Wonder Twin Power, Activate! Form of... GIRLS!

Yes, that's right! Geof and I found out this afternoon that we're having twin GIRLS! We are SOOO excited! According to the doctor, their measurements are excellent, and they are progressing well. We could not ask for better news!

As you can imagine, the Wonder Twins' photographer father was fully equipped with his camera and Blackberry during the ultrasound appointment at Rex Hospital. Geof snapped the shot below right after the technician squirted the jelly stuff on my belly and started to slide the palm-held probe around.

This photo shows me smiling widely as I gaze upon our squirming little ladies! They are so amazing! I can't believe how much they've grown since our last ultrasound! (Shortly after Geof took the picture below, I realized he might continuing snapping away through the entire appointment and miss the phenomenal images on the screen. So, I quietly whispered, "You're missing it." With an "Oh!" he immediately put away the camera and left the photography to the almighty ultrasound machine. I guess you could call it an occupational hazard. :) )

This ultrasound picture shows both babies. Twin B is on top; Twin A is on the bottom. Their heads are at opposite ends. The technician said there was a good amount of "fluid" in their little sacks, so we assume they're not too cramped in there just yet.

Meet Twin A! She is our tiny introvert. At every ultrasound we've ever had, she's always shied away from the camera. Last time, we got a great picture of her back! This time, however, she allowed us to capture a nice profile shot! She does not move around quite as much as her sister. She prefers to stay tucked up in a ball and practice yoga in utero. Her heart rate registers 150 beats per minute. Very healthy!

Meet Twin B! She is our tiny extrovert. She LOVES getting her picture taken (sound like anyone you know?) and is always happy to mug for the camera! Today, she was dancing and twisting and wiggling around. In fact, she was so squirmy that the technician had a hard time getting her heart beat to register. When she finally did, it measured 160 bpm. She is certainly going to be the party animal. Even the technician said, "She'll be the one that says to her sister, 'It's okay do that. Mom and Dad won't care. We'll clean it up, and they'll never know.'" Great.

As if in response to that comment, Twin A wanted to let us know everything would be okay, so she flashed us the "peace sign," which you can see in the photo below. Apparently, she's already channeling her family tree. I'll never forget the first time I met Geof's mom, Linda. As we drove up to the restaurant, she was standing by the door and flashed me a peace sign. Not knowing how to appropriately respond, I waved. Geof said, "She was a hippie," as if to explain the display. I like to think that even though Linda is in heaven, she's sending us a small "sign" to let us know she's watching over the Wonder Twins.

Geof and I decided to celebrate today's big news by going to Babies R' Us on a nursery planning adventure. We're thinking about using chocolate and varied shades of pink on the nursery walls and in the bedding. Geof found a great bed set with butterflies on it. So cute! Never thought he'd be excited about butterflies and pink, did you?

I'm not a huge fan of yellow and green. So, I didn't go baby clothes shopping before we found out the sexes. (I've REALLY been looking forward to baby clothes shopping!) So, tonight, we went. We found the perfect outfits, which I'm holding in the picture below. The purple and white onesy says "My twin did it!" The hot pink one says "Save the drama for your mama!" Hilarious. We bought two of the purple ones. Although we don't plan to dress the girls alike, we couldn't resist getting a "twin set" for them!

I found another outfit I think is perfect for Father's Day! Awwww....

In summary, today was a wonderful day! We were definitely surprised by the news that the Wonder Twins are girls, but that seems to be the theme of this pregnancy. First, we were surprised to learn we were having twins, and after assuming for months that one of the babies would surely be a boy, mother nature proved us wrong! The great part is all these surprises are incredible surprises!

Granted, Geof is understandably nervous about being totally outnumbered in the house. Even Stella the Cat is female! But, he's definitely up for the estrogen challenge! I promised to teach him how to do pigtails and ponytails like a champion stylist and tie hair bows with the best of them. I have a feeling the babies are going to be "Daddy's girls" no matter how lopsided their hairdos may be. :)

"Y" not work out?

I'll be honest. Before this week, it had been a while since I had exercised with any type of regularity. For the first few months, I was just too tired before or after work to hit the YMCA in downtown Raleigh where Geof and I are members. Then came vacation. Then catch up after vacation. Then... Well, you get the picture.

