A snowy day

Thank goodness for snow days! For the last month I have been sneaking M&Ms to my classroom in my pockets like a criminal, popping them like the pregnant chocolate fiend that I am.
But today, SNOW DAY! A day to take naps and focus on my own little family-to-be while eating an excessive amount of Valentines day candy. Thank you, Thank you. I needed that. The funny thing is my pre-pregnancy self would totally be disappointed with the foods I have been consuming but honestly, I think its beyond my control. I need chocolate and MEAT especially, fried chicken. I have made it my personal mission to put on the pounds and hopefully most of it will bulk up these babies.

But not the chocolate. I am sure that is going straight to my booty and thighs.

Our kind midwife assures me that my weight gain is on track and I need to gain about 30 more pounds over the next 4 months or so. I am trying to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes as long as possible but a co-worker pointed out the other day that it might be a liability if one of my buttons pops off and hits a kid in the eye. I may tuck the button downs away but right now I am enjoying the humor I feel most mornings trying to search for something to wear that will fit over this growing belly, and growing it is! I think the girls are growing more and more every day. I can feel them wiggling and I like to imagine them making baby noises to one another in the womb. I have tried talking to them but that mostly makes me feel like a weirdo although my preschool students have no problem with it at all and I think they spend as much time hugging and communicating with my belly as they do me.

Andrew and I are working on deciding upon baby names. I think about it obsessively and I think he believes the right names will show themselves. We have defiantly picked one first name and are tossing around ideas for the other.  I think choosing a name is a very big deal and we want our identical twin girls  to have beautiful names that go well together without sounding too much a like. We hope to foster their individuality and I think that begins in naming. If you have any name suggestions, please share. I think we will choose soon because, I admit, I am eager to have something monogramed.

The nursery is coming along beautifully! My family joined forces to move furniture, hang a light fixture, put together a crib and prep things for the baby. My poor mother (YaYa) keeps cleaning the house for me because I have been so tired and I have dragged her along to find paint colors, quilt fabrics, and all things baby. God Bless Her. Andrews parents sent us carseats and a double stroller (its huge!) and his mother (YaYa also) is going to make us two very special baby quilts. Andrew and I are so blessed to have such a supportive and loving family.

Last weekend my dear friend and photographer, Ashby Green gifted me with a maternity photo session. As you will see, she is an outstanding photographer. I am very happy to have had this opportunity to create beautiful photographs that we will cherish, always.

Boys or Girls?

Ginger and I were on hand for Chapi's latest ultrasound this afternoon where we learned the sex of the twins (Marc and Carol were listening on speaker phone). In the same room that Chapi and I learned we were having twins we learned that we were having twin girls. The girls, it's so nice to be able to call them that, have grown a lot since the last ultrasound. We were able to see them much more clearly. We even saw one of them moving their mouth open and shut. Very exciting. We have been feverishly talking about names ever since. We would have been happy with girls or boys but it is exciting to know. And even more exciting to see our two healthy baby girls.

Baby baby

I feel like my tummy is getting bigger by the day. I have been trying to put the normal feelings about my body in the back of my mind and focus on the fact that the babies are growing. I can feel them moving sometimes and Andrew has felt the movement as well. Baby A is easier to detect because of its position in the lower part of my abdomen. According to he ultra sound and external heart monitor the two are quite spread out in there despite the fact that they share the same placenta. Baby A will be born first because of its position. As of the last ultra sound A is the smaller of the two with a heart rate in the 140's. Baby B needs to learn how to share and has a heart rate in the 165 range. I look forward to our gender identification appointment on Monday so we can think seriously about names and stop referring to them as Baby A and Baby B.
According to most old wives tales and the Chinese gender chart we are having girls which probably means they are boys. My brother, Michael swears they are boys and is calling them Abbott and Costello.
The children at school are in love with the babies already and I am often surrounded by a semi circle of 4 and 5 years olds rubbing my belly and singing lullabies. My students have come up with quite a list of name suggestions. Some favorites being: Treetop, Sparkling Moon, Friendship, Star in the Light, and Felix. Those Montessori children have done a tremendous job of keeping my spirits high with showers of love.

In the 16th week:
Weight gain: 8 lbs
Cravings: chocolate and fruit
Sickness? Go away!

Our Registry

Please do not feel any obligation to send gifts more than anything material we need support from our family in friends as these twins come into the world.  But for those interested I am posting a link to our registry.