Tummy Picture Collection!

Here is the entire collection of tummy pictures! Even though I'm less than pleased with the way I look in several of these pictures, I'm so glad I did this. I think my family will enjoy looking back at these (and probably laughing) in years to come. Hopefully I'll be back to my skinny self by that time and able to laugh at them, too. Ha. The last picture I have is when I was 35 weeks. I meant to take one in the hospital when I went in to have the boys at 37 weeks, but we got checked in so fast and started before I had the chance.

Week 22 - Not Pictured

From beginning to end...

Week 35

Oh my gosh, guys, it's been far too long since I've given an update. My mother informed me today that I needed to post a picture because she was sure that EVERYBODY was dying to see it. I don't know if she knows how to see how many (few) followers I have...haha. I love that she really thinks that EVERYBODY is as concerned about my life as she is. Moms are so great. I love her.

I've just been feeling sorry for myself (my huge, uncomfortable self) and letting myself get away with not doing the things I know I need to be doing. The lap top barely fits on my lap anymore (true story), so I have been avoiding it altogether. It's amazing how much you can do on an iPhone. Blogging, though, is unfortunately not one of those things.

I missed taking a picture of week 34 (tisk tisk), so here's the week 35 tummy picture:

To me, it looks just like the week 30 picture. And I KNOW I've gotten a lot bigger since then! Maybe it just feels that way. Or maybe it means that these baby boys have been growing "in" to my ribs and organs rather than "out." No wonder I'm grouchy and horrible to be around. Poor Marshall.

But there's good news! I went to the doctor yesterday and he scheduled me to be induced this coming Monday at 6:00 in the morning. Only 3 more days of pregnancy! I will be exactly 37 weeks along on that day. I know there are different schools of thought on the appropriateness of inducing labor, especially with twins, but I'm very on-board with this decision and am very excited to meet these boys!

Please keep us in your prayers through the weekend and especially on Monday. We pray for a short, successful, healthy delivery. We also pray that the babies' lungs are fully developed at this point and that they will be healthy and able to come home with us immediately. How blessed are we that we have gotten far enough along to be able to hope for those kinds of results with a twin pregnancy?!

I also pray that we have some clothes that will fit them. Ha. At the last ultrasound, they were measuring 7 lbs. 2 ounces and 6 lbs. 13 ounces. If they get much bigger than that, we can forget all those preemie clothes we bought with expectations of tiny babies!

Week 32

Week 32 Tummy Picture:

I also thought it would be fun to do a comparison of how I look right now in this pregnancy with how I looked at the very end of my pregnancy with Laney. I found a picture of the day I checked into the hospital to have Laney when I was exactly 39 weeks pregnant with her (the picture on the left). Then I took a picture in the exact same shirt at 32 weeks pregnant with the boys (the picture on the right). Pretty crazy how close they are! My face isn't nearly as swollen yet as it was with Laney, but my belly is getting pretty close to the same size. Can you imagine how big I would get if they let me go all the way to 39 weeks with the twins?! Luckily, I think 37 weeks will the the max. But still, that's 5 MORE WEEKS! It will be quite interesting to see just how big I get before I.....pop?

Week 30

It's the week 30 tummy pic. And I went all out on this one. I've been taking the easy way out and wearing my regular clothes in my tummy pictures for the past few months. This week, though, I wanted you to get the full (and I do mean FULL) effect, so I wore my tightest black maternity cami. I guess what I'm saying is I don't actually go out in public wearing this. Don't worry. And check out that face. Don't I look happy? What is this, a prison mug shot? I'm giving myself a pass on looking like an inmate, though, because I'm 30 weeks pregnant with twins. I'm giving myself a lot of "passes" these days. Just ask Marshall. I pretty much do what I want. I kind of feel like I have the same "do what I want" leisure as a really old person. I mean, who's gonna say anything about it? Not to me at least. Ha.

Week 28

So, I know I'm already 30 weeks along now, but here's the tummy pic from week 28:

I'm so big now that I constantly have the "old man pants" thing going on. In order for them to be big enough to go over my tummy, they are baggy in the hips, rear and legs. Now that I'm taking a good look at this picture, it's actually quite embarrassing. Ha! But I guess since I walked around like this all day (I tend to avoid mirrors), I shouldn't be shy about plastering it on my blog. Bless my heart.

