Baby #3 (Maybe more!)

Almost 2.5 years post Hayden and Quinn.. and I’m back!! =)
I am disappointed that I didn’t keep up my blog for my entire pregnancy with them, but things got so so crazy! I find myself going back to it all of the time now that I am pregnant again to remind myself how I was feeling at certain times!! 

Savier and I agreed to start fertility treatment again in February of this year, but we couldn’t get all of the appointments scheduled and insurance stuff figured out until much later. We did one IUI in May and it was unsuccessful. We had to wait 30 days before starting again because it left cysts in my ovaries.
So on June 21 we had our second IUI and on July 2, only 11dpiui, I got a positive test!! I was getting bad cramps in one specific spot on the left side of my uterus and I felt like I just knew which is what justified my testing three days early!! I went in for my betas on the 6^th and 8^th (15dpiui and 17dpiui). The first one was 846 and the second was 2023! These are significantly higher than what they were with the twins so Savier is convinced that we will have multiples again! Lol!
The clinic we go to doesn’t do an ultrasound until 7 weeks, so it is scheduled for next Tuesday, three days from now!!! I feel like we have been waiting FOREVER already! I started feeling really sick a few days ago and it’s been getting worse and worse. On Thursday morning before work Savier was making me breakfast while I got ready for work. I walked into the kitchen and saw and smelled the bacon on the stove (which I typically eat every day!) and threw up. I remember feeling sick with H and Q, but not physically throwing up! Today I went out and bought preggie pops, some acupuncture bracelets, some morning sickness tea, and pretty much anything that I could find at Target for pregnancy nausea!
I feel like I am getting so big already and it’s freaky! I showed quickly last time since I had twins and was so skinny before getting pregnant and I know that they say that its normal to show faster the second time, but damn! I am also on progesterone suppositories again, though which make me SUPER bloated. Im 99% sure my bump is all bloat! Im strongly considering even breaking out my maternity uniform pants for Monday because I had to unbutton two buttons the other day. Only two people at work know that I am pregnant though so Im trying to hold off until after the ultrasound!
The girls are all super excited about a new baby and Mak and Hayden say they want a boy baby while Quinn says she wants a girl baby ;) lol. Our list of names so far is:
Girl -
Brielle
Shay
Gianna
Evelyn
(I want Shay for a middle name if we don’t choose it for a first!)
Boy-
Gianni Cade/Carlo/Marcel

I’m super excited for our growing family! I’m so thankful for everything that we have been blessed with and our wonderful life! It is going to be an interesting adventure, for sure. My due date should be March 14, so H and Q will be 3 and Mak will be 7 when the baby(ies) is(are) born! I always thought that I wanted another baby around the time that Hayden and Quinn turned 2, but I am so glad it worked out the way that it did and they will be 3 instead! They are growing and progressing so much and I absolutely adore being able to soak up every moment of it right now! They seriously are the most perfect children I ever could have dreamed of! One day I will make another post about that pregnancy and birth with all of my final pictures and some pictures of them! =)
Life is beautiful and I share is with the most amazing people on earth! <3

Hayden and Quinn! =)

As everyone knows and has known for a few weeks now, we are having two little girls!! =)

Their names will be Hayden Rae and Quinn Reese. We have been going back and forth on Quinn's middle name, but that is what we have for now=)
So much has happen over the past few weeks and I really want to get better at writing every week again. I don't want to forget any of this pregnancy and I know that this is the best way to remember! I'll start with pictures again and then try to fill in all of the spaces!

18 weeks.

19 weeks.

20 weeks.

 21 weeks.

 22 weeks.

 23 weeks.

24 weeks.

 25 weeks.

Andddd. The babies!!

B at 20 weeks.

 Getting kicked in the face!

 Baby A at 23 weeks.

 Baby A at 24 weeks.

 Baby B at 24 weeks.

 Both babies at 24.5 weeks.

