The Hart Family Journey

22 Months.....

2011-03-31T11:12:00.003-04:00

It's almost April 1st 2011 and the girls will be 22 months old. They are doing wonderful! They are talking so much these days and will try to have conversations with you. Mackenzie speaks a little bit more clear then Jocelyn but Jocey is not far behind at all. Jocey is coming into her words but more important is now climbing out of her crib!!!! This start a week or so ago. We picked up a Crib tent from Aunt Linda and it's our a wonderful thing! She did not like it at first and we had to put both girls in the same crib because Mackenzie wanted to be in the tent as well. Mackenzie loved it. Telling Jocey it was ok and it's cool (learned that from her daddy) It was so cute to see her try to calm Jocey down who just wanted OUT OUT OUT. I have since gotten Mackenzie her own crib tent and they are doing well. I also like it becuase now they don't throw their blankets and pillows out of the crib! Here are some more recent pictures of the girls...

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-22T11:57:00.003-05:00

Happy Holiday's from the Hart's!!

The girls were not a fan of Santa aka HoHo this year.

The girls and their cousins Jack and Zoey.

Congratulations Uncle Mike and Aunt Molly

2010-09-10T13:42:00.003-04:00

I know i'm late on this but May 7th 2010 Zoey Anna and Jack Michael were born....

More Pictures....

2010-09-10T13:40:00.000-04:00

More Pictures....

2010-09-10T13:32:00.006-04:00

Girls Playing

2010-09-10T13:22:00.001-04:00

For their 1st birthday we got the girls a slide... they love it!

I know...it's about time I updated this...

2010-09-10T12:42:00.005-04:00

I know I said before I would try to update this more but it's a lot harder then I expected. :-)

So I last posted when the girls were 9 months old. Around 11 1/2 months on May 16th Jocelyn took her 1st steps. 4 days later Mackenzie began walking as well. And since then they are now running all over!!

Jocelyn...

Mackenzie...

The girls are now 15 months and they are doing great. They went off formula at 12 months and took to Milk well. At the end of the summer took away bottles and they have been fine with this as well. They no longer want baby food and prefer to feed themselves then be fed. I could say they are picky eaters but it's more that they want their pizza and french fries over good/healthy foods. (I think they got this from mom and dad! LOL) But they will eat healthy foods when they feel like so i'm not sure i would call them picky in the sense they don't like a lot of food. They are just picky as to WHEN they like those foods. So this is the biggest thing we are dealing with at the moment.

They had a great summer of 2010. We were able to get down the shore a lot this year and hope to continue this for future summers. They love the campground and the freedom they have down there.

They are talking a lot too. They say a good amount of words. Jocelyn likes to tell you to "sit" and hits the couch to get you to sit. They say outside because they love to be outside. Of course we get, mommy, daddy, papa and mom mom. I have to get pictures off my other computer but I promise to do this soon. Here are a few that I do have.

Easter Pictures & 9 Month checkup

2010-03-25T14:21:00.002-04:00

The girls had their 9 month checkup yesterday and things are going great.

Mackenzie is 17lbs 1oz
Jocelyn is 16lbs 6.5oz

They are growing so fast. Both girls are crawling now. Jocelyn has been for a while at 6 months but now mackenzie is making her way around. They both also pull themselves up and walk along when holding onto something. They say Ba Ba and babble all the time. They are eating very well. We starting to give more solids.

They saw the Easter Bunny with their pop pops. I would have loved to have been there but I love the picture so I could not be mad. lol

Here are pictures we had done last night for the 9 month/ Easter pics. The girls were great. They had their Dr. appt earlier and it was at their bedtime. They got a little cranky at the end so that why we didn't try to a plain background. haha It was also hard at a point because they both wanted to crawl around all the time. Thank good both grandmom's were there to help. The one where Mackenzie has her hands up, we would say SO BIG and she put her hands up. Then she kept doing it. haha

Ears Pierced!!

2010-02-04T11:01:00.003-05:00

As you can see from the pictures below, the girls got their ears pierced. We got them done on January 8th at the Cherry Hill mall. Me, my mom and Sherri took the girls. They did well. I held each of them and I had to hold their arms and head so they wouldn't move. The lady who did them (one ear at a time) was the not nicest girl but she did a good job and was quick. Both Mackenzie and Jocelyn screamed and it was a delayed scream but as soon as they got their bottles they were fine. And the weeks since then they have rarely touched their ears. AND they let us clean them. :-)

Other Misc. Pictures...

2010-02-01T14:22:00.004-05:00

Soco was not too happy about this one! But I love these onsie's!!

Jocelyn like her Uncle Billy..

Mackenzie like her uncle billy...

Christmas Pictures...

2010-01-28T11:27:00.003-05:00

Here are some Christmas 2009 pictures....

Sorry...Again

2010-01-28T10:54:00.003-05:00

I know I know...It's been forever. Here are some updates.

Jocelyn and Mackenzie will be 8 months old on Feb 9th (about a week and a half). Jocelyn is crawling very well now and she pulls herself up very easly. Both grandmoms have walkers at their houses and the girls love to be them. Mackenzie last night began to roll over from her belly to her back and of course she claps afterwards. It's way too cute.

At their 6 month appt. Jocelyn weighed 14lbs 3.7oz and Mackenzie weighed 6months- 14lbs 10.2oz. Mackenzie is my little porker. LOL But I think Jocelyn is also more active so she crawls it off. :-)

They are on food now and to no surprise Mackenzie will eat anything. Jocelyn is not bad but is not crazy about peaches and peas. But if mixed with something else she is ok. But she makes the cutest faces. They tried some apple juice last night and seemed to like it a lot. We are starting to get them used to their sippy cups as well. Mackenzie seems to like it more then Jocey. But Jocey does well with it I think she just doesn't want to be bothered and would rather be crawling around. haha

They are doing really well and seem like very happy little girls. They are getting to big way to fast.

Oh and since it's been way too long since i posted Christmas was wonderful. They girls were a little scared of santa but I think it's because it was a familiar voice but a strange beard. haha

I'll add pictures in another post.

I hope all is well with everyone and I will try to post something at least once a month. I will try.

Sorry...

2009-12-09T12:34:00.003-05:00

I know it's been forever since I have updated this and I promise to do so soon. Here are some pictures of the girls in the mean time..

Jocelyn was minnie mouse and Mackenzie was Tinkerbell

Let's Go Phillies!!

2009-10-13T12:52:00.002-04:00

The girls are ready....

The Dresses

2009-09-29T13:50:00.006-04:00

Here are some more pictures of the girls christening dresses. These were made from my wedding dress. My good friend Sonal's mom designed the dresses and got them made for us. They did a wonderful job. It's something I always wanted done since I doubt I would have ever worn my dress again and I would not expect either of the girls to wear my wedding dress for their day.

Mackenzie
Jocelyn

You can sort of see the bottom of the train. This is the front of Mackenzie's dress.

The front bottom part of my dress is the front of Jocelyn's Dress.

Christening

2009-09-28T14:22:00.009-04:00

The girls were baptised yesterday and everything went so great. They cried a little bit but with the church being as hot as it was I don't blame them. They did really great though. I was very proud of them. Here are some pictures from the day.

3 Months...

2009-09-16T12:17:00.003-04:00

Not sure how many people still follow this but I will try to keep updating this a little more often then I have been. :-)

The girls are now 3 months old and doing so great. They are cooing, smiling and little laughs here and there. They are starting to want to try to sit up. Especially Jocelyn, we put her in one of those exersaucers and she loves it. We have a blanket to help hold her in there. We went the other week to JCPenny's to get their pictures taken. They did so great. Mackenzie started to cry towards the end but they did awesome for how much we were moving them around. Below are some of the picutres.

Not sure how much they weigh but i'm thinking around 11-12 lbs at this point. Their 4 month appt is Oct. 14th.

Happy Birthday Daddy...

2009-09-11T11:06:00.002-04:00

They found their hands....

2009-08-25T10:07:00.003-04:00

Both Mackenzie and Jocelyn found their thumbs/fingers/knuckles.....

Uncle Mike and Aunt Molly's Wedding BBQ

2009-08-16T19:23:00.003-04:00

2 Month Check....

2009-08-13T13:37:00.004-04:00

The girls had their 2 month checkup the other day and everything went great!!!

Jocelyn is 9lbs 5oz, 21.5 in long and her head is 37cm.

Mackenzie is 9lbs 2.7oz, 22in long and her head is 36.5cm.

So although Jocelyn looks like she has a bigger head, it's not that much bigger. :-) I think it's that she has no hair. Although if you look close it's starting to come in just very blonde so still bald. :-)

A couple weeks ago Jocelyn has some blood in her poop but it was not a lot. The Dr.'s think she might have an allergy to cow's milk. So they put her on a special formula. they will re-evaluate her at 6 months. But she is doing great now as you can see from her weight gain. :-)

Mackenzie is doing great as well. Porking up herself. She looks smaller but she's not far behind her sister. Her hair is still has that reddish tint but the new hair coming in is more blondish.

here are some pictures..

