The Big Name Reveal!

As of this week, the Hill twins are 15 weeks from their due date! Depending on which app I look at, they are the size of heads of cauliflower, napa cabbage, or turnips.  My boys are about 14 inches head to toe, and around 2 pounds each! Finally, I can attribute some of this weight gain to them. Their lungs are still developing but they are to the point that they'd have a fighting chance if they were born today.

Also, the babies are enjoying their new sense of equilibrium. Hopefully, they are thinking head down, butt up is a comfortable position for the next few months. This is a big deal to me since I'm really hoping to attempt a VBAC.  Baby A needs to be head down for the doctors to even let me try a vaginal birth.

Speaking of Baby A... I don't call him that anymore. There is no more Baby A or Baby B. Those boys have names!!!! (Yeah, I know you already scrolled down, but I'll pretend you aren't a big cheater.)

After much painful discussion with my hubby, we've finally settled on two names. They are kind of unique, but easy to spell and say... some of my rules for baby names. It's so nice to be able to call them something. I don't know how people wait until after they give birth to decide. I'd end up naming my kid something stupid from the adrenaline and exhaustion of giving birth... like They just feel like they fit in the family when they have names ahead of time.

The poll I did was interesting. Lucas had the most votes of any name. I do like that name, but I'm a mean parent and want my kids to have more unique names. Plus, I know someone who is using that name for their son who will also be born in August.  Hudson and Jase did well too.  Jeremy wouldn't let me use Hudson. There were a lot of names I loved but he would say, "That's not a real name." Psshh.

So, here they are. The names of the newest Hill boys:

Nice, huh? We think so anyway. Tucker is such a cute little boy name. But it will grow with him... I can see it now... "And starting at quarterback is senior Tucker Hill!" or "CEO Tucker Hill donates $1,000,000 to his Mom because he loves her so much." And Maverick is kind of epic. I can almost guarantee that most of you don't know anybody named Maverick. But it is a real name! Pinterest told me so. Also, yes, my husband loves Top Gun.  Some people name their kids really meaningful names that tie in their faith, family, and values. Us? We just find names that sound awesome and go with it. Easton's name came from the company that makes arrows for compound bows. We were shooting our bows one day and said, "Hey, that's a sweet name."

Middle names are still being finalized. Those might have some more meaning/family history in them. Let me know what you think of the first names! But be nice, I'm pregnant and hormonal, you aren't allowed to say "eww, those are terrible names." I would cry.

Get ready world! Mav and Tuck Hill are going to be a big deal! With Easton as their ringleader, I can only imagine the chaos that will ensue at our house. It's going to be LEGEND- wait for it- DARY!

24 down, 16 to go!

The title says 16 weeks left, but I would be fine with 14. This pregnancy is much harder than I imagined it would be. For some reason, it takes more effort to grow two babies! Go figure.  I have the same amount of energy as a 90 year old woman.  I posted on a twins/multiples forum asking if it was normal to run out of steam so quickly. Quite a few twin mommies agreed that once they hit around the 20 week mark their energy plummeted.

But I can't complain. Heartburn and swelling have yet to make their appearance! Both of those reared their ugly heads while I was pregnant with Easton. And when I say swelling, I mean like gross swelling. My feet looked like they could pop if poked with a sharp object. I'm hoping that I won't swell so bad this pregnancy... I'll be big enough without the extra water weight! Although if I do swell, I can get out of work quicker... hmmmmm. That wouldn't be the end of the world.

 Here are the rest of my pregnancy stats as of today:

How far along? 24 Weeks exactly
How big are the twins? The size of cantaloupes (yes, cantaloupes... and there are TWO of them in there). Almost a foot long, about a pound and a half in weight. They were both 1lb, 2 oz at my ultrasound last week.
Total weight gain/loss? Ugh... 
Maternity clothes? Pretty much exclusively. I hear midriff isn't cool anymore. 
Sleep? Still sleeping great! 
Best moment this week? Laughing with Jer this morning as the little guys put on a show in my belly
Symptoms? Exhaustion. Some mood swings. 
Food cravings? Turkey Subs. 
Food aversions? None... I want to eat everything. All the time.
Labor signs? Nope, not yet.
Belly button in or out? It's pretty much flat. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
What I miss? Energy... Motivation...
What I'm looking forward to? Washing baby clothes and putting them away!
Bump?  Here are the latest pics. Easton wanted to help.

Far better things ahead...

I started this blog to journal my feelings as I go through this pregnancy and the wonderful things that come with being someone's Momma.  It's funny to go back and look at my thoughts and all the random things that get written down here. Sometimes life can be so stinking amazing and you just want to soak it in and remember it.

For instance, today I got to sleep in a little bit and enjoy my morning (mostly decaf) coffee with my adorable son riding in the backseat to grandma's house. I stopped to get a delicious bagel with a gift card I won over the weekend and came to work. I texted my mom and mentioned how tired I was feeling today and she shows up at my work an hour later with a yogurt parfait and a pint of cookie dough ice cream. As if that wasn't enough, I went to see Easton on my lunch and he actually laid down and snuggled with me on the couch for my entire break. The flowers are starting to bloom, the air is warm today, and I happened to have Peach Snapple in my van. There's two precious babies in my belly growing, kicking, and making me more excited day by day.  Life is wonderful!

