We've lived through 18 Weeks!

I started out this week snuggled in my CA bed, next to my wonderful husband. It was a wonderful way to start the week.

I can also say that I have officially begun gaining weight for this pregnancy! This is the first and probably only time I will be excited about weight gain. At one point I had lost about 4 lbs during this pregnancy, and I can officially say that as of the first day of this 18th week I have gained about 7 lbs. That's quite a change, isn't it?

Some symptoms:

• Taking deep breaths can be a challenge, especially at night. It probably takes at least 10 tries before I take a satisfying deep breath, only to want another one 30 seconds later. 
• Emotional. Poor Kyle sees me crying more often than not. 
• Face acne. I still have red marks all over my forehead BUT I can honestly say, it looked better this week than it has. 
• Bloody/Stuffy Nose.
• Lower Back Pain.
• Pounding Heart
• Cramping. I am assuming this cramping is for different reasons. One of them is obvious: growing pains. Now, though, after I use the bathroom I will feel a cramping feeling. Some woman experience more UTIs during pregnancy because our immune systems aren't functioning as well since we are busy growing humans instead. Perhaps that is the case, but other woman have the same cramping sensation but don't have a UTI, so I'm not really sure. 
• Also, some more symptoms that might be considered "Too much information," so I'll keep them to myself =)

I'm not one to really care all that much about stretch marks. I was never a thin, skinny beach babe and over time I grew to accept that I was curvier that most of my friends. God didn't make us all the same, and my wonderful husband has always accepted me regardless of any weight I had on the scale. I know there are thin people who are pregnant or have been pregnant that are very worried about the idea of stretch marks. Nothing wrong with that, of course. I am just not one of those people. I was heavy growing up, even with playing sports and having a mother who tried to give us Reduced Fat or Fat Free food items. Therefore, I already have stretch marks on my body. If they happen to grow during the course of this pregnancy, I will accept them. That doesn't mean I haven't started putting a little lotion on those areas to help keep the skin moisturized and elastic. However, I am carrying two babies. Count them....Two! If my marks happen to stretch in the process, so be it! God has granted me this awesome ability to carry two babies for whatever reason, so whatever changes my body must endure for this honor, I will accept them. :)

I also had another doctor appointment this week. Kyle made it just in time (since it was during his lunch break) so I was really happy about that. Everything is going fine! My blood pressure is normal, I've gained weight (7lb) and the doc seemed okay with it, and both babies are still doing well! Baby A is already breached but they obviously have plenty of time to flip back around. I also had to have more blood work done to test my thyroid and to check for any possible genetic defects the babies could have. Prayers, please, that everything comes back normal! :)

On the top, you can see the head is on the left side. On the bottom, the head is on the right side.

It was especially exciting for Kyle to be there since he hasn't seem the twinnies since we found out there were 2! They have obviously grown much more in the 8 weeks since he's seen them last and actually look like little babies. They were squirming around and having a good ol' time... well Baby B was anyway. Apparently Baby B enjoys being a camera hog. Both had good strong heartbeats and the doc said there seemed to be plenty of amniotic fluid in each sac which is another good thing! I have my next appointment in 4 weeks and on Halloween I'll have an anatomy scan of the little ones. We will be praying it goes well and nothing is wrong!

This week, we ordered our baby furniture! Another super exciting thing! We are also in the process of applying for on-base housing and poor Kyle is required to do things he hates since he's the sponsor. I just have to sit back and nag him about finishing it so we can turn it in and get the ball rolling on moving. I don't want to be a beached whale before we transition into our new living quarters, because I have a fun/cute nursery to put together!

Two more names crossed off the girl's name list: Taylor & Lacey. There are only 3 names left!! That means, we will hopefully have our 2nd girl's name next weekend.

I'm hoping to get Kyle on here one day and post something about his experience as a daddy-to-be. So, maybe you all well get to experience a fun post from him. 

These pictures show the difference in how much I've grown from week 7 to week 18. You all better see the baby bump, but while I may be eating more, that isn't me! It's babies!