Numbers.

Here are some numbers I've been thinking about lately:

4: The number of days my husband has been with me since being separated for over three months! YAY!! :)
24: The number of weeks I have been pregnant. Also the HUGE milestone where babies' chances of survival outside the womb increase incredibly!
35: The next milestone I have my eyes set on. This is the number of weeks that, if the babies are born, they will need little to no NICU time.
3: The number of months left til we will for sure have these babies!
13: The number of pounds I've gained since being pregnant! Pretty good, ay??
42: The number of inches my belly measures around.
1.5: Our babies' weight (in lbs) right about now.
132: The number (on average) I feel our babies kick per day. They are little soccer players!
0: The number of seconds I spend NOT thinking about our two little girls!

Pregnant Belly.

Kurt and I started taking pictures of me at 10 weeks so we could see the growth of my belly :) I just finished my twentieth week and man have I grown! These babies are growing so rapidly, I can't even believe it! They are even on the heavier end in each ultrasound for their gestational ages.

Sometimes I still can't believe that I have two precious human beings inside this big belly of mine! It is such a neat experience to feel them move and kick. It's also such a blessing to see them so often at my 2 week visits. I love watching them move and interact on the ultrasounds :) They'll definitely be two very active little girls! The doctors told me I'd better sign them up for gymnastics!

Here are pictures of me during the past ten weeks! (Sorry if some of the descriptions are TMI, I just wanted to document everything!)

I'm past the halfway mark of a normal 40 week pregnancy, although I know mine will be shorter than that. But it's really awesome to think that these baby girls are almost here! They are about 14 ounces each and will probably reach a pound sometime this week. It seems like my belly grows overnight! I love looking back at these photos and just seeing how well they're doing. These babies are changing me in every way possible, and preparing me to be a mother - for that I'm so grateful. :)

Gender Reveal!

When I was about 16 weeks pregnant, I had my first ultrasound with the perinatologist. At that ultrasound, they asked if we'd like to know the genders of our twins. Since Kurt couldn't be with me, I asked if they could indicate it somehow on paper and put it in an envelope. The plan was to skype after I got home so we could open the envelope together. However, after calling Kurt on the phone and letting him know I had the envelope in my hands, he said he couldn't wait and wanted to know right now! So I opened the envelope and this is what was inside:

Baby A is a girl! She was not shy to show us... haha ;)

Baby B is also a girl!! YAY!

Kurt and I were sooooo happy! We both wanted girls, even though Kurt changed his mind a few times. Another thing we learned was that our baby girls were identical! We know this, because they share one placenta.

They are considered monochorionic (single placenta)/ diamniotic (two sacs) twins. Mono/di twins carry the risk of something called Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) which is when one baby starts to steal all the nutrients from the other. This is a very serious risk, and because of it, I have to be seen by the perinatologist every two weeks so that they can make sure the babies are growing at the same rate and that there's no discordance in their sizes.

This video explains it REALLY well, better than I could:

I am currently in my 20th week of pregnancy and just had my third appointment with the perinatologist. The twins are growing just fine and have no discordances. We are SO grateful for that and hope it continues throughout the remainder of the pregnancy.

Since finding out that the babies were identical twin girls, I have had many more ultrasounds. Here are some of them:

Baby A at 17 weeks during my visit to the ER.

Baby B at 17 weeks :) 

Our babies cuddling at 18 weeks old :) 

Baby A at 18 weeks. The doctor said that because Baby A is positioned lower, the
ultrasounds of her wouldn't be as clear since they'd always have to be dodging
Baby B when they take it. 

Baby B at 18 weeks. The doctor called Baby B a "movie star" since she's so photogenic.

Kurt and I are SO excited to be welcoming these baby girls into the world in just a few months :) We have already received tons of amazing gifts for these babies from family and they are already so spoiled! We love them soooo much and REALLY hope that they keep growing perfectly for the next 15 weeks or so. We feel so blessed to be having them in our family :)

Kicking!

Today (at about 19 weeks and 2 days) I felt the babies kick for the first time! It took me by total surprise as I was lying down on the couch. I almost fell off the couch when I felt it! I immediately told Kurt and tried to describe the sensation to him and this was the only way I could: it feels like someone poking me from the inside.

