14 Weeks Prego-10-27-2010

Week 14

Hello friends and family-

Well we made it to week 14 and have another ultra sound from Dr. Hager showing off our sleeping beauties. Both babies were uncooperative again this week and as usual I asked her if she could tell the sex. I’m dying over here; this waiting game is becoming a bit annoying. They are the size of lemons and I've noticed certain things like bending over are not as easy as before.

Health Update:

Dr. Hager officially diagnosed placenta previa; a condition that is the result of the placenta attaching on the lower part of the uterine wall, partially or totally covering the cervix. With that being said she reiterated that I take it easy. I must have 2 weeks with no spotting of any kind and if it starts up my two weeks starts back at 0.

Sleep and Names:

I’ve been able to make it through the first segment of Chelsea Lately and ultimately the goal is to make it through the entire show.  Since I’ve had the body pillow I seem to be less disruptive to my Foxy Father to Be.

Still working on names and tentatively hoping to have our “official sex party revealing” the week of Thanksgiving.

Nursery:

Mimi (Riley gave my mom that name) has decided that her gift to her unborn grandchildren is to take on the nursery task. She and her friend who is an interior decorator are in la la land and so excited that I have given them free reign to do what they want. I’m excited for the surprise myself. I was telling TB that they are talking chandeliers and he does not understand the reasoning. Whatev TB! Every infant needs a chandelier even if its mom and dad have never had one.

As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Bump pic 14 and an ultra sound pic are attached. Enjoy!

How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

13 Weeks Prego-10-20-2010

Hello Family and Friends:
 
The babies are the size of a medium shrimp and week 13 is here!

I've created a blog with all the updates. I continue to miss people each week so I figure this will be easier. http://sfrfoster.blogspot.com/ I will be updating it every Wednesday going forward unless I get some protests to continue the email.


Health Update:
Week 13 is here and man oh man it has been quite a week of craziness. Thursday night I started bleeding and when I say bleeding I mean bleeding bad with blood clots and red toilet water. I know that you are not supposed to get on the internet so we immediately got out the books and called Glenn (FBA and FBB's Grandpa). The books, the after hours at the doctor, and all of us just knew it was the worst of the worst. We thought I was in the middle of a miscarriage. I cried all night long, slept maybe an hour at the most, and went to the Dr. Stanley at 8:30 on Friday. Fortunately both babies sacks were good, heartbeats were strong, and everything was okay. Doc said my placenta separated and no more football games because of steps, no more excessive walking, and no more exercise. The gym membership is now frozen and this is in the past. We are moving forward and trying to prevent anymore damage. Doc said this is very common in IVF pregnancies, however we had no warnings from books or doctors.


FBB's heart rate was 150 and FBA's was 155. FBB was sleeping just like it's daddy with his or her arm up by it's head. I barricade myself with pillows because there have been many times where I have rolled into an elbow due to this strange sleeping. I wonder if FBB will sleep like this it's whole life. Note to self future husband or wife-pillow barricades work wonders. I'm directing that towards 5 month old Elle Robertson if we have a boy and baby ???boy??? Rowland if we have girl. Baby Rowland's sex is undetermined at this point. 


As a result of the "scare" I'm working  to limit my activities and accept the changes that my body is going through. I'm still working very hard to ignore the stretch marks, cellulite, and whatever else I'm in store for. I keep telling myself 9 months off, 9 months on to get my pre-baby body back.


Cravings and Sleep Update:
I discovered probably the best thing ever, something I would never ever pick up and eat if it were not for this craving. I discovered heroin in a pint...Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie ice cream. At first I turned my nose to it because I really wanted Mint Chocolate Chip-oh how wrong I was. I told TB to take it away because if he did not there was going to be nothing left. Turns out the following day TB asked me if I wanted any ice cream and I told him no I was over it. We found that he was not so he finished off the pint of heroin and decided no more will enter the house.

