Pregnant with Twins: 30 Weeks

How far along?  Whoa. The last 30 weeks have flown by! And holy schnikes - we're going to have TWO babies in a few weeks.
Baby Crauns' size:  They should each be about 17ish inches and 3ish pounds. I must admit that I will sort of miss my big belly. I have such a nice shelf for bowls and my water mug and for pens and sticky notes when I'm working from home.
Total weight gain/loss:  I don't know...Last appointment I was only 1 pound off my largest (known) with Dominic so I don't know that I care to know. 
Maternity clothes:  I got a sweater and a sweater dress last week on sale that I can wear now and I'll totally be able to wear afterward. I was pretty excited that I could find something that was normal to wear! And I bought a pair of Ugg sweatpants on sale from Von Maur and I have worn them pretty much every single day over the last week. If I could wear them to work I would. They are currently in my dirty clothes basket so I can wash them tomorrow and I miss them already.
Stretch marks?  I'm so itchy! Brian says he doesn't see any but I think I have some little ones around my belly button.
Sleep:  Ugh, my hips hurt. If I spend half the night propped up with pillows so I'm basically sitting up, I can make it through about 7-8 hours in bed. I'm so exhausted but I hurt way too much to sleep longer.    
Movement:  At my doc appointment on Wednesday they both cooperated when the doctor used the doppler to listen to their heartbeats (no ultrasound this week), and the doctor was super surprised about how far up William is. She said that usually when both are head down their heartbeats can be found in roughly the same area. He just wanted to show off his butt for her by snuggling up extra high into my ribs. Yesterday Chloe decided to scoot up higher and join him in my rib cage, so then William decided to do what I think was a flip. It was the most painful thing I've experienced in a long time! I tried to get a picture of my belly because it was majorly lopsided, freakishly so, but I couldn't concentrate long enough to get one. I think I'm still feeling some residual pains!
Symptoms:  This week has been better - mostly because I've been parked on the couch resting. I still have the little annoying prego symptoms like heartburn and minor swelling, but the cramping has gone away completely.
Labor signs?  Only one contraction in the last week!
Food cravings:  I want a cold leftover turkey sandwich so bad. I guess I should be thankful that I'm super prego during the holidays, because I was only able to have one plateful for Thanksgiving which means built-in portion control. But it does make me a little sad when I think about Christmas. I'll probably only be able to have two sugar cookies instead of like 20.
Miss anything?  My brain. I forget everything and now I'm starting to misplace stuff. I forget what I'm saying sometimes in the middle of a sentence, and I'm always like - Ooo, shiny things! It's so annoying.
Belly button in or out?  The other day I was trying to find my belly button to measure my stomach, and I freaking had to search for it! It's flat and almost nonexistent looking. 
Wedding rings on or off?  Not attempting after last week.
Nursery progress:  I made a little progress on the lamp shade, so I'm maybe halfway done. 
Best moment this week:  It was great to spend Thanksgiving with my family, but I missed being able to spend it with Brian's. Dom and I made a delicious cake with the longest name ever - pumpkin chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and caramel buttercream. For breakfast we made turkey cinnamon rolls. The holidays are so much better with a child!

Also, this isn't baby related, but Dom and I were going to the bathroom at the same time earlier today, and he yelled at me to "Push it down, Mom!" So then I had to explain that boys and Daddys have weenies and Moms and girls have...different parts. And then I hurried up and changed the subject because I'm so not ready to talk about that with him yet!
Weekly wisdom:  I think hitting 30 weeks and still being able to move around without major complications has made me realize how very blessed I am. I am extremely thankful for my health, for being able to grow not just one but two babies, for their health and the health of my family, for access to medical care and nutritious food, for a roof over my head and a working heater, a job that allows me to challenge myself on a daily basis and help others in the process, and supportive and caring family and friends. 
Looking forward to:  Taking Dominic to see Santa on Saturday next weekend. He's so much more into the holidays this year so I hope he doesn't freak out like he did last year.