We were so happy that they kicked (still not sure which one it was) and that they are healthy.

Here's a little update on what's going on with me and the babies for those of you who don't know:

- At about 14 weeks I got really sick. I resigned from my job and had to just stay at home in bed.

- Kurt and I were rejected from Medicaid, after waiting for TWO MONTHS for an answer (no thanks to the government shut-down) and we knew that I needed health care ASAP. Going through the process of reapplying could take just as long and we weren't willing to risk waiting around for the government while I remained uncovered and with no care.

- My parents have Kaiser, but they don't cover me in Utah. Therefore, I'd have to go to Hawaii to receive care.

- We prayed about this decision a lot and knew that it'd be so incredibly difficult for us to be separated, but knew that it was the best for me and the babies.

- My mom flew up to Utah (which was so AMAZING of her, and I'm so grateful) to come get me and bring me home to Hawaii. I threw up the night before leaving and a few times before going to the airport. I was in bad shape :(

- Kurt and I said goodbye, as he remained in Utah to finish out the semester and I went home to take care of myself and the babies.

- At my first appointment in Hawaii with my OBGYN, they immediately set me up to see a perinatologist (high-risk pregnancy doctor). They send all twin moms to the perinatologist because of the complications that can ensue with having twins. They said if everything's ok, I'll only see him once a month. If not, then every two weeks.

- I went to my first appointment with the perinatologist and after an hour long ultrasound, they told us I'd need to come every two weeks. The babies are fine, but because of the type of twins they are, they'll need to be monitored A LOT more closely than others.

- At 17 weeks or so, I came down with a fever of 101. I called my doctor to see what I could take to lower the fever, and they told me to get to the Emergency Room right away. They hopped me up on an IV and hooked my belly up to an ultrasound immediately. The babies were fine which was a HUGE relief because a fever can be a sign of preterm delivery. I, however, had a bladder infection which needed treating. Once my temperature was regulated and my heart rate lessened, they discharged me and gave me some antibiotics to take for the infection.

-All in all, Kurt and I know that me coming to Hawaii was the absolute right decision. The babies are

 receiving fantastic care and all of their needs are being addressed here. We had no idea that they'd need to be monitored by a specialist twice a month, and can't imagine what it'd be like if I stayed in Utah and waited around for Medicaid to come through while paying out of pocket for all of these necessities (including the expensive ER visit).

We are so excited for our two healthy little bundles of joy to join our family!!! Kurt will be flying down for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas which is when he'll stay and take the semester off to be with me and the babies. We've got probably a little over three months until they're born (since they'll be born in March at the latest).

Here are some pictures of our beautiful babies:

Baby A at 16 weeks

Baby B at 16 weeks

Baby B's cute loser sign

Twins?!

When Kurt and I went in for our first doctor's appointment, the doctor told us everything that I can and cannot do during my pregnancy, and what to expect. Then he took us in a room and we had our first ultrasound. At this point, I was about 9 weeks along. He said that at this early stage, the best image is taken through a transvaginal ultrasound. This was kind of how it went:

Doctor: "Ok, there's your baby"

(He pointed to a gray blob that was moving slightly)

Me & Kurt: "Oh, awesome!"

(Doctor moved the probe a little to the left)

Doctor: "Oh, and there's another one!"

Me  & Kurt: "Wait, what?? Are you sure?"

Doctor: "Yup, you're having twins!"

Basically everything he had just told me to expect of my pregnancy was out the window. No more exercise, very little hope for natural delivery, lots more weight gain, and lots more rest. He said we should expect more ultrasounds than normal for a singleton pregnancy, and probably more visits.

When we left the doctor's office, Kurt and I were still in shock, but we had these to prove what we just saw:

Baby A: measuring about 20 mm and about 8 weeks and 4 days old.

Baby B: measuring about 24 mm at 9 weeks old.

Even though they were measuring at different sizes at this stage, there was still no kind of confirmation of what type of twins they were. He told us he'd only be able to tell once we could see the sacs and placentas. So as of now, we're still not sure whether they are fraternal or identical, but I'm leaning more towards identical.

