4 Months

At the 4 month appointment Charlotte is 13 pounds, 11 ounces and 23.75 inches. Nathhan is 13 pounds, 1 ounce and 23.25 inches. They're starting solids starting with rice cereal gradually increasing in thickness. Once they master eating with a spoon, we can start orange vegetables. They did well with their second round of immunizations, though Charlotte's a little feverish now. Both are healthy and on track developmentally. Nathan's crossed eye is normal for now. We are going to start teaching them to focus their attention on toys in front of them and help them build their muscles by sitting up.

I have been on vacation for most of this month so I was able to spend a lot more time with the babies. They change so much, so quickly. Before Nathan was our relaxed and patient baby. Now he has discovered his hands and feet and he is having a hard time coping with them, I guess. Most of the time he is still really happy and smiley (though we can't get him to smile in pictures for anything). But he is also having some tantrums now that make Charlotte look like chill. It's so hard to calm him down once he gets really upset. Charlotte is still pretty cranky too, but she has really calmed down. I don't know if it's because she's older now or because we've been giving her this stuff called Colic Calm, but she is happy more of the day now.

Both are starting to use their little baby voices. When they're in good moods, they oooh and aaah and smile and it's actually really cute. As I mentioned Nathan discovered his hands and he loves putting them in his mouth now. I think Charlotte has discovered her hands too, but she's not making as big of a deal out of it as Nathan. Both can support their own weight when practice standing, though they have no sense of balance yet.

Charlotte - the happiest baby burrito
west of the Mississippi

Both are sleeping a lot better now. We've got a bedtime routine that has them in bed, usually asleep, in less than an hour. It's pretty amazing. Charlotte has to have a bottle to sleep, but once she is out she will sleep for 5-6 hours before getting up again. And then once she has a new bottle, she goes right back to sleep but after that initial block she is usually up every hour until it's time to wake up. Nathan crashes pretty quickly when we put him to bed but he won't sleep as long. Maybe 3 hours, but he doesn't get up as often as Charlotte. And if he gets up and has one of his tantrums, he won't go back to sleep unless he is in the swing. Both are so different it's hard to get myself into a good sleep routine, but the good part is that they really don't wake each other up. Weird. They sleep in these sleep sack swaddles and when we unzip them they do their morning stretch.

We spent a lot of time driving around this vacation. For the most part the babies will sleep in the car. And when they're sleeping, they're not screaming. So we drove and drove any place we could think of. Last week we actually took a 750 mile (each way) road trip just to get out of town and go do something. The babies did great as long as I was in the back with them to tend to them.

I've been going to doctors while I was on break. I'm still pretty depressed and they're trying me on different medications, but none of them seem to be working well. One helped me sleep, but bade me want to kill myself. The newest one gives me such a stomach ache, I don't even want to take it. But I'll keep trying to figure out something because I'm not getting better. I really hope my kids don't inherit this, but depression runs in the family.

I'm still having a hard time being a mom. I take care of them, but I don't fit into the mom role. I've actually stopped going to our mothers of multiple meetings. I just don't feel like I fit in with them anymore. Actually, we went to a barbecue at a friend's house and I fit in more with the dads in the backyard at the grill than with the moms inside. I don't really like to think that I'm adopting a stereotypical lesbian 'dad' role. Whatever it is, it's going to be unique and it's probably going to take me a while to figure it out.

3 Months

We're moving right along in the world of time and babies. It's really starting to blur together but here are some of the main things from this month.

We didn't have a 3 month appointment with the doctor so we weighed and measured them ourselves, so it might not be 100% accurate. Both weighed in at 12 pounds, 11 ounces. Charlotte is 23 inches and Nathan 22.

They're in 3-6 month clothes now but they can still wear some 0-3 month clothes too. It depends on the brand. We've found that Circo brand from Target runs large, which is odd because Target's clothes tend to run small, in my opinion. Carter's on the other hand run way small.

Nathan is still pretty chill, but he has definitely found his voice this month. He does not like to go to bed at night. He tantrums for about 5 minutes and then he's fast asleep. Same when he wakes up to eat. He wants to get up and play so he cries, but he does fall back asleep. He is usually first up in the morning and once he sees someone he puts on his charming smile and it's time to get up.

Charlotte still has issues with crying. Some days it's not bad and others makes you question if there is a God. But when she is in a good mood, she is the sweetest thing and so adorable. She loves having her picture taken. I don't know how she even knows what a camera is, but when one comes out she smiles. This month she learned to scream so that will be fun for everyone.

Both are awake for longer periods during the day and doing more things. Nathan loves Baby Einstein and Charlotte loves to be bounced in this vibrating bouncer chair. They are both starting to spend time in their big bed and they both love to watch the mobile.

I'm on vacation for the next three weeks so I'm looking forward to spending time with them. I miss so much when I'm at work all day.

2 Months

Although it has been such a short time, these little ones are changing so much. Already they barely even resemble their first pictures. They are both 10 pounds now and Charlotte only has an inch on her brother at 22 inches and Nathan 21 inches, They both got a bunch of immunizations at the doctor today, but they took them like little champs.

This month has been similar to last month in most ways. Caring for them is still very hard. And now I've been back at work for 3 weeks. When I had to go back, my wife stayed with them alone for the first two days but it is just too much. It is a two person job so now Grandma comes over during the day while I'm at work. She's been wonderful and we're so thankful that we have her.

We got the loft furnished so it's like an upstairs living room now. It is pretty sweet and that's where we've set up shop. It's much easier than hauling baby gear up and down stairs every day. It's a pretty good size so when they start crawling they'll have plenty to explore, which is good because downstairs we have ceramic tile and that would not be fun to crawl on. Another nice thing about that is our bedroom is a bedroom again.

Besides getting bigger, the babies' personalities is really starting to show. Charlotte has been a princess from day 1, but it's really more than that. She just wants to be held, to feel close to someone. My mom says she is so much like I was when I was a baby, which is crazy because I have a very different personality now. I like to think I'm more like Nathan. He is still much calmer but he's also better at self-entertaining and self-soothing. Both still cry a lot and sleep still isn't the greatest. But we're trying some things and it's not as bad as it was before, most nights.

They have both outgrown most of their newborn size clothes and are now in 0-3 month. It's nice to have some new outfits. We passed on most of Nathan's clothes to friends that are having a boy in April and we're going to just donate Charlotte's. We're not having any more and we're only hanging on to a couple of outfits that have sentimental value. We dress them every day even if we're not going anywhere, which is pretty rare that we don't go at least one place. At night they're wearing sleep sacks with wraps and that has helped them to sleep.

They're both starting to smile and not just because of gas (although they are both champion farters). Nathan will smile up a storm when you have him on your chest for tummy time. He is also starting to coo when he lifts his head and looks at you. He is already making motions like he wants to crawl. He's a little beast. Charlotte can lift her head just as well, but she does not enjoy tummy time the way Nathan does. She also doesn't coo as much, but she did smile at me when I got home from work one day. It was really sweet.

They have both been able to breastfeed better too. They can latch now, despite us giving them pacifiers. If anyone is pregnant and taking classes, beware of preachy lactation nurses. The class we went to made it seem like if we ever gave them a pacifier or used the wrong bottle or gave them formula at all, they would NEVER be able to breastfeed. Well, the bottles they told us to get suck balls. They leaked and were a pain in the ass to wash and put together. So we scrapped them and went with the Playtex ones the doctor suggested. Charlotte loves her pacifier and Nathan likes it when he's falling asleep. And they've been on about 50% formula. All this and they are able to breastfeed just fine now. Though with two of them it's just easier to pump and put it in bottles for them. Especially for Charlotte because she eats so slowly.

But as it turns out, we've decided not to breastfeed anymore. It was just too hard and too much pressure pumping for two babies. They got a good 2 months of breastfeeding and we're both fine with that.

As for the adults, my wife is doing much better. She is feeling better and looking great. We did a mile walk this month. We normally do the 5K, but this year that wasn't an option since the babies are still too young for the jogging stroller. I'm barely holding it together, though. I've been seeing my therapist weekly, so she must really think I'm a hot lava mess because before the babies it was every 3 weeks. She really wants me to see a doctor about medication to even out my mood but I haven't been able to get a appointment until the middle of March. Every day is a struggle and the struggle is real.

On the plus side, I only have one more month of work until my next vacation so there's that to look forward to. I feel like I miss so much when I'm at work. I've actually been taking Mondays off anyway to spend more time with them. I should have gotten those days off anyway, they really did me wrong shortening my leave. So I'm taking as many days as I can until vacation and then we'll see where we're at.

1 Month

The babies are healthy and doing well. Charlotte is now 7lbs 5oz and Nathan is 7lbs 1oz. They are still on the small side, but that is to be expected being a month early. They've met their weight milestones and Nathan survived his circumcision. They've had their first shots, first baths at home and made it through their first month of life.

They already have very distinct and very different personalities. Nathan is very calm and patient, but he is super strong and determined. He holds his head up during tummy time like a champ already. He also has my love for sleep. Charlotte earned the nickname "princess" in the hospital. On the second night she would not sleep and wouldn't stop crying unless someone was holding her. This might not have been so bad but we had another baby to take care of also. Anyway, sometime during the night the nurse came to check on us and we were all in tears, She took pity on us and took Charlotte to the nurses station for a few hours, even though their policy is that the babies stay in the room.

I thought we had a pretty good idea of what we were getting into, but this month has been about 10 times harder than either of us imagined. As much as we tried to prepare, talk to people, go to classes, very little has gone the way we had hoped it would.

As I mentioned before, a c-section recovery is terrible. Combine that with newborn twins and it's a real shit show. I don't think I can really get into some details because they're pretty personal, but believe me when I say it was rough for both of us.

We had a lot of visitors when we went home and our cousin stayed with us for a week, which was great. She helped us get into a routine and it was nice to see her for so long since she lives in Denver and we usually only get her on holidays. It took a few days before she could get up and down the stairs comfortably so we stayed downstairs. We're in the bedroom now but we're getting some furniture for the loft and that will probably be where we set up permanently. It's hard living in a bedroom.

The babies are sleeping in the room with us in bassinets. We know the rules about not having anything in the cribs, but they simply won't sleep at night in anything but their Podsters. So they sleep in their Podsters in the bassinets. When they sleep, that is. Mostly they sleep during the day and they would sleep upside down on the hood of the car and nothing would wake them. Night though, they just don't want to settle. They're too young to know the difference between night and day and newborns are nocturnal so we've just got to deal. It's been hard not sleeping, though. And I haven't been able to do the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing during the day. More on that later.

One thing other mom was looking forward to was breastfeeding but that hasn't gone well either. The babies were so young they couldn't latch. After a lot of work she finally got Charlotte to do it sometimes but Nathan just won't. We've been told by several nurses that it's harder for boys and after all this time we think he may never get the hang of it. So she's pumping and we're giving them about 50/50 breast milk and formula.

After she was feeling a little better we were able to start going out with the babies and doing things. We've been able to go to Target and to dinner in addition to our doctor's appointments. I never anticipated how much attention they would draw. Before we could have been gum on the sidewalk for as much as people paid attention to us, but now random people come talk to us wherever we are. For me, this is just about my worst nightmare. I'm a woman of few words to those who know me well and to strangers they're lucky to get a grunt and a nod to most questions. Fortunately for me my other half is the opposite so she's been doing the talking. But man, I don't get it. If I saw some poor new mother at Target with her hands clearly full with twins, I might pass and smile but I would never think to go bother her and strike up a conversation. Maybe that's just me.

So, this month has been pretty rough. Everyone keeps telling us we're doing well, but they really only see the best of us and the babies. Alone it's very different. Just to speak to myself, I've been having a lot of really bad feelings and I'm not sleeping or eating well at all. For a variety of reasons there's not much I can do about it right now so I've been trying to just accept that this is life now and try to pass the time until it gets better, Everyone also says that these times will just fly but maybe that's just in retrospect because this past month has felt like 10 years and I think it's aged me that much as well. I'm trying to look for things to enjoy but it's just so much work that fun is just not there for me. I also got shafted on my leave at work and I actually have to go back in a week instead of in April like I thought. It's a long story and it sucks, but it is what it is.

Here's to month 2.

The Birth Story

Sunday December 28, 2014 started off like pretty much any other day we had been having. She felt miserable, but having been told by the doctor several times that misery was to be expected, we didn't think much of it. I went to the grocery store and we spent the day in bed watching football and me writing lesson plans.

We watched the Patriots get embarrassed by the Bills and settled in to watch the Broncos/Raiders. She is a Broncos fan. Well, she's a fan of Emanuel Sanders anyway. She had just laid down and commented that she had finally found a comfortable position. I went on with my work and a few minutes later she said her water broke. I asked if she was sure and after seeing the sheets, we were both sure.

We had the bag mostly packed and threw in a few last minute things, fed the cats and we were off. We're not too far from the hospital so it didn't take too long. We got there and they took us up to labor & delivery. We didn't even go through triage since she was still leaking so they knew the babies were coming.

Our regular O/B wasn't on call so we had a different guy. He was nice enough, I guess. They gave me disposable scrubs to wear and took us to the operating room. Both babies were still breech so there was no chance of a vaginal delivery, but we already knew that. I wasn't allowed in while they prepped her and did the spinal, but she said it actually wasn't bad. When I finally did get to go in, they told me not to touch anything blue since it was sterile. I wasn't about to touch anything anyway. But as I sat down, I noticed music was playing. I had heard it in the hall but I didn't pay much attention since I thought it was just hospital hall music. But no, they pipe in music in the operating room! And what songs were my children delivered to, you ask? "You're the One That I Want" from Grease and "Shake, Shake, Shake...Shake Your Booty". I kid you not. It was really bizarre and hilarious, especially when the nurses started singing.

They said I could watch the operation if I wanted, but I wasn't particularly interested. Not that it grossed me out, I just didn't care to see it. It was surprisingly short. They were born a minute apart. Since she wasn't quite 36 weeks yet, they took them to the NICU. But they said they hoped it was just for transition and that they wouldn't have to stay long. See, before we got there triplets were born and the level 3 NICU was full. So if ours needed to stay, they would have had to transfer them to the hospital across town.

I'm not sure what I thought it would look like, but it was a bunch of baby beds and monitors. And ours weren't in beds near each other so I stayed with Charlotte for a while and then went to Nathan. I took some pictures and took them back to the recovery room. She was doing well and told me to go back to the babies. Both babies sugar was a little low so they fed them and watched them. A few hours later they were cleared to leave the NICU and we went back to the recovery room.

By this time it was getting late so we didn't have any visitors. The nurses showed us where everything was and basically left us. There is no central nursery and all the babies "room in". They basically slept for a while and every hour the nurses came to check on us. They told us newborn babies are sleepy and have to be woken to eat, and they did mostly sleep. Sometime around 2:00 in the morning a nurse came and gave them a bath and the next morning we were moved out of the recovery room and into a regular room.

We stayed in the hospital for 3 days and would have stayed longer if they let us. We had no idea how hard a c-section recovery would be. I would have to devote a whole other post just to everything that entails. But on New Years Eve we cleaned up and packed them up to go home. What was really cool was that it was snowing and we rarely get snow. It just doesn't happen here, but it made the trip home memorable.

It's been 4 weeks today and what we've done and learned in that time can fill a post on its own too.

A Couple of Late Christmas Presents

(left) Charlotte Sue              (right) Nathan Henry
Born: 12/28/14, 4:02 PM       Born 12/28/14, 4:03 PM
5 lbs 15 oz, 18 inches           5 lbs 3 oz, 19 inches

A little earlier than expected, but they're here. Both are healthy and everyone is doing well. We spent the full 3 days allowed in the hospital but are home now. I will write more about their birth story later. Can't believe they are real and actually here.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Week 35 - Change is in the air

Officially 3 more weeks to go, but that's assuming we make it to 38 weeks.

At the growth scan last week the babies are measuring 5 pounds 6 ounces each. So that's almost 10.5 pounds of baby. They're past the point of needing preemie clothes so we threw them in a donation bag. They're at the point that if they were born now, they'd be fine even though they'd spend some time in the NIC-U. 38 weeks has always been the goal, but these little overachievers have been measuring ahead almost from the beginning. So there's a chance they could come even earlier.

At the last couple of appointments the doctors have hinted around to start watching contractions carefully and monitor movement even more. Everything is getting more uncomfortable, which partly comes with carrying the weight of twins. But at the same time, we are getting close.

If we make it to 38 weeks, then the date will likely be January 13, which I think would be a cool birthday since it would fall on Friday the 13th some years. We're going to try our darndest to keep them in that long. We are seeing doctors 3 times a week now. Today at the perinatologist the nurse suggested we have the O/B check her cervix next week just to see if anything is going on. Hopefully nothing is.

Our out-of-womb preparations are mostly done. The room is done and bags are mostly packed. We've got most of what we need to get them started in life and a bunch of people that are excited for them to come and meet them.

We bought baby books as well. They are really cool because they're customizable and come with extra pages. So we were able to take out the "Daddy" pages and put in extra "Mommy" pages. One of the pages asks us to write our hopes and dreams for the babies and it made me think about all the tragedies in the news recently with people being shot and killed. And it made me think "I hope my babies, especially my son, look white". I'm biracial (black and white) and the donor is white so I think they will. I was raised with the white side of my family so that's really what I identify with, but that's not how the rest of the world identifies me. This might sound sad, but I don't want my children to grow up fearing police and other people in positions of authority. But the fact is that racism is still a major problem and I feel if they look white, they'll have better opportunities in life.

Anyway, enough of that. It's Christmas and that's supposed to be time for peace on Earth and goodwill towards all men (and women). So I end on that note and wish you a happy holiday, whichever one you may celebrate. Or if you don't celebrate, then happy Thursday this week.

Week 32 - The Final Stretch

I write you today from a magical place called 'vacation'. You may have heard that this place is just a myth, but as someone who has seen the fabled land, I can attest that it does exist.

Last Wednesday was my last day of work for at least 5 weeks. I had been debating whether or not to tell my students I wouldn't likely be coming back and I thought I had settled on no, but at the last minute I decided to tell them after all. I have a really decent class this year and I haven't been able to say that for a while. I put up an ultrasound and asked if they knew what it was. They all gasped and raised their hands. After that I had to explain what a surrogate was and that I couldn't have babies of my own. But I didn't get into the lesbian stuff. They were all super excited so I'm glad I told them.

In all actuality, I probably will be back for a week after winter break. Things are going well and the doctors fully expect them to make it to the week of the 12th. I'm actually kind of glad because that first week back is our parent conferences and I can't have a sub do those. Plus that will give me some time to adjust them to the changes in the classroom that will come with having a sub for 12 weeks. At the end of March is spring break and then the two weeks after that is my second track break and then I'll be back for good.

In the meantime, we start monitoring twice a week this week. And we registered with the hospital and did the maternity tour. It was really interesting. The hospital we're having them at is a 'baby friendly' hospital. This basically means that they encourage breastfeeding and immediate skin-to-skin contact. And they don't have a central nursery, like you see on TV and movies. The babies stay with you in the room...all...the...time. They're of the mindset that welp...you made them, you deal with them. Not to say that they don't help you out, but it's not a week long vacation in the hospital like you might imagine. Actually, they said you stay 36 hours max for a vaginal delivery and 3-4 days for a c-section before they send you on your merry way.

