Baby showers are like going to hell and back again for an infertile, but when I got pregnant it was something I was *really* looking forward to. I was going to be the honoree and we'd be celebrating MY babies. It would've been a dream-come-true! One that, unfortunately, never happened.
Now, I understand that having one in my hometown would have been impossible, and I am NOT upset that I didn't have one there. One of my cousins wanted to make me one, but it was a logistical impossibility. And that's ok. But I am upset that none of my friends in my community here thought to make me one. I adore my friends and they have done so much for my family--from making us food for over 6 months to taking me to and from doctor appointments to visiting me to helping us clean for Pesach, etc. I honestly don't know what we would do without them. But, no one thought to make me a baby shower. My former co-workers also said they were going to make me one and never did. And honestly, I don't think they ever really intended to make one.
It's really not about the presents for me (although they're always welcome) :-), it's about celebrating the babies and what miracles they are. Orthodox Jewish people don't have baby showers before babies are born, but I know that people have them afterwards. I realize that the economy is making money tight, so I wouldn't have even been disappointed if there were no presents or just a diaper cake or something. And I realize that there are a ton of babies born in our community every year and not many people have showers (I know they exist because I was actually planning to go to one while pregnant but then went on bed rest), but most people are already on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. kid! These were my first (two) and after two long and hard years of infertility, which most everyone in my community knew about. And I definitely don't expect baby showers for any future kids, so now it's something I've totally missed out on, and it just makes me so sad. :-(
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
One Year Today
Does anyone else remember what happened today last year? Any guesses? It was my egg retrieval. One year ago my twinners were "extracted" from my body, combined with my husband's "you know" and waited three days to come back to Mama. This is where it all started, and I feel so blessed that what started as little teensy weensy eggs are now two healthy, growing babies.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
MckLinky Blog Hop
This week's Blog Hop theme is "Favorite Kid Photo". Since I already post so many photos of my kids, I figured I would post one of my hubby as a kid (even though he'd probably kill me if he ever found out I posted a cute kid picture of him on the internet). Well, I just have to take that risk. Here he is! I'm not quite sure how old he is in the picture...maybe 6 or 7? (Beh, if you know, please leave a comment with his age.) Anyhoo, I have a lot more child pictures of my hubby if you want to see them. :-D
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Watches
One of my best friends has a big birthday coming up next month (the big 25), and I wanted to get him something really special. He's been one of my best friends ever since my first year at Brandeis, and we have a joke that I named my son after him. (I didn't really, but they do have the same name.) I don't think that he owns a really fancy watch, and I honestly can't live without my watch, so it seems to be the perfect birthday gift for him. I went searching online, and I was having trouble finding a decent website that gave me a good selection of watches. Finally, I found this amazing website that has an incredible selection of Bulova Watches on it. Not only that, but it also has Casio, Fossil, Gucci, Pulsar, Seiko, Swiss Army, and Swiss Military Watches just to name a few. So far I love all of the watches I've looked at and am finding it very difficult to choose just one! Right now I think my favorite is this one: 
But with such a big selection, I might change my mind a hundred times over between now and his birthday in late August. Oh well, at least I finally found the perfect watch website!
But with such a big selection, I might change my mind a hundred times over between now and his birthday in late August. Oh well, at least I finally found the perfect watch website!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Pediatrician
The twins had their 4 month checkup today. Chana is a little chunker and gained about 4.25 lbs in 2 months. Dovid gained 3.5 lbs in the same 2 months. What's even funnier, is that when they weighed in at one point in June, Dovid was 9.5 oz larger than Chana. Heh oops! So, they took Chana off of the preemie formula (so she doesn't get *too* fat), but they want Dovid to concentrate more preemie formula powder per oz of water, because he doesn't like to drink more than 18 oz per day. Chana is also a half inch taller than Dovid. They're actually doing perfectly in terms of weight gain and growing taller.
Chana is now in the 34th percentile for weight, 45th percentile for height (which is amazing, seeing as how she was a preemie and she's MY daughter...I was like in the negative percentile for height my whole life...still am!), and 8th percentile for head circumference. Dovid is in the 4th percentile for weight, 8th percentile for height, and less than 3rd percentile for head circumference. He's my little boy... :-) But, he's always been in the low percentiles and hopefully with adding more powder to his formula he'll start to grow better. He doesn't look malnourished or teeny!!!
They also got their 4 month shots....ouchies! Even though I gave them some infant tylenol over a 1/2 hour before the shots, they still screamed as if I had cut their legs off. Sheesh! It's not *that* bad, is it?
Update: I forgot to add that Dovid learned how to roll from his front to back!!! Last night I knew he was sleeping on his tummy, as always, and then later on I went to check on him and he was on his back!!! Go Dovid! You may be small, but developmentally you are right on!
Chana is now in the 34th percentile for weight, 45th percentile for height (which is amazing, seeing as how she was a preemie and she's MY daughter...I was like in the negative percentile for height my whole life...still am!), and 8th percentile for head circumference. Dovid is in the 4th percentile for weight, 8th percentile for height, and less than 3rd percentile for head circumference. He's my little boy... :-) But, he's always been in the low percentiles and hopefully with adding more powder to his formula he'll start to grow better. He doesn't look malnourished or teeny!!!
They also got their 4 month shots....ouchies! Even though I gave them some infant tylenol over a 1/2 hour before the shots, they still screamed as if I had cut their legs off. Sheesh! It's not *that* bad, is it?
Update: I forgot to add that Dovid learned how to roll from his front to back!!! Last night I knew he was sleeping on his tummy, as always, and then later on I went to check on him and he was on his back!!! Go Dovid! You may be small, but developmentally you are right on!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
MckLinky Blog Hop
This week's Blog Hop theme is your favorite recipe or dish. I have two favorites, so here they are. The first is my recipe for the best macaroni & cheese EVER.
2 cups (8 oz) uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 tbsp. pepper (optional)
1 bar (10 oz) mild cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350. Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water according to package directions (use shortest cooking time). Drain and rinse with cold water. Pour into a 3-quart casserole. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk and sour cream. Add pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Reserve 1 cup grated cheese for the top of the casserole. Toss macaroni with remaining cheese. Pour sauce over macaroni and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake for 1 hour or until bubbly and brown. Serves 6.
The second is for my favorite type of chicken, which has practically no calories.
Chicken Kind-A-Cacciatore (Diet Chicken)
2 boneless chicken breasts, split (4 pieces)
1 can (15 or 16 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper
various vegetables: celery, scallions, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic, etc.
Melt margarine, use cooking spray or a Teflon pan. "White" chicken in the pan. Add stewed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Add whatever is in your refrigerator - cut up celery, scallions, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic - any, all or none. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serves 2-4. This chicken tastes really good, is low in calories and has almost no fat.
ENJOY!!
2 cups (8 oz) uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 tbsp. pepper (optional)
1 bar (10 oz) mild cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350. Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water according to package directions (use shortest cooking time). Drain and rinse with cold water. Pour into a 3-quart casserole. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk and sour cream. Add pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Reserve 1 cup grated cheese for the top of the casserole. Toss macaroni with remaining cheese. Pour sauce over macaroni and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake for 1 hour or until bubbly and brown. Serves 6.
The second is for my favorite type of chicken, which has practically no calories.
Chicken Kind-A-Cacciatore (Diet Chicken)
2 boneless chicken breasts, split (4 pieces)
1 can (15 or 16 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper
various vegetables: celery, scallions, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic, etc.
Melt margarine, use cooking spray or a Teflon pan. "White" chicken in the pan. Add stewed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Add whatever is in your refrigerator - cut up celery, scallions, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic - any, all or none. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serves 2-4. This chicken tastes really good, is low in calories and has almost no fat.
ENJOY!!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Happy Blogoversary to Me!
It's been one year since I started this blog. Can you believe it? I surely can't! And what a year it's been. Let's briefly review:
July 2008: I was just starting my very 1st IVF cycle, after numerous failed Clomid, Follistim & IUI cycles. My first *real* blog post was about waiting to find out how well my body was responding to the stims. Then I was worried that I didn't have any decent sized follicles. Then I worried that I didn't have enough follicles period. Then I was absolutely terrified about my retrieval and everything that went along with it. Once my retrieval was over, I went back and wrote about how EVERY SINGLE THING on my terrified list just wasn't true.
August 2008: I got the best birthday present ever, a true BFP! Then, when I was 5 1/2 weeks, I found out that I was having twins! But then I started spotting around 6 weeks, so I had something new to worry about. Luckily that didn't last very long and it went away on its own.
September 2008: At 7 weeks I got to hear the twins heartbeats and see them on ultrasound for the first time. (I didn't really get to see them so well at my 5 1/2 week ultrasound.)
October 2008: I had my Neuchal Translucency, which came back totally fine, and I officially made it to 2nd trimester.
November 2008: My 100th post coincided with my finding out the twins' genders. My hubby and I discussed what to name the twins and then finally decided, but didn't tell the blog world.
December 2008: At the very beginning of the month, I was admitted to the hospital with an incompetent cervix. They put in a cerclage and then sent me home to be on modified bed rest until March. We also made it to "official viability".
January 2009: I failed my 1 hour glucose test, but then passed the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I also picked a doula and decided to bank our babies' cord blood, even though we didn't actually get to use/do either. :-( The babies also made it to 28 weeks, which was a HUGE milestone!
February 2009: I was in and out of the hospital...sometimes staying for just the day and sometimes staying overnight. I also started dilating just a tad.
