Body Changes Part 2

I have wanted to be pregnant for as long as I can remember. I have always thought that a pregnant woman is so beautiful - so pure - so just... radiant. Now, at almost 36 weeks pregnant and 50 pounds later, I feel like I have some of the beauty of a pregnant woman, but I am more aware of the incredible changes that have taken place in my body. Here are the big changes:

1. My feet. As you can see from the picture in the previous blog, I am experiencing "slight" swelling in my feet and ankles... My feet are like little loaves of bread - the only thing I can shove them in are my flip flops which barely fit. Seriously - when did flip flops become uncomfortable!? The good news is that they are not like that all the time and the swelling does go down when I rest and put them up.

2. My thighs. My left and right thigh recently met each other and apparently hit it off really well. They are now best friends and inseparable.

3. My stomach (obviously). I feel really lucky that I haven't gotten any stretch marks yet (cross my fingers, knock on wood, spin twice and kiss the head of a penny). But then I have friends who like to ruin it by telling me that I'll see them once my stomach goes back to "normal". But it is amazing how much your belly can swell and your skin can stretch. Absolutely amazing.

4. My skin. With all of the stretching and swelling, it's no wonder that I have extremely dry, sensitive skin. But what I think is funny is all of the little skin tags that have popped up in random places on my body.

5. My belly button. I don't even know what to say about this one... will it ever look the same again!?

6. My behind. Ugh. I don't even like to look back there if I don't have to. It's a mess. I just keep telling myself that I'll worry about it after I have two healthy, beautiful girls. Because once they're here, I'll have all the time in the world to work on it... right?

15 Week Check-up

Last Thursday we went in for our third appointment. Since twins/multiples are considered a high-risk pregnancy, we get the pleasure of seeing our babies each time we visit. Now, Damon is really good at seeing all of the little body parts, facial features and can distinguish baby A from baby B by which one is closest to my cervix - huh?

Me? I'm not so good. I can see clearly recognizable parts like an arm or a spine (so cool to see!!!) or a little beating heart (again, SO cool to see!!!), but when I look at their faces, it's just a bunch of shadows and sometimes I can't tell the butt from the head. Maybe she moves it around too fast for me or maybe my attention is distracted by their oh-so-cute jerky movements. Yeah... we'll blame it on one of those.

So, for the update... babies are doing fine. They are growing and developing normally. She still can't tell if they are identical or fraternal. But boy, do those little ones make us laugh already!!! For starters, one of the twins had it's "behind" placed on the other's head, and that one kept jerking it's arms and hitting itself in the head! I'm sure you can understand it's frustration! :)

Mama's doing fine too. I've gained 5 pounds total which is good for the first trimester. Now I'm supposed to gain 1 1/2 to 2 pounds per week during the second trimester!!! Don't worry, I slow down the weight gain in the third. Throughout my pregnancy I'm supposed to gain a total of 40-50 pounds. Can I order another fudgesicle please!?

Time for a belly picture... As you can see, I've grown quite a bit in my lower abdomen... and on the other side...