Winter Sunshine

We are having a very mild winter this year with many, many days of warm sunshine. It's not so great for getting chores done, but great for having fun outside. Here are the three girlies outside last weekend soaking up some rays. 

Zara

Lexi

Ariana

24 weeks

The way it goes being pregnant with a third child is that I only have time to take pictures when I'm at my OB's office. They are always running very late and while its par for the course, it seems to be the only place that I have excess time on my hands. 

I'm 24 weeks and feeling a little bit big and uncomfortable, but for the most part doing great! I'm measuring a little big (26 weeks) thanks to having twins before, but hoping baby girl just hit a growth spurt and it levels out. 

Happy Easter!

These two little flowers are growing like weeds, but we think they are pretty cute!

Zara (left) and Alexandra (right), 10 months

4 Months Old

http://player.vimeo.com/video/15939377

A&Z from Natalie Shirzad on Vimeo.

Two Weeks

Zara and Alexandra are two weeks old tomorrow and it has been an awesome two weeks with them. We are continuously reminded how lucky we were to take our 35 weekers home with us from the hospital without any NICU time or health issues. Our pediatrician told us it is pretty rare to take a baby under 5 lbs home with you (Zara was 4 lbs, 13 oz when we left the hospital).

Earlier this week at another pediatrician appointment they both were back up to their birth weights and had each grown an inch in those 10 days since they were born! So far they are long and lean at 2% for weight and 45% and 55% for height.

Other notes from the past two weeks:
- M told me he has "post-partum elation" :)
- We finally figured out how to tell the girls apart around Day 8 and confidently snipped those hospital bracelets off them on Day 10 (they were getting snug as the girls grew)
- The girls love baths and "tummy time"
- M has been reading to them a lot and playing music for them - they seem to like it
- We had a photographer come to our house to take newborn photos. The girls were naked in most of the photos and they both pooped on M numerous times (twice it was running down his legs). I managed to escape with only one small incident.

A big thanks to all of our family and friends who visited us in the hospital and at home, sent flowers and balloons and dropped off yummy dinners!

35 Weeks and Counting

The belly is measuring at 48 weeks! If you have seen me lately, you probably noticed that I am down to about 3 shirts that fit :)

34 Week Update

Well we are getting towards the end now.. yipee! We are excited to meet our girls and I am super excited to be done with being a prego marshmallow. Today was my last day of work and I am on orders from the doc to take it really easy and spend my time resting with my feet up. My blood pressure has been getting higher and I am swelling like crazy! Look at those sausage fingers!  No official complications but she said my body is saying to rest! Ok, I'll try :)

In other baby news we also had an ultrasound today. It might be the last one depending on whether we make it to 37 weeks. Baby A is 4 lbs and Baby B is still breech and is 4 lbs, 3 oz. It is pretty doubtful that B will turn so all signs point towards a c-section. If they don't decide to pick their own birthday between now and then, they will be evicted at 38 weeks. The short-term goal is 36 weeks for full lung development and to put some more meat on these little girls ( I have plenty of meat on me, thankyouverymuch). I have not had any signs of labor so making it past 36 weeks is realistic.

So I will be chillaxing at home for the next 2-4 weeks if you want to call and keep me company.

31 Week Update

We had ANOTHER ultrasound a few days ago ... I sound like a broken record. There is a lot to monitor with ultrasounds for identical twins (discordant growth, placenta blood flow, amniotic fluid levels, etc). Our perinatologist increased the ultrasound frequency to every three weeks. It was four weeks until recently. We also now see our OB every week.

The great news is that everything is going well and there have not been any complications! Baby A is 3 pounds, 4 ounces and Baby B is 3 pounds, 6 ounces and both continue to look healthy. Baby B is still breech and is actually sitting right on her sister's head. Apparently this is nothing to worry about, but it will be interesting to see if Baby B ends up having a dominant personality.

Both the OB and the Peri were very impressed with the health of the girls and that I am still working full-time and doing well. Yay! My doctor said she is predicting we make it to 38 weeks (the "best-case scenario" time frame) with the babies reaching 6 pounds each. Great for the girls, yikes for me!

I am starting to experience some swelling, but I guess that is to be expected and its nothing too bad yet. Sara and Lydia threw me a great baby shower Saturday so I will post pictures as soon as I collect them from all the photographers that were there.

