29 Weeks + 2 Days (54 days until C-Section!)

    Today is Doctor Appointment day!!!  I really do look forward to these appointments because I get to see the babies but I am a little nervous about today.  I am entering the time when complications like preeclampsia and preterm labor start up for moms carrying multiples.  Not to mention I have been in pain this week like NO OTHER.  It was so bad Monday I was near tears.  Its a burning, stretching, aching that is under my ribs in both front and back and radiates down my sides (or flanks as WebMD calls it...appropriate because I feel about the size of a horse and that's what they call their sides too). I have also been having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions especially at night.  They aren't painful, they just make my belly really tight and I have to slow my breathing a little until they pass. The babies have still been moving around a lot (Owen more so than McKenna) although now, when Mason puts his hands on my belly they stop...sneaky little things. 
   Anyway, I have been adding to my running list in my phone of everything that needs to happen before the babies come and its getting longer and longer and more overwhelming really. Here are just a few tidbits:

* Finish Nursery
* Finish shower thank you notes
* Clean out the office
* Research/Interview/Select Pediatrician
* Pack bags
* Get coming home outfits
* Install carseats
* Get all Disability/FMLA Paperwork completed
* Get contact list together for Mason
* Figure out dog arrangements 
* Call insurance about breast pump

    And the list goes onnnnnn to include things like "make freezer meals" "schedule housekeeper for the week after we come home" etc.  Some of these things are obviously not going to get done like clean out the office, pssssshhhhh, thats been on my list to do since 3 summers ago, and every Christmas break, and Spring break etc. since then.  Anyway, what will get done will get done and they are coming regardless so I just hold onto that little piece of knowledge.  

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   Doctor visit(s) were a SUCCESS!!!  Dr. Richards and I discussed everything from cord blood banking to childbirth classes to what happens if I go into labor prior to my C-section.  He said that after 34 weeks he won't stop labor, he will just deliver me.  We also talked about the NICU and the Special Care Nursery and whether or not I would get to hold them immediately in the delivery room if they come on time at 37 weeks.  I really, really love Dr. Richards...he's the best.  I also told him all my pregnancy complaints symptoms and he said "sounds pretty right for the third trimester of a twin pregnancy"...awesome!  AND THEN he got out the tape measure and measured this belly....you ready...FORTY THREE WEEKS. This stomach is the size of a woman who is carrying one baby and is THREE WEEKS overdue.  No wonder I can't breathe, or sit up, or walk further than 20 steps...and I still have 7.5 weeks to go.  I cannot even imagine how giant I am going to get. My blood pressure was great and he also actually said he was "pleased" with my weight gain.  First and last time I will probably ever hear that one!  He felt comfortable not repeating my blood test so I scheduled my next two appointments and I was out of there!  On to Dr. Rhinehart!
   I have made previous posts about the wait time at Rhinehart's and I was expecting the same today.  I signed in at 2:32 (appointment time was 3:15) and settled into a chair with my phone ready for the marathon wait.  5 minutes later they called me back. I immediately texted Mason and told him it was our lucky day and to go buy lottery tickets!  I got on the table and figured this would be where I would wait...maybe 6 minutes later, in comes the tech.  She was wonderful and started her measurements and taking pictures of the babies.  She measured Owen first and her exact words were "his head is GIANT" and he was facing my back nearly the entire time so she couldn't get great photos of him but she also said his femur bone was "looooooong" and that he was going to be tall if that kept up.  So after she measured his head, his belly, and his femur he weighed in at 3 pounds 9 ounces!  She moved over to McKenna who I was so glad was still there because she never moves.  She said "she has an average size head but a large belly" to which I replied "hmmmm kind of like her mother".  She also had an average size femur bone and weighed in at 3 pounds 6 ounces.  I was so glad a) they have put on nearly a pound and a half in 4 weeks and b) their weights are still very close.  I've been told that if one starts to drastically outweigh/outgrow the other then that's a big problem. To recap, my son has a giant head and my daughter has a Buddha Belly...and I can't WAIT to see that giant head and belly!!!  She checked my cervix...long and closed and I also wondered aloud if they may have hair yet.  She checked McKenna...no hair.  She couldn't check Owen's head because it was jammed so low in my cervix...yummy.  Owen is head down with his feet in my ribs and McKenna is head up in my ribs and feet down at my cervix...no wonder my rib cage burns all.the.time. She finished up and told me the Doctor would be in momentarily.
    I got to see Rhinehart again!!!  He came in and put the wand on me and his first comment was "they're huge"...thaaaaaaaaanks!  He looked around a bit and asked how I was feeling. I told him IN PAIN and he agreed with Dr. Richards...sounds like 3rd trimester with twins!  He cautioned me to really watch my back because I have no more core and only the use of about 50% of my abdominal muscles.  He also told me that babies born past 28 weeks have a 97% survival rate so I am in a great spot time wise.  He looked at me and said "awesome kids and lets go three weeks this time"!  So I cleaned up and scheduled my next appointment (I will be 32 weeks) and I was out of there by 3:15...my actual appointment time!  It was fabulous!  I was back in Rockwall by 4! 
   I leave a belly shot...a giant, 43 week measuring belly shot!!

