24 Weeks

It's been quite a week so far, and it's only Wednesday. Both I and the babies are doing good, but I've been feeling pretty "yuck" the past few days.

Here's my growing belly at 24 weeks:


Like the pants and shirt I'm sporting... Brian's! :)

I had an ultrasound and OB appointment Tuesday afternoon. The ultrasound was good, the babies were both pretty active by the later part of the afternoon and Maggie was all about the spotlight, whereas Jack couldn't really be bothered. After the ultrasound I saw the OB. Fairly typical appointment, I met another doctor at the practice and I really like her. She did an internal exam because of the Braxton Hick's contractions I've been having, and although my cervix isn't dilated, it is "softened". To ensure it wasn't also shortening, I had another ultrasound this morning. All is good though and I'm measuring perfectly. Speaking of measurements, my belly is measuring the perfect 4 weeks ahead, 28 weeks! The babies are each 1.5 pounds and growing right on track. As for my weight, I've gained a total 25 pounds. Here are some pictures of the babies from the ultrasound yesterday:


Maggie's cute little profile


Maggie's face in 3D. Hard to see, but there are two eyes, a nose and mouth in there.


This is the only good shot we got of Jack, his face. He was pretty camera shy...sound familiar...?

Each baby is active at different parts of the day. Jack is more of an early afternoon guy while Maggie varies between afternoon and evening after dinner and I've settled in for the night. I have fun watching them kick through my shirt while at work sometimes! :)

So I've taken the past 2.5 days off from work, but I'm returning tomorrow with the hope of completely feeling better! :) The nursery is slowly coming along. The painting is complete, the closet is put back together and the new door handle was put on tonight. We may pick up the crib mattresses tomorrow...which means I can put the bedding on after I wash it!

This weekend is our Couple's Baby Shower! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

23 Weeks, Nursery coming together and Mama's got a new ride

It's been a productive past few days. Friday we picked up the paint for the nursery and then over the weekend Brian primed and painted the nursery, and hung the new roman shade over the window. I love the color!

It's coming together, but there is still a lot to be done. :)

My mental list includes: paint baseboards, hang and paint crown moulding, organize closet, install closet doors, purchase changing table, glider, ottoman, and dresser, figure out room placement, buy rug, make and hang window treatment and finally the little touches like wall shelves, wall hangings, etc, etc.

Yesterday we bought the ultimate "mom" vehicle, a MINI-VAN!

Meet our new 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. Two sliding passengers doors (automatic on the passenger side), seats 7, and has home link and navigation features (you know, those "extras"). Isn't she perrrrrrty? :) Now we have something to haul the 4 of us around in, along with our stuff, and we will even have room for other passengers. :) We never knew buying a used car was so much work, but we waited it out until we found the perfect fit, and they even threw in new tires for us!

And finally, here is my belly picture for 23 weeks:

I'm still feeling pretty good. My ankles and hands have been swelling, but nothing too extreme. The worst has been the allergies! Last night I tried some breathe right strips and that did the trick. I was actually able to sleep through the night and get this...breathe! I still have "attacks" at work that I just have to muddle through. I feel the babies fairly regularly now. Jack is much more prominent and pretty much on schedule with his movements. Lately Maggie has been getting stronger, especially in the evening after I've eaten and we're settling in for the night. More and more Brian gets to feel them and I can now see Jack kick through my clothes. It's awesome!

22 Weeks

Here is my 22 week-ish belly:


I've been continuing to feel pretty good. I was able to do pretty good on our vacation, and I actually felt better being up and around than when sitting at my desk all day.

The babies have each been moving around a lot more. In the mid-morning Jack kicks for a few minutes pretty much every day. Then later in the afternoon is when Maggie kicks for just a little bit. When I lie down on one side or the other I get a few kicks (I call them kicks...maybe they are punches), but nothing is keeping me up at this point. The strangest feeling is when one of them (and I think sometimes both of them) actually move around. It's almost like they are doing somersaults and sometimes it makes me nauseous. I still love it though!

Here is an adorable picture of Wilma lying with her Daddy as I type away on this blog:

Vacation!

We're back from our quick Memorial Day weekend vacation! It was a great trip and here are some of the highlights:

Friday morning we drove to Asheville, NC after dropping Wilma off at Pet Suites.


Bye-bye Baby Girl!

When we got into Asheville, NC we went straight to the Biltmore Estate. We toured the mansion, the winery and saw some of the grounds. The Estate is massive!!


Brian & I in front of the Mansion

After visiting the Biltmore Estate we drove to our hotel just outside of Asheville and checked in. Then we got some dinner (O'Charley's...we aren't fancy peeps) and got some much needed rest.

Saturday morning we woke up slightly sore from our incredibly firm bed at the hotel and drove to Lynchburg, TN. There we toured the Jack Daniel's Distillery and the small "town" of Historic Lynchburg. The Distillery was neat to see, the tour is free and actually walks you back stage through the entire process of making the whiskey. Downside, Lynchburg is still in a dry county and therefore...no samples or whiskey to buy. People were actually paying $30 for empty bottles! It was still fun to see the grounds of the Distillery. It was so gorgeous and peaceful.


Our tour group at the Jack Daniel's Distillery. We are on the left in front.


The grounds surrounding the working distillery. The creek is where the water is brought in for the whiskey and there are beautiful gardens surrounding all the buildings.


More of the gardens and a statue of good ol' Jack!

After leaving Lynchburg we drove into Nashville, TN and checked into our hotel. Then we went to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It is this massive hotel/convention center with tons of shops, restaurants and a lake with fountains that you can actually take a boat around in. It would certainly be cool to stay there, but oh so expensive!