Oh, one other cool thing about the hospital is that all babies get tagged with a security bracelet so if they get anywhere near an exit, an alarm sounds. And we have to wear an ID bracelet for each baby. The maternity ward is locked down and visitors have to check in by video before they're allowed in.

We've been taking classes this past month. We did baby basics, which was interesting. The instructor complimented my swaddling. We also did breastfeeding, which wasn't exactly what I expected. That instructor was super preachy and anti-formula, but people sign up for that class with the intention of breastfeeding so I feel like she wasted a bunch of time telling us how great breastfeeding is instead of telling us how to do it. I figure we'll get some better help from the lactation consultants at the hospital. We are taking a childbirth class too, which might seem pointless as we're having a planned c-section. But the class goes over c-sections too and they teach you how to recognize early labor (just in case) and anyway, we're curious to learn new stuff. And we are getting the car seats installed by professionals so we know it's done correctly.

For a while we were super concerned with getting the hospital bags ready, but it turns out you really don't need to take much. They give you pretty much anything you need. And the hospital isn't too far from where we live so if there was anything we wanted or needed from home, it would be a half-hour trip at most. I plan to stay at the hospital except for when I need to go home and tend to the cats. And when I need to eat because apparently they don't feed me and I'm sure I'm far too picky an eater to eat hospital cafeteria food.

I actually do have stuff to do this first week of vacation. It's not going to be all Skyrim and picking my nose in my underwear just yet. I have a dentist appointment because I realized I hadn't been since we moved. I realized this when the appointment card was forwarded from the old address. I also have to get the rest of my vaccines and I actually do have to go to work one day because I didn't get my FML paperwork until the weekend and my principal has to sign it before I take it to the doctor. Other than that, I'm going to tidy up the joint and enjoy our new TV. We've never had one in the bedroom before but we figured that after the semester ends we'll be spending a lot of time resting in bed (and me prepping stuff for my sub). And eventually we'll move it to the loft anyway.

That's it for now. Lol, I know that's a lot and I say 'that's it' like it's a short little anecdote. Sorry, we don't have any good ultrasound pictures. The last few have been just the tops of their heads and I don't  know that they'll get any better as the babies get bigger and have less room to move and turn. We'll see, though.

Week 28 - Time Flies, Time Changes

So, as it turns out, I simply have less time to blog now that I'm at work. My weekdays are basically work, doctor's appointments, home, sleep. Maybe eat. Our weekends have been packed with a variety of activities, though those might be over now. The weather is getting colder and she's just getting too uncomfortable to go out much. We've been trying to take it easy. Last Saturday we spent literally the whole day in bed with the laptops. It was great.

Yesterday my mom and aunt threw our baby shower. The timing worked out great to have a Halloween themed party. It was pretty awesome. We invited all of the same people from my birthday and more, so it was quite the affair. My costume was probably the second best. I was the bad guy from the Cobra Kai Dojo in the old school Karate Kid movies. The best...my trainer dressed as an 80's aerobics instructor.

We got a lot of great stuff for the babies and a bunch of gift cards and cash for the other stuff we still need. And everyone had a really good time. There's still Christmas coming before they're born (hopefully) so we should be pretty well set. Well, at least for material things anyway. I've been working on baby laundry mountains this weekend and putting the rest of the nursery together with all of the stuff we got.

This weekend we had to go and have the glucose tolerance test. It's one of those things we had heard many different stories. "Oh, it's not that bad" or "You don't have to fast" and so on. Well, our doctor was clear that it is a fasting test and they confirmed that at the lab. Fasting is hard because she's used to eating first thing in the morning and gets sick if she doesn't. So we wanted to get it out of the way as early as possible. The first draw wasn't bad and she said the drink wasn't bad either. Lemon-lime, though it probably would have been better chilled. I thought we would be able to leave for the hour in between, but no. We had to sit in the lobby watching HGTV.

