28 Weeks

Our 28th week was a great one. We celebrated officially being in our 3rd trimester (a first for us), and we were able to celebrate Christmas with both sets of our parents with lots of love surrounding us and all our 4 of our children.

Normally Trae and I are busy traveling between my parents house in San Antonio and his parents house in Glen Rose over the holidays so we can see all our family, but this year we decided to play it safe and have all our family drive to us. Christmas Eve my parents drove in, we cooked dinner at the house and attended a beautiful Christams Eve service at St. Martins Lutheran Church.  Our church is part of our family- we have many close friends that attend, Pastor Pete, the senior pastor was a huge support system when the boys were born and subsequently passed away, and our own sons, Sawyer & Tristan are buried in the columnbarium in the chapel there. We love our church and plan to be lifelong members as we feel very close to our boys everytime we are there, so it was special to attend thier beautiful Christmas Eve service with our boys close.

Christmas Day we opened gifts at my brother and sister in laws house in Austin with my parents and relaxed before my parents drove home. Trae and I went to watch a movie together that evening and discussed how different next Christmas will be with 2 little girls with us.

A few days later, Trae's parents: Sharon & Milton and his sister, Carrie and her family came into town where we all went out to dinner, played card games where I reclaimed my winning title at "Left, Right, Center" for the 2nd year in a row and we all opened gifts.

Trae and I looked back fondly at last years Christmas where we were surprising our families with the news that Sawyer & Tristan were boys. We miss our sons terribly but felt their presence around us all week as we all talked and prayed about them daily. 

How Far Along? 28w6days

Stretch Marks?  Nope!

Sleep? This week sleep has been my only complaint, other than my inability to take off my boots anymore since I can't lean over. Baby A is now breech/transverse so she is feet down with her head in my right side. Its the most bizzare thing- my belly is literally wide because of the way she is laying. Baby B is balled up, also feet down/head up with her head right under my rib cage. When I lay flat on the bed A falls further right which is VERY uncomfortable and B travels further into my ribs which is also painful. Sleep has come with lots of tossing, turning, groaning and experimenting with lots of pillows.  We finally went and purchased a recliner we plan to use in the nursery when the girls are here but for me to sleep in for the next 8 weeks. Can't wait for it to get here!!

Best Moment of the Week? Spending Christmas with both sets of our parents & remembering our boys in different ways with all our family.

Movement? These girls move a lot at night, probably because their used to their mama moving around all day still. The kicks and jabs are getting harder every day and with 4 little legs/feet on my bladder I worry what's to come!

Food Cravings? Spicy food sounds good to me all the time. 

Genders? All Girls!

Symptoms: Sore legs & hips due to my belly growing and poor sleep are my only real complaints. 

Weekly Dr Appt: This week was started by seeing Dr Berry, our MFM where he gave us a 1929 Bronze Coin for achieving our first major goal of making it to 28 weeks! He gives awards for every milestone we reach: 28 weeks (Bronze), 32 weeks (Silver), 36 weeks (Gold).  We are going for the GOLD!!

It was at this appointment we learned that both babies were breech and very long. They were measuring over a week ahead in length and several days ahead in weight. Baby A weighed 2lbs 10 oz and Baby B weighed 2lbs 11 oz.  We were so pleased to hear both girls are growing so well and seem to very very content inside.  We don't see Dr Berry again until 32 weeks, but we will then see him weekly until the end of our pregnancy.

Our new recliner!

Blue Bear ornaments for our Sawyer & Tristan

New ornaments for our girls, located right next to their brothers ornaments

Trae parking my shopping cart I use at Home Depot- he can parallel park even a shopping cart well!

Baby Registry

Thank you to everyone who is sharing in our excitment on our pregnancy. We look back at 2013 in awe of all the blessings we were given & heartache our family has endured.

We look forward to keeping you all up to date on all the fun things we're doing to celebrate these 2 little girls joining our family including 2 baby showers coming up in January, and the evolving nursery that will incorporate all 4 of our children into it.

For those who are interested, we have 3 baby registeries:

www.myregistry.com

www.amazon.com

www.buybuybaby.com 


We hope you all have a lovely, relaxing holiday break. 

Happy Holidays,

The Schultzes

27 Weeks

SO LONG, 2ND TRIMESTER! 

We are so excited to be on our way to our 3rd trimester! Trae and I are starting to have more conversations that include the word "when". "When we bring the girls home", or "when the girls need a bath..." Normal conversation for most parents-to-be, but a momentus occasion for us.

With these "when" conversations we have also been looking at the calendar and realizing how much time we DON'T have left!!  We've been so worried this whole pregnancy that now that we are starting to realize we will be bringing babies home, after all.. we are running out of time left in our pregnancy! We are working hard at enjoying what's left of the pregnancy with these little girls- all their kicks & hiccups, sonograms, and learning what their personalities might be like based on their activity level in utero. I know these are fond memories to look back on and I don't take any of them for granted. Also, while pregnancy has been scary and uncomfortable and high risk for me, I can confidently say that I genuinely enjoy being pregnant. Even those nights when I'm not sleeping well due to uncomfort or when I go into my closet and some of my maternity clothes are starting to get tight, I look in the mirror and feel proud of myself, proud of my body and beautiful.  It's all a miracle and while I'm so looking forward to the moments Trae and I are allowing ourselves to dream about now with our little girls.. I CAN wait until the latest possible moment, knowing every additional hour these girls are in utero is better for Mom and Babies.

How Far Along? 27 Weeks 6 days
Stretch Marks? Nope- Dr thinks I might be able to avoid completely!
Sleep? Off and on, babies are moving a LOT at night, but experimenting with pillows is working so far
Best Moment of the Week? Trae and I had our maternity photos taken by an old, talented friend, Jenni Jones this week. It was a special & full circle moment for us as we were very much looking forward to shooting with Jenni when pregnant with the boys, and were only a couple weeks away from our opportunity to when we lost the boys.  Being able to have our photos taken by Jenni signified a significant milestone for us and we both felt very calm and happy while there in the moment. I told Trae I could feel all my babies with me.. the girls kicking & moving in my stomach and my sons warmth around me as Trae and Jenni were with me, remembering all our children.  Jenni shared 2 two photos as a preview and we were completely taken away with the beauty of the image. She is a true talent. www.jennijonesphotography.com
Movement: I'm so glad to say that I get to feel these 8 limbs moving all day long! If I ever feel like its been too long, I chug a bunch of cold water or iced tea and there they go!! It's a fun feeling.
Food Cravings? Iced Tea, cinnamon raisen bagels, iced coffee.
Genders? All Girl x 2
Symptoms: Round Ligament pain is worst the day after an active day or in the morning, Other than that I'm just finding myself to be really tired throughout the day and going to sleep by 10 most nights.
Weekly Dr Appt:
Our 27 week appointment was a quick one. Dr Reue showed how long my cervix was on sonogram and he felt confident that my pregnancy would continue for several more weeks. While looking at my cervix he showed me how high my TAC stich was and we all agreed we did the right thing for our clinical need.  Oh, and Baby A decided to show us her girl parts front and center on the screen- we all got a good laugh!
I got all my 3rd trimester shots & bloodwork done and it was confirmed that I'm not anemic & that I did pass my glucose test- Woo HOO!!

Next week we go to the MFM and see our little girls on 4D sonogram, in addition to celebrating Christmas with both our families! Feeling very blessed this Christmas season.

Cheering on Texas Longhorn Basketball

Me at my 27 wk appointment impatiently waiting to see the girls!!

26 Weeks

Trae and I celebrated our 26th week with a planned mini stay-cation home from work on Monday & Tuesday so that we could proactively work on some to do's to get ready for babies and spend some time together.

