17 weeks - half way to a car (???)

Still here. Still pregnant. 17 weeks today and amazed by and in love with this whole thing.

At our first u/s at the MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine), hubby and I shook hands on top of my belly and made a pact with the babies: you stay in until 34 weeks and you get a car on your 16th birthday.

Today marks the half way point on that pact.

(many of you have lovingly asked whether they'll have to share a car and my answer is (1) yes, they share a god damned placenta so they can bloody well share a car and (2) they're always so snuggled up in there that I can't imagine they won't WANT to share a car!)

The past week and a half has been fun. The babies went to their first concert - Fleetwood Mac - and even though the MFM told me they can't hear yet, I am certain they can feel vibrations so I'm counting it. They also went on their first camping trip. We took a trip to the Olympic National Park over the 4th and camped there. They did great and only woke me up to pee twice a night ... every night ... !!!

Since getting back, I was peeing three times by 1am, so I got a little worried. Was that a sign of something going wrong (TTTS or something else)? I was also a little consistently crampy. So I called the MFM and went in for an u/s on Tuesday. They're still in there and they're still looking perfect. They're wiggly little things, which is fun to watch. And the peeing thing is just a result of my ever-growing uterus. (no pics from that ultrasound)

Symptoms:

--- My hips / knees / ankles ache at night.
--- I now am craving sushi (as a vegetarian, I don't have to give it up!) and no longer want those fold-over PB&J that I was craving 2 weeks ago.
--- When I eat too much (which isn't much at all compared to a few months ago), the left side of my ribcage hurts and I have to massage it. I have been told that my stomach is up in there / behind my ribs now.
--- Insomnia is gone for the most part, but I'm getting up to pee so many times that I am still really tired.
--- I'm sleeping later than I have in my entire adult life. It's hard for me to get out of bed before 6:30 and on the weekends when things are quiet, I have been known to sleep past 8 am (for anyone who knows me, you know that I get up with the sun, so around the solstice, I am up around 4:45 am!).
--- I am totally showing (see picture below). And loving it. No more trying to hide it.
--- Was in court on Tuesday on the 7th floor of an old courthouse. It was hot and I was standing up next to my client, speaking on his behalf. I suddenly got clammy and overheated. Sweat started to pour out of me. I had to tell the judge "I need to sit down" (and I NEVER sit while my client stands) and then, at the end of the hearing, I had to bolt out of the courthouse to take my suit coat off and get some fresh air. I apologized to the judge afterwards, which meant a fun conversation about me being pregnant. But it was not a fun experience. MFM told me that has to do with my blood circulation and it not getting back up from my legs and feet as easily / quickly.

I've gained between 20 and 25 pounds. Right before the transfer, I had been running a lot so I had a lot of muscle mass. That's all gone so that's why it's hard to tell whether I'm up 20 or 25. Either way, I am pleased with this weight gain as all the twin books suggest weight gain in the first trimester is very important for development and in the 2nd and 3rd is very important against pre-term labor. That's the hope, at least! Remember, babies, THAT CAR IS YOURS IF YOU JUST SIT TIGHT!!!!

I also added "The Bump" page so I can put all the photos there and I can see the transition (as can the rest of you).

Picture from this morning: