3 months old!

Our sweet babies are 3 months old today. I told Daddy this morning that some days it feels like they have been a part of our life forever and other days I feel like we were sitting in Sarasota Memorial Hospital Labor and Delivery yesterday.

Mason loves to smile! He is such a happy little man. Some people say he looks like his big brother and some say he looks like Mommy's family. I guess the jury is still out. He started STTN on November 15, 2010. He is still wearing 0-3 months clothes but he probably could move up soon. He is still wearing size one diapers. Although he must think Mommy likes to do laundry because he leaks through his diaper on most nights. He loves to be held and cuddled. He drinks about 25-28oz. of formula a day.

Audrey is such a sweet baby princess. She never complains when I dress her in pink, put bows on her head, and make her wear dresses. Most people say that Audrey is a Lowe girl. She looks like her Daddy and her biggest brother. She has been STTN since November 14th. She is an extremely relaxed baby and is pretty much happy all the time. She does not like to be on her belly. Her neck isn't quite as strong as her brother's, so Mommy is working on some serious tummy time. She is still wering 0-3 months clothes and doesn't appear to be growing out of them too quickly. She is also wearing size one diapers. She drinks about 25oz a day. We will not have an official weight check until 4 months.

Giggle, giggle!

Audrey giggled for the first time yesterday. I have had the video camera by my side since but of course she won't perform. As soon as I get a video I will add it to this post. There is nothing sweeter in the world than hearing your baby giggle for the very first time.

Could it be true???!!!!!

These babies have been amazing since the start, either that or their big brother gave me such a run for my money that they seem easy in comparision. Audrey has STTN (slept through the night) for 3 nights now and Mason has for 2 night. I have my fingers, toes, and all other bodies parts crossed that this isn't a fluke. It came in perfect time since I have to go back to work in a little over a week. They have been sleeping in their own cribs for a few weeks now, so no more babies in Mommy and Daddy's room. I am sad and thrilled at the same time.

2 months old!!

The twins turned two months on Sunday! Here they are in all of their cuteness!

Boops latest stats!

We kindly refer to our twins as "The Boops". What in the world you say?? Here is the story: We bought Parker some boy/girl baby dolls when we found out the twins genders. He played with them all the time and called them his "Boops" which I assume is baby. He can now say baby but we still call them "Boops" and he still does the same. If he sees a baby in public or a picture he will say baby. Well enough rambling about that.

The twins had their 8 week well visit today and they are doing very well. Mason weighed in at 9.5lbs and 22 inches, 25% for everything. Audrey weighed in a 8lbs 10oz and 21.5 inches, 10% for weight and about 25% for height. They drink about 4oz every 3-4 hours. They are pretty much growing out of their newborn attire and moving into 3 months. Sleeping could be better but I can't complain. They fall asleep around 8ish then we wake them around 10-11pm for a "midnight snack" then they sleep until 3-4am, and finally up for the day at 7am-ish. Mason smiles all the time and Audrey does sometimes, too. They did great with their shots, only cried during the actual shot. I can't believe they are 8 weeks old.

Big boy bed

We really wanted to transition Parker into a big boy bed before the twins were born. We bought him this really nice twin bed and mattress that "matched" the cribs for the twins. After all of our hard work he wanted no part of the bed. We gave up with the twins birth quickly approaching and the fact that keeping him in the crib was just easier on us. We went to a friend's birthday party a few weeks ago and saw that he had a super cool fire truck bed. Daddy and Mommy went on the CL hunt to find something for our little man. We couldn't decide between a fire truck, a yellow VW bug, or a Thomas the Train. We found a family selling both a Thomas and a fire truck, so we decided to buy both and let him pick. Daddy tried to get him to pick at the home of the CL seller but he acted too shy.

Parker decided on the fire truck. On Saturday, October 9th we did our normal bedtime routine (well a little later than normal because our friend, Avery, came over to play) I shut the door, placed a gate (in case of an escape) in the doorway, grabbed the video monitor, and ran downstairs. I never heard a peep and he was fast asleep. I thought for sure it was fluke. He actually slept all night without a peep. The next day it was naptime, once again I was worried he would escape and not sleep. Slept 3 hours!!!! Night #2 was a breeze too. Could this be too good to be true????

