Hey y'all! Long lost blogger here. Signing in, although probably briefly. I have a ton of things I should be doing - like taking a shower and getting ready for our fourth annual super bowl shindig. The cooking should happen today...and the boys are asleep...so I should be using this time wisely.
Anywho, things are settling in around here. The boys are sleeping 8-10 hours a night nowadays and it's amazing how much more I can get done when I 1) have energy and 2) have a somewhat predictable day. Along with their great sleeping has come predictability...
They are incredibly cute and adorable and getting cuter and adorabler every day. (Like my word?) They are so much fun and so loving and sweet. I'll enjoy that while it lasts!
In other news, well, weightloss is no more. I am a mere 29 lbs down from my presurgery weight...well...pre-weightloss journey weight. Currently I weigh more than I did on the day of surgery. I have gotten my first fill and have 2cc's in my band and was told to wait 4 weeks before I could get my next fill. I should have questioned that - in retrospect. They fill the band faster post-surgery and then you are dealing with swelling and whatnot. I know they wanted me to ease into it but I think 2 weeks would have been sufficient time to wait for a second fill. I go back on 2/23 so it's not too far off...but I'm tired of my weight bouncing upwards and never downwards.
It turns out breastfeeding for about 20% of women actually causes a gain. I am in that 20%. No doubt my new found thyroid issues are not helping anything. It's hard nowadays dealing with this body and being excited about getting motivated. I have skin hanging on my belly like you wouldn't believe. And it's understandable - blowing up like I did with two very healthy baby boys isn't likely to do wonders for skin elasticity. But the hard part comes in knowing that we want to try for another kid (or kids) and that it's just simply not worth doing a tummy tuck until we are truly done with pregnancies. So if no tummy tuck, that means I am going to look bad and feel uncomfortable. So why be motivated to get the weight off? And yes, uncomfortable is downright uncomfortable. What I thought was uncomfortable at my highest weight is nothing compared to this mega flop of skin I get to sling about all the time.
Isn't that a nice thought?
Nonetheless, I am eager to get back to weightlifting. And swimming. I think it was a mistake for us to disassemble our gym and move it to the garage thinking we'd reassemble it out there. Turns out sharing the gym with the cats and their litter box is not enticing. So now we are at the stage of wanting to restart the membership at a gym I paid a lifetime contract for a few years ago. But they won't "babysit" for us until the boys are 6 months and we have 2 more months until we get there. So it's this weird sort of hurry up and wait phase.
Anywho, that's where I am. Happy as can be to be a mom to two very precious boys. Frustrated as all get out at what's going on with the body I once had hopes of reclaiming. Give me 5 years and I know I'll be where I want to be - post tummy tuck, weight officially lost, baby-making days officially behind us...but it's hard to think about the time I get to spend in the meantime. I know I'll do it, I have to, too damned uncomfortable to not. But here I am right now with not very much I can do but hurry up and wait. And I did it to myself. Elasticity probably would not have been such an issue if I'd never been overweight...on the other hand, being overweight probably helped me conceive twins and I'll be forever grateful for that!!
I hope all is well with y'all! I can't wait to start reading again - I'm even feeling hopeful that this can happen pretty soon! At the very least, it will happen by 2/27 'cause that's when I go back to work.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Thursday, December 1, 2011
12/01/2011: It's me...the long lost...
I am still out there. Yes, yes I am. I do plan on being back into blogging for real when things settle down. But...I doubt things will settle down in the way that things were once settled. Like seriously doubt. As in it will never happen.
Anywho, what's the haps, you ask? Well, I had me some babies! Here...look...
My water broke on October 17th at 1:30am and that was that. I was 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant - so pretty good for twins, but still preemies. Baby A was 5 lbs 11 oz and 17.5" and Baby B was 6 lbs 6 oz and 19". They are both gaining weight wonderfully and while they did have some preemie issues, still do, kinda, they are doing really well in spite of it all. I wound up having a c-section because Baby B turned back to transverse at the last minute. Our doc said he was in distress and while I don't know what indicated that - his heartrate was always good and strong on the monitors while I was in labor - the only thing that really mattered was that everyone stayed healthy and happy.
I am still off work...don't go back until the beginning of March. I won't know what to do with myself. I've been off work since the middle of July. That's one "problem". The bigger issue will be not wanting to leave my sweeties. They are wonderful babies. They are six weeks old and they sleep for 4-5 hours at a time and never cry 'cept when they are hungry and they think we aren't hopping fast enough.
Anywho, there's kinda my story.
