Sitting...

I was never a sitter at work. I was the teacher who was always bopping here and there-- to the storage closet to get paper, downstairs to borrow paint, to the office to ask a question... just everywhere.

However, with the advent of ligament pain and weird leg pain and constant back pain, I have come to fully appreciate just how much of my job can be done while sitting. My kids have become my little messenger bunnies and I have become the queen on the throne.

Doctors Appt

So, today I had another appointment.  Today it was with my regular OB.  Or it was supposed to be, but she went out on Maternity Leave a few weeks early, so it was with her replacement.   Anyways, I totally, completely 100% forgot that I had this appointment booked.  I forgot until I was meeting with a fellow-teacher about a meeting we have tomorrow afternoon.  I had that meeting date linked in my head with this appointment somehow.  (I think I had planned the appointment around the meeting day or something...)  Anyways, so at 8am I realize "OH YEAH, I have an appointment at 11:45."  (Not a big deal because I had already planned for coverage, but still, I wasn't thinking about it.)

So I get to the appointment a little early at 11:30 and proceed to SIT for an HOUR.   Yes, 12:30 I'm called.  In that time, the other doctor in the office had AT LEAST 10 people called.  I figured it was because the replacement was fairly new (last week or so) but I was getting antsy.  I had swore up and down that I would be back at school by 12:50 to get my kids from after lunch.  Woops.  

Anyways, I finally get called in at 12:30 for blood pressure and weight.  (Ohh weight... I almost had a heart attack!)  Then the doctor FINALLY comes in and 2 things are clear.  (1) She was called in from retirement to come in and replace my doctor and (2) She has not even LOOKED at my file.  She knows nothing other than my name.  

So once I tell her it's twins she's like "Oh!  I haven't seen twins in so long!"  Oh, yes, comforting.  Then she pulls out her tape measure and measures my stomach and says, "Are you sure you're 19 weeks?  You're measuring at 24 weeks."  To which I ask if that could have anything to do with the twins and I was told no.  Ohhh okay.

Then she looks at the doppler and says, "Oh, I can't get the heartbeats with the doppler.  With twins you need an ultrasound."  So I said that my doctor has used the doppler before and she says something like "But how could she get the reading for both?"  Lordy.  She she does her thing finally with the doppler, hears them, but they keep kicking and kind of messing up the sound.  So she takes the doppler off and says, "Oh we heard them.  We know they're in there.  That's enough."  

Then she's looking through my file and notices the paper work from Dr. C (the high risk guy).  She sits there for a few minutes scratching her head.  Literally SCRATCHING her head.  She says, "I just can't figure this out.  Did you have amnio done?"  No.  "Then how do they have different down syndrome risk factors on both babies?  With your age and bloodwork they should be the same."  Then I said that they did the measurement of the neck skin and she says, "Oh.  That's new.  That's not something I've ever ordered before."  Holy cow.  I need to get out of there!

Finally she says she wants to see me in 2 weeks (why?  I don't know).  I politely say okay, then run to the front desk and say "I'm going to keep my care with Dr. C. while Dr. M. is on Maternity Leave.  I'll call back in the summer to schedule an appointment with her once she's done with leave."  So, yes, I will not see the crazy lady again.  She was nice enough, but I can't take her.  :)

So that's the fun doctor story.  I did get back 20 minutes late, but all was well with the world.  :)

Week 19 Thing-a-ma-bob

I wrote it yesterday, but forgot to post, so that's why it says 19w2d :) Oh well, I'm going with it.


How far along? 19 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: We didn't get an official weight check on Friday, but I'm thinking it's about 12-14lbs over all. Once again, I don't officially know!

Maternity clothes? Always

Stretch marks? None!

Sleep: Not enough. But I got a TON this weekend and LOVED it!!! I slept ridiculous amounts.

Best moment this week: The big appointment on Friday... all the measurements looked so good! :)

Movement: Yes!! I cannot wait until I can feel the kicks on a regular basis!

Food cravings: I like random things at random times. :) Nothing that I ALWAYS have to have, but plenty that that I HAVE to have at unusual times.

Gender: 185% sure it's 2 boys!

Labor Signs: No! I don't want any of those for... oh 20 weeks. :)

Belly Button in or out? It's still in, but it's sticking its neck out. :) Ha! That sounds strange!

What I miss: Nothing!

What I am looking forward to: Everything! More movement, my belly button FINALLY choosing it's position, summer coming (always have the non-baby related thing!)

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to get stressed out about stupid things. It's hard for me, but it's been a GREAT weekend because I've just taken things in stride.

Milestones: Nothing really new... but I am SO close to officially 1/2 way!

Advice??

I know there are some teachers out there... any advice as to how to write your Leave letter?  At this point I plan on returning to work, but I am trying to write it as "tentative" as possible so that they don't hold me to a specific date of when I am leaving or coming back.  (My district allows 8 weeks paid leave and up to 15 months unpaid leave.)  I just don't want to write myself into a corner!  :)

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

First, some belly pictures...

One from 5/14--- 17w5d

And then a few more from more recently on 5/20

18w4d

Still no stretch marks!  Though my belly button looks verrrry weird.

The purple line on this one is just the line from the elastic on my pants.  There is NO way that maternity pants are going fit me all throughout this pregnancy.  NO way.  They're already moderately uncomfortable!

And some ultrasound pictures from 5/22

Their noggins.  They're going to be smart just like mommy!  :)  (And daddy, too ;)  

Baby A is adorable.

As is his brother!

By all accounts I love my hubby to death-- and he knows this.  I mean, I wouldn't be with him if I didn't love him, right?  But- holy goodness- I LOVE when he is not in bed with me!  Every morning since about 12 weeks I have been waking up in PAIN.  Ligaments, hips, you name it.  And I've been waking up about 10 times a night for no reason-- just kind of disturbed.  BUT, the past 2 nights he has slept on the couch because it's cooler there.  And you know what?  I have slept AMAZINGLY!!!  No pain when I wake up!!  And I only wake up like 2 times a night to use the bathroom.  I'm not quite sure how he's related to this, but of course I blame it on him.  :)  (This of course is not to say that I am pain free throughout the whole day... that still comes later, but it's nice to be able to get out of bed without cringing!)

Things are looking good!

Well, I suppose I can remove the boy/girl poll that I have on here.  :)  

Today we had the big scan to check out everything.  Everything was looking good.  All parts were there.  Baby A was measuring 9oz and Baby B was measuring 10oz.  Both were measuring a big ahead-- around 1 to 1.5 weeks ahead.  Little overachievers!

But, it was also officially determined that Baby A and Baby B are both boys.  I don't want to say I was "holding out hope" that one was a girl but I also was not entirely convinced.  Now I guess I am.  :)

Boys are very prominent in my family... I have 3 brothers, my two cousins are both boys.  My cousins had their baby yesterday-- they had been keeping the sex a secret-- and it was a boy.  :)  When my mom was talking to my grandfather yesterday about my cousin's baby my grandfather said "Can't this family make anything other than boys?!?!"  (I'm the only girl :P)  

Either way, we are thrilled and so excited!!  Can't wait to meet these little guys in October!!

YAYAYAYAY!!!

My cousin and his wife had their baby today!!!!  

So happy for them!!

Nothing Much!

24 days left of school.  THANK YOU!  I am so tired and in so much pain on a daily basis that, although I LOVE teaching and LOVE my class beyond words, I need a break.  A looong break.  

I think I've been feeling the babies moving.  It happens every now and then and it's different than feeling bubbles from digestion.  I really can't describe it, but it's amazing.  :)   I can't wait until it feels like real movement!  Oh, I love these little guys.

Our big, hour long ultrasound is Friday!!  I am sooo excited!  I'm just excited to see the little guys... to focus a half hour on each baby just to watch them wiggle and squirm!  Ahhh... it's so nice that things are going well!!  All the worry and stress of the last years and months are really worth it!

Other than all of that, we're getting ready to move.  Johnny's been doing some packing... meanwhile things are up in the air as we sit in that weird time between fulfilling our side for paperwork and waiting for closing to come.  Things are just so busy right now! 

18w2d

How far along? 18 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Lordy... maybe 10 pounds all together? Once again, I haven't been able to get a firm grasp just because it depends on time of day and I'm not organized enough to think of doing it at the same time every day.

Maternity clothes? Course!

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: 7.5-8ish lately. Not enough, but there's so much to do!

Best moment this week: Feeling little rolls from the babies. :) We also changed our bedding-- it has turtles!!! (I love turtles)

Movement: It's like little waves/rolls. :)

Food cravings: Not really... though I picked out some weird (for me) food at the market yesterday!

Gender: Still 2 boys. Though it will be "official" (as official as it can be until we see them live and in person) on Friday!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? It can't decide what it wants to be... it's migrating.

What I miss: Nothing!

What I am looking forward to: Movement, decorating the nursery, Friday's appointment... everything!

Weekly Wisdom: I am not wise. :)

Milestones: It's not a milestone, but holy cow this ligament pain is NOT fun AT ALL. It hurts in ways my body hasn't hurt before!




And the cutest darn bedding in the world!

The Belly Button

My belly button is still an innie.  

Well, mostly.  

It is clearly on the journey out.  It's kind of a strange thing to look at right now.  :)  But I love it.  My hubby is scared for it to pop- he claims he'll duct tape it or try to push it back in.  I, on the other hand, am excited for it to pop.  Just another sign that things are moving forward!!!!

17w2d

Honestly, I don't know why I do these anymore because nothing has changed! :) But here we go again... it's my Monday lunchtime routine.



How far along? 17 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: It's around 7-8 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Always. My belly is very... rotund. :)

Stretch marks? None that I see!

Sleep: Try for 8-9. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Best moment this week: No idea... maybe Mother's Day. It was fun... though I feel a little weird "celebrating" it when I haven't had the babies yet.

Movement: Little bubbles now and then... I think it's them and not my food!

Food cravings: I just HAD to have ice cream the other day. Other than that, nope!

Gender: Still 2 boys. We'll know a little more officially on Friday of next week!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? Innie

What I miss: Nothing!

What I am looking forward to: More movement, decorating the nursery... all that good stuff!

Weekly Wisdom: SLEEP really is your best friend!

Milestones: I've gotten this far! :)

Good bye toes, Hello belly!

You know how you don't remember every day of every year of school?  Rather, you have a few snippets from kindergarten, a few from first grade, and so on?  Sometimes these snippets are rather eventful (I was the sun and moon in "The Big Orange Splot" in second grade) and sometimes they're totally uneventful (I could pinpoint the table I sat at every day in Middle School... though nothing ever happened there).  

Well, I have a fairly uneventful snippet of 8th grade that has stuck with me for the past 11 years.  We were in health class talking about obesity and good eating and exercise and all that good stuff.  My teacher brought in these things that pinch your arm to test your body fat and something else that you had to breathe into to test your lung capacity.  Both tests were fine-- I was a dancer and a swimmer at the time so I was in fine shape.  Then before we were getting ready to leave she mentioned a simple way to test if you were overweight (though I never really understood how you wouldn't just know).  Anyways, all you had to do was stand up straight, and look down.  If you could see your toes, you were golden.  If, however, your belly got in the way... you were in trouble.  Now I could see my toes and was just fine.  Class ended and that was that.

Over the years I have subtly tried this test when I thought I was getting a little bigger, but I could always see my toes.  Even at the height of college (thankfully no Freshman 15 for me!) and IF meds I was able to see my toes.

Until the other day.  I was standing up, stretching my arms or something and I looked down and saw just an adorable belly.  Almost big enough to be a shelf.  But nothing more.  No more piggies.  I hope they don't miss me over the next few months.  I won't be seeing much of them.  Luckily at this point I can still tie my shoes so we do get some one-on-one time even if we don't get as much face-to-face time as we used to have. But soon I won't be able to do even that.  I hope they understand...

Happy!! :)

Few things in this world can make me as happy as early spring!

The new, light green leaves, the flowers (lilacs anyone?!?!), fresh cut grass, the warm-ish sun, outdoor recess (thank goodness!!!)... even the smell of small brush fires in my parents backyard.  Instant smile.

Today was a rough day at school.  It was rainy all day, so recess was inside and the kids are always a little crazy when they're in all day (and who can blame them?).  Additionally, it was a Thursday-- Thursdays are always rough for me.  For some reason that is the day I have very little patience for them.  (I do intensely love the kiddos!)  Overall, it was a long, stressful day (I don't think a single one listened to directions!) but I walked out of the building at the end of the day and was greeted by warm spring air, the smell of fresh grass, and a fully bloomed lilac bush.  Perfect.  My mood increased exponentially in the matter of seconds.

My stomach has really been bothering me lately.  I read in my What to Expect book that at this point it's common for tugging and achiness as ligaments and muscles and who-knows-what-else stretch to accommodate the little darlings, so I'm not worried.  But it hurts to even walk!  Luckily it is usually fine at school... I'm a little run down at school, but at home is when things get rough.  It hurts to get off the couch, to roll over in bed... ouch!  But totally worth it!!!

The Amazing Expanding Belly

As promised, here are a few belly expansion pictures.  

Back at 12w2d

13w4d

At 15 weeks.  I think it looks smaller than 13w4d.  Or maybe 13w4 is just pointy-er and this one is more full.  Or maybe black really is as slimming as they say.  :)  And it might also be the pants.  These shorts had a stronger elastic to keep me in place.  :)

And more recently at 16w3d.

I think Johnny might have been right.  Maybe I should have picked something that would fit me the whole 40 weeks.  I'm not sure that something so stretchy exists, but it might be easier to note the subtle changes in the belly.  :)

Baby A on 4.28

We were only given 1 picture at the ultrasound last week.  She must have take 2 dozen (including an incredibly cute one of Baby A sucking his thumb!) but we obviously weren't given them. 

So, here is Baby A on his back.  You can see his perfect little head and belly and even his arm and leg bones.  Way too cool.  And SO much love it's not even funny.  

Even if I expected girls (which, obviously,  I did) I couldn't ask for more.  

This whole journey- from December 06 to now- has all been so incredible and surreal.  Some days I still can't believe that we were so lucky to have this all work out.  Every day I hoped that it would, but I didn't know how to handle it when it did.  There was a lot of tears.  A ton of frustration.  So many questions.  But I never once felt myself giving up.  Sure, I questioned if we would be able to have what we wanted in the end-- to be young parents, to have more than 1 child-- but I never once questioned that at least one miracle would happen at some point.  And here it is... happening.  :)  TIMES TWO!

I find myself thinking all the time-- why us?  what did we do to deserve this more than the next person?  And I guess there is no real answer.  The only way I can show my gratitude is to enjoy every second and to prepare to be the best mother than I can possibly hope to be.  :)   

16w2d and the Weekend

How far along? 16 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: HA. Up a lot. I'm thinking... maybe 7 pounds? It still fluctuates, but I have officially gone where I have not seen my weight go before. A little scary, but also VERY cool.

Maternity clothes? Yes. I am currently wearing a materinty top. Instead of wearing maternity pants, I decided to give my bella band a workout today. I hope it's up to the challenge.

Stretch marks? I still think no... but maybe faint puple lines are starting to form on the underside of my belly. Time for cocobutter perhaps?

Sleep: Never enough. :) Usually 8-9 hours, but I wake up all achy all the time.

Best moment this week: The doctors appointment on Tuesday when we saw the little guys. Oh and the fabulous weekend away with my hubby!

Movement: Not that I'm feeling!

Food cravings: Grapes!

Gender: I guess 2 boys. :) I'm still not entirely sold on Baby B's sex though.

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? Innie

What I miss: Nothing!

What I am looking forward to: Feeling movement! School being out so I can just enjoy these guys and getting ready for their arrival!

Weekly Wisdom: If you're trying to keep the sexes secret from your dad, who does NOT want to know, do not allow your husband to send the ultrasound scan. He might write something like "Look at my son! He's as handsome as daddy already!" Kind of gives things away...

Milestones: Constant backaches and heartburn. :) Fabulous milestones, dontcha think? Oh, and we picked out the bedding and new paint colors. That's kind of neat.

~*~*~*~*~*~

And the weekend... the hubby and I went away from Fri-Sun for a fabulous get-away weekend. We didn't go far at all, but it was so nice to just get away. When we're home he's glued to sports (yawn!) and I'm stuck at my computer doing work for my classes and my class. So, though we're both there, we're not really there. And then when he gets bored with sports (commercials, you know) he comes and tries to strike up conversations or tries to get me to do things with him. I, however, am trying diligently to get my work done so I can be in bed by 8.

SO, anyways, we went away with the agreement that there were to be NO computers and NO tv at all. Just us. Well, he broke the agreement and brought his computer (he swears that it was to look up beddig so we could choose paint, but I caught him on sports pages a few times) and watched Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics. But you know what? Without the stress of MY work I didn't really care. I could just relax with him, ask him ridiculous sports questions, and do nothing. It was absolutely wonderful. So, now I'm tempted to go away every weekend. Totally impractical, never going to happen, but I can dream, right? :)

Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!!

36 more days left of school! :)

I will post newer belly pictures soon because I'm a basketball (a comment from my mom this weekend- "You're going to be huge! I didn't start wearing maternity clothes til my 5th month!"... keep in mind that my mom's babies were 5-6 pounds and they were all singles, though. :)) and the new ultrasound picture.