32 Week photo dump!

At 32 weeks, not much has changed. At this point, things are just getting harder and I am getting more and more ready to meet these boys! So I am going to do a photo dump and share some pictures from the last few months!

20 weeks- My last week in California!

At my Birmingham Baby Shower- 23 Weeks

Georgia baby shower- 24 weeks!

Ryan's Work Christmas Party- 25 weeks!

Colorado Family Christmas!

The Nolands in Colorado for Christmas!

Colt checking out his new dog door!

The bump keeps growing! 30 weeks!!!

The stroller is ready to go.... woah!

32 weeks... how much bigger can I get???

Nursery Preview... Love my new chair! 

Where did time go?

Sooooo I completely failed at this "blog through the pregnancy" thing. But life got very, very hectic after my last post. We spent the end of October and most of November getting our new house ready to move in, moving out of our house in California, and then getting unpacked in Colorado. I don't think I could have accomplished this without my mom taking almost a month out of her life to come help me. 

A week after moving to Colorado, we got in the car and drove to Alabama/ Georgia for Thanksgiving. This was a hectic trip, but it was so good to be home. I had two awesome baby showers- one in Alabama and one in Georgia. It was wonderful to see so many of my friends from home. We got to spend time with both of our families, I got a visit from two of the wonderful Duncan women, and we got to watch the Iron Bowl in Atlanta surrounded by Auburn fans, which was pretty fantastic. 

After our (long) drive back to Colorado, I had 3 weeks to get ready for Christmas!!! We put up the tree while we still had boxes everywhere (priorities!). My parents and sister all flew in for Christmas, which was awesome. I also finally got to meet all of my Colorado doctors, who are all awesome. We had a wonderful Christmas here in Colorado- and we got a lot of projects done on the house. My mom stayed for an extra few days to help me get the nursery set up and organized. There is still some decorating to be done, but I feel very relieved knowing that we have a place to bring home babies! Once we get it decorated I will post some pictures.

Since my mom left I have been doing my best to keep getting things ready for babies, although It's getting harder and harder. Sleeping has gotten increasingly difficult, which makes functioning during the day more difficult. I am starting to get pretty uncomfortable, but I am hanging in here. I am seeing my OB and my Specialist every two weeks right now. I start seeing my OB twice a week in 2 weeks for monitoring, but so far there have been no signs of preterm labor, which is one of the biggest concerns with twins. As of about 2 weeks ago, they estimated that the boys were about 3 lbs 3 oz each- measuring almost exactly the same. They also are showing no signs of Twin to Twin Transfusion, which can be very dangerous for identical twins, so we are especially thankful for that! 

When I see my OB again in a couple of weeks we will discuss a plan for delivering these babies! Because of some concerns about how well the placenta can hold up, we will definitely deliver no later than 37 weeks- this means that I have 6 weeks MAX left. holy cowwwww. If labor starts after 34 weeks they probably won't try to stop it. I am 30 weeks 4 days right now. That blows my mind. 

I will try to do some updates during these last few weeks. I am spending a lot of time on the couch, so I really have no excuse. Maybe I will do a photo update soon with some pictures from the last couple of months. As always, thanks for your prayers as we power through these last few of weeks. We love you guys!

How far along: 30 weeks

Babies are the size of a: Large heads of cabbage? Based on the appt 2 weeks ago, they are probably about 3.5 lbs each. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am not going to go into numbers here, but I am right where I should be :-) 

Maternity clothes:  On days that I have to get dressed, yes. maternity clothes. In fact, some of the shirts are starting to get a little bit small or short. Right now, I will admit I spend a lot of time in large tshirts and sweats. 

Stretch marks: ugh. yes. I mean, I grew so much so quickly that its not a surprise, but they are not pretty. 

Sleep: I talked about this above, but it is not going well. My hips hurt constantly and I wake up a lot. I pretty much have to have a nap to make it through the day. 

Best moment last week: Making the nursery actually look like a nursery! Now, if we can just get the decorations done!

Movement: So. much. Sometimes it looks like they are trying to punch their way out. It's very cool, but I will admit I wish they would calm down a bit when I am trying to sleep. 

Food cravings: I have not had a lot of crazy cravings, but lately I have been eating a ton of apples with peanut butter. I have never even really liked apples that much, but I eat them multiple times a day lately. 

Gender: Two Baby Boys!!!

Labor signs: Nope! I had some cramping last week, but all looks good. Fingers crossed they hang in there for a  few more weeks. 

Belly button - in or out? Out. And not in a cute way. 

What I miss: Sleep. Normal Clothes. Being able to walk for more than 5 minutes. 

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our boys! I am finally starting to feel ready- being uncomfortable will do that I guess. 

Milestones: We got a lot of things done in the last week- Hospital tour, we met with a pediatrician, and I pre-registered at the hospital. Also, I passed my 3 hour diabetes test which was a huge relief. Let's do this! 

