Dammit! :)

Hahahahaha!!!

I was just reading my last post and had to laugh! "Dammit!" was what came to mind. Here we are, about 5 weeks away from having the boys, and per-term labor & bed rest are all that are on my mind.

This past week has been rough, to say the very least. Sunday evening I was very uncomfortable and had my first taste of what contractions felt like. I have to laugh now because everyone was asking me if it was a contraction I was feeling. I continued to answer, "I don't know! I have never had a contractions before!" Well, the answer was "Yes, you are having contractions." That was at 1am on Monday morning. We were also 1 cm dilated. The doctor felt more comfortable admitting me into the hospital for observation. We were able to come home on Tuesday afternoon with the instructions that I was to be on bed rest for the remainder of our pregnancy. OH BOY!

Thankfully we have made it through the week. We are now 30 weeks pregnant. The boys are measuring a week bigger than that (so they are measuring at 31 weeks). Our doctor says to be prepared to have them during the last week of September or the first week of October.

So here I lay, either on the couch or in bed, with nothing to do but "bake" my boys and get them a little bigger and stronger and ready to be born. So .... what to write?! Oh, how about what kind of things have been happening around our house.

New title ... "Getting ready for Babies" :)

Matt has been wonderful! He is so excited about the boys, and I love seeing that light of love in his eyes. One of the first things he did was put the stroller together. :) I have to say, I laughed a lot! Matt is a hoot! Here are a couple of pictures of "operation stroller!"















As you can see, Matt had too much fun! After he finished the stroller, we went on to building the cribs and setting up the nursery. I know, I am a slave driver but I felt like we should have as much done as quickly as we could. Looking back now, I am grateful that we did do a lot since I am unable to help anymore.

Here are pictures of Matt putting the cribs together.















There were plenty of stressful times. Who knew how hard putting together cribs could be?! Poor Matt! The first one went smoothly ... it was the second one that was rough. But, as you can see, he successfully put together both cribs!






Here are some pictures of the nursery now that it is pretty much ready for babies. We have not put sheets on either crib because, well, Charlie thinks they are his. We will have someone make the bed before the babies come home. We also plan on buying two crib tents to help keep our kitties out of the beds. That will come later though. Anyway, here are the nursery pictures.












There are going to be some last minute finishing touches but there will be a little bit of time before that is necessary to complete.

We are super excited! Only a few more weeks!
Can't wait to post more!

Only 14 weeks left! :)

We went to our doctor appointment today. All is going well with the boys. They are growing quickly and appear happy and healthy. Of course the doctor let us know all the bad things that could happen in the next 14 weeks (if we make it that long).

Here are some updated pictures of Samuel and Joshua.

Samuel and Joshua both are weighing in at 1 lb 5 oz and measuring 23 weeks 3 days.


It was a little funny because everything was measuring the pretty much the same even though they are NOT identical. Even their heartbeats were going about the same pace ... 142 beats & 143 beats a minute.

As of now I have only gained 15 pounds. The doctor measured my belly and I am measuring in like an average 32 week pregnant woman (that was shocking since we are 23 weeks along!). My body is responding well to pregnancy and everything looks wonderful at this point.

However, our doctor went into details about what I need to do over the next 14 weeks so that we can make it as far as possible -

- rest as much as possible
- when I am back at work I am to sit as much as possible
- try to stay out of the heat
- drink lots of water
- get a belly support to help with my back

Hopefully we can make it through the rest of the pregnancy without bed rest or pre-term labor starting up.

:) Here are some more pictures of the boys!











Joshua (L) and Samuel (R)










Samuel Collins Jones










Joshua David-Andrew Jones

OH BOYS!

Introducing: Samuel Collins Jones & Joshua David-Andrew Jones


Okay, I know the title is cheesy (as Matt says), but I have to have some fun. Right?!
Yesterday marked our last week in the 4th month of pregnancy. We went to our doctor for ultrasound and measurement of the belly. I have gained only 10 pounds total in these last few months. I think that is pretty good since we are having TWO big baby boys! :)

Samuel (used to be called Baby A or "Turkey") is measuring at 19 weeks and 3 days. He weighs 11 ounces. His heartbeat is at 153 beats per minute. He appears happy and healthy! :)

Joshua (used to be called Baby B or "Little Lizard") is measuring at 19 weeks and 1 day. He weighs 10 ounces. His heartbeat is at 150 beats per minute. He also appears happy healthy - even if he is a little squished. :)

When I got home last night I was looking at what our babies should be measuring & weighing right now. They should be about 10 inches long (each) and weighing about 8.5 ounces. While I don't know how many inches long they are, they seem to be weighing just a bit above normal, but the doctor just thinks we have healthy baby boys right now. I am sure she will watch us all very close so not to worry.


Now, onto the fun stuff. Last night and the BIG family reveal. When we got to the house everyone put in their guess as to what the babies would be. Then Nana and Nonni got the honor to open the gift bags and pull out the outfit.




Everyone was so excited and happy. We just can't wait to meet these precious little ones. :) Only about 17 more weeks (at the earliest) until our boys get here!

11 weeks

Jones Twins at 11 weeks! Baby A - Dancing










Baby B - Sleeping

I can't believe how fast time goes by!

So much has happened in such a short time. The babies are 1 1/2 inches long and looking wonderful. Last week our specialist released us to continue our pregnancy at a regular OB. This is a wonderful sign, and a big step in the right direction, however we will miss our specialist. They were extremely helpful, caring, and supportive in our journey. We will be forever changed because of their help.

