We are having TWO BOYS!!!

I had my 20 week ultrasound today and it was confirmed that both babies are boys! We are very excited. I had a gut feeling that Baby A was a girl, but I guess my Mother's Intuition was not accurate. That concerns me a little. The ultrasound was 90 minutes long. Everything looked perfect on the ultrasound. I am too tired to scan pictures tonight. I will get that done this week and add them soon. I have a lot more to blog about, so I will be back soon. I promise.

Crazy Saturday

Dave and I had a very busy day yesterday. I went to my future cousin-in-law, Jacqui's, bridal shower Saturday afternoon with my mom, aunt Carla and my grandma. The shower was great. Jacqui & Travis received a lot of nice loot. I am very excited for their wedding on Saturday, September 5th.

This is me with my mom, my aunt Carla, and my Grandma after the shower.

This is my aunt Carla (the mother of the groom) with Jacqui and my Grandma.

Saturday evening, Dave and I headed to the Willows to celebrate his 20th high school reunion. I am kicking myself for not getting more pictures, but I thought I would share the ones I did take. We both had a great time. He really enjoyed talking to all of his old buddies.

Sonya, Dave, Angie & Deana

The Class of 1989

Dave and Adam - he came all of the way from Australia

Saturday was a great day, but it completely exhausted me. I have done absolutely nothing productive today. Dave decided that we should watch the movie Knocked Up again. I was slightly embarrassed that I cried my eyes out at the end. Then, for some reason, I thought we should watch the movie Juno. I seriously cried like a baby at the end of that movie. Two pregnancy movies in a row!! It was funny. My pregnancy hormones are kicking into high gear. It didn't help that both movies have the main character delivering a baby at the end. It was an interesting choice of movies.

Showing Some Skin

I can't believe I am actually doing this, but I thought you all would get a better view of how huge my belly is if I actually exposed a little skin. I am officially 18 weeks pregnant today. According to my calculations, I am at least halfway through this pregnancy. The average twin pregnancy goes to 35 weeks. Of course, some last up to 38 weeks and some unfortunately end much earlier than 35 weeks. I am shooting for these beautiful babies to arrive sometime around Thanksgiving.

I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but I have so much blood circulating in my body right now that my blood vessels are very visible when looking at my skin - especially in my abdomen. I have read that women pregnant with twins have a 100% increase in their blood volume. That means I have twice the amount of blood in my body than I did six months ago. I primarily blame that for my weight gain. Ha. Ha.

This increase in blood volume has more of an effect on me than I expected. I have been having very frequent nose bleeds. Who knew pregnancy caused nose bleeds?? I average about three nose bleeds per day. Also, sometimes when I lay down after being on my feet, I feel as though my heart is pounding ferociously in my chest. I think it has to work a little harder than usual. This increase in blood volume is often blamed for anemia and hypertension, as well.

But, generally, I have been feeling much better during the past week to 10 days. I have significantly less nausea. HALLELUJAH! I do have more heartburn and I am so, so tired all of the time. It is becoming more and more uncomfortable to sit or lay down.

I have made a conscious effort to slow down at work a little bit. I am seeing fewer patients in a day and trying to work less than 8 hours each day. This has been a little difficult for me. I have a hard time saying "No" to squeezing in one more patient. It will all work out just fine, though.

To sum it all up, things are going very well.

Belly Bump Buddies

Thursday evening Dave and I were able to meet up with our friends Casey & Holly for dinner. It was great visiting with them. They are in the process of moving from New York City to Norman, Oklahoma. They were able to spend some time at home visiting with friends and family during the move.

Holly is 6 months pregnant with their first child. They are having a girl - who shall remain nameless. We took a belly bump picture together that I thought I would share.

Good luck to you, Casey & Holly. We know that you will make great parents.

It is a Boy and a . . .

who knows?! We had a an issue with the umbilical cord blocking the private parts of Baby A. Our wonderful ultrasound tech, Nan, spent a lot (I mean a lot) of time trying to figure out the sex of Baby A, but she was unsuccessful. So, we will just have to be patient and wait until the next ultrasound. I love Nan. She sent us home with 15 pictures today. I am sharing a small sample. Dave, Mom, and Jeff were all present for the ultrasound. I am 16 weeks, 1 day pregnant today.

