One Mango For Me…One Mango For Jason

Nineteen weeks and counting...grow babies grow! This week, the babies are each the size of a mango. They measure about 6 inches in length and weigh about ½ pound each. I included a picture below of two mangos to give you an idea of the size, which remember only measures from the top of the head to the rump (legs not included!).     

Our sweet pieces of fruit this week have been getting more active and it is very exciting. Jay was able to feel a baby kick this week too. This goes along with the amazing development that has occurred this week. This week, neurons have connected from the brain to the muscles and cartilage continues to turn into bone. These two upgrades in development allow the babies to control their limb movements. During this past week, specialized areas in the brain were also designated to control smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Another development was the production of vernix caseosa, which is a waxy protective coating that forms on their skin and keeps the babies from getting shriveled up like a prune since they are constantly in amniotic fluid.          

This past week, I realized that Baby A will be my early bird and Baby B will be Jason’s night owl (one for me and one for you…it is only fair that I share!).  Baby A has always been the first to wake up with me bright and early before the sun rises, but this past week I had been on overnight calls for work and it was very obvious that Baby B was partying like a rock star in the wee hours of the morning. It was a good reminder that our hands sure will be full once the babies are here!

I continue to have some good days and some bad with the nausea and vomiting but so much better than never having a good day! I’m thankful for the Zofran…and even though it isn’t a perfect fix, it does definitely help. The Lord is definitely preparing me and my body for these babies. Most people talk about how much sleep they get and how exhausted they are in their first trimester and beyond and I have to admit, that never truly happened for me…quite the opposite really…sleep is a luxury! However, I think I’m starting to get it down, to a math equation in fact:

Arctic blast temperatures (thank you AC because the heat index is 105 on average!) + three to four pillows under my head + a pillow under the belly + a blanket or another pillow between knees + two pillows to support my back + empty bladder = 30-45 minutes of sleep.

(In other words, a big, cold, pillow sandwhich!)

It sort of makes for a long night (and you can only imagine the process for flipping the side I sleep on or getting out of bed to empty my bladder which occurs at least 5x a night), but I really think God is using it to prepare me for the exciting yet exhausting time after the babies arrive. Jay is surely up for a rude awakening (literally!)…he is going to have to make the switch overnight!

This week we are really looking forward to going to a multiples class at the hospital. It will be a fun day for Jay and I to see other families in our shoes and to learn about what this will look like. Half the class is devoted to pregnancy and labor/delivery and the other half is devoted to after the babies arrive. Although a lot of it is familiar to me because I teach it to moms of multiples as part of my job, it is going to be a really neat bonding experience for us as we fast-forward into the future and try to capture a glimpse of our upcoming chaotic lives! On another note, this past week we have completed our registry (course I guess it is never really done!) and I have gathered all the supplies needed for the bedding and curtains in the nursery and have surrendered it to the seamstress.  I truly can’t wait to see the final product.  

Here are some pictures--first the mangos, then one of me:)

19 weeks