July 7th

Another week down. We've made it to 35 weeks. I know for the babies well being we want to keep them in as long as possible. But this mama is ready to be done!!

  (please forgive the look....this is what you get when you can't spend more than a few minutes at a time standing and hang out on the couch all day....nothing done to the hair, no makeup, and even still in my pajama pants)

As many of you know, the month of July has huge meaning for us. It was 5 years ago, on this very day, that our world turned upside down. We were happy, free-spirited, naive, 23/24 year olds. And on July 7th, 2005 we had to grow up in a major hurry. Cody was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Almost 3 weeks later we  found out he had stage III brain cancer. Our month of July was filled with doctors, neurologists, neurosurgeons, oncologists, appointments, road trips, surgeries, hospitals, and PRAYERS. At the time, Cody was given a prognosis of 3-5 years to live. So needless to say, five years later, ....HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD?!?

We also get to celebrate our 4 year anniversary tomorrow as well as Cody's 29th birthday at the end of the month. Oh yeah, and one more thing we get to add to our miraculous month of July....the birth of our babies. Just one more thing to be thankful for. Last year at this time we didn't know if God was even going to allow us to build our family, and here we are about to double in size. We have so many things to be grateful for and we try not to take one second of it all for granted!!

We're getting closer!

Whew...we made it to 34 weeks. Now, if the babies decide to come, we're ready to roll. Although, we do want to get a couple more weeks. Please, just a couple more weeks!

Have I mentioned lately how extremely uncomfortable I'm getting???  Well, if I haven't, let me just fill you in. I can barely even stand anymore and walking puts me in pure misery. The pressure on my pubic bone is INTENSE!!  Cody has even taken on the roll of having to dress me from the waste down. I literally can't even lift my legs to put pants on anymore. My uterus is measuring at 49 weeks, so needless to say, even if I could walk around this belly is beyond out of control!

At my appointment this morning we were hooked up to the monitors. Everything looked great!  Both babies did exactly what they were supposed to and we were out of there in no time. The doctor checked my cervix and I've started to dialate!!!!!!

Ok, so maybe just a half a centimeter............but dialation none the less :)   I know this could still be a long process but I still feel like the process has now started and I'm getting a little excited. Cody on the other hand, freaking out!!  He has been soo stinkin' cute throughout this whole process and I've realized he panics very easily. He's completely convinced he needs to hang me upside down by my feet for the next two weeks!

33 weeks 2 days

I had my weekly appointment this morning. I must admit, with getting this close to the end it's always nice to have a check in with the doctor so frequently. For my first appointment they hooked me up to the fetal monitors, to check heart rates and activity level. They want to make sure babies are moving (which I could have solidly confirmed without the monitors) but then they also want to make sure there are accelerations in their heart rate when they are more active. Baby boy passed with flying colors (which he is probably the more active one...or at least I can feel him more than I can feel his sister). Baby girl needed some pretty good stimulation in order to get her wound up enough to satisfy them. But all in all, everything looked great. It also documented some pretty good contractions I was having at the time.

After that appointment was my regular OB appointment. Ideally she would love me to go another 2 and 1/2 weeks, just to get them to the 36 week stage. Because any baby born before 36 weeks will automatically go into the NICU, and we would just LOVE for them to stay out!! If I can't make it to 36 weeks, she at least wants me to last another 5 days. In 5 days I will be at 34 weeks and it's at that point that if I went into labor they would not stop me. They would still try to stop my labor if I went within the next 5 days. She checked my cervix today and I am not dialated at all. I am starting to "thin out" but that is to be expected. We also discussed my contractions. I am fairly consistently having contractions for periods of time throughout the day. When I'm experiencing them, they are about 6 to 10 minutes apart and will last approximately an hour to an hour and a half. But once they are gone, they are gone for a while. This too is considered normal and we should not start to worry yet. Cody on the other hand, he starts to worry when I ask him to start writing down times. I don't think he's ready for the babes to be here quite yet!

My next appointment is next Thursday. Hopefully it will be an exact repeat of how well today went and we can last another few weeks.

My feet are asking to be elevated about now. All of this heat and being on them so much today they are pretty swollen. I will do my job and get myself to the couch and I hope all of you have yourselves a FABULOUS weekend!!!

for the love of pictures...

*these are the only two ultrasound pictures we got this time around. this picture is angled so you can see both of their heads looking down from the top. baby girl is on the right and baby boy is on the left. they both look to be in about the same position, however baby girl is MUCH lower than baby boy!

*here is baby girl. she is looking off to the left with her hand right up by her mouth. our little man absolutely would not cooperate that day so we got nothing on him....stubborn little guy.

*here I am at 32 weeks and 4 days. when I look at myself before putting a shirt on...I honestly don't know what is holding those babies in there. they look like they could just fall right out the bottom!

*cody starting to work on putting together the cribs

*fully assembled cribs

*this is not exactly the arrangement I was hoping for, but the room is just too small and this is really the most functional setup we could come up with.

*this picture shows my sleeping arrangement that I've been using for the past several weeks. 3 pillows and 2 blankets arranged just perfectly and I sleep like a baby...only for about an hour though until it's time to get up and use the bathroom!!

*this is my attempt to prove to Cody document how many times in a night that I have to get up and use the bathroom. so I decided to keep a note pad in the bathroom and write down the time every time I was up. this is a pretty typical night. needless to say, i'm not getting a whole lot of quality sleep before the babies arrive :(

*as you all know, we have been working on replacing our interior doors and trim. this is the "before" picture of our old/ugly doors

*"after" picture of the new closet doors and doors

*LOVE them!!

*of course, we still have all of the casing and baseboard to get done yet. remember, slowly but surely!

Holy Babies!!!

**We have been having problems with our internet again, so no pictures today...I'm lucky to even be able to get on here and type something. So I'll be quick before it kicks me off.  I'll post pictures soon, I promise!

My appointment yesterday went very well. It started with an ultrasound, which was probably our quickest ever. They did a bio-physical and wanted look at the babies breathing, their movement, and my fluid levels. Both babies scored a perfect score! Oh yeah, and they've gained a little bit of weight too since the last time we saw them. Baby boy now weighs 4lbs 14oz. and his sister is whooping up on him a little bit now weighing in at a whopping 5lbs 4oz. I can't believe how big these babies are getting!!  As uncomfortable as they are making me, it makes me feel so much better thinking about how healthy they'll be when they come out. Today I am at 32 weeks and 3 days and once I hit 34 weeks they wouldn't stop labor if I happened to go in. I wasn't dialated at all on Friday and things looked good. My uterus only grew an inch since last month...I'm now measuring at a 43...which means babies aren't really growing "out" but pushing nicely right up against all my internal organs. Which is SOOO very pleasant! Both babies are head down now, so if they stay that way we can try and shoot for a vaginal delivery.

I continue to grow increasingly uncomfortable, which is to be expected. I used to be fine as long as I could be sitting. Now, even sitting, I just can't seem to find a comfortable position. I am also starting to experience more and more contractions, some which are starting to be a little uncomfortable. That is also to be expected at this stage in the game, my doctor just really wants me to start paying attention to them a little more. We are both getting very anxious. I know I am beyond ready to be done, but we really pray to last a few more weeks.

Today, my family threw an absolutely fantastic baby shower for me!!  Our children are going to be blessed coming into this world with the love they will receive from these people.

Update

Another successful outcome for us today!!!! Cody's MRI looked clean. Thank the Lord. Both Cody and I were a little nervous for today...just because we've been soo blessed lately. Things in our life have really been falling into place and we both just figured it was time someone threw a wrench into it all.  I guess we were wrong and God was looking out for us once again. He's scheduled again for 6 months from now. Cody will hit his 5 year mark next month and once he gets past that then we will talk about moving check-ups from 6 months to a year. (I'm not sure how I feel about that yet).

32 weeks

I will be 32 weeks tomorrow...I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by. We have a busy week this week. Thursday is Cody's 6 month oncology appointments. That too sneaks right up on us. Can't believe it's been 6 months already. On Friday, I have my next OB appointment. I will have an ultrasound and then they will also start doing fetal well-being checks, where every appointment from here on out they will be hooking me up to the monitors to get a closer look at the babies. So the appointments could get a little long, plus the fact that I will be starting to go every week. On Saturday my family is throwing me a baby-shower. I am soo looking forward to seeing everyone!!

We continue to be busy around the house too. Last weekend Cody and his dad worked on installing all of our interior bedroom and closet doors. Although it's been a slow process, and I've been ready for my house to be put back together for a long time now, things ARE coming together and will eventually get done.  Cody just keeps telling me "you've got to keep those babies in there for a little while longer!!"  He is getting nervous that they are going to be coming soon and the house won't be done.

I have been doing a pretty good job at taking it easy since being done with work. I have to admit, it's been hard though. There is so much around me that could be done and I do my best to wait until Cody gets home to help with some of it. Sometimes I can't resist and try to do too much myself, but my body lets me know pretty quickly that it's time to sit again.

I will keep you updated as we tackle our appointments at the end of the week.  I'll also try to get some new pictures posted :)

Good Times!

*A much needed break. Friday was our last day of school and I am beyond looking forward to some time off. My plan until the babies arrive, is to literally do nothing. Not anticipating any troubles in that area!!

*I had another appointment with my doctor yesterday afternoon. Things are continuing to look good. My swelling is continuing to get worse and more uncomfortable every day.  I've also developed myself a little rash and some SERIOUS itching. The rash is only on my legs below my knees and my feet, but the itching is maddening! My doctor did some lab work, looking for a possible problem with my liver functioning that is common with pregnant women. She honestly doesn't expect any problems with this, but she just wants to be on the safe side. She feels the rash has probably developed due to the pregnancy, but it might just be another thing I have to "deal with." My uterus is measuring at 42 weeks, so I've gone beyond any singleton pregnancy. I am still not showing any signs of dialation...good news. Our next appointment will be in two weeks, that will also be our ultrasound. After 32 weeks I will start going every week, so I will be seeing a lot more of them in the near future. We are on the home stretch!!

*My sister and a close friend of the family threw a wonderful shower for me this morning. It's great to have such fantastic friends and these babies were definitely spoiled today. Thanks everyone!!

*We finally got our cribs and changing table picked up. We had to order them and once they came in, one of the cribs was the wrong color and they had to order it again. So we've been waiting a while...it will feel awesome to get those together and get that room settled.

29 weeks

I apologize for all of you who continue to check my blog for things/pictures I've promised...only to find nothing. I seriously have no ambition lately to get anything done. It's much more comfortable for me to just hang out on the couch with my feet up.

Here are some of our latest pictures:

*baby girl profile with her hand up by her face

* baby boy profile (facing opposite direction) with his hand up by his face

*the process of painting the bedroom

(painting is not really Cody's favorite thing...I think he got a little side-tracked)

(finished product...I think he did a fantastic job!!)

*my 29 week "belly picture." It's getting harder and harder for me to see how big I'm getting :(

*I found a little information (because I know some of you are curious) about the "pubic bone pain" that I've been complaining about for several weeks now.

SPD--Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction:

It is caused by a loosening of the pubic symphysis (a joint at the front of the pelvis) during pregnancy. The number one problem that many pregnant women complain about is pubic pain.

Because of hormones, it is normal for there to be some extra looseness and pelvic pressure during pregnancy. This is good because it means your body is getting ready for birth! It's loosening up to give you maximum space and flexibility, and to help make things easy for you and your baby.

However, in some women, either because of excessive levels of hormones, extra sensitivity to hormones, or a pelvis that is out of alignment, this area is extra lax or there is extra pressure on the joint.

Common symptoms that I'm experiencing:
*substantial pubic pain! Tenderness and pain down low in the front is common, but often this pain feels as if it's inside.
*Any activity that involves lifting one leg at a time or parting the legs tends to be particularly painful: difficulty/pain with stairs, getting in and out of the car, sitting down or getting up, putting on clothes, bending, lifting, standing on one foot
*difficulty/pain rolling over in bed (this is primarily my biggest complaint and is severely jeopardizing my sleep right now)
*"clicking" in the pelvis when walking
*waddling gait
*difficulty getting started walking, especially after sleep


Ok, now I'll finish on a brighter note. I just can't resist posting a picture of my niece Khloe....

TOO PRECIOUS FOR WORDS!!!

Looking Good

Once again, I've been pretty bad about getting any updates on here. Early this week my grandma passed away, so it's kind of been a busy week. We were originally supposed to have our ultrasound/appointments yesterday, but that's when the funeral ended up being scheduled.... but we were lucky enough to be squeezed in today so we were still able to get to see the babies this week.

They were able to finish the echo this time around on our little man.  He still wasn't being very cooperative, but the perinatologist was able to get in there and get what the ultrasound tech was not able to. He was very pleased with everything he saw. He was originally following us due to the fact that we had slightly higher risks of birth defects due to IVF....but everything has looked good up to this point so he feels he won't need to continue to see us unless there other concerns that arise. Our boy appears to not be able to stop moving. He is literally in a different position every time we see him. Now he is laying across the top of my stomach. He also continues to grow like crazy. Now weighing a whopping 3 pounds!!!  That puts him somewhere in the 70th percentile for growth (typically twins are down in the low 30th percentile) so needless to say, they are very pleased with their growth. His heart rate is 138.

Our little girl continues to remain in the same position she started in. She is on my right side with her head down low....VERY LOW.  She is pressing right up against my cervix. Her heart rate is 143 and she is weighing 2 pounds 14 ounces (which places her somewhere in the 60th percentile).

I am currently showing no signs of any preterm labor...thank goodness. I have started to swell in my legs and feet, but my blood pressure looks good, so no worries there...just an annoyance I guess. My uterus is measuring at 39 weeks, so this would be as big as I would get...I don't think that's going to be the case here :)

I did get a couple more ultrasound pictures....no 3D ones again this time, so none of them are really that great. We are in Brandon for the weekend, but I will try and get some posted when I get back home and get them scanned into the computer.

I will also get some pictuers posted of our progress on the babies bedroom. We have the room painted, and I think it turned out really great!

I have another quick appointment in 2 weeks and we do our next ultround in 4 weeks.

Just a couple of things I found out at my appointment yesterday:

*my glucose testing turned out just fine

*I will be checked every appointment now to see if there are any signs of preterm labor...as of yesterday, nothing!

*babies heartrates are looking good at 142 and 145

*my hemoglobin levels were low and of concern. They will start me on iron supplements (and warned me that I should be adding some good doses of fiber into my diet to help alleviate any side effects...great, just what I need)

*my uterus is measuring 36 weeks...almost full term. I understand that when she measures my uterus like that, it's comparing it to a singleton pregnancy. And, I realize that the reason I'm measuring big is because I'm carrying two babies. However, it puts things in a little more perspective for me. It makes me feel a little more comfortable knowing that there is a reason I am feeling like a moose at only 26 weeks! It gives me a little comparison

*my doctor stated again that if we can get me to 36 weeks, that would be absolutely fantastic! If I make it that far but don't start labor on my own, they will induce me somewhere between 37 and 38 weeks. She said it's more likely for me to expect to go somewhere between the 34 and 35th week. It'll be interesting to see how the next couple of months play out.

*we go back again in 2 weeks. At that time we will have another ultrasound...I'm excited to see how much they've grown

Lately...

I'm not doing a very good job at keeping everyone posted as to what's been going on in the Finke household. I suppose it's time to share a little with you about what we've been up to.....

On April 24th, the last of our "group" celebrated their wedding day. It was beautiful. Congratulations Jeff and Emily!!!

Some back yard work. When we re-sided our house last fall we had to pull the deck away from the house and then that's where it sat...mangled/crooked/ripped apart...all winter long. Cody was able to find some beautiful weather to spend tearing it apart and cleaning up the mess. Although we're without a deck, it looks so.much.better.

Attempting to get some organizing accomplished. Our third bedroom in our house is basically an all-purpose room. Our laundry is in this room, and I've never been happy about our "system." It's kind of a throw-your-clothes-on-the-floor-and-sort-through-as-you-wash type system. But because it's a room we use often, we really needed to get things "cleaned up" a bit. Here is what I came up with. Everything is sorted. And the best part-no more clothes all over the floor.

 I LOVE IT!!

A visit from my sister and my niece Khloe. It was AWESOME to see them!! Khloe has grown so much from the last time I saw her. She is definitely going to grow up way too fast and having them so far away makes it super hard when they have to leave. She is just soo darn precious. Thanks girls for visiting!!

