all in a day

Whew. So sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but I barely have any free moments at all! I knew we were going to be busy and sleep deprived, but I guess I really didn't know to what degree until I was in the midst of it.

Anyway, I thought I'd post a "typical" day of taking care of my newborn twin girls. I know this time won't last very long in the grand scheme of things, so I want to make sure I have a record of it.

It's hard to know where to start the day, since there's not really a beginning or end. I'll start at the 7:45 am feeding yesterday morning, which was the first day without Ian here. He had to go back to work today, poor guy, and we sure missed him!

7:45 am- 8:30- Wake the babies. It takes about 10-15 minutes to wake them up. They are always very sleepy at first. Check their diapers. Feed babies. Nurse each for 10 minutes (try to do so simultaneously). The pediatrician said to not let them nurse much more than 10 minutes at this point, because they're little and it tuckers them out quickly. After they nurse, we feed them some pumped breast milk. Check diapers again, and swaddle them up. Sometimes they're very tired right afterwards, and sometimes it can take up to 1/2 hour to get them to sleep after we finish swaddling them.

8:45am- 9:15- Pump. I have to pump after every feeding to let my body know that I have to produce enough milk for two babies. Since they aren't nursing at full capacity yet, this is important. I pump from anywhere to 15-30 mins.

9:15am- Take a nap. Mom kindly watches the babies while they sleep in the bassinet in the living room, while I sleep for an hour.

10:15 am- repeat the wake/check diaper/nurse/feed/check diaper/swaddle from above.

11:15 am- Pump.

11:45am- 1:15- Make/eat breakfast. Shower. (ahhhh...shower....) Rest for a while. Do some tidying and dishes.

1:15 pm- wake/diaper/nurse/feed/diaper/swaddle. This feeding didn't go that well. Poppy wouldn't latch, and just cried and fussed the whole time I tried to get her to do so. Very sad. :(

2:15-2:45pm- Pump. Eat lunch during this pump session.

2:45-3:45- Called my friend Kristin in lieu of taking another nap. Was nice to catch up as we hadn't really spoken since I was in the hospital. I gave her the lowdown on my recovery and my sweet babies, and heard all about her baby as well.

3:45- 4:30- wake/diaper/nurse/feed/diaper/swaddle. Huzzah! They both latched. Exciting, but not sure what was different this time.

4:30-5:00- Pump.

5:00-6:15- Nap. Ah, glorious nap. Hadn't taken one since early this morning so it was much need and felt good. Until the alarm went off.

6:30- Ian is home! Back from his first day back at work. We all missed him and you can tell he missed his girls. He helps with this session of wake/diaper/nurse/feed/diaper/swaddle. Poppy doesn't latch again. It's becoming a trend, and not a good one. She gets very upset and cries and cries, because she's TRYING to latch, but can't figure it out for some reason. She sometimes can even latch, but then can't figure out she has to suck. Poor sweet baby. :(

7:30- Dinner. Watch an episode of Breaking Bad. Makes us feel a bit like we have more of a life than breastfeeding, pumping, diapers, and onesies. :)

9:00- 10:00pm- Final feeding before we switch to waking them every 3 hours. Poppy is having trouble with the breastfeeding again; so is Amelie. I decide to call a lactation consultant tomorrow, because I really want them to be able to breastfeed successfully.

10:00-10:30- Pump.

10:45-1:00 am- try to get some sleep.

1:00-1:40am- Feeding. Still not much luck with the latching for Poppy. Poor sweet girl; she gets so frustrated that it isn't working for her. I did this feeding with my mom so as to let Ian get an extra couple hours of solid sleep.

2:00-2:30am- Pump.

2:30-4:00am- try to sleep. Girls are fussy so I have to keep rocking them. Didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked; maybe 45 minutes or an hour. The girls wake up at 4am, even though our next feeding was going to be at 4:40. Guess their tummies didn't get the memo.

4:00-4:40- Feed, change, etc.

4:45- 5:15am- Pump.

5:30 -7:15 am- try to sleep. More successful this time. Wake up with Ian's alarm thinking we need to feed them right then, but then realize I have until 7:40. Try to close my eyes for a few more minutes.

