9 weeks (and 2 days) . . .

The babies are as big as an olive. . . .or a prune depending in which site I look at.

I am on Spring break this week and couldn't be happier to have some time off at LONG LAST. I truly wasn't sure if I would make it!

I spent the weekend in North Carolina with DH and my MIL. I was sick for most evenings but felt okay during most of the daytime excursions-- ignoring the sunburn.

Now that I am home, I am forcing myself to do mostly nothing except relax and catch up my Oprah on the DVR.

I have also been looking into things to put on a registry. I relaized that instead of a single stroller, I will need a double stroller. . . two cribs. . . .two bouncers. . . .double the diapers and bottles and clothes and-- MONEY!

Did I mention double the space? I also spent today researching houses in our price range. We have been trying to move for over a year now. Last year we listed our house from June- November without any success. This year we intend to list it again beginning May 15th . . . Wish us luck! I want and need to "nest", damnit!

Last week I also ended up having a surprise u/s at an appointment my general doctor made to check out my kidneys. While the u/s tech was looking around, she decided last minute to check out my bladder-- and since she was down there showed me the twins! Both babies were looking beautiful. Both hearts were fluttering and Baby A was moving and bouncin' like crazy! (We are going to have our hands full with that one!)

The bad news is that poor DH who was nice enough to come along with me, was stuck out on the waiting room holding my wallet. I felt (and still do) so sad and a bit guilty. I wanted him to see them but we were way down in another part of the office. I wished I had my cell phone with me to call him!

Dh did get to see the u/s photo but, of course, it isn't the same. I can't wait until he sees the next u/s at our OBGYN appointment in mid-May.

Current stats:

Weight Gain: Still down about 5 pounds.

Cravings: Craving Jimmy johns subs, noodles, water and gatorade.

Nauseous: Yes, and it gets worse as the day progresses-- like evening/night sickness.

Belly touches: Just DH.

Feeling: Crappy and still have urethra/bladder issues. The antibiotics did not clear up the blood in my urine. . .I have really bad pains at night when I lay down. I don't understand, but I know I am sick of this. Somebody needs to find an answer. Probably going to see a urologist.

Boy or girl: DH still thinks they are boys..

Emotional state: Cry at and about everything.

OBGYN: Set up an appointment for May 12th. Hope we like her, if not, I'll be on the hunt again.

8 weeks, peeps!

8 weeks today-- wowza!

I am heading out with DH today to the maternity store. Not 'cause I'm fat, but because I'm uncomfortable. I need a sleeping pillow already. Whenever I try to sleep on my sides, I get pain on my hips and belly. I'm not sure if the pillow will help, but I know it can't hurt! And hey! I get to go to the maternity store--'cause I'm preggo!

Spring vacation is almost here for me as well. Thursday at 2:23pm I will be on Spring Break! I will begin with a manicure and pedicure and then the next day I leave with DH and my MIL to go to North Carolina. We are flying at 8am Friday morning and returning Sunday evening. I really hope I can handle the trip with the nausea. There is also the tricky part of hiding my PIO with all the needles from my MIL at the security check-in. ::Hmmm::

This week will be long and exhausting with many, many after school meetings. Hopefully I can make it. . . . Sandy beach???? Is that you???

Current stats:

Weight Gain: Still down about 5 pounds.

Cravings: Gatorade, Jello (green), late night ice cream (vanilla).

Nauseous: Oh my lord, yes.

Belly touches: Just DH.

Feeling: I think the new meds for the UTI are finally kicking in. I feel really nauseous most of the day and night. I am hoping this will end soon. I also get a few sharp pains in the lower belly area. Not sure if they are still RLP or something else.

Boy or girl: DH seems to think they are both boys. I'm not decided yet.

Emotional state: Exhausted and therefore on edge many times. DH is a great helper though. He's already running around and getting just about everything for me. I also told him last night how I felt 'homesick' every now and then-- even while sitting in our house! I think it's my body adjusting to the two new invaders.

OBGYN: Going to make two appointments this week.

Update:

Bought the "Dreamgenii" pregnancy pillow today at 'Pea in the pod'.

