imperative that I rest as much as possible that I can for sure make it past 34 weeks. I'm very aware of the contractions that are happening if I am up too much. Adam has been super supportive of me resting and he has taken over pretty much every job around here. I do what I can, but that's not too much! I remember when moms of twins warned me about the last few months being difficult, and now I understand! What a huge physical job to undertake! I'm so worn out but, grateful for each day they are in my belly. I don't want to wish away my alone time with my sweet Graham, but I'm getting more and more ready to meet these TWO babies!!!

What is my son wearing, you may ask?!

Well, according to Graham, he is wearing a "helmet". (Please don't tell him its a red, satin headband of his mothers.) He loves to ride his "motorcycle" around the house and he MUST have on his helmet to be safe. =) Cracks me up...

You might also be wondering what happened to my baby's curls? Well, the lady who was supposed to do a little "trim" decided a big boy haircut was what he needed. I think he looks cute but there was a grandma that wasn't too happy about it! =) Good thing they will grow back! I love his curls.

Creativity at it's best...

We had a small Halloween shin-dig at our place this weekend with family and a few friends and it was great! Nobody got in without a costume =) and there was a prize for the best one! We hope to make it an annual thing. Other family members have the other holidays so we've claimed this one since we will have all the cute kids in their costumes. These next pictures are a combo of funny, creative and disturbing! (Mainly the grandparents for the last adjective).
Graham always laughs that my tummy is like a ball...well we took care of that!


29 weeks preggo! That "ball" was moving and squirming all night long!



Scariest bunch I know...in-laws and parents!

Cutest monkeys in town!

Elmo's Mama and the male version of Lady Gaga. Joy won for the most creative costume! I mean come on, she cut up an elmo doll and had him hanging out her belly!!!

An old church lady (yikes) and the mutant Mary Kay lady (Adam came up with that name Joyce!)

"Roger" and Joan of Arc

The Burger King, the Dairy Queen and their baby Monkey

Jermaine Oneil, Darth Vader and our Monkey. Now which of us do you think Graham would be scared of? He LOVED Darth Vader and kept telling Mommy "off". He did NOT want me to have that basketball jersey on. Odd?!

Happy Halloween!

Boo at the Zoo

A few weeks ago we headed to Boo at the Zoo for our first Halloween event of the season. We were unsure if Graham would like wearing his monkey costume or not, but was glad to have a chilly night to try it out on! We put it on him in the zoo parking lot by convincing him it was a monkey "coat". haha For some reason that worked! He wasn't going to wear it if we called it a costume.


Not sure what to think of the characters...


Preggo Mommy waddling through the zoo.


An overly warm monkey in the indoor section of the zoo. And Graham, too. =)

It was funny... "scary" things were totally not scary to Graham. He really wanted to go into a haunted house at the zoo for kids 6 and older but, of course he didn't quite make the cut off. It was the first time we heard, "I want to go there!" though.

More Halloween fun to come...