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!

Unconditional Love



Roger's 1st night home...5 weeks old



So I bet you think this one is going to be about the babies…not this time.  This one is about our first boy, Roger.  Yes, our big, clumsy, furry dog, Roger.

On July 3^rd 2009, Scott and I, along with friends set out to go tubing down the Taccoa River in North Georgia.  We had an awesome day and on the way home decided to make a stop at Carey Kirk’s father’s house to hang out at the pool.  While there, we realized that Joe’s two Standard Poodles, Romeo and Juliet, had recently had a litter of puppies.  When we arrived we noticed 5 little 5 week old puppies running all around and the passing out wherever they were due to exhaustion.  Scott paid little attention, but there was one little guy, the only male puppy, that kept coming over to me and passing out in my lap.  He was so adorable and fluffy….I knew it was going to be hard to leave him behind.

As we were getting ready to leave, Joe insisted that we take this puppy if we wanted it.  He said it could use a good home and if after 24 hours, we changed our minds, we could bring him back.  At this point Scott had had a few cocktails and was all for taking the dog home.  I was already in love, so I was an easy sell.

That night we allowed our new baby, Roger, to sleep in our bed.  Scott woke up the next morning, a little confused,  to Roger chewing on his ear.  We had NOTHING for a dog at the house…and weren’t really sure we could manage a dog, but…the thought of sending this adorable little guy home was too much.  We figured we would make it work.  We made an appointment with the vet for some shots, we headed off to Pet Smart for the necessities and our little family began.

At this point, Scott and I had been trying to conceive for 2 ½ years.  We now had a new distraction from the disappointment every month.  Roger was always there to make us laugh.  He is silly, clumsy, smart, and loud.  It is hard to get mad at him….he is just too cute.  Others may not find him as loveable as we do, but he is my first baby boy. 

Do we spoil Roger…you bet we do!  Does he get home cooked meals..yes…his favorite is meatloaf with sweet potato, celery, and cranberry sauce.  Yes…I do make it from scratch!  His favorite treat….Snickerpoodles; Scott’s favorite cookie is a Snickerdoodle…guess who gets his favorite treat more often?????  

I know a lot of people think we’re crazy because he can be such a brat sometimes, but what people don’t understand is that Roger is probably the number one reason I did not completely lose my mind during all of the infertility treatments.  Prior to the IVF we tried several rounds of IUI, months of fertility drugs (which can make you totally insane), and surgery to find out the root of the problem.  Through all of the ups and downs, and there were very few ups I might add, Roger kept me laughing and smiling.  I think without him I would have had to seek help.  It was definitely the darkest 2 years of my life.

So, when people ask what we’re going to do with Roger if he doesn’t get along with the boys, we say we will figure it out….will we get rid of him….not a chance.  If we have to spend a ton of money to fence in the yard, so be it….but this crazy 60lb poodle is truly a life saver…..Am I being overdramatic….some may think so, but if you saw me during this low point, you would understand the healing power of  Roger!  He is my little angel...

Roger around 4 months old...roughly 40 lbs..he loves to be held like a baby.



Roger today.....large, lazy, and human-like. He had a tough day and needed to nap.



Roger's 1st Christmas.

 

Baby Shower

Diaper cake made by Kenny and Jay!

Over the weekend Scott’s cousins and aunts (Ashley, Kristi, Patti, and Pam) threw us a wonderful baby shower.  We had it at the clubhouse in my neighborhood which was so convenient for me as far as getting everything home and being able to have some people back to the house to see the recently finished nursery.

It was so good to see everyone at the shower.  The ladies did a wonderful job and the food was delicious.  Our guests, mostly family and friends (who are more like family than friends) of the Henson side were in attendance.  I still can’t get over the generosity.   We received some of the absolute essentials – car seats, strollers, high chairs.  We also received some wonderful handmade gifts from some amazing ladies.  The thought that these women would take time out of their busy lives to create something for us and our children is so unbelievable.  I loved every single gift we received and feel so fortunate that so many people care about us.

After the shower, some of Scott’s family came over to see the nursery and to meet Roger too.  Everyone loved the nursery, which was great since we finished hanging the final frame on the wall that morning.    When everyone left, I re-opened every gift and showed Scott.  I really thought he would not be all that interested, but he continues to surprise me.  It was funny watching his expressions and he LOVES clothes that babies wear that look like little old man clothes.  He thinks it is so adorable and funny.  Needless to say, he loved all of the clothes we received. 

I can’t thank Patti, Pam, Ashley, and Kristi enough….they did a great job and made my Baby Shower a memorable day!!!  Everything was just perfect!





Me,Ashley and Krisit...two of the fabulous hostesses



Memaw,Pam, Me, Patti, Stephanie, Ashley, and Kristi...Scott's family!



Me and my Mom!!



Memaw, Me, and Grandma









Showers......

Continuing with my busy week, I had another appointment with the specialist and we again were able to see ultrasounds of the boys.  They are getting BIG!!!  So far everything looks good with the pregnancy, per the doctor, and he said the boys are "bigger than average".  Scott and I were relieved to hear that...we are afraid they may come a bit early, so we are hoping to fatten them up a bit before then. 
When the doctor was performing the ultrasound, TJ and Matthew were both balled up in fetal position with their faces down, like they were frogs.  TJ has a case of the hiccups and we could see his little body jump on the monitor. We were also able to hear it when we listened to the heartbeat.  The nurse also pointed out that TJ has a bit of hair that she was able to see.  It was so funny looking!
Here are there stats as of Thursday:

TJ - 3lbs 3 oz  heartbeat - 150
Matthew - 3lbs 6 oz - heartbeat 136

Later that afternoon my friends at school threw a baby shower for me.  I really have some generous co-workers.  The guests all gave us wonderful and useful gifts....and lots of diapers!!!!  I continue to be blessed. My roommate (we share a classroom) Laura and two other friends at work, Shannon and Lana, all hosted the shower and did such a nice job.  I am lucky to have co-workers that I can also call friends.  I don't know that everyone can say that!  Each of these ladies took the time to plan and organize a great afternoon.

This Saturday, Scott's cousins and Aunts (Ashley, Kristi, Patti, and Pam) are throwing a baby shower for family and friends of the family.  I am so looking forward to seeing everyone...it has been a long time since I have seen some of these ladies.  I'll post pictures later from the shower!!! I'm so excited!!