After the appointment, we tried to call our parents immediately. They were all in shock - we all thought that there was really no history of twins on either side. Through further digging, we realized that there is some history of twins in our families. Nothing overly significant, but still there. But everyone was so happy about this miracle, and it took us a long while for it to really sink in. 

My first trimester went really smoothly - pretty much no sickness, nothing alarming, just a little fatigue for the first 3 months.

However, the first day of my second trimester took a turn for the worst. I was throwing up constantly, and at anytime - while I was driving to work, in the middle of the night, whatever - and it was always just water coming out over and over again. After a long streak of this, we called the doctor again and went in for another check up. 

We knew we shouldn't expect an ultrasound at this visit, but after telling him of my unusual beginning to my second trimester, he wanted to take a look. He pulled our babies up on his screen, and we saw them moving all over the place. The ultrasound only gave us a good picture of the tops of their heads, but we saw their arms moving around and both strong heartbeats. They were doing well. :) 

Our babies at 13 weeks :) 

So far, the throwing up hasn't stopped. This trimester is turning out to be very different from the first. A lot of dry mouth, throwing up, and back pain. I have to be constantly resting. But we are so glad that we got to see our beautiful babies again :)

For those of you who may be interested in our timeline, I found this really cool pregnancy calculator that shows us everything week by week! (What can I say - I'm obsessed!)

Even though the 40 week due date says April 14, twins normally come no later than 37 weeks which puts our babies in March. We hope that they can continue to do well until then. We are so excited to meet them in just about five more months!

The Whole Story...

So, for those of you who don't know yet... Kurt and I are expecting our first child! I'm currently in my 7th week of pregnancy and I just want to document everything from the past few weeks.

At the beginning of August, after our one year anniversary, we went on a family camp out with Kurt's family in American Fork Canyon. I knew that it was supposed to be my "time of the month" that weekend and I was absolutely dreading it. For some reason, camping and "Mother Nature's gift" always came hand in hand. The first day was fine and I didn't feel any symptoms, but the second day I started cramping and I knew that it was about to start. So I waited and waited, but it never came. The cramps kept coming over the next few days, but nothing else which really confused me.

While Kurt was at work the next week he sent me a link to an article all about how cramps are associated with pregnancy. That was the first that we suspected anything. They said that a woman can experience cramps when the fertilized egg is being implanted in her uterus. Hmmm.... Well, we decided that if I still hadn't gotten my period by that Wednesday that we'd take a test. Lo and behold, no period.

So when Wednesday came, I headed to Macey's to buy a test and the cheapest test they had was $11.99 for two (rip-off - don't do it). Well, we were both excited to find out and I went to the bathroom to take the test. We waited as the first bold line showed up. All we needed were two lines to know that we were expecting. Then there was a line, but it was SUPER faint. We both saw that and were like, "wait... what does that mean??!" The image on the box clearly showed two BOLD lines.

We were a little happy, but we needed to confirm. So we headed to Target and got a Clearblue test ($7.99 for two - way cheaper!). This test clearly states "NOT PREGNANT" or "PREGNANT". Just what we needed. So, again, I went to the bathroom and took it. We waited as a little hour glass icon flashed for a minute and then saw that wonderful word: PREGNANT!

With two tests to confirm, we started immediately planning how we'd tell our families. We headed to a park near our house and spat out announcement ideas. 

We'll just cut to the chase:

For my family, we made a video that went along with my mom's birthday present:

My mom called me screaming in excitement when they watched the video. We were SO happy the secret was off our chests because we couldn't keep it in much longer.

Next, for Kurt's family, I made an LDS version of Mad Gab for the Family Home Evening we were in charge of that Sunday. 

Mad Gab is a game where you have to sound out what is written on the card to get the common/known phrase. Here are a few examples, let's see if you can guess without looking at the caption:

(Follow the prophet)

(I Love To See The Temple)

(There is Sunshine in My Soul Today)

And last but not least....

(Kurt and Des are pregnant!)

Kurt's grandma was the first to guess the meaning of that last card and everyone was really happy for us. 

For our last and final announcement, to extended family and friends, we made another video...

We are so excited for our new addition and what the next eight months or so have in store for us! It's been a thrilling, nerve-racking, exciting, new and amazing experience for both of us.