Happy Birthday Keegan & Noelle!

Today the twins are 19 days old. A TON of stuff has happened in the past 19 days, so I thought I'd sit down while these babies nap and type it all out so I don't forget any of it.

Let's start with their birth day - Friday, April 12th. After 15 days on hospital bedrest, it was time for them to make their debut. My c-section was scheduled for 12 pm, and I had to be ready to go at 10 am. The morning was really calm. Got up, finished packing up my room, showered and put on my hospital gown. They wheeled me down to Labor and Delivery at 10 o'clock on the dot, and I was put in a room to get monitored and start my IVs. Our families came in and visited with us and Jenn and Connor surprised us too! It was a really sweet, surreal time preparing for delivery. The anesthesiologist came and talked to us. He mentioned that since my blood pressure had been so high due to pre-eclampsia, that I would likely feel light headed after the epidural because that makes your blood pressure drop. I still felt really calm through the whole thing - I was ready to go.

They wheeled me into the delivery room by myself to get the epidural. It was a weird experience. There were tons of people in the room setting up the stations for the twins. The epidural didn't hurt at all. It literally felt like a shot. I instantly went numb and couldn't lift my legs. They laid me back on the table and the doc started asking me how I felt. The next few minutes were yucky. I was kind of nauseous, light headed, etc. But as soon as I told them how I was feeling, they adjusted the meds and got me feeling stable. The anesthesiologist took an ice pack and moved it from my legs up to my face to see when I could feel the cold. I didn't feel it until it was on my forehead! He actually joked and said next time I do this to let them know I am 'extra sensitive' to epidurals. What the heck! Then he pulled out his iphone and texted my doctor to let her know I was ready. (Technology is crazy, right??) Her reply to his text - "Let's do this!" A couple minutes later she came strolling in, with another doctor from the practice to assist her because it was twins. By this time Justin was in the room too standing right next to me and I could see him looking around soaking everything in.

At 12:10, our sweet Keegan entered the world screaming. I did not feel one single thing during my surgery. No pressure, pulling, tugging, nothing. Justin watched the entire thing! At 12:12, Noelle was born. She was also crying, but not as loudly as her brother. The next few minutes are kind of a blur. I remember Justin going over to be by the babies while they were getting weighed and cleaned up, and I also remember hearing lots of voices talking about Noelle and her breathing and coloring. While I was getting stitched up, one of the nurses came over to tell me they were taking Noelle to NICU to get checked out - so her and Justin left. I laid there for a little while longer, the doctors said bye, and I was wheeled to the recovery room. Kind of a weird moment, but I wasn't scared or nervous for some reason.

Keegan and I were taken to recovery where I was taken care of by the sweetest nurse, Emily. Right away she brought me Keegan and helped me nurse him. She is a huge breastfeeding advocate, so she also started helping me express milk for him and Noelle. Everyone came in and out to see me and Keegan, and give me updates on Noelle. I was in quite a bit of pain though, and Emily told me I was bleeding a lot more than she liked, so she called the anesthesiologist and my doctor to give them an update. Not to go into too much detail, but basically after you deliver, your uterus has to contract to start going back to its normal size. Mine was not, and I was losing a lot of blood and blood clots. The doctor had to come in and massage my uterus (hello worst pain ever, even on the hard core pain medicine I was on) for 30 minutes to get the bleeding to stop. He actually ordered me three units of blood because he thought I'd need a blood transfusion. Luckily the bleeding stopped, and while my 1 hour recovery turned into 6 hours, I finally got to leave and head to my hospital room.

On our way to my hospital room, Justin and I stopped at the NICU to see Noelle. I was laying in my hospital bed, and remember getting pushed up next to her incubator. She was the most precious little girl I'd ever seen, and I was extremely emotional. She was on a machine called CPAP which was helping put pressured oxygen into her lungs. The tubes and IVs were larger than her tiny little body, and I could only get a good look at her eyes. The NICU nurses assured us that she was doing OK, just getting some extra breathing support she needed, and that I should come back in the morning for an update. (I will write a whole post on our NICU experience later on).

April 12th was by far the sweetest day of my life. As I write this, I wish I could go back and relive every single moment. It was absolutely perfect, despite it going a little differently than I had imagined, and we were blessed with two sweet angels who have forever changed our lives in this short 19 days. The amount of love we have for them is unimaginable, and I find myself just staring at them soaking up every detail. God had a plan to bring our babies into this world, and while it was a challenging time with Noelle in NICU, Justin and I learned patience, trust, sacrifice and pure joy to a whole different level then every before.

