26 weeks and 2 days with the boys

So, today I am 26 weeks and 2 days. I saw my high risk doctor this past Saturday (my appt. was last Tuesday but due to a water pipe bursting in the ceiling and water shooting out ever where then everyone having to walk down 27 flights of stairs my appt was cancelled so I went back on Sat. My feet were super grateful to be so swollen. ;)). We decided to take Molly so she could see the babies but she was much more concerned with the gel that they put on my belly. Very concerned that I was getting dirty and that it was hurting me. Anyway, babies are great and growing.

26 weeks with twins

how far along? 26 weeks 2 days
how are you measuring? I was measured yesterday (Monday) at my regular OBs appt and glucose test. I am measuring 38 weeks!
size of baby?  On Saturday they measured and baby A weighs 2lbs4oz and baby B weighs 2lb2oz. They are still in the 50%.
heartbeat? Based on Sat. baby A was 144bpm and baby B was 153bpm 
total weight gain/loss? Depending on the scale I have gained 26-30 pounds which is what I gained in total with Molly and fingers crossed I still have 11 weeks to go.
maternity clothes? This is kind of a dumb question by now.
stretch marks? Yes. I begged my doctor to develop something and she just said you have battle wounds....let me tell you that is exactly what I want. Not only does your skin change, hair change, hips change, boobs change it looks like a tiger clawed at your stomach. It's pretty fantastic.
sleep? Still the same here - Not a lot. I am always tossing and turning. My calves and hips hurt so so so bad.
best moment this week? When I went to my OB yesterday the boys were facing each other and both had their hands and feet up and they were knocking each other around. It was quite humorous although I am not sure I will think it is as funny outside the belly.
movement? Yes - they move constantly. This past week though they both started to get the hiccups. Molly had these all the time and it is really strange being able to tell when each baby has the hiccups or like today when they both had them at the same time.
food cravings? Nope BUT unfortunately, I got a call about my glucose test and I failed ;(. I have gestational diabetes so that means I have to go to another appointment this week to work on changing my diet and determine how I will monitor everything. I was told that I will start out pricking myself 4x a day and for a needle phobe this is not a good thing. And, no I didn't have this with Molly.
gender predictions? still have 2 identical boys in there.
what i miss? sleep for sure. i think I will miss this for the next 2 years.
what I'm looking forward to? Going to the ranch this weekend to just hang out with friends.
how are you feeling? OK. I just wish my hips didn't hurt so bad.

26 weeks with M - and I can't fit into that shirt anymore

24 weeks with the boys!

Today I am 24 weeks and 1 day. I can officially say that carrying twins is really hard work. My feet are already way swollen to where my flip flops are tight. No bueno. Anyway, here is my update.

So tired looking.

how far along? 24 weeks 1 day
how are you measuring? I keep forgetting to ask this question but I will next Tuesday when I go again.
size of baby? According to thebump.com our babies are 10.5-11.8 inches long and weigh about a pound - 1lb4.5oz, the size of a cantaloupe. BUT when I went to the high risk doc last Tuesday he said baby A weighs 1lb8oz and baby B weighs 1lb7oz. Which is great and in the 50% so I am not sure how accurate thebump.com is......I am not sure why I asked the question but I asked how much a single baby would weigh at this point and he said around 1lb7oz - you are in the 50% which is crazy because I have two in my belly and for some reason I just assumed that babies grow smaller as twins.
heartbeat? When I went last Tuesday baby A was 143bpm and baby B was 144bpm 
total weight gain/loss? Too much. The high risk doc wants me to see a nutritionist because she said I am not gaining enough but I am huge. I literally feel like I can't fit anything else in my body. I am eating all the time. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, bedtime snack - always eating.
maternity clothes? Um yes  but let me tell you some of my shirts are getting small! WHAT?!? - still the same as last time.
stretch marks? no new ones but my feet are HUGE. Swollen all day everyday. 
sleep? Not a lot. I am always tossing and turning. My calves and hips hurt so so so bad.
best moment this week? Now when Molly kisses the boys goodnight she places her hands on either side and taps softly (for the most part) and says "wake up brothers I love you". Heart melted.
movement? All the time
food cravings? nothing really. i don't think i have time for cravings. ha
gender predictions? 2 boys! Once everything was pointed out to me there is no mistaking. 
what i miss? sleep for sure. i think I will miss this for the next 2 years.
what I'm looking forward to? My shower this Sunday. My sister and friends are throwing a shower to help me better prepare for these boys. THANK YOU!
how are you feeling? house like..... :/ I have to remind myself that there are two babies in there and it is ok to look like a house right now. My goal is to grow healthy babies and so far so good :) So I will take the house......for now.

