Phin laughing

This kid.

Videos!

Feeding the Boys

Micah getting Grandma

Carrots.

This is just to let you know that Andrew has a video of babies eating carrots. He also has administrative privileges to add things to the blog. Which means it's coming soon...

Miscellaneous

• Andrew commented this morning that the boys looked like, "little people" because I put pants and socks on them.
• I feel like I'm finally feeling like one imagines a new mom feels like- tired, hungry, too tired to eat, frumpy, in need of a shower, and overly fixated on tiny things like sorting baby clothes. It just took surgery and too many days at work in a row beforehand to get there.
• Andrew is experimenting with dairy products sans lactaid... so far, so good.
• Micah continues to be a very loud boy. Happy, but loud. Phin is starting to imitate his brother; bring on the ear plugs.
• Sanne starts her college class tomorrow- Introduction to Anthropology.
• I have scratches on my face because for some reason the boys like grabbing my lips when they get close enough. They have a grip of iron, and their baby claws are so SHARP.
• My mom is an awesome post-surgery nurse and babysitter. 
• Having four other new-baby couples at church is awesome- we just got a huge bag of hand-me-down^2 from Chris and Mina.
• Presuming the purchase of tiny spoons today, we'll start rice cereal tonight!
• I'm really glad we were able to supplement while I came off my surgery drugs, but now I feel like I lost some sort of personal contest with myself in feeding them 100% myself. Sigh.
• I love my boys, I love [and we need] my job, and Sanne is awesome, but gosh sometimes I just wish I could stay home. It's a perfect situation we're in, but I have such a teeny tiny margin of error.
• Probably sound a bit melancholy to you, but it's nothing that some extra sleep and a fun labor day weekend at the cottage won't fix! 

Babies everywhere

Remember this?

And then there's this.

Just for Gurgles

Bits and bobs

Let's see...

• Seeing as I had to work this weekend, Andrew and Sanne took the boys to the cottage Friday and came back today. Made it out okay, but will be glad to see those babies! And the adults too, I guess.
• MAN I can't wait to get my wisdom teeth out Thursday! I was up 'til 2 or 3 last night waiting for the pain meds and/or melatonin to kick in. Ugh. Basically a quarter of my lower right wisdom tooth was chipped off (in March, stupid popcorn kernel), and as it continues to wear away(?) the nerve is getting more and more exposed. Ugh. Really with Phin's bottle trouble this was the earliest I could have gotten this done... have to pump and dump for ~48 hours afterward due to the drugs.
• Tried finding a movie to watch to distract myself last night. Conclusion- movies with singing get a thumbs down from me 86% of the time- come on, Funny Face. Songs about the color pink and visiting France? Come on. Also Robin Williams was great most of the time but Popeye is just awful. Why would you try to give a real person those forearms? Gross.

• Not only is Phin taking a bottle now, but the boys are taking some formula too! As much as I'd prefer not to add that to the mix, building up a surplus for things like surgery is really difficult when it already takes close to an hour of work time just to keep up with what they eat during the day (20-24oz, give or take). 
• Hoping to pin down a weekend this fall for the boys' first camping trip- I'm hoping for Shenandoah N.P. It'll just be car camping but that's plenty. Will also need to hunt down another kelty and a bigger tent. Anyone want to join us???

Singing the song of his people.

Micah is becoming quite the vocalist. He's a little camera shy but in the evening and early morning he is quite enthusiastic about exercising his vocal cords. We like to think he's singing a song about his day.

Weird thoughts

Sometimes I'm a little weirded out by how excited these babies when it's time to eat. They definitely recognize what's coming next when the bra comes off... probably as long as they've been recognizing faces. Their fond gazes at my chestal region definitely comes off as lecherous sometimes. Lecherous old men babies. Then sometimes when Phin is done eating he'll just fall asleep, still latched on, but sneering. Micah, at other times, will practice his grabbing technique... if he gets me somewhere sensitive with his sharp little baby claws and I squeak, he laughs delightedly.

That's all.

Four month approval!

I honestly love taking the boys to the pediatrician. Nothing makes you feel better as a parent than to have a professional's stamp of approval- "Congratulations, your children have no deadly diseases! All of your efforts and sleepless nights have indeed resulted in offspring that are still alive and actually larger than last time- go get yourself a mocha to celebrate." It doesn't hurt that these kids have been super good so far with shots and we've just been extremely fortunate with their health...

Micah:
42.5 cm circumference noggin
24.5" long
15 lbs 2 oz

Phineas:
42.5 cm circumference noggin
25" long
15 lbs 7 oz

Two months- the pediatrician edition.

I wrote this post then didn't post it... go figure.

Last Sunday night I took great care to make all things ready for our two month appointment at the pediatrician's. I knew three shots were in order and that I'd be going alone... not terribly fun. I gave myself an hour in the morning to get myself and the boys ready and fed, and ample time to drive and arrive at the office. I was feeling incredibly pleased with myself when I strolled in the door of the office 15 minutes before the appointment time, signed them in, and sat down to fiddle with my phone. A moment later, the nurse called my name and I went up to the desk. "Ms. Vogel, the boys' appointment is on June 9th." I stared at her blankly. "That's next Monday," she said. I stared at her blankly.

Oh well! We took our first trip to Trader Joe's and Starbucks instead, and I came to the conclusion that our Zoomby stroller (fits the carseats in a tete a tete fashion) gets more comments than my actual children. This is okay with me. People's comments about your children are odd or uncomfortable about 90% of the time, but a stroller's a stroller. My interactions with strangers wishing to communicate about our offspring will never be the same after being interrogated about breastfeeding by a cashier at Total Wine when I was pregnant.

Fast forward to today: still got to the appointment in good time, and the boys took their shots like champs. Micah is 12 pounds 1 ounce and 22.25" long. Phineas is 11 pounds 12 ounces and 22" long. Next appointment is in August which is okay by me.

This weekend held a fun visit from Uncle Kurt... we had some greek food, went to the Smithsonian American History museum, and visited Brookside. Good times. I have to say though going to the Smithsonian was interesting. There's only so many complete strangers you can explain that you are the uncle to... also a weekend downtown generally attracted more people's attention to the twins than either of us preferred. My personal favorite was a sax player on the street who said we needed to move along because we were taking away his customers... jokingly, but also kept talking to us even after we were several yards beyond him. Ah, DC.

Parenting and blogs?

How does ANYONE blog and parent at the same time? Not sure. I have to be honest, sometimes I think about posting but realize I don't have the energy to make it funny so I don't. Also irritating is the absence of a cord to get the pictures off the camera. But these are all just lame excuses I suppose. I should honor this contractual agreement to provide Vogel baby updates, humor and pictures or no. Bad, Laura, bad.

