Cinderella and Princess Charming

6 months old

2012-01-29T17:03:00.000-05:00

How is that possible? They've been outside babies 70% of the time they were fetuses!! Crazy.

Where are we at 6 months?

so we're sick for our 6 month birthday...

But we are REALLY FLIPPING CUTE most days!

(our home photo shoot trial a couple of weeks ago)

Avery

Quinn

We go to their 6 mo baby well visit on 2/1, so no height/weight stats yet, but I think they're doing amazing. They're pretty much caught up to their peers (I guess that as many months as weeks early thing is about right).. In short:
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Cloth diaper reviews, part C

2012-01-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

disclaimer: these were all purchased with my own money and I receive no compensation for reviews.

Our newest addition: Bum Genius Freetime
In short, I LOVE love love this diaper. I am finding I really love AIOs (my Grovia AIOs (and AI2s), my Swaddlebees Simplexs and these are the first I reach for). I think it is because I am lazy. Stuffing pockets is annoying (though they certainly have a place in a stash, for nights and car trips especially). This is an awesome diaper design, with the two half attached soakers and the stay dry top. Avery is sensitive, so the stay dry is a plus, and I can hang these diapers in my basement overnight without the low cycle I usually put my AIOs through before hanging to dry. They're generally half dry before I even pull them from my water-sucker washing machine. I picked up half a dozen of these to add to my daycare stash, and may get more as I finish selling off our NB/size 1/stuff I don't love. I am a little concerned about absorbancy for the toddler stage, but I think you could put a small soaker under the flaps, and we can cross that bridge if we ever come to it. Next time I sell off some stuff we don't use/have outgrown, I might get more of these. I just LOVE how easy they are. Also, so far so good on the aplix for daycare - its sturdy!

Baby of Nerds = HAD to have the Albert print!

Sustainablebabyish fitteds.
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more guilt

2012-01-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

Avery has her first cold. I'm sure its coming for Quinn, but for now, we only have one snotty baby with a low grade temperature.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights she didn't sleep well. She's never been a champ sleeper, so we are slowly letting her cry and work on self soothing more (we'll probably officially sleep train sometime in March once they're 6 mo adjusted - I think adjusted age is relevant for sleep issues). Thursday she got sent home from daycare for excessive crying.

Awesome.

So now I feel guilty for bitching and moaning most of Wednesday night and Thursday morning about the lack of sleep. Its hard to sleep through that screaming.

Chris picked her up (and Quinn) and brought them to the peditrician. Even though she didn't have a fever, this is weird behavior and we thought maybe it was an ear infection. Two copays later, they have colds. What's my guilt here? My job isn't work from home friendly at all (besides that I've been there a bit under 6 months), and barring some giant emergency, I'll never be able to be their emergency pick up. I also can't drop off, since I start at 7:30 and work 40 minutes away (Chris is more flexible, for now anyway, and works 20 minutes away). Guilt.

I did let her sleep on me a lot of Thursday night, and am wearing her in the Ergo now. Doesn't totally stop the guilt (mom guilt and wife guilt) that I'll likely do a lot less sick days than Chris since she can work from home with a baby...

Guilt.

2012-01-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen.

This is our house 10% of the time or so... Oh, the noise....

Mom guilt.

It hit me hard for the first time Wednesday night. Avery was cranky and crying on and off. She's touchy at bedtime - going to sleep is SO upsetting, what if you miss something? - so I put her on the floor of the nursery to play while I got Quinn ready for bed (we usually do this together, but I think Chris was in the shower). About an ounce into Quinn's bottle, Avery lost her shit. She flipped onto her back and just started screammingggggg with her arms reaching up. Now, at not quite 6 months, they haven't mastered the "pick me up" move, but this was the closest she's come. She locked eyes with me and just cried pathetically.

Its generally my policy to attend (when we're talking about sleep) to the less upset baby first, get that one settled, then move on.
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trying

2012-01-18T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'm really trying to be better about meeting my goals. My big goal for the spring is to break a 2 hr half marathon. I think losing 10 or 15 lbs would assist greatly in this (and get me back to where I was when I ran my half PR in 2008, not to mention be close to being out of "overweight" on the stupid BMI chart), but I haven't made it a priority yet (same 10 or 15 lbs I've been talking about for eons).

So...8 weeks to go.

The first two weeks of January went ok. I missed my first long run (5 mi) of the year due to a personal fiasco I don't want to get into right now. Last week was good. 2 4 milers and a 6 miler. I only stopped twice (that I recall) during the fridid 6 miles, which is a huge accomplishment for me. The pace was ok, about a 9:20. I need to drop that at least 10 seconds/mile to hit my goal...

On tap this week is 3 3 milers and a 7. One run down, three to go... (and I need to get to Crossfit twice. I'm planning on Thurs and Fri mornings).

Old

2012-01-18T10:56:00.003-05:00

OK, not really. But they are almost 6 months old.

We were REALLY lucky to be able to keep them home until now. Chris was out of work until almost 4 months, and then her mom and my mom split watching the girls during the week. My MIL has returned home to StLouis, so the girls are now going to daycare three days/week (my mom will keep watching them Mon and Tues for a bit longer).

Today is their first day.

After much turmoil and back and forth, we went with a brand new center around the corner for our house. Its fairly average priced for the area (but much more than the bizarrely cheap center we almost went with). The location and hours are terrific, and so far we really like the staff. Hopefully that will keep up :) They're also friendly to our green/frugal tendencies - using breastmilk and cloth diapers - so that's a bonus for us.

Last night I dropped off their sheets, jackets, and about a zillion changes of clothes for them. Then we packed up the diapers, diaper cream, and 90 9 or 10 labeled bottles for the babies. We're used to reusing bottles until empty, so we had to buy more for daycare (we made 4 oz bottles for them, and send 2 2 oz snack bottles in as well. At home we just use 9 oz bottles and let them share until its gone!). SO many more dishes will be awaiting us tonight. We also got out their outfits in the evening so it was all ready to go in the morning. I leave for work about an hour before Chris will be bringing the babies to "school" so I can't be of much help, so anything to make the transition smoother!!

I have to admit I was pretty super nervous this morning. I left my phone on the counter, so I had to call Chris for an update. Given that there were only 4 infants registered when we signed up 3 weeks ago, and now there is only one space left in infants, I think we made the right call going right to this center instead of trying to get in in a few months (We were considering trying Cheapo Center for a bit first). Three other new babies started this week! Other than the chaos of several new infants starting at once in a brand new center still working out the kinks in their registration/check in system, it sounded like drop off went ok.

Now to see how things went when I pick them up tonight...

swimming

2012-01-18T10:46:00.002-05:00

I have a short video that goes with this photo, but its not uploaded. The voice over is "who wants to go swimming??" "SCREAMMMMMINGGG"

Really though, they love ~~screaming~~ swimming. They were just overdue to naps and not super excited to be put into their fleecy coveralls. We usually just use a blanket in the car, but it was about 20 and windy, so we added these. They're thin, no thicker than a fleece jacket (which I am told is OK for a carseat), so I figured it would be ok. Of course, they fell asleep in the car, had fun in the pool, then returned to their carseats for the remainder of their nap (and take out dinner for us, woot!).

We start swim lessons at the end of the month. So big, these girls are.

getting out

2012-01-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

We're pretty good about getting out with the babies. Maybe its a function of the renovations we are/have been doing to the house (resulting in 1938472 runs to Lowes and Home Depot), or perhaps its a function of our somewhat limited social life since we don't have a lot of friends here (and we have two babies).

Regardless, we go out at least once a weekend, usually at least once a day if not more. We had a four day weekend for New Years, and over the course of the weekend went (with the babies, there were a couple of other stops too) to Lowes, Home Depot, Ikea, the Y, the park and a friend's house. They are 5 months old now, but we've always been doing this and its actually a littler harder now than it used to be since sometimes they won't nap while we're out (carseats used to be a SUREFIRE nap). I know (well, I think anyway since we don't have much to compare to) we have fairly easy babies - low reflux, relatively good sleepers (especially Quinn), not particularly screamy if not overtired, no special needs - but I can't help but judge a little when I read on mommy message board how hard it is to get out of the house with a baby (well, one presumably without issues as mentioned above). I actually think its going to be 10 times harder when they're toddlers, can run, and have opinions.

One of my favorite things about the weekend (besides family time in general) is dressing the girls up. I leave for work before they're awake most days, so its a weird joy to pick them out coordinating outfits (and repack the extras in the bag to go with them...). For another two weeks, they're hanging out with their grandma's during the day. Their Grammy usually gets them dressed in super cute outfits she puts together from their drawers (or coordinating sleep and plays).

My mom is another story. Yesterday I got home and they were still in their pjs from the night before. On Tuesday she'd watched them at her house, and while I'd repacked the diaper bag with extra tops and pants to coordinate with what they had on, I came home to find them entirely mismatched and wearing stuff she'd dug out of the bottom of the bag (like under the changing pad). Not a big deal in life, but a red shirt and pink pants with a green hoodie? What was wrong with the (more accessible) gray shirt and white sweats (which would have matched the hoodie just fine). I know this is a first world problem, and not a problem at all, and I'd never complain to her about this, but it still irked me for some reason (maybe because I had spent 3 minutes putting coordinating replacement clothes in the bag?).

Anyway...here is a shot of the girls on our walk this Sunday at the park. They fit perfectly in the 3-6 Gymboree hoodies their Grammy got them for Christmas, so I have to assume Gymboree runs a little small. Avery IS a good fit in 3-6 now, but they're mostly (except this) huge on Quinn still :)

staring at the ducks while Mommy flaps the blanket around trying to get them to look at her/the camera.

who needs sleep?

2012-01-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

Our babies were not those miracle babies who sleep through the night at 8 weeks (though I always wonder for those people who brag about that, are they talking medical sleep through the night (STTN) of 5-6 hrs, or legit STTN of reasonable bedtime-reasonable wakeup time?). The first couple of months with these two was exhausting. Like physically painful, could barely lift the bar at Crossfit exhausting. I imagine it was a level of tired no one without multiples or a VERY bad sleeper can comprehend. I have no idea how anyone can manage triplets+ without a serious amount of full time help.

It HAS gotten better though. Right around the time Chris went back to work (they were 3 mo old, and the date escapes me, but they were around 10 weeks adjusted which I think is super relevant for sleep issues), they started STTN from the medical perspective on occasion. Who decided 5 hrs was through the night is beyond me. Of course, they never slept for 5 hrs at the SAME time. For a while, we put them to bed around 7:15, and would feed around 11, 1, 3 and 5, give or take a little bit. Obviously/Thankfully, we are no longer feeding the SAME BABY that much overnight, so we ended up alternating. Someone with a colicky baby once told me that once you sleep four hours in a row, the rest is icing, and I tend to agree. I am very functional with 4 hrs + some icing. Not ideal, but function. Under 4 hrs and I might as well crawl into a hole until I have my IV of diet coke drained.

