gonna do some learnin'

Well, at 29 weeks, 1 day, I have officially entered in to the 30th week of my pregnancy! This is crazy to me. I have about 9 weeks left until I'll have two daughters in my arms! Wow.

This Sunday, Ian and I are going to our first childbirth class (there are 3), and then right after that, a caring for a newborn class at Mt. Sinai, where I will be delivering. It will be a full day, but I’m really excited. I’m hoping the childbirth class doesn’t freak me out, but I don’t think it will. I’m excited to be going to a class; learning something new, meeting new people. For the childbirth class, here is what we’ll learn:

Parents-to-be share common fears and concerns regarding pregnancy, labor and delivery, and parenting. The course demystifies the labor and birthing experience through:

♦ Discussion of pregnancy, labor and delivery
♦ Discussion of cesarean birth
♦ Presentation of breathing and relaxation techniques for maintaining control during labor and delivery
♦ Discussion of analgesia and anesthesia options for labor and delivery
♦ A review of the video tour of the maternity facilities at the Mount Sinai Hospital
♦ Videos and other audio-visual aids

For our “Caring for a Newborn” class, it says:

A two-hour class devoted to teaching baby-care basics. Topics include bath demonstration., swaddling, diapering, temperature taking, dressing, infant safety and basic needs.
So, we sure will be learning a lot! We’ll be pro parents by the end. :)

I’m kind of bummed, because in reading about the rules of the hospital, Ian will only be able to spend the night in our room if we get a private room (vs. a semi-private). Of course a private room is not fully covered by insurance; you have to pay the difference out-of-pocket. So, we’ll have to figure out what we want to do about that. I’d really like for him to be there, but it may not be in our budget. Anyone else have this experience; your partner not being able to stay the night with you? Just wondering if it’s standard, or a Mt. Sinai thing.

In other news, I have two butternut squashes in my uterus. Or, rather, two babies who each apparently weigh the same as a butternut squash. And to illustrate that, here is a picture of the most phallic butternut squash ever:

Ok, I just did a google image search, and I guess they all kind of look like that, but still. This one seems extra phallic to me.

Have a lovely weekend all!

~M

weekly wednesday update

How far along? 28 weeks 6 days! I can't believe how close to 30 weeks I am!

Total weight gain/loss: To date, 17 pounds. I had a doctor appointment yesterday, and gained 1 pound in the last 2 weeks.

Stretch marks? Yes. And, the itching seems to be improving. Ian got me this special soap called Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, that he read about on some PUPPP's message boards. I've been washing my belly with it 2-3 times a day for the last week, and I really think it's helping. I haven't had to ice at work so far this week. It still doesn't feel perfect, and it still is itchy, but WAY better than last week. I've also been taking Benadryl every night (which is safe during pregnancy) and I think that helps, too. I hope it keeps getting better! The Manhattan heat would make the itching really miserable if it sticks around, so I'm hoping it goes all the way away before the temperatures really start to rise.

Maternity clothes? Yep. I finally got some belly/back support thingys. I got two of these, one in black and one in white. I haven't tried them yet, just because I don't want to irritate my stomach more, but I'm thinking I can start using them soon. There are way heftier support belly things out there, but they all seem so clunky. I'm hoping I like these!

Sleep: It has been better the last few nights; I think the Benadryl helps. I haven't woken myself up scratching my belly, which I did every night last week; so that's good!

Best moment this week: Growth ultrasound on Friday. Always so great to see the babies. :) No pictures were taken, because both of the girls were face down and curled up; feeling a little camera shy. But, they are measuring normal; Baby A estimated at 2 pounds 15 ounces and Baby B estimated at 2 pounds 11 ounces. I don't know how accurate these weights are, but either way, they're looking great!

Movement: Yep! Also, in the last week, I've had root beer twice, and they seem to love it- or I'm giving them a crazy sugar rush. Probably the latter. :) Granted, I haven't had any sugary soda since I've been pregnant, so maybe they'd go all crazy with any soda, but I like to think it's specifically root beer that makes them boogie.

Food cravings: Nope.

Genders: Still two girls!

Labor Signs: No- not yet.

Belly Button in or out? It's a little more than halfway out now. But still not out all the way.

