Week 13 Ultrasound Pics!!

Twin A

(She's waving at us!)

Twin B!!

This is the little guy responsible for all the movement I talked about in my earlier post! I found out that the babies are almost side by side. Baby B is more towards the front of my belly and Baby A is closer to my back. During the ultrasound, both babies were moving a lot, BUT... Baby B was showing off doing flips and all sorts of fancy moves. One second his head would be on the left, the next it was on the right. Then he'd face away and then face us, etc... Now I know why I feel the little movements I do!

Close up of Twin A


Close up of Twin B


Aren't they the most beautiful babies you've ever seen?!!!! Jason and I are just in awe.

Both twins in one picture. It's still so hard to see full profiles of both of them together, but I thought this was a great shot non-the-less!


Both babies look great and are growing at the same rate. Hearts look great as well as all the movement. It was so precious. I cried on my way home after seeing them today. It was amazing seeing their little faces; noses, eyes, chins, lips, ears, arms, legs, heart, etc. So amazing. Thank you Lord for our precious gifts!!

Hello 2nd Trimester!!

Well, this past Friday I turned 12 weeks; entering my 13th week! I am forever grateful for our little blessings growing inside my tummy! I can't believe how fast the first trimester flew by; well actually I can, but I am thankful for each day. I am determined to enjoy each day to the fullest during this pregnancy b/c I know I'll be 9 months before we know it. I know that this is such a beautiful gift from God, that I don't want to waste any of it by 'rushing' to know the sex of the babies or waiting for my next ultrasound, etc. It will all come in due time...

So, seeing how my 1st trimester is closing and I'm entering the 2nd trimester, I thought I'd go over some of the 'highlights' of the past months:

• I started to feel Baby A move a couple of weeks ago. At first it was only when I'd lay on my side and I was afraid I was 'squishing' her. But with time, the movements became more consistent and not just when I was laying on my left side. Now she is moving all the time; soft consistent movements, nothing too strong yet, but certain that it's our baby I'm feeling :) It's the neatest feeling in the world knowing that the life God is entrusting you with is moving around inside of you.
• Just yesterday I started to feel little movements from Baby B. These are more of a quick sharp movement vs the consistency of Baby A. I'm waiting to see if these become more apparent in the next couple of days!
• **Small correction about the movements of the babies... see post from the evening of 09/13/10 after my ultrasound appt!
• I never had 'morning sickness' per say. I was queasy off and on, but everything stayed down. I had consistent headaches that now seem to be getting a little better. About 3 weeks ago I went from being queasy to being very hungry. I know know I have to have snacks on me at all times for those moments that my stomach feels like it's panicking. I'm eating very well, something I am thankful for. So far I've gained about 4 lbs or so. The past couple of weeks it's been about a lb a week. I think that is about right for twins. (I think this will be the last time I post about weight gain for obvious reasons, hehe.)
• This past week I've grown so rapidly! My tummy is getting rounder by the day and it's no longer just a bump under my belly button, but it's spreading up into my abdomen as well. We LOVE this part and I'm so thankful. People often look at me and say I don't look pregnant...now this just hurts my feelings! One, I WANT to look pregnant :) and the other is if you know me and saw me before pregnancy, you would know that my tummy has grown a whole lot already! The growth has made things difficult to move the way I used to. (Especially dealing with the puppies now!) I know have a tight belly getting in the way. Can't imagine the things I won't be able to do (like tie my shoes or shave) in the near future!
• I'm not as fatigued as I was a few weeks ago. Daily naps are not a requirement now, but are still nice ;) I realize that I get winded a little more these days which makes me sad. They say it's the extra blood volume your heart is having to adjust to. I so want to go outside and do things and sweat and be active to the level I used to, but I know that my body just isn't up for it. I'm still enjoying my walks though when the weather is good and it's not too hot!
  

Nursery Update: We still have more to do, but we did get the cribs this weekend and Jason put them together today! We are quite please how it's all coming together; just perfect for our little blessings!

Some baby 'necessities' in the French home!

Happy Birthday Puppies!! - 09/09/10

Pickles had gave birth to 8 healthy puppies on Thursday early morning 09/09/10!! 4 boys and 4 girls. Pups and mama are doing great! They are so very precious. You can visit our Basset blog to see many more pics and updates:

http://frenchesbassets.blogspot.com

Twin Update - Week 11

Last Thursday Jason and I went to our new doctor for the first time; it went great and we really like her! The best part of the visit was we got to see our little ones again and hear their hearts beating!! What a beautiful and special day! Both babies are doing great; heart rates are about the same and one is 3cm and the other is 3.1cm :)



The first picture is of both babies; it was very hard to to get both babies in the same picture, so you can't see their body profiles.



Here is a picture of Twin A! Her (just a random guess on the sex) head is on the right side of the screen and she's facing up. The little white dot by her head is a little arm. We could see their little arms and legs moving the whole time! It was so amazing!





Here is Twin B! His (just guess again... sorry babies if I mixed up your sexes before we find out...) head is also on the right side of the screen, but he is facing down. We could see his little arms tucked underneath him moving around like Twin A.





