Twins

Photos: Lindsay Teter 

Oh hey there! It's been a long long time since I made an appearance, and I hope you can forgive me! My body has been growing some two teeny little humans, and my life has been a little bit overwhelming as you can imagine. That's right-Riley and I are pregnant with TWINS! What?!?!?! How did this happen?!? Well obviously the whole birds and bees thing, but twins?! I was not on fertility medication, and twins do not run on either side of our family lines. The doctor said it was less than 1% chance of this happening, and these babies are complete miracles. TEARS! Oh my gosh, lots and lots of tears. We were trying to get pregnant, and once that positive sign showed up on the pee stick I couldn't hold in my secret and immediately told Riley. We were so excited that we were going to have a baby, and I immediately took to Pinterest to find the cutest boy and girl nurseries and fun baby clothes. 

We went to Buy Buy Baby and looked at cribs and rockers a week later after we had told my parents and his. We had sent my parents a box with a poem and a little onesie in it, and we took a gift over to Riley's parents with a poem and onesie. Life was pure bliss thinking that this baby was going to join our little family, and our families were excited to add another addition. Little did we know that our little baby had a sibling right there with it. 

I scheduled an appointment at 9 weeks to go see the doctor right before I left for girls camp to make sure everything was going smoothly with my pregnancy and to get some nausea medication. I had been throwing up every day (TMI-sorry), and I was nervous to be gone for a whole week in the mountains with a bunch of teenage girls. My doctor is a good family friend of Riley's family, so we sat and chatted about what everyone was doing. He answered my questions, and then he told me it was time to do an ultrasound! I was so excited to hear my baby's heart beat and get to see that little babe all snuggly tight. As I waited there on the table to hear that glorious sound, my doctor says "oh well isn't that a surprise. You're having twins." Ummm....what???? Riley and I told him to stop joking and he turned the machine towards us and said: "no really-you're having twins." There they were. My squirmy little babies. Then he turned on the sound, and I got to hear Baby A's heart beat. The tears started to flow out of my eyes as it hit me that I'm going to be a mom to twins. The heart beat was so strong, and then he moved over to Baby B's heart beat. A little bit slower than brother/sister, but still strong. I squeezed Riley's hand, and I felt so much love and comfort come over me. 

This news is overwhelming and exciting, especially since we were not expecting twins at all. I just sat in shock as they finished up my appointment by taking my blood. We immediately called our parents and siblings to tell them the exciting news-no one believed us at first besides my dad. The tears were on and off all day as I sat and stared at my ultrasound pictures. Those little blobs are my babies. Now I'm just anxiously awaiting their arrival! Although, I would much rather them take their time :) I am now considered a high risk pregnancy, so I'm trying to prepare myself for what's to come: bed rest and possible time in the NICU for the babies. The doctor didn't want me running the half marathon I had been training for because of the stress that it could put on my body. I have to take it very easy as far as exercise goes, so I take a lot of walks with Pipah at night. Once I hit 20 weeks, I'll have to make sure my walks aren't very long so my heart rate stays low. I survived girls camp with a few small hikes, but I was so exhausted after them. It's hard to try and take it easy when you're so use to being able to hike and run!

Here is my very first bumpdate!

How far along: 11 weeks! Yes I'm announcing early, but I can't keep my own secrets very well.

Size of the babies: The babies are the size of limes! They can move their limbs and are kicking up a storm, but I can't feel anything just yet. Their tooth buds, hair follicles, and finger/toenails are starting to form. They are .25 ounces and 1.6 inches long from crown to rump. My babies are getting so big! When I found out I was pregnant they were just the size of a poppy seeds, so we are making progress :)

Weight Gain: 2 pounds. The doctor said I'll start noticing weight gain faster, and I'll pop faster. He also set a goal for me to try and gain about 50 pounds by the end of my pregnancy if the babies go to full term (37 weeks for twins). 

Maternity Clothes: Not yet! My jeans are getting a little tight once the end of the day nears, so I try to just opt for leggings when picking out outfits for work.

Sleep: I'm exhausted so I sleep every chance I get. Growing two babies is hard work! I get up during the night to pee, and I've been trying to adjust to sleeping on my side.

Food Cravings: I crave ice cream, but this pregnancy has made my body hate anything dairy, so I end up throwing it up. I also crave pickles, french fries, watermelon, avocado egg rolls from the Cheesecake Factory, hamburgers, donuts, and honey whole wheat bread. Super random.

My Symptoms: Pregnancy brain is the real deal people. I forget everything recently. I also have a lot of morning sickness, which should be called all day sickness. I get random headaches, and I'm tired all the time. Oh and I cry at everything. The Toyota commercial where the dad drops his daughter off at the airport? I bawl. So there's that.

Movement: Not yet! Last week my stomach felt weird, and it felt like it was shifting over, but I don't know if that is anything significant.

Names: We have names picked out if they are twin boys and twin girls. But no names picked out for both a boy and girl. 

Best Moment of the Week: Taking our announcement pictures. It's so fun to see Riley get all excited about our babies. He's going to be the best dad to these loves. 

Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to seeing my babies again at our next ultrasound (about 4 more weeks!). That's when we get to find out the genders. Woohoo! 

So if you have made it to the end give yourself a big ole pat on the back! Riley and I are SO excited about this adventure. We already love these babies so much.

xox