Style File: 33 Weeks

This week was hard for the self confidence. I don't know that my belly has gotten much bigger this week, but I just feel so much like a hippo these days. The swelling in my feet and hands has set in and has pretty much stayed there no matter how much elevating I do, how much water I drink, or how much getting up I do throughout the day. My hands go numb, especially at night, thanks to the swelling induced carpel tunnel. This is just the stuff people don't really tell you about pregnancy. I had no idea there was such a thing as "pregnancy induced carpel tunnel". Oh, and just as a note, nothing is amiss with my BP or anything, so the swelling is just...swelling. As uncomfortable and unsightly as it is, I think it's here to stay. In fact, what you don't see in my photos today is that I'm barefoot-- because my shoes aren't even comfortable to wear!

 I'll just be honest and say that I almost didn't even post my pictures today because I was unhappy with how I felt/looked in them. But I decided I'm my own worst critic and that it's important to document my bump (at least it is to me). I'm trying not to sound too complainy, but also wanted to keep it real. Plus, I have some new things to wear and a new dress is always worth posting. :)

I had to order a few more things from Old Navy this week.  I was down to zero pants that I could wear to work, so I needed to do something especially since the dress code is now being enforced more. I'm not totally sold on the pants, I might return them and get something from the new Motherhood store that just opened up fairly close to where I live. I was in there earlier this week and found some pants I think I liked better than the old navy pants, and for the same price. I have to think about it more though. :) To go with the pants I ordered a couple of shirts and this dress to kind of stretch my wardrobe a bit more. I also got some leggings that are definitely for lounging about, and I think they'll work well for immediately postpartum when I'm going to want to be comfy. I'm hoping this is the last round of stuff I need to buy... I only have four more weeks until full term!

Can we talk about this awesome necklace for a minute? Brad got this for my birthday! I was super excited. I love big statement necklaces and I've been wanting to get one like this for a very long time. I think they're lots of fun! I had a pretty low key birthday celebration, which is a-ok with me. See above about swelling in my feet meant the best way to celebrate was to come home to dinner already cooked, put my feet up, watch some Dr. Who and eat some cheesecake. Brad also got me two movies: the Lorax and Despicable Me. I told him I wanted them to watch when I'm tied to the couch nursing babies all of the time. Those movies make me laugh a lot, so maybe they're not the best nursing movies... ;) He did well, that's for sure!

Style File: 31 Weeks

The past couple of days it's been cooler. The weather is teasing us with a little bit of Fall. So if it feels a little bit like Fall I'm going to dress a little bit like Fall!

 I just scored this dress from target for 6 dollars. What what! It was the deal of the day for sure. I like the color. In person it isn't quite as pink, I promise. I also like how long the dress is. I've noticed many of the other maternity dresses I've bought accomodate the belly but are too short to be comfortable at work. I don't think it's a matter of the dress losing length (though I suppose it's possible since the belly is getting bigger!). I think it's more of an issue of me not being able to sit quite as modestly as I used to.

I've decided the third trimester is actually the return of the first. I haven't been quite as sick, though some upset stomach feelings have returned. It's more all of a sudden I can't do anything without feeling exhausted. I have about two to three good hours a day where I feel energetic and almost normal. Then I'm very tired. Haha. Oh well! Only six more weeks to go until I'm Full term. That means the babies could really come in the next 3-8 weeks. I love how that's kind of a big range, haha, but that's just how it goes. You can't plan for these things! I think I'll make it to 37 weeks. 

 Ok, so maybe the denim jacket was a bit too fallish ;).

We've ordered most of the remaining big stuff. I have a few Target gift cards to spend, but other than that I think I'm going to hold off on buying all the littler things I know I'm going to need until after the babies get here. I kind of want to feel out what I actually need and what I don't actually need. If you saw on instagram we got our stroller and one car seat (the other one is in process and will hopefully be acquired soon!). We also received the cribs, the pack and play is also in process, we have a swing. The things I would still like to get before the babies get here are a bouncer seat(s), chair of some kind for their room, a few more little outfits and plain white onesies, cloth diapers (I have a little less than half of what I need), and maybe a few more disposable diapers until we transition into full time cloth.

What things did you find absolutely necessary to bring babies home? What did you find that you could wait on for a bit?

Also, be sure to check out last night's post of the dresser if you missed it. :)

Style File: 29 Weeks

 Today was an interesting day. It started out pretty rough with a fairly nasty run-in with some of my neighbors about my dog. In my opinion they were being silly, rude, and could have gotten their point across in many much nicer ways. Yelling at a 29 week pregnant woman is just lame. Well actually, treating anyone the way they treated me today regardless of pregnancy status is wrong. I don't understand how people get away with treating others like crap.

I love our physical condo and the people we rent from are awesome. What is not awesome is the attitudes that are fostered in an area where the Condo Association rules. Oh well. These are probably the same people who reported us to the association for having window AC units when our central air conditioning broke. Trying not to let them bother me, but the more I think about it the angrier I get! Sometimes you need to cut people a little slack and remember that people are people. It's not all about your stupid property value. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Oh, and that I went to whole foods and bought myself a dang pick-me-up muffin and it was very tasty.

Today's outfit is just simply "I'm running errands". The shorts are super comfy. Thanks Old Navy for making some maternity shorts that a reasonable in length and don't ride up! T-Shirt is a Target Special. After my chiropractic appointment, I ran to Trader Joe's and Whole foods to stock up on a few things. I've stopped shopping exclusively at Trader Joe's lately because Target has a lot more all natural and whole food options these days. Also because I don't have the time or energy to go to five different stores. This week, though, I needed to hit some of the bulk bins at Whole Foods so I also stopped at Trader Joe's. It was actually relaxing and made me feel a lot better about life.

This week was a good week. I think this was the first week in all of July I worked a full week. The second if you count 4th of July week because that was a holiday and everyone was off. I've been feeling pretty good but the third trimester tiredness is creeping in. I (finally) got an exercise ball. It really does help relieve lower back pain after a long day in my crappy office set up. I've been trying to eat better this week too. It's so easy to just eat crappy because I don't feel like cooking. I managed to cook every night this week and we didn't grab any "to go" food from Chick Fil A or Panera. Yay! In full disclosure, last night was an Annie's Mac and Cheese night, but that's because we didn't get home until late and we were both starving.

 Can you spot the photo bomber in this pic? I assure you she's not being cute and smelling the flower. I had to get after her to not eat the flower. Silly dog. Doesn't she know that stuff can sometimes be poisonous!?

Anyway, we got home late because I scored a BOB Ironman Duallie off of Craigslist for 175 bucks. We went to get it after work last night. The stroller is definitely used, but should work just fine for what we need it for. You can't even buy a piece of junk jogger stroller for 175 bucks! I'm excited about it because hopefully it will allow me to get out there and run more often and sooner after the babies get here. I was thinking about my fitness routine prior to pregnancy and it was pretty intense. I ran 5ks most days of the week and did a long run once a week. Sometimes I would do a work out DVD if I decided to take a day off from running. I just won't have the time to invest in running like that anymore, unless of course the babies are Champs in the jogger and I have no problem taking them out there with me. We will see, but this will make things a lot easier for both Brad and I to stay fit.

I'm not holding out on pictures of the babies' room. I promise. We literally just haven't done much. Brad finished up his class last week. This weekend we are doing a birth class so I am hoping once that's over we can focus our efforts on getting the room set up. I have a baby shower on the 10th so definitely after that I'll start buying stuff pretty hardcore. ;) When it's done I promise I will share with you! I'll at least get the pics of the dresser up sometime this week. There was a bit of a fiasco with finding screws to fit the darn drawers, but I'll tell you more about that later!

Style File: 28 Weeks and some thoughts.

Well, I made it to 28 weeks. At this point the babies can blink their eyes and flutter their eye lashes. All essential organs and structures have formed and essentially they're just developing their lungs and packing on pounds. They are about as big as eggplants and are close to 15 inches long. They're getting big! 28 weeks is also a "milestone" in that babies born at this point have a 90% chance of surviving, of course with lots of medical help. I think all moms, but especially twin moms with increased chances of pre-term labor, celebrate a little when they've made it to the third trimester. I obviously want the babies to stay in there much longer, but after this point if labor happened the babies would likely live even if they spend months in the NICU. 

 Today it is only 80 degrees out and I am SO HAPPY. I even busted out my jeans because I won't die of heat exhaustion if I wear them. The top is another Old Navy stuff and save deal. It's super comfy but I like it because it has a bit more oomph than a regular old t-shirt. You can see it better in the next picture, but I especially enjoy the crocheted neckline. Makes me feel fancy. What does not make me feel fancy is that now that the belly is getting bigger...I've discovered cute floaty dresses and shirts look more like a mu-mu. FUN TIMES.