Overall:

• Susanne, our au pair, arrived July 10th and is awesome. She fits right in like a big sister in this family, and enjoys throwing pillows at Andrew when he makes fun of her.
• Andrew enjoys having someone else around for board games and to make fun of. 
• Laura has been back to work for ~3 weeks and despite the hectic-ness is enjoying the balance of babies and "adult time."
• The boys are fast approaching the four month mark, and are currently in 6 month clothing! Our next appointment on August 11th will reveal more about weight/length.

Micah:

• Is the "good" baby these days. More easily soothed, pretty cool with bottles, and while he's the more serious of the two we've been getting some big smiles lately.
• He is also the louder of the two. When upset, he lets loose with a pterodactyl shriek, as we call it, with no warming up or precursor needed. When happy, he likes to shriek as well. Most often at five am. 

Phineas:

• Picky, picky. He wants only one thing in his mouth, and that's difficult when I take them to work with me. Non-detachable, buddy. Susanne had to bring them into work at first so I could feed Phin on my lunch break, but he's now one week into taking a bottle and it's looking good! Still not interested in pacifiers, but he's trying out his fingers and mostly just gagging on them.
• Is the happier baby for sure- big smiles all the time. When unhappy though he has an equally adorable curled lip. 

At Buca di Beppo's for Susanne's birthday

Micah likes to look suave, even if he's just going to get fast food.

Finally on their backs in the crib, gosh that took forever.

Their personalities in a picture, for the most part.

Two months!

Well howdy do dah. Things are certainly happening here, I just haven't happened to record them in the blog. Gosh it's hard to use a laptop when you have a nursing pillow and two babies already on your lap.

At two months old:

• The boys love staring at faces and have started to smile. We'll have to wait a little longer to explain that staring is rude, so apologies. They are noticing each other a lot more too... accidental hand holding (in the midst of waving their arms around their hands get caught together) has happened. My favorite is when they try to nurse on each other's heads, or suck on the other's hands.
• They have a sort of swimming/conducting movement down pat with their arms when they're bored. Also are beginning to will their hands toward objects of interest, like a stuffed animal or my navel(?)... Phineas seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with it the other evening.
• Speaking of which, Phineas is the champion of leaking out both ends (he's spit up on me twice while writing this), fountaining during diaper changes, and smiling. He's been more fussy these days but typically loves being held and staring at your face. 
• Micah is stabilizing more, and can be soothed with a pacifier or some belly time (Phineas regrettably does not take a pacifier). Still waiting for them to have big enough mouths for our moustache pacifiers. Micah is rather elegant with his hands and enjoys tracing circles on your shoulder while you're holding him. He looks around a lot more than Phineas, and when he's really interested he also purses his lips.
• We've had a few adventures... eating at Silver Diner, Elevation Burger, and Chick-fil-A, going to church and the nursery (AWESOME), shopping at Target and Trader Joe's. Thinking about a museum this weekend!
• On average we're down to two or three feedings at night and not too much fussing in between.
• Our cloth diapers are working out fantastically... bum genius 4.0. Only problem is they don't quite make it through a full night, will have to try additional padding.

One month anniversary: escape from the womb.

A week late but at least I'm posting...

One month old this week and we're celebrating with doctors' appointments every day! Hooray!

Monday mom went in to get her incision checked and got a clean bill of health. Also was advised not to start running again until 8 weeks... after Dr. Andrew convinced her to go on a short jog the day before. Think we'll be choosing to follow the former advice:-).

Tuesday was circumcision day for Phineas! I don't remember if I explained this before, but they were both to get the procedure done in the hospital. Micah got trimmed but had some issues that they were afraid Phin might have as well so they wanted a pediatric urologist to do his. Took all afternoon and seemed to go well but there was a LOT of blood. Thanks to Andrew's mom being in town, I was able to leave Micah at home.

Wednesday the boys had their one month checkup and:

• Micah is 8 lbs 15 oz, slightly shorter than Phineas and big headed-er.
• Phineas is 8 lbs 5 oz, and the opposite of what I said above.

The pediatrician was concerned about Phin's bleeding and so put off some other pointy object activities (PKU, Hep B #2) in favor of going to ANOTHER hospital to get some lab work done to see if he had clotting issues. Micah got another date with grammy and Phin and I went back to the hospital. He was a champ and I was somehow okay despite the obvious guesswork going on by the resident doing the draw. They apparently don't do these particular tests on newborns much so they had to run around the hospital to improvise parts and calculate the amount of blood needed... the giant bow tie and social awkwardness of the resident did not inspire further confidence either. He avoided direct eye contact and had no ability to make casual conversation [insert more humorous description post sleep deprivation].

In any case, the pediatrician called with results later that night and everything checked out. Also the bleeding stopped by the next morning.

There is a child screaming in my ear so to be continued...

Post womb- day twenty three.

Biggest stretch with just us parents, pouring rain with a flood watch which I consider to be a justifiable excuse not to leave the house. Trying both in a moby wrap this afternoon as these guys are continuing to be crochety old men much of the time... they are knocked out and mom has two free hands with which to type, fold laundry, and eat ice cream! Well at least peaceful- right now Micah is nursing the top of Phin's head although I think he would know the difference? It's kind of fuzzy.

I have a couple books and a ton of magazines I saved up for this time period but to be quite honest my brain has left for the highlands. I feel capable of food input and output and sleep for babies and myself plus very basic cleaning but that is about it. TV has become my escape and I'm finishing my netflix list very quickly. Also eating is relatively fun. If you want to lose weight it seems nursing twins is a good way to do it- I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight as of today despite eating CONSTANTLY and relatively terribly.

That's all I think. Back to regularly scheduled feedings and sleeping.

The cycle.

Sleep deprivation does not suit my blogging very well, nor my sense of humor. Our lives can be summed up in a 2 or 3 hour cycle: 15 minutes to an hour of nursing (tandem if we're lucky, singly if not), 30 minutes of expelling air, milk, gas, pee and poop from their little bodies, another 30 minutes of hanging out and/or convincing them to go back to sleep, and the remainder of the cycle is a beautiful albeit shorter than we'd like chunk of napping. If they're nursing singly, cranky, and I'm flying solo, this cycle is literally all that I do 24 hours a day. So THANK YOU to friends, family, and spouse that have been helping out.

On fatigue.

I knew this was coming. We all knew this was coming. But thinking about caring for infants that primarily need sleep, food, and clean diapers is much different from actually providing said services. In our first few nights, Andrew and I got five hours of sleep total I think... mostly from in-between-feeding stays in the hospital nursery. Since we've been home we established a shift schedule with my parents that's worked relatively well- they each took a three hour night shift as my "pacer" as the dairy cow in the scenario, changing diapers, soothing, and waking me up for mealtimes. With that I think we all were at around five hours a night not that I'm doing math at this point. But obviously this can't last; how the heck does anyone do this solo? How are any parents of multiples still ALIVE after this nonsense? It doesn't make evolutionary sense for offspring to kill off the parents before they're in a good place to survive on their own, right?