I got to come home during week 19 to go to Cass' wedding and finally see Savier for the first time since he left for Wisconsin. =) He said that I was much bigger than he thought I was going to be from seeing me in Skype all of the time. I could feel a lot of movement at that point, but not quite on the outside yet, so he didn't get to feel it =(. About three days after I got back to South Carolina I started feeling it on the outside! It looks like there is an alien in my belly at many points of each day and I just sit and stare! I am so amazed and in love with every little (and huge!) movement happening inside of me. Savier finallllly got to feel them this past weekend, which makes me very happy! Just thinking about his face while his hand is on my belly feeling these precious little girls gives me the biggest smile!
During week 19 my boobs started leaking... and I was shocked! =P I didn't think that could happen so early, but I am crossing my fingers that this is a good sign for my future in breastfeeding! =)
My parents got to South Carolina during week 23 and I had an appointment with an ultrasound the day after they got there. Only Baby A felt like giving us good face shots that day, but that's okay! She finally showed her beauty! <3 Both babies weighed 1 pound 4 ounces at this point! After the main part of the ultrasound, which was really long.. my parents left the room so that we could do the vaginal one to check my cervix. Ideally, it should be 3.5. Mine started at 3.3 and when applying pressure it went down to 2.4. Since it shortened so much the doctor had to come back into the room and check it. I had NO idea what checking it included and was not warned before he practically shoved his entire hand inside of me.... ouch!!!! He put me on vaginal progesterone since we didn't know when I would be able to get in to see the doctor in Wisconsin and said to make another appointment as soon as possible. I was able to call BayCare and get in for a week from that day.
During the last few days in South Carolina my parents helped me clean my house and get everything ready to move back to Wisconsin. I am so thankful for them and all of their help and support. I never could have done it without them. I was nearly in tears the last day before we left because my body was just so sore from all of the final cleaning and packing. We left on Halloween, which was a Friday at about 4pm and ended up getting to Two Rivers at about 9pm on Saturday night! The drive wasn't bad. My dad drove all except like 4 hours and we saw some beautiful snow in the mountains on the second day! We hadn't planned on getting back until Sunday, but when I told Savier that we would be there a day early and that he could come over and sleep with me he didn't hesitate to tell me he would. =) I was so stinking excited! He is the greatest!
On Wednesday my mom came with me to my first appointment in Green Bay. It was pretty much just a "meet the doctor and talk about what's going on" kind of thing. I saw Dr. Sipes who I immediately liked! He told me to schedule an ultrasound for the next day and then come see him again after. I went and scheduled the ultrasound and my glucose test. Thursday I went by myself and had a full anatomy scan =) They were both weighing 1 pound 9 ounces and everything looked wonderful! Baby B was even head down again! My cervix was still measuring as short as 2.4. Dr. Sipes said that he was going to refer me to Dr. Hayes who is the maternal-fetal medicine doctor to see if he would do anything different.
As soon as I got home I got a call from a nurse asking if I could be there again at 8:15 the following morning to see Dr. Hayes. When I got there they told me that they were going to do another full anatomy scan. I didn't complain, because I love to see Hayden and Quinn as much as possible! =) Baby A gained 2 ounces over those 24 hours and Baby B was still exactly the same... except the fact that she flipped over again and was now breech. I've decided to stop getting excited when she turns head down since she can't make up her mind quite yet =P My cervix measured at 3.0 this time, but the sonographer didn't measure while applying pressure, so I'm not really sure how much that matters. After the ultrasound I went into a room with a nurse and Dr. Hayes came in a few minutes later. He told me that my cervix looks wonderful for having twins (the best he had seen all week) and he didn't see a reason to be concerned. This was a huge relief for me and I immediately felt comfortable with him and could tell that he really knew what he was talking about. He started telling me about a bunch of studies and statistics regarding the progesterone I was taking. He said that it is really good for singleton pregnancies, has no affect on twins, and increases the chance of stillborn for triplets and more. He said that it will not help me, but I could keep taking it if I wanted to. I obviously didn't want to after I heard the word stillborn. I know I don't have three of them in there, but still! He talked about how a lot of the time with singletons the cause of preterm labor is the cervix which is why it can be beneficial in those cases, but in twins it is just the fact that they run out of room in the uterus.
I have to go back to see Dr. Sipes on the 20th and Dr. Hayes on the 1st! Rosi (my mother-in-law) and MaKayla will get to go to the one on the first with me which is also the next ultrasound, so that should be exciting! =) Dr. Sipes told me that his goal for me is 36 weeks. Which is January 26th! Savier's guess for when they will come has been the 27th, so we will see! =) The longer the better! I'm sure I won't physically agree with that for much longer, but I want them to make it as close to 40 weeks as possible! My goal is just for them to not end up in the NICU! Dr. Sipes said that if I make it to 36 weeks we should be able to bring them home with us! =)
Last night I had my first very unrealistic "I'm going into labor" dream. I woke up pretty startled even though it was ridiculous. I know that nurses aren't going to come to my house to give me an epidural and then tell me to get to the hospital. I know that I will have my hospital bag packed long in advance. And I know that I won't casually drive around looking for steak before I go to the hospital. But still... just the idea of going into labor is scary and thinking about crazy things happening during it all is not high on my thrill list! The babies had also switched sides in the dream (A is on the left and B is on the right in real life!). I'm pretty sure that is not even possible! Hopefully that was the first and the last weird dream I will experience relating to actually having them! =P
My parents have been very helpful with the doggies and so has Savier when he is able to come here on the weekends. It is honestly a huge relief for me to have someone here finally. I love them to pieces, but not being the only one in the house who it able to get up and feed them or play with them or let them outside is so wonderful. All three of them did very good with the move! I ended up buying Xena doggy diapers for the car ride because I didn't know how she would do and she didn't even need them! =) I did get pictures in them though =P