Squeeeeeeee!

The twins had their newborn shoot with Jennifer Mauren when they were almost 3 weeks old. I can hardly contain my excitement about these pictures. I could stare at the slideshow all day. I hope you enjoy it just a fraction of how much I do. I guess I have officially turned into one of "those" Moms. Ugh!!??? I guess I am okay with that.

http://www.jennifermauren.com/slideshows/MasonAudrey/

Parker goes to gymnastics!

We are so blessed to have DD, my sister Dana, back home from Miami. DD was a gymnast and gymnastics coach for many, many years before pursuing her new career as a hair stylist. She decided that she will take Parker to Mommy (or Auntie) and Tot gymnastics class on Saturday mornings. He loves to spin in circles and climb so we all figured he would love it. Of course he did!!!! I can't wait to go next week and watch him.

Sweet Babies Are One Month Old!

Our sweet twins have been party of our family for one month now! It is hard to believe a month has gone by, but at the same time I feel like they have been a part of our family forever. They are definitely growing like weeds. Audrey is a sweet girl that I refer to as Baby Princess. She is such a little diva already. I am excited to think she may be a girly-girl. Poor Mason is such a sweet cuddly man, but has been a little fighter. He has endured his circumcision, a bad case of baby acne, a blocked tear duct, a bad cold from his brother, and now he has thrush. It must be that "Old Mason Luck" maybe we should rethink his name. We took our first monthly picture on Friday!

 

Bellies and Blessings Photography of Sarasota

I won a free session with Nikki at Bellies and Blessings Photograhy of Sarasota last week. The twins and I headed to her beautiful and relaxing studio on a Friday morning. Nikki and her daughter were so fun and easy to work with. Nikki was so patient with the babies and of course they were on their best behavior. Here are a few sneak peeks of her amazing work!

Oh no! First cold!

The babies turned 4 weeks old yesterday. They are doing really well. Mason is definitely more of a chunky butt than Audrey. You can feel a difference when you pick them up one after another. They are wearing newborn clothes, no more premmie. They are also wearing newborn diapers. Mason LOVES to be held, while Audrey is content hanging out in her bouncy seat or boppy. Mason is usually the first one ready to eat, while Audrey *mostly* waits her turn. They are eating about 3 oz. on a three hour schedule but I am going to try to move them to a four hour schedule soon. Hopefully, this will give me a little bit more time to sleep at night. They whole routine of feeding and diaper changes takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.

Poor babies also developed their first illness. Parker brought home the daycare germies!!! They both are a little congested and have runny noses. Mason is even coughing a little bit. Daddy has it too. Mommy has remained untouched!

"Mom"tographer

A little over a year ago, Daddy bought Mommy her first DSLR camera. I have been shooting in full-auto mode for this entire time, which is pretty much not the reason for having a DSLR. I finally broke down and bought the book "Understanding Exposure" and started my Two Peas 12 Weeks to Better Photography online/self-guided course. I am not exactly the artistic type, so I am not sure how this adventure will work out. Today, I went outside and took a few pictures in AV mode which aperture priority. The ISO was set at 400 which is what the lesson recommended. I started with an f/stop of 5.6 and worked my way up to 36. Of course in the lovely Florida heat my lens got FOGGY. GRRR. I will have to play again but here are some samples.

Model Babies

The babies might be off to a new career at 3 weeks old! We had met Jennifer Mauren back in March to do a family photo shoot before we became a family of 5. Jennifer is a fabulous photographer and so easy to work with. I still tear up when I look at our pictures. It captured a moment in our family history that I will cherish forever. I had also asked her to do a newborn session with the twins when they arrived. I couldn't wait to have her come to our home and capture another moment in our lives that will soon be a distant memory. Teenie tiny little babies!!! Squuuueeee!

Jennifer will be coming tomorrow to photograph my little cuties. I hope they cooperate. I will be sure to post some pictures as soon as she shares them with me.

You might ask why this post is called model babies?? Well...

In addition to Jennifer coming on Thursday, I happened to WIN a FREE session with Bellies and Blessings. I never win anything! Nikki-Lynn with Bellies and Blessings was so kind to offer me two separate sessions, one for the twins and one for the family. We will go on Friday morning to get their pictures done with Nikki.

Pictures and photographers are my weakness, I would spend Daddy's entire paycheck on photos if he would let me.

Here are the pictures that Jennifer did in March. **Tears**

Best babies ever!

I have to say I have been blessed with two wonderful babies. They fell right into a three hour eating schedule, even at night! Sometimes it can get a little bit stressful if they both are really hungry at the same time. They pretty much only cry when they are hungry. Sometimes in the evenings they fuss a little bit if they want to be held. I do my best to give them equal cuddle time but I don't keep a tally sheet. It will be nice when they STTN (sleep through the night)but I am trying to enjoy each and every baby moment since I do know this precious moments will soon be a distant memory. And I leave you with some twin love....(ugh! trouble downloading..they will be up soon.)

Big Brother Woes

Parker just isn't so sure about this whole big brother thing. He is really struggling with the situation. We are very fortunate that he isn't hitting or biting the babies or Mommy. The temper tantrums are horrendous though. There are days where I could guzzle an entire bottle of wine. When I asked the pediatrician last week about this situation I broke down in tears. Basically, we were told to ignore the temper tantrums but reassure our love and support. Not what I wanted to hear. Isn't there a magic pill or spell that will stop this?! Daddy tries his best to give it his all but he mostly just wants Mom. I always try to feed the babies before he gets home from school, before he wakes up, and after he goes to bed. It doesn't always work out perfect though.
Mommy and Daddy made a big decsion to put Parker in school FIVE days a week instead of his normal three. This morning he started crying as Daddy came down the stairs saying, "NO NO NO!" He currently spends 2 days a week with his grandparents but I think he is having trouble with the back and forth. We are hoping if he goes to school 5 days a week it will help his transition move along a bit faster. I really feel that he thrives on structure and routine, school will provide this for him.
Since Daddy stayed home sick with Mommy, we took an adventure to Target and bought the big brother a gift. Here he is helping Daddy put it together.

The Birth Story of Twins

Even though we are only a week out from the delivery some of the details are getting a little foggy. So I will do the best that I can to re-tell an amazing story about the vaginal delivery of twins.

Let me back up a little bit to start our story. Since the beginning, I just assumed that I would have a vaginal delivery. The more I talked to other MoM’s (Mothers of Multiples) I realized that a vaginal delivery was virtually unheard of when it comes to the delivery of twins. Many doctors feel that a vaginal delivery is just too risky unless both babies are vertex (head down). My twins were lying in a vertex and breech position. Uh OH! Delivering breech babies is not common practice in the year 2010, but was very common not too long ago. My wonderful OB, Dr. J, felt very confident that I would deliver these babies vaginally given they were in a good position at the end of the pregnancy. Daddy, however, was really concerned about the delivery since we had such a rough time with our first baby, Parker. Daddy let me know he supported me in any decision I made, but he thought it would be best if I opted for an elective c-section. I thought and thought, but finally came to the decision that I would try for a vaginal delivery. This brings us to August 17th a day that will go down with the other two best days in my life, marrying a wonderful man and the birth of my first baby Parker Joseph.

After weeks and weeks of doctor’s appointments with the OB and MFM, 5 weeks of bed rest, and 5 weeks of testing two times a week at the hospital the big day was finally here. Chris and I headed to the hospital after a tearful “goodbye” to my little P-man. We arrived there at approximately 8am. We got checked into our room and met our nurse, Gloria. I got changed into my gown, monitors strapped to my belly, and the IV fluid was started. Dr. J came to do a quickie U/S (ultrasound) to check the positions of the babies. They were still vertex/breech, no luck in Baby B flipping around. I asked Dr. J if we should change our plan for a vaginal delivery. He responded with a question, “Are you having second thoughts?” Basically, the ball was in my court. He told me we could do a c-section if I wanted, but he was confident that we could go with our original plan. Ugh, I would rather someone make these types of decisions for me. My cervix was also checked and I was at 4cm. I was having contractions on my own which was reassuring.

