August 10 Ultrasound

We had a growth scan today where they measure the babies to make sure they’re growing like they should be. The tech was figuring out how they laying and I started to feel queasy. I drink my juice watered down and thought maybe I hadn’t added enough water and that was what was bothering me. The tech noticed I was fidgeting and asked if I need to sit up. I said yes and we continued.

I was still uncomfortable and the queasiness was increasing and she asked again so they sat me up some more. We got a little more done then I said something about being hot. That must’ve really alarmed her because she told Sean to open the door and then she got some wet paper towels and put them on my neck and wiped my head. At this point, she had me sitting straight up. But I think the wheels were set in motion. I said something about not feeling good still and asked if I should stand up. She told me no because she didn’t want me passing out. She told Sean to go into the hall and say “We need a nurse.” He went searching for one. Meanwhile, my hearing was going and I could feel darkness creeping up. I kept closing my eyes and she was mildly shaking me – stay with me! All I could think was, “Why don’t they have a fan in here?”

Finally two nurses rush into the room. Of course the blood pressure cuff in that room was attached to the wall and too far away from me. They finally got one and took my blood pressure – it was 90 over 60. I saw that one of them had smelling salts. I’m SO glad she didn’t need them. They got me some juice (not watered down – I couldn’t finish it) and I was all better. They asked if I’d eaten breakfast. I told them I’d just had an egg sandwich with some juice on the way there. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.

Since the whole purpose of today’s ultrasound was to do measurements and both babies are head down and VERY low, they still had to put me on my back for a little bit with a break in between. Baby boy weighs 1lb 12oz and baby girl weighs 1lb 13oz so they’re right on target with that and very close together so that’s great! Their heartbeats were 143 and 146 but I don’t remember which was which now after all the chaos.
Now that they’re so much bigger it’s hard to decipher what’s what in the pics so you’re all on own with that. Scroll to the end for the 26 week pictures.

And just for those of you who don't know, when you lay on your back during pregnancy, the weight of the babies presses down on blood vessels in your back and restricts blood flow. This is why they tell pg ladies not to sleep on their back. Everything is fine!

The Nursery

The nursery is coming along nicely. The cribs and dressers are put together and the bedding has been washed. They even have a shiny new window fan thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Kovacs. We ran into a snafu with the changing table – one piece was badly scratched. The manufacturer is sending us a touch-up kit so we’ll see how that works. I will definitely be sending them a letter since we bought a LOT of furniture and we expect QUALITY!

We still need figure out a window covering but how hard can that be? Also, we didn’t want to buy a huge clothes hamper but that’s all we’ve been able to find besides the tiny cloth and wooden frame ones they sell at Babies R Us. I guess they’ll need a full size one soon enough, right? This is such a minor thing it’s almost a non-issue.

The babies have been a lot more active over the past couple weeks. I can definitely notice their sleep and wake periods. I have yet to find anything that really gets them going but I think it’s still early for that. We go in for a growth scan on Monday to make sure they’re growing like they should be (from the looks of my belly they are!). It’s always exciting to see them. Having frequent ultrasounds is definitely one of the perks of having twins. It’s so nice to be able to see them every couple weeks and actually SEE that things are going well.

I had a new tech at the last ultrasound and she said, “I sure hope you got some good pictures of them when they were little.” Of course I asked her why. She said that as they get bigger and bigger, it’s just hard to get a good shot of them. Growing babies is good!

Belly - July 20, 2009 Edition

We took a belly picture today and it even shocked me! I really didn't think it had grown that much in the past three weeks but boy has it! Grow babies grow! You'll probably be seeing a new outfit soon. I don't know that this shirt will fit much longer. Which is fine because it's not even a maternity top!

From Belly

Shoes! Can I find some shoes please?

So the hunger may be kicking in. I’m not sure because most of the time I can’t eat very much before getting full. Sunday I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with hunger that couldn’t be ignored. It took 2 bowls of cheerios to squash it. Hopefully that doesn’t become a regular occurrence because it’s really annoying.

