Beautiful Babies Due in 2011 (Combined Group)

[BlissfulCS]

Mamboo- so glad things are going so well for you. You deserve a little break!

Stephanie- I know it must be tough to go back to work and leave your little ones. Congrats on getting through day one and keeping such a good outlook.

Ashley- she is so adorable. Don't you just want to pinch those cute little cheeks? It won't be too long now...

Blair- the maternity store people say the clothes should grow with you. But I am not sure that is true for those like me who pack on some pounds in the hips and thighs. My smalls are already getting snug. You have such a teenie frame though that I bet you'll remain in your XS until the very end when those babies may force you into a small.

Kjm- yahoo on starting your leave! Now you can fully enjoy your pregnancy and planning/prepping.

Lou- you look marvelous darling!

[mellow4]

Stephanie~ I think Brady and Jaxon could teach Marlo a thing or two about eating...from boob or bottle...either one would be fine. Willing to lend me two cute little boys to convince Marlo this eating stuff is good, even if she is tired? UGH! One of these days!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all well. Thinking of each of you, and hoping your staying cool this very hot summer! I'm still waiting to bring home baby, hopefully soon???

[blairwh58]

Mellow- Sounds like little Marlo is a stubborn little girl. I guess she still considers her sleep to be more important than her meals. She will come to realize that there definitely needs to be some sort of balance.

Bliss- Yea that’s what I had been thinking. All the maternity stores recommend getting your pre-pregnancy size so ideally I will stay in the clothes I have right now. But like you said…I'm sure towards the end I may be excited for a bigger size and extra space for the growing belly. How have you been doing lately?

Stephanie- Thanks for commenting on my maternity size question. I was especially interested in hearing from all the other twin moms. Its great to hear that the boys are doing so well and up to 12 lbs already. Ive always liked “hefty” babies (as your friend called it) just because they feel like they are less breakable.

KJM- Sooooo glad the apt went well and both babies are doing great!! I know you were nervous so its good to hear that the apt was reassuring. Its great that they are measuring so close to size with each other too. I will say that I agree with you that 38 wks is sufficient. You would probably be beyond miserable after that. I cant wait to see new pics of your belly! And your weight gain sounds perfect…so hopefully I can stay on track and get to where you are.

[lou71]

Bliss -- Thanks

Stephanie -- I asked the doc about my belly button soreness and she said since there's nothing behind it, it's a "natural hernia" and therefore is sore from the uterus pressing on it. I've actually got a bruise around it! How's work going now that you're back? What are you doing for childcare?

Ryann -- Lotrimin (clotrimazole) will work also for the rash. Yes... the one for athlete's foot!

Blair -- Let's see your belly pic! Glad the rash is better.

Ashley -- My baby is so big compared to yours.... measured at 5 lbs yesterday. I think I'll have an 8-9.5 pounder... ugh!

kjm -- I admit I don't do a lot of stretching. I do get massages every two weeks though. I have 2 herniated discs L4-L5 and L5-S1 and have gotten many epidural steroid injections in the past.

AFM -- OB appt went well yesterday. My BP was 144/84, much lower than last time! I do have to repeat the 24 hr urine protein next week though. I had an u/s for growth and amniotic fluid measurement. Chloé is measuring at 5 lbs and is in the 75th percentile. Last time they told me 90th percentile but it was a different person measuring. Other than that... all is well. For those of you who work full-time, are you continuing right up until delivery?

[to_have_fun08]

Lou - Wow that is a big baby. I am only 2 weeks behind you but wouldn't even think my baby would be close to 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Glad everything is going good.

Ryann - Hope you get the diaper rash figured out. I just learned lots of new stuff on how to keep it at bay when i am in that situation.

Ashley - Your baby girl is so cute.. I want a 3D u/s but now i just don't know if i have the funds to pay for it out of pocket. I could pay $150 for an ultrasound or pay $150 for a crib mattress.. Guess i would get more use out of the mattress.

AFM - Nothing really new going on.. I have an OB appointment this Friday and then an appointment with the Peri on Sept 2. Can't wait for Sept 2 cus i get another u/s and can see my little boy again.

[HopeIsAllIHave]

Blair - SO glad to hear your rash is finally healing! I can't imagine how annoying it must have been for you. I think Athena got her nose and lips from me! DH was a bit disappointed that he didn't see any of his features in her yet, but I'm sure there has to be some! Now he just stares at me and imagines a baby version of me, lol. It's cute.

Stephanie - so good to hear from you! Glad the boys are gaining weight nicely. I can't believe they're 2 months already. Time must be flying by for you! Good to hear they never had a difficulty with their feedings. That's always a relief!

Bliss - thank you! I sure do miss her even more now and want to see her asap.. of course not too soon either. Right when she's done baking, she needs to give my body a signal to go into labor.

Mellow - I lost the link to your blog. Could you repost it again when you get a chance? I'd love to read up on your baby's girl's progress.

KJM - looking forward to your latest belly pic!

Lou - Glad to hear your BP is improving. Hope it stays low for the rest of the pregnancy. I'm a bit afraid now that my baby is measuring on the small side. She's only in the 25th percentile, which my MFM said was "good", but it still worries me. I don't want her to be born too fragile and weak either. err, the worry never ends.

Chris - yay for ultrasounds and getting to see the LO. Unfortunately, the next time I see my baby girl will be when I deliver her in 7-8 weeks(?), unless of course if I run into complications, but let's just hope not. Surprisingly, I did not have to pay for my 3D u/s. The clinic billed my insurance company saying I had a bleed and because of the risk of 2 genetic disorders between DH and I (which we indeed are carriers of). But shh, you didn't hear that from me!

AFM - nothing new. Still on the hunt for a doula. Even though I'll have a midwife, I want to make sure all my options are covered to have a natural birth. Also signing up for Bradley Method classes starting next Saturday. It's an 8 week course, which I'll most likely not get to finish, but at least I'll still get core of the information. One expense after another, oh joy. Btw, babies r us is having a 2 day sale on safety 1st car seats, strollers, and travel systems for those interested!

[blairwh58]

Ashley- How cute that DH just stares and pictures a baby version of you. I keep asking DH what he thinks our girls will look like..its just so crazy to think about. I keep wondering whether they will look similar or totally different since they are fraternal. Thanks for mentioning the sale at Babies R Us…even though they are having the trade in sale right now of course the car seats we picked are only available online- which you cant use coupons for. Good luck finding the doula.

Fun- I think you are right and the mattress will be much more useful than seeing little man on 3D. Hopefully you can figure out a way to do both but if not you don’t have too much longer until you get to meet him face to face. Glad things are going well and you get to have an US on Sept 2- just next wk!

Lou- Glad your BP was lower this time. Even though it stinks that you have to do another protein urine test hopefully this is the last one. Sounds like Chloe is doing great already measuring 5 lbs! As for the full time work…Illl probably be cutting back to work from home some days each week closer to the end. I'm going to try and keep full time as long as I can though. What are you thinking? I promise Ill post a pic at 24 wks…im just not a fan of odd week numbers lol.

Margi- How are you hanging in there? Still working?

Ryann- Is dylans little bottom getting any better? Hopefully something you have tried is starting to work for him. Will you be going back to work after a certain point or are you staying at home?

[rypell1985]

Blair-no it's worse we are gong to the doc at 11:30

[blairwh58]

ryann- Poor guy. Hopefully they will be able to really decide what the issue is and how to go about getting his little butt back to normal. Keep us posted and good luck. Wanted to also ask which Safety 1st seat you got? We had wanted to go with the "Silverleaf" model but they dont carry them in store which means we would have to order online. Im thinking about switching over to "McKenna" style just because they carry those in a store and we could use the in store coupons and trade in deals that babies R us currently has. Just let me know.

