22 weeks

How far along? 22 weeks, yo.

Babies are: according to babycenter they are about the size of a spaghetti squash :) around 11 inches long. their heartbeats were both around 150 yesterday. baby girl is frank breech now and baby boy is still vertex. all their extremities are about in the same place tho so it is hard to know who is kicking me most of the time. they both gravitate to my right side. my cervix is now at 3.7. still within normal range. (that info is more for me than you. but there's probably a few of you that care about that) and my belly is measuring almost 30 weeks. not bad, not bad.

Maternity clothes? you guys a friend gave me two adorable everyday maternity dresses and my mom bought me some maternity clothes at a garage sale last week! i'm so excited. i'm definitely more in need of maternity clothes this time than i was with Scar.

Weight gain: 20 lbs. whoa. i'm at 158. i gained about 30 lbs with Scarlett throughout the whole pregnancy....and i haven't even reached the third trimester yet.

Favorite moment this week: Alex got to feel one of the babies kick on monday night for the first time! (again, their legs are pretty much in the same spot so right now i'm not totally sure who's who)
that was really exciting. i'm starting to feel them more and more and can sometimes see them kick/punch. i love every second of it.
also, i love when Scarlett corrects/reminds me that we do have names for the babies after she hears me tell someone we haven't named them yet. she will whisper insistently in my ear, "actually mom we do have names. DINOSAUR and STAR!"

Sleep: pretty good in general. this last week i did have a few very restless nights where i woke up exhausted and another night of laying awake for a couple hours. but thankfully those nights haven't been the norm recently.

Symptoms: a little bit of indigestion....just feeling so full after a meal, even if i barely eat anything. i get winded very easily. like going up the stairs. is this normal? i feel incredibly out of shape. which i guess makes sense since i lived on the couch for 3 months and i wasn't really into working out before i got pregnant haha. but seriously. my body gets tired pretty easily. peeing a lot. super itchy all over. especially my belly and legs and boobs. i'm rarely comfortable sitting. i'm rarely comfortable anywhere but my bed. but it will be better in about 3.5 months!

Cravings? no, not really.

Miss anything? being able to comfortably play with Scarlett on the floor or anywhere, any way. but i will be able to again soon! and wine. i love wine.

Looking forward to: naming these babies! with Scarlett we picked a few names and waited until she was born to name her. this time i want to name them now....or sooner rather than later at least. we are still deciding tho.

21 weeks 4 days 

scar wrote '22' almost all by herself

20 weeks

How far along? 20 weeks! i'm so happy. i guess they're like a banana now. or belgium endive.

Babies are: beautiful :) i had my level 2 scan yesterday (19w6d). both babies look excellent. baby boy (A) is now head down. i was super excited about that even tho i know they move all the time and he will probably be breech next appt! baby girl (B) is still transverse. she's pretty high up, too. they both weigh 13 oz and were measuring 20w2d.

Movement: yes! for the last few weeks i have felt the butterfly feelings but finally this week i have felt kicks and/or punches! still pretty light but i feel them pretty often. well, i have mostly felt baby boy...but since yesterday i have noticed baby girls kicks. this is my favorite and i sometimes cry from gratefulness that i am experiencing this one more time.

Total weight gain: 12 lbs. i'm at 150 now. i gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks.

Maternity clothes: i need to go shopping! first up, a belly band so i don't have to buy maternity jeans that i will never wear again. and more maxi skirts because i love them and will wear them forever. and i may buy a couple maternity tops....i'm gonna do some hardcore garage sale-ing.

a favorite moment this week: seeing our babies and hearing scarlett whisper in my ear "my baby sisterisso cute." and of course feeling their little kicks for the first time :)

a hard moment this week: *sigh* i feel that my cup has been pretty empty and i have nothing to give. i have been struggling with being needed. i have been feeling so needy recently that i have found myself feeling a bit resentful of being needed. but that's my issue that i need to deal with so i can better take care of my baby girl. i consistently struggle with taking care of myself and filling myself up so i can fill my family up. this week things have also been off with alex and i. no doubt it's all entangled. so the last couple weeks have been hard as far as all this goes. but in general things are good...and will get better as i prioritize myself more. i just need to figure out how to do that.

Sleep: oh sleep. a couple weeks ago my mom bought me a SNOOGLE (a pregnancy body pillow for those not familiar). it's seriously awesome. i'm so grateful she called me up to ask if i wanted to go shopping for bedding because she knew i was not sleeping well (she also bought us new sheets and a comforter! THANK YOU MOM!!!!). it really has made such a difference. i still get up to pee 2-3 times a night. or more like 5 or 6 if you count the multiple times i get up before actually falling asleep for the night. but i'm able to fall asleep again fairly quickly most of the time.

