32 Weeks!

Holy "Only-5-weeks-left" Batman!

I'm feeling a little bit like these little ones are getting too big for my belly, but I'm loving every kick, jab, and tumble!  It's funny, they both have a tendency to sort of stretch out and push really hard up against my belly, so I'll have a huge bulge of baby sticking out somewhere for a little while. That's a bit more uncomfortable than my normal state of discomfort, but again, so friggin cool.

The swelling has returned- it was funny, I went a couple weeks there with my ankles hanging right around normal size.  It was a tease.  They're back to resembling elephantitis. Pretty.  My face is also quite a bit puffier than normal...and of course, the 40 pounds I'm up over my pre-preggo weight isn't really helping in that vein.  But honestly, I've still got some gaining to go and I feel good about my weight at this point. 

We have our 32 week ultrasound next Monday and we'll get full baby measurements at that one.  CAN'T WAIT!  I'm really wondering how big these little ones are.  I'm guessing around 4.5lbs each.  Hopefully they'll be faced to to the side so we can take home some pics this time. 

Next week also starts my twice-per-week monitoring!  I'm amped to know so regularly that all is going well.  But with all of the movement all the time, I have a pretty consistent reminder.  I'll get to hear their heartbeats though, so I'm a happy mama.

We did a huge donation drop today- got a bunch of stuff out of the house and made room for Nana to come stay once they get here.  I also disinfected and washed all of the hand-me-down toys and gear that we had piled up in the guest room, so now that's all put together.  We're still waiting to put together the strollers, the bouncy chairs, and a few other things just cuz they take up a lot of space.  We've still got another month or so probably. 

Braxton Hicks are becoming quite the norm around here.  Not my favorite, but they don't really hurt at all- just uncomfortable.  Hard to walk when one comes on...and they make me have to pee even more than I already do :) I blame Lady for that one, she's the baby who's sitting on my bladder.

Still no stretch marks on the belly, although I've gotten a few on my bum now.  What's that about?? It's definitely not expanding at the rate my belly is (hopefully)!  But I wasn't putting any of the lotion and stuff on my butt, I didn't really think I needed to.  Oh well.  The one weird thing is now my belly button is starting to itch like crazy! I'm guessing it's from stretching and I'll eventually see some marks pop up, but nothing yet.  My belly button looks really weird- it's no longer a circle, it's more of a collapsed oval... both of my laparoscopies had entrance points in my belly button, so I have some scars that are showing up now that I'd never been able to see before. It's weird.  Still and "inny" though.

Work is going really well.  I've been getting a lot of praise on the work I've been doing recently, which feels good after having such a touch-and-go year.  We're looking at me moving up to a new position, a promotion, right when I get back from leave.  I have to decide if I want to take that on with two 3 month olds at home- this is gonna be tricky.  I've been very up front with my intentions- I want to continue on with my career, but I have no idea what life will be like after the twins arrive.  I want to keep my options open, and everyone has been incredibly supportive of that.  I feel really lucky to have a management team who believes in me and wants to give me these types of opportunities even though I've been out so much (and working partially from home now).  We'll see what goes down over the next several months- should be an interesting ride!

B is in the air right now flying across country to come back home.  He's been gone since Tuesday and I hate it.  I'm such a wuss, but I missed him like crazy.  I got home from work on Tuesday after he had left and there was a vase of flowers on the kitchen counter, a card, and a bag of peanut m&m's.  I love that man...he's the best thing in the entire world.  The BEST. 

Oh, my Mom and I went and checked out the three daycares that we're still considering (yes, you might notice that it was 2 at one point and I added one back in...).  She's got her favorite...I've got my "favorite" and B's got his "favorite".  The one problem for me right now is the money.  My fav is the most expensive one.  B's is the cheapest one (not because he's cheap or anything- he just thinks they're all pretty much the same so why pay extra).  He is completely comfortable going with the one I like, but I totally see where he's coming from so I'm torn.  We're gonna talk to the expensive one and see what they can do about providing a little more flexibility for a 4 day schedule.  Right now, they charge the same if the babies come 4 days per week or 5...which seems silly to me.  That's what is making that one SO much more expensive- we can do 4 days most weeks, which would save us a lot of money at the other places.

We're going to see another pediatrician tomorrow, so I'm excited about that. I think I'll like this one.

And the drapes are being installed tomorrow in the nursery and the guest room!!! It's getting so close!

Here's a glimpse at my cankles- I just had to post... and I SWEAR they don't look like this normally!

Gross!

I am so excited to meet these babies, and I feel SO blessed to have this beautiful pregnancy...but that doesn't mean it's exactly "pretty" all the time... ;)

Six Weeks and Counting!!!

The countdown is officially ON! Today hits six weeks until our scheduled c-section (which I've resigned to just calling it a scheduled c-section rather than a scheduled induction date...as lady and bubba have yet to be head down at any ultrasounds in the last several months). I'm SO excited to get closer and closer to meeting these two little miracles- I just can't wait to see them, touch them, know that they're really real.

Went to the doctor on Monday- all looks really well.  My cervix is still fully closed and the FFN came back negative again- so doc thinks I may just make it to our 11/02/2011 date as long as my blood pressure doesn't creep up too high.  We talked about B flying across the country next week and she was perfectly comfortable with it- noting that we're not having any babies anytime too soon- if I went into labor, we'd do everything possible to stop it still.

We didn't get any pictures of the babies unfortunately this time- both of them were facing my back (he is sideways up by my ribs and she's butt down right on my cervix), moving all over the place, but being ultimately camera shy.  They better quit with the camera-shyness soon, they're gonna need to get REAL used to lots and lots of photo ops.  Knowing that this is our only go at the "baby phase" makes me feel even more intensely about the need for UBER amounts of baby photos.  I'll try to keep the flash off most of the time, I promise.  poorthings.

I'm working from home today, getting a lot done, and thinking yet again about the many things we need to do before babies get here.  I'm thinking of tackling the portions of the guest room that require no lifting and no bending today if I have some time.  I still really want to go to the DMV to get the handicap pass, but I haven't had any time (at least not adequate time to sit at the DMV for hours on end).  Maybe today...maybe Friday (but I've heard that Fridays at the DMV are a baaad idea...).

I wish I had some more pictures to post...but here are some fun things:

This little guy came in the mail last week- he's our noise maker!! He has some creepy monkey noises that I'll probably use far too often, as well as some of those normal "white noise" things...  But the best creepy part is that it's a recorder, so we can record our voices over these other creepy noises...making it all that much more CREEPY! :)

Aaaah! There's a giant monkey head on our babies' floor! :) Love love love.

Our new glider...adorned with a baby blanket that my great aunt crocheted for me when I was born! :)

The two diaper cakes that one of my employees made for me for my office baby shower! It was so amazing- and these things are too cute! Oh, and the diapers she used have monkeys on them. hehe

This is what a twin nursing pillow looks like. Yikes. (This is in our guest room- which is still totally covered in half-put-together baby gear)

I just had to add some pics of some of the ADORABLE baby clothes we're rocking. Look at this tiny pink tutu!

B picked out this hat- I'm going to LOVE taking pictures of little lady with this thing on.  She may hate it.

Um, seriously? Again, B found this gem. Bubba's gonna look so friggin cute!

The BEAST in all its glory.  I'm bending waaay over to see my toes here. Which is getting harder and harder to do.  :)

I can't believe that at 7:30am, six weeks from today, B will be putting on his scrubs, and I will be prepped for surgery...about to meet our miracles.  I can't believe it's coming- I can't believe we're having twins.  Is this for real??!?!  How could we be so lucky, so blessed? Oh wow, the countdown is definitely on. :)

The Big 3-0

No, not B's big 3-0, which, by the way, is coming in just two short months!!!  This is Luckies' big 3-0! I can't believe we're in the 30's of weeks...I remember being 6 weeks, wanting to know why I felt so terribly sick, and thinking "surely this can't last through the ENTIRE first trimester" as I held my breath and hoped there would be an entire first trimester...

We are now merely 6 weeks and 4 days away from the last possible day I'll be pregnant.  Ever. It's such a surreal feeling thinking about that.  I know, I know, so many people say "just wait and see, things will change"- and I know they very well could.  But let me tell you, we are so incredibly and undeniably blessed. I can't imagine even hoping for another pregnancy at this point (let alone that the whole idea of pregnancy again after the hyperemesis kind of makes me SUPER nervous... and we'd have to go through an FET to get there...which is obviously an amazing option we have since we have 8 frosties- still in total disbelief about this, I can't believe we made quality embryo's, let alone 10 of them!!)  Ok whoa, stream of consciousness, sorry.

So back to the big 3-0.  With this incredible milestone comes a recognition of my even moreso incredible procrastination.  There's a list of things I swore I'd have done by 28 weeks, if not sooner, as my doctor reminded me again and again: "Get everything done by 28 weeks- with twins, you just need to have it all done...".  Um, yeah. Not done.

1. Picking a friggin daycare.  This is the bain of my existence.  The internal war I have going on right now is seriously epic and if I even gave you a glimpse at the truth of what's going down in my head, you'd institutionalize me. So here's a snippet of this situation that's totally censored to avoid my hospitalization:  B and I have "narrowed" it down to two less-than-ideal daycare centers.  I say less-than-ideal because I have found something or somethings wrong with every single possible option and these two are no different.  But I can't very well just hide them under my desk like I want to... so less-than-ideal is really our only option at this point.  I'm less than 7 weeks away from delivering twins and I have no idea what we'll be doing with them 3 months later when I return to work.  Any option is better than no option at this point.  Ugh, I hate saying that.  HATE.  I'm so F'ing torn. 

So- we're down to the Valley Le.arning Ce.nter or Tu.tor Ti.me.  Here's my way overly simplified breakdown of the two- remember, I'm leaving so much out because I don't want you to know the truth about how gnarley this all is in my head...

TT- I've been there three times now to just stop in, check it out, sit in the infant room and make sure that the babies aren't being ignored, abused, whatever. The two regular girls who work in the infant room seem to be lovely.  There are usually 10 babies in that room, with these two girls.  Each time I've gone in, there are a few babies hanging in cribs, not crying, but just hanging.  But each time I've gone in there are two babies being fed, one by each girl, or one baby being fed and one being changed...you get the picture.  This room is for 6 weeks to 1 year, all combined. I don't like that.  Most of the other places we've been have two infant rooms, one for the tiny non-mobile babies, and one for the little walkers.  I've seen the little walkers in this room crash into the non-mobile baby "toys" (play mats, bouncers) without babies in them, so I assume the same happens when there are babies utilizing those things.  They seem to have a really good hang on the organization aspect.  It seems very clean.  I've toured the rest of the facility and this is obviously a very well-known daycare center- they've got what they need.  The last two times I went, there was a lice outbreak and they were super on top of it, had moved to combing through every child's head before they entered any rooms each day.  This is the more expensive option and doesn't provide flexibility for B and I to pay less if we use them 4 days per week instead of 5.  It's about 10 minutes from work and 10 minutes from home.

