Half Way There...

... assuming the average gestation of a twin pregnancy is about 36 weeks (give or take), since today marks 18 weeks, we're half way there. Amazing huh? It goes so friggin fast! I still can't believe it. Even after spending a good hour with our babies today, peering into their brains and hearts and kidneys and stomachs and legs and arms, I still am in awe that they are inside me.

I'm also so grateful, so very very grateful.

We had our 18 week ultrasound today and other than taking a peak at our babies, we did notice that I have a VERY marginal placenta previa, where a tiny tiny edge of Baby A's placenta is covering my cervix. This is a bigger issue later in pregnancy and the hope is that since it is still pretty early, as my uterus grows and expands, the placenta will move with it upwards and away from the cervical opening. It seems that is a pretty likely possibility, per BabyCenter.com, so for now, I am not going to worry. If it stays covering the cervix, a vaginal birth is likely out of the question. If that is the case, then at least my decision will be made for me.

I've been thinking a lot about birth lately. I know my main goal is to have 2 healthy babies, but I'd also really like to have a vaginal birth if the stars align correctly. I know I pretty much can not control the position of the babies and so that will be a huge determination if our OB lets us try a vaginal birth or encourages us to have a C-section without trying vaginally first.

And yes, I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but my mind works this way. I need to understand what the possibilities are, their likelihoods, and then make myself comfortable with each of the outcome. I find I do that best by thinking out loud, or on paper.... thus the blog.

On a more fun note, instead of a picture of my belly this week, I thought I'd share two 3D pictures of the twins. I'm so attached to them already, it's madness. I barely know them, but feel so protective and in love. I simply can not wait to meet them.

Status: 18w0d

Weight Gain: Same status as last week, so I don't know, but I bet it's starting to pile on!

Symptoms: Still headache free (Woot!) and still feeling a few little movements here and there, but nothing consistent yet. At our ultrasound today, it was confirmed that my placentas are anterior, so they put more cushion between the babies and my belly wall. I think this will make those movements a bit harder to feel. As for the gallbladder, still having some pain with more fatty meals, but I did go in for a gall bladder ultrasound yesterday. They didn't find any stones, which is good, but I'm not sure what that means? I have an email into my doctor, so we'll see what she says. Finally, a new symptom of pregnancy, that I'm assuming is going to last, is that by the end of the day, my mid back is sore and a bit angry... Solution??? MORE MASSAGES!! I can handle that :-)

Cravings: Still none really, although tonight, I did have a little hankering for some green pepper pizza, but made some veggy and tofu fried rice instead. I don't think the gallbladder would be up for the pizza.

Aversions: Again, none to speak of

Exercise: Sunday - 3 mile run, Monday - 1 hr spinning, Wednesday - 45 min lunch time yoga at work. What's my excuse this week for only 3 days? It was Restaurant week here! All of the yummy restaurants that you don't normally go to often because they are a bit on the spendy size, do a 3 course meal for $25 per person. So, we had to go to dinner a few nights this week... Had to ;-)

Best Moment of the Week: Today's ultrasound... hands down. Just seeing those babies again, alive in there, moving around and thriving. It brings tears of joy and relief and gratitude to my face. I can't thank the world enough for giving me this chance. I wish I had more words to express this feeling to do it justice.

What I Look Forward to: Making some decisions this weekend on where we are going to register.

Job Description

Tidy is a middle school teacher. Every Friday, he has his kids do a trivia quiz. This was a question on his quiz today:

I will be taking a second job this summer. Below are a few requirements and descriptions of my future job.

JOB DESCRIPTION :
Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :
None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
None required (unfortunately). On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
BENEFITS
No health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered
　
For five points - what is my new job?

That is how he announced to his class today. Cute, huh? I think they are going to miss him very much next year when he is at home raising our twins. He's an amazingly creative teacher (if I do say so myself).

As an aside, we have decided, with out too much real analysis (ie, no spreadsheets have been made), that Tidy is going to be a "Stay at Home Dad" (SAHD) to our babies at least through the first year. YAY!!! When we considered the cost of day care for twins against a teacher's salary, except for maybe the health care costs (which as many of you know isn't a trivial thing), it's kind of a wash. We feel fortunate to have this opportunity and be able to have at least one of us with them for their first year.

And now...the stats:

Status: 16w1d

Weight Gain: I was pretty dang close with my guess last week. The weigh in at my OB this past Monday showed I've gained 10.5 lbs, so if you round up to 11, I was right on!

Symptoms: One migraine last week (HATE!) and a few what I think are round ligament pain episodes. They are just sharp, quick little jabs on either side of my groin that happen when I get out of the car sometimes, or turn over in bed too quickly. I think I've had maybe 2 or 3 of those little pains this week. From one of my baby books it says they can begin right about now. Also, I THINK I may be having some gallbladder pain. It hasn't been every day, but a few days this week, after I've eaten a particularly fattening meal, about an hour after that meal, I will feel a pain in my mid right back. It kind of feels like a pulled muscle, but I've been tracking it to my eating habits and I think it's really the gallbladder. I' going to test it out a bit more this week with what I am eating and then if it continues, talk with my OB.

Cravings: This week, nothing really to speak of.

Aversions: Again, none to speak of

Exercise: Saturday - 3 mile run, Sunday - 1 hr warm power flow yoga, Wednesday - 45 min lunch time yoga at work. I didn't get my goal of getting to the gym 4 times a week... but we'll try again this week.
Best Moment of the Week: There's two actually 1) Hanging out with Tidy's family celebrating his sister and her husband's 30th birthdays. They had a big party at their house with tons of family and friends. I wore a pair of maternity jeans and let my belly be shown. It was similar to that strange feeling when you wear a bra to school for the first time (or was that just my experience)... Like you feel like everyone is staring at you because they know something is different about your body. But this time (unlike when I work my first bra to school in middle school). I felt proud and happy, as opposed to awkward and not ready. 2) Coming out at work!!!

What I Look Forward to: Figuring out where to register and beginning to feel movement in there