Stephanie- I know you had also mentioned the Safety 1st seats- which model did you go with?

[Sunshine1576]

Ladies I'm over here dying for more baby pictures, will you post some just for me?
With much love- Sunshine1576

[kjm1824]

Stephanie - I am sure in a few more weeks my body will be telling me I'm done too, but for know doing well. I have just set my mind on the end of Sept to have the babies. We have nothing specific set up yet. I guess we are on a wait and see. Both babies are head down so likely vaginal but still leaving all options open. Hope work is going well. I can't believe how big your boys are - they sound like they are doing great.

Lou - Ouch - two discs and pregnancy would not be fun. One stretch that I love that would be safe for you is "angry cat" - it is a yoga pose as well. You are on your hands and knees and arch your back up as you drop your head, then reverse - sag your back and raise your head up - just comfortable ranges. Also then lean your hips back and to one side to get a glut stretch and repeat on other side. I find the all fours position very comfortable even this late in pregnancy - esp if babies are hitting things that are uncomfortable for me - it kind of shifts them. Glad your BP was better. Chloe sounds very healthy.

Chris/tohavefun - Good luck on your appt Fri and US next week!!

Ashley - Good luck with your search for a doula - from what I have read they can be very helpful.

Ryann - I hope the doctor has some better advice this time and little Dylan gets better soon.

Blair - As long as you are feeling good I think you can work longer than I did. I just had to do a lot of pushing, pulling and some lifting. It also was very hard for me to limit the assist I gave patients which often put me or them at risk. I had one patient fall because they tried to bend down to pick something up because she didn't want me to (even though I could have). I just decided that for everyone's safety it was best that I got out, plus my doctor was really pushing for it. If you have a flexible job that you can sit/stand as needed and don't have to do anything strenuous, I think you will be fine. Sitting upright is also hard for me to do very long - lovely pressure on bladder.

Margi - It has been a while. Are you OK?

[rypell1985]

Soooo.....it's not a diaper rash. He just has open sores on his tush. That's it. Nothing I can do. Diaper rash cream won't help, and I shouldn't use Neosporin because some babies get a rash from that. Opening his to air can help speed the process, but doc says its going to take a LONG time for him to grow all those layers of skin back. He said it's like taking a knife and scraping layers of skin off our own butts. Wonderful. I cried.

Blair...We were in the same situation. We wanted the SilverLeaf but my sister was buying us one and she wanted to use the 20% coupon she had so she bought the McKenna. She said we could return it for the credit if we didn't like it and order the other online. Turns out I liked the McKenna better! I'm going to trade in the used snap n go I just bought and get a brand new one. I like it so much I may as well have a brand new one that will last!

[rypell1985]

Blair-Here are our carseats. Sometimes it's nice to see a pic other than the website.

[rypell1985]

Wow. I'm sorry for the HUGE pics! I forgot to change the sizing

[HopeIsAllIHave]

Ryann & Blair - funny, I wanted the silverleaf, too, but I didn't see that on sale for the 20% off coupon, so I ended up ordering the McKenna myself last night. We had a $50 gift card from our baby shower, too, so we ended up paying $88 or so for the car seat. Not too bad. I really wanted the Safety 1st Air Protect On Board 35 SE Infant Car Seat that I saw on Amazon, but couldn't justify paying $215 for it. So I'm really glad to hear, Ryann, that you like the McKenna better than the silverleaf. I should have it delivered in the next week or so. I know you both are having twins, but which stroller did you go with? Would you recommend the Aerolite Deluxe? I would hate for the stroller to be a different brand than the car seat, but I'm not completely sold on the stroller yet.

Ryann - your babies are just too adorable!! Bless their little hearts. Sorry to hear about Dylan's sores That's got to be so rough. Do you know how they develop in babies? Are there any preventative measures to take to avoid it in the future? So sorry again :\