My Belly

This week at my doctor visit, my belly measured 41 weeks. In case you are wondering, fourty weeks is considered full term. With nine weeks to go, I'm already passed the fourty week belly and it is already getting in the way. Jason complains constantly that I don't leave him room to walk by, I think I forget just how far this thing sticks out. Today was monumental, I actually shut the pantry door on my belly! Needless to say, it didn't feel great, but I'm sure everything is fine!

The babies are doing great! Our baby girl is 4 lbs 9 ounces and our baby boy is 3 pounds 4 ounces. Quite the difference in weights, but our doctor assured us that everything is ok since they are both growing in a normal range. Our only concern now is keeping my blood pressure under control--it seems to be creeping up just a little. That's to be expected with a twin pregnancy. My doctor estimates I'll be on bed rest soon...let's just hope I can get just a few more things done before I am couch bound!

We'll post pictures of the nursery's soon! Jason has put in many hours of work getting them ready!

Chicago, It's My Kind of Town

A few weeks ago (in mid July), Amy and I went to Chicago with my mom, sister (Angela), and sister's now fiance (Allen) for a long weekend. We planned this trip as a 60th birthday present for my mom (whose birthday was actually in December last year). We had a great time. The weather was awesome...especially when you consider it was 105 in Austin while we were in 70 degree Chicago.

Our Chicago trip also acted as Amy and my last trip before our little ones arrive. We were a little worried Amy wouldn't be able to travel or might wear out to easily, but everything went well. Amy was a trooper! She even used her pregnancy to her advantage. There would be places that had signs that said "no restrooms to the public" but would allow Amy to use their restrooms. All she had to do was put both hands on her bell, huff, and say, can I use your restroom. We were told there would be a 45 minute wait at Pizzeria Due but we were seated in under 5 minutes. I think it was because the hostess saw Amy was pregnant. It was like a key to the city!

We tried to do all the the normal Chicago stuff while we were there--Cubs game, boat tour, and of course, lots and lots of Chicago style pizza!

We stayed in the Hotel Burnham.

It was a really nice, classy hotel. I wish we had taken a picture of the room. Amy and I had to share a full size bed. Normally, that wouldn't be too bad. But the pregnancy has given Amy the need to to stretch out while sleeping. She popped me in the face more than a couple times in that bed.

Here is the view from our room.

This is also from our room.

Here is a fountain my mom and I found while walking around. Amy was busy waiting for us on a bench. She had already used up most of her steps this day and decided to take a break. :)

We went on a really cool architectural boat tour. They were able to take us all over the city on this boat and show us all sorts of cool stuff.

Here is my sister and Allen on the boat tour.

Millennium Park was really close to our hotel. We passed by it almost every day we were in Chicago. Here are some pictures of my favorite thing in Millennium Park. It was a large, reflective object nicknamed the Chicago Bean. I wonder why they call this the Chicago Bean... :)

My mom got us tickets to a Chicago Cubs game. (Amy stayed at the hotel to get some needed rest while the rest of us went to the game.) The Cubs played one of their arch-rivals, the St Louis Cardinals. We had great weather and a good game where the Cubs won. We event met my cousin there who now lives in Chicago.

I got a picture of Alfonso Soriano hitting a multi-RBI double. I wish I had taken my SLR camera to the game. I had to make due with our small point and shoot.

Here are the four of us. Angela didn't know who the cubs were playing and picked out red for her and Allen to wear. They fit right in...with all the Cardinal's fans who came to the game. I wonder where Angela's Chicago Cubs hat went? Seems like this would have been a perfect place for that.

At the end of the game, everyone sang a "Go, Cubs, Go" song and a lot of people waved "W" flags around. We had a lot of fun at the game.

One day, we spent most of our time on a double decker bus tour. The bus system would take us all over the city and we could get on and off whenever we wanted. Amy was very thankful for this tour. She could see a lot of stuff without needing to walk a lot. I bet if we didn't have this tour, Amy would have needed several more naps.

And of course, we ate A LOT of Chicago style pizza. If it was completely up to my sister and I, we would have had pizza for every meal. Instead, we compromised with the others and only had it every day. :)

Here is the first place we went called Giordano's. Amy and I had seen this place on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay.

You can see, the pizza was massive. I've never seen a pizza with so much cheese. It was really good but was probably my least favorite of all the pizza places we went to. The cheese and crust were great but I don't think it had anywhere near enough sauce.

We ate at both Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due. They are owned by the same people and are basically the same thing. Uno is the original and Due is about 30 yards away just across the street.

Here is a picture of the sausage and pepperoni the pizza we had at Pizzeria Due. This was by far the best pizza I've ever had in my life! It was amazing. I'm drooling now just thinking about it. Seriously, I am. I better keep my mouth closed or I'll make a mess on our desk. Everything in it was amazing...especially the toppings and pizza sauce. This alone was worth the price of the trip. This pizza was so go, part of me feels it should get its own individual blog post professing its deliciousness.

A couple days later, we went to Pizzeria Uno. My sister missed our trip to Pizzeria Due and encouraged us to go to to Uno's. I didn't need any encouragement. Amy, on the other hand, was tired of pizza and only had a salad. Yeah, you read that right...a SALAD at the original Pizzeria Uno's! I married a weirdo! :)

Here is my sister giddy over her individual cheese pizza at Uno. I'm surprised she waited for me to take a picture before she dove in. I was waiting for her to be like a kid at his first birthday party--they often go to town by sticking their hands and face right into the cake.

In between our trip to Pizzeria Due and Uno, my mom, Amy, and I found Gino's East Pizzeria. (Amy was already tired of pizza by the time we came here but being the good wife she is, she didn't complain at all.)

Like all of the pizza we had in Chicago, the pizza at Gino's was really good. I ordered a meat lovers that was topped with like ten types of meat! It was not as good as Uno or Due but it is still better than anything we have here in Texas.

After returning to Austin, we saw this was Duff from Ace of Cakes favorite pizza place. I was glad we tried it. If I saw Duff talking about how good it was, I would have been sorry we missed it.

As a change from pizza, we decided to go to Claim Jumper. Amy and I ate at one of these when we were in Seattle before our Alaskan cruise and loved it. When Amy told me there was one in Chicago, I talked everyone into going there for dinner one night. While the food was really good, going here was a big mistake.

I don't want to point any fingers, but one of the five of us looked it up on a map and thought it was less than ten miles away. Let's give that unidentified person the code name, Preggers. :) However, the scale of the map was a little off and Preggers didn't realize it was actually quite a bit further away. After a $100 hour long cab ride (where the cabbie got lost), we finally made it to dinner. The dinner was delicious but was definitely not worth the $300+ it cost the five of us after transportion. Don't worry, no one blamed Preggers for the ordeal and we all had a good time. How can you get mad at someone carrying your children, grandchildren, or niece/nephew? And don't bother asking, I'm not going to divulge the identity of Preggers. What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago.

My mom sister didn't let the cab ride get them down. They enjoyed Claim Jumper.

Here is a popcorn shop call Garrett that Amy loved. We got some free popcorn with our bus tour. Amy loved the place but I thought it was over rated.

One of the last things we did was go see Sue, a T-Rex at the Field Museum. My mom was really excited about seeing Sue since someone she went to college with actually discovered the T-Rex in South Dakota.

Well, that was our trip to Chicago. We had a lot of fun, saw tons of stuff, and obviously, ate more than our share of pizza! The next time we get to go on a trip like this, we will have two kids with us. Either that, or some grandparents with have two kids with them. :) Either way, two kids will be involved in some way.

And the moral of the story is, if you are ever in Chicago, make sure you go to the original Pizzeria Uno or Due. And, if possible, bring some home for me.

My First Punch

After 29 weeks, I felt one of our babies move for the first time! Up until tonight, every time I put my hand on Amy's stomach to feel a moving baby, they immediately calmed down and stopped moving. Amy thinks my hand and voice have a calming affect on the twins.

Tonight was a different story. Amy called me over and told me to be quite and not say a word. I quietly snuck over and put my hand on Amy's belly. Sure enough, I felt one of them give a pretty serious punch. Then, the baby kept moving around for another few minutes. Amy was not sure which child was moving but she thinks it was most likely the girl.

I was surprised how much I could actually feel. I thought that the punching or kicking would be soft where I might not even be positive it was happening. That was definitely not the case. I could easily feel the baby's hand push out and then move around. I can see why Amy complains about being kicked in the bladder. That was some pretty serious movement...and I only felt a hand. I'm sure the kicking is much stronger.

I look forward to the next time I get punched.

37 Weeks!

I went to the doctor for my 27 Week Check-Up yesterday. I go every two weeks, so, normally, there isn't anything to write about. Yesterday was a bit different!

First, the doctor measures my belly (this is never fun), I am 27 weeks pregnant, however, my belly measures 37 weeks! Yay twins! They have lots of room in there. I am afraid to hear what my belly will actually measure at 37 weeks. One of my friends with twins measured 50 weeks when she was at 37 weeks, I am sure this will be lovely!

Second, we had the c-section conversation. I've always known that with twins I have a higher risk for having a c-section. One of the babies has been positioned correctly for 26 weeks....so I thought maybe I wouldn't have to have the c-section at all. But, last week sometime, she turned around, and now both babies are breech. The doctor says she'll continue to monitor their positions, however, this late in the pregnancy, it's unlikely that they will both turn. So, c-section it is! The best thing I see is that I get paid another 2 weeks for my maternity leave, so, it's not all bad!

Right now, the babies are a combined 5 lbs! Keep praying for healthy babies, our goal is at least 5.5 lbs each, more if we can make it! That's 11 lbs of baby! We'll have more updates on the babies coming over the next few weeks!

Our 10 Minute Car Ride

My family was in town for my first baby shower this weekend and Jason and I had the privilege of driving my niece, Ella, and oldest nephew, Will, to dinner. Ella and Will requested to ride with us, so, rather than take their car seats out of my mom's car and into our car, it was easier for Jason to just drive my mom's car. When we're in the car with Will and Ella, there is never a shortage of conversation, here are some of the highlights from our drive:

----------Conversation #1----------

Me: I hate that my mom's car makes that beeping noise when you back up.
Will: Did you say "hate"?
Me: No
Will: But I heard you.
(Oh great, now I've used the word "hate" and lied about it! What kind of parent will I be??)
Me: I probably should have said "I would prefer if Grammie's car didn't make that noise"
Will: OK (He seemed content with this answer...phew!)
Ella chimes in: It doesn't beep this much when Grammie drives it.

----------Conversation #2----------

Will (out of no where): Sometimes, when your nose is stuffy, you can put water in a teapot and pour it in your nose, then, you will feel better.
Me: Will, what make you think of that?
Will: I don't know.

I'm assuming that Will has never actually used a Neti pot, but, he seems to be well versed in how it operates!

We love our conversations with Ella & Will, they are so much fun! I can't wait until it's our two kids in the backseat engaging us in conversation! Hopefully by then, I will have learned not to use the word "hate".

I Scared the Bajeezes Out of Amy Last Night

Like Amy does every night, she woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As she slowly got out of bed (this is a lot of effort for a woman pregnant with twins), Amy heard me move on my side of the bed. Her getting out of bed must have woken me up and I realized I needed to go the bathroom. (I drank a lot of water after my late basketball game.) Not noticing Amy was no longer next to me, I quietly made my way to the bathroom so I would not wake her. I must have been only a couple seconds behind Amy because right as she was flipping the bathroom light on, I accidentally touched her back trying to open the door.

I have never seen someone so scared in my life. She let out an airy "uh, uh, uh" scream and violently shook her arms around her face as if she was a T-Rex trying to swat a fly away from her face. This went on for several seconds...long after she realized it was me who touched her.

I felt so bad and was worried she was going to have a heart attack or go into labor. Amy said the incident definitely woke the twins up.

Thankfully, everything is okay and there was no lasting trauma. :) Now, we find the event humorous. It made me thing of my friend, Jeff, who loves scaring his wife, Shawna. Jeff would have been proud of me for this scare. Let's see him top this one!

Googling "Ghetto HEB"

Every once in awhile, I like to see how people got to our site. My favorite is to see what people searched for that lead them here. For example, when you Google for "Perinatologist Dallas" (without quotes), we show up on the first or second page.

Well, when I checked this time, I noticed that someone found our site by searching for "Ghetto HEB." I thought that was pretty funny. Amy calls our (soon to be former) HEB Ghetto all the time. (Though I do think a "ghetto HEB" is way better than most any other grocery store.)