1 Year Later...

Ok it’s been quite a long time since my last post – time has certainly slipped away from me now that these kiddos are born! Where I had free time to write and post now has been filled with bouncing babies or poop-filled diapers.  Why write today, November 28, 2012? Because exactly one year ago today Todd and I were at Tampa General having the first procedure done and having these babies conceived in their little test tubes!  While it definitely feels like a lot has happened over the year, the year seems like such a long time ago! Since it’s been awhile I thought I’d share some big milestones and things I’ve learned now that my babies are 4 months old already!

USF has already contacted us to make decisions on keeping or disposing of the remaining semen and embryos. Tough decision to make. We decided to dispose the semen since we have 5 embryos left and I’m not going to go through the whole IVF extraction again. But we need to decide whether or not to keep the embryos (i.e. do we only want 2 kids or will we want more in the future?) If we dispose of them and decide later we want more kids we’d need to go through the WHOLE procedure again at $15,000 a pop. Annual storage is $600 so there’s a financial factor, and there’s also the mental factor of knowing that my 2 beautiful babies were once frozen embryos. While I don’t want 5 more kids, these are 5 embryos that could lead into 5 more beautiful babies! I now understand why embryonic testing is such a huge debate – these could be little lives in those test tubes! It’s too early to say we don’t want more kids so this year’s tax return will go towards keeping those suckers on ice.

 Too much reading can ruin a good thing. I had oodles of baby books and web-pages saved with information. First, reading takes time away from the babies so I don’t have time to read unless I can do it without hands. Secondly, too much reading gets me paranoid that my kids aren’t developing correctly, or that I’m not doing things “by the book”. My kids are fine, they are growing, they are hitting little developmental milestones. Who really cares what the book says right now.

Emmett: His unofficial weight yesterday was 17 pounds! That means he’s gained 10 pounds since he was born, holy cow! He’s wearing 3 month clothes solidly, but is really moving into his 6 month clothes now and size 3 diapers. Emmett is the chatterbox, always wanting to talk and smile and make eye contact. He’s got a good grip too so when I’m holding him he almost feels like he’s hugging back. He’s a great little cuddle bug and always wants to play. The guy hates anything on his tummy though (except playing “airplane” with daddy) so I don’t know if he’ll ever be a crawler of even try to roll over. He’s got a favorite mobile toy that he can sit under for a good hour just giggling and talking to it. Sometimes when he gets really excited he flails his arms and legs and just goes wild over it. I regularly wonder what he can possibly be thinking about as the same 8 mobile shapes make the same round-and-round trek around his head.

Olivia: Her unofficial weight is 13 pounds, which is a good 8 pound gain. She’s still a little lady but is getting bigger and looks healthy. Olivia always has a very pensive look about her, I like to think she’s doing calculus in her little brain and that’s why she always looks so serious. But since she’s so serious all of the time when she does smile it just melts your heart because you know she really means it if she took the energy to smile! Olivia loves to have things in her hands and really likes the standard playmat with dangling things. She can lay on that thing kicking her legs and rolling around for a good amount of time. She is so close to rolling over and really enjoys sleeping on her side now. Olivia will most definitely skip the crawling stage and move straight into walking, she LOVES to stand and dance and she has really really great leg strength to hold herself up. Last night I put her in an exersaucer to test her legs out and she seemed to enjoy the new sitting up toy.

People also tell us we are so brave for taking our babies out and that they didn’t take them out until 4 months. Well, I’m proud to say that my kids have been to Disney about 8 times, they’ve stayed overnight in hotels, they drove a 2000 mile roundtrip holiday, they get out of the house nearly everyday, and go to restaurants once a week. I think people get scared of babies and think their lives need to change dramatically and they can’t do anything…not true. Just takes a lot of planning and preparation but it’s worth it to get out of the house!

The most important thing I’ve learned as a mother so far is that my kids really do know me and I know so much more than I thought I would. I was in a panic that I wouldn’t know what to do or my kids wouldn’t respond to my touch – completely false. I think I have that magical mother’s touch that makes them smile, or calms them down. I don’t know if what I’m doing is right or wrong (since I’ve given up on books) but it works and I feel good knowing that I’m sustaining two little lives. The best thing a mother can hear is “you’re doing a great job” because there are a lot of times I doubt myself but for someone to say out loud unsolicited that we’re doing well is a great feeling.

So, a little recommendation for any readers out there who know of a new mother – PLEASE tell them they are doing a good job and point out something specific that makes them know that you mean it! Affirmation goes a long way for renewing the spirit and encouraging people on a hard day where babies are crying and aren’t leaving momma feeling good.

8 weeks and NOT Crazy yet!

Wow I can hardly believe it’s been 8 weeks since Emmett and Olivia were born. A lot has happened in 8 weeks. Here’s the summary of what I can remember:

1.  They’ve both been growing very well. I “weigh” them at home (meaning I get on the scale and weigh the two of us, then put a baby down and subtract my single weight). Babies gain weight, mommy loses weight! By my calculation, Emmett is now about 12 pounds (double from his lowest weight) and Olivia is 9.5 (double from her lowest weight). Emmett is the perfect “chunkiness” now as well, he fits perfectly over my shoulder and is comfortable to hold. Olivia is still a little bony, but plump enough to where I don’t feel like I’ll break her when I burp her.
2. The babies have been to Disney twice! I know there’s a lot of debate on how long to wait to take babies out in public, exposure to germs and whatnot. Well, the way I see it is that my dogs are licking the babies, rolling on the floor, and I don’t clean my house very often so if the babies are going to get germy and dirty they’re probably cleaner in their stroller at Disney than on the floor at home. We used the baby back-packs at Disney and they both really enjoyed looking at the scenery and being outside. Babies in the baby back-packs get 2x more the attention than babies in strollers.
3.  I went to the Tampa Mothers of Multiples meeting and my first “play date”. Odd to think there was a play date with babies <6 months old but it was nice to get out and see other mothers and other babies. Of course I left thinking my babies were the cutest, but I also left seeing how close we are to other milestones and how babies will “play” in just a few short weeks. I’m really excited for them to interact more. There are definitely a lot of dedicated moms out there and there are plenty of tricks of the trade that I’m learning from them.
4. We’ve seen some smiles! I’m not convinced these are smiles directed at me, probably more just a great fart coming out, but it’s still heart-melting to see them smile and happy. Emmett smiles at Disney Jr when it’s on TV, he really enjoys Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Hot dog, hot dog hot diggity dog…
5.  Babies are consistently sleeping 7-8 hours per night, and it’s been that way for probably 2 weeks. No joke! We didn’t even “sleep train” formally, I just got the book last week and started thinking about it. They seem to be doing fine themselves! We’ve got them eating at 4 hour increments, the last bottle is between 8:30-9:00pm,then they go in their crib and they wake up 4:30-5:00ish. At that point Emmett doesn’t want to be in his crib, but Olivia is content laying in her crib (not even sleeping) until 8 or so. It’s really pretty awesome.
6. The dogs are amazing with the babies.Mac has finally started warming up to them and now he’s protective, attentive when they cry, and will give kisses if we ask him to. The pups will be so happy when the babies are starting to move around and eventually throw the tennis ball for them!
7. Best baby shower gift is the enormous diaper stash. It’s so nice to not have to worry about purchasing diapers or running out of diapers in the middle of the night. We are consistently going through 20-25 each day but it doesn’t look like we’ve even made a dent in our diaper stash! Emmett is in size 2 diapers now so again it was nice to have those in the stash and just move up on size and not have to stock up.
8. I still can’t decide which diapers I like best – Huggies or Pampers. Each have their benefits and limitations. Huggies have cute outsides but their elastic isn’t as flexible…Pampers are boring and ugly which you wouldn’t think is a big deal but when there’s poop in the diaper you can see through it and see all of the dirty in the diaper! Gross! It’s a very secure diaper and not leaky but if a baby is wearing a white outfit you’d see the poop through the outfit. Also, the rewards points and prizes for Huggies are considerably better than Pampers! The products have comparable “point values” for each brand but Huggies rewards catalog has toys and fun products starting around 400 points…Pampers you need about 2,000! Not cool, Pampers.
9. Even though I weigh LESS than I did on implantation date, my clothes don’t fit. I now understand why MOM JEANS exist…skin and muscles don’t fall back the same way so I will be wearing dresses and elastic skirts since my work pants don’t fit. Also, since my boobs are gigantic (comparable to Pamela Anderson) my shirts don’t fit right either so I don’t really know what I’m going to wear. It will feel nice to dress up again at work, wear something other than flip flops, and feel pretty doing make up. I must still have some excess fluid because my wedding rings don’t fit yet L
10. My husband is the greatest. I think he actually enjoys changing diapers – the dirtier the happier he is! What a great partner to have in this adventure, a great leader in our family to show how important it is to take care of each other and share in responsibilities. The mom’s groups I’m in on Facebook there is always a post complaining about husbands and how they don’t help, don’t appreciate, etc…I read those and have a little smile to myself knowing I don’t have that to complain about. I know who’s getting a “World’s Greatest Dad” mug for Christmas…

Almost at the 2 month mark and it’s been really great. Yes my life has changed but not completely. I’ve never been a great sleeper, I like having a “purpose”, we still go out to dinner, we still make it to Disney. We’ll see how I handle my first day of work tomorrow though…

Baby carriers = lots of attention!

Olivia, getting plumpy

Emmett, getting plumpy

Macy watching over the babies

Labor, Delivery, and Coming Home

Who would have thought that only 4 days after my last post these two little buggers would be here! I feel very fortunate that everything with the pregnancy went so well - we were very fortunate to be healthy, continue to work, and be blessed with supportive people. Something had to be dramatic...and it ended up being the twins arrival!

At the last doctor appointment check up my blood pressure had risen to a new level; never had any blood pressure issues before (and it "rose" but not to a crazy level) so that was a new sign for preeclampsia. Which looking back now makes sense -  I had a bunch of other signs too such as intense heartburn, the crazy swelling all over. So due to the high blood pressure I was required to do a 24-hour pee analysis which meant peeing into a jug for 24 hours to measure the protein levels in my urine. I proudly carried my jug of pee into the hospital around noon on 7/28 so it would be analyzed that day. We continued to go about our day, I went into work for a bit, ran some errands, rested a bit. Around 11pm there was a call from the doctor on call at the hospital and she said "Hi Kelly, I have your results back. Any protein level higher than 300 we consider high for preeclampsia, your levels were in the thousands so I'd like you to come in, get monitored, and you'll be having your babies tomorrow". WHAT! Not the call I was expecting at 11pm so I got in the shower, shaved my legs, triple checked what we've packed for the hospital, and was admitted in the hospital about 12:45am on 7/29. Funny enough, I said my goal was to work until the day I delivered...and I went into work on Saturday 7/28 to finish up some things! So I literally worked until the day I delivered :) I'm proud to say that.

7/29 - 65 pound weight gain and stretch mark battle wounds

Headed for the operating room

Proud pappa

Fast forward a bit...didn't get much sleep being that I had a catheter, blood pressure monitor, two IVs, and hourly blood work.Babies hadn't turned so we were still 1 vertex,1 transverse which meant C-Section. Turns out my platelet counts were below 100, which meant anesthesia could not be administered in the spine (too risky that there would be bleeding and hemoraging and you don't want to mess with your spinal cord) so I was required to be completely out under general anesthesia. Which unfortunately meant that Todd was not able to be there, and I was not awake so neither of us were "present" for the birth of our children. I went to sleep, woke up 3 hours later with two babies next to my bed and a beaming husband. A c-section under full anesthesia is a highly organized event - to prevent the babies from being affected by the medicine, within seconds of being out the babies both had to be delivered. So I had three anesthesiologists there, 2 doctors, probably at least 3 nurses, and then a nurse for each baby once they came out. Todd paced outside of the operating room door just waiting to hear the first cries of our little babies. I can only imagine what he felt during that time.

Recovery on their birth day was rough,unfortunately I don't remember much of that day at all. I just remember being really thirsty and they would only give me ice chips. Todd was a great dad, trooper talking to the doctors, nurses, making all of the phone calls...as I slept and said some funny stuff while I was under.

Overall I think it was a blessing in disguise to have a c-section versus trying a vaginal delivery. The scar is AMAZING, I don't see how they got two babies out of it. 3 days afterwards I was walking around. It hurt to get out of bed, but once I was up and around it wasn't so bad. I just passed the 2 week mark and the stitches have dissolved, really no pain, I'm lifting and doing everything I think I want to be doing at this time. I honestly think I would have had more pain or complications with a vaginal delivery. The only thing I regret about this process is I didn't really experience anything of the "miracle of birth" that I was so jazzed about after the labor and delivery class. I didn't have my water break, no contractions, no pushing, no hearing my babies first cries...I went to sleep and woke up with babies. Some may say I'm lucky for that, but I still think that's missing out on a piece of the whole motherhood process.

Now that we're home we're settling into our routine. I've gained a team mate in the parenting process - Todd is extremely involved and thoughtful. We've each gotten into our "roles" in the house, who is better in the morning or night or 3am. As much as I wanted to breastfeed and nurse, twins adds an added level of stress that changed my nursing plans. I was successful in the hospital, and the first few days at home but Olivia had a latching problem (pre-mature babies tend to) and they were both up at different times so my boobs never had a break. Instead after some reading and some advice from other mothers of multiples I am exclusively pumping and feeding breast milk through the bottle. So babies are still getting the benefits of breast milk but I'm able to time it better, feed both at once, and also others can help feeding the babies too which is REALLY great. I pump either during their feeding or right afterwards so I'm always at least one or two feedings ahead and the bottles are ready in the fridge. If worse comes to worse I can supplement with formula but for the most part I've been able to keep up with them.I just finished a feeding and it only took 40 minutes to bottle feed, burp, and change the twins. If I was nursing it would take 40 minutes just to nurse, and Emmett is such a little piggie he could be 40 minutes on his own!

I'm excited to finally be able to use some of the baby gear we have - it's funny I was so worried about not having socks or gloves for the babies - and they've worn them maybe twice? But the few things I cannot live without at this point: wipes warmer, swaddle sacks, burp cloths, boppy pillows and swings. We also tried having the babies in our room the first few nights...after 3 nights of that they went into the nursery and are sleeping in cribs with a monitor.Babies make so much noise coo-ing and fake crying that we were up all night just wondering if it was a "real need" or a "fake cry". Now we just wait for the monitor that only plays for "real cries" and we are sleeping otherwise which is really nice.

So far two weeks in this new adventure has been great, it's amazing to think it all started in a test tube with a prayer :)

Our new family

36 Week Update

Good news, we’ve made it to the point where the babies are fully cooked, now getting their extra oven time to plump up! Last week’s appointment was frustrating, but I may have had my expectations too high. I didn’t have a measurement sonogram so I don’t know how big they are compared to their size on July 3…I didn’t have a pelvic exam so I don’t have any reassuring signs that these babies are on their way out…I saw another doctor in the group who seemed overly casual about this whole labor and delivery thing. I think she sensed how frustrated I was and appeased me by setting a c-Section date so I at least had something to look forward to.

What we do know is this: baby girl did her gymnastics and moved to be head down! This is a good thing since she’s “Baby A” and will be the first to come out. I could have the option of a normal child birth with her positioning. Baby boy did not want to be a male gymnast or a swimmer and continues to be transverse(horizontal). This presents an interesting predicament to the labor and delivery. If Baby A is head down and delivered normally, a few things could happen to get Baby B out:

1. Baby B could thrive in all of that space, do his gymnastics, and also be delivered head first normally. Ideal situation.
2. Baby B can continue to be stubborn and not move, but the doctors could go in and pull him out  breech. Not as ideal.
3. Baby B can continue to be stubborn and transverse and require a C-Section to get him out. Not making momma happy with pushing AND surgery. One or the other, kiddos!
4. Baby B can go nuts without his sister in there, have a change in vitals, and require and emergency C-Section to get him out.

 

Unfortunately, there’s no indication of what can or will happen. And it doesn’t help the situation that Baby B is slightly larger than Baby A. If B was the smaller one, it wouldn’t be such a challenge to deliver, turn, or pull him out breech. Since he’s bigger (as of July 3 anyway…) it would make a second delivery difficult. What really vexed me from the last appointment was that we are scheduled for another appointment this Thursday but there’s no sonogram. So there’s no confirmation that baby boy is/isn’t moving into position, no confirmation on if he’s still bigger or by how much…what is the doctor going to do when I am there? If she starts the conversation with “so, what questions do you have”…I’m going to lose it. I don’t have anymore questions except when and how are these babies going to come out! Although they do have their eviction notice so they'll be coming out next week regardless of position or size!

Outside of OB appointments, we’ve been making progress on other pieces too. We met with the USF pediatrician group – seemed very nice, knowledgeable, and very experienced with twins (makes sense since they are part of the doctors group that does reproductive medicine). We’ll stick with her and if we want something closer to home or in a different place we can always switch. Only downside to them is that they are based in Tampa General or on Davis Island, so the annoying-ness of the parking garage and hustle/bustle of TGH may get old pretty quickly. Unless they’re fine and healthy babies, then we hopefully won’t be at the doctor very much.

We also started looking at child care for starting in January. I seriously don’t know how we are going to afford this or where we’re going to place them. I looked at a listing of care centers and then did a Google Street Map view…I’m NOT sending my kids to some dirt bag places, and even those cost over $160 per week! There is a FANTASTIC place in downtown but it’s over $1,000/month per infant. I also asked my neighbor with twins and she said she uses an in-home nanny and pays $12/hour plus bonus for 40 hours per week, which would still be the $2,000 per month! If I had an extra $2,000 per month I wouldn’t be living in the suburban ghetto of Seffner.  The other places I liked and we’re looking into are around the $185-$200 mark per child per week . Really hefty, but these are reputable, clean, and actual establishments, not hole in the wall houses or ghetto. I've asked around the Mothers of Multiples (MoM) group and most MoMs there are stay at home MoMs or use an in-house nanny. I’m starting to see how it will be difficult to balance finances with wanting the best for our kids. So shout out and THANK YOU to my fabulous parents who never made it look like there was a choice between finance or wanting what's best (even though I'm sure there always was one)...you found the best that you were able to afford and we were none-the-wiser on the financial piece.

It’s going to be a significant life change for Todd and I to make child care work. We’ve reviewed the budget over and over to see if it makes more financial sense for him to be a stay at home/work from home parent but he loves his job too much and has been there so long (and we get 75% off Outback…) it’s a really tough decision. Luckily we’re in the situation where one of our paychecks won’t go entirely to child care so it is still on the positive $$ side to continue working. Please pray for us as we start narrowing down these choices and reeling in our budget and spending; it will not be easy. I’m still secretly hoping that a little old lady (or young lady, no preference) will come up to me in church and say “I’m so bored during the day I would love to come to your house and watch your kids for $500/month”. Hey, God does miracles, this could happen?!

Overall I’m still feeling pretty good – still going into work everyday for the full 8 hours (although wearing the same outfits 2x per week or wearing Todd’s shirts), generally tired but not unable to function. My upper back has started hurting and I’m getting terrible heartburn but nothing that some Tylenol and Tums aren’t helping me cope through. Still can’t complain about the journey we’ve been on and wouldn’t change a thing about our process. And we’re very excited that there’s 1 week left before we jump off the pregnancy tram and move onto the parenthood jet. :)

 

And I know that friends and family are excited to finally know what their names will be in 1 week! I’ll narrow it down…it’s not “Frank and Bea”, “Bonnie and Clyde”, “Jack and Jill”, “Edward and Bella”, “Wally and Sue”,  or “Luke and Lea”. 

33 Week Update

We’re in the final stretch, with stretch-marks to prove it!  I was in dire need of “mommy” time; for the past 2 weeks I’d been a nervous wreck, coming home from work and just crying. I think it’s just the waiting process that is overwhelming at this point and the uncertainty of when they’ll come, where I’ll be, and what it’s going to be like. I guess Todd was sick of trying to console me in my hormonal tear-fest so he called my mom and asked her to come down for the weekend and spend time with me. It was wonderful – we didn’t do a lot, and I think mom was bored because she cleaned, dusted, swept, washed my dishes, vacuumed, did laundry, etc. I felt helpless but it kept her busy. We left the weekend very clear that we have more than everything we need to bring the babies home – we just need the babies to come home so we stop being stir-crazy. It’s amazing how quickly the room fills up with silly baby gear…

Pictures from Mommy time: 

Me and Todd

Family photo (Mac is behind Macy)

Granny Sue and me

My boobs look pretty small even though they've grown 2 sizes

Not my best, but puts into perspective

 

So after washing the newborn clothes, assuming that my twins will be born at a small size (the average weight of twins at term of 36 weeks is 5.5lbs) we went in for an ultrasound and what do you know, the babies are already at 5 pounds!  I’m glad they are healthy and growing steadily but now all of these newborn clothes that I took tags off of and washed may not be able to be used! Just my luck! The last thing I want to do is more laundry and have wasted tiny little clothes…

Other updates from the ultrasound :

•  no reason to be concerned about my excessive swelling. Blood pressure is normal, no other symptoms that should cause me worry regarding my huge feet and sausage fingers.
• Both babies are not vertex and as they run out of room to move I’ll be having a c-section to get them out. If Baby A would be vertex I could try normal delivery but as long as she’s sitting sideways there isn’t any other option. Baby A (girl) is laying in a “C” shape with her head on the left side of my abdomen and her butt on the cervix and she’s facing my back.  Baby B (boy) is laying sideways with his head under my left ribcage facing outward toward my stomach. So unless there’s some major gymnastics this week I’ll be going under the knife. I guess I deserve that – pregnancy just seemed too easy  so I guess delivery/recovery will have to be the difficult part. It’ll be good to have it planned though, I like a good schedule and that can allow time for my parents to get tickets to fly down if they want, get the dogs situated at their temporary home, and allow us a non-dramatic trip to the hospital.
• Baby boy’s head is the size of a 35 week baby…lots of brain in that big Burchell head!
• Baby boy’s size in general  (5lb 3oz) is on the 75^th percentile on the growth charts…of a singleton! That’s right, he’s bigger than most SINGLE babies at this same time!
• Baby girl’s size (4 lb 11oz) is in the 54^th percentile on the growth charts. So combined we’re talking 10 pounds of baby in there right now. No wonder my stomach feels crazy heavy.
• Babies were of such superior weight that they had me do the glucose screening test again to check for gestational diabetes to see if there is a reason they’re growing so quickly. Hopefully the results are OK so I can 1) be correct and rub it in Todd's face and 2) so I don't have to cut out sweets!
• Doctor told a funny joke about c-sections: “selling a c-section to a woman in labor is like selling ice cream to someone in the desert”.

Some fun Twins Facts:

• Twin pregnancy is considered full term at 36 weeks and 3 days
• 22% of twins are left handed; only 10% of singletons are left handed
• 40% of twins invent their own languages
• Twin fetuses start bonding at just 14 weeks and can appear to socially interact with each other just hours after birth. Friends for life!
• Moms of twins tend to live longer than moms without twins

Clean Butts are Happy Butts

I had been in an internal panic that I wouldn’t have any diapers for my children, I was purchasing a package of diapers every time I stopped at the grocery store or Target just to start my stockpile. I officially do not need to think about diapers anymore. Why? Because my work held a diaper baby shower and we have a truckload (literally a truckload!) of diapers! Holy cow!

A truckload of diapers

To put some of the diapering into perspective – we received 3,369 diapers at the party and about 4,000 wipes. Since I’m a nerd and I enjoy math – here’s some statistics about our poop-catching cloths:

·         On average each diaper costs $0.23. We have a total value of $775 in diapers

·         If each newborn goes through 10 diapers each day, that’s 20 diapers for the twins. That will last more than ½ of a year at the maximum usage rate.

·         On average each wipe costs $0.05. We have a value of $200 in wipes.

·         If each changing requires 2 wipes, that’s 40 wipes per day. The stockpile of wipes will last for more than 3 months.

Yea, we have a total of nearly $1,000 value in butt cleaning products stashed throughout the house. It looks ridiculous that diapers are stashed in every nook and cranny, and boxes are stacked high on the camper in the garage. I think what’s most intimidating is that all of these will be used…that’s a lot of poop!

I’ll officially stop clipping coupons for diapers and wipes for awhile. (Unless it’s a deal I can’t pass up like combining a Publix coupon, a Winn Dixie coupon, and a manufacturer coupon to get diapers for pennies…couponing is addicting, I can’t stop that).Now it’s trying to find another focus for my couponing stockpile.  I don’t know what that next level will be but I need to fill this couponing void! I’ve joined all of the baby clubs, rewards points clubs, formula clubs to get maximum benefit of having twins and needing twice the product of everything. I doubt this energy for couponing and rewards points will last once the babies are born…

What else is going on – the “nesting” piece is kicking in. Last weekend I did a bunch of laundry to clean the 0-3 month clothes, sheets, and blankets. I didn’t use that special baby detergent- I’m using All Free & Clear, supposed to be hypoallergenic so I’m hopeful the babies are happy with that. I’m avoiding washing the “fancy clothes”, I’ve just washed the onesies since I’m unsure if these babies will be big or small. I’m still not sure what I “need” still or what I just “want”; we’re quickly running out of space for baby gear! I know we have more than we need already – if the babies would just get here I’d stop worrying about not having enough and realize we’ve got essentials!

We went to the “caring for newborns” class last night; we learned how to wash a baby, swaddle, use the nose-suckers, general wellbeing for babies. Once again left the class feeling very overwhelmed with all of the things that newborns need and I’m sure I’ll forget most of what the instructor said.  Overall the classes at Tampa General have been informative, we’ve been seeing a lot of the same couples in the classes. We feel comfortable with the hospital, aware of their procedures and facilities…so now we just wait…and wait…and wait…

My to-do list for the week for baby prep:

1.    Finish washing 0-3 month items, socks, hats, and booties

2.    Make a hospital bag

3.    Make a birth plan (if I even have an option of c-section or normal)

4.    Continue cocoa-buttering 2x per day to encourage these stretch marks to go away.

5.    Buy more diapers (haha just kidding!)

Wrights cake...SO delicious!

Yes, I weigh more than Todd now.

Thanks to the sneaky beautiful party planners! You're fabulous!