What I miss: Vanity alert; once again, I'm whining about missing clear skin. I have a new sympathy for anyone who's ever struggled with chronic acne, because my skin is really bad right now. Nothing to be done, but I miss my mostly blemish free days.

What I am looking forward to: Our Child birthing and Caring for a Newborn classes this Sunday! Pretty excited for those. :)

Weekly Wisdom: Time flies! I know; I'm blowing your mind right now. You've never heard that before, right? Well, it's true. Even though I occasionally get a little impatient and just want to meet my girls NOW.... mostly I just can't believe how quickly this time has gone by. At my baby shower, my friend Jill said something really great: In the pie of life, pregnancy & childbirth are such small slices, and go by so quickly. So, if you're having a fabulous pregnancy and a fabulous birth; enjoy them. If your pregnancy is miserable and your childbirth less-than-perfect; just know it is such a small part of things. That really stuck with me. I have really loved this experience for the most part, thus far, so I will try to soak up every moment I can!

Milestones: Hmm, I don't know that I reached any milestones this week. I guess one milestone I forgot to mention a couple of weeks back, is that Ian and I officially have two full names picked out. We aren't telling- sorry!- but it felt good to choose. We don't know which baby will get which name, or even if we'll stick with the names once we see them. But, I think we will; we've been hemming and hawing about names pretty much since 16 weeks when we discovered it was two girls.

And here's me, 28 weeks, 6 days!

Have a lovely Wednesday! And apologies if you're tired of me asking, but if you wouldn't mind, please vote for me if you have a chance. Thanks! :)

~M

for my girls

Every once in a while I get all choked up just thinking about how I get to meet my two girls in such a short period of time. I get so overwhelmed with emotion; excited, nervous, overwhelmed, in awe, and just lots of love for my husband and my two little ones.

I often think about what their lives will be like, and what paths they will take. Even though they’re not even born, I already have the urge to protect them from any pain that may ever come their way. I know this isn’t possible, and that pain and hardships are just part of life, but I do wish a few things for them, and I’m going to do all I can to make sure the wishes come true:

1. I wish that you will always feel loved. By me, by your dad, by your family and by each other. I plan on telling you I love you every day, so get ready.

2. I wish that you will always feel safe. I hope that if ever you don’t feel safe, that we can be there to comfort you, or that when you’re older, you’ll have a wonderful support group of friends and family that you can lean on.

3. I wish that you will feel beautiful, always. As women, we struggle so much with our outward appearances, but I plan on doing everything in my power to show you your beauty both inside and out, and also teach you to appreciate the same in everyone.

4. I wish that you will have kind hearts, open minds, and a taste for adventure.

5. I wish that you will always have the courage and strength to follow your hearts and take your own paths, even if it’s not what everyone else thinks you should be doing.

6. I wish that you will enjoy your childhood as long as you possibly can before heading in to adulthood. You may THINK adulthood is way better, but trust me, don’t rush it.

7. I wish that when we go through our inevitable difficult period during your teen years, that we’ll still be able to communicate on some level, and that I remember what it was like when I was a teenager so I can have more patience with you.

8. I wish that you will feel loved. Yes, I said this already, but I can’t emphasize it enough. We will always love you, and I hope that above everything in your life, that you find endless amounts of love.

I can’t wait to meet you girls. I love you so much already, I can’t even imagine what it will feel like to finally see you and hold you.

Love, your Mom

~M

*photo credit here

P.S. A quick plea- we are climbing up the list, but it seems to be slowing down a bit. Just click the box below, and then once more, and you can do it every day! :)

baby cabbages

Two posts in one day? I know- crazy. :)

According to "what to expect", I currently have two small cabbages in my uterus. Well, ok, babies the SIZE of two small cabbages.

