Halloween Happenings

Halloween and fall harvest time is one of our favorite times of year in the Burke household. We love the colors, smells, tastes and entertainment of the season. It's really no wonder to us that Lily has embraced this season with open arms too. It's become a favorite game of hers to look for and point out pumpkins and spooky decorations any time we are out driving with her. "Mommy, pumpkins!! Mommy, spooky ghost!" It seems she really to young right now to understand when things are suppose to be scary. We took her into one of those Halloween stores that pop up all over the place this time of year, in search of her costume, and she had a blast looking at all the spooky displays. She kept pointing at all the scary stuff, and laughing, saying it was silly. Clearly she hasn't figured out yet that it's suppose to scare her! She's also developed a real love for "spooky" programing on tv. She loves to watch all the classic Halloween specials like "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and the Berenstain Bear's Trick or Treat. She's always asking for "more spooky, more Halloween!"

We always try to do a lot of outdoor activities this time of year, like apple picking, and going to the pumpkin patch. A couple weeks ago we did just that, for the second time this year! We were mainly going for the pumpkin patch, but ended up picking apples as well. Luckily I was looking for more apples to make a pie, because this late in the season, there wasn't must left to pick from. We ended up taking home a small bag full of apples that i will need to cut off bad parts. Luckily that wont cause any problems for making a pie! Here are the pictures from our trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch:

"Is this a good one Mommy?"

Showing off her (empty) bag of apples:


Still empty, no apples over here!


Finally and apple to pick! With Daddy's help!



We had better luck over in the cortland trees, or maybe it was just at that point when we gave up and started picking with only the pie in mind, and not eating apples! Lily was the prefect size to get under the trees and pick the hard to get hidden ones!


And onto the pumpkin patch, which was equally as underwhelming as the apple trees, but Lily still had fun running around the pumpkin!


And we did find one really good pumpkin, not this one though! Lily was testing out her strength!

So it wasn't the perfect farm we were hoping for when I found their website, but we all still had a lot of fun, and that's all that matters!

Our next fun fall activity was Lily's Little Gym Halloween party, which she got to go to in costume to this year! For Halloween this year Lily is being a ladybug, or as she affectionately calls it "Lilybug". This is the first year I've put some real work into her costume, which was a lot of fun. I made the tutu she's wearing.

She's so proud of her tutu , and wants to wear it all the time now! Here are a few more pre-party pictures of Lily in costume:


She loves throwing leaves:


And Kicking them too!


Demonstrating how a ladybug flies:


At the party, we all had a lot of fun seeing everyone dressed up, and of course Lily loved getting an extra day in the gym this week! The tutu and wings did make it hard to do all the stuff she normally does though!

Hanging out on the beam:


Flying through the air like the ladybug she is:

Singing "The Wheels On The Bus" With the big parachute:


"Reach!!!"


"I did it!"


On the way home we let Lily eat the cupcake treat that she was given as we were leaving the party. This is her messy face, which she took much delight in showing it off to my camera!

The funniest part of her costume this year is the day after this party, I was showing her a ladybug in the house (because we have them in all our windows this year!) And she was terrified! She screamed and climbed up into Sean's lap repeating in a worried tone "Bug...Bug!!" I don't know when she became afraid of bugs...but I find it pretty ironic that she's scared of the very thing she is dressing up as for Halloween this year!

Well this post is getting pretty long already, and it's very late (see below post about pregnancy insomnia), so I'll save pumpkin carving and Lily's first time trick or treating for another post. Time to try and get an hour of sleep before I have to wake Sean up for work!

32 Weeks

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

This morning I am 32 weeks and 2 days pregnant with the twins, and am up in the middle of the night, giving me a chance to update the blog! Pregnancy insomnia has been a real problem for me lately. I find many nights during the week I'm up at some point for several hours. I don't remember having this at all with Lily. But then again, I didn't have this horrible heart burn with Lily either (maybe one of the babies actually has hair!!). The heart burn has been one of the key factors keeping me up. At least this night it is!

Things just aren't as easy once you get to this stage with twins. I'm starting to set into panic mode about getting everything done, considering I've only got a few weeks left. The average twins are born at 35 weeks....that's only 3 weeks away! Hopefully with my history of going over due with Lily, I'll be able to keep these babies in until at least 37 weeks, but there are no guaranties. It's hard to prepare for them though when any sort of shopping or cleaning for to long makes my whole body scream at me in pain for being on my feet for to long! It's come to the point where if we go out, we have to limit it to one or two stores...or I'll be paying for it the next day in the form of a achy back, belly and legs, all with tons of contractions to boot!

It's not all bad though. I still really enjoy being pregnant, and love feeling the babies move around. Their movements are so big now it makes my whole belly shake when the move. It's funny to watch. I can often identify knees and elbows moving about now. These are my favorite movements.

