37 Weeks Pregnant and our Piggy Bank Party

Well, we made it! 37 weeks and officially in the clear for our home birth! I am both relieved and excited….and if I am being honest, totally ready for these twins to make their appearance! From all  the research of I have done (and that has been A LOT!) a majority of twins are born between 37 and 38 weeks and this Mama, though I love being pregnant, is really ready to have these babies earthside.

My  midwife appointments are now weekly and I had a great one this week! I had grappled with the idea of doing pelvic checks this time around. With my pregnancy with Elijah they proved to be a source of frustration and I believe ultimately is what led my OB to push for induction. I had not planned on doing this time around. However I ended up changing my mind for several reasons. The first is that, let’s face it, I am “type A” personality. I like having the facts and knowing what is going on. It gives me a bit of a sense of control even though I know that ultimately this whole labor and birth dance is up to God. One of my midwives confirmed that she is the same way, type A, really just has to know and that made me feel better….like I was not going to have my “crunchy card” revoked for having a cervical check. Another reason is that I know I have the support (LOTS OF SUPPORT) to handle whatever comes, whether these babies make themselves at home beyond 38 weeks, 39 weeks…..or (eeeek!) 40 weeks, no matter what, my birth team has my back and nothing but natural measures will be taken to bring these babies forward. The last and probably most important reason is that my primary midwife has quite a drive to our home. Although several members of my birth team, including my much loved Shannon who is also one of my midwives, lives within 10 minutes of me, Darlene is in League City, an hour away in no traffic so it was helpful to have this information to give us a clue about how fast labor might go. Again, we know that ultimately it is all guesses but educated guesses. So what did we find? Well, as I like to put it, Baby A is locked and loaded. I am already dilated to 2 cm, I am 80% effaced (which refers to the thinning of the cervix) and (get this) I am at –1 station! This refers to the babies position in relation to the pubic bone. Think of it as 0 being the finish line. In order to be born, he has to go at +3 past the finish line. 0 station is the actual pubic bone. They start counting at –3 (which is where Elijah sat until I went into labor).  This is the part that is the most awesome. Even when I was 7 cm dilated in labor with Elijah, he was still at just –2. So the fact that Rory (Baby A) has dropped this far into position is fantastic and also indicates the possibility of a pretty fast labor. Darlene instructed me DO NOT WAIT LONG to call her to come. I had though Rory had dropped as I felt some achiness in my nether regions that I had not felt before but I didn’t want to get too excited. Both babies positions are “perfect”. We continue to be the ideal twin HBAC (Home Birth After Cesarean) candidates.

How am I feeling? Well, tired. Sore. Achy. Really just stuff that must be attributed to the “two baby” factor because I still have no swelling (still wearing my rings and my own shows and even some of my pre pregnancy yoga pants, with the waist under my belly. But sleeping has taken a whole new level of blah. Between contractions, ligament pain from the weight of the babies and peeing, I wake up every hour and laying down is sometimes painful. I’m having a lot of back aches and period like cramping. Since Rory has moved from my left side to dead center, Patrick has been pushed even further up and is way up in front of my ribs and tends to crush them when I have contractions. Naps are just now becoming a necessity.  This week I got everything done pretty much. Thanks to a generous gift from some friends, our house was cleaned top to bottom! And Everything has been set for babies so really, WE ARE READY! This is nice for me because I feel like I really can nap when Elijah does now and I’m  not bailing out on my “to dos”. There are still a few things I will do (hang birth affirmations, wrap Elijah’s gifts for the twins with him, wrap his big brother present etc) this week but all are small and can easily be done in early labor if necessary. Twins seem to develop earlier than singletons, organs including lungs mature faster, to compensate for a shorter gestation. I have looked at countless web sites and twin data spreadsheets and so we have started praying (and asking others to pray) that if they are ready, these babies make their appearance this week. We pray for  healthy babies, born at home…..this week! Mentally I am prepared to go until whenever but my heart (and body) are so ready and you better believe I will be trying every old wives tale in the book by week’s end.

Baby bump looking even lower than last week.

Ready when you are, Patrick and Rory!

In love with my boys.

 

This week we also had a fun treat. At Chip’s work, when some (or someone’s spouse) is expecting, they buy a piggy bank and pass it around for college fund donations (at least that is what we use it for.). With Elijah they sent the bank home with Chip and he didn’t know about any sort of celebration. This time around, they had a cupcake party for us and Elijah and I attended after our visit to my midwife. It was so sweet and thoughtful and I know it was fun for Chip to show us his new office and show off his first born to his co workers. Apparently he received  many compliments after we left about how well behaved Elijah is. *Beaming with pride*

Yummy cupcakes from Oooo Lala.

