2 month photos

I finally learned how to use our new camera! Since the boys are a week away from being 3 months old I decided it was time to take some 2 month photos.

Calvin (Whoa! Chunky Monkey)

Luke

Calvin and Dad

Big boys in the rocker

Sorry Luke, We're new at this. Love, Mom and Dad

Luke spits up. A lot. Not "wet burp" spitting up, this is silent, projectile, four shirt changes before noon spit-up. Sometimes it was right when he burped. Sometimes it was hours after he ate. We called the area around Luke the "splash zone". For weeks Garrett and I would trade chores to get out of feeding Luke. ("I'll change every diaper today if you feed Luke this one time") He made us so nervous. Garrett and I had no idea what was wrong or how to fix it. We talked to his doctor at every visit about his spit-up. We tried burping after every ounce. This infuriated him, which lead to him getting worked up, which lead to...more spit-up! We tried keeping him completely upright after eating. He fussed, cried, and writhed in our arms. He was clearly in some sort of pain. We had to start planning every outing around when he last ate. Garrett and I were so afraid to feed him in public. If friends came to visit the boys we only let them hold Calvin just in case.

I read every infant medical book in publication to find a solution to his spit-up but the only answer I found was that eventually he would grow out of it. Now, if we didn't have twins I probably would have stopped looking for answers. But since we have one baby who can eat without any of it coming back up we knew something was wrong. There was no way we could just wait and watch him cry after eating. So back to the doctor we went.

During his two month checkup we again asked about his spit-up. (Luke ate two ounces in the waiting room and during his exam he spit-up all of it. Finally proof that it wasn't just a "wet-burp"!) We explained to the doctor that this happens every time he eats. Their doctor said that since Luke is growing and gaining weight normally, he would grow out of it. Garrett and I left the doctor thinking we would just have to wait this out.

That night Garrett was out for the evening and I was alone with the boys. Calvin ate and went down for the night at 8:30. Luke who ate an hour before was still spitting up and crying. It was clear that he was in pain and I had no idea what was wrong or how to fix it. When Garrett got home at 11 he made an emergency call to their doctor. Garrett explained everything going on and after 5 minutes on the phone we finally had a diagnosis! Luke has reflux! The arching his back and crying after eating was because his burps burn. To stop the burning sensation, he kept drinking, which lead to over eating, which lead to spit-up! The doctor recommended we add infant gas drops to his formula at every feeding. Less gas=less burps=less burning after feedings...duh!

Since then Luke has been a different baby. He is finally relaxed after he eats. The spit-up we get now (if any) I would consider to be a normal amount. Garrett and I are so glad we pushed for an answer. Luke is finally eating without pain and we can enjoy feeding time without a poncho.

...and Calvin waited

Luke is a true younger brother even if he is only younger by one minute. He is always trying to get our attention away from Calvin. Calvin was born and everyone in the operating room attended to him while Garrett gazed at him and told me how perfect he was. Then one minute later Luke was born. Shrieking. Taking all attention away from Calvin. Luke was warmed, held, and brought to me so I could meet him. Calvin waited. Calvin has been waiting ever since.

At one week old I had just finished feeding Luke and was getting ready to pass him off to Garrett so I could feed Calvin. Apparently Luke was not done spending time with Mama cause he spit up everything he ate all over me. And Calvin waited.

Luke spits-up all the time. To quote our pediatrician, "50 percent of babies spit-up, that is your 50 percent." (great...) Luke also is a screamer. He goes from sound asleep to someone must be pulling that baby's limbs off shrieking in the blink of an eye. The more worked up he gets, the more spit-up I get so to avoid being showered with used food he is usually fed first. And Calvin waits. (In Luke's defense, Calvin takes FOREVER to eat. This kid can make 4oz last 40 minutes.)

One morning Calvin was super fussy and getting all of our attention. To divert our attention from his crying brother, Luke smiled for the first time. Mission accomplished!

I'm already having visions of Calvin bringing home a great report card and Luke sets fire to the kitchen to draw attention away from his brother.

Sorry Calvin, if he keeps this up you may always wait.

I am going to reinstate Team Yoga Pants!

Disclaimer- I can not take credit for this idea. I was inspired by (cough:totally stolen from:cough) my fabulous friend and fellow mommy-blogger Nicole at Much Love, Nicole . She founded Team Yoga Pants after the birth of her fabulous son. Her streak of only wearing yoga-pants lasted well into her sons first year of life. I loved it so much that I am going to reinstate Team Yoga Pants. I think it is a fabulous way to still dress (somewhat) acceptable and be comfortable with my post twin pregnancy body.

