13 Week Baby Pictures

I was so excited to see my babies today!  They have changed a lot since my last view a month ago.  They were lying sideways...kinda looked like they were just lounging in there!  Baby A was the super-active one today. (It was Baby B last time.)  The babies are measuring just as big as they should be and they are pretty much the same size; no signs of TTTS at the moment.  Their crown-rump length is just shy of 3 inches and they weigh about 2 ounces each.  It still seems just a little unbelievable that two babies are growing inside me!

Baby A is a little blurrier because Baby B was closer to
the front of my abdomen.

My lounging babies

13 Week Mommy Pictures

I have been horrible about taking belly pictures with my pregnancies so far. I start with the best of intentions but just never seem to manage weekly or even monthly photos.  But this time I'm going to try to take a picture along with every ultrasound...we'll see if I can keep it up!

So anyway, here's what the end of the first trimester looks like when you're pregnant with twins.  This is in the evening, by the way; I am a bit smaller in the morning.

Advice

From the dining room as the kids ate breakfast this morning, Austin offered this wisdom: "Mommy, the kitchen is a mess.  You will have to clean it up before it is not a mess."

Yes...you are right, Austin...thanks for the advice. :)

Three Crosses

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left....One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:32-33, 39-43)

Yesterday morning Austin woke up and crawled into bed with me and Zach, which has become the usual routine on holidays and weekends. While we chatted Zach mentioned that Austin had chosen to draw some crosses the day before while he was outside using sidewalk chalk. "Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the bad things we've done," Austin added; "I drew three." I told him it was interesting that he drew three because there were actually three crosses the day Jesus died. I explained how two other men were crucified with Jesus and how one of them went to heaven that day because he asked Jesus to forgive him for his sins but the other man didn't go to heaven because he didn't ask Jesus to forgive him. Long pause. "Why didn't the other man go to heaven?" Austin asked. "Because he didn't ask Jesus to forgive his sins, " I repeated. Another long pause. Then, unprompted, in a halting voice, a little boy voice prayed "Lord, forgive us for all the sins we've done. In Jesus' name, amen."

Tears came to my eyes as I heard his words. Parenting this three year old is so challenging and I feel like I fail to show him Jesus like I should more often than I succeed, but those words were a precious reminder that God is at work in my little boy. Lord, help me continue to plant seeds that you may one day bring this boy into your Kingdom!

Campout

Zach and Austin went camping last weekend.  In our living room.  Yeah, we're not real outdoorsy in this family. They had a great time. A fire was built, a tent was constructed, and smores were consumed. They were up late (for a three year old) but then all was quiet for the night; Austin stayed put in his sleeping bag until his usual (early) wake-up time. Zach is such a fun dad.

Another Post about Food

Sorry, but it's what's on my mind lately.  Pre-twin pregnancy, I would have thought that "getting" to eat lots and lots because you're growing two babies made you a lucky duck.  Turns out it's not so easy. With Austin and Esther I never made a conscious decision to eat more; I ate when I was hungry and if I felt like eating a cookie when I wasn't hungry I felt no guilt.  And I gained a little over 30 pounds with each baby, I think.  Near the top of the recommended gain for a singleton.

But this twin thing, goodness!  I eat and eat all day long, making myself eat even when I'm not hungry.  I drink at least 2 cans of nutritional supplement a day at 250-350 calories each.  And I have gained 5 pounds.  That's it! My two doctors disagree about how much weight I should gain in the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy: my MFM says 10 pounds and my regular OB says 20. According to the reading I've been doing on my own in the past week, 20 or even more sounds best.  Early weight gain in multiple pregnancies is linked to higher birth weights and longer gestations.  With a preemie and an almost-preemie in our family, I really want to do what I can to keep these babies inside as long as possible.

Also according to my reading, to achieve this kind of weight gain, I have to consume more than 3000 calories a day. That is a lot of food!  I am having to re-think the way I shop and plan meals and snacks.  Although we're far from vegetarians, we don't eat a lot of meat and it is rarely the centerpiece of a meal, but now I am supposed to eat several full servings a day.  Good thing I like dairy because 8 servings a day are recommended.  (Good news, though, ice cream is a good choice because of its high fat and calcium content.)  Add 2 eggs, 10 servings of grains, 7 servings of fruit and 4 servings of veggies and you have quite a task for the day.  So I spend most of my day thinking about what my next meal or snack will be and contemplating how I could increase its nutrient or calorie content.  As I write this, I'm sipping away at a smoothie made from tofu, pasteurized egg whites, dry milk powder, yogurt, fruit and fruit juice, good for a serving of meat, 2 of dairy, and 2 of fruit.  Not the yummiest smoothie I have ever had, but good for the babies.

