Junior in his new outfit.

Tula waiting her turn for a bath.

Inka watching the twins.

Inka getting cosy.

And this is the best thing since sliced bread!!!! I can do almost anything :)

I didn't realize I would have postpartum munchies for weird food - I just had THREE strawberry sandwiches. Had to have them. With butter on the bread and nicely sliced juicy strawberries.


Anyways... a couple of cute videos, this time we got Tula smiling. I don't know if she was happy to be punching away at Junior, but I'm sure he'll get her back for it someday. And some new pictures through the Flickr link.


Other news

- both kids are growing out of their clothes faster than I can pull out the bigger stuff,

- Tula has a birthmark on her tush (is she going to kill me for posting this?) and

- they've both found their fists and are actively shoving them in their mouths
- cute little smiles are slowly changing into full blown giggles!

xoxo to all

vaccinations

Tula and Junior had their first vaccinations yesterday. They were very brave and cried only briefly. The doctor and nurse were very surprised when I asked that they allow me to breastfeed while they give the injection but afterwords admitted that the kids cried much shorter than usual.
Today we're off to the summer cottage for the long weekend where we will have tons of help from the in laws.

There is actually a little smile in there, but she just loves to yawn.

This smile is especially for my aunt Agi - I miss her!!!

first flight

Last night we returned from our first long trip - the twins and I flew to Stockholm for a vet cardiology conference. My mother in law came to help me out with the babies. Needless to say I was a little worried how this would all work. But all went well. Junior and Tula are the bestest!! No hysterical crying, no troubles, they didn't even poop until we got to the hotel (he he, just kidding). We were all tired when we got home and couldn't be happier to be here, but very satisfied with the whole trip. Couldn't have done it without the institution of 'Grandma'. She was great and the babies loved her. Here's a couple of pics of the two traveling buddies and later, when relaxing while mommy is listening to smart people talking about smart things.

smiles

Hi all,

Agi just left :( - sooo sad. I didn't cry until I got into the car. We had a great cry, the three of us, Junior was the loudest. He was probably upset that Agi left right before he gave her a big smile.
Both Junior and Tula have been smiling for about a week now, but in the last two days the smiles were a response to my babbling - it was really exciting! Bet you're wondering where Tula came from. It's short for Agata -> Agatula -> Tula.
Gotta finish, somebody is calling for food...

cute little things

Junior purrs like a kitten when he eats and Aggie Baby snorts when she's real hungry.

Yesterday they both bravely took on their first bottle feeding while out on the town!

today's news

Today we had a busy day. Lots of paperwork for all the different agencies (Polish and American passports, birth certificates, money for having babies...people actually get cash for having a baby - I'll take it, but I think they could be spending that cash in a better way). Lots of feeding in between. It looks like Aggie and Junior are sleeping a little bit longer at a time, on the other hand they're up for longer periods too. So today they both tried out the bouncy seats they got from Uncle Henry and Aunt Lucille and they loved them, especially in 'vibrate' mode! Then they got a bath - this was their third bath by me and I think I finally washed them this time and not just dunked them in the water (I'm getting braver). They fit perfectly in the bathroom sink. And both are collecting special little things to go into their beautiful boxes from Aunt Lala. That's it for now... Junior is hungry again!
P.S. - New pictures on Flickr.

