First Christmas

Even though the babies are too young to remember this Christmas, mommy and daddy will sure remember!  (And if not all the details, that is what this blog and pictures are for, right?)

To begin our holiday weekend, Eric and I decided, against our credit card's wishes, to take the boys to the mall for a photo with Santa.  I think that, as a child, I only went to see Santa once or twice, and now I know why!  These photos should be lined with gold!  Anyway, we didn't want to regret not having the pictures when the boys get older, so we bit the bullet and forked over the dough.  We fed them, changed them, and were ready for adorable pictures with our happy, full, clean, and adorable babies.  This is what Felix looked like before we got to Santa...

And this is what he looked like when we got to Santa...

Luckily, that outburst only lasted a few seconds!  But, we couldn't retrieve the smiles from either baby, and so we got some cute but serious pictures :)  This isn't the one the photographers took, but Eric got this one from the designated parent area.

On Christmas Eve, we woke up to the babies' calls of hunger at 5:45 am (they are sleeping through the night now!!), and were on the road to Eric's parents' house by 7:30 am.  The babies spent a wonderful first Christmas with grandma, grandpa, aunt Jenni, great-grandmother, great-great aunt Dee, great-great uncle Joe, great-aunt Cathy, great-uncle Jim, and second cousins Hannah and Willow.  This was the first time the family has been able to see so many smiles and coos from the boys - they are getting so big and growing so fast!  Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Reading with grandpa

Felix in one of his Christmas outfits

Asher in matching outfit

Spoiled already! (In their Christmas sleepers and bathrobes!)

The new family - smile daddy!!

And, since baths don't wait just because it's Christmas, grandma offered to bathe the boys - little did she know she would have an audience of the whole family and several cameras!  How could we resist, when they're this cute?

Asher

Felix

All in all, it was a fabulous Christmas.  Everyone is looking forward to the coming years when the boys are toddling around and can open their own gifts - and undoubtedly just want to play with the wrapping paper and boxes!

Smile!

The babies started smiling a few weeks ago, and I have to say it is the best thing about being a parent so far.  How can you beat having your precious child recognize you and beam with enjoyment?  Or watch him smile at the dog, or let's face it...smile at a blank wall!  They are just happy babies!  I have been trying to catch them on camera for the past few days, and I managed to get some silly smile pictures - however, they really don't do them justice because I couldn't catch the "peak" of the smile - darn technology!  Oh well, you will just have to see the boys in person to appreciate their handsome toothless grins! :)

As of yesterday's checkup, Asher weighed in at 9 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 inches long, and his "little" brother Felix was 10 pounds 12 ounces and also 22 inches long.  Both babies are on a great growth track!  Asher is at the 5th percentile (which is awesome since he started out below the growth chart!) and Felix is between the 10th and 25th percentiles.  Keep  growing (and smiling) boys!

Felix (shiny with dry skin ointment for his cradle cap!)

Asher (looking more like his "little" brother everyday!)

And of course, Cody had to be in the picture too, even though he's not smiling...

"Identical" twins!

I meant to blog about this earlier this week when we found out, but such is life!  We had genetic testing on the boys through a twin study we are participating in, and the results came back - the boys are monozygotic, or identical!  We were very surprised to learn this news - while in Hotel Uterus, each baby had his own bedroom (amniotic sac) and kitchen (placenta), which usually means that the twins are fraternal, or from two separate eggs.  Identical twins usually share one or both of these things.  But, it is possible for one fertilized egg to split within three days of conception, which would create identical twins with their own separate living quarters.  This happens in only about 25% of identical twins.  This is what happened to us!  According to wikipedia (so you know it must be true), monozygotic twins are only .2% of the world's population, and only 8% of the twin population.  Further, male monozygotic twins are the most rare!

I put "identical" in quotes in this posting's title because so far our boys don't look the same!  It is possible that they could have different expressions of the same genes, or that environmental influences in utero have caused physical differences - the biggest difference is that Asher is quite a bit smaller than Felix, but also Asher's left ear was a bit smushed at birth (it's getting better), and the boys' heads and faces are different sizes/shapes.  They will probably begin to look more alike as Asher catches up to Felix though.  When they were first born, and in different nurseries in the hospital, I could have sworn they were identical.  But, once I saw them together, I wasn't so sure.  Over the next few weeks, they looked very similar when sleeping, but I could always see vast differences when they were awake and making any facial expressions.  Recently, before we got the test results, I was positive they were fraternal because they looked so completely different to me - Asher looked like me, and Felix looked like Eric.  But, I guess if you happen to know identical twins that actually look identical, you can always see differences and can easily tell them apart after you get to know them!

Monozygotic or not, these boys are definitely not identical - in appearance or in personality!

Can you tell us apart? :)

Insurance...friend or foe?

In the current national debate about health insurance, and knowing the statistics of the number of people who are uninsured in the US, I am feeling extremely grateful that I have coverage.  Sure, it's not the greatest - it is 80/20 coverage - but my job pays the premium, and 80% coverage is still 80% coverage.  And as the bills from prenatal care, multiple ultrasounds and hospital stays, delivery, and the babies' care seem to arrive daily, I am grateful for any help with the final amounts.

That being said...having a baby (or two) is expensive!!!  Even with insurance.  I know that my expenses are much higher than a typical, healthy, singleton pregnancy and birth, but geez.  I haven't wanted to calculate exactly how much we racked up in out of pocket expenses, but since I think the last bill is finally here, I guess now is the time.  The grand total is....(drum roll please)...$8,000.  Yikes.  And that is just out of pocket, I don't even want to take the time to calculate what the total would be if we were uninsured.  This is another reason (other than my bleeding liberal heart) why I support health care reform...it simply isn't right that the expenses of having a baby (or breaking a bone, or contracting a disease) could possibly put you and your family in serious financial straits.  Something needs to be done!  Even for those that are insured - the costs of health care are simply ridiculous.  This amount, while lower than it would be without insurance, is going to take us 3 years to pay down.  Did you know they charge over $2300 to administer an epidural?  Seriously?  For pain relief?  And mine didn't even work correctly!

OK, that is all I have time for now - those precious, worth-every-penny babies upstairs are waking up!  We are off to change diapers, drink some milk...and pack our things to move to Canada!

Sleeping, and eating, and playing...oh my!

Sorry for the lack of updates...by now, you all know I am busy!  My life recently has been consumed by the trilogy above - sleeping, eating, and playing.  Trying to make each of those things better for the babies (and thus, for me) and figuring out a schedule to make that possible.  I have read a few baby advice books over the past few weeks, and while most of them are geared toward people with one baby, I have been able to glean a few valuable points from them.  But none of them gave me the play-by-play points on how to create a schedule for my twins!  And after a few weeks of days like the one outlined in my last post, I needed a schedule!!  I think Eric and I got so used to the notion that we needed to basically force feed the babies to help them gain weight and catch up to their age (especially Asher, since he was/is so much smaller than Felix), that anytime one of them cried, we assumed it was hunger - thus, I was nursing or giving bottles almost all the time.  Of course, that leads to exhaustion when dealing with twins.  Now, after doing some reading in all of my *spare* time (i.e., when the babies are napping), I finally have a better grasp on the babies' behavior and how I can help to shape their days to make all of our lives better.

There are a few books that have proved helpful, and I thank God that my friend Michelle gave me these (as well as tons of other baby stuff from her kids Jack and Max)!  Thank you!!  These books are: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Baby 411, and On Becoming Baby Wise. The first and last books are about creating a sleep schedule, and the middle is about baby care in general, but it also outlines and ranks books about sleep.  I do recommend these books to anyone with an infant!  In fact, read them while you are still pregnant!  I spent so much time reading about the pregnancy and birth, and barely any time at all reading about when the babies would actually be here, which makes no sense at all.  And now my brain is so scattered from sleep deprivation and cabin fever, that it's all I can do to just skim and look for the main ideas!

