37 Weeks

I missed you too...

It was only a week ago, but so much has changed this week that it feels like a lifetime ago.

Last Thursday night, we hit FULL TERM twin status.  What a surprise!  All the doctors we meet along the way told us that we likely would deliver before I got to 37 weeks - haha, they were all wrong (and so was I!)

My body started making very obvious changes two weeks ago, Friday.  For lack of a better way to explain it, my champagne bottle popped it's cork on March 21st.  I'm not going to go into any more graphic detail on that one.  Regardless, once it happened, it is said, that you could go into labor within "minutes, hours or weeks" so, I called Jason and put him on High Alert.  Unfortunately, it is a really tough indicator of when you'll go into labor, but I had it in my mind that these babies would be coming sooner than our 4-4-14 scheduled delivery date.

For the next two weeks I went into crazy prepare mode - making lists at work, making lists at home, savoring every single "last dinner" and we waited, and we waited, and we waited.  Week after week, there were a few changes, both up and down - I would dilate a little here, a little there, I'd be 40% effaced, then 70% effaced, then 40 again.  As I rested more, my cervix would squish (efface) and unsquish like a coke can, all the while, the babies were able to keep developing and growing.

3 weeks ago we were told that Barrett (Baby "B") was getting too small compared to Pierce (Baby "A") and if they didn't see marked growth they would have an emergency c-section on April 1st.  I chuckled to myself as I made the appointment, because I truly didn't think we would make it to April 1st!  Then there were some complications with Barrett's heart rate - it spiked about a week before they were delivered, so every 3 days I would go back to the doctor for more tests to monitor how they were doing.  It was extremely stressful to try to keep calm through all of the changes, but it all worked out, as it seems it always does.

Finally, April 1st came and to our relief, the boys looked good to the sonogram doctors.  They were growing, still small compared to all the mythical babies in "rate your baby against all the others" sizing terms, but they looked healthy.  I believe they were both somewhere in the 17-35th percentile.  My little bits.  So we counted down the hours until our Friday c-section...

Thank God for my Jason.

As much as he DROVE ME NUTS keeping me off my feet and nagging (yes, NAGGING) me to sit and stop doing so much, I truly believe that much of the health of these babies is because of him.  I over-do-it.  I push myself to do to much... just one more thing... and when it comes to the lives of 2 other people (and mine, sort of) it really was a blessing to have a partner, that took the job of keeping all of us safe, very very seriously.

He is the most annoying and wonderful love of my life :)  I am truly honored to be his wife.  I married a man that is loving, giving and selfless.  He makes me so happy.   YAY, HORMONES.  I'm gushy :)

Here we are, in our last family photo as a family of 3, the night before our two little boys were delivered.

Travis and Nana's Giraffe 

 I only wonder, how long would they have cooked if we hadn't had our cesarian the next day.  

I'm so glad we did, it was a completely different experience than Travis' birth, but I think I'll always wonder. 

That's all for now - soon, I'll fill you in on P&B's birthday.  

Whenever I can keep my eyes open long enough to type and click :) 

xoxo, CB.

Side Belly

  

36 Weeks

It just keeps getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger!

But I love it.  

Mama this is a little love for you - recognize the shirt?   

(she wore it when she was pregnant with me) 

It is one of the softest shirts I own. 

Oh, holy geez. 

Yay for terrible cell phone pictures :) 

Still glad I have them. 

TWIN NEWS

We had 2 heart rate tests this week.  

Baby B (we've decided to call him Barrett!) had a super active heart rate on Tuesday - it was in the 180's and they like it to be in the 140-150's so we've been keeping an eye on him to make sure he's not under any distress. 

Today, I went back and all things were good - they were both in the 140's! YAY!

I blame the spicy jalopeno kolache and the orange juice I ate right before the test on Tuesday as to why he was so active.  Poor little guy either loves or hates sugar and spice!

Next Tuesday (April Fool's Day) I go back for a sonogram to check their weight and placentas.  

Barrett was 6% smaller than Pierce (yep, that's baby A's name) so they want to make sure he's getting enough nutrients through his placenta.  

If things look non-ideal, we will do an emergency c-section that day.  

I think as long as they stay within 10% of each others weight, the doctors won't worry too much about it.  The docs have been carefully watching these little boys so I feel like we are in good hands and the fact that they've been able to hang on and mature this long is amazing! 

If things look okay on Tuesday, we will wait until Friday 4/4 to deliver them.  

Either way, will likely have very little NICU time if they're born this week.  

I'm reveling in the last few days of being pregnant.  

It makes me sad to think that this could be my last pregnancy - but I'm not going to stress about that.  

If it's meant to be that 4 boys will now rule my life, I'll take it.  

So happy to have them all healthy.

Lots of love, CB.   

Star Quilt - Part 4

I'm almost done with the star quilt top... it needs borders but I have no energy to put them on.  

Maybe tomorrow.  

Probably not, it's a doctor day and doctor days make me tired.  

The borders will be the same light cream linen that is surrounding the stars... I think I'm going to make it 6 or so inches wide. Jason wants me to make them REALLY big, but I'm a bit intimidated already by the size of this quilt and the fact that my little machine is going to have quite a time quilting it all.  

So here she is... another step closer: 

Seeing these pictures makes me really notice how much we need a headboard.  One day. One day. 

Okay, I'm going to bed.  

I got 2 1/2 hours of sleep last night and have been feeling hungover nauseous all day.  

Hopefully these boys will give it a break and stop kicking/stretching into my hip joints and lungs long enough for me to get a couple more hours.  

I'll update tomorrow on the baby progress.  

lots of love, cyndy lou hoo. 

35 Weeks

Helllllllloooooo 35 weeks.  So happy to see you.  

Of the 3 twin mommies that I have recently talked to, they all had their babies in week 35.  Does this mean I will too?  I don't know - but I can tell you I'm feeling different... my body is giving signs that these babies aren't too far off, but it is just silly to speculate.  They will be here when they want to be here - good news is, we've made it past the most critical points and any extra time they incubate from this point, is just gravy.  

I would LOVE to make it all the way to 4/4, but I just have a feeling that will not happen.  I'm truly thinking any day now.  We'll see.  Last time I said that with Travis, I was wrong too!   

TWIN STATS

Baby A: 5.2lbs 

Baby B: 4.8lbs

They're both still breech so the C-Section is still on. 

And... no, we don't have names yet.  They will come when they come too.  

Anyhow, for your viewing pleasure - here are some big 'ole belly photos. 

There you go... I hate having my picture taken, but I know I would have regretted not being able to look back on these later. 

Lots of Love, CB 

Star Quilt Update

This quilt is a LONG way from being done, but tonight I made a big dent in assembling the parts.  

This is my first shot at sashing and I love it.  Not only does it make the quilt bigger, but I like how it frames up the stars.  Those little suckers took a lot of work, so it's nice to have them kind of "on display" 

I'm tuckered out and am off to bed.  

Nite nite, CB. 

Finished Rail Quilt

It's done!  

It took me just over a month to make it, but I finished my first quilt!  

There are puckers, and it's not perfect, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! 

I have learned SO much making this quilt.  There are so many tips and techniques that I've picked up and I am so excited to work on another.  When will I be able to make time to do this again?  I do not know... but I absolutely love quilting and I really want to try my hand at free motion quilting now that I'm a bit more confident about how the whole process works. 

Who is it for? 

The family :) Whoever is cold :) 

It's just a bit wider than a crib and just about the same length, so I assume one of the new boys will probably adopt this one.  

What a cool project - I'm so glad my neighbor Ramie talked me into taking a quilting class.  

I truly understand why it is so addicting. 

Have a good night everyone!

xoxo, CB

Twin Nursery - Crib Skirts

The twins crib skirts are done!  

Fabric arrived yesterday from fabric.com and last night, after Travis went to bed, 

Keri and I stayed up late and made these bad boys.  

(THANK YOU, KERI!) 

(...and thank you Dad and MawMaw for the beautiful cribs!)

I think they're so cute.  

This is probably the first time I've put anything really "baby-ish" in a baby room!  

Travis' nursery was so neutral... so is this one, but I love the elephants!

Here's a look at the nursery in progress - this was a couple days ago and it has been cleaned out more since then.  

I've started styling the built-ins and it looks a lot better.  Less clutter.  

This room is by far the smallest in our small house - it is maybe 9 x 11 and with the built ins, we lost some floor space, but I think it is so worth it to have a wall of storage.  I just love them.  

Jason built them for me when this room used to be my office.  

Oh, how life changes! 

In other great news, we made it to 34 weeks! 

WHEW.  Big milestone CHECK.  

At my last appointment the doctor said I've started dilating, and I'm 70% effaced, so these kids could be here any time now.  I'm doing my best to rest and keep my feet up as much as I can... even with all the "to-do's" that need to be done.  

Jason, Cindy and Keri have been working so hard lately to help with everything...  

Cindy came up this past weekend and we got a ton done.  Mostly, I just pointed and she was a fairy Godmother, helping get things organized and sorted and cleaned.  

Keri came up late yesterday afternoon and has been busy since she walked in the door.  

And my Jason, well, I think by now, you all know I like him a whole lot, and I'm going to keep him.  He is amazing.  

I don't know what I would do without him. 

Thank you to everyone that has helped us so much already - it is an undertaking getting ready for a new family member(s), and I am just so grateful to have all the support.  

love you all, CB. 

33 Week - Belly Reveal

Oh there is so much belly to go around :) 

Don't mind the jammies.  

This is honestly how I spend most of my days. 

I have about 5 pairs of pants that fit now, 3 of which are jams... so I spend a whole lot of my time in these bad boys. 

 WOAH big belly.  It's out of control. 

 xoxo, CB

33 Weeks - Twin Update

We are getting so close!

I'm 33 weeks today (oh my!) and am feeling good this morning.  If I'd written this yesterday, you would have heard a very different story.  For some reason, 32 weeks was a huge turning point in the overall discomfort of the pregnancy.  I can handle incremental change, a little bit achy-er here, a little bit sore-er there, but at 32 the weight of these kids (I guess) has started to put an unnatural amount of pressure on my hips and back and boy oh boy.  I just hurt most of the time.

Walking is so challenging.  I have a newfound respect for people that are overweight - It is SO HARD to get up and do anything that I often just try to consolidate as many steps as I can in an effort not to have to feel my achy body move.  But today is better and I'm taking that with a very welcomed attitude improvement :)  I even made myself some sunny-side up eggs this morning!  I've been avoiding the kitchen like the plague because the idea of being on my feet cooking is just too much.

Thank Heavens for Jason.  He is basically the sole caregiver to Travis, meal maker, food shopper, dog feeder, clothing washer and house cleaner these days.  He gets up at 5:30 in the morning and doesn't get home from work until 6 or 6:30, and he makes dinner, does bathtime, puts jammies on and reads books then sits in his chair and talks to me until we both just can't stay up any longer... which is usually about 10:30-11pm.  He is an amazing man and I am so grateful for all that he does and for who he is.  I am proud that our boys have a role model like him.  I wish I could be more like him.

Remember when I told you there was no way I would be able to go part-time at work and not be so bored?  I was wrong.  It has been the biggest blessing and I now question what kind of state I would have been in if I was still working full time - I probably would have 2 kids more kids now... I need the rest - it is amazing how much better I feel if I can get my feet up and rest mid-day.

Apparently the resting is verifiably helping keep these kids cooking.
How do I know?  I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she said (without all the gory details) that physically, I am in better shape now than I was 2 weeks ago.  That's pretty great!

What else?

Stats:
My belly is measuring at 40 weeks!
I weigh 162 pounds
The babies heart rates are awesome and they each have a placenta pocket of 5+ (which is ideal for twins)

We did a gamut of tests this week - twin monitoring is cool... they hook both babies up to this heart rate machine and watch their progress.  It is the most amazing sound, being able to hear their little hearts beat and even more amazing when you get to see them on the sonogram screen.  They ran some tests to see if I was contracting because I've been having a lot of cramping discomfort too - but I'm not contracting, and I'm not dilated so that is VERY GOOD NEWS!

For some reason, with this pregnancy, I have been scared a lot.  I think that seeing my friends suffer from so many different kinds of tragedies has made me more aware of the things that can go wrong during a pregnancy and during labor and I have been much more on edge.  With Travis, it was ignorant bliss.  With these two, I just worry.

I was worried if I was going to lose one baby for such a long time.  That's a big reason why we didn't tell most people until pretty far into the pregnancy.  It is very common for one twin not to make it and I just, oh, I just didn't want to jinx it.  That's silly, I know - but true.

I was worried that someone would be missing a toe, or have a cleft lip or have 3 chambers in their heart.

