24 Weeks

It's time for a little update. I feel like we should be nearing the end, compared to my other pregnancies. 

Stretch marks: Lots. 

Sleep: I wake up to go to the bathroom and I toss and turn more, trying to get comfortable. Plus the other kids still wake me once or twice a night, so I don't sleep very well.

Best moment this week: An ultrasound. Any time I get you to see you guys on the screen makes me happy. It's so fun to see your sweet little bodies. This ultrasound was fun because we got lots of 3D pictures. We think your brother resembles Josh a little and you might look more like Oliver and your dad. It's kind of hard to tell this early on but it's fun to speculate.

Movement: I feel you guys move quite frequently. Mostly from the inside but sometimes from the outside.

Food cravings: Sweets. Still. Daily intense cravings. Lately it has been Nutella but any chocolate is good. And ice-cream. I try really hard to eat healthy but I can't resist the cravings. I'm going to have a lot of work to do on the other side of this pregnancy.

Gender: Two sweet boys.

Baby Stats: You each weigh a little over a pound, which is right on track. 

Symptoms: My back still hurts, but instead of just when I wake it, it is most of the time. My feet and fingers are swollen. I can no longer wear my wedding ring so I have to wear my "pregnancy wedding ring" (another band your dad got me that was too big and I never had it resized, which is perfect for when I get to this point in my pregnancies). My tailbone hurts a lot and often feels like it is spreading or going to crack. There are often sharp pains in my tailbone area if I am laying down and try to adjust or turn over. I continue to be exhausted. But it's all worth going through for you guys, of course! I know it's going to get worse so I can't complain too much at this point.

Labor signs: Nope (thankfully). 

Belly button - in or out? Out.

What I miss: Feeling less exhausted and having more energy than I do now. I'm also missing my pre-pregnancy body a little, along with that wardrobe. 

What I am looking forward to: Meeting you and your brother.

Most recent belly shot (22.5 weeks):

19.5 Weeks

Dear Sweet Boy,

We're halfway through this pregnancy! I am definitely feeling it. It makes me excited to meet you and your brother.

Stretch marks: Lots. 

Sleep: Still the same. As long as the other kids sleep, I sleep okay. I always wake up with my back hurting though.

Best moment last week: My ultrasound. Now we know for sure you an your brother and boys. So exciting! We can't wait to meet you!

Movement: I feel you guys move quite frequently.

Food cravings: Sweets. All the time! It's ridiculous.

Gender: Two sweet boys.

Baby Stats: You each weigh 11 ounces. 

Symptoms: My back hurts when I wake up. I'm so exhausted.

Labor signs: Nope (thankfully). 

Belly button - in or out? Out.

What I miss: Feeling less exhausted and having more energy than I do now.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting you and your brother.

A few pictures from our family gender reveal party. I put some blue whipped cream in two cupcakes. Oliver's cupcake represented Twin A and Josh's cupcake represented Twin B. Oliver was kind of hoping one of them would be pink but both boys were excited to find out they're having brothers.

A little update

Taken a few weeks ago.

It has been a while since I have updated. I feel that life has never been busier than it is now. It has been especially busy lately with potty training Eleanor, moving her to a toddler bed, Josh and Eleanor being sick (which wakes them at night, especially her, and then she can't go back to sleep), we went to Utah for Spring Break last week, and Josh broke his arm while we were there. Daddy was at a Scout campout / hike at the Grand Canyon and will be back in about an hour or so. Every day I feel like I'm racing to keep up and my to-do list never gets shorter. But life is good and we are so excited to meet you and your brother in August. :)

Stretch marks: I'm not sure if there are new ones this time around but there are plenty from before so I'm not too worried about it.  

Sleep: I am still able to sleep fine as long as everyone sleeps through the night. But that hasn't been happening lately with Norah's sickness and Josh's sickness and broken arm. I feel like a zombie half of the time.

Best moment last week: My sister hosted a small family baby shower for me in Utah. It was fun to celebrate you and your brother's upcoming arrival. I got some cute little clothes and a few other things (a couple of packages of diapers. Yay!). It was so sweet and thoughtful of her.

Movement: I am definitely feeling you guys move pretty regularly. Not every day but pretty frequently. It's still little movements down in my lower abdomen at this point. 

Food cravings: I crave sweets all.the.time. It's not good but it's hard to resist. I'm scared about how much weight I will gain!

Gender: At my last detailed ultrasound appointment last month, the tech was "pretty sure" Baby B is a boy and then at my last doctor appointment a couple of weeks ago, she confirmed you are definitely a boy! So it looks like we're having two boys if the first ultrasound tech was right. We are excited! It would have been fun to have a sister for Norah but we love boys too. :)

Baby Stats: You're each supposed to be as big as a mango, 6" long and weigh 8.5 ounces. You are also developing your five senses at 19 weeks.

Symptoms: I have a little more energy than I did in my first trimester but I'm still pretty exhausted. I have varicose veins down the backs of my legs (especially my right leg), my back is already starting to hurt, and I feel huge (but know I'm only half way there!). 

Labor signs: Nope (thankfully). 

Belly button - in or out? Out now.

What I miss: Feeling less exhausted and having more energy than I do now.

What I am looking forward to: My detailed ultrasound next Tuesday to make sure everything looks good, get a better look at you two and confirm your genders. :)

Ultrasound Pictures!

Dear Sweet Boy,

I had a detailed ultrasound with a specialist a few days ago and he is almost certain you, Baby B, are a boy! It was so fun to learn your gender. It's not 100% certain since it's so early on, but from the ultrasound pictures, it looked pretty obvious and the ultrasound tech said he would bet money on it. Over a year before I got pregnant, I had thoughts that there was another boy who would come to our family. This was before I felt promptings from the Spirit. I didn't think too much of it because I didn't feel like we would be able to have more children, due to our age / exhaustion / a lot on our plate. But I had that thought several times (to the point where I started saving boy clothes instead of giving them away, just in case) so I'm not surprised Heavenly Father is sending us a boy.

Here are the ultrasound pictures.

I love this one

We are excited to meet you. We love you already!

Love, Mom

12.5 weeks

Tomorrow I have a detailed ultrasound with a specialist and my doctor said there's a good chance they will be able to tell us your genders at this appointment! We are excited to find out. (Although your dad kind of likes not knowing because once we know, we will know the genders of everyone in our family and there will be no more guessing...since you two are definitely our last kids. But I am all about knowing and being prepared.) I am kind of thinking boy / girl but I know whatever your genders are, you are being sent to us intentionally and that makes me happy. I have definitely felt a lot of peace concerning you and your sibling joining our family and I'm grateful for that because it definitely seems a little overwhelming at times too.

Here's a little update:

Stretch marks: Nothing new from this pregnancy yet. 

Sleep: I am still able to sleep fine as long as everyone sleeps through the night. Sometimes I wake up to pee but sometimes I ignore that feeling because I'm just too tired.  

Best moment last week: My ultrasound last week when I got to see you both on the screen again. Twin B was very active during the ultrasound. You both have good, strong heartbeats at 150.

Movement: Sometimes I think I might feel a little something but I'm not sure. It seems too soon to really feel anything yet. 

Food cravings: I still crave fresh, healthy things but along with that I'm also craving chocolate and sweets. I'm trying to lean more towards the healthy cravings but it doesn't always happen. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches (with banana) sound good a lot recently too. 

Gender: I'm so curious to know! There is a good chance we will find out tomorrow!!!

Baby Stats: You're each supposed to be about 3 inches long now (about as long as a pea pod) and weigh an ounce. It's hard to believe you're both so little because my belly is sure getting bigger. 

Symptoms: I am still really tired but I'm trying to get more sleep at night and that is helping a little. 

Labor signs: Nope (thankfully). 

Belly button - in or out? It's still mostly in. 

What I miss: Feeling less exhausted and having more energy than I do now.

What I am looking forward to: My detailed ultrasound tomorrow and hopefully finding out your genders!

11 Week Update

Stretch marks: Nothing new from this pregnancy yet. 

Sleep: I am still able to sleep fine if Josh and Eleanor stay asleep all night. Right now Miss Eleanor wakes up in the night sometimes because she's getting her molars and Josh occasionally still has night terrors (or sometimes an accident), but they are pretty infrequent now. 

Best moment last week: My ultra sound on Thursday - the day I found out we're having twins!!!! We're very excited (and nervous and overwhelmed too).

Movement: Not yet. 

Food cravings: Yesterday nectarines sounded really good. Salads, fresh veggies sandwiches, ice water with fresh lemon juice squeezed into it. I sometimes buy (healthy) frozen meals to eat quickly if it's a crazy busy night but those don't sound appealing at all. I was this way when expecting Oliver, too. Except with him, literally all I wanted was fresh veggie subs. 

Gender: I'm so curious to know! Extra curious because it could be girl, girl or boy, boy or girl, boy. It would kind of be fun to have one of each but I don't have any super strong feelings or preferences other than I think maybe two girls could be difficult for Eleanor (she might feel left out due to the bond twins have) but it might not be that way at all. I also think two boys would be a handful if they're anything like their brothers. But I also feel strongly that these babies are definitely being sent to our family with intention and whatever your genders, you're supposed to be with us and I feel peace about that. 

Baby Stats: You're each supposed to be about the size of a fig. That's so hard to believe, just because you look bigger on the ultrasound and I feel like my stomach is making lots of room for you two. 

Symptoms: I am incredibly tired. I do okay in the mornings but I am really dragging in the afternoons. If I sit down on the floor to change a diaper, I have to lay down and I almost fall asleep. If I sit on the couch, I do fall asleep, even if only for ten minutes. I have low energy the second half of the day. I just found out I have low thyroid levels so hopefully the medication will help with this (I just started taking it today). I have not felt sick at all in weeks. I did a little bit, in the beginning, but it was very mild and short and would usually happen in the afternoons or evenings. There was only twice when I thought I really might actually throw up and almost ran to the bathroom. Otherwise it was just a mild, annoying feeling that passed within minutes. I am so grateful I'm not feeling sick and feel it's a tender mercy from Heavenly Father because I have so much on my plate right now with the other kids. On occasion I get a little lightheaded / dizzy but I think that might be due to low thyroid levels as well.  

Labor signs: Nope (thankfully). 

Belly button - in or out? It's still mostly in. 

What I miss: Feeling less exhausted and having more energy than I do now.

What I am looking forward to: My next appointment next week so I can hear your heart beats and see you on the screen again. Being of Advanced Maternal Age (37), I am high risk for misscarriage so it's always nice to hear those heart beats. I also get to have appointments (including an ultrasound every time) every two weeks because I'm having twins, so that's kind of fun. 

10 Weeks

11.5 weeks

My first letter to you.

Dear Baby,

On December 7, 2016, I found out I was pregnant with you. [copy from journal...]