The plan that I have chosen to follow at this point is from On Becoming Baby Wise.  I forced myself to actually read this whole book because it seemed to fit most with our child-rearing ideals and it seemed like it might really help.  These authors outline a plan that you can actually start almost from birth, and it is supposed to naturally help your babies to sleep better and longer, and thus be happier, healthier, and brighter babies and children.  Who wouldn't want that? :)  The plan is simple: Feeding, Wakefulness, Napping.  Babies at this age are on a 2.5 - 3 hour schedule, and the time between feedings is increased as the babies get older.  First, the babies wake up, and they are fed and changed.  With my boys, this can take between 30-60 minutes, depending on hunger, mood, and number of caretakers.  Then they have a period of wakefulness, where they play in their activity gym, or we read some books, or they sit in their infant seats and listen to music, or they swing (there are not many other activities that a 2 month old likes to do!).  When I begin to see signs of drowsiness, but before the baby falls asleep, I put him down for a nap.  This is a key point in all of these plans - to put the baby down while he is awake.  This is so that he learns how to fall asleep on his own, without the use of sleep props (such as a vibrating seat, swing, stroller, or even rocking in mommy's arms).  This increases his independence and ability to self-soothe, such as when he awakens in the middle of the night.  The nap lasts between 1 and 1.5 hours, and a few minutes of crying is okay at the beginning of the nap - although luckily so far they haven't done much more than whimper and then fall right asleep.  I then wake them (a cardinal rule is that mommy decides when the nap begins and when it ends!) when it is time to eat again - which is 2.5 to 3 hours from the last time they ate.  This routine continues all day until the late evening, which is the last scheduled feeding.  For us, that has been about 8:00 or 9:00ish.  Then, we let the babies sleep as long as they will, and when they wake up in the middle of the night, we feed, change, and put them back to sleep.  We have only been doing this for a few days, but we got some great stretches of sleep so far - a few of 5 hours and one of 6! It has been great for me - I can plan the day around what the babies will need, not to mention getting a few more hours of sleep at night.  Plus, they have generally been a lot happier - we've had a lot of smiles and coos lately!  Let's hope this trend continues, and that they will be on a solid schedule by the time I have to return to work and leave them in the care of a nanny.

That is the subject for another post...choosing a nanny!  I put an ad on craigslist, and have actually gotten some wonderful responses, but it is going to be the hardest decision we've had to make.  How do you find someone that you totally trust your children's lives to, even for just 25 hours a week?

Luckily, daddy will be there for two days a week...

A day in the life of a twin mommy

Midnight: Alarm goes off; wake up to pump (daddy is with babies downstairs).  Chug some water and eat a handful of trail mix.  Read Glamour magazine while pumping.

12:20 am: Go back to sleep.

3:00 am:  Alarm goes off; supposed to wake up to relieve daddy of baby duties, but turn off alarm in dream.

3:20 am:  Wake up to baby's cries downstairs.  Get up quickly, muttering an expletive about sleeping through alarm.  Go downstairs, refill water, prepare to nurse Felix.  Daddy wakes Asher to join in the nursing fun.

3:45 am: Babies have fallen asleep.  Get up, change both babies' diapers.  This wakes them; nurse again.  Check email and facebook on iPod Touch.

4:10 am: Swaddle and lay down both babies in Pack N' Play.

4:15 am: Chug more water; fall asleep on couch.

6:45 am: Asher wakes up.  Nurse him until he falls back asleep.

7:00 am:  Felix wakes up.  Nurse him until he falls back asleep.

7:10 am:  Felix wakes up again.  Change his diaper.  Wake Asher, change his diaper.  Nurse both babies.  Burp.

7:45 am: Lay a sleeping Felix down.  Asher begins screaming for unknown reason.  Cuddle him.

8:00 am:  Daddy comes downstairs, ready to leave for school.  Kiss husband goodbye, jealous that he gets to leave the house.

8:01 am: Try to lay Asher down, begins screaming again.  Swaddle him tightly, cuddle again.

8:05 am: Asher is finally fast asleep - lay him down.  Chug water, lie on couch, fall asleep.

9:50 am: Phone rings, ignore it and hope it doesn't wake the babies.  It doesn't.

10:08 am: Felix wakes up.  Change his diaper.  Wake Asher, change his diaper.  Nurse both babies.  Check email and facebook on iPod Touch.  Burp.  Asher spits up all over me, but somehow misses his own outfit.  Lay both babies down; run upstairs to change into new clothes (also pajamas).

10:40 am: Felix is still hungry; nurse again.  Burp.

10:50 am: Lay Felix next to his brother.  Asher spits up.  Change his outfit.  Let dogs outside.  Make a bowl of cereal.  Let dogs in.  Inhale bowl of cereal while a baby begins to cry.

11:00 am: Put babies in vibrating seats.  Put on annoying baby classical music CD.

11:02 am: Gather diapers, go in laundry room, put on gloves and hold breath - put diapers in the washing machine.  Felix begins crying.  Quickly gather trash and bring outside and put into bin.  Felix has fallen asleep.  Asher is now crying.  Take him out of seat, lay him down to look around.  Asher stops crying.

11:15 am:  Put dishes in dishwasher, start dishwasher.

