24 weeks!!

It has been a long 3 weeks since I last posted. A lot of updates! Brian and I are still playing the name game. We are settled on a name for Ms. Baby Boksen -- EMMA!!! Mr. Baby Boksen is still in the works. I have a feeling we are going to be debating this for a little longer.

We decided on a theme for the nursery, this was a lot of work. At one point I seriously considered two nurseries. Brian was against this and luckily he talked me out of it. I know it is way more work...but I am having such a hard time picking a theme that will work for boy/girl. There are some pretty cute gender neutral nurseries out there and after lots of searching we are set on an alphabet themed jungle safari room! That is just a combination of two nurseries that we could not decide between.

I am excited to order this 5 foot stuffed giraffe for the room!

I already bought this little giraffe at a craft fair this weekend. It is hand made out of a gourd! Pretty cool :)

G is for Giraffe!

Brian is working hard on the nursery. So far he has put together one of the Graco Lauren cribs! Using just these two tools...

And it is all done! :)

There is still a LOT more to do, but this is a good start :)

Brian and I are getting maternity photos done on Saturday. We are both very excited. Right, Brian??? Just kidding -- he is not really that excited. But I am. We decided to use Dawn Haas after some recommendations and looking at the beautiful pictures on her blog. She is reasonably priced and very nice! I cannot wait to see how the pictures turn out!

We have a doctor appointment on Wednesday...I will keep everyone posted :)

21 Week Poll

How far along? 24 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: 30+ pounds!
Maternity clothes? Yeah!
Stretch marks? Still looking good :)

Sleep: Sleeping well but waking up a lot! My back hurts!!
Best moment this week: Brian put together a crib

Movement: Oh yeah!!!
Food cravings: Not really...just enjoying eating whatever I want!
Gender: One boy and one girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? It is just a flattie!

What I miss: Wine and sushi!
What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery...this weekend!! :) (Well, supervising the painting of the nursery!)
Weekly Wisdom: Don't make eye contact with strangers or they might talk to you FOREVER

Milestones: The nursery has officially been started!! Wood floors are in, one crib is together, and I bought a super cool giraffe at a craft booth over the weekend.

21 weeks!

It has been a really great week with the wombmates!! Wednesday we had a heart scan of all the chambers and everything looked fantastic.

The doctor said my babies have beautiful hearts! :) They are right on track at 8 inches and 1 pound each!

The babies switched places in utero so baby A is now the girl and baby B is now the boy. Weird! We really need to name them so we can stop calling them A and B.

Especially when they are going to be switching all around!

I have been feeling so many kicks, punches, everything! Even Brian is able to feel

them now. They usually only happen once or twice in a row so I try to get him to catch it but he misses it a lot. I think last Sunday was the first time he really felt it, he was very excited!

I did have a little scare this morning! I was unplugging my hair straightener and the box popped off of the cord and I grabbed the exposed wiring as I was unplugging it! I didn't even realize what

happened until I felt a jolt up my arm and dropped the plug! I called my doctor right away and left a message with the answering service. My doctor called me back within 5 minutes! He said the babies should be fine and I have felt them moving since then, so

that is good!! I am hoping they come out with some sort of superpowers though.

This is the killer straightener plug! It is a CHI and I have had it for a few years, so maybe I needed a new one anyways! I went to Trade Secret today and they were on sale! Woo-hoo. I got a new one that has a digital thermostat and you can change the temperature! Pretty cool :) Just another baby expense I guess!

Anyways I am SO HAPPY that it is October because I can finally put up these Halloween decorations I bought weeks ago! Brian and I are decorating tomorrow. It is his only day off this week, so I won't go too hard on him! Lightning pre-season kicks off tonight so he is busy working already. Booo. He will be busy all the time now until the season ends in April (I think). Later if they have a good season and make the playoffs! Yikes!!

21 Week Poll

How far along? 21 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes -- every day!
Stretch marks? Not yet :)

Sleep: I slept in until 10AM today!! I have not been able to do that in a long time!!
Best moment this week: Seeing the babies on Wednesday! And their "beautiful" hearts!

Movement: Yes, more and more every day!
Food cravings: I was craving chocolate alllll week and Brian took me the The Melting Pot last night. Delicious!!
Gender: One boy and one girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out?Almost a total outtie!

What I miss: clear skin!
What I am looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery
Weekly Wisdom: Keep smiling!

Milestones: Over halfway!

20 weeks!!