This is Baby A. Baby A weighed approximately 5 ounces and measured at 16 weeks, 2 days. Baby A's heart rate was 155.

This is a group picture of the babies. Baby A is on the left and Baby B is on the right. Don't worry. Baby B is not squished. They were kicking each other back and forth during most of the ultrasound. They were much closer together during this ultrasound than they were during the previous one.

This is Baby B. He is definitely a boy. He was showing off for us today. He weighed in at 6 ounces and had a heart rate of 156. He measured 16 weeks, 5 days. So, he is slightly bigger than Baby A.

There was a little bit of disappointment that we were unable to determine the sex of Baby A today, but a lot of relief that both looked perfectly healthy. The only slight concern was that Baby B's placenta was very close to my cervix, but apparently that will only be a concern if that is still the case at 24 weeks.

My next ultrasound is on August 4th - at 20 weeks. I scheduled my 4D ultrasound for late September, too. I am very excited about that one.

OLEVA REPORT

Mom had her weekly chemo again today. She also had a Muga scan of her heart again. Everything looked just fine on the Muga scan. There are no problems with her heart. That is such a relief. She has 5 more weekly chemo sessions. It will be a huge relief when it is over. I told her we should do something fun to celebrate.

Sometime very soon (if not immediately) after the chemo, she will start six weeks of radiation. She will do that daily, 5 days a week. So, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of September, all treatments should be completed.

Thanks so much for reading!

Quote of the Day

"You shouldn't say 'Honey, you smell like ass.' Have some tact, woman."

Hilarious.

Let me explain. Everything stinks to me during this pregnancy - including Dave. It hurts his feelings even though he knows that he doesn't actually stink. I was reading a Fit Pregnancy and read out loud that a lot of women think their husbands smell foul during pregnancy and above is the response that Dave gave. So, from now on, I won't tell him when I think he stinks.

The First One Could Have Been a Fluke . . .

But last night I found the second one. I don't know why it brought me to tears. I know that is ridiculous. It happens to everyone at some point or another. For some reason, I thought I would escape this inevitable fate. Dave had hundreds of them when I started dating him 10 1/2 years ago. Since then, he says that I have given him thousands more. I don't know how he could possibly blame me. It makes him look distinguished. It will just make me look old.

No one told me that pregnancy would give you grey hair!!

No one told me a lot of things about pregnancy. I told Dave that I am going to start a blog or write a book to tell women all of the dirty little secrets of pregnancy. I wish I had that book. Do you think I could get rich off of it?

Failure to Blog

Failure to grocery shop. Failure to exercise. Failure to weed the flowers. Failure to make dinner. You get the gist. I apologize to my readers about being absent. I feel as though I have been absent from every aspect of my life - except for work. I am always "present" for work.

I was 14 weeks yesterday and I felt a little better yesterday and today than I have in a long time. I actually went to the grocery store and I made dinner last night. That is a big victory.

I spent more than an hour surfing for baby stuff on the internet last night. Dave told me that he was happy that I was finally starting to get interested in buying baby stuff. I think he was a little worried that I may never gain any motivation.

I have also decided to make the blog public, so you should no longer have to log in to view it. It should be easier to leave comments, too. I hope that makes things easier. I'll be back soon.

Oh, Baby - Two Distinct Personalities

Twelve week ultrasounds were today. Dave was unable to attend, but Mom was with me today. The babies were beautiful. Active. Healthy. Amazing. Mobile. Tiny (about 3-4 inches). The ultrasound pictures tell the story.

This is Baby B (for boisterous). In this picture his hands are crossed in front of his face. He could be described as uncooperative. He wasn't interested in having his picture taken today. He has a STRONG personality.

I think this is the most hilarious ultrasound picture of all time. Baby B is directly facing the ultrasound wand. He has his arm in the air. It's almost like he is waving his arm, saying, "Get out of here or else!" HILARIOUS!! Baby B is very rambunctious . . . active . . . uncooperative . . . hyper . . . and the list goes on and on. It's amazing he has so much energy considering that he is holding up Baby A.

Baby B again, facing the ultrasound wand. He was constantly moving throughout the entire ultrasound. I was shocked that the babies can move so much at only 12 weeks.

This was the best profile picture that we could get of Baby B and it took some patience.