A thoughtful co worker of Chip’s, Courtney, made gluten free for Elijah and me!

Rory’s Piggy Bank.

Patrick’s piggy bank.

Elijah loved playing with the balloons!

Twins!

Elijah and Daddy having a big time.

Week 37 was a busy week for us. I am looking forward to a slower paced week 38 though we have a few things planned so we can do more than sit around and wait for labor to come. But it is nice to know that everything is done and we are in the “safe” zone. I’m hoping my next belly picture is the one I take when labor starts! But we will see……..

Elijah Paints a Picture for the Nursery

I love trying to involve Elijah in preparing for the babies. Honestly there is not a ton that he can participate in since he is still so young but I saw an idea online to have the older sibling paint a picture for the nursery and LOVED this! We talk about the two babies in Mama’s tummy all the time and he tells people there are TWO BABIES. So when I tell him now that the babies in Mama’s tummy will be coming out and living with us, I’m not sure he understands but he has seen the transformation of the nursery and the appearance of the swing and pack n play along with several other items that I tell him the babies will use. So maybe he sort of understands. I asked him if he would like to paint a picture for the babies’ room and he said “Tay!”.

All ready to do some finger painting!

Getting down to business

Mama showed him how to use his whole hand. Now he is getting into it!

Love those sweet little hands

The finished masterpiece

36 Weeks Pregnant

It is crazy that I am 36 weeks pregnant! I mean this pregnancy has really flown by…..though I know it is about to slow down A LOT! This week I have discovered a new definition of tired! Even with a two hour afternoon nap, I am ready for bed by seven. Contractions are taking on a whole new meaning……they hit every time I move practically and at night I get them every ten minutes for hours at a time. I had pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions with Elijah but this time around, Patrick (Baby B) is up higher and therefore gets crushed into my ribs with every contraction. I also feel like the babes are crushing up against my hip bones during contractions due to the intensity. We need to make it at least one more week but needless to say, if God and the twins feel like it is time anytime after next Friday, I am game! Nesting has definitely kicked in but it is always a choice when Elijah naps between napping myself and organizing/cleaning something. Lately, napping has won that coin toss. Still, thinks are getting done and really close to ready and I do believe that by next Friday, everything will be ready that I wanted ready!
This week I had my home visit with all three of my midwives as well as two midwife apprentices. It was really awesome getting a feel for these ladies together and feeling a taste of the incredible support I know I will receive on “labor day”. We determined that both babies are still head down! Yay! Several hands confirmed little heads down low and tiny butts up high! Apparently Rory and Patrick are facing one another. They also told me that the babies size feels average to on the smaller size. I trust this estimation based on physical touch more than ultrasounds which can often be off by as much as two pounds either way.  Both feel healthy and perfect. Music to a mama’s ears. During the visit we discussed logistics of the twins’ “birth” day and concluded that my original wish for the birth tub in our bedroom would, in fact, work.  I am excited about that. Just part of the “vision” I have for this special day.
I managed to get some 36 week pictures taken today right before an awesome visit from my good friend Rhonda and my fabulous mother in law!

Yup, belly is still growing!

Two sweet boys just below the surface of that big belly!

Hard to believe I could still have four weeks or more before these babies come. But I’m hoping for maybe two more weeks! Of course I know they will come when they are ready and in God’s time.

My little camera ham was very happy to be awake and ready for pictures this week!

I like the bare belly shots. I think you get a better idea of just how big my tummy really is!

Then and now. Definitely a fuller tummy this time around!

There have been several things I have really wanted to get done before the boys’ arrival. One of them is to make a big batch of lactation cookies. I ate them throughout my nursing Elijah and always had ample supply. Who knows if it had anything to do with the cookies but it can’t hurt and they are quite yummy! So my good friend Rhonda offered to come help me bake! While I was waiting for Rhonda to arrive, Chip’s mom asked if I wanted her to come over and help with anything. One thing I have been told over and over is when people offer to help, take them up on it! So I answered with an enthusiastic “YES!”.

I am so grateful for the help I got today. Not only did we bake enough lactation cookies to last me for 50 DAYS, but I got a closet cleaned that I had really wanted done, my stove detailed and several other odds and ends taken care of. And due to my ever contracting uterus, it was mostly done by these two fabulous ladies offering their help to a mama in need. It was also so nice to have some adult conversation during the day. And Elijah did his part by taking a three and a half hour nap while all this was going on. So I have to say that turning 36 weeks pregnant today, was just an all around nice day! I am thinking being this tired is the new normal for the remainder of my pregnancy and maybe it is just God and nature’s way of getting me to slow down because quite frankly, I know I should. But it is just so hard when you are in nesting mode!

A double batch of lactation cookies!

Rhonda is one of Wrigley’s babysitters when we go out of town. He was very happy to see her!

My sweet friend doing some of my baking!

We had to do a taste test and they were yummy! Wrigley did his own taste test with the last batch when I wasn’t looking so I expect him to start lactating any day now.

Loved getting to visit my friend!

Lactation Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Earth Balance (or butter)

1/2 Cup coconut Oil
(You can also use a whole cup of Earth Balance OR a whole cup of coconut oil if you prefer)

1 1/2 Cup of firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup of Xylitol or your favorite sweetener

6 Tablespoons Water

3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal

2 Eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 Cups of Gluten Free Flour (or you can use a mix of your favorite flours)

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 Heaping Tablespoons of Brewers (nutritional) Yeast

1 teaspoon salt

3 Cups Oats (I use Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free)

1 Cup Chocolate Chips, Dried Fruit, Nuts or whatever you prefer

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 5 minutes

3. Beat earth balance, coconut oil, sweetener and brown sugar well

4. Add eggs. Mix well.

5. Add flaxseed/water mix and vanilla. Beat well

6. Sift flour, yeast, baking soda and salt

7. Add dry ingredients to mix

8. Mix in oats and chips

9. Drop onto baking sheet about 1 1/2 inch dollops and bake for 14 minutes.

10. Let sit for a minute then cool on a cooling rack.

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

I got this recipe from Realmom.com and it is a super easy, yummy dinner! It takes literally 10 minutes to prep!

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I use half a green and half a red)
• 12 flour tortillas
• Toppings such as cheese, sour cream, and guacamole – if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
2. In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt
3. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
4. Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
5. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with desired toppings.

Elijah’s New Room!

With the impending arrival of our two youngest boys, there has been lots of change in the Parish home. I decided that the nursery would remain the nursery and Elijah would move into our spare bedroom. The walk in closet lends itself to storage of all things baby and it is attached to the bathroom which is super convenient for taking showers with babies in their crib. It also has its own sink right in the room which is awesome for sanitizing and diaper mishaps among other things. Elijah moved into his new room about a month ago (and loves it!) but I wanted to wait until we got everything hung before we documented it. He really is enjoying his room and has actually been sleeping great! This is a big change for him because up until then, I had been in the room with him, co sleeping until I had two weeks of bedrest at the beginning of this pregnancy and then room sharing until a month ago. This worked out great for us. I loved the time together cuddling and it was super convenient for breast feeding. But as my belly got bigger, and I knew I wanted Patrick and Rory to enjoy the same attachment and nursing convenience, we knew it was time for Elijah to have his own room, without Mama.

We are so blessed for so many reasons, not least of which is how adaptable Elijah is. Every change that has come, he has taken in stride with very little, most of the time no, resistance. I’m not sure where he gets this trait from because I have a hard time with change. Something I can learn from my son, perhaps?We have established a new bedtime routine that works great and even naps have become so much easier. He has become the expert self soother, puts himself to sleep for naps. Sometimes it takes him 30-40 minutes but there are never tears. And though we still (and will continue to) monitor him when he sleeps, there is rarely a reason to go into his room until it is time to wake up. This is not to say we don’t have our occasional nights where he wakes up at 3am and takes FOREVER to go back to sleep but really it is a rare occasion. And once in a while his 2-3 hour naps will be shortened to something ridiculous like an hour or so but again, that is the exception. So proud of our boy and his sleep independence!

I just love this wall with maternity/baby pictures and his Winnie The Pooh quote. I can’t believe he was every that little. This will remind him that he was once a baby too!

My little boy still loves to be rocked. He even asked to be rocked and snuggle when he wakes up from sleep. He enjoys nightly story time with Daddy and Mama reads him lots of books. Such a cozy little corner. That small rocking chair used to be Chips and Elijah loves it!

Sweet teddy bear corner with his baby foot/hand prints and his cross that he received when he was Christened.

Not quite ready for a toddler bed, Elijah still enjoys the security of his crib. I love his Winnie The Pooh cell that Granddad won him at a church auction!

Another shot of that wall. I love the quarterly footprints of Elijah’s first year made for me by my creative friend, Jessica.

And there’s my sweet boy. He knows that the pacifier is for bedtime and naps only and gives it to us before he comes out of his crib. Such a good boy!

Thai Peanut Chicken

This turned out super yummy! I found the recipe on Pinterest but I am making some adjustments based on things I did this batch and some things I want to change for next batch. It adds a little international flair to our recipe rotation and was a bit hit!

