Drum roll...

We have decided on some names for poor "Baby A" and "Baby B"...or the boy and the girl...or Pancho and Lefty as they've been called...

Laney Kayte and Mason William

William is Kodi's middle name...and a name that has been on his side of the family for MANY generations. As for Kayte, my middle name and my mom's middle name is Kay, and then it is honoring Kaylee. We got Kaylee's name from the Kay being our middle names and then Lee is Kodi's dad's middle name. So, this way, we are honoring Kaylee, too.

Doctor's Appointments

We have had both doctor's appointments this week. They were pretty uneventful! We saw Dr. Owen on Monday. My blood pressure was 110/70 and my belly measured 37 weeks. That's pretty much full term with a singleton! The heartrates sounded great and I had lost 4 pounds. I've had the chest and sinus crud pretty badly, so she did give me some antibiotics for that since everything else were trying short of medicine wasn't working.

The ultrasound with Dr. Hales was on Tuesday. The boy measured 2 pounds 14 ounces, and the girl measured 2 pounds 11 ounces. I was very concerned about this as it didn't seem like they had gained enough since the last appointment. But--it was a different ultrasound tech and their measurement points could have been slightly off. Kodi had to remind me that this is just an estimate! Either way, that is still about 2 weeks ahead and everyone was pleased with that. They had changed positions--the boy is now laying transverse, or horizontal across the left side of my belly. The girl--who has ALWAYS been head down--is now breech--and laying at an angle from the top right to the bottom left of my belly. It really doesn't matter for the delivery since we'll be having a c-section, but it sure does make it hard for me to tell who is who! Evidently I didn't have a blood pressure at Dr. Hales' office as they tried to take it 4 times and couldn't get a reading. They just said that my reading from the day before was ok.

Dr. Hales' comment from the appointment was, "It's about as perfect as we could ask for." So, that is a big relief. He doesn't see any reason why we can't make it to 37 weeks, but he also made sure that Kodi and I understood that anything can change in a heartbeat.

My last day to work--right now--is March 13th. Both doctors were very relieved that I had narrowed down a date...I had been avoiding it for quite a while so that I could just see how I felt. But--they were about to the point where they were going to mandate my stopping work if I didn't make up my mind. This DOES NOT mean bed rest, but just means rest and relaxation.

I will see Dr. Owen again in 2 weeks--February 23--at which we will most likely be starting steriod shots to mature the babies' lungs in the event that they are born early. The next ultrasound will be on March 3rd.

It's so hard to believe we are this close--the time will just fly by and then they'll be here!

BIG Babies!!

Yesterday was our appointment with Dr. Owen. Everything was great...my blood pressure was great, I had only gained 4 pounds (for a whopping total of 10 so far...this is important information for the rest of the blog...hehe), the babies' heartrates were great. Dr. Owen started measuring my belly and got this puzzled look on her face...and then her eyes got really big. She said, "That can't be right" and measured again...and again....and came up with 33-34 centimeters, which means I was measuring 33-34 weeks gestation. She said these are some big babies! I had my gestational diabetes test and that came back great, so no worries about diabetes! She mentioned that she doesn't really want us going past 37 weeks--my goal had been 38 weeks--but she doesn't want me to go any further because you can also have problems with the babies if they are in the oven too long. So, that puts us at looking at the c-section the week of April 13-17 sometime. Right around Kaylee's birthday...April 12th. How perfect could that be?

Today was our appointment with Dr. Hales, the high-risk doctor. This means ultrasound! We told the tech when we went in what Dr. Owen measured me at yesterday and so we were all very anxious to see just how "big" these babies are. And yes, they are big. The girl weighed approximately 2 pounds, 3 ounces and the boy weighed 2 pounds 4 ounces. That means they gained just about a pound in the last 3 weeks. They are technically measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. YEA!! We are so relieved at that...if they were to be born early, then their survival rate is that much higher due simply to their size. That means if the babies are weighing that much and I've only gained 10 pounds...I am not up very much at all! YEA!! I asked what they thought they would weigh at birth, and they said that if all continues to go as it has, then they'll be well over 6 pounds. YEA!!! Again!! The bigger they are--the chances are better that we stay out of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and can go home when I am ready to go home. All of the organs and everything looked great and we got to watch them in 4D which was really cool.

We are so thankful that everything has continued to go so perfectly so far...and we know that is because of all of the prayers and thoughts on our babies' behalf. We can't thank you enough! Our continued prayer is that everything keeps progressing this way....it can all change in a heartbeat, but we're going to do everything in our power to keep these babies going until April 12!

Our next appointments are in 3 weeks!

