Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe Christmas came and went so quickly. We've now made it to week 36! This is a big milestone as it's the average gestation for twins. We are now beating the odds and anything beyond this week is icing on the cake. I still worry about the babies each and every day - I suspect this never goes away and I'll spend the rest of my life worrying about our babies. We are on alert, just in case, and could now be meeting our cubs any day. I'm still pushing for January 8th or later (37-38 weeks) so our babies can have more time to grow, but it is really nice to know that we have made it to the point, in which when we do go into labour, we will not have to rush to the hospital, but instead can labour awhile in the comfort of our own home. Phil has everything under control and I feel good relying on him to take care of us all. He is going to be a wonderful labour coach and an even better daddy. He is so excited.

36 week + 3 day belly ~ T-shirt reads "my pod has two peas"

This week we took in a couple of boxing week sales and got the fireplace entertainment unit we've had our eye on for awhile which was on sale. We also went to check out the deals on stereo systems - a bad idea during boxing week! It was super busy. Tuesday, we got the basement somewhat set up and it is now livable. We moved our living room furniture and TV downstairs and set them up. Phil also built the entertainment unit. I handled the instructions and kept him company. Then to celebrate we ordered pizza and watched movies in our basement for the first time. It's nice to have our home mostly back in order.

The swelling in my hands has been getting worse and now my fingers are cramping and numb. I find relief in hot water, but it only lasts for a brief moment before the tingly feeling returns. I'd love a paraffin wax treatment right about now. I'd walk around with the bags on my hands all day long.. I'm okay with the swelling though, as I'm just looking forward to having healthy, pink, crying babies soon. Plus my fingers are still pink so something must be getting through. The OB told me it will subside a week or two after the babies are born. I'm laughing as I'm not certain how I'm ever going to close those tiny little snaps and buttons for the babies with no feeling in my fingers.

Thursday morning we had our weekly OB appointment. My blood pressure was 121/78 (the highest it'd been but still textbook normal.) I also apparently gained no weight over Christmas. I ate a ton of sugary snacks (Yum. Thanks for the baking Mom!) and am hoping there isn't a delay on that weight gain.. The OB had a listen to the babies heartbeats and said they were good and in the 140s. I love listening to their hearts! We have one more appointment with the OB scheduled for January 4th. At the next appointment she said we begin cervical checks and talking about induction. I'd prefer to let nature take it's course if everything is ticking along smooth and healthy.

Friday early afternoon, we had our 36 week ultrasound appointment and visit with the perinatologist. My blood pressure was (the highest it's ever been in my life) at 130/78. Still very close to normal so I'm not worried too much about it. I'll keep an eye out for any side effects just in case.

Baby girl's heartbeat was 150 and she gained a little bit more weight, but not as much as previous weeks at only 100g, so we go back for another ultrasound end of next week just to check on her growth and to make sure it wasn't an error in her belly measurement by the technician. Baby girl did grow, so we think she's doing okay. I just really don't like worrying about her and hope that she's still getting enough oxygen and food from her placenta. She's is now approximately 5lbs 7oz according to today's measurements. My only solace, is that I now feel her moving (or what I think is her) quite a bit. So it's reassuring to me.

Baby boy's heartbeat today was 147 and he is now approximately 5lbs 14oz. He gained about 300g (also a bit less than previous weeks, but just barely) and he is growing like a weed. I don't feel him moving around as much anymore due to his placenta placement and his position, so it's nice to know he's doing well.

My guess is that our babies may be less than 6lbs at birth if they're born next week and I may not hit my goals. I'm still hoping for January 8th and 6lbs each, but their health is number one, so if the OB or Perinatologist say they need to come out, then we'll be heading to the hospital. Wish us luck in the next couple of weeks and thank you all for the prayers. We greatly appreciate them.

His profile (36w3d)

His chubby little face!

Her chubby little squished face!

Her ear (I was amazed by this photo)

This New Years Eve we plan to stay home and have a quiet celebration, not only for the changing year, but also to celebrate our babies, and being pregnant into the new year. It has been the most wonderful, love filled year of my life and it's only going to be better in 2012!

♥ Best wishes to all of our family & friends for a beautiful year in 2012. ♥

Christmas at Week 35

Last weekend (Dec 17&18) Phil and my Dad got the sub floor installed in our basement on Saturday and the underlay plus laminate flooring installed on Sunday. They worked like crazy and it is looking wonderful. No more cold concrete (other than the laundry room and storage area). My mom and I went shopping and spent time organizing the house. Our new bedroom furniture was also delivered. Finally real adult furniture. I'm really enjoying it.

Basement Reno with subflooring installed

Newly decorated/painted bedroom!

The rocker/recliner is now in the babies' nursery. I could sleep in that chair it's so comfy. They're crib is set up, their teeny clothes, washed and organized by size, in their dresser drawers and their closet put together. The only remaining things to do in order to get the nursery complete, are to hang the curtain rods so we can put up the sheers & valance, hang a hook from the ceiling for their dreamcatcher and add fabric to their lamp shade. I hope to get this all accomplished sometime soon. Though I'm certain the babies will not care in the least if we don't get it all done before they make their arrival.

Phil spent all of his evenings this week working on getting the basement electrical finished up. Putting on switches and light fixtures. We now have working lighting. I've spent my time putting all of our clothing back into our newly painted bed room closet and new dresser. Also, doing loads of laundry. We had a bunch of things which needed moving around and Phil has been so wonderful at taking care of everything. It seems as though the organizing is never ending, but it will get finished!

Wednesday our new king sized mattress was delivered. It is wonderfully soft and going to be great for those naps we may be able to fit in here and there from January to April 2012. We got it all set up, went to put on the new linens and the fitted sheet wouldn't go on the bed.. I looked at the packaging, "king", and then at the tag on the actual sheet, which read "queen".. blah. Good thing we'd bought two sets. I guess I have some returns to do. Wednesday evening I also went for another prenatal massage, possibly my last one. They feel so very good now a days. In the past week my hands and feet have become swollen and tingly making it difficult to do small tasks and to walk around. Small tasks are difficult to do, and increasingly, Phil is helping so much. He made a comment about how he now realizes all of the things I do, and appreciates me even more. (Aw, what a nice guy I have!) I have a really hard time sitting still and doing nothing when there are so many chores I could be doing around the house. If there is one thing I've been taught by pregnancy it is to let other people help you. Until the swelling goes down, (which I hear is after the births) hot baths seem to be the only temporary answer for relief.

Thursday morning, we went back to the OB for a weekly check up. Phil now has to come to every appointment as I can no longer safely drive. Somewhat due to belly size and somewhat due to my achy hands. I'd been worried a little bit that perhaps my blood pressure might be increasing, since I'd started retaining water. My blood pressure was 114/78. Good news. The babies are doing well and their heartbeats were 150 & 160 approximately. They were wiggling all about from the Tim Hortons hot chocolate I'd just drank. We saw another OB named Dr. Graham, as our regular OB was on holidays. I really liked him and it's nice to meet another OB from the clinic as we could get almost anyone once we are at the hospital. Dr. Graham seemed quite happy to report that our babies were nice and big and that we have a good twin pregnancy. He also told me that I'd likely have double the swelling with twins, which is good to know. We go back again next week on December 29th for another check up. I keep on hoping that our cubs will stay put and healthy another few weeks. Lately, it's been in the back of my mind that any time could be go time. No signs as of yet.. I feel like we're not quite ready yet.. Though are you ever really ready for something this life changing? Perhaps not. The planner in me needs to settle a bit..

We put up our Christmas tree last week and hung our stalkings on the mantle. Then it began to feel a lot more like Christmas. We celebrated Christmas with family at our place for three days and had a nice big dinner. Now to spend this next week relaxing.

Christmas Day (35w5d)

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Everything is Coming Together

Week 34 began this week. We're getting so close to meeting our little cubs. I am now beginning to get scared. Not to meet them, but of our pregnancy ending... and mostly of the pain I'll have to endure twice over to birth them and/or the thought of being cut open. I'm preparing my mind for zen and trying to think happy thoughts to get myself through the whole hospital experience. Of course our prime objective is to bring home two healthy babies shortly thereafter. I'm still trying to will them to be born mid January and to grow over 6lbs each...

Last weekend was very busy. Saturday was our baby shower! It was perfect. I had such a wonderful time. Rebekah threw it for us at her house, which was very gracious of her. She decorated with pink and blue streamers and balloons, set up a food table and made a really yummy punch. I had the chance to visit with good friends for a few hours and our babies were completely spoiled. We now have so many things we'd never thought of for our babies. They received clothing, swaddlers, books, a wipes warmer, a diaper genie, blankets, socks and a bunch of other adorable things, including a handmade diaper cake. The food was great and I did get to eat real cake! In fact, I am still eating cake..yums.

All of the guys painted the first coat in our master bedroom while we were at the shower on Saturday. Then Sunday Phil and my Dad painted the second coat. Now, we're just awaiting furniture and mattress deliveries next Saturday on the 17th, and we'll have a real adult bedroom. Ahhh. I can't wait to sleep in a fluffy bed which doesn't hurt my hips. Phil also hung our Christmas lights in the front yard on Sunday. Our house looks festive now! We then spent the evening at Phil's aunt and uncle's house for family dinner. They were very happy to see us. As usual, they spoiled us with home cooking and deserts.

This week I went swimming on Monday morning at the gym for about an hour. I love being in the water. I feel so at home in the water and yet, I like to think about our babies floating in their own water. Kind of neat. I swim gentle laps and use the flutter boards sometimes, as well as the foam weights, kettle bells and pool noodles to get an arm and leg workout. I guess I still don't know the size of my belly as I whacked it against the side of the pool pretty hard trying to get a pool noodle which I thought I could reach. Hoping the babies are okay in there, and that I bruised my ego and my muscles more then them. I used the doppler at home to check on them later in the afternoon. Both of their heartbeats were music to my ears. I still worry about them.. but I'm told it never ends.. I guess that will help me to be a good mommy.

Monday afternoon the drywall sanding crew arrived and sanded down all of our basement walls. Phil began priming the walls the same evening. It only took him one evening to prime the entire basement by himself. He's taken on so much home renovation work and never complains. He just gets it done. I'm so proud that he's my husband. We can not wait to see it all finished, sit back and admire his handiwork.

Phil priming the basement walls

Tuesday morning we had another OB appointment. It's been snowing a lot here this year and I am loving the Christmasy feel! (I really hope the snow sticks around for Christmas and New Years.) What I'm not loving as much, are the slippery roads. We know how to drive them being that we are from Manitoba, but I'm afraid of the other drivers on the road. At the appointment my blood pressure measured 116/78 and the babies heartbeats were 145(her) & 155(him) approximately. Today's appointment included the routine strep B swab and I'm guessing we'll find out at next weeks appointment if I'm all clear or not. The OB said she wasn't worried about me having bumped my belly, Monday at the pool, as there were no signs of anything amiss. She also said that depending upon baby girl's position on this weeks' ultrasound, we may be booking a c-section for early January, around week 37 or 38. We will be discussing it with her at our next appointment. The med student measured my belly again and it's now between 52 & 53 weeks big. I love it! (Phil painted the first coat of colour in the basement Tuesday evening.)

Wednesday I took it easy at home and just tidied up as much as I could. In the evening, while Phil was painting the second coat of paint in the basement, I went for a prenatal massage. One of the last few I imagine I'll be getting. It was so nice to lay there and relax fully for an hour. My muscles thank me I am sure, and I also still believe that massage is good for the babies. I don't feel comfortable laying on my stomache any longer, even with the pregnancy support pad they usually use, so asked if I could lay on my side instead. It was lovely. I would go everyday if I could.

Thursday evening we had our house professionally cleaned. We hired a small company which uses natural cleaning products, so no chemicals. They did a wonderful job and our house is looking nice again. I think we may be having them return again in a month or two. I love having a clean house! Phil spent the evening with the intention of getting some electrical done and waiting for our flooring. He discovered that most of the electrical wires he'd run, and the data cables, were mangled by the cut out tool the drywall guy had used! We called the company asap and after a long evening, called it a night. Friday morning the company called back first thing and sent out two guys to fix the damage and replace the wiring.

We went to the Foothills Hospital for another ultrasound on Friday morning. I really find piece of mind in these frequent ultrasounds and love knowing how our babies are growing. Grow cubs, grow! We love you and will see you in another 3-4 weeks. While we were there, and just as we'd gotten into the back waiting area, the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. Once they let us back into the building we were finally able to get our ultrasound done. Baby girl was head down! Baby boy was also head down! (Now they just need to stay that way for us.) She now weighs 2353g or 5lbs 3oz and had a heart rate of 141bpm. He now weighs 2439g or 5lbs 6oz and had a heart rate of 150bpm. They're now only 4% apart in size, which is really good. We also are guessing that by week 37 they will both be over 6lbs. My blood pressure was checked once again and was 110/68. We asked them for photos if possible and got a few, but they're quite difficult to get at good angles now.

Twins' heads - Looks like he has hair

Baby Girl hugging Baby Boy <3

This weekend my parents are coming back for another visit and to help Phil with our basement renovation. We greatly appreciate the help! The plan is to lay the sub-flooring and start the laminate flooring installation. My Mom and I will likely clean the house some more and get the babies' room organized and wash their cute, little, tiny laundry that we got at the shower. We're planning to have our truck detailed next week sometime and have Daddy Phil install our baby car seats/buckets. Our hospital bags are mostly packed now and we think we're nearly ready to rest for Christmas.

34 Week Belly Bump

Photography, Belly Paint, Month Eight!

Welcome to month 8! Week 33. Only three more weeks to go until we reach the average gestational period for twins, 36 weeks. Pregnancy goes by so quickly. I'm somewhat saddened by the fact that I am beginning to realize our pregnancy is nearly complete. I love being pregnant. I love having a round baby belly. It's a real conversation starter and I've noticed that people seem to be so much nicer to you when you're pregnant. Many people have told me that I'll be wishing for these babies to come out. I haven't reached that point and am not sure that I will. I try to appreciate everything about being pregnant, to hold on just a little longer, to watch our babies move through my skin, to be conscious of their kicks, to talk to them, sing to them and read books to them, to absorb this time period in our lives and never forget.

Saying goodbye to my nice round pregnant belly will be bittersweet. I look forward to meeting our healthy babies in the next month or so (I'm still aiming for Jan 8-11th and 6lbs for each baby), and am sure that I will fall in love with our cubs the minute I lay eyes on them. I look forward to seeing who they look like, how big they are, how teeny they are. I look forward to holding them in my arms and just marveling at life that we've created.

Last Sundays photo shoot went really well. Melinda, from Melinda Gombert Photography, was a wonderful photographer. She gave us direction, was very detail oriented (which I loved!) and had so many ideas for belly photos. Some were of Phil & I together some of just me, and some of cub belly. We had so much fun with the props and we can not wait to see them all in a couple of weeks!

On Wednesday I spent some time swimming at the gym. It was great to feel like I am taking care of myself again, even if it's going to be awhile before I can get a consistent routine back underway. I'm hoping for late February or March. I've missed it. It was also very lovely to float in the water, swim some laps and get a workout. In the late afternoon, Phil and I went shopping for a new mattress to go with our soon to be delivered bedroom furniture. We decided to go with a plushy Serta from Sleep Country with some fancy spring coil system. All I know was that it was comfy in a fluffy happy kind of way and made my hips stop aching. Sold. Hoping it's everything we imagine. Having a nice place to sleep, even if it's only for a few hours at a time, is going to be wonderful.

In the evening, a girlfriend of mine came over to paint my belly! She runs a face painting business here in the city called Facial Expressions. She designed a few ideas and decided to paint a cute picture of two sweet peas in a pod. It was a lot of fun to watch her create artwork on my tummy. The babies were both quite active. They must have loved the tickley paintbrushes as much as I did. Baby boy kept kicking right where she was painting. I found it entertaining and was glad to see them moving around so much.

Thursday evening Phil and I went to a class called New Baby, Old Pet at the Humane Society. It was about how to integrate your new arrival into your household and how to help your pets feel that the babies are part of our "pack". I was worried more so about our cats jumping onto/peeing on the babies' things or trying to sleep with them, than the dog. I think River will do just fine with the babies. She's a very gentle dog and has been around quite a few babies of friends. She will likely be curious more than anything. I suspect Blossom will be scared and stay away mostly. Halo may try to claim their things as his own and sleep in random places. I hope to be able to somehow train him or keep the nursery door shut. Koda, I think will have his nose out of joint the most. He didn't seem to like babies when we had our neighbours son over to babysit him.

Friday, my girlfriend & I are going for a manicure, pedicure and mini facial. It is going to be great! Phil is going watch her 10 month old while we are at the spa, for some "baby practice". He's also going to organize the furnace cleaners, and possibly the guys who are stippling our basement ceiling. (He's still a really busy guy!) Then, once we're home, he's off to buy paint and paint supplies. We have three guys helping Phil paint our master bedroom on Saturday afternoon. It's going to look and feel so great to have the room ready for furniture the following weekend. Ahh, things are getting done.

While the guys are painting Saturday, the ladies will be next door. My girlfriend has graciously offered to throw us a baby shower! I thought we weren't going to get the chance to have a shower, so I'm very happy that she offered to be the hostess. I bought her a little thank you gift last weekend at the Christmas market. My mom is also coming into the city to help with our shower. I think she's just so excited that our cubs will be here in just over a month. I can't wait for her to meet the babies (though I'm not sure she will ever put them down.) At the shower we're expecting about 15 people. I'm thankful to have so many people who care about us and our babies. I look forward to seeing good friends.. and to cake...

Week 33 belly o' cubs ♥

Big 3-2 Milestone!

Milestone Week 32! A few weeks back, when first meeting our OB she had said that "if" we made it to week 32, we'd be "laughing all the way to the bank." Well here it is!

Last Sunday we celebrated our second wedding anniversary by going furniture shopping in the afternoon. We bought ourselves a joint gift of new master bedroom furniture from Kincaid and a Lazboy rocker recliner chair that matches our living room furniture. We plan to put the chair in the nursery (it may be a bit of a tight fit but we loved it so we'll make room - I believe Phil thinks it is his sports-watching-chair, but he is sadly mistaken, and it is all mine..) and then once we're done with it in the nursery, we can move it into our rumpus room. We ordered a king size bed (Woohoo! Space for family cuddling), two nightstands and a dresser with thirteen drawers (a huge upgrade from the three drawers we currently have). Phil also gave me a dozen gorgeous pink roses, and an IOU to paint our bedroom! I gave him a black cashmere scarf, which he seems to love, as he's worn it a lot already. We also went out for a romantic dinner together to an italian restaurant. It was a very wonderful anniversary.

Our Anniversary

Monday morning, I had our 32 week visit with the OB. I saw the med student again and she attempted to listen to the cubs' heartbeats. She's not very good at it, so later that afternoon Phil and I listened at home. I find it comforting. Also for some reason it gets the babies moving around quite a bit and kicking the doppler, which I find cute and entertaining. At the OB office they weighed me again. This time I looked. Which was a mistake. Never ever look. (I'm fairly certain that the cubs weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 20-25lbs each right?) The med student also measured my belly again and I've now got a 44 week pregnant belly! My blood pressure was the highest it's been so far at 120/70, but still very normal. I'd exerted myself just before the appointment (by walking.. what doesn't cause some level of exertion now a days?).

Tuesday evening was our final prenatal class and we talked about baby care. We learned swaddling techniques (Phil did a wonderful job), bathing and diapering. We are happy to be finished (and went out to the Keg to celebrate after the class), and yet somehow, we will miss the classes and the socializing with other couples expecting twins. The instructor gave us two little baby spoons wrapped in two baby wash cloths as a gift from our babies, for completing the prenatal classes. It was nice to know we had a place to ask questions, even if only once a week. Now, we're on our own to figure out this whole being a parent thing. I can only imagine what it is going to feel like to leave the hospital with two babies.. that will be an eye opener. (I bet Phil will drive home like an old man..) We look forward to applying what we've learned.

Thursday morning we had our 32 week ultrasound. No more cervical checks on ultrasound for this gal. I'm not sure yet how I feel about that. I kind of liked knowing, just as a small measure of how long we may have until labour. It somehow made me feel more comfortable that the cubs were planning to stay put awhile longer. Plus I'm certain it must be getting shorter, as baby girl seems to like to kick me in the crotch frequently from the inside. She's now breech.. not what we were hoping for, but as long as they are both healthy and growing we can't ask for anything else. We're hoping that she will flip around again, head down, in the next few weeks so we can try for natural births. The babies each gained almost another pound. Baby girl weighs 1826g (just over 4lbs) with a heartbeat of 139bpm and baby boy weighs 1973g (4lbs 6oz) with a heartbeat of 160bpm. My blood pressure was great at 110/60, and we're all doing well.

On a non-baby related note, we donated a bunch of housewares and electronics for charity pick up today and it feels great to get rid of things we no longer need! I'm in a major decluttering mood lately. As for basement reno news, a load of drywall was delivered to our house on Wednesday. Hurray! The drywall guys came on Thursday afternoon to begin working on our basement. They will be returning Friday to finish up, so that the mudding/taping can hopefully begin on Monday. I can not wait until it is beautiful, white and looks like a real space that we can paint and add flooring to..

Halo inspecting the drywall pile

Phil double checking the pot lights he installed

On the weekend we plan to put up the Christmas lights and go to yet another Christmas craft market. I love this time of year with all of the craft markets. They give me a chance to walk around a bit, so I feel like I'm getting some type of exercise even if it is small. We also hope to pick up our nursery furniture from way up in the northwest quadrant of the city. We called and it should be in the latest shipment.. finally! Saturday afternoon, I also have a prenatal massage booked. I'm enjoying being spoiled.

Milestone 32 week belly! (Measuring 44 weeks)

Sunday afternoon Phil and I are getting a professional maternity photo shoot. I plan to bring along a few props from the nursery, perhaps a stuffed animal, their native slippers, ultrasound photos and whatever else we can think of. I can not wait to see the photos of Phil & I, plus belly o' cubs.

Home Renos Continue!

Week 31. No doctor's appointments this week. I did a few more chores, things like crocheting, piling things to go in our hospital bag and organizing the house. Our nursery furniture should be here in the next few weeks, and I'm excited to get it set up! Then I can do one final organize and clean and it will be all ready for the cubs! I look forward to sitting in their nursery and just being happy.

Tuesday was a busy day with two city inspectors coming to check out our basement renovations for framing and electrical work. The framing passed code and we were given the go ahead to drywall. The electrical however did not. We figured the inspector was having a bad day. We booked a re-inspection right away for Thursday and changed a couple small things (which were not unsafe and should have passed..) Then the drywall company came in the afternoon to do a board count and give an updated estimate. He pointed out a bunch of places where we still needed framing, mostly in the ceiling, which we'd never thought of. Also he noted that we'd have to frame almost the entire stairwell as the home builders had not done it. Needless to say, it was a rough day for Phil and I.

We had our fifth prenatal class, of six Tuesday evening. The topic this week was breastfeeding. The class was interesting but I found most of the information I'd already learned from reading books and magazine articles. Phil found it helpful and that's a big part of why we're taking the classes, so we can both be on the same page. I know that there are so many factors at play, that you won't know if or how much you can feed until you meet your babies, so I'm determined that I'll be able to feed two babies and am going to give it my best. With my stubborn streak and Phil's help, I'm hopeful we'll do well. Next week is our last prenatal twins class and we'll be learning about baby care. Now we're getting to the fun stuff!

Wednesday evening I was supposed to meet with a girlfriend and she was going to paint my belly. She runs a face painting business here in the city. With all the basement news we'd gotten the day before, we had to cancel our plans and work on the basement framing instead. I'm hoping to re-book some time with her in early December and take some painted belly photos.

So instead, we spent Wednesday evening doing more home renos. We went out to buy more lumber..again. Lowes is now like a second home to Phil I am sure. Phil worked really hard (even though he was sick) and got all of the ceiling and bulkhead pieces framed and ready for drywall. He also got the speaker wire installed. I'm so proud of this man! He is a champ and works so hard to get things done for our family. I worry about his health though with all of the stress from working and doing home renos. Though, like a typical guy, refuses to see a doctor for a health check-up. (I haven't come up with a good way to trick him into one yet. Maybe something like the dog going to the vet. Who wants a car ride?) He certainly deserves some relaxation time in the near future!

An electrical inspector came back and looked at our work Thursday morning. He was here ten whole minutes and everything passed. Yay! One step closer! The items left on our to-do list are to frame our stairwell (I'm hoping this will go somewhat smoothly) and to run CAT-6 cables. Phil plans to tackle the job Friday evening, and Saturday if needed. Then we can call for drywall (fingers crossed) and they can be here and boarding everything by next week sometime. I can't wait!

As if we (Phil) didn't have enough on our plates, we're also attempting to update our master bedroom. Our plans are to paint our master bedroom in preparation for some new bedroom furniture. We've (I've) been debating the past couple of weeks between a pale green vs a muted blue, with dark wood furnishings. We'd like it to be a calm, put together space. (It's been years in the making and finally we're actually going to get some real adult furniture! Yay!) We have a few places picked out and hope to find a bit of time to go shopping this weekend. Plus, visit another small Christmas craft market in our area. Perhaps Saturday.

Sunday is our second wedding anniversary! I'm not sure where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday we were on the beach, saying our vows in front of family and friends. (I miss the beach.. and this reminds me of just how long it has been since we've been to one.. time to plan another vacation! Okay, I really need to learn to slow down..I know.) I don't have a clue what our plans are, but I'm sure it will be lovely whatever we do, as long as I'm with Phil.

31 week belly.. there are two cubs in there!

Love & Pregnancy Aging

I'm just going to come right out and say it. I'm noticing more and more that I'm feeling like an old person lately. Or at least, how I imagine it would feel to be old. Pregnancy has caused me to slow down significantly. I laugh at how slow I now walk, and trying to sit down on the couch has become a bit of a challenge. I thought today about how a power chair would be nice. Ha-ha. Getting up off of the couch? That's a whole other challenge. I also need Phil's help to get out of the bathtub now. Mostly for safety's sake, but I still find it funny. Being quite independent normally and now dependent is something I've had to come to terms with. Asking for help? Me? Never. Well okay, maybe sometimes. My "waddle" has become pronounced as well in the past week, but I try to hide it and walk "normally". My steps are so small that I'm sure my gluteus muscles have never worked so hard. I also have to take a lot of breaks. Who knew pregnancy would swim along smoothly like nothing had changed, up to week 30, and then bam! You're just like an old person! (with a full set of teeth.)

Tuesday evening we had our fourth prenatal, Twins & Triplets class. The class was about postpartum challenges and how life will be changing, mentally and physically. I find the prenatal classes very helpful and enjoy learning all about what we can expect. Also I like when others in the class ask questions as most of the time I am wondering the same things myself. There are twelve couples, with twenty-four babies in the class. The other couples we sit near are very nice and it's fun to chat with them, especially since they understand exactly what we're experiencing. This week the class started an email group to keep in touch.

Wednesday, early afternoon, we went to see the OB. Phil's been at every ultrasound since week 8, but hadn't come along to the OBs office yet as there really wasn't much to see. This was his first time there. This week we asked Dr.Chang questions about our delivery and let her know our birth plans, what we wanted and what we wanted to avoid if possible. The appointment went well and we were checked by a medical student. She did her best to listen to the babies' heartbeats and then she measured my belly, which normally isn't done with twins, but I let her as I was curious what I was measuring. I hope that she learned something from talking with us. My BP was still low to normal at 110/78 and my belly now measures 41 weeks! I love my belly.

Wednesday evening we drove back to Foothills for a panel discussion class, held by the Twins, Triplets & More Association of Calgary(or TTMAC for short). Two families with four month old babies (twin identical girls and twin fraternal boys) presented what their experiences have been caring for twins. It was interesting to hear from the new parents on all kinds of topics. They spoke about things to buy/not bother buying, sleeping, feedings, birth experiences and a bunch of other twins tips. We will now be using an ipad app to track our babies feedings and changes. We found a cup holder to attach to our City Select stroller and will be buying it soon. (Phil will be so happy! Starbucks here they come!) The best part of the class was just listening to how the parents were coping with the challenges of having two babies. I think we learned a lot of useful information.

Friday, early afternoon, (our first ultrasound appointment which wasn't plunk right smack in the middle of the morning rush hour! - yet still during a snowstorm..) we got another glimpse at our cubs. I love seeing them. We don't often get good images of their faces, so what they look like will be a surprise to us when they're born. I know we are very spoiled in that we get to see them so often. Every two weeks like clockwork now. We've talked about possible future pregnancies and how if we have a singleton we'll be feeling slightly in the dark, as normally you'd only get two ultrasounds total! The excitement is building and we only have approximately 7-8 more weeks to go!

The ultrasound went great. No more photos from here on out, so now you'll have to wait until they're born to see them! The babies have moved slightly from a vertical separation between them to more of a diagonal across my belly. Baby Girl is tucked on the bottom, still head down! (Good baby girl! Please stay that way.) Baby Boy is more on the top and he's the one I feel the most movement from. Also.. they have big heads.. Thanks to Phil, or perhaps thanks to my mother's side of the family. Either way I'm preparing myself for some extra pain at delivery.

Baby Girl is now measuring 1497g(3lbs 5oz) and she gained almost an entire pound in two weeks! Baby Boy is measuring 1649g(3lbs 10oz) and he also gained nearly a pound! (Good babies.) The technician also did one last internal ultrasound to check my cervix. Anything 2 cm or less and they begin to worry that delivery may be near, in which case they'll give you steroid shots to help the babies' lungs mature faster. Our number went back up again! We're measuring over 4.6cm which they said is quite long. Also, completely closed, so the technician figures that delivery is farther off for us and she joked that we may be needing induction at week 38. One can hope. My BP was the lowest it's been so far at 102/64. All good news! C'mon 6lb healthy babies, Jan 8-11th.. perhaps I can will it to happen...

I'm feeling more and more pushing/kicking movements in my belly. I love it. I feel the cubs wiggling around almost the entire day now, and feel bigger kicks 2-4 times a day where we can actually watch my belly moving. I call Phil over to feel them multiple times per day. I don't want him to miss a thing or feel left out at all. He doesn't understand how important he is in this puzzle, but I try to let him know. I'm more in love with him than ever. It's so beautiful to watch our tiny cubs moving. I'm sure I will spend a lot of my time just staring at our kids once they're born. I still can't get over what a miracle this truly is.

30 weeks according to OB, measuring 41 weeks

As for our ongoing basement renos, last weekend Phil completed all of our electrical work and last night he framed around the electrical panel. Go Phil! We plan to get the speaker wire, CAT-6 and coax cables run this weekend, and then we're done! On Tuesday, the dry wall company comes for an assessment, and the city inspectors are coming to look at our framing and electrical work. Seems like things are moving along! We may just get this done before Christmas celebrations.

This weekend we may hit a Christmas craft market or two (depending on how far I can manage to walk), buy some decorations/baking and then take it easy. I also have a bi-weekly massage scheduled for Sunday, which will just be heaven..

Never Ending To-Do Lists & Karate!

Welcome to Month 7!

Being at home to rest. So far, it's been rather.. well, slow. I'm training myself to just sit down, take breaks and try to keep myself in check. I put one chore-type item (organizing/cleaning) on my list to do each day and then force myself to stop. I've discovered that I'm a mover at heart. Also that I don't like clutter. The next few weeks are going to be challenging. At least it's in someway this experience is preparing me for all of the tasks which will get pushed to the wayside once our cubs make their arrival. Patience is key!

For example, I have big plans to get our basement renovation completed (Phil's job), finish setting up our nursery (Phil's job), insulate & organize our garage (Phil's job), wash our quads & get the tire repaired, then get them stored in the trailer for the winter (again, Phil's job), paint our master bedroom (Phil would paint).. Do we see a theme here?? Then I'd shop for & purchase new bedroom furniture (shopping is not something on my can do list really, online dreaming is more like it right now), sew together a bunch of minky baby blankets & crochet baby blankets/hats (as gifts for pregnant girlfriends). All of this is on my "To-Do" List before the babies arrive.. Wish me luck.. I have a feeling I'll be needing it.

This week we had only one appointment, to our prenatal class Tuesday night. The topic this week? Cesarean sections and medications. I was apprehensive to go. (I'd much rather have taken a nap..) I know it's something we may need to know, but I think sometimes I'd rather be oblivious. If there's one thing I've learned from pregnancy it's that the more you read/the more knowledge you have, the more you find to worry over. I sometimes think that knowing less would somehow be a blessing in disguise. If only my personality wasn't so independent. I'm much too "take charge" for that and read all of the time about what is going on inside of my tummy. I like to know exactly what's going on, so I'll know if something is amiss. Curse my curiosity!

The class was informative, and yet so very scary. I didn't like the thought of being tied to a bed by tubes and wires. The epidural (which we are basically required to get with twins - in case the need was to arise for an emergency c-section) looked horrible and not fun in the least. I've had girlfriends tell me to "get the epidural" as they've all had good experiences with it. It's still very creepy to me. that wasn't the worst part. I think having the IVs stuck in me where I'll actually be able to see them will be much worse.

With twins, at the Rockyview Hospital, we will be delivering in the operating room, whether it's a natural birth or a c-section, and not in a labour & delivery room. What this means to me is that it will not be a nice serene room, but rather I should expect to be completely surrounded by people of various talents. I'm okay with all of the people. What I am not okay with is that they only allow one person in the room with me. My own mom will have to wait outside for a few hours while I am in the OR delivering babies and then if necessary in the recovery room. This is not exactly how I planned it. (We're hoping Baby Girl - aka Baby A - will be head down at the time of labour and then we can try for natural births.)

We were told in class this week that at about 32 weeks along with twins, the babies will run out of room to flip around. If at our 32 week ultrasound, on December 1st, Baby Girl is head down, then we should be expecting natural birth. If she's breech, we will begin to prepare for a scheduled c-section. At least we will have some idea ahead of time. I hope she stays head down like she was last week..

29 Week Belly Photo - Getting big and still two months to go!

In other news, Phil returned to karate back in September. (I am so very proud of him.) He & I are both still green belts, though I think he will be a blue belt soon enough! As for me, I am not sure when I will find the time to return to training. Perhaps the term in September 2012, once the babies are big enough to be left for a few hours.

On Saturday we are spending the day at a local Karate Tournament. Phil is competing for the first time in a couple of years and I am going along to cheer for him, as well as our club members. It will be nice to see them again! I plan to bring along my crocheting to keep busy over the course of the day. (Also a big bottle of water + lots of snacks.) Hope my butt doesn't get sore!

For the next two days, my brother is visiting. Tonight he got to feel little girl kicking. He thought it was really neat and "kind of freaky". I think he is excited to have a niece and nephew coming. We have plans this long weekend to work a little bit more on the basement/clean up and watch a few movies in addition to all of the karate going on. It's going to be a wonderful weekend!

Appointments & More Appointments

This week has been a busy one for appointments. We had our second twins & triplets prenatal class on Tuesday night, where we learned a bit about labour and birth and learned the answers to some questions we had wanted to know. Things like: If my water breaks is it both? The answer is: No, its not both. Baby A's (in our case our daughter's) water would break and she would be born. Then Baby B's (our son's) water would break and he would be born. After that both placentas would be delivered. Who knew it worked like that in twins? We also learned when to go to the hospital, as it's different for twins and singleton births. So far prenatal classes have been very interesting. The class ended with the Dads learning massage techniques for the Moms' labour.

Then Wednesday we had our second OB appointment. I got the results from my glucose screen blood test, to check for gestational diabetes, and learned that I passed the 1 hour test, so I will not have to do the 3 hour test. Yay! I'm healthy. The nurse weighed me, and I didn't look this time. I've decided that as long as we're all healthy I don't really care what I weigh. That'll be a challenge I'll deal with in the spring/summer next year at the gym. My BP was 120/70, so right on normal this time rather than low as it has been. Baby Girl's heartbeat was 150 and Baby Boy's was 146. They both appear to be doing great. We're also into week 28 now and their survival rate if born early (which they will not be) is now 90%. I like those odds. I keep on telling them to "keep growing big and strong", to "keep their hearts beating", to "protect each other" and "stay away from their cords as they're not toys". They've been good listeners so far.

Thursday we had another class in the evening. This one was for Infant CPR, which hopefully we will never need to use, but good information to have none the less. We basically did a refresher on how to give CPR to babies and what to do if they were to choke. The instructor also went over how to safety proof your home. The course was held at the Children's Hospital ans while it was very nicely decorated and friendly, we hope to never need to go there again.

This morning (Friday) we had another routine ultrasound appointment and visit with the perinatologist. The drive there was pretty scary as it was the first snowfall of the season and the roads were like ice skating rinks in places. Traffic was crazy and there were accidents on almost every road we went down. Our appointment time was for 9am and we left the house at a quarter to 8, thinking over an hour to do a 30 minute drive would be good. We were still 10 minutes late for our appointment, but I'd called ahead to let them know we were on our way.

The ultrasound went very well and was quite quick this time around. We got to see the babies' umbilical cords for the first time and had the technician do a gender check for us. (We realized we'd never actually had a gender check from a medical ultrasound but rather from the 3D ones only.) The tech determined that Baby A is in fact a girl (she was head down & hopefully will remain that way) but couldn't see Baby B as he was breech, but we're pretty certain he's a boy from the 3D photos..

Both babies gained about a pound since our last ultrasound three weeks ago. Baby girl now weighs 1160g or 2lbs 9 oz & Baby boy weighs 1251g or 2lbs 12oz. Their heart rates were normal and my BP was again normal at 110/64. My cervix measured 4.1cm this time (0.6cm shorter than last time) and was still completely closed. The perinatologist (who is a really nice doctor - but I don't remember his name) said that they worry if it's less than 2cm, so we're double that length and doing well. He also told us that the babies have the right amount of amniotic fluid and that also is looking good. We go back again for another ultrasound check up in two more weeks, November 18th. The photos we got are not the best, but it's gotten more difficult to get good quality photos since the cubs are getting bigger. Here are the best two pictures from this morning.

Baby Girl's Face (Top of her head to the right)

Baby Boy's Face (Top of his head to the left)

Saturday, I am going for a nice relaxing pregnancy massage! While I am working on helping blood flow to nourish our cubs, Phil will be at home working on the electrical wiring for our basement reno! I look forward to getting the project moving along and dry-walled soon. I can't wait to see defined spaces and actual walls! We have some nice wood/lam flooring to install and plan to paint the basement in browns with white trim to match the rest of our house. We've already bought the light fixtures as well. We're hoping to celebrate Christmas in our new rumpus room (as my grandparents called it) with our family. Hopefully it is nearing completion by that time. It's going to be beautiful.

I now am feeling the babies move at all times of the day and with more force than previously. They still don't "kick" as much as "wiggle". They both seem to be night owls (like me!) and are active almost everyday like clockwork at 11:30pm. I also notice them moving around a bit in the mornings around 6am and around 5pm. Phil can now feel movements on his hand quite easily. Sometimes we can actually see my belly moving, which is so very neat! Pregnancy at times seems to fly by so quickly. I'm doing everything I can to just enjoy the experience.

28th Week (27w5d)

This week our doctor took me off of work so I can get some much needed rest. I entered the third trimester and basically hit a wall with eating and sleeping. Up until now, I'd been able to eat normal sized meals, eat whatever I felt like and sleep the entire night through. All of a sudden, I noticed I can barely eat anything without feeling full right away and I've learned that some foods are just plain mean. I also am now waking up at least once per night to to go pee. I don't mind any of this as it just means we're doing well. I am very thankful to the doctor for giving me the time to rest and prepare for our cubs' arrival. We know that twins average birth around week 35-36 (which would put us right around Christmas/NYE), but hopefully our cubs will keep warm in their den for another 8-10 weeks and into week 37-38 in January 2012!

Trimester Three & Halloween!

Tomorrow is Halloween! One of the top holidays of the year. I love decorating and baking and dressing in costume. One of the best parts of the day is handing out candy to the cute little kids in our neighbourhood. We rarely get more than 50 kids but it's still very fun none the less. We're handing out a various assortment of chocolate bars (which I plan to stay far away from) and scary sour gummy candies. Of course we also have glow in the dark bracelets to hand out. A tradition I've kept going almost a decade.

Today, I spent the afternoon baking chocolate-chocolate chip cupcakes and making homemade icing in orange and purple. Phil picked out some halloween sprinkles to decorate the cupcakes and we also bought cute little cupcake paper and napkins in a halloween theme.

Fresh out of the oven!

Decorations & Homemade icing.. yum!

Homemade Halloween Cupcakes!

We carved our pumpkins this evening together. It's our halloween tradition. Phil was wonderful and scooped out both pumpkins because I didn't really like the pumpkin smell. Once they were prepared, Phil carved a scary face in his and I carved a pumpkin with a ghost coming out of the top. We used the templates from the little kit we bought. I think they turned out nicely. We also decorated the outside of our house but I didn't get a photo before dark, so will try to take one and add it here tomorrow.

Our family jack-o-lanterns this year

I am looking forward to tomorrow and hope that at least some of the people in the office will get into the halloween spirit. This year I am dressing up as a Pumpkin Smuggler. At least it's original. Also, likely the only year I'd be able to pull it off.

Beware the Pumpkin Smuggler!

This year marks another exciting milestone. We are now officially in the third trimester! Less than 90 days to go! Suddenly it is becoming more real. I am enjoying feeling the babies kick and I often rub them and talk to them. I've also been nesting like crazy, buying them things and crafting for them. My mom (aka Grandma - because she hasn't told me what she would like to be called yet..) is also crafting up a storm. She's made two matching baby quilts, a valance, two raggy fleece blankets, two knit baby sweaters, two knit baby hats and is working on the second of two knitted angel wing design baby blankets. She is also working on adding a zipper to the diaper bag she found for us and still plans to knit baby booties, quilt a crib skirt, make crib sheets and likely more I don't yet know about. They already have so much love.

I spent the morning organizing the nursery some more and putting the teeny baby items into their respective wicker baskets. Once the nursery furniture arrives I will post photos. We expect it within the next four weeks. Yesterday we spent a part of the afternoon baby shopping and brought home a second towel/bath set (this one in pink) and some other small baby items. We also ordered a baby tub, a change pad for the nursery and the crib mattress from Babies-R-Us. This morning Phil tested out the baby monitor from the basement and is happy to report that it works wonderfully, you can see and hear everything in the nursery. I washed all of our cubs' newborn sleepers (they each have six) and their tiny little scratch mittens & hats, along with the sheets we bought for their travel sized pack and play and the cover for the nursing pillow. It will be good to have everything clean and ready to use.

I plan to start packing a hospital bag soon so we have lots of time to add items that we may forget. I am sure this list is by no means complete, but my list so far consists of:
~ newborn sleepers (all of them - since I have no clue how many we may need)
~ newborn hats
~ scratch mittens
~ preemie/newborn diaper packs
~ penaten cream
~ soothers/clips
~ car seats/buckets
~ warm blankets for the ride home
~ receiving blankets (my Mom is currently making)
~ clothes and toiletries for myself

Lately, I have been in a baby crafting whirlwind myself. (I am also addicted to Etsy, but that's a whole other ball of yarn.) I went on YouTube and learned how to crochet baby hats and flowers. I also learned two new crochet stitches. I am now attempting to crochet two little baby hats in size 3 baby wool (very fine and soft) for our cubs when they come home from the hospital and perhaps for a newborn baby photo shoot. I plan to decorate our baby girls hat with a crochet flower/leaves and our baby boy's hat with a cute wooden button.

Work in progress.

I am also still working on crocheting the pink and blue fluffy baby blankets with the Red Heart Yarn. I made the main portion of the pink blanket using seventy-six stitches across and have been doing the same with the blue blanket. However, for some strange reason the blue blanket is a few inches shorter. I am guessing I'm crocheting tighter, but have no idea. once the blue blanket is finished I will have to crochet a bit around the edges to make them the same size. Then finally I can add the white fluffy borders. I will post photos once they are complete.

My newly found craft addiction is minky fabrics! I ordered a bunch online, and my mom also bought me some more at a sale today. I can't wait to sew 100% cotton prints onto minky fabric to make baby blankets! I just hope that I can find the time. If I can mass enough baby crafts I may post them on my own Etsy shop and hopefully make some extra money while on maternity leave.

This week coming up, we have our second prenatal class on Tuesday night, where we will learn all about labour and birth. Then on Wednesday, I have my second OB appointment in the afternoon. I am not sure that I will learn anything new that the perinatologist didn't already tell us at our last ultrasound appointment, two weeks ago. I imagine that our OB will measure my belly, weigh me, check my blood pressure and let me listen to the babies' heartbeats as per a normal check up appointment.

Then on Friday we have another ultrasound, this time at Foothills Hospital in a new clinic we have not been to before and we will meet with another (or possibly the same) perinatologist. We are hoping that the news will be as good as the last ultrasound, and all will be looking great.

It is going to be a long busy week. I hope that I can muster some more energy than I've had lately. I look forward to Friday afternoon already...now it's late & time for bed..

Twins Prenatal Class

We had our first twins and triplets prenatal class this week and we're glad to meet other couples in our area who are also having twins (no one in the class was expecting triplets). The instructor had us all break the ice by arranging ourselves in order of due date. I was quite surprised that we were couple #3 in the line! I'd expected to be someplace in the middle. Also I was surprised again to see we were one of the younger couples in the room, someplace close to the middle if I had to guess. Then finally was very surprised at how many of the women, who were not as far along as us, were already off of work.

We learned a little about all of the other couples and then watched a short video about twins. Then the nurse discussed some of the signs to watch for which would be abnormal/might signal preterm labour and which ones are normal. We knew most of the subject matter but were interested none the less. One tidbit we did learn, is that preterm multiples have a higher survival rate than singletons born at the same gestational age. We guessed it was because of a bond formed in utero, but there is likely a good explanation. Who knew?

I look forward to next week's class on labour and delivery. I have a feeling that the videos may be a bit on the slap-in-the-face-scary side, but hopefully are helpful to us. I'm guessing they're not like the baby shows on TLC. It's also the class when the dad's will learn about massage how-to. The massage, I am anticipating, will come in very handy when we do eventually go to the hospital to meet our cubs.

Suddenly, reality has snuck up on me. I am beginning to realize that this is truly happening for us. Our babies are doing well and will be born big and healthy with a high chance of survival.. which translates into.. I will be feeling a lot of pain and have to push them out.. in approximately two and a half more months. It's all hapening so fast!

I really love being pregnant and don't want it to end anytime soon. I'd be okay with late-term twins, at perhaps 38 weeks along. That would also put us into the second week of January which would be very nice. I love feeling the cubs kicking and rolling around, and will miss that feeling. Though I am somewhat conflicted, as much as I am enjoying pregnancy and all of it's wonders, I also look forward to meeting our babies and holding them! I mean, we will get to keep them and take them home! There are two real people growing inside of my belly! Life is so beautiful.

26 week belly pic

Pregnancy has been wonderful to me. I wasn't sick or really even tired in the first trimester. I don't have heartburn, hemorrhoids, leg cramps, swelling, stretch marks or any of the things women usually complain about. My energy level has remained fairly high throughout. I worked out on the elliptical until approximately week 20 (I miss it now) and have been doing my best to clean and do household tasks. I haven't really had any issues and am very thankful.

I have very recently noticed feeling more tired as time goes on and have noted small changes, things which zap my energy, creeping in on me. Things like walking up the stairs at work, sitting in meetings for long periods of time, standing for more than a few minutes at a time, and generally commuting to and from work, all seem to be becoming more difficult. I've taken sick days here and there just to get by. At this point I am struggling to work my 4 day weeks, and am not sure I could make it through a 5 day work week without complete exhaustion. Next week (which is a 5 day work week), I am planning to talk with my OB regarding work and when I might expect to be off in her opinion and then move forward from there.

As a last fancy night out on the town, we are going to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet preform Alice in Wonderland at the end of this week. A throw back to our Manitoba roots and our last ballet night out before the babies arrive. It will be nice to dress up and spend the evening together in a cultural setting. I have the perfect little black dress.. and a perfect husband to share it with.

Edit: The babies either loved or hated the ballet. They were wiggling around like mad the entire performance. We thought that the story was a bit unique for a ballet and enjoyed the show. Afterwards we went out to the Keg lounge for a late evening dinner, just the two (er, four) of us.

Evening at the Ballet

Babymoon, Birthday and Kicks!

Welcome to Month 6!

Our babymoon weekend away to Banff was beautiful. We also celebrated Phil's birthday. He loved being at the hotel grounds, taking photos of the mountains and of course, all of the tasty cuisine!

On Saturday we went to the Waldhaus, a german restaurant and a short walk from the hotel, for fondue dinner. Phil got a giant stein of dark beer, which reminded us of the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. The evening walk together was very nice. The hotel staff provided me with a pregnancy pillow from their pillow menu that evening. I figured I'd give it a try, since I didn't have one at home. Turns out the pregnancy pillow experience was a learning experience, and it spent more time on the floor than being used as a pillow. 

On Sunday, we had breakfast in the gold floor lounge and then went swimming in the outdoor heated pool and the indoor saltwater pool. We spent some time browsing the hotel shops and then had Sunday brunch at the Bow Valley Grill around lunchtime. After a long afternoon nap, we took a walk to Bow Falls and saw elk in a nearby field. That evening we went out to the Maple Lounge for a romantic dinner. Driving back we saw more elk right in front of the hotel, eating shrubbery. (Which the next morning was completely trimmed down to nothing!) The best part of our Sunday was late in the evening (1115 or so) when Phil felt the babies kicking his hand for the first time!

On Phil's birthday we slept in and had breakfast at the gold lounge. Phil opened his card and gift and we then went to the spa to lounge around the spa pools. Phil went into the three relaxation pools, which were 40 degrees, 37 degrees and 24 degrees, for blood flow stimulation, and then into the mineral pool, which he described as tingly. I stayed in the body temperature, 37 degree relaxation pool, because of being pregnant. We then had a couples massage. We then went for traditional Afternoon Tea overlooking the mountains. We took a lot of photos and went for another walk. Of course, we hadn't eaten in about 2 hours.. so we had appetizers at the gold lounge before ordering room service. The hotel had snuck cheesecake into our room while we were out and I put four candles on it (two green to represent Phil & I, one blue and one pink). Phil blew out his candles after I sang him happy birthday and then we enjoyed the sugar and watched a movie. Phil felt the babies kicking his hand again and we could actually see them moving around! He said it was the best birthday gift ever.

This week we have no appointments, but we do know that our cubs are doing well (and that they like sugary snacks..). Our next OB check up appointment is on November 2nd and ultrasound on November 4th. Today was my 1-hour gestational diabetes blood screening test. I believe that I passed, and will find out for sure at the OB. The orange drink tastes not bad at first, then moves into some sort of of tingly sickeningly sweet flavour, which I just simply tossed back. I hope to not have to drink that stuff again anytime soon.

We are starting our Prenatal Twins and Triplets Class on Tuesday and are looking forward to learning all about having babies. We also signed up for Infant CPR, Old Pet/New Baby and a panel discussion class for twins & triplets, where we can ask questions and learn from others who have had multiples. We *think* we know some things, but I'm sure we'll be surprised and learn a lot over the next 6 weeks.

25 weeks, taken October 20