With Aunt Denise

With Terri and Candace

My Models...

2009-07-29T19:44:00.000-04:00

More Pictures..

2009-07-24T21:31:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the girls...

Aunt Barb and Aunt Diane
Aunt Donna and Uncle Bob

Great Grandmom Gabriel

Jocelyn's Godparents... Aunt Molly and Uncle Mike

Daddy and Mackenzie

The girls enjoying their boppy...

I didn't turn the picture first... Soco and Mackenzie.

Jocelyn

Mackenzie sticking out her tongue wanting to eat. :-)

Big Timber Lake

2009-07-24T21:10:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from when the girls made their first trip to Big Timber Lake...

Down by the lake...

Jocelyn with her sun hat...

Mackenzie with her sun hat...

Gary Michael enjoying the lake...

trying to get a good picture of the girls next to each other with the eyes open. They really opened them for us for this picture! :-)

Mackenzie and Aunt Linda (her godmother)

Soco watching over Jocelyn outside the office...

The girls in their stoller with the bug net over them...

The girls outside the trailer with grandmom sherri...

1 Month Checkup...

2009-07-11T09:03:00.005-04:00

The girls had their one month checkup yesterday and everything went great!

Both of the are weighing the exact same at 6lbs 15.5oz. They've gained over a lb. in about 2 weeks! They are also both about 1ft 8in long and their heads are 35cm.

The doctor said they look great and growing very well. Here are pictures....

Jocelyn...

Mackenzie....

Flyers Fans....

2009-06-30T22:01:00.004-04:00

Mackenzie and Joycelyn are already Flyers fans!!!

Pictures....

2009-06-24T17:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some recent pictures

Mackenzie after her first sponge bath..

Jocelyn after her first sponge bath....

the girls going on their first stroll...

Sleeping...

Their outfits to their 2nd Dr. checkup

The girls are here!!!

2009-06-22T19:19:00.003-04:00

Mackenzie Paige and Jocelyn Marie arrive very early tuesday morning on June 9th.

Mackenzie

5lbs 4oz

18 1/2in

1:35am

Jocelyn

5lbs 9oz

18 3/4in

1:34am

On Monday, June 8th, I was not feeling well most of the day. I began having pain on both of my lower sides early in the night. I took a shower, went to the bathroom, took some of my meds since the Doc said to do so when the pain got too bad. This was around 9pm. Around 11pm we decided to go to sleep and I was going to get up one more time to use the bathroom when all of a sudden my water broke. The only way i can describe how i felt was relief. I was so happy that I was going to the hosital and they were not going to send me home. I was having these babies!!

We got to the hospital around 11:30 and my contractions began about 5-10 minutes apart. They were not too bad at this point. I was 4cm and this was the only time they checked that. The around 12:00 my contractions were about 5 minutes consistanly part and a little bit more painful. At this point we were waiting for my Dr. to arrive. 12:30 comes and my contractions are about 1-2 minutes apart and getting pretty painful. If anyone has heard of back labor this was my labor pains. All in my lower back.

Around 1am, contractions were 1 minute and the most painful pains i've ever felt. I was begging for any type of pain meds but they didn't want to give me anything since i was going in for my c-section and i would get a spinal. I didn't care and threw a few choice words around. Oh and at this point I had to move from the one bed to another bed while having contractions and with help from one nurse.

FINALLY my doctor arrived and i got taken into the OR. At this point I had to go into another bed but had more help. My contractions were probably about 30 seconds apart and so so so painful. They got me set up and the spinal went in. Within seconds I felt relief and so happy. Although, the dinner I had early wasn't sitting too well. I got sick a few times but then felt better. The weirdest part of the spinal was not feeling my toes.

Mike at this point is by my side and he did wonderful. Even when i got sick he was ok. Jocelyn came out first and her cries were just beautiful to hear. Then Mackenzie was next. Mike got to see them right away and cut their cords.

The girls did go to the NICU for the 1st day and a half as a precaution and i was happy with this since they got special attention while there. By wednesday around 2pm they were with us in the room.

We got home saturday June 13th (SoCo's 3rd birthday). Soco is doing fabulous!! She's becoming the girls protector. Sherri and my mom have been taken turns staying with us which has been a blessing. We appriciate all their help which allows us to get a lot more sleep then I would have thought.

The girls are doing great and getting on a schedule as best they can for 2 weeks old. Tomorrow is another weight check so I will try to get on to update that. They way they eat I'm curious how much they have gained.

Here are a few pictures...

Jocelyn Marie

Mackenzie Paige

Updated Room Pictures

2009-06-07T13:54:00.003-04:00

Here are some updated babies room pictures.

Here is the Tigger that Mike drew. I painted but he did all the hard work and he did an amazing job.

Grandmom with SoCo in the Glider.

The dress/changing table

We moved the bookcase so the chair had a more comfy feel to it and did not take up all the space.

This is the crib the girls will spend the first 4-6 months in until they start to bother each other and need to be seperated.

All is well and 8 more days to go until they arrive! If not sooner. I feel the same. My pains come and go. I have my OB appt tomorrow afternoon so until there is any dialiation change we will stilll be set for monday.

Update

2009-06-06T14:34:00.001-04:00

Doing a lot better since tuesday. I did have some pain again on tuesday and after calling my Dr. I was able to take some pain meds to help.

I had an OB appt on thursday with no changes. NONE! :-) I was hoping maybe a little change but nope.

Friday I had my weekly stress test which also went well. The girls heartrates are great and they each have a good amount of fluid when we checked on the ultrasound. They are getting very big. We don't check weights or anything with this appt but you could just tell that there is hardly any room left for them.

My Dr. happened to be on call at the hospital on friday so he stopped by when i was having my testing done to check in on me. He also had great news. We moved up my C-section date from June 23rd to June 15th!!!

SOOOO, the girls will be here by the 15th no matter what. If anyone asked me thursday, I would have said I was praying that my water broke so i could have these babies. But now that I have the 15th date and Dr. Dardarian will be delivering them on the 15th I now hope to go on this day instead of not knowing which Dr. would deliver them. Plus, I DO NOT want to have these babies or have to be in the hospital over the weekend From last weeks experience not all the weekend staff was the friendliest.

5/30-6/1 weekend from hell!!

2009-06-03T12:42:00.002-04:00

Saturday 5/30

Sherri came by to help get things organized and our friends Bobbi and Tony stopped by as well with little Tommy. The day started out wonderful. Around 4:00 Bobbi, Tony and Tommy had just left when we were going to grab something to eat and then I was going to rest up. But I started to have severe pains in my left side/back. We though contractions but they were not going away and coming back. It was a constant pain that would get stronger then let up but the pain didn't go away. We call Dr. and they said to come into hospital.

By the time I got to hospital I was in pain for about 30 minutes straight. We were sure the babies were coming that night. The pain did subside but now I was having small regular contractions that did not really hurt but i could tell they were there. After a few hours the Dr. and Resident dr. felt I had a kindey stone. Now this Dr. was not my doc nor in the practice I go to. He is a partner Doc that see paitents of my Docs if they are not on call or in hospital.

The Dr. decides to give ma Tylenol 3 to help with pain but other then that there is really nothing they can do if it's a kidney stone and I was not in full labor. My cervix was not changing. I took the meds and about 20 minutes later I got sick...twice. So the meds did not stay in. They then decided to keep me over night, give me an IV with Meds and I would have an ultrasound sunday morning to see if they could see a stone or anything else.

I LOVED the meds they gave me because it stopped the pain and I got some sleep.

Sunday morning, a Doc from my practice was now on and I like her a lot. I had the Ultrasound on my kidneys and they did not see anything. And the doc did not feel it was a kidney stone but really could not stay 100%. She felt comfortable since i was not in labor to send me home with pain meds.

Most of sunday when we got home i was fine. Felt good. Got some sleep and was great.

Monday morning around 12:30AM I woke up with pains. Now at this point i was taking meds on time every 6 hours. I went to the bathroom then was able to go back to sleep. Woke up again around 1:10. Again went back to sleep. Woke up again around 1:30 and decided to take another pain med since 2am was going to be the time to take it anyway. But at this point i'm feel contractions as well as my side pain. Almost an hour goes by with having a new dose of meds in and the pain is getting worse and my contractions are about 10-15 min apart. I would get a contraction and then the side pain would happen after.

Eventually the contractions got to about 5 minutes apart and it was close to 4am. I called the Dr and she said to come right in. So i went in and they hooked me up to the IV and gave me meds and did tests. I was having contractions at this point according to the monitor but the babies were doing just fine.

At this point too we had a nice nurse but she got off duty around 8am. then we got a nice but not very friendly nurse and the resident was one that i had seen on wednesday and friday who was ok but not great bedside manners.

The resident comes in and says...You are back? then proceds to tell me how each time I come in and get an exam i am running the risk of infection to me and/or the babies. And if I say i'm having a contraction (which clearly I was) they have to do the exam.