**I have had lots of people say that they haven't been able to leave a comment...I changed the settings on the comment box to where you don't have to have a password/user name to leave a comment. You can either click on "name" or "anonymous" and then hit publish.**

Latest Ultrasound.....

We had another ultrasound on Tuesday, December 30th. Yes, I know I am late in posting this, but the holiday break from everything has included my computer for some reason!

Everything looked great--we got some good pictures this time. There is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that these babies are a girl and a boy!!!! Both babies were head down. They were able to check all of the organs and everything on both babies checked out a-ok. Thank goodness!

Baby A--the girl--weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, and Baby B--the boy--weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces. We are so thankful that they are so close in size. This size continues to be on the big side...better big than too small! We pray that it continues to be this way!

We did get some 4D images--a great one of the little girl's face and one of the boy with his head on his forehead as if to say, "Good grief...what are they doing now?" I am trying to get them scanned in but for some reason the new scanner isn't cooperating. I'll keep trying.

My blood pressure continues to be on the low side, which is also good...and there are no indications so far of pre-term labor. The doctor had a "pep talk" with us that we would be shooting for 37 weeks and I told him that my goal was 38 weeks. Kodi's goal is 40 weeks. HE obviously isn't carrying them! HAHA

They are moving like crazy...all of the time! That is a big relief to me, because then I know that everything is ok. I keep telling them though, that it is ok to take a nap every once in a while!

We're working on getting the nursery and everything ready! I'll post pictures of that when we get it done.

Christmas with Kaylee

Kaylee had so much fun at Christmas last year! She loved the tree. We had to surround the tree with baby gates so that she couldn't get to the presents or ornaments. That didn't stop her, though....she would pull up on those baby gates and stand on her tippy toes to reach the lights and the ornaments. We'd tell her no, and she'd just laugh and laugh.

She loved opening presents. She was quite good at ripping that paper! She got a couple of dolls...which at 8 months old I have no idea how she knew to do this, but she would pick one of the dolls up, cradle it in her arms just like a baby and rock back and forth as she was sitting on the floor. She also got the Little People farm and house which she had lots of fun with.

Kaylee was a great sport with all of the traveling and everything! She loved people so all of the visiting was right up her alley.

Here she is Christmas morning with her cousins, Caden and Carley:





Here she is with GiGi (Kaci's mom) and Carley on Christmas Eve in her Christmas dress:



Kodi and I loved the magic that a child brings to Christmas. Yes, we miss her terribly right now, but we have such good memories to help us make it through this year. Next year will be very different with TWO 8-month old babies to make memories with. We are setting up some family traditions for us to do with the twins in honor of Kaylee, so that will be nice to do each year.

May each of you have a wonderful Christmas holiday, filled with that magic and excitement that makes lots of memories. Our love to all of you!

Doctor's Appointment

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. This time it was with Dr. Owen. My blood pressure was great (actually a little on the low side) which is a huge relief! She did a quick ultrasound and the boy had turned, so that both babies were head down and facing each other. The first thing we saw were four arms and four hands....and it looked like they were fighting! They're starting that WAY too early. Dr. Owen just laughed. They were definitely interacting with each other. Their heart rates looked good and they still looked about the same size, which is good. So far so good...our prayer is that it stays that way! Our daily prayer is that these babies hold out until the end of April so that we can stay out of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

I am feeling them more and more...when just one moves, it's hard to tell which one is which, but I know that will change. Every once in a while, I can feel both move at the same time...which is really weird!

We are past the halfway mark...full-term for twins is 37 weeks and I am already at 20 weeks. It's so hard to believe we're already this far....time will fly by.

Today's Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound today. Everything looked great...although they were much harder for Kodi and I to pick out what was what! I don't know how those techs do it! The babies are much bigger, therefore, not as much room to pick out major features for the amateur viewer.

The babies are still a boy and girl...hehe. We wanted to double check--3 medical professionals all agreed, so we'll believe them. They are measuring ahead of schedule and are just about the same size. The girl (baby A) weighed about 11 ounces and the boy (baby B) measured 12-13 ounces. This is the first time the boy has outweighed the girl! Their heartrates were 158 and 157. The doctor is pleased with my blood pressure and the overall progression of everything. The girl is head down, and the boy is breech right now, but of course, that could change. Since we are having a c-section anyway, it's not so important that they are facing the right direction anyway.

I am feeling them move more and more and even felt both of them at the same time the other night. Now that I know their current layout, I think I can begin to distinguish which baby is moving. I know that the movements will become MUCH more defined later on as they grow and grow.

All of their major organs look good so far and we'll be checked again on December 30 at the next ultrasound.

We visit the other doctor, Dr. Owen on Monday, the 15th, so more updates there!