Baby Food!

I have been making all of the girls' baby food!  Yes, it does take time, but it also takes time to go to the store and buy pre-made food as well.  I also know what's going into their food, who touched it, and how it was prepared.  The plastic packages don't say that they are BPA free either!

I have made quite a few things for the girls and so far it seems like Evy will eat anything and Charlotte is the picky one.  Here is what I have made so far:

• Oatmeal (this I did buy)
• Sweet Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Applesauce
• Peaches
• Carrots
• Avocados

Evy will eat anything and Charlotte wouldn't eat the green beans, applesauce, or peaches.  I bought one pack of Gerber peaches when I was in Minnesota for the weekend and they both liked them.  So, when I got home I bought some frozen peaches and made their puree out of them.  Neither girl liked them so I tasted them and it was awful!  I guess I will just have to wait for peaches to be in season because the frozen ones really had no flavor. 

Brian and I went to a farmer's market last weekend and bought the avocados and the carrots.  The carrots came in bunches still with the green tops on them.  I don't think that I've ever seen them like that at the grocery store.  They were super tiny carrots so it was a pain to peel them all but they were very sweet and tasty!  Both girls really liked them.  The avocados that we got were the tastiest ones I've ever had!  I don't think I've had avocados that creamy before..... the girls absolutely loved those too!  I pureed one whole avocado with some water and they ate the whole thing. 

I'm not sure what I should make next for them.... I am thinking bananas.  I saw a combo of bananas and avocados from Gerber so maybe if they like the bananas I can try that too!  I was hesitant to give them the bananas and avos at first because Brian has a mild allergy to them but they seemed to do okay. 

My mom got me these cool trays for making their food.  They are pretty much ice cube trays with lids on them so the food doesn't spill out and get freezer burned.  They are BPA free of course.  Yes, green beans look pretty icky when pureed but they taste pretty much the same. 

Charlotte had her first illness this weekend.  She had a bunch of goop coming out of her eye on Saturday and woke up with crusty stuff on her eyelashes on Sunday morning.  I called the doctor and got some eye drops called in because it sounded like pink eye.  No crust on her eye today.... so I guess the meds are working fast!  Either that or she didn't have pink eye in the first place.  They have both had little coughs too.  I can't help feeling guilty that I stopped giving them breast milk only about two and a half weeks ago and they are getting sick already.  The cough could be just because its been very dry but I'm not really sure.  

Oh, I almost forgot... ITS SPRING BREAK!!!  Three of my nine amazing days are already gone... I can't believe it!  I have been "busy" hanging out at home with the girls, getting some laundry done, etc.  We tried out our new stroller today and went for a walk with the dog.  It was very nice except for the fact that the girls face forward so I can't just look at them the whole time.  I think they liked being able to look around though.  My mom and sister are coming on Wednesday morning and Brian is leaving for a short getaway on Thursday.  We have lots of fun things planned to do outside so I hope the weather cooperates!!

Here We Go Again............ =D

Brian and I went back to the fertility clinic just over a month ago to talk about baby #3.   It was pretty surreal calling up the clinic, making an appointment, and driving the path that I had driven many many times.  I had made a billion appointments but for some reason this one just felt different.  I felt like I was a phoney infertile since I already had kids.  I felt like I shouldn't be calling that doctor again.

We met with Dr. S. to see what our next steps needed to be.  I already knew that I would have to stop breast feeding the twins but since I didn't have a good supply to start with, I wasn't completely heart broken.  The last day I pumped was March 9th.  He said to give it 2 weeks and then schedule an appointment for blood work and if everything looked good I would get Provera to start AF up again.  I actually haven't had a period since January of 2011!!  I called the fertility clinic and found out that all of the blood work workup that they wanted to do was going to cost me about $700 out of pocket!  Once you start treatments at the fertility clinic, insurance won't cover anything diagnostic.  So instead of spending a fortune on stupid BW, I called my OBGYNs office and asked if I could get it done there.  A $50 copay seemed way more affordable so I made an appointment for next Tuesday to get that taken care of. 


We have 7 high quality frosties waiting for us, and I am really hoping that at least one of them will stick and turn into baby #3.  It does scare the crap out of me to have twins again but I love them to death and would totally do it again.  I had a textbook pregnancy and feel like my body failed me fertility wise so it made up for it during the pregnancy.... birth.... recovery... etc.  The good and the bad always seem to equal themselves out somehow.

