Listy lists - week 21

Things I love about being pregnant:

feeling “special”
delicious anticipation of things to come
being round/not sucking in my gut for the first time in my life
food!
feeling the little kicks in there (seriously, that’s the best part)
having other people lift heavy things for me
thinking about names
daydreaming about meeting my babies, and how I will raise them &
imagining future conversations with them
being actually kind of excited about the birth process
shopping for cute stuff like this fabric that will become their curtains

Short list of bummers about being pregnant:

no dad’s wine
no sushi (seared salmon nigiri, especially)
no foofy coffee drinks (I won’t even touch decaf, no way.)
Fiery Satanic Heartburn like hot lava in my esophagus
being paranoid about foods on the “bad” list and NEVER indulging in them
no yummy craft beer in seasonal flavors like “pumpkin spice”
no sleeping on my back (makes for spinal pain & pounding heart rate)
being uncomfortable
being winded/short of breath from doing practically nothing
worrying

(also: ask me again in the 3rd trimester, sure I will have more whining to do)

Week 20

Ahhh, week 20. What we’ve all been waiting for. Well, not really, I guess last week was the BIG news and all. But it certainly seems I keep passing these milestones, and everything is STILL JUST FINE. Meaning...that I’m REALLY GOING TO BE A MOM! OF TWINS! TWO! AT THE SAME TIME!

Jesse and I went shopping this weekend and bought the crib mattress. We have officially started buying things. And this is a little over the halfway point, so I think now is a perfect time to get serious about purchases. I’m also working on the curtains for their rooms. I’m pretty excited to have it done, it will be so cute!

I went to Powell’s last night and got a couple of books about raising twins, and also one on the Montessori method. Jesse and I are really excited about trying all the more “crunchy” ways of childrearing: co-sleeping, baby wearing, breast feeding, cloth diapers, etc. He’s building a wooden co-sleeper to fit on the side of our bed, using the crib mattress.

As far as my health is concerned, I feel great. The only problem really is I’m starting to experience this wicked heartburn I’ve heard about. It seems to come on if I’m upset about something, I’m not sure yet if it has anything to do with what I’m eating. I’m walking more and still doing prenatal yoga. I’m also feeling the babies’ movement more than ever. Sometimes the kicks are strong enough that I can feel them from the outside. I put Jesse’s hand on there the other night so he could feel them too. This is just amazing and magical. It makes me so happy!

Week 19

IT'S A GIRL! AND A BOY!

Had the big 20 week ultrasound, a few days early. I was pretty nervous about it, just because the main reason it’s done is to look at the anatomy and measure, and scan for abnormalities and whatnot. For anyone who is not a doctor or technician, the big exciting part of this is finding out the gender. Some folks don’t want to know, they want to be surprised on the big day of birth, but I certainly wanted to know as soon as possible! Let’s hear it for technology! Yesss! Tell me what we got in there, PLEASE!

I had read a few things about babies who won’t cooperate and show The Goods, and that drinking orange juice was a surefire way to keep them buzzed and moving around a lot. So I did just that. I didn’t have that much, mind you, just a gulp or two. That may have proved to be a mistake, because the babies were like Mexican jumping beans! Insane. I couldn’t believe how much they were moving. It was so cool to feel the movement - while at the same time their little water ballet played out on the monitor in front of me. 

The technician was very sweet, and revealed that Baby A (who is closest to the “exit”) is a BOY, and Baby B, who is up a little higher, is a GIRL. Right now they are in a yin/yang position, both horizontal in my belly, for the most part. So while that might seem very zen and lovely, really it just means they can kick each other in the head as much as they like. There are, of course, placenta walls between them, but I hope they’re aware of each other somehow. I really hope they get along well together once they’re “on the outside”. Now, when they move around, I have a pretty good idea of who’s who. I LOVE this.

Unfortunately, they were so active, we didn’t get any “good” photos this time. That means no nice (easily identified) profiles. There’s one of a foot, one of a hand, a couple of the back-of-the-head view (which, at this point still looks pretty freaky) and of course the obligatory “It’s a Boy!” penis shot.

In other news, my belly button is suddenly very cavernous, where it used to just be kind of collapsed upon itself.

Week 18

Definitely feeling movement! I really noticed it in the last few days. Lots of bumps and thuds and tapping. It’s so frickin cool! No seriously. I was getting worried. I finally realized it wasn’t gas. Gas does not feel like a tiny person poking you from inside. Not usually, anyway. I usually notice the movement after eating a meal. I had some ice cream last night and they were just going NUTS in there! Poor babies were high on sugar. I wonder what it would be like if I still drank coffee? Shudder to think.

Finding a comfortable position for sleeping is kind of becoming an issue. I’m not supposed to be sleeping on my back for much longer, which is sad because I’m a back sleeper. Sharing the bed with Jesse and Kuro Kitteh has always been fine, even though we only have a double. We all fit pretty well, but now that I need lots of extra pillows and my belly is growing, it’s getting to be kind of a tight squeeze. Poor kitty gets the boot a lot, in the middle of the night. She just needs to sleep either at my feet or curled around my head. Then it’s fine. I’m also well aware that I kind of can’t already complain about comfort. I’m just beginning to show now, and I am going to be HUGE. Huge, I tell you!