Thursday, October 25, 2007

Twin Update--25 weeks

Today I went in (with David in tow) for another full growth ultrasound with the ultrasound technician. This is where they take a more extensive look at the babies and do all the measurements and such. And apparently we always get a 3D shot at these type of visits too because we have another couple to share at this stage!

Baby A pictured on the left here is weighing in at 1 pound 14 ounces (approximately) and his heartbeat was a steady 140 beats per minute. When she first started checking him he was feet down head up (on my left side) and then later on he was head down feet up. He was moving around a lot during the visit I guess! I might add that she told us that both babies are in the 90% for weight!!! UGH!! I hope they slow their growth at some point or I am going to be HUGE (I already feel huge enough by the way!)

Baby B here is weighing in at 1 pound 15 ounces and his heartbeat was a steady 146 beats per minute. You can see Baby A's body in this shot on the far left corner and that line across his face is the membrane sac between the two babies. The cord like deal coming from the back of his neck is the umblical cord. If these early pictures are any indication I would say that this one looks more like me and that Baby A looks more like David (Baby A seems to have that longer angled nose and Baby B has more of a pug nose like mine). Baby B has been laying with his head down (on my right side) and his feet more diagonal across my body on the left side. This could be why I typically feel the most kicks on the left side. I have up to this point attributed all the kicking to Baby A, but not have to give Baby B some props for doing some of the kicking too! I suppose that is why they have to do so many ultrasounds as it really is hard to tell who is doing what in there!
Oh and we had her check again just to make sure we were having two boys (just in case!) Her first response was, "Well in the 20 years I have been doing this I have never had a penis fall off." We laughed! However, I have heard of an instance where people were told they were having a boy and it ended up being a girl (mistake obviously on the technician's part I assume!!) Usually it turns out the other way around where a girl is expected and they get a boy.

You can pray for me as she also told me that though my cervix is not dialating yet, I have a "warning sign" that it is getting a little stressed out. I have already been having Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions leading up to delivery), which I think is rather early for this symptom. It could mean that my activity will be even more severely limited in the last months. I have already been using those motorized carts at grocery stores and such to limit time on my feet. However, I may be required to be on bed rest if this keeps up! She said that when I feel a contraction/cramp that I should sit down and put my feet up and drinnk some water. This I will do!

I thought I would include the black and white ultrasound shots this time to show you the drastic difference in how they look as well as show you the funny shot of Baby A kicking Baby B in the head! Baby A is in the top picture and Baby B's head is in the bottom picture with Baby A's body in the shot. As we discovered in the last pictures too, Baby A is a camera hog!

Future Farmer of America

For those of you who weren't aware, Josiah is VERY fond of any kind of tractors, construction vehicles, and/or anything that has wheels! There is a tractor parked outside our church because they are landscaping the grounds and so each week Josiah makes his weekly visit to sit on the tractor and enjoy pretending to be a farmer. When he is a little older and the twins are up for traveling, we hope to take Josiah to my Uncle Mike and Aunt Genny's farm and let him ride on farm vehicles to his heart's content!

Another funny little thing he does these days is related to something Mommy and Daddy do. David will give me a hug or kiss (or both) and say something like "Mommy needs a hug and kiss," really loud so Josiah can hear. Then Josiah will run into the room where we are and say very emphatically "Guys NO, guys NO, guys NO!!" and wave his arms out in front of him. So apparently, our little pumpkinhead is already embarrassed by Mommy and Daddy showing each other affection.

He also has been remembering who gives him things lately and I can ask him what he did at a various event and he will give a run down of things he did. He picks up various cars and will say, "Grandma give it" or "Grandma's car" or "McDonalds" for the toys he got in his happy meal. It is fun to hear all his new words and ways of communicating! He also from time to time when he hears some rousing music will say, "Rock and Roll!" and will start dancing crazily. His new way of dancing is to stomp around a lot with the occassional hip wiggle or head bobs to go along.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Josiah, Hannah & the Gooey Geyser!

While I teach piano lessons, my babysitter Sharel comes over to watch Josiah and from time to time will bring her little sister Hannah with her as well. They are the same age, so it is fun to watch them interact! Here they are sitting down to their snack of yogurt and raisins and it was just too cute not to take a picture of!

Josiah has been really progressing in his language development of late. He will remember things from shows he watches on TV or places he went during the day or things that he did and will recount them with me from time to time throughout the day and well into the evening. One of the funniest of these moments was when he watched a Dora the Explorer show and he remembered a rather funny event from the show. To make a long story short, the plot of this lovely children's show was that Dora's twin baby brother and sister were in a stroller headed for a "gooey geyser" and Dora and her parents had to hurry and save them before they reached it. Following this show, Josiah very emphatically stated over and over to me "gooey geyser, gooey geyser," and I would respond with, "What about the gooey geyser?" and he would say, "Babies!!!" He was obviously very concerned for the babies and wanted me to know it, and since that day he will sometimes still remember and tell me about the "gooey geyser" again!

In fact, the video I posted below (taken from David's camera--sorry for the bad quality folks) is of Josiah telling Daddy & Hannah about the gooey geyser and you can hear me laughing at him in the background as well! Enjoy!!