The below pictures are random pics to show my tummy growth that you can see through my clothes now! I bought this read shirt earlier this year b/c it was baggy and would give me room as I grew once pregnant. Well, little did I know that I'd be growing so fast! My t-shirts hardly fit any more; crazy, huh?!



I am in a crazy in between size right now. My regular pants don't come close to zipping, the belly bands can't be worn all day, and the maternity pants I had were way too big. So I had to break down this week and get a smaller size of maternity pants to hold me over the next month or so until I can wear the others. It's so great having clothes that fit me now! Never thought I'd grow so fast! I still haven't gain much though; maybe 1.5- 2lbs so far.

I'm no longer 'queasy' any more, but the past week I've been pretty hungry. I don't eat large meals, but I'm having to eat a lot more frequent. It's not a slight hunger I feel either... it's almost as if my stomach is panicking if I don't feed it soon. Crazy and so not me.

Jason and I have fixed up the nursery!!! All we need are the cribs and the babies now! Since we are having twins, we have decided to have the bedroom be just that... a room for the beds and the clothes, etc. Then we will turn the game room into the reading, play and activity room.

For These Children I Have Prayed

For the past month, I've wanted to take some special pictures using our ultrasounds, our pregnancy tests and Scripture. Here are two of these pictures I wanted to share. The first one has our ultrasound in the back ground showing both babies. It is then overlay with a picture of 'Hannah's Prayer' from 1 Samuel along with a cross that will be hung in their nursery. Seeing this picture reminds me that the Word is active and alive... that God knit us together in our mother's womb!

I am so very thankful for our children God has entrusted to us. I do not yet know them, but I love them so dearly. As I watch my body change, I am amazed and thankful for God's continual presence in our lives.



I thought I'd share some 'growth' pictures too! I started to get a 'lil' tummy' about 6 weeks (babies about 30 days old). I was amazed at how fast I was growing. Then each week since I've really began to grow more. If you all know me, the below pictures are a dramatic difference in my size and I think it is so very cute!!! I love my lil' tummy knowing our precious babies are growing in there! Right now they are about the size of a quarter and their amniotic sac is about the size of a chicken egg.


6 weeks



7 weeks



8 weeks



9 weeks



Yes, you can even see my tummy through my outfits now! My pants no longer button or zip these days (except for the large ones I owned that you see in my 9 week shot). I'm thankful for the Belly Bands since my maternity pants are still too big. Since they don't even zip, I can't use the 'rubberband' trick any more either! Still no weight gain, but I know that is coming some day soon and openly embrace it!

Our Twins!

Jason and I got to see our sweet little babies for the first time yesterday morning! As soon as they started the ultrasound, we saw them right away... yes, TWINS!!! It was so easy to see the separate sacks and then each little baby. Their little hearts were beating so fast; it was precious. You could make out little arms and legs buds. It was such an incredible feeling :)

Here are pictures of our little munchkins!

It was really difficult for the doctor to get both babies in the pictures at the same time. We think she did a great job though and will always remember how each one looked during our visit!

Thursday night Jason and I had a HUGE scare which led us to going to the doctor on Friday vs Monday... I started to spot which is so unnerving. I ran straight to the bed and called the doctor (at 10pm at night!). Since there is nothing really anyone could do, we agreed that I'd just stay in bed and go to the doctors in the morning to check on the babies and me. I stopped bleeding half way through the night; it was never really a lot, but to me, any blood while pregnant is way too much. I spent the whole night praying and focusing on all the TRUTHS I know about God from His Word. When morning came, I didn't do anything to myself, but put on shoes and we left to the doctors (hence my tired look in the picture). It was such a beautiful sight when we saw our little blessings and watched their hearts beating so fast! They say that about 20-30% of women bleed during pregnancy. I don't like that one bit... They say it can be normal and not caused by anything... just something that happens. I pray it doesn't happen any more b/c it's so scary. I know I have to continue putting all my trust and fears in God's hands.

Thank You God for entrusting us with two of your precious little angels!!!

Other fun family times in July

My mom, sister and brother were able to spend about a week and half here with us shortly after we found out the wonderful news! We had a great time visiting and sharing.


Our children will be so proud looking back at their daddy and mommy when they were pregnant with them, hehe!


Sibling Time :)

This might be a better to prove to our kids that we are 'normal' at times too!

We had a bbq with family while everyone was in town. It was great visiting and eating yummy food.

Rachel made some yummy and very pretty pink and blue cupcakes :) Cynthia brought us our very first diaper too!

Selina and Rachel prove their silliness!

Many nights we spent around the table playing games such as Taboo, Apples to Apples, Monopoly and Yahtzee. I think playing games is one of our favorite things to do while they are here; we all laugh non-stop. I so wish we all lived closer so we could get together like this all the time. So thankful for the gifts and opportunities we have though so we can stay so close!

My mom and sister took me maternity clothes shopping while they were here. While my goodies I got are real cute, I must say, they are HUGE!! My mom convinced me to get the larger ones since I'll grow into them pretty fast I'm sure, but man, the smaller ones looked cuter ;)

Here I am in the parking lot at a spot reserved for expectant mothers! Yay, I can finally use those!!!