Baby Bump Pic - Week 25

While the change in size isn't really obvious day-to-day, the change in shape is. It's still kind of crazy to watch them try to escape through Carrie's bellybutton.

25 weeks

Yesterday we had our regular baby check up. The ultrasound showed that both babies are now head up, like they are having a conversation. They are also kicking the crap out of my bladder. I'm not surprised to see them in a completely different position because they have been moving around like CRAZY! (I felt kicks in very different spots from Monday to Tuesday.) Over Christmas my mom and Chris got to feel them move. My mom has been trying for a while, but they like to stop right when she touches my stomach. She was surprised at just how hard they are kicking already.
Anywho, the big news at the appointment was that they informed me that come 32 weeks, I have to start going in twice a week! I'm going from once a month to twice a week. Crazy! The appointments are for non-stress tests and biophysical exams. They will measure the babies' heartbeat, breathing, fluid levels, movement, and muscle tone. They do this to determine how the babies are doing and to figure out when they should make their grand exit. It should be pretty cool to watch.  The pain of it is the timing. I will be going every Tuesday and Friday, and the latest appointments on Tues are 3pm, and on Friday are 2pm. This doesn't really work with my schedule, since I work until 3 and the dr.'s office is about 40 min from school...

Well, if Schwarzenegger could do it...

This morning marked the first time Carrie asked me if I would be willing to carry the babies for a little while, just to give her a break. I've got to be honest here - based on the books I've read, I was expecting this favor to be asked far earlier, especially given that Carrie's got two buns baking in that oven.

It really has been impressive how little she has complained about the whole pregnancy process. Other than back pain and fatigue, she's been a complete trooper.

Now, when it comes to me carrying the babies for a day or two, well, I'm pretty sure I've got the available storage space, but not the correct hardware. Anyone ever figure out how the former Governator was able to pack the little one around in Junior?

- Steve

Baby Bump Pic - Week 24

Due to popular demand, here's a pic of Carrie's baby bump at week 24. Oh, and our first full-size Christmas tree, too!

General Information/FAQ answers

 - Riley and Logan are due 4/9/12. I am often asked if that's the "adjusted date" for twins. It's not... they don't make an adjusted date, because there is no way of knowing when they will arrive. The due date is just a "suggestion" at this point, although they definitely won't be after that date!

 - Twins do not run in my family. Now I realize that I have learned a lot myself about twins, like that identical twins are pure chance and fraternal are genetic, but I have since been asked a lot of silly questions multiple times. My favorite is when people ask if twins run in Steve's family. Really, logically, does that make any sense at all? How would his family history affect the number of eggs I release? Sometimes people ask how its possible that I'm having twins if it does not run in my family...but I like to remind them it has to start somewhere!

- If you hadn't guessed it, we are about 99% sure they are fraternal twins. We can't be 100% sure without a blood test. They are di-di, which means they each have their own sac and placenta, but we can't be 100% sure because technically they could have split early.

- It is not uncommon for fraternal twins to look as though they are identical, which was news to me! Steve and I are both hoping that they look like brothers but don't look alike. It would be easier on everyone. Either way, we are completely against dressing them identically. I don't even think we'd put them in similar outfits in different colors...

- A lot of people have asked if we are nervous about Penguin at all. Honestly, we are more nervous for Penguin than about her! She is a bundle of love and has been around small children before. my concern is that when the boys get older they will be pulling on her and trying to ride her and squeeze her and she won't run away from them.

- Yes, I will be returning to my job after maternity leave. Mostly because I like my house and want to keep it. I've been asked a lot lately about when I plan on leaving school, and the answer is not until they make me, or I'm ridiculously uncomfortable. Whatever comes first!

Week 24

So like I said, we are now at week 24. We recently had our first "alien baby experience" where we could actually see one (or both) of the babies moving. I'm not going to lie, it was a little creepy. Riley and Logan (both boys) move around like crazy. At first they were fun little jabs once in a while. Now I am convinced they are constantly playing musical chairs and doing backflips. Its a very odd feeling that I can't even describe...

Today at work, a parent asked me when I was due, stating that I looked like I could pop any second. This happens fairly frequently. They always look surprised when I tell them my due date is more than 3 months away, and I have follow it with "but there are two babies" so that they don't look so confused. I have already gained about 25 pounds (which is completely normal according to the internets and according to my multiples book is on the low side of normal). I look about 7 months pregnant and am a little worried that by the time March rolls around, I will tip over every time I stand. I'd love to tell you I have pictures to post from along the way, but Steve and I suck on the follow through, and only have pics from the week 22 and today (24w, 2d). I'll post them later.

Finally getting around to it....

When we saw that our friend Jen Snekser had created a blog to let us all know how things were going during her pregnancy, we thought it was a great idea. We wanted to start it right away, but at that point, I was only about 7 or 8 weeks along, and we hadn't planned on telling anyone, including our parents, until week 12. Then when we found out it was twins (at about 8 weeks) we wanted to write about our reactions, but we didn't want people to know it was twins until we found out their genders. People thought I was crazy for that (including Steve) but it was so incredibly worth it. Giving people time to get over the initial surprise that there was to be a new Sweeney made them so much more surprised when they found out there would actually be two new Sweeneys, but more about that later. So, we decided to hold off on the blog writing until week 20. Well, that was 4 weeks ago. We have good intentions, but neither of us are the best about doing things we say we are going to do. It would have been smart for us to write up things as we went along to post later, and I thought about that, but well.... see that previous sentence again.

Well, better late than never. The plan is to start off with how things are going now, and then make our way back through time. With any luck, we can catch up a bit over Christmas break.