It's a...

BOY and a GIRL!!! Now this may seem like old news to some of you, but I didn't want to post anything about the news until I was able to tell most family about our babies personally. Greg and I are just thrilled to death about the news. When we found out we were having twins (fraternal twins), we had said that it would be great if we had a little boy and a little girl. As great as it sounded, I really didn't think that would be what would happen. It's still hard to believe at times! =)

Actually, the last time I posted about our doctor's appointment, we had a pretty good idea that baby A was a little girl. Our doctor was pretty certain of it. Unfortunately though, our little boy decided to cross his legs and not share the news with us then. Dr. Troung didn't seem that eager to wait it out and find out what baby B was. It drove us (well, probably more me) absolutely nuts knowing what one baby was and not the other! Seeing how we wouldn't have another appointment for another 4 weeks, we decided to see if Womb with a View could get a better shot a few days later. It didn't take long for the technician to find baby B and point out that he was a boy. Greg and I both gasped and looked at each other in amazement. We just couldn't believe it. And then the technician confirmed that baby A was still a girl! Yay!

I'm 18 weeks tomorrow (1/2 way there!) and I'm still not feeling these wiggly babies! I thought for sure I would have by now. But, then again, I don't really know what to look for. People having been sharing with me what if feels like, but I don't think you can really understand it until you feel it for yourself. I do feel subtle, "weird" feelings in my lower stomach and often think that it may be them, but I'm still not sure. I'm actually feeling that weirdness as I type. It makes me grab my tummy and giggle every time it happens. =) I'm sure quickly enough I'll be feeling them if this isn't it.

I think my morning sickness is finally coming to an end! I still get really weak and light-headed as if I'm going to pass out, but other than that... all is good! =) Still no weird cravings either. Thank goodness! If I eat any sweets at all I'll eat some frozen yogurt, but that's about all that even sounds good to me. For a few days it seemed as if I was picking up an appetite and was feeling hungry often. I've been living on cheese sticks for a while now! But the past week or so I haven't had much of an appetite. I have been forcing myself to eat something every few hours. Since the nausea isn't here as often as a constant reminder to eat, I have to check the time and find something that sounds remotely tasteful to feed the babies. I'm sure this will change one day and I won't be able to shove enough food in my face!

I've gained probably 6-7 pounds. I'm hoping that I can keep my weight gain at or under the 45 or so pounds (yikes!) that they expect someone carrying twins to gain. All I know is that based on pictures I've seen of women carrying twins, a major diet will be in the works for me after the babies are born! haha.

We have our big ultrasound a week from this coming Monday (August 11th). Greg got the day off of work a while ago so that we wouldn't be rushed at all. My doctor warned us that this will be a couple hour appointment with twins. They will be checking them all out from head to toe. Can't wait to see them again!

I know pictures are fun to see, but Greg and I both agreed that it would be weird to post pictures of our babies unmentionable parts! =) Hopefully we'll have some new ones to share in about a week or so!

Kicking and thumb sucking!

We got to see our babies on Tuesday and it was great! They are getting so big! It made me sad that they can no longer be pictured together. But it's great to know that they are doing so well and growing so big and strong.

We saw baby A (baby on bottom) first. Of course they were wiggling all around again. Baby was facing the camera first, but then quickly changed to show only their profile. It was a cute little face even though we only got to see it for about 5 seconds. All was cute until we saw that baby A started to kick his or her brother or sister. Naughty. I guess they just wanted to play and wanted to see what their brother or sister was doing. =) In the picture, baby A is belly-side down. You can see their head on the right, body, and now long legs! This is a milestone as their legs now begin to surpass the length of their arms. Also during the ultrasound, we could see baby A's mouth moving. Dr. Troung said that they were drinking in the amniotic fluid. So cute!

Baby B (baby on top) is also doing very well! It appears that this baby is less active and seems to enjoy being mellow. Thank goodness for that because I don't know if I'd be able to handle two extra wiggly babies! =) Baby B was moving around during the ultrasound as well, just not as much. All we saw was the top of their head at first, but then they shifted and we could see the profile as well. Baby B is belly-side up in this picture. This picture isn't as clear as baby A's, but you can still see their head on right, body, and a leg. Baby B was just laying there and sucking their thumb. It was the cutest thing ever! With both babies, you could see many of their bones, as they are bright white on the screen and in the pictures. Their bones are continuing to grow harder and retaining calcium rapidly! Good thing I'm taking calcium supplements to make them strong! =)

I always look forward to our doctor's visits and wish I could see them more often. I've mentioned a couple of times to Greg that we should invest in an ultrasound machine. He just looks at me and laughs. Little does he know how serious I am! =)

My sleep has been restless and short in duration. My good friend Amanda gave me her pregnancy pillow, so that has helped. I love to sleep on my back, but can no longer do that with the pregnancy. I flop from one side to another all night and wake up to screaming hips. I feel so old! I don't see all this improving as my belly continues to grow!

We're so in love with our babies and continually pray for their health and protection. Please pray for them as well.

Not a great update, but it's something...

People keep asking me if I've posted anything new on my blog. Obviously I haven't, until now. I've thought about it many times though. Problem is, I'm not quite sure what to post on. Not much has happened over the last couple of weeks. Oddly enough, I haven't been to the doctor in over 2 weeks. I had a couple of people tell me that I need to stop going to the doctor and to pretty much "suck it up". :P This is probably true, but until people can say they've gone through what I'm going through, I'll continue as my worrisome self. haha. =)

My morning sickness has finally let up some. Mornings are still REALLY bad for me (and maybe a couple of other times throughout the day), but it is nothing compared to what I went through before! Anything is better than laying in bed all day feeling that perhaps death would be a slightly better alternative =) (Greg says this part is dramatic-- perhaps he should try this pregnancy thing out first before commenting! =). I still have a lot of pain in my stomach area, which unfortunately, I don't really see lightening up as the babies continue to grow. I have felt weird sensations in my stomach on a few occasions that feel almost like a fish flipping over. According to my books, this may be a bit premature for feeling babies, but other resources have said that with twins you may be able to feel them sooner. Not sure. For all I know it could be gas. Probably is.

I haven't had any crazy cravings. Major food aversions were my main problem. It seemed as though Taco Bell's bean burritos or pintos 'n cheese were the only things I could get down and keep me from "tossing my cookies". At one point I was buying like 5 burritos and 4 or 5 pintos 'n cheese to keep in the house because I was too sick to drive. They weren't that great to heat up, but at least it kept me from driving over there for a couple days or so. I haven't craved sweets and try not to eat them at all. No sense in eating them if I don't want or need them. Hopefully I can keep that up.

We have a doctor's appointment this coming Tuesday. I'll be 16 weeks. I can't wait to see the babies again! I just love watching them. I could seriously lay there all day with cold goo all over my stomach and some stranger rubbing my belly with a probe, just so I could see my babies swim about. I will update everyone then on how they're doing and post some pictures.