creating a space for the twins

creating a space for the twins

10.24.2017

Alternate title for this post would have been "The Nursery" but for whatever reason, I feel awkward about referring to the twins' room as the nursery. So instead, we've taken to calling it either "their room", "the babies' room", "the twins' room", etc.

When we first moved to SF, a 2 bedroom apartment was a non-negotiable. We know lots of new families who make a 1 bedroom work for SF when they first have a baby...but 2 babies? Not really possible. Luckily, we were able to find a place with 2 small bedrooms so that the tiny aliens can have their own space (and we can have an extra closet for storage).

I knew from the beginning that I wasn't into the whole "nursery theme thing". I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on specific decor that didn't have a function. I also didn't want to over decorate the space or make it feel cluttered. I wanted to keep it really clean, functional, and minimal. And I'd like to think that I achieved that goal! It's easy to get in way over your head with all the Pinterest inspiration but I tried to avoid getting sucked in.

So here's a little tour of their room:

The dresser is the Hemnes 8-drawer from Ikea that everyone raves about for baby rooms and works great with a changing pad on top. It's holds a ton of stuff and works great in the space. Pro Tip: We hired someone to build the dresser because...no. I was not about to do that 7 months pregnant. The chair is the Ikea rocker that we found on Craigslist for $50!

The shelves above the dresser are also from Ikea and I like that they serve a functional purpose and are also decorative. The baskets, stuffed animals and lamp are all from Target. The pink and grey baby blankets were knit by my mom! 

The print is a painting done by one of my coworkers from a photo I took while we were in Africa. As much as I didn't want to do too much of a theme, there's a bit of an African vibe throughout the space.

The baby safari animals are from an adorable Etsy shop. She makes so many amazing prints. I had them printed at Staples and put them in the Ikea Ribba frames. Craig meticulously hung them with precise measurements.

The rug was an amazing find from a Canadian furniture brand that we stumbled upon during a trip to West Elm. It was one of the first things we bought for the room. It's a $600 rug that we got for $99! It's so soft and cozy and will be a great spot for the twins to crawl around. 

We went with the Ikea Sundvik crib because they were inexpensive and because we're not planning to save these for years and years. Maybe we'll convert them to toddler beds at some point but you just can't beat the price. The mattresses are also from Nook.

Since earthquakes are a thing here, it's apparently not a good idea to hang something hard or heavy above a crib lest it fall on the baby (the baby animal prints were originally hung there). I wanted to put something on the wall that helped fill up the blank space but was also soft. Pinterest (and Erin!) helped lead me to the craft project pictured above. I ordered a bunch of fabric from Joann's, tore it into strips and then tied it to some string. I love how it turned out because it adds a textural element to the wall without being overpowering. 

For carseats, we chose the Uppa Baby Mesa mostly because we knew we wanted the Uppa Baby Vista stroller and I didn't want to deal with different adapters. These snap into the stroller frame tandem style (front and back). 

Along the same lines of using something functional as decor, I wanted to incorporate a way to store books that also served as a bit of a design element in the room. These Ikea spice racks were the perfect solution. I love that the bare wood ties in with the other bare wood elements in the room. 

The books were either gifts or sneaky finds at the $1 book sale that we went to in the Marina the other weekend. 

You can also see the stroller frame in this photo which I'm sure won't spend much time folded in that corner and has now found a new temporary home in the closet. It's not the lightest but it's super functional and sturdy. It has two "regular" seats as well as a bassinet.

The quilt is one that my Aunt made me when I was a kid and I've had it for as long as I can remember. 

And that's it! Really neutral and simple in my opinion. It feels calm and not overwhelming but still cozy. I hope the twins love it!

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the second trimester

the second trimester

10.08.2017

the bump. the pup. the grand canyon.

I've been using these Promptly journals to keep track of notes that I'll give to the twins one day and I realized that I didn't have a whole lot to write for the second trimester. We were SO busy during this period that it's honestly a bit of a blur.

