The nerves

Tomorrow is my "first race back" - I was initially planning to do the Nike marathon but I'm opting for the half because I haven't been able to train nearly enough. Despite doing the shorter distance (13.1), I'm getting the pre-race jitters. These are the kind of jitters that start in the stomach and sneak into the chest leaving through the head with a chill. The kind I got the minute my water broke. The ohmyGod I'm really doing this jitters.

So there's a weird analogy - getting ready to race is like labor. Fear, excitement, and anxiety all hit at the same time. With a race I know what I'm getting into - but this time I have not trained, period. I know it'll be nerve wracking at first, then I'll go out too fast, then I'll hurt, then I'll realize there are still miles to go, then I'll go with it and have a ton of fun finally finishing with a feeling of accomplishment. Labor was different - I didn't know what I was getting into, but it was the same cycle (amplified by a thousand) spread of 36 hours - the finish was much better, though - no race can compare. Other similarities:

• With races I get runners high - in the hospital I got IV high
• Races take a long time (if you do the right ones - the long ones) - labor takes a long time (did for me anyhow)
• Races hurt - labor hurts
• When racing it's easy to hear other runners' stories and expect the same experience, it's never the same - labor is the same (I hear stories of 2-hour labors and then going to workout the next day ... HA)
• The finish line is awesome - when you meet the babies ... actually, that's way more than awesome - that's the best feeling in the world, the feeling words can't match

p.s. I'm going to run like a mom!

Twinathon: Twin pregnancy, delivery (c-section), recovery, and breastfeeding

For those of you who read this for running musings, this is not the entry for you. Shield your eyes, 'cause this one is going to be detailed. I've noticed (in a big brother (sister?) kind of way) an increasing amount of people finding this blog via searches about twin pregnancy. I've also received a handful of emails recently with questions and comments from readers who don't want to publicly comment - keep them coming! Pregnancy and what's happening now was a really confusing time for me and I'm happy to answer any questions.

As this is going to be a long one, here's what to expect:

• The pregnancy - what I ate/did/didn't do
• Gestational diabetes (GD) - what it meant
• The delivery - abbreviated version
• C-Section recovery
• Breastfeeding twins
• Getting my "grove" back - very abbreviated, this is a work in progress

But first, here's the beautiful finish/beginning:





The pregnancy:
We weren't "trying" to get pregnant and we certainly weren't expecting twins. But, come November we got a great surprise - I learned I was pregnant. About a month into the pregnancy I was spotting quite a bit and freaked. Our Dr. (side note, we changed OB's half way through - more later) said to get an early ultrasound to see if the baby (singular at the time) was OK - so off to CPMC (the hospital I wound up going to almost bi-weekly). I was running quite a bit at the time (25-30k trail races about every other week) so I was really scared that I had already messed something up. During the ultra the nurse said the one was fine ... after a short pause, she said the SECOND was fine too. I was frozen - excited, scared, and frozen.

Side-note, our twins are "natural" fraternal twins - they run in my family (both mom and dad's sides).

Side-note number 2, when you're pregnant, your girl zone is no longer "yours." It becomes property of doctor and nurse hands/eyes/xrays.

We switched OB's at 20-weeks pregnant. At first I really liked ours, he was near my office and got me in quickly the first time I called. As my appointments progressed, he was consistently late (like 45-60min late) and his admin said he just always did that - it wasn't a delivery thing. The office also seemed dirty and he was the only doctor there. I wound up getting a referral to a doctor in Laurel Heights (near CPMC) and am so glad I changed.

For the first 25-weeks of my pregnancy I continued to run. In fact, at 3-months pregnant I was asked to become an Ambassador for Lululemon and I was leading weekly running club runs for a local store. At 5-months pregnant I won my first 10k which was a huge shock (and probably not that awesome to the male and competitive female runners I beat - the bump was absolutely there). My doctor said I had to stop running at 25-weeks - now, a lot of people run through pregnancy and it's great! But with twins the pregnancy is already considered high risk and doctors are concerned about the pressure. So I switched from running to spinning and swimming and yoga at a local chichi gym (a treat to myself for having to stop running).