Around my 6th month of pregnancy I outgrew the one pair of full panel, super stretchy waisted maternity jeans I caved in and bought. Yes, you read that correctly, I got too big for maternity pants. I started my pregnancy vowing never to own much less wear maternity jeans. That vow lasted until I was 13 weeks pregnant. (A mere 6 weeks after finding out I was pregnant) At the 6 month mark (when a single pregnant belly measures 20-something cm., and mine was well into the 30's.) I gave up pants all together and started wearing nothing but fabrics that were made with some percentage of Lycra. My wardrobe consisted of yoga-pants and leggings (topped with one of Garrett's tee-shirts. Even maternity shirts could no longer contain my belly of boys).

Since the boys were born I have not attempted to wear "real" pants. You know, the kind with a zip fly and without a forgiving stretchy waist. Even though I am only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, things are a bit different. My midsection should be wrapped in caution tape. I have a fabulous "twin tummy" and a still slightly tender c-section scar. The thought of putting on jeans makes me sweat.

Unlike the original Team Yoga Pants, I will not limit myself to only yoga pants. I will also wear black leggings. But that's it. Yoga pants or leggings. So far my streak has been going strong since June. That's almost 6 months of never wearing "real" pants. I'm pretty sure Garrett is supportive in my decision. It saves him from listening to me struggle to zip jeans. Everyone wins!

(This post has little to do with Calvin and Luke. Except they were the direct cause of my "twin tummy")

"One baby would be boring" - Garrett Fuller

Garrett says this once a day. Now, I'm sure having one baby is not boring. But Garrett and I will never know what having only one baby will be like. We will never fight over who gets to rock the baby to sleep, we each rock one. We will never argue over who changed the last diaper, there is always another baby to change. We will never draw straws to decide who gets up for night feedings, there are two babies to feed. Some days only having one baby seems so much easier. There are two parents and one baby. The parent is never out numbered when alone with the baby. One parent feeds the baby while the other has dinner. Then you switch. One parent gets up at night to feed the baby. The parent never has to make the choice of which crying baby to soothe, feed, change first.

With all of the difficulties that come with having infant twins there are many more joys. We NEVER have to fight over who gets that cozy-after bath-snuggle time with the baby, we each get that. There are twice as many smiles and one day twice as many hugs. We will get to watch them grow and develop together as more then just brothers. We get stopped everywhere we go so strangers can fawn over "the twins". We get to be part of the secret club only parents of multiples have access to.

Garrett may be right. One baby would be boring.

Happy boys

At 6 weeks old Luke smiled for the first time. Ever since Garrett and I spend every moment of every day making silly faces and noises to see as many gummy grins as we can. At 7 weeks Calvin teased me with a smile that I didn't see again for 9 days. What a tease. Now at 10 weeks old they smile at everything! It's the best reward.

Happy Luke

Happy Calvin

Finally a new computer! Oh, and two new babies!

I can't believe 2 months have flown by. The week the boys were born our computer crashed. Perfect timing. Now we have a fabulous new Mac and working wireless internet so we can keep family and friends up to date with our family of 4 (sorry Jack, 5).

Calvin Dennis and Luke Forman are finally here! After making it to 38 weeks and showing no signs of going into labor my doctor went ahead and scheduled a c-section for October 4th. I had a wonderful experience having a C-section. I was taken to the O.R. at 7:30am, Garrett was brought in at 7:50, and Calvin was born at 8:00 am at 6lbs 7oz and Luke was born at 8:01 at 7lbs 3oz. Our doctor could not believe how big they were! Both boys were healthy and loud! One nurse said the room sounded like a bag of cats. (ten weeks later I'm still trying to figure out what that means and why were the cats in a bag?) Neither required any extra medical attention and got to come right back to the room with us. All before 8:45am!

When choosing baby names Garrett and I had a very hard time picking a boys name we could agree on. I have always liked the name Luke and Garrett was set on the name Calvin. (reason: Cal Fuller sounds like a baseball player's name. Seriously, that is why he picked the name...) When we found out we were having two boys we decided that we each get to use the name we liked. Middle names were easy, Forman is my Dad's middle name and Dennis is Garrett's and his Dad's middle name. While pregnant we never decided who was who. We decided that when they were born Garrett would decide who got which name.

Garrett deciding who was getting which name.

