The Big Questions

Throughout this pregnancy the big questions have been:

• When are you due?
• What are you having
• Twins holy cow...does that run in your family?
• Are they identical?
• and the biggest and most common especially lately...what are their names?!?!

So everyone already knows the answer to the first four questions so here is how we came to the answer of the last on the above list.

But what do you even base such a huge decision on...there are so many ways you can go. Do you use a family name? Do you go based on the meaning of the name? Do you base it on something special that means something to you as a couple? Do you go with the first thing you actually agree on? With twins do you make them rhyme...do you each choose a name...do you go totally different? Do you go with something out of this world and unique? Do you wait for that profound special moment to happen when something just says this is it? Or do you just go with something you really like?

So many different ways to choose. I think at times we were thinking way to hard about it for sure...at least I was. And another thing...let me assure you it is almost impossible to not use a name that has been used by someone in your life...whether it is a pets name, a friends name, or a friends child...especially for us.

All girls come up with their list of names they may one day name their children all throughout life for various reasons. Those names always stick in your head or maybe you actually have a literal list that you have written down and carry with you. For me I had certain names that I always loved and could just never get out of my head. I even had names picked out for a boy and girl twin because I always thought that would be so cool. Back in 2009 when we did get pregnant I finally put my list down on paper in my planner and Carl and I would talk about it from time to time. Unfortunately we never got to use any of the names at that time but I saved the list.

So rewind back to our ultrasound on November 23, 2010...what a special day it was to say the least...this was the day we saw two little sacks with beating hearts!!! After the first couple ultrasounds and seeing that things were going well with the babies we started talking names. We knew that if it was a boy and girl that it was going to be Micah and Makayla. Those were the two that I had loved since I was younger and thankfully Carl was totally on board and really liked them as well. We had a tougher time coming up with two girls and two boys though (I had two girls names I loved together and thought would be great for twins, but Carl was not completely in love with them partly because he had a dog that had been named one of the names). I think it may have been because I was afraid of two boys and Carl was afraid of two girls to be honest. But then came our first trimester screening on January 13 when the ultrasound tech said...its two girls!!! We were shocked but excited but also did not want to get too attached to the idea because we were only 13 weeks and 3 days at this point and know so many people that were told something early and then it totally changed. But it was hard not to get too attached so we started talking names shortly after this appointment...I was so attached to Micah and Makayla, but that was not going to work out with two girls. We did come up with two names that we both really liked and thought that they would go really well together almost immediately, but again we did not want to get too attached just in case that the sex changed. So we kept thinking of names and ended up with quite a lot of names and options. We told some friends and family our thoughts and we definitely got mixed opinions on the names that we really liked which I totally get...not everyone is going to agree and like the same things and unfortunately for me I think I let others opinions at times affect my own. Not to mention the fact that if you really know me you know I cannot make a decision to save my life...thankfully I have a husband who is well aware and makes the little decisions for me, but in this situation it needed to be mutual.

Then we went to Duke and had our level 2 ultrasound on February 10 and found out indeed it is for sure 2 girls!!!!!!!!!! Finally we got attached to two girls and could not have been any happier!!! Then the questions and nagging began..."what are the names? you have to name them now that you know for sure!" and so many more. So back to the drawing board it was...we narrowed it down to a short list that we both really liked and we thought about actually waiting until the girls were born and we saw them to decide for sure.

Then came our 3rd anniversary...we went out to an amazing dinner and talked names for quite a while. Our server actually had come to the table and we asked her opinion on the ones we had it narrowed down to. She said how about I write them down and then have a drawing...we loved the idea. She wrote all 6 of the names down and went to put them in something to draw from. While she was gone I actually pulled out the 3D/4D ultrasound picture of Baby A and asked Carl what name do you think she looks like...his response was the same exact as mine!!! We were on the same page!!! This was for sure a sign. Then the server comes back to the table all excited...she actually had the other servers to draw names and told us the winners...they happened to be the ones we originally loved together and have always gone back to!!! We looked at each other and just smiled away...it was another sign for sure. Then as we were leaving we asked another server to take our picture and she had actually been a part of the name drawing and said to us only if you name one of your girls after me...her name happened to be one of our absolute faves!!! We left there that night very excited.

