OK, on to a different, more positive thought. My boys are the best thing in my life. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without them. They are not easy. They keep me busy. I get tired out easily, and I have no time for myself. They are like parasites. But, I’d gladly give them my energy, my blood, my time, my everything. I wake up every morning looking forward to those sweet smiles and giant hugs. Sometimes I wake up to dirty, stinky diapers. OOOO may not be fun for my nose, but it’s just more excuses to have them close to me. They fight over me. They both want my attention. I always wanted to have two guys fight over me!!! My dream come true!!! My days become whole when I hear them laugh. I love watchign them exploring their world. We just set up a large wing chair to allow them to play on. Kiefer figured out how to place one of his buckets at the foot of the chair to allow him to boost himself on to the chair so he can either sit and read or jump…usually a mixture of both. It was over from then on. I had to give in!!! I took off the cushion and set it on the floor so if they jump and fall, they won’t hurt themselves. They’d still fall to the side, so I added pillows to the sides too. I don’t want to remove the chair. They love it!!! I don’t want the to get hurt either. I guess I’m just going to have to think about this one.

One little activity which I do get a little frustrated with is, they love to toss stuff off the look-over. That’s the area of the second floor loft that looks over both the stairs and the first floor. It’s not over the front door, but it is technically still the foyer. They toss their toys down there. They could break their toys, or even worse, hurt someone who’s innocently just standing there for whatever reason. Not a huge deal, but I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt. They’ve been better, but they do enjoy a good toy tossing every once in a while.

The boys have been enjoying their time at their gym classes. There’s a bunch of things they do there and they get to play with other kids. I’ve talked to some parents, haven’t made any friends, but every one is nice there. There’s also a walk-in day care set up at the gym. It’s really nice there. They had someone come in and build a boat structure that includes a fort, a slide and some areas to hide and run through. There’s a ton of toys to play with and activities to get involved in. They particularly like one of the owners there. She, the other owner, and daughter of one of the owners are often there during their daycare time. The daughter really seems to enjoy playing with them. She’s about 8+/-? All I know, is whenever I talk to the owner, the boys seem to really like her company. She has tried to teach them some sign. They know the sign for ‘more’ now. Cameron is very good at repeating it to me, but Kiefer seems to hold out to only doing it for her. That’s fine! Cameron will talk a little. He can say Circle and Banana. I have now heard Kiefer try to say Banana. He has apparently tried to say Cheerios for her, but has not since.She did say their motor skills are advanced and she’d have liked to have seen them in the next age group that doesn’t start until they are supposed to be 22 months! What a great thing to boast about!!! Unfortunately, I can’t bring them to that class, cause the class starts in the middle of their normal nap time. Maybe soon though!

I think Kiefer does know how to talk, but he has fallen in to the twinspeak problem of talking babble-words mostly cause Cameron can understand him. He’ll do it soon. It’s a little frustrating that neither of them have a large vocabulary right now, but twins often delay their speech. They do try. They both try to imitate the various sounds we do say when going over animal sounds. Especially Cameron. He’s very good at that. Kiefer will try and you can see he really wants to talk. He’ll get there. Kiefer can drink from a cup. Not well though. He often tilts too soon and the water will spill all over him. Thank goodness I never fill the cup up more than an inch or two of water. I don’t even try juice! …OK, I lied. I did try to let him drink his orange juice from a cup. He did a good job with my help. Cameron, at first try, did not do so well. He didn’t get the whole swallow thing down well. Most of it went on to his bib. The second time I let him try, which he insisted on since I let Kiefer try it alone, he did better. Most of the water did end up getting swallowed, but he will need more work before I let him try alone.

I feel bad about one thing. It seems a lot of people are already working on numbers and letters with their kids. I didn’t think I needed to. I guess I don’t technically NEED to, but it’s a good idea to start getting them familiar with them. They are starting to talk, and it’s obvious they can understand us. When I say I can’t find something, Kiefer will actually start looking around for it!  They both are getting very good at responding when we tell them they can’t do something.

It just amazes me how mature their movements are. Kiefer’s running up and down the hallway, dragging toys around. Cameron trying to look under furniture and reaching for his toys. Their imaginary play has gotten more and more sophisticated as well with the way Kiefer will even request Cameron hold out his hand and he’ll put something imaginary inside for Cameron to hold or eat. They both like to play those games with me and Jason too. When I go get Kiefer in the morning, he often is already awake and playing. When I go to him, he’ll turn off his glow seahorse and wave byebye to it, then asked to be picked up. I can tell he has a connection with his toys. It means a lot to him they are around in the crib for him every night and morning. They are a part of his little night environment and routine. Cameron does have his favorite toys, but he has not shown much of a story or personal connection like Kiefer has to his toys. He LOVES his Tigger lovey, he’s made that very clear, but that connection is a love connection and not part of imaginary play. Cameron has a different type of play he likes that is imaginary. His mind will grow and play like Kiefer’s eventually, but he’s a different boy than Kiefer and his interests are going to be different. It’s just so fascinating to see their differences and how they are able to interact with each other using their specific interests.

Well, I’ve babbled on long enough. I have more to say and more to add, but I’ll say that another day….hopefully not a day 6 months later

Night time is still good. He sleeps well. Every once in a while, however, he’ll start to cry about an hour after I put him to bed. I’ll go up to see what’s wrong, and he’s still asleep screaming and crying. OH NO! I’ll just pick him up, cradle him, and speak to him. It takes a while, but he’ll eventually wake up. He’ll still cry, but at this point I can give him his pacifier and he’ll calm down. It’s so hard to watch him go through this, but he’ll sleep soundly through the night after that. He started this about 6 months old. I didn’t think much of it until I started reading about night terrors. I figured that’s what he had, but I didn’t know that it usually starts when a child is 1 years old. Night terrors come about when either the child is overtired or has seen some things that scare him earlier that day. Kiefer has fears already, and it seems to happen around the times he is frightened. I’d have thought they were just nightmares. he does seem to have those too, but these are different. Nightmares wake you up, while night terrors happen while you are still asleep, but you still either scream, cry, shake, talk, and/or sit-up. Kiefer has been found mainly crying or screaming, but he has at one point sat up, but he was still asleep. I feel awful for him. It hasn’t happened for a while now. I hope it’s just a quick passing phase, but night terrors can last up to 12 years old.I hope Kiefer does not end up having these terrors that long.

Cameron is doing great! He is such a happy baby and I think I know why. He can crawl! He actually just started to crawl recently. He just turned 9 months old and he started to crawl just a few days before that. He now can get to where he wants to. Before, he’d crawl backwards and would just get frustrated that he couldn’t go forward to somethign he sees that he wants. Now he can go forward. Not only that but he just started to kneel! He’s going to be standing in no time. He loves to laugh. He and Kiefer will just laugh with each other for a long while now. I can’t wait for them to discover more things together. So far, they have learned it’s fun to tear up magazines together. Oh the trouble these boys are going to get in to! Cameron loves mirrors. After his bath, he loves to see himself in the mirror in the bathroom. He also gets a kick out of the mirror in his exersaucer. He’ll play peek-a-boo in the mirror with us. It’s the cutest thing. He is also sooo ticklish. It’s so much fun tickling him. He gets this look on his face of such joy! Kiefer is ticklish too, so don’t get me wrong, I love tickling him too, but I have never seen the look I’ve seen on Cameron’s face.

Cameron has been saying, “Mama”, “Mom”, “Mommom”, “Dada”, and I thought I heard him say, “Mommy”, one time. He loves to chat. He’ll talk with Kiefer, he’ll talk with me when he’s getting changed or eating. He just has a blast! I generally don’t like them watching too much TV, but I have to admit, he LOVES mickey mouse. When he sees Mickey on the TV, he stops whatever he’s doing. he loves the hot dog song most of all, but as soon as Mickey walks on the screen, he’s mesmerized. Actually, today was the first time I saw Kiefer laugh when he saw Mickey.

They have started eating their nine month foods, but they don’t like the chunkiness of the texture. Kiefer will spit out the chunks while Cameron will open his mouth and throw me the dirtiest look possible and a frown that just melts my heart. It’s hilarious how animated these kids are. We’ve been giving them these Gerber puffs. They melt in your mouth with you bite on them. They’ve been learning how to put them in their mouths on their own. It’s a hit and miss thing though. Most of the time, they pick up the puff and it sticks to their hands, but occasionally, one will make it in to their mouths. They don’t have the coordination to get the puff out of their hands when it’s sticking or not in the right position to be eaten. It’s kind of fun watching them learn to figure these things out. I’m hoping they have better luck with banana bits.

As far as 9 month (unofficial) stats go…

Cameron: weight – 20lbs 15oz

Kiefer: weight – 19lbs 13oz

Well, part of the growing up comes with some difficulties. They don’t sleep as easily as they did when they first learned they could sleep through the night. Cameron wakes up needing his paci a lot and even a drink in the middle of the night. I know, I know, tis the time for developmental growth and with that comes restless sleep. But for 2 months now, Cameron just hasn’t gotten a great night’s sleep, ‘cept on a rare occasion. So , now between 1am and 3am, Cameron will wake up wanting his bottle. I must confess something though. I hate that I have to wake up, but to see his beautiful face and be able to look at him, watching him drink, I feel like I get to have a special moment with him. One time, he slept through the night, and I actually missed that moment we have been sharing. He was the fussy baby as a newborn, but now, he’s such a happy boy. I’ll admit, getting him to bed was difficult. He’d cry and cry and cry. We had to just let him cry it out. After about 1 1/2 weeks, he started to calm down and not cry so much when we put him to bed for either a nap or bedtime. It’s gotten so much easier to get him to rest, and he’s a much happier baby through the day now that he’s willing to nap.

Cameron loves to talk. He recently started to talk to Kiefer and us by clearing his throat. It was funny to watch, however, the sound was annoying. But, his babbling was music to my ears! He’s been eating solids like a champ. He get 2 – 3 servings of Earth’s Best Organic level 2 food. Mostly the combination stuff. He is the champion eater. He doesn’t make too many messes and swallows his food easily. Well, part of that is a little lie. He recently learned it’s fun to blow raspberries with his food. That way, food goes spraying all over the place and mommy is laughing so hard she can’t serve him food until she calms down. He thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread…which he has yet to discover. He’s also figured out how to drink from a sippy cup. One very proud milestone he’s recently achieved is getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He’s almost crawling!! What a big boy he is! He’s getting very good at scooting and flipping around to get to where he wants to go. I suspect any day now, he’ll be adding crawling to his list of achievements. He’s learning how to sit up on his own. He’s doing ok, he’s just got some more balancing to go. He’s also discovered how fun it is to play with his feet. I think it’s adorable to see him have so much fun with his feet. It’s different than him playing with his winky. He discovered that a long time ago. He still watches himself pee in the tub, but he has decided it isn’t as much fun to play with as chewing on his bath toys. His hair is growing ok. He’s got a rat tail on the back of his head. Hubby wants me to cut it off though. I’m partially delaying, but I also forget to do it. His head is starting to shape better. He’s got plagiocephaly where his head is flat on the back right of his head causing a slit tilt in his head position and his ears. His ears have straightened out and his head is rounded over top, but he still is fairly flat on his back right head. It’s getting better though now that he sleeps on his belly and has been enjoying belly time a lot. He’s not very often on his back now, so that flat part should clear up soon.

Kiefer is doing great. He’s learning so fast. He learned to scoot much earlier than Cameron. Basically, he had the motivation to. He loves to play with everything he sees. He’s learned how to open the entertainment unit doors already. His favorite game is to copy our tapping on the floor with his hands. His recent achievement is sitting up on his own. Well, he gets laid on his back on his boppy and he’ll sit up. It won’t be long until he learns to do that from the floor. He sleeps very well at night. Kiefer is the champion sleeper compared to his brother. He doesn’t usually wake up for a bottle and sleeps about 11-12 hours a night. Kiefer also discovered his feet a while before Cameron. He also discovered his winky around the time Cameron did, but he’ll still play with it during bath time. He gets funny when he plays with it. I think he is already starting to notice the sensations of his little boy part. I hate that I have to play with it. NO SICKOS! I’m not actually ‘playing’ with it. The skin on his shaft is sticking to the head of his penis, and I have to try to encourage it to disconnect. Speaking of head, the one on his shoulders has grown. Of course it has, but for a while, his head has been measuring between 10% and 5%. At his last physical (6 month physical), his head measured 75% ! Can you believe it? His head was looking bigger to me, but not that big! Even the doctor measured it about 5 times and with my help too cause she could not believe the difference!

Kiefer wasn’t always the easiest baby to feed, however. He’d stick his tongue out when we offered his food. He’d open his mouth in anticipation for the spoon, but his tongue would be in the way. He’s also very noisy when he eats. It’s basically almost like him saying, “MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm,” but not quite cause sometimes that “mmmm” would become more of a whine and fussiness. He’s even cry sometimes. He was not easy to read, but now he takes in his food without his tongue in the way and it’s been a lot easier to get him the food he wants. He’ll still “MMmmmm” through the process but it doesn’t turn in to a whining fussiness nearly as often as it did in the beginning. He tries to hold the spoon when I feed him, but if he gets control of the spoon, he won’t let go. I’m also afraid he’ll choke himself, so I don’t let him have it. It’s so sweet how he wants to do this himself. He’s a very independent baby though, so it’s not too much of a surprise. He likes his cuddles, but he like to do things on his own. He’s patient, which makes playing with him easy, considering he’s an independent thinker.

Together, they are a blast. They will laugh at each other, challenge each other to jumping in their jumperoos, touch each other sweetly, and share toys. Some of that I’m sure will change, but it’s so incredibly adorable to watch. So, like I said. I sit here watching Kiefer as he’s going through a nasty cold as I hold on to one of Cameron’s sock feeling amazed. I’m amazed with them, but mostly at my heart. I cannot understand how I can have this much room to love in such a small organ. It’s split in 5 right now…my two dogs, my husband, and my two boys. On top of that, I love them more and more every day. Sometime, it aches so much because I feel like it’s so full it’s bursting open at the seems. But, then the ache subsides as my heart makes room to hold all my growing feelings again and ready itself for the next day. I just can’t believe I was blessed with such beautiful boys. I feel like I was given two angels to raise, and someone just trusted me and my husband to raise them so they can grow up to make this world a better place. I know they’ve already made my world a better place. So now, I am also faced with a bunch of new emotions. I am sad to know they are growing up so fast. So many milestones have passed and I will miss those moments. But I am so excited to see who they are becoming. I’m looking forward to the new milestones and being able to talk to them and play with them more. I enjoy watching them learn and look around at their world with amazement. I almost can’t wait to hear them tell me how they see things. But, for now, I just look forward to seeing them every day. I look forward to seeing their smiles and hearing them talk and laugh. I look forward to seeing what new achievements the new day brings for both of them.

Well, I’m sorry it took so long to update everyone on the goings on in my life. I have more things going on too that I’ll update on when I am able to. I’m getting tired now and I think I’m going to actually sleep….until someone wakes me up. Until next update!

Meanwhile, I am SOO FRIGGIN’ ITCHY!!! There are three reasons I am this itchy still. I have acquired more stretch marks on my belly and now on my legs, My edema has gotten worse especially on my legs, and my Pupps is also more wide spread. All this has gotten to the point where I’m about to rip my skin off my body despite the pain and bleeding that would occur. One thing that is frustrating is that this itchyness won’t be going away as soon as these babies come out. The itching will eventually, but not right away. I’ll also be left with tons of stretch marks that will take a very long time to heal and a saggy belly that’ll take a while to also go back to near normal. *sarcasm* OOOO something else to look forward to! Well, there is one thing to look forward to. Even though I’ll be waking up a lot to feed these babies, I’m hoping that the sleep I’ll haveis more restful than what I’m having now. Once this itching goes away, I’ll be able to have a couple of hours of scratch-free sleep and even pee-free sleep! It’ll be a step up from what’s going on now.

My mother is visiting tomorrow and will be around until the 30th. It’ll be nice having her here. Then my hubby’s aunt and uncle are visiting for about a week, maybe more, to help out. That’ll be nice having her here too. I’ll need all the help I can get. My mother will be back on July 12 for a few days to continue helping out. Then my uncle and aunt may be visiting for a day or so on their way to New Jersey like they do every year. That’ll be nice to have them here too. They wouldn’t be coming to help, but more to meet the two new little squirts. My Dad will make a very brief visit this Wednesday. I have mixed feelings about that. Now, I’m ecstatic he’ll be here. I’m looking forward to seeing him, I’d just have wished he’d be hanging around longer. His excuse was that he has tons of patients to see and had to move for this. Not exactly the nice sentiment I was hoping to hear especially since he could have made his visit this Friday and stayed until Sunday when he doesn’t have patients. However, on the other hand, it is somewhat of a special thing to see someone at the hospital. He’ll see me and his two new grandsons before coming home. he won’t be here in time for the birth, but it’s close enough. I never expected him to be here in time for the birth. That would have been a bit too soon especially with his schedule. So, I’m not going to complain. I’m a little disappointed it’ll be such a brief visit while I can’t really see him for long. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, but he’s coming to see me and the two boys, and it’s really going to be so nice to have him here. I hope to see him again before the end of the year though. At least then I’ll be out of the hospital and be able to give him more attention. I guess I just miss him, and I know he’s really looking forward to meeting his two new grandsons.

When we get home, with the two boys, we plan on making a few trips back home with some clothes and stuff for my dogs to smell so they are at least familiar with what these boys will smell like. I’m SOOO hoping Sparky will welcome them with no problems, but if she’s freaked out, then we’ll just have to do a slow introduction with her. It’ll work out. She’s a good girl and I know she means well. Babies scare her since she was abuse, so she may just get a little concerned at first as to what I’m going to do with her. Nothing of course. I’d never hurt her, but dogs don’t forget as much as people say they do. I remember when I first brought Skye home, she felt replaced and pushed aside. I WILL NOT let her go through that again! It was heart breaking! Eitherway, I’m thinking I’m makign too much of this and the dogs will do what’s right to the best of their ability.