Working out:
I did spin 1-3 times a week throughout my pregnancy. In fact, the day before I went into labor I did spin. I also started swimming at least once a week and did yoga from 5-months pregnant to 7-months pregnant once a week. When I couldn't (or didn't want to) do a class, I did the elliptical and free weights. I also walked to work (1.2 miles) and home every day. I am pretty confident that my staying active helped maintain a healthy pregnancy - and healthy mind.

Nutrition:
Pre-pregnancy I was pretty healthy. The occasional carrot cake slice and dried mango or snickers were my downfalls, but other than that I ate (and still eat) a lot of Greek yogurt, fruit, meats (lamb, chicken, fish, steak), and veg. I LOVE fruit and vegetables and Matt and I both like to cook so good eating came pretty easy. We also like Whole Foods (whole paycheck) and Farmer's Markets - one of my downfalls (besides shoes) is good, organic, clean food. To up my caloric intake I added cheese, extra fruit, olives, and more snacks throughout the day.

I gained 28-lbs during pregnancy. I had thought I'd gain more and had upped my consumption, but my body only felt like 28. I did look like I gained 50, though, and people loved telling me how HUGE I looked. The comments were not fun, but I have to say, in retrospect I miss my bump!

Gestational Diabetes:
Around 6.5 months pregnant I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes (GD). GD is more common in twins because a lot of the nutrients mom (me) eat go to the placenta and sugar doesn't get processed properly. I was so bummed because I thought pregnancy would be my chance to eat carrot cake more often. I was able to monitor my GD with diet alone but it was a bit of work.

Breakfast became a frittata, eggs, or oatmeal (no honey or sugar). I eventually brought Greek yogurt and nuts into the mix when I realized my blood sugar would hold. Lunch remained salad with protein or soup and salad, etc. Dinner remained protein and salad with a carb (corn bread, garlic bread, etc.).

Daily I had to do 4 blood tests (fasting, after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner). Weekly I had to go in to meet with a nutritionist to review my diet and blood charts and weight. In a month I'll need to go back for a final blood test to either clear me or put me on a monitor for type 2 diabetes (if GD isn't controlled, type 2 becomes more common for moms).

While in the hospital, they continued to monitor my blood - but their needle was GIANT! If you have GD, I recommend packing your monitor kit in your hospital bag.

The delivery:
Throughout my pregnancy I had been hoping for a natural delivery. The boys were both vertex/vertex (heads down) from 7-months on, I had no preclamsia, and no complications. Leading up to the delivery I felt VERY ready to have the boys - mostly because I couldn't roll over anymore, couldn't see my feet, and was tired of all the giant comments. I also was tired period.

My water broke at 37-weeks on the day (although doctors say it was 36 weeks/5 days, but every doctor tracked the timeline differently - we had a few different due dates from different docs so I based my date on the first day of my last cycle). My water broke at work and it was less than monumental - just more oh my God than anything. After getting ahold of Matt, we went to the hospital for a quick check. After they confirmed that my water broke, I was admitted. When water breaks, it's your "ticket in" to the hospital. A lot of people stay home to go through early labor in their own realm, I wish I had done this, but didn't plan.

I was in labor for 36 hours. For the duration I was probed and prodded by countless doctors and nurses. I had been given an epidural at one point so I couldn't feel a thing down there, but it was still weird to have heads popping up noting the happs down there.

The pain started kicking in around hour 8 and I was put on meds. At one point a nurse put me on picotin (without asking) to enduce labor faster. Towards the end I remained at 5cm for 5 hours, not good. Our doctor came in and "strongly" encouraged a c-section - strongly meaning I had to do it. I cried, and couldn't talk - this was not the plan.

More pain meds and Matt calming me down later, the boys were born.

After the c-section I was monitored for 2-hours. There are complications that can happen like blood problems, clotting, etc. so docs watch c-section recipients closer.

