The Nursery

We were up late last night putting the finishing touches on the nursery. I sucked the dust out of this room's every crevice, then went to town with a bleach rag and a bucket of Spic & Span. I've cleaned before, but this was like instinctual cleaning, primal cleaning. Karine finished sewing the bumpers around midnight. She sewed the bumbers, curtains, changing table skirt, crib sheet, and crib skirt in a forty-eight hour frenzy of hormone-induced craft euphoria.

Then we turned out the lights and sat on the couch and waited. Nothing happened, so we went to bed.

Twinfants!!!

Don't get too excited. I'm just writing the word here because I think it's a good one. That's what we'll have pretty soon: twinfants. It's fun to write and say. Twinfants, twinfants, twinfants!

Now we just need to find ourselves some names.

Changes

Each of us in the family are preparing for the arrival of our new little ones in different ways. We've had some excitement over the past week and a half. Here's what we've been up to:

Karine and the Twins news:
Last Monday night, I ended up going into the hospital for a few hours. I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions for about 6 hours straight. These are the kind of contractions that don't hurt, but completely tighten your abdomen. It's normal to experience some, but if you have more than 4 in an hour, you are supposed to call your doctor. I did, and he told me to head to the hospital to get some help stopping the contractions. After determining I was having the BH contractions every 2-4 minutes, they gave me a couple shots in the arm and sent me home with a prescription for some medicine to help control the contractions. This is the only sign of pre-term labor I've had so far, and the doctors assure me that it is completely normal at this point in a twin pregnancy.


Now, a week later, I've reached the 34 week mark. By 34 weeks, most babies are clear of any long-term health issues. They may spend a couple extra days in the NICU, but overall, they will be as healthy as a full term baby eventually. I go in for another appointment this afternoon to confirm that everything is going well. I'll continue to take medicine to keep contractions at bay until 35-36 weeks and then the doctor has said he'll take me off of them and the babies will be welcome at any time! It's crazy to think that in just 2 weeks or less, I could be heading into the hospital and coming home with 2 more babies!

My doctors did send me home with strict instructions to stop all lifting- including helping Zeke into his crib, high chair, etc. and to sit or lie down as much as humanly possible (while caring for a 20 month old!) Because of this, our little boy has had to make some big adjustments this past week...

Introducing our newest BIG BOY... Zeke!
His favorite words this week have been "Big Boy". We (well, Tom) scrambled to finish Zeke's new bedroom setup, complete with a toddler bed that Zeke can climb in and out of. I didn't want to jinx our luck by announcing it too early, but after 5 successful nights and daytime naps in the big boy bed, I think it's a go! He's so proud of his new big boy bed and room. Every time I go to get him after a nap, his first words are "big boy!" It's pretty sweet.

Another new change is that Zeke has started school! I know that most people don't start their 1 and 1/2 year olds in school, but we had been hearing about this wonderful toddler program through one of the neighborhood elementary schools. It's supposed to be pretty difficult to get into, but since we live in the district, we were bumped to the top of the waiting list and the next opening was ours! Zeke will be attending "school" 2 days a week and started today.

The toddler program functions like a pre-school from 9-11:30 with circle time, music, art, snack, centers, and all sorts of learning fun. He has the option of staying all afternoon for lunch, naptime and afternoon snack as well. To start, we'll just bring him for the morning, but it is a comfort to know the option is there. I think that it will be great for him to have his own special place to go and interact with other kids and teachers a couple times per week. (And give mom a break, too!)

When I dropped him off, the first toy he went for was a baby doll. I'm encouraged that he's so fond of babies, but will need to work with him on supporting the head. :)

As is tradition, I took Zeke's very first "First Day of School Picture" this morning. Here is my big boy!
And as for Tom, well, he's just busy being a good husband and dad these days. He works so hard to help us all when he is home and support us through working his day job as well as playing music at night. As I type, Tom is making the journey from Owatonna, MN back to Omaha in his 1996 Honda Accord Wagon.
Thanks to Doug and Kirsten for taking good care of the car for the past 3 years while we were living in Honduras. While this car has seen a lot of miles, we're hoping it will survive the journey back to Nebraska and be a good second car for our family. Anyone reading our blog today should say an extra little prayer for Tom and the car, and that they both make it back home safely!

***Update*** The doctor appointment went well- no new news, and Tom made it back to town! We are so happy!

Family Updates

In just 6 weeks or less, we'll be welcoming the two newest members of our family into the world. This afternoon, I go to the doctor for the 32 week growth scan. Basically, they'll use ultrasound to measure all the babies' parts and see that everything is growing as it should be. I feel confident that the babies are growing, because I can see the evidence. This picture was actually taken over a week ago, so I'm actually a little bigger. Just think of this as my skinny picture.


I'm huge. But that's okay. I guess that's a part of having 2 little people living inside of my belly. I've reached the point of being more pregnant than I've ever felt before, so this is all new territory. Aside from arthritis-type pain in my hands and some backaches, I'm still feeling pretty good. My energy level has taken a little hit, but I've appreciated the extra help from Tom and Grandma Jean, and of course Zeke.

Tom has been working hard to financially support the family. In the daytime, he's been working at his new job with Hayneedle where he writes and edits copy. I think he enjoys using his creativity in a cubicle- and I think he might be pretty good at it! (Of course, Tom is modest about it.) In the evenings, Tom has been playing jazz on his upright bass at a downtown steakhouse/bar. While he's home, we've been putting him to work doing heavy lifting, assembling furniture, family excursions, and making yummy dinners!


Zeke is growing and maturing by leaps and bounds each day. He's verbally exploding, repeating words and short sentences, and surprising us with words we didn't even know he knew! Every day I talk to him about the special role he is going to play as big brother, and that there are two little babies that will be in our family soon. I don't think the kid has any idea.


Zeke has been an enthusiastic helper around the house though. Last week, we made chocolate chip cookies together and he was actually helping with the steps. He loves being in the kitchen while we make dinner. Zeke has recently shown more interest in music and instruments. He loves hanging out with his dad while Tom practices. Zeke can differentiate between a guitar and a bass. I think that's impressive. I think Zeke's piano lessons with Dad will begin pretty soon!

Zeke has also taken an interest in playing with "babies" lately. (Maybe with a little encouragement from Mom) The other day, I came into his room and Zeke was tenderly giving a bottle and pacifier to his baby Elmo. They are both sitting in the "crib" that we made out of a drawer and a towel. It was so sweet. I think he'll be an excellent big brother.

Twins Update 28 Weeks

Happy Babies!
I went in to the doctor for my 28 week appointment today. (For those who are out of the loop on pregnancy talk, 40 weeks is considered a full term with a single baby, and 37 or so is considered full term for twins. If the babies aren't already here naturally by 38 weeks, my doctor will induce me at that point- which would be around Nov. 8. The countdown is on! Only about 9 more weeks to go!

The twins are looking great! Both are in a head down position. They are face to face and the entire right side of my belly is filled with a whole mess of arms and legs. I probably could have told everyone this without seeing the ultrasound because that side of my body is in constant motion. Baby Brother (the baby labeled A) is around 2 lbs 8 oz and Baby Sister (labeled B in ultrasound pics) is around 2 lbs. 6 oz. Both are growing nicely and appear to be right on track.

My doctor tells me that I'm doing very well with this pregnancy and my body is not showing any signs of extra stress or anything that would cause concern. This is always a question we ask him because as a mother of an 18 month old, I'm constantly chasing, catching, and picking Zeke up for kisses and snuggles. I manage to rest with my feet up for awhile every day while Zeke naps, so I will continue to do that. In the meantime, I'm relieved that bedrest and limitations are not a part of my pregnancy right now.

This week, we were able to get a few pictures of the babies' faces in 3-D! We were amazed to see how similar they look to Zeke in a third trimester 3-D ultrasound picture. I think we'll have some family look-alikes. Enjoy the pictures!

Baby Sister

Baby Brother

My Growing Belly

As Promised- here's a belly pic from last week- 15 weeks pregnant with twins!

Pregnancy so far x 2

I am now officially in my second trimester of carrying twins. It's been a fairly easy pregnancy so far. I've had a lot of questions about the pregnancy, the twinning, etc. so I'll try to give a little rundown of FAQ's here:

How have you felt?
Honestly, the first trimester was pretty okay. I was more nauseous and sensitive to smells than I was while pregnant with Zeke, but nothing unbearable. Now, I'm a lot hungrier every couple hours. I am always thirsty. I drink twice as much water- much earlier- than I ever felt the first time around (At least 3 liters per day). Plus, I'm growing every day! I need a nap after school most days, but Tom has been wonderful about making sure that I can get the extra rest I need.

Are you showing yet?
Yes. I look about how I did at 16 weeks with Zeke. My pants haven't fit for a few weeks, and some shirts are beginning to look inappropriately like belly shirts. It's fun though- when you look pregnant in Honduras, you get to go to the front of the bank lines. :)

Do you know if they're identical or fraternal?
Nope, not yet! There's really only one way to tell for sure before they're born. That would be if we have one boy and one girl. Then it would be pretty obvious that they aren't identical. Otherwise they can perform some tests after the babies are born to verify. We do have reason to believe that they are most likely fraternal- see next question.

Do twins run in your family?
Yes! My mom's uncles (my grandmother's brothers) were twins. The fraternal twin gene can only be passed down through the mother's side. The identical twin thing just happens randomly. Since I've got the gene from my mother's side, it's pretty likely that they're fraternal. Tom has twins on his side of the family too, but that's just bonus. The gene comes from my side.

What are you going to do???
Well, we're going to have 3 kids under the age of 2. I'm going to do my best as a stay-at-home-mom. We'll be landing in Omaha to start our new stateside life on June 4. My due date is around Nov. 18, however twins are born on average at 37 weeks (instead of the 40 week pregnancy of a single baby). In reality, the twins will probably arrive closer to Halloween than Thanksgiving. Tom is actively looking for the next great opportunity to make some money to support a family of 5. We're just going to take things step by step- we're up for an adventure!

Have you felt them move yet?
I think that one of the cool things about twins is that they're a little more crowded than a single baby. Last week I felt them both move. As I type this, I think they're practicing for a synchronized swimming routine. It's pretty neat to be able to feel them this early.

How is Zeke taking it?
He is very excited. Every day, I explain to him how lucky he'll be to have 2 new brothers/sisters/ or brother and sister to play with. He will never be able to remember life as an only child. Luckily we will be able to remember this special time for him, and we've got about 4000 photos to prove it! Zeke has been having a lot more fun lately learning to play with other kids. I think he's going to be a wonderful big brother.

That's all for now. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! In the meantime, say a couple prayers for us! This month of change will bring many exciting moments. We're just going to keep taking it all in stride.

I'll try to post a belly picture one of these days. I'm not feeling incredibly photogenic lately, but I'll do my best sometime this week. Thanks for all the well wishes and support. We're counting on friends and family to help keep us sane in the upcoming year(s)!

Coming in November

TWINS!!!

'Tis a Gift to Be Simple

I thought maybe we could induce Karine with some low frequency sound waves. We'll let you know if it works. In the meantime, why not treat yourself to a bonsai tree.

Baby Lew FAQ's

As I sit at home enjoying my 3rd week of pre-baby maternity leave I've had a lot of time to relax, prepare, and enjoy the end of this exciting period of my life. I've loved being pregnant for the last 9 months, and I'm excited to do it again someday- but not too soon!

I thought I'd take a few minutes to answer some of the questions we're asked most often about the pregnancy/birth of our firstborn.

Q: Are you in labor yet?
A: Nope. Not yet.

Q: Do you have any signs of labor yet?
A: My doctor hasn't "checked" me yet, so I'm not sure about the whole dialation/effacement thing yet. I do know that I've been experiencing Braxton Hicks (or as Tom likes to call them, Meyers-Briggs) contractions quite a bit lately. These painless contractions are getting my body all ready for labor. I've been feeling a bit more uncomfortable in the last 2 days, so I'll take that as a positive sign. I've also been napping quite a bit during the daytime after bouts of baking and organizing.

