32 weeks

32 weeks and counting... We are very blessed to have made it this far in our pregnancy. I have learned that bed rest is not all that it is cracked up to be. There is only so much TV you can watch, Internet you can surf, and books that you can read. The count down to 37 weeks has officially begun and we are praying that we can keep the girls swimming around for 34 more days.  This week took us to the hospital due to a little bleeding, but all is well, they monitored me and found I was contracting a little too much and put me back on the contraction medication around the clock. My sono went well, apparently the girls like to keep everyone on their toes by switching who A and B is every visit. This week Baby A (formerly baby b) has both of her feet next to my cervix and is double footing breech, while her sister, formerly baby A, is still head down but sitting above her sisters feet. Both babies were facing my back so we were not able to get any good face shots. Baby A is measuring about 3lbs and 11oz while baby B is about 3lbs and 13oz. Our placenta's were rated a B and fluid levels were normal for twins. Dr. Motley re checked my cervix and found it very soft, thin, and fingertip.  So more bed rest is in my future... We will start BBP's (biophysical profile) weekly until the girls make there grand entrance to check on the girls health. The BBP looks at heart rates, muscle tone, breathing, movement, and amount of amniotic fluid.

32 Weeks

30 Weeks continued....

FFN was negative!! Woo hoo! We will be pregnant for at least 2 more weeks.  I am at home on "rest" not necessarily staying in bed, yet. Able to still do some small stuff around the house for now, but very careful about how much I am doing. Trying to finish up the crib bedding little by little. We have the nursery painted and both cribs set up. Having fun putting all the presents up and clearing out space for the little ones. I was able to graduate this weekend. Sat at much as possible, everyone at TWU was very helpful in finding me chairs to sit while we waited. This week I am very excited my mom, brother, and in-laws are all driving up to spend Christmas with us this week!



30 Weeks



30 weeks

We have made it to 30 weeks! We had our routine check up with Dr. Motley today. We listen to both of their hearts beating and measured my stomach for growth.  I am measuring about 6 weeks ahead so I look and feel like I am 36 weeks pregnant. When she checked my cervix she noticed that it has thinned out about 50% and felt soft. She collected another FFN and we are anxiously awaiting results, if positive we might do some prophylactic treatments to help the girls mature their lungs faster. We will get the results tomorrow.  We had previously discussed putting me on "bed rest" at 30 weeks so that I would be off my feet and not working 12 hour shifts that sometimes require hard physical work. Good thing we planned for this because it is now needed.  Both girls move constantly and we have fun trying to guess which body part they push out. Sometimes you can feel their head, foot, elbow or knees and sometimes it is a complete toss up to what we feel. As their movements get bigger and bigger my stomach almost becomes like a sci-fi film with all the movement inside.  On another note Jake had his follow-up appointment to re-test his lung function which has greatly improved and is stable!

28-29 weeks

28 weeks

We are growing, growing, growing! Monday we hit a few bumps with contractions. I have been taking a very low dose of medication to stop contractions when they get closer together when I need it. However, on Monday they were not only getting closer together but getting more and more uncomfortable with pressure. My physician was off but I was able to see her partner who was wonderful. She monitored both babies and contractions and increased my dose of contraction medication and wanted me to start taking it every 6 hours around the clock to slow down my contractions. She checked my cervix which was still the same and completed an FFN which was again negative!!! All very good news! Contractions are now under control I am back down to the lower dose, but taking it every 6 hours. I had my regular appointment with Dr. Motley on Friday and growth scans on the girls! They each weigh about 2 1/2 pounds with very long legs. We were able to take a glimpse at their faces and the ultrasound tech was convinced that one baby looked just like me and one looked just like Jake. Baby A is head down, while her sister likes to change from laying straight under my ribs to just her head in my ribs! After talking with Dr. Motley we decided that it would be a good idea to stop working and go on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I am finishing out this week since I just have a training and classes. So starting next Wednesday, at 30 weeks, I will be officially at home preparing for our girls arrival!! Other exciting news, we had my first shower this weekend and we received lots of amazing gifts from dear friends and family! I have to thank Allison for putting the shower together she did an amazing job!!!



Face shots of the Girls
Baby B is looking straight on horizontally with forehead on the left and chin on the right,
her arm is next to her head at the top
Baby A (harder to see) is looking straight on horizontally but opposite of her sister



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!