19 weeks.



19 weeks, 4 days... and hello tan!



Back from Cali!


How far along: 19 weeks, 4 days

Size of babies: Mangos

Baby update: Baby's arms and legs are now in the right proportions to the rest of its body. The kidneys are making urine and itty bitty hairs are sprouting on its scalp. A waxy protective coating called vernix is forming on its skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Weight Gain: Since I have a doctors appointment coming up on Thursday, I think I will wait until then to get a more accurate sense... but it's not going to be pretty!

Symptoms: No new symptoms this week- other than swollen feet on my red eye flight from LA to Boston... that was no fun.

Movement: The babies have been kicking a lot more- I only seem to really notice it when I'm sitting or lying down- I felt a bit of movement on the plane rides and then while in bed at night.

Exercise: Adam and I walked the beach every day which was beautiful- the only down side was that there was tar in the sand that would stick to our feet and that was rather annoying to scrub off. I swam a few laps in the pool and walked all around town. I logged a total of 12 miles over the course of the week.

Sleep: Been taking a lot more naps during the day- I think I napped every day in CA- clearly my body needed the rest. I'm sleeping pretty well at night- but my nose still gets congested and I end up sleeping with my mouth open which makes me super parched in the morning. I'm still sleeping somewhat on my belly/somewhat on my side. I've noticed that laying down on my back is completely out of the question these days- puts too much pressure on my belly.

Food Cravings: Fresh fruit- especially pineapple- I couldn't get enough on vacation!

Food Aversions: Nothing... I like it all!

"California... Knows how to Party" We had a great trip to Santa Barbara- it was nice to be in the sunshine. The resort we stayed at (the Bacara Resort & Spa) was beautiful and the service was amazing... the insurance company rented out the entire complex, so it was full of insurance agents and their guests. For the first time on one of these trips I didn't feel as though I was the only female agent- there were actually quite a few female agents- way to represent ladies! There were business sessions mixed in with some fun activities and extravagant dinners.

Being pregnant, I couldn't participate in most of the activities (paddle boarding, horse back riding, etc.).... so I enjoyed the spa and shopping. I was hoping to do a Segway tour one day, which we had signed up for in advance, but alas, I could not participate so we spent the day sightseeing around an adorable Danish town called Solvang. One dinner was spent at a winery (Crossroads at Firestone) where we had a four course meal that was to die for... a different wine was paired with each course, and that was perhaps the only time so far this pregnancy that I've really missed not drinking. Water and Sprite just doesn't cut it... even when served out of a wine glass.

I got a nice tan- although I did burn in a few places as I couldn't see below my belly while applying the sunscreen so I have a funky burn line that runs across my lower belly (as I was wearing a tankini) and burns also along my bikini line. Other than that- I got some nice color!

Our final night was a "Great Gatsby" themed party- everyone was to wear black or white and they gave the women feather boas and pearls, and caps for the men. They hired professional dancers and transformed the hotel's courtyard into a Gatsby-inspired wonderland. They brought in white leather couches and tables, flowers, lights, a band, and of course multiple vintage Rolls Royce cars which you could pose for photos in front of (they had multiple professional photographers on hand all week long to snap photos... of course.) I think they had 17 different bar stations all around the hotel along with different music from the era at each bar station. It was very well thought out and orchestrated.

Great Gatsby!

Travel Perk: Everyone is so nice to pregnant ladies! Patrons willingly give up their chairs for me in a crowded airport and let me skip to the front of the bathroom line. Score! (P.S. Does that mean I'm getting huge?!)

Travel Woe: Our flight back home was a disaster! Note to self: never book a connecting flight through Newark, NJ...ever again! Our flight from L.A. to Newark was delayed (due to weather in Newark) which meant that we had to get completely re-routed as we would've missed our connecting flight from Newark to Portland and been stranded in Newark until 9:30 pm the following night. So- we ended up taking a red eye from L.A. to Boston and then a bus from Boston to Portland. We had to kill 8 hours in L.A. so of course I took Adam to the one place every woman dreams of going... Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, baby! We toured Rodeo, had lunch, and stumbled upon a Warner Brothers TV Museum that had fun sets and costumes from various TV shows. We also hopped on a tour bus and quickly saw L.A.'s highlights. When life hands you lemons... you make lemonade...

