I Parent Twins - Blog about Twins

Priceless Smiles

2011-11-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Some days we all get caught up with the burdens of life. We forget and lose track what is most important to us. We worry about things that won't happen 80% of the time. Even when life is at it's darkest hour, there is a beam of light. My beam of light comes from these two photos. I hope this brightens everyone's day as well. We sometimes forget, how much a smile can make a difference.

Jayde smiling away

Quynn smiling with Mom

You know you are a new parent when...

2011-11-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing can really explain the full extent of what it means to be a new parent, especially to twins. To help explain, I have come up with a list: “You know you’re a new parent when....” Here it goes, from the man’s perspective :

You know you are a new parent when:

1. You don’t know when you’ll get 8 consecutive hours of sleep again.

2. You also don’t know when business hours will re-open for intimacy. It’s what got you into this mess in the first place so you can forget about it.

3. You’ve had thoughts of feeding your kid alcohol so they will fall asleep.

4. It’s the first time you’ve used the closed captioning on your TV.

5. You finally understand why shaking baby syndrome exists.

6. First thing you look for at the mall are the family washrooms and elevators...along with Gymboree and Baby Gap.

7. You start to notice how many lazy people use the elevators with you. I’d love to tell them “Your legs don’t look broke.”

8. You wanted to destroy that $200 baby monitor you thought was so cool.

9. You get pissed off at putting those tiny cotton mitts on your kids hands because it never fails to get caught in their fingers.

10. Being pooed, peed, and vomitted on are common events. Smelling like that all day is also common.

11. It is acceptable to shower every other day, or two, or three.

12. You’ve put food in the microwave, only to find it still there the next day.

13. Baby Enstein is bigger than any of your Biggie Smalls, Lady Gaga, Led Zepplin CDs. Heck you’d probably go to their concert if they had one.

14. You feel like a freak show when people at the mall go out of their way to see your twins. “Hey George, come here, bring little Katie, they have twins. I should have a coin jar and charge for admission.

15. The only batteries you buy now are D batteries.

And there are many more examples but time is luxury now. To wrap it up, here are few pictures of the girls

A couple weeks old

Brix swears he didn't make them cry

Chilling with Mom

Chilling with Dad

2 months old

Life Transformed

2011-09-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

The birth of our twins and the emotions that go along with it, cannot be described.   It has to be experienced. You have to be in the room and submerge yourself to what is going on. It's a powerful experience that cannot be reproduced by words. This experience is once in a life time.

The birth of the twins may be best described by one of my favorite movies, Apollo 13. The original mission was to land on the moon but after an oxygen tank explodes and cripples the landing module a new mission emerges. During this time the crew back on Earth frantically try and bring the Odessey safely back to Earth, not knowing if the heat shield was damaged by the explosion. If in fact the heat shield was damaged, re-entry into the atmosphere would burn the Odessey and it's crew of three.

In our story, Odessey is our twins and our mission is to have the twins arrive safely into the world. The oxygen tank that explodes is the breaking of the waters, which happens on Aug 25, 9am at the hospital. The doctors and nurses are the crew members making our goal possible. The outcome is unknown, like the heat shield was for Odessey.

Our story begins at 9am and progresses to midday where contractions have regular frequency. Like the Odessey, Neilynne during this whole time is monitored. Sensors connect to fetal monitors that detect the heartbeat of the twins. It also detects and graphically charts the intensity of the contractions. By 2pm, the contractions get stronger and the medical crew decide on a possible epidural. The anesthesiologist is called in and the needle is inserted. Pain subsides temporarily.

The mission goes on as planned. By 5pm. maximum dilation is achieved and Neilynne is asked to push. She pushes hard and progress is slow. Nurses have told her she is making good progress. At 6:30 the doctor checks and tells us otherwise. "Nope, she's not moving the kid." The epidural is turned down to give more feeling to Neilynne's lower half so she can push better. She continues to push for another 3 hrs. Their arrival is imminent, the mission hitting a critical point. The doctor now orders us to all move to the procedure room.

I watched the nurses wheel Neilynne into the OR room, I followed close behind. We enter the OR room, brightly lit, and the feeling of coldness surrounds me. Shiny, cold metal birthing tools are also laid out onto the table and counted. Neilynne gets transferred onto the operating table with stirrups at the end. "I'm sorry but we have to put you in stirrups." The doctor says and begins the birthing procedure. A suction is brought out and inserted to assist in the arrival of baby A. I stood by Neilynne's head watching the doctor work at her feet. This is the part where Odessey begins it's re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

For the next 30 min, it's the moment where baby A and B will arrive. Will they be okay? Will they be able to use their lungs for the first time? Are they going to survive? There is silence in the room and communication goes blank. All I could think of in my head was:

"Odyssey, this is Houston. Do you read me?"
"Odyssey, Houston. Do you read me?"
"Odyssey, uh Houston. Do you read?"

With one final yank from the doctor, a human being emerges, head first, purple and blue in colour. She has thick black hair and resembles her father. Within seconds she is whisked away into another room.  Two mins later baby B arrives feet first and is also whisked away. She too looks similar to her twin.

The moments after, the placenta is delivered, and Neilynne is shaking on the OR table. Minutes go by and still no word from the nurses and the babies. The doctor continues working on Neilynne when the door opens and a nurse enters with my daughter (baby B) in her arms. "Do you want to hold your daughter?", she asks. "Yes." I respond like a little weakling, barely able to speak. I held my daughter for the first time, an undescribeable feeling.   Her eyes looked straight into mine, not blinking but purely focused. The gush of feelings that occur next correspond to when Odessey re-enters the atmosphere and over the radio we hear,

"Hello, Houston. This is Odyssey. It's good to see ya again."

Nothing can come near to describing the feeling but I thought that was the closest. At that moment, I knew things were going to be all right. Even though baby A did not join our family till 1 hour later because she was under observation, I knew she would be all right, and she was.  Baby A is a striking image of her father.

By now, the names have been revealed but to make it official, we welcome into the world:

Aug 25, 2011
Jayde Mackenzie Leung - 5lbs 13oz @ 21:49
Quynn Riley Leung - 5lbs 1oz @ 21:51

I also want to make it official, I can eat chips again!!!!! And I'm making up for some lost chip time, believe that. Thank you everyone for all your support, we really appreciate it. It has been crazy with two newborns but, I wouldn't change it. They are a blessing and a miracle.

Chips vs Baby

"Sorry kid, I aint sharing these chips"

Tagged and ready to ship out

The 38th Week

2011-08-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

For the final week I wanted to post a video. In this video the girls are almost 37 weeks old. Maybe one day we can play this video back to them so they can see what they were like in the belly.

37th week - Twin girls and the role of the Father

2011-08-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably we reached the 37^th week. The girls are now 5.5lbs and 5.7lbs. Neilynne want the twins to move out, now! Tomorrow is their due date and I don’t think they like that birth date just like the other ones that past. In any case, our life either begins or ends, depending on the way you look at things. Induction date is booked for next week and I will graduate to become a father.

I can’t help but think, what type of father will I be? Surely not like my Dad, a great dictator in his own right. His way was the only way. Sure, there will be times where I probably will become a dictator and force them to do math, piano and extra homework, (it’s just the Chinese way) but my parenting style will differ than my parents. It has to because times have changed and they didn’t raise two girls.

Being the only male figure in the household, other than our dog Brix, what is the role of the father when raising two girls? I would venture to say it is important to show them how men should behave, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. The way I act with my wife, with other people, with the dog....it will be scrutinized everyday. You think I’m kidding? This is serious stuff. They will carry this on for the rest of their lives. They will formulate an expectation of men and it all starts with Dad. It’s almost like they will date boys similar to their Dad. Ewww sounds insane right? There is some truth to it I think. Ne many times before have said….”well my Dad does this for my Mom, so you should do the same for me…” The father plays an important role in the development of his daughters’ view of men.

If I were having two boys, I would teach them how to be a man and what it means to be a man in this society. I grew up as a man, so I could relate. For girls, it’s different. I have no idea. I didn’t have a sister either. I can only imagine being a girl in this society is tough. Self-image, self-confidence, self-worth are some challenges that come to my mind. Not to mention being aware of the perverse behaviour of some sicko men. Walking alone in the night is a definite no no. All I know is, if I raise two confident girls, who are able to make logical decisions, and have good reason, I’ll be happy.

Let’s come back to reality now. I haven’t reached step 1 and I’m thinking of step 100. It’s typical of Aquarians. Again, here we are at the 37^th week with at most one more week. Somebody bring me dorito chips when you come visit us at the hospital. The first taste of chips after 8 months without it is going to be amazing! Don’t get regular chips either. I’ll be mad. 7 days left….see you on the flip side.

The 36th Week

2011-08-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

The 36th week and Ne is going strong. I am very impressed with her 'cause for someone carry two....she hasn't complained too much. Her pain tolerance must be high. Men are weak....yeah...I said it....men are weak. When it comes to pain, the worst we might have to go thru is what... a rectal exam....a colonoscopy here and there.....but for women...

"Time to check your cervix.....(4 fingers in.)"
"Time to check the length of your cervix.....(alien probe inserts)
"Time to inject the epidural now in your spine....(all 3 inches of it)
"Time to start the C-section....(incision starts and out pops a baby)

And not the mention the monthly vistor females have as well.

Now before I lose all my male readers, men face a different pain, and it's daily. The pain of hearing how we don't get anything done. How we're always wrong. How our methods and judgements are wrong. Wrong in a way we don't even understand. No wonder we have man caves. We need to take shelter. The mind games, mind reading is just way too painful for us. Just as I am writing this, from across the room I hear...."When are you going to do these dishes? I've done it twice today. You never do them..." Of course none of it is true but it all falls on deaf ears. Moments later, "...when the girls come....you better do as I say and get them done..." You see, men work in simple binary logic. It's either black, or white, not grey. The answer is either yes or no. The solution to a problem will be worked out on his terms only which includes at what time. His solution is the only one, until all else fails, then will he consider alternate solutions from the opposite sex. That's just the way it is, I don't know why, but it is.

So what does this have to do with the 36th week? I seriously forgot. All I know is the days are numbered. In 7 days, we will reach full term. No babies in 7 days, no problem, light that fire and smoke 'em out. Forms for induction also have been sent to the hospital already. Our Leo babies, actually may turn out to be Virgo babies. In any case, it will be a blessing and the ride of our lives. As one friend put it, " it was the worst month of my life....and that was with one....." But it's going to be all worth it I say.

THE WAITING GAME – from the mama’s view

2011-08-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

So here I am almost @ 36 weeks preggos (2 more days) J. Funny though I thought I would never get here. It was always my goal to get to 36 weeks with my twin girls... but I know other twin moms that made it to 34 or 35 weeks... and on average twins come btw 34 – 35 weeks. So we feel very blessed to have made it to our goal.

Now... the problem is I’m thinking, “Will they ever come?” Last week I saw my OB for a check up but she also did a cervix examination... and let me tell you... not fun @ all. She did warn me that I would feel pressure and it would be uncomfortable... but it friggin hurt! But then again... soon I’ll be feeling the pains of labour... then I really will understand what “hurt” is... lol. Back to my point... my OB said it was a bit soft but she didn’t think I would be having the girls within the next few days.

I also had another apt to see her today (we see my OB every week now) and she wanted to give me an induction date. Now I’m waiting for the hospital to call me and give me my date. My OB said she wouldn’t make me go past 38 weeks preggos... but to tell u the truth... I don’t want to get to 38 weeks. Why you ask? Because I am super uncomfortable now! During our pregnancy, we have been very lucky. I have carried the girls pretty easily and we’ve been very healthy thus so far. I never have been sick or vomited, not even during the first trimester. Food wise... I’ve been able to eat everything... which is pretty sweet on my end! I’ve continued to walk with brix and practice yoga in the mornings but the past month has been harder on me. My carpal tunnel syndrome has been very bad... so bad it’s hard for me to open a bottle and even hold a pen and write a card (which is the reason why I haven’t written the thank you cards for my family and friends who have given us gifts @ our baby showers – but to all of you who have been very generous to us – thank u, thank u, thank u & your cards will arrive once my carpal tunnel has stopped). I’ve been having sciatica pain as well but receiving prenatal massage & doing my yoga stretches have helped immensely. And one major thing I’ve noticed the past 2 weeks is I’m not able to walk as quickly and I’m easily tired quicker... which sucks for me b/c I’m a busy-body and I don’t like sitting still (never did even when I was a kid). With all these complaints... we are still very blessed and I thank our Lord and Saviour for keeping us healthy and happy. J

So... here we remain... waiting. But I guess when we become parents... we end up “waiting” for our children. From waiting for them to come home from their first date to waiting for them after hockey games to waiting for the day they leave the nest. So I guess Jay & I better get use to “waiting”... even more since we’re raising twin girls especially when we’ll be waiting for both of them to come home from their dates. But that’s another blog to write about... and Jay hopes that will be in 30 years... lol! J

Are you sure 2 girls?

2011-08-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

Now that the nursery is almost complete, all their pretty clothes are ready, what if we weren't having 2 girls after all? What if one was a boy? Poor kid, he'd have to wear pink dresses for the first 12 months of his life...sleep in a crib surrounded by pretty flowery crib sheets and play with the butterfly crib mobile What if his weiner was just too small to see in the ultrasound?

Today marks the 35th week of gestation for the twins. We had yet another ultrasound to check on the growth of the babies. We also wanted to confirm the sexes 'cause you just never know. The tech scanned for her usual stuff, checking the length of the limbs, and size of the head. Then proceeds to check out the gender parts.

"Ok, don't tell me the genders because I'm 100% correct," said the tech. So we kept quiet. Seconds later...
"See the hamburger bun with the slit....yeah....baby A is a girl."
"What about baby B?", we asked. Another minute rolls by.
"Hamburger bun with a slit.....see....right there.....she's a girl."

Well, what a relief because I was getting used to the idea of two girls. After the checkup we also got an update on the size of the girls.

Twin A - 5.50 lbs.
Twin B - 5.06 lbs.

Way to go girls, you two grew about half a pound in two weeks! Now it's a waiting game. On to the 36th week.

The 35th Week

2011-08-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

The babies can come at anytime now. We are getting close. Within the next 2 weeks, these girls will "pop" out or else doc will light a fire and smoke 'em out. The next U/S falls on the twins 35th week. We are hoping they have reached 5 lbs.

This long weekend we found ourselves getting the house in order, cleaning up our junk and making space for baby stuff. Check out the mess below.

Room full of junk.

We have also been working hard in getting the nursery room ready. When I was a baby, we never had anything fancy so when my wife said, "I want to paint their room.....I want pottery barn crib sets....I want nice bookshelves for them...." I said, "...and I want to be rich..." C'mon....it's so unnecessary. I don't want to paint. That means I have to move all the furniture from their room to the next. What's wrong with egg shell white?


"What's wrong with eggshell white?"

Against a pregnant woman, I wasn't going to win any battles. I soon found myself at Sherman Williams paint store.

"I want Dancing Green!" Neilynne said as she held the colour sheet in her hand. I gasped.
"Serious? Doesn't that remind you of mucus and puke. Can't we go lighter?"
"I want colour in this room and it isn't even dark. Live a little will you?"

I lived to see how my old business room transformed into a green monster. With the help of Ron, I braved the dangerous and lived on the edge. We painted the room "Dancing Green!"

The Green Monster

After painting the room, it looked real green. It was just green walls and nothing else. Neilynne came upstairs to check out the room.

"Babe, do you think we went too dark?"
"Somehow...I told you... just wouldn't be appropriate at this time."

But to be honest, the green wasn't bad. When it is contrasted with the white, I thought it looked all right. So we waited a day or two for the paint to dry before we began the room transformation. The first thing to go into this new room was crib #1.

Neilynne preparing the crib sheet and bumper on crib #1

The first crib took an immense amount of space. I had doubts the second crib wouldn't fit and there was not enough space to move around. "I want a dresser for their clothes....." Geez, how are we going to fit a dresser in there? Eventually, we found a small dresser and it found a way into the room.

Dresser finds a way into the room

Starting to look like a nursery

With a few more additions, the room honestly started to look more appealing. We next added purple curtains. That should ought to keep the sun out.

Ne is proud of her curtains. Dino the dinosaur approves.

Finally, the second crib was assembled and placed into the same room. The crib was not allowed to be placed near the window and so we had one option left.

Second crib on the far right wall.

More Pottery Barn crib stuff

"Make them bows pretty or else....."

The last item to get installed were the bookshelves. The books that were gifts from our baby shower can now rest on them. Here is pretty much the final product minus a few more of Ne's details.

Room looks better than ours

Save it for a rainy day

Thanks for the books

So honestly, it doesn't look too bad. It is better than four walls of pink I say. What do you guys think?

Feeling and Seeing the Changes – from the Mama’s perspective

2011-07-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

Change is coming... literally right around the corner. We turn 34 weeks this Thursday... therefore our girls could be coming anytime now. My goal has always been to get to 36 weeks which would be August 11th but I’ve been noticing that I’ve been changing... more so my body has been changing.

I feel like my belly has dropped an inch the past few days...I can tell because when we went to church yesterday morning, the pew in front of us is now hitting my belly whereas the week before it wasn’t. I walk slower now too... and I waddle... even though I try really hard not to. Funny though I may walk slower but it doesn’t stop me from shopping with my mom & Edilyn @ Vaughn mills... lol. I’ve been sweating and feeling extremely hot the past week too even @ night but all I can say is thank goodness we got the air conditioner this year... otherwise this Mama-to-be would have been a very unhappy woman. Other changes are my feet & fingers are swelling quicker than before (even with me drinking 3 – 4 L of H2O a day) and I have been suffering from bilateral carpal tunnel the past few weeks... getting pretty bad I might add. L But even though i’m having all these complaints... I still feel extremely lucky to be carrying twin girls and remain J and healthy.

We’ve also started to nestle... but then again I think we’re just finally getting everything ready for them. My hospital bag & their hospital bag are all packed up & ready to go. The nursery is still under construction but thanks to the help of their Ninong Ron and Ninang Edilyn their room is painted – thanks again guys for all your help! Jay will be putting their cribs together the next few days... and all of our baby showers have been thrown & we are partied out – thanks again to all our families & friends for all the generous presents you have given us for our baby girls... we really are very blessed to have supportive people like u in our lives! Our house is filled with baby stuff... seriously though! Our family room doesn’t look like a family room anymore... it looks like a flea market that sells only baby girl items... lol. This can be especially seen in their clothing... I haven’t seen so much pink in my life... so I can imagine how it must look to Jay and Brix... hehehe. And with all of their clothes... comes a ton of laundry but that’s ok... I must admit I enjoyed doing it for them. I especially enjoyed washing their new pottery barn sheets cause they’re so pretty! Although I know it won’t matter to them that they have nicer bed sheets than Jay & I have on our bed. J

I’ve been chatting with them the past 2 days also... telling the girls to stay in my belly so they can gain a bit more weight and so their lungs can be more developed. I’ve even told them my belly is a much better than the world out here... its warmer & safer inside... plus once you’re out... that’s it... and most of us wish we could go back in J. We’ve finally settled on their full names too... first & second names... and I might add we really like the names we’ve chosen for them... they’re different & unique but easy to remember... I just don’t want my side of the family to give them weird Filipino nick names like me & my cousins have. That should die with our generation of cousins... our children shouldn’t suffer like we do.

Jay has been changing too. He is more concerned for me... and calls me @ home to check up on me when he is @ work. He still goes to hockey on Monday nights but has dropped doggy training the past 2 months to help prepare for the girls. He still cycles to work when the weather is good... and cycles in the evening if he gets a chance to. Jay has been reading more too... I bought him a new book called “Be Prepared” and it’s a how to book for first time Papas... but it has a MacGyver type of feel to it. I got it for him because it’s pretty practical and it has some funny images. Funny too cause last night he asked me if i knew how to use my breast pump... and I was like “No... i haven’t even opened it” and he said “Do you think we should open it and go through it?”. I was like “Yeah... I guess so”. But all in all... he has been an awesome partner the past 8 months.

Someone who hasn’t changed at all is... our Brix. Even now I don’t think he even realizes how big I am and how slow I’ve been getting around. He has however noticed all the girly stuff accumulating in the family room since the playard with the twin bassinette is right beside his bed. He especially noticed the double snap & go stroller yesterday morning when Jay took the stroller out with him for Brix’s mini walk to get him used to walking with a stroller. Funny though cause 2 of our neighbours thought the girls were already born... Jay corrected them right away and said he was training Brix with the new stroller.

So that’s all for now. Hopefully this won’t be my last blog... but it all depends when the girls come of course. My goal now is to get to 35 weeks... so that’s next Thursday... so please keep your fingers crossed for us that we make it to then! Thank you again to everyone’s support the past few months... Jay and I really appreciate it... and we may be taking you up on those offers once the girls are here! J

Aquarius Parent, Leo Child

2011-07-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

In my high school years, I was secretly interested in zodiac signs. On the weekends, at the library, I would take out books on astrology ...trying to find out...."the meaning" of things. Back then, of course, I was interested in what were the compatible love signs for Aquarius. They were: Libra, Gemini, Aries, Aquarius. It varied between book to book but for the most part, those were the compatible signs.

I remember telling a friend, "there's only one Aquarian girl that I know of, and heck no, I'm not going after her." Well 10 years later, I got married that Aquarian girl. Now I know you guys are like, " that stuff is nonsense, bogus, I can't believe you read that stuff. Are you gay?" We don't have to go that far but I think there is some truth to it. "You are a man of science, believe in science!" Yes, but science also has yet to tell us the origin of life. Also there are millions of books and websites about the subject and all seem consistent so I can't help to think maybe there is some truth to it.

Before we got pregnant I told Ne, "We can't try this month (Nov.) because we'd have a Leo baby! No way, we can't have a Leo baby...." Pretty bad huh? I was so paranoid of having a Leo baby because I knew they are at the opposite end of Aquarius. One is a water sign, the other a fire sign and you know what happens when water meets fire. The two can't co-exist or can they? We waited until December to try and conceive. Surely, we would not have a Leo baby now. We would have a Virgo baby. But things have a way to bite you in the butt. "Congrats...the two of you are expecting twins! That means your full gestation is 37 weeks and not 40 weeks!" Leo baby it is.

Sometimes, things work out for the better. Apparently I was reading the Aquarius and Leo lover section when I should have been reading the Aquarius parent and Leo child compatibility. It turns out Aquarian parents and Leo children go well together.....get back to me in 30 years and I'll let you know how it went.down. I think we all just believe in the stuff we want and disregard the rest. I can't help but wonder if there's any truth in the stars. You be the judge:

Child's Zodiac Sign	Zodiac Sign of Parents Most Compatible

ARIES	Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra

TAURUS	Capricorn, Virgo, Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio

GEMINI	Aquarius, Libra, Leo, Aries, Sagittarius

CANCER	Scorpio, Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

LEO	Sagittarius, Aries, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra

VIRGO	Capricorn, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer

LIBRA	Aquarius, Gemini, Aries, Sagittarius, Leo

SCORPIO	Pisces, Cancer, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

SAGITTARIUS	Leo, Aries, Gemini, Aquarius, Libra

CAPRICORN	Virgo, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer

AQUARIUS	Gemini, Libra, Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

PISCES	Cancer, Scorpio, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn

The 33rd Week

2011-07-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I took a ride down a stretch of road on my bicycle. It would be so much cooler if I said motorcycle but it's the closest thing I got. The sun was just setting and I could see it on the horizon., orange in colour. It was just me, my bike, the wind, and the road. There were no cars, no wife, no kids, no dogs. I couldn't help but think, "This is so damn relaxing! This is my old life....remember it....for it will be gone....just a long lost memory to tell the kids when they grow up." The new life is soon coming.

Ne reaches her 33rd week in a couple days. The babies are now over 4 lbs each. They grew incredibly fast the last 3 weeks. The baby showers have also started and the gifts are pouring in. Thanks guys. Ne continues to be strong, so much so she is still able to make a trip to Vaughn Mills and walk for several hours. She also feels like a furnace as heat radiates outward from her body. One more baby shower to go.

Congrats to Ne's cousin who became a father to a baby boy this weekend. We wish you and your new family the best.

And now time to leave you all with some more photos of " a life transforming"

"I hate baby shower games"

Books for the babies

Charlene's work of art

Thanks for all the gifts

These guys are certified in changing diapers.

The twins have boyfriends!

2011-07-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Before the twins are born, they apparently have boyfriends already. Matches that were made by some of our friends with kids already. "Twins A is going to be so and so's girlfriend.......Twins B will be ours...."
Maybe they'll be lesbian.....you never know.

Update:

This week Ne is at the 32 week mark. The girls are now over 3 lbs each according to the ultrasound. A far cry away from the 5 lbs we would like them to be but hey....there's not much real estate in the tummy.
From this point on, the twins chances of coming out increases. Can we make it to 37 weeks? Hopefully, but reality is, they tend to come between 34-35 weeks...that's freaking 2-3 weeks away!

What's going on now:

Baby showers like mad, this week and next. The baby bag is being packed. We still need to buy 2 cribs and a dresser but we could possibly live with the twin playpen we bought earlier. The nursery room is not even close to being ready. Still a room with just stuff in it. Any good pediatricians in Markham? Certainly, but all are not accepting new patients. We find we are left with just a handful that are not rated very good mind you. Goodbye to my Corolla and hello to the Pathfinder. It will haul everyone around town after a couple things get looked at.

Looking forward:

No matter what I do now, I'm as ready as I ever will be. Time to let things just fall into place and let nature do it's thing. I've got the cell phone charged up all the time and standing by the work phone ready for....."babe, my water broke!" It's going to be crazy. Keep you guys posted.

We're Running Out of Time!

2011-06-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Like Jack Bauer in 24, we are running out of time. In less than 2 months, the tables will turn, the cycle of life flipped, and I will soon be promoted to Papa. As the due date soon approaches, many have been asking, " Aren't you excited? You must be, you're having twins!" To be honest, not really.

Don't get me wrong, it will be the most exciting thing that has ever happened in my life but the months, weeks and days leading up to their birth, I feel nervous more than anything else. "How can you not be excited?", people usually ask. Probably because of the unexpected, the questions, will they be ok?.Only God knows. Maybe I'm just saving it all for the first time I see them. That will be a kodak moment or maybe a Nikon one.

In the final 2 months, there seems to be a mountain of tasks to complete and the baby stuff just keeps on rolling in. Last week we did a baby run to Buffalo and Pennsylvania. We busted the bank. We bought so much stuff even the border crossing officer gave us a "yeah right buddy" kind of look. "You bought how much stuff? All baby clothes? In 3 days? Pull over to the side and show them this form to claim your tax." Damn, 800 bucks of combined personal tax exemption wasn't even close to being enough.

Here are some final thoughts and images of a life being transformed....

clothes....clothes....clothes

...until they hit 16 yrs old

Toys from our cousin Kev. Thanks.

Brix wondering what the hell this is.

With a little help of friends....

...paws and feet ...

We need one more player...

Life Slowly Transforming

2011-06-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing but images to paint a picture of a life that is slowly transforming.

Who will be the “girly-girl” and who will be the “tomboy? - Ne's blog

2011-06-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Being the only daughter of my parents... i always knew that i would have no choice but to wear the dresses i was given from my mom and lola (not to mention the hand-me-downs i received from my ate donna). When i was a kid... i didn’t have a problem wearing the dresses my mom chose for me b/c most of them i really liked (especially my pink dress that had both stripes and polka dots... sigh... if i still had my most favourite dress i would definitely be giving it to the girls... sigh... if only). But as i hit my double digits... i started to butt heads with my mom because i didn’t want to wear the black and red dress to church or i didn’t want to wear the flowered dress to the anniversary party. So i can definitely say that btw the ages of 10 to 16 i hated to wear dresses... whether it was for church, a wedding or any kind of occasion. My mom figured this was when i hit my tomboy phase.

My tomboy phase was all about jeans, jordans and no dresses! I was perfectly happy wearing jogging pants & my Jordan VI... and i was proud of it! Most girls my age were playing “house” and learning ballet & jazz... instead i was “borrowing” my kuya’s GI Joes and WWF wrestlers and beating up boys in taekwondo school J. Funny too b/c i was probably the only girl i knew from my elementary school that was doing martial arts... but i was so proud of that fact. In fact i liked it! I enjoyed doing kicking drills and sparring against the boys... it was fun! But the “tomboy” phase only lasts for so long.

Soon... i started experimenting with makeup and i wanted to grow my hair out (i even permed it at the end of grade 6... that was a huge mistake that i will never do again). I stopped wanting to just wear pants... i wanted to wear skirts and dresses again. By this time... i became a “girl” again.

Now that i am an adult and about to become a first time mother... i’d like to think that my own experience will help me raise 2 girls in this world... but it is a different world out there now. I worry about not only the clothing they wear but about the people they will become and the choices they make. Hopefully, jay and i will be able to instil what our parents have instilled in us... i hope they will become good members of society... that they will be respectful towards their elders but respect themselves as well. I wish them to be good people... but mainly jay and i want to instil in them that nothing in life comes easy... that you have to work extremely hard for what u want... and that even if you fail... you fail forward as opposed to failing back. This is one of the most valuable lessons that i learned as a young adult and even today i am continuing to work hard so that i am able to give my girls what is important in life.

So i don’t worry about which of my girls will be the “tomboy” or who will be the “girly-girl”... what’s most important to me is that they enjoy plainly “being a girl”. Cause right now this mama-to-be is enjoying shopping a little too much for tons of “girly-girl” clothes... so much so i can’t stop... but i will blog about that during my next guest blog... hehehe!

I Feel You Babies

2011-06-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Neilynne reached the 27 week mark last week. where did the time go? You would think, with a little less than 2 months left, I would be guns blazing at getting my place ready for two babies....but on the contrary, I've been lazier than ever. The only things I'm been working hard at, is trying to feel the babies kicking and moving. At 27 weeks the babies are now weighing in close to 2 lbs. Still small but there are two in there.

The first time I felt the babies, I put my hand on my wife's tummy...and waited...and waited...until I felt a small tingle. "Is that gas? It felt like little bubbles touching my hand," I asked. "No, I think that was them," she replied. We had no clue. The more I tried feeling the babies, the less they wanted to move. It was if they knew someone was watching them It was not around 24 weeks when again, I placed my hand over my wife's tummy and waited....and waited....feeling disappointed, and then finally BANG! My hand jerked like it had touched a hot plate ...naw.... I'm just exaggerating, but I definitely felt a jolt from somebody and it was a cool feeling.

Now at 27 weeks, I can sometimes visually see the babies protruding from Neilynne's tummy. Almost reminds me of the maltesers commercial where the pregnant lady puts one on her tummy, and just before her partner reaches for it, the baby kicks it and it rolls off her belly. They are getting bigger and we now know when the babies move the most now. It's usually after a sugar rush, like ice cream, cherries or after a meal. From the ultrasound, we also know that the babies are head down and the legs are up. They like kicking Ne's ribs like it's some kind of harp. Neilynne often says, "It feels like I have gold fish moving around my belly." I'll take her word for it.

Now that some time has past, and we know we are having girls for sure, we still need to name the babies. We have finally come to two names after long debates and a lot of, "no that sounds dumb, do you want people to think she's a boy, and that's so over used..." We have come up with two names that we think are interesting, that were not chosen from a book....that happened spontaneously almost. One name chosen by Neilynne, one by me...but everyone will just have to wait because everyone will have an opinion about the name...." God, that's an awful name, what were they thinking? That's not how you spell it." We like the names and it will be revealed to the world when we are ready. What? You think I was really going to tell you in this blog? That wouldn't be fun. In the meantime the girls, will just be known as "the girls".

The Unknown Feeling of Becoming a Parent – A guest blog from Neilynne

2011-05-31T16:32:00.001-07:00

Funny that when I was younger... I always knew that I wanted to have children but now that I’m pregnant and expecting twin girls... it’s hard to place an actual word to my feelings. I grew up with lots of kids around me (being Filipino we have large families) and I’ve loved being around my younger cousins and taking them out to celebrate their birthdays (ie. just ask Sydney and Madison). But it’s so different when you are expecting your own.

Since we have found out that we would be having twins... I always have thought how blessed we are to be pregnant and even more with 2 babies! But I’ve never been OA (over-acting) about it. I’m extremely happy and feeling really great... but @ the same time I haven’t been going crazy... and for me who’s usually hyper... I’ve been pretty calm. I think I am feeling this way mainly cause it’s been Jay, Brix and I for so long... that i feel a bit uneasy that in less than 3 months... it will all change. Change is good... but for me change also means the unknown. The unknowing of how will we manage with 2 babies... whether it be emotionally, mentally and/or financially. As well as the fact that I love my relationship with my husband... and I’m not ready for such a change that it’s no longer about us but about THEM.

The one thing that is getting me through my feelings is my husband and his support. He has been so supportive and taking me to my Ultrasound apts, Blood lab tests, OB apts and doing our prenatal classes together (plus doing craving runs for chocolate milk shakes & ice cream) but most of all... he is there to listen to my feelings. Weird I always wanted Jay to buy me flowers, gifts, take me to fancy dinners, etc... but now I’m so grateful I have a husband that will always be here for me. I could care less that I don’t have fancy jewelry or a big house... but I have a husband that is home with me every night and the girls will have a father that is present in their life. I still feel nervous thinking about what is ahead of us... but as we are nearing August... I’m feeling happier that my partner has stepped up his game to be the kind of father I knew Jay could be. The girls, brix and I are so lucky to have him in our lives.

Did anyone else out there feel the same way right be4 they had their first baby (or babies)?

Potato Chips vs Nachos

2011-05-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier I agreed to give up something since my wife was pregnant because she had to give up her beloved sushi. So I gave up my beloved chips as most of you know. Well, I have been potato chip free since February! That is a feat in itself, trust me. There have been bags of potato chips at my in-laws, for weeks, that no one has touched yet. Everytime we visit, they are just out in the open. C'mon, eat those things already! Since I have been chip free, my salt tooth has somewhat changed to a sweet tooth now. I find myself eating sweet things more like, chocolates, icecream, and cakes now which I never use to do.

A couple of weeks ago, while out with our friends, an arguement presented itself. My wife, ordered a huge plate of nachos, which I couldn't have...or could I? Are nachos considered chips? Course all the guys were on my side...."no no...nachos are not chips....Jay can eat them.....go ahead...you deserve this man...." My wife would argue they are the same. I stuffed my face happily with nachos that night. Did I break the rule? Let's find out.

Potato Chip - A thin slice of potato fried in deep fat until crisp and then usually seasoned. Often used in the plural.

Nachos - A small, often triangular piece of tortilla topped with cheese or chili-pepper sauce and broiled.

What is a tortilla then?

Tortilla - A thin disk of unleavened bread made from masa or wheat flour and baked on a hot surface

Ha! So my statement does stand true. I am chip free since February! A potato chip is one that is fried in deep fat......while the tortilla is made of unleavened bread and baked! No harm....no foul....order me up more nachos boys!

What Not to Name Your Twins

2011-05-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

By now, most of you folks already know my household will soon be dominated by women which makes me still....the MAN of the house! Oh who am I kidding anyway?

The next stage is ....What NOT to Name Your Twins! With twin girls, there goes my hopes of naming our kids Luke and Leia unless one twin wants to live with a male name.  Imagine that... a girl named Luke. That would really suck for her future husband/ boyfriend.

"Hey man, what's your girlfriend's name again?"
" Luke..."
"I didn't know you were gay. When did you come out?"
"No...I'm not gay, her parents named her Luke. Stupid parents!"

Then again, what guy would go for a girl named Luke? It's just too weird for me, girls with boys names or boys with girl names. Girls named, Adrian, James, Keith, Roy.  It doesn't sound right, probably because I've never seen it used for girls. But that's the trend I hear.  Unisex names on the other hand I can get used to and are also getting more popular than ever.  Names like, Taylor, Jamie, Casey, Jordan are familiar to me.

There's so much in a name that it takes time to discover but it doesn't take any time to deem these twin names as fails. Check these out:

Jesus and Judas - are you serious?
Bob and Not Bob - that's dumb
Eeebie and Jeebie - gives me the heebie jeebies
Nova and Kane - Novacaine?
Jillian and Lilian
Luke and Leia (my wife wrote this one)
Tomax and Xamot - Crimson twins from GI Joe
Orangejello and Yellowjello - ultimate name fail

I'm sure we can do better than that list.

The name searching so far doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. I never knew picking 2 names could be this difficult but I'm sure when we come across the right name, it will hit us like a ton of bricks. For now, we're leaning towards names like Svetlana, Zawadi or Sudarshini...naw just kidding...but can you imagine chinese filipino twins with those names?

Finding out the sex of the twins.

2011-05-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ultrasound has come a long way as a tool in medical imaging. In my parent's generation, they didn't have such imaging capabilities. They had no clue if they were having a boy or girl. Thank goodness I was a boy because if I were a girl, my mom would have given me the name Cindy! Nothing wrong with the name Cindy, but it just reminds me of Cindy Lauper and ".....girls just want to have fun....ohhhhh....girls just want to have fun!"

So when our 20 week ultrasound day came, we were excited to find out the sex of the twins. If the twins were a girl and boy....oh man....I would name them Luke and Leah. That would be sweet! They would bring balance to the Force.

"Do you want to know the sex of the twins today?" Asked the ultrasound tech as my wife and I settled into the dimly lit, imaging room.
"Yes, we can only take so much green and yellow colours." My wife replied.
"Hopefully they are willing to cooperate today." And with that, she began examining.

After about an hour of probing, checking, measuring, and scratching of the heads....

"They're not cooperating.....I'm leaning towards girl for one of the them....the other had their legs crossed." So we left not knowing for sure but we were fine with that because that wasn't the most important to us.

Naturally, many of us want to know the sex of the baby. It's understandable, you want to know what to buy the kid. In the grand scheme of things, jokes aside, it doesn't matter what the sex is for us. Boy boy, girl girl, boy girl....it doesn't matter. What we really want, God willing, is to have two healthy babies. I'd be a liar if I told you I never thought about down syndrome. The scary part is, between 20%-30% of babies with Downs showed no signs during the ultrasound checks. Great as ultrasound screening is, it's not a 100% screen. So keeping that mind, my wife and I stay humble. We try not to get over excited.

So this is the part where I talk about faith. Since my wife and I are Christians, it really is up to the hands of God. We absolutely have no control over this, and when you have no control over something that is so life changing, it's scary. Faith is believing in future outcomes not resting on logical proof or material evidence. Thanks Wikipedia. I guess this is what it means to be a parent. I'm sure many expecting parents also go thru such similar worries. So we pray, that God grants us two healthy babies, and even if that's not the path chosen for us, we will find a way to manage.

So in conclusion, be it BB, GG, BG, healthy or special, we will fall in love with them when they arrive...mind you I will probably faint first. We just pray for strength and knowledge because really, that's all we can really ask for. Tune in for my next post....

BTW .....its GG if you really wanted to know ...confirmed at the 23 week U/S

Twin A

Twin B

And in true fashion, my wife goes out and buys a pair of Jordans for one of the kids. Still trying to find another for the second. Those ugly runners beside the Jordans are mine by the way. They cost the same amount as the Jordans. Go figure.

I Accept Your Challenge

2011-04-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

The days are going by fast as we near the end of April. Soon we will know the sex of the twins, prenatal classes start in May, soon after that, the baby showers and then we start running on fumes.

Yesterday, while waiting at dim sum, we saw two good friend of ours. They happen to be proud parents of twins.  If someone would have good advice, these guys would be the ones. They spotted us first and we began to talk:

"Hey, congrats, I heard the news you are expecting twins."
"Yeah, we were were surprised." my wife replied.
"We have so much stuff we can give you. Our twins are 4 now."

I wanted to ask how they made it thru the first couple years and hopefully get some words of wisdom from my friend but before I had a chance, he left me with these encouraging words before heading for lunch.

"Oh by the way Jay, you are in for the ride of your life! Good luck buddy."

That was it? From one twin parent to an expecting twin parent....you're screwed up the bum....that's the reticulating theme. It can't be that bad can it? C'mon, I got thru engineering, I can get thru anything!   Crap, who am I kidding? Engineering was 4 years this is for life. I don't know a thing but it's because I don't know anything....I accept your challenge. That right... LIFE.. I accept your challenge and I will succeed. I will excel at this challenge....so God help me.

I did it 6400 times

2011-04-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Can you think of something you did 6400 times in a span of 2.5 years? I'll be the first one to tell you, not to burst anyone's bubble, that it isn't sex. Trust me. No one is that lucky. 6400 times is the average number of times a baby's diaper gets changed over 2.5 years. Can you believe that? I sure in hell don't believe it but wait....there could be some truth to it. I need your help.

Let's break it down...nerdiness starts now.

I need the help of all the expert mothers, fathers, grandparents, caregivers, in answering this question: How many diapers did your baby go thru in a day? Don't be shy, it's just a number. From my research the average is 10-12 diapers in a day for the first 3 months. Some say between 8-15 but most have concluded 10 is the average. Would you agree?

Then from 3-12 months, I have read the diaper usage drops to 8-10 diapers per day. From 12 months to 30 months, a further reduction to 6-8 diapers. Are these numbers within range? We have also assumed that one baby on average is in diapers for 30 months (2.5 years)

Here's the data:

(10 diapers /day) x 91 days = 910 diapers for the first 3 months
(8 diapers /day) x 274 days = 2192 diapers for the next 9 months
(6 diapers /day) x 548 days = 3288 diapers from 12months to 30 months.

Total number of stinky diapers = 6390.

And remember, that's taking the most conservative numbers. If you calculate worst case, the total number of stinky diapers is now:

(12 diapers /day) x 91 days = 1092 diapers for the first 3 months
(10 diapers /day) x 274 days = 2740 diapers for the next 9 months
(8 diapers /day) x 548 days = 4384 diapers from 12months to 30 months.

Total number of stinky diapers = 8216.

Actually that isn't even the worst case because we've calculated for one kid only. Better multiply those numbers by 2 for two kids and you get the idea. I'm not even going to calculate the total diaper cost because with twins...forget about it. Better get the defibrillator 'cause I'm going to have a heart attack. The question for everyone is: Are these numbers accurate? I'd like to hear from y'all.

I Survived the Baby Show!

2011-04-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Let's get the facts straight, I know nothing about raising kids, I never grew up with infant kids, and I never changed a diaper in my life. I'm the whitest blank paper you have ever seen. After attending the baby show, I'm surprised at how much I was able to learn and how much more questions I have now.

The baby show would have been heaven for people who have a fetish for pregnant women. All the baby bumps, together, under one roof . Or if you didn't know better, it could have been a baby stroller convention. Aside from the expecting mothers, and strollers, I was bombarded by brand names never seen before. Medela, similac, snuggle bugs to name a few. We also picked up a lot of free samples and pamphlets seen below. When all the smoke had cleared, there were two things I found useful.

The first was learning about safety and infant car seats. I was shown the proper way to install a rear facing one. It was also pointed out to me the possible UAS connector locations in my car. Finally we were given a DVD with additional safety information. Very helpful I found.

The second is regarding cloth diapers. Possibly more economical than disposable, and more ecofriendly, it really made us think. I'm not going to debate cloth vs. disposable here but rather save it for a future article.

Before the days end, my wife reconnected with some old massage therapy classmates who were giving out complimentary massages. After a well deserved massage for herself, we headed home but not before making a purchase...

Bouncey chair number two now. We have one from the twins sale earlier this month, so we are set for bouncers...more to come soon.

What I gave up ...

2011-04-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy is difficult. A woman's body physically changes just as fast as her mood swings and cravings. During pregnancy a woman gives up many things for the well being of the baby, alcohol, sashimi, her waist line and the list goes on to infinity.

What does the man have to give up during this time? Well there are many things that we give up, but it would all be irrelevant in a woman's eye. A friend of mine told me I should give up something because after all, she is carrying two. I can't imagine myself carrying two nor can I imagine not be able to see my feet for awhile. So from the goodness of my heart, I gave up something.

Since the beginning of pregnancy until ....who knows when....because the end date has not been established...I am giving up my beloved POTATO CHIPS. Anyone who knows me, knows chips is my kryponite. Salt and onion, jalepeno, sweet chili chips, I am giving it all up. So when you throw baby showers for my wife or have a party, don't be throwing chips in my face and say...."Hey man, look what I'm allowed to eat! Sucker! "I'm eating chips....I'm eating chips...you're not eating chips.....caused you did it to yourself...."

So far I have been chip-free for 20 weeks. I have been surviving on nuts, sweets and beer. It hasn't been as bad as I thought. It was bad when my wife bought corn chips and ate it in front of me or left the bag out on plain sight. That's just mean. Anyway, off to the baby show to immerse myself in the world of babies.

On a side note, thanks for the beer this week Ms. Glenny, I need it!