I Feel Like a Pod People

So we went to the OB for an ultrasound yesterday, and all is well so far. I have to say, though, that the babies looked a little scary. In fact, I'd go as far as to say they looked like little aliens. Their eye sockets were large and black, and really all you could make out were the skeletal structures. Hopefully they won't grow up to devour me and take over the world. Look at, honey, how cute are they as they eat our neighbors?! Just kidding -we like our neighbors. And the babies are kinda cute. They have little tiny fingers and toes that wiggled for us. I still can't believe how much they've grown in 4 or 5 weeks. They measured about 8 cm from head to rump. (The legs were curled up, just so ya know. Trust me, Grandma, they DO have legs.) The crowding in there makes it hard for me to tell that they're even in separate sacs. They are active little critters, though. Everytime the Tech targeted Baby A's heart with a crosshair, he/she became a little Mexican Jumping Bean. It was tough to get a heartbeat! Baby B seemed a little more laid back. There was some definite twitching going on, but he/she was very spread out lengthwise, maybe a little squished vertically, but overall our little sea monkeys seemed to be in chillin' moods. The cool thing compared to the last ultrasound is that the movement is now all voluntary. I should feel them move soon, especially with twins, although I haven't as of yet. It'll probably take me longer since I'm a newbie at this stuff, and I don't know what to look for. At our next ultrasound in 4-6 weeks, we'll measure organs, limbs, etc. Apparently we'll be able to see a lot more by then. Stay tuned.

I tried to attach the clearest pictures, but it's never as clear as seeing them squirm and jump on the screen. (Click to enlarge.)

Ramblings

Ok, so I don't have much to say until after Tuesday, when we have our next appointment. I'm feeling tired and so ready for the rain to take a breather. I'm apparently sensitive to the mold in the air. Post nasal drip does not play well with nausea. Other than that, things are going well. The babies are about 4 inches long now, and I am starting to be more uncomfortable at night. I think one is sitting at such an angle that my left side hurts to lay on. Oh well, right side it is.

Brent and I actually attempted to go register for baby goods the other day. We went through the whole registration process at Babies R Us only to become overwhelmed and scan nothing. "Do we want a Pack N Play with a bassinet and changer, or do we want the deluxe model with wheels, shelves, music, and the whole nine yards?" "I dunno. It only holds 30 lbs and 1 child at once -why does that sound like a good idea?" You should have seen us at the strollers. We tried to be very smooth as we found the matching car seats and tried to lock them into the stroller seats. "Tried" being the operative word. We needed the help of a professional. In our defense, we were mostly there looking for crib ideas, since Brent wants to build them. We did, however, register for one goody. It's more of a joke, really. I'll let you figure it out on your own. I promise we'll add more before a shower comes along -I'll just drag my middle sis along with me to tell me what I need. Anywho, after the baby store, we shook it off, regained our composure, and Brent led the way to look for something more masculine- a minivan.

Oh yeah, I received this lovely image which could only have been done with the Photoshop skillz of one Dan Z. Thanks, man.



Now, this has nothing to do with babies, unless you consider our dog the biggest baby of all. And you should.
Jimmy Dean the courageously cowardly dog brought me a present last night. I let him out to do his doody. I was brushing my teeth when I heard a strange, low shrieking noise outside. I knew he'd found something. He's been obsessively hunting lizards and skinks since the rain has died down. (He's caught 2 very large, coppery scaled skinks by the way.) This noise, however, was not something uttered by the skink- that I knew of. Possum? Probably not, in the past when JD's carried them around they've played dead. Rabbit? Don't think so. I opened the back door to call him in, no response. I flashed the porch light (he's terrified of lightning), and he rushed excitedly around the corner -with a baby mockingbird struggling in his smiling mouth. Yes, he was smiling. He dropped it when I told him to, but it was too late. I could find no sign of punctures, but all it really takes is Jimmy's "squirrel toy shake" to do the deed. Poor little mockingbird. JD on the other hand was very proud of himself. I had to give him a treat. He's such a restless little hunter, and at least he hadn't eat it-yet. I'll keep you posted on Jim's feats as well. Oh yeah, and I won't say how, but both the possum story and this one somehow involved a BB gun... Actually, now that I think about it, that same BB gun appears in a lot of stories about this new house. Interesting...

Here's a couple of pics of the Ferocious Jimmy Dean (Yes, that's a cat bed.) I also added a pic of the late KC the cat. We had to put her to sleep last month due to kidney failure. She was almost 20 years old. I miss her furry little feet.

The Cat's Outta The Bag

We travelled to Austin this last weekend to tell Brent's grandparents the good news. They are in the process of moving into an assisted living apartment, so we helped them do a little bit of settling, and we took them out to Outback Steakhouse (MaMaw's Fav) to deliver the news. They were so excited. I've never seen his grandmother so emotional. She couldn't stand it, she had to call her friend (who was in bed already) and tell her! We later showed them the ultrasounds. I had forgotten that ultrasound technology is relatively new, so they needed complete explanations. When PawPaw couldn't figure out "where the baby comes out" or even where the babies even were in the image, MaMaw informed him, "Look Charlie, don't you see the eyeballs?" She was pointing at the first ultrasound where I had the tiny embryos circled with red. Not quite the eyeballs, but she was excited anyway. MaMaw had also gotten sloshed on margaritas at dinner...
(Click on pics to enlarge.)





Here's the pic I said I would reluctantly take (12 Weeks):

Times Two

Yes, we're having twins!! We are very excited and appropriately nervous! I finally got around to scanning ultrasounds for your perusal. The first one is from pretty early on at almost 4 weeks. It pretty much just looks like 2 little holes on the screen. We were relieved there weren't 3! Seriously. At our 6 week ultrasound (not pictured), we could make out heartbeats! The following ultrasounds, though, are much more interesting. At 9 weeks, we could make out limbs, brains, fingers, and feet! One of our resident fetuses (or foeti as I like to call them now) began kicking towards the other! I was actually disappointed to find out that sibling rivalry hadn't begun, since these movements are still involuntary. The other 2 ultrasounds show them at 9 weeks. BTW, they are fraternal twins with separate placentas, so they could turn out to be the same sex or a boy-girl combo. We'll see...

I've started in with the nausea thing mostly in the last 2 weeks or so. (Week 11 and 12 for those of you who follow such things.) Not much vomiting yet -thank God! I just eat about every 2 hours to head off the queasiness! My face started swelling a little last week, and my middle has been expanding for about 2-3 weeks. I'll reluctantly take some pics of myself in the next few days to post for your scrutiny. Keep watching for the next post!
(You can click on the pictures to enlarge.)