So I pretty much felt like she was saying you shouldn't have come in. My mom and Mike stuck up for me and explained that I waited about 4 hours before even calling.

I then had to go tot he bathroom and needed the nurse to come in and unplug the monitor wires. When i got out of the bed I thought i did something to my IV wire. I asked the nurse and she just shrugged her sholders and ignored me. I went into the bathroom and hormones or not I cried my eyes out. I just couldn't stop. I coudln't take it anymore and they made me feel like a difficult paitent when I hardly asked anything of them only if i had to.

I came out of the bathroom thinking it would only be mike and my mom there but the nurse, resident and my actual OB Dr. Dardarian was there. I tried to calm down but it wasn't happenening. Mike then explained to Dr. D that we felt we were not getting straight answers of what was going on and that we felt people thought we were lying about what i'm feeling.

Dr. D was just awesome and said that now that he was there he was the only person I needed to listen to. And if I had any questions to just ask him. He was going to look over my tests but in the mean time wanted to give me meds to stop any contractions. He wanted to see if doing this stopped the pain i was getting on my side. He felt the contractions maybe caused Baby A to push against my side and give me these pains. sort of back labor pains.

Now as the resident was leaving she leans over to mike and thanks him for getting her in trouble and walked away. Now for those that know mike very well this resident is very lucky he kept his cool. She later did appologize to him but it was too late. I hope I never get her again.

Also from this point on the nurse treated me a little different but I felt like they were trying to baby me since Dr. D yelled at them. But oh well I just didn't care at that point. I was tried of trying to be nice when they obviously didn't care.

The meds for the contractions did help and I was pain free for the rest of the day. Dr. D came in later and said my tests all came back normal and he did not feel i had a kindey stone. He checked me out and my cervix still did not change so he felt fine sending me home with these new meds to stop the contractions.

We got home and i was fine for most of the day but then eventually the pains came back. We were actally able to now feel baby A pushing on the side where i was feeling the pain. I called Dr. D yesterday and he told me to also take the pain meds I had and this has been working.

I have an OB appt with the Dr. I saw on sunday. Dr. Dookhan. So we'll see how things are doing tomorrow.

At 35 1/2 weeks the babies can be born now and be toally fine. Of course the longer they stay in the better but at this point i am not worried at all if they were born.

Today's Appt

2009-05-27T20:15:00.009-04:00

Before i get into today's appt I want to give a little FYI I have change my pregnancy counter to go by what the Doctors go by. I'm beginning to confuse myself. haha. i was going by the fertilization date and they are going by the date i had my transfer.

Well, today i had my regular ob appt. And it was an interesting appointment. the last couple days i haven't felt very comfortable and have been feeling pressure down low. So i told my Dr. this. He then checked my cervix and tells me i'm 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. (for those that dont know dilated means my cervix is now open starts at 1cm goes to 10cm. Effaced means that my cervix is thin 0% is closed 100% is very very thin.) The nurses and doctors were not worried or concerned about this so i'm not going to be. They said that i could be this way for weeks even with twins. I just now have to be aware of any contractions and to monitor them.

But the fact that I was feeling some pressure today my dr. wanted me to get checked at the hospital. So i had to head to labor and delivery. Thank goodness we took our tour on friday! lol. So I scare the crap out of mike through a text (i tried to call but he was in a meeting and he texted me first) but once i did get to speak to him i reassured him that I felt things were fine and that he did not have to rush to the hospital just yet. But he was already on his way so i told him to go home first. I just knew I wasn't having these babies today.

The nurse i had was wonderful. SO NICE. She hooked me up to the heartrate and contraction monitor like I do on friday's. I think I had like 1 small contraction when i was first hooked up but after that all was good. The babies were all over the place so that was good they were not stressed although their mom was. haha. I went home after about 2 hours in the hospital. I feel fine now. My new goal is to get to at least June 10th which would be almost 36 weeks. Of course the longer they stay in the better but the nurse i talked to said around 36 weeks would be great.

Now...If by some miracle i make it to June 23rd. This will be my schedule c-section. But I do not feel I will get that far. And honestly the thought of going that far hurts. LOL.

Talk about a reality check that these girls will be here VERY soon!!

Hospital Tour

2009-05-23T17:47:00.003-04:00

Mike and I did a hospital tour yesterday. It was nice to be able to walk through where we will be. The nurse said I will have a private room and it's a nice size room too. They have a lounge that I can take the babies too if I want to get out of the room and they have a kitchen area where I can store food if I have any and they try to keep it stocked with juices and somtimes bagels in the morning.

We also got to see a 3 hour old baby girl who weighed 5lbs 3oz. She was so adorable. Tiny but bigger then I thought a 5lb baby would be. And amazed me that I have two of them inside right now. I've gotten bigger as you can see in the picture below but I still don't know how they fit in there.

Since I had off yesterday I was able to drive into the city and have lunch with Diana (L) and Melissa (R). And they took a pic with the big belly.

Another successful non stress test

2009-05-22T10:22:00.002-04:00

We had our 2nd non stress test today and again things went well. I had a different nurse who was the nicest lady. She found both heartbeats quickly which was nice and the girls started to react right way. They had a lot of accelerations which my nurse said was so great.

One little thing that did happen was Baby A's heartrate started to show 77,80,99 for more then a few seconds but less then a minute. the nurse felt it was just picking up my heartrate but she wouldn't take me off the monitor until a Dr. came in to confirm this. So that made me feel a lot better.

I also got another quick look at them and they are still breech babies. I was also able to confirm the pain i was having last night in my lower left side/leg is Baby A's feet pushing against me. :-)

So today went really well and things are still looking great.

Next OB appt is Wednesday the 27th. And then another NST on friday.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!

Appts and 34 weeks....

2009-05-21T09:44:00.003-04:00

I've had a few appointments since i last posted. Everything is looking great.

Non-Stress test: I'll do this everything Friday now. This went well once she was able to find the heartbeat (HB) of Baby A. As of my last ultra sound in April Baby A's head was on my left side and we would always find the HB on the left side. Well, Baby A's head is now on my right side so the lady eventually found her HB there. Baby B's is still across the top sideways with her head on my upper left side and her butt right under my right rib area. Anyway, once we got the heartbeats both girls did what they needed to do. Which is to see their HB jump with movement or something like that. Then they also like to check the fluid of the girls sacs. With twins she needed to do this with a quick Ultrasound (this is how we saw baby A really did move to the other side) Fluid was great.

Regular UltraSound Appt: This appt is probably my last regular ultrasound. And the girls are getting so big!! They don't have a lot of room either. So this made it very hard to get accurate measurements. Baby B, who was a little easier to read since she is up high, measured at 4lbs 11oz. And Baby A, who was very very hard to measure since she is down much lower. She measured 4lbs 3oz but the tech said that is not right and to not go by that. She did say that both babies look great. AND the most exciting thing we got to see was each of them practicing their breathing. The tech said this is a great sign that they are healthy. And if during the stress-tests i take on friday's now if the HB's don't jump the breathing is what they would look for. So it was great to see this when we were not really looking for it.

We also saw again that Baby A's head is on the right side. BUT her feet are still down low so she is breech (a little bit sideways too but more breech). (feet first) Baby B's is still transverse (sideways) Her feet are right above Baby A's head. So they are sort of in a circle. LOL.

I feel Baby B the most. I can see when she moves her butt or is wiggling around. My stomach goes nuts sometimes. I don't see Baby A's movements but she kicks me down low a lot to let me know she's there too.

Finally, with Baby A still breech and very unlikely to flip, I will be having a c-section. Which most of you know i'm totally ok with. :-) I see my OB on the 27th and will discuss with him about scheduling a date.

Week 34's development report:
Your amazing baby is on the move! They’ve been riding fairly high in your stretched-out womb till now (while kindly compressing your poor internal organs), but now they’re planning on making the big move to your pelvis this week. If you haven’t noticed it already, you’ll be feeling the weight shift that signals that your baby is most likely out of breech position, with their head now resting on your pubic bone. In liver news: although not quite fully formed, your little miracle’s liver is now capable of processing a certain amount of waste. In general, most of your child’s prenatal physical development is pretty much up to snuff and ready for the outside world. Naturally, further weight gain is expected—so you’re still not at maximum capacity despite probably feeling like you definitely are maxed out.

33 weeks...

2009-05-13T11:34:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone...We are at 33 weeks!! Went to the OB yesterday and all is looking good. I saw a different doctor in the practice and she was very nice. I go back to them in two weeks but then after that I start going every week. Although with my other appointments coming up I will be seen by someone every week now.

Friday (5/15) I start the Non-Stress tests. These are done weekly. Here is an explaination of what this is:

This simple, painless procedure is done during pregnancy to evaluate your baby's condition. During the test, your healthcare practitioner or a technician monitors your baby's heartbeat, first while the baby is resting and then while he's moving. Just as your heart beats faster when you're active, your baby's heart rate should go up while he's moving or kicking.This simple, painless procedure is done during pregnancy to evaluate your baby's condition. During the test, your healthcare practitioner or a technician monitors your baby's heartbeat, first while the baby is resting and then while he's moving. Just as your heart beats faster when you're active, your baby's heart rate should go up while he's moving or kicking.

Also on the the 15th we will be doing a tour of the hospital. I decided not to do a class but I did want to tour the maternity section to see where we will be. Plus this is FREE!!! :-)

Then on the 19th we will have another Ultrasound. :-) I am guessing the little ones are close to 5lbs at this appointment. Yes, that's 10lbs of babies!!!

I hope everyone is well...

Here is the weekly development report:

Fetal development in pregnancy week 33:fetus in eighth month For all the weight and bulk you’re lugging around these days, you’d think your little champ should weigh much more than a mere 5 lbs and measly 17 inches in height, but nope, that’s about the average size for a baby in its thirty-third week. In terms of appearances, they’re getting cuter and pudgier every minute as they pile on the baby fat for those adorable little wrist rolls and chubby toes. And as we’re sure you’ve already noticed they’re getting stronger with every passing day. Nowadays, it’s possible to observe a well-placed kick just by watching your belly—but you already knew that didn’t you? Although they’re getting stronger, your bigger-by-the-day baby is losing space to move around, so the actual rate of movement will drop off in the last few weeks, despite that powerful drop-kick they’ve been working on. Hey, did you know you’ll continue feeling their movements even during labor?

32 weeks...8 MONTHS!!! :-)

2009-05-06T13:35:00.002-04:00

In the latest womb reports, your amazing baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature! This means you’ll probably get a swift kick if you put a hot pad on your ginormous belly. For the Elton John lovers out there-- yes, baby’s got blue eyes. At this point, all babies do, although depending on their chromosomal disposition, this could easily change after birth (or even between now and labor), but for the time being, blue it is. Thanks to their recently matured lungs and a remarkably strong immune system, over 90% of babies born in their 32nd week, survive premature births. So it’s pretty much a done deal. Even if your little monkey’s planning on heading out early, their survival odds are in everyone’s favor. Time to celebrate (no, no, wait until after the birth to crack open the champagne!) We’re talking baby-showers and alcohol-free punch!

31 weeks and yesterday's appt

2009-04-29T10:17:00.002-04:00

I has my bi-weekly appt yesterday with my OB. I saw a different Dr. this time. They want me to meet the other docs in the practice. He was very nice. All is looking great. I'm not dialated, the heartbeats are good. I go back in 2 weeks.

The good news is I'm 31 weeks!!!!

Here is the development report:

Your not-so-little-one is just a bit closer to their birth weight and height at around 4 pounds and 17 inches. With each added layer of baby fat, your baby's skin starts to look more and more like it will when they finally get to see the light of day. The heavy news: you can expect your miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth. Great. That's just what you needed. Even more weight to carry around!

Your baby's still-developing immune system has gained substantial strength over the past few weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o’ wonders. Obviously, a large majority of your child’s immune strength will be derived from exposure to breast milk as well as the outside elements. Their cute little noggin’ (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz), is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused together. As much as that sounds a little too vulnerable, their “skull softness” allows for a much smoother passage through the birth canal during labor—something both you and your little swimmer will appreciate when it’s finally time to “go!” Also, some babies will have that “soft spot” on their head for up to one year after birth.

HEAT!!!

2009-04-27T10:16:00.002-04:00

Oh My Goodness!!! I now know why everyone says I'm so lucky to not have to be pregnant through the main part of summer. I thought I was going to melt this weekend. We had about 5 fans going in the bedroom saturday night because we didn't get everything ready for the air to be put on. Sunday, that sucker was turned on. :-) I usually hate turning the air on this early but I could not take it. I hate the heat not pregnant and it was a 100 times worse this weekend. If we do decide to do this again I will be sure to plan around the summer again. haha.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and stayed cool.

30 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-22T09:39:00.003-04:00

WAHOO! I'm moving into the 30's. As in 30 weeks. They will be here no later then 8 weeks from now but I feel 6 or 7 weeks. If we can make it another 6 weeks that would be very good. I'm feeling good. Tired and uncomfortable but all worth it. Starting May 4th I'll be working from home all the time so I'm really looking forward to that. Right now i work from home tuesday's and thursday's. That helps but it's still very tiring driving into work and sitting in my uncomfortable chair.

Well here is the development report for 30 weeks:

The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. In terms of numbers, your baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long.

29 weeks and appointment update

2009-04-17T15:17:00.003-04:00

I had my OB appt. on tuesday and my regular ultrasound appt today.

Both doctors have said all is looking great. Me and the babies. Today, Baby A weighed in at 3lbs 1oz. and Baby B weighed in at 2lbs 14oz. So they are right on target. Wahoo!!

Baby A is Breech (feet first) and Baby B is transverse (sideways) but more breech then head down. So at this point, if baby A does not flip, with each passing day it will be less likely to happen, we will be looking at a C-section. But call me whatever you would like I'm totally fine with this. I'd rather go into this knowing that's what I'm doing then going through hours of labor only to end of having one anyway. Or delivering one regular and other c-sec.

On tuesday when we did our 3d ultrasound baby b was head down. This completly explains what I have been feeling since tuesday. I was getting slightly scared because I was feeling pressure and tighness most of the day yesterday. I did wind up calling my doc and after him asking me a series of questions he did not feel at that time I was dealing with pre-term labor but told me to lay down and drink water and call back if it got worse. I did start to feel better later last night and today.

I do have uptrasound pictures from today but they are not very clear. The bigger they get the harder it is to get good pictures.

OK now for the development update:
If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. Another fantastic-accomplishment: your little monkey has been peeing into their amniotic sac for a little while now (this is why potty training takes a while) and if you didn’t know, actually swallows it along with the rest of the amniotic fluid. Although the concept is nasty, their urine is sterile and as part of the amniotic fluid base, is replaced several times throughout the day. So if you didn’t know before, now you can tell people, that yes, you drank your own urine—you were still in the womb, but nonetheless, you’ve been there.

3d Pictures

2009-04-14T20:12:00.004-04:00

Me, Mike, Grandmom Sherri, Grandmom Dee and Grandpop Harry (Grandpop Mike had to work but will be seeing the session online) went tonight to our 3d/4d ultrasound session. It was amazing. I'm at 28 almost 29 weeks and they prefer to see twins for this session between 22-25 weeks. So although it would have been a little clearer if we had done this sooner, it was amazing to see the girls like this.

If you would like to see the online video of our entire session (30-45 minutes) email me and I will let you know how. I prefer not to put that on here.

Here are the two clearest pictures...

Baby A - She was the easiest to see. The cord is across her face but that does not prevent you from seeing the face like a leg or arm with bone density but it sort of blurs the picture.

Baby B was our little trouble maker. LOL! Her arm and LEG were blocking her face for pretty much the whole session. We took a break where I was given juice to try and get the baby to move. I walked around and the guy push down hard and hit the belly (in a nice way) to get her to turn. It was only after he extened the session 10 minutes that FINALLY she moved her arm so that we could see her face. But along with her sister her cord was sort of across her face. But the picture is still amazing.

28 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-08T10:57:00.002-04:00

WAHOO! We are 28 weeks today!! This is one of the milestones we hoped to reach. out next one is 32 weeks then 36.

Everything is going well. The girls are moving around much more. But they are not bothering me at night when i'm sleeping yet. Bu tthe bathroom trips make up for that.

Here is their 28 week development report:

You know how you’ve been feeling a bit like a barn with legs? Well, that feeling won’t subside before… well, you know, when you finally give birth. For the time being, you’ve got yourself a baby in the business of collecting fat and lots of it! In spite of the dubious joys of being a human-barn, this baby fat business is very serious and you’ve got to put up with it because it’s going to keep your little porker warm and healthy after birth. Other good stuff from inside: their eyes are doing lots of blinking this week because they’re now able to respond to light and dark. Also, their industrious little bone marrow is now a major construction site for developing red blood cells, while their super-cute adrenal glands are actually producing androgen and estrogen—which will stimulate your hormones to begin milk production. Can you say, “Moo?”

Babies Room

2009-04-06T12:14:00.012-04:00

A lot people have been asking for pictures of the babies room. It's still a work in progress but here are some pictures I have..

The first few are the before. This is the color we had on the walls.

These are during, Grandmom hard at work.....

The base and blocks finished...

The added border... These are stickers that can be removed easily...

The cribs...

Grandpop Harry....

Grandpop Mike with Soco....

Soco loves the crib as well...

What the room looked like after the shower.....Not too much has changed since then. Most of the stuff inside cribs has been put away. :-) Ok not most just some stuff. haha

Once the dresser comes in and we put that and the glider together the room should be finished with everything put where it belongs. I will post updated pictures then.

26 and 27 week development

2009-04-02T08:53:00.002-04:00

I know i missed the 26 week report so here you go with the 27 week report to follow.

Also...I am now under 100 days away till the girls get here!!! My goal is at least 2 more months.

26 weeks
At long last, your little swimmer can see the womb! Your miracle’s little eyelids have finally separated (they were fused closed previously) and they’re probably having their first moments of sight as you read this (or maybe it already happened while you were brushing your teeth or watching Oprah or something). In addition to seeing their little studio in your belly, they’ve recently acquired the ability to say “yes” and “no” in rudimentary sign language as they can now move their head back and forth. This is also the time where your little super star’s head hair is starting to grow! A cute little cowlick or two may be springing into position right now, getting ready for years of cute-but-stubborn bed-head. Also, their toenails have grown in and you little raisin continues to slowly pile up fat beneath their still-loose skin. Most importantly, brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace, increasing their (genius-level?) brain activity and will continue to function at accelerated levels for the first seven to eight years of childhood!

27 weeks...
Your not-so-tiny-anymore brilliant baby(about 2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out.” Obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but when you start to feel an unfamiliar pressure on your cervix, you’ll know you’ve got a fully flipped baby locked and loaded for the countdown to their birthday! Even now, at the beginning of the third trimester, their little lungs are already capable of breathing air while the pulmonary vascular system can provide sufficient gas exchange and the central nervous system can generally regulate rhythmic breathing as well as their basal body temperature. For what it’s worth, at this point in a healthy pregnancy a premature child (with intensive care) could easily win on the show: “Survivor: The Early Years.”

Shower...

2009-03-31T11:54:00.003-04:00

Again i'm sorry this took so long but things have been a little crazy.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful gifts. Mike and I are truly blessed to have such caring family and friends. While the day was a tad overwhelming with all the amazing gifts it was also a perfect wonderful day. I had a great time. I would like to thank my mom, Sherri, Linda, Melissa, Stefanie, Diana, Maria, Terri, Candace, Molly and anyone else that help contribute to making my shower so great and special. (i have a pregnant ladies memory so i'm very sorry if I missed anyone who also helped).

Here are some pictures from the shower...

New update coming

2009-03-30T10:47:00.002-04:00

I know I should have updated this last week and things are still going well but just a little crazy. I will get an update out soon with shower pictures.

QUICK FYI - As of April 20th, girls were at 1lb13oz which is right on target.

I also had an amazing time at the shower and would like to quickly thank everyone for all their wonderful gifts. We truly are blessed with amzing family and friends.

Soco and the belly

2009-03-18T17:41:00.003-04:00

I wasn't going to post a au natural picture of the belly but this picture i took last night i just love..

She attempts to sleep like this a lot. As comfortable as she may look it's not for me.

25 weeks!!

2009-03-18T10:53:00.002-04:00

Here is the fetal development report...

Your little grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human.

Soco...

2009-03-12T11:58:00.006-04:00

I didn't have any ultrasound pictures of the babies this week so I figured I'd post some pictures of my other baby girl SoCo.

This first picture is how Soco like's to lay on us when we are on the couch watching TV.

This here is when I was going through our jacket closet and trying to get organized. Soco's spot, a lot of times, are the arms of the couches. The jackets and sweatshirts did not stop her from laying in her spot.

While I was cleaning I found a little bandana type thing I made a few easters ago. No she was not happy about wearing this again.

Ahhhhh. This is my pregnancy pillow that I use to try to get a good night sleep. As you can see SoCo loves it too. I had just gotten up to use the bathroom and she swooped right in and took my spot. And yes she can fall asleep that fast.

For anyone that has met SoCo at our house might understand what this picture is. When SoCo greats anyone she is familar with she needs to have socks in her mouth. Majority of the time the socks are clean ones. :-) This picture here she has about 3-4 socks stuffed in her mouth. Most nights she needs to have at least one sock in her mouth as she goes to sleep.

Well those are some recent pictures of our little girl Soco. As excited as I am to welcome the babies into our lives I can't wait until SoCo gets to meet them too. She's very protective of me right now. She was always a barker but now we have noticed she barks even more at people. She even barked at Mike when he got home late one night as he was walking up the stairs. I don't think she knows she's a small dog.

Have a great day everyone!!

24 weeks!!!!

2009-03-11T09:16:00.003-04:00

I was hoping to have new ultrasound pictures for everyone but we got a call that the tech we were scheduled to see called out sick so we had to reschedule for March 20th. It sucks but at least we only have to wait about a week.

Here is the development report:

This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!

23 Weeks...

2009-03-05T11:02:00.004-05:00

Development update:

At this point you’ve pretty much adjusted to the fact you’ve got a moving little gymnast inside of you, but now they’re going to kick up the party a notch because they can hear and react to sounds from the outside world. Sounds from your alarm clock, a thunder roll, or that darned car honking at you across the intersection can actually jar their little ears enough to elicit a kick or violent bout of squirming. Of course this also means that their little ears are picking up the sounds of your voice and those near you. So go ahead, sing a lullaby to your little angel—if they start kicking, it’s likely they just want you to stop… or maybe it was a kick of approval? You decide. Your baby's tiny taste buds are still growing and their bones are continuing to ossify (harden), their tiny veins are visible through their translucent yet wrinkly skin. (Think of it this way: they’ve been swimming in the equivalent of a long hot bath for the past 23 weeks, so you can’t blame them for being a little prune-like.)

Today's appt went very well. Heard the heartbeats again and they sounded great. Everything is where it should be high and closed. We talked a tiny bit about delivery. But it's too early to know for sure if I will have a reg. or c-section birth. If both babies heads are down then we will try for a reg. one. If baby A is head first and Baby B is feet, it depends on the Dr. if he/she will still try to a reg. birth for baby b. (they determine baby A vs. baby b by who would come out first.) If baby A is feet first, then it's c-section for sure.

My thoughts on c-section. I don't care. If it looks like both babies are head down and it will be an easy/safe delievery for the girls then i'm fine with a reg. birth but I'd rather not go through hours of labor only to then have a c-section. I know there are a lot of opinons on c-sections and the recovery is longer but I don't know why, I have no real or good reasons, the idea of having a c-section doesn't bother me. A part of me would prefer (with the twins) to just go that way from the beginning. But we won't even have any idea for some time on which way. I think there's still room at this point where they can flip.

I hope everyone is well..

22 Weeks...

2009-02-27T10:59:00.001-05:00

22 weeks development report...

The grow must go on! No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder-baby who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. Their perfect little pancreas is now further developed and they’ve also started producing their own hormones! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.

Upcoming appointments...
March 5th - regular OB
March 11th - Growth Scan (Ultrasound!!)

21 Weeks...

2009-02-19T10:18:00.000-05:00

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (and weighing up to 16.5 ounces), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, they’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any healthy baby’s sleep schedule. While in the dermatology department: their thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine! The beginnings of what is commonly called “brown fat” is just starting to fill in to help your baby retain some body heat, which is crucial as they’re not yet capable of regulating their own body temperature.

Ob Appt

2009-02-18T09:21:00.003-05:00

I forgot to update yesterday after my appointment. Everything went well. We heard their heartbeats and they sounded great. I started my internal exams and all was great with that too. I will begin seeing my OB every two weeks now. I have been asked if I'm every two weeks this early because of the twins and this is a yes and a no. This has more to do with having gone through IVF but also due to twins. If I had not done IVF and was just having twins I don't think I'd be going every two weeks this early. But I am in no way complaining. I'm actually very happy to now be going every two weeks. I would have gone every two weeks all along if I could have.

So our next OB appt is March 5th and the next UltraSound is on March 11th.

Names....

2009-02-16T16:22:00.003-05:00

We keep getting asked this question now that we know,and you all know, we are having two girls. We had boy names completely set and ready to go and did not care who knew but we've always had a hard time with the girl names. So to everyone who is wondering...we decided to keep any and all names to ourselves. SORRY!!!! I know, I know...I hate surprises, so why would I keep this from everyone. Well.....will you accept because I said so? See, i'm learning the phrase that many mothers use. :-)

To be honest we have a few in mind but one day it's yes, the next day it's no. But we know whether you like the names we eventually pick or not, you will all love them just the same.

A little hint...If I have ever mentioned a name to you...........................that's not one of them. Sorry again, that was not really a hint but you can eliminate the ones i might have mentioned.

No I have not been drinking but I sure could use a cold one. It's only monday and I'm already mentally done for the week.

I do have a regular OB appointment tomorrow. Just a check up. We might go over some things but I really have no idea. Last appointment was like 5 minutes.

I will give an update tomorrow on my appointment. I hope everyone is well.

Gender Ultrasound and Pics

2009-02-11T14:26:00.005-05:00

Well, for those of you that have not heard yet, we're having two GIRLS!!

If you're shocked well join the club. :-) We're extremely happy and the girls are healthy and growing right on target. I can't ask for anything more. These are our miracle babies and whatever their genders were going to be we are extremely lucky to be having them.

This is a picture of their profiles together.

This is a picture of their heads from above touching. They liked being close to each other. Actually Baby B liked to kick Baby A a lot. LOL.

This is the profile for Baby A. She is weighing 13oz and 20 weeks.

This is Baby A's money shot to confirm she's a girl. If you see where the arrow is there are 3 lines. This says she's a girl.

This is Baby B's profile. She is also weighing 13oz and is 20 weeks 4 days

This is Baby B's money shot to confirm she's a girl. The 3 lines are again there. This is also when I asked the Tech is she was serious that it's was a girl. :-)

As much as we would have loved to have had at least one boy, we are very happy and proud of our little girls.

19 Weeks

2009-02-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

Your amazing little baby is now around 10 inches in length! If this seems a bit shocking, you’ll be relieved to know they’ve not actually grown over 3 inches, but that their little legs are now straight enough to be measured. This is when doctors begin measuring fetal growth from head to toe, (no longer “crown to rump” or CR). Lanugo (little hairs) covers their whole body now, trapping that charming cheese-like vernix caseosa (see week 18) to the surface to the skin. This week your lil’ fetus will start on an appetizing diet of amniotic fluid which they are now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing the fluid as far as their tiny “large” intestines. Fortunately for you, this nice little lump of baby-poop won’t be coming out while they’re still in your womb. Some time shortly after they’re born, this fun lump will become the first in a long line of baby poops. (What finally comes out— commonly known as “meconium” to the science world, will be black and sticky, and you’ll be very glad it happens only once!)

Want to hear the heartbeat...

2009-01-30T17:11:00.003-05:00

I recorded this from the Doppler my wonderful friends got me that I absolutely love!!

I think this is baby b. I only did the one since a) the other one was not as easy to find and keep and b) they sort of sound the same to me. LOL

Towards the end you will hear a sort of skip, I believe that's from the baby moving. I hear that sometimes when i can't find the heartbeat but i can hear the baby moving around.

18 Weeks!!!

2009-01-28T15:05:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it??!! 18 weeks! I pray for at least another amazing healthy 18 weeks.

Here is their fetel development update:

We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa.

17 weeks and OB appointment

2009-01-21T11:50:00.003-05:00

I had my regular OB appointment today. Everything went well. I heard the heartbeats which is always great to hear. I do miss seeing them though. I was definetly spoiled when i was seeing my RE. But everything is going well so i have nothing to complain about and I'm feeling wonderful.

Here is week 17 fetal development update:

Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch).

We have movement..

2009-01-15T12:02:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling them move!! WAHOO!! So exciting. I'm like 95% it's them that i'm feeling. It actually tickles a litlte bit. I'm getting it on both sides. It's little tingles like everyone said it would be. And now that i'm feeling this more often I believe i felt this a few weeks ago but I didn't know what it was and it only happened like once or twice.

I go on Wednesday for my regular OB appointment. I'll get to hear the heartbeats again. Although I've been able to hear them on my own with my doppler but I will take notice on where the doc finds. he gets them right away so I will pay attenetion. I've been doing pretty good with finding them but it still takes a few mintues sometimes.

Week 16!

2009-01-14T09:13:00.001-05:00

Over the past three weeks your astounding growing baby has managed to stretch yet another 2 full inches (totaling about 4.5 inches) and weighs around 3.5 ounces. Yessireee, that’s some pretty serious growth... and with it comes several physical developments! For starters, their head to body ratio is finally starting to even out a bit as the rest of the body is actually growing faster than the head at this point. Yes, your little light bulb is not so top-heavy. Their adorable little limbs have lengthened, almost reaching their normal proportions which they will have at birth. Their eyes are still closed but moving and if you had an ultrasound, which many doctors recommend you have at about this time, you may even see your little one sucking on a thumb, not to mention the necessary signifiers to let you know whether you’ve got a wee lad or lassie.

Week 15!!

2009-01-07T09:29:00.002-05:00

Here is my week 15 fetal development report:

Your nearly four-inch long gymnast is happily mobile inside your womb and if you're really lucky, you’ll notice a point when your sneezing, coughing or laughing results in a little kick here or a poke there. Still, many women don't feel anything until the 17th week or later. Although the poking and kicking isn't very charming during sleeping hours, it’s a good sign as it means your baby is actually reacting to outside events. Yay! You’ve got yourself one active healthy baby! Their little elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs are finally growing longer than their arms and getting pumped up for prenatal Richard Simmons. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

Thank you Melissa, Diana and Stefanie....

2009-01-04T18:35:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to take a quick post to say how grateful I am to have 3 wonderful friends in Diana, Stefanie and Melissa. We had our annual girls holiday dinner on saturday which included an amazing dinner made by melissa. Thank you for hosting this years dinner. It was a great night including their beautiful little girls who are growing up so fast. To top the night off for me was when they presented me with the most amazing gift. A Doppler. For those that don't know, a doppler, is a fetal heart monitor. A little device that allows us to hear the heartbeats. I was just saying the other day that I wanted to rent one for a month since i can't feel them kick yet and it would be awesome to hear the heartbeats on my own. Although sometimes difficult to detect on my own since i'm not a trained operator and the little ones are still pretty small, we were able to hear them that night and I heard them again on my own this morning. It's just amazing and I want to thank you guys for this wondergul gift. I'm so grateful. I would also like to thank Melissa and Amelia (her little girl) for the very cute and first outfits the little ones have received. To see how small they are was very much a reality check. LOL. Thank you all again so much.

14 weeks!!

2008-12-31T13:40:00.001-05:00

Can you believe 14 weeks already! Time is starting to go by so fast.

Here is week 14 Development update:

You and your little buckaroo have roped your way right into trimester numero dos! Are you ready to rock!? Okay, okay… maybe just a little rolling and poking. Needless to say, your baby will definitely be making themselves known in the upcoming weeks. At about 3.5 inches long, their little body and limber limbs are coordinated enough for loads of complicated motions. In fact, their whole body is moving right now! You're not feeling it because their current size is still a bit too small to make an impact you'd recognize. Still, their movements are recognizable on an ultrasound. Speaking of which, you shoud be scheduling one with your health care provider! Week 16 is the classic date as you can usually determine whether your little one is going to pee standing up or sitting down. Your baby is also starting to develop the ability to move their eyes this week, although the eyelids still remain fused shut. What's more, they can make all sorts of fun facial expressions as they practice squinting, frowning, and grimacing. Cute development of the week: their little hands can grasp at things and they may already be sucking their thumb!

1st Ob appointment

2008-12-29T13:46:00.003-05:00

I had my first Ob appointment with Dr. Dardarian today. It went well, nothing too exciting so that's good. My records from Dr. El-Roiey did not get to them yet but that was ok. This appointment was more filling out paper work and answering some questions. I did get to hear the heartbeats which is always great to hear. Not to get to detailed for the guys reading but my cervix is high up (good) and closed (also good).

No pictures today and I won't have a Dr. type update for another 3 weeks. My next appointment is on Jan. 21st and my next ultrasound (find out the sexes) is on Feb. 11th.

I hope everyone has a very safe and happy New Years!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

We had our 1st trimester screening yesterday. We were not able to get a early surprise of knowing the sexes as i had hoped for. The tech did not feel comfortable guessing for us becuase it's too early. But we did get almost an hour of looking at the little ones. Here is a picture...

Happy Holiday's!!!

2008-12-23T11:53:00.003-05:00

Mike and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!! We did not get Christmas cards out this year but promise to have special ones next year. :-) We want all of you to know how much you mean to us. Your love and support has meant the world and there are no words to truly describe how grateful we are to each and every one of you.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!!!

Love,
Mike, Julie, SoCo and Baby A Hart and Baby B Hart
:-)

Week 12 Ultrasound

2008-12-18T17:09:00.004-05:00

The appointment today went great. They got so much bigger and they both were moving around so much. He did show us a quick 3D version but no picture. That was very cool to see. Mike was able to make features out more then i was but I just can't explain how cool it was to see the 3d version. On the 2d version we did get to see the spin and the face of the one baby. It was a little freaky because it looked like a skull was looking at ya but it was the cutest skull. :-) They are measuring a day apart and are measuring bigger then what was expected. So they are growing very well. All this holiday party food I've been having is paying off. haha.

So overall it was an great appointment but it was also sad becuase it was the last time I was going to be seeing this Dr. for this pregnancy. I meet with my regular Dr. on Dec. 29th. I like this Dr. as well but got very use to the nurses as well where I have been. But i'm sure things will be great. As long at the babies are healthy that's all that matters.

Here are the pictures from today. I scanned them in upside down and I forgot to flip them. But the one you can see the profile again.

12 Weeks!!!!

2008-12-17T09:05:00.002-05:00

We have another appt. tomorrow at 3:00. I will post pictures as soon as i can.

Here is week 12 fetel development report...

