We've Come A Long Way...

DnA's lovely cribs that we hope they sleep in again!

Nice organic bedding, what baby wouldn't want to sleep here?? OURS!!

35 weeks

33 weeks

The boys are 37 weeks now (8 months old). They seem to be getting prepared to walk. Astral is standing unassisted for 30 seconds and has taken a step followed by falling! Defy can stand unassisted for about 10 seconds before falling!!! They both like holding on to their baby gate and cruising around. A & D love music and will dance to any beat.

The twinsies are also in love with our furry companions, Star and Sunny! They follow them around and love playing with and petting them. The relationship is beautiful. They are just amazing and joyful little guys!

They each have the same exact 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom. They enjoy getting their teeth brushed with their tiny little baby toothbrushes. They are just too freaking cute!

Astral and Defy have eaten several more foods including; yams, peas, mangoes, peaches, pears, lentils and quinoa (all organic of course). I can’t say they all were a big hit, but you are supposed to keep trying. They both can drink out of their sippy cups now. I only put a small amount of water in them so that they can practice drinking without filling up and spoiling their appetites.

The boys love bath time and splash and play like crazy. We have tried giving them baths together, but that seems to still be a little too dangerous and chaotic. We will try again when they are a little bigger.

Since the weather has been getting colder, I've been shopping for warm, VEGAN and organic winter coats or bunting. I can't find anything that actually looks like it would keep them warm. They are in 12 month clothes already. Bundling up will probably work while they aren't walking, but I have a feeling they will walk this winter. If any one has any suggestions please let us know!

Last week Astral had Roseola, the exact same virus Defy had in October (fever with no other symptoms followed by a rash lasting 3 days). I guess we should just be thankful that it wasn’t anything more serious and 1 virus for each baby in 8 months isn’t nearly as bad as it could be. Once a child gets the virus they are usually immune and won’t get it again. Astral weighed 21 lbs 5 oz. when we took him to the pediatrician because of the fever. They are both so big for their age and so advanced in their milestones! WE love proving all the negative vegan myths WRONG! Can't wait to get both of their stats at their big 9 month check up in December.

About 2 months ago we brought the boys in our bed while they were teething and had stopped sleeping through the night. It was easier for me because they both wanted to comfort nurse and I wanted them to feel secure during their tough time. I originally wanted to follow the attachment parenting style and co-sleep before I found out we were having twins. Now that the boys are bigger we aren’t as scared to have them sleep with us. We really like having the family bed (dogs included), but now that the boys are waking less during the night we really want to try to get them back in their nursery in their own cribs. It is lovely to wake up to their smiling faces and have the comfort of feeling them breathing next to us, but honestly it is very hard to get sound sleep with them in bed. We plan on beginning the transition (yes…again) this weekend. Wish us luck…

It is so strange to think that last year around this time I was prepping to leave my office and go on full time bed rest at 24 weeks pregnant and now I have 2 healthy and rapidly growing baby boys. I practically missed all winter last year being hospitalized from December 28th until March 5th. The seasonal transition has brought back a lot of memories from our pregnancy. I would do it all again to get Astral Defiance and Defy Aster…

Astral And Defy Are Here...

7 Days Old Photo Shoot In Their Nursery

Astral Defiance Hayes and Defy Aster Hayes were born on 3/03/10 via cesarean at 9:44 and 9:45AM. Astral (baby A) weighed in at 6.8 oz and Defy (baby B) weighed in at 5.13 oz, very good weights for twins born at 37 weeks, 3 days. Vegan since conception, they are both very happy and healthy babies that have met all their milestones so far.

Astral is defined as "of, relating to, or proceeding from the stars" and "visionary". Defy is defined as "to challenge to do something considered impossible" and "to resist attempts at: withstand".

The babies were born on a Wednesday and we were discharged from the hospital that Friday. Since the babies were perfectly healthy the doctors left it up to me and my recovery to decide when I would leave. After being in the hospital on bed rest since December I wanted out right away so Friday was the big day. We were elated to have the babies go home with us and no NICU time at all.

Every day the babies amaze us and we fall deeper and deeper in love. It is hard to believe that we are so lucky to have two beautiful little people to guide through life. Though we are sleep deprived and constantly busy being first time parents we are cherishing every single moment. We have so much more to share about the birth and the first 3 weeks of Astral and Defy's lives and will be back soon with the details.

Oldest (bottom) Newest (top)

The Babies Will Be Here Tomorrow...

The twins will be born tomorrow morning via cesarean section. We can't believe the time has finally come. Words can not describe how I feel right now. I wanted to make one more post before the babies arrive. Today they weighed in at 6lbs 9oz (A) and 6lbs 10oz (B). It is unbelievable how amazing their growth has been throughout the pregnancy and the odds that all three of us have beaten. It is hard to imagine that I have over 13lbs of baby in me right now. Today during the ultrasound they babies had both moved to a head down position side by side. It was insane to see because they have both been breech the entire pregnancy and transverse for most of it. Unfortunately, because they share a placenta this hospital has a policy refusing to deliver them vaginally even if they are in the perfect position for it.

I met with the surgeon (my perinatologist) and the anesthesiologist today to go over every detail of the procedure. I am very nervous about all of the needles I will encounter tomorrow, but the joy of finally meeting our little bean sprouts outweighs the anxiety. I am not allowed to eat or drink after midnight tonight, just like Gizmo. Lucas is spending the night with me and in the morning we'll be ready to head down to labor and delivery.

I will update the blog as soon as I get the chance. I want to say thank you for following our vegan journey through pregnancy and we hope you'll continue to come back to read all about our vegan journey through parenthood! So exciting...

we're having identical twin boys...

Baby B @ 14 Weeks

Baby A @ 14 Weeks (sucking his finger)

my pregnancy evolution

15 Weeks Pregnant

12 Weeks Pregnant

6 Weeks Pregnant

Yummy...

Vegan Cake

We found out last week at our fetal medicine specialist appointment that our twins are BOYS! We are absolutely thrilled. We didn't have our hearts set on a specific gender throughout the pregnancy, but during the last two weeks I began to think we were having girls. Boy, was I wrong. We saw two little penises or turtles as the tech called them. It was undeniable that they were boys. Most of our family members and friends had predicted boys!!!

At the check-up I had my cervix measured and it was a normal length. Both babies are doing great and measure a week ahead of schedule each. The fetal medicine doctor said everything was perfect so far! What a relief!!! We go back to our regular OB this Friday and then we see the fetal medicine specialist again on the 14th for an anatomical scan. They check out all the body parts, etc in detail. We actually got to see quite a bit of their bodies this time as well. We saw their hearts, kidneys, spines, fingers, toes, brains, legs and their cute little butts! Baby A was sucking his thumb!! SOOO CUTE. They were both super active too and BABY B seemed to be waving at us!

I have been feeling what I think is movement, but I can't really tell for sure at this point because I've never been pregnant and don't know exactly what it feels like yet. I sometimes think I feel flutters or quickening and then it turns out to be gas. HA! The specialist said that I should surely be feeling their movement in the upcoming weeks and that I will know for sure, especially since they are so active each time we go in.

WOW! Two little boys, Luke's smile was large enough to light the night's sky when we got the news. We can't believe that in a short while we will have two sons!!! Everything seems even more real now that we know the gender and can apply the names we've been thinking of when discussing them. Everyone says boys are easier than girls though a little more rowdy, but I know that every child is different and no matter how rowdy these little rascals are we will love them to pieces.

Oh and since I am now officially in my second trimester you'll be glad to know that I am not having morning sickness anymore (knock on wood). Right at the 13 week mark I started to get better, my appetite was back, my energy was improved. I was better just in time for our trip to Illinois for a wedding that Lucas was a groomsman in. It was a wonderful trip and great opportunity to spend time with Lucas' family and friends. It is hard living so far away from people we love so much, especially in such a precious and momentous time in our lives.

I couldn't handle a layover so we had a straight flight into St. Louis where my mother-in-law picked us up and drove us the hour and a half (or so) trip down to Southern IL (where they live). We decided to grab lunch in the city and used happycow.net to help us locate a place to eat appropriate for vegans! We decided on Shangri-La a cute little diner style joint with great decor, music and food. The food was so awesome and super filling and the desert was stellar too. Unfortunately, it isn't 100 percent vegan, but almost everything on the menu was vegan or could be made vegan. The owner was vegan and would much prefer not to have any animal products at all on the menu. So annoying, but a great place! www.theshangriladiner.com.

Also while in IL I ate my first salad in almost 2 months and it was delicious. I can't imagine what was going on in my body that made me have an aversion to one of my favorite things to eat EVER, but such is pregnancy! I've been devouring them ever since!