The next best thing I have discovered is the body pillow. Thank you Christina and Travis! It's helping with the back pain that has creeped up this week and it's helping me sleep a little longer through the night. What a great invention!


Baby Name Ideas:
We are still currently working on names and have not reached a final decision. We really want to have set names in place for when we reveal the sexes. My theory is this, if you have a name in place people can't talk smack because that's your kids name and it's not changing. On the other hand if you don't have a name in place people will give you their opinions freely. We are already having trouble with names because we hear things and it drives us away. I never thought it would be this hard to both agree on two names. If we have a girl, we are almost 99% on one name. Now we just need another one and two boy names. Actually that's a decoy- I know exactly what names we need to come up with...whooohaaahaaa (my devious laugh directed towards Alissa)


Friday night we had dinner with Ameil, Kristy, and AJ (their 3 year old). When we arrived Kristy told AJ to tell us what he had named the babies. In his cute little voice he said their names are "Frank and Booboo". I told him I really liked the names he had picked out and that I think I like Booboo better than Frank. Do you have any other names? "Yes, Booboo and Necklace". So I guess if TB and I can't come up with anything we could go with Frank and Booboo.


As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. You have no idea how thankful we are for the support some of you gave and how appreciated it was during "the scare". This weeks goals: 36 weeks, no more bleeding, healthy uterus, and healthy healthy cutie patooties. Attached is the bump pic for week 13, FFTB, and an ultrasound from Friday.

Mother Hen and Foxy Father To Be....
How your baby's growing:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs

12 Weeks Prego-10-13-2010

Well hello family and friends week 12 is here!

I received some feedback that week 10 was in better format so here goes....

Sleepless Nights and cravings:
Sleepless nights are becoming a normal thing and I'm actually starting to adjust to less sleep. I've officially moved on from Threes Company to the infomercials.  I did get sucked into the Cindy Crawford infomercial for Meaningful Beauty. It starts out over a $100 and goes all the way down if you call within the next ten minutes to $39.95 plus shipping and handling. Thank goodness I'm the cheapest person on earth and have not officially made the purchases. This one has stuck with me for a few days though so we will see if I end up with it.

Orange juice, oranges, apples, and bagels with cream cheese seem to be at the top of the list these days. I'm still struggling with milk, however I'm trying to make it up with the Vitamin D oj and other cheeses. Protein shakes in the morning with water seem to do better stomach wise than protein shakes with milk.

Birthday:
I had the very best birthday that I have had since I've entered into my 30's. I truly say that whole heartedly and here's why. I woke up on Sunday thinking to myself my babies are 12 weeks today. I did not once think about my age and dwell on it like I've done in the past. Typically I avoid the celebration and move on. These babies being healthy is and was the most important thing to me on that day which made 10-10-10 a very lucky day. We ended the celebration in Tulsa at my favorite Los Cabos and at the Black Keys show in historical Cain's Ballroom with Mere and Jeff.

The Bull:
I email articles that I get every now and then talking about parenting and things to expect. The other day I found in his work pile one of the articles that he printed off. As stupid as this sounds it melted my heart because it just shows that he is going to be a wonderful father just as he has been a wonderful husband too. Every morning he still wakes Bells and I up tells us good bye and talks to his unborn children. Tears me up writing it.

High Risk Doctor's Apt:
The ultra sounds were very exciting because we met with Dr. Mirabile. He is very thorough and uses a lot of analogies when explaining what he's looking for. We watched the ultrasounds on a flat screen plasma tv on the wall and heard the heartbeats in surround sound.  He looked at the necks, faces, and did lots of measurements. We chose to do an additional blood test to make sure the babies are indeed healthy as they appeared on the ultrasound to test for downs. FBA had the hiccups and was napping while FBB was squirming around opposite of two weeks ago where A was doing water aerobics and B was sleeping.

