Worth the Wait May 21, 2013

I apologize for my absence – Instead of excuses, I’ll offer you up tons of pictures of what’s been going on in our world. I’m currently 38 weeks, 2 days along with sweet LT! I got to join in his Mama & Daddy’s wonderful baby shower celebration and now we are counting down the days. M&T will be arriving to Southern California on Monday (just 6 days!) to await the arrival of their sweet boy. As long as he stays put until they are here, he’s welcome to come anytime after that. I am very excited (and only a little nervous) about the birth. I’m confident the team of wonderful people we have, including our two doulas, will give us the perfect natural, unmedicated experience that I’m hoping for. *Fingers crossed*

 

Without further delay, here are some awesome pics from our family shoot with my IFs and the twins and our maternity shoot with M&T by the amazing CDC Photography and M&Ts baby shower ❤ I hope you enjoy them!

 

First up, pics from our AMAZING visit with Esteban, Michele, Davide & Gabriel in January. I’m SO thankful to have these photos and look forward to repeating the photo shoot annually when we get together <3<3<3

 

Now some of the beautiful shots from my maternity shoot with M&T. Loving how these turned out ❤

And last, but not least, some shots from M&Ts amazing Peter Rabbit themed baby shower. I am so blessed to have been included in their special day and had the opportunity to meet so many family members and friends who are anxiously awaiting LTs arrival ❤

Myself, M, T and M’s beautiful Mama ❤

M’s stepmom, their first surro C, my beautiful Mama and myself ❤

With my own beautiful Mommy ❤

C, myself and M 🙂

A very special 33 Weeks belly shot with LT’s amazing Mama and Grandma <3<3

I’m off to finish up some special projects I’ve got in the works that need to be done before M&T arrive on Monday… I hope everyone who reads this is doing well ❤

Until Next Time,

Lots of Love – Danielle & LT

Pregnant Forever? December 16, 2011

If I weren’t already scheduled for an induction, I would swear that I would be pregnant forever LOL. These little boys are SO comfy! Today marks 38 weeks!!! I had my very last NST and the boys are still trucking right along with plenty of fluid, great movement and great heart rates. I had a few contractions but nothing major.

 

If I haven’t gone into labor on my own, we will head to the hospital at noon on Monday to serve these boys their official eviction notice and start packing their luggage for them. I promise to keep everyone updated as best as I can. We can’t wait to meet Esteban & Michele’s precious angels ❤

 

Lopsided Baby Belly LOL 🙂

 

 

Until next time, Lots of love from Danielle and the Bambinos

 

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Nope, it’s my Belly! November 27, 2011

Here are my weekly pictures of the ever growing Bambino Hotel 🙂

(Sorry I can’t get them to be more than one on each line.. I’m not tech savvy enough LOL)

Halloween Pumpkins for D&G

Home Stretch

That’s right – We’re in the home stretch! In 22 days or less, E&Ms precious angels will be evicted from my Bambino Hotel. We’re 35 weeks & 2 days along.. We’ve hit so many milestones and passed so many goals. Each day that I can keep these precious boys baking for their Daddies is a miracle. I am still being seen by the perinatologist every 2 weeks and now have a Non-Stress Test (NST) 2x per week to check on the boys. The NSTs monitor the boys heartrates and movement along with my contractions for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to make sure that they are still tolerating their stay at the hotel well 🙂 So far they have all been great. TONS of movement, beautiful heartrates and only a few contractions here and there.

My cervix is still “long and strong.” While your cervix shortening doesn’t always mean labor is imminent, it’s a great tool to keep track of progress and having a long measurement is always a good sign. I’m continually amazed at how good my body has been to me and these precious little boys. With a twin pregnancy, especially an identical mono/di one, there are so many risks and possibilities for things to go wrong. We spent the first few months worried about twin-to-twin transfusion. Once we were out of the woods for that, we had to worry about complications like gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, shortening cervix, etc. And yet, God has looked out for the boys and I and we have avoided all of the possible complications. No bed rest, no preterm labor, no early contractions, no premature rupture of membranes (water breaking,) etc. All we need now is to “keep on trucking” along until at least 37 weeks. That is my personal goal and not too shabby of one with twins 🙂

The boys both weighed 4lbs, 14oz at my last appointment so their combined weight has officially surpassed my chubbiest child (8lbs, 4oz.) If you do the math there is 8lbs, 28oz (or 9lbs, 12oz) of baby in the Bambino Hotel! It’s amazing to me that they still have room to do flips. And yes, I have proof that they can still do flips LOL. For the last 3 appointments, the babies have both been head down and I was SO excited. Two head down babies means my chances for a vaginal delivery are huge. At my last NST though, one of the darling angels has decided to turn semi-sideways again. I knew something had happened because the night before, my stomach looked like rolling mountains LOL. I have asked him, politely I promise, to please get his head back down by his brothers where it belongs haha. If you don’t mind sending them your head down vibes, I would greatly appreciate it!

As for me? I’m hanging in there. I am FINALLY on maternity leave. I wanted to “stick it out” as long as possible but working 40 hours a week plus being a full time Mommy and baby baker was getting exhausting. No point in pushing it, it’s not like I get an award for each week that I work LOL. I finished my last day of work until after the birth of these precious babies at 34 weeks along. Personally, I’m proud of myself. I have gained about 30 pounds and am still feeling good for the most part. I won’t lie and say that I’m not tired – I am. But, every day is well worth it to me. Each day that I stay pregnant is one day closer to creating a family for two people that are so amazing. Esteban & Michele fly in from Italy on TUESDAY and we CANNOT wait to see them. I’m so excited for them to watch their boys in action inside my belly LOL.

I’m going to dedicate another post to belly pics since I haven’t posted on since 28 weeks. Enjoy 🙂

 

Until next time – Lots of love from Danielle & the Bambinos 🙂

 

Hidden Strength October 12, 2011

First things first – WE ARE IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER, FOLKS!!!! HOME STRETCH!!! 🙂

The past month has been one of the most challenging of my life. I am still dealing with losing one of the most important people in my life, and some other events have taken place that have really tried both mine and my IFs strength. I won’t go into details right now, but just wanted everyone to know that we’re all hanging in there and moving right along. “Faith is not without worry or care, but faith is fear that has said a prayer.”

At almost 29 weeks along, the boys both weigh close to 2 1/2 pounds and are growing big and strong for their Daddies. My goal is still to stay pregnant as long as possible and things seem to be in our favor for making that goal a reality. These little boys are staying put until December! They are starting to really interact inside my Bambino Hotel and there is nothing more amazing than feeling two little miracles moving around inside of you ❤

I am still seeing the perinatologist every 2 weeks and I never tire of having an ultrasound to take a peek at E & Ms angels at every visit. Our perinatologist is amazing and I’m so glad that she is so focused on making sure these babies and I stay healthy.

Here are my two latest belly pics from 27 & 28 weeks. The boys growing is DEFINITELY evident by my ever-growing waistline! LOL.

27 Weeks

 

28 Weeks

 

Until next time, TONS of love from Danielle & the Bambinos ❤

Italian Eggplants.. September 27, 2011

Is there such a thing? There definitely is when you look inside my growing baby apartment multi-story apartment complex!! LOL. Time is flying and I have absolutely no idea where it is going or how to get it to slow down! D&G are growing beautifully and at almost 27 weeks along, they each weigh close to 2lbs and are the size of eggplants according to my handy dandy weekly updates.

Here are my two latest belly pics from 25 & 26 weeks:

25 Weeks

 

26 Weeks

As you can see, the boys are growing very nicely! I have still been feeling pretty good for the most part. I did start having some Braxton Hicks (practice/fake) contractions and the perinatologist said that they are completely normal given how far along I am and the fact that I am carrying twins. They are few and far between and with my cervix being “made to carry twins” (her words, not mine) she isn’t at all concerned. The twins and I are in this for long haul, folks! 37 weeks, here we come!

 

Aside from the pregnancy, life in general has been pretty difficult in the past week and a half. My Papa passed away on Wednesday September 14th. To some people, losing a grandparent would be difficult but to me it is devastating. My Mom was only 16 when she got pregnant with me and I know nothing about my sperm donor. Since my Mom was so young, I have always been my Papa’s little girl and he has always been more like a Dad than a grandfather. I’m taking things about 5 minutes at a time and eventually I know that life will settle into some sort of new “normal” it’s just going to take time. I’m very lucky to have my Hubby, our girls, and family and friends to help keep me going. I love you Papa.

