Cheese!

We've just learned how to smile for the camera!

(Hadley pink and blue / Leila yellow and white)

39 Weeks

The truth is, technically, that I'm not quite to 39 weeks.  But let's pretend that I am because I don't think my belly will change much in the next couple of days.  :)

As you can see, I've moved to "shirts that are too small and constant sweatpants" status.  Because who really wants to buy something that fits when your due date is only about 10 days away?  Also, it snowed today, which put me in a little bit of a shoe crisis -- the only ones that fit right now are flip-flops.  It's okay, I managed.

The stats: I'm 4.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  Which basically means nothing, except that labor will happen in the relatively near future.  I never thought that I would be restless like this.  When the twins were born prematurely, I longed for the experience of a full-term pregnancy, and it's true, I'm very thankful to be carrying this baby.  But she's HUGE!  And she KICKS!  (Sure, the twins were bigger combined, but they were weaker, and in general, it felt very different.)  And I've had various signs of "early labor" for almost a week. So now I understand what other women are talking about when they complain about discuss the end of a full-term pregnancy!  :)

The other side to my restlessness is that I cannot wait to meet this little gal!  What does she look like?  How big will she be?  Will she be easy-going or need lots of attention?  What's it like to have ONE newborn at a time?  I'm excited to move to the next phase.  And I'm sure you're anxiously awaiting the news that she's been born as well!  Shouldn't be too much longer!

Big Sister Backpacks

I didn't know if I was going to be able to write the post that I promised yesterday.  Last night, I had about 3 hours of mild, regular contractions.  (This is after a report from the doctor yesterday that I'm 3 - 4 cm dilated and baby is "nice and engaged" for birth.)  We cleaned up the house, packed our bags, put my sister (our "sitter") on call ... and then the contractions stopped.  After a night of sleep, the contractions are back, along with some other "early labor" signs, but nothing that makes me think Tony should come home from work.  I'm calling it "labor purgatory".  Am I in labor?  Am I going to have mild, regular contractions for weeks upon weeks?  Your guess is as good as mine.

So, as we get ready to send Hadley and Leila to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few days after the baby is born, I want to show you the backpacks that I put together for them.  I've been thinking for a while that they would enjoy having backpacks (which will double as overnight bags when baby comes), but didn't want to spend too much.  Then I stumbled upon these nice ones, from Land's End, while they were having a great sale, which I combined with a discount and free shipping, of course.  :)

I made a little sign to go in the clear part:

Then, I wanted to include a new toy for their time away from home.  Using a Groupon (I can't actually remember which Groupon-type site I purchased it from), I got them each a Melissa & Doug Hide & Seek Board.  I haven't shown the boards to the girls, but I think they're going to love them.  And I love that they have hinges, so there aren't any pieces to lose!


Last, I purchased two cheap shirts at Walmart, and using the same design as the backpack signs, I made two iron-on transfers for the shirts.  My plan is for the girls to wear them to the hospital when they visit Baby Sister for the first time.  Darling!

So, all of those things are sitting in their new backpacks, ready to go, whenever the time comes.  Can't believe my babies are getting ready to be big sisters!  They're going to do great.

And I Look Like I'm Trying to Steal a Pumpkin ...

Can you tell that I'm trying to catch up on some blogging before the baby comes?  I want to show you something really fun (to me, at least!), but my camera battery died, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

A few days ago, I went to a pumpkin patch with a couple of ladies from Moms at Twilight (not to be confused with some kind of fan club for the movie!).  All of us had a blast -- the kids played with the pumpkins, in the wagons, and on the tractors.  I thought you might enjoy the pictures, so I'll leave it at that!

37 Weeks

Here we are ... 37 weeks, no end in sight.  :)  Baby Girl weighs about 6.5 - 7 pounds now!  How in the world did I carry 10.5 pounds of babies the first time around?  She's in my ribs constantly, I can't take a deep breath, I'm not sleeping well, I need help getting up from the couch ...


Enough complaining.  I'm keeping my eyes on the "prize" as much as I can, looking forward to her arrival!  I'll continue to keep you posted as things progress!

Ring Around the Rosie

Hadley and Leila have only held hands with each other a couple of times, and I've never been able to get a picture of it.  That's why it makes my heart happy that they've started to play "Ring Around the Rosie" with each other by themselves.  Absolutely adorable.

Bear Hugs

Watching their imaginations and creativity develop is one of the things I love the most about watching my girls grow.  The twins were given teddy bears when they were in the NICU.  (I'm not actually sure where they came from ... a charity, I think.)  Until now, they've "bearly" (ha!) even noticed them.  Lately, they've been carrying the bears and their baby dolls around more.  Yesterday, Leila brought her teddy bear outside, which meant that Hadley needed hers, too.  They promptly started showing them all the things that they like to do outside.  And apparently, Hadley wants hers to learn how to ride the lawn mower.  :)

Happy "Octobear"!  ... I couldn't resist ... :)