Babies R Us Registry

Just an FYI...there is another Angela Jones with twin girls who is registered at Babies R Us!  What are the chances?!  Our registry is Angie (and Chris) Jones in Washington, IL due 3/3/12.  Her registry is Angela Jones in Peoria, IL and she was due 9/26/11. 

December 27th, 2011 OB Visit (30w3d)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!  Chris here updating the blog this week.  We had a great holiday weekend and the babies got lots of great loot!  Angie continues to feel good, and enjoyed some yummy holiday meals.  Daily fatigue is getting worse and she has been going to bed a little earlier lately.

We had an appointment with her OB, Dr. Teverbaugh, last Tuesday and again today.  At last week's appointment, the doctor gave Angie the ok to take Pepcid for heartburn, and that has been helping her a lot.  Other than the heartburn, all news was good last week.  At this week's appointment, we started off with an ultrasound (no good pictures to post) and then met with Dr. Teverbaugh again.  Before the doctor came in, we were a bit concerned as Angie's ultrasound showed cervical shortening from her last measurement 2 weeks ago at maternal fetal.  Our doctors have been using cervix length as an indicator for preventing preterm labor and the longer the measurement, the better.  From our appointment 2 weeks ago, today's ultrasound measurement showed a reduction of about 25%; thus our concern.  Dr. Teverbaugh came in and discussed with us how this affects our plans.  She said at this point that she doesn't want to overreact and wants to give it another week to see how things progress before having Angie change her daily routine.  Additional reduction at the next appointment may mean periods of mandatory bed rest or work restrictions from here until delivery.  So, Angie will be getting another measurement at next week's OB appointment, and again on the 12th at maternal fetal.  Angie is not showing any other signs of preterm labor, so I'm cautiously optimistic and am blaming the difference in measurement on different machines, different sono techs, and different times of the day.  Next week shall tell.

No big New Years Eve plans this year.  Hopefully a nice dinner out before watching the ball drop on TV!

Talk to you all soon!

Christmas at the Galloway's

Nursery Pics (not completed yet, but getting closer)

December 14th, 2011 Ultrasound (28w5d)

We had an OB appointment last Monday where I had to do the glucose test (which I passed- Yay!).  A friend from work had to do her glucose test at the same time as me so that was nice to pass the time.  There are 6 preggos at work right now!  We were at 7, but my friend Lisa delivered Madeline on 12/12.   We are now going to the OB every 2 weeks.  We also had a Maternal Fetal appointment on Wednesday.  Baby A is now 3 pounds, 2 ounces and Baby B is 2 pounds, 12 ounces.  Baby B is right on track for weight gain for 28 weeks.  Baby A is just big!  The doctor said I have a little extra fluid in my uterus, but he wasn't concerned about that right now.  He said the extra fluid and the one larger baby is making my uterus bigger.  The top of my uterus is at my rib cage now!  I have gained 30 pounds so far.  The sono showed that Baby B had completely flipped around since the last visit.  I think she had just done it the night before our appointment because she balled up into a cone on one side and then she did something that hurt!  Now her head is in my right upper abdomen, next to her sister's feet.  At least now the feet are spread out instead of all in one spot!  Besides the swelling in my feet and ankles and the continuous heartburn, I am feeling fine.  I might ask about some Pepcid at our next OB appointment on Monday.  I'm getting tired of all the Tums!  The nursery is almost finished- Just a few decorating details left.  We will post picture soon.  We go to Maternal Fetal again in 4 weeks.   

Beth and I at the PMOT Christmas Party (ugly Christmas sweater night!).  We are both 28 weeks pregnant with twins.  She is having boys!

Daisy and Cody were extremely interested in all the baby loot that Brenda and Nate gave us!  Thanks again Brenda and Nate!

27 weeks

Baby A

Face

 Getting kicked in the face by her sister!

Baby B

 Profile

November 14th, 2011 Ultrasound (24w2d)

Today we had an appointment with Dr. Renfroe at Maternal-Fetal.  Both babies look great!  Baby A is 1 pound, 12 ounces and Baby B is 1 pound, 7 ounces!  Yes, the girls are still Baby A and Baby B- We have not come to a consensus on names yet!  Baby A is still head down, but Baby B was transverse today.  All 4 feet are still in my right upper abdomen.  We were able to get pretty good face pictures of both girls today.  Dr. Renfroe said that the next month is very important to get through.  The survival rate from 24 weeks to 26 weeks increases exponentially.  She only wants me to work in the office, not on the floor, from now on and really watch my activity level.  I think Christmas shopping will be done all online this year!  I have been having some back pain so she gave me a belly band to help support my back.  I could feel a difference as soon as I put it on.  Also, last Monday I noticed my shoes were a bit tight.  By Friday, my ankles and feet were noticeably swollen.  Dr. Renfroe suggested getting support hose for that.  Chris and I went to breastfeeding class last Thursday.  We both thought it was a very informative class.  We go again this Thursday.  Chris got the nursery primed on Saturday and he hopes to finish it up this weekend.  We will post some pictures once it's done.  Our next appointment is with the OB's office on Dec. 5th; I will be doing my glucose test that day.

My co-worker and good friend, Lisa, and I at her baby shower last Saturday.  We measured our bellies- Lisa is 42 inches around with 4 weeks to go and I measured 40 inches with hopefully 13 weeks to go!

Baby A

(Baby A drinking)

Baby B

November 3rd, 2011 Ultrasound (22w5d)

Hello everyone!  We had an appointment with the OB on 11/3.  We got some great 3D pictures of Baby B!  Baby A is lower and is often squished in a corner, which makes it very difficult to get a good picture of her.  Everything checked out well.  My thyroid levels are almost normal, so I am sticking with the synthroid dose I am on now.  We have visited 2 daycare centers, and are going to visit 1 more before we make a decision.  We are taking a breastfeeding class the next 2 Thursdays.  The girl I met in twins club who is having the boys is going too.  We decided to drag along our husbands!  The girls are moving around like crazy now!  They are both head down with their feet in my upper right abdomen.  Needless to say, my ribs are sore in that spot with 4 feet kicking!  Starting to have some back pain now and more frequent heartburn, but nothing too bad.  I'm still sleeping well with my Snoogle (body pillow)!  We picked out the paint colors for the nursery, and hope to get started on that this weekend.  We got a small taste of what we are in for as my cousin, Julie, her 11-month old son, Tyler, and my Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandy visited us last weekend.  Tyler is almost walking and is a lot of fun!  Tyler also had a lot of fun with Chris!      

Angie's Halloween Shirt

Both Babies

Baby B

Tyler & Chris

October 17th, 2011 Ultrasound (20w3d)

Baby A

Baby B

Hello Everyone!  Chris here. We had a check-up with Maternal Fetal this morning.  This was supposed to be one of our longer appointments with them as it is one that requires the most amount of measurements via ultrasound.  It took about 2 hours, but wasn't too bad.  The images of the babies are starting to get much more clear and features more distinguishable!  We can now see ribs, the individual bones in the fingers & toes, stomach, bladder, spine, and the 4 chambers of the heart.  You can see some of them above.  Baby A was being shy and didn't want a 3d picture today...maybe next time.

They did measurements and the occasional snapshot for us for about an hour, then the doctor came in after that to talk with us.  The first thing that he said was that everything looked really good and he doesn't see any indications of birth defects, which is great news!  The choroid plexus cysts that showed up in both babies last time are no longer visible, but they weren't concerned much about those anyhow.  Both babies are exhibiting excellent "symmetric growth" meaning that the arms, organs, head, etc. are all growing at a similar rate.  Both babies are growing right on track with Baby A measuring in at 12oz and Baby B at 13oz.  The doctor seemed very pleased and didn't place Angie on any restrictions and said she can keep doing her daily activities as normal.  Angie's thyroid gland isn't keeping up with the pregnancy, though.  She is now taking synthroid daily, which is a synthetic form of thyroid hormone.  Hopefully, her thyroid will get back to normal after pregnancy.  Our next appointment will be with the OBs office in 2 weeks.

In other news, the nursery is starting to come along.  The cribs showed up last Friday and we picked up a dresser and bookcase on Saturday.  The chair and ottoman are ordered, but won't be here for several weeks.  We still need to paint, but are undecided on exactly which shade of pink!

September 23rd, 2011 Ultrasound (16w6d)

Baby A

Baby B

Both Babies

10/4/11

Not much to report from our appointment on 9/23.  Sono showed everyone is on track, and confirmed both are indeed girls!  We met with our doctor, and asked how these girls will come into the world.  He stated that a cesarean is highly recommended, but that if I really wanted to vaginally deliver and the girls are in appropriate positions, we could try for a vaginal delivery.  I said no thank you- C-section for me!  In other news, I can now definitely feel the girls moving around!  Chris even felt Baby B move on October 4th!  I swear she was continuously doing somersaults in there!  We went to multiples class on 10/3 and will go again tomorrow 10/10.  At our first class, we toured antepartum, labor and delivery, and mom/baby.  The fathers had to push the mothers around in wheelchairs!  Tomorrow, we will tour the NICU.  We really hope to avoid antepartum and the NICU!  There are 5 couples in the class.  

