bumbos and boppies and snoogles, oh my!

I think we've already entered the land of baby talk.  Thanks to a multiples community board that I'm a member of, we're getting some great gear at bargain prices.  Amazingly, the 3 purchases I've made so far have also been only a couple minutes from our house.  Today, I asked the hubby what he thought about getting some used bumbos and a boppy all at about 1/4 the price of new.  His response, "Yes, yes!  I'm not completely sure what a boppy is...as compared with a bumbo...but I appreciate that we need both at some point."

For those without kids, the bumbos I'm getting are not rum drinks, but chairs to help teach infants to sit.

A boppy is a pillow that you can use for nursing, tummy time, or just dropping junior in while you go have a bumbo.  For years, it has been voted "the #1 product Moms can't live without" by American Baby readers.

 

All this talk about bumbos and boppies got me thinking about some of the funny names for baby products we're beginning to add to our vocab.  Snoogle is probably one of our faves.  It's another pillow, but this time for mama.  My sis-in-law and fearless leader into the world of twins graciously let me borrow hers knowing that trying to get comfortable at night is one of the greatest challenges to a twin-preggo (maybe any preggo) mama.  This is pretty much how I sleep with the snoogle at night:

10:30-11:30

11:30-midnight

midnight-1 [repeat]

Some of the other fun product names we've encountered:  Pee-Pee Teepee, Boudreaux's Butt Paste (this was our very first baby gift courtesy of the other side of the family), The Snot Sucker, a Snuzzler, the Hooter Hider (hubby's fave) and perhaps the all-time winner: My Brest Friend.

I've provided the links to the products so you know I'm not making this stuff up. 

how are you feeling?

That's the question people seem to ask the most.  Fortunately, for the most part, I feel fine.  Just little things every once in awhile, but really, pretty good. Mostly, I just feel fat.

Another interesting question I got was what do I miss the most.  I think they thought I would say alcohol or sushi.  Probably because for 3 years, each month that we received confirmation that we were not meant to be parents (at the time), we would go out for a wonderful dinner of sushi and vino.  Mmmmmm.  Really, what I miss most, though, is exercise.  Or even activity in general.  Hard to believe, but I've started slowing my life down a little.  I'm now even home a couple evenings a week!  I also watch the tube from time to time.  Shocking, I know.  Although yesterday it gave me a headache after just an hour.  How do people do it?

I have now gone swimming a couple times since that's the only exercise my conservative doc allows me to do.  It is heavenly.  In part because I get to do a little exercise.  In part because being pregnant in the pool is the most comfortable place to be.  My fertility doc's first question when he found out we were having twins in September (therefore suffering through the Houston August when I will be too big to move) was "do you have a pool?"  "No..."  "You might want to put one in!"  Now I know what he was talking about.  And it's not even unbearably hot, yet.  Nor am I unbearably big, yet.  A friend of a friend took a horse trough and rolled it into their backyard for summer soaking.  We might need to look into that...

Pool party, anyone?

happy mother's day

When does one actually become a mother?... 

Shout out to my hubby who brought me breakfast in bed today.  It was absolutely delish. 

French toast with jicama (unpictured is Greek yogurt with strawberries and orange juice).  He's a keeper!

We sort of celebrated.  It was a tough call.  Our first pregnancy in 2008 was shortly before Father's Day and the hubby even received a couple wonderful Father's Day gifts from friends and family.  Our celebrations in 2008 were a little premature...  This pregnancy is totally different, but we're still a little wary. 

Nevertheless, it has been wonderful to be pregnant this Mother's Day.  For the past few years, Mother's Day has been a beautiful day to celebrate my mom, but in some ways tinged with sadness.  At our church, we honor mothers and give out roses to the moms of the most kids (grandkids, greats, etc.), single moms, new moms, and the moms who have been moms the longest.  It's a wonderful celebration.  Then, we pray for moms.  In the prayer, my pastor has consistently included prayers for the people for whom Mother's Day is a difficult day.  For those for whom Mother's Day is a reminder of loss.  For those for whom Mother's Day is a reminder of unfulfilled hopes and dreams.  That used to be me.  My heart still aches for all the ladies out there who struggle with fertility.

I didn't stand up when all moms were asked to stand.  I won't think of myself until a mom until these little guys are born.  But, I'm one step closer.  Next year, God willing, I will be standing.  And holding a rose.

Happy Mother's Day, moms!!

sacrificing cybil

So, just when I started getting used to the idea of trading in Cybil (see end of this post), mostly because although I can fit the car seats in the back, not so sure about a double stroller.  Definitely not in the trunk, so it would have to fit in the passenger seat...yeah...  In any case, I was teetering on the edge of deciding to go ahead and pull the trigger, then God sent me home yesterday with this weather:

And, for anyone who hasn't experienced the joy of a convertible, that's precisely the experience you want.  Going home on a Friday afternoon, warm sun on your skin, not a cloud in sight, slight breeze, good tunes, top down...  [sigh]

books

I have always enjoyed reading.  I started wearing glasses at the ripe age of 8 - at the time kids glasses were undoubtedly not cool and I was the first in my class, maybe the whole elementary school to wear glasses.  This was probably due in part to my trying to read anywhere and everywhere, including in the car at night waiting until the next streetlamp to catch the next sentence.

