24 weeks

The babies are growing steadily and have gained about 4 ounces since last week. They are now over a pound each and are almost a foot long. The lungs are now developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help their air sacs inflate once they hit the outside world. They will most likely gain 6 more ounces this week as they begin to fill out. This weight will mostly consist of muscle, bone mass, and the growing organs and tissues.

My shower is this Sunday and I'm excited! I can't wait to see everyone and for everyone to see me and my belly! Unfortunately the nursery won't be quite done yet, but we'll store everything in the garage until it's complete. Christian painted the 3 walls in the room this weekend and will be painting the 4th wall this week. My parents are going to help paint the one wall with a mural since I'm not allowed to paint!

Next step on my checklist is to visit another daycare and find a pediatrician.

Shrek Feet

My lovely brother told me the other day that I have Shrek feet. Oh, is he right... they are so swollen that I can get NO shoes on other than flip flops. Even the straps on the flops cut into my feet. I've heard good things about Crocs Flip Flops, so I'm hoping to find 2 pairs at lunch today... one black pair, one brown pair. I guess when fall comes, I'll need to buy compression stockings so that I can wear shoes!

23 weeks!

23 weeks already! This week we are in the process of switching the office and the nursery. It's pretty challenging since we both have desks, computers, and tons of stuff to fit into a much smaller room.

At 23 weeks, the kids are hitting the one pound mark and getting hiccups. They are approximately 11.5 inches head to heel. They are continuing to develop facial features and they are exploring their bodies and world in the comfort of their own personal "living womb." The babies now have eyes that open and close, ears that can hear, and a thumb well worth sucking. They can now can suck their thumbs for real, instead of just putting it in their mouths. This is a picture of what one of our lil' ones might look like right now if we caught them sucking their thumb.


Their sense of movement is well developed now, they can feel my movements. I can now see them on occasion as they practice their karate kicks.

Blood vessels in their lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that their increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing them for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as a dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze them when they hear them outside the womb.

Fat is still being deposited at a rapid rate, but the babies still look red and wrinkled. Skin is being produced at a higher rate than the fat is, so the skin hangs loosely. The babies look red because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form.

22 weeks and first Labor and Delivery visit!

Monday morning I had my monthly OB/GYN appt, and all was well. The doctor says my ankles will get worse and that it's more of a discomfort for me then anything to be concerned about. I do, however, just need to make sure my blood pressure is staying put and to put my feet up every day and drink plenty of water.

Monday night I started feeling a lot more uncomfortable. When I woke up Christian and I both noticed that my belly was rock hard. The day before, we could feel exactly where the kiddos where... that morning it was all hard. Almost everyone told me it was normal and not a concern, but I won't take any chances with these kids. I called the doctor and she sent me into labor and delivery. I was pretty calm until I got there and she couldn't find their heartbeats right away. Once ultrasound came in, they found both heartbeats and both babies look great. They are both head down right now, but that could change a million times from now until October/November. What I thought was Baby B's head, is apparently his/her feet! No wonder my ribcage feels bruised :) My cervix was also nice and closed so they sent me home. I told the triage nurse I hoped to not see her again for 12 or more weeks and she got a grin on her face and said, "honey, you are having twins." Guess that means us MOM's (mothers of multiples) visit the L&D a little more frequently than the average pregnancy. The most interesting thing was that the doctor says that while I am 22 weeks, I'm measuring 29 weeks because I'm carrying two! That's why I'm already starting to feel uncomfortable, have trouble getting out of bed, rolling over, etc.!

Enough of me... here's what the kids are up to now at 22 weeks:
They are about the length of a spaghetti squash and may weigh almost a pound each. The lips, eyelids and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and they are even developing tiny tooth buds beneath their gums. Though the eyes are formed, the irises still lack pigment. Right now they are covered with fine hair (lanugo). The pancreas is steadily developing. Their noses are taking on a more defined shape as cartilage (the soft bone) appears. The babies now have a full complement of neurons in the brain and are learning about their body and surroundings through touch. Touch is one of the first senses to mature and the babies may stroke their face or feel their arms and legs.

Our Trip

Our baby moon was great! We didn't necessarily relax, but we didn't over do it either. There was so much to do and see.

We left for Niagara Falls Sunday morning. When we got in, we ate some lunch and walked down to the falls. It was a beautiful day, though a little hot. I realized just how pregnant I really was after all our walking. It's amazing how hard it is to lug around an extra 30lbs! Then we went back to the room, took a nap and ordered in.

The next morning we had to catch our train at 6:30am. We took a 2 hour train ride to Toronto and then switched trains and took a 5 hour train to Montreal. The 5 hour ride was a little long, but nice. We were able to walk to our Bed and Breakfast from the train station. The Bed and Breakfast, Bons Matins, was very cool. Very eclectic. The only downfall was our room had an open concept bathroom. Yep, that means no door on the toilet! And, unfortunately only an open hot tub... which meant I needed help getting in and out of it for my shower everyday. We tried to switch rooms, but they were fully booked. In the end it worked out fine.


While in Montreal we visited the Biodome, Botanical Gardens, Archeology Museum, Science Center, Olympic Park, Old Montreal, and the Old Port. It was very interesting to be in a city whose main language is French. Most of the signs were in French. The architecture in Old Montreal was amazing. It's a great city and there was definitely more we could have done if were there a day or so longer and if I wasn't pregnant. While I don't know that we'll necessarily make an effort to go back... if you've never been, it's definitely worth seeing. We had lunch at the infamous St. Viateur Bagel shop, and had some pretty tasty bagel sandwiches!





We then headed back to Niagara for the day. We had dinner and went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum.

It was nice to get away and we had a really good time. The best part was that the babies were happy and kicked away the whole time. Christian had so many chances to feel them. He was so sweet the whole time because we was so worried about everything I did or didn't do and especially worried about the crowds. He made sure no one came near our precious cargo :)

Click here to view more pictures from our trip!

On Sunday, we spent the day in the ER. Christian has 2 kidneys stones... one of which is 3mm! I've never seen him in so much pain!

21 Weeks

This is a little late, as we were in Canada for the week! I will post more about the trip soon. In the meantime, I'm on modified bedrest for the weekend, recouping from perhaps a little too much walking. I have pretty bad swelling and stopped in to see the nurse on our way back to Pittsburgh. She suggests that I relax and keep my feet up all weekend. If the swelling gets worse, or is accompanied by headaches, she wants me to call the on-call doctor. The good thing is my blood pressure is nice and low.

This week the kids were VERY active and Christian got to feel them a few times every day. One of the kiddos has decided to snuggle right next to my rib cage which is a little uncomfortable when traveling :)

At 21 weeks:
They now baby weigh about three-quarters of a pound and are approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. They sleep for about 12-14 hours a day, but to me it feels like they are up alot more than that! They are learning how their arms and legs move, and using their hands to feel their facial features. In other developments, their eyebrows and lids are present now. The taste buds are also being formed on their tongues this week. I may also start noticing them hiccup :)