36 week check in!!

Sorry for the delay... i haven't been feeling so hot and we have had minor Internet issues. I can NOT believe we have made it this far...thank God!!! We had another ultra sound on wed. The babies looked good and my fluid levels were still really good. Baby A was weighing in about 5lbs. 11oz and Baby B was 6lbs 3 oz. Over all the tech said by what she could see they looked healthy. Both are head down and Baby A is defiantly making certain her brother is NOT the first one out. She has been parked pretty low for some time now and has moved even farther down ensure the #1 spot.

Thursday we had our 36 week OB/GYN appointment and NST. Dr. M said that he was extremely happy with our progress and said i am one of the healthiest moms of twins he has seen in some time. He is very happy with how the babies look and expects a smooth delivery. He checked my cervix to see if i was dilating at all yet and i was not (whew!!) but he did say that Baby A was right there and he could feel her head so i must be starting to efface. Over all he is happy with what he sees and is looking forward to me going into labor (as am I haha). Dr. M informed Mike and I that from here on out if i go into labor they wont stop it and we will proceed as if i were full term. Mike and i are both very excited to know the end is drawing near!

While I have you I might as well share a 36 week belly pic!! Look at it in all its glory hahaha...

As far as how everything else is going... This staying at home thing is not nearly as fun or easy as i thought it would be. The reason i am home is b/c i cant do anything and i am left to sit on the couch or lay in bed and get my daily exercise of walking to the mailbox and back everyday!!! Mike has been wonderful with my many needs and requests. He has really picked up the slack and wont let me lift a thing. Most days when he leaves for work he sets me up either upstairs or down stairs so i don't need to get up unless its to go potty or eat. Then when he calls and catches me trying to clean or do something in the nursery i get yelled at. He is going to be a great daddy!!!

Your probably asking yourself.. well if your in such great health why cant you do anything for yourself....1) take another look at the picture above!!!! Moving around with well over 12-14 pounds of fluid and moving objects in front of you can prove a daunting task after 5 min and 2) take a look at the picture below... swelling is an understatement!!!!

I never had nice legs to begin with I have always been on the chuncky side... but I use to have cute feet!!! The swelling has gotten so out of control that the fluid/swelling starts at my thighs and ends at my toes!! Compression socks don't help... ice doesn't help any more.. mike can rub my feet for hours and nothing makes it go away. I never thought swelling could be painful but it makes the simplest of tasks such as getting in and out of a chair difficult! Other than the swelling and heartburn i have very few complaints. I have been very blessed with a great pregnancy and CAN NOT wait to meet our little ones!

Hopefully we will get another week or two of updates... if not I cant wait to share pics of the babies!!!

xoxoxox

Mom and babies

Who would have thought???

Who would have thought packing the hospital bag could be so difficult?!?!?! I had the babies bag packed the other day and thought i should get a move on my bag. Since i have never done this before i went online and looked up what to pack... geeeezzze you'd think i was going away for a week with the amount of crap they suggest! It literally took me 3 hours to pack.

The labor bag is really Mike's bag hahaha. In that bag is cloths for mike in case he is at work and needs to meet me at the hospital... this way he doesn't have to get scrubs or wear his uniform hahaa that would be funny!! Then its got PJ's for him to wear in case the process takes a long time and he wants to sleep as well as a comfy outfit of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Other than that its got lots of snacks for mike, change for vending machines, an extra phone charger, my ID and insurance info, my doctors visit journal just in case we need to look something up or write something down, a night gown for me in case i dont want to wear a hospital gown to deliver, flip flops, and some small stuff like hair ties .

The post pardum bag is all mine... mike can go home and shower and change and play with the pups if he wants (i will try to sleep hahaha). Its got your typical 2 days worth of cloths, pj's, a going home outfit for me, socks, undergarments, and toiletries.

Then we have the babies bag which has 2 different going home outfits (I cant decide yet which i want so i brought both ahahha) then a long sleeve onsie for each, a cap for each, socks for each, and a receiving blanket for each.

Then we have the camera bags.. 2 digital cameras and 1 moving camera as well as their respective extra memory sticks and batteries. Now for those of you that know Mike... chances are he wont pick up a single camera.... so pray he can figure out how to work them and i can have some memories of that day.

Then on top of everything is the outfit i want to wear to the hospital and a sweatshirt for each mike and i. I just need to get the pillows ready and i should be good to go!!!!

Soooooooo think we got enough crap? I think i packed less bags for our honeymoon than for this! Well after 3 hours of laundry and folding and finding stuff i was exhausted and hungry. Went in the kitchen to make dinner only to start with some contractions. I guzzeled a ton of h2o and layed down. Thank God that did the trick. After i told mike what happened he was very upset and told me i need to not push myself so hard! He is right... sooo now that the bags are packed its just a waiting game. Hopefully a long waiting game for a least another 3-4 weeks!

Im off to go make some breakfast!
xoxoxox
mom & babies

33 week belly pic...

33 weeks!!!! I am so excited to have made it this far. Like i said in my last post the bigger i get the harder everything gets but its all worth it in the end. So far so good.. Other than being uncomfy my health is great. I have put on a tad more weight than i would have liked but heck at our last ultra sound the babies were each about 5 pounds so I'm not complaining if it means big healthy babies! The last few NST went well w/ the exception of the last one. Baby B (our son) was being lazy and wouldn't give us two heart rate accelerations in the required 20 min... of course he gave us the second one at 23 minutes but the tech had to make us wait another 20 min and he just barely passed the second time around. Baby A passed right away. Please pray he was just being a lazy bones that day and didn't feel like moving for mom.

Being home is ok... BORING is more like it. Mike has been great about trying to keep me occupied while he is home even if its just a simple ride around the neighborhood in the car. I will admit i don't know how i would have gotten through work this last 2 weeks i can barely get a load of laundry done or clean the kitchen. After a little scare with some contractions last night Mike has warned me that i need to rest or else!! For those of you that know mike can understand why that coming from his mouth is soooooo funny! But i love him and i love that he cares about me and the babies so much!

xoxoxoxo

mom & babies

Maternity Leave Here I Come!!!

Well its official... Oct 1 was my first official day of maternity leave! At my last OB/GYN appointment the subject had been broached by my doc and it was inevitable this would happen! The larger i get the more things hurt and the more i am lucky to get out of bed some days!!! At my 2nd NST i was showing some minor contractions but the babies were doing great!!! The contractions were just one more reason for me to take it easy!!! I need to cook these babies as long as possible. Then to add fuel to the fire I was also having a lot of problems with my bladder and I actually thought i might have a UTI. Turns out that the babies are crushing my bladder and whenever i go #1 the muscles surrounding my bladder spasm from having the extra room. This extra room is then quickly taken up by urine and babies so my poor muscles dont get much of a break! I was also getting a lot of stomach cramps which at first i confused with contractions. Apparently the same thing was happening to my stomach and intestines as was my bladder. These things made just laying around the house pretty uncomfy!

With all of this in mind I went to work and discussed with my boss my options. Given that we are slow right now he wasnt all too upset to see me go. We chose Oct 1 b/c its the end of the month and end of a pay period. This made paperwork and billing that much easier for them. Unfortunately for me if I carry the babies to 38 weeks that will give me only 6-7 week at home w/ them before i have to return to work. Please pray that work and I can come up with a nice deal and I can get at least 8 weeks with my babies before i have to return to work.

The first day of leave i was pretty depressed and stressed out! Cried a little and worried a lot! But by day 3 (today) i am 100% certain i made the right choice. This is the 2nd day in a row i have woken up by 6:30 am (after having be awake 6 other times during the night to either pee, adjust positions or take tums) b/c my body hurt so bad that i just had to move! the good news is now that i am home i can at least take a nap... if only i could get comfy enough to sleep?!?! there are so many things i want to do but i dont want to push myself! I really want to make it to 38 weeks!!

Soooo join me on my journey through the last few weeks of this pregnancy and the joys of bed rest!!!

xoxoxox
mommy & babies

Baby Showers Galore!!!!

I was super blessed to have 3 baby showers!! The first was my work shower which was a total surprise!! The second was back home in NJ with family and NJ friends and the third was where Mike and i live now with close friends.

The work shower....

My boss (Ted) scheduled a lunch staff meeting. I thought "ugh great.. i am pooped and the last thing i want to do is work during lunch!" I should have known when he wanted to have the staff meeting in the larger upstairs conferance room, but i stopped questioning why certain things happen a long time ago. The conferance room door was closed but i didnt think much of it. As Ted opened the door everyone screamed surprise!!! I was honestly 100% surprised! Everyone was very grascious and i had a ton of fun!! Thank you all very much!

Wish i had dressed a bit nicer or
done my hair that day hahaha!!

The NJ Shower.... (09/12/09)

I knew about this shower b/c i had to travel to get there and mom knew there was no way i wouldn't suspect something! Mike took off of work and drove me to NJ b/c driving that far alone was getting way to difficult.

The shower was at the house of one of my mom's friends (Thank you sooo much JoLee). I arrived shortly before all of the guests.. this gave me a chance to look at all the decorations and awsome diaper cake!! (Thanks again JoLee) Everything about the shower was awsome.. the food was great, the vibe was good and everyone was very generous! Mom Thank you soooo very much for all your hard work. I knew this shower was coming at a bad time of year for you but you still put every once of energy you had into it! I love you so much!!!

Me and my GIANT Belly!!!

Mike being very proud of

his handy work!!

Mom and i with the cake... yuuuummm cake!!

The Shower Here... (09/19/09)

A close friend of mine and her mom threw my shower here (Thanks Melissa & Ruth). Again i knew about this one. Between the shower in NJ and the shower here i decided to take a week off of work and stay in NJ to relax at my parents house. Mom drove me back home and came to my 3rd shower as well. I was surprised by the number of people that actually came!!! I felt very blessed to have all of these people who cared about me and my babies (some drove well over an hour to get there!!) I had a great time and felt very blessed to have so many good friends!!

(pictures to follow soon!!!!)

Thank you everyone who helped Mike and I prepare for our beautiful babies!! With out everyones generous gifts Mike and i would certainly be BROKE!! hahaha!!

XXOOXOX

Mommy & babies!