Saturday, January 8

Post-Cerclage

Last night I came down with a fever and chills, so I called the on-call doctor at the hospital because I was worried that I was coming down with an infection due to the cerclage. She told me that it was probably just a bug that is going around. I was skeptical, but listened and took tylenol and then settled down to watch a movie. She's a genius because 3 hours later I lost all of my dinner. And continued to feel crappier and crappier... so that's where I am right now.

2 hours later Colby woke up crying and since we didn't get to him fast enough, he ended up vomiting all over himself. ALL.OVER.HIMSELF. (He does this if he's crying and then starts coughing, so luckily it doesn't happen too much.) Johnny is not good with vomit, so I had to get up and help clean Colby up-- which is really, really hard when you can't pick up the crying baby! But we did it. And then Colby desperately clung to me as he fell asleep. (He's a total Mama's Boy when he's tried or sick or hurt.) So we had a long night and Colby ended up in bed with us because he wouldn't go down when Johnny would put him down and I can't lift him or bend to put him down.

So... I'm tired. :)

Thursday, January 6

Cerclage

I lived.

It was a long day. The spinal hurt and was a bit tricky and almost made me die. (Well, not quite that serious, but it wasn't good and I needed extra meds to pump up my blood pressure and pulse because the meds made them drop dangerously low.) But the cerclage itself was good (as good as having your cervix tied up can be). Dr. K said it was a great stitch and he's very happy with it. (Have I mentioned I love my doctor?) Poor Johnny was told it would take 45 minutes to an hour before he saw me. I was gone for over 3.5 hours waiting for the Spinal to wear off.

But I lived.

And both babies are still kicking around.

And I'm not in labor.

So, it was a good day. I'm SO excited to sleep all day tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 5

14 weeks and other randomness

14 weeks 2 days
Unfortunately I didn't realize how see-through the shirt was...


Another week come and gone...

How far along? 14 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: Honestly, I don't know... I think about a pound, but I'll know for sure on Thursday morning when I go back in! :)
I was up about 5 pounds on Monday afternoon.

Maternity clothes? Yes! I got jeans and khakis and a bunch of shirts.
Yes, though I have to bulk up on my pants wardrobe! The jeans aren't working for school too much... I need to dress up a bit more.

Stretch marks? No- and I'm sticking to that!
Nothing new,.

Sleep: I'm not quite as tired as I've been! Yay for Trimester 2!
I am SO exhausted all the time. I would do almost anything for more sleep...

Best moment this week: I have a huge bump! :) Haha. And we learned that one of our best friends are due only a month after us!!!!! How cool is that?!?!
I'm still here and so are the babies, so that's good. :)

Movement: Not yet- though I am anxiously waiting!
I think flutters...

Food cravings: Not really right now.
I can't really stomach eating lately.

Gender: Still thinking 2 girls.
I think girls, but I thought girls last time too...

Labor Signs: No
No, and I'm so nervous that when I go in tomorrow they'll find a really short cervix or that the cerclage will send me into labor...

Belly Button in or out? Innie
In

What I miss: Nothing!
I love where I am

What I am looking forward to: Thursday's appointment, seeing Becky and Roy!!, enjoying vacation... things are just GOOD right now. :)
Being back in my own bed after the cerclage, knowing the stitch is good and the babies have an obstacle to get through!!

Weekly Wisdom: I don't know...

Milestones: Maternity clothes (they're so comfortable!)
No real milestone this week...


And so the cerclage. Is tomorrow. And I'm a little terrified- I'm not going to lie. I think I'm most worried about the spinal. When I had the Csection, I was told at about a half hour before I went in that I was going in and at that point I was in survival mode. (Up until then, natural was an option until we found that Colby had flipped AGAIN and was breech) So, I just grinned and took everything as it happened because my babies lives were on the line. This time? I have had a really long time to think about it and I am not looking forward to it. And then I'm scared that the cerclage is going to kick start labor or make me miscarry or something. I know the risk is minuscule, but then again, we've totally been against the odds since the very beginning here.


I find it interesting how different this pregnancy has already been. I know, I know... every pregnancy is different. BUT I didn't expect it to be this different. I popped way earlier... but that's because I was already stretched from the boys. But then there was horrible sickness for the beginning. With the boys I was only sick a handful of times, this time I was sick every night for a long time. And this time my car sick tendencies have dramatically increased too. And this time the ligament pain and back pain and inability to sleep comfortably hit about 4-6 weeks earlier than last time. And I'm constantly tired all the time. This is probably more Colby's fault, but I wasn't this exhausted last time. And this time I've already gone up 2 bra sizes which is crazy because I didn't go up at all last time- even after I had the boys and I was pumping constantly.

Oh well... I'm off to bed. :)


Monday, January 3

Every little thing he does is magic...