VLC- I've only been to VLC once, and I keep meaning to go back but have gotten significantly busier since we saw this one (this is the last one we saw)...and my procrastination has gone into overdrive. There are three VLC's throughout our very large town, and this one is about 5 minutes from home, and about 20 minutes from work. They have two infant room, one for the littles and one for the movers.  The women in the movers room were really great- but we didn't really get to talk to the women in the little baby room.  When I looked into the little baby room (they have those half door things so they let people stand outside the room rather than having tours and stuff go in and disturb the babies- I kinda like that), there were probably 7 babies in cribs just hanging out.  One cried for a little bit before being picked up, but was then picked up and changed.  No babies were on the floor- they were either with someone or in the crib. I don't know if I like that or not...I don't want my baby just stuck in a crib all day.  I'd like them to be able to use different stuff to lie around in- different stimuli.  But the babies in the movers room were all over the place, moving around- crashing into one another which is perfectly fine at that age...we'll have twins, plenty of crashing will be going on at home let alone daycare.  One lady in the little baby room kinda scared me- I'm not gonna go into why cuz that would be far too great a glimpse into my craziness, but it just kinda scared me.  The rest of the facility was lacking a little bit, but was definitely adequate for a 2 or 3 year old.  This is the far cheaper option- it's a much simpler set up, and it provides us the opportunity to save money by using them 4 days per week (which is definitely an option for us most weeks) so it's thousands of dollars less per year. 

So, basically, I'm torn.  The fact that the second one seems plenty adequate and is significantly cheaper is pulling at me.  I like that it's so close to home, but I'm sure closer to work is more important... I like that the second one has the two infant rooms, but that one lady scared me.  And the whole sitting in cribs thing was a bit alarming.  I need to go back to VLC and check it out.  Both have video cameras in the rooms so I could watch without the teachers knowing.  I want to do that. 

There you have it. The "censored" breakdown.  Need to finalize. Need to go see them again.  Need to just tell my brain that it's ok- I'm not a horrible mother for leaving my little miracles in the care of random women...  this is gonna take a little while.

The rest of the procrastination is far less wearing. The nursery still needs to get organized. I ordered new pull down shade for the windows in the nursery and guest room ($$), and now my Mom and I get to work on making the windows look pretty to save some money that seems to be quickly flying out of our bank account.  We got our glider in the mail and it's pretty! It's not as soft and cushiony as the ones at BRU that we were looking at, but it was about $300 cheaper, so I'll take it.  The guest room is still very much full of baby "gear" that's not really put together but sort of...

We also need to go and interview a couple more pediatricians at the place we chose.  We only met that one that we didn't like, but we liked the actual place and our nurse practitioner goes there and LOVES most of the docs (except the one we saw).  So it's just a matter of picking which one will be ours.

All of our classes are done now.  And I'm working part-time from home which is helping.  I just can't believe we're so close.  I feel huge so I also can't believe I've got nearly 7 weeks left to grow...it feels like they're gonna rip right out of my stomach sometimes.  Should be an interesting next few weeks!  We get to see them again on Monday afternoon, and then our next appointment at 32 weeks starts the two times per week monitoring.  That's a lot of doctor's visists- and I kinda like it!!!

Oh, and B's probably going to PA for a couple days the last week of September.  He was super nervous about leaving at all, you know- just in case.  But we're gonna make sure my FFN comes back negative and if it does, then he'll go.  I'll still be early enough that if I go into labor, they'll try to stop it so he'll have a little more time to fly back rather than me going straight into a c-section like I would later (if both babies aren't head down, which is looking less and less likely). 

One last thing- the nausea is coming back.  I've upped my dose of meds to twice a day, may have to add another one in the middle of the day again too.  Everytime I eat anything I want to puke and I hold back...but I need to keep eating, so meds is the name of the game.  I'm still at the point where I can hold back though (thank you zof.ran) and I'm still hungry (as opposed to earlier when food in general was the LAST thing I wanted to think about), so we're good.  Nothing like before. But I'm nervous. I don't want to go back to that place.

Ok, to end this epic post- I can't WAIT to see our babies on Monday...and I'm getting seriously antsy to meet these little kickers. They're all over the place now, and I love it.  My whole belly will move, even more than in that video I posted a while ago.  B gets to feel them all the time, and you should see his face. He looks at me like I'm dying or something when they throw one of their big kicks/flips.  I have to admit, it does feel totally crazy.  Oh man, I just love it. I'm definitely gonna miss that part- but we'll get to see them kicking their beautiful legs, so I'd say that's a pretty good consolation prize ;)

An Ode to Cat

B and I figured now would be a good time to take a little moment to recognize our first "child"- the little one who wakes us up every morning if we're sleeping through the alarm and comes to greet us at the door whenever we get home.  She's been so much more than just a cat- she's our first child.  And I know what you're thinking, cats can't be companions like dogs can...I was right there with you before I met this little grey cat.  She's just as much companion as any dog I've seen, just maybe a little more on her own time than ours.  But she's cuddled me when I've been sad, she's sat beside me as I've laid sick in bed, and she's followed me around non-stop meowing at me until I realized I had forgotten to feed her that day- she's the perfect animal.

So here's a bit of an ode to Cat: soon-to-be-big-sister (whether she accepts it or not)!

Camera shy- what a little diva...

Her favorite position, lounging! On the floor of our old apartment...

Family photo with the Snugg.ies! Christmas 2009

Sunbathing, another favorite pastime

She was right there beside me (sometimes on top of me if I'd let her) when I was laid up in bed in those first weeks...

She'll sleep on anything soft

Her all time favorite spot- cuddling with Daddy!

More sunbathing

She's always sleeping in our bed

Tormented by a tiny lizard on the outside of the window- this went on for about 20 minutes, poor thing!

