OB Appt

My husband finally got to join me at an OB appointment! He's working 1:30p to midnight tonight, so I at least got to see him this morning. Anyway, the doctor said no UTI (yay), and there is some yeast, but it's not a ton. She also said that if you look at any pregnant woman, there's going to be some yeast. She gave me a prescription that I can take if I really want to, but she's not worried.

My fundal height measured 31cm today (which would correspond to 31 weeks if I were having just one baby). So I'm basically huge compared with the number of weeks I am. :-) But I only grew 1cm per week for the last 3 weeks, so that's not too bad. As the babies put on more weight at a faster rate, I'll probably get bigger faster. Eek!

I know you're all dying to hear about my weight too. I gained 2lbs in 3 weeks, and I ate breakfast (and drank about 10oz of water) right before my appt, so my weight gain was probably only about a pound or 1 1/2 lbs. I was actually aiming for 3lbs. I swear I'm not dieting either! I eat when I'm hungry, but I try not to eat anything that's really bad (like candy, cake or chips). I do have a popcorn addiction, but I eat Smart Pop, which doesn't have too much fat or too many calories. And it's much better to eat a bag of popcorn than to eat a bag of cookies. :-) My hubby knows not to bring junk into the house, because if it's here, I'm going to eat it. So, I'm doing great! Once the babies start gaining a 1/2 lb a week (around 32 weeks), my goal will up from 1lb a week gain to 2lbs a week in order to accommodate appropriately. My overall goal is to be between 170 and 180 when I deliver (aiming for a 36 or 37 week delivery). That would be a 30-40lb total weight gain from my pre-pregnancy weight, and because I started my pregnancy about 35lbs overweight, that is a perfect goal (according to my OB).

I did forget to take my picture last night, so I did it today and posted it as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Big Day

Well, we made it! 24 weeks! For those who don't know, this is when doctors have determined "official" viability--and babies born now have more than a 50% chance of survival (although I read somewhere that with intervention it's closer to 90%, but I think that's being a bit optimistic...)

My memory is starting to slip, though. Yesterday I put eggs on the stove to boil and forgot about them for over a 1/2 hour. Luckily, eggs don't overcook so easily and they turned out fine. Today, though, I left a bag of popcorn in the microwave for a full 5 minutes. It's kinda burnt, but not inedible. :-) Just so you know, my microwave is not that powerful and it generally takes about 3.5 to 4 mins to cook a bag, not the 2.5 it tells you to leave it in for. There were also still some unpopped kernels at the bottom of the bag, so you'll never get them all to pop no matter what. lol

Will update tomorrow with the report from the OB, although there probably won't be much to report. I think I may have a yeast infection from the antibiotics I took earlier in the month for my UTI, so we'll see if I'm right (or if I have another UTI ick).

Totally Uneventful

There is absolutely nothing going on here. I spent Friday preparing for Shabbos and then reading. Saturday was Shabbos, so I spent most of the day reading and napping. Today I slept in far too late and then spent my day on the computer. Man, I must be the biggest bore ever! lol

Oh, one thing I did! I watched the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" for the first time. I have NEVER cried so hard at the end of a movie...ever. I was really bawling. See, I started crying when all of the people were coming in to give money, but I completely lost it when Zuzu made her comment about bells ringing and angels getting wings. Oh man, that just did it. "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (the Johnny Depp version) was on twice in the last few weeks, but I only caught the last hour or so both times. I did see it in the theaters, so it's quite all right. "The Sound of Music" is on right now, but I tuned in somewhere in the middle. This one I haven't seen in its entirety before, so it's too bad I didn't catch it earlier. I was too busy watching Million Dollar Password with Regis Philbin. :-) My mother just discovered that I've never seen the movie "Casablanca," which is basically a crime in our family. So I have a feeling she's going to make me watch it next time she comes to visit. Problem is, she's not planning to come until the twins are born, so who knows if I'll have the time (or the brains) to watch it then.

My next OB appt is Wednesday (when I'll be 24 weeks)! I don't expect anything interesting to happen, although she may schedule me to do my GTT (glucose tolerance test) for Gestational Diabetes. Then I have a parenting multiples class next Sunday and my birthing class starts the next day!! Holy cow...only 1 more week until my birthing class starts. Luckily, I consider myself to be a birthing expert, so I'm really just going for my hubby's benefit. Should be interesting to see if I do learn anything new. It will also be helpful because I believe they give tours of the facility and maybe tell a bit about specific birthing procedures at the hospital.

That's all for now! I hope everyone had a Happy Chanukkah or Merry Christmas (or whatever you might celebrate).

