15 weeks.

15 weeks- 4 days... and hello new maternity skinny jeans! :-)

How far along: 15 weeks, 4 days

Size of the babies: Navel oranges

Weight Gain: 0 this week; total weight gain = 8 lbs (will have a more accurate idea when I go to the Dr's on Tuesday.)

Symptoms: Feeling great! I really can't complain. I visited my acupuncturist and got a "tune-up" but I think my morning sickness is a thing of the past and my energy level is great (and has been)throughout this whole pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes: The ensemble in the above photo is new- I made a stop at Old Navy on Saturday. I had read about their new maternity "skinny" jeans in an US Weekly magazine and decided that I had to have them- can't beat $34.95! Sofia was a trooper- she came with me- and hung out in the dressing room while I tried on a few things- she would tell me if she liked the outfit or not- she's very honest that one. Also- Nina gave me her maternity clothes- thank you, Nina! P.S. I've worn that green & white zebra Forever 21 shirt twice now- LOVE it.

Excercise: Now that the weather is nice- I'm really going to try to walk as often as possible. I was proud of myself for taking Zealand on a 3 mile walk this morning at 8 AM... not bad for a Sunday and it felt so good to be moving. Also- on May 16th I'm participating in "Walk For Wishes" in support of the Maine Make-A-Wish Foundation. I'll be walking Baxter Blvd in Portland along with other members of my Maine Young Agents Committee in addition to Chalmers employees that I've gotten to sign up as well.

Sleep: Sleeping great- love the fact that I can still sleep on my belly- as I'm a stomach sleeper all the way- will be so sad when I have to officially make the switch to my side. I still wake up pretty early to go to the bathroom but I'm happy that I can hold it until the morning- as getting up in the middle of the night is just no fun for a sleeping mama.

Food Cravings: Turkey burgers- especially the gourmet patties from Hannaford mixed with peppers and cheese... delish! We made the first ice cream stop of the season to the Windham Ice Cream Dug-Out. The woman in front of me in line ordered a chocolate covered waffle cone and I decided at that moment that I had to have one too... even though I never eat waffle cones. Man-on-man... that was one tasty treat. I've also been craving fresh strawberries (with whipped cream of course).

Food Aversions: Nothing really.... I'm even starting to eat salads again (hurray!)

Excited: My parents are back from Florida! We had dinner with them tonight and Sofia was so happy to see her Sitto and Papa... in fact, she's having an overnight at their house tonight. Also excited that the weather was so beautiful this weekend- Sofia and I pretty much spent most of Saturday outside- picnicing with a blanket and a bunch of her toys soaking up the sun... feels so good to have some color! Adam made a lot of progress on our basement playroom project (aka Project "Rainy Room".) Sofia calls it the "Rainy Room" because her Nanee and GP have a "Rainy Room" in their basement in Kennebunk that is pretty much a Palace Playland for kids- we are trying to copy it. A big thanks to Aaron, Michael & Paula, and Neil for all pitching in this weekend- they also cleaned out our garage and we took a bunch of things to the dump- I'm loving purging what we can... I can't stand clutter and I'm convinced Adam's a hoarder!

Also excited for my 16 week ultrasound and doctors appt this Tuesday as we'll hopefully find out the other twin's gender! Adam, Paula and Sofia are all coming with me, which I'm totally excited about- I think it will be especially good for Sofia to "see" her siblings that are in mommy's belly... although, she's still quite convinced that she has her little sister in her belly and that I have the baby brother in my belly.... out of the mouth's of babes....

Sitto & Sofia reunited!
 Sitto bought her that hot pink Gap jean jacket, as well as the Peter Pan figurines, that she's playing with at the table-
Oh that Sitto... she's quite the spoiler!

Additionally- I must share this photo of the three Cutter ladies that was taken a few weekends ago at Aaron & Nina's house. There's nothing better than Cutter love and girl power! P.S. Why is my daughter the Chatty Cathy on the phone? Hmmm... I wonder who she gets that from?!

 

Elise (6 months), Ainsley (3 yrs), Sofia (2 yrs)

 

Sidebar: I will be SO relieved once tomorrow is over as I have to give a big speech tomorrow morning at the Maine Insurance Agents Association's Annual Convention. I'll be speaking infront of 200 insurance professionals (CEOS, Agency Owners, agents, etc.) on behalf of the Maine Young Agents Committee, since I'm the Chairwoman. I have to talk about what our committee has been up to, who we are, what we're all about, etc. I've got my power point all ready to go- just need to go and practice my slides... on that note, I better sign off and go and practice my speech... wish me luck!!