I will be taking it out of the package tonight and giving it a test run. I'll send my reviews later :)

So I puked, kinda.

I am so damn sick.

I feel like this is beyond normal 'morning sickness'.

I feel like I have the worst flu ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. My body aches (especially down my left leg), major nausea, serious tummy and digestion issues, dizziness, the UTI (blood in my urine), etc. . .

Around 3am this morning I finally puked. Not a lot--since there was nothing in my belly, but the awesome dry heaves continued.

I'm not sure how I am going to function if this continues much longer. I had to take off of work today and miss my manicure appointment <-- Major disappointment!

Hopefully, I will feel somewhat better tomorrow and Friday so I can finish off the work week. Then after work on Friday I made an appointment with my general doctor to see if something else is wrong. Blech. . . I am so wiped.

7 weeks and 1 day.

Into the 8th week we go!

I had a pretty rough week last week. I was SICK from Monday at 3am until late yesterday (Sunday). The week began with the first signs of nausea --which haven't left me since. At 3am on Monday morning I awoke to massive stomach and intestinal cramping. . . you can imagine what came next. That continued for the rest of the week. I called in on Monday (had to) and then Wednesday, I skipped the morning meeting and came in when I had to teach classes. Thursday I had to tough it out through one of the worst days of nausea yet-- during parent-teacher conferences! I was at work until 8:30pm that night. I can't believe I made it. Friday, I learned we were having twins-- I also learned I could take my dissolvable 'zolfran' tablets to help lessen the nausea. I'm taking them sparingly "just in case" they do more harm then good.

The big news came Saturday. After noticing my urine grow darker and darker over the past week, I thought I needed to drink more water. This only made the bright red blood much more apparent when I peed out all the water I had been drinking. Yeah, I'm pissin' blood.

Awesome.

DH and I spent the rest of Saturday night (until 2AM) at the ER trying to get it figured out. While I, of course, fear the worst-- like kidney failure, so far the doctor seems to think it is just an UTI (urinary tract infection). I am currently on the one 'pregnancy' safe antibiotic. Hopefully it will clear up soon.

Phew. . .

So it's been a rough week to say the least. I am glad to be on the other side of most of my non-pregnancy sickness and just dealing with the nausea which seemed to be held at bay by just one dissolving Zofran tablet n this morning.

In other news:

Current stats:

Weight Gain: LOST 5-6 pounds from the wonderful week of sickliness.

Cravings: Still love the fruit cups and am also digging: organic chewy granola bars, fruit snacks and veggie pasta salad, easy on the dressing.

Nauseous: HELL YES.

Belly touches: Just DH.

Feeling: Still very tired. Also less tolerant of stupid people-- yes even more than usual. I am still fighting the sicknesses from last week, but I think the antibiotics are helping. Back pain is beginning to kick in too.

Boy or girl: Well I guess I could have one of each now! I keep going back and forth on what I'd like. . .still open at this point.

Single or twins: I was right-- TWINS! (This question will disappear next week. . .)

Emotional state: Cranky on occasion but I more or less just want to get to my Spring break. I need a vacation. 8 days of work to go!

OBGYN: The search continues. I am going to most likely make appointments with 2-3 different ones and 'interview each of them'.

First Ultrasound ::faint::

Our first u/s felt like it would take FOREVER to get here. . . .and the massive nausea and other sickliness I felt (and feel) wasn't helping. I seriously spend every day just waiting to go back to bed and try to sleep it off. UGH. It's bad, people. . . real bad.

Finally having something to look forward to was very exciting!

We took off of work on this Friday and drove down to the RE one more time, with garbage can, water and crackers in hand.

Once we arrived, we waited for about 10-15 minutes before seeing the RE. I just wanted the news: the good, the bad, or the ugly.

Finally he came in and it was another "dildo cam" operation. I thought by 6w 5d we could skip to the regular "tummy" u/s. Apparently not.

As the screen appeared and fuzz began to move across the screen-- I SAW IT! I knew it!

I saw a black blob! But was there something in it? Sure as Hell was! I fetal pole and yolk sack!!! Holy Cow!

