Thursday, August 26, 2010

Strong HEARTS!!

As you all know in our last ultrasound post back in July we were going to have to have another level II ultrasound to check Vivienne's heart. Today was the day and her heart along with her brother's heart is STRONG and working perfectly!!!!!!! It was such a wonderful relief to have our doctor confirm that the babies were developing perfectly. Both Vivi and Hendrix looked so big. It amazed us to see how much they grew in one month. The ultrasound was very clear and we were able to have a better idea of what they looked like. I personally think Hendrix has his fathers nose. Vivi looked like she had nice full lips. If that is true we really have to thank Aunt Brittany for that one. hahaha. Here are two profile photos of the twins.


Hendrix is facing down and Vivienne is breech. When the ultrasound tech showed us a view of both babies Vivi was kicking Hendrix in the head. hahahahaha. They each weigh 1 pound 5 ounces. Our doctor said that each one weighed what a single pregnancy baby would weigh.


As for me I'm 24 weeks, but my belly is measuring 35weeks! My weight gain is normal although I have gained 24 pounds. So I guess you can say one pound per week. I was frightened when I saw my weight gain, but my doctor said that my weight gain is very healthy and normal for twins and not to be concerned. She said her average mom-to-be that is pregnant with just one baby can put on 25-30 pounds in the first 25 weeks. So considering that I'm pregnant with two babies versus one I'm doing really well with my weight gain. All I can say is from this point going forward I will walk onto the scale backwards. I don't want to see my weight "gain" anymore. It scared me. Some symptoms I have had are numbness in my feet and hands. When I wake up in the morning my hands are so numb to the point I can't feel them. My feet by the end of the day are so swollen that I have to prop them up. I can't fit into my shoes so flip flops have been my fashion statement for months. hahahehe. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the cooler weather approaches New England. I guess I will wear my uggs. ha. Ray says I snore which I have never done before. I feel so bad for him because I make it difficult for him to sleep at night. When I told my doctor about these symptoms she said it was very normal for most pregnancies. I was also told that in the next four weeks I will need to stop driving so much and work from home. Please pray for me that my employer will allow this. If not I will have no choice but to go on disability earlier than expected. So I feel GREAT minus a few symptoms and I'm loving being pregnant!


Ray's update...stress (hahahahaha). Ray is busy working and then working more when he gets home and on the weekends. We finished painting our 3 rooms upstairs and tomorrow our new carpet for our family room, office, upstairs hallway and our staircase is being installed. Ray still has to put the rest of the nursery furniture together this weekend and then all that is left is decorating. YaY! We are so happy to get all of this done and out of the way before the twins arrive. Our good friends who just had their precious little baby girl gave us solid advice. They said, "get everything done and have your bag ready to go for the hospital. that way you will only have to focus on your babies when you come home." So that is our plan. Plus who knows when our babies will decide to arrive. I just think it is best to be done with it and relax before the storm comes. ha.


Our next doctors appointment is in two weeks for another check up and my ultra sound is in another month. I do have to go take a glucose test sometime between 9/7-9/21. I heard the dextrose drink I have to take is very sweet. From what I heard I drink this sweet drink, wait an hour, and then get my blood drawn. If the blood sugar value is elevated then I will have to schedule for a three hour glucose tolerance test. My doctor said approximately 20% of patients will need to go on to the three hour test. Only about 20% of the three hour patients will prove to have pregnancy related diabetes. She said usually a patient will only have to alter her diet and exercise to control pregnancy related diabetes and that it is quite unusual for a patient to need insulin. I am just not going to eat or drink anything with sugar in it for a few day before the test. I DO NOT want to take the three hour test. It sounds AWFUL. We promise to keep you updated with our appointment and of course our many ultrasounds.


Thank you for your prayers and support. We love y'all!


R&J




Friday, August 20, 2010

Pic of my belly

Here are a few photos of my belly. Also I included pictures of me and Papa (Ray's dad). We started a BELLY CONTEST back in the very beginning to see how long it took me to out grow his belly. It has been a fun time doing this contest. I think I'm now winning, but it did take me 22 weeks to out grow him. ha. Enjoy the photos.
Me at 22 weeks!
Me & Papa, 22 weeks, 8.14.10 -I think I'm winning now!
Me & Papa, 18 weeks, 7.14.10
Me & Papa, 9 weeks, 5.15.10
Me and Papa at 7 weeks, 5.1.10


Love,
Julie




Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Photos from TEXAS

Here a a few photos of our trip to TEXAS for our baby shower. Enjoy.




Mom, Jeff & Ray





Me & Ray

Our Cake. YUMMY.




Christina, Me, Jackie
Last but not least...all my beautiful friends in TEXAS. I LOVE Y'ALL so much. Thank you for all your support. Hendirx and Vivi are so lucky to have so many AUNTIES that love them. Ray and I will always remember all that you did for us. We had the BEST SHOWER and we have so many memories to share with our children.




We Love you all so much.
Ray & Jules

Level II Ultra Sound Photo, July 22, 2010


Here is the ultra sound photo of Hendrix and Vivi. This is at 20 weeks.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

drum roll please...........


(The above was the cake-topper at our Texas baby shower!)
We are having a boy and a girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG we are so EXCITED! The thrill of knowing what our two little twins are is the most amazing feeling in the world. We can now call them by their names instead of twin A and twin B. Our sweet boy is Hendrix Ray, yes after the one and only Jimi Hendrix. Our precious little girl is Vivienne Lynne.

