28 Week Doctor Appointment

I'm a little upset - the only bad thing that happened today is the sono tech forgot to push the record button on my DVD.  Soooo, I dont have video for you from today's appointment.  I do have pictures but they are getting harder to see and both babies were head down,  I mean looking towards my back so we basically only saw spines today.  Well, the tech saw alot because she measured and such, but she knows what she is looking at.

All in all, it was a GREAT appointment, given what had to take place today.  Here's the timeline:

5:00 am - Alarm went off, I thought to myself  "really???"
5:15 am - Got up before I got in trouble by my husband, who was also getting up
6:10 am - Left the house to drive to the doctor in Jackson
7:35 am - arrived at the doctor (as an insert here, I'll say that I got a good nap on the way down until someone ran off the road onto the bumps and woke me up.  Not long after that, someone "cut in front of us" and we almost had a wreck.  It's not funny, but it was just because of Sid's reaction.  I'm laughing while typing, it was funny.)
7:35 am - Put my orange fructose 10 oz drink on ice and sucked it down with a straw while my cheerleader cheered me on.  Should have taken a pic, forgot, oh well!
7:40 am - signed in for the sono
**side note - notice I've now been awake for almost 3 hours and have some starving babes in my tummy. I was pretty hungry myself.
8:00 am - called back for the sono
8:30 am - signed in for the lab and to see the doctor, was sent straight back to lab due to the time factor
8:40 am - 5 vials of blood were drawn.
8:41 am - chowed down on a granola bar and drank some water. I was sooo hungry.  But I did it!  Without getting sick or nauseated, but I did it! Continued to wait to see the doctor while checking out what I was missing on the Casey Anthony trial
9:00 am - called back to see the doctor (30 mins late, how does that happen when you are the first patient??)
9:40 am - we were out the door and headed to get some grub. 
9:50 am - Eating a biscuit at Chick Fil A.  It was good, but I swear I could have probably eaten 3 of them,  I was starved to death by this time. 

So, here's what we learned during the sonograms today:
Each baby weighs 2 lbs 12 ozs EACH.  That's a total of 5.5 pounds of baby.  Just for reference, Bailey weighed 6 pounds at birth at 36 weeks.  The babies are measuring at 28 weeks 1 day, which is right on track.  I bet you anything, I'm going to have every bit of 12 pounds of baby before they get here.  I seriously don't know how I will move by that time, because I'm already getting way more uncomfortable than I've been.  I am pretty much the size of a full term single pregnancy, but have at least 6 more weeks to go.  YIKESSSSS!!!!  Both babies are breach at the moment, but doesn't matter because I'll deliver via C-section and both or facing my back.

And, here's what we learned from the doctor on top of that:
I passed the glucose test, thank the good Lord,sooo I don't have to do the 3 hour test.  I gained 5 pounds in the past week, putting me at a total of 16 pounds for 28 weeks.  I don't guess that's too bad, but the doctor did say don't let that happen every 2 weeks.  Here are my excuses for that: 1. I had on a sundress last time vs. jeans and layered shirts today plus I had 10 ozs of junk in me from the drink, AND the babies grew about a pound and a half combined.  So it stands to reason that I would gain some since they did.  I'm not too worried, but we'll see.  I also learned that my iron is still low despite over the counter iron pills. I haven't really taken them correctly, so now I have some prescription ones that I think I will remember to take and they are only once a day.  He said my iron had actually dropped since the last time they checked.  I got the rh negative shot and was on my way to make an appointment for 2 weeks down the road.  He did not check me, but said he would next time.  We didn't discuss it, but I assume the instructions from last appointment continue to stand.

I go back July 14th, at which time I'll be 30 weeks, and after that will go every week for at least the next 6 weeks.  I will continue to have the sono's each time instead of the non stress tests because Dr. North says measuring the babies each time is more accurate than just monitoring them. 

After Chick Fil A, we made a quick trip into Belk's for Sid to take back a father's day gift and then we went to see his grandmother and to a few consignment shops in the Jackson area.  They always have high end stuff for pretty good prices.  I found two things that we already have one of from Bailey. 

It's been a long day and my feet and legs look terrible, but I feel like we got a good report and the best thing of all is that the babies continue to look good and I continue to feel good for the most part. 

