Weeks 14-16: God is so good!

          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!