Take Your Watermelon To Work Day

29 Week Update

Look at that belly! I guess I can sort of understand the "you look like your going to pop" and "that is one big baby" comments I seem to hear every five minutes now that I see this picture. ha!

We had another ultrasound and appointment last week and the girls and I are still doing well. They each weighed in around 2 pounds, 5 ounces and are developing well. And no restrictions for me! Yay!

We took a two-day newborn twin class last weekend. It was really informative, hands-on and we loaded up on practical advice and tips. They even had a mom bring in her two newborn twins for part of the class so we could watch her diaper and feed them. All of us twin parents-to-be asked her LOTS of questions.  The whole process seems daunting and we learned that you definitely need a system and a schedule. I think that really made it hit home for us that this is happening and these girlies will be here very soon!

Other than that we hit up the local multiples group consignment sale and picked up two vibrating bouncy seats, a twin nursing pillow and a double stroller.

25 Week Update

Here is what we have been up to this week:

[caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption=""Take my picture already so I can get back to building stuff""][/caption]



How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain: +20

Maternity clothes? Yes, all the time and some of them are actually getting too short/small.. eep.

Sleep: sleeping great!

Best moment this week: Massage and facial last weekend at the spa - it was heaven!

Movement: Feeling tons of movement all day long and it already feels like each baby has their own personality because their movements are definitely different. I would like it if Baby B could manage to shimmy her hinney down out of my ribs :)

Food cravings: Lemonade!

Food aversions: None - I like food!

Gender: Girls

Labor Signs: No

What I miss: I miss having control over my body, but I am working on surrendering for these next few months. Then after that, cannot wait to bend over, go running and wear normal clothes!

Weekly Wisdom: Appreciating my husband and life in general and enjoying being pregnant for the most part.

Milestones: Reached the point of early viability this week, but they still need to be inside babies for a few more months.

23 week growth scan

We had our first growth scan ultrasound today. With twins we  have growth scans every month until they are born to monitor each baby's growth. They measure each one's stomach, head and femur on the ultrasound to come up with a weight. Today Baby A is 1 lb. 2 oz. (37th percentile) and Baby B is 1 lb. 3 oz. (45th percentile).  From here on out they should be growing quite fast.

Both babies are in position with their heads down, but there is still lots of time for them to move around and out of position. Knowing these two wiggly worms, they will probably move in and out of position over the next couple months. It was fun to see all four feet tangled up at the top - no surprise to us because we both felt them kicking all weekend long.

I'm thankful that both babies are doing great and we are all having a healthy pregnancy so far.  Thank you all for supporting us through this crazy adventure!

22 Week Update

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: +17... holy weight gain Batman! I swear those Girl Scout cookies had nothing to do with it. Or the bag of Kettle chips. whatever.

Maternity clothes? Yes and thanks to many borrowed clothes from friends and family, I have only had to buy a few things.

Sleep: I am still sleeping well most nights, but considering adding some pillows to the mix because my knees and hips are starting to ache from the side sleeping. I'm not sure if this is a result of my knee and IT band issue pre-pregnancy or not.

Best moment this week: Last weekend at the beach, enjoying the gorgeous sunny day was pretty awesome.

Movement: It seems like the girls are active one day and then barely move the next so I was kind of worried that something was wrong. Today is definitely an active day and I can tell they are still breech because all I feel is really low kicks.

Food cravings: I am still drinking lots of lemonade and eating lots of everything else. I am hungry all.the.time.

Food aversions: nothing really. I still have the same likes/dislikes as I did pre-pregnancy.

Gender: Girls

Labor Signs: none and lets keep it that way for a while

What I miss: bending over without having to pull my pants up :)

Weekly Wisdom: no wisdom from me, just enjoying things where they are right now and trying to take advantage of the energy I have.

Milestones: We got the twin baby books we ordered. It is called Twice Upon a Time and starts off as a childrens story and then transitions into a baby memory book. Each twin gets their own, but it will have some of the same info. We had a lot of fun reading thru them last night and imagining reading them to our little girls.

20 Week Update

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +12 I feel like my belly is getting so big already, but my OB told me earlier this week to keep eating more because I have lots more weight to gain. yikes! I keep thinking of my Yiayia saying "eat! eat!" because she always says that.

