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! :)

13 Weeks

Well, the weather is particularly crappy and I don't have good lighting in our place due to the storms passing through today...so no pics this week. Not much has changed, I promise. :)

So now that the cat's out of the bag, I thought I would answer the most common questions I get after telling people I'm expecting two babies:

1.) How are you feeling? Are you extra sick because there are twins? Not really. I've been throwing up once or twice a day but I mostly can't complain too much. I do miss the days when I don't experience breakfast twice! (sorry, that's kind of gross, isn't it?). I'm also hungry a lot. Like just today I had a bowl of cereal, a smoothie, felt sick from noon to 1, ate some mac and cheese and an apple with peanut butter. Decided I was still hungry at 2:30 and got a chick fil a salad. Was still hungry so I ate some Thin Mint cookies and a piece of cheese. And I'm STILL HUNGRY. Except we don't really have any more food in the house... so... I'm going to have to scrounge something up.

2.) Do twins run in your family? So something I'm learning about having twins is simply that people are fascinated by them so they ask questions that ordinarily I would think are a bit rude if you don't know me well. Sometimes this question feels rude because it feels like people are just fishing for information on whether or not they were conceived spontaneously or whether or not I used fertility drugs. Thankfully, no one has been tactless enough to just ask me whether or not they were "naturally conceived" like some friends of mine have been asked. (Side Note: Yes, the babies were naturally conceived. We just needed some drugs to help that along. Outside of using IVF, even people who use drugs have conceived the natural way. I promise. The drugs themselves don't just make you pregnant there are other steps involved, if you catch my drift ;) ). I know, more often than not, this question is probably not meant to be rude so I am working on it, haha. But to answer the question: twins run on my side of the family several generations back. Depending on who is asking the question, I might say that we needed some extra help and leave it at that.

3.) Are you nervous about having twins?/How do you feel about that?/Are you scared? Heck yes I am nervous and scared. But I am also excited. I think it's all within in the realm of normal to feel conflicting feelings about becoming a parent for the first time regardless of whether or not you're expecting one, two, or ten babies. In this particular case, I won't lie, my biggest source of anxiety is financial. We planned for ONE baby and having TWO is just going to make things a bit more interesting. We will be fine, so please don't think we're in dire  straights or anything. Just a bit more planning on our end, that's all.

4.) Do you want boys or girls? Obviously, I want two healthy, at term, over 5lb babies. But let's not be pretentious here. I would like two girls, or one girl and one boy. Brad would like one of each.

5.) Do you know names yet? Not yet. We have a few that we like, but we're waiting to determine whether or not we need boys names or girls names. I don't think the names will be some BIG HUGE SECRET but I also don't want to be pinned down on names until I meet the babies. I hope that's not weird?