When this "-" changes to this "+"

One year ago today the line on the trusty HPT went from - to + . Not much of a change really.  So faint a line that I second-guessed it's presence and retested "just to be sure".  Just one teeny, tiny, trivial extra line needed to indicate that in a little under nine months our family would be transformed from a trio to a quartet (or so we thought... remember the old adage about how to make God laugh...  He (or she if you like) certainly had a chuckle that day... but more on that later.)

I announced the news to Patrick by writing "Hi Dad!" on my stomach with a red marker (Seriously people this is not an easy thing to do ... Try writing something legibly AND backwards across your stomach. Even with the help of a mirror I had many  "do overs",  and since I used a RED marker my stomach began to look like it'd been munched by a shark.  Note to self: Do not pick permanent marker when using stomach as a human marquee.) After getting over the shock (he initially saw the all the red and thought I broke out in a terrible rash) he was equally thrilled.  Although we did take pics (of course... what don't I take pics of) I will spare myself the embarrassment of posting a picture of my bare belly.

Here's how we announced the news to our parents a few weeks later on Father's Day

Best Way To Send A Women into Labor?

Tell her she has to wait another week to be induced.

Yes, the unfortunate update is that although I was initially scheduled for an induction to occur either yesterday or on Monday (at 38 weeks which is nationally considered term for twins)after further consideration my LOVELY Drs decided they would wait until after 39 weeks (i.e FEB 4th) to intervene.

The reasoning?

"The babies and I are doing SO good. Why not wait a little longer and see how it plays out?"

The best part? In an attempt to "cool things down a little" (READ: AVOID BEING ATTACKED) my Dr. decides to be funny. Part of his jokes included telling us that "at least we'd get to skip the baby stage because they'd be ready for high school by the time they arrive" (HAHAHA)and later comparing my belly to the size of a "house" (downright dangerous).

At some points during our appointment I was sure I'd end up in the hospital in labor (at one point every muscle in my body was contracting) or in jail (see above for Dr. comment about my size).

The wait continues......

37 Week Update

Will the Full Moon Tonight Help The Cause?

The bambinos are doing great. Baby A is a little over 6lbs and Baby B is 6.5. Since they have shown no interest in leaving thier comfy home, we will be scheduling a "forced eviction" of sorts for sometime early next week. I'm physically ready to be done but know I'll soon miss the "carefree" days of having only one child. Too bad you can't stockpile sleep, energy and patience. I'm sure we'll have a shortage of each once the little ones are here.

Nope.... not yet

Back when we first found out about our twins the Dr's predicted with "utmost certainty" that we'd have our new arrivals by mid-January if not weeks before. Seems like the math was a little off. Patrick has a feeling it'll be this weekend but so far these two seem perfectly content on staying put. We're thinking of starting a "birth day" pot... any takers?

35.5 Week Update

We hit yet another milestone. We're reaching the point at which twins are considered to be term and both babies are now closing in on a very healthy 6lbs each! Considering that we've not even to 36 weeks yet and Sophia was born at 40 weeks weighing 6lbs 3oz I'd say these babies are doing great. Another couple of weeks of this and I may be hauling around 14lbs of baby-- OUCH! Our Dr. seems to think it'll be any day now... one could only hope. All things considering this has been a relatively easy pregnancy. We are blessed. I'm hoping the same can be said of the delivery!

34 Week (Almost) Update

Not much to report after this Dr. visit expect that both babies are doing great and although their growth has slowed a little, they are still getting bigger. Baby A now weighs 4.5lbs and Baby B (the chubby one) is at 5lbs. I've been having mild contractions for a few days now but that seems normal considering the combined weight of both babies. We could go tomorrow or still be waiting 3-4 more weeks. It's anyone's guess at this point! We're still working on names and have narrowed it down to three or four top contenders for each gender but hopefully we still have some time to decide. It's bad enough to have to come up with one name but eight names (two male/female first names and two male/female middle names) that work well with each other and our last name has been interesting. How do the parents of sextuplets ever decide?

