20 weeks - Growing babies, belly, twin's names & letting it all sink in!

Well, it's finally starting to sink in guys!! I thought I would have been a blubbery mess all day Monday after finding out our sweet babies' genders, but I only got a little teary during the ultrasound. I was shocked. SOO happy to finally know that I couldn't cry I guess?! So, I was waiting for the water works to start after waking up the day after, but still nothing. It felt more like I was in the twilight zone because it's all still too good to be true, ha ha. But, it finally caught up with me Tuesday night! I was sorting through clothes trying to see what shirts and dresses still fit, and I just started bawling out of nowhere. Blake called upstairs to me to see what I was doing because I had been up there for awhile...and I was like, "oh, I'm just crying and trying on clothes." Ha ha! He came up and was like wait what?! He was relieved to hear it was happy tears though, lol, and gave me a big, long hug :) So grateful and happy that we have these precious little babies to look forward to this summer! Eternally grateful to our anonymous donor couple, my wonderful parents, and everyone at our fertility center (right down to the receptionist) that made this all possible! We so badly needed this. We have waited so long to be expecting and able to make a gender announcement. My heart (and sanity) couldn't have taken infertility for much longer, or another pregnancy loss. Same for Blake. It's just as hard on them, though they don't show it as well because they're trying to be strong for us ladies. We love these littles so much already! Neither of us cared what the genders turned out to be, but we are thrilled there is one of each! It just feels different now, like they're more of a little person or something because we know they're a boy and girl, ha ha. Not sure if that makes any sense, but they aren't just "the babies" any longer...we have a SON and DAUGHTER in MY belly! We never thought this day would arrive, though we still hoped it would.

Speaking of belly...it just keeps a growin! I love it!! I'm getting more uncomfortable and not sleeping as well, but I totally don't even care! My pregnancy app said the babies could weigh up to 10 ounces by the end of the 20th week, but they were actually already 12 on Monday. That is close to a pound each, so exciting! No wonder I'm growing so fast. We are so happy they're healthy and growing equally. Here's a picture of my baby belly in my favorite dress! I think I have decided that I'm going to start living in dresses...soo comfy. This print makes me look bigger than I am, but still so fun!

20 weeks 3 days 

At 20 weeks the babies are experiencing a lot of cool things. Not only are they starting to pack on the weight, possibly hiccupping and sucking their thumbs, but their reproductive systems are really getting into gear. Baby girl's uterus is already in place and her ovaries are holding over 7 million primitive eggs! Crazy! And, baby boy's testes are already headed to his scrotum. Usually there by 23 weeks. The body is an amazing thing!

I know I already mentioned that the tech was "pretty" sure about baby girl being a girl, and that they're going to reconfirm in a few weeks when they check her heart again (she wasn't positioned great on Monday and had some cord between her legs)...but for now, we are thrilled to welcome 

Cameron Blake 

and 

Claire Autumn

 It's so fun because I've had baby names picked out since I was a little girl, like 8 years old. Not kidding. I loved nothing more than naming my baby dolls, stuffed animals and other toys. Anyway, Cameron Blake was my number one boy name, always! So, it worked out great that I ended up marrying a Blake and that he loves the name Cameron too, ha ha. We both are in love with Claire and have waited SO long to use it. The pits about infertility is that your favorite names get snatched up by family or close friends :( Luckily this one didn't! We love the older, more elegant sounding names. I also really liked Afton, Scarlett, Evelyn and Vivian for girls. But Blake wouldn't go for it, ha ha. We think Claire is a beautiful name though. It's one that's adorable for her when she's itty bitty, and also beautiful for when she's older. So excited for our little Cam and Claire bear's arrival!!! And no, they aren't both C names just because they're twins, ha ha. We just happen to like a lot of C names :)

Thanks for all of your kind words and congratulations! So glad you follow us!

20 weeks - ANATOMY SCAN & GENDER REVEAL!!!

