DIY Onesies

So, we have purchased and received so many cute onesies for the girls but I found this awesome pattern to applique our own onesies. We started with the elephant, owl, and guitar from the pattern and then went rogue tracing giant letters from their nursery onto the double-sided fusable webbing (which is pretty much magic for people who don't really sew) and created these awesome onesies! Look out, I am pretty excited by all this and may start appliqueing anything that isn't nailed down.

Mac's Ever Growing Baby Belly

Well, we've been lax in taking the baby belly photos but there is a dramatic difference between weeks 18 and 25!

18 weeks, Oct. 1, 2010

25 Weeks, Nov. 18, 2010

Always more to do

So, while we have the nursery in our master bedroom all taken care of, the room that will become the girls' bedroom when they need two cribs was a whole other story. That room has been many things: guest room, studio, office, and gym. It's multiple personality disorder left lots of hardware in the walls: screws and nails and anchors all over the place. So, knowing our two little ones would end up in this room in the next year, I asked myself a question: Do I want to be painting and readying this room with two little kids crawling around? Uh, no. I asked Mac what colors she was thinking of for down there and showed her this awesome room on Ohdeedoh with great red walls and orange and hot pink accents. It was bright and fun and I wanted it. Mac was on board. Bold colors for a painter's kids? Check. We headed over to Sherwin Williams because they have awesome no VOC paint. This meant Mac could be involved with the painting, which she wanted. We pick out our colors and are foiled. This awesome paint doesn't do saturated bold colors too well. So, since we couldn't get what we wanted we went over to Home Depot where the paint was cheaper.
Once in Home Depot we could not find the right pink. They were too bubblegum or too pastel. Strike number two. We threw out the awesome red, orange, and pink combo and started grabbing other colors. We ended up deciding on a primary color scheme: red walls, yellow on the wall in the back of the open closet, and robin's egg blue on the back of the bookshelf. All of the trim is white. These colors are in the girls' baby bedding and will work wonderfully. We wanted a cheerful room that the kids would be happy to inhabit and I think we will get it.
I hope to have the bulk of it done by this weekend. My Mom came over and helped paint on Monday and the walls look great. I am working on the accent colors including this awesome round back chair with green velvet seat and back. The wood parts are all going the same yellow as the back of the closet. Pictures to come soon.

Perinatologist Appointment-The Highlights

Well, Mac and I went to the perinatologist. Rather, I sat in a chair next to her and got to watch the ultrasound while they put a bunch of blue goo all over her belly. We have been told by the nurse at previous appointments that how well you are doing and how concerned the doctor is can be measured by when the doctor wants to see you again. One month is the best you can do. We are glad to report that Mac does not go back to the perinatologist for one month! The babies are doing great. They are sharing very nicely and weigh 1.7 and 1.8 pounds.
Even though there is no rational reason to be afraid, I always feel a little apprehensive when I go to these appointments. Will this be the time they tell us something isn't right? I guess it seems to have been all too easy.
We decided in March that we wanted to try to have kids. We decided that we would try four times and if it didn't work or doctors thought the best course was IVF, that we would abandon our attempts at biological children and begin the adoption process. I mean, if we were looking at $40,000 worth of medical bills, no guarantees, and ridiculous amounts of stress, why not put that same money toward a child that already needed a home, a child that was already here. Well, we went through all that hand-wringing for nothing, it seems. Mac became pregnant on our first trip to the doctor! She's an over-achiever at pregnancy as we found out that we would be having two babies instead of the one we planned for all together.
Don't make plans like, "Oh, we really only want one child." They will be decimated. What did we know anyway? We are incredibly excited that our plans were shot. Having these twins is going to be great.
Mac goes back to the OB that will deliver the babies in a week. She is 24 weeks pregnant now and the doctor will decide the date for the c-section at 30 weeks. Once she hits 28 weeks she will be going to the perinatologist weekly. Any good suggestions for killing time in the waiting rooms she will so often be occupying?

The Nursery

So, we pretty much have the nursery put together. I have a small bit of patching to do near the in-between-the-studs shelves I built next to the rocking chair and two rolling bins to build for dirty clothes to go under the other shelves I built in the awkward sloped ceiling area near the bedroom door. Otherwise, we are a go! We just need some babies.

Lots of Things to Worry About

I never knew there were so many things to worry about. I thought that handling all of the intricacies of raising a singleton would be overwhelming, but twins are an entirely different party. I worry about these things, most of the time:
1) Fostering their individuality while preserving the specialness of their twin relationship.
I recognize that they will, in fact, be individuals, but I worry about them being grouped together too much. On the other hand, I worry that one of them will be left out in some social situations and what that will do. I don't want to dress them alike too much because I want to foster their individuality but I want them to be able to dress alike if they want to do so. I just go back and forth and it seems so complicated. I know all we can do is try to do the right thing.
2) Someone hurting them.
I know it is irrational to suppose that they will never be hurt. They will run and they will fall. These are actually good things to experience. You learn to pick yourself up again. But I worry about meanness and intent. I worry that kids will make fun of them because they have two moms. I worry about all of this while I know, intellectually, that kids will find something to make fun of another kid about regardless of reality. Kids will make fun of other kids. This just is. We have to prepare our kids, support their sense of self and teach them to stand up for themselves.
3) Not knowing what to do.
I am comforted by knowledge. I wrap myself up in information like a blanket. I definitely believe that knowledge is power. Not knowing what to do scares me. We have bought so many books and read them, discarded the ones that contained absolutes, and reread the ones that made sense to us. I am reading blog after blog and trying my best to prepare for something that you can never truly prepare for in life, children. I know they will surprise me at every turn and all that turning might make me dizzy. How do I combat the vertigo? I hope to find the information I need and trust myself to trust my instincts.

All in all, there is an innumerable amount of stuff to worry about. What I have to do is keep the anxious part of myself in check and let the rational part lead the way.

Shower Power

On October 23rd we were guests of our first baby shower. That may sound like we are about to embark on a litany of them, but no, just two. One shower per baby. I think that's sufficient. We were able to hold it at a wonderful church and gallery in the Crossroads called Beggars Table Church and Gallery. The setting was perfect and some of the paintings even coordinated with the decorations.

At my Mom's suggestion we had a theme of childhood stories we loved. So, there were six tables with one book each and some conversation starters for the guests. We hate baby shower games and, in conducting an informal poll, found that no one else we know likes them either. Guests were able to mill about and look at Eloise, The Cat in the Hat, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Runaway Bunny, Just for You, and Where the Wild Things Are. It turned out incredibly well and had just the low-key feeling we were hoping for all along. Our friends and family are incredibly generous and supportive people. They made a significant dent in all that we will need to get Gray and Nora started in life. We received everything from diapers (Which we will need 4,500 of the first year and were ECSTATIC to receive) and clothing (These girls will be dressed in awesome stuff.) to handmade gifts (both lovely to look at and useful) and bottles. Wonderful people, wonderful time. What more could we ask for?

Mac and I did bring our camera but were too engaged in the goings on to snap any pictures. My Aunt Susie has promised to send me hers and I will share them here when I receive them.

We found it, sort of.

We went looking for the coming home outfits I wrote about last time and had very little luck. We really wanted to look at the physical items, not just see pictures online. So, we headed out to this great kids shop in the Crestwood shops called The Little House (http://www.littlehousekids.com/). They had a few things in stock but they were more baptism gowns. Not what we were looking for at all. We ended up at the fabric store with my mom looking for some other things and she offered to make the dresses for the girls. This is so great. We found a beautiful pattern that was originally produced in the 50s. We were able to pick the fabrics and make alterations based on our taste, there will be no lace on these dresses.

Our dresses will be a pale yellow where this dress is pink and the white parts will be the same. The flowers that are embroidered will be yellow, pink, and blue. They will be perfect and they will mean so much more because their Nana is making them.

Coming Home

We have all of the major things in place and now some details are pulling us in. We really want to have classic little dresses with smocking. Really delicate little pieces our kids will be able to take their own kids home in some day. This is harder to find than you think. We managed to find two places in Kansas City and if the doctor re-confirms the sexes of the babies tomorrow, the hunt will begin. We want to find something like these dresses.

Cornucopia

The babies are the size of bell peppers this week, or so the baby website says. It struck me as odd initially, that they would compare babies to things we eat. I guess they needed common reference points? Why not a tennis ball or pint glass? Now I think it fits perfectly. If you add all of the fruits and vegetables the baby is compared to you would definitely have a cornucopia's worth of food. The cornucopia represents harvest, wealth, and abundance. These all seem like wonderful wishes for my children.

Girls!

So, Mac had an appointment with the perinatologist last week in what is definitely the swankiest exam room I have been in to date. There were hardwood floors and dark wood cabinets with a big screen plasma up on the wall to watch the ultrsound. It was the size of a New York City apartment, no joke. The doctor was willing to suggest that he was "pretty certain" and "pretty sure" that both babies are girls! He will not confirm until the 20 week appointment but that didn't stop us from going out to buy lots of dresses. We are super excited. We really just wanted to know what sexes they were in general and were happy to find out. Plus, with them both being the same sex we will be able to live more comfortably in our current home! Hooray!

The Books, The Books

There are so many books out there with so many people telling you what to do with your kids. Each author attempts to scare you to death. "If you don't attach the left tab of the diaper first, your baby will lose brain cells!!!" Why is everyone so sure that they are right? If Mac or I start reading a book and the author has any absolutes, we dismiss them. Any author that offers advice, then says, "But do whatever works for you and your family," is in. So far, Juggling Twins is an awesome book about twin babies and for motherhood we are reading Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path to Motherhood (Special thanks to our friend James for buying this book and having it dedicated to us from the author!).
This voracious reading appetite I have is causing me pains. It's information overload. I have to take a break from the baby books every once in a while and read something purely for fun. The information part is good, but overwhelming. We still have 24 weeks to go if she carries to 40 weeks, but it will probably be 35-37. That's not too much time...

Lots to Get Done

Mac is 15 weeks pregnant this week. She can already feel the babies moving. We are trying to get all of the things done to make the house ready for the babies. New windows went into the nursery today! They actually open! The new furnace and air conditioner were put in over the weekend. I have the finishing touches to put on the downstairs bathroom and we'll be caught up on major projects! There is so much to do and such little time to do it in that it is easy to become overwhelmed. We are planners and lists are saving our sanity at this point. Next week Mac goes to the perinatologist and we might find out what sexes the babies are. It will be exciting to know that so we can start referring to them by name. It's so crazy to think that two babies are growing in Mac's belly!