Things that Happened This Week

I do believe I had my first contractions. I was running around like crazy all weekend with Kevin trying to whittle away at our long to-do list and probably over did it. You know how everyone always tells you to drive safe right before you get ready to leave somewhere, and even though they say that, it probably doesn’t really affect how you’d drive either way? Well, people have been telling me to “take it easy” for weeks now. Did I listen? Nope, I just kept on going with stuff that had to get done. I mean, let’s face it: Just because you get pregnant, life doesn’t really let you just stand still and relax until the baby (or in this case, babies) comes.

I decided it would be a good idea to stay home from work on Monday and really rest and relax to make up for the hectic weekend and I don’t regret the decision at all. I was able to get one of my many craft projects done AND was able to sit all day, keeping my poor swollen feet/legs propped up to help with circulation and I drank so much water my pee was crystal clear. Woohoo!

"Hey, Toad! Want to get loaded on wacky tobacky and make
some crazy cool liquor this weekend? Then we can go fly kites!
Don't worry, if anything crazy happens, I know how to survive
in the wilderness."

I’ve been searching for the Frog and Toad book series to add to the nursery. I’m trying to get them relatively soon so we’ll have time to get the pictures ready. We found some cool frames at the D.I. over the weekend that we plan to spray paint a cream color so they’ll stand out from the darker walls.

While searching for the books on Ebay, I saw the “recommended products” near the bottom of the screen:

• Hookah Pipes
• Moonshine Recipes and Kits
• Wilderness Survival Kits

What in the world do these items have to do with these CHILDREN’S BOOKS? I do remember Frog being a little “chilled out”, but not to the extent of smoking the jonga and making booze in granny’s tub.

BRING ME FOOD. Oh, and don't forget my Hookah
pipe on the right.

In other news, I attended a baby shower over the weekend. When asked how far along I was, it was the first time in my entire pregnancy that I honestly didn’t know. The 20 something’s are starting to meld together, and I just couldn’t remember where I was at. All I knew was I was more than 24 weeks, and that’s what I said. People looked at me like I had three heads. What kind of pregnant lady doesn’t know TO THE DAY how far along they are? Well, me apparently. It probably didn’t help that I was starving and trying to politely eat my cute baby shower refreshments like a lady, when I really wanted to just shove everything in my mouth with a shovel and swallow because I was so hungry.

I was able to find a few cute things at the D.I. to add to my growing (literally) maternity wardrobe. Dresses and polyester are my BFF’s these days. I wish my skin had as much give as these polyester pants I’ve been wearing. If only my belly would snap back into place like they do! Ah, wishful thinking.

Sadly, I am not feeling babies kick as much now. But on the bright side, they seem to be setting up a routine so I know when and where to expect them. I think their 3 bedroom furnished condos are starting to turn into crowded studio apartments. I’m so glad they are growing! I feel pretty darn blessed to have gotten this far with relatively no complications or (severe) pain and discomfort.

The third trimester is just around the corner and there seems to be this ever so faint light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t wait to bring these little babies home and smooch their little lips!

Someone's Flown Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I mentioned in my last post that I learned how to crochet. My mom was patient enough to pass down this art of yarn looping and knotting to me last weekend. Although I’m still no where near talented enough to make something as cute as this:

I was able to make this little blue bird:

He is supposed to be a part of a bird mobile that has a big momma bird sitting on a log and two little baby birds floating underneath. I liked the idea of the little baby birds, but the momma bird was too big and I didn’t like the log. So I decided to try and make a baby bird mobile by myself for the crib! Huge undertaking? Maybe. Will I end up finishing it? Maybe not. All I know is I have acquired a new skill, one of which I hope I don’t forget how to do  (like I did with learning to knit).

Kevin made a wonderful suggestion for the nursery design last night. He suggested getting pictures of the book covers for the Frog and Toad books and enlarging them, then putting them in some nice frames for wall décor. Love it! I know he’s not too keen on having more browns/greens in the house since we have a lot of those colors already, but hopefully he’ll like the vision I have in mind.