This is Baby A (for angel). Baby A moved, as well, but she almost always went back to the same position. We got to see all of her fingers. She had her hand up by her face most of the time. The ultrasound tech, Nan, saw her nasal bone, which is apparently difficult to find at only 12 weeks. I can already tell that this will be our good baby.

Another angelic view of Baby A.

This is the hand of one of the babies, I'm not sure which one. We could see all 20 fingers today.

Baby A's heart rate was 146 and Baby B's heart rate was 167. The tech said Baby B's rate was probably higher because of all of the activity. Nan also said that she can't be 100% sure, but she thinks that Baby B is a boy and Baby A is a girl. We won't start decorating the nursery yet, but it is nice to have an idea what the sexes are. Everything looked great on the ultrasound today. YEAY!! The next ultrasound is at 16 weeks, on July 7th.

Mom went with me to the ultrasound today. She loved it. She was happy that they actually looked like babies instead of blobs. She had chemo today. It seemed to go well. She has been feeling okay, not great. She will have chemo every week for 9 more weeks. The trial drug, which caused most of her side effects, has been left in the dust. She is continuing chemo with the regular protocol of drugs from here through the end. I am happy about this.

This is my 12 Week belly picture. I read that a woman pregnant with twins is usually about the same size as a woman pregnant with a singleton that is two months further along. That means I am probably about the same size as a woman that is 5 months pregnant. So, I asked Dave what would happen if I made it to 9 months (I know it is unlikely) and he said, "You will look like you are 11 months pregnant." I thought that sounded like lots of fun.

I Love Summer

The best thing about the summer is that our social calendar is generally very full.  That means we get to spend a lot of time with all of our friends and family.  What is better than that?

This past weekend, Dave and I went to Kansas City.  We had a GREAT time.  We stayed at the Marriott on the Plaza.  Friday night we hung out at O'Dowd's with our great friends Jeff & Leigh Ann Williams, Seth & Ellen Berry, and Mitch Prather.  We had a fabulous time.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures.

Saturday was spent hanging out on the Plaza.  We had lunch with the Herbst family.  We shopped (mainly for maternity clothes) and enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Rockhill Tennis Club celebrating the marriage of Sam Allinson and Matt Dunn.  Sam is the daughter of my business partner, Darren.  We had a wonderful time.  Sam was a gorgeous bride.

This is a picture at the wedding reception.  From left, Dave, my pregnant self, Darren, Kellie, Jersey & Tim Herbst, Olivia and Rick Gooch.

This is me with Dave at the wedding reception.  I ended up wearing a dress that was the same color as the bridesmaid dresses.  I couldn't believe it.

On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated the 30th birthday of my great friend, Angie Wentworth.  Together with her husband, Thomas, and friends, Melissa, Missy, Ranina, and myself, we were able to pull off a wonderful surprise party.  It was a Hawaiian luau party.  She honestly had no idea that we were throwing her a party - and it was at her house!  It was a wonderful night.  She had a great turn out for her party.  

Angie with her cousin, Tyler, who also was celebrating his 16th birthday.  

Angie pulling up to find 40 people in her garage.  She was shocked!!

Ranina & Missy

Yesterday, I was 11 weeks pregnant.  I am still getting bigger and bigger.  I have an ultrasound and a doctor's appointment next Tuesday, June 9.  I keep sharing the side view pictures of myself, because I look a lot smaller from the side.  I am very wide from the front.  

OLEVA REPORT

I feel terrible that I am so behind on this.  Mom had chemo last Wednesday and again today.  Jeff took her to both of those appointments.  To make a very long story short, the clinical trial drug that she has been taking has caused way too many problems.  She had a Muga scan of her heart last week and it showed that her heart volume has decreased.  They believe that the trial drug has caused this and it also caused the blood clot that she previously had.  Therefore, NO MORE TRIAL DRUG.  

She also believes that it is the trial drug that has made her feel the worst, so she is okay with this decision.  Last week, she started the second round of chemo drugs.  She will take one drug only every week for 12 weeks.  She only has 10 weeks left.  She says that this drug doesn't make her feel as bad as the previous drugs.  She and Jeff stopped by to see me today and she didn't seem like she felt very well at all to me.  I will go with her next week.