Week 33

33 - I wish I could redo this week. Over the past week I hadn't been feeling like myself. I've been real out of it, my vision has been blurry, I've been swelling more than normal, nausea is super bad, and I've just been hurting. My heart feels like it weighs 1,000 pounds and I cannot get rest because I'm afraid I won't wake up - like I'm going to have a heart attack or something. I went to see Dr. O for a regular check-up and my blood pressure was super high at 190/110. I also had 2+ protein in my urine. She got real serious on me. She told me to call Bryan, go home and pack a bag for the hospital because I had preeclampsia and "things are pretty damn serious right now" (in her words). She was not happy that I waited so long but I just figured I had an appointment with her that week and what I was experiencing was just the joy of a twin pregnancy.

When we got to the hospital they checked me in at Labor & Delivery. The nurse was really nice but had us kinda freaking out. She was prepping me to deliver within the next 24 hours. I had to be monitored for 24 hours and then they would make the decision. They had the NICU head doc come and talk to us (which also freaked me out). In my mind, I was just going in to be monitored and maybe in a few weeks I would be delivered - not that weekend or even in the next couple weeks!!

After 24 hours, my levels and bp had stabilized to a point where Dr. O felt like she could hold off on delivering, but she did say the babies would probably be here before 38 weeks. I was moved to the Ante Partum unit and monitored for another couple days. They monitored the babies every 4 hours so we got to hear their sweet little hearts beats A LOT. I think Hayden has settled in because he's been pretty quite lately. Connor on the other hand has been a wild man. The nurses were always laughing because he was constantly moving away from the monitor and they would have to hunt him down. I also showed some major contractions while being monitored. I love my sweet babies but I don't want to meet them just yet. I want them to get bigger and stronger! Thankfully, I was sent home after 3 days at the hospital and spent the rest of the week on strict bed rest and monitoring my blood pressure. I have a couple appts with Dr. O to make sure the pre-e hasn't gotten worse.

Hello Babies!

Weeks 29-32

Week 29 - This is my last week of work and since I'm on bed rest I've been working from home. I wasn't expecting to be out of work this early even though I needed it. The day after I was put on bed rest I was supposed to meet with the person who is filling in for me. That didn't work out so now I have a week to cram all the projects I was working on and prepare a transition document. I'm a little stressed about it. I'm also a little sad because the project I work on is deploying on October 1. I did all this work on it and now I won't get to see it through :( But, at the same time, I know this is what's best for the babies.

The babies have been really active. They are wild boys! Me and Lou love watching them roll around and poke body parts out of my tummy. It is so neat. As rough of a pregnancy this has been, I will miss feeling and seeing them move. How amazing!

Connor likes to curl up in a ball and contort my belly.

My super awesome friends (H & A) threw us a diaper shower this weekend. We are just overwhelmed by the love! We got a ton of diapers and some other cute items. I can't even begin to express how grateful we are - this will help us so much! Plus, they got Rudy's BBQ and Norma's cake balls. Uh, can we say heaven in my mouth!!! I need to stop procrastinating and get my pics uploaded.

The neighbors in our cul-de-sac also threw a little shower for us. Great food, sweet gifts, and good company! We are so incredibly lucky to have the relationship we have with our neighbors. It's not very often you hear this nowadays. I don't ever want to leave this street and I wish we could build on to our house so we never outgrow it - all because of our neighbors!

Izzy and Eva helping me in the boys' room. Look at all those gifts for our sweet boys!

I went back to Dr. O for a cervix check and I'm still 1 cm and 50% effaced, so no changes! I was so relieved. I will have to stay on bed rest till they come and there's a bigger possibility that they will come early, but I'm going to do everything I need to so they can stay cooking!

I also went to the high risk doc to check on the boys. Connor has flipped again and is now breech and facing inside. Hayden is head down and really, really low - like the ultrasound wand was just about as low on me as it could go. Dr. R even made the comment that I must be really uncomfortable. Why yes, yes I am... my lady bone feels like it's going to split in half! Hayden's head is measuring almost 3 weeks ahead but his body is measuring a week behind - he weighs 3 lbs. 2 oz. Dr. R was intrigued by his big head but didn't seem concerned. I don't know where he gets it from - neither one of us have big heads. Lou thinks it's because he made fun of his friend for having a big head for so many years. Hopefully his body catches up :) Connor on the other hand likes to be difficult and give us little worries here and there. His measurements were a little more proportionate and he is weighing 3 lbs. 1 oz. They are both right on track for growth now. Dr. R still has an issue with his umbilical cord so he's sending us to a pediatric cardiologist for an echo to make sure his heart is ok and that it's on the left side of the body (as I mentioned before, the only issue he could think of as to why the umbilical cord is going off in the wrong direction is because the heart is on the wrong side of the body). Also, there was an issue with the cord blood flow this time. I asked what it meant and he said that the placenta was not doing it's job, but he wasn't going to be too concerned because Connor's measurements are good. He just wants to keep an eye on it. Connor likes to keep us on his toes. By the end of the ultrasound I was not feeling well at all. Apparently I lost all color in my face and kinda went out of it. Being on my back is no longer an option for that long! It was a little scary. Thankfully, my Aunt Theresa was there with me and came to the rescue (nurse of the year!) because Dr. R just got up, said to lay on my side for a while,and then left. Thanks doc!