I wound up gaining 77 lbs with the pregnancy and have now lost all but 25 of that. I am finally cleared to get back to weightlifting but our gym was disassembled in June and moved to the garage - where it has not yet been reassembled. I suspect it will stay that way until after Christmas. I am still doing well with losing weight with just walking, so I'll keep working on that. It's only been six weeks so I'm not worried at all. I also still don't have any fill in my band. As long as I'm working on breastfeeding/pumping, I won't be getting refilled.
I've known since I started on the whole losing weight for good journey that a tummy tuck is in my future but it is most definitely decided at this point! My sweet husband and I figure will work on batch number two of kids in about a year and following that, I will finish the weightloss journey and the tummy tuck will fall into place after that.
So there's the kicker that has everyone cracking up. I want batch number two to also be twins. Am I nuts, you ask? Have you missed me that much that you forgot that little nuance of Lori...she's nuts? So the answer is yes...yes I am. I am nuts. But these babies are such sweeties and so wonderful and I have the world's most amazing husband and I'm not on my own through the (sometimes) long nights...so yes, yes, I would do this all again. I would do this all again while chasing toddlers around the house, too.
Anywho, I'd love to say I'm back and that I'm reading and that I'll be more consistent about blogging and all that...but I don't think I can say that until I go back to work and then have hours of doing nothing. I'm no longer uncomfortable sitting at a computer like I was while pregnant...but I rarely get a good block of time to write a blog out - I've been trying to decorate the house for Christmas for nearly a week now and it's just barely happening tonight...as well as finally "finishing" the nursery. Yes, it's finally done...mostly...it will be done tomorrow. We need hooks to get things on the walls. But then that wasn't procrastination, that was waiting on replacement parts to arrive from the crib manufacturer...and those parts arrived the day after the boys were born...and, well, no, we didn't rush home and disassemble furniture to reassemble it since they were (and still are) sleeping in bassinets in our bedroom.
Anywho, I'm rambling. Life's good. I'm still around and I'm still planning on reappearing for good...soon, very very soon. I mean, I need to go to next year's gathering of the gals, so I've got to get back into this...soon...very very soon!
I'll check in again as soon as I can.
Anywho, what's the haps, you ask? Well, I had me some babies! Here...look...
My water broke on October 17th at 1:30am and that was that. I was 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant - so pretty good for twins, but still preemies. Baby A was 5 lbs 11 oz and 17.5" and Baby B was 6 lbs 6 oz and 19". They are both gaining weight wonderfully and while they did have some preemie issues, still do, kinda, they are doing really well in spite of it all. I wound up having a c-section because Baby B turned back to transverse at the last minute. Our doc said he was in distress and while I don't know what indicated that - his heartrate was always good and strong on the monitors while I was in labor - the only thing that really mattered was that everyone stayed healthy and happy.
I am still off work...don't go back until the beginning of March. I won't know what to do with myself. I've been off work since the middle of July. That's one "problem". The bigger issue will be not wanting to leave my sweeties. They are wonderful babies. They are six weeks old and they sleep for 4-5 hours at a time and never cry 'cept when they are hungry and they think we aren't hopping fast enough.
Anywho, there's kinda my story.
I wound up gaining 77 lbs with the pregnancy and have now lost all but 25 of that. I am finally cleared to get back to weightlifting but our gym was disassembled in June and moved to the garage - where it has not yet been reassembled. I suspect it will stay that way until after Christmas. I am still doing well with losing weight with just walking, so I'll keep working on that. It's only been six weeks so I'm not worried at all. I also still don't have any fill in my band. As long as I'm working on breastfeeding/pumping, I won't be getting refilled.
I've known since I started on the whole losing weight for good journey that a tummy tuck is in my future but it is most definitely decided at this point! My sweet husband and I figure will work on batch number two of kids in about a year and following that, I will finish the weightloss journey and the tummy tuck will fall into place after that.
So there's the kicker that has everyone cracking up. I want batch number two to also be twins. Am I nuts, you ask? Have you missed me that much that you forgot that little nuance of Lori...she's nuts? So the answer is yes...yes I am. I am nuts. But these babies are such sweeties and so wonderful and I have the world's most amazing husband and I'm not on my own through the (sometimes) long nights...so yes, yes, I would do this all again. I would do this all again while chasing toddlers around the house, too.
Anywho, I'd love to say I'm back and that I'm reading and that I'll be more consistent about blogging and all that...but I don't think I can say that until I go back to work and then have hours of doing nothing. I'm no longer uncomfortable sitting at a computer like I was while pregnant...but I rarely get a good block of time to write a blog out - I've been trying to decorate the house for Christmas for nearly a week now and it's just barely happening tonight...as well as finally "finishing" the nursery. Yes, it's finally done...mostly...it will be done tomorrow. We need hooks to get things on the walls. But then that wasn't procrastination, that was waiting on replacement parts to arrive from the crib manufacturer...and those parts arrived the day after the boys were born...and, well, no, we didn't rush home and disassemble furniture to reassemble it since they were (and still are) sleeping in bassinets in our bedroom.
Anywho, I'm rambling. Life's good. I'm still around and I'm still planning on reappearing for good...soon, very very soon. I mean, I need to go to next year's gathering of the gals, so I've got to get back into this...soon...very very soon!
I'll check in again as soon as I can.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
09/01/2011: It's about danged time...
I've been quiet, eh? Do you even remember me at this point?
Yes, I'm still a bandster. I'm very much a banded pregnant lady. And yes, I'm still pregnant, too. 29 weeks and 1 day, to be exact. I'm huge. So if the babies are letting food in, then the band is not. Sometimes, the band is fine - but the babies won't let any food in. So I'm huge in the belly but the rest of me is still my onederland self. We'll see how this settles when the babies are born and yada yada yada.
So what have I been up to, you ask? Not much. My doctor put me on "bedrest" back in early July. It's more of a house arrest than a bedrest situation and I love it - to be honest. I can swim, I can walk around my lake, I can even go out to dinner following a weekly doc appt. I just no longer have to commute to work or sit in an uncomfortable chair for eight hours wondering when I can take my next nap. I have nowhere near my normal energy, although I think my energy is just fine considering I am growing two human beings. I take it easy when I need to and work on what I choose to when I want to. It's pretty low key and definitely low stress, so I'm happy. Given how the babies are growing, they are happy, too.
So, why the bedrest? Back at the beginning-ish of July I started getting contractions. So my doc said "bedrest". Well, as soon as he said that, the contractions stopped and I haven't had a single one of them since. And I now know that I can attribute that to being dehydrated at the time. Oops...
What else? The babies are ahead of schedule, as twins at this stage should be. Everything looks good and I'm doing well. No preeclampsia, no gestational diabetes, no nothing. No swelling, no heartburn, no headaches, none of the typical pregnancy side effects. Just my normal ol' me with a big belly and less energy.
I honestly think the band is helping me to not have heartburn. Funny how being too tight causes that - and now having it stops it. I think the band being in place applies just enough pressure at the top of my stomach that the sphincter that blocks the esophagus can stay closed like it should even though the babies continually press up on my stomach. My doc thinks this is an interesting theory as he said none of his banded patients have ever dealt with heartburn.
Then again, I could just have an iron stomach. Which I believe is true, too.
So...other than that, not much going on with me. I've been meaning to get this out there for eons now and rarely feel like sitting up to type. Sorry about that. I had anticipated that when I went on bedrest I would be reading blogs and staying caught up but I rarely get on the computer and when I do, it's for brief periods of time. Laying down is definitely a much preferred position.
I hope all is well out there with y'all. I miss y'all and this world.
So did I ever tell y'all what we are having? I think maybe I didn't...cause the last time I blogged was well before any of our showers...and the big reveals happened at the showers. So....
Yes, I'm still a bandster. I'm very much a banded pregnant lady. And yes, I'm still pregnant, too. 29 weeks and 1 day, to be exact. I'm huge. So if the babies are letting food in, then the band is not. Sometimes, the band is fine - but the babies won't let any food in. So I'm huge in the belly but the rest of me is still my onederland self. We'll see how this settles when the babies are born and yada yada yada.
So what have I been up to, you ask? Not much. My doctor put me on "bedrest" back in early July. It's more of a house arrest than a bedrest situation and I love it - to be honest. I can swim, I can walk around my lake, I can even go out to dinner following a weekly doc appt. I just no longer have to commute to work or sit in an uncomfortable chair for eight hours wondering when I can take my next nap. I have nowhere near my normal energy, although I think my energy is just fine considering I am growing two human beings. I take it easy when I need to and work on what I choose to when I want to. It's pretty low key and definitely low stress, so I'm happy. Given how the babies are growing, they are happy, too.
So, why the bedrest? Back at the beginning-ish of July I started getting contractions. So my doc said "bedrest". Well, as soon as he said that, the contractions stopped and I haven't had a single one of them since. And I now know that I can attribute that to being dehydrated at the time. Oops...
What else? The babies are ahead of schedule, as twins at this stage should be. Everything looks good and I'm doing well. No preeclampsia, no gestational diabetes, no nothing. No swelling, no heartburn, no headaches, none of the typical pregnancy side effects. Just my normal ol' me with a big belly and less energy.
