Nursery Progress

   I really wanted to finish the nursery over the holiday break and my intentions were outlined with copious notes in my phone.  It didn't get completely finished but its certainly very close.  I did several little craft projects and we finally got a lamp and side table to go by the recliner. 
   I searched Pinterest far and wide trying to decide how I wanted to do their names above their cribs. I finally found a picture of some adorable canvas blocks covered with fabric. I made my first of a zillion trips to Hobby Lobby over this break for fabric, canvases, wooden letters, paint, glue guns, and batting.  2 days later, I had finished and here was the finished product!
 

 
 
 
 
   I think they came out great and I can't WAIT to see them over their cribs.  Throughout this project I realized...McKenna's name is long!!!  Owen's letters took no time at all and I felt like McKenna's took days.  Of course that could probably be because I had to go to multiple Hobby Lobby's to find all the letters etc. but anyway, they are done!!
  My next project was a copycat of a mobile I saw on Pinterest.  We already had mobiles for the cribs but I wanted this cool thing to hang in the corner of the room.  Well, it was $90 and I thought, pssssssshhhhhh I am NOT paying that.  So I decided to make it myself...here was the "model" I was looking at.
 

 

    So again, I headed to Hobby Lobby for fabric, Styrofoam balls, sewing pins, and ribbon.  What I realized is, after I spent the money on all the supplies I was nearly at the $90 mark and that was before I had even put anything together.  I headed home and started cutting out fabric circles and sticking them into the styro balls with sewing pins.  Oh...my...Lord...6 hours later and over 400 sewing pins and 3 yards of fabric and circles, circles, circles....I had barely finished ONE ball.  I had to go back to Hobby Lobby for more fabric and pins and I WISH I would have just bought the dang thing off Etsy.  2 days later I finished another one and I still have one more to go.  They turned out beautiful but they were WORK...

 



 

The beginnings of the grey pom....this one is STILL not finished...

 

  

 

Pink Pom on grey ribbon

 

  

 

Aqua Pom on grey ribbon

 

   My goal is to hang them from white cup hooks in one corner of the nursery at varying lengths just for some color variation.  We shall see how they come out!!! 

   Another little craft I wanted to get done was a hairbow holder for McKenna.  This baby girl is going to be bowed up at all times so she will need some place to store them all. Again, I combed Pinterest and found a few pictures and made my own version.

 

    

 

I left loops at the bottom for headbands eventually...this can grow with her and her hair accessory needs as well!!

   The other project I wanted us to get done over the break was the closet organizer.  Mason and I went to Home Depot and Lowe's and after he cautiously guided me away from one that cost over $300, we found one at Home Depot that was only $150 and we jumped on that.  We came home to see that we needed to take down the existing shelf, pull all the wood support out, patch the holes, and paint the wall before we could mount it.  We went to work doing that and as we waited for the paint to dry we opened the organizer and started to read the directions.  HOLY COW it was hard!  So we called in reinforcements the next day to help us, my dad, AKA the babies Pappoo!!  He came over and helped Mason and they got it up quick as could be.  Here is the progression of that project (for which I stayed far, far away in the other room). 

 

  

                                        Before....                          Ripping Out the old stuff...

 

                  

 

Paint...Brooklyn was a huge help obviously!           Instructions...time to call dad!

 

   

                               Mason                                        Dad AKA Pappoo

 

   

 

The FINISHED PRODUCT!!

 

     The best thing about it; its all adjustable and can be moved around and changed as they grow.  I am one happy mama, let me tell you!!!

     Finally, we made an IKEA run and found some shelves we liked.  They aren't up yet but that's our next step.  We were able to get a lamp to add to the side table I found at Home Goods (the other place I have made 37484 trips to over the break).  Here's what our little "corner" looks like now...

 

 

    The curtains were also a Home Goods purchase over the break...coming right along!!!  We have our 25 week sonogram on Friday and my glucose test at my OB. This is what the bump looks like at 25 weeks now...

 

 

       It really is frightening to compare the pictures of 11 weeks to now.  AND to know I still have 12 weeks to go...HOLY MOSES!!  But I want nice, big, healthy, babies so I will take it!!!! 

      Finally, Happy New Year!  2014 brought us our dream of getting pregnant and finding out it was twins.  2015 will see the birth of our beautiful babies, their first Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and more!  We cannot wait to meet you sweet babies!  See you in 85 days!