Also, here is babycenter's best guess as to what it looks like in there:

~M

the perks of pregnancy, and also some randomness

On Friday my work was closed for Good Friday. I had an ultrasound at 8:30 that morning, so no sleeping in for me, but I didn’t care. I love ultrasounds! This one was to measure growth. They have to measure growth every four weeks to make sure they are growing enough, and that they aren’t more than 40% different in size. I also was so relieved to see them and their little heartbeats, because lately their movement has SEEMED sporadic. I don’t think it actually is, but it just seems that way. I watched them on the screen on Friday, and they were moving all around, and I didn’t feel every movement they made. So, apparently there’s lots going on in there that I don’t feel. Also, I can’t differentiate between which baby is kicking me. So, sometimes I get all paranoid that Baby B is doing all the kicking/moving, and I haven’t felt Baby A for a long time. But, I think it’s just that I can’t tell who is doing what. It always baffles me when I read or hear pregnant ladies saying “Oh, yes, I totally keep getting kicked in the kidneys or the bladder, or the ribs.” I don’t know how they can tell which internal organ is getting kicked. To me so far, it just feels like they’re kicking my “insides”.

During the ultrasound though, when the tech had finished and left the room, we were waiting for the doctor to arrive to double check everything. I was laying on the table chatting with Ian and all of the sudden there was a BIG kick, and we both saw my stomach move. Ian was at least four feet away from me. It was crazy. This has started to happen all the time; I can actually see the kick from the outside. Crazy!

Anyway, (this is kind of rambly so far; sorry.) after the ultrasound, I had the whole day free. Unfortunately, I had a really un-fun way to spend the day all planned out. My driver’s license needed to be renewed, and since I’m never off work when the DMV is open, I decided I needed to take care of it on Friday. I didn’t think that many people would have Good Friday off. Apparently I was wrong. I got there and there was a line that probably would have taken me over 2 hours to get to the front of. I considered just leaving, because I really don’t think I can stand for that long, but I decided to see if I could tough it out. After about 5 minutes of waiting in line, one of the DMV guys came up to me, looked at my gigantor belly and said, “Here, let me help you out.” He then proceeded to take me up to the front of the line! Wahoo! I apologized to the guy behind me, but honestly, I didn’t feel too bad. I don’t know how I would have possibly be able to stand in line for that long. So, what would have normally been a 2-4 hour trip to the DMV ended up being only about 45 minutes. Huzzah for pregnancy! :)

Regarding the PUPPP itching, it seems to be getting a LITTLE bit better. Ian found this soap that is supposed to help called “Grandpa’s Pine Tar Soap”. I’ve been using it 3 times per day for the last few days, and honestly, I think it’s starting to help. I still have to ice my stomach a couple of times a day and also at night, but it’s starting to feel like it could be improving. I really hope so!! I honestly have been having such a lovely pregnancy so far, I would hate to have this itching ruin the last couple of months. I just hope it's gone by the time the summer comes; because the itching is MUCH worse when I'm hot. Keep your fingers crossed!

We didn’t get any pictures from the most recent ultrasound, because both of the babies were all curled up and face down, so no cute profile pics could be taken. I think it might be hard from here on out, since they’re so crowded in there. Baby A they are approximating at 2 pounds 15 ounces, and Baby B is approximately 2 pounds 11 ounces. They are still right on track, so that’s great! I can’t believe we only have 10 weeks to go! Crazy.

Happy Monday to all! I hope you had a great Easter weekend.

~M

a pre-babies “to do” list

Well, time is certainly starting to tick away quickly- I only have about 10 or 11 weeks until the big day! Of course they could come a bit earlier, but I’d prefer they stay in there and cook as long as they can.

In the meantime, I have a list I’m keeping of “things to do” before their arrival, and I thought I’d share it with you all. Because, other people’s lists! How fascinating, right? Anyway, here it is, in no particular order:

1. Talk to insurance company and get any and all info we need for hospital stay, adding babies to insurance, etc.

2. Take our classes! This is coming up soon, and I’m excited. We start our Childbirth class series on May 1st! This goes for 3 Sundays, and then we have breastfeeding and caring for a newborn in mid May.

3. Find a pediatrician. My OB has one that she’ll have us use in the hospital on the day, but still we need one for after that.

4. Do some spring cleaning. We need to deep clean the house a few more times (or perhaps hire someone to do it towards the end) before the babies arrive. I also want to do another “purge” of things we can give away to the Salvation Army.

5. Buy our cloth diapers and some wet bags. Yes, we do plan on cloth diapering. At the beginning, we’re going to do a mix of disposable and cloth, and slowly move towards just doing cloth as they get bigger/ we get better at it.

