Zantac

Last night, as I was laying awake in bed, jealous that Eric was sleeping soundly, I reached for my big bottle of Tums and realized, to my horror, that it was empty!!!!!! I said a couple choice words, did my whole get-of-bed routine, which can take anywhere from 2-10 minutes, and limped to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen to see if there was anything to take for heartburn.
I stumbled across the Zantac that Eric bought the other day. I was skeptical about taking it at first because I didn't know if pregnant women could take it. But Eric said that he checked it out and it was safe.
So I did. It was magical!!! My heartburn went away!!! So, even though I couldn't sleep, at least I wasn't suffering from heartburn too.

Fall

Last night, I dropped my cell phone on the floor and I asked Eric to pick it up for me because I can't bend over that far any longer.
He said, "I bet if it were a $20 bill you'd find a way to pick it up." I said, "You're right. I probably would."
And then, in socked feet, because I had just taken off my slip on tennis shoes that Eric bought me, I tried to demonstrate how I might go about doing it.
MISTAKE!
My feet slipped on the flooring and before I knew it, I was in the splits on the floor and my body bounced when it hit the floor. One leg went one way, the other leg went under the bed. It was a hard fall on my tail bone and it hurt! I just sat there and cried, with my eyes closed luckily for Eric, because he was trying to stifle a laugh.
At least he didn't laugh until we found out I was going to be OK....in a ton of pain, but OK. Of course I had a contraction then, but I got into bed and tried to calm down.
Later in the night, he reenacted it for me...and he bounced on the ground. It was funny.
It was a LONG night of pain and no sleep.
And today I'm still in pain from it, and my knee is bruised.

Eric's birhtday

Yesterday was Eric's birthday and we went to dinner with his mother. It was wonderful. And the twins wrote him a letter to help him celebrate.

Dear Daddy,
Mommy told us that you are not too excited about your birthday and we don’t understand why, because everyone seems SO excited about our birthday! We are excited about your birthday because Mommy gets to eat steak and we love steak! And don’t you get cake? And ice cream? We love it when mommy eats cake and ice cream. It’s so yummy!
Mommy talks to us a lot. And she talks about you all the time. We can tell when she sees you because her heart starts beating a little bit faster and she seems really excited. She really loves you and she’s constantly telling us that we are so blessed to have such a wonderful person for a daddy.
She uses a lot of big words to tell us about you that we don’t understand, like thoughtful and compassionate and patient and funny and strong. But we do know that when she talks about you she smiles because we can tell that in her voice.
We love it when you talk to us and you kiss us through mommy’s belly. We can hear your voice all the time, but especially when you make a loud voice and say, “This is your father.” We can tell it’s you and we can’t wait to meet you in person.
Mommy wants you to know that she can’t believe she gets to spend the rest of her life with you and that she’s really thankful to God for all He’s given her and you are a big part of that. And we are a big part of that too.
She also mumbled a whole bunch of stuff about the start of a new journey and, even though she’s nervous about it, you are a great teammate….or something like that. But we’re so little. I mean, we’re not even born yet, so we don’t really pay attention that well yet.
Happy Birthday Daddy! We already love you almost as much as mommy does!

Love,
Jackson and Addison

Baby Shower

On Sunday, my family threw me a baby shower and it was so wonderful! I walked in and was given a corsage with pink and blue ribbon. I looked over to the table and saw pink and blue candles, pink and blue candy, pink and blue pretzels... and two kinds of punch: one pink, one blue of course!
There were candles that spelled out Jackson and Addison and we all stood in a circle and lit them and then said a little prayer for the twins and then blew them out. It was very sweet and overwhelming.
Selena wrote a letter to her cousins that made me cry, and that set the tone for the whole thing.

For the first time, I think I felt a small glimmer of what it's going to be like to be a mom. Most of the women at the shower were mothers and grandmothers and they all had looks on their faces that conveyed to me that I'm on such an amazing journey; like I'm going to become part of this amazing club called motherhood.

