Overachievers

I may be the first person to say this, but I am sure my kids are gifted. I'm kidding, of course. I'm very happy that they are cooperating and keeping themselves comfy in my big ol' belly. We had a doctor's appointment today and they did a "10 point stress test" (not the official name) and the boys each got the full 10 points (see what I mean, overachievers :). It just means they are moving around, practicing their breathing and their hearts are beating well. They estimated Baby A to be 4 lbs, 12 oz and Baby B 4 lbs, 8 oz. I'm very excited about this except they also said they can be off by up to a pound. Um, okay.

On a separate note, it seems we are getting more and more prepared for their arrival and their room, although a work in progress, is just about done. I hope they like sharing small spaces, because it's not going to get much bigger outside the womb :). Here are some pictures.


















The purple and green walls and their closet (they are almost as bad as girls with so much clothes, thanks to our friends and families - I'm going to have fun with that!!).
















The orange, yellow and a little bit of the green wall.

~ 32 Weeks

Nicole and I were not together this past week so Rich was kind enough to do a belly comparison. Here we are at 32 weeks and 5 days. Yep, I win again :) I'm confident that vertical Nicole will post her 32 week picture as well. Right, Nicole?

So Many Numbers, So Little Time

I've never been a numbers person but numbers are spinning around in my head today. Here are just some of those numbers:

• 1: The number of days until I complete my 32nd week (YAHOOO!!!! It's a big milestone in fetal development)
• 6: The maximum number of weeks until the babies arrive
• 4-5: The minimum number of weeks until I hope they arrive - I want them to be ready to come home, bypassing the NICU as much as possible
• 37: The week that twins are considered full term
• 13 & 14: The dates in February that I hope the babies are not born but fear they will be (I am admittedly a little superstitious and I'm an August baby, so I don't like the idea of sharing their birthday with another "holiday").
  
• 2: The number of mattresses I need to order today for the cribs
• 4: The unbelievable number of inches my belly has grown since Nicole and I measured our bellies just 3 weeks ago (seriously FOUR!!)
• 24: The number of months I think it will take to lose the weight I gained during pregnancy
• 330: The approximate number of ounces of water I've been drinking every day (seriously- and I tested negative for gestational diabetes)
  
• 15: The average number of times I go to the bathroom every day
• 3-4: The number of times I get up each night to go to the bathroom (this is TMI, isn't it?)
  
• 2: The maximum number of contractions I pray for every time (twice daily) I send my monitoring sessions into the nurses (I'm allowed a max of 4-6)
• 7: The number of books I want to read before I'm done with bed rest (good luck with that)
• 1: The number of books I've already read
  
• 194: The page number I'm on in my 2nd book (Twilight)
• 3: The number of shows I've added to my list of favorite shows (Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The Bachelor)
• 3: The number of weeks (+1 day) until the Olympics start, which I hope to watch on bed rest
• 8: The number of days until they measure the babies to make sure they are growing properly. They'll estimate how much they weigh, too. I can't wait for that.
• 0: What I know about giving birth. The only thing I know is to say yes to the epidural.
  
• 1,000+: The number of times I get kicked every day. I LOVE it.
• Too many: The number of Oreos I've eaten since Nicole gave me a package last week. I really don't even like Oreos in my non-pregnant life (I hate that they get stuck in my teeth but on bed rest, anything goes!).
  
• Countless: My blessings. Not to be too cheesy but it's true. We are very lucky - for the babies, each other, our friends and families (those are big ones), the list goes on....
  

- Nichole, with an h

One More Thought

I just remembered one more thing. I was getting ready to sit down and add to the blog today, but I needed a little snack before I started. What does a 7 month pregnant lady have for a late afternoon snack? 2 pieces of co-jack cheese (not bad), 3 oreos and a pickle. SERIOUSLY?!?!? But I did learn that 1 serving of oreos is 3 cookies, so everyone out there that always assumed a serving would be just 2 cookies, you have been short changing yourself for years. Go by oreos and make up for lost time.

Long Time between blogs

Hi Everyone -
It is the vertical Nicole. It has been a long time since I blogged. I've had lots of funny things that have happened that I kept saying "oh I should blog about that", but of course I see something shiny and forget to do it.

1st update, we have a date for our next arrival. She is coming out March 18, we check into Fairview Southdale hospital at 6:30am for a 8:30 scheduled c-section. We are 99% sure we have her name down, Harper (still thinking about the middle name). It is weird to have her name picked out already. With both our boys we didn't have a name until we saw them in person. I found the name Harper in the book with 50,000 baby names and for some reason the name jumped off the page and really stuck. As you may notice I did put 99% leaving me a little wiggle room just in case, I doubt it will change.

2nd I've been meaning to blog about Maternity pants and my hatred of them. They either go totally over your belly and you feel like your grandpa (no offence grandpa). In the beginning it kind of feels good to have that band over your belly, but now it just feels restricting. Your other option is below the belly and let me tell you, in the beginning they just fall down all the time and you are constantly adjusting (weird). Now my shirts don't cover my belly so I often am showing off more of my mid-drift than I ever imagined. NOT PRETTY. I'm thinking about investing in a Mu mu.

I've been over to see horizontal Nichole and talk to her almost every day, she is in good spirits.

Good bye for now to all you bff followers. I promise it won't be this long again before I post.

Vertical Nicole

29 Weeks

My Horizontal Life

The Hacker, aka my wonderful husband Rich, is reminding me it's time for an update and I figure I should fill you in before he hacks into our blog again and does it for me :).

As the headline indicates (as well as "the Hacker's" entries), I've landed my large basketball shaped belly on strict bed rest for showing signs of preterm labor that I didn't even know I had. And, I'm happy to say, I've completed two full weeks already (let's not talk about the fact that I hope to stay here for the next 6-8 weeks).

There are different levels of bed rest (who knew?) and "strict bed rest" means I can shower every-other day (for 7 minutes! - this is the only rule I break), sit up to eat and get up to go to the bathroom (which is often). No preparing meals, no stairs, no sitting up to update blogs. It's kind of a challenge since I am not a book reader (love magazines) nor TV junkie (like movies though) and it's wiped out my social calendar and all sense of vanity (however, I scream every time I pass a mirror and realize this is my "au naturale" look :). However, I am not complaining. The longer the babies stay put, the greater chance they have at having healthy lives. I want that more than anything. I want it so badly.

Far too many people have told me that they wish they were on bed rest. I'm convinced these people have never actually been on bed rest because they don't realize the unbelievable worry for your baby/ies well being that goes along with it. I know what they mean though - mandatory R&R; who doesn't want that (minus the worry).

Anyway, enough of that. I have changed while on bed rest. I've read one book, watched countless movies and have become a TV junkie. I need the boys to stay put so I can watch The Biggest Loser (always been a fan) that starts a new season next week as well as a new show, Undercover Boss. I also have the Hollywood award shows and the Olympics lined up in my very busy day planner :). I've reconnected with The Young & The Restless and am a big fan of Dr. Oz. I've also got to read the Twilight series and complete the puzzle book thing my friend's gave me as part of a care package (such awesome friends!!). These same friends also gave me Season 1 of Gossip Girl, which I had never seen. My husband makes me wait for him to watch it and went out and bought Season 2 after we finished the first one. I'm not sure I'd watch it if not for bed rest but we truly are addicted. We've had some marathon days and I'm getting a little concerned. My dreams now are in the form of Gossip Girls. I don't know if you've seen it but in my dreams, I get texts informing me of other people's secrets and next thing you know, all of Chaska (upper east side of NYC) knows it. Of course I'm Blake Lively in my dreams.....and then I wake up and pass that all telling mirror :)

Anyway, you'll all have to go on bed rest just to have enough time to read my yet again, looonnnngggg entry.

Horizontally yours (wow, that sounds really good),

Nichole, with an h