Five Weeks

I was called into my bosses office a little while ago and they told me that they would pay me for five weeks of maternity leave. I wanted to take ten weeks off after the girls were born, but that won't be an option now. I am disappointed, but I also know there are woman who don't get any paid leave. I asked if I could use my two week vacation pay and add to the time off so that will push me up to seven weeks.

I was never interested in being a stay at home mom, but I sure wanted to spend more time with the girls before putting them in child care so early in life. Well it just doesn't seem right to me. I sure wish us moms were able to take off a few months with our new babies.

Okay enough whining. I will pinch some serious pennies for next few months and hope the girls don't come to early.

It will all work out, right?

Big Week

Well it is finally here, the week of my level II scan. I have been anxiously awaiting this day since our NT scan at 12 weeks. I am nervous, very nervous. We will find out on Wednesday if the girls are healthy and if they have any chromosomal abnormalities. When we did the scan, it was only the scan and no blood work. According to my MFM, the blood work is not accurate with twins. I do know that different doctors have different opinions on this. I also know that with the blood work coming back okay, you get a lot larger odds of no problems. With us the odds of having down syndrome was 1/182 which I was okay with because that is less than a 1% chance. The scan looked good and measurements with totally within normal limits. Of course we have a much higher chance just because of age alone. Al and I will both be 39 when the babies are born this year. I think after this scan I can totally put my mind to rest and enjoy the rest of this pregnancy. I want to order the nursery furniture, but wanted to wait until we see how things are going. I keep thinking that if there were issues, you would think that they would have picked it up already since I have u/s at least twice a month. I know either way that there is nothing we can do. I think back and ask myself if it was a mistake not having the amino or the CVS done at 12 weeks. I just couldn't justify the risk of losing one or both babies at that point. We worked so hard to get them. I guess only time will tell.....

I hope my girls are healthy.

I did find out that the consignment shop I go to has 5 twin moms that she buys from and they all have girls! I have found many matching outfits! That is not something you expect to find at a consignment shop. I am stocking the girls up.

I also had a great online friend who struggled with infertility make these blankets for the girls!

 

Fathers Day

This is Al's first Fathers Day. I already had his gift made and gave it to him over two weeks ago. I am not one to wait for the actual holiday. Actually I am very impatient. This is such a special day for him and I am so happy that I was able to share this time with him. I don't think any of the Fathers Days after this will ever be as special as this first one. I could not ask for a better husband or father for my children. I never knew how good a marriage was truly suppose to be until Al. I never knew how good you were suppose to be treated. He treats me like a queen every single day and in return I treat him the same way.

Here is the gift I had made for him, this is first Fathers Day.

We or Me?

I just finished reading an article in US Weekly where Mila Kunis was on Jimmy Kimmel talking about her pregnancy with Ashton Kutcher. She went on to say how men shouldn't say "we are pregnant" because they don't have to go through birth and push something the size of a watermelon out their ladies parts. Well in all honesty comments like this really piss me off and I don't care who they come through. 

#1 Since the beginning of time we have all known that men can not labor a baby. So they shouldn't be able to share the pregnancy? It was half him that made your baby. It will be him taking care of you through pregnancy. My husband goes to the store on the drop of a dime to pick up whatever weird craving I am having. He rubs my back . He rubs my belly and talks to our girls. He cooks all of our meals. He cleans the house. Does this not earn him the right to say "we are pregnant?" 

#2 My husband went through FOUR years of infertility treatments, losses, needles, medications, surgeries, getting hopes up for a baby and then it being crushed when we lost the baby. Having to sit there as a husband and not be able to console me or make the pain go away. He worked his ass off to help contribute to the $40,000 in treatments. He went to all the doctors appointments with me over and over and over for years. 

MY HUSBAND HAS EARNED THE FREAKING RIGHT TO SAY "WE ARE PREGNANT"

End of rant.

Maybe all these woman that complain about their husbands and don't think they have any rights to claim in pregnancy shouldn't be married or should stop being selfish for one second and remember when they got married, they agreed to give and compromise.

Two

GIRLS!!!!

 After the u/s today we all went out to celebrate having two girls and came up with their offical names. 

Lilah Grace Rapp
Olivia June Rapp

Then my MIL helped me pick out fabric for the nursery. She  is going to make my curtains and cribs skirts.

And she also brought me two receiving "hopper" blankets!

 
Most importantly, I have two healthy babies and I will never ever take them for granted or this situation for granted. I will always know how blessed I am,

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

Well tomorrow is the big day and we find out genders of the babies (hoppers). As you know, earlier this week I went in for an u/s on my blood clot and asked the technician to look and see if we could get genders. Well she was 100% sure on hopper "A", but not totally sure on hopper "B". I didn't want to share on the blog because my husband still doesn't know the genders and I didn't want it to be ruined on facebook etc.... 

BUT....

She was pretty sure both hoppers were GIRLS :)

I will let you guys know tomorrow. Please anyone that knows me on facebook, don't say anything.

 

16 Weeks and MFM Appointment

Yesterday I had my MFM appointment. My SCH is finally shrinking and is down to 3 CM!!!! I hope with everything this means that bleeding daily is going to be a distant memory. Both of the babies are doing great and growing.

Hopper "A" had hb of 172 bpm
Hopper " B" had hb of 170 bpm

I was concerned about their heartbeats still being so high. I keep hearing they will drop and so far the heartbeats have always been consistent in 170's- low 180's. The doctor said there was no  arrhythmia and she was not concerned. I will have my level two u/s in two weeks to check on brain and heart development. This is a scary u/s for us because it will let us know for sure if there are any chromosomal issues since we decided against the invasive testing and blood work because it wasn't accurate with twins.

