On 25w4d, pre-eclampsia, & getting the nursery ready

I'm 25w4d today. According to the scale this morning, I'm up 30lbs, but I'm not sure that's completely accurate because I am definitely swollen today. It's ungodly humid everywhere I go, and my poor fingers were so swollen this morning that I couldn't even wear my wedding set. :( I'm wearing my titanium "EMS" wedding ring instead, which is a little more forgiving when I'm swollen. I haven't been able to wear my watch or bracelet for a couple of weeks now, I guess the weight gain is going to my wrists? LOL. As I'm typing this, I'm thinking "I need to get a fan for my desk and I need compression socks".

At my past few OB appointments, the OB has made some comments about my blood pressure. I'm not getting crazy high readings, and have been tracking at home as well, and I'm always right around the 130/80 mark... sometimes higher when I'm at the doctor because I have definite white coat syndrome. I stress myself out about the blood pressure reading, knowing I'll be in trouble because it's high, and then what happens? It's high. If I can wait until the end of the appointment to have it taken, it's always much lower and within normal ranges.

Anyways, 2 appointments ago, my OB mentioned that I need to start thinking about when I will come out of work. At my last appointment last Wednesday, he told me he wants me out of work ASAP. In fact, he wanted to put me out of work that day. His concern is that my blood pressure is slowly creeping up, I'm having pedal edema from sitting at my desk all day, and because I'm already high risk, it puts me at higher risk for pre-eclampsia. He had me do another 24 urine collection 2 appointments ago, and my protein came in right under 300 - with 300 being pre-eclampsia (along with elevated blood pressure). He told me that he's "trying to be nice" with me right now because he doesn't want to stress me out more and send my blood pressure up, but that I need to slow down, treat this as the twin/high-risk pregnancy this is, and stop working. He said that if I keep at the pace I'm at, I will deliver the babies closer to 34 weeks or earlier, which really freaked me out.

I think the thing that freaks me out the most about it is that I feel great! Honestly, I love being pregnant, and there have been some minor discomforts at times, but overall, I just feel so good that it's hard for me to believe that something bad could be happening. If I felt like shit, I could understand things more, but I really just don't. He said that makes it even more concerning, because I'm mostly asymptomatic, and things could turn ugly quickly, and put the babies and I at risk. He said that I need to be at home, laying on my sides, eating/drinking/napping whenever I want in the AC and continuing to bake these babies.

Anyways, I'm trying to play Let's Make a Deal with my OB. I go back tomorrow for a blood pressure check. Thursday is my ultrasound with Maternal Fetal Medicine to see how big these babies are. My next "real" appointment with him is Monday the 17th. He asked me to bring DH since I'm "not being cooperative". I have lab appointments set up to do my 1 hour glucose and another 24 hour urine collection on the 22nd. He told me that if my protein is over 300, that's it - no more work. So, my hope is that if my blood pressure stays in check and I'm still feeling well, I can stay at work until July 1st... thinking that he will set up another appointment with me for after the 24 hour urine and glucose results come back for the last week in June.

Speaking of the size of these babies... I'm really excited to see them again on Thursday. My OB, when palpating my belly, asked when my next growth scan is... because he thinks they are big. Well, I'm SURE they are big - DH is big, my dad & sisters are all tall, and his entire family is tall. I've said from the beginning that I'm growing "Ryan-sized" babies in here - they have always measured ahead. Even as twins, they measure ahead for as if they are singletons.

Today the nursery is being painted. I'm beyond excited! All of the twins' bedding came in, and I did a color consult with an interior decorator to help pick paint colors for our entire house.

The nursery theme is My First ABC by Kidsline.

Originally, I wanted to do a safari/jungle theme, but everything was either very feminine or very masculine - and I wanted something that wouldn't look too "off" for either baby. My biggest "want" was something that had elephants in it because I love them! I figured this set worked out nicely. I plan on having the changing pad be a sagey green, Ryder's extra crib sheets being red, and Brynley's extra sheets being lilac. We are painting the nursery a sagey green above the chair rail, then a white chair rail, then a light tan color. Our furniture color is similar to that in the picture.

