This week, I got to experience my twins in a way that I have never experienced anything.
Now, I've been feeling (what I think are/were) flutters since about 13 or 14 weeks; strange movements in my tummy unlike any gas or digestion I've ever felt, so I can only assume it was the twins.
Around 16 weeks, those flutters kind of stopped. I didn't worry, because their heartbeats were fine on the Doppler at our check-up. But when 18 weeks hit and I still hadn't felt anything, I started to wonder what was going on. Other mamas on my birth clubs and message boards were feeling their babies already (some of them even feeling them from the outside!) and I wasn't. I think I assumed since they're twins, I'd get to feel those types of things sooner, since they're squished into a small space and since my uterus is about the size of one for one baby at 24 weeks. I thought wrong though. I was feeling zilch.
This week, the flutters came back... and they're not just flutters, they're real tickles and movements! From the inside, anyway.
I still doubt myself, wondering if it's other body stuff happening, but no, I'm almost positive this is twins.
Daddy Rob has felt them a few times. Not kicks, but little rolls (they must be doing somersaults when he puts his hand on my belly!) He gets so excited when I point to a hard spot on my tummy that I think is baby; he'll put his hand there and gasp when he feels something. It's so strange, I don't really feel it from the inside when he's pressing on them, but he does. I imagine them with a shocked look on their face, going "WTF, dad? We're already squished enough in here without you pushing on us!" and I think that's the cutest little bit of whining ever, and it makes me smile.
Things that make them move: singing, eating, laying on my back, talking to them. They love mommy's voice, and I love that! Well, either they love it or I'm just waking them up every time I decide to poke them and talk to them. I can't really feel them unless I've eaten recently or have a full bladder. My guess is that they get squished when I eat or have to pee. The one exception to this rule was the other day when I was hungry: my stomach growled (LOUD) and that certainly caught them off guard... I felt them even standing up! Normally I have to be lying on my back to feel them.
Feeling them in there makes them all the more real to me. It's been one of the most incredible things I've experienced in my life. Right up there with finding out there were two, seeing them as little beans for the first time, and hearing their sweet heartbeats for the first time. It's almost like they're communicating with me from in there, saying, "hey mom, we're here!" and I love it.
I can't wait to feel their first little kicks :)
I really am enjoying being pregnant. Aside from the PUPPPS and the insane morning sickness, aside from the back pain every now and then, I am so happy to have my little ones growing in me. I'm loving planning for them, dreaming of them... I'm grateful for nesting and for the happy feelings. I love you, sweet twinsies!
And to you mama's who keep telling me "you won't enjoy it later... it hurts. It's annoying. blah blah blah. Buzz off, and let me enjoy my pregnancy. :p
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
PUPPPS: the devil in rash form.
So many things have been happening in the last 2 weeks! So this is my 19 week update, then I'll write the very exciting 20 week update, and you'll get a BONUS one on Friday! (Or Saturday, whenever I get around to writing it.)
Two of the strongest sensations so far in pregnancy have hit me this week: one of them is the worst thing I've ever experienced and the other is the greatest (well, one of the greatest... I feel like everything that tells me my twins are really here is the greatest.)
I'll start with last week so that we can stick to chronological order. Come on a journey with my through torture and triumph...
-------------------------------------------------
Of all pregnancy symptoms out there, one that I'd never heard of and never considered was unbearable itchiness. Don't get me wrong, I knew my skin would be stretching fairly rapidly (40 pounds in 9 months is going to be a big change for my little body), and I know a little bit of discomfort (read: itchiness) is expected. But a couple of Sundays ago, I woke up for church with a little more more than "slight discomfort." My legs were itchy in spots, and there wasn't really any relief from the itch when I scratched. I was at a barbecue the day before, though, so I just assumed bug bites and wrote it off. I didn't think much of it, just put some lotion on and called it a day.
It was night time where I wanted to saw my legs off on my hips (and happily would have, too!). That night, I was so itchy I couldn't sleep. It came on gradually throughout the day, but when it hit, OH BABY did it hit! I clawed at my legs like an animal until they were red and raw. I don't know how I actually got to sleep.