7:45-8:30 am- Feed, change, swaddle, put them to sleep.... And it starts all over again......

I know that my days will not be like this for long in the grand scheme of things, and I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy them at this size/age/stage in their little lives. We're exhausted, and it's pretty difficult, but I'm so happy to have my two little girls in my life now. They're the sweetest girls ever, and I feel like we just couldn't be luckier; even if we never sleep. :)

Well, some of us do, as you can see....

~M

one week

Happy one week birthday, Amelie and Poppy. You have made me and your dad happier than I ever could have imagined. I can't wait to see what lies ahead in the coming years; I have a feeling it's going to be pretty darn amazing.

~M

baby daze

I'm really trying to keep my blog updated and keep you all in the loop; but boy, do I not have much time anymore these days! I mean, duh, that was to be expected; but I guess I didn't FULLY realize how much time it would all take until I was in it.

Today was our first full day back home, and last night was our first night with the babies all night. I won't lie; it wasn't an easy one. Poppy seemed to be having some tummy issues, so she woke up quite a bit and really just couldn't sleep for much longer than an hour at a time. We just pretty much didn't sleep at all last night. We said to each other many times; "This is hard- really hard."

Don't get me wrong- I am IN LOVE with my girls; I just can't believe how much I love them. But your sanity starts to slip away when the sleep goes; and we're only on the first day! I never thought I'd miss the hospital, but I kind of did last night. Even though it broke my heart every night to take them to the nursery and have other people take care of them during the night; the sleep was so needed.

However, my mom is just a lifesaver. During the day today, after we feed them and put them down to sleep in their bassinet, my mom watches them while they sleep, and let us sleep a couple of hours or so. It helped us a lot today to feel a little more human. We are very lucky to have her here for the next week and a half or so!

We also went to the pediatrician today for their first weight check. They've lost a bit of weight which is totally normal, but we found out we haven't been feeding them quite enough. Our feeding routine has been letting them try to breastfeed for 10 minutes or so (we have successfully fed both at the same time; sort of), then we feed them a mixture of colostrum that I've pumped and formula. My milk hasn't come in yet (it is sometimes delayed when you have a c-section), so we have to supplement for a while. I'm ok with it, because I am still getting them my colostrum which is FULL of really good stuff that the babies need. And once the milk comes in, I'm hoping to pretty much exclusively feed them that way as long as I can. ANYway, we found out we weren't feeding them quite enough formula; and now that we've upped it, they're sleeping much longer stretches. So let's hope tonight goes a lot better! Cross your fingers.

And now, a few more cute pictures of my sweet girls.

The girls in their hospital bassinet:

Poppy's coming home outfit (size Newborn- still kinda swimming in it):

Amelie's coming home outfit:

In the stroller, getting ready to leave the hospital:

Amelie doing some yoga:

Poppy and dad on Father's day:

~M
P.S. Poppy and Amelie told me they would super appreciate it if you'd vote for them on Top Baby Blogs!

to tide you over

Today was our last day in the hospital and tonight is my last night. We are checking out tomorrow morning/early afternoon, and I'm so excited! Our days have pretty much been full of feeding, pumping, changing, eating and then repeating. We haven't yet been able to achieve (nor have we really tried) feeding them both at the same time, so each feeding takes 30 minutes or so. Then we switch to the next baby while someone changes the first one. Then they usually nap. Then, we repeat it about 60-90 minutes later.

So, needless to say, I don't have a huge long blog post for you. What I DO have, is some ridiculously cute photos to tide you over in the meanwhile. I have a plan to write down the birth story and the story of the hospital (probably in 2-3parts) in the next day or so, mostly so I don't forget anything. So, I'll be sharing that shortly.

But for now, you can just look at cute babies. :)

~M

introducing

Born- June 15th, 1:53pm, weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces and 18.3 inches long, Miss Poppy Lorelai:



Born- June 15th, 1:54 pm, weighing 5 pounds,3 ounces and 18.5 inches long, Miss Amelie Violet:



Sorry for the short post and camera phone pics, but things have been stressful here! More to come very soon! We sure love our girls to pieces!

