Right on track!

Babies are doing great! We had our appointment yesterday and it went really well... my blood pressure was good, my weight was up (Ugh!), and most importantly, the babies are growing great! Our doctor said that the report from our "big" ultrasound was great and the babies are right on track - thank you, Jesus! Our official due date is January 1, 2009 and baby boy was measuring at December 28th and baby girl was December 29th, so they're the same size and really close to the original due date. Their heart rates were 154 (baby boy) and 143 (baby girl).

Dr. Troung has found that I am very gullible and makes fun of me. Even though I feel like an idiot most of the time, it's nice to feel so relaxed around him and be able to joke around. We're so lucky to have a doctor that puts up with the list of questions I prepare for each and every visit; he doesn't rush us at all. And we've now learned that I'll get so see the babies at each and every visit - Yay! He said that it's too difficult to identify each baby accurately with just the heart rate machine. He could sense my excitement. Really, we think he gets more excited about seeing the babies than we do! It's so funny to see him get all riled up about it! It always makes me giggle...

Something random, but something a pregnant woman never wants to hear while waiting for her appointment... While waiting in our room for our doctor, we heard this lady shouting out at the top of her lungs with what must have been the most agonizing pain ever. I have no idea what was going on... probably don't want to either. I immediately looked at Greg and said that I wanted to go home now. All I knew was that I didn't want whatever she was having done. Yikes!

I had to fill out a preadmit form and was reminded to do a glucose test before my next appointment. From what I've heard, the glucose is nothing great; quite the opposite, in fact. Oh, well. I'm supposed to start signing up for my classes as well. They include a late-pregnancy class, childbirth class, breastfeeding class, and Hello Newborn class. Sounds like a lot (they're not mandatory, but free!), but I LOVE this kind of stuff. In my packet on information they gave me there was a little paper stating signs of preterm labor. Here's what was listed: 1.) Low, dull backache coming and going, 2.) pelvic cramping, and 3.) fluid leaking from... you know where. Really? No to be weird or gross, or both, but these things have been a common occurrence from week 6! So great! One more thing to worry about. :P

Our plans are to work on the nursery again this weekend. Greg has a 3-day weekend and we're hoping to accomplish a lot... crown moulding and wainscoting on one wall. We also have an appointment with Womb With a View tomorrow morning. I wish we could have had a later date, but they said that the latest I could come in with twins is 23 weeks. It'll be so fun to see their cute little faces, even though they won't be very chubby right now. =) They're supposedly close to a pound each and 11 inches long. Oh, and did I mention that I feel the babies ALL the time now!? It is the most amazing thing! I tear up most of the time, but I love just laying there talking to my babies. Greg and I read to them every night. I let him do it most of the time because they hear my voice all day long. It's so cute to hear his enthusiasm. He's going to be a great daddy!

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post this weekend from our appointment tomorrow! =)

Here's the latest belly picture (22 weeks)... I'm having trouble getting the slideshow to work!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

We had a big weekend! The rug I ordered from Pottery Barn came in and it was so different from what I thought it would look like, size and color. We decided that we'd take a trip up to Sacramento and return the rug and look for a replacement. I brought the paint stick stirrer that had the wall color on it for reference. We had a hard time finding a rug to really coordinate with the wall color so we considered going with a totally different color as an accent. The sales clerk showed us one rug with a cute design (not overpowering) and said that they had a green one that she thought would go. It was perfect! We were so excited and decided to get the 5 X 8 rug in that style. Unfortunately, this rug was now discontinued and they no longer had any in stock at that particular location. Ugh. She did say, however, that they had one at the Stoneridge mall (in Pleasanton). They were able to put a 3 day hold on the rug. After realizing all the things we had planned on Sunday, we decided to drive from Sacramento to Pleasanton to pick it up. After a long day we made our way back with our beautiful rug. Boy, do we love our babies! =)

We ordered our cribs, mattresses and my chenille chair yesterday as well. There was a fiasco (of course!) with ordering our changing table, but we think we have that all worked out now.