After I get the results from the blood work I will go on the BCPs until we are ready for the transfer.  I have to do a trial embryo transfer and the saline sonogram again just to make sure my uterus is in good condition.  Assuming everything is okay, there will be minimal appointments and a few shots, pills, patches, etc. to do before we can transfer again in July. 

Why so soon you might ask?  I have a couple of reasons.... My number one answer being... it just feels right!

 It took us quite a while to get pregnant with the girls and don't want to wait until its too late to try for more kids.  I am only 29 now but what if we wait until I am 31, use all our embryos and then am 34 with maybe not so good eggs anymore. 

I am optimistic that these embryos will turn into baby (ies) and hopeful that the FET will work but I also have to be realistic about it.

I also used all of my sick leave last school year (17 days) and only have about 1.5 days of sick leave left for this year.  Its much easier to do treatments in the summer vs. the school year.  If this transfer doesn't work out, we will probably have to wait until the following summer to try again. (If we can save enough for another transfer that is.)

It feels like I have been writing this post in my head every night for the last month.  I just wasn't sure the right way to go about sharing all of this information.  I am so grateful for my girls and all the joy they have brought to my life!  But, I also know that we have 7 frozen embryos that deserve a chance at life.  Everyone has their own opinion on what to do with frozen babies and my only option, personally, is to try to turn them into babies.  If I end up with 9 kids then well, that's what I will have!  I seriously doubt that will happen though.... and will be very lucky if I end up with one more. 

I am glad to finally get this out into the open.  Ten O'clock on a school night is probably not the best time to be writing but I couldn't sleep anyways.  Spring break starts in exactly 17 hours and 19 minutes but who's counting anyways?

I have to say that I am scared to be going down this road of fertility treatments again.  But, I hope it will be easier this time around knowing that if it doesn't work, I will still have my two beautiful girls.

5 Months!!

It feels like I just wrote my 4 month post and here we are at 5 months! 

Evy & Char- 5 Months!

Things have been crazy busy lately.  Two weekends ago I took the girls to Minnesota (by myself!)  The plane ride could have been a total disaster but it was absolutely perfect.  It was actually way easier flying with two babies than I had imagined.  People were very helpful at the airport and getting through security so it was really no problem at all.  I got a lot of glares from people before I got on the plane that thought I was nuts traveling with them.  Many people in the airport asked if I was traveling alone and were pretty shocked when I said that I was.  I think they thought someone was going to mysteriously come out of the bathroom and join me or something. 

Charlotte rode in the car seat on the plane and Evy rode in my lap.  I sat next to a woman that said I looked like I needed a grandma to sit by me!  She even fed Evy at one point because I'm pretty sure she just wanted to hold one of the girls.  She told me all about her two grandchildren and smiled at Evy to help keep her happy on the way there.  I was very lucky that I got to sit by someone who actually liked kids.

Charlotte- passed out on the plane!

Evy- Passed out with her thumb

The bridal shower that my sister and I threw on Saturday was fantastic!  My sister (and mom) really know how to throw a party.  Everything was color coordinated and the food even had cute signs so people knew what it was.  We only had one little hiccup when the quiche wouldn't cook and we ended up finishing it in the microwave.  We had about 25 people over at my mom's house for the shower.

Evy had a great time at the party!

Charlotte- "I'm not tired Mama!"

On Sunday it was pretty low key.  I hung out at my dad's house for a while and then went back to my mom's and had a friend come over for a while.  It was nice to just hang out and catch up with people for once.  Since going back to work I feel like every day is just crazy busy and I am trying to keep up on dishes, laundry, etc. 

