24 Weeks

First of all I have to say thank you for all the sweet comments you leave about my blog - they really make a girl feel good!

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant with the twins!

We had an appointment with Dr. Drake this morning and it went great. The best news is that the babies are both growing right on track. Ainsley is 1 lb 7 oz and Benson is 1 lb 11 oz. We are so grateful Benson is growing so well since that is the main concern now with his two vessel cord. It was really a rather quick visit and Dr. Drake said everything looks great. We did talk about my eating habits briefly and she said I shouldn't be eating during the night which I do somewhat frequently. Last night I had Honey Smacks at about 2am though I just told her it was cereal, leaving out the fact that the cereal I chose probably had about a million grams of sugar. And thank goodness Jeremy didn't mention all the chocolate cake I had been eating in the middle of the night!

Here are a few ultrasound pictures from today:

This is Ainsley in some sort of acrobatic position that made Jeremy squirm (he can't touch his toes).

This is Ainsley kicking Benson in the head:

Here is Benson sitting on Ainsley's head:

And Benson returning the head shot to Ainsley:

Lastly, here they are putting their heads together (plotting against Mom and Dad I'm sure:

Tomorrow is our regular OB visit and my glucose screening. I'm so hoping that goes well!

After our appointment we went out to Jordan Creek and walked around awhile. I tried on some shoes at Aldo, or I should say I TRIED to try them on. My feet were so swollen I couldn't get a darn thing on! This was a major bummer since there were tons of good shoe sales today! Oh, well, probably better on my bank account anyway.

I have been feeling pretty good this past week and have really enjoyed having a little mini-vacation. I took Friday and Monday off giving me five days total off work. I'm starting to have a lot of hip pain especially at night/in the morning. I do sleep with a pillow between my legs but I still wake up feeling about 80 years old.

This past Sunday we went to a Chicago Cubs game - my first ever MLB game! It was a really good time and we were in the shade so it wasn't even too hot.

While it was great that the Cubs won 5-4 in the 10th, this was probably the best part of the game:

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Anniversary

Five years ago today I married my best friend. I don't think I knew then how lucky I was to have found such an amazing man who is the PERFECT husband for me. I am grateful everyday that God gave me such a great man. I can't wait for all the rest of the years we'll get to spend together! I love you so much Jeremy!

Here are some beautiful pictures from our wedding day.

All of these beautiful pictures are by Stalzer Photography.

23 Weeks

I'm 23 weeks pregnant with the twins!

I have been feeling pretty good this past week. My feet are still unhappy with me and how much I now weigh but I'm trying to sit more and baby them a little. I also accept foot massages any time they're offered - thanks Jeremy and Mom!

This week the babies are about 11 inches long and weigh over a pound each, according to Baby Center. They can feel me dance, their blood vessels in their lungs are developing to prepare for breathing and the sounds they are hearing are preparing them for the outside world. So they'll be used to Daisy's bark when they arrive.

I've still been craving tomatoes and I got one from my garden! I had BLTs this week and sweet corn - a great summer meal. I have also been craving bruschetta from Biaggi's and Jeremy and I went there for lunch today and I had that - it was AMAZING!

Jeremy gave me a gift card for a maternity massage and also a manicure and pedicure today and I am SO excited. I'm also a little nervous for the massage because I've never had one before but I'm sure it will be amazing. Maybe I'll schedule it for after my next six day stretch of work.

We are looking forward to our appointment with Dr. Drake next Tuesday and I have a regular OB appointment and my glucose test next Wednesday. We can't wait to see the babies again!

Lastly, and completely unrelated, my Mom and Grandma Betty came up for dinner tonight and we had this Three Berry Lemon Trifle for dessert. I got the recipe here. It was so light and summery. And with all that fruit is must be healthy, right?

I hope everyone is having a GREAT week and staying cool - IT'S SO HOT!

22 Weeks

I am 22 weeks pregnant with the twins!

I have been feeling better than last week. I'll have a couple of good days and a couple of bad days so I'm just trying to make the best of it. Again, please don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining and I wouldn't trade this for the world. I'm just documenting what's happening and how I'm feeling being pregnant. I think my feet are a little unhappy with how much weight I've gained. The perinatologist, Dr. Drake, recommends gaining 20 pounds by 20 weeks or 24 pounds by 24 weeks. I've got that! I have gained about 23 pounds! Apparently it is harder to gain weight the further along you are so they like to see patients gain weight up front with twins (or more). But like I said, my feet do NOT approve. Standing at work can be quite uncomfortable. I did buy a pair of Crocs this past weekend. Stylish - NO. Comfortable - YES.

Baby Center says the babies are 11 inches - the length of a spaghetti squash and are almost 1 pound! Their lips, eyelids and eyebrows are becoming more distinct and they have tooth buds forming!

The more exciting news this week is that we have decided on names! Now, I can't say any name is 100% certain until it is on the birth certificate. However, we are 99.9% sure - sure enough to buy personalized onesies!

And here they are:

I love that is just so happens Baby A is the girl - Ainsley and Baby B is the boy - Benson!

Also wanted to share an adorable gift the twins received from my friend Ashley.

They say "Mommy Loves Me" - how CUTE!

And she made this ADORABLE card

Thank you Ashley!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

21 Weeks

I know this is super late but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Here is me at 21 weeks with the twins!