Time for the big guns! The nurse ordered the pitocin which was going to amp up my contractions and push my labor along. When Gloria started the pitocin, she started with a low dose and increases it by 2 every thirty minutes or so depending on how your body responds. When pitocin was started the contractions started but they weren’t too painful. After a while, Gloria came to check my cervix again and I was 5cm dilated. She asked me if I would like my epidural. My answer was a huge HELL YES! I wasn’t in much pain but if I could go through this labor/delivery virtually pain-free that would be wonderful.

Shortly after that I was introduced to Rebecca, the nurse anaesthetist. She began the process of starting the EPI, but she mentioned that I had small cavities and she was struggling to get the catheter inserted. She eventually got it and gave me my test dose. I felt instant relief, but not too long I started feeling the contractions again. Strange, considering I had this EPI placed in my spine. I tried to tough it out for quite a while without saying anything because I thought I was just being a baby. Gloria came in to check my cervix again and I mentioned my pain to her. She said she would start with putting in a catheter to empty my bladder to see if that relived my pain. I was 7cm dilated when she checked me. When she was prepping me to insert the catheter I was in pain. I felt the catheter being placed and it was not fun.

At that point, Gloria called the anesthesia team. Rebecca came in and used a cold swab to determine where I was numb. I wasn’t numb at all; ahhhh this is why I was in so much pain. I wasn’t a baby after all. So she decided to put in another dose of medicine. Suddenly, my ears started ringing, my lips went numb, and I started testing metal in my mouth. I instantly let Rebecca know and everyone started running around yelling. I remember asking, “Am I going to be okay?” It was really scary. They immediately turned the EPI off and let things settle. I was given two options: 1) They could reinsert the EPI in a new place 2) Or go med-free (this was not an option for me because of the breech extraction). I asked them to call Dr. J and ask him what he thought was best. I could just go for the c-section at this point or have them reinsert the EPI. Dr. J thought it was best to reinsert the EPI and I trusted his decision.

This time they sent in another nurse anesthetist, Annette, to try this again. I was glad the same nurse didn’t do it. I am sure the first nurse was fine, but I didn’t want to risk the same complications a second time with the same nurse. The nurse made the same comment about my small cavities but was able to successfully insert the EPI. This time I felt instant relief and felt really numb. Now I was able to “enjoy” my labor and chat with my husband. This EPI story doesn’t end here though. Slowly but surely I started to feel sedated and lethargic. My face started to feel really numb. I asked my Mom to call the nurse again. Anesthesiology was called back to my room again. I was numb from my lips to my toes. We went from not being able to get numb to way too much. Annette turned the EPI dose to the lowest possible setting. I slowly felt the EPI wear off and felt much better.
Gloria came back into my room to check my cervix; I didn’t feel a thing this time. Woo hoo! I was 8cm dilated and Gloria felt that if they broke my water I would be fully dilated in no time. As she left the room, she mentioned she would call Dr. J about breaking my water. Just a few minutes later she came back to let my know that Dr. J said to just let things happen naturally. At this point, I asked Gloria if I would feel my water break since I was numb. She didn’t have a clear answer, we would just keep checking me. Gloria hadn’t been gone 10 minutes and started feeling an amazing amount of pressure. I wasn’t sure if this was a result of the low dose EPI or something was happening. I sat there for less than five minutes and decided I should mention this to my Mom (who also happens to be a nurse). As I opened my mouth to let her know about the pressure I felt a huge POP! Along with a gush of water. Woo hoo! My water broke on its own.