And I feel just as big as I look. With Parker already measuring 3 pounds 12 ounces and Brooks measuring 3 pounds 7 ounces, I'm waddling around with over 7 pounds of "baby" in there. And the scary thing is that they will probably DOUBLE in size if we're lucky. My poor tummy will never look the same, I'm afraid! I can't deny that I'm counting down the days. When I went to the doctor most recently, he scheduled a c-section for June 6th (if I go that long). Brooks is currently breech (not head down), so it doesn't look like I'll be traditionally delivering them unless he flips around in the next few weeks. If he does flip, then we'll be able to decide which way to deliver.

The third trimester symptoms that have already been around for a while are still there - rib pain, back pain, shortness of breath, leg cramps and sleeplessness. Some new symptoms are also adding themselves to the list - heartburn, headaches, groin pains and swollen ankles. I bet I'm pretty miserable to be around. Ha. Well, I take that back. I actually hold it together most of the day, but then I'm REALLY miserable for Marshall to be around, for sure! He told me the other day that he thinks he's just as ready for this pregnancy to be over as I am. And I bet he's right.

I'm just ready. Ready to not be pregnant anymore. Ready to sleep on my stomach again. Ready to hold Laney on my hip like a normal mom. Ready to enjoy an adult beverage...or two...or six (I'm gonna have 3 kids, ya know!). It seems like I've been pregnant forever. It's bad. Marshall knows more about pregnancy than most of my female friends. I heard him explaining something to one of his guy friends the other day and he used the words "placental detachment." HAHA! His friend made this extremely grossed out face that Marshall didn't even notice. Poor Marsh is so up to his head in pregnancy and babies that he can barely have a normal conversation. Somebody save him.

Even though I'm really ready, I know these baby boys aren't, yet. So...7 more weeks it is. But I can't say I'll complain if it only ends up being 5 or 6 more weeks. :)

Week 30 tummy pic coming in a few days. Have a blessed week!

Week 26

Here's the week 26 tummy pic:

Though I look about "done," I've still got a ways to go! Hopefully we'll have at least 9 more weeks before the big day. But I'm wondering if I can take that many more weeks of these leg cramps, back pain and fatigue. I didn't think about the fact that being this big this early on would make me FEEL like I'm in my third trimester way before I should. I just keep reminding myself that every week more I can go is that much better for Parker & Brooks. It's amazing how much development takes place in even a few short days by this point in the pregnancy. I think I can....I think I can!

Even though I've hopefully got several more weeks, we've been going crazy around here trying to prepare for the boys' arrival in case it comes really early. I've put blogging on the back-burner lately because we've been in Spring Clean mode for about 3 weeks now. We're cleaning out closets, making trips to Goodwill, and trying to make room in our precious little house for these two new babies. I can't wait to post pictures of what we've been doing! Laney has a brand new big girl room, the boys' nursery is in the works, and we finally got our yard and back porch ready for spring/summer! Many posts to come.

I also have some Laney videos that I need to format and put on here! So...don't give up on me. I'll start posting more frequently again as soon as I can get the TAKS test behind me and feel a little more prepared for our boys' pending arrival. :)

Week 24

I'm back on track! Here are the week 24 tummy pics:

These pictures were taken on March 12th, my birthday. I turned 24. And I feel old. Probably not because 24 is that old, but more because I'll have THREE CHILDREN before I turn 25! Birthdays have become so lack-lustrous now that I'm older than 21, but it was a great day nonetheless. After I slept in, we went and picked up breakfast at McDonald's (one of my favorite things to do), then ran errands all day (another one of my favorite things to do). We finished the night off with dinner at at new restaurant in Clyde, TX, called Bonterra Blu. We'd heard a lot about this restaurant and it definitely lived up to the hype. It had a very neat, eclectic, Austin-y feel and great southwest/cajun food.

Marshall's birthday is the day before mine (I know, we're meant to be), so we've gotten to where we kind of lump the two occasions into one. I really like it because not everyone gets to share their birthday with someone special. It also gives us an excuse to "birthday" for an entire weekend. We can really stretch it out.

