Keep on Keeping On

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When I was pregnant with Gillian, I read the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” I think a good subtitle for that piece of work would be “A Complete List of Scary Pregnancy Complications and Birth Defects for You to Obsess About over the Next Year.” Given the inherent risks of carrying multiples over the age of 35 (well over), I decided to forego a reread this time around. I should mention that, I’m technically not considered an “AMA” or Advanced Maternal Age patient with this pregnancy because  these twins were conceived from 23 year old eggs. Theoretically, the cornucopia of complications that I’m currently experiencing all stem from the multiples factor. I’m inclined to believe that. The primary issue we are dealing with is placenta previa, which is far more common with twins than singletons- based upon space constraints. If we didn’t have the placenta previa issue, I wouldn’t be having contractions. If I wasn’t experiencing those complications, I wouldn’t be on bed rest and I might not bare such a strong resemblance to this guy. Continue reading →

What’s in a name?

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Choosing baby names can be challenging. I’ve found that I can generally come up with several names that I like for girls but then the name still has to be paired with a good middle name and our very common last name. The three names must all blend well together as should the first and last name. And of course, my husband and I both have to agree on the selection. The name can’t be too common or too weird. The meaning must be considered. Is the name easily pronounced? Does it rhyme with something that might make it a terrible nickname? Does it sound like a stripper name? So many considerations.

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Starbucks and Scrambled Eggs

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Michael and I got married when we were in our 30’s. We hoped to start a family after our first anniversary. (Michael Edit- I don’t remember that but ‘okay’.) Not surprisingly, it didn’t happen for us over night. After a few years with out a single pregnancy, we started exploring other options and ultimately made a decision to adopt from China. However, God had another plan. We literally received the adoption application the night before I woke up with the suspicion that I might be pregnant. A pregnancy test confirmed my intuition and Gillian was born later that year- 2 months shy of our 4th wedding anniversary. Continue reading →

Go Big or Go Home

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When we first got pregnant, I thought I would journal about the entire experience. However, I soon realized that there wasn’t much to write about. Pregnancy is fascinating to the person who is going through it. For the others who have to listen to her drone on and on about it- not so much. I have often felt like a walking science project. I was keenly aware of every uterine twitch. (felt like someone opened bag of Pop Rocks in there.) I’ve been fascinated and sometimes disgusted by the physiological changes to my body. (I’ll be spending a lot of time and money at the Dermatologist post partum.)  While there are plenty of bloggers who could wax romantic about their pregnancies for 9 ½ months- I’m not one of them. I’ve enjoyed most of the journey. The third trimester has been a bit challenging. If I’d blogged every day, it probably would have turned it to a rant at some point. I’m so grateful for the experience, I don’t ever want to complain about it.

Of late, this pregnancy has become more interesting. Apparently, I’m a pregnancy Diva and only know how to do high risk/high maintenance. We were forewarned that a twin pregnancy might get complicated- and it did. Continue reading →

Pseudonyms

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Michael and I kept Gillian’s name secret until her birth. We wanted to meet her before we committed though we were pretty sure of the name for at least a month before she was born. Michael was responsible for choosing her middle name and that decision came a bit later. Continue reading →