Maternity Pictures

    Soooo, in case I haven't made it clear in this blog thus far, I am not one of those glowing, dewy, happy pregnant women.  I am the pregnant woman that has already outgrown her maternity pants, hurts most of the time, can't bend over, loses her breath, and feels like the size of a small circus tent most days.  It has really been a struggle, actually, because I feel very, very strange during pregnancy. I don't really wear makeup or put much effort into my appearance past showering and making sure my hair looks semi-manageable. I don't know why...I just don't feel...myself. Don't get me wrong, I know what I am doing is super important and I wouldn't trade it for anything, I guess I just look at it as an "out of body" experience for these 9 months and then I will go back to being myself after they are born, maybe?  To which people laugh and say "HAHAHAHAHA...no you won't" which incites a fresh wave of panic, but I digress.  When the opportunity to have these maternity photos came about I knew I should do it because I want to look back one day and say "ohhhhhh, I was still a little pretty and look how my body grew TWO babies, etc.".  So, I did it up big.  I had my good friend Randi do my makeup, curled my hair (and used product!) and put on my lacy shirt and only pair of pants that still fit and Mason and I headed out to Royse City. 
   I cannot say ENOUGH about Nicole Woodard, our photographer that took these pictures.  She was also VERY pregnant and still managed to climb into bushes and all around to get these shots.  She loves to use the sun and I think they came out AMAZING!

                               

We saw a picture like this on Pinterest years ago and Mason said he wanted to recreate it when our time came...HILARIOUS!

 

  

This guy...Mason...I cannot say ENOUGH how awesome he was during this shoot.  He had his pregnant wife AND a pregnant photographer so he was having to help us both up and down and breaking sticks and twigs to help make shots easier for Nicole.  He's a trooper...even though he told me he is SOOOOOO over pictures!  

  I have to say after seeing them, I still clean up decent.  Maybe a few years from now when I have cheerios in my hair, spit up on my shoulder, and two toddlers clinging to my legs I will look back at these pictures and long for the days I had a choice in putting on makeup and actually doing my hair. Until then, I will stick to just showers, decent hair, and wearing one of my 6 tops I haven't outgrown yet!

Roosting...