Recently - very, very recently, like the last 10 days - we've been blessed with legit STTN medically, and are getting so close to a more practical definition. Its not consistent, and some nights we're up a lot. This is especially true with Avery, who is totally in what the internetz calls the 4 Month Wakeful - she HATES going to sleep and gets pissed off when she falls asleep because WHATIFIMISSSOMETHINGOMG. But, last night Quinn slept from 7 to 3:30 and Avery from 8:30 or 9 (I'm not sure when as I had thrown in the towel and was reading, but she went to bed after Chris gave her an imprompto bath last night) until 5. Not bad. We could get used to this. Of course, poor Chris is still up overnight to pump...

They won't be 6 months adjusted until the end of February, so that's the earliest we'll think about true sleep training, but I'm crossing my fingers this is a sign of good things to come (and that we can avoid having to sleep train in a serious way). I will admit we do a light modified Ferber now... We try not to rock them to sleep for practical reasons, so we usually let them fuss for 5 or 10 minutes to see if they can self sooth. Quinn is a champ. In fact, she'll often shreak with exhaustion until in her crib where she'll promptly pass out. Avery...well....if she's not ready for bed and isn't out in 5 or so minutes, so ends up in hysterics. I am a sucker for letting Avery fall asleep on me, as it less painful than the yelling, and I am hoping this also resolves itself a bit before we have to just let her cry it out someday.

bonus points for long + disorganized post.

baby versus food

2012-01-05T08:02:00.002-05:00

This is kind of a large pancake, no?

There is another one under it.

5 months

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Already.
The babies are well over 1/3 of a year old.
OMG.
They're 21 weeks old. That's older outside babies than they were gestationally when we came clean about them being girls (since we knew from 13w).
Crazy talk.

They're really freaking cute these days. Lots of coos and giggles. They're within the developmental norms for actual age (being 5 weeks early, its expected they'd catch up by 5 mo), especially Avery. Quinn is a couple of weeks behind her, but (my non-medical opinion is she is) on track for somewhere between her physical age at birth (being IUGR and the size of a 30/31 weeker) and adjusted age. At this point we have no reason to be concerned about her, but it is noticeable if you're around them a lot that she's not quite as physically advanced as Avery. Or maybe she's just destined to be more cuddly and less physical? Time will tell I guess.

oohhh hi. I guess I can not cry for the camera for a second.

I want to roll over soooo badly...

so how'd I do?

2011-12-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

really going to hit my goal this time. If I keep saying it either I'll believe it happened or it will happen, right?

Last week's goal was 3, 4, and 5 miles (12 total). I ended up with 3.5, 2.3, and 4.5 (10ish). Not great, not terrible. This week is 13 weeks pre-race, and my last screwing-around-pre-training week before the proverbial heat is on. 3, 4, and 5 to do. 3.3 and 2.3 (lol) down. Why the weird off plan mileage? Turns out there is a YMCA next to my office where I can use my AWAY membership 5 times/month. I have this crazy idea I can run at lunch once a week. I tried it today, hence the 2.3 miles. I could probably squeeze in 3 if I left my office on time...

we wish you a merry christmas

2011-12-27T14:30:00.000-05:00

and happy holidays and all that jazz.

next year, buy outfits before Christmas Eve if you want them to match or coordinate beyond "both have snowmen on them" (They were an awesome deal for Gymboree though)

follow up

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Semi-related to my last post, its time to start training for my next half marathon.
Much as I've discussed in the past (I won't even bother boring you with linking to all the whining), I have a two hour goal in mind. A time I used to hit with ease. This March I'm running the Georgia Half with a friend of mine, and I'm going to do it dammit.

hah.

Seriously though, I need to. I'm running NYC this fall, and for a lot of reasons it will probably be my last full for a long time, forever maybe, and I need to have a nice base to train with.

I joined Daily Mile (updates in the blog to come), and while this week is really 14 weeks out, have started training. I used Runner's World's Smart Coach to make me a plan based on my Thanksgiving 5k and my weekly mileage of 11-15 miles (which is a bit more...by a lot...than I've been running, but I think I can fake it). Its pretty low mileage, but I need that right now, need to build slowly and realistically.

The plan for this week is 3, 4 and 5 miles. Let's see how this goes.

perspective

2011-12-22T15:56:00.001-05:00

I'll preface this by saying I've never been an ATHLETE. Never serious, never super competitive. No one is calling me up for select sides, wishing I'd move to their city, hoping I run in their race. Et al.

But, for 10 years I played rugby semi-competitively, and for a lot of that time, I worked out with rugby in mind. I didn't lift heavy enough or often enough, but when I did it was thinking ahead towards the season, looking at it as training. Not my hobby. Rugby was my hobby. Running ridiculously long races was my hobby towards the end of that too.

Now?
Now I'm lifting for the hell of it. For fitness I guess. But, not with an end goal, not with purpose of being better at something else.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

sidebar: this is not the most worldly, introspective perspective post ever. first world issues for sure.

personality

2011-12-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

gah, I almost want to use the word adorbs. Except it isn't a word.

Getting there.

2011-12-12T10:38:00.001-05:00

We got a lot done yesterday!

We have handles - no more pulling doors open with painter's tape, or wedging your finger between the drawer and next cabinet to open it!

(and crockpot chili)

And baseboards (so the dog doesn't keep losing balls into the basement...there's a small gap between the sheetrock & floor as our ceilings are a smidge over 8 feet)
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4 months!

2011-12-08T08:04:00.001-05:00

It's incredible that the babies are 4 months old now! (Actually, 4 months, 1 week, and 2 days)

Yesterday they had their 4 month check up and were perfect by all counts. The doctor is happy with their physical development, even for Quinn who is still somewhat squishier than Avery. Quinn is definitely a few weeks behind Avery physically, but she's just fine for her adjusted age and is a bit ahead of her IUGR-weight age (that's totally not an official term, but someone told me IUGR babies develop somewhere between their 'size age' and their gestational age, and she was 31/32w 'size' at birth). Even though they'd both fall asleep prior to their shots - it was 7 pm and bedtime - they did quite well and only fussed for a few minutes.

I was worried we'd get yelled at for their being so thin still, but all is well and they're perfectly on the curves they've established! Since last month, Avery has gained 1 lb 9 oz and Quinn has gained a pound. Its crazy to think Quinn at 4 months is less than half a pound larger than my brother was at birth!

They've only gained a 1/4 in and a 1/2 in, so I guess they've spent this month porking up. Avery's thighs look all chubby now :) And they have giant heads for their skinny little bodies, given that 39 cm is over 25th percentile. I think even I can give up adjusted age on stats now and just go with actual.

Quinn

Poor baby is just dangling. She's a lb too light and an inch too short I think!

singleton

2011-12-05T08:25:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning I had some things to return to the store, so I decided to take Quinn with me for the trip since she was up and chipper (Avery of course woke up as I walked out of the door...). This is the first time I've taken just one baby anyplace (excepting the early days when Quinn was in the NICU and we went out to eat with Avery, which doesn't really count anyway, especially since newborns are uber easy to leave the house with).

Omg.

Easiest thing ever.

Quinn around 8 weeks old in a 0-3 sleep gown. 9 weeks later and her feet almost reach the bottom

Now, I admit,

Cloth diaper reviews, part B

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

disclaimer: these were all purchased with my own money and I receive no compensation for reviews.

One Sized

Bum Genius 4.0.So far so good. We started using these around 9 and 10 lbs and they fit just fine. Both babies are still quite skinny (though their thighs seems darn chunky compared to their newborn legs), and we haven't had any leaks except one from user error (a NB insert for 6 hrs isn't a good idea even at 16 weeks and 11ish lbs).

We also have a couple of Flip covers and some stay dry inserts which are made by the makers of the BGs. The fit is the same, they're just more trim since its less fabric. I like them, especially since its fast and simple and less volume in the laundry and less to hang dry. They also held in a giant 3-days-worth of EBF poo this weekend (just imagine the mess that could have been. it took 4 wipes to clean up. my life is exciting, isn't it?). That said, these are kind of "my" diapers. I love using them because they're faster in the laundry - no stuffing etc - and smaller in the diaper bag, but everyone else seems to throw the whole shabang in the pail regardless of if the shell is soiled. Granted, I haven't really explained the AI2 concept to anyone. I am always a little wary of scaring folks with my diaper chatter, especially since these are more "complicated" than your basic pocket from the diaper-changer's perspective.

BumGenius Elementals
These fit pretty much the same at the 4.0s, but are not pockets and are somewhat trimmer in the bottom. So far so good. We haven't given these a run for their money yet, but I have a feeling they'll be a good choice for outings and such due to the organic cotton which I've found to be nice and absorbent. I kind of want more, but I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of BG's new "freestyle" - the AIO with a stay dry inner AND flap construction - so I'm holding off.

Oh Katy These are OK. They're a little trimmer than the BGs, and I like the snap-over waist. However, it never seems to lie flat (seeing as we are no where near the outside snaps). The hip snap is good though, and they work fine. The colors are awesome too.

Avery's first OS diaper (around 10 w and 8.5 or so lbs)

Rumparooz These are my favs. If they weren't $$$ I'd get a full stash of them (I think 5 of our 6 were bought used). The aplix and snaps fit equally well, even on our skinny babies. I like the fleece more than suedecloth too, and they're easy to stuff (some of our more well loved BGs seems a little sticky inside). They're a little more fluffy than the BGs, but I love them. The leg gussets - inside and out - are also nicer to me.

Quinn's first OS diaper (probably around 10w and 7.5 or so lbs)

Kawaii
We have three (bought used, I think they're One Size Minkys). They fit similarly to the BGs, and the minky fabric truely is soft. The inside is sort of rough though, and I'm not sure if its from age or just lower quality than the other diapers (given the cost and all). But, so far so good in terms of diaper-duty. The pocket is GIANT (deep/roomy - the opening itself is sort of narrow) on these and I think I might like them a lot for overnight.

BottomBumpers
I only have one of these - the snap down inside is a cool way to adjust the fit, and its pretty trim for a OS. The soaker is super soft too. Its perfectly fine, but I'm not smitten - for the money, I'd rather stick to more utilitarian pocket diapers and splurge on some sized AIOs for trimmer clothes.

Grovia
We have several of these AIOs. I love the side snaps and trimness - even with them snapped down - and how narrow they are between the thighs. We have long skinny girls, so this is a bonus. You do have to be sure the soaker is tucked in when you put them on, and tuck the sides in behind it/on top of each other (this issue would go away with a larger baby), but so far so good. My only beef is the leg holes are still too big on our peanut baby, even with the second soaker snapped out, so I can't leave these out for grandmas (or, well, anyone but me since I clearly have a PROBLEM with diaper obsession...)

Avery in a Grovia and Quinn in an Oh Katy, 16 weeks (probably pushing 12 and 11 lbs, respectively)

We also have several grovia shells. LOVE these. They're lined with a mesh, so there's no PUL on baby, and the fit is trim. NB and small prefolds fit nicely inside, but I also love their snap in soakers because they are a) absorbent and b) don't move around. I'm itching to get more, as I have more shells than soakers (though plenty of prefolds...). But, see commentary on Flips about them being "mine".

Fuzzibunz
We have two OS Fuzzinbunz, and I have to be honest, I only used one twice before putting them both in the to sell pile. It worked fine, and it wasn't that hard to adjust down to fit, and was relatively trim on our then 9.5 lb baby. BUT....we have two in diapers. Due to the elastic, this is just NOT an adjust-on-the-go diaper...so...I will be selling them.

