We've not written at all about name selections. This topic has been slow going for us; or, rather, mutual agreement on any names has been a challenge. We each have a few favorites and quite a few 'maybes' but only one or two which we both rank high. Still, no worry--plenty of time.
And plenty of help. It's amazing how many baby name books there are, and yet more remarkable is what's contained in their pages. They start off cautioning parents to avoid unfortunate initials, like D.O.G. or P.O.O. (thankfully, these two couldn't appear in the same family). So in our case, Claudette Olivia Wielecki may not be a wise selection (and won't be, I promise, as Claudette is 561st on my list and has yet to appear on Kelly's). Then they provide the Top 100 lists from recent years. These are actually quite helpful, for they allow me to automatically discard any tentative selections if they should happen to appear here. That is my first criterion for names. The second is that they must be somewhat known (i.e., no names resulting from a toss of a Yahtzee cup, like Braflin or Xinhua). Third, the first and last names shouldn't rhyme, kind of like, hmmm...here's one- Kelly Wielecki. Other than that, anything is fair game; I lean towards Italian names for boys and French for girls but am flexible. And finally when you've settled on a name, one of these books has the nerve to suggest a further dozen variations, as if the Finnish equivalent of "Catherine" is one you simply cannot afford to overlook and must consider.
We likely won't be posting any of our lists just yet, or at all. We may run a 'guess the name' contest later on for our three devoted blog readers, or may even offer naming rights to the lucky person who can guess how many toes I'm holding up (Sylvia- the mutant doesn't count).
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The 'Other Happenings'
A week from Friday, we're taking the Twins to Chicago to visit the remaining three grandparents ElMa, TadPa, and JimPa (the fourth, MarMa, lives near us). This will be their first look at augmented Kel. Though slight, the roundedness in her stomach is slowly getting pronounced. We're documenting these in weekly Sunday morning photos. (Don't expect these on the blog anytime soon).
From Chicago, we're on to a mini-getaway to Montreal. After all, who doesn't want to visit Montreal in February?! Yes, we do realize it's cold there. For us, it's a brief respite from endless days of upper 70s this time of year. Though 15 Chicago winters left me with few fond memories, I do welcome an occasional small taste of the arctic and very much wish to travel to Alaska in the dead of winter to witness it at its worst. (Kelly not so much).
We'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown though have yet to plan an itinerary. This vacation may very well be our last until the Big Day, so we may just decide to splurge on unforgivable luxuries like individual pillows and a beverage refill at dinner.
From Chicago, we're on to a mini-getaway to Montreal. After all, who doesn't want to visit Montreal in February?! Yes, we do realize it's cold there. For us, it's a brief respite from endless days of upper 70s this time of year. Though 15 Chicago winters left me with few fond memories, I do welcome an occasional small taste of the arctic and very much wish to travel to Alaska in the dead of winter to witness it at its worst. (Kelly not so much).
We'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown though have yet to plan an itinerary. This vacation may very well be our last until the Big Day, so we may just decide to splurge on unforgivable luxuries like individual pillows and a beverage refill at dinner.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Last week...
So just a recap of last week from my P.O.V.
Thursday- after a oh-so-fun root canal, I rushed right to Dr. Crofoot so he could 'finish' the new patient appointment from the week before. Wasn't sure what that would consist of- the 1st time we were there seemed very thorough to me. Well, I had a full physical to look forward to, including a pelvic exam. Dr. Crofoot expained that he will start checking the cervix weekly/bi-weekly around week 20. If it starts to thin out, that's a sign of possible pre-term labor and we'd have to watch out for that. He did another ultrasound (the babes looked about the same as the week before- still exciting to see them, as always) and spent a lot of time talking to me- nutrition, drugs, prenatal testing, and as usual, the increased risks due to carrying multiples Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and let's not forget pre-term labor (the rule, not the exception with multiples). I pledged to eat well and take care of myself and we left it at that for now.
Friday- the fun one! We arrived at the Fetal Diagnostics Center at Winnie Palmer Hospital. The waiting room was packed and I settled in for a long wait..but low and behold, I was called back even before Karl returned from parking the car. I was led directly to an ulrasound room and the tech, Audrey, got right to work, lubing my stomach and finding A&B. The screen was a bit bigger and much more detailed than Dr. C's antiquated equipment. Audrey spent a lot of time moving that wand around- measuring the twins, checking the heartbeats, and especially examining their lower regions for a gender confirmation. Yes, all 3 of us were very excited when she (and then Karl and I) saw that we've got a boy and a girl. No one can be 100% certain at this point, of course, but I feel comfortable enough to start buying pink and blue onesies (or at least give my mom the ok to do so- she's more eager than I to let the shopping begin).
After Audrey was done scanning, Dr. Locksmith (the perinatologist) appeared, reviewed my records and the scan pictures, and determined that A&B are looking fine at this point. We'll go back in a month (on 2/19-my b-day!) at 18 weeks and they'll be able to look even more closely and measure the internal and external parts. I am looking forward to it because I need any reassurance I can get- I can't help worring about thse little ones and am already so eager for them to make their appearance (not that eager though- I am hoping to make it to 36 weeks). Though if I make it to 30 weeks, I think I would be ok with that.
I went to visit my friend on Saturday- she had her twin boys 3 weeks ago at 33 weeks -they spent a few weeks in the NICU to put on some weight but they are both over 6 pounds now and doing great. She and her husband are great parents already and seem to know exactly what to do with them. They love to be held and cry when they are put down. How do you get anything done?!
Hard to believe that this will be Karl and me (and my mom-you promised you'd help!) in just a few months (4-5 maybe?)!
(Kel)
Thursday- after a oh-so-fun root canal, I rushed right to Dr. Crofoot so he could 'finish' the new patient appointment from the week before. Wasn't sure what that would consist of- the 1st time we were there seemed very thorough to me. Well, I had a full physical to look forward to, including a pelvic exam. Dr. Crofoot expained that he will start checking the cervix weekly/bi-weekly around week 20. If it starts to thin out, that's a sign of possible pre-term labor and we'd have to watch out for that. He did another ultrasound (the babes looked about the same as the week before- still exciting to see them, as always) and spent a lot of time talking to me- nutrition, drugs, prenatal testing, and as usual, the increased risks due to carrying multiples Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and let's not forget pre-term labor (the rule, not the exception with multiples). I pledged to eat well and take care of myself and we left it at that for now.
Friday- the fun one! We arrived at the Fetal Diagnostics Center at Winnie Palmer Hospital. The waiting room was packed and I settled in for a long wait..but low and behold, I was called back even before Karl returned from parking the car. I was led directly to an ulrasound room and the tech, Audrey, got right to work, lubing my stomach and finding A&B. The screen was a bit bigger and much more detailed than Dr. C's antiquated equipment. Audrey spent a lot of time moving that wand around- measuring the twins, checking the heartbeats, and especially examining their lower regions for a gender confirmation. Yes, all 3 of us were very excited when she (and then Karl and I) saw that we've got a boy and a girl. No one can be 100% certain at this point, of course, but I feel comfortable enough to start buying pink and blue onesies (or at least give my mom the ok to do so- she's more eager than I to let the shopping begin).
After Audrey was done scanning, Dr. Locksmith (the perinatologist) appeared, reviewed my records and the scan pictures, and determined that A&B are looking fine at this point. We'll go back in a month (on 2/19-my b-day!) at 18 weeks and they'll be able to look even more closely and measure the internal and external parts. I am looking forward to it because I need any reassurance I can get- I can't help worring about thse little ones and am already so eager for them to make their appearance (not that eager though- I am hoping to make it to 36 weeks). Though if I make it to 30 weeks, I think I would be ok with that.
I went to visit my friend on Saturday- she had her twin boys 3 weeks ago at 33 weeks -they spent a few weeks in the NICU to put on some weight but they are both over 6 pounds now and doing great. She and her husband are great parents already and seem to know exactly what to do with them. They love to be held and cry when they are put down. How do you get anything done?!
Hard to believe that this will be Karl and me (and my mom-you promised you'd help!) in just a few months (4-5 maybe?)!
(Kel)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
As promised...
Yesterday's scans:
Baby A might be a girl, though that arrow may just as well be identifying a distant planet capable of supporting life.
Baby 'B'ig
Baby A might be a girl, though that arrow may just as well be identifying a distant planet capable of supporting life.
Baby 'B'ig
Friday, January 18, 2008
At Last! (OK, just the first "at last")
Dr. Locksmith delivered the goods. Or, rather, his ultrasound assistant Audrey did. She moved that sound wand around Kel's lower regions like a champ, and gave us the anticipated prognosis on Twin B: "I see a giant penis!" and then, scanning Twin A: "I'm pretty sure I don't see a giant penis!" OK, so those weren't her exact proclamations, but we got the genera idea. Indeed, there was a shred of uncertainty, albeit small: she was 99% sure B is a 'he' and 80-90% confident that A is a girl. Close enough!
We came home with nine 3"x4" glossies, some with arrows humiliatingly pointing directly at the twins' privates. Oh yeah, they'll love to show these to their friends in 15 years! Thanks, Audrey, you really came through.
It's getting on 11PM this Friday night and I'm a bit fagged out, as the British say (no, really, they do!). So, I'll upload the scans for the next entry. Have a good night!
We came home with nine 3"x4" glossies, some with arrows humiliatingly pointing directly at the twins' privates. Oh yeah, they'll love to show these to their friends in 15 years! Thanks, Audrey, you really came through.
It's getting on 11PM this Friday night and I'm a bit fagged out, as the British say (no, really, they do!). So, I'll upload the scans for the next entry. Have a good night!
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