tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82959300293489999282024-02-07T00:31:58.975-05:00Our Family's Journey Through Embryo AdoptionLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-83206736811610444662012-02-26T13:27:00.003-05:002012-02-26T14:00:12.230-05:009 months!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_ufRbikOmjkO06MNfSJuJllloo8vTJ89wq_LyCY1RRlx1Uywemb1a0TRdxIkt6YpFvZW75HhbSLpHTfPAwGt6E6w99jceC1I-F_SXn1v6ZKOouptL-kUpQ2U20rrHaio9dIo2yX6ONs/s1600/IMG_3534.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_ufRbikOmjkO06MNfSJuJllloo8vTJ89wq_LyCY1RRlx1Uywemb1a0TRdxIkt6YpFvZW75HhbSLpHTfPAwGt6E6w99jceC1I-F_SXn1v6ZKOouptL-kUpQ2U20rrHaio9dIo2yX6ONs/s200/IMG_3534.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713520745874255714" /></a><br /><br />We have made it to 9 months old! I heard a saying recently that when you have kids, the days are long but the years are short. I couldn't say it any better. Some days are really tough, like days when I have all four girls to take care of by myself. The reality of having 4 kids age 5 and under is definitely hard! But it goes without saying that I adore each of them and would not trade them for all the lazy Saturdays I long for.<br /><br />The twins are crawling around now and love to get into everything! They are elated and shriek with excitement when we let them escape out of their play area. Lizzie can pull up and cruise along the furniture. She has even let go for a split second. I anticipate her walking before her first birthday. They weigh 17lbs 5oz and 16lbs 6oz and are both over 26in. I love listening to them in the morning as they wake up. They "talk" and make random sound affects until I come get them. They are very bad at stealing each others toys. Until recently that did not phase them, but they're starting to get mad when the other takes something. Lainie is still a pacifier stealer too. She has been since about 4 months. She normally has no interest in a pacifier what so ever unless she plucks it out of her sister's mouth. Then it is a fascinating object to bite and chew and play with. This rarely makes Lizzie mad, so it is very funny to watch.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-90410397994967087942012-01-31T15:13:00.004-05:002012-01-31T15:37:44.809-05:00Gay MarriageSo I am a little off topic per my normal blog, but I am hoping to elicit some thoughtful (and not hateful) opinions on the subject. This issue is being brought up a lot lately around here, because our state will likely vote this year on whether or not to have an amendment to our state constitution defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. As someone who believes in God and believes the Bible to be true, I believe that homosexuality is wrong. That is not a question for me, so I am not looking for comments about my belief in God or my beliefs about homosexuality. What I can't decide on is whether or how I should be voting for legislation on the subject. I go back and forth in my head as what a Christian should do. I also believe that adultery is wrong or living together before marriage is wrong, but our society (no longer) cares about these. Is it my place to force my beliefs on the subject onto others? Or should I stand up for my beliefs and hope others will see the light? Or should we truly just let people vote on it, voicing our own opinions, since our society is designed to let popular opinion dictate laws (to some extent)?<br /><br />What are your thoughts? Please be respectful no matter what your opinion! And though I am sure many disagree with my belief in God and/or the Bible I would prefer comments address my question rather than those beliefs. As I will not be dissuaded on those.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-30187268069472497332011-12-27T06:49:00.006-05:002011-12-27T07:53:48.274-05:00Merry Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jXX06_LiMMBMyCoJ6uaDDmLJZPFHmHHPKxxt_AUbOJXSZuolb85Il4R1wjkj8bP-Zpv8wRDoHLcfX8z1FPNdk0MCjMns_EZpe207anWMajrcqSqKmHCWsOUDt9DspHn7yiU5m5K2iVY/s1600/IMG_3319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jXX06_LiMMBMyCoJ6uaDDmLJZPFHmHHPKxxt_AUbOJXSZuolb85Il4R1wjkj8bP-Zpv8wRDoHLcfX8z1FPNdk0MCjMns_EZpe207anWMajrcqSqKmHCWsOUDt9DspHn7yiU5m5K2iVY/s200/IMG_3319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690788486171951842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGn3UApXB3F5qLwKP2VHAyHc6n4dIvZoJ9KGmUYgI70IY9M26Iuux649pNYc2O68lA6WkfmyoA_xs3xXoAQpoa_sb6Xe6wmPASKD4nxjsEGkng05JlcbWQB_P6kHqaCWzEUitq9YjLFg/s1600/IMG_3285.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGn3UApXB3F5qLwKP2VHAyHc6n4dIvZoJ9KGmUYgI70IY9M26Iuux649pNYc2O68lA6WkfmyoA_xs3xXoAQpoa_sb6Xe6wmPASKD4nxjsEGkng05JlcbWQB_P6kHqaCWzEUitq9YjLFg/s200/IMG_3285.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690788481842878626" /></a><br />I don't even no where to begin. It has been forever since I have given an update. It has been a very busy month with Christmas celebrations and my return to work. It really was a difficult month to try to return to work with all the activities of the holidays, school being out etc. I hate being back to work, not the work so much as just devoting my time to something else when I already feel like I don't have enough time (to spend with each of my girls, do laundry, etc). However, I really do have the ideal work situation if a mom has to work. My benefits are great, pay is good. I work at home, part time (20 hrs) a week, my hours are fairly flexible. I do have to maintain a majority during the typical working day so others can communicate with me, but I am allowed to work a fair number of hours at night or weekends.I am trying to get most of my hours done on Tues and Thurs. We have my mom helping on Tues and our babysitter on Thurs. It is hard though to be at home trying to work as I can hear everything that is going on and often stop to help as the babysitter gets used to caring for twins on her own. Although I am spread too thin now, we feel that I just have to power through and things will be a lot easier in 6 months. We'll see, we have definitely talked about trying to cut back and do without my salary. It is a tough call.<br /><br />Christmas was wonderful. We had lots of family around including DH's grandparents. They are such dear people and in such great shape even though they are fast approaching 90. They have been married 65 years!!