Sliding Toward One

Seven months. My babes are now closer to being one year olds than infants. Hands down, the past 4 weeks between 6-7 months have maybe been my favorite month. Although that's hard to say, because every month has those "favorite" things about it. This past month just totally rocked though. Personality-wise and developmentally, Keegan & Noelle are growing leaps and bounds. I think months 5 & 6 were a little hard because they were working so hard mentally, physically and emotionally to reach the huge milestones we've witnessed this month. The greatest blessing... they have both been sleeping through the night all month. From 7-7:30 pm to 6:45-7:00 am. Every night. It's absolutely amazing. Keegan started sleeping through the night about 2 weeks before Noelle, and after letting Noelle cry for about 45 minutes two nights in a row, she got the picture. And has been a sweet sleeping pie ever since. Keegan and Noelle also finished their doc-band treatment this month and are helmet-free! Yay! Their moderate plagiocephaly is a ton better, and will only continue to get better as they grow. We also said goodbye to our sweet nanny, Faith, as she is due any minute with a baby boy of her own! We miss her a ton already. She was the biggest blessing to our family over the past 4 months.

Keegan
Nicknames: Keegs, Bug, Munka, Keegan Lee. Our most used term, Bug, for sure.

No well-check, so I am just guessing, but Keegan probably weighs about 20 pounds. He takes a 6 oz bottle at 7, breakfast at 8, bottle at 10, lunch between 11-12, bottle at 1, bottle at 4, dinner at 6, bedtime bottle at 7. The babes started attending a Montessori Academy a couple weeks ago, so their nap schedules are still adjusting. They used to take two really long naps every day, and now its about 3 shorter naps. It seems to fit them just fine, as it hasn't affected their night-time sleeping. On the food front, Keegan has tried sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, squash, bananas, pears, and banana-strawberry. His favorite... peas! Least favorite.... bananas. Weird, right?

Keegan started sitting up un-assisted the week of October 21st. He is a pro and absolutely loves sitting and playing with his toys. He is also on the verge of crawling. He will get on his hands and knees and rock, rock, rock and then thrust himself forward to scoot to whatever he wants to get! While it may not be an official crawl just yet, there is no stopping him from getting from one side of the floor to the other. Keegs is also blabbing non-stop. We're working hard on 'mama' and I swear it sounds like it here and there... but it is mostly bla, ba, ma, da, ah, bla. You get the point...

This month, Keegan loves walks in the stroller, reading books, hitting toys that make a lot of noise, watching Noelle's every move, being held by his mama, holding his own bottle, dinner time, baths, his jumperoo and making friends at school. He doesn't like when Justin or I leave his sight, getting dressed or diaper changes and getting his snotty nose wiped.

He is the happiest, smiliest, laughiest baby boy in the entire world, and I can't help but smile every time I get him up in the morning. I'm greeted with a smile and a hug (yes, the kid gives hugs!) every single day.

Noelle
Nicknames: Noelley, Pie, Angel Pie, Noelley Bell. Our most used term, Pie, for sure.

Just a guess, but Noelle is probably 18 or so pounds. She's tall and skinny! She also takes a 6 oz bottle at 7, breakfast at 8, bottle at 10, lunch between 11-12, bottle at 1, sottle at 4, dinner at 6, bedtime bottle at 7. Noelle is a better eater than Keegan, and never lets a drop of food out of her mouth. She's such a priss, not a messy eater at all. She's tried all of the same foods as Keegan, and so far has the same favorite and least favorite! Maybe its a twin thing.

Noelle started sitting up un-assisted her second week of Montessori school, the week of Halloween. A little wobbly at first, she is now also a pro. She loves to grab toys and wave them around and laugh. No crawling yet - this angel pie knows all she has to do is make a peep and her daddy comes and grabs her to go wherever she wants. She already has him eating out of the palm of her hand... SUCH a daddy's girl. You should see the smiles she gives him. Noelle likes to hear herself... usually by screeching or 'singing' or saying ahhhhh really loud. She now just likes to make really loud noises and get our attention. It works.

This month Noelle loves bath time, playing with toys, reading stories, watching Keegan play, watching the other kids at school play, swinging in our new backyard swing, and eating. She does not like getting dressed, when we walk away from her and getting her nose wiped.

Noelle has grown a ton this month. She's outgrown her frequent spitting up from acid reflux (and colic - which I will now admit she had a really bad case of) :) - so she is just a much, much happier baby all around. Maybe it is partly to do with the fact she now has enough hair for a BOW! WOOO. hehe. She is our sweet angel pie girl and such a blessing.

We had a super fun month in Dallas. We had visits from Netta & Grandpa, Mamais & Pappa, Mimi and Papa and Aunt Kristin. We went to downtown McKinney, the park, a BlueGrass Festival, played with our friends at school, went to a church craft show, and out to dinner a few times as a family. Now, half-way through November with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon... I am GIDDY as I can only imagine what the holidays will be like this year with kids. It's like a whole new world, and I can't wait for the new memories we'll build as a family.

