Expecting the Unexpected: 20 week update

I must start with saying that I cannot believe how quickly two weeks passes!  The waiting game that this pregnancy has proven to be is challenging but I am SO thankful for the busyness of every day life with Charlotte & Eloise & how it seems to make time fly by.

We had another anatomy/growth scan today at the hospital & were relieved with what the doctor shared with us as he reviewed the ultrasound report. 

Summary:

• Each baby gained 3 ounces over the past two weeks. Anson now weighs 13 ounces while Owen weighs 10 ounces.
• The fluid level in each sac still differs but by the same amount as last scan.
• The little wigglers have moved from breech to cephalic presentation.... I am not surprised with all the movement I have been feeling lately! When we saw that they were both head down & I said "great minds think alike!" 
• They were facing each other today & looked like they were punching each other & then tried to hold hands as if they were calling a truce ; ) We are thankful that there is a membrane separating the two for various reasons but they seemed annoyed they couldn't get to each other. 
• The doctor said that it is good news that the boys are growing at a consistent weight & that the fluid is increasing in the same way.  The percentage of discordance is similar to last time but has not worsened. He said that this could still be early TTTS but for now we are looking good! Praise God!
• The sonographer checked a cervical length as well that showed the boys are safe on the inside with no changes that would point towards preterm labor. This was a relief to see as well following a good 4 evenings in a row full of contractions. 

Here are those sweet boys of ours....

Owen

Anson

And if you are interested to see how these two are all squished up inside this mama.....

Side view where you can see Anson's chest & head on bottom with
 Owen's chest on top & head hiding behind his brother. 

Anson on left, Owen on right both head down snuggled close. 

The most recent changes have been a couple hours of contractions in the evening for 4 nights in a row.  Some of them were actually a bit uncomfortable with quite a bit of pressure & made me nervous.  The worst evenings were following days where I spent a lot of time on my feet. According to my husband, I am done with major housework (sweeping, mopping, vacuuming).  He gave me the go ahead to have someone come to the house & give us a quote on taking over my job : ) Wahoo! Rob has been making sure I can rest once he is done working & comes out of his office during the day when he can hear Charlotte giving me a hard time.  He gets me settled on the couch after dinner, refills my water cup as many times as needed & even hooks me up with some yummy snacks.  He has not complained for a second about the 6 piles of clean laundry all over our bedroom or anything else for that matter although he did say that it might be time for Grandma Susan to move in ; ) I am trying to force myself to lay down during nap time. I am avoiding picking up Charlotte all the time & am picking up Eloise only when necessary. I didn't expect to need to slow down this early on but here we are & my body is telling me otherwise!

When we first found out the frequency of recommended ultrasounds/visits during this pregnancy, we mentioned to our Life Group that it would be such a blessing if anyone was able to watch the girls for free.  Can I just say that we have been spoiled rotten? We have had Lindsay & Sadee spend 3 hour blocks with the girls every two weeks while we go on our "date" to the hospital. The girls love both of these women & have had an especially good time with Lindsay the last two appointments.  Today when she arrived, I told her to not even look at the tile floors since they have been completely neglected. We arrived home to a freshly swept & mopped entry way & kitchen.  What a BLESSING she is to us!  They were busy playing "dress up shop" in the girls room when I got home.  It is Charlotte's new favorite thing.  They lay out all the dress up cloths & then Charlotte gets to "shop." Lindsay asks her what she would like to buy & then Charlotte pays a certain number of coins for the items she chooses.  It is such a hit that last night when I was putting her to bed we played an imaginary version where I was the shopper & she was the saleslady & a very good one at that! All that to say, the girls are getting loved on while mommy & daddy are away.

One of my favorite moments in the past week was on Thanksgiving Day when Charlotte got to feel multiple big kicks from her brothers for the first time.  Her eyes lit up as she said excitedly "They kickin' me!" She is now addicted to lifting my shirt & pushing on my belly until they show off their moves : ) She also asks me if I want to feel the babies in her belly kick. Ha! Eloise is still more interested in rubbing my outtie belly button & blowing raspberries on my belly.

Two more weeks & we will be back in the office again to assess the growth of our little guys.  Keep praying, we are grateful once again to not be traveling this road alone. We are feeling peace while waiting, we are feeling hopeful knowing that God remains faithful to meet our needs & we are feeling that our trust in the Lord continues to increase.