I think that's it in our current sized and one size pocket/AIO stash...I have a couple of other things to review in another post. We do also have a couple of beyond adorable Blueberries, but they will need to wait a bit - they look bigger than our BGs, so I'm holding off on those until the babies are more like 13/14 lbs.

the good, the bad...

2011-11-26T15:28:00.000-05:00

Musings on Kitchen Renovation

A Sonnet

(actually I have almost no recollection of poetry from senior year of HS, so this is really just a random assortment of thoughts. feel free to read it in iambic pentameter. I don't care if its not written that way. Do it anyway.)

Countertop ordering is easy and sort of amazing.
Show up, point to what you like, go to yard.
Dudes come to house and measure

Under a week and two money orders later, you have a fully installed countertop.
Fastest kitchen project ever. Miraculous.

Plumbing is expensive. Doing it yourself takes forever.
I can't even talk about what we paid to have our sewer pipe replaced.
And did I really spend 5 hours - 10 man hours - moving our hot and cold water lines?
But its nice to have running water and a dishwasher.
We have babies. Bottles are a pain to wash.
And plugging in all this business only took an hour.
Instant gratification, saved for the end.

Cabinets are easier to install than I thought.
But I won't pretend.
My wife did almost all of the work.
She'll get credit for the new baseboard too.
I can't wait for them, so I can stop kicking the dog's toys into the basement by accident.

And alas, we need lights. and window coverings.
and hell, new windows.
this is only the beginning.
eek.

All done

2011-11-26T11:13:00.001-05:00

With this load, all of our stuff is offically out of PA (tear). Its kind of a bummer we had to make another trip, but between the pregnancy and fast closing, we just didnt have time for a garage sale. All the stuff at our new house waiting to be disposed of took up more space in the van than this load would have!

Cloth diaper reviews, part A

2011-11-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Its been a while...
At this point, we've mostly moved into one sized diapers, but I admit I have a soft spot for a nice, trim sized diaper. So...a few reviews to date...

disclaimer: these were all purchased with my own money and I receive no compensation for reviews.

Sized

Bum Genius AIOs (discontinued except XS). Love. Love. Love. Trim, sturdy, excellent fit. Our XSs are in the to-sell pile now. The Ss are favorites of my mom, who is anti-cloth just because, well, she is (she admits she doesn't have a reason, she just thinks disposables are "normal"). I just bought half a dozen used Ms because I love these so much and am bizarrely worried I won't be able to find them in 3 months when we need them. Considering about 70% of my stash of these was used, the aplix is in great shape, and the smalls work just fine overnight with a hemp doubler inside.

babies in Extra Smalls, around 8 weeks old.

Bottom Bumpers
I just got a S one of these used and it is awesome. It seems to be a little shorter in the rise than our other smalls, but it has 4 snaps on each side. The insert is super soft and it dries pretty fast. I'm thinking about getting more, but will probably look for Mediums since I'm concerned about the rise.

Fuzzibunz
We have a couple of these in S that I bought used. The inserts seems weirdly small for the size of the pocket, but they work fine. There is NO way these would fit a 7 lb baby - we started using them around 10 and they just fit - but I like them, they're trim-ish, and we haven't had any leaks. I'm also considering more of these since they're pretty affordable for sized diapers.

Swaddlebees Simplex
We have 3 of these in the old version. These were my first sized diaper, and omg. So crazy trim, they feel like a disposable under clothes. They're a little taller than the bottombumper, and shockingly absorbent. These actually lead me to think the cotton holds more than microfiber. Supposedly these run small, and I just picked up 2 used Ms I told will fit more like 10 than 12 lbs (which is what's marked), but we're still on the tightest snaps of the Ss, so I think we have some room in them.

Thirsties Duo
We have several of these in Size 1. They were our first pockets and I really liked them. We used them with just half of the soaker for a while, then both when our then 7 and 8 lb babies started sleeping 4 hours at a time. When we moved into other pockets though, I kind of lost the love. The pocket is awkward and they're really bulky for a (semi) sized diaper - no trimmer than our OS pockets. Also, the aplix is not very sticky. Granted, ours were secondhand, but I bought them in good shape and they seemed to wear quickly. They're in the sell pile now.

outtakes

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Our first photo card ever is in the works.
One photo session down, and no clear winner....but for your viewing pleasure, a couple of outtakes!

80% done

2011-11-22T08:05:00.001-05:00

Maybe more? I can't really be bothered with such complex calculations at this point.

The kitchen is coming along.
All of these photos are from the same vantage point (the back door).

when we looked at the house (it was the same at closing, less the microwave and pans)

a few weeks ago. nevermind the collection of live wires dangling around.

now. for bonus points, there's power AND working plumbing.

faucet surgery

2011-11-21T11:45:00.001-05:00

Our new house is not so new. To be specific, it was built in 1928. We bought it as an estate from the second owner, who purchased it sometime in the late 60s. Based on the condition of the house, I think the front porch was closed in, the upstairs dormers added, siding replaced, and the kitchen renovated JUST prior to his purchase. The house must have been in tip top shape then.

Of course, as you may have surmised from the kitchen reno, nothing has been touched in the previous 40 years.

Since my mother in law is staying with us to spend some time with the babies (and my father in law will also be joining us for Thanksgiving and Christmas), we are getting a bit more use out of the semi-finished upstairs than I anticipated.

Upon purchase, the upstairs bathroom was, um...dirty. I should have taken photos, but lets just say there was rust in the toilet. It took my mother in law about 4 hours to clean the room (including scrubbing the tile ceiling. who tiles a ceiling? reno fail.). She's been here a week now and I got the first complaint Friday -- the hot water was leaking in the sink - not a drip, a steady stream, and the cold water knob basically turned to full blast upon being touched.

Like any good daughter with a handy dad (who fixed a similar leak in the downstairs bath a few weeks ago), I called for help. Sadly, I was told "pull the valve out and replace it". Sigh. Guess my free handyman is taking the weekend off.

So off I go. Remove the H/C sticker thingies, unscrew the knobs, unscrew the nut do-hickey.

well, this is lovely.

our tiny little nuggets

2011-11-09T15:44:00.003-05:00

I'm late with this, but how are our 3.5 and 5 lb babies over 3 months old! And over 9 and 10 lbs!? They're rockstars, seriously. They're on track (for the later end) for milestones for their actual age, and they're huge.

Quinn
Birth: 3 lbs 8 oz (wayyyy below the bottom of the growth chart, even for 35w gestation) & 16 inches (slightly less far below but still at least an inch below the lines)
3 months: 9 lbs 9 oz (scraping the 1st percentile line for actual age, and around 10th for adjusted) & 22.5 inches (around 15th percentile actual and 55th adjusted). This is our IUGR baby, and I'm very proud.

Avery
Birth: 5 lbs 0 oz (
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More progress

2011-11-06T21:15:00.003-05:00

Of course there is no electric

Happy Halloween

2011-11-06T21:15:00.001-05:00

I can't believe they're already over two months old!

Making progress

2011-11-03T21:54:00.001-04:00

Of course, we still need the other half of the cabinets......and to hook up the plumbing and electric....the heat is on.

Yea climate change is a lie

2011-10-30T08:19:00.001-04:00

Neighbor's yard, 3 inches of snow, 10/29

St Louis Rock and Roll Half Marathon

2011-10-29T09:48:00.000-04:00

I went into this race with a good deal of trepidation. I was not well trained. My last half was more or less a tear jerker (also not well trained, but with unreasonable expectations). But, I went into this with a better attitude and a goal of finishing in 2:15, which isn't bad for my very minimal training.

The race started on a good note with a nice, well organized, uncrowded and excellent vendor-ed expo. Love.

Sunday morning, the temperature was perfect, and the weather was beautiful. I was dropped off at the start(ish) at 7:05 and had EXACTLY enough time to gear check and pee. EXACTLY. I could not have planned it better. I was still in line for the potties when the wheelchairs took off. By that point, I also needed to do more - thanks AM caffeine! - so there was no leaving the line. Thankfully, it moved pretty fast and I got to my corral right as it was walking up to the start. I ditched my throw-away tee, and off we went.

Since I like to go out too fast, I hung with the 2 hr pace team for the first 5 miles. There was talk about this being a hilly course, but it really wasn't. There were a couple in the first few miles, and a few minor ups and major downs at the end, but nothing serious. AND I love end-of-race downhills. After I let the 2 hr pacers slip away, I just tried to keep it up. My plan was to walk water stops, and I managed to stick to it except two brief walks around miles 10 and 12. There was water an average of every 1.5 miles, so that helped a lot. I had some Gu Chomps around mile 8, and shortly there after put in my headphones. There WERE lots of bands and a reasonable number of spectators on the course, but I was pretty spent by this point and needed more distraction.

Overall, I felt pretty good the whole race, considering how little I trained. My left calf was tight for a few miles in the beginning - likely due to my scraped up knee from a fall on Thursday changing my stride - but it stopped bothering my around mile 9, mostly because my right calf was also burning by then :) There was only one time I got upset - when the 2:05 pacer chugged by me at mile 12 telling his group to pick it up till the end. I had no pick up. In fact, I kind of wanted to puke around here and teared up. Once we got off the bridge and there were people again I got over it though.

I finished around 2:07, I think about a minute less than at the MORE in April (which I was slightly - slightly - better trained for) so I think that's a win. And the medal was terrific. I need to get a picture. The arch is a little glittery, and it is a heavy medal. I hate cheapy race medals, so this was a bonus. The finish area and gear check/pickup was also fabulously well organized as well.

I had to walk a few blocks up the street to meet up with my family, so I stopped to see (I was crossing around mile 12.75/26 or so) the elite finishers of the marathon and some more of the half runners. I saw the lead female just behind her pace car - that was pretty cool. She had a good few minutes lead on the next woman. I could almost see her thinking "don't look back don't look back I'm behind the PACE CAR don't stop".

While I am still a little sad about my training, I've done ok writing it off to newborns and construction, and I hope to run this race again (for time perhaps).

you've got to be f-ing kidding me.

2011-10-28T08:35:00.004-04:00

IT IS OCTOBER.

And if its snowing I can't bring our 13 week old babies to see the team we used to coach play :(

Rolling rolling

2011-10-25T10:32:00.001-04:00

Ok we're not that advanced. But we are flying in style.

and how about this?

2011-10-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

Also in the kitchen photos....the back of the medicine cabinet...

Its still a little hard to see here, but those little gray shards under the cabinet are razor blades.
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did you catch that?

2011-10-14T09:08:00.000-04:00

In the kitchen photos of my last post, you might have seen this gem.

progress

2011-10-13T09:04:00.000-04:00

Changes to the house have begun.

In no particular order...(disclaimer: I didn't take good post-purchase pre-reno photos, so all of my befores are from house hunting. Lots of random poses!)

Front porch before

it's hard to see here, but that's faux tile.

Front porch (floor) after

almost all the laminate is up! and aside from the rust line from the nails, the wood is in nice shape!