6. Wash all newborn clothes, crib sheet and mattress pads.

7. Stock up on food, toiletries, cat food & litter.

8. Test out breast pump and make sure I have all necessary parts. Wendy SO generously gave me hers, so I just need to take a look at it and make sure I understand how it works.

9. Purchase a few last minute items like a baby monitor. Mostly we have what we need though.

10. Line up a cat sitter.

11. Pack hospital bag.

I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but this is the list as it stands! A lot of this isn’t doable for a few weeks, but it’s nice to see it all laid out in black and white.

Any of you moms have anything you think I should add to my list? Or just thoughts in general?

~M

*adorable list and picture found here

weekly wednesday update

How far along? 27 weeks 6 days! Officially in the third trimester!

Total weight gain/loss: To date, 16 pounds.

Stretch marks? Yes. And remember my itching? (oh, and remember how I was all "next time I won't talk about my itching, I promise!" Well, I lied.) I haven't been officially diagnosed, but it seems I have PUPPS. Sounds like a cute, innocent name, but it honestly is the most miserable I've ever been physically. I'm SO itchy it's ridiculous. My stretchmarks are all red, angry, raised and inflamed. Some women have it worse though, and also get an angry rash all over their torso and legs! I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday, but from what I've read online, there's really not much to be done. I just ice it at night and sometimes I sneak off to the bathroom at work with a cup of ice and do some makeshift icing. It's really so, so miserable. Yesterday walking through Grand Central (it's worse when you're moving around and you have fabric rubbing on your stomach) I almost started crying it was so intensely itchy.

Maternity clothes? Yep. Though lately, maternity clothes are a major pain, because they are rubbing on my tummy, which makes it feel worse.

Sleep: I still wake up almost hourly, but now it's more annoying, because where I used to just go use the restroom and flip over to my other side, I now also have to go get an ice pack from the freezer, and ice my stomach for a few minutes before I go back to sleep.  Yes, I realize I'm talking about being itchy a lot. It's really really itchy, so, it's on my mind all the time. So, deal with it. :)

Best moment this week: Well.....I'll be honest. Hasn't been a great week. BUT, I did reach the third trimester, so I guess that is my best moment this week; realizing I'd reached the last 1/3 of my pregnancy!

Movement: Yep! The one good thing about having to ice my belly all the time is it makes the babies move around a lot. They're probably like, "Mom! What are you DOING?? Jeez, that's cold!"

Food cravings: No, not really.

Genders: Still two girls!

Labor Signs: No- not yet. But I have noticed Braxton Hicks contractions a few times for sure.

Belly Button in or out? It's halfway out. It's all wonky looking.

What I miss: I miss when I wasn't itchy! (I know; you're shocked.)

What I am looking forward to: When I don't itch anymore! Oh, also, my growth ultrasound on Friday. Can't wait!

Weekly Wisdom: Not being insanely itchy is always better than being itchy.

Milestones: Third Trimester! So exciting. :)

And here's me, 27 weeks, 6 days!

Have a lovely Wednesday! Sorry for all of the complaining about itching. I will find more interesting things to write about for the rest of this week. :)

~M

Remember, you can vote once a day! :) We're at 95 now! Top 100, baby!

itchy

I tried to think of something else to blog about but ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT is how itchy my belly is. I knew that this was something that happened during pregnancy. Especially when you're on your way to Gigantictown like I am.

Well, last week I started getting itchier. So, I did what you're not supposed to do, and I scratched. Not thinking it was a big deal. Well, it seems as though I really pissed off my stretchmarks. They are now all swollen and angry and raised and SO SO SO itchy. I also have a few bumps which I believe were caused by me getting all those histamines flowing through my body from my stupid scratching. There are a few scary things online about rashes you can get during pregnancy, but I honestly don’t think I have one; I think my sensitive skin is just really, really irritated.

I moisturize my belly twice a day, and have without fail since about week 8, with either Vitamin E or Belli Elasticity Belly Oil. So, I've done what I can to prevent the itchiness, and still the itchiness came. And now my belly is ANGRY. Very, very angry.

My stretch marks are bright red and just so irritated. This weekend was really hard because it was all I could think about. The only relief I got was from icing my stomach. We have two ice packs, and I just would ice my stomach for a few minutes, and it would usually last me about an hour before the insane itching would start again. I also used Calamine lotion a few times, which helped a little, but not for long.

