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!