28 Weeks!

Today marks my 28th week of pregnancy! This is one of those "milestone" weeks, as now our girls have a 96% chance of survival if they come now. We are definitely not ready for them to come now, as they need to "bake" for several more weeks, but it feels good to know that there is such good viability, considering how much we've been through to get to this point.

Geoff is home on Christmas break this week and next, so we are finally starting to make preparations for our girl's arrival. We have selected paint colors, and he will paint the nursery next week. He is also going to take a trip out to Baby's R Us next week (with one of my friends who is an experienced mom) to finalize our registry and get some essential items that we will need when the girls come home. It feels amazing to be at this stage, knowing that the chances are really good that we will actually be parents of two beautiful girls sometime in next 6-9 weeks.

It's been nice to have Geoff home with me, it makes my days go by a lot easier. The other morning we were laying in bed, and the girls were really moving a lot -- and they were the types of movements that you can see on the outside. I took Geoff's hand and placed it on my belly where the majority of the movement was. He had felt the girls move before, but those movements were little wiggles and small little kicks -- nothing like the ones he was about to feel. I told him to keep his hand there softly, and be patient. Soon enough, he felt some fierce kicks -- he was so excited! He has said to me a few times in the past that he is jealous that I get to feel the girls so often and that he wishes he could experience that -- so I try to make sure he knows when the girls are really active, so he too can bond with them on the inside.

I think everyone is starting to get excited too. On Christmas Day, my mom came over and when I waddled up to greet her I expected a hug -- but instead of hugging me first, she hugged my belly and said hi to the babies. It was so sweet and touching -- I have no problem with playing second fiddle to our babies. These are my mom's first grandchildren, so I completely understand her excitement.

In the midst of all of this excitement, I am starting to get really uncomfortable. I asked Geoff today if we could buy a new bed, because this one is just not cutting it anymore, especially considering I have been laying in it all day, every day for the past 7 weeks. I try so hard to find a comfortable position and I end up rolling over from side to side countless times, shoving pillows under every portion of my body and nothing works. My legs hurt -- not because I'm getting too much exercise or anything -- although that is what it feels like. But -- in the grand scheme of things, all of these woes are minor steps on the long road to parenthood. I have dreamed about this time in my life for so long, and it is finally here -- the last thing I want to do is start complaining about it, especially when there are so many women out there still fighting to become pregnant for the first time. It wasn't long ago that I was in that position, so I thank God every day for blessing us with such miracles. We know how lucky we are and hope that the next 6-9 weeks are uneventful and that our girls arrive safely into this world.