I honestly think the band is helping me to not have heartburn. Funny how being too tight causes that - and now having it stops it. I think the band being in place applies just enough pressure at the top of my stomach that the sphincter that blocks the esophagus can stay closed like it should even though the babies continually press up on my stomach. My doc thinks this is an interesting theory as he said none of his banded patients have ever dealt with heartburn.
Then again, I could just have an iron stomach. Which I believe is true, too.
So...other than that, not much going on with me. I've been meaning to get this out there for eons now and rarely feel like sitting up to type. Sorry about that. I had anticipated that when I went on bedrest I would be reading blogs and staying caught up but I rarely get on the computer and when I do, it's for brief periods of time. Laying down is definitely a much preferred position.
I hope all is well out there with y'all. I miss y'all and this world.
So did I ever tell y'all what we are having? I think maybe I didn't...cause the last time I blogged was well before any of our showers...and the big reveals happened at the showers. So....
Two baby boys!
Unfortunately, I'm not sure I want to divulge their names on this blog. I am still thinking about whether or not to put their names out here or not. But the leaning is not to do so.
What else can I tell you? What else do you want to know? It's been so long I don't even really know where to start - so feel free to tell me what I need to tell you and I promise I'll get another blog posted in a week or so answering questions or whatnot.
Like I said, I hope all is well with y'all. I hope you haven't forgotten me. Thank Jen for waking me up and making me get this blog out here. :)
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
06/28/11: Still Somewhere
Two posts in a month. Insane. Given I used to do 4-5 a week, it seems...sometimes 9...I've definitely fallen off.
Not much going on around here, though. I'm growing babies and we are working hard on our house. I do what I can but my sweetheart is the one that is really working hard. We will finally get our new carpet installed next Tues and then get to put our lives back together and move on with enjoying summer!
The babies are growing. We know what they are at this point but we are keeping quiet until after our showers are done. We will do a gender reveal at each shower where the cake will be dyed the color/colors of the genders. When we slice in, people will either see pink, blue, or pink and blue. It's also turning out to be a lot of fun as people beg me to tell them.
I actually think the next time we get pregnant that I won't find out. I thought for sure I wanted to know but now having found out...well...I think the surprise is better suited for the delivery room. Interesting how doing what I always thought I wanted to turns out to not be what I thought it would be.
Anywho, not much going on with me. Babies are growing and are healthy. We had an ultrasound about a week and a half ago, one day it was with our Dr and was an early anatomy scan and the very next day it we did our elective 3D/4D ultrasound. We go back for our "real" anatomy scan in about two weeks. I will be curious to see how they've changed since the last. At the last one, they each weighed about 8oz. We were told that at the next one they should be a pound a piece.
In that ultrasound we saw one of the cutest things. Baby B scrunched up into a ball and hauled off and kicked Baby A. Baby A got mad and punched back. Baby B seemed to realize the mistake so it turned itself around and snuggled up to Baby A. It was so hilarious!
In other news, it appears that, as is par for the course in my life, I will not go down in history as being the first person to feel the babies kick. Because of where the placentas are located, the babies are kicking the placenta. So I'm not feeling anything internally. At my appt at the beginning of June my doc was stunned that I wasn't feeling anything. Then later I asked about where the placentas are and the doc realized what was going on. He said it's likely that I won't feel anything internally until the babies get a lot stronger - in a month or so. Then, with the u/s, we saw it ourselves. The placentas are taking all the kicks. Anywho, so I'm not getting that fluttering or anything like most people would be getting at 20 weeks. And I'm not worried about it because I do know the babies are both kicking and active and healthy and alive and well.
Anywho, on with the story. This past weekend, my aunts were stunned that I'm not feeling anything. One aunt put her hand on my belly to prove to me I was wrong. Kick kick. She said, "someone IS kicking". I said, no, and put my hand in the same spot. Kick kick. I said "that's got to be my heartbeat". So my hubby put his hand there. Kick kick. "Yeah, that's got to be her heartbeat". Another aunt put her hand there. Kick kick. "No, those are definitely kicks". I put my hand back there. Kick. Nothing. 20 seconds later another kick. All weekend I was putting my hand back there so that I could say "yeah, that's a heartbeat" but my heart never beat in that spot again. So my aunt was the first person to feel the babies kick. I love it.
It's so very strange to be feeling kicks externally but still nothing internally. But that's ok. I'll take whatever kicks I can get. And, like my doc said, soon enough I'll be begging them to leave me alone. :) My doc told me "enjoy this while it lasts!"
