Sometimes
days and weeks pass by in a blur because they are so busy, and sometimes I am
just being plain lazy and don’t update this blog. Either way, WOW, I cannot
believe that as of yesterday I hit the 17 week mark! I am the type of person
who jumps ahead to the next big thing. I find it very hard to just relax and be
in the moment. Case in point: from the time my husband turned 26 I began
telling him that he is almost 30. Also, if it is 11:15 and you ask me what time
it is I will most likely tell you it is almost 11:30. (Some people may call
this exaggeration…) So, at 17 weeks pregnant, in my mind I am almost 20 weeks, or 5 months! Which I am
very excited about.
The reality
is that this pregnancy will be over and done with before I know it so I really
need to stop rushing it along. In 4 or 5 months the twins will be here and I will
wonder where the time actually went. *sigh*
My last post was about week 13; weeks 14 & 15 were
relatively uneventful. I continued to suffer daily from acid reflux and
heartburn. I became quite impatient with my body because it would say “I’m
hungry.” So then I would feed it, but then it would say “that was too much or too
acidic, now I feel sick!” So I lived in a constant struggle between hunger and
hating food due to how it made me feel.
I read that
the top of my uterus at 16 weeks should still be a good 3 inches below my belly
button, so I figured these problems couldn’t be caused by my squished organs
yet. However, when I went to my 16 week OB appointment, the doctor informed me
that the top of MY uterus was already at my belly button (WHAT?) due to me
carrying twins. So apparently I am not crazy and imaging that my stomach feels
shoved against my esophagus already, it actually is. So while it is comforting
to know WHY I am getting this horrible acid problem…it doesn’t make it feel any
better.
On the
bright side, I went to see the perinatologist at 16 weeks along. It was special
because my husband and I were able to bring my father-in-law so that he could
experience their amazing ultrasound abilities. He was speechless. Baby A and B
were very active again but we were still able to get a good anatomy scan done
and everything looks great! They both waved to us (which I am choosing to
believe was intentional) and we of course got to see some great profile shots
and even fingers and toes!!
They are
both measuring on track and they both weigh 5 oz.!! That is bigger than most
singleton babies! I am very excited about this because it means that they may
be born big enough to come home right away. Baby B is a little longer;
measuring at 16 weeks 4 days and Baby A is measuring right at 16 weeks 1 day.
Oh, and did I
mention we know the genders! At week 13 they told us but I wanted to wait until
week 16 to announce it to ya’ll, just in case someone developed more in utero. Baby
A is a sweet little baby GIRL and Baby B is a precious baby BOY!! Yep, one of
each! Dream come true!
Baby B is Elijah (we will call
him Eli) and Baby A is Elliana (we will call her Elli). I am so beyond excited
right now! No more gender neutral terms for me! We thought and prayed hard
about these names. Elijah means “the Lord is my God” and Elliana means “God has
answered.”
God continues
to amaze us and reveal more and more blessings. Not only did He bless us with a
pregnancy, and TWINS, but then He also revealed the blessing of a boy and a
girl. So in 4 months I have gone from zero chance of pregnancy, to “you’re
pregnant….with twins!,” to “you get one of each.” I am so thankful for a God
who does not bless us based on our own merits, but on His mercy and grace.
So I guess I
was wrong when I said the past couple of weeks were pretty uneventful. In week
16 I felt the babies move for the first time. They are the tiniest, briefest
sensations; sometimes I’m not even sure I felt them, but it is so exciting and
fascinating! I can’t wait until they are big enough to be felt from the
outside! I often spend my spare time trying to coax them into moving enough so
that I can feel them. They are definitely night time movers!
