One Month Old!!!

Well, the boys turned the big 1-month last Sunday. It's so hard to believe...it's all gone so fast! We think they made a little mistake at the doctor last week when they said they weighed 6 pounds each. We took them back in this week and they were 5.11 and 5.14. The doctor said that was actually more like what they should weigh for being 4-weeks old, so we're throwing out their old weights. Yesterday they weighed 5.15 each, so I'm hopeful that they'll finally be over the 6 pound mark by Monday. I can tell they're gaining weight in their faces and legs. They're getting much chubbier now--& cuter too, might I add! (If that's even possible!)

When they're asleep they look so much alike! When they're awake though, they look totally different. What do you think??

(The first two pictures are of Ben. Then we have Eli & (Screaming) Ben and B&W Eli & Ben. The last picture is of Eli.)

3 weeks old!

Here are some pictures of Ben and Eli that we took over the past week. They're changing so much already! We had another doctor's appointment this week and found out that they now weigh a whopping 6 pounds!! That's a pound and a half more than they did 3 weeks ago at birth. Way to go boys!!!

Grandma & Grandpa Psota came to visit last weekend as well as Aunt Jenn and Nana & Grandpa Terkhorn. We've also had lots of visits from friends and neighbors as well. We love visitors!!!

To answer the infamous question: yes, we can definitely tell them apart. We're 99.9% certain that they're fraternal. Eli is wrapped in his cute little frog towel (Thanks, Meko!) and Ben is the one below in the sleeper. I've noticed an adorable set of dimples on my little Ben and his face is much fuller and longer. Eli has a wider face and chubbier cheeks. He also has a mole on his left leg, just in case we decide later on that we can't tell them apart again!

The other day Eli found his thumb! This helps when the pacifiers fall out, but getting him to remember that it's there has been a problem. Both boys are eating very well now. Mommy and daddy are hoping the doctor tells them they can drop one feeding during the night very soon!!!! We've learned that they don't like for us to wake them at night to feed. If they wake on their own they're much, much happier! Nights have been a little crazy, but that was to be expected. Dad and I have a system down where we can usually get them both changed, fed and back to sleep in 45-60 minutes. That leaves 2 hours of sleep before we have to wake and do it all over again!

Both boys are asleep in their swings right now. Not sure how long that will last so I'm going to catch a shower (and maybe a nap) while I can!!!

Thanks for visiting our web page. If you haven't stopped by the house to see us, please feel free to come by anytime!!

Homecoming!!

The boys were released from the NICU yesterday and, after 2 weeks and 1 day they FINALLY got to come home! Upon release, they both weighed exactly 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Both are feeding well and should continue to grow into healthy, big boys now. We're so excited to have them home!!

(Christy is to the right, Karen to the left)

It was really hard saying goodbye to our favorite NICU nurses though. Christy was their primary day nurse and Karen was there at night. They were both so helpful and sweet. Matt & I and the boys were so attached! We're happy to have them out of the hospital, but we will miss everyone there so much. We promise to keep in touch and share pictures though!

PS. Just in case Christy and Karen are reading this, we wanted to let you know that our trip home was a smooth one and our first night was pretty uneventful. Matt turned his hazard flashers off once we passed Greenwood on the southside of Indy, but the grip marks from his hands are still present on my steering wheel. He was also the first to get initiated (ie. "Sprayed") by one of the boys. No really, he's doing a great job at being a dad. He's holding Ben right now, who is a little fussy at the moment. I think he got him to calm down though. Eli is asleep in the pack-n-play.

The boys will have their first outing tomorrow, as we have an appointment with their pediatritian in the morning. Wish us luck!

Ben & Eli 1 week old!!

Wow, what a difference a week makes! Ben & Eli have both been thriving very well over the past week. It's hard to believe it's already been a full 7 days!

Both boys are off all of their breathing devices and are breathing normal room air. Ben's lungs still have a little more developing to do compared to Eli's, but he's the better eater. Both boys are eating breastmilk through a tube and will probably start to bottle feed within the next few days.

Eli was the first to show signs of jaundice so they put him under the billi-lights for a couple of days. He's out from under them now, but Ben still had one on last night. He should be out from under his soon as well. (Pictured left is Eli)

Other than that, things are going really well and the boys have shown remarkable progress! We still have no definite time frame as to when they will go home, but we're hoping within the next two weeks or so. They need to continue to gain weight consistently for 5 days in a row and show that they can bottle/breastfeed before they're released. Keep praying for no new setbacks and we should be on the road home soon!