Symptoms: indigestion is a new one. still fatigued. i have a lot of pain by my upper ribs. baby girl is way up there and everything is majorly stretching and it hurts. i have to sit with a giant pillow behind my lower back most of the time cause if i'm hunched at all it hurts even more. it's just so funny how much sooner all this is happening this time around. i feel like i did later on in my third trimester with Scarlett. it's so different. at this point i felt so great....i don't think i even felt pregnant! now i have aches and pains and just wanna sleep all the time! but i honestly still love it. tho i'm happy to not do it again, i think :)

Cravings: still loving coffee....tho i only drink it occasionally. but otherwise no.

Miss anything? the warmer weather makes me want to drink white wine. i miss wine!

Looking forward to: finding some dressers so i can start collecting and getting baby clothes out and put away! i''m just so excited for all the baby prep.

scarlett was really into this picture, can you tell?

i love this because it was totally spontaneous. i was taking a pic of myself and she jumped in
with kisses right before the timer went off.

baby boy on the left with his arm over his head and baby girl's sweet profile on the right.
they're the coolest.

you guys. i already can't see my feet. 

and just for fun. an awkward pic of me at 20 weeks with Scar!

18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks -- halfway there! according to my apps they are sweet potatoes and bell peppers.

Babies are: looking healthy :) we had an ultrasound yesterday (17w 6d) to check for signs of spina bifida. dr found no signs and said they both look excellent and told us we have no reason to worry. those are comforting words to hear. we also officially found out our babies genders! this tech at 14 weeks guessed that baby A was a boy (but of course it was really early and mostly a guess so we were still waiting...tho i was assuming he was a boy.) a different tech at my 16 week appt told me baby B was a boy. she sounded very confident so i believed her but she was also in a huge hurry (they had squeezed me in for this appt to check my cervix and i had already waited in the lobby for an hour.)...she was very rushed and shaking. so i did have my doubts but she was just so matter of fact about it, baby B was a boy.
so yesterday the MFM tech told us/showed us baby A is a BOY (!!!!! // she was the same one that guessed at 14 weeks) so we thought at that point we were having two boys until a few minutes later when she starts checking out baby B and says "hmm...what did they tell you baby B is?" lol we knew then that she was a GIRL! boy/girl twins :) exactly what i've imagined and wanted since before i got pregnant. it was a bit surprising to find out yesterday baby B was a girl tho since it had kinna seemed they were both boys for a couple weeks there. which i was honestly getting pretty excited about. i would love two boys. buuuut i really wanted another girl. i love having a daughter. just like i know i will love having a son. i really can't wait. alex was (is!) really excited about having one of each. he loves having a daughter and is super excited to have another one...and of course a son. he was genuinely really happy with the surprise of baby B being a girl.  aaaaand scarlett totally knew all along! during this last cycle of IVF before the transfer, alex and scarlett gave me the sweetest card and in it scar had drawn two babies "one girl baby and that's a boy baby" and ever since i got pregnant she has said there is one of each. even when i would tell her we didn't know yet. it has been so sweet. when i told her yesterday she was just like "yeah i know" LOL

so baby boy (yay no more A and B!) was measuring at 18w2d, 9 oz. and baby girl was at 17w6d, 7 oz. they are laying as if they're in bunk beds - heads on opposite ends.

Total weight gain: 7 lbs...i'm at 145 now.

Maternity clothes? officially yes. tho i have very little so i wear the same like 3 things over and over! the pants are the problem. i think i need to pick up a pair of maternity jeans.

Sleep: the last few nights have been better! i only wake once or twice and have been able to fall back asleep fairly quickly. but up until now sleep has been a huge struggle. and it's still not great.

Best moment this week: finding out for sure what we're having! i love knowing! and of course seeing that they at least look healthy.

Hardest moment this week: i donno guys. probably the beginning of the week when i was not sleeping well. being that tired makes everything harder.

Cravings: jelly beans + salads!

Miss anything? i miss being able to sleep on my tummy and back.

Symptoms: peeing a lot. tired tired tired. i definitely don't feel as great as i did at this point in my pregnancy with scarlett. but i guess that makes sense since this time i'm growing two babies and mothering a 3 yr old ;) what else? itchy belly and boobs...really itchy. that didn't really happen with scar either. but still no stretch marks! i don't have any from scarlett but i keep expecting to get them this time around. we'll see.