 

I see the perinatologist again on Tuesday 10/4. I can’t believe it’s already almost October and we’re already almost in the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy. I’ll update then with how things are going.

 

Until next time… Lots of love from Danielle & the Bambinos

 

Twin-isms September 13, 2011

Well folks, WE MADE IT TO VIABILITY! This past Friday marked 24 weeks along which means that if the twins were born, they stand a fighting chance at surviving outside of the womb. Of course, with all the renovations they have already done to make my Bambino Hotel their own, they better stay put until December. Their Daddies are on strict instructions that they are not allowed back in the United States until then LOL.

Here is my most recent “belly pic” from 24 weeks:

24 Weeks

Thankfully I’ve been feeling pretty good for the most part in the past few weeks. This blog is dedicated to “twin-isms” or the things that I have most noticed are different with an [identical] twin pregnancy vs carrying only one baby.

• I’m exhausted. Like, sleeping for 8-10 hours still doesn’t make a difference. I feel like I  haven’t slept in weeks. When I asked my perinatologist if the 2nd trimester energy kick was coming, she actually laughed and said not to hold my breath. Apparently said energy kick is a myth if you’re carrying two (or more) babies.
• It takes 5 pillows + my body pillow to get remotely “comfortable” to attempt to sleep at night. And I use the term comfortable very loosely. Think Hollywood & Vine workers loose. Yep, I said it.
• I haven’t seen my Queen Victoria in weeks. At least 4 weeks. I wouldn’t even be convinced that she was still there except that every 2 weeks I have a date with the weenie wand AKA vaginal ultrasound so, yeah.
• Shaving my legs has become almost more trouble than it’s worth. It’s been about 2 weeks since I could perform that task standing up in the shower. I now have to sit. In the shower. To shave my legs. See why it’s almost not worth it?
• It’s still completely shocking how quickly I can go from feeling full and not wanting to eat at all to “GET ME SOME FOOD OR SOMEONE DIES” mode.
• My cravings are incredibly strong. And they are constantly changing. One day its chili cheese fries and the next its Lucky Charms cereal. Don’t even think to question it, it’s not safe for your health.
• When I’m starving, I REALLY don’t like to share. Touch my food and pull back a bloody stump.
• Feeling two babies at the same time is the most amazing sensation EVER and is completely indescribable using the human language.

Though none of us really prepared for or anticipated this being a twin pregnancy, I’ve come to realize even more so in the past few weeks just how special our journey is. I have to admit that at times I am jealous of the people that get to have a “normal” uneventful, singleton pregnancy and the delivery of their dreams. It’s been a little hard to swallow that a vaginal delivery is out of the cards for me, BUT, then I remind myself of just how lucky we all are. We had a successful transfer the first time around and E & M will be welcoming not one, but two precious little boys in December. I don’t know how much more we can ask for. God knows what He is doing and I fully trust that He planned this journey out specifically for us. I wouldn’t change a thing ❤

Until next time… Lots of love from Danielle & the Bambinos!

 

 

Babies, Bed Rest, Beautiful News August 31, 2011

I’m totally firing myself. It’s been one month (longer if I don’t get this published in the next 30 minutes  okay, longer than one month) since I posted! I swear there have been so many times that I have reminded myself I am WAY overdue for a blog post, but, it’s just been impossible to find the time to sit down and write it all out. So, here goes. Get your reading glasses on, pour a good glass of wine (and have one for me too, eh?) and enjoy a long overdue update 🙂