As for our appointment, both twins look wonderful and are perfectly healthy so far. Hendrix is 11oz and Vivi is 9oz. They looked so perfect in the ultrasound. Hendrix was waving and moving around non-stop and Vivi was giving us the thumbs up! hahahaha. As most of you know Brittany Lynne (my little sis AKA our egg donor) goes to school at Texas A&M. At this school Gig'em is what all the students and Aggie fans say to represent their school. When you say "Gig'em, Aggies!" you need to make a fist with your thumb extended straight up. (if you curious of this tradition check out this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_of_Texas_A%26M_University) Anyway, our point is that little Vivienne is giving the thumbs up for her Aunt Brittany!

We do have to go back to get a second ultra sound next month just to double check Vivi's heart. The doctor said it is nothing to worry about, but today she was facing down and they couldn't get a clear picture of her heart. So please keep them in your prayers that they continue to grow strong and healthy.

As for us we can't stop smiling. Neither one of us have ever experienced this much joy. It was so exciting calling the grandparents on three-way so we could tell them all at the same time. I don't think I have ever heard my mom (who will be called YaYa) and Ray's mom (who we would like to be called Mamyte which is a very endearing way to say mom in Lithuanian) scream so loud. hahahaha. It was so awesome! Ray's dad (we're not sure what he will be called yet) was very excited too, but it was hard to hear him over the loud excitement of the two grandmas! hahahaha.

Thank you for all your emails, text messages and phone calls. We are so happy you all love us and our children so much. They are very lucky to be born into a life full of love.

Hugs & Kisses,
Ray & Jules

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

23 more days...

Well we didn't find out the sex yesterday. I got there and my doctor said it would be on July 22nd instead. We were so bummed. I guess I misunderstood the doctor when I scheduled my appointments. Oh well...we all just have to wait...

Other news...Ray did not get the job in NJ so we will remain in NEW ENGLAND! It was bitter sweet when it happened. We were sad that Ray didn't get his promotion, but very happy we didn't have to leave our beautiful home to move into god knows what in Jersey. We were very sad that we didn't get to move closer to our family (which would be wonderful since we are having babies), but happy that we have developed such great friendships with people in CT and know that they are always here to lend a helping hand. We were both bummed out because this Jersey job would have allowed me to be home with our children, but so grateful that we both have two wonderful mothers who have committed to help us out no matter what. So now even with me going back to work my mom and my Ray's mom (my mom too) have made plans to help us for as long as we need. THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM's. We LOVE y'all. Regardless of what we wanted we always know God has a plan for us. We have learned through experiences like this that we need to stay faithful and keep positive because something good is coming our way (it always does when doors close on us).

As for me I am doing well. I started feeling better after month 3, but that didn't last for very long. Last Tuesday I had an emergency visit to the ER. I had a horrible migraine that worsened throughout the day and by 9:30pm it was so bad Ray and I decided to call the on call doctor to see what we need to do. To both of our surprise we were told to head straight to the ER because I could be hyperstimulating and migraines are a sign of this condition. We had no idea what the meaning was for hyperstimulation so for others that don't know here is a definition:Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a complication from some forms of fertility medication. Most cases are mild, but a small proportion is severe. Since severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a potentially life-threatening complication of assisted reproduction, the focus of attention in such cases is placed firmly upon the health of the patient, with the endeavour to achieve a pregnancy being considered of secondary importance. Now keep in mind this is the WORSE case scenario and my doctor just wanted to play it safe and make sure it was not OHSS and it was just a migraine (A really bad migraine). My doctor checked me and the babies out to make sure everything was OK. Ray and I did get a chance to see them in another ultrasound and it was so awesome. We saw their ribs and spine. They were moving around and one was kicking the other one in the head (well that is what it looked like to us and the doc). I was given a med called Phenergan for headache and nausea. I really started feeling so much better when I took that med. Around 3am we were sent home. It was a long and crazy night and poor Ray worked the entire day. As for me my doctor put me on bed rest for 48 hours.

Now my headaches continued and thank God I had my Phenergan to help reduce them before they got so severe like on Tuesday. Both the ER doc and my OBGYN said that migraines are common in pregnancy if you have had them in the past. As the days went on and I kept getting these headaches I started to notice one of my upper crowns were killing me. So I went to the dentist and sure enough there was something wrong with it. YAY...I think I figured out why I was getting all my headaches! There was a gap behind one of my crowns and well...this could be too much info, but here it goes...and food was getting stuck in it. YUCK! So my dentist (well my dentist is in GREECE for two weeks and this was her wonderful dad! Nicki I love your dad. You too. ha.) cleaned it up and fixed it. So ask me if I'm having headaches....NO SIR. :) So I'm started to feel better and sure enough I think I have an ear infection. hahahahaha. Honestly does it ever stop? I'm just staying positive and hoping that this ear thing will pass too.

Ray and I leave on Sunday to go to TEXAS! We are so excited to see our southern family and friends. I am however a little bummed because my doctor told me once I'm there to limit my travel. With everything that I have been going through and with being high-risk pregnancy she would prefer me to rest more than travel to be on the safe side. So due to that I can't travel the Lone Star State to see all my family. Hopefully they will all be able to come to me. I mean I did travel from New England so that is more than half way. hahaha. My sister, mom and a few of my best friends who I love so much are throwing us a baby shower on July 11th! We just want to say THANK YOU to all of y'all! We love you so much. Another thing we are looking forward to is my mom's gorgeous back yard with pool. That is where Ray and I will chill for most of our vacation. We will come back to New England with beautiful tans (hopefully no burns) and relaxed ready to start the game plans to prepare our home and lives for the two newest members of our family! OMG...I'm so excited!

Well that is the Mykolaitis/Twin update for now. I will post again on July 22nd with the exciting news! Until then we wish you all a wonderful 4th of July! God Bless America!