Happy Friday party people! Can you believe it's the end of March already? I certainly cannot, particularly since April marks what is likely the last month of this pregnancy. Yeah, crazy, I know.  I can appreciate that this week has been a little focused on pregnancy around here, next week, I promise less pregnancy. In the meantime, you aren't getting off of the hook that easily, I thought I'd give you guys a week 31 update.

If you follow me on snapchat (username: cmacmeekin), you saw towards the end of the week last week, I did a bit of an update on the progress we've made in preparing for the ladies' arrival.  To be honest, we've been a little crazy recently.  February was a huge travel month for both of us for work (as in between the both of us we were gone half of the month) and then March hit.  We realized that we really needed to get with the program so that we were were at least quasi-prepared.  I do have to say, this isn't atypical for me.  When we were preparing for Liam, Scott mostly lead the charge (thankfully) and he's doing it again this time (thankfully).  Apparently in all aspects of my life, I am planner, except for personal preparation for the arrival of babies. Who knew.

So all of this leads me to share where we are with preparation:

- Stroller - Done; we decided on the UppaBaby Vista.  Though it is painful from a cost perspective, from my research, it's really the best/easiest for twins.  I picked up a city mini double as well, so we'll see how both go.
- Nursery - Cribs and dresser are assembled, mattresses are purchased, additional seating is purchased and mostly assembled,  decor is in the middle of figuring out - Basically, I'll give it a solid 75% done.  Like most, this charge is being lead mostly by Scott.  He's a master builder when it comes to assembling furniture and space planning, but really, I'm fairly certain if let to my own devices, I wouldn't have even gotten a crib yet.
- Car upgrade - Last week we (or rather I, because Scott was always onboard) bit the bullet and got a mini-van.  It's actually a very nice car. I think that it will be perfect for our needs and I'm working on putting my big girl panties on about it.  At the end of the day, I recognize that we are incredibly fortunate to be able to have a safe, convenient car that will deliver our family around town.

Those were more of the big ticket items.  We decided to stay in our house for the time being.  We are still exploring the possibility of adding onto it, but at least immediately, we thought the addition of a move to our 'to-do' list might be the end of us.  (The sheer logistics of it all made my head hurt and would have put us in temporary housing until we found a house likely around the time of my due date)  And truthfully, it's not like we can't make it work for awhile in our current space.

In terms of my pregnancy, things are continuing to move along nicely.  I have an appointment today for my glucose screening (read: in which I fail miserably and get diagnosed with gestational diabetes which is uncommon for women carrying multiples.) so we'll see how that goes.  You'll notice I'm wearing more sneakers these days (I know it's as off-putting to me as it likely is to you).  This is for a few reasons: 1) I don't want to stretch out my shoes that I love with my swollen feet and 2) I fell towards the end of my pregnancy with Liam in heels (NOT because of them) and it's nothing that I want to repeat.  See, older and somewhat wiser.  Speaking of swelling, so far it's been minimal - which is nice, but now that I've hit the 6 month mark, I suspect it's a little downhill fast scenario.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy what I've got when I've got it.  Otherwise, we've reached the 10 week out mark; doctors won't let me go past 37 weeks and most twins are earlier than that.  It's a little crazy, right? My goal for now is to keep these ladies in as long as I can (any tips welcome!) and ride this pregnancy feeling-good wave as long as I can.

Checking into week 24, I had another scan at my fetal-maternal specialist, as well as OB appointment, and the ladies are growing right along track.  They are both currently weighing in at 1.5 lbs each (get it girls) and everything looks great so far.  I'm currently measuring at 28 weeks (which is 'normal' for a multiple pregnancy) and they are thrilled with how I am progressing.  Another crazy fact that if (heaven forbid) I were to go into labor, they'd both be absolutely viable at this point.  This isn't a fact that I want to test, but it is a milestone for us and puts my mind a little at ease.

How are you feeling?
Honestly, I'm feeling great.  Beyond a few more aches and pains, I still have a ton of energy and can still get around pretty easily.  A sinus funk sidelined me a bit last week, but overall, it's very difficult to complain.  Most of my aches and pains are easily remedied by epsom salt baths and/or thermacare heat packs for the back.

Will you be put on bed rest?
Unless something traumatic happens (like preterm labor), simply because I am little doesn't mean that I am going to be put into bed at a certain amount of time.  These days they don't like to put women on bed rest until they have to.  In the meantime, Scott will be building something to keep me from tipping forward.

Can you feel them move?
At this phase I can feel them move a lot.  I have to say it's not too much different from my experience with Liam, but once they get going it definitely is a little more than with just one, but nothing crazy (yet).

Where do you get your maternity clothes?
I don't wear a ton of maternity specific clothing at the moment.  Definitely a few pairs of pants (obviously a must), but otherwise, I tend to size up in clothing and wear more body-conscious lines to accentuate the bump.  I'll be sharing some of my maternity must-haves in the coming weeks.

Have you picked names?
Yes; and it's likely that we will share them before they are born.

How's the progress on the nursery?
Very well; we have a plan and are working on executing it (mostly by Scott).  The blanket that the ultrasound is on in the above picture is the color palette and hopefully it'll be at a place to share sooner rather than later.

Twin Gender Reveal from Chelsea MacMeekin on Vimeo.

At some point I'll stop saying it, but in the meantime, I just want to say how blown away we are with everyone's response to our news of our little twinkles breaking into the scene this year.  You all are so kind and generous with your love & support.  We are so fortunate.  And in that vein since we are half-way there (crazy, right?!) and I've sufficiently gotten Livin' on a Prayer stuck in your head,  I've received a lot of questions that I thought I'd spend some time answering in today's post about our experience thus far.

Do twins run in your family?
The simple answer is no.  What many people don't realize is that twins are genetically linked to the maternal side of the pregnant pair and my family has absolutely no twins to speak of.  Crazy, right?! Nor were the possibility of twins anywhere on our radar.  To further this, fraternal twins (the result of two eggs) are actually more genetically linked than identical.  Read on to hear more about what we are having.

Are they identical or fraternal?
This is a question which started out as a very straight forward answer and has since changed a little over the course of time.  Initially we were told that they were fraternal; there were clear indications that they as they did not share a sack and where therefore likely the they were a result of two separate eggs.  However, at an earlier ultrasound, our specialist made a comment that she thought that they might be identical based on some things that she was seeing.  What I have no idea; ultrasounds looks like black and white abysses to me.  Without getting too much into the weeds on this one, there is a type of identical twins in which the single egg splits within the first few days of conception, leaving the twins in two separate sacks similarly to fraternal twins, but are the result of a single egg rather than two.  And given what the doctors are seeing and the fact that they are the same gender (more rare in fraternal twins), the chances are greater that they are identical.  BUT we won't know for certain until they are born.  Quite honestly, it doesn't matter to use one way or the other whether they are identical or fraternal; it's more fascinating than anything else.

Are you high risk?
Similar to the identical/fraternal discussion, not exactly as straight forward.  Of the risk associated with twins, I'm the least of the risky subsets of twins - they are in separate sacks, independent of each other.  With that being said, though I'm not quite at the high-risk age, twins are innately more risky than singletons.  We'll be seeing them more frequently (monthly for the time being) and my levels are monitored at a greater stringency due to the fact that I am more susceptible to complications.

Is your care any different?
At this moment, not terribly much.  I see my OB and a fetal-maternal specialist once a month.  My OB checks on the heart beats and on my health and the fetal-maternal specialist does the ultrasounds to mark progress, development, etc. of the twinkles. These two separate appointments will continue for at least another month.  If my fetal-maternal specialist signs off, then I can switch solely to care from my OB who will up my appointments to twice a month shortly.


When is your due date?
My due date is 31 May (moved up from the original June date), but it's highly unlikely that I will , make it that long.  The goal is 37 weeks, but quite honestly, I think that anytime after April is fair game.  In whatever regard, we are preparing for the possibility of a reasonably longer stay in the hospital, but we are fully confident in the team at the hospitals here and my goal is to keep these little ladies put as long as possible.

Will you have to have a c-section?
Again, like many of these questions, the answer is not entirely straightforward.  My ability to have them naturally is dependent upon a myriad of if-then scenarios that are nearly impossible to predict at this time.  My birth plan (if you can call it that) with these girls (as it was with their brother) is: go to the hospital, get an epidural, have a baby - and really anything that has to happen between getting to the hospital and having the babies, I'm 100% OK with ensure both their and my safety and health.

What was Scott's response to finding out you were having twins?
As a calm as a cucumber.  Which is a little bit of a switch in personalities for us (I laughed at the doctor and asked him if he was kidding - Not a good idea FYI, the doctor was NOT amused).  Apparently my husband had a sneaking suspicion that I was pregnant with multiples due to the fact that this pregnancy has been so vastly different than my pregnancy with Liam.  Not that we'll get another chance at this, but I'm since informed him that if he has suspicions like this in the future, to share them rather than keep them to himself.

What will you be doing about work?
As many of you have followed my career, you likely are aware that I love what I do.  And though I loathe the question are you returning to work? I understand that it's a reasonable question given the change of dynamic in our family, the cost of child care, and just the logistical challenges all together.  I do plan to return to work, in the same role as I had previously.  We'll have to work on the travel component, but we are incredibly fortunate to have a lot of family and friend support close by.  Also, I'm incredibly fortunate to have a supportive husband who is an equal partner in raising our child (soon-to-be children) and I never have any worries about leaving him alone with Liam when I travel.

Has this pregnancy been different than your first?
It has, but I don't attribute that too much to either the fact that it's my second or the fact that it's multiples.  I have it on good authority that every pregnancy is different.  Having had a singleton the first go round and multiples the second, I don't feel as if either is a fair measure of the other.  I think that everyone's pregnancy experience is unique.  I will say that outside of the growing so much quicker than the first go-round, that's really the only unique different between carrying a single and multiples.  Stay tuned on this one though, I'm only half way there.

What is the one thing that you cannot live without at the moment?
Sleep is a precious commodity these days and the pregnancy pillow has been so crucial in helping to make me as comfortable as possible.

If you have any other questions about our pregnancy, multiples, or generally anything, feel free to shoot me an email or leave it in the comments below.  I suspect that I'll be doing a couple more of these run downs.

At this stage of my pregnancy, I'm only interested in comfort.  Which, to me, means a dress of some sort.  Even when I am not expecting I gravitate toward dresses.  Free People has always been a long time favorite of mine and this dress, it's swoon worthy.  The details are gorgeous, but it's also easily dressed up or dressed down.  Don't let the thinner fabric fool you, it's a great layering piece as well for this time of year.  It's also a great dress to give you some extra room after a long holiday weekend of eating & drinking. amiright?!

Still reeling from my news last week? Yeah, us too.  Mostly because though we were planning for another child (as much as one plans for these things), twins were no where remotely on our radar. I have to say that the best part of telling people that we are pregnant (outside of the genuine excitement) is the utter shock when we then reveal that I am growing not one, but two.  The plural form, if you will; it's integrated itself into all of our conversations (the babies, their, they-you get the picture).  And though it was unexpected, unplanned, we are beyond stoked.  The question that I get asked the most in all of this process is: are you freaking out? The answer is (oddly enough): not really.

I know, it's weird, but hear me out on this one.  Yes, for those of you who know me, I relish a certain level of control in my own life, I like to anticipate, to know what's coming next, and well, plan for it.  The idea of having twins making our total of children 3 (we are now into zone-defense territory people) is in direct conflict with those ideals and general life practices.  But here's something you probably don't know about me, I love a big chaotic family or friend gathering.  I love the idea that we are going to have a larger family than we had originally expected and that our children will have their own little tribe of cohorts to pal around with.  As for the freaking out part, the way that I see it, these babies (yes, plural) are coming whether I freak out about it or not so I could either waste my energy (with is a precious commodity these days) with the freaking out or I could re-purpose it to figure out what we are going to do for things like, oh a larger car (we are venturing into minivan territory people), a double stroller (from what I've assessed an UppaBaby Vista, but recommendations are welcome), our home (TBD), etc.

So onto the pregnancy itself.  It's been a vastly different pregnancy from my first, which I understand is quite normal.  In addition to the exhaustion which I had with my pregnancy with Liam, I have been incredible nauseous.  Towards the end, I learned to manage it better with more frequent meals/snacks, but it was difficult to anticipate and debilitating when it happened.  I understand that all of this, in terms of pregnancy symptoms, is quite mild and I'm very thankful for that.  Now I sit squarely into week 17 and feel like a new woman (again, thankful that this is not one of those pregnancies where the symptoms last all pregnancy).

Thanks for bearing with me in my spottiness over the past few months.  I'm looking forward to sharing a bit more on this whole multiple pregnancy journey, along with the normal content that you guys are used to.  And THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all of the excitement, notes of support and congratulations, and love.  Stay tuned!

During my first pregnancy, I was able to leverage more of my pre-maternity wardrobe further into my second trimester.  This go-round with it being the second and there being two of them, I have less options of my non-maternity wear to leverage.  Enter, this dress.  I had planned to wear another (albeit similar, non-maternity) dress for our seasons of parties but two nights before our first event, I had Scott attempt to zip it up and even a stretchy dress would not give me the space I needed.  So frantically, I ran over to Nordstrom the next morning where I came across this lovely dress, in petite no less.  Granted, it's not a maternity dress either, but I was able to size up enough where the stomach area fit me and I could have it altered post-pregnancy to rock after - wins all around.  Which is my basic mantra for dressing in pregnancy - leverage what you can non-maternity.  I'll be sharing some of my must-haves later, but by-in-large I find maternity items to be less than flattering and more expensive that what they are worth.  If you can buy some solid staples in maternity and they get supplement with other non-maternity items, you tend to be in better shape.  But talk to me when I'm much larger and I might have a different opinion.