The Room Thus Far

Chris has worked hard to assemble cribs and a chair. Luckily, the dresser came assembled.


Comfy glider chair...it's already been kid tested on two babysitting occasions...very good for bedtime stories!

The new dresser...soon to have changing pad on top.

We like to call this the "wall-o-crib"

Can't wait to have two babies in this room!

An angel to watch over the girls...

Catching up from a few weeks ago. Mary Jo and Dale sent us a special gift that was made in Ohio. It's a baby angel plaque for the nursery. Very cute!

Doctor Appointment Details

Chris and I went to the OB on Friday. We got to see the girls, but we didn't bring home any pictures. They are both head down and are very close in there. My belly is measuring 34 cm, so if I only had one baby in there, I look like I could be delivering in 6 weeks!

We found out why there is such rapid pummeling on Buttercup's side of my belly...both babies' legs are right there, so when I feel kicking in that spot, I'm feeling four feet, not just two!

Last time we went to the doctor was on November 19th and we went to the perinatologist. We have appointments every two weeks and trade off between the perinatologist and the OB. The perinatologist does very extensive ultrasounds and takes very detailed measurements. When we went to that appointment, Buttercup weighed 1 pound eight ounces, and Bubbles weighed 1 pound ten ounces. The doctor was able to get a good view of their spines, and spent a long time looking at each of their hearts and everything looks excellent! :)

On the way home from our appointment with the perinatologist, we picked up Big City Burrito (their potato and ranch burritos on jalapeno cheddar tortillas are amazing and have been an almost weekly ritual with this pregnancy). When we got home, Chris picked up his super burrito and said, "I bet this is about the size of one of the babies." He put the burrito on the scale and it was exactly 1 pound eight ounces. Our little burrito babies.

My plan is to work until January 14th, two weeks after winter break. The doctor said that by week thirty, I am going to start getting pretty uncomfortable, and working through January 14th will put me through week 32.

Chris is being such a great helper. He doesn't mind making dinner, even if I make it home first, and he has been very supportive when I just need to take a nap or even take a whole day off just to rest and recuperate. What a great husband I have! :)

Curtains!

There are three little windows and one big window in the baby room. Over Thanksgiving break, I made curtains for the three little windows! I started the curtains for the bigger window, but they are still a work in progress.

25 Week Belly

Here's the traditional biweekly shot...


...another shot...this is one big belly and we have three months to go!

New Mobile

Yesterday my cousin Christa and I went to the Clothes Pony, a very cute children's store in Fort Collins, to create a registry. I added this mobile to my registry, and after leaving the store, we didn't get half way down the block before I had to turn around...I just couldn't leave without it!


The plan is to hang it above the changing table.


And here's a shot with the ceiling fan that Chris installed. We ordered cribs on Sunday so they should be ready to pick up in the next couple of weeks! :)

Getting Over a Rough Night's Sleep

Last night was the first night I needed to actually prop myself into a sitting position to fall asleep. The girls were up in my ribs pushing on my lungs making it very hard to breathe. I was huffing and puffing and finally sat up and was able to sleep. That wasn't all...they were also having a dance party, which Chris rather enjoyed because he got to feel them a ton. It seriously felt like there was a dance club in my belly. I would have joined them, but all I wanted to to do was sleep!

Baby Room!

It's coming together! Chris has done a WONDERFUL job painting, and this weekend, he installed a ceiling fan!

The beginning....white walls

Starting to get some tape up...

I helped with the taping,

but Chris did all the painting!

Touch ups

And here comes the pink!

His border work is professional!

Surveying the room the next day...

Nice work!

Callie gets a sneak peek of her cousins' new room on Halloween

Putting up the chair rails

Paint is done!

Lovely!

And here comes the ceiling fan...

23 Week Belly

23 weeks and all kinds of movement! I feel them both several times throughout each day. Chris and I can actually watch my stomach move now, too! Pretty wild!

Chris's image of the twins

We've been calling the baby on my right side Baby A. She is super active and makes my tummy bounce and move because her kicks are so strong. Baby B is more down in my pelvis, and she seems less active, unless her kicks are just hitting some part of me that isn't feeling it. In a recent ultrasound, though, Baby B was sleeping peacefully while Baby A kicked and punched her.
So Chris has chosen to nickname the twins after Powerpuff Girls (a cartoon..are we surprised?)