Excited: Lots of happenings going on this week... 1. Ultrasound on Wednesday and my mom is coming with me (Twin A's gender will be revealed- come Hell or high water!) 2. This coming weekend is my 10-year Bowdoin reunion and one of my college bestie's, Libby, arrives on Thursday. Also excited to see KBK and Alli and Nate! Woo-hoo!



Some photos from our trip...



Santa Barbara's coastline from our hotel

Walking the beach

View from the pool deck



Getting ready for the Gala Dinner at SB's famous court house

A bumpkin tankini- thanks Nina!
 

Great Gatsby-themed Party night
(So glad I decided to splurge on this Jessica Simpson maternity dress!)

Mr. Rodeo Drive... HA.... hardly...

The newest cast of "Friends"

The new Elaine and Jerry (aka, Seinfeld)



 That's all folks!

18 weeks.

18 weeks, 3 days

How far along: 18 weeks, 3 days

Size of babies: Bell peppers

Baby update: Baby can now yawn! Also, baby is twisting, rolling, kicking and punching (more on that in a moment) and his/her nervous system is maturing. The brain is also continuing to develop including the baby's ability to touch, taste and smell.

Weight gain: 15 pounds total gained... hope that slows down!

Symptoms: Nothing new to report this week other than I'm starting to realize that bending down is getting more difficult- also shaving my legs in the shower is proving to be challenging as I'm having a hard time seeing below my belly.... and I'm not even at the half way point in pregnancy yet! Yikes!

Movement: Yes! I can definitely report that I've started to feel movement this week and that's exciting. I notice the movements when I'm sitting at my desk and also in bed at night. Because there are two in there- I feel movements all over the place- one minute it's way up high, and the next it's down low... because the babies are stacked like bunk beds in my stomach that would make sense. The movements feel like little pops or muscle spasms- I'm sure when they are fully mature it will feel like a kickboxing class in my belly.

Exercise: I successfully completed the "Walk for Wishes" in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Thursday. I walked 4 miles around Baxter Boulevard in Portland and it was a beautiful evening- in the 70s. There were 10 in my team and we walked at a pretty fast clip, in fact I'd venture to guess that we were in the top 20 to finish the walk (out of probably 200 participants total). The last mile kicked my butt as I started to get tired and lagged a little behind my team, but I made it and quickly scarfed down two hot dogs afterwards as I was famished because it was 8pm (and I never eat hot dogs but they tasted so good!)

Team Trusted Choice/Make Young Agents

18 weeks, 1 day

Sleep: I've been getting more tired- especially at night- I fell asleep at 8:30pm watching American Idol the other night (can't really blame me there as this season has been a total snoozer if you ask me!) I'm trying to get more sleep, as clearly my body needs it, so I'm just going to listen to my body and try and be in bed before 10 pm.

Food Cravings: Apparently hot dogs!

Food Aversions: Nothing...

Take Me Out To the Ball Game... Last night we took Sofia to her first Sea Dogs game. A group of Chalmers employees and their families were in attendance and we were in the picnic area and also got a free dinner out of it (thank you ServiceMaster). Sofia was in heaven as her cousin, Brady, was there. Some photos from last night...

Standing by Slugger at Park Entrance

Cousins! Brady and Sofia

Bon Voyage! I am officially on vacation (business trip) until after Memorial Day! Woo hoo! Adam and I are flying to Santa Barbara, CA tomorrow for an insurance President's Award Winners trip with Liberty Mutual/Safeco Insurance Co, hence the reason why I am posting a day earlier than usual. We are considering this our "Babymoon." My parents will be watching Sofia for the week and my mom is determined to potty train Sofia while we're away- go for it, mom!

Excited: I booked my 20 week ultrasound which will be on May 29th at Maternal Fetal Medicine in Portland (and not Coastal Womens) as it's a more in-depth ultrasound to get a good look at the brain development of the twins- by golly, I'm not leaving there until they officially confirm the gender of the other twin.

Mom and I are had a wonderful mother/daughter day today (Sat) and got Mani/Pedi's and went shopping- she bought me a few new maternity outfits to round out my collection and we also hit up the new Nordstrom Rack which has discounted designer clothes (can you say, Tory Burch!!) Great day- thanks mom for spoiling me- you really are the best! 

Thank you... to my Umptoo Norma for the surprise package that I received in the mail this week! I love the maternity dress you bought me (definitely bringing that to CA with me!) and you were so sweet to buy a few things for Sofia too- how'd you know she loves Tinkerbell and Cinderella? :-)

Have a wonderful week ya'll and I'll see you when I'm back from SoCal!

17 weeks.

17 weeks, 4 days

Happy Mother's Day!

How far along: 17 weeks, 4 days

Size of Babies: Onions

Baby Development: Baby's ears are fully formed and its sense of hearing is developing. Eyebrows are growing. His/her umbilical cord is getting longer, thicker and stronger. Baby is also beginning to form fat tissue in preparation for someday having those adorable roly poly baby thighs!

Weight Gain: 13 lbs total gained

Symptoms: A few new complaints this past week- 1.) Carpal tunnel in my right hand wrist... come to think of it, I did experience this when pregnant with Sofia, but it seems to be bothering me more this time around- all that mouse clicking at work isn't helping. 2.) Nasal congestion- only when I'm sleeping- or laying down- I guess it's pretty common as increased pregnancy blood flow causes swelling in the tiny blood vessels in the lining of the nose resulting in congestion. Poor Adam is more like it- he gets to hear me snore now that I am pretty much forced to sleep with my mouth open- ugh- I hate that!

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing my mom's shirt in the above photo- non-maternity, but pretty cute with a bump- don't ya think?

Exercise: I didn't get as much walking in over the weekend as I would've liked- due to inclement weather. I did walk 2 miles today with Zealand and this Thursday is the "Walk for Wishes" to support the Maine Make-A-Wish Foundation so I'll be clocking in another 4 miles.

Sleep: Not sleeping great due to the nasal congestion- and I tend to toss and turn a bit. One day this past week Adam said to me in the morning, "man, you were struggling last night..." and I was like, "really? what did I do?".. he said, "yeah- you were tossing and turning and then you let out a gigantic belch and rolled back over." My face got red and I was embarrassed for a split second and then thought to myself... wait, a minute... I'm pregnant with twins here... cut me a little slack! :-) Sheeesh!

Food Cravings: Molasses cookies- but only made by Sue Cole. My childhood BFF, Sony Cole, came over on Friday night for dinner and asked what she could bring and I jokingly said, "your mother's molasses cookies but ONLY if they are already made and in her cookie jar," (which she usually keeps well stocked at all times- I didn't want them to go out of their way to make any for me.) Sony shows up at my house with a tin full of freshly baked molasses cookies and says, "yeah- my mother and I said that there's no denying a pregnant lady with twins, so enjoy!" Gotta love BFFs!

Food Aversions: Apparently anything healthy... kidding...

Excited: One of the babies had the hiccups this past week! It happened at night when I was relaxing on the couch and it suddenly felt like my heart was beating in my belly... then I realized that it was the hiccups! Ahhh- how I missed that feeling. As far as other movement- I think I've experienced some "flutters," but it's been a few years since I've been pregnant, so I'm not quite certain if it's the babies or just stomach rumbles.... but I'm thinking that since there's two of them in there, it's probably the babies!

17 weeks, 2 days
Photo taken by Jodi at work

Chalmers Expansion: Jim and Katie had their baby girl early this morning at 1:15 am, Britta Louise Abbott Chalmers entered the world a month ahead of schedule but weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs 6 oz and 18 inches. Congrats Jim, Katie and Family... it's going to be one crazy Chalmers Christmas Eve party this year with Baby Britta and the twins as new additions!

Britta Louise Abbott Chalmers
5/12/13 at 1:15 AM
6 lbs 6 oz, 18 inches

Happy Mother's Day! To all the mothers reading this blog, I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day and that you were spoiled and pampered. I had a great day- Adam and Sofia took me out to breakfast and then Adam bought be some hanging flowering pots for our front door, a Cutter visit with Michael & Paula and Aaron, Nina and Elise, and then off to Bridgton for dinner to continue the celebration with my mommy dearest. Love you mom- I'm so lucky to have you as my mother!

My mother's day gift: two new hanging plants
Let's see how long they last before I kill them this year.
Sadly, they will never look as good as they do right now!

16 weeks.

