On to the 3rd Trimester. Recap of Month 6 of Pregnancy!

Im back with a blog post, and baby bump update!  Things have become a little more challenging since I last posted. Actually I really didn't have much good to say and I didn't want this blog to be my never-ending complaint.  This pregnancy has been far from difficult to this point, so I really should not complain.  I have two little ones in there that are about 15 inches long and weigh nearly 2 and 1/4 pounds at this point!  They are getting huge and so is my belly!  haha!  I have put on 20 pounds and my belly is 38 inches around these days! The little ones have functioning lungs and if they were born at this point would have a great chance of making it!  That makes me breathe a little easier! Don't be fooled, breathing is far from easy right now!

Week 26

Week 27

Week 28

Last week I went to the dr. office to take my 1 hour blood glucose test. After a week without hearing from them, I thought I had passed.  But 7 days later they called to say the levels were elevated and I had to do the 3 hour test.  I went on Wednesday to take the 3 hour test and about 20 mins after drinking the 100 gram sugar syrup I felt sick.  I started sweating, felling like I was going to pass out and throw up.  I spoke up and asked for help afraid this may be a bad side effect.  They gave me a place to lay down between blood draws.  I received a call this morning from the Dr. office and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  For now that really means that I have to watch what I eat and cut out complex carbs, sweets, and keep up my protein and vegetables! Gestational Diabetes is not a lack of insulin production.  It is due to a pregnancy hormone that inhibits the use of insulin to break down sugars normally.  So it is significantly more common in pregnancies with multiples because there are more hormones.  I was bummed out about it at first, but then realized that this was something I could handle and not worth being upset over.  If I can control it with diet, no insulin injections will be needed so I will do my best!

I have had some great things happen in the past 2 weeks! I was thrown 2 ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL showers thanks to friends and family!  The generosity is completely overwhelming!  We went to Columbus and spent time with Ryan's family to celebrate the soon to be here twins.   This shower was complete with an abundance of laughter, amazing gifts, and twin fruit babies!  Thank you so much Mom Spell, Carly, and Kelsey for throwing us such a thoughtful shower!  I can't wait to give some back to Kelsey this summer while celebrating her wedding, and this fall to Carly, while celebrating her bun in the oven!

Twin Fruit Babies!

Mom came to Columbus to Celebrate With Us!

Then last week the group of ladies I run with had a shower for me and pitched in to get us the double BOB jogging stroller we wanted.  I was overwhelmed once again by the generosity!  They prepared a Mexican style lunch for me and it was great!  I loved getting to spend some time with them!  Thank you so much ladies!  

At the Shower with my incredible hosts, Heidi and Nicole!

Aubrey and I at the shower.

CED/NEO Ladies Celebrating!

Finally last weekend ended with a bit of a sad/exciting tone to it as we had a going away party for someone I love very much.  Nicole is heading to Boulder in a couple weeks to pursue getting even faster and to live a life very much involved around running!  She is joining Hudson's Training group out there, and we will miss her dearly here.  We met at Bottle House Brewery in Cleveland Heights, and enjoyed some food, drinks (don't worry, just water for me), laughter, and pinball to send Nicole off with a smile!  We love you Nicole and I can not wait to visit Boulder!

I Love You Nicole!

Looking back, even if I am uncomfortable and have to tip toe around my food decisions, I have to say I am still the luckies girl on earth!  I am glad to be in the 3rd trimester and on my way to having to deal with raising some kids!

Check back Sunday for the babies names and genders!  We can't wait to tell everyone!

Weekly Update. Week 24 Is Done!

Another week has passed by quickly!  So hard to believe! Week 24 is now behind us!  The kids are really starting to take up space and from all that I read are pretty much little people at this point.  They just need to get those lungs working and fatten up before they are ready to take in some oxygen and start drinking their way through everyday!

The babies are each about 13.5 inches long and weigh about 1.5 lbs.   That is 3 pounds and 27 inches of baby shoved into a pretty snug little area.  While I feel huge, I know it has only just begun! I have a little bit of anxiety about how much stretching my stomach can take and about ending up with postpartum diastasis (torn abdominal muscles), but I am trying not to let myself worry about the 40 million things I can not control.

growing every week

Peg hanging out with the little ones.

My stomach is now just shy of 37 inches around, and I am weighing in 17.6 lbs over pre pregnancy weight!

The wee ones are active all of the time now, and you can see a foot, knee, or arm scrape across my upper right abdomen pretty much anytime you'd like.  Ry says its kinda creepy.  It is pretty weird, but I am used to it enough by now that I don't think too much about it.  I have cut WAY back on my work schedule, but I am still enjoying some time away from the house.  The great weather we have been having has allowed me to get out for some walks and enjoy something very rare in North East Ohio...SUNSHINE!! haha!  Peg likes to go with me for my walks and it is nice to have a little companion.  While she is a mini little curly haired angel, she still is no substitute for Nicole!  haha!! I miss running with the ladies, but I have been abel to catch up with a few of them over post run brunch, and I get to see Nicole tomorrow!  woo hoo to nice enough weather for me to bike alongside the ladies!