Last week I had 2 appointments. The first, my regular OB appointment, went really well. I told her about losing my plug a couple weeks ago, so she checked me, and all is good! My cervix is long, closed and soft! Very relieved to hear that I wasn't dilating! I'm now measuring 34.5 weeks, which is smaller than my last appointment, when I measured 35 weeks. More confirmation that I've dropped some. Everything else was pretty standard. It's a good thing that these appointments have stayed a bit boring so far!

My second appointment last week was my monthly u/s to check on the babies growth, which didn't go a great. (Not horrible, just not great) Baby A is doing great, as always. Heart beat was 153bpm, and is now weighting in at 3lbs 12 oz. A whole pound gain since last month! Unfortunately baby A is now Breech. Hopefully there is still time to turn. Baby B hopefully seems to be doing great too. Heart beat was 144bpm, and is now weighing in at 3lbs 1 oz. Another one pound gain! B is still transverse, with the head to the left, right next to A's head. They're plotting their escape! Now the not so good news is that baby B is measuring a little behind. There is a 22% size discordance between both babies. They like to see nothing more than 20%, so the doctor seems concerned. It was particularly the belly measurement that had fallen off it's own curve for baby B. Baby B has always been the smaller of the two, so I'm hoping it's just the natural growth rate for that baby, but it still worries you as a mother to hear that one of your babies may not be doing as great as it should. They want to see me again in 2 weeks to check on B, as opposed to the regular 4 weeks. Please cross your figures for us that it was just a case of the baby being to smooshed to be able to get accurate measurements. I'm trying not to worry about it until then, and hopefully we'll see that B is still growing at a great rate.
Other than that I should be starting twice a week non-stress tests as early as next week. (this is not related to the growth difference at all. All twin moms to be at my doctors office start twice weekly NST's between 32-34 weeks) I'm really hoping my contractions register on those monitors, because they've been picking up again lately, and are getting more painful (I've had several painful ones while writing this blog tonight!) I'm hoping we can get to the bottom of why I get them so often, and that I can be reassured they are doing nothing to change my cervix!
In the mean time I'll be running around trying to get as many things done as possible to prepare ourselves for the babies arrivals. This next weeks tasks that I'm tackling- cooking lots of food to freeze for after the babies are here, and ordering a crib!

I've been so bad about taking consistant belly pictures. Here's a picture of me at 30 weeks 4 days:


And the one picture I got from the last u/s, of the tops of both their heads. Picture of the print out, so not that great, sorry:

First Snow!!

I know I've already posted a blog today...but we've got snow!!! I can't believe it's the middle of October and we are getting snow, and it's sticking to the grass! Lily was really excited to go out and play in the snow. So excited in fact that she dressed herself, and put her pants on backwards, and her rain boots on the wrong feet! We had a lot of fun playing in the snow for a bit! Guess it's time to go out and buy her snow boots and mittens!




"It's SNOWING!!!"


Even more is on the ground now. Our whole yard is white! I guess winter is starting a little early this year!

Random Update

I realized it's been a couple weeks since I've updated the blog, so I thought I'd put up a few pictures from yesterday and a video from this morning! Everything is really good with Lily. She keeps us busy with her toddler antics!

Running through the leaves yesterday:


Trying to get her to pose for me:


And giving love to her favorite baby doll, Cinderella:


And here's a video from this morning. She really loves the happy birthday song for some reason! :)



And the update on me and the twins. Everything seems to be ok, but we did have a scary moment earlier this week when I lost my mucus plug. Losing your plug can, but not always, mean labor can happen within 2 weeks. So far so good though. I'm still having my braxton hicks contractions, but they're not getting any stronger or more frequently. I have another doctors appointment next week, so I should be checked again to make sure I'm not dilating or anything. I also have another ultra sound next week. I always look forward to seeing the babies! Until then I'm just trying to take things as easy as possible, while at the same time trying to get as many things prepared for the babies, just in case I get put on bed rest next week. (3 twin mommies-to-be that I know due right around me got put on bed rest this week after their regular OB appointments...I'd like for us to be prepared, just in case the same thing happens to me!) Cross your fingers for us that my cervix is still long, thick and closed tight...and that the lost plug earlier this week was just some random thing, and that it's currently regenerating itself (it can do that!)

Movement

Lily felt the babies move for the first time last night!! It was so funny how she reacted. Both babies were moving around a lot last night, rolling, kicking, elbowing and kneeing me. I got Lily to place her hands on one of the spots that was really active, and within seconds she jumped back, and looked at me startled. I don't think she expected to be kicked! She put her hands back in the spot and got kicked again, and jumped back startled again! She thought it was so funny! She had had enough of playing with the babies at that point though, and said "bye bye babies" and covered my tummy back up. Then she did her new funny thing, where she smelled my tummy and then makes a face and says " AWWW!! Stinky babies!!!" It's the funniest thing ever! (This stemmed from my smelling Lily's feet and pretending they smell. She started doing this to everything, "AWW! Stinky Cinderella feet!!!" Now apparently it's not just feet that she thinks are funny to pretend are stinky! I really need to get some video of this!)

