36 Weeks

36 weeks today! Can you believe it? (I'm so excited!) We have our induction date set up, 3 weeks from today, April 20th, unless our little man comes on his own. Today he measured at 37 weeks and 2 days! I have been seeing the doc twice a week due to my blood pressure bouncing up and down; so far so good! We are so excited to meet our little Spencer! Love my family of boys!

35.5 Weeks & Maternity Pics

Seriously?!?!?! How do I choose one? They are all my favorite!! Thank you Annimations Photography for always capturing our favorite family moments!! I can't believe we are 35.5 weeks today! We are in crunch time! Our induction date is already set up for the 39th week (IVF babies shouldn't go over 40 weeks) Spencer's room is ready! Weston is ready! And Chris & I are ready! We can't wait to have our new one here!

34.5 Weeks

There is nothing better than hearing a baby's heartbeat (and has me in tears every time) We started weekly (sometimes twice a week) appointments. Little man is looking good! Lots to watch for, yet at the same time, if labor starts, we are in the clear to have him.
34.5 weeks today! (Seriously, only 5.5 weeks left!)

33.5 Weeks

Weston tagged along with me to my doctors appointment this morning (yes, those bags are under my eyes, I no longer sleep). He was so excited to see his baby! Spencer is measuring 1.5 weeks ahead, we are 33.5 weeks today. He is positioned perfectly! We start our weekly appointments with nst's. All in all, it's looking really good! The countdown is on!

 You know it's time to have a baby when you can put your cups and bowls on your belly!

Crab for Weston!!

Weston has been amazing me this week! He pays more attention than I realize. The last couple weeks, this pregnancy has taken its toll on me. This week he helped me with his baby cousin Lily, getting his own food/drinks and today, I saw him outside and asked what he was doing "Mom, I picked up dog poop for you." Swoon! He has melted my heart and done so much without me asking. Weston is going to be the best big brother! Oh, he did ask if we can go get crab this week since he helped; absolutely! Crab all around!!!

Squishy Face

Yesterday, I went to see the perinatologist, our little Spencer is looking great! He is weighing in at 4lbs 9oz and measuring almost two weeks ahead! The 3D and 4D images are so neat to have! His legs and feet are wrapped up by his head. Can't wait to love on this squishy face!

Remkes Party of 4

I am so excited to have this picture! Ann, you always amaze me; you have a beautiful talent! I can't believe we are going to be a family of 4 soon!

32 Weeks and 1 Day

Today we are 32 weeks and 1 day! And I spent a few hours at the hospital. Our little stinker didn't move much this morning, so, up I went. The second they put the heart monitor on, he went nuts on movement! Needless to say, all is well, but he scared his Mom and Pop half to death. Only 7 more Saturdays kiddo, we can do this!

 

Say what?!?!?!?!

Today was another 2 week checkup.  Everything is looking great! Spencer is growing quite fast (and so am I, haha)  We are 29.5 weeks today and Spencer measured at 32 weeks! WHAT!?!?!?! No wonder my body has been hurting the last couple of weeks.  My round ligaments continue to stretch and bother me, there are days I can barely walk.  Spencer sits so low, I can feel him on both of my hips. Night time is still his favorite time to move around.  He has been breech until today, he is finally moving into position! Thank goodness, I was afraid we were headed down the C-section road.  I passed my glucose test with flying colors and there is no concern there.  I have one more two week appointment and then I will start to go weekly.  I will see the perinatologist one more time for a growth scan (I think Spencer is growing perfectly fine, hence above comment) to make sure everything looks good.  

I haven't really update about cravings or anything else this whole time.  My cravings change weekly.  Right now, I am into oranges and fruit.  I have been eating at least one orange a night for a couple of weeks.  Any type of sweet tea is my favorite.  Lime drinks, especially from Kirts.  This whole pregnancy I have been waking up around 6am starving, so I eat a blueberry granola bar or blueberry pop tart with a glass of milk.  Any candy and cheesecake is on the list also.  Olive Garden has a fantastic Andes Mint Cheesecake that is to die for.  And whenever Chris is home, sushi eating comes out in full force!

