Shower...yes...another one!

OK...so I wrote this several weeks ago and I guess I never posted it!!! My brain isn't quite what it used to be. lol

Two weekends ago, our friends and family joined us for a couples shower.  Amanda and Shawn, along with Richard, my mom, and Scott’s mom, put together a beautiful shower for us.  We saw friends that we haven’t seen in months and it was good to have one last evening before our lives are forever changed.

Yummy!

My mother-in-law and my mom.

Scotty and Big Girl.....looking slim here!

Only 33 Weeks Pregnant...technically 7 weeks from my May 6th due date LOL.

Amanda, my dear friend and gracious host!

It was a beautiful March evening.  The weather was perfect…in the 60’s.  We were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy the full moon and each other’s company.  The party continued on until about 1am when I finally had to call it quits.  I was surprised I actually  made it that long.

We had a blast and couldn’t have been happier with the turnout.  As I said to the ladies before opening gifts, everyone in that room is so special to us.  They have stood beside us and supported us during this long process of getting pregnant until now.  We can’t wait to be able to introduce T.J. and Matthew to everyone.   Scott and I feel so blessed and loved. 

READY!!!

So at this point in the pregnancy I am pretty uncomfortable...no shock there.  I am trying my best not to complain....and I think I'm doing a pretty good job, although apparently one of my previous blogs I must have complained a bit too much.  My swelling has decreased...likely due to not walking around an enormous high school for 10 hours a day!  My fatigue level is not as bad...again, now that I am not working and I can just sit with Roger on the couch and read, I am feeling much more relaxed.  I am however so stinking uncomfortable.  I am very uneasy driving now.....mainly since my belly is about an inch from the steering wheel and that is wih me reclined as far as possible with still being able to grab the wheel and press the gas!  Luckily my amazing mother has been there to act as my personal driver, cart pusher, gardener, dry cleaner, etc. 

Everyone we talk to asks us if we are ready for the babies......that's a pretty tough question to answer....Do we have everything we need?....sure do...Is the nusery ready?....yep.  Bags packed?...yep...Car seats installed? ....yep. Physically I think we have everything ready....But to ask if we are ready....Scott's favorite answer is "I'm not sure".  We have our ideas of what to expect, but since we have never been through this, who knows.  Obviously we feel that we will be prepared to be parents, but until you are thrown into the ring, I don't think you're really ready. 

Are we anxious?? Of course!  Every night I go to sleep and wonder if this is the last night that it will just be the two of us. We know our lives will be changed in an instant and we are very ready for that...been ready for years.  We are so excited to meet these two little men and see what they look like and how they act. 
What are we anxious about?  I for one am nervous about the delivery...I'm not too good with surgery and I have had only minor procedures in the past...this is kind of major!  Not so sure how I will react to the pain and the meds.  I am anxious about sleep....I am someone that needs a lot of sleep....my brain does not function without sleep....I never could pull an all-nighter to study in college...just wouldn't work!  I am nervous about the health and well-being of these boys.  I am sure everything will be ok...but you never can be sure.  But...only 2 weeks from today and the boys will be here......or sooner.....if they want....Scott does not want them to arrive any earlier than planned...shocking that he doesn't want to be surprised...On the other hand, if they came next week I wouldn't complain...I am ready and I would love a surprise!  I guess only time will tell.  14 more days!

35 Weeks..only a few more to go

Last week Scott and I went to what we thought would be our last visit with the Perinatal Specialist.  We figured we would find out how big these boys are and be released to our regular doctor.  Not the case!  Apparently the doctor we had at our previous appointment told us to come back in 2 weeks (which we did), but it was too soon to tell if there were any updates.  We are rescheduled for a few days before the boys are scheduled to arrive....that is if I make it that long.  So, no new news on the approximate size.  But, looking at the size of me, one would have to think that these boys are huge.....I look like I am carrying two toddlers!



35 Weeks and living large

  I am officially done with work until late July when I return for the start of next school year.  I am so glad that I was able to last as long as I did.  Thankfully my students were great and understood what I was going through and didn't mind that I taught American Government from my chair.  The kids were all starting to get grossed out by the size of my swollen feet and I think the administration was afraid that I would go into labor any day!  The timing of these babies is great.  I am on Spring Break this week and then I just take off next week and then they should be here.  I am basically only missing 7 days before they arrive.  Not too bad!

Tired and swollen

So at this point I am 34 weeks pregnant.  I never would have imagined that I would be this tired.  I had read all about the exhaustion and all of the side effects of pregnancy, which is apparently amplified when you're carrying two. 

I have always tried to be pretty tough and not let pain effect me….but I am no longer able to do that.  I barely sleep at night, which is probably good practice for the coming months, and my back, legs and feet hurt all the time.  I officially have “cankles”.  Not very cute and the kids at school want to vomit when they see how swollen I am from my knees to my toes.  At my doctors appointment a few weeks ago my doctor said it was because of my “enormous uterus” that the blood isn’t circulating well….and that it was typical.  At least I can rest easy knowing nothing is wrong, just gross!

Since I am so tired, I can barely walk around school.  My doctor was not happy (at my 32 week appt) that I was still working.  She really didn’t like it when I told her my plan was to work until April 15^th.  We compromised and settled on April 1^st being my last day at school.  This works out well as I won’t have to return after Spring Break which begins that weekend.