11:20 am:  Felix is awake again.  No one is crying.  Decide it is safe to make my morning coffee.  Both babies begin to cry.

11:25 am: Bring coffee into livingroom, set on end table to get cold.  Gather both babies and nurse them.  Drink lukewarm coffee and check email while nursing.  Both babies fall asleep.

12:03 pm: Felix stirs and spits up on me.  Luckily he is wearing a bib, so he does not need his outfit changed.

12:15 pm:  Lay both babies in Pack N' Play.  Swaddle tightly.  Put away nursing pillow.

12:17 pm: Reheat coffee in microwave.  Chug water.

12:20 pm: Sit down, watch TiVo, sip coffee. Ah.

12:30 pm: Asher wakes up.  Nurse him until he falls back asleep.

12:40 pm: Lay him back down.  Go upstairs and brush teeth, wash face, and fix hair.

12:45 pm: Uncle Chris comes over on his lunch break to help with babies.  Since they are sleeping, he helps mommy by providing adult conversation instead :)

12:46 pm:  Asher stirs again.  Re-swaddle.  Back to sleep.

1:00 pm:  Put diapers into dryer.

1:10 pm:  Make peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

1:35 pm: Chris leaves to go back to work.  Look at "to do" list.  Decide not to do any of it. Watch TV/check email instead.

2:25 pm: Asher begins to stir.  Grab diapers from dryer.

2:30 pm: Asher cries. Loudly. Change his diaper.  Still crying.  Lay him down to wait while I wake Felix and change him.  Need to change Felix's outfit because his diaper leaked.  Manage to get him clean and dry without him crying.  Asher still crying.

2:40 pm: Nurse both babies.  Burp.

3:15 pm:  Aunt Alysa comes over after work to take a walk.  Asher is crying. Felix also begins crying. Contemplate not going on walk, but decide mommy really needs to get out of the house.

3:30 pm: Put babies in Ergo carriers (I carry Asher, Alysa carries Felix), hook leash on Gracie, and hit the road.  Meet another mom of twins on the walk - her babies look huge next to mine (they are 5 1/2 months old)!  Babies sleep during the whole walk.

4:30 pm:  Return from walk.  Nurse babies.

4:50 pm: Say goodbye to Alysa.  Change diapers.

5:00 pm: Turn on NPR on the stereo.  Fold diapers while babies listen to the day's news.

5:10 pm: Felix begins to cry; nurse him.  Play Sudoku on iPod Touch.  Burp.

5:25 pm: Read 2 Dr. Seuss baby books to babies.  Make it through 2 of them before they begin to fuss.

5:30 pm:  Put babies in activity gym.

5:31 pm: Asher cries.  Take him out, cuddle him.

5:40 pm: Felix cries.  Take him out.  Put both babies in their vibrating seats.  Unload dishwasher while there is peace.

5:45 pm: Asher cries. Pick up and cuddle.

5:46 pm: Felix cries. Cannot pick him up since I'm already holding Asher.

5:55 pm:  Nurse both babies.  Catch up on phone calls.  Burp both babies, put them down.

6:15 pm: Asher cries.  He quiets with a pacifier and cuddling.

6:30 pm: Daddy comes home.  He changes diapers, warms up bottles, reheats dinner, makes brownies, and feeds the dogs.  Felix begins to cry.

6:45 pm: Put babies in their seats and feed them bottles.  Burp.  Allow vibrating seats to do their magic.

7:10 pm: Organic beef stew and french bread for dinner.  Time for a beer.  Babies blessedly sleep throughout dinner.  Mommy and daddy both eat a hot meal.  Together.

8:10 pm: Mommy starts getting ready for bed.  Babies start fussing.  Mommy and daddy have almost nightly conversation about how much easier it would be to have one baby.

8:30 pm: Shower.

8:45 pm: Pump.  Read Glamour magazine while pumping.

9:00 pm: Go to sleep.

11:10 pm: Wake up from nightly dream that babies are in bed with me and I may smother them.  Realize they are downstairs, and go back to sleep.

12:00 am: Alarm goes off; wake up to pump (daddy is with babies downstairs).  Chug some water and eat a handful of trail mix.  Read Glamour magazine while pumping.

But...it's all worth it for this...

