This double-week posting business is becoming a pattern. I normally love sitting down on Friday mornings and writing these posts, but last Friday I was really busy throughout the day and never had a chance to write it. So, today you get two weeks in one. I feel extra caffeinated this morning because I added matcha green tea powder to my chocolate shake for the first time, and I think it had more caffeine than I thought. And antioxidants, win win. This is the powder I found at my Whole Foods yesterday if you’re interested.
So overall, I have been feeling really good the past two weeks. I am still really enjoying the second trimester, even if I am still a little tired some days (mostly days where I get a good workout in). But I am happy to say I am not really uncomfortable yet, even though my belly is definitely getting much bigger. Sometimes my stomach gets a little crampy (maybe they’re Braxton Hicks contractions – practice contractions), but that’s normally if I am lifting something too heavy, or pushing myself too hard, and I’ve found it’s easiest just to listen to my body and stop doing whatever I am doing that’s causing the cramping. But overall, feeling really good and am feeling lucky that the pregnancy has gone so well so far. Continuing to cross my fingers this continues, as I know twins can throw you for a loop sometimes!
Weeks 25 & 26
The twins: According to my baby app, the babes are the size of coconuts, about 14 inches long and weigh about 1.7lbs! We go to our Maternal Fetal Medicine doc on Tuesday for a growth scan, so we will see how accurate this is 😉
Cravings and aversions: No longer craving dairy like crazy, but I’m still eating yogurt and drinking whole milk in my smoothies. Smoothies are my new obsession! I wish I would have been drinking these my entire pregnancy because they are jam packed with nutrients and my favorite way to start my morning lately. I haven’t been eating a ton of greens since I got pregnant, so adding a large handful to my smoothie each morning has me feel much less guilty. I also add hemp seeds (for extra plant protein), raw cocoa powder (lots of magnesium!), cocoa nibs, whole milk, 4 scoops of my collagen peptides (the stuff I am swearing by to keep stretch marks at bay), almond or peanut butter, and starting today, a packet of green tea matcha powder. So good and so good for the twins. What else am I loving..melon, berries, vanilla ice cream, iced tea (obsessed!). Coffee and my whole milk lattes no longer sound that good to me. I am much more into refreshing iced teas (Starbucks iced passion tea), and I am thinking it’s due to the 100 degree Texas temps we are still dealing with.
Dairy/skin update: I mentioned in my last post that my skin had been breaking out a lot, and I was blaming the increase in dairy in my diet. Well, my skin has improved, but I haven’t really cut back on dairy alll that much, so I am not sure what to attribute this to. I ran out of my Zinc supplement right around the time my skin started getting out of hand, and I know Zinc is a major player with acne, and it seems as soon as I started taking it again my face got better. There’s just no way to know, but I am going to continue with the dairy and taking my zinc, and see what happens. Zinc is also amazing for the immune system, which is suppressed during pregnancy, so I feel like I’m killing two birds with one stone when I take it.
Wearing: A lot of nike spandex shorts (they’re my volleyball spandex from high school, actually), and tank tops. This is pretty much my “uniform” when I am home or at a coffee shop working on the blog throughout the day. Sometimes I put on one of my h&m dresses I bought a few weeks ago. Those continue to be my favorite thing to wear. Maternity shorts don’t really do it for me – I don’t like the panel that goes over my belly (does anyone else agree?) because shirts seem to “stick” or static and look weird. I think I need the shorts that just have the stretchy side panels. It’s too hot here to wear leggings to workout, so I just wear shorts (nike and lulu lemon) and I am much more comfy at the gym.
Sleeping: No complaints here. I know a lot of people have trouble sleeping when they’re pregnant, and I am waiting for it, but so far so good. I am not uncomfortable at night and have mostly just been sleeping with my regular pillows. Two propped up for my head (I never used to sleep with two pillows so this is new with pregnancy) and one in between my knees/legs. So comfy! I pretty much sleep through the night, but sometimes wake up to go to the bathroom and can’t fall back to sleep for a while, but it’s nothing too bad. I haven’t used the Snoogle this week, but I am thinking I’ll need it as I get bigger.
