IS A GIFT CARD TO THE DERMATOLOGIST

(OR MY VERY OWN LASER ....)

Oh My Gosh...  Where do I even start???  My skin looks like a road map to the North Pole.  

"Please follow the varicose veins that lead to the patch of melasma, then take the first right at the 3D skin tag, before coming to a complete stop at the cherry angioma."

HOLY SMOKES.  Estrogen times 3 is not my friend.  I thought things were bad when I was pregnant with Rose.  People, you haven't seen anything yet.  The twins are literally killing my skin.  And, I know from experience and about 1000$ out of pocket (Insurance doesn't cover cosmetics) that these babies wont go away post-partum.  (the real ones or the skin ones).  The angiomas I had from Rose came back in full bloom and are twice as severe, plus, not to mention the 1 million new ones that the twins have so graciously given their mother.  I do not get the "normal"  pregnancy side effects - you know like morning sickness (nope), extreme swelling (not yet anyway), and stretch marks (suprisingly not even one {knock on wood}).  I get all the random stuff like sciatica and angiomas.  

Guess the old wives tale is true.....  Baby Girls really do steal their mothers beauty.  (not that I had much to begin with).... Thanks girls.  Momma loves you more than words can express. 

WELCOME TO THE THIRD TRIMESTER

ON THE HOME STRETCH

BABY A:

2 lbs 4 oz
Measures 1 day ahead
Heart Rate:  136
Head down
Longer bones, longer forehead, higher cheek bones, more oval head measurements





BABY B:

2 lbs 6 oz
Measures 1 day behind
Heart Rate:  136
Head down
Shorter in statue, more round facial profile, pug nose
(looks more like Rose's sonogram profile pictures)

Overall:  

• The girls are only 5% behind what a single baby should measure (which is OUTSTANDING)
• I have not dilated or effaced any - everything looks great so far
• The doctors are even in amazement that I have not been in once with contractions, bleeding, dilating, back pain, nausea, etc...  (apparently those things are common with multiples)
• The multiples specialist has reviewed every sonogram and has not noted anything in regards to wanting to see me again prior to labor and delivery 
• As of 8 weeks ago (20 weeks) I had gained 17 pounds, and the babies each weighed a little over a pound.  As of 3 weeks ago (25 weeks) I had not gained one single pound (still sitting at 17), but the babies had not either....  They had not gained more than an ounce in over a month. They had dropped on the charts to 13% and 17% behind.  The doctor said it was OK (once) but that they had to gain weight.  If they dropped below 25% in growth then she would hospitalize me to give nutrients (which I DID NOT WANT).  Usually twins come early and every single ounce matters.  According to her, I needed meat on their little bones ASAP.  She suggested I start drinking Ensure, V8 juice, and doubling up on my vitamins.  I explained how healthy I had been eating but Dr. Cole's words were "green beans don't pack on pounds on a premie...They have GOT to grow!" 1 oz in 5 weeks was unacceptable! So, for the last 3 weeks I have been eating EVERYTHING in sight - Praying that they would grow and that we would not fall below 25%...  well ladies and gents....  the verdict is in.  Thanks to Sonic ice cream, midnight snacks, donuts, fruit juice, pizza, and everything else unhealthy you can think of that is loaded in calories... WE DID IT...  they only measured 5%!!! YAY!!!  I had gained 4 pounds in 3 weeks and the girls had each gained an entire pound EACH!!!! 50% of those donuts were going to those little legs and that pug nose - eeeeekkk...  I just cant wait to see those chubby cheeks!!!!
• I passed my Diabetes test with flying colors (I'm really not sure how after all the things I have been eating lately)
• I can really tell these past two weeks that there are two of them - 2 distinct little bodies inside of me.  When one starts kicking it is usually less than 90 seconds before it wakes the other one up - then they are both kicking.  Baby A rolls more.  I feel her entire little body move.  Baby B just practices her toe touches (or soccer kicks) -  all day long, every. single. day.  It is an interesting and amazing feeling, yet, I do feel that those sweet little flutters are becoming slightly more forceful and that is not nearly as "sweet"
• I have had sciatica really bad on my left side.  My poor hips
• I go back to the Dr. in two weeks - I will be 30 weeks gestation and (fingers crossed) we will all be doing just as great and still growing!
• I explained my hesitation on how huge I felt already and the Dr. explained it to me like this:  Rose weighed roughly 6 1/2 pounds (6.11 to be exact) and most babies pack on half of a pound per week the last month (2 pounds).  If you think about it... I already have 5 pounds of baby in me.  So basically, my body already looks and feels like it is 36 weeks pregnant and delivery should be any day now....  CRAZY!!!!!
• I also explained that I felt like I would deliver because my body cant get much bigger and she said "THEY WILL WIN."...........  Guess that means Im going to get a lot bigger.....

ROSE HAS EARS

ITS TIME FOR CHEERS!