TB and I now know the sex of our babies, however we are waiting just a little longer to reveal because they are NOT 100% until we get a little further. October 21st we will have another round of ultra sounds so hopefully by then we can get a full confirmation. OUR LIPS ARE SEALED FOR NOW!!!  So will it be tutu's and tiara's, trucks and boots, or tutus and boots? Larry and Jerry, Sonya and Tonya, or Elle and Mel? We will just have to wait and see.

As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Our goals are healthy babies and 36 weeks, oh and less stretch marks. Attached is a bump pic with some stretch marks and the ultrasound pic.

Mother Hen and Foxy Father to be

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

11 Weeks Prego-10-06-2010

Hello Friends and Family,

11 weeks is here!

The babies experienced their first OU-TX and probably their last until they are 18. I missed most of the game going back and forth to the bathroom, however it was a great game. Today I'm completely worn out with lots of cramping from walking around from 11AM to 9PM on Saturday (way past bed time). We ran into lots of friends who scared TB and I about the idea of twins. Everyone kept telling us how hard it will be and went on and on about how hard one is let alone two. In the end the most rewarding and lasting conversation was the one we had with Steve and Kathryn (parents of 5 month old twins). Steve had me crying telling me it was the best experience he has ever had in his life. He said it is best feeling in the world to see his babies get excited when they see each other. They were straight forward with how hard it was, however they had positive answers that followed. They gave us lots of advice on how to make it work.

Sleep wise, I'm still struggling to get a full nights sleep. My body has started giving me cramping pains and pressure when I have to use the bathroom instead of the normal feeling. Thought about calling the doctor, first try-busy line, second try-phone cut out, and right about that try I received an email from Baby Center saying this is perfectly normal. It said this is stretching of the uterus.

I woke up this morning to "Do you want me to go to the grocery store?" What was that you asked? "Do you want me to go to the grocery store tonight?" Ummm Heck yah!!! Sweet busy TB helping his baby mama out!  He said I was restless last night and moving alot and wanted to help knowing tonight will probally be an early night.

The inventor of IVF won the Nobel Peace Prize finally. Without this man we would not be where we are today.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2010/press.html

Attached are bump pics from week 11 and the babies first OU-TX.

As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Goal 36 weeks and healthy babies.

FFTB and Mother Hen

How your baby's growing:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

10 Weeks Prego-09-29-2010

Hello family and friends-

Week 10 is here!

The babies are the size of a "kum a what" this week. I started thinking I've never heard of a kumquat nor have I ever seen one. Now I'm curious-could this become a craving of some sort? Speaking of cravings I'm still eating my personal cheese a rito's everyday and wanting the same weird stuff-Chinese food. We went to Pei Wei after two days of convincing TB this was a good idea to eat bad in the middle of the week. I was so excited when he said yes only to discover it just did not hit the spot so hopefully that one will pass. I'm sure my ass will thank me too.

The Heightened sense of smell:
A little history on the nose I always say "they may be small, but they can smell dirty hair a mile away." I have very small nostrils, yet I have the smeller of dog. So we moved to Norman on Thursday and from the second I walked in I kept saying OMG there's a dead animal, OMG there has been a cat! Moments later after opening the refrigerator-yes the fridge. We had a case of some bad meat smell with no electricity. Glenn (so nice) brought over his rubber gloves and went to work with the bleach and lysol while Suzanne, mom and I went to Wal-mart to get the baking soda. Once at Wal-mart-mind you I hate that place. Sorry Chad! I walk around the corner to find the smell of barf. Couldn't see it, just smell it. I start freaking out repeating "OMG I'm going to puke! OMG I need to leave!" Mom starts telling me to go to the back of the store. So picture this an overly dramatic chubby female with her fingers up her nostrils walking very fast while dry heaving. Yes that was my trip to the store I love so much. 

The "Pregnancy Brain":

I like to call this the "What the hell just happened". So here's just a little glimpse of all that has happened this week.

"What the Hell just happened-1" I'm talking to Amber on the phone, my phone cuts out and I try to call her back. It took me some time because for the life of me I could not remember her last name. Finally after remembering I call her back. Her response-"Welcome to pregnancy, it's only going to get worse."

"What the hell just happened- 2" Sunday I was cleaning the house, car in the garage, screen door locked, and I walk out to the back to dump an ice chest. As soon as I open the screen door the interior door catches a draft and poof Bella and I are locked out. TB is in the city moving the last of the furniture and I have no phone. I was able to find a neighbor to start calling the only numbers I know. I found that caller ID is a bad thing because not single person answered except for Meredith who clued in that a strange number was repeat calling her. She saved Bella and I until TB arrived.

"What the hell just happened-3" I think this one is the funniest yet the scariest. I was doing my daily bank deposit and grabbed my envelopes from my purse. TB gave me the OU-TX tickets to put in my purse. Ummm yes, the OU-TX tickets almost went into the teller tube. Luckily I caught it in time. Babe-see why I didn't tell you yesterday:)

We had our first appointment with Dr. Hager and were able to see the little darlings again. FBA was doing acrobatics and FBB was sound asleep. My thoughts were oh no they are not sleeping at the same time. She reassured us that both are doing great with very strong heartbeats. TB was concerned that FBA could be hyper once in the real world and again she reassured us that is not the case. We did find that my fibroid is growing right along with the babies so my body currently believes that we have triplets. I'm a little concerned about this, however we just need to hope and pray that my body will stay strong and keep these babies healthy and growing to 36 weeks minimum. This is just a little road bump that is out of our control, however I feel we are in the best care. October 11th we will see a high risk specialist (Dr. Mirabile) who will monitor the babies more closely along with Dr. Hager. This is completely normal with a twin pregnancy in Dr. Hagers practice.

Since we moved I'm currently looking for my camera so I've only attached the babies pic...Enjoy!

As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and support. Goals this week: 75 grams of protein/day, strong uterus, and 36 weeks.

Mother Hen and Foxy Father To Be

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.



9 Weeks Prego-09-22-2010

Hello family and friends-

Quick recap: TB=The Bull (reference to Richard) FFTB=Foxy Father To Be FBA=Foster Bean A FBB=Foster Bean B

FBA and FBB are now the size of a grape!

Week 9 is here! I was advised by TB that I gave a little to much info last week so I will do better this week. My response in my head was I didn't tell some of the grossness I learned about the tata's, later realizing he was talking about Bachelor Pad. I'm writing this as a journal which will be bound later for the babies to some day read about how neurotic their mother is/was. I started thinking about this, I'm really writing what's happening mid week of the last week. I start each new recap on Thursdays and email the following Wednesday....following me? So week 9 begins on Sunday and you are reading the last half of week 8 and the beginning of week 9. I don't really know how I did this, however I'm going with it.

I have been researching and researching away for strollers. I was so excited when I got an email telling me that bugaboo is coming out with a twin stroller that I called Bugaboo. No price, no set date, and no waiting list. They told me to get on waiting lists at retailers in the area so I did. I received a call from an in home care lady telling me she has a spot for two for when I go back to work, so that was exciting news and relief for the week.

So Wednesday night was a bad night. I was up most of the night and moved onto the couch to watch tv. My darling Bella woke up and joined me on the couch. (FFFTB has been very supportive and wakes me up in the morning to give me a hug and send me back to bed after a night on the couch.) So on top of no sleep I got out of the shower and had no electricity. As I was getting ready in the dark I went to put on some of my jeans which did not fit at all. I was a little disturbed, but whatever. I looked up and found three pairs of TB's jeans sitting there. I thought to myself hmm those are cute, Guess jeans, a little flair on the legs, wonder if those would fit me. I decided what the hell and I'm glad I did it. OMG it was the funniest thing! They looked like high wasted grandma jeans from the 80's. I was dying laughing and proceeded by myself to try on the remaining two pairs for my own entertainment.