   One of my very best friends Melissa, has two boys, Dalton and Wyatt.  She has been saying that the MINUTE I found out whether I was having a boy she was packing all her boy stuff up and sending it to my house.  She even promised to do it if it were a girl too because "who cares" if she wears blue.  So she has been lovingly giving me things for MONTHS.  My guest room looked like a baby bomb went off in it but in all seriousness, there are a lot of things I won't have to get because she gave them to me already.  One of her, ahem, gifts was 9...count them NINE boxes of baby clothes.  All packed lovingly in old diaper boxes which are super legible to read sizes on...NOT.  So one of my projects has been to get all those boxes opened, gone through, and organized into month sizes. That way, when Owen starts to outgrow 6 month clothes I can simply go to the 6-9 month bin and pull it, wash it and be ready to go.  Well, this turned into a bigger project than I expected (I should really have this put on a t-shirt...walking from the bedroom to the living room is a bigger project than I expected at this point too). But, 2 hours, 9 boxes, and 2 loads of laundry later I was done...here's the evidence:

   I washed/hung/folded anything that was newborn up to 6 months because I don't know if I will have normal sized babies or super chunks.  Now, I have NO IDEA where we will put these finished masterpieces boxes but they are there and organized and labeled and they make my heart happy.  I still have the girls stuff to do as well but it is not nearly as IMMENSE as the boys clothes project.  Earlier, as all these clothes were strewn about the kitchen (had to work at the kitchen table...can't get up off the floor) Mason kind of looked at me funny.  He had been running the empty boxes to the trash without complaint but I finally stopped and told him the definition of of "nesting".  I explained to him that our house was filthy, nothing was done, and my head was going to explode if all chores didn't get done before the babies came...not really, I just tried to make him understand a moms need to make things perfect etc.  So later, after I have finished my clothes project, I fell down on the couch next to him and mumbled something about sorry I missed watching our TV show or whatever because I was busy and he said, "it's ok babe...I know you were roosting"...I nearly lost it I was trying so hard not to laugh.  LOVE. THAT. MAN... Roosting vs.Nesting...Close enough!

Nursery Update!

   Thank the LORD for 3-day weekends.  This has been such a great one and to know we don't have to go to work tomorrow...makes it 100x better. 
    So I have a running list in my phone of things that need to get done/cleaned out/prepared before the babies get here.  Since we are about 2 short months away from delivery I have been feeling the pinch and really I would like it all done right now...like today. This is a problem since I can do very little anymore without getting winded or being in pain so I have to rely on those around me.  Luckily, they have all stepped up!  We found shelves we liked at IKEA and still needed to hang the letters over the cribs so we tackled that...

 

Mason and Justin and some shelves that were SUPPOSED to be easy...

Finished Shelf Project!

Now I just need to organize them and put frames etc. up but this was just for visual purposes! (Can you tell I am obsessed with initials?)

   Next, we were onto the letters and praying they were a little easier than the shelves (they were...I say that as I watched from the recliner). Although, it did take 3 people...Mason to hold the laser level, Justin to mark the spots, and Sissa to stand back and make sure they were straight. The finished product...

  

  Its coming along!  My next project is to go through/organize all the clothes everyone has lovingly given us. But if they for some reason arrived today and came home tomorrow (ummmm no) they would have an 80% finished nursery and places to sleep. Not too much longer now!!! 

27 Weeks 1 Day and a Drs. Appointment

    Today was my first Drs. appointment in the "every 2 week" rotation.  Dr. Richards, my OB, wants to start seeing me every 2 weeks from here on out and my perinatologist wants to start every two weeks when I hit 30 weeks.  So, today was urine, blood pressure, measure the belly, and heartbeat check.  All was fabulous, however, he did send me for bloodwork when I told him I have been itching like CRAZY.  He said there is something pregnant women develop where they itch like crazy called Pups or something...he's 99% sure I don't have that but wants to rule it out.  Belly is measuring about 33.5 weeks and two strong heartbeats!  McKenna's was actually faster than Owen's which surprised me since he is like the energizer bunny in there.  Here's me today...