Week 30 - Me and Lou went to see the pedi cardiologist. He was very kind and informative. Thankfully, everything looked good with both babies hearts! I knew deep down everything would be ok, but what a relief to be reassured! So, we may just have to wait for Connor to be born to know for sure that there are no other effects from the umbilical cord issue.

Since I was put in bed rest all my plans to shop for the nursery decor went out the window. But, in sweeps Aunt Theresa to the rescue! She went shopping, brought over a bunch of cute items, we picked out what would work, and viola - nursery is almost complete! I can't say it enough and it shouldn't come as a surprise, but we are so incredibly blessed by our family and friends. So many people have really stepped up to help us out from throwing showers, to my in-laws installing the floors and feeding, my mom coming to cook, help with laundry, and cleaning, my dad painting and installing all sorts of "things" and Nina bringing over food and working on the boys' bedding. Thanks for all the messages and texts too, we are so appreciative!

I also a "friend" shower at Java Cakes (a super cute coffee/cupcake shop in La Porte) given by my sis, mom and T. It was such a fun shower despite feeling like a beached whale. I got to see friends I don't usually get to see and eat yummy cupcakes, what more could a preggo ask for?

Week 31 - This week has been pretty uneventful... until this weekend of course! One of my BFFs, T, married one of Lou's BFFs, A. They were both in our wedding, which is also when they fell for each other, so we were excited to be a part of their special day as well. I was a little worried that I would get bad news at my dr. appt on Friday and not be able to be a part of the pre-wedding and wedding festivities. Luckily, there were no changes and she gave me permission to participate as long as I laid/sat the entire time except to walk down the aisle. I was thrilled! It was a fun day with the girls getting all dolled up. Two of the 3 of us bridesmaids are pregnant so it was quite entertaining when it came time to get dressed. My feet and legs were swollen so poor A (also pregnant and a few weeks ahead of me) and B had to force my boots on because I couldn't bend over to force them on myself. It was quite the scene with poor pregnant A attempting to bend over to help me. I did end up blowing out the booby stitch on my dress later trying to pee (don't ask), but the girls held it together and no one saw any peep shows :) A and B really helped me out a lot that day and I am so thankful! The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time.

Week 32 - The days are rather long and lonely being on bed rest, so I don't have anything too exciting to write about. This week was my 28th birthday, but it sure didn't feel much like it. I was spoiled of course, but it was just different. I haven't been feeling very well and eating out is pretty much not an option anymore. I'm just too uncomfortable. Somehow I managed to make it through a quick dinner at Salt Grass courtesy of my momma and then eat ice cream cake at home. It was very low key, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Last year on my birthday I remember distinctly a conversation I had with Lou. I asked him if he thought I would ever get to celebrate my birthday as a mom. We were in a bad place at that time with fertility treatments, but despite all that, he said he was confident that it would happen and we would look back and remember the conversation and be even more thankful for our kids. Sometimes you just gotta keep the faith, and if you can't, hopefully there's someone there by your side who can keep it for you.

I went by myself to see Dr. R and check on the boys. Last time I almost passed out so I was nervous it would happen again. Sure enough, it happened again. He was impressed with the boys and said they were growing perfectly. They are 4 lbs 1 oz. and 4 lbs 2 oz. Hayden still has a big ol' head though. Poor guy. We did get a good picture of him though right as he was smiling. Dr. R said he was "so cute" - this is a big deal if you know Dr. R. They are both head down now so maybe a "natural" delivery is in the cards for me. I know Dr. O really doesn't want to because of the stress an induction puts on twins and all the other risk factors, but I really want to give it a try. We shall see... not too much longer!

32 Weeks!

Weeks 25-28

Week 25 - My dad painted the boys' room and added a shelf to the teeny tiny closet, and Lou and my father-in-law put in the laminate wood floors. It looks SO good! We got the cribs and dresser set up and they are beautiful (we did have to wait for one of the crib's legs to be delivered though - silly people put 2 left legs in the box!)! I'll reveal the nursery when it's complete!

