Appointments at 18 weeks!

Today was a busy day for me and the babies. We had a doctor's appointment with a specialist to get a detailed ultrasound to check on the babies and their anatomy. Rob came with me to the appointment which was great because there was a lot to see during this ultrasound. Our tech was really nice - as was the doctor we talked with afterward. She took measurements of baby A first, and took lots of pictures of various parts of the anatomy. Baby A did great -- that's my girl! :) Then she took measurements and pictures of Baby B. Baby B is always difficult (except at our last ultrasound) so the tech was able to get most of the measurements/pictures she needed, but not all of them. Baby B was under my belly button, so when the tech put the ultrasound wand thing over my belly button, there was a shadow which made it hard to see. But, we did get another confirmation that we are having a girl and a boy. It was amazing to see how much more obvious certain things were to show girl and boy! :)

Later on, I had another appointment scheduled with my regular doctor for a quick check up. The heartbeats were where they should be. We also briefly talked about plans for delivery which was good because Rob and I just started talking about that today. Of course, nothing has been set in stone because it's early - but she talked about how even if when the time comes and the babies are both head down, that could always change once delivery starts. But, I am with my doctor, and want to wait until we are closer to the due date to make any decisions.

Here are some pictures from the ultrasound today! :)

Gender Announcement!!

So, Rob and I (along with his very happy parents!) went in for our gender ultrasound today!! Our appointment was scheduled for 11 - and they called us back late. Those minutes took FOREVER! They finally called us all back and we got ready to find out the news.

And... we found out that Baby B is a BOY! And after a little moving around.. we found out that Baby A is a GIRL!! I speak for Rob when I say we are THRILLED! I don't think I could be more excited, but in all honesty, I am mainly thrilled that they look healthy and are both on track growth wise. Rob did take a video of the whole thing which we will hopefully be put online later tonight.

Here's how I told my team after school today! :)

Gender??

We are going in on Monday for our 16 week appointment, and will hopefully be finding out what gender these little Biddle's are! :) I put up a poll in case you want to vote - I will hopefully be posting the news Monday or Tuesday!!

14 Weeks

Today Rob and I went in for our 14 week appointment. We went in two weeks ago, and my doctor was out for that week, so we went ahead and scheduled this appointment so we could have her check on things and update her on our last appointment week.

When the nurse called us back to our room, she took my weight and blood pressure. I've gained 6 pounds so far... which my doctor said with twins at 14 weeks is not bad - but just to keep in mind what I'm eating for the babies. Then the nurse listened to the heartbeats - so wonderful! The heartbeats were 154 and 169. The doctor came in not long after, and since she had been out of town for the last ultrasound we did, she wanted to listen to the heartbeats herself. So, we got to hear the babies twice!! It was actually really cool getting to listen to them again because the doctor explained what some of the sounds were that we were hearing. Rob would describe the noise as a wind tunnel - and it's hard to always know what you're hearing. Anyways, while the doctor was moving around the monitor there were a few different noises, and she said "Oh! That was a kick!" and "That means the baby is moving!"

We talked afterwards about a few things we had questions about and/or needed confirmation. We asked about identical/fraternal twins, but didn't really get a definite answer. Perhaps at our next appointment they will have an answer for us on that. We also asked about when we would be able to find out the gender of the babies -- and HOPEFULLY we will be able to tell at our next appointment on December 5th!! (Rob and I are SOOO excited to find out!!) I'll be 16 weeks at that point, so hopefully the babies will cooperate, and we'll be able to see everything we need to! My doctor had also mentioned going to see a specialist for some genetic testing and other things since I am having twins. That appointment will probably be during weeks 18-20. So if for some reason we can't tell what the babies are or need confirmation, this visit to the specialist will probably answer those questions.

Anyways, that's the updates for now. We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones! :)

Braggin' on the Mister!

So, I wanted to take a minute and brag on my wonderful husband. As soon as we found out we were pregnant, the first thing we both thought about was how we were going to tell our parents, family, and friends. Of course, these days, nothing is ever official until it is put on Facebook. Well, family and close friends were easy for us to figure out but I wanted to come up with a clever way to announce it on Facebook. It just so happened that Halloween weekend would mark 11 weeks, and we thought that was close enough to our 1st trimester being over and telling people. I found this really great blog where this pregnant woman made a skeleton costume with a little baby in the tummy. Rob loved the idea, and we got the materials needed. Now, we didn't have a template, so everything you see is free-handed by Rob. Pretty amazing. Even those two little babies you see - he did by hand. So because of his hard work and mad skills, we were able to have a great costume to announce on our news on Facebook!! :) Love you, Mister!!

12 Week Pictures!

Here are 3 of the best ultrasound pictures from our appointment.

In this first photo on the left, you can see a pretty good view of Baby B - and just a little of Baby A. It's not too easy to get both babies in view together, and this was the best the tech did. You can see Baby A on the right. *Notice, if you will, Baby A's position - the head is facing down.*

Here is a solo shot of Baby A. Notice the position... Let me just say - I can't wait to see what I'm in for in the next few weeks when I'll start feeling all of this moving around!!

Here's Baby B's solo shot. It's so crazy to know that there are two babies growing!! This week, they are the size of "fresh plums" which Rob and I just laugh about! Hope you all enjoy the pics as much as we do!

