No, we are not having Octuplets!

The latest joke around school today was, "Miss J... what if there are more babies hiding behind the twins?" Well sorry kids, we're pretty sure there are no hiding babies in this uterus! :)
How interesting that would be, but we are certain our hands will be full with these little twinsies!

We had our 12 week appointment yesterday, Jan. 26th. How awesome! We got another sonogram but the pictures do not do justice to what we witness in the room. They were quite active yesterday... swimming, kicking... constantly moving. We were amazed at how different they looked than previous appointments. We saw tummies, heads, legs, arms, little fingers, heart beats, etc. Dr. Gibson said they are approximately 2 inches long and all else is well!

We inquired about which hospital Dr. Gibson suggests has the best neonatal care and it all depends on what week the babies are born. If we remember correctly, if they are born prior to 32 weeks, we must deliver at OSF. Of course we will do whatever is safest for the babies, but Melissa has heard their bedside manner is poor, but the good thing is they do have the best neonatal care around and we have heard that a handful of times. After 32 weeks, we can deliver at Methodist, which is good because Melissa & babies are covered there with insurance. So... it is all a waiting game and pray they will make it to AT LEAST 38 weeks! That will take a lot of prayers, as twins usually deliver 35-37 weeks. Our next appointment is February 18th, where we will find out the sex and get all sorts of measurements from the sonogram technician. Melissa also has to do a blood test, but we can't remember what for, but know there are only more to come! We truely felt blessed leaving the doctor's office and hope they continue to grow to their full potential over the next six months!

In other exciting news, we broke the silence & announced our pregnancy to co-workers and dear friends last Thursday & Friday. Boy did it feel good to get that off our chests! Matt played dumb and Melissa had to lie her way through all the incrimination of... "I think your pregnant." "Melissa, are you pregnant?" "I bet it's morning sickness and not the flu!" So, our apologies for not being 100% honest, but we did want to wait until we successfully completed the first trimester.

Tomorrow we hit 13 weeks! Then there are only approximately 27 weeks to go!

12 Weeks

We apologize for not updating for quite some time now! Melissa is back to work in full swing and is pretty much enjoying this last semester of teaching. Matt has been busy with work as well, and luckily for us, no possible job loss with the way CAT is cutting back on employees.

As for the babies go, all has been great since our last appointment. Melissa has had no spotting and her abdomen is really starting to fill out. Her appetite is gradually increase, morning sickness is decreasing, & she is not as tired as she was earlier on. All seems to be looking up for now! We have our next appointment this coming Monday, January 26th for another checkup and sonogram! Melissa loves getting sonograms and we hope to finally hear the heartbeats this time.

We hope to post again on Monday to inform you all of what is new with the twinsies development. Have a lovely & enjoyable weekend!

"Momma Called the Doctor and the Doctor Said..."

Melissa, again, was worried about spotting. We had an appointment with Dr. Gibson today and AGAIN reassured us all is just fine! Now Melissa will hopefully take a breather and not freak out everytime something seems to be a little off. Supposively, women can spot their entire pregnancy and not have any problem... it would just be nice to know what exactly is causing it. However, Dr. Gibson checked her cervix, uterine muscles, etc and everything is just "great."

We again got a sonogram today! Supposively we will be getting one every appointment here on out since we are carrying two babies. What great news, but not so good on the wallet! Sonograms are about the only thing that can put Melissa's mind to rest. She enjoys witnessing that her little babies are alive and well! We still have not heard the heartbeats, but they are quite visible. Matt was lucky enough to spot their big heads apart from their bodies! They are looking more human every week!

Our due date was actually pushed back to August 10th instead of August 6th. He did assure us though, that we would more than likely be delivering in a hot, muggy mid-July. Another subject Dr. Gibson touched on this evening was amount of activity & bed rest. It sounds like he really doesn't want Melissa being on her feet too much once March hits. That sure is cutting the school year short and this is definetly something Melissa needs to discuss with her boss, Jay!

We hit the 10 week mark on Wednesday... which is great to finally be in the double digits! Two more weeks and we will finally feel more comfortable sharing our news with EVERYONE! Melissa is going to make Matt scan some pictures at work so we can finally post some sonogram pictures this week.

Adios for now!

9 Weeks

What a Happy New Year it will be!

Today the babies have been growing for a full 9 weeks! Seems like a small amount of time, but we are still amazed at what exactly is happening with their development. Melissa is certain there are two boys in there, while Matt thinks two girls. We really have no preference of what their sex is, as long as they are healthy babies.