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

11 Weeks!!

2008-12-10T09:42:00.000-05:00

Here is our week 11 update:

Maybe you’ve noticed… your baby is a super-duper grower! Your lil' fetus will be gaining a substantial amount of weight this week and has already achieved fruit-size-status comparable to a plum. What's more, your little scientist is already starting to explore their body, focusing most intently on touching their head, and especially their face and mouth. Their mouth in particular will provide them with hours of entertainment. This happens not only because your baby is gaining coordination, and is therefore able to move a hand on command, but also because their palms have gained sensation and can actually “feel” what it touches.They're also developing their swallow reflex this week. And lastly, your baby's smelling and other olfactory senses will begin developing this week, which when combined with the maturing taste buds, will provide your baby with their first experiences of taste and smell.

Ultrasound Pics!!

2008-12-04T17:23:00.009-05:00

Sorry it took me so long to get these up but here you go....

Today's appointment was amazing. We saw movement and heard the heartbeats!! Baby A was first up. The picture is actally flipped becuase the baby was laying upside down so I flipped the picture to make it easier to see the head. We heard the heartbeat first and then it was like he started to wave at us. I kept laughing becuase it was so cute. Baby A is on his side. Oh and for now I'm saying HE becuase that is what the Dr. was saying. :-) But we won't know for sure for a while. Anyway, he was waving and moving his feet so much. The sound of the heartbeat was also just amazing.

Then Baby B I think was asleep. And on his back so the pic is of him facing us. It was also harder to hear his heartbeat at first because the doc said this one is up a little higher and it was harder to get the doppler to hear the heartbeat. (doppler is what the thing is called that let's us hear the heartbeat) Also Baby B was not moving. Then all of a sudden as if Baby A said to Baby B..."Hey We're on TV start moving"...the baby started to wave and move it's arms and legs. It was so funny.

I feel Baby A is already taking after Mike and is the performer. This was a great appointment and so great to see how much they have grown. I think seeing them move and actually hearing their heartbeats it's sinking in even more that we are actually having twins.

10 weeks....

2008-12-03T11:02:00.006-05:00

WAHOO! We're 10 weeks along!! I can't believe we're in double digits. :-)

A little update from monday's post...I'm feeling A LOT better. I think i might have been a little dehydrated. I usually drink a lot of water during the week at work and at home but more at work. I think being home for the holiday's I wasn't drinking as much and may be why i so sick out of the blue. But I'm back to drinking my water and eating my snacks.

Tomorrow we have another ultrasound. Our appointment is not until later in the day so no pics until around 3:30.

Here's the week 10 fetal update....

Though he's barley the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

It's Begun....

2008-12-01T14:07:00.003-05:00

Morning Sickness. Well so far today it's all day sickness. I'm praying as quickly as this has come it goes away. On Friday the day after thanksgiving, I had some chickie and pete's fries at the Flyers game...and the babies let me know they did not like them later that night. But then I felt fine for the most part and the rest of the weekend. I felt a little nauseous last night but nothing I haven't felt before. Then this morning I had my breakfast and i was about to walk out the door to go to work but nope I went right to the bathroom and saw my breakfast again. I will try not to get graphic :-) I then thought I would be fine since until today if I did get sick once i got sick i was fine. So I drove to work which was about a 40 minute drive. Got to work and got sick again and then again. So after an hour I left and have been working from home. I'm very very grateful my work allows this because I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't work from home.

I got home and thank goodness i did when i did (although I do have bags in the car) I got sick as soon as I walked in the door. Well i did make it to the basement bathroom. I took a little nap because i needed it. Then later on, I got some ginger ale and made some toast. I thought I was in the clear but nope...got sick again.

So I've gone from hardly any morning sickness to throwing up 5 times within 7 hours. UGH!! But I will admit since they say the more you get sick the healthier the babies are I have a little smile with each time i hug the toilet. LOL!!

Week 9! and Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-26T10:28:00.004-05:00

We're at week 9 today! I'm feeling good. Nauseous here and there but I can't complain too much. I'm so very much looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night at Mike's Aunt Denise's house. I have been thinking about Turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes all week.

I'm starting to get little more of a belly. My pants are fitting still but a little tighter around the waist on some. Shirts on the other hand are not looking so great but luckily I do not have to dress business like at my work and I could wear a sweatshirt every day if I wanted. So I know I'm lucky with that.

Here is the weekly fetal development update I got:
Congratulations! Your amazing growing baby has been accepted into to the fetus-club, a very exclusive and exiting new stage in their prenatal development. Basically, this means the little sweet pea has graduated from swimming embryo creature to a recognizable human being! This week in particular, the irises of their little eyes can function, but (frustratingly for them?) their eyelids remain fused shut for a while yet. Their external ears are formed and their inner ears are now filled with fluid—so your little one is already developing their sense of balance. Your baby's little swimmer legs are still relatively, although other bodily developments are going forward at a nice pace: their kidney is actually functioning now, which means they’ve started urinating (this might seem charming now but wait till you have to start buying diapers!).

I also want to say that for this Thanksgiving, I'm very thankful for the miracles I have inside of me and for all of our family and friends who have been so supportive. We could not have gotten through this journey without all of you. And a special thank you to Mike who is always there for me. I'm very grateful and thankful to have you in my life and as my husband. And I absolutely cannot forget about our SoCo girl. She was meant to be our first baby. :-)

I wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Congratulations Desiree and Eric!!!

2008-11-25T10:01:00.004-05:00

I'd like to congratulate Mike's cousin Desiree and her husband Eric on their new little girl Estella Grace born on Nov. 23rd at 8 1/2 pounds.

(Photo courtsey of text from Estella's Aunt Janice!!)

They're Growing!!

2008-11-20T10:30:00.004-05:00

I had my ultrasound this morning and both babies are looking great!! One is measuring at 7weeks5days and the other one is 7weeks6days. Their hearts were beating away and they looked beautiful. The Dr. said they are right on target. It was such a relief after being so sick to see they were growing as they should and their hearts beating so well. I did not get a heart rate number though I just got to see them.

When looking at the pictures below NO we are not having 4 babies! LOL!! The top picture is more focused on the baby on the Left which we'll call Baby A. And the bottom picture is focused on Baby B on the right.

8 Weeks

2008-11-19T09:47:00.003-05:00

Another week has gone by and I'm happy to say I'm feeling so much better. My cold/flu for the most part has made its way out. I still have a little bit of a cough and sneezing but other then that I feel good.

Now that the cold has moved on I am starting to feel other "pregnancy symptoms" but not that bad. I am much more tired. I went back to work Monday and for the past two days as soon as I get home I lay down and sleep for a couple hours, wake up, eat and then go back to bed. And my days are getting harder to stay awake. As far as nasuea, I feel it here and there but not to the point I'm getting sick and it goes away pretty quickly. I got sick a few times last week but I think that had more to to do with the cold.

So all is good and tomorrow morning I have another ultrasound. I can't wait to see the heartbeats again. I know all the medicine I was taking was ok to take according the Dr's but I just want to see the heartbeats again to put my mind at ease.

Here is the weekly fetal development update:

Woohoo! You've got one whole inch of baby inside of you! Your little embryo has finally reached the one-inch mark (30mm). And if it were possible to take a peek, you could actually see your tiny baby without a telescope! What’s more, your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. For starters, their little tail (really just the spinal cord) has disappeared completely. It’s nice to know your baby can no longer be mistaken for a sea creature! Additionally, both their toes and fingers are prominent with very little, if any, webbing. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable joints (elbows and knees) and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. But don’t expect your baby to resemble either parent quite yet. Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of their body--making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!

Week 7!

2008-11-12T11:01:00.003-05:00

We're into week 7 now and I wish I could say things are going so great but I've been sick sick and more sick. But not the sick I would have liked as in Morning Sickness but Flu type sickness. Sore throat, coughing, sneezing, congestion. UGH! I went to my Family Dr. and both he and my fertility Dr said I could take Tylenol cold and robitussin. So i've been taking those for now. I'm feeling a little better but it just sucks!!

And everyone tells me the babies will be fine but of course I worry. I guess I have to get used to that. :-) I'll worry about them for the rest of their lives. We have our next ultrasound next thursday on the 20th and I will feel so much better when we get to see those heartbeats again.

Until then here's my 7 weeks update:

Fetal development in pregnancy week 7:
Your baby is really beginning to develop more physical definition this week – their oversized head isn’t just large and oblong anymore, it’s actually a little bit pointy. The tiny receding tail bud is now starting to be overshadowed by the growth of their legs, which are now complete with knees and the beginnings of toes. Their eyes and ears are the most visible features on their head and their miniature bones are starting to harden throughout their body. You also have some variation on a boy or a girl at this point, although their genitals won’t be visible enough to determine which color cigars you’re going to buy until around the 16th week.

Flickers

2008-11-06T10:34:00.006-05:00

We have heartbeats!!! We saw two beautiful flickers this morning. The Dr. did joke about not remembering how many he put in and maybe there were 4 or 5. I think Mike almost passed out at this point but we still have two and their little heartbeats were beating away. Our one little guy was still a little smaller then the other but nothing to worry about and his heart was beating just as fast.

