the ridlehoover family blog

Oprah has her favorite things.  Martha has her good things.  These are a few of the things that have made our lives with twins a little easier...

The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD Without this DVD, I would still be pulling my hair out trying to calm Gracie.  She knows how to cry.  But, thanks to this DVD, I know how to calm her down.  I cannot recommend this product highly enough - especially to first time parents.

Dunstan Baby Language DVD Believe it or not, our two month old twins are already talking.  They speak fluent infant.  And, thanks to this two DVD set, Jill and I understand enough baby language to be able to tell the difference between "I'm hungry!", "Burp me!" and "I'm tired!"  Highly recommended!

Boppy Nursing Pillows Ever try feeding twins by yourself?  Just place two Boppys back to back and away you go.  (See picture below.)  They also work great for positioning a baby on your lap for feeding.  Absolutely essential!  (And, it makes a nice hat, too!)

Hunter & Grace had their one month checkup today.  Both passed with flying colors.  Dad was a little concerned about Gracie not eating as much as her brother.  But, she's gained over an ounce a day since the two week checkup.  So, she's doing fine.  And, Hunter?  Well, he's a little eating machine! Hunter is now 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 20.5 inches.  Gracie is now 9 pounds, 6 ounces and 21.25 inches.  Weeds they are.  Beautiful, flowering, happy little weeds! Gotta run.  One of the weeds is crying.

<< Hunter O'Neil Ridlehoover was born today at 8:21 AM.  He weighed four pounds, fifteen ounces and measured seventeen and three quarters inches.  Hunter's name comes from his parents' middle names, which are both family names.  Hunter is Jill's mother's maiden name.  And, O'Neil goes back four generations on Alan's side.

>> Sarah Grace Ridlehoover was born today at 8:22 AM.  Gracie weighed seven pounds, fourteen ounces and measured nineteen inches.  Gracie's name comes from her parents' maternal grandmothers.  Jill's grandmother was Sarah Doris.  Alan's grandmother is Annie Grace. Glutton for cute baby pictures? Get your fix.

What's that you say?  What happened to the first day of spring? Well, the best laid plans... Last week, Jill strained a muscle in her abdomen.  She might have done it turning over in bed.  Or, she might have done it getting in the car.  We're not sure.  But, the pain was strong enough that Jill couldn't take a deep breath.  At first, we thought maybe she was going into labor.  Fortunately, we were already scheduled to see our doctor that day.  So, he was able to diagnose the muscle strain and send us home with some Vicadin.  Jill's been taking it easy ever since - sleeping a lot, only leaving the house for doctor appointments.  I've been at home with her since the middle of last week. After seeing Jill in so much pain last week, and after recording an elevated blood pressure, Dr. Zimmer decided that we should go ahead and schedule a C-section sooner rather than later.  He set it up for today at 7:30 AM.  So, sometime shortly after that, Jill and I will be new parents!!!  We couldn't be more excited - or nervous! We'll do our best to get word out when the time comes.  But, for those of you who'd like to call or drop by to check on us, we're delivering at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.  The number is (425) 688-5351.  We'll probably be at the hospital through Sunday. Keep us in your thoughts!

I'm a slacker.  This I know.  It's been a very long time since I last published an update about Jill and the twins.  In my defense, I have been on the phone to many friends and family.  But, it's past time... So, let's start with some numbers:

• Today is 35.2 - That means that today is the second day of the 36th week of this pregnancy.
• On average, twins are born after 36 weeks gestation (of 36.0).  That would be next Wednesday (3/5).
• Full term for twins is considered 37 weeks gestation, which would be a week from next Wednesday (3/12).
• And, if labor hasn't started by about 38 and a half weeks, it is usually induced.  That would be the first day of Spring, Friday, 3/21.
• For reference, a full-term singleton pregnancy is 40 weeks, which is why our official due date is actually 4/2.

Jill says she's shooting for the first day of Spring!  And, you know what?  She might actually make it! She's doing great!  She's still working (some - from bed, mostly).  And, she's still able to do things around the house (despite my repeated requests to let me do it).  In fact, all of the medical professionals we talk to are astounded at how well she is doing, especially considering that there is now about 12 pounds of baby in her!  That's right - 12 pounds!  We learned today that baby A (the boy) is about 5 pounds, 2 ounces.  And, baby B (the girl) is a whopping 6 pounds, 13 ounces!  Though, Phil (our ultrasound guy) said that the measurements are probably a bit low for him and a bit high for her. This was our last "growth" ultrasound before the twins are born.  The next time we know their weight, they'll be on a scale in the delivery room.  It seems so far off, still.  But, it's just around the corner.  It could happen any time.  So, the bag is packed.  We're on pins and needles...

Well, this past Thursday, Jill and I had hoped to learn what gender our twins are during our monthly ultrasound. Jill was just finishing her 16th week, which is a little early to tell gender. Most singleton pregnancies don't learn gender until the 20th week. But, then, most singleton pregnancies aren't seeing the ultrasound technicians every month. Here are some pictures from our 10/18 ultrasound (click to enlarge):
If you paid close attention to the notes on the left hand side of the images, you saw the XX and XY references and now you know that we're expecting both pink AND blue! We couldn't be happier!

So for those of you who don't know yet, Jill is pregnant... with TWINS! Here's some footage from our 10/18 ultrasound: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/zgCUr4QB7cA?version=3] Jill's been a real trooper. The first trimester was tough. Lots of nausea. But, frequent, small meals helped. Things seem to be settling down at the moment. Let's hope it stays that way (for a while)! Our official due date is April 2nd. But, twins often come early. I've seen posts online quoting 32-36 weeks as normal for twins. So, we're in for a surprise.