Everyone has been so insanely generous to our babies already, and I swear I already have enough clothes for them for the first 6 months or so. Once the nursery is set up, DH & I need to re-do their closet structure (the structure the builder puts in is crap and doesn't use the space well), and then I can really go through all the clothing and see what we really have.

Other than that, not much else going on... here are some belly pictures :)

Here I am at 24 weeks and 25 weeks.

On 22w5d & Baby Names

We decided on the names for the babies a few days after our Gender Reveal party. I have loved Ryder throughout my pregnancy, and if it were 2 boys - it would've been Ryder and Reid. I was so thoroughly convinced it was 2 boys, I hadn't really thought of girl names. I always loved Bryn (Ava was my #1 girls name, but there are too many Ava's these days), but I wanted something different than just Bryn - so Brynley it is. I love both names because there won't be 30 of them in their classes at school. Thomas is for my dad, and Marjorie is for DH's grandmother who recently passed away.

We visited DH's dad in California around my 20th week of pregnancy. Honestly, flying that pregnant with twins wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I bought 2 bottles of water to keep hydrated, plus the drink service on the flight, and lots of snack options. I also brought along a couple of my breastfeeding books to keep me occupied, since I can't read on planes. We got Exit Row seats right near a bathroom, which was great because my bladder was definitely giving me a workout. I did have some back tightness after the flights, but my back has always been tight, so that's not a shock. I did also have some ankle swelling, but it went down only a few days after each flight. My biggest suggestion for flying with pregnant is to hydrate!!!

We had a great time in California, visiting with our best man, his wife, and their daughter (who is almost 2)... we had never met their daughter, so that was the best part. DH's dad was also always loving on my belly. When we were leaving to go home, he kissed my belly and talked to the babies. <3

Here's my 20 week belly in California. Also, here is DH & I in Cali.

I had an appointment with my OB last week. He is super happy with everything in the pregnancy, minus my hypertension when I come to his office. I swear that I just have white coat syndrome because my pressure is great at home. He told me to just continue logging my blood pressure at home because we need to keep an eye on it. I will be doing another 24 hour urine collection to check my protein in the urine, and in a few weeks, I will be doing another 1 hour glucose test. We also discussed birth control after the babies are born - I'm insistent that I'm done having babies after this pregnancy, but don't want to do anything permanent yet... so I'm thinking of the Paraguard IUD. The OB told me that in his professional opinion, I'm "not done having babies yet". LOL. I also discussed exclusively breastfeeding the twins with him, and he said that it'll be difficult, but that with what he knows of me, he knows I will do it.

As of this morning, I was up 24lbs, which puts me right on track with my twins book recommendation. I'm definitely feeling the weight gain more now. I'm seeing my chiropractor every 2 weeks or so to help with right hip pain, and I'm so hot at night that we had to turn our thermostat down to 66 (lol) and I'm sleeping in a sports bra and boy shorts - and still sleeping without covers most of the night. It's such an odd sensation, like only my belly feels hot. I'm still applying my cocoa butter every morning, and not a single stretch mark yet, which honestly shocks me. I know they are coming but I certainly thought they would be here already.

Our gender scan went really well, and it was amazing to see the babies in such detail. They have changed who is lower, and now Ryder (on my right) is technically Baby A. They were both super active, and were currently both breech position. I think Ryder may have flipped though, because he has been giving strong kicks in the top of my stomach. DH finally got to feel the babies kicking this past weekend. I felt so awful that he hadn't felt them yet.

Also, I got a surprise this weekend when 2 of my sisters flew in as a surprise, since they couldn't make the gender reveal party... it was great!

I plan on ordering our nursery bedding this week and we are working on estimates from painters to paint the nursery (and the rest of the house). It blows my mind that the babies could be here in 3 months!

Here's me at 21 weeks and 22 weeks (I'm finally starting to figure out how to take self pictures with an iPhone, lmao!)

Here is big brother Mojo loving on my belly.