I told myself yesterday that I was not going to be upset today. There are SO many amazing things going on in my life. But today was supposed to be my due date. The baby I lost in September would have been full term today. Now I'm not looking for sympathy or for anyone to feel bad for me. Yes, miscarriage is a horrible thing to go through.  I did cry today. My heart loves that baby as much as the son I saw on lunch break and the two sons I'm carrying. So yes, it's perfectly acceptable for me to be emotional today and remember that baby.

But today I don't have a void. There is no hole left where that baby was. Do I wish I could have met that baby? Of course. I know I will someday. But did God heap blessings on top of my family's life after losing that baby? Absolutely. In fact, today I'm struggling with the thought, If I could still be pregnant with that baby, would I change what happened? Back in September, I would have done anything to keep that baby. Today I look at where I've come since then, where I'm going from here and I can't help but think that God's plan was perfect. It was painful, it was heart-breaking. No one wants to go through that. I am for sure not saying that I am glad it happened. It sucked. But if there is one thing that I know for sure, it is that God's hand was in every step of this journey, writing our story the way He saw fit. I believe that because we chose to praise and trust Him through our darkest days, He blessed us with days more bright than we ever imagined. And it's my responsibility to give Him all the credit.

I don't deserve it. I have a rotten attitude sometimes. I judge people too quickly. I'm definitely not in the running for wife of the year. I don't have enough patience with my son. I whine about stupid stuff. I can be an absolute jerk. I get angry. I am selfish. I don't have much compassion. I question God. I could go on... but you get the picture. I'm a hot mess like everybody else. I don't know why God chose to bless me so much. I don't know why He gave me a husband and a son that are pretty much perfect. I don't know why He let me get pregnant again so quickly, and with twins! I don't know why He gave me the perfect life that I get to live.  I'm no preacher, I don't speak or write eloquently. I've typed and erased the end of this paragraph fifteen times.  I have no answers, other than that God is good. I am so grateful that He allows me to look back and see His plan at work.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19

Baby Names!

I bet you were hoping that we would reveal the baby names today. Sorry, not yet!

Ok, so before you get mad at my ploy to make you click on my blog, picking out baby names for two babies is very hard. Especially when you are indecisive like me and my indecisivity (yeah, it's a word...) multiplies when I'm pregnant. Oh duh, indecisiveness... there is a word for that. Oh well, I like mine better. Moving on... here's my short list of must-haves for baby names:

• Both names have to sound good with Hill 
• Both names have to sound good together, but not too matchy-matchy
• The names have to be as awesome as Easton
• The names can't have ridiculous spelling in an effort to be trendy or whatever
• They can't be hard to pronounce
• They can't be in the top ten names of the year, or the top ten hipster names of the year.
• My family and my in-laws can't have any reasonable objections to the names... I'm a people pleaser, I can't help it.
• and the HARDEST ONE: Jeremy has to agree. 

I love him to death but him and I hardly ever agree on names. When we found out Easton was a boy, we decided on Easton that same day. With the twins, it has been months of vetos, rolling eyes, and "no-freakin'-way!"s. Every time I bring it up, he changes the subject. Every time he gives me a name, I laugh at him. Also, he picks on my for my flaky-ness but he's just as bad. I could have begged and begged to use a certain name but he'll say no until someone else brings it up a month later. Then all of the sudden he loves it. One word: flaky. 

So long story short, after 69 days of knowing their gender, we have kind of decided on first names! 

BUUUTTTT, in an effort to keep you interested/annoyed for a while, we're going to hold off on revealing them. However, the polls on the right side of the blog (if you're using the web version) may possibly contain those names. I'm curious to see your opinions, though, so please vote! Polls are open all weekend and I may or may not post the actual names on Monday. We'll see :)

Happy Friday!

Hormones, Friends quotes, and church ladies.

Pregnancy has a way of turning you into a bipolar lunatic. There's no rhyme or reason to when it will hit you and you will absolutely lose it. So far this pregnancy, I don't think I've had one break-down-and-cry moment. I think that's pretty incredible. But the way my hormones come out is probably worse.

My poor husband has gotten some of the dirtiest looks he's ever gotten from his loving wife. I don't know why, but the stupidest things can make me so mad. Like how I buy the expensive toothpaste and half of it ends up in the sink. Ok, maybe that one would irritate me even if I wasn't pregnant. Or take last night for instance. He tells me he's going to go to bed and tries to give me a kiss. UGH.  I'M COMING TO BED TOO. LEAVE ME ALONE! Poor guy. I don't even know what to say, other than hormones. Hormones make you crazy. Sorry, babe!

I think it all stemmed from the fact that I didn't have any ice cream in the freezer. I ate all of the good cookie dough and I missed the buy one, get one free sale last week. In the words of Ross during the infamous shampoo explosion of '03... "Why do bad things happen to good people?!?!"

