Wall Art - Shadow Boxes

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions for the sayings for the nursery. Yesterday I attended a scrapbook party and was able to get three of the four shadow boxes done.

Scrapbooking is still not one of my favorite activities and I don't see me adding this to the list of hobbies I enjoy - but I sure do like the finished project.

These are better than anything I've seen in the stores and I am going to be so proud each time I see them hanging in our nursery. If the kids outgrow them, we can always redo the shadow boxes with something more appropriate at the time.

Did you pick up on the sun and the moon and the stars theme on this one?

I am resisting anything Disney, bunnies, duckies, etc. in my nursery - but this was my husband's favorite saying, so I made this one for him.

With my love of travel, this is my very favorite. It's simple - but says so much to me. Loved the wallet with passport, tickets, and credit cards. Too cute!

Doctor's Appointment Today
My doctor wants me to see the nurse weekly now. Since I adore my nurse, I have no problem with that.

My weight was right on-target - gained 22 lbs so far - and blood pressure was good too. We took a peek at the babies and they were quite active. At one point, one baby had their fingers in front of their their face, then reached behind their head - too cute. They were both head up, feet down, facing each other and kicking into the placenta - that may be why I can't feel kicks as much sometimes.

She listened to their heartbeats and one was in the 130's and the other in the 140's. Based on this, her guess is boy / girl (the boys have slower HB's), but my "mommy" sense still tells me it's two boys.

I asked the nurse and she clarified that the note the doctor gave me does qualify me for disabity. Yay! I can start to slow down and still have some $$ coming in! Glad I clarified that...much better than bedrest!

Pics, Names and Words

According to my iPhone app (yes, there's an app for that!), I am 26 weeks 1 day and carrying 2 "cucumbers" that measure 15 inches and weigh 2.2 lbs each. Whatever these strange creatures are inside of me, they decided to make a statement over the last week, because things have definitely changed.

Starting last weekend, my belly is now past my boobs, I am physically exhausted (even walking the dogs down the block requires major effort) and I either have heartburn or am tossing-my-cookies just about daily. I am trying to eat more often and drink milk at night to help - sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. I don't understand how some women LOVE being pregnant..more power to them!

I went to the doctor last Monday and everything looks terrific. Cervix is low-and-closed and there are no signs at all of pre-term labor! Hooray!

One baby was lying transverse across my abdomen with their head in my right hip, and the other was "standing up" with their head near my left ribs and their feet by my left hip bone. I feel the one on the right much more now - at least several times a day. The one on the left is still my couch potato. I read somewhere that this week their eyes have opened and they will now react to light (it even suggested shining a flashlight at my belly).

Here are the latest pics. Baby A is a profile shot of the face and Baby B had their feet above their head:

Names
I think we're getting close on picking out names (although I will probably still call them "twinks" or "twinkies" until they're about 30 years-old). We have decided to go with first names starting with "F" and "G" since we want to honor people in our families and a close friend who are all smiling down on us from heaven.

You'll just have to wait until after their born for the final decision...

The Nursery
The nursery is almost complete. My neighbor has finished patching the ceiling around the fan and just needs to come back to paint. We ordered a horizontal bookshelf that arrived yesterday and started to put it together last night. All I think is left to do is:

1. Finish sewing the curtains
2. Find a high-boy dresser or armoire
3. Decorate or find art for the walls

For the walls, I found some 10" X 10" shadow boxes and would like to put some decorations / sayings inside. Here are some I am considering and would love your input. Feel free to suggest your own too (Warning - if you're full of hormones, a box of tissues might be a good thing to have nearby):

Let them sleep...for when they wake, they'll move mountains.

All because two people fell in love...

We made a wish...and you came true.

To the world you are two people, but to two people you are the world.

First we had each other, then we had you, now we have everything.

Sometimes the smallest things in the world take up the most room in your heart - Winnie the Pooh

We'll tickle your toes, check for monsters, show you the stars, and teach you how to reach for them. - Mom and Dad

Your first breaths took ours away.

Before you were conceived we dreamed of you. Before you were born we loved you. Before you were a minute old we knew we would die for you.

The 3-Month Countdown

Three months! Three months! Our babies will be here in three months! In infertility-measurement-time, three months is equivalent to the blink of an eye or a New York minute. The past five years all seem like a big blur when I think about three months from now!

I am not sure if I am "officially " in my third trimester yet, but something definitely changed within the last one or two weeks. My belly grew again to the point where it now sticks out beyond my breasts, I feel like I've started to "waddle" vs. walk, my back and shoulders hurt, I am not nauseous but sometimes when I eat I will suddenly puke without warning, and I am physically exhausted.  I have also noticed that my "mommy brain" has gotten worse - as I am having a conversation, I can't recall words to save my life! Also, I am not used to being a couch potato, but I sure have turned into one lately. I go back to the doctor tomorrow - but I am sure they are just going to tell me that I'm "normal."

Assuming everything looks good, tomorrow is going to be my last detailed ultrasound. They will continue to check me and perform ultrasounds monthly, but not perform the extensive measurements they've done each month up to this point. My nurse promised me that  on my two-week appointments where I come to see her, she'd be willing to do an u/s with the less sophisticated machine if I still wanted to check on the twinks. I feel them kicking much more now, so I am sure they are doing just fine.

Last week, the big Twins Club in town had one of their semi-annual sales and I went a little crazy! We bought a wagon, bouncy seats, a portable swing, a double snap-and-go stroller, crib toys, a play yard, pads for the play yard, crib toys and a bunch of other stuff. Then, yesterday, the baby consignment store near my house had an "all you can stuff into a bag for $10" sale - so I stocked up on onesies, bibs, hats and a few cute clothes. I figured that anything that isn't gender appropriate, I can always donate.

This past Thursday, I went to see my friends new son. He is absolutely PERFECT - milky skin, grey eyes, tiny hands that won't even fit around my pinky. He was born a month early - so he's a little small (5.5 lbs). He was born a month early - so he's on the small side, but he's doing just great. Holding him in my arms made it even more real that our babies will be born in three months!

I offered to bring dinner and asked my friend and her husband if there was anything they needed at Target. She said she always dreamed that if she were ever pregnant, she would want to read to her baby in utero. So I bought her a book of about 25 stories - from folktales, to fairy tales, to adaptations of classics like Tom Sawyer. They were so excited, but I thought I was the one who should be thanking them because what's more wonderful that being able to give them their first book for their son's library?!

On Friday night, we were invited to Shabbat dinner at a friend's house. It was so special and she must have spent hours in the kitchen. Even the challah was homemade. Both the couple who hosted and a third couple they invited had young children - so most of the evening was spent letting us know what we're in for. One of the little boys - who was about 5 - didn't wait long enough after eating to go jumping on the trampoline and ended up getting sick all over his clothes.After cleaning him up, the other visiting couple had to borrow some clothes and  the host couple was kind enough to start a load of laundry. As strange as this sounds, all I could think about was I am ready for these "crises"...bring it on!

Saturday, we went to Borders and started our own library. One of my favorite books as a child was a collection of stories by Richard Scarry. Although they didn't have the same exact book, they did have a similar one. The store was mostly picked-over, so the selection wasn't terrific.

Some of you pregnant women will appreciate this next story...

I was at work in our conference room, finished up a phone call and immediately rushed to the restroom to toss my cookies. Although there was a sign to indicate the janitor was cleaning the women's room, I explained I couldn't wait - so he was polite and rushed out just as I lost it. After I cleaned up and thanked him and he was getting ready to go back to his work, another pregnant women from the other side of the floor rushed out and told him she just couldn't wait either. Poor guy - I know we threw off his routine.

My dogs are getting along much better now. In a few days, Ellie will be celebrating her one-month homecoming.  They are still not best friends (not sue if they ever will be), but they definitely tolerate one another now. The past few weeks, I've been sleeping in our guest room because I get up several times to pee, my husband snores and we have a memory foam mattress on the guest bed that is gentler on my hips - so when I do sleep, I sleep much better. The dogs must know something is up because they now sleep with me and watch over me all night.

