My Twin Pregnancy Gist

Whenever I google anything about twin pregnancy I come across so many pregnancy journals/blogs and I can't help but wish I started something like that too. Didn't help that I felt like crap for the first 3 months and when I finally felt better I made up for lost time and have hardly spent time at home. Been busy meeting up with friends, driving here and there, eating, shopping and doing everything I can before the babies come. So here I am, again trying to make up for lost time and trying to summarise my pregnancy journey till now. 

Most twin pregnancy websites have said that at 27 weeks you can start your 10 week countdown. How scary is that? My doctor also told me that at 30 weeks I need to stop most activity to prevent preterm labour and basically wait for the babies to make their entrance. So that leaves me only 2 weeks to do what I want? 

GULP!

Right after we found out that I was pregnant I fell sick, very very sick. My nausea also kicked in at the same time and I lost 4kgs. I could not eat, drink, shower, wash my hair, sit in the house, sit in a car, everything made me throw up. Was not fun. Did not realise that we were expecting twins till we went in to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time and we found not one but two beautiful strong heartbeats. Ray and I did not speak during the drive home, we were very shocked.

Taken at 13 weeks and the first photo to sort of announce the pregnancy (on Facebook of course!) Was still suffering from nausea but was slowly but surely feeling better each week.

Week 15. Was living in tank tops and this long stretchable black skirt that I've had since I was 16 years old. Never wore it much till now, was probably saving it for just this. 

Week 17...loving my growing bump. Hence the tighter the clothes the better. For the first and probably last time in my life I'm able to wear the tightest tops without having to worry about my love handles or rolls of flab showing when I sit. This marks my halfway mark. Have been told that twins don't normally make it all the way to 40 weeks.

At our check-up where we found out that one of the twins will be a boy! This ultrasound is of the other twin who was too shy and only showed us its back.

At Week 19 the babies were treated to a performance by Sutra Dance Theatre and the week before that a solo Bharata Natyam performance by Mavin Khoo. When people ask me if they will dance I simply tell them that the kids can do whatever they want as long as their passion lies in it.  

Week 18, this picture marks the milestone of me finally washing my hair at home. Because of the severity of my nausea I could not stand long intervals in my bathroom so I could only wash my hair in salons. But I decided to buy a bottle of Body Shop's Ice Blue Peppermint shampoo and wash my hair at home. It was a Godsend. Anyone with nausea? Use peppermint scented toiletries. I didn't think that it would help but I could not have been more wrong.

Week 19, the week I started my prenatal yoga classes, which I found to be  incredibly boring. I went for a yoga, pilates and stretch & tone class and stopped right after that. I seriously need to start my classes again...

Week 20, the twins and I experienced our first Sikh wedding. It was loud, colourful and lots of fun. 

Mummy and Daddy-to-be couldn't fly to any destination due to doctor's orders so we celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary with a staycation (heard it's the in-thing right now, so didn't feel so bad) at the Hilton, PJ. I enjoyed the stay so much that I became very very grumpy when we left. Mostly because KL became crazy hot and I missed the 11 degree Celsius air conditioned rooms.

Been using the Whattoexpect app and look forward to what fruits the babies resemble every week. When funky fruits started popping up it hit me that I didn't have much time before the babies got here. 

Week 21, was getting tired of my long black skirt so I decided to get a little bit of retail therapy. I found these awesome pencil skirts at Topshop that I can still wear at 28 weeks! Got them in cargo green and tangerine. Decided against maternity clothes not only because they are expensive but what am I going to do once the babies are out?

Spent the entire Week 22 with babies! Most of my friends have had a baby or two so it wasn't hard to fill every day of the week with a baby. My energy levels and appetite are all back to normal so it wasn't hard at all to carry these little ones around.

Week 23, this dreaded night I felt like wearing a pair of shorts but very soon realised that I can't fit into any of mine so I put on hubby's sleeping shorts. Was mighty comfortable...

Still Week 23, enjoying my blooming tummy and boobies! Attended Gina Yong's breastfeeding class, which I was quite disappointed with. First and foremost, the session was 5 hours long and we didn't do any practical with a fake baby or fake boob. We were mainly told how bad formula was for your baby and that breastfeeding was the only option. Latching and holds were shown via youtube videos and photographs. Nothing I couldn't have learnt in the comfort of my own home.

Taken at Week 26, took a drive to Seremban to visit my Godma. Have been told that after 30 weeks I need to slow down so this was the best opportunity to do a couple of road trips. Got my pants from Uniqlo because I've been in skirts for the past 5 months of the pregnancy. Saw the pants, fell in love with them and took a shot and bought 3 pairs. Don't feel so sweaty between them thighs no more!

At Week 27 mum and I drove down to Ipoh for St Anthony's Feast only to find out that the mass was going to be held the week after. No harm, I managed to spend time with my late Grandpa's siblings and visited his grave in Teluk Intan. I must admit that I was hit with pangs of sadness because small traits my grand-aunts and uncles have remind me so much of my grandpa. I also visited my late grandma's sisters in Teluk Intan and their mannerisms made me feel like my grandma came back to life. I saw my grandparents through their siblings and I was so close to breaking down and crying. Could've been the hormones but I know deep inside that these two little souls within me have a very strong connection with my late grandpa.

The Lopez clan

All the driving at Week 27 resulted in pretty severe swelling of my ankles and foot. Was mighty freaked out as the pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing till this happened. I am happy to share that at Week 28 I am now swollen foot free and looking forward to the last 10 weeks to come...

Being Pantang About Pantang

I'm 26 weeks pregnant today and I've got most of the stuff I need for the babies. I must say it took me the longest time to even step foot into a Mothercare or even touch a onesie because I did not know when it was not 'pantang' anymore and deemed 'safe' to start getting things for the babies.

I used to think that 'pantang' was a very Asian thing but in the West it's just called being superstitious. You know, don't walk under ladders, throw salt over your left shoulder if you've spilled it, black cats that cross your path means that bad luck is going to fall upon you, etc. But when exactly is it deemed safe to start buying things for your baby?  

My mother-in-law said that I shouldn't buy a single thing for the babies, but to make a list of things I need so that once the babies are born I can send someone to go out and buy it. Erm...if she saw the amount of things I have for the babies now, she'd definitely freak out. My mother on the other hand has bought an Ikea bag full of baby clothes and I've had to tell her to stop. Even I haven't bought a single piece of clothing for the babies.

It (the pantang) all started (or ended) when I attended my first Mother/Baby Expo in Mid Valley about 2 months ago. I was thinking to myself, should I go? If I go should I buy? If I buy will I be jinxing it? So I asked my mom and she was like, "Stop being such a pain and just go and buy!" So I drew up a list of things that I needed and visited each and every booth at the expo, then I went to hubby's office to think about whether I really needed it, did some research online and went back and bought small things like baby wipes, 2 bags of MamyPoko, breast pads, maternity pads, reusable baby diapers (because they were really cheap!), 2 nursing bras and a twins breastfeeding pillow (only because I haven't seen it anywhere else and it was pretty cheap!). After I got all the things I thought, not bad, I have a small starter kit for the babies.

Then I left things to simmer for awhile and a couple of weeks ago I made a super detailed list of everything I needed and said I need to get things done before I get too big and heavy to walk around! So we allocated each weekend for specific things and in 3 weeks we've managed to get almost everything we need for the babies.

It's not easy though, starting the research. Which stroller/car seat/breast pump/milk bottle and the list goes on and on and on. In fact it can get pretty intimidating, which is why I think the earlier you start the better. Because when you have time on your hands, chances are you won't panic and stress out and impulse buy. Take your time, ask around and always look for something that will last till your baby is at least 2-3 years old. I must say that because we are going to have two babies at the same time, it has pushed me to be more careful with what we buy.

Oh well, what I've come to learn is not to worry about what other people think. You create your destiny and the worst thing you can do is make limiting decisions for yourself. Don't focus on the negative and don't use words like must or have to because you are setting expectations for yourself and we all know what happens when we have expectations. Just take each day as it comes and enjoy every second of it. The only person who knows best is you because you know deep in your gut whether things are ok or not and if you feel calm and surrender yourself to the universe you can relax and enjoy the ride with your hands in the air and the wind in your face.