24 Weeks!

I can't find my camera to take a bump pic and they always come out bad from my phone but I really don't think I've grown much anyway. It's been an unveventful few weeks. Except for one thing that is:

We made it to 24 weeks!!!

Yes, that does deserve some old school bold, italics and underline effects.

You see, 24 weeks is essentially the starting point of true viability in most pregnancies. Babies have a higher chance of survival,with intervention, from this point on, until about 37 weeks when you are technically, safely full-term. This is especially wonderful for mono-di twins who seem to have a crazy way of coming super early. This isn't to say a baby born at 22 or 23 weeks wouldn't survive, just that the odds go way up after the 24 week mark. I am feeling so good and so happy we can celebrate this milestone.

Next is 28 weeks, where we start to exit the red zone and enter the yellow. 32 weeks is the start of the green zone and 35 is the goal.  Here we go!

The girls weigh 1 lb. 7 and 1 lb. 8 oz each, fluids look great, CPCs are all but gone and my cervix is measuring well. Baby A is head down and Baby B is breech but Dr. M assured me she would most likely turn.

I have been craving olives, raisin bran and big salads with cheese, olives and Italian dressing. I'm feeling really great and getting ready for my last day of work this Friday. It will be bittersweet and emotional but it's time to hang up my teacher hat and wear my mom one.

xo,
M

22 Weeks!

I forgot to update last Wednesday when I hit 22 weeks. They were technically 1 lb. at our appointment at 21 weeks so they might be a bit bigger now but better late than never! They are kicking up a storm and actually woke me up from a dead sleep yesterday morning when it felt like they were trying to kick their way out! It's pretty cool that Dad and I both got to feel them kick at the same time. I missed out on some earlier movements due to the positioning of my placenta but now I know what the fuss was all about! Sometimes it feels like there's a soccer game going on in there!

I'm feeling great despite difficulty getting comfortable enough to sleep at night. Our bed looks like a fortress with all the pillows I have right now. I hope to get a body pillow asap. Thanks to this I have started having a small bit of coffee during the day just to make it through. Work is getting harder but only two more weeks left. As sad as I am to be leaving what I love so much I know it is best for me and the babies that I get as much rest and preparation done while I still can.

xoxo,
M

21 Weeks!

We had our first visit to hospital this past weekend followed by a fantastic visit with Dr. M. The girls are each a pound right now and looking beautifully healthy. I'm feeling ok, have been battling headaches here and there, my back is starting to ache all the time and I'm definitely starting to feel the extra 20 lbs. I thought I was in preterm labor due to a few changes in my symptoms last Friday.  I won't bore you with the details but in the end it turned out I was just feeling kicks (not contractions) and needed to rest more. It was a good experience although I did feel kind of silly! But then today we got to see some amazing pics of our baby girls!

FIAO 3.1 - Even though we ain't got money...

It's a good thing C and I love each other so much because in a few weeks we will be down to one very modest income and savings between the two of us. My boss and I have decided to cut me back to an "as-needed" basis on May 16th (I will sub if needed until the babies come) and the plan is to grin and bear it until the twins are old enough/I feel sane enough for me to start watching children in our home. This chapter in FIAO is about how we made this decision and later I will let you know how it's going. I will share what works for us and what hurts us as well as any tips I learn along the way. I already know that it is not going to be easy as we both have personal debt, I have student loan debt, plus our cars and household expenses. We are living pretty bare bones as it is and I have cut my spending down and been saving the surplus. I have completed budget plans and we will need to rely on our savings and the (already offered) help of family for a few months until some of our debt is paid off. It's going to be really hard at first but thankfully I am gifted with a versatile skill (people will always need childcare) and a great support system.

As far as why on earth anyone would make this decision upon finding out they're expecting twins, well there were a few considerations for us.  We knew pretty much the minute we found out about the twins that I would stay home with them. Due to the nature of home daycare my boss cannot give me free or reduced childcare and still pay me enough to work there. So if I went back with the girls I would essentially be paying my boss back a huge chunk of my paycheck in order to watch my own kids.  That's not happening.  I could just go get another job but I could never, ever, pay someone else to watch my kids when all I've ever done is watch other people's kids. That just seems unnatural and as hard as it will be I know this is the right choice.