We had our 20 week anatomy scan today!!! First and most importantly, both babies still look absolutely perfect! Both are healthy, adorable, measured great, and all organs appear to be functioning properly. Recheck on Baby A's heart in 4 weeks, wasn't positioned well. The ultrasound was amazing though!! Their hearts and brains were the most fun to see. It took longer than normal because we have two precious babies to check on, ha ha...but that just means twice the fun!! Being together and seeing their precious little faces on that big screen was beyond awesome. They have grown SO much since my last visit to the high risk office a couple of months ago. They're both weighing in at 12 ounces! Here's some quick info from today...

Baby A:

Heart rate - 155

Ultrasound fact - Usually very active and spread eagle, but was sleepy and didn't want to move at all today. Positioned head down still and was very low, so we only got a waving picture and a spine picture, ha ha.

Baby B:

Heart rate - 143

Ultrasound fact - Would not hold still! Usually calm. So happy we got a precious profile picture of one of them atleast. Positioned breech. Got a cool terminator eyeball shot, lol. Lens of the eye was reflecting :) Blake said, "Hey look! Our embryos got some upgrades." Lol!

Secondly, we were FINALLY able to find out the genders of the twins!!! So grateful to my mom and baby sister for surprising us and coming to town to celebrate with us! It meant the world to me, my family rocks!! Our hearts are so full they could just explode. We are SO happy and excited for these littles to get here! Finding out their genders made it SO much more real. What a special moment! We are still in shock that we finally know, ha ha...

Ok, ok, here we go! We have waited SOOOO LONG to make this announcement! So, without further ado...below are the twins genders!!! Congrats to those who guessed right on the poll :) Mommy was wrong, Daddy was right!

BABY A

Tech was pretty sure on baby girl, she had some cord between her legs though and wasn't positioned great today.

BABY B

Sure on baby boy, he was positioned well.

Other fun pictures!
Remember, if you can't see the pictures well, just click on them. Sadly, lighting wasn't great..

What will the babies be?! - Don't forget to vote, here's some fun facts that may help you decide!

 If you haven't already, cast your vote now! Time is running out soon. The poll is located in the top right corner of the blog, above the sandy snowflake picture. You can even change your vote if you would like!

Here are some fun facts about our babies and I that may help you decide. Remember, our cute little twinners are NOT identical! Some are firm believers in old wives tales, some aren't...here ya go.

Baby A

- Had Placenta Previa in 1st trimester, now just a low lying placenta

- Usually measures a little bit smaller

- Closest to the exit

- Almost always has a higher heart rate

- Crazy dancer, very active

- Doesn't like to hide, usually spread eagle

- Looks right at us at almost every ultrasound

Baby B

- Located at the top of the baby basket

- Likes to hide/curl up, seems more shy

- More sleepy during ultrasounds

- Slower heart rate usually

- Usually measures a little bit bigger

- Sometimes will bust crazy moves

- I feel this baby move more often

Mommy
- Very bloated, from the very beginning
- SEVERE morning sickness, started only two days after the embryo transfer
- Heartburn was worst in 1st trimester, not bad for now
- Not carrying really low
- Have had few headaches
- Tummy is growing mostly outward, not so much horizontally (wide)
- TERRIBLE pregnancy brain
- Not extremely emotional (for there being two!)
- Freezing all the time, I know it's weird
- Very dry skin, especially hands, sides, feet and face
- Not breaking out, clear skin
-Smell of meats usually disgusts me, not craving sweets either
- Haven't gained any weight, actually have lost
- Craving apples, green salads, veggies, orange & apple juices, yogurt and potatoes

Are we getting boys, girls, or one of each?!?!

Photocredits: Etsy.com

19 weeks - Mangos, Glucose & AFP results!

This week the twins are as big as mangos and are now covered in a white, greasy substance called vernix caseosa. The babies produce it and it stays on by sticking to the lanugo (downy hair covering baby's body). It protects their skin while in the womb. Otherwise, they would come out completely wrinkled because of the amniotic fluid. Vernix also lubricates the birth canal at delivery. Some people call it baby cheese, yucky. I'll stick with vernix, ha ha. Love our little mango twins so much! They also are experiencing a growth spurt this week, their little legs are getting longer and are now in proportion to their arms. I should start feeling more intense movements soon because they're getting stronger. Already felt a few this last week!

Photocredit: clipart.me

My early glucose test on Thursday went great, as far as I can tell from my lab results online! They said no phone call is a good thing, never got one. There was a good chance that my blood sugar would be elevated because we're expecting twins (double the hormones because there are two placentas), but it actually came back great. So happy! Anything between 11.6 and 16 is considered normal, and mine was 11.3. Hopefully it stays that way! I've been eating very healthy so I know that helps. Dr. O did laugh at me on Thursday though because I said that I actually liked the glucose drink, ha ha. It tasted kind of like flat orange fanta soda to me, with a different twist. Or, maybe the Lord knew how nervous I was because I had heard so many yucky stories about this drink, so he made it taste somewhat like one of my favorite pops, ha ha ;) The trick is keeping it in a very cold fridge also. I didn't have to do my test at a lab. Drank it at home and then headed to get my blood drawn at my OB's office. Easy peasy!

 The AFP (Alpha Feto-Protein) test came back great also. Level needed to be below 3.99 for twins, and mine came back at a good 2.83. That means our babies don't have a high chance of having any neural tube defects (brain, spine, or spinal cord), such as Spina Bifida. That is when the fetal spinal column doesn’t fully close. These blood tests aren't a 100% guarantee, but everything so far suggests that they're just fine. We will know and see more at the anatomy scan later this month. Hooray for healthy babies!!

Sadly, I ended up having to take a Unisom on night two of not having any, but hopefully I will be off of them soon. Something new over the last week...I have been experiencing major abdominal muscle spasms, ha ha. So weird feeling, and kind of annoying at times. Twitch, twitch, twitch, SPASM! Like all day long. My belly button area is really getting a work out, ha ha. At first, I was like geeze are these babies little ninjas?! But my uterus isn't as high up as some of the spasms just yet. Then, I became somewhat terrified thinking it was contractions, because I'm a freak. But I wasn't cramping or bleeding, and nothing hurt. Dr. O said that its completely normal with twins, so to not worry. It's just my abs freaking out because of the rapid expansion going on. Pfew. I hate being a worry wort! Also, I still haven't gained any weight but my appetite has definitely increased. I can eat more than a mouse now, so that's nice. I used to only be able to eat half a banana in one sitting, now I can have a whole one with a small glass of juice. I've become an orange juice, green salad, tomato, and jazz apple monster lately. These babies just may turn into apples before delivery day, ha ha. I usually have two to three apples a day, hooray for Costco. And, I ate 3 tomatoes the other day, just cause. So good!

I got a quick ultrasound at my appointment on Thursday. It was just the crappy portable room monitor/doppler...don't worry, the genders weren't visible at all, ha ha :( The babies' heart rates still sound great. Baby B was laying horizontally across the top facing us, and A was head down facing away from us. So his/her spine and back of the noggin were pretty visible. Is it possible to have a cute spine?!...because my babies totally do!! They are both in a different position at every ultrasound, he said they will stop being so wiggly around 32 weeks. Both were still quite wiggly on Thursday, so we're hoping they decide to cooperate at the anatomy scan! Here's a print out of their heartbeats. Usually you can hear one better than the other, they take turns. There's a lot going on in there.

We are getting more and more excited for these babies, I still can't believe that we are having twins! One sweet baby would have been just wonderful, but two is just flat out amazing. Some people look at me with a happy/semi terrified look on their faces when they hear its twins. Believe me when I say that we are in NO WAY unhappy that there are two on the way!! Sometimes I just sit and cry happy tears (can't help it!) because we are so thrilled! Most days it still seems too good to be true, almost as if this is all just a really good dream and I'm gonna wake up soon. But then I feel them move again and my heart about explodes. I am just in awe of my growing belly and what their movements feel like. Definitely nothing like it! I can't wait to meet our precious little miracles and have our family grow by two all at once! We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for all that we have received, especially over the last year and a half. I have no idea where we would be without our amazing little snowflakes...I really, really don't.

January 14th 1992 - First ICSI baby born!

January 14th 1992 - The first successful intracytoplasmic (ICSI) sperm injection baby is born!

Photocredit: Footsteps for Fertility Foundation 

Hooray for technology! This was 24 years ago today. We would not have sweet twins on the way or an angel in heaven watching over us if it weren't for science, modern technology, and Embryo Donation programs. We are eternally grateful to the couple who donated to us. There just aren't good enough words. They underwent the stresses and pains of IVF, completed their family, and selflessly donated their remaining embryos to a heartbroken couple who had almost given up. We were the beyond lucky anonymous recipients of their group of precious snowflakes! 

18 weeks - Half way there! & A baby bedroom!

I was 18 weeks on Saturday! BAM! That is officially half way for twins!! So thrilled! We have our eyes on making it to 36 weeks, come on May 15th!!! Even longer would be fantastic, but it could also be sooner. Praying hard that the pregnancy continues to go smoothly and healthy. We want our teenies as big and as healthy as we can get em'. I have my early glucose test tomorrow, hooray ha ha. And the 20 week anatomy scan later this month. Hopefully everything goes well and the babies are still okay in there! I'm still so scared something is gonna happen, that feeling is lessening but still annoying. We are DYING to know if they are boys or girls! Wish we lived closer to our parents and siblings, we could do a fun gender reveal party or something, But just finally knowing, sharing the news with everyone, and taking pictures for the blog will be fun enough! Already have some ideas. Hopefully these little stinkers will hold still long enough this time for the tech to see, ha ha :(

18 weeks 4 days
Bloated but belly is getting bigger!

This week the twins are the size of a sweet potato! Our little babies are getting big fast :) So is my belly it seems, ha ha. I'm not quite 4.5 months, but I definitely look like more. There are 2 sweet peas in there though. Yay for being giant, I so don't even care! I swear my baby belly randomly grows overnight though, lol. Anyways, the twinnies can be as long as 6 inches and weigh as much as 5.5 to 7 ounces each now. I can feel them move more, along with some weird feeling uterus and abdomen muscle spasm/twitches from fast growth. I will probably start feeling them hiccup over the next few weeks, according to my book and app (everyone is different though). They are learning to yawn, and their own unique set of fingerprints are in the process of being created. Still can't believe that occurs by the babies brushing their fingers against the amniotic sacs! Quite cool. If we are having any girls, her/their tiny uterus and fallopian tubes are moving into their final spots. The babies are also growing toenails now. And lastly, even though their head hair hasn't started growing in yet, their scalp patterns are already developing. I wonder if they will be born with tons of hair like Blake and I were? What color will it be?! Or will they be adorable bald babies like my cute new niece, he he :) Her blonde peach fuzz is to die for and her little noggin is SO soft! The couple who donated the embryos to us had matching eye and hair colors (to me and Blake), but we will just have to wait and see!

Exciting news...I forgot/didn't need to take a Unisom for the first time last night!! I slept absolutely awful, but on the bright side, I'm still alive and not throwing up yet! Felt a little yucky after breakfast, but still very exciting. It's supposed to be the safest thing to take next to wearing the pressure point wrist bands (which I never tried because I was SOO sick), but I still worry about taking things while pregnant. Like, I'm super paranoid. It pains me to take one tylenol when really sore. But anyways, I'm hoping this will last!

I definitely have more energy! I still get pooped pretty quickly and have to pace myself or else I get over-exhausted and sore. But, we spent this weekend sorting closets. Yay! (for reals, no sarcasm ha ha) I was only in the house we are in now for two weeks before I left for the treatment, due to recently moving to a new state. So, what we didn't need for awhile was just left boxed up in closets. It made for verrry clean guest rooms ha ha, but has been getting annoying lately as I have been needing/wanting random boxed things. Anyways, as we were moving this and that (mostly Blake ha ha), Blake was like hey why don't we just start setting up the babies' room?! I instantly had a huge smile on my face and didn't need any convincing. I've always been a paranoid freak and major stresser by nature (it's strong on both sides, I can't help it!), so immediately I thought I hope we don't jinx things by doing this! But, that soon passed and we started the fun! Have to stay positive! He set up the crib, pack and play, bouncer, walker, cleaned up an adorable bassinet from a friend, we opened fun baby item filled boxes, etc. It was quite fun! Slinky was NOT a fan though, he definitely knows something is up. He kept whining, licking Blake, and tried to climb all over us so we would quit, ha ha. He didn't want to give up his bedroom I guess, ha ha. Can't blame him, he's been our only (and very spoiled) baby for 11 years now! Anyways, before going to bed last night though, I had to go peek in the BABIES' ROOM again...just to make sure it was all real and still there! I have a baby room in MY house people!! I've been dreaming of this day for 9 years now. It's so exciting to FINALLY be able to set up some of the things I got from my "hooray we're on the adoption list" baby shower in 2011. No, I don't regret having that shower. Having these baby items gave me much needed hope on very bad days. I knew that someday somehow that crib would have a beautiful baby in it! I knew deep down, even on extra bad days, that Heavenly Father wouldn't let us down. It did take WAY longer than we had planned on, lol...but we get to fill this crib with TWO beautiful babies in May!! TWO! Who came to us in such a wonderful and neat adoption way. So grateful to everyone who came to that adoption shower to support us, and so grateful for all the support we still receive today. Very excited for my shower at home in March also!

Update on past treatment happenings...the numb spots on my thighs are finally starting to get some feeling back in them (approx a 3x8 inch area on the right leg). All those injections really take a toll on your body and it's nerves. Especially when you do two treatments in a year. I DO NOT miss those shots. In fact, now that I'm not doing them anymore, it seems crazy that I did them without even flinching most days, ha ha. And for months on end. But, you gotta do what you gotta do! Also, the injection sites on  my hips are still totally numb and tender when you push on them, but the bruising is mostly gone and it doesn't burn or feel like needles when laying down anymore. Yay!! Didn't make for comfy sleeping or sitting. Glad my body is finally starting to heal.

Here are some pictures from starting the babies' room this weekend :) Slinky loves to photo bomb, ha ha. And yes, I love Pooh Bear. I even get to use my old Pooh quilt, my brother's Pooh Bear diaper stacker, and some other fun things :D Can't wait til the room is decorated and situated. We kind of are just storing all of the baby stuff in the bedroom for now.

17 weeks - Pillows & A growing belly!

This week the babies' heart rates are now regulated by their brains! No more random beats. Their heart rates are 140 - 150 bpm, that's two times faster than ours. They're also starting to pack on some chub and can weigh up to 5 ounces each. I've still been able to feel them move. I think it's mostly Baby B I'm feeling because it's usually in the same areas, and it measures a little bigger than A (they don't necessarily implant the same day). Sometimes, a day or two will go by without feeling anything, and then other days I feel them a few times in a day. It's very exciting!! Still so crazy that there are two in there...

Laying on my back is becoming more and more uncomfortable. Definitely a fan of the pillow between my legs, makes my back feel soo much better. I LOVE pillows! Pillows everywhere on our bed! I've been sleeping much better because of them...with the exception of my increased bathroom runs at night, ha ha. So far the record is 6. So crazy that I can already feel that my bladder is being squished.

I can definitely tell that my uterus has been doing some growing. My belly bump is now quite hard feeling while laying down and is up to my belly button. I have kind of a high belly button too. I had Blake feel my belly yesterday morning and he said, "holy crap!" Ha ha. They say with a single baby that your uterus is approximately the size of a small melon right now. So, I'm not sure how big mine is with twins, but it's definitely grown! I feel like I already waddle because its starting to feel weird to move around now, ha ha. Can't wait til it's bigger, cute and completely round! Right now I just feel like I look extra fat while standing, ha ha. It'll be so fun to know what's in there too...boys, girls, or both?! I think it'll make it much more real! Right now they're just "the babies" or "Baby A/B". I can't imagine how fun it'll be to finally say "baby girl(s)" or "baby boy(s)"!

17 weeks 2 days