~M

today

Well, here I lay in the hospital! My water broke at 6:15am and I've been admitted. Not much else to say right now- just waiting for the doctor to decide what's next. I'm not contracting yet, so will most likely need some help in that department. I never thought my body would start things on its own- seems as though I was wrong!

So many feelings; excited, nervous, scared, thrilled! Of course our bag wasn't packed (I know- what was I thinking?) so we scrambled to do that before we left.

Anyway- here we are- just waiting! I'll update when I know more or when we have pics of baby girls! :)

me and you (and soon, plus two)

So, Ian and I have come to the shocking realization, that no matter what we decide about delivery; in no more than 2 1/2 weeks we will have two babies living with us.

I know, right?? This hits us a little harder every day. Not in a bad way; just in a "WHOA...crazy!" way. The biggest change we've faced in our lives thus far is less than 3 weeks away. Bigger than moving in together, bigger than getting married, bigger than moving all the way across the country. Maybe the biggest we'll ever face.

We both have some anxieties about it all, but I won't focus on that today. Today I want to talk about my best friend and husband; Ian.

It seems so crazy that these are our last few days together, just the two of us. Sometimes I get really sad about this; not because I'm not thrilled to be having these girls- of course I am!- but just because I'll miss the "just us" feeling.

I wish I wasn't so insanely uncomfortable and pretty much couch ridden so that we could do more fun things our last few weeks. See a movie or a show, or have dinner and wander around town. Alas, this probably won't happen, as these days it is an effort to walk (or, actually sort of waddle) across the apartment. :(

Ian is my best friend, the funniest, most considerate, sweetest guy I know, and I feel so lucky to have him as my husband. I will miss the "just us" time for sure; but I know that our marriage is one of our top priorities, and that we're both going to make a big effort to make sure we make time for each other whenever we can. We also will make sure we keep the lines of communication open, which I think is crucial. I know it will be really hard; I'm not naive about that. I just know it's a big priority of ours.

He is going to be the best dad. Seriously. He'll be fun, stern when he needs to, silly, supportive, loving and always there for them. I can't wait to see him do his dad thing. I know he's going to rock it.

So, even though our days are numbered as "just the two of us"; I am so looking forward to a new chapter when we're a family of four. Because I think it's going to be pretty frickin' awesome.

~M

P.S. Got a second? Click the box below to vote for us! We're still on the first page of Top Baby Blogs after they reset the numbers, but we're dangerously close to the second page (not that that's a bad thing; but it feels pretty cool to be on the first page.) Just two clicks and you're all done!

a big decision

So, yesterday I went to my weekly doctor's appointment and it was fairly routine. Blood pressure still really good, so no preeclampsia still. Which is a very good thing! Just legs that keep holding more fluid; just when you think they can hold no more.

Then we started talking about the due date, and how if things kept up this way (nothing happening cervix-wise, and baby A still not dropping down further), that I'd for sure make it to 38 weeks. But THEN she said in the same breath "but since the babies are such a good size, I could always induce you a week earlier at 37 weeks since you're so uncomfortable."

Wha? She has never mentioned anything like this before; probably because twin pregnancies quite often don't even make it THIS far. I was kind of shocked, and instantly confused about how to respond. She told me to take the week and think it over, and let her know next week.

Now, as I was getting dressed to leave, and as it took almost 10 minutes to put my pants, shoes and socks on due to my lack of ability to really bend my legs or ankles anymore; I have to admit it sounded tempting to go one week earlier. Get rid of this water. But, since I'm done with work after today, I'm hoping that things will improve and I'll get a tiny bit more comfortable.

If we DID decide to do it, they'd test their lungs the day before to make sure they were mature, and then the next day they'd induce. It's a hard decision! On the one hand, they always say that at 37 weeks, a baby is fully cooked. And if they truly are over 5 pounds now (baby A almost 6) then they'll be even better off in two more weeks.

Then again, they always say you should keep babies in as long as you can; it's the best place for them.

Then AGAIN, my thighs are currently the size of my former waist; my calves and ankles the same size as my former thighs. And my feet- well, I can't see any veins or bones anymore. And it's all very uncomfortable. So, if things don't get better now that I'm done working- I'll be tempted to just go for it one week early.

