12 Weeks

It is still surreal to me that I am pregnant, even though I have plenty of symptoms to remind me every day!  That I am pregnant with twins is still something that I don't think I have quite wrapped my brain around yet either.  I'm sure that as the babies grow and take over my body, the reality will hit me!

Our family is still functioning in survival mode as my activities have been very limited because of how I feel.  I've been nauseous much of the pregnancy, which has kept me from spending any time in the kitchen, let alone cooking.  Unfortunately, the grocery budget has turned into the eat out budget.  Things seem to be getting a little better with my tummy as I approach the second trimester.  This week, I was able to make dinner one night, and I made a hot breakfast yesterday morning.  Woo hoo!

I am so thankful for the help of my family -- I have been able to rest when I need to because of their capable hands with Luke and the household chores.  I am a VERY BLESSED momma!!!!!!

Symptoms
Nausea
Short of breath
Fatigue
Veins in the back of my knees ache

Sleep
At night, my head hits the pillow and I sleep like a rock until nature calls around 4:00 a.m.  Then I have trouble going back to sleep.

Energy
What energy?  I am soooooooo tired all the time.  I hit a brick wall around 11:00 a.m. and have to take a nap, and then again around 3:00 p.m., I need another one.  In the evenings, I am parked on the sofa unable to move.

Movement   
There are those who would dispute this at this point in my pregnancy, but I am sure I am feeling faint movements from both babies.  I feel them mostly in bed, when I am laying half on my side and half on my belly, and when I am sitting down holding Luke and he is leaning on my belly.  I would describe the movement as faint little thumps protesting the pressure of being leaned on.  If I hadn't been pregnant before, I probably wouldn't realize what I was feeling.

Weight Gain
Not yet.  I think I have lost due to the nausea which has canceled out any weight I have gained.

Gender
Not yet!  We will find out at the anatomy scan at 20 weeks.

Next Doctor's Appointment
June 5th - This will be my first appt. with my new OB

Interesting Things To Note
I seem to have developed an allergy to shea butter, my favorite moisturizer.  I noticed several weeks ago that my lips were chapped all the time despite having moisturizer on them 24/7.  I love this lip moisturizer because it has all natural ingredients.  At the same time, I noticed my legs were breaking out in an itchy rash, which is the only place I use this body cream.  It took me about a week to put two and two together, but after reading the ingredient list on each one, I realized that shea butter was the common ingredient.  I stopped using both products (which made me so sad!) and voila!  No more chapped lips or itchy rash.  Trees are my number one allergen trigger when I'm not pregnant, so it makes sense that shea butter (coming from the shea tree) would be a problem since allergies can be exacerbated by pregnancy. 

The moments I spend brushing my teeth are the worst moments of my day as some very unpleasant activity follows. 

I have been researching nutrition for a twin pregnancy.  Whew!  Let the eating begin!  I will be following the nutrition advice of Dr.*Tom*Brewer, an OB/GYN who did extensive studies on the effects of a pregnant woman's diet and delivery outcomes.  He hypothesized and proved that most pregnancy complications were due to malnutrition.   Most of us pregnant women here in the United States would not consider ourselves malnourished, but the fact is that our western diet does not provide adequate nutrients for mother and baby.  You can read about his studies and diet here.  For me, as pregnant woman with twins, my nutritional needs are going to require a 4,000 calorie and a 150 grams of protein diet each and every day.  Here is the diet I will be following:  http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id9.html

Things to Pray For
* The health of the babies
* That I would make good food choices each day
* That my doctor can get my thyroid medication regulated quickly - I had my blood drawn this week and my TSH was 0.212 and my T4 was 15.7.
* That our family would recover quickly from the cold that is making its way through the household.  Andrew and I have been spared so far.


Thank you for your prayers!