No more excuses. Fitness is too importance to make one of those "if I have time" type of things. I'm now back on track... er... the treadmill, ready to give my muscles a work out! Don't worry. I know my limitations and would never do anything to risk the health of the Wonder Twins. The doctor says I can do low-impact cardio, and that's what I stick to. I regularly check my heart rate to make sure it's not inching above 140 beats per minute, and if I feel like I might get winded, I slow waaaay down immediately.

I kick started my exercise regiment yesterday with a 30-minute stint on the elliptical machine, an old gym friend. However, instead of putting the setting at Cross Country 3 and burning through 400 calories in half an hour like I used to, I pushed the button for the basic level and slowly shaved off 200 calories.

Today, I walked 1.1 miles at a slight incline on the treadmill in 25 minutes. It's a far cry from the 5K I used to complete in that same time period, but hey, I'm carrying a lot of extra weight with two babies! :) I followed up my walk with a series of arm exercises using five-pound free weights.

Don't expect me to turn into a toned, svelte body builder over the term of the pregnancy. I like having a neck. I'm doing this for the babies and for myself. I want to stay in relatively good shape while I continue to build up the baby weight, and I want to give the Wonder Twins a healthy start to their young lives.

Oh, and watching people's reactions at the gym to my baby bump in spandex is pretty awesome, too.

Sunday Sign Off

For those of you who don't know, I work in the Communications Office at the N.C. Department of Transportation during the week, but on the weekends, I head to job #2. I work as a sales associate at Raleigh Running Outfitters, a speciality running store owned, operated and "run" by runners. I help everyone from elite four-minute milers to "Couch to 5K" couples find the right shoes and apparel to meet their running needs.

(Check out http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/specials/komen_for_the_cure/video/5350338/ to see Geof and me sporting our RRO shirts at the Race for the Cure. We're about 25 seconds into the video.)

For more than a year, I've spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday at the store. With the Wonder Twins on the way, that's all changing. Today was my last Sunday at RRO. I will still continue to work on Saturdays, until I'm just too big to bend over and check to see if a customer has enough room in the toe box of his or her shoes.

I originally started working at the store for three key reasons. First, we were paying a mortgage on our house in Tucson (which we were anxiously trying to sell) and rent on our apartment in Raleigh (which we couldn't wait to ditch once we found a new house). No fun in a no-good economy. Second, I was new to town, and Geof worked weekends at WRAL. I needed a way to meet people. Nice people who shared my interests. Third, running gear can be expensive, and getting discounts is awesome!

What started out as a weekend job has turned into a fun way to spend time with friends, talk about running and help others make running their passion, as well. The gang at RRO has been incredibly supportive of me, Geof and the babies. We very much appreciate their flexibility and hilarious parental advice! We look forward to taking the twins to the store for their first pairs of trainers!

Now that I'll be free on Sundays, I plan to tackle all the projects that must get done around the house before the babies are born, because I know I won't come close to crossing them off my "To Do" list after Nov. 22! So, if you call on Sundays and I don't answer, just know I'm not dodging your call. I'm simply belly deep in a filing cabinet in the garage or hanging a long-awaited set of frames above the bed. I promise I'll call you back!

Wonder Twins Clench First P.R.!

The Wonder Twins participated in their very first road race today! They "walked" a 5K (3.1 miles) with Geof and me early this morning at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Raleigh.

They did a great job dealing with the hilly course and warm, humid weather. No cramps or complaints from our two fleet-feeted babies! They finished in 1:18 (one hour, 18 minutes) - a personal record! They would've crossed the finish line a lot sooner if 1.) we hadn't started at the back of the pack, 2.) I hadn't had to wait in line for the Port-O-Potty at mile two and 3.) I had actually walked fast. Regardless, they still beat a lot of other people... and babies. No wonder we call them the Wonder Twins!!

Throughout the race, they definitely had their grandmothers in mind. Grandma Lynn and Grandma La La are breast cancer survivors of more than 20 years each. Geof and I wore pink pieces of paper with their names on them pinned to our backs to honor their courageous and successful battles against the terrible disease.

Normally, this is an event that I would run, not walk. But, the doctors say running (and any other type of high-impact cardio) is a no-no. Because twins are considered a high-risk pregnancy, I must stick to low-impact exercise. So, I walked. Safety first!

Geof ran for both of us. He took part in the competitive 5K and finished in about 24 minutes! The twins and I stood at the finish line and cheered for him as he crossed. Yay for Daddy!