I woke up Friday morning so excited that I did not wake up in the middle of the night. This is a rare night so I felt good this morning. TB was proud that I made it through the night without any disturbance. This morning was different and I should have picked up on it. I left the house and literally got within 1 mile on the highway and freaked out. I had to make an emergency stop some where and fast. I greeted the fine patrons of McDonalds with my nausea in the parking lot. I'm sure it ruined some breakfasts, however I was dying and it was either going to be on me in my car or in their parking lot. I chose the selfish one. "Yes I will have a McBarf with my McMuffin please."

Friday night on a whim I decided to go to the State Fair with Mere and Jeff while TB had dinner with Corley. At the State Fair I took extra note on strollers. There was  a plethora of them and I'm sure Jeff thought I was crazy. One thing that got me and reminded me why I never go to the State Fair was seeing a pregnant woman pushing a stroller smoking a cigarette. Mere and I were appalled! It really bothered me to the point that I started analyzing what I'm doing. I'm not eating as I believe meaning hamburgers, burritos, & chinese food at the mall. We are in the middle of moving so I'm thinking I will get back to normal once we get settled. I love watermelon and normally will eat an entire watermelon if given the opportunity. Ummm I've had one sitting in the fridge for a week now. So with that being said you can tell the weird cravings are not a myth.

I've read that your man gains a belly bump too so for this weeks update I've tried to include two pics: 1.) My bump pic and 2.)TB's bump pic. The point in doing this is to see if this theory holds true. Unfortunately my man was not biting on this idea. Enjoy!

As always thank you for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and messages. Goal 36 weeks!

Mother Hen and Foxy Father To Be

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

9 weeks

8 Weeks Prego 09-15-2010

Hello friends and family-

Week 8 is here and this week is a tribute to the tata's that I have never had before. Go Go G-O! Go Tata's Go! (Toe touch and spirit fingers).  I've always wanted some and now they have arrived. Thank you FBB and FBA your mother hen is forever grateful! TB likes them, however he understands that they are strictly and I mean strictly off limits.

Sleep wise I'm extremely and I mean extremely fatigued this week. I've been really tired the whole time, however this week has taken on a whole new meaning to the word tired. Fortunately I was able to watch the entire Jersey Shore episode last Thurs. (time slot is 9-10) FFTB has found it entertaining b/c we always watch Chelsea Handler at 10. He knows that within the opening monologue and the first round of commercials I'm out so he changes it to sports center. I know this b/c I wake up in the morning and find ESPN. 

The bellyband has officially made it's appearance (a band that allows you to wear your jeans unbuttoned) My jeans still fit just can't button them. The wardrobe is becoming very limited. I just need to get to October 1st so I can go shopping in Dallas. When I woke up this morning FFTB told me I had to check my email to read the "Riley" story. He said it is the best story to date on Miss Thang. Ri you did good when Uncle Richard is talking about you at 6:30 in the morning. He even tried to get the computer on for me to read it. For those of you that do not know the story I've copy and pasted it.

Shanna and Richard,

To get you both ready for a taste of parenthood, I thought I would recap tonight's events for your entertainment pleasure.  All of the following episodes took place within about a 5 minute timespan:

1. Riley says her hoo-hoo hurts so we take off her diaper and hand her an icepack to ice it.  (diaper rash).

2. Riley poops on the carpet.

3. Mommy grabs Riley and runs her to the potty, leaving a trail of poop all across the house.

4. Lilly the labrador eats the poop.

5. Riley freshly diapered overhears mom and dad talking about Lilly's nasty poop breath so she gets her tooth brush out and brushes Lilly's teeth while mom and dad are distracted cleaning up the poop mess.

6. Mom and dad yell at Riley to stop brushing lilly 's teeth, so she immediately sticks the toothbrush in her mouth and brushes her teeth instead. 

7. Mom dives for toothbrush to take it away from Riley.

Yup... Just another typical night at the Hutter house.  Hope this helps to prepare you and Richard for parenthood.  ;)   

Saturday we went to the OU game which upset FBA and FBB. I discovered that you can not find a bottle of water anywhere along Boyd on game day. What started out as their first football game turned into me giving up my ticket to leave for some AC. It was to much heat and not enough water. Never again!

Monday night's ritual is to watch The Bachelor and eat Mexican food. So all night Monday I kept going up to TB saying "Tomorrow we get to see our babies" (in an obnoxious voice of course) and he would sing the "Wes" song "They say love don't come easy" I know totally nerdy, however we were both so excited to see them again that we were doing stupid things out of excitement. And yes, TB loves watching the Bachelor. Don't let him tell you any different...his cover is blown. 

Tuesday was the best apt we have had in 2 years! I say that because we heard the heartbeats for the first time. At the 6 week apt we could only see the heart beats moving. To hear it was the most "amazing" thing I've ever encountered. (plug to the Bachelor) Lots of tears of joy. Actually tearing up writing this. Those precious little lives inside are doing fabulous. They both have very strong heartbeats. FBA's heartbeat was 179 and FBB's heartbeat was 169. So I bet you are thinking OMG, boys or OMG, girls...nope I asked the same question. Dr. Reshef said it is not an accurate call and that we have to wait. He said the lack of nausea is a wonderful thing and to be happy about it. He said it has nothing to do with a healthy or unhealthy pregnancy. I was a little nervous, thinking there could be something wrong. One other side note, we ran into him on Sunday at Starbucks so he made sure to remind me to limit my caffeine intake. My response: It was half-caff. In all honesty, I really have not been drinking caffeine, I just happened to get caught the one day I make an exception.

I officially "graduated" from Dr. Reshef, was advised I can announce my wonderful news without worry, and will move on to Dr. Hager at Mercy. We will see her on 09-28-10. Attached you will find my new pics of the babies and a pic of the bump. I've found that saying "The babies want some water" or "The babies are hungry" TB is more responsive. I think he is going to be a smitten kitten....

As always thank you for your kind words, thought, and prayers....goal is 36 weeks

Mother Hen and Foxy Father To Be...

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

7 Weeks Prego 09-08-2010

Hello friends and family-

So for this weeks update I decided to summarize everything up till today. The day we found out our great news the nurse told me she would call in an hour. We thought okay, we have plenty of time so Richard went to his garage gym to workout. I was in and out and happened to miss my call. The nurse called me early so I was in a frantic frenzy trying to get that call back done. She told me my numbers were really high and for me to call her back in 30 so she could give me the steps for my progesterone shots. I started crying on the phone and went out to tell  R who by this point was drenched in sweat. His words "We're pregnant?!?!?" What a wonderful moment for us! Finally we have a little life that took so long! Lots of tears, anger, anxiety, sleepless nights, doubts, tests, shots, and those awful hot flashes. I immediately started getting calls and texts, however I had not figured out my game plan just yet. Then it occurred pregnancy stick so I text a pic that said knocked up. We went straight to Borders to get our first book and then off to Rococo for a little celebration dinner.

Two days later we went back to check the hormone beta levels. I had a hunch we were going to have twins when I heard the blood results. They were looking at my beta numbers which were 223 and 1881. In a singleton pregnancy they look for the numbers to be around 50 for the first test and expect them to double each day. The nurses were betting the odds so my feelings just felt right on. Darling Richard on the other hand said "we don't know anything yet, so don't get your hopes up." Of course with that being said I'm a planner so for the two weeks up until 8-31 I've been looking up websites, how to, what to do, what's best, etc. Richard started reading his book on loan from Andy called My Boys Can Swim. Each night I would hear him giggling about something he was reading. I thought it was really cute, he even started rubbing the gas filled bump. In a nutshell this is the Man's guide to pregnancy and how to keep your mom to be happy. Rubbing the bump is definitely going to score some points.

