Approaching 27 weeks

I can't believe I am already 26 1/2 weeks prego. I feel so lucky to have made it this far without any complications at all and I pray that the next 11 weeks remain quiet in there :-) My high risk doctor continues to remind me that things can change on a dime with a twin pregnancy so I've definitely slowed myself down and am making sure to get plenty of rest.

B and I took an infant care class at our local hospital today and it ended up being very helpful. I used to babysit and ton but things change all the time in the baby caring department so I'm glad we took the class. Some highlights I took away that may surprise you are:

• Babies do not need to have their bottles warmed. This just makes more work for the parents. Regardless of if you start off breastfeeding, using breastmilk or not. When making a bottle the recommended way (ironically this is the way we were prepared to do it. Kudos to us!) is to fill the bottle with purified water of room temperature and then mix in your formula, shake it up and feed. Our instructor said that breastmilk is room temp, the same as the bottle and this makes for an easier transition on their little stomaches when you start to serve them regular milk in a sippy cup that has been in the fridge. It is easier on parents too, especially when you're on the go and have 2 hungry babies!
• Dreft is a big scam! This surprised me the most. The ingredients in Dreft are the same exact ingredients as in Tide fragrant free. There is no need to buy dreft other than if you want to buy into it. The fabric dryer sheets are debatable. They take the fire retardency out of clothes so we probably won't use these but I will stick to my Tide fragrant free.
• Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle! I have just started reading Harvey Karps book, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" that a friend let me borrow and after watching the DVD of the swaddling technique I am amazed. I have seen this in action by several of my close friends so I was already a believer. I was given 2 miracle blankets for my little boy and I've already bargain shopped online and bought 2 for my girl.
• Sssshing. This goes with the swaddling and is one of Harvey Karps 5 S's. It appears that babies are soothed by the loud shhhshhing noise because it sounds like when they were in the womb. I've seen friends do this and thought they were crazy but I'm willing to give it a try, coupled with turning them on their side as recommended.
• Baby Food: When comparing ingredients between regular jar baby food and organic, the carbs and sugar amount were the exact same. This may not be true for all organic brands, but be sure to check the labels.

I'm excited to have all these suggestions and it will be interesting to see what works for our little ones and what doesn't. One thing I know for sure is that my house is definitely NOT baby proof. We had some friends over for a happy hour last night and we had a toddler, a crawler and a 4 month old. I was able to accomodate the 4 month old with my playmats and swing, however we did end up moving quite a few things and with a broken dog bowl. Very eye opening for me and especially B who was convinced we would not need to make the extra room in our basement a playroom. I think he's certainly changed his opinion on that after last night.

Lots of Decisions

When I announced I was pregnant I had a friend tell me to prepare myself for the baby advice and critiquing that would start to pour in. I had no idea how opinionated people would be about decisions that only affect me, B and the babies. Everything from bottles to C sections! I won't even get into the whole breast feeding vs. not opinions.



I didn't think I would have to start making decisions that affect my babies until after they were born but boy was I wrong. The first decision that I've made was to have a scheduled C section and this was not one I took lightly. After talking with several doctors at my OB's office including my OB who I trust and my high risk doctor and after talking with many twin moms, I have decided that there is just too high of a risk to Baby B with trying to deliver vaginally (not to mention several moms I spoke with who wanted a V birth, had one for Baby A and then ended up having a C section for B, so then stuck recovering from both!) Sure there are twin moms out there who have had a succesfull V birth for both babies but there are some pretty upsetting stories I've heard as well. So, do I want a C section? Heck no! I'm tired of hearing from people that they can't believe I would want one! Who would want major surgery! Am I willing to do what I think is best and safest for my babies? Absolutely, even if that means major surgery. Whatever will get them both out safely is what I'm willing to do and I feel very good about my decision.



I think I am most surprised when a fellow mom passes judgement on a mom or a mom to be. I don't see why my decisions should have an impact on anyone but B, me and the babies. I've always noticed how all of my friends and family do things slightly differently from one another and never have I judged one way or the other. Some parents let their kids watch a lot of tv, some don't, some only feed theirs organic food, some allow cookies and soda, some kids have pacifiers, some don't and the list goes on and on. Everyone is entitled to making their own parenting decisions and I don't care one way or another because it does not directly affect me. We will make our own decisions as B and I see fit. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by all of these great moms with different styles, tips and tricks so I can take a little bit of wisdom and ideas from each of them and decide what works best for me and my babies.



The bottom line is both B and I are educated people. If we have a plan to do something one way and it doesn't work for us then we will change it. For any moms reading this, remember not to judge a fellow mom. Some things may work or have worked great for you and you may think it's the best way, but it may not work for someone else for whatever reason. I am certainly open to suggestions and advice but when someone pushes something on me or passes judgement for my decision, that is where I have a problem.

My last gripe and then I'll get off line and finish organizing my linen closet. Why do moms feel the need to share their negative pregnancy / birth experience with pregnant women when not asked for such information???? I was at my community pool a few weeks ago and I ran into a fellow twin mom who proceeded to go on and on about how bad I was going to feel the last month of my pregnancy. Shame on you! You've been in my shoes and that is the last thing I want to hear! I solemly swear to never, ever share with a pregnant person how sick I was or any other pain stories. This is just cruel! I now stop people and ask "Is this a good story or a bad story?" If they say bad then I politely say I would rather not hear it!

Elvis and Priscilla Update

My blog has taken a backseat to the million organization and house projects I have going on not to mention trying to work full time and get my afternoon cat naps in as well :-) A lot has happened over the past month. The big things have been a totally renovated master bathroom (which is now the nicest room in our house by the way), 2 new nurseries and trying to purge as much as we possibly can to make room for the new occupants and all of their belongings. I am pictured below at 23 weeks and I'm standing in our baby girls nursery. There is quite the shadow cast around my head so don't think I'm trying to bring big hair back from the 80's. Here is a 3D pic of the babies at our last sonogram (20 weeks). Nothing like a brother spooning his sister. I can imagine they are pretty tight for space in there. I started to feel them kick a few weeks ago and they haven't stopped since. Last night the little girl kept kicking every time she heard Brad's voice. It was very sweet how excited he got. I can tell she already has him wrapped around her finger.

Aside from getting the house cleaned out and organized I am also getting ready for my first baby shower this Saturday up in MA hosted by my mom and my aunt. Although I'm not looking forward to the flight (even though it's a short one) I am looking forward to my prenatal massage on Friday evening, the shower itself and hanging with my sister in Noho on Sat. night.

Oh, and we're not really planning to name them Elvis and Priscilla. My parents started referring to them by those names rather than calling them "the boy and the girl." Those of you who know my dad know what a huge Elvis Presely fan he is so it's more of a joke. We decided to keep our names a secret until the babies arrive. Since everyone knows it's a boy and a girl we wanted there to be some element of anticipation and surprise. And Elvis, Priscilla and Winston don't go very well together anyways :-)