C-Section recovery:
The days after my c-section were miserable. Aweful, actually. And totally painful. Because of laboring for so long, I had tons of chemicals in my body from the epidural to the petocin to pain killers. I was put on a saline drip and given stool softeners and pain killers - after a c-section they don't let you eat until you "pass gas." Unfortunately I got TOTALLY distended - my stomach and legs ballooned and I was as big as I had been before the labor. The doctor said that my distention only happened in 5% of c-section recipients (not encouraging) and the nurses said they had never seen anything like it. The worst part is I wasn't allowed to eat or drink any of the treats people kept bringing. Actually, the real worst part is I didn't start making milk yet and I knew I wanted to breastfeed my boys.

The hospital continued me on the saline drip and held foods for days. I was given an x-ray to see what was going on and they realized they left something in me. I was also given numerous more meds and drugs to try to get me to "pass gas." Nothing. The doctor requested I stay in the hospital an extra day (you're not allowed to leave until you have a BM after a c-section) but this was actually a blessing in disguise because Wilson (who had been in NICU) had to stay an extra day, too.

Upon returning home, here's what helped me finally start to recover:

1. REST!
2. Getting off the drugs (I stopped vicodin as soon as possible and switched to Motrin and a mix of camomilla, rescue remedy (for the stress))
3. De-stressing - I talked to people in the SF Parents o fMultiples forum for reassurance and it really helped
4. Keeping my feet up - this helped work the water out
5. Drinking TONS of water
   
6. Nutrition - good foods, and some more natural remedies (apple cider vinegar, acidophelis, and my maternity vitamins, Synergy kombucha)
   
7. Walking - 15min walks daily with Matt and the boys were and are good for my brain and body
8. Breastfeeding!

I'm now de-puffed and below my pre-pregnancy weight (which is really weird) - I'm sure this'll change.
Breastfeeding twins:
First let me jump to the why - breastfeeding twins is very very difficult. I am trying constantly to stick with it - so far, so good. I'm also open to plan B, C, D, E ... you get the picture.

Here's why I think breastfeeding is cool:

• More nutrients for babies
• Easier to digest for babies
  
• Proven to lead to higher IQ - from an Efimil commercial, go figure
• Bonding time with babies
  
• Helps me (mom) lose weight, fast!
• Saves money - formula is at least $1,300 / year / child
• Less bottles to wash (not for us, yet, since we're supplementing)
  

Studies are proving breastfeeding (when possible) supplies the best nutrition for babies. It's the most natural and provides way more than what a formula can give. I actually wasn't so hell bent on breastfeeding until I read a formula advertisement stating that formula fed babies had an IQ of 108 on average at 4-years of age vs. breastfed babies with 112. I thought that breastfeeding would be easy, but it's proving to be VERY hard. Not only do I need to make enough milk for 2 babies, but I need to be able to hold both, cuddle, pump (which helps make milk but also gives Matt bottles to give the boys at 3 or 4am).

Breatfeeding is absolutely still NOT easy. But it's getting easier (knock on wood fast!). Matt and I tried to figure it out on our own with the help of forums and websites but different sites and forums say different things. The important note here is everyone has a different story - so mine is different than most.

Making milk:
After a c-section it takes longer for the milk to come in. This is partly due to the meds but also because the body has literally been cut up and it needs to heal. I did not make any milk at first which was SO frustrating. I felt like a failure as a woman and a mom. But it is starting to come in more and more. Based on a doctors rec, I started taking fenugreek to help with production.

After countless sleepless nights and lots of crying babies, we called a lactation consultant and it's the best thing we've done since being home. The consultant came to our house and helped teach us how to latch, learn about nutrition, and offered more tips on ways to make more milk.

Here's what we're doing now...
Latching: this is a tough one, especially with tiny babies. We are using nipple shields for both boys to help them latch and suck. It turns out Cole is tongue tied (I am too) which makes it harder for him to latch and swaller - we're going to get this fixed as soon as possible (it just means snipping the bit under the tongue).

Tandem: I am trying to do tandem - otherwise all we'd be doing is feeding/changing/feeding - right now we have time to go to the bathroom and eat occasionally, but that's about it. I'm a fan of the football hold and when I feed do skin/skin with the boys. Then we change them, swaddle them, and give them more.

Amount: with formula it's easy to monitor how much the boys are eating - you see it right on the bottle. With the breast it's not so easy. We bought a scale because 1oz of breastmilk equates to 1oz gained in the baby. What we discovered is they're not getting that much (maybe half an oz per feed because they just can't suck that hard). I now feed for 20-30 minutes, then we change, swaddle, and give 30-35ml of bottled breastmilk (when there's enough - otherwise we do formula).

Nutrition: as with pregnancy, during breastfeeding good nutrition is imperative - I'll list some foods below.

For the boys, we're putting 1/16 tsp babydophelus in their bottle once a day. Because they were born via c-section, they didn't get the good flora coming out - the lactation consultant recommended this.

Making more milk: last week I was at a loss as to feeding my boys. I didn't think I could/would make enough milk. Here's what I'm taking that I think is helping:

• Fenugreek
• Mother's Milk - More Milk Plus liquid formula
• Mother's Milk Plus tea
• Camomilla and Rescue Remedie (you can't make milk if you're stressed)
• LOTS of water
• Sticking to 1 coffee/day (although I want 10)

What I'm avoiding:

• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Peppermint
• Massive amounts of chocolate
• Juice (citric)
• Aspertame
  

What I'm eating more of:

• Grains
• Beans
• Nuts
• Fresh fruit (yay!) but I'm monitoring my sugars
• Vegetables - especially dark leafy greens
  

Anyhow, there's my novel / my story. Everyone's story is different and mine will surely evolve (and I can't wait to experience more!) If you are reading this because you found it based on questions around twin pregnancy, birth, etc. you are more than welcome to email with questions. There's a lot of info out there - the key is to find what works for you.

Waiting games

When we were in college, Ryan and I studied in London where we emerged ourselves in both the cultural scene (museums, plays, concerts) and the 20-something London scene (clubs, travels, you get the picture). One night we mixed the two enjoying a pub and then a play (the play for school credit, the pub because we were 20 and we could). I have no clue what the pub was but the play was Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." At the time I remember being terribly confused and bored by the play - sorry, have to be honest. Now the play seems more prevalent than anything. I'm in the waiting period, and while I'm not on some empty road musing about life and thereafter, I am waiting for the unknown.

I have to say, I'm not very good at waiting. That's why I live in a city - I like instant gratification. New shoes? I can go to one of hundreds of stores. Hungry? I can chose any type of food, Yelp! the restaurant to see if it's good, and get it delivered or pick up. Bored? I can walk to any number of parks and watch the melding of tourists in scrunchies (a nod to SATC) or city-ites and be entertained for hours.

Ready for the boys? I can't do anything really. Scratch that, there are tons of sites on the web detailing how to induce naturally. I don't think the walking will work for me - I walk 3+ miles a day and then go to the gym regularly anyhow. I guess I could try tons and tons of what made the boys in the first place (did you know what makes them can help them come out? How very Newton. Then there's always raspberry tea, evening primrose oil, black cohosh (what is that anyhow?), and more.

I think instead of waiting and entertaining the blogsphere with "deep thoughts" I'll take advantage of these last few days (week?...) of quiet. Here's what's on the docket: gym, explore San Francisco (the options here are limitless), explore the Peninsula (I always say I hate it there, but the reality is I've never really checked it out), read, watch TV (non-cartoon shows), eat (real homemade meals), ... the list could go on and on! I better get crackin'.

36 weeks pregnant with twins - belly pics!

I've made it to the 36 mark - woo hoo! That also means I made it to the HMO mark (my PPO flipped to an HMO on July 1st) which is excellent because it means my hospital bill will be much more affordable. Everything from here on forward is just icing ... or padding on the boys.

Thursday we went to the doc, yet again, and he said "My goodness they're looking great!" I love hearing that. When we asked how long until we could expect to meet the boys, he said it could be anywhere from 24-hours to a few weeks - he's banking on me getting to 38 weeks. Oofa. While I'm VERY ready to be done, I also want rolly polly sleepers and the longer they go, the better our shot.

My bike on my beloved trainer:










Impersonation of being stuck in a doorway (believe me, I'm getting close - I keep bumping into it forgetting the belly is there):











Shield your eyes - lots of skin ahead:











My weekly non-stress test:

A non-stress test (NST), by the way (BTW) is a test to monitor the twins' heartrate as well as any contractions I may be having. "Baby B" loves kicking off his heartrate monitor the minute the put it on. This week, they did an ultra before the test and both "Baby A" and "Baby B" were heads down but kicking each others' feet - no wonder I'm at a loss for words sometimes, I have 4 little feet up there!

35 weeks pregnant with twins - belly is definitely bigger than a breadbox!

I've made it to the 35-week mark - woohoo! I'm shooting for July 10th (boys, that means you get to "cook" and hang out a bit longer). July 1st (1-week from today) marks my changeover from PPO to HMO so that's the minimum I'm hoping they hang out - and let me just say, "hoping" is being nice. I now have a belly that rivals the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a walk that would put Jar Jar Binks to shame ...

+

= (mind your eyes! I'm showing a LOT of skin here...)












We continue to be amazed by our wonderful generous friends. Last week, Leanne surprised us with some awesome books and onsies to help tell the boys apart. This week, Matt's work threw him a shower (and I love that he got to ... had to be the center of attention - it's a little awkward feeling) where Tracy (a crafty-woman extraordinaire) made a diaper cake and the office stocked us up on all the necessities.












Last weekend Matt went to San Diego for a family get together (I'm not allowed to fly and can't sit in a car for longer than 10-min, so I unfortunately missed it). His cousin relayed the funniest thinking during dinner - he thought that babies were born knowing how to swim because "they're swimming around in the belly" and that they come out breathing because the "belly itself was mostly filled with air - hence the roundness." Love it ... not quite, but good thought.

In case you were curious, per Baby Center, here's what's going on in there:

"How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."

34 weeks pregnant with twins - belly pics - ready and ridin'!

I've made it to 34-weeks - woo hoo! I'm feeling quite "large and in charge" and I'm thrilled to be in the homestretch. Weeks are filling up with doctor appointments but I'm also thankfully working on a lot of cool projects during my day job and am still able to hit the gym. The bigger I get, the funnier strangers get. Last week at a festival a (very drunk) guy came over saying he wanted to "orbit" my belly. Weird ... and kind of gross. Homeless people have taken to singing to me - no joke, one man walked almost a full block behind me singing lullibys.

All the oddities aside, I'm feeling quite lucky to have the best husband, awesome friends, and still have energy (although it's dwindling). This week in spin the teacher cheered when I walked in - total motivation; I may be spinning on a much lower gear with my knees out to the side, but whatever - it feels great!

Per Baby Center, here's what's going on in there (side note - all the fruit analogies baby sites use for baby size are starting to get difficult to read - not only can I not look at a melon the same anymore, but I'm having fruit withdrawal as the GD limits the amount I can eat):

"How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies."

More doctors: nonstress test

As the weeks pile on, so do the doctor visits. My doctor mix is now made up of the following:

• Weekly nonstress tests
• Every other week regular midwife check-ins
• Every other week dietitian check-ins
• Monthly ultrasounds

The nonstress tests are the newest addition to the lineup and are ... a bit boring to be honest. Today was my first and here's how it went - after showing up at CPMC (for what seems like the 100th time this month) I had a quick ultra. It was too quick, unfortunately, to see the boys - and they're getting so big it's tough to see them anyhow. After the ultra I was strapped in to 3-heartrate monitors to check the boys' heartrates - the monitors were hooked up to a machine tracking heart beats/second. Over the course of the next 25-minutes, the boys fell asleap (dropping their heartrate to around 120) and started moving (spiking their heartrate to 150+).

