Twin v. Singleton Belly: Part VI

27ish weeks with #3:

27 weeks with the boys:
i still think i'm almost the same size, the difference (that you can't see in these pics) is that i am WIDER this time, & carrying lower, whereas with the dudes both of them were right up front. this was confirmed for me by a very sweet Lebanese woman at my fav mid.eastern grocery, who exclaimed to me with a big smile this week, "oh my! you're growing so big & wide! are you sure you aren't having twins? no? well, it must be a big healthy baby boy!" this was meant as a compliment, so i took it in the spirit in which it was meant, but it gave me a good laugh, nonetheless. (no, i'm still not telling the sex!)

in other news, when we were in recovery at the hospital yesterday after conrad's surgery, the 2 nurses with us were also twin moms, with kids born at 33 weeks, & they were shocked at how huge our boys were. their kids were between 2 & 3 lbs, which is typical for 33 weekers, while our guys were 5 lbs each. i knew at the time that they were big, but hearing about other babies born at the same gestation just makes me realize all over again how incredibly lucky we were. (it also makes me slightly nervous about how big our singleton will be, but i guess that what i get for marrying a giant!)

sock it to me baby!!

this is the first year i've participated in SITM, & this is my first post to show off my awesome new socks! this was a blast, & i'll definetly be doing it again. i highly recommend checking it out next time around. :)
my sock buddy was the super understanding niobe, author of www.deadbabyjokes.blogspot.com. unfortunately SITM coincided with my grandfather's passing & i got delayed in finding/sending socks. she totally rocked as a buddy despite my crappiness, & sent me these awesomely fuzzy socks that i've been wearing non-stop since i opened them. (please try to ignore the yucky swollen ankles... i do!)
& then, she also sent these crazy adorable argyle baby socks for con & val:

i mean, seriously-- how cool is that? to me, that's an above & beyond sock buddy, & is demonstrative of why i wanted to be part of SITM in the first place.

the blogging community has been such an amazing source of support, first following the losses of my first babies, then during a scary twin pregnancy, as a new mom, & finally as an unexpectedly expecting soon-to-be mom of 3. i would never have thought, 2 yrs ago, that this would be a venue where i'd find friends. real, honest to life friends. yet here i am-- connected to women across the country who were kind enough to reach out to me when i was struggling. i only hope that i've been half the friend to you all that you've been to me.

& now for some baby toes!!
here's conrad, modeling the argyle in orange:

& val'a chubby toes in a lovely sky blue:

thanks again niobe! & thanks to any one who takes the time to read my ramblings-- much love to you all! :)

OMG

yes, i just used "OMG" as a title. no, i am not 13, just a lazy typist.

anyways-- OMG!!!! the boys will be ONE YEAR OLD in just 2 weeks!!!

i just looked at my ticker & realized how darn old they're getting. i guess i better get on the stick with birthday party plans, eh?


& speaking of OMG-- last night, as we were putting the boys to bed, we lost power. & it was dark. like, DARK dark. pitch black, one might say. did we have flashlights at the ready? of course not! did we even have flashlights in a rational place, near batteries? HA! why would we do something like that?
so we went on a hunt for flashlights & batteries, & as soon as we walked out of the room, the boys became hysterical. (not that they were happy about the super silent scary dark before then). i found our leftover pumpkin lights from halloween (the fake flickering candle kind) & put those in the bedroom & we kept looking. N found a real light first, & picked up conrad, who promptly puked all over the bedroom. yay reflux. bc the light he had found sucked, i kept looking & he started cleaning up. i find a light (that also sucks), & then hear N yelling, so i double time it to the bedroom & find that val has also decided to puke all over his crib & the bedroom.
we clean up as best we can in the total blackness, & now NO ONE can sleep & everything smells like vomit, so we all hang out on our bed & cuddle while N & i read by flickering pumpkin lights. the guys finally passed out & we followed suit not long after.
good times.

this morning, we stocked all our flashlights & moved them to more sensible locations. blackouts rock.

family habits

i firmly believe that people are creatures of habit, & some of the best memories stem from family rituals. they may be silly, or simple, or just plain weird, but i think they're important. some of my favorite memories from childhood aren't the big events, but recollections of the everyday routine.

my mom & i were talking about our "old" family rituals, which got me thinking about our "new" family rituals....

• the friday fish fry at a local diner, ever since we've been married. N is barely catholic, but is 100% devoted to fish on fridays. needless to say, that's our plan for today as soon as he's out of court (yay OT!)
• since the boys have been born, our bedtime ritual involved some serious tickles from daddy, without which they are very put out.
• our morning ritual involves some hang out time in jammies for all participating parties, then oatmeal & fruit while we watch cooper & scout (the birds) run amok on the kitchen table (the birds get to be free range while they eat their breakfast).
• the guys also insist on being in their high chairs to watch me cook dinner in the evenings. i'm not sure how this became a ritual, but they have to be in there with me, playing with measuring spoons (or other baby-safe kitchen implements), while mom sings & dances around the kitchen, or riots ensue.
• good night moon is also a MUST before naptime. if i try another book, tears are pretty much inevitable. we love good night moon.
• every christmas eve is spent at my aunt's. mass, dinner & N's red velvet cake, every year. the man can BAKE.
• another baking related ritual-- ever since N joined the family, he bakes for every birthday, & every special occasion. when something is coming up, he gets requests from family weeks in advance. however, i usually get final say on what he makes. (one of the perks of being the wife!)
• every weekend when my folks are in town, we all go to the same diner & the same waitress brings every one (except me, i choose to be difficult) the same breakfast & the same drinks, while the guys make a huge mess of their toast & we watch all the awesome church hats.