Comparison with M at 24 weeks

M These Days

She is hilarious. Seriously hilarious. Here are some of the things she is saying.

Her screaming how much she loves Nutella.

We were all having dinner at my parents house.
M: Do I have curly hair like Papa? (I have been telling her that is where she got it from.)
Me: Yes, you are correct.
M: (looking at my dad) It looks like he might be missing some.
I died - it was hysterical.

She will NOT take off this dress. Always a princess!

Danny is rocking Molly to bed and she is trying to take his toothpick out of his mouth but he is moving it around not letting her take it.
M: Honey, honey. I need that.

Molly getting out of her bed after we tucked her in.
M: Hey daddy, it's me Molly. Can you come up here?

22 weeks prego with twins!

how far along? 22 weeks 3 days
how are you measuring? HUGE. I just went to the doc this past Monday but I forgot to ask. I was measuring 28 weeks when I was 19 so I am sure much larger by now.
size of baby? According to thebump.com our babies are 10.5 inches long and weigh about a pound, the size of an spaghetti squash or papaya
heartbeat? When I went on Monday baby A was 143bpm and baby B was 144bpm 
total weight gain/loss? I think I have gained about 25 pounds which is as much as I gained with Molly in the whole pregnancy! I am supposed to gain 52 lbs with twins. Kinda freaks me out..... 
maternity clothes? Um yes  but let me tell you some of my shirts are getting small! WHAT?!?
stretch marks? just my leftovers - no new ones.....yet - hallelujah
sleep? I wake up to go to the bathroom twice a night and I remember how much I am not a side sleeper.
best moment this week? watching Molly tell the boys goodnight. She lifts up my shirt rubs my belly and gives each side of my belly a kiss then says night night little brothers. cutest thing ever!
movement? Oh yes! These boys are active. Every time I go to the doc they say how active they are.....not the best sign for me in the future. yikes!
food cravings? nothing really. i don't think i have time for cravings. ha
gender predictions? 2 boys! Once everything was pointed out to me there is no mistaking. 
what i miss? sleep for sure. i think I will miss this for the next 2 years.
what I'm looking forward to? My long visit with the high risk doc is next week where they measure everything so they can give me very accurate stats of the babes.
how are you feeling? large and in charge!

Just because it is fun to compare.

And that shirt won't go all the way over my belly anymore.

BOYS!

We found out last Friday 9/19 that we are having 2 identical boys! BOYS! I don't know what to do with boys. All I know is frilly, tutu wearing, lipstick lovin, Frozen obsessed girl. While this will be a whole new adventure and challenge I am really excited. Two boys! :) This means trucks, bugs and dirt - although Molly loves her fair share of dirt.

The best part about visiting the high risk doc is that I got to see both babies for 2 hours (yes I laid on my back for 2 hours while he measured every part of each baby - a little on the uncomfortable side but I'll take it). Thanks be to God that both boys are super healthy. Which from what we learned is amazing in itself since I didn't know I was having identical (mono/di) twins until 18 weeks and didn't see the high risk doc until 19 weeks. It is truly amazing how much God was protecting us throughout this journey. They were both 8oz at the 18 week mark and grew to 13oz at 19 weeks.

The boys heads.

I am currently 20 weeks 3 days and feeling these boys kick all the time. Danny has felt baby A but Molly hasn't felt either. After telling Molly that we are having boys she wasn't thrilled (cried, said she only wanted girls, I don't want brothers, etc.) but after she thought about it she was happy and is now really excited. We ask her what we should name them and she talks gibberish. She never says anything in gibberish but all the sudden their names gibberish. Ha. Speaking of names Danny and I are not so much on the same page. This could take some time....I got back to my regular high risk doc next Wednesday (every two weeks) so I will have an update then.
Molly naming boys from Lauren Struzick on Vimeo.

BIG NEWS: Say what?!?