My last pre-mommy post

Sitting here on day 13 in the hospital seems pretty surreal. In some ways it feels like I have been here forever, but in other ways the time has flown by. I know I am here for a reason. When I was admitted on March 28th, several of the doctors in the practice told me they didn't think I would make it a few more days before I delivered. My preeclampsia was mild to moderate, and the only cure is to deliver. Thankfully, strict hospital bedrest has kept my blood pressures pretty stable, my liver levels in the normal range, and my swelling has decreased dramatically. I am so blessed that I have been able to carry these babies two weeks longer. Bringing them from 35 to 37 weeks, they are not going to be considered premature. God's plan was for me to deliver two full-term twins at 37 weeks, and I am emotional realizing what a true, true blessing that is. Almost 60% of twins are born before 37 weeks, so we have really made it far. Phew, did I mention I was emotional? The past couple of days have been really tough, exciting, overwhelming, and in some ways very calming. Several times, Justin and I have just stopped mid-conversation about something else and started talking about Friday. About how in just a few short days we will be parents to two kids at once. How incredibly lucky and excited we are for this journey. How insane Friday morning will feel while they are prepping me for my c-section. As much as we have thought and talked about how Friday will go, I don't think we can fully be prepared for it.

I think the sense of 'calm' I have felt is another blessing I couldn't have fully understood until now. Justin and I created a To-Do list pretty early in my pregnancy. We always knew there was a chance I could go on bedrest, and our doctors suggested we try to have everything ready by 32 weeks. When I was admitted to the hospital, I was a little anxious that I wouldn't step foot into my house until I was walking in the door with Noelle and Keegan. But then I really thought about it, and realized that everything critical that needed to be done... was done. My bag was packed, nursery ready, clothes washed, house clean.... so thankfully I was able to get over that anxious feeling pretty quick. And, Justin was amazing. He has made sure our house is ready for guests, gone back and forth from the hospital every day to wash clothes, work, and made sure I have everything I could possibly need. I know me being here has been tougher on him, and I appreciate everything he's done so much. I know not everyone has such amazing support, so I am truly lucky.

I've also gotten so much support from friends and family. My Houston girlies have called and texted every day to check in on me. Amanda, Cara, April and Jenna came and brought me a survival kit of goodies and kept me entertained - we sat around and talked about the most hilarious things (as usual!). Rachel came and filled me in on her wedding and honeymoon and I got to see her gorgeous pictures. And today Bonnie is bringing me my super craving of the week --- an oreo milkshake from chic fil a. (And I get to see sweet baby Carter)! I've also been working away as usual - just with a bit of different scenery. But, today is my last day of work until July 8th!

I can't wait until I get around to my next post. It will most definitely be filled with pictures of our new additions!

The blanket I started! I've taught 3 nurses how to crochet!

 

So, so crazy. Car seats are ready for babies!

Top 10 Pregnancy Must-Haves

I'm pretty low maintenance. If I spend a larger chunk of money on something, its usually because I will get daily wear out of it, and truly get the best bang for my buck! Things that will last a long time - like a pair of jeans, or a neutral colored bag. But in the grand scheme of things, I have gotten better about spending frivolously.

That being said. I am so tired of my maternity clothes. I am SO excited to be able to walk into my closet and put on something, anything, else. I am also excited to go shopping for some spring-style-stuff! This week I've started browsing a few of my favorite online sites; The Loft, Anthropologie, and duh, The Gap. I can't wait to slip on some colorful khaki shorts, white tanks, and summer scarves. Soon enough!

Ok, that was a random thought. On another note - one thing I don't want to forget are my favorite things during this pregnancy. Just in case I do it again one day down the road. :)

1. Trader Joe's Coconut Body Butter

2. Ensure Chocolate Protein Shakes

3. Rosebud Salve

4. Gap maternity leggings

5. Bath & Body Works 'Sleep' Aromatherapy Lotion

6. Jesus Calling daily devotional

7. Cheeseburgers

8. Yarn

9. Burt's Bees Blemish Stick

10. J Crew Purple Suede Flats

I absolutely loved these things over the past 9 months! They were life savers!

Hospital Bed Rest ----- What!!!!

How in the world did I end up here??? Haha. I went from easy, breezy twin pregnancy to WHAM BAM hospital bedrest. Here's the gist...

Last Monday (March 25) I woke up with horrible pains in my right side. I wrote about that little episode here. It went away though, and the week went on as normal. I did feel a little off - kind of puffy, nauseous, and just really pregnant. Didn't think much of it.