 My appointment today was a bit long and annoying, but everything checked out. It was tDap shot day as well as just a normal check up (and man, my arm is SORE). They put me in a room and I sat there for 25 minutes before they came in to let me know my doctor had been called to the ER so they're trying to find someone else to see me. Great. The only person immediately available is a midwife and she's not technically allowed to do anything with me because I'm "high risk". Thankfully another doctor (that I've seen before) was available and came to see me shortly there after. Babies look great. Baby A is still breech but baby B has moved down closer to her sister and is now vertex. We just need Baby A to flip to vertex. Once I hit 30 weeks we'll start getting more nervous about the presentation of the babies. The bottom line is that if baby A is any version of breech, c-section is a must. With two babies an external version can be risky and since she's in the frank breech position it's probably not a good idea to even attempt a version. C-section is definitely not my preference. If you're the praying type, I would appreciate prayers for babies to get into good positions before they run out of room to do any major gymnastics.

The doctor I saw today said a couple of times that I'm doing so well, she's really not nervous for me at all. That was reassuring to hear because a lot of doctors get all gloom and doom about how twin pregnancies are "lucky to go beyond 34 weeks". I even managed to get out of the manual cervical check (yay!). There was a tiny bit of concern on the part of the doctor I saw last time because, as she explained it, there is an internal and external opening of the cervix. When you start effacing they kind of melt into one another and there's only one 10cm opening when it's time to start pushing. Anyway, I'm not effacing at all, but the external opening was opened about a fingertip. The internal part was completely closed. It's not a GIANT concern-- in fact a lot of women after they've had a baby walk around like this all of the time. It's probably happening to me just because of the pressure of two babies-- one of which is very low and is literally sitting on the cervix. But it was concerning enough that the other doctor put a note in my chart to do a check at every appointment (boo!). Thankfully, the doctor I saw today was unconcerned and I skated out of it! Early cervical checks can increase your chance of infection as well as put you into labor early so my philosophy is that you shouldn't go around poking it unless you absolutely need to. Since I've had no bleeding, cramping, or contractions of any kind I'm not too concerned about the cervix.

 This post is getting kind of long but I also wanted to share some thoughts about preparing for the babies. I think the second most asked question I get asked is "Do you feel ready/are you nervous/are you excited?" I think they're all kind of the same question. Yes I am super excited, yes I'm super nervous, and can you really ever be ready? I mean, yeah, I'm excited to meet the babies but I'm also very scared. Both of which are normal, in my opinion. I'm scared because when we started our journey to start our family, I wasn't really counting on getting two at once. I often wonder how I'll cope with two infants. What if I break them? What if I can't deal with two crying babies? What if they get on opposite schedules and tag team me all night long? How are finances going to work out? Dare I say it, what if I don't want to give up being able to go to a movie whenever I want to? There are a lot of things I'm scared of, but I also think it's just a normal part of transition to no-kids to having kids. I'm under no illusion that it's going to be "easy", but I'm confident it will be worth it in the long run for the first couple of months (years?) to be really hard. Things are definitely going to change a lot in the next 10 weeks, but that's ok. This type of transition doesn't (usually) kill people. :)

P.S. The first most asked question is "Do twins run in your family?" I usually just say, "Not really" and that's the end of it, but occasionally I get a totally shocked person who goes on and on about how strange it is that I got twins with no genetic influence...blah blah blah. I just smile and nod and wonder where those people have been for the last 20 years. They must have been living under a rock to miss the fact that fertility drugs are pretty common these days.

Style File: 27 Weeks

I'm having too much fun with this app. I read they were working on getting an Android version out there by the end of the summer or beginning part of the fall. It's a pretty fun little app. I like instagram, but this app lets me do some fun stuff. Since it's newish there aren't a ton of free options, but you know what? it's still cool! You can buy extra fonts, borders, doodles, etc. They get saved right to your camera roll so you can use them in other apps like Instagram if you would like to. Oh, and the blog I linked to doesn't even know who I am so you know my review is genuine ;).

 Here I am at 27 weeks. I'm counting it as the start of my third trimester. Who knew when trimesters start and end was the subject of debate? It makes sense to me because if you divide 40 by 3 you get pretty close to 27 weeks as the start of the third trimester. Also, I will likely not go to 40 weeks, so I'm calling it the third tri. 