Although we somehow managed to lose the camera inside the house this morning before we left for the race, we did snap a few pictures with Geof's Blackberry during the race. Check us out!

More than 20,000 people attended the Race for the Cure today, making it won of the 25 largest Komen races in the country! We are so proud to help this amazing organization that does so much to help educate women and men about breast cancer. However, we look forward to the day when we no longer have to "race for the cure," because we've found the cure.

School Shopping

If there is one bit of advice experienced mothers continually share with me, it's find a daycare facility for your babies as soon as you find out you're pregnant. We're slightly behind that curve, being that the Wonder Twins are almost 17 weeks old, but we're working hard to play catch up. We want to make sure that when my 12 weeks of maternity leave are over, we have a great, safe place for the twins to stay while Geof and I are at work.

That's why Geof picked me up from work today, and we spent my lunch break at Children's Discovery Center in Raleigh on a tour. Here's a photo of the facility below.

We decided to tour it for several key reasons. First, it came highly recommended by three of Geof's colleagues from WRAL. One of them is the station's no-nonsense troubleshooter reporter. If she thinks the center is good enough for her kids, I'm certain it's good enough for our kids. Second, the facility offers an a la carte plan. That means we can drop the Wonder Twins off for a few hours on the days when I work days and Geof works nights, and leave them for the full day when Geof and I both work days. Most centers do not offer that kind of flexibility. It will end up saving us a lot of money. Third, it is located on Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh, which is not far from WRAL and NCDOT.

The center was very nice and clean. We popped into the rooms with the young babies and middle babies, and all the kids in those rooms (including a set of twins) seemed to be happy. The teachers are background checked to ensure safety, and they do not care for more than four kids at a time.

Based on the success of the tour, we went ahead and signed up to bring the babies there in February when we presume my maternity leave will be up. There is no waiting list that far out right now, so we're guaranteed two spots!

However, I've been told by many a mom that it's important to have a fall-back plan just in case something happens at the preferred center. We'll continue to tour other places as the weeks progress to make sure we've got multiple options for our multiple babies!

Quad Screen Success

I usually try to sprinkle my posts with humor, but for this post, I'll treat a serious matter with a serious tone.

I went to the OBGYN's office last week to have a very important blood test done. It's called a quad screen, and it looked for signs that the Wonder Twins could have chromosomal defects. These include Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18, life-altering conditions that are not necessarily genetic.

The test was voluntary. We didn't have to do it, and to be honest, I didn't really want to. I explained to my doctor that I would love the babies regardless of any biological challenges they might face in life and just wanted to enjoy the beauty of holding the twins in my tummy. She told me the majority of parents find the test results relieving and encouraged me to discuss it with Geof.

I did. He felt strongly that I should have the test done, so if there were problems, we could start planning ahead on how to deal with them. His logic made sense, but it didn't make me any less scared.

I had a single vial of blood drawn last Thursday. I was told the results would not come in for about a week. That meant waiting. For a whole week. I hate waiting.

Luckily, the news came much sooner. On Tuesday, we got word the test results were "negative." I immediately asked what that meant. "It means everything is fine," said the woman from the doctor's office. "Across the board? For every test?" I said. "Yes," she confirmed. Elation! Relief!

I know there are other health hurdles the twins may face in the months ahead. I'm worried about those, too, and regularly pray for the babies' health and strength. But, at least for now, we know they are continuing to develop well, and we are incredibly thankful for that.

I Love Kleenex with Vicks

It's been far too long since I last posted an update to this blog! The cranky culprits keeping me from adding new material? Sinus pain, a runny nose and exhaustion. Ugh!

The start of a new month brought a host of new symptoms to my pregnancy experience. First came the sneezing, which was closely followed by razor blade-like sinus pain in my "T" zone. Then came the unstoppable nose blowing and congestion. Yep. I should've invested in Kleenex infused with Vicks, because I went through many boxes of them before relief finally came this Monday.

The pregnancy books warn that mucus may increase when you're with child(ren) in order to trap more germs from getting into mommy's system. If that's true, then the Wonder Twins are going to be germ free for the rest of the lives.

Thankfully, I am now feeling much better. I'm trying hard to get lots of sleep to ward off the exhaustion that I think caused all the nasal nonsense in the first place. I never thought going to be bed at 9 p.m. would be so possible! Ahhhh. Thank you, Vicks!