Now I have to give an update on Laney. She got tubes put in her ears by the ENT this past Monday. We were really nervous about the procedure, but it only ended up taking about 15 minutes in all. She was very unhappy right when she came out of the procedure room, but they swear it was only because of the groggy, disoriented feeling that she had due to the anesthesia wearing off. She's been doing great since then, though! We hope this will clear up her ears for good!

Missing Tummy Pic Apologies

Well hello, there! It looks like I've been slacking off on the blogging lately. I not only did not post a "week 22" tummy picture, but didn't even take one! I looked up yesterday to realize that I was already over 23 weeks along and had missed the opportunity. So here's a stand-in week 22 pic:

photo credit

JUST KIDDING! That's Kate Gosselin during her sextuplet pregnancy. Thank you, Kate Gosselin, for making me feel infinitely better about my pregnant body and less sorry for myself. I can always think, at least I'm not as big as you were. You go, girl.

The good news is, I'm nearly 24 weeks along already, so there's an actual tummy picture coming in just a few short days. And though I'm not Kate Gosselin big, I'm pretty darn big. People at work are already asking me, "How much longer do you have?!" You can tell they're expecting me to say a few weeks. They're shocked when I tell them that I still have 3 more months to go! And I promise I'll be sure to make all my scheduled tummy pic posts from here on out. Hopefully there will be about 7 more pictures before I'm done.

Here are the reasons why this week was too busy to even think about tummy pictures:

-Laney has double ear infections and the doctor has finally decided to put tubes in her ears on March 14th. I have mixed feelings about this.

-Laney came down with pink eye in BOTH eyes and had to be sent home from school. Poor baby.

-We've finally begun re-doing the guest bedroom into Laney's "big girl" room.

-Cheerleading tryouts began at school and stunting evaluations took up the whole night on Wednesday. The rest of the tryouts will take place next week.

-Marshall is burning the candle at both ends more than ever trying to balance work, grad school, and fatherhood. What a guy. So lucky to have him.

Week 20

I'm finally 20 weeks along! Half way there! Well, actually, I better be more than half way there considering that I shouldn't go the full 40 weeks. My doc promises he won't let me go past week 37 (if I make it that long). So this is more like the "20 weeks down, 17 weeks to go" point of my pregnancy. Still exciting. :)

And can you say "OH MY GOSH LOOK AT THAT TUMMY!?" I'm feeling SO pregnant. I wasn't feeling this pregnant with Laney until about month 6. Wow. I just can't even believe my eyes when I look at this picture. Since I don't get this wonderful side view of myself many times during the day, it's even a shock to me. The good news is that everything is looking great, the blood clot is getting smaller, and I didn't even have to go in to see my doctor this week. Our next appointment is with the maternal medicine specialist next Tuesday. And that's when we get to find out the gender of the twins for sure! FINALLY!! Soooo excited. We have a sneaking suspicion that they are two little identical boys. We shall see!

Now here are all the previous tummy pics for comparison's sake:

This next one is a very special picture. I'm pretty positive that it is the first one taken of just Marshall and me since Laney was born. Ha. BC (before children), you take pics of just you and your hubby all the time! Once those babies start coming along, though, it just doesn't happen. We had a little surprise date night this past Saturday and went to Perini's Steakhouse. I really need to wear this shirt more. It's way more flattering than the red one that I wore the next day to take the "week 20" picture in. :)

Week 18

Here's the week 18 tummy pic! A little shadowy, but you get the idea.

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow (I've been going weekly for about 5 weeks, now). This will be the first time I can say that the bleeding has lessened quite a bit. I hope that's great news! I would think that it would be. Things got really scary because of the "complications" in December, but with each passing week since, my doctor seems to feel better and better about things. Maybe tomorrow the blood clot will be gone (or much smaller) and this pregnancy will be more back to normal! Keep the prayers coming, please.

Now for the fun news: they're kicking! Or punching or rolling around. I'm not sure which, but I can for sure feel them moving! Marshall even got to feel them move the other day. This is way earlier than I felt Laney moving. I don't know if that's because this is my second pregnancy or because there's less room in there with twins. Probably a combination of both. I just can't wait to meet them! I can barely stand it that I have to wait 2 more weeks before we find out their gender for sure. I'm so ready to name them. That's when they become SO real!!

