33 Weeks 3 days - 3.5 Weeks to go till October 19th!!

YIKES, 3.5 weeks to go!!   I can't believe it, time flies !!  So I'm going to weekly ultrasounds now, and the nurse monitors fetal movement, heart rates and contractions for 20 minutes.  I've passed with flying colors for the last two tests :)

So my new pregnancy symptoms are constant braxton hicks contractions, itchy belly and the dreaded stretch marks.  Despite the constant braxton hicks contractions, the obstetrician and nurse think I'm going to carry to term :)   As for my belly, I guess my belly is stretching to the max and drooping now so my skin has finally said, enough is enough, I'm letting go and I'm going to be itchy:)  Haha.

My most recent hobby is making cards!  I  recently attended a Stampin Up party and now I'm kinda addicted to making cards. Its actually very relaxing and I see instant results.  I still love making chocolate but it's a lot of work, the chocolate batch doesn't always work out.  Cards are waay easier and faster to do!

Next week, the babies get weighed again..so hopefully they are well over 4 lbs!!  Keep your fingers crossed :)  As for weight gain, I'm 165 lbs now, so I really hope that this weight gain has benefited the babies!!  The nurse and doctor are never concerned about my weight...so I guess that's good.  The nurse did say that I'm retaining a lot of water.

Oh ya, here is a picture of my feet at 33 weeks, they are soooo fat!!  When I look at myself in the mirror, I honestly don't recognize myself anymore!!  My arms and butt are three times the size they use to be..and my legs..well Rick agrees I have fat legs now :)  I'm Mrs. Humpty Dumpty, I find my new body comical !!

RickSide - Sympathy weight gain

Just to get some idea of how it feels like to be Tracy, I picked up proportionally the same amount of weight that she's carrying around.  Tracy is currently 163 lbs, and before the pregnancy she was 103 lbs.  That's a 58.25% increase in weight.  The equivalent for me would be to carry around 102 lbs extra.

I only lasted about 30 seconds...

5 Weeks to go! 32 Weeks - My belly is 4 FEET around!!!

Wow.  GROWTH spurt!!  So I'm a shrimp in height, towering a few inches over 5 feet yet my belly is 4 feet!!  I'm amazed I can walk.  In fact, this week, I've walked more than I ever have in the last month.  I'm wondering if I'm finally getting used to the weight :)  I guess gaining 60 lbs is the magic number where my body says, ok, tough it up legs, you've had adequate training over the last few months so suck it up and walk.  Haha.  Of course, I stop when my back starts to ache and my belly gets hard..which I guess means time to REST and drink lots of water!   As for clothing choices..I'm not picky, I wear anything that fits, no matter how ugly, as long as its comfy.  I'm still looking for more moomoos..my last two moomoos are too small now :(

Keira and Naomi Ultrasound:  So Keira weighs 3lbs 4oz and Naomi weights 3lbs 7oz.  They are both very, very active and passed today's nonstress test with flying colors.  Their both head down and kicking a storm!  During the nonstress test, I had multiple braxton hicks contractions..which I didn't feel at all and had no idea I had them!  The only contractions I feel on a daily or weekly basis are when I do too much work...where my belly aches, my back starts to hurt and my belly is hard...so I have to rest right away.

Newborn Shoots:  So I'm soo excited to get new born shoots when the babies are born.  Michelle Tuck has generously offered to do a shoot with the newborns and Amber Sheen Photography as well!!  I'm sooo excited.  My newborns are already getting a taste working as baby models.  I've recently purchased bear beanie hats and flower headbands for the shoot :)

RickSide - Guinness' extended experience with kids

As Tracy mentioned a few blog posts ago, our friends Ly and Kyle came to visit with their daughter, Kyri.  Guinness handled it well :)

RickSide - My twin experience

Guys experience pregnancy symptoms too, right?  

- Tracy's iron levels dropped and had to be put on iron supplements... ditto for me.

- I've been feeling more tired recently (however it's getting better with the iron supplements)

- Oh... and the sympathy pregnancy belly?

But, it's all good.  I don't want Tracy to have to go through this alone!  But seriously, it's only fair I guess, since as Tracy mentioned earlier, I've always wanted twins.  Before we started trying for kids I tried to figure out if there was any way I could naturally increase my chances of twins.  I guess all I needed was a strong will :)

Less than 6 weeks to go - Counting down!!

Here's another picture by Michelle Tuck :)  My belly looks like a HUGE pumpkin...

Ly and Emily laughed when they saw how huge I was.  I guess I am pretty big...lol.  

So everyone's been asking what are we doing in preparing for the twins?? 

We recently finished prenatal classes and as we suspected, raising twins is going to be hard, no matter how prepared you are!! 

Twin Preparation: So with my gimpy slow heavy body, I finally have the nursery functionally ready, and I've been creating diaper change stations everywhere in the house.   I've also been slowly purchasing baby necessitates like premie diapers and researching on cloth diapers and cord stem bank.  I've been shopping really fast, no more than 10 or 15 minutes at a store at a time and then I have to sit right away.  And of course, reading up on books on twins after birth.  I've also been slowly cooking at least one meal a week that I can freeze. 

Pregnancy Symptoms - 3rd Trimester: In the last few weeks, I've been feeling a lot of weight and pressure in my lower belly, the belly feels really hard and my feet get really really swollen.   According to the nurse last week, she suspects I've been getting contractions when I do too much..so I need to stop and rest. Maybe braxton hicks contractions?  Hence why Rick has been calling me two to three times a day to check up on me..making sure I'm resting.  I've also been getting carpal tunnel, swollen hands, stretch marks on my butt but not on my belly (so far...), cankles, and retaining a lot of water in my legs.  I actually get indentations when Rick pokes at me on my ankles and feet!!  I'm also slightly anemic and so is Rick...we both take iron pills now.  As for sleeping..I get really sore every couple of hours and I have to switch sides.  The weight of my belly leaves me breathless when I turn in bed.  When I sneeze or want to blow my nose, it really really hurts, I think the twins are under my ribcage :)  As for going up three flights of stairs in my house..it hasn't been easy.  I waddle slowly up the stairs, trying not to rush too much blood to my feet.  HOWEVER, all these symptoms are pretty minor and the nurse thinks I'm having an ideal pregnancy..which is awesome to know that!  I'm very grateful.

Renos: Poor Rick is trying to finish our ensuite bathroom renovation alone.  Its been very weird for me to not help in any way.  The only thing I helped with is putting the drawers together from our new vanity..but I feel so helpless..  When I was pregnant at 10 weeks and up to 18 weeks pregnant, I was still able to help with the renos, I prepared the ground for our new shed, carried the shed boxes into the backyard, put the shed together with him, and assembled the cabinets in our kitchen (which I mostly did alone).  I even played tennis for two to three hours at a time but of course my obstetrician told me to quit rightaway during my first visit at 18 weeks.  I miss doing renovations with Rick..I actually love DIY projects..even if its as crappy as putting drywall up, cutting wood, or insulating a wall.

Final Thoughts: Weird as it is, even with all the new weight/symptoms... I love being pregnant. I'm soo relaxed..I've never felt so relaxed before without getting restless....so its a nice feeling.  I'm ok with just hanging in the spa or sitting around and watchin movies...probably because this is the last time I'm going to ever feel like this once Keira and Naomi enter the world:)

31 Weeks, Fundal Height = > 44 cms - Baby Shower, Kindle and Odyssey!

Fun Shoot: So here's another fabulous picture from my fun shoot with Michelle Tuck.  We just played around with colors, backdrops, lighting, it was fun and so glad I got the opportunity to work with her!

Baby Shower and Twin Preggos: I had a baby shower late August and it was super fun!  My pregnant friends who are also carrying twins all showed up, so there were three of us preggos carrying all twin girls! SIX baby girls in the belly at the party, wow!! I think the three of us scared everyone else at the shower.  The only connection between the three preggos is that we all played beach volleyball last year.  Pamela Stewart is my beach volleyball partner and Laura and I played in a beach tournament and kicked butt!!

Thanks to Tara for her generosity and throwing me a perfect Martha Stewart baby shower.Some highlights included guessing how big my waist was (everyone overestimated by at least 4- 18 inches!!) and everyone was required to give me a baby book...which I absolutely loved!!!  Tara is sooo awesome for thinking of these ideas!  I'm also soooo grateful that the girls took the time to show up at the shower and provided me all the adorable gifts!