Nursery before

(I'm scoping out the prescriptions/doctors stuff hanging on the wall)

development

2011-10-10T19:11:00.000-04:00

Look how giant they are. Seriously. I know they're still small (8 and 9 lbs at this photo), but they've nearly doubled in size since they came home and they don't look nearly as silly in their car seats.

also, can we discuss how "boy's" Carter's sleepers seem to be an inch longer than "girls"? wtf?

But, being 5 weeks early (and gestationaly disadvantaged in Quinn's case, thanks to IUGR), they're not quite up with their 2 month old peers. I know all babies develop differently, blah blah blah, and we're no where near 2 mo adjusted, but its still a bit of a drag to have them be tiny newborns for what feels like forever (they ARE damned cute though).

And I was pretty bummed when a facebook friend from HS posted a picture of her daughter - who is three days younger- with a big gummy grin. I know it'll come in time.

They are getting cuter by the day though :)

technology

2011-10-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes we forget how far we've come.

This charmer also came out of our new kitchen (screwed into the wall in giant metal box as this is clearly the inside). My amateur eye thinks it dates to the 60s (and, ok, that's about when it was last remodeled).

That's my Droid X hanging out there for comparison.

exhaustion, part 2

2011-10-07T19:01:00.000-04:00

My disclaimer is the babies are not bad sleepers for their adjusted age. And I do not spend 3 hrs a day pumping like my poor wife.

But I am tired.

We half abandoned the shift schedule. Sort of. We try to get Chris to bed by 9 and I take the babies, then she's the primary overnight since I have to go to work. When they're both up, we both feed them (then - or before- she pumps, oye). Its not a bad deal most nights since we can do the whole thing in 30ish minutes....most nights anyway. Sometimes one (::coughusuallyaverycough::) is up and screaming or insisting on being held for a few hours. Then it doesn't work so well. But it is improving.

I am crossing my fingers though that they're sleeping through the night (at least 11-5) by the time Chris goes back to work in 4 weeks.

Debut

2011-10-06T18:49:00.000-04:00

At 22 inches, Avery was really pushing the limits of NB clothes. As an aside, we have mostly Carters and Target stuff...a quick browse online of holiday stuff shows the recommended lengths on these clothes to be bigger than those at Gymboree, which limits 0-3 to 23". wtf? Avery is below 50% for actual age in length...

But I digress.

The little dolls in their first
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I hope this isn't a sign.

2011-10-05T18:46:00.001-04:00

We started demo-ing the kitchen.

I took off a wall plate with 4 slots (one of which was empty).

For bonus points, lets note those 3 switches were replaced around 2 years ago when the prior owner had some work done to spiff the place up enough to get a live-in nurse to come (per the neighbor, said owner passed a year ago).

I'd also like to point out it was a crummy electrician. The three way switch (middle) is wired wrong. I can't wait to fix that...

2 months old!

2011-10-05T08:11:00.000-04:00

I'm undecided if I'm going to keep a separate blog for the babies. I was thinking I would use it for family/milestones etc, but really, I am making them photo albums and such as baby books and I have a shutterfly site...so...for now, its on hold. Besides, they're still newborns so we don't really have any fun activities to write about yet.

In the meanwhile...

The babies are 2 months old now (4w adjusted). At their last appointment, they were both officially on the charts! Quinn weighed in at 7lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches (that's 2 lbs in 3 weeks) and Avery was 8lbs 14 oz and 22 inches. They're both on the chart now (just barely for Quinn, and around 10-15th percentile for Avery). For their adjusted age, they're around 25th percentile (with Avery being 75th or so for length). So far so good!

And the little dolls are getting big so freaking fast. Here they are in BumGenius XS AIOs (with the lil'joeys, BG Ss (which fit), and a BG 4.0 pocket (which we haven't tried, though Avery is starting to fit into some of the smaller One Size pockets now).

running

2011-10-04T08:28:00.001-04:00

So my new goal for my fall half is to beat my spring performance. A 2:08 isn't exactly spectacular, and is 15 minutes off my PR from 2008 (15lbs lighter and running, oh, 20 miles more/week than I am now). That said, my training has been spotty, with spotty midweek runs and roughly every other weekend long runs. I MUST get 10 mile+ runs in this Saturday and next though...A look back at my training log shows 3 10 miles within the 5 weeks pre-race, and fairly similar (though slightly higher) midweek mileage (though I am doing Crossfit twice a week now, so I think it balances out), so I think I can do this. This week and next (and the week of taper) I will focus!!!! haha. (AND I will not beat myself up...I have newborns at home! I am doing a good job here, right?)

Last night was our first true fall evening and it was spectacular, if overcast. I ran 6.3 miles after work. I ran 30 minutes IN A ROW (I cannot tell you the last time I did that), then 3 10 minute periods. I felt good. I feel good today! I am going to try to squeeze in 3 miles tonight but we'll see.

At this point, weekend long runs aside, I'm shifting my focus to my Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. My 5k times have always been dismal, so a PR IS in my future.

on exhaustion

2011-09-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Don't get my wrong, the babies are adorable. They're even starting to sleep more (more on that another day), but for most of the last 7 weeks (5 home in Quinn's case), they've been up every 2-3 hours over night. I often think how easy a single baby would be - after all, it WAS easier before Quinn came home, logistically anyway - but I know that's (somewhat) unfair since our girls ARE fairly good sleepers for their gestational age. I don't know how people with bad sleepers (I'm looking at you Katy!) survive (and am hoping I am not jinxing myself with this post).

Our nighttime plan (which sorta kinda works out, as we haven't really worked out Bedtime yet, though I suppose the girls are a little young) is basically for me to be on duty until midnight or so, then Chris takes over until 5 am. I get 5-6, then she's got the babies from when I get into the shower until I get home. The upside of living with my parents right now (between houses and all) is my mom is sometimes around to help. We've been able to make this work since (something finally went right and) Chris has been very productive in the milk department (again, fingers crossed) and is usually a feeding ahead. Neither baby loves to breastfeed, and Avery in particular doesn't latch well, so they're mostly on pumped milk. I think this is awesome for so many reasons:

I can feed them
breastmilk has such great antibodies formula can't replicate
I'm pretty sure what we've spent on a pump + bags for the last 7 weeks is just over what formula would have cost us, so we'll be ahead financially soon
and
breastmilk (and breastmilk poo and spit up) doesn't smell that bad. I had a few wiffs of formula in the hospital and it freaking reeks. I don't want to think about the out-of-baby stuff until I am forced to!

But, before I am too sunshine and roses, here is what we get a lot of in the evenings:
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so we're buying a house

2011-09-20T08:19:00.000-04:00

because you know, having (two) tiny babies, a new job, and moving sounds like a good idea. Especially since it needs renovations. We're pretty high on the life stress list.

So, since I've been pretty MIA (new job and babies and all) I leave you with some pictures of what is (hopefullly) to come...

Home Sweet Home to be

the leaky utility sink. see the basement walls? that's old peeling paint. yum.

soo....the second floor was never painted....

The first floor bedrooms are smaller, but we'll be living downstairs for a long while (this will be our room).

That nook used the house the fridge (we think). Note that it is not in the kitchen.

new-ish oven. Old cabinets. No fridge or dishwasher. And can we discuss the countertop?

Looking a little skeptical about the weird corner range top and no fridge (or AC) at 34 weeks and 93 degrees.

can't fit your boat of a car into the garage? ok, trim the studs....

cancelled

2011-09-08T15:22:00.003-04:00

I just cancelled my NYCMarathon entry. I'm kind of sad. I am in no shape to consider it and barely training for my October half, but still sort of sad (and I have to pay again next year...$$$...but it is NYC and amazing).

sigh.

my fall half

2011-08-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

I am sure you're all in total suspense. Am I training? Yes.
Am I training a lot? not really
Is it even enough/interesting enough to write about? No.

I did 16 miles this week, including a 6 mile long run. After taking a couple of weeks off when the babies were born, I reworked my schedule to ditch NYC (which I still need to defer from) and work up from effectively nothing to 12 miles the week before my half. Hopefully its enough. I'm still hanging on to the see-sub-2-hrs-again dream...

As a sidebar, this is my first rugby-free season since 1999. Which is before I played rugby. This is weird and a little sad (sort of, I don't really miss the being pummeled into the ground aspect of practice), This vast expanse of free weekends is bizarre too (and endless feedings aside, I have no idea how to fill them).

Newborn diapering

2011-08-27T21:26:00.000-04:00

Size conundrum I mentioned in my previous post aside, I've been pretty happy with cloth diapering so far.

First, they're pretty darn cute.
Second, Bailey has, um, snacked on a couple of used disposables. Have you ever seen pee soaked disposable diaper gel? It reminds me of that silica gel stuff used to keep new shoes and such moisture free. Everyone in our house looks at me a little weird when I talk about it, but having that stuff next to our little newborn's bottoms 24/7 kind of skeeves me out.

Anyway, Avery is in cloth about 50% now, and Quinn will be soon (eg, when I make diapering decisions).

So, a rundown of my reviews to date on our newborn diapers:

Prefolds: nice and soft, love how fast they wash/dry, cheap and absorbant. I don't love changing them since, well, they're wet, but they go on fast and I love them for when I know I'll be changing a diaper again asap (eg, before a feeding). They're also a million times better than bibs as, well, bibs. Maybe we have crappy bibs but spitup seems to roll right off of them.

Workhouse fitteds: So far s
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Cloth diapers

2011-08-20T18:52:00.003-04:00

We're slowly starting to use them, but I had to order another box of disposable newborn diapers today. Extra painful since besides all of our diapers, we have about 250 size 1 disposables awaiting little bums! Our little Quinn is just hitting 4.5 lbs now, so it'll be a good while until she fits will even in the newborn stash I got us.

fitting into a lil'joey...but not quite into the BumGenius XS yet!

adorable

2011-08-20T18:37:00.001-04:00

Introductions to the babies - Avery & Quinn - at our mommy/ies blog. I figure people interested in the babies probably aren't interested in my fitness issues or house remodeling.

Quinn, 1 week old

Avery, 1 week old

Update your reader to include our babies, if you're so inclined!

moving (sort of)

2011-08-14T11:00:00.005-04:00

For various reasons, our baby stories will be published separately (mostly so its easier to share with family etc without boring them with non-baby stuff).

Update your reader and bookmarks if you're the following type!

http://dilbatotini.blogspot.com/2011/08/babies.html

smitten

2011-08-09T07:43:00.000-04:00

Our babies came at 35w1d due to a diagnosis of IUGR in Baby A (I'll go into the details some other time, but this turned out to be an excellent clinical decision).

They're little but perfect.
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radio silence

2011-08-08T07:40:00.006-04:00

I haven't posted in a while. No workout updates (and I'm deferring my NYC entry to 2012, but that's other post).

Here's why:
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Honeydew Melon

2011-07-27T16:51:00.005-04:00

Thanks BabyCenter. And we're having babies Friday - 35w1d - so place your bets.

http://www.expectnet.com/games/dilbatotini

NYC Marathon Training, Week 3

2011-07-24T18:18:00.003-04:00

15 Weeks to go. And so it continues.

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 3 m

Actual: 3 m (28:01) and Crossfit (29 squats and 400 runs. I did 65 lbs on the squat and was sore for 2 days. I think I did 4 sets in 25 minutes.)

Wednesday

Scheduled: 5 m

Actual: Rest.