Colorado Bound...

After reviving this blog for the main purpose of keeping up with the baby news, I finally have a little bit of non- baby news! After 4 1/2 years in California, Ryan and I will be moving to Denver, Colorado next month! He is being stationed at Buckley AFB.

We went out there a few weeks ago and bought a house in South East Aurora, and I can't wait to move in. 

Our New House!

We found out when we were moving about the same time we were having twins, so our lives have been pretty crazy lately.  I am sad to leave California though- we have absolutely loved living here. The Central Coast is such an interesting area- about 3 hours from LA it's a mix of agriculture, beach towns, and an interesting mix of culture. We have spent the last 4 years finding amazing local restaurants along  the coast, wine tasting at some of the HUNDREDS of wineries nearby, and exploring all the small towns that are within an hour or so from us. I sincerely hope that we will get to move back here some day and show our kids all of the things we loved about living here. 

I also have to take a second to brag on the amazing kids on my Speech and Debate team. I have coached the team at Arroyo Grande HS for the last 2 years and it has been amazing. The kids on this team constantly blow me away with their intelligence, creativity, and wit. These guys are going to do amazing things, and my time with them has been life changing. Leaving them is definitely the hardest part about leaving California. Please, guys. Keep me updated on your lives. I love y'all! 

My mom and I are driving to Colorado this weekend where we will get the house ready for us to move in. Then it's back to California for just a bit before heading to Colorado for good. We would appreciate your prayers as we make this transition and say goodbye to a place we love. Its a difficult balance to get everything done and not overwork myself- My body definitely has started to tell me to slow down sometimes. Again, thanks for the constant prayers and support!

Katie

17 (and a half) Weeks!!!

 Two more weeks have flown by (almost 3!) since my last post. I have to say, right now this pregnancy has been flying by. The first 3 weeks I knew I was pregnant felt like months... but the last 2 months or so have gone by so fast. I think it helps that I have a ton of doctors appointments, and I get ultrasounds at every one. I love that I get to check in on the babies at least every 2 weeks. Everything has looked great at all of my appointments. I will see doctors pretty frequently over the next couple of months to keep an eye out for signs of pre-term labor. Also, since my boys are monochorionic/diamniotic (a kind of identical twin), they have to keep an eye out for something called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. It occurs in about 20% of mo/di twins and can be pretty dangerous. 18-24 weeks is the most critical time that it can develop, so prayers that everything continues to look good are appreciated. I am trying not to stress about it to much (and trying to stay off Dr. Google!) 

We have started making plans for the nursery- I am going with a vintage cowboy theme. (That's no surprise to anyone who has met my mother, I am sure.) We also have cribs ordered and we got fabric for crib skirts. It's very exciting to finally start doing things to get ready for these boys! While my due date is March 22, identical twins are usually born at about 37 weeks, so that puts me sometime in February. With the holidays in the middle of all of that, February doesn't seem very far away at all!

Here is my most recent picture. I am getting bigger every week!!!

How far along: 17 weeks

Babies are the size of a: Large Onions. Or turnips.  (I don't know how big a turnip is though...)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: About 6 lbs. They say I will be gaining about a pound a week at this stage, so I am right on track I guess! My doctors haven't really been concerned with weight too much, which I appreciate.

Maternity clothes: Yup. I have found that even bigger regular clothes tend to look funny. Like my knit dresses are much shorter in the front. I don't know how people wear regular clothes their entire pregnancies... 

Stretch marks: Nope

Sleep: I am sleeping good but it's also been harder to get comfortable. I am thinking about trying one of those giant pregnancy pillows because right now it takes a choreographed effort involving about 6 pillows to get comfortable each night. 

Best moment last week: We got an awesome picture of Baby A... My doc switched the machine to 3-d mode and it actually looked like a real little person in there! It was crazy!

Movement: A little bit! I felt some flutters and then this week I felt some very distinct pokes. They aren't frequent but every once in awhile I feel something- its crazy and very strange!

Food cravings: Nothing too much, I still have a few aversions left over from First Tri. Like I dont want meat that isn't already cut up. It makes no sense at all... but a chicken breast is really gross to me right now, but already cut up or pulled chicken is fine. 

Gender: Two Baby Boys!!!

Labor signs: Nope!

Belly button - in or out? In, and I hope it stays that way but I have noticed it's getting very shallow...

What I miss: My back hurts very badly at the end of the day. I miss being able to sit up after 8 p.m. 

What I am looking forward to: The Anatomy Scan on Nov. 5. Ryan hasn't been able to come with me to the last few appointments, so I am excited for him to get to see lots of good pictures of our boys!

Milestones: Movement! I have already talked about it, but seriously. It's so cool. 

Oh boy...

Big news!!! I had my first appointment with the Parinatal doctor yesterday. Everything looks great, the babies are measuring about 1 day apart, and a couple of days ahead. However, the biggest news is that they were able to tell us that we are having 

Twin Boys!!!!