Most importantly, daddy and I have had lots of chances to hold the boys now. We're bonding very well and just love the little buys so much!!! We still don't know if they're identical or fraternal, but we can definitely tell them apart. We'll post more pictures over the next few days so you can decide for yourselves!

(Pictured right is Ben)

We have names!!

We finally decided on names for the two precious little boys. Baby "A" is now Benjamin Joseph, or "Ben" and Baby "B" is Elijah Matthew or "Eli." I couldn't really bond with them much at first, so it was very difficult for us to name them. I still haven't had a chance to hold them yet, but have gotten to know their personalities very well over the past few days. The names just came naturally after spending a lot of time with them Monday and Tuesday.

(This is little Ben, to the left. Eli is pictured below).

Both boys are doing remarkably well considering their size & age. Ben, unfortunately, had to go on a ventilator early Tuesday morning. Luckily it was not an emergency or anything that led to the change. The doctors just felt that he needed a little more help than what he was getting from the pressurized oxygen. They're supposed to slowly wean him off the vent tonight and tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Eli is our little fussy one. He keeps trying to pull out his lines and tubes. He also cries and gets very jealous when Ben's getting more attention than he is. It's actually pretty cute!

I'll write more and add pictures to these comments tomorrow. I'm SO tired now!! They keep us so busy here. The only nice thing about having babies in the NICU is the fact that they let you sleep at night. I know it's not exactly a trade-off, but we'll take it!

Good night!

33 weeks, 2 days: PSOTA TWINS ARE HERE!!!!

Well, I was hoping to write about my last shower this weekend and fill you in on an update of my last doctor visit but that all seems unimportant now. (PS. I got a picture though. This was taken on the day my water broke!)

THE BABIES HAVE ARRIVED!!!! Baby A & Baby B, both BOYS came into this world Sunday (02/25/07) at around 1:35pm. Everyone is doing very well considering the fact that they still had about a month more to "Cook" in my womb. (Guess I got my wish from my last post!)

Now, you should know by now that there have been little uneventful moments in this entire pregnancy. D-Day was no exception to the rule. Here's the whole story:

Last Wednesday I had a lot of uncomfortable, yet painless tightening going on in my abdomen. This has been occurring for several months, but usually only at night. On Wednesday, however it just never let up, so I called my doctor. They had me go to the hospital for a stress test & confirmed that I was having a few small, yet consistent contractions. They gave me a shot to stop them and checked to see if I had dialated at all. Doc said the contractions had not affected my uterus, so they sent me home and said to take it easy.

I felt great, no more contractions, nothing at ALL that would lead me to believe that these little guys were ready to be born. Matt left on Friday morning for a quickie work trip to Denver. He was supposed to return Saturday afternoon, but with weather delays to Indy his flight was cancelled. No big deal...until my water broke!

I was just hanging out at my parent's house. I had decided to spend the night with them because the weather was bad out and I figured Matt wouldn't get a flight home until Sunday anyway. We were just sitting in front of the TV and all of the sudden, GUSH!! Mom and Dad took me to Columbus Regional Hospital and Matt frantically started searching for any flight to come home.

The best flight he could find was one from Denver arriving in Nashville, TN at 12:15am. He took it, rented a car from there and headed north. The doctor at CRH confirmed that I had indeed broken my bag of water and they decided to send me to St. Vincent's in Indianapolis where they had a higher-level ICU for the babies...just in case it was needed. I took off in an ambulance and Mom & Dad followed.

En route, I remembered that I had left our brand new video camera & still camera at my parent's house. I was sobbing hysterically at this point, fighting one-on-top-of-the-other contractions (OUCH!!) and worrying that Matt was going to miss the whole thing, or hurt himself trying to get to me. I called my parents from the ambulance and told them about the camera saying that I HAD TO HAVE IT so that I could at least capture everything for Matt to see. They called my cousin, Rachel and had her and her husband meet us at the hospital with theirs. When I arrived, I was stunned to hear a tap on the ambulance window. It was them with their cameras already filming!! They followed me into my room and left the cameras with my parents.