looking back on your childhood, what stands out most-- special occasions, or every day, every week, every month, every year kind of things? what are some of your family rituals from then & now?

random recent pics, bc i have nothing clever to say

the guys, digging into some quinoa. (i've been on a quinoa bender lately. i don't know why, since it doesn't have a ton of taste on its own, i'm just addicted.) the dudes enjoy it too, & enjoy making a mess of it even more (see conrad's face, below.)

playing in their old tub, yesterday with digger the cat. it was one of *those* days... nothing kept them happy for long; they were both had serious cases of the WHINES all day long. a down side to twins-- when one has an "off" day, the other invariably decides to join him as a cohort in grumpiness. so i got creative & tried to dig up a bunch of "new" things for them to do (i.e. letting them get soaked & make a mess in the living room) in an attempt to forestall the whining for a while. it sort-of worked. we made it through the day, anyways.

& yes, i should pry bust out another belly-comparison pic for #3. i'll try to get one up this weekend. i really feel pretty good-- all the usual 3rd tri aches & pains & swelling (really-- can you believe we're in the 3rd tri already? i think i'm still in shock.) but scads better than i felt with the dudes at any point in time.

i'm starving (again) so i'm off to rustle up some more grub while the guys are still napping... hopefully i have another hour or so before they're up. long naps rock!!

Do you ever:

• look around you & wonder when exactly you lost the battle against the rising tide of baby crap that has become your living room?
• toss something in the diaper genie & accidentally get a whiff of 3 day-old diaper stank that pretty much makes you want to vomit?
• decide you're going to change out of pajamas, only to lose your incentive & end up in pajama pants anyways?
• let your kids hang out in jammies all day bc the thought of wrestling them into real clothes makes you want to hide?
• help your kids make a tremendous mess, just bc it makes them laugh?
• willingly sacrifice pots, pans, spoons & boxes to the cause that is entertaining a baby?
• clean baby vomit out of your bra so often that it loses it's novelty?
• read the same book so many times that you've not only memorized it, but made it into a song, complete with hand gestures?
• worn pants/underwear/socks/etc on all the wrong body parts in an attempt to elicit a laugh from a cranky kid?
• forget dishes/laundry/dinner bc you're so wrapped up in the perfect little monsters who've taken over your home/life/heart?

yeah.... me too. :)

go ahead & gain!

gaining weight sucks. period. i was skinny my whole life, & do not enjoy the pudge that comes with pregnancy. that said, i have no qualms gaining whatever i need to gain for my kids. i try not to complain, bc 1) my babies' health is way more important, 2) its a temporary condition, & 3) you're SUPPOSED to gain weight while you're pg. bearing all that in mind, it really irks me when women get all hysterical over their weight during pg. it is what it is. just eat healthy, know you're taking care of your unborn kid, & deal with the "losing" part afterwards.

lest anyone think i don't understand how much it sucks to be huge & have to fight to lose again, here is my personal weight gain story:
before i got pg with the guys, i weighed 110 lbs, soaking wet. when i was pg with the boys, the MFM wanted me to gain 70 lbs.... i did, & then added about 20 lbs of water weight the last 2 weeks of pg from the stupid pre-e. that's a 90 lb total weight gain, folks. i lost 60 of it in 6 mos, & was working on the remaining 30 when i got KU again. i don't begrudge my kids the weight gain, bc both boys were nearly 5 lbs at birth, which was a huge advantage for them as 33 weekers. nonetheless, weight 200 lbs was NOT my idea of cool.
this pg, i'm 26 & 1/2 weeks pg & already up 30 lbs. sigh. i'm not thrilled, but i eat really well-- bc we eat with my folks every night while their house is being re-done (they have no kitchen) we eat exclusively low-fat, no sugar, no salt, low-carb meals. other than that, i eat cheerios, fruit & the occasional cookie. even when my folks aren't around, we eat well (altho i don't omit salt when it's just us.) it's not like i'm hogging out, i'm just gaining like a sow. my OB is totally unconcerned & when i asked him about it, he said that some women just gain alot every pg & that it just seems to be what their body needs to do. he also pointed out that the weight was coming off pretty well after the boys' birth, even after i had to stop nursing, so i shouldn't worry myself about what i'm gaining this time around. i'm still not thrilled, but i'm not going to go all "woe-is-me" or spend time pouting about my weight. (there will be time for that AFTER 3 is here! jk... hpoefully BF-ing will help, & after a few mos, i'll just have to re-commit to going to the gym. i know N will be willing to babysit to get his skinny wife back, lol!)

obviously, i'm not going to diet or do anything crazy while i'm pg-- baby comes first, not mom's vanity. i know women however, who have limited their calorie intake while pg so that they don't gain, or gain only 10 lbs, & i just don't get it. (i'm speaking of women who were a healthy weight to start with. i know the weight reccomendations are different for different-sized girls.) why would you jeopardize your kid's health just so YOU look a little better? i just don't get it & i'm sick of the whining from women who are gaining a normal, healthy amount with each pregnancy. just deal with it-- your body is not your own while you're pg, so accept it & focus on being healthy, not on the scale.