I am usually a pretty easy going person. I tend to be pretty reasonable. However, I feel as though my normal pleasant personality has gone out the window in the last month. A few examples of what I’m talking about…

Exhibit A: My desk sits right underneath an A/C vent. It runs most of the day, especially during the hot summer months. It may have a screw or two lose because when it’s running, it rattles. A lot. It has NEVER bothered me until the last 3 weeks. Now all I hear is that stupid rattling. I turn on the heater under my desk just to mask the sound. It drives me bonkers!
 Exhibit B: Yesterday, I waited in line for 25 minutes at Walgreen’s  for this ONE lady to check out. She had her 5” 3 ring binder full of coupons and was going through, page by page, picking out the coupons, then the cashier would look at them and say she couldn’t use them for whatever reason. OMG! After waiting for 10 minutes, I finally asked her if there someone else who could ring me up. I literally had ONE ITEM. I just wanted some ice cream. That’s all. She said the other cashier was at lunch and wouldn’t be back for another 20 minutes. Seriously. Then, she finally gets done with her transaction, and she starts telling the cashier to start taking things off because the coupons didn’t work for those items so she doesn’t want them anymore. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Normally I would have put the ice cream back and headed up to 7-11 for a slurpee instead. But no. I had to have my pregnancy ice cream.

Once she was done and got her receipt, the cashier told her she saved $4.47. I could have strangled her with her grocery bag. Bye bye, patience.

Exhibit C: Ok, so have you ever worn a lotion that smelled really good in the bottle, but then you wore it and the smell drove you nuts ALL day because it was too stinky, or smelled different than it was supposed to? I totally had that happen today. I made the mistake of first spraying on some body spray, but then forgot I had done it, and put on some smelly lotion. As soon as I rubbed it on my arms, I realized it was a mistake. Stink city. But I didn’t have time to wash it off or anything. So I thought maybe I could handle it. It has been driving me absolutely crazy all morning. So I went into the bathroom and took a sink bath on my arms, trying to scrub the stink smell off my arms with paper towels and water. It didn’t work!!!! I tried again a little while later, then rubbed some other lotion on thinking it would mask the smell, but that just made it even worse. So now I have these three very uncoordinated smells and I know I stink but I can’t get rid of the smell without taking a shower, probably. EWE. Pregnancy smells are a curse.

You see? I’m positively batty! I’ve lost my bananas! I have no patience or tolerance for anything anymore. So here is my apology to everyone I know and those I don’t. Sorry for being crazy. I’m hoping it’s only temporary.

3 Years and Counting...

Today is my 3 year anniversary with my darling husband. It’s so hard to believe it’s already been that long. On one of our first “dates”, I came to his house and he made me a turkey sandwich with a string cheese pulled apart to look like an octopus. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

I'm the white one with the little black eye. Kevin
is the one with the big black eye. What can I say,
I fight back. KIDDING! We don't really beat each
other. Much.

It’s been a long journey for us to get to where we are now. Although we’d discussed it numerous times and knew we wanted to have a child together, it seemed the odds were stacked against us. It was one of those “one day” things that you couldn’t believe would ever really happen. And yet, here we are: Expecting twins!

Kevin has been especially great to me during this pregnancy. During my first trimester when I was sick all the time, he made sure to help around the house, would make meals for me and the kids, and tried his best to make me feel better. Whenever I have aches and pains, he’s right there to rub them away. He tells me what a cute pregnant lady I am on a daily basis and always greets me with a smile when I come home from work. He asks me how I’m feeling and really listens to what I have to say when I talk about my fears, concerns, joys and triumphs. He even reads my blog, every day (no, that’s not why I’m saying such nice things about him). He’s been with me to almost all of my appointments so far, even the “boring” ones. We’ve shared lots of laughs, lots of tears and lots of hugs over the last few months with these little boys.

Kevin helped make my goal of becoming a mother a reality and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather expand my family with than him. I’m so grateful he’s in my life and he’s already proven to be such a great dad and superb husband.

I can’t think of a better way to express how I feel than to use uber cheesy, super gaudy, extra cliché animated gifs! Happy Anniversary to us!

Precious. This little diddy just melts my heart. Bring on the emotional abuse!
I'm sure you can explain it away later! Bonus points for the spelling and grammatical errors.

 

Here I Am

I've been posting a lot of pictures of people who aren't me. I decided I should post one that was actually me.

My mom took this yesterday before I left her house. I am 24 weeks and 4 days here. Apparently, still pretty small for a twin pregnancy. The doctor said I am measuring at about 30 weeks for a singleton pregnancy. So, I guess at that rate, I will be looking full term in about a month. Awesome!

You probably aren't over-analyzing this picture like I am, but how about that puffy face? Ugh. This edema crap is SO AWESOME (insert sarcasm font here). But really. I can totally see my pregnancy glow. Or maybe that was just the sweat dripping from my brow. Meh.

How far along: 24 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain/loss:  2 lbs.
Maternity clothes:  My usual wardrobe is continuously shrinking. The shirt shown in the picture above, for example, will soon no longer fit over my belly. I ordered a support belt to hopefully help with my back aches. Should be arriving any day.
Stretch marks: Still none...but dreamt I had one long one that started at my boob and ended at my lady place.  Hoping I don't get any that look like that! My mom gave me some wheat germ oil that is suppoesd to help with the skins natural elasticity. Not sure if it works, but worth a shot, right?
Sleep: Back to peeing during the night. I can keep it at bay if I drink NOTHING after 6 p.m., but then I wake up feeling like I just swallowed a bucket of sand and had a flour chaser. The bump is starting to ache if I don't support it whilst sleeping. I use a little tootsie roll shaped pillow for this purpose, at least until my noodle pillow gets here.
Best moment this week:  Visiting my family!
Food cravings: I guess I really wanted a cinnamon roll last week. And I got it. And it was good, but it did not have enough cinnamon. I'm going to have to have another one soon.
Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  Not out yet. Maybe I'll be like Lindy and it will just disappear and flatten out? I'm excited to find out.
Movement:  The kicks are getting much harder and seem to be more intentional. "Oh, hey mom, you say you want to relax after dinner? Hmm, me thinks not!" I quite enjoy their fury, though. Makes me feel confident they are growing and safe.
What I miss:  Not being out of breath all the time. It's hard to carry a conversation with anyone for more than 30 seconds without sounding like I just raced against Armstrong for the gold.
What I'm looking forward to: My baby showers!
Milestones:  My mom felt Baby A kicking, I learned how to crochet, babies are still measuring right on track and appear to be practically perfect in every way. Just like their momma!

Picking Names

Although we’ve tentatively decided on names for the boys, we haven’t solidified anything yet. I doubt we’d make changes this late in the game, but you never know. However, I’ve been referring to these names for a few weeks now when I talk to them.

I imagined myself calling out these names in different scenarios which got me thinking: You should have to do each of the following before deciding what you are going to name your child:

Also not me. But AAAAWE! Cute.

  -   Say the name while smiling. This is how it should sound when baby is first born and you get to see him for the first time.

  -   Repeat the name with pursed lips and squinty eyes. Does it still have a nice ring to it? This will probably be how it’s spoken during times of frustration or impatience.

  -   Try it again, but this time, go somewhere like a park and scream the name at the top of your lungs. This is good practice to hear how it will sound when you are, in a few years, calling him home for dinner or otherwise trying to locate your missing child. Or about to murder him because he's covered his entire room with spray paint, crayons, marker and baby powder.

  -   Ask the name in the form of a question, adding inflection at the end. You’ll need to know how this one sounds so you’ll be prepared when the principal calls you in to say your little cherub decided it would be fun to flush his teacher’s cell phone down the toilet (Hank? My little Hank did that?).

  -   Google it. Not even kidding. You need to know if there are existing whack-o’s out there with the name you intend to bestow upon your little one. I went to school with a Michael Jackson, Chris Krinkle and Holly Barry. Sometimes fame comes to those after you’ve already picked your name, but still, if you can avoid a casualty beforehand, that always helps.

You don't want your kid to be either of
these guys, but especially not the pooped-
his-pants red head.



-     Picture yourself as an 8 year old bully, running around the playground reciting clever little limericks. Are there any potential teases that could come out of the name? Remember to consider initials, too. Try to avoid these: I.C.P., P.P., B.J. (although this one might not be noticed until middle school or so), B.M., W.T.F., etc. You get the idea. As far as the clever rhymes: Just stay away from anything that rhymes with pee, poo, loser, lame, fat, dumb or fart (sorry, Bart).

-     Now imagine you are going to see your doctor, lawyer, or you’re reading an article about a successful physicist. Does the name make you feel comfortable or make you wonder if they got their degree from the earn-your-degree-from-home-in-your-pajamas kind of college? If so, you may want to reconsider the name. After all, we all want our little ones to grow up to be big successes so they can afford to keep our butts changed and mouths fed when we are residing at Shady Lakes Retirement Home.

Nursery Theme

I’ve decided on a theme for the nursery. I was having a hard time picturing what the “theme” was going to be, so I started thinking about all my favorite children’s books. There are a few obvious favorites such as Goodnight, Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and pretty much anything by Dr. Seuss.  But as I dug deeper into my memory, I remembered the book series Frog and Toad. I thought this would be a great choice for theme because

a)      I love frogs

b)      I am having two boys

c)       It wasn’t too “baby” (i.e. yellow rubber duckies, cartoonish turtles, ABC blocks, etc)

So, I’ve decided to use the color palette from the books as inspiration and I’m going with that. Therefore, it will be kind of a rustic, “old” look with lots of browns, greens, beige and little splashes of baby blue.

The characters themselves, Frog and Toad that is, are quite interesting as well. I wanted to incorporate them into the scheme not only because they’re fun, but because the books are bit nostalgic for both Kevin and I. I requested a custom order for a couple of stuffed frogs from The Moxie Owl store as they were already selling stuffed frogs and owls (which are SO adorable, btw) and asked them if they could do a Frog and Toad for me. They were happy to oblige and within just a few days, these precious darlings showed up at my door:

Frog is on the left. That's Toad on the right. Love the
sleepy eyes!

As soon as I took them out of the box, I knew they were perfect. The colors are great, the style is fun but not too “baby” and every time I look at them, they make me smile.

We Just Might Make it, Cap'n!

This is how I feel. Triumphant. *Disclaimer: This is not a picture of me.
She kind of reminds me of the girlfriend from 3rd Rock from the Sun, non?

Today is a big day. It’s kind of like the day you FINALLY get asked to go to the Prom when you’ve been waiting for weeks, or even months to be asked. At the time, you’re still just amazed you were asked and aren’t too concerned – yet – about whether or not you like your date or if you’ll have a good time. Yeah. That’s kind of like today.

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant. Why is this so important? Well, if the babies are born from this point forward, the hospital will consider it a “viable pregnancy”, which means they have a fairly good chance of survival and they’ll do everything they possibly can to keep these babes alive. Having said that, I hope my little buns keep roasting in this oven for at least another 2 months.

We did some pretty cool stuff over the last few days.

It only took me 5 hours to
complete. Whoduthinkit?

  1)   We finally got some nursery furniture. We now have one usable non-drop side crib, two non-usable drop side cribs, a large 6 drawer dresser, a cradle and a rocking chair with ottoman. The two non-usable cribs are a disappointment, as they were both given to us, but it looks like they just won’t work for babies.

  2)   I finished one of the baby blankets/quilts. I originally started working on a piece quilt with fancy designs and patterns, but quickly realized I don’t have the time nor the patience for such things right now. I might be able to finish one before November, but not two. And that just wouldn’t be fair to the poor boys.

  3)   I might have broken a blood vessel or perhaps damaged a nerve in my right foot. I have a large red welt on the inside of my foot and when it first appeared, it itched like CRAZY. After that, it became an ugly red blotch that tingles when I apply pressure. So, needless to say, I try not to apply pressure. My toes look like hot dogs and I only have one pair of shoes that fit comfortably. I guess this isn’t so much a “cool stuff I did” thing, but worth noting nonetheless.

Pregnant Puffy Foot reporting for duty, sir!

4)   I was able to sleep through the night without having to get up AT ALL to pee!

5)   I ordered myself a Snoogle. Dumb name, yes, but after tossing and turning like crazy in bed and waking up with horrific headaches from lack of support, I don’t care if they call it a Cleveland Steamer; I just want to actually “rest” while I’m sleeping.

6)   I (sort of) finished my registry. I consolidated them into one site and removed all the duplicates. I also shopped around for who had the lowest prices on what so if/when I do receive gifts, I’ve made sure my ever-so-generous donors get the best deal. See the link over there on the left? You can check it out by clicking “Visit My Registry!” Leave a comment if you think there are things I should register for that aren’t on there.

7)   I painted my toes. They probably look like a 4 year old painted them with a 3” paintbrush if you look at them up close, but from where I stand (and when I bend over far enough to see them), they look pretty.

Pass the Placenta

 Disclosure: This is a gross post. I gagged twice while writing it. You’ve been warned.

