Twins Sharing a Crib

Can someone tell me how babies can get from THIS:

to THIS:

or THIS:

WHILE NAPPING?

That little Landon (on the left) is quite the Houdini!  All swaddled like that, he is often found in a complete 180 degrees from where he was laid down.  Unfortunately for poor Alexi, that also means that she wakes up to him kicking her or with his legs resting on top of her.  Its always fun to get them up from a nap because of the anticipation to see what position they'll have wrangled their way in to!

Arrival of the Twins

Introducing Landon & Alexi! They were born at 35 weeks and are just over 2 weeks old.

My water broke about 1/2 hour after leaving my baby shower. We headed to the hospital and after several hours, they had to give me pitocin to get things going. The babies were born in the operating room very early in the morning after about 12 hours of labor. Landon was head down & such an easy delivery but Alexi gave us a little more of a challenge. She was in a breach position and the doctor tried to turn her, but she refused. They went ahead and delivered her breach, bottom first - folded in half. It was a little scary since I could see her legs while still trying to push her shoulders & head out after the contraction had ended. But she was delivered just fine, thanks to an awesome doctor!

Landon was 5 lbs. 1 oz and Alexi was 5 lbs. 10oz. (5lb babies are much easier to deliver than 8+ lb babies!!!) Landon had a little bit of a hard time breathing and so he was taken straight to the NICU, but he ended up doing fine before they even got him there. They kept the babies in the NICU mostly because of precaution for being born at 35 weeks, but both babies did very well & were able to go home with me 2 days later.

We struggled a little bit with keeping them warm & getting them to gain some weight at the beginning but they are both flourishing now. They are keeping us busy with feedings every 3 hours but they still sleep A LOT but we had a lot of meals brought in for us & I've had constant help for the last couple of weeks, so I'm just hopeful that I'll be able to handle everything once the help is gone.

Between several different attempts yesterday, we were finally able to get some good pictures. Getting 2 babies awake, alert, and happy at the same time is quite a challenge!

The Twin Belly Profile Picture

To say that things have been crazy busy would be an understatement. I am now almost 33 weeks pregnant with the twins. The doctors want me to go at least until 35 weeks and will induce if I get to 38 weeks. So, at minimum good case scenario, I have about 2 1/2 weeks and at max, I have 4 1/2 weeks to go. Everything is looking good right now & at our ultrasound a couple of weeks ago the babies were measuring at 3lbs 3oz and 3lbs 10oz. I feel very blessed that I haven't had to deal with any of the issues that I had an "increased risk" for, because of the twin pregnancy & being "old" (over 35 -- I turned 35 during the pregnancy).

I feel pretty miserable, pretty much all the time. I can't do too much or I start having lots of contractions. And I am pretty much ready to be done being pregnant. I say "pretty much" because when I'm not pregnant anymore, that means I'll have 2 babies to be taking care of, so that scares me a bit!

Due to popular demand, here's a picture we took tonight. People are all the time surprised when they see me & hear that I am having twins NEXT month which definitely makes me feel good. I have gained between 20 & 25 lbs depending on the day (the trick: no room in my stomach to eat very much, 2 babies sucking calories from me, sugar/chocolate give me terrible heartburn, I've been sick to my stomach a lot more this time around). I also have always carried inside (this is the closest I've ever had to a basketball-belly) which is nice for the belly but very miserable for all the organs that are being smooshed!

Ultrasound results; Its A . . . .

What a fun appointment we had for the ultrasound today. The tech and the doctor that we saw are both twins. And we had about an hour & 15 minutes or so of watching the babies on the screen while they got all the measurements, laughing at silly things & having a great time. And without any doubt at all, clear as day . . . Baby A is a BOY and Baby B is a GIRL!

Of course we would've been happy with whatever we got, but I really wanted one of each -- it will make a lot of things simpler for us, including that we'll be able to double up on rooms in a couple of years instead of putting 3 kids in 1 room and 1 kid in their own room.

But the best part for me was in the first 60 seconds when we saw the heartbeats & saw them moving around to know that everyone is healthy & doing well, which means I can put my worrying to rest for a little while. Both babies have strong heartbeats in the 150's (154 & 158, I believe) and the doctor was amazed that they weigh the exact same amount (about 1/2 pound each), which he said he's never seen with twins before - usually one is a little larger than the other. And all the measurements they took looked great -- no problems so far! Baby A gave us a big huge grin that we got on a 3D picture -- it looks pretty creepy & we all had a good laugh at it! Seriously, he looked like the Joker!

Now to come up with names . . . . .