Too bad I don't have a video to share, but trust me, they are there, rocking and rolling all over the place.

Much Love, Barbie

This Is For You Poppy T

Bailey spent the night with Sid's cousin, Amy, and her kids, Colin and Calissa, on Friday night.  It appears that Bailey did better than I did.  At last count, it was about 11:10 and she had just fallen asleep, but I couldn't.  I just knew she was going to wake up wanting her Mama, but she didn't.  And I'm ok with that.  The main reason we tried it was because we just don't know what the birth/hospital stay of these babies will look like and want her to be familiar with more than just her grandmother's house.  They had a big night eating supper at the casino, playing, getting finger nails and toe nails painted, played in Amy's over sized bathtub, colored, had pickles and powdered doughnuts for breakfast 

But this picture just about did me in.  I've been saying for forever now that Bailey is gonna be a rock star one day.  She LOVES all things music.  She loves to sit and watch CMT or even those old time gospel shows.  She finds all kinds of make-shift microphones around the house and just dances and sings.  She tells us to turn up the music in the car. She just loves music and she loves to dance.  I'm hoping to get her in a dance class this fall so that she can get started on whatever talent is there and also so that she gets some time alone with me or Sid, whichever one of us is lucky enough to get to take her.

When I saw this, I immediately thought of my dad.  And how proud he would be if Bailey really did learn to play and sing.

Two things I noticed:  I mean, look at that hand just a strumming. 

And, look how tired she is!!! I know they played hard and did not stop til their heads hit the pillow!!

On Saturday, Amy wanted to take them to the water park, so Sid picked up Mason and they all went.  I decided to sit it out because I just didn't feel right and didn't want to over do it.  Colin ended up staying with us for a bit after they got back and got cleaned up and had supper while Sid and Amy went the fair cabin.  Right after Colin and Amy left, Bailey just cried and cried for no reason other than she was worn slap out.  She slept from 8:00 last night until 8:30 this morning and slept so hard that she did not wake up one time for a drink of juice and was completely dry. 

She had a wonderful time and I'm so thankful for that.  But I couldn't resist blogging this picture for Poppy T.  If you don't know, he's the current rock star of the family!!!

Barbie's Book Review: A Discovery Of Witches

So, if you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that you see advertisements from BlogHer pop up on the top and the side.  BlogHer is a community of blog writer's that I feel privileged to be a part of.  Being a part of this community allows me to participate in certain programs that I am interested in. You may remember last summer when I participated in the Just My Size review program.

Well, recently, BlogHer incorporate reviews of one of my favorite things.  BOOKS!!!!  And I have completed my first book review, which is posted HERE. 

I was fortunate to be provided with and read A Discovery of Witches, by Debroah Harkless.

You want to know what I thought of the book and if I think you should read it, too???  You sure do!!!  Visit my book review page and find out!!!

Here’s the code:

20 Princess Teeth

If you are my friend on Facebook, you know that I took Bailey to the dentist this morning.  She has been once before.  My mom and Sid took her because she had a discoloration on one of her two front teeth that we were concerned about.  That turned out to be nothing, but I made my Mom go since she was the one that brought it to our attention and made me worry.  We've had a follow up appointment scheduled once or twice since then, but we didn't make the appointments. 

All I can tell you after this morning is that it sure is going to get tricky taking 3 babies/toddlers to the dentist because I will NEVER take more than one at a time.  We talked about going to the dentist over the weekend and that all they would do is brush her teeth.  Bailey was quite receptive to this and informed me each time that we talked about it that she wanted a pink toothbrush. 

As we pulled into the dentist office parking lot this morning, I hear from the back seat of the burb, "Dentist not hurt me mama."  I assured her that the dentist was not going to hurt her and that mama would not let the dentist hurt her.

Ten minutes later, my child was screaming "HELP ME MAMA! HELP ME! MAMA HELP ME" as not one, not two, but three of us held her down simply so that the tech could brush her teeth with the pink Dora toothbrush she had chosen moments before.  It was terrible.  If I had really thought they were hurting her, I probably would have told them forget it as emotional as I am these days. But I couldn't help but laugh as the one lady actually doing the brushing kept telling me over and over again how strong and strong willed Bailey was. 