Q: When is Baby Lew actually due?
A: That depends on who you ask. Throughout the course of the pregnancy, we've been given several "official" due dates. These dates include Jan. 23, Jan. 25, Sometime in the last week of Jan., Feb. 2, Feb 5, and Feb. 15. This can be especially confusing for people who thought there was a specific date on which this baby is/was supposed to arrive. Based on our doctor's best guess, use of his little wheel/calculator, ultrasounds, and our own calculations, we expect him sometime in the next week.
We chose Feb. 5 to be our "official" date because it's sort of in the middle of all those dates, and yet is far enough out that we won't feel like he's really late if it's still a week after that. Please pray that this child does not adopt the Honduran laid back approach to time until after he is born.

Q: Does your doctor know what he's doing?
A: I hope so. :) Actually, he's a very experienced baby deliverer- over 3,000 here in La Ceiba! He's pretty laid back about me needing to come in often, but we're scheduled to visit again on Feb. 2. Hopefully we'll have some news then.

Q: How big is this baby?
A: According to Babycenter.com, he's about the size of a small watermelon. I would argue for a medium watermelon.

Q: How are you going to get to the hospital?
A: On Tom's bike. He's installed a big basket on the front. It's only a quick 3 mile ride to the hospital. No- really, we'll probably take a taxi if it's between 5am-1am, as there are plenty all around town. If it's the middle of the night, we've got 3 different good friends that are happy to come and get us!

Q: Will you post news on your blog right away?
A: Our intention is to be able to share the good news as soon as we can. We'll be taking our laptop and our cell-phone modem to the hospital. We should be able to post pics and news as soon as we've got some. (Who am I kidding- Tom will be posting pics and news. I will not be blogging at that point)

Q: Do you know about all the "tricks" to make yourself go into labor?
A: As an avid internet junkie these days, I am well aware of all the "tricks" involved. I'm not too interested in eating/drinking any weird concoctions, but I've been taking walks a few times a day. I've been following the advice of my favorite pregnant-lady bulletin board. The ladies on this discussion board are full of ideas about the best ways to make a 39 week pregnant lady go into labor. I'd like to be confident that this little guy will come quickly as soon as he's ready.

Q: Are you scared about how much it's going to hurt?
A: Thanks to Discovery Health, I've seen a number of births and c-sections on tv lately. I think it's a pretty decent dose of reality. I'm bracing myself for whatever comes, but I don't really want to hear anyone else's story about how much it hurt until after the baby is here. Thanks!

Q: Do you actually have a real name picked out?
A: Tom and I are about 93% sure of a name. We'll tell you all once we see the little guy and know for sure. I hope that everyone likes it as much as we do. If you don't like it, please just pretend you do for my sanity's sake. I've heard that new mothers can be pretty emotional.


So that's what I've got. These are the most frequently asked questions, but please comment if you have other questions. I'd be happy to answer! Also, proceeds of bonsai tree sales until the due date will go to support hospital bills. Buy a bonsai today!

Can't help but giggle...

As I get bigger, my clothes look a little different each time I wear them. Today, every time I've passed the mirror, I can't help but think that in my polka-dot shirt, it looks like I've swallowed a giant polka dot.

Belly Update

In case you didn't hear. I am now officially ginormous.

Books

Thank God we got the luggage back. Giant Suitcase #1 contained these books. We've got only a couple of more weeks to figure everything out. I caught Karine trying to read The Birth Partner this afternoon. I said no way José. That one is for me. The last thing I need is Karine reading a book about all of the things I am supposed to be doing.

On Being a "Stay at Home"

Today was my first real day of staying at home while Tom went to work. I'm officially on maternity leave, though Baby Lew isn't expected for a couple more weeks. It was awesome! I really think I'm going to like being a stay-at-home. (I can't quite claim to be a stay-at-home-mom yet).

I started out with a couple cups of decaf coffee on the front porch, while the neighborhood loose dogs came by to visit Ruby at the gate. The neighborhood loose dogs are loose in the sense that they're not tied up. I'm not saying anything about their promiscuity, though I am glad that Ruby has been fixed. After that, I discovered that Facebook has some fun features like chatting! I chatted with a couple of high school friends and also with a couple La Ceiba friends.

Our maid arrived to do some cleaning around 11. We chatted about the holidays and our families for awhile. Since we were out of laundry soap, I strolled down the street to buy a 2 serving bag of soap so she could do laundry. After reading a few more blogs and sitting out on the porch again for awhile, I was ready for Tom to come home from his long day at the office.
Tom rolled in around 2 on his fancy wheels- his Schwinn mountain bike- and we caught up on the day's happenings at school. I wanted to hear about all I had missed!

I definitely think that I'm going to need some projects to get me through the next few weeks. Although playing on the internet was fun today for a few hours, I don't want to do that every day. I've got a few sewing projects and cooking ideas. I also need to pack a bag for the hospital at some point. That should keep me busy for a little while. Tom suggested I take up the hobby of pickling and canning. Hmmm... I'm open to other suggestions.

Home Sweet Home

We made it! And I didn't even go into labor on the plane or anything!

Tom and I are home in our 80 degree house and so happy to be here. We did arrive with a few less things than we left with. Okay, we arrived empty handed. When we left Omaha yesterday morning, we had a stroller/carseat (my beautiful new Chicco) and two suitcases, and a backpack. We're home safely with our backpack. The rest- well that's a long story...

We had such an easy time in Omaha when the nice lady at Northwest told me that I could "valet check" or gate check my stroller/carseat combo. I thought this would be a good idea because it wouldn't be handled as roughly as other luggage. We wheeled it to our departure gate and were prepared to meet it in our destination city, Chicago. The nice lady said she'd check it through to there since we wouldn't actually need it during our 1 hour layover in Minneapolis. Upon arrival in Minneapolis, we were treated to a ride on the Special People Cart. Since I'm preggo, a nice gentleman set us up with a sweet ride to our next gate.

We arrived in Chicago O'Hare with our 2 suitcases and the backpack, however the stroller/carseat was nowhere to be found! Since it had been gate checked it didn't have the tracking tags on it- just a tag on each that listed its destination. The guy in the lost luggage office at O'Hare was pretty busy and not really a lot of help to us. He was in the middle of dealing with a dog mixup. Apparantly, two dogs with two different destinations (ORD and ORF) were switched and ended up in the wrong cities with the wrong families! This situation made my missing stroller/carseat seem a lot less troubling.

We then had to take a shuttle from O'Hare to Midway airport so we'd be ready for our early morning flight today. We talked with a kind woman in the Midway lost baggage and she helped straighten a few things out and gave us some resources. After arriving at our hotel, Tom proceeded to file the appropriate claims and call all the right people - what a great husband! By 11:45pm, we had received the status that our stroller/carseat was probably gone for good. Nobody had seen it anywhere, and that they'd probably be buying and sending us a brand new one. In the time it takes for the claim to be processed and shipping to occur, they gave us $100 credit to buy a new stroller. The woman on the phone encouraged us to take a midnight taxi to Walmart, buy a stroller, and present the receipt for reimbursement at our 5am check in. I went shopping on Amazon instead. This is what Northwest airlines is buying us for our stroller/carseat troubles:

We woke up at 4am and went to the Midway airport, checked our 2 remaining suitcases and got on our plane. There was a very tight connection in Atlanta (only about 20 minutes because our plane was running late). While we made it to the connecting gate just in time, our luggage did not. Upon arrival in San Pedro Sula, we were down to just our backpack. The people at Delta have located our 2 suitcases and they'll be arriving into La Ceiba tomorrow night. No real biggie, but OF COURSE we'd lose our other 2 bags too!

While the trip home was stressful at times, Tom and I both did a really great job of not getting too worked up. Travel itself is exhausting enough, and I now understand why women in their 8th month of pregnancy don't often travel. The baby is still happily hanging out inside me, and I'm hoping he'll be comfy there for a few more weeks. We're going to fetch our dog in a few minutes and then we'll be so happy to sleep in our own bed tonight. Home Sweet Home!

Growing Excitement!