babies babies

Hi all,

I know it's taken me a while to sit down and write. And it hasn't been for lack of Agi trying to get me to do it. The reason why? I just couldn't pull myself away from the babies!!! I finally left my bedroom for longer than an hour or two about two days ago. Before that I was just happily bonding with the twins all day long, feeding, staring at them, getting a little catnap, staring at them, changing a diaper, staring at them... and all the while a goofy grin on my face. Jacek says I haven't looked this happy since before Jasiu, and that's how I feel. The babies are both wonderful, they look really peaceful between feedings when asleep. So far the only crying that goes on is when they are hungry. They take turns at intensive feeding periods - today I fed Junior 'till noon about every 30 - 60 minutes, now he's sleeping a bit longer but Agatka is waking up every hour.
What else to tell you...
I think Junior was looking at me today as if he understood all I was telling him - I think he's going to start reading and writing soon. Agatka won't be far behind, but she's trying to catch up a bit, since she was smaller than Jr. Both are already trying to lift their heads up.
We've had our first outings already - the first was for a doctors visit - both had a touch of jaundice on the 3rd - 4th day but it was mild enough not to warrant any treatment. But since there was some concern we had a check up when the kids were 7 days old - and all was well! The second outing was to show my mom and Agi, the girls and the twins the new house we bought - I don't know if all of you know but we bought a house - HURRAY!!!

And a third outing when the twins were 2.5 weeks to the mall for some shopping (believe it or not I bought more cross stitch materials).
So everything is getting back to the new normal. Jacek and I are learning all about babies. We couldn't do it without Agi and my Mom - both have helped us tremendously and Agi continues to do so. Everything would have been much harder without her. Did I already tell you I have the best sister EVER???!!!
Soon we will be off to the dzialka (summer cottage) where the kids will all get their dose of sunshine and fresh air. I'm sure we'll have many more pictures to share from there.
Till next time!

Home!

Maggi and the babies have been home for just over 24 hours now, and are settling in. Maggi is feeling well enough that she has started organizing the house/baby stuff, so perhaps she will be back to blogging herself soon. Here is a video of Junior getting a bath the other day, still in the hospital.


Untitled from agi graham on Vimeo.

They're here!!

The babies are here! They arrived this morning via C-section. Mommy and babies are doing fine. Here are their details:
Jacek - born at 8:15am, weighing 6.1 lbs, 20 in long
Agata - born at 8:17am, weighing 5.8 lbs, 20 in long
Everyone is ecstatic. Maggi is tired, in some pain, but doing very well. Already feeling much better the last time I spoke to her at 3pm. Baby Jacek nursed like a champ at 10:30. He was on the boobie for 30 minutes! Agatka didn't want to wake up until about 2ish, and nursed for about 10 minutes. Here are a couple of photos.





If you'd like to see more photos, click on the Flickr link over on the left.

And they're off!

6:28pm: Maggi and the twins, Jacek and Mom just left for the hospital. Maggi will get checked into her room, and we think they will do an ultrasound and other tests in preparation for the presumed C-section scheduled for 8am tomorrow morning. HEE HEE!

Who's got the twins?

In honor of Maggi's last day of pregnancy, here are a couple of photos. Both were taken on the last day of pregnancy...

Not even crying!

Dear All,
Once again my bestest and most wonderful sis surprised me, causing me to cry great big, huge tears, and I want to thank you guys for pitching in. I'm talking about the virtual surprise baby shower. I really didn't want to do anything before the babies were born; no furniture, no baby room preparations, no baby clothes, no baby nail clippers, etc. etc. It was really hard to go buy clothes for the babies that we needed for the hospital stay (there is a list of things you are required to bring to the hospital, including diapers!) But since Agi and the girls, and then my mom got here, a lot has changed. I wouldn't say I'm the normal expectant mother (there are no baby or parenting magazines anywhere and we only spend a little part of our days talking about what it will be like) but because of Agi's infectious goodness and all of your gifts, I'm getting more excited in a happy and not just a nervous way.

Thank you all for the wonderful gifts. My house has now filled up with baby stuff; everything from stroller (thanks Iza, Kevin, Dudy and P. Muchlinska!) to car seats (Mom, Dad & Laura and Andrzej) to an assortment of baby clothes, accessories and paraphernalia (a long list of great friends and family). We even have a whole set of baby furniture (yay Mom & Dad!) albeit still in boxes. I just can't get past that one, arranging the babies' room. Jacek will do that once the babies are born and while we are still in the hospital.
Needless to say, I bawled and laughed throughout the baby shower (especially when I opened the beautiful boxes you made and letters you wrote, Lala - only the ones addressed to us). I think Agi took some video, so you might get a glimpse of what hormones do to an otherwise perfectly normal person. I think you are all wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being with us, for all the words of encouragement, and wonderful gifts. Keep your fingers crossed for a couple-three more days. It's now Tuesday morning and I go to the hospital Thursday evening for a Friday morning scheduled C-section.
We love you guys,
Maggi & Jacek

Look Ma, no stretch marks!

Hi y'all! This is Agi posting for Maggi. Here is a little special treat to celebrate Maggi's last week (or so) of pregnancy. She is scheduled for a c-section on Friday, April 4th, unless she goes into labor before then. Enjoy the show!

THE FINISH

Hi all,

I think this will be the last time I blog before I pop. I barely made it over to the computer. My days are filled with books and cross stitching, as you can see in the photo attached. Nothing else I can do with this belly and almost no lungs. Babies are doing fine, both kicking - one in my liver, one in my bladder. All is good and I only have a couple of weeks left. Plus Agi will be here Saturday to keep me company for the rest of the haul - hurray! So basically as Connie says 'life is good'.

xoxo to all,

mags

Close to finish..

Getting close now. Babies have no room left, but the boy did manage to flip around. He's head down ready to get out. Unfortunately the girl is still right side up and the last ultrasound showed very little room for her to move around in. All is well otherwise and now my only goal is to carry as long as possible up to the 37th week. But the doc says if they come early, everything should still be ok. :))))

cross-stitch

I actually finished! Whaddaya know...

BIGGER!!

Just a bit bigger, wouldn't you say?!


Jacek and I went to the store today to buy some
baby stuff for the hospital :-)
My second shopping trip for the babies and Jacek's first. We were all giddy...
And wow - baby stuff is really expensive!!!

An approximate due date has been announced:
Around March 31st - April 4th I'm going into the hospital for monitoring. Depending on how the babies are, and especially how they are positioned, the doc will decide whether to let me give birth naturaly or due a C-section. If naturally, he will induce labor. Either way the babies will be here around the first week of April. Hurray!!

Finally got the baby picture on my belly picture. The kids started out on my left side with the boy lower and the girl up higher. Once the got bigger, the girl moved over to the right side and both of them decided that "heads up" is the way to be. And for the last about 3 months nothing has changed. Looks like they like it this way. Which is why we are probably heading in the direction of C-section, as there is less and less room for any kind of movement.
Sometimes I think they're already fighting in there and that the little girl is kicking the little boys ass (as well as mine).

Did I tell you guys I bought a cross stitch kit to keep me busy?! Who woulda thought...

First hiccups yesterday! Just the little girl though.
And my bellybutton is officially an 'outy' now.
:)

So why is it, that when you're pregnant, you don't look as big in pictures as you really are , but when you not pregnant, pictures make you look bigger. Here's what I look like now, but I swear to you that my belly is twice that size - I'm huge! I wobble! I can't see my feet!












Of course I'm talking to Agi - it's thanks to her that I finally took these pictures.










And this is where I spend most of my days. :)
I'm taking in all the rest I can get. But I did make major dinner today! Ribs, potatoes and kapusta zasmazana (cabbage). Mama would be proud! Boy, what a house wife - who'd have thought.

Food / fight

I just ate a half a gallon of ice cream! And I think the kids had their first fight. I was laying down on my back watching my belly do the wave for five minutes. Or maybe they just liked the ice cream.

