19 weeks

All right, here is my 18-week belly pic; I think we actually took this around 18w3d. And sorry, these pictures really aren't very good (you can blame my husband).


And here is 16 weeks; again, I don't think it was exactly 16 weeks, but I don't remember which day we took it:


And before that, we didn't take any pics, but I didn't really start showing until somewhere between 13 and 15 weeks, so there wasn't much to see.

I'm very anxious for my scan next week - I always get more nervous as I'm approaching an ultrasound. I've been feeling the babies move a little bit lately, though. I guess I've been feeling them a bit for a week or two, but it was so sporadic and rare (like every few days) that I didn't think much of it. Now I usually feel those weird little flutters at least once a day, sometimes more, and I'm no longer questioning if 1. I even felt it at all and 2. whether it was the babies or not.

Since we don't have a scale at home and I haven't really been going to the gym (gulp), I don't know how much weight I've gained. Despite my mother's insistence that I'm going to be HUGE EVERYWHERE (usually said with a not-so-nice smile and cackle), I don't seem to be getting bigger anywhere else. My mother gained a LOT of weight after having her kids, so sometimes I wonder if she hopes it will happen to me, too, and she'll feel vindicated. Nice.

Anyway, something else I thought I'd mention is the uncomfortableness of not having everyone know that we did fertility treatments. Many of my friends know, and of course my immediate family, but that's it. It's not common knowledge at work or among extended family or friends. And I get a LOT of comments about the twins, especially because some people know that I myself am a twin.

And on top of that, twins actually do run in my family - besides me and my sister (and we're identical), I have identical twin nephews and fraternal twin cousins. AND my husband's mother (my mother-in-law) is a fraternal twin. So twins are all over the place in our family. People ask me about twins running in our families, and most people don't know that idential twinning is random. It's been so easy to just tell people that twins DO run in our families and never bring up ART at all, and we're not even lying. But I FEEL like I'm lying, and I feel a little uncomfortable. I don't know what to do about it. If anything.

So - belly pics, a bit of movement, and lots of twin questions. Yup, that's life right now.

Oh, and house-hunting (or offer-making). I guess our realtor would have to actually call us back before we can make an offer. Are we crazy to be trying to buy a fixer-upper 4 months before our babies are due (meaning we can only start fixing-up/moving in 2.5 months before they're due)? I'm starting to freak out about that a little, even though I know it will be worth it in the long run. Yikes.

Nicknames!

I just came up with nicknames for the babies!

For Baby A, the girl (we think), I still like Tadpole.

For Baby B, the boy, I like Turtle. Any objections?

I want to write a 19-week post tomorrow, but I had a few things I just wanted to get out there.

First, a friend of mine who was dealing with MFI just announced that she is pregnant without intervention while they were waiting for their insurance to change to pay for IVF! I'm so incredibly happy for them. She is about two months behind me, due in September, and they went through a bunch of IUIs and started the IVF classes. This will save them a lot of time, money, and heartache, and it's such great news.

Second, due to popular demand, I will probably post a belly pic. Maybe tomorrow. I have a 16-week pic and an 18-week pic, although nothing before that. I do have some pics from last year before pregnancy that might be a good comparison, but since I am an active person and I'm finding my activity severely limited these days, looking at those pics makes me a little grumpy right now. So I'll see what I can do.

Third, we're closing in on buying a house! We've found a fixer-upper on a large lot near the center of our town. It's really expensive b/c of the location and size of the lot, and it's going to need a lot of work to get it into shape. Still, if we decide to bid and we buy the house, it will be a hopefully fun ongoing project that we'll take some pride in eventually completing. And it will be nice to make a house that really reflects our tastes. Even if it takes a few years. Our realtor is supposed to let us know today if there is anything else on the market worth seeing - otherwise, wish us luck!

Back tomorrow with my 19-week update and how things are going in pregnancy.

Almost 18 weeks

Despite what my ticker might say, I am 18 weeks today (why is it so often one day behind?!). Aside from occasional bouts of anxiety and depression, I have never been happier.

I'm keeping very busy with work and home, and I'm trying to stay really active as well. This past weekend I went snowshoeing up near Lake Tahoe (really beautiful, I'll try to post a pic for Show and Tell!), and did a one-hour bike ride. I'm also trying to do my leg weights and some really easy jogging. And I'm still rock climbing, but I have a feeling that won't last much longer - my harness won't fit pretty soon.

I'm getting HUGE really quickly, I'm pretty amazed by it. Just a few weeks ago, it wasn't at all obvious that I was pregnant except to me and my husband. Now, I can only hide it under a bulky sweater or jacket. I look at least 5 (or more!) months pregnant with a singleton. I'm having a harder time getting used to it than I thought I would, but I'm definitely adjusting. I AM starting to worry about how much bigger I'm going to get, though!

I'm also holding out hope that we find somewhere to live sooner rather than later. Rentals in our town are dismal - anything for a reasonable price is a student rental in awful shape, anything nice costs more than a mortgage payment. And because of the awful real estate market, no one is selling (because there are always students to rent to). I am willing to move into a fixer-upper at this point - I'm just hoping I have time to actually do the fixing up after we move and before the babies come.