Words to Live By

I have found a lot of books helpful in preparing for having twins, but one in particular was both informative and humorous - and when you're sleep deprived and stuck at home every day, humor is necessary!  This book is "Ready or Not...Here We Come!" by Elizabeth Lyons.  In the chapter on 0-3 months, the author lays out "Mantras for Keeping Your Sanity."  I find these extremely helpful to remember each and every day.  And since I cannot form my own thoughts lately, I decided to share them with you all :)

1.  I will sleep again.

2. I will keep my sense of humor.

3.  I will be flexible.

4.  Nothing magical happens at the six-week mark. (This is true - we have passed this mark and nothing drastic has changed!)

5.  It matters not if I shower each day or put on clothes.  After all, I've been dreaming of a day I could spend in pajamas from dawn until, well, the next dawn.

6.  We would not have been given these babies if we could not do this.

7.  Breathe. Smile. Love.

8.  Sweet Jesus, if you're there, help!

There you go.  If you see me in the next few weeks, and I look a little frazzled or crazed (or both), feel free to repeat these mantras to me.  And now, some gratuitous baby pictures.

I am working on some postings which include a day in the life of me and the babies (very exciting, as you will see) and also a profile of each baby - they are individuals already and we definitely want to foster that.  But, I will need a bit more sleep and/or time in the day.  As it is, I am typing this while both babies are occupied in their vibrating chairs (by occupied, I of course mean napping).  But, I do intend on keeping up this blog, so bear with me!

Sleep...how I miss you!

I just wanted to post these pictures - sleep is a hot commodity around our house lately, and when it comes it is so sweet...

But, most often this seems to be how the babies feel...

Halloween 2009

Sorry this is a week late!  Life has become both extremely busy and extremely monotonous at the same time, so it is rare to find moments to blog.  But, I know I will appreciate looking back on this site in the years to come, and I know so many of you look forward to seeing updates, so here I am!  Chugging coffee and typing as fast as I can before the babies wake up again!

Asher and Felix reached the crucial 4-week mark last Friday - babies before 4 weeks old who contract a fever are subject to a full sepsis workup, including a spinal tap, and so our doctor advised us to keep them away from people as much as possible until 4 weeks.  Luckily, Halloween fell the day after week 4!  During the day, our friends Kristen, Ron, and their 7 month old adorable boy Aidan were in town from SC and staying with our other friend Jennie.  The whole crew trekked out to our house to visit and meet the babies.  It was so neat to see Aidan crawling around and playing with toys - it showed Eric and I what we have to look forward to in a few short months!  As everyone does, our friends commented on how tiny the babies were - even though they seem so huge to us since they started out so small at birth!  But, it makes sense that they would seem small since Aidan was almost 9 pounds when he was born!  It was a great time hanging out, catching up, and talking baby.  We look forward to visiting them in SC when the babies are a bit older!  We forgot to get a picture of the babies with Aidan, but we did snap some pictures of the babies in their Halloween onesies (Felix in orange, Asher in black).

And of their first "tummy time" session!  They did awesome - Felix has great neck strength already, and Asher is quickly catching up!

The fun didn't stop there!  Our good friends, Chris and Alysa, throw a Halloween costume party every year, and we were so happy to be able to finally bring the babies out into the world - and in cute costumes too!  They had a blast (meaning of course that they slept virtually the whole time), and mom and dad were happy (although exhausted) to be out of the house and surrounded by good friends.  We were a "safari" family, with dad as a tribal warrior, mom as a tourist, Felix as a giraffe, and Asher as a tiger.

It was a great day all around, and we look forward to many more to come!

Solo

Yesterday I woke up with the determination that I would take a walk around the neighborhood by myself with the twins.  I didn't realize that preparing to take that walk would last much longer than the actual walk!  I started at about 10:45 am and we didn't actually leave until 1:15 pm!  First I had to feed both boys, burp them, and change them.  Then I had to figure out how in the world to even open the double stroller - after several minutes online looking for the owner's manual, I eventually just called Eric to ask him.  Then I got myself dressed and ready, but then the babies woke up to eat again (we're going through some sort of growth spurt so they wake up sometimes every hour to eat)!  So, I started all over again - feed, burp, change.  Once everyone was full and happy, I swaddled them in their fleece swaddles and put some knit hats on them - it was a lovely fall day, and about 57 degrees outside.  In their car seats they went, and we were finally off!  Although it took a long time, I know it will get easier as we get more of a routine, and it was worth it - the walk was beautiful, and it was just nice to have an outing to look forward to - even if it was just a walk around the neighborhood.  (Plus, I felt very proud for doing it all on my own!)  Here are some pictures from mommy's first solo walk.