Meeting Calvin

Meeting Luke (who looks like he has something very important to tell me)

Already these two could not be more different! Calvin is completely content watching everything going on around him. He spends his awake time watching the world with his huge eyes. He is very patient and it's very rare that he gets too loud. Calvin looks just like his Aunt Graak when she was a baby. Luke has been loud since the minute he was born. (he's the bag of cats) He is the screamer. If he needs something we only have a 3 second window before he looses it! To make up for being so loud, he was the first to smile! Luke looks so much like Garrett! So far he has only Fuller features.

Calvin watching the world

Our first night with the boys. Luke has gotten his hat over his face and looks like he is robbing Calvin. Luckily we had a nurse with a sense of humor who took the picture for us.

In two months (now almost 3, I started this post awhile ago and am typing with Luke on my lap.) things have changed so much for the Fullers. We are now a cloth diapering (Hey, BumGenius hire me as a spokesperson!), baby-wearing, Raffi-singing, caffeine fueled, family of four! (again, sorry Jack, 5) It's wonderful!

The countdown begins!

In 10 days we will meet our boys! At my 36 week checkup this past Tuesday I was only dilated to 1 1/2 cm. That's only 1/2 cm in 3 weeks, looks like these boys are in no hurry to make their way out anytime soon. (That is the Lindtveit stubbornness: they tried to come too early at 29 weeks, were told to stay put, now refuse to come out.) Since I haven't made any huge progress towards active labor we scheduled a C-Section for Oct 4th at 38 weeks. Garrett and I are so excited to finally meet these two. We can't believe that Tuesday will be our last doctor's appointment before they are born...so weird! At our NST both boys looked great and were moving a lot so we only had to be there for an hour. I did have some pretty big contractions, but unless they are 10 mins apart for an hour the hospital will not admit me. Now we just wait to see if I go into labor before the 4th!

Music can tell me what my kids will be like?

One of my pregnancy books has a theory that music you listen to while pregnant will influence who your children become. If this is true my kids are coming out dancing like Michael Jackson, dressing like Lady Gaga, and rapping like Jay-Z. Lets hope this theory isn't totally true.

35 weeks. It's time to come out boys, I'm running out of room!

Jack can predict the future.

We got Jack while I was unemployed to keep me company. Two days later, I thankfully was hired at a new job. Since I was home with him in the beginning, I was Jack's favorite. As soon as I went back to work, Garrett lost his job. This made Garrett home all day with Jack, and his new favorite. Most dogs can sense when their owner does not feel well, is sad, or is happy. Jack is not one of those dogs. He is solely concerned with three things: where is a warm body to lay with, how quickly can he bury under a blanket, and when is the next time he gets to eat. If Garrett is home, I am Jack's second choice. As soon as Garrett is on the couch, Jack is right next to him. If you ask Jack "where is Dad?" he races around the house looking for him. When Garrett leaves Jack watches his car pull away, while crying. Their codependent relationship is both cute and annoying. Today that changed...
This morning while laying on my lap with his head on my belly, Jack got a huge kick to the nose from Baby A. He picked his head up, looked at my belly, looked at me, and put his paw right where Baby A had just kicked. It was beyond adorable. Since then Jack won't leave me alone. Not just sitting with me on the couch or following me around the house, but he has to be touching me constantly. Usually he will lay on the couch with me and if I get up he will stay put and wait for my return. (He's no fool, he isn't going to lose a perfectly good spot on the couch.) Today he laid on my lap all morning, followed me into the bathroom, and jumped halfway into the tub while I was in the shower.
While writing this Jack has pushed my hand away from the keyboard to pet him. It's like he knows he will not be the only "child" for much longer and wants attention while he can get it. Maybe Jack can predict the future and knows the boys are coming soon. I just wish he could tell me when...

35 week update (and what I wish I knew before I was pregnant)

At our 35 week checkup yesterday our doctor told me that if the babies were to be born now, they would do just fine with only a day or two in the NICU! Since I had steroid shots at 29 weeks to mature their lungs we have the doctors approval to go into labor any time. Usually he would like to see how long I can "hang in there", but because of their size and mine (I measure 44 1/2 weeks) they are ready to go! He gave me the OK to do any activity I want to build my strength back up, as long as I rest for four hours a day. He also stopped my weekly progesterone shot to try and "move things along". In case I don't go into labor soon, I have a tentative C-section scheduled for Oct 4th. (Oct 4th is when I will be 38 weeks and our doctor can not schedule a C-section earlier then 2 weeks before my due date if there are no complications) Garrett and I, mainly me, are really hoping that I go into labor soon rather then wait another three weeks! Either way I will be having a C-section. Baby A is still breech (yesterday the doctor could feel a little butt during my exam) and has been for a month. At this point in my pregnancy they have settled into their final position and the chances of one of them flipping is extremely low. We have our weekly stress test on Thursday and continue to wait to meet these boys!