A couple a weeks ago it became apparent that mama needed some comfortable shoes that would accommodate swollen feet. Joan came to town and we went all over Dayton looking for comfortable shoes. It was awful because it was the weekend that it was in the 90’s and my feet were really swollen. She kept saying, “You need some crocks like the nurses wear.” I knew Crocs had come out with some new styles so when it was getting late and we still hadn’t found anything, we headed to the only place I knew we’d be able to find Crocs for sure – Dick’s. I got the last pair of 9’s in the Malindi (in black) and a pair of Cleos (in black and lavender). I wanted the Patricia because it has a bit of a heel but even the 10 wouldn’t fit over my fat foot. I LOVE MY CROCS and have even ordered another pair since. I ordered a pair of Olivia in brown. They have free shipping in July so hurry up and get you some!

We’ve spent the past couple weeks boxing up stuff and lugging stuff to Sean’s parents’ basement and out to the garage to make room for babies. This past weekend Sean painted the nursery. We also ordered the furniture and the bedding. I about had a heart attack when I logged onto Babies R Us and they didn’t have the furniture we wanted in the finish we wanted. But it turned out in our favor because I ended up finding it somewhere else and we didn’t pay shipping for a single thing! That would NOT have been the case if we’d ordered from Babies R Us.

We’ve decided to do pink and green for the bedding. I even found some cool wall decals that match!

Belly

A week ago I felt the first movement. It was the first time I could say without a doubt that what I felt was a definitely a baby moving in there and not something else. It is progressively getting more frequent. Up until yesterday, I felt our little boy more. And from the way he’s acted up at the past couple ultrasounds, I wasn’t surprised. He must take after his father  I know the babies are 4 or 5 days apart so this may be why. I’ll have to ask which one is ahead at the next visit.

So far, Sean has only been able to feel the little munchkins once and I’m not sure which one he felt because he felt it when I was sleeping. I haven’t noticed any patterns or things that make them more active yet. But I figure that will change any day now. I have close to a full pound of baby in there by now!

We’ve taken two belly pictures so far. It’s amazing the difference four weeks makes. And I’m sure it will just keep getting more amazing.

An apple with a stem and one without!

We had our anatomy ultrasound on June 19. They did baby A first… and we found out it was a BOY. They measured a million things and he’s doing great. He was very active and squirmed all over the place. But fortunately, we got a nice clear view of the money shot.

Then they moved on to baby B. After they got done measuring a million things, we found out it was GIRL! We were thrilled to find out we were getting one of each. The tech had a hard time getting a good view of baby B’s face because baby A’s foot kept coming into the picture. To which I said, “Quit kicking your sister!” And it probably won’t be the last time I say that!

Both babies weighed 7 oz and both had a heart rate of 148. That’s the first time that both their heart rates were the same.

Calling everyone to tell them what we were having was almost as fun as telling everyone we were having twins. It’s still kind of hard to believe that the McWilliams family is going to have a boy! I wonder if Dad will know what to do?

From Twins

From Twins

Green Cleaning

I went to my first Moms of Twins Club meeting last Thursday. The meeting was interesting but what I enjoyed most was the special topic. They had a rep from The Happy Soul (www.thehappysoul.com) in to talk about Green Cleaning. I kind of chuckled to myself when I saw the topic on the agenda because the whole “Green” movement is a little overdone. But I was fascinated by her presentation and the simplicity of it all. She used baking soda, white vinegar, biodegradable cleanser, Borax, and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda plus certain essential oils to make soft scrubbing cleanser, laundry detergent and all sorts of things.

Not only are these homemade versions safer, they’re cheaper. She got me hook, line, and sinker. I bought the cleaning set of oils and have since ordered a few other things. As soon as we finish up our various cleaning products, we’re going to try making our own. Sean wasn’t too thrilled about this but I think it may help my allergies.

She also suggested a few books on the topic: Go Green, Live Rich; The Naturally Clean Home; and The Green Clean. She did say some stuff about all the VOCs in our homes but I don’t remember the details so I’m not going to try to include it here. She herself uses Planet dish soap from Kroger (there’s no S people!) with a few drops of rosemary.

There was also a mom there who said she used Tea Tree oil in her diaper pail and puts some on really stinky cloth diapers. There’s just so much to know!
After we finally get around to using some of our homemade cleaners, I’ll post another blog about what we think about it.