Initially, the doctors here tried to stop my contractions. The medication they used worked very well and slowed them down considerably so that we could at least get some sleep through the night. The intention of stopping labor was so that they could give me a 48-hour dose of steroids to strengthen the babies' lungs. My parents, bless their dear hearts, were right here in the room with me the whole time. Matt, safely arrived at around 6:30 am!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was overjoyed, to say the least!!!

The next day my contractions started coming back pretty regularly and they ultimately decided that these babies were going to be born within the next few hours, despite anything else we could do. They scheduled a c-section because Baby B was still breech. Everything went very smoothly and at 1:32 I heard the first healthy cry from our dear, sweet baby BOY! Matt and I were both flooded with emotions, but before we could even soak it all in we heard another very healthy cry from Baby B...another BOY!!!!! They took them into a small room next to the OR for observation while they finished with my surgery. Matt got to go into the room and take a few pictures, and they let him carry them out, one at a time for me to see. I couldn't hold them, but I could kiss their little cheeks and sob all over them. It was truly the most amazing thing I've ever experienced!!

They are now both resting comfortably in the NICU. They are getting a little extra support/oxygen from C-PAP and have some IV's in their arms, but overall they are doing very well. I'm so proud of them! A very drugged-up me was wheeled in to see them in my hospital bed after surgery. It's about 10:30 am now and I'm getting ready to go over and see them in a wheelchair this time. I still haven't been able to hold them yet, which is why we haven't settled on names either. I need to bond and hold & look at them closely first before we can truly decide what to call them. I'll keep you posted!

32 Weeks!

Had another appointment with ultrasound yesterday. The good news is that everything is going very well and the babies and myself are all healthy. The bad news is, I DON'T THINK THESE GUYS ARE COMING OUT ANYTIME SOON!! I know, that's actually good news...I want to keep them in as long as possible so that they are big and strong when they are born. I was just a little surprised when I asked the doctor what he thinks the timeline is and he said he'd schedule a c-section if Baby "B" is still breech at 38 weeks.

38 weeks??? What happened to 36??? I guess I've learned to not trust everything they say at this point. I can sympathize with other moms now when they go to the doctor at 38-39 weeks and their doctors say they'll be delivering early...and then they end up having their babies at 41 weeks or so. It happens all the time, doesn't it!

Here are a few pictures from the scan. You really can't tell what you're looking at anymore. They're so big!! I can't tell you how much they weigh now, because that might influence peoples' guesses for the big "Baby Pool." Let's just say that they're measuring very nicely for twins, or even singleton babies at this point. I'm so happy! Baby "A" is head down, or vertex, and is resting comfortably on my bladder. Glad I could provide a pillow for him/her. Baby "B" is head up, or breech, and is resting his/her feet on Baby "A's" head. Also nice for my bladder.

Speaking of baby pool, if you still want to play, there's still time. I've had several people send their guesses to me, so I'll be sending Jenn a check after March 1st for all of their entries. If you want to do that, just let me know. I can't wait to see what the overall consensus is on what we are having!! I'm not sure what the pot is up to now. I'll have to get back to everyone on that one.

Have fun!

31-Week Belly shots & more. YIKES!!

Seriously, can my belly GET any bigger?? I know, ask me again in 6 weeks!! I don't think they'll make maternity tops big enough for me then. They need to make shirts longer for people like me. I don't need them any bigger in the arms, boobs, and everywhere else. I just want them long enough to cover my entire belly at this point!! I'm amazed at how it just keeps growing out in front and not as much on the sides. I thought it would level out eventually.

I had another shower with my "Game Club" friends this Saturday. I'll attach a picture of them too. Susan (Far left) just had a very sweet baby boy just 4 weeks ago. Little "Joey" came to the shower and I got to hold him. It's really hard holding a baby with such a big belly though. I seriously have no lap when I sit down anymore!!! Susan has a place out at Lutheran Lake too, so it will be fun playing with our babies out there this Summer!

Ok, so I was really bummed out yesterday when my dear, sweet husband told me he was going to have to go to Iowa for work this week. Out of nowhere the hormones kicked in and the tears came streaming down my face. What the Heck is up with me???? I SERIOUSLY don't get what this pregnancy does to me sometimes!! Anyway, I had to stay down at my Grandma's house last night because she wasn't feeling well. (My parents are out of town and couldn't take care of her either.) Matt had to work really late and then called and dropped the big "Bomb" on me about his business trip. He ended up surprising me by driving down to my grandma's in Seymour to see me though, which was so sweet. He stayed until like 2:00 am and then drove back home to pack for the trip & sleep. When I got home today I found this AWESOME surprise on the table. Apparently he visited the 24-hour Wal-Mart on his way home and got me roses, "Turtle" candy, Valentines & a jar of peanut butter from himself and "The kids."