Christmas Eve, A Run to the Doctor, a new CHAIR and 24 weeks!

    What a day!!! After my gallbladder scan last week my Doctor's nurse called me and said he didn't see anything on the scan but he wanted me to go get blood drawn to check my liver and pancreas functions just to be safe.  On our way home from purchasing the car on Friday I stopped at Quest and gave my blood and they told me the doctor should have my results by Monday morning.  Monday and Tuesday came and went and with the business of Christmas and getting everything last minute done, I didn't stop to think about him not getting in touch with me on my results.  This morning I woke up and my first thought was "hmmm, I guess I won't hear anything until next week because they are surely not open on Christmas Eve."  No sooner did I have that thought and my phone rang...it was the Doc.  DeLana told me that my liver functions were elevated and the doctor wanted to see me TODAY to rule out preeclampsia. Well, I know that word and what all it can POSSIBLY entail and I was sufficiently panicked.  I jumped up and showered and we headed that way.  When we arrived about 10 they told us he was in surgery and would be back in the office by 10:30.  I went ahead and gave a urine sample and they took my blood pressure and Mason and I ran to get something to eat.  Urine was clear and blood pressure was fine, both good signs. We went for donuts and headed back by 10:30.
    When we got back to his office they decided to weigh me...awesome, AFTER the 4 donuts and two chocolate milks I drank. They put us in a room and we waited.  When he came in he told me I do NOT have preeclampsia but something is making my liver functions heightened and with the pain I am still having in my back and the burning in my ribcage, he thinks it might be GI related.  He is sending me to a GI specialist, back for more blood, and wants me to complete a 24 hour protein urine test.  I get to pee in a special container for 24 hours and store it in the fridge.  Mason looked HORRIFIED at this suggestion and asked if a cooler would do!!!!  His bottom line is, he wants to rule out everything he can think of so we have a baseline.  Meaning, if all these things are still present at 28 weeks he can know this is just typical of me and not something he needs to be concerned about because I was showing the same symptoms at 24 weeks etc.  So, I will be heading back to Quest Diagnostics on Monday to have more blood drawn and to get my "collection container"...  I am still going back to see him on January 2nd before I head to my 25 week sonogram so he will have the results of my bloodwork/urine test by then.   He also measured the size of my belly and its measuring at THIRTY TWO WEEKS!!!  I told him I had a friend who was measuring at 46+ weeks when she delivered her twins at 37 weeks and he said "oh, that's small"....Holy Moses.  Anyway, we left relieved that it wasn't preeclampsia and thankful for Dr. Richards and his thoroughness and ready to get our Christmas underway!!!!
   With it being Christmas Eve we had so many things to do before Church at 5 so we ran around taking care of miscellaneous things.  One of which was...OUR RECLINER WAS IN!!!  So we headed over to Buy Buy Baby after the doctor and miraculously fit it into the new car.

 

 

It had to come out of the box but it fit...thank GOD!!!

 

   

 

LOVE!!!!!

 

 

It's coming together!!!!

 

   After we got home with the chair we had a few more things to get done and then it was back home by 3:15 to get ready for church.  I chose the 5pm Children's Service at our church because my favorite thing to see is all the little ones dressed in their Christmas outfits so excited for Santa. The Children's service is quick and they do the living nativity with the kids...adorable!  We got ready and headed that way.  We hadn't been to church in a while....like, since we were married, and we were both nervous the place would catch fire when we walked in.  I don't know why I was worried...we were hugged and embraced like we had been there all along.  Pastor Joe came down the aisle specifically to our seats to shake Mason's hand and ask how things were.  When I told him about the twins he was so excited it made my heart nearly burst.  I love First United Methodist Rockwall and I am so glad it is the church home we will raise our family in.  The service was beautiful, noisy, and ended with a candlelight singing of Silent Night.  I fought back tears most of the time because I was just in awe of it all.  One short year ago we sat in that same service having been married for about a month and I watched all the little ones and babies and I remember thinking, praying, begging God to let that be us one day.  And to know one year later, here I sit with two little, perfect, babies in my belly just makes me so thankful.  How can you not believe in God in this world?  How can you not believe in God if you are a mom and you have carried life in your belly?  And to know that everyone in that church was excited about the birth of our Savior, as excited as I am about the birth of my children...well, I was a giant pile of tears and mush. Throw in candlelight and Silent Night...holy Moses...blubbering (blubbering again typing all this too...these hormones).  After church, we headed to Lindsey and Ted's where they made an amazing dinner for us! Sour cream chicken enchiladas from scratch, queso, chips, rice, beans, dessert...man, I was STUFFED!  We attempted to watch The Christmas Story but we were just ehhhh about it but Bandit was quite comfortable with his Pappoo and Willy was the most sociable he's EVER been...

