9 Weeks!!

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but my weekly updates are actually happening in the middle of whatever week I'm writing about. It's just easier for me to wait to take the weekly picture until the weekend, that way my DH can do it and I don't have to mess around with the tripod. I really need to buy a remote for my camera and then it wouldn't be a big deal! Anyways, I'm technically 9 weeks and  4 days pregnant right now...but really what's a few days!

Not a whole lot has been going on here. It's still very surreal. I don't have a lot of symptoms, so there are days when it's hard to even remember that I'm pregnant. However, my body is starting to change and the few symptoms that are still lingering around remind me every once in awhile.

9 Weeks!
Weight: 133 (-3 lbs)
Due Date: August 22, 2013
Baby is the size of: A grape! (or a medium sized olive!)

Maternity Clothes?: Not yet! I have resorted to using a hair tie to fasten my pants. I can technically button some of them, but it is so uncomfortable that I have given up on it!
Symptoms: My breasts aren't as sore as they have been, but they still have their moments on occasion. Gas is still an issue, although not as bad as it was. My appetite has really picked up quite a bit and most food sounds delicious these days! I have been having a hard time sleeping because my back and hips hurt at night. I am pretty emotional and t.v. commercials have been known to make me cry. I am definitely still really worn out though. I would say that fatigue is my number one symptom right now.
Emotions: Mostly positive but a little nervous. The decline in symptoms that I've experienced over the last week has me feeling a little worried, but after comparing last week's belly photos to this week...it's pretty clear that I really am pregnant. Most of the time I am feeling pretty happy and excited. It helps to do things like talk about nursery plans with my husband and look at baby names. While we aren't purchasing anything big yet, these little acts help reinforce the fact that these will be my take home babies.
Notable News or Events: Not a lot has happened in the baby department this week, although I did put in an order for a few more cloth diapers. 

Movement?: Nothing yet, still  too early. I can't wait!! Although with all the gas that I've been experiencing, I think at first I might not be able to distinguish baby movements, which will be funny later on.

Stretch Marks?: Nope, nope...still too early. Although I'm sure that later on I'll have a lot more to report on this front. 

Upcoming Appointments: Regular OB appointment on 1/31. It's still ten whole days away!!! I will also schedule my NT scan at that time. 

What People are Saying: Nathan (my husband) referred to the babies as the baby grapes this week which was cute. He also kisses my belly twice (once on each side) since there are two little ones in there!

And now the belly pictures. I normally only post two pictures on here, but this week I have three. The reason for this is that from the beginning I have been taking belly pictures from my right side. I don't want to change this since I'd like a whole series of very similar photos to commemorate the pregnancy. However, my stomach is seriously lopsided right now. If you look at my tummy from the left it is WAY bigger than from the right. It's kind of comical really and I wanted to share this with you guys! I don't know if I am just super bloated this week or if I've started to pop, but my waist is definitely a lot thicker than it was and the change is pretty obvious.

8 Weeks!

Well, we've made it to 8 weeks! This has been a relatively uneventful week and to be honest some days it's hard to believe that I'm even pregnant. Not knowing what's going on in there is so nerve-wracking!

8 Weeks!
Weight: 132 (-4 lbs)
Due Date: August 22, 2013
Baby is the size of: A raspberry (or a kidney bean)
Symptoms: Still experiencing sore breasts and tons of gas! Every once in awhile I will have a small bout of nausea, but really no morning sickness to speak of. My appetite has returned somewhat this week and being able to eat a real meal here and there has been nice. I have been absolutely exhausted though. Fatigue is currently my number 1 symptom!
Emotions: Cautiously hopeful. Some of my elation and excitement has been tempered by concern over the well being of the babies. I am now completely in love with these two little ones and it's hard not to be afraid that something will happen to them. Each week brings us closer to a happy outcome though and I am doing my best to stay hopeful and positive!
Notable News or Events: We went to a local store that sells cloth diapers so that we could see them first hand. I have been committed to cloth diapering since before we even started actively trying to conceive, so I have already done a ton of research online. However, I had never seen these mythical wonders in person. The store was very nice and the sales lady was super knowledgeable. We haven't bought any diapers yet, but I am even more convinced that this is the route I want to go!
What Other People Are Saying About Baby/Pregnancy: Not too much new here, we have started referring to them as the "baby beans." This makes a lot of sense right now when they are itty bitty, but I still feel like we need to come up with better nicknames until we know the gender!

The pictures this week aren't very exciting. I was convinced that my bump was starting to show a little bit more, but when I compared last weeks picture to this week they look virtually identical. Can't wait until I have a little bump to prove that there really are babies in there!

7 Weeks!

Here we are already at 7 weeks (actually, 7 weeks 3 days...but who's counting)! There is still a lot of time left in this first trimester, but every day that goes by is a good sign. Just hoping that these little beans can both make it to term, but I know I'll feel a lot better as the weeks go on.

This has been a crazy week to say the least!! We found out about the twins at 6 weeks and 6 days, so week 7 so far has been about getting excited over two and wrapping our heads around this amazing set of new challenges that we now face. We bought a new car after deciding that fixing our old one didn't make sense financially or practically, our old one was a compact car and some friends explained that there was no way my 6'4" husband would be able to drive it with a car seat behind the driver's seat. Since we will be having 2 babies, there will be a car seat behind both the passenger and driver's seats...so we went with a full size sedan style car instead.

In other news I've been feeling pretty mediocre to miserable in the last few days which is kind of a relief. I know it's a crazy thing to say, but it's a little nice to know that my body is finally realizing that it's pregnant! I will probably be changing my mind when the nausea turns into all out vomiting, but for now I am thankful for the nausea and fatigue. It makes me feel like these babies are growing! Well, onto our weekly update for now:

Week 7

Weight: 132 (-4 lbs)
Due Date: August 22, 2013
Baby is the size of: A blueberry!
Symptoms: Still experiencing sore breasts and tons of gas! My small bouts of nausea have increased somewhat and seem to be more prevalent in the morning/afternoon than at night. I have been out and out exhausted and between the fatigue and nausea I pretty much spent the weekend on the couch. My skin breakouts do seem to be clearing up somewhat, so we'll see how that goes. All in all, I  feel a little more pregnant this week and that's exciting. Although there are definitely still times when I have no symptoms and start worrying myself silly. 
Emotions: Excited and elated mostly! Once the shock of the twin announcement wore off, the excitement kicked in. I thought that I would be more scared and nervous, but really I am just thrilled. I feel so blessed to have been given two babies and I am praying every night that the Lord will let me keep both of them. I am also feeling more in love, seeing them on the ultrasound and listening to their heartbeats was life changing. I am totally in love with these two little beans already. 
Notable News or Events: Finding out about having twins at our U/S at 6w6d!! We also announced our pregnancy on facebook! This was a little bit scary for us because we know firsthand how fragile early pregnancy is, but we were so happy and we have decided to treat this pregnancy as if we will be bringing home 2 babies this summer. If something happens we will deal with it, but we wanted to share our joy and excitement with our friends and extended family as well! Other than that, I guess I'll be getting a haircut this week. 
What Other People Are Saying About Baby/Pregnancy: We have received countless congratulations after making our announcement and everyone is so happy for us!! We also received a number of "glad it's you and not me" sort of comments, but that just makes me realize how very happy I am that it is me! 

First Ultrasound Showed....TWINS!!!

Well, the title really says it all!! We went in for our first ultrasound yesterday at 6 weeks and 6 days pregnant. After our loss in September, I have been so worried about this pregnancy. I was praying so hard to see a heartbeat this time around and we were surprised with TWO healthy heartbeats. It was one of the most amazing and utterly unexpected moments of my life. Both babies measured right on track at 6 weeks and 6 days. One heartbeat was at 133 and the other was at 146 which are both within the normal range for their gestational age.My doctors seemed really happy with everything and I don't go back for 4 weeks, just like a normal pregnancy.

Here are the pictures of my babies...I know that they're still pretty much tadpoles, but they seem so much more real now. Watching the ultrasound machine and hearing their heartbeats has profoundly changed me.

Right now we are a little overwhelmed, but every minute I become more attached to having two babies. We know that we aren't out of the woods yet. In fact our chance of miscarriage increases because they are twins, however...we are choosing to treat this pregnancy as if both babies will survive and in August we will be bringing home two babies. Lots of things can go wrong and it's scary, because I love these babies so much already...but I am choosing not to let the fear take control.

However, I am asking for prayers. Will you please pray (or even just send out some positive thoughts, if praying isn't your thing) for both of these babies to be ok? I know it's not the usual thing that one asks in a blog, but I know that these 2 babies and I could use all the moral support and help we can get.