Heidi Herrera Studio

It Looks and Smells Like Christmas Eve!

 
There's some last minute prep taking place over here tonight. First, the hubs took the girlies out "shopping" while "Santa" finished all the wrapping! Yay, finally done! Phew!

 
Except for the gifts the girlies bought for Baby A and Baby B while out on their shopping expedition! The presents, of course, had to be wrapped by the girls while sitting on top of the table. These are some of my favorite moments. Simple, fun and with the girls completely involved.

It's quite the foggy night outside and I suppose if we can't have a white Christmas then I will happily settle for some fog. Lily and I walked to the corner to capture some foggy-ish photos with our two grey kitties in tow.

 

And as we came back into the house, we were greeted by the scent of cookies baking in the oven. Cookies for none other than Santa of course!

Which we are leaving out for his arrival sometime this evening! I hope he enjoys them. They're Norwegian Christmas Butter Squares, I found the recipe on this lovely blog "here." This was the perfect recipe for me, super fast and it bakes all at once. This pregnant mama is thankful right now for recipes like this! I did promise the girls that we make and decorate sugar cookies soon though.

 

I can hardly believe it's almost Christmas tomorrow. We will have some family over to open presents and eat a bit and maybe, just maybe, the babies will decide it's a great day to make their appearance. After all, everyone will be here already and Christmas babies would be pretty cool!

Pregnant Ramblings at 36 Weeks 3 Days With Twins

Let me just start off by saying I'm tired (oh and I know this is a rather rambling post and I appologize for the lack of pictures!). I've been beat down by this evil cold that just had to show up as I'm trying to get these babies going. But, it hasn't exactly slowed me down!

Once I hit week 35 and realized the munchkins residing in my belly weren't going anywhere anytime soon, I laced up my new Sketcher Shape-Ups and began trying to walk them out. Let me just say, #1. Shape-ups are awesome, (even though I had to buy a size larger than I really am and can now officially be considered big foot!) they allow me to walk and walk and NOT pull one little pelvic muscle, which is more than I can say for any other shoe I have right now! # 2. Ikea is the best place to go walking, unless you are worried about spending money of course. But three hours of walking at Ikea feels like 20 miutes walking around the block. #3. I think it's been helping me make progress on the labor front. Yay! My check-ups show that I am getting closer. This is important to me because I really don't want to be induced, but if it comes down to induction, at least I have a bit of a headstart!

So, week 38 is the official cut-off for growing these girlies according to my OB. That's a week and a half away and that makes me a tad bit nervous. If I go that far it will be the first time I haven't been allowed to just go into labor on my own. I read a lot, sometimes I think I read too much, I just keep thinking of what I've read about induction leading to other interventions which leads to other interventions and might possibly lead to c-section. I really don't want to go that road. I know it's not the worst outcome, but I have to believe that both my girlies being in the correct position for me to deliver naturally is what is meant to be. I can't imagine that caring for two new littles at once is going to be an easy adjustment and "not having a c-section" in my mind makes for much easier adjusting for mommy. So, fingers crossed.

I also feel that allowing these girls to go any farther than 38 weeks might be a little more than my nerves can take. Like I said, I'm tired. And my cold isn't helping but it's just a small part of my tiredness right now. My pelvis can hardly take anymore weight I swear! I've had pain and lots of it. I have pulled and healed perhaps each and every muscle around my pelvis which has led to a fairly constant, lingering pain at this point. Getting in and out of the car is amazingly challenging. My wonderful, fabulous husband has now become my champion shoe and sock putter-on-er. I wake up to the most stiff, swollen, painful hands each and every morning and the pain doesn't get any better throughout the day. Turning from one side to the other at night is just torture since the weight of these babes literally makes for 7-point turns. Plus, I feel like they're squishing my heart up into my throat and lets just forget about breathing normal. ...And...I snore...I really...really...hate...snoring!

In addition to the discomforts, I have these irrational thoughts of the babies running out of room and squishing each other as they get bigger. I know I can't be the only mommy that's ever thought of this! I swear it's so much worse that having a singleton pregnancy! Already I worry about them duking it out in there!

And yet, this is the healthiest pregnancy I've had so far. In my past pregnancies my blood pressure has consistenly crept up, always causing my OB some concern. Not this time though. I attribute that to having a different practitioner for this pregnancy. She's so nice, she doesn't scare or intimidate me in the least. My last OB was nice enough but too sarcastic and she seemed to think many of my questions or concerns were lame! Or at least that's how she made me feel. The OB I have now is the best! She listens, she asks me several times throughout each appointment if I have any more questions or concerns and she's NEVER in a hurry. That's why when I walk into the doc's office I don't care if I wait longer than usual...because I know she does the same for all her patients. Word to the wise, if you are having a baby, make sure you have a great OB!!!! I'm a dork and should have recognized this sooner, but now that this is my last pregnancy (and I really do swear it is!!!) at least I finally figured that part out. Being pregnant is nerve racking enough!

Christmas is so close I can feel it and honestly I just can't wait to meet my little girls and smell their little baby heads. So, this is my Christmas wish!!! Please, please, please Santa, this is really all I want for Christmas!!! Even if it puts me in labor on Christmas day and if not by Christmas then please before the New Year!! Thanks in advance Santa and Merry Christmas! :)

Simply Thankful

This year I have so very much to be thankful for.

I am so, so, so, very thankful to still be carrying my baby girls. I cannot be more thankful, despite the discomforts, the weight gain, the couch sitting and hanging up my beloved home chef's hat...I would do it all over again and more just to get this far.

 
I am so, so, so very thankful for my husband. He is my superhero. He has not only picked 
up the chef's hat that I've had to put down, but he has worked constantly to keep the house picked up. He has researched items we need for the twins, he has done the shopping, the fetching, and most importantly the loving that our family needs so much right now. He is our beloved glue, holding us all together.

Our family! I couldn't be more thankful for my family right now. The giving, help and love they have for us is just as a family should be and more than I could have ever hoped for as our family grows even more. And (of course) they're feeding us our Thanksgiving feast and I don't have to lift a finger! Yumm!

And finally, simply, I am thankful for my knitting needles and the time I am being given to use them. I know, it's seems a little strange...but it has been my creative outlet for the last month or so. If it weren't for the needles I would be stir crazy by now. My girls aren't used to mommy being so limited. Mommy isn't used to mommy being so limited. My girls know that I am cranking out fun stuff for them and their little sisters and that makes it a bit easier to handle all the changes that are happening.

There is anticipation in so many aspects of our life right now. I am simply thankful. I hope everyone has many reasons for thanks today. I hope everyone has some wonderful family to spend the day with as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm still here

Really, I am. I'm still blogging in my head at the very least. I think of many things to write, but it never makes it here. Why? I dunno. I'm uncomfortably preggers at this point. A little over 6 months now. The babies are doing very well. Growing and kicking each other, vying for space. As of the last ultrasound they were both head up...mommy can only hope that at least Baby A turns head down before they decide to make their appearance. But, really, that's a post for another day.

As it stands, I've got dr. appts. every other week and ultrasounds every single month (which would make any normal person tired). But I'm not complaining, because it's so amazingly different from my other two pregnancies. It's really a blessing to see my two girlies on ultrasound so often, very reassuring.

 
 

This is from the 20 week ultrasound, when we found out we were having two more girls. Their ultrasound pictures are so different! I love it. We have no clue if they are identical or not, we'll just have to find out when they arrive. So, at least there's still a bit of suspense for us.

I have to admit to being a bit shocked finding out they were both girls, despite the ribbing and assurances from friends that all we make are girls...ehem...thanks guys. Seriously, I will admit that it took me a full day to process the news. The day after the ultrasound we took our older girls to the park and there was a family with three very rambunctious little boys already playing. The youngest of the boys actually made my little Emma cry...that was before she turned around and gave him the "what's what" of course. In that moment though, I  was over it...I was perfectly content with having all girls. Plus, how many families do you know with four girls? I know none, so I'm thinking this is going to be amazing. I just won't think toooooooo far ahead into the future.

For now I get to think of all the cute and amazing outfits I get to dress them in. I'm dreaming of all the photographs that I'll be taking, the crafts and cooking that I'll be teaching them, the bonds that all four of them will form, the bonds they will form with me. I could cry... *sniff*. I can hardly wait to see what they look like, what their personalities will be. My oldest two are so very different, I can only imagine what this dynamic little duo will have in store for us.

Current this is my view...

 
Not even the tip of a toe to be seen. They are growing like crazy and I am growing right along with them. I'm almost afraid to see just how big I get...eeek!

As I write about my experience, growing with my little ones, I cannot help but think of another mommy that I recently became friends with on Facebook. I've been thinking of her and her two little girls constantly for the last week. She delivered her twin baby girls very early at 23 weeks. Her girls, Violet and Maera, are considered micro preemies, they are two strong little ones facing some challenges and have a long road ahead of them. I've been thinking of them, sending love and strength their way so often...if you could as well, please send loving thoughts and prayers their way. They can use all the healing energy they can get.