Here is them all settled in at Grama's house! 

 And here is Daddy with his Weenie (& Heffy)! =)

I absolutely love being back home and getting to see family all the time. Especially Alaina and Logan! =) They are just the greatest!

We did our maternity pictures this past weekend. Jennisa said that she thought we should get them in before I am too uncomfortable and huge. Which I totally agreed, because simple things like getting up have been getting harder and harder! We will still do a few more when MaKayla gets here, also! We looked at all of the raw images that night and were absolutely in love.. but here are the few sneak peaks for now!!

And I can't end this post without talking about October 5th. Avery's due date. <3
I woke up in a hotel with Savier in Antigo since it was the day after Cass and Dan's wonderful wedding. I knew the day would hurt, but I found myself in tears before I was even able to get out of bed. That is something I have noticed over the past eight months. Some days just hurt. Some days I feel like I am reliving it all over again and other days I just smile at the thought of meeting him/her someday in the future. October 5th hit me like a ton of bricks.

This was the same day that Jennisa took gender reveal pictures for us, so Savier and I took a moment during that to remember Avery also. We released one pink balloon and one blue balloon as we held each other and watched them float away.. <3 It was sad. But it felt appropriate and brought a slight smile through the tears.
I still think about Avery every single day. He/she would be just over a month old. It is crazy to think how different life would be right now if God didn't need our baby so soon. One day I will tell Hayden and Quinn all about their older sibling.. and how if it wasn't for the sacrifice of his/her life, they would not be able to be here with us. <3 One day they will understand. Maybe one day I will understand a little better also.

Until next time...

xox.
-N.

Halfway there... give or take a few! =)

I'm finally back! I didn't mean to take this long of a break from blogging, but life got a little crazy. Since the last time I wrote Savier and MaKayla have both left and our babies have grown a ton.. along with this huge belly of mine!! So on that note, we will start with pictures instead of end with them this time! =) They aren't as wonderful as they used to be since I have nobody here to help me take them anymore and I don't have anything in my house the perfect height to just set the camera on!

14 weeks.

 15 weeks.

16 weeks.

 17 weeks.

I'm not sure why I chose the ones where I am looking down for all of them... probably because I just can't get enough of these little babes! <3

When Savier first left I had a pretty hard time adjusting. I didn't want to blog right away because I was feeling a little.. off.. and I wanted all of those intense feelings to stay between the two of us. I also didn't want to look back a few weeks later and remember how irrational I was probably being. I was going through a stage of complete exhaustion and I just felt overwhelmed being all by myself and having so much to take care of. When MaKayla left a week later it lightened the load a little, but it deepened the "wound". Since, everything has been wonderful. I miss them both a ton, but Savier and I are able to Skype all of the time and we get to see MaKayla twice a week! It doesn't make me less anxious for this transition period to be over for us, but I feel better about everything than I initially did.
As far as the babies go.. our appointment the day before Savier left was wonderful! The ultrasound was about an hour long and we got to see all of their cute little pieces and parts! Baby A was not on our side and the ultrasound lady was trying so hard to get him/her to move that I felt like I had a bruise by the time we left! It was so amazing to see them for such a long time, though so I wasn't too upset that he/she was not cooperating! ;) I met Dr. Sullivan later that day and I felt really comfortable with him being my doctor!

