The Churilovs

Countdown to Haircuts

2010-06-18T11:58:00.003-04:00

Since I set the date for the babies haircuts, I've been thinking about it a lot. Maybe a little too much.

I had a dream last night that I was getting a haircut, and since I had Anna and Alex with me (naturally) I asked the girl if she would cut their hair. “Just shave it off, it’ll be easy.” So when she started to cut Alex’s hair she was trying to be gentle but no matter what she did the plastic attachment on the clippers dug into his head and cut him! I was like WHAT THE %#@% lady! And of course he was crying and hysterical. It was really traumatic. HOLY #%@* I am a little too neurotic about the hair, don’t you think?

How could I not be? Such awesome locks as this?

I don't think Alex is looking forward to it, either.

Follow Up

2010-05-13T22:39:00.013-04:00

OK. It's been a while. I've been busy. You get it. Here's what we've been up too since getting back from Russia:

Talking to Papa every weekend.

Enjoying the lilac tree. I love this tree.

Water table. They LOVE it.

Some knitting.

The first week's share from the CSA I registered for. We'll get a weekly pick up throughout the growing season.

Using utensils for the first time! Messy and awesome.

A new camera. My baby.

Some yarn. So pretty.

Playing outside with dirt. And yes, some dirt was eaten during this fun.

Z has been doing well, he is hanging in there. I am working with our lawyer to get everything together and get him an interview at the US Embassy in Moscow. It is not a fast process, and he is being very patient. I'll keep everyone updated on new developments.

Notes from the Motherland

2010-02-10T12:43:00.007-05:00

Well, we made it to Russia. Just barely. I think one of the biggest things I learned about travelling with children is to do the exact oposite of your instinct. The flights were terrible. My smiling, quiet (sometimes), shy (other times), amiable children were replaced with screaming, uncooperative, fussy toddlers. Nothing worked. Nothing. Well, hold on, one thing worked: sheer exhaustion. When they did sleep, it wasn't long enough, so they were worse off when they woke up.

The layover that I thought would be beneficial? Turns out that when you connect in Heathrow you have to go through security again! Seriously, that is FUCKING BULLSHIT. England, I will never forgive you. (Sorry to my neice who sometimes reads my blog! and her mom).

AND THEN THERE WAS THE TRAIN RIDE. Wow. Anna was in complete meltdown mode the entire ride, it was broken up by brief periods of sleep, maybe 45 minutes at the most. The ride was very long. BUT, once the night passed (we boarded the train at 8:00 PM and arrived in Saratov at 12:00 PM the next day) things turned a corner and the bad mood lifted a little.

The past few days have been nicely paced, we get up and feed the babies breakfast, then head over to Z's mother's apartment to spend the day. Today we took a ride to see family in a small village not too far from the city. We ate a nice meal, but the highlight was the Russian Banya. It's a sauna, but you can also bathe. It is seperate from the house, has a small room to change your clothes and also to feed the fire, and the main room with benches, water basins, and the birch branches for theraputic 'beatings'. Awesome.

I saw that my company closed down for the weather back home. It hasn't snowed once here, but it has been FREEZING. Tomorrow the schools here will be closed for the weather, too, but not for snow, for cold weather. -25 degrees Celcius. Too cold to convert to Fahrenheit.

Scenes from the train:

From Z's mom's kitchen:

New Home for Baby

2009-12-29T11:55:00.003-05:00

In case you've ever wondered what a 750 km drive during the Russian Winter can do to a minivan.

Behold: Z's Worst Nightmare

P.S. Check out the license plate. So Russian.

Countdown to Russia

2009-12-19T21:22:00.004-05:00

We had planned to go to King of Prussia today for pictures with Santa. Since the weather didn't cooperate I had to put plan B into action and headed to the Lehigh Valley Mall. I was really sad because we were meeting friends there and I was looking forward to seeing S. and her family, but it really wasn't an option, and there's no time between now and Christmas to get it done.

The trip turned out to be a good one. The roads were pretty dicey but I took my time, hoping that not many parents wanted to hit the roads for Santa pictures. I mean, really, who would be that crazy? Exactly. My intuition panned out, there was no line, I managed to wrestle the double stroller and the babes without too many problems, and I got a nice parking spot! And it turns out that just because we happen to be 45 minutes away from Philly the price for Santa pictures is about the same. But at least for $50 I didn't have to be in the picture!

We managed to get in and out, with a stop at Starbucks where the line was longer than the line for Santa, with very little stress.

I also purchased the tickets for our trip to Russia in February. Just typing that gave me a chill. It's been below (way below) freezing there for the past week or so. I may be shopping for a long parka between now and then. Our flight leaves February 5th, returning on the 21st. I'm beside myself. Since moving and settlement on the house is behind me the stress of it all is catching up to me, and I'm not looking forward to the holidays this year. No shit, I need to see my cranky Russian.

So below is the picture from our visit with Santa. Neither one was happy, but they at least quieted down, probably because mama was jumping up and down like a maniac trying to get their attention. Not bad.

Half-Way

2009-11-02T19:41:00.002-05:00

I have one major update, the house is under contract and if everything goes well it should all be settled by December 10th. Needless to say it is a relief and overwhelming at the same time. We have a lot to do.

Alex has mastered a new trick, at least halfway...

Update to Z

2009-10-11T11:55:00.005-04:00

I talk to Z about every day, sometimes twice a day. The conversations are very short, I'm usually in the car on the way to the baby sitter in the morning or just about to go to bed. He is doing well, but missing his family very much. I hear it in his voice, but he is being strong, because we both have to be strong.

Right now he's living in a city about 2 1/2 hours southwest of Moscow, called Kaluga. He has an apartment, and will stay there if things work out. Another option is to move closer to Moscow but to a smaller city. He calls it a 'village'. I'm not sure what to think of this, but if there is a job there to keep him busy while we try to get him back here I'm fine with it. I just picture wells and cow milking and (eek!) outhouses. He would laugh at that.

The babies are keeping me very busy, and I am perfectly happy with that. I cry a little less, and it's only bad when the babies are super fussy. Then we all get into a downward spiral that only kisses and mommy's blackberry can heal.

We have had several appointments to view the house but no offers yet. The feedback has been positive so I'm comfortable that we've got it listed correctly. I just have to be patient.

The babies have graduated to their small table for meals. Occasionally I still resort to the highchair if they aren't cooperating, but it's working so far. The big kid table!

One Down

2009-10-01T21:21:00.002-04:00

So the first full day. Without Z. It pretty much sucked, but we made it. His flight left Philly yesterday evening. Thank God, my sister came down to stay with me and help with the kids, because I really needed it. We made some food for the week and gossiped about our other sister, but even that juicy bit still didn't make me feel better. And J, you know that it must be pretty bad when other people's unpleasantness doesn't cheer me up!
She stayed overnight and helped me get the babies ready in the morning. The kids were very well behaved and I was able to take a shower at 5:45 and get myself ready before we rescued them. The biggest reason I'm grateful she came was that the house just went on the market and my realtors were coming in the morning to take pictures and have a tour with the other realtors in the firm. At least I assume it's a firm. Club? Anyway, there was some last minute clutter to clean up before I left for work.
So here is where I'm always surprised by my emotions and when they can dissolve me just when I'm not paying attention. I cried in the car all the way to the baby sitter. This only shook me because I thought that the time I would be the most susceptible would be at home and at night (this is still true, I'm at home, it's night, there's wine, and I'm using blogger as therapy), not on my way to work, a place I thought (haha!) I would be safe. It didn't taper off so after I dropped the twins off I pulled out the big guns. Tori Amos. She may hate men but I'll take her sarcasm over Alanis' rage any day. Luckily I had pulled out Little Earthquakes earlier this week, probably subconsciously preparing.
So the day was difficult but I was relieved when I finally heard from Z after lunch. His flight into Mocow had been delayed and he ended up having to purchase a cell phone so he could call. He is fine, staying with his sister and heading out to the Kaluga region tomorrow. This is about two hours southwest of Moscow.
Another pleasant surprise was that my realtor called and said that two people were interested in seeing the house tonight. There was already someone booked for 7-8, but now two MORE people made appointments. I am hopeful that there is an offer, it would be wonderful to get the house sold quickly. So my babysitter and her father were wonderful enought to let us stay there and have some pizza. While we were there I happened to see the molars that have erupted on Alex's left lower side. He has been so FUSSY and tantrumy that I was beginning to think we had turned the corner on "sweet little boy" and were heading down "satan's minion" lane. I don't know how long this will last but at least I have a label. We got home at 8:30, just in time for a bottle, pajamas, Goodnight Moon (no tears this time!) and bed.
Not every day will be so easy, but I'll have to take them one at a time. If I learned anything from my maternity leave, it's that I MUST let people in and share what I'm going through, and let my friends help. Otherwise I'll be lost.

