5 days to go!

No labor, no contractions (aside from Braxton Hicks), and yes, I'm uncomfortable, but I really do think it could be so much worse. I've read some stories of people's pregnancies with twins and I know I could feel horrible at this point in pregnancy and with a lot less help. My feet and hands are swollen and I haven't really had that with other pregnancies. It seems to make my carpal tunnel worse. My hands are decent right now, so I thought I'd try to post a little update. Honestly I would say that the worse symptom thing I have had to endure on a nightly basis is flipping over at night time. I probably flip 3-4 times in the night and each time it's super painful on my groin and hips. At my last ultra sound (35.5 weeks), the tech. said that twin A (girl), is 5 lb. 10 oz and twin B (boy) was 6 lbs. 11 oz. These weights can be off a pound or so-, but I'm happy with them, knowing that babies usually gain half a pound a week at this point I think I could potentially have 6 and 7 pound babies, which would be terrific. Everything else looked good on the ultra-sound, she said it was ideal actually, so I'm thankful.

Being on modified bed rest is preparing me to want to be super productive and busy when the twins come. I know I will covet the time when I was on bed rest once we are a family of 7, so I'm trying to soak it in and enjoy it, however, I am quite ready to clean my house, do my laundry and go shopping- as odd as it might sound. Actually, today I did make a trip out to Target with Lucy- big deal for me. Once again, I swallowed my pride and got an electric wheelchair. It really is amazing how easily I am zapped of my energy- not to mention I think all of Whatcom County was shopping today- early Christmas shopping? I also have been picking up and organizing a bit more since I have made it to 36 weeks, which is technically full term for twins (I'm pretty sure). My body just does get tired very easily and my feet get super swollen if I'm on my feet too much.

So, what has been occupying my time as of late. Well, we have lots of people in and out. My mom's been coming up quite often and Nate's parents come up Sunday and Mondays every week. I also have several people who come by weekly to help clean and drop bys, oh yes, and our friend Peter has been living in our basement off and on. I'm so glad that people are around, because if I was here all the time by myself, I might go crazy. I've also started reading "Where the Red Fern Grows", never read it, saw it on the shelf, and thought it would be a fun, light read. I'm also reading "The Omnivores' Dilemma" which is a good read as well. Hmmm, what else? I probably should confess that I'm online probably more than I should be. I get really excited when it pops up on my reader that someone has updated their blog- it's seems like there aren't as many updates these days though- is everyone in a blog funk? I've also done quite a bit of Christmas shopping from the couch. It's kind of bitter-sweet. It's sooo convenient, but there's something about going out into the chaos with peppermint mocha in hand. There will be many more Christmas' for that I suppose.... oh yes, and I am watching Lost online and Project Runway, those are my 2 shows. We've also watched "Singing in the Rain" about 5 times, Lucy LOVES it and we've rotated through Pixar movies. We just got Wizard of Oz from Netflix in the mail and UP from Chris which we are excited to watch (Thanks Chris!)

Anyways, the days of "resting" are nearly gone. I feel like I should be doing more to prepare and reading more twin books, but I think I'm just going to try to figure it out as we go. Nate did paint my toenails the other day, and did quite a nice job. I'm thinking about packing the hospital bag soon, yeah, I should do that. I'm also praying that sir William gets better soon, yes, he's sick. He's had a croupy like cough for a few days now and I'm just hoping it's nothing more and won't get passed around the family. I remember with Ada after my c-section thinking that probably one of the worst things that could happen before the surgery is to get a cough, each time I coughed or sneezed it was so painful and I felt like my scar was going to explode. So if you think of it you could pray that our family would be protected from sickness.

I thought I'd post one more pic of the belly. It's quiet around here as Will is watching Wall-e and the rest of the gang is at church, so I decided to take a pic. The pathetic thing is that after walking back and forth to the camera a couple times, my right side started cramping and freaking out (back issues), so this is the pic I got and it will do.

Check out that Belly!

37 weeks with Ada

Details, details...

The details are coming together. Nate just put the shelves up in the twin's room and so I now need to finish decorating them. I still need to get the bird picture and do some finishing touches, but we're almost there. Oh yes, and in case you haven't noticed, there are a couple initials up there, one for the boy and one for the girl (won't say which is which), but make a guess if you will- heck, maybe if your guess is better that the name we've chosen, we'll change it. And there will be no prize for the winner because that would mean I have to go to the post office which will be nearly impossible for 6 months-well, maybe more like 2, 3 years (:

Yes, H & M. And as I'm writing that I'm thinking to avoid confusion with the clothing store, I'll start writing M & H.

I'm a little concerned that the room is more on the girly side, so I thought I'd throw a train in. Now we have blue walls and a train- that's pretty close, right?

35 1/2 wwek update

I'm almost there! To the 36 week marker, a BIG goal for mom's pregnant with twins. In fact, I've read quite often that 36 weeks is term for twins, I've also read 37 weeks, so I'm confused. Either way, to almost be at 36 weeks I am thrilled. My body, well, it's not so thrilled, it's taken quite a toll, I just hope the toll is temporary. I feel fortunate right now becasue I can actually type. I developed carpal tunnel in the last couple weeks so typing is hard, along with writing and fine-motor things. That to say, I'm super behind on "thank yous", so anyone reading this, if I owe you a thank you, one will (probably) come, but it might not be for a time.

Twin pregnancy is definitely different, as I'm sure I've said before. I think it's also so hard on my body because it's my fourth pregnancy- my body is tired. It's very odd, I feel the most uncomfortable at night time and when I wake up. My body is a balloon when I wake up, my hands are so swollen that I can't bend my fingers, and my hips- oh the hips. I'm getting used to waking up in the middle of the night, so it might help me ease into feeding the twins in the middle of the night. A friend treated me to an hour long pregnancy massage, which was a dream, I think I need one every day. Considering, I do think it could be a lot worse and the toll it's taking on my body seems endurable, especially since I only have a week and a half left. As far as twin pregnancies go, and even single prengnancies really, this has been quite uneventful. I did have the blood pressure scare, but it's been under control ever since I started taking it easy. So far I've gained just about 45 pounds which I'm pretty happy with. With all the extra weight, I get tired quick. Walking to the bathroom and back is tiring, holding Ada for more than 20 seconds is almost impossible, and flipping over in bed is actually probably one of the most painful things I do. The doctor gave me a goal of 45 pounds, so hopefully I'll be right about there. I know these details might not be all that interesting, but really, it's becuase if I don't write it down somewhere I'll never remember- this is my memory. I have a big ultra-sound Wed, so I'll post more info. then, but thought I'd type a little while my hand allowed.

Out on the town

Last night I went out for a big, crazy lady's night- well, not really. But I did go out for a fabulous night out- a last shebang, if you will, before the twins come. It was quite dandy to leave my little mole hole and go out into the world! These girls are amazing and I'm very thankful for each of them!

Birds of a Feather

I've been looking on Etsy for a print to put in the twins room on a shelf (love that website), but I've discovered I'm quite cheap, call it thrifty if you want to put a better spin on it. Whatever you call it, I couldn't justify buying anything. I wanted some kind of print that represented 2. While I was in the shower I remembered the picture below I took. Anyways, I played around with it a bit and think it's cute.

Installation

The Lord has been good and seen us through a lot. This last Sunday was a big Sunday, Nate was ordained. Many years have lead to this day and the Lord's been faithful through it all. It was a very powerful service. My hubby has so impressed me over the years, I'm very proud of what the Lord is doing in his life and am so grateful to be married to such a loyal, loving, wise, and kind man. I'll be by his side to the end...

Thank you to everyone who made a special point to be there and to those who couldn't be there but have supported us and prayed for us over the years. Those prayers were essential to us being where we are today. A special thanks to both Nate's parents and my parents for being there and for all you have done for us and do for us. Tony and Edie, you have raised a marvelous man.




It was a wondeful, long service. By the end Will was getting quite squirmy, so I let him explore the wallet, now where is that Visa?







Here are Bert and Jane. They have been a tremendous support to us over the years, it's hard to express how much their relationship has meant to us. Bert is Nate's trusted advisor and one of the wisest men we know. They have been behind us from the beginning and we are so thankful for them, for all their prayers, and their unconditional support. We love you both!

(thanks to my dad who documented both Halloween and Nate's installation. Documenting is harder these days, especially with my 50mm that doesn't zoom, that means I have to move- right)

Halloween

So, usually I really enjoy doing the costume thing, but this year I was kind of dreading it- seemed like a lot of work. I went to this big kids sale (I almost bought all Will's stocking stuffers and a couple Christmas presents for 10 bucks!) where I found two super hero outfits for super cheap. So, I bought both and was going to let Will choose. He chose spider man and then I was shocked to see Lucy wanted to be the other super hero- yay, simplicity

And here's Ada the frog. Will was too a frog at her age, love the hand-me-down costumes

A little side-note about Will's Halloween. Nate was shoveling food down Will's throat to try to get him out the door. He ate a lot quickly and it was actually quite spicy. Well, right before they were about to leave, Will threw up in his mask! Yes, his mask- so gross! With no back-up costume, Nate washed his mask and Will went around the neighborhood with a wet mask- didn't seemed phased by it.