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

Perfect Ultrasound

We had a medical ultrasound early this morning (clear across the city - 1 hour 20 minutes drive..) and it was worth every minute. When we were called in, a nurse asked us about how everything was going, asked a bunch of questions, took my blood pressure (110/60 which is low but good) and let us know what they were going to be looking at this week. At our 19 week ultrasound (back on August 30th) they didn't get a good view of our babies' heart chambers, so she said they'd be looking for that today. We then waited for the technician. Once in the exam room we got to see the cubs' heads/faces, bodies/organs, hearts, legs and genders. (They're now confirmed three times.. a girl and a boy.) This appointment went much quicker than the 19 week anatomy scan as they don't re-do all of the checks. The tech checked the babies' amniotic sac fluid levels and checked my cervical length this time as well. Baby boy(heartbeat of 141) was super active doing flips as per his usual active self, while Baby girl(heartbeat of 157) was calm.

Once the scan was done, a perinatologist came into the exam room and went over the results. (We will be seeing a perinatologist every time we have an ultrasound from now on.) He told us that both babies look great and told me to keep up whatever it is that I am doing as it is working. Our little boy has now surpassed the growth of our little girl. Baby boy was always a tiny bit smaller up until now, but the doctor said that the babies do go through growth spurts. Baby girl weighs 731grams(approx 1.5lbs) and Baby boy weighs 810grams(approx 1.75lbs), which he said puts them in the 40-60th percentile currently for normal singletons. (I'm not sure why the OB told me they were big a couple of weeks ago.) He also said my cervix looks good, closed and 4.7cm which is longer than most and the best part, shows no signs of opening. (Which he said normally occurs weeks before delivery.) So we took this to mean that we're still quite far from delivery. Great news!

We were told that pictures get harder to achieve the further along in pregnancy we get, so this time we just have a couple of profiles to share.

24w5d Profiles - October 14

This afternoon I went to the APrON (Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition) clinic to sign up for their medical study. They measured and weighed me. (I gained again. eek. I'm going to weigh twice my normal weight with three more months of gain like this! - Truly I'm averaging about 1.5lbs per week and hope that it melts off later..) Then they did the fat caliper test and took blood and urine samples. I filled out three questionnaires for them and brought home a package of questionnaires for Phil to fill out as well as a cheek swab for him. (Guess we'll know if he's the daddy soon enough.. Kidding! Bad joke.)

Tomorrow we are going on a mini Babymoon! We decided to take a vacation to Banff and have a relaxing few days together and also to celebrate Phil's birthday. We have big plans to order room service, eat fondue and have afternoon tea, watch movies, stroll through the town admiring the mountains and generally relax. Looking forward to spending quality time with my wonderful husband.

Every year, I buy myself a new winter jacket. It's the equivalent of a "shoe addiction". My guilty pleasure.  Last year, I got a beautiful black North Face jacket, which I tried to squeeze my belly into.. but sadly, failed. I can still close the top but will have to wait until next winter to wear it again. I had been considering buying a maternity jacket, going back and forth, since it's already getting cold here and I've got three more months of belly growing to do! Many people told me I didn't need a jacket.. but it's been cold.. and I love jackets! (That's like me telling them they don't need that donut..) Today, I bought a maternity jacket! It's not nearly as warm as normal ones but will get me through this winter. It's black and has ample belly room. It also has side zippers to expand the jacket outward for even more belly room. I think it will do the job nicely. Now to find some new mittens and a scarf, preferably at a craft sale. Winter is coming!

New Winter Jacket!

3D Ultrasound - Take Two!

Yesterday was our follow-up appointment at UCBaby for 3D ultrasound! We looked forward to seeing clear photos of their teeny, little faces, for weeks. For me, I was just nosey, to see who in the family I thought they most closely resembled. I think our baby boy looks like a Smeltz for certain and our baby girl perhaps looks more like my side? I guess we'll have to wait and see once they arrive.

Baby Girl 24 week ultrasound

Baby Boy 24 week ultrasound

I asked the tech to double check their genders for us. Baby Boy was very obvious the first time around - I imagine him in the future, to be a naked, diaper-less streaker with the way he was casually displaying himself. Baby Girl, is still a baby girl! The tech was pretty certain the first time, but I wanted to make sure. His heartbeat measured at 144bpm and hers was 146bpm. Both very nice. They also both were already opening their eyes! We're very happy and are pleased to know that they are doing good.

They were moving around all over the place while we watched the scan. Baby Girl was head down and Baby Boy was head up in my belly this time. Baby Boy kept kicking his sister in the face! She was protecting herself by putting her arm up in front of her face. Poor girl, she's already getting picked on. I told DH that his son was already a little troublemaker.

This time around, there was a bit more fat on their teeny bodies and we got a few more photos, nothing super clear, but we have yet to go through all of the photos they gave us on CD. They told us it's harder to get pictures of two babies, since it's more limbs to get in the way and more movement. No big deal. We got to see them and we got a DVD of our hour long session, so that's good enough for us. UCBaby also gave us two gift bags full of coupons and trial items which I loved! Inside were 4oz bottles, diaper creams, stretch mark creams and sample diapers. Score! I love gift bags! Our parents got to watch the broadcast live again this time. It is up online for 60 days for anyone to view. If you're interested, send me an email and I can send you the link.

Now that I'm feeling the flutters of movement more often each day (no real kicks yet or feeling on the outside - hoping that comes soon so DH can feel them moving too!), I am beginning to become more and more aware that this is really happening for us, and there are babies inside of my tummy. I know you're thinking, "How could she not know by now?" Well, I guess the best way to explain it is that it's a really huge change from my normal, or 30 years of just being me, and until recently I had no way of knowing the babies were even there unless I looked down and went "Oh, yeah. A belly!" Up to this point I haven't really had many of the pregnancy side effects that most women complain about. (I'm happy about that.)

Week 23 belly pic (Taken Oct 4/11)

This week we went shopping at Babies-R-Us to browse the playards in person. We left with a hamper for the nursery which I am hoping to customize with fabrics, an adorable stuffed owl that I couldn't put down, and a crib sheet. We also ordered a Graco Stages Travel Lite Playard from Sears. It's 20% smaller than a normal sized playard (or playpen as some would say) and we plan to use it beside our bed for the first while to have the babies sleeping safely close to us. It holds up to 15lbs on the top and so we figure they'll be able to sleep in it together for the first few weeks, then we can buy a second one or move them to their crib. Also we can take the playard with us travelling to grandparents' houses or where ever we need. We also tested out the baby monitor this week. DH was super excited since it's technology plus baby related (the best of both worlds!). He loved that it has portable digital screen and infrared lighting for night time. We can also take it with us when ever we travel. (Or should I say "if" we do travel..)

Today, we're off to do a bit more shopping/errands for the week and drive to my parents' place for the long weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving! Now to get DH out of bed...

At the Lake for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving All!

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.

First 3D Ultrasound

Week 21 began right after going to our very first 3D ultrasound. It was neat to see our babies faces in 3D, even if they weren't very clear images. The company (UCBaby) offered us a follow up scan in three weeks(on October 7th) since they couldn't get really good photos because the babies were hiding behind each other and also behind their placentas. We will get better images and a DVD at that time. Our parents will also be able to watch live over the internet again, which is really nice. Here are the two 3D photos that we have of our cubs so far. Cute little faces!

Baby A - It's a Girl!

Baby B - It's a Boy!

The technician also took photos of the babies in 2D and images of their faces, hearts and their little bums. We're so happy to see that our babies are doing well and are growing stronger with each passing week. Everyday is a blessing and we are so very thankful to have life be so wonderful. We haven't yet gotten used to the idea that we are going to have a daughter, or a son for that matter. I have no idea when it will sink in. We keep on praying for a continued good pregnancy and healthy birth for our little cubs. We look forward to meeting them in early 2012! Can't wait to see their beautiful little faces in person and to hear them cry will just be amazing. I can only imagine.

This weekend DH spent almost all of his time working on the basement development. He framed around the duct work in the ceiling area and built a 2x4 wall to divide crawl space from the part of the basement which we will be developing into an office and a rec/living room.. Or a rumpus room as my german grandparents would call it. I think I'm going to call it that from now on. He just needs to finish the duct boxes and frame for the laundry room wall. That will be an October project. Then he can move on to running the electrical and we can hire a drywaller to come and drywall the walls and ceilings. It's going to look so great. I'm proud of DH!

Also this past weekend, my Mom & I went fabric shopping to get the same fabrics we'd bought last week, in yellow and green, in a pink & purple. She is going to make our daughter the same quilt pattern, but in pinks! It's going to be such a comfy nursery and knowing it's made with love makes it all that much better. I've been working on crocheting a pink fuzzy baby blanket to with the blue one I'd made a few years back. This weekend I realized I was making the pink one too large! I unravelled it all and started again. It looks much better now and I've already redone one out of the three balls of wool. I suspect it will be finished soon. I also spent some time organizing our babies' things into their freshly painted closet. I hung all of the clothes (since we don't have their dresser yet) and put all of their smaller items into wicker baskets for each of them. Yes, I think this must be what nesting is.

Wool for the baby blanket I am currently making - Red Heart's Pink Lemonade 

The blue blanket I made a few years ago - Red Heart's Playtime

The end of this week, we are leaving for Thompson! (Yay, a vacation!) We are travelling with my parents and are going back to my home town to visit my Grandma. It will be wonderful to see her again, as it's been a year and a half since she came to our wedding reception and it's been over 5 years since I've been home. She will also be so thrilled to see my belly bump. She is just over the moon that she is (finally) going to be a Great-Grandma! (She calls our cubs a "mixture". Meaning a girl and a boy. Which I find endearing.) I also plan to visit a few friends and see what's changed in town. We'll be going to the lake and stopping enroute to visit the waterfall. Oh, and of course, I'll be going to eat homemade burgers and fries at Popeyes by the river if it's not closed for the season! That's about all I'm planning to do. That, relaxing, and listening to stories my Grandma tells about the old days back in Germany.

This weeks' belly pic at 21 weeks along.