Her first designer jeans

Okay, okay, so I know this is completely ridiculous, but I just couldn't help myself. If you know me, you know that I have a little thing (okay a big thing) for designer jeans... actually, just clothes in general, but jeans are near the top of the list for sure.

Starting today I get to leave the house for one 20 minute outing a day as long as I continue to improve. I decided to go to our local baby boutique for my first outing since I had a coupon that expires this week. Thank you Grammie for the coupon... I would not have been able to get these without it. I just couldn't resist this little pair of baby Joe's Jeans. They are the perfect size for her all summer! They even have the little Joe's leather logo on the butt...seriously, could it get any cuter?!?!

The Princess and The Prophecy

It's a GIRL and a BOY!!! Today was our second trimester appointment with the perinatologist. She is amazing and provided answers to everything that has happened so far.

But the most exciting news was finding out the genders. Baby A is our little girl who has always been the more active of the two. She is on my left side down low closest to my cervix... the doctor already called her my "trouble maker" because she could be the cause of the bleeding as well. She was upside down and backwards today, not wanting to show her face. I am so excited to dress her up in ribbons and bows!!!

Baby B is a boy!!! I don't think we could have a happier daddy than Tony. He was not able to be there since he is in Maui, but this is the news he has been waiting weeks for. In fact, we have had the name for a son picked out since our honeymoon in Fiji and Tony started calling him the "Prophecy" because he knew it was fate to have a son. He has been obsessed with the "prophecy" for the past 4 weeks (especially since he got a scare they were both girls at our 14 week appointment). We are both thrilled that we have a healthy son and daughter... we really couldn't ask for more. Baby B is on my right and up a little higher than baby A. He has always been very mellow in ultrasounds and heartbeat checks... it's always his sister kicking and moving like crazy. Now I am just waiting to feel them myself!

I am so happy to know the sexes and that they are healthy and growing well. We are still working on names for her, although I am determined to choose in the next couple weeks so that they are no longer Baby A and B... that sounds so silly now. Although the dvd us clear, we didn't get great 2D pictures today. Here are the babies in 3D at 18 weeks 3 days.

Baby Boy (B)


Baby Girl (A)

Bell Peppers

Today begins our 5th month! The babies are now each the size of a bell pepper... about a half a pound and 6 inches long. It is crazy to think something(s) that big are moving inside me and I cannot feel them. I keep waiting!!! I also cannot believe how fast time has gone by. It's hard to believe we are half way there (hoping we make it to 36 weeks). My first fears when hearing we were having twins were all about carrying them and getting huge, not about raising them like I think most people would think. Thanks to my sister I am not fearful of raising the babies once home... she'll always be 2 years ahead of me to answer all my questions! We are 18 weeks this week, which starts the 5th month of pregnancy. So far I have gained between 0-3 pounds (depending on what I ate that day). The babies are definitely starting to show though! Here are some pictures of the last few weeks. I'm sure I will be growing much faster for the next post with pictures.

Third Time's a Charm?

We repeated what is turning into our weekly emergency visit with our doctor on Friday. Unfortunately the spotting came back Thursday night, so the doc had to check it out and make sure everything was okay. This was actually the most surprising time of all three because I was on day 9 of bed rest which had always worked in the past. Dr. De La Pena does not work on Fridays, but he wanted to see me so he had me meet him in Labor and Delivery for an exam since he had a C-section to perform that morning. In Tony's words it was all "too real." He asked if we would see any babies and I assured him we most likely would not. Haha. Little did I know the first thing you walk by before the L & D nurses station is the nursery... sure enough there were two adorable babies in there... girls all wrapped in pink :0) I did have to agree that it was a little odd to be in a room in the bed I would be delivering the babies in. I was thankful so Dr. De la Pena made time to do an exam and take time to discuss what was going on with me. It is the same situation as has been the last 3 weeks. My cervix has healed a lot and looked closed and long which is great! The doc was sure this was not related to an incompetent cervix at least at this time. He cauterized the spots that seem to be bleeding, so we will wait and see if the third time around is any different. The doctor was definitely not in a hurry to get me moving. He didn't give me any idea when I would be off modified bed rest (I can move from bed to couch to chair to bathroom), but said he would see me every 1-2 weeks and tell me if he thought I was ready for more privileges. I could be back up next week or at 35 weeks. Only a difference of 17 weeks!

The babies are doing great (and growing!). We didn't have an ultrasound machine in the hospital room, but heart beats were 161 (baby A) and 153 (baby b). The guessing game of heartbeats and gender is driving us (especially Tony) crazy. We know it is a total myth, but still a fun way to guess. The myth is that heart rates above 150 are girls :0) Less than a week until we know for sure! Tony was sent down to admitting and missed the entire hour long exam... poor guy has not been handed the fun jobs lately. Although, he is in Maui as I write, so I don't feel too bad!

Back in Bed

This week we have a few more answers, but unfortunately the solution is more bed rest for me! After taking 5 days off for bed rest last week I headed back to work on Monday. I was nervous all day that I would start spotting again, but did my best to teach sitting down. By Tuesday after school I was feeling great and really thinking whatever "episode" we had last week was in the past. Unfortunately, Wednesday morning was ready to be a repeat of the Wednesday before. Tony and I headed back to the doctor to see what the story was. The bleeding is still coming from the external cervix... so the babies are fine! The cervix is still swollen and rubbing causing the bleeding any time I walk! The cure for this, of course, is laying down. The good news is that my cervix is long and closed and doesn't seem to be changing. The test results also came back negative from last week, ruling out any infection. More good news! My directions are to be on bed rest for 7 days with no spotting. I was hoping today would count as day 1. I was wrong again! I had to drive to the perinatologist for bloodwork this morning, and that little amount of activity proved to be too much. Maybe tomorrow will be day 1?

In the meantime Hula, my pajamas, my pillow, Tivo, and I are having a party in my bed.

Avocados

Today's weekly email informed me that the kiddos are now each the size of an avocado. The updates used to talk about all of the new organs and/or parts they would be growing that week. This week they just talked about growing! Apparently each of them should double in weight and gain 2 inches in length in the next couple weeks... does that mean my stomach doubles too?!?! Yikes! At least I will have a pregnant belly for a bathing suit in Maui in 2 weeks and not just look fat! That is if I get to go to Maui...

So far, so good! I was on bedrest from Wednesday to Saturday and everything cleared up completely by Friday morning. My mom took great care of me (and my house!)while we got to visit and chat. Sunday we had my first "outing" to the nail salon (still a recliner right??) and lunch. Today I went back to work and tried my best to take it easy. So far, everything seems back to normal. The doctor will have more information on what caused the bleeding and if I am allowed to travel at my appointment next week... and hopefully a gender check!

Thank you for all the prayers and support!