How's It Going with the Twins?

Sebastian aka Chicklet aka Whoop Whoop and Maximo aka Shadow Boxer aka Grunter

We have been home almost one week and I think we're getting into a rhythm. Thank GOD!

It takes a little while and it's all consuming, but we're getting there.

Thanks for all of your suggestions and comments regarding the poopy post.

I'm pleased to say that everything kept on.....er....coming and today I had THREE, yes, count with me now, THREE poops! And all have been unassisted with anything but a great diet and a bit of prune juice.

I took two stool softeners on Thursday and drank the Smooth Move tea once and that's IT!

Looks like my body is getting back to normal. Whew.

I'm keeping a food journal to make sure I'm eating properly and every 3-4 hours. That has helped tremendously.

Oh and thanks Jen, for reminding me about the post partum night sweats. I had no idea what was going on until you commented about that. Oh man, do these ever SUCK. I am sleeping with a towel under me now, but I still wake up drenched and freezing.

I think as far as the C-Section itself, I've been SUPER lucky. From the first day home I've been able to reach down and pick up the babies, get them in and out of the crib, swaddle them up, change the diaper, bend over to do things (not things on the ground). My 'wound' has never really hurt other than the first days in the hospital and I still think that was mostly gas pain.

I tore all of the tape off today and feel like it's healing nicely. I remember (in my drug induced haze) in the hospital every time a nurse or Dr. would come in to look at it, they would comment "Oh that's a nice one". Bullet dodged. What do they say to the ones who got the crappy looking ones??

Tomorrow, my goal is to get these little baby animals into their double stroller and out for a walk. The weather isn't supposed to be too cold and we haven't been out of the house since Thursday (Chicken has, but not the twins and I). I'm feeling ready to move!

Also, I've already lost 25 pounds. What the hell? In eleven days?? There was that much baby, placenta and fluid in me?!? Only 15 more to go and I'll be super happy and almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Next up: I talked to the world's best Lactation Consultant over the weekend and am on a new plan of action.

Short story: I doubted with all my gut what the pediatrician was telling us, felt there had to be a better way, have tried out the plan from the the world's best LC and the babies haven't had ANY formula in over 30 hours. Turns out my tits DO have milk in them!

More on this for the next post, but guess who is probably changing pediatricians tomorrow...?

I love this community of bloggers, thank you all for giving me so much support and advice!

Realities of Recovery After a C-Section

I haven't read much about all of the pain that goes on after birth from a C-Section--and it's not that I want to scare anyone and I know everyone's experience is different--so I'm writing this because I need to document what I went through/am going through.

This post talks about poop. You've been warned.

***I started this a couple of days ago but haven't had time to finish writing and posting***

For me, it's not been so much the cut itself, but the pain from the gas.

That overrides everything else. If I take pain meds, like perco.cet, to deal with the radiating pain coming from under my shoulders and traveling down to my lower back, well that makes my back feel better but that drug makes you constipated plus it could be decreasing my milk supply. (I kicked the Per.cocet to the curb upon finding this out and am dealing with the deal through Motrin now.)

Add that to the extra iron they've thrown at me because I'm severely anemic from too much blood loss during surgery and you've got yourself a puffed up Puffer that hasn't pooped since 2 hours before her C-Section.

That would be a week ago (Thursday).

Thursday was so bad I spent half the day and all evening/night on the toilet. We disinfected everything in the bathroom and I set up a station in there because I COULD NOT sit down without extreme pain. Since the pediatrician had me on my new strict, every 2 hours pumping schedule, I ended up pumping on the toilet and eating two meals on the toilet. I even put a small pillow behind my back and got real cozy with the toilet.

Chicken went out and got everything she could think of: prune juice, stool softeners, a huge salad, smooth move tea. Nothing moved. I could tell it wanted to, hence the extreme pain, but nothing would exit.

At one point, I ditched all efforts as nothing was 'happening' and got into a hot bath. I haven't had a hot bath in EIGHT months and it was heavenly. It was the only thing that gave me any relief.

After this I was at least able to get into the bed for an hour and sleep on my side--a major accomplishment as this is the first time since birth that I haven't had to sleep flat on my back.

At midnight, as the pain was only getting more intense, Chicken made me a double espresso latte and around finally around 2am.... what can only be described as something that crawled out of Mexican city prison sewer, was expelled from my body. Totally vile and disgusting. Nobody ever talks about this part of recovery.

Thank god I have no inhibitions because for days my mom and Chicken have had to see me in nothing but the lovely hospital mesh panties (complete with giant maxi pads) and my tits hanging out ALL the time and now THIS. Sometimes I wear a robe they gave me in the hospital, but I find it gets in the way, so mostly I just let it all hang out. It's pretty, I assure you.

