Essential Oils

There is quite the controversy over the use of Essential Oils EOs). Probably just as big an argument is which company has the safest and purest EOs. I have done some research, and looked at the websites of some of the companies out there.

I discussed with my husband (who still thinks of it all as "snake oil," but has agreed to indulge me) and come to the conclusion I need to follow my gut on this. So…. I bought a starter kit of EOs from Young Living.

I can't shake this feeling that this is going to be a healthier way for our family to live. I know there is a huge learning curve in using EOs safely and effectively. I also know that there will be times that we will still need traditional medical care.

Now, I need to decide what I am going to do first. It will involve something in the diffuser. I am thinking either Purification or Thieves. Possibly both? Obviously a little more research is needed. 

What about you? Are you curious about what EOs can do for you and your family? Join me as I explore this new avenue of caring for my family. Maybe you will decide to give them a try yourself.

Restart!

Whoa! It has been a REALLY long time since I've posted anything on this blog. Our lives have changed in so many ways in the last 3 years. Not only was our son, Adam, born December 1, 2011, but we also have a baby girl, Callie, who was born October 2, 2013. Our daily life is crazy to say the least.

So let's just hit the restart button here.

Since, I have attempted to blog before and not quite been able to keep up with it, I have little faith that I will be able to do this on a weekly basis. What can I say? Life has a way of speeding up. Finding time to write becomes more difficult and eventually becomes the lowest priority.

Over the past five years (since our twins were born) I have learned that I am not a perfect mom and probably an even less of a perfect wife. I am sure my family would say they love as I am in spite of my many flaws. However, I still strive to improve and be better at both. I feel as though I was made for this, I know I can do it.

This year I have several goals. I realize they may take more than a year to realize. There is no time like the present to get started

26 Weeks!!

We made it, 26 weeks! The final milestone before the baby is born. Of course, I would like him to stay put for another 11 or 12 weeks, but if he were to be born today he would have a very good chance at not only surviving, but living a normal healthy life. This is the week when I finally relax, finally take a deep breath and say, "WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!"

We haven't decided on a name for this little guy. We have several possibilities, but nothing seems to really fit. It was a bit of a stresser for me for a while, but I've come to realize that he won't go to school without having a name.

I am also finally ready to dig in and get his room ready. I have the valance and wall boarder, but it looks like I will have to buy a 2nd of each. I was thinking of only putting the boarder on two walls, but Craig thinks it will look better on all 4 of them. Also, I made the mistake of thinking the window in his room was the same size as the window in the family room, but it's not. It is almost twice the size, so the valance I bought is just a few inches too small. Unfortunately, the window is so large that 90% of valances are too small for it. Friends have given me some creative ideas, now I need to get some shopping done.

Today also marks the day that our sweet girls turn 23 months old! Just one more month until they are 2! I am not ready to admit I have 2 year olds, but they really haven't left me much choice. Not only are they sweet, loving and adorable, but they are also very mischievous. It never ceases to amaze us how fast they can go from being so happy to a full blown tantrum.

They have taken a serious interest in Mommy's growing tummy. Alli likes to climb up next to me on the couch and pull my shirt up so she can see the baby move. They both give him hugs and kisses all the time. They are going to be such great big sisters.

A little brother for our twins.

We had our big ultrasound last week. Everything looked great with the baby. We got to see all four chambers of the heart, both hemispheres of the brain, spine, ribs, arms, legs, feet and hands. Oh, and we also go to see that the baby is a BOY!!!!

Its crazy how things change with a second pregnancy. Not only have I been lacking on blogging, but pictures have taken a back seat, too. We've taken two, one at 8 weeks and one at 17 weeks. My goal is to get on this week, so we will be somewhat back on track.

I am finally passed the morning sickness that plagued me for the first 16 weeks. Now I am enjoying the second trimester headaches. I got to skip all of this with the girls. I know, every pregnancy is different, but what amazes me is just how opposite my pregnancies have been.

The girls are doing great! They are starting to understand that Mommy has their baby brother in her tummy. They will even put their hands on my tummy and say "baby."

We moved them to toddler beds about a month ago. Every week they are doing a little better. The most difficult part is that they have their very best friend to play with. Most nights I have to go in after a little while and sit in their room. They don't get out of their beds when I am in there, but it can take a while for them to stop fidgeting and go to sleep.

They are starting to turn into 2 year olds. I love that they are exploring new things and wanting to do more by themselves. However, I don't like the fighting, screaming and tantrums that come with it. Daddy has already taught them how to say they are 2. I keep trying to convince them they are still 1, but they don't believe me. Ha!

Crazy to think that in just 19 weeks we will have a baby boy and two two-year-old big sisters!

6-Weeks

Who needs protein? I want carbs! Ha ha. I am having huge carbohydrate cravings this week. Potatoes, pasta, oatmeal, cereal. I know I need to work in the protein because the baby needs it. I do have meat at dinner every night, I am just having a hard time adding in proteins for breakfast and lunch.

I only had afternoon morning sickness twice this week, and it passed relatively quickly. Here's hoping that I got it out of the way early on and won't have it bother me again. {A girl can wish, right?}

I am, however, still having quite a bit of heart burn. It has been very controllable with tums, so far. But it is happening when I'm not laying down now. I'm expecting this kid to have lots of hair!

I still have a bit of a belly, and my normal pants don't fit me anymore. But, I haven't gained any weight since the transfer. Which, trust me, I am not complaining about! I lost 10 pounds when I was first pregnant with the girls, which I would love to do this time, but I don't see it happening. As long as I'm not creeping up just yet, I'm happy.

Here we grow again!

We are ready for another baby. We haven't had any success trying on our own, and decided we were ready now. We had one of our "snow peas" thawed and transferred on March 24th. It has been 15 days since the transfer and Monday a blood test showed that I am indeed pregnant!!!! My hormone level came back at 137, which is nice and high for a single pregnancy (226 with the girls). I had a second test done on Wednesday (yesterday) and got the results back today, my hormone level went up to 332 (more than double, which is what we were looking for)! That means that I am 4 weeks, 5 days along, with a due date of December 10, 2011. Allison and Emmily are going to be big sisters!

It is crazy to me how fast things are happening this time around. I started having afternoon morning sickness over the weekend (right at 4 weeks) and I'm even starting to look like I have a bit of a prego belly. Well, to me it looks like that, to others it probably looks like I've gained weight around the middle. I've even started having heart burn at night when laying on my right side. I don't know what I was expecting, everyone says everything happens sooner with your second pregnancy. I just wasn't expecting it this fast. I thought I would have a good 4 weeks or so before I started feeling pregnant.

18-Months Old

Where does the time go? If my Dad has told me once, he's told me a thousand times that having kids makes you realize just how fast life goes. I swear time has sped up. My sweet tiny little babies are now 18-months old! They are still sweet and little, but very much so toddlers and not babies anymore. When did that happen? Allison is often called Alli and sometimes even Alli-Bear. She is so funny. She is always laughing and coming up with new ways to get us to chase her. Her newest thing is saying "NO" to everything. Not fun. Especially when it is followed by Emmily crying because Alli has come and taken a toy from her. Emmily is probably called Em or Emmily 90% of the time. We still call her Emmi, too, just not quite as often. She is the sweet girl. Its funny because the things she does are just cute, while Alli is down right funny. She loves to look at you from under her brow then start cracking up laughing. Of course, we think they are both adorable. The girls get very excited when the hear the garage door at night. They run to the door saying Dada! When he comes in the door Alli squeals and laughs and can't wait for him to pick her up. She is such a Daddy's girl. Em says hi then runs off, but as soon as he sits down she is standing in front of him asking to be picked up. They both talk up a storm. Most words you have to see the context to understand what they are saying, but they are trying. Em calls all drinks juice but Alli is starting to call them drinks. They can both say sister and know what their sisters' name is. However, if you ask Alli to say her sister's name, it sounds like she is saying Alli. Cracks us up. She really is trying to say Emmi, but it sounds like Alli. Em calls her sister both Alli and Allison, it is so sweet. The girls are the light of our lives. They bring us quite a bit of exhaustion, but so much more joy. I wouldn't trade having twins for anything.

1 Year Old!

I know, I know, it has been way too long since my last updates. What can I say? Life with twins is busy. That being said, I really do need to be better about updating my blogs. So here is my update for our now 1 year olds!

Our tiny babies have now entered the realm of toddler hood. It is bitter sweet to think about. They are growing up so fast. Getting them up in the mornings is pure joy! They are so happy and ready to get moving. It is so much fun, that on the days their Daddy is home, it is often a race to see who gets to open their door to see them first.

Allison cracks me up! Many mornings she tries to play peak-a-boo through the headboard in her crib. Once that is done, she will flop her self around her crib trying to play her own little version of chase. Many times (in true Renee fashion) hitting her head on the solid parts of her crib. It never seems to hurt her, though. Sometimes this all takes a back seat to her pointing at the ground saying "that, that, that." What is she pointing at? Her baby doll, the one that started the night in her crib with her. Once given her baby back, she hugs and rocks it. She can even tell you where the baby's nose is. Alli is a walking pro. She took her first steps at 11 months old and never looked back. Now she enjoys trying to get Mommy and Daddy to chase her. She will walk up to us and put her arms up to be picked up then suddenly turn and run the other way. If we chase her and catch her (by either tickling her or picking her up) she squeals and giggles. She is into everything and loves to test her limits. When Mommy and Daddy tell her not to touch something she often smiles at us and touches whatever it is we told her not to. Often this makes Daddy crack up laughing, which does nothing but encourage her. He is working hard on not laughing at her, but I have to admit, its often difficult for me not to laugh as well.

Emmily is just as funny as her sister, but in her own right. As soon as she sees the bedroom door open she starts jumping on her trampoline (or mattress, as most people call it). Generally with a binki in her mouth and three on the floor right in front of her. She jumps and jumps until it is her turn to be picked up. During which time is takes brief breaks to point at various objects and saying "wa's dat." Once she gets her cuddles she will push back to point at Alli and say "sis'er" and wave to her. It's a sad affair when it comes time for a diaper change. Tears and screams the second she knows she is about to be put on the changing table. She just loves cuddles in the morning and could stay in my arms indefinitely, if allowed. She isn't walking just yet. Oh, she knows how to, and can do it with ease. She is just scared to let go. She will walk along the couch just barely running a finger along it. We have gotten her to take a few steps by putting her out in front of us, but after one or two turns she sits and crawls. In her own time, I'm sure. When she is told not to touch something she usually pulls her hand back and looks at us. She might try to touch it again, but will pull her hand back as soon as she hears us tell her not to. Sometimes if it is something she really, really wants to touch, she will cry when told no. Her favorite games are to be held upside down and tickled on her neck or thrown up (just a very little) in the air. She will just giggle and giggle as so as she anticipates the game coming on.

Both girls can sign "more" and "all done." Granted, they don't sign exactly the way most people who know sign language do, but we know what they are trying to say. They love to play peak-a-boo with clothes, blankets, towels, even their hands. They give kisses and hugs, though not always when asked. They can also tell you that a cow says "mmmmmoo," a duck says "uak uak," a snake says "tssss," and a lion says "grawr."

This year has been amazing and wonder-filled in so many ways. Oh sure, there have been a lot of tears along the way as we all adjust to life together. However, I can't remember having a faster or happier year.

8 Months Old!

It just doesn't seem possible that our twins are 8 months old. They are actually 35 weeks old today. No, I don't still count their age by weeks. I got an e-mail today that told me.

After seeing that e-mail I started thinking about what was going on when I was 35 weeks pregnant. That's the week I started having contractions and the week I was considered full term. I actually thought I would be meeting our precious girls at any minute. The little stinkers made us wait 3 more weeks.

It amazes me every day how much they have changed. They both crawl, and Emmily even pulls herself up to standing. They smile all the time and it melts me heart when I hear them say Mama. They are starting to snuggle out of love which almost brings me to tears each time. We have even gotten a few kisses from them.

The girls are so sweet, loving and fun. I wish everyone was as happy as I am. My dreams have definitely come true. I have an amazing husband who loves me and our children. He provides for our family in a way that I never could. It allows me to do everything I can to fill our home, family and lives with love. To top it all of I have the most wonderful twins girls in the world. What can I say? I am blessed.

Six months and counting…

Where has the time gone? Our twins are six months old and I have yet to finish birth announcements or even Christmas cards (it is now April). Granted, I could be using the time I am using to type this, but hey, blog updates are important, too. Especially because it has been so long since my last update.

The girls are so different from just a month ago. Their little personalities are starting to come out more and more. Their Daddy has dubbed Emmily the Gremlin and Allison the Koala Bear.

There is no keeping Emmily in one spot. This girl is all over the place. She rolls and scoots anywhere she wants to go. Except that she won’t leave her matt. I don’t know what it is, the small ¼” drop, the feel of the tile, but something scares her just enough that she won’t pass it’s edges. She can say Mama and Dada, and has to touch everything she sees. Not surprisingly, she had been told NO quite a few times already. So much so that I’m convinced “no” will be her next word.

Allison is so peaceful in comparison to her sister. She does roll around to play with her toys and she can say Mama and Dada, but once she masters something, she isn’t that interested in trying it again. At one time we thought we had quite the jibber-jabber on our hands. She talked all day long. Now that she is working on more of her motor skills, she doesn’t talk as much. Yesterday she actually figured out that she could move off the matt by scooting backwards. I think it’s hilarious that she isn’t afraid to move off it, but Emmily is.

It is so much fun to see every little milestone as they grow and develop. We absolutely love being parents.

3 1/2 Months Old

The girls are now 3 1/2 months old. I still can't believe its been that long. I think its best to tell you about them individually this time.

Allison: She is such a doll. Chipmunk cheeks that get bigger with every smile and a round little booty. Her Daddy tells her she has junk in the trunk all the time. She still loves to sleep on her tummy and will cuddle with anyone to lets her lay on their chest. For the most part she is very content, only crying when she is tired, boared or hunger. She was very patient for a while, but now if she knows you are making a bottle or if she sees me getting ready to nurse its an instant cry. The only other time she cries is when you are burping her. She does not like having her food taken away before she is completely finished. Unfortunitly, she does still have a bit of reflux and therefore, HAS to burp during her feedings. Even if she disagrees.

Allison is quite the talker. She will repeat "ahh" and "ohh", we are curently working on more sounds and adding in consanants. She does squeal, but hasn't quite gotten down the giggle yet. One of her favorite things to do is play with the musical keys haging in her playpen. Although, she hasn't quite gotten the idea of making them "sing." She does love batting at them and trying to grab them. She is just starting to roll over to her side. She will roll to her belly while in her crib, but thats pretty much the only time. She's just not that interested in rolling over just yet.

She is sleeping about 5 to 7 hours at night. She goes to bed at about 8pm and then wakes up around 3am for a feeding then usually goes right back to sleep until 7am. Its a wonderful schedule. If I could just get her to nap more during the day and become a little more regular with her nightime sleep. But, we'll talk more about that later.

Emmily: My other sweet baby girl. She has the cutest smile going all the way up to her eyes. Until the past week she really hasn't had much to say. Just lots of smiles. She is talking a lot more now, but she's not quite to the stage where she will repeat "ahh" or "ohh" sounds. She has started giggling, but she has to be in the right mood to get her to do it. I haven't been able to get her to giggle yet with her Daddy in ear shot, but I'm sure she will soon.

She really dislikes being on her tummy. Most of the time when I force her to lay on her tummy, she rolls over to her back. The other day I was playing with her on a blanket on the floor, and she rolled from her back to her belly then to her back, in a circle, landing right next to my side. She was very proud of herself. She has also started scooting in a circle on her back. This has caused her to loose all the hair in a line on the back of her head. It looks funny, but she loves being able to move.

She differs on her sleep patterns at night. Some nights she will wake for a 3am feeding, but others she won't wake until 5. No matter when she gets in her middle of the night feeding, she always goes back to sleep until 7ish in the morning. She has been much better at sleeping through the night than during the day. The little stinker rarely naps.

Allison and Emmily are so precious! I can't imagine having better babies. Granted, things are not "perfect" but they are pretty darn close. The only thing left to round out our happy family routine is getting them to nap during the day.

I wasn't the normal first time Mom. I didn't read all kinds of books on different parenting philosphies. I thought I knew enough to take a little from what I've heard from family and friends and come up with my own style. Afterall, I was having twins. Surely these methods wouldn't be able to offer me as much as they would a new Mom with just one baby. So I spent my time reading up on twins, and how to treat them individually and help them over come normal twin set backs (like a 6 month delay on speech).

Well, I finally gave in. With both girls going on napping strikes and sometimes nursing strikes as well, it was time to get more information. So I reserved two books from the library that many of my friends have recommended, Healthy Sleep Habbits, Happy Child and Babywise. I am 10th in line for HSHHC, but just got Babywise.

Wouldn't you know it, I am already following most of this method. Most of the "pitfalls" they describe, I managed to avoid. That got me to thinking that maybe, just maybe, there is something to these different parenting styles and philosophies than I thought.

For that reason, I am starting a new blog. This one will be open to everyone and anyone, no password required. However, it will not be based on Allie and Emmi and will not have their pictures. This will still be our family blog for updates about the girls and their continued growth and progress. The new blog will be for exploring Babywise and HSHHC and how they help me to get my girls on a better sleeping, napping, playing and eating schedule without being stuck to a hyperscheduled day. Here is the link for anyone intersted in following along with us: http://sleepytwinmommy.blogspot.com/

2 Months Old

Its amazing how fast time flies. Our girls are already two months old. At the same time it feels like they have always been a part of our lives. I guess that's partly due to the fact that I always knew I would have twin girls. I told my parents when I was 11 or 12 that I was going to have them when I grew up. I supposed it could also be because they fit so perfectly into our lives. We are a family.

Both girls have mastered smiling and have really been showing off their adorable gummy smiles the past couple of days. They have also changed from looking like newborns to looking more like infants. Their complexions have cleared up and you can start to see more of what their skin tones will be.

Allison has been trying really hard to giggle. So far it doesn't quite come out as a sound yet. She grunts and coos all the time she is awake. She also has some reflux. Some days are worse than others. The doctors doesn't think its anything to be concerned about unless she stops gaining weight or seems to have a sore throat. Apparently the medications they can give her are know to have some side effects that the doctor would rather avoid. She still loves her swing and being cuddled before she falls asleep.

Emmily is still my cuddle bug. She is definitely a Mama's Girl. When she has had enough of everything else going on her in little world I am the only one who can comfort her and calm her down. I haven't really noticed her trying to giggle, but she does smile a lot and stick out her tongue quite a bit. I think she is trying to coo some more, but it doesn't quite have any sound to it yet.

They are still wearing some of their newborn size clothes. I have packed away all the preemie sizes. They are starting to out grown the smallest of the newborn size as well. I am guessing that in the next two weeks they will be in their 0-3 month size clothes. I put them both in footed pajamas tonight and they fit them exactly perfectly. If they grow at all they will be too small. Its funny though because it almost seems like they are shorter on Emmily than on Allison.

They have their 2 month well visit with the doctor on the 14th of December. They will have to get shots. I'm not looking forward to that visit. We will get to see their weight and length at that time as well.

Last week, Thanksgiving week, was a big one for them. On Sunday their cousin Jadynn turned 3, so we went to Phoenix with for her birthday party. The girls got to meet all three of their great grandparents and some Aunts and Uncles they hadn't met yet. On Monday the Wilkerson family arrived in Tucson from South Carolina. It was so much fun having them here and the extra help was very much appreciated. We all headed to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and they were around all their family members that live there, plus the Wilkersons and their Great Grandparents. It was a bit over whelming for them. They were actually really good, but in the end just wanted Mommy to hold and rock them. My plan is to work on helping them learn to put themselves to sleep in hopes that it will help them deal with all the extra people loving on them at Christmas.

6 weeks

Can it be true? Are our girls 6 weeks old already?

We have been very busy these last few weeks. Allison started smiling at us when she's playing at about 4 weeks. Emmily started her smiling at 5 weeks. Emmily started sporadically sleeping 5 to 6 hours a night at 4 1/2 weeks and Allison started doing the same at about 5 weeks. This past week they have both slept 5-6 hours at night 5 of the last 7 days. Those seem like such huge milestones to me, but there are so many more still to come.

With sleeping more at night, they are awake more during the day. Usually this isn't a problem, and I have a wonderful time playing with them. However, this week especially, they have been staying awake while the other wants to eat. They aren't quite at the independent play stage yet, so the one that wants to play has to be content with the swing or play gym until her sister is fed. Sometimes they aren't too happy about that.

I did take Allison to the doctor on Monday. She has been spitting up much more than I would like. The dr thinks she is just eating too much and spitting up whatever she doesn't need. On average babies gain about 1 oz a day, they are averaging 1.5oz a day. We go back on Tuesday just to get their weights checked to make sure they are still averaging the same weight gain. We started gas drops and gripe water this week in hopes of controlling the spit up. Wouldn't you know it, the gas drops seems to work better for Emmily and the gripe water seems to work better for Allison. Just one more difference between them.

I've decided that God is the only one that could ever possible love these little girls as much as I do. Oh, I'm sure Daddy is a close second, but I don't think its humanly possible for anyone to love them like I do. Sure staying home with them is EXHAUSTING. And truthfully, there are days when I wish for a break. But I still enjoy being with them.

I love the way they cuddle in when the fall asleep on me. I am amazed at how strong they are getting when they are laid on their tummies, and how they now turn their heads towards me when I talk to them. I love to play Patty Cake, So Big, and This Little Piggie with them. I even get a couple of smiles out of them before they don't feel like playing any more.

We really don't have much of a scheduled routine. They seem to be doing just fine on the schedules they have set for themselves. They sleep 5-6 hours at night and 3-5 hours at a time during the day. Some times they wake to play for about 20 minutes then they are ready to sleep again. I would like to start a night time routine in a few weeks. It would be nice to have baths, story time, cuddles, then bedtime, but I think they are still a little young for that.

The best 3 weeks of our lives.

How many ways can you fall in love? It must be an endless number. These girls do something everyday that reminds me just how wonderful they are. We have definitely been blessed.

I love that it has become obvious that they are starting to see objects further away. They practice all kinds of facial expressions when they are falling asleep. It melts my heart when they smile. I’m very excited for when they do that in response to seeing their Daddy or me.

They are such good babies. I’m not going to lie though; it is a LOT of work taking care of two babies. Craig and I joke all the time that one would be a breeze compared to this. He’s even planning on when we can start trying for baby number 3.

Allison is usually the more independent twin. She still like her cuddle time, but also enjoys her swing and bouncer seat. She really only cries when there is something wrong with her or if she decided she wants one of us to hold her.

Emmily is my little snuggle bug. She often decides that she wants her Mommy to hold her and cuddle before she will sleep. If anything happens to scare or upset her, she doesn’t calm down until she gets cuddles from me. She is still a little small for the swing and cries when I try to put her in it. She loves her bouncer seat and to be rocked in our rocking recliner.

We are still working on breastfeeding. I seem to only have enough supply for one and a half babies. We’ve tried a number of different things from pumping every two hours to feeding both girls and then supplementing both with formula afterwards. Right now we are trying to alternate between nursing and formula bottles with each baby on a day by day basis (ie: day one – Emmi gets bottle, Alli is nursed; day two – Emmi is nursed, Alli gets bottle). So far this seems to be the easiest solution, and Daddy likes that he gets to be more involved in the feedings when he’s home.

We are also working on getting Mommy some more sleep. Craig takes over from about 7 or 8 until about 11. There have only been a couple of times when he’s needed some help because both girls woke up at the same time to eat.

It still amazes me every day that these two precious little girls are here, and they are ours. I know we have so much to learn and so much to look forward to. But for now I am enjoying every moment of the newborn phase, even through the lack of sleep and weepy emotions.

37 weeks, 6 days (close enough to 38 weeks)

Today is the day!! There's no turning back now. We will be parents before the day is over. I'm anxious to see how big they are and what they look like. If they have any hair (I've had a lot of heart burn) and how close to each other they look.

I had a very rough weekend. I started having contractions Friday night, they were 7 minutes apart for 2 hours. Then they spread back out. They continued off and on through out the weekend. I was so sore and tired by the time I had my appointment on Monday. I must have looked just as bad as I felt, I didn't even have to say much to the doctor before he decided to move my c-section to this week. He also suggested taking Tylenol 4 times a day to keep it in my system to help with pain. That has helped quite a bit as far as taking the edge off. I'm still sore, but it is so much more bearable.

I had one last NST on Wednesday. Both girls reacted great. Allison's heart rate was in the 150's and Emmily's was in the 170's. Big difference between the two, but apparently nothing to worry about.

So the plan for today is to be at the hospital by 2:30, and surgery at 4:30. Craig and the girls will be taken to the nursery so the girls can be weighed and banded. During which I'll be taken to the recovery room. As soon as I'm settled in recovery, Craig and the girls get to come and spend the next couple of hours with me. Then we will be transferred to a regular room. As long as my pain is under control and I'm able to get up and walk around on my own, we should be back home Saturday night.

Its still so surreal. From this day on, we will now be a family of 4.

37 weeks

I really thought I would never see this day. 37 weeks pregnant with twins, that's just crazy!! Not only are most twins born by now, but this is the day when singleton pregnancies are considered full term. There is no longer any question about their health due to early birth.

I had a doctor appointment on Monday. Basically there hasn't been any progress since my last appointment a week and a half ago. I've still been having contractions, but they just aren't doing anything. My guess is because they are both breech and basically stuck in their current positions. He said unless my water breaks he will see me next Monday and go over all my pre-op instructions. That will be my last doctor appointment as the girls are set for a cesarean the following Monday.

On Wednesday I had another non-stress test. Both girls responded as they expected them to. I actually talked to the girls and asked them to take a nap during the test. I told them I know they are completely healthy and if they sleep and not respond as much then I'd be able to hold them in my arms that night. Allison didn't agree, she moved all around. Emmily on the other hand that the hiccups. When they went away, she did try to sleep. I was so proud of her for listening already! But the mean nurse came in and pushed and shoved on her through my belly to make her wake up and move. I'll have to think of another tactic for my next test on Saturday.

I was actually able to sleep better on Monday and Tuesday nights. I started using a heating pad for my back/side/ribs and hips and a cold pack for my nerve/skin burning. I thought I had finally found the solution to survive the next two weeks. But by Wednesday night it stopped working. I still found some relief, but my ribs/side never stopped hurting and my nerve burn started back up in the very early morning.

Needless to say I am ready to have these girls. I love the time we've gotten to spend together, just the three of us, and I will always cherish it. But my body is simply tapped out at this point.