Maternity clothes? Oh yes. I am wearing my one cute pair of maternity jeans all weekend now.

Sleep: sleeping well for the most part.. hoping these two little girls are good sleepers after they are born!

Best moment this week: having a great anatomy scan and finding out that we are expecting two little girls.

Movement: yes, still feeling movement, but no strong kicks yet.

 Food cravings: Lemonade all the way! It all started at a Blazer game last week when I got a huge lemonade. It was the best and I have been drinking lots of the lemonade since then.

Food aversions: no strong aversions, I just still get full pretty fast.

Gender: Girls!!!

Labor Signs: none, these babies still have a lot of time left to bake.

Belly Button: in, but it is getting shallow for sure.

What I miss: moving quickly

What I am looking forward to: meeting these babies, but also looking forward to the next few months of couple time before they come.

Weekly Wisdom: everyone is full of advice! People keep telling me that they had two kids born close together and they were just like twins and then proceed to tell me exactly how to raise my twins. Its not the same people!

Milestones: Finding out the gender, passed the anatomy scan and over half-way done with this pregnancy!

17 Week Update

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +6   Finally started gaining weight these last two weeks.

Maternity clothes? Yes, definitely wearing maternity pants/jeans now and just wearing the longer tops I already had.

Sleep: sleeping and napping, usually sleeping pretty well, but I am getting tired of lying on my side all the time.

Best moment this week: feeling better is definitely awesome

Movement: yes, feeling lots of movement after I eat

 Food cravings: orange juice and cheese

Food aversions: no aversions, except the smell of raw meat cooking. gross.

Gender: unknown, we will know in a couple weeks and can't wait to find out!

Labor Signs: still none and let's keep in that way

Belly Button: in

What I miss: sleeping on my back and stomach

What I am looking forward to: seeing the babies again tomorrow at our doctor appointment (they use a small ultrasound machine to check the heartbeats at each visit)

Weekly Wisdom: enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasts

Milestones: Nothing really, just another week of progress

15 Week Update

Well, I have been kind of lazy updating this, but hopefully I can keep with it a little more often now that I am feeling better.

How far along? 15 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2
Maternity clothes? not yet, but my options from my regular clothes are getting limited
Sleep: sleeping and napping, but starting to get more energy
Best moment this week: starting to have more of an appetite
Movement: yes, feeling little movements
Food cravings: still nothing really
Food aversions: no aversions
Gender: unknown, we will know in a month!
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button: in
What I miss: running
What I am looking forward to: finding out the gender
Weekly Wisdom: just trying to live in the moment
Milestones: starting to see a little prego belly this week

11 Week Update

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1
Maternity clothes? not yet, but I'm happy about getting some hand-me-downs from Lydia and a friend at work for whenever I start needing them
Sleep: still tired all the time
Best moment this week: receiving flowers from my awesome in-laws!
Movement: not yet
 Food cravings: nothing in particular, just trying to eat healthy
Food aversions:  still not a fan of sweets
Gender: not sure yet, but I'm starting to think girls (identical = same gender)
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button: in
What I miss: still missing the energy, but at least I got my x-mas shopping done
What I am looking forward to: next ultrasound appointment on the 21st
Weekly Wisdom: I got nothing
Milestones: Shared the news with our family and some friends this week. First ultrasound last week: twins is definitely a big milestone!

8 Week Update

How far along?  8 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:   Breaking even so far
Maternity clothes?  I don’t have a bump yet, but I did buy a Bella Band for when my regular clothes start getting tight
Sleep:  Very tired all the time and sleeping 10 hours a night as often as possible
Best moment this week:  Realizing that next week is a 3-day work week!
Movement:  Nothing yet
Food cravings:  Odwalla juices
Food aversions:  Ice cream (so weird considering I usually love ice cream)
Gender:  no inclination one way or the other yet
Labor Signs:  None
Belly Button:  In
What I miss:  Having energy and drinking Diet Coke
What I am looking forward to:   Our first ultrasound appointment in two weeks and telling our family and friends
Weekly Wisdom:  No wisdom here, just trying to enjoy this time and not get too inpatient
Milestones:  Nothing yet