36 week belly picture!

How am I even able to stand up??!!

36 weeks!

Belly picture to come this afternoon!

How I am feeling: Pretty good considering I am carrying over 12lbs of baby. I mean, sure, my list of complaints is growing by the day, but it is all worth it. Everyone who asks me when I am due gets a look of shock on their faces until I tell them that we are having twins. My belly is really, really big. :) I am carrying the babies very low now because Baby A is firmly engaged in my pelvis. That is actually a very comforting thought though. With his head being so low, it is very unlikely that he will turn into a breech position at this point. So, I am very lucky in that aspect. In talking with other twin moms (who mostly see OBs) many of them are getting so much pressure from their care providers about the babies' positions. It is so nice to have a midwife who gives me no pressure whatsoever. My appointments are very relaxed and I make all the decisions regarding my care. It really is a wonderful thing. A friend of mine is 38 weeks with twins now and her OB is demanding a c-section because "He doesn't want the babies to get too big." How sad is that? I'm very grateful for my midwife! In other news, I am now just one week away from my goal!!!! I am so excited to make it this far. Every day that these little guys are inside is one more day closer to full-term, big, fat, healthy babies! In the beginning of this pregnancy, I had a lot of naysayers. They would make comments like "Twins always come early" or "You'll never go to full-term". It will feel nice to prove them wrong! And even if the babies come this week, 36 weeks is still amazing and I know that they will be just fine.

I talk to the babies all the time. Telling them to stay in until next week. So hopefully, they listen to their mother. :) Hypnobabies is going well. I really love the relaxation it provides me. I am excited to use it for the birth. That's right folks, I am really, very excited to give birth!! I will say that at this stage in my pregnancy with Nathan, I was scared. Not this time! It is amazing to have a care provider that actually cares about the outcome of my birth. I had a wonderful dream last night. They babies were born at home with no problems. It was amazingly real. So, all in all, I am doing very well. Surprisingly good actually. Just taking it day by day. Next week, at 37 weeks, I will be celebrating like you wouldn't believe! To make it to that goal will feel amazing!

What the babies are up to: Growing and adding fat! They are fully formed and just waiting for their births.

Trial run with birth pool...

Ahhhhhhhh....it was like a little piece of heaven. I am convinced that there is absolutely no where else on Earth that I would want to have these babies. Last night, we set up the pool for the first time to check on how long it would take to fill and to make sure we didn't have any leaks. Everything went perfectly and I was able to relax in the pool for a little while. It was so lovely. It was almost magical in here. I loved being in the warm water and looking at our Christmas tree. It kinda makes me want to have these babies while the tree is still up. :)

If anyone is wondering, that pool is La Bassine. I highly recommend it! Very affordable and comfortable! Super easy to fill and drain.

Professional Maternity Pictures

I love how they turned out! I know that I will miss this big belly when the boys are here!

Last Ultrasound!

It went perfectly!

The babies are measuring a week ahead and are around 6lbs each! (That means I am carrying around 12lbs of baby right now!!) They are clearly running out of room in there, but are handling it beautifully. Both babies were practicing their breathing movements and both heart rates were perfect. We were able to see their chunky cheeks and loooooong legs! They both have lots of hair. We saw it swishing around on the screen. It was just so amazing to see them in there and to know that the next time I see them, I will be looking at their sweet faces while holding them.

Getting so close!

Had our home visit last night!

It was awesome! It was so nice to have everyone here and to be talking about the birth. We had our midwife, her assistant, my mom, and my friend here. We shared a meal of potato soup and homemade bread and just chatted about how the births will go.

It was so relaxing and wonderful. This is the time that I start to feel sorry for all those women out there who aren't seeing midwives. Going to a cold, sterile, doctor's office just doesn't sound like fun at this stage in pregnancy. Instead, I was able to just relax and share in the joy of my pregnancy with important people in my life. Heavenly...

The babies heartrates were great and they are both still head down! She estimates them to be around 6lbs each now. So they are growing very well in there.

I am 35 weeks now. Just 13 days until my goal of 37 weeks!

Birthing beads

I am a member of a Due Date club at Mothering.com. This is a group of women from all over the US and Canada that are all due with babies in January 2010. We all decided to do a "bead swap". Each woman picked beads that were meaningful to them and sent them to a "bead hostess". Our sweet bead hostess then grouped the beads together and sent them back to us. The purpose of doing this was to create a necklace to wear during our birthing journeys so that we could feel the love and support of all of these special women.