Pregnant with Twins: 29 Weeks

How far along?  29 weeks!
Baby Crauns' size:  They each are the size of an acorn squash.
Total weight gain/loss:  I decided to wait until my next doc appointment to see where I'm at. I was going to weigh myself last night but I was super swollen after brunch at the Machine Shed in the morning.
Maternity clothes:  I tried to find some longer tops online Saturday during my husband-ordered couch rest, but didn't have much luck. Maybe some of Brian's clothes will fit when I'm even more ginormo???
Stretch marks?  My skin is stretched so far that I can't tell if I'm seeing veins, red marks from scratching my itchy skin, or stretch marks. Guess I'll find out in a few weeks.
Sleep:  I was running on fumes Thursday so I actually slept that night, but a wandering, worrying mind kept me up the last few nights. Brian must be getting over his cold because his snoring has gotten better!    
Movement:  A lot! I had to go potty earlier and Chloe sucker punched my bladder - totally almost peed my pants!
Symptoms:  I had a couple of really good days over the last half a week, and then that tanked Friday late afternoon. I started having some symptoms of early labor, which meant no sleep plus a whirling mind.
Labor signs?  The contractions have gotten fewer, but are still strong when they occur. New labor signs have cropped up in the last few days, cramps plus things I won't name here, which had me really freaked out on Friday night and Saturday. I can regulate them if I sit regularly, or if they get really bad, laying on my left side helps to make the symptoms go away. Today has been better, but I'm thankful I have another doctor's appointment Wednesday so I can check with the doc on these things. My goal is to make it through at least the next 4 weeks. If I can do that, I'll be 33 weeks and they'll be that much further along. Plus, I won't need to take that much unpaid time off - hopefully. I think my freaking this weekend was mostly thinking about the financial ramifications of either hospitalized or unhospitalized bed rest plus the NICU costs if they arrived at 29 weeks!
Food cravings:  No room for food! My belly is full of babies!     
Miss anything?  I miss cuddling Dom in my lap, especially when he is tired and wants to rest his head on my shoulder.
Belly button in or out?  Same as last week.
Wedding rings on or off?  Tried to wear my diamonds plus another ring yesterday. That lasted like 3 hours. Ouch.
Nursery progress:  I haven't made any progress on the lampshade since the last post. Still shooting for the end of the month, but I better get cracking. 
Best moment this week:  My favorite part was listening to Dominic talk about his fun Saturday and Sunday with my parents. He did the Jolly Holiday lights walk with my mom, stayed the night with my parents, and then went to Waterloo for Laney's bowling birthday party. When I asked him how bowling was, his first comment was, "My wait in line." Lines suck, dude. Then he showed us how he pushed the ball and flung his plate of turkey across the room in the process. Daddy can't wait to take him bowling again, just the two of them. It's also fun to see how Dom enjoys our Christmas tree and the few other decorations I Brian put up while he was gone. Scroll down for some photos from the weekend.
Weekly wisdom:  Brian and I played the what if game the other day - what if we had twins the first time around?  What if I had gotten knocked up before we were married when I was still in my first job and hating life?  We both agreed that we have been through a lot together, and that we are a stronger team because of all those experiences. We're thankful that Chloe and William didn't become a part of our lives until now, when we are better able to handle two newborns! 
Looking forward to:  Thanksgiving!  I'm so bummed that I couldn't go to Laney's birthday party, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing the girls (and I guess my sis and Ryan) for Thanksgiving. (But at the same time I'm bummed that we won't get to have our usual Thanksgiving day with Brian's family.)

Not a fan of waiting so long for his turn

He plays like me.

Apparently he kept trying to bowl from way back there.

Checking out his ornament for the year, an airplane

I asked him to put it on the tree and this is what he did

This year's small tree / half-assed Christmas decor

Not everything can be about the twins: Dominic's two-and-a-half-year update

He just had to wear his new snow boots for his picture!

It's hard to believe that my little baby is two and a half already! He no longer looks like a baby or a toddler, but a little boy. Just like I did with his monthly posts his first year, here's the low down on his life as a two-year-old.

Weight and height:  33.5 lbs and 36 inches. He has slimmed down a lot over the past six months because all the sudden he decided to grow upward!

Sleeping patterns:  Over the last year, his daytime nap has shorted from a little over two hours to about an hour and a half. He's still going to bed around 7, and wakes up around 6. We transitioned to a toddler bed around his 2nd birthday, and he handled the transition well, most likely due to sleeping in a cot at daycare. He had a few weeks where he would get up in the middle of the night and crawl into our bed, so we put a child-proofing door handle cover on the inside of his room door. We've tried to take it off a few times, but he'll come into our room at 4 or 5 ready to party. I hope to slowly fade it over the next few weeks since I'm worried about how he's going to handle the babies screaming crying all the time.

Not all nap times are perfect...