14 weeks.

14 weeks- taken in Washington, D.C.

How far along: 14 weeks, 4 days 

Size of the babies: Lemons

Weight gain: 8 pounds total

Symptoms: I've been feeling really good- I think the morning sickness is finally behind me. Yahoo! Of course whenever I say that, I usually throw up, but let's knock on wood. I've been having some leg cramps- which is excrutiating when it occurs- picture the worst Charlie-horse ever. I don't know which are getting bigger, faster, my boobs or my belly but that's where the weight  seems to be going!

Maternity Clothes: The dress in the above photo is a new Motherhood Maternity dress and it's quite cute and comfy- I wore it in Washington, D.C. this week for my big day on Capitol Hill, which I paired with a black blazer (non maternity) which barely fit- another week and I would've popped the blazer button. I'm definitely wearing maternity pants and skirts now as I've outgrown all of mine, but I can still get away with some tops- although I prefer the form fitting ones that showcase the bump, since I definitely have one!



Dress worn with blazer- waiting to meet with Senator Collins and Senator King. Don't know what possessed me to wear 4 inch black heels- but thankfully, I packed flip-flops in my purse!
 

Excercise: Lots and lots of walking... I think I walked around 5-6 miles in Washington, D.C. I'm definitely logging that towards the Chalmers walking contest.

Sleep: Sleeping well- I loved the hotel bed at the Grand Hyatt Washington... so comfy. I definitely love to sprawl when I get to sleep in a bed all to myself! The annoying part is having to wake up to go to the bathroom- but I've been "holding it" until early morning because I'm too lazy to get out of bed in the middle of the night. I know that will change once these babies start tap dancing on my bladder.

Food Cravings: Nothing unusual- I did introduce Adam to the McDonald's McWrap today... and I even waited for 15 minutes in the Drive-Thru line just to get them! What babies want... babies get. I'm also loving breakfast foods these days.

Food Aversions: I ate my favorite Caesar Salad Lite (in-a-bag) last night and couldn't even finish what was on my plate- it probably didn't help that the lettuce was wilted.

Travel Adventures: Well- I had a fabulous time in Washington, D.C. I was gone Tuesday- Saturday. On Tuesday night, my Bridgton friend, Frank Snodgrass picked me up at the airport and made dinner for me back at his adorable row house. His partner, Aaron, was also there. Those two crack me up- love them as a couple. 

 Wednesday was my first full day of the Legislative Conference and it was a great networking opportunity as I met lots of Young Agents from all across the country. I quickly made friends with a female agent from MA who is also pregnant (with her second) and we are due three days apart. Additionally, our first borns are 3 weeks apart in age. Apparently, we are working the same time table. I met up with our other Maine agents- there were 6 of us total- but I was the youngest by about 15 years. We enjoyed yummy dinners and lunches out.

Thursday was our full day on Capitol Hill where we met with our Maine Congressman and Congresswoman and Senators. It was really interesting to present our policy issues to them and ask for their support of certain insurance-related bills. I even mustered up the courage to tell Senator Angus King about my embarrassing encounter with him 5 years ago. I sat next to him on a plane flight from Portland to Newark and I spent the whole flight trying to figure out who he was because he looked familiar but I couldn't place him and therefore never said a word to him. He chuckled and said that I should've said to him, "you know... you look like someone who used to look like Angus King."

Senator Susan Collins was also very gratious- of course she remembered my dad and uncle and asked how the Chalmers boys were doing. She also used to employ my brother-in-law, Neil, so I said hi to her from him. I will say, she's a hard working lady- we didn't even meet with her until 5:00 pm and she had appointments after us. She also said that she accommodated 300 Maine families who were visiting D.C. for school vacation week and wanted photo ops with her.

Other highlights of the trip included seeing my former college roommate, Jan Larson. I hadn't seen Jan in 3 years but it was great to reconnect and see her life in D.C. She's a successful attorney in D.C. and a mother to two adorable step-children, Katie (8) and Richard (6). She and her husband, Rock, live in Virginia and are living the American dream. Kudos to all she's accomplished since Bowdoin! I'm looking forward to seeing her again at Bowdoin Reunion next month.

The weather in D.C. was a welcomed change from Maine- temps in the mid-70s. It was nice to see green grass, tulips, and cherry blossoms (although I missed the peak season by about a week).

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure...

The beautiful cherry blossoms

A prime photo op



Fountain near Capitol Hill

Outside the Capitol building



Gorgeous

All the flags in D.C. were half-staffed in honor of the Boston Marathon attack

These were the only cherry blossoms in bloom!



