Friday, July 22, 2005

Surprise! It's a Diaper Dinner!!!

Many thanks and hugs go out to the Ladies of R&P for throwing Jim and me a surprise Diaper Dinner on July 20, 2005! Here are some photos of the event. My co-workers are the greatest! Always asking about me and the girls, offering wonderful advice and excited to hear my appointment/ultrasound updates! And they really did it this time, when we went to Olive Garden, expecting to meet up with old friends, but finding them waiting for us with boxes and boxes of diapers! We had a wonderful dinner and delicious cake for dessert! You guys are the best! I'll miss you (not the work!) while I'm away!!! xxxooo

Fun Facts

Our Birthstone is Opal (Hope)
Our Flower is Calendula or Cosmos (White, Yellow and Varied)
Our Astrological Sign is Libra
We'll be born in the Chinese Year of The Rooster
We'll will start kindergarten in 2011
We'll be old enough to drive a car in 2021
We'll graduate High School with the Class of 2024
The meaning of the names Margaret and Audrey

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

28 & 29 Weeks...

28 Weeks: Your baby's eye lashes are developing, as subcutaneous fat is deposited. If you have a baby boy, his testes will probably begin descending. Your baby is about 13.8 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds 4 ounces!

A baby born at this time has a good chance of survival with the help of medical technology.

Twin tip: Many practitioners ask that you stop working and get at least 6 hours of rest a day, even if you don't have a high stress or physically demanding job.

29 Weeks: Your baby is busy getting ready for the birthday! The baby is beginning to regulate his own temperature and the bone marrow is completely in charge of production of the red blood cells. The baby is even urinating about a half liter of urine into the amniotic fluid everyday!

The movements that you feel will probably begin to change at this point. You once were the home of wild gymnastic parties, now as the space becomes cramped you will notice smaller movements, such as elbows and knees. Try monitoring the baby yourself, using fetal kick counts.

Your baby weighs in at about two pounds nine ounces (1.16 kilograms)!

Twin tip: If you're finding yourself out of breath or having trouble breathing while you sleep, try propping yourself up on some pillows to help alleviate one other sleep stealer. Also mention this problem to your practitioner to ensure it's not another problem unrelated to pregnancy like allergies or asthma.

Monday, July 18, 2005

The Baby Shower - July 16, 2005


Here are some photos of our baby shower, held on July 16, 2005 at Sajo's of Clinton. It was a great day for a shower, since it was raining cats and dogs all morning long! But it turned out wonderfully, thanks our family: Mom & Dad M., Mom & Dad S., Tracy, Arisa, Amanda and Kimberly! Even Jack helped out that day! Thanks to all of you, it was a success! We love you so much!

Welcome to the Springer nursery!


The Crib Posted by Picasa

The closet. Posted by Picasa

Waiting for the little girls... Posted by Picasa

Mobile & Stuffies Posted by Picasa

The crib. Posted by Picasa

Toy Box & Bath Essentials Posted by Picasa

The changing table. Posted by Picasa

Where the second crib will go. Posted by Picasa

The Nursery Posted by Picasa

The results are in....


I passed! I passed!

And was given strict orders by my nurse to have an ice cream cone A.S.A.P.!!!!!!

Woo hoo! I was seriously worried folks, as I am an admitted carb addict. I was getting nervous and having nightmares about medical professionals swiping a steaming plate of pasta right from under my nose! I even had a sort of going away party for myself this weekend, going into carb overdrive in anticipation that I'd be reduced to a low carb, protein rich diet for the next 6-8 weeks!!!!

Now I can breathe a sigh of relief. I don't have to start dieting until after the girls arrive.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Let her eat cake!


I haven't have many cravings in the past 27 weeks. I loved my Doritos in the beginning, and then there were the pizza rolls. I needed mangos for a bit and couldn't get enough of Thai food (still can't, I don't think it's the pregnancy, I just think it's me). The queso incident and the Krispy Kreme mentioned in a book that sent me reeling one midnight are moments I'll not soon forget.

Food. I love it. If you know me, you know I'm not a dieter. Yes, I do get the guilt that every women wrongfully feels when she puts fork to mouth. But, I can never be one of those women that have willpower to attain the perfect body through fasting or low-carbs or only watermelon, or whatever the plan may be. I just think life is too short and I like myself too much to deprive myself of something so good. So, pregnancy has been very good to me in the food department. I haven't taken advantage of it like I thought I would, but there have been a few insane moments where all I could think about was food, food, FOOD!