Garrett and I are the first of our friends to be having children and doing it two at a time. There are lots of gross pregnancy things no one tells you about until you are pregnant that I have had to find out for myself. (I plan on keeping them a secret from our friends so they have to learn on their own. Why buck tradition?) However, I feel that the "physically gross" things are way easier to prepare for then the "socially gross" stuff. Everything with a twin pregnancy is different from a single pregnancy. The amount of hormones, the number of doctor visit, the possible complications, the amount of weight gain, and the "socially gross" encounters...

Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem #1- Everyone will want to touch you. I will NEVER understand this. When people hear you are expecting, they feel the need to grope your belly. Personally, I would never grab a friend's belly without an invite, much less a strangers. When I was 9 weeks along, a woman visiting my work jumped over a man in a wheelchair, a stool, and a fellow employee, to grab my belly. (Keep in mind I didn't start showing until I was 5 months along, there was nothing to feel) Once she heard it was twins, she had both hands roaming all over my non-existent belly. My message- "See with your eyes, now with your hands" (thanks Mom, because of that rule, your children will not grope strangers).

Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem #2- Everyone will want to know how big you are. Especially since I am expecting more then one baby people seem fascinated with how big I am. It seems to be the question Garrett is asked the most- How big is Mag? She is growing two people...she is big. Not only does everyone want to know how big I am, how much weight I have gained, they want proof! Everyone seems to want a picture of how big my stomach is I don't get it... put the camera away or take a picture of your own belly.

My 3rd and final Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem- You will be asked completely inappropriate questions by strangers. For the past few months, when out in public, I would be asked "When are you due, you look like you could burst!" First of all, thanks, that makes waddling through Target much easier, and second, "not for a few months I'm having twins." Then the questions start...Were you using fertility drugs? How are you going to deliver them? You look too small to be having twins, are you eating enough? My son/daughter/neighbor/bingo partner always wanted twins do you have any tips on getting pregnant? What are you having? Is that what you wanted?

Before I was pregnant, I had no idea how many times I would have to protect my body and avoid strangers...these are the real things you need to prepare for before getting pregnant.

34 Weeks and 4 hours of activity!!!

Our 34 week checkup on Tuesday went great! The boys are getting huge! Baby A (who is still breech) is 4.9 lbs and Baby B is 4.13 lbs. It's so nice to know that they are growing at such a close rate and we do not have to worry about one getting more nutrients then the other. Our doctor said they are growing right on track and the fluid around them shows that I am feeding them enough and drinking plenty of fluids. (I could have told him my 45 pound weight gain showed I am feeding them enough...) Since we made it to our first goal of 34 weeks and are now past the "scary too early to be born stage" I got partial activity back!!! I can now be up moving about and doing "essential errands" for 4 hours a day! I'm pretty sure our doctor is teasing me with the thought of doing any kind of errands knowing very well I am way too uncomfortable walking to do anything productive. (After all, I'm lugging around 9 plus pounds of babies!) Our doctor would like to see me make it to 36 weeks. At 36 weeks we will have a greater chance of the boys leaving the hospital when we do. He has also bribed me with complete activity at 36 weeks. Even though he would like us to go another two weeks, because I am already 1cm dilated, the boys can arrive any day. (Meaning, I'm making it a priority during my 4 hours of activity to shower, not knowing when my last will be) For my first "outing" I went to get my hair done. I considered this a very essential errand considering my last appointment was at the end of July and blond hair is not cute with brown roots. (I could be sitting the whole time, which is how I reasoned with myself that this was an ok activity.) While I was there, there was a wedding party with their photographer, who was more interested in chatting up strangers then taking pictures of the bridal party. This is the actual conversation he had with me:

Photographer- "Do you know what you are having?"
Me - "We know that it is two boys"
Photographer- "Are they twins?"
Me (thinking, is there another way you have two at once?) "Umm, yes"
Photographer - "Oh! I have twin girls! They are 29 now. I am also a medical photographer. Do you have someone to capture the birth?"
Me (now thinking, you should know how twins work...and EWWW!!!) "No, that is not something we are going to do"

This belly should have come with a warning: You will have bizarre interactions with strangers.

NST in under 45 minutes!!!