I am pretty sure I started feeling a little bit of movement the week after Savier left! I remember laying in my bed on my side and texting him telling him I was so sure what I was feeling was one of our babies! It was right around the side of my bellybutton and it was just a few repetitive "taps". I was so so excited and I wanted it to just keep happening over and over! It didn't, of course! They were very sporadic and didn't come back for a few days. I don't remember when it started happening regularly, but it does now and I love every single second of it! =) The main time I feel them is when I wake up and stand up out of bed! The baby on the left (Baby A) has definitely either stronger or more active the past week though!
I had a 3d/4d early gender determination ultrasound on September 9 and the wait felt like a lifetime! Baby A showed us right away, but Baby B took a little longer to get into position ;) The genders were very clear and Savier was on Skype with me so that we could find out together! We aren't telling the whole world what the result was yet, because we want to do reveal pictures when I go home the first weekend of October! It will be here before we all know it, though! ;) I don't like to leave people in the dark and I know I announced the pregnancy on here before we had an official picture... but it just feels right to do it this way! =) Seeing them in 3d/4d was amazing! One of the babies looked like he/she was hugging his/her cord the whole time and one was upside down!

My next ultrasound was this past Friday! She was switching back and forth between normal and 3d and they were really fun to watch! I also had her verify their genders ;) They are still exactly what they were the first time! Baby B kept pushing his/her face up against the membrane and looked like he/she was trying to give her brother/sister kisses! Baby A lifted a hand and looked like he/she was petting B's face and then all of a sudden..WAP! That little hand smacked B right in the face and his/her head bounded back! It was so hilarious, but so sad! I hope they can't actually hurt each other in there =P They are both head down now, so at least they aren't kicking each other in the face anymore! Typically the lady said they don't start checking the cervix until the last couple weeks, but since twins tend to come early they started for me now! Everything looked wonderful normally and when she pushed on my stomach! It was weird to see a little head pushed right up against it! We scheduled another ultrasound for two weeks from tomorrow and that will be my two hour second trimester one! I am super excited to be able to watch them for that long!! I just absolutely love seeing them and watching the amazing ways they move around and interact inside of me! <3

I feel like a humongous whale lately! I've started to get bigger everywhere rather than just my belly. I was expecting a lot of growth during this time period, but it is really scary to actually see! I love watching my belly grow.. but not my thighs, boobs, and face! I used to not even fit into an A cup unless it was padded and I am rocking a C now! This is not normal! =P None of my clothes fit me anymore. And that includes my "baggy" t-shirts! They are skin tight on my tummy. I got three maternity shirts and a pair of maternity pants last week from a girl who posted on one of the military for sale pages! She is such a doll! I left her house with three bags full of baby clothes, those clothes for myself, a baby bath seat, towels, washcloths, bibs, burp rags, blankets, shoes, hats, toys, a boppy, a bumbo seat, a carrier, a bouncer, ect... for super cheap! I couldn't have gotten luckier! =) I will still need more newborn clothes I am sure, but I am going to try to wait on that since I have no idea how big the babies will be! I started doing some research on it and many people said that their twins were in preemie and newborn clothes for up to the first three months! I think it will be best to wait and gauge where we are at so I don't end up with a bunch of stuff that cannot be used!
Oh!! To go along with my quickly growing belly, I had to take my belly button ring out last week! I keep pushing it through in hopes of it staying open, though! Also, my belly button is no longer a deep "innie". It is pretty much just flat! Woah!! =P Mmmm.. I am also getting worried about how early I will have the babies. Savier and I were assuming 36-37 weeks, but the more I read, the more I worry it will be sooner and they will be in the NICU longer=( I'll try to just stay positive! God won't let them come until they are ready! <3 Speaking of.. I got baptized yesterday and couldn't be happier about it! I am so happy that our little babies were "with me" during this important moment in my life! God is so so good and I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful church who helped me to really find him!

I've rambled quite a bit and I am extremely tired, so I will end it here! =) I promise I won't take a month to update again!! And I promise the whole world will know the genders in 13 days!! <3 Ekkkk! I can't wait to share!!! =)

xox.
-N.

zzZZZzzz...

All I want to do is sleep! Ahh! I had no idea I would be this incredibly exhausted all of the time!
So, last week at our ultrasound both babies were very active! They were flipping around like crazy. We didn't get any wonderful pictures because MaKayla insisted on helping Dori again and always moves the thing.

