Good news

Our appointment yesterday went well! It was a very quick appointment...the doctor did a quick ultrasound to check the heartbeats (167 bpm and 171 bpm, still high, which I say means girls!!), and that was about it. Dr. C. thought she might catch a glimpse if they are boys, but they were moving so much she couldn't tell anything. She said they were bouncing all over the place, which should be lots of fun in a few weeks when i can feel them! : )
Our next appointment is in four weeks, and they are going to do a growth scan, which is normally done later on in a pregnancy. The purpose is to check for discrepancies in the size of the babies, which could indicate twin-to-twin-transfusion syndrome (TTTS). We are at risk for TTTS because there is only one placenta (which I now understand is how we know they're identical), but I have faith that God will take care of it. We are still a much, much lower risk pregnancy than we thought in the beginning, and TTTS has a few possible treatments if it's caught in time, so we are not going to worry without due cause. Along those same lines, we chose not to get the bloodwork done to check for the possibility of Down Syndrome. The tests only predict the increased possibility of genetic problems...and knowing our luck, they would come out indicative of problems and that would be another worry on our minds for the next six months! It wouldn't change anything anyway, if God chooses to give us children with special needs, that's what we will have.
For the moment, I feel so much more at ease and confident that our babies are on track and doing well. I will try to get some pictures posted soon, I just wanted to update on the appointment!

Limes in my Belly

As of today, I am 12 weeks pregnant (almost through the first trimester!!), and according to babycenter, my babies are about the size of limes. That's the first comparison that has really seemed substantial to me. I am familiar with limes (unlike the kumqwat a couple of weeks ago), and I can imagine the space two limes are taking up in my belly. My belly is growing almost daily, and I've bought my first pair of stretch-waist pants (pictures soon...of the belly, not the pants). I am still looking forward to our appointment on Monday, although I'm nervous about it. I'm a major-league worrier, but at the same time, I tend to irrationally think that if I don't know something is wrong, then it can't be that bad. Crazy, huh? If something is wrong with our babies, it's wrong whether I know it or not, and there's nothing I can do about it. Jeremy tries to convince me everything is fine...I'm having all the normal symptoms, no cramping or bleeding, and as mentioned, my midsection is expanding. Still, I've done a lot of praying for God to give me peace, and I hope to get some reassurance on Monday.
I still don't have much energy, but I did have some plans to clean the house today. So far, I've done the following: cooked breakfast (which I haven't done in many, many weeks), loaded the dishwasher, washed the comforter from our bed and hung it on the line to dry...and napped on the couch, off and on during about 4 hours of Law & Order. Productive, huh? Oh, and I should also mention that it's now 7:15, so my bedtime is quickly approaching. : ) So much for that to-do list.
This exhaustion is really beginning to take a toll on my tv-watching. Last week I fell asleep during the last 10 minutes of The Office!! How could that happen? This week, I did manage to make it through the episode (loved Michael & Holly's awkward hug and the Jim & Pam voicemails at the end!), as well as at least half of the Thursday night edition of SNL's Weekend Update...pretty funny, by the way. All I can say is thank goodness for episodes available online! I still have to watch this week's Grey's Anatomy and How I Met Your Mother. There are a few new shows I'm semi-interested in, but I just can't fit anything else into my sleeping-eating-worrying schedule (did I mention I'm supposed to gain about 40 pounds with this pregnancy?? So far, I've lost 2, gained 1...net gain of -1. Gotta get going on that.). I guess maybe this is preparation for life with two newborns...I'm sure I won't be watching much tv then, either! I will really have to try to get my fill for the next six months or so. Bring on the Law & Order!

Counting the Days

It seems like I'm just counting days lately. I'm looking forward to a couple of different things later this month, and now I'm just waiting on the next couple of weeks to go by!
The first (and most important) thing I'm looking forward to is my doctor's appointment on the 20th. I'm so ready to go and see those babies again! I'm so nervous that something's gone wrong and I don't know it. I'm trying to think positive, but I will feel ten thousand times better when we get to have another ultrasound and hear those little heartbeats. By my next appointment, I will be in the 12th week and almost through the first trimester, so the risk of miscarriage drops drastically. Maybe I can breathe a little easier then. After all the worrying we started out with, it's still hard to believe we may actually have TWO healthy babies in the spring. It seems too good to be true. After my 16 week appointment I will start going every two weeks, so no more month long waits between appointments!
The other thing I'm looking forward to is our trip to Gulf Shores at the end of the month. We have our annual conference for work the week of the 27th, so Jeremy and I get a nice vacation courtesy of the state! It is definitely a great perk of my job. Sometimes I think our division gets the short end of the stick by having our conference so late in the season...it probably won't be warm enough to do much swimming or laying out on the beach. But on the other hand, this is kind of a down time of the year- summer is filled with vacations and trips anyway, so we get to enjoy a wonderful week away in a season when most people don't get to take such a break. I'm especially looking forward to it right now...it's going to be a quiet, relaxing week with no stress and lots of reading (for fun!).
Speaking of reading, I've procrastinated long enough, and I should really go get started on posting an assignment for my online course. Maybe it will help pass the time until the 20th. : )

"Office" Love

Well, I'm almost a week late, but I had to mention last Thursday's season premiere of The Office. It was a long, dry summer without my favorite paper company, but the premiere did not disappoint! I just love Angela, even more so after watching some of her short videos on the NBC website. I thought she was fabulous in this episode, dialing up Dwight for covert meetings every time Andy mentioned their wedding. I wouldn't think anyone but Dwight would be nuts enough to work with Angela, but Andy is a pretty close second. Still, I like Angela and Dwight together...
And, of course, I have to mention the couple everyone waited three months to see again...Jim and Pam, naturally. How sweet was that proposal in the rain??? And I have to admit, I really didn't see it coming. I'm wondering if the writers are going to stir up some trouble for the happy couple. I'm sure they probably will, but I hope it's nothing too dramatic.
I'm not too sure I like Ryan being back, but it's kind of funny watching him try to apologize to everyone. I loved how Kelly totally blew him off. Oh, and Michael and Holly= Cute!
All in all, I'm looking forward to a great season!!