Bump it UPdate! -- Week 24

Week: 24 - We've got viable babies!  WOOP WOOP! (this is a huge milestone for me!) And yes this is a late posting for this week....busy with school....eeep!

Weight Gain: Um.  Ridic.  30 pounds.  Sad face here!

Cravings: I am not really sure if they're called cravings at this point, or just poor dietary choices, but sometimes I can't live another second without chocolate.  Oh wait!  That's nothing new in pregnancy.  Darn!

What I miss:  Rolling over in bed without feeling like I need a crane, climbing a couple flights of stairs without gasping for air, bending over to put on socks or tie shoes....the list could go on. 

What I love: My babies! I got to see them again today on 3D/4D ultrasound---they are perfect.  And in my ribs, pushing hard on my pelvis, smashing my bladder....

What I hate:  Not sure that you'd call it hate,  but this is getting to be very real to me.  Time is going fast.  I'm afraid.  Very excited....but very afraid of how this will all pan out.  I pray nightly for healthy full-term big fat babies. 

The Babies: Working hard  on lung development this week!  Their bodies are filling out.  They're getting taste buds ready to taste that yummy milk that's in the works (bleh!) and their brains are growing like crazy!  They are over a pound, and a foot or more in length.

Here they are together.  The lettering is actually wrong, Baby A is on the bottom with his face to the camera.  Baby B is behind him and while you can't see his face, you can see his knees bent (left side of pic) and his thorax in the background.

The quality isn't great (still shot from the DVD!) but this clip shows both babes.  Baby A has his arm covering his eyes, and Baby B's head is bottom right corner, he is kind of face down.  Don't worry that big black blob doesn't resemble a problem.  It's a combination of the "soft spot" and a shadow from the transducer of the ultrasound head.

My thoughts on today's 4D ultrasound:  Incredible!  I can't explain it.  It was really amazing to see how much they have changed since I last saw them in 4D at 17 weeks gestation.  It was mindblowing to see them interacting.  They are like RIGHT up in eachother's space.  Kellan very visibly kicked Maddox in the butt during the ultrasound today.  Foot to crack.  We got it on DVD!  At times it looked like they were spooning---and other times like they were wrestling laying right on top of eachother.   They take turns sprawling out in their prime piece of real estate.  One would curl up into a tiny ball and the other would stretch.  Then a few minutes later they would flip roles.  I just cannot wait to see them interacting in person.  I think the twin bond is going to blow me away!

This is poor quality since it's a still frame from the DVD, but you can see the butt on the bottom of the pic and the foot on top!

The Bump: It has kind of tapered off for the past several weeks.  Some days it looks smaller and other days not so much.  I am really getting varied responses from strangers....everything from "Whoa!  I wasn't that big even at the end of my pregnancy!'  (To which I respond...."neither when I when I was only pregnant with one.  Thanks!)  or else the polar opposite.... "Really?  Twins?  Are you sure?  Because you're not that big for going on 7 months?  (It is these people I want to kiss---even if they're lying to me)

This is what happens to maternity shirts when they are inadvertently put in the dryer.  Too short by 24 weeks.  BOO!  I look like an exhausted albiino whale here.  It's been a terribly long week with Emersyn sick plus classes all day.  And I blame the whiteness on the lighting.  Can't blame the rest of lighting though!  HA!

Okay but it's very sad to compare it to my first pregnancy, this one taken at about 23 weeks so only one week behind where I am at now.  Sad on many levels---started that pregnancy 20 lbs. lighter.  I have my work cut out for me once these guys are born!

(Week 22 picture this time around)

The Genders: TWO BOYS!!

Maddox James (Baby A) 

He likes to be mysterious with his little hands over his eyes often!

and 

Kellan Thomas (Baby B!)

Doesn't he just look so nice and cozy peeking out from the placenta?  His fist is directly in front of his face with a "thumbs up" sign.

I can't wait to meet these 2!