Let the Baby Item Buying Begin!

This week started off with Kyle and I purchasing our very first twin purchase! How exciting. The previous week we had gone into Babies R Us to add to our registry and saw different things good for twinnies like a double stroller. Boy were those expensive. The one we ended up really liking was $300 brand new. It isn't a side by side stroller...it is one where one baby sits in front of the other.  I like it better since they can easily fit through doors.

Then we found the infant car seats that easily snap into the stroller. Those cost about $189 each. Sheesh. I already felt money flying out of my pocket. Three things for babies and I'm already out almost $700.

Due to the high cost of all these items, we started looking for some gently used ones on Craigslist. Lets face it...babies don't care about new or used.  Most people don't use newborn items for extended periods of time,  either. So, after searching in the San Diego area for something, I luckily found the exact items we had just looked at in Babies R Us and liked! The lady was selling all 3 items as a set for a total of $300. I couldn't believe it!  The car seats didn't match the stroller in color...but who really cares? We went and checked the items out and they looked almost brand new. Score! We went ahead and bought them. So now my car already has infant car seats in the backseat. Its an interesting sight for sure.

That couple we bought them from was incredibly nice and she said she'd email me if she had anything else she wanted to sell or get rid of. Its nice to have found someone out here who is willing to contact me with that sort of stuff. With the need to buy double of many things.. finding somethings gently used and cheaper is a definite plus. Those twinnies are going to buy us out of our home!

If any if you would like to donate or assist in the Twin naugle fund.. we don't discriminate ;-).

11 Weeks Down, 26 to Go.

With twins, the gestational period tends to be shortened from about 40 weeks to 36-37 weeks. That means our original date of March 15, 2014 (for a single baby) is wrong. The doctor hasn't update my new due date but I estimate it will be around February 15-22.

Next year isn't a Leap Year is it..??  ;-)

Since we found out our little Cheelay is not alone, we have given Twin B a new nickname: Kaleesa. Don't mess with the nicknames, they are a combination of mine and Kyle's own nicknames for each other. While they sound ridiculous....get over it. You'll probably never even hear us call them that =P.

We have also been reading a lot more about twins...identical twins in particular:

• How they are different from Fraternal Twins
• How the upbringing will be different compared with a single baby or multiple kids born at different times, therefore having staggering ages. 
• How important schedules are.
• Complications during pregnancy such as TTTS (Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome). It is a complication of disproportionate blood supply. It could affect monochorionic multiples, that is, multiple pregnancies where two or more fetuses share a chorion and hence a single placenta... which the lab technician believed my twins are doing. That means I might be a little more nervous during my pregnancy for this to happen but we will be praying that God keeps both babies nice and happy and healthy. 
• My future lack of sleep...both during pregnancy and when the twinnies are born. 
• Financial strains of 2 babies at the same time. 
• Etc. Etc. Etc. 

Here are some things I've noticed about myself while being pregnant:

• I haven't gained any weight. In fact, I've lost 2 lbs. 
• I have recently bought 2 jars of pickles and have eaten some everyday. As well as cucumbers in Vinegar. Sounds gross. Tastes yummy.
• Food no longer protects me against nausea. 
•  Dinner time is when I start feeling sick most days. That means, no cooking for me! That also means, that just because Kyle slaved in the kitchen didn't guarantee I'd eat his food. I'll eat anything from a restaurant though! :) 
• Poor Kyle has gotten less kisses. Whenever I have something hovering in my face or making it harder to breathe in any way, I start to feel sick. Sorry sweetie...it's not personal! 
• I can't wait to come home and unbutton my pants. Seriously. Best feeling ever. 

Needless to say, we are going to have our hands FULL  with our two little ones.

One thing I've also learned through all this research is related to scheduling. It can be very important to try and put the twins on the same schedule. Not everyone agrees with this idea, especially for infants and newborns, but with twins, many mothers think it's important. That means if both are sleeping but then one waits up for a feeding...go ahead and wake up the second one. That way you feed them both and can go back to bed instead of only feeding Baby A, going to sleep for 15 minutes and then Baby B wakes up wanting his feeding. From what I understand, keeping the same schedule can be really important, primarily for the momma or whoever is staying at home with them. Without it, I would have NO rest or time for myself.

Another thing I've learned is that people like to give advice. I do it, too. Obviously not about raising twins or going through pregnancies because I don't have much or any experience in those subjects just yet but I do give advice for other things. Please, Please, Please don't take offense when your advice or suggestion goes through one ear and out the other. It's nothing against you. Kyle and I are our own family unit. We will decide what is best for us. If we want your opinion, we will ask for it. :)

The idea of having twins has slowly began to sink in. Two babies will be hectic, especially when Kyle has to go back to work after only just 2 short weeks and I'm left alone with the babies. I have to take them to doctors appointments and everything all by myself. Which is one reason why we will not be staying in our currently apartment sadly enough. I can't deal with all the up and downs associated with living on the 2nd floor.

