Family and Friends Shower...February 28th

I made it to my last shower...yay! Sunday was such a beautiful day celebrating the upcoming birth of our babies with family and friends. Tracie and my mom with help from other family members worked so hard to create such a special day for me. The food was absolutely delicious, especially the cake! It was so good that there was none left! We got so many lovely presents and lots of beautiful homemade baby things, like blankets, quilts, stuffed animals, bibs, and paci clips. Everyone was so generous! Thank you everyone for making the day so memorable!

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Our Babies' Nursery

The nursery is finally done! Ryan worked so hard on it and definitely couldn't have done it without help from his family. Ryan and his dad first installed closet organizers into the bare closet. Next, Ryan painted the room a light yellow-tan color, called Floating Feather. Then, the big project began...Ryan and his dad put in bead board, new baseboards, a chair rail, and crown moulding. It looks amazing! After that, Ryan and his mom tackled painting stripes on the crib wall...they did an incredible job! And then, we had our painter spray all of the wood work. Finally, Ryan and his brother built the cribs and put all of the furniture in. Ryan kept me out of the room all day this past Saturday as he put everything together. Once he was ready to debut the babies' room, he put their ipod on with lullabies playing. It was so cute. I broke down in tears of course. We have both waited a long time for this moment. It couldn't have been more special. Now, I just need to get off bed rest, so I can decorate the walls!

My Work "Shower"

I decided to cancel my work shower because of my little cervical shortening scare. It bounced back up again a few days later, but the shower was supposed to be the day before the next reading. I just didn't think it was a good idea to be out before the ultrasound. It was wonderful, though, because my good friends from work, Kristi, Jen, and Stephanie came over anyway and brought tons of presents and dinner. So we still celebrated, which was nice. My work spoiled us with both swings, the double snap and go and lots of other baby things!

Bedrest...oh bedrest!

I have officially started week 3 of bedrest and while it is SO boring, the rewards are definitely paying off. At our doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we were quite alarmed to learn that my cervical length had shortened again. We were convinced it was due to the fact that the whole morning we took maternity pictures at our house, but still we were quite scared. The doctor ordered me to do nothing for the next three days and to come back today, Friday. Thank God we are back up to 3! So, while there still isn't any strong research to support whether or not bedrest works, it clearly is helping me. We go back again in a week and then most likely will reevaluate the terms of my bedrest then or possibly the following week when I am 28 weeks. Regardless, though, I intend to continue doing basically nothing until I am confident that the babies are big and strong enough to come out and play!

My first Baby Shower!

This past Sunday (yes, Superbowl Sunday), my good friends Angela, Linday, and their mom's, Kathy and Connie gave me a beautiful shower. It was so much fun to finally be the girl the baby shower was for and not a guest. The food was delicious, the decorations were adorable, and the company was wonderful. So many friends came to celebrate with me and everyone truly spoiled the babies with presents! It's hard to imagine where all of this "stuff" is going to go in our house, but I know we will find a place for everything. Luckily I am married to a super organized man! Thank you Angela, Lindsay, Kathy, and Connie for an incredible day...I am so blessed!

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25 Weeks and Growing and Resting!

So, here's the growing tummy at 25 weeks. It's getting quite big! To put it into perspective, I am measuring at 30 weeks. I have officially been on bedrest for a week now and it proved to be extremely successful. We had our ultrasound yesterday to check the length of my cervix and surprisingly it got longer! It went from 2.7 to 3.2, almost back to where it was the previous 6 weeks. The doctor was very happy with the results of the bedrest, so I have to continue it for the next 3 weeks until we make it to 28 weeks. Then, if my cervix is still in the "good" range, the doctor will release me to be a little more active. He said the result of the big drop was due to doing too much. After talking to other women who have given birth to twins in the last few years, I actually made it further than most in terms of going on bedrest. My only job right now is to grow healthy babies, which is kind of nice.

Now, while it does seem appealing to be a "lady of leisure" as Ryan's grandma puts it, bedrest can make a girl crazy! I feel like my papa right now...I look forward to getting out of the house for my doctor's appointments! It's hard to be dependent on other people to help you with everything, but I am so lucky to have fantastic support from my husband and family right now...this is definitely a team effort! I do my best to keep the TV off from 11-3 every day and instead listen to music, read, play on the computer, crochet (Ryan's mom just taught me!), etc. I LOVE visitors too!The goal for the babies' birth is 6 1/2 weeks away...crazy!

24 Week Update

We had our 24 week ultrasound yesterday and unfortunately my cervix length has shortened. It's still in the normal range, but on the low end of normal. So I am on bed rest for the next week to see what my cervix does. Praying hard it stays where it's at. The good news is that my cervix is completely closed, the babies' sacs are in tact, and they are developing beautifully. I will do anything I have to do to give birth to healthy and big babies, so let the boredom of bed rest begin!