Ingredients

• 2 – 3 Cooked Chicken Breast (Roughly chopped into bite sized pieces)
• 1 can Coconut Milk (The original recipe called for coconut cream but I could not find it and this ended up still being very thick…almost too thick.
• 3/4 Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
• 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil (For sautéing vegetables)
• 4  large Carrots (Sliced into bite sized circles)
• 2 small Onion (Diced)
• 1 cup Frozen Green Beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Peanuts (garnish)

Directions

1.
In a high sided skillet sauté (on medium heat ) carrots and onions in coconut oil until soft. Warm frozen green beans in the pan. Remove vegetables from pan into a bowl for addition to the sauce later.
2.
In the same pan (vegetables removed) pour can of coconut milk, chicken stock, and peanut butter. Whisk until completely combined (should be thick but saucy--add water as necessary to thin) Stir in curry powder and cayenne powder (optional.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.
Add vegetables and chicken pieces to the sauce in the pan and warm through, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice. Garnish with peanuts (optional.)

Easy Black Bean Soup

This is a really yummy and super easy recipe that I found at Spoonful.com. I recommend doubling or even tripling it if you want leftovers!

You will see the original recipe called for less cilantro but I LOVE cilantro so though the more the merrier and I was right!

Ingredients

• 1 cup tomato salsa
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Juice from half a lime
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat the salsa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 15 minutes.

Let the soup cool slightly, then ladle half of it into a food processor or blender and puree it. Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in the lime juice and chopped cilantro and heat the mixture through. Serve the soup warm, topped with a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

A Date Night and Elijah’s First Sleepover

Chip and I decided that we really needed a good date night before the arrival of the twins. We know that once they get here, it will be several months or more before we will be able to break away as a twosome since first of all I plan to exclusively breast feed and second, it is a lot more to ask for someone (even grandparents) to watch three babies as opposed to one.  Chip’s mom had wanted Elijah to try a sleep over without us since he will be going over to their house during our birth so we all decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try that out! So Chip and I got decked out (as much as one can get decked out at 35+ weeks pregnant!), packed up our little boy’s overnight bag and headed to the Senior Parishes house!

Elijah was all set for his first night away from home without Mama! He carried his bag in all by himself!

He is such a big boy but still looks so little to his Mama.

My outdoor boy had a great time playing with Grandmother outside!

My thoughtful mother in law sent pictures throughout the evening which I LOVED because I could not stop thinking about my baby. Here he is helping Granddad feed the birds!

Outdoor time at Grandmother and Granddad’s is so much fun for Elijah.

Elijah did so well and the only tears were right before bed when Daddy and Mama were not there to give him his good night kisses. But he settled quickly and went to sleep. In the morning, he got Grandmother up bright an early at 6am and they had breakfast! Meanwhile, Mama and Daddy were at home getting ready for church, counting the time until they got to hug and kiss their little boy again!

DATE NIGHT!

Chip and I were so excited about our night out! We had both been sick for about a week and it was nice to get dressed up and actually put on some make up! I felt almost like my old self!

Our first stop was a yummy dinner at Taste of Texas! There was a 30 minute wait but we didn’t mind. It was a nice chance to visit and enjoy a “mocktail”. I had my usual Shirley Temple.

Dinner was so yummy! We had a great waiter who shared that twins also run in his family. You’d be surprised how much we hear that now.  

After dinner we attended a “Christmas” social for my Mothers Of Multiples group. They plan this party for after the holidays for members and spouses so that more can attend without interfering with all the other holiday plans. Chip really enjoyed meeting this group.  I love that I was able to join MOMS in October and have gotten advice and support from these awesome ladies before our twins even arrive. It is an awesome, welcoming group that I look forward to seeing every month! We were busy socializing and enjoying the fellowship so I didn’t break out the camera for this part of the evening.

We left the party around 9pm and headed to a special surprise Chip had planned for me. There is this local cover band called The Chromatics that covers 80’s Pop/New Wave….my favorite kind of music! Chip first saw them on a night out when I was pregnant with Elijah and knew that I would love them. Since then he has been dying for me to see them and it just happened that they were playing on date night! Our good friends JT and Katie met us at the bar where they were playing. Yes, a pregnant lady walked into a bar…… We sat outside away from the smoke and the speakers and just kind of stood by the door so we could see. At the very end of our night (when they started their second set) they played some songs that just begged to be danced to . These were just some of my favorite tunes and so Katie and I walked just inside the doorway so we could dance a little. It was really such a fun night and I am so glad we did all the things we did. I especially loved hearing the music that has been my favorite since grade school!

JT and Katie brought a special surprise for the twins. They had ordered these adorable outfits for our boys! I CANNOT WAIT to put our little ones in these! SO CUTE!!!!!!

The guys!

The Choromatics

We got to chat with the band during a break including Paul (left) who dresses like my FAVORITE new wave star, Robert Smith of The Cure! They got a kick out of my baby bump.