Monday we had to get back to the airport so that we could go back to Denver. My mom was flying back with me so that made things a lot easier!  It was pretty funny though.... we knew we had to leave the house at 12:30 in order to drop my mom's dog off and drive to my sister's work to have lunch with her and my aunt on their lunch break.  Well, at about 12:10 both girls decided they were going to be hungry and need to eat before we left!  We hadn't planned on them needing to eat and were rushing around like crazy people at 12:27 when we had "three minutes until we had to leave." I told my mom that I would get them ready to go in 5 and she didn't believe me!  I threw everything left out into suitcases and we were ready in about 10 so that wasn't too bad. We were only a few minutes late to lunch.... so that was okay.  We ended up having three generations of sisters at lunch that day!  I'm so glad that my girls have a sister.  Its a very special bond. =)

We ended up at the airport with just enough time and had a great flight back to Denver!  My mom was able to stay for a couple days and flew home on Thursday.

On Tuesday the girls turned 5 months!!  They are getting so big!  I probably say that every month but its still true.  They seem like they are on the verge of crawling.  I put them on the play mat, they flip over, and end up off of the mat before I know it.  They are rolling with a purpose these days.  It was very cute.... today there was a toy on the floor that I guess Charlotte wanted.  She maneuvered herself off the play mat over to the toy and started chewing on it.  Its really funny to see them get so excited.  I think they may be getting teeth soon too.  They have been especially drooly and a little fussier than normal.   They are going to be so cute when they have one or two little teeth in their mouths.  Evy is on a huge growth spurt too!  She has been super hungry and super tired.  They typically go at least every 3 hours between feeds but Evy has been eating every 2 hours at some points during the day.  Today she ate at 4pm and 6pm and is currently passed out in her bouncy seat.  I am anticipating a cry that says, "MAMA FEED ME!" in about an hour and then back to bed for the night.  I guess we will see!  I know babies are supposed to sleep on their backs, but Charlotte seems to like sleeping on her tummy.  She can obviously roll from her back to tummy now and then just passes out.  I flip her over to her back once she is asleep but when morning comes she is typically back on her tummy.  I can't say I blame her.... I am a tummy sleeper too =)  That was one hard habit to break when I was pregnant! 

In other news, I quit breast feeding this weekend.  The last time I pumped was Friday and I haven't had any pain or uncomfortable fullness since then.  I quit pretty slowly so that's probably why its been okay so far.  It was a hard decision, but I think it was the right one. 

Char & Evy sleeping over at Grandma's house!

Evy & Charlotte in in their cute dresses!

Charlotte

Evy

Me and my beautiful sleepy Evy

Piggy tails!! Char

These hurt my head Mama! Evy

Evy and Charlotte just playing with some toys

Charlotte and Evelyn just hanging out with their Mama

Char and Evy.. I always put them away from each other at night but they wake up right next to each other!

Evy & Char 4 days old

Evy & Char- 3 days old! 

Ready for Takeoff!

Tomorrow will be an adventure to say the least.  I am taking the girls to Minnesota..... on an airplane.... by myself.  Yep, you read correctly... I am taking twin almost five month old girlies on an airplane by myself. 

My brother is getting married this summer so my sister and I decided to throw his fiancee a bridal shower!  I had a couple personal days that I could take at work so I decided to actually take them!  Last year I took 17 days off of work for IVF appointments so I have never actually used one of my personal days before for something, well, personal!

I am really looking forward to seeing friends and family while I am back in MN.  I saw everybody at Christmas, but the girls have changed a lot since then.  In December they were still more like newborns... couldn't hold their heads up very well, weren't really interested in toys, etc.  Now, the girls are pros at holding their heads up, very interested in toys, and are becoming more mobile by the second!  Pretty soon they will be rolling with a purpose.... and that's going to be scary!  They have also started to play with their feet.  I caught Evy grabbing one of her feet the other day and it was pretty cute.  They also hold their legs up in the air while I am changing their diapers.  Its like they are saying, "Wipe my butt, mama! And give me some clean pants while yo are at it!"  They are so smiley and have so many more emotions and expressions.  I can even get them to giggle a bit!  I just love to watch them grow and learn every day.  They are such interesting little people.

We are still working on the solid foods.... Evy seems to like everything (oatmeal, sweet potatoes, apples, and green beans) and Charlotte is the picky one.  She will only eat the oatmeal and sweet potatoes.  When yo give her something and she doesn't like it, she gives you this awful look and spits the food out!  I don't want to encourage that behavior but it really is cute.

Twelve and a half hours until the flight leaves.  I have to sleep, finish packing, and get bottles ready, pack the diaper bag, and figure out what else I'm missing!