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. :)