Life is just so busy right. The blur of the holidays and a flurry of appointments and work... and well, life. It's enough to make me lose my head and make me want to crawl in bed.

But Colby keeps me grounded.

He's 17 months old and a ball full of energy. And he's perfect.

I stare at him at random times and get that tingly feeling of "I can't believe I'm his mother." Sometimes I have a hard time believing that I'm 26. That I'm not a kid anymore. (And sometimes I really can't believe that other parents trust me to educate their kids!)

But, oh, Colby. :) I am his mom and he is perfect. Did I say that already?

But because it's late, and that perfect kid will be up in a bit for some cuddle time I'm sure... we'll make this short and sweet.

1. He's a full-blown walker/runner. He's a bit clumsy though and takes a lot of spills into things. He's got a tough head though!

2. He LOVES shoes. He has 2 pairs of sneakers, a pair of Skidders, and a pair of rain boots. He'll grab a pair, walk over to you, drop them, plop himself on the floor or on your lap and stick out a foot.

3. KISSES! He's been giving kisses for a long time now, but he's now puckering up and making the "mmmm" kiss noise. Too cute and melts my heart every.single.time. And his hugs? To DIE for. But he saves those for the middle of the night and when he's getting told no and he's upset.

4. He's off the bottle now. I waited until 17 months because I thought it would be torture because he loves his bubba. He didn't care. At all. As long as he has milk in some form, he's as happy as a clam. The sippy cup is just fine.

5. He says mama, daddy, doggie, banana, bottle, milk, more, up, love, bread, birdie, book, bye bye, hi, baby, and sticker (because Johnny's goal is to teach him random words). I think there are more... but I can't think of them.

6. He signs milk, more, please, thank you, and birdie.

7. He's developing a temper. It's so cute though!

8. He is a sneak! This weekend we were at my brother's girlfriend's parent's house. Colby desperately wanted to get up the stairs. So he would give a "present" to someone (a book or random toy) and then, when they were distracted, he would make a beeline for the stairs!

9. He's a monkey. He will climb on anything. Chairs, tables, stools, stairs, tubs, safe deposit boxes. You name it, he's on it!

10. He's still a peanut... he's still in 12 month sizes, but I actually packed most of them away because he has so many cute 18 month clothes and most of the 12 month stuff is more short-sleeved summery things. And it's the dead of winter here! Size 4 diapers.

11. He's not a very good eater... I thought he was pretty good until we babysat a friend's daughter. She was like a vacuum whereas Colby takes only a few bites. He won't eat meat still, most pasta is touch-and-go, eggs and potatoes are a no-way, but he LOVES fruits and veggies. Carrots, green beans, peas, cucumbers, watermelon, bananas, apples, oranges, ... you name it, he loves it! I worry about protein a bit though.

12. He loved being in the snow for the first time last week!

13. He patted my stomach and said "baby" today. Ahhh... bliss.

14. Our house has become the Colby Palace and I love it. :)

15. Despite being obsessed with fruits and veggies, Colby has a mega-sweet tooth. He has been known to scale the kitchen chairs, crawl on to the table, dig through a basket, and find a bag of sour patch kids. And we may or may not have used them to bribe him during the difficult moments of our trip this past weekend.

16. He's very methodical. He's going to be an engineer...

17. He loves to dance. To anything. Anywhere. Any time. Except when we're trying to show off his dancing skills. Then he looks at us like we're crazy.

Saturday, January 1

13 Weeks

I'm a few days later than usual... it's easier to remember to do these things when I'm at school on my lunch break!

How far along? 13 weeks 2 days 13 weeks 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 pound! I think it's still the same... Up a few pounds, but I'll know for sure on Monday.

Maternity clothes? Bella band and one maternity shirt. Unfortunately I can no longer button my "big" pants, SO I guess it will be off to to stores soon! Yes, definitely pants... which is unfortunate because I have only 1 pair of pants I can wear to school... I'm huge. And yes, I know, I need pictures... :)

Stretch marks? I don't think so, but the other night Johnny oh-so-nicely said to me "You know how you keep answering "no" to stretch marks? I think you have to start answering "yes"." He claims I have some on my back, but I think he's crazy. Nothing new, and I'm stretching again so you can't really tell I have the old stretch marks!

Sleep: Usually 9 hours. And naps occasionally. But even that is not enough! It would be plenty if I wasn't up every hour! 7 or so depending on Colby...

Best moment this week: We told lots of people, we did some hard-core looking at Babies R Us for double strollers (options are so limited!)... it's been a good week. :) Just relaxing all week, taking naps, being with my family...

Movement: No! Anxiously waiting...

Food cravings: Oh yes, they come and go. Johnny is so good about filling them, too! Nothing specific. I've been really craving something, but I can't figure out what it is. I try different things but they never seem to be "it". And, yes, I know that sounds weird...

Gender: I still think 2 girls. And we're going out on a limb and painting the nursery pink, so hopefully we're not completely wrong! (We need to choose a color for the painters before we move in and we both think they're girls, so we're taking a gamble!) 2 girls I think...

Labor Signs: Noooo Nope, and I'm PRAYING that everything checks out on Monday!

Belly Button in or out? Innie Innie, but it's already feeling weird.

What I miss: Nothing! I love where I am

What I am looking forward to: Registry, the next appointment. Monday's appointment

Weekly Wisdom: I've lost too many brain cells to be wise. I hate this question... I might just start deleting it...

Milestones: 13 weeks!
We're officially "out" with everyone. :) Not that it wasn't completely obvious with my belly!


Wednesday, December 22

12w2d

The weeks are just flying by! I can't believe we're here already...



How far along? 12 weeks 2 days 12w2d


Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 pound! I haven't weighed myself AT ALL.


Maternity clothes? Just the bella band. Pants unbottoned style. Jeans- otherwise I'm still getting by.


Stretch marks? Nada No new ones!


Sleep: Usually 9 hours. And naps occasionally. Usually about 7.5 with a few Colby wake-ups in between.


Best moment this week: I have a BELLY! And we told a TON of people so that's exciting! The NT Scan yesterday! They're so cute!!!!!


Movement: Not yet! Nope


Food cravings: Not really. Anything and everything. Case in point- I had a chocolate donut for breakfast. I don't really like chocolate.


Gender: I'm thinking 2 girls now. It switches daily. I'm starting to think two girls...


Labor Signs: Noooo No, thank you.


Belly Button in or out? Innie In


What I miss: Nothing! I love where I am!


What I am looking forward to: Making a registry! Getting a bigger belly. Movement, movement, movement!


Weekly Wisdom: I've lost too many brain cells to be wise. Enjoy every second?


Milestones: I've got a BELLY! :) Every week is a milestone!

Tuesday, December 21

Scan, Cards, & NICU

NT Scan

Yesterday marked 12 weeks already (!!!) so today we went into Boston for our NT Scan. I'm only now beginning to realize how completely disjointed and mismanaged my care was last time I was pregnant. A lot of the things we're doing now we find ourselves asking "Did we do that last time?" The answer is usually no.

Anyways, we met with a Genetic Counselor at BI. We spent a few minutes going over family history, pregnancy history, concerns, etc.-- all stuff we never did last time. She told us the accuracy rates, chances, etc. Basically we just saw her to go over the paperwork.

Now, we have talked about it, and even if something comes up, we don't plan on doing anything about it-- meaning I would never terminate because I came back with a high risk of Downs or something. And I wouldn't ever risk an Amnio either, so basically we were just there for a free ultrasound. (Week 12-- 3 ultrasounds down!)

After the paperwork and the finger-prick-paper-thing, we headed down to ultrasound for the NT Scan. We were with the nurse for about an hour.

Of course, as always the first thing I looked for were the heartbeats. I wasn't really nervous and I had no reason to be concerned, but I still always breathe a sigh of relief when I see those heartbeats.

The babies were so active and they LOOK like babies and they were wiggling their hands and it was SO cute I couldn't stand it. Colby liked looking at the babies for about 5 seconds then all he wanted to do was run run run. But he did pretty well too.

Both babies measured at 12w6d-- 5 days ahead. Baby A had a heart rate of 166 and Baby B had a heart rate of 163. Both are about 10-15 bpm faster than the boys were at the same time. Girls...? :) As for the neck folds-- Baby A had a fold of 1.9 and Baby B had a fold of 1.6 putting them both below the threshold of concern at 2.5.

We got a few pictures-- I'm still not sure how to use the scanner, so instead I took pictures of them. The yellow-y orange ones are without a flash so they look a little weird and the others are with the flash so they're a little too bright. Oh well. :)

Baby A

The twins- 3D style

Baby B


Christmas Cards

Our cards came in yesterday-- finally! We aren't sending them until Christmas Eve because we purposely don't want people to get them until right after Christmas. We have family members we want to tell in person about the twins before we do our big announcement, but I love how they came out! Again-- picture instead of scan. :)




NICU

Back to the visit today-- we ended our trip to the hospital with a stop at the NICU. It was perfect because one of Colby's primaries- Haley- was working as was the RT- Candy- who took AMAZING care of him when he was on the vent and CPAP. We were so excited to see them and Colby was a total ham.

They seemed genuinely excited to see him as well. It's got to make them proud to see a graduate doing so amazingly. :)

We also gave them a Christmas card to tell them we're expecting-- I was told I am not allowed back except to visit in July when the babies are born! That's okay with me!!

Overall it was a great day. :)

Next appointment- Jan 3rd, then the cerclage on Jan 6th!