We headed to my mom and dad's house for a BBQ and visiting time with my brother, his boys and my sister and her family. It's been close to a month since I've seen my nephews (Kristopher, 10 and Grady, 5 next month). And at that event, we were at Chuck E. Cheese so I probably went unnoticed to them anyway! =) Well, yesterday I ran into Grady first and said hello to him and attempted to get a hug as he ran around the corner. He stops and stares at me with the most confused look on his face. It was almost awkward and made me self-conscience at how weird he was looking at me. All of a sudden he says, "Auntie, why is your belly so wide?" It made me laugh so hard. I asked him if he forgot that I had babies in my tummy and he comes to my side for a better inspection of my profile. He was so fascinated by it. I don't think it really clicked until then what I meant when I told him months ago that Auntie was having babies. My niece, Kayli, 7 (who is more than excited about her 2 new cousins... especially that one will be a girl for her to play with) always likes to lift up my shirt to see my belly. She kisses it in two places for each baby. When she has the opportunity she likes to tell me about what I should eat and how the babies eat what I eat. She reminds me not to eat whole cakes like my sister did when pregnant with Kayli! =) She's a piece of work, but it's so sweet how her mommy-instinct already shows through at such a young age.

Did I feel the babies?

I was sitting on the couch yesterday drinking my Ensure Plus shake (it's hard for me to eat much in the morning, but these have 13 g of protein) and I'm pretty sure I felt a baby move (more likely, baby girl). If it was a baby, then I could totally see how people (well, I) could dismiss it for something else and not really even notice that something was happening. I was watching t.v. and I felt something that I thought was like a tapping on the right hand side of my belly. It happened a couple of times before it dawned on me that it could possibly be a baby! At that time I freaked out, pulled the elastic band down from my stretchy pants, and placed my hand over my belly waiting for the next set. And then... nothing. Seriously? These kids are already playing tricks on me. I was super excited, yet quickly frustrated that I missed most of it. I've been so busy lately that I think things like this occur without me connecting the two. Plus, they're probably still small enough and have plenty of room in my tall body. It was very magical nonetheless... even though it only lasted a second or two!

I'm 21 weeks today and because I'm so lucky I still have bouts of morning sickness. I thought it was just mornings, but the other night I had a major case of nausea. If I snack on something then it subsides some, but it usually needs to be protein-based; crackers and other carbs do nothing for me. I guess my body tells me what I need.

We've been working on the nursery. It's so exciting! Greg's parents are here now painting the room for me. It's so hard not be doing it myself, but I truly appreciate the help they're giving me. My sister and her husband came over the weekend and helped move furniture out of the nursery and my mom has come over a few times to help organize and take trips to donate extra junk we've accumulated. I think we're going to order the cribs this weekend since they don't carry the ones we want in stock. I got the cute window coverings from Pottery Barn Kids today and the rug will come in tomorrow. I LOVE decorating and this is the decorating job I've waited my whole life to do! I can't wait to be a mommy...

20 weeks!

I'm 20 weeks today and I thought it would be fun to post a picture of what the babies should look like in my tummy now. I'm also posting a little information about the babies... they're approximate size, weight. All in all they look pretty cute! Please keep praying for healthy, strong, (and not too early) babies.

You're at the halfway mark — congratulations! (For a single baby) Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (although some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Grumpy Kari

Bummer. I never thought it would come to this. Please understand this is not intended to offend anyone, but... oh, whatever... if it does, it does. I think that Greg and I will no longer be sharing the potential names we have picked out for our babies. In the beginning, I really didn't foresee sharing as a potential issue. People ask, I get excited, and I share. However, in recent times I have shared and unfortunately people feel at liberty to comment on the names (negatively, obviously). I get the most ridiculous responses... Seriously? That doesn't even include the weird looks I'll occasionally get. AND in no way are the names weird! Obviously, we are saying the names because one or both of us LIKE the names. So it's no mystery that it would be offensive to hear insensitive comments.

Not to consider myself more tactful than others, but I don't believe anybody has ever told me their baby's name without me responding with excitement, whether I approved or not. It's not my place. It's not my baby. It's none of my business. At some point many of us will have or have already had the chance to name our baby. I suppose what I'm saying is that when I'm asked what the names will be I'm not expecting nor suggesting commentary. I would just like for you to be happy for us. It's very hurtful and unnecessary. Our comment to that question will now be, "You'll find out in 3 short months when the babies are born."

The Mean Technician

In two days I'll be 20 weeks! It seems like it's going by fast now. Greg has been helping me move stuff out of the "new" nursery to make way for babies. Originally we had planned for the smaller of the two spare rooms to be the nursery so before I was pregnant we moved a bunch of stuff out of that room and into the larger room. Now that we have two little babies on the way we have to swap it out. It seems like it takes SO long to do anything anymore. It's such a normal thing for me to just get things done myself and not have to depend on anyone to help me. Well, that's all changed. As easily winded as I get and the inability to pick up heavy objects, it has left this project as being a very slow one. I really want to get it done soon, but I need to be patient.


Greg and I had our "big" ultrasound appointment yesterday. We both have been looking forward to this one for some time now. Greg asked for the day off over a month ago and was super excited about seeing our babies. We showed up at radiology and they handed us this printed, laminated message to read. It pretty much said that Greg was not allowed to join me in the ultrasound room. I questioned it and they said that it would be about an hour before he could come in and join me. We were not happy. In fact, we were really sad. The look on Greg's face just about brought me to tears. It seemed so wrong that he, the daddy, would not be allowed in the room. I went back into the ultrasound room and laid on this table for over an hour. My back was killing me and worse yet, the technician turned the screen away from me! I was not allowed to look at the screen myself. I couldn't believe it. I just laid there trying to keep the tears from rolling down my face. This appointment was NOT going the way we had envisioned it. It's just not fair when you spend so much time looking forward to when you get to see your babies. They're our babies! I'm sure Greg would say this is being a little dramatic again, but it's the way I feel. They should have told us that he wouldn't be able to come in for the majority of the appointment. About the last 10-15 minutes of our appointment she brought Greg back and showed us a few things so that made it a little better.



Our next appointment is August 28th. That is when my doctor will review the report with us. He told us that "no news is good news", so I should hope not to hear from him any sooner than our appointment time. Even though I was unable to see my babies during the appointment, the technician kept saying that baby A (little girl) was not being cooperative and would not stop moving. Hmmm. Are we seeing a pattern there? It made me laugh. The tech seemed frustrated and would huff and puff on occasion. She made me feel like they had behavior problems and that I couldn't control my children. =) She told me a couple of times that I'd have to come back to do the spine pictures because of baby A not cooperating. Luckily, little girl mellowed out some and the tech was able to get the pictures she needed after looking at baby B.


I've had a lot of leg/ankle swelling, which earned me a trip the the emergency room about a week ago. Ugh. That was not fun! The doctor thought that I had a DVT (blood clot). Supposedly, I had every symptom of having one. It was kind of scary for a while, but fortunately, they were able to rule that out and we were able to get home about 2:30 a.m.


My belly seems to have grown quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. When I went in for an appointment, I was measuring at 26-27 weeks (for a singleton pregnancy-- obviously I would be measuring more because of twins even though I'm just at 20 weeks). Dr. Troung said that with anyone this measurement could be + or - 2. I don't look that big, but I definitely notice a difference in it's size. =) I've been taking some pictures all along so I'm hoping to post some pictures of my growing belly in a slide show.


Here are the latest pics. I wish they were clearer than they are, but I guess it works. You can really only see their head and body, and not their legs in these pics. Our little girl is on the bottom and she has her arms up covering her face. I thought that was a really cute picture. Since when is she shy? And baby boy is on top facing the camera. He's so mellow and cooperative (another Greg perhaps?)... my sweet little boy! =)

Baby Boy!

Baby Girl!