Rio and Sol’s Birth Story (Identical Twins!)

It’s important that I preface this birth story by saying that the entire pregnancy with these twins, I was curious, nervous, and somewhat terrified of the birth. After joining several Facebook groups for identical twin pregnancies, I felt a lot of anxiety around the birth, to the point where I didn’t say their names aloud much, I never put up their name signs on the wall, and I just had this nervous anxiety around the birth – I thought something was going to go terribly wrong the whole pregnancy and IF I made it to the birth, something dramatic was going to occur.

Preparing for a vaginal birth or C-section

In all of these Facebook groups and in a lot of the stories that I’ve heard or read about, identical twin pregnancies are high-risk (because the babies share a single placenta!) and vaginal births are honestly discouraged. There are many risks to a vaginal birth in an identical twin pregnancy and many stars have to align for it to work out. Now, there are similar risks in any pregnancy, but all you’re told about with a twin pregnancy is that you’re going to need a C-section. And to clarify, I was 100% prepared to have a C-section if needed, I just preferred to have a vaginal birth if I could, because that’s all I knew with my other births and the unknown is scary. However, in the end, I just wanted to deliver two healthy baby boys – whether that was C-section or vaginal birth. My point is this: I held a lot of stress about the delivery of my twins for the entire length of my pregnancy.

About two weeks before my delivery date (they wouldn’t let me go beyond 37 weeks with an identical twin pregnancy due to decreased viability of the placenta after 37 weeks), my doctor and I had the conversation: do you want to schedule a C-section or an induction and try for a vaginal birth? Regardless, you deliver in the OR (operating room), because they have to be set up and ready for an emergency C-section if something goes wrong in the vaginal birth.

After hours and hours of agonizing over what was the best thing to do (a combination of what’s ‘safest’ and how we wanted to bring our twins into the world) Lu and I decided to go with an induction – and had the blessing of our doctor, due to my “proven pelvis” (meaning, my pelvis can handle birth, because it had been proven with 2 prior successful vaginal births) and the fact that the babies were the right weight distributions (Baby A was larger) and most importantly, they had both been head down for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy and most likely weren’t going to budge.

So the day was set: September 7th (at 37 weeks pregnant exactly), in the evening, I would be induced.

False water breaking

On Monday, September 6th at about 1am, I woke up and my pajama shorts and the bed were soaked. Now, I don’t just pee myself and this was an odorless liquid – and a lot of it (I’d say about a 1/2 cup of liquid or more.) I thought it was my water breaking, so we woke up my neighbor upstairs (who had offered to help watch the kids if I went into labor in the middle of the night) and she came downstairs, stayed in our apartment while the kids slept and Lu dropped me off at the hospital. We called my parents and they drove straight over, so that by the time I was getting examined, Lu was back in the hospital with our hospital bag, ready to go!

The midwives did their exam and concluded that my water didn’t break, but it was a burst of cervical fluid, just a sign that my body is ready to go into labor any minute. Ugh! A sleepless night for nothing, but they were happy I came in. They decided to push up my induction to Monday night at 10pm (September 6th instead of September 7th), because my cervix was soft and they thought things would go quickly.

The induction

Monday was tough, we were so exhausted after only getting a couple hours of sleep the night before. I took a 20 minute nap, but there was so much excitement for that evening that it was hard to do anything but think about it. Lu went to work and I tried to rest as much as possible at home. My parents stayed that night, so they were already at our apartment (Lu slept on the couch and I slept in the nursery daybed.) We had all of our ducks aligned and we were ready to go that night!

We drove to the hospital at 10pm and by the time I was in the labor room, it was about 11pm. They did a bunch of blood work, set up my IVs, strapped the dual baby heartbeat monitors on my belly, explained the whole process to me, and told me that at midnight they would start the induction (so that I was ‘officially’ full-term at 37 weeks.)

They started with Cervadil. Cervidil looks kind of like a super thin tampon (with a string hanging out) that they insert vaginally to assist with labor by softening the cervix and preparing it for birth. They told me that it often causes contractions if your body is ready enough, so to prepare for that (mild cramping.) After that, they were going to insert a balloon (again, vaginally) that fills up with water and dilates me to 4 centimeters, after a few hours with the Cervidil.

Well, the Cervidil did its job, and I almost immediately starting cramping. When they came in a few hours later to insert the balloon, it wouldn’t stay in there – I was already at 4cm! At this point, they told me that they’d just let my body continue to do its thing and then start Pitocin (a contraction-inducing drug) to get things really going.

Well, my body got going and when they checked me next to start the Pitocin, I was at 6-7cm. I was laboring on the ball as much as I could, but the baby heartbeat monitors kept falling off and missing the baby’s heartbeats, so they had to put me back on the bed to labor so they could monitor better. That was so hard – it’s pretty excruciating to just lay there in a bed and labor – it’s much easier to move around, use your body, and have Lu help me through the contractions.

The epidural

Once I hit 6-7cm, I asked for the epidural. They said that after they administered the epidural, they’d still start the Pitocin (despite my body doing it on its own so far) because they want to have it in my system so that after I deliver Baby A, my body won’t stop contracting and it’ll keep contracting so Baby B can come out (and the Pitocin would better facilitate those contractions.)

Now, I’ve had two epidurals before (one for each of my births) and I had zero issues – I never felt even a pinch from the numbing shot. I loved my epidurals, they allowed me to relax and enjoy the rest of my labor and then wear off just enough so I could feel things to push my babies out. Well, this was different. Not only did I feel the numbing shot (which was very painful), then, when they inserted the catheter for the epidural, I felt intense pressure and then the sharpest shooting pain that felt like lightning through my legs and back. I screamed in pain, it was the worst acute pain I had ever felt. They stopped after I begged them to and they told me that they had hit a nerve and that’s what that sharp shooting pain.

After the failed catheter insertion, they tried again and it was successful. Phew. The pain started dissipating and then I was feeling groovy! About an hour after the epidural, they started me on the Pitocin and within a few more hours, my contractions were intense (I only felt some slight pressure) and the doctor, around 7:15pm, came to check in on me. He said the whole time my cervix had been very posterior and he did something with his hands (honestly it felt like he put his fingers in my butt, there was so much pressure there), asked me to give him “a good push” and all of a sudden I felt it: the urge to poop! That’s when you know it’s go-time in labor and it’s time to deliver your babies! He said to everyone in the room, “Let’s get her into the operating room, she’s 10cm, it’s time to go!” And he told me it was time to meet the twins.

The operating room: it’s go time!

The operating room was just across the hall. Lu was handed a jumpsuit and a hairnet and told to suit up! Right after he was dressed, they wheeled me into the OR. As the doors flung open like a movie, I looked up and saw these giant bright stadium lights, what seemed like a dozen doctors in the room (there were probably only 6 or so of them, in reality), and everyone just staring at me as they wheeled my bed into the appropriate spot. I immediately burst into tears. Lu said there was a table set up with all of the C-section tools right next to my bed, so if I had seen those, I’m sure the hysterics would’ve been grander. The whole thing was so overwhelming. In my head, I literally said to myself, “Am I going to come out of here with one baby or two? Did I just make a big mistake? Should I ask for a C-section now? Will I end up needing a C-section and have a double recovery?!” I couldn’t see Lu, either, in the rush into the room, so I was looking around for him. He came over to me and held my shoulders and it calmed me down.

The lead doctor delivering me told me not to be scared, it was time to focus and get these babies delivered. The midwives were all like, “It’s okay to feel this way! It’s a lot!” which made me calm down because I giggled a bit – I was always the one on the sports team that wanted to be yelled at – I like tough love and being yelled at as a motivator. All I could focus on was the doctor and he just said, “Are you ready to push?” Honestly, all I could think about was getting those babies out – I was going to be push my absolute hardest and visualize those babies coming right out of me, safely. I closed my eyes and pushed as hard as I could, seeing their little faces with every push.

Within a few minutes, Baby A was out and screaming. I heard Lu next to me (who was holding a leg), “Oh my gosh, that’s incredible.” And I opened my eyes and there he was – Rio, crying loud and clear. They put him right on my chest, which I was so grateful for (another thing I wasn’t sure I’d get to do – immediate skin-to-skin.) The doctors and nurses and midwives were cheering me and singing my praises, saying things like, “I can’t believe how quickly you just pushed that baby out!”

And that’s when I heard the doctor say, “Are you ready to push again?” and at the same time, I felt that urge again and without even thinking about it, I put my arms around Rio, held him to my chest with my chin on his little head, and I push the hardest I’ve ever pushed in my life – I knew that Baby B could flip, I’d need an emergency C-section or worse, placental abruption could happen where the placenta detaches too soon from the uterine walls and suffocates Baby B. I wanted this birth and I was going to have these babies, so I bore down and I pushed and heard, “Oh my gosh, the head!” and then I took one last huge breath in and with all of my might, I pushed for 10 seconds, closing my eyes, holding onto Rio, and saying to myself, “your brother’s coming right behind you!” and after 2 pushes, Sol was born.

Sol was crying too and they put him right on my chest, next to Rio. They both were crying on me, their little arms and legs intertwined on me. Lu just kept saying, “Oh my god, I can’t believe this!” and we just stared at our little baby boys on my chest, as the doctors and nurses sang my praises. In 10 minutes, I vaginally delivered two babies, born three minutes apart – Rio Alan at 7:35pm and Sol Rigo at 7:38pm. Rio weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces, while Sol weighed 6 pounds and 3 ounces. Both mighty, both absolutely perfect. Our family was instantly complete.

While still in the operating room, they sewed me up (luckily, since the babies were much smaller than any of my other children, I had very minimal tearing so that postpartum recovery has been a breeze!) while they just double checked to make sure the babies were okay. Rio was pretty white, which terrified me at first, but his oxygen was operating at 100%, so it was just the way he was. Sol was very red, which worried me also, but again, they passed all of their tests and were stable, requiring no intervention.

Phew. I had been waiting for this moment for 9+ months. I had no idea how their birth story would end, but it was magical and I am so happy I listened to my intuition and went for a vaginal identical twin birth. Birthing two babies really made me proud of my body, but most importantly, in awe of the female body. I grew two lives inside of me and now, they’re sitting next to me, in their little bassinets, swaddled and warm, about to wake up to nurse to continue to grow from me. It’s all just beautiful.

Unfortunately, the first 5 days postpartum were not magical (they were absolutely terrible), which I’ll cover in another post, but it was all worth it for the safe and healthy delivery of my baby boys. More coming soon!

The post Rio and Sol’s Birth Story (Identical Twins!) appeared first on Inspiralized.

You can check out more about this pregnancy in my first trimester recap! and then the recap of weeks 14 to 20 and 21 to 26.

weeks 27 to 32 twin pregnancy recap

Another 6 weeks has flown by, I can’t believe it! Unfortunately, the past 6 weeks have been dominated by me trying to navigate all the transitions my toddlers have been going through and I overdid it and Roma went into a major sleep regression because of it. Basically, we took away her pacifier and her sleep was never the same, but we also put her in a big girl bed (she climbed out of her crib), put her in the same room with her brother, potty trained her, AND we had to hire a new nanny. Needless to say, she was overwhelmed and I was trying to rip of a Band-Aid that wasn’t ready to be pulled off yet. So, last week, we spoke to a sleep consultant and gave her the pacifier back. The moment we gave it back, she’s been a dream baby sleeper again. Phew! I was getting 3 to 5 hours a sleep per night for weeks and I was a stressed out, hormonal mess. It was not pretty, and I feel like I was just overtired and struggling the past 6 weeks.

Thankfully, things are back to “normal” …. and they’re about to get crazy again with the twins’ arrival (it’s surreal to think that in 4 weeks, my family will be doubled!) The other major event that happened was replacing our nanny. I’m not going to get into it, but because I receive so many questions about it and it’s a major part of our journey, I’ll say this: we’ve been having issues with her for about 2 years, but I brushed everything under the carpet, because a) I hate confrontation and b) finding a new nanny is a full-time job and I didn’t want to do that to the kids. Luckily, the transition has been smooth, the kids LOVE our new nanny, and she is such a better fit for our growing family. We outgrew our previous nanny and we were trying to plug up the holes, so to speak, but it was a sinking ship. Now… time for a rejuvenated nanny ready to tackle 4 under 4, haha!

So the last few weeks have definitely flown by, especially because for one week we went to the beach with the family (which was so nice because we had so much help with the kids, I actually got to do a bit of relaxing.) Once I hit 31 weeks, I just stopped exercising. It became too much for me, to the point where if I did exercise, it would completely wipe me out for the day and frankly, it didn’t feel good anymore – it felt like I was over-extending (even basic movements.) I think my body got to a point where it is just in full baby-making-survival mode and that’s all it has capacity for. I definitely miss the adrenaline rush of exercise, but I know that right now my sole focus is growing these babies and taking care of my toddlers. And let’s be honest… running after toddlers is exercise enough!

Preparing for the babies

As for the nursery, it’s 100% complete and the hospital bag is packed! For a list of what I’m packing in my hospital bag, check out this post on Instagram.

All of this prep being done early has been such a relief and I’m so happy to have it done, since I feel like putting sunscreen on my kids feels like a Herculean task at this point. Also, I feel like I can focus on spending my time with my kids, resting, and just kind of preparing the house in general. I need to do a lot of organizing and rearranging. We’re also setting up a little changing station in our living room, so we don’t have to break our backs changing the babies on the couch or worse, running up and down the stairs to grab things. Once that’s all set up, I’ll be sure to share.

The nursery is so sweet, and I’ll be sharing a reveal next week! We went with a safari/neutral/sage theme, and it’s so sweet. We have our name signs in the closet and we cannot wait to put them up once the twins arrive (we’re keeping the names a secret, so we have them tucked away so our nanny/other visitors don’t see them in advance!) All the clothes are cleaned and put away, diapers and wipes are stocked, and we’re ready for our little guys to arrive. Well, logistically, not mentally (I need a few more weeks!)

Now, the only part of the puzzle that I’m really trying to figure out is the BIRTH. Will it be an induction? Will my water naturally break and I’ll be able to have a vaginal birth? Will it be a scheduled C-section? Will it be at 36 weeks? 37 weeks? My doctor says we won’t know for a few more weeks as we continue to monitor the babies. Right now, I’m just praying they stay in until the 35/36 week mark to reduce the likelihood of extended NICU time!

32 weeks with Roma (left) vs. 32 weeks with the twins (right)

Body changes

I am actually surprised that I haven’t gained MORE weight this pregnancy. With Roma, I gained almost 50 pounds, and I was exercising 3 to 5 days a week! I think I’ll end up gaining about 45 to 50 pounds with this pregnancy (and I only know this because of the scale check-ins at the doctor.) With this pregnancy, I think that I’ve just been trying to be there for my kids so much, I have been running around a lot and while I’m conscious about eating as much as possible (lots of protein snacks!), I think I just am not eating as much as I think I am. Plus, I’m starting to get super full quickly (the other day I didn’t finish my sandwich and I couldn’t believe it – I’ve never NOT finished a sandwich!) The heartburn hasn’t come back since earlier in my pregnancy, but a feeling of fullness is there.

My goal was to gain 50 to 56 pounds, following some guidelines set by doctors to birth full-term twins! Thankfully, I’m in the healthy window (the window set for my BMI was 40 to 56 pounds.) It seems to be working, because the babies are growing strong (80% percentile for weight as twins so far!)

Despite not gaining as much weight as I had first anticipated, my body is stretching. For the first time in a pregnancy, I got my first set of stretch marks. My skin was just really itchy and it was starting to actually hurt (like it felt like something was cutting me, almost) and I put my cell phone in selfie mode and looked under my belly and I saw stretch marks! They were super faint, almost indiscernible (at first I thought they were just indentations from my pants), just under my belly. Since then, they’ve grown and there are a few ones above my belly too. Now, I always told myself that it was inevitable that I’d get stretch marks in this twin pregnancy – how could I not!? Not only are these twins but this is my THIRD pregnancy, so my belly is going to get larger than it even would with a first pregnancy.

Still, despite mentally preparing myself, I thought I’d be more devastated, but I was so shocked when I saw them and wasn’t. I wasn’t phased at all! I don’t know if that’s because of all the pregnancy stretch mark positivity and acceptance that we see on Instagram these days (thanks to accounts like this) but I was just kind of like, “Okay, here we are.” I was telling a girlfriend on a walk the other day that I asked myself, “Would you rather have 4 beautiful children and some stretch marks OR no children and a flat, stretch mark-less tummy, because those are your options?” That put it into such perspective. I showed Lu and he was super sweet and made me laugh about them. More to come on this!

Week-by-Week Updates

• Week 27: If I sat for too long, I’d start to get uncomfortable – there’s a lot of maneuvering around to feel comfortable. The weight of my belly on my hips was starting to build up.
• Week 28: Despite no changes in my deoderant or under-arm care, I started getting serious chafing and rashes under my arms. I’m attributing this to hormonal changes and extra sweating due to the heat! Also, the 3pm exhaustion creeped back in, reminiscent from the first trimester.
• Week 29: I had a little thyroid issue scare and had to get my blood levels tested twice, but it turned out to be nothing! Apparently, changes in thyroid levels are very common in twin pregnancies. Babies are head down.
• Week 30: I noticed my first set of stretch marks! I wrote about this above, but immediately applied stretch marking minimizing cream (apparently the only way to minimize stretch marks is to start treating them immediately when they show.) Linked to the cream below in ‘maternity favorites.’
• Week 31: My nipples started getting a bit darker and larger. Sleeping is difficult, because I’m shifting my belly a lot and peeing a lot (at least every hour, it feels like!) As for the baby kicks, they’re much more noticeable as Baby A and B! I’ll get kicks on my left and right sides very clearly, it’s very cool. Babies are still head down. Hospital bag was packed by the end of this week!
• Week 32: Weekly appointments started! My belly is so itchy from all the stretching and feels tender at some parts. Got my TDAP vaccine. One day I had some Twin Pregnancy Recaping lights and light headedness, but after laying down for 30 minutes, I felt a lot better and it went away. Clearly the lesson here is to relax as much as possible and not overdo it! The Braxton Hicks were also ramping up this week! Babies were still head down.

Maternity Favorites

• These biker shorts! I wear them almost every day, they feel so supportive around my tummy and they’re long enough to cover the booty and thighs. I love wearing them with an oversized tee or tank and sneakers or my Birks.
• Stretch mark minimizing cream. The moment I found those stretch marks, I started applying this cream before my regular stretch mark prevention cream!
• Stocked up on nursing bras and love these to wear when at home, they’re so comfortable.
• These nursing tanks are my favorite, and I packed one in my hospital bag for my going home outfit – a nursing tank and maternity sweats (ones that aren’t tight, in the likely case that I have a c-section.)

I hope you liked this little recap, and as always, thank you for the kindness as I share my personal journeys with you all! 

The post Twin Pregnancy Recap: Weeks 27 to 32 appeared first on Inspiralized.

New Baby Items I’m Buying for the Twins

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you know that right before we got pregnant with the twins, we gave all of our baby gear to my younger sister, who was expecting her first baby. She lived right down the street from us, so in the back of my head, I thought, “Oh, well, if we ever need this stuff, she’s just a couple blocks away and she’ll be done with it by the time we have another baby – if we ever do!”

Well, drastic change of plans – my sister and her husband moved to Florida (with all of the baby gear!) and a few months later, we found out we were pregnant with…. twins!

So aside from our usual must-haves (which you can find in my ultimate newborn essentials list), there are a few new items we’re adding to our list – and some that we’re doubling!

1. Twin Nursing Pillows
   • Twin Z Nursing Pillow – this I plan to use more as a lounging pillow, as I prefer a firmer nursing pillow. I’ve been told by other twin mamas it’s so helpful when bottle feeding at the same time or just finding a safe place for them to rest.
   • My Breast Friend Twin Nursing Pillow – I love this pillow for the newborn stage (like the first 6 weeks) when they’re so tiny and you’re working on latch. I like the firmness, whereas I find the Boppy and other nursing pillows are too soft and the baby falls off or sags. Luckily, my Breast Friend makes a twin version!
2. Boppy Loungers – I didn’t use these with my singletons (I love the Dock-a-Tot, it’s my favorite baby product and I’ll still be using these for general use!), but I’ve been told that when you’re alone and trying to tandem feed your babies, having two of these loungers is helpful to set them on either side of you so you can easily pick up the babies, latch them, and then set them down as you set up/break down your nursing session. Hoping this helps making tandem nursing (if I’m able to nurse!) easier.
3. Split screen baby monitor – we’ll still be using the Nest cameras, because I like to have those for when we’re out of the house and want to check in on the babies (we also have them synced to tablets so we use them as regular monitors with our kids now.) But, I’d like a version that allows us to really zone in on each baby separately and see them side by side.
4. Travel strollers with Newborn Pack – since we have limited trunk space (we don’t want to get a new car and are going to do our best to make our current car work), we need easily foldable strollers that we can take with us (instead of lugging our big Uppababy Vista.) The Babyzen YOYO strollers are our favorite compact strollers and for the twins, we’re buying the Newborn Packs which fold up and allow you to use them as a bassinet or click in car seat converter clips so you can also use them with your car seats, which is ideal for travel.
5. Twin bassinet – since we’ll have the privilege of a night nurse this time around (6 nights a week!), we won’t be sleeping next to the babies, so a bassinet wasn’t an essential item this time around. However, we’ll need a solution for Saturday nights (when the nurse isn’t working with us) as well as something to keep them safely in during the daytime, elevated off the floor/couch, so our toddlers can’t as easily access them. It’ll also be a nice safe space to let them sleep during the day, in the living room. There are a few expensive options, but we landed on this one.
6. Twin baby-wearing carriers
   • WeeGo Twin Carrier – I love baby wearing, and I’m hoping this carrier will make it possible to carry both babies simultaneously.
   • Minimonkey TWIN – this is more of a wrap-style, which seems comfier for the babies and easier to throw into a diaper bag.
7. Dagne Dover Diaper Bag – I really tried out a bunch of different diaper bags and this one seems the most spacious for twins and the most comfortable to wear.
8. Lovevery Play Mat – I didn’t have this with either of my kids, but I love this brand and I use their play kits with my kids, so I’m excited to use this play mat – it’s also large, which is great for twins.

Twin mamas – any items I’m missing?!

The post New Baby Items I’m Buying for the Twins appeared first on Inspiralized.

you can check out more about this pregnancy in my first trimester recap! and then the recap of weeks 14 to 20.

weeks 21 to 26 twin pregnancy recap

Well, it seems that the bulk of your second trimester with twins feels like your third trimester, in terms of weight gain, belly growth, and uncomfortable symptoms! For the first few weeks into the second trimester (weeks 21-23) I was still feeling overall pretty great, energized, and wasn’t feeling pain or discomfort. Once week 23 hit, it was like my body realized it was seriously pregnant and then the heartburn and back pain started to creep in. By week 24, I was toast by the end of the day (whereas with my singleton pregnancies, I didn’t feel that discomfort until later in my third trimester!)

Still, these past 6 weeks have been me trying to be as involved with the kids as possible, and I’ve started some nursery and more baby prep since my last update. What I’ve realized is that clearly, I’m going to be only getting more and more uncomfortable, so I might as well do as much as possible before the real discomfort sets in. I’ve been active with the kids as much as I can, and I’ve started all of the transitioning that needs to be done, starting with weaning Roma off the pacifier. I knew I should do this sooner rather than later, not only because her pediatrician and dentist recommended it, but because I didn’t want to deal with the sleep deprivation farther along in my pregnancy (the first week was pretty rough with naps and getting her to bed at night and then the mid-night wakeups.) Next on the list? To transition Luca and Roma into the same bedroom and then to potty train Roma (not necessarily in that same order.)

In terms of nutrition, I feel like my cravings have been sweeter lately and I haven’t been eating as nutritionally focused lately, and I’m definitely snacking more at night, out of stress, so the weight gain is creeping up (which is fine, I’m not afraid of weight gain during pregnancy – I welcome it!) But I like to gain the right kind of weight, so my focus for the remainder of this pregnancy is to really focus on those nutritious source of calories and protein! With summer ice cream stops in there, too, of course!

The exhaustion started creeping back in a bit, too, so I took a couple of naps in this second trimester, around 3-5pm. It was like that first trimester exhaustion when you just can’t fight it and you need to lay down. It only happened a couple of times, but it did the trick – and was obviously a sign that my body needed rest.

So what have been the highlights? I actually spent 2 weeks in Florida during this time, where I got to meet my sister’s baby a few days after he was born (his name is Brooks!) and that was so nice to be with family and take a break from work, which has really, really ramped up. I’ve started to even think about my ‘maternity leave’ and how I’m going to manage everything. I wish I could say I’m the ‘do it all’ type, but I’m not!

Also fun, the baby kicks have been strengthening and around week 25 I could distinguish between Baby A kicks and Baby B kicks. They’re both equally active, and they move all day long, but definitely a lot at night when I’m finally trying to get comfortable on the couch and relax!

At 26 weeks, the ultrasound technician gave us a 3D photo of Baby B (he was hamming it up, apparently) and it made me so blown away by the female body even more (something about seeing their face made it all so much more real – and he looks just like Luca, it’s incredible!)

I definitely want to focus on slowing down once I hit about week 32, so the next month or so will be all about my preparing for the twins’ arrival and then I want to relax and spend time with my family, plenty of time resting, and be off my feet as much as possible to avoid preterm labor. Easier said than done, but that’s the goal!

Preparing for the babies

Around week 25 I realized that it was time to start preparing for the babies, because I couldn’t treat this as a singleton pregnancy (where you feel silly preparing too early.) I think with your first pregnancy, it’s easy to get caught up in the apps and the articles that tell you certain times of when to do certain things (like when to have a baby shower, when to build your registry, when to set up your nursery, etc.) And of course, there’s superstition and this little voice in the back of your head saying, “don’t prepare too early, what if something happens?” (I have had that with all of my pregnancies, especially this one!)

But, I’m rapidly becoming bigger, slower, more tired, and sitting on the ground folding baby clothes and organizing a closet last weekend was tougher than I thought it was going to be, so now I’m kicking it into high gear, and my goal is to have the nursery mostly finished and everything ordered by week 30, right before we go to the beach for a week with family. I want to come back from the beach, be in week 31 and not have to do anything for baby prep and be able to focus on spending time with the kids, relaxing myself, and finishing out work.

Thus, I’ve already ordered all the baby clothes, and I organized all our old baby gear (what was left of it after I gifted it all mostly to my sister!) and made a master list of what to purchase. I feel “organized,” even though there is so much to do. The next 3 weeks are going to be intense, but because of the high risk nature of this pregnancy, I don’t want to end up in a situation where I deliver early and I’m not ready (that’s my biggest fear!)