Several nurses came running in and asked me, “Are you feeling an urge to push?” The urge to push???? It was like a train was coming down the track full speed ahead and didn’t have any brakes. Now remember, my EPI was turned down to the lowest possible dose. The midwife said to me, “Well, you can’t push right now.” Are you kidding me???? For any Moms reading this, you know that this is like telling you to stop breathing. It is a natural feeling that you can’t stop. Well, apparently Dr. J was not at the hospital and we had to wait for him. The quickly ran me down the hallway to the OR. As we were flying down the hallway, I heard the surgical technician ask my nurse, “What is the presentation of these babies? Vertex/Vertex?” Gloria responds, “No, vertex/breech.” The surg. tech. shouts, “What????” And this “What??” echoed across the entire room of nurses. Not the thing I needed to hear when I am about to deliver these babies. As I mentioned earlier, breech extraction is not a common practice this why the entire room of 12+ hospital staff in the OR was shocked.

We arrived in the OR and got everything set up while we were waiting for Dr. J. They just kept telling me not to push, which was virtually impossible. The anesthesia was in the process of being increased since Dr. J was planning on the breech extraction of baby B. I needed to be really numb for him to get a hold of my sweet baby girl.

After what seemed like five hours, Dr. J entered the OR and had me begin to push. I pushed approximately three times and I head the sweet cries of my little man. The whisked him away to the warmers to be cleaned and measured. The U/S tech put started the U/S so Dr. J could see the baby B. At that point, I head Dr. J say, “I got a butt”. I leaned up and asked, “So we are going to be able to do this?” (Of course, I still had the fear that this wouldn’t work and we would have to have an emergency c-section) He answered the sweetest words I ever heard, “Yes, we can do this.” He asked me to push, I think I pushed about three times and out she came.

Unfortunately, she looked horrible. I honestly thought she was still-born. I saw my marriage and life flash before my eyes. I would never be able to forgive myself for choosing a vaginal delivery if she didn’t make it. I also knew my husband would never forgive me for my decision since he was so against this choice. I asked Chris to go over to where they were working her and the nurses stopped him. This didn’t make me feel better. Then I heard her sweet cry and they put her in my arms.

Mason Dominic and Audrey Harper weighed exactly the same at 5 pounds 12 ounces! Mason measured 19 inches and had Apgar scores of 8 and 9. Audrey measured 18.5 inches and had Apgar scores of 2, 9, and 9. She had a rough start but came back like a champion. I wouldn’t change anything about their delivery and I would do it all over again if I had to. We were at the hospital less than 48 hours and they are doing great. I love these sweet babies more than anything. It was an experience that I will never forget and glad I have these memories to cherish forever.

18 month stats!

Parker turned 18 months old on June 30, 2010. He went for his 18 month old well-visit on Tuesday, July 5th. He really wanted no part of being at the doctors office, which was a first for us. He was NOT going to be weighed no matter what we did. From the few seconds he would lay on the scale we determined his weight to be around 21 pounds. The nurse asked me to measure him thinking that might help him to calm down, but NO WAY! I estimated him to be about 31 inches. I am sure neither of these measurements are accurate, but close enough.

We talked to the pedi about his eating or not eating habits. The pedi said that we are doing everything we can and since he is gaining and growing we can't complain. He suspected it could be a case of a "texture issue." The pedi suggested that we have "acceptable alternatives" and "non-acceptable alternatives". I am sure you can figure this out. Things like yogurt, PB crackers, glass of milk are okay, but not cookies, cake, and ice cream. Our journey continues!

Time to think about delivery!

I went for a follow-up visit with my midwife last night due to a high blood pressure reading last week. Good news is my blood pressure is down slightly, so now big concerns at this point. I will be 31 weeks on Sunday so it is now time to start thinking about delivering these babies. We discussed some options last night and I am more confused than ever. Baby A, our boy, is vertex (head down) and has been since the very moment we saw him the first time. Our baby B, girl, can either be transverse (sideways) or breech (head up) neither position is ideal for delivering vaginally. Although, breech is a little bit more ideal, I am pretty sure she is transverse and continues to stay that way.

For delivery, I have the option of scheduling a c-section or attempting to deliver vaginally and risking an emergency c-section for baby B. I really do not want to recover from both but I also do not want major abdominal surgery. I guess the other option is to havea fairy magicially remove them from my belly??? I have to think long and hard about this decision. I hope to talk to other MoM's (mothers of multiples), read articles, talk it out experts such as my OB, and get through my first round of NST (Non Stress Test) and AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index) testing. Wish my luck!!!!

Mommy is a day late, but Happy 18 months Parker!

Parker is now 1.5 years old! It is weird to count his age in years instead of months, well usually we still do count in months. I guess when you hit 2 you stop counting months?!? Parker cracks Chris and I up daily. He has such a big personality for such a little guy. He is still wearing 12-18 months clothes and not really showing any sign of moving up to 24 months anytime soon. He is wearing size 3 diapers but wearing size 4 at night. He is wearing a size 5 shoe but probably moving to a 6 soon. He loves to carried around still!!! He eats like a bird!! We are working on that though, I always prepare him an array of items for each of his meals but he sticks to his regulars like yogurt, applesause, most pureed veggies, crackers, a chicken nugget here and there, sometimes a PB sandwich. He LOVES anything sweet such as ice cream, ice pops, chocolate milk, cake, and COOKIES (cook, as he says). He loves to climb up on anything he can get up onto. Wa-Wa (water) is a staple in his life. He loves to swim in pools, play with the hose, help wash dishes, take a bath, play in the bathroom sink, take a shower with Mom or Dad, run through sprinklers, and even go out in the rain. He pretty much mimicks almost anything you say, although most times you can't figure out what he is actually saying. Chris and I (well mostly me) can figure out almost anything he says. We have been focusing on the word two since he will have 2 babies soon. I think he gets it for the most part. He is taking one nap a day for about 2-3 hours!

I am really enjoying my one-on-one time with him until his brother and sister come to take over!

(Almost) 30 weeks!

Tomorrow, June 27, 2010 I will be 30 weeks with twins! It is still very surreal that we are going to have two newborns at OUR house in no more than 8 weeks. I visit with two doctors throughout this pregnancy, Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) with the wonderful Dr. Hill, and my regular OB office. This week I had a double doctor day and my super wonderful Hubby went to BOTH appointments.

At our first appointment with MFM we were able to see the babies for our monthly ultrasound (U/S) and it was great as always. Our baby A, boy, was weighing in at 3lbs 2oz, and our Baby B, girl, was weighing in at 3lbs. 6oz. They are both on target for growth and hang around the 50th percentile for all babies their gestational age. Twins are not looked at any differently than singleton babies. Most twins weigh less at birth because they deliver earlier than singleton babies.

In the evening, I had to visit with my OB, but ended up seeing a midwifery student and the Midwife, Laura. This appointment was a little scary and tense. My blood pressure reading was 139/89 and the cut-off for Pre-eclampsia (PreE) is 140/90. The midwife decided that I should try to have a stress-free week and come back again to be rechecked. If all comes back normal then I will continue growing these babies as normal. If my reading is high I will start the process for PreE testing. I did have high blood pressure (BP) with Parker but it didn't begin to become a problem until late in my pregnancy. It is a little early but keep your fingers crossed that all is well in the world of the Lowe twins.

My two biggest fears are hospital bedrest and delivering these munchkins before they are ready. After talking with other Mom's my fears have lessened but I still worry. I know if these babies have to come early there are great doctors and nurses that will help them along to grow, but obviously that is not ideal.

I leave you on a happy note with a belly picture at 29 weeks 5 days! By the way, I am measuring at 39 weeks!

NAMES!!!

I have to start out by shouting, "I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD!!!" Like any marriage things aren't perfect 100% of the time, but he always does his absolute best to make sure I am happy 99% of time. We always have a rough time picking out names because for the most part we have opposite taste in names. We are constantly vetoing each others choices. I presented the name Annika to him which I really like but after much research the name is truly pronounced "Ah-knee-ka". It is really pretty much I feared that people will always pronounce her name "Ann-e-ka" and she would have to correct people every.single.day! I went through this my entire life, and although I love my name and wouldn't change it, it is very annoying. So I threw out a couple of other girl names.

Last night, he asked me what we were going to name the babies and I said, "Asher and Audrey" and he said if that is what you want than that will be their names! Soo

Baby A = Asher Mason
Baby B = Audrey TBD??

21 weeks

I can't even believe that I am over halfway through this pregnancy and soon enough we will go from a family of 3 to a family of 5. Chris and I laugh because we will be married for 2.5 years and have 3 kids, nearly impossible huh? We were/are extremely lucky that TTC (trying to conceive) is a walk in the park for us.

I was so excited when I received a text message from my favorite and only sister that she was home from Miami on the day of my 21 week U/S (ultrasound). I was going to be going to this appointment all by my lonesome, which I hate. I am so glad she came because I really needed her. At the anatomy and growth u/s we found out that baby A, our boy, has a 2 vessel cord instead of the normal 3 vessel cord. I asked the MoM's (mother's of multiples) on my pregnancy forum that I frequent if there is any experience with this. I got nothing but positive news!! There is a risk he doesn't grow as big as his sister. Here are their stats: Baby A (boy) 13oz. (44%) 148bpm heartrate. Baby B (girl) 16oz. (55%) and 141bpm heartrate.

15 month well child visit

Parker went for his 15 month well child visit on Monday, April 5th. He offically weighs over 20 lbs! 21 lbs to be exact and is 30 inches. He is about 12th percentile for weight and continues to be about 50th percentile for height. We can finally turn his carseat around to see the world. I wanted to keep him rear facing as long as possible, but with the twins on the way there is no choice but to turn him around. We plan on keeping our Ford Edge and getting a mini-van when the twins are a little bit bigger.

He also had some wheezing in his chest, so he had to do a breathing treatment. He was an expert and funny enough loved it! We came home with an inhaler and some antibiotics. He seems better now. He also had to get three shots which was not his favorite moment of the day. He fell asleep as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot of the office.

He loves his doctor and showing off for him. He brought Dr. K books and animal crackers. He also played a small game of catch with Dr. K. He added some new words to his vocabulary since I last blogged: apple (app) and banana (nayna). He is also good at identifying objects when you ask him to point to something such a monkey. I love how quickly he is learning, but sad that he is growing so very fast.

Big Reveal!

On Monday, March 29th at 10:30am I went for my ultrasound to reveal the gender of little Lowe twins! Chris was stuck at work directing his favorite Monday meeting, so he was not able to make it. I asked him if he would like me to reschedule, but he told me not to worry and just send him a text message. Men! I asked my Mom and Dad to go with me instead. They both were thrilled to be there. I think my Dad was more wowed by the technology and talking fish with the sonographer. hehe.

We are happy to announce that baby A is a boy and baby B is a girl!!! After seeing, baby A was a boy I got a bit nervous that baby B would be the same gender. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that baby B was a girl. Everybody is growing right on target. Now we know for sure they are fraternal. Baby A's heartrate was 160 bmp, and baby A had a heartrate of 152 bpm. They both weigh about 7oz which they tell me is right on target for 17 weeks. At this time they are laying transverse, directly across my belly in opposite directions. I guess they are kicking each other in the head already.

We are not onto the dreaded part of pregnancy picking names!! We both seem to like the name Annika (pronounced Ah-knee-ka) for a girl and Asher for a boy. I wasn't a big fan of the alliteration but we aren't going to throw out names we can agree on due to starting with the same letter. Names are not official yet, so stay tuned.

Our scanner is currently buried in our closet because Parker's toys have taken over the room that used to be our office/den. I will try to dig it out and scan some pics of the twins!!

Vocabulary Explosion!

Parker has been saying more and more words everyday. I guess all my talking is paying off. Here is the short list: hot, light, ball, yea, shakes his head no, Ma (which is Dad too), clock, cup, coke (yes this is true!), sock, na-na (no no), egg, book and truck. Last night, he said ya ya (yellow). I do have to say this is the cutest thing ever. I am not sure he always knows what yellow is but if you hold something yellow and say, "What color?" He will respond, "ya ya" I love it!!!

12 weeks with twin Lowe babies

I still sit here in shock having a hard time beleiving that I am going to have twins sometime in August. My two biggest worries at this point are: 1) I hope I make it until the babies are big enough and healthy enough to come out into the big world. 2) I am able to take care of a very need, but handsome, toddler boy and twin newborn babies.


How far along? 12 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Let's just say I started about 20 lbs. heavier than I started with Mr. P
Maternity Clothes? I did wear a pair of maternity jeans this week, but this was due to pure comfort. I don't really NEED them yet.
Stretch Marks: I didn't get any with Parker so here is to hoping these little munchies don't give me any either.
Sleep: It tends to be one way or another. I sleep great or I don't get any at all.
Best moment this week: Chris and I tried to put three carseats in our car. I think it is going work! Yeah no mini-van for me.
Food Cravings: Really anything Mexican, but that is norm for a non-pregnant me
Gender: I have no clue but I have had some girly dream. Fingers crossed there is at least one in there. I wouldn't be opposed to two. :)
Labor signs: No, that would be a bad thing at this point.
Belly Button in or out? IN
What I miss: Not being tired all the time!
Weekly Wisdom: You have to muddle through this!

Wish List Wednesday

I have been following The Foster Family blog for a while now. Her twins girls are so adorable. Little did I know that I would really need her twin advice someday. Every Wednesday she posts "Wish List Wednesday". I thought I would play along for the very first time.

If I could afford any stroller for the twins it would definitely be the City Select by Baby Jogger. I have the City Elite for Parker and love it.


Also, a night nanny for when the twins come. LOL!


What do you wish for?

The NEW NEW Adventures of the Lowe Family

Bad Blogger is back! Although, I think my excuse this time might be legitimate. I once again will promise to be a better blogger. I have looked at some blogs recently that do a once a week update such as "5 on Friday". I think that might be a good goal for me.

The real reason for this blog entry is announce our newest "members of our family". yes you read that right, memberS! Chris and I thought we were ready to add to our family since our little man turned one at the end of December. Well, the day before Parker's birthday we found out that he would be a big brother. After thinking about this, we decided to hold off on our announcement of the baby until after I talked to the doctor and made my first appointment. As excited as we were, we also knew that the first trimester can be risky. With Christmas, a new decade, Parker's birthday, a trip to NJ I thought I had enough on my plate than to add the news of a new baby.

I contacted my doctor and had my first appointment on February 4, when I would be 9 weeks 1 day. I was disappointed that I had to wait that long, but I have done "this" before and I didn't mind waiting. On Thursday, February 4th at 5:30pm I knew our family would be changed forever. After introduction and hellos, the doctor did an ultrasound to check out the baby. To my shock and surprise, there were 2 (TWO), yes 2 (TWO), babies growing in my belly. I was scared, excited, nervous, worried, sad, happy, and probably 1,000 other emotions! To be honest, the thought of twins scared the heck out of me.

On Monday, February 8th, I had to go to Maternal Fetal Medicine because my OB, Dr. J,thought he might have saw a problem with baby B's sac. (That is strange to refer to my babies as A and B) Chris and I headed to Maternal Fetal Medicine on Monday morning at 9:30. We got another ultrasound and confirmed two babies. Our twins are going to be fraternal. We are hoping for a girl and boy. Mommy would be happy with two princesses though, and Daddy would love two more little men to add to his clan. Both of us will be happy with whatever healthy babies we get. My official due date is September 5th, 2010. The doctors all tell me to expect the babies 3 to 4 weeks before their due date, and no later than 38 weeks. Those dates will put us sometime in August.

I promise to keep everyone updates with all of our adventures!