That, my friends, is the understatement of the year!

It was over within a minute a two, as they also applied some sort of fluoride, and then we were busily digging in the treat bucket.  Much to our disappointment, we found no candy! 

Then along came the dentist to look at her teeth.  This time, it only took the two of us to let her look and count her teeth.  I mean, how can something this sweet and pretty have such a streak of whatever it is:

This was before we left this morning.  Ya'll see that band-aide on her leg on this next picture. Well, there are actually two band-aides on that leg and neither of them have any kind of boo boo underneath them. The problem is, they are some good band-aides and have been there no less than a week.  We cannot get them off and she will not let us pull at them.  She tells me I'm pinching her.

Singing, she LOVES to sing!  She sings things that we didn't even know she knew and she just randomly makes things up, too!

I was worried about two things going into this dentist visit.  #1 - the paci.  She still has a rather large love affair with her pink paci.  But that being said, she does not have it at daycare and Sid has broken her from wanting it in the car.  She rarely just walks around with it in her mouth, so she usually only gets it at home at nap and bed time. Still, her teeth have taken on the shape of the paci.  #2 - cavities.  I'm sure it's every parents nightmare of discovering that their beloved child has rotten teeth.  But Bailey doesn't have the best teeth brushing habits (even though we really do try, she just doesn't like toothpaste) and she eats candy all day long when she is at home or at her grandmother's house.  It has gotten to the point that I've had to tell Sid that we have to break that habit.  It's just not good when she gets up and goes to bed wanting candy.

I am happy to report that this sweet, pretty, happy in these pictures girl had ZERO cavities.  No problems noted on her dentist report card today. Praise the Lord!! I just knew those back teeth were going to have something that I couldn't see hidden in them.  And on the paci front, I learned that there is no reason to be concerned, even though her teeth have taken on the shape of the paci, because at this age, it's still normal.  A year from now and the same paci habits, we'll have a problem on our hands.  But for now, it's normal for her to have the habits that she does and no permanent damage, or damage that will require fixing, is being done.  Praise the Lord on that, too, because that is one less issue for me to worry about before the babies get here.

On a side note, the dentist did ask if I knew of anyone having babies soon.  Apparently,  I just looked large today and not almost 7 months pregnant with two babies.  When I told her, yeah -ME, she about fell out of the chair.  She suggested that we use that time period to let Bailey play the big sister role when they get here and "give" them her pacis.  She said that taking it away now would probably just cause her to regress when they got here since it is so soon.  We'll continue to limit it's use, but not be so hard on ourselves about it.

Here we are tonight, after the dentist and a good 3 hour nap for all.  I took these pictures at Bailey's request, so she is acting silly in them.  Yon can sort of see the roundness in her bite in this picture.

Funny girl!

And here we have the one thing I did get a lecture on today.  The sippy cup with juicee in it.  Apparently, 4 ounces of juice is all that the dentist recommends in the sippy cup so that sugar isn't deposited on the two front teeth.  Bailey doesn't drink anything else but her V8 Splash and Fusion and we do try to dilute it to part water, especially at night, but I'm just gonna have to let this piece of advice go for the moment. I mean, with 2 more babies that we are about to have to clean up after, Bailey with an open container is one I can avoid at the moment.  Six months from now, I'll probably pay for that!  (See the scar on her neck? She is just now noticing it.)

One final cheese for the camera!!!  The dentist counted her teeth in the middle of the screaming.  20!  10 on top and 10 on bottom, all in perfect condition equaled 20 princess teeth in our book!!!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

I will preface this post by saying that yes, the news at the doctor was not the best it could have been.  But, that being said, I feel great, as good as I think I can feel, and he did say I could do what I wanted for 2 to 3 hours a day.  And everything I've chosen to do keeps me no further than 2 hours from the hospital.  I just don't think the doctor realizes that I feel like doing all I've been doing on my 2 to 3 hours out of bed.  He probably means I can take a shower, go to the couch, maybe get a bite to eat.  But he didn't say that.  He said I could be up and about 2 to 3 hours a day, so I am!!!  We'll see in 2 weeks if I've over done it, but really, ya'll, I feel fine and I also feel that may change before the summer is out and I want to enjoy my Sid and my Bailey as much as I can before our entire family dynamics changes.  Okay?  Okay!!!! 