My mini, curly haired little angels!

Week 24 Full Steam Ahead!

I think I have finally forgotten how much pain I was in on Sept 29th 2012. This is the date of my last marathon right here in Akron!  My slowest, most painful marathon to date! 3:00:02 while sick and quite injured.  I never thought I'd forget the pain enough to want to run another one!  However, today I found myself wishing I was going for a long run in the beautiful 50 degree misty morning we had here in Akron today.  I want to feel exhausted from really pushing my body, not from walking into the next room! haha! 

I miss the feeling of elated exhaustion after a tough workout, a long run, or a race.  Is it September yet?!?  It is hard to believe I haven't run in nearly 4 months.  This is the longest break I have had since I started running at 12 years old.  18 years later I still love the sound of pitter patter on the streets or trails, and there are few things better than feeling tired from a step forward in training or a new PR in a race. 

This is the feeling I want.

Racing

This is the feeling I have.  HAHA!

Dog tired.

Things have been well over the past week, and I can say, the weeks keep passing by relatively quick (can I get a hallelujah)!  I have gained 16.4 lbs  and I am up to 36.5 inches around at my belly button. I find it a challenge to breathe when I eat, and I have been having more and more days where I simply feel uncomfortable.  All in all I am still hanging in there and wishing away this time more than I should! haha!  I try to embrace it, but I'm not great at it.  We have our first of 3, yes that is correct 3, baby showers next week and I look forward to seeing family and friends and celebrating our soon to be double sized Spellman family.  I haven't felt sick in awhile now, so that is something to really celebrate!  Our sweet little angels have a birth survival rate at this week of 59 % so that's a nice little jump from the 37% they had only a week ago! 

Reverse turtle shell at the end of 23 weeks.

On to week 24! 

22 Weeks down, 14 Weeks Left!

Running has been on my mind with the milder temperatures, and missing 5-10 hours of girl time weekly!  So I plan to ride the bike with the gals for their long run on Sunday!  WOO HOO!!!  I am enjoying the better weather by getting out for some short walks with Pegasus, and a couple rides on the bike with Ry while he gets in some miles this spring!  It has been nice to be able to be outside and enjoy some spring weather.  I am looking forward  to more of that in the upcoming weeks.

Week 22 went by without too much to say and I am starting to feel heavy and uncomfortable some days.  But after my Dr. appointment today I know that I have gained 15 pounds at this point which is still on the low end, but in good range for week 23.  He said that both the heartbeats were strong and sound good!  So we know they are growing and that is very exciting. I only have 14 weeks to go (but who is counting), and I really am not sure where more baby is going to go!?!  I feel stretched to the max and sleeping is only decent every 4th night or so, once I am tired enough to pass out.  One great thing for my peace of mind, they kick ALL the time, so I worry about them much less!

I have gained 15 lbs

The babies are each 11 inches long and over 1 lb! 

I measure at 23 weeks the same as the average singleton pregnancy at 30 weeks!

We FINALLY received our other headboard to replace a broken one that came with the first set of cribs, and we now have the babies room furniture all set and ready to go! I can't wait to share a pic of their room.  But, we have their names above their cribs, so not until May 4th when we share their gender!  Only about a month to go and then the secret will be out!

On the left: Racing at Raleigh one year ago where I would run my 5k PR.

On the right: Action shot, me and the twins on the elliptical. A typical morning for us.

Time For Week 22

This past weekend was rife with speedy times being posted all across the country!  I was very proud seeing many of my CED teammate's hard work starting to pay off this year!  But man do I MISS RUNNING!!  As the weather gets nicer and nicer out it is becoming increasingly tough not to feel jealous!  I miss the simple pitter patter of my own feet on the pavement and the incredible feeling of a workout well done.  I have reassessed my goals for 2015-2016 and I am going to be very aggressive in chasing them down.  I only have 6-8 years left to really get much faster. and I don't want to look back and wonder what I could have done if I had gone all in and really raced and pushed myself fearlessly.  So I am preparing mentally during this 6 month down time to really be ready to challenge myself like never before in the upcoming years.   Meanwhile I am plugging away on the elliptical, and reminding myself to enjoy all I still get to do!  

I am up just under 14 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight, and feeling pretty good still.  I am out of breath after pretty medial tasks, largely because my diaphragm is being squished by the 2 lbs of baby, 4 more lbs of amniotic fluid, and 4 lbs of placenta, commandeering  it's way into my abdomen!  

