Breastfeeding for multiples class

33 weeks

I went to a breast feeding for multiples class today. Probably the hardest part was Hugh getting gas for the car (due to gasoline outages from the recent hurricanes in the gulf of Mexico).

Once I got there, there were several other nice ladies and everyone in the class was having one boy and one girl. Kind of fun. Madeline was our Board Certified Lactation Consultant. To my pleasant surprise, she isn't one of those ADAMANT La Leche ladies that I feared. She seemed to be very normal and balanced.

Of all the ladies there, Madeline picked me out as needing to get ready to go to the hospital soon. She kept asking me if I had my bagged packed yet. Guess I should do that this week.

Anyway - it looks like I'll try to do the football hold and the cross hold to fee these little ones. Let's hope it all works!

We're 4 pounds

Week 32 day 4

Hugh and I saw the Doctors today everything is going great. Last time, the little boy was breach and the little girl was head down. Shirley said, don't worry - they still have plenty of time to turn. Well - she was right. Now both of them are breach! Big picture- ok since we are still scheduled for a C-section.

His heartbeat was 135 and hers was 147 - nice and normal. They didn't do an estimated weight this week, but I know I gained 3lbs in 2 weeks - so we know that they are growing too. I'm guessing they are about 4lbs by now. With the ultrasound, the babies were measured on some sort of scale for their breathing and movements. Both babies got an 8 out of 8 score - very reassuring.

As Mom and Shirley saw last weekend, I'm really slowing down and having a tough time walking very far at all. I spoke to the Doctor about that and she said I was starting the Braxton-Hicks contractions, which is why my tummy feels so hard/tight during the day. Hugh continues to be my knight in shining armor and help me with most everything.

The parting words from Doctor Henke was that she suspected that I won't go all the way to Oct 27th given that I'm already 40cm. She said if I can make it till Monday a week from now and I went in to labor - they would let me go ahead and deliver via a C. If I went in to labor before that Monday, they would try to stop labor and use steroids (surfactant) to help the lungs mature a little bit more. So - who knows when these babies will make their debut.

All I know is that when they get here, that they will be staying in a nursery that is well decorated (thanks for doing so much Shirley and Mom to pull everything together) and that they will be well dressed (thanks to so many friends for sharing precious outfits).

Grandmother's Shower

I have to say I've never heard of this tradition before, but maybe it's a Southern thing? This afternoon was the Grandmother's Shower.

Hugh's Mom has been so excited about these twins that I think EVERYONE in Athens, Georgia knows about the impending debut of the O'Farrell babies. Anyway - her dear friends threw a grandmother's shower. As I understand it, they all bring gifts to her home for Mom O to give to us for the babies. Again - people's generosity is amazing.

Hopefully Hugh's Mom will be able to come over to Atlanta soon and can bring the gifts for us to see and of course, for her to sit with Noisey!

Baby Shower in the 'hood

31 weeks, 5 days

It was so fun to go to the shower that Hays and KJ threw for me and the twins today. We were up at the Summit Clubhouse and had tons of neighborhood and tennis friends. They decorated the clubhouse with the cutest green and yellow clothes (onesies, burp cloths, sockies) as well as tissue paper and loads of balloons. Nancy Reno had a cute game of "how well do you know" questions... lot's of fun.

I was excited that Jana from Auburn could come too. And it was great that we had Jane, Ruth and Anne, as well as Mom, Shirley and Lauren attend.

Amy Barrett took tons of pictures and even offered to take pictures of the twins a few weeks after they are born. I think that's terrific since I've been looking for a photographer.

Can't wait to go home and load this stuff in to the nursery!

Getting ready for the shower games

Hays and KJ have spent a lot of time getting ready for this shower. Nancy has also been a big help by putting together a game about how well do you know Susan. Here are the questions and answers...

Where was Susan born? New Zealand / Havelock North
Susan is the youngest of how many children? 5
What is Susan’s maiden name? Cantwell
Where did Susan go to college? Auburn
What company does Susan work for? The Home Depot
Where did Hugh and Susan get married? Atlanta (Central Presbyterian Church downtown)
What is Hugh’s nickname for Susan? Suz
What sport other than tennis do Hugh and Susan enjoy together? Skiing
How many “bag tags” does Susan have on her tennis bag? 11 (my favorite one was for good sportsmanship)
After a day of playing tennis, would Susan rather cook dinner, order take-out, or go out for dinner? Cook
What is the name of Susan’s cat? Nosiey
What is Susan’s favorite pregnancy food? Cheddar Cheese
What is Susan’s actual due date? Nov 17th C-section date is now Oct 27
What colors did Susan pick for the babies room? Green and Yellow
The theme for the babies room features what THREE animals? Froggies, Snails and Turtles

Baby Shower at Kelly B.'s house

31 weeks, 4 days

Kelly B. through a fabulous shower for the twins at her home tonight. How generous of Kelly and Rick to open their home to so many friends and co-workers from Home Depot and friends.

It was fun that Mom was able to make it in town to come to this shower too. It was simply over whelming the precious gifts and outfits that people brought to share for our little miracles.

Can't wait to get all this stuff home and start setting up the room!

Our "not to exceed" date is Oct 27th

30 weeks and 4 days

The neonatologist visit is always exciting, as we get ultrasound peeks of the babies. The Doctor says all is great. Our little boy is estimated to be 3lbs 9oz and the little girl is 3lbs 8oz. That's 60th and 55th percentile for single babies - so nice and big for twins. Oh - and already more than 7lbs of baby I'm lugging around with 6 more weeks to go.

The heartbeats (148 and 149) and amniotic fluid were terrific, and I'm not dialating at all. My first blood pressure reading was a little elevated (systolic), but they took it again 30 min later and it was fine. Both of the twins have full heads of hair (we just don't know what color).

The little girl finally let us have a glimpse of her face (she is facing my back). It seems that she has really wriggled around, as her back/spine is now high up across the width of my chest, high up in my ribs. That explains some of the rough heartburn I've been having. We couldn't see the little boy's face since he is now just so intertwined with her - that there was no way to get her feet and legs away from his face to get a peek.

We've now received our scheduled C-section date of October 27th. I call it the "not to exceed" date - as we all know that babies will come when ever they feel like it! Since that date is Aunty Betty's birthday - it would be a nice touch - but time will tell.

Baby Shower at Work

30 weeks, 3 days

What an incredible shower at work today! I think I gave a list of 25 or 30 people to invite. Instead, we ended up with about 70 people there to celebrate these little miracle babies.

The colors were pink and green. My assistant Kelly did so much work in lining up so many helps and ordering a HUGE sheet cake with cute babies booties on it. The Velvet Hammers leadership team helped to decorate the area and make it festive. Jennifer Snow made really cute "diaper cakes."

Seeing so many current and former colleagues attend was nice. Carol Tome was even able to spend an hour visiting and chatting with Hugh as we opened the presents.

Now - it's time for me to get cracking on those 73 thank you cards that I owe! Glad I bought cards a few weeks ago to help me get ready for this!

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Finished painting the nursery

I'm so excited that we finally have the nursery painted so we can start loading in the furniture! Hugh lovingly and carefully painted the room "Lemon Souffle", of course using Home Depot no-VOC paint. It's a terrific color.

Then, I was able to paint on some murals of the froggies, snails and turtles that are in the bed linens. ADORABLE!

This week, we'll set up the changing table and crib. Not sure when the custom glider/rocker will arrive - but we're getting close.