Thursday afternoon I went in for my normal weekly check-up. Thirty minutes later I was across the street in L&D at the hospital getting checked out. High blood pressure, swelling, and crazy reflexes had the doc concerned so he sent me for some blood work. I really still thought I'd be heading home shortly. Silly me. My labs came back with protein in urine, slightly elevated liver labs, and my blood pressure was still high. They admitted me "for the night" for observation.

Here I am 5 days later!! And I will be here until the bebes arrive!

I was diagnosed with mild to moderate preeclampsia. Luckily none of my labs or blood pressure have been way off, so as the doc says, I am just 'teetering' on the edge. Things are good as long as they stay as-is, but I guess with preeclampsia things can change quickly - so that's why they are keeping me here.

The NEW target baby date is next Friday, April 12th!!!! Woo hoo!!!! I will be 37 weeks, which is considered full-term for twins (and maybe all babies? I dunno). And at 37 weeks, they are much less likely to need NICU time than if they came earlier. So, that's my goal... lay in this hospital bed and keep these kiddos growing.

I'll be eating a lot too. The bebes weighed in at 5 lb 3 oz and 5 lb 6 oz yesterday, but I'd love to plump 'em up a bit more.

The hubs has been amazing, as usual. He has stayed up here with me every night; we've been watching season 1 of Revenge, and tonight we're moving onto Mad Men. Haha! This is the last week we will be able to lay around watching TV so guess we better take advantage of it. We've been blessed with flexible jobs, so as I sit here on my laptop approving AD creative and finalizing details of an Open House, he is sitting next to me working on customer reports and scheduling meetings. Although I'd much rather be at home, someone is definitely looking down on us!

My parents came up here on Saturday to hang out with us and spent the night at our house. It was much appreciated! They took Laila back to Houston, brought us dinners, and spent Easter morning chilling in the hospital with us. We are lucky to have so much amazing support from our families, and I know everyone is as anxious to meet the babies as we are.

Well, back to laying down I go!

Excited for tomorrow - since I can't make it to bible study, the girls are going to come up here and we'll have it in my hospital room. haha! Maybe I should order us a pizza.. yum! It's bad, but I am already tired of this hospital food. Although the grilled cheese is pretty legit.

I need to put more pics up here. I'm going to take a new bump pic tomorrow and try to upload some of my new camera photos as well.

Three Weeks!!!!

These next three weeks are going to fly by (I hope)! My To-Do list is shortening, so I'm feeling READY! Well, as ready as one could possibly be when expecting a baby. (Or two). We took a class at our hospital on Saturday, Preparing for Multiples, and I learned a whole lot! 

I woke up yesterday morning, Monday, with the most horrible pain in the lower right side of my abdomen. It hurt to stand, sit, breath... and especially walk. When the pain started radiating into my lower back, we called the doc, and 20 minutes later were on our way to L&D to have everything checked out.

The babies are GREAT! The pain I was in was not related to them at all --- they were just moving and grooving all day without a care in the world. The doc really wasn't sure what was causing my pain, but needed to rule out appendix issues since that is what is in the lower right side of the abdomen. They ordered an MRI to have a better look - he was looking for appendicitis or to see if my ovary had twisted. Which apparently both are fairly common in pregnancy and can cause sharp pains.

We showed up at L&D at 9:00 AM, and did not get taken back for the MRI until about 4. I wasn't allowed any food or water the entire time I was there. No food or water = dehydration = lots of contractions. After finishing the MRI, they hooked me up and gave me 2 bags of IV fluids to re-hydrate me and calm down the contractions I was having. Then the doc came in and said..... he still wasn't sure what was causing the pain because the MRI was clear. Lovely. Because the pain had turned from sharp to a dull ache throughout the day, his best guess is that I had maybe passed a kidney stone. They released me at about 6:30 PM. Walking out to our car, the pain picked back up again, but I got right in bed when we got home. This morning I feel much, much better. So, who really knows. One of those random things I guess.


So here is a 34 week/3 day update:

Total weight gain: 33 pounds 

Maternity clothes: Most of my maternity tops are now too short. Been living in leggings, maternity tanks and long cardigans. Get out of here freezing temps, I'm ready for Spring!

Stretch marks: Still none. I know, really hard to believe.

Sleep: I sleep for about an hour at a time at night before having to get up to potty. Last night I had a three hour stretch, which is the longest I've gone in months.

Best moment of this week: Watching the hubs practice putting in the carseats.

Miss anything: Mostly clothing variety. I'm really tired of my maternity clothes, but refuse to buy any more at this point.