So, 5 pounds down, 40-50 to go.  In about 24 weeks.  Now excuse me, it's time to figure out what's for lunch.

Troping

Do you know the Bob the Builder theme song?  Okay, so imagine Austin singing that melody with these words: "Oat squares are my favorite kind of food, I will eat them all the time."  That was how breakfast started today.  How I love this musical little boy!

Oh, Zach says it's called troping when you do that.  So there's your music lesson for the day.

Courtney v. Food

Have you ever watched Man v. Food?  It's a Travel Channel show where the host goes to different cities to take on eating challenges.  Six pound burritos, pizzas with a 3 foot diameter, the hottest chicken wings on the planet, that sort of thing.  It's one of our favorites and probably constitutes 30% of our Netflix viewing.  (The other 70% is Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales, and Busytown Mysteries.)

Well, lately every night at dinnertime I feel like I'm in my own personal eating challenge, except instead of a 72 oz. steak I'm staring down a single stuffed shell or three meatballs or something similarly small.  "You can do it" I tell myself.  "You need to eat this for the babies."  I don't have morning sickness, I have evening sickness.  Almost by the clock, around 4PM every day I start feeling lousy.  Zach comes home from work and I tell him what the plan is for dinner and ask him to make it.  And he does, without complaint, every day for the last three weeks.  Sweet man. Love you, honey.  Then I sit on the couch until he tells me dinner is ready.  I drag myself to the table, take a deep breath, and attempt to eat.  Usually I am successful and am able to eat a small meal. (Why is it that just when you need to eat a lot, your stomach seems to hold a quarter its usual amount?  I feel stuffed after eating the smallest things.)  But occasionally a trip to the bathroom precedes the first bite...and that's all we'll say about that. :-(  Although in those cases, I usually feel much better afterward and actually want to eat.

I know this kind of thing is really common but it's sort of new to me. I had such mild pregnancy symptoms with Austin and Esther that I was often tempted to worry that something was going wrong because I felt so good!  But this twin thing...well, now I'm getting a small taste of what so many of my friends have gone through with all their pregnancies.

To lighten up what I hope doesn't come across as a totally complainey blog post, I will say how thankful I am that I nearly always feel good in the morning and early afternoon.  The time of day when Zach is at work, conveniently.  So I eat a lot then, without problems.  (Props to Zach again, who often makes breakfast since I'm a little sluggish til I have some food in me.)  Still, I am looking forward to the day, hopefully soon, when food will sound good all day long.  Cause 500 extra calories a day is hard to achieve without all day dedication.

*Have I mentioned that Zach is awesome? He made the cool logo for me, just for fun.

Our October Surprise

We are expecting #3. And #4.  Twins!  Can you believe it?  And they're identical!  Crazy.

We have known I'm carrying twins for two weeks but today is the first day we've been able to be excited about the pregnancy.  At our first ultrasound two weeks ago (which I had because of some unexplained bleeding) we were told the twins were monochorionic/monoamniotic, which means sharing a placenta and an amniotic sac.  That kind of pregnancy is very high risk; there was serious potential for the babies to not even live to viability. So you can understand that we were trying to guard our emotions and prepare for any possibility.

But today we met with a specialist, had another ultrasound, and it clearly showed a membrane between the babies.  Praise God!  Our pregnancy is now monochorionic/diamniotic (one placenta but two amniotic sacs).  There are still some risks but they are much lower and our babies have an excellent chance of making a healthy entrance into the world.

So some details.  I am 9 weeks along.  My due date is June 3, although I will definitely have the babies before then.  Between 34 and 36 weeks is likely, depending on how they are growing and whether any complications such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) develop.  I will see both my doctor in Indiana and the specialist I saw today in Johnstown.  I will have ultrasounds about every two weeks to check on the babies growth and to look for signs of TTTS.

