14 Weeks

I got the results back from my blood test last week, and everything came back normal.  The only thing of (somewhat) concern is that I am not immune to rubella (German measles).  So basically, I have to stay away from anywhere where rubella may be prominent (so no traveling to countries that don’t have rubella vaccine programs in place), and anybody who might be infected (and still contagious) with the rubella virus.  The good thing is the US has had a rubella vaccine program in place since the 1970’s, so the chances of me catching rubella here at home are very very low. 

And now, our weekly update (as told by the twins)…

Sleep: Mom has been sleeping ok this week – she’s back to tossing and turning, and is still waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  Something tells us this isn't going to stop anytime soon because we’re only going to get bigger!  Sorry mom!

Cravings: Starbucks oatmeal for breakfast!!  I have no idea why it’s so good, but it is.  I may or may not have stopped by Starbucks three out of the last five work days.  The twins were also craving hard boiled eggs this week. :)

Symptoms: My toes (and butt!) have started to get a little tingly if I sit too long without elevating my legs.  From what I've read, these are related to sciatica.  The babies (as tiny as they are still) sometimes sit on my sciatic nerve and that's what's causing the tingling.  It only occurs when I'm sitting, so my solution is to get up and walk around for a few minutes every so often at work.  While at home, it helps to elevate my feet while sitting, or lying down makes the tingling stop too.

I've also started to feel what I have dubbed “growing pains”.  They’re small little aches/pains in my lower abdomen that seem to be normal.  I’m not sure exactly what they are, so I assume that they’re just the babies growing (or maybe my insides shifting around – ouch!).

Overall, I've felt pretty good this week.  All the little growing pains and tingling toes, while sometimes uncomfortable, reassure me that our sweet little babies are growing; and for that, I am incredibly thankful.

How we’re growing: This week, we’ll be making a lot of funny faces because we can now squint and frown.  Our facial muscles will be getting a workout as signals from our brains make us form one expression after another.  We may even start sucking our thumbs this week too!  Our skin is still pretty thin, but we've started to develop an ultra-fine layer of hair that covers our entire bodies.  From head to bottom, we’re about 3.5” inches long and weigh 1.5 ounces, each!  By the end of this week, our arms will have grown to a length more proportionate to the rest of our bodies.  (Our legs will catch up in the next few weeks.)

Best moment of the week: Relaxing!  Henry went out for a business dinner on Tuesday night, while I stayed home and watched TV and napped on the couch (to the sound of the rain) until he got home.  Don’t worry – he didn't just ditch me – he invited me to come along, but I was still pretty tired from our weekend trip to El Paso and I didn't feel like getting all dressed up.  I chose to stay home in my pj's with my pups instead, and It. Was. Awesome!  It was nice to be able to just sit back, put my feet up, and do nothing for an entire evening.  Thanks honey for not giving me a hard time about having to go to that fancy steakhouse all by yourself. ;)

What Mom & Dad are looking forward to this coming week: Getting back to our daily walks!  Henry is in his last week of grad school (like ever!), so he’s been pretty busy with lectures and homework.  I suppose I could go walking by myself, or with the dogs, but they’re a bit much for me to handle by myself, and walking as one big family is way more fun than walking alone!  Hopefully next week we can get back into our routine.

Oh!  I almost forgot…

Last weekend, while we were in El Paso, I went shopping with my mom for some maternity tops at Motherhood Maternity.  At checkout, the cashier tossed in a free gift package (presumably because I spent more than I intended to walking in – oops!).  After paying, I opened it up as we were walking out and found this cute little gem!

I have no idea why, but I think this is the cutest little bottle I've ever seen!  It’s not like I've never seen a baby bottle before, so I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with it.  I guess I still just can’t get over the fact that WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY TWO BABIES!  Two itty bitty (but not too itty bitty) babies that are going to drink out of itty bitty bottles just like this one!  OhmygoshIlovethislittlebottle!!  My mom said I should have told the cashier I was having twins to see if she’d give me another free gift.  My guess, she probably would have thrown me out of her store for being greedy, haha!