Not much else going on. So ready for the house to be done and back in order. So ready for a good deep cleaning to get the last of the dust off of everything. I can't wait for our housekeepers to come back - it's been pointless lately with almost all of our furniture either in the garage, dining room or kitchen nook. We have no carpet in any hallways, in our spare bedrooms, in our nursery, in half of our family room. And by the end of this week we'll see the last of the old crap go. It's been nice to get all these projects done without caring about the floors...but I'm ready for my house back! Our new tile is gorgeous - but it's all covered with furniture that doesn't belong in those rooms! I'll post pics when all is said and done. Hopefully I can find decent befores, too, so that you can see what we changed from.
I hope all is well out there with y'all. I'm mostly gone, it seems, but I sure haven't forgotten. I know I'll be back soon. Bedrest will be here before I know it - and I know that reading blogs and such will really help me. So much to do between now and then, though. (Then being Aug 20th.)
Not much going on around here, though. I'm growing babies and we are working hard on our house. I do what I can but my sweetheart is the one that is really working hard. We will finally get our new carpet installed next Tues and then get to put our lives back together and move on with enjoying summer!
The babies are growing. We know what they are at this point but we are keeping quiet until after our showers are done. We will do a gender reveal at each shower where the cake will be dyed the color/colors of the genders. When we slice in, people will either see pink, blue, or pink and blue. It's also turning out to be a lot of fun as people beg me to tell them.
I actually think the next time we get pregnant that I won't find out. I thought for sure I wanted to know but now having found out...well...I think the surprise is better suited for the delivery room. Interesting how doing what I always thought I wanted to turns out to not be what I thought it would be.
Anywho, not much going on with me. Babies are growing and are healthy. We had an ultrasound about a week and a half ago, one day it was with our Dr and was an early anatomy scan and the very next day it we did our elective 3D/4D ultrasound. We go back for our "real" anatomy scan in about two weeks. I will be curious to see how they've changed since the last. At the last one, they each weighed about 8oz. We were told that at the next one they should be a pound a piece.
In that ultrasound we saw one of the cutest things. Baby B scrunched up into a ball and hauled off and kicked Baby A. Baby A got mad and punched back. Baby B seemed to realize the mistake so it turned itself around and snuggled up to Baby A. It was so hilarious!
In other news, it appears that, as is par for the course in my life, I will not go down in history as being the first person to feel the babies kick. Because of where the placentas are located, the babies are kicking the placenta. So I'm not feeling anything internally. At my appt at the beginning of June my doc was stunned that I wasn't feeling anything. Then later I asked about where the placentas are and the doc realized what was going on. He said it's likely that I won't feel anything internally until the babies get a lot stronger - in a month or so. Then, with the u/s, we saw it ourselves. The placentas are taking all the kicks. Anywho, so I'm not getting that fluttering or anything like most people would be getting at 20 weeks. And I'm not worried about it because I do know the babies are both kicking and active and healthy and alive and well.
Anywho, on with the story. This past weekend, my aunts were stunned that I'm not feeling anything. One aunt put her hand on my belly to prove to me I was wrong. Kick kick. She said, "someone IS kicking". I said, no, and put my hand in the same spot. Kick kick. I said "that's got to be my heartbeat". So my hubby put his hand there. Kick kick. "Yeah, that's got to be her heartbeat". Another aunt put her hand there. Kick kick. "No, those are definitely kicks". I put my hand back there. Kick. Nothing. 20 seconds later another kick. All weekend I was putting my hand back there so that I could say "yeah, that's a heartbeat" but my heart never beat in that spot again. So my aunt was the first person to feel the babies kick. I love it.
It's so very strange to be feeling kicks externally but still nothing internally. But that's ok. I'll take whatever kicks I can get. And, like my doc said, soon enough I'll be begging them to leave me alone. :) My doc told me "enjoy this while it lasts!"
Not much else going on. So ready for the house to be done and back in order. So ready for a good deep cleaning to get the last of the dust off of everything. I can't wait for our housekeepers to come back - it's been pointless lately with almost all of our furniture either in the garage, dining room or kitchen nook. We have no carpet in any hallways, in our spare bedrooms, in our nursery, in half of our family room. And by the end of this week we'll see the last of the old crap go. It's been nice to get all these projects done without caring about the floors...but I'm ready for my house back! Our new tile is gorgeous - but it's all covered with furniture that doesn't belong in those rooms! I'll post pics when all is said and done. Hopefully I can find decent befores, too, so that you can see what we changed from.
I hope all is well out there with y'all. I'm mostly gone, it seems, but I sure haven't forgotten. I know I'll be back soon. Bedrest will be here before I know it - and I know that reading blogs and such will really help me. So much to do between now and then, though. (Then being Aug 20th.)
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