27 weeks 1 day

   Yesterday, when I got home from work we had so many packages on our front porch!  Our carseats, Owen's Rock N' Play from the Spanglers, and some miscellaneous things I had ordered that included McKenna's very own pink booger sucker which I am sure she will just LOVE as much as Lindsey and I loved when mom came at us with ours...NOT.  Here are our carseats with the adorable covers we ordered shortly after we found out we were having a boy and a girl....

I wish I had gotten her letters in block...hard to see her name but it's cute up close!

  I still can't believe someone is going to let us take PEOPLE home from the hospital in these seats AND let us KEEP THEM...but I sure can't wait!

My AMAZINGLY, PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL Baby Shower! 

    Yesterday was an AWESOME day!  It was a day I have looked so forward to and honestly, seemed so far away at the time and I can't believe its come and gone.  Owen & McKenna's Aunt Lindsey, Aunt Sissa, Aunt Melissa, and Aunt Brooke offered to throw me a shower quite some time ago. 

Melissa * Sissa * Linds * Brooke

   I really had only two requests and they were, 1) that it be relatively early as I wanted to attend and not be in danger of some bed rest etc. and 2) I wanted one big shindig.  I didn't want to have multiple people trying to offer to host and do this family one weekend, friends this weekend, etc....too much. My guest list teetered on 60 people and I still could have added more but in the interest of space etc. I capped it at that.  The shower was held in the same room Mason and I were married in and to say it was surreal is an understatement.  I have had so many friends have babies.  I have been to so many showers with the pretty pink and blue bag in hand with the adorable clothes or bath stuff or nursery supplies that I had lovingly picked out for mom-to-be.  And at EVERY one of those showers I would ask myself if this would ever happen to me...even at times in my life when I wasn't ready for kids or even married.  Its just always been my fear that I wouldn't be a mom and it has happened, its happenING!  And for as much as it is not comfortable, enjoyable, and somedays downright awful...I am so glad to be pregnant, so glad God blessed me with two, and so glad I get the chance to do what I have watched some amazing women around me do...be a mom. 
   Anyway, back to the shower...each baby had their own table, beautiful fabric banner, and sweet girl got her own "table tutu".  There was fruit, pinwheels, and my fave...pigs in a blanket! Lemonade and tea for sipping and the cakes...oh the cakes.  

McKenna's Table















                                               Owen's Table







   I mean could they be ANY cuter!!!!  The cakes were done by a friend of Sissa's (and actually Mason and I as well) and Lordy is she talented.  She did the cake for our gender reveal and not only are they beautiful but they taste amazing.  AND she does it all without using fondant which is impressive...here is a close up of them...

  And I love that both their names were on them...love me anything with names or monograms!!!  So if you ever need cakes, look up Ashley Stephens on Facebook...you will NOT be disappointed!  And those banners and adorable wooden signs lovingly made by Sissa, well I am trying to decide where they will go in the kids rooms or in my house or something.  For sure I am using them in my maternity photos...too cute not to! 

   People began showing up around 3 with so many beautiful bags and boxes and I got to see people I haven't seen in YEARS including part of my team back when I first started teaching; Katie and Holly. 

Holly * Me * Owen/McKenna * Katie

   When I left STA, Katie was pregnant with sweet Dalton and Holly has since had beautiful Miss Georgia...so good to see them!  All my aunts, my friends, my Toler friends and family were there!  

The Toler Crew

Connie * Wendi * Melissa * Brooke * Me/O/McKenna * Nickki * Fink * Tanisha

(These ladies...I love my new school and new job but NO ONE made me laugh at work like them!)

******I took pictures with EVERYONE that attended at the shower...when I get them off my mom's camera I will be placing them ALL here*******

    I mingled and ate, mingled some more, ate some more and then Sissa made me go sit in a chair and it was time to start opening the babies goodies. They got SO MANY clothes, boppies, blankets, their Rock N' Play sleepers (which have come highly recommended from every new mom I know) and diapers and wipes galore. They also got TONS of gift cards! It was so fun to open everything and people oooooh and ahhhhh and I can't wait to see them in this stuff.  I thanked everyone for coming and through tears, thanked them all for loving me and loving these babies before they even arrive!