I finally got some new clothes that seem to fit (for now). A lot of the things I bought in my first trimester stopped working over the past couple of weeks. I know I've said before, even publicly here on the blog, that I would try to stay away from maternity clothes...well I quickly learned that maybe if I had only one baby in there I might have been able to pull that off. But since there's two, I expanded pretty quickly and regular clothes just are not able to accommodate the growing bump. I took advantage of the stuff and save event at old navy and got several things for 30% off, including this dress! I appreciate the length of the dress. As a fairly tall person sometimes it's hard to find dresses that are long enough to also be work appropriate. I also tend to like Old Navy dresses because they're comfortable. Since I'm not trying to invest in these pieces long term, and I get most of my Old Navy stuff substantially discounted/on sale I'm not worried about the quality of them. I'll probably only wear them four times before I outgrow them anyway ;)

 Looking at these pictures, can you tell where baby girls are? My last appointment with the big sonogram revealed that baby girl A is frank breech and super super low. Baby girl B is lying across the top of my tummy transverse. I don't think they've moved much since I shared that last week but I do feel like they have grown. My belly seems to have grown anyway! Just for fun here's a collage to show my belly growth over the last month.

I passed my glucose test, but my iron is a little low (still) so I'm working on that. Overall, I've been feeling pretty good but I am hitting that stage where I'm more tired than usual. I think that's just part of it. Today is a bit of a weird day because I need to go into the office for a few hours this afternoon...which means I need to get going to my chiropractor appointment and be on my way!

Style File: 26 Weeks

This style file is all about keeping it real. When the weather is gross and super humid, the hair is back in a pony tail (or else it gets puffy and wild), I may or may not wear make up, and the rain boots are a necessity. It definitely rains a lot more here in the Beach than it ever did where I grew up or in Texas. So the rain is just part of it. Especially during tropical storm and hurricane season.

 Today's appointment went really well. I did my glucose test, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It went down fine. About 30 minutes later I started feeling a bit strange, but it passed relatively quickly and all was well. I had a big ultrasound today to do lots of measuring of the babies. Everything looks good, both are still girls, and look to be healthy. Baby A is totally breech (her knee was by her nose) and is estimated to weigh 2lbs 4ozs. Baby B is transverse and practically up in my chest. She's estimated to be 2 lbs even. We confirmed again that there are indeed two placentas, which is the best case scenario for twins. It means that neither twin is going to be stealing blood flow or nutrients from the other. My blood pressure was great...so now I'm just hoping the glucose test comes back normal!

 I apparently have a thing for Green and Purple these days. Oh well, just call me Barney. ;)

I had a pretty good discussion with the doctor about my birth. I'm not calling my hopes of what the birth will look like a "Birth Plan" because... you just can't really plan for twins. I have a few hopes for what I would like, but I'm being flexible and reminding myself that twins have more variables and needs than a singleton pregnancy. I would love to have a normal, non-surgical birth with minimal medications but that may not be possible.

Obviously, if babies stay breech and transverse a c-section will be required and we'll probably schedule that if I make it to full term. I learned today that if everything is going well and there is no placental issues, they will not induce me until 39 weeks. If I am able though, we want to avoid that. Thankfully I will be able to labor in a normal labor and delivery room where I will be free to move around and do whatever I want (prior to the epidural). My dream was to go totally unmedicated in the birth center with the midwives, but obviously twins complicates that plan. I will be getting the epidural for two reasons 1.) If they need to manually move Baby B into position that can be very painful. Especially if they have to do all of that internally. 2.) If a c-section becomes emergent and required, having the epidural reduces the chance of me needing to be put under. Of those two choices I want to be awake enough to hold my babies shortly after the surgery rather than hours later in my recovery room. I will also need to do the actual pushing in the OR just in case. Twin births can get complicated quickly, so all of that is precautionary to make sure we're ready for anything.

(Note: did you notice how I avoided saying "vaginal birth" up there??)

In non-baby news, our community group has been busy with VBS this week. I think it has been going great! The kids seem to be having fun and enjoying themselves. I've been having fun, even though I'm not able to get in there as much as some of the other helpers (it's hot out and I can't stand and dance around in the 90 degree weather, haha), it's awesome to see the kids learning about Jesus. Many of the kids are from our own community group, but there are several who are not and that is exciting to me! VBS is all about telling kids about Jesus and I'm really hoping that catches on in their hearts. Tonight we are not doing any lessons, but the kids are performing the songs they have learned this week for their parents and we're having a closing cookout. It should be fun!

Style File: 23 Weeks and some reflections

 Happy Summer! It's been mostly warm here for a while, but when I think of summer here in VA beach I think of sandals and maxi dresses. At least that's what I think of now. I've decided skirts and maxi dresses are just more comfortable in the heat than jeans or even shorts.

 I've outgrown several of my maternity items (already!) so I've had to pick up a few more things. Thankfully this dress isn't one of them! It is a bit of a struggle because just about the time you settle into a groove with your body and how you look it all changes again. The weight gain has been the most difficult for me because I've spent the last several years being quite active and working at either losing or maintaining my weight. Now, however, my goal is to *gain* weight. I know it' all for the babies and this is how you help do what you can to prevent premature delivery (at least with twins), it's still hard to see that scale climbing. It is just a season, but some days I just feel a bit like a big marshmallow and that can be hard.

I've been feeling a lot better this week. I've had to increase my water intake as well as add some iron to my diet, but both things seem to be helping a lot. I still get tired out a lot faster than I did before I got pregnant, but growing babies is hard on your body!  The chiropractor adjustments have also been helping IMMENSELY. Seriously. I highly recommend chiropractic care for anyone, but especially expectant mothers. You don't know how bad you feel until you've been adjusted and feel so much better.

Yesterday and today I went to Babies R Us and Target and scanned some stuff for our registries. I have our diaper registry at Diaper Junction pretty much finished, but we hadn't done much in the way of registering for other baby items (like, you know, a crib). I'm ready to start putting together the nursery for the girls. I have things planned out, we just need to execute it. I'm also excited because I feel like I can start getting stuff for the girls too. I've been trying to hold out for various reasons but now I feel like time is ticking and all I have is a couple miracle blankets, a swing, and three little outfits I picked up yesterday. Oh and two diapers. Time to get rolling! I think I've got the big stuff covered on the registry but do have some questions for you experienced moms out there:

• Infant bath- yay or nay? I don't like any of them and they seem kind of silly? Or are they actually useful and I just don't know it? 
• Bed sets- they're not really that safe so I wasn't planning on getting one. I was just going to get some sheets and call it good. Is this what most people do?
• Boppy pillow- I have one, should I register for another one? Or will I likely just use one at a time (this one is for Twin Moms out there).
• Baby monitor- is the video one worth it or just stick with the good old fashioned audio only one?
• Any tips for registering you want to give me? Things you forgot to put on there that you wish you had? Stuff you put on there you wish you hadn't?

This week I've also been working on talking to the babies. This just does NOT come naturally for me and I feel super weird doing it. I know it's supposed to help be bond and all of that...but seriously, am I the only one who feels super silly talking to the belly?

Style File: 22 weeks

Sorry this post is a little late! After a week in Michigan, I had some catching up at home to do. Brad was not feeling well, then I wasn't feeling well...and before I knew it it was Sunday! But I got the pictures up (even though they're a little late) so I'm calling that one a win. I got these shorts last night, and I am in love. They're super comfortable. You can't see it in the pics very well but there is a light floral pattern. I think it's fun and makes it more interesting than your typical denim short. 

 This outfit is basically about comfort and not making me hot. It's offiicially hit that stage in June where I am hot a lot. Welcome summer! I'm glad I found some pieces that are comfortable and still fit within my style framework.

Babies are doing great. I had a bit of a scare on thursday morning where I felt very faint and got tunnel vision. Turns out, my iron level is slightly low. I'm guessing that combined with the heat, tiredness of traveling, and my blood pressure tanking...all things that made a perfect storm for passing out. Everything at the doctor's office looked great, girls are moving around, and nothing major popped up. Just one of those fun things about pregnancy. Just have to make sure I'm eating right and I'm going to add some more iron to my diet for sure!

Saturday morning I got my first prenatal massage. It was wonderful. I highly recommend. ;)

Style File: 21 Weeks

Well, here I am in Michigan! I didn't bring my laptop so I had to abscond my brother's computer to be able to put up the blog post. He has a Windows 8 computer, and let me tell you... Windows 8 is very very different than my iOS macbook. ;) As such...my photos are straight from the camera and unedited. I'm not too worried about it because I don't tweak my pictures a ton...but thought I would give you fair warning.

I had to do some shopping before my trip because I realized... I had hardly any pants that were comfortable. I've embraced the full panel pants. I discovered I am big enough the demi-panel folds down and squishes weird now that the belly is large. ;) I like these mint jeans. I've decided that I'm going to take some risks with my maternity style because, why not?

It's a bit cooler in Northern MI than I am used to, but I am loving being able to bust out this denim jacket. There is about a two week window where I can wear such a thing at home before it starts getting wayyyyyy too hot for that business. It should be great weather for the outdoor open house tomorrow. We've been busy putting together centerpieces, baking cookies, putting together appetizers...it's been a lot of fun. I'll probably make a bonus post next week showing you all the crafty things I helped with for the party.

Babies are moving a lot more. I can feel them kicking from the outside occasionally. Brad got to feel one of them kick on Sunday. Those strong movements are still not all the time, but I'm definitely feeling them more often. We've picked nursery colors (expect future posts on the progress of that!), registered for our cloth diapers, and begun talking names more seriously. I feel like we've gotten a lot done in the past week. Of course, a lot of it is on hold for a bit since I'm not home. Over all, I'm feeling pretty good and am ready to tackle some of the projects on my list! 

