Single digit countdown

Just as I thought it would, time is flying...and dragging at the same time if that makes any sense at all. As of tomorrow we will be in single digit weeks until the girls are born. 9 more weeks!!!!! Oh my gosh I can't even explain how excited I am and how in love I am with these two little girls.

We have been very busy trying to get the house put together, but right now, it is a little stressful looking at the condition of the house right now. Especially for poor Pace. I know that if I am starting to get irritated with the clutter and the mess, he has to be crawling out of his skin! I know it will all come together again, the new carpet in the living room goes in on Wednesday so we will at least be able to put our living room furniture back. I am going to try to finish up my sewing projects this weekend so I can put my sewing mess away as well LOL.

I finally finished the first crib skirt and although it is a little shorter than I imagined, it will look super cute when the girls are a little bigger and the mattress can be lowered.

The baby shower invites have all been sent out and this is all getting so much more real! I get a lump in my throat thinking about it, but my aunt, my cousin and my mother are all coming out here for our shower. I am so beyond excited for Eliza to be able to meet my family and I know that there are going to be lots and lots of tears. Tears of love, joy and gratitude. It is going to be such a beautiful day surrounded by beautiful people!

I hope that Eliza feels at home and part of the family. We have a very large family and network of friends - I hope it isn't too overwhelming for her!

This last weekend Pace and I went to see his best childhood friend in California. What a wonderful trip it was! Kind of a last little hurrah before the girls get here - we have one more trip planned at the end of Oct, and then that will be it until the girls are born. Yesterday morning Pace and I were sitting at the beach talking and discussing our future and how our lives are about to completely change. Our next trip to the beach will be with little girls in tow, playing in the sand, and splashing around. Oh how I can't wait!

I truly don't think we will realize how empty our hearts are until the girls are here and our hearts are overflowing full.

Nursery Progress

This weekend was a very busy weekend in the Clinger household! We got many of the things done in the nursery that we wanted to accomplish and it felt great to be able to use my creativity after such a stressful week!

As promised here are pictures of what we have accomplished thus far.

Here is the dresser that we purchased and refinished. The animals are directly from the main fabric in the nursery. Pace and I free-handed stencils on cardboard and used them to stencil the animals on the dresser. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and I hope the girls do too! Also to the left, you can see the changing station that Pace built out of the closet and the leg that we hand painted to match :)

Here is a picture of the girls' closet so far. I love how the colors pop :) 

Here is a picture of the beginning of one of the crib skirts I am sewing. I am no seamstress, and was kind of worried about all of the ruffling, but it actually has turned out to be pretty easy. In this photo you can see the main fabric is the bottom ruffle on the skirt and I think I have enough to make a curtain valance out of it too! 

Our first set of baby shower invitations went out via email yesterday and I am getting so excited to celebrate the girls with all of our closest friends and family. I am also really excited for our friends and family to meet Eliza and her little boy and for her to see how many people she is affecting by the selfless decision she is making. I can't wait for her to feel the outpouring of love from all of our friends and family! 

Less than one month to go before our first shower! Holy crap...after 8 and a half years we are finally having a baby shower!

Nesting...it's a real thing!

Well girls, our house is quite a mess right now! Your daddy is feeling a little stressed preparing the house for your arrival :) We have a lot to do, but little by little, we are making progress.

On Sunday we made a last minute decision to rip out the carpet in our living room. It was installed 6 years ago, and although it was nice carpet when it was installed, it was stained and just looked yucky so out it went! We are now shopping for a nice, soft carpet that we can roll around on with the two of you. :)

Your daddy has also been busy with drywall repairs, building furniture for your nursery, painting and more. I have kept busy painting, figuring out the patterns I want to use for your baby bedding and just trying to put your nursery together in my mind.

I ordered your crib mattresses today - one step closer to having your room ready! I hope to be able to start (and possibly finish) your crib skirts this weekend, so that when the mattresses arrive, they can go right into your beds!

We are also finalizing all of the plans and guest lists for our baby showers. I can't wait to celebrate your upcoming arrival with all of our closest friends and family. You have no idea how many people are anxiously awaiting your arrival! I know you will grow up knowing all of the love from our family and friends, we just have to try to make sure you don't get too spoiled!

I love you both so much and I know that the next 11 weeks are going to fly by! Please continue to grow big and strong for me and Baby A - you keep doing what you are doing with that heart! I hope that at your next appointment you are given a clean bill of health! Muah!

WONDERFUL news!!!

Well yesterday was the big day - we had a follow up appointment with the Perinatologist and with the Cardiologist. The girls made me SO PROUD!!! Poor Eliza endured two super long ultrasounds, but she was such a champ! I will never be able to thank her for the sacrifices she is making for the health of our babies!

We met with a different Perinatologist yesterday and he had a different idea of what could be going on with the twins. It is his belief that Baby A is taking more blood and nutrients than she needs which is what is causing the extra fluid in her sac. He stated that he is not overly concerned by this because both babies are growing well, gaining weight and appear to be healthy in all other aspects. We all breathed a sigh of relief after meeting with him and although his monotone voice and bland personality was a little hard to read at first, I left there knowing that he really cares about these babies and that Eliza and the girls are in great hands.

After a very brief lunch at Smashburger (first time I had ever been there, and I gotta say...it was pretty fantastic) we went over to meet with the cardiologist. The ultrasound was SO long and the girls were so active that it was hard to get good images at first. Finally the actual cardiologist came in, took some pictures himself and explained what he was seeing.

Here is what he saw: Prayers and positive thinking work!!! He had no explanation for what he saw and appeared to be as perplexed as we all were, but Baby A's heart is looking much better! The thickening he saw on the left ventricle is gone and the leaky valve that he saw before is no longer leaking. She is not completely out of the woods as her right ventricle is still a little sluggish, but he said it did look better than the last time he saw her.

The relief I felt is indescribable! Our little girl is going to be okay! She may need some additional medical intervention after she is born, but the Dr. was very encouraging and told us that he fully expected her to make it to birth and then we would address any heart issues (if any remained).

So as of right now the babies growth will continue to be monitored and if things keep going as planned, the girls will be here the first week of December. It is likely that they will still want the girls delivered here in the valley, but we will just see how they do.

I feel like I can breathe again and I can't thank each and every one of you enough for your positive thoughts and prayers that have been sent for Eliza and the girls!

Although I haven't held either of them yet, my heart is completely theirs and I absolutely can't wait to be their mommy! I am so proud of the fighters they have already proven to be.

Chloe and Araya -  I am beyond proud of you - thank you so much for fighting and staying strong! I am so excited to hold you in my arms in a very short 11 weeks. I promise you I will always love you with all of my heart and will be here for you until my last breath. You will never endure any journey in your life alone - daddy and I will always be there fighting right next to you! Continue to grow strong my little loves and I will see you again on the screen very soon! Muah!

Good Update!

Eliza had another ultrasound yesterday (these are going to be the most photographed babies...before AND after birth) and the girls appear to be doing well. Here are the stats:

Baby A: Heart rate was 145 and she weighed 1lb. 5oz.
Baby B: Heart rate was 146 and she weighed 1lb. 3oz.

So we are very happy with their growth and heart rates at this point. Eliza's OB told her that he wants her to deliver here in the Valley which we are grateful for because of the higher level of technology here and also because we have such an amazing support system here. He also said that he did not want her to go past 36/37 weeks - so folks, it looks like if all stays on track we will be having these girls toward the end of November early December! Yikes that is going to sneak up on us fast!

We are very anxious for the appointments with the specialists on Monday and are excited to get more answers!

In the meantime Pace and I are working hard to prepare a beautiful nursery for the girls to come home to! Pace is building a nice little changing station for them and we bought a cute dresser that will fit in their closet yesterday off Craigslist. We will refurnish the dresser and spruce it up to match the decor of their room.

I will take some pictures when we have made a little more progress and post them here for you all to see :)

Roller coaster ascent

I apologize for my absence from writing over the last week. It is always easier to write when things are going well, but it is harder to write when I'm scared. Right now I am scared. 

I went to the Dr. with Eliza 2 weeks ago. At that appointment, the Dr. saw some extra amniotic fluid in Baby A's sac. Because of that and because it is a twin pregnancy, he referred us to a Perinatologist here in the Phoenix valley. Three days later we were at the Perinatologists' office and were being told that there is something wrong with the function of Baby A's heart and we were referred to a cardiologist. The following day we were at the cardiologists office being told that the right ventricle is not pumping hard enough and there was some thickening of the heart walls around the left ventricle. The cardiologist said that there was nothing they could do to try to correct the problem and we would just have to monitor the babies very closely and see if the issue gets worse. 

I was in such shock and was so scared that I didn't know what questions to ask the Dr., but he just kept saying "I am sorry I don't have better news". I needed time to process the information - it felt like a nightmare and I was fighting back tears. 

Right now Eliza is having ultrasounds done every week and we go back to the perinatologist and cardiologist a week from today. I have a list of questions to ask each of them and we are going to do everything we can to ensure that the girls are healthy and are given the best medical care possible. 

I will continue to update the blog with the babies conditions and I ask that if you are the praying type, please pray for the health of our babies. Send all of your positive energy and thoughts our way!

Sweet baby girls -  We have waited and fought so long for you, please hold on and fight for us. We will do everything we can to give you every chance at life possible, I am just asking you to be strong, to fight and always know that even though you are not growing in my belly - my heart has doubled in size with the love I have for you both.