Those Are Definitely Kicks!

Not my belly. But how crazy, right!

I mentioned before that I was a little worried about the boys since I couldn't feel any regular movement in there. Well for the last week or two, I've finally been feeling little flutters. They'd usually come when I was busy concentrating on other things so they'd only get my attention as an after-thought. Wait, was that a kick? Then I'd drop everything and sit really still, trying to feel something again. Of course, I never did. The boys were messing with me.

Then this week they've been a little more pronounced. You know when you're riding in a car, and the car hits a little dip in the road and your bladder does this little jumping wheeeeeeeee thing? It kinda feels like tiny versions of that. Like they're tickling my bladder. Again, very faint. But I could tell they definitely weren't my imagination.

Well, this morning was kinda awesome. Greg was already up, out of bed, showered and being productive. I, like most mornings, was completely awake but hadn't even attempted to move out from under the fluffy duvet. I'm a slow starter and like to savor my morning laziness. It's necessary.

Greg was cleaning out the litter box, like he does every morning. And like every morning, he pulled out the DustBuster to vacuum up all the little loose bits of kitty litter that the brats like to kick everywhere. I hate the DustBuster. Especially first thing in the morning. It is so. damn. loud! The sound seems to travel down the hall & into our room and bounce off all the walls, gaining intensity the whole time. By the time it hits my sleepy ears, it feels like a physical assault. Usually I just cringe, grab another pillow and bury my head underneath it until he's done.

Well, I think the boys are with me on this one because soon after Greg turned on that DustBuster, I started feeling kicks. Kicks! Multiple, distinctive kicks! On each side of my tummy! There were some on my left side right under my ribs and another set on my right side that were much lower. It was so cool!

I yelled to Greg, they're kicking! They're kicking! Greg cut off the dreaded DustBuster, and the kicks subsided and then faded. I told Greg, Ok, they've stopped. So he went about finishing his business. As soon as he turned the DB on again, they started kicking again! Of course I got all kinds of excited and started yelling again so Greg ran in to see if he could get a feel. By the time he got a hand to my belly though, they had stopped again. Poor Greg missed the show. But I didn't, and I've been a little giddy ever since.

Tonight I fully plan on testing this little DustBuster theory. Maybe we'll get lucky, and Greg can join in on the fun. :)

Bump Expansion

(22 weeks & 3 days)

Greg and I both have had moments this past week where we stop mid-sentence and stare, wide-eyed & stunned at the belly expansion. It seems to be growing on a daily basis. And of course, it is. But it's growing at such a rate that we can actually SEE the difference between my bump today and my bump from 2 days ago. Or I think we can anyway. Maybe it's just taking that long to get used to this new, pregnant, expanded version of Larisa. That's entirely possible too.

I read that between now and the next four weeks, the babies will actually double in size! Double! How is it possible that a belly is designed to stretch that much? I mean, of course you always know that's what happens. Who hasn't seen a crazy big pregnant belly? But until it's happening to you, I don't think you can really appreciate how amazing it truly is.

I feel like such a nerd, being so shocked at the capabilities of my own body but WOW, man! Wow!

22 Weeks PG

Today marks the beginning of my now weekly visits with the nurse practitioner who runs the multiples program in my perinatologist's office. With Margaret, we now add one more to the ever-growing number of people (besides my husband) who get to see my nether regions on a semi-regular basis. Lovely. Another chip in my quickly crumbling sense of modesty.

Margaret's specialty is coaching/regulating on women carrying multiples, and the program's sole purpose is to prevent pre-term birth, the biggest & most common danger to multiples. My goals are to make it to 36 weeks with the twins and to gain at least 40 pounds so these babies will emerge fat & healthy & ready to go home with me. No NICU. No NICU. No NICU. That's my new mantra. (NICU = neonatal intensive care unit)

She plied me with all kinds of questions about my medical history and current job situation and physical work load. She didn't seem too thrilled with the fact that I'm planning on finishing my degree this semester and said several times - just in case I didn't grasp the gravity of her words the first time - that stress can induce early labor.

Yeah.

There is simply no way writing a dissertation, preparing a presentation and defending my work in front of a committee of experts in their respective fields will NOT be stressful. I am well & truly screwed in that department. But I'm trying not dwell on that fact right now.

Some interesting things I learned:

• In just 6 weeks, my uterus will be almost FULL TERM size. That means I'll be hefting myself around for another 2 months after that with a bigger than full term belly. Whaaaa!?!
  
• In 6 weeks, she also wants me to decrease to part time, that's 4 hours a day. I tried convincing her that sitting at the computer & typing all day is just as good. She was not impressed.
  
• In 10 weeks (32 week pregnant), she informed me that I'll "tolerate very little activity". I'm guessing this is when most multiples moms tend to be put on bedrest. I'm expected to stop work completely at this point and not leave the house for more than 2 hours at a time.
• At 34 weeks, they won't attempt to stop any early labor, but the babies would probably have to spend a few weeks in the NICU while their lungs & all that vital stuff continued to mature.
  
• Only at 36 weeks will the babes usually be able to go home without any NICU time.
• Delivery at 37-38 weeks is ideal, but in my experience of talking with other twin moms, this also seems rare. Whatever happens, my doc won't let me carry them past 38 weeks. If they haven't come on their own, we'll schedule a c-section to put me out of my pregnant misery. And if I'm already a bit uncomfortable now, I can only imagine how cumbersome 38 weeks will be! My doc said I'll probably be begging for a c-section by that point, but I'm hoping the babes will be the cooperative sort and decide 36 weeks is the way to go. I can always hope anyway.
  

Next week, Margaret is teaching me all about diet & what to eat. Should I tell her about my bubble tea addiction and recent sugar rampage? Hmmm, probably not...

19.5 Week Ultrasound

I just realized I haven't shared a single picture of the boys on this blog. How naughty of me! Especially since I'm fortunate enough to have so many.

Being in the "high risk" pregnancy category, I've had ultrasounds once every month with my perinatal group. What's even more cool is that I then have an appointment with my regular obstetrician the following week. They have a portable ultrasound machine at their office so every time she wheels it in, and I get to see them again. The perks of being high risk! Yay!

So in the beginning we had tons of cutesy shots of the two of them hanging out in there. As they've grown, things have gotten a bit more cramped, and they're now too big to catch together on one screen. But here's an adorable profile picture of Left Baby.


Greg thinks he looks just like his daddy. :) He was head down with his little feet right up under my ribs.


Right Baby was flipped in the opposite direction. His head was under my ribs with his feet pointing down. He was also much less cooperative with the profile picture this time, but the ultrasound tech was able to position the sensor just right so we could almost make out his little face! We saw him opening and closing his little mouth over and over again, almost like he was trying to talk to us. Everybody in the room was oohhhing and ahhhing at the cuteness.


Later I read that they are swallowing several ounces of amniotic fluid every day. AND they can actually taste what I've been eating because the amniotic fluid takes on the flavors of my food day after day. So Right Baby probably wasn't so much trying to chat as he was savoring the delicious root beer that I drank before the scan.


And since the boys were hopped up on root beer, they were both crazy active in there, kicking and punching each other the entire time. Is this perhaps foreshadowing things to come? Probably. *Note to self: stock up on first aid supplies.*

We caught them playing footsie so the tech was trying to nab a shot with all four feet in the mix. But my boys were too fast for her - future soccer stars, I'm telling you. She did manage to catch these three together though.


Too cute! I can't wait to nibble on those little toes!

It's amazing how big they look on that huge screen, but in reality they're still only about the size of a large banana. Every time I get itchy to hold them in my arms, I have to remind myself that they still need quite a bit of incubating before they're ready to greet the world.

All measurements were fantastic. One baby weighed about 13.5 oz, the other 12.5 oz. Their weights are starting to get a bit further apart, but the doc assured us that they're right on target. He also checked out the internal organs. All systems are go.

I still can't feel them yet, which really bothers me, but the doc said I should consider myself lucky. Once I start feeling them thrashing around in there, he said I'm liable to get absolutely no sleep whatsoever. I guess I will work on my patience instead.

Tough Guy

I think my boss must have the wrong impression about me. He just sent me this:

Hi Larisa
Too bad that you are pregnant. Otherwise you could try your hand at this.

He apparently believes that I'm much more hard-core than I am. That little race looks B.R.U.T.A.L.

Bump Progress: 19 weeks

Today I am 19 weeks pregnant!

My OB won't let me go past 38 weeks before these babies have to come out, so that means today I am already halfway there! Wow...


And by the way, in case you were wondering, my belly feels much larger than this looks... I'm having a hard time getting my socks on every morning because I keep forgetting there's something there to impede my progress. I end up squishing the boys every single time before I remember that the feet must now come to me across my lap - no more bending straight down. Rolling over at night is becoming much more of a production. I'm usually a pretty sound sleeper, but soon I will be tossing and turning as much as Greg does. (We'll see how he likes it - ha ha ha!)

Overall, though, I feel wonderful. I love that my belly looks more and more like a baby bump every time I see it. Even Greg is taken by surprise sometimes. The pregnancy is definitely becoming more real for him now that the bump is here.

Apparently the boys can hear noises now so he talks to them, trying to convince them to give me a few good kicks because he knows I worry. (Still no steady movement but I'm sure it will come soon.) He's always asking, "How are the boys?" and bends down to give my belly two little kisses. These boys are going to adore him as much as I do. :)

32?! Seriously?!

Doo doo doo doo doo, today is my birthday!
Doo doo doo doo doo, happy birthday to me!
And all that Beatles stuff...

Ok, so I have to admit something. At first when I realized that last year was probably my last totally drunken birthday in a good long while, I was a little sad. I know. I know. Good things are in my not-too-distant future, but I assume it's only natural to mourn the passing of your past life when you're about to embark on big change. Mommyhood must be the mother of all big change so I think I should be forgiven for a momentary bout of sadness. But it was only momentary. All in all, I can't wait to start 32!

So back to this year's birthday. It was really pretty fantastic! Greg arranged a dinner last night with a few friends at Hyde Park Bar & Grill, a restaurant I had always heard such raves about and really wanted to try. The meal was delicious. Being preggo, I didn't feel even slightly guilty about devouring my chicken-fried steak - bonus! And I must say once again that I feel so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such great friends here in Austin. I wish I could give them all a big, wet, sloppy kiss! But they might not want to be my friends if I did that on a regular basis so most of the time, I refrain.

Then today I was spoiled again. First came the bouquet - so pretty!


And then Greg prepared what is probably my most favorite meal in his repertoire - goat cheese salad and sauteed sea scallops. So yummy!


He also got me a full-length body pillow - just what every girl with a burgeoning belly desires.And I'm also getting an as-yet-to-be-chosen laptop computer. Yay! I just need to pick out what I want, and I will finally be mobile, something bound to come in handy if I should happen to be forced into bedrest and once the babies are here.

My husband... What can I say? At least I can give him big, wet, sloppy smooches...

What's In Mah Belly?

Would you look at that mid-section bulge! Could it be way too much turkey and stuffing from the holidays? A little over-indulgence on the Christmas puddings?

Well, yes... It's all of that.


BUT it's also BABY! Or more specifically, BABIES!

I'm pregnant! With twin boys!

Chances are that if you know me, this is old news. But I'm officially outing myself on the blog so in case you hadn't heard, SURPRISE!

Frequently asked questions:

1. How far along are you? Today I am 16 weeks and 6 days pregnant, well into the 2nd trimester.
2. Has it been awful? Actually, I've been amazingly lucky. No real morning sickness, only occasional nausea when I don't eat enough. The only real symptom I've suffered from is some pretty heavy-duty exhaustion. Greg has been an absolute super star about taking care of me & indulging in my every little craving. It's been awesome.
   
3. When are you due? Officially, I'm due June 29th. But twins tend to come about 4 weeks early so more realistically we're expecting to meet the little ones in late May to mid-June.
   
4. Are the boys identical or fraternal? There is a small chance that they could be identical, but it's much more likely that they're fraternal. We'll find out for sure (hopefully) at birth.
   
5. Do twins run in your families? Nope. I was on Clomid, a fertility drug that comes with a 7% higher chance of having multiples. Luckily for us, it worked on the first try. Really, really well...
   
6. Have you picked out names yet? Sorta. We've picked middle names. First names have been much more difficult. But we're keeping them top secret until the boys arrive. Sorry, Charlie.
   
7. Are you seriously posting a picture of yourself in your pj's for all the world to see? I'm not going to lie. It's Sunday, and there's a very high probability that I will remain in my pj's for many hours to come. And I'm comfortable with that.

So there you have it. Now you understand why I've been silent so long on this blog. I've been obsessed with pregnancy & babies but not able to talk about it. That's also why we're planning on fixing up the upstairs bedroom from the post below. It'll be our nursery.

Lots of good stuff happening in the near future. Stay tuned for more updates!

Big Plans

Apologies once again for a long blogging hiatus, which wasn't really a hiatus so much as a top secret mission. But more on that later...

For right now, I wanted to show you our new rug!

It was more than we wanted to pay, but it went with the rooms - dining, kitchen & living room - so beautifully. And after months and months of searching with no luck, we decided to go for it. Then, of course, the kitties started digging in their claws... Lesson learned. No more pricey rugs, no matter how pretty or perfect they might seem! Oh well...

So now our downstairs is (almost) completely finished. Time to move upstairs and on to the next project!

This bedroom has functioned as simply a catch-all for our mismatched, crappy college furniture. It's functional as a basic guest bedroom, but perhaps it's time to give it a little TLC.

The south wall - the door to the room is just down a short hall on the left.

The west and north walls with the two windows in the corner
(click on the picture to see the whole thing)

And the east wall with the closet and the short hall to the door

So I've got some ideas thanks entirely to the help of the lovely McGee. Greg and I hope to make serious progress and have the grand unveiling soon. We are in for a busy couple of months!

Three Bits of News

Since I'm back on the blogging train, I can resume boring you once again with the mundane-ery of our lives. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Yay, I just love the minutia of friends'/strangers' lives. But that's what personal blogs are all about, right. So here goes.

First, G and I hit up the Linens N' Things going-out-of-business sale this week-end and finally found a bed set that we liked! It's only taken 2 years!

Check it out! Decorative pillows and matching sheer curtains, thereby making this the single most coordinated room of the house. Quite possibly the most coordinated room of either of our lives...


Close up of the kitty cuteness - only because it's been a while. Now to my Jedi mind tricks. There are no crumpled, messy clothes on this bed. This bed has only two adorable kittens. All else is order and tidiness.

You can't see it now, can you? Amazing how that works...

Second bit - I bought us a webcam! Now we can call Ewa in England and Jola in Poland via Skype, and we can see each other while we gab. Technology is wonderful, isn't it. Especially when you actually use it. I'm a bit embarassed that Greg's mum had a webcam before we did, but we're catching up to you Ewa!

Thirdly, you can use this handy-dandy webcam to take gratuitous pictures of yourself when you're bored. I spent a good 5 minutes entertaining myself tonight, capturing goofy faces while Greg slept downstairs. Here's a not-so-goofy one showcasing my new bangs.


Yes, bangs. The last time I had bangs was probably around 13-years-old. I hadn't meant to get them, but I said the word "bangs" to my hair dresser and that's what she gave me. I don't hate them as much as I did last week.