In spite of it all, I just keep starting at these two little perfect boys and I know that it's worth all the pain in the world.

First Pediatrician Appointment

Well, it decided to snow yesterday morning and while that's all nice to look at....the thought of dealing with snow PLUS the twins PLUS getting out of the house PLUS hailing a cab PLUS getting their car seats in a taxi for the first time?! Whoa.

Not to mention I can't carry anything, not even the diaper bag. Chicken is a rockstar Sherpa, once again.

Thank goodness the snow stopped, the sun came out, we managed to leave the house on time right after a feeding and a diaper change. We didn't leave anything behind, had everything in the diaper bag we needed, got an awesome cab driver who didn't curse under his breath that we were taking so long to load up AND we got there in time!!

Whew! Grunter and Whoop Whoop like their car seats and have not fussed in them the entire two times they've been in them, so this is a good start.

In fact, when we undressed them on the table at the peds, the nurse remarked how chilled out they were and that most babies were fussy at this point. We have nothing to compare it to, so we'll take her word.

The have both gained back their birth weight in only 6 days PLUS Max put on an extra ounce! Yeah babies!

They look great, but have to go back in only 5 days to be checked again because they are right on that cusp on preemie/not preemie (born at 35 weeks and 5 days, where 36 weeks would've crossed that line).

So far, so good.

A big concern is that my milk hasn't come in and it's been a week. I have now been advised to pump on a very strict pumping schedule every 2 hours. Unfortunately I have been very absorbed with breast feeding them and perfecting this rather than concentrating on pumping. It should have been the other way around because they are still so small and while they are feeding, their suck is not strong enough to bring in my milk. Now, I should only try to breastfeed them every 3-4 feedings and just pump, pump, pump. Damn, I wish I'd know this DAYS ago.

F***ck!

I'm in a bit of a panic mode now because I am just at that crossroads of "it might be too late".

She advised me to get some mother's milk tea, which I did and I'm drinking that 3-4 times a day now, hydrating like crazy, putting heat on before and ice on afterwards, dropping the pain med Perco.cet and 'trying' to get some rest. This is quite difficult when you pump every 2 hours as it really only gives me 1.5 hours of sleep at a time.

It's day 8 now and I know that many things could delay your milk coming in: a C-section (check) Perco.cet (check), thyroid problems (check), excessive blood loss at birth (check), so I really do feel that I'm in a race against time.

If anyone has a similar story or can give me advice, please please please tell me! I need reassurance that it's not over before it's only begun. It's already breaking my heart that I can't breast feed them every feeding and we have to supplement with formula but I know this is the for the best in the long run.

Chicken thought it would be really funny to suckle me and I kicked her. Not funny. Not funny at all!! I never imagined your nipples could hurt so bad. OUCH.

WooHoo for hands free pumping! I can blog again!

So tired

The visit to the doctor's was fine although everyone was talking about how wiped out I looked.
Now that I'm on blood pressure meds and iron pills I should be getting better. They were very concerned about me getting enough rest.
I have no idea how to do that yet until I can get them tandem all the time. Not easy as sebastian aka whoop whoop, fights getting on. But once he's there he could stay for 30-40 minutes.
His brother, Grunter, does better getting on but doesn't stay as long.
We'll get there, we've only had 5 days practice.

At least they are both breast feeding and I'm getting more milk from pumping. Not enough to stop the formula, but soon I hope.
I am having a really hard time finding the time to fit pumping in every two hours as well. But I have the hands free breast pump and just ordered a bra so I can actually use that feature when it arrives on friday! That will free up my hands which is going to be great.

I have massive swelling and fluid retention in my legs, feet and ankles. I realize now I barely had any swelling during the pregnancy compared to this. The thing is, walking and moving is supposed to help that, but it also raised my blood pressure so what's a girl to do?!

We are both starting to suffer from the effects of sleep deprivation.
It's really hard, even with my mom here. Damn hard. But we are getting into a routine slowly. Keeping a log of every single thing really helps as it gets so confusing.

We are enjoying it and they are so cute we could just eat them up, but tired? Yes indeed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 6 with the Twins

In bullets b/c there's just too much:

• My condition was declining toward HELLP but they were willing to induce me for a natural labor
• The natural labor they described was the most unnatural thing I've ever heard of, could take +48 hrs and more than likely would end up in an emergency C-Section anyway. The only natural thing was that the babies "might" exit out my vagina. Might.
• The C-Section was solely our decision
• We prepped for OR at 5:15 and the boys were here at 5:53
• Those drugs are intense. Whoa.
• Sebastian was fine from the beginning and was taken to well baby nursery
• Max had a little problem breathing and spent the night in NICU but was released the following day mid-morning
• I lost a lot of blood during surgery and am now severely anemic
• We didn't name them for over 48 hours
• Chicken is a natural, she is a rock star and the love of my life. The babies totally have Chicken noses.
• If you didn't suffer from gas pains from your C-Section consider yourself extremely lucky indeed
• My gas pains were so severe I had intense labor like contractions every 2-3 minutes all day and night on Saturday. I thought I might die. I actually wanted to die just to not feel the pain anymore. I was completely convinced there was no way it would ever end.
• Take the drugs they offer you. All of them. DO NOT let your pain get away from you.
• It got a little better on Sunday...with a little help from my friend suppository.
• We let the nursery take them the first full night (Friday) but kept them in our room on the second night (Saturday).
• By the middle of the night we knew that recovering from a C-Section PLUS twins=we need extra help BIG TIME.
• We called my mom Sunday morning.
• Sunday was a lot better. There's nothing like two babies needing you to get your recovering C-Section ass out of bed and get on with it.
• My blood pressure started going up on Monday.
• We were all released to go home this day and Chicken's dad drove 4 hours in the pouring rain to help us get home and meet his grandsons.
• Coming home was intense and chaotic and wonderful and with little sleep.
• My mom flew in yesterday (Tuesday).
• I now believe all the people who said "you WILL NEED EXTRA HELP."
• Yes, I am a believer. If you ever want to sleep again, you will need help.
• My blood pressure continued to climb yesterday.
• I was almost sent to the hospital again last night, but my OB called in some blood pressure medication for me at midnight.
• Thank god we live where we do and there's a 24 hour Pharmacy right across the street.
• I have to go to the Doctor's this morning for monitoring and blood work and pray to whatever gods are responsible that this doesn't now turn into E-Clampsia.
• I finally had a shower this morning after one week.
• The babies are the most perfect thing ever. They both breast feed but b/c they are so little we have to supplement with formula until my milk fully comes in.
• I can even tandem breastfeed!!!
• They go to their first pediatrician appointment tomorrow and I can get a better idea of how much we can cut down on their formula until we go 100% breast.

I got their weights wrong before:

Sebastian was 5 lbs, 4 oz.

Maximo was 4 lbs, 16 oz.

No, we did not expect two boys either!

And yes, I did remember what the psychic in Brooklyn said long, long ago when I asked her if I would have kids and she replied, "Yes, I see two boys, but they are not yours".

I told the entire OR staff that story while they were stitching me up. It was the first thing I thought of.

Have to go to the Docs now...hate to leave these little guys even for a couple of hours!

Following you all on my iPhone (my Push gift!! WooHoo!) but can't figure out how to blog from it. If anyone can tell me how, you'll be hearing from me more often.

Mommy Pufferfish

Our Twin Boys are Here!

It's only Day 2, but everyday they grow more beautiful and we grow more in love.

Born at 35 weeks, 5 days

Se.basti.an Cr.uz 5.4 lbs. Born at 5:53 pm, Jan. 21, 2010

Max.im.o Hud.son 4.15 lbs. Born at 5:53 pm, Jan. 21, 2010

Seb.astian and Max.imo, one day old

Trying out the football hold. Ma.x is a natural, Seb.astian needs some help, but we'll get there.

18 hours old, proud mommies and the twin boys!

Birth Day?

Well, we kept telling the universe "Just Let Us Make It To Aquarius." Damn, that universe listens and is timely.

My blood levels are deteriorating and going in the direction of HELLP.

Induction will start within....an hour or so? I'm scared to death of the induction because I've just not heard too many encouraging stories of being induced while still not dilated and having the vaginal birth outcome successful.

Nevertheless, these twins are vertex/vertex for a reason so I am going to give it my best shot.

I have the option to say STOP and go to a C-section anytime I want.

Someone's coming to give me an IV now and move me to Labor and Delivery. It's been quite the morning.

I'm in SHOCK. Chicken is on her way here. We are having babies....today? Soon!

I need to go find my ZEN place, it seems to have disappeared.

xoxo,

Almost Mama Pufferfish

Remember That Everything Can Change Overnight

I've been taking my blood pressure 3 x day as directed and we noticed a trend that it was going up, but this morning at the OB it was high, high, high.

There was also protein in my urine.

And....I'm back in the hospital.

It has turned into mild preeclampsia, which we knew all along it could. Some of my blood levels are coming back elevated as well, so I'm being poked and prodded quite a bit.

At least I had a nice 3 week reprieve at home! And Chicken got better just in time.

So, now my due date has been moved from 38 weeks to 37 weeks which is January 30. That's 10 days!!! I can do 10 days no problem. I hope my body cooperates as well and these babies stay in 10 more days.

In fact, Chicken and I are relieved that they wanted to admit me for the duration of the pregnancy because everything about a high risk pregnancy can change overnight and I feel much more comfortable here getting the best round the clock care.

That's why we choose a high risk specialist for this twin pregnancy and it was the right choice--BY FAR.

We're mentally prepared for them to come any day now, but it would be really nice for them to hold on to 37 weeks.

They still have me cleared for a vaginal birth unless things get crazy. I had my first (2) cervical checks today (OMG those F*cking hurt) and while I'm not dilated at all, my cervix is nice and soft. Also, when they did the non-stress test, it showed I was having mild contractions--but they are irregular and nothing I can feel.

Overall, things are fine and the babies are perfect which is the most important thing.

And in less than 3 hours we've made it to Aquarius! (No offense Capricorns but we really wanted Aquarius!) Little Aquarians who will be here in 10 days or less!

WOW.

I Hope I Don't Jinx Myself

I'm hesitant to write about this because it's like the nosebleeds, as soon as I think I've found a cure--the neti pot! the cool mist humidifier!--I wake up thinking I'm either a crazy drooling pregnant woman or I've got a serious runny nose only to find that I'm laying in a pool of my own blood staining what used to be a rather nice white pillow case.

Yes, that has happened a number of times. Good times, I tell you, good times.

I should have bought a red pillow case months ago. But really? A red pillow case? It's just so...whorish.

So here goes:

My hands and the 'not-so-sure-this-is-carpal-tunnel' problem I was having.

I went to my acupuncturist less than a week after this post and after telling her what my symptoms were, she declared it was coming from my shoulders and chest and no, I did not have carpal tunnel.

She did an hour treatment followed by a massage that she warned would bruise me (it did)....and....my hands have been fine ever since.

As in, no swelling, no pain, no stiffness. Nothing. Nada.

That was over a month ago and I only had one treatment.

Take it for what you will, but readers of this blog know I'm a BIG fan of acupuncture and I am now an even bigger believer.

My eyes. Two weeks ago I decided I would 'try' to wear my contacts for just an hour or so one evening. To my great surprise...I could see with them. My eyes felt fatigued easily, but every day I tried to wear them a bit more. Last week I showed up at my OB appointment wearing them and she agreed that it is a complete medical mystery why my eyes would have blurry vision (with contacts or glasses) for weeks and then for it to go away before birth. No one knows why it happened.

All I know is that I can function like a normal-sighted person again (and watch Dexter!) and I certainly don't take my eyesight for granted anymore.

Acid Reflux. I can't say I've found a 'solution' but I have found that if I take 1 Tum.s and 1 Gas X tablet sitting up in bed about 20 minutes before laying down, the worst of the reflux doesn't rear its ugly head. Yes, there are still times in the middle of the night I have to haul myself in an upright position to burp or risk vomiting in my mouth, but that doesn't happen very often and I'm back to sleeping for 8-9 hour stretches at night which is LOVELY. I do the same routine in the afternoon and manage to get in a good 3 hour nap, so this formula is working well for me.

Although I've got the tablets on the bedside table, I keep loose ones under my pillow so I don't have to worry about turning over if I need one in the middle of the night.

I think every super pregnant woman understands how hard it is to turn over so why do it if you don't have to!

So, there you have it. Pregnancy is such a time of mystery. I don't think you can ever predict what is going to happen. You just have to go with it and hope for the best.

Thanks for all of your well wishes to Chicken. She woke up this morning still wracked with a cough BUT feeling much, much better. It's been a week so it was about time. It's so nice to have the Chicken Sherp 'almost' back to normal.

She felt good enough to do some laundry and we have our cleaning lady coming tomorrow. Honestly, we didn't think it would do much good to have her come earlier if Chicken was sleeping all day. How much could she clean?

But tomorrow we will have a super clean house! Yay!

We are still sleeping in separate beds, but honestly between Chicken's coughing and the farting, burping pregnant lady that I've become (it's like the first trimester all over again) in the past couple weeks--we're probably getting much better sleep this way!

House of Sick N' Sleep

This has not been the week we'd hoped for 3-4 weeks before birth. Chicken came down with a 'cold' exactly one week ago and that exploded into full-on sick, more than likely the flu. She has been sleeping in the living room and me in the bedroom, but of course I am around her germs because we are still sharing living quarters.

She has left the house twice in the past week--once to go to the doctor's and get antibiotics and once to go to the drugstore for more cough meds.

I have left the house twice in the past week--once to go to the doctor's and once to go to a friend's anniversary brunch on Saturday (wore me out, but so nice to feel like a real person again! totally worth the pain).

All we do is sleep, order food deliveries, sleep, read, sleep and watch D.exter (just discovered it on Ne.tflix instant play and we are totally addicted).

Chicken is sleeping more than I am. Yesterday she slept 18 out of 24 hours. This is after being sick for 6 days!!

Our house is a complete wreck. I'm sure it has that 'smell of the sick'. Our food supplies are dwindling. I have no idea what we would do without delivery. We make sure to open windows and get fresh air circulating, take out the trash daily, wipe everything down with antibac wipes and santize, but there's still only so much you can do.

I feel so bad for the Sherpa because she feels like shit and I'm trying to take up some of the slack in the Sherpa duties so that together we get it all done.

I can't imagine bringing home two babies to this house right now. We need to clean and do laundry and go grocery shopping and there's the nagging 'to do' list.

Everyday I think I'm going to get more done on this list and everyday I tell myself "Maybe I'll do that tomorrow when I have more energy". This is proving to be a really bad strategy because I am losing energy, not gaining it!

However, I've not gotten sick myself. Somewhere, the gods of immunity are looking down and smiling on me. I think if I were going to get sick, I would have by now.

I realized my worst fear last night was if I went into labor, it would be quite doubtful they would let Chicken be there for the births because she is so sick. That really scares me.

Thankfully, I am not having any contractions or showing signs of pre-term labor. Fire.crotch? Yes, but that's about it.

On to the to-do list...it's all stuff that can be done sitting down, so I'm going to get cracking.

35 weeks and 2 days today...everyday feels like a milestone at this point.

Did You Really Just Call Me FAT?

The other day I called my mom to give her an update as I do every Wednesday after my OB appointment. For some reason her husband answered her mobile.

My mom has been married to this man for almost 25 years, but I've never lived under his roof (my mom moved out when I was in HS, leaving me rent/food money to fend for myself while I finished HS and worked full time. Nice, huh? We've come a long way since then...).

It's not that I 'dislike' my stepfather, I just can't find anything to like about him. I have never invited him to NYC and when I extend an invitation to my mom, she knows she's flying solo.

My stepdad is a good ole boy from Texas, as homophobic and racist of a born-again Christian as they come. He has learned to 'accept' me and I've learned to ignore and stay away from him.

He's given me good reason to be wary of him. About twenty years ago I was living in Dallas, TX and over Memorial Day weekend I brought home my first real girlfriend. I had come out to my mom the year prior, (after I'd returned from Tokyo where I supposed to marry my fiance, this Japanese guy. But I got drunk on the flight over, told him I was lesbian and called the whole thing off).

So....they were a bit shocked as it really came completely out of the blue for them.

I only told my mom because I disappeared over New Year's Eve for a week and by the time I came back she wanted to know what the hell was going on as she'd been worried sick (understandable).

I had met this hot lesbian in a club and ditched my friends to go home with her...but she lived over 3 hours away. Didn't know that...anyway, she wouldn't bring me back home and so I had sort of been kidnapped by this lady which was fine with me for a few days as we spent it in bed anyway, but unfortunately she ended up being a bit of a...crack addict with a fascination for guns and then I couldn't get away fast enough. Except that....she wouldn't drive me home!

God I cannot make this shit up. Let's just say I've lived a full life.

Where is this post GOING???!!!

Oh right, so I brought home my very first real girlfriend who I was totally obsessed with. We went on a canoe trip with the whole family and after we docked at a campground in the early evening, I went off to play with my niece and gf stayed behind drinking at a picnic table. Everything about that day had been quite cordial, so I was not concerned until my brother came running telling me I needed to get back quickly as all hell had broken loose with my gf and stepfather.

Who knows what really happened and who started into who first, but it ended with my stepfather yelling at the top of his lungs, at a public campground, on a holiday weekend, "You made my stepdaughter a lesbian! Why don't you go find someone else's pus.sy to lick!"

Classic White Trash, huh?

There's so, so, so much more. But we've already gotten wildly off-track here.

When my stepfather answered the phone, he politely chatted a bit and said, "Yer mom showed me the photos you sent. You sure are getting fat!"

It was all I could do not to start yelling.

"I'm not fat, I'm pregnant with twins."

"Well, your belly looks pretty fat." (Are you fucking serious? Are you still going to keep using that word??)

"My ass isn't fat and you can't even tell from the back I'm pregnant, so I'm pretty sure I'm not getting fat."

"Well, you know what I meant. Here's yer mom."

And that is just one more reason we never have to worry about getting on a plane to visit my side of the family for holidays or any other time. My mom can come up here and see me, but I have removed myself from family, my former life and any reminders of who I used to be.

Other than my mother and my little brother, there has not been a single close family member who has called to say congratulations on your pregnancy, sent a card, a baby shower gift.

Nada, nothing.

Whew. I guess I needed to clear my head.

Happy Friday!

Out of Control

***I'd been working on this post and I think it's very timely as I sit here...waiting to be transferred to L & D.***

Getting pregnant, being pregnant and ultimately giving birth have been HUGE lessons for me in giving up control. I have learned so much about myself from this experience and am a better person for it.

I always thought I would be that person who needed to know everything, plan everything--the sexes, the names, the perfect birth plan, the iPod play list, the going home outfits, the nursery, etc, etc.

Instead, I have shocked myself by going in the exact opposite direction.

• We don't know the sexes and I am perfectly OK with that. The sex was determined from Day 1, nothing I can do about it but wait and see! I never in a million years would have thought I would be OK with not knowing. Surprise! I just want healthy babies, that's it. And honestly it has been SO nice not to be bombarded with pink/blue. There is plenty of time after they are born for people to get obsessed with colors. For now, thank god, they can just be babies.
• We don't have names picked out. Oh sure, we have lists of possibilities, but nothing for certain. I want to see these babies, hold them, get to know them before naming them. I know babies and pets are completely different, but I would never name a pet before meeting it. Blast me if you want to for that comparison, but that's the best I can explain it.
• We have no birth plan other than showing up, thinking positive and going with whatever is best for the babies. Yes, we have educated ourselves on our options and medical interventions, but ultimately--what will be will be. I have seen way too many bloggers go in for one kind of birth they had carefully spent months planning out only to emerge with something they could've never dreamt of. I've also heard of too many bloggers heartbroken and guilty that they didn't get the birth they had planned. I might feel different if I were having a singleton, I think so...but almost all of the twin moms I've spoken with have agreed that childbirth classes and a 'plan' were completely useless in a twin pregnancy.
• Music. It rules. Take away the TV for the rest of my life, I could care less--but give me my music! But what do I want to hear in the throes of birth?? I have no idea. Plus, I'll be in the OR, they don't allow you to give birth in a nice birthing room for twins, so I can't even imagine me rocking out while 30 people stand by waiting to see if they are needed. I think if I have the choice, I'll just put Brandi Carlile on the iPod and keep repeating. Or maybe that will drive me crazy and I'll ask everyone to join me in singing "Under Pressure" with Chicken in charge of snapping. Who knows.
• Going home outfits? Onsies. Seriously. I mean, it's winter and they are going to be so bundled up and who is going to see them that hasn't already seen them? The cab driver?
• The nursery. HaHa! What nursery? This one has probably surprised me most. I always thought I would really need this and have it be perfect in order to be happy. Not so much. We have two cribs. The cribs have bedding and mobiles. We have a changing table. Everything matches. The drawers are full of clothing. It all fits in a corner of our bedroom, so therefore it's perfect! We were able to stay in our newly rent-stabilized, rent-reduced apartment in Manhattan, an apartment we love, a neighborhood that is perfect for us and kids, and we are surrounded by friends. We can walk anywhere we want, we have many, many parks right outside our door. Our Y is right around the corner and has baby swimming classes, Mommy and Me Yoga and a host of other kid-friendly options. All of this trumps the perfect nursery 10 times over.

All in all, this has been such an incredible experience despite the ups and downs. I can say that I made it a really long way with no problems and for that I feel very grateful.

The last part has been a roller coaster for sure, but in the end we are having a healthy pregnancy despite it all.

OMG, I'm so NERVOUS! But excited at the same time.

Scared at first...then exhilarated?!

Lots of Updates at 34 weeks, 5 days!

I've been a bad blogger and have been asked to come back and blog more often.

Fair enough, here we go!

I didn't blog about last weeks OB appt because quite frankly, it all went very well. The Doctors of the team have been pressing me to choosing a birth plan and I keep pushing back saying I want the babies to choose!

What I mean is that I wanted to be far enough along to know that whatever position the babies are in, they are likely to stay there.

Last week they were both still vertex, but these kids have flipped around so much during the last 8 months, I still didn't want to make that call.

Nevertheless, the team really seemed to think I was going to get to try a vaginal birth and I got rather excited and started reading all about it last week.

However days after, I felt a BIG movement from Chicklet and was sure she/he had gone breech on me at the last minute. Back to reading what to pack in your bag for a C-section!

Actually, I just stopped reading--period.

