The Twins and I are Officially Half Way

 Hello everyone! 

I can't believe we're here! Like I have to literally stop and thank God we have made it this far knowing each day is precious. There is so much fear and strife right now, but I thank God I can take shelter in His wings no matter what is going on outside. These double rainbow twins feel like a promise from God Himself telling me He sees my grief and understands exactly what I need. I also pray for any future siblings whether adopted, fostered, or biological that we will be a family that treasures the little treasures God gives us. 

It is most definite that I look pregnant now. Haha! But I'm only half way! 😭 Time to order the pregnancy belt on Amazon I guess... 

I'm starting to really feel them moving around, and it's been so reassuring to feel those little kicks and flips! For those of you who do not follow me on Facebook, we have found out the genders! It's a boy and a girl! I was kind of hoping for a combo! 

When I found out, the ultrasound tech asked me if I wanted to know the genders. (That I mentioned in the last blog post.) Of course, I did! Before she started looking, she asked me what I thought they might be. I was like, "Well, the hormones have been crazy, so I feel like at least one of them is a girl. So she started looking, and of course, she found the boy first! "Baby A is a boy!" I started sweating a little here thinking I'm about to lose all my credibility as a mother. 😂 "And... Baby B is a girl!" Whew, I have not lost all credibility. 

For those of you who did not see our announcement on Facebook... 

And no, we are not naming them Luke and Leia as much as people think we should. 😂 We're still working out names, and making sure they sound good together is important to me. 

I had to go in around 18 weeks again because it always seems to be something! I think I've grown allergic to aluminum and some soaps, so that's fun! Usually my girl is hanging on top of my boy. Lording power over him already are we? On the plus side, my nausea has definitely gone down, and my appetite is also coming back! For now that is. You'll probably still see me lose weight all over my body except my stomach like what happened when I was pregnant with Joshua. I have a better plan for losing weight after they're out as well, so hopefully I will continue to go down! I probably won't have a choice anyway chasing down twins. 😅

I got my 20 week anatomy scan! The babies, of course, did not want to cooperate. We got a lot of what we needed, but not everything. I'll be going back in at the beginning of December to see if we can get the rest of those pics. I was hoping for pictures from the anatomy scan, but their system was down that day, so I don't think I'll get those sadly... 

Thankfully, everything is looking good, and any risk seems to be low whether it be chromosomal or just health wise. I am supremely thankful for this at the moment. 

As of writing this paragraph, I am now at 22 weeks, nearing 23. Baby girl tends to hang out on the left and baby boy tends to hang out on the right. Last time I had an ultrasound, both babies were head up, and I could see one of them "tapping" at the other one. It was precious. I was telling my mom I wish I could do a several hour ultrasound and just watch what they do all day. They sleep a lot, but they also move around and play with each other at this point. 

The reason I know what sides they're on is because it would be very difficult for them to switch sides at this point. Hopefully one will at least turn head down around week 30 so we can still do a vaginal birth. I'm only hoping to avoid a C-section because recovery takes longer. But we shall see if the babies will cooperate. And when do children cooperate?

Baby girl likes to wiggle around like nobody's business. I have a feeling she may be a firecracker... It was hard enough to get a profile picture of her as you see below. I have been feeling her brother move around more so though, so that's encouraging. Baby girl's heartbeat is good and right on track with her brother at 147 beats per minute. Which is totally normal. They're growing so fast and putting on the pounds from here on out. They have everything we have, but just need time to mature. 

Baby A, our boy, is doing well according to the ultrasound as well! And I am feeling him move around more. I think part of the problem is he doesn't have as much space as his sister being closer to the cervix. His heartbeat is good at 145 beats per minute. 

They are now a whopping pound getting close to a pound a half... To give you a better understanding of their sizes, here's What's to Expect app explaining where we are now!

It's such a comfort seeing that bar on the bottom past the half way. Baby Scout didn't make it past that first trimester, and it was absolutely heart shattering. Baby's now respond to sound and light! They can't quite open their eyes just yet, but we are very close! They hear my voice and other sounds as well. They hear my heartbeat and the whoosh of the amniotic sac. Oh to remember what that was like back when I was in the womb! They can also grab their umbilical cords and hands and feet. They are also both very stubborn, and in the last ultrasound, baby boy literally curled up in the fetal position so we couldn't see anything. HAHA. 

My belly band has been very helpful with my inner thing strain and back pain. I'm hoping babies decide to stay put for several more months, or at least to week 36. There is a greater risk of early labor since the uterus doesn't always get the message that there are two babies, not one... But if anything, this pregnancy has made me trust the Lord more than ever. I'm thankful that my nausea has died down and the utter exhaustion only happens every other day. 😅

I think I'm almost settled on names! These two have been tricky because I want them to sound good together, but not exactly alike. My online teaching has been going well, but it is exhausting being up so early. I will probably need to call it quits about a month before they are born in case they come earlier than expected, which they probably will. 

I wanted to share a song that I shared on Facebook that really touched me. It shows the end battle discussed in Revelation. Not a perfect rendition, but it still brought me to tears. The lyrics are powerful, and whoever did the animation did so well! As I watched it, it felt as if Jesus was putting his hand on my shoulder telling me He too longed to hold me in His arms. Anyway, here's the video in case you want to check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdcjcFBKwd4

Peace to you all! I look forward to meeting my babies face to face next year! 

Keri Lynn