Monday it was worse. The same sensation from the night before plagued me all day. It got to the point where I showered multiple times, hoping the water would relieve my discomfort (NOTE FOR YOU MOMS-TO-BE: HOT WATER MAKES IT WORSE! DON'T DO IT!). I even scrubbed my legs with a pumice stone.... not to exfoliate, but hoping to slough my skin off. (ha)
By Tuesday morning, I decided it wasn't bug bites and I was way too miserable to be having an allergic reaction, so I started to do what everyone [who wants to freak out] does when they're having symptoms of any kind. No, I didn't call the doctor: I Googled it.
I learned 2 things are common with pregnancy, and even more-so with twin pregnancy: liver issues and the worst thing in the history of all things "benign:" PUPPPS.
The liver thing is possible, as I've been having some unexplained pain and fluttering behind the left side of my ribs, but I didn't have the other symptoms of the liver issue.
When I read up on PUPPPS, I cried for an hour on my bed thinking that I might have it. I know I sound like a big baby (it's not life threatening in any way to me or the twins), but I dreaded the thought that I would have PUPPPS for the remainder of my pregnancy.
PUPPPS is "pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy." Now, I don't really know what that means medically or scientifically, but in layman's terms, it means "the most ridiculous and pointless and unexplained itchy ugly mess that you'll ever have to deal with that doesn't go away until your babies are born or a few weeks after."
AHH! I cried because I can't even explain the discomfort. I've been lucky enough to not have experienced any traumas that were too terrible, but I HAVE broken bones, gotten burns, migraines, etc... and I'd take ANY of those over the PUPPPS itchiness.
I finally called the nurse on duty at my clinic, who explained both the liver thing and PUPPPS. The next day I went and gave them a nice big vile of blood and researched some tips for relief.
I discovered, through the goodness of other mamas who'd gone through it, the most wonderful miracle next to my sweet twins:
Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap.
Ladies, I promise you... if you ever have the misfortune of experiencing PUPPPS, whether it's early in your pregnancy like me or in the last few weeks (which is more common), ignore EVERY OTHER "treatment" offered to you. Don't bother with Benadryl, don't waste your money on Hydrocortizone. Go to your local natural market (I love Marlene's on 38th in Tacoma; they also provided my Mother's Special Blend to prevent stretch marks) or get on Amazon or wherever you know you can find natural organic soaps and supplements. Buy a bar of Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap. Use it at LEAST once a day.
Fair warning: you WILL smell like a hardware store. And while it doesn't relieve every ounce of itching, after 2 days of using it, the unsightly bumps on my legs were gone and the itching was DRAMATICALLY decreased.
I never heard back from the doctor about my liver, so I'm guessing my blood-work came back just fine. Which probably means I do have PUPPPS, and I will have it until after the twinsies make their debut. But thanks to Grandpa (I'm not sure whose grandpa...) I can sleep at night and I'm not trying to scrape the skin off of my legs.
Thank goodness for other mommies on the internet.
Two of the strongest sensations so far in pregnancy have hit me this week: one of them is the worst thing I've ever experienced and the other is the greatest (well, one of the greatest... I feel like everything that tells me my twins are really here is the greatest.)
I'll start with last week so that we can stick to chronological order. Come on a journey with my through torture and triumph...
-------------------------------------------------
Of all pregnancy symptoms out there, one that I'd never heard of and never considered was unbearable itchiness. Don't get me wrong, I knew my skin would be stretching fairly rapidly (40 pounds in 9 months is going to be a big change for my little body), and I know a little bit of discomfort (read: itchiness) is expected. But a couple of Sundays ago, I woke up for church with a little more more than "slight discomfort." My legs were itchy in spots, and there wasn't really any relief from the itch when I scratched. I was at a barbecue the day before, though, so I just assumed bug bites and wrote it off. I didn't think much of it, just put some lotion on and called it a day.
It was night time where I wanted to saw my legs off on my hips (and happily would have, too!). That night, I was so itchy I couldn't sleep. It came on gradually throughout the day, but when it hit, OH BABY did it hit! I clawed at my legs like an animal until they were red and raw. I don't know how I actually got to sleep.
Monday it was worse. The same sensation from the night before plagued me all day. It got to the point where I showered multiple times, hoping the water would relieve my discomfort (NOTE FOR YOU MOMS-TO-BE: HOT WATER MAKES IT WORSE! DON'T DO IT!). I even scrubbed my legs with a pumice stone.... not to exfoliate, but hoping to slough my skin off. (ha)
By Tuesday morning, I decided it wasn't bug bites and I was way too miserable to be having an allergic reaction, so I started to do what everyone [who wants to freak out] does when they're having symptoms of any kind. No, I didn't call the doctor: I Googled it.
