twin wishlist!

It's no secret that I love baby products. And now that we're having twins, does that mean twice the baby gadgets!? Well, not quite. But kind of! I'm not excited about the cost of all of this, but it sure is fun looking (and dreaming) about everything!

Graco Ready2Grow LX Stand & Rider Stroller!
I love this little stroller! It has 15 or so configurations to change the seats. Here are a few of them:




Of course, our configuration will look more like this:



Adalyn has never really loved a stroller and was worn mostly as a baby. And now that she's a pro walker, she would rather walk with us! I'm hoping these kiddos embrace the wonders of a stroller and love it! Ha! With that second pictures, I guess I could wear one baby in the Moby and put Ad and one baby in the stroller. The issue is that Adalyn still kind of needs a stroller - especially if we go somewhere like a zoo where we'll be walking a lot. This one only cost $200 (only $150 if you catch it on a big Babies R Us sale!) and I just can't beat that price.

More baby carriers!!
Right now I just have a Moby and an Ergo. I love them (LOVE!) both, but I prefer the Moby for the first 7 (or so) months, and the Ergo for a bigger kiddo. I was looking for pictures online of some ideas, and this mom used two ring slings:



and this mom used 2 Ergos:




I can so do that! My sister has a Maya Wrap, so I'm hoping to steal hers :) And I love my Ergo so much that this gives me an excuse for a new one.. right? Now they have all those adorable colors - I just can't resist!


Ju-Ju-Be B.F.F. in Sangria Sunset
Okay, can I dream a little? I'm in love with this diaper bag and absolutely love this pattern. Unfortunately, $165 for a diaper bag is ridiculous for me. I have the Ju-Ju-Be Packabe now and LOVE it! I'll probably just keep on using my Packabe but will for sure always need a backpack diaper bag now that I'll have 3 little hands to hold onto! A bag slipping off your shoulder is the WORST! Can I get an Amen..

the Double Blessings Nursing Pillow
Well, this is one I'll for SURE need. I love that it has a little attachable cover, but I'm really unsure that I'll ever tote this thing around. I've nursed Adalyn everywhere - you name it, airplanes, restaurants, the 3rd row pew at church, everywhere! But I highly doubt I'll be toting this thing around - haha. I'm sure eventually I'll get the hang of just holding both at the same time. But it looks to be a lifesaver at home and in the middle of the night!



New! Cloth! Diapers!
As of now, the vast majority of our stash is FuzziBunz which I LOVE. I have zero complaints and am actually weary of buying other brands. I've tried other brands (Kawaii, Thirsties, Blueberry, etc.) and nothing can live up to the awesomeness of FuzziBunz. I do love my one bumGenius, though, so I may get more of those. I also want to try GroVia and Rumparooz. Luckily, we have a cloth diaper store here, so I can look at each diaper and help my decision-making!

Twin STUFF!
Matching twin crocheted hats. Matching hilarious onesies. Coordinating Aden & Anais blankets. Oh for cuteness, so exciting! Even if we have a boy & a girl, I can still coordinate so much! All it takes is to go to Etsy and type in "twin crocheted hats" and the cuteness is overwhelming :)


We just need to strike it rich now, don't we!? :) Luckily, we have a lot of time to prepare for these kiddos! All of this seems like a dream!

9 weeks!

How far along? 9 weeks!

Total weight gain: -6

Maternity clothes? No! But I'm excited for them.. I love maternity clothes!

Sleep: I have to sleep in a really weird position. It has to be on my belly, but I have to bend one of my knees so all the pressure isn't on my stomach, or it makes me nauseous. It's really bizarre and I toss and turn all night long. Then I'm hot/cold/hot/cold too! I pretty much dread going to sleep, even though I'm exhausted!

Best moment this week: Hearing one of the heartbeats - twice! Heard it Friday morning and it was 176, then on Saturday night Mark heard it too!

Movement: No, but definitely looking forward to it :)

Gender: I'm going to guess a boy and a girl right now.

What I miss: Not feeling nauseous all the time with headaches and throwing up. I miss feeling like myself!

Weekly Wisdom: Expect the unexpected, because we definitely never thought we'd have twins!

Looking forward to: My next ultrasound!..whenever that may be. I can't wait to see them again!!


Well, I thought my nausea was getting better, but apparently not :) Hopefully it wont last too much longer. I still feel overwhelmed with twins on the way, and I doubt that will ever change. I'm starting to feel really guilty that Adalyn will soon be fighting for my attention since I'll have two newborns to take care of and nurse. It makes me really sad and I can't help it. I just hope and pray that I can give all three children the attention and love that they need.

There isn't too much else to say :)

Twins: Q&A!

February 16!

Q: Were you trying for a baby?
A: Trying? No. But TRYING? Yes. Not preventing a pregnancy can lead to twin babies, apparently :)

Q: Are you still nursing Adalyn?
A: Yes. She nurses off and on throughout the day. She says, "Nuss peese!"

Q: When do you plan to wean her?
A: I don't. I'm taking her lead.

Q: Will you breastfeed the twins?
A: Lord willing. I've been fretting over this, but I've found this neato pillow that should make things much easier:


(Doubleblessings.com)

I've EBF'd for 17 months+ now without bottles, and that's what I'm most comfortable with.

Q: Will you have a c-section?
A: I really don't want one! But I can't control life and unexpected things. So I'm just going to take life as it comes. But my doctors are extremely open to vaginal twin births, as long as both twins are not breech.