An acquaintance of mine recently asked me what I plan “to do” with my placentas after the babies are born.  I didn’t really know what to say because until recently, I forgot there were even options of what to do with said organ after it fulfilled its purpose. I'm going to use cute, cuddly cats to illustrate the sequence of what I felt during this conversation. 



Surprise. Why are you asking me this?



Disgust. I really don't want to think about this.

Sickness. "I don't feel so good right now."

 

Entrapment. How am I going to get out of this conversation?

This person then went on to tell me about all the proven medical benefits of ingesting the placenta after birth, including:

• Increased/faster milk production
• Prevents postpartum depression
• Return to pre-pregnancy size faster

Even after hearing of all these wonderful benefits, I was ready to be done talking about it. I did decide to do some reading about the subject later because I have about 8 hours a day to kill and I can only hit “refresh” on my favorite blogs so often before starting to lose my mind.

The practice seems to be more common in other countries (maybe they don’t have enough chickens or Burger Kings?) and many mammals engage in this act as well, although their motives seem to be different than humans’. There is a new way to “ingest” it: It’s called placenta encapsulation. Basically, they dry it out, grind it up into a powder and put it in capsules for you. Have you ever tried taking a Tylenol but it started to dissolve before you had a chance to swallow it? I would not want to experience that with these things.

Anyway, bottom line for me, I definitely do NOT plan to whip out a Ziplock baggie and take home my left over lady parts for consumption after babies get here. I suppose it isn’t very nice of me to say people SHOULDN’T do this; but as for me and my house, we’ll be serving tacos, not placenta lasagna.

Weekly Stats

How far along: 23 weeks, 1 day

Weight gain/loss:  3 lbs.

Maternity clothes:  This is interesting...I no longer have to wear a safety pin to hold up the giant XL (about size 14/16) pants I bought for work. Clothes continue to get tighter.

Stretch marks: None yet, but I have noticed the ones I already had on my thighs are now diminished from being plumped up with all this extra fat/water/blood/whatever else is in there.

Sleep: Tossing and turning a lot. Still freaking out when I wake up on my back. I imagine I can hear babies screaming for more oxygen as I roll over to my side.

Best moment this week:  Kevin and Justine felt Baby A kick!

Food cravings: No cravings, but eating a lot of dairy to help combat the heartburn.

Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  Almost flat. Another week, and I have an inkling I'll start to see a little nub poking out.

Movement:  Funny...Baby B seems to swim when I eat salty foods while Baby A seems to be more active with sweet foods. Still lots of reassuring movement.

What I miss:  Heels. I really miss my heels. I tried wearing some for spite the other day ("I'll show MY body!") Nope. Couldn't even get to my desk from the car without having to change into flats. Short, fat pregnant lady!

What I'm looking forward to: I know one day I will see this and cringe - Looking forward to hearing those first little cries.

Milestones:  Kevin and Justine feeling kicking, getting some new nursery furniture, finalizing some baby shower details

What Color is Anxiety?

Kevin finally felt Baby A kick! We were watching a movie and he was going nuts doing flips, kicks and flutters. I grabbed Kevin’s hand and within a couple of minutes, he felt a soft “thump”. Aaaaaaah! I was so excited. Probably more than Kevin.  Justine, my oldest step daughter, was also able to feel him while we were at the lake last weekend. I think she was expecting more, because she said, “oh, that’s what it feels like? I just thought that was your pulse”. So, even though they feel like gymnastics to me, apparently they just feel like soft, faint flubs to everyone else at the moment.

Baby B is still a tough bugger to catch. I don’t feel him squirming nearly as much. But this morning, I’ve felt him rubbing against my ribs and rocking back and forth. It’s comforting, because I haven’t felt him move much the last few days.

Here is a picture of me and Kevin at the lake last weekend. I love my silly husband.

It’s getting harder to stay comfortable. I have all but given up on pants with the exception of one XL pair of lycra dress pants I bought on clearance for $5. They are long enough I can pull them up over my bump and safety pin them to stay put. Other than that, though, it’s pretty much strictly dresses and skirts. I’ve even outgrown most of my pajamas! Who outgrows pajamas?? So many unexpected surprises.

A woman from my work is having her baby this week. Her due date was yesterday, but her little guy hasn’t given any indication he’s ready to leave his home, so it sounds like she’ll be induced on Saturday.