Not much has happened since our last post. Melissa is battling morning sickness all day long. She is so unpredictable as to when she is going to get "sick." Matt had a case of "sympathy sickness" over Christmas, but it turns out it was probably a bug since Melissa had it too. We have both been eating very little... Melissa has even lost weight which we both know is not a good thing. However, today happened to be a very good day for Melissa. She only got sick once & took no nap today. We went all out for New Years Eve this year! We went and saw "Marley & Me" and then brought home burgers from the Barge. Home by 6:00 for the news.... :)

Our next doctor appointment is Monday, January 5th at 4:00. At that time, we will be filled in on how the whole twin thing works... since our doctor informed us first thing, "This is a whole new ball game."

Keep praying for the health & safety of our little twins. We appreciate prayers! :D

Our Christmas Surprise!

First we want to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas! We have been so busy traveling and away from home we have been unable to post. A lot has happened in the last week. On Saturday evening, 12/20, Melissa had some spotting that really concerned her. She contacted her doctor first thing on Monday and was scheduled for an appointment that afternoon. Luckily, there had been no more spotting after those few hours on Saturday. Away we went to Peoria, thinking we would hear some unpleasant news.

Once at Dr. Gibson's office, we did the routine check-up and then were placed in a room with a sonogram machine. Melissa was excited at the chance of getting a glimpse of our baby two weeks earlier than planned! After a brief discussion of Melissa's symptoms and problems, he decided it was best to do a vaginal sonogram. We have learned vaginal sonograms are necessary early in the development because otherwise the baby is too small to see through the normal sonogram over the waist.

We were surprised indeed once he showed us some images... there are not one embryo's but there are TWO! We are having twins! Can you believe it? We are still in shock!

Needless to say, so far everything is going fine as far as the babies are concerned. Melissa has finally been hit with horrible nausea and seems to struggle with feeling faint, tired, and sick daily. She is trying her best to brave through it, but is also being hit with overly-high emotions. Yesterday, Christmas day, was the first day Melissa hadn't cried in over a week!

We will surely keep you posted, and may you have a Happy New Year :)

7 Weeks Along

Today marks our 7th week along! Melissa is continuously drowsy and can't get a good nights sleep. She had her first bout with morning sickness yesterday morning. Her appetite is unpredictable... often not hungry at all or feels she can't stomach it. We have been keeping up with our baby book readings and were excited to see an image of a 7 week old that actually looked slightly human... up until this point, Matt has insisted we will be giving birth to an alien or a dinosaur. We are looking forward to that sonogram in two weeks!

Some of Melissa's co-workers have been giving her a hard time as they suspect something is going on. She will try her best to keep our little surprise quiet until the beginning of February. We are both finding out that it is hard to respond "no" to questions such as "Are you pregnant?"

We both have been keeping busy schedules this holiday season. Melissa finishes up finals tomorrow and Friday, while Matt wraps up the year at CAT. We then get to enjoy two weeks off from work for the holidays! We have various plans including a trip down to Georgia to see all of Matt's family. Melissa's brother will be home from schooling in Colorado, as well. We both love this time of year, as we can spend it with family members we care so much about!

In the last 6 1/2 weeks...

Here is where you can catch up on the first weeks of our pregnancy. Melissa is very much into reading her "You Pregnancy Week by Week" she has learned many things she had not been aware of in the past. Lots of good information in that book (including Dad Tips) and she suggests reading it when you are expecting.

According to our OB/GYN, Dr. Jack Gibson, he calculates the due date and dates of pregnancy by beginning with the first day of your last period. That was October 29,2008. We know we did not conceive then, but nevertheless, we are still 6 1/2 weeks pregnant with a due date of August 6, 2009. We are assuming we conceived in the middle of November, as that is when Melissa was probably ovulating. We took our first pregnancy test the morning of Thanksgiving, as a result of Melissa wanting to know 100% if she could have wine with her family that day. Since the test turned up positive, she had to decline the wine offers from her sister. We took two more tests following that, and both again, were clearly positive.

Melissa called her doctor and set up our first appointment for December 8, 2008...which just so happened to be our 1 month anniversary! What a way to celebrate! There, he confirmed the pregnancy, did a pap and lots of blood work, and off we went to grin ear to ear with the official news.

These first weeks have been pretty typical, although Melissa has been facing some minor struggles and pains. Her appetite has been thrown off but she is not dealing with any morning sickness. Fish, eggs, yogurt, and sweets are all now unappealing to her. All of which are previous favorite foods. She suspects its either the aromas or texture of the food. Either way, something is off! At the very beginning of the pregnancy, Melissa had some cramping, which worried her, as that is a sign of a tubal pregnancy or miscarriage. Thankfully, those have stopped and the doctor has verified all is well. Another typical symptom; swollen, tender breasts has been Melissa's #1 annoyance.

Our next appointment is Wednesday, December 31st where we will witness our first sonogram at 9 weeks of pregnancy, with a follow-up on Monday, January 5th.