Jackson and Addison are so lucky and blessed to have so family members so close to them.

Two Angels

This weekend, I was blessed with the arrival of two angels, in the form of Annemarie and Megs. They came in on Friday night...well, Megs did. Annemarie came early Saturday morning at 12:45 a.m. because of delayed and canceled flights. I didn't konw how I was going to stay up that late, but as soon as Megs got to our house, we started talking and before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport. We stayed up until 3 a.m. just chatting and it felt like we'd only been talking for a couple minutes.

It was so funny because most of our conversations were about our husbands, marriage and babies, and few short years ago, it seems, were were in college, talking about much different things.

On Saturday, they transformed the room Eric and I had reserved for the babies into a full-fledged nursery. I don't even know how they did it, but once it was done, it was a room filled with warmth and love and ready to welcome the Zajkowsi twins.

I learned so many things about babies from Megs because she has a 1 1/2 year old, that I didn't even know I didn't know and the time seemed to just move at the speed of light! Before I knew it, they were gone, and I was so sad. It seemed like we'd been anticipating the weekend forever and it was over before we knew it.

But last night, I took a bath and then sat in the glider rocker in the nursery and thought about my little angels that were here for the weekend and my little angels that are going to arrive in a matter of weeks and I just smiled.

Eric said, "You have amazing friends." Amen to that!

Mathias update!!!

Several weeks ago, I wrote about my friend Melissa, who was pregnant with Mathias and she was having some issues. Well, I just got this email from her mom. Prayers do work!

Mathias has arrived!! At 5 weeks early he came into the world at 8:52 a.m. today weighing 6lbs, 7 oz, and 19 3/4" in length. He is healthy but due to a variety of reasons he is in the special care nursery and Melissa will not be able to have him in her room. She is counting on going home tomorrow and Mathias will stay anywhere from three to ten more days depending on how he does on their "tests." Thanks again for all your prayers.

Peaks and valleys

So, yesterday I was on a high because of the ultrasound, and then, about 8 p.m. yesterday, I started having contractions. They are Braxton Hicks contractions, so they are essentially fake, but dang, they don't feel good.
I woke up this morning early and went into work and then I had another one. So, I decided to go home and this is the first time I've been out of bed today. I called the doctor and the contractions are only a problem if I have more than four in one hour. But I'm realizing the real pain I'm feeling is my ribs...I just feel really icky and I hope I feel better by tomorrow because Megs and Annemarie are coming for the weekend.

3D Ultrasound

Today is Valentine's Day and Eric and I got the best gift ever. We got to see Jackson and Addison in 3D! We had an ultrasound this morning and it was the neatest thing ever!

It's hard to see in the photos, but on the screen it was very cool!!! The top picture is Jackson. The second and third are both Addison.

The last photo, just in 2D, is of Addison yawning. She was such a lively little thing this morning. She also stuck her tongue out, but the technician wasn't quick enough to capture that. It was just so heart warming to see our BABIES!!!! I'm still smiling from ear to ear!!!

Jackson weighs 3 pounds, 13 ounces. Addison weighs 3 pounds, 8 ounces. She is still breach and Jackson is still laid out across my uterus, which is measuring 41 weeks big by the way. So, in all likelihood, they probably won't move much, so I am probably looking at a C-section. But Dr. Kamsheh said there is a possibility that they could still move. He wants me to have another ultrasound at 33-34 weeks. He wants me to keep them "in there" until 36 or 37 weeks so they can come home with us. That seems far away, yet SO CLOSE!

He did not put me on bed rest yet. The adema (swelling) in my feet has gone down. My cervix is still 3.5 centimeters thick. I am going to start working from home two days a week instead of one...if my boss allows it.

The pain I am feeling way up on the right side of my rib cage is the cartilege being pulled from my ribs because of my uterus being so big. Dr. Kamsheh said "it might be a little uncomfortable." Um, understatement of the week!

29 weeks

I had a doctor's appt. today. And Dr. Kamsheh said that I need an ultrasound next week and he wants to see me the same day. And on that day, which happens to be Valentine's Day, he is going to make a decision about bed rest.
I have Plus 2 Adema in my feet, which is just a medical term for swelling. And he thinks it's because I'm not getting my feet up enough. Ya think? Here's the thing: have you ever tried laying on your side with your feet up? It's not easy....you get all scrunched in the middle...but laying on my back is not good for circulation.
Whatever.
I had a contraction during the appointment. He said I need to lay down for two hours when that happens...but then he said, "See you next week?" So, was I supposed to just lay down there for two hours?
It's all so exhausting, as if I wasn't tired enough already. I apologized to the nurse about complaining and she said, "Please. Do you know how much woman complain who are just having one? You're nothing compared to them."
She is now my favorite nurse.
One of the babies is laying horizontally at the bottom of my uterus and the other one is sitting on top of that one. Dr. Kamsheh couldn't tell me which was which, but he did say in his accent, "I know mom is very uncomfortable with the babies like this, but they are comfortable and they are growing."
Look...I got it doctor....you want them in there for seven more weeks, so I better start taking better care of myself and asking for help.

Labor

I swear to Bob (Marley that is) I thought I was going into labor last night. The pain I was feeling was new. It wasn't down low like usual, it was way up high. I couldn't catch my breath and I was really afraid. I felt the babies move so much I thought they were ripping right through my uterus. I just cried and cried. I know Eric was wondering how in the world I'm going to make it through the delivery, if I'm crying at the current pains.
I'm wondering that too.
When I woke up this morning, I could pick both feet up off the floor and my hips didn't hurt. It felt so strange to not be in pain. I thought something was wrong.
Isn't it interesting what you just get used to living with?

28 week photos

So, Eric got out the camera today to document how big I've gotten...and it's NO JOKE! If I were carrying just one, I'd be full term at this point. But since we've been blessed with two babies, I get to be "full-term" for two to three more months!!

Kicking Grammona

Yesterday, the Harris family, my parents and Shane came over for a Super Bowl / Birthday party for me. Eric planned the whole thing, made dinner and we even had a drawing at the end of each quarter...whoever had the closest number to the score got money...it was fun. And I won the end-of-the-game pool!
Even though it was great, I was NOT feeling that great, so I retired to the bedroom, where Grammona and Shelly and some of the nieces kept me company.
Grammona wanted to see or feel the babies kicking. Of course, when someone is there, waiting for them to do it, they starting acting up and are perfectly still. So I resorted to a little trick. Grammona put her hand on my "ever-expanding" belly and I took a flashlight and shined it right on my belly. The twins definitely responded to that...and one of them doesn't seem to like it, because all of a sudden, Grammona jumped when Jackson or Addison kicked her...her hand flew off my belly and she let out a little yelp. It was pretty funny!
But it didn't feel all that great to me, so next time, we'll just wait for some spontaneous kicking!

Boys will be boys

This email is too funny not to post. Megs sent it to me...I won't speak for Eric, but I have no idea what I'm getting into with Jackson(SMILE!!)
I can't get the photos to upload, but they are HEE-larious!


1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42-pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can oly do it in the movies.
10. Certain lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old boy.
11. Playdough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Super glue is forever.
13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The fire department in Austin , TX has a 5-minute response time.
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24. 80% of women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25. 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Guinness

So, I feel like I have three babies! Guinness is becoming very protective again. For awhile there, he was like, "Whatever." But now, he follows me around all the time. I'm nearly tripping over him. Last night, I took a bath and he stood guard at the bathroom door...it was so cute. Then, I went downstairs to do some work on the computer, and he again stood guard.
He also climbed into bed with me, but Eric put the brakes on that one...so he just sighed and then went into his own bed. It was so cute!