22 Week Bump!

Look what a great job sweet Dah-vid did with this week's bump pic! ;) 

So I was bad and completely forgot to take a proper 21 week belly picture. The pic of me in the post below is me at 21 weeks technically, but I've realized that whenever I take those selfies, I always look much smaller in real life (yay for understanding perspective!)

Also, I finished the framed animal head upgrade! Voila! I decided to go with gold and white stripes, and it turned out pretty good. The camera didn't pick up all the wonky bits that are still there, especially on the antelope one BUT I've decided not to care, because they are so cute, and I had a great day re-doing them with my brumber and sis-in-law. 

Much better looking than that awful black, that's for dang sure. Can't wait to hang them!

How far along? 22 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain: I think around 20 still? Idk, I haven't stepped on a scale because it makes me nervous haha. Maybe 25? GAH! Although I've read that this is the time babies do a lot of growing soooooo.....

Maternity clothes? Um, duh. And loving them. My mom got me those long maternity dresses from Old Navy, and they still are a bit too loose. Which is awesome, because I don't ever want to get to a point where I literally can't fit into anything.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: It's still consistent. Bathroom trips, but no late night snacks since I know now to eat a little something right before bed
Best moment this week: I don't know! This week has been pretty uneventful, which is nice :)
Miss Anything? Having a waist. Not going to lie...every time I tie my robe in the morning (yep, I'm a robe person) I think "This used to tie around my waist. Darn it"

Movement: Oh tons, especially when I lay down to sleep, which always freaks me out that I'm smooshing them. And they've been little buggers lately, and always stop moving whenever I take daddy's hand to feel them.
Food cravings: Nothing in particular. I'm still trying to snack super healthy, but my meals are more free range. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! No dizziness either. A lot of shortness of breath, especially when I sit in certain positions, but not really a big deal
Gender:  Still our little boy and girl

Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Well the babes are apparently the size of papayas, so obviously a giant belly still. But nothing else (aside from shortness of breath)
Belly Button in or out? In but nearly flat
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! Almost tooooo happy at times. At church today, there were so many friggin babies and I got to thinking how blessed we are that we're getting two. That we've had no fertility struggles, and my pregnancy has been so easy (so far). I was definitely tearing up a bit.
Looking forward to: Danielle's wedding in a month and our NYC trip right after! I made a point to buy really comfy sandals for the inevitable walking I'll be doing during that trip, and I'm so excited to get them! 

Nursery Things and My Love for Maternity Pants

I finally bought a few things for the nursery!! It's been driving me nuts that the room we'll be using for the twins is still full of random junk that was previously in the master bedroom. We're working through it, but it's taking longer than I like. Mostly because the majority of it is David's, so I can't go through it on my own.

Anyway, since I can't just lay on the floor of my sweet nursery and imagine my sweet babes in there, it's taken me a bit to put my thoughts together about how I want it to look. (Ok fine, I'll be honest...I'd probably be this finicky even if I had an empty room to work with.)

The first thing I bought are these super cute blankets from wilder & bean:

For little Jack

For sweet Clare

I mean, come on...how cute are they. Mom, I know they aren't your fave, but it'll come together! I like that they have a very geometric pattern, that isn't too busy. And they're pretty neutral and seem like they'll coordinate with a ton of other stuff, which I love.

Then today I found the best things ever. I'll admit, I've been a bit obsessed with animals in nurseries. Not the creepy cartoony animals, like THIS

Come on...that giraffe totally looks like he's up to no good with that giant pencil....

No, I've been obsessed with real animal prints, silhouettes, and sculptures. So I was ecstatic to find these framed animal heads at Home Goods! (I especially love the antelope. Something about those horns...it's just great). The giraffe is a bit crooked in there, and there's no way for me to bust the backing open to adjust it, since the back board is nailed into the frame. We'll see how much it bugs me....I might just mangle the back. No one sees that anyway, amiright?!

Please forgive the horrible glare...

I'll be painting the frames of these bad boys...still unsure about the color. I know I'll be adding some gold polka dot decals to one of the nursery walls (the walls are yellow...) so not sure if I should give these a pop of color, like teal or coral (or both!) or stay neutral. OMG or white and tan stripes?! So many choices!!!! :D

One last little comment in this very long post (can you tell I'm putting off making dinner??), I have been LOVING maternity clothes. Like, I have amore for them. I got these amazing white jean capris from Macys on super sale, and they are just incredible. They make me feel like a normal person again since the material is actually jean and not jersey or stretch or spandex. It is truly the little things, but a good outfit can still make or break my day ;)

Despite the fact that I love these jeans, I somehow managed to get a bit of blue slurpee...cotton candy...something? on them while out at Target. I started cursing the dumb kid that got the bright blue crap everywhere, and then I realized I should just get used to getting dirty 30 seconds after getting dressed haha

20 Week Belly Bump!

Not really turned to the side properly in this pic...I don't know what I was doing. Well, I do. I was getting bitter at David because he never takes picture-taking seriously. He never even lets the camera focus. He just snaps away. I think he likes the way the shutter on my DSLR sounds. 