I still haven't done any baby shopping (although I bough some desperately needed maternity clothes). I can't believe how complicated everything is. I think I've narrowed down our carseat choices to a few, and we have to check and see if they'll fit in our Toyota Matrix (anyone have experience with this?), and I think we'll also get a Snap N Go stroller (maybe both a double and a single, so we can push one baby and carry one if we want). I want at least one babywearing option, but probably two (front slings and those backpack-type things) so I could carry both or we could each carry one. I'm also trying to decide on early sleeping arrangements - I'd like a co-sleeper, but I might also consider a pack n play or bassinet. I don't think we'll buy much in the way of swings or jumpers or whatever that stuff is until we need it - there's too much to buy up front as it is.

And I'm hoping to try cloth diapers, but that's dependent entirely on our living situation - running downstairs to our building's single shared washing machine and putting four quarters in for every single load of laundry will mean I won't want any extra laundry to do. And don't even get me started on the drier that, for the bargain price of $1, doesn't actually dry anything.

So that's the situation. We're hashing out names, looking forward to the midwife appointment and high-resolution ultrasound in 2 weeks, and getting through daily life a lot better than during the horrible first trimester. I'm THRILLED to finally be enjoying pregnancy instead of feeling miserable all the time.

And I'm REALLY REALLY excited that several of the bloggers I've been reading for some time are cautiously optimistic that their current cycles may have worked! That, for me, is the best news of all.

17 weeks!!!! (plus genders ...)

I had my 17 week OB appointment today, and it was fun! Actually, they didn't do much except an ultrasound and take a few growth measurements. Both babies are measuring perfectly for their gestational ages.

Oh yeah. And they told us the genders. I had Baby A and Baby B mixed up apparently. Baby B is on the right, and was the relatively laid-back and relaxed one ... and is definitely a BOY! I need a nickname - the husband wants "Elephant", but we'll see. His motives aren't exactly pure.

And Baby A is the one that was darting all over the place last time, on the left side, and is most likely (but not 100%) a GIRL! This is the one I was calling Tadpole (and my husband wants to call "Potato" for his own vulgar Italian reasons - yeah, not happening).

I'm so thrilled - I would have been perfectly fine with two boys or two girls (and still will be thrilled with two boys in case they have Baby A wrong), but this is the best of both worlds.

I'm not even going to bother putting up ultrasound pics because quite honestly, you can't see almost anything. I was amazed the doctor could read them, and so I'm really looking forward to my next Level II high resolution ultrasound, which will probably be my last clear look at the babies until they arrive.

I also think I might be feeling the first signs of movement, but it's really hard to tell. I just feel a gentle tapping near my belly button. Pretty cool. I can't wait to start feeling real movement.

Oh, and I've definitely been gaining weight - I'm up at least 10 pounds, although I don't know if my reading at the doctor was accurate, especially since I was wearing doc martins, which are rather heavy shoes. According to their scale, I'm up at least 11 pounds. Either way, I'm more or less on track. Whew!

Hope all is well in blogland.

16 weeks (almost)

I should be happy, but I am feeling a little down today.

Tomorrow, I am 16 weeks pregnant. As usual, it doesn’t seem like it could possibly be real, but it is. It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve seen the beans (Tadpole and …?...), and I am anxious to see them again. My next appointment is next Wednesday, when I will be 17 weeks.

I haven’t really gotten good answers about the NT scan, and it’s frustrating me. No one told me I should get my blood test done first, so I didn’t have any of that ready when I went for the scan, and the genetic counselor said I would get my results from the OB’s office. I called and spoke with a nurse who said that some tests were negative (for being a carrier of a genetic defect) and others looked good. She didn’t seem to really understand what the tests meant, and that’s all I got. Shouldn’t I get something a little more concrete than that? I don’t know what to do about it. I have felt that my entire pregnancy, from the RE to the OB to the NT scan people, has been handled in a very laissez-faire way, and it’s starting to annoy me a bit.

My work conference went well, but I am exhausted. I am having a lot of trouble sleeping, and I’m not sure if it’s related to the pregnancy. I have always had a penchant for insomnia (lucky me) and it seems to be kicking in again. Right at a time when I really need my sleep.

Last, we put in a bid on the house we were really interested in, and we were outbid the same day. We even upped our bid quite a bit, and the other buyer’s bid was still higher. There are almost no houses available in our town (let me put it this way – in a $400,000 price range, there are about 10-15 houses total on the market). Anything good that comes on the market gets sold quickly, and if we try to bid, someone else always outbids us the same day (this isn’t the first time it’s happened). We really can’t stay in our apartment, at least not comfortably. We have nowhere to keep stuff like a stroller, a bike trailer for the babies, new furniture, toys, etc. Even if I do a major clean and cull, it won’t buy us that much more space. And it’s really old and dirty – the carpet needs to be replaced, among other things, and there’s no way the landlord will do that while we’re still living there (if at all). The chances of another decent home coming on the market in the next few months aren’t great, and I’m starting to feel a bit panicked.

I know I shouldn’t complain. I’m 16 weeks pregnant with twins, I have a roof over my head, a good job, a wonderful husband, enough to eat, and everything I really need in my life. I know I need to focus more on what I have in my life instead of what’s missing. Still, I think a nice, clean place to live is a reasonable request.

Only one more week until I see the little ones, and maybe find out the sexes, too! I’m so excited!