Wanna see what I've been up to?  These pictures are terrible quality considering what I usually post, but my new phone has an ok camera on it, for a cell phone, and I've just been using that. 

So, our cleaning ladies, (yes, as in ladies that come and clean my house for me...i know, i KNOW...you can call me a spoiled B.I. whenever)  where was I?  Oh yes, the cleaning ladies came this past week and one of them was so sweet to bring me some fresh cut flowers from her yard.  Made my day!!

Bailey stayed home with me yesterday instead of going to daycare.  She had already been 2 days this week and I thought that was enough.  So when Sid called and said he had gotten tickets to Jerry Lee Lewis at the casino, my first thought was oh no, I could never make it out to a concert at the casino.  But Bailey and I ended up doing nothing but resting and sleeping and then her Mammaw called and wanted her to spend the night, so it just worked out and we went.  We had supper, without chasing a 2 year old around, which was worth the entire getting ready part to me, and then went out to the casino for the concert. I had never seen the casino floor since they changed it into what they are calling an arena, but I was impressed with it and think we should all enjoy such a great thing in our own backyard.  I mean, I know Jerry Lee Lewis isn't the best of the best, but there are tons of today's superstars who play out there and I just think we should take advantage of it.  We got the tickets from someone who has I guess "season tickets", so we were 8 rows from center front.  Pretty cool!!  My phone camera didn't like all the purple lights, so this was the best I got.  But I truly enjoyed it and it was worth it because it was something Sid wanted to do. 

I posted about this on facebook earlier, but the doctor said to eat a lot of watermelon for snack to help eliminate some fluid.  I'm think I'd probably have to eat alot of watermelon for that to actually fix the problem, but nevertheless, my sweet sweet Sid got me a watermelon this morning and I have 2 of these Tupperware containers in my fridge, full of cut up/no seeds cold watermelon.  True love, ya'll!!!  Two funnies though: first of all, he told me he was going to cut it and put it in a bucket, which caused me to immediately envision the feed bucket.  So we had to have a vocab lesson bucket vs. Tupperware.  He know knows the difference and uses the two terms correctly.  Second, I was in the shower when he came in from cutting it up and all I heard over the water running was, "I'm not so sure you are worth all that." haha!!!  Bless his heart, it is some good watermelon!!!

It's been about a week since Bailey and I have been to the water park and a few weeks since Sid has been, so today, for my 3 hours up, we went to the water park.  Nene went with us, and other than walking, I did not have to do a thing more than what I would have done at home. Granted, it was 102 heat index, but Sid an Nene kept up with Bailey and I took advantage of it. We did the lazy river and then I stayed at the wave pool the rest of the time.  Sid, Bailey and Bailey were back and forth between there and the little tots splash pad.  We skipped nap for this adventure and, as always, she loves every single second of it.

Waiting in the shade on Mammaw to get her picture made for her season pass.  This was her first trip of the season.  She has been exceptionally busy.

Proof that me and E & E just hung out with our feet up. I tried to take my own picture this morning of my baby bump, which is NOT a bump, but more like a ball, and when Sid saw it he didn't have nice things to say about it.  As a matter of fact, I think he said it better not be on the blog next time he looks. haha!  He knows me so well.  Soooo, this bump here is about all you'll get out of me.

Our little fishy!!

Once we got home, which was about 4, Bailey and I got a shower and Sid fixed us something to eat. Then we all piled on the cool bed, Bailey with her ipod, while we watched a little of 8 Seconds, which happens to be on the TV right now. 

My two sweeties!!!!

It is now 5:30 and Bailey is sacked out.  She was talking to me and then stopped and when I looked over, she was sound asleep.  I know skipping nap is hard on her, but skipping it and playing her heart out is a whole other story. One that ends with a happy little girl going to bed extra early.  This mama is laid up for the night too, and Sid has gone to take his dad to the races.  Pappaw had knee replacement surgery about 3 weeks ago and he wanted to go for a bit since he's missed it for a while now. Sid was nice and took him. 