Really? That Long?

2009-09-22T20:46:00.006-04:00

Wow. It really has been a long time since I updated this blog.

I've been putting it off, really. Work has been overwhelming, and life, well, life has been exhausting. We've been preparing for a pretty big upheaval in our family. For complicated reasons Z has decided, with my full support, to return to Russia.

Sometimes your idea of how your life will turn out ends up looking completely different from what you expected. I know everyone who reads this can relate to that in some way.

Anyway, Zhenya is leaving the country on September 30th. After that it's just me and the babes. Over the past few weeks I have been alternating between DENIAL and acceptance. I'll let you guess which one has been dominant.

In the course of my short (well I think so, at least) life I have had to do many hard things. I will list them here, to make me feel better.

Joining the Army. No really. When I enlisted (1994) there was no war going on, but I had no idea how crazy that decision was until I was:
Going Through a Gas Chamber. I nearly peed my pants waiting in line for this lovely part of basic training. Never Again. Until,
I had to throw not one, but TWO, live grenades. Trust me. that sound, it's a lot louder than you would ever expect. And then,
I arrived at the Defense Language Institute and saw the Cyrillic alphabet for the first time. This is Russian? And I have to LEARN it? OK, but wait:
While stationed in Bosnia, translating a dialogue between an old woman and a bunch of Army guys. Basically her ENTIRE family had died in the war and she was all alone. She kept asking me why I wasn't married. The Army guys only wanted to know if there was any suspicious activity in the area. Which do you think she cared about more? Oh and by the way your're
Having trouble conceiving. Maybe giving yourself shots in the abdomen will help? So you can be:
Pregnant with Multiples! Oh what a blessing! This could lead to:
Post Partum Depression, ahh old friend, we meet at last!

Besides the above there are many more examples about how my life has been hard, boo-hoo. And you know what? I made it through. The past is all relative, sometimes it has nothing to do with the present at all. Everything I've ever done can only prepare me for what's to come. I can only hope it has molded me into a person who can deal with the craziness, maybe not alone, but at least with a little support.

So. If you happen to live near me, and have a spare hour or two in the evenings, stop by. On or about October 1st I might be welcoming visitors who a) love the idea of watching boy/girl twins eat dinner and b)wouldn't mind watching Survivor while I read "Goodnight Moon" to Anna and Alex.

And by the way, this is not a permanent situation. Z is coming back, if I have anything to say about it. When he's coming back, is not entirely up to us (President Obabma I'm talking to YOU). So all we can do is wait, and hope it won't be too long. The babies and I will be able to visit him as often as we can.

Winding Down

2009-08-07T13:44:00.003-04:00

We had a great week off. Trips to Amish Country ("Can I help yous with anything?") and swimming at the Y. Very relaxing.

Vacation

2009-08-03T14:48:00.004-04:00

Danger

2009-08-01T16:35:00.005-04:00

I try to leave my cell phone in a safe place at all times. Especially when my husband is a "lesson teacher." Here is what I hear from downstairs while I'm doing my hair one morning before work: "That's right, Anna, play with Mama's cell phone."

And here is what I discovered a week later, when looking through my pictures:

Lesson Learned? Probably not.

Sleeping

2009-07-10T19:26:00.004-04:00

I realize I haven't posted an update, and I really haven't had a ton of time. So, here are the highlights:

Babies have been sleeping through the night. With one exception, Anna woke up at 2 AM but we did not go to her, she was back asleep within minutes.
Bed time has been working nicely. We put both babes in the cribs between 8:30 and 9 every night with minimal fussing. The first few nights were the hardest on Alex, but he has come around nicely. Tonight and last night we bumped up bed time to between 8 and 8:30. We'll see how this plays out, this morning Anna was up at 4:30!
The naps went poorly last weekend. This I was not surprised at, but I stuck to it and no heiney's touched a bouncy seat once. Sunday afternoon seemed like the culmination of Anna's resentment. She didn't nap at all and cried for the entire hour and a half. No one was happy in our house (except Alex who slept through the whole ordeal)

So if anyone suggests they are going to start a sleep training schedule before the 4th of July holiday wish them LOTS of luck. Friday night was our local fireworks and it was so loud they sounded like they were being shot off over our house. Of course, no one woke up, thankfully.

Here's a video of Alex trying to do Fishy Lips. It ends a little abruptly, I had to edit out a certain Russian fellow walking into the frame with an extremely white pot belly showing. Not fun for anyone.

Sleeping and Birthdays

2009-07-02T11:57:00.008-04:00

I have re-started the Ferber sleep training with Anna, and have thrown poor Alex in the mix. He’s a good sleeper during the night but we’ve been lax in trying to let him go to sleep without assistance. For those of you that don't know some people refer to this as "crying it out." It's not pleasant, and if you aren't consistent you pay for it over and over again. See this post from April.

Started last night and it took a good 45 mins for both to fall asleep. Anna fell asleep first, of course, probably still a little Ferberized from the last time. Alex took longer, but in the end both babies slept through the night. Hopefully a sign of what’s to come. This time I am committed and I have Z’s support. The night before last we started letting Anna cry it out for her night wakings too. She didn’t wake up Alex, which is the biggest worry, and Z did not have as much of a problem as I thought he would (light sleeper, hmmm, wonder where she gets it). With the long weekend coming up I’m hoping to get the whole package in: naps, bedtime and sleeping through the night. Wish us luck!

The party for the babies went really well. Until it was time to nap. And when you have babies who don't nap or sleep easily then you have a problem. Hence Dr. Ferber.

Otherwise it was a great time. I had the baby pool out and everyone had fun playing and splashing. Thank goodness my daycare provider's dad lent me his canopy, it was pretty hot that day.

Cake smashing was not a big hit with them, I think both were a little tired by that time. No matter how I try to plan things, I can't account for the variables (yes, Faraday, humans!).

Here are some pics that Sandy took with her super-awesome DSLR (drool).

Happy Birthday Babies!

2009-06-26T06:59:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Anna and Alex! I can't believe the year you've had, it's gone by so quickly.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:48:00.003-04:00

In honor of his papa Alex has decided to tackle two new skills in one weekend! On Friday he stood up by himself and then Saturday started taking his first steps. It has been crazy hard to capture him walking, but I think I got one or two in this movie.
Hope all the dads out there had a good day!

Someone's Walking

2009-06-13T07:16:00.003-04:00

Anna has taken her first steps. If she wasn't already a complete handful I'd be saying something like, "Now the trouble really starts!" Right. If this is where the trouble really starts, then we are doomed.

The video isn't long, the action is towards the end.

America's Next Top Models?

2009-05-30T22:22:00.006-04:00

We took the babies for their second professional photo session. The first, in case you were wondering, was just a little over a year ago, and maybe it doesn't really count but they were there, you know. You can see those early pictures on this link.

The session was at Sears, I went on a recommendation of a coworker who took his newborn there and gave a good review. My sister J also said they did a good job so I booked them. Below are some of the highlights. We (I) ended up buying the disc, which includes all the shots plus some enhancements that were cute. That was a little pricey but it beats sitting down and picking out poses. I am so bad at that I would rather pay to sit at home with a glass of wine, look them over, ask mom and the sisters which ones they like, and get my own prints.

I took along all the props you see in the pictures. Thanks S for the balloon suggestion, it was a hit! And if any of you do this I would skip the cupcake smash. Anna wasn't interested, in the end I had to schmear some icing on her face for the close up. Alex liked it (of course, look at him) but the mess was mostly scattered around their legs and diapers, not worth the hassle of getting them undressed and then having to clean them up. Could have been that the cupcake was one of six from the Acme and it pretty much sucked.

Oh yes, Anna is standing on her own. She has been making little tiny shuffle steps with her right foot, sometimes turning in a half-circle, which is pretty cute. Alex is not standing up yet, but just yesterday he has started to crawl not on his knees but on his feet. I can tell he wants to move faster but his knees are slowing him down, poor guy.

Sweater for Anna

2009-05-23T09:34:00.003-04:00

I did it! I made a wearable item! I got a little impatient and the sweater came out a little short, but next time I can make go longer. This was also the first time I made modifications to a pattern, the bottom is supposed to curl up like the sleeves but I don't like that idea so I made it a ribbed pattern like the neck.
The best part? NO SEWING. I didn't have to sew together any of the finished pieces. This sweater is knit entirely in one piece.
It took a while, but I don't exactly have all the time in the world these days! If the color looks familiar, it's because I used the same yarn to make a hat for Alex earlier in the year. And I still have enough left to make some other projects I have in mind.

The pattern came from this blog: Soulful Hues Hobbies & Random Thoughts Thanks Shellee!

Mother's Day the First...at least it wasn't a nursing tank

2009-05-10T21:56:00.008-04:00

My first Mother's Day was pretty uneventful. My expectations were a bit high, it being my first one and all. Z got me roses, and we got take out from the best place on earth, P.F. Changs, so in all it wasn't a total loss. The part of the day that really got to me happened when I went in the restaurant to grab the take out. As I was leaving the cashier said "Happy Mother's Day!" Now, she really had no way to know I was a mother. OK, maybe I was wearing an over sized (yes, maternity) tee shirt that might have had a stain or two on it, but that is not necessarily an advertisement of motherhood. It was probably just a reflex, like saying Felize Cinco de Mayo! Completely harmless. Or at least I can say that, now that I am finally a mother. So it made me smile, and be thankful that I'm not in a place where I would have been shattered by that statement. It was more like Thanksgiving Day for me and I enjoyed immensely.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Alex not loving the grass so much.

Kung Pao, you never stood a chance.

Weakness

2009-04-17T17:09:00.004-04:00

Today was such a beautiful day, I am so glad I had the day off. Nope, the daycare provider isn't sick again, this was a planned vacation day, and I really lucked out. The babies and I took a walk around town after lunch. We stopped for an iced latte, went into Hipster Home, and visited my favorite local yarn shop, The Knitting Basket, where I dropped sixty bucks (I know, baby shoes and yarn, I have an addiction, people!).

Here is one of the yarns I bought. It's Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, the color is called Boot Camp. So J, if you're coming down on Sunday bring that sock pattern!

Right now Alex is napping it off and Anna is playing quietly, checking me every once in a while to make sure I'm still in her line of sight.

This morning Alex and Anna discovered the bowls in the kitchen cabinets. The stainless steel bowl stole the show, it makes the best noise when dropped on the floor.

When Alex is napping Anna cannot resist him. She loves to terrorize him!

A Shoe In

2009-04-15T22:17:00.003-04:00

Today my daycare had a sick day so I got to spend the day with the wigglies. I have discovered just how awesome it is to simply lay on the floor. Anna and Alex have the most fun crawling all over us, whenever Z or I are in the 'pen' with them. It's the best. So we spent the morning at home. Playing, reading, napping, all the fun stuff. After lunch we headed to the mall. It has been my mission, ever since Alex started to 'cruise' or furniture walk, to get the babies into shoes. Their socks wear out so quickly now, it's just time.

So off we went to Stride Rite. Yikes, they are pricey, but I couldn't resist. Plus they have a twin discount! 10% off. Excellent. Here is Anna showing off her new togs:

And here is Alex hanging out in the background. It's more like a tribute to my little sis, J. Hope she'll get the joke...

And because I thought the last post was a little Alex heavy, or maybe I just remember it that way, here's a rare smile from Anna.

Elements of Nerdiness

2009-04-06T22:05:00.009-04:00

I know I sound like a dork but I got a chance tonight to play with Photoshop Elements tonight and actually learned something that I'll really use! My biggest fear was spending money on a program that I wouldn't understand how to use, but the mini tutorials are really helpful. Here is one picture I played with of Alex.

Before:

And after:

It's still a little dark but I like the way I got it to look warmer. So there's more to learn but I'll have to take what I can get in one hour increments.

I took some other pics of Alex this weekend for fun.

So spiffy in his Huggies!

Here is Anna hanging out with cousin S. at Grammy's:

And as promised, a view into the new living room 'space' we've created for the babes:

Nine Months

2009-04-03T06:58:00.002-04:00

The babies had their nine month well visit last Wednesday. Overall the appointment went well. Unfortunately Z couldn’t come to this one but my daycare provider was super nice and filled in. I may be ready for certain things, like running onto a grenade range holding two live grenades to my chest (“Right handed Drill Sergeant, RIGHT HANDED!”), but dealing with two babies by myself while they get their shots is NOT one of them. It turns out I could have relaxed a bit, Anna didn’t cry when she got her shot. Such a big girl!

There’s not a whole lot to report except, WOW, I can’t believe they are nine months old already. They have officially exceeded their gestation. I’m so unbelievably busy, each day flies by. We made plans to go to the Outer Banks in August and I was worried that it was so far in advance I wouldn’t be able to wait that long, but at this rate I’ll be scrambling to get everything ready in time!

I also have a new laptop, and just installed Adobe Photoshop Elements. I’ve been playing with it tonight with some recent pictures of Anna, doing her Downward Dog Yoga move she’s been showing off lately. Alex has really taken to crawling, motoring around while Anna seems to have stalled and shifted to trying to stand up. But instead of moving to furniture to pull herself up, she’s making the attempt to get her legs under her and stand up on her own. It make take her longer that way, but she’s pretty stubborn. Meanwhile Alex has been pulling himself up everywhere possible.

With the new outbreak of mobility has come “the corral.” We bought a portable play area to set up, so now our living room looks more like a petting zoo. The results are mixed. Alex is lukewarm and Anna is leaning towards a veto. Shocking. I’ll have to post some pictures of it later, I don’t have any downloaded just yet. I’m still in denial that it exists.

Below is the picture I’ve been working on in Elements. At this point I don’t even know what I did, but I loved using all the different tools.

An update on Anna’s sleep training: on target. There’s a bit of fussing during the first ten minutes, I think that may always happen, but overall it worked. I had two experienced moms tell me it would, and I’m glad I finally put my foot down and tried it. While talking to my sister I told her the best thing to come out of it (for me) is the validation in parenting. Some people might argue that point, sleep training isn’t for everyone, but it was the best thing I could do for my family and for Anna. And the biggest roadblock of all, Z, said to me, “You know, she’s crying less now,” pause, “you’re right to do this, I’m proud of you.” It may sound like he’s being patronizing, but it’s just his style of speech. This was a big deal for him to say, and for me to hear. Out loud.

So to end on a lighter note, in the post below is a video of Anna that makes my day every time I watch it.

Banana Ball

2009-04-02T21:45:00.004-04:00

Lucky Eights

2009-03-23T12:08:00.002-04:00

So it looks like I have good blog Karma (furiously knocking on wood). I was worried that blogging about progress would bring bad luck (Ok, there was alot of complaining, too). On night eight of sleep training Anna went into her crib awake, but a little drowsy. She fussed while I was holding her a bit, but when I left the room there wasn't any crying at all. It felt fantastic.

In other news, Alex has started crawling! And he is very good at it, much quicker than Anna. When she started, Anna wasn't much interested in leaving the loosely defined 'play area' we have set up in the living room. Not Alex, he's much more interested in where mommy went (the kitchen) or what's under the changing table (harmless nursing pillow) and what could possibly be up those steps (certain death).

Cursing

2009-03-20T09:14:00.003-04:00

Ferber is my new four letter word. So is ‘crib-lowering,’ ‘night-light,’ ‘bumper-removing,’ ‘teething,’ and ‘transitioning-to-solid-foods.’ All at the same time. It’s the less than perfect storm.

We have started to put Anna through sleep training, to get her to go to sleep easier at night. Starting out was extremely difficult, she is a very willful half-Russian child. By the time she is two she will know all the right buttons to push on both parents. Easily. The first two nights was ten minute increments. Ten minutes can really be a lifetime. Really. In between was two minutes of patting, singing, and general worrying/calming. And no holding or picking up (the horror!). She is already used to that aspect, when we go into her room during the night if she is has woken up it is usually to give her back her pacifier and pat her some to help her fall asleep again. Night 1 lasted for an hour and a half. Night 2 lasted for 30 minutes. Nights 3 and 4 she fell asleep during the bottle portion of the pajamas, bottle, story, cuddle, off to bed routine. Night 5 was a bump up to 15 minute increments and lasted exactly 15 minutes. I was just about to go up to her when she stopped crying and fell asleep. Night 6 was a repeat of night 5, just as I was about to go up to her she stopped crying. And night 7 was a very short 4 minute cry/moan/whine. I’d like to say it’s getting better, but I don’t feel that way. Sure, the times are decreasing, I can see that. But the intensity is still the same. The crying, oh, the crying. It reaches into my stomach and pulls it out though my soul (see the button-pushing reference above). Melodramatic? You bet your ass. I earned it.

At the same time all this is going on both babies have become very good at sitting up on their own and are making lame attempts at pulling themselves up. Neither has managed to make it more than an inch off their bottom, but it necessitates taking off the bumpers of both cribs and lowering the mattress platforms down to a safer level. I think this has thrown Alex off his game, with the night-light next to his crib it’s now very bright. I have covered the light so it doesn’t shine right on him but he is still waking up during the night, which is very unusual for him. It could also be teething, but with all these things happening at one time it’s hard to be sure. The first night without the bumpers on poor Anna woke up screaming because her arm and/or foot was caught in the bars. I say “arm or foot” because it was not me who jumped out of bed like a madman and ran down to make sure she was ok, it was Z. And don’t think I didn’t get an earful about this, and the lost pacifier that fell out of the crib and bounced all the way down to the China, and the fact that our poor son was being blinded by the ‘bright-as-the-sun’ night light. Luckily for me child services wasn’t called in for such negligence. But cooler heads prevailed the next morning, or should I say, my cold shoulder prevailed the next morning. I am a good example of why you shouldn’t go to bed angry; I don’t forget about it the next day.

And what can I say about the transition to solid foods? Trying to think of a meal plan for two adults is hard enough, now I have to factor two babies into the equation? Damn. Does this mean Z and I have to really start eating vegetables? At the table?!??! It was so much simpler when…oh hell. It was never simple, who am I trying to kid? One of my challenges is how to tell when they’ve had enough, or if I’m giving them enough variety. And I don’t think I’m ready for them to feed themselves. Oh God the mess! If I spoon feed them through elementary school, would that be too weird?

Yesterday Z and I had to go into the city to take care of a few things. Needless to say the babies got a little rowdy waiting for papa to finish up. Here is a shot of me (unamused) trying to keep Alex amused. What you can't see is that he has no pants on due to the fact that he pooped out of them (for the second time that day!) and I had no more spares for him. It was a lovely day.

Every Day Something New

2009-02-26T10:08:00.005-05:00

Anna has gotten her first tooth. Finally. I haven't spotted it yet but I feel it. She is so squirmy that I can't get a good look. I'll have to wait a bit.

Right on the heels of the first tooth came the dreaded first colds. At eight months, I think we waited long enough. I picked up the babies last Friday from daycare and Alex had a runny nose. "oh boy, he's never had that before." That's what ran through my head. And sure enough, all night Friday he was up hourly, crying and complaining and snuffly. All day Saturday was tissue patrol, and blue sucky thing from the hospital, and loud angry protests from a very sensitive nose. Then Anna woke up with congestion on Sunday morning. Ugh. Fortunately Alex was perking up and slept well Sunday night, but Anna was up most of the night and Z and I took shifts staying up with her. More blue sucky thing, more tissue swiping. More snot than I've seen in a long time. Monday was recovery, Alex went to daycare and Mommy and Anna stayed home, making beef stew and napping. By now everyone seems back to normal. Their noses are still runny but they seem to have a lot more energy.

Last night Anna sat up for the first time. It was so unexpected, and really, I don't know when the milestones are supposed to happen, I really can't keep up. One minute she was rolling around on the floor, doing the army crawl here and there, and the next minute she was sitting up! It's possible that she should have been doing that long already, but the feeling I got when I saw her do it, it was as if she had... I don't know, brought home her first paycheck? I think the reason I was so surprised and proud was that she hadn't been showing any 'sitting-up' tendencies or making any attempts to do it that I or day care have seen.
Okay, that was way too many words spent talking about sitting up. Tonight Grammy comes to visit! She hasn't seen the babies since Christmas so I'm heading out to the outlets today for some spiffy baby gear. Anna needs new clothes anyway, I'm really pushing the limits of the six month outfits. The pants are turning into capris!

Anyway, I was playing around with the movie making software on my computer and made this video. It's rough, but I'm putting together ideas for a video to make for Alex and Anna's first birthday. I've never posted a video, I hope it works. If not, don't worry, you're not missing much.

A Full Weekend

2009-02-08T21:55:00.007-05:00

We had a nice three-day weekend, my babysitter needed Friday off so I put in for a vacation day. It happened to fall in the same week as the Philly Auto Show and we all headed into the city. There are no pics, however. I just wasn't feeling up to it, and I didn't see any fun cars to sit the kids or myself in for a shot. It was still a nice distraction for us all.

On Saturday Alex wasn't himself so we decided to keep him home from swimming lessons. I went with Anna, and I'm so used to packing for two kids that I don't know how to pack any other way. There was the car seat, the diaper bag, my wallet, the beach bag for the towels and my stuff. What the hell? I felt like I was going for a sleepover, not 25 minutes in the pool!

After that I was on my own with the babies for most of Saturday. With Alex's fussiness/borderline obnoxiousness I was stretched thin by the time Z got home. The highlight of the day was Anna getting up on her hands and knees, ready to zoom off. It was so fun to watch, I held my breath because I didn't want to scare her if I yelled. She didn't actually go anywhere, but it'll be any day now. Go baby!

Then Sunday morning Anna had another first. She managed to get a Cheerio in her mouth and chewed on it for the first time! I've been putting Cheerios on the high chairs for a few weeks now, but mostly it's been a lot of pushing around the tray. Today Anna got one in a couple times. Go baby! (Again!)

Around lunch time I decided to try to take some nice pictures. My makeshift backdrop (the bedsheet) makes me a little sad when I look at them, but one day I'll have Photoshop or iPhoto (wink wink!) and get them edited a little better. Until then I'll have to be satisfied with what I get, but I'm thinking they came out pretty good for a point and shoot digital!

Getting Out of the House

2009-01-30T18:19:00.004-05:00

I've learned so far that winters are going to be a real challenge when you're stuck inside with two kids. Since it's gotten colder our weekends have consisted of trying to find places that are friendly to families with double strollers: swimming lessons at the YMCA, the King of Prussia Mall, IKEA, my mom's place, the King of Prussia Mall. You get the idea. Right now the babies are still at an age where we can take them out without complete chaos going down, but that won't last for long. This past weekend we went to the Mall and hung out in the food court, where it took Z and I approximately two hours to 1) order our food (me alone while he watched the kids) 2) to eat our food 3) play with/feed/keep from crying/entertain/photograph the babies.

Here are some pics from our day.

Relaxing at Home

Six Months, Christmas, Swimming, Teeth

2009-01-10T13:02:00.004-05:00

It's been so long since I've posted I don't know where to start. Plus I don't have much time, both the babies and Z are taking a nap. Who knows how long the quiet will last.

First, Christmas. It was very nice, and a dramatic difference from last year, where I could barely make the meal and had an even tougher time eating it and keeping it down! The babies had a nice time, especially when we had all the family together. Our little house was packed, we may have to move the celebration north next year.

The day after Christmas we discovered that Alex had two teeth coming in! And he's so laid back about it we had no idea. Anna, on the other hand, has no teeth and seems to be very sensitive to the teething process. I expect she'll have one coming soon enough.

Our six-month well visit was the week of New Year's. It was a nice appointment, no surprises. Alex weighs 20 pounds, while Anna weighed in at 15. It's a difference I notice every time I pick up his car seat to lift him into the mini van. They had immunizations at the appointment, and both cried. Anna took very little effort to console, surprisingly, but Alex got so upset that he got a red spotty rash around his face. It went away quickly but made us all nervous for a bit.

Finally, today was our fist swimming lesson! Anna took to it easily, but she always loved her baths. Alex was on the fence, and only at the end, when papa played peek-a-boo with him, did he really laugh and have fun. Both Z and I had a great time, too. My only complaint is the crazy timing. Who wants to shave their legs in January? Sheesh.

Santa!!!

2008-11-30T16:40:00.003-05:00

Today was Pictures with Santa day! Anna was taking a nap and woke up just before this picture was taken. There were a few shots in the beginning where it looked like Santa had slipped her some children's Benadryl because her head was slumped over completely. I actually wish we had opted for one of those pictures instead. They were so funny I couldn't stop laughing. Unlike Sandy's experience (you can check it out here http://thehardels.blogspot.com/) we managed to get our two kids looking in the general vicinity of the camera. At least you blocked the view of Santa's water bottle, Sandy!

I'm glad we went with Sandy and her family, it was a great way to kick off the holiday madness.

We walked around the mall for a bit after this and ran into another couple with 7 week-old boy/girl twins. As I chatted with them I remembered that when Alex and Anna were that age both Z and I were very hesitant to take them out at all, so I had to congratulate them. Especially on such a miserable rainy day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T17:09:00.003-05:00

A belated happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had a great time at my mom's house. My sister J. made an untraditional dinner of roast chicken, which was delicious. I also test drove my mom's Kodak camera based on feed back from Auntie C when I asked her opinion on a Digital SLR camera. I have a Nikon S52C, it's a slender point and shoot which takes decent pics and video, but I may have to upgrade it to one with nicer options after using my mom's.

Last month I bought some nice yarn and a knitting pattern book for easy baby clothes. I finished the Ribby Hat pattern on Thursday night. Alex is wearing it in the picture below. I'm thinking about tackling a V-Neck sweater pattern next. Babies are doing very well. Anna is still not sleeping through the night and is having a very tough time falling back asleep without one of us putting her pacifier back after it pops out. I thought I had found a solution last Sunday when I put her to sleep on her stomach and she slept all night. This did not last long and by the end of the week she is back to where she was before. She is doing very well with eating. I have been feeding them every evening and so far she loves everything, except peaches. Alex, interestingly enough, does not care for anything I give him. I keep trying, however. Alex rolled over completely from back to front Thankgiving day, a first for the little guy! Too bad daddy was snoozing and didn't see it. Z did get a chance to see it the next day, and was just as excited about it.

We bought the Baby Einstein bouncer last week and the babies are really digging it. It occupies them for a good thirty minutes at a time. I'm hoping they get a lot of use out of it, I checked other bounces and exer-saucers and the reviews said a lot of the babies grew out of them quickly, but some had this one a long time.

Sorry about the link to the Russian Facebook in a previous post. I didn't know you have to sign up to get in there. Incidentally, I just signed up for Facebook, so if you have an account add me as a friend. I don't have many.

365

2008-11-11T21:25:00.004-05:00

One year ago today I peed on a stick and saw a positive pregnancy test for the first time in my life. Watching the liquid (yes, pee) soak up into the test window I prepared myself the same way I always did: expecting a negative. My sister told me a year before that about her sister-in-law and how her pregnancy test showed positive IMMEDIATELY and there was no question about the outcome. I never failed to recall that story for each of the six or so negative home pregnancy tests I held in my hand, squinting my eyes, thinking, well, maybe if I wait another minute it might change.

So when my test didn't immediately indicate my 'condition' I was a little hesitant when I started to notice a plus sign appearing, very faintly. It never did show up completely, so I pessimistically informed Z, "well, it could be the hcg booster I had over 10 days ago." For those of you that don't know, hcg is the hormone that can be detected in a home pregnancy test. If an hcg booster shot is not out of your system completely you can get a false positive. I was well outside the threshold, but I was not about to be burned by happiness of all things. Why was I given an hcg booster, you ask? That's a post for another day, but not today, today if for happy memories.

My emotions were all over the place. I had to fly out to Charlotte that evening with co-workers and pretend like the biggest event in my life up to now wasn't happening. Anyway, some smart ones figured it out. Could it be because I felt I had to buy more pregnancy tests and take one every morning? They were all positive, so by the time I got back and had an official blood test at the doctors I knew I was pregnant. It would be another 5 days until I found out I was carrying multiples, when my upside down emotional state went for another wild ride.
So here it is, forever immortalized in jpeg format. A day I'll never forget. If I squint just so I swear it looks like it's giving me the finger.

Russian Facebook?

2008-11-06T20:56:00.002-05:00

My husband discovered the Russian version of Facebook recently and has been having a blast. He posted some pictures and a lot of his friends and relatives have contacted him. I think it is hilarious.
Check out the site:
http://www.odnoklassniki.ru/user/249898223221

The site is completely in Russian, but you'll get the gist of it. The best part is that his mom called me tonight to rave about seeing the pictures. I'm trying to get them to come here to this blog, hopefully now they'll cruise over.

BabyWare

2008-11-03T20:16:00.005-05:00

I inherited/stole some of my mom's silverware. I can't remember if it was before I went back to college, before I got married, or after I moved back home to PA. Whenever the date (I'm leaning towards between getting married and moving to Seattle) I like the pattern. It's Paul Revere from Oneida, a very simple pattern that my mom happened to own around 50 settings of. Well, let's say she had some to spare. I remember an oversized mug that had a virtual boquet of teaspoons, with some beautiful iced tea spoons for dramatic effect poking out here and there.

So for some reason or other I was on the Oneida website looking at patterns while I was on maternity leave. Clearly I didn't have enough to do, with all that time to cruise the internet. Anyway, I looked up the Paul Revere pattern and found that this pattern also comes with an infant and children's set. At the time I made a mental note to look for it in the local Premium Outlets, which has an Oneida outlet store.

I finally made it out there and remember to look, and found the set! I'm very excited about them. Here is a picture. I cannot get it to rotate, so I know it looks odd.

So I'm happy to say that all my silverware matches. It will come in very handy, as the babies are doing pretty well eating their foods.

First Halloween

2008-11-02T14:30:00.005-05:00

Alex and Anna's first Halloween was probably more fun for Z and I than it was for the two of them. Every time I put Anna in her costume I could not help but laugh, she looked hilarious. So did Alex. We did not walk the neighborhood, instead Z and I dressed up the babies and sat out on the front step handing out candy and showing off. It was a nice night and there were plenty of people out, we had a great time.

The four month well baby visit to the pediatrician went very well last week. Alex weighed 16 lbs. and Anna 13. They received their shots with appropriate crankiness and crying but recovered very nicely. We discussed starting solid foods and I have been trying out the rice cereal, but so far it has been a mixed bag. Alex is not taking to it, and it's hard to tell with Anna. She doesn't make a face or cry, like Alex, but she does spit some out so I don't know how much actually makes it to her stomach. I'll keep trying, in any case.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Maternity Photos

2008-10-26T10:02:00.005-04:00

About four weeks ago I finally sat down at the computer and went through the proofs from my maternity photo session. I had really been putting it off, because I didn't have the patience to sift through over 170 pictures to find 'just the right one'. I sort of didn't have the time, either. I chose 3, plus one formal shot to send over to the relatives in Russia. One is a black and white belly shot I want to have professionally framed to hang in the babies room. There is another belly shot I really liked and the third is one of Z and I. We don't have a nice photo of just the two of us so I thought it would be nice to have.

It was really hard to choose, but I think I got some nice ones.

