The Dayton Moms of Twins Club has a bi-annual sale where members can sell all their baby stuff. They have a members-only sale on Friday evening and then it’s open to the public on Saturday. We had a short list of things we really wanted before the babies came and decided to hit up the members only sale. The sale started at 7:30 and I was told by a seasoned member that we wanted to get there early at the last meeting. We arrived at 6:30 and there was already quite the line. By the time 7:30 rolled around the place was packed!
I had spied the crowd to see how many pregnant people were there to see who I’d be competing with for infant items. It’s a little harder to pick out the brand new moms. Since I’m pregnant myself, I was able to bring along my fearless “helper” Sean. Not only did I have to let them know who I’d be bringing ahead of time, they also told us we needed to stay together during the sale – no splitting up. By the time it started, I was ready to go to bed. But I was glad we toughed it out. Not only did we find a double Snap N’ Go stroller for $15 (regularly $99.99) and an EZ2 Nurse Pillow for $15 (regularly $50), we also found some things I just plain wanted – like a Maya Wrap for $28 and a Moby Wrap for $5! And that’s only the tip of the baby gear iceberg! We added up what we saved by buying everything gently used – it was over $300! I’ll definitely be returning for the spring sale!
I had my second non-stress test yesterday. The babies were much more cooperative this week (translation: weren’t moving around so much we couldn’t keep the monitors on their hearts). They passed with flying colors and I didn’t get nearly as messy from all the gel they use. After next week’s NST, we have another growth scan. I’m curious to see how they’re positioned (as always) – which better be head down for both of them!
Sean also installed the car seats over the weekend so I can get them inspected. If the two cribs, all the other baby gear and my enormous belly don’t make it real enough, that definitely does. I’ve been trying to savor my loud music and having the moon roof open as much as I can.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
September 17 Growth Scan
We had a growth scan yesterday (32w3d). Baby boy is 4 lbs and transverse (sideways) but his head is down lower than his body so he’s on his way to the proper position! And baby girl is 3 lbs 12 oz and is already in the proper position (vertex). Yay for her! She better stay that way.
My visit with the doctor was today (paying $3 for parking per visit adds up so I won’t be letting them split my visits up anymore). The nurse told me that I looked “fabulous” when she walked in. I don’t know if she tells all patients that to make them feel better but I’ll take the compliment. Starting next week I go every Monday for a non-stress test where they monitor their heartbeats for 20 minutes. The next growth scan is in 4 weeks. These are getting extremely uncomfortable for me. The babies are VERY low so I practically have to be lying flat which is NOT pleasant.
This past Wednesday was our second night of childbirth prep classes. We had our tour of the maternity unit and then learned about relaxation techniques. I sleep in one hour stretches through the night and never actually feel rested. So when she told us to get comfy (either on couches or in bean bags), I told Sean to wake me if I started snoring. He had to wake me twice. I just couldn’t stay awake with the dimmed lights, soothing music and the instructor walking us through guided imagery exercises. I don’t think I heard a word she said. After a while I was just focusing on staying awake so I wouldn’t snore.
It’s getting to be time to buy a 2010 planner (I thought about this today b/c I made a dentist appt for March). I was thinking about how every year I search and search for the perfect planner but never find what I’m looking for. Maybe that’s my life’s calling – to design the perfect planner. I mean who needs those pages with the area codes, time zones, and metric weights and measurements anyway?
My visit with the doctor was today (paying $3 for parking per visit adds up so I won’t be letting them split my visits up anymore). The nurse told me that I looked “fabulous” when she walked in. I don’t know if she tells all patients that to make them feel better but I’ll take the compliment. Starting next week I go every Monday for a non-stress test where they monitor their heartbeats for 20 minutes. The next growth scan is in 4 weeks. These are getting extremely uncomfortable for me. The babies are VERY low so I practically have to be lying flat which is NOT pleasant.
This past Wednesday was our second night of childbirth prep classes. We had our tour of the maternity unit and then learned about relaxation techniques. I sleep in one hour stretches through the night and never actually feel rested. So when she told us to get comfy (either on couches or in bean bags), I told Sean to wake me if I started snoring. He had to wake me twice. I just couldn’t stay awake with the dimmed lights, soothing music and the instructor walking us through guided imagery exercises. I don’t think I heard a word she said. After a while I was just focusing on staying awake so I wouldn’t snore.
It’s getting to be time to buy a 2010 planner (I thought about this today b/c I made a dentist appt for March). I was thinking about how every year I search and search for the perfect planner but never find what I’m looking for. Maybe that’s my life’s calling – to design the perfect planner. I mean who needs those pages with the area codes, time zones, and metric weights and measurements anyway?
