Thanksgiving and a Pregnancy Update

We had so much fun on Thanksgiving!  We were originally going to just do it really low key at our house and just have it be our little family.  We got a turkey and potatoes and all the fixin's and Rick was going to help me put it together while I sat at a chair at the counter :)  A few days before Thanksgiving, a friend of ours from the ward called and said she was trying to get a few of the families together that weren't really doing anything. Since we didn't have family out here, she thought she would give us a call!  We had so much fun with The Wrights and The Richards in our ward and it made me realize how much your ward really is your family when you don't live by family.  It was a special Thanksgiving and Daci had a blast with her little friend, Addy.  They spent most of the day playing Princess Dress Up. In fact, Daci was so excited about the Princess dresses that she wouldn't sit still long enough to eat ANY of Thanksgiving Dinner!  By the end of the night, she was sure munching on all the veggies that were leftover :)

Daci and Addy. They got their own little table.

Family Pic

Now for the pregnancy update.  I have been to my regular OB once a week this last month and everything is looking good and I haven't dilated anymore since our first little "scare".  I also haven't gained any weight in the last 3 weeks!  Wahoo!  I am hovering right around a 30 pound weight gain so far.  This makes me extremely happy considering I gained 50 with Daci!

I went to my high risk doctors today to get a growth ultrasound done and the babies are doing wonderfully!  Baby A (girl) is 3 lb 5 oz and Baby B (boy) is 3 lb 6 oz.  That means I am carrying almost a whole pound more than Daci was born at!  What!?  She was only 5 lb 15 oz when she was born and I have 6 lb 11 oz of baby in me with 8 more weeks to go.  I said to the doctor today, "So, it seems like they gain about a pound every four weeks, does it start to slow down now?" He laughed and said, "Oh no, it speeds up! They will gain 1 lb and a half to 2 pounds by the next time we see you at 34 weeks and then another 1.5lb-2lb before delivery." Wow!  I always thought they would be smaller than Daci considering there are two of them, but I guess I was wrong :) Sounds like they will each be around 7-7.5lbs. This is just a testament to me of how much my Lupus affected my first pregnancy.  We had no idea I had Lupus at the time so I wasn't on any of the medication I needed to be.  I retained A TON of water with her, gained 50 lbs, and she was only 5lb 15oz.  I am SO grateful that everything turned out okay with her.  We are so very blessed because so many things could have gone wrong.  I'm also so grateful that we know what is happening in my body this time and can take all the precautions necessary for the twins to be healthy and strong!

The doctors are very happy with how healthy the babies are and with how well I am doing now.  A few weeks ago I would have said I didn't feel well at all and that I felt like I could have the babies at any moment.  Now, I feel great (except for that I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable :) ) and feel like they will go all the way to 38 weeks.  I know this is because I have slowed down and taken it easy.  I was pushing myself much too hard before.  I also know that I couldn't have done any of this without the wonderful women in my ward that have helped me out so much with Daci and with meals for my family.  The doctors say everything looks great and that I don't necessarily need to be on bed rest but that I need to continue to take it easy.  I can go out for a quick run to the store if I need to, although it wouldn't be smart to take Daci because I can't lift her into the cart.  I can do little meals here and there for my family on the days where the ward isn't bringing in food.  I can even do little outings for my sanity, as long as the outings aren't walking around and I can sit the whole time, like going to the movies (Breaking Dawn here I come!), or to an hour or two (or three if I'm feeling ok) of church!

I feel so blessed to have the love and support out here that I do.  I'm so grateful to be a member of the church and have an instant built in network of friends and support.  We have loved living out here in Naperville and I feel like this is where we are supposed to be at this time in our lives.  Don't get me wrong, I still miss my family and friends in Utah SOOOO much!  Sorry this turned into a testimony....I'm just feeling especially blessed today.

Now for some pics!  They are getting so big now that it is hard for them to get good pictures of the babies anymore.  These are a few of the ones that turned out okay:

Little Girl with her foot by her face

Little Boy with his foot AND hand by his face

Side profile of Baby Boy with his arm up across his face