Lil' Squirt finally passed her hearing test.  I was very impressed at how well she behaved and how patient she was with the audiologist.  The lady performed three different hearing tests on her.  The first one was in a sound proof room, the second tested the opening of the ear canals from the tubes, and the third was mechanical and the reading printed out from a computer - SHE PASSED ALL THREE TESTS !!!!  YAY !!!  GO ROSE !!!

So... That qualified her for a speech evaluation.  She passed that with flying colors as well.  All scores are based on the PLS.5 System (Preschool Language Scales Fifth Edition).  The highest score was a 115 for her age division:

Auditory Comprehension Score:  109 (73%)

Expressive Communication Score:  110 (75%)

Total Language Score:  110 (75%)

Articulation Screening Test:  18

(6 or more is standard with 6 syllables being the minimum requirement for her age - which at the time of testing was 2 years and 3 months)

Overall Verbal Communication:  2 years and 7 months

Overall Expressive Communication:  3 years and 1 month

Overall Receptive Communication:  3 years and 4 months

(In other words - she is exactly on track and not necessarily "ahead" in the talking department, but she is well ahead in receptive comprehension and clearly understands at the level of a 3 1/2 year old)

IT WAS TIME....

"DENTIST" MODE OVER-RULED "MOMMA" MODE

NO MORE PAPPY for ROSIE

I knew better...  deep down inside... I knew better.  This is a prime example of the whole cliche "when its your kid its different."  Pacifiers will not mess up MY KIDS teeth.  I am a dentist and so therefore it is totally OK for MY KID to take a passy.....  um... NEGATIVE.

We have successfully made it one full week with NO PACIFIER

Rose finally let me look at her teeth the other night to the extent I could fully examine her bite.  Well, the result was not as I was prepared for.  "Orthodontic" pacifiers are still NOT OK.  Just in case you are wondering.  They are better... but still not OK.  So I freaked out.  I explained to Rose that the passy was causing her teeth to buck out and she couldn't be a princess if she had buck teeth.  We then collected all of her pacifiers and put them in the garbage.  Poor kid spent an hour (literally) looking at her teeth in the mirror trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with them.  Tuesday morning the garbage truck ran and that has been our excuse ever since:  the garbage man took the pacifiers and we don't have them anymore.  She cried and begged for them for a solid week.  Yesterday was the first day she never mentioned them.  She actually went to bed last night without requesting or crying for the passy one single time.  We are making progress (slowly).  I really do feel sorry for the little squirt.  There are so many changes going on in her life that I know she feels overwhelmed - Big girl bed, no more pacifier, and we are back in full potty training mode.  Poor baby....  

It is really bittersweet for me.  It was time for the pappy to go.  It was making her breath stink and causing a rash of slobber around her lips, plus she just looked too old to have one in her mouth.  On the flip side, my little "baby" has turned into a little GIRL in the last week and momma is a little sad....

THE RUN-AWAY FLOWER GIRL

WELL... SHE MADE IT DOWN THE AISLE

TWICE

BUT STILL LEFT THE CEREMONY ...

THE REHEARSAL:

MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FLOWER GIRL

PRACTICING AT REHEARSAL

"I DID IT MOM ... BUT IT IS SO HOT OUTSIDE"

"IS IT TIME TO GO YET?"

FINALLY... ICE CREAM

THE WEDDING:

I must give Rose a lot of credit....  She could not have been more well behaved or sweeter for the entire weekend.  It was a LONG weekend...  Even I was exhausted.  Rehearsal was so miserably hot, the car ride was 8 hours each way, spending one night in a hotel room, the next two in a cabin, moving from bed to bed, venue to venue, dress to dress, a time change, a tulle flower girl dress that itched... I mean...  It definitely was not an easy weekend for a two-year old.  But she was a trooper.  I was most impressed.  The day of the wedding we got there for pictures at 3:30 (2:30 our time which falls in the middle of nap time).  It was an outdoor wedding that was 30 min delayed because the groom couldn't find his suit ?!?!??!? (and then when the wedding did start - it was raining!!!).  Rose made it down the aisle perfectly....  saw my dad standing on the side, left.....  and I finally relaxed - thinking surely - he would take her away from the wedding but nope...  the next thing I knew she was clapping for the vocalist coming back down the aisle with her flowers.  It was quite funny, yet I was in 100% panic mode by this point.  She started fussing because she couldn't get the water bottle opened in her seat, so eventually I had to leave the wedding.  Next thing we know - its a SIT DOWN reception with a full meal and more toast - another TWO hours of being on her best behavior!!!!  I really don't know how she did it.  She slept all the way home, all night long, and the next morning all the way to Birmingham.  Baby Girl was TIRED!!!  Momma was too!

But... all that aside - the wedding was gorgeous!  The bride was beautiful.  The venue was amazing.  And we couldn't be happier for the happy couple! Congrats Morgan and Matt !!!

Sorry, you'll have to settle for I phone pictures from the wedding... Everything was so crazy - I don't know where my camera was.  I'm surprised I even got some with my phone.