Since we want to have the twins at a different hospital than the last time, we had do meet with a new doc last week. This new doc is very nice, capable, he did a thorough exam and we are generally very happy. Especially since he didn't try to talk me into a c-section at all costs. But he wanted me to have another echo exam, this time with more of a specialist. He was pretty set on this exam even though it's a bit late in the pregnancy and we've already been to the doc that found the heard defect in our Jas. And so I've been on pins and needles from that visit until today. I just got back from the exam and happy to say (again) all is well. There are no heart defects, no other organ anomalies (including brain, liver, kidneys, large vessels) and no cleft palate. Cooooool!!!!! I was so nervous I started crying on the table before the exam. The doc thought I was feeling weak or sick. Well, I actually was... Phew, glad that's behind me. Just one more big test - giving birth - and all will be well.

Ok ok. No need to yell at me! I know I've been neglecting my duties. Here's the scoop.

Jacek had knee surgery about 3 weeks ago (an old contusion gone bad) and has been on crutches since (only 3 more weeks left). We actually make a pretty good pair - I'm wobbling and he's hopping; we're at about the same speed, so it all works out. But whatever we do, we do together. I can get us there (wherever), but then Jacek has to lift it, move it, load it into the car (whatever it might be). And since work starts at 9 am and ends at 9 pm - it's been interesting. But we did have a great rest during the xmas break. We went to our summer / winter cottage and did absolutely nothing. We had the fireplace going and it was nice and cosy. My in laws live just next door, so we had a home cooked dinner everyday. But there was not Internet access, so - no pictures.

But we're back home now. And here is what's new (besides the knee). I'm no longer working (got a doctor's note - hurray!) Both kids are doing well, although I got a scare last night. I though the girl stopped moving, but she just flipped from downside up. Now both are positioned with their head right under my liver (and they've started kicking the bladder this afternoon). A couple of days ago my belly was lob sided again, and now I know why - the kids were just flipping around! And I was surprised why my belly felt so hard and uncomfortable.
Other completely new situations for me:
I now buy ice cream.
I've eaten my first whole bar of chocolate in one sitting! And it took me all of 5 minutes. Actually, I've never before eaten a whole bar of chocolate even in many sittings (herring was my thing).
I went to the bathroom, got up, and went straight to the other bathroom in my apt. without even thinking about it. Hmm - going pee literally every 3 minutes! But why I changed bathrooms...?
And to Ags - yes, I actually am washing the dishes sideways, just didn't notice it 'til you asked :)

So to finish up, here's me at 25 weeks ...

Happy happy joy joy

The big ultrasound is behind us. And all is well. We had a visit with one of the best prenatal ultrasonographers in Warsaw today. All the essential measurements were done, the little hearts were checked out aaaandd.... we know what the sexes are!! Do you want to know? The exam was a couple of weeks early, but the doc said that he was able to check everything out without a problem. The kids are the right size and they are really feisty. They were both squirming throughout the exam. Happy!!

baby 1

baby 2

and a little bit bigger...

Picture update. Just a little bigger, but it feels a lot bigger. I sleep with pillows on both sides of me, thanks to Agi I have a great body pillow that makes life a bit more comfy. Although that's not what Jacek would say, he gets about 1/5 of the bed now with me, my pillows, and the dog.

Jacek and I had a great time with Jesse when he came to visit us two weekends ago. Wish I could have showed him some of the Warsaw night life, but maybe next time. I was out cold by the time it was 10 pm. Jesse took a couple of pics, go take a look: http://thelaststudent.blogspot.com/

Next update after next doc appt (Dec 4th).

Here's a little bit bigger me.

I just got up and am having chocolate chip cookies and coffee for breakfast. Healthy, huh..

In the pics I'm talking on the phone with Ags. I was just telling her that I could feel the little buggers moving around as of two days ago. Cool! It feels like little butterflies in my tummy.