The nursery/dog training is going well. When I've gone into the nursery, they haven't been crossing the threshold.  Who knows what will happen when the twinks are in there and there's something much more interesting to watch and smell.

So, that's the news from this corner of the world. Hope you all had a WONDERFUL week!

More Hurdles Jumped!

IVF is alot like a hurdle race. At the beginning, you are standing at the starting line looking at all the hurdles you need to jump - starting your meds - the transfer - the first beta - the second beta - the first ultrasound - the shopping for maternity clothes...the list goes on and on.

One hurdle that's been looming in the distance and getting closer week-by-week was my GTT test to check for gestational diabetes. I just assumed it would come back not looking so great because:

1. Sugar to me is like crack cocaine. No matter how hard I try to resist it, the temptation of candy is too great. I can pass up chips, cake or chocolate, but put me in a room with a bowl of jelly beans and I am a weakling.

2. Because I've had nausea, I've been carb loading. For example, a couple days last week, the only thing I could stomach eating for breakfast was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I've also been fond of pasta, sandwiches on thick bread (like ciabatta), and ginger snaps.

3. Before I got pregnant, due to the stress of the last couple years, I was carrying 40-50 lbs of extra weight - so my blood sugar was on the high side to begin with.

4. My dad is a Type I diabetic.

5. I've been thirsty lately and my heels and lips are cracked and dry - two signs of diabetes.

I just assumed that when it came time to do the GTT test, I would fail miserably. To my surprise, my blood sugar came back around 108 - so it's just fine!!! In addition, my cervix is low and closed (over 4 cm) and there are none of the early warning signs of pre-term labor. This doesn't guarantee I will carry to term, but it's all good news! My weight didn't even change between last month and this month - which I don't understand at all, because my tummy has definitely grown.

Again, the nausea has gotten better, but the heartburn has gotten worse. The TUMS are no longer cutting it, but I read that some cures are:

1. Drinking a glass of milk before bed
2. Sucking on starlight mints
3. Eating Hot Tamales candies

Oh, the uncomfortable side-effects us women will endure to have babies...good thing we're not men!

Newborn Top 100 and May Your Souls Rest in Peace

As a parent-to-be, I've spent lots of time thinking about what we "really" need vs. what the baby stores make you think you need.

Today, I came across this list and I think it's the best one I've seen so far.

Babble Top 100 Newborn Items List

I've been building our registry and, so far, it pretty closely matches this list. Good to know my "shopping" head is where it should be right now.

Yesterday marked the end of 23 weeeks. Only about three months till the twinks are here. HOLY COW!!! I can't believe it!

This week, I definitely noticed that the morning sickness is getting better. It's not completely gone, but much better. I have started to get short of breath sometimes and am noticing I am getting tired again. The other morning, I slept till 8 am
(very unlikely for me).

Today we found the perfect lamp and a ceiling fan for the nursery. The power box isn't the right kind, but my neighbor, who's a handyman, is going to come Tuesday to install it.

The dogs are finally getting along much better (still a couple growls from my male, but nothing like two weeks ago, when we first brought her home) - so it looks like my husband has accepted Ellie is here to stay.

Tonight, my thoughts are with the Navy Seals who went down on the Chinook helicopter attack and their families. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice you made for your country and our future children. You are true heroes and may your souls rest in peace.

The Twinkie Bump

OK, you girls convinced me to give in...here is a pic of me at 22 weeks with my twinkie bump.

Thank you for Mrs. LittleDiiorios for taking a beautiful picture!

Enjoy!

Body Squeeze

As my pregnancy progresses, I continue to get bigger and bigger - in places more than just my abdomen.

To help reduce the swelling, my nuse suggested I invest in a couple pairs of Jobst compression stockings:

http://www.foryourlegs.com/Jobst-Relief-15-20-mmHg-Open-Toe-Thigh-Highs-with-Silicone-Top-Band-p-16812.html

They have been a lifesaver and are so, so comfortable. I bet I will be using these beyond my pregnancy.

Today, I had a bit of back pain and pulled out my belly band. I am still not used to it, but my back does feel better.

Why is it that the things that make you feel better squeeze your body?