I think I might be the world's biggest hypocrite

Yep - I'm pretty sure you could call me a hypocrite and I couldn't argue with you. It comes to little things about this pregnancy really. I used to hate seeing pregnant women with their bellies taunting me, saying "I'm pregnant and most likely you never will be"....but somewhere along the way, I became one of those women. I don't taunt other infertiles; in fact I really do try to be conscious of what I say and how I act because I know that there are so many women out there who are having a hard time getting pregnant. But still...I find myself wearing snug shirts that show my belly in all it's wonderful glory...like "look at me world. Yes. I. am. pregnant!"

I've caught myself rubbing my belly in all kinds of places: the grocery store line, the waiting room of the doctors office, sitting at my desk at work, etc. I will gladly gush to whomever wants to ask me about my pregnancy, that I am pregnant with twin girls, that I feel great and everything is going wonderfully...that I love, love, love being pregnant. I have even agreed to having a baby shower (an event that I used to not participate in because frankly, it was too painful) and I'm actually getting super excited for it.

Hypocrite. Yep, that's me. At least I can admit and embrace it.

Anywho, I am currently at 24 weeks. This past week has had some belly growth, a little over an inch and the round ligament pain to accompany it. I registered for my prenatal swim class today. The actual class starts in December. Am I looking forward to getting into a bathing suit...um, that would be a "no". But I am looking forward to feeling weightless and getting a little exercise. I have heard this will help with all my little complaints, like backache, leg cramps at night, and round ligament pain. So bring on the stylish maternity swimwear.

Not too much to report this week, I'm sorry to say. I guess I'm just a boring pregnant person. Everyone is always asking how I am feeling. That must be the standard question for pregnant people. And when I reply that I am feeling great, I always get this look like "oh, really. You should be feeling horrible". Why is that? Is it really that surprising that I still feel good? I know it is getting close to the time that I should be feeling uncomfortable and I'm told this will most likely happen literally overnight...but so far, if anyone's asking, I'm feeling fabulous :-)

Here's my 24 week picture - I thought I would give you a real belly shot. I must be brave to show you all my bare belly, but it was kind of hard to see with the shirt I was wearing and what the heck...you've all heard my talk about my uterus so much that showing you my bare belly is nothing! You'll have to excuse how I look...I had just gotten out of a very warm and relaxing bath, but I didn't want another week to go by without taking a picture. As always, if you want to see if bigger, just click on it.

Oh, I'm supposed to give a shout out to Bobby and Connor and to tell you all that they are awesome. (I think they wanted to be in the blog - LOL).

Ok, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Because of the Holiday next week, I won't post until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but I should have some fun pictures from my baby shower in Boise :-)

Till then....

Is there such a thing as pregnancy rage?

Ok, maybe the title sounds bad...but I am sweet as pie until it comes to 2 things. First, driving. I have never been a road rage person. But I swear since becoming pregnant, either I get irritated at other drivers more easily or every other person on the road is a complete idiot. Secondly, football. I've always enjoyed football, but recently I feel as if the outcome of the game greatly affected my life in some meaningful way. Bobby has actually made me leave the room because I was yelling inappropriate things at the TV and I believe he said something like "Jennifer...you are the mother of my children. I can't hear things like that coming out of your mouth". Yeah, OK. I might have used a few choice words. Sure. Alright. When I'm driving, MAYBE I get a little angry when someone cuts me off and I feel the need to speed up and cut them off. It's the hormones right?

Anywho, I had my monthly appointment and scan today. (I am 23 weeks and 3 days for those of you keeping track). The ultrasound went awesome. I got to see my girls and they look wonderful. It makes my day to see them. I mean, it literally has me smiling all day when I get to have a peek into their world. Today was a little difficult to see faces because they were wiggling everywhere. It looked like an octopus was in my uterus; all arms and legs, feet and hands. It was pretty funny. I didn't get any good pictures because they were moving so much. It was weird because the whole time they were moving, I only felt them once...and the ultrasound tech felt it too, it was a definite thud of some sort, but with all the arms and legs, we couldn't tell if it was a punch or a kick.

The girls are measuring wonderfully. Lefty is at 23 weeks and 1 day, heart rate at 154 and weighing in at 1 pound 5 oz. Righty is at 23 weeks 2 days, heart rate at 153 and weighing in at 1 pound 5 oz. The doctor said they are doing really great because not only are they measuring right on track, but they are measuring the same, which for twins is good because things can get dicey when one starts getting a lot bigger than the other.

