ER visit and 18 weeks!

I have been feeling great!  Last week and weekend I was out and about every day.  We spent Saturday walking down town in Balboa, a very cute beach community, with our lil Oliver.  Sunday we dusted off our beach cruisers and road to the beach with some friends and had a picnic.  I was a little nervous about biking and being pregnant, but I felt good, so why not?  Monday I FINALLY made is back to yoga.  It felt so great being back.  I was able to share my exciting news of our two precious boys.  Everyone was really excited to find out since I've been MIA for two weeks :-/  Then came Tuesday...

I woke up at about 6:30am.  I realized my low back on the left side was a bit achy and sore.  So I did a few yoga cat/cows and pelvic tilts to stretch it out.  Still aching.  I went down stairs and it began to get worse, and I mean WORSE!  By 6:50am I was on the phone with my doctor for Excruciating back pain, I was about in tears!  He wanted me to wait until 9(!!!) to call the office to come in and get checked!  There was NO WAY I could wait til 9, with what felt like a kidney infection or stone (neither of which I've ever had!).  I called my mom who was working at the hospital at the time (a labor and delivery nurse), and told her of my low back pain.  Of course she said "get to the ER now!"  I freak out and get going...

By the time we arrived I was in tears the pain was so bad.  I was checked in almost immediately.  They had me get into a hospital gown, I was hooked up to an IV, and then I waited for the doctor.  They took me back to ultrasound to check on my kidneys.  The tech also looked at my lil bundles to make sure they were okay... they were!  I showed no signs of pre-term labor, no kidney stones, and no kidney infection!  What the heck was wrong with me?!?  BACK PAIN!  WTHeck?  I haven't had any low back pain this entire pregnancy and then BAM... my back is KILLING ME?  Silly me!

I guess its NORMAL with twin pregnancy's because everything is growing so fast!  The hormone, Relaxin, is released to loosen ligaments, tendons and muscles so they can stretch. I was on bed rest for 48 hours and am now doing better.  I have NEVER had back problems in my life so this is all new to me.  I have 19 more weeks to go so I am having to take it easy now... boo!  I did go to the chiropractor yesterday and plan on continuing.  I do feel a lot better today and hope it continues.

So here is my 18 week update...  I know I skipped two weeks, but I'm back!  I rigged my computer to post today! I soooo missed having my computer up!

How Far Along: 18 weeks and 1 day!!!!!  Almost half way for twins!

How Big Are the Babies:  Sweet potatoes!!! Ironically (this seems to keep happening BTW) read this...

Your Pregnancy: Week 18

As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. WOW! No Kidding!?!  On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this might be your first week for a sneak peek.

Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.  How cute is that!!?



Total Weight Gain:  17 lbs!  I'm still gaining, but its slow and steady compared to first tri!  Ironically I'm not as hungry as then.

Maternity clothes: I just ordered a maternity belt.  Dr. S, who had twins, told me she started wearing one at 16 weeks.  I thought that was early... before!  Now with all of this ligament pain and back problems, I think she was right on!  I waited two weeks too long!

Sleep: Sleep has been great!  Except for my cat who has been liking to wake us up at 530 am by scratching the carpet next to the bed!  Errrr... I'm getting so mad at her I try to keep her up during the day so she sleeps at night!  Don't think its working though...

GENDER:  Two lil BOYS!!!! Yay!!
Movement: ALL THE TIME!  I even feel them when I'm driving, standing, walking, etc.  They are getting big!  But it still tickles me, I can't wait for kicks!

Food Cravings: Not really.  I still am having a hard time with meat... no filets of meat, only shredded beef or chicken.  But I really hate chicken right now unless its on the bone.  Weird, I know.

What I Miss: Right now I'm missing being free of back and ligament pain!

What I'm looking forward to: Monday is my appointment with the perinatologist!  They are going to do an anatomy scan of my boys (praying everything is okay!) and check cervical length.  My last cervix check was 3.8.  Hoping its holding up nicely :)

Milestones: Finding out the genders of the BOYS!
Symptoms: Major ligament pain on the front and sides of my belly.  I can't wait til my maternity belt gets here!


Last but not least... here are the pics I promised!

These were Bday gifts to C the night we found out!  From my brother and sis-in-law!

How cute are they!?!