Q: What does Mark think?
A: During the past few weeks, Mark has consistently said he would LOVE twins. (You can even ask him - I am NOT making this up! We've been discussing twins for the past 3 weeks!).. he is more proud than ever and has ZERO fears. I know. Crazy! :) He can't wait to hold them in his arms. On the way home from the ultrasound, he drove us to Babies R Us so he could test drive the double strollers. Excitement is an understatement.

Q: How close will Adalyn and the babies be?
A: Adalyn's birthday is October 20, and the babies are due October 28. They will likely be less than 2 years apart! Planning 3 birthdays that close together?? Oh mercy!

Q: What did your family say!?
A: I called my mom immediately --

Mom? Are you sitting down?
Why?! What's wrong?!?!?.... IS IT TWINS?!??*

*True story. She guessed it before I said it. What can I say? Mothers know these things :)

My family is downright shocked but very excited! This will be my parents' 5th and 6th grandchildren! My sister shouted it (literally) to her coworkers, and I heard her literally shrieking and squealing on the phone. And I later found out that my adorable brother-in-law even announced it at work. How sweet!



Q: Do twins run in your family?
A: Definitely not!

Q: Do you hope it's boys/girls or both?
A: I am feeling more like it's one of each or two girls. Two days ago, Mark did refer to them as "the girls" but he would love a son! I cannot wait to find out!

Q: How are you feeling?
A: I have waves of nausea and it's usually worse at night. It isn't as bad as my pregnancy with Adalyn, though, which is interesting! I am feeling completely overwhelmed and still in a mini state of shock. Though I did have some intuition that I was carrying twins, I didn't fully expect it. And the little details - like how I will initially work on our breastfeeding relationship, how I will get them to sleep at the same time, etc. keeps me up at night. I know I need to let it go, because I can't control the future. I'm just hoping and praying that the three of us stay healthy and they stay put for as long as possible until they're healthy and ready!

I feel so unprepared for this!

the low down on our pregnancy with twins.

We've been keeping a big secret from (most of!) you for over a month now. And it's been killing me - it really has. But now the secret's out, and I can finally say:

We're pregnant!

Let me take you back to the beginning of February: I was getting so into Zumba, eating healthy, and feeling great! Things were going perfect, until suddenly I noticed that I was extremely tired. I started taking naps with Adalyn in her bed and just found myself exhausted each afternoon - definitely odd, because I never take naps! And then I was starving. I recall one evening I actually had Mark drop me off *at the door* of Chipotle so I could hurry and get my food because I was that hungry. What in the world!

That same evening, I decided it would be funny to get a test. I mean I could be pregnant, but I didn't fully expect it. But those darn symptoms - exhaustion and hunger? Those were bugging me. So at about 8pm on February 15, I took my first test. And immediately that second line popped up.

Oh man Oh man Oh man. MARK!!!!!!!!!!

I ran into the living room & threw the test on the dining room table! I was in utter shock and disbelief and a million emotions were running through me. About this time, Mark started dancing around the house - literally! He was beaming with joy. I was freaking out!

~~~

For about a week and a half, I really had zero pregnancy symptoms and felt just fine! Around the beginning of week 5 (might I insert now that I found out at like 3 weeks 3 days pregnant. I feel like I've been pregnant F.O.R.E.V.E.R!) I started feeling bad. REALLY bad. There was one weekend where I laid on the couch for 3 days straight and just felt awful. Since then, things have improved. I've only thrown up twice and now only have waves of nausea - my worst time is around 4pm in the afternoon each day.

*knock on wood*

~~~

Fast forward to March 21 -- my first "real" appointment.

I was nervous all morning - scared to death that something would be wrong with the baby. An internal ultrasound was scheduled for my first appointment, which my doctor did. She had this little laptop ultrasound machine, and I couldn't see the screen in the beginning.. frustrating! So she began my u/s, and she had a funny look on her face. My heart sank, and I was sure the baby wasn't alive, or something was wrong. But I looked over at the assistant nurse, and she was grinning from ear to ear! This gave me a smidge of hope, until suddenly she said...

..Well, I see two babies!

I seriously burst into tears like you wouldn't believe. I only wish I had been looking at Mark to see his FIRST reaction, but I was crying hysterically - really emotional and in shock! I said, "I KNEW IT WAS TWINS!!!" and kept on crying. Meanwhile, Mark was smiling bigger than in his entire life, I swear. Bigger than on our wedding day, bigger than on Adalyn's birth day, bigger than ever! She flipped the screen around and we saw our two little nuggets - so little!



She let me see each of their heartbeats and tried her best to get the best photos of the two of them together - kind of tricky! They were measuring 8 weeks and looked perfect. They seem to be in two sacs but we are unsure if they will share a placenta or if I will have two. At this point, they could still be identical, but I'm betting fraternal.

I'm still in a state of shock and disbelief. Let me just say that I had my suspicions that this WAS twins. I've discussed this with Mark, my sister, and a few of my friends. But I didn't *really* believe it. I have been so, SO hungry this pregnancy. My stomach growls all day long. When I wake up, it's roaring with hunger. When I go to bed, it's still growling! That was my big twin clue -- I was definitely never hungry like this with Adalyn. But I kind of thought maybe I was so hungry because I'm still nursing - so maybe nourishing two babies was making me hungry?? :)

I'm due October 28, and but they will likely be born sooner. We will have 3 kids under two, and it will be a crazy madhouse for sure! But it will be a fun adventure, and I'm sure glad that we have 7 months to prepare.. because I so do NOT feel ready for this! :)

Q&A post coming soon! <3