How far along? 20 weeks and 5 days (kind of late in this week's post)

Total weight gain: 20 lbs! Believe it! It's blowing my mind, because I've never put on weight this fast. Grow, babies, grow!

Maternity clothes? Yes, and I just stocked up on a ton of cute stuff!! I think I'm set, unless/until I outgrow my maternity stuff. FYI--Ross maternity is friggin' awesome! So is Macy's...they've got great sales :)
Stretch marks? Nothing new! Belly is still mark free
Sleep: Consistently fall asleep between 9:30 and 10pm, and usually sleep till 8-ish. If I drink anything an hour before bed, I'm up at least twice to pee. Otherwise, I'm just up once to pee
Best moment this week: David feeling our little beans! We finally timed it so that he felt a few little nudges. His face was priceless, and it was definitely a special moment for the both of us.
Miss Anything? Feeling comfortable when I sit, and not getting winded easily. 

Movement: Tons of little nudges! I haven't felt any specific body parts moving about, and it's hard for me to tell which one is moving around
Food cravings: Nothing in particular. I have been making tons of smoothies lately, but its usually so I can kick up my protein and fruits/veggies intake. Side note: even though the fancy protein powder I got is supposed to be the least gritty stuff out there....it's still gritty. Bleh.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still feeling fine!! I get tuckered out very easily, but I don't count that as sick necessarily.
Gender:  Still our little boy and girl

Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Growing belly, and that's preeeeetty much it. Yay?
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! When am I going to get those crazy mood swings??
Looking forward to: Taking a mini vacation up to Santa Barbara with the hubs tomorrow :) Massages, beach, and delicious food is in our near future!

The Names Have Been Decided!!!!

Names have been decided!!!! David made some dorky comment about how I should go blog it, since it's such a significant moment (thought he was teasing me. Turns out he was being totally serious!) . Love that he's on board with this ;)
Anyway, the winning names are:

Jack Thomas

and 

Clare Marie

It's actually funny how easily we agreed on them. We both liked Jack from the get go, as well as Clare. I flitted back and forth with the girl names, but Clare remained David's favorite, so it just feels right. 

The middle names I wanted to be a nod to our families, and these were pretty easy to decide upon as well. Thomas is my dad's first name and Marie is an alternative for Maria--David's mom's first name (we both agreed that 'Clare Maria' didn't sound right'). I actually was the first to suggest Clare Marie and when I did, I was nervous David would think it would sound too French (because really....it sounds super French. Actually both names are pretty French now that I think about it....Jacques Tomas...hahaha) but right when I said it he confessed he'd been thinking the same thing! 

Hooray for picking names for these little beans!!!! <3 <3 <3

Twin Birthing Dreams

So I had my first birthing dream last night. I've read that apparently I'll get these a lot (I should really stop reading things on the internet. It's so dangerous). But last night, my dream delivery was totally idyllic--go figure. 
It was just me and my mom (don't know where David was, but he definitely was not in the room. Which didn't seem to bother me, oddly enough...) and I was laying down on a bed, with a sheet in between my upper body and lower body. You know, the set up they do when you're having a c-section. But I definitely wasn't having a c-section because I kept getting told to push.
After a bit of pushing (which really, lasted like 2 dream minutes? I didn't 'feel' anything) our baby girl appeared! The doctor was all confused because she was still Baby B, and Baby A should have been through first. 
I remember her looking right at me. Totally wide-eyed and alert. haha Once our little boy made his appearance, which I didn't notice at all since I was looking at little B, he did the same thing...just stare at me. It was actually kind of creepy. 
And I didn't get to hold them at all. The nurse just sort of hovered them over my head so they could stare at me, and then whisked them away. 
I'm sure there's underlying messages my subconscious is laying out there (like....these two babies staring you down, seeing if you're up for the job...) BUT I choose to think that this was just the nicest birthing dream I'll ever have. I hope I don't ever have some horrific nightmarish one where something goes horribly wrong. (But if I do, David better be there, because I'm a-gonna need lots of soothing and kept far away from Googling anything my dream-self might think is happening.)

In other news....

Here is what I'm wearing today :) Rocking the bump and my new favorite summer hat. I want to stay feeling 'cute pregnant' as long as I can!!!! (and let me just say that camera angle totally makes a difference in my bump size!! I look way smaller in this pic than in the one from a few days ago that David took! Crazy)

19 Week Twin Bump!

This is a short post, but here I am 19 weeks 2 days. Feeling super preggo these days, and man alive--it makes a BIG difference if I eat or not. Turns out I can still get bloated and extra huge. 

