22 week pix.......OK, I am officially HUGE!!

20 week info.

"How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery)."**babycenter.com

Fraternal twins in the womb -- 20 weeks:

20 week Ultrasound picture..

The resemblance is uncanny... :-)

The Thinker:

Baby A:

20 week Belly pic

Oh, strollers...

People aren't kidding when they say the baby world is a WHOLE new world you have to ease yourself into.
Strollers, cribs, bouncy chairs.......... it's never ending.
And then how do you know what it is that you really will need and what is that the store is trying to brainwash you into "needing"..

Well, I decided to use my best resources: experienced friends. I have received a lot of invaluable input from several different friends, of which 3 have twins.

And after a lot of back and forth (and some 'test drives' in store), we think we have made up our minds... (although, this may change 3 times by the time we are ready to make a purchase):

(Drum roll......)

To start with, we will have to get 2 car seats that will also serve as baby carriers AND also pop into the strollers to use as the seats until the babies are a certain weight/age. I have heard that it is a KEY element to not have to wake the babies once they have fallen asleep:

Graco SnugRide

Then we have decided to get 2 different strollers.

1 - The Double Snap 'N Go is just a stroller frame that these car seats/baby carriers snap into. The main advantage for us would be the very light weight of this stroller. If I ever have to take the babies out alone, it would be much easier to handle and to lift in and out of the car.
The disadvantage is the relatively small wheels. It is not as easy to maneuver as strollers with bigger wheels. So, if we want to take a long walk, then we can use the 2nd stroller..

Double Snap 'N Go (without seats)

Double Snap 'N Go (with seats)

2 - The Graco DuoGlider (or something very similar) allows us to also snap in the car seats/baby carriers but also, once the babies are big enough, the toddler seats are already built in, ready for use.
Some advantages for us are:

• Tandem, stadium seating - babies are back-to-back not side-by-side, easier to fit on sidewalks, for example, and the seat in the back is elevated, which makes for better viewing.
• Decent sized wheels, easy to maneuver around.
• One-hand fold functionality that really simplifies closing and opening.
• Closes very easily and compact.
  

Graco DuoGlider

Emergency oral surgery

Youch!
This past weekend, one of my wisdom teeth started acting up. In the past, it would ache a little and that was that. This time, it wasn't going anywhere. Actually, it got increasingly worse and by Sunday night the pain was unbearable. Alex and I were concerned about a possible infection. So, first thing Monday AM, we found a dentist/oral surgeon. We went in and a long and grueling 45 minutes later, the tooth was extracted.

The Dr. told me to be prepared for quite a bit of pain and a lot of swelling as it was a doozy getting it out. It was in pretty deep and they had to dig and drill... ugh.

Although, all the Dr's said it is Ok for me to take Tylenol w/ codein, I am proud to announce that I only took 2 yesterday and instead was using ice packs to maintain the swelling and pain. I don't plan on taking any today. So, wish me luck!

Newest Ultrasound pictures..

These are from last week (18 weeks). Both are of Baby B.
Baby A was naughty and wouldn't stay still long enough to get a clear shot.




In the middle of a somersault:

Weight gain

I am reading several books, simultaneously, on pregnancy. And one thing that is highly emphasized is the importance of adequate weight gain with a multiple pregnancy (to ensure the babies are of decent size).

We do not own a scale (for obvious reasons :-), so it is at Dr's visits where I track 'how I am doing'.

So, at yesterday's OB visit, it turns out that I have gained 9 lbs since the last visit (4 1/2 weeks ago)!! That makes a total of 18 lbs?!?!

For the record, my OB said I should expect to gain double the amount of weight you would with a singleton pregnancy (25-35 lbs).. so around 50-60 lbs..

So, I had to be peeled off the couch last night...

.. because I couldn't get up on my own. It was actually quite funny.

Alex kept apologizing. :-)

After some research, I think it may have been sacroiliac ligaments stretching.. but it felt like a pinched nerve in the lower right side of my back.

So, I hopped around at first and then we google-d some stretching exercises that ended up doing the trick. I plan to do the stretches everyday.

This particular stretch worked magic:

My new boyfriend... (and Alex approves)

My Snoogle Total Body Pillow...



This thing is great!

Level 2 Ultrasound..

We had our Level 2 Ultrasound scheduled for last week. And since my Mom and Sis were visiting for the Holidays, they came along as well. We were all very excited.

First, Alex and I went in together. After the heartbeats were detected and all seemed normal, Alex went out and got Mama and Ildi.

I have to tell you that Ildi is a very excited and enthusiastic aunt-to-be.. (see picture).



So, during the whole sonogram, she was totally getting into it.. identifying all the body parts etc.. In the meanwhile, poor Mama, couldn't tell up from down. At one point she thought the tush was the head, the heart was the foot, so on and so forth.. I am afraid it wasn't as exciting for her.

Oh, I forgot to mention that 5 minutes after Mama and Ildi came into the ultrasound room, Alex grabbed his coat and bolted. When I asked : "don't you care about the rest?" he said he just wanted to make sure the heartbeats were alright. I was a little hurt and confused.
As it turned out later on, he was afraid that he was starting to see "too much".
For those of you that don't know, we are not going to find out the sexes.
Initially, I wanted to but after more thought (and Alex's persuasion), we agreed this is right for us.

19 weeks..

The babies' size:

"How your baby's growing at 19 weeks:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."*

*babycenter.com

Progression of Belly pix - 2

14 weeks
























16 weeks












18 weeks

Progression of Belly pix

Ok, so I can learn a thing or two about lighting and positioning.. but you get the idea.




8 weeks

























10 weeks














12 weeks

Ultrasound

This is Baby B at 13 weeks, 4 days.. sucking his thumb!
According to Ajna, he is picking his nose.

Either way, it is cute.

p.s. you can enlarge images by clicking on them.












This is Baby A at 13 weeks, 4 days.

Ok, here goes my first attempt at attaching images... Ultrasound pictures

This is at 10 weeks, 5 days.

Bringing you up to date..

So far, my pregnancy has been rather uneventful. I have been very lucky as far as pregnancy symptoms are concerned.. although Alex may beg to differ.

There was one week where I felt a little miserable, between the 10th and 11th week. A particular Friday evening, Alex and I were driving into Manhattan to a popular cafe/dessert bar, to "satisfy a pregnancy craving" (or at least that was my excuse). While in the car, I started to feel very nauseous... to Alex's delight. He thought it was the "coolest" thing ever. He was fascinated at how the body works. I, needless to say, was not amused.
That about sums up my pregnancy horror stories, to date.
This blog thing may be harder than I expected...

Wow, I have my own blog!

So, what now...? :-)

I guess I will start by explaining the purpose of my blog. This blog's intention is to serve as a forum for my family and friends. You can check in whenever you would like and as often as you would like to see how my pregnancy is progressing. I will try my best to keep it as interesting as possible. I hope I succeed.
Eventually, as the time comes, it can turn into a baby/family blog.

Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Welcome!
Love you all,
Zsuzsi