Feeling and Seeing the Changes – from the Mama’s perspective

Change is coming... literally right around the corner.  We turn 34 weeks this Thursday... therefore our girls could be coming anytime now.  My goal has always been to get to 36 weeks which would be August 11th but I’ve been noticing that I’ve been changing... more so my body has been changing. 

I feel like my belly has dropped an inch the past few days...I can tell because when we went to church yesterday morning, the pew in front of us is now hitting my belly whereas the week before it wasn’t.  I walk slower now too... and I waddle... even though I try really hard not to.  Funny though I may walk slower but it doesn’t stop me from shopping with my mom & Edilyn @ Vaughn mills... lol.  I’ve been sweating and feeling extremely hot the past week too even @ night but all I can say is thank goodness we got the air conditioner this year... otherwise this Mama-to-be would have been a very unhappy woman.  Other changes are my feet & fingers are swelling quicker than before (even with me drinking 3 – 4 L of H2O a day) and I have been suffering from bilateral carpal tunnel the past few weeks... getting pretty bad I might add. L But even though i’m having all these complaints... I still feel extremely lucky to be carrying twin girls and remain J and healthy.

We’ve also started to nestle... but then again I think we’re just finally getting everything ready for them.  My hospital bag & their hospital bag are all packed up & ready to go.  The nursery is still under construction but thanks to the help of their Ninong Ron and Ninang Edilyn their room is painted – thanks again guys for all your help!  Jay will be putting their cribs together the next few days... and all of our baby showers have been thrown & we are partied out – thanks again to all our families & friends for all the generous presents you have given us for our baby girls... we really are very blessed to have supportive people like u in our lives!  Our house is filled with baby stuff... seriously though!  Our family room doesn’t look like a family room anymore... it looks like a flea market that sells only baby girl items... lol.  This can be especially seen in their clothing... I haven’t seen so much pink in my life... so I can imagine how it must look to Jay and Brix... hehehe. And with all of their clothes... comes a ton of laundry but that’s ok... I must admit I enjoyed doing it for them.  I especially enjoyed washing their new pottery barn sheets cause they’re so pretty!  Although I know it won’t matter to them that they have nicer bed sheets than Jay & I have on our bed.  J

I’ve been chatting with them the past 2 days also... telling the girls to stay in my belly so they can gain a bit more weight and so their lungs can be more developed.  I’ve even told them my belly is a much better than the world out here... its warmer & safer inside... plus once you’re out... that’s it... and most of us wish we could go back in J.  We’ve finally settled on their full names too... first & second names... and I might add we really like the names we’ve chosen for them... they’re different & unique but easy to remember... I just don’t want my side of the family to give them weird Filipino nick names like me & my cousins have.  That should die with our generation of cousins... our children shouldn’t suffer like we do.

Jay has been changing too.  He is more concerned for me... and calls me @ home to check up on me when he is @ work.  He still goes to hockey on Monday nights but has dropped doggy training the past 2 months to help prepare for the girls.  He still cycles to work when the weather is good... and cycles in the evening if he gets a chance to.  Jay has been reading more too... I bought him a new book called “Be Prepared” and it’s a how to book for first time Papas... but it has a MacGyver type of feel to it.  I got it for him because it’s pretty practical and it has some funny images.  Funny too cause last night he asked me if i knew how to use my breast pump... and I was like “No... i haven’t even opened it” and he said “Do you think we should open it and go through it?”.  I was like “Yeah... I guess  so”.  But all in all... he has been an awesome partner the past 8 months.

Someone who hasn’t changed at all is... our Brix.  Even now I don’t think he even realizes how big I am and how slow I’ve been getting around.  He has however noticed all the girly stuff accumulating in the family room since the playard with the twin bassinette is right beside his bed.  He especially noticed the double snap & go stroller yesterday morning when Jay took the stroller out with him for Brix’s mini walk to get him used to walking with a stroller.  Funny though cause 2 of our neighbours thought the girls were already born... Jay corrected them right away and said he was training Brix with the new stroller.

So that’s all for now.  Hopefully this won’t be my last blog... but it all depends when the girls come of course.  My goal now is to get to 35 weeks... so that’s next Thursday...  so please keep your fingers crossed for us that we make it to then!  Thank you again to everyone’s support the past few months... Jay and I really appreciate it... and we may be taking you up on those offers once the girls are here!  J

Aquarius Parent, Leo Child

In my high school years, I was secretly interested in zodiac signs.  On the weekends, at the library, I would take out books on astrology ...trying to find out...."the meaning" of things.  Back then, of course, I was interested in what were the compatible love signs for Aquarius.  They were: Libra, Gemini, Aries, Aquarius.  It varied between book to book but for the most part, those were the compatible signs.

I remember telling a friend, "there's only one Aquarian girl that I know of, and heck no, I'm not going after her."  Well 10 years later, I got married that Aquarian girl.  Now I know you guys are like, " that stuff is nonsense, bogus, I can't believe you read that stuff.  Are you gay?"  We don't have to go that far but I think there is some truth to it.  "You are a man of science, believe in science!"  Yes, but science also has yet to tell us the origin of life.  Also there are millions of books and websites about the subject and all seem consistent so I can't help to think maybe there is some truth to it.

Before we got pregnant I told Ne,  "We can't try this month (Nov.) because we'd have a Leo baby!  No way, we can't have a Leo baby...."  Pretty bad huh?  I was so paranoid of having a Leo baby because I knew they are at the opposite end of Aquarius.  One is a water sign, the other a fire sign and you know what happens when water meets fire.  The two can't co-exist or can they?  We waited until December to try and conceive.  Surely, we would not have a Leo baby now.  We would have a Virgo baby.  But things have a way to bite you in the butt.  "Congrats...the two of you are expecting twins!   That means your full gestation is 37 weeks and not 40 weeks!"  Leo baby it is.

Sometimes, things work out for the better.  Apparently I was reading the Aquarius and Leo lover section when I should have been reading the Aquarius parent and Leo child compatibility.  It turns out Aquarian parents and Leo children go well together.....get back to me in 30 years and I'll let you know how it went.down.  I think we all just believe in the stuff we want and disregard the rest.  I can't help but wonder if there's any truth in the stars.  You be the judge:

Child's Zodiac Sign	Zodiac Sign of Parents Most Compatible
ARIES	Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
TAURUS	Capricorn, Virgo, Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio
GEMINI	Aquarius, Libra, Leo, Aries, Sagittarius
CANCER	Scorpio, Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo
LEO	Sagittarius, Aries, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
VIRGO	Capricorn, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer
LIBRA	Aquarius, Gemini, Aries, Sagittarius, Leo
SCORPIO	Pisces, Cancer, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
SAGITTARIUS	Leo, Aries, Gemini, Aquarius, Libra
CAPRICORN	Virgo, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer
AQUARIUS	Gemini, Libra, Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
PISCES	Cancer, Scorpio, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn

The 33rd Week

Tonight, I took a ride down a stretch of road on my bicycle.  It would be so much cooler if I said motorcycle but it's the closest thing I got.  The sun was just setting and I could see it on the horizon., orange in colour.  It was just me, my bike, the wind, and the road. There were no cars, no wife, no kids, no dogs.  I couldn't help but think,  "This is so damn relaxing!  This is my old life....remember it....for it will be gone....just a long lost memory to tell the kids when they grow up."  The new life is soon coming.

Ne reaches her 33rd week in a couple days.  The babies are now over 4 lbs each.  They grew incredibly fast the last 3 weeks.  The baby showers have also started and the gifts are pouring in.  Thanks guys.  Ne continues to be strong, so much so she is still able to make a trip to Vaughn Mills and walk for several hours.  She also feels like a furnace as heat radiates outward from her body.  One more baby shower to go.

Congrats to Ne's cousin who became a father to a baby boy this weekend.  We wish you and your new family the best. 

And now time to leave you all with some more photos of " a life transforming"

"I hate baby shower games"

Books for the babies

Charlene's work of art

Thanks for all the gifts

These guys are certified in changing diapers.

 

The twins have boyfriends!

Before the twins are born, they apparently have boyfriends already.  Matches that were made by some of our friends with kids already.  "Twins A is going to be so and so's girlfriend.......Twins B will be ours...."
Maybe they'll be lesbian.....you never know. 

Update:

This week Ne is at the 32 week mark.  The girls are now over 3 lbs each according to the ultrasound.  A far cry away from the 5 lbs we would like them to be but hey....there's not much real estate in the tummy. 
From this point on, the twins chances of coming out increases.  Can we make it to 37 weeks?  Hopefully, but reality is, they tend to come between 34-35 weeks...that's freaking 2-3 weeks away! 

What's going on now:

Baby showers like mad, this week and next.  The baby bag is being packed.  We still need to buy 2 cribs and a dresser but we could possibly live with the twin playpen we bought earlier.  The nursery room is not even close to being ready.  Still a room with just stuff in it.  Any good pediatricians in Markham?  Certainly, but all are not accepting new patients.  We find we are left with just a handful that are not rated very good mind you.  Goodbye to my Corolla and hello to the Pathfinder.  It will haul everyone around town after a couple things get looked at.

Looking forward:

No matter what I do now, I'm as ready as I ever will be.  Time to let things just fall into place and let nature do it's thing.  I've got the cell phone charged up all the time and standing by the work phone ready for....."babe, my water broke!"  It's going to be crazy.  Keep you guys posted.