The center pendant is most important to me. This was sent to me by a group of women I have known for over 4 years, but have never met. They are amazing and special women in my life. They have been there for me through our infertility, our loss of Noel, IVF, Nathan's birth, and so on. After Nathan's traumatic birth, they helped me process what happened and helped me learn and grow from it. They are so supportive and just generally the most awesome group of ladies that I have had the privilege of knowing. This center pendant is a mother holding her twin babies.

I adore the necklace. When I put it on, I feel the love radiating from it. I can see myself giving birth while wearing it and that makes my heart smile.

Three babies, all close to my heart

34 weeks!

How I am feeling: BIG. GIGANTIC. LARGE. I had a midwife appointment yesterday and my belly is measuring 49 weeks. 49 weeks?!! The average pregnancy is around 40 weeks and ends up measuring 40cms. I am 9cms over that already! I literally cannot believe how big my belly is. It doesn't even look possible that could be standing up! I have gained 32 lbs so far, which is right on track for twins, but it doesn't stop me from feeling enormous. In other news, the midwife is pleased with my progress. The boys are doing well in there and Baby A has dropped into my pelvis. This causes my belly to hang really low, it seems. This just happened within the past two days or so. The heartbeats sound great, although it took awhile to find Baby B's because he was hiding behind his brother. Which also makes it hard for me to feel Baby B moving. It scares me sometimes! I have another ultrasound scheduled for next week, so hopefully that will put some of my fears to rest. The midwife just wants to check on the growth of the babies and their fluid levels. Let's see, what else is new this week? Oh, I feel like I have been run over by a truck. I have a horrible cold and it is just not going away! That is causing me to be very emotional and very whiny. I just want to feel better! And today it seems like Nathan has caught my cold. Wonderful. So anyway, not really a happy post here, huh? Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Nathan Cole = Big boy

**sniff**

I just can't believe how much he has grown up.

He is completely mastered using the potty. We haven't had an accident in a long time. He is also staying dry all night now. He woke up this morning around 8:00am and said "Potty!" He is just getting so big. Pretty soon, we won't need the nighttime diaper at all.

He is also sleeping all night in his own bed. This morning he slept until 7:15. He woke up and then came and snuggled in bed with me until he had to go potty.

My baby boy is growing up. Pretty soon he will be a big brother. The thought of that makes me smile and cry at the same time.

Preview of maternity pictures

These are just a preview of some of the maternity pictures we had taken yesterday! I can't wait to share some of our favorites!

Thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

It is always nice to remember the things that I am thankful for and what better day to do that!

I am so thankful for:

-My husband. He is a great man and a wonderful father. He treats me so well and we have a good, strong marriage.

-Nathan Cole. What an amazing little boy we have. He is just so adorable and loving. He is growing and changing every day and I am just so proud of him.

-These two sweet babies growing inside me. There is no better time of year to be pregnant. I am so thankful that the boys are growing so well. I am so thankful that my body is changing and growing right along with them.

-Our home. I love it here. It is the perfect house for us at this stage of our lives. It is so cozy and warm.

-My family. I have a great mama and wonderful brothers. We are a crazy bunch, but we stick together. I'm thankful that my in-laws are great people too. I got really lucky!

Night three and other things...

Night three went better. Although I am 100% sure that it has something to do with the fact that I took some Benadryl to help with my skin itching, so I was able to finally sleep.

Nathan slept from 9:30-6:30, then woke up, got into bed with me and slept until 8:30. I feel much better today after getting some sleep last night, but I know that was just because of the Benadryl.

Speaking of Benadryl, so far, the worst thing about twin pregnancy is the stretching of the skin on my belly. It is so painful and so itchy all the time. It is an almost constant itch! Very annoying.

Oh and something exciting happened yesterday!! My birth pool was delivered!! I was so excited to get that package! It makes it feel so real. :) I also hit 33 weeks yesterday. Only 4 weeks to go until I reach my goal! I can do it!

Night Two didn't go any better for me

I only got (maybe) 2-3 hours of sleep.

Nathan, on the other hand, slept until 4am. He woke up crying and I heard him in the hallway frantically looking for us. I went and got him and put him into bed with me. That is when I finally was able to fall asleep.

I just don't know if I can do this yet. But I feel some sort of pressure to do it because of the babies coming. I just wish that we could all sleep in the same bed. I'm not sure that Nathan will be able to sleep through nighttime feedings and crying from the babies.

How do people do this from birth???

Last night was the first night with Nathan sleeping in another room. He did ok. He went to sleep easily, but woke up around 1:00am to get into bed with us. I expected that.

I however, did not do ok. I didn't fall asleep until he came to bed with us. I just could not go to sleep knowing that he was in another room.

It really made me wonder how parents do this to their newborns. Makes my heart hurt just thinking about it.