Wednesday, August 29, 2007

It's nice to be loved...

Okay, I got two emails today gently harrassing us for not making an entry yet. So here goes...

We are fine. Babies are still in utero. Made two trips to the hospital this week for "false alarms": Sun night and Tues morning. Sunday night for contractions that were 2-8 minutes apart (most were 3-4 minutes apart) but apparently they were not "intense enough or close enough". Nurse Helga said that I should be 2-4 min apart and be unable to walk or talk through them. Don't know about any other rookie parents, but that sounds a bit too close for comfort for us....we would prefer not to give birth on the side of I-35 on the way to OKC. Then we had a small scare Tues morning as we had not felt Squirt move since Mon night so by 11am, we were on our way to the Urgent Care again. Of course, as soon as I sat down in the Triage Room, Squirt started kicking and I swear I could hear that bambino laughing in utero!! Just keeping its parents on our toes! Squirt has not stopped moving since then....

Appts today went great. Level 2 Ultrasound showed all positive outcomes for the markers and the babies were "estimated" at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 5 lbs. 9 oz. with a one pound variance--who knows what they will actually weigh but it shows us that they are good sized and closer in weights. Short appt with our midwife afterwards was encouraging to not induce but to keep trying natural remedies this week and we are scheduled for more appts next week if we make it that far. I am feeling good, still contracting pretty often, eating spicy foods, walking the block daily, and eager for the babies to arrive.

Thanks for all the care and concern from friends and family...you help me to keep going with a positive attitude!!!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

anna in her halo hugging my belly

Trying to figure out how to use flickr to posr photos to the blog.

Cute shot of Anna recovering from her tail injury by cuddling with Carrie.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Another week goes by!

I've eaten Mexican food, chicken fried steak (my first ever!), and BBQ , waddled around, gone to Target a hundred times, just about jumped up and down hoping gravity would take effect.....our little babies are taking their own sweet time to make their grand entrance (they are definitely Martins because we are late for EVERYTHING!).

The second-to-last purchase we wanted to make was accomplished last night. We bought a double jog stroller from a twin consignment sale so the babies can take part in their daddy's marathon training. Their nursery is 98% done (or as complete as it will be before they arrive), everything is washed, the floors are vacuumed, and our arms are ready for holding babies....now we just need the babies to make our home complete!

So keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we face another week and hope that our precious twins arrive soon!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Here are a few pics of the nursery, still can't rotate the images, sorry.



"The babies are still bakin'" as my sisters both say...

Level 2 Ultrasound to measure markers went well. Both babies were perfect (of course!) on umbilical cord blood flow, movement (they are definitely going to be athletes of some sort), "breathing", amniotic fluid level, solidity of membrane between babies, and heart tones. We are scheduled for another marker check in one week unless they arrive before then!

Kinda cool...I felt Squirt hiccupping today for the first time...wonder if that coincides with the old wives' tale that Squirt is still growing??? Yikes!

Ohmigosh, Boomer finally caught a squirrel in the backyard...his first one ever and he has been trying for three years....gotta go!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Nearly 37 weeks!

Who would have ever dreamed we would make it this far? My belly is getting bigger and bigger every day, in fact, it measured today to the equivalency of a woman 42 weeks along with a singleton. I am feeling pretty well most days now, which is a nice change. I am getting used to sleeping in 1-3 hour increments. My belly is now too large for nearly all of my largest maternity clothes. I might look like a beached whale but no one doubts the fact that I MUST be carrying twins. Thanks to my sweet hubby and his back rubs (in between his editing on his current title opinion), my back pain is tolerable.

Doc appt today went well....babies' heart tones are still sounding great and we are supposed to keep doing what we have been doing until next week, at which point I will be off of bedrest. We have another appt in the morning to check the weights again and make sure the babies are still looking well on the "markers".

We are becoming pretty skilled at developing the virtue of patience. We are so pleased that they are growing well and pray that God will guide them here in His time--but please no more stretch marks!!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Still no babies....

Matt and I are hanging out around the house just "waiting". Nothing exciting to report other than our crazy injured cat Anna who has taken to hanging out in the litter box. Either she is still recovering from her tail injury and wants to be in a room where she is protected from the dog, the pain meds went to her head, or I think she senses that something is about to change. Louise, our other cat, has been more cuddly and Boomer, our dog, constantly smells my belly. Our house will never be normal....