I wonder if I'll get a "basketball" belly

I've never had one before, with either of my two single pregnancies. While most pregnant women get that cute basketball out in front, my babies sit very differently. They sit inside of me, widening everything and just making me look fat. Even just a few weeks ago, I had several people tell me that I didn't even look pregnant. But, I was much larger & couldn't fit into any of the clothes I was wearing pre-pregnancy . . . yup, fat!

With 2 babies, I can't imagine that they could both fit like my singles have done, so I am hoping to actually get that basketball belly this time so that I really look pregnant instead of just fat. Well, besides the fact, that its really uncomfortable to have them sit inside, crushing everything, making breathing so difficult as early as 20 weeks (which started much earlier this time).

Wish me luck!!!

Paranoid in Pregnancy

I've wondered if its just because of my personal life experiences or if all pregnant women go through a difficult time with this. The last few nights, I've had dreams of something going wrong with the pregnancy leading up to last night's dream that was about losing both babies and left me emotionally drained this morning.

But it doesn't stop with dreaming. I think the dreams are a symptom of the way I feel all the time. Its like I have this constant fear within me that something will go wrong. And I wonder if it is magnified by the fact that its so difficult for me to get pregnant in the first place, costing thousands of dollars and lots of preparation with Invitro. Or is it due to the fact that I had a lot of problems in my first pregnancy, including 2 hospitalizations of several days each and a month of bed rest after a scare that could have resulted in a miscarriage at week 20.

So, I wonder . . . do those who get pregnant easily & those who have had no "scares" during pregnancy go through this same emotional roller coaster?

P.S. I can't wait until my ultrasound on Tuesday so that I can see these babies moving around & hear that everything is okay. It brings such comfort to actually see them alive & doing well on the screen in front of me. If I had my wish, I would have an ultrasound machine at home that I could use on a daily basis!

To find out or Not to find out . . . the sex of the babies

Our ultrasound is coming up in about 2 weeks. With both of my previous pregnancies, we've found out what we were going to have, but I think it would be kind of fun to be surprised this time, especially with twins! I haven't told Jeff yet, and I think he's pretty set on finding out, but I'm really waffling on this.

The other problem is that I'm a real planner, by nature. It would be very hard not to have everything completely ready when these babies come home, especially considering I'll have 2 babies to take care of when I come home on top of our 2 toddlers. And then there's the name dilemma! We'd need to come up with 2 boy names & 2 girl names if we don't know what we're having.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Should we find out at the ultrasound or be surprised?

The Twin Diet

Today's Lunch Menu: Cheetos & ice cream

Yes, I'm not doing too well at the healthy eating to keep down my chances of gestational diabetes. But sometimes you just have to eat whatever makes you not feel nauseous.

The good news? No weight gain in my first 12 weeks of pregnancy. That's never happened to me before and I think I can attribute it to two things. One: I've been too nauseous to eat consistent or large meals. Two: there are 2 babies sucking calories out of my body -- yippee!!! I definitely LOOK larger - no question about that, but I've started noticing my face getting thinner. In the past, I've always gained about 5 to 7 pounds during that first trimester, so this is a great start!

Poor Jeff is feeling bad that I can eat junk and not gain any weight, while he has to watch what he's eating. Poor guy :( However, I'm the one that's needing larger & larger clothes, so he shouldn't feel too bad!

Enjoying the little things

Its the little things that made me happy today! I felt well enough to:

• set up the blow up pool in the yard for the kids
• pull some weeds
• get a little housework done
• go for a walk (first time in a month)
• do a little grocery shopping (first time in a month)
• cook dinner
  

I also found the BEST pants for pregnancy! They aren't maternity, but I am loving them more than my maternity pants right now & just went back to buy a 2nd pair. They are Danskin Now Relaxed Pocket Pant . . . I got them at Walmart with the exercise clothes & they were only $11! They are soooo comfy!

Just saying "no" to gestational diabetes

When I went for my pre-natal appointment last week, the doctor was going over everything with me & brought up the glucose test that is done to test for gestational diabetes. She said the chances of developing gestational diabetes are much higher with twins. I told her of my past experiences. In both pregnancies, I failed the first test, but passed the 2nd one - meaning that I didn't have gestational diabetes - yea!!! But the doctor told me that since I had to take the 2nd test previously, that my chances are increased even more.

I asked about what I could do to avoid it and she talked about eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, using whole wheat breads, lots of fruits & veggies, etc. That definitely isn't happening right now since I have just been eating whatever won't make me too nauseous and just thinking of any kind of meat makes me gag (seriously, its happening right now just from typing this!).

Anyway, I'm hoping that I will soon be able to resume a regular diet & would love if you would share any recipes with me that would fit into this healthy way of eating for me. I do have a few really good ones that I love, but would love to introduce some great new recipes that will help me stick to this & stay away from the junk.