• We packed up our place in Charlottesville and moved across the country.
• We set up shop in an Airbnb in San Francisco while feverishly searching for an apartment. 
• We found an apartment and signed a lease. 
• We fought with our movers to get our stuff delivered before Christmas. 
• We unpacked an entire apartment.
• We flew back to Connecticut.
• We survived the heat wave in SF.
• We flew back to Charlottesville
• We purchased living furniture. 
• We had ultrasounds and doctor's appointments.
• I flew to Austin for work. 
• We hired someone to build some Ikea furniture for the twins room. 
• We tried to make friends.
• We explored our new neighborhood.

...Oh and we worked 40+ hours/week while doing all this. Luckily, I felt good during this time and was mostly able to keep up with our insane schedule. I had a few emotional days especially when we were unpacking and just doing normal tasks became somewhat challenging. It's pretty frustrating to not be in control of what's happening to your body and I was annoyed that I had to ask Craig for help all the time.

Largely, the second trimester was uneventful from a pregnancy standpoint. I'm thankful that I was able to get so much accomplished and that I mostly felt good. We picked up the stroller and carseats as well as set up the twins room a bit and that definitely made it feel super real. We also got a surprise 4D ultrasound which was so freaky but also really cool. Seeing their faces like that made them seem less like little aliens in there.

Baby A - Girl

Baby B - Boy

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on fitness during pregnancy

on fitness during pregnancy

9.12.2017

Most of you also know that my "fitness journey" has been a bit interesting. When Craig and I first met, it was super involved in triathlons. (In fact, our first date was quite late, starting at maybe 8pm because he had a long bike ride scheduled for that night!) I swore I would never do a triathlon and yet one year later I had completed 5 triathlons, 2 half-marathons, and a 15k race. But then we moved to New Haven and that all came to a screeching halt for both of us. The weather wasn't conducive to working out outside and cycling in the area was horrendous. I did a bit of yoga in New Haven but honestly, my health took a turn for the worse during those two years.

For the past 18 months or so, I had been teaching Barre classes at the gym we belonged to in Charlottesville. I started going to Barre classes when we first moved to town and found out that the current teacher was going to be moving. I inquired about becoming certified to teach and it didn't end up being a tough process. I have LOVED teaching my Tuesday night ladies and it was bittersweet for me to say goodbye to them when we moved.

So my pre-pregnancy routine would be to teach 1-2 days/week and then TRY to get in some additional activity - a long walk/hike with Haven on the weekends, an at-home video, or yoga.

Within the first few weeks of this pregnancy, I could do nothing. It was a miracle that I actually was able to keep up with teaching because I had no energy. In fact, I cut WAY back on how much I participated in the class because I just physically couldn't. I also started showing super early as well and ended up telling my class that we were pregnant around 10 or 12 weeks.

When I did feel like I had energy, all I could muster was a long walk with Haven. The doctor recommended getting my heart rate up for at least 30 min/day and honestly, a brisk walk around the neighborhood did just that.

As soon as we arrived in San Francisco, I got on a real fitness kick. I think because I've been growing so quickly, I'm really motivated to stay active and keep up my strength. Obviously, we do a ton more walking here and with the hills, that is an intense workout (I'm basically wearing a 20lb weighted vest all the time). I've also been really into prenatal pilates as well as prenatal yoga. I've attended a few traditional Barre classes in the area but honestly, I just have to modify so much of the class already that it's not really worth it. I got into pilates a little bit in Charlottesville and I love that I found a studio that has prenatal specific classes. I'm still able to get a great workout while doing exercises that accommodate the tiny humans inside of me.

Prenatal yoga is also great. I'm not sore or achy yet but just taking some time to move, bend and stretch feels good. It's also a great way to meet people. In the 2 weeks that we've been living in San Francisco, I've already been to 8 classes and walked to each one! I'm hoping to stay really strong and fit as long as I can to help with the recovery on the other end.

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that one time it was 97 degrees in our apartment

that one time it was 97 degrees in our apartment

9.06.2017

Let me preface this by staying, the dramatic weather we experienced here in San Francisco pales in comparison to the devastation in Houston and I am very aware of that. This blog is a light-hearted space for me to jot down memories and keep you all updated. If it sounds dramatic or whiny, please just take this with a grain of salt. 

Some of you may know that San Francisco experienced an insane heat wave over Labor Day weekend. It rarely gets above 80 in the city and yet on Friday and Saturday, we saw 107 degrees which apparently is an all time record, like ever. 

