Da Belly

Since I have been lazy about posting pics the past couple of weeks, this will be a combined 31/32 week picture post. I have debated posting a picture of my hamhocks... errr.. I mean feet. I am not feeling brave enough to put those bad boys on the internet, so you may just have to settle for some big 'ol baby belly instead.

31 weeks 3 days

32 weeks 1 day

If you don't have anything nice to say...

You know the rest. What I would be referring to are the strangers I run into (at the mall, grocery store, etc.) who think that my belly automatically creates a green light for stupid comments.

These are a few of the front-runners, however, literally EVERY time I go out in public I get a comment. Every. Single. Time. For this reason, I thought Brian was smoking crack when he suggested I use a motorized scooter while Black Friday shopping. 'Nuff said.

While at the grocery store, a woman looks at my belly, then my face, then my belly, then my face, and says "wow, you must be due any day now". I told her I was 31 weeks with twins. Once she picked up her jaw from the floor, she said "Well you look like you are ready to pop!".

I was sitting in the front lobby at IHOP waiting for our table when a woman reaches behind her friend and says "Excuse me, Ma'am, when are you due?". I told her I was almost 32 weeks with twins. Her reply? "Yea, I was wondering because you look MISERABLE!". Gee... thanks...

Yesterday after we took Logan to his first movie, we were walking back from Target and passed by Panera. There was a guy sitting inside the table area at Panera that actually yelled out to me "Hey are you having twins?". I yelled back "yes", and kept walking. I hope that his day then felt complete. I mean, I can understand how NOT knowing what a COMPLETE STRANGER has in her uterus can really leave the day feeling unfinished. Weirdo.

But on a much more awesome note, Logan has been cracking me up lately. Often, when he is asked to clean up his toys, I tell him "thanks buddy, you're the best". Today before lunch, when I asked him if he could clean up his toys he replied "I sure can, because I am the best!".

32 weeks 1 day here. I have a picture, but I can't motivate myself to get off the couch to get the camera. That should give you a general idea of what the picture looks like.

8 pounds

That is how much baby I have inside of me already! That is more than Logan was at birth. Add in all the "extras" that come with a full uterus, and one can only imagine.

Ultrasound today showed Baby A still Breech, measuring 32 weeks 3 days, and 4 lbs 5 oz. Baby B is vertex (head down, stuck in my pelvis) measuring over 36 weeks, at 4 lbs 14 oz! Baby B still has a head of hair, and they both have chubby cheeks like their brother.

All I have to say is...

I just love my son. I love my son so, so much. More than I can even express, or quantify. Today, I just love my son. His life makes mine worth living. The thought that I will be soon birthing two more sons to add to this love makes me giddy. I am so unbelievably lucky.

Logan-isms

A couple of weeks ago, while I was making dinner, Logan says the following:

"Guess what, I don't like beer 'cause I like milk and lunch like carrots and vitamins and canteloupe and watermelon and even broccoli 'cause I don't drink beer".

Then this morning, while playing with a cardboard box (Hello Christmas gift ideas!!), Logan tells me:

"I just made a movie. I called it 'Monkey driving a car and guy driving a train'. Now I'm going to make 'Combine driving in the city'."

Future film-maker, perhaps?

Holding strong...

I had an OB appointment today. It was early this morning, and I had to take Logan and Caden with me. This alone made me sweat a little because, really, you never know what can happen with two toddlers, and especially, you never know how long it will take before the doctor actually makes it to the exam room! Add on top of that the exam room was 800 degrees. Okay, well probably not, but when you are 54 weeks pregnant, anything about 60 degrees feels like 800 degrees. The boys were great, despite the fact that, for the second consecutive OB visit, Logan has had to go to the bathroom the minute I am dressed in nothing other than a sheet from the waist down. Seriously, that boy has impeccable timing.

As for the good stuff, BP was great (even with the added stress of a toddler-poop situation), my weight was only up 3lbs, which is perfect since the babies are gaining about 1 lb each a week. Cervix is thinned, but closed, which means bedrest is warded off a bit longer. The belly is measuring 40 weeks (God help me), and the babies sound fantastic. Next Wednesday we get to see our sweet babies in ultrasound again, and my next appointment with the doc is two weeks from today. After that I start NST's twice a week, weekly OB visits, and frequent ultrasounds. We will basically be living at the doctor's office from now until the boys are here. Crunch time. We are here!

