Week 23 and 24! I had half of my 23 week post written and then I got to Ohio last week and never had time to finish it between baby and bridal showers and seeing friends and family. We got so many fun things from everyone and I am so thankful! Our guest room/nursery is filled to the brim and super unorganized right now, but that’s my project this weekend. And we get our glider this Saturday which will be fun to see how everything fits and what other little decor items I need.Ohio was my last airplane trip before the babes are born. Until then we will be traveling by car:)
Kombucha in my parent’s backyard. Still obsessed with kombucha just like before I got pregnant. So good!
Last week was a fun week because we went to our Maternal Fetal Specialist for a growth scan. We have to do these scans monthly (unless one of the babies starts to slow his growth, then we will need to go more frequently (either every 2 weeks, or every week). They’re quicker than other scans and they take measurements of their major organs and their length and we’re pretty much good to go. Baby A was 1lb 4oz and baby B was 1lb 2oz which they are happy with right now. I think that put baby A in the 57th percentile and baby B in the 25th, which is good for twins.Our last scan four weeks ago showed baby A in the 67th percentile and baby B in the 16th, so this is the progress we wanted to see for baby B! I went home and did some research and read that twins normally stay on the “single baby” growth curve until about 27 or 28 weeks, then they seem to fall off and stop growing as much which is why they are normally born smaller. Doctors really don’t know why this happens but they theorize it may be because they simply run out of room in the womb, and know to stop growing so quickly. I am hoping this doesn’t happen to our twins, but all the more reason to fatten them up in the next month!
In terms of how I’ve felt the past two weeks – things have been going pretty well. Mentally, I’ve felt incredibly scattered and am having a harder time focusing on the blog, nutrition things, etc. I hate feeling so unfocused, so I decided it might help to leave our apartment and go to coffee shops to work and it’s definitely improved. I am attributing some of these feelings to the so-called “mom brain” that everyone tells me about, but I also think it’s just having the babies on my mind. It’s crazy to think they will be here in about 10-12 weeks! Physically I am feeling really good! Morning sickness and food aversions seem to be gone (yay!) and I am not feeling uncomfortable or anything yet. Everyone tells me to enjoy the second trimester “bliss” so I am sure that’s what I am experiencing. Here’s to hoping it lasts:)
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I use all of the products listed below and recommend them because they are companies that I have found helpful and trustworthy.
Week 23 & 24
The twins: According to my baby app, Nurture, it says the twins are each 1.3lb and 11.8″ and about the size of a large zucchini.
Cravings and aversions: The aversions have really subsided which is nice (just took about 18 weeks ;). I haven’t attempted Chipotle, but that’ll be the true test. I can really eat anything these days and dinner isn’t a problem anymore which is so nice! Cravings on the other hand – I love cold refreshing things still. Cold melon, cold iced tea (fruity flavors), cold yogurt, etc. I don’t know if this is 100% the pregnancy making me want all these things, or if it’s the 105 degree days we’ve been having in Texas lately!
A note on dairy: As a lot of you know if you’ve been following these updates, I’ve been eating alottt of dairy while pregnant. Mainly because it’s what has sounded the best, it was very easy to eat, and it’s delicious. I never really ate dairy before I got pregnant, and relied a lot on coconut milk instead. Well, lately I’ve noticed my skin has been awful! So many breakouts that I never had before and I can’t help but think it’s from the sudden increase in dairy into my diet (I’ll touch on this in a separate nutrition-related post, but dairy can be a HUGE problem for people who get acne or break out often). So I’ve decided to cut a lot of it out of my diet for now. I will continue eating whole milk yogurt (lots of good probiotics), but I think I am getting rid of my whole milk after this week and already stopped buying cottage cheese. I will let you know if I see an improvement! I will have to eat more meat, chicken and eggs to make up for the protein I will miss out on, but luckily those foods sound good to me again.
Wearing: Dresses, dresses, dresses. So much more comfortable than wearing shorts or workout leggings at this point. But I do love wearing running shorts and spandex shorts for workouts. I finally went to h&m a few weekends ago and it was exactly what I needed. I don’t want to spend too much money on maternity clothes that I can’t wear after the babies are born, so I felt good going into h&m and buying cute things I can wear after. And so cheap and comfy! I also got some new maternity jean shorts that I think I got too big…baggy and not cute haha but maybe I’ll grow into them.
Sleeping: Sleeping is pretty good! My only complaint is waking up in the night to go to the bathroom then not being able to fall asleep – but it’s really not too bad. I am not uncomfortable thanks to extra pillows and my Snoogle, and I am starting to realize what a big difference our Tuft & Needle mattress makes! Whenever we go out of town I notice I’m much more uncomfortable at night (minus my parent’s house, actually). Our mattress is memory foam, but much more affordable than a Tempurpedic, and I can’t feel anything when Mitch moves around or gets out of bed. It’s also available on Amazon prime and comes in two days which was a huge perk for us when we needed a mattress. Highly recommend!
Names: We still love our two first names but haven’t given the middle’s anymore thought! Maybe this weekend:)
23 weeks
24 weeks
And here’s a fun look at how much the twins have been growing! Weeks 16, 17, 20, 22
Bump: Growing steadily it seems (and feels!). The pics say it all.
Movement: Lots of twin movement going on! It’s definitely my favorite part of being pregnant so far and really makes you feel more connected to the babies. I’m still not that good at knowing which is which when they move around, but I take my guesses. Baby A is head-down on the left and baby B is head-down on the right, so you’d think it would be easy to decipher their movements. But, even on the ultrasound, they moved all around in a short amount of time so you just never know! As they get bigger and stop changing positions it should be easier to tell them apart.
Exercise: Exercise has been good lately. When I was in Ohio I took advantage of the weather there (I happened to be there when the temps were lower and not so much humidity), and went on lots of walks. Since being home I’ve been going to the gym 3ish times a week and it feels really good. I also tried a barre class yesterday and loved it even though I’m so sore today! I think I’ll try to do at least one a week from here on out.
Baby Purchases: I bought the twins a few things when I was in Ohio – couldn’t resist some of the cute baby stores (if you live in Columbus and haven’t been to Cub Shrub – go! – perfect for your own kiddos or for baby shower gifts – I wanted it all) I went into with my friend. Like these pairs of sweat pants… Other than nursery things, I haven’t really had to buy much which is nice! I need to decide on diapers next… I want to do the Honest Company bundles but seems sooo pricey with how many diapers we will need for twins in the first few months! But the patterns…the lack of weird diaper chemicals…etc. is very enticing.
Nursery: Filled with boxes and baby stuff galore right now. It’s on my agenda to go through everything today to make room for our glider that arrives tomorrow! Once we have the glider I think things will start coming together more. I just hope the walk-in closet fits all this baby gear we have been accumulating!
Supplements: Same as before:)
What’s next: I have a regular doctor appointment on Tuesday with my OB (weight, blood pressure, baby’s heart beats etc), and another MFM growth ultrasound two weeks from Tuesday. After this coming OB appointment I start going every two weeks.
Weight gain: I weighed myself this week on our scale and looks like I have gained about 20 pounds so far. I am 24 weeks, so this is pretty on point with where I wanted to be by this point. I could be a little higher, so I just need to focus on eating more protein and healthy fat (nut butters, avocados, butter, coconut oil, etc) in the next coming weeks.
Stretch marks: None so far. Still thanking my 4 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides I am having each day!
Any worries? Nope 🙂 Just getting excited to meet these twinnies!
Leave a Reply