I don't know what we will do for Father's Day tomorrow, but I am extra sad, that once again I don't get to see my dad on the actual day. And the worst part about not being over 2 hours from the hospital is not getting to see my sweet Pappaw. I'll have to make a trip, with 3 baby girls in tow, once they arrive becasue we will be way over due for a visit.  We love you Pappaw and miss you soooo much!!!

I've been a bit wrapped up in the Casey Anthony trial and I just don't get it.  I mean, clearly, she killed or had something to do with the killing of her daughter.  I know the job of her lawyers is to prove that she didn't. But today, they put a doctor on the stand who called Dr. G's work "shoddy" and I had to laugh out loud.  I probably have not spent as much time on this case as some of you, but on the other hand, I've probably spent more time than needed on it.  If any of you have anything you'd like to add to base of knowledge, please feel free to comment!

So, there you have it, a few of my favorite things as of late.  I'm taking Bailey to the dentist on Monday, where I'm sure I'll get the lecutre of a lifetime over the paci.  It's ok, I take full responsibility and will own the spanking when I get it.  I also want to take her next week to see Mr. Pauper's Penguins at the movies.   But other than that, we plan to just be at home getting ready for the sisters.

Until then, much love!! Barbie

Elissa & Ellie: 26 weeks

So, I don't know why I'm not blogging as often as I was/should be, because I do have the time.  I really have no excuse.  But one thing that I do want to keep up with is our monthly/bi-monthly doctor's visit.

Today was our sixth visit to the baby doctor and I feel that things are still going really well.  They could be a whole whole lot worse, and they could be a little bit better.  Starting now we will go every 2 weeks.  It's going to be a long summer going every two weeks, but I'm just thankful to be out of school right now.  We go again on June 30th and at that time, I will do my glucose test and get a shot for my blood type.  Fun times are ahead! haha!

Anyway, as always, the appointment started with the sonogram.  I do have the sono uploaded and ready to post, but once again, it's in 9 different pieces.  I can't stand that and have no idea why it happens.  But it does and well deal with it!  Here's what I learned today from the sono:  Both girls' heads are down, with Baby A (Elissa) being in a normal baby place.  But Baby B, Ellie, chooses to sort of turn her body and is more right to leftish.  Their heads and feet are together, but their bodies kind of cross, if that makes sense.  It does to me because that's how I feel them. 

Last month, both girls weighed a pound, this month, they each weigh 2 pounds.  Sooo, my friends, let me do the math of 2+2 for you.  That's 4 pounds of baby at just 26 weeks.  Fun times are ahead, I tell ya!  I would like to throw at this point that I have only gained 11 pounds this entire pregnancy.  At this point, we know 4 of that belongs to Elissa and Ellie, and then however much their "supplies" weigh.  But weight wise, I feel good! 

Their heartbeats sort of threw me off a little.  One was at 135, the other was at 152.  That was a big difference to me, but the sono lady said they were both within normal range. If I'm not mistaken, it was Ellie's heart rate that was higher and every time we see her, she is doing alot of kicking at her sister.  Poor Elissa is just buried in there face down, trying to protect herself I guess.

Then it was time to tt in the cup and get a blood pressure reading. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember the nurse commenting on how my blood pressure has stayed within normal ranges and consistent this entire pregnancy.  Do ya'll know how thankful I am for that?  VERY THANKFUL!!!

Actually, at this point in the game was when I got weighed, but I've already bragged on myself in that area.  Moving on.

The visit with the doctor didn't really tell me anymore than I already knew about the babies.  He went back over the sono with me, and said he is very pleased at their growth and says we have a lot of baby on our hands. He thinks they will be long legged.  Apparently, he hasn't looked at mine and Sid's legs.  He decided to check me this time and I don't know if something alerted him to that or if that was normal at this point.  But when he checked me, he discovered that I was dilated 1 cm.  However, I have not thinned any, so I'm not considered to be in active labor.  But, because I am the size of a full term single pregnancy, it's time to be cautious.  He stressed how critical of a point of time we are in and said I need to make it at least 5-6 more weeks.  My orders are to be up moving around and on my feet, active, no more than 3 hours per day.  The rest of the time, I am to be with my feet up, preferably lying on my left side.  I am not supposed to be lifting Bailey or pulling/straining on her, but, frankly, that isn't realistic.  I will do the best I can there, but there are times that it will just have to happen.  I mean, I don't see anyone else offering to my share of being her Mommy right now, nor do I want anyone, too!  I also have orders to be no further than 2 hours away from the hospital. 