And here are some baby feet. :)

On 19w & No More Ambulance

I'm 19 weeks today, which puts me at officially half way through my pregnancy (since it's twins and they won't let me go past 38 weeks). When I did the scale hop this morning, I was officially up 16lbs. I'm still looking like it's mostly all belly gain, but my shape has definitely changed a bit (no waistline) and I'm feeling a bit flabby in my normally toned areas. I feel like my belly button is just weeks away from being popped out, lol. It amazes me how much my belly skin has stretched and how much further it still has to go. I still always find myself staring at my belly as I get in the shower and I just giggle. This is really happening. It blows my mind every single day.

I had an emergency appointment with my OB about a week and a half ago because I was having abdominal pain and bladder spasms that I thought were related to another kidney stone. After running some tests and a follow-up appointment, he doesn't think it was a kidney stone, but rather thinks it was round ligament pain. He told me it would be more severe for me considering I'm stretching to accomodate 2 little ones, but that it's pretty normal.

The biggest takeaway from it? He wanted me off the ambulance. He told me I need to take it easy and remember it's a twin pregnancy - which is totally different than a singleton pregnancy. I'll be the first to admit that I've felt so great the past few weeks that I thought I would be able to continue just leading life normally... but I need to realize I have an even greater job and responsibility to these 2 babies... so I need to slow my ass down. So, I relented and am officially done working EMS until after the babies arrive. It was definitely emotional for me packing away all my uniforms, but it's for a good reason.

With that, I have enjoyed the time off and definitely feel a huge difference in my body. There's no more daily aches, pains, and difficulty finding a good position to sleep in. I've been trying to get more stuff done around the house that has been neglected because I was working so much and I've also been in bed every night by 8pm. Honestly, by the end of the day, I'm usually fast asleep by 8pm, too.
Since I have been feeling better and the weather has been nicer, I've been trying to do some walks with Mojo around our development. I've also been trying to do some stretching. It's the first real exercise I've gotten since I found out I was pregnant, so it's welcome.

Not sure if I've mentioned it, but I have a huge diaper/wipes/paper towels/toilet paper/other household essentials stash going. I have close to 5000 diapers (in varying sizes) and over 6000 wipes, lol. DH thinks I'm nuts, but I think I'm being smart! LOL. My basement looks like a cross between Extreme Couponers and Hoarders. I've been really good with couponing to buy everything, too.

Two more weeks until our anatomy scan, and then 2 days later (Mother's Day), we have our Gender Reveal Party. I'm growing more and more anxious to know what these 2 babies are. I still swear Baby A is a boy, and I'm convinced they are either 2 boys or boy/girl... although at this point, if they were 2 girls, I wouldn't be surprised, lol.

Also, over the past few days, I've felt some, what I think are, distinct kicks from Baby A. It was very often a few days ago, but when I would put my hand to my belly, the baby would stop (of course!) I cannot wait until DH can feel them kicking and moving. <3

On 16w6d & lots of doctor's appointments

I feel like I've been neglecting my little blog.

I'm 16w6d today. I jumped on the scale this morning, and I'm up about 13lbs. I'm definitely almost all belly, but am also more flabby because I haven't been able to workout. The morning sickness is almost totally gone (except for when I smell certain things or brush my teeth, lol) and I feel like a new woman! The only thing I've noticed is that I get tired really quickly.

I met with my new ob last week and immediately loved him. The only issue is that he doesn't want me to work on the ambulance anymore. I made a compromise and I will be finishing out April on the truck and then that's it. To be honest, I'm having mixed feelings about it. I love doing EMS but understand it's best for me and the babies to not be running right now. I cried a little bit when I took the recurring shifts out of my Google calendar from May on.

I had my echocardiogram done at the cardiologist on Monday. The tech said he could see my heart murmur but that it's not very large. I go back next Friday for my follow-up.

I had an appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine the other day, too. Nothing crazy came out of the appointment, but I did receive confirmation that they won't let me go past 38 weeks... so, that means these babies will more than likely be here in August! Mentally, that messed with me a bit. This whole time I've been telling people "I'm due in September but will probably deliver in August", but now that it's for real for real that I'll probably deliver in August, I'm like "omg". It went from "I have all summer" to "they are coming at the end of the summer", lol.

