Little Scare, but all is well

On Friday morning, Eric said to Guinness: "We'll be back buddy. We're going to get pictures taken of the twins." It was cute. We were on our way to the ultrasound.
Everything was great! Their hearts were beating, which put me at ease because I haven't felt the movements yet that everyone seems to gasp about. Nicky, the ultrasound technician confirmed that we are having a boy and a girl. And, at this point, they weigh in at 1 lb., 3 oz., and 1 lb. 2 oz...perfect size! We saw their little hands move and I cried! They are my little babies and I can't wait to meet them! It was so amazing! They were touching their own heads and hitting each other, which was fun to see. Addison even yawned, but we both missed that.
*****
On Satuday morning, at 4 a.m. I started having these low cramps that were kind of painful..they lasted for a few minutes. I just shrugged it off because the ultrasound went well. But then it happened again at 8 a.m. and then again when I was having lunch with my mom at noon. So I called the babyline and the nurse told me to go to the hospital. I'm sure they tell every expectant mom to do that, to cover their own butts. But I followed her instructions and went.
They hooked me up to a monitor, did a bunch of tests, then the doctor said it was OK for me to have contractions at this point, but not very many, so it was good that I came in. I didn't know I was having contractions. I just knew that it felt very different from all the other pains I have been having.
I was told to take it easy....no walks, no shopping, no exercising, no lifitng, etc. And I have a follow-up doctor appt. tomorrow morning. Hopefully, everything will still be good tomorrow. I want these babies inside as long as possible!!!!!

Mom/Lois

Eric and I went to him mom's house last night for dinner and she surprised us with some gifts. Among them were Eric's baby blanket, his dad's first plate that you fill with hot water to keep the food warm, a Christening outfit and a little cross-stitched plaque that said Eric, 2/20/76, 9 lbs. 6 ozs.
She also told us a story that her mom told her when she was little. It was about a baby who was left on the steps of a church and when the church people found the baby, they knew it was loved because, tucked along side it was a hand-made outfit. So Lois's mom made sure each of her children had a hand-made outfit so they knew they were loved. And then Lois gave us the hand-made outfit. It was all so very sweet.
And she gave us Eric's baby book, which she took lots of time to fill out. It was fun reading the entries and seeing Eric as a little boy....who loved Wena (Lena, his sister, but he couldn't pronounce his Ls. and Choc-ate). It was a really sweet evening.

Information Overload

So....it seems like everything I read tells me something different about what to expect for the birth...it's a little overwhelming. One book says not to worry at all. Another book says the world is going to come to an end and I need to be prepared, which means I need to read about all the horrible things that could go wrong.
Um, I don't need to do that!
What I need is two healthy babies come March...or April. Surprisingly...not really...Eric said, "Look Nicole. No matter what you read, you are going to have to have the babies one way or another, so it doesn't help to worry about it."
Why does he have to be the voice of reason EVERY TIME!!!

Smile for the camera

Here are the first photos of Zajkowski Baby A, whom they think is a girl, and Baby B, which obviously stands for "boy" - hence the arrow...
Each time I look at the grainy images, it's so hard not to think of them as MY babies. Even though they kind of look like little aliens, I just smile.

Quickening

So, for the past few days, I've thought that I've had a lot of butterflies in my tummy. Come to find out, that feeling, called quickening, is the babies moving around! It's pretty neat, now that I know what it is. I just had no idea what to expect as far as feeling the baby "kick," so it's kind of strange, but definitely cool. I guess, in a couple of weeks, there will be no mistaking it, because the babies will really be kicking me all the time....sounds exciting...at least for the first time I feel it!
*****
I got home from basketball practice last night to a bouquet of flowers and a fabulous dinner! Eric is being so wonderful. I know he knows that quitting basketball is tough for me, but necessary for the twins. He's trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. With flowers and dinner like that, I'll do whatever he wants!!!!

Ba-Bye Midwife...we'll miss you

This morning, I had my last appt. with Lois, our midwife. Because the pregnancy is now considered high risk, we have to have a doctor. We're bummed. We loved Lois! It's like we're breaking up or something. We started this journey with her and now it's going to be different. But she promised to check in from time to time....SIGH!
So, it's a little less laid back now. I have another ultrasound on the the 22nd, a doctor's appt. on the 27th and I have to meet with a nutritionist before Christmas too. And I have to have a gestational diabetes test done as well. We have to sign up for a multiples birth class and then Lois's parting words to me were to relax...isn't that funny?
I did hear the babies' heartbeats again this morning and that is still so fabulous! It's the first time their dad wasn't there to hear it with me and I realized that he's such a part of this, it made me a little sad to know that he couldn't be there. But I told the babies that he loved them and he'll be there the next time.
I was also told that I'll probably have to stop coaching basketball at some point, because it's typical for moms pregnant with twins to have to go on bed rest. That'll be hard to give up, even though the girls give me so much grief.
********
Annie and Megs sent me a lullaby CD that is so great!!! There is a quiet version of We Will Rock You and it's our favorite! Thank God for such great friends!
Here's to life's journey....and going forward without Lois.