Outfit Rundown:

Jeans- Liz Lange Maternity (Target)

Tshirt- Old Navy

Jacket- Calvin Klein (Thrifted) 

And the verdict is in!

Babies Sex Reveal from Liz Boyce on Vimeo.

Do you think we're having two boys? Two girls? One of each? Watch our video to find out!

19 Weeks: Sometimes...

Sometimes I fall into the trap that I shouldn't post any pictures unless I can get good pictures (as far as lighting, composition, etc goes). Today was not a good picture day. It is rainy and gross and my indoor photo spaces are quite limited. I tried some on my stairs but this is all I ended up with:

 Not exactly what I was envisioning. ;)

 

So I stood by my open door and got at least one decent belly shot. Days like today I will fully admit my temptation is to wear yoga pants all day long and just be lazy. Something about rainy days makes me just want to stay in bed! But, alas, today is not a lazy day. I have have several little tasks to do today, but one I am making a priority for is making no bake cookies. Just seems like it would be rather tasty. ;) Other things I needed to get done today: finish up stuff for garage sale (which is tomorrow!), grocery shop, and make some stuff for my brother's graduation party. I'm thinking the grad crafts will wait until Sunday when Brad is working on refinishing some furniture.

In other news, our AC went out last Sunday. Thankfully it's been a pretty mild week as far as weather (in fact, as previously mentioned, it's 66 degrees and raining right now) and our gracious landlords brought us some window AC units to put in our bedroom. Overall it hasn't been terrible. I am very thankful, though, that someone will be here Monday morning at 8am to replace the system.

And just because I feel like I've been pretty wordy I'll do a bullet point bump update:

• Babies are approximately the size of mangoes and are approximately 6 inches from crown to rump this week. I think that's pretty big!
• Next week is the big ultrasound! I'll probably wait a few days to post it here, but I won't make you wait until my normal "bump" update. :) We are getting very excited to know who is growing in there. We're ready to start the projects, that's for sure. 
• I've been feeling the babies moving around more and more which is an odd mixture of awesome and very weird. We can't feel them from the outside just yet.
• It's getting harder and harder to bend at the waist (wait? what waist??). 
• Settling into bed is more of a process.
•  I officially can't see my feet if I stand up straight and look straight down my belly. I've also officially hit the stage where I get full pretty fast but am hungry every couple of hours (sometimes only after an hour and a half!). 
• Cravings this week: ice cream (I may or may not have eaten an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Cookies and Milk ice cream in one sitting. Don't judge me. At least it doesn't have corn syrup in it), bean and cheese frozen burritos, and berries.
• I also have a much more difficult time getting out of couches that sink when you sit on them. I feel like it's too soon for some of this...but... I am carrying twins so I'm bound to grow a little faster.
• We bought our first two cloth diapers. Brad picked the print out. ;)

Time to get back at my To Do list! Come to our garage sale tomorrow!!!

Style File: 18 Weeks

 This week is 18 weeks! Whew! This week it warmed up and gave us the first taste of summer. Let me tell you... I was not a huge fan of the 90 degree days. Yes, I know it's just going to get worse. Such is the life of a pregnant woman in Virginia Beach, I guess.

 I am getting antsy to know the sexes of the babies. I want to pick paint colors and start imagining the babies' room beyond a theoretical. We have secured a dresser from a good friend of ours and I have Big Plans for it. I might even post about it when we get around to it.

 I don't think I've mentioned here yet that we plan to cloth diaper. I'm not going to do a big old defense of why we want to cloth diaper, but I will tell you it comes down to two things for me. 1.) I do think it's better for the babies. Disposables are full of gross chemicals that I wouldn't want to put on my butt for an extended amount of time. I try to live as naturally as possible in other areas of my life, so this one is no different. 2.) Cost. While cloth diapers do have a bigger up front cost, over your child's lifetime it will save you a ton of money. Assuming you spend 50 bucks a month on diapers (which I actually think is lowballing it, especially in those early months when you're changing a poopy diaper every three seconds) and assuming you potty train at 2 years old (which, again, I don't know very many kids who potty train at exactly two years of age. Usually it's closer to three), that means you're spending $1,200 from birth to potty training. Depending on what diapers you get and how long your kid is in diapers it can be much much more. So for us, with twins, that cost would be closer to $3000. Now, cloth diapers you can invest in 18-24 diapers for a very good stash (for one baby) for $400-$800 depending on what kind of diapers you get. Most diapers go from about 8lbs to 35lbs, which is really for a lot of babies from birth to potty training. Added bonuses: kids in cloth diapers tend to potty train sooner AND you can reuse diapers for future children. So for 1600 buckeroos (for a stellar stash, I could get by on less probably) I can diaper the babies that are on their way, plus our future children, for a lot LESS money than disposables would cost.  Even with the increased amount of money spent on water for laundry and special soaps, you will still come out ahead. Ok, so that "not a defense" got a bit longer than I anticipated. There are a lot of other reasons we decided to cloth diaper, but these are the main ones. NOTE: I am not judging anyone for using disposable diapers. I will use them for the first little bit as we adjust to being home with twins until the babies are big enough to fit into the one size diapers (which aren't the best on new borns and I don't see the cost savings in newborn diapers that only fit for a very short time). I am just sharing what we plan on doing. :) Any choice you make is your choice and I'm glad we have the ability to make those choices!

Overall, I've been feeling pretty good minus this cold/sinus crap I have at the moment. I'm looking forward to continuing to clean up the house (Garage Sale is in one week from tomorrow!) and making room for the babies. I'm also getting crafty for a few decorations for my little brother's graduation party (Part of me can't believe he's graduating high school and going to college this year. Say what?!). I'll be headed up to MI on June 4th to help with the party and celebrate with my little brother. I'm super proud of his academic accomplishments: He graduated in the top 14 of his class, will be headed to college with multiple scholarships, and will be part of the honor's program. He's really worked hard through wrestling, working a job, being involved in youth group, AND still managed to knock his grades out of the park. Way to go Sean! I'm so proud of you!

Style File: 17 Weeks

Man...17 weeks. I had the realization if the babies come before 37 weeks I am pretty much half way through right now! I mean, obviously we hope they stay inside longer than 34 weeks, but they could come that early. My doctors would be pleased if we made it to 34. I am hoping for closer to 38 weeks just to try to mitigate any issues that might come with coming earlier than that.

 Thankfully, I seem to be regaining some energy this week. I have days where I am tired and I do get tired more easily than I did before I got pregnant, but that's just part of it. I don't feel like I need to sleep for 12 hours a day any more and I can manage to do things like clean out my closet and do the laundry again! Brad and I have been busy getting ready for a garage sale so we've been purging a lot of things. Mostly it's in preparation of trying to make room for the babies! Essentially, we are collapsing the office into a corner in our bedroom. That means anything in there that's not needed has to go! Once it's emptied out we can start putting baby stuff in there and start putting together a nursery. Of course a lot of that won't happen right away. We still need to paint and figure out what we're going to do with it and all of that will be determined after we know sexes.

 So far I haven't really had any cravings. I've been digging Annie's Macaroni and Cheese a lot, but part of that is just because it's easy and I'm not interested in cooking big meals these days. I am less restricted with what I eat. There is a big correlation between maternal weight gain before 20 weeks and how long twins stay in there. Basically, I'm "supposed" to eat a ton of calories per day with a lot of those calories coming from protein and fat sources. So things like milkshakes aren't off limits (unless I develop blood sugar issues). I've been eating full fat cheeses, veggies with veggie dip, peanut butter, lots of chicken and beef, beans... I mean, it is a bit of a challenge to meet my protein and calorie goals on 100% healthy foods. I have indulged in Chick Fil A a couple times (ok more than a couple...) but for the most part I try to stick to real foods: I like to be able to pronounce everything on the label. Oh, I did think of a craving. Pizza rolls. Yes, I did buy some. No, they are not a "whole food" by any stretch of the imagination. But they tasted just as good as I remembered them tasting from childhood.

Clothes these days...well we have a bit of a love hate relationship. I dislike being so limited in my wardrobe. I'm used to having lots of choices and different outfit combinations. I just packed up all my pre-pregnancy clothes (because I can't wear them anymore) and it left my closet a bit sparse. I'm not complaining. I just haven't invested in a ton of maternity clothes for a few reasons. 1.) they're over priced. There is no reason to spend 80 bucks on a pair of pants I know I'm going to out grow in a few weeks. 2.) I'm very picky. I don't like 50% of what is marketed to pregnant ladies. I refuse to embrace crappy fitting jeans just because they have a stretchy waist band. 3.) My belly is expanding at quite the rate. Things I buy now will not fit as I progress. I know this is true of a singleton pregnancy, but I will probably outgrow things a bit faster. I'm super grateful to a friend who has let me borrow a few pieces for now. I did invest in a few dresses for work (turns out, pregnant or not yoga pants and t-shirts are still against the dress code ;). This is one of them. Throw a sweater over it and I'm good to go!