It seems that the authority of the Books has replaced the wisdom of prior generations and communities in sharing information related to the adventure of bearing and rearing children.  I know that my mother has lamented with her friends and family across the Atlantic that young parents often ignore the advice of their parents (who obviously have some experience and with their genes) and rely more heavily on the sacred Books.  So, this one doesn't seem limited to my immediate circles, which, admittedly often have their own unique ways.

Naturally, I have acquired numerous of said Books.  There has always been a stack of books on my bedside table at least half a dozen high.  Right now, the stack is predominately borrowed Books.  Here's a taste of some of the Books on my nightstand.

Although I'm a bookworm at heart, I am not a biology/medicine person.  The supposed Bible of motherhood is:

 

We were loaned this book immediately after we mentioned our first pregnancy in 2005.  I think I read about 2 paragraphs before getting overwhelmed with uninteresting information and passed it over to my dear hubby to read and give me the Cliff's Notes version.  This probably helps explain my difficulty with the NT scan.  When it comes to medicine, I don't really want to know about all the things that could possibly go wrong.  I prefer to be on a need to know basis.  Tell me what is going on and let me blissfully ignore any other possibilities.  OK, so this one has migrated to the hubby's nightstand, but I can't write about the Books without including this one.

There have been a few Books that I have enjoyed.  I have focused mostly on books specifically for parents of twins since I have fewer live resources to rely on.  One of my particular faves is:

This was a hilarious read with very candid comments about this mom's experience.  She also gave some wonderful practical advice for dealing with the insanity that is to come. 

A friend in one of my book clubs just gave me a bag full of interesting-looking reads.  Here are two that I'm looking forward to:

I have also read from cover to cover and have given to the hubby to read the following other sacred gem.  Even after reading it, I'm still pretty intimidated by the thought of feeding and sleep synchronizing TWO babies when we've never even tried with one...

Even though I am cruising through many of the Books, I do think that most of my advice is coming from women I know that have gone before me.  Last night at book club, the resounding advice was, read all the Books, then forget what they said and figure out what works for your kid(s).  I definitely stayed up way past my bedtime soaking up all of the advice and wisdom that my friends had to offer.  Since I happen to think my mom did a pretty fantastic job and has the goods to prove it, I hope to benefit from lots of her wisdom, too!  After all, it takes a village.  I wonder what it takes to raise two?...

the nursery

We've made some significant progress.  We try to tackle one thing each weekend on our to-do list that gives us a sense of accomplishment, like we're moving forward rather than just treading water.  Strange how the list keeps getting longer.  Alas.  This past weekend, it was nursery furniture.  We purchased 2 cribs and a dresser, all assembly required.

 Here we are at the beginning stages of the dresser, the cribs are in the boxes against the wall.

Ta-da!!  Dresser/changing table complete.  We were quite proud of ourselves.  Partly for getting the thing together without drawing any blood or smashing any toes and no extra pieces.  And partly for not ending up with one of us throwing a monkey wrench and storming out of the room.  Maybe there is something to almost 8 years of marriage...

Now we just need to start looking into childbirthing, feeding, rearing classes, hospital tours, interviewing night nannies, investigating childcare options, figuring out whether/where to do a babymoon [fade out]...

sleeping like a baby

So, not to brag or anything, but the only real pregnancy issue that I've had is incredible fatigue.  During the first trimester, I think all I did was sleep, go to work, sleep, eat dinner, and sleep some more.  Which, for someone as active as me, was a major life change.  I haven't had morning sickness or any major food cravings or aversions.  Some headaches and congestion (who knew pregnancy can cause sinus congestion?!), but I've always had those, so hard to blame on pregnancy.  Well, I have had some forgetfulness, or at least, when "necessary" I blame that on being pregnant.  :) 

But, the fatigue has been overwhelming.  Now that I'm entering the second trimester, it is getting better.  I do, however, still "sleep like a baby".  Which, to me, means that I often get up at least once during the night to go to the bathroom.  And I also wake up (often around 3am) when my stomach is empty and after a big glass of milk, fall back into a deep slumber.  This sometimes even means getting up in the morning for breakfast and being so overwhelmed by sleepiness after my bowl of cereal that I sleep for another hour or so.  Did I mention that I also nap at the office after lunch?  I feel a little bit like I'm getting a taste of what the little ones will go through.  Perhaps it's also training for middle of the night feedings and catnaps whenever I can sneak one in.

Since I'm now sleeping more, I'm sure the hubby (who comes from a long line of good sleepers) is enjoying the extra hours of sleep.