I learned 2 things are common with pregnancy, and even more-so with twin pregnancy: liver issues and the worst thing in the history of all things "benign:" PUPPPS.
The liver thing is possible, as I've been having some unexplained pain and fluttering behind the left side of my ribs, but I didn't have the other symptoms of the liver issue.
When I read up on PUPPPS, I cried for an hour on my bed thinking that I might have it. I know I sound like a big baby (it's not life threatening in any way to me or the twins), but I dreaded the thought that I would have PUPPPS for the remainder of my pregnancy.
PUPPPS is "pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy." Now, I don't really know what that means medically or scientifically, but in layman's terms, it means "the most ridiculous and pointless and unexplained itchy ugly mess that you'll ever have to deal with that doesn't go away until your babies are born or a few weeks after."
AHH! I cried because I can't even explain the discomfort. I've been lucky enough to not have experienced any traumas that were too terrible, but I HAVE broken bones, gotten burns, migraines, etc... and I'd take ANY of those over the PUPPPS itchiness.
I finally called the nurse on duty at my clinic, who explained both the liver thing and PUPPPS. The next day I went and gave them a nice big vile of blood and researched some tips for relief.
I discovered, through the goodness of other mamas who'd gone through it, the most wonderful miracle next to my sweet twins:
Ladies, I promise you... if you ever have the misfortune of experiencing PUPPPS, whether it's early in your pregnancy like me or in the last few weeks (which is more common), ignore EVERY OTHER "treatment" offered to you. Don't bother with Benadryl, don't waste your money on Hydrocortizone. Go to your local natural market (I love Marlene's on 38th in Tacoma; they also provided my Mother's Special Blend to prevent stretch marks) or get on Amazon or wherever you know you can find natural organic soaps and supplements. Buy a bar of Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap. Use it at LEAST once a day.
Fair warning: you WILL smell like a hardware store. And while it doesn't relieve every ounce of itching, after 2 days of using it, the unsightly bumps on my legs were gone and the itching was DRAMATICALLY decreased.
I never heard back from the doctor about my liver, so I'm guessing my blood-work came back just fine. Which probably means I do have PUPPPS, and I will have it until after the twinsies make their debut. But thanks to Grandpa (I'm not sure whose grandpa...) I can sleep at night and I'm not trying to scrape the skin off of my legs.
Thank goodness for other mommies on the internet.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Okay, I'm definitely growing two babies.
I am amazed by the amount my body has changed in just a few short weeks.
I've gone from this...
....to this in 3 1/2 weeks. Less than a month!
My babies are growing so quickly. Already, they're about 5 inches long and about 6 ounces a piece. So my tummy is huge. But so are my arms, my face, my thighs, my fingers and toes, my... ahem... baby food....
I've gained weight... and not just baby weight.
Daddy Rob has started calling me "soft," especially when he holds me and massages me He's not insulting me, mind you... he's sweeter than heck... when I say "you mean fat?" he makes it clear that he indeed meant soft, and that he likes it. He seems to like touching my squishy sides and arms... what a silly man. I feel huge some days.
I'm okay with it, though. The more the twins can get from me, the greater their growth will be, and the higher their birth weights. Twins have a risk of being born small... for one thing, they'll more than likely be a few weeks early. For another, they're all cramped up in there with not much room to grow. They're sharing nutrients and a dorm.
Fortunately, our twins are di/di (diamniotic/dichorionic)... they have their own placentas and their own sacs. So they have much lower risks than twins who are mono. We're lucky for those reasons.
But I'm not going to take any chances. I'm going to gain weight, and I've accepted that.
For the next few months, my body is not mine. It is theirs. If I have a little extra flab on my arm or if my chin gets a little wider, that's okay. I might need to remind myself of this as time goes on, but right now, I'm okay.
22 days left until Anatomy Scan, where I can see my sweet twinsies again :)
I've gone from this...
....to this in 3 1/2 weeks. Less than a month!My babies are growing so quickly. Already, they're about 5 inches long and about 6 ounces a piece. So my tummy is huge. But so are my arms, my face, my thighs, my fingers and toes, my... ahem... baby food....
I've gained weight... and not just baby weight.
Daddy Rob has started calling me "soft," especially when he holds me and massages me He's not insulting me, mind you... he's sweeter than heck... when I say "you mean fat?" he makes it clear that he indeed meant soft, and that he likes it. He seems to like touching my squishy sides and arms... what a silly man. I feel huge some days.
I'm okay with it, though. The more the twins can get from me, the greater their growth will be, and the higher their birth weights. Twins have a risk of being born small... for one thing, they'll more than likely be a few weeks early. For another, they're all cramped up in there with not much room to grow. They're sharing nutrients and a dorm.
Fortunately, our twins are di/di (diamniotic/dichorionic)... they have their own placentas and their own sacs. So they have much lower risks than twins who are mono. We're lucky for those reasons.
But I'm not going to take any chances. I'm going to gain weight, and I've accepted that.
For the next few months, my body is not mine. It is theirs. If I have a little extra flab on my arm or if my chin gets a little wider, that's okay. I might need to remind myself of this as time goes on, but right now, I'm okay.
22 days left until Anatomy Scan, where I can see my sweet twinsies again :)
Friday, July 5, 2013
16 Weeks and Growing!
We had our 16 week appointment on Friday, where we got to meet the doctor for the first time. And boy, is she a cheerful one!
So yes, to keep you updated, in the past week and a half or so, I've been feeling tiny flutters in my belly. There were some before that, but I can't be sure if that's what I was feeling. For those of you wondering what it's like... it's like when the doctor thumps on your noggin asking, "does this hurt?" that soft little "thud" of a fingertip against your skull... or better yet, put your hand on your stomach, and then tap your first two fingers on your hand quickly.... what you feel through to your stomach is kind of what I feel inside mine. Very faint, but definitely movement.
These babies are growing like rapid fire, and so is my belly. I am loving it so much. I like to sit and just touch my belly, and stare at it. I've been taking so many photos of us (me and the belly, ha) just because it's making me feel so cute :)
Of course, I know it's the twins that are especially cute, not be, but I'll take it!
We'll see how much I love this bump in about 10 weeks... but so far, so good.
The nausea has slightly subsided (maybe a TMI for some of you), and I only get really sick if I haven't eaten (which reminds me....)
The symptoms have shifted to thirstiness... I'm ALWAYS wanting something freezing cold to drink... and I used to hate ice... and a little bit of dizziness, but not too bad.
The worst thing is the sciatic nerve pain. I thought it wouldn't start until later in my pregnancy, but I was completely wrong. These babies are in there laughing at how I walk when I've been sitting too long, or walking too long... or basically functioning at all. Hopefully this is the worst of it.
Of course, the symptoms are nothing compared to the incredible joy I'm feeling about these two little guys (or girls). As the weeks creep forward, they become more and more real to me.
I'm majorly nesting right now... trying to throw out SO many things. In the last week, we've made three trips to Goodwill. Small trips, mind you, but trips nonetheless. I want all unnecessary things out of my life. Bye bye, clothes that I haven't worn in years, dishes that I didn't know existed, and ugly trinkets that don't match anything and have no sentimental value!
Of course, with getting rid of my own things comes adding things for the twinsies. I've been working on decor for their nursery. We are going off of the theme from Lambs and Ivy: Echo, and I must say it is the darn cutest thing I've ever seen.
My favorite part of their room so far is the dresser/changing table, but only because I made cute little drawer pulls for it.
[On that note, we are registered at Babies R Us, if anyone wants to start spoiling these twins early :) Of course, Babies R Us can get a little pricey, so if you want to purchase the same item elsewhere, just e-mail my mom salvationclown@aol.com... put "Alicia's registry" in the subject and tell her what you bought, she'll take it off the registry.]
I've also done a few paintings on canvas that go along with the theme. Not the exact characters from the Lambs and Ivy set, but close, and still adorable.
I'm a little sad at how they look in these pictures, because I think they're WAY cuter in person... But hey, flash does some terrible things to color.
Finally, I've been working (slowly but surely) on their baby book. There might be some debate over twins having their own baby books or one... but my twinsies are going to have a single baby book. They will have their own pages devoted to them as they are born and grow, but while they're in my tummy, they are progressing together, and the ONE baby book just seems logical to me. This is a picture of the cover, which I'm sure is not finished.
Well I guess that's it for now, see you in a week or so!
We'd originally planned on dealing exclusively with midwives at Pearl Place, but of course, you know the story: twins are higher risk, blah blah blah, so we're working directly with the doc.
She was fabulous, so I'm not too worried.
Unfortunately, the check-up was just that... a check-up. Checked my weight (I'm up 3 pounds!), my blood pressure (perfect!), and we got to do my favorite thing... hear their little heartbeats.
Doctor is convinced that since their heartbeats are so high, that they are girls. Me? I don't buy into all that mumbo-jumbo... there are plenty of boys that are born with high heartbeats, and girls with low. I also don't believe in the cranial structure stuff, the cravings test, any of it. My babies will tell me what they are when they show me their little parts.
It's not that I wouldn't be happy with two little girls. I'll be thrilled no matter who they are. But I have this strong feeling that at least one is a boy.
We get to find out on August 2nd... so the countdown is on! Our reveal is going to be so stinkin' cute... be excited ;)
The other exciting thing is that all that movement I've been feeling in my belly is NOT gas... it's babies! Doctor could hear movement with the doppler... even told me that baby on the left (which is the one I feel most often) is going to be a handful. My little active twinsies...
So yes, to keep you updated, in the past week and a half or so, I've been feeling tiny flutters in my belly. There were some before that, but I can't be sure if that's what I was feeling. For those of you wondering what it's like... it's like when the doctor thumps on your noggin asking, "does this hurt?" that soft little "thud" of a fingertip against your skull... or better yet, put your hand on your stomach, and then tap your first two fingers on your hand quickly.... what you feel through to your stomach is kind of what I feel inside mine. Very faint, but definitely movement.
Other symptoms of the 16th week: I'm getting HUGE!
These babies are growing like rapid fire, and so is my belly. I am loving it so much. I like to sit and just touch my belly, and stare at it. I've been taking so many photos of us (me and the belly, ha) just because it's making me feel so cute :)Of course, I know it's the twins that are especially cute, not be, but I'll take it!
We'll see how much I love this bump in about 10 weeks... but so far, so good.
The nausea has slightly subsided (maybe a TMI for some of you), and I only get really sick if I haven't eaten (which reminds me....)
The symptoms have shifted to thirstiness... I'm ALWAYS wanting something freezing cold to drink... and I used to hate ice... and a little bit of dizziness, but not too bad.
The worst thing is the sciatic nerve pain. I thought it wouldn't start until later in my pregnancy, but I was completely wrong. These babies are in there laughing at how I walk when I've been sitting too long, or walking too long... or basically functioning at all. Hopefully this is the worst of it.
Of course, the symptoms are nothing compared to the incredible joy I'm feeling about these two little guys (or girls). As the weeks creep forward, they become more and more real to me.
I'm majorly nesting right now... trying to throw out SO many things. In the last week, we've made three trips to Goodwill. Small trips, mind you, but trips nonetheless. I want all unnecessary things out of my life. Bye bye, clothes that I haven't worn in years, dishes that I didn't know existed, and ugly trinkets that don't match anything and have no sentimental value!
Of course, with getting rid of my own things comes adding things for the twinsies. I've been working on decor for their nursery. We are going off of the theme from Lambs and Ivy: Echo, and I must say it is the darn cutest thing I've ever seen.
My favorite part of their room so far is the dresser/changing table, but only because I made cute little drawer pulls for it.
[On that note, we are registered at Babies R Us, if anyone wants to start spoiling these twins early :) Of course, Babies R Us can get a little pricey, so if you want to purchase the same item elsewhere, just e-mail my mom salvationclown@aol.com... put "Alicia's registry" in the subject and tell her what you bought, she'll take it off the registry.]
I'm a little sad at how they look in these pictures, because I think they're WAY cuter in person... But hey, flash does some terrible things to color.
Finally, I've been working (slowly but surely) on their baby book. There might be some debate over twins having their own baby books or one... but my twinsies are going to have a single baby book. They will have their own pages devoted to them as they are born and grow, but while they're in my tummy, they are progressing together, and the ONE baby book just seems logical to me. This is a picture of the cover, which I'm sure is not finished.Well I guess that's it for now, see you in a week or so!
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