The babies snug in their stroller, ready for the walk...

Close up of Asher...

Close up of Felix...

We were all tired from the walk (hey, it's been awhile since I've exercised!), so we all had a little post-walk stretch...

And, after a post-walk scream fest (the babies, not me), the boys are content with their favorite pacifiers...

In other news, we went to the doctor today, and Asher is weighing in at 6 pounds 8 ounces, while his younger brother is a porker at 7 pounds even.  Both boys are out of preemie clothes (they have been for awhile actually because they are so tall for preemies!), and Felix is even using newborn diapers!  Next challenge will be moving to cloth diapers when both boys are big enough...hopefully mom and dad are ready!

Survival with twins

Once family members kiss the babies goodbye for the last time and drive away, Eric and I are left with two emotions.  One - our little family has time to be by ourselves and bond, and two - oh crap, we're on our own now.  We had to quickly figure out a system for feeding, burping, diapering, bathing, sleeping, etc.  At first we both did everything together - for instance, we got up together for every feeding during the night.  That did not work, since we both ended up severely sleep deprived.  So, we borrowed a system from other parents of multiples - shift sleeping.  So, on this new system, I go to sleep early in the night, and Eric stays up until 2 or 3 am doing all baby care until then.  Thus, I feasibly get a good 4-5 hours of solid sleep.  Then, he brings the babies upstairs, and I take over all baby care until morning so he gets a good chunk of sleep.  We both try to sleep when the babies are sleeping at night, but that's sometimes easier said than done with two babies:)  During the day, we still share responsibilities (when Eric is home from class/work), although we have found that it is easier to have one of us responsible for feeding/burping/changing one baby each.

Today, Eric is out running errands, and I thought I would show how I set up for a double bottle (pumped breastmilk) feeding - thank goodness for Boppy pillows! (Asher is on the right, Felix on the left.)

And after a rousing game of Who Can Pee on Mommy the Most, both boys are wide awake in the Pack N' Play...

The first hike

Well, our flu swabs came back positive for H1N1!  Yikes!  Luckily, the doctor that swabbed us also gave us Tamiflu without waiting for the results, so we began feeling better almost immediately.  By Monday night, we had been fever free without Tylenol for 24 hours, so we were officially non-contagious and could take off our masks and move the babies up to our room finally!  (They had been sleeping in the Pack N' Play in the living room so they would be away from me and my germs.)

Of course, rather than fully resting the next day, Eric and I needed to get out of the house and decided to visit our favorite local hiking spot, Eno River.  We were so excited to introduce the boys to the place where we spent so much time in our pre-baby life, and where we will undoubtedly spend even more time in the future.  This trip was a little different from previous trips - bottles and diaper changes right when we arrived, and then a slooooooow and short walk for the recovering mommy.  But, it was a lovely visit anyway.  Felix fell right asleep in his carrier with mommy, and while Asher was a little fussy at first, he eventually relaxed with daddy and enjoyed the walk.  More fun to come in the future boys!

Saturday Baby Tip

The babies are here!

After 13 1/2 hours of labor, the babies arrived today!

Asher James Gavaletz arrived at 2:36 p.m. weighing 4 lb 14 oz.

Felix Christopher Gavaletz arrived just six minutes later, at 2:42 p.m. weighing 5 lb 5 oz.

I will share the birth story when I am not so tired and in pain!!  For now, Felix is fast asleep in his bassinet next to me in my room, while his big brother Asher is downstairs in the NICU for the night, but should be able to join us tomorrow morning.  Both boys are incredibly cute, strong, and amazing already.

Thanks for all your wishes, thoughts, and prayers!

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip

Nursery!

Here it is...finally!  I hope you enjoy my cinematic genius...and my Darth Vader breathing (sorry about that, my lungs only have so much room right now!).

Also - as a brief update to last week's ultrasound post...We had another growth scan this afternoon as part of a twin study we are doing through UNC, and it looks like all my eating has been paying off for Baby A!  He is now estimated to be 3 lb 5 oz, and Baby B is 3 lb 11 oz.  So, the discordance rate is only 12% now - which could mean that there was measurement error last week, or that he just caught up in less than a week :)  We'll have to wait and see what the next growth scan shows us in two weeks.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy the nursery!

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip

Saturday Baby Tip