Today was our first visit at the regular OB office. Our doctor did a quick scan (pictures above) and was very pleased. We have another appointment on May 16th and then again every month to follow the progress. Of course when we get into the 3rd trimester we will go almost every week (or ever other week depending on how we are). But we will take our learning process in stride. This is all an exciting adventure!

Maybe (lets hope) we will get to know what the babies are at our next appointment! :) That would be an EXCELLENT surprise! Then this planner can get on the ball for organizing things. I really want to know ... and I am just itching to start organizing baby clothes and baby things according to what they are.

Can't wait to let you all know! :)

8 1/2 weeks ... so cool!

So Matt and I went in for our ultrasound and blood work. We got there early, which was great, but then we had to wait for a bit to see the doctor. Everything is looking wonderful. Our sea monkeys have moved into the inch range (each) and they are starting to lose their "tails". We now have named them "little turkey" and "lizard" ... you will see why in the pictures in a minute.

They have strong heartbeats and are measuring right were they need to be.

Baby A is measuring 8 weeks and 4 days. Baby B is measuring 8 weeks and 3 days. It is just so cool to "watch" our babies on the ultrasound and to hear their little hearts beat.

Baby B did not want to stay still ... but we finally got some pictures of him/her.












Here are the twins together. This is when we were listening to the heartbeats!











Baby A = aka "little turkey" Baby B = aka "lizard"

Because of how babies are at this time in development, their heads are very big and tilted toward their chest. Little turkey's picture is from "behind", so the head is tilted forward. All you can see is his spine and the back of the legs. It was just so funny because the baby really does look like a little turkey (thus the name).

Lizard is named as such because of his little "tail" that will be gone by the end of next week. In the picture it just looks like he/she is saying "Hi Mommy & Daddy!"

We go back every 2 weeks for the next 4 weeks. Our doctor is watching things closely, even though everything is looking extremely well. I am thankful for this because it puts my mind at ease.

Can't wait to post our 10 1/2 week pictures soon! :) Maybe we will have a new "name" for our sweet babies at that point.

drum roll please ....

Okay ... so it is March 17th! Time for our all important and special ultrasound visit!

I didn't get to sleep in at all (not that I could anyway!). Our appointment was at 8:00am and all the way in Atlanta off off 285, and if you know about traffic in the Atlanta area, well, you know to leave early just in case.

Matt and I got on the road at 6:45 after a little accident of dropping cat food all over the floor (yeah me!). Getting out early was worth it ... believe me, it was worth it! We prayed all the way down there (about our appointment, not traffic - but that prayer did come up).

So, drum roll please! :)

TWINS!!


We go back on Thursday, March 31st for another ultrasound and more blood work. :) Can't wait to upload new pictures!

God is good! :)

this is only the beginning

Well, I have heard of some weird things happening when pregnant ... but what about when you are preparing to get pregnant again?!

Yes, Matt and I decided to start the IVF process again. It has been 6 months of healing, saving, and praying over our next step.

What about weird dreams! What is this all about?! I had this dream right at the beginning of our IVF process ...


Matt using a gun to hunt me down and give me a shot. WHAT?!!! Well, with all the shots an IVF patient has to get, it is kind of understandable. However I was sweating and chewing nails over just thinking about shots after that dream. I will admit, shots are not my favorite part. The more I get them, the more I detest them. I would rather not ever get a shot again (or have my blood drawn for that matter).


The process begins with shots and medications. I am fine with taking pills, drinking a lot of water, and getting rest. It is, as you can see above, the SHOTS that I hate! Oh well, the shots began ...

On Friday, February 18th, we did our implantation day. I took the day off, we got down there before we needed to be, and the whole process went smoothly. I got home and rested for the reminder of the day. Our doctor called to check up on me in the evening and to reconfirm to me that the process of the day ran about as smoothly as possible. Now, the wait (10 days) and ... MORE SHOTS!

So, I started eating a little more healthy, drinking a lot more water, and resting as much as possible. And we waited, and waited, and waited. Believe me, 10 days is not that long, until it is for something as important (and expensive) as IVF.

Finally, Monday February 28th came around. I took a half day (in the morning) and went to the doctor. I got lab work done, and then headed to school. I thought the 10 day wait was long ... how about the couple of hour wait for a doctor to call with the results?! Good news! Our hcg levels were at 209! We are defiantly pregnant. Now we need to make sure the numbers keep going up. I have to go back on Thursday.

Thursday, March 3rd rolled around ... I went to get more lab work done after school so I would not miss any more time at work. Because we got lab work done so late in the afternoon, we had to wait until Friday to hear back about the results. Friday comes, and the phone call ... good news! Our numbers were up to 570! AWESOME!

Now Matt and I get to wait ... again! We go back to the doctor's for more lab work on Thursday, March 10th. Again, I go after work so I have to wait for the results until Friday.

So, March 11th comes ... and we wait, and wait, and wait. Some kind of emergency happened and they were not able to call until late in the day. In fact, I did not get my phone call from Matt until 2:00pm. Talk about wanting to pull out your hair!! However, our numbers were good. In fact, they were GREAT! We are now at an hcg level of 4,934! God is amazing!

This is only the beginning! We have an ultrasound on Thursday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day & BJ's birthday) in the morning. I will have to take a 1/2 day again, but it is so worth it!

I will be posting pictures next week. I can't wait! :)

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!