So- that's our decision we need to make by next Wednesday at my appointment. It seems like such a big decision! Like playing God or something. I feel like it's a lot of pressure. Even though it's only one week sooner; it feels like a big deal.

In the meantime, this weekend will be full of lots of resting, thinking and discussing.

Bottom line; we're either meeting these girls in 2 or 3 weeks from today. And that's pretty darn exciting. :)

~M

P.S. Every 3 months, they re-set the rankings on Top Baby Blogs. Will you take a minute and click on the button below and vote for me? I'd be ever so grateful! :) You can vote every day too; you know, if you feel like it. :)

Have a great weekend!

they're a growin'

Well, today I had my final growth scan for the girls, and the girls made great progress! The last ultrasound was done at 32 weeks, and at that time, here were their estimated weights:

Baby A: 4 pounds 11 oz
Baby B: 4 pounds 2 oz

And this morning:

Baby A: 5 pounds 14 oz
Baby B: 5 pounds 2 oz

Grow, babies grow! If these weights are accurate (which, who knows...) then I've got 11 pounds of baby I'm carrying around! Wowzers. :)

We've hit 35 weeks! We're so close to the end, it's crazy! In two weeks they'll be considered "fully cooked", and in 3 (if I haven't delivered on my own), I'll be induced. So, the longest we'll have to wait at this point to meet our two daughters, is 3 weeks! This is so wild and just unreal to me. I look around at our house and see that we're ready technically. Crib, diapers, monitors, clothes; we're all set. But as far as the whole "parent" thing goes; well, that's just uncharted territory right there! I'm excited, but wow. Two new lives we're responsible for, in just 3 weeks!

Tomorrow is my last day in the office, which is good. It's been very hot here the last few days, which isn't helping with the swelling. But, I sit on my butt for most of the day, every day when I'm at work, so I believe that contributes to the swelling the most. So, not having to do that will be a great help. It's crazy that I won't be at work after tomorrow! My how life is about to change in so many ways....

Speaking of work, Ian's co-workers threw him a surprise baby shower yesterday. I was part of the surprise. One of his co-workers, Sarah, called me several weeks ago telling me the plan. He was very surprised to see me there! They did such a good job! It had a theme; superheroes. If you know Ian at all, you know he has enjoyed comic books and superheroes his whole life, so it was a very thoughtful theme. When I arrived, I was made to put on a homemade "supermom" cape, and then when Ian walked in and got over his initial shock, he donned his "superdad" cape. Pretty darn cute:

They had lots of treats to snack on and beer, and of course baby gifts. Just so sweet of them! And I think the cape suits him well. I do believe he'll be a pretty darn super dad. :)

Well, that's about all that is new around here! We're just anxious with anticipation and excited for the next few weeks and what they'll bring!

We love you, baby girls, and we just can't wait to meet you!

~M

weekly wednesday update

How far along? 34 weeks 6 days!

Total weight gain/loss: I got weighed last week and had gained another 7. Sigh. I really hate this fluid retention. Total gain thus far- 41 pounds. Which I know is still totally reasonable for twins, and that a lot of it is water; but still. C'mon body!

Stretch marks? Yes.

Maternity clothes? Yep. This Friday is my last day in the office before the babies come, so I just have to squeeze a few more uses out of my work clothes. Then it's jammies and sundresses and jeans for me for the rest of this pregnancy!

Sleep: The same. I am thinking I might try to nap during the day once I'm off work to help make up for the lack of sleep I get at night.

Best moment this week: Not really one best; but many good ones with Ian when we'd just be talking and one of us would say, "We are going to have babies any day now! Whoa!" Pretty darn exciting. :)

Movement: Yep! They're pretty active still, but it's obvious that they are running out of room. It's crazy though; since they're getting bigger- when they shift it can really change the shape of my belly!

Food cravings: Yesterday I thought corn on the cob sounded good; but I think that's more because it's summer food :)

Genders: Still two girls!

Labor Signs: Definitely having more Braxton Hicks contractions. But cervix is still closed.

Belly Button in or out? Semi-out and just odd looking.