I need to preface this with I don't know exactly what the numbers mean but the nurse practitioner said that I was in the normal range - normal is perfect for me!

You can learn more about nonstress tests on BabyCenter.com.

Look at the bump, look at the bump!

I'm loving swimming laps more and more by the day! I swear I'm more buoyant now, but it's helping the laps fly by.

During my last swim I enjoyed a funny kid encounter. After sliding (very awkwardly I'll let you know) into the pool, the woman in the lane next to me said "wow, you are pregnant! Very very very pregnant!" (Yes, I know - thanks a lot for the reminder ...) Then she turned to her daughter who I'm assuming is 3 and said "Look at the ladies big bump honey." At this the daughter kept dipping under water to look at my stomach then emerging smiling. Dunk, smile, dunk, smile - you get the routine. When I finally kicked off the little girl started swimming along side me staring at the belly.

I can't say I was too annoyed - it's good to see kids eager to learn about their surroundings, and I'm getting used to the big comments. It was just odd - somehow I replaced Nemo as the underwater wonder and became the kicking and floating bump.

8 months pregnant (32 weeks) with twins

I've reached the 8-month mark! It seems like I'm reaching a lot of things quickly ... today I was walking into the office and one of the execs said:
"Whoa - your stomach got here a good few seconds before you!"

Maybe I should enter a race - win by a belly? Maybe not.

The boys are moving constantly now, and I love it! "Baby B" still seems to like doing flips and "Baby A" just kind of bobs up and down - he also gets the hiccups which is odd to say the least.

Super Pose!












Itchy belly:
Per Baby Center, here's what's going on in there:
"By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth."

Tasty Tuesday: Pregnancy with gestational diabetes

Yesterday, while finishing a mouthful of delicious peanut M&Ms, I got a call from my doctor saying I have gestational diabetes (GD). Bummer! I thought I was immune - I workout, try to eat well (fruit and yogurt for breakfast, salad for lunch, salad and chicken for dinner with the occasional candy thrown in), but my body decided I need to improve my habits (aka, ditch the M&Ms).

So this tasty Tuesday is not so sweet, but still delicious ...

New favorite breakfast? Greek yogurt - specifically Fage. This is great with granola, fruit (but not too much), sugar free jam, and on it's own.

Bottom line - YUM!

If anyone else is facing GD, here's a handy food list someone sent me:

Good Choices:

All meats and seafood

Most Veggies (carrots and sweet potatoes are naturally sweet)

Small amounts of whole wheat pasta, lentils, quinoa

Cheese

Greek Yogurt (Fage) from Trader Joes has the lowest sugar of any yogurt on the market

Almonds (very good)

Thin sliced whole grain bread

Any fruit the size of a medium apple (this size = 15 carbs)

Small whole grain crackers

Cottage cheese

Not Good Choices:

White bread, rice, potatoes

Anything breaded or coated

Juice (choose whole fruit over juice)

Chips, pretzles, candy, ice cream, dessert of any kind of pastries

Obviously, doctor knows best, and I'm off to see a maternity diabetes dietitian tomorrow. Here's a good site for extra GD research, too: http://www.diabeticmommy.com/34-gestational-diabetes-diet.html.

Baby room setup

This weekend marked my last shower (don't worry, not the skip and I'll stink kind - the other kind) and it also marked the decorating of the boys' room. Ryan and Meghan, my two fav interior designers, came over to help with the cause. It's crazy walking by the room and seeing two cribs set up... the countdown begins - 4-6 weeks and I'll be happy.

An awesome baby shower

Yesterday marked my final baby shower (side-note, I feel so lucky to have the wonderful friends and family who threw and attended these!) and it was awesome. At 11:30 I made my way over to Nicole's to enjoy great food, fun crafts, generous gifts, and most important - time with good friends.