An hour passed and we went back for the second draw and it did not go well at all. They couldn't get anything from the arm vein and I don't know why they tried poking the same vein again. Anyway, they went to the hand and she started to get really sick and actually passed out. I've passed out from different things before but I've never seen anyone pass out and it was really scary. I was thinking I should call 911 but the lab tech didn't seem too worried. I guess they must see that a lot. She finally came back around and after a few minutes she told them to go ahead and do the draw so we don't have to do this again.

After that they let her lie down for the next hour and did the final draw laying down. It went better and we were finally able to get some food, go home and relax for the day. It was rough one.

That brings us to November and daylight savings, which I find incredibly dumb but I am glad for the extra hour of sleep. November is going to fly by. Between staff development days, where we don't have students, Veteran's Day, which is a two-day holiday for me, and then Thanksgiving, I figure I only work about 8 days or something like that. And then I go on track break! I'm at a 12 month school so we go through the summer but we get 3 weeks of vacation 3 times throughout the year. My first break starts right after Thanksgiving and then runs into everyone's Winter break at the end of December. If these babies are born in early January I won't have to go back after Winter break. If they keep them in there as long as the doctors want, I might have to go back for a week or two.

I'm taking the full 12 weeks off and the way the calendar falls, that will take me to my second track break in April and then Spring break. So, my students likely won't see me from Thanksgiving until after Easter. That's a long time to be without their regular teacher, I know. But I've got to think about my new family. And I'll find them a decent sub.

Now, they don't have subs for college so the lady has a different situation. She only has 8 weeks of sick days, but her department chair worked out an awesome arrangement where she will actually get the entire semester off. So she won't have to go back until next August. He said he wants her to be able to spend time with her new family, which is pretty much the opposite of how they feel at my work. My boss didn't even acknowledge the babies until very recently. It's not that I'm looking for a ticker-tape parade or anything, but a simple 'congratulations' would  have been nice.

Although November is a short month, we've got a lot going on. Besides the usual appointments, we're also touring the hospital, I have a 5K and our Mothers of Multiples group is hosting the new MOM's tea. Plus Thanksgiving! She has really been looking forward to pregnant Thanksgiving. After all that, it's vacation time and the final baby countdown!

Week 23 - Matching Shirts & Matching Bellies

Is this a commentary on my girlfriend's style
or my cat's fat stomach?

Wow, I hadn't realized it had been almost a month since my last entry. Not that I don't have anything to say, but I guess I've been busier than I thought.

The first weeks of work are always busy, but this year has been crazy because of all of the changes. It's teacher stuff and not particularly interesting to anyone else, but we're hoping it calms down after next week and the final staffing changes are made.

In the real world, things are going well with the babies. We're at 23 weeks now and at one of the last ultrasounds they were finally able to confirm the genders. We were pretty sure since we had PGD, but we wanted to be completely sure. It is a boy and a girl. And they're movers. They move so much that they have a hard time getting a heart rate. So I think we're in for a couple of handfulls. They also had their cardiology scans and everything looks good in their little hearts.

We will be meeting with the regular O/B every two weeks starting next month. I guess that means we're getting close. She asked us if we had thought about a pediatrician and in truth we had thought about it, but that's about it. We don't know anyone with babies in our part of town. All of the mothers at the multiples meetings live on the opposite side of town, and we'd rather have a doctor nearby. So the doctor gave us a list of ones they suggest. We'll probably go with one of them if our insurance covers them.

Before

I was thinking about how similar raising babies is going to be to raising cats. See, we let our cats do all sorts of things we find cute. And then they don't end up being so cute anymore. Take the bassinets, for example. We thought it was adorable when they jumped in there but not as adorable when they wouldn't get out. And even less so when Bailey started scratching the sides. But we've got his number now.

After

Cute

Not so cute

And the stroller. Cute when they sat in the seats, and Bailey really made himself at home. But not so cute when I realized it was getting covered with cat hair that I had to vacuum out and put a blanket on it because that can be washed easily. We make all these modifications and adjustments and try to get them to do what we want and I wonder how much of that will transfer to parenting.

I don't know. They'll probably find ways to do what they want anyway...just like the cats do.