Yesterday we had another NST (non-stress test). Our schedule from now on is Dr. on Tuesday and NST on Thursday. Since the boys seem to nap in the afternoon (they are crazy active early in the morning and late at night) the nurse recommended that I eat or drink something sweet on our way to our appointments to wake them up. I had Garrett stop at my favorite coffee place for a decaf-frozen-something super sweet and delicious. It worked like a charm! I got hooked up to the monitors and within 45 minutes the boys had moved around enough that we were allowed to go home! I guess they are going to be iced coffee addicts like their mama.
This weekend Garrett's job is to finish putting together furniture for the boy's room so that after our appointment Tuesday, at 34 weeks (!!!) I can finally get organized. Tuesday we will also have measurements done of the boys so we can find out how much they weigh. On Aug. 10th they were 3.7 and 3.9 pounds so we are very curious how big they are now. For now, I continue to read and lay around with Jack, who doesn't mind a warm body and the all day company at all.

Nothing boring about 33 weeks

Today Garrett and I went for our 33 week checkup. (I get really excited about going to the doctor since it's the only time I am allowed our of the house and each week brings me closer to our 34 week mark) Our ultrasound showed that everything looked great. Baby A is still breech and very low! His feet are right next to Baby B's head. The past few days I have had a lot of pain when I try to walk, change positions on the couch, lift my legs to get up the stairs...just about everything other then be completely still causes pain. Seeing how low the boys are positioned explains why I have been so uncomfortable. Other then seeing Baby A kicking his brother in the head (won't be the last time), everything looked great! My exam was another story. The doctor found that I am dilated 1cm. She could also feel a foot belonging to Baby A! (Weird? Yes. Kinda gross? Yes. Freaked me out? Completely.) Since this is a big change from last week, I got my weekly shot and was sent off to the hospital...again. Garrett and I are at the hospital so often, the nurses remember us and know us by name. I got hooked up to all kinds of monitors, got my movement buzzer, and waited two hours for the doctor to check me again to see if I had dilated any further and was actually in labor. Luckily the babies were very active so the movement buzzer got a lot of use giving my something to do while Garrett channel surfed. After being checked again by the doctor (I was still only at 1cm and my contractions were not close enough) we were sent home! Never a dull moment these days!

No one is stressed at the Fuller house!

Yesterday we went for our first of our weekly Non- Stress Test. I got hooked up to three monitors: one for each heartbeat and one to count contractions. Heading over to the hospital Garrett and I were a little nervous. The last time we had a non-stress test, I didn't see the outside world for three days. Yesterday was different, everyone was willing to cooperate! The nurse found both heartbeats easily which is very hard with twins. By the time you get a good reading on one, the other one has moved or changed position. I had a Jeopardy like buzzer to click anytime I felt any movement. Ideally, each movement corresponds with an increase in heart rate. The first few minutes on the monitor it looked like the boys were napping so I was given some orange juice to drink and wake them up. After the orange juice they went nuts! Garrett couldn't believe how much they move after I eat or drink. (I've been telling him all along that they are Whitney babies- completely food driven) Half and hour went by and Garrett was getting a little restless so I put him in charge of the buzzer. He was beyond thrilled to click the button and see the mark show up on the chart printed out by the monitor. When our hour was up the on-call doctor came in and told us the babies look perfect, my contractions were far enough apart, and she will see us in a week. One more week closer to our 34 week mark!

41 weeks???

Ok, so I'm not really 41 weeks pregnant. (I would be a little more stressed it I was!) We went to our weekly checkup today, at 32 weeks, my belly of boys measures 41 weeks!!! I'm officially a house. Both Fuller boys are doing great. Baby A is still breech, which means automatic C-Section. Baby A (determined by which twin is positioned lower at the first measurement) decides what type of delivery we will have. I (and my doctor) would like to avoid a C-Section. No pressure Baby A. Now, in addition to being on strict bed rest and getting a progesterone shot every week, I am to start going to the hospital weekly for a non-stress test. The last time I had a non-stress test I didn't leave the hospital for three days. At least I get another day I am allowed to leave the house. Since there have been no changes (no babies are here yet) my doctor promised me that if I make it another two weeks (34 weeks) I will get limited activity back. If I can make it to 36 weeks after getting limited activity back I can have full activity!!! Once I get full activity back it won't be much longer until we meet these two!

When I was pregnant with you...

Every mother has a list of things they had to give up or change in order to carry and raise children. (No? Not everyone does this? Must just be me.) When giving my mother any kind of grief, she would remind us of her C-Section scar due to my birth or her crusty rocking chairs from my sister wiping her nose on them. So I decided to keep a list of "when I was pregnant with you..." complaints to remind them of when they are older:

Giving up coffee- Like any good Lutheran, coffee is one of my favorite things and was my first sign I was pregnant. One morning my coffee tasted like lighter fluid and I knew something was up. I'll probably always associate coffee with being pregnant.

