27 weeks, 3 days

Special shout out to my dear cousin (once removed, but no less special) Kelly, who was born at 27 weeks gestation and is now a healthy, strong, smart science fair winner and completely level-headed teenager.

This week I was blessed with visits from wonderful friends, Jess and her fabulously funny daughter Sophie on Thursday, and my former swim coach Karen on Friday. And both brought delicious food--wings of life salad from Wegmans and cut up fruit and soup and lasagna and sweets (for Jeff). Sophie also says that I am going to need to get a bigger belly so the babies aren't so squished. You are right, Sophie! Where do I get a replacement? Thank you so so much, for the food and the company!

Today Jeff and I had a very productive excursion to the Multiple Moms Mingle sale at the NYS Fairgrounds. In addition to the fun of driving around the fairgrounds, a unique experience, we scored some fantastic deals on baby stuff. We got a double stroller that fits infant carseats, two highchairs, a twin nursing pillow, a pack and play, and TONS of clothes and receiving blankets and hats and sleepsacks and swaddlers. Everything was super cheap and I got the feeling that the sellers just couldn't wait to get this stuff out of their houses. Which I can understand, because there sure are a lot of baby supplies that appear to be necessary or at least highly desirable and which take up a lot of room. Along with the carload of stuff we have borrowed from dear friends and experienced parents Kate and Aaron (a baby bjorn, deluxe breast pump,bath seat, a baby Vegas (baby activity center), play mat with mobile, diaper bag, LOTS of clothes, diaper pail and wet bags, and other stuff), our basement is about 1/3 full of baby stuff. It's not ideal that we're moving next month and everything will have to be transferred to the new house then, but so far we have spent about $200 on baby gear and have a pretty good stock already!

The other half of Team Lovebo is at Lowe's at the moment purchasing a washer and dryer for the new house. It's exciting and overwhelming to pick that kind of big appliance, and it's hard to know what to buy. I'm sure he will be wowed by all the fancy features (digital display! steam dryer setting!) and then neither of us will be able to operate the machines when we get them home.

In fetus news, the babies apparently like to stack or snuggle primarily on the right side of my body. Yesterday my right side was super hard for most of the evening, with top and left side totally soft, as they cuddled together way over on my right side. Because I was so uncomfortable, Jeff finally suggested seeing if I could move them, which hadn't occurred to me. I gently (well, not so gently at first) massaged my belly from right to left, talking to them the whole time, and after a few seconds A moved back over to his side. He moved back over to B a few minutes later, but I was able to coax him back to his side again. Amazing!

More good news!

We were approved for our mortgage on the new house, and are moving forward to close April 15ish. Hooray!

Introducing Jeff, my amazing husband with secret skills

You all may remember my former spouse, Mr. Leibo, who feigned disinterest and inability in the kitchen and always managed to come back from Wegmans with strange items he bought in an attempt to follow the list. I have been reading twin books that say, again and again, twins don't happen to women with lame husbands--somehow they are only bestowed on women with fantastic husbands who cook, shop, and clean like fiends. As loving and funny and smart and nurturing as Jeff is, preparing nourishing food and grocery shopping has never been his forte. And so I will admit that I had been wondering why we had been blessed with a twin pregnancy.

Turns out all this nonsense about not being able to cook or grocery shop was just a feeble attempt to avoid housework, because Jeff has now proven that he is perfectly capable of making not only a meal, but a showpiece meal:

Saturday night Jeff made this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/short-ribs-with-tagliatelle-recipe/index.html

Sunday Jeff cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, and stocked the mini-fridge in our bedroom (for my mornings in bed).

Sunday night Jeff made a quiche with ham, spinach, feta, and gruyere, which I have been eating this week for lunch.

And now, the jig is up! Hooray!

Shout out to the kitties

I just want to say, though their internet privileges have been suspended and they will not be able to read this themselves, that the kitties have been doing an excellent job commiserating with me. They have been doing bedrest right along with me like champs. I'm amazed at how well they have adapted to it--they get up and eat breakfast with Jeff before I wake up, then come right back upstairs and snuggle in to bed with me while I read or watch a movie or email. They stay in bed until I get up and shower and go downstairs to eat lunch, when they again snuggle in with me on the couch until Jeff gets home and they bother him to feed them. I know normally cats are so energetic and playful, so I really appreciate their adapting their natural state of being to accommodate me.