<br /><br />The twins are doing great! They are 7 months old now and so much fun. Both are sitting pretty well, though we have to keep the pillows around because they eventually either fall over or throw themselves forward to move to their bellies. Lizzie is getting very close to crawling. She can get up on all fours and rock back and forth. Almost time to pull out the baby gates! Neither have teeth yet. I should not be surprised, both of my older girls were 9 months before any emerged. Despite the lack of genetic connection, it seems our family gets teeth late! <br />I love seeing the twins interact. They wake each other up in the morning and spend time laughing and "talking" to each other. When I go get them they are all the way at the ends of their cribs looking at each other. It is also fun watching their individual personalities develop. I never expected them to be little clones of each other, but it is still fascinating to see how different they are. Elaina is very observant, always trying to imitate what you do. She loves making funny faces and is the more talkative of the two. Elizabeth is more social, always smiling at people and trying to get them to pay attention to her. She is more physically advanced and tries to get into things. They are both the sweetest and happiest babies the majority of the time.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-54937773274158380302011-09-29T14:28:00.005-04:002011-09-29T15:07:28.995-04:004 Months!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3cy4jBowLHOOJvvwRLAd2noaLbNC7vibodMyB-e5fDGi-vPJubRf8AYaG9DZLRMjpBuodVfjRZmlxxtp9tOaWsEpgtgwgyZd_v0-CBCIMjrju4uTJdXOtl3ttoP9hsA7ifFezUDCu8w/s1600/IMG_3113.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3cy4jBowLHOOJvvwRLAd2noaLbNC7vibodMyB-e5fDGi-vPJubRf8AYaG9DZLRMjpBuodVfjRZmlxxtp9tOaWsEpgtgwgyZd_v0-CBCIMjrju4uTJdXOtl3ttoP9hsA7ifFezUDCu8w/s200/IMG_3113.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657859082954893954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3L1J6049D3uDCym69-Ya-bwOxBKhzGUYKNJwfpjty_b2c5-T9J2R5QfdO9j5vAYa7RzMlF__5HyFqRBb6hgv87evYfXfMBPAU49hkbnbKru5tqpPEj4EdBfGfv_kIb6EDlF9-UvZrDuI/s1600/IMG_3100.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3L1J6049D3uDCym69-Ya-bwOxBKhzGUYKNJwfpjty_b2c5-T9J2R5QfdO9j5vAYa7RzMlF__5HyFqRBb6hgv87evYfXfMBPAU49hkbnbKru5tqpPEj4EdBfGfv_kIb6EDlF9-UvZrDuI/s200/IMG_3100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657858780549098210" /></a><br />As usual it has been a while since my last post! We're are all doing really well. The twins are getting so big. They are just amazing and the whole family is in love. They are now 4 months and recently had their checkup. Lizzie weighed in at 13lbs 15oz and 24 in long. Lainie is 12lbs 8oz and 23.5 in long. Both are nice and healthy. There is the possibility that Lizzie may need to get a helmet to shape her head. Poor thing must have really been wedged inside me. She has had an oddly shaped melon since birth. However it is improving so we're going to wait a month or two and see if she improves further on her own. They are both rolling from their backs to their tummies, but have not figured out how to get back over, much to their frustration. Their different personalities are shining through. Right now Lizzie is our social butterfly. she smiles and coos at any one who pays attention to her. She has also decided that she would like to be held and thinks she needs a lot more attention than her sister. Lainie is very observant. She will lay on the play mat for long periods of time gazing at her hands or feet or studying her toys. She has also been noticing Lizzie. Today she was just staring and cooing at her. However, Lizzie does not seem to care yet! Both laugh and smile frequently especially at their big sisters. <br /><br />Life is really crazy! It is hard to catch my breath. My mom is still coming 2 days a week to help out and I don't know if I could survive without her! I also went ahead and enrolled Emery in preschool two mornings a week. She is almost 3. I was going to wait until next year, but the timing felt right. I am supposed to go back to work in Dec. I plan on working Tuesday and Thursdays and I just did not feel good about leaving my 3 youngest home with the babysitter all day. It seemed like asking too much from my mom or the college student who helps us. So preschool gives Emery a diversion and the care giver a small break. Ella is loving kindergarten! She has a great teacher and is learning something every day.<br /><br />The twins are still not sleeping through the night. I have tried some of the Babywise techniques that everyone seems to be talking about, but have not had fantastic results (we did not start until a month ago). I don't know if we're doing something wrong or if they just really need that late night feeding still. Unfortunately if we let them decide when they want it, they don't wake up at the same time. I guess it will all work itself out eventually!<br /><br />We have tried rice cereal two nights now. Lainie is interested but Lizzie clamps her mouth shut! It really is kind of gross! But then again so is formula.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-12552437572233987702011-08-17T15:21:00.005-04:002011-08-22T07:25:18.329-04:00Still Here<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoaBVa2sgQPNGXb7mCWQ9XcvCtzSUKmR23jUDCQpQbHQ9ewg-aJXJuAdMvzFiHcLFSBdpxG6dBKg5YAZZkH9bkRztRu9UJQQMg031xjXKcuGIx-MnC8hC27dHQDdufiZZy1cP2uWQnFU/s1600/IMG_3015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoaBVa2sgQPNGXb7mCWQ9XcvCtzSUKmR23jUDCQpQbHQ9ewg-aJXJuAdMvzFiHcLFSBdpxG6dBKg5YAZZkH9bkRztRu9UJQQMg031xjXKcuGIx-MnC8hC27dHQDdufiZZy1cP2uWQnFU/s200/IMG_3015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643638832441888978" /></a>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFL4JZEvrXh21Dug4wi4QmWYCwmU4hJRnWWBf0oJ54-JgLsRmeRiGWB7_HvcpOk3Sq0_pOQ6G9SOXnssKm8R4ihUbB99-sY4dIIrWf1qgsvIKLtWx2DeE9_tPtJbPzoHnV1meVd330oXk/s1600/IMG_3000.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFL4JZEvrXh21Dug4wi4QmWYCwmU4hJRnWWBf0oJ54-JgLsRmeRiGWB7_HvcpOk3Sq0_pOQ6G9SOXnssKm8R4ihUbB99-sY4dIIrWf1qgsvIKLtWx2DeE9_tPtJbPzoHnV1meVd330oXk/s200/IMG_3000.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643633695473509970" /></a>