My thoughts have been turning to labor recently. I suppose I haven’t thought about it much this far because it seemed so far away. But now, it’s less than 100 days away. 100 days! I’m not a big worrier by nature (thank goodness), but since the inevitable is getting closer, I’ve noticed some annoying “what if’s” creeping into my mind. Even though it’s a real possibility, pre-term labor really hasn’t scared me much. I just assumed that everything is normal and progressing as it should right now, no need to panic. But what if it does happen? What if I start to have contractions and I don’t even know I’m having them? Apparently, I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past few weeks, but I didn’t know it. I didn’t know what they were supposed to feel like, I just thought what I was feeling was a growing uterus and round ligament pain. What if my babies are born on Bangerter highway because I was too clueless to recognize that I was in labor??

I’m glad I signed up for the labor class at the hospital. It may terrify me to learn about all the stuff that I didn’t know I didn’t know, but at least I’ll feel better prepared and know what I should expect. This is all so foreign to me, as I’m usually such a passive person. I usually just handle things as they come and have the mentality that everything will work out one way or another…but now that these babies are involved, I feel like I HAVE to be prepared, for their sake. Aaawe, motherhood instincts! Cute!

Speaking of preparedness, I’m worried about buying nursing bras. I have no idea where to get them, or what to get, or how to know if I’m getting the right kind/size. Totally clueless! And nursing pads? What are those? I’ve seen what they look like, little white circles…I’d guess I stuff them in my bra to keep any leakage milk from seeping through? I have no idea. All I know is every blog said I need them, and I need them before I go to the hospital.

Weekly Specs

How far along: 22 weeks, 1 day

Weight gain/loss:  No gain from last week

Maternity clothes:  Still wearing the same things, but noticing less give in the less stretchy stuff

Stretch marks: None to be had! I've also noticed I don't have that dark line thing running under my belly button. Maybe I'll be lucky?

Sleep: Still peeing a lot during the night. More so now. The sleep itself is ok, but getting less comfortable.

Best moment this week:  Taking time off to go hang with the family at the lake

Food cravings: Ice cream. So cliche.

Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  Looking more and more like a manhole cover every day.

Movement:  Baby B has been much more active this week. I can feel lots of kicks in my ribs and feel a lot of swirling around when I rest my hand on top of my bump

What I miss:  Being able to eat what I wanted without worrying about heartburn, indigestion, or nausea.

What I'm looking forward to: Time at the lake and figuring out plans for the nursery

Milestones:  None this week. No news is good news at this point!

Hot Belly!

Here are some pics I took today...in the bathroom. I know, super classy.

Super cool dragon to represent the fire breathing power
of Baby A

Outrageous flaming skull to show the sheer treachery
of Baby B

This is what my feet look like when I look down.

And here she is in all her glory. Check out my giant freckle! It
keeps growing, right along with my belly. You can also
kind of see my belly button starting to make it's way into
the daylight. And yeah, you can even see a little bit of my
underwear. Pretend you can't see that.

Happy Days

I’m feeling really happy today. I was getting caught up on all of my “internetting” (Facebook, blogs, etc) while drinking some apple juice, all while feeling the babies kick away. I’m totally going to chalk it up to the hormones, but I have such a sense of excitement and peace right now.

We picked up a crib this weekend that a co-worker of mine generously donated to us. It’s sitting in our hallway right now because we don’t have anywhere to put it yet. But just looking at it makes me happy. It’s tangible proof that these little boys are going to be here pretty soon.

I visited with my dad and step mom on Saturday. My step mom’s cousin made me a couple of baby blankets that are pretty cute. They also gave me a two photo albums which will definitely come in handy when it’s time to start putting all of this pregnancy, birth and baby stuff together for them.

My oldest step-daughter bought me some bad-ass tattoos at the Chinese buffet Friday night. She picked up one for each of the babies and we put them on my belly. All I need now is a frosty 40, some Marlboro lights and a pair of cut off jeans and I’m set!

We tried using the flashlight to encourage some movement yesterday morning. It didn’t work very well. However, Emilee was able to feel a couple of kicks last night after dinner. I used Riley’s stethoscope to see if I could hear any heartbeats. I know it was a long shot. I could hear a very, very, very faint thump thump around where Baby A is, but couldn’t hear a darn thing except a gas bubble or two where Baby B is.