 

 

 

 

 

    After we left Lindsey and Ted's, Mason and I headed home to do our Christmas with each other.  He went WAY OVERBOARD and took such good care of me.  I got my first pair of tennis shoes since college and they are FAB!  I also got money to ULTA, Hobby Lobby (since I have lots of baby projects to work on), new brown boots, and a hand blender.  He got a new Under Armour Hoody, a new bathrobe with a hood, and house shoes.

 

                                          New Hoody                   New Tennis Shoes

  

 

New Bathrobe WITH a Hood!!!

( I told him he looked like a boxer coming into the ring!)

 

   We remarked several times that this was probably the last "Christmas as we know it" for the rest of our lives.  Sitting quietly on the couch, watching each other open gifts, trying on our stuff, etc.  That next year a) we will have no money for gifts for each other and b) we will have babies to get to bed and Santa will have to come and we will be exhausted!  Sometimes when I think about it, it freaks me out a little but then it makes me excited.  Christmas is more fun with kids for sure!  We headed to bed knowing we had mom and dads early the next morning but not before I said my prayers and thanked God for this day.  It was Christmas Eve but it was also 24 weeks for our beautiful babies...a date I have anxiously waited for since the doctor told us it was the "viability marker".  At 24 weeks babies that are born have a fighting chance for survival with LOTS of medical intervention.  We certainly don't want them born at 24 weeks but knowing that if something happened and they were born from here on out they would most likely survive is a calming feeling.  28 weeks is really the 90% marker so I will now anxiously await that date!  Merry Christmas to all those we love and thank you God for sending Jesus to us!

 

 

24 weeks

 

 

Our last Christmas "just us"!!!!

Owen & McKenna's New Ride!!!

  I have been driving a 2005 Ford Escape for the past two years...to say that it is "basic" is an understatement.  It serves a purpose and that is to get me from Point A to Point B but I have taken so much flack for this car from my friends and Mason and really everyone.   When we found out we were pregnant that was most everyone's first comment "you can't be driving those babies around in that piece of C***!"  So, Mason and I have tossed it around but my point was we couldn't afford 2 car payments.  Staring down medical bills for two babies and daycare in 8 short months we need to be finding ways to save money not spend more than we already do.  We began accelerating the payments on Masons truck and in the beginning of December we were left with a couple of grand more to payoff.  I said if we could payoff his truck with whatever money we get for my car then we could consider a new loan for something better for me. Well, that was all Mason and Justin needed to hear! They both started looking for cars for me and I got in touch with our fabulous lady at the Credit Union, Chrissy. The money worked out at the credit union about the same time we found a couple cars at Affluent Motors that I liked.  Last night, we drove ALL THE WAY over by Children's Medical to look at an Acadia and a Durango.  Melissa has a Durango, which I love, but Justin got me thinking about the Acadia as well.  After we climbed in and out of both of them and test drove the Acadia we were HOOKED!  We left from there and sold my Car to CarMax and made plans to come back today to sign the papers.  The Credit Union took care of all of it and we even got to sign the loan papers electronically...via cell phone.  When we got to Affluent Motors the signing took 7 minutes...it really was extremely painless. Sooooo...we are now the proud new owners of a 2012 GMC Acadia that has more bells and whistles than I EVER thought I would care about or be able to afford.  It also has a fabulous bumper to bumper warranty (thank you for the insistence Uncle Justin) that will cover everything in the vehicle for a small deductible which I know will come in handy with two little ones. So here she is....

 

 

 

Owen & McKenna's Taxi!!!

 
   It drives beautifully, although I have logged about an hour behind the wheel, otherwise, Mason has driven her.  Amazing the things grown ups get excited about! I intend to drive her until the wheels fall off or the kids go to college...whichever comes first!