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| From Twins |
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Baby Shower #2 - Columbus, Ohio
We were very fortunate to have several friends (and parents) throw us babies showers. The second leg of our Kovacs Twins Tour 2009 took us to Columbus, Ohio, on August 23 for a shower hosted by Aunt Kate and good friend Angie! The theme was Thing 1 and Thing 2! Instead of cards, guests were asked to bring a book to contribute to the twins’ ever-growing library. We got a lot of great books as well as many much-needed gifts.
It was really nice to see all our Columbus friends plus a handful of other people who drove several hours to attend. Thank you to everyone!!!
It was really nice to see all our Columbus friends plus a handful of other people who drove several hours to attend. Thank you to everyone!!!
Green cleaning/Diaper bag update
Lots of excitement around here! Over the weekend I made our first batch of homemade laundry soap and used it for all the laundry. We still have some dryer sheets so I plan to finish those off before using anything “green.” I don’t know if I’m partial but I really thought the laundry smelled extra fresh. We have an issue with washcloths and towels tending to smell musty. When this happens, I soak them in the washer in hot water and straight white vinegar and then wash with more white vinegar in the fabric softener thingamajig. I’m curious to see how the homemade detergent handles the towels and washcloths since it has Borax and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda.
As we finish off our other cleaning products I’ll be gradually switching to greener options. Some of which will be homemade. I’ll keep you all posted on how that works out.
The diaper bag came yesterday and I must say that it wasn’t as horribly enormous as I thought it was going to be. It’s definitely a manageable size. I haven’t done a trial packing yet to see how it works but it seems like it should fit everything nicely. It also seems sturdy and well-made which is always something you look for when you spend a lot of money on something! The one thing I was surprised about was that it didn’t even come with a tag of a diagram showing how to use the bag or explaining what the many specialized compartments are for (like I included in my last blog post). No need to fear though, we figured it out!
Some of you may have noticed the new blog template that isn’t quite working out. One of these days I’m going to either figure out to fix the template or find one that works properly. I’m kind of bummed though because I really liked this one.
As we finish off our other cleaning products I’ll be gradually switching to greener options. Some of which will be homemade. I’ll keep you all posted on how that works out.
The diaper bag came yesterday and I must say that it wasn’t as horribly enormous as I thought it was going to be. It’s definitely a manageable size. I haven’t done a trial packing yet to see how it works but it seems like it should fit everything nicely. It also seems sturdy and well-made which is always something you look for when you spend a lot of money on something! The one thing I was surprised about was that it didn’t even come with a tag of a diagram showing how to use the bag or explaining what the many specialized compartments are for (like I included in my last blog post). No need to fear though, we figured it out!
Some of you may have noticed the new blog template that isn’t quite working out. One of these days I’m going to either figure out to fix the template or find one that works properly. I’m kind of bummed though because I really liked this one.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Our Diaper Bag Debate
I’m still going to post about the showers but I have diaper bags on the brain today. Several of you know I’ve been trying to find the perfect diaper bag for months. I’m vertically challenged and already have trouble keeping a purse on my shoulder. So the thought of trying to carry a shoulder diaper bag while juggling two infant car seats was scary. I know how my laptop bag slides off my shoulder and slams into my leg. I don’t want to deal with a diaper bag doing this too, or worse, hitting the babies!
Given all this, I knew I wanted a backpack style. Naturally, this really limited my options. We’d looked at Babies R’ Us but the ones at the store were smaller than the backpack I still have from college (which only has a front pocket and doesn’t stand up on its own).
After shopping around online, I decided to talk to a few of my mom friends to see what they recommended. Another concern of mine was size. Just HOW BIG of a diaper bag does a mom of twins need? I believe Nancy’s response was, “I don’t think you’ll find a diaper bag big enough.” Great. Thanks!
So over the weekend I was doing more online shopping with our store credit and found this diaper bag – the Dad Gear Diaper Bag Backpack. We didn’t buy it from this site, it’s just that this site has the best pictures of it. One of the reviewers on Target’s site said that this bag was TOO BIG. Since we’ll eventually want a smaller bag, I wanted to start out with a more average-sized bag and then get a bigger one if we decided we needed it. I got tired of arguing and we ordered this in gray and black. It’s supposed to arrive next week so I’ll let you all know the verdict!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Kovacs Twins Tour 2009 Kick-off
I’m more than a little behind in my blogging. For those of you who don’t know, I failed the 1-hour glucose tolerance screening by two points. So I had to go back for the THREE-HOUR screening. Sitting in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs for one hour was bad enough – even with the company of a good book, so I wasn’t looking forward to three hours. To make matters worse, I wasn’t able to go to the lab where I normally go because of scheduling conflicts and the chairs where I did end up going were even worse!
Fortunately, I passed the three-hour test! I was super excited about that.
We kicked off the Kovacs Twins Shower Tour 2009 in Chillicothe on August 2 (picture are below). Thanks to Jennifer and Joan for throwing us a fabulous shower! Because we’re having twins and the chances of me being put on bed rest are higher than if we were only having ONE baby, AND because I really wanted to have the showers while I could still move around and was relatively comfortable, AND because we want to have all baby related stuff done by September, all our showers are in August.
And during all of this the babies are getting bigger and MUCH stronger!
Fortunately, I passed the three-hour test! I was super excited about that.
We kicked off the Kovacs Twins Shower Tour 2009 in Chillicothe on August 2 (picture are below). Thanks to Jennifer and Joan for throwing us a fabulous shower! Because we’re having twins and the chances of me being put on bed rest are higher than if we were only having ONE baby, AND because I really wanted to have the showers while I could still move around and was relatively comfortable, AND because we want to have all baby related stuff done by September, all our showers are in August.
And during all of this the babies are getting bigger and MUCH stronger!
Monday, August 10, 2009
August 10 Ultrasound
We had a growth scan today where they measure the babies to make sure they’re growing like they should be. The tech was figuring out how they laying and I started to feel queasy. I drink my juice watered down and thought maybe I hadn’t added enough water and that was what was bothering me. The tech noticed I was fidgeting and asked if I need to sit up. I said yes and we continued.
I was still uncomfortable and the queasiness was increasing and she asked again so they sat me up some more. We got a little more done then I said something about being hot. That must’ve really alarmed her because she told Sean to open the door and then she got some wet paper towels and put them on my neck and wiped my head. At this point, she had me sitting straight up. But I think the wheels were set in motion. I said something about not feeling good still and asked if I should stand up. She told me no because she didn’t want me passing out. She told Sean to go into the hall and say “We need a nurse.” He went searching for one. Meanwhile, my hearing was going and I could feel darkness creeping up. I kept closing my eyes and she was mildly shaking me – stay with me! All I could think was, “Why don’t they have a fan in here?”
Finally two nurses rush into the room. Of course the blood pressure cuff in that room was attached to the wall and too far away from me. They finally got one and took my blood pressure – it was 90 over 60. I saw that one of them had smelling salts. I’m SO glad she didn’t need them. They got me some juice (not watered down – I couldn’t finish it) and I was all better. They asked if I’d eaten breakfast. I told them I’d just had an egg sandwich with some juice on the way there. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.
Since the whole purpose of today’s ultrasound was to do measurements and both babies are head down and VERY low, they still had to put me on my back for a little bit with a break in between. Baby boy weighs 1lb 12oz and baby girl weighs 1lb 13oz so they’re right on target with that and very close together so that’s great! Their heartbeats were 143 and 146 but I don’t remember which was which now after all the chaos.
Now that they’re so much bigger it’s hard to decipher what’s what in the pics so you’re all on own with that. Scroll to the end for the 26 week pictures.
And just for those of you who don't know, when you lay on your back during pregnancy, the weight of the babies presses down on blood vessels in your back and restricts blood flow. This is why they tell pg ladies not to sleep on their back. Everything is fine!
I was still uncomfortable and the queasiness was increasing and she asked again so they sat me up some more. We got a little more done then I said something about being hot. That must’ve really alarmed her because she told Sean to open the door and then she got some wet paper towels and put them on my neck and wiped my head. At this point, she had me sitting straight up. But I think the wheels were set in motion. I said something about not feeling good still and asked if I should stand up. She told me no because she didn’t want me passing out. She told Sean to go into the hall and say “We need a nurse.” He went searching for one. Meanwhile, my hearing was going and I could feel darkness creeping up. I kept closing my eyes and she was mildly shaking me – stay with me! All I could think was, “Why don’t they have a fan in here?”
Finally two nurses rush into the room. Of course the blood pressure cuff in that room was attached to the wall and too far away from me. They finally got one and took my blood pressure – it was 90 over 60. I saw that one of them had smelling salts. I’m SO glad she didn’t need them. They got me some juice (not watered down – I couldn’t finish it) and I was all better. They asked if I’d eaten breakfast. I told them I’d just had an egg sandwich with some juice on the way there. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.
Since the whole purpose of today’s ultrasound was to do measurements and both babies are head down and VERY low, they still had to put me on my back for a little bit with a break in between. Baby boy weighs 1lb 12oz and baby girl weighs 1lb 13oz so they’re right on target with that and very close together so that’s great! Their heartbeats were 143 and 146 but I don’t remember which was which now after all the chaos.
Now that they’re so much bigger it’s hard to decipher what’s what in the pics so you’re all on own with that. Scroll to the end for the 26 week pictures.
And just for those of you who don't know, when you lay on your back during pregnancy, the weight of the babies presses down on blood vessels in your back and restricts blood flow. This is why they tell pg ladies not to sleep on their back. Everything is fine!
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