It's a Girl!

Well one of them, "Twin A" is for sure a little girl. "Twin B" was being modest and would not uncross it's darling little legs. "Twin A" is the twin that has been causing all the movement & fluttering. Such a surprise to hear she is a little girl, as Melissa was for sure that would be a rambunctious boy! We found out she is the baby closest to the cervix, so as of now she would be the first one out. She is sitting breech, which we hope changes in the next 3-4 weeks. If she stays breech, we are certain we will have to deliver cesarean. Once we hit about 20-21 weeks supposively there is really not much extra room for them to move around... so however they end up at 20 weeks we hope is comfortable for them as they will be stuck in that position for the rest of the pregnancy!

Both twins are growing great. Twin A is approximately 5 ounces and Twin B is 4 ounces. Both had fluid in their stomachs, which means they are swallowing and their kidneys are functioning well! They had lots of brain tissue developing, a three vessel umbilical cord, and all measurements were "normal" or "average" as the sonogram technician said. We were very happy to hear all the good news! Once we were done with the sonogram, Melissa had blood drawn for the quad-marker test. This test checks for down syndrome, spina bifida, and cystic fibrosis. Luckily none of these diseases are hereditary in our families, but it is of course a great precaution. We have a follow-up with Dr. Gibson on Monday, and maybe if we beg him enough he will do a quick sonogram to get a better peek at Twin B to see if our other little baby is a girl or boy. :D Otherwise, we won't find out until March 16th when we hit 20 weeks! (Wow time is going fast!)

Of course since we know one twin a girl, Melissa had to go buy out Gymboree. Our daughter has clothes now for what seems like the entire first year of her life. Melissa and her mom found lots of adorable ladybug sleepers and onesies, so that may be a nursery theme, depending on what Twin B is. We doubt a little boy would like pink lady bugs and flowers all over his room.

All is well in the Nagode household. Melissa is much more energetic and happy in her second trimester. Our weekend getaway to Chicago was excellent over Valentine's Day weekend! We are now anxiously awaiting spring! Happy birthday in the next week to our nephew, Chase who is turning the big 4! :D We wish we could be down in Atlanta to celebrate with you.

15 Weeks

Another week down and 25 to go. It seems so close, yet so far away! It's only me blogging tonight, as daddy-to-be is visiting a friend. I think that means drinking beer and talking about tools.

Today I am certain I felt some "quickening" (fetal movement)! I was sitting at my desk after school and felt a long sense of fluttering in the left side of my belly! It was so neat. It makes sense its on that side since thats where the little jumping bean was at our last sonogram. There are so many hidden joys to pregnancy and just feeling that movement for about five seconds really made my day.

I just got done reading what to expect in this next week of pregnancy in one of my favorite baby books. I quote from Your Pregnancy, "Week 16 is the turning point-no more lying flat on your back in bed while resting or sleeping, or lying flat on the floor while exercising or relaxing. This position puts extra pressure on the aorta and vena cava, which can reduce blood flow to your baby." Bummer! I have been trying to sleep on my side but have been struggling for a good night's sleep this week. Ill start out on my right side... wake up and I am on my back. I moan like a dying cow in an attempt to rollback to my side and then I realize I have to pee. Needless to say, this really is an occurance at least twice a night, EVERY night.

I have really noticed the added weight protruding from my belly this week. It seems like in the last week I've gained a baby bump and then some! Sadly, I dont think I'll have the appealing basketyball belly, but I think by July I'll look like I'm giving birth to a UPS box. I feel very square and unproportional right now.

Our little babies are getting the fine lanugo hair all over them this week and hopefully they are getitng plenty of nourishment from their fully functioning umbilical cords! Supposively they are capable of sucking their thumbs and are just enjoying a laid back life. I wonder if they think, or what do they hear, and how they pass the time by in that tiny space... I can't imagine (obviously).

Next Wednesday, Feb. 18th we get a sonogram with the technician and will hopefully find out if we are having boys, girls, or one of each! I also have to get a quad-screen test, which tests for Down Syndrome. Hopefully with more blood work & the in-depth sonogram they can determine if the twins are fraternal or identical too :)

We are taking off for our mini-honeymoon this weekend to Chicago. Someday we will get to Alaska & Texas. I suppose we could always make it a family vacation!

Spring Fever

The weather is so lovely outside today. We would guess its about 55 degrees with a slight breeze. Another joy of having two crazy dogs is that they track in mud everywhere. We can't help but think that if we have survived raising these two meathead's of animals, we should be pretty good parents, right? We say that with sarcasm. We are trying to get the house in order today, Melissa has really slacked on cleaning. Her daily routine consists of... up at 5 AM, commute, work 8-3:30ish, commute home, beg Matt to take her out to dinner, eat dinner around 5:00, come home and sit on the couch until about 8:00 and then jump into bed in a comatose state of mind by 8:30. Of course her sleep is interrupted one or two times a night by the urge to urinate. She has been very, very lethargic and physically exhausted. Anyway, after getting about 11 hours of sleep last night, she finally has some spunk to mop the floors, vacuum, and rid the air of wet, dirty dogs.

We added some sonogram pictures to our older blogs below. We finally took the time to load them onto the laptop, to share with you kind people that check our blogs out occasionally! We took a fun quiz online today at www.childbirth.org to calculate if we were having boys or girls. According to the quiz, 45% chance of a boy and 55% chance of a girl. They didn't have a quiz for twins... so maybe that means we are having 1 boy and 1 girl :)

Melissa was quite happy to recieve maternity clothes this week from an online order last weekend. She has been unsatisfied at what she can find for Peoria shopping. Motherhood help has been quite unpleasant and the clothes seem to always have snags and she has even found a tear or two. JCPenny was the only other store at the malls in Peoria that carry maternity clothes. Their pants were comfortable at first, but ever since the first washing, the elastic waistband has become twisted everywhich way, which is really uncomfortable and it just looks bad! She then ordered jeans and some tops from Gap Maternity and is very happy with them. Next weekend we are taking a trip to Chicago and hope to find a couple of nice maternity stores up there.. like A Pea in the Pod.

That is enough ranting for today! We should be working on our wedding thank-you's. Matt has been a good boy and has written 15... Melissa has not been so good... she is still standing at zero.

14 Weeks

Today we hit the 14 week mark and are very anxious for our next appointment at 16 weeks! Hopefully the little twinsies will show us if they are male or female! We don't have many updates this week, but everything seems to be going smoothly. Melissa is starting to pack on the pounds, after having lost 14 pounds in the first trimester... due to her random illnesses and morning sickness. Her belly is starting to protrude and she can't really suck it in anymore like she used to! Her morning sickness is down to about once a week, but we hope that dwindles away to none soon. Never-the-less, it is nothing like it was those first couple of months. Her only complaints these days are excessive fatigue and horrible lower back pain. She says it is really hurting her tailbone, which causes her a small concern that she will talk to her doctor about in the next week or so. Back pain is expected, but we figured it seems early. Although they are only about the size of lemons & limes right now, Melissa can not stop dreaming about the day she will finally get to hold them in her arms!

We feel as if this time is just the "sit and wait" time. When we think about it, their arrival is about 6 months (or less) away. Since we don't know yet where we are going to live (Metamora or Toulon) its hard to plan out a nursery or come up with a scheme. We hope to get the ball rolling after our next appointment and get some organizing done! We are sure the next 26 weeks will go by quickly!

Does anyone have any suggestions for the nursery? We would love suggestions!