Dad officially named Richard "The Bull" and I do believe he likes the sound of it. I on the other hand have always given him several names for example; before the wedding he was my "hunky hubby to be", after he has been my "hot hubby", and now he is "foxy father to be". So when referencing him it will be either TB or FFTB. As for the babies since there are two they have been given by the doctors the names baby A and baby B.....boring. I shall name them Foster bean A and Foster bean B or FBA and FBB.

The Preble's have found it funny to give my beans rhyming names for example: Larry and Jerry, Shaniqua and Taniqua, Tonya and Sonya, Bud and Spud. TB and I have been playing around with real names and so far we are finding that girl names are way easier than boy names.

I got the idea from a friend to go get some cute boy shorts to start taking the bump pics. Attached you will find bump pic at 6 weeks and bump pic at 7 weeks.

I had several questions last week regarding the heartbeats so I called the doctor back to get the report. FBB had a 131 heartbeat and FBA was 129. Wonderful heartbeats for 6 weeks 2 days. Keep in mind non high risk pregnancies do not have an ultrasound till a little bit later. Another good thing I forgot to tell last week was that neither bean landed near my fibroids. What a blessing that is! After talking to some of my twin mom friends I found out that Dr. Reshef is considered very conservative so that whole 20 week bed rest thing is just a heads up. Thank God on that one!

I've been waking up every night for the bathroom and have been watching Three's Company to fall back to sleep. Probably not a good choice since I really like the show and don't go back to sleep. I figure my only other option is infomercials about firm butts, thighs, and abs. I did get sucked into the Brazilian Butt dvd set and considered a purchase, however I realized I can't use it right now so I stick to Threes Company. Food wise, I'm so over the bean burritos from Taco Hell and possibly the hamburgers. My newest latest and greatest is green beans. Last night I mixed them with my spaghetti, weird I know but now I have an excuse-ha! We have had them almost every night with the exception of Labor Day weekend. Yum! FFTB is being very supportive about my madness with strange foods.

As always thank you for all your kind words, prayer, thoughts, and support. Goal 36 weeks for healthy cutie patooties!

Shanna AKA "Mother Hen" and the "Foxy Father To Be"

How your baby's growing:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

Week 7

First Post- 6 weeks Prego-08-31-2010

We struggled for two years with infertility and June 10, 2010 we began the long process of IVF. It just happened to fall on our 4 year anniversary. After lots of tests, research, and thought we just knew this was the right direction for us to begin our family. We were lucky enough to conceive after our first IVF attempt and have been thanking God everyday for this wonderful blessing that has finally been given to us.

I went back and forth many nights on creating this blog and actually began it months ago; however I never made a post. Each week I have been updating my close friends and family with an email so most of these posts are going to be previous email updates.

It seems like we have been waiting for this day which feels like an eternity! The results.....

WE'VE GOT TWO BUNS IN ONE OVEN!!!

(YES YOU READ THAT CORRECT)

Here's the disclaimer, something I did not know until today but since you all have been waiting patiently with me I figured I could gamble this one. Dr. Reshef advised we actually wait another two weeks to tell this b/c we could lose one of the babies. He called it the "disappearing twin" a nicer word for miscarriage. We go back in two weeks for a better update, he said they will look like humans rather than blobs. Remember that episode of Friends??? That's exactly what this ultra sound looks like. We could not see what we were looking for at all. I've been craving hambugers and bean burritos from Taco Bell...totally discusting! The nausea has been there, however it comes and goes. I've had lots of advice on how to manage it. So far so good!

The tentative due date is 04-24-11 so I was really close thinking 04-21-11. He said the heartbeats look really really good and in two weeks the due date will more than likely change. At 20 weeks I will go to bed rest which is the first week of December and the goal is to carry to 36 weeks.
How your baby's growing: Baby Center

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

6 Weeks

Next week