On a related note, I have officially given up on sleep. Probably for the next few years. I slept a total of 5 hours last night, and even that was broken and not restful. My sides go completely numb, my hips ache, my belly aches, I contract, I moan, I pee... a lot. The good news is that I am becoming familiar with the TV lineup at 4am, which I am sure will come in handy soon.

We have a room!

Today I am 30 weeks pregnant. Wow. While I often feel like I have been pregnant for all of eternity, this pregnancy has also flown by. When I am not beached on the couch, I am in crazy woman nesting mode. This weekend has been what I would call relaxing-productive. I feel so good about the progress we have made. All the baby clothes, blankets, sheets, and gear are washed and put away. The carseats are washed, cleaned, put together, and ready to go! I even ordered a convertible seat, and some other gear we were still needing. My diaper bag is packed and ready to go, and all of the beautiful knits from my friends Sara and Leslie have been washed and are currently drying to be packed as well. I am chin deep in cloth diapers again... something that I have been free from for some time now, and that I am also so excited about having two little cushie bums to pat. I'm ready, bring it on (well not really, bake a little longer boys, okay?).

BUT! Mama's been nesting. We do have a room for you whenever you are ready. Love.

Just a wee bit 'o Preterm Labor...

Wednesday night I felt... meh. Just off. Tuesday night I was in crazy, psycho nesting mode and organized every last article of baby clothing in the twins room. Wednesday during the day I was ravenously hungry. Like seriously hungry. Wednesday night? Like I said, just off. I was crampy, having back pain, contractions... the works. I woke up yesterday morning and felt okay. I really think I had forgotten what it's like to NOT have contractions, so I have really begun to hardly notice them anymore. Around 1pm, the contractions started to come more frequently, and I had the return of the back cramps. By 3pm, I thought it would be a good idea to give the OB office a call. The nurse decided I needed a visit to Labor and Delivery, just to be sure. Well, I took my sweet time... waited for Brian to get home... changed my clothes... dropped some soup off at The Litton's house since they had been a bit under the weather... left Brian and Logan at home, and went by myself to L&D. I honestly in my heart of hearts thought they would tell me that I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, and to go home, drink some water, take a bath, and lay on my side. At first the two nurses I had (who were AMAZING by the way. Side note: I think nurses are the nicest, most comforting, and kindest individuals on this planet) didn't seem too concerned. However, when I started explaining the back pain... the cramping... the pain radiating down the front of my legs... they started to get a little quiet. They hooked me up to the monitors, and took my blood pressure... a tad bit high. Not too much alarm for concern, I was in a stressful situation. It was when the nurse came in with a giant needle and said "Okay Lindsay, Jessica is going to give you a shot to stop your preterm labor". SAY WHAT?! Who's in preterm labor? Turns out, I was having regular contractions about every 4-5 minutes, and was only feeling every other contraction, or so. Yikes. The nurse warned me that the shot would "hurt like hell", her words, not mine, and that if the shot didn't stop the labor they would try one more shot. If that didn't work, I would be headed to "the Big House Across the River", otherwise known as UIHC. This is when I leveled with these kind ladies and told them that a) I could not be in the hospital, b) I could not be on bedrest, and c) these babies are not ready to come out yet. So bottom line, lets stop these bad boys so I could go home and watch The Office. At this point my blood pressure was 147/97, which is high for me, but again, I was a tad bit worked up. Turns out the nurse was right, the shot hurt like hell, and she was also right about the fact that the makes your heart race, and failed to tell me I would be shaking uncontrollably. Nice. But again, the task at hand was to STOP LABOR, and I was willing to try whatever possible to be back home with a Chocolate Milkshake watching Thursday night TV with my Hubs.

Luckily, that's just where I ended up. Within the span of about 40 minutes I only had one contraction, the babies looked perfect, my blood pressure was down to 108/51, and it looked like my labor had stopped. THANK GOD! I am feeling much better now. I have had very few, minor contractions, actually slept pretty sound, and overall feeling okay today. I am not on any strict instructions for bedrest, but I need to do some serious chillaxing from now on. This mostly means more housework for Brian, and more instructions from his large, and loving Wifey.