The wedding that Lucas was in was for one of his oldest and best friends. They are so awesome that they had this vegetarian place (The Longbranch Coffee House) make us our own special vegan heart-shaped cake to eat at the wedding. DELICIOUS and most of all thoughtful.

http://www.shawneenet.net/menus/longbranch/menu.html

The flight back into DC was horrid for me, though the flight to St. Louis was totally smooth. For some reason I felt hot, sweaty and nauseous the entire hour and a half flight. Luckily I didn't vomit on the plane, but once we landed I had to rush to the bathroom twice for major vomiting. That was the last time I've puked and I had been really good before that for a while. Now its been a full week since my last upheaval and I hope it remains this way. I'm still tired, but not nearly as much as the first trimester.

Another new symptom is that I've broken out a little on my face. I have never had acne or problem skin. I'm hoping it doesn't get any worse than it is now, though I surely can handle a few pimples for the next few months...

The biggest change my body has made is my baby bump! All of a sudden it popped out at week 13. Now at week 15 I look fully pregnant! I love it and can't wait for it to get even bigger as our little bean-sprouts grow and grow!! I am so proud to be carrying these babies and I feel so proud as I watch my body evolve.

the most amazing news ever...

Our Vegan Babies @ 11 Weeks 5 Days Old

Our Vegan Baby A @ 11 Weeks 5 Days Old

Our Vegan Baby B @ 11 Weeks 5 Days Old

A lot has happened since our last post. Our lives have been changed forever, in the most ultimate and best way possible. At our third ultrasound/OB appointment on Monday 8/31 we received the shocking news that we are expecting twins!!! Not only are they twins, but they are identical twins!!!

The OB was performing a vaginal ultrasound while we watched the screen intently, then all of a sudden I noticed a round looking mass on the screen in addition to our baby. I asked the OB what the splotch was and if it was a cyst, he laughed and said it was another baby. The most indescribable feeling washed over me, I felt as if I were going to faint. Lucas' face looked completely dumfounded as we locked eyes. I asked the doctor if he was sure and he said to hold on and to not pass out while he did an abdominal ultrasound. As he glided the wand around my belly we immediately saw two babies floating around and two blinking heartbeats! Unbelievable! We were super surprised, yet immediately felt lucky to have such an amazing gift of two babies!

The doctor was in shock too and we discussed how the vaginal ultrasound doesn't always get a full view and that the second baby was hiding! We discussed how identical twins are complete anomalies and have nothing to do with heredity. We've learned so much in the past week about identical twins. The doctor gave us a referral to a fetal medicine doctor for a level 2 ultrasound so we could determine if the babies have a separating membrane in their sac and if they share a placenta.

We went in for the level 2 ultrasound on 9/2 and found out that our twins are indeed monozygotic sharing a placenta. Thankfully, they do have a separating membrane within their sac so that their umbilical cords can't get tangled. The ultrasound was amazing, we got to hear both heartbeats for the first time. I have never been so emotional in my life, to hear our children's heartbeats was the most beautiful thing.

A lot has changed since last Monday, we are now considered a high risk pregnancy because we are carrying twins. The doctor also informed us that there is a high chance that I will have to have a cesarean section. UGH! I wanted a natural delivery with no drugs! We don't take pharmaceuticals and I had no intention of starting, but if it is the only way the babies can be born healthy then that is what we will have to do. The doctor also said that we might deliver in February instead of March at 36 weeks instead of 40. Only time will truly tell...

We were only expecting one baby, but having two will be so perfect. As vegans our babies will never feel alone because they always have one another. A built in best friend and life long playmate. I now know why I've been so sick and so fatigued, I've been building two babies for 3 months! We are at 12 weeks as of this past Friday and I'm way better than before, but still sick here and there. I've been having a little bit of restless sleep at night for the past week or so, I can't seem to get comfortable and all I can think about is my two little bean sprouts growing inside of me. Often we look at one another and giggle and say, "WE ARE HAVING TWO BABIES"! Insanity...

Our families are so excited as are our friends. Twins bring out such joy and intrigue. It seems people are even more stoked than we announced our pregnancy. It is so hard to believe we conceived on our first try and conceived identical twins at that!!!

When we first found out we were pregnant I wished for twins, but I never thought it would happen. I kept saying that I wished I was pregnant with twins because I didn't know if I could handle doing it again. My wish came true after thinking for 3 months that I was carrying one baby and after seeing one baby twice before on the ultrasound. A TRUE MIRACLE...