Mommy & Me + Pregnancy Update {34 Weeks)

Happy Monday!

This is one of my most recent favorite pictures...

Working from home the last few weeks has meant a little more flexibility in my schedule. And on this day (in a snowstorm), I drove A to preschool and let him sit up front while we were waiting in line. Love these little moments with him... not doing anything extraordinary, just singing Old McDonald (or, "Ol McDaniel" as he calls it) and talking about school. Love him to pieces.

 

 

 

How far along? 34 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: As of my last appointment, up 36 pounds. I have another appointment on Tuesday, so I'm sure it's more. I'm kind of over the weight gain at this point... I know it's what's best for the babies, but geez - that's a lot of weight to lose after they are born!

Maternity clothes? If I'm being totally honest, most of my maternity clothes no longer fit. I remember reading early in my pregnancy that twin moms should buy two sets of maternity clothes - one set for the first & second trimesters, and another (larger) set, for the third. I kind of laughed at that, but now understand why. Most of my maternity shirts are too short, and my leggings & pants are too tight. Since they could come any day, I refuse to buy any more clothing... and instead am doing laundry every.single.day. Poor C sees me in one of two outfits almost every day. Ha!

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Miss Anything?  Really just sleeping on my stomach. And maybe also missing doing anything with ease - sitting down, standing up, walking - normal, every day stuff.

Movement: Yes, but this has changed a lot in the last 10 weeks. Both boys are equally active, and have very distinct sleep & wake cycles. I can almost tell you to the hour when they'll wake up and start moving - its pretty crazy! All movement is now seen from the outside, which has made for some pretty interesting comments at the doctor's office, the hair dresser, etc. 

Food cravings: ICE! Water has to be ice cold for me to drink it, and I'm craving frozen fruit and vegetables. I know, it's weird (and yes, also a symptom of iron deficiency, which I'm now aware of thank you to my dear friend Melissa!). Also have cravings for clementines (we've gone through 5 crates in the last 3 weeks!) and Milano cookies.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Yes, I've gotten sick a few times now from silly things (lets just say having a potty-trained two-year-old who still needs to be wiped could put me over the edge), but, I know my triggers and try to avoid them at all costs. I also never knew heartburn could be this bad - I've gone through more Tums in the last 10 weeks than I care to admit!

Have you started to show yet: See picture above ;)

Babies are: TWO BOYS! And yes, they have names. Coming home outfits have arrived, and their initials for above the cribs are complete. But we're still keeping them a secret until their birthday!

Belly Button in or out? Not really out, but just a strange shape that makes a little bulge in my shirt.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Um.... maybe C should answer this. I'd say its 50/50.

Looking forward to: Meeting them! I cannot wait to see what they look like and have A meet them. He talks about the "tins" all the time, asking if they're coming today, and if he can give them a kiss. I cannot wait to see him be a big brother!

Babies Update: As of my 32 week U/S, Baby A was 4lbs 15oz, and Baby B was 4lbs 12oz. Now that we're two weeks past that, I fully expect that both are well over 5lbs each. Both are still head-down, so we're going to attempt a natural delivery (and by natural I do not mean without meds!), but my hospital requires that twin moms push in the OR, so that if something happens, I'm already prepped for a c-section. I've also reached the multiples "safe zone" - meaning they can come any day now! 

Linking up with Emily & Leah for Mommy & Me Monday!

 

Our days... and Mommy & Me

There are weekends, like this one, when I wish time would slow down and I could soak it all in. We are caught in this mad-dash of getting ready for the holidays, getting our home ready for the twins, and trying to savor the last weekends we have as a family of three.

Our little guy is talking up a storm - literally. C and I look at each other at least 20 times a day, and say "Did you hear what he just said?! Where did he learn that??". Sunday morning, he called me into his room at 6:30 and wanted me to lay down with him. As soon as my head hit the pillow, he turned to look at me with his most-serious face and said ... "Momma? You and me-me, go store?".

Me: "The store? For what buddy?"
A: "A puppy"
Me: "A puppy?! We don't need a puppy, we have Otto!"
A: "Yeah, momma. A puppy! You and me-me, go store!"
Me: "Well if you want a puppy, maybe you should talk to your daddy about it"
A: (taking out his pretend cell-phone from his pretend pocket in his jammies) "Dadda? Hi!! Me-me and momma go store? Puppy? Yah? Otay!" "Momma, Dadda yeah puppy".

For the next half hour, I answered questions about if the sun was up, if the moon was out, if Emma and BB were sleeping, if Otto was playing and if the wee-ohhs (fire engines) were coming today. My little guy told me that my ears, hair and teeth were all pretty, and wanted to know where my earrings were. And then he counted my teeth (like the dentist had done to him the day before), and then asked with the most genuinely-concerned look: "Momma? Teeth otay? Teeth hurt? Good Momma, good". He cracks me up!

I cannot believe that it was exactly 6 months ago that I was in his 2-year check-up, struggling to come up with the barely-20 words he knew and could say without assistance. In 6 months, our little guy has completely blown us away, and I am so, SO proud of him. 

A has also recently become much more aware of the babies in my belly, and has been such a big help getting their room ready. He helped us paint, and helped put the cribs together this weekend. Of course, now that the cribs are up, all he wants to do is play in them ... a far cry from the child who never slept through the night when he was in the crib, and climbed out at 20 months.

He's been resting his hands on my belly lately, and telling me that he feels the babies kicking. My momma heart could explode when he kisses the babies, and tries to talk to them through my belly button. I'm so happy he's "getting" it, and seems excited. Of course that could all change when they actually arrive, but for now, I'm savoring his excitement about becoming a big brother.

A few weeks ago, we had family pictures taken. Our little guy was fighting a cold, and had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the park, so needless to say... he was not the easiest subject to photograph. Pictures of the two of us are rare these days... I wish there were more, but I'm often guilty of being behind the camera, and for making excuses when C tries to get me in the picture. I'm thrilled that this was one of the pictures we received back. Even if A has on his fake/I have snot dripping down my nose, smile ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Emily & Leah for Mommy & Me Monday!

A Little Life Update (and Mommy & Me)

Eeek!
Two weeks?! How did that happen?

Needless to say, life has been busy. Between life as mommy, work, Etsy and the house, little time is left for anything else. Well, there's a little time left... but I've been so exhausted lately, I've been falling asleep in A's bed while saying prayers and rubbing his back. Real life friends, real life.

Anyhow... here are some pictures of the fun things we've been up to lately!

C & I were able to sneak away for a weekend alone, to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We were celebrating our 4th anniversary and a little baby-moon before our boys arrive in a few months. It was also my very first night away from A. I know... 2.5 years and I had never spent a night away from him. But, we both survived. It was way harder on me than it was on him, by the way.

My 22-week bump? I think it was 22 weeks. I'm the worst at keeping track of my bump pictures. And yes, that vest is purposefully hiding the "realness" of my bump. Not sure I'm ready to share it all just yet.

We of course visited the pumpkin patch, or as A calls it, the "pumpin" patch. 

We started off Halloween "week" (yes, week) with a Trunk or Treat at A's school. He, of course, was a football player. A Syracuse University football player. He took the whole costume thing very seriously - tackling C whenever he got the chance, and having us act as his "fans" while he ran around the living room.

We also celebrated Otto's birthday, with some new toys and a serenade of "Happy To You" ... "Birthday" is an unnecessary word when you're two and a half.

We carved pumpkins, and made a huge mess. But that's what it's all about, right? No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Those are the twins underneath that shirt. And yes, my stomach was roughly the same size as the pumpkin we were carving.

Halloween Parade at Nursery School. Also know as, the craziest hour with children I've ever seen. These teachers deserve some serious credit for doing this every day!

Trick or Treated (for the very first time... thank you freak snowstorm of 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012) with our neighbors. A is IN LOVE with the little girl in the picture. She's 9. He totally doesn't care about their 6 year age difference.

And last but not least, we had lots of fun playing outside, in the leaves and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather. Our quiet weekends at home are my favorite.

I'll be back this week with a real pregnancy update, and maybe some more projects we've completed around the house.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Linking up with Emily & Leah for Mommy & Me Monday!

Mommy & Me

Posting for no other reason than to share this picture of my wild monkey & me. I was so desperate to get him to stay still for a nano-second, so that we could get one non-iPhone picture during my 10 days off with him... no such luck.

But I love him anyways!

Linking up with Emily for Mommy & Me Mondays.