And here is my other favourite part of the package I got from Agi. Yuuummmmmmyyyy!!! Just need to add a little nuts... If only I could get my butt off the couch to bake these puppies, boy, would they be delicious.

pillow talk

Here's a copy of my last emails to Agi after I got a package from her:

1. You are the bestest sister of all sisters. Thank you for the package and the great pillow and the cookie mix and browny mix and underwear and tshirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not only did receiving a package give me great joy (I love to open packages, who doesn't), but a barrel of laughs. Check out these pictures.
The first - opened pillow case for the body pillow. Obviously a pillow case for a body pillow - or so you would think.
next one coming right up

2. So then I try it next to the body pillow, maybe it's folded up somehow in a special way? who knows? but no, it just doesn't seem to work.
soo....

3. so then I though, maybe it's like the underwear - stretchable!!!! I gave it a good try. But, as you can tell, no go..
It was a good try though, don't you think?
:)
love you long time

new doo

Here's my new hairdo.

And my growing belly. Yes, it's only the third month.

You think I look 5 months pregnant? Everyone says I do..

I thought that ice cream would make pregnancy headaches go away, but it doesn't...

Hi guys,
Today was another interesting food day. Cooked cabbage with onions and meat (like my mom's bigos) followed by chocolate chip cookie - sounds disgusting even to me. But, hey, when you gotta eat, you gotta eat! Some say it's because of the twins - one wants sweets, the other wants "normal" food.
Yesterday I got my hair cut. It's the shortest it's ever been - shorter than Grandma's! I'll get a picture up soon.
I'm generally feeling much better now, no more hangover, but everything still stinks (including my dog and my couch).
My dog, Inka, is soundly sleeping next to me. I can tell she's having a really nice dream because her tail is wagging.

Pickles!! Half the jar!

Icecream!!!!

4 hours later...

OHHHH, THE HEARTBURN!!!!

The 'Tums' are a pack of lies!

cravings

This morning I HAD to make myself matzahbrei (when was the last time you had matzahbrei?). I asked Agi to send me a bag of Wonder bread - I would love a sloppy, all American, peanut butter and jelly sandwich (yuk). In my purse I have a bag of almonds and dried apricots, but that's not all! I've almost finished the 3rd baggie of gummy bears. Now I HAVE to go to the mall to get a Submarine sandwich (yes, we have Subways here). And yesterday I HAD to have chocolate milk. And of course spaghetti is on the menu about every day of the week. Last time I didn't have all these cravings, spaghetti basically got me through the whole pregnancy. And there's still 6 months left...

ADDENDUM
As in Jacek's opinion the previous pictures didn't show exactly what we did during our vacation, here is a quick picture update. I think nothing needs to be added :)

Egypt

Just got back from Egypt last night. Jacek and I went with a couple of friends. Of course we went to a windsurfing base. Everyone had a great time. I've actually never had this type of vacation, but no complaints.. I spent almost the whole time in our air conditioned room as I couldn't sunbathe, go swimming or horseback riding. I spent a little time lounging in the shade reading books. The rooms were great though and they had the best TV ever; a channel that played American movies all day long, one after another, with Egyptian subtitles and almost no commercials. So all in all I watched about 10 pretty good movies and read 4,5 books. :) HAPPY CAMPER ME!
Here's some pictures..

The windsurfing base. It's amazing to see the mountains beyond the hotels; they are massive and completely bare.

It's back to basics when there's no wind. Everone would rather be on the water, but hey, they'll take theoretical lessons over doing nothing.

Here's our room. Each day the cleaning men made some kind of shape out of the blankets and towels. And you can see that there's not much of a belly. But I haven't been able to put on my normal pants anymore. I'm back in the pregnant people clothes.

Jacek and some of the guys went on a quad trip in the mountains. They had a great time, all were gritty and grimy afterwords. Similar trips could be taken on horseback or camel. Last year I went horseback riding up in those hills -- pretty rough and barren terrain.

And we're back home. This shot is just so Agi can see my hair and my belly (she's been relentless!).

Yesterday we were both back at work. My happily feeling crappy feeling has lessened a bit, but still feeling crappy. Next doc appt on the 8th. We'll keep you posted.

xoxo