26 week Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound this morning. Both babies are doing really well! Baby A (girl) is 2 lbs and Baby B ( boy) is 2 lbs 4 oz. They're both breech though, so we'll be trying to get them to move sooner rather than later!

26 weeks and counting

So, I'll be 26 weeks in a couple of days. I'm feeling gigantic, and I have the picture to prove it. I'm easily as big as I was at 36 weeks with Maeve. I think I'll be pushing the limits of human expansion with this pregnancy.

So, here I am at 26 weeks with the twins, looking a bit less than thrilled.
















And, here I am at 36 weeks with Maeve:




























Now that I see them together, I think I"m already bigger than I was. Yikes.

Stroller - Check!

Thank you Kijiji for my $50 stroller!

I've been on the hunt for a Baby Trend Double Snap-N-Go stroller since October. They're incredibly hard to find since they stopped selling them in Canada at some point in the last year or two. I could have bought one from the US, but it would have cost $200+ with shipping...that's a bit pricey for a metal frame that holds two infant car seats. Which is basically all it is, really. The beauty of it is that you can just move them from car to stroller, without having to take them out of their seats, and it's incredibly light. Pretty it is not, but I'm far more concerned about function and convenience these days. I'll buy a pretty one when they're closer to a year.

I'm growing elephants.

Well, not really. But, I certainly feel that way! I'm 23/24 weeks and am measuring 32 cm! That's a full 8-9 weeks ahead. That certainly explains why I've been feeling so incredibly huge lately. Otherwise, Gert and Ernie (nicknamed by my friend Lisa) are doing great. Heartbeats are 145 and 150 respectively, and my blood pressure, etc. are perfect.

I've started picking up a few things for them over the past few weeks, and have also been lucky enough to have friends donate their boy hand-me-downs. So much to do! I guess I should get on that before I'm no longer able to walk upright.

The 22 week Belly.

Yikes, I still have bad hair. I must get back to my old stylist.



And, for comparison, here I am at 24.5 weeks with Maeve:




I'm just a wee bit rounder this time around.

Hiccups: Part Two.

Maeve was the queen of the hiccups in utero. But, it looks like Maeve's baby sister is going to give her a run for her money. She's been hiccuping all day, and right on my bladder. How fun! It'll be interesting to see what other personality traits they share.

The verdict is in!

We're having a BOY and a GIRL! Most importantly, both babies are perfect and healthy. It was so great to see them, already looking so cute. They both weigh about a pound and are measuring a week or so ahead. They both are quite long, so will probably be tall like their big sister.

Our little girl is busy; she barely stopped moving long enough for the tech to take her measurements. Our little boy, however, was quite calm and relaxed, despite being kicked in the head by his sister. ;)

My placenta, cervix and fluid levels are also great, so it was a pretty perfect day. It looks like I'll be having an ultrasound every month until 32 weeks, and then every 2 weeks. We also met with our OB, Dr. Sommerset, who seems very nice. He is in full support of me having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and has also given me some leeway in deciding when I stop working. I'll go down to very part-time hours in January, but will probably take February off as I'll likely be measuring as big a full-term singleton pregnancy at that time.

Here's a picture of our little babies. Baby B (boy) is on the left and Baby A (girl) is on the right.

The best part is that I get to reuse all of Maeve's cute girl clothes, and go shopping for little boy clothes. ;)

Sibling rivalry - already!

Who knew sibling rivalry started in the womb? Every time one baby moves, the other is sure to follow. Now, they're still pretty tiny, so I'm not really able to discern which baby is moving, but I'm pretty sure there's way too much movement for just one!

18/19 Week Update

I saw my GP today for a prenatal visit. Babies and I are doing well. I'm measuring 25 weeks, and have gained a whopping 6 lbs in the past 2 weeks. That puts me around 18 lbs in total so far, which is right on track. I've been following Dr. Babara Lukes guidelines for a healthy multiple pregnancy, and she strongly recommends gaining 20 lbs by 20 weeks, so I'm trying!

Baby A's heartbeat was 145, and baby B's is 160. 'A' seems to hang out on the lower left side, while 'B' likes the middle of my belly, slightly off to the right. All in all, a good checkup.

