Whoa Baby!

Aloha friends and family! We had our monthly growth scan today and the babies are doing great. I keep telling mike how i just feel so heavy and tight-- like there's no room for them to go. Every move one of them makes i feel it and most of the time we can even see it.

Well today confirmed my thoughts: Our twins have had a growth spurt and i am 33 weeks along now carrying around 10 lbs of baby and although they can't tell exactly, the ultrasound techs always comment on how long their leg and arm bones are.

Nora's estimated weight is at 4 lbs 14 oz --which puts her in the 78th percentile.
Holden's weight came in at 5 lbs 3 oz--which puts him in the 90th percentile.

These percent charts are based on single babies--so its safe to say they are healthy...really healthy.

I think the funniest part about all this is the SUPER HUGE grin on Mike's face from the time we were first watching the ultrasound through the whole drive back--where we had to split up because he had to go back to work--but if i were to guess i would bet that smile is STILL there. He even insisted on taking the pictures with him to work--which is why i don't have any to post. He's like the proudest dad and all the babies are doing is growing and breathing strong...i can't wait to see how he's gonna be when they actually come out and start doing things. I even earned a high-5 from him for being a (in his exact words) "super convection baby making oven"---whatever that is??? He cracks me up.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and TOES ?!?!?!?

Well, to be exact it should be "heads" (with an "s") since there are 2 of them---and then 4 shoulders, 4 bony knees that may i add are always knocking me around, and then 20 NOT SO LITTLE toes!

Yep, we went for our 24 week growth scan on Friday and again this growth scan was quite enjoyable and we found out alot.

We learned the following....
1. Our babies each weighed 1 lb 12 oz --which is on target to slightly above avg. for a single baby--so go Burns Twins, go!

2. What it feels like when they get hiccups. I often get a feeling that although very repetitive, i just assumed was kicking until i was feeling it while doing the ultrasound. The tech informed me it was actually hiccups and showed us Baby Girl's diaphragm where the hiccups originate. Apparently hiccups are like breathing exercises for fetuses, in order to get them ready for breathing outside the womb.

3. That fighting between siblings is definitely NATURE, not nurture, because ours are already having major fights by seeing who can kick who in the head the hardest. This is shown in the pic below.

top of Baby Boy's head and bottom of Baby Girl's Foot4. Our little boy has Mikes toes! You may ask how we could possibly know this, but there is nothing about mine and Mike's feet that are similar...i have thick feet with short stubby toes a high arch and my big toe is actually my biggest toe. On the other hand (or foot), Mike has long, bony, flat feet with toes as long as fingers and his biggest toe is the 2nd....and apparently so is our Little Boy's toes! We couldn't get a good angle on Little Girl's feet so there is still hope for her! Poor Little Boy sentenced to a life of finger toes....i think Mike is actually very proud of himself!

Baby Boy's Toes

Mike's Toes
As seems to be the rule, Baby Girl was buried in my pelvic bone once again, and there is just no moving bones around, so we didn't get any good pics of her, but here is a sweet profile of Baby Boy. He is looking so much more like a baby these days instead of an alien--cute already!


After our appointment we made a stop at babies R us. It was its first day opening and I have been stalking the building, watching its progress in order to take the store by storm. I had a list of things to get. I have no idea how people made it without this store! So we got there just in time for the grand opening...yay (i say this with much sarcasm). There was a huge crowd outside the store waiting for the doors to open--all pregnant ladies and moms with strollers. There were 2 security guards standing in front of the doors, shoulder to shoulder with their backs towards the crowd. Inside the store, the staff and press was taking their own sweet time "blessing" the store Hawaiian style, then the staff all came out, pushed their way through the crowd and then gave a speech, introduced some of the managers, handed out monetary donations to local children's facilities and made a big deal about cutting the ribbon....it was ridiculous. I guess that's what i get for going to a grand opening, but really, we weren't trying to be there for that, it just happened that we were out at that particular time. So Mike and I were definitely a part of the madness and hopefully we are not going to find our pics in the newspapers this week!



On a very excited note, once we finally made it into the store, we bought... 6 baskets for under the changing table, a matching changing pad cover, a cushion/shower organizer to hang over the bathtub and make bath time much easier on my knees, 2 infant swings, 2 car seats--one pink, one blue, and then my favorite and biggest reason for fighting the crowds....a high back, fully upholstered glider and ottoman to make feeding time as easy and comfortable as possible. and the kicker...the chair we bought was on clearance, a mistake shipment that they aren't selling anymore, but it was the perfect color and size i needed! So, if we hadn't been there for the grand opening, we would have missed this deal--so worth it!

What we didn't really consider until after the purchases was how we would fit everything in the car---but we worked it out, just barely!

Us with our purchases...the truck is maxed out!

view from the front--excuse our "rough" look, we had just spent the day in the sun and playing mini golf with church kids!

You'll have to wait to see everything we bought later, when the nursery is complete and we get it all set up!

We're Halfway There!

This week marks our halfway point--20 weeks. Technically though, we have probably already passed the halfway point being that most all twins are born early. Still, it's a milestone to celebrate. I can't say it has exactly flown by--there was definitely times when i felt so bad that i thought this would never end. But i can, for the first time, honestly say that the good is outweighing all the yuck and the excitement is really catching up with me.

