get out your most comfortable walking shoes and join the hundreds of people that will be at Hike The Heights 6 this Saturday. there will be a hiking group gathering at RING Garden at 10am that will hike it out to Highbridge Park.
See below & website for details.
Inwood Hoops will be there and we need a few volunteers to help us carry hoops down, hoop it out with the locals, then get back home to Inwood. Consider it community service!
Hike The Heights is a family event. ALL AGES WELCOMED!
We are over the moon about the birth of our little chiclets on Friday, 4/10/09. Just got home from the hospital last night, and while we have so many stories to tell, our little boy and girl have way too much going on for mama to spend any more than 5 mins behind a computer screen each day…
after a very long night, i rolled off the sofa this morning (my new bed) grabbed the flip video and hit record. both parts about 8 minutes long, so be warned.
tweeting on twitter is sporadic but once i get the hang of this again, times two, we should be back on schedule as usual.
xoxox
z
stats:
32 weeks = 8 months pregnant
35lbs gained to date
fundal height: 22.5 inches
belly circum: 46 inches
baby A: 3lbs 8oz, 50th percentile
baby B: 3lbs 9oz, 70th percentile
it’s been a very busy week, and right now my head is spinning. what i havent written: i finally grew some balls and broke up with my Long Term OB/GYN last week. as you know, ive had a nagging feeling for months now that i just was not getting the proper prenatal care that i thought i should be getting, especially for a high risk pregnancy. over 35 and twins? and that’s it? hmm. something isnt right.
it didnt matter what my gut was telling me – i admit that i got stuck on stupid and made too many damn excuses:
im overreacting
i should trust my doctor
but he has a private office on central park west (um, yea, that was the best one)
because, you know, im elitist and want to believe that if you can afford your own private practice overlooking the park, you’ll be the best doctor ever.
Continue reading
mood: overwhelmed
daniel says he’s going to take the computer away from me. no more researching. no more lists. that we gotta bring it back to the days before technology – old skool style. that im trying to plan TOO MUCH. but, honestly, how can you NOT overplan when you are expecting two babies AT ONCE?? i think it would be insane to try to shop and plan after they arrive, when im going to be a freaking milk-makin machine. who’s gonna have the time, let alone the energy?
i had absolutely no idea he was such a traditionalist.
if you are thinking about, or in the process of IVF, make sure that you are prepared for the very good chance that you are going to have multiples. and if that’s okay, check out the list of things below that are supposed to be MUST HAVES as you prepare for the big double + arrival.
are you as ready as you think you are? because i thought i was ready for one. but 2? not so much.
we had been putting this off for as long as possible. but when we were getting ready to meet his friends for his birthday dinner out in CT, and i had absolutely *nothing* that fit me except a pair of black yoga pants and a stretchy thermal longsleeve that i fished out of his tshirt drawer while he was showering. i knew it was time to just accept the fact that i needed buy maternity gear asap.
hey! is that my….?
um yea. it was the only thing that i could find that you owned that wasnt too baggy.
::insert evil eye and the i-dare-you-to-make-me-take-it-off expression here::
well, thank goodness it’s an undershirt!
my husband doesnt mind taking one for the team, when he knows what’s good for him.
so, i had no idea where to begin searching for maternity clothes that weren’t going to cost a fortune and actually have my now very large size 14-16.
the first place that came to mind was to find something in harlem. there are slews of plus-sized mama’s with hella badunkadunk in the trunks, and damn if those woman dont care about getting their style on. hair and nail salons everywhere – worse than inwood! if there was any place in manhattan to go – it had to be 125th street.
i presented this to daniel the day before his “day off” from work. dude was hijacked and he knew it.
honey, you wanna go shopping with me?
What did you have in mind?
i really need maternity clothes.
Sure.
yay! btw, you rock.
So I hear.
(next day)
Where are we going?
harlem, i mumbled.
::blank stare::
125th and lexington.
Wait, we have to go CROSSTOWN NOW??
and off we were.
listen, im only going to be wearing this shit for the next three months, tops, and i looked on ebay for used items, second hand stuff, asked around, looked again. my feet and legs get so swollen if im up on them for any more than 3-4 hours at a time, and so i knew heading down to 34th street and trying to beat back the tourists was not an option. harlem is a mere 15 minutes away from our home uptown. not a lot of walking involved. it was a win-win.
after scanning the archives in the twinstuff forums, i finally found a thread that a woman had posted with the same dilemma – WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO WEAR???
see, multiple is not normal in any way shape or form. when i saw my aunt on thanksgiving, she couldnt believe how LUMPY my belly is. well there’s one here, and one there, I explained. sometimes one hangs out down here, sometimes the other is up there but lately they switch positions a lot. im a fucking freakshow.
anyway, with twins you can forget all the “regular” maternity clothes. the shirts will never be long enough to cover the bottom of your belly when you are close to the end, but i was determined to find something close to it. we went to the much recommended maternity store Motherhood on 125th & lex because this location carried the plus sizes i was looking for, and found the most amazing jeans ever – they were stretchy and comfy and the waist was felt like it was made of the cami material that i used to layer under my sweaters when i was a skinny-minny.
best part of it all: the old navy prices and 2fer deals.
it was fucking heaven.
know anybody who is preggers? gift them with a pair of Secret Fit Belly jeans.
they will worship you forever and you’ll save some of your hard earned cash.
it’s a no-brainer.
i cant not believe how fast this pregnancy is going. it’s just not fair! we are 19 weeks knocked up, and i feel like i should be documenting much more often.
here are some updates:
daniel is finally getting used to me taking over 3/4 of our queen sized bed – and most of it is pillows! there’s a whole ritual with the pillows now: two under my head, one under my boobs, one between my knees, and one behind my back. i cant sleep comfortably unless all the pillows are in place. our only problem is that my arms and legs keep falling asleep, so im constantly turning over and then need to readjust all the pillows before i can fall back to sleep. then my left side will get pins and needles and i have to start the process all over again. thank god he is a heavy sleeper or he would never get any rest!!! as for my rest? well, i just chalk it up to being blessed with being pregnant and not losing them to begin with. i know my time of sleeping like a normal person is officially over for the next 10 years. i did it once by myself, i can do it again.
ive finally accepted the fact that i need to eat every three hours. chicks with food issues would obviously have a hard time embracing this. it doesnt matter that my plus size frame is used to only eating two big meals a day – this whole eating every few hours was really very upsetting. but now i just make sure im drinking tons of water with lemon while im eating, i get full much faster, eat a third of what im used to eating every few hours, and nap when i can. after all these years im finally listening to my body – and it is very clearly telling me what i should have and what i shouldnt (hi toilet) which is also so bizarre for me as well.
meat? fine.
peanut butter toast? got it!
fish? umm no thanks
milk? do i have to? bah okay great – we have lactaid AND whole milk depending on the craving.
ryan has been beyond excellent and i like that he’s so much more attentive now that im visibly pregnant. i think it’s sunk it for all of us this week. he offers food and drink and asks if i need help. let me tell you – for a 14 year old boy to be this attentive – shit, i’ll take it! he helps around the house so much more than before without a lot of the teenager “i hate my life” angst that we’ve all gotten used to. i think now that i’ve popped out so much we are all feeling a bit different and special. it’s very hard to describe, but even when im crying (jeeze, daily) it still feels like there’s this magic in the air around us. i wish i could bottle it up, really.
the last thing i want to mention this week is how strange the dogs are acting – and we think they are also sensing the changes too. we’ve all noticed that they are snuggly and attention whoring so much more than usual. hunter, our standard goldendoodle, insists on laying his head on my belly. does he hear the babies moving? can he sense there’s something strange going on in mama’s expanding figure? charley, mr. barkity bark and our little boston terrier abuelito, follows me around every.where.all.the.time. i cant even tell you how many times ive stepped on him because i cant see the floor around my feet anymore – unless i lean over. i just try to listen for the clickclacks of his nails to see if he’s close so i dont break his leg or anything.
and best of all? i cant walk past daniel without him touching my belly and i love it. i bump into friends and neighbors in the street and im all GO AHEAD TOUCH IT!! GIVE THEM LOVE!! i can be a little hippy that way most days. we can tell everyone is so curious because their eyes go down to the stomach as soon as i say hello. i dont get freaked out at all when people go in for the rub – i believe there is tremendous power and positive energy in the physical touch, so if i see you dont be shy or embarrassed – just go for it!!
 Close up of the face and hands |
 The right foot, including the developing bones, are clearly visible in the middle of the screen |
bad news first -
1. this pain in my pelvic area is going to get much worse so i better get used to it. baby B has made that lower part of my abdomen its home. baby A is up near my rib cage. this positioning is also the reason why my belly button has been pushed to the right side of my stomach.
2. im getting contractions already. the doctor felt one during the examination.
3. according to doc, in three to four weeks im probably not going to be able to walk much at all.
good news last -
1. my cervix is still closed. i was really worried it was open and they would have to stitch it up to keep them in there. so far, things look normal.
2. we heard two very good, strong heart beats.
3. my belly is measuring at 24 weeks (singleton pregnancy size) even though im only 18 weeks so growth seems okay but there wasnt a sonogram machine at the clinic (note: last time im visiting the clinic).
4. daniel asked if we can continue on with our sexual relationship. doc said “at this time, most women just want to be hugged.” of course i said im totally using that excuse next time i dont wanna.
for now though, as per doc, he’ll need to take it easy on me or ixnay on the gettinglaidnay.
this movie changed my life, really. we watched it last night, and i dont think i cried so much ever watching a film – and while i know the tears were probably due to the hormones, it is the most fascinating thing ive seen in a long time.
if we were having a singleton, i would be looking for a midwife right now. i was mesmerized by the water birthing – how easily, quickly, and seemingly painlessly the babies came out in the water, and how quiet and relaxed the enviornment was – because you are giving birth in your own home, and what can be more relaxing than that?
i am afraid, though. because having two means that one can pop out fine, but the other can get stuck, or quickly go into stress, and complications could arise way too fast for us to react or handle.
i need to do more research on water birthing twins.
this film is a must watch for anyone pregnant, or ever considering having a child.
update: i found this – videos of twin homebirths
and now im thinking…
that’s what he said when he had to help me trim down there because i can no longer see my vagina.
i can’t even see my panties when they are on, my belly is so large, and… crooked.
yep, it’s crooked. my belly button has been living on my right side for a few days now.
how is it possible that im only 4 months?
they must have made a mistake! =)
i think these kids are coming around st patty’s day.