I'll be honest with you, it scared me a little.  I held it together in the exam room, but when I got out to the pay area, I was trying to text Sid and just about lost it. I had to wait a little bit to call him and actually talk on the phone.  It just made me sad knowing that I can't go home even if I wanted to.  And I was overwhelmed with the what if's.  I do NOT want these babies coming any earlier than they just have to and I really have high hopes of having a babies in my room with me and not in the NICU.  With Bailey, I knew in my heart that she was going to be early and in the NICU, so I never let myself think about the hospital and having her in the room with us.  Yesterday, at Belk's, when I stopped to do some father's day shopping, I went to the baby section.  They have a great sale going on right now, and one of those was Ralph Lauren and Carter's one piece/footie type outfits buy one get one free.   I picked out about 5 outfits each, mostly newborn, that they could wear in the hospital and of course when we come home.  But I put them up before I checked out because I have soooo much to get organized and put up without bringing soooo much more in on top of it.  But the point is, I am letting myself think about the hospital and I"m thinking of it in normal terms, not a NICU stay term, and I really hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.  If we do have a NICU stay, I will feel like I majorly let Sid down because that's all he he's said this entire pregnancy, that as long we don't have go back to the NICU, he's fine with everything else. 

So far, so good, so let's just keep praying on that part.

We go back in 2 weeks and will have another sono and be checked then.  Hopefully, it will be a slow 2 weeks. 

Ok, now for the 9 sono clips. I'm just putting these on here in case I lose the DVD, but I'll be honest with you, there isn't much to see on this sono.  Elissa (Baby A) chose to only show her spine and private parts.  Ellie, Baby B, on the other hand, showed out.  She even plays patty cake in one clip.  Watch closely.  Oh, and there are several frames where it looks like 2 gray circles, side by side, and those are their heads next to each other.

Until next time, much love!! Barbie

Where I Have I Been??

I have been terrible at blogging the past week or so.  I have alot to say but I also like to include pictures of my Bailey girl and I just haven't had the energy to take pictures lately. 

But, it's no doubt that I haven't had the energy, because look what's been going on inside my belly...

So, where I have been?  On top of mothering my feisty 2 year old Bailey, it looks like I've been allowing Elissa and Ellie Jane to do a WHOLE lot of growing.  WOW!!!! 

Ya'll, it's a battle field in my belly.  There are times of calm when I guess everyone is sleeping, but the past week, the kicks and jabs and movements have gotten much lower and much much more intense.  There have been times that the kicking causes tons of intense sharp pain, I guess because they are kicking an organ.  I can also feel Baby A, Elissa, almost back at my tail bone.  It's very odd!!!  But I'm thankful for the movement.  And, it's nothing that is keeping me from getting sleep at night.  As a matter of fact, because of how I lay, I haven't even had to change sleeping positions. 

This past week, I have been helping out with Bible School at church.  I have been with the "just completed 5th and 6th grade" group.  And that has been huge to me, because these kids are old enough to really get what we are talking about.  I've enjoyed getting to know the ladies I am working with, too. 

We are still enjoying the sister ride, but it feels very lonely when and it's just me and Bay riding around in it.  I can't wait to have 2 more car seats to strap in the sister ride and get this show on the road. 

Next week, I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and I plan to get alot of work done around this house.  We are going the weekend of Father's Day to Alabama to take some furniture and pick some furniture up.  I need to get some things done before we do that because when we get back, we have a big girl room to put together.  It will come together nicely, and Mom has decided to tackle not only the bedding and such for the twin's room, but also Bailey's room.  The rooms will come together quite nicely, I'm sure, but I'm not so sure about one sweet girl who will hopefully sleep in her big girl room.  I don't see it happening.  We'll see.

Until then, ya'll stay cool!

Much love, Barbie

Sisters' New Ride

It's been a big day at the Whitehead household.  More to come later but for now, here's the new ride.  The sisters and I are very proud of Sid for getting us just what we wanted!

Thank you Baby!  We love you!!!