Hydro cortisone cream is something that if you look it up online, they say that pregnant women can use sparingly, and that they don’t know if it has an effect on the unborn babies. So, I am naturally hesitant to use it. I did once, and it helped for a while, but not really any longer than icing does.

So, I’m just hoping that if I keep my hands off of it, keep it moisturized and can handle icing it multiple times a day (which I totally have, even at work today) that it will get better. Just to be safe, I put a call in to my doctor this morning to call me back, so we’ll see what she says. I’m hoping she has a super awesome solution that I’ve not heard of or read about; but I think this is unlikely.

For now, I’ll just sit here, itchy, hoping it goes away soon.

Yes, I realize this is a very complainy post, but gosh DARNIT this is not pleasant.

I’ll post something happier tomorrow; promise. :)

~M

*photo- Itchy, from the "Itchy and Scratchy Show" on the Simpsons. I googled "itchy" and that's what came up, and it made me laugh. :)

P.S. Feel bad for me and my itchy belly? Well, click twice and vote for me and it might help me feel better! :)

graduation and good news

I made it! Today is the first day of my THIRD trimester! Just SO exciting; a little less than 11 weeks to go!

I just can’t believe it. It feels like it has gone quickly, but also not quickly. I’m so excited to meet these two little people; more excited than I’ve ever been for anything in my life. I already love them so much!

Going in to my third trimester, I feel pretty darn good. However, I stayed out sort of late twice this week, and I think that might have to be the last time that happens. Tuesday night, I went to go see Colin Hay in concert at the City Winery. It was SUCH a good concert and a fun date with Ian. And Colin really gave us our money’s worth; he started playing at 9:15pm (after the 8pm opening act) and played until about 11:30! City Winery is about an hour from our house, so we weren’t home until about 12:30 or so. Great concert, but boy, I was sleepy the next day!

Then the next night, I went to an off-Broadway show with someone from work, and I didn’t get home from that until a little after 11. So, not CRAZY late nights; but late for me right now! Anyway, this weekend will be very much about sleeping in, naps, relaxing, and also some cleaning/closet organizing mixed in there. I KNOW! Aren’t you jealous of my rock star life?

Now, on to the good news! On Tuesday I took my gestational diabetes “glucose challenge screening test”. I had to drink a 50g glucose drink (tasted like that “orange drink” that they used to have at McDonald’s; wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be).

Then after an hour, they draw your blood. I was really worried, because I have many of the risk factors for it. My weight prior to pregnancy, my PCOS, and the fact that I’m having twins are all risk factors for gestational diabetes. So, the cards were stacked against me. But guess what?? I passed; with flying colors! My levels were PERFECT. No gestational diabetes for me! Once they draw your blood, anything less than 140 mg/dL (whatever that means) is normal. And mine was 121! My doctor said it was completely perfect and that we wouldn’t be testing for it again. I’m SO relieved and just so thankful that I don’t have to deal with that. If I had to poke my finger multiple times a day on top of the lovenox injections; well, that’d just be sucky. But yay! All is well in the land of my blood sugar!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a fantastic weekend!

~M

P.S. the babies are each the size of a head of cauliflower this week, apparently. hmm.

P.P.S. just a reminder; you can vote every day! Also, if you read this blog but aren't an official follower on google friend connect (off to the left); what are you waiting for? :)

weekly wednesday update

How far along? 26 weeks 6 days! Getting so close to the third trimester!

Total weight gain/loss: To date, 16 pounds. I had a doctor appt. yesterday, and hadn't had one in four weeks. I gained four pounds between then and yesterday. I'm hoping at this point to only gain the weight of the babies; so, maybe 6-9 more pounds? But I don't know if this is realisitc. I know I'm doing really well weight-gain wise, but I'm starting to get quite uncomfortable, so I'd like to just gain the necessary weight from here on out. We shall see. :)

Stretch marks? Yes. Yesterday when I was getting my ultrasound from my OB she was all, "You know, you should put some vitamin E oil on those; it might help." OH! You think? Gee, I haven't been doing that twice a day for the last 22 weeks or anything. Sigh.

Maternity clothes? Yep! Nothing new to report here.

