Twin Pregnancy Archives - A Slice of Style

Our little family has had so much fun celebrating the arrival of our two precious babies! My sweet mom threw me a beautiful baby shower for some friends of mine to attend and it was so lovely.

We had really great food, and Sweet Tooth Fairy made it so special with silver and gold themed goodies that tasted as good as they looked! Megan, the owner, was so kind and so creative. I completely trusted her to come up with something perfect for the occasion and she exceeded all expectations! Sweet Tooth Fairy has the tastiest treats for every day if you just want to stop in to satisfy your sweet tooth at their store fronts, or they make custom creations for anything from birthday parties to weddings. I’m still dreaming of those sweets!

For those who don’t know, when we did IVF for the 3rd time last December, the “Silver and Gold” song was playing from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Tyler said, “if we have twins, let’s call them silver and gold instead of Baby A and Baby B.” Well, both embryos successfully implanted and we have called our babies “silver and gold” ever since so it only seemed fitting to have the theme of our shower be silver and gold! That’s also how we got Goldie’s name.

I chose the invitations from Minted, and although we ended up having to reschedule the shower for a month later since the twins were born the week of the shower, all of the guests received an invitation with lots of gold on it.

It was such a beautiful day for me; one that I have dreamt about for years! A baby shower…for me! We are beyond grateful for the support of so many family, friends, and others who have showered us with love and support. Thank you!!!

Invitations: Minted

Cake, cookies, cupcakes and cake balls: Sweet Tooth Fairy

Photography: Caitlin Nicole Photography (she is INCREDIBLE! So kind and warm. She also took our birth story photos here)

To my beautiful children,

We made it to 32 weeks, babies! I always google what babies born at whatever week I’m at look like, and at 32 weeks, you’re looking adorable! A full on baby, just skinny. You’re adding a 1/2 pound each per week and I’m so proud of my little chubsters. Mama loves her a chubby baby. You’re each 4 pounds, so including the extra placenta that I’m carrying since you each have your own, it’s like I’m carrying a 9.5 pound baby right now. And I still have SIX WEEKS left. Whew. You’re making your mama really uncomfortable. Like, more uncomfortable than I ever thought possible.

I always thought about getting pregnant; that was my end goal for years through IVF and every procedure. Even when we found out we were having twins, I didn’t really think about how hard it was going to be. It is a physical marathon like I have never known! Three weeks ago at my doctor’s appointment, he told me that my belly was as big as a 40-week full term singleton belly. Now it’s three weeks later and my body has really started to feel it. I had some slight swelling up until that point, but now I have extreme swelling throughout my entire body. Like, my legs look I’m training for the sumo wresting world championships and I’m going to WIN. It’s unbelievable to look in the mirror and see my body change like this. The hard part is walking and moving because my legs are so thick that they rub together when I walk a lot and my ankles are so huge that I literally have rolls on my ankles so they are hard to bend. I drink lots of water and try to limit my sodium intake. The only thing that helps slightly is elevating my legs, but then the second I start walking or standing, they fill up again like balloons. It’s super glamorous and comfortable 🙂

I end up in tears about every other night. I feel decent (well, decent for the new standard of living) in the mornings, but then when the night time rolls around, I am reduced to bawling! It’s nice to let it all out. It’s hard being so uncomfortable all of the time; whether I’m laying, sitting or standing.

It’s hard to breathe with you peanuts pushing up against my lungs, and I’ve had acid reflux the last few weeks so I started taking an acid controller. I also sleep propped up in bed with literally 4 or 5 pillows every night. It’s a circus! We slept at your Gigi’s house (that’s what we have decided that we want you to call my mom), and your cute grandpa Steve let me sleep in his bed with Gigi so I could be more comfortable. When we were heading up there to their house for the 4th of July, I walked downstairs with a giant black trash bag and your aunt Jocelyn asked me what it was. “My pillows,” I said 🙂 I’m a little high maintenance right now…but I’m in survival mode!

I was at the mall the other day and a nice lady told me that I looked really good. Then, when I was walking out, this other lady said really loud, “Look at her! She’s HUGE!” Yes, I’m being serious. I just smiled because what else could I do? So awkward and insensitive. Well, if I have to be huge to carry you two miracles, then so be it. My friend told me that I should have said something like, “the gym is across the street, and it looks like you could use it yourself!” Ha ha ha she wasn’t being serious, but it made me laugh.

I have honestly been really self conscious going in public and showing by big ankles and legs. It’s been embarrassing, and even though I told myself that I wouldn’t be self conscious, it has been hard not to be! I’m taking good care of myself and I don’t want people to think that I’m not, I guess. It’s weird. I was in church today though, and I saw one couple who had lost one of their twins after they were born; they were born extremely early. I also thought of a woman that my mom told me about who has been trying to have children for 10 years. She finally got pregnant with twins after doing IVF, then lost one of the twins in her first trimester and is devastated. Thinking about these sweet women made me stronger. I can do this. It will be so worth it to see your precious bodies, to get to raise you, to see your daddy hold you and the joy that will come because of you. It is a mental game at this point and I need to try to stay really positive! It was easier for me to stay positive and encouraged during IVF for some reason. Right now since I constantly feel absolutely horrible, it’s wearing on me! It makes me really grateful for my normally good health. I know that this will pass before I know it. I just need to endure.

I went to my doctor again last week and he said, “I have good and bad news,” with a smirk on his face. He said that everything is looking so good that I’ll most likely go the full 38 weeks which is full term for twins. If I haven’t gone into labor by August 18th, he will induce me then!

We have had a really busy couple of weeks; we went to Lake Powell with daddy’s family and then we went up to Oakley (just an hour away) for the 4th of July with my side of the family. I slept a lot at both places and it was to relax.

Your dad is my favorite when he tells me that he wants to “hold the babies.” He takes both hands and holds my belly for a minute. You’re both moving around SO much, and at my first non-stress test on Thursday, it was like you knew I could see you so you were moving around like crazy! They focused the ultrasound on Goldie and your diaphragm was moving up and down practicing breathing and your little mouth was opening and closing. The nurses looked over and I had tears streaming down my face! I didn’t expect that; the miracle of you two in my belly just hits me really hard sometimes.

I had my first prenatal massage last Thursday as well, and it felt really nice. I was hoping that it would help with the swelling, but it didn’t. I’m going in again next week and I’m going to ask her to focus mainly on my legs and ankles. I took an epsom salt bath tonight because I heard that helps with swelling. It didn’t help either…and I notice some stretch marks on my bum/hip when I was getting into the bath! All of the major and rapid swelling is starting to take its toll on me.

Your daddy got nasal surgery on Friday so it has been quite the weekend! He has the worst sinuses I have ever seen, so we have been quite the pair. I have been taking care of him a lot more than normal this weekend and he said that he feels bad since I’m the pregnant one. I just want his sinuses to be better so that he can breathe normally! The doctor said he could breathe at 10% capacity through one of his nostrils. We are hoping this helps a lot. When he was waking up from the anesthesia at the hospital, he told me that he wanted to drive home because he wanted to keep me safe since I’m pregnant with twins. I was laughing SO hard. He also said that he didn’t want anyone to take away his freedom, and then sang “Freedom!” several times. I was dying!

Your aunts and Grammy on the Parcell side threw us the beautiful baby shower on Thursday night! Aunt Rachel is so creative and did an incredible job planning it, and since she is expecting her baby boy in September, it was a combined shower. It was stunning and we are so excited to welcome three babies into the family so soon! I’ll post more pictures when she gets them back from the photographer.

Well, babies. You better be REALLY cute because I’m putting up with a lot of crap for you. I mean….what I meant to say is that this is so worth it 🙂 Both of these statements are true 😉

For real though, you’re worth everything and we are so excited to have you join our family. I love feeling your sweet little bodies move inside my belly. I dream about seeing you for the first time and I can’t wait!

I love you!

xo,

Mama