Due to my fatigue and swelling, Scott and my mother really don’t want me doing too much.  Mom came over the other night to help wash the babies bedding, clothes, socks, blankets, etc.  She spent several hours running up and down the stairs to the laundry room.  I don’t know what I would do without her.  Scott has been a trooper too.  He has been either cooking or ordering in food so I don’t have to do anything but relax when I get home from work.  My mother in law has been planning some meals to freeze for us so I don’t have to cook when I get home from the hospital.  It sure is nice having family that is so close by and that is willing to help out whenever we ask.  I can't say enough how fortunate we are.

My family.....

What words can I use to describe my family.....amazing, loving, caring, compassionate, loud, hilarious, insane, affectionate, silly, clumsy, adorable, thoughtful, selfless......as you can see, I can go on and on raving about the amazing people in my life.  I love my life in Georgia, and I wouldn't trade any of it for anything, but I sure do miss being able to see my family in NY on a regular basis.  I hate that when we do see each other it is only for a quick weekend here and there since we all work, have families, and have very full lives.

The first weekend in March I was so blessed to have my Heckelman (mom's side) cousins and my Aunt Marie, and Laura’s daughter Alyssa come to town to celebrate the impending arrival of the babies.  An added bonus was that Paul and Alli were in town with Declan after packing up their house in Boulder and heading east.  The Heckelman's finally got to meet our precious Declan and spend some quality time with one of the happiest kids on the planet.  I am pretty sure everyone fell in love with him.  Nana was particularly impressed.  I don't know the last time I saw my mother this happy..... Her favorite people were in town for a baby shower for her soon to be grandsons.....and everyone got to love on her first grandson and hang out and just laugh.  These are the moments that we remember forever and will laugh about for years to come.

My family threw me a little shower since they were not able to make it to the other shower in February.  My family is so generous and did such a nice lunch for me.  The gifts were crazy…lots of adorable clothes ( a lot of Yankee attire J), hand crocheted blankets from Nanny (Aunt Marie’s mom who made them years ago and has since passed away), and lots of other amazing items. 

After the girls departed for the airport and Paul and Alli headed out to start their new lives, Scott, Dad, Mom, and I got to spend some serious quality time with my handsome nephew.  Paul and Alli decided to leave him with Mom for the week since their furniture, Declan’s toys, and clothes, and pretty much everything they own was in the process of being shipped across the country.  I’m sure it was hard to leave him, but we are sure glad they did.  Each day after school I rushed over to Mom’s to hand with the little guy for a few hours before he went to bed.  He is so precious and funny.  He really makes himself laugh, loves the bathtub, and goes to bed pretty easy.  On the other hand…possibly the sloppiest eater ever….He LOVES to make a mess….yet he also loves cleaning the floors and putting stuff away.  I don’t think I can figure this kid out. J  I know my parents were sad to have to bring him out to the beach and leave him.  Mom came home and didn’t know what to do with herself.

Anyway, while the visit with everyone was far too short, it was a great weekend, spent with people I love, laughing, eating, and celebrating the good things God has blessed us with.

How big???

How big??

About a week ago we went to the perinatal specialist again for another series of scans to see the progress these boys are making.  At the time I was not quite at the 33 week mark.  The boys are apparently doing well and they are certainly growing. 

At just under 33 weeks:
T.J. – 4 lbs 12 oz – heartbeat 150
Matthew – 4lbs 15 oz – heartbeat 133

According to my doctor, that is “above average” for their “age”.  The doctor said his twins were born at 34 weeks and were barely 4 lbs each.  I feel good about their weight…now I wonder how tall they are???  Could they have their Daddy’s height??? Let’s hope!!!

Nursery

At the start of this pregnancy I created two “to-do” lists…one for me and one for Scott.  My goal was to have everything completed by mid-February.  Much to my surprise, we actually accomplished this task.

The biggest task was putting together the nursery.  We decided to use the “media room” in our house as the nursery because we felt it was important to keep the boys together for a while.  Eventually they will have their own bedrooms and the nursery will transition to their play room.  For now, we have them together as much as possible.

Before we knew what we were having, we started looking at all types of bedding, some for girls, some for boys, and some if we had one of each.  It was really easy once we found out we were having boys.  I fell in love with this adorable little monkey bedding set.  We had already picked out the furniture…and thanks to our parents, all we had to buy was one dresser.  So, each boy has a crib that will convert to a full size bed and a big dresser. 

Throughout the past few months I have spent time looking for “stuff” to put on the walls.  I don’t like a lot of clutter, but I like my house to look lived in.  We settled on some nice shelving thanks to IKEA and found some cute things to decorate the walls with.

We have one odd wall…it’s only about 3 feet across and there is not much to do with it. So, I decided to try to find some old photos of all of the family members that these boys are named after.  I have most of the pictures, I just have to find somewhere to blow them up and frame them.  I thought it would be nice to eventually show the boys where they got their names.  We have some pretty cool pictures…now just to get them on the wall!

We love the room….thanks in large part to my dad who installed the chair rail, the light fixtures, and painted!   This was his gift to the boys and we love it and truly appreciate all of the time he spent working on the room.  Now all we need is the babies to fill it!