24 weeks (and a giveaway!)

I have SO missed sharing updates about my two little beans. At 24 weeks, I hit viability on Saturday! Viability is the ability for a fetus to survive outside of the womb. Of course if the babies were born now, there is a good chance for a lot of health complications and a LOT of hospital time (or not even surviving – only a percentage of babies born this early survive), but it’s good to know my little girls have hit this particular milestone!

 
Please ignore the clean sheets that have to be folded – and compare this picture to 21 weeks. Same shirt, much bigger belly!

Weight Gained: Last week when I was at the doctor I was up about 14 pounds. While it might seem “low” for a mama to be of multiples, I am really not worrying about it. I am actually just happy that with everything that has been going on in my life that I actually put weight on and didn’t lose any. Grief and stress can do some crazy things to your body. My doctor isn’t worried as there is really no “normal” for weight gain during pregnancy – AND, my girls are thriving.

I went for my 24 week growth ultrasound at the high risk doctor yesterday and I was SHOCKED at how big these girls are. Most of their limbs are still measuring ahead by at least a week and they are well above average for their weights. Because I’m getting these higher tech ultrasounds, it’s easier for them to predict their weights. At 24 weeks, the average fetal weight is 1 lb 3 oz. Well, my girls are overachievers – Baby A is 1 lb 10 oz and Baby B is 1 lb 9 oz. Woohooo!!!! I am so glad to know they are weighing ahead, especially since they will most likely be early. That makes me one happy mama.

Symptoms: I haven’t really had too many symptoms this week – just a few!

• Food not sounding good. I haven’t really had “aversions” of any sort, but veggies have been on the back burner again. I’m just rolling with it.
• Lower back pain – all the time. I better just get used to it, huh?
• Leg/Knee pain if I’m standing too long – we had a memorial open house for my dad on Sunday, and I was on my feet most of the day visiting with family and friends. I definitely should have sat down more during the day because at the end of the day, my knees were feeling it!

Movement: Oh, they are duking it out in there EVERY single day. I feel limbs all over the place – in my ribs, on my bladder, near my hip bone. It cracks me up. They’re typically most active near the night (of course). Both of them are head down as of yesterday, so I’m sure I will be feeling higher kicks as time goes on. The husband has even felt them a few times. Of course they typically stop moving when he comes near to feel them, but I’m glad he’s been able to feel it a few times!

Food Cravings: Sandwiches! Last week it was tater tots. The week before it was smoothies from the protein bar.

Food Aversions: It’s not really an aversion, but breakfast type foods have not been sounding very good to me lately. I’ve been eating pretty weird things for breakfast lately, but whatever works!

Sleep: Sleep has been pretty good lately, especially now that I’m out of school. I’m still going to bed before 10 every night, but most mornings I have been staying in bed until about 7. Yesterday I even slept until 8! (Which meant I didn’t require a nap) On days that I’m getting 8-9 hours of sleep, I really need a nap during the day. It seems like 10 hours is prime for me these days. I’m living it up while I can!

Stretch Marks? None. ::knock on wood::

Miss Anything? Does this have to be baby related? Okay – I guess I can tie it in, but I miss my dad. You saw that one coming, didn’t you? On Sunday during his memorial open house, I thought “oh my goodness, I can’t wait to tell him that xxx came!!!” And then I realized that I’m an idiot because I can’t call him up to tell him, lol. I always called him after my doctor’s appointments too and gave him updates on the girls as well, so I was missing that phone call yesterday after my ultrasound.

Looking forward to: Some warm days so I can invade someone’s pool and one of my baby showers that is in two weeks!

Belly Button in or out? It’s about half and half at this point. The upper part of it is starting to poke out, but the bottom half is still in. It’s only a matter of time…

Happy or moody most of the time? I’ve been pretty happy and less weepy this week. I was kind of snappy at a few people (sorry Brother) on Sunday, but I think that was just my stress/sadness creeping through because of the day.

New Baby Items: I don’t think I have bought anything this week. I’m trying to wait until after our two showers so I don’t buy anything I didn’t need to!

Exercise: Exercise has kind of been on the backburner the past few weeks. I’ve gotten a few walks in, but there has just been so much going on – and, when there’s not, I’m too exhausted to even think about going for a walk or doing a workout. Thankfully things are starting to die down and I’m finally feeling caught up on sleep. Hopefully I’ll get back into it a little bit more this week since I’ve still got the clear to do my normal activities (woohoo for a long cervix! TMI?). Charlie will definitely thank me because he needs more exercise than running laps in the backyard!

Chic Pipsqueak Giveaway

About a month ago, Kjirsten contacted me to see if I was interested in trying out a few items from her super cute baby accessory boutique, Chic Pipsqueak. Chic Pipsqueak is an online boutique that sells inexpensive (yet high quality in my opinion!) accessory items for babies. She has a plethora of items including hats, leg warmers, and of course, headbands and bow clips. I emailed Kjirsten back immediately and told her I would love to do a review of her boutique items and share it with you all! Kjirsten graciously gave me $30 to spend in her boutique, and I was so surprised at how much I was able to get with that allowance.

I went straight for the headbands and bows because I am OBSESSED with little girls wearing huge flower bows in their headbands. I got two 12 pack starter kits of crocheted headbands as well as eight flowers that clip right into the headbands (2 each of four colors). I also bought two packages of hot pink and white chevron leggings for the girls. Cuteness overload!

All of this… x2!!!

If you’re a mama of a girl, you know how expensive those cute accessories can be ($5-$6 just for one headband? Uhhhh, no thanks!). The starter 12 pack of headbands was less than four dollars, and each clip was only $2! I love how I can change out the flower clips depending on what the girls will be wearing for the day. You better believe I’m going to be visiting Chic Pipsqueak again sometime soon to buy more!

Kjiersten is graciously giving one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to her boutique for whatever you’d like! All commenters below will be entered into the giveaway. This giveaway will be open until Thursday night. I will announce a winner on Friday morning!

Tagged as: 24 weeks, chic pipsqueak, giveaway, pregnancy, review, twins