I went to my Wed. appointment this week fully expecting to hear the worst--and got such a nice surprise to hear that NO, Chicklet is not breech, she/he has just decided to stick that baby ass way up and out! I thought it was a Chicklet head...although I also thought it might be a baby butt.

I hadn't really felt it before, so Chicklet must have turned in a way that made a big difference in what I could feel. I also thought I could feel little feet jabbing my right hip bone, but nope, just Chicklet arms and elbows!

Shadow Boxer is also still vertex/head down and is back to the usual position of laying diagonal across my body. Meaning, she/he is as close to Chicklet as humanly possible, all over on my right side. This makes me rather lopsided on the right, but this is what Shadow Boxer has done almost the entire pregnancy. This baby really, really wants to be close to Chicklet! There is so much room on the left, but no....

It will be very interesting to see if Shadow Boxer curls up next to Chicklet in the crib together. I can't wait!

Speaking of waiting...well, now that I'm almost 35 weeks and they are both vertex/vertex, I am committed to a vaginal birth. There is a slight chance they could still flip, but they are so tightly packed in there, it would be a minuscule chance.

I truly hope that I go into labor on my own, but if not they will induce me at 38 weeks. The stories that I've read (maybe why I stopped reading?) about induction were not too comforting, but really it is out of my hands.

I know that I will do my best and if it ends up that I have to have a C-section, then so be it.

Because honestly? It's out of my control.

They weren't 'supposed' to do another growth scan since I just had one two weeks ago, but the tech was generous--and I didn't even ask!

Holy Big Babies!

• Chicklet is 5.7 lbs
• Shadow Boxer is 5.5 lbs.

That means they gained a full pound in the last two weeks! If they keep this up and if I make it to 38 weeks, we are looking at some 7 pound babies here. WOW. And that is with me losing 2 lbs this past week, but no one is concerned because the babies are gaining. That's all that matters.

I have to say, I never thought I would make babies that rivaled a singleton.

No wonder I'm having fire.crotch--I've got 11 pounds of baby pressing down!

OB said to keep doing whatever I'm doing. As I've mentioned, she is very conservative and I've taken her approach and have not been doing much of anything. As in, I did not leave the house for one week other than to go to the Doc on Wednesday and then the next Wednesday. Strangely, I do not have cabin fever. I think mentally, I am committed to doing whatever it takes to hold these babies in for as long as possible.

I do have a brunch I'm going to venture out and attend on Saturday, but that's it for the week!

My friends have been great at coming to visit and hang out which makes it so much nicer.

So far, I'm not 'miserable'. I did have one very bad day (Sunday) where I was afraid it was the beginning of the end, but thank god Monday was back to normal. If everyday were like Sunday, (cue Morrissey) I'd probably be begging for an induction/C-section.

As it is, the worst thing I'm dealing with is a Chicken with a bad cold (My Sherpa has been banished from the bedroom) and a Puffer with some intense acid reflux that is making sleep a real bitch.

But seriously? I got through a twin pregnancy for 33 weeks before acid reflux reared up and disturbed my wonderful nighttime slumber, so I've got nothing to complain about.

I'm sure the next couple of week things will only get worse, but I can do it!!

Sorry for the lack of updates and the long post--I'll be better about posting. I've got a lot going on in my head right now....

I Think Someone Already Took This NickName

I've had a new 'pregnancy pain' this past week. One that leaves me giving a (more than) little yelp from the recliner/couch.

One that makes Chicken poke her head out with (more than) a little concern to see what the hell is going on and if I am OK.

When your wife has recently been hospitalized and then released and then almost hospitalized AGAIN, your nerves are probably a bit shot.

So, I've started yelling out "Fire Cro.tch!" or "Fire in the Hole!" after the yelping so she knows not to worry so much.

The pressure from 10 lbs of baby head(s) pressing on my cervix is getting fiery indeed. Yowza.

I guess this is just one more way my body is preparing for the exit strategy.

Speaking of: 28 more days until said exit strategy must be accomplished.

34 weeks today. Hooray!

Discounts for Twins/Multiples

Great stuff I had to pass on to my readers:

Here's a complete list of all the offers:

HUGGIES
We offer a one-time gift of coupons to parents of twins, triplets, etc. To receive this gift, please send a copy of the birth certificates to: 

U.S. Requests:
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Department QMB 
P.O. Box 2020
Neenah, WI 54957-2020


PAMPERS
We welcome twins, triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, or more with a one-time gift of money-saving coupons! Simply send us copies of the hospital discharge papers. Any sensitive information, such as social security numbers, should be blacked out before sending them. Finally, mail your name and address along with the hospital discharge copies to: Pampers Multiple Birth Offer, The Procter & Gamble Company, P.O. Box 599, Cincinnati, OH 45201. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for your coupons to arrive!

BABIES R US
10% off of purchase of 2 or more of same item. Big things only

Free Baby Products from The First Years
The First Years produces a variety of well-regarded gadgets and gizmos for babies. Send proof of birth, such as a newspaper clipping or copies of the birth certificates, to: The First Years, One Kiddie Dr., Avon, MA 02322, Attn: Multiple Births Program. You'll receive a gift of items from the company's product line. Contents may vary, but in the past have included bibs, rattles, teethers and toys.

Beech-Nut
Multiples packet includes coupons for Beech-Nut baby food products.
What to Do:
Call 1-800-BEECHNUT (233-2468) and provide your contact information. You'll be sent a packet designed especially for families with multiples. No verification is required, except for quadruplets and higher order multiples.
Other Info:
Visit Beech-Nut's website for additional special offers.

Gerber
Type of Offer: Coupons for baby food. Gerber's products include foods like rice cereal, juices and staged foods for infants and toddlers. They also produce a line of organic baby food products.
What to Do: Call (800) 443-7237 to request a packet for parents of twins and multiples. Verification may be required for higher order multiples.
Other Info: Visit Gerber's website for more coupon and discount offers. Gerber's product line includes a wide variety of baby care products, like bottles, pacifiers, medications, shampoo, bath accessories, clothing and sippy cups.


The 1st Years, 1-800-533-6708
Rattles, bibs
1 Kiddie Dr.
Avon, MA 02322



American Baby Magazine,
Free magazine subscription
http://www.americanbaby.com/subscription/



BabyTalk Magazine,
Free magazine subscription
http://www.pathfinder.com/ParentTime/parenting/babysub.html



Beechnut Baby Food, 1-800-523-6633
New parent package including coupons; label saving program
http://www.beech-nut.com/



Carnation Good Start Formula 1-800-782-7766
Nestle Infant Nutrition
PO Box AW
Wilkes Barre, PA 18703
Mothers of multiples need to send copies of birth certificates to this address for coupons for 5 cans of formula. 



Drypers Corporation, 1-360-693-6688
Several $1 off coupons and a coupon for a free package of diapers for each baby
P.O. Box 8830
Vancouver, WA 98666-8830



Evenflo, 1-800-356-2229
Disposable bottles, holders, nipples
1000 Evenflo Drive
Canton, GA 30114



Fisher Price, 1-800-432-KIDS (1-800-432-5437),
Family registry, brochures, catalogs, coupons
http://www.fisher-price.com



Gerber Baby Food*, 1-800-4GERBER (1-800-443-7237)
Quarterly magazine, coupons; call for more coupons at each stage
http://www.gerber.com/



Johnson&Johnson, 1-800-526-RASH/1-800-526-3967
Brochures, coupons



Kimberly Clark (Huggies), 1-800-544-1847
May now require birth certificates for proof. They will send coupons until the babies are 26 months old.
PO Box 2020
Dept. Q-M-B
Neenah, WI 54957-2020
http://www.huggies.com/



Lil Things Store
Ask about discount for multiples



Little Tikes, 1-800-321-0183
Two shoppers guides per year
http://www.littletikes.com



McNeil Consumer Products (Tylenol), 1-800-962-5357
Coupons



Mead-Johnson (Enfamil/Prosobee) 1-800-BABY123 (1-800-222-9123)
Family Beginnings Program for free baby products, coupons, free formula; call every month for coupon packet
http://www.meadjohnson.com



OshKosh B'Gosh 1-800-692-4674
Discount for multiples. Ask at your local store.
http://www.oshkoshbgosh.com/


JCPenney Portraits,
Visit website to receive free offer
http://www.jcpenneyportraits.com/multiples/



Proctor & Gamble (Pampers/Luvs/Baby Fresh), 1-800-543-0480/1-800-232-5326
http://www.pg.com/


Pampers Parenting Group
Coupons, rebate offers
http://www.pampers.com



Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Show
Free ticket to use any time during lifetime. Send child's name, address and birth date:
P. O. Box 39845
Edina, MN 55439
http://www.ringling.com/TextContent.aspx?id=11736&parentID=348&assetFolderID=354

Ross Labs (Similac/Isomil), 1-800-222-BABYLINE (1-800-222-9546)/1-800-232-7677
Welcome Addition Club; teddy bears, formula samples, newsletters, coupons



Sassy, Inc., 1-800-323-6336
Buy one, get remaining multiples free, offer for a feeding utensil set or training cup



Spencers, 1-800-633-9111
Growth chart, product booklet, coupons



Stride Rite Stores
Ask about discount for multiples