(courtesy of... um... a google search)

I don't know if hormones affect energy, but that's been so up and down too. One minute I'm mopping the floors and scrubbing the trim in the bathroom... the next minute I'm laying on the couch like a beached whale praying that my son sleeps for a little while longer. Yesterday was one of the first really nice days of spring and we went to visit my sister's family. We took the kids outside and I wanted to hold the baby. After like two minutes I'm thinking to myself, my goodness, what does this kid weigh? He's six weeks old, so its safe to say he doesn't weigh very much. But it felt like I was holding a cinder block or two. In my defense, I'm also carrying two other kids. And goshdarn it, I'm exhausted!

The fact that I'm already exhausted scares me just a little bit. I'm not even to 23 weeks, and that means I have around 13-17 weeks to go depending on when these little boys decide to come.  And you should see the pile of things I have left to do! The nursery is far from being done, baby clothes need to be washed and put away in the dresser that's not painted yet, my gardens have to be cleaned out and planted soon... the list goes on and on!

I'm praying I get a second wind before I get too big. Which will be soon. This sweet old lady came up to me in church yesterday and said "You're getting pretty big, soon we'll have to roll you in and roll you out!" The Christian in me laughed politely while the raging hormones thought lady, if you had any teeth left, I'd knock them out right now. Then another lady at church told me that her and another girl were just saying how beautiful I look when I'm pregnant. Now that is how you treat a pregnant lady. You tell her she's beautiful, glowing, etc. You don't judge her when her toddler is throwing a temper tantrum during church service. You don't get in her way when she has to pee. You sure as heck don't say, "You eating again? or still?" ESPECIALLY, when you are a man. (Yes, I had a coworker say that to me. He is still alive but he better watch his back.) When I went to that youth convention a few weeks back, I even had a teenage boy say "WOAAHH, don't want to mess with that" and quickly move out of my way.  No, you little snot, you do not want to mess with "that". I let that one live too.  If this kind of stuff happens at 30, 35 weeks I can't promise I'll be so nice.

Ok, I'm done. See? Those hormones just flare up out of nowhere. I'm all fired up now, so I think it's a good time to wrap this up.

On a totally unrelated note, if you're viewing this on a computer you will notice that I have a new little icon. I'm now listed on the Top Mommy Blogs site under the multiples category. If you have a split second, click on the icon! It will count as a vote for me and will move my blog up the ranks. If you're on the mobile version, just hit "view web version" and you'll see it. You can vote once a day, and all you have to do is click the icon which takes you to the top mommy blog homepage. I appreciate any votes!

Over the Hill

Well, the halfway mark is in the rear view mirror and we're counting it down. Eighteen weeks, one day, if I were to go full term. My belly is huge, my babies are moving, and my energy is dwindling! Yesterday was the first day I kind of wanted to say, "Being pregnant sucks!" I'm very careful to say anything like that, though. So many people aren't able to experience the miracle of pregnancy and it would be so very inconsiderate to whine about my pregnancy aches. The joy of carrying a child far outweighs the aches and pains that come along with it.  But if we're honest, it's not always fun.

I had it in my mind to have everything done by 30 weeks. Painting, nursery decor, baby clothes washed and put away, deep house clean, gardens planted. I figured that by 30 weeks I would be starting to slow down. I don't know if it's the fact that I just spent the weekend at a youth convention with our church youth group, or if it's just starting earlier than I expected, but I am definitely starting to slow down.  Did I mention this belly is huge? I mean, I'm already looking like I am 30+ weeks (compared to my first pregnancy). By the time I hit 30 weeks, I'll need a crane to help me out of bed.

So now I feel like I need to get a lot done very quickly. Do you know what it is like to get something done with an almost 2 year old??? Nearly impossible. (Especially when he is this cute!)

I can hardly keep up with cleaning and laundry, let alone try and get painting and projects done! I'm sorry, I'm whining again. Whatever gets done will get done, and everything else will have to wait!

We're coming along with names. Picking two names is twice as hard, go figure. Jer and I can't seem to agree on anything. My names are too trendy, his names are too boring. And of course someone always knows SOMEONE with that name that you don't like. We have some front runners, though. Hopefully we can decide soon. I know we have time, but I hate calling my children A and B!

Here's a quick synopsis of my pregnancy this week:

How far along? 21 Weeks, 6 Days
How big are the peanuts? The size of papayas! Baby A weighs 13 oz and Baby B weighs 12 oz (as of last week's ultrasound)
Total weight gain/loss? Um yeah, no. I'll just say this... when I weighed in last week I almost cried.
Maternity clothes? Of course. Even those are getting snug! Don't they make twin maternity clothes?!
Sleep? Is a beautiful thing. We're averaging 10 hours at night, with the occasional midnight bathroom run.
Best moment this week? Coming up with a name that just fits. Now I just have to convince Jer.
Symptoms? Low energy is pretty much it right now. I am blessed!
Food cravings? Loaded cheese fries with ranch. Ice cream. 
Food aversions? None right now.
Gender? Two Boys, baby!
Labor signs? Nope, thank you Jesus!
Belly button in or out? It's getting frighteningly close to out...
What I miss? A bigger wardrobe.
What I'm looking forward to? Baby shower in a few weeks!
Bump? Absolutely. This pic is from Sunday: