Nesting Like Woah!

26 weeks down, 11 to go! Last week, we had a standard check-up with Dr. Medlock and it was uneventful. We are all still healthy! The babies had strong heartbeats:
Baby A - 134
Baby B - 136

Barry went with me to the appointment because we had a NICU tour directly after the appointment. The word I'd use to describe the experience: sobering. I have spent time in NICUs before, but something about talking about my babies needing that level of care is difficult to process. The great news is that it is a well-staffed and well-outfitted Level 3 NICU - the best in the region! The doctors and nurses are so supportive of bonding and breastfeeding, so I feel confident that if we do end-up needing NICU services that we will be still be successful.

My next appointment is with the perinatal specialist tomorrow. I am looking forward to the ultrasound because they will measure the boys for growth. Following the appointment, I am meeting with the Monogram Maternity group at Sacred Heart where we will discuss the birth plan for the boys and schedule any classes I want to take. Right now, I'm just planning a refresher on infant CPR, but I'm hopeful they'll also have an opportunity to identify a lactation consultant who specializes in breastfeeding twins.

In baby preparation news - it was a big weekend! 3 words for you... nesting, nesting, nesting!!! Barry was so wonderful to indulge my instincts all weekend. Here's a list of all the prep work we did.
- Spray painted letters for the boys' name signs
- Sorted all the baby clothes from the attic and pulled-aside the gender-neutral stuff for the boys and the hand-full of memory-specific outfits that I don't want to part with yet. The rest is ready for Barry's cousin's daughter, which I am so happy about! I love that I'll get to see it all again on our "niece."
- Went through all the baby gear in the attic and cleaned-off what we are going to re-use and set aside what I want to sell/donate.
- Cleaned-out all the girls' toys and books
- Put together the cribs and laid-out the furniture in the boys' room (still lots of decorating to do!)

- Cleaned-out and bleached the fridge
- Cleaned the washing machine
- Washed and organized all the 3T clothes from the attic for Libby - she's set with Fall clothes!
- Assembled a shoe bench for the garage

- Scheduled maternity and newborn photos
- Finished all my thank you notes from the baby shower

On top of all that activity, we took our boat to the shop for service, celebrated a good friend with a yummy dinner out and another good friend with a pool party. This weekend left us both feeling exhausted and accomplished :).

The girls are fascinated with my belly and are starting to call their brothers by their names - Jackson and Jayson.  Libby is trying to decide which baby will sleep in which crib, but keeps changing her mind. It's precious that she has an opinion at all - maybe she's starting to understand that she will have baby brothers?

I am really loving this crazy, happy life! Can't wait to see what these next few weeks bring. ((Hugs!))

Two "J" Names

We made it to 24 weeks!! That's a big milestone because the boys would now be "viable," but they still have 13 projected weeks to go to delivery day. I was supposed to have a check-up this week, but it has been shifted to next week, and I look forward to seeing how big the boys are via ultrasound when I get to the doctor. They're both supposed to be 12.5 inches and 1 1/3 lbs each. My belly certainly looks like they're getting big quickly...

So much movement! These boys are rocking and rolling, and I LOVE it! I can see them move now, an Barry can feel them move a couple times a day. I'm still active, feeling generally comfortable and happy, and am really enjoying being pregnant. I know I will be so happy to meet the boys, but I am also a little sad that this pregnancy is coming so quickly to its conclusion. My life is now going to be full of many "last time" activities as we excitedly complete our family.

So, what's been going on in our crazy world recently? 4th of July was so fun!!! We went boating and enjoyed food, friends, fireworks on the water.  Here are a few pictures!

I took advantage of the mid-week holiday to take time off of work and really enjoyed that break. During my time off, Bridget arrived to spend quality BFF time with me (and Barry and the girls). It was the absolute best! We spent time watching the Blue Angels fly, boating, dining out, dining in, Fly By Radio concert and SO much laughing!!!  Here are a few pictures of all that goodness.

While Bridget was in town, she hosted a baby shower for us. It was a BabyQ where we ate delicious barbecue, beer (NA for me) and celebrated the babies on the way. We had a great time! And so many of our friends and family were incredibly generous! We now only have a few things left to buy before the boys arrive. One of the games we played during the shower was "guess the names." We put all the letters for both names out on the floor and encouraged our guests to arrange them to reveal the twins' names. They did it!!! The boys will be named:
Jackson Bay Gooden
Jayson Cay Gooden

And that's not all! I took a quick trip back to Richmond for work and got to fly back with Bridget. It was fun - and I'm glad we were together because we were significantly delayed... I got to have a sleep-over at 1am with my BFF and visit with her wonderful son before I went to work! While I was in Richmond, I spent time with my Dad, Joy, Jade and my Momma. It was a whirlwind, but made my heart happy :). Now I'm home and visiting with Momma G who is here spending time with us. She's spoiling me by helping with laundry, caring for and playing with the girls. We will miss her when she heads to Panama for a few weeks!

Next up in baby preparation efforts will be sorting-through what we have in the attic, get everything organized and washed and finish the nursery assembly. So much to do over the next 2.5 months, but it'll be so fun to finish preparing for Jackson and Jayson!

Everyone enjoy the later weeks of summer - I know we will!!! ((Hugs))

Independence Day!

23 weeks already?!?! This pregnancy is going faster than Ryleigh's or Libby's... I suppose it's because I'm chasing them around :).

I recently had a Perinatal check-up, and both boys are great! We had an unexpected anatomy scan and found that both boys are still healthy and growing right on track.
Baby A = 1lb 1oz, head-down (swallowing in this picture - cool!)

Baby B = 1lb 2oz, transverse

I am also healthy - no complications and clear to continue being active as long as possible. I was reminded to make healthy food choices...

In preparation news, the yard project is done!!! It looks great, and I am so lucky to be married to a man who works tirelessly to satisfy my nesting drive. He has one more coat to go on the nursery accent wall and then we'll tackle the attic. Exciting!

For now, we are just having fun! Today is the 4th of July - so we're going out on the water to grill and play and watch the fireworks. And this week, my BFF is arriving!!!!! Look-out Pensacola Beach! We have some serious plans... lots of sun and sand in my near future.

((HUGS))