What I miss: Being able to get off the couch or out of bed easily. It's quite the process nowadays! :)

Weekly Wisdom: Although I felt guilt about leaving work before my due date, I know it's for the best. It's just getting too hard to do the commute in the morning, especially with swollen legs.

What I am looking forward to: Babies! And seeing my mom (who is coming for the birth) and then after that my mother in law. Lots of quality mom/daughter/grandma time!

Milestones: I was wondering when this was going to happen, and it finally has. Complete strangers asking me when I'm due. :) Seems to happen daily now. And most people now also say something like "well, you MUST be having twins." Good thing I am; or that'd be insulting!

And here's me, 34 weeks, 6 days! Last photo in the work bathroom!

Have a wonderful day!

~M

loot

Yesterday I had another baby shower. Not the traditional kind that a friend or family member throws you; but the kind where you pay to get in and they give you all SORTS of crazy loot. And, ok, it wasn't just for ME; it was for me and hundreds of expecting moms in New York City.

This particular shower is held once a year in NYC, and it's called "The Biggest Baby Shower"; and it's put on by a group called Big City Moms. Basically, you pay an entry fee ($68.00) and you gain entry into essentially a wedding show type thing; only for expectant moms.

Hundreds of vendors are there, prizes are given away, seminars on raising kids take place. This year, everyone who attended got an Aprica stroller. I bought my friend Angela a ticket, so she could come with me, and then I'd get two of everything. Two strollers being the main exciting thing. These strollers are about $150 each- so it was well worth it; not to mention- look at all the other loot I scored!

Upon entry, you were given a "bingo" card that had all the names of the vendors on it. You had to visit 20 vendors to claim your stroller and gift bag. You also had to attend one seminar. Angela and I powered through and got to about 14 vendors before we went to a 7:30 seminar on "Raising a Chemical Free Baby", by Dr. Sears. Once that was done, we quickly visited our last 6 vendors and were on our way! We got in line to get our strollers and bags of gifts, and headed home.

Anyone in the NYC area that happens to find themselves pregnant in the next year, I believe these baby showers are usually held in the late Spring, early Summer. You can check out the website here to keep in the loop for the next shower. I had a great time and it was well worth it!

~M

P.S. I'm not being paid by Big City Moms in any way; I just wanted to tell you about my fun adventure!

another week gone by

Happy Friday everyone! Sorry I was MIA yesterday; I had a busy day! In the morning we had a meeting with our future pediatrician, and then late afternoon I had another follow up doctor appointment with my OB.

The meeting with the pediatrician went well. We really liked her and she is quite close to our apartment which is nice. We felt a little silly, because all the books say you’re supposed to meet with/interview your future pediatrician beforehand; but we really didn’t know what to ask. I looked a few questions up on line on the bus ride there, but mostly we just chatted with her. We talked about immunizations (we’re just going to stick to the standard AMA schedule of immunizations), breastfeeding, etc. She was very nice and her practice seems great; so we’re pleased.

My OB appointment went fairly well also. My swelling is even worse this week (honestly? I did not think it was possible, but sadly, yes.) but my blood pressure is still great (110/70) and I had no protein in my urine. (Don’t you love getting updates on my urine?) So, no preeclampsia yet! My doctor still thinks I could be at risk for it, since my swelling/edema is so bad, so I will go in weekly to be checked out from now on. She took some blood again just to be safe and I should get those test results back today.

My legs are so crazy swollen. I almost had to ask the nurse yesterday after my appointment to help me put my socks and shoes on, because I was unable to bend my legs- my skin was so tight! Yikes. Also, I gained another SEVEN pounds in one week; and I know it’s mostly fluid because my babies sure didn’t grow that much, and I know I didn’t gain that much fat in one week. So, just more fluid. I really hope I reach a point where I can’t possibly retain any more. I took a cool bath last night, hoping that would help. Online it says swimming helps, so I thought a bath might help too? I don’t have access to a pool, so it will have to do. I might try to take one every night to see if that helps at all.

As promised, here’s where we are with our “to do” list. We’re almost done! I’ll pack my hospital bag this weekend, and maybe do a couple of the other things; but we’re pretty prepared! (You know; as prepared as anyone CAN be for something like this….)