And so, parents out there- hats off to you. I must assume that we also will survive, but thanks for being the light at the end of this tunnel... and all the other tunnels that are sure to come.

There are no longer shrimps in my belly pt 2

I thought I'd give you all two chapters since this is way more than I usually write...

Micah Brant was born first at 9:36pm, at 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.5". He has black hair, an oval face, and a pointy little chin. So far he's been the first to figure out eating, and enjoys stretching his arms over his head and hiccuping.

Phineas Beck was born second at 9:39pm, at 6 lbs 5 oz and 18.75". He has dark brown hair and "fur" on his arms and back, a more square face with pinchable cheeks, and a little cleft chin. Phin enjoys directing invisible orchestras, crowing, and peeing all over himself during a diaper change.

Those days we were in the hospital we faced a barrage nurses, pediatricians, obstetricians, nursing students, lactation consultants, etc... probably somebody every 15 minutes- no joke. It was very nice to have so much expertise at our disposal but definitely overwhelming.  Not having had any surgery or broken bones in my life, recuperation has been an extremely painful process. I can now say I've had multiple catheters, ugh. Never looked forward to peeing or other bathroom activities done on my own ever this much before.

We were in the hospital up to Thursday afternoon; my parents came Wednesday and have taken super care of all of us. I've been feeling much better daily from the operation, and sleeping/eating for the babies has been improving as well although I think we all would appreciate a faster improvement on the sleep! Andrew's parents come for a visit this weekend, hooray!

The are no longer shrimps in my belly!

Hello there, and sorry about the delay but we were a bit distracted.

I was looking forward to posting on Monday because when Andrew and I went out for lunch, he decided to inspire my body to go into labor by backing up and going over the speed bump in our parking a second time on the way in and out. Apparently this is a legitimate way to break your water at the very least. Around four I had a glass of milk and cookie to inspire productivity, and decided to go around and tidy some things. I must have leaned over too far to pick up some board games at 5:45... I know now that this is not a subtle hint- was worried before I "wouldn't notice" such a symptom.

Called the hospital to confirm, and they wanted us in there immediately. We followed our little list of self written instructions and drove there... didn't even get lost on the way. Checked in and water breakage confirmed by around 6:30. Sonogram to check on the babies' positions by Dr. Seidel soon after determined that they would do a C-section; despite my water breaking I was having no contractions which meant waiting for them would add unnecessary stress to the fetuses, as well as a chance for contamination. Baby B was also in transverse (sideways) which was the last straw. We really weren't offered regular delivery as an option at all... oh well.

Prep-work and waiting took a few hours, but I was wheeled into the operating room at 9pm sharp. Andrew looks pretty nice in scrubs- a potential second career? but was left outside the door until I was set up. I had a spinal rather than epidural, which really pinched but wasn't nearly as terrible as I imagined. A nurse with a thick accent was describing rapidly to me everything that was and would be happening, and Lourde was playing in the background. Everybody in the room (maybe 10 staff?) introduced themselves and I immediately forgot all of their names. They laid me out on a table like a horizontal cross, set up the tent around my body and sent Andrew in who sat in a stool by my head.

All I can say about the rest is the little I experienced- very surreal. My body was warm and fuzzy; I could feel my torso being moved around and pressure being exerted but that was it. Mostly I held Andrew's hand and listened to the two doctors talking about sports while guessing what was happening and not really wanting to know. By 9:49 both babies were delivered and I was being put back together. They gave both babies to Andrew once they were out and cleaned up... actually they also let him take pictures when each were delivered and walk around to see them being cleaned up- not sure I'd want to switch places on the first part.

To be continued...

37.3

Blerg. Nothing.

37.2

Not in labor?

What is labor, anyway? How can one identify a pain by a book description? Slept in, realized this was our last Saturday without babies, so we laid around some more. Did some lazy errands and chores, had some friends over. Had what I considered to be a legitimate pulled muscle but weird related-but-not-related feelings are continuing. I attempted to track time and so forth like they tell you to, but nothing's consistent. Meh.

So if this does turn out to be something, Andrew has a good number of you on an email list to alert when we go to the hospital, etc. It's fairly safe to assume if there isn't an update here one day that I ended up in labor and got distracted from a blog post by pushing two watermelon sized babies out of my body.

Over and out!

37.1

Not in labor. Super tired. Here's a picture.

Week thirty-seven.

Shrimps:

• Are wriggling a LOT. Whoever's feet are on my right side I think has caused an internal bruise at the top of my belly. SORE.
• Believe it or not, Baby B has wriggled his way back to breech. This kid is going to be the next Houdini I think. Also means that the delivery method will be unknown until we get there, really... not that this is surprising. 
• Vertex(Baby A) + vertex(Baby B) + random doctor on call = regular birth process unless there's an emergency
• Vertex(Baby A) + breech or transverse(Baby B) + random doctor on call = regular birth process if the doctor is brave and experienced, one regular and one c-section if they listen to me and then chicken out/there's an emergency, or both c-section if they're especially squeamish about non-vertex regular birth.
• Non-vertex(Baby A) + non-vertex(Baby B) + pretty much any doctor in the hospital = c-section
• These situations all depend on me going into labor on my own. The nice thing about the induction is that the doctor on call that day is pretty experienced and has delivered breech twins before, I guess. So we'll see what he wants to do.
• No official measurement on their weight this week, but they're most likely getting closer to 7 lbs each. Trying very hard to stuff my face on their behalf.

Laura:

• Is considering what she looks most forward to about her post-pregnancy body. I think it's basically narrowed down to less heartburn and shirts fitting over my torso. There will of course be plenty of other things going on afterward that are not fun, but I'm hoping these two will have been amended. Oh! Also not having to lean over and sit like a giraffe drinking water. Yessss.
• Attempted shaving the ol' legs the other night and man was that a bad idea. Super dry legs + new razor + really limited ability to SEE legs = angrily rashy, still partially hairy legs with a couple cuts. I think I'll just go for au natural.

Andrew:

• Has exchanged normal greetings used toward Laura to ask things like, "has it started yet?" "have you had a contraction?" "has your water broken?".  As if I would keep that information secret if I knew? Tsk tsk.
• Ordered the last of the cloth diapers this week and watched some "how to" videos on cleaning/tips etc. What a guy.

36.6

Not in labor.

Boy is this getting old... although we can't be too complainy because we really only have had a two week window given for this to happen and we're halfway there! Appointment tomorrow so we'll see what the doctor says is going on. In the meantime we're just super dull.

36.5

Not in labor.

Had some April Fool's fun on facebook today, couldn't help myself. Sorry if I disappointed anyone too much!

The weather is beautiful, I just had my last official work meeting... come on babies! Andrew's boss came by today to drop off some projects that require relatively less brain power in the upcoming weeks too. Also Andrew seems to be really focused lately on eating all the leftovers; I think a) he doesn't want to come back to icky spoiled stuff in the fridge, or b) he subconsciously feels that when the leftovers are gone I will go into labor. Either way it's cute.