Sleep: Still the same. I wake up lots, but always go right back to sleep. I think I'm pretty lucky; I'm hoping it stays that way.

Best moment this week: Had a fun night out with my mister last night. We went to see Colin Hay at City Winery and it was a lovely evening out. I stayed up too late, but it was worth it. :)

Movement: Yep! Some days more than others, but it's very consistent now. I do notice when time goes by and I haven't felt anything; but then I usually feel a kick and it's very reassuring. I wish I could always tell which baby was kicking, but I can't. Also, Baby B switched positions! Her head used to be on my left side (she's laying horizontally, or "transverse") but now it's on my right. Baby A is still being all responsible and head down, ready to rock and roll! I asked my doctor if it was likely that she'd move at this point. She said possible, but not likely. So, cross your fingers she'll stay where she is!

Food cravings: No, not really.

Genders: Still two girls! If they're not girls? Well, they'll be wearing a lot of pink in the first part of their lives.

Labor Signs: No- not yet. I think MAYBE I've had a couple of random Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing else.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but I suspect any day it will be out. I know! Can you HANDLE the suspense??? WHEN will her belly button be out? I can't take it!!

What I miss: Even though sometimes I do wish I was more physically comfortable, I still don't miss anything. I love being pregnant and having my girls always with me and all safe and cozy.

What I am looking forward to: I have a growth ultrasound next Friday, and so I get to see how big they are!

Weekly Wisdom: I finally am really feeling my limitations. It's weird. Even throughout my life in times I haven't been in the best shape, I've always been able to keep up with people physically. Now I just feel that I have to walk slower and just take my time more. Sometimes it's annoying, but it's totally unavoidable and necessary. Not really wisdom, but whatevs.

Milestones: Don't know that I hit any milestones this week....hmm. Oh- my ankles and fingers have started mildly swelling? Whee! Not too bad yet, but I know it will start to get worse as the weather heats up. So, that's a pretty darn exciting milestone. Puffiness. :)

Aaaannnnd... here I am. 26 weeks, 6 days.

Yep, that belly will be HUGE; as I still have about 11 weeks to go. As someone so kindly put it today:

Male co-worker: "When are you due?"
Me: "Oh, around the end of June." (sees his reaction...) "With twins."
Male co-worker: (seems relieved) "Oh, I was going to say, you look like you're due any day because you're so big, but twins makes sense."

Nice, huh? :)

Have a lovely Wednesday! :)

~M

preparations

I wanted to share a beautiful video that my super talented husband just made. If you're my facebook friend, you may have already seen it; but I wanted to share anyway.

Ian is an awesome filmmaker, editor, etc. He did this little project for the Vimeo weekend project this last weekend. I hummed the lullaby for it. The whole thing turned out just beautifully; enjoy! :)



~M

you can vote every day! :) No signing up- just two clicks! Thank you!!

the first due date

Friday marked the due date for my first pregnancy. The pregnancy that I lost at 8 weeks. So, it’s possible that if that pregnancy hadn’t been lost, I could be holding my brand new baby right now, instead of sitting at work. I have very mixed emotions about this fact.

It does make me sad, because I wonder- Who that baby would be? A boy, or a girl? Who would it have looked like? How big would it be? How would my pregnancy have gone? These are things I’ll never have answers for, and this gives me a feeling of loss, and yearning for the answers to these questions.

On the other hand, if I didn’t lose that pregnancy, I wouldn’t be sitting here being kicked by my twin girls growing inside of me as I type this post. And not having them sounds just unfathomable.

No, I’m not happy I had a miscarriage. I’m not happy I lost my first pregnancy. It really was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through. I just can’t imagine not having these girls. So, it wasn’t a blessing in disguise; it was just the way things turned out. It was just life.

But I’ll never forget my first pregnancy. I’ll never forget the joy in Ian’s voice when I called him and told him the news. I’ll never forget walking in the door that night just hugging and holding him tight, looking at him through tears of joy. Staring at the little ultrasound pictures saying “that’s our baby!”. No, I’ll never forget these things.

Thank you, little blueberry, for giving us the gift of joy and hope and for showing us that we can make it through anything if we stick together. We’ll never forget you.

~M

top baby blogs!

