Registering is neither easy, nor fun...but it's done now!

Getting ready for the babies is exciting, except that registering for all their baby gear was not as fun as we had hoped it would be. There are so many choices and decisions to make and, as we are finding out, it wasn't easy as we thought to find the perfect items for twins. We have finally managed to get our registry lists put together though, after extensive research on the internet and kind advice from in-store salespeople.
The most challenging decisions have been the ones dealing with selecting the stroller, playpen, and whether to register for one or two sets of their daily items -- such as onesies, bibs, etc. Another frustrating detail is that many items are only available online at certain retailers, so we actually ended up creating two registries to maximize the selections available in stores.
So, we are happy to announce that the first big step in preparing for our babies is behind us. We can now focus on getting their nursery ready...

You can find our registries online at: BuyBuyBaby and Babies R Us.

Baby A and Baby B

Here is the proof, in case you were wondering if we were pulling your leg or joking (as many do, when we share the news)! Have I mentioned that we don't want to know the sex of the babies? We both think it will be a lot more fun to be surprised when they are born. So, in this case especially it was really nice to find out that the way the doctors keep track of both babies during my checkups is by calling them 'Baby A' and 'Baby B' -- and they will be tracked like that throughout my entire pregnancy, so they will be able to monitor each baby's growth and progress separately.

The pictures above were really fun. It was really the first time I could see them so clearly, instead of just looking at two little fuzzballs on the screen. I was shocked to see them positioned with their feet towards each other, but my doctor says they will do a whole lot more moving around before I deliver them. Although both of them wriggled around a lot during the ultrasound, Baby B was especially active--kicking and stretching its arms. So cute!

I hope you enjoyed your first glimpse at my little bundles of joy. I am bracing myself for a lot of kicking in the future. These days I just feel a few flutters here and there, so I can imagine how active they'll both be as they grow bigger in my tummy.

The First Trimester

Here I am, at 12 weeks on August 23, 2009. Thankfully, this is not a maternity dress. I still managed to squeeze into regular clothes, as long it's a dress...

Let me brief you on what my first trimester was like, by enlightening you on my symptoms.

Weeks 1 - 8: Extreme fatigue, sore breasts, heightened sense of smell

Weeks 9 - 12: Fatigue continued, soreness continued, sense of smell even stronger, and all these joined by extreme nausea and vomiting

I couldn't wait to get 'out of the woods', as some say, so I was patiently coping with these symptoms and gaining optimism with every prenatal doctor's visit I had. "Usually, women start to feel a lot better as they enter the second trimester," I was reassured often. Having said that, there was also the caveat, "Well, you are carrying twins, so many symptoms will be heightened in your case." Gee, thanks, Doc.

To put things in perspective, let me share some of my misery with you. The week of August 10th must have been the worst week ever. I was between 9 and 10 weeks, and could not keep any food or liquids down. Everything I ate or drank, from crackers to apple juice, inevitably came right back up within minutes. I was miserable. It was Friday afternoon by the time I decided to call my doctor for advice. I didn't want to call too soon because, again, this is what I thought was 'normal'. My doctor was not in, so I was transferred to one of the on-call doctors. I was prescribed medication for my nausea, which was called in for me and I took the first dose that night. The nausea continued...despite the medicine...but, again, it was probably too soon to take effect.

The next morning, I took another dose of medicine and waited over an hour before trying to eat, but as soon as my breakfast went down, it came right back up! At this point, I felt helpless and thought the best thing to do was go to the Emergency Room, because the on-call doctor had warned me that I could become dehydrated if my vomiting continued. My husband, Victor, took me in immediately, and sure enough I was dehydrated and put on an IV to replenish my fluids. They also gave me more medication (stronger, this time) to stop my nausea and vomiting. This one seemed to work!

Well, six weeks later and I'm still on the same medication. Without it, I can't seem to shake off the terrible nauseous feeling I get even when I am on an empty stomach. My doctor reassures me saying it might all disappear around the 16th or 17th week. Well, I'm already on week 16, so let's just wait and see...

Welcome to our blog!

Recently, we learned we are expecting twins and now that reality has sunk in, I thought it would be nice to start a new blog to share what we're going through these days, with our worlds about to change very soon.

This blog will document my pregnancy as well as fun random thoughts about motherhood (and fatherhood) and also give you the opportunity to leave comments as you like.

I hope you enjoy this new blog, dedicated especially to our friends and family that live out of town and don't get to catch up with us as frequently, in person.

Enjoy!