Rejoice with us friends, and thank God for His goodness. We have been walking through a bit of a valley the last two weeks but felt His presence the whole time. I read Psalm 145 the morning of that first ultrasound and verse 9 really stuck out: "The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made."  He made these babies, and his goodness and mercy is at work in them no matter what the end result of this pregnancy.  But I am so thankful that He has lifted from us the burden of an extremely high risk pregnancy.  Now I can start really thinking about what it will mean to be mommy to twins!  And it's a bit scary...

Aww, aren't they cute?  Baby B was quite active during the ultrasound
and showed us a little shimmy.

Mommy-Sanctioned Mess

Last spring I bought a plastic container and a 20 pound bag of rice for Austin to play with.  I thought it was a messy activity but worth it because he loved it so much.  I would kind of grin and bear it, you know?

Well, if I thought it was messy back then, that was nothing compared to what happened when Esther got in on the action today.  Once she threw the first cupful over her shoulder I realized there was nothing to do but relax and embrace the mess.  The kids played together happily for fifteen or twenty minutes and I just sat back and enjoyed watching them.

Pretty sure this cupful got flung backward a second later.

The floor looked much worse by the time we were done.

The fun had to come to an end when Austin informed me that Esther was eating the rice.  She put it in her mouth, then tried to get it out.  I helped, then she put another handful in.  Yuck.  So I put her in her highchair with some goldfish and cleaned up the kitchen.  Thankful for a good broom. :)

Weekend Research

For years our little town had no doughnut shop.  One of its few imperfections, in our opinion.  But all that has changed.  2011 witnessed the opening of not one but two doughnut shops.  First came Donut Connection in May, then Dunkin Donuts opened in September.

The obvious question, of course, is which doughnuts are better?  When we awaken on a Saturday with a craving for sugar, where do we go?  Some research was in order and we bravely carried it out.

The samples to be tested included a glazed doughnut, a sour cream doughnut, and a blueberry doughnut (Austin's request) from each store.  And the results:

Glazed: Zach preferred D.D. because its texture was "creamier" but Courtney preferred the flavor of the glaze from D.C.

Sour Cream: Zach liked the crunchier texture of D.C. and thought it had the better flavor.  Courtney preferred the texture of D.D. but agreed that the flavor of D.C. was better.

Blueberry: Zach liked D.D. because it was sweeter; Courtney thought it was a draw.

So bottom line...we don't really have a clear favorite, do we?  Donut Connection is within walking distance of our house so it is the choice for summer morning walks, but maybe Dunkin will be our winter choice?  I guess it's a win-win situation for our family.

Monkey Girl

Our little girl is a climber.  Thankfully she's a good climber and can climb down as well as up.  Still, it can make mommy a bit anxious.  Imagine what she'll be getting into when she's taller!

Not-so-recent Trip

The kids and I spent a week or so in Missouri at the end of September.  I took about two pictures on my camera; fortunately Mom and I took a bunch more with hers but I forgot to transfer them to my computer when I had the chance.  Mom sent me a CD this week, though, and I was kind of overwhelmed with how many adorable pictures there were.  (Oh nice camera, how I long for you to be mine.  Someday.)  The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there so we had lots of fun outings, and we spent lots of time with extended family and friends as well.

This is what happens when you try to get a three year old and two one
year olds to sit next to each other for a picture.

Three kids again and not one looking.  I think we look pretty good, though,  Megan.

A Walker at Last

Esther started taking a few steps weeks ago but she was in no hurry to become a real walker. Maybe she heard the pediatrician tell me on Thursday to call her if she didn't start walking in the next 4-6 weeks.  At any rate, something motivated her this weekend and she really took off. Now Austin tells me a dozen times a day "Look, Mommy, Esther's walking."  Yeah, Austin, she is, and about time!

How We Eat Bread

There is so much I could catch up on (we've been to Missouri and back since my last post) but I just wanted to take a minute tonight to record some cuteness from dinner.  Zach brought home a lovely baguette from our local bakery and of course Austin was more eager to eat that than his carrots or stuffed pepper.  But no plain bread for our boy; no, first he has to request that we pour "oyive oy," "vindegar" and "pardesan cheese" onto his plate for dipping.  I love it.  I am not eager for adult speech to overtake my little one.