testing

Trying out blogger on my Droid. :-) I know I need to update, lol! but life has been hectic in general. I will update soon, I swear.

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Latest update

The docs feel I am fine to go home and the girls, as they say, are healthy. They wanted to discharge me today but I was uncomfortable doing that without having Mishu there to sit down with the doc and ask all the questions that I didn't and still don't have the where with all to ask (ie. please explain bed rest, can she drive, specifics, how often for doc appointments, how long do you reasonably think she will carry) and to voice our concern with his work. He is working 4:30a(which means he leaves the house at 3:30)-7p (at the earliest, usually 9p) every day M-F. And they are on full recall status. So if he gets a call, doesn't need to be a legit mission, even if they are just doing a surprise, keep-you-on-your-tows thing, he has to be in formation before 2 hours has passed. He is worried about me being home alone all that time and lack of transportation if I cannot drive. So yeah...that is what we are talking with the doctor about tomorrow.


I had a BioPhysical Profile test done today and both babies scored a 10 out of 10, perfect. For those that don't know what it is, here is what I found on About.com

One of the major parts of the BPP is a detailed ultrasound. During the ultrasound the technician is looking for movements of your baby's arms and legs (muscle tone), movements of the body, breathing movements (moving chest muscles), and the measurement of amniotic fluid. Your baby will be scored on five things during the test. A score of 0 (abnormal) or 2 (normal) will be given in each of these categories:

    * muscle tone
    * body movements
    * breathing movements
    * amniotic fluid levels
    * heart rate 

Mishu asked to look at my chart, which I was fine with and so were the nurses and charge nurse. He has almost never been here when they come back with the test results or even when they are ordering the tests and he'd like to know the results in a more detailed way (that's his brain and he is a medical background and undestands the technical terms) I asked him to look at about how big the girls are, because I didn't catch that this morning during the test (the bed was SO uncomfortable and I'm just in general sore all over.) Both girls are measuring about late 32-late 33 weeks (a little ahead of the doc's schedule....which is what I've been telling them all along!!! ) and each weigh around....get this......4.6lbs!!! OMFG! NO freakin wonder my body is so sore! In the past week, one gained a whole pound and the other gained at least half a poind. GAH! 


Well..I guess it's good they are growing so well! So if that is right, I'm carrying almost 9lbs of baby already. UUUGGGGHHH!  :huh:  :faint: Mishu was 10+lbs when he was born! He is predicting I will have a 6Lb'er and a 7lb'er. I am totally blaming him, because I was under 6lbs when I was born! Damn chunker!


Oh, and I've got a whole bunch of belly pictures to show off, since it's been a while since I've posted a recent one! But that is a post for tomorrow! Toodles! 

I know I know, it's been a while.

Ok everyone, I know I haven't been on much but a lot has been going on this week. Monday morning I was violently ill. More than my gall stones ever made me feel. I ended up going in to the docs and with way too much protein in my urine and my blood pressure skyrocketed, they called me into the hospital ASAP. I went in extremely dehydrated and they started testing me for pre-eclampsia right away. I am still in the hospital. Probably will be for a while but we are taking it one step at a time. I have been diagnosed Pre eclampsic. So far though, since yesterday, my levels (all sorts of stuff, including protein and keetones (sp) in urine) have become more "normal" again and the girls' heart rates have become more normal as well. My blood pressure is still high but they are giving me another 24 hours with the urine test and letting me be off the heart and blood pressure monitors for now. I'm still hooked up to IV but I'm pretty sure that's because I'm still a little dehydrated. As of this morning, I was supposed to go in for a c-section anytime after noon, but after re-checking some of my levels they decided to try to wait another 24 hours. Now, that's not saying that if something turns back the way it's been the last 2 days that they won't put me in for surgery ASAP. As for the girls, they are healthy. It's just my body that seems to have decided to get sick. If they docs can keep me stabilized, they want to keep the girls in as long as possible since the best incubator is a mom's body. But if my levels go wacky again, the only cure for the pre-e is to deliver them. It would put my health and their health in too much danger.

Just wanted to let you all know what is going on in my neck of the woods! <3

Who doesn't love sending holdiay mail?!

This is really the first year I've even considered sending holiday (pretty much Christmas for us) cards. Even though Mishu and I were married last year, we weren't living together and it just, well, didn't seem right. Plus, I was too busy preparing for a cross-country move at the time. Not that I am not busy this year, preparing for the Squiddies' arrival...I just seems the right time now to start sending out the cards.
There are a lot of different card companies and well, it's also real simple to buy the standard cards from the corner drug store. I've done those a couple times and they are nice and fine enough but I always loved getting the photo cards from friends and family every year. We usually got them from friends and family that lived far away and it was great to get to see their faces again. With us being so far away from all of our family, I figured I'd start our own family tradition of sending our smiling faces with warm Christmas greetings.
It just so happens that Shutterfly is doing a promotion with bloggers where you can get 50 cards for free! And well, if you don't feel like blogging about it, you can save save 20% off the cost of the cards!
The design Mishu and I have chosen is this card because it's simple yet traditional.
Shutterfly has a ton of other great stuff as well, not just cards or holiday cards. We actually ordered some photobooks for my mom and mother-in-law for Mother's Day. They also have address labels, gift tags (which is awesome), and much much more!
I also noticed on there that they do Christmas birth announcements...which hey, we might be doing depending on when our Thing 1 and Thing 2 decide to grace us with their presence!

So yeah, go get your Holidays on!

25 week bump update and a lot of other updates!

