Last night on one of my many trips to the bathroom I noticed our hallway seemed brighter than usual. The streetlights were shinning so brightly off a new blanket of snow and into our window it seemed almost as if we had left a light on! With winter storm predictions in the forecast I had been wondering if Arie would have his first snow day of the year. Sure enough, John woke me up this morning with the happy news: snow day!
Unfortunately all visions of making a snow man and sipping hot chocolate quickly disappeared when Arie woke up crying that he didn't feel well. Shouldn't there be a rule against being sick on a snow day?? Poor guy. At first he was saying his tummy hurt, but he did eat breakfast so I don't think it's a stomach bug. He's super stuffed up; hopefully it's just a short lived cold. Maybe we will make it outside this afternoon if he feels a little better!
In any case, on this sick-kid-snowy-day I am officially flipping the page to a new week of pregnancy. Here's my update:
How far along: 21 weeks today.
Weight gain: 161, up two pounds since last week. Total gain: 23 pounds. I had my 20 week appointment last week and my OB was happy with my gain. She made me laugh saying, "And I can still see the bones in your face!" which I suppose means as I continue to get bigger, my face will too. I already notice a big difference in my face but since I look at it everyday I would be the first to notice. I guess I'll just enjoy my facial bone structure while I can! ;-)
How are you feeling: During the day I feel great! I get tired more easily which I'm sure is normal. At night I'm not sleeping the best. I can only sleep on my sides and I when wake up every couple hours to switch sides my body just aches. I must roll around a lot when I'm not pregnant because now that I can't, I have lots of pain at my pressure points (hips, knees, shoulders) and that pins and needles feeling you get when you stay in the wrong position for too long. I'm slowly learning just exactly how to prop myself up with pillows to make sleeping as comfortable as possible.
Noteworthy moments: We had our big anatomy ultrasound on Friday! The boys are officially still two boys and they are growing healthy and strong. They are still measuring a few days ahead of schedule which they have been doing since our very first ultrasound. Great job babies!
In a twin pregnancy, doctors label the babies "A" and "B" based on who is closer to the cervix. Baby A is on my left and Baby B is on my right. I have been feeling almost all fetal kicks on my right with the occasional soft movement on my left. During the ultrasound the babies were true to that form: Baby A was quiet with slow, gentle movements, while Baby B kicked and flipped all over the place! I've heard a number of moms say that their babies' personalities in the womb were an accurate reflection of them outside the womb. I'm so interested to see if that is true for our boys!
My favorite ultrasound picture is this one which shows Baby B (the mover and shaker) kicking Baby A (Mr. Quiet) in the face:
When we saw this happen on the ultrasound screen I immediately thought about how Arie loves to hear the story of how he threw up on my shoes after we drove him from his orphanage to our apartment in Moscow. He thinks it is hilarious! I bet these boys will also love to hear the story of how Baby B was already kicking his brother in the face before birth! I can hear their giggles already. At least, Baby B's giggles!
We didn't get a great picture of Baby B's profile because he would not.stop.moving, but here's how adorable Baby A is:
And just so Baby B is also represented, here's a tiny little baby foot to "awww!" over:
Get a little Spiritual: Seeing the pictures of Baby B's feet made me think of a hymn I used to sing in church as a girl called "Our God Reigns." The song includes a verse from Isaiah:
"How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"
- Isaiah 52:7
Feet are generally not a part of a person we consider "beautiful" today, but they especially were not a beautiful part of a person back when this passage was written. That was a time when sandaled feet were always dirty, smelly, and gross. What I love about this passage is that it reframes beauty; the least lovely part of us becomes beautiful when it is used to deliver the good news of Christ! As a parent I desire so many things for my children; I know I am not alone in this. This passage helps me refocus on the most important thing: that my children would love their God and share that love with others. Whether I want my children to be beautiful, successful, prosperous, happy... all these things mean nothing "compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8). I pray these tiny bodies being knit in my womb will be vessels of the great light and love found in Jesus, whatever else they end up doing.
Belly shot:
xo
Unfortunately all visions of making a snow man and sipping hot chocolate quickly disappeared when Arie woke up crying that he didn't feel well. Shouldn't there be a rule against being sick on a snow day?? Poor guy. At first he was saying his tummy hurt, but he did eat breakfast so I don't think it's a stomach bug. He's super stuffed up; hopefully it's just a short lived cold. Maybe we will make it outside this afternoon if he feels a little better!
In any case, on this sick-kid-snowy-day I am officially flipping the page to a new week of pregnancy. Here's my update:
How far along: 21 weeks today.
Weight gain: 161, up two pounds since last week. Total gain: 23 pounds. I had my 20 week appointment last week and my OB was happy with my gain. She made me laugh saying, "And I can still see the bones in your face!" which I suppose means as I continue to get bigger, my face will too. I already notice a big difference in my face but since I look at it everyday I would be the first to notice. I guess I'll just enjoy my facial bone structure while I can! ;-)
How are you feeling: During the day I feel great! I get tired more easily which I'm sure is normal. At night I'm not sleeping the best. I can only sleep on my sides and I when wake up every couple hours to switch sides my body just aches. I must roll around a lot when I'm not pregnant because now that I can't, I have lots of pain at my pressure points (hips, knees, shoulders) and that pins and needles feeling you get when you stay in the wrong position for too long. I'm slowly learning just exactly how to prop myself up with pillows to make sleeping as comfortable as possible.
Noteworthy moments: We had our big anatomy ultrasound on Friday! The boys are officially still two boys and they are growing healthy and strong. They are still measuring a few days ahead of schedule which they have been doing since our very first ultrasound. Great job babies!
In a twin pregnancy, doctors label the babies "A" and "B" based on who is closer to the cervix. Baby A is on my left and Baby B is on my right. I have been feeling almost all fetal kicks on my right with the occasional soft movement on my left. During the ultrasound the babies were true to that form: Baby A was quiet with slow, gentle movements, while Baby B kicked and flipped all over the place! I've heard a number of moms say that their babies' personalities in the womb were an accurate reflection of them outside the womb. I'm so interested to see if that is true for our boys!
My favorite ultrasound picture is this one which shows Baby B (the mover and shaker) kicking Baby A (Mr. Quiet) in the face:
 |
| Hopefully the membrane from the amniotic sacs between them cushioned the blow! |
We didn't get a great picture of Baby B's profile because he would not.stop.moving, but here's how adorable Baby A is:
 |
| His little hand was right up by his mouth. Maybe he'll be a thumb-sucker like big brother! |
 |
| How wonderful to imagine the places this little foot will carry him in life! |
"How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"
- Isaiah 52:7
Feet are generally not a part of a person we consider "beautiful" today, but they especially were not a beautiful part of a person back when this passage was written. That was a time when sandaled feet were always dirty, smelly, and gross. What I love about this passage is that it reframes beauty; the least lovely part of us becomes beautiful when it is used to deliver the good news of Christ! As a parent I desire so many things for my children; I know I am not alone in this. This passage helps me refocus on the most important thing: that my children would love their God and share that love with others. Whether I want my children to be beautiful, successful, prosperous, happy... all these things mean nothing "compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8). I pray these tiny bodies being knit in my womb will be vessels of the great light and love found in Jesus, whatever else they end up doing.
Belly shot:
xo
Sage says you look beautiful and I have to agree :)
ReplyDeleteWell thank you to you both! :-)
DeleteI am loving this journey you are on! Thank you for writing about it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following along!
DeleteSleeping while I was pregnant was the worse. Every one kept telling me to enjoy the sleep "while you can", but I slept so much better once Mance was born! Even if I only got a few hours, the sleep was a better quality than when I was pregnant. I used to feel like a giant whale jumping out of the water everytime I needed to move in bed. So glad to hear everything is going well!
ReplyDeleteHaha a whale is exactly how I feel. Rolling over is an event now! :-)
DeleteHave you ever tried sleeping with a pillow between your legs when you're on your side? It helps keep my hips aligned better when they get achy from when I had my hip surgery. I've heard other moms who use a body pillow when they were pregnant to curve themselves around for more support too. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes I do that and it does help!
DeleteI am just a bad sleeper, and prone to chronic pain (thanks, lupus), and for Christmas a year ago my mom got me a memory foam mattress topper from Costco. Might be a good investment for you if you don't already have something similar, especially as the babes get bigger.
ReplyDeleteAnd boo! Being sick on a snow day is the worst, although you can usually drink as much hot cocoa as you want because you're not feeling well. I hope Arie feels better and perks up enough to go play in the snow!
We actually have one of those in our basement. I'll get my husband to pull it our and put on our bed. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteSo enjoying sharing your journey with you! God bless you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following along!
DeleteDo you ever catch yourself wondering if the boys will look like Arie? We adopted our son Colin, and I remember when my sister was pregnant with my nephew, I would picture him having similarities to Colin. And then I'd stop myself and remember that they would not at all be blood related. haha!
ReplyDeleteHa! I do wonder what they will look like, but we have a profile of the genetic parents' attributes (hair, eye, skin etc) so I'm pretty sure they won't look too much like Arie! I do wonder a LOT if they will have similar personalities though!
Deletewhat helped me was two things:
ReplyDelete1. Putting a pillow between my knees to keep my hips aligned
2. While on my side, angling my belly toward the mattress and bringing my top leg's knee up to lay on the mattress. Then you are on your side but still angled towards the mattress, giving you more support.
<3