Belly Pics!

Since I am procrastinating doing my homework (which HAS to get done this weekend), I've decided to post the belly pics!

5 weeks:
14 weeks:

19 weeks in painted nursery:
And the newest, 21 weeks w/ our dog:

Oh yes, I forgot! The best thing would be living near you, yodasmistress! :) Well, at least that would make 2 cool people I know who I would live near. My SIL is the other.

I think I'm getting bigger by the second. Ok, maybe not second, but by the day! My back hurts more frequently now, and I cannot even imagine how it's going to be in a couple of months! Very worth it though!

The babies seem more active too - or at least I can feel them more! Sometimes I can tell their movements apart. Sofia I can feel kick me on my left side. But sometimes I'm not sure if I'm feeling Maya or not because she on my right side, feet down. So her feet are on Sofia's head. So that is harder to tell unless it's a movement that's up pretty high. There was one time today when one was kicking me and I felt it right behind and a little below my belly button. That just felt WEIRD. But I do love feeling them move around!

I have been able to feel them a couple time on the outside, but pretty lightly. I'm sure it's easier for me to tell that's what I'm feeling since I can also feel it inside. I had DH put his hand on my belly and finally they kicked a little, but he couldn't feel it! He pouted and said, "No fair!" Of course I was thinking, it IS fair. I'm the one who had to go through the HSG and all the injects and dildo cam! So it is fair I get all the cool stuff!

:) Yes, the plan is to move. BUT the housing market is awful right now so I am not sure we'd be able to sell our condo. No way we could rent it out because I really don't think anyone would pay what we pay for our mortgage plus property tax. But we really need to talk to a realtor. It would be nice to move and be close to family (well, that would also be a pain!). I would miss the weather here though! But I know I would much rather have a house. With a YARD.

Yeah, I know expenses are relative, and it does totally vary, but if we were to move to Indianapolis - and Indiana has some of the lowest housing costs - One of us could stay home, the other could make around $35,000 and we could still afford a house. So, in Indiana anyway, it is proportionately lower, and that it where we would move anyway. I know that not all areas are like that!

Hmm, just realized you cannot really tell what is on the letters. They are flowers! I think you can see a close up if you click on it. Oh well.

So I'm started to get REALLY stressed about money. It's probably good that I am stressed, I mean, it's better than not being concerned at all. But I just wish I didn't have to worry so much about it! What is worrying me most is day care. It is SO expensive! And get this, it will be cheaper for us to get a nanny than to send the babies to day care!!! I guess because for infant care there are restrictions and everything, but it is crazy! Most of the centers I've looked at would be $2400 and up per MONTH for both! No way we can pay that plus our mortgage. So I will be looking into a nanny. And hopefully we will be able to do that part time. I really wish I could just stay home, but there is no way we could do that. Unfortunately.

Sometimes I wish we lived in a more affordable state. We are wanting to move, but I don't think we will be able to right now because of the housing market. But it would be nice. Cost of living is outrageous here in San Diego. If we made the salary we make here, but lived in the midwest, we could have a huge house with a huge yard. But we are here and have a tiny 2 bedroom CONDO that was built in 1970. No yard. It's just craziness.

I know everything will work out, but it is stressful. Not to mention who knows how our families will be able to to help out. They are crazy, as are most families. I'm not sure we can really count on them at this point.

Just finished their name letters, and I just need to add the ribbon:

I had an appointment today! Now, I knew he was going to start checking my cervix, but I assumed it would be with the ultrasound, since that is how the peri did it. Nope! I was wrong! He checked manually. I wish I would have known - I would have attempted to shave my legs! But the good news is, my cervix is great! No change. The babies look good too. I've been feeling them move all day today, so that has been nice too.

I'm starting to get REALLY big. Luckily, it really is all stomach. They weighed me however, and I think she did it wrong. She said I weighed about 10 pounds more than last time (2 weeks ago!) and I know that wasn't right. When I got home I weighed myself and it said I was up 6 pounds - which is still a lot, but better than her calculations! My maternity clothes are not getting tight or anything though, it's just my belly!

I need to post some belly shots, and I will get around to it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I sure am giving thanks this year!

Pregnancy Book Reviews

Since I've read a few pregnancy books, I've decided to review them!
Rating Scale: 1-5
1= do not waste your money or your time even reading
3= do not buy, check out from the library or borrow from a friend!
5= Excellent! buy! Read!

What to Expect When You're Expecting
Rating: 2
I bought this book in the very early days of my pregnancy. It scared the crap out of me! I had to stop reading it because some of the things to watch for in early pregnancy were very scary ad misleading. It has some good info, but really nothing you can't find on the internet. I wouldn't waste my money again!