The appointment was kind of blah. Nothing really new to report. I asked about the horrendous pain in my left rib and he said that because I am short waisted with twins, my ribs are doing some stretching/separating to make room for them. Pretty much, there is nothing I can do about it. I also asked about the fact that I just don't feel these babies move very much (although after a suggestion from my mom, I stayed up after I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night the other night, and sure enough they were moving like crazy...it seems I might have some night owls in there). He told me that the stronger they get, the more I will feel them and to just be patient. Let's see...other little tidbits...I was sent to the lab to get my blood drawn to make sure my iron levels are good - haven't heard back yet and my blood pressure is fabulous!

Oh and the good news is since the babies and I are doing so well I have one more month until I start my 2 week appointments. I mean, I guess that's good news...I should be happy that the pregnancy is going so smoothly and trust me, I am...it's just, well, I had it in my head that I would get to start going every 2 weeks. Which means I would see my girls every two weeks, and now I have to wait a whole month before I can see them again. Boo to that. But yay that every thing is going so well, so far. The Dr. did give me strict instructions to call if anything changes, specifically if I start to have contractions (and not just those nasty braxton hicks, but apparently the real deal could start any day now because that's a complication when you are having more than one - yikes). I told him I would call with any issues, but that I am truly not expecting anything eventful to happen :-)

I will update next Wednesday when I will be 24 weeks (woo hoo!) and hopefully I will have a belly pic to post. I can report that I have grown at least an inch every week - this belly is getting bigger every day :-)

Till next time.......

22 weeks

You would think I could come up with a better heading than "22 weeks", you know...something catchy and clever - yet seriously I cannot.

I am having this weird brain thing going on lately. Or rather...I have no brain lately. Bobby likes to joke that the babies are taking all my brain power and will be the smartest babies ever if this continues; and whenever I say something kind of stupid, or forget my cellphone for the millionth time or can't remember a conversation that I just had with somebody, he'll simply look at me, shake his head and say, "smartest babies ever". (and what's especially funny is that even as I am writing this, I am thinking, "have I already written this" and for the life of me I can't remember).

Yep, people...I have a serious case of baby brain. I don't know what is wrong with me. I actually told my sister that if flights were expensive to Hawaii we could just drive there...Um What!?! As I said it, I knew it was wrong, and yet the words came tumbling out of my mouth anyway. Ah well, I'll chalk this up to one of those quirky pregnancy things - at least I can laugh at myself.

Things are going good with me and the babes. I had some massive round ligament pain that is finally starting to subside. I figured it was because the babies were having a growth spurt and sure enough, I measured the belly this morning and I've grown an inch this past week. I could really feel this growth spurt not just in the round ligaments, but also in my lower back and my ribs. Yuck! My body is definitely trying to accommodate these little ones, I just wish I had a little more room in there for them...the next couple months might start to get a tad uncomfortable. I took a warm bath last night and felt a million times better (plus let's face it, with a 3 year old, even the bathroom isn't a private space anymore, so I milked the fact that I needed quiet time in the bath and Bobby and Connor happily left me alone). My biggest complaint is sitting at work. I have been taking breaks and moving positions, but I can see that my work schedule might be adjusted the further along I get.

I've been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there. They don't hurt and sometimes I don't even notice them, but they have been coming around when I need to drink more water or if I hightail it up the 5 flights of stairs to my office.

I have felt a little more sporadic movement. Mostly from Lefty, or right in the middle of my belly, which makes me think they are duking it out in there. And yesterday while I was taking my lunchtime siesta, I felt a little thud in my lower left abdomen. Then I felt it again and again. Little lefty was either kicking me or punching me, depending on how she is situated in there. It was neat to feel it, very light, but very cool. Righty is my quiet girl, not a lot of noise on her side of the duplex...Or I guess it could be that she is further back and I just can't feel her as well - this is pretty common with twins I am told.

I am still getting over my nasty cold. I feel fine, but sound a bit congested and have the mother of all coughs. Oh, and nobody tells you this...but when you are pregnant and you have to cough a million times during the day, you pee a little every time you are hacking away. TMI? Maybe. True? Oh, yes.

Connor is so excited about being a big brother. He is so sweet when it comes to the babies...he talks to my belly, kisses them, puts a pillow on my belly when I am laying down because they are tired too. Honestly it is the most precious thing I've ever seen. I hope he loves them this much when they are here and he has to share mommy and daddy - that could be interesting. We had a fun Halloween. Connor was so cute trick or treating and my sister and niece came up which made it all the more fun. I am still learning my limits with this pregnancy because I did a little more walking than I should have (my town is on a hill so there are no flat streets here). I finally had to say I couldn't do it anymore and we got the car... but by then it was too late. My lower back hurt so bad that I honestly felt like I couldn't walk at all. Note to self...don't do that again dummy!

I am so ready for my appointment next week - a month is much too long to go without seeing the girls and making sure they are a-ok. My appt is a week from this Friday so instead of posting mid-week, I will be posting on Friday the 13th.

Till then.....