Week 26 - We met with Dr. Reiter again and babes are looking good. He's not seeing any effects of Connor's umbilical cord issue - what a relief! They are measuring small but development is good so he'll keep seeing us until they are born. I had my first shower given by Sue (my mother-in-law), Mrs. Alma (Lou's best friend's mom) and Debbie (married to Bryan's cousin Bobby). It was such a great time and our boys got spoiled big time. I am so grateful to these ladies for putting on such a great shower with super cute decorations and amazing food (Mrs. Alma's famous green enchiladas to be exact)!!

Week 27 - After the shower I was hurting pretty bad. I hate that I can't do much of anything without hurting the rest of the day. On Monday I was awaken by some pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions. I had about 6 in 1 hour so I emailed my boss and told him I was going to be late to work so I could rest and see if I could get them to stop. I fell back asleep for about an hour and as soon as I opened my eyes I knew I was going to throw up. I didn't even make it all the way to the bathroom. This kinda worried me so I called the doctor's office and they had me come in.

Dr. O was on vacation so I met with the PA. She said I probably had the stomach flu (it was going around apparently) and to stay home for a few days, drink lots of water and take Zofran. At this point I've tried every kind of anti-nausea meds they could possibly give me. It's exhausting having to explain this all over again. 

She also checked my cervix, which was good. I go back next week to see Dr. O so hopefully the vomiting really was caused by this "stomach flu" and not by the contractions.

Week 28 - Busy week! My co-workers had a little shower for me at California Pizza Kitchen. It was so sweet!! They went in together and bought our fancy "twin" baby monitor. I was so surprised and shocked - how awesome are they?!

Since I've heard so many times from my doctor and other twin moms that 28 weeks is a big turning point for twin pregnancies, we went ahead and did maternity pics.  I almost cancelled because I saw pics of myself from my shower and was a little turned off, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't. Plus, I want to remember this belly and be thankful for the blessing to get to be a mom to these sweet babies! I used Aimee Fuller Photography and she is amazing. We really enjoyed her and she did a great job. Here's a sneak peek from Aimee's blog: http://www.aimeefullerphotography.blogspot.com/2012/09/boy-twins-coming-soon-pearland-texas.html

We also went ahead and did the 3D/4D ultrasound this week. It was so neat! They are head to head and snuggling with each other. Hayden had his arm on Connor's head and was sleeping on it. Connor was pulling his feet all the way up to Hayden's nose like he wanted him to smell them. It was so funny watching them. It was a little hard to get pictures because they are so close together and the umbilical cords were in their faces. I still fell in love with them even more. They are pretty babies!

Connor  giving us the finger

Connor wanted Hayden to smell his feet (this is one of my favs!)

Squishy babies!

Hayden with his arm resting on Connor's head

Last but not least, I went to Dr. O for a checkup. I told her about the episode last week (so-called stomach flu and contractions) and how I'm still in a lot of pain and my blood pressure has been high some days. She checked me out and said I'm measuring 35 weeks. Craziness! Then came the bad news. I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I couldn't believe it. I had finally convinced my boss to let me work half days and tomorrow I'm supposed to meet with my replacement to begin the hand-off so I could go on maternity leave in a month or so. But, no more work for me. I'm officially on bed rest. We've got to keep these babies cooking. Our sweet friends are throwing us a diaper shower this weekend and thankfully Dr. O will let me go if I promise to keep my feet up and no walking around. I guess I'm just going to have to take this one day at a time!

If y'all only knew what it took for me to make sure he didn't take his clothes off for this one....

Weeks 21-24

Week 21 - This week has been a little rough. I've been in a lot more pain than normal today - pain that brings tears to your eyes and makes you feel like a big fat baby. I was having a lot of really low pelvic pressure/pain to the point where it felt like my insides were going to fall out of my body. I called Dr. O's office and they had me come in. My blood pressure was through the roof, which is very unusual for me. I usually have spot-on perfect blood pressure. She sent me home with a pee catcher and 2 jugs for a 24-hr urine collection. Nice, huh? The tests came back normal so my blood pressure was probably just high from me hurting so bad. Looks like I have severe PSD which is a little disturbing when learning what it is, but it makes sense given the pain I'm in and that I'm already waddling. I try really hard not to waddle but my hips and legs are so screwed up that it comes out looking like a waddle no matter what I do. My bones are not digging carrying 2 babies very well. I also had my first "kankles" today and my engagement/wedding rings got stuck on my hand so bad I had to use oil to get them off. Good bye to the last 2 skinny things on my body. I sure do hope these boys are sweet to me and love me forever and ever.