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<br />I am a terrible blogger these days! I have been keeping up with everyone else but just have not written anything myself. I am no good with lack of sleep. I think I lose about 20 IQ points! But my mom is visiting for a few days and I actually got 8 hours last night since she is kind enough to take the night shift!
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<br />We are all doing great. The babies are growing so fast. I love this more interactive age that we have entered where we get smiles and coos! Although they smile and "talk" all the time their sweet little laughs have been elusive. We try very hard to bring it out, but I am really the only one who has heard them so far. On separate occasions they have both started laughing as I rock them to sleep at night! Very funny. I guess they are just trying to string us along and see how silly they can make us look trying to get some giggles.
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<br />Last night we moved them both into their room! Previously we had set up camp in our family room downstairs. This worked better at first. When they were up at night we did not bother those sleeping upstairs and we could be close to the kitchen for quick bottle preparation. However, the last several nights it had become apparent that sharing a crib was no longer working. Our squirmy girls were not staying in their respective corners and kept turning themselves around and kicking each other. I think that is how it was in the womb too! I had read in a twin book how you may not need separate cribs until around 9 months. Well, not in our case if we want any sleep!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-83178862698444206042011-06-13T14:18:00.004-04:002011-06-13T17:07:19.608-04:00Our Birth StoryI am finally enjoying a few quiet minutes and I have wanted to post about the twins birth for a while now. I don't want to forget too much and I know things are already fading! My memory doesn't function well with lack of sleep :-). This will probably be long so reader beware.<br /><br />First of all, it is so special to me that they arrived on May 19th. That is my grandmother's birthday. Towards the beginning of my pregnancy I had read that twins usually arrive by 36-37 weeks and that some consider 37 weeks to be full term (though later I have found more often 38 weeks sited as full-term). Anyway I always gave May 19th as my due date when people asked since I thought that was more realistic than the 40-week mark. And I hoped they would share the day with my grandmother. That week my husband and I had actually (jokingly) been reminding the babies that they should please make their arrival on Thurs.<br /><br />My 36-week appointment the week prior was uneventful. It was one of those 5 minute appointments where I wondered why I had bothered to come in! They did not check me to see if I was dilated and there was no ultrasound. All that fun was scheduled for the following week. My doctor was away delivering a baby so I actually only saw a nurse. I had wanted to discuss at what point we might induce as I was getting very uncomfortable and wondering how much longer I could make it! I wanted to establish a finish line but would have to wait until next week.<br /><br />On the 18th (the day before I delivered) I felt really bad in the morning. My stomach was bothering me and I had absolutely no energy. Then by early afternoon I was absolutely famished from not eating in the morning and had a huge lunch. After lunch I was back to feeling crummy and was not able to eat dinner. But I was not having contractions or anything to make me think I was close to delivering.<br /><br />I slept pretty well that night compared to how I had been sleeping. At around 4am my 2-year old woke up and had to go potty and be settled down again. While I was up I was feeling really good, no stomach issues. I was happy that it looked like today would be a better day than yesterday. After she was tucked back in bed, I tried to go back asleep but tossed and turned for a while. A few minutes after 5am I got up to go to the bathroom and before I had even taken 5 steps felt a rush of water. I woke up my husband right away and called the doctor who told me to go ahead and come in. After the phone call I had my first contractions. These aren't too bad I thought to myself. They're just like bad menstrual cramps.<br /><br />We arrived at the hospital about an hour later. The hospital is close, it just took a while to pack a bag and get the older girls settled at our neighbors. When I arrived they ask several questions when admitting you: has your water broke? how far a part are your contractions? etc. Well, for the second question I felt really silly! At that point I had only had two contractions so I said an hour apart and he looked at me really funny. <br /><br />It did not take long for the contractions to get much more frequent and much worse (this was no longer a little menstrual pain!). By the time I was up in my bed about another 45 minutes later they were starting to come about every five-ten minutes and I was already about 4cm dilated. Things looked good. Both babies were head down and ready to go. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I progressed pretty quickly for a first pregnancy. And time really seemed to move quickly. I had a few family visitors and it seemed like there was always something going on. The nurse or doctor coming in and checking something. It did not take long before the pain was so great that I was ready for an epidural. I was not opposed to it, though very nervous about the idea of getting one. I did not have a very set birth plan. I had just planned to take things as they came and if at some point the pain outweighed my fear of the epidural then I was fine with getting one. By 4pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. Unfortunately there was a lady down the hall who needed an emergency c-section and there is only one operating room on the maternity floor so I would have to wait until she was done. They make mom's of twins deliver in the operating room instead of their own rooms because of the higher risk even if no c-section is needed. Well it was not until 6:30 that I was able to make that journey. <br /><br />So somewhere between 6:30-7:00 I started pushing. And kept pushing and pushing and pushing... Fast forward 2.5 hours and the doctor said although the babies were still tolerating things well that he recommended a c-section because I had not made much progress. I was tired and a bit frustrated so I agreed.