Note: I will not eat seafood of any kind, so no seafood recipes, please.

Finally Getting Out

I think its been about a month since I've been out of the house -- other than for doctor appointments. I've just been way too sick to feel good enough to go anywhere. But this weekend I hit the 11 week mark for the pregnancy and . . . no morning sickness on Thursday!

So, I made plans for a date night/afternoon with my husband for Friday. Come Friday, I was sick again, but decided to just deal with it, so we went ahead and went out to a movie (Harry Potter) and dinner. We tried out an Italian restaurant called Armandos & it was delicious -- we'll definitely go back again!

Saturday, I felt good again & so we went out did some shopping for some trees and I was able to do some dishes, get the kids dressed & take care of a few things. (more on that in another post!)

It was so nice to get to go to church today after not having been for a while! But by the third hour I was feeling pretty nauseous again.

So, its getting better but still lingering a bit. And I'm still so tired and dealing with some pain from the trauma my organs went through with the incarcerated uterus. But how nice it was to actually get out of the house & to WANT to get out of the house. That has been the biggest struggle, I think, is that I haven't WANTED to do anything other than sit in front of the tv or take naps because I just felt so crummy. So, I am very glad to feel like I'm starting to come back to life!

Twin Pregnancy: is it really a "2 for 1" deal?

When the news spread through the family that we were expecting twins, I can only imagine the booming laughter that came from my brother . . . who has twins of his own! When his wife called to congratulate me, she said that my brother had told her not to be too "doom & gloom" when she talked to me! My sister-in-law is a very positive person & wasn't "doom & gloom" at all. She gave me some great advice & then told me that the thing that bothered her when she was pregnant was that everyone said it was so great because she got to get 2 babies while going through only 1 pregnancy. She said she was so glad that someone in the family would finally understand that the pregnancy with twins was double as difficult as a single pregnancy so the "2 for 1" comment wasn't very valid.

I'm definitely finding her to be right, so far. This first trimester has made me twice as nauseous and at least twice as tired (probably more) than with my other pregnancies. I've also never experienced the feeling of always being hot with my pregnancies that I hear from so many others, but this time I am definitely feeling it. I think I am also twice as emotional. Pretty funny how all of that works! I guess 2 babies, means 2 times the hormones & 2 times the effects!

Another appointment today & an ultrasound are showing that everything is going well at this point. The babies are now one on top of the other instead of side by side like they were before they shifted the uterus back into place. At 10 1/2 weeks, you can see a definite baby outline with legs, arms, body & head and they were wiggling around quite a bit today -- it was fun to see!

Meanwhile, my poor kids are spending most of their time in front of the tv these days as I struggle with the nausea and energy so much that its tough to do much of anything. Today, I did get them out in the backyard into the little playpool for a bit, but I'm paying for it tonight as the sickness seems worse. I'm so grateful to my worn out husband who comes home from work & then takes over for the evening so that I can relax. And I'm also getting excited to get closer to that 12 week mark & hopefully feeling better once that time comes!

Twin Pregnancy: 10 weeks

Today, I feel better than I have all week. I'm still far from 100% & still nauseous, but I was able to get my kids dressed, Evie's hair done and even wash a load of dishes which is a lot more than I have done any other day this week. My head seems clearer today & I feel more motivated to not just sit or lay around. However, I've started having some similar symptoms to when I ended up with the incarcerated uterus problem. I have a regular scheduled doctor's appointment tomorrow & an ultrasound so I am hopeful that they will find that everything is still in its correct position and that the pregnancy is going as it should be at this point.

A friend brought in dinner for us on Monday (thank you, De Anne!) and Jeff has done a great job of taking care of everything & everyone, including me (this includes late-night errands to get slurpees and whatever else I NEED at the store). He even, unexpectedly, showed up at home earlier than expected yesterday which was a huge blessing since I was pretty much done. Wow, definitely so grateful for everyone taking care of me!

Incarcerated Uterus . . . yet another "rare" medical condition for me!

Well, my rare medical experiences struck again yesterday! Since I've been married it seems like whenever a doctor says, "its very rare & only happens in 1 out of every ..... people", that I am that ONE!

It began a week ago when I went into my OBGYN with what I thought was a urinary tract infection. After 24 hours of antibiotics, the pain got so horrible and was constant (unlike a UTI). The on call doctor (it was Saturday) prescribed a stronger antibiotic and they thought that it could possibly a kidney stone. The pain started subsiding Sunday night and was much better all week long. But I still couldn't lay down (horrible abdominal pain) so I was sleeping sitting up & eventually bought a recliner, resigning myself to sleeping that way for the rest of the pregnancy. Other pregnancy symptoms seemed to multiply this week & my stomach was growing so quickly that I was half expecting to see 3 babies instead of just 2 when we went in for a scheduled ultrasound yesterday.