I'd been craving cake ever since Sunday. I wanted it so bad. I made J. search through the pantry for cake mix. I whined and begged and I even managed to make a few tears sprout in my eyes. I had hoped that the dramatics would convince him that he needed to run to Kroger at that very moment (probably 10:48 p.m. on Tuesday night) to pick up one of those ready-made ones and get back here with the goods and a large fork immediately. No such luck.

Finally, on the way home last night, I made him pull over and let me have what I had been covetting for five days!! It was a beautiful cake and I couldn't wait to finish dinner and have my slice. My eyes were like saucers and my mouth watered as if I'd been starved for weeks. I rushed through my dinner and wished the minutes away for that to settle (as you get bigger with beans, your stomach has less room to expand, therefore you get fuller quicker - not good for a woman on a mission!). Finally, I had my slice! It looked like the best cake I'd ever had. I couldn't wait to eat it and was already thinking of asking for a second slice.

But...like everything in life, my desire for the cake and the anticipation of getting it far outweighed the experience of eating it. It was a letdown. It was good cake, don't get me wrong. It wasn't the best I ever had, but definitely not the worst. But. It just didn't scratch that itch. It didn't hit the spot, like I thought it would. What a disappointment.

Now, I have another five slices left to finish off (J, as per his norm, cut the slices to their exact serving slice, so that he could have one on his "Cheat Day" and know exactly what he was eating). I'm not in a rush, I won't be shedding any tears. Well, not for cake at least. I've got about 10 weeks to go and I'm sure between now and then I'll have another food breakdown.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

27 Weeks

Your frisky baby is on another growth spurt, shooting up half an inch this week to measure about 15 inches from head to toe. She weighs roughly 2 1/2 pounds, and will gain approximately half a pound each week for the next 10 weeks. The average full-term baby weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and measures from 18 to 20 1/2 inches, but many normal, healthy babies fall outside this range. Unless your practitioner has told you of a potential problem, it's safe to assume that your little one is right on track.

If someone puts his or her ear up to your belly, over the fetal back, your baby's heartbeat will probably be distinguishable! Your baby will probably be very active between weeks 24 and 28. You may notice in the weeks to come that your baby will begin to have regular, predictable patterns of movement and sleep.

On the outside, her skin looks wrinkled from floating in water. So don't be surprised if your newborn has a crinkled, prune-like appearance for a few weeks after birth as she fills out into a baby. The lungs and immune system are still continuing to mature during this period of time.

This week, the membrane that has covered your baby's eyes will split apart to create the eyelids. Now a new visual discovery begins for baby. At this point the baby's eyes are probably blue. They will only take their true color some time after birth. The eyelashes and eyebrows are now in place.

Saturday, July 02, 2005


Audrey's profile. Posted by Picasa

Audrey rubbing her face. Posted by Picasa

Audrey facing us. Posted by Picasa

Maggie's profile and Audrey's foot! Posted by Picasa

Maggie looking at us. Posted by Picasa

Friday, July 01, 2005


July 1, 2005 Ultrasound Posted by Picasa

Putting the nursery together - June 27, 2005. Posted by Picasa

26 Week Ultrasound Update!

This morning’s ultrasound went wonderfully. Our ultrasound tech was the best we’ve had. He was very thorough and descriptive and took his time with each girl. Both have posterior placentas, Baby A’s [Maggie] is lower than Baby B’s [Audrey]. Maggie is weighing in at 2 lbs. 6 oz. and Audrey is weighing in at 2 lbs. 1 oz. They were both 1 lb. 4 oz. on June 9th. So they are growing little beans!!! We saw both girls waving and Maggie opening and closing her mouth. Audrey seemed to be kicking Maggie in the head at one point! Maggie is in the head down position, as she always has been. Audrey is transverse. She was so active this time that he was having a difficult time getting good measurements of her! I’ll post the new picture this weekend. They are just adorable! J. was on Cloud Nine after this ultrasound. He’s so excited for them to get here!

P.S. [RE: Monday's OB appointment]. On Monday, I was exactly 26 weeks and had to do my second 1-hour glucose test. Yesterday, I got the call from my OB and was informed that I failed my 1-hour test and now I have to do the 3-hour test on July 11th. They had warned me before that my chances of gestational diabetes may be higher because my mom has diabetes and I’m carrying twins, but I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. We’ll see. Cross your fingers for me for July 11th! Also, my nurse informed me that I have an iron deficiency now and will have to begin taking iron pills along with my prenatal vitamins.

Next appointment is July 11th, after the 3-hour glucose test. I’m trying to schedule my next ultrasound for the end of the month. 30 weeks! Wow! I’ll be beginning my weekly appointments and weekly NSTs soon!