A +

We don't go in for a blood test until Tuesday BUT.....

Almost two weeks ago we did the Trigge.r shot and now we have a BEAUTIFUL plus sign showing on our p-test! (It looks a lot darker in person and we even saw a hint of a plus sign yesterday morning as well!) We are kind of in disbelief at the moment as this whole process has been pretty laid back and worry-free. Life is just SO busy that the two week wait flew by and now we are sitting pretty looking at a perspective sister or brother for A and R! We wouldn't be being completely honest if we didn't mention that we can't wait to see the B.eta numbers but more importantly an ultrasound to see how many sacs are in there. With M having 3 mature eggs 2 days before we triggered along with many smaller ones, it just makes you wonder. As we know it isn't likely, the shows like "J & K + 8" and "Ta.ble for 10" makes our minds wonder. Either way, we are pregnant and did a bit of a "We're having a baby" dance with the twins this morning. They were equally excited (although they are always full of smiles when we walk into their nursery in the morning).

As we mentioned it's been a busy few weeks. For one, the girls went to their first fair. A hadn't napped and we knew they would both be going to bed after their normal 7pm bedtime so we didn't really know what to expect but they did GREAT! It helped that we had M's mom and 2 cousins with us along with J's brother. More hands to help but the girls had a great time people watching and trying tidbits of fair food (primarily a "turkey leg" and some ice cream). A got EXTREMELY excited when she saw huge lion and tiger stuffed animals hanging from a game vendor. J luckily captured a snapshot of it. That girl LOVES animals.

They also went on their first ride - the carousel. J sat on a horse with R and M with A. A LOVED the ride but R clung to J tighter than ever and whined the entire time. We felt so bad but J couldn't even get down off the horse because it was constantly moving up and down and... when the heck did they start going so high off the ground?!?! A was holding on to the pole with one hand and trying to pet the horse with the other. That will be the child going on all the fair rides with M in the future and R will be holding purses with J ;)

R is really walking around quite well these days. She has great balance! Yesterday A took a few steps with a little cheering and guiding! We had her hold onto our rocker and we pushed the couch ottoman out a bit and cheered her on to push off and take the necessary 2 steps to the ottoman. It worked and she felt SOO rewarded when she did it! When A is excited about something, she squeals exactly like "Carrie B.radshaw" from SATC. It is the cutest thing in the entire world!

Yesterday the girls went to their first friend "kidd.ie party". It was lots of fun as our friend has acquired quite a few outside toys over the past 2 years of her daughter's life. They played for quite some time in a plastic "little t.ikes" house with 2 other little boys. It is interesting to see the interaction between other kids and our twins. The 2 boys (not related) kept stealing toys from each other and our girls. Our girls didn't cry or mind as I think they are used to it since they (mainly R) always steal toys from each other. But if a toy was taken from one of the boys who are both only children, cries insued. It was interesting to watch.

R has her top left tooth breaking through which has made her a little whiny but all in all she has been pretty good with her teething although she hasn't had any teeth break through since her first 2 bottom over 5 months ago. We didn't think she was EVER going to get more teeth! R still has 2 tops and 2 bottoms.

A couple more days until we get our first round of betas... BRING ON GOOD NUMBERS PLEASE!!!

You're Fired!

We had to let go of our nanny today. As we've mentioned in previous posts, she is unreliable, she is only on the floor playing with them about half the time and doesn't really talk to them. This is the age where their language skills are developing so it is imperative to have communication going on. The straw that broke the camels back was that J asked her to be at our house at 10am this morning and to PLEASE NOT BE LATE (since she always is) because she had to run a meeting at 10:30am. We were smart enough to give her a 30 min cushion KNOWING that she would be late even though we specifically told her she couldn't be today. It was ridiculous that we even had to do this but it is what it is. So, 10:15am rolls around and J is getting a little nervous. The babies were sleeping at this point but of course they would wake up at exactly 10:30am if our nanny wasn't there by then. At 10:25am, M calls our nanny and asks where she is and she said she was running really late. M asked if she was at least close and she replies no. NO?!? She said she "wasn't even close." M was fuming and let J know. We both decided that this was it. We had to stop dragging our feet and find a new nanny ASAP. M called our nanny back and said that we didn't need her today and that actually we didn't need she services anymore as it wasn't working out.

J's brother is staying with us so he was luckily available to watch the girls while J had her call.

So.... it's back to the drawing board for us. It will be a little hairy around here until we get a new nanny but all in all we're glad we let this one go. She added more stress than help.

(Side note: we're still very much cheering on M's mature eggs and the millions of little guys swimming around hoping for a happy collision. Cyst check on Monday.)

An insemination like never before...

and now we enter the wonderful TWW.

We triggered this morning at 4:15am which is why this is going to be a short and sweet post. Neither of us fell back to sleep before our little darlings woke up at 5:30 and were ready to start the day. Next insem is tomorrow at 4:15pm. Our dr told us M had 3 mature eggs before the trigger and a great sperm count with 65% motility.

Yawn.... goodnight!

Rocking and Rolling...

Or should we say Poking and Producing!

M had bloodwork this morning to make sure the Rep.ronex is actually working. And.... IT IS! We keep with the same regime of 2 powders, 1 cc liquid and go in tomorrow for bw and an u/s. Very excited mommies in this household of ours!

M has been doing really well with the injections! Ice, clean, stick, inject, ice... all with no problem! M pinches the area, J darts the needle in and M inserts the hormone... we have it down to a science as all we did was reverse rolls from J's IVF last year. The one thing that isn't consistent is the size of the welts J had vs the size M is getting. M was nervous about the welt size and pain that was associated with J's injections. She is VERY LUCKY so far!!!

Comparative pictures:


J's belly during her Repro.nex injections a year and a half ago.


M's belly with the Rep.ronex injections. TINY WELTS! YAY!

Day 1... no problem!

Well last night was our first Re.pronex injection and although we TOTALLY forgot until about 9pm (we planned to do it at 7pm when the girls went down), the shot was quick and painless (per M). She has the smallest mark around the injection site (unlike when J was using Rep.ronex) and was only a little sore when she was holding a baby. We'll see how that fairs as we use up more and more real estate on M's belly.

Getting ready to gear up for injection numero dos! Come on ovaries... let's get producing!

Happy Memorial Day everyone! The girls went to their first parade today! Then we took some pictures at the park near our house, went swimming in their little pool and had a family barbecue. Fun, relaxed, most enjoyable day!


Watching the parade! It was sooooo hot out.


A has some SERIOUS teething pain the last couple of days. R doesn't really know what to do since A wouldn't stop crying.


Interesting setting on the camera. Must explore further.

Buckle up...

here we go.... AGAIN.

M's AF finally showed up yesterday. Since our dr is closed tomorrow, they had us come in today on day 2, for bw and an u/s. Since the appointment was at 8am this morning, we had to bring the girls with us. Normally we'd rather not bring them but this was kind of a surprise appointment. They were surprisingly good for it being their naptime (yes, they go back down for a nap around 8am when most people are just getting up). They got lots of attention from all the nurses, technicians and our doctor, which they ate up of course. They, but especially A, are little hams at the ripe age of 10 months. They know how to work the crowd.

So, we start Re.pronex tomorrow. Hope M's belly is ready for all the pokes and prods that are about to come! We are extremely excited and can not believe the day has finally come for PROJECT BABY C to begin! We go back in on Wednesday for b/w to see if the dose needs to be increased or decreased.

As exciting as this all is, it's been a hard week leading up as we've had a house full of sick mommies & babies. We have realized he.ll on earth quite possibly is when both parents are sick as dogs and have 2 sick infants as well. It was a TOUGH few days! Thank goodness for our nanny watching the girls which allowed us to nap or at least rest for a bit. We all went to the dr this week, the girls AGAIN as their coughs got significantly worse, but luckily the fevers never got above 100 degrees. J ended up having bronchitis, while M and the girls have really bad colds and coughs. The girls were given an inhaler to help clear out their lungs. A took it pretty well, but R was a struggle at first. But after almost a week of aspirating, pushing fluids, using the inhaler, refilling the humidifier, cleaning up a few mucusy throw ups here and there, we think we are FINALLY seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. A seems much better and R is about a day behind A so she should be feeling much better tomorrow. M is about 90% while J is pushing 60%... she just can't kick whatever she's got.

Amongst the coughs and sneezes, R found time to learn a new trick - to climb stairs. And not just one way of climbing but 3 ways! She'll crawls/climbs up each step one by one, she'll hold the banister poles and literally walk up the stairs, but worst of all, she will try to walk up the stairs on the OUTSIDE of the banister where there is about 1 1/2 inch of stair. Someone is always there when she is trying out her adventure as the room with the stairs in it is pretty much gated off to them at all times, but she can really get to the top of the staircase in a hurry! Granted, she's also climbed 1/2 way up the gate as well. Yep, we sure have our hands full with this child! On the other hand, we can find A in the "library" (the corner with all their books) sitting flipping slowly through pages. How different they are.

And onto some pics of the littlest ladies.


Silly-faced R


A saying "Pretty please, Mommy!"


A reading a book.


R using the inhaler.


The girls LOVE animals!


R climbing the gate.

Cough cough cough...

Once again, thank you ladies for your advice! We are going to make a plan similar to all of yours to ween the girls off their bottles.

We took the girls to the dr on Friday where they checked out a-ok but our pediatrician said if they get worse to call him. Yesterday they developed terrible coughs (particularly A) so their dr wanted to see them again. Poor little babies! A was coughing a lot in her sleep but they both slept the night which was good. We head back to the dr this morning. Luckily they are both eating and drinking well, so aside from their cough and extra tiredness, they seem ok.

At the girls’ 9 month checkup, we asked the doctor about what other foods the girls could try and he gave us a whole list of wonderful suggestions. At that point he said, let’s not give them any whole milk yet because of their belly issues when they were newborns. We did however get the go ahead for yogurt and cheese so when we were at the dr on Friday we asked again about milk (whole milk) and mentioned that they have been eating yo.baby and American chee.se with no reactions or problems. He said go ahead and try the milk. I asked how much, thinking an ounce or two to introduce – but he said it can be up to 50% of their formula/milk intake. Great we thought as we are spending $120 a week on formula since they are on the Ca.dillac of formulas (Simil.ac Aliment.um). We tried giving the bottles in cups for a couple of days and they would both take a sip and then push the cup away. Yesterday J heated the milk up and put 3 oz in a bottle and A drank it right up! R is still not loving it but we think we have a good 2 months to move her in that direction before we completely ween them off formula so we’re not worried.

The girls were cast to be in the H.BO miniseries “Broadwa.y Empire” and were supposed to shoot yesterday in Brook.lyn but our agent didn’t get the message from the casting agency until late Sunday, when the casting agency of the show contacted him early Sunday. Since they hadn’t heard from back from my agent, they chose other babies to be in the show. It actually worked out for the best since the little ones are fighting this cold.

We are starting to think Project Baby C may never be underway! J’s AF has come and gone but M’s is nowhere in sight. :( Come out come out wherever you are!