It was kind of a rough week which is probably why this post never got done! I am having good days and bad days and it seemed like there were more bad than good this week. Just feeling very tired and sore and uncomfortable. I know I have a long way to go too! Obviously I wouldn't trade it for the world - don't get me wrong! I think there are days where I "grow" more and those days hurt more but I'll make it though!

This week, according to Baby Center, the babies are about 3/4 of a pound (12 ounces). Baby B was actually 13 ounces last week at the ultrasound so he is kicking butt! Baby A was 11 ounces so she is probably right on track. They are about 10&1/2 inches long which is the length of a carrot.

Week 22 will be better and on time - I hope!

DIY Unity Candle

Hello friends! I wanted to share a little DIY project I did somewhat recently. My friend and colleague, Sara, is getting married this fall and I made her a unity candle. I also made one for my wedding which was FIVE YEARS AGO this month! Crazy!

It's a SUPER simple project.

This is what the finished project looked like

It will fit in a candle holder like this one

Here's a little closer

And the monogram. I LOVE monograms!

So like I said, this is a very easy project.

You just need:
White Pillar Candle
2 White Taper Candles
1 Sheet of Vellum Paper
Ribbon
Adhesive

I made the monogram in Powerpoint and printed it on the vellum. Then just cut it so it fits the candle how you like it. I attached it to the candle with scrapbooking adhesive. Then add your ribbon to cover the top and bottom edge of the vellum and around the taper candles if you like (I just used some glue to do that).

I couldn't find any good pictures of the unity candle I made for my own wedding but here is one of us lighting it.

I also made a memory candle for my Grandpa the same way.

What are you DIYing lately?

20 Weeks

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant with the twins!

We had an appointment today with our doctor and an ultrasound with the perinatal specialist, Dr. Drake. It was a LONG day! We had our detailed ultrasound of the babies which took about an hour and a half. Then we were supposed to meet with Dr. Drake right after that but she had been called over to the hospital so was running about an hour behind. Our appointment with the OB, Dr. Polzin, was coming up so we went there first and then back to see Dr. Drake. I was glad I took a snack!

So at our last ultrasound with Dr. Polzin, they noticed a "white spot" on Baby B's heart. Dr. Polzin said it was nothing to worry about and don't Google it, which I promptly went home and did. It can apparently be a "soft" marker for Down Syndrome which was pretty scary. They also thought that Baby B had a two vessel cord instead of the normal three vessel cord. We didn't really know much about what this might mean. So with those two findings they sent us to see Dr. Drake, the "high risk" OB. Apparantly high risk OB, perinatologist, and maternal-fetal medicine specialist are synonymous (at least from what I'm gathering).

The appointment with Dr. Polzin was uneventful. It was a quick in and out. We asked a couple questions, he went over all our information again, and that was pretty much it. He was pleased with the information we took him from the ultrasound today and is going to follow whatever recommendations for follow-up Dr. Drake gives.

So onto our meeting with Dr. Drake. First I have to say she was amazing! She was so kind and down-to-earth and made us feel at ease. She said Baby B (the boy) DOES have a two vessel cord. Usually babies have a three vessel cord which has two arteries and one vein. In our baby's cord there is only one artery. A two vessel cord means the baby is more likely to have heart and kidney defects. The GREAT news is that Baby B's heart echo was normal and his kidney's looked normal! She said that usually she sees that the one artery compensates and becomes larger than normal and there usually aren't any problems. However we will continue to follow up with her so she can monitor him and watch for any problems such as delayed growth. The white spot was still there but Dr. Drake COMPLETELY reassured us that it was nothing to worry about. It's technical name is an echogenic focus. The spot is on a ventricle which is a normal finding. It is basically a collection of calcium in that location and will go away over time. She said if it were somewhere else in the heart it could possibly be a marker for Down Syndrome. So basically Baby B looks healthy! Praise God!

Baby A (the girl) looks healthy as well. Her cardiac echo was incomplete because she was being uncooperative and wanted to lay on her tummy. Though everything they did see looked normal. They will try to get the rest of the pictures they need for her at our next ultrasound in four weeks.

Today Baby A was 11 ounces and Baby B was 13 ounces. Baby A's heart rate was 150 and Baby B's heart rate was 136. They are looking quite adorable if I do say so myself! Though they were both mildly uncooperative at times - guess they are just getting us ready for when they are here!

According to Baby Center they are about 10 inches from head to feet which is the size of a banana! I can definitely feel them moving around but I can't wait for Jeremy to be able to feel it too!

So I think that's it about the babies. Hopefully all that medical information made sense and I got it correct.

Completely unrelated Jeremy and I are trying out E-Mealz which is a website that gives you five weekly recipes and a shopping list for everything you need to make all of them. It is $1.25 per week. This week we just used the sample menu with three recipes to try it out but I really think I'm going to like it. I HATE coming up with ideas for supper and I HATE making three trips to the grocery store to get everything I need because I can never seem to remember everything at once. This seems like a good solution. They also have low-fat, low-carb, gluten free and other specific dietary needs. Check it out! I have to give credit to Gerry Thomas for this website - thanks for posting on Facebook Gerry!

So here is the first meal we made yesterday: Parmesan Chicken, Roasted Veggies, and Loaded Baked Potatoes

It was delicious!

I hope you all are having a GREAT week! Oh, and we WILL reveal names soon if you haven't already heard them - we are just trying to make sure we are settled on them!