<br /><br />Had I known how much I was not going to enjoy the c-section I might have tried a little longer! However, it was probably not meant to be. As it turned out, although baby A (Lizzie) was head down she had rotated to face sideways (instead of facing the spine) making delivery more difficult. And baby B during the process had actually turned to be sideways (transverse).<br /><br />It was definitely hard to enjoy the moment of their birth because i was feeling so uncomfortable during the c-section. I could not stop shaking, I was throwing up and it was definitely more than a "little pressure" when they were pulling them out and rearranging my insides!<br /><br />I do remember the joy of finding out that they were doing great and getting to hold them for the first time in the recovery room.<br /><br />Now almost 4 weeks out I am feeling 100 times better (though not quite normal) and am already forgetting how horrible I felt the first few days after. My back is really my only big complaint. Laboring for 2.5 hours on the operating table was not very good for it. But most of that awful swelling is gone! I honestly did not remember the actual size of my feet and they look weird to me-way too small. <br /><br />It was all worth it! I am so in love with my sweet Lizzie and Lainie. I can't believe how blessed we are to be a family of 4 lovely daughters. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCvUjHzhH_XXqH7pxn5tGIEnsK_bOdQ_CpRmz8IsdMIOYWqJNG9hDgTuaIatvR62ciu8LdypJ9hLl-Np5qG-mRz-_IY-iDvJrMTwYQD5eBG66HE1Z-_W0-FYJdZNxwhV36JNGkO0WyYc/s1600/pink.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCvUjHzhH_XXqH7pxn5tGIEnsK_bOdQ_CpRmz8IsdMIOYWqJNG9hDgTuaIatvR62ciu8LdypJ9hLl-Np5qG-mRz-_IY-iDvJrMTwYQD5eBG66HE1Z-_W0-FYJdZNxwhV36JNGkO0WyYc/s200/pink.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617785623569044994" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6r7TT8EupI73LIV6hc_gBCTgL1CP9OgHwQWLE0KWaynxEki1ACtDcgA7frroLYMtCHbZ6mdm8ryShKrESc_2WYzftfRkPmCgQwv8oZb1XriEdt1IpwBoBTcJW4yT8ive87Rs8NnB58w/s1600/carseat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6r7TT8EupI73LIV6hc_gBCTgL1CP9OgHwQWLE0KWaynxEki1ACtDcgA7frroLYMtCHbZ6mdm8ryShKrESc_2WYzftfRkPmCgQwv8oZb1XriEdt1IpwBoBTcJW4yT8ive87Rs8NnB58w/s200/carseat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617785625938827858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EIC_AJM0qSCDsupIJ_ktYnABCQ3bA2qkvrcPFUD7PS6fSZl_Ti15YDlhed5gC-dRYWwPwseXCycSTdZZjjcm2VHi2zTR_9kE9npg_cz5zKENpvEiFAvis9iJbUtAyZJAx-zy5SFn8W0/s1600/twins2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EIC_AJM0qSCDsupIJ_ktYnABCQ3bA2qkvrcPFUD7PS6fSZl_Ti15YDlhed5gC-dRYWwPwseXCycSTdZZjjcm2VHi2zTR_9kE9npg_cz5zKENpvEiFAvis9iJbUtAyZJAx-zy5SFn8W0/s200/twins2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617785635572246802" /></a>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-1283708006109268152011-06-04T10:06:00.002-04:002011-06-04T15:07:25.628-04:00No rest for the weary!I will start off by saying how absolutely in love I am with Lizzie and Lainie! I still can't believe that I have four amazing daughters. I feel so blessed. I can't wait to see what wonderful little ladies they become. In the meantime I am cherishing all the cuddle time you get with newborns because it goes so fast! I will post more about the birth soon, along with some pictures.<br /><br /><br />It has certainly been a challenging few weeks. Surprisingly not because we are getting used to caring for twins. Our older girls have been ill starting a few days after we came home from the hospital. We have had fever, ear infection and puking to deal with. Why is it that illness strikes in the middle of the night? The extra care burden and stress I felt trying to shield the babies from the germs while wanting to take care of my big girls was very rough. I am hoping we are through it though! The babies seem fine and the big girls have been well for several days. I may be able to lift the quarantine after the weekend! <br /><br />My only disappointment so far is that I have already stopped nursing. I really wanted to nurse and it went really well in the beginning. They were both able to latch on and would nurse. I really enjoyed the bonding experience that it created. However, they started losing weight (they even had to stay an extra day in the hospital because of it). I was not producing enough milk so we started supplementing with formula. My schedule was every two hours nurse each baby for 5-10 minutes, supplement with a bottle and then pump. The schedule was exhausting even with help with the bottle feeds. All the pumping helped increase my supply but it was not enough to sustain two babies. Eight days after they were born we had a follow-up with the lactation consultant who said I would probably need a prescription from my Dr to increase my supply sufficiently. Unfortunately that was a Friday afternoon and I knew I would not be able to see the Dr until after the long holiday weekend. I was not really sure about the idea of taking a prescription and by that weekend exhaustion had caught up to me and I decided to switch to formula as I tapered off the pumping. I am very sad about having to give up on that even though I know that formula will be fine for them. Hopefully I gave them some benefit for two weeks.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-27449127483501751252011-05-21T21:11:00.002-04:002011-05-21T21:22:20.337-04:00They're here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUps_7QZxJ3OB_4deZsl6hMusnR7vu6q3I876c6RrqUaKWw6iHMy8cllpmVSbTsWEfLAnRM9KMXJm7pevBsGGwX7D6x6DA_i14O14GaslCv2mzZWDwQ4B9mMpQu9wWXyLpEDRVtXMyPtA/s1600/2011-05-20_16-27-32_526.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUps_7QZxJ3OB_4deZsl6hMusnR7vu6q3I876c6RrqUaKWw6iHMy8cllpmVSbTsWEfLAnRM9KMXJm7pevBsGGwX7D6x6DA_i14O14GaslCv2mzZWDwQ4B9mMpQu9wWXyLpEDRVtXMyPtA/s200/2011-05-20_16-27-32_526.