36.4

Not in labor.

This morning felt like we had tons of work to get done before this thing happens. This evening feels like we're stuck in limbo, bleh. I worked a full day at home and organized a closet and convinced Andrew to go on a walk but how is it only 7:45? Why did I have to convince Andrew to go outside? We are in the bermuda triangle of late pregnancy.

I can confirm at this point I've got stretch marks. Not that this is surprising, just hadn't noticed until today.

I really meant for you guys to reserve spots at the B&B&B via our fancy form here, kind of sad no one's used it yet!

36.3

Not in labor.

• Just my luck that the last movie I'll probably see in a theater for a while was the new Noah movie and it wanders into the realm of murdering newborn twins. WHAT. How does that even happen? Gosshhhhhhh. Anthony Hopkins makes a unique Methuselah, anyway.
• Had a nice day with church, matinee and pancake dinner with Andrew and cousin Jessie other than that.
• Andrew's only asked twice today when I plan on going into labor. Good for him.
• Organized under the kitchen sink. Want to make sure you visitors can find cleaning supplies when you come to visit. 

36.2

Not in labor.

• Since both are head down, I can only assume that all the kicking and moving is their attempt to swim out of my body.
• Recent fun: my face and ears randomly flush? I feel like my right ear just now is hot enough to melt butter, not that I would try that.
• Went to the Parents of Multiples spring sale today, I think I'm more excited about what we'll be able to sell in six months than what we actually got (a bouncer, play yard for cottage use, car shades and a few toys).
• Also had friends over- roast/carrots/potatoes, salad, banana ice cream and the movie Sharknado. Nice.

36.1

Not in labor.

My induction is officially scheduled for 7:30am April 10th... so by golly these babies will be out of me two weeks from today I think. Depending on other stuff I may actually go in the evening before to start another medication prior to the pitosin. We'll see.

Week thirty-six.

Getting antsy here! If it makes you all feel better I will post more frequently about how the shrimps have not been born yet. I was told by the doctor today that this could happen at any minute, and we also made an appointment at the hospital for induction at 38 weeks exactly (April 10th).

I should probably say first of all that almost all of this post is sponsored by my mom- thanks for visiting and getting SO much done:-).

Some of her handiwork from this weekend:

Third generation wicker bassinet is outfitted with a new skirt, liner and fitted crib sheets.

The crib has a vegetable bumper now, with a vegetable coverlet to follow... super awesome.

Shrimps:

• Are 6 pounds 1 oz (Baby A) and 6 pounds 2 oz. (Baby B). Not sure we can keep calling them shrimp at this point. That's 14 oz. gained in a week, while mom gained 6 pounds. If we keep this up and go to April 10th, we could be talking 8 pound twins. Dang.
• Also exciting, somehow Baby B managed to wiggle his way upside down as well... two upside down babies are apparently the best case scenario for a smooth delivery. I just can't think too much about what they're experiencing at this point: upside down, crammed together like sardines inside a wet dark space that is my uterus. Definitely shuddering.
• Have more awesome things, complements to mom and Laura's co-workers (shower this week): more cloth diapers, toys, clothes, etc. 
• Are going to be wearing a TON of Anna's line from Kohl's... we checked out the local store and boy are there a lot of "Jumping Bean" things! So fun to have a sister who can dress babies from afar:-).

Laura:

• Is super excited to set up shelves in the basement and organize stuff! Have a good amount of bulk pantry items now and a nice stock of organizing bins and dividers. Just need a hunk of energy and I will have a ball.
• Is quite tired of trying to fit anything over her belly. People may say I don't look that big but I can guarantee my torso is VERY different from what it was before. I think the best part about mostly working from home starting tomorrow is wearing my robe and/or sweatpants all day. By the way, be sure to call in advance if you are visiting.
• Met with the pediatrician for the first time and is pleased. After the doctor queried as to our stance on various things with child health, she leaned back in her chair and said, "you don't strike me as one of those mom-club moms. I think we'll get along well". She also had a red glittery witch hat in the corner. I think that seems like a good sign. 

36 week belly. That is a maternity shirt I'll have you know.

Andrew:

• Had his annual review for work and is doing great! He got a bit of a raise and will probably get a bonus this summer since they are meeting their goals and the company is doing well.
• Has a very clean car, packed with hospital bags and infant car seats. Gosh do those things take up a lot of room. 
• Has been caught quite often gawking at Laura's belly. You'd think he'd be used to it by now? I feel like about every other day he says something like, "you are just GIGANTIC". I'm hoping this is discontinued once they're outside my body...
• Despite gawking, brought home a little cheesecake for Laura after work, awwww. He wants me to break 200 lbs I think:-) With the six pounds this past week I'm at 196 so I think another pint of ice cream would probably do it.

Week thirty-five.

Shrimps:

• Are doing the ying yang thing- Baby A is vertex (upside down, a good thing), Baby B is breech (right side up, whispers C-section).
• Baby A is at 5 pounds 11 ounces. Baby B is at 5 pounds 10 ounces. That means I have 11 1/2 pounds of pure BABY in me right now. Ridiculous. That's like 3 2L of soda guys. Plus another 20 of baby accessory weight.
• Are both right where they should be in terms of how long they've been cooking and their size. I'd be interested to see the formula they use for this one... the quantitative values they measure include length of the femur, area of the noggin and mass of the torso. Somehow this leads to a measurement of weeks and days? I guess you don't want them growing too fast or slow although I have no idea what either would mean particularly. Except apparently with twins if their growth rate is terribly uneven then they lean toward C-sections.
• Can basically pop out at any time now. Barring unforeseen complications we are out of the nicu zone.

Laura:

• Is super excited for mom to visit this weekend so we can do a last little scuffle of "nesting". I can organize and make things tolerable, but she's awfully good at the more homey touches for sure.
• Feels fairly certain her entire midsection is just baby. All I can feel is elbows and knees and heads and feet it seems. Like two cats in a sack.
• Has the hospital bags mostly packed, now to just figure out car seat installation...

Andrew:

• Came to this week's sono wearing his "real men make twins" t-shirt but chickened out and didn't take his jacket off during the appointment. Awwww.
• Gets to help with a friend's non-profit fundraiser on Saturday... I think he's also pretty excited to possibly miss inevitable shopping that will occur with mom here:-). 

Just an update.

Couldn't think of anything catchy to use for a title, it happens sometimes.

We had a great weekend and got a lot accomplished:

• 2 lovely trail runs for Andrew in actual spring-like weather
• Work for both of us
• A bit of a date Saturday night at Famous Dave's where I got to watch Andrew eat spareribs like a swarthy viking
• Cleaning and organizing
• Taxes finally knocked out
• A visit on Sunday from an elderly sister and brother that grew up in our house; they were having a family reunion and had not seen the place since the 70's. I think there were 20 people in the house! They did call in advance and we did say that they could come, fyi...
• Irish dinner, board games and ice cream with Jessie

While I wasn't particularly pleased with the 8" of snow over the past 24 hours, having an almost empty building to myself today did seem to inspire me to extra productivity... now to make sure I don't burn myself out today and have to recuperate for the rest of the week. 

I feel like ever time I look down I can see less of my feet/lap... quite ready to move on to the next stage! It is pleasing though that it's taken me this long to feel particularly whiny about the process though. A month caps at the really uncomfortable awkward stage. The worst part is anything to do with bending at the hips; I can no longer make an acute angle unless I position my feet ridiculously far apart. Feels kind of like I'm a giraffe taking a drink.

The Vogel Bed & Breakfast & Babies

Dear honored friend or family member,

Consider a reservation at the Vogel Bed & Breakfast & Babies! This lovely historic getaway, just a short trip away from the nation's capitol, is sure to be the highlight of your year. 

Our newest attraction will arrive by April 10th we hope; be sure to book now so you get your preferred spot!

Check in time is tentatively between 4:00 am - 7:00 pm; if your schedule inhibits you from arriving during this timeframe, please be aware that the B&B&B owners may have passed out from exhaustion.

Your "Knotty Pine Paneling" suite includes a guest room with full-size bed, a tv and dvd player if the B&B&B owners or newest attraction become overwhelming, and two closets to hide in if they are beyond overwhelming. Elsewhere in the house you will also have access to a modern pine pull-out futon, a mid-century full bath, a washer and dryer to get those spit up stains off, a partially stocked kitchen and fully carpeted cat tower.

Breakfast is served at your leisure, by your very own self! Scavenging our pantry will yield masterpieces such as:

• Hot water, hopefully with tea or coffee!
• Stale cereal and almond milk
• Eggs (you have to clean out the skillet from the night before first)

Upon request, other meals may be included if they are cooked or purchased by you.

Don't miss a minute of the exciting activities offered by the Vogel B&B&B:

• Constant crying (may be babies or mom)
• Adorable wrinkly newborns that you can hold while the B&B&B owners take naps
• Contemplating whether babies look more like mom or dad
• Diaper changing, sometimes includes a cute little sprinkle on your person!
• Clothes washing for both newborns and yourself after a diaper change
• Household chores that mom no longer has the mental capacity for
• Enchanting evenings with adorable wrinkly newborns while the B&B&B owners escape the house for a couple hours
• Errands around the burgeoning metropolis to pick up things like ice cream and diapers
• Soothing jealous cats

We hope you come soon and enjoy your stay!

and Babies!

Week thirty-four.

Shrimps:

• Are starting to look less like aliens in the sonograms! See exhibit A above... head horizontal to the left with forearm covering top of head and eyes closed.
• Have flipped yet again, with Boy A in vertex and Boy B in breech. They are slowly running out of room so we'll see where they get stuck... in the meantime the sonogram technician thinks B will be the alpha child, he's been squashing and rolling himself around on A and poor A just kind of curls up and takes it for the most part. 

Laura:

• Is starting to get a belly gap in the old clothing... my maternity pants have given up stretching and now just slink down over my belly given the slightest reason. Which makes long shirts like the one in the picture rather airy underneath.
• Is now having weekly appointments with a sonogram and doctor just to see when I'm about to burst. Have officially been given the handout of who and when to call in the case of labor. 
• Needs to work on timing bursts of energy to achieve maximum impact. Earlier this week I pulled up the hall carpet staple by staple, swept, mopped it with murphy's oil, and applied lemon oil (original wood floor) but then could accomplish nothing the following day at work. Meh. 

Andrew:

• Officially has Maryland plates, hurrah! And has switched over insurance to the same state... nice getting these tedious, brain-requiring things done before we move on to fixating on what goes into and out of babies.
• Has been able to use his office this week thanks to some help from the visiting Vogels (and Albrights) over the weekend. He's gonna need somewhere to hide pretty soon, so all the better.

Tour de hospital

Might as well have been tour de france, I think I'm finally recuperated after a day and a half. Should have taken the offered wheelchair at the beginning... walking and standing around for an hour is not my forte these days.

We went on our official hospital tour Thursday evening which was really nice! It seems they know what they're doing with babies. The nurses said they deliver ~2 sets of multiples a week which is more than I've done. They allow flexibility for all the areas that lamaze folks get their panties in a bunch with these days: using a variety of labor positions, birthing balls and bars on hand, "natural birth" options (although their rate of epidurals is like most places... 90+%), holding the baby right afterward, etc. There was one lady on the tour who was super disappointed that they had no tubs nor could you rent one and bring it with you... how do you get a tub into a hospital room? How would you fill it? Strange.

Other fun hospital things: I get to bring popsicles with me to supplement ice chips during labor OH BOY. As a multiples pregnancy we get dibs on one of the big rooms. Once the babies have made their grand entrance, you get moved to the maternity ward where a typical stay is 2 days... if there are any complications however it can be up to 5 days. I also asked about the support person's accommodations; Andrew's face just fell when he heard he might be spending most of his free "vacation week" sleeping on a sofa eating trail mix.

Last night we watched through a number of lamaze videos and I think absorbed some good information between laughing hysterically. I'm sure labor positions are super helpful but you can't tell me they don't look terribly awkward.

Week thirty-three.

It strikes me that these weekly posts in some ways seem written from a prison cell... which then reminds me of this video that you should watch:

Shrimps:

• Were identical blond girls in a dream last night. Which was surprisingly irritating to Laura in the dream, given that we have a bunch of boy clothes and so forth.
• Continue to stretch and roll around and jab Laura's right ribcage. They are still in a "bunk bed" position, both sideways with heads to Laura's left, feet to Laura's right. 
• Have plenty of fluid to float around in (I go in for this measurement weekly now), and heartbeats are looking good.
• Had their pictures taken at this week's sonogram, will have to scan and add here even though they look a bit scary.
• Have mattresses, a diaper bin, and a number of other items that came this week- our friends and family are awesome!

Laura:

• Magically survived managing the big annual symposium at work last Friday, with 80+ participants and 4 speakers... although she did sleep 12 hours immediately upon returning home from said event. This week brings an assistant/temporary replacement for fmla- about time.
• Is now 30 pounds above normal... we'll see how much higher it goes. My pelvic floor muscles are sad.

Andrew:

• Has his MD plates for his car, hooray! While this is not exactly baby related, it was on his list of things to complete beforehand so still good.
• Is riding the tidal waves of Laura's emotions pretty well. During dinner tonight he mentioned that he anticipated quite a beating during labor, and that he would probably just end up standing in the corner. I suggested he try holding my hand and I would smack him away if I didn't want to. Ah, such love. 

Fun things from Birth Day:

• The average obstetrician faces 2-3 major lawsuits in their career for a birth that went awry. This increase has resulted in less doctors attending births, and more trigger happy use of c-sections if anything is out of the ordinary.
• Queen Victoria was less than five feet tall, and gave birth to nine children that were, "wonderfully strong and large." Needless to say she was a strong supporter of the early use of chloroform. 
• It was thought at the time by those opposed to pain relief for labor that using chloroform or the like would unleash an uncontrollable female sexual frenzy.

Week thirty-two.

Micah and Phineas:

• Are now transverse (both laying horizontally that is), heads to Laura's left and feet to her right. I guess that my bruised right ribs indicate they're more into running than boxing... Andrew should be pleased. They'll apparently settle on a position around the end of March.
• Are now around the four pound mark. Five pounds, or a bag of flour each, is the average delivery weight for twins... getting there!
• According to this week's appointment, have plenty of amniotic fluid to float around in these days.

Laura:

• So far this week has shattered a plate, chipped a bowl, and tried to drink coffee without the mug touching her lips. This kind of stuff does end after the babies arrive, right? Sort of? Because if I can't hold a plate I don't know about two infants.
• Learned more than she EVER wanted to know about pelvic floor muscles and ways to exercise them at a class. Just knowing all the women around you are doing kegels at the same time you are is rather disconcerting.
• Also has been learning about c-sections. Ugh. Something worse than normal birth, really? Quite content to read concise descriptions, will not be watching any videos thank you very much. Although I am very appreciative to be going through this in the current era rather than, say, the 19th century...
• Had an appointment this week, and one a week for the next two weeks at least. So much for every two weeks? But hey I'd rather be thorough! And this practice has a Starbucks and Trader Joe's next door so no complaining from this lady.

Andrew:

• I have no idea what to post for him this week. 

Super awesome book.

Thanks to Becky, I am now chock full of elaborate illustrations and quirky details about pregnancy, birth, and the all-amazing infant development. Behold a quote from the book she gave me:

It's a whole different world in the womb. Apt analogies are hard to come by. I once read an account of childbirth that compared the emerging fetus to a surfacing scuba diver. Both of them move from a watery environment to an air-filled world, the author wrote. Each carries an oxygen supply-an air tank for the diver, a placenta for the fetus. At the moment of transition they simply toss aside their now obsolete underwater gear and take a big gulp of fresh air.  

That analogy only goes so far. If a diver really were like a fetus, his lungs would be filled with seawater, his air tank would be connected to his belly button, and half his blood supply would be floating in a sac outside his body. On his way up from the depths he'd squeeze the extra blood back into his body, force the water out of his lungs, and permanently rearrange the flow of blood through his heart. Then he'd pop to the surface, naked and screaming. If diving and childbirth were identical processes, Jacques Cousteau might never have gotten in the water. (Dr. Mark Sloan, Birth Day)

 Man. If you want to know all the gory detail about this process and laugh and appreciate birth simultaneously, you should get this book. He describes a fetus' brain as pudding, gorilla uteruses as squished toilet paper tubes, and apparently the classic flat-on-the back dorsal decubitus position for labor is all King Louis XIV's fault.

Week thirty one.

Micah and Phineas:

• Are causing belly protuberances of enormous size. It's getting eerier by the day. However, Andrew has yet to observe or feel many of these movements which to me means, a) he has no patience, b) the shrimps are fearful of strange hands or c) he causes them to fall instantly asleep. If it's the third one I will be super excited.
• Have caused a number of weird dreams, like Laura having the babies and going right back to work, forgetting them at the hospital... or growing at an abnormally fast rate and being evil five year olds.
• Are hardening their skeletons, all except for that squish-able skull that infants have... boy is my pelvis glad of that evolutionary trait.
• Are working, as always, on becoming fatter... as well as developing those lungs. Thus the hiccuping, I suppose.
• Have gotten so many gifts from friends and family- thanks!!!

Laura:

• Body continues to succumb to pregnancy weirdness:
• Can't recline at ~130 degrees and look at a screen without getting woozy. Seriously.
• Feels like her navel will just pop out of her body at any moment. 
• Is officially on leg-shaving vacation... I bet you all wanted to know that. Not that I've been trying very hard, as it's winter and I like to save hot water, but it's now certifiably not worth the effort. 
• Can no longer hide behind telephone poles
• Is hoping for warmer weather soon as the maternity pants are starting to get a little tight... dresses sound really nice.
• In addition to ice cream, has been eating a number of salads, tons of citrus, and really digging fruit juice lately. There is hope for me yet.

Andrew:

• Again, was AWESOME this past weekend. Driving 16 hours, working remotely, schlepping gifts. My brain is present, for the most part, but as my body protests more and more "normal" activity I definitely appreciate him more.
• Made pizza tonight for dinner.
• Perhaps doubts the existence of his children as they never squirm around when he's looking or patting my belly. See above.

Showers of many kinds in three states...

So we had 20" of snow or so in Maryland last Thursday and Friday. No power outage, no work for Laura, same old same old for Andrew. However, the roads were clear enough Friday to go to Ohio!

Highlights:

• Dad made snow twins to greet everyone in the front yard.
• Aaron and Anna came all the way from Milwaukee- fun albeit brief time:-)
• Mom and Anna are masters at the art of [gift] showering. I recommend their services.
• Had about fifteen lovely ladies there for the event Saturday, was wonderful to see everyone!
• Andrew drove the whole way and worked in the basement all Saturday, what a spouse.

Afterward, we "swung by" Upland to catch up on shoveling at the house, and also got to see Uncle Gary, Aunt Lynn, Jessie and David- probably for the last time pre-babies. All in all an exhausting but really really nice weekend.

 

Snow twins

Andrew made it out of the basement!

Anna gifted some of her recently-produced boys' clothes from Kohls

Week thirty.

I have no patience, apparently. Have already shared all the juicy bits of this week... but dedicated to posting every Thursday anyway! Hope you're appreciative, readers.

Shrimp Micah and Shrimp Phineas:

• Are getting fatter and brainier every day. These are good things, and mean that I must keep on eating baked goods with nuts I think. Preferably chocolate. Bring me chocolate walnut brownies. For the boys, that is.
• Together weigh as much as a full term baby. Here's hoping they top out at 14 pounds, max??

Laura:

• Is mostly just tired and unmotivated, although the realization that there are 5 - 6 weeks left has lit a nice fire of fear and motivation...
• Really is digging the laundry detergent she made with Anna in January- works really well and has yet to break the machine! Good option for baby stuff too.

Andrew:

• Is just plugging away at things and trying to respond accordingly to Laura's emotion(s) of the day. 

Snow Monster:

• We've finally gotten a respectable winter storm here, after so much anticipation and news of the snow around Philadelphia. They actually shut down the county government today, which meant no work for this girl. Fifteen to twenty four inches, so they say. I was able to pick a path in my galoshes, though, that did not go over the boot tops. 
• Crossing our fingers the monster will be under control so we can go to Ohio this weekend for our third and final (?) shower... excited to see everyone!

Hallelujah!