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 m

Actual: 3 m (29:47, 101 degrees without index, holy hell) and Crossfit (deadlifts and pullups. Did 135# and green band, 55 reps total of each).

Friday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: 5 m on treadmill (43 and change)

Saturday

Scheduled: 6 m (long)

Actual: Rest.

Sunday

Scheduled: Cross

Actual: 6.75 m (1:05:51. And I only stopped 4 times which is a record for me, not even considering it was 83 degrees and so humid I literally dripped when I stopped)

Weight:unknown, since I refuse to record a number after eating fast food :)

shopping

2011-07-23T08:15:00.001-04:00

Since we sold our house, we've been house shopping!

Keep in mind we saw 46 houses before buying in PA, so we anticipated nothing less here, especially given our quite limited budget given our losses in PA and the reality of NJ real estate taxes (about double PA, like everything else here).

We've seen some gems....mostly gems of estates, with "vintage" kitchens circa 1953 and not touched since, original carpet, second floors that smell like they haven't seen an open window since 1964. In an effort to not be a digital packrat, I've deleted the photos from the places we walked out of saying "not a cold chance in hell".

But here's some gems from the houses we've considered...

This one is a nice property. 3/1, with potential for expansion with just a small/bathroom sized dormer into 4/2. Nice big corner lot (by our standards, about 1/4 acre) nice neighborhood and good schools (just 3 blocks away!), though the other side of the street backs up to a small highway.

Lawn furniture needs to be on FAUX GRASS. Don't hurt the real grass. The gnome is watching.

An older house, also in a good area, nice fenced yard, some character. 3/1 with a big family room addition on the back.

And creative decor all over the basement. Plywood and spraypaint is my idea of a finished basement for sure!

These are from a tiny little house, one our realtor calls a "dollhouse". It is actually super cute, a 2/1 with a fenced yard and a nice garage and a finished basement.

Random pile of painted rocks in the middle of the basement.

OH. Enter the finished area, and its a basement "fireplace". Interesting remodeling choice, but OK.

And the kitchen...compare the width of that doorway to the width of the stove. No requirement to host Thanksgiving!

NYC Marathon Training, Week 2

2011-07-18T08:31:00.000-04:00

Week 1 was a success. Onward and upward right?

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Crossfit. I honestly have no idea what I did Monday night. I need to find my book. In the car I hope (?)

Tuesday

Scheduled: 3 m

Actual: Rest. I can't recall why either.

Wednesday

Scheduled: 5 m

Actual: Rest. House shopping. Good excuse I think!

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 m

Actual: 3 m (28 and change, neighborhood I'm house shopping in) and Crossfit (managed 2.6ish rounds of the WOD, which included waiter walks (35# - kind of complicated to type out but a basic movement in practice), lots of sit ups, and supermans.

Friday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: 3 m (29:29, first mile was with the pup)

Saturday

Scheduled: 9 m (long)

Actual: 5 m (48:33. did about 1/2 mile with Bailey, then 6x400, then went home. Then felt guilty and returned out for another 1.5 miles, albeit with lots of stops. Time does not include stops of course. Intervals ranged from 2:07/8:30 pace (first one - wtf?) to 1:52/7:31 pace.)

Sunday

Scheduled: Cross

Actual: 9 mi. 1:30 ish. I almost bailed at 6... stopped at home for a while...waiting till evening - in 85+ heat - AND eating ( fabulous) Red Robin for lunch was a bad combo. I stopped a lot (watch off! ) That said, the last three miles felt better than the first three!

Weight: 167 (this is from 7/18 though; I forgot to weigh myself over the weekend)

pineapples.

2011-07-14T10:51:00.003-04:00

Today my baby mama is 33 weeks pregnant! Just one more milestone to go!
I get weekly emails from a baby site, and word on the street is she is carrying around two PINEAPPLE sized kiddos. Unreal. Tough cookie, my wife is, considering she's going to be pregnant for 4 more weeks!
Read more »

name games.

2011-07-11T16:06:00.002-04:00

We picked out first names for the babies long ago. No debate really. We have similar taste. Easy peasy.

But middle names.
Ugh.

Now, keep in mind, neither of us use our middle names. I kind of want to skip them since we're having issues and the babies will have a massive last name, but have been vetoed. We like the idea the kids could choose to go by their first or middle name later, or even both (ala Bobby Jo?). There is some merit though, to this since my brother uses his first name professionally (its kind of awful) and his middle at school/socially.
So help me out. What criteria did you use to pick middle names?
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NYC Marathon Training, Week 1

2011-07-10T09:58:00.000-04:00

And so we begin the 18 week program....I'm planning to do weekly recaps ala a blog I follow in an effort to keep myself on track.

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest. 4th of July, yo.

Tuesday
Scheduled: 3 miles
Acutal: 3.37 mile run, 31:20. Woot for a successful first day of training. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. (Train station to flat land for 6x400. Stopped - always untimed - about 6 times. I'll blame the heat. Intervals from 1:47/7:10 pace to 2:05/8:23 pace. Not bad, aside from being a pretty broad spread! I think that slow one was half uphill though.)

Wednesday
Scheduled: 5 miles
Actual: 3.04 miles, 26:44. (around the gym sort of, no idea on number of stops. At least one when I accidentally ran into the train station parking lot)
& Crossfit WOD. I can't remember the Rx offhand, but in 20 minutes I did 3 rounds + 10 shoulder presses of 6 rope progressions, 5 kick ups (aiming for a handstand pushup), 15 should presses (45#), and 10 overhead squats (45#).

Thursday
Scheduled: 3 miles.
Actual: Dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Happy Birthday to me.

Friday
Scheduled: rest
Actual: 3.34 miles within the Crossfit WOD, which included 75 burpies. I might have cheated a little on the burpies and not hit the ground on almost all of them. It was raining. And I was wearing my favorite race tee. I can't remember my total time but I timed the running parts and that was around 27:30.

Saturday:
Scheduled: 8 miles
Actual: 2.07 miles, 19:51 with the dog. This is probably our fastest run together. I think I need to figure out how to run and not slow down with the leash, because I KNOW he is faster than me!

Sunday:
Scheduled: crosstraining
Actual: 9.64, 1:34 or thereabouts. I went to a running group for the first time ever this morning. They were doing 6-10, and I decided to take the 6 route and do the last two on my own (I was worried I couldn't keep up at the end and didn't want to look like a tool my first time out. I did 6 miles there, or so I thought...the woman I was running with stopped off at her house, and I headed back to my car, and went home to get the dog for my last two.

Then I realized it was a lot later than it should have been. Anyway, I went home and got Bailey, and we did a mile. Despite our good run Saturday, he was not having it (10:47, not counting total stops), and I did the last mile on my own.

Then I downloaded my garmin (9:46 average). Then I saw a giant streak of non-recording. Um. Ok. So I finally hooked up the Garmin Connect business to see the streets I missed, and backtracked my run on mapmyrun.com. Looks like I didn't record about 1.64 miles, give or take (hah). I have no idea how long it was, running with my new stroller pushing runner maybe-buddy, so I decided just to record it under the average pace of the rest of the run.

Anyway, long run success.

Total mileage for the week: 21.3
Crossfit: 2x

Weight: 167.5 Saturday AM

on the road again

2011-07-04T12:43:00.000-04:00

OK, like my track record indicates (I won't even link to all of these posts) I have a lot of trouble getting motivated to run outside a training plan. I haven't done well at all trying to stick to the 5k plan I posted since, well, I can run 3 miles without a problem and I just am not in a mindset right now that makes me feel I can run them well (e.g. PR, etc).

So I've sort of moved on. I'm scheduled to run NYC this fall (and am nervous about training since a) it is a full and my half training of recent (er, 18 months+) has blown/I am lazy and b) we will have two little helpless babies at home). Given these "issues, I've opted for a lower mileage plan (as compared to the plans I was browsing aiming for a 4 hr race, "intermediate" training, and so forth.

Enter Mr. Hal. I used Hal Hidgon's novice half program for my first (really second but first in years) half in 2007 with great success (broke 2 hrs on my first try!). I used other plans for my 2007 and 2008 fulls but have decided its time to go back to my roots for my 2011 full (which I will not screw up, lol. I can do this, right?)

So Hal's Novice Full program it is! I decided this week - since training starts next week on this 18 week program, omg - I would do the program with a 6-7 mile long run to ramp up (one ramp!) to the 8 mile run next weekend. There's two really appealing things about this program:
1) It has 4 days/week of running. In my experience, its REALLY hard to do more than that + crosstrain + go to work + do things like see my relatives I live with.
2) I has stepback weeks. I think this will be really important to my sanity this fall. See previous note about upcoming babies.

So this week, I embarked on my trial run of sorts...here's how it went:

Monday: Rest & dinner out with both of our moms!

Tuesday: Crossfit. I was supposed to run 3 miles too but I was SO tired from our 4:30 am trip to the airport with my mother in law. We did handstand pushups and pullups for 20 minutes. I can't do either, so you can imagine how modified it was. And I'm super graceful. I am sure the coaches laughed about me all night.

Wednesday: planned 3 miles with 6x400. Did 2.98 with 6x400 (splits from 1:54/7:36 pace to 2:01/8:05 pace). Also did 0.8 with the dog.

Thursday: did 3 miles. Planned on Crossfit but bailed.

Friday: did 5 miles split between a 2 & a 3 mile run about 30 minutes apart. Overall pace was 8:49 but I stopped a lot in the last couple of miles...

Saturday: rest day, swam 1/4 mile though...

Sunday: 7 miles on the schedule. Did nil.
Oops.

Marathon training starts this week though, no more excuses!

showered

2011-07-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

We've been so lucky to have such generous friends and family.

First, the team we (used to, sob) coach threw us a shower...

Then my "internet friends" threw us an INCREDIBLELY generous virtual shower!

just one of the awesome gifts!

Then our families threw one!

We still need a bunch of little things, but we have some duplicate items so I think its all pretty much covered....now to find a house for our babies to grow up in...

scaredy cat

2011-06-22T20:08:00.000-04:00

And the thunderstorm fear continues.

on the road again

2011-06-21T14:04:00.001-04:00

This is the 4 weeks to 5k/ramp up to marathon training plan I've written myself (really its an intermediate 5k program coupled with increasing long runs to get me ready to do 10 miles in mid-July!)...I'm hoping to hit a 24 minute 5k in mid-July (which would be a huge PR, by 2 minutes per mile, so lets not kid ourselfs and remember I'd be happy with a sub-26 min 5k which would also be a PR!).

The race falls right in the first week of marathon training, so it should fit fabulously.

So here's the plan...

the 5k isn't left off...its actually the Wednesday after this plan ends!

so. onward.

training fail, and moving and such

2011-06-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

So just ignore my last post about my workout plan...I did about 15 miles total last week (capping at 4), and two Crossfit workouts.

In my defense, we spent the weekend packing up the house and moving it into storage (well, 85% of it...some of it is with us in NJ, and about 5% is still awaiting our removal on Friday). After 8 (combined) months on the market, our house is under contract. We're looking at a June 30 closing, less than a month from offer to end...

Its very weird.

I am less sad than I anticipated, as long as I don't think too much about the room we painted to use as a nursey that became my closet. I'm weirdly hung up on the fact we don't have a nursery for the twins. It BOTHERS me. That is nuts, I know.