23 Weeks and a Gallbladder Scan

     Woooooo hooooo! Today marks 23 weeks and 99 days until our March 26th C-Section.There is something powerful about getting into double digits.  Here is how the prince and princess look today....

     The difference between 21 weeks and 23 weeks is amazing to me...so much growth!

  

                                      21 weeks                                 23 weeks

  Crazy, I tell ya!  Anyways, I have continued to have this excruciating pain in my back since around Thanksgiving.  I sit on a heating pad at work, bring my pregnancy pillow with me EVERYWHERE and still have to go lay down in the clinic at least once a day to get the pain under control.  Laying down is the only time it is completely gone. I noticed on Monday that the pain was really bad after I ate lunch and a snack after school so I called my doctor and let them know.  His nurse immediately called me back and wanted to send me to get my gallbladder scanned to make sure I didn't have gallstones etc. that might be causing this pain.  So I headed BACK to the hospital yesterday for an abdominal sonogram.  I got the nicest lady in both registration and the actual technician...I am always super impressed with Presbyterian of Dallas and I feel 100% confident knowing I will have my babies there. Anyway, she scanned all over my belly and when she got to my gallbladder she said, in her opinion, it looked fine.  No stones, no sign of disease or anything HOWEVER my right kidney showed that it was retaining fluid.  Since I have so many human beings in my stomach they are squishing all my organs to the sides and consequently, my ureters which drain fluid in and out of the kidneys are "pinched".  So I hammered her with questions...well is that dangerous? What do you do for that? Can it hurt the babies?  She said she has seen two things done; 1) they have put a stint in the ureters/kidney to help it drain or 2) they have attached a tube in somewhere in your back and you PEE INTO A BAG. Ummmmm, thanks but no. The pictures were all sent to my doctor and she said he would probably be in touch with me to discuss so I am hoping maybe he will call me with better news or some sort of remedy BESIDES delivery. I consider the scan a success for two reasons.  One, its not my gallbladder and I don't have to have surgery while pregnant.  Two, at least I know WHY I am in pain and that its not all in my head or I am overreacting to normal pregnancy pain.  I consider it a failure because I am no closer to feeling better and I still have 14 weeks to go. Lordy. 

   Next week is super busy for us because I got about 60% of my Christmas shopping done early and then stopped so I have 40% of my shopping to finish up and get wrapped next week. One week until Christmas and the 24 week mark!!!  

BabyMoon!  Well...sort of...

