Halfway There!!

I'm 20 weeks! I have officially passed the halfway point on my pregnancy!

I'm not going to lie, the first few months were hard. I was constantly nauseous, often sick, and had a really hard time eating and keeping food down. My mom got me the book "Mothering Multiples" and I had to stop reading it because it was saying how important it is to gain 20 pounds by 20 weeks, and talking about all the bad things that are more likely to happen when you don't gain enough, fast enough. At the time, I was nearly 16 weeks, still puking daily, and down 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight so I was getting really concerned and disheartened because there was no way in hell that I'd be able to put on 26 pounds in 4 weeks and I felt like I was hurting my babies. A few days later, I woke up, threw up bile like I normally did, but after that, I was hungry. I ate some breakfast, not really expecting it to stay down... but it did! And I felt better!
That whole day I stuffed my face. I was so friggin HUNGRY! I kept waiting for the nausea to kick back in but the more I ate, the better I felt. The next morning, I woke up starving... and threw up within 10 minutes. But again, after that, I was hungry, and as soon as I ate, I felt better. I started feeling cautiously optimistic that my morning sickness was over.
I had my 16 week check-up a couple days later, and while I was really excited to be able to eat again, I was worried about what my doctor would say about my lack of weight gain. We had our ultrasound first and it is always so amazing to see our beautiful little babies. We asked the tech if she could tell their genders. She said she thought baby A is a girl, but baby B had his/her feet pulled up and wouldn't show us the goodies, so she couldn't give us a guess. (But I took home the DVD of the ultrasound and CSI'd it... played it in slow motion, freeze framed, etc... and I'm pretty positive I see boy parts!!! Eeep!) The babies were both transverse. A's head was on my right side, feet on the left, just above my pelvic bone, and B's head was on the left, feet on right, just at my belly button.
Even though I hadn't felt any movement up to that point, I had told Patrick a few days earlier that I thought I felt a head or shoulder or something shifting, from the OUTSIDE,  just to the left of my belly button. Turns out, that's EXACTLY where baby B's head was! It was really awesome to get that confirmation that I probably had felt my baby.
After the ultrasound, we met with the doctor. He was really happy to hear that my morning sickness seemed to be going away. When I mentioned that I was worried about my weight gain, he told me that I am the one that was suffering. He said that the babies would take what they need no matter what, and that they were measuring perfectly on track, and that's what really mattered. He told me to eat whatever I could or whatever I wanted, whenever I could, or whenever I wanted. He told me my cervix measurements would start at my next appointment, at 20 weeks, and I would be having my anatomy scan at that point as well. As we were leaving, he stopped us and told us that he was "extremely happy" with the way the twins were looking and measuring and that he thinks we are progressing "perfectly". It really meant a lot to me that he said that and it really calmed my fears that I wasn't hurting my twins.
Later that afternoon... I FELT MY BABIES MOVE!!!! It was one of those breath-taking, world falls away, nothing else matters, amazingly beautiful moments that happen so rarely in life. I never thought those fluttery little tickles would affect me so deeply. The excitement, I expected. The instant bonding and overwhelming relief and love, that caught me off guard. I think that, until that point, I was still so worried and focused on the negative things that could happen and still some-what in disbelief that I was actually pregnant, I hadn't really allowed myself to truly bond with my pregnancy. In that moment, I fell head over heels in love with my babies. It became REAL!
Two weeks later, Patrick got to feel baby B from the outside. For some reason, they tend to get shy when Daddy tries to feel. They'll put on a show for my mom, my sister, sister-in-law, or mother-in-law, but as soon as Patrick puts his hand on my belly, they get quiet. But he has managed to catch a flutter here and there. Over the last two weeks, those flutters have turned to kicks and jabs, and they have gotten STRONG! The other night, baby A was tap dancing in there and I told Patrick to come feel. As soon as he put his hand on me, baby A gave him a good kick. You should have seen his face! He pulled his hand away as if he'd been burnt.
Patrick- "The baby kicked me!"
Me- "Yeah, I know."
Patrick- "No... like... kicked me! Hard!"
Me- "I know, its amazing isn't it?"
Patrick- "It was like really strong. I didn't expect them to be so strong. It was a little weird."
Ha! He was a bit weirded out, but now he loves to feel them.

Yesterday we had our anatomy scan. The twins are still measuring perfectly and they actually cooperated and showed us everything we needed... including genders!!!! Patrick was fully convinced that they were both boys, and, though I've always had a feeling they were boy/girl, I was starting to doubt since they have had identical heart-rates from the beginning.
Well, we're having.... A GIRL AND A BOY!!!
Baby A... our feisty little fire-cracker... is a girl. We are naming her Olivia Celeste (Celeste after my mom). She is currently breech, sitting on my cervix, with her head just to the right of my belly button, and she likes to occasionally kick me in the cervix.
Baby B... our laid-back little fighter... is a boy. He'll be Harrison Rodger (Rodger after Patrick's grandfather). He is still in the same position he was a month ago- transverse across the top of my uterus with his head on my left, feet on my right next to his sister's head. He likes to kick me in the ribs.
Both babies are estimated to weigh 13 oz and still have a heart-rate of 150 bpm.
My cervix is also measuring 4cm! Which is awesome!!
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better appointment. My weight is still on the low side so my doctor wants me to get whole milk, real butter, and full-fat versions of everything and just eat. We are starting bi-weekly appointments now, but my doctor said I only have to have cervix checks once a month for right now since I'm doing so well. I do have to do the 1-hour glucose test next time, and my appointment isn't until 11:30 am, so I'll be starving, but its all good.

We are so ecstatic! I cannot wait to start shopping for my boy and my girl!

Thank You, God, for giving us these two amazing blessings!