Now, I need to go and eat.  Something.  Anything. 

A hard day

Today was one of the hardest days of my life.  Over the weekend, I had to make a decision, one I know was right, but one I never wanted to make.  We needed to say Goodbye to our Gunner.  Our little man was 14 years old and has been struggling for the last couple months.  His body just couldn't keep up with his spunk.  We said Goodbye to him this morning.  Our hearts are shattered.  He was Weston's best friend, Chris' pain in the butt and my constant companion.  Gunner, we will miss you everyday and wish you could have met Spencer.  Gunner loved babies!

 

Life is so precious.  Along with the bad, came the good.  With our loss of Gunner, Chris was able to stay home an extra day and go with me to my doctor's appointment.  The first one he has gotten to go to since we found out we were expecting twins.  He got to see Spencer moving around, his little heart beat and his smooshed up face! I also had to take my glucose test today.  There is nothing more fun than chugging a drink full of sugar and being on a sugar rush. 

Third Trimester

Today is the first day of the third trimester!  We made it! Weston is still so excited to have a brother and he talks about it all the time.  Since cousin Lilly has gotten here, he has been asking how many days until my brother is here.  So we check the countdown almost daily now; 14 more weeks left!

I went to the doctor on Monday and had quite the lengthy conversation with him.  I started having braxton hicks contractions a couple weeks ago and that concerns him.  We are still about 4-6 weeks away from starting braxton hicks, so I have been put on an even higher risk for preterm labor.  I have a couple strikes against me.  Braxton hicks has started, we have the vanishing twin (which we haven't seen in a quite away, still a risk), the anterior placenta, IVF and my age of 35.  He said no heavy lifting, no shoveling snow, try not to bend at the abs and take it easy.  Taking it easy always sounds nice, but it gets boring pretty quick.  You can only do so many projects on the computer, watch tv, read, puzzles, before you start to go absolutely insane.  Even grocery shopping has to be done online and picked up.  I have to go see the doctor every two weeks to make sure everything looks good and preterm labor hasn't begun.  Our ultimate goal is to make it to week 39-40, but we are really shooting for week 34.  So, I will sit and behave myself.  If you see me misbehaving, bring me a coke and tell me to sit down.

Cousin Lilly!

Cousin Lilly is here!! And she is perfect! She was born on January 12th and has won the hearts of our family! Weston was so excited to hold her and meet her.  He said he is really excited for his brother to be here, but he really wants him to be able to play right away.  Sorry buddy, it will take a little for that to happen, but when it does, oh boy! We will be in trouble!  I still can't believe that Mandy and I are having babies only a few months apart, who would have thought!

25 Weeks

We are 25 weeks today!  Over halfway there, where did the time go? It's amazing how my pregnancy with Weston was so different than this one.  While pregnancy with Weston wasn't easy, it wasn't terrible either.  This pregnancy has been down right difficult.  My round ligaments have been giving me troubles this go around; could be due to the freaking cold weather we are having, or my old age or 35, haha! I'll blame it on the old age.  We are a week away from the 3rd trimester, a whole week! The countdown is on!

Don't mind Indiana Jones in the background! HA!

Fetal Echo Cardiogram

Today (in the bitter bitter cold) little man Spencer and I made our way to Primary Children's hospital for a fetal echo cardiogram.  The ultrasound took about 45 minutes to do.  It was fun seeing how the heart was moving the blue and red blood around.  We have learned so much of the heart it was interesting see the flow work the proper way.  After the ultrasound, I met with Dr Pachowski, who remembered Weston and asked all about him, and he said Spencer's heart looks great.  He also said we really don't have anything to be concerned about, but to remember that we still have a higher chance for Spencer to have a hole (PDA) in his heart.  Which is completely normal for newborns.  All in all, we feel really good about the outcome.

24 weeks and 1 day today! Over halfway there!

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years from the Remkes fam! We are still on a Disney and Christmas hangover! 2016 was a great year! 2017 is going to be even better! Can't wait for our little man to be here with us the end of April!