Radon and home inspection update

The new house has a radon reading of 3.7 pc/L. So not above the EPA level but probably above our comfort level. Therefore the sale will continue and we will probably install our own mitigation system to bring it to 2.0 or below, hopefully before the babies are born. Or maybe install some long-term detectors to see whether the problems are real. And though there are small problems, the home inspection was generally positive and presents no imminent need for repairs. We have some ideas for immediate renovations but nothing major. So hooray! This house will not kill us, at least via radon.

26 weeks, 1 day

Every day counts, and I have made it ten days since being admitted to the hospital in New York. The babies are now 2 pounds, 1 ounce (A) and 2 pounds, 4 ounces (B). I have learned quite a bit in these last two weeks about how to take care of these babies, including:

• They kick and move increasingly furiously when they are hungry. This was important to learn because their frenetic movement can cause contractions, which can lead to preterm labor, but if I can stop it by eating (a problem solved by eating? finally!), I can stop the contractions. I learned this from a very thoughtful, smart nurse with whom I spoke on Sunday night when I hadn't eaten in a long time and the babies were bending my belly like Beckham. She suggested I eat something because then the babies would likely go into food coma and settle down. Five minutes after eating, the contractions stopped and babies were quiet for hours. Who knew?
  
• The contractions are directly related to how much water I am consuming. My doctor has suggested I drink 3-4 liters of water a day. Yikes!
• Twin pregnancies are more likely to lead to gestational diabetes and preeclampsia than singleton pregnancies. Tuesday I failed my 1 hour glucose test and have the 3 hour test scheduled in a few weeks. In the meantime I am following a diabetic diet just in case--and because it's better for me anyway. Therefore: no white foods of any kind--pastas, flour, bread, etc.; more fruits and veggies; no soda (not that I have room in my bladder for soda on top of all the water anyway); no cookies, cakes, candies, etc.; and more protein and dairy. I have been trying to do better with the protein and dairy anyway, but hadn't been worrying about the white foods. Now I'm trying to eat every 3 hours or so throughout the day, eat a dairy snack like yogurt, warm milk, or ice cream before I go to bed, and eat protein and carbs with every meal or mini-meal.
  

Between the eating and the drinking, particularly now that I am especially watching what I eat, I am busy pretty much all day. Jeff has been amazing--he is doing all the housework he used to do, plus all the housework I usually do, plus cleaning up after me (and all that eating means more cleaning up). He's learning how to cook more things, which is fantastic, and (see above) he is still smiling! I suggested outsourcing some of the housework, including cooking, and he wants to continue to do it all. We've also had fantastic help--Nick bringing dinner last night, Tricia and Michael bringing dinner (plus two more dinners!) on Saturday, Jeff's parents bringing lots of food Sunday. I told Jeff that if I could outsource any part of this pregnancy, I would do it in a heartbeat! Unfortunately that's not an option right now--but I can see the allure of the gestational surrogate!

It looks like everything is working out so far to move into our new house next month, which is a relief and a joy. Radon results should be back today or tomorrow.

Jeff installed Netflix on my computer so I can instantly watch many tv shows and movies. If you have any suggestions for somewhat older movies (not in the last 6 months), tv series', or documentaries, particularly on the lighter side, I would appreciate it! I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop yesterday, about street art (graffiti), and it was really fun.

Week 25

Well, I knew this day might come, but didn't realize it would come so soon. Sunday night I was in NYC with my friend Tara to attend a domestic violence conference at Fordham Law. I woke up at about 3:30 am not feeling right, and started counting my contractions. I have had contractions for the last two months, but I had 7 in an hour early Monday morning. When I called my doctor's emergency line, the nurse told me to go directly to the nearest ER. Luckily Tara was there to take me and St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital was only two blocks away. Jeff arrived around 1pm via Delta. There was some worry Monday that I might deliver the babies that day, which was terrifying, but with the help of some medication, reassurance from my dear friend/OB-GYN Claire via text message, and my continued insistence that these babies would not be born in NYC, the contractions slowed from every 2 minutes to a couple an hour, my regular rate, by Tuesday morning. I learned a lot, about the importance of staying positive and not getting caught up in the panic of a hospital, as well as that the next time I have to go to the hospital and don't know when I might get back, I will take a shower first! My cousin Deb came in from NJ to visit on Tuesday, and Tara made sure everything was covered with work and the hotel and everything else. I was discharged Tuesday afternoon and Jeff shuttled us safely home, where I am now on bedrest, or at least homerest, for the duration. I can't believe how quickly everything has changed and I am trying my best to just embrace it, knowing that this is the best thing possible for the babies. Now Jeff is on duty for all household tasks, including those he usually lets me take care of, like grocery shopping and cooking. He can use all the help he can get!