Below is our picture from today. You still can't see much but you can tell the sacs are much bigger today. I go back in two weeks for my next one. I will see Dr. El-Roiey 3 more times, at 8weeks, 10weeks and then the last time will be at 12 weeks. At this point I will be released to my regular Dr. It will be sad but it will be good news too because that will mean I'm out of my 1st trimester!!

6 Weeks!!!

2008-11-05T09:10:00.003-05:00

6 weeks!! I'm still feeling pretty good but I do have more moments where I start to feel nauseous but I think snacking throughout the day is helping. Below are updates I got from a couple websites on fetal development by the week. Tomorrow is our 2nd ultrasound where we hope to be able to see two heartbeats flickering. I'll update as soon as I can tomorrow.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 6:

This is going to be a busy week for your amazing little embryo. Their brain is still growing remarkably fast; miniature hand plates are starting to develop and the early formations of what will be their fingers are already visible. Also, the lower limbs do not develop quite as fast, so they’re pretty much still flippers. Up until this point, your baby has been very curled up with the head and tail in close proximity, but this week their trunk and neck are beginning to grow and straighten as their tail recedes into its resting position in the back. Even though your little miracle is only 6 weeks old, they’re already capable of demonstrating reflex responses to touch!

My Heart Belongs to You!The first heartbeats have begun! The baby is now an embryo and is about 1/17 of an inch long. Growth is very rapid this week. The umbilical cord develops. The eyes and ears begin to form as well as an opening for the mouth. The heart has begun to pump blood and most of the other organs are well under construction. Buds form on the body that will become the arms and legs.

Phillies Parade and the weekend

2008-11-03T13:55:00.009-05:00

I wasn't sure how I would be at the parade but I I got through it and only went to the bathroom 3 times! LOL! I was exhausted by the end of the night but it was totally worth it. And the rest of the weekend was just as nice and relaxing. I started to feel a little more nauseous here and there but I'm still doing pretty good. And the idea of twins is sinking in a little more each day. It's what we wanted but it was still a shock to hear it's a reality.

Here's a picture of mike and I from the parade.

It's Twins!!!

2008-10-30T11:26:00.005-04:00

I added arrows to show where the two sacs are. We still have to say our prayers that we can see two amazing heartbeats next week. Although seeing them next week would be very early. But I wasn't expecting to find out how many today. We are just thrilled. This has been an amazing week. We are pregnant with TWINS and the Philadelphia Phillies are the WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!

Also, my Dr. today said my due date is July 3. This would be 40 weeks. He was going by my transfer date but I'm going to keep it at July 1st for now which is going by my retrieval and fertilization date. But now that we are having twins they will most likely make their way into the world early to mid June. Yes, right around when the Flyers will hopefully be on their way to winning the Stanely Cup. :-) And no we will NOT name this kid if it's a boy, Stanley. haha.

Update: I got my numbers back from today's bloodword and our HCG number is now at 3975.

I went to a website about HCG numbers i found the following:

HcG or human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by the placenta shortly after implantation. The hCG hormone will begin to rise and should increase normally every 48-72 hours for the next several weeks. In a normal pregnancy it increases by at least 60% every 2 days.

So after using the calulator that this website has my 2-day HCG rise was 92 %!!

5 weeks!!!

2008-10-29T09:56:00.002-04:00

Below is info I received in my weekly development email:

Fetal development in pregnancy week 5:
The changes to your growing embryo are not quite as drastic this week as they've been in the last few weeks. Growth is now largely focused on their little head, which is starting to develop much more rapidly than the rest of their tiny body. This is because their amazing brain is undergoing some very crucial and rapid development in order to effectively regulate their heart rate, blood circulation, and other vital functions. As for the rest of their miniature body, what were simple limb buds last week are limb flippers this week and the tail is more expressed. Amazingly, within a mere five weeks your little miracle is already developing the rudimentary forms of their liver, pancreas, lungs, stomach and nasal pits while their little heart is already increasing its circulation. Your baby is now a whopping 4-6mm in length.

My Dr. appointment is tomorrow morning. Not sure what we will be seeing or be told tomorrow but I will post as soon as I can with details.

Our Embies!!

2008-10-28T09:38:00.007-04:00

Well here they are....our little embryo's. These are the two little ones that were implanted on October 11th. Mike and I did get to see them before they were put in and they had grown even more then what this picture shows. Modern medicine is really amazing. I guess you can even call this their 1st picture.

As far as how i'm feeling, I'm doing ok. While watching the phillies game last night I started to feel sick but I think it was more of the cheesesteak i had for dinner then any type of "morning sickness" (m/s). Mike was also not feeling well after eating. I did have some high cramps which i felt were more indigestion pains then anything. I also did get a little sick. I will admit at first I thought I was actually getting m/s and this did make me happy. But i really believe it had more to do with dinner. I learned my lesson and I won't eat anything that I feel before eating is not right. I won't eat it just to eat it. I'll make something else. :-)

Holy Moly we're really pregnant....

2008-10-24T16:23:00.000-04:00

At 13 days past a 3 day transfer (13dp3dt) we received our positive pregnancy!!!

Our HCG number is at 436. Yes this is a high number. Whether there's one or two in there this is a good number to start off with. The nurse told me they would like to see this number at 150. Our next appointment is on Thursday Oct. 30th where they will do blood work and an ultrasound but will probably not be able to see how many are in there just yet. We then have our following appt. on Thursday Nov. 6th where we will find out how many we have cooking.

We're still in SHOCK!!!

We're Pregnant!!!

2008-10-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

We knew this day would come but we weren't sure when. I told myself that when we do get pregnant that I would start a blog to record our experience and share in our joy with all of our friends and family.

The beginning of our journey began back in 2001. Mike and I met playing one of the games we love HOCKEY!! This was a co-ed foot hockey league in Manayunk, PA. Mike did not know it was a co-ed league but got the clue when I showed up wearing the team colors and ready to play. Then, four wonderful years later in August of 2005, we were married. Our goal was to buy a house before we thought about starting a family. The next year after buying a house in Ridley Park, PA we had the talk about starting a family.

You don't think when you are having this talk that it will take a long time. You think ok we decided we're going to have kids and next month we'll be pregnant. Well after a year we were still waiting. We went to the Dr. and we tried different things and then it was decided we'd go with In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). This was a very hard thing to hear but we believed in our Dr. and knew he would do all he could to help us grow our family.

IVF, is a very stressful and emotional process that I would not wish on anyone. A lot of medicine, a lot of needles and a lot of anxiety. But with everything you go through, it's all worth it because in the end you will hold your child in your arms.

Our 1st IVF cycle was in Jan. 2008. We were positive about this cycle but knew that a lot of times the first cycle does not take. Like many others ours did not. It was very hard to hear that the test was negative but we were lucky that in our cycle we were able to freeze 5 of our embryos. This led us to our next IVF cycle which was a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET).

The FET was less stressful and less meds but the anxiety was there. We began this cycle soon after our 1st in March 2008. We were again positive for this cycle but for me it was hard not to think of the last one. And again we had another negative cycle. Looking back maybe i should have waited and took time off but you can't change what happened and it just wasn't meant to be at that time.

At this point, we did decide we needed a break and get back to our lives without thinking about needles, medicine, IVF or even babies. And this break I feel was the best thing we did. At this point it's mid-April and we took the whole summer off. We were angry in the beginning of how could this fail again. But after time we had to accept that it just wasn't the right time. We both believed it wasn't a matter of IF we would ever have a child of our own but WHEN we would.

The beginning of August we decided we were ready to begin the process again. I decided, I was going to do everything I could to be the healthiest I could be. One major thing with fertility drugs and dealing with the stress of infertility is weight gain. :-) This hit me hard. But in August I decided I was going to take charge and try to loose as much of the weight I had gained through all of this. And I was very proud of myself that I did just that. I didn't loose all of it but I was happy with what I did loose and I don't know for sure but I like to think this contributed to my pregnancy today.

Our 3rd cycle was about to begin, this also happened to be our last cycle that my insurance would cover at 50%. So we had a lot of hope in this one. At this time, with the recommendation and guidance of my mother-in-law, Sherri, I began to follow the philosophy of The Secret. I won't go into too many details here (you can look for your self online at http://www.thesecret.tv/) but it's about the law of attraction and how your feelings and beliefs affect situations in your life. I definitely recommend anyone to look into this. I believe it really help me have a better outlook not only on the IVF process but about life in general.

On October 11th, we transferred 2 beautiful embryos. We were going to transfer 3 but the Dr. recommended only 2 this time. Now the 2 week wait (2ww) began. I felt all sorts of different things. But everything I felt could be attributed to the medicine i was on. Although I did feel a little different then i did the past two times. I was feeling very positive but also cautious because it was hard not to remember the previous two cycles.

Then today on Oct. 24th at around 1:50 we got the call. I heard the nurse’s voice and I could tell it was a happy voice. She told me I was pregnant!!!!!

Our dreams did come true...