Babies R Us

OK...so Eric and I decided that we should take a trip to the baby mecca....Babies R Us. I have been coming to terms with the twins and we decided that we should start preparing for them. We should register for some items for a baby shower...simple, right? No big deal, right? Well...wrong! We walked in and there was an entire wall of just bottles!! We both looked at each other and laughed...man, we realized that we are in way over our heads here. But, Eric just decided we should push on. So we just started scanning...two of everything! One pink. One blue. What do we know? We did scan about 1,000 diapers...which we'll need. A co-worker of mine said that babies go through about 1 diaper an hour!?!? That just seems insane to me! So, that's two diapers an hour....almost 50 diapers a day!?!?!? WOW! This is quite the journey!

First trip to Moab

During the week of Thanksgiving, I went on a hiking trip in Moab, Utah. It was planned before the babies were planned. The trip was pretty tough physically, because I didn't feel well, but it was decided that I would feel better if I had a picture with me and the baby (at that point, I didn't know there were two!) So, in the middle of Canyondlands National Park, I bared my belly and took a photo. So, here is the twins' debut...

BIG BIG Surprise

Eric and I had the surprise of our lives on Tuesday, November 28. We had our first ultrasound that day. We had been preparing for it for a long time. We decided not to find out the sex of the baby...but I was getting weak, and I decided I wanted to know. To keep me strong, Eric bought me a shirt to wear to the ultrasound that said, "Not Finding Out."
Once we got there, I hopped up on the table, she lathered my belly with the jelly and the first words out of her mouth I will never forget: So, you're having twins.....the words just sat there, soaking up all the oxygen in the room. Eric and I both started to laugh. We thought for sure this kind lady is just trying to break the ice with a joke. But she assured us that twins is not something to joke about.
I started to sob, scarily thinking two of everything. I looked over at Eric, who was grinning from ear to ear, rejoicing with two of everything!
In that hour-long exam, during which we found out that both Baby A and Baby B are healthy, my mind was flooded with a million thoughts....from two cribs, all the way to two college tuitions....then I came back to the room and saw Eric's smiling face. He was holding my hand and reassuring me that everything would be OK. I wasn't so sure. I still could NOT believe it.....TWINS! They don't run in either of our families. The ultrasound technician said, "It has to start somewhere." I thought to myself, Look lady, don't start with the jokes now. You weren't joking when you told us about the twins!
Eric summed it up the best: "God has a sense of humor." AMEN to that.
When we left the appt., I had to go to basketball practice and I didn't know how I could do it. I saw Marcus and he asked if I was OK. I told him no....I could barely get the words out: We're having twins. He just beamed. He said he was the happiest uncle in the world. The players all wondered why I was crying...when I finally decided to tell them, the hellions turned into little angels for 10 minutes and said things like, "What a blessing from God." I couldn't believe these were my players...it was bizarre.
Now that I've had a couple days to process the whole thing, I realize this: Before Tuesday, I was just a pregnant woman. After Tuesday, I was two babies' mommy. As soon as I saw them moving during the ultrasound, I instantly became maternal....they were MY babies! I want nothing more than to have two healthy babies. So far, so good. One weighs 9 ounces, one weighs 10 ounces.
So....for all that has been, thanks! For all that shall be, YES!

Month-long Hiatus

So, it's been a month since I've updated the blog. Lots has happened in that month. For most of November, I was still so sick...queasy all day long. It was hard to concentrate on anything but feeling icky. I was frustrated. Eric was frustrated. I just didn't think I could be pregnant anymore. I was wondering how other women got through this. I just didn't want to do it anymore.....I would get in my car after work and start crying. I didn't understand why I was still so queasy and just really icky feeling. I decided not to talk about the baby at all. I told myself that if I didn't acknowledge it, it wasn't really there....crazy, I know. But at my last appt., we heard the baby's heartbeat and that helped me feel better...we heard one heartbeat mind you....little would I know that would change.