Food cravings: I've been drinking Ensures to get extra protein, and I love them.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Have you started to show yet: Yes, and waddle hardcore.

Gender: A little boy and a little girl.

Labor signs: No labor signs! Thankfully my L&D trip was all "mommy" related, and the babies are doing just great.

Belly button in or out: Out

Wedding rings on or off: ehhh... on and off. Depends on what time of day it is and if my fingers are swollen.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, anxious, and READY for them to be here!

Looking forward to: Warm weather and a chance to sit in the backyard in shorts and a tank.

A lot of "4's"

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks until the babies arrive. Last Thursday, both Keegan and Noelle measured 4 lbs 4 oz. Today at my 33w appointment, I measured 40 weeks. I only wish I had 4 times as many hours in a day to get everything done!

Last week was awesome. I took two whole days off work - spent one with Sam & Kim, and the other with my mom, Aunt Linda and Tori. It was so nice to un-plug from work and enjoy good company!

This week I'm looking forward to girl's night at my friend Bonnie's, bible study (have I mentioned how amazing the book 'No More Perfect Moms' is? Seriously, exactly what I needed to read before these sweet babies are born), and our BABY CLASS at Dallas Presby Hospital. Our hospital offers tons of baby classes, and one specifically on preparing for multiples. Justin and I signed up months ago, since they only offer it every 6 months and it fills up fast. I'm really excited - but not so excited to sit in a chair for like 5 hours on Saturday. My feet have started to get really swollen, so I try to prop them up as much as possible. Oh well - if swollen feet is the biggest of my complaints I'd say I am doing pretty good.

The Hubs has been so amazing this whole pregnancy, but especially in the past few weeks where I have gone from feeling 'great' to 'good.' He's always calling to check in on me from work, filling up my water cup without me even asking, cooking me breakfasts before work, picking up groceries --- just little things that make me realize how lucky I am to have him and to share this experience with him. He is getting really anxious and excited for the babies to get here. He has helped me with every detail of "nesting," too --- he's been involved in the entire nursery planning and decorating process, setting up the baby station downstairs, washing and organzing their clothes... we've had fun. And he says the sweetest things. Like yesterday we were just hanging out and out of the blue he told me to remember to read them a story today. (I did first thing this morning). :)

I finally got my diaper bag. I wanted a backpack style one, since I thought having something balance off my shoulder could get frustrating. I went with the Ju Ju Be BFF bag, which converts a few different ways, and a few people had recommended it to me.

And, I've been playing with my camera and watching a lot of instructional videos on YouTube. I think out of the 100+ pics I've taken, I have about 5 that are pretty awesome. It's a start!

Camera

While I don't plan on becoming some crazy photographer (let's face it, I am usually the last person to whip out my camera at events...), I do want to capture memories as we grow our little family. And my digital camera just wasn't cutting it. A few years back, I purchased a Canon Powershot XS500  from Best Buy. I can't even really remember why. It's heavy, and while it does have the potential to get some good shots, I just never put the time into figuring out the settings. Essentially it is just a digital camera - no extra lenses or special features at all.

The Hubs and I were both blessed with unexpected bonuses and a great tax return for the year, so we decided to treat ourselves to one thing each! We make really smart (in my opinion) financial decisions, so its very out of the ordinary for us to splurge unless its for a special occasion. I decided a DSLR camera would be my splurge.

Here's another thing... the last time I made a big purchase, I didn't make the best choice. Last summer I reaaaalllly wanted road bikes. I thought I would become this super cyclist and love the sport, so we went out and bought two brand new Trek bikes. While we did enjoy riding them every once in awhile, it just wasn't a passion. And then I got pregnant. So, last month we sold them on Craigslist - and while we did get a big chunk of our money back, we definitely took a hit. It was a 'live and learn' moment in my books.

When I told Justin I wanted a camera, you should have seen the look I got. "Um, are you sure?" ... "Yes. I mean I think so, yes! Yes, I do!" haha. SO. After checking out all these entry-level DSLR cameras, I decided not to jump to one of the higher-priced options just because they looked cool. I set my budget at about $700, which I knew would get me a perfectly capable camera. After talking to Tess, she told me about camera package deals at Costco. We have a Sam's Club membership, so that's where we went!

I basically had three package options in my price range. The packages came with extra lenses, so I could have chosen from any camera below, if I wanted the camera, only:

• Nikon 3000 - $500 
• Nikon 3100 - $600
• Canon EOS Rebel T3 - $580
• Nikon 3200 - $770 *** Out of budget, but I thought twice!
• Canon EOS Rebel T3i - $798 ***Out of budget, but I thought twice!