Not being able to eat cheese for 12 weeks- cheese really weirded me out in the beginning of my pregnancy.

Stretch marks- for 30 weeks I was able to avoid the evil stretch marks by buttering my belly with pure coco butter after every shower. One morning I woke up and it looked like I had slept with a tiger. Due to my shark belly white skin, they are not a normal color...they are Prince purple.

Out growing maternity tops- Maternity tops are SUPPOSED to last throughout an entire pregnancy. Due to Garrett and my ovaries being overachievers and creating twins...at almost 31 weeks, mine are no longer covering my rapidly expanding belly.

Missing my own baby shower- I can't wait to say, "well I missed my own baby shower because you two tried to come out early"

I'm sure in the next couple of weeks my list will keep growing. I can't wait to meet them so I can start rubbing in all that it took to carry twins.

Baby Shower Weekend and 30 week checkup

Throughout my pregnancy I have been warned by our doctor that at some point I will most likely be on partial if not full bed rest. After all, I am only 5'3" and carrying A LOT of babies! So back in June I asked Garrett's mom to move the date of our baby shower from the end of August to an earlier date due to my fear of not going to my own shower. If only I knew then what I know now!

Garrett and I got home from the hospital Thursday afternoon. The day before my family (mom, dad, 3 sisters plus one boyfriend, god-mother, 2 cousins, and aunt and uncle) arrive in Michigan for our baby shower on Saturday. Garrett was in complete panic mode. Not only had we been in the hospital the past 3 days but not we have family on the way to see us and he's down a person (me) to help get the house ready. Luckily my family is more concerned with what our plans for dinner are and not if my TV has been dusted. Thank God.

My family arrives and we make a plan for the next day. Since I am now on complete bed rest due to pre-term labor, I can not go to my baby shower. My sister Mary is going to spend the day being my slave and Garrett will go to our shower (fake pregnancy belly and all) to host. Mary and I spent the day eating ice pops and watching bad TV. (She didn't mind missing the shower since she got to be in pajamas until 4pm) After the shower my family came back to our house to open some gift. We have extremely generous family and friends! These boys are already spoiled. Garrett and I are very lucky. We are so glad that so many members of my family made the trip out to see us for the weekend.

The rest of the weekend included the following events: me on the couch, my mom organizing everything, Mary trying to make Jack love her, a White Castle crave case, a trip to the Henry Ford Museum (for everyone but me and mom), washing onesies, "Stroh-isms", and more eating. It was a great weekend. We hated to see everyone leave! The next time they see us we will have 2 boys!

Tuesday morning we had our 30 week checkup. Everything went great! The boys weigh 3.7 and 3.9 pounds! That's a lot of baby I'm carrying! The doctor said feeling contractions is normal as long as they are not time-able or any more painful. I am on total bed rest. Only standing to shower, and get to the bathroom. The rest of my time is laying on either side or sitting at a 45 degree angle to relieve pressure from Baby A who is already sitting extremely low. The good news is that once we reach the 34 week mark I am going to get some activity back. After 34 weeks the boy's lungs will be developed and they are out of the "danger zone" for delivery. Any time after 34 weeks is bonus time. The babies will require less time in the NICU and most likely go home when we do if we can make it to at least 35-36 weeks. One week down, 4 to go!

29 week checkup + 36 hour hospital stay = complete bed rest unil 34 weeks

Last Tuesday started out completely normal. Garrett and I got up, got ready and headed off to our weekly appointment to get a peek at these boys. The ultra sound went great. Both boys were moving around and weigh just under 3 pounds!. Baby A sits very very low. So low that when I go from seated to walking it's extremely painful. During my exam with the doctor, he noticed that my cervix was softer then it should be at this point and he could feel a lot of pressure from Baby A's head. (Gross, I know). He suggested that Garrett and I "stop by" labor and delivery on our way home to make sure I was not having any contractions. So Garrett and I made our next appointment and headed off to the hospital.

We get to the hospital, check in, and I'm hooked up to three monitors. One to see if I'm having contractions, and one for each baby's heartbeat. After over an hour, the nurse came in to read the charts and teach Garrett what each monitor was doing. Garrett and I had some lunch, watched some TV and waited. The nurse came in again, read the charts and left to get the on call doctor. She came in 45 mins later, looked over everything that the monitor had picked up over the past 3 HOURS (!!!). She asked if I had been feeling anything. I said no, nothing but normal movement. The doctor let us know that I would have to be admitted overnight because even though I was not feeling them, I had been having contractions 4 minutes apart for about 45 minutes! She said that this is common in twin pregnancy. Even though the babies have not reached full term my uterus has. My body decided it was done being pregnant before the babies were ready so now we had to stop my body from contracting. The nurse came back in, hooked me up to an IV and took me up to my room for the night.

Garrett and I get settled into our room and the nurse explains everything that is going to happen. I am going to be hooked up to two IVs, one for fluids and one of magnesium sulfate, a drug used to slow contractions. For the next 24 hours I will be hooked up to the magnesium sulfate and I will get two steroid shots (24 hours apart) to help mature the boy's lungs in case they insist on coming early. Since all of this is being started after 4pm, we probably will not be released from the hospital until Thursday morning! Garrett headed home to pick up a few things and bring Jack over to his mom to watch while I settled in and try to relax.

The first night at the hospital was horrible, for me, Garrett slept just fine through the night. The magnesium made my legs extremely hot so getting comfortable enough to sleep was out of the question. Every hour a nurse was in our room to check my monitors and unplug me so I could use the bathroom. It was quite the project. As if being woken every hour wasn't bad enough, they had to take blood every 3 hours to make sure the levels of magnesium we not getting too high in my system. It was a rough night.

We spent all day Wednesday in the hospital watching movies and watching my monitors. We had an appointment with the high risk Doctor at the hospital. Both babies looked great so he didn't show any concern. I was still not feeling every contractions but I could watch the numbers on the monitor go up so I knew I was still having them. The contractions had slowed down overnight so they lowered my dosage of magnesium to get me ready to be taken off of it completely. We still had to spend another night in the hospital so I could get my second steroid shot.

Thursday morning I was taken off of all my IVs. I was still having contractions, but they were hours apart and no more painful then before. Since the babies showed no stress during this and showed no sign of making an early arrival we were able to go home at noon. I could not wait to get the IV, get home and sleep. Our doctor was on call that morning so he gave us all our instructions before we left. Until I reach 34 weeks I am on complete bed rest. I can move from bed to couch to bathroom. That's it. I am only allowed to sit upright while eating. I can take a cold shower once a day but my time standing during the entire day can equal no more then 2 hours. Every week from during my doctor appointments (the only time I am allowed to leave the house) I get a progesterone shot to remind my body that it had to stay pregnant a little longer.

This is going to be a long four weeks...

28 weeks and 6 to go?!?!?!

Well, we had our 28 week checkup yesterday and everyone looks great! Much to my doctors amazement I have had no issues with twin pregnancy. To keep things that way he has put me on a "modified bed rest". I am only allowed 20 hours a week at work (the other 20 I can do from home) but I am to spend 4-6 hours a day laying on either side relaxing, not including time I sleep. Sounds like an excuse to watch bad daytime TV to me! Since the boys could make an appearance any time now, my only job is to keep them in for another 5-6 weeks. At 34 weeks they will be considered full-term for twin pregnancy. If I can make it to 34 weeks, then we talk about getting them out! He wants to consider delivering them early before I run into any issues. (There isn't going to be much room for them in another 6 weeks!) Looks like we could be meeting our boys the first week of September. Garrett and I are very excited to meet them and having a countdown in weeks is very overwhelming! We have so much to do! Oh well, it will get done...
I have had no complications with this pregnancy. I think the universe is making up for all of the weird things leading up to now. Garrett and I say we will no longer be surprised by anything, we have gotten the ultimate surprise! Here are some things I have been told early on in my pregnancy...

-First Dr. I saw when I had a feeling I might be pregnant, "No, you are definitely not pregnant. Actually, you probably will not become pregnant without the aid of fertility treatments"

-Second (and current) Dr. I saw for a second opinion when 3 weeks later I still didn't feel right, "Well Maggie, you are pregnant, I think you might be as far along as 13 weeks!"
-15 mins later during ultrasound..."You are not as far along as I thought...but there are two, you are having twins! You are 7 weeks along so when you went to the other Dr you were indeed pregnant, with two babies"

-Current Dr, "Well here is something interesting, you have a blood type that 85% of people do NOT have (RH negative) and you will need a series of shots so you don't have a allergic reaction to the babies blood type if it positive (like Garrett's)"

-Typically only older women have two boys when carrying twins..."Baby A is for sure a boy...and so is Baby B!"

Like I said, nothing will shock us...

Already looks like his Dad...