Well I'm signing off for the night. My goal was to get the playroom decorating finished this weekend. That didn't happen. I'm gonna go finish painting one of the canvases right now. Be back with pictures SOON!

Week 16

Here's the week 16 tummy picture. I edited this picture on Picnik and used the effect called "Holga-ish" because I definitely look...well...Holga-ish. Ha. I keep telling myself, "I'm so glad that I'm gaining weight and the babies are gaining weight!" Ya right. I guess I'll just laugh it off and use lots of Palmer's Stretch Mark Lotion.

On a more lovely note, Marshall and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on January 10th! I still can't believe that this is my life - being married to my very best friend and living together and doing life together. Can you believe it's already been two years? Or can you not believe it hasn't been more? I can't decide which way I feel. It just seems like SO much has happened in 2 years. Because it has!

We got engaged:

Got married:

Found out we were pregnant:

Went through an entire pregnancy:

Had baby Laney:

Laney turned a year old:

And we were pregnant again by the time this picture was taken:

WOW!

It's a good thing mine and Marshall's love story began a lot further back than 2 years ago. It began 8 years ago. When I was 15. And I'd like to go back and tell that 15-year-old Melanie, "Nice choice! This turns out really wonderfully. You are so so lucky." I probably could have used that at that time. :)

Week 14

Here's the week 14 tummy picture! I posted the previous ones, too. I'm definitely getting a belly now. I heard two of my male students at school talking about how big my tummy got over Christmas- ha! I love freshmen. They'll say anything. I just appreciate that they didn't mention any other parts of my body expanding.

Other news in pregnancy: I got 2 new pairs of "A Pea in the Pod" maternity pants! Very excited about these. Heidi Klum endorses them and raves about them. And I'm absolutely sure this means that if I wear them, I'll be ready to strut the Victoria Secret runway 6-weeks after delivery, too. Just like Heidi! Thanks for your secret, girl.

Week 12

As promised, here is the next tummy picture! I swear that I FEEL about one million times bigger than this. And I will start taking these "tummy pics" against a solid background. I didn't think about the fact that the Christmas tree would be a little busy.

And what a week "week 12" was. I finished up teaching for the fall semester then we immediately headed to Houston on Friday after work for one of Marshall's best friends' wedding weekend. Laney stayed with Marshall's parents who were having a family Christmas, which was much more fun for her than riding over 12 hours total in the car. And it was a REALLY good thing we did not drag Laney along on our trip because we ended up spending a few hours in the hospital! We had quite a pregnancy scare at the wedding reception and ended up catching a cab to one of the nearest emergency rooms at Texas Woman's Hospital, which just so happens to be one of the best OBGYN hospitals in the state (lucky for us). After a little crying, a few sonograms, and some blood tests, we were told that I have a pretty big "bleed" in there somewhere that is threatening to my pregnancy. But, as of now, the babies look fine! The prescription? Bed rest. For at least a week.

I WILL be making my way off the couch today, though, to go see our OBGYN here in Abilene. Hopefully he can give us some good news, as I've had no more problems or cramping since that night. Please keep us in your prayers during this scary time. We know that God has His hand on this situation and we trust His will. Obviously, though, our hope is that two healthy babies carried full-term are part of that will.

The good news is....bed rest gives me LOTS of time for blogging! So expect some pictures and videos soon. Love to all during the Christmas season!

Twice the Tummy Picture Project

I wasn't going to do this. But since I'm having twins, it's a must. Right now, I feel like I could just skip over the whole huge pregnant lady part and be fine. Years down the road, though, the kids will be glad to have pictures to look back on that show just how big Mom got. So here's the first picture:

I'll be posting a new tummy picture every 2 weeks. I'm already showing a little here in this first one. I didn't take any pictures before this, though, because I didn't think I was going to be doing this. But here we go. We all remember how big I got with Laney, so this should be an interesting project to say the least now that I have TWO babies in there! (P.S. I reserve the right to stop the Twice the Tummy Picture Project at any time). Ha!