WOW! I cannot believe I am over halfway done with this pregnancy. Thank God. I honestly am not a good pregnant person. I used to think that after a few weeks I would LOVE being pregnant and I felt a little guilty when other women said they loved being pregnant. I kept thinking "I am sure I will feel that way, soon!" Well guess what. No freaking way. I am way too vain for this. It is a truly humbling experience. Somebody told me that when you are pregnant with a girl, she "steals" your beauty. I must be growing a Victorias Secret model inside of me!!

I feel a little better getting that off of my chest. In a few years when Brian and I decide that we might want more children, please refer me back to this post so that I can be reminded of how very little I am enjoying this. THANKS!!

Here are some updates:

1. We are getting wood floors installed upstairs next week!!! We are very excited. Once those are done we can put together the nursery. I need to get a picture ASAP of the "before."

2. I am trying to decide between two fantastic area photographers for a maternity photo session for me, Brian and the wombmates. I am very torn between Jason Angelini and Dawn Haas. I am sure we will use the same person for a newborn session within the first two weeks of birth also, so it is a tough choice!

3. I went back to work this week and it is so great to be back. I missed my kids! And the week went by so fast. I am actually sleeping much better because my job gets me so tired.

4. We have an appointment on Wednesday to see the babies hearts during an ultrasound called a Fetal Heart Echo. We love seeing the babies so much, they are bigger and bigger at every appointment! And we get to learn a little about their personalities. Someone is always doing flips off the others head or something crazy. Who knows what Wednesday will bring!

20 Week Poll

How far along? 20 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes -- every day!
Stretch marks? Nope! Using cocoa butter every day on all the B's and it has done a good job so far!

Sleep: I have been sleeping a lot since going back to work! My job wears me out.
Best moment this week:Feeling lots of kicks!

Movement: Yes, a few times a day I feel something.
Food cravings: Not really.
Gender: One boy and one girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out?Almost a total outtie!

What I miss: clear skin
What I am looking forward to: doctor appointment on Wednesday
Weekly Wisdom: Keep smiling!

Milestones: Over halfway!

Until the floors are done and the nursery is ready...here is a picture of our baby furniture piling up :) We ordered the Graco Lauren convertible cribs over Labor Day weekend when they were on sale with a changing table and mattress! Even though we probably won't use the convertible beds (I am thinking car and princess beds!), it was a really great deal. You can see Rusty and Rocco are not that excited, but Brian and I are! And you can catch a little glimpse of the green carpeting on the stairs. The whole upstairs is carpeted that color and in a week it will be wood! The stairway will be carpeted a lighter color that matches the wood very nicely! I can't wait for it to be finished!

Things that I have been missing...

I have been pregnant for almost 5 months!! It has been such a great time...but it does not come without sacrifices. Here are some things I have been missing...

I do not miss Snoopy....but I miss sleeping all night long! Instead, I wake up to pee a few times and can never fall right back to sleep!! I don't turn the lights on, I try to keep my eyes closed the whole time, I try everything! But once I am up it is a good 20 minutes before I can fall back asleep, and that is if I am lucky. Take today for instance...I have been up since 4:30AM!

I miss wine!!! Red wine, white wine, it doesn't matter. I just miss it! Lauren was an AMAZING friend and found some non-alcoholic wine to bring to me last week when we had dinner together. I thought it was the coolest thing! It turns out it was really grape juice, in a wine bottle. Oh well..it was still fun!

Of course I miss sushi! I used to drag Brian out to sushi almost once a week. It is my favorite thing to eat after a good workout. I think I will have some sushi brought to me in the hospital as soon as I deliver these babies :) And do you know what goes great with sushi??

SAKE! Mmm sake is so good...warm or cold! I could drink a kettle by myself - not really a good idea but totally possible! And sake bombs are my favorite! A lot of my college memories are clouded by images of flying chopsticks and spilled beer.

I miss runny eggs!! I eat a lot of eggs, breakfast is my favorite meal! But these days, my eggs have to be scrambled all the way. That is so boring to me! I try to make fun omelets and add cheese and things to help the eggs out...but in the end it is never exactly the same.

Even though giving up some of these things have been hard, it is going to be totally worth it in just a few months!!!!! I cannot wait to meet these healthy little babies I have been growing :)

Gender Reveal Party - Twins Style!

Brian and I hosted a gender reveal party tonight and it was so much fun!!

We invited our families over and asked everyone to wear different colors to represent what their guesses were for the sex of the babies. Blue meant 2 boys, pink meant 2 girls, and purple meant one of each!

What do you think most people guessed???

Purple!!!

There were a few team blue...

And a few team pink...

Brian's dad wanted to vote for everything, so that he would be right...

Finally it was time to cut the cakes!! Yummy :)

Brian's parents cut cake A...

AND.....

It's a boy!!!

My parents cut cake B...

AND....

It's a girl!!!

We are so happy to be expecting one boy and one girl :)

The party was fun...the cakes were adorable...it was really a great time!

I was hobbling around on my leg some of the night, but was back in my wheelchair before it was all over. It was nice to move around some and I am really hoping that by the end of the long weekend I will be able to go back to work!!

I will leave you with a picture of me looking huge while I grow one baby girl and one baby boy sweet potato!

Thanks for reading :)

Gender scan today! :)

Brian and I are so excited that we got to see the babies today!!! And find out the genders :) We are thrilled...but keeping it a secret for a few more days. (Sorry!)

On Sunday we are having a little get together with our parents/grandparents and some close friends to cut cake and share the good news. Everyone is coming with their guesses and we will all get to see who guessed right and who was wrong.

I got a lot of cute ideas for gender reveal parties online and am so happy to be putting ours together on Saturday.

Here is some interesting news that we can share right now..these babies are growing into sweet potatoes this week!

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

I also switched OB offices today. I was sent to a high-risk Dr. for this specific ultrasound but he was very concerned with my present condition (the wheelchair) and how it is being handled by my other Drs. After he spoke with my Rheumatologist and OB offices, it was decided that the rest of my pre-natal care would be taken care of at the high-risk office. I was a little put-off, but happy that my new Dr is taking my RA so seriously and being more aggressive about gaining control of it.

So I had my steroid dosage doubled (again!) and should feel better within 48 hours. Well, I have heard that before. So I am not getting too high of hopes but I would love to be walking up my stairs in two short days. The couch makes a nice bed but I miss picking out my own clothes from my closet, although Brian has pretty good taste!

Thanks for reading :) Cannot wait to post about the babies as soon as we reveal it to our families!!!

I'm a bump on a log. (Well, couch!)

It has been a long two weeks since I last posted! I went back to work August 16th. I really enjoyed seeing everyone again. A lot of people from work did not know I was pregnant when we left in June, so it was fun to tell everyone. School started August 24th and I have a very active class this year! A good mix of kids on very different levels, so they will be keeping me on my toes.

Unfortunately on the first day of school I was having some pain in my hip. It got worse as the day went on and by 3PM I could barely walk. I went home and laid on the couch, waiting for Brian to come home. He was scared to see me in such bad shape and was really worried about me all night as I got worse and worse. Around 10PM we decided to head to the Emergency Room. That was a waste of time and money!

The ER doctor ordered me an ultrasound (yay!) and we got to see the babies! They were so big! We could see their bones so clearly, like an x-ray! The babies were fine so we were very happy to hear that. Other than that, the ER trip was useless. Even though I knew it was my Rheumatoid Arthritis acting up, the Dr insisted I be checked for all kinds of other unnecessary things. I was getting to be in more and more pain and did not feel comfortable taking any pain medications without my OB approving it first. So, after 3 hours we left. I was still in a lot of pain, but there was a little peace of mind knowing our babies were OK.

The next day I saw my Rheumatologist. She felt my hip and knee and knew right away that they were inflamed. She put me on a safe steroid and said I should be better by Friday. Woo-Hoo! Well, Friday has come and gone and I am still laying on my couch. I cannot walk and my left leg is pretty useless. Brian has been AMAZING in helping me move around the house but I have pretty much been stuck to the couch. My big comfy bed is upstairs and the only way I am getting there is by an airlift! So for now, the couch has been my home.

I am also lucky to have such great family and friends during this time! My mom and Brian's mom have come to visit, brought me food, and helped around the house. Other friends have been stopping by, it is really nice. I am sure Brian enjoys a little break :)

So for now I will just be piled up on the couch...waiting for my hip to get better so I can be a mobile being again. It is no fun! I hope to be back soon with better news.

16 Week Poll

How far along? 16 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: 14 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yup! All my pants are maternity, but I am finding a lot of cute non-maternity dresses that I can wear, I usually just buy a size up so it is not too tight.
Stretch marks? Nope! I am doing everything I can to avoid them!
Sleep: It has been rough this week with my hip problems.
Best moment this week: Seeing the babies Tuesday night. We could see their spines!!
Movement: None
Food cravings: Lettuce burgers from Five Guys! I had one last weekend and have been thinking about it ever since!
Gender: We find out Wednesday :)
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Slowly making its way out.
What I miss: Taking RA meds so I am not in pain.
What I am looking forward to: Being able to walk and getting back to work.
Weekly Wisdom: Remember to thank everyone for all that they do! My friends and family have been so great.
Milestones: Anatomy Scan on Wednesday!!!!