On the upside, we can start looking for a new place now. Sadly, the market has continued to plummet, and our house is selling for (slightly) less than we bought it for, despite all the work we've done (and the fact two VERY similar houses sold on our block last year for 5-10% more...). So, we're a nice chunk of change poorer than we anticipated, which will make a big impact on our moving process.
Oh well.
For now, we have a lovely attic to call home.

fall races. and 8 weeks to go.

2011-06-16T17:22:00.000-04:00

So for this fall I'm planning to run the NYC Marathon. Sorta. The babies are coming in mid-August, so I'm trying to be open minded about deferring. BUT I am DEFINATELY doing the St Louis Half in October, so....I need to start training. It even fits perfectly with one of the two training plans I'm considering for NYC (last summer's Runner's World's 4 hr plan. because, you know, with a 16:55 2 mile time I'm TOTALLY in shape to run a 4 hr marathon. LOLsies).

Problem?
I'm only doing 10-15 miles a week, capping around 5-6 miles at a pop.
Ugh.
Time to get moving on up. I basically have until the week of July 17 to get fit and get my long run up to 10 miles and my weekly base to 25 miles.

July 17 is in a month. That's 5 running weeks, counting this week. I've run 4 miles this week. And stopped a million times.
Is this a bad idea?
I'm not sure.
But here it goes.
Plan for the rest of the week is 3 3-4 milers and a 7 miler this weekend. That'll put me to at least 20.

and, for the record, if you've been following my weight loss commentary...
I haven't lost an ounce. Still going back to WW though. Again. (OK, technically I weight 2 lbs less than what I did 11 months ago, but we all know 2 lbs is a salty meal).
Seriously though, I need to lose this 15-25 lbs before I give the unborn babies complexes at age 2.

running gear review

2011-06-06T16:43:00.000-04:00

who doesn't love a good (completely unsolicited and uncompensated-purchased-by-me) review?

Oh hail the Bondi Band & Spi Belt.

I got my SpiBelt for Christmas from my wife, sort of a tag along to the new Droid phone I got in late December which is (great &) way too big for my old belt. Love. This this is amazing. It looks tiny, but it really hold a ton. I usually pop my phone and keys into it, and have also added a gu. It could easily hold a couple plus my standard stuff. It doesn't seem to stretch out of shape either. Major love. My only issue is it isn't water proof, but its nothing a zip lock baggie for the phone can't cure!! Also, it REALLY doesn't bounce! I like to wear it fairly low, more like a low slung belt (high hips) than a waist belt (which is how gear belts tend to ride) and it really does stay put when I have it tight enough and properly lined up in the small of my back. Love I tell you.

The BondiBands are a more recent purchase, sort of an impulse buy at the MORE expo. I had read about them online (as being terrific) and was still skeptical. Color me suprised. They really do stay put. Totally worth the money, and I'm toying with ordering more so I can launder these more often when they're all sweaty and gross in the summer. I have a big head and they more than fit, very comfortably. I usually roll the edges slighty, and have also folded them in half for a more narrow headband. Amazingness. They do leave my hair a little matted looking after a run, but I am so beyond gross at that point its really a moot point. They're also not bad as a little ear warmer for chillier morning, and easy to push back as you get warm! Another win!

winning.

2011-06-05T19:16:00.000-04:00

Quite literally.

Today I did a local 2 miler with my family. All the stats aren't posted yet, but I won my age group with a time of 16:55. I can't help but wonder a smidge
Read more »

babies babies babies.

2011-06-04T16:42:00.001-04:00

I'm super obsessed. Like I have little else to talk about besides diapers and babies. And my workout schedule but that's nothing new. Maybe if my job was more...engaging I'd talk about that too. But mostly, its all babies, all the time.

we promised one of our players we wouldn't call them Double Trouble. But the ultrasound tech missed the memo.

hi!

2011-06-03T11:45:00.000-04:00

we need to find doggie day care here. what is our baby going to do when the babies come?

so why cloth?

2011-05-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

ok, in all honestly, I'm nesting. Except we're moving. And living, weekdays, in my parents' attic. So....no nursery for us and this is the best I can do.

But besides that, here's some reasons I am cloth obsessed:

1) Cost. Discussed previously. In short, I think we'll save upwards of $1500 (probably more like $2000+) with cloth diapers.
2) Waste.

getting ready...

2011-05-23T20:37:00.004-04:00

I picked up a few weeks ago for a great deal - just a smidgen more than a 2011 single model on a clearance sale of last year's model at a small running store (thanks to a tip from an internetz friend).

have no fear, soon there will be a test run with stuffed animals.

My mamma-in-law came to visit last weekend and we made our first "real" purchases (e.g., for things we actually NEED).

infant seats, from C's grandfather.

We also ordered our cribs - small footprint & small pricetag, but still convertibles (for the outside chance we get a house that can fit full sized beds in the kids' room) and super sturdy & pretty well reviewed. (We still need to get mattresses though, something I am trying not to obsess over)

And we got home (well, to our home-ish, at my parents) to this in the living room:


my mom found it at a consignment shop. aside from where you can see a piece is missing, it is IMMACULATE. like I don't think it was ever used. It's now living on top of the massive car seat boxes in the living room. The stroller is next to our bed. Where the heck are you supposed to store this stuff (e.g. if you're living in an apartment or, say, your parents' attic?)?

diapers, part B

2011-05-22T14:52:00.000-04:00

One day there will be a follow up to this post, but no time soon (seeing as its a couple of months till our babies arrive to begin with!).

stash to date (missing our 72 prefolds, 4 S workhorse fitteds, and 2 flip covers)....the bottom 4 rows are the One-Size diapers & covers waiting for 12 lb babies!

As I alluded to in my previous post, we plan to transition to One Size diapers one the babies are big enough. If we end up liking fitteds, we might get a couple of extra of those (likely Thirsties Duos or some GMD workhourse sized ones to make it more economical). Since its going to be a while until we know what works for us, I've built us a pretty diverse One Size stash - pockets from various brands (still need to pick up some Kawaii and maybe Happy Heinys, and I'm torn about Fuzzibunz due to the elastic adjustments), a couple of all-in-ones (still need a couple of Bum Genius Elementals and I'm interested in Bright Star Baby even though they're not one size....the size range looks huge!). I've also gotten a few one-size covers (GroVia and Flip) that we can use with our infant prefolds tri-folded, which sounds like a compact option for being out-and-about with the babies. I think I will pick up a couple of GroVia soakers to try those out too.

ok, this was kind of a splurge, but adorable - and minky soft...

Do I sound like a crazy person?
Yes.
Why am I diaper obsessed?
Because I can't build a nursery due to our living arrangement, and its all I can purchase/obsess over right now.
Read more »

end of an era

2011-05-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

I played my last rugby game ever this past Saturday (photo from two weeks ago, when it wasn't raining & we were playing in a questionable area of Baltimore).

For the record, my heart is in second row, even if I am a short-ish and thick-ish 4 better suited for 1. Too bad coach noticed this season and I got well acquainted prop.

10 years, 19 seasons (I missed Spring 2004), one dislocated thumb, one pulled back muscle & three stitches (a perk of being so-so and not particularly aggressive about contact
Read more »

our first mother's day

2011-05-20T14:07:00.000-04:00

(card made by one of our collegiate players, not weird trans-utero communication)

diapers.

2011-05-19T07:11:00.004-04:00

In short, I'm a little obsessed.
We're having twins.
Babies are expensive. Well, not inherently, but when you factor in day care and swim lessons and our desire to not default on (mostly my) student loans, they are. So one of the ways we hope the save money (the the environment a little bit along the way) is with cloth diapers.

At 10-12 diapers/day for newborns, that's (using 12 diapers per day, since I'm sure we'll have our share of insta-soil issues) 168 diapers/week. Let's assume they fit into Newborn diapers for a month (4 weeks; we'll live in pregnancy counting for the sake of this argument). That's 672 diapers. I have heard Amazon is the queen of cheap diapers, especially under Subscribe & Save, but for this I'm going to use non-S&S figures as a way of averaging diapers bought online and in store. So, a quick peek on Amazon at Pampers Swaddlers (I'll talk about our non-financial reasons for cloth another day) says that is $129 (really a little more, since you'll have part of a bag left). Now obviously, I have no idea how big our babies will be, but let's assume they move into size 1 around 4 week and wear those for 2 months (they're marked 8-15lbs) and spend weeks 12-16 in size 2. I'll assume we've gotten better at poo catching and are down to 10 diapers/day/baby. So that's another 1680 diapers at about $0.21 each on Amazon, for $353 (ish). I'm not really sure how many diapers fit into a trash can, but I'm going to guess, given the size of a bag of dry, un-expanded-by-pee diapers, its a full 50 (40?) gallon can a week of plastic wrapped poop.

So for 4 months, that's (at least) $482 in disposable diapers for 16 weeks.

Read more »

its been a while

2011-05-18T13:10:00.000-04:00

since I've aw-ed our dog.

Isn't he a cutie?

do-over

2011-05-06T13:21:00.000-04:00

Its been two years since I had my melanoma removed. I kind of regret not taking a photo of the mole (though who does that?) or a photo of the scar when it was fresh. Its kind of skin colored now and no longer raised, albeit still long and pretty huge.

Since then, I've had 2 more suspicious moles removed (neither of the sharpie-marker variety, and both the derm took off only because of my history and their slight odd-ness). I had a mole removed at my last appointment
Read more »

Broad Street 10 Miler

2011-05-02T11:22:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, I did the Broad Street Run. I did this race in 2007, on 4 hours sleep following a graduation event, and finished in just over 90 minutes. Of course, I was 15 lbs lighter and in a whole lot better shape...So, while I planned to aim for 90 minutes when I registered, after my performance at the MORE Half Marathon, I decided to take it easy and have fun and not be more or less in tears at the finish line.

So, the race report...

I can't comment on the expo, as I had a friend get my packet for me since I couldn't be in Philly Friday or Saturday. She didn't mention issues, so I assume all was good. My lovely wife did get me an upgraded tee when she registered me, and that's awesome because a) it is blue, not school bus yellow like the cotton ones and b) it is super silky soft and I sort of love it. I got a L (I wear a medium in most tees, but tech tees run small), and its big in the body but fits well in the arms and shoulders and I liked it a ton wearing it yesterday afternoon!

Onto the race...I got up at 4:30 am. Ughhh. I was not pleased when my alarm went off. Anyway, I got up so early since its a 40 minute or so drive to the parking area, and the race packet sufficiently scared me into arriving early. I also took the subway from Center City (rather than the finish) to the start in 2007, and it took me like 20 minutes to get on and I barely got my bag checked in time that year...and the race has DOUBLED in size since then, so I was concerned. All that worry for naught though. I was in the third row of the parking lot. I was on a half full subway. I got to the race start at 6:30 am. For an 8:30 am race. Yawn. And thank goodness for smartphones to amuse me! So I bummed around, ate breakfast, etc until 7:30, when I used the potra-potty again (minimal lines) and checked my bag. I admit I was worried about bag check as well, since the race literature said to put your address in it just in case there was an issue returning it (as a result, I opted to carry my phone & keys in my belt, something I normally don't do for races, but I didn't want to be stranded).