My sister has the Canon EOS Rebel T3, and I have been super impressed with the quality of images she's snapped with the camera. That, plus the fact that I have her 'advice and expertise' at my finger tips, was the deciding factor. The Rebel T3 it was!

I am super thrilled to play around with the camera over the next few weeks before Noelle and Keegan make their debut. Any suggestions on where I should start? Youtube videos, books, websites to learn tricks??

Happy Weekend!

FRIDAY!!!!!

Justin told me that every Friday I say the exact same thing. 'Man, its been a long week.' He's right, I probably do. But I feel that way at the end of each and every work week lately. And the fact that I get about 2 hours of sleep at night because of the excruciating pains in my hips.... doesn't help. Oh my hips. I wake up every morning expecting to see those pregnancy badges of honor (stretch marks) spreading across my hips because I am just so SURE my hips grow each and every night. But so far, I've dodged that bullet. I don't think I won't get them, I just haven't gotten them yet.

I'm looking forward to a ton of stuff this weekend and next week.

Tonight our friends Bonnie & Tyler, and their sweet baby boy Carter, are coming over for dinner. Justin met Tyler through work, and when Bonnie and I met we just all really hit it off. We live on opposites sides of Dallas so its hard to get together too often, but we've been trying to more often lately. I'm making brisket tacos, some yummy sides, and this dip my friend Amanda introduced me too!

Then tomorrow all of the girls in my bible study, our husbands and their kiddos are getting together so our families can meet. I'm super excited about this because of how close the 5 of us ladies have gotten lately --- we hope the husbands hit it off haha!

AND THEN, on Sunday, Justin and I are going to dinner with another couple (who he met through work, but I haven't met yet). The guy's wife is pregnant with twins!! She is about 6 weeks behind me, and we've been meaning to get together to meet and talk babies. I'm super excited. I feel like all of these new people have been put in my life at the perfect time; I truly feel like I have a support system in Dallas now - which is just a really awesome feeling knowing that our lives are about to get crazy.

I joined the PAMOM (Mom's of Multiples) group up here, and am going to my first meeting on Tuesday night. The very first piece of advice I get from mom's with twins is to make sure to join the club - apparently it is so helpful. They have forums for advice, play groups, recommendations on nannies/doctors, and offer all sorts of help to new moms. The lady who signed me up for the group told me not to buy any more Preemie size clothing. She said if the babies don't fit into newborn clothes, they have a "closet" stocked with brand new clothing that someone will bring me a huge bagful when the babies are born. It's like their welcome gift - access to the 'Preemie Closet.' lol. And I've been assigned a mentor mom (someone who lives close to me who already has twins), who apparently will bring us frozen dinners and come by to check on us when we are home from the hospital. Kinda funny, but really cool.

On Wednesday, Sam and Kim are coming up to visit me for the night because they are on Spring Break. I'm so grateful for them. They are the kind of friends that we can go months without talking, but every time we do it's like we catch up instantly. Actually, I have quite a few friends like that - I think its important. Unfortunately not everyone is like that, and I recently lost a friend because of it. That was hard for me too... In the back of my mind I kept asking... what's wrong with me!? Which I realize now was way off. I think a simple conversation would have made a huge difference, but it is what it is.

So basically, this 32 week pregnant gal has quite a bit going on over the next few days. Gotta squeeze it all in while I still feel good. But honestly, one thing a day isn't too bad. I really try to take it super easy as much as I can during the day or I get really tired.

 

One last thing - I signed up for Amazon Mom this week too! They have an automatic diaper delivery service that is cheaper than ANY diapers I've seen in stores, plus free 2-day shipping on everything I order off Amazon. My first box of 240 pamper's swaddlers came in the mail in 2 days for $30. I've compared prices at Target, Walmart, Babies R Us... Amazon is a good $10 cheaper on every size diaper/brand. They send a certain amount of diapers per month, and you just update your profile as you need to go up a size. If you end up with an extra box of a size the babies no longer wear, they take it back - and shipping back is free too. Cheap diapers showing up on my doorstep? Win/win if you ask me.

Bump and mint green chucks.

Tuesdays are the official countdown days.

OK. If all goes as planned, 6 weeks from today I will be holding my sweet babies.  Holy toledo.