Since Tom has been the main blogger lately, I thought I'd take my own chance to write about the ultrasound and the cool stuff going on with Baby Lew. When we went in for our ultrasound yesterday, we went in with the idea that I was about 32 weeks along. (There are usually 40 total weeks for those of you who weren't aware). Anyway, we've been expecting this baby to come sometime around Feb. 10 or so. The doctor originally thought my due date would be on Valentine's Day, but since getting our ultrasound yesterday, we've learned that he's coming sooner!

Since our little guy is already over 6 lbs, we will probably be meeting him sometime closer to Jan 25. This is a full 2 weeks earlier than we had planned! I'm taking this as a good sign, because if he's already over 6 lbs, I don't want him growing inside me for 8 more weeks! I'm just not prepared to deliver a 14 lb. baby!

After a visit with our regular doctor today, we were reassured that the baby looks wonderful, healthy, and I do too. I've been given the go-ahead to fly home for Christmas, and we've got plans to see a doctor in the U.S. when we get there. We're ready to be flexible with our plans, just like our baby is with his body. (Seriously, I think he might have a future in Cirque du Soliel)

Here are two self-portraits of me and my giant baby belly taken in the mirror. My maternity leave begins on Friday afternoon, after report cards are handed out.




While we're home in the states, we're grateful to our friends back here in Honduras for house-sitting and dog-sitting. We sure will miss Ruby, but we know she'll be in good hands.

Oh- and Cousin Mark is arriving within the hour! How exciting to have a visitor here- more about our fun to come...

Our son putting his big toe into his nostril in utero

We went down to our local clinic and got ourselves a 4-D ultrasound after school today. Without a doubt its the best twenty bucks we have spent since we went out for lobsters last month. The toe goes into the nostril at about 9 seconds. Real rocket scientist, this guy.

Note that the Spanish word above his face is cara, not mono. An ultrasound in Spanish is really fun. Everything is -ito, -ito, ito.

I'm here too!

Hi everyone- Karine here. I just wanted to write so you all know that Tom and his mustache have not completely taken over the blog. I'm still here and I'm still pregnant. And just look what Tom did to our backyard today!


I was shocked. Our neighbor gently suggested to Tom yesterday that we trim the tree that used to brush the top of his water tank. I thought Tom would trim the tree. Instead he took his machete to the whole thing and afterward informed me that it is a weed. Apparantly, we will be investing some money in "real trees" and "real dirt" for our backyard. I'd rather spend money on onesies.

Here's a little on the pregnancy and the baby (for all you baby junkies out there)
The pregnancy- still feeling good for the most part. I've got some symptoms like leg cramps in the middle of the night and a bit of acid reflux if I eat too much. My walk has turned into a waddle- especially by the afternoons. I get that Christmas carol "O Here We Come A-Wassailing" stuck in my head a lot, only I sing "O Here I Come A-Waddling". It entertains me.

According to my pregnancy websites and books, Baby Lew is around 3.75 pounds and around 17 inches head to toe. This would explain why I feel little feet kicking under my ribs, and a big butt sticking out of the side of my belly from time to time. He seems to prefer the right hemisphere of my belly. I've also recently discovered that if I scratch my abdomen, he'll move his little arms (or at least what feel like arms). I picture him scratching back from the other side! He's an active little guy, but all the movements are reassuring. I plan to visit my doctor one more time before making the trip home for Christmas. So far, things are looking great.

I don't know if I can consider this the homestretch yet, but the thought of only 7 or 8 more weekends before we're parents makes me feel like this is coming fast! I put up a couple craft blogs that I like. I have high hopes for my time in January. My maternity leave starts at Christmas break, so I should have some serious time for crafts and sewing before this little guy arrives. Cleaning has never really been my style of nesting anyway.

Oh- and the ladies of Honduras have started asking me daily what we're going to name this little guy. We've got a few ideas of our own, and will probably keep them a secret. However, for anyone who has an opinion or suggestion- we'll take it now! No final decisions have been made yet, so there's still time. Just leave a comment...

Sunday on the Cangrejal

We've been enjoying the spledid weather the past couple of days. Its been about as good as it gets here in La Ceiba. We took a Sunday trip up the river yesterday. Here's Karine looking pretty in the sunshine.

It sure is pretty up there.

Week 29 Action Shots