Monday, December 28, 2015

16 weeks - Ears, facial expressions & movement!

This week the twins are 4-5 inches long and weigh in around 3-4 ounces each! I've noticed the biggest growth difference with my belly over the last week or so. It's looking bigger on the outside, and is definitely feeling bigger inside. It's a weird feeling, being conscious and aware of your uterus, lol. I swear I've felt the babies move a few times over the last week or so!! And at 13.5 weeks, but I wasn't sure if that's what it was, ha ha. I've never felt anything like it before. Not like gas bubbles at all. I've read that you can sometimes feel twins as early as 12 weeks. Very exciting! So thrilled to officially be a full four months along on January 2nd. Woo! 

The babies eyes can now perceive light even though their eyelids are still sealed. And, their eyes can make small side to side movements. Tiny bones are in place in their ears so they can hear muffled noises now, and they can even make a couple of facial expressions. They're mostly squinting and frowning for now, but still so cute! The muscles in their tiny back's are getting stronger, so they're able to stretch out more. Next appointment and ultrasound is mid January. I will be doing an early glucose test then and some bloodwork. 

I haven't gained any weight so far. I'm still 10 lbs under my pre-treatment weight due to having such severe morning sickness in the beginning. I bet I lost close to 15 - 20 lbs. So sick! But, I'm over weight so it's not a big deal, the babies have both measured perfectly at every ultrasound so far. The doctors said twins eat up a lot of your calories in the first half of pregnancy anyway due to all the amazing growth. They do go from being microscopic to approximately 6 inches long at 20 weeks afterall! 

I'm feeling fairly good lately. Still pretty tired but not sleeping as well sadly. I still like to lay down often because sitting, walking and standing for too long makes the ligaments ache and spasm. I'm starting to get uncomfortable in bed already because of my belly and so much side sleeping. I think a body/pregnancy pillow in is order now. I've started stretching since the round ligament pain isn't as intense now. A heat pad at night before bed helps my back feel better and relax some also. I can only imagine how bad my back is going to hurt in 16 more weeks, ha ha! :O Just so thrilled they're doing well and to be expecting though, so I welcome any and all things pregnancy!

I still can't eat pork or burger without gagging or a sick tummy later, so I avoid it. Greasy and spicy are still a big no-no. I haven't been able to tolerate sweets very well so far, but I was able to eat TWO tasty brownies this week! Thanks Christopher! Along with some Sour Patch Kids gummy candies. Definitely can't eat too much sweets though, tastes extra sugary and rich while pregnant. Still loving green salads, toast with jelly, fruits, veggies, juice, and anything potato though. 

We had a very Merry Christmas with our families last week, and hope this new year will be the best yet!! Happy New Year everyone!

Here's a belly shot from today :)
16 weeks 2 days





Tuesday, December 22, 2015

An ornament for our angel - Merry Christmas Cannon!

(photo credit: unknown, google)

I still cry and think often of our first baby that we lost early this year. Yes, I'm chalk full of hormones from our sweet twins, but I miss this little one we never knew SO much. There's just something so special about the bond of a mother and the baby(ies) she's carrying. Although I miscarried in the first trimester, this baby still meant the world to us. I don't think it matters how soon or late it happens, it all hurts so bad. We had been waiting and waiting and waiting to finally be pregnant or adopt...and we got to do both, thanks to Embryo Adoption! It was finally our turn. Eight years is a LONG time to wait. When we found out the first transfer was successful and that we were expecting, our lives were forever changed. And changed even more when we lost the baby at only 10 weeks. Though this little one wasn't fully developed and only the size of an olive, it was so precious to us. Cannon had a heart beat and was growing strong until the hemorrhages complicated things. I try to not dwell on that though. Constantly thinking "what if's" makes things harder.

While we adopted these embryos from another couple, they're still very much OUR babies. While Cannon's life with us on earth wasn't meant to be for long, he/she still blessed us in so many ways. I am so grateful for that this holiday season. It may sound weird, but I often feel the spirit of someone so small and so sweet when saying my prayers. It always brings me to tears. I just know it's Cannon comforting me. I hope he/she continues to watch over us and the twins. I'm pretty sure that Cannon, along with Gma Sandy, sent them special order just for us - to help heal our broken hearts. This holiday season I know that Cannon is in heaven with our other loved ones, the angels, and our beloved Savior. That is the only thing that brings me comfort, along with our LDS beliefs that "families are forever". This post was very hard for me to write, wasn't expecting that. Should've known though, I haven't been able to bring myself to make Cannon's shadow box just yet. But, I felt that an ornament for Christmas was definitely in order! Blake and I both saw these beautiful snowflake ornaments at exactly the same time at the store. So awesome! I have faith that Heavenly Father will continue to help us through this. I am so thankful for my husband, our families, friends, and the two sweet babies on the way!

Merry Christmas our little snowflake! 

Sunday, December 20, 2015

15 weeks! - Wiggly babies & Merry Christmas

I had an appointment with Dr. O on Thursday. Just a check up and question answering. Unfortunately he wasn't able to see well enough to tell us the babies' genders. He actually gave up on trying to even get us some cute ultrasound pics because the babies are so dang wiggly, ha ha. So, we will have to wait until the anatomy scan at 20 weeks to find out the genders. Rather be safe than sorry, don't want incorrect results, ha ha. That wouldn't be fun. Plus it's still kinda early so I wasn't surprised. He said he honestly wouldn't waste money on a 3d place either. Apparently he's had some past patients expecting multiples who told him some of the 3d places wouldn't even see them because they weren't confident they could accurately tell what each baby was. Crazy. We're just happy they're both still healthy and so active! Both their heart rates were good, and he said it's great they're so wiggly...except for when you're trying to get pictures, ha ha. 

I do an early glucose test at my appointment next month. Because you have double the hormones with twins, it's much easier to get Diabetes. So hopefully that goes well. He said my crazy upper abdominal bloating is very normal. I seriously feel like I'm gonna pop 24/7. I've never been so burpy, ha ha. He said it's from double the progesterone and the shifting of my organs. He was happy to hear that the ligament pain has lessened, he said it can be absolutely brutal for some women. I'm not as insanely exhausted (still stinkin tired, don't get me wrong, lol), so that's nice. I have only napped once or twice in the past couple weeks, rather than a 3 hour nap daily. So great to have a little bit of energy. Dr. O said to enjoy the next couple of months. We are out of the scary zone, and said we don't need to worry about anything until about 6-7 months (early labor). They're still going to keep an eye on my cervix though.

I was 15 weeks yesterday! This week the babies will grow to as big as 4.5 inches long, and are the size of a naval orange! They're getting so big, their growth just amazes me. By next week their ears will be working and they will be able to hear my voice, rumbling tummy, heart beat, Slinky barks, etc. This week they can wiggle their tiny toes and fingers! I LOVE seeing their tiny tootsies on the ultrasounds, baby toes are the best! They also are making breathing movements in preparation for life outside the belly. Baby A is still quite the character, Dr. O said she/he kicked me right in the cervix during the ultrasound, ha ha. Least they weren't fighting this time and kicking each other, lol.

Blurry face shot of Baby A, looking right at us as usual :)

The greatest gift I'm getting this Christmas season is being pregnant with healthy twins!! We are unbelievably grateful for these little miracles, and for the joy they already bring to our lives. I randomly say, "Hey guess what?! We're having twins!" to Blake, lol. It's still shocking and extra exciting some days. We were so thrilled when just one embryo attached with the first transfer, feeling soo blessed that BOTH did this time! I love them so much already and can't imagine what it'll be like seeing them for the first time. So exciting!

I am so grateful for the Savior's love and mercy for us. As we celebrate with our family and friends this week, exchange gifts, eat yummy food, and attend parties...I hope that we can all remember the true reason for this holiday, his birth. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and are touched by the spirit this holiday season! 



Tuesday, December 15, 2015

What are the genders of the twins?! - Come cast your vote!!

Will it be BOYS?! GIRLS?! OR BOTH, 1 OF EACH?!

While we aren't 100% sure when we are going to be able to find out, still cast your vote! We are hoping to know by Christmas or New Years. We hope it's sooner rather than later, because of course we are dying to know! But at the same time...I'm only 14.5 weeks, we definitely have some little wiggle worms on our hands, and I'm told twins often tend to not cooperate at the same time (we already know Baby B likes to hide!). But don't forget to vote! Blake says 1 of each, and I think maybe boys :) Sorry to my Dad, but we just HAVE to find out!

The poll is located in the top right corner of the blog, above the sandy snowflake. Everyone is welcome to vote, but please only vote once per person or it's no fun :) *Note...if you're having trouble voting for more than one person (it keeps saying "change your vote", and won't let you cast a new one), just go to the blog on different devices (laptops, phones, kindles, iPads, etc.) for each vote.



Monday, December 14, 2015

14 weeks - Lemons & Slinky snuggles!

I'm officially in the 2nd trimester! THIS GIRL!!! Woo hoo! My belly is getting tighter...can't wait til it's bigger, I'm less bloated (probably just dreaming huh?), and stays popped out. It's very easy to see and feel when laying down. Still very low, but getting firmer. I'm still so bloated that you can't tell that I'm actually pregnant when standing. Soon enough though! My pregnancy app said that I "may" be experiencing some uterus growing pains. I was like MAY! MAYYYY!! I feel like I've been being stabbed in the gut for awhile now, ha ha. At least the pain is starting to lessen somewhat, so I've been able to do a little more around the house. Dishes and laundry are much easier, but vacuuming and lifting most things are still a no go. Glad Blake helps. Don't get me wrong, I still hurt quite badly at times, but usually only if I overdo it. Better than constantly in pain, so we will take it!

I've been eating more (but have lost a few more lbs - they're sucking it out of me as soon as I eat it, ha ha), napping way less, and not feeling as super exhausted. Still eating lots of bananas, apples, steamed veggies, cereal, Gatorade, bean burritos, and turkey sandwiches. The babies must really like apples and beans, ha ha. I am SOO thirsty at night though. A few nights ago I downed 5.5 water bottles. Regular sized ones, not small. It's nuts! I noticed if I just drink a Gatorade though, I can actually sleep. It quenches my thirst the best. Big news...I even had the energy and appetite to make enchiladas the other night. Go me, ha ha! I'm sure Blake was beyond thrilled.

The twins are now each the size of a lemon! So cute, we love our little lemons! This week they're starting to sport some Lanugo (downy hair covering the body). It helps keep them warm over the next few months until they pack on some chub. They're also getting a new roof! The roof of their mouth is forming this week, if it hasn't already. Really cool. And, their tiny intestines are starting to produce Meconium (makes up their first bowel movement after birth, aka "tar poop"). My next appointment with Dr. O is later this week. Hopefully we can see the babies again because Blake gets to come to this appointment. Wonder if they will both put on a circus act again, or if Baby B is gonna be shy and sleepy? I wish so bad that Blake could have seen how crazy they BOTH were while doing the NT scan, lol.

Still hoping to find out the babies' genders before Christmas, but I will only be 16 weeks the day after Christmas. So we will see if it works out or not. I've been getting that question a lot, don't worry! We will post as soon as we know if we are getting boys, girls, or one of each :) I'm going to put a poll up soon so you all can vote, keep an eye out for the post announcing that it's on here!

I got an email about my bloodwork portion of the NT testing. From what I could tell, everything looks good. My risk level of the twins having abnormalities is as low as a low risk singleton pregnancy. So that's great news. They are unable to test for Edwards or Patau syndromes though because it's twins. But, last week the ultrasound tech said to not worry too much because the neck fluid, arms, and leg bone measurements came back great. They also both have prominent nose bones. All are really good things. Not that we would love them any less if they did test positive for abnormalities!! We figured they were ok though, the couple who donated our precious snowflakes to us had already been tested themselves for all major diseases and any family history of abnormalities before doing their IVF cycle. Keep growing babies!

(photo credit: imagesbot.com)

I'm not sure if Slinky knows what's going on or not, ha ha? When I hold him lately he always snuggles by my belly. Which he normally doesn't do. He's usually in my arms or by my feet. But, he doesn't smell me a lot like other dogs do. My grandparent's dogs were smelling me like crazy before I even had my first pregnancy test. Bozzy definitely knew there was something different. Maybe it's cause Slinky is getting older. His eyesight and smell are going. Makes me so sad. I'm so curious to find out what he will think of them when they get here though. He's never really been around teenie tiny babies. I watched my friend's son for her years back and Slinky was not a fan. I had to gate him in a bedroom because once Conner started crawling toward him, he would bark and run in circles, ha ha. Slink did smell and check out my newborn niece last month in her carseat though, so I thought oh good he's doing ok so far. But, then he tried to lightly nibble her little toes, so we snatched him off the couch in a flash, ha ha. It'll be interesting! Maybe if he knows the twins are ours and here to stay, and we can bring home their blankets from the hospital, he might adjust ok. He's been our only baby for 11 years now! Can't totally blame him for being skiddish around what look like weird, shrieking, little creatures to him. Thought this picture was cute though! :) We love our Slinky Dink!


Friday, December 11, 2015

Pregnancy + food allergies = NOT fun!

Suffering from multiple food allergies is never fun, especially when you're pregnant! I seriously cried the other day because I can't have a frosty or pizza hut. And I would kill for some macaroni salad or some yummy mexican food right now! Gotta love having double the hormones from twins, ha ha. I still love you sweet babies!! But seriously...poor Blake, ha ha. I'm totally fuming right now because I feel like I can't eat anything. Gluten, dairy, oats, and strawberries can take a hike! Sitting here (very pitifully) eating steamed veggies instead :( Sad day. 


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

10 Reasons Why a Twin Pregnancy Is Not the Same As a Singleton - This is SO funny!

I came across this online and got laughing PRETTY hard! So I wanted to share it. She describes things so cutely and honestly. And, she is spot on with so many things...magnified morning sickness, not being able to get up by yourself starting in the first trimester, ultrasound pics galore, high-risk-ville, exhausted just walking to the bathroom, all the twin terms (I now know all the ones she mentions ha ha), and nothing fitting short of a circus tent later on, ha ha! I'm sure I will outgrow my maternity clothes in no time! My belly is already as big as someone who is 2 months ahead of me with a single baby :) I'm gonna be huge, it's gonna be awesome!!

10 Reasons Why a Twin Pregnancy Is Not the Same As a Singleton

by HEATHER MILNER

The moment those two little pink lines appear, confirming your suspicions, your life changes. It’s exhilarating, overwhelming, terrifying, and awesome all at once. You head into your OB’s office to get things in tip-top order and to have an ultrasound. Your ultrasound tech smiles as you expose your midsection in anticipation of seeing that little bean for the first time and knowing for sure that you are indeed pregnant. You notice your tech staring at the screen a little too intently, as she moves her wand around getting different views. You watch the monitor full of swirling gray hues, trying to decipher what she’s seeing, when suddenly she stops on an image and says, “Ah, I thought so. There’s baby B. You’re having twins!” BOOM! You have officially entered a whole new realm of pregnancy! Welcome!

Despite what others may try to tell you, a twin pregnancy is NOT the same as a singleton. I am in no way trying to say having a singleton pregnancy is a breeze, because growing tiny humans is hard work, but it is different. Here’s a list of 10 things you can expect if your joy/fear/stress/elation has just doubled in the blink of an eye.

1. Welcome to a High Risk pregnancy. Are you perfectly healthy? Are your twins growing beautifully? Do you currently feel great? It doesn’t matter! You have been given a one way-ticket to High-Risk-Ville and all the perks that go along with it! You will be poked, prodded, and monitored as if you were, in fact, dying of a rare tropical disease.

2. Hello puke bucket! Morning sickness is terrible. Morning sickness with twins is downright inhumane. Double the hormones, quadruple the queasiness. You will, in your first 18 weeks or so, grow attached to a special bowl (mine was red) used solely for throwing up in. You will tote this new accessory everywhere you go and start to feel naked without it. Your trusty sidekick will be right there as you masochistically watch the Food Network, desperately wanting to eat something real, but the second you get a whiff of anything food related, you lunge for your steadfast partner, the puke bucket. After a few weeks of this, with insanely sore muscles and a certainty that you’ve torn something internally, you will become a Zofran-popping fool, or you just might opt for the continuous flow of liquid anti-nausea gold and use the pump! Anything it takes to stop the torture.

3. Ultrasounds! Ultrasounds galore! It’s normally tons of fun to have an ultrasound or two done to check on the progress of your little bean, but when you have two beans to monitor, ultrasound appointments become constants in your life, like sleeping, or breathing. You will have them all the time! You will be on a first name basis with several ultrasound techs as your pregnancy advances. By the end of your 8-9 month ordeal you will have zero trouble yanking up your shirt and pulling down your pants in a dimly lit small room while strangers occasionally walk in and out. You will also have an arsenal of prenatal photos that could fill a memory book, and they haven’t even arrived yet.

4. Maternity clothes are not made for multiples. You’ve gone out shopping and found some adorable tops to match your new stretchy band pants that will accommodate you throughout your entire pregnancy, making you both fashionable and comfortable, right? Wrong! Once you hit the third trimester mark (even sooner for some), there is no top, short of a circus tent, that will cover the bottom of your belly. I don’t care how tiny you started out. Two humans take up a lot of space, and your miraculous body will stretch to unimaginable sizes that will pop out of your outfit. Embrace it, dear sister. You’re a superhero.

5. You will learn a new language. The word “singleton” has just been added to your vocabulary, along with monozygotic, dizygotic, mono-di, di-di, TTTS, NICU, fraternal, identical, etc. Look at you, you smartypants! Who knew a twin pregnancy would expand the mind as well?

6. Exhaustion. It is real and it is terrible. You will be exhausted after going to the bathroom to pee for the umpteenth time, or walking from the couch to your bedroom, or talking on the phone, or loading the dishwasher, or, heaven forbid, walking up the stairs. You will want to collapse and never get up, and at some point you won’t be able to without help. And all this will start during your first trimester.

7. Physics will play a larger role in your life than you ever thought possible. The bigger you get (and let’s face it darling: You’re going to bypass sweet belly bump and head right into the land of the giants rather quickly, but it’s totally OK) the harder every task becomes. Newton’s first law of physics — an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon — is 100% you. It will take a great deal of force to move you from a resting state to a moving one, like getting up from a chair (and for the love of all things holy, do not sit on the floor! You might as well just stay there). It’s not your fault, honestly. You will find yourself trying to bend over to grab something low to the ground or tie your shoe (assuming you can still see your feet, let alone reach them) and you will topple over, because you will remain in motion until the floor stops you. Physics can be cruel to a pregnant woman, especially one with twins.

8. Inappropriate questions, comments, and reactions from complete strangers. You have only just begun to deal with this humdinger. Your larger belly is like a neon sign that the public can’t help but notice. People are curious, especially about multiples, and many are not afraid to ask questions or simply comment on your current state of being. Some questions are fine, but some will make you cringe. You will be asked, “Did you conceive naturally or did you need help?” “Do twins run in your family?” “How much bigger can you possibly get?” When I was around 30 weeks pregnant, I attended my niece’s wedding. After running all over town to find something cute that I looked half decent in (see #4) I was ready for the event. Not two minutes after stepping foot into the reception I heard, “Wow! What are you trying to do? Smuggle in some basketballs?” from a complete stranger. Honestly! You can’t make this stuff up! It’s going to happen, so be prepared to either walk away, smile and laugh while dying a little on the inside, or open a can of whoop-ass. It’s completely up to you (and we’ll be by your side ready to open a can of our own).

9. Invest in an under belly support band. Just do it. You can thank me later.

10. So…incredibly…uncomfortable. Trust me when I tell you that hauling around two tiny humans and all their cargo (placentas, amniotic sacs, etc.) is just plain uncomfortable. A regular singleton pregnancy is uncomfortable around 8-9 months, but a twin pregnancy is uncomfortable around 6 months. The further along you are, the worse it becomes. Just breathing becomes difficult for crying out loud! As your beautiful babies grow, they will both try to stretch into places no tiny feet should be near, let alone wedged into. They will kick and move and squirm, and it’s amazing to feel and watch, until it isn’t. As your belly nears its breaking point, your now-taut skin will hurt, itch, and be sensitive to touch. There aren’t enough pillows in the world to support your heaving figure. A singleton pregnancy is similar to this last one, I will admit, but trust me when I say the discomfort is magnified with twins. It just is. You will be miserable, but you’ll also be fabulous!

Embrace those tiny creatures and roll with the insanity that is a twin pregnancy. You’ll have scars, stretch marks, and stories for days by the time you’re done. Oh, and two new additions, of course!

Monday, December 7, 2015

13 weeks! - NT testing & Ligament pain

NT testing 
I had the scan done today for the NT testing (Nuchal Translucency), along with a consult with the Perinatal Specialist, Dr. E (high risk doctor). This ultrasound and bloodwork checks for Downs Syndrome, heart defects, and other chromosomal abnormalities. I've mentioned this before, but to read more about this, you can visit (http://www.babycenter.com/0_nuchal-translucency-scan-nt-scan_118.bc#articlesection1).

Anyway, it went perfect! The babies' neck fluid measurements, bladders, stomachs and intestines all looked great. The fluid measurement needed to be under 3 but greater than 1. They were perfectly in the middle. They're so cute, and it's fun to see them get bigger and bigger every time. So happy they're healthy and growing! I can't help but worry that something may still go wrong, but today was comforting. Still blows us away that there are 2 in there :) It took forever to do the scan though, we no longer have a lazy one and a crazy one, ha ha. Both were absolutely bouncing OFF THE WALLS. Baby B, who is normally very mellow, kept posing for us, doing flips, and would hide when we needed to measure. And, Baby A, who is our crazy dancer, was jumping all over the place and rolling around. It never tries hiding. It loves to stretch it's little legs out all the way, wave, and bob it's head. The tech was cracking up because it kept looking right at us and waving. Poor thing was probably like aren't you guys done yet? Please leave! By the end of the scan the tech said, "Oh my goodness girl, you're gonna have your hands full with these two! They're hilarious!" Ha ha. It was fun to see them both so active, Baby B has always been quite mellow.

We weren't able to tell the genders today because they wouldn't hold still for one second ha ha, but she said they're also still a little too small. She didn't want to make any guesses because she definitely wasn't sure. So, we hope to find out on the 17th at my next appointment with my very favorite Dr. O. We shall see though, they might be stinkers and won't cooperate. I was thinking about going to a 3d place, but these poor babies undergo enough ultrasounds as it is. Ultrasounds can temporarily heat up tissue and cause air bubbles if the tech doesn't know what they're doing. So, all these ultrasounds make me kinda nervous, don't want to subject them to more than is already needed. Because that's A LOT, ha ha. Not gonna lie though, we do love seeing the twinnies!

I don't need to see Dr. E at the high risk office again for 7 more weeks. We will do a level 2 growth scan then. But, in the mean time, I have to do an early glucose test. So we will see when they want me to do that. He said I look very healthy (which I appreciated because I know I'm still over weight) and that the babies couldn't look better, but there's just a much greater risk of developing diabetes with twins because of the extra hormones. So hopefully all goes well with that. Dr. E was quite the character, and was very pleased with the babies' scan results. He said to stay off the internet because it will only worry me, to rest, and just enjoy our babies! :) He's hoping I will get some relief on this ligament pain in the next couple weeks. He said it subsides after your belly is popped out full time. My uterus is already just below my belly button, so hopefully it'll be soon. Here's some shots from today. They aren't great because they were so active, but they're still cute!

Both babies, A is full body in the front with his/her foot up, and you can see B's foot in the sac behind :)

Baby A's profile. Can't wait for the babies to be a little bigger so the images are more clear. 

Baby B's back to us, head on the right, bum bum on the left, he he.

What the twins are up to at 13 weeks!
I can't believe the babies are growing to the size of a peach this week! That's about 3 inches long. Their tiny arms and legs are starting to grow bones, and the vocal cords are under construction. Yay for that because I love baby babble and cooing! Also, their little intestines have moved from the umbilical cord to their right place in the abdomen. We could tell that today during the scan. Crazy though huh, we've never heard that the intestines are originally in the cord!

Round ligament pain STINKS!!
The round ligament pain has gotten soooo much worse. I'm in tears at least once most days, have to move as slow as tar just to try to avoid spasms, and spend most of my days laying on the couch cause sitting hurts. Not fun. I thought this was interesting and wanted to share some of the info I found online in case we have some blog followers also suffering with this. Some women really suffer from this, while others are never phased. I thought I was dying last night. I cannot wait until the pain lessens. I worry about the babies enough without this going on too.

 There are several thick ligaments that support your uterus, one of them is the round ligament. The ligaments are normally short and thick. As your uterus grows they stretch out, A LOT. They're like tight rubber bands that keep your uterus from falling all the way forward when you're further along in pregnancy. As they start to lengthen and stretch, it can be extremely painful. Your uterus does go from the size of a pear to a beach ball after all! The ligaments can pull on nerve fibers and other things in the pelvis, making it more painful. Quick movements (or just laying there sometimes, ha ha) causes them to tighten and spasm. I read online that one woman collapsed to her knees in pain at a grocery store from a spasm. Not cool. It's a very unique pain, it can be a dull ache sometimes, or a quick, burning, and stabbing pain. That's where I'm at right now, I feel like I'm being stabbed with a hot knife in the pelvis/groin area about a dozen times each day. Rarely do I have a good day. The round ligaments connect your womb to your groin, the area where your legs attach to your pelvis. So it only makes sense that it hurts way low down. Warm baths, heat pads, knee stretches, and Tylenol are the only things I can seem to find online that may help alleviate the pain. Dr. E said you pretty much just have to power through it. Some websites recommend working out and stretching, but that just about killed me. Other websites recommend lots of rest and slow movement, so did Dr. E. Just listen to your body. Besides the pain, it can be extra scary because it's some of the same symptoms as placental abruption (when the placenta starts tearing away from the uterus wall), and also can be mistaken for early labor...we found that out the day before Thanksgiving at the ER, ha ha. Since I still have no cramps or any bleeding, we aren't going to worry for now. And my cervix was re-measured today and still looks great. I had Blake give me a blessing anyways. So grateful for him! Hoping I get some relief and can quit worrying somewhat...because of course every twinge terrifies me!

Please keep the babies in your prayers. While we are hopeful and verrry excited they're both healthy, we are still scared to death. Pretty sure that feeling is not going away anytime soon, ha ha. Even after they're born. But, thank you for your support!