The Twins

35 Weeks Pregnant

35weeks Here Liz is at 35 weeks. We have less than 2-weeks until the planned c-section. Take a trip down memory lane and look at all the pictures of Liz since she was 15-weeks pregnant. Have you entered the "name our baby contest" yet? Time is running out. If all goes according to plan it looks like Liz’s sister Sarah will be the winner of the contest to pick the twin’s birth date. I’ve accused Liz of rigging the contest but she denies the charge.


Waiting for Babies

Our doctor has scheduled July 9th for Liz to have a caesarian section to deliver the twins. Both babies are still breach and that doesn’t look like it will change (hence the need for a c-section). Of course, Liz could still go into labor on her own before July 9th (just two weeks from today), but we’re hoping the girls stay put a bit longer to grow as strong as possible. They’ll be at 37 weeks around the time we deliver.

In the meantime, we continue our movie going marathon as we wait for the babies. We figure we won’t be able to see movies again for at least another 18 years after they arrive.

Today we saw Fahrenheit 9/11. Go see this movie! It was the first film we’ve seen this summer that has a) been packed for a matinee b) received long applause at the end. Bring any of your friends / family who are on the fence about the war and George W. Bush.

Update: See Liz's picture at 35 weeks.


We're Not In Labor

Today we had an extra long appointment at the hospital. We went for our normal ultrasound scans (which ended up starting nearly an hour late) and those went fine. One baby is 4 pounds, 14 ounces and the other is 5 pounds, 2 ounces. What we didn’t expect is that we’d be moved to a back room where Liz would be strapped to two fetal heart monitors, one monitor for contractions, and one for blood pressure. This is apparently a routine procedure that no one ever mentioned to us. They’re checking, in part, to find out if you’re in labor, which I can promise we are not. Several hours of tests proved that. The good news is that everything is still looking great.


33 Weeks Down, 5 Weeks To Go (Or Less)

33weeks-webWe’ve reached the 33 week mark in the pregnancy. On Thursday, we had another appointment with the OBGYN who was very happy with Liz’s progress. As I’ve mentioned before, our doctor won’t let the pregnancy go past 38 weeks (somewhere around July 15-18). That means at the most we have five more weeks to go. However, our doctor has also told us that in recent times he has only had one mother of twins actually make it to 38 weeks. So these girls of ours could come at any time. Liz is busy getting prepared. Today she assembled one of the swings.

This evening we were invited to dinner at the home of Jerry and Sue Palmer here in St. Louis. The Palmer’s are friends of the Marsh family in Oregon. My friend Wendy Marsh was a colleague at Baloney Joe’s and her father, The Rev. Spencer Marsh, was also a friend who served as the chair of the board of Burnside Community Council. Doris Marsh, Wendy’s mother, got Sue and Jerry in touch with us and they were very generous in having us over for a fabulous meal.

palmer
(Jerry and Sue Palmer)


31 Weeks

31-weeksHere is Liz at 31 weeks. We had another good doctor appointment on Thursday. Tomorrow we have an all-day lamaze class at the hospital. Liz is still feeling pretty good. We picked-up a video camera at Costco the other day for when the babies arrive. This means anyone who visits this site will be doomed to watch endless baby movies. Viewer beware.


Baby Update #2346

Our ultrasounds are so routine now that I forgot to even post the results for the one we had yesterday. Both babies are doing fine and growing. Baby A is 3.9 pounds and Baby B is 3.8 pounds. Unfortunately, none of the pictures came out clear enough to post. Today we are interviewing a pediatrician and tomorrow we have another OBGYN visit (which will now be a weekly occurrence until the babies arrive).


Liz at 29 Weeks

Lizat29weeks29 weeks and counting..... Here's all the news from the last week. Our OBGYN said on Thursday that he wouldn't let our pregnacy go past July 15, but he said you could bet money the twins would come before that. We’ve now graduated from the “preparing for multiples,” “CPR for infants and young children,” and “breast feeding for multiples” classes at the hospital. There are several additional classes to go before the twins arrive. Liz put together one of the two bassinets that her dad and step-mom, Chalmers and Carolyn, sent us this week. The remaining one is my job. That’s all we have for now.


Liz at 27 Weeks

Lizat27weeksWe've reached the 27th week of our pregnancy. This week we attended the second of our “preparing for multiples” class at the hospital. Three of the other couples – all due around the same time as us – had to drop out because they went into early labor. Modern medical miracles mean that babies born at 27 weeks have a pretty good chance of making it and doing well. We’re still holding out for a July birth though. Make sure you add your guess on the birth date to our countdown contest.


Twin School

pics_025_webpics_023_web

Liz and I are taking twin classes at the hospital where we'll give birth in a few months. We were lucky to have Alice, Liz's mom, here visiting with us today. She took us out for a great dinner and then went to class with us. Alice is also a twin. I'd write more, but there is a thunderstorm making lots of noise out my window and I'm thinking the computer should be turned off. But I'll leave you with one great photo of Hugo from just a few minutes ago.



The Countdown Contest Gets Underway

lizat25weeks.JPG
(Liz at 25 weeks)

The Countdown has begun. We are in the third trimester. Our due date is August 2, but we have been told that twins often come early. So will when the little ones arrive? The question can only been answered with a contest. In the comments sections leave your best guess on when Baby A and Baby B will be born. You’ll need to include the exact time and date. The winning prize: That’s still a state secret. Let the games begin!


Liz's Portland Baby Shower Part 1

liz_babyshower1.JPG

Liz is in Portland for a quick visit. Today FOL Deborah Kafoury hosted a small baby shower that several of Liz's longtime friends were able to attend.

liz_babyshower3.JPG

Liz reported to me that there were lots of wonderful gifts for the twins. Her doctors agree that after she returns on Sunday to St. Louis she is grounded until the babies arrive. But this was a great chance for Liz to be with her friends.

The flu kept my sisters away, but my mother was there. She made two dolls for the kids and is working on matching quilts.

liz_babyshower2.JPG

What did I do this weekend? Well, I wrote an outline for a paper in theological foundations, read for my New Testement course, worked on the outline of the Sunday school class I'll be starting tomorrow, cleaned out a closet that the babies will be using, and made the house a general mess. I have 24-hours to clean-up before Liz comes home. Pray for me.

Once Liz gets home I'll add more photos. These are the ones my mother took and e-mailed. Don't forget to check out my mom's way cool web site.



New Ultrasound Scans

This morning we had another ultrasound done of the twins. These pictures below show both faces (though not very clearly) and Baby A's arm. We’ve been a little disappointed in the quality of the scans of late. None of the scans have been particularly clear - at least to untrained eyes like ours. The important news is that the doctor is happy with the scans. That’s all that counts in the end.

babies41204-web.JPG

For family and close friends who want to know what we need: We’re registered.

registry-btn.gif

If you are a reader of this web site but don't really know us and still want to help out we'd like to sugguest that you donate to the Goose Hollow Family Shelter or Children First for Oregon. Both of those groups could use your help more than we could.


Ultrasounds At 20 Weeks

babya31504_web.JPG

Today was another ultrasound day for us. Baby A is above and Baby B is below. As they get bigger it becomes a little more difficult to get a clear view of the entire baby. But they still look cute to us. The reason we have so many ultrasounds is the risk identical twins have for something called twin-to-twin transference – where one baby grows bigger than the other. Right now the twins are the same size and seem to be progressing well.

babyb31504_web.JPG


We're Having Girls!

This morning we had another set of ultrasound photos done and we're having girls! This first picture shows both the babies side-by-side:

babyab16weeks.jpg

Here is a side view of Baby A:

Baby-A-16weeks.jpg

And here is a side view of Baby B:

Baby-B-16weeks.jpg

We don't have names picked out yet. Some early favorites:

7 of 9 Smith Currie
Captain Kathryn Janeway Smith Currie
Uhura Smith Currie
Dr. Beverley Crusher Smith Currie

Have any suggestions of your own? Leave them in the comment section.


Update On The Twins

Liz wrote a short update on the twins for family and friends and I thought I'd share with you all the most recent news:

Hi all. In case you haven't heard, the twins are definately identical! This is rare (1 in 250 births) and comes along with some added complications (as if having two weren't enough!). I have what is known as diamniotic monochorionic twins. I think this means they share a placenta but are in two sacs with a thin membrane separating the two babies. The risk is something called twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) which occurs in about 15-25 percent of di-mono babies. One twin gets too much aminiotic fluid and the other too little. They share some circulatory works, too. This hasn't happened yet and wouldn't be diagnosed until the second or third trimester, so there really isn't too much we can do but hope for the best. On the bright side, I haven't felt even a pang of morning sickness and have only been a little more tired than usual. :) Lots of love, Liz

The Coming Twins

182004-babies.jpg

The word has been out for weeks now: Chuck and Liz are having twins. Here's the proof. Two cute little babies are in this photo (taking after both their mom and dad). We're just about finished with the first trimester. Mid-July or early August should be their due date. Boys or girls? Still not sure.

For those trying to get in touch with me via e-mail (or any other way for that matter) please give me some extra time to respond. My computer crashed three weeks ago and I just got a new one today. That's on top of being sick in December and then my grandmother's passing.

But these two little guys / girls will brighten anyday (just not quicken my response time).


Ups and Downs

This has been a week filled with ups and downs for me. The good news is that the “up” part of the week was nothing short of spectacular.

The down side is the battle I face with a chronic condition similar to rheumatoid arthritis knocked me down for a few days and has slowed my work considerably. Right now though I’m feeling a good bit better and ready to get back on the horse and do what needs to get done.

This weekend I had to make a short trip back to Columbia, South Carolina to visit my grandmother, who is in failing health, and grandfather. Prayers and good thoughts for them both are appreciated.

Those were the two down parts of my week.

Now for the spectacular part: Liz and I found out that we are pregnant a few weeks ago. Now we know we’re having twins. If all goes well the little ones should be ready to make their first public appearance around the end of July. Nothing could be better than that!

We're both back in Portland on Christmas Day. This coming Sunday I'll be preaching at Portland's First Congregational United Church of Christ, downtown on the corner of SW Park and Madison, at 10:25 am. Come if you like!