I truely married the most thoughtful and romantic man in the world!!!!!! He's going to be such a good daddy too. :)

Ok, so I promised everyone I'd take it easy this week. I don't want anything "Happening" with my husband AND my parents out of town!! It's probably going to snow anyway, so I'm going to hit the video store tomorrow morning and catch up on movies and stuff. Aaaah...the life!

30 1/2 weeks & NO MORE WORK!!!!!

Ok, it's been awhile again. I'm proud to say that I'm FINALLY done with work!! Ask me again in about 2 weeks and I'll probably tell you I'm bored to tears though. I still have at least 5-6 weeks to go (hopefully), but my doctors really wanted me to take it easy from here on out. With the weather being as nasty as it has been, I didn't argue!

Maybe now I'll have more time for the blog. I just can't wait to start putting pictures of the little ones up on here!! In some ways it seems like this pregnancy has dragged out, but in other ways I can't believe how fast it's flown by. I have one more baby shower this weekend with some good friends of mine up in Indianapolis. It's been so fun hanging out with everyone, family and friends, over the past few weekends at showers and such. Thank you all who have helped us out with gifts and all the great hand-me-downs. I think we're all set! I'll show some pictures of some of the cute stuff we got. I just love the high chairs...and can you believe the size of this stroller!!! I can't imagine pusing it through the grocery store aisles. As for the umbrella stollers...we found these cool connectors that turn it into a double. Can't wait to use this stuff!!!

I know...

what's up with the facial hair??? I don't get it either. He's happy though, so I'll let it go for now. I told him to shave before the babies are born though. I don't want him to scare them!!!!

Baby pool is here!!

Thanks to Aunt Jenn for setting this up! I'll copy her e-mail message below and paste a copy of the official entry form. If you're interested in playing...and possibly winning some cash let us know. If you don't have our e-mail addresses just post a message in the "Comments" section below. I'll get back to you with the info.

Jenn's E-mail:

Attached is the official Twin Pool entry form. Please complete and return to either Matt and Holle Psota or send to me, Jenn Dougherty with $5 entry fee. Winner gets all unless there is a tie (would be impressive) then we split the pot. We accept check, cash or money order, make the check payable to whomever you are sending it to. The deadline for entries is March 1, 2007. The rules are as follows:
1. Must first guess the sexes of the babies-order of birth does not matter. Must get correct in order to qualify for (2).
2. The winner is the one who guesses the combined weight of the babies or is the closest. It does not matter if you are higher or lower than the total weight, the winner will be the closest guess. if there is a tie, go to (3).
3. The tie breaker is the combined length with the above rule applied.
4. If a tie still exists, the pot will be split.

If you have already entered, the (3) rule has been changed, so please send me a length guess.

Once all entries are received a list will be compiled and sent to the proud parents. It makes the delivery much more fun. Please forward this to anyone who may be interested in playing.

Thanks,
Jenn

*************************************************************************************

Here's the official entry form. Just copy and paste it in an e-mail along with your guesses and $5. Send it to either Matt, myself or Jenn along with your $5 if you want to play! If you need addresses let me know in the comments below and I'll get them to you. I just didn't want to post them to the public on this blog.

Matt and Holle's Baby Pool
$5 per entry. Complete entry form (Must have sexes correct, then
closest to the combined weight is winner, length is tie-breaker)
1. Pick Sexes - circle only one combo
Boy/Boy
Girl/Boy
Girl/Girl
2. Pick combined weight for both babies in lbs. and ozs.
lbs.
ozs.
3. Pick combined length in inches

**Entry Deadline is March 1, 2007

29 weeks!!

Wow, guess it's been awhile since I've posted. I've been so busy and time is flying by so fast...which is a good thing these days!

Here's a picture of our ultrasound from last week at 28 weeks. One is still breech and the other is vertex, or head-down. Isn't it funny how they used to get both heads and both bodies on the screen. Now they can barely fit one head! It's so hard to tell what the doctor is looking at now too. They're just getting so big!! They still weigh the same...yea! One is 2lbs 8oz, and the other is 2lbs 9oz. Right on schedule! I'm starting to see the doctor once a week now. I have another appointment today, but no ultrasound is scheduled. I'll keep you posted with any news...but I doubt if there will be anything too exciting. It's pretty much just sit and wait from here on out.

I can tell that the babies are starting to recognize lights & sounds now. If there's a loud noise they often "Jump" at it. Also, we've been putting a flashlight on my tummy and they seem to move around underneath it now. It's so fun! I feel sort of cruel doing that to them, but the nurse actually suggested it. She said it's a way of "Playing" with them. Ha!

I've had two baby showers now which have totally gotten me in the mood! My friend Ginger had one on the 21st with a few of my Indianapolis friends. I got lots of great things for the babies that I can't wait to use. Thanks girls!! It was just so nice seeing all of my buds again and hanging out with them "One last time" before mommyhood takes over my life!

I also had a huge shower this past weekend in Cleveland with Matt's family. It was also nice seeing everyone up there again. Many of them I hadn't seen since my wedding shower last year. We got most of our "Essential" items at that shower, so we're pretty much set now. I'm still waiting for the carpet to be laid in the nursery. When that's done I'll be able to wash and put all of this great stuff away.

I guess I'll have plenty of time to do all of that though. My doctor keeps hinting about me leaving work behind. I have a feeling he's going to tell me to start staying home pretty soon. Everything is going really well, but he said since I'm carrying twins he'd feel better & safer if I was at home resting more. We'll see what he says today.....

28-week belly shot

Okay, I had a bare belly pic up for about 1/2 a day, then I decided I had to remove it. I didn't want to gross anyone out! Here's my fully clothed belly now. It's hard to believe that each child inside me has about 3 more pounds to gain before they're born. 3 pounds or more, that is!

Almost 28 weeks

Hello! I just had to post a Psota family picture that was taken over the holidays. I had one of my family in a previous post, so this one is a little over due. Don't we look great!

Again, nothing too exciting going on this week. For some reason my blood pressure has been a little on the high side when I visit the doctor. I've been monitoring it at home and it's been nice and low. I guess I tend to get nervous and it shoots up before I go in to the doctor. (If you're wondering why I get a little tense at the doc's office, read back to my 13-week post!!!) Luckily I haven't had any swelling anywhere or protein in my urine so the doctors aren't too concerned about it. They just asked me to keep a log of it at home for now. I'm also going to check my monitor against theirs on Monday when I go in for my next appointment. Other than that, things are going really well. We can feel little bumps everywhere in my tummy now where the babies are. It's so cool! It used to just feel like a big bag of water, but now we can actually feel the babies in there. Sometimes if you press lightly on them they'll kick you back. We can also see them moving from the outside all the time too. It's so strange & cool!

We watched the National Geographic special "In the Womb: Multiples" on Sunday. It was pretty cool. They basically said that after 26 weeks the twins will recognize & start interacting with each other inside the womb. So far I think ours like each other and are "Getting along" pretty well. ;)

I'm still feeling pretty well, but sleeping at night is becoming more of a challenge. We put a Lazy Boy up in our room now and I sleep in it sometimes if it's more comfortable. I guess this is all Mother Nature's way of preparing us both for many interrupted nights ahead. I'm getting used to functioning on very little sleep these days. Speaking of sleep, it's almost 9:30pm now and I'm surprised I'm still awake. I better be heading off to bed soon.

Ciao!

27 weeks and counting!

Well, we had another quick appointment this week. Nothing too exciting, as usual. I took my mom with me this time in hopes that she would get to see an ultrasound. I've only had one appointment so far where they haven't given me one. Lo, and behold they were busy and didn't do one this time. Dr. Albers was able to get two heartbeats right away with the doppler so they didn't bother. Go figure! I also had to do the glucose test this week which I'm still waiting to hear the results from. Let's hope they don't call me back with bad news! All I need is for someone to tell me no more sweets for the next 2 months!!!

I asked the doctor what I should expect from here on out. He said they'd start seeing me weekly at about 30 weeks. He also said that he usually takes twins at 36 weeks...which is only 9 weeks away!! Yikes!!! I guess that means we'd better hurry up with the nursery and the rest of the upstairs in our house. We're ready to order the carpet and we've almost finished the bathroom. Matt just has to put the toilet back in and the wood strips back around the walls. I'll take a picture when it's all finished. It looks great!!