Eating habits: Sometimes he eats like he can't get enough, and other times he doesn't eat very much at all. His favorite drinks are chocolate milk (we make our own using Nesquik so we can make just barely chocolatey) and apple juice (which is really 90% water 10% juice; straight up juice is the magic for making him poo!). He favorite foods include cheese puffs, broccoli, carrots, peas, grapes, hot dogs, cheese, and candy of pretty much any kind (just like his mother). His cheese obsession has significantly decreased over the last year, but he used to sit inside the fridge munching on cheese sticks.

Places he went: We've had lots of adventures since the last post like this way back when he was 15 months old. Lots of trips within Iowa to visit family, and a few trips to Minnesota to visit friends and family. Here are a few from the last few months.

Zoo and lake
My parents got Dominic a zoo membership for his birthday, so we spent at least a day every week at the zoo this summer. We also went about once a week to either Gray's Lake or Raccoon River park for Dom to play in the water. I didn't feel the best this summer during my first trimester, but I tried really hard to do something fun with Dom every day.

Strolling at the zoo

Sleepover with his cousins
Brian and I went to Seattle for a really long weekend, and he got to spend most of the time we were gone with my sis and her family. He had a blast with Laney and Brinley! I think we'll have to repeat this again every summer, regardless of whether or not Brian and I go on any trips.

Arizona + first airplane ride
Brian's parents took us all on a trip to Arizona to visit family, so Dominic went on his first airplane ride. He was good the majority of the way there and was an absolute rockstar on the flight home. Thankfully we had direct flights and no real delays! We all had a great time visit family, and I wish we could do it more often.

Four generations of Craun men

Special friends he's made:  His best friend is a little guy at daycare. They are very close and love to see each other every day. His buddy is about 5 months older than Dom, so when he transitioned from the one-year-old room to the two-year-old room last January, Dominic didn't know what to do with himself. He started crying more at drop offs and was just overall sort of mopey. Brian and I decided one night that we'd call daycare to beg them to move Dom up early, and before I had a chance to call them, they called us to see if we would be okay with them doing that. His little life was so much better after that! This summer and fall we've done more with his buddy and his mom, and I love to see the two of them together.

Noises and babbles: He is a talking machine! He loves to ask questions and to repeat things. Sometimes he'll sing songs. It's amazing how much his language has advanced over the last year. You can actually have conversations with him, and he understands so much more. I love when he tells me about his day after we read our bedtime stories. He has the sweetest little voice, too. When he goes to Target with me, we often have little old ladies come over to the aisle we're in and say that they just had to see who belonged to that cute voice. And of course he acts all shy and bats his lashes at them! Flirt!

He has the best manners, too. I love when I hand him something and he says thank you all on his own. He'll often say excuse me when we're in the way, and for the most part, remembers to say please.

He calls himself "my Dom Craun" because there's another Dominic at daycare and that's what his b-fri calls him, so now I always find myself calling him that too. He has started to call me Mom, which breaks my heart that he's so big already. He also knows our names. There have been a few times where he has called Brian by his name to get his attention. And he loves to share what he's learning at daycare. It's hilarious when he counts. He's so set on his order that I don't have the heart to correct him.

Firsts: 
Train ride
We met his buddy at Thomas the Train in Boone, and we got to ride one of the passenger trains. I thought he was going to freak out a little when the train started moving but he loved it. He enjoyed looking out the window, and wanted to go on another ride as soon as we got done.

Dental check-up
He had his first visit to the dentist's office a little bit ago and handled it really well. He followed all the directions really well and didn't cry at all.

 Bloody horror scene
When we were in Arizona, we went to a sky dive place to watch the planes and divers. Brian's cousin ended up diving, which was so cool! Anyway, Brian, Mark, Bennett, and Dominic were playing on the bleachers near the landing field and Dom thought it would be fun to jump from one step to another. I thankfully didn't see this all happen but apparently his face broke the fall and he almost bit all the way through his bottom lip. Thankfully there was a medic on site who saw it happen. She cleaned it all up and made it look much better. By the time Dominic made it over to where I was sitting, his lip was swollen and still bleeding. He now has his first scar on that cute little face. :(

Pumpkin patch and horse ride
We met Dom's bestie for an afternoon at a pumpkin patch / farm. He loved the goats and tractors, but his favorite part was the horse ride. He had a blast with everything!

Using the potty
We started working on potty training a few weeks ago and Dom is totally rocking it. He's had a few days with no accidents, and when he does have accidents it's usually no more than one or two a day. So proud of him!

Favorite things:
Some of Dominic's favorite things right now include:

• The Hawkeyes. Any football player is also called the Hawkeyes.
• Daddy. I finally got to the point this summer where I became the preferred parent and then I got hit with the pregnancy nausea truck and that all was ruined. He especially loves to wrestle with Daddy.
• Going places and being outside. He loves to be active and watch what's happening around him.
• His grandparents. Last night my mom came over to fix Dom's botched Great Clips haircut (there's a reason their haircuts are so cheap!), and as she was getting ready to leave Dominic said, "No leave me." Awwww!
• Helping. He loves to help us do pretty much everything from cooking and cleaning to building and fixing things. He also loved helping with the babies' room. He's so proud of himself when he helps out and will say, "Look at me!"
• Reading, especially Where the Wild Things Are (aka "Max"). He loves for us to read lots of stories before bed, and likes to pick a new one to read each night. He will often read to himself, as well, and you can hear him making up stories to go with the pictures as he's lying in bed before he falls asleep. Sometimes he'll read in the mornings, and we'll find him sitting on his window seat or on his bed reading.
• Choo Choo Thomas. He loved seeing the big Thomas in Boone, and he loves to play with the train set at Von Maur and at daycare, plus his little track at home. Toward the end of summer I started DVRing the cartoon on PBS and he loves to watch it.
• Bob Bob. He is obsessed with SpongeBob SquarePants! We had a Bob Bob themed birthday party for him that he loved, and we watch an episode pretty much every day. It's a good thing there's some adult humor in that show, too.
• Planes, trains, and automobiles. He loves trucks, trains, tractors, airplanes, fire trucks, po po's (police cars), dump trucks, you name it. He can spot our cars from super far away.
• His kitties. He loves Marbles, who we now call Mars because that's what he calls her. She is so good with him. He would love to pet Coco, but she doesn't really like him so he never gets close enough. 

At Night Eyes rocking his favorite book character

Helping Daddy cook

I think I've said this about every age, but this age is truly my favorite. When I come home from work every day he says, "Ma! You home!" I love my welcomes home, and his hugs and kisses. He's so caring, and often asks me if I feel okay (he knows I felt awful for a few months) and is pretty decent at sharing. I'm not sure how we did it, but I'm so proud of the little boy he's grown to be. He's the best!

Pregnant with Twins: 28.5 Weeks

How far along?  28.5 weeks. Nine weeks from today they will join us (or hopefully not much before then)!
Baby Crauns' size:  They each are the size of an eggplant. I've been having some growing pains and lots of itchiness as my belly starts growing out more to make room for them.
Total weight gain/loss:  No change from last week's post.
Maternity clothes:  I'm starting to get worried about what I'm going to wear to work the last few weeks...I feel huge! Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere is due around the same time I am, and her latest post makes me feel extra large. Guess that's the difference between a girl in her first pregnancy with one baby (her) and a girl in her second pregnancy with two babies (me). Blah.
Stretch marks?  Let's hope the Medela Stretch Marks Therapy lotion works to help prevent them. As I packed our hospital bag last weekend, I got worried that the nursing tanks I wore right after Dom was born wouldn't fit me this time around. I made the mistake of googling what a woman's belly looks like shortly after delivering twins, and I was absolutely horrified! Extreme stretch marks and saggy, deflated balloon looking skin. WTF, I'm an idiot for googling that! (I settled on a tee that fits now plus the tanks that likely won't fit, but whatever.)
Sleep:  Sleep is rough again. My belly is so heavy that it's hard to get comfortable, and with all the sitting I've been required to do, my hips are starting to hurt again. Plus I increased my water intake in hopes that that would decrease the frequency of contractions (more on that below), so I'm in and out of bed 3-4 times a night again. Plus Brian has some sort of allergies/cold going on so he's been snoring insanely loud, so falling asleep after a bathroom stagger is extra difficult.    
Movement:  I led the opening of a training on Friday, and I'm sure I sounded like a ditz because I couldn't concentrate on anything I was saying with these two rolling around inside me! Every time I looked down at the notes in my training manual I could see my belly moving. Totally distracting! In addition to the crazy movements, I'm also constantly having to gently nudge William out of my ribs / diaphragm. He likes to cuddle up way high on that side, but the cool thing about it is that I can feel his little butt. It fits just in the palm of my hand. He's so little but so big already!
Symptoms:  Last week was rough. I had lots of contractions, strong ones, spaced throughout the day for multiple days. One night, I had three strong ones within 30 min and I was on the verge of a meltdown (rule is to go to the hospital if I have four within an hour). I drank a ton of water and laid on my left side and finally got them to stop. Apparently when the doctor says that I need to sit pretty much all day, that they mean exactly that. So after another chat with the doc's office, they let me know that I shouldn't be doing anything other than working (or no work and do stuff at home - not an option), and that I need to cut way back on the number of places I go in one day. I've been doing that and it really sucks because I feel fine! (Well, most of the time...sometimes I still get headaches or dizziness.) But I know I need to do it so I'm trying really hard to comply. I still feel the need to get shit done (aka nesting mode extreme), and this quote from the Alpha Mom Pregnancy Calendar sums up how I'm feeling too a T:
"Must move furniture and fold clothes and organize the linen closet and replace the bathroom vanity and finally get rid of that sooty stain on the marble fireplace and yes, DARLING, these are all essential tasks that MUST be completed before the baby gets here, DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME, NOW GO HANG UP SOME SHELVES." (Poor Brian.)
Labor signs?  Since I've cut way back on any activity / standing, I've had only 1-2 contractions a day with lots of time between them. I hope this lower level keeps up!
Food cravings:  My sweet tango apples are sold out at Target and HyVee! Boo! No cravings this past week. I've been drinking so much water that there isn't a ton of room for food.     
Miss anything?  Being able to do fun things. I feel with this whole limited activity thing that I can't participate in fun stuff. I was feeling better so we signed up for the Jolly Holiday Light's Tour de Lights family night walk this coming Saturday, with plans for me to just do the mile while everyone else did the longer walk. That's not happening anymore. And then I had to miss out on Dom's first trip to Monkey Joes with his b-fri because I didn't feel well last Sunday. I missed what would probably be my last opportunity to train at U of I's behavior clinic on Monday, and I have to miss Laney's birthday party on Sunday. Not to mention all that I would be doing with my besties! Guess I should get used to this feeling since I'll soon have my hands full with two newborns...
Belly button in or out?  It looks so weird. It's pretty flat still, but it almost looks like it was never there in the first place.
Wedding rings on or off?  I actually got to wear my diamond ring to dinner with friends on Saturday! But most of the time I'm barely fitting my fat finger into my wedding band.
Nursery progress:  I started working on Anthropologizing the lamp shade. It's going well so far but slow progress since I'm trying to rest more. Hoping to finish it by the end of the month. 
Best moment this week:  Dominic turned 2.5 on Sunday! He's such a big boy (see his 2.5 year post coming soon!), and he has blossomed into the sweetest guy. I'm so proud of him! 
Weekly wisdom:  After the contraction scare last week, I was pretty emotional for a few days. Now that I'm sitting all the time and cutting way back on activities, I am doing all I can to keep those babies in there for as long as possible, and I just have to trust that God knows what he's doing. Thinking that has helped me be a little less worried about early labor. That, plus knowing that I'm lucky to have made it this far with little to no complications. 
Looking forward to:  Putting our Christmas tree up this weekend! (Well really me supervising Brian putting it up...) Dom is understanding so much more now that I think everything about Christmas will make some sense to him. I'm a little sad that I can't do all the fun stuff I wanted to but that's what Grandma is for, right?  (By the way, Grandma Cindy, this means that we need to decorate sugar cookies because I won't be able to stand long enough to roll the dough and cut out cookies!)

Pregnant with Twins: 27 Weeks

 

Too lazy to use the real camera

How far along?  27 weeks. Which means I am officially in the 3rd trimester and there are only 10 weeks left! And when I think about that in terms of days, there are only 72 more days. Shit's gonna get real!
Baby Crauns' size:  One website says a teddy bear, and another says a rutabaga. They should each weigh about two pounds, but both are measuring ahead of schedule. Chloe is estimated to weigh 2 pounds 8 ounces and William is estimated to weigh 2 pounds 10 ounces. If they keep this up they will definitely run out of room!
Total weight gain/loss:  Woohoo! My doctor only wanted me to gain 4 pounds from my last appointment to today, and I was right under. I'd love to say that I watched what I ate and I exercised but I did nothing of the sort. With my initial weight loss, I'm at an overall of +24 pounds.
Maternity clothes:  Maternity leggings are the closest I can get to wearing sweatpants to work... 
Stretch marks?  I've given up trying to locate any. I'm stretched to the max now so I am anticipating some marks in the next couple weeks. And these guys are heavy! I get to start rocking a maternity belt. It's super awesome looking.
Sleep:  I'm so tired at the end of the day from going non-stop that when I lie down to sleep, I'm out.   
Movement:  Sometimes it feels like they are wrestling. William likes to curl up in the top part of his side so I get this weird bulge from his butt right on the top right part of my belly. When he does that, which is often, he makes it really hard for me to breathe comfortably. Thanks dude.
Symptoms:  I don't know if I'm in extreme nesting mode or extreme freak out because everything has to be done in the next couple weeks mode, but we spent the weekend organizing the garage. Thanks to Dad and Brian, our garage is finally (almost) organized! Just a couple odds and ends to finish up. I think the best part of the process was finding some old stuff from grad school and college. Brian and I have hoarder issues.
Labor signs?  A few more wicked Braxton Hicks this past week. I remember having stronger ones around eight months so I was a little worried that I'm about five weeks ahead of that. Turns out that I should be - those extra strong contractions would have put me in the hospital or on bed rest if I didn't know how to respond to them. Glad I knew what to do! Doc said that I need to start cutting back on the crazy hours I've been putting in at work and to start spending less time in schools. If I don't, then I will likely need to be put on bed rest. It's a good thing that I have plenty of stuff to do otherwise! Pray for no early labor!
Food cravings:  I'm obsessed with sweet tango apples. They are the slightly cheaper version of honey crisp, and maybe a little tarter, but they are so good.    
Miss anything?  Those size 8 gray jeans I finally got back into right before I got pregnant again. I feel like those won't see the light of day for another three years, if ever again. 
Belly button in or out?  It's starting to go from flat to poking out. Boo.
Wedding rings on or off?  Still rocking my wedding band. The colder weather has helped a little with the swelling, but it still amazes me how much more swollen I am this time compared to last time.
Nursery progress:  Well, we decided not to get a diaper pail because we didn't want to spend anymore money. I found a black one that wouldn't be a complete eyesore from Buy Buy Baby, and I almost pulled the trigger on it. But then I decided organizing our garage finally was more important. Maybe we'll change our minds when we are changing out the Target garbage sack twice a day. 
Best moment this week:  I had a rough day earlier this week. My sweet little boy could tell I was upset, so he came up and gave me a kiss and a big hug. But then it made me cry because I can't help but think, "What have we done to him?"  I hope that he doesn't hate me for bringing home two babies and not being able to pick him up at all after my c-section. And I really hope that the freak show called twins doesn't take away from his little spot light. I know he'll eventually get over it, but it doesn't stop me from feeling like I robbed him of something. 
Weekly wisdom:  I realized this past week that I have only 43 work days left until my delivery date. We're as ready as we can be on the home front related to the babies, so now it's the mad dash to complete everything I need to for work before Chloe and William arrive. I'm extremely thankful for a boss who is absolutely supportive (and who also has twins!), for a job that allows me to take 12 full paid weeks off to recover and spend time with my babies (please God, let them start sleeping through the night by the end of leave!), and for the amazing team of behavior analysts I work with who will fill in the holes my absence will leave. There may be times that I can't stand my job, but overall I have it pretty darn good. 
Looking forward to:  Indulging in some "meth" (it's like a scotcharoo chex mix and it's even better than crack - the caramel chex mix we served at our wedding) and some pretend wine because I passed my glucose test! This is seriously the best thing ever because I thought with the babies measuring big the last few appointments that I had gestational diabetes. Now I can eat like I normally do for Thanksgiving and Christmas! 

Pregnant with Twins: 26 Weeks

How far along? 26 weeks. We have 80 days to go, which is a little scary and exciting at the same time.
Baby Crauns' size:  They are each the size of a head of lettuce. I almost bought two at Target this afternoon just to see what that looks like. How are they fitting in there?! Each should weigh about two pounds, so I finally caved and bought a support belt.
Total weight gain/loss:  I haven't stepped on the scale since last week, so not sure. With the compression socks on, I can be a little more activity before I start hurting. Hoping that helps cancel out the apple pie Mom made us!
Maternity clothes:  Of course. I'm almost to the point where the shirts and dresses I wore the last few months of Dom's pregnancy fit me so I'll have a few more choices soon! I also bought two pairs of these from Motherhood to wear now and after they're born. I have a cropped pair that I lived in after my first c-section and I miss being able to wear them now in the cold weather.
Stretch marks?  Nothing new. I started using Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy lotion with hopes that it will keep more marks from developing.
Sleep:  Apparently I snored a lot last night, which means I'm finally sleeping!    
Movement:  Crazy acrobats. Sometimes it's really clear as to which is moving because I feel the movements all the way on the sides of my belly. Other times I feel movement right on top of my belly and I can't tell if it's William or Chloe. I can tell for sure, though, that William loves to kick me in the ribs and diaphragm. 
Symptoms:  This week has been much better with symptoms, thankfully! Brian and I have been super productive this weekend. There's something about crossing things off my to-do list that helps my mood. Plus I think I'm nesting, because I made banana oatmeal muffins and beer bread on top of everything else we did today. And my hair and skin finally are starting to behave like they did during my first pregnancy! My hair is a little less frizzy and fewer strands are falling out. My skin no longer looks like a teenager, too!
Labor signs?  I had some crazy awful Braxton Hicks contractions earlier this week after a busy work day. Thankfully those always get better after some rest.
Food cravings:  My cravings this week are a little more sophisticated than the beer I craved last week. Although I took nice deep breath of the beer bread mixing bowl just to take in the smell of beer (clearly I still crave some!). Anyway, I really want some eggs over easy, either with toast or on top of sweet potato hash. I also feel like I'm missing out on delicious pear and brie paninis that I made a few times last fall. 
Miss anything?  All the fall fun runs. Today was the Hot Chocolate Run that Bess, my mom, and I participated in the last three years. The first year we ran it, I think, was when I was pregnant with Dominic. When I first found out about this pregnancy I totally had in mind that I'd walk it. I contemplated late registration since I've been moving better with the compression socks, but then realized that I could barely handle the mile we walked on Beggars' Night. This will also be the first year I will miss the Jolly Holiday Lights run. It's seriously the best way to see the lights.
Belly button in or out?  Almost all the way out. I'd say it's about flat now.
Wedding rings on or off?  Totally off. Sometimes I feel that it won't be long until I ditch my wedding band as well.
Nursery progress:  We took off the tags and washed all the clothes, blankets, bibs, hats, and socks I purchased since I feel we're in safer times now. I ended up buying a little stool for the humidifier instead of making one (thanks for the idea, Lauren!). We still need to pad the bottom of the chair to keep it from crashing into the wall. I added two more things to our list:  purchase a diaper pail and decorate the lampshade. We never used a diaper pail for Dominic, and just changed out the grocery sack every day or so. But with double the diapers I feel like that would be a multiple times a day job so we're going to buy one of those stinky monstrosities in the name of survival. And the lampshade - I'm crazy and I'm going to try to embroider it with the floral drawing on the wall art. We'll see how it turns out or if I decide to abandon this project by next week.
Best moment this week:  So many great moments this week! Dom had his Halloween party at daycare on Wednesday so he helped me make cupcakes. I love cooking with him because he loves to cook. All I did was measure the ingredients for him to dump and then scoop the batter into the liners.

Late Wednesday night my brother and his wife welcomed their first child, Austin, to the world after two long days. Ally was induced Tuesday morning but Austin decided he wanted to share a birthday with my dad instead. Ally, you're a trooper! He is absolutely adorable and I wish that I could meet that little monkey now.

Dominic picked the hat to send to Austin

 Then Thursday we celebrated my dad's 59th birthday and went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood for the first time. Dom looked so cute in his costume, and he got so many compliments on it. He really loved being Max!

He couldn't wait! And he had to blow out Grandpa's candles. Birthday hog.

Our king of the Wild Things. He loves it when I read the book to him with his name instead of Max.

And finally, today we had a little visit from some friends who were passing through town after a weekend wedding. They brought over a little gift for Dominic and a funny onesie for the babies to share. Erica and Nick, you're too sweet! Thank you for the dose of cheer on our Sunday evening!

Dom giggled like crazy reading the book. He's clearly a boy!

Weekly wisdom:  To do lists are a pregnant girl's best friend. I can not remember anything without writing it down. Brian noticed how spacey I am and asked me if I annoy myself with all of my forgetfulness. Yes, yes I do.
Looking forward to:  This lampshade project. It's either going to be a disaster or it's going to look awesome. Hoping for the latter!