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609344663742678034" /></a><br />This is Lisa's husband checking in for her. The girls arrived Thursday night, May 19th. Elizabeth Mae is older by 1 minute and checked in at 19 inches and 6 lb, 1 oz. Little sister Elaina Meredith checked in at 18.5 inches and 5 lb, 6 oz. Mom and babies are doing great. Should be headed home tomorrow. More to come after we get settled in at home.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-77665198087900065642011-05-02T18:04:00.003-04:002011-05-02T21:02:17.734-04:00Light Bed RestWell, my appointment went pretty well. The babies looked great! They are estimated to be 5lbs 2oz and 5lbs 3oz! Both heads are down so hopefully they'll stay that way. Unfortunately my blood pressure was high for the first time. The Dr put me on light bed rest (ie lay down all day if I can and rest more than I have, but not fully restricted). That means I am not working anymore which is a huge stress reliever. We are going to take it week by week. The Dr guessed I would probably go into labor on my own before the 37/38 week mark, but we'll see. No way to predict that even with experience! I just can't wait to meet them.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-50066131072354922342011-04-26T19:29:00.002-04:002011-04-26T20:07:59.545-04:00Hanging In There<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HLrbULAbCndweBYC2-0tizeXlPSki_W2PpQVIR5yy3Jk7mipSHe4jzes5w5FxJhnmOpuUh18-K4HvmhhjMXYagpqEM9typXZ2SD6MCq43xoU-NIplvvka4qdV4JKbtCYYh-ho7bkPt8/s1600/IMG_2563.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HLrbULAbCndweBYC2-0tizeXlPSki_W2PpQVIR5yy3Jk7mipSHe4jzes5w5FxJhnmOpuUh18-K4HvmhhjMXYagpqEM9typXZ2SD6MCq43xoU-NIplvvka4qdV4JKbtCYYh-ho7bkPt8/s200/IMG_2563.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600048280114974034" /></a><br />We had a great Easter, celebrating with family. I am posting a picture of the artwork my mom, mother-in-law and girls made of my belly. It was fun, though hard to sit still for that long.<br /><br />I am doing pretty well. The swelling in my ankles and feet is just a fact of life now. Laying down makes improvements but it never goes away. I feel puffy all over! I also have developed carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a pain (literally). It is hard to write or even brush my teeth. I also feel very large and uncoordinated. But I am thankful the twins are still safe and sound inside for now and pray we can make it a few more weeks. I have a dr appointment on Fri.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-43833605071070593982011-04-15T12:38:00.003-04:002011-04-15T13:02:09.836-04:0032 Weeks!Well it is definitely time for an update. I had my 32 week appointment yesterday and I am happy to report that everything is still looking great. Amazingly the twins are still growing at the same rate and are estimated to both be around 3lbs 14oz. Fluid levels, heart beats, etc all checked out. I have been doing pretty well. The main annoyances I am dealing with are majorly swollen feet and ankles and heavy breathing/shortness of breath. The swelling so far does not seem to indicate anything more serious as my blood pressure and urine samples are normal. I am very thankful for that and just trying to keep my feet up as much as possible.<br /><br />It is very exciting that I could get to meet them any time now. I hope for their sake they stay in about another month. We are also still so unprepared! We need at least a month. We are still trying to get the nursery together. I am normally more organized and prepared so it is driving me crazy not to be ready! But I guess that is expected with low stamina and two other girls to take care of. This weekend I hope to go through all the clothes I have saved from my older girls and get that washed and organized. I was so fortunate that a friend/co-worker of mine gave us much of her old baby stuff to help us complete our needs. She was so sweet and generous we ended up with her crib, packNplay, breast pump, and some other miscellaneous items. Though now I have been reading that using a used personal-use (vs hospital grade) pump is not safe even if you buy new tubing. So I am not sure if I will use it or not. Any experience out there with that issue?Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-39433509648422108502011-03-24T16:03:00.003-04:002011-03-24T16:29:45.951-04:0029 Weeks!Wow! I can't believe I am saying that. 29 weeks! We are getting so close to meeting our girls. I am excited and scared out of my mind. The realities of having 4 girls under 5 is definitely stressing me out. Deep down I know it will all work out and the tremendous blessing of our family overwhelms me. But I do think now is the time for a little healthy panic. I mean that ticker is in double digits! And I am going to have twins plus my rambunctious 4 and 2 year olds. Thankfully I will be taking a good 6 months off of work. Currently I work part-time at home and it will definitely help the stress level not to have that to worry about. <br /><br />I had my 28 week appointment last Friday and everything looked great. The babies are estimated to be 2lbs 8oz and 2lbs 9oz. Heartbeats were great and fluid levels looked good. They were moving around a little too much though. They did not give us any good pictures. Maybe next time! I should find out the results of my diabetes screen this week. I have my fingers crossed for good results.<br /><br />I am definitely large. I measured 37 weeks at my 28 week appointment! The Dr. assured me this was perfectly normal for twins and I just need to take it easy and not be too active. No problem there since climbing the stairs gets me out of breath. All of my symptoms and complaints are typical and not too severe at this point: peeing all the time, swollen feet, indigestion, fatigue.<br /><br />We're still trying to get our house in order. We have our big girls set up in their new room together. They seem happy and have handled the transition just fine. It is so precious to eaves drop on their conversations at night after we tuck them in. The babies' room is still a work in progress. We have some older furniture handed down through the family that we(I should say my DH) have sanded and now must paint (hopefully this weekend). Then we can start setting things up. Fortunately we don't have to paint the room. It was formerly my 4yr old's and is a nice shade of pink.