The babies have been doing really well. A week after I went back to work Alex started sleeping through the night. Just having one of them sleeping all night has been wonderful, I had no idea what a difference it would make. And when I say sleeping through the night I mean in the crib by 9:30 and having to go in and get him at 7 AM. Now, he doesn't sleep all night, but he doesn't cry for one of us to come get him. If he wakes up he can soothe himself back to sleep by sucking his thumb. Anna, on the other hand, is up several times a night. She needs the pacifier to soothe herself, and once she can find it and put it back in herself she may start going longer stretches without crying. Soon she will be old enough that we could try letting her Cry it Out, but Z and I have conflicting opinions on this issue. He is against it. I think all he needs are some ear plugs and he'll change his mind. He's a very light sleeper. And a softie.

Last Thursday the babies turned 16 weeks old. The last month has gone by so fast I can hardly believe it. Next week is their 4 month well check and immunizations. I'm not really looking forward to it, but it's fun to see how much they've grown since the last visit.

Oh, I should put a plug in for the photographer who did my maternity session. Jamie at Epic Photography. The website is www.epic-photos.com. She was really great.

Even Longer Overdue Update

2008-09-06T20:05:00.006-04:00

As my maternity leave gets closer and closer to ending I can't help but feel almost every emotion possible. Mostly, however, I am excited. That probably disappoints some people, especially if you don't know me personally. You might say I would feel differently if I had one baby to fuss over, take everywhere, and rock to sleep at night but you would be wrong.

Well, call me on my first day back at work and the story could go a little differently. I would consider it a success if I make it through the day without crying.

The past 3 months have been a complete blur. There have been times when I couldn't remember what I did the day before. Or even what day it was. It has been a blend of babies, diapers, bottles and spit up, and I can tell you honestly that the time has both flown by and crawled, a phenomenon I didn't know could exist.

Here's why we're all better off after I go back to work. Energy. After being away from Alex and Anna I will be energized. Now I know I'll be tired after being at work all day and getting up with babies at night, but that won't last forever and I won't have to worry about baby burn out. I love them with all I have, but I worry that I'm not appreciating the small miracles I witness every day and that makes me sad. I trust my day care provider and have confidence that she will take very good care of them.

An update on the babies:

So far they are sleeping for longer stretches at night. This just started recently and I am very relieved. The only problem is that they are not enjoying the crib as much as their bouncy seats. This is probably due to the fact that Alex is moving around and we found him one night so close to Anna that they were hitting each other with their flailing little fists, producing two very alert and unhappy babies. The second crib will be set up tomorrow.

Also, Alex has doubled his birth weight. He got up to 12 lbs. at the two month check up. Anna is up to 10 lbs.

Alex

Anna

Long Overdue Update

2008-07-16T09:51:00.003-04:00

I still am finding it hard to believe that everything has changed so quickly. There's no going back, not that I would ever want to. It's been over two weeks since we all came home from the hospital, and it has been a haze of feeding, diaper changing, crying (me and the babies), and general survival mode.

The first visit to the Pediatrician was less than fun. Anna lost weight (1/2 oz.) and Alex stayed the same. Not necessarily bad things but babies born early need to gain weight steadily. So we powered up the feedings and on the next visit both had put on weight beautifully and have been doing well ever since. Our next appointment is the one month well baby visit in two weeks.

They have been behaving very nicely so far. There are the occasional fussy moments but in general they eat, take a nap, get up to eat, and nap again. I'm very lucky. The worst is when they get off schedule, I know, what baby can't stick to a schedule? Especially at night, when I can be up every 1 1/2 hours on a rotating feeding schedule. It gets better, right? Right!?

Let's see, so far the milestones we have been able to check off:

Umbilical cords falling off - check
First bath - check
First Pediatrician appt (and second and third for weights) - check
First spit up on mommy and daddy - check
First diaper blow out - check

I have found a day care provider after a panicked search. She will watch the babies in her home with two other children, which is what sold me. I don't like the idea of a large day care with lots of kids passing around colds. It is also conveniently located on my way to work. After meeting with her it really hit me that I will eventually have to drop my children off with someone every morning and leave them. I wasn't anticipating how strongly I would feel about that, this is all still so new to me.

I'm trying to take lots of pictures but at this point there is very little awake time so the pics are all pretty much the same. Here is a picture my sister took this past weekend.

And here is another one of me and Alex taking a snooze on the couch.

Twenty Fingers Twenty Toes

2008-07-04T13:50:00.004-04:00

Anna.Eugenia.Churilov was born at 7:29 PM on Thursday, June 26, 2008. She weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. and in perfect health.

Alexander.Eugene.Churilov was born at 8:12 PM on Thursday, June 26, 2008. He weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and also came out in great shape.

It was a crazy day. I always thought I would know labor when it was happening but I really had no idea. My water broke early on Thursday morning, around 6:30 AM and I thought it could be something else so I called to make an appointment with the OB at 10:45 instead of going to the hospital. It was confirmed that my membranes ruptured and I was admitted to the hospital around 11:30.

My cervix was dilated to 3 cm at 1:45 but contractions were not strong enough so pitocin was started to speed things up a bit. Meanwhile Alex was behaving very nicely in a head down position but I was prepped for a C-Section just in case.

At 3:30 I was offered an epidural since the anesthesiologist was on the floor with another patient. The pain was not too intense at this point but you never know when those guys come around again, so I said "Yes Please!"

The pitocin was upped every fifteen minutes until at 6:25 PM my cervix was dilated to 9 1/2 cm. A last check on Alex to make sure he was staying vertex and I was wheeled into a delivery OR to start pushing.

I was ready and prepped by 7:00 PM, and a half an hour later my baby girl was in my arms. Alex took a little longer because he had so much room, but he cooperated and got in a good place and 40 minutes later Z cut his cord.

I was in the hospital an extra day due to some hemmoraghing but all came home together and are doing well. As you can imagine it has been chaos, thanks to everyone for their well wishes. I will try to update more often in the coming weeks on our progress.

Proud Papa in Scrubs

Alex and Anna

35 Weeks

2008-06-17T12:30:00.003-04:00

As you can see, I'm slowly outgrowing my clothes. It's sad, I really liked this green shirt.
Since I took that little trip last week to the hospital things have been very quiet. I haven't felt a lot of contractions, just one or two here and there.
On Wednesday I went to a meet and greet at the pediatrician's office a friend referred us to. It was a chance to meet the doctors in the practice and ask questions. I really liked them and will be taking the twins there. Thanks for the recommendation Sandy!
Today I had an OB appointment for a baby check. Blood pressure and urine dip were both fine. Total weight gain so far is 48 pounds. My cervix, however, has finally started to make it's move. I am currently 80% effaced and 1 cm. dilated. The doctor and nurse were very excited, but I'm a little nervous. Maybe because I can't believe it could start any day now. I should say I was ok until my sister pointed out that you don't go from 100% effaced down to zero, you start at zero and go to 100%. Probably something I should have known, huh?

Baby A is still head down, but baby B has moved to a breech position. They are very conservative here when it comes to a breech presentation, especially for first time mothers. If he does not move down I will have a c-section. I'm OK with that, as long as both babes come out healthy it doesn't matter to me how they get here.
So I still have some things to do, like pack my bag for the hospital. We have the major things covered: nursery, done; car seats, done; baby clothes washed, done; all bottle paraphenalia sterilized, done. I even remembered to pre-register at the hospital.
Well, I'll keep everyone updated on my progress. Wish me luck!

Four AM Field Trip

2008-06-09T18:06:00.003-04:00

A trip to the hospital is a good way to start off my 34th week, don't you think? No, me neither. I started feeling contractions and cramping on Sunday evening, plus I had an upset stomach. The contractions were about 10-12 minutes apart, but some of them were actually a little painful, which is a new thing for me. It went on for about two hours, and after a lot of water and laying down things got quieter and I went to sleep.
Then this morning at 3AM I woke up feeling a small contraction. I went to the bathroom, drank some more water and laid down. I felt another and looked at the clock to see if they could be timed. Then I felt another one pretty quickly and looked at the clock again. Five minutes. OK. I waited, and felt another. Again, five minutes. At this point I don't want to second guess myself so I called the doctor, who told me to go the hospital for some monitoring.
When we got to the hospital at 4:30 I was no longer feeling regular contractions (of course) but they hooked me up to a monitor and checked my cervix just in case. My cervix was closed but I was still having intermittent contractions so they started an IV. About an hour later they gave me a small shot of terbutaline, which is a drug that will calm the uterus down but the side effects are an elevated heart rate and jitteriness. It was not as bad as I expected, and did its job to quiet the contractions, and I was discharged an hour later.
I felt bad for my mom, who came down for lunch on her day off, and we couldn't go out anywhere. We ended up having grilled cheese and tomato soup (on a ridiculously hot day! still delicious), watching TV and chatting.
So far I have been feeling much better. Still drinking water, and now it's time to get back to laying down.

Week 33

2008-06-07T11:33:00.003-04:00

I should have clarified in my last post that I was at the end of my 32nd week. My weeks change over on Sundays, so today is the end of my 33rd week.
Anyway, this week was the level II ultrasound to check on the babies. I have no pictures, because both babies have been pretty shy about having their picture taken. Not shy about kicking, bladder-sitting and rib-whacking, however.
The ultrasound went well with no surprises. Baby A is weighing in at 4 lbs. 7 oz. Her heart rate was good, fluid and placenta looked perfect. She is still presenting head down.
Baby B's weight is 4 lbs. 10 oz. His stats were also very nice, and it looks like he's making a move toward head down, but I can't be sure. The perinatologist was not in to review the scans, he had some family emergency, but if there were a problem I would have heard something by now. I have an OB appointment on Tuesday and they will do another ultrasound to check the position.
I also had another Non-Stress Test on Wednesday. Results were fine, both babies managed to stay on the monitors so I didn't have to hold anything in place. My uterus, however, was irritable enough that they checked my cervix just to be safe. Of course it was closed, I think my traitorous uterus is trying to send me a message.
Overall the week was fine. In the beginning of the week I was struggling with heartburn and nausea still, but it seems to have calmed down some. At least the nausea is gone. For now. The babies have been moving so much lately. I thought that the more cramped they got in there the less movement I would feel, but that theory has not panned out. This morning I woke up at 2:30 and could not fall back asleep, that's how much they were moving. The location of the movements has also changed. I'm feeling them much lower now, which makes me wonder if Baby B has shifted from being across my abdomen to either head up or head down. I'm sure there'll be a lot of shifting between now and the final weeks, so I'll have to just wait and see.
This weekend is going to be really hot here on the east coast. Everyone stay cool and drink plenty of water!

Week 32

2008-05-31T21:20:00.002-04:00

This week was my thirty-second week, and I have a lot of catching up to do. There were three appointments this week, well, technically two, since one of them occurred last week but I didn't have a chance to post about it.
First was a consultation with one of the Neonatologists at the NICU in the hospital where I'll be delivering. This was basic protocol recommended by my OB, to be prepared if one or both of the babies ended up there. Overall she was very positive about my situation after she reviewed my history. She went over what basic events would land the babies in the NICU, what would happen while they were there, generally, and what 'tests' they need to pass in order to go home or go to the well-baby nursery. The bottom line is that twins born 35 weeks or farther that weigh more then 4.5 lbs. will have a good chance of skipping the NICU if there are no other complications. We are very close. I'll know what the babies weigh this Monday, when I go for my next level II ultrasound.
The next appointment was with the OB for my routine check-up. Blood pressure was good, 120/68, I think. It was good enough to get a comment out of the girl who took it, she was surprised that it would be so good after a holiday. Guess that means I didn't pig out. I did gain a bit more than I expected since my last appointment. Six pounds, which brings total weight gain so far to 43 lbs. This was not commented on by the doctor, so I'll try not to worry about it. I think I am being lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that I don't have any stretch marks yet. It may be a matter of time, but it is enough to distract me from all the weight I've gained. There was a quick ultrasound to see the heartbeats and the positions of the babies. Same as before, baby A is head down and baby B is doing whatever he pleases. This prompted a discussion of which potential mode of delivery I'm in for, and the doctor puts me at a 50% chance of either a c-section or vag delivery. OK, wait and see.
The third appointment was the first of my Non-Stress Tests, which begin weekly until delivery. One monitor for each baby and one for my uterus. The babies were tricky and the nurse had to hold the monitors in place to keep the babies on. They were fine, of course. My uterus, however, was 'irritable.' Wouldn't you be, too? I was sent home with instructions to take it easy and drink more water. Ugh, I'm really getting tired of water. When I was in basic training we would have to drink an entire canteen full of water after PT every morning, as fast as possible. To prove we drank it all we had to hold it upside down over our heads, showing it was empty. I kind of feel like that.
Overall I am doing ok. I have started to get the dreaded swelling in my hands and feet, especially on humid days, and my joints have started to ache, especially in my fingers. Heartburn is waking me up during the night, making Tums a permanent fixture on my nightstand. I feel like I'm getting bigger every day, and more physically tired.
We are very close to having the nursery finished. The crib and the dresser/changing table are set up. I will post pictures when it is more presentable.

Baby Shower Finale

2008-05-20T11:44:00.013-04:00

Sisters M and J really went all out for my shower on Sunday. You can see by all the goodies I got in the picture that everyone who came just really blew me away. It was so unexpected (emotionally).

We started out by opening all the gifts and then went to eat. J made enchiladas and spanish rice, M made hot roast beef sandwiches. There was also chips and dips. The cake was two-layer chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting. Oh it was all so good.

Hippos!

The best baby blankets in the world from Auntie C

Thanks so much D! There's nothing like a brand new mom to make sure you get what you need!

Can you tell we're sisters?

Mom and Me

The cake was delicious!

Thanks to everyone who came, it was a fantastic day.

The Big 3-0

2008-05-11T11:13:00.002-04:00

30 weeks. And I'm starting to feel every one of them. So far I have been home on modified bed rest for a whole week. Thankfully they have been able to allow me to work from home on a part-time basis supporting a project, so I haven't gone completely insane. I am proud to say that so far I haven't watched one soap opera, but I have watched at least a hundred or so episodes of Bringing Home Baby, A Baby Story, Amazing Births, Special Delivery and The Baby Diaries. Notice a theme here?

My OB appointment on Tuesday went well.

Blood Pressure was fine. Urine dip was fine. Cervix was fine, again, thank you very much. Total weight gain is at 40 lbs. I asked what the chances were of me avoiding a C-Section because baby A is in the right position right now, even though baby B is not cooperating (men). It turns out the answer is mixed. There are two doctors in the practice who are experienced delivering breech babies. Among the rest of them are doctors who have some experience and doctors who have none at all. So I guess there could be a lot of surprises on the big day. I don't have my heart set either way, both avenues are equally traumatic, I'd just like to know what I'm in for. Luckily for my next appointment in two weeks I'll be seeing one of the two old school doctors, he is also the same doctor who did my Hysterosalpingogram last year (if you are one of my male co-workers I would advise against googling that phrase, for your own sake). We'll have so much to reminisce about.

My sister M gave me a Maternity Support thingy back in February when she came for a visit. It has become my new BFF. When I first saw it I honestly thought I wouldn't need it. Why did I think that? Maybe because I've never been pregnant with twins before and could not have been more naive. I didn't know how to use it so I had to go online, hoping I could find their website for some info. If you do go to the website (this one is safe, male co-workers) you'll see they have step by step pictures and even a video! Turns out I was trying to put it on backwards. The funniest thing is that the pictures of the women look like they were taken in 1974. And I know for a fact that Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet yet. Also the claim that it can't be seen under your clothing is a flat out lie. Unless you're wearing a mu mu or clothes from 1974. Anyway it is comfortable and I feel much better. Thank you so much, M.