Challah Baking

I'm setting up a special challah baking for a friend of mine. It is a segulah for 40 women to all bake challah on the same day (generally a Friday) and to keep a person (or persons) in mind. The segulah could be to find a shidduch, to fully recover from an illness, to have children, or really any outcome you desire. In this case, my friend has been married for almost 7 years and does not have children yet. A group of women did this for me back last April, and now I'm due in April, so I hope that this will have the same effect for her!

For any Jewish women out there who read my blog and bake challah, if you can bake any time from Thursday night until Shabbos, please let me know so I can give you their Hebrew names (and instructions, if you need them). Thanks!

Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

Outfit

Nancy asked a really good question on her last comment, and I was going to respond just to her but then realized that many of my bloggy readers might be wondering the same thing. Sooooo.... I wear the same outfit for all of my belly pics because I won't do bare belly pics (for religious reasons) and it would be harder to see the growth accurately if I was wearing many different outfits. For my head covering in the pictures I'm wearing a snood, which is basically a large cloth sock that fits over my head and covers my hair. This I wear for religious reasons also--and now I get to explain! :-)

In Orthodox Judaism, married women cover their hair, because it's considered not tznius in the same way that going around in shorts and a tank top would be. Before marriage, having hair uncovered is fine. Anyways, many women cover their hair with shaytels, some cover with snoods or scarves, and some with hats. Some cover their hair differently depending on the occasion or just what they feel like. I use a snood for the pictures because it's easy to throw on. If I were to go out to someone's house for a Shabbos meal, however, I would most likely wear a shaytel.

P.S. I was not offended by the question at all. :-)
P.P.S. I am also not offended by non-Jews dressing in shorts & tank tops as the laws of tznius only apply to Jews. So I didn't want anyone thinking I was being snooty or anything.

Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

Cervix Update

I had another cervix check ultrasound today. It's still closed! :-) It also looked like it was lengthening a bit past the cerclage stitch and was measuring 1.8cm or so, which is excellent. The twinners look good too, but no measurements or good pictures today. Sorry!

In other news, I'm 23 weeks today!! So our viability survival rate has now increased to 13%-42% (mind you that's survival rate and has nothing to do with quality of life, so either way we want the twins to stay put for awhile longer).

Your Blog is Fabulous Award

Thanks to Margelina for giving my blog this award!

The rules for this one is to admit my 5 addictions and then pass it onto another 5 blogs…

1. My computer...games, internet, email, shopping, you name it.

2. Control...I am a 100% control freak.

3. TV...I have the TV on nearly all the time when I'm at home, even if it's just background noise and I'm REALLY not watching what's playing.

4. Pregnancy/childbirth/pregnant women...I think I went over this in my last award/tag, or maybe my previous post about birthing class. In any case, I'm more obsessed than addicted, but it's close enough.

5. Sleep...I'm a night owl, so I could stay up till 3am and then sleep till noon. At least I could before getting pregnant...

I'm passing this onto:

WiseGuy @ Woman Anyone?
tryingtoconceive @ Infertility Bites
sushilover @ Life after D&C
Nancy @ TheNewLifeOfNancy
Peeveme @ Bellyaching and Benedictions

Adam Sandler's Chanukkah Song

In honor of this wonderful holiday, everyone needs to listen to this song. So, press play and enjoy. I'll even give you the lyrics to help. :-)

HAPPY CHANUKKAH!



Okay...
This is a song that uhh..
There's a lot of Christmas songs out there and uhh..
Not too many Chanukkah songs.
So uhh..
I wrote a song for all those nice little Jewish kids who don't get to hear any Chanukkah songs.
Here we go...

Put on your yarmulke
Here comes Chanukkah
So much funukah
To celebrate Chanukkah
Chanukkah is the festival of lights
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights

When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree
Here's a list of people who are Jewish just like you and me
David Lee Roth lights the menorah
So do James Caan, Kirk Douglas, and the late Dinah Shore-ah

Guess who eats together at the Carnegie Deli
Bowser from Sha Na Na and Arthur Fonzerelli
Paul Newman's half Jewish, Goldie Hawn's half too
Put them together, what a fine lookin' Jew

You don't need deck the halls or jingle bell rock
'Cause you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock - both Jewish

Put on your yarmulke
It's time for Chanukkah
The owner of the Seattle Supersonicahs
Celebrates Chanukkah

O.J. Simpson, not a Jew
But guess who is? hall of famer Rod Carew -- he converted
We got Ann Landers and her sister Dear Abby
Harrison Ford's a quarter Jewish- not too shabby

Some people think that Ebenezer Scrooge is
Well he's not, but guess who is
All Three Stooges
So many Jews are in showbiz
Tom Cruise isn't, but I heard his agent is

Tell your friend Veronica
It's time to celebrate Chanukkah
I hope I get a harmonicah
Oh this lovely, lovely Chanukkah
So drink your gin and tonicah
And smoke your marijuanikah
If you really, really wannakah
Have a happy, happy, happy, happy Chanukkah
Happy Chanukkah

Grosgrain Sugar Cookie Frock

Isn't this the most adorable outfit? I can't wait until my daughter is born IY"H and big enough to wear something cute like this!

