32 weeks!

One more week down, only 6 more (max) to go!

31 Weeks

Yesterday I came to Kansas City for our doctor's appointment. Everything looks good and both babies are growing well. Our growth scan estimated Cooper's weight at 4 lbs 1 oz and Isabella's weight at 3 lbs and 14 oz. So she is still a little smaller, but both are around the 50th% for weight. I can't believe how much they have grown!! It's getting super crowded in there and harder to get good ultrasound photos so we didn't really get any cute shots this week. : ( I can't complain though, I am lucky to get to see them so often! Cooper is still breech so it is unlikely that he will turn at this point. If not, we are looking at a c-section the week of Nov 9th if she doesn't go into labor before that. Trisha continues to have some contractions, but as of yesterday, no cervical changes. YAY!! Her blood sugars continue to look good and they said she can cut back to checking them 2 days a week, which I am sure she is happy about. She is measuring 38 weeks and has gained about 32 lbs so far. She looks great and is feeling good. Next week she starts bi-weekly non-stress tests and our next doctor's appointment is in 2 weeks. So, another great appointment and another week under our belt. We are thrilled!

Today, Trisha and I drove to St. Louis because she has a training class for work and I told her I wasn't going to let her drive 4 hrs by herself, so she allowed me to come with her. : ) She is so good to me! We will be heading back to Kansas City tomorrow afternoon and then I am heading back to Cleveland early Friday morning. Next week my Mom is visiting and then Nate's Mom and step-dad are coming for the weekend. The following week, I am heading back to Kansas City (via car) to start my vacation at my home away from home. Trisha is excited, she is ready to have a full-time housewife! : )

I have so much left to do before I come here to stay, time is flying by. We had a second baby shower this past weekend in Indiana with Nate's family and received so many wonderful gifts for the babies. I am still trying to get all of the adorable outfits washed and put away, it's amazing how many outfits these two little babies have! I will post some pics as soon as I get them from Nate's Aunt Donna (she is the most wonderful photographer!). We had such a great time and it was so good to see everyone! Nate even got to practice being a Dad. Nate's cousin Melissa was there with her 3 week old ADORABLE baby girl, Emily, and he held her for a while. Now he just needs to learn how to feed a baby and change a diaper! I told him not to worry, he will get plenty of practice in a few weeks!! : )

Repost of Belly Shots and New Blog Template

Since I am continually updating the belly shots slideshow, I am reposting it. Also, I got a new blogger template since I didn't like the last one. What do you think, do you like it?

WE ARE IN THE 30's PEOPLE!!

On Sunday, we turned 30 weeks. Knowing the outcomes for preterm infants, I am elated to be out of the 20's!! We had our doctor's appointment last Friday and everything went well.  We only had a brief scan to check heart rates and cord dopplers, both looked good. As of now, Cooper is breech and Isabella is vertex (head down).  Dr. Lu thinks that if Cooper doesn't turn head down in the next 2 weeks that it is unlikely that he will be able to turn before birth since it's getting really tight in there. If Cooper doesn't turn, Trisha will need to have a c-section. We were hoping to avoid this, mostly because it would be a major surgery for Trisha, but also because there are some benefits of laboring for the twins.  Dr. Lu said if Trisha doesn't go into labor before 38 weeks he would induce her or perform a c-section that week, which would be the week of November 9th. So, we have 8 weeks, AT THE MAXIMUM, left to go before these little ones make their grand entrance.  In the meantime, while Trisha is having some contractions, she is controlling them with rest and things are looking good. She was measuring 37 weeks at our appointment and has gained about 32 lbs so far.  Also, on the diabetes front, with the exception of a few elevated blood sugars, her numbers have been within normal range. The doctor wants her to continue to check her sugars 4 times daily for now and once they are stable, she can cut back to 2 times a day.  Our next appointment is a week from tomorrow on the 22nd.  At that time, we will have another full growth scan which will tell us estimated weights.  The following week (at 32 weeks) Trisha will begin bi-weekly non-stress tests to evaluate the babies heart rates for signs of distress since things are starting to really get squished in there.  So, that's the plan for now, we'll see how it goes!

This weekend we are headed to Indiana for a baby shower with Nathan's family which should be fun.  Then next week I'm off to Kansas City on Tues through Friday for our appointment. The week after that my Mom is coming to visit and then the first week of October I am driving to Kansas City to take up temporary residence until the little ones are born. I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by and that soon our babies will finally be home with us! 

House photos, Furniture photos, and Nursery Photos

Since moving, I have to admit that I have been a bit bored. It's strange not having a job and I have been struggling to find things to keep me busy. So, my first project was shopping for new dining room furniture for us. I went to Thomasville and found a table and chairs that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!! So after much convincing (that would be me convincing Nate) with my "it's not just furniture, it's an investment" argument, I was able to order the table and 6 chairs. I still want to get the matching buffet and 2 more chairs, but those will have to wait for now. The table was delivered this past Friday and we were able to use it this weekend when Jeanette, Jeremy, and Ethan visited and it was wonderful!! It's going to be so great for holiday dinners! So here are some photos of our new dining room table. Also, we got a new chandelier for the living room that Nathan and his Dad installed a few weekends ago. It looks great, here is a photo.

My second project was to weed the front flower beds and rip out the ugly marigolds that the builder put in. It took about 4 days to get all of this done and then Nate put down new mulch. It's amazing how much better it looks!  I wish I would have taken before photos, but here are some after photos.  We are also finally starting to get the lawn in shape, but we still have lots to do!

Finally, after about 10 weeks of waiting, the nursery furniture was delivered today. I put the linens on the cribs (even though I have to take it back off to wash it before the babies use it) to see how everything is going to look.  It all looks really cute!! I still have to order the wall art that I want. I am putting a tree on the wall between the cribs and maybe the babies names over their cribs.  I think seeing everything in the room makes it feel even more real for me and is making me realize that we don't have much longer to go before we will be parents.  Our lives will never be the same. That's a bit of a scary thought, but I'm anxious to start the next chapter of our lives. Here are some photos of the nursery, though it's hard to get good photos because the room is large and I can't get a very good angle.

Tomorrow I'm off to Kansas City for our doctor's appointment.  We will also be meeting with the dietician to discuss Trisha's blood sugars and hopefully we won't need any further intervention.  I'll update on Friday after the appointment.  Unfortunately, we will only be getting a limited scan this week and won't get another growth scan for 2 more weeks, but at least we will get a glimpse of the little cuties. As usual, I can't wait!!

Bump in the Road

Well, we have our first bump in the road. Trisha failed her 1 hr and 3 hr glucose tolerance test and has officially been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that women get during pregnancy that is caused by the hormones that are produced by the placenta. Since our twins are fraternal and there are 2 placentas, the risk is higher for having GD. So, today Trisha is meeting with a dietician and will start testing her blood sugars four times a day for the next week and log them. Then next week, we will meet with her again and she will review the data and make a plan for us. Hopefully, it can be diet controlled and we will not need insulin injections because then things become more complicated. Trisha is a healthy eater so hopefully won't need to go down that road. Otherwise, all is well and we are celebrating another week on the inside! YEA!