I also found out the genders yesterday at our visit. I asked her to take a little peek. I am not sharing the news yet because we have a gender u/s on Saturday with one of those places. Al didn't want to know and wanted to wait to find out along with his mom and dad, and my sister. So my lips are sealed, but I am so very happy!

I also discussed my 3 hour glucose test and asked about my 3 hour level being 32. At first she said there had to be some mistake with the blood work. I assured her that the way I felt, my sugar was definitely that low. During my next test she said to let them know if I started feeling bad and they would draw the last one early. She does believe that I will have more than  one abnormal level this next time. Guess I will just have to wait and see.

Here are pics of the Hoppers yesterday:

Hopper "A" being stubborn

 Hopper "B"

I welcome any gender guesses :)

Today marks 15w5d that I have successfully carried my two little hoppers. I am still freaked out when I think of having/raising twins. Although I am working on it daily, acceptance. I love them both so much already and yet some days it doesn't even seem real that I am pregnant with one let alone two babies. I think the only thing that keeps me somewhat sane is using my doppler daily and having that reassurance they are still with me. I go in to the MFM clinic tomorrow so they can check on the active blood clot and hopefully tell me all the bleeding I am having is the clot dissolving. 

I made a big step this weekend. While browsing at the consignment shop I found a double stroller with two car seats ( only slightly used) and four bases. I wouldn't usually buy used car seats, but the cost of only $75 for all of it, I couldn't pass it up. Since I will be driving babies 98% of time, I will get the new car seats and use these in Al's truck. We were going to buy two seats and four bases originally, but like I said, this was a great deal. They also have the side impact on them. Then I bought about 20 onesies. I was so nervous after this purchase. All I kept thinking is what if I lose the babies still? Maybe I should wait another few months to make these purchases. Of course my husband reminded me that so far everything has gone pretty smooth. I also looked online and the chance of miscarriage at 16 weeks is 0.6%. So after our gender u/s this weekend I am going to see if my MIL will make some curtains and bed skirts for the cribs. I am not going with a theme or doing much decorating. We will be looking for a new house in about a year so there is no sense of doing to much now. We are leaving the walls the same neutral color and I will put in wood blinds so the room can stay dark for sleeping etc. I also priced the nursery furniture and believe I can get it all for under $500. That includes the (2) mini cribs, (2) mattresses and (1) dresser. My hope is to put babies in cribs starting from day one. I am also wanting a pretty expensive monitor for their room and hoping to find it second hand somewhere. I don't plan on going overboard on buying stuff for them. Most of the things today you use for a few months and its done. I want to be realistic and also as frugal as possible. Knowing that our biggest expense is going to be daycare. I want to save money towards that. 

I did have to take my wedding ring off last week. I have also noticed that my ankles are also swelling. This is just a reminder that I am no longer a "spring chicken" and need to remember I can't do everything I did 17 years ago with my daughter. Luckily, Al does so much around the house. He does all the cooking and now does 90% of the chores. I am so spoiled and blessed to have such an attentive husband. He is going to be an amazing father! 

Here is my 15w3d bump pic: After cutting down on steroids my weight gain is So much more manageable. Of course gaining weight doesn't bother me. I think I am only up 23 lbs now. 19 lbs I gained within the first 7 weeks. 

You can't noticed by looking at the picture, but I am losing my hair bad! I have a few bald spots.

Quick Update

Hey everyone~ I am back from a week long camping trip. The first part of our trip was with family and the second part started on Monday when Al and I drove about 5 hours away for a husband and wife camping trip. Besides bleeding for the whole week the camping trip went so well. That part of the state is so beautiful!

Here are a few pics:

I finally heard back today on my three hour glucose test I had last week.

3 hour glucose test results:
Fasting level 88
1 hour 210
2 hour 114
3 hour 39

Don't fit criteria for GD, but borderline. Have to repeat test again at 24 weeks.

I can honestly say I thought I was done with the glucose test forever :) I have an u/s appointment with MFM clinic on Monday to check on bleeding and babies. Never in a million years did I think I would bleed through whole first trimester and into second trimester and the babies still be with me.  I am SO lucky and blessed. Today is 15W2D. Gender u/s is next Saturday!! I can't believe it, I really can't.

My guess is Two Girls! The heartbeats are still really high at around 179 -183.


I hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day and weekend.

First Baby Purchase

I broke down last week and made my first hopper purchase. This was such a huge step for me and accepting this pregnancy.

We are taking our new camper out this weekend for its first camping trip. Our first camping trip is going to be from Friday-Sunday with my sister and family and then we are heading off to SE Oklahoma from Tuesday-Friday for a solo camping trip with Al and I. I guess it is our consolation prize for not going to Colorado. I am pretty excited though because I have never been to that part of the state and I heard it is absolutely beautiful with crystal clear lakes and rivers. Plus I am gone from work for a week!!

This Friday is my three hour glucose test. June 7th is our gender u/s and I have a feeling that Hopper "A' is a girl. Here is a cute u/s pic from Friday. Al and I were laughing so hard!

Nothing else going on really. Still spotting (but that is the norm anymore). I have another OB appointment on Wednesday to check on the babies and blood pressure. Feeling pretty good today and I am going to take full advantage of that!

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. What are your plans?