Working on the Nursery

I cannot believe we are starting to put together the nursery. Brandon had finished painting the room  before and we decided to move on to the next project. We rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned all the carpets. Once the carpets dried Brandon built one of the cribs as well as the dresser/changing table combo. The other crib is back in the States and I will pick up when I head home for the Baby Shower next week. We put on the changing cover and the crib bumper around the crib to get a sense of what things will look like. We still have a bit of work to do with wall decor (a zebra themed border), building the second crib, hanging letters above the cribs, lighting, etc. It is so fun to walk in the room  now and realize our two little angels will be living here in a few months.  We will post more pictures as more gets updated.

Crib #1

Dresser/Changing Table Combo

Changing Pad Cover

I absolutely love this color and pattern

Crib Bumper. It is not tied on yet and there are no sheets. Just wanted to see what it looked like

Another View with a blanket. I love this!!

24 Week Baby Update

We have hit the 24 week mark!! We met with our Doctor on Friday February 10th for the first time. In Canada you see you GP until around 20 weeks and then switch over to an Obstetrician. Our Doctors name is Dr. James Graham and he works out of Chrysalis Obstetrics and Gynaecology Office. He is a very nice man and extremely laid back. We will start seeing him once a month and then eventually switch over to every two weeks. Our next appointment with him is Thursday March 8th and we are very excited.
   We had another ultrasound on Friday March 2nd. Our ultrasounds have now switched to Fetal Assessments. Each time we go in we see a nurse before the appointment to check my blood pressure, an ultrasound to check the babies growth, and then a Doctor to go over all the results. Our ultrasound went great. My blood pressure is right on track and the babies are growing beautiful. One baby is 1 pound 9 ounces and the other is 1 pound 12 ounces. The doctor said we are right on track and my chances for preterm labour are very low which is great news. We did not get the best pictures as the babies were very active and did not want to pose.  We scheduled another ultrasound at the end of March (I will be just shy of 28 weeks). After that ultrasound we will switch to having one every two weeks and then once a week as we get closer to the delivery date. It is amazing to see all the changes each and every day, but the most special part of this is holding Brandon's hand and seeing our two beautiful baby girls on the screen. It is a moment I will cherish forever!!

24 Week Belly Bump

Growing by the Day

Spine Twin B

Spine Twin A

Profile Twin A

Profile Twin B

Fingers Twin B

Leg and Foot Twin B

Nursery

The nursery has officially started. We moved all the bedroom furniture out of the room to start. Well Brandon moved everything while I supervised. We put up paint swatches on the wall to try and decide on a color. We knew we wanted a pale shade of pink, but who know how many different shades of pale pink there was. We finally came to a decision and went to Home Depot and purchased the paint, painting supplies, and drape to cover the carpet. We made sure to mix in the no chemical solution in the paint so there would be no odours and it would not be harmful to the baby. We came home and put the tarp on the floor and proceeded to tape the room off. The next day Brandon started painting. I did not help as I could not stand the smell and thought it would be better to just take pictures. Once the first coat finished drying Brandon painted the second coat. The color turned out absolutely amazing and we both love it. We also bought a zebra print chair rail to go around the border of the room. We might put a hot pink strip around the zebra chair rail, but are undecided yet. So officially the room is painted. Our next step is we are having the carpets cleaned and will then put up the zebra print and start building the furniture. I cannot wait to see this room come together for our two beautiful girls. I will post more pictures as we progress, but here is the start of them. The final coat of pink is hard to see, but trust me it is beautiful.

The room prep

All taped off and ready to paint. The room started with a purple color

The first coat of paint

Brandon painting. He is such a good husband

The Final Outcome

We love the pink

Work Baby Shower

On Friday February 24th I got the surprise of my life. My coworkers planned a surprise Baby Shower with the help of my husband. Little did I know my coworker Colleen had been talking with my husband to arrange all the details. The shower was a Diapers and Wipe Theme held at Julio's Barrios Mexican Restaurant. Brandon made an excuse that he was going to be in Calgary on Friday and would pick me up after work. I thought it was a little strange since he had baseball practice, but was happy to take the ride home. Brandon picked me up from work about 4:45pm. As soon as I got in the car he made an excuse he had not had a chance to eat and was starving. Of course being pregnant I was happy to eat. So he said he had heard this Mexican restaurant was really good and we could try there. We parked the car and as we walked in Brandon walked right past the hostess. I told him we have to wait to be seated which he replied we already have a table. As we walked in he said I believe these people are waiting on you. I looked up to see all my coworkers sitting around a huge table. I was in such shock I did not know what to say. We sat down and they put sombrero's on us. There was a cake, a diaper cake, and lots of presents (which were all diaper and wipes!!).One of the funniest moments was a game they played. They pulled out three baby bottles filled with some beer and the goal was to see who could finish first. Brandon was one of the participants and of course won!! It was so funny and afterwards he said his jaw hurt so bad and he did not know how babies did it.   Everyone was so sneaky and it was so much fun.  We had a great meal and a lot of laughs. I truly have the best coworkers and was beyond touched.

SURPRISE

Brandon and I

My coworkers trying to stick their bellies out

Coworkers and Brandon

Cake my coworker Leanne made. So beautiful and Yummy

Babies on the cake

Diaper Cake my coworker made. Gorgeous

Brandon playing the baby game. He won

My coworker Ana and I. She is a sweetheart

Group Shot

20 weeks and Baby Girls!!

It's official - Brandon and I are expecting two Baby Girls!! On Monday January 30th we went in for our Anatomy Ultrasound. Both of us were excited to find out the sexes, but more than anything excited to just see them. The ultrasound got started with Baby A. The first image we saw was the spine. About 20 minutes into the ultrasound I started to get very hot and dizzy. I thought it was just my anxiety. However, the room started to turn black and I thought I was going to pass out. I told the tech and he stopped the exam and let me sit up. Upon sitting up I decided to get sick so they grabbed the garbage can for me. The tech grabbed me some cold water and Brandon just held my hand telling me I was OK. The feeling passed and I laid back down and the exam continued. However, a short period went by when the feeling happened again so we once again stopped the exam. I apologized to the tech and told him I was embarrassed. He told me no need to apologize, this happens. Due to the fact I was laying on my back I was hitting a nerve and cutting off the oxygen supply to myself. The babies were taking everything. He told me to stop the exam as much as I needed to. I ended up stopping the exam about 6 times before the tech let me adjust slightly and roll a tad on my hip to get the oxygen back. I also ended up closing my eyes and just holding Brandon's hand to feel better. So I missed most of the ultrasound, but Brandon got to see it all. The tech also made a CD for us of all the images since I was unable to really see them. He was very patient and understanding. The funny part was during the exam the tech was having a hard time taking all the pictures because our baby girls were very active and would not stop moving around. As Brandon said it looked like they were dancing or conducting an orchestra with their arms. The tech said he had not seen such active babies. At the end he asked us if we wanted to know the sexes which we of course both said yes. We found out we were having two baby girls. Both Brandon and I got emotional and shared a very special moment. These two humans had turned from just babies to our baby girls. Of course Brandon predicted all along it was two girls while I thought it was one girl and one boy. The tech said both babies are doing great, very healthy, and growing at the same rate. They are now sitting side by side with Baby A on the left side of my stomach and Baby B on the right side. Baby A heartbeat was 149 and Baby B Heartbeat was 156. Two healthy baby girls. Brandon and I could not be more excited.
   We are now 20 weeks and in a little over 3 months our baby girls will enter the world. In the meantime we are busy planning the nursery, registering, and thinking of names. We meet with our Obstetrician on Friday Feb 10th. We cannot wait. 3 months will be over before the blink of an eye. Watch out world- pretty soon there will be two Newell girls running around.

Baby Bump 20 Weeks

TWIN A (on my left side)

TWIN B (on my right side)

TWIN A Hands and Arm

TWIN A FEET

TWIN B HANDS

Twin B Feet

Baby Bump Photos

Ok so as promised here are a few baby bump photos as well as the ultrasound at 12 weeks. I just love these babies so much!!

Pregnancy at 7 weeks

Pregnancy at 12 weeks

Pregnancy at 16 weeks

20 weeks

24 Weeks

24 Weeks

28 Weeks

A shirt my Aunt and Uncle bought me. I just adore this!!

Baby B. He/she is on top and takes all the room

Baby A. On the Bottom laying on his/her back

IT"S TWINS

The news is out.. Brandon and I are expecting twins. We could not be more excited. We found out the exciting news on my birthday of all days. I knew I was late and had taken a pregnancy test which was positive. We called the doctor and they told us to come in to confirm the pregnancy. So we went to the Doctors on my birthday to have an ultrasound. The lady performing the ultrasound said there is the baby and showed us this little dot on the screen and measured the heartbeat. The heartbeat looked like a lightening bug. We were beyond excited and just staring at one another with joy when the lady announced and I see a second heartbeat. We both quickly turned to her and said what did you just say. She said you are pregnant with twins. I thought Brandon was going to pass out!! We were absolutely shocked and could not believe this. We left the office and called our parents to share the news!! This was the best news of our lives and we couldn't wait to share with the rest of the world. We kept the big news a secret through the first trimester just to make sure all was OK. We knew we were coming home for Christmas and decided to make the big reveal then. Before that we took a trip to Texas to visit my Aunt, Uncle and Grandparents and revealed the news to them. It was such a wonderful and personal moment that I will always cherish. So on Friday December 23rd we had an early birthday celebration for Brandon with friends and family. After everyone had been then for a bit Brandon made a toast thanking everyone for coming and shared the big news that I was pregnant and oh yea by the way with twins. To see the faces of our friends and family was overwhelming and just the happiest time. I wish I could have got it all on video. So now the news is out and we can share all. Over the course of the pregnancy I will be posting pictures of the growing "bump" as well as any pictures of the babies from the ultrasounds. We absolutely love our babies already and cannot wait to meet them in person.



The day we found out we were having twins