What's happening lately? Let's see. Last night I did another load of newborn clothes. I plan to have all of their preemie and newborn things washed before they get here, and maybe a load of onesies in 0-3 month size. I've been told they will practically live in onesies and sleepers at first, so I really don't want to wash their 'fancy' little tiny clothes just yet. Because if I realize they won't get worn, I'd like to swap them for the size up. Washing things for my littles is so much more fun than washing my maternity clothes. It's almost funny. Every time I do laundry, the saaaaaame shirts and leggings are circling through. I miss my skinny jeans.

My sister and BIL came to visit us this weekend. It's so nice when she's here. We had zero plans, but somehow the time they were here flew by so quickly. We did DIY a Moby wrap using this pattern. Essentially the Moby wrap is just a super long rectangular strip of stretchy knit fabric. We used the same exact dimensions as the ones they sell in the store (for $50++), but I was able to pick my own fabric. I chose cream, and am still trying to decide on the little 'embelishment' to mark the center of the wrap. For $30, I was able to make two moby wraps that turned out great! The hubs even tried it on. Side note: My husband is going to be such a hot dad. Like, seriously good-looking. End side note, not sure if he will wear the wrap out in public, but I bet he wears it around the house every now and then. 'Baby-wearing' is so hot right now, ya'll.

The hubs and I have been reading Babywise together and he has such a better memory than I do. I have a notebook I have to write everything down in, and he can splurt out baby info. like its no big deal. Like the fact that the first month or so, we will go through 20 diapers a day. That's 600 diapers the first month. The Pamper's swaddlers come in packs of 20, so basically one pack a day will just up and disappear. Gosh, cloth diapering is so intriguing to me right now. Maybe, maybe... 

Oh, and while she was here, sister snapped some maternity photos for me. She'll be blogging about the whole thing, but I couldn't help but share a few of her amazing shots.

 

100%

30 weeks and 5 days!

I almost didn't type this update, because I thought... people are so tired of reading about this twin pregnancy. But then I remembered.... there are only a few of you 'out there' that read this blog, (Hi, ladies! Love you guys!), and the whole point of writing is so that I remember for myself.

Had a quick little check-in with the doc this morning, and both twins are measuring exactly 3 lbs. 4 oz. They are positioned like ying-yangs in my belly. Keegan is head down/bottom up on my left, and Noelle is bottom down/head up on my right. So Noelle is 'breech' and Keegan is in 'birthing position.'

If Twin A (in my case, Keegan) is in birthing position, a vaginal delivery is usually considered safe. Even if Twin B (Noelle) is breech. Although there are many doctors out there that will only allow vaginal deliveries if both twins are head down. In my case... it obviously doesn't matter since we have planned a c-section from the beginning! Just thought it was an interesting tid bit of info.

The next few weeks are key in the babies growth and development. They will gain about .5 lb each week through the end of my pregnancy. Right now I have about 7 pounds of baby in my belly, and am the size of a normal person when they are about to give birth. Seven.more.weeks. haha!

I've mentioned that I've had a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy. It comes at weird times, and is about weird things. Well, last week I had an anxiety attack thinking that for some reason the twins weren't boy/girl anymore. And that I had washed all of these clothes and would be in shock to find they were both b/b or g/g. So today I told the nurse my fear and this is what she wrote down for me to hang on my fridge...



100% Boy/Girl Twins. lol.

Because I obviously have no shame...

Move over, Bloomies!

***Don't worry, I am also stocking up on the sweetest bow ties and suspenders for Keegan, but this post is all about girlie bows and headbands!

I am completely obsessed with Bloomies Handmade. I can't get enough. And they are always running specials, so I have picked up a few headbands and bows for Noelle already.

But, I've also been feeling really crafty lately. I've made countless crochet headbands in EVERY size and color imaginable for Noelle, and a bunch to send to her cousin, Molly, too! You can only have so many crochet headbands though. Sometimes you just gotta throw felt in the mix too. (That's where Bloomies comes in!)

Last night during our Homeland Season 1 marathon on DVD (yea, obsessed with this show too), I got inspired and started crafting up a storm. I used this pattern to make my own simple felt bows. Felt is oober cheap - only $.29 a sheet at Michael's, so I bought a ton to experiment.

I made about 6 last night, and cut out the circles for 20 more! I haven't decided what to add as the embellishments in the center, so right now they just look like sweet little fluff circles. My sister is coming to visit me this weekend, and she always knows just how to solve all of my craft dilemmas! Then, I will attach some to lace headbands, others to tiny pins, and a some to elastic stretchy headbands. I'll share pics when they are finished - not to brag, but they rival Bloomie's cuteness at a fraction of the price.

Look, you gotta save money where you can. Mostly because a Janie & Jack outlet just opened up at Grapevine Mills, and that's where my dolla bills are headed this week.