36 weeks

YAY! We made it! There's no such thing as a 100% guarantee for a healthy baby, even with just one. But we are as close to that as we can get! Very few babies born from 36 weeks on, twins or otherwise, have any health problems.

This has definitely been a roller coaster week. I really didn't think much of it when the doctor told me last Thursday that I should go to the hospital if I get too uncomfortable or am in pain. Now I know exactly why he said that. I started having much harder contractions on Friday. They were even 10 minutes apart for a little while. But they stopped. Friday evening and all of Saturday I was very sore. My stomach from the contractions, my back and my pelvic area (since the bones are trying to move). I know I could've gone to the hospital for pain meds, them come back home, but I really don't want to take anything stronger than Tylenol if I don't have to.

On Saturday I spent more time in water than I did out of it. It started with a nice warm shower in the morning which felt wonderful on my back. Later I had to get in the bath to help with the pelvic pain. That felt so good that I heated up the pool and stayed in there for a while. It helped because I was actually able to sleep the though the night, only getting up twice. Big difference from the previous night where I was up every 2 hours. I still had contractions on Saturday, but only one every couple of hours with just a few others that slipped in between.

The pain in my stomach, back & pelvic area continued through Tuesday, which was by far my worst day. I was at my breaking point and just couldn't find any long lasting relief. I ended up taking Tylenol and 1/2 a Unisom as an attempt to get a better nights sleep. While the Unisom did help me sleep, the Tylenol only lasted a couple of hours.

I haven't had any contractions since Tuesday night. That allowed my muscles to relax, so Wednesday and Thursday I felt great!

Wednesday night however, I noticed that Allison hadn't moved around as much as she normally does, but Emmily was moving around normally. I pulled out my handy dandy heart monitor and easily found both heart rates and they were both pretty similar so I knew they weren't in any danger. We decided it was still worth a trip to the women's center to have them monitored to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with her.

After 20 minutes on the heart monitor they let us go home. I wasn't 100% satisfied with that, and made a call to my OB first thing Thursday morning. He said he thinks she's just gotten so big that she can only make small movements now, and that I just can't feel them. He wants me to go in Saturday morning and get hooked up to the heart monitors for an extended amount of time. This is called a non-stress test. This gives them a better picture of even the slightest movements the girls are making. After a non-stress test, they can safely say the babies will not have any undetected life threatening problems for 3 days. They will repeat the non-stress tests twice a week until I deliver the girls. Which we are hoping will be this week! Stay tuned to Facebook for any big developments!

35 weeks

What a crazy week this has been!

I started having contractions on Tuesday. Fairly mild but several of them. So we called the doctor to see what they wanted us to do. We were told to wait until I started having more consistent and painful contractions. They slowed down around 4pm then I only had one every now and then for the rest of the day and all of Wednesday. Yesterday I only had a few of them.

I had my last ultra sound on Wednesday. The technician called them a big tangle of baby. She actually had a difficult time matching limbs to the proper baby at first. After a little while she was able to match them up and get their measurements. They have plenty of fluid and are right on track and together weigh in at 11 pounds 1 once. That's a lot of baby for one body!

I had an appointment with my doctor on Thursday. He asked how the ultra sound went because the results weren't scanned in for him yet. So I told him what the tech had told me. I had my Strep B test and my first cervical check. Its a good thing I'm going to have a c-section. My cervix is pointing backwards! As far as he could tell, I'm not dilated much, if at all. My next appointment was set up for Monday. He decided that 4 days wasn't really would make much of a difference and had me cancel it, so my next appointment is on the 21st. He also had me make one for the 28th so that I will have one on every Monday up to the scheduled c-section. However, he did say that he didn't think I would make it that far. He is putting me full term as of today. If I feel too uncomfortable, sore, or think I need to be seen for anything, I'm to go to the hospital from here on out.

Needless to say we are getting very excited and anxious to meet our girls. Craig thinks they will be born today. I think they will wait until tomorrow because that is our anniversary. However since my contractions have pretty much stopped, I'm guessing it will be at least another week. I guess only time will tell!

34 weeks

The count down is officially on. Some twin websites say that this is the week that most twins are considered full term. I still would like them to wait another two weeks, but they really could come at any time during the next four weeks. I can't wait to meet my sweet babies.

To be honest, I'm also happy that I'll be getting my body back. I'm ready to be able to breath and bend and lay on my back again. But being able to hold the girls in my arms will definitely be the highlight for me.