     I knew that I wanted Mason and I to get away one more time before the kids came.  Really, we wanted a weekend away with no barking dogs and having to be quiet when we sneeze in the morning so as not to wake them up.  So several weeks ago we decided on Granbury because it's not too far (sitting is still extremely painful for me) and it has just enough to do for a little day and a half getaway.  The preparation for this weekend away was more time consuming than the weekend itself, premonition for kids maybe?
    Thursday afternoon I made Brooklyn a vet appointment because she is consistently loosing weight and has this awful cough that tends to make her barf...on our bed, on my leg, on the freshly mopped floor, etc. and we have waited to see if it got better and it really hasn't.  So, Mason grabbed her on Thursday night and took her to the vet and I got home and grabbed Jaxon and Macy and packed them up to take them to their Nana'S AKA my mom and dad's.  I got the joy of sitting in traffic for an HOUR to get from Rockwall to Mesquite and I also got to learn that Jaxon doesn't care for a stopped car, it causes him to whine immensely.  So you can imagine what stop-and-go traffic did to him and to my nerves by the time we reached Mesquite. Once we got there, I got them unpacked and settled, chatted with mom and dad for a bit to let the traffic die down and headed home.  Mason called on the way back with the vet on the phone.  Apparently, my dog has allergies.  It is what is causing her rash on her skin and this cough.  I asked the vet about the weightloss, she has lost 9 pounds since her last visit, and he said she may also have in inflammatory bowel issue but that the antibiotics he was giving her for the allergies would clear that up if it were the case. He also suggested putting her on a more fattening diet, putting something in her bowl when she eats so she won't eat so fast, and he gave her a steroid shot while she was there.  Over $100 later Mason had her in the car on the way home.  The next fun thing we realized is that he put her on an oral antibiotic.  Trying to give Brooklyn pills or liquid medicine is like trying to get that girl in the Exorcist to stop spinning her head around. Mason and Justin tried to give her Pepto one night and they both ended up covered in pink liquid and she ended up with none in her. So now, we have pills to give her...awesome.  Mason came up with the brilliant idea of stuffing it into a cheesestick...sister ate it right up, THANK GOD. We went to bed Thursday night with one very confused Brooklyn, looking for her brother and sister, with intentions of leaving after work on Friday.
    Friday came, we worked, we went home, we packed, and we loaded Brooklyn up to take her to Justin and Melissa's.  We sat at their house for a bit while I watched Brooklyn scale the back of their sofa a zillion times, park herself at their dogs food bowl and INHALE food, and irritate their little chihuahua.  I was so proud. We finally got on the road about 6 with the intentions of hitting up Babe's on the Granbury square.  We hit traffic BIG TIME but we managed to make it to Babe's before they closed. I was in a lot of pain so I had to get up a few times during the meal and walk around and we were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel. It was a Holiday Inn Express that I found for a great deal on Hotels.com.  I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard Mason say, "ohhhh this bed is HARD".  I came out and tested it and sure enough, it was like sleeping on a concrete slab.  We called and ordered more pillows thinking maybe that might make it more cozy. WRONG.  We settled in as best we could knowing we had massages the next morning.
   Saturday morning came and it was the WORST NIGHTS SLEEP I HAVE EVER HAD.  Sleeping is currently touch and go for me because of my back but at home, once I get settled in with my 349784 pillows I sleep pretty good. Not here.  Every part of my body was stiff and my back was throbbing. We got up and headed to breakfast which was pretty fab, I have to admit, although I went in my pajamas...sorry!  We came back to our room and after a hot shower I felt better and we were headed to get massaged.
   If you are EVER in Granbury and feel like you need a massage, I cannot say enough about Granbury Massage and Wellness.  I found them on the internet and when I called and made our appointments I was working blind, although they had several great reviews online.  We got a couples massage where Mason got Swedish and I got prenatal.  I don't know if I was just super achy from the sleeping situation or what but it was the BEST massage ever.  I had to be massaged on my sides, which was fine, and Mason said he fell asleep in the middle of his. But the coolest thing was after my massage was finished, my lady put one hand on my belly and one hand on my head and prayed over us.  It was so touching and it made the experience for me!  Sadly, they ended and we got dressed and headed out in search of some lunch.  We saw a cool place on the square called The Fillin' Station and the whole menu was themed after cars!  i had the giant bacon cheeseburger, the Cadillac I think, and Mason had hubcaps (fried pickles) and the buffalo chicken sandwich. After we finished eating, we intended to walk through the shops and browse etc.  Well, I got through about 4 stores and I was nearly in tears from the back and stomach pain.  Mason came out of one store and I was sitting on a bale of hay they had used for a fall scene...he just looked at me and said "why don't we go back  to the hotel for a bit".  So we did.  And we got back on that concrete bed and I dozed for a bit and when we had tossed and turned enough we finally looked at each other and said "let's go home".  We went to the front desk and told them we wanted to check out and he lady seemed confused.  I explained we didn't want any money, we just wanted them to know we were leaving.  She continued to look puzzled and said she would have to let a manager know and have them check us out the next day. Ok, sounds good to me but we are leaving!  That's what I wanted to say, but I didnt!  So we got back in the car and headed home.  I felt so guilty and so mad at myself that I tried to do this when I know this pain has been so bad recently.  Part of me thought the massages would help, I would be relaxed and my muscles would be loosened up and I would be able to walk for longer but I was sorely mistaken.
   We got home and went and got Brooklyn and headed back to our bed.  We ordered pizza and watched TV and fell asleep around 10.  It wasn't the weekend I thought it would be or the one I was expecting but it was perfect for us. Sunday we got some errands run and picked up our other two mutts and had a fun night baking and decorating more cookies with Justin and Melissa. Here is the only picture we have from our "babymoon"...

   We hit 23 weeks this coming Wednesday so that's one week closer to week 24 and viability!  I just have to survive this last week at work and then Mason and I have two glorious weeks off. We will be doing lots of nursery projects, Mason just doesn't know it yet! 