   Mason came back after it was over and helped load everything into our car.  When we got home we dumped it all in the floor of the nursery and it looked like this...

     
        













      I couldn't even lift the reclining part...so much stuff!

        I mean...that ^ is crazy!!!

The Dogs had their heads shoved all the way in bags...hilarious!

   So as you can see, we are BLESSED!  I spent Saturday night trying to wade through/hang up most of it all and most of today trying to finish up and take note of what we still need to get. We went ahead and used our gift cards to order the carseats and bouncers for each of them.  We also hit up Target where they had tons of stuff on sale to get their bottles, some miscellaneous things like receiving blankets, and burp cloths.

That is 12 bottles per baby...Oy. My cabinets look SURREAL when I open them and see this!!!

  Mason (and Jaxon, Macy and Brooklyn) helped put McKenna's Rock N' Play and Bouncer together this evening...

 

McKenna's Stuff...Owen's is all being shipped to us!!

The crew...worn out after some baby building!!!

   To sum up...thank you to these 4 beautiful ladies!  Thank you for loving me and loving my babies and for making their baby shower so beautiful, special, and memorable!  Love you all so very much!

26 Weeks & Some Observations

   I passed my glucose screen!  YAY!!  A lot of people talked about hating it and it being awful etc. and I just didn't think it was that bad.  I mean, I'm not going out and buying that nasty drink to serve at parties or anything but for a quick little 5 minute chug...no biggie. Here is how I LOOK at the 26 week mark...

LORD.HAVE.MERCY...

   Things I have noticed recently:

1)  I can no longer tie my shoes, Mason must help me with this.  In addition, getting boots on is difficult as well.  I have to kind of swing them out and hope my foot lands in them and then try to zip them up.  So, if you see me in flip flops mid February its because no one was at home to help me with my shoes.

2) I.DROP.EVERYTHING.  And of course, it has become harder and harder and nearly impossible to bend over to pick things up.  Result, lots of random things are just on the floor hanging around my house. 

3)  My belly HITS everything.  I turn around and stuff flies off my desk. I have cut corners too close and this belly hits the wall.  

4)  I take a long, hot soak in the tub almost every other night because my back and ribs hurt so bad.  I can no longer get out of the tub on my own.  I have to text Mason or yell for him and he has to come get me.  

5)  I am CONSTANTLY OUT OF BREATH.  Rolling over in the bed = wheezing fit.  Walking down the hall = must lean on wall and catch breath.  Talking too much = head back, eyes closed trying to catch breath.

6)  I can no longer use my foot to flush the toilet.  I do NOT touch the handles in public bathrooms, I use my foot and push it down gently.  Because I am a plumbers daughter and he has warned me of the dangers of "kicking" the toilet handle, I am very careful.  I can no longer do this.  I discovered that one day at Costco when I went to "tap" the handle with my left foot and fell backwards into the stall door and my foot never even made it halfway off the ground. I actually started laughing and then couldn't decide what body part to use to touch the handle. I settled on my elbow...this has been serving me well ever since. 

7)  Owen kicks me all the time.  At night. During the day. In the morning. you name it, he' s moving around in there.  McKenna, not so much.  She will give me a flutter here and there but I am convinced maybe her brother has kicked her so hard she's decided staying still and hoping he doesn't remember she is there is a better practice. 

8)  Sleeping has become a sports activity.  I need 459845 pillows; one for under my belly, one for between my legs, one for under my head, one for behind my back.  I get them all arranged and situated amidst Mason's cries of "you're stealing all the covers" and flop down into my cocoon I have created (out of breath) and lay there for approximately 4-6 minutes until I am uncomfortable and its time to flip over.  This happens a minimum of 489 times a night. 