I was worried every time that I went to the doctor that they wouldn't be able to find both heart beats.  I literally would hold my breath until they found both.  And then the relief only lasted a little while and I was back to worrying.

I was worried that one twin would overtake the other - though very unlikely because these babies are di-di, but still, it worried me.  What if one didn't develop and the other did?  What would we do?

I was worried all the time and now that we have made it this far, I'm not as worried.  I pray that they make it here safely but we have hit some pretty big milestones and I just need to have some faith that everything is going to be alright.

These small people will be here in 4 weeks.  OH MY GOODNESS.  All these worries, and aches and pains are short term and in a couple weeks we'll be on to new challenges and a whole new chapter in our lives.

So, my worries now are much more fundamental:
Where are we going to live?
If we move, what would my job look like?
If we move, can Jason stay with his company?

How am I going to be able to travel when it's just Jason looking after 2 infants and a 2 year old?
How is Jason going to be able to travel when it's just me here and we both are working?
How will I be able to feed 2 babies at same time and keep up with Travis?

If we stay, what is our childcare situation going to look like? 

Is a nanny the right choice?
Would we be able to get to San Antonio and be near our family where we know we have more support?

How do we pay for college for 3 kids?
Wait, how do we pay for childcare for 3 kids!?
Do we need to increase our life insurance?
Do we need to change our wills?
Do we need to revamp our investment portfolios?

How much could we afford in a new house?
Should we rent?
Should we buy?

There are so many questions I don't have answers to.  They will all come in due time.

I'm not a woman that would do well as a stay-at-home mommy.  I love my kid, don't get me wrong and I know I will love these boys with all my heart, but I THRIVE off of work.  It's part of my DNA.  I like being challenged, and I love the hustle and bustle of a busy season.  I love my company and I love working in the wine industry - so for all of you that are thinking, "why not be a stay at home mom?" all I can say, is that it is just not for me.  I need balance and for me, I would not be as happy without my work.  I love what I do.  I love what our company stands for, and I love the people I work with.  It is something I need.  I'm sure that sounds weird, since most people dread working, but I'm not one of those people.

I love my work.
I love my family.
I want both.  

Okay, gotta get busy.  The day is awaiting and my coffee is almost cold.

Love you all, CB.

Perfect Pair Baby Shower

This weekend my sister, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and 2 of my college roommates threw 

me a "Perfect Pair" Twin Baby Shower. 

It was by far the most beautiful shower I have ever been to and I enjoyed every single minute I got to spend surrounded by my family and friends. 

I was blown away by how beautiful everything turned out.  

The flowers, decorations and food were baffling... most everything was centered around pears and oh-my-goodness, it was just perfect.

Pear & Candied Pecan Salad

Pear Cake

Pear, Prosciutto, Honey and Goat Cheese bites

Chicken Pillards with Pear Salad 

Pear Crisp

Pear Jelly Beans!

Prosciutto Wrapped Lettuce Stuffed with Pears

Pear (shaped) Cookies

Sparkling Pear and Cranberry Punch

And then, the cakes.  Have you ever had a Nothing Bundt Cake?  I am addicted.  

Not only were they extremely beautiful, they tasted UNBELIEVABLE! 

Lemon, White Chocolate and my favorite, Carrot Cake

There were the sweetest party favors - Pear & Caramel Dip.  

Oh so delicious!   

One of the activities during the shower was painting alphabet letters that will go in the Twins nursery.  

The kids really got a kick out of being able to play with paints and it was so nice to sit around a table with friends and catch up. 

They also put together a game called "My Water Broke!"

Jill handed out ice cubes with two babies frozen inside and the first one to have all their ice melt and set the babies free, won a gift!   

The game winners won a cookie bouquet and 

a gift basket with pear lotion, body wash and a bottle of wine that I made in Napa last year. 

Somewhere during the shower, Jill said one of the sweetest things that has stuck with me:

"Isn't it amazing, that when you need it most, the women in your life come together to shower you with love" 

It is amazing. 

Thank you to all the amazing women that came to shower. 

I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me. 

I am still in awe of the whole event! 

It truly felt like a little slice of heaven in time.

Everything was so beautiful. 

Thank you my sweet girls, for showering us with so much love. 

A VERY SPECIAL thank you to Tammy, Cindy, Keri, Jill and Lindsay for all that you did to make this happen. 

 And thank you Ashley and Lauren - my honorary hosts :) 

I loved every minute.