22 Weeks and THAT Day....

   I knew it was coming....the day where I cried and felt sorry for myself and decided I was over being pregnant.  Well, really, who am I kidding...I had a LOT of these days when I was barfing everything I ate 4 times a day but it has been a while.  Well yesterday was that day again.  My rib pain and back pain was so bad, so piercing it was taking my breath away.  I was unable to meet with one of my groups and I was in the clinic about 6 different times trying to lay down and keep the pain at bay.  Several people told me to call the doctor but here's the thing, I normally go to doctor's for papercuts really (well that's what my family would tell you) but I knew exactly what they would say, "go to labor and delivery and get monitored" and I knew it wasn't contractions because its the same pain I have been having since right before I fell and I have been monitored twice since then.  And those Labor and Delivery trips aren't free!!!!  We listened to them on the doppler the night before and I have read up on contractions, they are in your low back and pelvis and they stop for nothing.  My pain is in my high back, below my ribcage and goes completely away when I lay down.  I got home yesterday at 4:30, fed the dogs, and got in bed where I did not leave all night.  I was mopey and sad and sweet Mason put on Elf for me to watch and that did make me laugh a little.  I didn't even eat dinner...that is how blehhhhh I was feeling.  Only popsicles and chocolate milk for me.  15 weeks seems really far away and it seemed REALLY far away last night.  I felt so guilty because I want this so badly. to be a mom, to have these babies, for them to be healthy, all of which requires they cook for as long as possible but there were moments yesterday where I thought "DELIVER ME JESUS!". I kept googling the wherabouts of my pain and LOTS of women experienced the same things so that made me feel a little better.  But I felt sorry for me and I told Mason "this is hard" and I cried and whined. But today, I told myself I wasn't doing that.  I immediately took tylenol when I woke up this morning and I have taken it consistently every 3.5 hours all day today.  I brought my pregnancy pillow with me and it made the car ride pain free and I didn't start to feel twinges of pain until about 10:15 today. I have stayed in my desk chair and had my groups of kiddos come to me and the pain has been very manageable today.  It's still there but I haven't had to go lay down in the clinic at all (knock on wood) and when it starts to creep up I get up and walk or stop and lean back in my chair and put my feet up. Yesterday also marked 22 weeks which is officially 15 weeks and 1 day from our March 26th C-Section and THIS is what I am already working with...

That.Is.Ridiculous. 

  But its ok.  I need to get bigger, they need to get heavier, and I need to get over it and that is my intention but yesterday wasn't one of my better days. 

Doctors Appointment and Sonogram

    YAY YAY YAY!  I LOVE sonogram days and I am very blessed because I get one every 4 weeks.  I was solo today because Mason is trying to save up every available minute of work time to take off with me for the full two weeks at Christmas and then to have as much time as possible when the twins are born. I headed to see Dr. Richards at 2:30 and had Dr. Rhinehart at 3:15 so I knew it would be a squeeze but it ended up being fine.  Urine sample was fab.  My weight, HOLY MOSES 10 pound gain in 4 weeks!!!  I nearly fell over.  I really haven't gained a lot of weight this pregnancy at all because I was so sick at the beginning and every food imaginable sounded sickening to me, CLEARLY, I am making up for lost time. In all, I have still only gained about 20 pounds but I was probably not as thin as I should have been when I got pregnant (whoops!) and I like Whataburger again so we may have a problem on our hands!  Dr. Richards came in to find me laying on the table because that's all that is comfortable these days and he told me "don't get up" but then I felt weird talking to him laying down like he was my shrink or something so I sat up.  We discussed the pain under my ribcage and how it goes between burning and numb and he said "oh, that's your nerves tearing apart as your muscles and skin stretch to hold the babies but don't worry it should go away as the nerves just die"....AWESOME.  He also agreed with the on call from the doctor the other night that the back pain is "positional" meaning it gets worse or better depending on how I am sitting/standing/laying etc. which doesn't indicate kidney or bladder.  He said it could be gallstones/gallbladder and now I am wondering why I didn't ask more questions about how we would determine that, but, that more than likely its all the fabulous ROUND LIGAMENT pain and stretching, ripping, and tearing to accommodate TWO people.  I don't know how dogs have litters of puppies, this business is insane. Before I left I got my instructions for my glucose/diabetes test that I take next appointment (in 4 weeks) and then after that appointment I start seeing him every 2 weeks...AKA stuff starts to get real.  He said on the next appointment he will start lecturing me about taking classes etc. and I told him I already toured the hospital and had a plan to tour the NICU and he looked pleasantly surprised...raise your hand if you are Type A....oh me, me, me, me!  I paid my monthly payment, scheduled my next appointment for January 2nd and I was off to Rhinehart!
  I do love sonogram day, however, Dr. Rhinehart's office has two speeds, slow and stopped.  I have yet to go in there and wait less than 25-30 minutes for my appointment.  This time did not disappoint...30 minutes and I finally got called back.  I had a new technician who I loved and she totally talked/joked with me the whole time.  She started on Owen's side (my left) and showed me how he was positioned, took measurements of his head (giant) and told me he weighed 1 POUND 2 OUNCES.  My app for this week says babies are measuring in at about 11 ounces...holy night!  As she was continuing to pan over my belly and take several measurements, show me blood flow, kidneys, teeny tiny bladder etc. I said "what is that thing that's flapping on the screen" and she laughed and said, "well, those are his boy parts".  That's my boy, ladies and gentleman...flapping his business to the camera the ENTIRE time...I told the tech "his father would be so proud".  After she finished Owen she moved over to McKenna who was either asleep or not interested in cooperating so she had to prod my belly several times to get her to wake...so enjoyable for me, let me tell you. The first thing she noticed were her legs were "firmly crossed at the ankles" so her brother is an exhibitionist and she's a lady, mama's so proud!  Finally she was able to get her measurements etc. and she weighed in at 1 POUND 1 OUNCE. Both babies are above average for weight again and I started telling the technician about a friend of mine who recently took her twins home from the hospital in preemie outfits.  She looked at me and said, "don't go buying no preemie clothes, you are gonna have big, juicy, healthy babies"! Music to my ears but I know they will get to a point where they outgrow my belly and that will probably slow down their growth but I would be ok with some 7 pound babies!  She also told me to take back newborn diapers, oy, but I am gonna wait on that.  They looked WONDERFUL!  Owen is head down, McKenna was head up however, when the doctor came in to go over what the tech had found McKenna had flipped and was head down too..and I felt nothing!  Crazy!  The pictures of McKenna weren't good at all but they got a great profile shot of Owen...

Look at the size of that head!

Best she could get of McKenna...

The doctor took this one when he came in...both head down!

  I asked the doctor if I looked like I was having any cervical issues etc. and he said no.  He called this our "second anatomy scan" and said that from here on out we just want them to gain weight.  So I take that to mean that all parts are present and accounted for; 4 heart chambers, bladders, kidneys, etc. so I left feeling fabulous especially after my fall and getting to know they were healthy and fine.  I called Mason and told him how everything went and about Owen and like I predicted he said "he's my son for sure..."...must be a Cornelius male thing!

New Pain

    I am in a little less pain everyday so thats comforting to know.  I have been walking around work with a heating pad stuffed in the top of my maternity jeans (so its really no where near my butt) and I just plug in whenever I go into a new room.  Maybe that's helping???  HOWEVER, I do have a new pain on my belly, up by my rib cage, below my right, you know and it goes back and forth between feeling like a bad burning sensation and then a numbing sensation.  I googled it, of course, and many women report having similar feelings and that their doctor told them its probably just muscles TEARING to make your belly bigger.  Awesome. I wonder if after they are born this belly will drag the ground...no one judge me if it does.  I'm just gonna throw it over my shoulder or tuck it in my pants and pretend like no one notices.  I have my doctors appointment tomorrow so I have a LIST of questions to ask my doc. I am sure when he sees my name on his schedule for the day he just shakes his head, although, whenever we are there he tells me I am one of his favorite patients.  Maybe he says it so I will go away...silly doctor, I have an anxiety disorder, I'm not going anywhere!
   In OTHER news, they kicked last night!!!!  I have been so worried because everytime someone comes up to me and asks me how far along I am they follow it with "oh my gosh, have you been feeling them move?" to which I reply "NO".  So I already think they are broken from my fall and clearly the fall is what has kept them from kicking and moving around but finally last night they kicked!  Mason even got down on the floor next to the bed so he could watch and put his hands on my belly and sure enough, he felt the little pulses too!  And if I am really still and lay flat I can see my belly move and wiggle...SO WEIRD!
   Sonogram tomorrow and I cannot WAIT to see them...I will leave you with the belly shot progression.  Holy Moses I am going to be giant...