Before they even started looking at babies on the ultrasound, they noted that my bladder was hugely distended. When the doctor saw me, she drained 1 1/2 liters from my bladder (thus, the 3rd baby effect that I was having) and found that my uterus was in the wrong position. I've always been told that my uterus was tipped back but it has never caused any problems before. I guess that with the rapid growth with a twin pregnancy, it had tipped way back & and had lodged itself into the cavity that holds the bladder, bowels, etc. so it was pinching everything off. It needed to be moved, not only to stop pinching everything off, but so that it would continue to have room to grow & avoid some very serious complications later on.

The doctor tried to move it in the office. And let me tell you that having your organs repositioned inside of you is a miserable experience! When it got to the point that I couldn't stand the pain any longer, the doctor left the room. She came back about 30 minutes later after talking with several doctors & they decided to admit me to the hospital to have it done. At the hospital, the doctor who saw me admitted that no one there (including the at-risk OB specialist) had ever dealt with or even seen this condition before because it is so rare, so they were "reading up on it" to determine the best course of action. They had a full plan mapped out . . . try this, then this, then this & if none of those work, then finally surgery.

I'll save you the gory details, but luckily, the first attempted method worked and when I left the hospital, I was 4 lbs lighter & my maternity clothes that were getting quite filled out were actually loose (thanks to my emptied bladder). I was also able to lay on my back & side without pain & suddenly felt a huge decrease in the pregnancy symptoms that had been increased in the last couple of weeks.

I am in bed for the weekend, laying on my stomach to keep gravity from pulling the uterus back down to that other position. They hope that after a few days of that, the uterus will have grown enough that it will be too big to get lodged in that position again. Wow! What an experience and I am so grateful that it was found now instead of later in the pregnancy when it could've caused some serious problems. I'm also grateful for all the prayers in my behalf (I know they worked) and the comfort of a priesthood blessing from my husband right before we headed to the hospital that promised me that everything would be okay.

Comfortable sleep during pregnancy??? Is that even possible?

With my first 2 pregnancies, about the time I get to 7 months pregnant, I have such a hard time getting comfortable to sleep at night. I always wish that I had a recliner to sleep in, but no such luck & 2 months of pregnancy hardly seems worth the expense of a recliner, so I just suffer.

This time its going to be different! I'm just 2 months into this pregnancy & I am growing larger by the day. When I got sick last Friday (we think it might've been a kidney stone), laying down in any position became extremely painful & I've been sleeping sitting up in bed ever since. So, today I got to go & purchase my very own "congratulations/condolences on your twin pregnancy" gift - LOL!

I found the perfect chair. When I sat down in it, all of a sudden I felt a huge relief of pressure in my lower back - I hadn't even realized it was hurting! It will also make for great "putting my feet up" time as the pregnancy progresses. We also figured that it will be good to have around when the babies come & we need a 2nd rocking chair for when there are 2 of us taking care of fussy babies.

What are your suggestions for more comfortable sleep during pregnancy? Is there anything that works?

Expecting Twins

Its amazing how 5 years can change everything! 5 years ago, we had been married for 8 years and were deep in the process of fertility treatments, seeing no success & getting those dreaded calls from the clinic that "no" it didn't work . . . again. At that time, there was not even a glimmer of what would be, that we would soon have 2 children & 2 more on the way . . .

It was a couple of weeks ago that we made a very nervous drive to a radiologist for an ultrasound. We had done invitro and had 2 embryos transferred . . . the same as we had done with our previous SINGLE pregnancy. We were hoping for the same results but when our first blood test results came back, the hcg number was reading twice as high as it had for the last pregnancy & the 2nd test not only doubled (which is what they want it to do) but it went from 1100 to 2900, showing a pretty big chance of twins.

So, here we were, across the country from our fertility clinic & going to a radiologist with strict provisions that they don't tell you anything . . . they report to your doctor & the doctor then gives you the results. Jeff insisted on standing where he could see the screen & when he saw the labels "A" and "B", he held up 2 fingers so I could see what was going on.

Excitement, overwhelm, and amazement! Yep, we're feeling all of those things, but mostly overwhelm and definitely gratitude that we went ahead and bought the mini van 3 years ago when we only had 1 child! At the beginning of next year, we'll have 4 children UNDER the age of 4 since our 2 new additions will most likely be born in January and our oldest won't turn 4 until February! Crazy stuff!!!