The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy
Rating: 5
Excellent book! This book was very funny, and written in a conversational tone. It really put my mind at ease too! This was definitely worth buying and reading, and had some good info.

Belly Laughs
Rating: 5
This was a great, quick read. Very funny - I could totally relate to some of the situations! It has some great tips for hubby in the back too.

Baby Bargains
Rating: 5+
This book is a must have! It has the best information on lots of baby gear. They base the ratings off of parent reviews and price. They also give thorough descriptions of why they gave it the rating they did. It was very helpful to me and it is really a must have. There is a lot of crappy baby gear out there and this book will help you stay clear of it!

Twin Specific Books
Twinspiration
Rating: 1
I bought this book because it was recommended on a twin board I go to. I haven't read all of it, but so far I am very disappointed! First, the lay out of the information in the book is very confusing. One chapter has a bunch of different topics, and it goes from pregnancy info to birth info and back to pregnancy info. It could have been organized in a much better way. Second, some of the recommendations are very conservative. The author says to never ever have caffeine - when it is ok to have a little bit. There were a few things I just didn't agree with. Plus, the information so far isn't anything I didn't know already.

When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, and More
Rating 3
The book immediately turned me off because the author, who has a PhD, seemed to feel like she had to prove herself over and over. Honestly, I thought her credentials were pretty good - worked with twins, researched it, worked at University of Michigan - but every other sentence was about proving herself. That was a turn off. The other thing I did not like was that about half the book is dedicated to diet. The author feels very strongly that the mother's weight correlates to the babies' birth weights. This may be true, but a huge emphasis was placed on diet. There are tons of recipes as well in the book. My OB told me not to worry about gaining weight, because I will gain weight, and I have. I'm a little under what the author of the book recommends, but my babies are doing great! This book does have some good information on twin pregnancies, so it worth reading.

I can't believe I haven't posted about the comments people make! Well, I will now!
I know that people don't mean any harm by saying these comments, but really, they get old and very annoying. First, so many people are just shocked when I tell them how far along I am. Even the ones who know I have twins, I tell them how many weeks I am and their jaws literally fall open. I had one woman ask me how many weeks I was and then she said, "You're gonna be HUGE!" Gee. Thanks. Really, I know I'm going to get big, I have TWINS, but no need to remind me. Doesn't help that at my work there is a girl who is about 32 or 33 weeks pregnant and she is SMALLER than I am! I know people carry different, but wow.

Then, there are the comments people love to give me when they find out I'm having twins. Probably the most common one is, "Oh you aren't going to have any free time once they arrive!" Oh gee, really?? I never thought about that once during the almost 2 years of trying to get pregnant or doing injects/IUI and having a much greater chance for twins.

And my principal. I know he means well but EVERY time I see him he makes a comment about how I'm eating for 3 or any comment that has to do with me carrying twins. At first, it was fine. But a month later??

I just remind myself that these people don't mean any harm, but it is annoying. Plus I get annoyed really quick these days, so you'd think people would think about that.

I do need to mention that today I got a really NICE comment. I was at Starbucks and the guy behind the counter asked me when I was due. I told him and prepared myself for his jaw hitting the ground. Nope! He just smiled. Then he asked if I knew the gender and I told him 2 girls, and again prepared myself for the comments. He was very sincere and told me congratulations and that 2 girls would be so fun! And that really made my day. No annoying comment! It was great!

Girls!

So, it's confirmed! 2 baby girls! The ultrasound went well today - and of course I had nothing to worry about. Even though I can't always feel them, they are very active! Everything looked great and there were NO soft markers for Downs! The u/s tech even put it on the 4d view for a bit, and we also got video of that. I am just so happy that everything went well and everything looks great! They weigh 9 and 10 oz, which is great! Baby A (Sofia) has her head right by my cervix and Baby B (Maya) has her head pretty much on top of Sofia's chest, so they are snuggled in together. I'm just so happy things are going well now!

I haven't posted anything in awhile, so I thought I would!
I also need to post some pictures on here. I'll get around to that some day!

I have 2 appointments this week. Perinatologist on Thursday - we will confirm the genders, yay! OB on Friday. Then, I'm pretty much back to the OB every 2 weeks from now on.

A little over a week ago I *really* started feeling movement! But now, I'm not feeling much. Which if course has me worried. I'm trying to tell myself that it's too early for it to be consistent or that they are facing the wrong way or something. I've felt a couple little things, but nothing like it was last week, so I think that's why I'm worried. I'll feel better Thursday!

Hubby painted the nursery over the weekend! It is a spring green color, and is very cute. Of course, we still have our computer and stuff in here, and it will look even better when we have all the baby stuff. But just painting it has me all excited!