Other baby post about the baby posts

Okay, everything about my baby that was posted, chronologically, before this post, was written on the day it says, saved to drafts, and then posted after I'd made the official announcement.

The end.

Bump.

Apparently my twins are done growing new body parts, and are now focusing on making those parts bigger.

Much bigger.

This week I went from "all pregnant and nothing to show for it," to, "Holy crap, I look like a barrel." My weekly bathroom mirror selfies (no... I am not posting these all over Facebook. I only send them to my mother... who posts them on Facebook... but in a private album so it's okay) were extremely frustrating, because I couldn't see a single difference in my body shape. Yeah, the measuring tape said I'd gained 3/4 of an inch around my waist, but the scale said I was still 2 lbs. less than when I started, and if there was a bump there, I couldn't see it.

This past week my pants started hurting my lower back. It got bad enough that by Thursday I wore a skirt to work - a light, flowy skirt that was basically weaved from the down of angel wings. Then I found that my slacks, which were too big when I bought them, were just about the right fit for my waist. Those and my sweats are now the only pants that fit.

So, at 11 weeks, I'm considering maternity pants.

And then, yesterday, I took my 11 week bathroom selfie... and I was huge. My waist looked like it had doubled in size, all in 1 week. My back and butt looked bigger too, and the only thing that looked smaller was my boobs, which are starting to get dwarfed by the region beneath them.

Here. I present, 1 week in bathroom mirror selfies:

 10 weeks - April 25, 2015.

11 weeks - May 3, 2015.

I don't really think I look pregnant so much as just larger. If that back/butt expansion hadn't happened, it might be different. Those babies are just pushing everything around in there.

Thoughts on recent movie trailers...

So, this week seems to be the week for movie trailers. Star Wars, Jurassic World, Batman vs. Superman, Fantastic 4 - it's like all the potential blockbusters of the year released a new trailer within the last 4 days.

Some trailers upped my excitement.

Some did not.

Here's the breakdown.

Star Wars:

Disclaimer: I love Star Wars. I love it to the point that I turned a blind eye to the problems with the prequels, until I learned how to analyze a story and discuss it intelligently. Star Wars was the staple of my teenage years, and the story that set me in the path of sci-fi and fantasy forever.

So, my thoughts on the trailer?

Honestly, from the start I've been cautiously optimistic. The high production-value Disney offers as a studio is promising, but those same people also produced the sequels to Pirate of the Caribbean, as well as several other crappy movies. It could go either way. The effects will be top notch, the cinematography will be amazing... but without a good script, those are utterly useless.

The new trailer still gave no hint of a plot. It was all, "Yay! Explosions!" "Yay! Dead Star Destroyer!" "Yay! Rolly-polly droid!" and, of course, "OMGOMGOMG!!! HAN AND CHEWIE!!! Holy crap, what happened to Han's face?"

So, the jury is still out on Star Wars. But, the trailer didn't kill my excitement for the movie, which is a good sign. I will say I am still cautiously optimistic, and maybe a little more excited than I was before.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice:

I'm sorry.

Can I just facepalm and leave it at that?

So, we are manufacturing an out-of-nowhere god-complex for Superman so that Batman can have some justification for fighting him, because there can't actually be a legitimate reason for two good guys to duke it out. And, of course, I'm sure it will turn out that all the "god" stuff is just people, and Superman is really actually pretty embarrassed by it all, because he's such a nice guy, but since Batman is all "darkness" and "I am the night" and stuff, Superman will assume he's evil, but he's really just misunderstood, and the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.

Really. The plot looks so contrived. They need to dig deeper and find a better conflict than "People are worshiping Superman and Batman is jealous." That's not enough for two good guys to try to kill each other.

Anyway, maybe the movie itself will be better than the trailer made it look, but I am very much not hopeful about this movie.

Jurassic World:

This was the movie I wanted the very most.

And with every reveal - every trailer, every clip - I get less and less excited.

I think a line from the trailer summed up the movie producers' attitudes perfectly: "They're dinosaurs. Wow enough."

No.

No, that's not enough.

Yes, the dinosaurs are awesome, but the movie needs more. It needs plot points that aren't worn out and/or totally forced.

Examples:

Horrified gasp: "She's killing for sport!"

Yes, like every other monster that ever there was.

"The dinosaurs are communicating!"

We saw that in Jurassic Park III, and it was super hokey then too.

"They're just animals!"

Ah, yes. Man misunderstands nature yet again. You'd think, after the first movie, they'd have figured out that "life finds a way" and "lack of humility in the face of nature," and basically every single thing Ian Malcom warned against was a bad idea. They got the park off the ground successfully. How are they still not getting this concept?

And finally, in the clip released last week, we saw "Owen," Chris Pratt's character, in action, and he's basically just Star Lord in board shorts. The trailers present him as a very different character - someone attuned with nature and a bit more serious, maybe with a touch of country charm. But in the clip - yep. Womanizing and irresponsible goof bucket. Basically Star Lord. That was a tad disappointing. I liked Star Lord, but I was hoping for, you know, some variety?

Fantastic 4:

I wonder if they're going to explain the family history between the very blonde Sue Storm and her very black father. Adoption? Step parentage? We're obviously not talking biological here, unless we're following the BBC's example that frequently makes casting decisions that make absolutely no genetic sense. (Anyone who has seen Merlin should have noticed that a Polynesian man fathered a black son. There is such a thing as being too blind to color. Genetics, people. Don't ignore science.)

Anyway, the trailer got an A+ in my opinion. I still think Reid Richards' super power is weird, but the trailer didn't even feature it, meaning the movie creators recognize that, and that is quite promising.

I like that the characters are younger - they look like high school seniors or maybe college freshmen, as opposed to somewhere in their 30's and set in careers. It makes them more vulnerable and immediately raises the empathy level when they're set against a world so much bigger than they are.

And the interdemensional travel is definitely a fresh take on how they got their super powers. I like when characters create their own problems, rather than just getting hit with some magical anomaly. And the trailer makes it clear they definitely got themselves into that mess.

So, Fantastic 4 just went from, "Yay. Another reboot," to, "Yep. That's one movie I am definitely seeing this year."

Anyway, 4 trailers later, I'd say it should be a decently good year for movies, and that's not even counting the Avengers. I have total faith in the MCU, so I'm not watching those trailers too closely. I'd rather be surprised in the theater. 

Happy movie watching!

Baby A waved at me!

I had my final appointment with the fertility clinic today. The goal was to check the progress of the babies.

They. Are. Perfect!

Seriously, they are growing so well! They measured 8 weeks, 5 days, which is exactly what they are. Baby B, who was way smaller than Baby A at the last ultrasound, is all caught up, and even .02 cm bigger than Baby A. Their heartbeats were both around 180 bpm, and... the best part...

Baby A was awake!

Baby A was totally awake and waving at us with so much enthusiasm! His heart rate was a tad higher than B's, but the doctor said that was probably because he was being so active.

(You might have noticed the use of a gender pronoun. No, I don't have any remote clue what these babies' genders are, but I'm guessing that A is a boy, and B is a girl, based on their heart rates at the first ultrasound. That could be WAAAAY off, but hey... it helps having a guess. We'll know in 11 weeks.)

I didn't get a good shot of both of them together this time - they were positioned wrong for it, and all we could get was both heads. So, instead of that, this is the best picture of any of them.

I present, Baby B!

I have figured out the mystery of finals week snow.

I have lived here 8 winters.

In each of those 8 winters, there has been a snowstorm during finals week.

It baffles me, because just when we think winter is finally over after 6 freaking months of it, we get another wave of snow.

This year, I thought there would be a reprieve. This has been the single mildest winter I have ever seen in Utah, to the point that I never had to park my car facing the wrong direction to escape the piles of snow. We had only a few cold weeks, and by mid-February, it felt like Spring.

It is now April 15. Not only tax day, but the first reading day in finals week.

Annnnnnddd... it's snowing.

I think I've figured it out, though. These are all BYU students, heavily religious and very reliant on prayer.

And they're all praying for help getting their final assignments done, the last semester's worth of knowledge studied, and basically just praying to survive finals.

And so God, in His goodness says, "Okay. Here's snow. You're very sick of it, so stay inside where it's warm and dry, and study."

That's about all I can think of. There's no way tax season can be responsible for the snow.

Morning Sickness Meal Schedule

As I finished second breakfast this morning, I had the thought, "You know, I'm going to eat again before my lunch break, which is basically elevenses."

And then I realized... I eat like a hobbit!!!

And then I corrected myself. "No... no. I eat like an impoverished hobbit."

For breakfast I had a single thing of Yoplait yogurt. 170 calories.

For second breakfast, I had a tiny bit of oatmeal - a single Quaker Oats Peaches 'N' Cream packet with no milk, ice cream, or any other goodies on top. Just straight oatmeal. 140 calories.

For elevenses, I'll probably have small bag of popcorn. 110 calories.

For luncheon, I know I'm going to indulge. I'll probably eat a full slice of that leftover pizza (minus the crust). 300 calories. And it's going to be too much and make me sick.

Afternoon tea will only be inflicted on myself because I know if I don't eat I'm going to be sorry, and it will probably consist of water and a breath mint, and maybe a couple crackers.  50 calories.

Dinner, after I get off work, I haven't decided on yet. Maybe a piece of buttered toast? Maybe I'll indulge again and have two pieces of buttered toast! Tops, 300 calories.

And finally, another meal before I go to bed so I'm not sleeping on an empty stomach (sure fire recipe for trembling and heaving over my toothbrush in the morning), supper will probably be a little more popcorn. 110 calories.

If you do the math on the number of calories I can stomach each day, you'll see that my "hobbit diet" doesn't actually add up to much food (less than 1200 calories). If I were in Hobbiton, they'd probably see the weight I'm losing and try to force more food on me. Or, maybe, even though my face is waning, and the tendons in my neck are sticking out, they'd see the bit of growth around my girth, and think I was doing just fine. Nobody would know.

I know I should be eating more, but I just plain can't. I'm making sure to consume plenty of vitamins, so my twins get their nutrients, and they take the calories they need before my body gets them, but my stomach just won't hold food like it used to. Even with the nausea medicine (which allowed me to eat about 500 more calories per day than I was eating), I'm still floating in "severe weight loss" range, trying to figure out how to get more energy into my body.

I would make a terrible hobbit.

Also, my feet have no hair and I'm 5'6", so it's probably a good thing I'm a human.