thankful.

Oh so very thankful.

The holidays this year are different. Instead of going "Ugh, do we have to put up Christmas decorations??" I'm going "We are TOTALLY putting up decorations the day after Thanksgiving and when can we get a tree again??!" Years of wishing/hoping/longing/praying and here I am. I'm a mom. I'm a MoM, even. Which is twice as nice.

The two little critters are doing fabulously. The Monkey joked the other day how we sort of haven't earned our "twin badges" because our journey thus far (KNOCK ON WOOD) has been remarkably easy. They are just easy going babies.

We had our four month checkup on Friday and Abigail measured 26" and weighed 13 lbs 12 oz. My chunky monkey Hannah measured 25 3/4" and weighed 14 lbs 8 oz! They are growing up so fast it's unreal! They have these little discernible personalities. Abby is a screamer/drama/attention whore. Hannah is laid back/chill. They switch, of course, to keep us guessing but mostly those "roles" are consistent. They had their vaccines on Friday also. This time I didn't cry as much. :P Abby was a little more upset by the whole ordeal (see previous comment about drama queen) and had to be consoled a little longer. They ran a slight temp for a couple of days and were kind of lethargic but otherwise are doing well. Because they've been tossing and turning more we decided to transition them to their cribs. It's not that I wanted to, really, but it was ideal for all of us -- the girls included. So for the past four nights they've slept roughly 10 - 12 hours a night in their own room in their own cribs. :') My heart is torn between being thrilled and being sad that they're already that grown up.

Their clothing size varies. I have some 3 - 6 that still fits them but mostly they are in 6 monhts (Carter's), 6 - 9 months (Children's Place), and 6 - 12 months (Old Navy/Gap). Some of their 3 - 6 stuff still fits, though.

It's hard not to be grateful with a heart this full of joy and love. I'm still having some issues tweaking my meds but it's coming along. I am now on Prozac, Lamictal, Abilify, and Klonopin for mania PRN. Also taking Ambien for sleep when I can manage.

Next time I update I need to update regarding cloth diapering. If anything about parenthood agrees with me it's definitely fluff! I'm resisting my urge to try wool in fear that I'll like it too much and want to redo my entire stash. That's just NOT an option for a stash the size of mine (easily 200 diapers).

In the meantime I leave you with something I see EVERY MORNING:

Abby


Hannah

research

Even though my sister (and several others) think I'm completely out of my head... I really want to cloth diaper the twins. Just thinking about the cost of disposable diapers makes my head spin. Cloth will be more expensive up front but the savings in the long run... get outta town! It's a no brainer. I feel like my sister and the "others" that are frowning at me don't have confidence in me. After 7 1/2 years TTC do they really think that a little poop laundry is going to be bothersome?? I'm a little disappointed that they aren't backing me as much as I'd hoped.

Thankfully I have plenty of friends that cloth diaper (you know who you are!) and they have all been a big, big help. I'm browsing Green Mountain Diapers and watching YouTube videos about prefolds and covers. People make it look incredibly simple. I'm sure there's some learning curve involved but my goodness; surely it can't be much more difficult than all of these people make it look. (There were even a few videos with daddies doing diaper duty!)

So those of you out in my blogosphere... if you cloth diaper and have any tips, tricks, hints... etc. Please share! I think that I'll start primarily with the prefolds and covers and get a couple each of other types and see what we like best.

Also, in case anyone is wondering... the Twinkies are doing great! I had an NT Scan last week and got the results back yesterday. Both babies have a very low risk of trisomies 13, 18, and 21. Good stuff! The ultrasound was a.maz.ing because the babies were just SO active! They really gave mommy and daddy and Aunt Mimi a show. :) I have another appointment this Thursday -- this time with my OB -- and I'm hoping that they'll take a good peek between their legs and maybe we'll get a hint on boys or girls!

Things are just rolling along. Every day that passes feels like a blessing. A huge blessing! I'm really excited but still a bit in shock. I'm kind of ready to start feeling some flutters but we found out at my NT scan that my placenta is anterior so it'll probably be a while before I get to that point.