showered with love

Last weekend, we had our fourth and final baby shower--a fabulous way to begin the third trimester! Barbeque, strawberry cake, and lots of new baby things...all of my favorites! Three of my college friends and one of Andrew's friend's wife hosted the party (isn't it great when your friends marry people you love), which was an amazing act of generosity considering that three of the four live out of town. This was our only party in Knoxville, and it was so wonderful to celebrate with our local friends and family. We are so grateful to our hosts and guests, and can't wait for the little ones to meet each of you!

sweet hostesses--Mollie, Ellie, me, Ann-Haley, and Lacy

dining room decorations

more decorations

my mom and dad with Andrew and me--both of our families were able to come

Lacy and Mollie...I have to watch these two when the get together...

homestretch

We made it...we're in the third trimester! At 28 weeks, we have no more than 10 to go before we meet these little munchkins. As my doctor said yesterday, 28 weeks is a big milestone for twins. Even if born today, their long-term prognosis would be really good (not that we want to test that).

Yesterday's appointment left us with much information to absorb. On the positive side, I passed my glucose test, so no gestational diabetes, and I am not yet showing signs of pre-term labor. On the less positive side, at our last growth appointment the babies were 21% apart, which is just 1 percentage point within the normal range. If this disparity gets bigger over the next few weeks, we may have to deliver earlier than we would like. We will be keeping a close eye on their sizes and praying that baby girl catches up a bit, as I would really like to make it past the 34 week mark. Andrew and I are trying not to worry too much, as difficult as that is, since there is truly nothing we can do to direct nutrition to baby girl. Hopefully our petite little princess will be much larger by our appointment next Thursday!

yawns and hiccups

We are getting close to the homestretch, and these babies are developing more personality every day. Baby girl loves the morning, and she especially likes her morning couch time. She has been going crazy for the past hour, poking, prodding, and dancing around. This morning when I woke up she had the hiccups, which was the first time I had felt this phenomenon. Luckily I discovered these little jolts before Andrew left for work, so Daddy got to feel his baby girl hiccuping as well.

Baby boy, on the other hand, prefers nighttime. I can count count on him to put on a show most every night, though he tends to move a bit throughout the day. He is definitely the more active twin, or at least the one I can feel the most. At our Thursday ultrasound, the tech turned on the 3d feature and we actually saw him yawn. It's amazing to think that our little son is already doing things like yawning--that he is already doing many of the things he will do when he joins us this fall.

Watching and feeling these little ones move never loses its excitement. Their growing bodies, however, are starting to take their toll on me. Sleep is becoming very difficult, and by about 2:00 every afternoon the excruciating back pain begins. Yesterday for the first time I had trouble putting on my own socks, and I almost couldn't bend over to take the dogs' leashes off. It's hard to believe that my belly still has 10 weeks of growth to go...but it's also hard to believe that our babies will be joining us in such a short time. Whatever permanent (or not so permanent) damage it does to my body, I just pray that these pumpkins will stay put at least 8 more weeks.

friday fun

We like to keep our Fridays interesting around here. I've been having off and on stabbing lower back pains over the last week, and yesterday when I woke up I could barely walk. I called my doctor to tell him that they were still happening, and when I arrived for a quick check-in they instructed me to go over to triage at the hospital to make sure these weren't actually contractions. Based on some other symptoms I've been experiencing, they were also concerned with my blood pressure, which unfortunately was slightly elevated when they checked it at the office.

After walking over to the hospital and getting several bands strapped around my belly, my blood pressure went down and we determined that there were no contractions (which I had been trying to tell them the whole time). We were able to come home rather quickly, thankfully with no babies in tow yet.

Following a couple of hours of rest, the babies went to their first major concert...Taylor Swift. It was fabulous! The babies can hear now, and they kicked and danced the whole time. I think they are going to be music lovers!

Note: The babies' actual first concert was Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, who I strongly recommend you check out. They were only 13 weeks old then, though, so they couldn't hear yet. No worries--they will have plenty of DH&N in their future.

measuring up

We had an ultrasound to check the twins' growth today, and they are still looking wonderful! Baby boy is estimated to weigh 2 pounds 4 ounces, which puts him in the 72nd percentile--woohoo! Baby girl is lagging behind a bit at 1 pound 12 ounces--only the 15th percentile. We wish that baby girl would grow a bit more, but there is nothing we can do about it. Andrew and I were both very small babies, and anyone who has seen Andrew's sister Rebecca knows that small genes run in that family. My plan is to keep eating and hope they continue to grow, grow, grow!

sweet carolina

On Friday, Andrew's mom and sisters hosted a wonderful baby shower for us in Greenville, South Carolina (Andrew's hometown). It was a wonderful evening...so many people came by, and we were truly overwhelmed by the generosity we were shown. We are incredibly thankful for our fabulous Carolina friends and family.

The night was made even sweeter by the fact that Andrew's entire family was able to be there. A month after we were married, Andrew's middle sister Rebecca became a religious sister with the Nashville Dominicans (Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia). We get to visit her in Nashville several times a year, but last week she was able to come home for the first time in four years. Having her with us to celebrate Bit & Bitty's upcoming arrival was a real treat.

We were having so much fun that we forgot to take pictures for most of the night, but here are a few we managed to snap:

Elizabeth (Andrew's youngest sister) playing bartender

hand-knit stuffed animals from the sisters (with matching cookies)

Andrew and his high school friends

our first two children getting ready for the shower

the Shafer family

the ever-expanding belly...

Happy 26 weeks from Hilton Head Island! Andrew and I spent a few days at the beach this week before my travel restrictions kick in, and while we were resting my belly was growing. The babies love the sunshine...every day they have moved around like crazy while we were lounging in our chairs. We've been able to actually see them move more than ever before, which provided quite a show while I was sporting my ever-fashionable maternity swimsuits. So excited to know they are thriving in there!

official 26 week belly pic