Baby Check

2008-05-05T20:24:00.002-04:00

Today was another Level II ultrasound, which I have every 4 weeks to check that the babies are growing at the correct rate. Here are the details:

Baby A

Heart Rate = 144 bpm
Weight = 3.0 lbs
Percentile = 60th
Fluid = perfect
Placenta = also perfect
Position = Vertex (head down)

Baby B

Heart Rate = 138 bpm
Weight = 3 lbs 4 oz.
Percentile = I don't remember very well becuase it seemed too high to really believe, it was above 70, I know that
Fluid = perfect
Placenta = also perfect
Position = Transverse, still right across the top of my uterus

Cervix is well behaved, closed and long.

Z went with me to this appointment, he hasn't been to an ultrasound since January, so it was time he went. However, thanks to him and his silly questions we now know that the babies' heads are a bit larger than average. We did not get an actual size becuase the ultrasound tech did not want to make me "nervous." I may be in a good position to get out of a c-section, but at what price, I ask you, what price? You can bet that head size did NOT come from my side of the family. Thanks a bunch, Z.

He may not be joining me for my next appointment, which is scheduled for June 2nd.

Also, a nurse came to the house to go over signs and symptons of preterm labor. She covered the usual topics to look out for, which I have read about in all the books. I don't mind, the more I hear it the better, I learn by repetition. Incidentally, she is the same nurse who will be giving the birthing class I signed up for.

Tomorrow is an O/B appointment, which are now every two weeks.

Wow!

2008-05-02T11:17:00.005-04:00

On Wednesday they threw a baby shower for me at work. It was so amazing, I was completely overwhelmed. My team put it together and everyone really went above and beyond for me. Of course, not liking to be the center of attention I did everything I could to subconsiously sabotage the entire thing. It should have been at 2:30 in the afternoon, when a sneaky department meeting was scheduled, and I had been feeling my entire abdomen tighten up all morning about every 13 or 14 minutes. Since I was stopping at the OB's office at lunch to pick up some paperwork I thought I'd ask them about it, just to be safe. They scheduled an appointment for me to come in and by the time I was done I was over in the hospital having a non-stress test.

Everything turned out fine, probably just dehydration or stress, so needless to say I was an hour and a half late for my own shower!

When I got home Z helped me stack up all the gifts on the table and we took some pictures. He was so shocked and surprised by everything, he couldn't believe it. I do work with a lot of great people, I'm pretty lucky!

Here is the cake:

Who's excited? I AM!

And here is the spread at home:

Who loves cake? Z DOES!

Thanks so much to everyone there, it was really pretty awesome! A perfect way to start my maternity leave, which began on Thursday.

Baby Check

2008-04-24T05:11:00.003-04:00

The OB appointment on Tuesday went well. At 27 weeks my blood pressure is normal and total weight gain is 33 pounds. There wasn't any reference to my weight gain, positive or negative, so I will assume all is good in that area and plan my next lunch accordingly. Meatball parm at Corropolese? I passed the glucose screening test on April 7, more good news. Hmm, maybe spaghetti? No protein or elevated sugars in my urine, either.
The ultrasound revealed two healthy semi-smushed babies. No pics this time. Baby girl is still head-down, I'm hoping she'll get stuck in that position for the duration. Baby boy is all over the place, and not head down, so we'll have to wait and see what he does. My next peek at them will be May 5th for the next Level II.
So the appointment went smoothly until the inevitable question came up, "So, did you pick a date to stop working?" In my mind the answer goes something like, "When my water breaks?" But I know this is the wrong answer so I hedged. For those of you who don't know, my OB's twin protocol in a healthy no-complications pregnancy is to stop working at 28 weeks and go on modified bed rest. They had a very compelling argument. Yes, not only do I see a doctor at my appointments but also the Perinatal Nurse Coordinator is there, too. Presumably so they can gang up on me in a situation like this. Words like NICU, CPAP, preterm labor, horrible guilt if I do keep working and something goes wrong, did convince me. I am not a doctor, and I'm sure my aunt who was a baby nurse for many years (yes, yes C. I know you had an official title) would agree.
Needless to say I will be stopping work very soon. For those of you who I work with you will find out very soon when that date is, as will my family. The good news is that there is a possibility I can go back to work at 32 weeks if everything is going well. By that time I will be past the dangerous point of going into pre-term labor, but nothing is guaranteed so I'll have to wait and see.

Welcome to Suburban Yuppie Life!

2008-04-21T18:03:00.003-04:00

Yes, we finally did it. After much debate and many tears (mine) Z and I decided we would have to BUY A MINI-VAN. It only made sense, having to pull two infant buckets out of a four door sedan and not being able to take anyone else in the car with us ever, plus needing room to put the double stroller/mini tank in comfortably really tipped the scales from a roomy Camry to a Mini Van pretty easily.

I made him do most of the research, he's the car guy, not me. Besides, he had very particular ideas about what he wanted. Those ideas were: White, 8 passenger, 2007 or newer, and finally, Toyota or Honda. You can see how that narrows down the search a bit? My ideas were not as relevant: Anything that doesn't look like a mini van. I was quickly vetoed.

So here she is, a beautiful 2008, white, 8 passenger, gosh-it-really-looks-like-a-mini-van Toyota Sienna. I have to admit, it rides beautifully and it is really fun to have a new car. This post is a little overdue, since we have owned it since Easter, but it has taken a little while to get the picture taken. What with the denial and all.

Double Booked

2008-04-16T21:45:00.004-04:00

I came home from work yesterday and found this in the mail!

It may be odd to some people that I'm getting an invitation to my own baby shower, but I love it. And it would be kind of awkward to have a surprise shower with only five or six people, my social circle being so huge and all.

My sister M. did a great job on the invitation, it's so pretty! Unless she had help, in which case everyone involved has great taste.
I'm so excited! I can't wait.

So I updated my pocket calendar with the date. That's right, no palm pilot. And at work today I called the hospital because I never received confirmation for the Birth Class I signed up for. I sent in a registration form and a check which was cashed but I have yet to recieve any informational packet, as promised on the sign-up sheet. What do I find out when I confirmed my class? That's right, the all day Birth Class I signed up for at the hospital is scheduled for May 17th. From 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. And there really is no way to change the dates, since they are held once a month, there is no class in April and the next class would be June 21st, cutting it a little too close for me.

All was not lost, I ended up calling M. and she said she could change it to Sunday morning instead, and that it really wasn't a problem, she'd just call everyone (like I said, 5 or 6 people) and update them all.

Something tells me this is only the beginning of the end of my free schedule. Two small people are going to fill it up quickly.

2008-04-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

Wow. This week I am 25 weeks into the pregnancy. As I'm typing this the babies are kicking like crazy!

On Monday I had a level II ultrasound to measure all baby parts. This was my second, I previously went four weeks before for the same scan. The twin protocol at my OB is for a level II u/s every four weeks after the 21st week to make sure the babies are growing at the same rate.

This time Baby Girl (A) measured 1 lb. 13 oz. and Baby Boy (B) measured 1 lb. 14 oz. Each are up almost a whole pound in four weeks!

Heartrates were normal and all pieces measured right on target. The doctor wanted to get a 4D shot of both babies but Baby Boy was not cooperative and would not turn around. He did get a good shot of Baby Girl.
Those are her hands up around her head. Right now she is head down, I'm hoping she stays that way. Baby Boy is transverse with his head on my upper left side and feet on my upper right. (Is that considered transverse? Guess I should look that up!)

I have another level II in 4 weeks, this time I'm getting Z to go with me so he can see them. He hasn't been to an ultrasound since we were still at Mainline Fertility in mid-January. Has it been that long?

Here are some traditional ultrasound profiles of both babes from the scan.

This is Baby Boy, flexing his muscles for the camera!

And here is Baby Girl.

Another milestone this week was the Glucose Screening Test. This was pretty important since my mom had four very large babies and went on to have Diabetes later in life. I haven't gotten the results back yet but I should be fine, since both sisters that are moms tested just fine for my nieces and nephew.

My next OB appointment is April 22nd (Earth Day!). I'll be 27 weeks and hopefully able to get a difinitive opinion on whether they think I should stop working and go on modified bed rest. I'm planning on working as long as I can, barring any minor complications. So far the limitation of my physical activities has consisted of taking the elevator at work instead of the stairs (one flight) and getting a parking pass so I can park in Visitor Parking, close to the entrance.
We'll see how things go.