<br /><br />We are still debating on names! We have the first names set but just can't find the right middle name. Our older daughters are Ella Rose and Emery Grace, so we decided to stick with "E". The twins will be Elizabeth(Lizzie) and Elaina(Lainie). Elaina's middle name will be Meredith. This was my dad's middle name. But Elizabeth we just can't decide! I want something a little less common since Elizabeth is a popular name, but nothing feels right yet. At least not for both of us. Hopefully I won't have to pack the book of names in my hospital bag!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-15898352914451712272011-02-16T12:17:00.002-05:002011-02-16T12:34:34.677-05:00Rambling UpdateI never mean for so much time to go by between posts, but is looks like it has happened again. I am still faithfully reading every one's blogs, I just don't have too much to report. I have my 24 week appointment this Friday. I think I will begin an every two-week schedule after this. As always I am excited to hear their heartbeats and get reassurance that all is well. I expect that it will be, because I have been feeling them move around all the time and have had no problems. <br /><br />I am definitely having trouble sleeping these days. I never expected this problem so early on, but despite my 6 pillows, I just can't stay comfortable for long between back and hip/thigh pain. Plus I do usually go to the bathroom at least three times a night! I am also a heavy breather now apparently. My husband has a hard time sleeping if he doesn't fall asleep first because I am loud. He is polite so he doesn't use the word snore. I also sound like a smoker after climbing a flight of stairs. Pregnancy is definitely a fascinating and miraculous thing.<br /><br />We have been spending our weekends either visiting with family or working on our house. When we found out we were having twins we realized the small bedroom we were going to put our next child in may not work out as well for two. So we decided to convert our bonus room, which we were using as a family room into our older girls' room and let the babies take what was going to be the older girls' room.(they had not moved in together yet). My office/guest bedroom is now the new family room. We are only about half way done with all of our rearranging. Being pregnant during this has been great, as I get to enjoy a supervisory role!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-8397540653403930902011-01-20T17:11:00.002-05:002011-01-20T17:19:47.307-05:00And we're having....We had our long awaited ultrasound today (postponed for snow)! Most importantly the babies looked good and cooperated for the millions of measurements they take at this ultrasound. It still amazes me to watch the screen and realize the miracle going on inside. You can see their hearts actually beating, see the amazing spinal cord and of course watch them move all around. Since I tend to worry it is also fabulous to get that reassurance that everything is going great. I am so thankful and still find it hard to believe we are being blessed in such a way.<br /><br />At this appointment we also confirmed that we are having two girls!!!! We are thrilled and shocked that it has turned out that we will have four daughters. But it does make me tired just thinking about it.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-83496121710750420512011-01-11T07:37:00.002-05:002011-01-11T07:42:52.126-05:00Snowed InWe got hit by the big snow storm and are going to be shut in again today. I enjoy those unexpected days when everyone gets to stay home. DH took the girls to play in the snow for a while. They had a blast which was a bit of a surprise. The girls are still pretty young (4 and 2) and in past snows they have only lasted about 10-15 minutes before one or both was complaining of the cold and had to come in. I was glad they finally discovered how fun sledding is. And of course they got hot chocolate when they did come in.<br /><br />Unfortunately my ultrasound was cancelled since the doctor's office was closed. Hopefully I can reschedule soon, but likely not until at least next week. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait a little longer.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-61994323872751306252011-01-05T11:00:00.003-05:002011-01-05T11:27:01.390-05:00Maternity Clothes NeededOnce again it has been forever since I posted. I am definitely seeing changes now and am showing now. I am down to my last pair of regular pants that are still somewhat comfortable. If I don't want to wear sweats all the time, it is time to go shopping for some maternity clothes. I had a brief DR appointment on the 27th just to check in and make sure I had not had any issues since the ER visit. At the time I was 16 weeks and the doctor said I was measuring equivalent to 22 weeks for a singleton pregnancy. I knew I was starting to feel big but that put it into perspective! All signs indicate that the babies are doing well and growing. We have an ultrasound on Mon (Jan 10) and I can't wait to see them and get that extra reassurance that all is well. We will also find out if the early ultrasound predictions were right and we are having two girls!<br /><br />Sleeping has been tough lately. Although my belly doesn't affect me much during the day, it must have an impact on sleeping. Despite my three strategically placed pillows I seem to wake up every few hours, often with a back ache. It may also be time to invest in a pregnancy pillow. Any recommendations? They are expensive and I would hate to pick a dud. <br /><br />I also have been having very weird dreams, most are harmless but I have had a few really bad nightmares. I guess these are just all weird things you get to experience during pregnancy. Fascinating!<br /><br />I think I having been feeling them move. It is really hard to tell if that is what it is or not, but this sensation has been occurring more often lately so maybe I am right. It is kind of a fluttering as most describe it, but I read someone else say a "rumbling" which is closer to my experience. <br /><br />I will post again next week and let you all know if we are in fact on the pink team.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-90751922504328581552010-12-13T13:14:00.002-05:002010-12-13T13:31:28.883-05:00Weekend ScareYesterday was quite a scary morning for us with regard to our pregnancy. I woke up a little before 7am and found that my thighs were covered in blood. I got up to go into the bathroom and had a big rush of blood and passed a large clot. The bleeding decreased substantially after the clot was passed. We went to the ER to get things checked out. I had an exam, blood tests, and an ultrasound. The ultrasound was pretty nerve racking. In the ER (at least here) the ultrasound tech is not allowed to comment on anything she/he sees. They have the screen turned away from you so you can't see and they don't turn the sound on so you can't tell if they found heart beats. The ultrasound tech then turns the pictures over to a radiologist for review which takes a good bit of time. Then they pass that along to your ER doc who comes in and reads the findings. We were so relieved that the babies were both looking okay. They diagnosed me with a subchorionic hemorrhage (bleeding around one of the placenta's blood vessels). They told me to rest and follow-up with my doctor on Monday unless bleeding became heavy and/or was accompanied by cramps then I should come back.<br /><br />We followed up with our doctor today. She said most of the time these resolve by about 20 weeks and there is really nothing they know of to prevent the situation. Fortunately the babies are usually okay, but I will be monitored a little more frequently. I get to go back in two weeks which I am happy about. They listened for heartbeats again today. And I was very pleased to hear them (both in the 150's)! I have a few precautions to follow, but can live life normally for the most part. Please keep us in your prayers that these little ones stop causing drama and just concentrate on growing for a while.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-60978994664093752372010-12-10T13:58:00.002-05:002010-12-10T14:24:33.060-05:0012 week ultrasoundI have been so bad at blogging lately. Sorry to leave you hanging. We had our 1st trimester screening ultrasound last week (just before the 13 week mark). It was so amazing! We got a nice long view of our babies. Even though I receive my weekly emails about how baby is growing, have had plenty of "morning" sickness and am starting to get a belly, it is still hard to grasp the reality of all that is occuring inside me. It really didn't sink in until I saw them. I was just amazed at how much growing and developing they have done. They were moving around and responded when the technician would poke at them to get them to move into better positions. It was definitley a treat to get to experience that. We have not received the "official" results of the screening (they analyze my blood sample and the ultrasound pictures together and it can take a few weeks) everything looked fine to the technician. The babies measured one day ahead of schedule and were the same size (within .01cm of each other). Their heartbeats were great and the neck fold measurement was normal. <br /><br />The one shocker occurred when we were talking with the tech about gender. My husband would love to have a boy in there. We have two girls right now and he craves another male in our house (even the dog is a girl). The tech said she could give a pretty good guess, but of course we would have to wait till the 20+week ultrasound for a more accurate result. Well, her guess is two girls! I think my poor husband was in shock. Of course he will be happy whatever it turns out to be, but his mind goes to 4 teenage girls in the house at one time, 4 weddings to pay for, etc. I guess we'll have to wait and see if the tech was right.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-47037306190852563072010-11-08T06:48:00.002-05:002010-11-08T07:20:10.119-05:00ThankfulOur ultrasound (9wk) was Thursday and everything looked great! They both measured well and had good heart beats. I am amazed at the miracle going on inside me. Although I have certainly had signs like morning sickness that this is occurring, it is hard to wrap my brain around it! I am so thankful that they continue to grow and thrive. It still just doesn't seem real as we tell people that we are expecting twins. I guess it just seems too good to be true. Needless to say we are very thankful for our little blessings as well as our older girls. It was a great weekend of celebration for us as our younger daughter turned two. We had lots of family around this weekend to share in our joy.<br /><br />I have also been feeling much better this week. I am hopeful this means things are turning around. The nausea has decreased significantly. I did go out and buy sea bands early last week. It could definitely just be a coincidence that I tried these when I would have felt better anyway, but I am not willing to say they have not helped since I have felt so much better, so I will still be wearing them this week!<br />I had spoke with a nurse at my doctor's office last week about nausea. The main change we made is that for now I am taking two Flintstones vitamins a day instead of the prenatal. When I feel I can stomach the other, I will switch back. She also wrote a prescription for Zofran instead of phenegran, but I am hopeful I won't need it. And finally I am still on my progesterone and estrace for a while longer. I go in again on Thursday for more blood work. Just waiting for that magical day when we are given the green light to start tapering off!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-16815014564847509942010-11-01T13:13:00.003-04:002010-11-01T13:49:56.298-04:00Bad BloggerI have been a bad blogger lately! Sorry for the silence. I have been in survival mode. Most days I am pretty queasy and tired, so between taking care of the girls and my part-time job, I have been pretty occupied. Morning sickness (usually most of the day or afternoon-evening sickness for me) is tough. I always thought I would be one of the lucky ones that did not experience much of it. My mom was a lucky one, so I should be too! So far I have lost 5lbs. I am not too worried about that as am overweight anyway so I have some extra reserves. I have been able to eat more in the last several days. Hopefully I am on the downward slope now and things will get better as the weeks go on. <br /><br />My new hobby is sleeping. I am usually in bed by 9pm and try to nap if I can. My DH has been great trying to get home early when he can and take over care of the girls.<br /><br />I have an appointment Wed. with a nurse who works with the Dr. I will transfer to once I am released by the NEDC. I went ahead and made an appointment (before I am released) because I want to talk with them about switching vitamins and strategies to prevent nausea. I have trouble stomaching the prenatal and I feel like they will be more knowledgeable and responsive than the RE's office on this subject.<br /><br />I am very excited for our ultrasound on Thursday. This will be the 9-week mark. I am excited to see our babies again and get reassurance that everything is okay. It is so hard not to worry. I wish I could have an ultrasound every week to make sure things are going okay. That is definitely my biggest battle right now-worry. I am trying to trust in God and not give in to that sin, but it is a struggle.<br /><br />I'll post again later this week after all my appointments.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-16997583979980573812010-10-15T14:00:00.003-04:002010-10-15T14:22:54.363-04:00Amazing News!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OoxbfhUXGV9QH8p_A-391PxLJd0heLnSb_oCL1Zf2gcEI74cPSCyfXxS2X8-iQZf_Nkb0aWAhH7oJ56OK5iUw1xLJBqpDfzf0RZuQ9Xu5GqlcX_DyFxKPflaZ5DH89yMKR-cdUcnFDs/s1600/BabyB.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OoxbfhUXGV9QH8p_A-391PxLJd0heLnSb_oCL1Zf2gcEI74cPSCyfXxS2X8-iQZf_Nkb0aWAhH7oJ56OK5iUw1xLJBqpDfzf0RZuQ9Xu5GqlcX_DyFxKPflaZ5DH89yMKR-cdUcnFDs/s200/BabyB.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528339260053976802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuk5OvZ9PcaDEi3vWfvcchm8za2vDxyooK2F0AHx6GgIoOpAz9KPvZhyphenhyphenEVLrWxBta5aNsP2ilMq7_b3l0wvro1eK_R1gv1pwNTReeddoZhx8OZgcuREJGAwrgwrXnc0ctcbRpeh3cwTA/s1600/BabyA.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuk5OvZ9PcaDEi3vWfvcchm8za2vDxyooK2F0AHx6GgIoOpAz9KPvZhyphenhyphenEVLrWxBta5aNsP2ilMq7_b3l0wvro1eK_R1gv1pwNTReeddoZhx8OZgcuREJGAwrgwrXnc0ctcbRpeh3cwTA/s200/BabyA.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528339256016721570" /></a><br />We had our 6 week ultrasound today and I have good news. Everything looked great. Plus there are two babies. We are having twins! Both babies measured close to each other and on target. We are at 6wks 1 day today, baby A measured 6wks 1 day(.46cm) and baby B 6 weeks 2 days (.54cm). Their heartbeats also looked good at 121 and 120 beats per minute. It is hard to believe that technology allows us a glimpse of such tiny beings and even more amazing how quickly they develop! I mean it is only 6 weeks in and they have heart beats!<br /><br />I have had a pretty rough week physically. Monday I started spotting which I have been reassured a million times is normal and I do believe that now. The doc this morning showed me on the ultrasound where I had some leftover blood in my uterus which is normal and that I may be spotting for a while. (I did not think to ask him what the blood was leftover from). Late Monday night I started vomiting. It caught me off guard because although I had experienced queasiness for about a week it never once got to where I thought I would puke. Well once I started I just couldn't stop and continued every hour or two until about 1pm the following day when I called the NEDC for help. They prescribed something for me, but I soon discovered I could not keep the pill down. Fortunately I was able to talk with them again before they closed and they prescribed a suppository to use. Finally after about 24 hours I got relief and have been recovering ever since. I honestly don't know how you ladies survive that experience this long term. I am so thankful that the meds are working for me. The only draw back is that it makes me sleepy which added to the fatigue I was already feeling makes me close to useless.<br /><br />So after such a rough week I was not really sure what to expect at the ultrasound. Were those good pregnancy signs or signs my body was failing. I am so thankful that they were good signs. Once again I am shocked that we have been blessed in this way. I am so excited to watch them grow.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-55980988120074738202010-10-11T15:49:00.004-04:002010-10-11T15:57:31.224-04:00Thanks for your help!Thank you all for your helpful comments after I posted that I was spotting this morning. You are all so sweet and helpful! I appreciated learning that the NEDC phones were in fact down and getting the nurses email. As well as reassuring me that everything could still be okay. I did get an email back from the nurse this afternoon and she said not to be too concerned, try to take it easy and drink lots of fluids. I have been relaxing most of the day thanks to the fact that both my mother and mother-in-law are spending their days off here with us. They are taking care of the girls allowing me the chance to rest.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-91238800669627227092010-10-11T09:18:00.002-04:002010-10-11T09:20:39.047-04:00SpottingWell, I am not sure what it means but I am spotting this morning. I guess we'll probably just have to wait and see at our ultrasound on Friday. I am a little frustrated because I can't get through to the NEDC, there phone just rings and rings. They probably can't say much at this point anyway. I am just praying that things will turn out okay.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-91255006438264448842010-10-04T14:04:00.002-04:002010-10-04T14:16:55.890-04:002nd betaI had my second beta today and it looked great. It was 1739 which is now 15 days past our day 3 transfer. Last Friday (12dp3dt) it was 512. Now we need to set up an ultrasound for Oct 14th or 15th (the 6 week mark). We have been given a due date of June 9th. <br /><br />I can hardly believe we have come this far. It still seems like a dream. I am so thankful to be pregnant! I really can't wait for the ultrasound, thank goodness it is only a little over a week away.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295930029348999928.post-46394508461814722322010-10-01T16:21:00.000-04:002010-10-01T16:22:04.739-04:00And the beta is....512!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406647984102448864noreply@blogger.com18