If you follow me on Instagram, (@lee_erika)you've probably seen these, but here are a few favorites from this months!

NICU

I already know this post will be a jumble of words and sentences and thoughts. Because even thinking back to the 10 days we watched our sweet Noelle spend in NICU is still a blur.

Maybe it was ignorant, but I really didn't think either of the twins would have NICU time. I made it to 37 weeks, and our perinatologist watched their growth weekly. They were both estimated to be around 5 pounds and were active and were on track for a healthy delivery via c-section.

When Noelle was born, she was a dusty rose color. A little bluish, and although she cried it was muted. They didn't bring her over to me when she was born, and thinking back, I get so upset. They lifted Keegan up and he was screaming and 2 minutes later when Noelle was born, they brought her straight over to the incubator and started working on her. I remember just laying there. Justin went over to be with the babies as soon as they were born, as I had instructed him to do no matter what! I wanted him with them. I was fine. I didn't feel one single pinch or pull during my c-section. I remember hearing the two doctors talking about their latest vacations as they stitched me up, and in the background I heard them say 'NICU' and I knew they meant Noelle. Eventually a nurse came over to me and said they were taking Noelle upstairs and Justin was going with her. They let me see her for just a moment. When they left, I laid on the table by myself and no one was talking to me. I sort of feel like crying just writing that sentence. I wasn't worried about Noelle, actually. I knew she was in the very best care. I just felt lonely for a minute. It probably was the drugs, too.

I was taken to the recovery room and reuinted with Keegan almost immediately. We were able to bond, nurse, and introduce him to our family. But for most of the time I was in recovery (almost 6 hours because of my bleeding), Justin was upstairs with Noelle and my family circled between visiting me and her. I still hadn't seen her.

After 6 pm I was discharged from recovery, and able to move upstairs to my post partum room, but they let me go to NICU first to see Noelle. They wheeled me there on my hospital bed, right into her room, right up to the sweet glass container. It wasn't covered, so I was able to touch her, but she was completely wired. And on CPAP, which is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. I don't remember if I cried at that first visit. There were so many tears over the next few days, I as in such a haze. She was breathing fast, and they believed she had fluid in her lungs. The nurses assured me she was really doing OK, and that they hoped to lower her CPAP by the next morning. I went back to my postpartum room and had to be a mommy to Keegan and love on him and show him off, while my sweet girl was not with us. My family was amazing - they all took turns between visiting me and Keegan in our room, or heading upstairs to see Noelle. I never felt like she was alone, which was a huge relief.

My c-section recovery went smoothly, although it was still major surgery. I had to wait until my catheter was taken out the next day to then be able to shower and visit Noelle again. I wanted to walk right away. Justin made me ride halfway there in the wheelchair. This time I cried. Noelle was not on a lower CPAP, but they actually had to turn the oxygen up and she was wired even more than the night before. Justin tried to prepare me before I got there, but you just can never be prepared for a feeling like that.

Truly meeting Noelle for the first time

Over the next 4 days in the hospital I spent my days nursing Keegan, pumping to bring milk to Noelle in NICU, spending time with family, and recovering from my surgery. I felt so, so proud everytime I would fill a tiny vile up to bring to Noelle. It was the only thing I could do for her, and it made me happy to be able to provide almost all of her nourishment while she was in NICU. Keegan was so, so tiny and we didn't want him to lose weight so while we were in the hospital I nursed him for 15 minutes, and then gave him either expressed milk or neosure to supplement him before he got too tired.

I remember just going and going. You don't even think about being tired. I wanted Noelle out of NICU so bad.

Then one morning we went upstairs and the doctor told us they heard a heart murmur and needed to run some additional tests. To me it was devastating news - and a set back I knew would add time to her stay. Luckily the heart murmur closed on its own within 24 hours, she was taken off CPAP and put on room air, but she was still being fed through a tube and get spitting up most of her meals.

Once she was in the clear medically (her lungs were OK and her heart murmur closed), the only thing that stood between us getting her home was for her to learn to take her feeds. She was moved from NICU to 'Special Care' nursery. I remember being SO excited. I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday evening, and Tuesday night she moved into her private suite at Special Care.

She spent 5 days in Special Care Nursery. They wouldn't let her leave until she finished 16 feedings in a row of 40 ml. We actually had to break her out of there and convince a doctor to let us bring her home before she finished all 16 feedings. Keegan was at home eating 30/35/25/40... always something different. We wanted our girl home with us and knew she was doing amazing.

Our NICU journey (5 days) was amazing. Our nurses were terrific, doctors were very informative, and the NICU at Texas Presby is phenomenal. Our Special Care journey (5 days) was exhausting, frustrating, and overwhelming. The nurses were.. Ok... and I never felt like anyone would give me any information other than 'she needs to eat better.'

We survived 10 days at the hospital, and brought Noelley Bell home to meet her brother. They were reunited for the first time 10 days after they were born, and locked arms immediately. I love the pictures we took of them that very first day home.

Four months of crazy awesomeness

Well, some how my sweet babies are 4 months old. I don't even know how that happened. Time just flies. I find myself daydreaming about their birth a lot. I wish I could press rewind and live it all over again. But on the other hand, they are at such an awesome stage, and I don't want to go backwards. It's hard to explain, and emotional. Emotional... that's the best way to describe things lately.

My 4-month long breastfeeding journey came to an unplanned early end, and I wasn't ready. I have to begin a powerful medicine and I just can't risk passing it through my milk to Keegs and Noelle. I stalled as long as possible, but I knew it was probably going to happen this way. I loved every single time I got to nurse the babes, and I even loved pumping. Those 15 minute sessions were a chance to sit back, breathe, and return to the babies feeling refreshed. While I wish I could have done it longer, I am happy I was able to give them antibodies and nourishment for as long as I could. I'm emotional about it though. Sitting here right now I wish I could do something about it, but I know that I can't.

The past few months have been a whirlwind. In July we sold a house, bought a new house, packed, and I went back to work. In August we moved, hired a nanny, and began the work-at-home mom routine. It's been hectic, exciting, exhausting and humbling. There are days that I am just so tired. And then there are days that I feel like I totally rock at this whole mom thing. Those are good days.

Keegan and Noelle had their 4 month appointment today, and poor sweet babies had to get 4 shots each. Keegan is 15.8 and Noelle is 13.7. Keegs got the green light to start trying solids, but we will wait a few more weeks to start Noelle. Her reflux/spitting up could get worse if we introduce food too early.

The babies are at such a fun age. They laugh. Out loud. And when they do, they give themselves hiccups. It's so adorable. They also love to hold onto their toys, especially textured things that make noise. Right now their favorite things are Sophie (Noelle) and soft blocks (Keegan and Noelle) and the play mat (Keegan and Noelle). They also love looking at each other, watching Mickey Mouse, swinging, tummy time, eating, and bath time.  Noelle does NOT like loud, sudden noises, riding in her carseat, sitting in her carseat during walks, or when mama leaves the room. Keegan does NOT like wet diapers, getting scared, or when mama leaves the room. They are so funny - they totally know when I am in the room or not and they get upset when I leave. I love how much they love me. And I can't get enough of them.

As I'm typing this, their daddy is on the way to pick up mama's new hot stroller - the Baby Jogger City Select! Woo Woo! Buy Buy Baby price matches and the grey color was on salw at Allbeebaby.com. CAN'T WAIT to take the babes for a spin tonight.

Two Month Favorites!

These are the things we LOVE and couldn't live without at two months:

1. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets
2. Fisher Price Sea Horses
3. Dr. Browns Bottles
4. Hospital Medela Pump
5. Aveeno Wash + Shampoo
6. Fisher Price Piano
7. Boppys
8. Ju Ju Be BFF Diaper Bag
9. Rock N' Plays (retired them at 7 weeks, but loved every minute of using them!)
10. Old Navy size 0-3 month onesies. Love them! Fit perfectly! They wore newborn clothes until 7 weeks, and these onesies were a great transition until their other clothes started to fit.

At their two month check-up, Keegan weighed 10 lb 13 oz and Noelle weighed 9 lb 10 oz.
Perfect little angels. :)

I've been jotting down things here and there in a notebook about the babies but plan to sit down next week and transfer it all into their baby books! It's just so hard to find the time to sit and write when I should be doing a million other things to catch up! We are putting our house up for sale next week which just makes it all that much more challenging.

Overall, I'm feeling great. Of course there are some overwhelming days, but sleepless nights are quickly forgotten by the next day. Physically I feel good too. Suprisngly I am a couple pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight (although I have QUITE a bit of toning to do.) I haven't started working out yet but hopefully next week when my mom is here helping out I can squeeze in a few workout DVDs. :) I'm eating ice cream as I write this sooo.... I need a bit of help getting started!

The kiddos have a few nicknames but mostly Keegan goes by Keegs or Chunka or Chunka Munk. And Noelle goes by Noell-ey Bell or Missy Moo. They are both developing such strong personalities; its so fun to see the new things they are doing each week. And each week, they reverse the roles of the 'high maintenance' twin. Right now, Noelle is in the lead when it comes to eating and Keegan is in the lead when it comes to sleeping.

I want to sit down and write about our NICU experience with Noelle, and how the first 10 days of the twins life started off. Although it was a tough time, I don't want to forget it.

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....