Matt also put together the new cribs. This isn't how we're going to arrange them in the room though. We're going to have to move them when the carpet installers come anyway, but we just couldn't wait to see how they looked! It's a good thing we put them together too, because one of them was missing a small piece. They're supposed to be ordering it for us though.

I'll post another belly pic when I have time. I've completely passed the "Cute-pregnant" stage by now. I'm still very comfortable though, so that's good. Sleeping is getting a little tough, but I can't complain too much. The babies are kicking me almost constantly now and we can feel little heads, butts & feet when we push on my tummy. It's so awesome being able to reach down and feel them whenever I want! The kicks are starting to feel more like rolls now too. I guess they're about 2 pounds each now, and they're supposed to be in more of a fetal position rather than arms & legs all over the place like they were before.

Woo-hoo! Countdown days are now in double digits!!

Even though my countown tickers above show my 40-week due date (Which I'll never make it to...or at least I hope not!!!) I was just excited to see that it's under 100 days now. I'm officially 26 weeks today and I'd like to keep these guys in until 36-37 weeks. I can't believe that it's only 10 weeks away! Any earlier than that and they might have some problems...any later than that and I might be the one with problems!!!

I just had to attach this picture of my niece. She's such a diva! We had so much fun with them over the holidays. They're back in Germany now & we miss them so much. Can't wait to see them again in April/May! I also attached another fun family picture from my side of the family. We also got pictures taken with the Psota's, but I haven't received them yet. I'll try to post them soon though.

Hope everyone's having a good 2007 so far!

Kick me!

Ok, so it's almost 11:30 pm. Today was my first day back to work after a nice, long Christmas vacation. I should be asleep!! I didn't feel the babies move much today, which is very unusual. Needless to say, I was a little paranoid tonight. They've been so active lately otherwise!

Anyway, I decided to try the usual remedy to wake them up. So I ate not one, but two spoonfuls of peanut butter and drank some OJ---which, by the way do NOT go together well, but it's what's recommended for this little experiment. Protein & sugar are supposed to get them going.

20 minutes went by and still, no movement. I was getting so frustrated!!! Then, all of the sudden the party began. They're kicking & rolling all over the place now!! Matt tried to stay up with me at first, but he just fell asleep. I hate to wake him now, so I thought I'd post my excitement here instead. I'm such a worry wart!!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. Hope all of you are getting your "Kicks" out of reading this as well. Have a good night!

25 Weeks!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We spent a few days with my family and now we're in Cleveland celebrating with the Psotas. I can't believe how warm it is in both places!

We had our 25-week ultrasound on Tuesday and everything is still looking very good. The twins are about 1.5 lbs each now. They're getting so big! Of course, the sexes are still a big secret. I think it's getting harder for the doctor to keep it from us now. Matt and I got another video tape of the ultrasound and watched it in slow motion when we got home. (We're so bad!!!) We couldn't see anything though. I don't think either of them were in position for seeing anything anyway.

I gained like 5 pounds in the past two weeks. I think a lot of it is water weight though. I ate a lot of salty food over the holidays with all the get-together's and stuff. I noticed that my face and hands are really swelling now. GREAT! I felt much better yesterday and I think a lot of it went down. Guess I'll just have to get used to no wedding ring and chubby cheeks from here on out though. :(

I'll try to put some pictures from our ultrasound on when we get back home. I don't think they can fit both babies on the screen anymore though. I might be able to get one shot with just their two heads or something. Matt's also planning on finishing up their bathroom this weekend when we get home. I hope I'll have a few shots of the finished product by next week!! Then we'll be ready to order carpet for the rest of the upstairs and start putting furniture in the nursery. Our cribs are in, and I can't wait to set them up!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello everyone! Matt, Baby A, Baby B & I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We'll be busy all weekend here in Indiana with my family, then we'll head to Cleveland on Tuesday to spend some time with the Psotas. We also have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning before we leave where we are scheduled to have another ultrasound. We'll keep you posted with any updates. I'm anxious to see how big they're measuring now!

My camera is at Best Buy being fixed, so no new pics this week. I'll try to put some Christmas ones on here soon though.

Enjoy your holiday!!!

Chrstmas time is almost here!

Busy, busy weekend! On Saturday I took my cousins to go paint pottery. We did this last year too for their Christmas present from me. They both did such a great job. I can't wait to see how it all turns out! Jeff, Michaela & Anna made it home this weekend too and it was so much fun hanging out with them. Anna is just so cute!! She was all dressed up in her Christmas dress for church this morning, and wanted to play basketball in it too when she got home.

Our church service today was mostly a song service put on by the choir. Instead of sitting and standing as usual, this time we sat most of the service and just listened. I guess it must have been what I ate before the service, or how I was sitting, or something...but the twins were having another "Party" in my tummy during the whole thing. I kept elbowing Matt and he'd look over and see the alien-like movements across my stomach. It was so weird to be able to see them move!! Mom got to feel them move this weekend too, which was cool. Everyone keeps telling me about the "Big Jabs" that I'll start feeling soon. I actually can't wait!

Matt started tiling upstairs bathroom this weekend. I think he thought that a small room would be easy, but it seems like the narrow workspace is making it more dificult than he thought. I think it will look great when it's done though. Then we can order carpet for the whole upstairs! Once that is all finished we'll be done with the nursery and everything...except that we have no nursery furniture yet. I guess I'll have to get on that soon too! As for a nursery theme (Since everyone is asking me) I decided that I didn't like any of the "Neutral" decor that's out there. I want either very "Boyish" or very "Girly-girly" stuff for my kids! I found some bedding at Babies R' Us that I like. I picked out one boy set and one girl set that, I think, go together well just in case we have one of each. I figure that we won't be using the nursery right away anyway, so I'll have plenty of time to wash all of the bedding and put it on their cribs after they're born. I'll take pictures of it all when it's finished!!

If you happened to notice, it's Matt's annual "Grow out the beard" time again. I hate to admit it, but I actually love it! Anna called him "Fuzzy face Matt" today. So cute!!

Another appointment update...

Well, not much news this time around. My appointments are still being scheduled every-other week. This one was pretty uneventful, as usual. I guess that's a good thing though! They basically took my weight, bp, and had me go in a cup. Ho hum! Then they said that at this stage they couldn't easily get two heartbeats with the doppler anymore, so from now on they'll be using the ultrasound machine at each appointment to get them. Awesome!! I'm getting so spoiled with all these ultrasounds. Most moms get 1 or 2 throughout their entire pregnancies and I think I've already had 7 or 8!

The babies both looked good and their heartbeats were nice and strong--149 and 163, I think. One of them is still breech, but that could change several times before they're born. Dr. Davis said that if either or both of them are breech towards the end of my pregnancy then they would have to schedule a c-section. I can't say for sure, but I'm getting the impression that he's leaning towards that anyway. In the end I just want whatever is best and safest for the babies.

We put two teeny-tiny stockings up on our chimney this year. I keep imagining what Christmas will be like next year with two, probably crawling, little babies around. I'll definitely send out Christmas cards next year. We were going to this year, but we figured that you guys have had enough mail from us for one year already! Hope you all enjoy the holidays. As always, thanks for visiting!!

22 1/2 weeks. Quick pic!

Ok, this will be quick because I gotta get back to work. I'm wearing the same outfit today that I did a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd take another comparison shot of my tummy. Sorry it's a little blurry. Our camera battery charger is missing and our camera is on very, very low battery. It takes blurry pictures when it's like that.

No other news this week. I'm starting to feel both of them kick me a lot more now. Matt even got to feel them a few times this weekend too! Some days they're very active, and others they're not. I think it all depends on which way they're facing at the time.

Enjoy!

Level II Ultrasound today

Well, after our "Great" appointment last week we got a call from our Doctor's office. Apparently the blood test results weren't totally "Fine" as they had originally told us. The Quad Screen/AFP results were slightly higher than the normal range for twins, so they sent us to a perinatologist today for a second look. They told us over the phone that these things commonly come back abnormal--especially with twins--and there's really not much to worry about. They were sending us for a Level II just as a precaution. Of course it was a long weekend of waiting and a little worrying for both of us though. Basically the elevated levels meant that there was a slight increased risk that one or both of the babies might have a Neural Tube defect or something like Spina Bifida. The good news though, was that the elevated level meant that the chance of Down's Syndrome drastically decreased from like 1:650 chance to 1:50,000. We went to the Peri in Indianapolis today though, just to make sure everything checked out ok.