Outfit run down:
Head Band: Old- H and M
Dress: Motherhood Maternity
Sandals: Target

Graduation Style File (and 16 Weeks)

 I had a photobomber in this pic! ha!  Anyway, it's true, I am graduating with my Master's in Education at the end of the summer. Even though my degree won't post until August, I get to participate in all of the graduation activities right now (Regent only does one grad ceremony a year!). I will not be walking in our Commencement ceremony, but I will be participating in the School of Education's commissioning ceremony. Tonight is when they give me my Master's hood and commission us into the big wide world. I am pretty excited. More excited to be done with school though. ;)

 I am also 16 weeks this week! I feel like the belly exploded a little bit this week. More people are noticing and it's kind of fun. Babies are looking good. Next appointment is at 20 weeks and they'll be able to determine sexes then. I'm pretty excited for that because it means we can finalize some registry items, pick out names, and start scheming up the babies' room!

 I am feeling grateful at this point in time that I will be done with school before the babies get here. My final project for the summer is a professional portfolio and I hope to get it done well before August, that way I can concentrate on getting ready for the babies. Essentially, once September hits I'll be on labor watch.

So what do I plan to do with my Master's? Well, that's a very good question. I think eventually I would like to finish out my credentials to get certified to teach and then end up in the classroom. That, of course, is on hold for a while. For the immediate future, I am focusing on the babies and learning how to be a mom. Perhaps in a couple years I'll try to be a student again.

Style File: 15 Weeks

 Aside from my shirt making my belly look lumpy in these pictures... I really like this outfit. It's comfortable (minus the pants not being maternity) and still fits. Haha. Not one single maternity piece in this outfit. Though I don't think I'll be able to do that for long! I have ordered a few maternity pieces but...pants are tricky. I don't like any of them. Why don't they make normal looking jeans for pregnant ladies? Of course the ones I *do* like are not available in my size. Womp womp womp.

 I have been feeling much better with a few isolated incidents of feeling icky, but overall I am feeling much much better. That first trimester got miserable there at the end. I am glad it is behind me though!

 Note: my shirt is striped, not sure why it cam out all weird like in the picture. Oh well?

Anyway, today I am going to address a burning question I have gotten several times just this week. Are you going to dress them the same? Clearly, if one is a boy and one is a girl no I will not be dressing them the same. Even if they are the same sex, though, I do not plan on coordinating or matching outfits. I want to establish from early on that they are not a two for one deal. They are two distinct babies who will grow into two distinct people. Early on, if they are the same sex, I suspect I'll just have a big pile of clothes and just dress them. Clothes won't belong to one or the other. Obviously, as they get older and their tastes develop that will change. I just want them to be able to be autonomous and not fall into the trap that they're the same person twice. Maybe that's weird of me, but one way I plan to do that is to not dress them alike. Now, when they're older and they choose to dress alike, that's one thing. But I'm just not going to do it from birth. If you have twins and you dress them alike, I am not pronouncing judgment on you or saying that you view your kids as a two for one deal. I'm just explaining my thought process and not really interested in starting a fight. That's the beauty of our current society: we all have the freedom to choose how we want to raise our kids. :)

Happy Friday! 

P.S. 5 weeks until we get to find out sexes! I know you will all be waiting with baited breath, but I'll probably not put it up on here immediately just so we have a chance to tell family first. Just warning you now. Haha. :)

Style File: 14 Weeks

 I made it to the second trimester. Before I got pregnant, I had no idea the start of the second trimester was so debatable. Some say 12 weeks, others 13, and other say 14. So, I guess it's official no matter who is counting I am in the second tri! yay!

I am finding it a bit more challenging to get dressed. I had to get some maternity pants this week just because nothing else is fitting! I'm going to have to go buy more. Before I got pregnant I always thought I was going to try to wear non-maternity clothes for most of pregnancy...but with twins I think that's going to be challenging/impossible. Plus non maternity clothes tend to just make me feel/look fat. And they were really uncomfortable. 

Babies are looking really good. The doctor tried to determine sex at today's appointment but wasn't able to determine much. Guess I'll just have to be patient and wait for my 20 week anatomy scan. They were sitting head to head today, it was pretty cute.

I haven't thrown up in 4.5 days. I am thankful for that. I think I'm also experiencing some more energy and I don't need to sleep as much all of the time, so that's also good. Other than that... no new updates! We're just trying to grow over here! :)