The babies measured at 12 weeks! Everything looked wonderful and Dori said that I can stop my estrogen and progesterone and if I need anything from here on to let them know, but I am free to be seen locally now! She said to let them know what we are having and send them a picture when they arrive.. and that is probably the last time we will see her! I am so so very thankful for her and Natalie and the rest of the staff at Fort Bragg! I could never express in words how much their services and kindness means to me! 

As soon as we left the hospital I had a message on my phone from MUSC, the hospital I will be going to here! We weren't able to schedule an appointment right away because they didn't have everything they needed, but it was only a few days before I got everything set up. They tried telling me that I had to wait until September 3rd to have an appointment and I freaked out a bit. They also told me that they aren't scheduling me with a high risk doctor until after they initially see me to decide for themselves if I am high risk. I got it so that I can be seen this Friday. I have to go to the North Charleston clinic at 10:30 for an ultrasound and then the downtown Charleston location at 2:50 to meet with the doctor. I would much rather do that than wait three weeks though! Especially right after coming off all of the medication and everything! I have still been using one Endometrin a day... just because Im crazy and too scared to go from 3 to 0 so suddenly! Hopefully everything at the appointment goes smoother than scheduling it did! I will definitely switch clinics if it doesn't.

I feel like I have grown a lot in the past week! My tummy is just always there now where before it would tend to get more noticeable in the afternoon or evening! 

12 weeks!

 13 weeks! (ignore the face!=P)

That is the last weekly picture that Savier will take for me until the middle of December! Four whole months! That's crazy and super sad to think about! He is moving to Wisconsin this Saturday because he has an interview on Monday in Menasha and then starts school three weeks later! Hopefully he will have a few more interviews during that gap also! =) I'm getting pretty sad about living alone.. especially since I have just been so incredibly tired lately and he has been an angel. He has been taking care of everything while I am a lazy hunk of junk. I don't know how I will function on my own right now.

My military separation is officially approved! As of December 2nd I will be a civilian! I was so excited when I got the email this morning, but a wave of sadness immediately followed that feeling. I have had such a wonderful experience and it really has made me into the woman I am today. Five years ago I never could have imagined all of the things I was about to see and the people I was about to come across! I have learned many harsh lessons along the way, but I cherish every single one of them for different reasons. I could go on and on about all of the ways the military has molded me... but I'll save that for another day! =) Maybe when I'm officially out ;) 

It's only 19 days until I can have a 3d/4d ultrasound to find out the genders!!! EKKKK!!! 

I won't update right after Friday's appointment since it's my last night with Savier, but I will update soon after that! <3

xox.

-N.

So much support!

We're almost to the 12 week mark! Woohoo! =)) I have been feeling much better lately and last week was filled with lunch hour naps! The babies both measured at 11w1d on Monday at our appointment! Still measuring ahead.. grow babies grow! =)
At our appointment we had one super active one again and one lazy one! I think the letters are mixed up on the ultrasound photos and Baby B was really the active one again! As soon as we saw "him", he was bouncing around and arms and legs were flying everywhere again! I hope he moves this much when I can actually feel it! =)) MaKayla got to help Dori do the ultrasound and she was so so excited!

Look at that little nose on the top!! <3

We scheduled one more appointment there for next week Tuesday and then hopefully the doctor here will at MUSC will have called me back to schedule my first one there! 

We announced our pregnancy on Facebook on Monday right after the appointment and got an incredible amount of love and support in return!! How amazing! =) 396 likes currently on the announcement picture. These babies are going to be so so loved! 

I was told that the doctor's at the clinic I will be going to typically will not tell you the gender until you are 20 weeks, even if they can tell before that! I am hoping that is not really the case, but if it is we will just schedule a 3D for September 8th! I had a dream last night that it was two girls! So I have now had dreams of every single combination and can't even guess at what the real result will be! If i had to guess from the past two times I have seen them, I would say one of each because they seem to be completely opposite in there! =) But whoo knows! Hopefully us in about 4.5 weeks! Ekk! That sounds so so soon! 

I am too the point of feeling like I can't even bend forward comfortably because my belly is growing so much! But I love every second of it! =) 

Until next week... <3

10 weeks!

 11 weeks!

xox.

-N.