God has a plan through all of this. I firmly believe He does not give us anything we cannot handle. For some reason, God thought Kyle and I would be able to handle being the first time parents of twins.... even when one of us has never changed a diaper in their life....

We are excited for the journey and can't wait to get started! :)

10 weeks...and TWINS!

Written Aug 23, 2013

This past week had been my 10th week of pregnancy. I couldn't believe how quickly everything had gone. Only 30 weeks left to go and I'd finally get to meet our handsome boy or gorgeous little girl.  I'm sure time will slow down during the last trimester when all I can think about is getting this baby out of my body. But for now I'm taking it day at a time, one week at a time.

The freak outs hadn't stopped. This week my nausea mostly disappeared.  Even though one of my pregnancy apps said it might...it didn't stop me from assuming the worst. I just didn't feel pregnant.  When a woman doesn't feel pregnant at 10 weeks...something is wrong. . Right? No, not necessarily.  My first doctors appt was scheduled for this week so all my uneasiness was either going to be confirmed or fade with hearing my babies heart beat or seeing the little guy on a sonogram. I was a nervous wreck for that appointment.  I also thought I'd have to go alone because Kyle isn't allowed off work to come to those appts with me. Talk about a major bummer. However!  God was so good to us and luckily he didn't have work until 11:30 that morning!!

We went to the appt at 8:30am. I hadn't met my doctor yet so I was unsure if it would be male or female. When I was taken back to the room..I soon realized that I had a full team. I mean, seriously,  what woman wants a thousand people in the same room when she has to show off her most private areas?!? Well obviously I didn't have a choice. My main doctor is still new to all this so someone higher up came to observe and assist. Both of these docs were males of course. Yay.... not. Then I had 2 nurses. One was also a trainee. So apparently I had the appointment where pointing around In lady parts become a major learning and educational experience for every newbie in the place. ::sigh:: poor kyle just sat off to the side as he watched all these people prob me and make me uncomfortable. 

Well my intern doc started off checking my uterus for a baby and he found one. They couldn't get a good picture so they decided to give me a vaginal ultrasound... another uncomfortable experience. While the older doctor was conducting that ultrasound,  he leaned up closer to the computer screen and said, "now wait a minute here guys...."

That one little phrase kicked my heart into high gear. Is he going to say there are two??? Kyle was thinking the same thing.

Then he said it! He said he thought he saw 2 flutters showing heart beats! I just about died. TWINS? !?! 

For the next 2 hours I was shoved from dept to dept for various reasons and they scheduled a sonogram to check if there were multiple babies. Kyle had to go back to work during this part so he didn't get to see. I wish he could have stayed. The lab tech doing the sonogram was incredibly informative. The doctors are supposed to confirm multiple babies but since I told her they wouldn't call me for a few days...she basically went ahead and confirmed it for me.

I got to see both of My beautiful babies. It was so amazing and they were just wiggling their little hands and moving around. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. The technician also told me they were identical. They will share the exact same DNA! How awesome is that??

Baby A (on the bottom) had a heart rate of around 180 bpm and was about 10weeks 1day big in size, while Baby B had a heart rate of around 179 and measured to be about 9weeks 5 days.  The lab technician didn't seem to be concerned about the difference in sizes. From what I've read, some babies just grow faster than others! We'll see how they measure in a few weeks when I go back to the doctor.

While twins will prove to upgrade my pregnancy status to more at risk than with a single baby..  I accept it.  God has blessed Kyle and I with this incredible gift. It will be unbelievably challenging for sure, but I'm ready to accept it!  I've posted a picture below of  our two little miracles.  Please pray for us, that the pregnancy is healthy and goes full term as well as pray for the little tykes that they have a healthy development.

Love you guys! 

This picture states that the babies are about the size of a kumquat (and obviously taken prior to knowledge of the twinnies!)

Grow Baby, Grow!

(Written between July 24-Aug 8, 2013)

I worry. Too much, probably. Being pregnant does nothing for my nerves, unfortunately. In fact, I'm pretty sure they have gotten worse.

I haven't experienced many symptoms of pregnancy which is why I was so adamant that I was not pregnant (until I took the test). Right around conception, I was nauseous off and on for about 2 weeks and then it stopped. I just assumed the nauseousness was related to my coffee drinking since coffee had been making me feel that way lately. I guess I was wrong. And guys who are reading this...sorry for any "Too Much Information" that I may be posting...but it just comes with the territory of being pregnant!