The Korean War Memorial

National Mall



Rock & Jan

Rock & Jan's gorgeous house











Bowdoin roomies reunited!

 

 

Well- that's it for now... nighty night!







13 weeks.




I've been told this bump photo is somewhat deceiving as it was taken at night (after dinner)-
 and I was trying on a new, and very form fitting, maternity top.
Photo taken at 13 weeks and 3 days.

How far along: 13 weeks, 4 days

Size of the babies: A peach (or in this case, two peaches!)

Weight Gain: +6 pounds (boobs and belly!) P.S. Don't always count on a weekly weight update from me- I'm a shy girl I am!

Symptoms: I've had more morning sickness this time around- typical for a twin pregnancy- however, it's been managed by weekly acupuncture visits (I swear by acupuncture- it's amazing!) If I am sick- it's usually first thing in the morning on an empty stomach- I forgot the displeasures of dry-heaving. I've also had way more energy this past first trimester than I did when pregnant with Sofia. Apparently, Paula said the same thing when she was pregnant with Adam and Aaron. Hey- I'm a busy working mom... I'll take all the energy I can get! Other symptoms- a brief bout of constipation (bye-bye Zofran, hello Kashi Go Lean cereal!)

Maternity clothes: I have fully embraced them already- at 13 weeks- Sonja... if you're reading this... you were right about that! You pop quickly the second time around. I can still get away with some non-maternity tops but the majority of my "skinny" clothes are packed away... see you sometime next year (I hope!)

Exercise: Trying to get 3 walks in per week- it's pretty much weather dependent. My goal is to take a 15 minute walk on my lunch breaks but that hasn't happened yet. I also plan on participating in our Chalmers Insurance Group Walk 156 which starts May 15th. I have to walk 156 miles (which is as old as our company is) by mid-October (which is also coincidentally my due date)- haha... we'll see about that... but it's nice to have something to motivate me.

Sleep: I've finally broken out my body-length maternity pillow- it's like sleeping with an extra person in bed- but it seems to be helping. Overall, I'm sleeping pretty well- but I do jump right out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off in the AM- not because I'm a morning person by any means; rather, I have to pee... ASAP.

Food Cravings: The new McDonald's McWrap... grilled chicken with ranch... YUM... I'm embarrassed to say I've had 3 of them already (just in the past week and a half). Can't believe I'm admitting that....but it tastes SO good. I'm thirsty all the time.... been drinking lots and lots of water.

Food Aversions: Not as excited about eating salads these days- why can't I not be excited about eating cookies and brownies....?

Smells: My nose is on overload- I had to remove my Fabreeze Car Freshener the other day because I couldn't handle the potent smell of "Cool Breeze". I walked past the office kitchen the other day and about gagged because a co-worker was heating up broccoli and it stunk. Don't even get me started on Sofia's dirty diapers!

Relieved: We received the results of the MaterniT21 blood test and both babies tested NEGATIVE for Trisomy 21 (Downs syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), and Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome). Also, the test detected a Y chromosome so we know we are having atleast one boy! Not quite sure on the other twin's gender yet...we'll have to wait until the 16 week ultra sound to confirm. My gut feeling: two boys. I had a psyhic reading done about 5 years ago and she predicted that I would be having twin boys. Crazy huh?!

Excited: Now that we received favorable results from the MaterniT21 test, we've finally started announcing our pregnancy news with family, friends, and co-workers. It's priceless telling people that "we're pregnant.... with twins..." The reactions should all be recorded and posted on YouTube- I bet some would go viral. Don't expect our announcement to be on Facebook just yet- but it will be shortly. I also bought a few new maternity shirts on Saturday with Nina (hence, shirt in above photo) and I bought my first articles of boy clothing- Gap had a killer sale- an extra 30% off the Sale rack. I bought a few adorable Beatrix Potter Bunny sweaters and some boy socks. It's so weird looking at boy clothes in stores. Don't get me wrong- Sofia cleaned up on this Sale too.... she is mommy's little princess after all...




My little princess will always have my heart.
I've been told that Sofia looks
 like me in this picture! What do you think?

Jet Setter: I fly to our Nation's capital on Tuesday evening for a work conference. I'll be there until Saturday. I plan on mixing a little business with pleasure- it helps when you have college friends in D.C. I'm excited to see the Cherry blossoms in full bloom. Pictures to follow by next posting!

Shout out: To Nina for helping me create this blog template and for encouraging me to write a pregnancy blog. We'll see how well I do at this weekly posting thing!

Signing off for now... it is past my bedtime after all.