I know it's been a while but I've been super busy. :)
I went to Chicago to see family and friends and my mom threw me an awesome baby shower. It was Dr. Seuss themed with a lot of emphasis on Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat. I was thrilled. I promise I will have more pictures soon but here are a couple pictures that I have so far:
A friend of ours made the diaper cake:

And here are some of the cupcakes that my mom bought for the shower: (These are from a local bakery in Skokie that I LOVE! Sweety Pies Bakery

The cupcakes were red velvet (I LOVE!) and they were just to die for! There were only a couple mini ones left over, so needless to say...everyone loved them! I feel so blessed. We were given so much and so much great stuff for the girls! I had to put it all into storage for the time being until Mishu comes back. Honestly, right now, we don't have the room. We still have to get the house in order. There are boxes everywhere and we need to clean this place up before we can bring the baby stuff in here.
That brings me to the next thing. Mishu is *sigh* playing soldier in the middle of nowhere until sometime around the end of the month. I was able to have my friend Jessica (It's a beautiful ride...) and her husband unload my truck full of baby stuff into our storage room, but there is just soooo much that needs to be done around here that I need to wait for Mishu for one reason or another. I know this is minor in relation to the time he "could" be gone for a deployment...it's just that any time away sucks. There really is so much we need to get done before the babies get here.
And I will use that to lead me into the next subject: the twins! I'm getting bigger and bigger and I will show a picture again but I was getting more and more worried there for a little bit. Before Mishu left, I would have him feel for the babies all the time. I knew they were moving and what not but I just couldn't feel it all that much. Well, he would always feel Thing 1 but it was harder to feel Thing 2. A short time after he left, I started to really feel Thing 1 move, but again...I barely felt Thing 2 move at all. When I got to Chicago, my mom and everyone else (I honestly love the attention!) were feeling my belly and I think we got 2-3 kicks out of her the whole time. I was there Thursday evening through Sunday night. I get back to NC and again...I still barely feel her. I was getting anxious. I finally had the referral approved for a new OB and was just waiting for them to approve me and schedule me. It was taking some time so I mentioned to them my concern about Thing 2. They had me go in last night (I told them about Thing 2 earlier that morning) and they did an ultrasound and cervix check. Both of the babies looked good and Thing 2 was moving well, just for whatever reason it's not coming through to me. It did put my mind at ease though, and they were able to definitively tell me that there were two amniotic sacs (which the other OB office couldn't tell me one way or the other. ) My job isn't going to like it, but they have me coming in again this next Tuesday for a full ultrasound (1 hour or so) which they said I will be getting one of those for every "regular" appointment so that they can measure and track the babies. This made me happy because the other OB office said they would do this but never did it. I am also going in on the 25th for a "high risk" appointment. I asked about being/going on bed rest and I was told that bed rest would be talked about during this appointment. I am not liking the idea of bed rest but as I get further along, I see the need for it. My hips and hip/leg joints are really starting to hurt, especially late at night. The last 2 days I have been limping on one side or the other almost all day due to the pain. My lower abdomen is also feeling sore, more so towards the end of the day. I also talked to the doctor about how the babies are positioned and if it's possible to give birth naturally (without surgery). He said that the babies are in a "yingyang" position and that makes it pretty impossible to do a "natural" birth. He said it is too risky and explained the risks. So while I do NOT like the idea of a C-Section...I understand that it is almost positive that I will have one and I understand the reasoning behind it. Not just the "no, we don't do that and you are going to have a c-section" that I was told at the other OB. So it was basically the same answer, I'm aware of that, just handled with more tact and professionalism. Which makes it a much easier pill to swallow! I'm still crossing my fingers that Thing 2 will flip over and be head first but it doesn't look realistic. But hey, one can dream right?

And after much promising...here is the latest baby bump picture!

MilSpouse Friday Fill In

1. What are some things on your bucket list? (from New Girl on Post) 

I want to go travel Europe, go to Puerto Rico, see the Mississippi river and beyond, um….I know there is more but this is what I can immediately think of!

2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far? (from Raising Roscoe)

Mishu and I were married in June of ’09. When we got married he was stationed at Ft. Gordon, GA and I joined him there this last January. In May, he was reassigned to Ft. Bragg, NC and that is where we are at right now!

3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far? (from Confessions of a Sailor’s Wife)

Etta James: At Last

….

That’s all I can think of right now! LOL!

4. What is your favorite kind of pizza?

Pineapple, pepperoni and onion! NOM!

5. What are three good things in your life right now?

I am married to the man of my dreams. We are expecting twins, who will be here in the next 2-3 months! I have family who loves me dearly.

Apple Pie

'Tis the season, right? I've never baked a pie before, I'm the Cookie Girl. During the holidays, other family members would bring the pies, I would just take care of the cookies. But...I figured that a) I should get my first pie baked before the girls come and b) Mishu loves pies, especially apple pies so yup.
So here is the recipe. It's the Pillsbury one off of allrecipes.com, but I will share it with my pictures. :)
Here is the prep stage: Peeling and coring the apples:

Then I had the pie crust. Yes, I did get the pre-made stuff.

Here is the pie, pre-baking.

AAANNND here is the pie all done being baked. :)

Here is your recipe:

Prep time: 30 minutes, Cook time 40-45 minutes, Cooling time: 2 hours. 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling:

• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly against side and bottom.
2. In large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust. Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal; flute. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving. 

 

Here's the link if you want it: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Perfect-Apple-Pie-3/Detail.aspx

The pie tastes great! I used Macintosh apples and the pie is good. A little tart but good. :D I took a picture of the finished product but I guess it didn't completely take and well...it was eaten quickly after! Maybe if we have a slice tomorrow I'll snap a picture.  

PS it completely annoys me that when I adjust the size of the pictures on photobucket, it doesn't really show up that way. :p