The Twins' Room

The final touches on the twins' room were finished this past weekend. The cozy nursery was the perfect space for one baby and one crib! With city living, (extra) space comes at a premium, so when found out that we were having twins, we opted for mini cribs (in the US they are also called porta cribs). Anyways, these cribs are an amazing solution to small baby rooms. They also convert into twin beds!

Good Friday Brings Two Honeydews!

It seems like just yesterday the twins were the size of blueberries, raspberries and limes. They are now honeydews and only have one fruit to go...the one that scares me the most - the giant watermelon! I can definitely relate to the pushing and nudging mentioned below. They have become more demanding (already) and let me know when they'd like me to change positions. I usually have no choice but to oblige. Baby A seems quite stubborn. I have absolutely NO clue where she's getting it from ;)

Your Pregnancy: Week 33

You are one hot mama -- literally. A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like. Distract yourself with an exercise in blind identification. Try to distinguish between baby's feet, fists, knees, and elbows -- all doing some major pushing and nudging inside of you.

Baby's now the size of a honeydew!
Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake.

Maternity Photos

Over the weekend, our good friends Sarah and Adelle were visiting from Rochester. Sarah (Sarah Adkins Photography) took some amazing maternity photos for Jenn and I! Thank you Sarah! Here are a few of the pictures:

With our boys, Riley and Finn

Thankful for no stretch marks (yet!)

Tiny shoes

At the Brickworks in Toronto

At the Brickworks

Baby Shower - Toronto Style

This past weekend, my parents and our good friend Caitriona threw us a baby shower at my parents' place. It was an awesome party with good food, drinks and laughs. The house was decorated nicely with some adorable baby decorations. We were very touched by how many of our friends and family came out to celebrate with us.  Everyone seemed to have a great time, mingling with old friends and meeting new ones. Thank you to everyone who came to the party and, a very big thank you to my parents and Caitriona for putting on a wonderful shower for Jenn and I!

Now with less than five weeks left (hopefully) until the babies arrive, we wait!

Here are a few pictures from the shower:

Jenn and I

Jenn  with several of our friends

Planning Committee Extraordinaire
(My Mom changed after  the guests left!)

Me, Nadine (The Nerd) and Justine (Husty)

Jenn (several glasses of wine in!), Caitriona and I

32 Week Bump and The Twin Moby Wrap

I didn't get my act together to do a 31 week bump picture. Here is the ever-expanding bump at 32 weeks! A few people at our shower yesterday (blog entry to come) actually said that they expected me to be bigger. They made my day!

Jenn and I did a baby care class tonight at Sunnybrook. It was actually really informative. She briefly talked about the different baby carriers that are out there. She used a few people in the class to model them. Jenn was lucky enough to be chosen to model the twin Moby wrap. Not sure if we'll be putting this into practice with our twins, but I had to capture it on camera nonetheless! 

Oh Baby B...You and Your Hiccups.

Hopefully I'm not crazy and you all can see my jumping abdomen as well. Both babies have been getting hiccups, usually every other day, although baby B seems to get them more often. Apparently, hiccuping is a way for a baby to practice breathing. Here is a short video of Baby B hiccuping away:

It's Becoming More Real

(I wrote most of this blog entry on Sunday. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it because I came down with a nasty cold/cough on Friday and am still feeling rough. Note: If you get pregnant, do everything to not get sick! Sickness in pregnancy is 10x worse because your immune system is suppressed. I have been lucky enough to avoid getting sick until now.)

We went on a tour of the Toronto East General maternity/baby ward today (Sunday).  With every little step, like this one, it just becomes more and more real that we really are having two babies very soon! The hospital recently renovated the ward, so it looks more inviting than the typical sterile hospital maternity ward. The delivery suites (no, not rooms), are very spacious and even include a cot for the support person. Jenn can have a nap...if I let her ;) Twins cannot be delivered in those rooms though. Once the babies are ready to make their entrance into the world, I'll have to go into the operating suite (again, not a room...it's a suite).

The hospital is the only "baby friendly" hospital in Toronto, a very difficult designation to get. It is given by the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF. The designation mostly has to do with providing an optimal and supportive environment for breast-feeding. I think that there is also something to do with keeping c-section rates at minimum. The hospital is very big on skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. This means that providing the baby is healthy, she/he is put right onto the mother's chest or abdomen (or partner's chest). This helps to regulate breathing, blood pressure, body temperature etc. The hospital keeps mother and baby (babies) together 24/7 after birth, providing baby is healthy. There is no nursery, only a NICU. The hospital is huge on breast-feeding, hence the baby-friendly designation, and provides lactation support immediately after birth. They also have a free breast-feeding clinic that is open 7 days per week. Lastly, I loved that the nurse giving the tour said that the worst place to labour is in bed (think: lack of gravity). Rooms are equipped with birthing balls, showers, Jacuzzis etc. and women are encouraged to walk and move around to help labour progress. I think I'd go nuts lying in a bed for hours.

Anyways, it was nice to see where we'll be meeting our little girls for the first time. There will be enough surprises, so it's good to eliminate a few :)

The 31-Week Update!

The Babies
I am currently carrying 7Ibs 2oz of baby, plus approximately 3lbs of placenta, plus amniotic fluid x2, among other things. The ultrasound tech said today, "these are not small babies!"