So, I now know that there is a reason my belly is so huge (see the last post). This past Monday 9/8/14 I went in for my 18 week anatomy scan and thought I would see one happy baby swimming around but no. I got a HUGE surprise! Danny was running a little late  and the tech asked if she could go a head and take pictures for the doc. Sure, why not. She did one scan over the belly - paused - another scan over the belly then turned off the machine and said we should wait for Danny. I started freaking out asking why. She just kept saying we should wait. No, no, no, no I needed to know right then. I was thinking something was wrong. Then she said it was good news and a light went off in my head, eyes bulged out of my head and all I said was "please tell me there isn't more than two". Nope, but she said it was twins. TWINS - let's let that process. 18 weeks and I am just now finding out TWINS. Identical twins. Two babies - two. Ok, enough freaking out. I start crying, laughing, smiling, and freaking out all at the same time. Then Danny walks in, sees my crying and the tech says "your wife has something to tell you". He starts freaking out thinking something is wrong and I just say "we are gonna have to buy a lot more stuff and hold up two fingers and the tech turns on the screen and says twins. His jaw immediately drops, hand goes up to his mouth and says "are you kidding me". Yeah, no. Twins. We are having twins. TWINS!

Moving on from there we come out all the nurses are buzzing saying we have never missed twins. Yeah - you missed mine! We sufficiently freaked out all day long. I didn't sleep a wink that night all I could do was thinking of everything. We texted out families saying we couldn't hold out on finding out the gender (we were going to wait when we thought we were having one baby - now we will find out but we just don't know yet) and we wanted to have a reveal dinner. My fam was set for Friday and Danny's was set for Sat. Well, my sister called immediately and said she couldn't wait so I met my family that Monday night and told them. Keeping a secret like this until Saturday was painful but we managed. Both reactions are below on video.
Mitchell Family finding out we are having twins! 9/8/14 from Lauren Struzick on Vimeo.
Struzick Family finding out we are having twins! 9/13/14 from Lauren Struzick on Vimeo.
At my 18 week appt I was measuring 27 weeks and the doctor said oh yeah I would have been able to tell something was up. Yeah......Thank goodness both babies are super healthy and both 8oz and one in the 50% and the other 42%. From here on out I start seeing a maternal fetal medicine doc every two weeks and see my regular OB every month for now. I have always loved working at the hospital but now I realized that I know entirely too much that can go wrong so I just have to calm myself down and know that I will be taken care of and God is in control.

So, in case you haven't heard.....

OK, so here is the deal. I have been meaning to blog from week 12 but of course this has not happened. So, surprise! I am prego if you didn't know yet. I am 17 weeks currently and am due February 9th. Danny and I super thrilled. Molly is excited as well thinking that we all have babies in our belly including daddy and herself. I am excited to see what happens when she can start feeling the baby. That should be interesting. It is so crazy the difference in life comparing now and when I was at this stage with Molly. I thought I was so busy but having a toddler brings a whole new meaning to the word busy. I am sure when there is two it gets even more crazier. While I can't wait to mean this little one I am really excited to see the whole sibling connection. I actually can't wait for that.

Here is my belly pic that I took tonight. Not the best but it will do.

How far along? 17 weeks 2 days
how are you measuring? Don't know, but will find out on Monday - when we have our anatomy scan/gender appt. BUT this time we are not finding out the gender!
size of baby? According to thebump.com our baby is 5.1 inches long and 5.9 oz, the size of an onion 
heartbeat? 162 bpm (at our 14 weeks appointment) 
total weight gain/loss? + 5 lbs as of 14 weeks 
maternity clothes? Pshhhh yes! I needed maternity clothes starting at 8 weeks. It is crazy the difference with baby numero 2.
stretch marks? just my leftovers - no new ones.....yet
sleep? I wake up to go to the bathroom twice a night and I remember how much I am not a side sleeper.
best moment this week? wearing a maternity swimsuit and rockin it or I just didn't care what people thought especially when chasing a curious toddler.
movement? I feel like I felt something around week 15 but then not again.
food cravings? nothing really. Oh wait. for a while there I needed pickles and I mean NEEDED them, even dreamt about them.
gender predictions? No clue. 
what i miss? Sleeping through a whole night and I would really love it if I could have a glass of red wine.
what I'm looking forward to? Going to my next doc appointment where we get to see the little one.
how are you feeling? Feelin good.

Just so we can compare with this itty bitty belly below. This was me with Molly at 17 weeks. What a crazy difference!