This is the monitor I stared at for a couple of hours last night, just watching my babies heart rates, and praying for the contractions to stop. Parker is on the right, and Cooper is on the left. Their heart rates got as high as 200 after the Trebutaline shot, but the nurses said that was normal. Did I mention how much I love L&D nurses? Love.

Dear Parker and Cooper,

Dear Parker and Cooper,

The day I found out I was pregnant with you both was one of the happiest, and scariest, days of my life. We had been waiting for you for so long, and I wanted so badly for this pregnancy to have a happy ending. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined, or prepared for the news that we were having TWO babies, and even more shocking, that we were having two more boys. I will never forget that moment in the ultrasound when I looked at the screen and saw both of your hearts beating strong and fast. Along with seeing your big brother's heart beating for the first time, these moments go down in my heart as the most amazing moments of my life.

While the idea of having twins can sometimes seem overwhelming, the excitement of the adventure far outweighs my fears. Plus, your big brother is so amazingly excited for your arrival, and that just makes me melt. Logan includes you in almost everything he does and talks about, and you aren't even here yet. He is going to be an amazing big brother, and I cannot wait to see the bond between the three of you.

Parker and Cooper, you will be completing our family. Dad, Logan and I cannot wait to meet you, and each day as I feel you moving, kicking, squirming, and hiccuping inside of me helps me get to know you both a little better.

Love, Mommy

29 Weeks Pregnant

Photos by Janan Rustan

Age

Today Brian decided that we needed a family trip for brunch at Red's Alehouse because he was craving biscuits and gravy. While we were eating our breakfast, we started discussing the price of the brunch. I pointed to Logan with my thumb and said "Well, I hope that he is free". Logan looked up from his plate, gave me the biggest stink-eye I have ever seen and said "Hey! I'm not free, I'm TWO!".

Thanksgiving Turkeys, perhaps?

After yesterday's OB appointment, I am pretty certain I will be birthing babies the size of 2 year olds... ok, well maybe not that large, but surely the size of Thanksgiving Turkeys. Baby A is measuring 77% and Baby B 74%, and this is based on singleton pregnancies! This was such great news, my doctor was just thrilled, and kept saying how excited she is. I am measuring full-term, 37 weeks to be exact, and the doctor couldn't keep herself from giggling when she walked in the room. My blood pressure was rock-star good; 117/76, and I am assuming I passed my Glucose Tolerance Test since I didn't get a phone call today. I am not dilated yet, but I am "soft" as she explained it. I haven't had as many contractions the past few days, which I am graciously enjoying. Don't get me wrong, by "not as many" I am still having probably 15-20 a day, but that is better than the 7-8 an hour that I was having, accompanied by the pelvic pain. Luckily, I think that got better once Baby A got into his super comfy, yet breech, position. Doctor is shooting for 35-36 weeks. I am down with that as long as we have healthy, breathing, non-NICU turkeys. Actually, by then, they would be Christmas Turkeys!

Perhaps.... a future career in the theatre?

Dear Logan,

Lately, you "sing" everything you want to say. I am currently listening to you upstairs with Daddy. You are in the bath discussing trains, your day, coloring, and "not being the stinky kid anymore" - all in sing-song. These are the amazing moments of a 2 1/2 year old, for sure.

Furthermore, your newest fascination with poking my breasts while singing "boobie, boobie, boobie" over and over is humorous, by highly inappropriate in the grocery store checkout line... on a Monday night... when the lines are stretched down the frozen foods aisle. Just sayin'...

Love, Mom

28 Weeks and Halloween

28 weeks 1 day. Today I started washing baby clothes. Oh... swoon... There is nothing quite like going through your baby boys's baby clothes for your new baby boys. I remembered the little outfits and shoes, and what Logan looked like in each one. What he felt like snuggled up to my chest in those sweet fleece outfits and animal shaped hats. What he smelled like, a mixture of baby shampoo and baby laundry detergent. Speaking of which, I used today while washing the newborn baby clothes and I couldn't help but bury my nose in the pile of sweet little blue duds. It is now November, which means that next month, most likely, we will be parents of three boys. Wow. Our lives are about to change.
Yesterday was Halloween! Logan was rocking his giraffe costume like nobody's business.
Showing off his loot. The suckers were his favorite.

Um, how cute are these two?

Giraffe meets Batman!
Trick or Treat!

I can't believe it is the start of the holiday season! Woo hoo, bring on Thanksgiving! Mama wants some turkey and stuffing!