And then. . . .it moved around some more. . . ANOTHER BLACK BLOB . . . with the fetal pole and yolk sack.

TWINS.

DH and I were (and are) in shock. Both snowbabies are now growing into REAL babies!

As he moved around the 'cam' I could see them both. RE asked me if I had been eating a lot of bananas lately since both their sacks were shaped like one. DH and I have now begun to call the little ones "Banana Babies" or "'Naners".

Baby "A" is closest to the outside (on the bottom) and is a tiny bit larger. Measuring exactly on track t 6w5d.

Baby "B" (on top with the smaller banana blob) is right behind measuring about 6w2d.

Once we identified which letter goes with which baby, we saw the most incredible thing.

Each baby's little fluttering heartbeat showed up on the screen. I'm not sure what to compare it to. . . it is its own experience. I could see DH was completely blown away when their hearts began to flutter on the screen.

The RE then decided to make some joke about how it was too bad we didn't put three frosties in. Haha. . .(Insert straight face) that could have been too much.

He also said we could come back to his office for another u/s if we'd like. Or we could make an appointment with my OB-- which I haven't chosen yet. I do not like my old OB (as very early posts suggested). I'm trying to find a new one I can trust and that is okay with the possibility of having 'midwife' along for the ride. I'm still in the hunt.

After we left the office, stunned and starry-eyed, we went to "The Point" pancake house on the way home. I LOVE that place and even with my enduring nausea, I wanted to stop, have some OJ, and talk about what just happened with DH before the long drive home.

We talked about everything from job situations to daycare to money to the insanity of the way our lives just got flipped upside down. And how we wouldn't trade it for anything.

Yes, we are pregnant; with twins. But we are also not out of the woods yet.

The RE reminded us that there is still a 10-20% chance that we could lose one or both of the twins. Fully aware that we still don't plan to tell anyone until about 12 weeks. Apparently most of the baby is developed by 13 weeks it just needs to grow larger, making the chance for miscarriage drop significantly at the 13 week mark. So until that time, we are still living on eggshells and going to be extremely tight-lipped and cautious.

We probably won't buy anything until that time either--but that hasn't stopped me from looking at registries. :)

What's next? Try to survive nausea, get some food into my body (I've lost 6 pounds already), find a good OBGYN, and somehow keep my mouth shut until the middle/end of MAY!

Tomorrow: Bring on 7 weeks!

6 weeks.

6 weeks preggo.

Waiting for the u/s this Friday. . . not patiently. . .

'Nuff said. :)

Go my fat jeans and "Belli" order!

Yes, I am expanding. But I'm not so sure how much it has to do with baby.

I've been eating "okay". . . but I am constantly TIRED and haven't been able to work out in months! I'm not going to do my typical vegan, low-fat diet while I'm pregnant. That always drops the pounds for me-- but I've worked to hard for too long and spent wayyyy too much money to "F" this up now. So what do I get in return? Fat jeans. ::Pfft::

In other news, I also got the big 'ol box of "Belli" products I ordered.

Here's my haul:

1. Two "Best Bump Duos".

-2 Elasticity Belly Oils--Smells like lavender.

-2 All-Day Body Lotions--Smells like lemon.

2. Acne wash w/ lactic acid, cucumber and green tea.

3. Anti Chloasma SPF 25 Sunscreen.

4. Pampered Pregnancy Body Wash. Lavender, chamomile, Green tea and cucumber!

5. Stretch mark minimizing cream.

6. Another Elasticity Belly Oil.

7. The Pregnancy Pampering Collection. (Little bottles for traveling).

8. Skin Smoothing body exfoliator with Green tea, ginseng and peppermint.

9. Foot Relief Cream with Peppermint, Tea tree oil and Shea butter. (Hoping DH will give me some foot rubs with this).

I've already tried out the Body lotion, Belly Oil and facial wash. I like them all so far. I do wish the face wash foamed up more, it doesn't quite give me that squeaky clean feeling. . . but it's new to me. . more trials must be done!

Did I mention that I bought foot lotion, DH???