16 weeks, 4 days

How far along: 16 weeks, 4 days

Size of Babies: Avocados 

Weight Gain: So I was a tad off, doctor weighed me in at 12 lbs total gained so far (I liked my calculation better).

Symptoms: Nothing new... in fact, I'm feeling pretty darn good these days! Thought I felt my first "flutter" of movement, but not quite positive (it's amazing how quickly you forget what it's supposed to feel like).

Maternity Clothes: Oh how I love thee... for the most part....but what I don't love, is having to constantly pull my jeans up... that problem will most likely go away once my bump gets even bigger. My mom is letting me borrow some of her really cute non-maternity tops that I can totally get away with right now- and I kinda love the fact that they are not maternity. 

Exercise: Been getting some good walking in- especially this past weekend- I clocked in 6 miles between Sat and Sun. I finally fixed my pedometer and took it with me on my walk today, however, Adam almost had to call out the search party to look for me because my pedometer was not calibrated correctly and I ended up walking way farther than the pedometer indicated. I also walked in Pondicherry Park in Bridgton on my lunch break this past week which was really nice- yay for my first lunch time walk!

Sleep: Was so exhausted yesterday, only because we were up with Sofia since 6:30 am on Sat morning.. I don't know what I was thinking to start an On Demand Movie at 8:30 pm (Silver Lining's Playbook)... about 10 minutes in to the movie, and I was fast asleep (and I really wanted to see that movie too!) Then, last night, Sofia had a nightmare and was up for a bit in the late night hours (brought back the days when she was a newborn and we didn't get much sleep- Adam said, "we better get used to it!") She ended up sleeping with me in bed and poor Adam had to sleep on the futon. A queen size bed just doesn't fit 3 people comfortably. 

Food Cravings: I'm still on a bit of a burger kick (turkey or beef). My mom made some yummy guacamole tonight and I could have very easily polished off the entire bowl.

Food Aversions: Can't really think of anything....

Excited: My insurance speech is over and done with and won rave reviews (Hooray! What a relief!) I practiced a lot last Sunday night, and even rehearsed it in front of Adam, and he gave me some really good constructive criticism which I took to heart. If you're interested in watching it, click on the following link and you'll be redirected to You Tube. I have to warn you, the speech is 12 minutes long, so feel free to skimm... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQb6ba4_Iio

I had my 16 week doctor appointment and ultrasound this past Tuesday and Twin A was not cooperating (i.e., the umbilical cord was between the legs blocking the view). SO... we still don't know the gender of Twin A. Twin B, however, is definitely a boy... and was proudly showing off his goods. I now have to wait until the 20 week ultrasound to confirm the gender of Twin A.... major bummer. Sofia and my mother-in-law, Paula, came for the last 5 minutes or so of the ultrasound appointment and Sofia was a bit weirded out by the whole thing. I forgot how dark the room gets and it must have looked strange to her to see mommy lying down with my belly exposed as she kept saying, "I don't want them to do that to my belly!" I got tested for neural tube disorders, (i.e., Spina Bifida,) and the test came back negative so that's good news. Overall, my Dr is really pleased with how everything is progressing- I'm measuring at 19 weeks, even though I'm only 16 weeks... no big shocker there! 

Also, a work colleague, Jodi (who loves photography), said she'd start snapping some weekly bump photos of me, so this photo was taken this past Friday, outside of my office... thanks Jodi!

16 weeks, 2 days
Photo taken by: Jodi 

I've gone Social:   I officially announced my pregnancy on Facebook and Twitter and so far I've gotten 173 "likes" and 63 comments... it's been fun reading the posts. Here's how we announced on FB....I changed my profile pic to the following pic....

Our Facebook Announcement!

Cinco De Mayo: Also known as, my dad's birthday, was today! Happy 63rd Birthday to my "hero".. my dad. We had a very nice birthday celebration for him tonight in Bridgton- I even got to visit with my best friend from childhood, Sony, who stayed for dinner (as she's back in Maine for two weeks- she now resides in Colorado). Here are some photos from tonight's birthday celebration...

Sofia helps Papa blow out the candles

Ice Cream Cake = YUM = could she be any happier?

Family Photo Op (minus Umptoo Marney)

Sony & Me (Childhood BFFs)

Well- that's it for now! Nighty night!