First appointment at the new practice today, FINALLY. And very pleasing results to boot.

The practice:

• Actually seems to know what it's doing! I came with a list of questions but they were pretty much all answered before I could open my mouth.
• Has six doctors that do deliveries, one of which is always on call.
• Is affiliated with Holy Cross, a super legitimate hospital not too far from us.
• Referred us to classes at Holy Cross, some of which I hope we sign up for tonight (especially the one titled, "AHHH... It's a Baby!", as it sounds fantastic)

Laura:

• Seems to have gone over the 20 lb. weight gain by a bit... not bad considering 6+ pounds of that is pure baby.
• All in all seems to be as healthy as a horse (where did this phrase come from? I can't imagine horses are always healthy). The sonogram specialist and doctor just love my cervix right now. Weird. Explaining cervixes and their various measurements to your husband is also weird. Knowing that there's little chance of prescribed bed rest, though, is awesome.
• Is going to 2 week intervals for appointments now.
• Understands the timeline a bit better now... if babies were cookies and weeks were minutes, twins need to bake for 35 to 38 instead of the 37 to 40 for singletons. 39 or 40 are just a no go. If we were to schedule a C-section, it might be as early as 34 or 35. I'm just hoping I can get through the end of March at work...

Micah and Phineas:

• Have not understood what I said about weight gain, sleep cycles, and movement so far. They're still kicking my organs, ugh.
• Weigh in at over 3 pounds each, are right on track with each other and where they should be.
• Boy A (we'll see which one looks more like a Micah and visa versa when they come out) is DONE with this whole belly life, it seems. He's head down waaaayyyyy down at the bottom.
• Boy B is still just chilln' like a villain, head up and generally enjoying himself. 
• This means natural birth is probably a decent option... although if Boy B doesn't shift himself around there could be some C-section discussion. 

Tsk, tsk.

I have to say that we are super underwhelmed by your responses to the name choices, guys. Come on now. So, if you haven't had your say-so on names and you're not sure about what you see below, you have no one to blame but yourself. it's like that part in a wedding ceremony where they ask for objections. No going back.

Right. So as of yesterday, the names we're going to work with are:

Micah Brant

and

Phineas Beck (will be called Phin a lot)

Fun things for you to know:

• Micah was a prophet, Phineas was a priest. Andrew is pleased.
• Micah means "who is like God?" and if you take the h off, a fun mineral.
• Brant is a Vogel family name. It's also a goose.
• Phineas means mouth of brass. He's also a high priest that stopped a plague with his immediate and zealous and rather extreme action... will let you find that one on your own. 
• Beck is a shortening of Aschenbeck. It's also a legit boy name, y'all. And a beer. And it means brook. 

Week twenty-nine.

Shrimps:

• I was hoping to have fun information from a sonogram but alas the "ice storm" caused my appointment to be rescheduled for next week.
• It seems that these guys have finally concluded that they can't grow up into my ribcage, as the meat tenderizer situation has subsided. Presumably then they'll expand outward which means I will soon be cutting holes in blankets and wearing them as ponchos to cover my girth... 
• The Mayo Clinic agrees! Now that we're in month eight, two beautiful things are happening. The shrimps are packing on the ounces, meaning less kicking and generally using mom's bladder as a punching bag (because there's no space). Also they're developing more normal sleep cycles, so less all night dance parties.
• The name game! We are about 98% certain of one name- Micah Brant. Other names we are thinking about for Shrimp 2, probably with Beck as a middle name:
• Phineas (whether we like it or not, probably will mostly be called Phin/Finn)
• Judah
• Cyrus
  
  Let us know your thoughts! Although ultimately we'll pick something and give you time to get used to it:-).

Laura:

• Got a glucose test last week, results yet to be seen. Red kool-aid glucose is gross. Also am I the only person ever that has trouble removing that gunky outline from the tape/gauze combo they use after needling you? Think it took three or four days before I managed to get it all off...
• Is surprised by my disinterest in nesting. I would like the house to be in order, but it has more to do with being in a new place than where baby accessories go... thought for sure I'd go a little crazy with this stuff. That's okay though. 
• People have now been comfortable making pregnancy comments toward me. I guess I really look pregnant now. Although I wish I had a better poker face so I could deny it. Andrew pulled it off once so far, and it was AMAZING. Not many belly touching scenarios, but wishing I had the guts to touch the other person's belly if they touch mine without asking. I want to spread awareness of how awkward it is.

Andrew:

• Researched, purchased, and installed a dishwasher- BAM. The guy at Lowe's tried to talk us out of our top Consumer's Report choice, silly silly man. We have the real facts. 
• Is our social coordinator- he's arranged for 70% of our friend-building activities the last couple weeks... Aside from just knowing it's good for us, I think perhaps he's plotting ways that he can either a) get away from me for an evening if I get on a hormonal crying jag, or b) make sure I have friends I can go to if I get on a hormonal crying jag. 
• Had a lovely lunch meeting with his boss this week, and will be getting an extra week off when the shrimps are born hooray!

Other things to know:

• Kitten is hanging upside-down from the cat tower behind me, chewing on her tail.
• Our first choice in au pairs, Susanne, has accepted! We started the process really early (they recommend you choose at least a month before they would start... July in our case), so I think she really must like us! We can't wait to meet her/introduce you all to her.

Stupid, stupid Eve.

I'm guessing this is all Eve's fault, pain in childbirth whatnot. Although if she knew what she was in for, I think she would have passed on a talking reptile offering fruit. Also maybe woman could have been shorted the rib instead of man, to make more baby room.

For the last couple nights, I've been waking up feeling like someone took a meat tenderizer to my ribs. Since we don't own this instrument and I can't imagine why Andrew would do such a thing to me, I can only conclude that this is due to "rib flaring." Basically an expanding uterus taking up so much room that the bottom of my ribcage is suffering the consequences. Beyond just the ribcage, I can look forward to other squished organs as well... I'm glad I don't live inside my body because man just thinking about my crammed interior makes me a little freaked out. This is why twins don't go past 40 weeks, people. 

This is a meat tenderizer, folks. Now of course Andrew wants one.

What does this mean for my life right now? Mostly that slouching hurts. The most comfortable thing to do is arch my back and cross my arms over my head, but that is not socially acceptable to do constantly in public, right? Also I occasionally panic about the fact that these shrimps will be at least tripling in size before my ribs and organs get a break. Also sleeping on my side is no longer the one solution. Although sleeping on my back hurts my back. So beyond my complex nest of pillows, I have now added a rotation of sleeping positions which makes me feel a bit like a rotisserie chicken.

That's all the venting for now, I think. If anyone wants to send me sympathy ice cream it would be appreciated. 

Week twenty-eight.

Shrimps:

• Are now able to open and close their eyes, whatever color they may be...
• Continue to work on things like body fat and brain development
• Are around 10" long and 2 lbs each at this point
  

Laura and Andrew

• Are pretty close to picking an au pair... will be nice to have that decided!
• Have narrowed down the name field substantially
• Are probably getting a dishwasher this weekend as we imagine it might come in handy to have one in a few months
• Are so very very thankful for the two showers this past weekend; it's really wonderful to see the support provided by our PA friends and family.

Week twenty-seven.

Shrimps:

• Can definitely hear voices this week... although in the midst of amniotic fluid it's probably more like whale calls. Or Charlie Brown's teacher. They definitely react to Andrew's "what does the fox say" station on Pandora is all I know.
• Are working on opening their eyeballs.
• Only sleep for about 30 minutes at a time these days, thus what seems to be 24 hours of Russian dancing.
• Have already begun accumulating material goods... and will get more I think with two showers this weekend, hooray!

Laura:

• Is mostly happy with her harness mechanism (for back support and whatnot), but feels sometimes like Andrew could attach a leash and take me for a walk. Probably would have done so if we owned a leash. Also need a cup of coffee before I can figure out how it goes on every morning.
• Has made some more progress on the work front with maternity leave... does anyone else feel a strong urge to scour your house and to do list before a vacation/trip? Hoping that feeling hits me really soon because gosh and golly there's a lot to do.

Andrew:

• Is working hard on his certifications, due in April. One of his fun distractions is looking at au pair applications... some are quite ridiculous. In au pair news, we are interviewing our first candidate tomorrow, a 20 year old german that works at a zoo and enjoys southern gospel music.
• Along with dad, switched all the furniture so that we're upstairs and the au pair has her own room downstairs... what a champ. 

Here's your latest "pregnancy" pic from Andrew's company New Year's party... I promise I'm bigger than I look.

We are officially moved in.

After five moves in the past eleven years, I have determined that no new domicile is complete without the miraculous touch of mom and dad... they've converted dorm rooms, apartments and attics from a shell of a space to an organized masterpiece. So this weekend was their first visit to our old new house, hooray! In addition to a holiday, we got them a little extra time because of snow, hooray!

This week brings a house visit with the au pair community counselor, so we made a change in living arrangements to allow room for an au pair (and if you visit prior to July, you!). We're now upstairs and will be sharing the huge space with the shrimps. It's nice though to have a little time to try it out first... I've lived in an attic with sloped ceilings before and it's not always great when you're 6'.

Additionally, we received a big gift off of our registry today from UPS, what a swell idea. Andrew and I have been debating whether we need to bring two cars for the first showers this weekend or try it with one... no idea how much stuff we can cram in one vehicle. Mostly we're just excited to see everybody!

Week twenty-six.

Shrimps:

• Good grief please stop moving [so much]. Or let's maybe just not do it all night.
• Had an appointment today; looking just dandy but all up in each other's space. Boy A is smushing his face into Boy B's belly SO WEIRD. These kids are going to be interesting.
• Once they're three months old, we've pretty much decided to go with an au pair for their care. Putting two babies in daycare is EXPENSIVE and the au pair program we're using is legit, economical and also awesome.

Laura:

• Is anxiously awaiting her belly support posture correction device, which was supposed to arrive in the mail today... we've definitely discovered that no delivery service knows what to do with this house. No driveway, and a scary bridge to cross that says private property- only the best fedex-ers can figure this one out.
• Has mostly worked out the FMLA process, and is hoping to a) not get sick much and b) not be put on bed rest. 
• Gets to do a glucose test in a couple weeks, hooray! Maybe I'll try eating less ice cream and sugar before that? Or not. Only gained 18 pounds at this point, I feel like I should be eating sticks of butter dipped in sugar...
• Has mentally moved nearly every piece of furniture in the house in preparation for a) the parents' visit this weekend and b) the au pair coordinator's house visit next week. As much as I've enjoyed schlepping furniture around by myself in the past, I have humbled my expectations of my own body for the moment. 

Andrew:

• Is chugging away at his certification for work, which is due by April. He's also started brewing his own hard cider... definitely not a coincidence. 
• Accidentally announced the pregnancy via facebook by saying I had no belly button. How that screams pregnancy we do not know. 

Sounds about right.

Week twenty-five.

I have been three people for nearly half a year, folks. How nuts is that?

Shrimps:

• Are using Laura's torso as their personal training grounds for important life skills such as kicking, punching, running in place and generally rolling around. If one or both become the next Bruce Lee I'd hardly be surprised.
• Are definitely growing, and are together probably approaching or at the weight of a bag of flour. They may also be made mostly of flour as Laura continues to relish all things gluten. Laura has actually surpassed Andrew in weight at this point, GASP. He tells me it's allowable under the circumstances, what a sweetheart.

Laura:

• Is starting to research noodle-y pillows and strait jackets I mean torso support as the ol' back increases its plea for mercy from the unending weight in front.  I like the idea of helium balloons attached at my shoulders to negate gravity's effect.
• Has made her way, through blood sweat and tears, [mostly] to the summit of Mount Baby Registry. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHOICES. I think my favorite ridiculous category by far would be baby tubs. They make pink ones with spa jets, whirlpool features and a detachable shower hose I kid you not.

Andrew:

• Very helpfully contributed his vast Amazon research powers to a number of bigger obstacles in Mount Baby Registry.
• Is also helping with research about childcare, our next gargantuan peak to climb. 
• Is putting together baby cribs today with his parents, hooray!

Week twenty-four.

Well. Gosh. This is six months, folks! Two thirds [or less] depending on whether I'm more the traditional, convection or microwave oven type.

Shrimps:

• Are having dance parties every night. Especially Boy A. Andrew likes to think they're practicing for trail running and is looking for tiny huraches. 
• Should double their weight in the next month... bringing them to 2-3 pounds each. That's the size of chicken I usually get at the grocery. I will have a roaster chicken in my belly. You should go find poultry next time you're shopping and appreciate me.
• Fun details continue to develop, like hair and subcutaneous fat (I spelled that one without looking). Realization of the week: fraternal twins can have different heights and body types. All along I've just been thinking of faces and hair color. 

Laura:

• Around this time the twin pregnancy week-by-week info gets really cheerful: "With the uterus persistently growing and stretching, each symptom becomes amplified. Ligament pain and pressure of the uterus are increasing. Frequent urination is making a comeback. Edema (extra accumulation of fluid in your tissue) can be causing swollen extremities. Fatigue is getting worse and if you don't already have them, hemorrhoids will likely make an appearance" Thanks for the encouragement guys. 
• All I can really say is I want a back brace during the day and to float in a waterbed at night. Also tums are a gift, albeit an un-tasty gift, from the gods.
• Finally got around to some organizing in the soon-to-be nursery.
• Turning 30 tomorrow! 

Andrew:

• Was checking the popularity of Jean Luc as a name tonight
• Is getting over the flu(?) which Laura escaped because she got the shot like she was supposed to...
• Built some shelves in the kitchen when Laura was away, alright!