Baby A: 3Ibs 8oz (50th percentile for twins; 38th percentile for a singleton)
              She has a full head of hair! We were amazed that you can even see that on an ultrasound!
              Received another perfect score for her practice breathing, movement and muscle tone

Baby B: 3Ibs 10oz (54th percentile for twins; 44th percentile for a singleton)
              Received another perfect score for her practice breathing, movement and muscle tone
          
We couldn't see their faces today because both were head-down vertex (meaning we could see the backs of their heads). This is the ideal position for babies to be in for birth, so hopefully they'll stay that way. Today's tech was extremely efficient. She showed us their little feet which measure approximately 2 inches each! We wanted pictures but it's becoming more difficult because they are bigger and their bones are more dense making the ultrasounds less clear.

Size

As of last Tuesday I was measuring 40 weeks (so at least 41 by now). If I was having just one baby, she/he would have been born by now! By the time the girls arrive, I will probably be measuring 50 weeks. I apologized to Jenn in advice for anything I say or do.

Weight Gain
I started the pregnancy around 118-120lbs. I'm currently weighing in at 164lbs!

Pregnancy Aches and Pains
For the most part, I think I've handled the pregnancy pretty well. I've tried to stay active. With two dogs hounding me for their daily hike, I get out for 45 minutes-1 hour per day minimum. Spinning has stopped at this point.
Main 3rd trimester complaints: Pelvic pressure (more intense depending on their positions), shortness of breath (I feel like an out of shape smoker who is exhausted from going up the stairs), heartburn/acid reflux (manageable as long as I don't eat anything too spicy), fatigue (nothing I can do about this one!).

How much longer?
My goal is to cook these little ones until 37 weeks (May 21). Since they are both head-down, a c-section will not be necessary unless unforeseen circumstances arise.

** A 31-week bump picture is coming soon! **

Thank You!

I have hit 5000 hits on my blog! I know that in the blogging world that is probably nothing, but to me, it's awesome. I originally started the blog as a way for our out-of-town friends and Jenn's family to know how the pregnancy is going. I've been touched by the positive feedback that I've received.

So, thank you for reading! And if there is something that you want to know about that I haven't covered, please don't hesitate to email me.

3:00am

For the third night in a row, I'm up to see 3:00am come and go. Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to see 4:00am (and almost 5:00am!) as well. Is this my body's way of preparing me for what's to come?!

"Elbows Up"

About a month ago, Jenn and I went to an expectant parent info session for the Toronto Parents of Multiple Births Association (TPOMBA). I think that the title of the organization is pretty self-explanatory. From what we've learned, being parents of twins (or more) is a whole different ball game, so having people to answer questions can be incredibly helpful. There are local chapters of this organization as well, so we can meet other twin parents living in our neighborhood. At our twin prenatal class last Monday night, two couples came in to speak about their experiences with their sets of twins. Both couples talked about how great TPOMBA is. After hearing that, I decided that it was worth the $40 per year and joined.

I had emailed with the woman who ran the info session prior to joining and she mentioned that they were having their spring sale on Saturday (today). Members can sell clothes, toys, bouncy chairs, high chairs and virtually anything else baby/kid related. Being clueless newbies, we had no clue whether it would be worth it, but decided to check it out anyways. Per this woman's advice, we got there early. The members only sale started at 7:30am. The general public was allowed in at 9:00am. We pulled into the parking lot at 7:30 on the dot, only to see a line of people wrapped around the building. This was clearly serious stuff. These people meant business.

Thankfully, we made it to the front of the line within 10 minutes. Once in the door, I got "my elbows up," as my Dad would say. Upon first sight, I will admit that it looks like a very chaotic junky rummage sale. As newbies who still don't know what baby things are good or useless, we could have easily gotten overwhelmed. This morning though, Jenn and I were anything but overwhelmed. With our elbows up, we plowed through the crowd and came across a couple of great items for less than 1/4 of what we'd pay in a store. Close to the back of the sale, we had our eye on a bumbo (see picture below).

We had heard that these little seats were good once the baby can hold themselves up. Another clueless shopper asked one of the volunteers if the bumbo was really that good. Her response..."these seats are amazing! My family uses them ALL the time!" That was all the vultures needed to hear. They greedily starting grabbing for the now hot commodities. Thankfully, Jenn was front row centre for this conversation. Knocking over some children and a pregnant woman (not me), she came out victorious, bumbo in hand! I gave her a high five as we moved proudly through the crowd. 

Normally, I despise crowds and bargain shopping, but as future parents, this bi-annual sale is going to be well worth the short-term chaos. We made out with some useful items for a fraction of what they'd cost brand new. 

We arrived home by 8:45 as our visiting friend Deb was waking up for the day. After admiring our purchases once more, we headed out to breakfast at Lady Marmalade. I had definitely worked up an appetite. 

ps. I may have slightly exaggerated that part about Jenn. She was not as over-zealous as I made her out to be. No children or pregnant women were harmed in the bumbo buying process. 

Twin Talk

I had several people send me this adorable video over the last few days. It actually went viral and was featured on the Today Show.

You probably won't be able to watch it all, but check out 30 seconds of it. When I watch something like this, I can't help but smile at all of the fun and laughs that we have to come.