MOST ORGANIZED BAG CHECK EVER. After my shade bag check experience at More, I was more than pleased with this. There were volunteers on the buses - same guy both ways - tagging the bags with a wristband with the bus number & your bag's number. You got a wristband to wear AND a sticker for your bib (they were heavy plastic too, not the weird paper ones that get all sweaty and gross). The only downside was bag check closed at 8 am, so I had a while to chill, literally.

around where I eventually lined up, mid-commoner land, at 6:30 am. See that white thing in the distance?? that is the start.

So bagless, I wandered over to the start. Since I'm not as fast as I think I am, I decided to set up at the front of my corral even though I planned to finish around the end of its "time" (1:30-1:40). I didn't want to move back a whole corral since people less self aware (teehee) than me tend to start out too far up and I don't like dodging walkers.
Read more »

wanted

2011-04-29T10:11:00.001-04:00

Our house is for sale again (for a few weeks now). Can we pleassseee get a buyer? Please? I accept that we'll likely lose a nice chunk of change between our repairs/upgrades and the realtor fees.

But I am ready to move on. We need to pack up (and stop commuting between our "vacation" home in PA on the weekends and my parents' attic in NJ weekdays). We need to nest (more on that later).

But meantime, we mostly browse. And I've made a mental list of what to look for in our next place. In an ideal world, we could have all of these things. Heck, we probably could elsewhere, someplace much cheaper than the NYC Metro (Seeing as a number of my wants didn't make the cut in the somewhat cheaper PHL metro). Alas, our jobs are here and so is my tiny family. So, we will make due with our limited budget (seeing as I owe Citibank my first born for my graduate education, but am opting to keep the kid and pay on my loans for yearsssss) and I am sure have to settle of a limited number of wants.

Must

Dry basement. An actual basement, none of this crawlspace crap. Better than nothing but annoying.
Garage.

A London Afternoon

2011-04-28T10:09:00.001-04:00

Not really, but I was channeling Mr. Bean last Wednesday.

I had a dermatologist appointment, and I booked with a doc in midtown since I needed a new one (and I work in Chelsea now). A HS friend of mine who is a resident at Columbia Presbyterian recommended this practice, and its about 20 minutes from my office via subway & foot.
Read more »

half baked!

2011-04-17T08:45:00.000-04:00

aren't they just adorable? such lovely little profiles.

(yes, I am totally aware you can barely see the profile since the picture is a little fuzzy)

eee.

2011-04-09T20:31:00.002-04:00

i entered my first cloth diaper giveaway on one of my favorite mommy(ies) blog. excited. and obsessed. and the babies aren't even here yet.

update

2011-04-05T06:35:00.002-04:00

well not exactly, but more to come on the Twin Chronicles (or something similar).

18w4d with the big brother.

MORE Half race report

2011-04-04T09:53:00.002-04:00

In no particular order...

Organization
The MORE half marathon was taken over by NYRR this year. My only experience with NYRR is the NYC Marathon, and I was not at all disappointed with the organization of this event. There were lots and lots of portapotties (I used them 60 and 30 minutes before the race, with no issues) and good signage. The baggage area was less secure than I'd prefer - just piles by bib number and a guy in a red wig checking to see that your bib and tag matched - but it was fine and surprisingly low chaos.

The corrals were arranged by bib color, which was based on the best half pace you submitted with your entry. Now, my best half was 3 yrs ago, and about 10 minutes faster than I hoped to run this race, so this was sort of a fail. I lined up two corrals back from there with the 2 hr pace group. No issues at all, and it wasn't crowded in the least.

The Race Itself

The race started more or less on time. I didn't even look to be honest, so it must have been close. I opted to skip the Garmin and ran with my watch. For the first 4 miles, I hung with the 2 hr pacers (you can see where this is going). Its been soooo long since I did a 2 hr half (3 yrs) and lets all be advised that doing 3 ten milers in training where you stop in the middle for 1-3 hrs to do other things (like work, dinner, conference calls) are not the same as a single ten miler run straight through. And, well, I'm 15ish lbs heavier than my last sub-2hr half in 2008. And running 20 miles/week on a good week.

So off we went. The course is two loops (note to self: don't choose loop races) in Central Park. Its an attractive course, but I was pretty disappointed with the crowd support. It only really existed on the south end of the park near where the start and finishing areas were... I was unimpressed with the famed Big Hill. It was long, but fairly low in terms of grade (not that it was easy, but it was less imposing than the one at mile 9 or so of the Philly Half). Of course, we did run it twice, and it was after this hill I ditched the pace group (well, technically they ditched me; its not like I outran them). I could have hung for another 2 or 3 miles, but no way I was going to make it for 8 more. Also, the 2 hr pacers were doing the race as part of their 20 mile training run, which irrationally annoyed me. I KNOW pacers aren't pacing a pace that is their race pace and aren't racing the race but it still bugged me. And the "lead" one kind of reminded me of Charlotte from Sex in the City and that also bugged me. Oh well.

its nice...but boring...maybe I'd be more amused if Central Park was new to me?

The rest of the race was OK. I walked the water stops - every mile and a half or so which was awesome - and two other times I think. I will admit I got kind of upset at the finish line. I had 90 minutes to prepare myself for not hitting two hours; I knew it wasn't happenning, but I was still kind of bummed when I crossed the finish line. And, oh my god, my left arch hurt so bad from 5-8 and 12-13 or so. I should see a podiatrist, really. The medals are ok but unimpressive (decent though) and I appreciated the finish line apple. I would have liked a bottle of water (if they existed, I missed them), and Thomas's Bagel Thins in NYC? I know they're a sponsor, but come on. Boo. Baggage pick up was easy.

looking awesome post race....

After
Due to some minor scheduling issues, I had to take the train home (my parents had dropped me off). I walked to Columbus Circle to get the subway to Penn Station (and a brownie at Au Bon Pain en route). Of course, my Metrocard was empty, so I was a bit of a spectacle refilling it as my mylar superhero cape billowed in the stairway draft. OK, I might have been a spectacle/hot mess on the train too. It was too hot to put my sweatshirt back on but too cold without it! Anddd during my connection I changed from a super hero cape into a sweatshirt/mylar skirt outfit. It was awesome I tell you, awesome.

Anyway, overall, it was an OK race, just disappointed with myself. 2:08:09; 9:47 pace; 2533 of 7494 and 640 of 1408 in the 25-29 age group.

The Conception Chronicles: Win

2011-03-24T09:46:00.001-04:00

This is the tenth installment in a short series about baby making.

5w4d ultrasound. Healthy yok & gestational sacs.
6w4d ultrasound. Healthy sacs, measurements, and heartbeats.

We followed this up with a couple of rocky weeks (for reasons I don't want to rehash, but since resolved) of appointments with our RE, and graduated to the OB! Since we're moving, we had to find a new doc, and I was lucky enough to get a referal from an old friend who is a NICU nurse to a really awesome MFM (high risk OB) to take care of us. Why the MFM instead of a regular OB? Well, whenever there's plural babies, a pregnancy is inherently higher risk. While we didn't HAVE to go this route, I feel safer with it. And, bonus points, our MFM does deliveries, so we are only seeing him, not an OB + MFM for consults. One stop shopping win.


our twins, EDD Sept 1, 2011 (but more like Aug. 10!)

And folks, the Conception Chronicles are complete (for 2011 at least!).

The Conception Chronicles: Back on the Wagon

2011-03-23T09:30:00.001-04:00

This is the ninth installment in a short series about baby making.

After I didn't get pregnant in October, we changed donors (goodbye pharmacist, hello musician) and returned Chris to the injectibles. I think the cycle started right around Thankgiving. Stim went better this time, still not great lead follicles, but her E2 stayed reasonable and with a slower pattern (and pushing ovulation out a couple of days with other drugs!) we had two leaders and a few laggers. So we triggered mid-December (clearly dates are not important to me), and gave it a shot.

And we got the faintest line ever, the kind of line you have to hold at the right angle to see in the light, at 10dpo!

We left for St.Louis for the holidays on Dec. 23, making a pit stop on the way to the airport for bloodwork. Her 14dpo HCG was over 300. Score.

Of course, heading to St. Louis for 10 days, there was no follow up bloodwork or 5 w ultrasound, so we were left in suspense until our return at 5w4d. Luckily, she was pretty much exhausted and slept through Christmas, so I felt good about her status as newly pregnant!

most boring post ever, part 2

2011-03-22T09:30:00.000-04:00

a follow up

I've actually been on track the last two weeks, not exactly as in my schedule but doing all my miles. I did only do 10 & 10, not 11 and 12, for long runs like I wanted, but I know that was ambitious for someone who was running 7-10 miles/week 8 weeks ago (I've been over 20 all month, woot). One more 10+ this weekend - hopefully without a break in the middle for a conference call or an open house stop by, teehee - then the race.

I'm promising myself to enjoy the race and not stress about time or beat myself up if I don't hit my 2 hr dream(ish, this used to be easy) goal. I'm still 15 lbs heavier than my last (good) half, and I'm certainly not running 30+ mpw. So a good race would be nice.

I do PLAN to hit 90 minutes at the Broad Street 10 Miler in May though!!

most boring post ever

2011-03-08T07:17:00.001-05:00

I ran 4, 4, 4 and 6 last week. TECHNICALLY above the 4,4,4,4 of my planned stepback, but quite below the 4,4,4,10 I wanted to do to make up for the 9 I missed a couple of weeks back. Fail. I have three long runs left (11,12,10) I MUST hit to be ready for this half in a month...not even a month. March 3.

andddd I was 173 this morning. Apparently Roy Rogers on the Turnpike + sausage my mom cooked + not really counting last week + random bedtime almonds means I am up 3+ lbs this week. Sigh. I need to be better about the details.

looking ahead: 3, 6 with 3x1m, 2, 11 this week. And I WILL do it.

medium dog, mini bed

2011-03-03T09:57:00.003-05:00

When 9 lb Mini Dashhounds visit, Bailey gets a new pillow (stolen and placed atop our bed...)

rejection and the attic

2011-03-02T09:42:00.019-05:00

Remember how I couldn't find a job? Or an interview?
Well, 50 or so applications (Jan-Nov. 2010) and 6 interviews later (July, Aug x 2, November x 2, Jan) things have turned around.

I am still a little insulted I received exactly three rejection notices this whole time though, only one being from a job I actually interviewed for (twice, for a total of 5 hours!). How hard is it to tell someone, "sorry, we don't like you"?

Anyway, I did finally get a job, in my field of preference (Institutional Research). It is in NYC, so I'm having to deal with the escalators...still not the money I was hoping, but the field is right and it is a step in the right direction (annoying commute aside).

Of course, this means we have to finally move on from PA and get a new place in NJ. Given that we don't make oodles of money nor have oodles in the bank, we're staying with my parents until our house sells and we can get a new one (being a contingent buyer just isn't an option for us). Hence, the attic.

running update

2011-03-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

No pun intended.
I scrapped the 9 miler. It is lost.
I did get in all my mileage last week though. Schedule: 2, 5, 2, 10. Did 5, 3.5, 2, 10. YES! No failure.
I'm even down another half pound. 169. teehee. Whatever, I'll pretend it is a real loss and not dehydration (WW and me weren't friends last week).