Grosgrain Sugar Cookie Frock

Mazal Tov and Chanukkah

My friend had a baby boy!! I don't know if he was born on Wed night or Thurs morning, but I'm sure I'll find out eventually. They are having a shalom zachor tonight, but I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to let my hubby go. We're expecting this gigantic snow storm, and even though it's not a particularly far walk (and he will have already walked to and from shul earlier on), I really don't want him to slip and fall--he already did that once today and the snow hasn't even started yet. :-)

One of our friends brought over food for Shabbos, but my hubby is making a cholent for Shabbos lunch just in case there isn't enough for two meals. Yum!

In other news, I'm having SO much trouble sleeping. Insomnia, back pain, can't get comfortable, mind racing, can hear heartbeat while lying down, etc. It takes forever to fall asleep and then I keep waking up. I have no idea how much sleep I got last night...I laid down around 11pm and woke up officially around 9:45am, but that doesn't mean I got more than 5 or 6 hours. lol

Chanukkah starts Sunday night! A pyromaniac's favorite holiday...get to light one more candle every night. Just so everyone knows, Chanukkah has nothing to do with Christmas and is not one of Judaisms most important holidays. Basically, Antiocus IV (king of the Seleucids) outlawed Judaism and desicrated the Beis Hamikdosh. We defeated them and re-dedicated the Beis Hamikdosh around 165 BCE. There are two miracles that are celebrated at Chanukkah. Firstly, we defeated the Seleucids with a MUCH, MUCH smaller army, and secondly, when we went to re-dedicate the Beis HaMikdosh we only found enough oil to light the Menorah in the Beis HaMikdosh for one day. The oil used for this purpose is very special oil, so we were lucky to even find that amount, but it was going to take much longer to produce more. The oil, however, lasted for 8 days, which gave us time to make more. So, we light candles on a Chanukiyah every night of the holiday--starting with one for the first night, two on the second night, etc. There is also one candle that lights the others, so it is always lit first. There are other traditions of eating a rediculous amount of fried foods--latkes and in Israel they make special jelly donuts called sufganiyot--to celebrate the oil. mmmmm Fried happiness... Happy Chanukkah!

Click HERE for my list of Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

22 Weeks

Yay! I made it to 22 weeks! For most this isn't a milestone, but for me it means my babies start having *some* viability. Of course, being born at 22 weeks is a very bad idea and the babies would have less than a 10% chance of survival, but less than 10% is better than 0%. And they each weigh about a pound (maybe a teensy bit more), which is excellent.

Speaking of weight, I think I gain all my weight in one day a week. I'll be going steady at 157 for a good solid 5 days and then BAM 159. It's rediculous! After watching the Biggest Loser finale last night, I was having visions of me at 200lbs and it ain't a pretty sight. But if I go on gaining 2lbs a week (or 3), by 32 weeks I'll be at 180+. And that's with the babies each gaining about 3oz a week till 28 weeks. After that, they start gaining more than 5oz a week until about 32 weeks. Then, it's about a half a pound a week until the end. So if the babies are gaining more weight, mommy's going to gain more weight. Ewww. As much as I want them to be born at 37 weeks, the fat girl part of my brain is going "dude, I want 'em out before I blow up like a blimp." :-) I seriously wish I could do something about my appetite. If I could be satisfied with three meals a day, I'd be fine. But right now I get hungry so often it turns out to be more like five meals--plus snacks. Oatmeal w/ banana & raisins for breakfast, a yogurt for lunch, maybe a bag of microwave popcorn for a snack, maybe some celery w/ peanut butter for another snack, maybe some tomatoes or an apple, a "Tasty Bite" Indian meal for supper, some chicken w/ kugel for dinner... It doesn't sound too bad on paper, but when you're getting no exercise and enjoy having a cookie or two for dessert, it's too much.

Anyways, enough of the weight complaints. I had a dr's appt today and so far so good. My fundal height is 28cm and growing (as you can see by the new belly pic I posted yesterday). I have an ultrasound scheduled for next week, so we'll get to see how my cervix is holding up. I'll be having my gestational diabetes test in a few weeks and possibly a fetal fibronectin test as well to see if I'm at risk for actually going into labor.

Speaking of going into labor, one of my IRL friends is! :-) She's been in the hospital for a few months (not pregnancy related), so we hope that giving birth will help her and maybe she'll get to go home soon! I can't wait to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl and how her labor went. I'll let you know when I know.

Hebrew & Yiddish Words

A"H - stands for alav ha-shalom or aleha ha-shalom, which means "may peace be upon him/her" and only refers to someone who has passed away

aliyah/aliyos - literally means "ascent" or "going up," can refer to two different things; 1) a man being called up to the Torah to read the blessings; 2) a person immigrating to Israel

aravah - literally means "willow tree branch," generally refers to one of the four species that we shake on Sukkos

Ashkenaz(i) - Jews descended from Eastern Europe & Russia

Avos - forefathers; Abraham, Isaac & Jacob

B"H - stands for Baruch Hashem, which means "bless G-d"; generally used to mean "thank G-d"

b'sha'a tova - literally means "at a good time," generally used instead of mazal tov to congratulate someone on being pregnant

ba'al koreh - literally means "the one in charge of reading," generally refers to the man who reads the portion of the Torah for the congregation

Bamidbar - literally means "in the desert," generally refers to the book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible


Bas Kohen - a woman whose father is a Kohen

Bas Levi - a woman whose father is a Levi

bedeken - literallly means "veiling," generally refers to the groom lowering his bride's veil immediately before the wedding ceremony; in an Orthodox Jewish wedding, this is the first time the bride & groom see each other after a week apart

Beis HaMikdosh - the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; currently only the Kosel (Western Wall) is still standing

blech - a piece of metal used on Shabbos that sits over stove burners and gets warm when one or more of the burners is on underneath

bracha/brocha/brachos - blessing(s)

bris - literally means "covenant," generally refers to male circumcision

challah - braided bread; traditionally eaten on Shabbos and Yom Tov

Chanukiyah - the nine-branched candelabrum used during Chanukkah

Chanukkah - the "Festival of Lights"; usually occurs in December and celebrates the re-dedication of the Beis HaMikdosh after its desecration by the Seleucids around 165 BCE

cholent - a stew that is generally eaten at Shabbos lunch; usually consists of barley, beans, meat, & potatoes

chupah - literally means "a canopy" or "a covering," generally refers to a white cloth, sheet or tallis supported by 4 poles which the bride and groom stand under during the wedding ceremony

CV"S - stands for chas v'shalom, generally used to mean "G-d forbid"

esrog - literally means "a yellow citron," generally refers to one of the four species that we shake on Sukkos

fleishig - anything made with meat or poultry (fish is NOT included)

frum - very Orthodox Jewish

gefilte fish - poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground, de-boned fish; mostly common carp

hadass - literally means "a myrtle tree branch," generally refers to one of the four species that we shake on Sukkos

Hashem - G-d

Imahos - foremothers; Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel & Leah

IY"H - stands for Im Yirtzeh Hashem, which means "if it is G-d's will"

kashrus/kosher - Jewish dietary laws


kippa - Traditional head covering worn by a man; also called a yarmulke or skull cap

Kohen/pl. Kohanim - literally means "priest," generally refers to a Jew who is in direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron, the older brother of Moses, grandson of Levi

kol ha'neorim - literally means "all of the children," generally refers to the aliyah on Simchas Torah when all of the children in shul participate

Kosel HaMa'aravi - Western Wall of the Beis HaMikdosh; usually just referred to as The Kosel

kugel - casserole; can be made out of potatoes, noodles, vegetables, etc.

latkes - potato pancakes fried in oil; generally eaten on Chanukkah

Levi/pl. Leviim - literally means a "Levite," generally refers to a Jew who is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi (a direct patrilinial descendant from the Biblical Levi, son of Jacob)

lulav - literally means "a date palm frond," generally refers to one of the four species that we shake on Sukkos

mazal tov - literally means "good luck," generally meant as "congratulations"

Megillas Esther - the "Book of Esther," which tells the story of Purim

Menorah - the seven-branched candelabrum that was used in the Beis HaMikdosh

Mishloach Manot - bags of goodies that are traditionally given on Purim to friends and family

Mishna - the written form of the Oral Torah

mitzvah - commandment (NOT good deed)

pasuk - verse

patchkerai - a Yiddish word meaning something that is very difficult to make (i.e. has a lot of ingredients or steps and takes a long time)

Pesach - Passover; usually occurs in April and celebrates the Jews' Exodus from Egypt

pidyon ha-ben - literally means "redemption of the son," generally refers to the redemption of a first-born son 30 days after birth

Purim - a holiday that usually occurs in March and celebrates our being saved from Haman's plot to kill the Jews, the full story can be found in Megillat Esther

pru urvu - the commandment to "be fruitful & multiply"

Rabbi - literally means "my master," generally refers to a teacher or the head of a congregation

Rebbetzin - the Rabbi's wife

refuah sheleyma - literally means "a full healing," generally means "a complete recovery"

Rosh Hashana - Jewish New Year

Sanhedrin - literally means "council," generally refers to the supreme court of Ancient Israel, but can also refer to one of ten tractates of the Nezikin section of the Mishna which deals with damages (i.e. civil and criminal proceedings)

seder - literally means "order," generally refers to the ritual meal on the first and second night of Pesach (first night only in Israel)

Sefardi(c) - Jews descended from Western Europe, Africa & the Middle East

segulah - Can mean a sign, symbol, treasure, or portent; generally used to mean an action or an object that can lead to a desired outcome (for example drinking "segulah wine" can lead to becoming married)

Shabbos - Sabbath

shadchan - matchmaker

shalom zachor - literally means "hello male," it is a celebration that happens the first Friday night after a baby boy is born

shalosh seudos - literally means the "third meal" that's eaten on Shabbos; almost like supper

shaytel - a wig worn by Orthodox Jewish women after marriage as a head covering

Shema - literally means "hear," generally refers to the prayer Shema Yisroel or "Hear, O Israel" which is said three times a day (morning, evening and before bed).

shidduch/shidduchim - a match/matches made by a shadchan

Shmini Atzeres - literally means "the Eighth [day] of Assembly," generally refers to the holiday that comes immediately following Sukkos.

shul - synagogue

simcha/simchos - literally means "joy" or "happiness," generally refers to a happy occasion such as a wedding or birth of a baby

Simchas Torah - literally means "Rejoicing with/of the Torah," generally refers to the holiday that comes immediately following Shmini Atzeres (outside of Israel) or at the same time as Shmini Atzeres (in Israel); during this holiday we finish reading the end of the Torah and then start reading back at the beginning, and we dance around the shul with Torah scrolls

sufganiyot - fried jelly donuts; generally eaten on Chanukkah

Sukkos - literally means "Feast of Booths/Tabernacles," generally refers to the 7-day holiday when Jews eat all of our meals in small, outdoor huts and shake the four species (lulav, aravah, hadass and esrog)

tallis - a prayer shawl

Talmud Bavli - Babylonian Talmud; Rabbinic commentaries from Babylon on the Mishnah

Talmud Yerushalmi - Jerusalem Talmud; Rabbinic commentaries from Jerusalem on the Mishnah

Tehillim - Psalms

Torah - Hebrew Bible; the Written Torah is the Five Books of Moses, the Oral Torah is the Mishna

tzitzes - technically refers to the actual fringes tied to each corner of a tallis; generally refers to a small version of a tallis which is worn under a man's clothes

tznius - modest; it is used to describe both a character trait and a group of laws pertaining to conduct in general and especially between the sexes; many times it refers to modesty in dress (long sleeves, long skirts, high necklines)

V'Ahavta - literally means "And you shall love," generally refers to the prayer said immediately after the Shema

Yom Tov - Jewish holiday

Yom Kippur - Day of Repentance

zara chaya v'kayama - literally means "living and surviving seed," generally refers to the blessing of children

zechus - merit

Dictionary

Thanks for the feedback on having a Hebrew/Yiddish "dictionary" post/sidebar. There are SO many words on the list, so putting them all on the sidebar would be a bit much. So, I think what I'll do is have a few words on the sidebar and change it depending on what words I've used in the past week or so. I will also have a post with all the words with a link to it on the sidebar. I'll also link to that post in any post where I use words that need defining.

Torah Academy Chinese Auction

Every year the frum (that means Jewish & very Orthodox) K-8 day school has a Chinese Auction for its big fundraiser. I really love going to this event, so I got outa bed and went. No worries, I stayed off my feet for nearly the whole time and any time I did get up, someone would tell me to sit back down lol. This included the Rebbetzin (that means the Rabbi's wife) of my shul (that means synagogue) telling me that she saw me up by the desserts, that I should really be sitting down and she'd get me anything I needed. Now this is a huge deal because I was actually reprimanded once (not by her) for asking her to pass me something. You just don't ask the Rebbetzin to do some menial task for you--it's like the equivalent of asking Mrs. Obama if she might please pass you a napkin--so I was a bit taken aback. Anyhoo, I had already eaten my piece of cake and wasn't planning to have another, so I politely declined her offer in any case.

I also had a lot of people come up to me and congratulate me on being pregnant. The actual words that are generally said are NOT mazal tov, becuase we Jews are quite superstitious and do not wish actual congratulations until babies are born. Instead, we use the expression b'sha'a tova, which means "at a good time". Translated into proper English, we are expressing our hope that the babies are born healthy and at the proper time (ie not at 22 weeks!) :-) Anyways, two people stood out to me with the best reactions of the night. First there was a woman who is in her 60's. We've had Shabbos meals with her and her husband several times since we were married and she is an absolute doll. She comes up to me and says "is it true?? Is it true??" And I replied "yep". Then she got all excited wishing me b'sha'a tova. Second was a woman who's probably in her 30's who actually found out I was pregnant pretty early on. I was at her house for shalosh seudos (this literally means the "third meal" that's eaten on Shabbos, so you can think of it almost like supper) and sat there not eating anything and drinking only water. I wasn't nauseous, just not hungry AT ALL. I was there with a friend of mine who told her that I was newly pregnant so she'd understand why I wasn't eating. Anyway, she came up to me and asked if there was anything I needed since I'll be on bed rest for a while. During our conversation she asked me if I was having two boys, and I said I was having one of each. Well, she just about flipped out. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. It was very cute. Now, there is a reason for this. (Wow, you guys are really getting a lesson in Judaism today!) In Judaism, the first commandment that was given in the Torah was "pru urvu", which means "be fruitful & multiply". This is not to be confused with the first of the Ten Commandments--"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery". Anyways, there are a few different ways that the Rabbis said this mitzvah (commandment) can be fulfilled. One set of rabbis says that you must have at least one boy and one girl GRANDCHILD in order to complete this mitzvah. Another set, however, says that you have fulfilled the mitzvah once you've had one boy and one girl CHILD. So this is why the woman was all excited--because according to that set of rabbis, my husband fulfills this mitzvah all in one shot. Pretty cool, eh?

During the actual auction part of everything, I actually won something too! For those of you who don't know what a Chinese auction is, I will give you a definition taken from wikipedia: "A Chinese auction is a type of raffle (actually a combination of raffle and auction) that is typically featured at charity, church festival and numerous other events...The difference between a raffle and a Chinese auction is that in a raffle with multiple prizes, there is one "hat" from which names are drawn, but in a Chinese auction each prize has its own "hat". This allows ticket buyers to choose which prize to focus on, as opposed to having a first, second, third, etc. prize." For more info, check out wikipedia. Anyhoo, I had put in for a few different prizes, but I only won one of them. The prize I won was called "Handyman" and included 2 hours of handyman work (including carpentry & electric), 2 free oil changes, and a gift certificate to Home Depot. Not bad, eh? So even though I didn't win the $250 gift card to Toys R Us or the $500 gift card to Target, I'm happy. :-)

P.S. Do you want me to create a post with definitions to my commonly used Hebrew & Yiddish words & phrases? That way I don't need to be defining them all the time and you can go back and forth to look. Let me know via comment and I'll do it asap!

Tag-a-Roo

I've been tagged by WiseGuy @ Woman Anyone?!!

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about you.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end, and include links to their blogs.

Okee dokee...here goes!

1. I always dreamed of having twins (a boy and a girl specifically) ever since I was a little girl. I would pretend to give birth to twins and was absolutely fascinated if someone on tv had twins (well, I was fascinated that they gave birth at all, but especially twins). Looks like G-d listens to EVERYTHING! heh

2. I also remember thinking that I really didn't want to have a baby until Bush is out of office. G-d apparently is listening to my thoughts too. Hopefully He'll remember that that means no babies until after Jan 21, because I'll be about 27 weeks at that point.

3. My husband makes the best darned scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms & cheese in the world.

4. My hubby and I both love animals--especially cats. Unfortuntaely, we can't get one cuz my hubby is allergic.

5. I cannot stand the sound of people chewing. It drives me soooo up the wall that I actually wear ear plugs at some meals (but usually no one can tell I'm wearing 'em).

6. My husband does all of the domestic stuff around the house--grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc. And I make sure the bills are paid. I live the good life.

7. Even though I'm Jewish and most things revolving around Christmas drive me crazy, I love commercials that play in December. Most notably the one with the Hershey's Kisses that play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (which I actually cried during the first time I saw it this season), the Folger's commercial where the son comes home, and the Campbell's commercial with the little boy that melts from a snowman into a boy eating hot soup.