We had a really in-depth ultrasound first, which went very well. Everything checked out absolutely normal for both babies. They were even able to tell us that they, for sure, each had their own sac and placenta. This isn't definite, but it means that they're more than likely fraternal twins! She did say that identical twins can have this too though, so we're still not 100% sure on that. They also said that they knew what their sexes were by the end of the ultrasound. They kept it a secret though!!!! Matt and I still have no clue, but we love guessing!!

In all actuality, it was nice seeing a Perinatologist. Many moms of twins will see one at least once during their pregnancies. They are there more for the babies, while regular OB's are primarily concerned about the mother carrying the babies. We shouldn't have to go back to them again though, unless something else unexpectedly arises. We were just glad to have yet one more thorough ultrasound to reassure us that everything looked good! Of course, they always have to say that nothing is 100% certain, so there could always be a surprise when they're delivered, but according to everything they looked at today, things were OK. In fact, they said we could still get an amniocentesis done if we wanted, but they weren't recommending it at this point since everything else looks fine. What a relief!!

Here are some cute pictures from the scan today. Click on them to enlarge and you can see things much better. They gave us like 5, but I'll just post the good ones. The one of the baby's face shows us that he/she is smiling at us!!!

One other thing they told us was that one placenta was Anterior, meaning towards the front and to the right side of my belly, while the other was Posterior or near my back and to my left. This explains why I can feel the baby on the left kicking & moving WAY more than the one on the right because the right's placenta is padding things pretty well. Actually, they were both VERY active today during the ultrasound & moving/kicking all over the place!

Back from our Disney Thanksgiving vacation

We're baaaaack! Disney was a blast. We got a condo with Matt's family, 11 of us in all. We fixed a turkey dinner on Thursday and headed to the Magic Kingdom on Friday. Saturday I met my cousin Pete & his wife Amy and we headed home on Sunday. The weather was really nice the whole time. We even got in the outdoor pool a few times. All in all it was a nice little getaway, except for the flu outbreak. Somehow Matt and I both managed to dodge the bullet, however the rest of the group was not so lucky. Sounds like they all had a pretty eventful flight home yesterday.

We had another doctor's appointment today and everything went well. They did another ultrasound and measured everything again. The kiddos are about 13 ounces each now and are both the same size...which is great! All of my bloodwork came back "Normal" too so that's one less thing to worry about also. So far so good!

19 weeks 3 days

Here it is...the latest belly pic! We'll see what it looks like next week after lots of turkey!!

Ok, finally a picture. I absolutely HATE this one, which was taken over 2 weeks ago. I left my camera at a friend's house so I haven't been able to take any more lately. I'm a little bigger in the belly now though. My hair is greasy/messy in this one because I've been playing with my 2 1/2 year-old niece. If I look worn out it's because I was! We had so much fun with her here that week!!

We started our parenting classes this week. So far we just covered what labor feels like, who to call, when to go to the hospital, where to go, etc. We love our instructor! We found out that she lives right around the corner from us. I hope she is in the delivery room when we're in there. Her husband works with Matt too. Small world!

At the end of the class we did about 10 minutes of relaxation exercises. I think they were meant for the moms, but the coaches got to participate too. Of course, MINE FELL ASLEEP!!! Our instructor dimmed the lights, played relaxing music and asked us to breathe, relax, etc. Next thing I know Matt is snoozing away. TYPICAL for those of you who know him! I reached over and touched his hand and, thankfully, he shook awake. I'm just glad I didn't have to go through one of those embarassing struggles to try and wake him!

I had another appointment today too. 19 weeks! Everything looks great! I wasn't supposed to have an ultrasound, but they did one anyway. Dr. Albers did a heartbeat check and found one right away. He said, "Well, there it is. Nice and strong." and then lifted the thing off of me.

I then asked, "What about the other one?"

He checked my chart and said, "Oh yeah, you're having twins. Let's just go take a look at them instead." He didn't get much of a picture this time, but I'll go ahead and post it anyway. It's just mostly legs & stuff.

Normally I would be a little frustrated with them, but I was just happy to get to see the little buggers again! They were kicking and moving all over the place! I'm still having trouble feeling them though. I've been feeling little "Flutters" for weeks, but no definite kicks yet. I'm sure they'll be here soon though.

Well, we're off to Disney World next week for Thanksgiving with the Psotas. We'll update you more then!

Happy Thanksgiving!!