I am glad I have another 4 long runs before the race. I stopped A LOT on that 10 miler, and my pace was about a 9:50 without stops. A long way to go to my 2 hr (9:06ish pace) half marathon goal! I hit a 2:03 on a downhill course last year at this weight, and supposedly 5 lbs is enough to take off 2 minutes. Can I lose 10 lbs this month and make my goal on a sort of hilly course since I'll be better trained this time? That's a lot of ifs/maybes. But I AM GOING TO TRY DAMMIT.

on the move

2011-03-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

Our house is up for sale again. For three weeks now. We listed at 2.5% less than the Summer of 60 Showings And No Offers Even Though The Neighbors Houses Both Sold, which puts us in a new price bracket. Thing is, with having bought just 3 years ago, we only have about another 2.5% to go before we forfeit our down payment after closing costs and Realtor fees are accounted for. I think I need to accept this might be a reality. I've already accepted we'll lose every dime we put in (tree removal, ac, electric panel, etc). Thank goodness our "big" updates (kitchen, bath, den, floors) were super budget friendly.

Fingers crossed. I don't want to live in my parents' attic forever, so we really need to walk away with something. Oh, the attic you say? yeah, more on that later.

The Conception Chronicles: Switch Up

2011-02-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

This is the eighth installment in a short series about baby making.

After the chemical pregnancy disappointment, we decided to give poor Princess Charming's ovaries a break (and they remained swollen from the meds...).

So we gave it a shot with me.

In short, I am not reproductively exciting. I had a simple CD3 check up and a simple CD 13 check up with a 20+mm follicle. One nice, mature follicle, just like is supposed to be there, ready to ovulate around CD 14.

I am so freaking normal.

So I triggered with a shot - which was interesting, though not as hard as I anticipated (it did upset the dog though) - and we did the IUI. The weirdest part of the whole experience was feeling myself ovulate - KAPO - driving to practice 22 hours after my trigger shot. And my lord did that thing make my boobs sore.

Then I proceeded to blow about $50 on pregnancy tests, since we did this smack in the middle of rugby season and I had a plane ticket to nationals for the day of my bloodwork. I didn't want to turn up for the game and have to tell my captain I couldn't play, so the obvious solution was to test twice a day from 10dpiui on. I would also like to point out you shouldn't need to pee TOO bad before you pee on a stick, because if you get the part where the result goes wet the whole thing is wasted. You also need to get ENOUGH pee on said stick.
Sigh.

Also, like any good maybe-pregnant-lady, I calculated my theoretical EDD. It turned out to be right around my birthday. We inseminated on my mom's birthday.
Ew.

Alas, I am not expecting a little nugget in July. I like to think I'm not broken and just had bad luck.
We blamed it on the sperm and started looking for a new donor.

the impending half marathon

2011-02-20T17:51:00.000-05:00

Last week was a good running week. I did my 2, 4, 2 and 8. My 8 was terrific too.
I even lost a pound. 171, hi.

This week, eh. I had 2, 5, 2 and 9 on the schedule. I did 3.5, 2.5, 3.3 and 4. Crap. I even technically had time and decent weather to do that 9 today and just didn't. Just wasn't feeling it. Dammit, especially with last week's good 8 and this week's AMAZING 3.3 in 65 degree weather on the West Side Highway.

So I started at my schedule - several times actually - and figured out the best plan to make up this week... This coming week will be 9 (tomorrow since I am off), 2, 5 and 10. Lots of math and cross and uncrossing things off in various iterations of the next two weeks of schedule led me to believe this is the best solution for my mileag and least likely to make me risk injury. And I'll be back on track at that point.

Other goal this week, besides not falling off the half marathon wagon (which I will NOT do seeing as I have two race registrations this spring!): lift twice, for 25 min each.
Little goals, little goals!

I also need to weigh myself Tuesday when I get to NJ. I know I am over again this week (I really, really need to save my weekly or activity points for the weekend) but I am hoping for at least a tiny dip, despite my bloaty visitor. A girl can dream anyway.

The Conception Chronicles: Being Prepared

2011-02-19T20:42:00.032-05:00

This is the seventh installment in a short series about baby making.

The wonderful world of fertility medicine has a "dirty little secret," selective reduction. We've all heard about Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Octomom, and many have seen TLCs annual sextuplet follow up specials with the family in Iowa. The thing is, and its not talked about much on these shows, is high order multiple pregnancies are really, really risky to both mom and babies. The survival rates aren't terrific, disabilities like cerebral palsy are fairly common, and prematurity is almost a given (even for "low" HOMs, your basic triplets).

A well managed triplet pregnancy has a 9% chance of miscarriage by 20 weeks and about a 2/3 chance of delivery by 32 weeks (a 32 week delivery will buy the babies, if healthy and all goes well, at least one month in the NICU). Moms are often on bedrest by 24 weeks to help keep the cervix healthy.

Why do I know these stats? Our RE like to repeat tell them to us (and remind us that triplet+ parents have high rates of depression, somewhat attributed to sleep deprivation). Our fertility doctor is pretty conservative in treatment protocols and strives for one baby, considering even twins, while generally pleasing to the parents, a (partial) failure on his part. While some people have these conversations early in treatment, we never saw enough development on the basic drugs to warrant it.

On the injectibles, Chris had a so-so response. She responded, but even with low and varied med levels and slow medicating (I won't bore you with the exact protocol, but it wasn't that bad - nothing like the IVF folks), she never had a super amazing lead follicle. So to get anything big enough, there is risk. Hence, "the conversation".

I'll preface this by saying we are kind of under the gun on the fertility thing due to impending insurance changes, so canceling a cycle is a big risk to us (not to mention the expense, though limited for us, and massive hassle of injectible meds).

Princess Charming and I discussed what we would do with HOM at length, and decided we are ok with selective reduction (to be clear, it is a pregnancy termination of one (or more) fetus done towards the end of the first trimester, generally for health reasons). We would reduce quads or more without question. The risks are just too high. Triplets are on the edge, and a harder decision. Twins are not on the table, as the risks of a twin pregnancy are not nearly that high.

There are about 18319294 issues that play into such a grave decision, a decision made that much harder for people who have had trouble getting pregnant in the first place. There's issues of finances. There's issues of ethics. There's issues of health for mom and fetuses and eventually babies. A fairly limited number of Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors are skilled in the procedure, and all (to my knowledge anyway) do extensive testing and counseling regarding the procedure for patients considering it.

I realize not everyone would consider reducing a HOM pregnancy, be it for ethical or religious or even insurance reasons, and have no interest in debating it (well, no more than I would be interested in debating abortion rights in general). If we ever have to cross this bridge, it will be a medically based decision for us, and most likely not one we will share with many, if any people. Just another rock in the infertility bucket of things polite company doesn't discuss, but a very important thing to work out with your partner before getting too far into treatment.

The Conception Chronicles: Ultrasounds and Noises

2011-02-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

This is the sixth installment in a short series about baby making.

Grey's Anatomy really ticked me off last week. Not because Callie got pregnant by accident, or some left field feminist issue with her bisexuality, or some random complaint about the legal implications of tweeting operations.

Because they lied.

Now, granted, I don't expect a medical sitcom (drama?) to be 100% accurate any more than I expect a crime show to use legit technology and timelines (Bones, anyone? I love Bones, and if their technology was real...well, I imagine there would be a lot less free murders and a lot more graphic artists employed by the FBI). But basic medical facts...

What am I bitching about?

The MFM resident told Callie she can't see the heartbeat until at least 8 weeks (or something similar to that). Now, I understand most women don't go for their first prenatal visit until between 8 and 10 (I think) weeks, and most OBs don't try to get the heartbeat with the external doppler until something like 10-12 weeks (this is entirely heresay, seeing as I have no experience with this). I can even understand that they don't want to be responsible for a mad rush of newly pregnant women to their OBs insisting on transvaginal ultrasounds on good machines that can pick up the heartbeat.

I do not, however, condone downright falsifying information.

We made a decision to have a D&C with the first pregnancy before 8 weeks. At 6 weeks, when you hope to see a fetal pole and MIGHT see a heartbeat (it starts right around 6w0d, give or take) we had a big yolk sac. And came back a few days later, given that was a "eh" prognosis. At that point, there was no heartbeat. Our doctor apologized, booked us one more "just in case you had an immaculate conception" ultrasound, and we went on our way.

Now, of course, Torres didn't have an IUI, and her ovulation and fertilization dates could be wrong, which is a good reason not to be 100% sure there will be a heartbeat at what she thought was 8w. BUT Grey's didn't bring this up at ALL as a reason. They just lied. Ugh.

Fun Fact: The fancy transvaginal ultrasound machine our RE has is snazzy. I don't know if the ones in OBs offices and such are as nice (seeing as I've never been to one), but it can do standard ultrasounds, those creepy 4d ultrasounds, measurements that automatically determine estimated gestational age, and heartbeats. The microphone on the end (I assume) of the wand is so fine tuned it can pick up the heartbeats of different fetuses by aiming at them, and then can give you a heartrate. I assume OBs have something similar and this isn't actually that cool, but again, never been to an OB pregnant and I still think this machine rocks.

eh.

2011-02-06T11:29:00.001-05:00

This week was not a repeat of the training success of last week. Basically I was lazy. And whiny about the snow. In the end, I did 2.6 miles (2x1), 1 mile (with Bailey), and 8.09 miles (long run, 3 stop and go with Bailey and 5 on my own). The long run was actually decent and an ok pace (9:36, counting the 30 second walk breaks every 5 minutes or so, but not counting Baileys stops to sniff things or my stops to cross streets, etc. I stopped probably 10 times on my own briefly, and who knows how many with the pup).

So back on the wagon for next week. I have 2 two milers, 4 miles speedwork, and a 8 miler to do. Needless to say, I've backed off a bit from my aggressive mileage goals, but am still hoping to hit 2 hrs at the MORE half. No more slacking on training for me.

Its also time to get on board with getting my body in better shape. While I don't have the worst diet, I am an emotional eater. And a boredom eater. And not a salad eater. I am still exactly the same 172 lbs I was in July (when I supposedly was getting my act together..6 months ago). Bah. I had dropped 5 lbs or so during rugby season, thanks to all the built in interval work, but that ended 3 months ago and hopped right back on. So, after much hemming and hawing, I reactivated (again) my WW Online account. The Points system has changed somewhat (marketing ploy really, but its good they account for protein now). I spent the last few days tracking without thinking about what I'm eating (which is too much and lacking fresh things...mostly the latter though). Today, I am starting to track with purpose.

Good thing I just earned a ton (16?) points running!

success

2011-02-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

I did my full training this week!
I really enjoyed the intervals, though they were a little slow due to the snowy roads. I need to download my Garmin to see my splits this week. I admit I stopped a few (ok a dozen or so) times on my 7 miler, and the last two milers were 4min/1min run/walk intervals, but I'm patting myself on the back for getting it in. I broke 20 miles this past week, and 60 or so for Jan! First time in AGES!

This week, the plan is 3.5, 35 min tempo, 3, 3 pace, 8 long. I CAN DO IT.