These fountains are set to music which was pretty cool, and above are the balconies for the rooms at the hotel. What a neat view that would be...!

Later that night we returned to our room with some Baskin Robbins (hey, a pregnant gal needs her dairy) and we crashed! Unfortunately our bed didn't get any softer from changing hotels. Seriously, the firmest mattress we've ever slept on. Brian got the good idea to get more pillows from the hotel staff (which wasn't an easy task- they were actually annoyed at our request) and he was able to sleep a little better the second night.

Anyhow, Sunday we toured the home of President Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage. It was interesting, especially since they have been able to keep everything in tact, just like he left it when he died so many years ago.


The Hermitage

Later we went to downtown Nashville. We walked up and down the "strip" and ate at the famous Jack's Bar-B-Q. We were in downtown Nashville in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday, but I could definitely see where this place is a hit for night life. Tons of bars and clubs! Then we drove out to Arrington, TN to tour a winery we read about in a brochure. Well, the winery ended up being a bust. Brian tasted some of their wines and didn't like any of them. The grounds were gorgeous, overlooking the Tennessee hills, but it was hot and expensive and we didn't stay long. Sunday night we went to this really awesome restaurant at the Opry Mills Mall. It was the Aquarium Restaurant and in the middle of the dining area is a huge aquarium tank! It was certainly a different dining experience.


The Aquarium Restaurant (view from our table)

Monday we woke, packed up and left Nashville. On the drive home we attempted a visit to the Lost Caverns in Bowling Green, KY (hi Sarah & Chris!), but we ended up just going home instead. There were a lot of people there, and we were more eager to just get home and relax.

Once we got home since it was a holiday we were Wilma-less for the night. We slept good and hard that night too. :)

Wilma is back home with us and we're back to the regular life with work and stuff. Man, the vacation away was much needed and much enjoyed!

Moving around

I'm sitting here at work "watching" Maggie move! I can see my stomach jump up just the tiniest bit. As I was sitting in a very long meeting this morning, Jack rolled around for the first part of the meeting. Then he must have fallen asleep; I wanted to do the same. :) They've become very active in just the past couple of days!

What a difference a day makes

New pregnancy symptoms have arrived, over night! I awoke yesterday bigger. Just all around, everywhere, bigger. My feet and hands are now swelling and I can't control my body temperature anymore. Fortunately the building at work is usually cold, and I have a fan on me constantly to help keep me from burning while at work. And we've got the air conditioning running at home. After my doctor's appointment Tuesday I noticed my ankles were slightly swollen, but nothing terrible. Well they are still swollen and I don't know that it is going to go away. Also, I need new shoes. I've been living out of my flip flops, but they aren't providing any support. Last night I was so uncomfortable. However much all of this "new" stuff has kind of got me feeling down...last night Brian felt a baby (I think Jack) move! I was sitting there eating dinner and he kept just kind of moving, nothing strong, just movement. It was pretty consistent so I immediately took Brian's hand and placed it on the spot and he felt it a couple of times. Then Jack must have stopped and it went away. I also felt Maggie (definitely Maggie) move around consistently for the first time late last night. Unfortunately I also have a sore spot in that area today. It was awesome getting to have Brian feel the movement! :)

I went maternity bra shopping after work yesterday. I should have done this a couple of weeks ago, but I held it off. Not a good idea. Shopping for anything while swollen and uncomfortable, and making that a bra on top of it, was not a good idea. I finally found something that fit, I just hope it continues to fit. I couldn't believe how BIG I had to move up in size.

Aside from all of my moaning and groaning about everything today...I'm super excited. Today is my Friday and we leave for our vacation tomorrow morning!!! I can't wait to hit the road and just spend a few days with Brian away from everything. :)

OB appointment and reservations!

Yesterday was my 4 week OB appointment, following my level two ultrasound. It was a good appointment, we went over a lot of information. I've gained a total of 12 pounds since week 9. I don't know how much I gained between getting pregnant and week 9 because I never asked at IRH and I was incredibly bloated from the IVF for some time. I'm very happy with 12 pounds, it means I am sticking with the 4 pounds a month mark. :) The heartbeats are well and strong...of course "Jack" was easy as pie to locate and listen to and "Maggie" was squirming and hiding, probably playing peek a boo or something. I've started feeling movements pretty regularly during the day. It's interesting because most of the movements are "Jack". I think "Maggie" is further back and the movements aren't as easily felt yet. I'm sure as she grows and starts pushing her way to the front I'll start feeling her kicks and jabs! :) The doctor talked with us about C-sections, how long I'll go before they "take the babies out", breastfeeding, and all that other fun stuff. I have another appointment and ultrasound in 3 weeks, and then I'll start having ultrasounds every 4 weeks to monitor their growth and an OB appointment weekly to monitor myself and growth. So lots and lots of office visits! The doctor also gave us the "A-OK" for going away this weekend!!!

Last night after taking Wilma on a walk around the block we made our weekend "Babymoon" reservations. We're spending Friday and Saturday in Asheville, NC. Then we're spending Saturday and Sunday in Nashville, TN with a trip to Lynchburg, TN Saturday. Then we'll head home Monday. I'm so excited!!

Since we'll be away this weekend, the tiling is still being held off. Since the tiling is all that is left in the kitchen, we really aren't in any "rush" to get it on. We'd rather wait and do it right. I think we're going to get the nursery painted fairly soon, that way we can get the cribs and furniture set up and start getting an idea of what all we need to get that room in complete order. I'd like to have the nursery kind of put together (obviously not near complete) for my shower too. :)

Now if I could find a way to make time fly at work...the week would be perfect. We've been SO dead. I'm reading a new book "Tales from the Crib" which is the follow up to "Notes from the Underbelly", so at least I have something to help pass the time.