We bought a few things for the nursery, wrapped some Christmas presents for our family and bought me a bigger & better car to tote the girls around in! YAY! We bought a 2014 GMC Acadia with bucket seats & plenty of storage room for all that twin gear we'll be gladly toting around. I love my new mom-ride and look forward to filling it with my new family in less than 3 months.

How Far Along? 26w6d

Stretch Marks? Nope! Whew!

Sleep? Some nights are good while others are spent tossing & turning. This will be an ongoing issue, I think.

Best Moment of the Week: Spending time with my husband making plans for our daughters' nursery

Movement: All the time! Especially after drinking cold water or eating oranges.

Food Cravings: Iced Tea & lots of water!

Genders: Both Girls!

Symptoms: This week I have been super tired all the time and HOT!! It's cold outside so we've needed the heat on and I'm freezing Trae out when I don't let the heat turn on and it's 67 degrees in the house. So comfortable for me but Trae is bundled up most of the time.

Weekly Dr Appointment

Our 26 week appointment included a glucose test for me to test for gestational diabetes. The drink itself didn't taste horrible but it made me SO sick!! Thankfully, I passed the test so I don't have to drink it again! YUCK!

Dr Reue said the girls heartbeats were good & my cervix still looked long & closed- so no reason to worry or do additional testing! We don't see our MFM Dr Berry until 28 weeks, so we asked to be checked my Dr Reue again next week.

 Sunday Trae and I have maternity photos with an old friend & very talented photographer. We are so excited to experience these photos & can't wait to share some of the special images!!

George loves to give the girls hugs!

Mine & The girls' new ride!!

25 Weeks

How Far Along? 25 Weeks

Maternity Clothes? Mostly all I wear is maternity or lose fitting spandex-filled clothing. The girls need room to move & so do I!

Stretch Marks? None yet.. hoping it stays that way!

Sleep: Not good. My hips & back hurt so badly that I spend 1/2 the night in bed with lots of pillows and 1/2 the night on our couch. Doctors advise me to use Tylenol & Benadryl every night to help me sleep a few more hours more comfortably. 

Best Moment This Week: Holding Trae's hand while walking out of L&D STILL pregnant.

Movement: All the time- constantly! Baby A is head down on my right side so I feel her kicks lower while Baby B is transverse, her head by my belly button so I feel & see her movements often as they are right on top of my lungs!

Food Cravings: Fruit & anything sweet- I even pulled the pregnancy card & stopped for Dunkin Donuts the other day! 

Genders: Both girls. :)

Symptoms: I have round ligament pain throughout the day when walking and I'm hot ALL the time (hence the chalkboard sign of the girls loving the cooler weather.) Every time I hear a cold front is coming in I crack the windows and Trae puts on another layer of clothing.

However, earlier this week I was feeling nauseous, with a painful back & sore/tight belly.. all signs pointed towards contractions. I took a Benadryl to calm Braxton Hicks, which I have been getting of and on and scheduled an appointment with my doctor. When I went to the doctor, I was hooked up to a machine which proved I was still having contractions every 2-3 minutes. I was admitted to L&D where I had another Fetal Fibronectin test done & given fluids for 5 hours while the girls and I were monitored. The fluids slowed the contractions down and my FFN test came back negative, which proved I wasn't in premature labor. MUSIC to our ears! We were discharged after 6 hours in L&D with a prescription for Procardia that I will take twice a day for the remainder of my pregnancy to calm my now medicially described "irritable uterus".  Hopefully the Procardia will keep things nice and calm for the remainder of our pregnancy with these girls.

Belly Button in or Out: 1/2 way out

In other news... Trae and I are starting to discuss names more often. We have one of the girls' names all settled on and are going back and forth about the other one. Hopefully we will have it settled by the time they come! 

December is here, Christmas decor is up and my first baby shower invitation is hung up. We are so grateful to be pregnant with our girls- it's the best gift God could have given after he gave us our sons. We are so excited for everything this pregnancy has left including maternity photos and celebrating with friends & family at our baby showers.