Why Craigslist Rules

Finding parents of twins via Craigslist is pretty much just awesome:

Two Fisher Price bouncers in pretty much perfect condition (with batteries) for $15 each. I just realized these are still sold at Target. I washed the covers and I seriously would not be able to tell that these aren't brand new.


































2 Boppy brand swings for $20 each. (I know, bad picture) And these are still sold at Babies 'R Us. Of course I washed these covers too and they are in amazing condition. Between these two sets, buying used saved us about $125, plus we got a ton of free batteries!

This is going to be fun!

I could have a heart-attack from the potential cute-ness!

Observations from a Never-Before Pregnant Person

• Morning sickness is a lie. It is in no way restricted to the morning. Mine arrives promptly at 4pm and lasts until late at night. There are a number of extra nausea-inducing factors that make absolutely no sense. For me, it's the sight or smell of peanut butter, taking a hot shower, having my hands in hot water, or drinking warm water. The best remedy I have found for nausea is simply to get fresh air. Even better if there's a breeze.

• The food groups get rearranged to your satisfaction. Mine are the String Cheese Group, the Cottage Cheese Group, the Toast Group, and The Milk Group. There was an Egg Group but I'm over that now. Before we even had a positive pregnancy test, I would have bet a $100 bill we were expecting, due to the fact I demanded eggs on toast for breakfast for 7 mornings straight. Weird.
  
  
• Hungry feels different now than before pregnancy. If I were to wait for that old familar feeling of hungry, I would starve to death!

• Garage sales, Craigslist and consignment stores quickly prove to be invaluable. A baby bathtub in perfect condition for $2? Sold. $50 for a gently used double stroller base that works with any two infant car seats, and it's so wildy popular you can't find one that's not back-ordered? Totally sold!

• After seeing how much baby stuff costs, being crafty and more resourceful suddenly has it's appeal. Like making two matching crib bedding sets, rather than buying them. The only style of bedding I liked would cost $300 per set! (haha like $600 on bedding is even an option) Re-learning to sew with the help of my crafty mom can produce a similar result for $500 less, plus I have extra fabric for other fun projects - curtains, pillows, cute little mobiles, boppies, etc...

The plan is to make 2 blankets using a similar pattern/layout, but with our own gender neutral fabric. We'll do similar bumpers, but not quite so full and puffy.

• A startling observation regarding diapers... I was never good at math, but I can do basic calculations. It's been said that newborns and infants can use upwards of 10 diapers a day. 10 diapers a day x 30 days = 300 diapers, x 2 babies = a whopping 600 diapers a month! For this reason Zach and I are accepting any Huggies or Pampers coupons you may want to send our direction. Coupons combined with sales and promotions have served us well so far.

{Pretend there is a photo here showing a mountain of Huggies and Pampers overtaking the Gear Room. I could have taken one but lack the energy required for such a photo. This one will have to do instead.}

Each package in this (imaginary) pile was either 66% off or 75% off, and we have around 1300 diapers total. That sounds great and all, until you realize that's just over a 2 month supply. I am just crossing my fingers there will be more diaper sales and it's not a seasonal thing of the past. Oh, and we got 31 boxes of Pampers wipes for the price of tax. :)

Our Ultrasound Story

Our first ultrasound experience went something like this:

We arrive at the doctor's office. There's some paperwork. We're excited to see our baby for the first time.

Belly lube time. I lay down on a reclined chair (much like at the dentist) and Zach sits beside me. A BSU intern goops up my belly with lube. I thought it would be freezing, but to my surprise, it was a decent temperature. A supervising ultrasound tech is also there in the room.

The BSU intern puts the instrument on my belly and Zach and I see something like this on the screen:

Me thinking to myself: Wow, that looks like TWO babies! (But I don't dare utter word because really what do I know and how stupid will I sound when I'm totally wrong)

Zach stands up and blurts out: Is that TWINS??

Ultrasound Tech: Well, I wasn't going to say it quite like this, but yes, that's twins!

Our jaws instantly hit the floor.

Ultrasound Tech to BSU intern: I should take over... would you mind stepping aside?

At this point, I have no recollection what the dialog was like, but I can tell you my thought process went something along these lines: panic, terror, can't breathe, light-headed, breathe in Rochelle.... now breathe out Rochelle, I see Zach's jaw still on the floor, he's speechless, I'm speechless, I try not to tear up but I'm going to anyway, Zach stabilizes himself against me because he's still standing and his legs are weak and I'm thankful to still be laying down. Wow, that's why I felt so INSANELY TIRED. I knew that wasn't normal, no matter the repeated "It's normal to be tired in the first trimester". Taking 3-4 naps a day in NOT normal, and don't care who says it is. Wow, that's why I'm showing more than I expected to be. How the heck are we going to handle TWO babies?? This is a mistake. Or a joke. Nope, there's still two little squirmy beans in two black compartments on the screen...

Zach is now vigorously rubbing my arm to either calm me down or himself down. Probably both.

The Ultrasound tech is poking and prodding, probably checking for a third baby. (although this was an afterthought, thank goodness) She's narrating what she's doing/seeing/discovering and I only pick up fragments of what she's saying. I hear things like "fraternal twins", "two placentas", and "nice dividing wall between the two babies". Zach must have recovered a little by now because he dubs it the Great Wall of China. That's funny to me, but I don't think I laugh. They take screenshot photos, labeling each one with "Baby A" and "Baby B". They are burnt on a CD for us to take home. I'm still in shock.

They call a doctor into the room. (not ours, but a different one) I think they called him in to "ease or minds" or something. It didn't work. I think he expected us to have a million questions, but he mostly just got two blank stares since we were both processing. We leave, with feelings of fear, nervousness, disbelief and excitement. We just looked at each other and laughed. I ask him what on earth he did this to me for. (Later I find out I am the responsible one, not him - in this scenario, twins came from my side of the family) We get in the car, and on the way home we call our parents. They were expecting the phone calls, just not the news of twins. Their reactions were truly priceless!! Donita thought Zach was pulling a prank and refused to believe there were twins unless she saw ultrasound pictures as proof! Hilarious!! My mom couldn't stop laughing and kept saying "This is going to be so much fun!!"

Now almost two weeks later, we feel a bit more grounded. (minus one late night meltdown on my part) We know this is not someone's sense of humor, nor a mistake... but a blessing, and have come to the conclusion that we wouldn't be given twins if we couldn't handle the challenge. It will surely be a different type of adventure than what we're used to! Zach is excited for my belly to grow to grand proportions but I'm dreading the idea of wearing maternity clothes. Zach's approach is to have fun now while we still can, but my approach is let's start preparing NOW. We are finding the balance!

Thanks to all of you for your excitement and support. Hearing your enthusiasm really makes it more special and more exciting for us! We will be sure to update you all in August when we find out if we are having two boys, two girls, or a girl and a boy!