Firefighters waiting for a flood.

Because what else is there to do at a birthday party?

BFF Babies - March 2013

3 years later

Bed rest is over. Clearly. Here's an inside view of a recent dinner conversation I had with the boys.

Bennett & Brody - 9 Months

Game (back) on!

So, it has been awhile. The fog is clearing so here are some pictures from over the past 9 months. Vertical Nicole will have to update the site with more pictures of beautiful little Harper. I don't know if we've mentioned this before but we believe in arranged marriages so she most certainly will marry Bennett or Brody; we're not sure which yet. I hope you enjoy the photos.

- Horizontal

Meeting Santa for the first time - December 3, 2010


Thanksgiving 2010
8 months old - November 6, 2010
7 months old - October 6, 2010

5 months old - August 6, 2010 (6 month photo to come)


4 months old - July 6, 2010
3 months old - June 6, 2010
2 months old - May 6, 2010

Hey Where are my pants and why is she screaming?

Bennett, Harper, Brody
Boys 4 weeks 6 days
Girl 3 weeks 1 day

3 Amigos

The boys are 3 weeks 3 days. Harper is 1 week 5 days.

Harper's Arrival

Here are some of the first pictures of Harper.

Ultimate multi tasker

I will post pictures of all the babies later, but Harper Christine Judith Burke was born March 18 9:00am. She weighed in at 8lbs 15oz and was 21 inches long.

I am currently posting my blog, breastfeeding and those 2 things alone would be a pretty good multi-tasking feat. But That Isn't All. I'm giving Nolan a bath and watching the Biggest Loser. That is all it takes to be a mom, the ability to multi-task.

Good Night
Nicole

Brody & Bennett Arrived!!!

Born March 6
Brody on left weight- 6lbs 14 oz 21 inches 5:58pm
Bennett on right weight- 7lbs 6 oz 21 inches 5:46pm

Nichole & Rich are doing great!

I'm sure she will fill in more details soon.

Proud Vertical Nicole

Update #2

Water broke at 12:30

Horizontal in the hospital

Just a quick update Nichole was checked into the hospital this morning and the petossin was started around 8:30. I will give updates as I get them. I can't be more excited for Nichole and Rich!!!

Finally (so happy to be able to say that vs. "Already?")!!

It seems the word has spread like wildfire on our other favorite social media outlet, Facebook, that I am scheduled to be induced tomorrow. It's not right that our BFF Followers (all 13 :) didn't hear it here first :). I know from others that being scheduled to be induced can change, giving priority to spontaneous laborers, so I've got my fingers crossed that tomorrow is the day. I also have a friend who was induced for 5 days straight until she had a c-section on the 5th day, so I'm trying to keep my excitement and anxiety in check. With that said, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we face the thing I'm most terrified of (labor/child birth) and hope that tomorrow is the golden day that we meet our little twin babies. We'll get a call between 5:30 - 8:30 a.m. tomorrow letting us know what time we're scheduled for, or letting us know it was postponed. It's fair to assume that no news is just that: no news. We'll update the blog with pictures and details as soon as we can. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Thanks for following our story so far.

- Nichole, with an h

Was that my outside voice?

I learned a very valuable lesson from a dear friend of mine several years ago. We were at a friend's wedding and she asked a "star athlete" from our high school when she was due (we had not seen her in years). The woman so gracefully pointed at the 1-2 year old child running around the room and said, "That's my baby". Apparently she was not pregnant. Oh my God. I mean, OH MY GOD. To my friend's defense, the woman seemed to have picked up several pounds and maybe not lost the pregnancy weight. My poor mortified friend turned and walked away as I laughed my ass off - at my friend's embarrassment, not at the woman. Truly, I was just glad I learned that lesson through her and not myself because I guarantee I was seconds away from asking that same question. Well, now I am so fearful of saying the wrong thing that I won't say anything at all, even if it is clearly obvious that someone is pregnant. Apparently, not everyone has that same fear.

I haven't been offended by anyone's comments (probably because I haven't been allowed into society for nearly 12 weeks - so I haven't given people as much of an opportunity). However, over the past week I have been amused at how fearless some people (usually strangers) are. Here are a couple comments I've heard.

- Rich and I were in the elevator at the doctor's office and a woman came in and said, "You look like you're going to deliver in about 7 1/2 minutes!" I laughed and said I hoped so. After she left I wanted to run after her and tell her it's twins. Apparently I felt like I needed to justify the girth of my belly. But still, no intro 'hi', no 'good afternoon', just a passive-aggressive way of saying, "You are huge!"

- Yesterday I was doing my part to try to get the stages of labor to progress and I went to the grocery store with Rich. It was so weird trying to ignore people's looks, like I am a freak of nature (let's be honest, I kind of am. It's AMAZING bellies have the ability to stretch like this and hold two lives inside it.....so wild). So we were just about done getting what we needed and I told Rich we should buy a pregnancy test, just to get a good laugh at the cashier's face. We opted out but got a good laugh just thinking about it. However, I guess the joke was on me. As we walked up to check out I heard some loud voice say something to the effect of, "....about to pop!" I looked up and the borderline teenager/adult cashier - from TWO lanes away - was yelling through her line and the next check out lane (all full of people by the way), "Wow, you look like you're ready to pop!!" Embarrassed, and not sure how to react, we just got in line at the nearest register (not hers) and I said again, "I hope so." The cashier and bagger in our lane just kept their head's down like they were embarrassed. Not sure if they were embarrassed for me or for her but either way it gave me something to talk about the entire way home. :)

I have to wonder sometimes if these people realize that they are speaking in their outside voices :).

- Nichole, with an h

Twin Update

The time has come for these boys to join our crazy world. I'm 37 weeks, 4 days and ready. The doctor said during our appointment yesterday that I was in early stage labor (dialated to a 2-3) and she thought I'd deliver today. I think she just said that because she was doing deliveries today and I have been very vocal about how I'd like her to be the one to deliver our babies. We've only got 2 more hours until she's off though so these boys better hurry (or wait until next Tuesday!). I did do my part - got up early (for me), "got ready" with no shortcuts, took Lola for a walk, went out to lunch, and drove around with Rich and did errands. I got home and had no signs of going into full blown labor but was very sore and tired. I've been trying to continue to be active but I am exhausted (amazing how easily that happens these days). Either way, we're scheduled to be induced on Saturday, so we'll get to hold them before you know it.

- Nichole, with an h

~ 36 Weeks

I look at this and think it's amazing I can hold myself up. It makes me feel better to say I'm a day away from 37 weeks, but does it really matter? Nicole (no h) just got back from the doctor and he said she's having a big baby. She just needs to stick with me and no one will believe her, even though, believe it or not, the circumference of our bellies are measuring exactly the same. I swear. We just didn't measure top to bottom.... anyway, enough of my trying to justify things, here we are with our beautiful bellies.

The Year of the Tiger and more Chinese

My colleague just spent a month in China and has shared with me some of the superstitions around having a baby. I cannot help but be thankful I have yet to strike an animal over the past nine months. This list also inspired me to read a little about the Chinese zodiac and learn about the year of the Tiger (also below). Interesting and also amusing stuff....

When having a baby:
*If you're pregnant, use of glue will cause a difficult birth. So will sniffing glue.

*If you strike an animal during pregnancy, the newborn child will look like that animal and behave like one. If you're ugly this might be an upgrade.

*You should never praise a newborn baby because it will invite evil spirits and ghosts. "Oh! What a ghastly wretch of a baby!"

*A concave navel means a prosperous life. Inny's are the best!

*A baby with more than one hair crown will be mischievous and disobedient. All party officials have two.

*A baby with wide and thick ears will live prosperously. Ear modeling was big in the Tang dynasty.

THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

02/14/2010 - 02/02/2011 (Metal)

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of a Golden Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The first day of the lunar New Year 2010 falls on the 14th day of February, which is Saint Valentine's Day, so it is a day the West celebrates as a lovers' day, a day of romance. To the Chinese, it is the start of the Golden Tiger Year. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts. On New Year's day itself, it is beneficial to celebrate, to be happy, to have smiling faces, and to refrain from scowling, quarreling, or criticizing anyone.

- Nichole, with an h

Foods of our labour

When you are pregnant, there is a cool website (www.babycenter.com) you can sign up on, that guides you through the 40 weeks of your pregnancy. It gives you fun facts about what body parts are growing, how to prepare for the new baby, vitamins, healthy foods, etc, etc. I use to say to Brian I grew a nervous system today, what did you do?

This site also gives you a comparison on the weight (W), size (S) or length (L) of you growing baby. Horizontal and I have had a good laugh on some of their comparisons. Here is their list.

Week 4 Poppy Seed (S)
Week 5 Sesame Seed (S)
Week 6 Lentil Bean (S)
Week 7 Blueberry (S)
Week 8 Kidney Bean (S)
Week 9 Grape (S)
Week 10 Kumquat (S)
Week 11 Fig (S)
Week 12 Lime (S)
Week 13 Medium Shrimp (S)
Week 14 Lemon (S)
Week 15 Apple (S)
Week 16 Avocado (S)
Week 17 Turnip (L)
Week 18 Bell Pepper (S)
Week 19 Heirloom Tomato (S)
Week 20 Banana (L)
Week 21 Carrot (L)
Week 22 Spaghetti Squash (W)
Week 23 Large Mango (W)
Week 24 Ear of Corn (L)
Week 25 Rutabaga (W)
Week 26 English Hothouse Cucumber (L) – Quite specific on the type of cucumber…
Week 27 Cauliflower (W)
Week 28 Chinese cabbage (W)
Week 29 Butternut squash (W)
Week 30 Head of cabbage (W) - This vegetable comes in handy after the baby is born too...
Week 31 Four navel oranges (W)
Week 32 Jicama (W) - What the ---- is this?
Week 33 Pineapple (W)
Week 34 Cantaloupe (W)
Week 35 Honeydew melon (W)
Week 36 Crenshaw melon (W) – Another one, What???
Week 37 Stalk of Swiss Chard (L)
Week 38 Leek (L)
Week 39 Mini Watermelon (S) – I’d say a full watermelon, but that is just how I feel

36 Weeks!! Yea!

That's right...36 weeks, I don't care what anyone says. I haven't vented about this much on the blog (thought I'd spare you) but healthcare providers really struggle with counting up to 40 weeks. There was some debate at the perinatologist's office as to how far along I was, which ended on the number I had been telling them all along. Today, back at the OB's office, the ultrasound tech said I was 36 weeks, 5 days. Trust me, I would notice those bonus 5 days. Then, today when my OB said I was 36 weeks, I corrected her by telling her, "No, I'm 35 weeks and 7 days." Yeah, that really sounds stupid when you say it out loud. She said, "Yeah, 36 weeks." So there you have it. I'm 36 weeks as much as anyone can tell. With that magical number comes a lot of good things:

• I've graduated from "strict" bed rest, and can move around and sit up (still can't work or do housework - no lie). This is the bed rest people envy. However, now I don't feel like moving....not even an inch; I'm so stinkin' sore and uncomfortable.
• The only major development still going on with twins is weight gain during these final weeks (lungs, liver, kidneys - all done).
• No more meds, which means I can go to bed at 10 pm (instead of 12 am after I had taken a dose) and I don't have to wake up at 6 am to take another dose.

The boys are getting more stubborn (sleepy, lazy) but they managed to get all their points for the biophysical and NST tests today, which means they are not under distress, their hearts are beating well, they are moving around and they are practicing their breathing. The doc checked my cervix and it's still closed, so no signs of labor yet. Only 2 more weeks until the doc decides it's time to force them out into this crazy world. Rich is chomping at the bit, but I am patiently waiting. I know it will get only get nuttier when they arrive.

- Semi-vertical Nichole, with an h