I can’t believe they are not ready to come out at this point. Next week, I have another doctor’s appointment and an NST with an API. The NST is to listen in and make sure they are not stressing out and are doing ok. The API is a visualization to do a brief growth estimate to determine when they may have to come out. I’m seeing my doctor regardless since I had made that appointment before knowing about the NST/API requirements. I’m going to be doing the NSTs and APIs every week until I pop. I also have a follow-up ultrasound in three weeks. I’ll be really surprised if I last that long to me honest with you.

Now,back to the baby shower. One of the games was to guess the due dates, time born, and weights of the babies when they are born. Well, already a few people are out of the pool. Some had guessed they will be under 5 lbs when they are born. LOL, well that ain’t going to happen! I’m thinking about 6 – 7 lbs at least.

Now there is still one concern with Kiefer. His left kidney is still a little dilated. The doctor said that it may be narrowed where the kidney meets the ureter, or reflux. I’m suspecting reflux since the problem goes from one side to the next. If it doesn’t clear up by the time he’s born, they will do a postnatal assessment on him to determine what could be causing his delay with urinating. I hope it’s nothing too serious.  He IS peeing, but it’s just not happening as easily as it should be.

As far as their estimated growth. Cameron’s age is averaging at 36w 1d and Kiefer’s age is estimated at 34w 5d. It appears that Cameron is still 3 weeks ahead but at least he hasn’t gained too much in age. His head is big, however and he’s breech now, so my desire to go for a vaginal birth is probably not going to happen. I think I’m going to be facing a c-section at this point . Oh well, I still can hope, but if I have to do a cesarean, then so be it. It’s the babies’ health that matters here. I will not be able to have a vaginal breech if he’s in the position he’s in any how. There are some breech positions which are not that dangerous to both the mom and baby, but he’s in a slightly tilted Frank breech I believe and that is just not going to happen for me. Kiefer is also breech, but twin B’s are a bit more flexible since there’s often a chance the second baby can change positions last minute due to having all that extra space after twin A is born. As far as Kiefer goes, he’s slowly catching up to Cameron’s estimated age. That makes me happy because he’s definitely getting everything he needs and Cameron is sharing his space well with Kiefer. Though…I think Cameron was kicking Kiefer in the head last week in the sneak peek ultrasound I got from the doctor. Well, what should I expect? They’re boys!

I’m at 32 weeks and 3 days. My doctor said to not be surprised if these boys want to come out at around 34 weeks. That’s at least a week and a half away!  Can you believe that? It feels so soon! I mean, I have been waiting a long time for these boys to finish baking and even more so to get pregnant at all! I know I deserve this chance to be a mom, but my life is going to change so fast so much so soon! It honestly scares me. I’m not sitting in some remote corner of my house, rocking back and forth mumbling incomplete thoughts repeatedly over it or anything, but the idea that within one month, my entire life and focus will be changed.

Of course, worries of will I be a good mom, will Jason enjoy his new role as a dad, will my dogs be good girls and welcome these boys into their lives with little to no complications, will these boys be healthy… I could go on. These worries are neverending. Normal worries, I’m sure, but neverending. I guess I have to get used to that too…list of the neverevending worries. It’s part of being a mom I suppose.

Now, this does not by any means that I want to follow in the steps of my own mother. She had her good days and bad days of being a mom, but I hope to stay to my own values and morals and only take in the things that I learned from my mother that I found helpful and disregard the ones that I didn’t feel taught me much at all. I want to feel like I learned to be a better mother than my mother was to me. The only thing that becomes a huge challenge is that she never raised twins. That part makes me nervous. I see how much of a challenge it is to raise one child at a time…I gotta raise two at once! I know I’m going to get some advice from family members, and some of that advice will be good and useful, but some of it I’ll have to filter out and be patient with those offering their help even if I don’t want to hear it. I’ve had plenty of practice with that already and so far I think I’ve done a good job taking in only what I want to use or consider. It just gets harder when the same person gives me the same advice over and over again. it feels pushy rather than just a friendly suggestion.

My mother will rarely but has at least twice now picked on my baby registry. Now, nothing she’s said is bad. She’s not saying I’ve picked out bad items or anything, but that these are deluxe items and it makes me look like a new mom. Now, I am a new mom and I want to get the best for my boys. You never really get the chance to have another first child (or in my case, two children) so you do want the best for him or her. I see nothing wrong with what I have for them. I’m sure some things I get may not be something that these boys care for, but every baby is that way. Sure, they may find the box the toy comes in to be more fascinating than the toy itself, but that doesn’t mean just give the boys a bunch of boxes for their birthdays. If we do have another child…IF…. then a lot of these items will be good for hand-me-downs. Some of them may be helpful to family members that also have children of their own and we have no more use for an item or so. We also can sell some of the used or not-so-used items online if it comes to that. Nothing wrong with making a little money after they run out of uses for the things they have.

Another concern I do have is the dogs. They need my attention. We think we’ve come up with a decent solution, and that is since the babies will be spending the night in their own room from day one, then night time, after the boys go to bed, will be dog attention time. Already, these dogs are used to less attention so they will be ready for the lack of it once these babies come home. That will help a great deal. Now, they also get to spend time with us when they go for a walk, when one of us is not with the babies, and when they are napping. Course, some of that attention they will be getting is napping with us and not play time. However, they are old dogs and napping has become more frequent anyhow so I’m not too worried about that. At no point will I deny then the right to be involved with our lives with these babies, but they will have to learn some manners when in the company of these babies. I have faith that Sparky will take on the role of a good big fur sister and not see these boys as intruders or attention hogs. I’m hoping to get to the point where she will see these babies’ roles as family members and mommy’s property which means she’s not to get her nose too close without permission and is not to harm these babies in any way. I will be watching her closely and encouraging her to play nice and be patient. She can do it, I’ve seen her do it. I KNOW she’s a sweetie that wants to be a good girl. I’m not too worried about Skye at this point. She’s got patience and a sweet disposition around people. I just hope that her need to protect Sparky from her own (Sparky’s) anxiety doesn’t make her too nervous being around these babies.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the baby shower that’s coming up on Friday. I already have an idea of what to expect, but for the most part, it’s still a surprise to me. I don’t know what is ordered for lunch other than where the food is coming from. I don’t know what games are planned other than there will be games, and I don’t know how things will look other than that we have decorations to put up. The house has already been cleaned so that helps a lot with some of the anxiety of having guests over. I’ll probably have to keep the dogs in the laundry room since we will have a baby and a young boy there that may make her nervous. So far, I’m still in good shape. I’m walking without crutches, I’m not going in to labor, and I have a decent amount of energy still left in me that I can enjoy the company and party without having to take breaks. I’m not on bedrest like I was worried I would be. Carrying around a couple of large babies this far in the pregnancy game is no easy task, but I’ve been playing the game well, and I am still up for the task of carrying them around on my own two feet with little to no assistance….not that Jason hasn’t helped me through a lot of this. He’s been so good to me. He seems to enjoy helping out when he can, though I can tell some of this has been hard on him and makes him feel overwhelmed. He’s been amazing though. I give him so much credit for doing the best he can to take me places that he normally doesn’t go with me to, helping me around the house when I’m unable to walk or do certain things, and has been great with fixing up the place to make it ready for guests and of course the arrival of the babies. I couldn’t ask for a better man!

Well, I think I’ve worn down these computer keys enough with this long post. I’ll continue on after I know more from my doctor appointment on Thursday and my nest ultrasound on Tuesday.  I jsut ahve a feeling things are about to change soon.

Hmm, so let’s start by saying. I love the new car! We bought it about a month ago and it’s been doing so well! It’s like a ultimate geek car. it may not be suitable for George Jetson, but it’s got it’s major pluses. I love seeing how much mileage we are able to save and if we can beat it every time we drive. It is definitely a very handy took when trying to save some money and gas mileage with the prices going up lately. I know, it’s an SUV so the gas savings aren’t as good as let’s say a Camry hybrid or Prius, but it’s the best out there for an SUV and it’s practical for us because of the upcoming family needs and the two dogs. We needed the space AND the gas savings. We are definitely not disappointed with our choice.

April 20th was a new milestone for me. Know what it was? The first day of my third trimester!!! That’s right!! I finally made it! I can’t believe it. Now it’s time for back aches, hip softening, and leg cramps. OY! I’ve gotten mine with a vengeance. Can you believe it? The boys switched positions. Kiefer is usually on teh right side, but has switched to the left side and Cameron is now on the right side. Both are still head down though, which is good! The not so good part is somehow, their new position has caused my pelvic bone to twist causing incredible pains in my left leg. For a while it was only the sciatica in my right foot. Now that’s nothing compared to the pain in my left thigh!

I went to a physical therapist who determined the possible cause and did some work on my leg and pelvic bone. That helped a lot, but I also got a pair of crutches because I shouldn’t be using the cane as a weight bearing tool, and it will only encourage my pelvic bone to continue twisting. The crutches will at least keep balance and are weight bearing tools. I felt better afterwards at least. I saw my chiropractor the following day. He said my pelvic bone was now twisted the opposite way. Maybe I was still walking on it incorrectly? Well, he adjusted me and my pelvic bone and now I’m pain free. I think between both the PT’s and the Chiro’s adjustments, I have come out of this feeling SO much better. I also think Cameron may have shifted again a little because he did somethign the night after the physical therapist appointment that hurt like a B*TCH along with some obvious tumbling. I’m at least now walking crutch and cane free as long as I don’t walk for too long. Then I need the help of either tool.

My last OB appointment was a bit disappointing. Well, the boys are doing well at least so that’s great news! Kiefer’s kidney that was enlarged last time has gone back to normal, but his other one is now slightly enlarged. The doctor that studied the ultrasound told me that since the bladder and the ureters both look unblocked and normal, that Kiefer is probably just delaying eliminating his urine. It’s still somethign they have to figure out why that is, but it looks like everything is working normally. This doctor is not concerned at this time either. That makes me so happy! Both babies are within normal weight. Cameron is 3 lbs 3 oz while Kiefer is 3 lbs. Can you believe that? I have about 6.3 lbs of baby in me! …and they are still growing! Cameron on this past Tuesday was measuring 31w 3d, and Kiefer was measuring 29w 2d. That means Cameron is averaging about 3 weeks ahead, while Kiefer is measuring about 1 week ahead of schedule.  They are still not out of growth range and are considered normal and very healthy.

I on the other hand had a trace of protein in my urine. I was given that glucose drink for my one hour before I gave the sample, but with the blood draw done an hour later, they determined that I failed the one hour. I failed!!! I haven’t failed anything since college! OY VEI (yes I do have Jewish blood in me, I’m allowed to say that)!! So now I have to go in for the 3 hour GTT on Wednesday. Of course, NOW I have a sweet tooth so I have to pry myself away from the temptations of deserts and cookies. I hope I pass the test. I was only over the limit by a small amount. The limit they set is 140. I was 149. It could have been worse. I’d hate to have to give up my entire diet! …though not much of a diet it was. I know I can stay away from deserts, but I am already limited in what I can eat when I go out, and my body does not react well to changes in certain things. I end up feeling sick with diarrhea, cold sweats, and stomach cramps. Though I CAN deal with diet coke with splenda and other sugar free drinks. I’m still good with water at least.

I just got a disturbing call from my mother telling me my insurance raised my rates $200. WTH!?!? Doesn’t that seem extreme in the middle of the year?  It’s now just about matching my mortgage. It’s over $2,000 a month!!! I can’t handle this crap. What the hell have I done to allow them to up my rates. I haven’t done anything unusual to cause this. They cover me for pregnancy. I confirmed that. That’s the only doctor I’ve seen this whole year on a regular basis. I’ve gone to see the doctor for a possible knee issue, but it was never confirmed because they can’t do an x-ray. Besides, it feels better and I have not had any troubles since. I also went to the skin doctor because of some itching and dry skin on my hands and some acne on my back. The acne is pregnancy related and has gotten much better and the ezcema on my hand is reduced. Though I’m itchy as hell on my pinky, I believe that too is pregnancy related. NONE of these are causes for a price increase. I’ve been to the chiropractor in a regular month to month basis for the past 2 years. Nothing has changed. so why on earth would that have anything to do with it. I don’t know yet, but I’m trying to figure out everything I’ve done medically wise. I haven’t seen my neurologist since last year…since before their last increase. I see him on Tuesday. NOR have I had any relapses or any reason to increase my rates. According to paper work and insurance rules, they are not allowed to increase rates on an individual basis. So are they going to tell me that EVERYONE has had their rates increased? Those in the high risk range got $200 raised beyond what they were paying already? I know I’m about to turn 35 and that’s a new age range. But I’m not 35 yet and they aren’t supposed to change that until the following year! ARGH. There’s nothing I can do until this coming week. I hope it’s something that can be fixed or has a good explanation for all this rediculous rate increase in the middle of the year!

Well, I’m done with the ranting part. I will continue to try to update my blog with any new news and thoughts that come up.

It was kind of funny though. I go there and a woman had just signed in for a dentist appointment and she had twin girls a couple of years ago. The receptionist there just told her I was having twin boys (they love to talk at that place). She went on about a twin mom’s group in the area that I could join that she was a part of. Unfortunately, it’s a little far for me and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to fit behind the wheel of my car anyhow.
The doctors and assistants and any other co-worker there got wind of my twins and they all came running to see me. It was very sweet. They have all seen me through every miscarriage and every pregnancy. To hear that I was pregnant with twins was a big deal to them. It really felt like a family there and they all wanted to know more about me. I knew about some of their journeys to motherhood or what they are up to in their lives too, so it was actually quite a nice little meeting. I got tons of interesting information from the hygienist there. The dentist assistant came in about three times to see me and ask questions as she was going from one patient to another. Eventually the main dentist came in to look over my teeth and she was so happy to see me and how far along I am. She really couldn’t stop smiling! She herself has had some troubles having a child, so to me, I felt a bit of a connection to her.

Meanwhile, Kiefer, who had not been kicking me for a couple of days now decided it was time to get busy. I had put the protective glasses on my belly since they were fogging up during the teeth scraping. I had forgotten that he didn’t like having anything placed on him and he was trying to kick them off. He wasn’t kicking very hard, but it was a sweet surprise. I removed the glasses and held them instead. I didn’t want to disturb his beauty rest! Well, he decided that wasn’t enough. He decided to go jiffy popping for a little while. It really was such a nice surprise. Meanwhile, Cameron was moving around with his head near my cervix ahead making me laugh through the appointment. The hygienist was getting a kick out of my occasional giggling. Cameron was tickling me…I couldn’t help it!

Well, they wanted to make sure I gave/showed them pictures of the two monkeys (they were calling my boys monkeys…I told you it’s like a family there), or even bring them by. It’s funny how people love seeing babies. The car salesman who sold us our new car made me promise to bring them by three times, and made my hubby promise him another two times. I also now get to show them off to my dentist, who told me she can’t wait to meet them when they get to have their first teeth cleaning.

My hubby needed to see his doctor for an ear humming that has been bugging him for a few weeks now. So, I went with him on Tuesday morning and sat in the waiting room while he saw his doctor. I picked up a reader’s digest and proceeded to read about the FDA. I got a little tired of holding up the small magazine and rested it on my belly for support. Apparently, Kiefer was not too pleased about his new role as a table top and punched the magazine so hard it nearly flew out of my hands. Of course, no one saw what happened, but I don’t help but laugh. I laughed quietly. I think if anyone saw me laugh, however, they’d assume I found something funny in the book I was reading. I just placed my hand on Kiefer and told him I’m sorry and I wouldn’t do that again. I did do as I said and held the magazine up and didn’t rest it on my belly after that. My hubby came back out with a new prescription looking a little unsure of what is happening, or maybe just tired still from the trip back from NY. I couldn’t tell. I told him what happened. He seemed to get a kick out of it (pun pathetically intended).

Well, we get home and decided to pursue looking for a car. Neither of us expected anything to happen for a little while, but we called the normal place and left a message that we were interested in one of the cars whose information was emailed to us through our car salesman. Meanwhile, we decided to take a look and see if the other dealership near us had any similar cars in stock. WOOHOO! There were! We called up the place and we got in touch with a salesman that we had worked with at one point. He gave us a marked down price of the exact car they had in stock and available. It was the perfect car! A Toyota Hylander hybrid limited in cypress pearl and tan leather interior. No nav system, just an upgraded stereo and bluetooth and that was it! It was perfect! Even better, they beat the other dealership by at least 2,000 dollars! We argued it down a little bit, argued up the trade-in value of our car, and we added XMradio. We are in love! We were ready to go home after the place closed (second time that’s happened. I suppose we just talk too much). Because the radio was not installed and we didn’t have any check to pay them with at that time, we assumed we’d be picking up the car the next day once the XM was installed and we handed them a down payment check. Next thing we know is our salesman handed us the keys and sent us on our way in our new unpaid for car! HOLY CRAP! That’s trust for you! We were definitely shocked, and it was all a bit unreal, but hey, we got a new car! The next day, we went immediately to the bank and got the check we needed for the down payment and sent it over. The car was scheduled to get the radio installed alter that day as well so it was no problem. We got there and they were ready to install the radio and we handed over the check for the down payment. They lent us another car so we could go eat at a near by shopping area. That was so cool of them. It was another highlander, but non-hybrid. It was in tan exterior and interior. That was another color we were interested in. After seeing that car, we were so happy we got the green we asked for originally. Don’t get me wrong, the tan is nice, but the green is nicer.

We had a great lunch and got our car back. The salesman we had went through the car system and linked up our phones. It was nice of him, he even got us our 3 months free service from XM even though we already were a customer of theirs. He showed us some of the features of the radio and locking system and sent us on our way. He even made me promise that I was to show him our twins after they are born. Fair enough. I’ll have to bring in the car for maintenance at some point anyhow.

What a nice surprise. That’s it! …NOT! After picking up the car, my hubby just wanted to see if Sears had any idea if and when they were to get the new tv we wanted to trade in our old set for. We were owed credit since our set is broken and that credit was about to run out. Well, our salesman at sears went ahead and looked to see if that specific set was coming in at any time. OOO there it was, and it was going to be arriving this Friday! Also our salesman price matched and beat the price from another store which was really cool! There was a nice deal going on with a 10% off two items in the store as well which made things even cooler! We looked at the blueray players as well. My father was going to get Jason a blue-ray player for Christmas so why not take a look. The only one in stock was a Sony, but the Samsung had a faster loading time. Unfortunately, the Samsung was sold out everywhere, so we could only purchase the Sony. The Sony was good though, just a little slower with the loading time. We took our sweet time trying to figure out the best thing to do. We had some saving options to consider as well as the idea of increasing the size of the TV. Closing time had approached and we finally decided which way to go. This is where things got funny. We wanted the Sony blue-ray player but a couple of hours ago, it was sold to an internet sale. There were none left! They were sold out, but here’s the kicker. One Samsung player was delivered and was not taken. There are lines for this player and people were waiting for this one piece to arrive. It’s a great player apparently and we got it! Talk about luck! It’s the same cost as the Sony and a hot item. We got a great deal off it as well and we took it home. The TV will be delivered at a later date however.

So here we are with a new car, a Samsung blue-ray player, and a TV on the way. We have out done ourselves. Time to rest! We are so looking forward to watching some movies and enjoying some joy riding in our new car. I just hope this run of good luck does not end on a bad note. I don’t believe we deserved this run of good luck and I don’t plan on taking advantage of it. I’m just happy it was our turn. I hope the next person that gets some of this luck that’s spreading uses it well and enjoys it while it lasts.

Let’s start with the car ride to the airport. We had to drop off the dogs first. We were really pushing the time, but it had to be done. On my way there, I tried to park the car but my seat belt locked! I couldn’t see where the lines were so like an idiot, I played tug-o-war with the seat belt and won! Unfortunately, the prize I got was a big toss into the steering wheel. The wheel hit me in Kiefer territory. I had been feeling him move only recently before that. I was a jiffy pop pan the night before between the two of them so I was starting to feel secure that Kiefer is doing well. That changed! Though the steering wheel incident wasn’t too strong, I felt sore there and nothing from Kiefer. I did eventually feel Cameron kick a bit so I was at least happy to feel that he’s ok, but what about Kiefer! I couldn’t stand the idea that I may have hurt him in any way! We decided to go to the airport since nothing seemed to have happened during that accident. I decided to at least get a wheel chair because I didn’t want to overwhelm my body after what happened. On the plane ride, however, I started to feel contractions. Not very strong, but contractions nonetheless about 5 or so minutes apart! OH NO! Please Kiefer! Be ok! Cameron was still kicking though. I had tried to use the bathroom, I wasn’t bleeding at least. I was so happy I got a wheel chair at JFK airport. The ride to the baggage claim was a long, long ride. I was not contracting much by that time at least. We were greeted by hubby’s aunt at the baggage claim. We didn’t have any bags to claim since we packed light, but it was easiest to meet her there. Well all just went home and took it easy for the rest of the day. I needed to rest and try to relax from that morning’s ordeal. I still felt nothing from Kiefer. I’m still worried!

Friday morning, hubby’s aunt and uncle took us to see hubby’s parents’ cemetery. His uncle’s child who had an unfortunate accident also was buried there so we got to see him too. It was nice. It was after some rain so there was soft dirt around there. I got to introduce the two unborn kids to their grandparents….though I never did mention their names. I felt bad about that. I just didn’t think about it! After we said our greetings and hubby’s aunt and uncle planting the flowers for hubby’s parents, we drove off to find my grandparents’ cemetery. That was a bit of a drive, but it was really nice to see my grandparents’ house again. We took pictures in front of it. I of course had to pee so we had to cut that short. We then went to find the cemetery. It had definitely been a long time since I last went there, but we found the sites fairly easily. I introduced their unborn great grandkids to then, plus I remembered to say their names this time), and we placed the flowers hubby’s uncle got for them on the grave stones and took some pictures to give to my mother once they are developed. My mother was nearly in tears when I told her what we were going to do that day. I am happy I did go. I normally don’t because I just feel uncomfortable, but I’m glad I came around and said my hellos. They are my grandparents after all! I even told them the story of when I came to visit once and I felt my grandfather’s presence there. It was both hair raising and comforting to know he’s there watching with me. I can’t say I didn’t feel some presence there when I visited this time, but I think my grandfather was just waiting for my grandmother before moving on. I just felt a certain amount of peace by both of their graves this visit.

The friend I saw on Friday night showed me her house that’s still under construction. It’s coming a long really nicely. I just can’t believe she and her family are still sane after living in the small trailer just outside the house. We went to dinner where we had a good long talk about whatever. We paid for her and her hubby’s dinner since it was so close to both their birthdays. She and her hubby gave me a really nice picture frame with animal pairs (Noah’s Arc theme), and they engraved the bottom with our boys’ names and the year they will be born in. We just can’t pin point a month yet, so it was smart she didn’t try to guess that part. She really wants to come visit us this year. She was just about insisting on it. I don’t mind, but I just won’t be able to deal with a long visit. She doesn’t seem to mind the shorter visit this time. Mainly I explained we won’t be going anywhere. These babies won’t be able to be brought to too many places. Walks, yes, but no restaurants, going out to movies, visiting places….it’s all going to be in our house. She still thinks she’d like to come visit. She loves babies. I don’t mind it for some reason. Maybe because I won’t be able to get out much and it would be nice to see someone from the outside world during the start of this new baby journey.