When the bambinos and I left you last, we were 17 weeks along. So much has happened since then! When I was 18 weeks, 5 days along I had a terrible scare. I was at work, went to use the restroom, and saw what every pregnant woman hopes to never see. Bright red blood. To say that it scared the crap out of me is the understatement of the century. I was terrified. No one ever wants to see blood they are pregnant, but it’s a whole new level of worry when you’re carrying babies for someone else. As I sat in the waiting room at urgent care (I was there within 10 minutes of going to the bathroom) all I could do was pray to God that he would keep these precious little boys safe. Their Daddies, grandparents, uncles, cousins, friends, etc were already so excited anticipating their arrival and I couldn’t possibly let them down. It’s my job to protect Gabriel & Davide and I felt like I was doing a terrible job. The doctor finally came in (just a regular urgent care “genius” doctor, not an OBGyn) and had the nurse try to find the babies heartbeats with the doppler. She was able to get a great reading on Baby A (Gabriel) but couldn’t get a very good reading on Baby B (Davide.) They consulted with an OB who was in the office late who requested that they send me over to our local hospital for an ultrasound. After waiting several more hours and yelling at a few nurses, I finally got in to see the ultrasound tech. Of course the tech kept the screen turned away from me – I squeezed Hubby’s hand and he immediately knew his job – Squeeze mine back when he saw the boys’ heartbeats. I watched his face like a hawk looking for any indication of what he was seeing – It was the best news I had ever “heard” from someone’s facial expressions when he gave me the sign that both boys were not only looking great, they would hardly hold still long enough for the ultrasound tech to see them. I have never in my life breathed such a huge sigh of relief. I was put on bed rest for at least the next 2 days, instructed to call the perinatologist first thing in the morning, and sent home. I parked my butt in bed and stayed there! Our peri kept me on bed rest for the next two days and kept our regular appointment that was scheduled for almost 20 weeks along.

At that appointment, it was discovered that my placenta was a little low. The peri wouldn’t call it placenta previa yet, but wanted to keep a very close eye on it. She kept me on pelvic bed rest (sorry Hubby) but allowed me to return to work since I sit down most of the day. The boys were super active and she didn’t have any concerns at all about their growth or health. They cooperated and let her do the vast majority of the scanning she needed to finish the “developmental” part of the ultrasound since we were just shy of 20 weeks. Fast forward just a little ways – ESTEBAN & MICHELE FLY IN TO SAN FRANCISCO!!! That’s right folks, my IFs are in the beautiful state of California! They spent 3 days in San Francisco and then flew to LA. On Monday 8/15 my family and I got to see them for the first time since April. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how we were feeling. It was SO good to see them live, in person and better yet? At a restaurant for a yummy dinner! LOL. We spent the entire time at dinner talking about so much and just catching up. Tuesday morning was a very special day – E, M and I headed to family court for their pre-birth order hearing. Long story short, this was a short hearing in front of a judge with both of our lawyers and a “guardian” for the twins present. End result? Esteban & Michele were officially, legally declared DADDIES!!!!!!!! I’m not going to lie, I cried a little bit when the judge said those words. This is what we’re all working for here folks, and now it’s legal. When the boys are born, Esteban & Michele’s names will immediately go on their birth certificate and they will be forever responsible for these precious little boys. It was a momentous day to say the least.

I had to work the next couple of days but Thursday marked the start of our amazing vacation. DH, our little girls and I headed to San Diego bright and early Thursday 8/18 (My Day of Birth) and met E & M at our GORGEOUS hotel. Our room overlooked the marina and couldn’t possibly have been more breathtaking. We walked around the hotel a little and then headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. My darling husband kindly informed the waitress it was my birthday and proceeded to tell her it was special birthday #21. (It’s NOT in case you don’t know me in real life LOL.) Soooo, said waitress proceedes to bring me to the middle of the VERY crowded restaurant, announce at the top of her lungs that I’m celebrating my 21st birthday, and get the entire place singing “Happy Birthday.” As I stand there. With our 4 year old. VERY pregnant. Celebrating my “21st” birthday. LOL. It was quite the spectacle and one that I will surely remember come March 2012 when it’s DHs birthday. The next day we woke up bright and early to head to SeaWorld. It was absolutely amazing and tons of fun. We got to meet up with a surrogate that I “know” from an online community and it was very nice to spend a little bit of time with her. (Our kids weren’t too condusive to us spending a massive amount of time together unfortunately.) We headed back to the hotel before E & M because I was getting mighty tired and couldn’t really take the walking around anymore. I highly recommend waiting until you are NOT preggo to attempt SeaWorld LOL. Just my humble opinion ;o) Saturday morning we had to check out of the hotel fairly early to head home. We had work to do!

A few months ago, I asked E & M if they would mind if we had a little bbq/swim party when they came in August because my family and many friends/coworkers were anxious to meet them. They of course didn’t mind, so plans began. I decided that a bbq wasn’t good enough and that I wanted to turn that day into a surprise baby shower for my oh-so-amazing, oh-so-deserving IFs. So, that’s precisely what I did. One of my amazing friends made the invitations and made a special one just for E & M that said it was just a bbq. Saturday we got busy with last minute party prep, picked up the cake, got the favors all set up and decorated. Sunday afternoon at 12pm, guests started arriving. We had told E & M to arrive at 12:45pm instead of 12 so that people had a chance to show up. Several of E & Ms good friends came as a surprise and even our agency coordinator. The agency is doing a short film to show to other prospective international IPs so the film crew was there as well! DH sat outside around 12:40 and was officially on “Baby Daddies” watch. He called and let me know they had arrived! I grabbed the cake, DH opened the door, and we all yelled “SURPRISE!” It was an amazing moment. They were completely and totally shocked and it was well worth every moment spent planning and telling them little fibs. We all ate, talked, took millions of pictures, watched E & M open a ton of adorable gifts and had a blast. I wouldn’t change a single part of that day ❤

The next morning we had an appt with the peri. It would be their first time seeing their precious little boys in PERSON rather than on a video or in emailed pictures. When the peri started the ultrasound, E & M were so excited that I again teared up. It’s just so amazing to see these two men that I have come to absolutely love and adore be so excited for their angels. Because we are considered high risk, we got to spend nearly an hour with the peri just enjoying the ultrasound and all the shots of the boys. Once she had seen everything she needed to see, the guys left the room so she could check my cervix length and the location of the placenta. GREAT NEWS! For my cervix, she was hoping to see at least a “3” and my cervix measures 5.2! Super cervix! YAY! EVEN BETTER NEWS! The placenta took a drastic turn in the RIGHT direction and moved right back up to where it should be! No more pelvic bed rest! Yipee! Tuesday we went to Glendale for a 3D ultrasound. The film crew was there to document the guys reactions to seeing their boys on the ultrasound. Again, it was absolutely amazing. I will never get tired of watching how excited they are for their boys and for their family to begin. They’re too adorable for words to describe ❤ After the ultrasound we got down to business – SHOPPING!!! I took them to the Carters store and they had SO much fun picking out the cutest little clothes EVER. Now that I know what they bought, and what they got at the baby shower, I can start shopping. YAY! Shhhhh. Haha. I know they read my blog so I will keep mum about some of my plans ;o) That night we went to our local fair and walked around, ate LOTS of yummy food (Yep, I’ve finally got my appetite for twins HaHa,) and had a blast. The next day, Wednesday, was their last here in California. *insert picture of me balling my eyes out here* so we did the hospital tour (YAY!) and had an amazing dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, complete with fried ice cream for dessert. The two weeks they were here honestly couldn’t have gone any better. I am so blessed that these are not just two men that I’m carrying twins for. They are family and always will be. It’s okay to be jealous. I would be. ;o)

It’s been almost a week since they left and things are getting back to “normal” in our house. My girls definitely missed them and our 4 year old kept asking when Esteban & Michele would be coming back. As much as we all love and miss them, they have strict instructions to NOT return to Cali until December because their twinkies and I have an agreement that they are NOT allowed to come before then. That’s right, I’m asserting my surromama rights and telling the boys to STAY PUT until at least 36 weeks. Don’t question my authority! LOL. Things have been going really well, the boys are SUPER active (most often when I’m trying to sleep – The little darlings are already on Italian time LOL) and I’m eating like crazy. Since I’ve only gained 4lbs up to this point, I’ve got a little wiggle room in the weight department. Here is my latest “belly” pic from 22 weeks. Enjoy!

 

22 Weeks with the Bambinos

 

I promise I’ll do my best to be better at updating so that you don’t have such a novel to read next time.

Until then – Lots of love from Danielle & the bambinos 🙂