Then we went to the beach for the baby shower that weekend. We stayed in a hotel the night before so that we could just relax and take it easy together. It was great we just vegged out and did absolutely nothing but kick our feet up and eat some yummy food...just what the dr ordered! After dinner that night we sat out on the balcony over looking the beach and the sound (I was eating ice cream of course) it was so peaceful and perfect. We brought up the names again and finally had that special moment...I won't share all the details as it was a long talk and personal, but we came to the conclusion that we knew all along. We are going with the very first two names we came up with and all for the perfect reasons for us and when it comes down to it that is all that matters. We have worked so hard for these precious little gifts from God and we are going with the names that we love and we think are going to fit our girls just perfectly!!!

As far as the middle names go that was the easy part. If it had been boys we were going to go the family name route, but if it was girls I had 3 names picked out that truly mean something to us. They are Hope, Faith, and Grace. These have always been important to me, but throughout this journey Faith, Grace, and Hope have gotten us through the good and the bad and kept us going. Without God's Grace and our Faith and Hope these precious little miracles would not exist. Below are the meanings and verses I love for each. And if you have been following our journey you will understand exactly why they are each so important and mean so much to us!

• Hope: Biblical definition of hope is "confident expectation." One of my favorite verses is:
• Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version, ©2011) ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
• Faith: Biblical definition is "Faith is trusting God. It is living in a relationship with God that is motivated and sustained by one’s conviction that God does keep his word. Faith is believing that God keeps his promises and then accepting his grace from Jesus, his Son. Faith is living in this relationship of trust moment by moment in accord with God’s will. Both God’s grace and faith are his gifts to those who believe." Another favorite bible verse that has been such an important part of my life for many reasons is: 
• Ephesians 2:8-10 (New International Version, ©2011) ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
• Grace: biblical definition is "Grace is God's unmerited favor. That is, grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve. Grace can also be defined as God's sufficiency or God's fullness in the life of the believer.
• 1 Peter 5:6-11 (New International Version, ©2011) ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

So without any further ado here are the names of our sweet little girls:

Baby A is going to be Makayla Faith Huffman

Baby B is going to be Makenzie Grace Huffman

We are going to have sweet little M and M's and are so excited!!! And if they want to shorten them we love Kayla and Kenzie and it will still be the same first letters! Yes we know you may get them confused at times, but lets be honest...it doesn't matter if names are 1 letter different or on the opposite side of the spectrum if you are gonna confuse them its gonna happen regardless of the name.

 Carl has already claimed that Makenzie takes after him and is going to be daddy's little girl because she is the wild one (at least she is as of now inside me) and that Makayla is going to be the sweet one and a mommy's girl. We shall see when they are here though! Ironically my mom gave us gifts at the shower of blankets monogrammed with Baby A and Baby B literally and each had an outfit with them. Baby A's outfit was Mommy's Sunshine and Baby B's outfit was a Daddy's Girl outfit which Carl and I just thought was too perfect.

So no more Baby A and Baby B...its now official and we cannot wait to meet our precious M and M's!!!

Preparing the Nursery

Thankfully we started getting the nursery ready very early especially with all that has been going on. When we were 17 weeks along we bought the dresser and cribs and the men set them up. We are so blessed to have several awesome people in our lives that have twins and have been a major help throughout this. One family was kind enough to sell us their wonderful cribs and dresser that we could have never been able to afford such amazing furniture on our own. They are super safe, very sturdy, beautiful, and even have a built in drawer underneath them for extra storage which is awesome! Both of our parents helped out and bought them for us and we are so thankful for that!!!

Originally we were just going to leave the nursery the beige color that it was, but after we picked out the bedding and lots of talking Carl decided he wanted to paint. We went with two different bed sets, but cooridinated the colors together. Lots of people gave us a hard time about this since they were in the same room, but hey they are two different babies and this is what we wanted to do and I am so glad we did. I personally think they look great together and know the girls will too ;) We were going to paint the room a light green because we thought that would tie the bedding in together, but after many samples and testing them out we ended up going a completely different route and it turned out awesome! We slowly set things up and were very lucky to have our awesome friends and family help us out along the way...THANK YOU ALL...especially my wonderful hubby and daddy to be who did it all without complaining while I pretty much just sat in the rocker taking pictures while he did all the hard work...Carl you are the best and we are so blessed with you!!!

So below is a video of the pictures of all the before and afters of setting everything up. It is super girly and very nurseryish (is that a word?!) and I just LOVE it!!!

P.S. 95% of the clothes in the closet are all hand me downs and the rest are gifts thanks to our awesome family and friends...I think I may have to change the girls a couple times a day to wear them all ;)

28 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Here are the ultrasound pictures from today. For some reason they are not scanning in very well at all...worse than usual, but you can still see how precious they are :) Don't these first two look so much alike?! I think so but its hard to tell. Baby girl B was the star of the show today...which we were happy about because last time we could not even get one 3D/4D of her yet today Baby girl A was the one being camera shy (we were lucky to get the one of her). Its so crazy that they have grown so much that their lil faces pretty much take up the whole shot where last time we were there you could still see the majority of their bodies in the pictures.




Baby Girl B

 

Baby Girl A





Baby A Profile

Baby B Profile

 

Look at those cheeks!!! I just LOVE them!



She was smiling and the tech tried to capture it :)

 

Sweet Girl



28 Weeks Updates

So today we went back to Duke for our growth scan of the girls. The second the ultrasound started you could see how much they have grown. It was awesome...not only that, but we had the same tech as last time that so kindly did the 3D/4D and I was so hoping she would do it again.

Both girls are still in the same positions...Baby A is head down and Baby B is transverse (laying all the way across my uterus with her head at Baby A's feet again).

The ultrasound tech started off with baby A and immediately turned on the 3D/4D so we could see her precious little face...we were so excited and thankful. Just like last time she kept throwing her lil hands up, but this time she kept covering her face...we watched her for a couple minutes and got 1 good picture of her and she is just too cute. Then she moved on to measuring her and checking all of her organs. All of her measurements and organs looked great and her heart beat was about 144.

Then we moved onto Baby B...remember she did not cooperate last time so I was just praying she would today so we could see her on the 3D/4D and she did!!! We watched her for a while and got quite a few good pictures of her. I may be a little partial since they are our girls, but I think she is just precious too...and to me they look just alike...it will be interesting to see if they do when they are here! Then she moved on to her measurements and organs. At first her heart beat was a little low, but she seemed to just be resting because when we checked it a couple minutes later it was back up to 140 so I felt much better. And all of her organs and measurements looked great as well!

Baby A weighs 2lb 8oz which measures 27 weeks 6 days. Baby B weighs 2lb 11oz which measures 28 weeks 1 day. These are within a couple days of each other and are almost dead on with our due date...this is beyond AWESOME with twins. Usually with twins baby b is a little smaller because of the location, but not our girls! They are both are so close with their weights and measurements that they are just thrilled with how well they are developing and growing as are we!!! We are so thankful the girls are doing so wonderful and just are praising God for these blessings and good news!!!

Carl happened to mention to the tech that I have been contracting and had to go to the hospital so she wanted to check my cervix just to be safe. Thank the Lord he mentioned it and that we went back to Duke today! She was unable to see on the external ultrasound because of baby A's head position so she had to do a vaginal u/s plus its much more accurate. The last time it was measured it was around 3.5. Today unfortunately it has shortened to 2.5. They like it to be at least at 3. The Dr came in and saw us and explained that because of the contractions and having twins this is probably the reasoning and not too uncommon with these circumstances. He wants us to come back next week to have it checked again and depending if there are any changes they may start me on 2 rounds of steroid treatments in order to help develop the girls lungs if they come early. He also told me to take it super easy and sent the results over to my regular OB. I just happened to be going to an appointment there right after we left Duke for my weekly checkup with one of the midwives.

So I went on to my OB office and started out with my gestational diabetes blood test (PLEASE pray I pass and do not have to take the 3 hour test again and do not have gest diab). Then I went in to meet with one of the midwives. She came in the room and said she had received the fax from Duke and we started to discuss things. Then Dr V came in the room in the middle of our conversation and said he had just gotten off the phone with Dr Cooler from Duke and that it is time for official and immediate bedrest! They both discussed with me the importance of taking this seriously and how every day keeping them in is such a huge deal. The midwife said getting to 32 weeks would be awesome...30 weeks would be good and each extra day is a big deal! Dr V said not to worry too much because he has had patients that were able to go all the way to their due date when he put them on bedrest measuring their cervix at 2. So I will listen and do all that I can for the girls. The rough part is no more going to physical therapy which has been so good for my back and hips...they said I may qualify for at home PT considering all of my conditions so I will look into that soon.

So the plan is to go back next Wednesday to Duke to check things out again and we will go from there. My OB said that we may have to do hospital bedrest eventually to slow things down. Please pray that the at home bedrest will work and that the girls continue to grow/develop as healthy as can be and most importantly they stay put inside me and keep cooking, and that I can stay healthy for them. We will continue to do any and everything that we can for these girls to get here as healthy as possible!!! We may even start taking you up on all of your kind offers to help us out with food and help around the house because I can't do it for the rest of the time for sure.

I am trying not to worry about all of this and stress as that is not helpful to the circumstances at all, but it is a little hard for sure. I also received a call on Monday that as soon as my disabilty and  maternity leave is over that I unfortunately no longer have a job (I won't go into all the details of that right now)...which adds to the stress to say the least. Not only that but my disabilty has still not been approved because they are waiting on more info from the Dr and the whole process is just taking forever! Please pray that it will all get taken care of and be approved asap so that will be one less thing to worry/stress about.

I know that everything happens for a reason though and that God is in control. I am just going to let go and let God and keep reminding myself of a great verse that is very fitting at this time:

• Philippians 4:4-9 (New International Version, ©2011)

   ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

**As soon as Carl gets home I will have him scan all the pictures in from today to share with you guys and post them later. As always thank you all for your prayers and support and all your sweet messages that mean so much to us!!!**

Tomorrow we go back to Duke for a growth scan to see how you lil ladies are growing and developing!!! I cannot wait to see how big y'all are and how things are going! Praying for things to be developing as they should be and two healthy babies and momma!!!

In the meantime I have some unspoken prayer requests for some family members and myself. And asking those reading this to just keep us in your thoughts and prayers! I will update later, but for now thank you!

I will post ultrasound pictures and updates as soon as I can :)

28 Week Stats

How your baby's growing according to babycenter.com:

You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week.
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Week 27 check up

Went back to the Dr for my weekly check up on Wednesday and things are going well. The Fetal Fibernectin test came back negative again which is awesome and makes me feel so much more confident! Still having contractions...but trying to avoid anything that brings them on (aka being as lazy as possible and hydrated) and the Dr's are keeping a very close eye and as long as they don't get any worse or more consistent than we should be ok. My iron levels are still good so the meds are still working and most importantly...my cervix is still closed and the girls heartbeats sounded great!!!! My uterus is measuring 30 weeks...which is perfectly normal considering I am having two babies...I just have to keep remembering that is why I am so big already!!! They want to continue to see me weekly and keep a close eye on things so I will go back to see them next Thursday. And Wednesday we go back to Duke for another growth scan ultrasound!!! I cannot wait to see how big the girls are!!!!! Just continue to pray that both girls are growing on target and from head to toe things are going well for the girls (and their momma)!

As far as I go...well I am truly feeling the weight of these blessings for sure and have good days and tough days. I am going to physical therapy twice a week which is helping, but some days I literally feel like my bones are crumbling in my hips and back. Considering I have arthritis and nerve damage (just to name a couple of the problems I have lived with for years) I have never really felt the pain or had issues anywhere other than my lower body, however things have changed with my entire body throughout the pregnancy and add to that the swelling in my hands and feet...now every joint I have is aching! The swelling in my feet makes them feel like they are like burning or something...its so wierd, but thankfully as long as I stay off of them the swelling stays down in my feet at least. I also have carpal tunnel in my wrists which is totally normal with pregnancy...I have been wearing wrist splints to sleep in for months at bedtime (also suppose to help with swelling), but now thinking its gonna be a day time thing as well. So next time you see me just ignore the attractive wrist splints, back brace, possible SI belt for the sciatica and hips, and the official waddle which I am quickly mastering ;)

Sleep has officially left the building (pretty much since the contractions began)...between the fact that I cannot get comfortable, the sciatica pain, and contractions its hopeless so I have given into the fact that I will stay completely exhausted for the next couple years! All for great reasons though :)

I don't say any of this to complain because I am 100% aware that this is the most amazing blessing ever and I praise the Lord for these miracles, but I am telling you because I would appreciate and need your prayers. So if you don't mind please keep me in your prayers as well!!!

Hard to believe that we are days away from our third trimester and couldn't be any happier!!! So blessed things are going so well and pray they will continue to do so throughout!

26 weeks 6 days photos

27 weeks update

How your baby's growing according to babycenter.com:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

27 weeks: Baby is the size of a head of cauliflowerYour baby is as hefty as a head of cauliflower, weighing in at almost 2 pounds. (Length: about 14 1/2 inches.)

 

 

I cannot believe it is the last week of my second trimester!!! So exciting! And what a great update! Love reading these and seeing what is going on with the girls and learning each week. Two Cauliflowers...WOW!!! The belly reflects this size for sure. Love you my lil cauliflowers!!!

So much to be thankful for

For those that know me well you know I am terrified of storms to say the least. My husband likes to make fun of me and always thinks I'm just being paranoid and that nothing is going to be as bad as they make it sound on the news. So when we had the threats on Saturday of severe weather and I wanted to get fully prepared Carl as usual talked me out of it. So we went on about our day like normal. We were finishing up the nursery (well I was sitting in the rocker and Carl was hard at work while I was helping by instructing) and had the news on in the spare bedroom. All the sudden Carl says "babe its time for you to get downstairs". What?! Carl was telling me this? Needless to say I listened. I came into our bedroom downstairs and turned the news on to hear "the tornado will be hitting the Fuquay/Holly Springs Area at 3:33"...what?!?! Is this for real? Its 3:23 at this point and I had no time to prepare...I went to tell Carl and he was in the attic in the garage...I yelled at him to get inside now! I grabbed some water bottles, my camera, and my purse, and by the time I did that Carl was inside listening to the news and then the power went out. I started balling...the last thing I heard is it was headed right for us. Carl rushed me into the laundy room with a chair and a bunch of pillows and blanket, he grabbed the dog and our phones and we hunkered down. I had a minor panic attack...FYI tornadoes and panic attacks do not go well for a high risk pregnancy!!! The contractions that had been slowing down were back in full force and we thought I may go into labor at any moment! Not only was I terrified of the weather now to add this to the mix...not good. Thankfully Carl was there talking me through and calming me down and reassuring me every step of the way and I was praying every single second which gave me such a peace. We stayed in there for around an hour (it seemed like an eternity)...we were trying to watch and listen on our phones to what was going on but kept losing service (lesson learned for Carl...next time when I want to get prepared he will let me including getting out my emergency tv/tornado kit will come out of the attic), but it finally sounded safe so Carl went to check things out and called my parents to check on them. Thankfully my parents were good other than some trees/branches down and they had a radio and told Carl it had passed us. I finally came out of the laundry room and we started to check on the rest of the family. Praise the Lord minus some trees down and flooding everyone was safe!!! Little did we know how bad it really was all around us. We still had no power, but we had planned on going to church so after things had calmed down (the weather and my contractions) we got in the car and headed that way. Shortly down the road we had a total wake up call and reality check on how fortunate we were...you could see a clear path of destruction where there had clearly been tornadoes. Trees everywhere, roads blocked, stoplights down, houses damaged...pure devastation. After a lot of detours we made it to church and I am so thankful we did...we had so much to praise the Lord for. It was a lil emotional but a great service. We headed home a different way and saw even more damage and devastation. When we got home and turned on the news the images and videos were just heart wrenching. I am still in shock at how bad it truly was, and not only that but how close it was to us and each of my family members and friends. We are blessed beyond words that the Lord kept us safe and sound and I just cannot thank Him enough. My heart and prayers are with each person that was affected in any way from these storms!!! Please let us know if we can help in any way! Remember to be thankful and cherish every little and big thing you have and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you and how much you love them!!! I love all of you my precious family and friends!!!

PS A HUGE thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers throughout all of this!