12 Week Appointment

Today Rob and I went in for our 12 week appointment. We had a scheduled ultrasound as well as a little blood work. Once we were called back, I got ready for our ultrasound. The tech started to get measurements and what not of Baby A. Baby A is called that because it is the one closest up that we are able to see the best. Baby B is a little harder to see, and for now will be called Baby B. So, anyways, the tech got started and it was SO cool to see Baby A move around so much. It's so surreal to me still that I have two babies in there. Anyways, once everything was done with Baby A, the tech moved her attention to Baby B. It took a little while longer to get a good shot on Baby B, but the tech was finally able to get it. As soon as she found the spot though, Rob and I noticed something in the upper right corner. Baby A had stretched out his/her arm and was literally waiving to us. So funny. I can already imagine what these kids of ours will be like! :)

We quickly finished up our appointment with a blood sample, and a new appointment scheduled. We'll be going back in two weeks - mainly just to talk with my doctor (who was not in the office this week) about the results of blood work.

I'll post some of the ultrasound pictures either tonight or tomorrow..

Baby Pictures

Here are some pictures we have had so far of our little Biddles! :)

How did we get here?

So, since I'm starting this blog already 12 weeks into the pregnancy, I wanted to give some details on some of the things that have happened so far -- starting with when Rob and I found out we were pregnant. It just so happened we went to lunch with Rob's family on September 18th. I mention this because while at lunch somehow the topic of babies and baby names came up. I told Rob afterwards how funny it would be if we found out we were pregnant that day. Well, later that night we did end up stopping by the store and picked up a pregnancy test. When we got home and were getting ready for bed, I took a test. Well, we've taken pregnancy tests before and I honestly didn't think that it would come up positive. So, when the lines starting forming on the test I thought - "Crap! I don't remember what I'm looking for! Is this positive or not??" So, I looked at the box, freaked out a little in my head, and then went to show Rob. I didn't want to get too excited - just in case it was a false positive because you just never know. I called my doctor and let her know our news, but she wanted us to wait until we were further along to come in for a confirmation appointment. Longest weeks of my life. EVER.

On October 10th, we finally had our confirmation appointment. I didn't go into work that day - just in case the appointment took a long time or I was in shock for one reason or another. (Looking back now, that was a wise choice!). Rob took a half day off in the morning so that he could go to the appointment with me. When they called me back, Rob stayed in the waiting room. I was really nervous about what they would do, and just hearing them say "You're pregnant!". So, while it doesn't make sense to some people, I felt better having Rob stay in the waiting room. Anyways, they took me back and the first thing they did was an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech started her thing, and asked me if I had had an ultrasound before. I told her that yes, I have had one before just to check things out. Then she said - Oh, so you haven't had one recently to which I said no. After pausing a few seconds she then said, "Oh, so you didn't know you were having twins.." SHOCK. TEARS. No, I didn't know we were going to be having twins - I was just expecting a confirmation that said yes, you are pregnant. After the ultrasound I went back to a room with a nurse, and asked if I could get my husband who was in the waiting room. So, I went to get Rob. I opened the door to the waiting room with a huge smile and he followed me back to my room. I didn't say a word - I just showed him the pictures from the ultrasound. There were 4 pictures - the first one showing both of the babies - and the tech wrote: TWO BABIES! Needless to say, Rob was in shock like I was, but was of course very excited. At this time, we were 8 weeks along.

Our next thought after this appointment was -- How are we going to tell our families?? Rob and I came up with a great idea. Rob made a fake Iphone app that had a puzzle on it that said "First comes love, then comes marriage..." After about 30 seconds of the app opening, the song "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" by Garth Brooks would come on. So we went to visit in Bridge City 2 weeks after our appointment (so, we were 10 weeks at this point). When we showed the app to Rob's parents, his dad said -- a baby?? But, as we learned later, they didn't want to say anything because they've "sort of" been hinting at us having kids.. But, they did figure out we were pregnant and were elated. But, there was something else to show them. I pulled out the ultrasound pictures, and when they noticed there were two babies they were on their feet again! (We told them we had made them wait so long, we figured we'd give them a baby each!). We told more of his family that weekend - all of whom of course were very excited -- for us AND for Rob's parents!!

Since my mom lives in Lubbock, I knew I'd have to do something special since I couldn't tell her in person. I sent a package to my Aunt's house (so my mom wouldn't open it!) and we told her while still in Bridge City. So, we skyped with my mom so I would be able to see her reaction. She opened the package which had three smaller packages in it. The first one was just a little gift I sent. The second package she opened and she said -- "Oh, Prego Spaghetti Sauce, Healthy Heart with Mushroom. Thanks, Christine! Healthy Heart!". Ok, so she didn't get it. So, then I told her to open the 3rd gift. "Two twinkies! Thanks, Christine!" So, I had to put her focus back on the sauce. "Mom, what BRAND is the sauce??" She looked at the jar.. "Prego.... PREGO!!!!" She was very excited -- but I had to remind her -- "Mom, why are there two twinkies??" "TWINS?!?" So, just like Rob's parents, my mom was over the moon and very excited! :)

Since this post is getting a little long, I will try to be quick about the last two weeks leading up to now. We a second appointment on Oct. 24th. We had another ultrasound - although we learned later that we weren't supposed to have one. Rob went back with me this time and was able to see how the babies were doing, and heard their sweet little heartbeats. We got some more pictures - this time in 4D. Simply amazing. One baby was cooperating so we got a pretty decent picture, but the second baby was squirmy and down further so we did not get a good one of baby 2. I also had some blood work done. Since we are having twins, this pregnancy is considered high risk. My doctor wants to see me more than usual - which is fine with me. We have our next appointment tomorrow which means another scheduled ultrasound (and more pictures!) and blood work. I'll post about that tomorrow.