Baby A: Buttercup - known for her fighting skills



Baby B: Bubbles - known for her laid back style

21 Week Belly

For single babies, a mama's belly should measure one cm per week she is pregnant. So if I had one baby in here, I would be 21 cm (from pelvic to breast bone). I went to the doctor yesterday and I am measuring at 27 cm.

Baby Girl Clothes!

Christa gave us the cutest twin outfits today. They are so perfectly adorable! I love them!

19 Week Baby Belly

So I had a first grader tell me I have a really big belly this week. I asked him if he knew why, and he said no. Then he asked, "Is there a baby in there?" I told him that actually, there are two babies in there! He was so excited and very proud of himself for noticing my stomach. He said, "Wow, I didn't even know that I just saw that you had a big belly!"

And Another Exciting Milestone...

So I've been feeling the gas bubbles/muscle spasm feelings of tiny baby movements for the last two weeks or so. Today in church I kept feeling little flutters in the same spot over and over again. I looked down at my tummy and actually saw a little twitch! I put my hand on my stomach and felt three distinct movements (kicks?) How exciting! It happened right after communion, and Chris thinks it was the babies getting stronger after sharing communion with me. :)

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For!

...and here is the official announcement: The doctor states, with 90% confidence, that we will be having two little GIRLS in February! Here are their little pictures, sans boy parts!


(you are looking at their legs and bottoms, as if they were sitting on the camera)

Baby Shots!

Chris and I went to our 18 week ultrasound today. Both babies look very healthy. We were at the perinatologist and she was very thorough and did all kinds of measurements, and all signs point to average and healthy. Both babies were laying on their backs, so she wasn't able to get a great look at their spines, but she will do this next time. I am going to show general pictures from the ultrasound. Chris has asked me to keep the sex to ourselves for at least 24 more hours so that we can try to tell Eric and Cathy over Skype.

Here's Twin A, the first picture is a profile, then an arm and hand, then a profile of the baby sucking its fingers:


Here's Twin B, the first one is Twin B's calf and foot on the left with Twin A's foot on the right, then the other two are profile shots. It was harder for the doctor to see Twin B because the baby was behind Twin A:

Baby Belly 17 weeks

Exciting news! The first kids at Eldorado now know about the babies. I was in a second grade classroom today and the teacher took me aside and whispered, "OK, some of the kids have started asking if you're pregnant, but they're too shy to ask you." So before I left their classroom, I told the kids that yes, I'm going to have two babies in the spring. They were very excited. So cute!

Laffy Taffy Joke or Wonkalicious Magical Fortune Telling Candy?

Abbey got this joke on a piece of Laffy Taffy today:

Q: WHAT DO YOU CALL TWIN BROTHERS?

A: A SUNSET

awesome.

-Chris

Mother Rose

I got to work this morning and there was a beautiful pink rose in a vase on my desk. I'm working with such a great team this year! I haven't told anyone at work about the pregnancy yet, I'm trying to wait a few more weeks, but we'll see...
At any rate, Georgia, the SLP who had given me the rose said, "Abbey I gave you the Mother Rose."

15 Week Ultrasound

Here are the most recent pictures. Both twins look healthy and their heart rates are in the 140s. My belly is measuring 18 cm, and typically in single pregnancies, bellies measure one cm per week, so I'm bigger than I would be with just one baby. I have told everyone at work, so the news is definitely out! :)

Baby Belly - 14 Weeks

I always ask Chris to take these pictures in the morning because by nighttime I always feel a little bigger (due to bloating and eating I guess) so I want to be as accurate as possible by doing morning shots. In the last shot, I edited out my face because I had tired puffy eyes and it was obviously the morning. That is the case in this picture as well, but I refrained from the editing, just for you Wendy.

The Beginnings in the Baby Room

The onesies needed a home so I decided to start in the closet. This is a great cube organizer I found at Target. The drawers will be great for socks, clothes, diapers, towels, etc. We haven't done anything to the rest of the room except empty it. Paint will go on the walls when we find out the sex of the babies.

The Story of the Traveling Peas

The peas, the peas. Where to begin? Well, the peas began as a childhood toy for Chris, Eric and Mike. Then when Eric and Mike were in high school the peas found their way from storage in the basement to one of their bedrooms, and began their adventure as the traveling peas. Mike and Eric passed them back and forth, hiding the peas in each other's bedrooms, until someone got sick of them and mailed them to Chris at college. Chris held onto the peas for awhile, but eventually mailed them to his cousin Allison while she was studying abroad in Australia. The peas have become world travelers. They journeyed with Mike through Europe and came with Chris and I to Ghana. We mailed them to Liz's little boy, Johnny, from Africa. Then last week a very special package came from Liz, John, Johnny and Heidi in Michigan...

A Shout Out....

...to the doctors and nurses who helped us get here! :)

And...Our First Purchase for the Baby Room!

I went up to Evergreen with girlfriends this past weekend and found this picture in a wonderful little art shop (all Colorado artists). I was drawn to the bright colors, and got teary-eyed when I read the words...and I knew it needed to go in the baby room! :)

Baby Belly

OK, so it has just been confirmed that babies eat brains. I just wrote the title for this post as "Babby Belly" and then changed it to "Babe Belly" ...
Not to mention the fact that in my car I now have a neon sign affixed to my driver's side door handle asking "Where are your keys?" that Chris installed after I locked my keys in my car for the third time in a month.

But on to more exciting things...like this recent picture of my 12 week belly. I'm kind of feeling in the "chubby" mode right now, not obviously pregnant, maybe just "that lady who needs to lay off the oreos and do some sit ups."

11 Week Ultrasound

Here they are at 11 weeks. The one in the top picture was showing a beautiful profile, and the one on the bottom was mooning the camera! :)

Oh! And Also...

We had another ultrasound on Tuesday when I had my first regular OB appointment. The babies have just about doubled in size since the last ultrasound. It was so wonderful to see them again! The first one he showed me was in the perfect ultrasound position, I got to see its lovely profile, and it was really easy to picture the baby. It was moving its arms and did a little see-saw motion, and I could see its heart beating clearly.
The second baby, on the other hand, was in a funny awkward position for the camera. All I could see was a leg kicking and a butt. It was like this baby was mooning me! :)

Spreading the News!

So we went to dinner with my dad, Lynne, Dylan and Britney, and Grandma and Grandpa Hicks on Wednesday evening and announced the pregnancy. Everyone is very excited. It's dawning on us that all this waiting to get pregnant hasn't just been impacting Chris and I... we've had so many people waiting, and praying, with us! I think it's as much of a relief to our loved ones as it has been for us! It's wonderful to share the news because it really does feel like it's actually happening. I told Grandma Nicoll on Tuesday so that if she runs into G&G Hicks at Windsor Gardens, they can talk about the newest great grandchildren coming into the family.

Britney had used her detective work and had somehow figured out that we were pregnant. She actually brought a baby present - onesies and socks - to the restaurant because she was sure that we were going to reveal the news at dinner! Don't try to hide anything from that girl! Britney is sensing "boy" but she wasn't sensing twins - that was a surprise! :) Hopefully we will find out the sex of the babies at the 20 week ultrasound.

I'm slowly telling friends, too, which is so much fun. Chris and I have already gotten a couple of wonderfully sweet baby cards in the mail. Whenever my friend Jennica greets me with "Mama" it leaves a lasting smile. It's slowly sinking in, this is really happening...we really are going to be parents. It's something we've been waiting so long for, and we're just so happy!

Pictures

"Left" Twin

The left twin had a heartbeat of 159 bpm and measured 2.93 cm

"Right" Twin

The right twin had a heartbeat of 164 bpm and measured 2.91 cm

Both twins together:

Ultrasound Number 2!

So we had our second ultrasound this morning. We still have two babies!

They are each a little over an inch long and both measured at 9 weeks 5 days.

My favorite nurse, Robin, was there and I was so happy to share the news with her since she's been such an encouraging, helpful person in this whole process. She figured the due date from their current gestational age and it is March 7th.

Chris is going to scan the ultrasound pictures so I will post them later, but the pictures don't do the movement we saw justice! Both babies did a little dance for us, and one of them was waving its little hand!! Their heart rates have increased, one was in the low 160s and one was 159.

We are so excited, and can't wait to begin spreading the news in a couple of weeks!