Next week is approx. 37 weeks which is "full term" for twins. Can't believe we made it! If we make it to next Wed, then I get to start eating spicy foods, going for walks, getting out of the house a bit more...anything to get the babies out! What a change.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Wow, Big Babies on the way!

Holy Cow!

We had another ultrasound this morning to check on the babies' progress. Carrie's efforts are definitely paying off. Baby A (Squirt) is coming in at an estimated 7lbs 8oz, and Baby B (Peanut) is coming in at 5 lbs 3 oz. The Doctor was concerned with the weight differential, but said that all the other markers were good in that both babies have plenty of fluid in their sac, plenty of blood flow from each placenta, plenty of movement from both, good strong heartbeats, and both were "breathing" amniotic fluid. No more measurement ultrasounds, but the Doctor wants us back next week to check the markers to make sure nothing changes.

We also saw the Midwife who was very pleased with the report and was pleased with their positions and believes they will be good to go when labor starts and should present well for a natural delivery. She encouraged Carrie to stay on moderate bedrest for at least another week which would put her at 37 weeks and then look at trying to get them to venture out. We go back in a week to see the Doctor for another checkup.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

No babies yet!

Okee dokee folks, no babies yet! Thanks for all the recent calls to check on us. We are hanging out at home, just waiting...

Matt is working from home this week which gives me peace of mind. We have two doc appts tomorrow, so hopefully we will have new estimated weights, make sure their development is still on track, and will discuss our birth plan with our midwife.

check back tomorrow evening for the report from the appts!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Just a little while longer

Closer and closer we get....thank you for the sweet emails and calls and visits and meals to everyone as I have been on moderate bedrest for the last three weeks. It is really hard to believe that we are going to become parents very soon.

This past Tuesday's appt went well. The babies' heartbeats were strong and they are super active. My cervix was "barely cracked" and I was more effaced than last time. Both the midwife and the OB-GYN felt very positive about me being able to make it to at least 36 weeks--which is just a few days away!!!

Debbie left this morning after a week of slaving away and keeping Princess Carrie on the couch. Now Matt takes over until the babies are here. I think we are as ready as we will be...it's just a waiting game now.

Anna's tail has healed well and she is back to her fiesty little self....Fortunately Boomer and Louise have remained stable with little excitement. Hard to believe that we are adding two more beings to this already well-established circus. Should be an interesting ride!!!

Monday, August 6, 2007

34 weeks and counting...

If any of you know me well, you will be surprised that I am posting an entry at 6:45am. I have been up this morning since 5:30am...guess my body is getting ready for our upcoming schedule of little sleep.

Moderate bed rest has been going well thanks to very supportive moms who came to our rescue. Judie came up last week and in addition to waiting on me hand and foot, did at least 15 loads of laundry and 10 rounds of dishes! She went home Thursday and Debbie flew up for Round 2. She has been busy taking me on short daily outings, cooking, and sewing slipcovers for the glider rocker and ottoman in the nursery. Thank goodness Debbie will be here all week this week. We have had a ton of visitors which has made this whole bed rest thing much more bearable. I have watched 5 movies, read tons of magazines, written bunches of thank you notes--sorry they are so late!--and tried my best to lay prone to keep these babies in.

As our typical Jankowski household goes, we had an animal emergency late last week, which is still ongoing. Our sweet kittycat Anna's tail was slammed in the bathroom door and remained attached merely by one vessel that was severly bruised (and several threads of Dr. McGinley's caring stitching). She is absolutely pathetic as we have to keep her drugged and donned with the E-collar (imagine the Jetson's cat) to keep her from biting at it as it heals. It has been a comedy trying to keep Boomer away from her...he thinks she looks like an alien. Our other cat Louise is confused as to why Anna gets all the attention and also thinks Anna looks like an alien. Prognosis is looking good...we are hoping that the tail will heal and reattach well. Only time will tell...


Our next doc appt is tomorrow and we are hoping for a good report. Doc said that if I go into labor from this point on, it will not be stopped. Who knows, the Jankowski twins could be here any day now. Will keep you posted....