20 Week Doctor's Appointment

We had our 20 week Doctor's appointment on Wednesday. They did a quick Ultrasound to check on the babies' hearts (since they were not quite developed enough at 16 weeks to get all the measurements they needed) and the babies' feet - since they were so low last time we couldn't see them :) Everything looked great! I even had the Ultrasound tech double check to make sure Baby A was a girl! Didn't want any suprises!! All is well - Baby A is still a girl and Baby B is definitely a boy. Our little boy has decided to flip and is currenlty in a head down position which is great. Little girl is still breach, but the doctor assured us that there is still plenty of time for her to turn. If she's not head down at the time of delivery, it will be a definite C-section.

After the Ultrasound, we met briefly with the doctor. She informed us that at my next appointment at 24 weeks, they will do another full anatomy ultrasound and I'll do my glucose test. We'll also get to meet with one of the other doctors in the practice. There are four different doctors and over the next few months, I will have at least one appointment with each of them, so in case my Doctor is not available when I go into labor, I will have already met the on-call doctor.
After the appointment, Tony and I had lunch at Olive Garden and then spent the rest of the afternoon registering for baby stuff! We had a wonderful day together!!

19 Week Belly Pics

Well, here are my 19 week pics:

According to my daily e-mail updates from "What to Expect", the babies are now approximately 10 ounces each and about 6 1/2 inches long (crown to rump) - it compares their size to a small canteloupe :) I love how all the pregnancy books compare babies' sizes to fruits and vegetables!

Our next ultrasound and doctor's appointment is next Wednesday, so I'm praying that everything is still going great!

4 Months Pregnant

According to all the books and calcualations, I am officially 4 months pregnant now. Tomorrow is the beginning of my 5th month. Wow, the time sure has flown by. I remember wondering when I was going to "feel" and "look" pregnant. I definitely do now!! I can occasionally feel both babies moving around and I have definitely "popped" over the past week.

The 2nd trimester has been a nice change for me. I feel really good most days - the nausea is gone, my headaches have pretty much gone away and my difficulty sleeping has gotten a lot better.

We have started some shopping in preparation for the babies - we have both cribs and mattresses (thanks to my Mother In Law!), Changing Table, Double Stroller and Car Seats. Our next big task is to decide on the babies' bedding.

It's a Boy AND It's a Girl!!

Here are the Ultrasound pics from our last appointment:

It's a Boy:

It's a Girl:

Our Ultrasound and Doctor's appointment was last Thursday, January 29th. We knew there was a "slight" chance that we might be able to find out the sex of the babies. As she was taking measurements of Baby A, I could tell Tony was getting a little anxious. He said several times "I guess it's just to early to tell, huh?" and she would respond with "I don't know, I haven't gotten there yet." She was very methodical and went through and pointed out every little thing to us. Once she was done with all her measurements, she was able to get a pretty good shot of Baby A and said that it's a girl! Yay! She then went through the same process with Baby B and as you can tell by the picture, It's a Boy! :) So at 16 1/2 weeks, we were able to find out the news we were hoping for - we're having a litle girl and a little boy - how perfect!

After the ultrasound, we met with my doctor briefly and she said that based on the preliminary report, everything looked great. They were able to do the full anatomy scan on everything except their hearts because it was still a little too early for that. So, at our next ultrasound, all they'll do is get the measurments and pictures of their little hearts and make sure all is well. Our next appointment is February 25th.

Here are a couple more ultrasound pictures. The first one is of our little girl giving us the "thumbs up" - too cute! The next two are profile pictures of each of the them. They were both breach (head's up) and facing my back instead of my stomach. There's still plenty of time and room for them to move around and get into the proper positions - they'll monitor that more closely as I get into the 3rd trimester.

15 Week Picture

I decided to be brave and post a belly pic for everyone to see. This was taken on Tuesday which put me at 15 weeks and 1 day. As you can see, the twins are trying to make their presence known! I have transitioned into maternity clothes - especially pants/jeans. Elastic is definitely my friend right now!!!

We are getting very excited for our next Ultrasound which is coming up on Thursday Jan. 29th. I hope the babies are doing well and we can't wait to see them!!!

Second Trimester

As of Monday, I am now in my 2nd Trimester! That is such a big milestone for us and I'm very relieved. I'm actually feeling better this week - the nausea has let up. I made it through the whole first trimester without actually getting "sick" - so I'm very thankful for that! My biggest issue right now is headaches - I'm not sure if that's the pregnancy or the weather?

This has also been a very exciting week at the Cortez house. On Monday, Michael passed his driver's permit test, so look out! :) and on Tuesday, he brought home A's and B's on his report card for the semester, so we were extremely proud of him for that! On Wednesday Tony and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary. It's been an awesome three years!!

I've heard great things about the 2nd trimester, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.....

First Appointment With the New OB

On Monday, December 29th, we had our first appointment with my new OB. She is awesome and we are very happy with our choice. She sat down with us and answered any questions that we had. We found out that she will not allow me to go past 38 weeks with twins because at that stage the risks outweigh the benefits of keeping the babies in, so these babies will be born on their own or with the doctor's help before June 29th. The "safe" zone is typically 35 weeks, but if I go into labor anytime after 32 weeks, they will probalby allow me go ahead and have the babies. She also informed us that I would deliver in an OR due to the risk of C-section with twins - they just want to be ready for anything. We are hoping and praying that I will not have to have a C-section.

After our Q & A session, she broke out the doppler and we got to hear the heartbeats again! That's such a great feeling to hear them and know both babies are doing well - I was amazed that she knew right where they were.

Our next appointment is on January 29th and we will be getting an Ultrasound! YAY! I will be about 16 1/2 weeks at that time. We are SO looking foward to seeing our precious little A & B again soon :)

10 weeks

As of Monday, I am now 10 weeks pregnant. I am very happy to reach that double digit milestone! On Tuesday, I spent the day with my mother-in-law on our first baby shopping outing. We only "looked", but I was able to get some good ideas on strollers, carseats, etc. When you go from having one baby to having twins, your options become somewhat limited - which is not necessarily a bad thing! We went to Babies R Us and Burlington's Baby Depot. Next time, we're going to head to USA Baby in Franklin.

I've made the first appointment with my new OB on Monday Dec. 29th, so I'm looking forward to hearing the heartbeats again! I don't think they plan on doing an Ultrasound, but I'm going to try to convince them to at least do one soon - I can't wait until 20 weeks to see the little peanuts again!

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks - Christmas, my Dr. appointment, and the transition into the 2nd trimester (my next big milestone!).

It's going to be a Happy New Year!!

Ultrasound Pictures 8w3d

I guess there's no better way to start my blog than to post the lastest Ultrasound pictures of our little peanuts! We went in on Thursday December 4th for our Ultrasound and were able to see and hear the heartbeats of our precious little babies (now lovingly referred to as A and B!) They are both doing great and we were SO relieved! Our fertility doctor said that everything is perfect and that he was ready to release me to a regular OB. I'm waiting for them to transfer all my records, so I can set up my next appointment.