Today I am 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant with precious twins. Their existence has sharpened my focus to all things baby. The variety of activities I usually performed–biking, volunteering, cooking, blogging, socializing–have quickly winnowed to those that are either preparing for their entrance into the world or taking care of myself on the journey there.
Needless to say, this is a whole new outlook for me. Instead of heading from work to a myriad of meetings and other commitments, I clock just how many minutes it will be before I land on the couch again. Normally I would beat myself up for what I view as laziness, but these days it’s just about self-preservation and letting my body put it’s energy straight into baby-baking. I still need a lot of reminders to rest and let someone else take care of the odds and ends, but it’s not easy to let go without feeling a smidge of guilt. Mostly I just feel immense gratitude when someone makes me dinner and does the dishes (thanks Dad and Deborah!).
So far the self-care is paying off: the babies are gaining weight and growing rapidly. My OB is very happy with their development thus far. Now to just keep them in there another 3-4 months! As of Monday she was 95% sure it was a boy and a girl. We go in for an in-depth anatomy scan in two weeks–then we can start buying pink and blue things with confidence.
In the mean time, we’re preparing for their arrival by finishing household projects that will never get done if we wait until they’re born. (Okay, I say we, but mostly I’m just directing from the couch). So far we’ve painted their room, installed new carpet, re-organized all of the household files, laid down new chip in the dog yard and purchased our twin-mobile (a full size, 4 door truck that can accommodate two car seats, dogs, double stroller, diaper bag and grocery bags all at the same time). We finished a “Preparing for Twins” class and joined the local Mothers of Twins Club. We’ve also set up our preliminary baby registry at Babies R Us. I would have preferred to set something up locally and support local businesses, but twin stuff is much harder to find and not everyone carries it. It sounds like I’ve been busy, doesn’t it?
You’ll also notice that I’ve set up a little page for the Triskel Twins. You can find it on the right hand side of any page on this site. I’m planning to put up a photo gallery (once we have pictures of them, of course!) and other things twins.
Now, off to more resting on the couch.
P.S.–The image is a collage I made last weekend at a Collage Workshop offered by the same ladies I learned Watercolor Journaling from.