Going back to my point: so, no real nausea. Certainly no vomiting. I've been experiencing some fatigue...but I feel like I'm always tired. My breasts have been really sore and swollen, like someone has beat me with a bat repeatedly. That symptom has been very consistent which reminds me that I am pregnant. However, when I woke up this morning, almost all the pain was gone. Of course, I am freaking out because I've read forum after forum about miscarriages and that was one of the things many women who had a miscarriage mentioned. They had sore boobs, then woke up the next morning and nada. Then the cramping and bleeding started. I just keep praying that God has created a healthy baby and it is meant to survive all this.

On Friday, I go in for my urine test. I don't even have a real prenatal visit until probably week 8 and that's still at least 10 days away. This whole waiting game is not enjoyable. Those of you who know me, know that I plan. I LOVE to plan. Which is why I've never really been surprised by anything. No surprise parties. No surprise little things. Well, maybe one or two because Kristi is usually so creative about things... but I plan out everything... all the details of everything that I completely kill the spontaneity and excitement of something happening. Let's see...I knew me and Kyle were going to get married before he even asked. We'd even picked out a date and I had already bought my dress. I knew when he was going to propose. I picked out the kind of ring I wanted. For the wedding, mom tried to surprise me with a photo booth, but I ruined that, too, because I wanted one so bad I didn't even talk to her about it and asked for someone else to do it, so Mom had to come clean so we didn't have 2. And so on, and so forth.

With all of that being said... I hate waiting. I have the hardest time sitting back and letting someone else just take over or just waiting to see what happens because I need to know what's going to happen. With this baby, I can't know. It's like I'm stuck in this dark room with no sign of which way I'm supposed to be going but I have a time limit on how long to get out.

I just have to wait... and wait... and wait. Day by day and week by week, my chance of a miscarriage drops. But, I'm not in the clear yet. I wont be for a while.

Kyle and I pray every night for our baby Cheelay to keep growing and to be healthy. I know God has a plan through all of this...whether or not this baby makes it to full term. I know I am just freaking out about a lot, and that's what I tend to do. I won't be at peace until I reach my 2nd trimester. Also, since no one at this point knows I'm pregnant except like 3 people (since 2 of my friends asked or guessed and I couldn't just lie)... I don't really have anyone to talk to!

Hopefully by the time everyone is reading this, I will have gone to my first prenatal visit and gotten the OK that baby is growing just fine. Until then, I will keep praying!


---------

Aug 8, 2013

Well as previously written I was freaking out about everything and just 16 days later, nothing has changed. I guess I can't even take my own advice to relax and see what happens. In about 5 days, I go into the hospital to have a registration appointment in the OBGYN department. So, I will FINALLY switch over to that dept and I can finally have my first prenatal appointment! I'm almost 9 weeks and I haven't even seen a doctor yet. Needless to say, I'm antsy and impatient.

The past 2 weeks or so, I have experienced a little more nausea than before. Eating always helps. I'm beginning to wonder if it's my prenatal vitamins that's causing the nausea instead of baby. I started taking the vitamins before I even knew I was pregnant and for several weeks I didn't have any issues. However, I notice when I wait until later in the day to take them, that morning there typically isn't any nausea. Coinky dink? Or are those pesky little pills the reason for my discomfort? Everyone says to just take them at night so I'll be asleep for the absorption part and I won't be bothered by the nausea. I guess I could start that and see if that works.

I know Kyle and I agreed to wait to make any announcements and tell people about the baby until after the 1st trimester. But, I'm a girl and I can't keep any secrets, so I admit I've told several of my friends. I'm pretty sure he's only told one, which makes me feel like an awful person because I'll tell anyone that even asks about babies or pregnancies! I know it will all come to bite me in the butt if something does end up being wrong. That's why I'm praying everything goes okay! :)

Other than that...things are okay here. Already stressing out about after the baby comes. I'm pretty sure someone needs to give me a chill pill because my head keeps reeling about going home on trips with a baby. Lord, have mercy, I'm going to go crazy. Having to show off the baby to everyone and their mother and make sure everyone has a turn that way no one is jealous. I'm praying everyone is understanding and doesn't take offense when Kyle and I end up doing what we want instead of what everyone else wants. Its our baby...not any one else's.  Guess we won't know until we go home and see!

Until my next post...

A Baby Naugle is on the Way!

Written July 16, 2013

PLEASE NOTE: This blog has been posted..yes..for a select fews benefit. Please don't assume we are announcing our pregnancy to the whole world yet so don't  put anything on FB, etc. I'll let you know after Kyle and I do.  Thanks. Love :)



That's right. We are PREGNANT!

