twice as nice

after a nasty text from my good buddy, j-dub, i have decided it is probably time to update our blog.  when we left off last time we had received the great news that our blood test was positive and were waiting on our ultrasound.  when we arrived at rrc we were nervous but mostly excited to find out what was going on inside my tummy.  right before we went back josh looked at me and asked "how many?" to which i replied "two."  he smiled really big and responded with his gut feeling..."two."  they took us back so dr. brabec could begin the ultrasound.  as i laid on the table and she got the ultrasound ready she asked me how i was feeling.  i told her i was actually feeling very good, the biggest symptom to speak of was this stretching in my lower abdomen.  i was not paying attention to the screen at this time because i was speaking with her.  she responded to my comment by stating with a big smile, "sweetie, that is because of these two babies right there."  omg.  there are two babies in there.  i immediately looked over at josh and desperately wish i had the skills to describe the look on his face.  as we did when we found out that our blood test was positive, josh and i both started cracking up laughing.  no tears.  only full body laughter.  dr. brabec had to ask me to stop so she could get a clear picture of the babies!  we were able to see both of them and hear both of their little heartbeats.  one was measuring 6 weeks, 5 days and the other 6 weeks, 6 days which is great.  their heart rates were 136 and 140 which is also terrific.  we talked to the doctor for quite awhile and are now permanently released from rrc.  omg.  there are two babies in there.

after leaving the clinic we were both a bit shell-shocked.  i am not sure if that feeling will go away for quite some time.  we called josh's mom and brothers and headed straight to my mom's house to tell her, cass, maddox and zoe.  unfortunately, bill and jd could not be there.  i began by telling the kids that uncle josh and aunt jess are having a baby and laid out the ultrasound pictures for all of them to look at.  i knew cass, being a nurse, would be the first to catch that half of them said baby a and the other half baby b.  i assumed she got it when she began screaming at the top of her lungs!  maddox asked what was going on and i told him that there are two babies in my tummy to which he replied "weird."  i could not have said it better myself.  weird.  zoe, our little caretaker, immediately informed us of her plans to feed the babies, change the babies and let them sleep in her room.  later on that evening after we went home, cass text me to say that zoe asked if she could keep one:)  cass said she told her no...i told her not to rule it out, a couple weeks in that might sound like a hell of an offer.

i made an appointment with our family doctor and was thrilled to be able to drive across town for an appointment rather than all the way to overland park!  for my first visit we just talked about pregnancy, what to do and what not to do, and i was able to ask the million questions that we have.  i will see her again on march 24th at eleven weeks and will go in for another ultrasound at twelve weeks.  because all twin pregnancies are considered high-risk i will be spending additional time at the doctor's office which is nothing foreign to me.  if they are both head down i can attempt a vaginal delivery which is my first choice, if one is breech it becomes a little more complicated and my chances for a cesarean section greatly increase.  either way, i will give birth in an operating room with two doctors and possibly a pediatrician.  they would like me to make it to 38 weeks however on average twins come at about 37 weeks.  of course the longer they stay safe and sound in my tummy the less likely they are to have to spend time in nicu.  if i should give birth before 34 weeks i will deliver in overland park.

as far as morning sickness and pregnancy symptoms i have been pretty lucky so far.  i am definitely more tired but haven't felt too sick overall.  some days i am able to eat everything in sight and others i can barely get anything down which is a weird feeling.  i have lost weight but have already gained 5 1/2 inches around my waist! i had one evening that i thought i was having a heart attack but it turned out to be heartburn.  i guess that is what happens when you have a reuben for lunch, a bowling alley burger and fries for dinner and then bowl for three hours.  i won't be making that mistake again:)

josh and i are both thrilled to pieces.  i actually feel very calm and relaxed which can be a chore for me at times.  i am doing my best to enjoy every single day of this wonderful process.  i will try to do a better job of keeping everyone posted and will update after our appointment on the 24th is not before!