March 2009: I got checked into the hospital for about a week. They took out the cerclage and were expecting me to go into labor, but I didn't. They finally let me go home in time for Shabbos the next Friday. Then, the babies were born at 35 weeks & 1 day! Very scary birth, and I think my doctor really regrets letting me go home the previous Friday. B"H It didn't make any difference at all.
April 2009: My son had his bris on April Fools' Day, which was the most terrifying experience I've ever had. We had decided that my little Ford Focus just wasn't big enough for two babies, so we bought a Kia Sedona minivan. We survived Pesach with the help of our family, and I had a perfect six week checkup with the OB.
May 2009: My daughter slept through the night at only 7 weeks of age, and I had my very first Mother's Day. My sister-in-law, who had been helping us since the beginning of April, went back to Israel. I got mastitis while my family was in town and had the highest fever I've ever had. I also started an Avon business, which I am LOVING.
June 2009: I finally finished watching every single M*A*S*H episode (in order), which I had started right after the babies were born. My mother-in-law came to help us for a few weeks, which was amazing! I stopped breastfeeding and my hubby had his first Father's Day and his 40th birthday all within about a week's time. I also started a new diet, called Isagenix, which is the best diet/cleanse in the universe. I also got my first *real* post-partum period.
July 2009: My son learned how to roll from his back to his front, and my daughter learned how to roll from her front to her back. We also decided to hire an au pair, who we are SO excited to meet in August! My mom and her boyfriend came for a short visit, and then my sister and brother-in-law came right after they left.
What a year! It's truly been amazing, and if you had told me last year at this time that this is where I'd be, I probably would have either laughed in your face or burst out in tears. Happy Blogoversary to Me!
July 2008: I was just starting my very 1st IVF cycle, after numerous failed Clomid, Follistim & IUI cycles. My first *real* blog post was about waiting to find out how well my body was responding to the stims. Then I was worried that I didn't have any decent sized follicles. Then I worried that I didn't have enough follicles period. Then I was absolutely terrified about my retrieval and everything that went along with it. Once my retrieval was over, I went back and wrote about how EVERY SINGLE THING on my terrified list just wasn't true.
August 2008: I got the best birthday present ever, a true BFP! Then, when I was 5 1/2 weeks, I found out that I was having twins! But then I started spotting around 6 weeks, so I had something new to worry about. Luckily that didn't last very long and it went away on its own.
September 2008: At 7 weeks I got to hear the twins heartbeats and see them on ultrasound for the first time. (I didn't really get to see them so well at my 5 1/2 week ultrasound.)
October 2008: I had my Neuchal Translucency, which came back totally fine, and I officially made it to 2nd trimester.
November 2008: My 100th post coincided with my finding out the twins' genders. My hubby and I discussed what to name the twins and then finally decided, but didn't tell the blog world.
December 2008: At the very beginning of the month, I was admitted to the hospital with an incompetent cervix. They put in a cerclage and then sent me home to be on modified bed rest until March. We also made it to "official viability".
January 2009: I failed my 1 hour glucose test, but then passed the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I also picked a doula and decided to bank our babies' cord blood, even though we didn't actually get to use/do either. :-( The babies also made it to 28 weeks, which was a HUGE milestone!
February 2009: I was in and out of the hospital...sometimes staying for just the day and sometimes staying overnight. I also started dilating just a tad.
March 2009: I got checked into the hospital for about a week. They took out the cerclage and were expecting me to go into labor, but I didn't. They finally let me go home in time for Shabbos the next Friday. Then, the babies were born at 35 weeks & 1 day! Very scary birth, and I think my doctor really regrets letting me go home the previous Friday. B"H It didn't make any difference at all.
April 2009: My son had his bris on April Fools' Day, which was the most terrifying experience I've ever had. We had decided that my little Ford Focus just wasn't big enough for two babies, so we bought a Kia Sedona minivan. We survived Pesach with the help of our family, and I had a perfect six week checkup with the OB.
May 2009: My daughter slept through the night at only 7 weeks of age, and I had my very first Mother's Day. My sister-in-law, who had been helping us since the beginning of April, went back to Israel. I got mastitis while my family was in town and had the highest fever I've ever had. I also started an Avon business, which I am LOVING.
June 2009: I finally finished watching every single M*A*S*H episode (in order), which I had started right after the babies were born. My mother-in-law came to help us for a few weeks, which was amazing! I stopped breastfeeding and my hubby had his first Father's Day and his 40th birthday all within about a week's time. I also started a new diet, called Isagenix, which is the best diet/cleanse in the universe. I also got my first *real* post-partum period.
July 2009: My son learned how to roll from his back to his front, and my daughter learned how to roll from her front to her back. We also decided to hire an au pair, who we are SO excited to meet in August! My mom and her boyfriend came for a short visit, and then my sister and brother-in-law came right after they left.
What a year! It's truly been amazing, and if you had told me last year at this time that this is where I'd be, I probably would have either laughed in your face or burst out in tears. Happy Blogoversary to Me!
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