It's taken us a while to get the babies room cleaned out and in the process we've been working on preparing for a rummage. It's been so hard to get in that room, because every time we walk in there...we just stand there and stare at it. We've been stalling because we have absolutely no where to put the stuff that needs to come out. My family came over one day and helped me tackle it. We had so many rubbermaid totes around our house just piled with "stuff" that the only option for it, was to sell it. I just love this picture...this is where I found Cody that afternoon. Apparently he felt he needed a nap. (can you see him back there?)

FINALLY, we are starting to work on getting the babies room ready to go. Now that it's empty we are excited to get it painted and get the furniture in there. Cody absolutely HATES to paint, but this is one project that he has been looking forward to and has wanted to do all on his own. We'll keep you updated with the progress, but for now...the ceiling is all the further we've gotten:

And, if you haven't noticed...I have not been overly excited to be in any pictures lately. I am much more content being on the opposite end of the camera. But here is my latest "tummy shot" at 26 weeks. Holy Cow huh? The babies are certainly growing and I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

A couple of weeks ago, when I mentioned the terrible pubic bone pain that I've been experiencing and the dr. warned me that it's only going to get worse. I actually kind of laughed to myself because I thought "how could this get any worse?" Well, let me tell you.....it has certainly gotten worse!! I am finding it getting harder to walk and I already feel like I've got the "pregnant walk" going...yuck...I'm only 26 weeks! At night, while in bed, is the absolute worst. I have always been one who flops and turns during the night, and this is what causes me the most pain. It is so bad sometimes that I literally feel like I could throw up. Cody has been so great through it all...helping me roll over and get out of bed the "millions" of times that I need to get up and use the bathroom throughout the night.

But enough complaining...we'll get through it.

I have my 2-week check up tomorrow, the 6th. No ultrasounds this time, just a quick check. I will also be doing my glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes.

So there you have it. A little bit of what we've been doing the last few weeks. I actually can't give myself much credit...that's got to go my amazing husband!!!

growing babies

My monthly ultrasound delivered more good news. Today an echocardiogram, to take a closer look at their hearts, was completed attempted on both babies. Baby boy was a little uncooperative, therefore they weren't able to get everything they needed off of him (he's already starting to remind me of his father).  Baby girl's heart looks great and looking at the little bit they were able to see today, they are not expecting anything out of the ordinary on baby boy either. They'll try again when I go back in 4 weeks. But for now, what a great relief!

I was a little shocked to hear how much they've grown in the last 4 weeks. Apparently mommy is feeding them well :)  Little Miss is weighing in at 1pound 10ounces (66th percentile) and our little man is weighing in at 1pound 11ounces (75th percentile)!!!  These would be weights they would expect to see in a singleton pregnancy at this stage in the game. So to see that both of them were gaining good weight is pretty fantastic. My expanding abdomen gave me a pretty good idea that they were growing healthily! My uterus is now measuring at 33 weeks...yikes! I can't imagine what the next 3 months will bring.

With the ultrasound focusing primarily on their hearts today, I did not get very good pictures :(  I got a couple of profile pictures, but nothing clear enough that would even be worth posting. At the end when they tried to go back and get some 3D pictures, both babies had already flipped over and were facing down... so I didn't get any of them either. I kind of feel a little robbed!!  Oh well, it was great to be able to see them again. Both continue to be very active...it's quite the show sometimes.

My doctor wants to start seeing me every two weeks now. She said if anything were to start happening, as far as preterm labor, it would be starting around this time, so she just wants to keep a closer eye on me. My ultrasounds will continue to be every 4 weeks. She said 24 weeks is a magical number, because at 24 weeks babies are able to survive outside of the womb. We obviously don't want to see them yet, so we will continue to make baby steps and make sure they stay put for a while.

crazy kids

I'm finding it a little hard to imagine that literally two weeks ago, I was waiting to feel that little flutter coming from within. Now...the babes are at it full force (ok maybe not quite full force yet, but active none the less). Wow. What an amazing feeling. It certainly isn't a little flutter anymore and when I lift my shirt and look down at my tummy, I can see the jumping from all sides. Most of the time I can even tell who it's coming from. They must sleep with me during the night (which is nice they are not keeping me awake, for now) and are awake with me ALL day long. Cody has gotten to see it a few times and we both are just smitten!!

**My next appointment is on Wednesday, April 21st

Happy Easter

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.