To do: walk!

Today I took the boys for our first long(ish) walk. We've been doing short stints over Union St. to Pete's (something I need an IV for) and down around Washington Square, but I haven't had the energy or motivation to do much more. Matt went to a job site today leaving the three of us (Cole, Wilson, and myself) in the house - I've never wished for 4-arms more. I can manage feeding both boys at the same time, but beyond that I'm a bit stuck - diaper time is a howl filled process, both Cole and Wilson love cuddle time but aren't so in love with their crib, and cleaning up is a near joke.

So, after feed #4, I loaded the boys up in their Double Decker and off we went towards the water. The boys LOVE walking - I'm telling you, they're runners in the making. We made it all the way to the Ferry Building where we met Mahau and Veronica for a quick hello, then it was time to head home to, you guessed it, feed. About 3/4 of the way home one of the stroller tires blew out (!!!) leaving me to hold that half of the stroller up while balancing the boys so their little heads wouldn't wobble too much. Oofa. We definitely need to work on our walking technique (i.e. setting up the stroller, carrying a backup tire, etc.

To Wear Wednesday: 2nd hand!

Pregnancy is not a time to break the bank. It's also not a time to trade in style for high wasted floral "maternity" dresses ditching taste for bump duds. During my pregnancy I wore Lululemon around the house and town daily, and sported Michael Stars tops or stretchy dresses to work. For readers who are currently pregnant or planning to get there soon, I'm selling my old duds on eBay.

Items I'm selling include:

• Michael Stars tunic tanks ($19.99)
  
• Michael Stars tees and long sleeve shirts
• Splendid dresses
• Susana Monaco dress
• One shoulder brown dress ($25.00)
  
• And more!

Email me (autreytaylor (at) gmail.com) if you want to bypass eBay and/or if you have questions.

Sanity Saver: It Takes a Great Network to Raise Twins

They look so easy when they're "at rest"...



Through our bleary phase, Matt and I are realizing how lucky we are. Not only do we have two amazing boys (I know all moms say this - but ours are truly spectacular), but we have an awesome network of support and help. Here are some of the key things we've been getting help with...

Brain and body breaks:
This past weekend Matt's parents came up to help with the boys and around the house and it was a HUGE mental and physical break. We didn't realize how much help we'd need, or how much we'd truly appreciate it until now.

Food glorious food:
Our good friend Emily has coordinated a food lineup for us where we get dinner from friends on Sundays and Wednesdays through mid-August. So far we've enjoyed a restaurant worthy home-cooked meal from Jamie (tortilla soup) and Burma Superstar (hands down my fav in the city) from Courtney. Linzy and her mom also brought over an amazing dinner Friday night of home cooked pork and greens.

Getting our ts crossed and is dotted:
My mom has come over a handful of times bearing gifts of groceries and lunches (mm mm GREAT!) She also helped go through all of our hospital paperwork and kickoff our finance planning - something my brain just halts at but she is amazing at.

Endless support:
As I ditched the makeup and occasionally the hairbrush, I've also ditched the compulsion to edit what I say and ask. I've asked my friend Leanne countless questions around what baby poop is normal (something I never thought I'd ask) and more. My dad is taking on fixing the strollers (a top priority as I'm not sure how much longer the boys will last in the Kangaroo pouches). We've also had terrific friends like Ryan and her sister Meghan (the baby whisperer) come over to see the boys and coo over them a bit - just one of the thousand reminders about how great these little men are.

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.

Time Saving Tuesday: Shop Online!

We definitely have our hands full. And laps. And arms. And hearts.






The boys definitely have unique needs - when they're met, the boys are happy:











If we don' thave what they need, the boys are not so happy:







I prefer the happy and it's such a relief when we can get what the boys need - NOW!








Introduce - online shopping. Online shopping has saved us tons of time, money, and stress. Here are some of my new mom favs:

• Diapers.com: great for diapers, formula (we have to use it to supplement and like to have something on hand just in case), toys, you name it! They ship SO fast - we ordered Saturday night and received our order Monday at 7am (the doorbell was shocking but a happy surprise)
• Amazon.com: pretty much covers the field - I've been able to find furniture for the boys' endless onsies, accessories, etc. Amazon can prove more expensive than other sites so I've taken to comparison shopping when possible.
• Barneys.com: OK, this one is for mom - a girl's gotta feel good, though! I only shop in their sale section and recently it's been only window (Windows - heh, get it, online in IE?... oh boy, my humor went out the door with my sleep). They have awesome sales on clothes and makeup.
• Zappos.com: another one for mom - I love buying my running shoes here when I can't get to Sports Basement (a local discount store). They have free shipping and free returns. I guess it's part for baby too because mom's feet have to be ready to run when crying starts up.

And now my online time is up! Got a post in, not shopping - maybe after the next feed/change/nap.

Famous mom's: Molly Ringwald had her twins!

When I was growing up I loved Molly Ringwald. Scratch that, I loved the thought of being able to make a "Pretty in Pink" prom dress and break norms or have a stellar 16th birthday with "the popular guy." I loved her movies. Now, I get to share something with MR - our twins' birthday! Her twins were born Friday, July 10th - same day as our boys.

You can read all the celebrity deets online at Celebrity Moms.

The soundtrack of our lives

When I run I typically have a song lineup:

• Marc Cohn, Walking in Memphis to warm up
• Bruce Springstein, Secret Garden to start revving
  
• U2, Viva la Vida to pick up
  
• Javier Martinez, Betty Davis Eyes to keep pace
• Manu Chao, Cadestino pace still
• White Stripes, Seven Nations Army to kick it into a higher gear
• Pearl Jam, Life Wasted to keep new pace

Then I'll throw in some Madonna and Avett Brothers to hold steady 'til the end of the run.