As for when to leave, that was not as easy to decide.  Ultimately it came down to preventing problems before they arise and taking care of myself. I also did not want to wait until, God forbid, something bad happened and then H was left to find someone without me. I need to be giving myself the best care possible and to be honest working in child care is miserable right now. I can't pick any of the kids up anymore, I'm exhausted after half an hour of playtime and my aches, pains and heartburn are making even the most fun activities hard to get through. I haven't changed a bad diaper in months because of the nausea and I am so germ-phobic that I'm avoiding all accidents, blow-outs and nose-faucets. Essentially I am being paid (very well for home daycare I might add) just to sit there and watch.  It's no fun for me, no fun for my kids and certainly more difficult on my assistant and boss.

So in the end I've decided to leave not only before anything bad happens (e.g. bed rest, preterm labor, TTTS) but also before I become completely useless at work.  Just this past week I was up the entire night with a killer headache. I took the morning off to catch up on sleep and just as I was going to get up the headache came back along with a bad nosebleed. I called my OB who said it was just hormones,  dry nasal tissue and increased blood volume. I was fine but there was no way I was going to work feeling that way.  I don't get sick or vacation time so when I need to take time I am losing income anyway.  At least if I'm unemployed we will qualify for WIC and other benefits while we need them. I am not a mooch and I do not condone or plan on utilizing social services any longer than absolutely necessary. We are the people for whom programs like that were invented. As soon as I am able I will be taking in children and in the future I hope to open a preschool program or something for homeschooling families.

I know that we are so incredibly lucky to have the support we have and that we could not provide for our girls the life they deserve without it. We did not plan well and we are learning as we go but I believe that love, support and a strong home are what make children the happiest and the healthiest they can be. And we've got that and more. Like I said...
 

Even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you, honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning, when I rise,
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

20 Weeks!

So we've hit the official half-way point (at least of typical pregnancies)!! It's a little different for us as I will not be going past week 36 due to the risks of identicals. I hit the halfway point around week 15 but it felt odd celebrating it so I'm doing it now! Only fifteen more weeks until we get to meet our girls and we are so excited! I've started cleaning up some of the hand-me-down gear we've received and created a "girls" box for all the books, trinkets, decor and other items I've saved over the years for the nursery plus the gifts we're receiving now. We are so lucky in that we have a 2.5 year old niece, J, whose mom, my sister K, is more than willing to donate baby clothes, toys and gear that's been just taking up space. It's kinda funny, K was the ONLY person who knew from the beginning that we would have twin girls so she's even more happy now that she can get rid of all her stuff! It's a good thing she had a girl too because we've already gotten a rock and play, a tub, 2 play mats and a bouncy seat (thank you to a daycare mom and H!) that are neutral but tend toward boy colors. It's so weird to have baby gear in the house and the cats don't know what to make of it all!

I am feeling so great. I know the second trimester is the easiest but I have had such an easy pregnancy it's hard to believe it's almost over. I do have more aches in my lower back and belly, the heartburn is starting to flare up with a vengeance and I can't keep my eyes open past 10pm but other than that all is going so well!

I am feeling flutters and pokes here and there but nothing like the full-force kicks a lot of mamas get by this point. Funny though just as I started writing that I felt some little taps!

My scale is not very reliable but I going by last weeks appt. I think I have gained 18-20 lbs. total since December 26th.

I am still able to fit in all of my tops but have been wearing maternity jeans and capris for a few weeks now. Thanks to a few great finds on eBay and at a local consignment store I've spent less than $100 and have over 10 pairs of pants/capris/shorts, 10 maternity and nursing tops and even a dress I wore to two weddings last month.

I have an ultrasound next Thursday with Dr. M.  It should be a quick one he said, just a check of fluids and size. If all goes well the girls should be close to a pound each!

We're trying out a new recipe tonight and it smells absolutely wonderful. We got a huuuuge eggplant from the store this week and instead of taking forever to bread it and making eggplant parm like we usually do we're trying Rachael Ray's No-Noodle Lasagna. Haven't tried it yet but I can already tell it's going to be pure awesomeness.

So tonight I will be eating a late lasagna (it's almost 9!) and spending some QT with C rather than researching/buying/fbing til bed like last night. We're halfway through season 2 of GoT and our kitties have been super snuggly tonight too!

xoxo,
M