Here are the lovely ladies that I am tagging:

Jewels @ Empty Nesting
Lisa @ A Day in the Life of Preachmans Wife
Peeveme @ Bellyaching and Benedictions
Bean @ Hoping for Another Lovebug
Nancy @ TheNewLifeOfNancy
The Captain's Wife @ Staying Above the Water
Monica @ The World According to Monica

Ultrasound Update

My cervix is looking decent. It's still funneled/shortened to about 1.5 cm, but it's not open any further than the cerclage stitch (which is good). I started progesterone suppositories last Monday evening, so hopefully my cervix will stay where it is (or even get longer!)

Here are some cute 3D pics of the twins. The pics a bit blurry cuz the twins are still pretty small, but they have cute faces anyway. :-)

This is Baby A's pudgy face


This is a front view of Baby A's face with her arm out front


This is Baby A with her arm out front


This is Baby B's adorable face


This is Baby B covering his face with his arm


Here it looks like Baby B is leaning on his arm


That's all for today. Still resting--or at least trying to! :-)

Baby Kicks

Last night the hubby finally felt one of the babies kick! (We think it was Baby A...) I was reclining on the bed watching "The Biggest Loser" and Shmuel was doing a live CE course online so he can renew his pharmacy license. I could feel her doing laps around my uterus, so I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. She kicked him right away and he looked at me all surprised as if I was keeping an alien in there. lol She kicked a few more times before I let his hand go back to taking notes. :-)

I have my next cervix check & prenatal appointment tomorrow (back to back) and hopefully everything will look great. I'm going to ask them if I can have a copy of the picture from last week when my cervix was hanging open just so I can show all of you bloggy readers what a cervix is not supposed to look like at 20 weeks. :-) (And hopefully I'll get a copy of what it looks like now to show the difference) Wish me luck!

Funny Story

I have the most amusing husband on the planet. This past Shabbos (Sabbath) some of our friends made food for us so he wouldn't have to cook on Friday. He picked up some dishes from a friend and they told him that it was chicken, kugel, and some gefilte fish. Now for some background on heating food for Shabbos. Because of certain restrictions on Shabbos, we use a blech over our burners so that we can put food on and take food off of the stove. The blech is basically a piece of metal that sits over the burners and gets warm when one or more of the burners is on underneath. Ok, so the hubby gets home with the food and puts all of the dishes on the blech (besides the fish) without checking inside first. Fast forward to dinner... We take the foil off of one of the dishes and there are cut vegetables inside (cucumbers, red & green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, etc) and there is steam rising from the dish. I look at my hubby and say, "was this supposed to be heated or eaten as a salad?" He looks at the veggies and then answers, "probably a salad." Whoops!! Luckily veggies are ok to be eaten steaming hot and then they were just as good the next day straight out of the fridge. :-) I guess he learned to always look under the foil at what you're heating up before you heat it. hehehe

Belly Pic etc.

Yep...I lied and put the pic up on Friday. I had some extra time before Shabbos (the Sabbath) started, so I figured I'd get it out of the way. Enjoy!

My hubby went shopping tonight and got me a breakfast-in-bed tray that I'm using for my laptop and can also use to eat on. It's AWESOME and cost less than $15. Go Bed, Bath & Beyond for being reasonable. And we had one of their 20% off coupons too, so it made it even sweeter.

Some friends of mine in the community came to visit me during Shabbos. It was actually at their house that my hubby and I first met. Our 3rd anniversary of meeting was Thanksgiving weekend, and we have a tradition now to go to this family's house for Shabbos dinner as close to Thanksgiving as we can make it. We had planned to go this week, but since I can't make the walk, we had to cancel. They made food for us and my hubby picked it up so we could have it that night. Then the mom and one of the daughters came to see me during the day today to see how I was and just hang out for a little while. It was great!

My friend Melanie will probably come over on Tuesday to cut up the pumpkin that my mom brought for Thanksgiving. (Mom actually dressed it to look like a turkey for a centerpiece...) Melanie and I plan to gut the pumpkin and roast the seeds. It should be an awesome time. If we have extra time afterwards we may even get to play some Heroes...now that would rock!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

I was released from the hospital this morning--YAY! So now I'm home and resting. My bed is sooo comfy and my snoogle body pillow can fold into interesting shapes so I can get comfy in many different reclining positions. My hubby brought in the TV and my laptop, so I won't have to leave the bed too much. I'm allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and I'll have to get my own food when my hubby is at work, so I'm not totally immobile. The doc is even letting me go to my scheduled Infant CPR & First Aid classes this month. I'll have to see what to do about the other various and sundry things I have scheduled (such as a baby shower for a friend...). Basically, as long as I've rested all day and will be sitting down during wherever I'm going (and I won't be gone for more than a few hours) the doctors are ok with it--for now. But no going to work, no shopping trips, no cooking, no cleaning, no going out for Shabbos, etc.

A few other tidbits:

#1) I thought I was going to have gained 10lbs while at the hospital because of the fatty food I was being fed and the total lack of exercise, but I weighed myself when I got home and I don't think I gained anything. WOO HOO I guess you burn mega calories while surfing the web. ;-)

#2) Get this baby off my bladder! I have the urge to pee constantly. As soon as I get off of the toilet, I feel as though I have to go again. It's getting a bit rediculous. :-)

#3) I will get a belly pic up hopefully tomorrow night even though I'm already 20 1/2 weeks. Oh well, not much I can do about it!

Out of Surgery

I had the cerclage put in this morning, and let me tell you--it was SO not fun. First, I really didn't enjoy having the spinal put in. It just felt like it took forever for them to do it. It wasn't particularly painful, just long. Then, the feeling of having half of your body go numb is just WEIRD! You know the feeling when you've been sitting on your legs and they feel "asleep"? Well that's what it felt like except times 100 because you can't acually move any part of you that feels "asleep". I could feel a teeny bit of tingling when they would touch my legs, but I didn't feel anything they were doing around my cervix...and happily enough I still don't! Right now it's been about 3 hours since they put the spinal in, and the only thing still a bit funky feeling is my butt. Unfortunately it means I still can't get up because that's the section of your body that holds you up when you're on your feet. Bleargh.

Secondly, right after they put the spinal in and put me on my back, I started to feel nauseous...and then more nauseous...and then I threw up. ICK. Not only that, but I was totally on my back, and it's quite uncomfortable to be throwing up when you're on your back. Luckily, it's for this reason that they make sure you don't eat or drink for 8 hours before the surgery, so there was nothing really to throw up except a little bit of stomach bile. Not too bad.

Thirdly, after I was done being sick, it was difficult to breathe. I had to keep asking them to hold my head up a bit. The numbness from the spinal was inching up my stomach and because I was on my back, the babies were sitting on my aorta. That coupled with the fact that I'm anemic (which causes me to be out of breath) made it very difficult to breathe, so I was starting to feel a bit dizzy and faint. I didn't faint, thank G-d, but I was just waiting until I could finally sit up straight so the blood would be able to flow properly and the numbness would leave my upper body.

So there you have it. Spinals are no fun at all, but at least the whole procedure took less than 1/2 an hour (even though to me it felt like ages longer). The doctor says that "nothing's coming out of that cervix" (lol), so that's a very good sign that the cerclage itself went well. Now, I would do anything to make sure these babies are born healthy and at the right time (many, many weeks from now), but I would rather never have to do that again. I think I'll skip the epidural during labor and pray like heck that I don't need a C-Section! :-D

Bed Rest & Cerclage

I went in for my cervix check ultrasound yesterday. They looked at the twins first, and then they went to look at my cervix. Holy cow. I took one look at the screen and was like "that's REALLY not supposed to look like that!!" Basically, instead of my cervix looking like a closed fist (the way it's supposed to), it looked like a funnel (ie half open). WHOOPS! So the doctor is putting me on progesterone suppositories and admitted me into the hospital for observation and a cerclage. So far I'm not contracting, which is excellent, but I do have to stay lying down most of the time. And I'm not going back to work either--it's modified bed rest for me. :-) At least I can get up to use the bathroom!!! Whew! Luckily the hospital has wireless internet, so my hubby brought me my laptop. Now I won't go crazy from boredom! I have books, tv and my computer; and the nurses bring me my meals...who needs to get out of bed?? :-D The main drawback is the fact that the bed is not *so* comfortable, so sleeping is a bit tough, but I have my earplugs and a face mask which helps immensely. I will keep everyone updated!

P.S. This also means that my 20 week bump picture is going to have to wait until I get out of the hospital. Oh well!

Anemia

My OB tested my blood for anemia at my last appointment (and at my own personal request). And, guess what, my hemoglobin is low! (Biiig shocker there lol) I've always been borderline anemic, so pregnancy is definitely taking a toll. She wants me to start taking iron twice a day, but I do need to check on dosing. When I asked how many milligrams, the nurse said "aren't they all the same?" Well, I checked and they're not all the same. So I'll be calling them tomorrow to find out. *sigh* My blogger friend Nancy has a post today about pooping while giving birth, but I won't have to worry about that if I'm on iron twice a day because I doubt I'll ever be able to poop again!!!! hehehehe Just kidding. I am allowed to take a stool softener, but who knows if it will work. I guess we'll see!