**Note: Still no kicks from Kiefer, only Cameron…getting more worried.

I saw another friend on Saturday during a time I’m sure she’d have preferred later. She’s not a morning person, but I was going to see my father later that night and there was no way in hell I was going to cancel or move him. He just doesn’t have that flexibility to just come in from an hour away whenever I want. I was also looking forward to having dinner with him. I got some grief on my friend finding a place to park or more so that after she found us and left to find a parking spot, some opened up and I didn’t call her back. As parking goes, once a spot opens up, there is another car taking the spot. Besides I had to pee REALLY bad. I can’t help that I needed to get inside the building so quickly…I’m peeing for three! Well, once we found each other, things got better. Bad idea to go to the mall, though. No one was thinking that it would be that crowded! It was before Easter, however. I was getting phobic or something and cranky which didn’t help. My back was hurting and I was cramping a bit. It was nice seeing my friend even though I’m sure I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around at that time. I’m just so sorry for the mood I was in. I wish there was something else we could have done, but I didn’t want to hang out at her house nor my hubby’s Aunt’s/Uncle’s house. Nothing really to do in either place and I wanted to get out. Well, maybe next time we’ll figure out a better choice. I’ll have babies by that time so we may have some different idea of things to do. Unfortunately, it won’t be for a while that I even go anywhere!

Saturday night was nice. I saw my father. He was looking tired, but traveling from Africa and London are not exactly around the corner. I don’t doubt that he was still suffering from a bit of jet lag! It sounded like he had a lot of fun biking and taking pictures. I think he mentioned playing a little golf along the way. Not a surprise at all! We had a great dinner! We all had veal. He had piccata and both my hubby and I had Parmesan. We all shared some calamari while my dad also enjoyed some clams. After dinner, we all went to visit my hubby’s aunt and uncle. It was a nice talk. I know my father enjoys seeing them. They shared some dessert and some brandy, shared some adventures and knowledge on cars and stuff. Then my dad went home. He was a bit buzzed form the brandy so of course I’m all worried for him. He got home ok.

**Note: Nothing at first from Kiefer, but when my hubby placed his hands over Kiefer territory, I thought I felt him tumble around. Still nothing beyond that and Cameron was not kicking as much as usual either….still worried, but slight relief.

Sunday was Easter and was expected to be somewhat busy. Well, it turned out one of our invited guests had her baby the night before. She was expected to pop at any time. Well, her baby girl was born Easter morning via c-section. The father is my hubby’s cousin. I was sorry I didn’t get to see them, but I’m very happy for their new addition. What a nice Easter gift! So, the guest list pretty much was me, my hubby, Hubby’s grandmother, aunt, uncle, sister and her partner. The dinner was big as usual. Aunty loves to make her food! Actually hubby’s grandmother pitched in the chicken cutlets which she rules at! The rest of the dinner was wonderful! A cake was served to us for our birthdays. I was actually quite a bit surprised! I was not expecting a birthday cake since neither of our birthdays had arrived yet. They are in May! There was whipped cream, which I learned the new kitty term is whippy cream (hubby’s sister’s cat loves whipped cream and she came up with the nickname whippy cream when talking to her kitty), which actually made the ice cream birthday cake easier to eat for me not to mention it tasted good! Just before chowing down on the cake and other desserts, my hubby made the announcement that we have two boys. A funny story behind that was just before dinner, hubby’s sister asked anyone willing to play to guess the genders. She and her partner guessed a boy and girl, hubby’s grandmother guessed two boys, and apparently hubby’s aunt asked the banana that I was having earlier that day if I was having a girl and boy. She thought I was having two boys originally, but changed her mind. Well, hubby’s grandmother was the winner. She was on a lucky streak because she just won at bingo and some sort of raffle earlier the week before. Well, everyone was very happy and even liked the names! There was something about each name that meant somethign to them. I was so happy to hear that! I love our boys’ names! I wanted to share that pride with family. I know my mother was not entirely pleased with the name Cameron, but she too realized that she’ll get used to it. She doesn’t dislike it, but she normally likes to give names that are definitely male or female. Cameron is unisex (though associated with male), she was thinking about Cameron Diaz. I won’t change it. Everyone seems pleased with the name Kiefer though. It definitely was a good dinner. It was one of those moments that I’ll remember for a long time.

later that night, I was lying on my hubby’s lap and he put his hands on my belly with hopes of feeling something, and to comfort me since I was still nervous. A little time went by when POW! A good strong kick/punch from Kiefer (assuming it was him since it was his normal place to sit) enough that my hubby felt his kick and so did I! Then he felt two more beyond that. Though it’s possible Kiefer wanted more space, I just had a feeling he simply wanted his daddy’s touch. My hubby wasn’t pushing down and nor is his hand heavy, so it may have just been the warmth of his hand that got Kiefer’s attention. I was now also feeling a lot more kicks from Cameron in Cameron territory as well. I felt like the luckiest woman alive! That night, it was back to jiffy popping! I was exhausted from all that worrying, but I was loving each of those kicks. I still was looking forward to hearing them later than night after getting home.

The trip home was easy. I got a wheel chair ride to the terminal. It was a bit of a wait since we got there so early, but it was ok, nothing bad. My hubby had a bit of a headache so that was kind of a bummer. I felt awful for him. The plane ride went smoothly though. No contractions, and there was no turbulence like last time. Once home, we sat down and relaxed for a bit. Then it was time to listen in to the boys! I had a bit of a challenge form my hubby though. He wanted to make sure I heard both heart beats and it had to be one right after the other to make sure they aren’t moving around and I was listening to the same baby both times. I placed the Doppler to the right and slightly above my naval as usual to hear Kiefer. POW! I felt a huge kick at my cervix. WHAT?! Did Kiefer change positions? Had I been feeling him all along and not Cameron?! Oh No! I found his heartbeat though and it was going strong. PHEW! What a relief! I then went on my search for Cameron. I had a heck of a time finding his. He was moving around I assume since I’d hear somethign then nothing. Finally I caught a bit of his heat beat. Enough to get a reading. He was still down below under my naval as usual. Kiefer’s heart rate range was between 145 and 158. Cameron’s heart rate range was between 136 and 147. Good strong heart beats! I am so happy! I still don’t feel Kiefer as often, but I do feel him occasionally. All is well from my perspective! I can’t wait for my ultrasound coming up this next Tuesday!