(Please forgive my swolleness and no make-up pictures...)

Week 22 - Lou and I took a trip to the med center today to meet the high risk specialist, Dr. Reiter. I had read that he was super smart and has 35+ years of experience, but terrible bedside manners. So, I was a little nervous. He did about a 45 minute ultrasound on the boys, taking all their measurements and every once in a while pointing out something silly they were doing (Hayden dancing and Connor punching the ultrasound wand every time Dr. R ran it over him. He did not like being messed with.) They are so cute I just can't stand it! Unfortunately, we didn't get many answers. Connor's umbilical cord vein is definitely not going in the right direction. He gave one scenario of some of his organs maybe being on the wrong side of the body, but that it doesn't necessarily mean he won't live a normal life. He just really isn't sure at this point what it means because Connor is still too little to see everything he needs to see. So, he wants to monitor the babies and have us come back when Connor has grown a little more. I feel confident that God is watching over these babies and they will be okay. I just hate feeling so helpless.

Week 23 - We finally went and registered at Babies R' Us and online at Amazon.com. Not that long ago, I never thought we would get to this point. There have been so many milestones throughout this process, and believe me when I say we celebrate each and every one of them! It was a little overwhelming registering for 2 babies. I've been doing my research so I thought I was prepared. But wow. It was fun though - I absolutely love that Louie is so enthusiastic and involved with every little piece of this pregnancy. He has been so so so good to me. I don't last very long walking around, so we don't really get to do too much outside of the house. You'd think we would have driven each other crazy by now, but our struggles to get to this point and these babies have brought us closer than ever before.

I met one my BFFs at a fabric store this weekend to pick out the crib bedding fabric. Having a friend who's an interior designer is a huge plus when you're wishy washy and picky like myself. I hate making decisions. The fabric is so cute (at least I think so, which is all that matters right?) and I can't wait to see the finished product! Thank you Ber!!!

Bad, no make-up kind of day!

Week 24 - Babies have been VERY active lately. I saw my belly move for the first time from a kick - I couldn't stop staring at my belly after that!! I've been having lots of BH contractions so I was put on bed rest for a couple days to see if they would calm down. I'm still having them but not as many. I also have been really swollen in my ankles, feet and hands. I guess that's inevitable and here to stay. I went to Dr. O and my blood pressure was good but my cervix had shortened. She didn't seem too worried, just said we'd have to watch it and she doesn't see me working for too much longer. It can't come soon enough. All the walking and driving and sweating and stair cases - I'm absolutely miserable by the time I get home.

This weekend we got our booties in gear on the nursery. Since our house doesn't have much storage, we had to clear out an entire room (we had a garage sale last weekend to get rid of all the crap we had). Our poor guest bedroom is now an office, craft room, junk room, guest bedroom, etc. I hate clutter but I don't really have a choice right now. We bought the paint and went and picked up the furniture across town with my dad. It took a trailer to haul all the furniture back with us! Dad came to paint this week and floors are going in this weekend (pics coming soon)!

I dressed up and put make-up on for once! This is a big deal to me.

Weeks 17-20

Week 17: So many people love these babies and they aren't even here yet! I love that our friends and family enjoy talking about them and also hearing that they pray for us. I truly believe that these babies were prayed into existence and those prayers have kept them safe and sound as they continue to grow. I have had moments where I have been upset because I can't have everything I want for them because we had to spend our savings on IVF, but I just think back to the sweet words of encouragement from friends and family and know that it isn't material things that are going to be important, but our friends and family's love and support of our sweet boys that is going to be important as they grow up! How truly lucky the 4 of us are!

On another note, babies officially have names! Baby A is Hayden River and Baby B is Connor Jackson ( I won the Hank battle!!! However, I still think our friends will call him Hank. Poor kid.) They have been super squirmy lately - although I think I feel Hayden more than Connor. He's lower and that's where a lot of the action is. Of course, he's also always been our show off baby during ultrasounds. Connor is much more laid back. He'll just give a little wave or thumb suck while Hayden strikes poses and does flips. I wish I could watch them on the screen forever!

Week 18: This weekend we went to visit my grandma and look at baby furniture. We bought 2 super sweet cribs and a dresser (since it takes 3 flippin' months to get them in). It was a pretty defining moment for us. This is really happening!!!!!! I can't wait to put together their nursery.

I am still suffering from HG (hyperemesis gravidum) and have had to take several more trips to the hospital for fluids and meds intravenously. Ugh. 

