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.