Kindle and Odyssey:  So my latest purchases include a new kindle and an Odyssey!!  Well, Rick actually bought me the kindle as a gift and its super awesome.  Its 3G so it connects to the cell phone network for free for downloading books, going on the internet, checking your email etc.  It also has wifi so you can connect to your home internet service for free too.  I think for value for money, the Kindle beats the Ipad!!  The kindle is super easy to read on, fairly fast and very light too :)

Now the Odyssey, wow!  Who would have thought buying a minivan would be exciting?  Rick and I actually love it.  We love the cargo space, the smooth ride, and of course the automatic sliding doors.  We bought a used 2007 Odyssey with only 27000 kms...and with 7 year warranty starting on the day we bought it.  The only crappy thing is that we now have three cars!!  Eventhough the Crossfire is technically my car, Rick has been driving it most of the time and now is in too much love to sell it.  We actually checked the trade in value for the Crossfire and one dealership offered the same price I paid for it last year including taxes!  Oh well.

Summarizing thoughts:  Rick is sooo lucky that his wish for twins came true.  I also feel very lucky too..but Rick is truly in heaven.   I asked Rick to blog about it..which will be coming soon.

Belly Flop at 31 Weeks - 159 lbs

Keira and Naomi: At my ultrasound at 30 weeks, Keira and Naomi were having a blast in my belly.  They were both dancing, head down and having hiccups.  Keira weighed 2lb 12 oz and Naomi weighted 3 lb 2oz.  Looks like Naomi is hogging all the nutrients!!  Based on the fetus growth charts, Keira is lagging behind in terms of weight, somewhere in the 25th percentile while Naomi is 48th percentile.   Rick keeps telling me to rest more so the babies can grow.  The obstetrician says its very normal for one twin to gain more than the other. Majority of twin births are like that.  Everything looks good!

Scheduled C-Section:  The babies are out on October 19th!!  I'm planning to give birth during my 37th week of gestation.  Lets hope they don't come out any earlier.  Rick thinks that I can carry longer than 37 weeks...we'll see.  I'll play it by ear.  As I get closer to the time and everything looks good, I will push my C-Section date just so the babies can gestate more.  Right now, everything is going well, I'm apparently having an 'ideal' and 'fabulous' pregnancy according to the nurse.  She's super surprised that I can walk and be as mobile considering the amount of weight I've gained and how big I look.  I've gained a total of 56lbs already, which is over 50% of my prepregnancy weight!!!  I keep asking the nurse and obstetrician if I'm gaining too much weight..and they both say I'm doing fine...so I'll keep eating!!

Maternity Shoot - Belly Flop: I had two maternity shoots in the past two weeks, one was super fun with with a new photographer and another one  was a complete 'BELLY FLOP'.  In summary, the 'Belly Flop' shoot ended up with me getting a rude and unprofessional email from the photographer that included name calling and involved the B-word.  Rick, the makeup artist and myself all had to go through a very uncomfortable experience.  However, I did get a full refund..just no pictures.  Rick is going to elaborate on the Belly Flop Shoot. 

Maternity Shoot - Fun Shoot: Thanks to Melissa Smith and her friend Michelle Tuck!!  I'm so glad I did another maternity shoot just before the horrible one... I got some great pictures from the  'Fun Shoot' which included my belly, Guinness and Rick.  I will post more pictures soon!   Here's a nice one of my belly at 30 weeks by Michelle Tuck.

Visitors:  I had a fun filled long weekend with Ly, Kyle and wonderful Kyri!  They visited me all the way from Regina.  It was super fun being wheeled around again in Ottawa visiting baby stores.  Ly worked her legs pushing me up a sloped road, hunched over using her entire back strength, legs and arms while Kyle and Rick watched her.  I told Ly it would be a good work out, and I'm never going to be this heavy again so its going to be a memorable experience.  I can't believe how time flies...Kyri is already walking and talking.  She loves Guinness and Guinness loved kissing her!  

Other: Stay Tuned!  Wow, I really need to blog more. I still have so much to say..its only been two weeks since my last blog..but so much has happened!! I'm going to sleep now and will post more later :)  I promise.