Ryan couldn't come with me to this appointment, so when the tech ask me if I wanted to know the sex, I ask her to write it down and put it in an envelope. After my appointment, I raced home and we opened it together on his lunch break.  I hadn't had a strong feeling one way or the other during my pregnancy, but yesterday morning  I felt pretty confident they were boys- they even looked like boys on the ultrasound! Turns out I was right! 

It took me some time to process the news-  anyone that I knows me will agree that I never saw myself as the mother of twin boys! But we are very excited and it has definitely made it feel more real. My mom and I have big plans for the nursery, and I started really working on my registry last night. Holy cow there is a lot of stuff! Crib mattresses alone were overwhelming. How nice of a mattress does an infant really need??? 

Those of you who already have children will laugh at this, but yesterday I read that newborns go through 10-12 diapers a day. I knew it was a lot, but I had never really thought about an actual number. And then multiplied it by two. Y'all... Pray for us. Please. 

Lastly, I want to say thanks for all the congrats we have gotten over the past few weeks. I know our boys will be loved and it feels good to know that we have the support of so many people from all over the  county.  We have a lot of life changes ahead of us, but we are looking forward to it all. For my Birmingham friends, we are planning on making a trip to Alabama & Georgia for Thanksgiving. This will probably be my only pre- baby trip, so I want to make sure to see all of you! 

If you have any words of wisdom (or extra diapers), please feel free to send them my way. I'm going to need them!

Katie

15 weeks!

Where have the last 3 weeks gone? We took a 10 day trip to Denver and I have been very busy getting my speech and debate team ready for an upcoming tournament.

The biggest change is my belly has grown exponentially over the past few weeks- it still catches me by surprise when I look in the mirror!

 

 



I have my first appointment with my high risk doctor this week & I started working on my registry yesterday- It's so overwhelming! I will have lots of doctors appointments in the next few weeks, so I am hoping to find out the sex of the babies at one of those. I am very anxious to find out!!!

How far along: 15 weeks

Babies are the size of a: an orange

Total Weight Gain/Loss: not really sure, I'm guessing about 3 lbs. I'll find out tomorrow at the doctor. 

Maternity clothes: yes, with the exception of a few of my regular shirts. I really need more though. 

Stretch marks: Nope

Sleep: I've started to get less comfortable at night, so that's annoying. I've also been waking up and not being able to go back to sleep.  

Best moment last week: Not in the week, but it was so fun to finally tell everyone our news. Yay for no more secrets!!!

Movement: Not really. I may have felt some weird popping feeling last week, but I may be crazy/imagining it. We will see...

Food cravings: I'm very happy to be eating normal, full-sized meals again! 

Gender: don't know yet, but I have several appointments in the next couple of weeks, so I am hoping someone will be able to tell.  Otherwise, we will find our Oct. 22!

Labor signs: not for awhile I hope!

Belly button - in or out? In, and I hope it stays that way but I have noticed it's getting very shallow...

What I miss: my sense of smell has gotten out of control. I can't open the trash can without throwing up. It's very annoying...

What I am looking forward to: Announcing it to everyone tomorrow! Eeeek!

Milestones: 12 weeks is a milestone! And seeing 2 healthy, squirmy babies! Also, I feel like I actually have a little bit of a belly now- it came out of nowhere! 

12 weeks

We are making the big announcement tomorrow!!! We had an ultrasound Monday and everything looked great. For the first time, they actually looked like little people, not just blobs. We saw hands and feet... One flipped completely around during the ultrasound. They were moving so much. I don't know when I will get over the surprise of seeing two of them in there!

How far along: 12 weeks

Babies are the size of a: lime!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I was up 2 lbs from my 8 week appointment. 

Maternity clothes: my pants are all either maternity or elastic waisted.. The maternity ones are a little big but since my regular jeans are out I figure I can make it work for awhile. I have some maternity shirts, but almost anything stretchy works for now. 

Stretch marks: Nope... I definitely started to get a belly this week though! 

Sleep: so tired. Still.  

Best moment last week: Defintley our ultrasound on Monday. It was awesome.  

Movement: Not that I can feel, but they were moving around so much in there it's hard to believe that much activity is happening inside of me! 

Food cravings: not much this week. I got a little sick last week and kind of lost my appetite. Better than corn dogs, I guess... 

Gender: Don't know, but the anatomy scan is scheduled for Oct. 22- but I am seeing a high risk doctor in 4 weeks and they said they might be able to tell us then.  I can't wait!!!

Labor signs: not for awhile I hope!

Belly button - in or out? In, and I hope it stays that way, for awhile anyway!

What I miss: my regular jeans...

What I am looking forward to: Announcing it to everyone tomorrow! Eeeek!

Milestones: 12 weeks is a milestone! And seeing 2 healthy, squirmy babies! Also, I feel like I actually have a little bit of a belly now- it came out of nowhere!