Nora @ 15 months
Nora is a full-time walker, and sometimes runner! She mainly runs towards the dangerous stuff - pools, ledges, etc. I can't even remember the last time she crawled!
Officially ortho-issue free. We switched pediatric orthopedics, who said take that baby out of her brace! Her hips looked fantastic on x-ray, and (after a scary MRI to verify there were no fused vertebrae) her torticollis is gone as well. She'll need to be monitored every six months or so to make sure the torticollis doesn't relapse. I still laugh when I think about how they told us at birth (when her issues were obvious) that only '12 weeks' of treatment was needed. At least we don't have to worry about it after 15 months!
She says a TON of words - Momma, Ball, Yeah, Uh-oh, Milk, Daddy, Hi, Thank You, etc. I think 'doggie' is next. She always makes the same sound when she sees a dog.
Growing big-time, mostly in weight rather than height. She is 31 inches tall (50% height) and weighs 26.12 (90% weight). I discussed switching to 2% milk, but the pediatrician says that Nora's weight should slow down over the next three months with all her walking and to keep her on the whole milk. She still wears mostly 18mo clothes, but we have switched her to size 5 diapers.
Drinks from a straw cup, uses a fork 30% of the time, feeds herself all the time and eats EVERYTHING. She is the most agreeable child.
I am constantly amazed at how she has switched to a deliberate style of play. She will go into my cabinet under the bathroom sink, take all the tops off the bottles, switch them up, then match them back up again. She loves putting buckles together, piling her toys in the same spot, 'reading' books and stacking things. I can really see her brain working as goes…and grows! Here are a few photos:
Taking a bath with favorite big cousin Emma
This is what happens when Nora is mysteriously quiet
First petting zoo on Easter weekend
What Mom, you really think I put all this stuff on the floor?
Letting me know exactly what she thinks of apples as a snack
Big Memorial Day weekend means big naps
Loving her Pottery Barn chair
Riding her toy like a horse - she thinks she is hilarious
She told me she has 'no idea' what happened to the tp, and she is out of here!
Using her fork like a big girl, getting better every day!
Our sweet neighbors gave Nora a pink basketball. Every time she sees it, she yells "BALL!"
Babies' Stats
How far along: 20 weeks
How big: Each baby weighs nine ounces and measures my exact gestational age as of the 19 week check-up. They are di/di twins, which means that each baby has its own placenta and gestational sac. It's basically like growing two singletons at the same time. Some variability is expected in this situation, which is why my OB thinks it is funny that they keep pacing each other exactly.
Total weight gain: Nothing major to report yet, maybe two pounds? Hard to say. I lost nine pounds in a half day thanks to food poisoning, so I've gained that back. I expect to gain a lot more!
Maternity clothes: Oh yes. I feel like I look like I did when I was full-term with Nora! I might even need maternity pj's this time. Such a difference from Nora when I didn't even need maternity clothes all the time.
Sleep: Sleep comes and goes. I've stopped napping mostly, but it's hard to get comfortable at night. Combined with babies sitting on my bladder, I get up quite a bit!
Best moment of the week: It's always seeing the babies on the ultrasound. I see my OB every two weeks and a high-risk specialist every 4 weeks. Thanks to that wonky schedule, I go about every 1.5 weeks.
Food cravings: I crave more sweets than I did when I was pregnant with Nora, but still not nearly as much when I'm not pregnant. Pregnancy seems to quell my sweet tooth.
Food aversions: Big pieces of chicken. It might be a texture thing. I can take chicken shredded, but I don't want a grilled chicken breast.
Symptoms: Incredible pressure in my abdomen as these babies grow. I'm trying to stay as active as I can for as long as I can, but I'm starting to see changes. First, I couldn't run because the pressure on my bladder was too much. Then, I had to switch my 4 mile walks to only 3 miles because I would tire out easily. Now, I'm only walking 3 miles every other day because my hips are killing me.
Movements: I'm feeling movements off and on, but I don't know which baby I'm feeling. I don't quite have my bearings yet. My OB says that Baby B's placenta placement is more than likely muffling a lot of the movement from being felt on my end. I do know that Baby B's legs are right under my belly button, and that B is sitting on A. B is completely kicked back, and A is balled up. Both are head down, so we are hoping for another natural delivery.
Gender: Unknown - waiting until the big day! That makes for LOTS of name combinations. We won't have matching names. It could be girl/girl, boy/boy or boy/girl. If I had to make a bet, I would say maybe one of each?
What I am looking forward to: Every ultrasound I get a little nervous that one of the babies won't have a heartbeat. We had complications early on, and it's hard to let those experiences go. I'm looking forward to feeling more frequent movement, and knowing which baby is kicking so I can relax between appointments.
What I miss: Summer cocktails!
Next appointment: July 1st we see our high risk specialist. This is the 'big' ultrasound where they measure everything. My OB already did this, but the high risk group looks for more. The receptionist warned me that they devote a minimum of 60 minutes per baby, so to bring a snack and loads of patience as I'll be on the table for over two hours being scanned. Since we can't look for a portion of the ultrasound as we don't want to know the genders, it makes for an awkward day!
