Multiples and More: QOTW

This week's question involves writing a letter to your pregnant self (the pregnant you that just found out you are having two babies- at once)

Dear me,
Being pregnant with twins sucks. Don't think that you got lucky and didn't have morning sickness because you will have a thrid tri vomit fest that includes heartburn, swollen ankles (I mean serious cankles), zofran, and a slew of other symptoms that shouldn't be mentioned in polite company. There will be cravings and tears. J will laugh at you because of your sobbing switch to hysterical laughter. You will be uncomfortable and you will get so large you can not fit in a booth at restaurants or the desks in class. People will look at you like you are crazy when you tell them you are only 6/7/8 months. You will think there is no way you can get any larger and then you will. You will have stretch marks that make a checker board pattern across your belly and you will think there is no way they make a bra that large.

You will go from this:


to this:


and


It gets better:





Finally:


But you know what it is worth all the pain and fear and worry. These two little tiny people are worth the cost and the heart ache. They are worth changing every aspect of your life. The money and the car and the house and all the things you will worry about work out in the end.

And you get this:


and this:


Totally worth it!

One and the Same Giveaway

As a working mom who is also attending grad school I don't get a lot of time to do anything. One thing I do try to squeeze in is reading although it is usually a book for class and I can only read in about 10 min. intervals while breastfeeding babies. When I get to pick up a book for myself I want to know that it is worth getting invested in.

I was recently contacted by Abigail Pogrebin about doing a giveaway of her book One and the Same. I was thrilled because I have heard from quite a few people that her book is wonderful.

Abigail has an identical twin sister Robin.

In her book she shares her experiences growing up as a twin and learning how to be an individual. I think her book is a must read for all MoMs. Abigail's insight on the relationship between twins is valuable for parents who are in the midst of raising twins. I have not finished One and the Same yet (I'm working on it, you know the whole full time job two babies thing) but I have enjoyed what I have read and can barely put it down. I hope my girls can have the close relationship that Abigail and Robin have. I have also taken to heart her advice on spending separate time with each child and have so far enjoyed a day with L.

The Giveaway!

Abigail is offering a signed copy of her book to one lucky winner. To enter:

•Subscribe to Say Lucky or let us know you are a subscriber
•Follow Say Lucky on Twitter (@SayLucky) and tweet this giveaway: Enter to win a signed copy of One and the Same at Say Lucky @SayLucky - http://tinyurl.com/yen3mew
•Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory and post a comment here that you did - You can vote once per day per computer so if you vote every day or on different computers, be sure to post one comment for each one.
•Blog about Say Lucky or this giveaway (worth 2 entries) and post a link to the post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends March 4th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on Say Lucky on March 5th. If the winner doesn't contact Say Lucky within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

My Favorite Thing

Last week I got the whole week off from work because of our recent blizzard. I strongly believe snow is not to be taken lightly because I grew up in Texas. I have never seen so much snow in my entire life!

But with the whole week off I got to spend lots of time with my girls. We had a blast! Except for the fact that they were sick the whole time with RSV. S had an awful runny nose and cough so we took her to the dr. on Feb. 3. I'm so glad we did because I would have spent the next week snowed in freaking out. S held on to the cough and congestion until Feb. 13 and L got sick around Feb. 6. She required a call to the dr. before our second wave of snow hit. L would get these coughing fits that would upset her. She would cry and cough and then couldn't coordinate her breathing which meant she stopped breathing until I could calm her down and pat her on the back to get her settled. Not breathing = terrifying for mom and dad. The dr. on the other hand said it was totally normal. Umm not breathing isn't really normal for me, but the dr. talked me down from the edge and we did not end up in the ER during a blizzard. Which was a big win for us because I really don't want to know what an ER is like in a blizzard.

So back to my favorite thing. Since we were on "vacation" last week we all got to sleep in...until 7am! Usually one of the girls would wake up first so I would bring her into bed and snuggle with her and then we would get up and make coffee and play for a little while until I went in and woke the other girl. It was so nice to be able to spend time with each of the girls alone. I love doing this. I think they do too, but I know they will as they get older. It was fun to play and talk and read to just one baby and focus only on them. I love both my girls and can't imagine life without two of them but it is special to share time with each alone.

So we survived the blizzards of 2010 and enjoyed some time as a family. It was nice to slow things down and spend the day in our PJs!

5 months

I can't believe my babies are 5 months. It has been a year and 15 days since we found out there were two of them and I still look at my two little girls and think how did I get so lucky? How did I get two perfect little girls? I love them so much and it has been amazing to watch them get so big. 380 days ago J and I were sitting at Glory Days celebrating/freaking out trying to figure out how we would be able to afford two babies. I have always believed God doesn't give us more then we can handle and I think he has taken care of us and these two girls so far (him and our parents!)

S-
You have gotten so tall and are such a little lady already. You are my wiggle worm. You hate to sit still and want to stand and sit up. You want to play with all the toys and will even take the good toys from your sister. Your daddy cracks you up. He sings funny songs to you or makes silly faces and dances and you laugh. You could be crying one minute and laughing hysterically the next. You love to play and hate to take naps. I have to almost hold you down to get you to sleep, even when you are so upset and can barely keep your eyes open. You are quick with your big crocodile tears when Mama or Daddy puts you down but you are also very quick with a smile and your big laughing eyes. You are starting to grow lots of hair and you are very good at holding onto things. You will carry around toys and burp clothes. Daddy even had you bring down a bottle of nose spray. You love to grab onto toys and shake them and eat them. It won't be long until you are all over the place.

Love you,
Mommy


L-
My little bug. You are my snuggle bug and your mama's girl. You love to snuggle and the way you press your little face into the curve of my neck melts my heart every time. You are our serious baby. You are sweet and patient. You happily let your sister steal your toys and you wait your turn. You watch the world with wide open eyes and love to observe what is going on around you. I can just tell from the look in your eyes that you catch everything that happens and you are taking everything in, learning it all. You are my little perfectionist who loves to get everything just right. You are an excellent sitter and you have started to grab at your toys and hold on to them. You roll from you front to your back. You are our perfect little bug. I can't wait to watch you get big and I hope that you will always want to give me your precious smile that lights up your face and that you will always want to snuggle.

I love you,
Mommy

Snowed in again

Well we are snowed in again. Which isn't so bad. I missed school yesterday which was nice. The only problem is I have two sick babies (RSV) and a sick husband. Poor S is all snotty and yucky and L has a cough but luckily no congestion yet. I'm glad we didn't have school because I probably would have had to have taken off work to stay home with the girls. I have my fingers crossed we will be out at least Monday too. Some of the other nearby districts have already closed for Monday and Tuesday. We are supposed to get another storm on Tuesday, so here is hoping!

I'll try and post some pictures later. It's hard when you have fussy unhappy babies!

Some photos

I thought I would add some pictures since it has been a while.


S not enjoying her bananas.



L loves food!


Fingers are yummy too


This is how they end up at night. They start on opposite ends and wiggle down and together.


L and dad fast asleep during the football game.


S joined them


S and her dad

Day Care= Sad Mommy

Taking my kids to day care sucks. Today was the first real full day that they were there. It was awful. J dropped them off since I was running late. I'm always running late. I'm not sure why. I think I try to get too much done before I make it out the door. "There's time to put these in the dish washer." "I can start another load of laundry." I think I have a problem.

Any way, it sucked watching them pull away with their dad and not kissing them 1 (or 5) more times before I left. I guess there is just something about leaving your children with strangers that is very upsetting, go figure. I'm hoping that I will be ok after a few weeks, even though I know I won't be. Hope springs eternal.

Don't get me wrong I like the day care place. The ladies are very nice, it is clean, they have been fed and changed and played with. The ladies like my girls, I mean really who wouldn't. They are freaking adorable. I just miss my babies when they aren't with me. I miss them so much I hurt. I also worry constantly. Are they still breathing (umm mostly likely or I would get a call)? Do they miss me (probably not)? Did they eat (the ladies are going to let them starve, L wouldn't allow that)? and so on and so forth. We will all survive, just with a few emotional scares for mama.