33 weeks

Here comes 33 weeks and the count down has officially begun. It is an understatement to say that we are anxious because we have no way to tell when our baby girls are going to make their grand entry. So far we have been blessed in this journey and S is doing exceptionally well other than typical pregnancy symptoms like heartburn, fatigue, and insomnia. She didn't pass the 1-hour glucose testing but passed the 3-hour test to check gestational diabetes last week. She had to fast, drink nasty sweet liquid and be poked for blood samples every hour for three hours. It sounds like an ordeal. We are sorry that she had to go through this and tip our hats to her. Last appointment was 2/25. Babies are doing well and S belly is actually now measured at 42 weeks.

On a lighter note, S joked about our baby girls possibly born with full head of hair because she has been suffering a lot of heartburn. It is one of those pregnancy adages. In fact, there is an empirical study to confirm the association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair. We thought it is rather funny because we did specifically ask for a less hairy egg donor. Only time will tell but we love them regardlessly.

We finally finish reading the book, "What to Do When You're Having Two" from the twin prep classes and have done lots of homework so far. The wealth of information on the Internet about twins is astonishing. There is even a YouTube video showing how many diapers twins will go through in the first two years. It is approximately 6000. Holy crap!! Now we are convinced to get Diaper Genie which many of our friends say it is a life saver.

Appointments to interview three pediatricians and infant CPR class are scheduled in the next two weeks. We have also arranged our travel to meet S for the the doctor's appointment on March 9th.

Ever since the cribs were set up, we've developed a new routine before going to bed. We would walk to their room, check their cribs, play with their toys and turn on the mobile and night light. I can't even tell you what it does to my heart just to look into their room as I was sitting on the rocking chair. Our life is about to change dramatically. We’re so excited and can't wait. At the same time we really would like our girls to have all the extra days possible in the womb, growing stronger and preparing to come into the world and meet their daddy and papa.

Happy 33 weeks!! It is down to the wire and our family of two is about to become a family of four.



   

How do you know if you are a daddy?

A friend sent us this video. It is epic. Not only is it entertaining but also educational. With 5 kids (2 + triplets), this guy definitely knows how to be a daddy. Bless him and his family.

32 weeks - cribs are ready

It is 32 weeks. We have been busy cleaning and organizing this past week. Amazon packages came almost daily and there will be more to come. Cribs are assembled and ready for our baby girls. It is incredible to see their cribs in the house. This is the place where we will read bed time stories, sing lullaby and say good night every day to our girls. It is hard not to check on them a few times a day. We adore the mobile. It has a light projection with colorful images onto the rotating canopy and soothing sounds. I could just fall asleep with it. We hope they will like what we have set up for them and can't wait until the day they come home and settle in. 

First load of laundry is also done. We know it is only the beginning. :-) We are amazed to see how much stuff our girls have received and accumulated over the past few weeks. We probably will need to change their clothes quickly so they get to wear all of them. They are going to outgrow these clothes pretty soon. 

Babies now each weighs about 4 pounds and is the size of bok choy (according to a pregnancy app). Really, bok choy? Here is an interesting link with fruit and veggie comparison. <===== S belly is growing BIG. It is getting tougher on her each day and she continues to amaze us every day. The baby ticker says 56 days to go. We don't expect to go 40 weeks with twins and can't even imagine what her belly will look like at 40 weeks. Considering 37 weeks a full term for twins, we've got 35 days to go!!

Here is the weekly video from the pregnancy lady.

Names of our baby girls & 31 weeks!!

Among all decisions we had to make during this journey, choosing names was a relatively easy one. Shortly after our pregnancy was confirmed, we were excited and got a head start to think of baby names. We looked up a list of popular baby names and surprisingly not many could resonate with us. It was easy to toss out many. Since we didn't know the sexes of our babies, we decided to pick two girl names and 2 boy names in a rank order. The first girl name was easy because we are going to name the baby girl after daddy's mom. The second girl name took some time and eventually we picked one that we both like very much. Here are their names (drum roll please....) and what we really hope they will be.......

Happy

Energetic

Loved

Expressive

Natural

Their names are each engraved on a baby rattle as a surprising sex reveal back in the end of October. S, thank you so much for such special gifts. We also got the girls ornaments for our Christmas tree!


Tenacious
Healthy
Empathetic
Adventurous



Happy Valentine's Day, Helen, Thea and everyone. 63 days to go!

Car seats & stroller

The infant car seats and double stroller were delivered today. They got us all excited and we unpacked them in no time. Daddy was having fun doing a few test drives in the house. It is getting close and exciting because soon our girls will ride home in these car seats and on the stroller to many places. Reality is really setting in because their cribs are also on the way. 

We attended an infant care class yesterday at a hospital. As expected, we were the only same-sex couple and the only dads who actually asked questions. It was an interesting experience to see other dads taking on a supporting role during pregnancy and moms basically have to take care of everything. Some dads didn't even seem like they wanted to be there. Having said that, we really like what we've got here. There are no gender role and expectation. We are just lucky daddy and papa who have S to carry and who have two little girls to love. The class made us even more grateful for what S is doing for us. 

30 weeks ultrasound & baby shower

We are back home from another memorable weekend with S and her family. Not only did we get to see our girls for the first time since the new year but also S and her friends threw a surprising baby shower for us. Twins are growing and measured on track. Each weighs a little more than 3 pounds. Their heads were right next to each other but in a breech position. Everyone is really hoping for a vaginal delivery. Since they have been very active, there is still time for them to turn. Do some acrobats and make your turn, girls!! That is the least you can do for S. 

Another highlight of this past weekend was the baby shower. Once again S surprised us. We were scheduled to have maternity photo session on Sunday at one of her friend's gorgeous house in a beautiful country setting. Little did we know that she and her friends had planned a baby shower for us. We were showered with food, gifts and lots of love. It was a pleasant surprise and heartwarming. 

S and her husband made these delicious cake and cupcakes. They were so adorable and just melted our hearts. 

Two awesome and funny onesies from S. They had everyone laughed. We really hope that we have given our girls the best parts! 

Thank you, Pam, Lori, Kate, Wanda, Kimmy and everyone else. It was a very special day for us! We were overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness, generosity and hospitality. Our girls are so lucky and we hope they will get to meet you guys too. 

Two twins prep classes are done. Newborn care class tonight at a hospital, two infant car seats and stroller ordered. We still got to order a few more things, attend infant CPR class and interview pediatricians!! It is getting really serious now. 

Here comes 30 weeks!!

It is 30 weeks with 70 days to go (yee-haw). Everyone is feeling fatigue and S belly bump looks really big. The twins weigh about 3 pounds each now and will be packing on the weigh at a rate of half pound per week for the next few weeks. It is getting really tough on S.

This past Monday we attended a twins prep class from Twiniversity. It covered a wide range of topics such as pregnancy, delivery and baby accessories. It was very informative and interesting. There were quite a few couples expecting twins including other dads. We will attend another one this coming Monday focusing on caring for twins.

In a few hours, we will be on a plane to visit S and her family. It has been a while since we visited them and we can't wait. We also have a doctor's appointment Monday morning and get to see the twins again via ultrasound.

Fortune cookies do tell what is coming. It is so true. Our life is about to change forever and there are only a few weeks to go. The list of baby accessories is growing longer. It is about time to order and get them ready for the twins' arrival.

We have enjoyed watching this series of videos weekly below. It certainly feels strange that we are pregnant but the pregnancy is not near us at all.