Craig asked me this week if I was worried about getting them mixed up. Honestly, I really haven't been. I've tried to plan a head a little for that. Once we are allowed to put our own clothes on them (which I think is within hours) I plan to put purple socks on one and pink on the other. I've packed several pair of both. He then asked how we would know which one we were putting which color on. I'm pretty sure the bands the nurses and doctors put on them as soon as they are born will let us know. I think this is a real concern for him. I think he might be worried that he won't be able to tell them apart as they grow. I have faith in him, and think he'll do great. I know we will find a way so he feels comfortable telling them apart.

I've been pretty lazy this week. My ankles, feet and hands have been swelling more, so I've been trying to keep my feet propped up. I've also been tired this week. I just can't sleep much because one side or the other is too sore for me to lay on it. I guess that means we really are coming near the end of my pregnancy.

Thursday night we had a quick trip to the hospital. I was having a harder time breathing and it made me light headed. Craig made me call the on call doctor. He said it might be nothing, but that we should go to the hospital to have my oxygen levels checked. He actually said we could wait a little bit and see if it got better, but Craig wanted to go right away. We were only there for an hour or so. They said I was just out of room for my lungs to properly expand and that is why I'm getting dizzy. She also said I need to get as much protein as possible to help with the swelling.

I have a doctor appointment next week on Thursday. I also have an ultra sound appointment on Wednesday. The OB appointment will be the first of my weekly appointments, which are a little more in depth than the other appointments.

I had my first major food craving this week, too. Well, it really wasn't a food. I really wanted a strawberry eegee. For those of you who don't live in Tucson, Eegee's is a fast food sub sandwich place here in town. They have this frozen fruit drink, kind of like an icee only thicker and made with real fruit. Anyhow I asked Craig to stop on his way home from work to get me one. At first he said no, but he quickly changed his mind. He said I've been good and hadn't sent him out for anything so far, so I deserved it.

Have a great Labor Day everyone!

To my sweet baby girls.

Dear Allison and Emmily,

Four years and ten months ago Daddy and I started to work on our dreams of having a family. Never in a million years did we think it would be as much of a struggle as it was. There were times when we thought it just wasn't going to happen. But we never gave up. Now you are only a few weeks away from being born. We couldn't be happier. We loved you for such a long time and I can't wait to see your little faces and tell you just how much that is.

I've been very lucky to have a fairly uncomplicated pregnancy. I was on bed rest for the last three weeks of my first trimester, but that really is it. All the scary things I've read about being pregnant with twins, I've managed to avoid. You have both grown right on track with where the doctors think you should be. I'm already so proud of you both.

Allison, the doctors call you Baby A because you are going to be the oldest. For the longest time you were laying right around the middle to lower part of my belly. I felt your movements first and more often through out my pregnancy. During our ultrasounds you seem to want to be the star of the show. Your measurements are usually taken first. Once the technician moves on to your sister, you tend to try to get back on the screen. Either by kicking, punching or moving your head into the area. From the ultrasounds you have a cute little button nose and are slightly smaller than Emmily. I can't wait to see how your personality develops. Maybe you'll be our little movie star.

Emmily, the doctors refer to you as Baby B because you are higher up, which means you will be born second. You have spend the majority of my pregnancy in my ribs. You like to be stretched out as much as possible and as a result made my ribs spread out quite a bit. Because you were under my bones I didn't really feel your movements as much, but I did feel the side effects of them. My ribs got very sore. During our first big ultrasound you were laying on your belly. At the second one you looked like you were trying to wiggle your way up as high into my ribs as you can go. You are a little bigger than Allison, but you also have a cute little nose. I think you have your Daddy's cheeks. I can't wait to see if you are going to be our snuggle bug.

As of our last ultrasound you two have moved to more of a side by side position. You like to push your heads in opposite directions to my sides. While it is cute to see you both moving around at the same time, it also tends to make it hard for me to breath. Today I am 33 weeks 4 days pregnant with you two. I've read that twins are considered full term as early as 34 weeks, that's only 3 days away. I hope you keep growing and developing your lungs a little longer than that. My guess is that you will be here right around 36 weeks. My hope for your birth is that you are both completely healthy and able breath on your own. No matter what, Daddy and I will be there with you the entire time.

We love you more than you can ever know and we are so excited to finally meet you. We're not the only ones, either. Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Rachelle and Uncle Jason and your cousins Jordan, Skyler, Jadynn and Kenzee will be there to see you as soon as possible. Grandma might even be there when you are born. We have so many other family members and friends that are waiting to meet you, too.

So keep growing my sweet angels. Get as strong as you can over the next few weeks. Daddy and I will see you very soon.

Love always,
Mommy