On a side note - update on our bible study! There are five of us in our bible study. It's super casual - we meet in comfy clothes on the couch of Amanda's house every Thursday night. And there is always food. Because three of the five of us are pregnant, and one has a 6 week old. (They all have one kid, about 2 years old - they met through a Mom's group, and I joined through Ashley). Their advice and encouragement has been invaluable during my entire pregnancy, and I so look forward to Thursdays!! We started the No More Perfect Moms book last week and its really hitting home even though I'm not a mom just yet. It talks about judging others, intentionally or unintentionally, and how there just is no such thing as being perfect. This book is a seven week series which will end the Thursday before the twins are due. Holy cow. Just seven more weeks....

29 weeks and 5 days!

Total weight gain: I don't weigh myself that often. But today I jumped on the scale and have officially hit 1.5.0. AH! :) It's all for those sweet babies, though, so I will keep on munching. (This means I have gained about 25 pounds, which is actually on the low end of where I should be? But I eat when I am hungry, and try to eat protein and vitamin-rich foods, so it's all good!)

Maternity clothes: So grateful for Gap Maternity and Old Navy Maternity. Reasonably priced and super comfortable.
Stretch marks: Still trucking along without any stretch marks. I have the Hubs check me on a regular basis! ha!

Sleep: Sleep? What sleep? I've hit the point in my pregnancy where apparently it gets tough. My hips ache because I have to sleep on my side, and the weight of the belly pulls. So I roll back and forth along (and get tangled in my preggo pillow).

Best moment of this week: Tonight! Bible study and starting our new session!

Miss anything: I miss my distressed skinny jeans.

Food cravings: This week baked potatoes and kashi granola cereal have been my jam.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Have you started to show yet: Why, yes. Yes I have.

Gender: One sweet, handsome, Beau - and one sweet, precious Bow.

Labor signs: Nope! Doing great!

Belly button in or out: It's popped. And it reminds me on a daily basis to try to convince Noelle never to get her belly button pierced.

Wedding rings on or off: On

 Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, with occasional bouts of crazy thrown in.

Looking forward to: Finishing washing all of the little onesies and putting them away!

 

 

Window Swag

Sitting down to write this morning before my first conference call, and my brain is all over the place. This post will probably be a hodge-podge of random clips from the past few days!

My parents were up here in Dallas this weekend and helped us finish the nursery. I'm not going to share too many pics, because I am waiting for my sister to come up with her camera and really capture the details. For some reason the iphone photos I snapped just don't do it justice. It really came out amazing! We're still waiting on just a couple more things too! (My mom and great friend Robin are hand-making Noelle and Keegan custom quilts for their cribs, and they aren't quite ready yet).

In addition to my dad and Justin making several trips to Home Depot for some 'building' stuff, my mom and I got a chance to make a few things for the room to personalize it. We made a fabric swatch garland using these instructions.  But, we left the strips slightly longer, and strung the finished pieces from twine instead of ribbon. It adds such an awesome pop of color across their white curtains on the window!

The bottom pic shows just a tad of the decor in the room. I am absolutely in love with the three deer pictures. They are actually drawings and are in vintage white/distressed wooden frames. I bought them in Canton back in November before I knew what the twins were, and they were my inspiration for the entire room. Close-ups and whatnot to come when I have better pics!

We have less than 8 weeks to go before the babies are here, and surprisingly I am not too frazzled yet. The thing I am most stressed about is all of the preparation before leaving work for 12 weeks. Not that the world is going to end, but we have such segmented roles, that I am the only one who knows how to do quite a few things. And our business just realigned last week, so the Business Unit I manage grew by 4 states. It's really just kind of a cluster. The Marketing VP jokingly asked me if I planned to be back the week after the kids were born. Funny guy.

Speaking of preparation - I am in full-on nesting mode. I started washing their blankets and preemie/newborn onesies this weekend. From what I have been told, they will live in those little snap or scrunch bottom outfits at first, so they are getting washed and put away. I have an obsession with Aden + Anais swaddle blankets right now. They have 20. The patterns are so adorable, I can't stop buying them. And after being washed with Dreft, they smell amazing.

Let's see.... what else? I still feel really great. Yesterday the DR told me I am the size of a 36 week pregnant person. With twins, you usually measure 6-8 weeks ahead, so I am right on track. Some days I think I look really big, and other days I don't really notice the belly. I am just used to it I guess!

