Twinning

SURPRISE!

Well, we were LOL. Thank you third ultrasound back in June 

to let us know that we're not only having one bundle of joy but TWO!

Ok - so because not everyone knows just yet {I've kinda announced it here and there...either way word travels fast}. We are expecting TWINS.  IDENTICAL TWINS. Yes, TWO. Double the fun! Going to answer all the questions I've already been asked below.

1. Do you think you're having a girl and a boy? No, {I have to laugh at this one because it's the most repeat offender question after I explain I'm having identical twins} identical twins mean {put your brainy hat on} Monozygotic (MZ). This occurs when a single egg is fertilized to form one zygote (hence, "monozygotic") which then divides into two separate embryos. Diamniotic since there is an inner layer surrounding the amniotic sac of each twin but there is only one common outer layer (chorion) surrounding both of the sacs. So identical is the same genetic makeup essentially, but they will have different fingerprints.. Fraternal twins are non-identical. This happens when two eggs are independently fertilized by two different sperm cells.

2. Do you know if they are identical? Yes, babies share the same placenta but they are in two amniotic sacs separated by a very thin membrane. AKA Monochorionic-Diamniotic twins.

3. So what type of twins are you having? Again, identical {Monochorionic-Diamniotic}.

4. Do twins run in your family? Yes, apparently on both sides! My grandmother on my dad's side had two sets {only 1 baby eventually survived} and Eric's great-grandparents had a set {don't know the survival on them}. Monozygotic twinning occurs in birthing at a rate of about three in every 1000 deliveries worldwide. Spontaneous division of the zygote into two embryos is not considered to be a hereditary trait, but rather a spontaneous or random event - in other words, identical twins are NON hereditary believe it or not.

5. Did you use IVF? Honestly, I think this is a SUPER personal question and quite rude when people ask this. But for the record, no - we planned and tried for a baby and were blessed with two!

6. Will your breastfeed? If my body permits it, yes. I will try my hardest to breastfeed to my utmost ability...with TWO lol.

7. Do you know the gender? Yes - keeping it a secret for now ;)

8. When are you due? Right now the date is 11/23/12. Happy Thanksgiving lol.

9. Are you having a c-section? The plan is for natural birth. However it all depends on the placement of Baby A. I've read that 78% of all twin births result in a c-section {eek}.

10. Thought of any names? Yes, however in sensitivity of the gender situation, we are withholding names for now :) We are always looking for ideas, though since we never thought we'd have twins and only have 1 boy and 1 girl name picked out! Right now just Baby A & Baby B.

Any other questions? ;)

Bring on the burgers and milkshakes!

Webster's Dictionary defines HUNGER as:

1. a craving or urgent needs for food or a specific nutrient
2. an uneasy sensation occasioned by the lack of food
3. a weakened condition brought about by a prolonged lack of food

Yes. That about sums it up right now. I am definitely feeling the HUNGER. I eat, I'm hungry. I sleep, I'm hungry. I'm hungry when I'm hungry LOL. What the heck is going on with me? I want to eat everything in sight. Don't put me in front of a buffet, otherwise they will go out of business {side note: I've actually considered going to a buffet, however lately I've been really conscious of people and their germs. Or I should say people and their lack of personal hygiene}. Lately I can eat almost anything. But what I really love is red meat. Steaks, burgers, etc. Just thinking about red meat makes me drool. I've never had an aversion to meat anyway, but I can eat that stuff all day long. I'm trying very hard to keep my nutrition at its best; so while I'll splurge with a burger, I'll make sure to have fruit and water. Burgers have protein! Veggie intake is becoming somewhat of a problem. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE veggies - but my 'uneasy sensation' of hunger is pretty immediate and does not give me time to think or let alone prepare what I want for dinner. Eric will ask me what I would like to eat and food will just sound so disgusting and make me nauseated. But 5 minutes later I am ravishing with hunger. Go figure, thank you pregnancy.  

Things I like to eat:

Burgers {did I already say that LOL}, yogurt, MILK, cereal, cantaloupe, Sausage McMuffins, zucchinis, bananas, pears {good thing there's TONS of fiber!}. MILKSHAKES - specifically vanilla, tuna sandwiches {limiting myself no more than 6oz a week}. paninis from Corner Bakery, bean burritos, tacos...carne asada, Chinese food, corn on the cob....hungry yet??? I really need to go to the OC Fair. 

I feel better about gaining weight now. We went to our 16 week appointment yesterday at Kaiser. Our MD is Dr. Leo Pevzner; he's a very peculiar MD. I mean that in the best way - he's very up front and has great bedside manner. He's quite funny to watch when performing the U/S - he becomes frustrated with himself if he can't find something right way {sounds oddly like my hubby}. He's a smart guy and I trust him, so I guess that is what matters most. Plus, he's very thorough. Eric loves him - I was hesitant from changing our original OBGYN since we loved her so much, but Dr. Pevzner is a keeper. I'm up 9 lbs if you can believe it - told you I like to eat. And I've never been more happier to see that scale go up. I was really worried for awhile with all the weight loss that the baby was getting sufficient nutrients since I didn't have much intake to begin with. But things are coming along great. We have our first birthing class set for Monday night - I'm worried about that since I hear they show videos LOL. Eric said he doesn't want to see any of that and when the time comes, he wants me to be his first encounter of seeing a baby being born. haha.

So back to pregnancy symptoms. While at times I feel I can conquer the world with the energy I've been given. I came to a realization while driving to work one day: I don't think women experience a BURST of energy during this time. I think that it's just been so long ago that we felt normal, that what we think is this sudden, amazing feeling of energy is really just what we've had all our lives. Just now, it's foreign to us and we feel like SUPERWOMAN  by cleaning the house, doing the chores, going shopping, making dinner, going to work {and actually being productive}, etc. without any fuss. Good luck with that.

Almost there: Second Trimester

Yay!! I am nearing towards 'The most wonderful' part of pregnancy...as I am told. Everyone has been saying this over and over to me while I have wasted away my days throwing up my just eaten lunch in the bathroom. First - what did the last week of my first trimester bring me?

{WARNING: I do not hold back on my pregnancy symptoms/stories. So if you are like what I was prior to becoming pregnant...ummmm DELUSIONAL that these symptoms won't happen to you, then you should probably skip this part}.

Let me share:

1. Severe morning sickness symptoms, including nausea and vomiting {YES, not as frequent, but there}. Zofran could only do so much...constipated much?!
2. Breathlessness {aye, even a 5 minute walk is hard}.
3. Emotional craziness {Eric took a picture of me while I was practically wearing a 'moo-moo', lying on the couch, sans makeup and no shower for that day}. What he called 'beautiful', I called disgusting. Of course I ended up crying immediately after he took the picture. How dare he take a picture without my consent LOL. FYI - he didn't mean any harm, it was quite sweet after the fact since he loves how my belly is growing. But he still deleted the picture.
4. Bad dreams. I've had these for awhile. From alien abduction to just flat out scary zombie dreams. The best dreams are about food though :)

So now that I've scared everyone away - let's talk about gender! Ok, so in reality I'm not doing to disclose the gender quite yet. I've created a dang board in Pinterest just in homage of this moment and I want it perfect LOL. But back to the place where we went for the early gender detection. I was really iffy about this place because it was on the 'other side' of the 55 in Costa Mesa. LOL. That and they only asked for cash. So, Ultrasound Me is legit. While it may have looked shady - the actual facility itself was very nice and clean. The employees were very professional and kind. I paid my $25 in cash {woot!} and we actually decided to add on the $5 DVD. While I was excited about finding out the gender, I was even more giddy about the DVD. Our obstetrician at Kaiser does not promote video recording or taking pictures of our ultrasound {logical of course just in case people complain on the actual non-diagnostic appt.}. Anywho, having that DVD was so wonderful! It was at least 7 minutes long and we were able to make copies for the grandparents :) Below is a sneek peak!

No picture of me this week - I think I was just too busy probably stuffing my face. But I did score some super cute maternity shirts from Old Navy {not all items I bought were blue!}. Apparently my thing right now are stripes now that I look through my wardrobe LOL. P.S. I don't have the skinny jeans as seen below, but I really want them!

P.S. Shout out to my baby daddy, Eric. He has been uber amazing throughout this whole process. Very kind, helpful and most of all supportive. He really has taken on the chores and dinner duties (I change my mind constantly) and I'm so very grateful to have him!

Baby is a size of an orange!

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain: +2-3 lbs...making progress!

Maternity clothes? see my shopping habits above. 

Stretch marks? no - using lots of Vitamin E enriched lotion!

Sleep: not all the way through now. I wake up around 1 or 3AM starving.

Best moment this week: Seeing my belly grow! Having the DVD U/S from Ultrasound me AND OF COURSE FINDING OUT THE GENDER!! {oh the suspense!!}

Miss Anything? Watching Eric eat something I can't touch right now is annoying.

Movement: none yet

Food cravings: Vanilla Milkshakes, ramen, burgers.

Anything making you queasy or sick: slight smells

Gender: Still thinking boy.

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Ravenous hunger and fatigue. Headaches are back again {oh no!}

Belly Button in or out? still flat

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: very happy

Looking forward to: shopping for baby!!

14 Weeks

So I haven't been blogging the past two weeks {EEK!}. Neither did I write in my journal {SMH}. I don't remember much anymore LOL. I know during week 14 we went to Bakersfield for the 4th of July. SUPER FUN. The weather was great and we hung out with great friends and family.

During that week, my appetite grew exponentially though - MAN, I was eating all the time and taking naps {thankfully} during the holiday and days I had off. It was so nice to eat and then nap for a few hours {ok like 4 hours} and eat some more. I've been really worried about my weight gain; first time for everything, right? I had lost at least 10 lbs overall with the nausea and all my pregnancy books were saying I should have gained at least 3-4 lbs by that time. Again, luckily I had the appetite! Also this week I had started to show! {YAY!!!} My uterus was definitely letting me know it was there. Had a few cramps here and there - things are surely stretching, but for the most part I was comfortable. I was still tired however {hence the 4 hour naps}, but finally happy that I can show off my semi belly :)

 EXCITING news that week was about finding out the gender - our friends from the ward mentioned a place in Costa Mesa-Ultrasound Me, where they are able to detect the baby's gender as early as 13 weeks! I wanted to wait just a bit {hard, I know!!} for the 15th week at least. All about that in the next week's post.

 

Baby is the size of a lemon!

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain: - lbs - was at my lowest since getting married in 2009.

Maternity clothes? shirts definitely, but really utilizing the BeBand

Stretch marks? no - using lots of Vitamin E enriched lotion!

Sleep: Knocked out still by 9ish.

Best moment this week: Eating everything in sight and keeping it down nonetheless!

Miss Anything?Turkey Sandwiches again and SUSHI

Movement: none yet

Food cravings: Vanilla Milkshakes

Anything making you queasy or sick: slight smells

Gender: Boy oh boy??!

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Ravenous hunger and fatigue

Belly Button in or out? still flat

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: very happy

Looking forward to: Next Ultrasound appt. for gender detection!!