My lungs are also on the mend, after a horrible bout of bronchitis.

Our anatomical/gender ultrasound is on November 26th. Hopefully all will be well, and we'll find out the sex of the babies. Let the shopping begin! In all reality, I'll only get to shop if there's a boy in there, as Maeve's wardrobe could easily outfit two girls.

The carseat dilemma.

Brent and I just bought a new car in June, and it was meant to accommodate a family of four. Oops. We'd really like to avoid a second and/or bigger vehicle if we can, so we're going to attempt to fit 3 car seats in the back. It's a challenge, to say the least.

Maeve currently rides in the Cadillac of carseats - the Britax Marathon, in the ever so cute cow pattern.


In order to manage 3 car seats, we'll have to replace her Britax with a Radian, which is significantly narrower.



We'll also have to replace our current Safety 1st Infant seat with two Combi seats, which are again, narrower.


Who knew we'd become experts in carseat width?

The return of the blue sweater.

When I was pregnant with Maeve, I wore the same blue sweater for weekly belly pictures. And so, the tradition continues. Here I am at 17.5 weeks, with a comparison picture from my pregnancy with Maeve where I was 20 weeks..



Hmmm..I think I had a much better haircut back then...

16/17 week update.

I saw Dr. A today, my lovely GP. She's so great. She spent 45 minutes with me, and answered all of my questions. And trust me...there were many.

The babies and I are both doing well. Baby's A's heartbeat was 145, and Baby B's was 160. I also got a copy of the ultrasound report, and was happy to hear that the twins are diamniotic dichorionic (two sacs, two placentas), which is the best scenario for twins. :)

My biggest question was if I'd still be able to try for a VBAC. She's not sure, as she hasn't encountered it before. I'll have to wait until I see an OB. And speaking of OB's, I'd been asking around for recommendations, and we've decided to go with Dr. Somerset, who is apparently very competent and pro vaginal birth (even with twins). So, I'm hoping he'll be up for a VBAC. That is, of course, assuming twin A cooperates and is head down at the time of delivery.

The biggest shocker is that I'll likely be off work from 26 weeks on. Yikes. I'm hoping that's somewhat negotiable, as the majority of my job is sitting down, so I can't see how that would be much different from being at home.

Ack! So many unknowns! My type A planning personality just can't take it.

Say what?

I love seeing people's reactions when they find out we're having twins.

Many conversations go like this...

Them: "You're expecting! Congratulations! Is this your first?"

Me: "Second and third, actually".

It takes them a minute to process it, but their reactions are priceless.

The logistics of having twins.

Now that the shock has started to wear off (we've known for over a week now), the task of working out the details begins....

1. Car: We think we've figured this one out. We'll try to get 3 car seats in the back of our sedan, and if that doesn't work, we'll move onto plan B (TBD).

2. Room: Maeve will move into the spare room with her "big girl bed". The twins will move into Maeve's room, but will sleep in the same crib for the first few months.

3. Stroller: I think we'll go with a Double Snap 'n Go initially, and then pick up a twin stroller when they're a bit bigger.

4. Childcare: This is still very much up in the air, but I think we'll be looking at a live-out nanny...

5. Sanity: Still very much up in the air...

I'm dying to start sorting through all of Maeve's baby clothes, but will wait until we know the sex of the babies, which hopefully will be in the next few weeks.

Wiggly Worms!

I'll be 17 weeks next Friday, and I've been feeling lots of wiggly fluttery movements lately. I can't begin to imagine what it will feel like when they get really big!

Hindsight is 20/20

I should have known...denial is a very comfortable place.

Pregnancy #1: Very little nausea, no vomiting, moderate hunger and fatigue, didn't start "showing" until 13-14 weeks, and didn't really "pop" until closer to 18 weeks. This is me at 16 weeks with Maeve:



Pregnancy #2: Lots and lots of nausea, vomiting, ravenous hunger, crippling fatigue, maternity clothes at 9 weeks, and was on the receiving end of "congratulations" from strangers at 11 weeks.

The only explanation...TWINS!

On October 9th (14 weeks), we discovered that we would have 2 babies in March/April of next year.

Wow, what a year it will be.

Here I am at 15 weeks with the twins: