What's in a Name?

As soon as you find out if you are team pink or blue, you are pretty much asked immediately if you have any names picked out. George and I had a girl name and a boy named picked out from the start and when we found out we were having twins, we started brainstorming of a second boy and girl name. Although, it was much easier to come up with a second boy name than girl name for us. I knew one thing about our girls though -- I wanted them to be named after their grandmothers and other family members. I wanted to be able to introduce my girls to their namesakes and explain why we chose the names we did. I wanted them to be named after women that were so important in our lives and molded us to be the people we are today. 

With that being said, we had lots of conversations about names. We knew that their middle names would be Jane (after George's mom, Laura Jane) and Diane (after my mom, Rita Diane). We could not think of two more important or better ladies to name our girls after. After all. they were the two most important women in our lives and all we could really hope was that our girls would have the same traits that made our mothers such amazing women. 

When coming up with first names, we wanted to use something with "Ann." George's sister is Rachel Ann and not only is she his sister, but she has become so much more than just the sister I never had, but one of my very best friends. I know she will have such a big role in the girls lives and using her middle name just seemed so fitting. We decided on Annabelle Jane for one sweet baby girl. A huge bonus -- my childhood best friend married George's brother, Matt, and she is Cortney Ann! We could not think of a better way to honor Annabelle's paternal aunts!

In brainstorming for a second name, I started thinking of other important women in my life. Aside from my mom, my Aunt Dixie Ashley is hands down the most important woman in my life. She has been an aunt, friend, confident and just played such a huge role in shaping me to be the woman I am today. There is no other woman in my life, aside from my mom, that is more important to me. With that, we came up with Ashley Diane for our second name. I can only hope and pray that sweet Ashley will possess the traits and qualities of her grandmother and aunt, and I am so glad that she will be a daily honor to them. 

We are so excited to meet sweet Ashley and Annabelle and cannot wait to share with them their namesakes! I also love alliteration and love that I have two "A" girls! And if one day, baby number 3 is a boy we've got Andrew on reserve! :)

Grandmothers:
Laura Jane and Rita Diane

Paternal Aunts:
Rachel Ann and Cortney Ann

Maternal Aunt:
Darlene Ashley

Cruising through the 2nd Trimester -- Weeks 18-21 (Month 5-ish)

The first trimester seems to creep by and last forever. All I wanted at that point was to make it to the "safe" zone and start feeling better. Once we made it to that point, it seemed like time was not slowing down! Part of that is definitely attributed to our busy fall. It seems like fall is always so busy for us, but I consider it a great blessing that we are able to attend so many football games and spend time with friends and family. I have a little inkling that we will be forced to spend more time at home next year...I can think of two sweet little reasons!

Month 5 was a great month. We had the genders confirmed and started to work on the nursery. Plus my baby bump really started growing and I began to feel the sweet girls moving around. We started tossing around name ideas and it just felt more real to be able to SEE the girls growing and to be able to call them "the girls." We had our first appointment with our high-risk OB, Dr. Papas at Fort Worth Perinatal. I am only considered high-risk because I am carrying twins. Most twin moms visit them in addition to their regular OB. We also had a great 20w appointment with my regular OB, Dr. Benz. All-in-all, month 5 was a great month!

Month 5 Notes:

Symptoms: Fatigue and Headaches...oh holy headaches! Headaches were definitely the biggest complaint this month. They would last all day and sometimes I couldn't even think. They seemed to get a little better by month's end and not as intense. Hallelujah to that! 

Cravings: Nothing major -- I finally did have a full appetite back and was trying to be conscious about what I was eating while increasing my intake a bit. I didn't deprive myself of the not-so-great choices, but just tried super hard to give the babies things of nutritional value. Of course, some days were better than others!

Working Out: This month, I was really able to get back into a workout routine. I had been walking as much as I could, but really needed something more. I signed up for a month of Smart Barre (after a 2 month hiatus) and try to attend classes 2-3 times a week, plus walking/jogging 2-3 times a week. It's not a ton, but I tell myself that at least I am staying active. It helps my sanity tremendously! 

Weight Gain: +10lbs (+9.5lbs at the 20w appointment -- I am assuming I put on another half of a pound by week 21!)

Looking Pregnant? : Yes ma'am! Finally! By month's end, George declared that no one could mistaken me for just having something extra around my mid-section. Hallelujah to that too! However, I am sure in a few months I won't be quite as enthusiastic about "looking pregnant." Haha!

Special Moments: On the flight back from Charlie and Mallory's wedding at 18w, I felt my first flutter of movement! It was indescribable and simply amazing! I started crying, and was thankful to have the row to myself. I called Daddy George as soon as I landed in Dallas and shared the exciting news. The girls really started moving this month, and by month's end those flutters had turned into more deliberate movements.  

Baby Notes: 

20w - Baby A (Weight - 10oz / HB -  140-150 bpm) ; Baby B (Weight - 9oz / HB - 145-155 bpm)
We loved getting to see the sweet girls with Dr. Papas. They did an anatomy scan and said that everything looked perfect. We got to see two sets of sweet hands and feet moving around, as well as all of their major organs. This ultrasound lasted about 45 minutes and it was so great to see so much of them. It truly is a miracle! Dr. Papas wants to see me back again at 26w and between 28w and 30w. She measured my cervix, which was nice and long and doesn't indicate that I am in danger of going into early labor at this point. The most special surprise as getting to see them in 4-D! They really are little babies in there! We loved sharing the pictures with our families. 

Baby A:

Baby B:

Later that week, we had our 20w appointment with Dr. Benz. She was happy with how everything is progressing, and I was just a half a pound from my "goal" weight at this point so no lecture! Woohoo! She told me that beginning at week 24 (my next appointment), we would start doing a swab to see if I am in danger of going into labor in the next 24-48 hours, as well as, a growth sonogram. She said that with twins, it is so important to make sure that they are both growing at the same rate and decently close to size. Our girls had a 17% weight difference at this point, but she said she was not concerned. She said she would see me at 24w for a check up, labor "check" and growth sono, then at 28w for the same thing and then she would want to see me every week from that point on to check for early labor and monitor their growth. The positive--I get weekly sonograms starting at week 28! However, this means after Christmas break that I will pretty much be taking every Friday off. This did (and does) stress me out, but I know it's for the health of the babies (my number 1 priority) and I think it'll be a nice transition for my long-term sub to get acquainted with my kiddos. 

Bump Pictures:

Week 18:
Mallory and Charlie's Wedding in Houston -- The last time I could somewhat camouflage the bump with loose-fitting clothing!

Week 19:

Week 20:
College Station with the Amersons!

Week 21: