Thompson Visit

Welcome to Month 5!

We took some vacation time and drove up to Northern Manitoba to my hometown. My parents came along as well and we all stayed with my Grandma. DH and I left home on Thursday evening and arrived at my parents' place. Friday we all drove to PA and Saturday we finally drove into Thompson at about 7pm.

At Grandma's House

We spent the week touring around town, completing the local wolf statue GPS hunt. We also went to the museum, and we went fishing together. My Dad and DH also went fishing one early morning, just the two of them. They caught four pickerel. We took my Grandma shopping, and did cooking and cleaning for her. We made chili, zucchini quiche, chicken stew and pork chops and we froze them or left them as left overs for my Grandma to eat. One evening DH and I had the chance to stay in with Grandma to visit and listen to her stories. I will always remember that evening. While there, I also got a chance to see a few friends and catch up. I had a great time.

Belly Perspective while Fishing

It was very nice to be back for a visit, since it had been over 5 years since I'd last returned. Somethings have changed and some remain the same. I missed living there, yet am thankful to live where we do now. I was sadly disappointed that Popeyes restaurant was already closed for the season, also it was a bit disappointing to see Southwood closed and gone for good. Fond memories.

As for our own shopping, we didn't buy anything for ourselves. We did buy the cutest little native slippers with fur and beading for our cubs, some onesies (more not shown here). Of course we bought them stuffed animals as well - Two little howling Thompson wolves and each of them a unique car seat musical toy from my friends' store.

Our twins' loot from Thompson - spoiled already

Favorite find, handmade native slippers.
Hoping our cats wont stalk them wearing these around the house..

We also found them a Soul Connection Dream Catcher, in bright blue, which we plan to hang in their nursery. I love the sentiment and memories this holds from my childhood. I hope to someday teach our children about where and how I grew up. We thought it was appropriate that this particular dream catcher had two parts connected. On the dream catcher's tag it says:

"Soul Connection - It is by sharing ourselves that we come to truly learn about who we are. Soul connection dream catcher honours this relationship between two people."

We also brought home some baby clothing, two bunting bags and two pairs of knitted booties for our babies, all given to us by my Grandma. I can't wait for them to wear the clothing she's given us. It means a lot to us that she can share in our joy. She is so very happy that she is going to be a Great-Grandma. She had a dream the last night that we were at her place, that our babies would be born on January 10-11th. I hope she is correct. That would be wonderful. She also prays for our babies everyday, which I appreciate so very much.

The drive back home felt much longer than the drive out. I'm guessing because we knew that our trip was ending and we were getting tired. We stayed at my parents' place once again (and ate fresh MB pickerel!) and then made our way home on Sunday. Even the road trip with my parents will be a memory we will cherish for years to come. We enjoyed it all.

22 weeks in Thompson MB! (Taken Sept 28, 2011)

In week 23-24, back home in Calgary, we had our first OB appointment. The OB seems very nice and she explained a lot of what to expect to me. She told me the protocol for the hospital and explained what milestones we needed to hit. Our first milestone is at 24 weeks (next Sunday according to me & tomorrow according to the doctors). Then the next is 28 weeks. Finally, she told me that after 32 weeks, the final milestone for twins, we are, in her words, "laughing all the way to the bank". Meaning that after 32 weeks our cubs will be just fine. She gave me survive-ability rates for each, but I'd rather just keep on thinking positive that we won't even have to worry about that stuff. I didn't like the fact that she kept saying "if" and not "when" as she spoke. Under my breath I kept correcting her saying "when we hit week.." and ignoring her "ifs". I expect that our babies will gestate until 37 or 38 weeks along. The OB also mentioned that we are aiming for the 37 week mark.

We listened to our cubs' heartbeats and she told me that they were strong. When I asked her if they were measuring on track, she said that based on our 19 week ultrasound they were measuring big. So I asked her if they were big for twins, or just big for a normal baby (meaning one). She said they are normal. I took that to mean they are actually big for a normal single pregnancy. That'd be nice if they were big healthy babies. (Though I may eat these words come January..) I also learned today that I've already gained approx 35lbs! This is scary, but if it helps to keep my babies healthy then I'll take it. The OB said not to worry and I'm doing fine. I was right in my previous assumptions and our next appointment is not until November 2nd. Then after that we will start going for a check up every two weeks. We also have a medical ultrasound scheduled now for Friday, October 14th. I guess we will find out those results in a months time.

This Friday, on October 7th, we have the second UCBaby 3D ultrasound. We are excited to see our cubs again and know that they are doing well. I hope to see more fat on their teeny bodies and I plan to ask the tech to double check their genders for us just in case! I hope we can get some nice photos of them this time as well. I am always so amazed to see these two little humans developing inside my belly. It still hasn't hit me that this is truly real. I'm in awe of these people that I'm somehow magically creating.