Looking forward to: getting ready for babies! i'm excited to bring all scar's baby stuff upstairs and look through her clothes and i have a tiny box of boy clothes that i had randomly started collecting last summer at garage sales - just in case ;) i love organizing and cleaning anyway so nesting is like my favorite thing ever.

17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks 

Maternity clothes: i have a couple maternity tops (one was given to me by my little sister who gave me a bag of her clothes she wanted me to look thru before she donated them....apparently when she bought this top she didn't know it was maternity wear lol). but i tend to wear longer tops anyway so they fit over my belly well. no more jeans for me tho...unless i use a rubber band to hold the button. 

Sleep: still the worst. 

Worst moment this week: scarlett had a high fever a couple days this week and then once she was better i got sick...yesterday was awful. terrible headache, sore throat, fever, could not keep my eyes open and scarlett barely wanted to do anything without me. 

or.... on monday i got a call from my dr saying the neural tube defect test came back positive. which just means there is more of a chance something is wrong....one of the babies may have spina bifida...or it could be something much more common and easily fixable. i have an ultrasound scheduled next week to check. i was surprised and a bit nervous when i got the call but at this point i'm really not very worried at all. honestly i'm just looking forward to the sonogram and finding out for sure if baby A is a boy or girl! so i would say my sick day was the worst.

Best moment this week: my little girl is the most loving person i have ever been around. she is constantly telling me how much she loves me and is so very cuddly and affectionate. 

it's hard to pick out one best moment. 

Symptoms: i pee like every 20 minutes. NO JOKE. sometimes more. as in more often. and fatigue. those are my biggest symptoms this week. i'm not really feeling nauseous anymore but i'm not feeling great either. my belly and boobs itch a lot. using lots of coconut oil! 

Cravings: honestly i crave food all the time when i'm not pregnant. nothing i've craved while pregnant  so far has been unusual for me. except the coffee i mentioned last week. 

Miss anything? sleeping. feeling normal on a consistent basis. 

Movement: yes! i'm pretty sure i've felt them move this week! just little flutters...quickening i think it's called? but i love it and can't wait for the kicks! 

Looking forward to: the weekend! alex worked parts of both saturday and sunday last week....(he has never had to work on a sunday before but he had a crazy busy week) he will have the whole weekend free tho and i am so looking forward to it. gonna try to get some fun mini projects done around the house. and the ultrasound on tuesday! 

the last two weeks have been gloomy outside so lighting has been bad. and yes i'm
wearing the same thing i was last week. oh and you can sort of, kind of see my
scar from my surgeries. woop woop. 

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks y'all.

Babies are: about 4.5 inches long and weigh about 3.5 ounces.
at my 16 week appt yesterday i had a quick ultrasound to see heartbeats and check my cervix (which is at 4.3 and excellent) Baby boy B's HB was at 158 and baby A's 142. the tech told me yesterday that baby B is a boy and the tech 2 weeks ago told us if she had to guess she would guess baby A is a boy also....but we won't know for sure until next month. but we may have two little boys soon!!! ahhhh. although i will say that i have always and still do without meaning to refer to baby A as she/her. so my sub-conscience may be very wrong haha...but it seems my intuition was right for baby B! we are so beyond thrilled no matter what these sweet babies are. (and i'm not just saying that) i just want to know for suuuure.

Maternity clothes? well i can't button my jeans anymore. so kind of lol. i haven;t decided if i'll buy a pair of maternity jeans or just live in leggings and maxi skirts,

Sleep: awful. i don't sleep well at all. sometimes i lie awake for hours. HOURS. but that's just part of motherhood.

Best moment this week: all the moments :) i'm so so happy to be alive and *feeling* more alive than i have in months. even with the complete exhaustion.

Hardest moment this week: scarlett has had some intense expressions of her feelings recently. she has never screamed so loud and tried to hit me in anger like she has the last couple weeks. those moments have been the hardest.

Miss anything? SLEEPING.

Cravings: coffee. i'm not a coffee drinker. i drink tea. but i have totally craved it the last few weeks. it smells soooooo good. otherwise i have just craved real, whole, home cooked meals. anything. tho i can't eat more than a few bites before i'm full.

Symptoms: i'm so so tired. but the nausea is *mostly* gone! i still feel sick if i don't eat often enough or eat too much and even tho every couple days i'll feel extra sick and throw up a couple times it is not even close to the degree it was. i have to pee alllll the time. that's pretty much it. the biggest thing right now is being so tired. which no doubt has a lot to do with the fact that i don't sleep well at night.

Looking forward to: feeling my babies move :) i so so cannot wait.

i missed last week so her is {15 weeks}

14 weeks

How far along? 14 weeks - hello second trimester! i am so happy you're here.

Babies are: about 3.5 inches long.

Weight gain: 5 lbs! well. i lost 4 lbs and now have gained 5. so i'm 1 lb over my pre-pregnancy weight.

Maternity clothes: no. but i wore jeans for the first time a couple days ago and they were way too tight. ha.

Sleep: i sleep well until about 2-3 am and then i wake up to pee and can't fall asleep for the next 2 hours and then scarlett wakes up at 630 and i'm exhausted.

Favorite moment this week: first would be on thursday when we found out at least one of our babies is a BOY! ahhhhh. we're so excited. and then monday when i had my first really, really good day of feeling decent and getting out of the house with some quality time with scarlett and having our house cleaned thanks to a dear friend....that was all so good for my mental health. and then yesterday when we got to see our babies wiggle around! i'm still in awe that there are two babies in there. scarlett was so happy to see them...she especially loved hearing their heartbeats! she kept asking to listen again. (baby A's HB was at 167bpm and baby B's at 153...also the tech guessed that baby A was a boy but couldn't get a look at baby B so we will see). they are measuring well...growing. and my cervix is also measuring well so the perinatoligist was happy with everything. he also gave me the run down of what to expect....lots of appts in our future.

tonight is also my last dose of progesterone! no more shots in the butt for me! and stopping that should also help these sucky symptoms let up. i'm so excited about this.

Worst moment this week: i think it was friday that i had the worst headache ever and threw up multiple times because of it. and also cried all day because of it. and also got mad and fought with alex about something silly because of it. or maybe that was just me. it was a miserable day.
but the good far outweighed any bad this week :)

Miss anything? not really this week.

Cravings: salad. salad almost always sounds good.

Symptoms: i've been getting more headaches. usually really mild except for that one. i have only thrown up a few times this week! nausea has been very mild. if i don't sleep a solid 8-9 hours at night i am completely exhausted the next day....so that's most days lol. peeing more. some constipation. all fun stuff.

Looking forward to: feeling these little ones move! i cannot wait. it's my favorite.
scarlett sometimes rests her hand on my belly and says "i'm holdin the babies". i'm really looking forward to her being able to feel and see them move.

i look smaller this week than last. ha. 

                       

13 weeks

How far along? 13 weeks - babies are almost 3 inches long and weigh about 1 ounce (ish)! two little pea pods.

Weight gain: no scale so i'm not sure but i feel like i've gained.

Maternity clothes: none. but i have not put on a pair of jeans since christmas. #yogapantsforlife remember?

Sleep: sleep is ok i guess. mediocre. i have to get up to pee 1-2 times a night....i can only imagine how much worse that is going to get hahah.

Best moment this week: listening to scarlett sing christmas songs. specifically "we wish you a merry christmas". she sings, "bring us some biggy boodin" instead of figgy pudding. best. thing. ever. i love seeing her grow up but i also love the sweet things that say she's still so little.
she also talks about the babies all the time. this week she was talking about going to the park and how the babies can sit on her lap while she slides down the slide. she just gets so excited about doing everything with the babies. it warms my heart like nothing else.

yesterday we left the house for the first time (other than to go to the doctor) to go play/sit at a friends house! it was beautiful. i cried trying to get out the door but we made it and it was so soothing to my soul to visit with a good friend in her beautiful home and be fed lunch and see scarlett (mostly) happily playing with friends.

Hardest moment this week: i had a couple more days this week of feeling discouraged/lonely. it's hard being bound to the couch for a solid two months. no matter how happy the reason.

Miss anything? doing normal things without feeling like passing out :)

Cravings: coffee. totally weird because i am not a coffee drinker. but for the last few weeks i have been in love with the smell of coffee. i told alex last week we should get an espresso machine. actually i think i called it a latte maker.

Symptoms: still nauseous. tho i don't remember throwing up this week. i may have only once or twice the beginning of the week. so that's an improvement! i think my boobs are bigger again. tired. itchy itchy skin...all of my skin, everywhere. am i dehydrated? is it hormones? i don't know but it's been bad. or it was bad for a few days but is getting better.

Looking forward to: we have an appt with the maternal fetal medicine doctor on tuesday...tho we get an ultrasound at every appt (i know. not very crunchy of me.) i am looking forward to this one because it will be more than a quick glance. also, thrifting! i want to go get a pedicure and leisurely wander my favorite shops. as soon as i feel better that's happening.

PUPPY