Names: Still the same. We briefly discussed middle names a couple weeks ago but I don’t think we came to any solid conclusions. We will get there!
25 weeks
26 weeks
Bump: Definitely much bigger! My shirts are getting really short, and my dresses too, so that’s a sure sign I am getting bigger.
Exercise: I went to the gym a couple times this week and always feel great when I am there, but so tired later in the day. This seems different than what I’ve heard from others since workouts always seem to give them more energy when they are pregnant, but not me lately. I did go for a walk outside with Juney this week and it gave me a major energy boost (I haven’t been able to go on walks because I am trying to avoid mosquitos/zika). I miss being outside and wish I could walk her everyday without having to put on long sleeves and pants in the middle of summer. At the gym I normally walk 20-25 minutes, then do lots of squats with dumbbells, dumbbell weights for my arms and stretch.
Baby purchases: Don’t tell Mitch, but I bought the babies Patagonia outfits. I know they will just grow out of them, but I honestly couldn’t help it when I looked at their summer sale the other day. We are hoping to go to Ohio for Christmas, and they will need something warm 😉 Other than those, I haven’t really bought much for them! Our completion discount for our Amazon registry starts at the end of September, so we will buy what we need then. I don’t think we need much thanks to so many generous friends and family members. I am starting to look at baby wraps because I really want to wear one of the babies to make my life easier. I am loving the Kindred Woven Wrap below (the pictured Coranado Wheat color is sold out, but they have lots of other fun colors), but it’s pricey and I worry I won’t love it. I also need to figure out a diaper bag – I hear a backpack is very necessary for twins. Maybe this Lily & Jade one?
Nursery: Getting there! I spent the afternoon/evening last Friday taking all of our baby goodies out of their packages and washing everything. It was an undertaking but I am really glad I got it done. Mitch and I (aka Mitch only, as June and I watched) also built our stroller last week. We went with the Baby Jogger City Select with second seat (the brand is Baby Jogger, but it’s not a jogging stroller). My parents were so generous and got us our stroller and we were so surprised. It was something I definitely figured we would be buying for ourselves. Thanks mom and dad! We had to get two carseat adaptors for the stroller, but we were lucky and found a set on Craigslist for $50. On Amazon they’re each $80ish, so I was excited. We still have lots of organizing and putting away to do, but it’s coming along.
Supplements: Still the same but I am making more of an effort to take my probiotic each day. I’m really hoping it helps to prevent Strep B.
What’s next: We go to our MFM doctor on Tuesday to track the twin’s growth. Fingers crossed they’re still growing at the same speed! I also go to my regular OB in about a week and a half for my glucose test. Fingers double crossed that I pass – I have always had some blood sugar regulation issues so I am a little nervous.
Weight gain: As of Tuesday when I weighed myself on our scale, I was up about 22 lbs. I feel good about this. I researched some stats again this week and it’s a good thing if you gain 20lbs by 20 weeks, and even better if you gain 30lbs by 28 weeks. I think I can get close to that in the next week and a half.
Stretch marks: None so far. Thanks Collagen Peptides!
Any worries? We went to our hospital tour last weekend and I have to admit I felt a little nervous when we left. I am trying to have a natural birth with the twins (vaginal birth, no meds) and it just doesn’t seem like that’s the “mindset” at our hospital (even though I did really like the hospital). If I wasn’t having twins, I am pretty sure I would be having the baby at a Birth Center, just because it’s really important to me to have the best birth experience possible, and I feel like it’s easier to achieve away from the hospital setting. One of the nurses leading our tour asked our group of about 10 couples who was trying to have a natural birth, and only 3 couples raised their hands. Then the nurse found out I was having twins and told me she would highly recommend scheduling a c-section, because it’s “extremely rare” to have both twins naturally (sometimes Baby A be born vaginally and the other is “stuck” and requires a c-section – definitely a not-so-positive scenario for me or Baby B). Anyways, it was frustrating to hear that, but I am hoping with the help of our doula we will be able to achieve the birth we want for me and for the twinnies! I also just finished this book and loved it. It’s so empowering and I highly recommend it to anyone considering a natural birth, or who is wondering why on earth I would want to try to deliver twins naturally. This is pretty much why!
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