Week-by-Week Updates

• Week 21: Started to experience some shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, which at first, given the pandemic, freaked me out.
• Week 22: Heartburn! I had zero heartburn with Luca and then so much heartburn with Roma, and I am experiencing heartburn again with the twins. It tends to creep in an hour or so after a meal and all that really helps is water (which doesn’t help much.)
• Week 23: All the major symptoms hit this week! Back pain and my first Braxton Hicks! Seriously, by the end of the 23rd week, it was hard to move by the end of the day, my back was seizing up a bit.
• Week 24: At my doctor’s appointment, my belly was measuring 5-6 weeks ahead, and I’ve heard towards the end of your twin pregnancy, you can measure up to 10 weeks ahead (that is scary!) Also, my belly started becoming very, very veiny (like you look at your skin and it looks like it’s about to burst from all the green veins.) Also, this may be a bit much, but my BO (body odor) is back – I feel like nothing I do keeps it at bay except for re-applying deodorant (and not the non-toxic kind, that is useless!) I blame it on the hormones.
• Week 25:  I woke up to this week and my linea negra was there – it’s very, very faint, but I can see it. This was the week of Roma’s 2nd birthday and after her birthday party and being on my feet from 7am to 8pm, my back was in so much pain that I woke up in the middle of the night with such bad lower back cramps, I thought I was having contractions (they might have been from dehydration, too – I barely drank water that day!) Needless to say, I started putting together a hospital bag list, that freaked me out.
• Week 26: Woa, pelvic floor pain. Out of nowhere, it just started and sometimes, it’s honestly hard to walk! It comes and goes in severity, but I feel a lot of pelvic floor pressure and a pain that, coupled with the back pain, isn’t pleasant. I’ve been trying to stretch, not sit down for long periods of time, and work on my posture. I’m going to ask about it at my 27 week appointment!

Maternity Favorites

• I’m living in these sweatshorts (literally I own them in every color now.)
• Love this dress, it’s so breathable and lightweight – perfect for a summer pregnancy.
• The only shoes I’ve been wearing are these Birkenstocks and these Allbirds lately.
• Got Bala weights to wear on walks for some exercise – I am just about done with Peloton bike workouts.
• Still loving these maternity tanks.

I hope you liked this little recap, and as always, thank you for the kindness as I share my personal journeys with you all! 

The post Twin Pregnancy Recap: Weeks 21 to 26 appeared first on Inspiralized.

Amazon Maternity Favorites

1 // Leggings: these have a full panel and the panel supports and flatters the belly. I love the colors – I have them in every color! They’re great for lounging or exercise.

2 // Brief panties: I like these for wearing at the end of the day when I’m just lounging. They’re a little bulky under dresses and in jeans, but they’re just so comfortable.

3 // Low-rise panties: I love these for every day wear, since they’re low-rise, they fit perfectly under the bump and don’t roll or cause creases when you’re wearing a dress.

4 // Nursing bra: Eventually, underwire is just a no-go, so I love wearing nursing bras, since I’ll end up wearing them postpartum anyway!

5 // Nursing tank: This is my go-to nursing tank, I wear it with a cardigan and jeans or joggers and it’s a nursing (or pumping!) ready outfit. And it’s comfy over the bump, too!

6 // Snoogle: are you even pregnant if you don’t use a pregnancy pillow? This is a must for me!

7 // Mama Mio Tummy Butter: I use tummy butter in the mornings, because I don’t like the feeling of oil all day long. This has been my go-to for all three of my pregnancies.

8 // Belly Band: for wearing at home, it’s really great for belly support when you’re having back pain.

9 // Maternity Swimsuit: I love this off-the-shoulder swimsuit and it’s comfortable even with those of us with a big bust. Such a cute pattern!

10 // Maternity Swimsuit: This wrap-swimsuit is so comfortable and also flattering for bigger busts.

11 // Bike shorts: I love the full panel on these bike shorts and the side pocket. These are great for full day wear and exercise.

Hope you enjoy these items during your pregnancy and beyond, like I have! 

The post Amazon Maternity Favorites appeared first on Inspiralized.

my last pregnancy update was my first trimester recap!

weeks 14 to 20 twin pregnancy recap

Once the shock of having identical twins wore off, it’s basically been a whirlwind of doctors appointments. I feel like I’m always at the doctor’s – between seeing my Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor (for extensive ultrasounds every two weeks) and my regular OB-GYN, I feel like it’s weekly. While it’s really comforting (and exciting!) to see the babies on the monitor, I can’t shake this nervousness about these visits. Every time I walk into an ultrasound, I’m basically holding my breath. What news will I find out today?

Now, it’s totally normal to feel nervous in a singleton pregnancy too, but a twin pregnancy (especially an identical twin pregnancy) is much higher risk and therefore, there’s a higher likelihood of complications. So while I’m smiling seeing two babies kick around in my belly, I’m also terribly worried. I can’t shake it, and I know that most things are out of my control. A twin mama friend of mine who had a severe complication at the end of her pregnancy gave me great, comforting advice: do everything the doctors recommend so that if a complication does arise, you know it’s nothing you could have prevented, because you followed doctors’ orders to a T.

Aside from the nerves, the past 6 weeks have flown by. I think that happens with your second pregnancy (all of a sudden it’s the third trimester and you’re like, “Oh no! I haven’t prepared at all!”) but it especially happens with your third. I’ve also had a lot of work stress, so that’s helped the time fly by. I honestly felt like life has flown by the past 7 months between this pregnancy and writing my cookbook.

Overall, I’ve felt great (I’ll get to week-by-week symptoms at the end of this post!) – I’ve been energized and haven’t felt any nausea at all these past 6 weeks. The most difficult part of the past 6 weeks has been how quickly this belly has grown. Now, I’m following a weight gain chart for a healthy twin pregnancy and so, I’ve gained between 20-23 pounds so far, and the recommended range is 20-30, so I’m doing well there! I’m proud of that weight gain, because let me tell you: it’s a LOT of eating! I’m not just eating anything to gain the weight, I’m being very conscious of protein, fat, and carbs to make sure I’m getting what the babies need (which isn’t always 100% what my tastebuds want!)

Long story short, with that quick weight gain comes a serious belly – I can’t believe how much I’ve grown over the past 6 weeks. Honestly, I look back at photos of me in my later third trimester, and I look like that!! I am trending about 8 to 10 weeks ahead with this belly size (so, I literally look 30+ weeks pregnant.) So, that’s been difficult, because all that quick shift of weight is starting to cause some lower back pain and difficulty with basic movements (like getting off the couch, haha!) On the last day of my 20th week, I did purchase a Belly Bandit, so I’ll let you know how that does once I try it out! If I’m standing on my feet for a long day of cooking in the kitchen for work or like I did on my cookbook photoshoots, the lower back pain is very achey. If it progressively gets worse, I’ll definitely look into things like seeing a chiropractor. For now, I’m going to invest extra time in stretching and hope that helps.

Speaking of stretching, I’ve been trying to exercise as much as possible, because I have a feeling that it’s going to get more difficult to do that the farther along I get, just based on how quickly this belly has grown. So, I want to keep my strength, flexibility and endurance up while I can! I’ve been aiming to work out 4 days a week, which is totally feasible. My workouts range anywhere from 20-40 minutes, but usually it’s a 30 minute spin class or a 20 minute spin with a 10-15 minute strength workout. I feel my best and I have less back pain when I consistently exercise, so I’ve been trying to do that.

Preparing for the babies

In terms of preparedness for the twins, I haven’t done much preparation at all and haven’t purchased a single item except for car seats, because I got an amazing discountt rhou I’ve been generously gifted some things from brands that I love and who have reached out to support me. I’ve been gifted the Twin Z Pillow, Dock-A-Tots, an Uppababy Vista stroller, mattresses and cribs from Babyletto, and some cute pacifiers and towels from Loulou Lollipop, all brands I loved with Roma and Luca.

As for prep, I completed my registry, which is just a list I’ve compiled for myself so I know what I’ll need for the twins, based on some amazing recommendations from many of you and from hours of research! I’ve built a list on my personal Evernote and on Buy Buy Baby (prices and discounts are key!) This makes me feel better, because if something does happen earlier than expected, at least I can order everything in a pinch.

Perhaps the biggest logistical item I checked off my to-do list has been hiring a night nurse for the twins so we’ll have help when they arrive. This was a very difficult decision for me to make, which I’ve talked about in this blog post, along with my other thoughts about having twins.

Aside from that, I have a lot on my to do list. The most important thing is transitioning Roma and Luca into a room so I can get over that hurdle and begin to prep the twins’ room. We’re planning on doing that towards the end of June, right after Roma’s 2nd birthday. I think that’s when we plan to go full-throttle with baby prep!

Week-by-Week Updates

• Week 14: I announced on the blog and social this week, but I had headaches that week and all that really helped was laying down, which is difficult to do when you have two toddlers and work to do!
• Week 15: My energy came back, after that first trimester fatigue! My belly was really starting to pop at night time.
• Week 16: I finally felt the baby flutters/kicks! It was really faint, but I felt them here and there (not consistently yet!) This week, I had a long 2-hour ultrasound and everything was healthy and this is the week we booked our night nurse.
• Week 17: I finally had a consistent week of exercise, where I prioritized it because my energy levels had been strong, and it felt so good!
• Week 18: Round ligament pain started a bit and some hip soreness (as my hips widen for birth), and I started experiencing a bit of 3pm fatigue, so I had a feeling the babies had a little growth spurt, especially because my belly really grew!
• Week 19: My spider veins started multiplying! I got spider veins with Luca that never went away, but they weren’t very noticeable at all and now, you can’t miss them and they’ve popped up to other places. I’m slightly insecure about them, but there’s nothing I can do – I am hoping to have them lasered off eventually! This week I also got a cold sore I’m thinking the double hormones triggered it, because I’ve never had more than one cold sore a year for the past decade.
• Week 20: I started feeling the babies’ kicks from the outside!! They are definitely stronger and it’s wild to feel them in different sides of your belly, when you know that would be impossible if you had only one baby in there. I haven’t had Lu try to feel yet, because they’re not that strong and not as consistent. This is also the week that more of my physical symptoms kicked in, since I literally look 30+ weeks pregnant now – my lower back gets sore and I bought a belly band to help at home. My gums also bleed every time I brush now (this started out of the blue halfway through week 20!)

Maternity Favorites

• The Lululemon Aligns are still a favorite, but I found these much more affordable leggings that are maternity leggings (TTS!) and I bought them in all colors, so I’d have some options once the belly gets bigger (they’re full-panel and meant for pregnancy.) They’re so comfy.
• Storq tank – this has become like a supportive compression tank, it’s nice and tight and I feel like it holds my belly. I’ve been wearing it a lot, under cardigans.
• Been also living in t-shirt dresses like this one.
• We’re going to Florida this weekend and I snagged this maternity suit that’s very flattering and comfortable – and cute!
• Deeeeefinitely not the sexiest, but I’m loving this underwear for when it doesn’t matter about my panty line (like when I’m home.) I still have a ton of discharge with this pregnancy, so I hate ruining my ‘good’ underwear, so it’s nice to have these comfy ones.
• Other underwear that I’ve been loving are these low-rise ones, especially for when I wear dresses and don’t want a panty line in the front and the back!
• Ordered this Belly Bandit, but haven’t tried it out yet – stay tuned on Instagram for updates.

I hope you liked this little recap, and as always, thank you for the kindness as I share my personal journeys with you all! 

The post Twin Pregnancy Recap: Weeks 14 to 20 appeared first on Inspiralized.

There is so much that has been on my mind lately, given that we’re expecting twin boys into our lives at the end of this summer. There’s worry, excitement, confusion, and lots of uncertainty. Instead of letting it fester in my head, I figured I’d share it with all of you, in an effort to calm my nerves and also, relate to some of you who are going through similar situations and feelings.

Also, I’m in that early second trimester blissful period, where nothing hurts yet, I have my energy back, I don’t feel sick, and so I’m trying to make as many decisions and plan as much as I possibly can before things get real (which I hear they do more quickly with twins than with singletons!)

Trigger Disclaimer

A huge disclaimer: these are all fortunate concerns to have. I am so grateful and privileged to be given the chance to carry two babies and grow my family. In no way am I complaining, I am simply sharing the typical thought processes a mother goes through when she finds out news like this. I wouldn’t trade these concerns for anything, they make this journey a journey! I want to be empathetic and honest, because I know there are women out there TTC, and I would hate them to be triggered by this post and to come off unappreciative of my fertility. Love to all of the women going through a fertility struggle right now, my love and strength to you.

Twins: So Much Uncertainty!

I think the hardest part about expecting twins is now all of the uncertainty. I go into every appointment wondering what I’ll find out (and praying that everything is well and healthy.) With having mono/di identical twins, there’s a lot of risk. Our types of twins have their own specific risks and thus, I’m considered a high-risk pregnancy. These types of twins are typically born between 35 and 37 weeks (they won’t let me go much past 37 weeks!) I could be induced, I could go into labor naturally, I could need a C-section, I could have a natural birth, the babies could need NICU time or not. Now, yes, these are similar concerns when you’re just having one, but the likeliness of these issues are much higher (and frankly, common) with a twin pregnancy.

I’ve also never had twins before, so there’s just so much to learn, and I’m constantly learning! It’s exciting, which I try to remind myself of – and that it’s such a special privilege to carry two babies. But man, anything could happen at any time and that’s overwhelming, mentally (especially for someone like me, who likes to plan.) This brings me to my next point…. not knowing when these babies are coming makes it harder to prepare for them.

Our Living Situation

I have belabored over this for weeks. Since the moment we found out we were having twins, I haven’t stopped thinking about our living situation. For reference, we live in a pretty large apartment (for city standards) and the living space isn’t the issue (we are blessed with plenty of that, including a main level, a furnished basement, an upstairs, and a backyard space- we found a gem!) The issue are the bedrooms! We are in a 3 bedroom and while we decided early on that we’d move Luca and Roma into a room together, we weren’t sure which room we’d combine them in. Luca’s current room is about twice the size of Roma’s current room. Naturally, we’d put the two big toddlers in the larger room, right?

Well, we need a daybed for the twins’ room (this was so helpful with our singletons and I can only imagine how helpful it will be with the twins) and so after thinking through all of the options and room combinations, I finally just made the decision for my own sanity (and to begin the shuffling process) to put Luca and Roma in Roma’s current room (the smaller room) because there’s enough space for their toys, their clothes, and both of their beds and that’s all they really need.

Also, I think something we often forget about is how things don’t have to be permanent. If we are ready to get rid of the daybed in the twins’ room, I can simply put the twins in the smaller room and put Luca and Roma back in the larger room.

Other things that are worrying me about our living situation is the logistical difficulty of living on multiple levels (which I realize is a common issue if you live in an actual house.) With our other two children, we lived in a single level apartment, so there were no stairs or levels. The thought of maneuvering up and down stairs with delicate twins and having to figure out what gear to have where is an interesting feat. Also, we have very steep, dangerous steps that lead in and out of our garden level entrance. I’m worried about carrying tiny twin newborns in and out, but I’m accepting that that’s probably the least of our problems.

Childcare: Lots of Decisions!

The first concern that popped into my mind when we found out we were having twins was, “How am I going to do this at night?!” As I’ve mentioned before, Lu doesn’t do nights. Now, this isn’t to throw shade at Lu – he is a fantastic father and we’re a great team (we’ve learned how to work together after having two kids!) However, he just does not function like I do on little sleep and he has to be a leader at work (he owns his company and has to be there for his team and he literally is a cranky zombie without sleep) and he’s at a pivotal moment in his business and more than ever, he needs to be alert and sharp.

After discussing the nighttime situation, we found three options: 1) have my mother come and try to help me for a bit, 2) try to do it all myself, or 3) hire a night nurse. After weeks of debating, we finally decided to hire a night nurse for the beginning months and see how it goes. This was a hard decision for me to make (so far, the hardest) because I love the night time with my babies, I love being there for them, and I didn’t feel comfortable with a stranger soothing them over me. I’m hoping to breastfeed so that I can be with the twins in that way, but I simply don’t feel comfortable handling two with zero help at night. This was an emotional decision for me, but once I made it, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

How’d I come to that decision? Well, first off, my mother is going to come to stay with me to help me, but if we’re both exhausted from being up all night with the babies, how will that work when we’re taking care of them during the day time? I need my mother ‘fresh’ for the daytime to help me, so I can nap a bit to recover from the nights!

Probably the most convincing argument for me was that I have two toddlers that need me. I can’t be so exhausted that I’m sleeping all day and ignoring my toddlers that need me physically, but most importantly, emotionally. Now, I’ll be less tired and have more energy to be with my toddlers when they’re home (and to be there for them for bath and bedtime.)

Another part of the childcare situation is work. I work full-time, so I have a nanny that comes during the day to take care of Luca and Roma so that Lu and I can work. Since having Roma and the pandemic, I’m much more fluid now, and I divide my time during the day between work and being with my kids. Now, I don’t expect my nanny to take care of two newborn twins and two crazy toddlers by herself. Side note and fun fact: she has fraternal twin boys! Instead, I’m going to need to figure out a balance with work and being a mother. More to come on this, but what will be helpful is that Luca and Roma will be in school from 8:30 to 11am every day, so I’ll have that time solo with the twins and then, I’m hoping to switch off and take Luca and Roma in the afternoons (after nap) and my nanny can take care of the twins. Basically, I’ll have to transition from full-time to part-time once the twins are born.

I’m sure this will just be a go with the flow situation, but this is how we’re mentally preparing for it and it’s good to have some semblance of a plan.

The Gear?!

Woof. We gave my sister (pregnant and due end of May!) all of our baby gear, because we figured we were most likely done with having children and if we decided to have kids, we’d just take it back from her after she was done with it. Well, we got pregnant and she moved to Florida!! So now, instead of buying one extra of everything, we have to start from scratch. Luckily, many of the brands I’ve worked with in the past have been offering to help me out, so I’m grateful for that help, but it’s pretty overwhelming.

However, I’ve had to rethink our stroller situation. We have a very narrow entrance to our apartment and after almost a full year of jamming our side-by-side stroller through our entrance (it’s such a pain, we have to sometimes to take it apart to get it through our entrance!), I’ve decided to go with a different brand of stroller and do the top stacking strollers. Also, I’ve found a triple stroller for when I take out the twins and Roma (Luca will be almost 4 and old enough where he can be on a scooter or a kickboard!)

Then there’s the question of: do I need to get extra sets of things (like a nursing station) for the main level and the upstairs level (with the nursery)? I don’t want to have to lug everything up and down, especially when I’m having to lug up two babies! Needless to say, I need to build a very focused registry this time around! And any and all tips are welcomed from those who live in 2-3 story homes as well!

The final bit of gear will be the car situation. We still haven’t figured this bit out, because Lu is convinced that we don’t need a second car and that for the few times we go anywhere with the whole family, we can make it work. Right now, we have a car with 3 rows and captain seats, but when the third row is up, the trunk space is tiny and it’s difficult to get back to that third row to put toddlers in the seats. We’re definitely minivan-bound, but I think that we’re going to wait until we live in a home where we can have an easier time with two cars and when we need to drive everywhere (right now, everything but Target is just a stroll away.)

We plan on spending one of these weekends soon testing out the car seat situation and seeing if it is truly feasible. I’ll keep you posted!

Gathering Resources

Something I’ve started to do that has made me feel better is gathering resources and reading a lot about twin pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life. I’ve started following twin mothers on Instagram, watching YouTube videos on twin births and videos that feature logistical life with twins (ha!) and that has made me feel much more equipped and mentally ready. I’ve watched countless tandem nursing videos and have researched all about NICU life and how to prepare for that.

While I know how to take care of babies, I don’t know how to take care of more than one at the same time and that part has been overwhelming and uncertain for me, so connecting with people online, reaching out and asking questions, and then just doing research (love Twiniversity!) and watching videos has been tremendously helpful.

Learning To Let Go Of Previous Experiences and Accepting New Ones

Having twins is an absolute blessing, and I’m so excited to see Roma and Luca see their baby brothers for the first time. Our house will always be the fun, loud, lively house, and holidays will always be joyous and vibrant.

Despite this joy, there are singleton pregnancy/baby things that I’m already grieving. I’ve had to shift my mindset to “I’m sad I won’t be able to do it this way again” and instead focus on the parts of being a twin mom that I’m not even aware of yet that will be so special (like, seeing them communicate in their own language, seeing them hold hands during a feeding session, staring at two beautiful baby boys side by side, etc.)

However, I can’t help but ignore these feelings, and I’m feeling sadness around certain memories of singleton newborn life.

For example, like having to give up baby wearing both my babies in skin-t0-skin wraps (for example, the Kaola-type shirts or a Solly Baby wrap that’s thin.) I’m aware there are dual baby carriers, but it’s more difficult (and heavy!) having to carry two babies at once. I loved just wrapping up my baby and going about my day. That won’t be as easy and if both babies are fussing and want to be held, I know I’ll feel sad that I can’t just quickly wrap them both up on me. I’ve already put this Weego Twin baby carrier on my list! And I know that when I am wearing both of them, it’ll be double the love in my heart.

Nursing is a big unknown and I’m having all the worries about whether or not I’ll be able to nurse them both, tandem feed, the whole thing. If the twins are born super early and have to be in the NICU, I’ll have to pump and try to make that work. I think just knowing that it will be a journey and not so black and white like it was for both of my other kids is comforting (I like to be mentally prepared!) I’m sad that I won’t have that easy “oh, just pop the baby on the boob!” moments if both of the babies are fussing. I think I’m underestimating how many times one of the twins will need me when the other is totally fine, and I’m leaning into that and hoping it will all even out. I just can feel the guilt seeping it now!

The birth experience. I’ve had long talks with mamas about this and I have to accept that I’ve had two beautiful, vaginal, uncomplicated births and I should be thankful for those and look at this third birth as a different experience. Having a c-section worries me for many reasons, but hearing stories of other mamas and their uncomplicated c-sections and all the benefits of c-section birth has me feeling better about it. I think the biggest scare for me is having no control! Can you tell I like to control and plan ahead as much as possible? I’m learning to let go, I promise! And to be clear, I don’t see vaginal births as any “better” than c-sections (a birth is a birth to me, the hardest part is cooking the baby for 9+ months, not the birth!) It’s just a total unknown territory to me, and I know that it’s very likely. Mostly, I’m worried about the physical recovery, having two active  toddlers at home.

How I’m Feeling About Having Twin Boys, Specifically

When I announced that I was having boys, many of you asked, “What do you think about having two more boys?!” Well, first off, I think as long as my babies are healthy, I don’t care if they’re male, female, or otherwise. I just want healthy! But of course, I have thoughts on having two more boys!

When we found out we were having identical twins, I knew the genders would be the same (because they have identical DNA, which is wild!) When we found out they were boys, my initial thoughts were, “That’s going to be a LOT of energy to handle!” because in our personal experience, boys are much crazier (energy-wise) than girls. Now, I have friends who have timid, gentle boys and whacky girls, so it could go either way with the twins. But over the years, as hard as high-energy Luca can be at times, he is an absolute blast and we’re all always laughing. To me, having two more boys means that we’ll always be the fun house. When Roma brings her friends over, there will always be something fun going on, and I love the thought of that.

I love thinking that Roma and I will bond even more strongly, now that we’ll be the only two females in the house! I definitely competed with my sister for the attention of my mother, and it’ll be kind of nice not to have to divide that female attention two ways, haha! I love that she’ll be the Princess of the house, and I can just see her running the show. I smile just thinking of the moments where she’s having a tough day emotionally and her brothers come to her rescue, make her laugh, and make her forget her troubles. It’s also fun to think of all the boys in school together (there’s a good chance that will happen, if I can bring these babies to full twin term!) and I can’t wait for all of the sports games where Roma and I are cheering on her bigger brother and her little brothers on the field! And vice versa – I was the captain of the lacrosse team in high school, and I get emotional thinking of her brothers cheering her on loudly in the stands or wherever she may excel!

From what I’ve been told, girls who grow up with all brothers tend to be more easy-going, can deal with anything, and know how to ‘manage’ men, haha! And the brothers have sweet soft spots and are kind and loving because of their protective nature over their sister growing up.

Also, there’s one thing that immediately comes to mind, thinking of Roma’s brothers. My relationship with my brother. I’ve never had a relationship with my brother, and all I know is disconnection. When we were young and in elementary and middle school, I have bad memories. I actually don’t have a single good memory with my brother, which is very sad. What I want for Roma is for her to have a positive, strong relationship with her brothers. I’m looking forward to seeing the brotherly-sisterly dynamic between Roma and her brothers.

It’ll also be hilarious to see Roma try to date! There’s going to be a thick layer of brothers to get through first! Needless to say, she’s in good hands. I’m happy it worked out that Roma is sandwiched in the middle age-wise, so she’ll always be able to relate to her brothers. The twins and Roma will be 26-27 months apart, whereas Roma and Luca are 21 months apart!

The Big To-Do List

Here’s what my to-do list looks like right now:

1. Wean Roma off her pacifier (I don’t want any confusion when the babies come and they’re using pacifiers.) My goal is to have her weaned by age 2!
2. Potty train Roma (she’s definitely ready, I just need to find the time to do it, and will use the same method I used with Luca.)
3. Plan a little “babymoon” (we’re thinking just a weekend in Montauk while my parents watch the kids!)
4. Build our baby registry (I just need to sit down and do the research/talk to twin moms to decide what I need. Some things have such long shipping times because of COVID!)
5. Go through everything we do have for the newborn/infant stage to make sure we don’t buy duplicates. Like, I still have a zillion baby blankets and swaddles, haha!
6. Move Luca and Roma into the same room (hoping to start this in early June!)
7. Prepare the twins’ nursery (probably will start this after I transition Luca and Roma, so mid June.)
8. Pack a hospital bag!

Thanks for reading this post, and I hope for some of you who have been having similar situations, you found it relatable! 

The post Life Lately: Expecting Twin Boys and All The Thoughts appeared first on Inspiralized.

Pregnant with Identical Twins – First Trimester Recap

I can’t believe I’m actually typing this, but… we’re pregnant with identical twins! Identical twins. Identical twins. Typing it somehow makes it feel more real.

Where do I even begin? I’ve done first trimester pregnancy recaps with both of my children (with Luca and with Roma) but this one feels very different. Actually, it has felt very different since the beginning. So let me back up to the beginning and talk about our discussion around having a third baby and how all of this happened (it was quite the shock the way it happened!)

I want to preface this post with a trigger warning. I know that for anyone struggling with infertility now or at any point, it can be extremely painful to read about experiences like mine. I have friends around me who struggle with their fertility, friends who have miscarried early and late in their pregnancies, and I’m very conscious that pregnancy is a miracle, a blessing, and an absolute gift, and I never have and never will take it for granted. While I want to share my story, I also want to be sensitive to others who may not have as simple of a journey as I have had so far with pregnancy and fertility. I’m sending you my love and strength.

How We Found Out We Were Pregnant

Lu and I were so torn over the decision to try for another baby, or stop at two. We both came from larger families (I am 1 of 3 and he is 1 of 4) and when we first met, we talked about having “very festive Thanksgivings,” meaning, we wanted a bigger family. However, after COVID and the pandemic and everything, we weren’t sure if 3 was the right choice for us. We were leaning towards not trying and just being thankful and grateful for our two, Roma and Luca. However, if I was going to have a third, I wanted to keep their ages close together and that would mean to start trying for another soon. Long story short, we had a conversation and decided two was it for us. The next day, I found out I was pregnant!

No, we weren’t trying, but we weren’t on any form of birth control (I never went back to it after getting pregnant with my first, because I didn’t like the idea of hormones messing with my breastfeeding journey or possibly delaying my chances of future pregnancies, so I just ditched it.) The month before we went to Florida for the holidays (in December), my period was 2 weeks late. Now, I have never had a late period. Like, never, ever, ever – I have such a predictable cycle (on or off birth control), so I was worried that I was pregnant back in December! But, 2 weeks later, I got my period. Hmm… weird, I thought! And, phew!

Big Brother Again shirt // Big Sister shirt

Then, we had sex (yes, that’s how it happens!) the day after New Year’s day. There was just never time to get intimate while we were staying at my parents’ house in Florida (where my sister and her BIL were also staying at the same time!) and Lu was sleeping with Luca every night, so we were never even in the same bedroom at night! However, everyone left the house for separate reasons that day (literally, this was the only time that ever happened) and ….. we jumped on the opportunity! I looked at my ovulation tracker app (Flo – which I used to avoid ovulation days!) and it said I wasn’t ovulating – phew! Little did I know, that one wonky cycle the month before must have changed my ovulation days and…. pregnant I became!

Since my period was 2 weeks late the month prior, I had purchased so many pregnancy tests, and I happened to have one left over. My period was 2 days late again, and I was in the bathroom, about to hop in the shower, and I saw the test and took it. I hopped in the shower and afterwards, got out, looked at the stick and sure enough…. two lines. I was pregnant. At this point, I’m not into big reveals and surprises with my husband and he was about to go out for the morning to golf with my father and BIL, so right before he went, I pulled him into our room and showed him the stick. He was as shocked as I was and then happy (I think we both secretly wanted more kids, but we were just scared to do it.)

Twins Pregnancy Symptoms and How I Knew I Was Having Twins Before My First Prenatal Appointment

After the shock wore off, I was excited to be pregnant again – and, pregnant with my sister! My sister’s due Memorial Day weekend, so we will only be 4 months apart. Since you don’t go for your first prenatal visit until week 8/9, I had some time in Florida and then a couple weeks when I got back to Jersey City (in February) to see the doctor.

In the meantime, I had pregnancy symptoms that I had never had before with either of my pregnancies:

• Nausea: from week 6 to 10, I was nauseous all day long. It would start around 11 and last until about 6 or 7pm, on and off, but mostly consistent. I never puked, but there were times when I did get that wet mouth feeling, and I had a lot of moments when I couldn’t do anything but lay down.
• Food aversions: with the nausea came food aversions. Guys. I couldn’t eat a single vegetable. I remember looking at broccoli and thinking, “I could never!” This was extremely difficult, because I am writing a cookbook and had to test 6 recipes a day – the smells and the sights of vegetables made me so nauseous. More on that later.
• Pregnancy signs and a gut feeling: this sounds odd, but I had the “feeling” I was pregnant with twins. I kept seeing signs everywhere – I’d see more twins out (like, at the grocery store) or they’d pop up in my Facebook or Instagram feed. I read two books and both included characters that were twins (which wasn’t in the synopsis when I bought the books.) I felt I was pregnant with twins, I can’t explain it! A mother’s intuition!
• Ravenous from week 4: I sound crazy, but almost right after I took the pregnancy test, I was insatiably hungry. I felt so silly being so hungry and thought at first maybe I was making this up in my head. But if I didn’t eat, I felt depleted. Now that I’m reading about twin pregnancies, many twin moms report that they have the same symptom and it’s your body storing your fat for the pregnancy earlier on, which makes you hungry.
• Discharge: not to gross anyone out, but the white thick discharge was (and still is!) insane. Like, I was worried my uterus was slowly melting or something – it was out of control!

I told my family I thought I was pregnant with twins. My grandfather allegedly had twins in his family, so my grandmother said, “It’s possible!” I just had this feeling. The thought made me extremely nervous and terrified, but also a little excited at the same time (twins are cool blessing and a certain type of miracle.)

First prenatal visits: no twins?!

It was time for my first prenatal visit at around week 8/9 and when I sat in that chair, I was fully prepared to see twins: just like in the movies, two little sacs. When the doctor did my sonogram and listened to the heartbeat, to my surprise, I only saw one sac and one little baby. Hmm, well, that’s much easier, I thought and went home and mentally planned for one. Easy, I’ve done this twice already – I’ve got this!

The second appointment, at 10 weeks, they listened to the heartbeat and took my blood for some prenatal testing. Still, no mention of twins. And at 10 weeks, I was showing – I couldn’t believe, especially at the end of the day, how much I was showing. I just attributed it to all the bread and cheese I was eating during my first trimester – it’s all I could get down. A little extra weight gain was the reason I gave my little bloated belly. Little did I know…… twins were in there!

Apparently, this can happen when one twin is positioned in a way where it is “hidden.” Apparently, it’s very rare, but it happened to us – they totally missed it! And we heard the heartbeat, as well (thinking it was only one.)

Dress // Slides // Denim Jacket (J Crew, old)

My 12 week ultrasound – twin pregnancy confirmed!

This is when my life changed. I went for my 12 week ultrasound on Thursday, March 18th. This was an ultrasound where they check to make sure the baby is growing properly, measures lengths, and scans for things like Down’s Syndrome. Going into this, I was nervous – it always makes me nervous, and I’m just praying silently that everything is okay. I’m all alone, because of COVID, Lu can’t be in the room with me. She lays me down, puts the tool on my belly, starts scanning, and is very quiet at first. I’m looking at the screen, but I can’t tell what I’m looking at and she says, very calm, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” My heart sank, oh no, what is it?! And she goes, “There’s two in there. Twins.”

You can imagine my shock. I covered my eyes and said, “Oh my god. No, no, I’m only having one! Oh my god. Oh my god.” After the shock wore off a bit, I said to the technician, “I knew it!” and told her all about how I thought they were twins in the beginning, blah blah. I was absolutely shocked during the 1 hour scan. She said I was reacting better than most people would, but I just was totally stunned. I had mentally accepted one, I had two appointments to confirm one, so I wasn’t expecting to see two. But sure enough, there were two heads, two sets of legs, and two heartbeats. I was pregnant with twins.

The appointment was a bit scary after that. The high risk doctor came in and spoke to me about my twin pregnancy. She confirmed that I was having identical twins, but that they are not the highest risk identical- they are monochorionic/diamniotic twins, so they share the same placenta, but they have their own thin sacs which separate them, so they have their own separate amniotic fluid. There are so many risks to this type of twin pregnancy, and I was still in such shock, I just shook my head “yes” and “okay” while the doctor explained what was happening. I think I absorbed about 10% of what she said. They did some more blood work.

My due date is end of September, only a few days after Luca was born (Luca’s birthday is September 25th!) but most twin pregnancies don’t go to full term, especially identical, so the doctor told us probably around Labor Day weekend.

Thankfully, the scan went well and the babies were healthy. I walked out of there with a LOT to Google and a LOT to think about. I thought about surprising Lu with the news, but I was shaking when I walked out of there, so I just told him the second I got in the car (he had waited for me, because it was pouring rain outside.) He didn’t believe me and was totally shocked, too. He was driving, so he couldn’t really process what was happening and we got home and we decided to just talk about it after the kids go down. I also had the results in an envelope with the gender (they’re identical, so the genders are the same!)

Decisions, decisions… and the gender!

That evening, we sat down together on the couch with the envelope containing the gender of our identical twins, written on a piece of paper by the doctor. Both of us looked at each other and said the same thing: TWO MORE?!! It was a mix of terror, disbelief, confusion, and just utter shock. We weren’t feeling excitement yet, it was all about logistics, how we’d make this work where we live, what this meant for our lives, and just how we’d manage having 4 under 4 at first! We called our families and there were laughs, jokes about minivans, and lots of congratulations and love. Since I am born on April Fool’s Day, plenty of “is this an April Fool’s joke?”

We opened the envelope and recorded a short video of our reaction to text to our family and friends. No formal gender reveal like the last times, this was just us, at home. Sharing the gender soon! Any guesses? Here are our faces when we found out we were having twins:

We decided to stay in our current apartment, instead of moving to the suburbs. We came to this decision, for a few reasons:

1. We have enough living space and if we put Roma and Luca in the same room, we’ll free up a bedroom for the twins.
2. Moving to a new town away from family and friends would be incredibly isolating overwhelming, and frankly, we’re going to need more help, not less help!
3. Lu is most likely going to start working from the office again this summer, so I would be alone at home in the morning and at night with the kids alone, knowing nobody. Sounds dreadful.
4. Luca and Roma are already enrolled in schools for the fall, which are conveniently a 5 minute walk from our apartment.
5. The thought of purchasing, furnishing, and moving into a home with 2 toddlers while pregnant with twins seems like….. a LOT.

So if you see a crazy lady with 2 toddlers and newborn identical twins strollin’ through Jersey City, you’ll know it’s me!

Twin Pregnancy – First Trimester Overall

As I mentioned in the beginning of this now extremely long post, I had some symptoms that I never had with either of my previous pregnancies, but there were some other typical ones that were just heightened.

Let’s go week by week (I made a little note in my phone to remember all of this.)

• Week 4: So hungry! My sensitivity to smell also started. I remember smelling my sister’s perfume from across the house.
• Week 5: I started to feel a little fatigued and a little nausea (very light) started to creep in later in the day, around 4pm.
• Week 6: The nausea kicked in, along with the food aversions (no vegetables for me, only bland/basic foods like grilled cheeses and bagels)! Also, the hormones kicked up, which heightened everything. At one point, I almost killed Lu because he unplugged my slow cooker half way through a recipe. Also, if I didn’t eat immediately when I woke up, I would get very nauseous.
• Week 7: The nausea worsened and my sense of smell got out of control sensitive. I also got smell aversions, which I didn’t think was possible, but the smell of Lu’s deodorant angered me (haha!)
• Week 8: Extreme bloat, it almost seemed like I already had a bump. The exhaustion also kicked in this week, and I couldn’t do anything but nap from 3:30-4:30pm-ish.
• Week 9: If I didn’t eat every 1.5 hours, I would get nauseous, so I started eating more frequently, smaller meals. Little did I know, it was the demanding needs of carrying twins – I should’ve been upping my caloric intake.
• Week 10: FINALLY, the nausea faded away and I could start to eat normally again. I remember my first salad, I felt like a new woman. I also started craving cartons of raspberries – I ate eat one a night for the next 2 weeks!
• Week 11: I started to work out again! It felt so good to move my body, after taking so much time off from exercise. My boobs also started to swell and be a bit swollen this week.
• Week 12: This was when I went for my 12 week ultrasound and found out we were having twins! Some of the dizziness and nausea came back, and I started upping my food intake to properly nourish myself, now that I was expecting twins.
• Week 13: I changed my diet after reading When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads, a book about how to properly nourish yourself for a healthy multiples pregnancy. I can’t believe the macro-needs of growing healthy twins! Also, I’m having pelvic floor issues again. I scheduled an appointment in April with my pelvic floor therapist to discuss what can be done during a pregnancy to help.
• Week 14: We’re in it, but so far symptoms are just slight headaches on and off, and my belly has POPPED. It’s unbelievable, I look 20 weeks pregnant in the morning and 25 weeks by 3pm. I can’t believe the size of this belly!

Exercising When Pregnant with Twins

Due to the demands of writing a cookbook (we turned the manuscript in yesterday!!) and the nausea, I completely stopped working out in the months of January and February. I tried to squeeze in a workout or two on the weekends, but during the week, I couldn’t. Any time I had that I wasn’t working, I was resting, saving energy up to spend it with my toddlers, or just laying down and resting.

If you know me, you know I love HIIT workouts and spinning, but with a twin pregnancy, things are a bit more delicate, so I’m planning on switching from those types of workouts to light strength workouts and long walks (now that it’s nice out.)

First Trimester Favorites

You don’t need much in the first trimester of pregnancy, especially now that we’re all working from home and living in stretchy pants. But there are a few things that I already have purchased especially for this pregnancy (since I’m showing sooner) and books I’m reading to quell my anxiety about having twins.

• Binto vitamins: when I found out I was pregnant, I told the specialists at Binto and they changed my vitamin plan to include what I need for a healthy pregnancy (including prenatal vitamins, of course.) You can use code INSPIRALIZED for a discount off their customized vitamin plans.
• When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads, an eye-opening read about how the proper nutrition during a multiples pregnancy can reduce your risk of pre-term birth, low birth weight, and more.
• Lululemon aligns (with pockets): I bought these during my pregnancy with Roma and they are just the best – they’re supportive and last up until the very last day of your pregnancy!
• Mama Mio tummy butter cream and Zoe Organics Belly Oil: my belly is going to be HUGE this time, and to prevent and treat discomfort from skin stretching, I stocked up on the same creams I used with my other pregnancies. I like oil at night (it soaks into the skin overnight better) and cream in the morning.
• This comfy bra to wear during the daytime – it’s supportive, but light. I’m obsessed!

Dress

My Fears Around Twin Pregnancy & For All the Twin Moms..

Thank you for all your kindness in advance. While I’m talking a lot about being shocked and all the changes that need to happen, I truly feel blessed. I feel like I was chosen to carry these miracles, and I feel so lucky to be able to experience a twin pregnancy, twin birth, and have twin children. It’s very cool, and I am excited to grow our family and see Roma become a big sister!

However, I am fearful. I’m fearful of having to have a C-section with newborn twins and two demanding toddlers, living in a 3 story apartment (stairs!) I’m fearful of all that can go wrong with an identical twin pregnancy, like Twin-to-Twin Transfusion (you can Google that!) and preterm labor. I’m fearful of the night time, taking care of two babies (we’re debating whether or not we need to hire help for this) and the nursing experience. I’m going to do everything that I can possibly do to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, but understand that some things are out of my control. And of course, I’m worried about giving attention to all of my children – 4 is a lot!

Lastly, I do have one thing I’d like to ask you…. for all twin moms (identical or not!), can you please share your best advice, how to handle the first few weeks, your tricks for surviving the night time. Anything and everything twin-related!

The post We’re Pregnant – with Identical Twins! The First Trimester Recap appeared first on Inspiralized.

Weaning your baby (or toddler) off breastmilk is one of the most uniquely challenging and liberating things I have ever gone through. Each child has been completely different and each experience has thus been different. In today’s blog post, I’m going to share how I weaned both my kids off breastmilk. And it was an emotional journey to say the least.

Weaning Luca

Let’s go back to my first child, Luca! Currently, Luca is 35 months old (he’ll be 3 years old in 1 month!) and I weaned him just before he turned 16 months old. Luca was a classic mama’s boy and was pretty attached to the boob. He showed zero signs of weaning until about 14 months, when I was about 2 months pregnant with Roma (yup, you can get pregnant while breastfeeding!) and he would just nurse for less and less time at each session. At the time, I figured that my supply was running low as my pregnancy was progressing. So, my body kind of naturally weaned him, but I could tell he was still comfort nursing.

When Luca was 13 months old, Lu and I planned our first solo trip since his birth to go to Iceland for Lu’s 40th birthday. You know, pre-COVID, when you could do fun things like that! We were so excited BUT I was still nursing him 4 times a day at that point, and I didn’t want to go to Iceland and have to pump 4 times a day. So, shortly after his 1st birthday, I weaned him off one nursing session (the late afternoon one, that he never nursed at for long anyway.) Simply, I just didn’t nurse him and gave him a snack instead. I remember how momentous this felt when I did it. I kind of sat there, waiting for him to cry for my boob, but he was fine! He ate his snack and went on his merry way. Lesson learned: we make everything out to be bigger than it is!

On that trip in Iceland, I had a little scare. Long story short, I left a cord to my pump home and realized it too late. I thought I could hand express, but I’ve always been a big producer (of breastmilk) so that didn’t work for me. I got severely engorged, I was in extreme pain, and we rushed to a hospital, where I pumped almost 30 ounces of milk in under 20 minutes. From that experience, I realized that I was done nursing or that I wanted to be done. I wanted to have my body back – I wanted to be able to take a spontaneous trip and not worry about pumping. It felt like a selfish move, but as a mother, you’re constantly putting your child’s needs above your own and I was ready to give my body some rest.

After Iceland, I dropped that third mid morning feed, so that I was just left with morning and night. I thought to myself, “well, this is easy, I could do this forever,” but I was pregnant and around the 4 month mark it started to get uncomfortable, so I weaned him off the morning feed first. I did this all a week at a time. So, one week I dropped the morning feed. And then the next week, I dropped the bedtime feed. I replaced his morning and bedtime nursing session with a little bit of water in a straw cup and he was fine.

Why did I give him water? I tried every single type of milk from cow’s to goat’s to pea milk to oat and he wouldn’t drink a single sip! So, water it was.

I remember that feeling of finally being done nursing. I was ready to have my body back, but I was…. pregnant again. So, I didn’t really have my body back. However, it still felt like the most liberating thing I had done in a long time. I could have a couple glasses of wine with dinner and not worry about nursing! Or, I could sleep in late and let Lu handle Luca while I got some good pregnancy rest, because Luca didn’t need to be nursed!

Weaning Roma

Totally different. Around 10.5 months, Roma started to nurse a lot less at her nursing sessions during the day. The mornings were always longer and so were the nights, but that mid morning and mid afternoon became very short (like, 3-5 minutes max.) I was worried about my supply, so I pumped one day after she nursed and there was so much milk – like 6 ounces in 10 minutes. Right then, I knew she was going to wean herself. I remember nursing her one day and just looking down at her and being like, “This may be my last time nursing you,” and I looked at her precious little face and had my moment. I felt so sad, because I wasn’t done yet.

At just about 11 months, she just went on a nursing strike, dropping one feed at a time (at this age, she was nursing 4 times per day still.) Within 3 days, she was done nursing. She wouldn’t take the boob, she’d touch my nipple and giggle. It was almost like she was saying, “Ha, I’m a big girl, I don’t need that milk anymore!”

And if you follow me, you know that Roma has always been a fantastic eater. Like, she eats more than Luca by tenfold. Sometimes she eats just as much as me at a meal – seriously! I’ve never worried about her nutritional intake, as I did with Luca, so when she started weaning, I wasn’t worried about nutrients as I was with Luca. I wanted to give Roma my antibodies for her immune system, and since I was still producing milk, I decided to pump instead of just switching to a milk (my pediatrician said she doesn’t need formula at that age, so I can switch her to whatever milk I choose.) I decided to only pump morning and night, so she went from nursing 4 times a day to getting a straw cup of breastmilk (about 6 ounces) in the morning and night.

I told myself I’d just pump for that month to make it to her first birthday. But then after her first birthday, I was just pumping morning and night and it didn’t bother me, but I loathe pumping. The time commitment didn’t bother me (I only pumped for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 at night,) it was more-so the act of pumping. It’s the worst – but mothers go through a lot worse! So I asked myself, “Why are you still pumping? She’s almost 14 months old.” And then I realized I was pumping because Luca was breastfed until almost 16 months, and I was treating her just like him. And that’s not fair.

And again, I wanted my body back. I wasn’t pregnant (I’m not pregnant) and for the first time since January 2017, I could have my body back. So, I decided for a few days just to pump in the evening, so that I’d have a morning bottle for Roma to break her fast. That was easier for me, because I could just sit on the couch and pump (the mornings were more disruptive because I had to juggle the kids.) I woke up a few mornings with super full boobs, but pushed through it. I never felt engorged or in pain, so I just let the milk dry up.

Then, once my boobs felt better and not super full, I dropped the last bottle (four days ago!) However, my boobs got really full, so I pumped once for 5 minutes and then the next day for 3 minutes and then the next day for 1 minute. And now, I don’t pump at all! I’ve been pump free for 2 days and it feels absolutely glorious. My boobs are still full, but not at all uncomfortable as they were in previous days. It will take a few weeks for the milk to totally dry up (maybe even months, some say!) but I put away my pump and pumping accessories for another time.

I knew I didn’t want to give cow’s milk to Roma, and of all the research I did, pea milk (via the brand Ripple) seemed to be the best option nutritionally. My plan is to give her Ripple for a couple more months and then wean her off that and onto water. Luca survived, so will she! I much prefer her to continue to fill up on whole foods than milk anyway. And yes, I’ve gotten all the blessings from my pediatrician!

How do I feel? I feel so relieved. I am happy I made it this far in my nursing journey with both of my kids, but I’m also happy that it ended at this time. I feel like I gave it my all, and my babies got what they needed. No matter what your journey is, as long as you’re giving your babies care and love, that’s all they need – whether it’s breastmilk via nipple or a pump or formula via a bottle, it’s the best for your baby and what they need above all else is unconditional love. That’s what they’ll member – you comforting them at night, not what kind of milk you gave them.

On to the next motherhood journey!

The post How I Weaned My Toddlers Off Breastfeeding appeared first on Inspiralized.

prodromal labor

with Luca, my water broke randomly at noon on a sunday and within 15 minutes, I was in labor. with Roma, it was completely different. on Wednesday, June 12th, I went in for my 39 week prenatal appointment and my OBGYN checked for dilation. I was only 2cm dilated, which isn’t much at all, so I went home, feeling anxious – when was she going to arrive?!

that whole day, after the exam, I was seriously crampy. it felt like the onset of a really bad period. I couldn’t really get off the couch. I knew something was up, but I wasn’t having contractions, so I just figured I was a little sore from the exam. the next morning, I woke up with some slight cramping, and I went to the bathroom to find that I was losing my mucous plug. I was so excited – something was definitely happening!

as soon as my mucous plug starting coming out (and it came out for the next 48 hours), I started having contractions. that whole day I spent in the bed or on the couch. thankfully, my mother was with me (she had come the week before, in anticipation of baby girl’s arrival), so she helped with Luca at nighttime before Lu got home from work and kept me company. that night (Thursday), I had such bad contractions, I had to breath through them. however, they weren’t consistent enough to head to the hospital, they were 7-9 minutes apart and only lasted 20-30 seconds. I had them from 5:30pm until about 11pm and then they dissipated and from 11pm-7am, they were about an hour apart. needless to say, I didn’t sleep much that night.

active labor & time for the hospital

then, starting at 7am on Saturday, my contractions ramped up again. this time, they quickly intensified. they were 6 minutes apart, lasting 60 seconds each. by 9:30am, it was time for Luca’s music class and so I told Lu to go and if the contractions were closer to 5 minutes apart, I’d call him and he’d just have to leave early to get back to the apartment and drive me to the hospital. sure enough, the contractions became closer and intensified (at this point, I couldn’t talk through them and had to practice my breathing), so I called my doctor and he told me it was time to come in!

Lu got home just in time and we grabbed the hospital bag and said goodbye to Luca, which was surreal and hard to do – the last time I’d be leaving my apartment as a mother of just one! we drove to the hospital in lower Manhattan, luckily didn’t hit any traffic, and were there shortly before 12:30pm.

labor and delivery

Lu dropped me off in front of the hospital and once I was with someone to escort me to triage, he went and parked the car. in triage, the nurse did a pelvic exam and I was already almost 5cm dilated, so they admitted me and got me right into a labor and delivery room. the one thing I will say about NY Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital (the hospital we delivered at with Luca as well) is that the L&D rooms are massive and very comfortable.

once we were there, I asked for the epidural and by 2:30pm, I had an epidural administered and then, I started to enjoy the birthing process! for me, the epidural allows all of my fear and pain anxiety wash away into the sunset, and my body does all the work it needs to do while I can crack jokes with my husband, rest, and get excited to push!

they checked in on me an hour after the epidural, and I was already almost at 7cm dilated, so they went in and broke my water. almost immediately, I felt that baby moving down!

time to push and the birth

then, by 5pm, I was starting to get that classic feeling of having to make a bowel movement, which typically means it’s time to push. the doctors weren’t due to check in on me yet, so I paged them, because I knew something was happening (baby girl wanted to meet us!) the nurse arrived, checked my dilation and said, “oh ya, you’re at 10cm, it’s time to push!” so the doctor came in (the same doctor that delivered Luca ended up being on call and delivered Roma!) and within 3 pushes, she was born! I couldn’t believe how quickly she arrived, I didn’t really have time to process it!

the second the doctors lifted her up high and I saw her purple little screaming body, I was filled with so much immediate love. she was absolutely perfect, and I had them put her directly on my chest right away. I turned to Lu and he had the most wondrous look on his face, like, “oh my gosh, that’s our daughter, she’s really here”! it was a really sweet moment. we kissed, everyone asked for her name and we said, “roma lea!” it felt so good to say it aloud, finally!

she was born 20 inches long, 8 pounds and 7 ounces of pure perfection.

the recovery

one major difference in the experience between Luca and Roma’s birth is the recovery. it’s like night and day. everything was less overwhelming and not as severe. the nursing staff at this hospital was amazing, from triage to the moment I left the hospital, they were happy, supportive, understanding, and thorough.

while we requested a private room, we ended up not going one – it’s a small hospital and it was a busy time. I was prepared for this and my mother kept telling me, “trust me Ali, it won’t be that big of a deal the second time around – you won’t be as overwhelmed, you’ll know what to do, and you’ll be out of there in a couple of days.” and she couldn’t have been more right! while we didn’t get a private room, no one checked into our room, so it essentially was a big private room! Lu went home around 11pm and the night was easy, because I knew how to soothe, feed, change, and swaddle the baby. also, for whatever reason, my postpartum bleeding wasn’t nearly as bad as last time, and I was able to get up and move around much more easily. and like I said, the nursing staff was amazing.

in the morning, Lu came over with the most giant egg, cheese, and cream cheese bagel sandwich and we ate, taking turns holding our beautiful baby girl with her sweet face and jet black soft hair. it was an absolutely blissful morning, and I felt so filled with love in that simple moment. later that day, my sister and her husband came and visited us, as my parents were home with Luca and we decided it was best if Luca didn’t come to the hospital, it would be easier to introduce him at home, especially because we weren’t sure if we’d have someone joining the shared room and wanted to be respectful (I’d be nervous as a first time mom in a shared room with a crazy toddler running around!) plus, I needed my rest and recovery time.

after the first night, I woke up feeling strong and asked the doctor for an early discharge. the earliest they discharge patients is 24 hours, so I asked if it would be possible to have that early discharge. my OBGYN came in and said I was definitely ready, it all depends on the little girl and of course, I wouldn’t want to go home until I knew she was healthy and ready. so, at 24 hours, they did all the newborn testing, she passed with flying colors, and within a couple hours, around 8:30pm, I was being wheelchaired out of the hospital! Lu and I drove home, luckily hit no traffic, and my parents were home with Luca to greet us. love and snuggles all around!

roma lea’s name

so let’s talk her name! I give Lu all the credit! we love calling her Roma Lea (pronounced “lee-uh”), she seems like a Roma already! so, about 2 months into our pregnancy, we were struggling to agree on a name for baby girl. we couldn’t find a name that felt special, until one night, we were in bed reading and Lu was flipping through a New York Times magazine and saw a headline with “Roma” and he turned to me and said, “Is this it?” The moment I saw the name, I knew that was it! it was an immediate feeling of, “That’s our baby girl’s name!”

we loved that Roma was another Italian city (Luca was named after Lucca, Italy) and, Roma spelt backwards is “amor,” which is love in Spanish, my husband’s first language. Then, when we were trying to figure out the middle name, Lu had the idea to connect our kids again, so we chose to take “Leo” (Luca’s middle name) and use “Lea” for Roma. the name felt perfect and complete!

I hope you enjoyed Roma Lea’s birth story! if you want more glimpses into life with a newborn, tune into Instagram!

The post Roma Lea’s Birth Story appeared first on Inspiralized.

For this shoot, I didn’t want anything formal. With Luca, we went to a local park and took photos of us all dressed up (well, I was in a dress and Lu was in a button down) and I love those photos so much. This time around, we wanted something that was more of a reflection of where we are in life right now, and walking to a park to take photos seemed disingenuous. While we love going to the park with Luca, we also love spending our mornings in the apartment, playing, snuggling in bed, and dancing in the kitchen. So, I went with that theme, and we did all of the photos in our apartment!

Luca was adorable – he wanted to kiss and hug my belly a lot, so we got a lot of cute photos! He also loves using mama’s camera when I shoot food photography for Inspiralized, so he gets really excited whenever Erin Dwyer comes over to take photos, because she has an even fancier camera setup. He wanted to use her camera, so I ended up letting him hold my camera and he stood next to Erin and started pretending to take photos – it was so, so cute and Erin captured a few of those moments! We were dying.

And like last time, I did some more boudoir-style maternity shots. They’re always modest, because that’s just how I am – I would never feel comfortable enough doing fully naked photos for these shoots and the photos would reflect that. I recommend doing what’s comfortable for you and don’t feel pressured to take certain photos because you feel like you “should.” You know your limits. For me, it’s bra and underwear and something like a shirt or cardigan to cover up. I loved every photo!

Outfits

In case you guys want to recreate these looks:

• Jeans by GAP (maternity)
• Button down shirt by GAP (maternity)
• Tank top by GAP (maternity)
• Tan cardigan, old by GAP (similar here)
• Black bra by Bravado Designs
• Black undies by Natori (maternity)
• Pink nightie by LAKE Pajamas

More of our favorites

Maternity leave

So what does maternity leave look like for me? I’m going to play it by ear. It’s definitely going to be tempting to go back to work sooner, because I’ll have our nanny with Luca already, but I’m going to try my hardest to take at least 2 solid months of absolutely no work (like, no new recipes/cooking/etc), but I always will be on social media, writing new posts on the lifestyle section (can’t wait to share baby girl’s birth story!), and that sort of thing.

With Luca, I was able to take 5 months off before going back to work full time (I started with my first work project at 6 weeks postpartum – I had a photoshoot for my cookbook and then worked part time up until Luca was 5 months old.) When you own your own business, it’s kind of impossible to completely check out, but time with my family is very important, so I’m going to try my best to spend time with the new baby girl and Luca, of course. It’ll be nice to be home and be able to see him more.

Having said all that, I have a wonderful assistant that works for me that will be taking over the reigns. We have content for the main recipe blog planned out until mid September, so luckily, I won’t need to plan any new recipe content until then, giving me at least 2.5 months off completely from feeling that pressure. We hustled to get everything done!

There will be new recipes, recipe cooking videos, and more coming your way and some new posts here and there as I transition into a mom of two! As always, stay tuned on Instagram for daily life updates!

Thank you for your patience and understanding as I take time with my family and welcome our new baby girl.

All photography by Erin Dwyer Photography.

The post Our Maternity Photoshoot and My Maternity Leave appeared first on Inspiralized.

Luckily, I have a few mom friends with more than one child and mom friends who are going through this same transition at the same time I am, so I’m always asking for their insight. The most common piece of advice is, “Don’t worry, your heart will grow and expand in ways you didn’t think it could.”

The funny thing is this: I never thought my heart wouldn’t grow. I’m not at all concerned that I won’t be able to “love” this child as much as I love Luca. That’s never crossed my mind. If anything, I’ve been thinking, “I can’t wait for my heart to grow!” At this point, all I’m feeling is excitement. Yea, yea, I’m nervous about the labor and recovery (it’s tough work), but just like you do with your first child, you get through it – we all do. I had a pretty “normal” labor and delivery experience with Luca (you can read Luca’s birth story here,) so I’m only worried that it won’t be as simple. Aside from that, I’m just excited to meet his baby girl and most importantly, see Luca become a big brother and see Lu with a daughter.

Luca becoming a big brother

Luca is such a helper. He loves bringing the packages, taking out the trash, throwing things out in the garbage, helping clean up and vacuum, putting the waffles in the toaster oven, passing me the groceries to put away, and so on. I’ve been trying to prep him for baby girl’s arrival by saying, “You’re going to help with the baby, too!” because I like giving him a sense of importance and celebrating him when he’s helpful and loving. He’s just the most loving, affectionate, and happy baby – I can’t imagine him not loving this baby girl, but then again, everyone warns me about the jealousy. I’m worried he’ll think that he’s being replaced or that there’s a new shiny presence in the house, and he won’t be #1 anymore. Since he’s so young (a negative of having 2 under 2, haha!), I can’t really explain to him what’s happening. I’m trying my best, and he points to everything that’s for the baby everyday and says, “Baby!” and I like to speak encouragingly and excitedly, like it’s something we’re all going to have fun with, a new beginning.

Luca’s very physical and active, so I’m also a little concerned about him being too rough, but Luca is also a good listener. He’s at the tail end of a very aggressive and frustrated stage (like, he was hitting or pushing someone at every single class he went to for about the last 2 months, ugh) and we’re starting to see him come out of it, so fingers crossed he got it all out of his system. But again, I realize these are all things that are mostly out of our control and you just need to constantly reinforce being gentle and careful.

I’m looking forward to our first weekend walk together in Jersey City. I can’t wait to see Luca kick his little feet as the baby girl (hopefully) sleeps next to him (in our new side-by-side stroller!) in the bassinet. I can’t wait for the summer picnics by the pool and at the park, together. I can’t wait for the first kisses he gives the baby girl on her forehead. I can’t wait to sit in the middle of the two in the backseat, staring at the two lives we created. I can’t wait to have our morning snuggles in bed with the four of us.

Lu becoming a father to a daughter

They say little boys love their mamas and little girls love their dadas. From what I’ve heard from other mothers, it rings pretty true. And since Luca was a reaaaaaal mamas boy (and still is!), I’m excited for Lu to get to feel that feeling. But most importantly, I can’t wait to see how he is with a little baby girl. He’s very protective and proud, and I know my heart will just explode seeing him with his baby girl. There’s something so sweet and special about this, and I’m so grateful to be experiencing it – we really lucked out with a boy AND a girl!

Will he be overprotective? Will he be a pile of mush? When she’s a toddler, will he give in to everything and not be as strict as he is with Luca (although I’m totally the bad cop!)? I can’t wait for their bond to begin.

Other thoughts

Just a few things that are on my mind at this point:

Logistics

OMG what is our new nighttime routine going to look like? How am I going to do it when Lu isn’t home in time to help with the bath and bedtime? What if the baby is hungry for milk and it’s time to give Luca a bath? What if the baby is screaming and I’m just about done with Luca’s nighttime routine?

Baby wearing – yay!

I cannot WAIT to babywear again. I loved baby wearing Luca, and I miss it every single day. There’s no better feeling than your baby secure and asleep on your chest or, facing outward and taking in the world. It’s just a convenient and fun source of transportation – and I know I’ll probably be baby wearing even more now, once we become a family of four, especially for getting things done around the house. For small trips and the newborn stage, I use the Solly Baby wrap and for larger trips (ie the airport) and 6+ months, I love Ergobaby. I have all my carriers washed and lined up!

Nursing

Will I be able to nurse again? Will I love it as much as I did with Luca? Will it be harder? Will the girl not love to nurse as much as Luca did? All of these kinds of thoughts are flooding my mind. Every child is different and there are all sorts of things that come into play with nursing – latch issues, tongue ties, etc. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to nurse again, but, like last time, I have backup ready! I’m also nervous for those first few weeks, when your nipples are just wrecked. I’m wondering if that pain is easier the second time around, because your nipples are weathered?

What are some of the thoughts that went through your mind before your family expanded with your second child?

The post Final Thoughts Before We Become a Family of Four appeared first on Inspiralized.

the recap, weeks 33 – 37

well folks, we’re two weeks out! two weeks until my official due date of June 20, although we all know how unreliable due dates are! I was 5 days late with Luca (five verrrry long days) and I’m secretly hoping this baby girl comes early, because being 38 weeks pregnant with a toddler is no joke. I’m so blessed to be growing my family, and I feel bad complaining, but none of my mom friends with multiples warned me that it would be this hard, so I feel like more of us should talk about it so we’re more mentally prepared for it! it’s just tough running around after a toddler, entertaining a toddler, picking up and putting down a toddler, cleaning up after a toddler, and doing basic mom things.

my body is big, my energy levels are low, and I find the mom guilt building up the closer we get to the due date. I feel like we haven’t had enough one-on-one time, I haven’t been as fun as a mom because I’m so big and uncomfortable, and I’m opting for screen time instead of playing time, because I just can’t do it! I know this is all normal, but it’s still hard, when you’re used to being such an active mom. even going to the park to play with him seems like an impossible feat!

other than that, things are good! we’re logistically ready for the baby girl to come – the nursery is completed (did you see my nursery reveal post?!), our stroller is setup (we went with the Bugaboo Donkey2 Duo for many reasons, which I talk about in this post), the hospital bag is packed (full list here), and work is finished. right now, the work I’m doing is non-essential, it’s housekeeping items I’ve been putting off for awhile. I’m trying not to start any big projects in these next 2 weeks and try to make time to relax, but the nesting mode is on real hard, and I find myself antsy when I try to relax. oh, I can clean out the freezer! oh, I can clean out the pantry! oh, I can freezer meal prep! oh, I can organize that Tupperware cabinet!

my goal is that by 39 weeks, I’m doing nothing but taking walks, getting a massage, and reading outside by the pool. I feel so guilty doing this when I have a nanny, but then I realize…. Luca is going to have more fun with the nanny than me, at this point – and it’s better I save up my energy and relax before the baby girl comes. you can’t pour from an empty cup, right? luckily, my mom will be in town from Florida, so we can spend some quality 1-on-1 time as well.

the last major update is that I had a labor scare in mid May (May 18th). if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen it. basically, Lu and I went on a date night to see a magic show in NYC. after the show, I peed, and then we left the venue and started to walk to dinner, which was only a couple blocks away. when I stepped out onto the sidewalk, I had a gush of liquid flow out of me. I completely soaked my underwear, the pad I was wearing (#incontinenceproblems) and the back of my romper. I went into panic mode (I was only 35 weeks at this point) and started shaking. I called my mom, told her my water broke, and we called the doctor, who told us to go to the hospital immediately. luckily, our hospital is in NYC, so we were only a 10 minute cab ride away.

when I arrived at the hospital, they tested my pad with a strip stick test and it came out positive for amniotic fluid, meaning my water had broken. the nurse came back in and said, “we’re going to do another test just to make sure!” which meant the speculum test, which is more painful than labor, seriously. like, sharp painful. AWFUL. it tested negative. however, I was having contractions 3 minutes apart (weird) and I was 2cm dilated (which isn’t really anything.) so, they kept me for another 2 hours and tested again (the painful speculum test) and it came out negative again, so they attributed it to being dehydrated and sent me home. needless to say, I was a little shook.

since then, I haven’t had any other issues and it has been business-as-usual. I have my 38 week appointment tomorrow, where I think they start to check dilation, so we’ll see!

note: this will be my final recap of this pregnancy! since I only have 2 weeks left, the next “recap” will be the baby girl’s name reveal and birth story! thank you for following me along in this journey.

other fun updates

• swollen fingers: I never had this with Luca, but there are only certain days I can wear my wedding rings, and that’s usually on days when I haven’t eaten and sugary or salty foods the day before. otherwise, it’s game over – these fingers are chunky!
• lightning crotch: yup, this is happening – little lightning bolt pains (very quick, fleeting) in my crotch, that sometimes shoot down my legs. it catches you off guard! apparently this happens more as the baby drops, in preparation for labor.
• hard to get comfortable at night: I wasn’t sleeping well this pregnancy, because my dreams were crazy and I constantly had to pee, but now, it’s because I’m just uncomfortable. my hips hurt from sleeping on my side, and whenever I do need to adjust, it’s a struggle.
• breathing difficulty: sitting is a chore! I have to arch my back so that I can clear my airways, because otherwise, it’s hard to breath because of all of the pressure.
• nesting: I noted it in my recap above, but it’s truly amazing how true ‘nesting mode’ is – you just literally can’t relax, you feel like you HAVE to clean, organize, and set things up. luckily, I don’t have that much left to do, but something tells me that I’ll find things to do.
• exercise: I’ve toned this down a lot, I’m really only going 3, maybe 4 times a week. it’s just a lot for me and leaves me very, very exhausted by 3pm. I’m going to start taking more walks after this week. I think my 38th week will be my final gym week!
• colostrum: I was in the shower and noticed there was a kind of crust (I know, gross) on my nipples and I picked at it and it flaked right off. I realized it was crusted colostrum! I gave my nipples a squeeze and sure enough, my boobs are already producing colostrum! I’m really hoping to be able to breastfeed again, so fingers crossed it all works out!
• pelvic floor pressure: I remember this with Luca too, but it’s definitely happening sooner and I feel like it’s worse. I can’t walk very far distances, I become so sore down there and there is just so much pressure, it feels like that baby is going to slide right out!

maternity favorites

here are a few things I’m loving right now:

• these maternity tanks: as the weather has warmed up, I’ve basically been living in these tanks.
• favorite workout leggings: I’m always asked this question, so I figured I’d highlight them here in this final recap post. these are my favorite, they’re the most supportive!
• belly mask: I did this belly mask, and it made my skin feel so luxurious – during and after! just a nice treat.

for more favorites, follow me on @inspiralizedali on Instagram, and check out my Pregnancy Favs highlight icon!

and that’s it! see you after the baby girl’s born! can’t wait! I’m so ready

The post Pregnancy Recap, Weeks 33 to 37 appeared first on Inspiralized.

For me, being able to bear a child is the biggest blessing in the world, and welcoming that baby safely into the outside world is an even bigger blessing. So, if I want to splurge on another pair of newborn shoes I definitely won’t need but HAVE TO HAVE, I’m going to do it. This time in our babies’ lives is so fleeting and precious, for me, it brings me joy! And postpartum life is tough, so sometimes, looking at your little one cuddled up with an adorable avocado toy can be the little boost you need that day. Heck, some people have all the latest tablets and tech gadgets. I have all the swaddle blankets, haha!

So when I found out I was pregnant with the baby girl, I was curious to see what was new out there in the baby world! Today, I’m sharing some of the things I’ve discovered and am excited to use once she’s here (any day now, right?!)

What’s New with Baby #2

Hatch Baby Rest Noise Machine and Night Light

Hatch Baby Rest Noise Machine and Night Light

I struggled to find a good noise machine for Luca when he was a newborn. We eventually would just use the Baby Shusher (which I plan on using again!) and when that turned off, we didn’t have a backup. As he got older (10 months+) and more aware of his surroundings and the noises outside while he was trying to nap, we just plugged in our iPad and downloaded the Sound Sleeper app. He still uses it to this day!

Needless to say, I’m so excited to try out this noise machine (that you all recommended in our Inspiralized Mamas Facebook group.) It’s user-friendly, sleek, and there are so many sound options. Right now, we have it by her crib, but I may move it to the nightstand next to her rocking chair. We’ll see how sleep goes!

Moses basket

Plum + Sparrow Moses Basket

I think we all have Instagram to thank/hate for this, but it seems like moses baskets are in! They are so beautiful and I decided to get one, because I loved having Luca nap in the Dock-a-Tot during the day next to me on the floor, BUT if I wanted, to say, go into another room to do something, it was impossible to transfer Luca in the Dock-a-Tot. SO, I plan on putting the Dock-a-Tot in the moses basket so that if I do want to move her, she’s in an easy to move basket! The one I purchased also comes with a mattress pad in it, so you don’t need a Dock-a-Tot if you’re just interested in the basket itself.

Also, we hope to bring the baby to the pool and beach this summer and it’ll be nice to have a safe space to put her down, in a tent or a shaded area! Note: we won’t be using this for nighttime sleep at all, it’ll just be for hanging during the day time – and for those little pool trips.

Baby Bjorn Bouncer Cover

Baby Bjorn Bouncer Quilted Cover

All of my second-time-mom friends tell me that the key to surviving the newborn stage with a toddler is having safe spaces to place the baby, while you do whatever you need to do with your toddler (bath time, meal time, play time, etc.) SO, I have a Baby Bjorn Bouncer seat that we loved using with Luca, but, we didn’t put him in it for a couple of months, because we found that he slid out of the mesh and it wasn’t super supportive for him. So, I got a new cover (in a gorgeous rosey pink color!) that’s quilted, for more support, since I plan on putting her in this bouncer early on!

New bassinet

Guava Family Pack n’ Play with Bassinet Converter

With Luca, we had a Stokke bassinet to start and he hated it. He absolutely would not sleep in it. I attribute this to a few things, not just the bassinet itself. He had horrible reflux, he hated sleeping on his back, and I don’t think we ever found a proper swaddle ‘setting’ for him, so he was never swaddled at night and therefore, bassinet sleeping was tough. We ended up sleeping him a few nights in the Rock n’ Play (I know, I know)! before we gave up and just put him on his tummy, after we got our pediatrician’s blessing. A couple of weeks later, he slept through the night – unswaddled and all!

Needless to say, we’re praying that baby girl is a back sleeper. And because we don’t want to invest a lot of money in gear that may not work, we’ve bought the bassinet ‘kit’ for our current Pack n’ Play that we’ve used for Luca and loved. I’m curious to see how this all goes, but the great thing about it, is that, it’s travel friendly – so if she sleeps well in it, it’ll make travel a lot easier. Plus, it’s easy to bring from room to room in our apartment.

The perfect swaddle blanket for swaddling

Monica + Andy Coming Home Blanket

I know, I know – how could I possibly need more swaddles? Well, I’m talking more about the PERFECT swaddle blanket for swaddling a baby. I’ve tested a lot out on Luca’s doll (no joke!) and I’ve finally found a blanket that has enough stretch but firmness and is the perfect length and width (not so much extra fabric to deal with) so that swaddling is quick and easy. I think my issue the first time around was that I was trying to swaddle Luca in these soft, thin, muslin “swaddle” blankets and he was just breaking free, because he wasn’t burrito-ed enough. Eventually, he slept a few nights in the HALO Sleep Swaddles, but that was short lived as well.

Baby Headbands

Baby Bling Headbands
Turbans for Tots

I meannnnn I’ve waited my whole life for this moment, haha! I can’t wait to put baby girl in cute headbands! There are a couple of brands that I’ve found that make precious little headbands, and I’ve bought a few. I’ve tried not to go overboard and purchased mainly neutral, muted colors like blushes, sands, and mauves.

Baby Monitor

Nest Cam + Amazon Fire Tablet + Cover

I’ve already done a post on this and we’re currently using this with Luca, but I’ll be going Nest + Amazon Fire tablet for our baby monitor solution for once baby girl arrives. You can read the full post here.

New glider

Merced Glider

Although Luca’s rocking chair in his nursery is comfortable, it never truly rocked back and forth. I never actually really rocked Luca back and forth to sleep in it, it just didn’t have a great rocking motion – you’d really have to kick the floor to get it to rock. When I was looking to furnish our bedroom for baby girl’s nursery, I looked into gliders and found that they were exactly what we were looking for. We tested a few in Pottery Barn Kids one day, and I have to say, I am actually excited to rock/glide the baby to sleep!

New Pump

Spectra 1 Pump

Well, kind of new. I’m sticking in the Spectra family, but my mother bought me the Spectra 1 as a gift, because I wanted to not be tethered to a power source while pumping. The Spectra 2 requires you to be plugged into an outlet, but the Spectra1 has a rechargeable battery! LOVED this pump, so can’t wait to use the rechargeable version.

New stroller for 2

Bugaboo Donkey2 Duo 

Probably the biggest change up that we’re having for baby #2 is a new stroller setup. I’ve talked at length about this, and just did a two part IGTV video series on it (you can watch below.) Basically, I wanted a stroller that would allow me to have a bassinet and a forward-facing toddler seat side-by-side. All the other strollers I discovered in my research didn’t accommodate this. Thankfully, Bugaboo reached out to me and offered to send me the basic stroller setup. I wish I had known about this the first time around (that I wanted a bassinet and toddler seat side-by-side once I had my second baby), but, alas, you don’t know much as a first time mom, and you live and you learn – otherwise, I would’ve started with this stroller!

You can watch the full review in the videos below, but here are the products that I mention in the video:

• Bugaboo Donkey2 Duo 
• High performance rain cover
• Snack tray
• Cup holder
• Wheeled board
• Car seat adapter
• Sun Canopy
• Skip Hop stroller organizer
• Etsy bassinet seat liner

IGTV Videos

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by alissandra maffucci (cerda) (@inspiralizedali) on May 30, 2019 at 6:56pm PDT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by alissandra maffucci (cerda) (@inspiralizedali) on May 30, 2019 at 7:04pm PDT

What are some fun new products you’re looking at?

The post What’s New with Baby #2 appeared first on Inspiralized.

Once you hit 37 weeks pregnant, you are technically considered at “term,” meaning, the baby is ready to be on the outside! Some sites say 39 weeks is “full term,” because the baby needs a little extra time to mature some skills like breathing, etc, but my OBGYN said at 37 weeks, he considers me at term! Phew.

Every week from here on out, the baby is just basically bulking up and strengthening, but all baby’s “parts” are functioning. For me, this is when I go into full on nesting mode and make to-do lists. I’m pretty much done with work (I hustled to get here!) and now, I’m focusing on getting my personal life organized before baby girl arrives.

Honestly, what I should be doing is resting, but it’s just so hard at this point, because you want to be as prepared as possible, that you end up finding things to do. Here is what is on my final to-do list for these final few weeks:

The Final To Do List: 37 Weeks Pregnant

Sanitize old toys and wash remaining items

There are still some clothes that I have left to wash (from recent gifts), but most importantly, I want to sanitize all of Luca’s old newborn and infancy toys that spent a majority of their time in his mouth. I’ll be just wiping them down with toy wipes. I also need to find a place to store them, so I’ll be taking trips to Target to buy some storage bins.

Clean all pump parts and bottles

Time to whip out my Wabi sterilizer! I will sanitize all of the pacifiers, bottles, and pump parts. I purchased all new pump parts (the pump brands suggest replacing every 6 months at least, and it’s been well over that), so I’ll be sanitizing those.

Install car seat

We’re planning on doing this on Sunday! We’re going to install the car seat base and store the car seat in the trunk until we need it in the hospital. Since the car seat we used with Luca won’t be compatible with our new stroller, we had to buy a new car seat and went with the Nuna Pipa.

Assemble bassinet

This can be done the day the baby arrives, but I want to assemble it sooner rather than later, in case there’s a product defect, a missing part, or something we didn’t consider. We plan on assembling the bassinet over the next week or so. We’re going with a Pack n’ Play bassinet, so it’s easily collapsible in the meantime, which is nice.

Clean out the pantry and organize glassware

This has been on my to-do list for about 6 months, haha. Our pantry is a little crazy, because we’re storing a lot of baby stuff, and the food part of the pantry has just gotten a bit disorganized. I want to go through everything, throw away any expired foods, and make an inventory of what we need, so that when I go to grab it when baby’s here, I’m not out! And as for glassware, I’m going to be needing leftover containers and the cabinet we use for this is just such a mess, I want to clean it up.

Freezer meal prep

I just wrote a post on this, but I want to make a few meals before the baby arrives and freeze them for easy weeknight dinners. My mother is planning on staying with us for those first couple of weeks to help with the transition (and see the baby, of course), so she’ll help with cooking at first, but once she leaves, it’ll be nice to have those backup meals.

Relax

Haha notice how this is towards the end of the list? Go for a walk, Netflix and chill, lay by the pool and read, get a manicure, get a massage, grab lunch with friends, and do other relaxing activities. I’m hoping that once my mom arrives (she comes next week!), she’ll force me to relax. She’ll be my excuse to slow it down. I did this when I was expecting Luca and it was so nice.

Now that our pool is open, I want to take Luca to the pool during the day to hang out, so I’m planning on doing that (if baby girl doesn’t arrive before!) next week.

Other little preparations

• Organize my Ergobaby carriers for newborn/infancy – I have a couple of these, and I need to assemble them appropriately for the newborn stage, add the newborn inserts, etc, because right now, they’re configured for the toddler, outward-facing stage!
• Put the breastmilk storage container in the freezer
• Blow up the yoga ball and start using it for labor prep, but have it ready for baby soothing postpartum!

After that, it’s time to set my out of office!

The post The Last Few Weeks: The Final To-Do List appeared first on Inspiralized.

I can’t wait to see how baby girl decides to arrive! At this point, I’m 37 weeks pregnant, so it’s a complete waiting game. While I wait, I’m living each day like it’s my last as a family of three and soaking in all the “alone” time with Luca, while also prepping as much as I possibly can so if she does arrive early, I’m as prepared as can be. AKA activate nesting mode!

Next week, my goal is to begin my freezer prep! Sadly, I don’t have much freezer space, and I need to keep some of it for breastmilk! I wish I could prep meals for weeks, but I just don’t have the space, so it’s not even an option. I’ll be focusing on preparing a few things to last me that first hectic week. Beyond that, I’m just going to keep mealtimes very simple and stick to my go-tos. For these go-tos, I’ll be able to throw dinner together in 30 minutes and have a list so that my exhausted brain won’t have to do any thinking. More on that below!

And this time around, honestly, I’m more concerned about Luca’s food than my own. I’ll be focusing on making meals that we can both eat, because I’ll be home when he’s home for lunch, and I’ll want to sit with him and spend that special time together. Of course, I’ll be making his go-tos, like Broccoli Grilled Cheese and falling back on easy foods like Applegate’s chicken nuggets. We’ll see how it all pans out, my friends who have multiples tell me that it’s much easier the second time around and you’ll be surprised how much extra time you have, because you’re not as overwhelmed. Talk to me in a few weeks, haha!

What I’m Making for the Freezer

• Vegan Pumpkin Oat Muffins (recipe in the Inspiralized Littles eCookbook) – for Luca
• Blender Oat Muffins – for Luca, a few batches
• Veggie tots from Inspiralized & Beyond – for Luca, a few batches
• Chicken burgers (to serve on a bun with sweet potato wedges and avocado)
• Turkey meatballs (to serve with spiralized veggies or roasted veggies and couscous)
• Turkey bolognese (I’ll prepare just the sauce and serve with spiralized veggies or roasted veggies and potatoes)
• Quinoa chili (to serve with avocado and toast)
• Freezer Breakfast Burritos (for those hectic mornings!)
• Lactation bites – I plan on having these again, they were such a tasty snack and boosted my supply!

My Go-To Quick Meals Once the Freezer Runs Out

• Frozen Veggie Fried Rice (with some sort of cooked meat, probably.)
• Chicken sausage with roasted veggies and brown rice
• Raviolis with roasted veggies
• Pressure Cooker Salsa Chicken Thighs with Peppers and Onions (served with brown rice or with tortillas)
• Pressure Cooker Chicken BBQ Bowls
• Crispy oven baked salmon with roasted veggies
• Margherita pizza with broccoli and olives (or other toppings), using Simple Mills box mix
• Lentil and String Bean Curry
• Teriyaki veggie stir fry with brown rice (using a premade teriyaki sauce!)

I hope this is helpful for you mamas prepping your freezers!

The post My Freezer and Food Prep Before Baby Arrives appeared first on Inspiralized.