So to our precious little T- just because there may be a couple new babies of the house soon, you'll always be our first child.  And don't think that hiding under the bed can save you, either- they'll come and find you...

29 weeks and a little more down time!

With this past Friday came my LAST day of full-time work in the office until I go back after the babies arrive.  And what an amazing feeling it is.  I'd say it was the perfect cap to a rough year of lots of work, lots of not working, and lots of trying to work way more than I should have...

My boss has been totally awesome and granted me the amazing gift of working from home part-time, so next week I'll go into the office three days and stay home in bed with my laptop two days.  I had to off-board some very big things to other people this last week, so it got pretty busy with trying to transition it all.  But yesterday went well, I think I got most of that transition taken care of, and...drumroll...my department threw me a surprise baby shower!  It was so, so cute!  They went all out, did a dessert potluck, and decorated the room to the nines.  They had a couple of not-so-scary games and got us some amazing gifts. I feel really lucky!  After all was said and done on Friday, I ended up staying at the office until about 6:45...and my ankles were ENORMOUS!  Of course, I ate crap all day and didn't drink enough water.

I'm feeling so good about taking a little more down time.  And we're feeling pretty set as far as baby stuff goes- I've been working my butt off to organize the nursery without overdoing it on my end.  I keep a close eye on my ankles to let me know when it's time to lie down.  They tell me pretty easily.  Here are some pics of the baby things! Yay!

Oh man- that's a lotta clothes. But don't worry, it's not all 0-3 months or anything!

Folding and more folding- we'll see how long that lasts...

I doubt we're gonna need this many blankets...

I love all of our little monkey things! And of course my make-shift diaper caddy :)

Baby laundry is tough- everything is so tiny and folding/hanging it all took a lot more time than I thought it would.  I'm in the process of doing a bit more baby laundry right now because B and I went to BRU last weekend for their clearance clothes sale and I let myself get a little out of control. :) Those little baby things are too much to pass up- and if I get something for our little man, I've got to get something for our little girl.

What else on the nursery front?  We ended up getting these "travel lite" portable cribs for when the babies will be sleeping in our bedroom in the very beginning.  We were gonna do full pack n' plays, but they're so big- two wouldn't work out well and I just didn't want them sleeping in one together for some reason.  But these are super cute and fit perfectly in our bedroom.  Plus- I think they'll be awesome for travelling.

Look how cute they are! TWO babies!!!

My office got us the double snap n go stroller (we already had one, so now I get to buy MORE cute baby things when we take it back- yay!).  So I'm excited to put that to some good use once the babies arrive.  I've heard it's so much easier with twins to just use this with the carriers rather than a full double stroller.  We have a double stroller, too- but we'll use that later when they're not in their carriers all the time. This is the double we ordered (it just came in the mail today!!!), the seats can go in all directions which I like:





I have someone coming to give us a quote on curtains in the nursery and our guest room.  We're taking care of both of them cuz my mom's gonna be staying with us off and on throughout the first couple of months, and the guest room blinds don't keep much sun out.  I'm undecided what I want to do with the nursery window coverings...hopefully the lady who's coming to give us the quote can help me out. She did the rest of our house and I love it- so that's good.

They had to push our next appointment back a bit- so it's not until a week from this Monday.  I hate waiting that long. So, so spoiled.  But everything looked great at the last appointment, so we're still trucking right along.  The FFN came back negative again- hopefully they stay put until right around our 37 week c-section. They're super active and kicking me all the time, so it helps me to know they're doing ok.  We'll start having to be monitored two times per week soon...wow.

Breastfeeding class was pretty helpful.  I think what I took away most was the "kangaroo care" talk!  I'm so excited for kangaroo care (skin to skin with babies), I had no idea all of the documented benefits! I asked about twin kangaroo care so the teacher gave a little demo with two dolls- should be interesting. But B will be participating in our kangarooing too, so we'll be covered. :)

On the pregnancy front, things are getting a little touch and go.  I'm nauseous again- not ANYTHING like before, good lord, but it's not my favorite.  I'm still on Zof.ran once a day and Pro.tonix twice a day.  My back is really starting to feel the brunt of this pregnancy though.  I have to ask B for a quick back rub almost everyday.  It just starts cramping up so bad sometimes- like it's spasming.  I'm up about 30 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, so that's a lot of extra load to carry on an already messed up back.  Oh, and my hands hurt! This is a weird one. I've heard that pregnancy can induce carpal tunnel- I don't know if that's what I've got going on, but it just feels like I have wicked arthritis in my hands.  I can hardly open water bottles anymore. I wake up in the middle of the night and one of my hands will be completely numb, which is pretty scary.  During the day, it feels like I need to crack my knuckles all the time.  Eh, it's not horrible or anything, I'll take this over hyperemesis anyday.  It's just weird. 

No stretch marks yet...still waiting for those to crop up.  And still lathering the belly with anything I can get my hands on!  This belly is large and in charge- I can't imagine another 7+ weeks and what that's gonna do. I try to spend some time in the pool still cuz it gets really heavy.  I bought a belly support band, but it's sort of uncomfortable.  I think I just need to lay down as much as possible. Here's a glimpse into 29 weeks with twins on a 6'1" frame...in a BIKINI! Oh yeah!

This was actually 28w4d. Large and in charge!

Back when I thought I was big at 23 weeks...haha! :)

Sleep on the other hand just isn't in the cards for me anymore.  I get SO tired around 7:30 every night. I'm usually asleep by 8:30 (which is crazy early for me), but then I wake up every hour or two throughout the entire night. Finally around 5:30am I usually can't fall back asleep anymore.  Not my favorite, but I guess it's preparing me for double time night feedings...

Sorry for such an excessive post- this past week has been crazy busy and I want to make sure to get all this down so I don't forget what's going on. Pregnancy brain attacks out of nowhere sometimes (usually in meetings with my higher-ups...).  I'm getting SO anxious to meet these little ones- I don't want to wait!  But I've got to keep them cooking- my goal is to make it over 35 weeks and if I can make it to our 11/02/2011 date, that's fabulous!

28 Weeks (pics and video!!!)

I was so excited for this milestone...but somehow it sort of just passed and I'm moving right along.  I don't know if that means that I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with the pregnancy and the outcome now or if maybe I'm just working too much to stop and really appreciate all that's going on.  Hmm.

Went to the doctor yesterday and everything looks fabulous! We got a good long look at both luckies and they're growing right on schedule.  Little Lady is measuring in at about 2 lbs 9 oz, around the 65 percentile.  Big Bubba is still holding true to his nickname and weighing 2lbs 13oz.  I didn't see what percentile that is...but it's higher than 65 :)

They were moving all over the place and we got a 3D pic of Bubba this time but not Lady, she was turned toward my back the whole time, wouldn't roll over.  He, on the other hand, rolled around probably 3 times just during the ultrasound! The 3D pic looks sort of alien-like this time because there's a shadow on his nose and it makes him look like he doesn't have one...so I'm not gonna post that.  I'll post the 2D profile pic (which definitely shows our little man does, in fact, have a nose- maybe even a big one ;)

I mean, look at that nose- and those LIPS! :) So cute. Big Bubba at 28 weeks.

I do know I was supposed to add the 3D pic of Lady from last visit- so here's that one:

Kinda hard to see, but Little Lady is sort of turned at an angle looking off to the side.  Can you see her little mouth, nose, and eyes?  26 weeks

And instead of a standard belly pose for this week, I figured I'd show you my favorite part of this pregnancy, watching my little ones move around! There have actually been times when someone from across a room as shouted out "Oh MAN! I just saw your stomach jump like crazy!".  That was at work. Awkward. But I liked it.  This isn't the best video- they don't do it on command (yet, I'm working on training them...) ;) I just took it while I was sitting here typing. I added the little object to give you better perspective on their movements. There's some good jumps right at the beginning then in the middle, and then they stopped.

Please excuse the short-shorts.  I'm still in my PJ's :)  And I spared you my shirt- although I am somehow still wearing my favorite shirt of all time.  It says "Say NO! to Drugs and Alcohol" like it's spray painted onto a brick wall...I got it in 3rd grade. No joke.  I've kept it ever since and it's the softest shirt on this planet, has about 23 holes, and barely fits over my belly button right now. Sexy.

Doctor went over the fabulous news that at 28 weeks, survival rates are the same as full-term babies.  She then proceed to tell us that at 32 weeks, complications are the same as full-term...which is awesome! I thought 32 week babies had a much higher risk of complications, so that's good to hear. We also found out that we'll be starting 2x per week monitoring at 32 weeks because the chance of stillbirth goes up for twins around there.  I'm doing well though- my blood pressure was up just a bit but perfectly normal (122/72). Cervix is still long and closed. Should hear about the FFN today.

Then we had the "work" discussion.  I've been struggling with work.  Like I alluded to in the beginning of this post, I've started working a whole lot again.  No, nothing like pre-pregnancy. But it's still too much for a twin mama at 28 weeks, for sure.  I'm having a really hard time saying "No". I've taken on too much and now I'm having trouble getting it all done in my 8 hour day, so I end up staying late...cuz I have problems just not finishing the things I start. I blame my parents, they raised me that way :)

So I've been having more and more Braxton Hicks- yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work, I had 5 in 30 minutes. That's bad.  Technically I should have called my doctor, but I knew they would just say "put your feet up, hydrate, rest..." and I also thought I'd wait to see how many I had in an hour, and they dropped off significantly in that second half hour.  So I just went about my day.  Not good. I don't want to stress out the little ones- it's not their fault I have problems calling in or not getting my work done.  Oh, and I'm waking up in the middle of the night thinking about work...and then not being able to fall back asleep.  Two days ago I woke up at 2:15am remembering things I needed to do...then couldn't go back to sleep. I was a wreck all day. (Luckily I went to bed at 7:30pm the night after that cuz I was sooo tired)

So I got a bit of a lecture yesterday by the doc.  Hydrate more. Put your damn feet up. Learn to say no. You're going to have babies soon, what are you thinking? That sort of thing (of course in the sweetest way- she's the nicest doctor I've ever met).  Yes, yes I know. So I proceeded to ask her about some sort of modified work schedule being prescribed to me, which she was of course perfectly happy to hear. She'll sign off on anything that gets me lying down more.

So I'm gonna talk to my boss today about it.  Next week is a four day work week anyway.  Then I think I'll drop down to 3 days a week after that (because if I do a shortened work day...I'll end up working almost a whole day...I just know it).  Then probably move down to 2 days per week and then stop working around 32 or 33 weeks.  This is my last chance at being the best "vessel" I can be- I'm not ever going to be pregnant again and I want to do my best at it.  I'm not doing my best right now because I'm trying to give 100% to too many things.  And that's not where my priorities should be.

I'm sure it will be a good convo with my boss today- she's been awesome the whole time.  I just can't say no when she gives me things...even though she kind of gives me the side eye like "are you sure you can take this on?"...I just say yes and do it.

Ok, enough about that.  The nursery is totally coming together (as far as organization is concerned).  I've done some baby laundry which is just so adorable, but takes a whole lot of folding! Still need to get on that.  The closet is pretty much cleaned out and organized.  We put a storage bench in there so that's holding a lot of the things that don't need to be opened yet (that and our closet- I mean, there's no need to set up the high chairs yet. The little ones won't be able to sit up in those for a few months).

Breast feeding class is next week! B's Daddy Bootcamp was good- and no, they didn't just watch football.  He actually took some notes cuz I told him I wanted details- love it! They practiced changing a diaper on a doll once or twice and talked about all kinds of things like sleep, the moms, post-partum depression... pretty good if you ask me.

Need to finalize the pediatrician asap...oh, and the daycare (kill me now). Can we say "procrastinator"?

27 Weeks!

Our doctor told us that at 28 weeks, the survival rate is the same as full-term!  That's a huge milestone (I honestly live one milestone to the next over here...I'm a goal oriented person).  Of course, the complications would be a bit increased...but the survival rate is the same.  So one more week until that huge goal is MET!

The babiesmoon was FAB! It was so terribly needed and we just loved it.  I can't say that the amount of food I ingested in those two days was by any means necessary or healthy, but what's done is done and mama's stuffed. Delicious.  We sat by the pool, I got some reading in, we lied around watching tv and just relaxing...bless.

Here are some more awkward headless photos so you can see the belly on our babiesmoon:

26w1d after our first way-too-big meal.  Gotta take full advantage of the all-inclusive, right?? Mmmm!

On our way out of the resort after a Sunday afternoon by the pool! Lovely!

The resort was great and the lady who checked me in had actually had twins- so we got to talking, cuz that's what I do.  She upgraded our room to one with a huge patio (which wasn't all that great with the heat and all...plus, I had a very maddening run-in with a ferocious mosquito one morning while B slept in...don't get me started...but it was nice to have) and it was a handicap room cuz they're bigger and she thought maybe I'd need the bars next to the toilet and by the bathtub...haha!

B drank some wine and got to relax without a to-do list which was totally needed for him.  Poor guy is non-stop around here all the time, weeknights, weekends, you name it.  He gets so much done, but I have to physically remove him from the opportunity of getting anything done for him to fully relax. ;)  All in all, it was the perfect "last getaway" before the babies arrive.  Which, by the way, is in less than 10 weeks- at the MOST!  Crazy.

So here's a little sample of how rockstar B is in the to-do list category.  We ordered our cribs and changing table/dresser back during the twin shopping spree of 2011 a couple weeks ago and they actually came in last week. We couldn't go get them until this Monday night, so B got a buddy of his to help pick them up (which took two trips even with my massive truck), they're huge!  Well, on Tuesday night I came home from work and B had ALREADY put together one of the cribs! I cried when I came home and saw it.  It was perfection, just the most amazing thing.  Having a crib in the nursery was like this unicorn-like moment, something I just never knew would be a possibility...and there it was.  I couldn't hold back the tears if I tried, and I didn't try.  So, B spent the next hour or so putting together the SECOND crib (another big, big moment, yes- that's two cribs in our nursery, holy crap).  Then we spent the next two hours trying to figure out the best layout in the room, which was pretty fun.  Here are some pictures of our nursery thus far...only mid-progress...this isn't finished or even final.  We're working it out though, and I can't wait to take pictures of the final product.  But mostly, I can't wait to show the Luckies what Daddy did.  :)

From the doorway looking in.  One pink, one blue :)

The combo changing table/dresser.  We ordered "chestnut" finish, I'd say these are pretty "cherry" if you ask me.  But they're beautiful!

From the other corner of the room. Yay Diaper Genie!!! This is Bubba's crib- B said he needs to be closer to the door so he can protect his sister. :)

And Little Lady's crib is by the window.  We'll probably put the glider in that empty corner there by the (massive) closet.  Still need to figure out what type of window coverings I want to do...and then it's on to actually decorating! We've got big plans for the walls and then maybe a cute rug in the middle of the room...lots to do still!

I'm loving life right now.  Sleep is almost non-existent nowadays, I wake up every hour or so (I keep waking up on my back, I don't know why I can't just stay on my side), but I'm feeling pretty good.  My back is starting to hurt and you should have seen my ankles last night after we went out to dinner with some friends straight from work.  My body got mad at me for not lying down like I usually do right after work, I guess.  The belly is ever-growing and the Luckies are still super active, which I adore!

B goes to New Daddy Bootcamp tonight, so I'm really excited to hear what they do there for three hours.  There's a part of me that thinks this is all a big lie and the guys get together and just watch pre-season football or something... ;)  I've heard really good things about this class- that the guys come back knowing WAY more than their wives do about how to take care of a newborn.  I'm ready for B to teach me a thing or two.

I'm doing a breastfeeding class the first week of September.  I'm looking forward to that because my anxieties about breastfeeding twins are definitely growing.  We bought the Med.ela Freestyle pump (whoa expensive) but my insurance is flippin awesome and we get reimbursed $250 for a breast pump, so that's helpful. 

What else?  Oh- doctor told me that twin moms rarely work full-time past 32 weeks. I wasn't anticipating that early for some reason, so I've chatted with my boss and sped up my "transition plan" a bit so I can be out of there (at least on a full-time basis) by the end of September at the latest with no worries.  That'll give me my last month of pregnancy to relax a bit more and maybe get some stuff done around the house...if I'm not a house myself (or on bed rest or something).  But all is looking really good so far.  Blood pressure is still very much in check, cervix is closed, my last FFN came back negative again so no preterm labor in the next week or so :)  We get to see and measure the Luckies again next Thursday.  Can't wait to see how big they're getting!!! Love.

Success!

Thank you thank you thank you for the lovely recommendations!  We're off tomorrow for the 'moon, can't wait!  I'm looking forward to a couple good books, some time in the pool, some good relaxation- maybe in a warm tub, and my B! (and throw in some thank you cards for good measure if I'm feelin' it)

I just had to update to say that we got to see the kids again today! I love these days! They both look beautiful- growing, growing.  We didn't take measurements, that'll be next time, but all looks well.  We even got a 3D pic of little lady cuz she just happened to turn right before the end to show her lovely profile...an apparently at this point they'll throw in the 3D images if they think they can get a good shot. She's so cute and not too alien-like at all (those 3D images look a lil creepy sometimes).  You can really see her little lips and her cute nose! Other than that, it was a standard appointment.  Had the FFN test again, should hear tomorrow how it went (I had a lot of Braxton Hicks yesterday...I think I was dehydrated the day before and it caught up to me, so I was a bit worried). Cervix is still very much closed and I'm always happy to hear that.

Finally- the best news ever at this appointment...I PASSED the gestational diabetes test!!!  I was so worried...and it's not like I passed with flying colors or anything.  Get this- the cut off is 130 to have to take the 3 hour test (which I was so dreading)...and I got a 129! BOOYAH!  I feel like I cheated or something, and I love it.

...I celebrated by stopping and grabbing some sour candies and a bag of peanut m&m's on the way home...nice One Day, nice.

My iron levels were a bit low, so the instructions are to eat more meat and spinach and stuff...and did you know that getting some vitamin C along with your iron helps you absorb it more?  Yeah, meat and oranges don't sound great to everyone but bring it on.

I hope everyone has a fab weekend!

Babiesmoon Planning Updated...

I know, I get it. I've got no clue either what to do (which I know isn't really a bad problem to have here).  So here are some more pointed questions:

1. What's a really super good book that you're digging on right now- and not one that will help me keep a baby (or two) alive.  I need a break from the "mommy guides" and just want a book I can get lost in for a bit as B sleeps (notice that I'm writing this in the wee hours of the morning...woke up at 3:30am today, can't get back to sleep. Boo.)

2. For those who take warm baths, am I missing anything here? Before the Luckies, I used to take hot, hot, hot baths and loved them.  But that's a no-no now- so how do we feel about luke-warm baths? Is it lovely? Should I try it?

3. Writing thank you cards on your babymoon.  Yes or no? Need to do it...this might be a good time...


Ready...GO! ;)

Babiesmoon Planning

I have probably a bajillion things I could write about- trying to desperately feel ok with choosing a daycare, figuring out how we're going to work our very much twosome house into a baby paradise, gestational diabetes testing (did the one hour test and that drink really wasn't that bad- I was all worried for nothing)...the list goes on.  But instead, I'm going to ask you all a very, very important question. 

What should we do during our babymoon weekend?

We have our all-inclusive resort package that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We'll be there from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.  I have my preggo bikini.  But what else? 

I can't very well spend the entire day out at the pool- it's 115 degrees here.  I'd cook our offspring.  I can't plan any cool hikes or get all excited about using the gym (what's a gym again?). 

Additionally, I wake up at 5am on far too many days to say that it won't happen on our vacation.  B wakes up at 10am on far too many days to say that it won't happen on our vacation (ok, ok...more like 9am- he doesn't sleep in that much anymore).  So what shall I do with those 4 hours of alone time (where I usually jump on the interwebs or hit up some of my gnarly tv guilty pleasures...)?  I don't want to wake up my B, it's his vacation, too.

So- thoughts?  I would love to say I'll plan to go to the spa- but we just spent thousands of dollars on baby furniture and "accessories"... and we're going to a five-star resort...you know what those spa prices are going to be.  I wonder if they have any "I'm broke cuz we just had a twin shopping spree" discounts...

Ok- so throw me your thoughts.  Pretty pleeeeeeeeeeease?!?!

Shopping and WINE party! (pics)

No, not the wine party I'll be having in my hospital bed as soon as the luckies have been evacuated...the wine party my parents threw for us as an afterparty to the shower.  It was pointed out that I so completely forgot to add the amazingness of that portion of our beautiful day to my last post about the Best.Shower.EVER.  Now, I don't have any photos of the wine party cuz everyone was far too focused on boozing it up and having a fabulous time to think about taking pics of the unbelievable spread and all the lovely people (no, I wasn't boozing it up, but I was lying down for the majority of the party and making everyone come see me and chat with me cuz I'm a sleepy little girl and mah feet hurt all the time).  :)  But here's some mental images (with a little help from google images)

B looked like this all day cuz he was helping my Dad, my brother, and a friend K set up for this wonderous festivity (alright, let's be honest boys- you know Dad did most of the work):



(No, that's not B- B's arms are WAY bigger and he's way cuter- but when I googled "strong man mover" I got a bunch of gross images of huge men with bulging veins carrying boulders...)

And then, after coming to help pack up all of our (totally amazing and really unnecessarily generous) gifts from the shower, he definitely deserved a little party time! And do you remember the house cleaning of the week before?? He earned a good time! So he started to look a little more like this:



B does NOT have a goatee (although I like when he grows the full beard out...). But his eyes do get pretty squinty like that when the drinks start flowing...

But, he never got to this stage...



...so don't worry.

The food was immaculate! We had invited all of the "significant others" of those who came to the shower to join us at the afterparty.  B also invited some additional friends to come who I don't know as well. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the food...but really the focus was on the vino, let's be honest.  My Papa knows how to throw a wine party (he's done this a time or two before...) and he knows how to buy his wine, people. I mean, I miss that luscious wine.

This is similar to what our tables looked like at the wine party (but ours were way better)- and plenty of people loved hovering and tasting all of the deliciousness...



But not nearly as much as they loved hovering around this area:




So I drank some sparkling lemonade out of a wine glass so as to not feel too left out ;) and ate probably three huge plates of food (the pulled pork sandwiches were amazing, the chips and dips were really catching my attention, but that chocolate cake was to die for! Oh- and chocolate covered acai berries??? yes, please) all while my girl L continuously brought me more water to make sure I was hydrating!

I think my favorite part about the whole thing was getting to let some of my friends and families feel the babies put on a show.  Our friend M actually got to feel hiccups!! And my Grammy got some good kicks, too. I loved it- their faces would light up like mine does every time.

Thank you Mom and Dad for capping that amazing day off with perfection! 


Now, the shopping is a little less drunken, a little less delicious, and a whole lot more anxiety ridden (at least for B and I)...

I have spent the last couple of weeks creating a baby item spreadsheet (here I go again trying to beat B at his own game), on which I spent the last couple of days checking off items that we had received from the shower or from hand-me-down gloriousness.  But yesterday was "the day".  We had decided that a) I was getting too anxious to let the nursery remain in its disassembled state for much longer and b) who knows how much longer I'll be able to be of much help to B so it was time to do our (drumroll) PURCHASING!

I woke up way too early yesterday (read 4:30am) because of the annoyingly loud thunder and got started on my final price comparisons.  I compared prices for pretty much all of our items (over 100 of them on the list...) at BRU, Buy Buy. Baby, Tar.get, Walm.art, and Cost.co.  Then B woke up and came in to help me compare prices on Am.azon (cuz he's the amazon guru and I stay far, far away from his mad skills in this arena).  It was a bit of a chore, but we found a TON of good deals on Amazon for things we already knew we wanted and hooked them up (I mean, $20, $30, sometimes even $50 cheaper than the other stores).  We found a couple of things at Tar.get that we swung by and grabbed as well (not much was cheaper there though). 

We considered our discounts at the different locations- and gift cards as well.  We were doing our "registry completion" day at BRU, so that meant that we got 15% of any item we were buying (in that one shopping trip) that we had registered for, plus they offer a 10% twin discount on big items if you buy two!!!  BUT, we also considered that Ama.zon doesn't charge tax (9% discount pretty much) and we get 3% cash back on Am.azon as well... so the comparisons were intense and involved a calculator which I think is really cute- we went nerd mode yesterday!

We ended up still spending a ton of money, but we got a TON of stuff.  Our office looks like a hoarder's paradise now and I've got quite the job ahead of me in organizing all this stuff into the nursery (but B's got the much harder job of putting it all together, bahahaa!)

So that's our update.  We're rocking out 25w3d today and hoping to jump in the pool at some point cuz all that shopping has made my back feel like it did back in the old days (I had back surgery when I was in college) and my feet feel a little extra-swollen.  Here are some belly shots from the wine party to hold you over until I can throw another preggo bikini shot up here (you're so excited, I know).  And don't forget, next weekend is BABIESMOON!!!  Can'twaitcan'twaitcan'twait!





24w2d!

 



Our whole family of four! My B can hardly fit his arms around me, now!

 



Me and my mama (and the luckies, too)!

 



This was seriously hysterical.  My Dad does NOT have a big belly.  My Dad doesn't have a belly at all- he's way too in shape to be a "Papa", really.  But he was getting a little jealous of all my belly action! ;)

 

The Best Baby Shower Of All Time

No, seriously.  I'm not messing around here.  This was, in fact, the best baby shower EVER. I remember before we were seeing REs I would look at baby shower pictures online from the professionals if you will- I loved all of the cute little themes- the details.  I remember looking at pictures of fabulous showers in the early parts of this pregnancy, feeling a little guilty like I wasn't quite there yet- like I didn't want to jinx it.  I would admire the cute little baby things, the smiling faces.  I hoped that I'd be able to be in some pictures like that one day, maybe soon. 

Those pictures I admired had beautiful details, but not one stood up to the amazing work that my sister-in-law, my best friend, and my mom put together for my baby shower this weekend.  Not one came even close. Yes, I know- just the fact that I even got a baby shower probably makes me slightly biased...but it really was amazing. They did such an incredible job thinking of everything! And it was all a surprise- I knew nothing about what it would look like or what we would do.  It all exceeded even my wildest dreams!

Thank you N, J, and Mom!  I couldn't have had a more beautiful day. 

My sister-in-law had changed out all of her framed pictures to add pics of B and I and of the Luckies ultrasounds!  I cried when I walked in and saw them- the thought that was put in to every detail was overwhelming.

These were a gift from sister-in-law!

My best friend made one of my favorite beverages! Ocean Water (from Sonic)! And it matched the pink and blue theme of course.

They don't only think of everything, but they're all amazing chefs too! N made these delish chocolate dipped marshmallows (pink and blue, don't forget!)

Especially for my strawberry shortcake urge!

J, my best friend, actually made this ice cream cone stand onesie for the occasion! She's so handy (with a little help from some friends)  Totally delicious mini cupcakes filled the ice cream cones, and surprise m&m's too!

Love all of the pink and blue details throughout the house!

Mom had an AWESOME idea to do a scrapbooking activity instead of the (sometimes awkward) traditional baby shower games.  Everyone made two scrap book pages, one for Little Lady and one for Big Bubba, so we can fill them up once the little ones arrive! I'm SO excited (and not just because I don't need to make a scrap book now...)

The tables were all prepared with tons of fun scrap booking materials!

 

The finished products were perfection, serious perfection!

I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect.  I will never forget this day; I will cherish it for the rest of my life.