We go to Maternal Fetal again on 10/17 then our OB 11/3.  We will be seeing someone every 2 weeks now.  We had a meet and greet with a pediatrician who was highly recommended from the moms in the twins club.  We really liked her, but will probably meet with one more doctor just to be sure.  Her office is in Washington too which is a big plus.  I am still feeling great!  I have surpassed my normal weight now!  Most of my food aversions are gone, but I'm not really craving anything right now.  I can't believe we are already halfway done!  We will be 20 weeks on 10/15!  This is going too fast!   

September 20th, 2011 Ultrasound (16w3d)

It's a GIRL! ... And another GIRL!!  We are very excited!  We had our appointment today at the Maternal Fetal Diagnostic Center.  Our sono tech said she was positive both babies are girls!  Pink it is!  Having them both the same sex will make decorating the nursery and shopping much easier!  I have been feeling much better the last few weeks.  I stopped taking Zofran a couple weeks ago, and have only had a few toothbrush-associated vomiting episodes.  I have gained 7 pounds back, so I think the weight gain is on!  I went to my first Peoria Mothers of Twins meeting last Thursday, and met some very nice women.  I met one girl my age who is also 16 weeks pregnant with twins, but hers are boys.  The meetings are at Monicals, which is a nice plus!  I think the PMOT group will be a great resource for us.  They also plan outings, trips, date nights, and other fun stuff!  Chris and I also went to Baby Boot Camp last Saturday.  We learned how to bathe, diaper, perform infant/child CPR, car seat installation, and my favorite part- Mommy massage!  We went with my good friend from work, Lisa, and her husband who are expecting a girl in December.  Next, we are taking a multiples class in October.  

Today the perinatologist also performed an ultrasound.  He found that Baby B has only 2 vessels (1 artery and 1 vein) in the umbilical cord instead of 3 (2 arteries and 1 vein).  This happens in about 1 in 100 pregnancies and is more common with multiples.  He stated that this could slow growth in Baby B as she gets bigger.  Right now, both babies are 6 ounces and are measuring ahead of schedule, already measuring a week ahead.  So this is something that will be monitored closely.  He also found choroid plexus cysts in both babies, 1 baby unilateral and 1 baby bilateral.  The choroid plexus is an area of the brain that is not involved in thinking or personality, but makes a fluid that protects and nourishes the brain and spinal cord. When a fluid-filled space is seen in the choroid plexus during an ultrasound, it is called a choroid plexus cyst.  The doctor stated that this does not harm the baby, and that most disappear by the third trimester.  He said that sometimes the cysts are a sign of an abnormality, but that in our case all body structures on both babies are normal, so there is likely no connection.  He said we should not worry over either finding (easier said than done).  Right now, we will be going to Maternal Fetal every 4 weeks.  So between them and our OB, we will be seeing someone every 2 weeks.  This week we have both appointments- OB is on Friday.  We will post again after that appointment!           

Baby A

Baby B

8/29 - 13 weeks

9/3 - First K-State game with the Starrs

August 24, 2011 Ultrasound (12w4d)

We had our first OB appointment today.  Everything went well.  Both babies are measuring right on track, actually a little ahead- Both are measuring 13w, 1d.  Was still too early to to tell their sexes.  Our next appointment is in 4 weeks, on 9/23.  Our sono tech said she could be 99% sure of their sexes at that appointment.  We can't wait to find out what they are!  I had to buy maternity pants yesterday.  I've been wearing scrubs and dresses everyday.  I can still wear most of my shirts.  I joined a local group called Peoria Mothers of Twins.  The group held a sale last night that Chris and I went to at the RiverPlex downtown.  It was like a huge children's garage sale.  We got boy and girl clothes- If we can't use one or the other, we can sell them back next year!  We also got some books and toys.  I think I have been feeling slightly better the last couple days (wishful thinking!).  I have lost 9 pounds total, so hopefully I start gaining weight soon.  It's weird because I haven't gained any weight, but my stomach is getting much bigger!  We have also told everyone that we are expecting now!  It has been very fun to tell family and friends.

Baby A

Baby B

Both Babies