26- 27 weeks

Between Jake and I there is never a dull moment. Jake had not been feeling well and made an appointment to go to the doctor to check on his lung function (which indicates how he is doing with CF). We went in to find out not only had his lung function decreased, but it had dropped dramatically. After talking with His physician they decided that it was best to admit him to the hospital for a 5-7 day stay and then an additional 7 day regimen of home IV antibiotics. So this past week I have been driving back and forth between Dallas (were Jake was admitted), Fort Worth (work), and Mansfield (home). I was able to take 3 days off which helped me get tons of rest with Jake at the hospital and get the remainder of my assignments completed. We are home now and Jake's lung function has not only increased, but surpassed what this normal lung function has been the last several months, and he still has more antibiotics to go! Meanwhile, thank God for more blessings, my 26 week FFN was negative. Girls continue to kick, stretch, and most importantly grow! Every week they gain more weight and continue to mature. On the downside of all that growing is I get to feel the weight of them growing more rapidly and feel contractions as my uterus expands two fold (which are not pleasant but it means that everything is happening as it should and we are grateful for that!). We are both very excited as each week passes while at the same time getting more and more nervous about how much our lives are going to change! I have my next check up this week with a sono so we get to sneak a peak at how much they are growing and if they are behaving. We will also have another FFN done. 



26 weeks



24-25 weeks

We have made it to viability! At 24 weeks the girls would have developed enough to live outside my tummy. Although there would be major health concerns, they would have about a 70 % chance of survival. This is a huge milestone as every week from now on increases their chance of survival and lowers the risk of  long term health problems.   We did some testing in Dr. Motley's office this week to determine my risk of going into preterm labor in the next two weeks. The test is called Fetal fibronectin, or FFN, and if negative can suggest with 99 % certainty that I will not deliver in the next two weeks. My test was negative so we know they will be swimming around for two more weeks. She measured my stomach and going along with before, I am measuring about 4 weeks larger than what I am. The next day I had an appointment with the perinatologist who again looked at my cervical length. My cervical length is still over 3.5cm which also predicts that I will not have any preterm labor during the next several weeks. The perinatologist also looked at the girls growth rates to make sure both girls are growing at the same rate and that they both had adequate fluid levels. Baby A was measuring about 1lb 8oz and Baby B 1lb 9oz both with a good amount of fluid. She was so pleased with what she saw she does not need to see me again unless there is a problem with growth, fluid levels, or any other complication that I am more at risk for since I am carrying two babies.  This week we went and registered after getting good news, which we found challenging trying to figure out what we need two of and what they can share and purchased one of the cribs. Cant wait to finish painting the nursery and set up the cribs.

24 weeks

22-23 weeks

Not only can Jake and I feel big movements, but you can now see them move and kick my belly. It feels and looks like they are doing gymnastics inside. This week Jake was able to feel them roll around and lets just say he was a little freaked out. He was just used to their little kicks and was not expecting to feel his girls turning and twisting, lol. Next week we start doing additional testing to make sure I am not going and will not go into preterm labor. We are still pondering on names and can not seem to nail anything down. It seems harder with two!

21.1 Appointment

Today I had my follow-up cervical appointment with the perinatologist. Wheeeww, my cervix still looks good and has not shortened and still looks like it did almost 3 weeks ago! woo hoo! This is wonderful news and is very reassuring that everything is as it should be. She also took a quick peak at the girls to follow up on the last appointment. Baby A has flip-flopped and is head down and laying almost on top of her sister who still wants to be breech. They're getting so big its getting hard to tell what is what during the sono, so many parts and pieces wiggling and kicking around. My favorite part of the appointments are to feel them move and see the actual movement on the screen it is so neat. My next appointment is on Tuesday with Dr. Motley for my routine 4 week check up.

Baby B has her back turned away from us at the bottom,
 while her sister is curled up almost on top of her.



20-21 Weeks

Goodness, as you can see we have had lots of growing! And mama is starting to really feel her girls kicking and stretching. Even more exciting, daddy last night for the first time got to feel his girls kick! I think I was even more excited that he could feel them than when I first felt their kicks.  I have to admit that it made me tear up a tad bit. I am really starting to feel all the stretching and moving that comes with growing a belly and I have to say its becoming more and more uncomfortable. I have my appointment with the perinatologist this week to check my cervical length to make sure the few contractions that I am having are just normal stretching of my uterus with growing two babies at one time. 

18-19 Weeks

Crazy last couple of weeks! I can now say I have experienced what most of my patients experience and that is contractions. I started feeling a couple this week and after lots of rest, water, and phone calls to my doctor I am feeling much better. I saw a perinatologist this morning, which is a high risk pregnancy doctor which was perfect timing since I was having contractions. We are seeing her for several reasons: we are considered high risk because of IVF, twins, and Jake's CF. She explained all the risks with each and completed a very detailed scan of both babies organs including their brains, hearts, stomachs, kidneys, and measurements. She also measured the length of my cervix to make sure the contractions were not causing my cervix to shorten, which would indicate preterm labor. Our plan is to keep a very close eye on the cervical length, usually when a cervix starts shortening, preterm labor starts 3 - 6 weeks after. Oh, and I forgot to mention we also found out what we are having......

 



 





16-17 weeks

The babies are about 3-5 oz each and about 5 inches from crown to rump. I can finally say that I can feel them moving! At first I was not sure, but now there is no mistaking. Baby B is definably a lot more active than baby A, however, I can still feel movement on both sides of my belly.  They should both be able to hear now and are starting to develop fat. People are now starting to realize that I am pregnant and I am so excited that I don't just look "full" which is just a nice way of saying chubby. Below is a belly shot from 16 weeks.