Nicole was a perfect host - from the food to the decor, everything was magazine perfect:












Craft time was a blast - we worked on mobiles:












My favorite is spending time with good friends:

31 weeks pregnant with twins and nesting!

I've made it to the 31 week mark - woo hoo! The twins are growing and moving like crazy and every day I feel like I'm in a new body. My belly is now so ginormously round, I feel like I could rival Santa.

Not knowing if I have 4 weeks or 7 weeks to go, I'm not in "nesting" mode trying to get ready for the boys. This entails cleaning, setting up the cribs, and (trying to) get rid of stuff - I love love love my shoes, but I think having over 5 pairs of flip flops, 6 pairs of running shoes, 10 pairs of boots, and 80 heels is a bit excessive.

Per Baby Center, here's what's going on in there...
"This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy."

People watching

Yesterday during my (seemingly-never-ending) blood test, I killed the 3.5 hours of wait time people watching. Doctors offices are always ... interesting ... a little depressing ... and places you kind of want to get in and out of. I think anyhow. The waiting room yesterday was more on the interesting side than anything, though. There were the kids getting their first shots and vaccines (did you know, in San Francisco if you live in a building built before 1940 and have kids, the babies need a blood test at 15mo for lead poisoning), there were people dropping off their "samples" in brown paper bags to nurses who looked less than pleased, there were the other mom's to be, etc.

One family that intrigued me was the fam with twin boys.
The twins:
I caught myself staring at twin 2.5 year old boys running around the waiting room. One would grab a pile of magazines, the other would grab them and put them back. One would jump up and down, the other would rock side to side. One got sleepy and sat down, the other ran a few laps around the room and came to sit with his brother. The most entertaining was when they got ahold of a plastic glove, blew it up like a balloon, and started playing kick ball missing the glove with each kick attempt.

The mother figure:
After staring for an obscene amount of time, I went over to ask who I thought was the mom how old they were. She gave vague answers about age, their doctor, and other fun facts on raising twins. About an hour later (seems they had a lot of testing to do, too) she came over and whispered in my ear "Sorry I'm being so vague, I'm the foster mom. That's (while pointing) their mom."

The mom:
The mom was a young beautiful woman. I didn't hear her say a single word but when she picked up the boys she glowed. She would pick up a boy, put him on her lap, read, and then put him on the floor. On to the next - she'd pick up the brother, put him on her lap, read, and then put him on the floor. After going through this routine twice it seemed she needed a break as she left for about a half an hour.

The helper:
A third woman was there helping rally the boys.

The social worker:
About halfway through the appointment a social worker showed up. I'm not quite sure why she was there - she watched the boys, the mom, and the foster mom for a bit, pulled the foster mom aside to chat, and then said "good job" to all and left.

What a scene.

GTT test take 2

Today I had to go in for the 3-hour GTT test (a test for gestational diabetes). When I first heard about gestational diabetes I didn't quite "believe" one's body could have such a problem with sugar just because of being pregnant. After my midwife told us the story of delivering a 14.5lb baby to a woman who only gained 12lbs (the baby was so heavy because of the gestational diabetes) I became a believer. The body does whacky things when pregnant.

I landed a "score" of 157 / 200 on my 1-hour GTT test and the cutoff is 139. I have to admit, I think I flooped the test by having a coffee in the morning - oops!

After arriving at the blood center at 7am, here was the flow:

• 7:30am (it took the office a while to find the paperwork ... the paperwork I handed them at 7am) blood test
• 7:45am drink 100mg of glucose water - in the 1-hour GTT test you drink 50mg and it tastes like Orengina - the 100mg variety tastes like pasta syrup straight from the bottle
• 8:45am blood test
• 9:45am blood test
• 10:45am blood test

As soon as my last blood draw was finished, I quickly made my way to Peet's for a coffee and juice - very needed! I get my results Friday - fingers crossed.