    What I am noticing more and more are my limitations.  I get it, I'm carrying a litter, clearly this should mean some adjustment to my life and my activities and I know its not forever. But still...somedays its really hard to take.  I am a mover and a doer, I am organized and I rarely let things slip by me, I am a planner and I do not like to ask for help....all of these things are out the window...for now I hope. I remember nothing, my response to "do you want to _____?" is most likely going to be "no, I would rather nap" and I have to have help sitting up in my own bed. I am fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive husband who doesn't mind helping me but continually reminds me he "can't read my mind" which forces me to use the words "I need help" which is hard. Again, I think this is all God's fun little joke to help me learn to slow down, ask for help, and rely on others as I can see that still happening when the twins are born. And thank GOD he has surrounded me with people who are ready, willing, and excited to step in!  

   Baby shower this weekend, Drs. appointment next week, and long weekend after that.  If you need me, I'll probably be napping....

Sonogram and Glucose Screen

    January 2nd arrived and it was time to go back and look at our Baby Boy and Girl.  Our appointment was at 10:45 so we headed toward the doctor.  We walked into the office and it was PACKED so we waited outside in the outer lobby.  We waited AN HOUR and finally got called back.  I was not happy because I feel like EVERY time we come for another sono we wait longer and longer.  Fortunately, we were both off work so it wasn't a huge deal but still...what makes it even harder is we love the doctors and the staff there so its hard to be mad at them!!  We were finally taken back and we got the most unfriendly technician we have had so far.  I kept having to ask her questions about what things were and her answers were short and pointed. Luckily, this was really more of a "checkup" so there was no real new information to be given.  She left and said the doctor would be in shortly and we FINALLY got to meet Dr. Rhinehart.  He is who we were always supposed to see but all the other times we have been in we have seen someone else in his practice.  He was fabulous!!!  He said my cervix looked long and closed...Good.  Owen weighed in at 2 pounds 3 ounces and McKenna weighed in at 2 pounds 2 ounces...still above average for weight at this time...Good.  He said that they looked "ridiculously normal" and for me to "keep doing what I am doing". I see him again in 4 weeks and then every 2 weeks after that.  Here's what I look like on the table...proceed to view at your own risk!

 

That is INSANE...

 

   We finished at the sonogram and had a few hours to kill before my OB appointment and glucose screen.  We walked around Northpark mall for a while and remembered why we never go there. Just not the place for us...we aren't really Roberto Cavalli people, we are more Target and Cavender's people!  Although, Mason got to sit in a Tesla so he considered the trip to be a success!!  It served its purpose and we killed enough time to head to the doctor. I went to sign in and we realized YET AGAIN that we were in the wrong office so we headed over to OB. We signed in and then they sent me to the lab to drink my glucose drink. That stuff was pretty nasty but bearable and she sent me back to the doctor and said I had to be back within an hour.  We headed back upstairs and waited for Dr. Richards. My blood pressure and urine were all normal and Dr. Richards said for sure I do not have preeclampsia, so that was a huge relief.  I told him that we feel Owen move constantly but we very rarely feel McKenna.  He said "there has to be one good kid and one wild child so your daughter must be the good kid"...Lord help me.  He wants to start seeing me every two weeks from here on out but otherwise, a perfect bill of health!!!!  When we finished with Dr. Richards we went back to the lab and they drew my blood.  The phlebotomist was such a nice lady and she told me she actually had twin boys as well so we had a lot in common.  My results should be back in a few days!

   We were finally done with the doctors and headed back home.  I was exhausted and it was time for a nap.  We see Dr. Richards again on January 15th and then again on January 30th along with Rhinehart. I have to go back to work on Monday and I am praying/crossing my fingers/willing myself to make it through January and February still being able to work.  It would really help us out from a financial position but if the babies are in jeopardy at any time I will, of course, do what is best for them.  83 days until I get to hold them in my arms...C.A.N.N.O.T. W.A.I.T!!!