 

There is a baby on the way! We are ecstatic about the news and couldn't be happier. I really didn't think I was pregnant. Kyle kept making jokes that maybe I was... but I kept shutting them down saying I didn't feel pregnant. That's normal right? I feel like I would be the person to experience every negative thing about pregnancy, but so far, I haven't had many symptoms.

For 2 weeks, probably right around conception I had some nausea, but lately I'd had more nausea than before because I had been drinking coffee and it wasn't agreeing with me somehow. So, those 2 weeks where I had it almost every other day didn't throw up any alarms. Secretly, I had wanted the reason behind my queasiness to be baby related, but I didn't want to be too hopeful. Who gets pregnant on their first try? Right? Well, this girl does, apparently!

We found out while Kyle's brother, Keegan, was here visiting. I remember going to the bathroom, doing the whole test thing and sitting there as it tried to figure out whether or not I was pregnant. I kept saying to myself, "I'm not pregnant. I'm just late. I'm not pregnant. No one gets pregnant on their first try...especially not me. Don't get your hopes up." Then I looked at the test, and I could see a faint + meaning I was pregnant! Pretty sure I stared at it for 5 minutes, and underneath 20 different lights to make sure I wasn't making it up. Especially since I had taken a test 3 days before and it was a negative.

When I was sure it was a positive, I sat there for a second, and started crying. Tears of happiness. Tears of "oh crap, this is really happening." Tears of "REALLY??." I'm not really sure what kind of tears they were, but they came anyway. Finally, I gathered myself together and took the test with me into the bedroom, where I nonchalantly woke up my husband, and showed him the test. With his sleepy eyes, he just looked at it for a minute, trying to process what I was making him understand. When he did, he just smiled.

It was hard not to run out shouting, "I'M GONNA HAVE A BABY! WE ARE PREGNANT! EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW!" I bit my tongue, and went on about my life and started reading what I could about pregnancy. How I need to give up lunch meats because of listeria (unless they are heated up and steaming therefore killing it) as well as cured meats (unless I do the same thing). How I need to limit my caffeine intake (no sodas...no biggie...didn't drink them anyway...no coffee, not a big deal except for the frappes at Starbucks... and limited chocolate...wait...WHAT?).

The hard part was knowing we were going to Disneyland in 2 days and I was now not allowed to ride the rollercoasters. What would we tell Keegan?? "Oh, Chelsea can't do those rides because she just found out she was pregnant and it could cause a miscarriage with all the bumpy, jarring of the rides." Well, that wasn't going to work since we weren't going to tell anyone until after the doctors visit for the confirmation. Instead, we just told him that I get nauseous easily...which lately hadn't been a lie. AND the past few years I had ridden roller coasters, they made me sick. So, I got to walk around the park for hours while they enjoyed themselves on all the fun rides and I sat back and played on my phone. It was fun to be there, but I would have rather enjoyed the rides. It was frustrating, too, because there were only so many things I could do and I couldn't even verbalize WHY.

I never realized how much you needed to change when you became pregnant. All the different things they warn you about... like after the 1st trimester, not to lie on your back because it could cut off oxygen or supplies to the baby. That's going to suck for me since that's all I do. I also, only sleep on my stomach. Pretty sure that won't be allowed...or even possible after a certain point. So, I have to change all these things and Kyle gets to continue moving on with his life like it hasn't changed. Pregnancy hasn't exactly affected him the way it has affected me. Now, later on when I start having food cravings (if that ever happens) and I become more moodier than I already am....well then he'll start experiencing the hardships of it. For the most part though, he just gets to sit by and watch my body blow up like a balloon and try to keep me comfortable for 8 more months, until this little baby comes out and throws our whole life into chaos.

Oh, and by the way. We are NOT finding out the sex prior to the birth. We want it to the a surprise :) BUT we have picked out names: Preston David for a boy or Emmalyn something. Kyle hasn't come up with a middle name yet. He likes names like Latisha and strange things you'd never hear. I think Grace, Faith, Marie or something like that sounds a little better. Guess we'll see ;-)

Also, on top of all this stuff that I can't do that makes me a little sad... I got something in the mail from my Best friend, Kristi and it made me so happy. It reminded me of all the fun, cute things, that I will get to buy and experience during this time!

Thank you Auntie Kristi!! You'll be one of baby Cheelay's (yes, that's what we call the baby) favorite aunties.

Cheelay = Chaleesa and Keelay meshed together. Don't mess with the nickname.

Can't wait for you all to experience this with us! We are very excited!!

Love you all.


PS...here are the weekly shots that we've taken before we revealed our news.