Week 19: Babies are getting more and more active, especially Hayden. I'm still barfing and nauseous but I have also been able to eat a few different things (I'm still a vegetarian though). I'll take it! I like to think of it as a reminder that nothing comes easy, even after a couple years of craziness trying for these sweet babies! The sciatic pain has also kicked in - I'm pretty used to it but I guess the extra weight just compounds the pain. I come home from work and can barely walk some days. Lou has become quite the masseuse. 

Time is going by so slow it seems. Some days I feel like I've been pregnant for years. We are trying to get out of the house more now because I think we're both going a little stir crazy. So call us if you want to hang out with some old boring folks!

Week 20: Today was our 20 week anatomy scan and doctor appointment with Dr. Ohlemacher. Both my mom and Lou got to sit in on the anatomy scan (level II ultrasound where they take measurements and look at the major organs to make sure they are developing normally). I think my mom's heart is officially melted. Hayden was, as usual, being a show-off. He is our chunker weighing in at 15 ounces. When we got to Connor, the sonographer discovered that Hayden was kicking Connor in the head. I think that's why I've been feeling so much movement - they are already fighting! Hayden is in an "L" shape with his head down and Connor is transverse (sideways across my tummy). When she got to Connor's tummy, she spent a very long time assessing it. Way longer than with Hayden. I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. We met with Dr. O immediately afterwards and she explained that while Hayden looked great, our sweet Connor was measuring 25% smaller and there was a problem with his umbilical cord. She really didn't know what else to say about it because she had never seen it before, but that he looked good everywhere else. So, we are being sent to a high risk specialist next week and will hopefully get more answers. Please keep our sweet babies in your prayers!

Connor

Hayden kicking Connor in the head

Hayden

Sweet baby hand

Always entertained w/ this for a husband

20 whole weeks!

Week 16 & the Big Reveal!

We got some big news this week... WE ARE TEAM BLUE! This was my prediction - can't mess with mother's intuition. We are so thrilled! Louie's first comment was that he was getting his own baseball team. He's going to be a great coach and more important, a great DAD! Wow, I can't believe God is going to let me have two mamma's boys. What a blessing!

We wanted to do something special for our parents to announce the gender, and since we used our dog children to announce that we were expecting we figured they would want to be a part of this big news. We tied two blue balloons to each of them and let them sit at the door steps of our parents' houses. I think they could tell how excited we were because they were going bonkers and weren't cooperating too well. It was so cute and they were proud to show off! They will be great big sisters! Here are a few pics from the big day:

Hayden River

Connor Jackson

That's one proud baby boy!

Other updates: I am finally in maternity clothes! This excites me because maternity pants are so comfortable. No buttons or zippers - amazing! They also help me to look pregnant and not like I just ate a little too much. Also, I felt Baby A kick for the first time!!! So exciting. These little boys have 100% stolen my heart. I love my little couture babies!

Weeks 13-15

Week 13 - I went back to Dr. O this week for the babies' NT scan (checks for risks of down's and other chromosomal abnormalities). I almost started stripping down when the sonographer said this would be my first tummy ultrasound. I was way excited about this (I've had about 30 the other way, if you know what I mean). The babies looked great and of course, our little clown baby a was showing off. It was doing vogue poses for us. So cute! Right now, the way they're positioned it looks like they're sleeping in bunk beds. Baby b was sucking it's thumb, which I found amazing that they already knew to do that at just 13 weeks. They really really look like babies now and it just amazes me being able to see their ears, eyes, lips, nose, etc.

I've been under a lot of stress trying to balance work and being so sick. I feel like I'm going crazy sometimes. I was hospitalized this past weekend for severe hyperemesis. I could not stop vomiting for the life of me. Still not getting any relief from any of the meds I've been prescribed, nor any "natural" help. Some days it feels like this is never going to end. I spend a lot of time with the toilet and praying! I'm down about 14 pounds but Dr. O is not too worried since I gained a lot of weight from all the hormone treatments. She wants me to start putting on weight now that I'm in the 2nd trimester. I would if I could keep anything down!

Week 14 - I felt baby flutters for the first time this week! We had friends over for Memorial Day and it happened while we were sitting around talking. I wasn't sure if it was gas though :) Oh the things no one tells you about pregnancy. I've burped more in the past 10 weeks or so then I have my whole life (and that, my friends, is A LOT).

Week 15 - Nothing really new to report. My belly is finally getting baby bigger. I bought some maternity clothes to have on hand when I need them. I'm still nauseous and throwing up most of the day, every day.