18 week update!

Thought I would do a little update since I am now 18 weeks along (as of yesterday).  If I make it to 36 weeks than this is my half way point, which is pretty crazy!

The babies: I had another ultrasound/appointment yesterday.  The girls (and yes, we've confirmed on the ultrasound that they are in fact girls!) are both right on for their growth and everything is looking healthy and great (yay!).  Baby A is 8 oz. and Baby B is 7 oz.  Everything else like my blood pressure, blood tests, etc. are all healthy and normal.  We're just going to pray that everything stays that way!  My next appointment will be the big 20 week anatomy scan where they really check all of the organs, so hopefully all will be well with that appointment.

You can see her little fist!

Oh my goodness, little feet!  They measured them and they are only about an inch long!  So tiny!  Keep growing little babies!

Me - Physically:  I'm actually doing pretty good!  I don't feel sick anymore which is so nice.  I still feel like I have to eat all the time but I think that is the new normal.  I am definitely still tired and have moments of pure exhaustion, some days are better than others.  My only other complaint is just some back pain which makes sense from my quickly growing belly.  I know that physically this will only get harder so I am grateful to be feeling pretty good for now.  I will say that it feels just plain weird to be so big or pregnant (size wise) this early on.  Sometimes I feel like a science experiment with my body changing and growing so quickly and having to adjust to that.  Pregnancy is really amazing and such a miracle but it is also so weird at the same time!

Me - Emotionally:  Between the extra hormones, exhaustion, the cold/gray of winter, and the other stressors in our lives, emotionally this had been quite the roller coaster so far.  It's very easy to let the anxiety and fear of our uncertain circumstances and our future with twins and 5 kiddos just overwhelm me.  I am working on focusing on the basics of prayer, scripture study, and temple attendance to give me the boost I need.  Those things definitely go a long way in helping me feel more optimistic and more gratitude.  It's still definitely hard to wrap my mind around the fact that there really are two babies growing and we'll have two babies to join our family.  It's exciting but still doesn't feel real in so many ways.

I have also found that I am more sensitive to the comments of others (those extra hormones again!).  With my other pregnancies I never cared about the comments people made about my size or our growing family.  Maybe I am more aware of it and sensitive because I know this is just the beginning and the comments will just keep coming.  I personally think that no one should ever make comments on the size of a pregnant woman, like ever. Obviously I know my belly is getting big fast, so I don't need anyone to point it out.  (Don't worry I don't snap at people when they make comments, I just don't love it.)  I also don't love the comments about how crazy our lives are going to be or comments like, "Better you than me!"  When I'm already nervous about all of this and feeling overwhelmed it doesn't help when people are basically saying, "You're right that's going to be super crazy and stressful, and just might suck!"  Haha, I know everyone means well but it still can hurt my feelings.

I feel like I've entered this whole new world of multiples.  I was added to this group on facebook that's called Mormon Moms of Multiples (MMoMs) and I have absolutely loved it.  There are people from all over the country (and a lot from Utah) who either have multiples or are pregnant with multiples and often have other children.  There is a great mix of women who have come to their multiples because of infertility treatments and then others that just had them naturally.  They offer their experiences, advice, ask questions, and all in a super positive and helpful way.  I have already learned so much and love reading all of the posts and comments.  It feels nice to hear about others in very similar circumstances!

The kids, even Preston, (ok, maybe not Kaley because she has no clue what is going on) continue to be super excited about the twins and love to give my belly hugs and kisses.  I love their excitement it just makes my heart smile!

Getting ready:  We really haven't done anything to get ready for these two yet.  It's crazy to think that if we were just having one girl we would literally not have to buy anything, maybe a going home outfit and a couple of blankets.  But since it is two, we really have to buy a lot.  Car seat, rock and play, double stroller, twin nursing pillow, pumping/bottle supplies (if nursing alone doesn't work out, hard to know!), crib/crib mattress, and then of course extras of so much like clothes, burp cloths, and all the little things.  I plan on hitting up craigslist and the facebook yard sale sites to find most of these but it still is very stressful and makes my to do list longer.

We aren't even sure if we will be here in this house or if we'll move but just for fun Preston wanted to move his room downstairs.  We have an unfinished basement that is pretty much a kids free for all where they can run and play and just storage.  We have some random carpet on part of it.  Preston got really excited about it and after sleeping on an air mattress to try it out for a couple of weeks we moved his stuff down there.  He loves it and is excited about having his own space and Abby and Kaley each have their own room for a little bit.  Once the twins come, Kaley will move in with Abby and that leaves us a guest bedroom for my mom to stay in while she helps us out.  The twinners will stay in our room for the first little bit and then take over the guest room when their ready..  It helped me so much to just have a plan of where everyone will go if we stay in this house.  It will start to feel a bit squished if we stay here for too long but we can totally make it work, which feels great!