28 Weeks & Thank God for Crafty Friends!

Well, I am 28 weeks pregnant! Crazy talk, I know! The babies are still vertex and seem to have dropped lower. My hips and back are starting to hurt but I just know that means they are getting ready for their departure. I only hope they wait awhile. They are too tiny now. I want to get them to at least 5 pounds before they meet the world.

This was my bump last week (27 weeks). I don't think I am bigger but my belly now hangs lower.

My ankles swell at the end of the day. I thought I had cankles before but now they have become epic in size! My wedding ring has to come off at the end of the day until the swelling goes down by morning. I know there will come a time when the ring will have to be taken off entirely. This is hard for me since I love wearing my ring and never take it off.

The nursery is nearly complete. We hung the last of the antiques last weekend. I found two antique shelves at an antique store that are painted in a yellowish hue. They go well in the room. They are recent purchases. However, I found this old window about 3 years ago. It was painted yellow and the glass had the blue flowers painted on it. At the time, I envisioned stripping the paint off and painting a different color. I admit that after I cleaned it up, I rather like the window just the way I found it. It goes with the room. Jeremy had a heck of a time getting it anchored securely to the wall. It hangs above our changing table with one of the shelves.

 

I don't have my first baby shower until Memorial Day weekend. However, many good friends and family have been busy crafting, quilting, and making beautiful gifts for Max and Harper. I wish I had an ounce of their abilities. My poor children have a mother who is lacking in that artistic skill. My student teacher from last year (who gets to work at our school next year!! YAY!) made these amazing hats. They match our nursery exactly. I cannot wait to have the twins pose in these hats. It may be their first newborn pictures!

My 12 year old niece made Max and Harper cute blankets. I love how soft they are. Max has the sock monkeys and Harper has the bright, cheerful turtles and elephants. I love them!! Plus, my niece is going to be an amazing babysitter.

 

I have mentioned many times how great this infertility community has been. I have met women who I genuinely care about even though we have never met. It is crazy how you can develop a friendship and companionship without ever really knowing them. One of these many bloggers is a sweet and caring gal who is one of the most upbeat supportive people. She is had a heck of a time dealing with her infertility and I pray for her often. She has decided to make quilts for the babies of infertiles. I nearly cried when I received these in the mail. I LOVE them!

It could be now anywhere between 6 weeks and 9 weeks that Max and Harper are in our arms! I am so excited!

-Lisa-

Nursery Projects

First of all, Jeremy and I are not the crafty type of people. In fact, I think we are the opposite of crafty. However, we wanted the nursery to be eclectic, unique, and meaningful. So, years ago we started collecting antiques and knick knacks for our future nursery. Because of the items we already had, we needed something for above the cribs that would match that style. After searching, it was clear we were going to have to make our decorations.

The first project we tackled was Maxwell's wall hangings above his crib. I found a great and EASY craft project on Pinterest. We bought embroidery rings at Joann Fabric and also fabric pieces in different shades of yellow and gray. Here were our supplies:



 We put the pieces of fabric in the rings. Pulled tight and then cut access fabric from around ring but left enough to fold over and hot glue.

The last step is removing the outer embroidery ring so we are left with a perfect circle of fabric. They turned out pretty good. We painted a letter M for Maxwell and hung in the center of the circles. Here is a picture of Max's crib:

For Harper's wall, we decided on a more girly look. We found "shabby chic" style white frames at Hobby Lobby. They happened to all be 50% off which saved us a lot of moo-lah. I then bought spray paint and Jeremy spray painted the frames and "H" for Harper.

We still have more antiques to hang and figure out but it is coming along. Here is the closet corner where we hung a large clothespin that I found at an antique store last year and a picture that Jeremy found in the back of an old frame we bought.

-Lisa-

24 week update

Woo-hoo for viability!! I never thought we would get to 24 weeks. We can breathe a sigh of relief.

I feel like I have been so busy but I look around and nothing is getting done. I start to freak out a bit when I realize that Maxwell & Harper will be here in about 11-13 more weeks. As much as I can't wait to wrap them up and hold them in my arms...Momma and Daddy are not ready!

We have basically figured out daycare. It wasn't easy and we had lots of great options. We have decided to go with this daycare close to our house. We went and toured many centers but fell in love with the staff and facility. We won't need daycare until October 15. I go back to work October 1 and Jeremy is taking his leave at the beginning of October. Hopefully, one more spot will open up before then. At the moment, one of the twins has a spot while the other is waitlisted. The director said that she is sure a spot will open up before then so not to worry.

Our nursery is coming along. I am in the middle of many décor projects at the moment. I am NOT a crafty person so I am definitely out of my element. I will post pictures of the projects in a separate post.

FMLA and insurance is quite the headache but it seems to be working itself out as well.

At my doctor checkup Tuesday, I only gained 5 pounds this month. This is a change from the last appointment where I gained a whopping 10 pounds! I am up 33 pounds. I can't believe how large and in charge I am getting. However, my doctor assures me I am right on track and healthy. She said I will slow down on the weight gain because twin mommies usually load up on the pounds early on. In fact, if you gain 24 pounds before the 24 weeks mark...twins have a greater chance of staying in there longer so they are born at a healthier weight.

One thing that pregnant women may downplay is the movement. I am in complete awe of the punches, kicks, movement, etc. Jeremy is obsessed with watching the belly and feeling it. I think he nearly cried when his hand was kicked hard. I love looking at the belly move. It is a complete miracle and just feel so blessed that we get to experience this. I can't believe that more pregnant women or moms haven't told me about the awesomeness of this stage. I don't even care that I can't sleep because I know that when I feel them punch me, they are thriving.

Max and Harper will grow up knowing how much they were prayed for. They will know what blessings and miracles they truly are. They will also know that God sent them as His perfect timing for us. I can't help but smile and cry happy tears at the thought of holding my precious angels. It puts our whole infertility struggle into perspective.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11


-Lisa-

Is This for Real?

I recently went back and read my blog posts from last March and April. I was heartbroken and confused. I didn't understand why Jeremy and I were going through infertility. However, by my blog posts, you really couldn't tell. I sound so positive and faithful. I don't think I was that way through most of our struggle. It was interesting to see what a difference a year makes. So for those that are still deep in the infertility struggle, keep up the hope. I know we hear that a lot as infertiles and I wouldn't have believed it if we weren't in the position we are now.

I am on spring break this week and have spent it working on the nursery. I knew there would be no other spare time for me to work on it through the end of the school year so I have kept busy. We painted the walls a light gray. We built a new closet system after we tore the other one out. I steam cleaned the carpets. Tuesday, Nebraska Furniture Mart delivered the furniture. And now it is real. Or is it? I feel like I should pinch myself. I leave the door open so every time I walk by the room, I can smile. I find myself in there just looking at the bedding, sitting in the rocker, and visualizing how wonderful our lives are going to be with Max and Harper.

I still have to decorate with wall decor and shelving but here are some current pictures of the state of the nursery.

On top of the pure elation and excitement, I also am a nervous wreck. Oh, the dreams that I have! Also, since when did TV shows not only have expectant twin mommies...but mommies that lose their twins?! Seriously, it makes me crazy! I freak out when I can't feel them. Although, talking to the doctor today, that is perfectly normal right now. I can't wait until Jeremy is able to feel the movement either. He is going to freak! Here are some ultrasound pics from today:

Maxwell's profile (He is so cute!)



Maxwell's back squishing Harper's profile

They are getting so big!

Happy Spring (kind of)! In KC, we have had cold and snow the last week. It really hasn't felt too much like spring. However, today it was in the 50's so I got my dogger, Bella, out for a 3 mile walk. Boy, am I tired! It felt great to be outside exercising a bit though.

-Lisa-

17 weeks of worry

After infertility and loss, I am still struggling with the idea that this pregnancy may deliver two healthy babies. Most days, I feel so excited about the babies and other days I feel so worried that something could still happen. It is horrible to have those kinds of days.

Earlier this week, I had cramping and spotting. I nearly lost my mind! I was at work and in the middle of teaching students. Luckily, I work with amazing people who took over for me so I could make an emergency run to the doctor. The ultrasound showed two healthy, bouncing, flipping babies. They couldn't be more healthy, in fact. They think the bleed could be caused by a couple of things but none they are concerned with. They will monitor me closely in the next couple of weeks. The spotting has nearly stopped now, so that is great news!

I think incidents like this bring the idea to the forefront of my mind that this pregnancy could still have issues. I pray everyday for the health of these precious babies. I know that worrying constantly isn't going to do any good. I am doing the best that I can to take care of me and them. God is in control and His Will is in full effect. It is still so hard to hand all of that over to Him everyday, but I am getting better.

We do find out what Baby A and Baby B are!! I can't wait until Wednesday when we hopefully get a glimpse of their "goods." I hope they cooperate because we need to know. I have a strong feeling that it is two girls. I have had dreams that they are girls. Jeremy really thinks we are getting one of each, which would be awesome! I don't think either of us care too much though!

I have cleaned out the nursery closet. Currently that room is our office and it is filled with everything! I can't believe we had all of that junk shoved into one closet. We wound up pitching two garbage bags filled with old papers and documents that we no longer needed. It feels good to start a project for the babies. I am really looking forward to my Spring break when we will start painting the nursery and putting things together.

I will update the blog next week when we find out genders! I promise. I am also thinking of new titles for my blog. (Still) Trying to Conceive doesn't seem to work anymore. I want to still honor our infertility but also our joy to the ending we have been blessed with. Any ideas for titles? I am kind of stuck.

-Lisa-