8 Months Pregnant

We reached the 32 week mark on Tuesday. So far so good! It is hard to believe how quickly the past 8 months have gone. I bet these last few weeks will be the slowest yet. I am just so ready to have my girls here.

I am still feeling quite good for being 8 months along with twins. I wake up a lot more at night but am still able to get a pretty good nights sleep. I am very thankful for that and the lack of back pain. The belly weight is very difficult to carry around. I am beginning to think I need a harness to hold it up :) My energy level has dropped drastically and I find it difficult to concentrate on anything for too long. I am still quite shocked that my swelling has been so minimal. My doctor commented today how amazed he was at my lack of swelling and complaints. Maybe it is the two baths a day that I take. HA!!

I went to the doctor today for another non-stress test to monitor the girls hearbeats and any contractions I might be having. Last week I was having very small braxton hicks contractions. This week that has changed quite a bit. I had many contractions while in the doctors office and they were much more intense. The good thing is that I don't seem to be having any extreme pain from them.

My doctor was on the edge about checking me today but we decided it was best to wait another week since I wasn't feeling any pain. Sometimes doing a physical exam and checking for progress can actually spur more contractions and move things along. We don't want that right now. I continue to feel the contractions as the day has gone on but still no pain.

We did do a quick ultrasound to check on Sophia's position. She is still in the breech position so I guess my pelvic tilts have not helped. I will just keep trying. The good thing is that their is still a lot of amniotic fluid surrounding Sophia and she has not moved down into the pelvic region yet. This means that their is still time for her to move into the head-down position. Please say many prayers for that as I really want to have a vaginal birth. A c-section was not in my plans. I guess we will take whatever God gives us.

We will go back to the doctor a week from today for a more thorough ultrasound and exam.

Baby Shower ~ April 19, 2009

We had our second baby shower today. I can't express enough how lucky Matt and I are to have such great family and friends. We continue to be blessed by all of them.

Matt started the day off right. He bought me a HUGE bouquet of flowers for the big day. What a wonderful husband. My girls are so lucky to have such an amazing Dad. He is so thoughtful, sweet and loving. He is extremely excited to be having a house full of women!!!

Aunt Shannon and Jennie put together a wonderful shower. They thought of every detail. As you can see by the pictures, it was absolutely adorable, and "PINK" was the theme! We played a game where I had to pick which features I wanted our girls to have from me and those I wanted them to have from Matt. It was a fun little game. I look forward to see if my wishes come true. HA!

We received so many great and amazing gifts. We got our double stroller, a pak-n-play, bath toys, a swing, baby monitor and so much more. One of the most unique gifts that we received was a pre-paid professional photo session for Sophia and Claire. We received two of these wonderful gifts and I can't wait to use them. As you all know I love photos and find they are the best way to capture all of your memories.

Matt was a wonderful Dad this evening. He helped me put together our Pak-n-Play. I have to say it is adorable!! I am amazed at all of the little compartments. I know it will be well used.

These showers and all the gifts are definitely making everything very real. I just can't wait to see our little angels. God has definitely blessed us and prepared us for this day. We ask for your continued prayers as we get closer to Sophia and Claire's arrival!!!

THANK YOU Jennie and Shannon for putting together an amazing shower. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. I know many of you drove a long way to be here. WE LOVE YOU!

~My First Baby Shower~

I had my first baby shower on April 11th, the day before my 30th birthday. My sisters and my Mom hosted the gathering. They know me so well. Everything was perfect! They thought of every last detail to make the day so special for me and the girls.

As you can see by the pictures below it was all beautiful. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful and amazing family and friends. They are all so generous. We got amazing gifts from a car seat and swing to handmade birp cloths and clothes.

Matt enjoyed getting to see all the gifts after the festivities ended. He put together our swing today, learned how to install the car seat yesterday and will work on the bouncy seat tomorrow. Seeing all of these baby essentials around the house has made everything much more real. I am just so ready and excited to meet our little girls.

Matt can hardly contain himself. He is so ready for the girls to arrive. He thinks about them constantly. I can't wait to see his face when he meets Claire and Sophia. Our lives will change forever.

We have our first non-stress test tomorrow at the doctor. Basically they hook me up to monitors and watch the girls heart rates. We are praying that everything comes back normal and that the girls decide to stay in my belly for a few more weeks. They have some more growing to do!

Enjoy the pictures below from the shower!

7.5 months Pregnant

We are now at the 30 week mark. The pregnancy is really flying by. At times that makes me nervous but at the same time very anxious and excited! Matt and I have so much to look forward to. We have two beautiful and amazing little girls on the way!!!
We had an ultrasound on April 2nd. Like always, we were so excited to see how Sophia and Claire have changed. Unfortunately Claire did not participate in the excitement. She had her back to us the entire ultrasound. She must have been one tired little girl.
Sophia on the other hand was very happy to pose. As you can see in the 3D picture, she has her hand laying across the top of her head. She loves to lay like that. I am anxious to see if that continues after her arrival. I believe that Sophia looks like Matt in this picture. I think it is her nose. I guess time will tell.
The other two pictures show evidence of hair on the girls heads. I can't believe that an ultrasound can pick up that much detail. I have been praying for babies with full heads of dark hair. We may just get our wish.

Sophia is now 3lbs 7 oz and Claire is 3 lbs 6oz. This puts them in the 69th and 68th percentile of all babies. Normally twins on average are in the 30th percentile. I guess our girls are over-achievers already. Matt says it is because they are going to be tall athletes. I think that sounds good!
I continue to enjoy watching all the amazing movements coming from my belly. I think I could sit and watch all day long. Last night Matt and I got to feel the babies hiccups for the first time. I have never been so excited about hiccups. We could not stop smiling and laughing about it.

My Mom, sister Abby, niece Stella and my nephew Drake visited us on Friday. They helped me with some items I needed to finish up before the babies arrival. We purchased outfits for the girls to come home in from the hospital. So adorable! Thank you to the family for visiting and helping me out.

Now that I got through all the wonderful things I guess I should touch on the not so exciting piece. I swear I see evidence of stretch marks appearing. This was my first official nauseous moment in my entire pregnancy. I know, I know...did I really think that I would get by without any stretch marks while carrying not one but two babies? Well I was hoping that I was going to be one of those lucky 10% who don't get them. Matt says he doesn't see them. I think he may just be playing it safe and telling me what I want to hear. Such a good husband; he has learned well!
After my initial nausea and a return to reality I realized that it doesn't really matter. Cover me in stretch marks, extra pounds and whatever comes with pregnancy....I wouldn't trade it for anything. God is blessing us with two baby girls in two months and nothing could be better than that.

Love to all!!!