As of Monday this week I could clearly identify all the feelings inside of me as the babies moving and not just a bunch of stomach noises and gurgles. Since Monday there has been pretty much non-stop movement at all times of the day--most of it i am thoroughly enjoying, but occasionally its painful at night.

Yesterday, we had our big ultrasound appointment where they measure and get pics of every part of the babies body. An hour per baby--and i can't imagine doing it for 3 and 4 babies. By the time the two hours were up i was so sore from all the pushing and poking i could hardly get back to my car. Still this morning it feels as though someone used my stomach as a punching bag.

Baby Boy was very cooperative. We learned that he is considered "baby b". His placenta is in the top part of my abdomen--which means more room for him and he will be the "younger brother" coming out second. Baby Girl, or "baby a" placenta is positioned more around my pelvic area, where there isn't as much room so it is much harder to get to her and get good pictures. Actually the techs and doc gave up on getting all of her pics yesterday after spending well over 45 mins pushing the same spot trying to get a few more measurements. Also, fun fact for those of you inquisitive minds, although the babies will move many times within the placentas, the actual placentas will never change places, so Baby Boy will always be on top and Baby Girl will always be on the bottom.

Their measurements were almost identical--both at 9 1/2 inches, which is standard for a 20 week old. After 20 weeks is when genetics kick in and babies grow at different rates, determining whether they will be short or long. Baby boy weighed 15oz and Baby girl at 14oz. Average is 12oz at 20 weeks, so for twins we are doing great. They say i need to continue getting as much weight on them as i can now since they will most likely be born early and as delivery time gets closer there will come a point where there is just no more room to grow anyway.

We were given many pics--to see them all check our pic website, but i put the best down below-- some of our favorites and the harder to read ones i illustrated for you.

Baby Boy Profile--whole body with legs bent

Baby Boy's funny face with a BIG smile

Baby Boy showing off, using his hand as a microphone

same--but my version
Baby Boy's insides and fingers/ Baby Girl's foot

illustrated--if you look closely at the Baby Boy blob, that little black dot is his bladder--just in case you were wondering ;)

Baby Girl laying on her stomach
Her 1 and only profile shot, she likes to cover her face with her hands


this is a bit scary--Baby girl with what looks like her head unattached to her body...don't worry, it's just an illusion, she is bent so the neck is further back and you can't see it..check illustration below

all curled up, rebelling against the technicians, Baby Girl and her mommy were both DONE with all the poking, she is literally hiding her body in response to all the pushing

same--illustrated

My favorite...Baby Girl showing off a little bit--again check illustration

HEADSTAND!!

17 week update

It's official, the clothes buying (and cutting off of tags) can begin. We had our other ultrasound this morning and "baby a" is 100% all girl. So God blessed us with one of both and we are so excited we can't quit smiling.

I am running a little short on time--but here are the pictures they gave us today. The ultrasound tech was so nice and even showed us some video of the babies in 4d which is usually very expensive to do. She also printed us a couple of 4d shots that I posted at the bottom.

Baby Girl Profile

Baby Girl looking at us straight on--showing off her alien face
4d of Baby Girl--profile shot facing the left--the blob looking stuff right beside her face to the left is her brother's gestational sac...he's still squashing her...guess they like to cuddle! And that's a glare right above her ear..not elf ears, just in case you're worried ;)
and this is Baby Boy with much more room and a great 4d profile shot--he's facing to the right with his hand up in front of his face like he's sucking his thumb and legs curled in.

Sorry I don't have time to illustrate for you ultrasound illiterates...maybe later!

Sweet Sixteen

We've hit 16 weeks now, 2 weeks into my second trimester, feeling better every week, and ever growing as you can see.

On the baby front, all things are well, we are in between clinics right now--but have our first appointment at the twins clinic in about 3 weeks. Although with the last blog i had mentioned feeling better, after returning to NC, i had a bit of a relapse and it took a few more weeks to really start feeling better. I finally started getting an appetite back, nighttime can still be occasionally rough, but manageable compared to before. I am hungry constantly and even had my first wake up in the middle of the night where i just had to have a little snack. My new multiples pregnancy book says this is a very common problem to have--but i sure hope it doesn't become a regular thing.

So for our big news, just in case you haven't heard it anywhere else...we went for our gender identification ultrasound this past Saturday. Drumroll please....

That's right...its a boy, and here's the stuff to prove it! And boy oh boy, he is taking up ALL the room in the belly. He was stretching and kicking and wiggling and basically stuffing "baby a" into a small little corner. Not unlike the sleeping situation in the Hawaii Burns Household...but to save us from a couple of unnecessary words later, I won't reveal who is the crowder and the crowdee!

And here's a look at Baby boy's body shot. His crazy alien face is looking straight at you...a ham for the camera already!