Cole and Wilson come with their own soundtrack and it's backed up by the city - and it is amazing. Our neighbor is a music teacher so in the background almost all day we hear piano, guitar, singing, and more. Then, our downstairs neighbor's stereo kicks in with some mellow '80s as they're undoubtedly getting ready for the evening. We have the occasional parrot sighting in the backyard adding to the soundtrack and then the trolley flies by the front of the house adding a little "ding ding" (think SNL "more cowbell").

Cole and Wilson are the main event with:

• Cooing
• Wannabe burping (when they know it's almost burp time at the end of a meal they both grunt - I think they're faking)
• Crying (this is the part of the soundtrack that breaks my heart)
• Hming (when it's time to feed, Wilson folds his chin up, raises his brows thus creasing his forhead, and "hmmms" for a moment before opening up)

I can't wait to hear their soundtrack pickup. Minus the crying - that's a chorus I could do without (more because I feel so terrible when I can't figure out how to soothe them).

And then there were four

I am thrilled to say our baby boys have arrived and are home happy (I think - they smile when they fart) and healthy. I'll start with the punchline - meet Cole and Wilson!
This past week has been pretty nuts, so I'll give you the abridged version.

Wednesday, July 8, my water broke - in the middle of an interview! No, I wasn't interviewing anywhere, I'm not so bold, we're hiring right now at work. One thing I should note, water breaking is not at all like in the movies or on TV - there's no gush, no pants wetting, no drama. Thank goodness! Imagine that poor interviewee if he had known. After calling the doctor he told me to head in to the hospital to "check things out." Then came the call to Matt - Matty flew over the bridge (he was at work) to pick me up and off we went not knowing what would happen.

At the hospital, we got checked out and admitted. I was allowed to go home for 1-hour to change (heals and work clothes are no way to be in labor) so we ran home to grab our pre-packed bags (and a few others - somehow Matt got to the door with 4-bags) and made a quick stop at Linzy's to hand her the keys to our place.

The final preg pic:









At the hospital we were admitted to room 207 where we waited (labored). It was a loooooong wait - around 2am I was dying of pain so the painkillers started. Jump forward 36 hours - Cole's heart beat kept dropping with each contraction and Wilson's water hadn't seemed to have broken yet. At midnight on July 9th our doctor came in to have a "stern talk" about considering a c-section. Knowing the side effects I REALLY didn't want to, but 26-hours and Cole's little heart made us sign the OK.

The delivery:
Off we were wheeled to the operating room where 4 nurses, our doctor, the anesthesiologist waited and the "fun" began. The c-section only took 20-minutes and by 1:14 and 1:15am on July 10th we had two perfect little boys.

Cole was the first out - he was eager to come! He weighted in at 5lb 12oz and was just perfect. Wilson followed immediately weighing in at 5lb 7oz and he too was perfect. Wilson had a weird growl, though, so after the scrub down he was admitted to the NICU.

What happened next:
What happened next was rather a blur. The morning and afternoon of the 10th were filled with nurses checking my vitals and then showing us how to breast feed (they show you this within a few hours of birth). On the 11th I woke up with a horrible pain in my stomach and everything started swelling. Nurses stopped to look at me and say it'd be already, then walk away worried. One told me that the swelling I had only happened in 5% of new moms. Great.

Hospital oops:
As the pain continued I was wheeled off to an x-ray. A few hours later 4-nurses came into our room and cleared out Matt's family. Scary. Turns out, a fetal monitor was left IN ME! At this time I was also told that if I didn't improve I'd have to have a gastric surgeon come and tube out my tummy - ick. So, I was put on liquids only - through an IV.

Wilson's story:
Wilson was put in NICU because his lungs needed a bit of help. He was put in a "hot box" to regulate his temp and have all his vitals monitored. Visiting Wilson broke my heart every time, but he was an uber trooper. In the NICU he was actually something of a giant as the other surrounding babies weighed in at 1lb-4lbs.

After two days in NICU, Wilson got out of the hot box. Then his air tubes were removed. Long story short, he was released in just a few days and we were thrilled!

We are now thrilled to be home with our beautiful boys! We checked out this morning and are getting used to feeding, changing, swaddling, repeat. In the hospital we did all the "parent things" too, but there were nurses everywhere if we ever felt too tired or needed help.

What's next:
I can't run for at least 6-weeks (I can barely walk - the IV drip made me so puffy my legs have turned to stay puff legs and my feet water balloons). I get 6-weeks off work to "hang" with the boys and am then working from home for 6-months. My mom is helping in August and we have just the best friends EVER coming by to help and volunteering.

To be continued...

Money Saver Monday: Enter and win!

I love contests. When I was a kid I remember entering a contest for a necklace at a local mall - I put my mom's name in and we won a gold plated diamond-esque (this was a poor imitation) necklace. It was hideous, but we won, and ever since then I've been hooked. The learning moment here was you have to enter to win. Period. Many years passed and I moved from mall contests to $1 scratchers (side note, these are a terrible thing to "enter" as typically it's a way to throw a dollar away). Last year Linz and I had a winning card with $500 - woohoo!

And this brings me to my current lesson and announcement for the week - first, the lesson: you have to enter to win. I watch a handful of sites with contests (Parent Mag, Women's Health, etc.) and enter when I can. I haven't won on those sites yet, but here's hoping.

And now for the fun part - the "announcement" ... drumroll ...

The winner of the DwellStudio pillow from last week's blog-contest is Jill! Jill, please email me (autreytaylor (at) gmail.com) with your address and I'll send it to Bedding Sets.com to send on your prize.

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!