This week my bible study group is starting a new series, and we're reading Jill Savage's book, No More Perfect Moms. It's all about the simple fact that there is no such thing as a perfect mom. Or a perfect house. Or a perfect husband. Here's her clip:

There are no perfect moms (just women who make a good outward appearance). There are no perfect kids (just kids who are dressed well and behave well just when you see them). There are no perfect houses (just ones where the clutter is cleverly stored!) There are no perfect bodies (just ones who know the beauty of Spanx!).

I am really looking forward to this new series, and continuing to spend time each week with the awesome girls in my group. (I will keep going until I pop!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey. Newsflash. Babies cost mulah. Oh yea,  two babies cost extra mulah!

Definitely not a complaint, just a plain ol' fact! One that I wouldn't change for the world, might I add.

But, since the Hubs and I are expecting two mulah-requiring minions in just a few short weeks (8ish!!), we decided to go low-key for V-Day 2013. Our theme.... it's all about them. Gosh how sweet is that?

While I haven't had too many cravings during this pregnancy, I just really wanted queso. Unfortunately, my two favorite Mexican food restaurants on the entire planet (Lupe Tortilla and Guadalajara) are both 200+ miles away. The best Mexican restaurant we have in Dallas is Pappasitos. Which really is OK - I do like their fajitas and queso! So we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a night early and grab some chips, queso, margs (for him), and pink lemonade (for me).

Um hello. Why would we ever not celebrate a night early ever again? There was ZERO wait. Did I mention Pappasito's is the best we get in Dallas, so there is always a wait?? We enjoyed every minute of dinner together, and then climbed into bed to watch The Middle and Modern Family V-day editions. Perfect night if you ask me.

The Hubs of course broke the no-gift rule, and bought me three new charms for my Pandora bracelet. A 'K,' 'N,' and a heart charm. Sweetest guy. I wrote him a mushy card, and picked him up these books. He's seriously going to be the very best daddy.

This bloggy, blog thing.

Obviously I'm not a professional blogger. I think in addition to my mom, there are about 5 people who even know this blog exists. I'm really OK with that, as for me this blog has really been a place to dump my random thoughts now and then. But as I start thinking about the babies who are quickly on their way, and the fact that I will probably have zero time to take and print pictures for a classic baby book, I think this could be a great outlet for me to document the new and exciting things coming our way.

That being said, I want to have it designed in a user-friendly way. Maybe even learn how this categorizing things works. (I mean, every post I have written since August has the same exact three 'tags'... I'm sure that is so wrong).

Tess, Emily, Marci.... suggestions to have a blog-redone and looking snazzy? I am willing to pay for it. Let me know whatcha think, and the price range I'm looking at!

Justin knows I 'blog' if you can even call it that, and ever since I started adding tags I have been picked up in google world. Probably by people like myself googling 'twin blog,' I assume. And I'm sure ya'll will think this is funny because true blogs pick up 10x this many hits, but he thought it was SO cool that my blog was 'viewed' 838 times this month. Ha! So, the hubs is on board, and its time to get this going.

And, I'm deactivating facebook today for a few different reasons, so I am looking forward to a different way to connect with social world.

Phew, Ok, now on to a quick twin update! 28w4d!

Total weight gain: 21 pounds

Maternity clothes: Most of the maternity tops I bought early on are getting too short to cover my entire belly. I swear I wake up every morning and it pokes out another inch! Lately I have been living in leggings and long H&M non-maternity sweaters.

Stretch marks: Knock on wood, but no, none yet.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty great lately, but poor Justin is not because of this pregnancy snore I've acquired.

Best moment of this week: The best moment of this week was being discharged from Presby Dallas WITHOUT being put on bed rest. That's my biggest fear.

Miss anything: For the first time last week a glass of wine sounded good. That feeling only last a couple minutes, though, and then I reallllyyyy wanted orange juice. haha!

Food cravings: I hate to sound like 'that pregnant girl,' but I haven't really been any extra hungry during pregnancy at all. Some days I have to force myself to eat more calories because I just forget. I started drinking protein shakes every day to get that extra amount in that I wasn't getting on my own.
 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Again, hate to be that girl, but I have only gotten sick two times in 7 months. I'm feeling really great!

Have you started to show yet: That's funny.

Gender: One sweet, handsome, Beau - and one sweet, precious Bow.

Labor signs: Read my scare from Sunday.

Belly button in or out: It's popped. No question.

 

Wedding rings on or off: On
 Happy or moody most of the time: Happy :)

Looking forward to: My bedding arriving from The Land of Nod, my mom getting here to help me finish decorating, and MOST looking forward to washing tiny person clothes and re-hanging them in their closet.