Now, you might be thinking, so what? You two use to live in Dallas and it's certainly hot (and humid!) in Virginia. Here's the kicker - they don't have AC in San Francisco. Apartments don't come with AC. Restaurants and coffee shops don't have AC. I called one of the local libraries, they don't have AC. It's just not something you ever really need here. 

Here's what that means. It means that by 10am on Friday, it was 92 degrees in our apartment. We luckily already had a fan but it hardly did any good to combat the temps. By the time we went to bed on Friday night, we were miserable. I managed to get about 2 hours of fitful sleep. I attempted to sleep with wet washcloths covering my basically naked body. On top of that, I felt so bad for Haven because there was hardly any way for us to keep her cool. Around 3am I scoured the internet for a hotel but given the holiday weekend, there was nothing. 

By 7am on Saturday morning, we were at 89 degrees in our apartment and just all together miserable. The temperature hardly dropped overnight. We ended up taking the dog down to the beach for a bit to try to help her cool off and then decided to just get in the car and drive. Believe it, our car because one of the only reliable places to cool off! We decided to drive about 2 hours north (where it was 112!) to Healdsburg to visit a winery that allowed dogs inside and had AC. We ended up having a great time and I know the pup was glad to escape our hellish apartment. 

When we returned home around 6pm, it was still up in the 90s in our apartment but it had started to slightly cool off outside (like it was 87 instead of 96). It was more bearable at this point to be outside than in our apartment so we headed out in search of some food - anything to kill some time before having to suffer in bed. 

Luckily, I managed to get some sleep Saturday night and Sunday morning was cooler (71 outside, 81 inside our apartment).

In the end, what we've learned is that a warm, super sunny day is going to drastically heat up our apartment because we have old windows that have no insulation. Keeping the blinds closed makes little difference. I'm glad this type of weather doesn't still around long in these parts and you better believe I was praying the fog would roll in thick. 

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weird things people say when you're pregnant with twins | vol. 1

weird things people say when you're pregnant with twins | vol. 1

8.29.2017

I'd always heard that people make bizarre comments to pregnant women but I was wholly unprepared for the kind of comments I'd get with twins. (Not to mention the touching!) Here are some of the things people have said to me:

Are they natural?
I get that IVF and fertility treatments are much more widely discussed but do I really need to disclose to you how my babies were conceived? Is one better or worse than the other?

Do twins run in your family? Did you plan for twins? [See also: Are they natural?]
This is the more subtle version of "Are they natural?". Again, I understand that people are typically just surprised and they are making conversation but it honestly just feels kind of awkward to me. Also most sources out there say that twins are completely random. So if I say "yes" then do you want me to tell you how my aunt's sister's cousin had twins? And if I say "no" are you just going to assume we used fertility treatments (not that there is anything wrong with that). I usually just say "We were just as surprised as you!"

After telling people the genders (boy/girl)... Are they identical? 
I mean...

After telling people the genders (boy/girl)... That's so perfect!
Would it be less perfect if they were two boys or two girls? When you have a child, is there really a perfect gender?

Two at once! Now you can be done!
What if we wanted 15? What if we only wanted one? It's just awkward to comment on the number of children someone has or wants.

I always wanted twins!
Really? Because to be honest, I sobbed when we found out. Most days when I think about the thought of raising two babies at the same time, I become utterly paralyzed by fear. I'm thrilled and honored to be their mom but that doesn't mean I'm not overwhelmed and terrified. Also, growing twins is not kind to the body. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful but twins are scary!

At 24 weeks and I've already started to hear...
When are you due? / You must be due soon!
I would have thought you were further along!
How are two babies going to fit in there? 
You're not going to be able to get that much bigger!

Every belly is different. I've been to several prenatal classes and everyone looks completely different. At 24 weeks, there's over 2 lbs of baby in there already (as compared to only about 1 lb on average for a singleton birth) so OF COURSE I'm larger than your "average" singleton mamma. In fact, I'm extremely aware of the fact that I still have 14 weeks to go and already feel/look huge. I'm trying very hard to mentally prepare myself for the third trimester so your size comments are incredibly unhelpful.

PSA: The ONLY acceptable thing to say to ANY pregnant women is:

You look amazing! You are stunning! Wow, you are beautiful!

Stay tuned for Vol. 2 after the twins arrive!

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