Hey all! I've just submitted my blog to the Top Baby Blogs website! Please help me move up the list (I'm waaaaaay down at the bottom since I just joined) by clicking the button to the left! You can vote once a day, so, if you feel so inclined.... :)

~M

their own little corner of the world

Well, this last weekend we finished the little corner of our room where the babies will sleep and get changed. It's really darn cute, if I do say so myself.

Kath painted the dresser for us (which was so nice!) and Ian hung the pictures while we gave him directions about moving them left or right. There's obviously some things we'll still need, including a bucket or basket for diapers, lotions, wipes, etc., but it's pretty close to ready for babies!

Here you go!
(click to enlarge photos)

I just love their little nook. Every time I look over at it, I smile. :)
The pictures I printed off for free online. The garland I bought at Paisley Handmade on etsy. The cute monkey was crocheted by Kath.

I hope you enjoyed seeing our little baby corner! In just 3 months, there will be actual BABIES in there!

~M

weekly wednesday update

Happy mid-week to all!

How far along? 25 weeks 6 days!

Total weight gain/loss: To date, 12 pounds. Will have an updated weight next Friday.

Stretch marks? Yes.

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Sleep: Well, my hips haven't been really hurting much lately, so that's good! I still wake up a lot, but always go back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Too many best moments! Mother-in-law visiting all week was so great! She cooked dinner for us, helped us set up our "nursery" (pictures tomorrow!), and we had lots of nice long chats with her. I had a baby shower, and a fun toddler birthday party. My friend Jamie was in town and we had a nice long visit (well, long compared to how quick her trip was). All in all, a lovely week!

Movement: Yep! And now Ian has felt it a few times which is nice. Yesterday they were particularly kicky.

Food cravings: Oh...maybe ice cream yesterday. Damn ice cream.

Genders: Still two girls!

Labor Signs: No- not yet.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting shallower by the day.

What I miss: Not missing anything at the moment. Just really enjoying pregnancy. :)

What I am looking forward to: Skypeing with my mom tonight; showing her the little baby nook!

Weekly Wisdom: I don't know if this is wisdom, per se, but I've discovered it's no longer a good idea to sit on the floor and then try to stand back up by myself. I mean, it can be done, but it ain't graceful.

Milestones: I had a total stranger talk to me about my pregnancy; which hadn't happened yet! It was the clerk at the grocery store near us, and it was very nice. :)

Have a lovely Wednesday; tomorrow I'll be posting pictures of our adorable baby nook! :)

~M

baby showering

As promised; here are a few pictures from my baby shower on Sunday; taken by my mother-in-law, Kath- photographer extraordinaire. (click to enlarge photos, if you so choose)

Getting ready to head upstairs for my shower with Kath! I thought it started at 11am; but it started at 11:30. So, I thought I was being "fashionably late" by showing up at 11:20, but nope. :)

Wendy and Jill

Wendy, Jill and Kristy

Cheers! The lovely hostess, (and my upstairs neighbor and friend!) Angela, is in green.

Jamie! She flew all the way from Seattle!

Such awesome food. An amazing fruit salad and salad, and a strata, which I'd never had before. All so yummy!

And there always has to be cake at a shower. :) This one was made by Wendy and Jamie- a spice cake! They also made chocolate dipped strawberries- yum!

Me opening my mom's gift and getting a little misty reading her card. Miss you mom!

It was a wonderful day, with a group of wonderful ladies! So thankful that I had such a lovely shower.

~M

weekend happenings

Hello! Just a quick post to tell you about my lovely weekend!

On Friday, Neil and I sang a show at the Parkside Lounge, and it went really well! As I mentioned before, my mother-in-law is in town, and so was my friend Jamie; so they both got to attend. Afterwards, we all went out for some super yummy Mexican food! A fun group of friends and family; Me, Ian, his mom, Jamie, her sister Wendy (giver of baby loot) and Angela (who threw me a shower yesterday!)

Saturday we went to Vera's 2nd birthday party. It was so cute and fun, and Vera just seemed to have a wonderful time. And the party was just filled with toddlers; so cute!

Then yesterday; Angela, Wendy, and Jamie threw me a shower. It was just SO lovely. Awesome food, Angela's apartment looked beautiful, and several lovely ladies.

I'll post pictures tomorrow! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I know I did! :)

~M