23, 24, 25, 26 Week Baby Bump Pictures

So tomorrow I will be 27 weeks pregnant. So time to finally get on it and post my 23-26 week bump pics! You would think I would be more on top of this since I'm doing NOTHING except laying on the couch or in bed now...but evidently not. Bed rest makes you lazy I guess. 

26 Week Update:

Total weight gain: 32 pounds. Yep that's right. Don't think I'm going to have a problem hitting that 50-55 pound mark that is suggested for twins! I still go in shock when I step on the scale at the doctor each week. 

Maternity clothes?: Now that I'm stuck at home I've been wearing lots of Jason's thermals and yoga pants. The yoga pants are mine, not Jason's. Just to clear up any confusion ;)

Sleep: I get up in the middle of the night anywhere from 3-5 times to pee. I also have to take my new medicine (more on that later) at 4:00 in the morning so sleep hasn't been so great lately. Good thing I can nap during the day.  

Miss Anything?: Leaving the house and being able to run errands. There is so much I want to get out and buy for the nursery and the babies. It's so frustrating having Jason just go. The other night he went to Lowe's and we had to Facetime to pick out a chandelier for the nursery! We got one though! Thank God for iPhones! 

Movement: Oh yes! Throughout the entire pregnancy The twins have been positioned kind of ying and yang in there. Mason head down, feet up and really low in my pelvis. While Madeline was head up really high almost up in my ribs. At my 26 week ultrasound I was in shock to see Mason had totally flipped and now their little heads are laying against each other. So now Mason thinks it's fun to kick the crap out of my bladder. 

Food cravings: Been loving pancakes! I eat the frozen microwaveable ones almost every morning! Also loving fruit, especially pineapple.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Belly button in or out: Neither! It's completely flat. Almost looks like I don't even have one. 

Stretch marks: Nope, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Although I don;t have any yet.

Gender: Baby girl and Baby boy! Madeline Sophia and Mason Dallas. 

Symptoms: Well you already know the drama that was 24 weeks and the 4 day hospital stay. Well at my 26 ultrasound they again checked my cervical length and the doctor thought it looked a little more shortened. So he decided to start me on Procardia. This is a blood pressure medication that some how helps to calm the uterus and help prevent contractions. I was a little nervous about this because my blood pressure is already normally pretty low. That and the day of the doctor's appointment I almost passed out in the waiting room and had to be taken back to a room to lie down. Talk about skipping ahead in the line and getting seen right away (although I swear I didn't do it for this purpose!). So then after the news of taking Procardia every 6 hours he also informed me he wanted me to head over to the hospital to monitor my contractions again and see how I, as well as the babies, reacted to the medication. Wonderful. All I could imagine was another 4 day stay and huge scare like last time. He also was concerned about Mason's umbilical cord. After Mason decided to do his big flip he was now sitting on his umbilical cord which was pressed against my cervix. The doctor was worried that if I was having strong enough contractions then Mason could be compressing the cord and restricting blood flow through the cord, which would show up on the monitors as his heart rate dropping with contractions. So back to the hospital we went. I of course was having contractions on the monitors, per usual, however Mason and Madeline's heart rates and movement looked great. So no worry about cord compression. After about 5 hours they released me back home with orders to take it even more easy than I already am. The next day they wanted me to come back for a Non-Stress Test again. So the next day back to the hospital we went. Again I was having contractions on the monitors and they were actually appearing every two minutes pretty consistently. I told the doctor that I swear the hospital must make me nervous because I rarely feel the contractions until they hook me up to the dang machines! He told me to go empty my bladder and try to relax. So I did and sure enough the contractions slowed then stopped! The babies passed the test as usual so they let me go home. So now I'm on a low dose of Procardia every 6 hours, orders to stay on the couch as much as possible, and keep my bladder empty since this seems to trigger contractions for me. We have our 27 week appointment tomorrow. I'm really hoping we can break the streak and not go to the hospital this time after the appointment! Fingers crossed! 

Mood: Beyond bored and restless! But I know all this time stuck at home and on the couch is worth the twins health and hopefully minimal if any NICU stay. 

Looking forward to: My baby shower this Saturday! 

Madeline at 26 weeks. Love that cute little nose! Mason was facing my spine so we couldn't get a pic of his cute little face that week. 

Their two little heads huddled together. I think they are already best little buddies. Maybe I'll show them this picture when they are three or four and steal each other's toys and hit, scream at each other. Think that will work? Yeah, probably not.