Twin Pregnancy: 20 Weeks!

Today, I am 20 weeks pregnant with the twinbies! I'm so happy to have reached the milestone of being in the twenty-something weeks!

Here is how we're growing these days:

I gained one pound this week, putting my total weight gain at 6 pounds so far. At this point with Brenson, I had gained 7 pounds, and with Brianna I had gained 9 pounds. Since I weighed 3 pounds more this time than when I got pregnant with Brianna, I'm actually at the exact same weight right now as I was at 20 weeks with her. With Brenson, I weighed quite a bit more to begin with, so I was a good 12 pound heavier at this point with him. Since we found out I was carrying twins, I have expected to gain a lot more weight than with my previous pregnancies. It's kind of funny to me that I've actually gained the least with this pregnancy so far! 

Me pregnant with Brenson on the left, twinbies on the right:

Dr. N isn't concerned at all about my slow weight gain, but I've been reading a book (When Your Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads by Dr. Barbara Luke) that recommends someone for my height and weight to have gained 25 pounds by now! It talks a lot about how early weight gain will help your babies be a better/healthier weight at birth. I decided that I just need to trust my doctor, but it does concern me a bit. I, of course, want to do everything I can to help our babies grow and be born at a healthy weight. My appetite is healthy - and I am eating well - so I really try to not worry about it too much.

We have been working hard on getting our house ready to welcome two babies. I'll do a whole post on this, but Brianna and Brenson are going to be sharing a room for a while. Bren is actually moving into Brianna's room, so we're calling it the "big kids'" room, and we're making quite a few changes to it so that it is "theirs" and not hers. I just don't want him to feel too displaced. This week, Chris got it painted, I cleaned out toys, and moved all of his stuff into the closet (after much rearranging and purging). Chris also painted one of the shelves that he and my dad built last weekend, and we moved it into the closet to help with toy storage. Here is what it looks like:

We also have one for the closet of the babies' room, though it's not finished yet. It feels so good to have the big kids' closet all organized and arranged the way I want it.

My belly is significantly bigger at night than in the morning, and I am generally quite a bit more uncomfortable as well. It's nothing that is unbearable, but definitely different than being pregnant with just one baby! If I eat a big dinner, I am pretty much miserable. My poor stomach is just smashed already. I also have to use the bathroom a lot some times. Last night, Baby A was kicking my bladder as I was trying to go to sleep, so I had to get up to use the restroom 3 times in 30 minutes! I'm sure my water craving and consumption probably played a part in that, too. However, I have been sleeping well with minimal back and hip pain so that is nice for sure!

I had an appointment with Dr. N this past Thursday. I was 19 weeks and 3 days along at this appointment. Chris wasn't able to meet me there, so I dropped the kiddos off with my friend, Kendall, and went to the appointment by myself. My appointment was at 11:00am, and I was pulling out of the parking lot to leave at 11:30am! It was nice to not have a wait AND to have a quick appointment.

My blood pressure was 118 over 70 at this appointment. We did get a few photos of the babies, although it's a bit hard to tell exactly what is what. Baby A is low, laying horizontally across my abdomen just under my belly button. Baby B is high, with its head by the bottom of my ribs on the left side and feet right at Baby A's head. In fact, we could see Baby B kicking Baby A in the head during the ultrasound!

This is the back of Baby A's head . . . and part of Baby B's legs and feet.

A better shot of Baby B's legs and feet right by Baby A's head.

This is a slightly weird and creepy photo of Baby A.

Dr. N didn't spend too much time measuring the babies, but we listened to their heartbeats and watched them wiggle for a bit. He could see my cervix on the ultrasound and measured that. It looks nice and long (which is how we want to keep it for now!), and Dr. N said, "If I was concerned about the length of your cervix, I'd do a check. But, I can see that it looks good, so no checks for now." He had told me way back at my 15 week appointment that he'd start doing checks at the next appointment, but so far he hasn't. And that's just fine by me!

I did mention to Dr. N that I'm struggling BIG TIME with heartburn. I used to take a prescription acid reducer, but got off of it several years ago. However, heartburn is plaguing me again, so Dr. N gave me a script for it. I try to not eat foods that trigger it, but it seems like everything triggers it these days! We have another appointment in two weeks.

One last thing: We DO know each baby's gender! Dr. N predicted them for us way back at our 13 week appointment, although he was pretty unsure of Baby B at the time. At our 15 week appointment, he said he was sure of the genders though I didn't think it was too obvious. By our 17 week appointment, I could easily tell the genders as well, and it was confirmed once again at this appointment. We are thrilled to know, but we're keeping it to ourselves for now :-). Also, we have made some major progress toward deciding names. I'd say we are about 85 percent sure of Baby A's first name, and about 70 percent sure of Baby B's first name. We're still working on middle names. Both Brianna and Brenson have 2 middle names (Brianna Elisabeth Jo and Brenson Charles Jacob), and the twinbies will both have two middle names as well. It's pretty difficult to come up with two sets of three names that we not only like, but are meaningful to us as well. However, it is easier since we know each baby's gender! Any name or gender predictions???