Looks like I am birthing a 2010 version of Garrett

26 weeks!!!

We have made it to 26 weeks! At our doctor visit yesterday we got to see what Baby Boy B looks like! Baby Boy A was not cooperating. It could have something to do with having his brother's butt on his head! He would only let us get a profile picture of him, but they look a lot alike! Garrett and I are both wondering if they are going to be identical after all...The consensus is that they already look like Garrett with my cheeks. Garrett is calling them his little minions, he is looking forward to taking over the house with boys that look like him. The boys weigh 2.0 lbs and 2.1 lbs, which means they are still growing at the same rate and are doing really well. (I, however, measure 32 weeks at only 26 and would love to see what my feet look like) This past week Garrett and his mom painted the boys room. We also had the carpet cleaners out the same day due to the quarter gallon of bright blue paint (Disney color "Star Command Blue" in case anyone wants to check it out and see how bright it is) that is now streaking the beige carpet...it was a dramatic day. The room looks great, I just need to find an area rug. We received our first shower gift, the stroller and car seats! (thanks Ma!) It's huge! Garrett is having fun practicing taking the car seats in and out of the stroller and folding it up. He doesn't want to be "that Dad" you see at the mall struggling with the stroller at the car. Jack is enjoying these drills and the rides around the kitchen.

Garrett, me, (the twins), and some friends at the annual Tiki Party this weekend.

If I didn't have a sense of humor about this...

We went for our 24 week checkup yesterday. Both boys look great! We got to see them kicking each other on the ultrasound which is really funny. "Righty" always starts the fight. After getting a few good kicks in, "Lefty" retaliates with one good blow. I feel every bit of this battle under my ribs, but seeing it happen makes it way more bearable. The ultrasound tech was glad we already knew gender since the first image on the screen showed us two sets of little boy parts. We don't have shy babies at all! (I have already accepted that we will be "those people" with naked boys running through the house...I'm truly out numbered)



My doctor and Garrett are very lucky I have such a good sense of humor about being pregnant with twins. Every visit my doctor measures my belly to see how much further ahead I am. This time, at 24 weeks, I measure 31 of a single pregnancy. I feel any other mother-to-be hearing that she would normally be getting ready to deliver when in reality there are still 3 months left, would completely loose it. I, crack up (along with my Dr. who has been laughing since unrolling the tape measure)

23 weeks down...17 to go!

Woohoo!!! 23 weeks down and only 17 (maybe 14, these boys are big) to go!. Michigan summers are humid. Humidity is not my friend. Our central air is my new favorite thing in our house. Along with air conditioning, there are a few other things I need to say thank you for...

Lycra- you have made it possible for me to avoid buying scary maternity pants. Yoga pants are totally acceptable at my work, and leggings being in style again has saved my wardrobe. (and wallet)

My camelback water bottle- you continue to keep my hydrated while not wasting money on plastic bottles.

MAC Studio Fix makeup- you have made it so my pregnancy acne is somewhat bearable. (I'm still waiting on that so called "pregnancy glow)

last but not least...Garrett - for making me grilled cheese sandwiches every morning for breakfast and for getting me a foam wedge to prop under my growing belly so I can sleep again.

Jack could care less

Last night I sat down with Jack and told him all about becoming a "big brother". I told him that if he barks when the boys are napping I will be forced to send him outside to live with the squirrels and fend for himself. When he does bark (which he will), and I have to send him to live with the squirrels, I can say that I warned him this would happen. Now, I know he has no idea what I am saying unless it involves the words "eat" or "walk", but I feel good about our talk. How did he respond? With a hearty fart on my lap and walking away. I'm going to consider this a success.

22 weeks!

We are starting week 22! According to thebump.com, the babies are the size of papayas, weighing about a pound, and can now hear outside noises. Our little over achievers weighted a pound two weeks ago! (Yikes, these are some chunky boys) I'm pretty sure any noise they can hear is drowned out by the sound of Jack barking at landscapers. Garrett can finally feel them kick too! They are most active when I eat (true Whitney's) and love orange juice! We are hoping to start the overwhelming task of registering for baby gifts this week...I hope we don't get "scan gun happy"!

(Jack, our first "son" and the only noise our boys can hear)

Baby B waving

21 weeks already?!?

We have made it halfway! Both boys are very healthy and big! They measure two weeks ahead and are weighing about a pound each! Like all boys they are super active...at night. One kicks forward and one backwards (and my spine) I'm still amazed at how easy the pregnancy has been so far, no morning sickness, no horrible aches (yet) and thank god no stretch marks...yet.