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. Found an awesome one and she’s only about 20 blocks from us!

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. Have already had the cleaning lady come once (from my awesome Groupon deal) and have one more. Will probably use it in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if we’ll get to the purge part for Salvation Army, but we’ll try.

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. Still need to sterilize.

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.

12. Make a birth plan.

13. Buy some nursing tanks and bras.

14. Put the bassinet together.

15. Attach the changing pad to the dresser.

16. Make a few meals ahead of time and freeze.

It’s so crazy that SO soon we will have a family of four instead of two- family of five if you count Lucky the cat. :) It could still be four more weeks, or it could just be a couple of weeks away. Wow!

That’s all for now! I’ll be better about blogging next week; it should be a little calmer of a week. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

~M

weekly wednesday update

How far along? 33 weeks 6 days!

Total weight gain/loss: Haven't been weighed since Friday. As of Friday, I hadn't gained any more weight- so I am still up a total of 34 pounds. I know that at least 8 of it is water retention. What a relief it will be when I finally lose all this extra fluid!

Stretch marks? Yes.

Maternity clothes? Yep. My work pants aren't fitting as well around my belly. They fit everywhere else, but I'm sure not going to buy more work pants if I might only be here just a short while longer. I'll make 'em work!

Sleep: Not great, but oh well. Feels better now though that we have the AC on!

Best moment this week: Being told that all is well with both babies when we were at the hospital, and also being told that all is well with me so far. Let's hope it keeps up!

Movement: Yep! Even more hiccups this morning. I kept my hand on my stomach for a good 15 minutes on the bus this morning, just feeling the tiny hiccups. So cute!

Food cravings: Nope!

Genders: Still two girls!

Labor Signs: Definitely having more Braxton Hicks contractions. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to see what my cervix is up to.

Belly Button in or out? Semi-out and just odd looking.

What I miss: Being able to walk at a quick pace. It's hard getting around New York when you're just slowwwwwwly walking and can't go faster.

Weekly Wisdom: Listening to your doctor is a very good thing. I'm glad I took a few days at home last week, even if I got bored. I think it was a well needed rest. Still pretty tired though. I'm just trying to rest as often as I can now!

What I am looking forward to: Babies! After our little scare this week, we decided to kick it up a notch and get some more things crossed off our list (I'll give you an update on that tomorrow). We realized at this point they could really come at any time, and we need to be ready!

Milestones: Not sure how many milestones are left. I guess "moderate bed rest" last week was a milestone.

And here's me, 33 weeks, 6 days! Back in the work bathroom!

Thanks so much for all of your votes every day on topbabyblogs.com! We're up to # 39! Wow!! You guys are the best. :)

Have a wonderful day!

~M

hot in the city

So, summer has officially descended on New York! It is in the upper 80's today, and VERY humid. Normally it's not my favorite, but it's especially unpleasant while I'm pregnant. It's only going to get warmer though; so I'm glad I won't be pregnant in July and August!

I started back at work today on a "see how it goes" basis. I have to say, my swelling is just as bad as it was last week. Sitting all day; no matter how many little breaks I took, still takes its toll. I have a doctor appointment on Thursday to check back in (check my BP, urine, etc.) and she'll give me her advice about continuing work then.

It's hard, because even though I'm uncomfortable at work; it's so boring at home on bed rest. And so hard to lay there all day with your feet elevated above your heart. So, both have pluses and minuses. Of course, if mine or the babies' safety were at stake, I'd stay home for sure- no question. We'll just have to wait and see what my doctor says.

Today I started my new method of commuting; the express bus. Normally I take the subway to 42nd street and then transfer to the cross town shuttle. With the express bus there are no transfers or subway stairs. Plus, there's no waiting underground in the hot summer for a train. It DOES cost more, and surprisingly takes a little longer because of traffic; but I think it will be good. Less stairs is always good with puffy feet and a super heavy belly!

I wonder if mother nature makes the last bit of pregnancy so uncomfortable, so that you're even MORE excited to meet your baby. If so- it sure is working! :)

I hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

~ M

*photo found here