I bought a doppler on eBay, and before bed most nights, I just listen to the babies. They have been so active, but it's still reassuring. Sometimes I have a hard time finding their heartbeats, but instead hear a lot of them "wooshing" around in there, and that's just as comforting to me. I've also been trying to read to them.

I've been preparing for our Mother's Day gender reveal party. At first, I honestly wasn't super anxious to find out what we are having, but now I find myself wanting to know. I think it's moreso because everyone else wants to know and because I want to pick out the nursery theme, lol.

I'm currently bidding on my dream stroller on eBay and crossing my fingers that I get it! I've also been selling some of my old clothes on eBay. I went through my closet and had a ton of stuff that still had tags on it! LOL. I've also been using my coupons to stockpile diapers, wipes, and lots of household stuff. DH thinks I'm nuts, but he'll be happy once the babies are here, lol.

Here are some belly pictures, at around 14 weeks, 15+ weeks, and 16+ weeks. :)

On 13w3d & making the announcement!

After a great visit at Maternal Fetal Medicine on 03/08 (officially 12 weeks), and an awesome NT scan, we decided to make the "official" Facebook announcement. Here's Mojo in his big brother shirt!

I was honestly surprised by the amount of people who responded to the post. My BFF says that this is a "celebrity" thing, lol. But, we really had hundreds of people "like" and comment the post. It feels nice that so many people are already being so great about the pregnancy. The day after our FB announcement, I posted a bit about our infertility struggles and our journey to the twins, and that was really well-received as well. I've gotten tons of messages, text messages, and hugs from people who have said it helped them to know others are dealing/have dealt with it. I will never understand why IF is treated as some dirty little secret.

Anyways, the NT scan was great. We got to see both babies, see their brains, the blood flow through the cords, their legs, arms, hands, everything. I loved the detail and to see them moving. We did Baby B (right upper) first, as that baby is sooo much more calm than Baby A, and always cooperates nicely. Baby B had a heartrate of 150bpm.

Baby A is definitely my wild child. This baby never wants to cooperate for ultrasounds, and is constantly flipping around and waving like a crazy person, lol. We would be doing pictures and measurements of Baby B, and you could see Baby A off in the background waving and moving. It was hysterical. Baby A had a heartrate of 145bpm.

Here are both of them in their fake bunk beds. ;) Baby A is on the bottom, Baby B is on the top.

I feel pretty confident that Baby A is a boy. I'm not exactly sure why, but I just feel that way. I've felt "boy" from the beginning, like I've felt "twins" from the beginning, so I'll be beyond shocked if they are both girls. DH's dad thinks Baby A is just a girl who doesn't like her picture taken, lol. My sisters all think it's 2 boys, whereas most other people think I'm having one of each. I'll be honest - I'll be happy with anything.

We find out genders on 05/10, and plan on doing a gender reveal party on 05/12 (Mother's Day). I need to start planning for that, but I plan on just having some family and friends over for some snacks and to see what the babies are.

Here's a picture of me with my bump on Saturday at the Irish Parade. I HATE the picture of me (I swear my face looks so round and fat!) but it's neat to see my bump. I definitely look much bigger than 13 weeks, but I was told to expect to measure about 6-8 weeks ahead throughout the pregnancy, so it makes sense. I've gained about 7-8lbs so far, and while I'm definitely more "flabby" since I haven't been able to work out, almost all of my weight gain is definitely in my belly area.

Overall, I've felt pretty good. I'm still nauseous most mornings, but the vomiting has definitely decreased. I have to eat small meals versus normal sized meals, my stomach just can't take that much in at once. I've definitely felt some "stretching" in my belly area, yesterday I swore my belly button was stretching, lol.

I've been weaning off of the progesterone injections, and in fact, my last injection is tomorrow! I'm so excited. I've also been weaning off of the Endometrin and should be done that soon, as well. :)

I feel so lucky about everything and I'll take every single symptom and every extra medication if it means a healthy pregnancy.