Hospital Visit #2

    After Saturday's events and leaving the hospital knowing we had two heartbeats and no contractions you would think I would have my mind at ease....WRONG.  So to wake up this morning and have pain ALL OVER MY BODY only exacerbated my freaking out.  When I got to work I called the doctor and spoke to my wonderful nurse and told her about my achiness and she confirmed it was probably just routine feelings from falling and for me to take Tylenol (worthless) and try hot soaks and Ben Gay etc.  Well, as the day wore on the pain got worse and worse specifically in my right side and it was SHOOTING.  Every time it would happen I felt like I was going to hurl and I had little appetite. I was trying to work with my groups of kids but longer than 10 minutes in a chair left me in excruciating pain...soooo, I called the doctor back!  When I told her the situation and mentioned the shooting pain she said I needed to go back to labor and delivery.  I went and told my boss (through tears) who was wonderful and told me of course to go and that she was SURE everything was going to be fine. I called and let Mason know but he was working so I just headed there on my own...
   Funny thing about hospitals, you would think if you are a repeat customer, especially within 48 hours, that the re-admitting process would be a breeze.  WRONG.  I had to fill out all the paperwork again and new hospital bracelets and new consent forms and blah blah blah.  So, I am finally checked in and the nurse comes for me and she looks at me and back at her clipboard and back at me and says, "20 weeks?" with this look of bewilderment on her face.  And I said. "yes, with twins" and she breathed a sigh of relief almost and said, "ok, I thought you looked way too big for 20 weeks with a single"...thanks Lady.  Now I am having a panic attack about my babies AND the fact that I am the size of a whale...thanks for that.  Anyway, she took me back to the SAME triage room, gave me the SAME spiel about getting in the gown etc. and I did it all except this time they weighed me.  But they are smart in L&D triage...they weigh you in grams or something so whatever it was I only weighed 94 something so I will take that. I climbed back into bed and here came my nurse, Abby.  She got out the familiar doplar and went to work looking for heartbeats.  It took a little longer to find them this time and I was freaking out of course but, eventually, there they were.  130's and 150's respectively. She took a lot of information from me, asked me to point to the pain, and hooked me back up to the contraction monitor...which there were none, thank God. 

 She got on the phone and called the doctor who immediately asked for a urine sample which didn't surprise me because when I told her where the "flank pain" was she said "sounds kidney to me".  So, Abby comes back and gives me instructions on how to give a STERILE urine sample and throws in, nonchalantly, that if it isn't sterile enough she will have to put a CATHETER in me.... PASS.  So I followed my instructions to the T and when the doctor did finally come to see me she said, "you had the clearest, cleanest urine of any pregnant woman I have ever seen"...that's right lady, teach you to threaten me with a catheter again. So, no kidney issues, no UTI, and after she sat and talked to me and pushed on my back etc. she decided to treat it as "musculoskeletal" and a basic pregnancy pain that I made worse by falling.  She said if I had fallen the opposite way I may actually have done a better job of keeping myself from pain...of course I WOULD fall the wrong way.  The nurse brought me a gram of Tylenol, I know what you are thinking...a GRAM that must be tons, thats how drugs are measured, right?  Wrong, its two extra strength...I figured it wasn't a good time to tell her I usually take 4 of whatever pain reliever I am taking, oh well. I sat and waited for the gram of Tylenol to kick in, and it didn't, but when she came back in and asked me if I was better I said yes BECAUSE, if my babies are ok and this is not something that is causing them distress or a sign of danger for them then I can handle some pain...plus, I wanted to go home.  They discharged me and I headed out feeling less than stellar but a tiny bit less anxious. I get to see them on sonogram Friday and I think that is whats helping me keep my sanity.  

   Owen and McKenna...
       Mommy is very sorry she fell and she hopes she didn't hurt any of your organs. She is going to try really, really, hard to be careful the rest of the time you are in there.  But know this, my love for you is already deep and I cannot imagine what I would do if something happened to you and I haven't even held you in my arms yet.  Please stay warm and safe in there until March 26th at 7:30am when your daddy and I will be patiently waiting to meet you.  Well, not really patiently because thats not my style, but your dad will be calm I'm sure!  Love you my sweet babies...

                                                                      ~Mommy