18 Week Update

I am little far behind on getting a 17 week picture and 18 week update together but we were traveling all day Sunday when I normally do my updates. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Mama and Papa. We didn't do a whole lot but it was very nice to relax. We also got to see Aunt Beth, Uncle Roger, Luke and Emily which was just wonderful. I hate that so much of my family is so far away especially now that Jackson and Jacob are on the way. I want them to all be able to enjoy time with them. We will continue to make our road trips to see them all, though. Those road trips will be pretty comfortable in our new Nissan Quest that we bought last night. It is so awesome. I will post pictures of it a little later after the weather clears up a bit and Justin cleans Ol Silver up (Aunt Beth named her).

Well yet another week has passed and I can't believe it. We are almost half way through the pregnancy. I am still feeling absolutely amazing! Yesterday was day one of week 18. Let's see what's going on with these babies now...

Week 18:
This week, your baby is hitting the height chart at five and a half inches long (remember, that's crown to rump) and weighs about five ounces (the weight of that boneless chicken breast you're making for dinner).

And now for the skill of the week (drum roll please...) : The art of the yawn has been mastered by your baby (someone's sleep!). In fact, you might catch a glimpse of that adorable yawn if you're getting an ultrasound this month. You'll also catch a glimpse of all the movement your baby's doing - twists, rolls, kicks, and punches. And would you believe your baby is finally beig enough for you to start feeling movements now (or anytime in the next few weeks). So get ready!

Something you won't see on the ultrasound, but you'll know is in working order, is your baby's nervous system, which is maturing rapidly at this time. Nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin (which speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell), are forming more complex connections. And those in the brain are further specializing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. Talking about hearing, your baby's is growing more acute, making your little one more conscious of sounds that come from inside your body (which means you could both be lsitening to each other hiccup - a skill that your baby has by now).

17 Week Update

Today is the last day of week 16 and tomorrow begins week 17. It is hard to believe we are almost half way through. I was listening to the radio today and a song came on..."you're gonna miss this you're gonna want this back you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast". I want to embrace every moment of life and not wish any moment to pass. I know that towards the end a pregnancy can become uncomfortable but I have asked Justin to remind me that no matter how uncomfortable I may get the most important thing is Jackson and Jacob. Our prayer (and would appreciate anyone who thinks of us to agree with us in prayer in this) is that the boys will not come until we are able to all be together as a family as soon as they are born. I don't want them to come too early and them have to be separated or be away from us. I don't care if that means I have to stay in bed for weeks to keep them from coming too early. I pray for God's complete and perfect timing in all of this. I don't want to wish anything to rush just for my comfort's sake. Oh well....lot of rambling of where my heart is today just to share with you the weekly update for this coming week.

Week 17:
How big is your baby this week? About five inches long and more than three and a half ounces - the size of your open hand. (Open the other one too and imagine your baby cradled in both your arms right after delivery!) Body fat (baby's that is) is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of your pregnancy. By the time your baby is born, body fat will make up about two-thirds of his or her weight.

Your baby is almost certainly listening up by now. In fact, loud noises - the dog barking, the doorbell ringing - will actually startle your baby (and also get him or her used to such noises; for instance, babies who regularly hear a dog barking will become babies who sleep right through Fido's outbursts). Your baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration to the front of his or her head) are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed. And since practice makes perfect, your baby is sharpening his or her sucking and swallowing skills in preparation for that first (and second...and third) suckle at your breast or bottle. In fact, most of the survival reflexes that your baby will have at birth are being perfected in utero right now.

And here's some proof that your baby is truly one of a kind (as if you needed any!). Within the next week or so, the pads on your baby's fingertips and toes will become adorned with completely individual swirls and creases (aka fingerprints).

16 Week Belly Picture

Growing, growing, growing!!!! I plan to grow a lot this coming week. We are going to Mama and Papa's house for Thanksgiving and Mama's food is going to be amazing!!!! It will be the boy's first trip of many to Mama and Papa's house and we are so excited. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is this coming week. It is hard to believe that this year is almost to the end.