32 week update

Just a quick update from yesterday's Dr. visit....

Both babies are doing great and are growing amazingly fast. Baby A is now a little over 4 lbs and Baby B is nearly 4.5 lbs. Both were "practice breathing" during the u/s which apparently indicates that their lungs are developing well. If they're born early, hopefully all that "practicing" will pay off and we'll avoid NICU time.

We have weekly visits from here until they're born to closely track their growth but we've been blessed thus far! Thanks for all your continued prayers and well wishes.

Twin Baby Belly! (yikes)

Pic of me & Sophia at today's twin group meetup. Poor baby, hardly has a lap to sit on :)

Sophia has come to the conclusion that all babies come in pairs. We've been talking a lot with her recently about the fact that TWO babies are coming to live with us, we've been to several twin group meetings where she's observed doubles crawling everywhere and we've given her a few sets of twin dolls which she carts everywhere (although truth be told she prefers the girl twin over the boy). I think she may be starting to wonder just where HER twin ran off to... I'll leave it up to Patrick to explain that one.

Thanks MOPS!

(Yummmm, Lasagna)

Since moving to NM I've joined what seems like each and every "MOM" groups in the city. I'm a member of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), LC Twin Support Group, LC Moms Meetup, two non affiliated playgroups and a SAHM Cooking Club. Sophia and I have been busy networking! As a result of this enthusiasm, we've made lots of good friends and have been offered plenty of help and support with our upcoming arrivals. One such perk being frozen meals! Who'd thought having a freezer full of food (just waiting to be defrosted..yumm) would seem like such a godsend but having a couple of weeks post-babies without thinking about dinner is invaluable! Courtesy of several wonderful ladies at MOPS, we have almost a freezer full of dinners and more on the way. Many thanks!

Our Thanksgiving Day Pic Plus 30 week Update

First the Update.....

We had another great appointment today. Not only are the babies growing at a fast rate for twins, they are actually slightly bigger than a singleton at 30 weeks.

So.....

The good news: They are both good sizes (almost 3.5lbs EACH!) and will most likely be born in the next six weeks.
The bad news: They are both almost 3.5lbs (and growing!) and we still have around six weeks left- Yikes!

Still haven't caved in and found out the genders. I've tried everything from peeking at the Dr's notes to scrutinizing the ultrasounds but no definite clues. The one thing I am sure about is that they both look a lot like Patrick.
Guess we'll just have to have another one so I can have someone that looks like me! ;)



Please notice the strategic use of a jacket to camouflage my ever expanding waist line! :)

Baby Shower Pics

It's a Twin Shower. Time to Celebrate!


With Tia Irene showing off the wonderful cake she made for the shower. Thanks Irene!


Thanks to Angelica and her mom for the adorable diaper cake!


Even "Big Sister" Sophia received a gift!


A Special Moment....


A Big Thanks to Sonia and Mom for a great baby shower!

Twins Update Week 27

Yet another OB visit today and things are right on track! Baby A is 2lb 2oz and Baby B the "bigger" sibling is 2 lbs 4oz. I was VERY tempted in a moment of weakness (i.e. Patrick was out of the room) to find out the genders and although the sonographer was dying to tell me, and there was no way anyone would find out, plus I really, really want to know..... I resisted. I'm convinced they're boys but I guess we'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out. Any guesses?

Time for a Shower!

This weekend my lovely sister Sonia is hosting a "Two Peas in the Pod" themed baby shower in honor of our twins! The above pic is a sample of the invitations for the party. Thanks for all the hard work Sonia and others have put into making this day special!

Pics from the party should be posted early next week.

Guess who paid us a visit?

It seems as though the stork has been extra generous to the Campos-Nelson family this time around! In place of the one baby we were hoping and praying for he left us two! Our new additions are expected in early to mid-January.


Sophia announcing her "promotion" to big sister


Cristal at a little over 3 months. It's gonna get scary by 9 months folks!