Photos - going back in time

My photos are up from the Lululemon shoot! We shot these when I was 6-months pregnant in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. The shoot was a blast - the photographer was awesome, the community manager (who is, in one word, rad) was there, and passers by kept stopping yelling "go mama!" and other words of encouragement.

You can view all the pics on my profile page on Lululemon.com.

Surprise work lunch

What a great end to the week - series of baby celebrations! On Friday V and I were walking to Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) for lunch. On the way there, V crossed the street to check out a new Indian restaurant. Indian food is one of my favs, but on Friday it was not at all - Thursday for dinner we had Indian and I got SO sick I vowed never to eat it again. The scene played out as follows:
V: "I just need to grab a menu"
Me: "I'll wait out here - I can never eat Indian again. Just looking at it I want to throw up in my mouth a little."
V: "Just come for one sec"
Me: "No, really, you don't understand, I can't even walk in the door"
V: "Change of plans - we're eating here!"
Me: "Are you kidding me? Do you want me to die?"
V: (now looking stuck) "No, Amber, really, you have to eat here"
Me: "Huh" (not the brightest at this point)
V: "Reservation for 6"

My co-workers surprised me with a celebration baby lunch! Apparently I'm not good at setting surprises around (they had to reschedule 3 times because I kept having to go to doctor's appointments) nor am I a good recipient (without knowing it I slammed to restaurant choice).

Lunch wound up being terrific and the surprises continued when we got back to the office and V made me head to a conference room where the whole office was waiting with home-made blue cupcakes.

What a fantastic day!!!!!!!!

30 weeks pregnant with twins - belly pic!

I'm now 30-weeks pregnant (woo hoo) and counting down the weeks until we get to meet our boys. I'll be honest - I'm both excited and scared to death.This pic is not from tonight so it's not exactly 30-weeks, but it's from the shoot we did Saturday, so close enough! The shoot was with an awesome photography team called Real Exposure (the photogs also happen to be a rad couple and new parents).

Per Baby Centre, here's what's going on this week:
Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. While your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 15.7 inches/ 40 centimetres from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.

This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born -- newborns can see a distance of only about 8 to 12 inches/ 20 to 30 centimetres. (Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until about age 7 to 9.) To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.

Oh Baby! Weekend round-up - a babylicious time

(My boys love hanging out with Wonder already - every time we going walking or I get to hold him they both stick their heads out (turning my belly into an alien-esque ball))

This weekend was one of baby prep, baby pics, and baby ed. Friday night Matt went to kick up his heels at the Avett Brothers (awesome band if you've never heard of them) and after a quick workout I started organizing the boys' room. We finally bought a dresser so I have a place to stash the 100+ onsies we've accumulated already (these boys will be well dressed!)

Saturday we had a photo shoot - I figure if we're only going to be pregnant once we should capture the moment (and you've seen the extent of our photo journalistic skills - lacking). The shoot was awesome! I'll post photos soon.

Sunday Leanne and I set off for a morning GGRC walk (although I think we were the only GGRCers there as a) it was roasting hot, b) it was Bay to Breakers, and c) it's trail race season so weekends are often filled with trails). I'm loving our Sunday walks because I get some baby training with Wonder and good girl time with Leanne. Sunday evening Matt and I went to Peter and Jill's for "baby training" where they taught us swaddling, bathing, feeding, and Matt "got" to change his first diaper. Their baby is a little angel so he's setting a high bar!

All in all, a great weekend! I'm ready for another ;o)

29 weeks pregnant with twins - belly pics

I've made it to 29-weeks - woohoo! Another 6-10 to go. This week the tiredness kicked back in in full force with one new (un)pleasantry - being winded, I am constantly trying to catch my breath from just sitting still.

Goodbye 2nd trimester, hello 3rd!












Had to get the cheesy shot - check out how veiny the hands are! Blood is a'flowin.









I don't know how much bigger this can get!

(Side-note: thank goodness for Lululemon clothes! I am living in my workout tunics and Grove pants.)



Per Baby Center, here's what's going on in there (BTW, I used to love butternut squash - this just ruined it for me for the next few months):

How baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.