Apple Picking

On Saturday we went out to the apple orchard to pick apples with our good friends Becky, Jon and Kyan. As always when we get everyone together, we had a great time! Apple picking is one of our favorite fall activities, and we're so glad we have another great family to share it with every year! The kids always have so much fun riding in the wagon together, and sampling the apples. We picked 4 huge bags, because of course Becky and I spent the rest of the day slicing up apples to make apple sauce! There is nothing better than the smell of home made apple sauce cooking on the stove!

Now onto the pictures!

Kyan pointing out the Pumpkins to me:


Going out to the orchard:


Giving hugs:


Yummy apples! They make the funniest faces when they eat apples:



Lily not that impressed at Daddy's juggling skills, who was trying to get her to smile:


Kyan was far more impressed!


Taking the small pumpkins for a walk:


How tall this fall?! It's amazing how much taller Kyan is than Lily!


And one last picture of Lily and I. 27 weeks, 4 days pregnant with the twins. I'm really starting to get a lot bigger all of a sudden! I'm starting to get scared of how much more I'll grow in the next 8 weeks!

27 Weeks

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Time for another update on how the babies are doing! Today I'm 27 weeks, 3 days. If the babies were to be born now, they would have over a 90% chance of surviving! Of course we're hoping they stay on the inside for another 10 weeks, but it's reassuring to know we're in the safe zone now, and survival rate is pretty high!

This week we had 2 baby doctor appointments. The first, on Monday, was just my regular quick monthly ob visit. Actually, it was my last monthly visit, because from now on we go in every 2 weeks. That appointment was pretty uneventful. The babies sounded fine on the doppler and blood pressure was good. I got my glucola drink and paperwork for the gestational diabetes blood test I have to do next week. Not looking forward to having to down that drink in 10 minutes. I remember it being pretty nasty with Lily! Cross your fingers we pass that with flying colors!

Yesterday we had our second appointment of the week, my monthly growth ultra sound. Both babies looked perfect! Baby A is still head down (please please please baby...stay that way!!!), but has moved over to my left side. Baby B is still transverse (please please please baby....follow the lead of your sibling and move head down!!) but has flipped so the head is on my left, feet on the right, still in the upper part of my belly. Baby A's heart beat was 156 bpm, and baby B's was 153 bpm. They have both grown a lot in the last month. Baby A is now 2lbs 9 oz! That's over a 1 lb gain over the last month!! Baby B is now 2lbs 1 oz. Still the smaller baby, but almost a 1 lb gain for this one too! I can't wait to see how much bigger they have gotten at next months ultra sound! It's so neat to be able to watch them grow like this...with Lily we only had 3 u/s's, the normal growth scan, and then 2 right at the end to check on position and fluid levels. I love getting extra u/s's this time! Lily was so cute at the u/s, she kept waving at the screen and my belly saying "Hi babies!" Unfortunately the pictures again aren't that great. I only got a face shot of each baby...and they are kinda scary looking! I haven't scanned them yet.

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good still for the most part, as long as I don't do anything! I get pretty tired out easily otherwise. Shopping, cleaning, and chasing after Lily have become really hard lately. The back ache is the worst, especially if I'm on my feet for a long time. Bending over is becoming a thing of the past. It hurts, and I definitely feel like I'm squishing the babies if I do have to pick something up off the floor. So I'm just trying to take it as easy as possible. Another reason I'm trying to take it easy is because some of my braxton hicks contractions have started to become a little painful. I'm still getting them fairly regularly, and for about the last week they have been coming with cramps and a lower back ache. I asked my doctor about it on Monday, because they are reminding me of the contractions I had the last 3 weeks of Lily's pregnancy....the ones that were effacing my cervix! She says they are probably just from my uterus growing faster this time, but to call if I get to many in an hour, and if they don't go away with lying down and drinking water. So it's definitely something I'm keeping my eye on. They didn't say anything about my cervix at the ultra sound though, so I'm assuming nothing has changed there.

As for the good things that go with pregnancy, I've been feeling the babies kick all the time still. I wasn't surprised to learn that they had changed position, because I've been feeling the kicks all over the place now. for about the last week or so I've been feeling this weird tickling sensation in my left hip...which must be baby A's head. Then yesterday before our u/s I laid down on my back briefly, and we could see a lump in my upper belly. After seeing how the babies were laying at the u/s, I believe the lump must have been baby B butt pushing out! It was funny to see! I love this part of pregnancy where you can feel every roll and see most of them too!