We had a very exciting weekend this weekend. Saturday we went and order the boy's furniture for their room. We should have it before Christmas so Justin is going to work on having the carpet replaced in their room and painting it. I can't wait to have it done so we can share it with everyone. We also completed a registry at Target this weekend. So we are now completely registered at Target and Babies R Us. We will probably also have a few things on Amazon as well. There are a few things we want that we can't get the colors we want in the stores. Today we bought the bedding for the cribs that we found at Target. So by Christmas we can have the cribs completely set up. Then in February we will have a shower and complete everything. It is all so exciting!!!!

Here is the weekly belly picture...

Growing Growing Growing!!!! :)

Week 16 Update

Tomorrow we will begin week 16. It is so hard to believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. I am very excited for the holidays. After the holidays we have to get busy on nusery and getting everything ready for the babies. Time is really going to fly by now.

Week 16:
Listen up: Tiny bones in your baby's ears are in place this week, making it likely that the baby can hear your voice when you're speaking (or singing in the shower). In fact, studies have found that babies who are sung to while they're in the womb recognize the same tune when it's sung to them after they are born (so choose your baby music with that in mind...)

Ok side note here....that makes me want to cry. How sweet is that. Our boys can hear us and hear me sing. What a wonderful thought.

And baby's busily boning up in other ways. For one, the backbone (along with the back muscles) is stronger now - strong enough in fact to enable your baby to work on straightening his or her head and neck even more. Baby's crown-to-rump measurement is between four and five inches in length, and weight is hovering around three ounces.

This little one's a looker - with a face that has both eyebrows and eyelashes - but a skinny looker since there's no baby fat yet. And here's the skinny on baby skin: It's practically translucent now, so if you took a peek inside your uterus, you'd be able to see your baby's blood vessels under that thin skin

Gifts for the Boys

The boys received some prizes from Grammy and Poppy this week...

Bulldog onsies from Grammy that she bought just for Justin because of Bailey.

Onsies from Poppy. One with an airplane and one with a racecar.

15 Week Belly Picture

Today is the last day of week 15. Time is flying by but I'm loving every minute of. Feeling a little more emotional lately but not too terrible just noticing it more. Justin and I finished our registry at Babies R Us last night with mom and Amy. We still need to go start a registry at Target because they have some things we want that Babies R Us doesn't have. It was a great feeling to have the big registry done. It was slightly overwhelming but we made it through and I think our boys will have some really nice things to come home to. Starting week 16 tomorrow!

And the Twins Are.....

BOYS!!!!!! That's right we are having two boys. We just found out on Wednesday and it was pretty clear even to my untrained eye if you know what I mean. :) Ha ha ha! We are so very excited to know what our two little bundles of joy are. Now we can really start planning...work on the room, decide on bedding, finish the registry with everything blue, on and on and on! We only had one boy named picked out before Wednesday and that was Jackson Wayne. We immediately started talking about another name and I am pretty sure we have decided to on the second name...at least for now...and that is Jacob Wendell. We decided to stick with the "J" theme and Jacob is a name we both really liked. I liked Jayden but Justin said it was a little too girly. I really do like Jacob though. We had decided long ago that we would use Jax as a nickname for Jackson so I wanted to be able to shorten the other name to a one syllable nickname as well (because I am just OCD like that). So for Jacob we will go with either Jake or Jay. We haven't completly decided on that yet. Below are some new pictures from our ultrasound on Wednesday. Everything went very well with our appointment. The boys and I are doing great. They both measured well and had good heartbeats. They are both a little over 3 inches long (crown to rump). Dr. Evitt said once again that she didn't have much to say to us because everything is going just perfect. We are so thankful. I have had a little more nausea over the last week or so but still nothing terrible. It just comes and goes here and there. Overall we are doing great and are so excited!!!!



On the left here is Jackson. It looks like he is just hanging out leaning on his arm. So cute!!!!



On the left here is Jacob (I know you are thinking how can different babies be on the same side in different pictures but the first picture up top was turned upside down because he was upside down. That way you can see him better. So this is actually right side up and Jacob is on the left in the pictures.) This is my favorite picture because he looks like he is sucking his thumb. LOVE IT!