All of that looks something like this! 

My belly button is an outie, and I feel the little ones kick, wiggle and squirm ALL of the time now.  I don't particularly like the feeling of them moving, but it gives me peace of mind that they are doing ok, and growing! I am already nervous to see how I can possibly get bigger in the next 15 weeks, and I am prayerful that I don't end up with crazy stretch marks.  

Ryan and our families are getting excited to meet the twins.  We can't wait to have them home, and see what our family looks like as we learn to deal with the new challenges. I am embracing it all the best I can, but as many of you can expect, it is all a bit overwhelming for me.  Being a planner makes it a challenge to just patiently wait and see what happens.  Ill learn to be more flexible and I know that will make me a better person, so cheers to that (with sparkling grape juice of course)!  Next month I will start working less hours, as my body shows signs of not being able to handle standing for 8-10 hours.  I love this time of year in a running store, but when my back and feet start to hurt I'm pretty much useless! I mean who really wants to work with a grimacing, breathy, waddling girl anyway! lol!!  

I am excited to work my way through week 22.  Everyday is a day closer to being un-pregnant!  I don't know how elephants do this for 3 years... I guess when they are this cute they are worth it?!?

Baby RY!

Finally past 20 weeks!

Week 20 went Cruising by!  What a great thing!  With warmer weather and some sunshine it was probably the nicest week we have had since November!  Now if Mother Nature would just allow us this pleasantry for awhile and then strike up the band and get us back to summer, then we would really have something!

This week was actually a little tough.  I started feeling a scratchy throat on Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning I was positive I had a cold.  While being pregnant it is a challenge to make sure you don't take any medication that can negatively effect the babies, so I used a NetiPot (disgusting) and some vapor rub to soothe my woes away.  I pretty much just slept as much as I could stand and sucked down lots of water, juice, and Nunn as I could.   It took until Sunday for me to really start feeling better.  Our beautiful lil pup was also spayed this week so I had a rest up partner in crime.  It made me feel justified in spending a significant amount of each day cuddle up on the couch with her!  haha!

Grandpa lost 11 lbs and I've gained it!

Saturday I decided it was time to measure my stomach after a constant achy feeling for the entire 9 hour shift I had at work. Sure enough I wasn't disappointed!  My oh my, my stomach has grown 3 INCHES  around in 10 days!  I measure the circumference around right at my belly button, just to have an idea of how I am growing.  I was 32 inches when I last checked on Wednesday Feb 26th and on Saturday March 8th I was a solid 35!  While I don't like the look or the feeling, I like knowing that the little ones are growing and getting ready to come meet us!  Let me tell you little ones, we are awesome and you are totally going to love us! haha!

The warmer weather has me really hankering to run!  I am now jealous of all of my fit friends out there enjoying the 40+ degree weather.  Although the next 2 days might be yucky.  I have been able to get out for some walks and that makes it a little better.  At least I have my elliptical!  Watching all the fast times happening around me has me writing down big goals a year from now, and thinking of the best ways to stay healthy while getting there.  I am hopeful that this is a much needed break after 18 years of running, and my faster days are yet to come!

Throwback to just over a year ago.  2nd place team USATF Club 8k Champs!  Our top 3 were all top 10!
I love these ladies and miss spending lots of time with them!

Week 19 recap

The past week actually went by quick!  So that was exciting!  I have felt pretty good, so that is a great thing.  I was on the elliptical 5 times last week for 30-45 mins each and that actually makes me feel as close to normal as I am going to for the next 5 months so I have been enjoying that.

As far as getting bigger, well I think my boss said it best, "I don't want to be offensive, but you are getting bigger by the day".  Haha!  I know!  My weight gain has been between 10-11 lbs depending on the time of day I check, so pretty typical and in the normal range for someone my size carrying twins.
I look like I've gained 30 lbs, but its all belly!

Holy stomach!  How am I going to do this for 17 more weeks?

I feel normal somedays and others my stomach just aches from growing so quickly.  Sleep has been hit or miss, some nights I only wake up for a bathroom break or 2 and others its very tough to sleep.  I woke up this morning with a cold...sore throat and headache. I took the day off work (huge thanks to my awesome co-workers for always helping each other out), and I am resting up on the couch with this little angel who go spayed yesterday.

Pegasus healing up on the couch after her spay surgery.

So all in all things seem to be going well here.  Ryan wants to tell family the genders of the kidos, but from experience not many of our relatives can be trusted with such information.  I said we can if he wants, but I will inform them that I will be VERY disappointed in them if they share the info, and will tell them that I am unhappy about it. haha!  So he is still thinking on what he really wants to do there. I can't wait to tell everyone on May 4th though!  So exciting!

Keep sending your positive vibes our way!  Hoping for another quick week in our countdown!!