June 19, 2006 Ultrasound, etc...

Picture - June 15, 2006 Jess's measurement in the doorway, still lots of room!

Within the next three weeks I may be starting on my three month leave of absence to help Jess out with the twins, depends if they come home from the hospital right away, etc. On Monday, June 19th Jess had another ultrasound, we thought Brian Dixon (Jess's friend Laura's dad) might be the one who performed it but it was not to be. Jess also underwent another stress test on the babes...which proved to be quite uncomfortable, not a great setup in Dr. Gilliland's office. Then it was off to visit with Dr. Martel again who reported that, "those are happy babies", which is good to hear. We also found out that since they are pretty cramped in there the ultrasound measurements are not likely too accurate. The weights were 4 pounds with a heartbeat of 136 for Twin A and 3 pounds 14 ounces also with a heartbeat of 136 for Twin B. Seems that the happy babies are quite close in size. Since they are twins, the doctor will not be making the decision about a "C" section until Jess is in her 36th or 37th week. Her next appointment is scheduled for Monday, July 3rd at 8:40 a.m., sure hope she can make it up that early.

Tonight Jess is attending the reception and dance of one of her best buds (Amy) sister's wedding...don't think she'll be dancing too much, hopefully she will be able to stay comfortable for a little while longer. We will pick her up when she is ready to come home, she has already made it two and a half hours.

June 12-22/06 Moving Bedrooms???

Picture - Jess with Bed moved into living room...

I cannot remember if I mentioned before that one year ago we moved from our five bedroom house in East College Park to a two bedroom condo right downtown, a very short walk for me to work. We did not realize when we purchased this condo on the sixth floor however, that we would have problems with water seepage...for the next year. You see, the 7th floor of this building is being reconstructed to be penthouses. They started tearing it apart last summer and we had our first seepage last July, enough in fact to kill our phone! We were led to believe that they were going to be working up there through the winter, but no, it snowed up there and construction halted. This spring we had our ceiling fan in the dining room ruined when the water came pouring through...we were experiencing leaks in a number of places.

How does this pertain to the twins you ask? Well, on Monday, June 12, 2006 due to excess water in Jess's bedroom we had to move everything out of there to get it dried out. Since the rain did not let up, Jess's bed was setup in our living room until Thursday, June 22, 2006. We knew Jess needed her rest, so we gave her our room during this time and we "camped out" in the living room. They were the eleven nights from hell...probably not all that bad but with noisy "big fans" and a "dehumidifier" running constantly, I went out and bought earplugs. We moved everything back around again Friday night but there is alot of reconstruction that needs to happen in here, all with babies due within three weeks!

What do they say about hindsight???

S.P.O.T.T.O. & Tattoos...

On the evenings of Wednesday, June 7 & 14, 2006 there were meetings held at St. Paul's United Church in Sutherland by S.P.O.T.T.O. They were mainly information meetings to hear first hand from women who have "Been there, done that" experience with multiples births. I attended with Jess on the 7th but on the 14th I had a "horseback riding lesson" so Lesley attended with her. At the meeting on the 14th they discussed how there is a higher incidence of divorce in marriages with "multiples" be it twins, triplets or larger. Jess informed the attendees that she didn't have to worry about that because "mom can't divorce me" (since I am her coach I guess).

Then on Monday June 12th Jess had an appointment with Dr. Campbell (head of anesthesiology at RUH) to make sure that she will be able to have the needle for her epidural even though she has a tattoo on her lower back. Seems it will not be a problem. When someone is delivering twins or higher, they are automatically scheduled to deliver their babies in the O.R. in case there needs to be an emergency "C" section, and they are given an epidural for the same reason, or so we have heard.

When Jess was talking to Hadi, he told her that he got two tattoos of "Maple Leafs" just like on the flag of Canada since his daughters are Canadian. (Twin Maple Leafs for Twin Girls).

June 6th & 8th 2006...Dr. Martel, Car Seats...

At the doctor's appointment on June 6th, the resident, Kristine Mytopher took the reading of the babies heartbearts before Dr. Martel came in. One registered at 154 and the other at 142 heartbeats per minute. Then Dr. Martel performed another ultrasound which showed that the girls weights were at approx. 3 lbs. 15 ozs. and 3 lbs. 11ozs. Jessi's weight is at 162 pounds so she has put on around 32 pounds in her 32 weeks of pregnancy.

That evening Jessi joined Bruce and I at my Awards Dinner for work which took place at the Parktown Hotel. We enjoyed a great buffet dinner and I received my 10 year award, even though it is actually 11 years I have been working for the Saskatoon Community Clinic.

On Thursday, June 8, we took both vehicles to M.D. Ambulance to get instruction on how to install the car seats properly. This day was also the 10 week anniversary of Laser Surgery in Toronto, hopefully Jess will be able to hold on for a few more weeks.

We still wait for our VHS and DVD from Dr. Ryan's office in Toronto, have left a couple of messages with his assistant Anastasia but have yet to see the media that we paid for back on March 31, 2006...hopefully it will arrive soon so we can share it with everyone who is interested.

June 3rd & 4th at Emerald

Pictures - Lesley, Jess and Bruce Golfing and Jess Trying out her Swing June 3/06...

Saturday, June 3rd turned out to be a good day to head out on the golf course to try out the clubs, this was my first time for this year. Jess came with me and drove the golf cart, although she did try to swing a club a couple of times just to see if she could, wasn't too bad at all. Lesley and Bruce were the adventurous duo that decided they could walk that crazy course. As usual I got my moneys worth in swings...around 72 or more!!!

Sunday, June 4th the four of us joined Jeremy, Haley and Nadine in the Lamontagne pleasure craft and did a tour of the lake. We decided however, not to "jump in the lake" for a quick dip as the water was quite cool. On May long Lesley had gone swimming and said that the water was warm , and Jessi had dipped into the quad trailer paddling pool we set up for her, not so warm on June 4th. We enjoyed our campfire weiner roast out behind the cabin before we had to head back to the city and reality.

Friday, June 2 "Someone" Watched Over Us...

There was another "Fundraising Beer Night" at Joe Dog's from 8 to 10 and since I was the only one "besides the momma-to-be, Jess" who did not have beer, I was the designated driver to get us to the lake afterward. So, at 10:45 p.m. we were on our way...but wait, there was only a quarter tank of gas so we needed to stop at the gas station. We thought, the Shell station on Warman Road, but when we got there it was closed so I pulled into the 7-11 across the street thinking I would fill up there. Bruce said, "go to the Shell on 51st and get airmiles" so, change the plan...but wait, there is a car backing up from the pump in front of us and she continues to back up, I swerve to get around her but...crash. She caught a piece of the passenger door in the back and quarter panel behind it, didn't seem like too much damage, it was still drivable. We exchanged names, etc. and we headed off for the Shell station on 51st. We got our gas and I was going to pull out onto 51st but noticed a semi coming along at a pretty good clip so I pulled my nose back in (nose of car that is) just in time. Then along Highway 16 on the way out to Dalmeny to meet up with Milly, Grammi, Debbie and Nadine we passed a person walking on the shoulder of the road - Les piped up, "where were their reflectors" and of course we had to laugh. At this point, with Jess and the babes riding beside me in the front seat, she was a little unnerved and I said, "Well that was three things...I know, I forgot to say my usual prayer before leaving the city for the lake - Lord, please get us there safely". Jess then asked if I thought it would work now since we had already left the city, no harm in trying. We got to Dalmeny safely, met up with the other part of the convoy and headed off to the lake. We had some really good laughs on that drive up to the lake as the four of us sang songs, like we used to on trips to help pass the driving time when the kids were small. And yes, we made it safely!

Jessi is now 23 years old!!!

Picture - Jessi and Paul compete to see who can blow out the most candles...

Last night there were a dozen or so of us that made our way to Red Lobster to help Jessica and Paul (Lesley's Fiancee) celebrate their birthdays. Jess was hoping that they would have a "pregnant with twins, birthday 'all you can eat snow crab' meal" on special...no such luck. She did however, get some of her snow crab legs in her "King Feast" that she ordered. She has been saying since the beginning of pregnancy how she looks forward to the day that food will be appealing to her again...Jess has always been big on food!

After supper we came back to the condo to sing the song and devour a "Smarties Blizzard Cake" from the Dairy Queen for dessert. Jess loves to be in the limelight and was a bit upset that since Paul's birthday is on May 31 and hers is on June 1, now she has to share that limelight...I'm sure she will overcome.

We await the passing of June 8 as that is 10 weeks post surgery, hoping she can hold on to those babes for awhile longer. We have enjoyed watching and feeling lots of movement lately, we are excited but we can wait for them to develop as much as they can. For those of you who have placed your bets on the Twins Pool, Dr. Martel told Jess at their last meeting that she will not let Jess go longer than 38 weeks, which when checking on the calendar we see is July 18, 2006, the day that Auntie Jeannie chose, we will see...best of luck guys. To those of you that are later than that date, thanks for taking part!

Lesley Convocate's & The DaVinci Code

Picture - Jess's Profile at May 31, 2006...

On Thursday, May 25, 2006 Lesley Convocated from the U of S with her Bachelor of Education degree "with distinction" and is now a full fledged teacher, yay!!! Jess didn't think she would be able to sit through the Convocation Ceremony so her and the twins joined us for the celebration supper at Alexander's Restaurant after. There were around 20 of us there to partake in the festivities, way to go Lesley!

On Friday, May 26, 2006 Bruce and I, Lesley and Jessica decided to go to the movies to see The DaVinci Code. We felt that it pretty much followed the story line in the book, don't know if we hadn't read the book if we could have understood everything that went on. We gave it a 2 thumbs up for entertainment, however, Jess said that she will definitely NOT be sitting thru anymore two hours movies in a theatre until after the birth, she was quite uncomfortable.

Long Weekend 2006

Picture - Jess trying out her makeshift "Paddling Pool" (Andy's Quad Trailer) May Long


Picture - Jess playing "Caddy" on the golf course on the May long weekend...

May 19-22, 2006 found us all heading out to one of our favorite spots for the weekend, "Emerald Lake". While there, Jess said that she noticed that her shirts were "shrinking", ya sure okay! Uncle Andy has a little trailer that he pulls behind his quad up at the lake and we decided to use it as a "paddling pool" for Jess on Monday, so that she could cool off, that was quite an experience.

At the ultrasound on May 23, 2006 at RUH Jess told Dr. Martel that she was feeling a rhythmic "ticking" that was too light to be a kick. She told us it was the babes having the hiccups which means that their lungs are developing. The weights at this appointment were 3 lbs. 4 ozs. and 2 lbs. 14 ozs. or so. They also performed a Stress test on the Twins and all is looking good.

Kami takes pre-Babes pictures, etc.

Pictures - Cousin Kami took pre-babes pics on May 16, 2006, Awesome Job Kami!!!

On Tuesday, May 16, 2006 Jessi and cousin Kami took a tour down along the river by the Mendel Art Gallery and took some pre-Babes pictures...75 of them in fact. She did a really good job, many treasured memories, thank you Kami.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Jess had her second interview with the RN that was doing a study thru the U of S about "Feelings in Pregnancy and Motherhood". Her first interview was on March 23, 2006, they found out about Jess's pregnancy at the Welcome Wagon Baby Shower at the Travelodge that we attended on March 20, 2006.

Also on May 17, 2006 the Evenflo Stroller for two that Great Grammi Wilson purchased for the twins arrived. Bruce put it together, then humored both Jess and I when he took it down to lobby of the condo, we turned the TV to channel 88 (security) and watched as he did the "test drive" without much of a problem at all.

May 5, 2006 to Dr. Martel again

Picture - Jessi posing in her "Everything Outfit" by the Crib, May 16, 2006...

Jessi found out that she had only gained 20 pounds to date when she visited with Dr. Martel on Friday, May 5, 2006 this was at 27 weeks. This seemed a bit odd but Dr. Martel said that the babes are doing just fine. One weighed in at 2 lbs. 4 ozs. while the other was 1 lb. 14 ozs. still not much difference.

On Monday, May 8, 2006 Jess discovered her first stretch mark!!! Even that magic cream cannot prevent them. Then on Thursday, May 11, 2006 she went to get another shot of WinRho as this was to be done at 28 weeks...to do with B Negative blood type and protecting the babes.

Saturday, May 13, 2006 Jess and I headed out to Dalmeny bright and early to join Milly checking out the Dalmeny Garage Sale...again Jess found some great deals, she got an exer-saucer, a Graco Swing, more clothes, toys, books, there were some very good finds.