How far along? 14 weeks today! Officially in the second trimester. More than 1/3rd of the way to meeting our babies!
Weight gain: Up to 149lbs. Gained a pound since last week, total gain: 11 pounds. I'm officially the heaviest I've ever been! My face is already looking rather round to me these days. I wonder what it will look like by the end.
How are you feeling: No relief from the nausea in sight, sorry to say! I'm just plugging along taking it one day at a time.
I notice my bump now! If I'm sitting down and try to bend over to pick something up from the floor it feels like it is "in the way." It's not really in the way yet, but that's the best I can describe it. It feels "present."
I can pretty much only sleep on my sides now, but I'm mostly a side sleeper anyway so no big deal. Comfort-wise I am sleeping fine, but I do wake up 3-5 times each night to pee. Good grief. I imagine this is only going to get worse too!
One other pregnancy symptom I've developed is a bad taste in my mouth. I've tried to think how I can describe it but I just can't find the words. It just tastes bad. I don't like to chew gum so I just brush my teeth a lot. If you have any advice for minimizing the bad taste please let me know!
And speaking of teeth, for those of you who had nausea in your pregnancy, what did you do about the dentist? I'm about a month overdue for a cleaning. I've been putting it off because having someone work on my mouth when I feel like throwing up does not sound fun! However I can't imagine I'm going to find the time when I'm nursing infant twins either. Is there a way to get a dental cleaning where they don't put anything in your mouth!? ;-)
Noteworthy moments: Any of you who have been through infertility know how hard Christmas can be. Last year at Christmas time we had just lost our first two embryos. We hung a special ornament on the tree in their honor, one given to us in their memory. We haven't set up our tree yet, but we did go out to buy some lights and decor. While we were shopping we found the sweetest pairs of baby moccasin ornaments. We purchased two to hang on our tree in anticipation of their arrival! I cannot tell you how much joy I feel this Christmas, knowing that the emptiness I felt last year has been replaced with fullness and expectation. We have so much to rejoice over this year!
Get a little spiritual: This weekend we had our first snow here in West Michigan. John, Arie, and I took advantage of the picturesque beauty to take some photos for our Christmas card. After we shot the ones of our family I asked John to take one of me with my bump. Here it is:
It's embarrassing how long I've stared at this picture, but it hasn't been out of narcissism. It's because I can hardly believe that is me in the picture! I think back over the years when I feared I would never take a picture like this, never see my belly grow, never know what it was like to grow a life inside; that fear was dark and painful and absolutely hollowing. I wanted this pregnancy desperately.
And now I have it. Times two.
It feels miraculous.
Well it feels terrible physically, but spiritually it feels miraculous. This picture is so precious to me because when I look at it I can remove myself from the nausea and see this pregnancy for the truly beautiful thing that it is.
The LORD has been so gracious to me and I am eternally grateful for this gift.
xo
Weight gain: Up to 149lbs. Gained a pound since last week, total gain: 11 pounds. I'm officially the heaviest I've ever been! My face is already looking rather round to me these days. I wonder what it will look like by the end.
How are you feeling: No relief from the nausea in sight, sorry to say! I'm just plugging along taking it one day at a time.
I notice my bump now! If I'm sitting down and try to bend over to pick something up from the floor it feels like it is "in the way." It's not really in the way yet, but that's the best I can describe it. It feels "present."
I can pretty much only sleep on my sides now, but I'm mostly a side sleeper anyway so no big deal. Comfort-wise I am sleeping fine, but I do wake up 3-5 times each night to pee. Good grief. I imagine this is only going to get worse too!
One other pregnancy symptom I've developed is a bad taste in my mouth. I've tried to think how I can describe it but I just can't find the words. It just tastes bad. I don't like to chew gum so I just brush my teeth a lot. If you have any advice for minimizing the bad taste please let me know!
And speaking of teeth, for those of you who had nausea in your pregnancy, what did you do about the dentist? I'm about a month overdue for a cleaning. I've been putting it off because having someone work on my mouth when I feel like throwing up does not sound fun! However I can't imagine I'm going to find the time when I'm nursing infant twins either. Is there a way to get a dental cleaning where they don't put anything in your mouth!? ;-)
Noteworthy moments: Any of you who have been through infertility know how hard Christmas can be. Last year at Christmas time we had just lost our first two embryos. We hung a special ornament on the tree in their honor, one given to us in their memory. We haven't set up our tree yet, but we did go out to buy some lights and decor. While we were shopping we found the sweetest pairs of baby moccasin ornaments. We purchased two to hang on our tree in anticipation of their arrival! I cannot tell you how much joy I feel this Christmas, knowing that the emptiness I felt last year has been replaced with fullness and expectation. We have so much to rejoice over this year!
Get a little spiritual: This weekend we had our first snow here in West Michigan. John, Arie, and I took advantage of the picturesque beauty to take some photos for our Christmas card. After we shot the ones of our family I asked John to take one of me with my bump. Here it is:
It's embarrassing how long I've stared at this picture, but it hasn't been out of narcissism. It's because I can hardly believe that is me in the picture! I think back over the years when I feared I would never take a picture like this, never see my belly grow, never know what it was like to grow a life inside; that fear was dark and painful and absolutely hollowing. I wanted this pregnancy desperately.
And now I have it. Times two.
It feels miraculous.
Well it feels terrible physically, but spiritually it feels miraculous. This picture is so precious to me because when I look at it I can remove myself from the nausea and see this pregnancy for the truly beautiful thing that it is.
The LORD has been so gracious to me and I am eternally grateful for this gift.
xo