I'm also realizing that a lot of my normal shirts (like the one above) I can't really wear anymore. Even though they're stretchy t-shirts, they legitimately aren't long enough, and I find that I spend the whole day pulling my shirt down. 

Guess I'll just have to go shopping again ;)

19 Weeks and Gender Reveal (FINALLY!)

Made this to put on FB :) I think it turned out so cute!!

This has been such an amazing week!! Even though I totally spaced and forgot to post my 18 week belly shot (well...spaced in that I didn't like the one David took of me. But I'll post it here anyway since I'm sure I'll be sad I missed it later)

18 weeks! I'll take my 19 week one later this week probably....

We had our 18 week appointment on Tuesday, where our doctor told us again how healthy our babes are, and that my cervix is nice and long (4.25 inches, yay! She said anything over 3 is great). But the best part, I mean...aside from having totally healthy babes, is that she told us Baby A is a BOY! We were overjoyed and David especially relieved/excited that he wouldn't be totally outnumbered ;) Baby B was being a bit more finicky, so our doc didn't tell us 100% the gender, but she said she thought B was a girl. 

I think that would have driven me crazy, not knowing for sure, but luckily I scheduled our anatomy ultrasound for that Friday...we only had to wait 3 days for confirmation! And sure enough, Baby B is a GIRL! I totally wanted a boy/girl (not sure if I mentioned it before) for a number of reasons. 

1. We would be able to tell them apart immediately. I didn't want to have to take a bottle of nail polish to the hospital ;)

2. We know for sure now that they are not identical. I can finally answer that question with confidence when people ask me! Phew!

3. We get the best of both worlds--a little boy and a little girl! 

I've felt really comfortable with the fact we're having twins for a while now, but finding out we were having a boy and girl made me feel super blessed for the first time. It sounds bad to say that....it's not like I didn't love them when I first heard their little heartbeats that first appointment, but there was always this underlying feeling of 'why us'. Knowing now that it's a boy and girl in there and not just blobs floating around makes my new little family feel more tangible. And now I'm actually excited that we're having twins! Go figure ;)

How far along? 19 Weeks today!

Total weight gain: about 15 lbs. Wowza. Still feel like it's all in my boobs and belly

Maternity clothes? Um, duh. The shirt/pants I was wearing in my 18 week belly pic weren't maternity, and man alive, I could only wear them out for coffee w/ the hubs before I had to go home and change. The shirt is supposed to be blousy, but was really stretched, making it pucker awkwardly. And the pants I was wearing were stretchy pleather leggings. Here I was thinking that I'd be able to wear my normal stretchy pants well into my pregnancy. I mean...they stretch! That's the point! But when your belly becomes bigger than your butt all of the sudden, pants have a tendency to fall off your butt. Learn something new every day haha
Stretch marks? Eh, I hate to admit it, but a couple on my boobs. Darn it all, they grew so fast! I'm still in denial about it. But nothing on my belly...it's still perfect. No sign of the linea nigra either (pleeeease don't let me get that!!!)
Sleep: Oh, I sleep all the time. It's not really my most restful sleep...I finally started using the preggo pillow my sister-in-law lent me (which is glorious btw) because my back and legs are starting to get all crampy. But I definitely sleep a lot still.
Best moment this week: Hearing from our doctor and the anatomy ultrasound tech that our babies are perfect and developing totally normal! It just barely trumps finding out the genders 
Miss Anything? Nothing really comes to mind this week. I've been feeling pretty normal. Well, and I think it helps that I've basically thrown all the 'you-can't-do-this' stuff out the window (at least in terms of what I eat, which let's be honest...makes me the most grumpy). In celebration of our news, David and I got sushi. And boy was it delish.  

Movement: Not really. There's still that fluttering feeling every now and then, but I'm waiting more now to feel them on the outside. I really want David to feel them!
Food cravings: Anything sweet. Although, I've always had a pretty giant sweet tooth, so it's really nothing new.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! I am finding that I get winded just by walking up some stairs, but whatever. 
Gender:  BOY AND GIRL! We're pretty set on the name Jack for our little guy, but the girl we still debate. David said Hannah last night. :/ boo. My front runner is Eloise :)

Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Leg and back pains have started, but I did a bit of prenatal yoga and it definitely helped! I'll have to keep it up a few times a week
Belly Button in or out? In, but nearly flat haha
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Oh, so happy! I don't feel like I've had like any moody days. Idk...maybe David would say different
Looking forward to: Shopping! Now that we know what we're having, I can finally start the fun! ;)