Now on to poor Baby A--brother is taking up so much room and light it was virtually impossible to get a good shot to confirm its gender. We tried for a while, even took a break to walk around and do some jumping jacks in the effort of moving them around....but even with all that action, (and it was the most action this body has seen in a while!) brother wouldn't budge. While we couldn't get baby to be still long enough for a pic, we did get a couple of quick looks, and to our untrained eyes and our techs impressively trained eye, no one saw anything that looked like little boy parts, but without a clear picture we all decided that we would only be 90% sure that "baby a" is a girl. The tech said they would fit us in next weekend just to make sure. Hopefully they will have changed positions. But for now we are celebrating the possibilities of one of each and I treated myself to a shopping trip at the Carter's and Osh Kosh outlet stores just to get some gender specific clothes..and i had a blast! They are all hanging up ready to go in the babies closet--but no worries, in the event of sudden change the girl's clothes still have their tags.

This is a pic of of "baby girl (we think) a" being squashed by her brother. And just in case you are ultrasound illiterate.....scroll down

this should help set the scene!

Happy June

I happened to look at the calendar this afternoon and saw that it was June 1 and was a little shocked. This past month has moved by somewhat in a blur of good and bad moments. We have been super excited with the news of our pregnancies but also these babies have been kicking my tail and most days are spent just laying around at home in a constant state of motion sickness.

I really had some high hopes for this month--My birthday weekend, Memorial Day, the military ball and Waikiki weekend, end of the year parties at school with my favorite preschool, and then just spending time with my friends who will all be leaving this summer--but in all honesty i am just trying to making it through this 1st trimester. Thankfully the end of this will be the start of the best part of our lives.

Whenever i am feeling okay, we find ourselves in baby stores checking out what Hawaii has to offer, which sadly isn't very much. We are trying to get a good idea of what we want/need and if we need to make any of these purchases during our visit to the mainland in a few weeks. We have picked out what we want for the nursery furniture and are currently knee deep in double-stroller research. Seriously, who knew picking out a stroller would be so complicated?? Some of these strollers are like pushing around a small vehicle. If you have any good recommendations I am ALL EARS.

As far as food goes....I am constantly hungry, but nothing ever sounds good to eat. I have wanted nothing to do with ground beef, grilled chicken, fish, most fruits and mushrooms and lettuce. If it does sound good it's either an icee or some greasy starchy food that i probably shouldn't be eating anyway. So whether it is all those curly fries or just the 2 growing babies in my belly I am 9 weeks along and definitely showing. My clothes certainly don't fit and I am considering never putting on pants again until after these 2 babies enter the world.

Mike has been a blessing during all this. He deals with my food cravings/aversions and doesn't eat near me the things that gross me out. He has also been super understanding about all the time spent at home instead of out with our friends. The funniest thing though is he has taken it upon himself to be my personal dietitian...although early on he leaned not to question the bad things i want to eat (he just merely comments that he hopes the 2nd trimester I can eat a bit healthier...which i would like to agree as long as the nausea subsides) but he is also constantly monitoring my vitamin intake. He even bought me this monster pill box with the days of week on it and keeps it stuffed for me and checks it every day to make sure i have taken everything. Although a little frustrating at times (cause sometimes all those pills they have me on make my stomach turn as much as some foods) I know he is just trying his best to take care of the 3 of us and we love him for that. He's going to be a great daddy.

As I said, we are actually going to be back on the mainland in 2 weeks. We are excited to see everyone--especially Mike since it has been so long since he has been home. In the next few days i will post a little more about our plans and where we will be heading on our trip. So again, HAPPY JUNE! Hope it is a great beginning to your summer and can't wait to see many of you soon!

9 weeks old, different sizes because of where the picture was taken--actually both measuring on target, about an inch long now and heartbeats at around 170--last week they kinda looked like puppies, this week they are bigger and rounder and look like pigs with wings, especially the one on the left..haha

me at 9 weeks, i really am gonna be huge i think

cribs we picked out, originally wanted to use my old crib--but with 2 babies things have changed, i need everything to match, so we will just hold on to my old one and maybe we can use it again one day

matching changing table

us at the ball, i didn't feel good at all and only stayed for the formal portion of the event--you can't tell because i had long since kicked them off, but i did have on some pretty awesome purples heels

Magic!

So we went for our second ultrasound yesterday and like magic another baby appeared on the screen! That's right--we are having twins!

Here they are--our beautiful babies...that in my opinion look like little upside-down schnauzer's

I believe last week that the doctor we had just wasn't very thorough--she went in, found a pregnancy, took a picture and then we were done. The doctor this week took a lot of time and really searched around. I noticed before she said anything when she was kind of poking at one, another pregnancy appeared...i literally gasped and she looked at us and smiled and I was like "there's another one in there isn't there?" The next few minutes were full of excitement and nervousness all at the same time. I could hardly breathe as she was checking to make sure both had heartbeats. Both do have strong heartbeats and were measuring at 7.5 weeks, right on target. With the first sigh of relief also came lots of tears and laughing as we tried to let the news sink in. We are so excited about our little "puppies" that we haven't stopped smiling yet!

Here are there individual heartbeats:

Baby 1 at 156 beats per minute

and Baby 2 at 168 beats per minute

...this really explains my own constantly racing heartrate--there's twice the babies to pump all that blood for!