no more WORKA for me!

So today was my last day at work at Vale Inco. I am now 2 days shy of 29 weeks, so it was time for me to take that much needed break before the babies arrive.

It was much harder on me than I thought it would be to leave my job and colleagues behind and I have been pulling in a lot of overtime to get things organised for my replacement. Unfortunately, this week, we found out that our department will be re-structured in the coming months. Basically, that means that most of my colleagues will be either relocating to other departments or leaving the company for good, which was terribly upsetting for me to hear.

Around 200pm this afternoon, my colleagues threw me and Belinda a baby shower in our honour (Belinda is going on her maternity leave in two weeks). We were both spoiled rotten and received tons of very thoughtful gifts from our team. My colleague Beena gave a very touching speech and we all enjoyed a little cheer before the day was through. Here are a few photos.



I can't believe the timing. I actually feel very grateful that I got pregnant when I did because it means that I don't have to worry about my job or employment status right now. When I'm ready to return to work, I will explore my options then. For now, I am concentrating on my health and our beautiful babies!

Our 24 and 28 week ultrasound

I had my 23/24 week ultrasound on March 12th and my 27/28 week ultrasound today!

At 23/24 weeks, it appeared that everything was going smoothly with the twins! We couldn't be more pleased! The twins were over 1 pound each and were thriving (and active as usual). Baby A is still a little bigger at Baby B (Baby A is 500 g and Baby B is 570 g). At 24 weeks, they also have a 44% of survival if they decided to make their appearance prematurely. I haven't gained too much weight at this point, which is good, although I'm eating all the time! I guess pregnancy agrees with me, although I have to say, the increasing aches and pains are starting to get to me. And I can't say that you get used to it either! This ultrasound took 90 minutes to complete and our technician, Danika, measured every single part of their body! Here are a couple pictures. Baby A is on the left (profile). Baby B is on the right (looking into the camera).

Today, we had our 27/28 week ultrasound. We need to have an ultrasound every four weeks as our OB needs to ensure that they're growing on target. Right now, if they were born, we know they'd be small but they would survive, so we're feeling really good!

We visited our regular ultrasound technician Danika and watched eagerly as she measured our babies again. This time, she performed a gestational apgar test on them to see how they were physically doing inside the womb. She gave them both perfect scores based on their growth, lung movement, cord blood circulation, and fetal movement. She also checked to see whether they were sucking in amniotic fluid (which they were, apparently a very good sign). Right now, they're over 2 pounds each! Baby A is 2.16 lbs and Baby B is 2.32 lbs. And both babies are still head down! The countdown is on!

Showers of love for the Sprouts ....

Yesterday, my cousin Candice threw me a twin baby shower with the help of my mum and my sister (and associated families). It was simply amazing! It was held at the Glen Abbey Clubhouse (next to the condo that Wesley and I used to live in), which was the perfect location for such a big event! 30 of my closest friends and family came out to celebrate, which was awesome! And you know when my family plans an event, the food is going to be spectacular (I hear the rum punch and samosas were a huge hit)! We also had four newborns in attendance (including MaryEllen's baby Gavin, who was only 12 days old)! It really made my shower feel all that more special.

Everyone mingled, ate/drank, and played games (and I knew we had some serious competitors in the room). I really wanted to see who would take the crown for winning the most clothes pins. I thought that it would be my mother-in-law but Tella had her beat with double the pins! Too funny!

While we played games, I started opening gifts. Talk about being overwhelmed. I couldn't believe how many gifts were waiting to be opened! It was clear to me that everyone put a lot of thought into their gifts - I loved everything and felt very loved ....

The "icing" on the cake was my twin baby shower cake, which was absolutely wonderful! Not only was it filled with 8 layers of chocolate peanut butter filling YUM, my friend Julie (who flew in from the US just for my shower) had a family friend make it, especially for me! I felt bad eating the white chocolate babies that topped the cake, so we removed them before digging in!

Everyone walked away with homemade Italian cookies from my Tella and my mum ... it really was the perfect day! I'll never forget it and I have all of you to thank for making my baby shower so very special!