Week 24

      We're starting week 24 off with a bang! Yesterday I had a routine appointment with the high risk Dr. that resulted in being admitted to the hospital because of some indications of pre-term labor. I didn't know what to expect as they brought me to labor and delivery to be monitored for contractions. I have been having contractions since about week 16; being that this is my first pregnancy and that the contractions are not painful in any way I wrongly assumed that they were Braxton Hicks. They were in fact real contractions that are causing cervical shortening. So the goal in being at the hospital is 2 fold at this point, first to make sure the babies are ok and to give them some medications to help with their lung development in the case of an early delivery, secondly, it's to try to stop the contractions.

      For now, the contractions seem under control and the babies have gotten the medication that they need to help with their lung development. Right now it is looking like I will be in the hospital for a couple more days as they want to continue to monitor me and make sure that the contractions stay at bay. If they send me home it will be on full bed rest with the exception of getting up occasionally for bathroom breaks and short showers.  

      I am so thankful for all of the support we are receiving already from our family and friends. It is such a blessing to have people by our side as we take this journey. This is not what we expected but we will gladly wait longer for the arrival of our twins. Our hope is to get to week 35 so we have 11 weeks to go and if bed rest is the only way to get there I will gladly do it. I'm sure there will be hard days ahead but I know that we are not in this alone. I am encouraged every time I get to hear the babies heart beats because they are both strong and they move a lot! :) I'm loving how much I feel them now. It's so reassuring and comforting.

Jared and I appreciate all of your prayers. Thank you!

-CW

Week 22

So far so good in week 22, it's been a busy weekend with a lot going on. I was helping plan our church's choir retreat and we had that Friday and saturday. We had a lot of fun and I hope this will be a great start to a great group. Then we celebrated aunt Cathy's birthday at our house on Saturday night with a Bon fire and all the family was there. Fitz even got to meet the chickens and take his first walk through the woods. We hope he will come out a lot more often and learn to love coming to uncle Jared's and aunt Christina's house. On Sunday we had some good friends come over for lunch, Trevor and Christina Miller and their little Johannah. We had so much fun getting to know each other better and hearing about their journey to Brazil. They hope to go there with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the spring as full time missionaries. We are so excited for them and their journey.

The week started off good too because today I went to register for the twins with my mom and my sister. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot accomplished. My mom and I even had time to go to JoAnn's fabrics and pick out the fabrics for the babies' quilts that Jared's mom is going to make. What blessed little ones we have to have such loving grandmothers on both sides of the family! After picking out the fabrics for the quilts I finally was able to narrow down the nursery colors. We hope to get started on that project this week so I'll get some before pics up soon so you can follow our progress. Yay!

Well, that's all for now. Have a great week!

-CW

Week 20

Week 20  is flying by! I'm feeling great still and so thankful that I have had such a smooth pregnancy thus far. We will have another appointment on Friday with the OB; just a regular check up but can't wait to hear the heartbeats. That doesn't ever get old! I am feeling BIG this week though. Seems like I can watch my belly grow per minute! :) Well, that's exaggerating a bit I guess but for real this last week has been a stretching one. I'm making sure to lather on the Coco Butter every night now! No visible stretch marks yet but I'm sure they will come if I continue to grow as big as I think I'm going to get. :)

This past week was a big one at work too. After much prayer, and discussion with Jared and my family, I've decided to quit working in September and be a full time mommy when these little ones get here. This was a big decision for me because I have worked outside of the home since I was 14 and I enjoy work (to a degree, like most I'm sure). However, I have always wanted to be able to stay at home with my kids too. I feel very blessed to be able to stay home with the babies and to care for them, my husband, and my house fully. Of course I know that with the stresses of being a mom to twins there will be days when I will need a reprieve and this is where my amazing family comes in. I have so many loving women in our family that have offered to help with the babies and I feel incredibly blessed and overwhelmed with peace because I know that we are not in this parenting journey alone. I am so excited about what is to come and I can't wait to share some of those moments with you.

Lately, I'm getting so antsy to get my house in order, nesting syndrome is setting in. But we have some work to do before I can jump into that. The room we will be using as the nursery needs to be drywalled and we haven't started yet. :( We will be starting that project very soon and I will post before and after shots once we get going. I think I've finally narrowed down the theme of the nursery though so that helps me feel like I've accomplished something. :)

Well, that's all for now.
Sleep well, God Bless,

-CW