More gifts for the girls, and an update

A month ago, Tim and I went to dinner with one of his coworkers from New Hampshire, Pattie. Pattie had made a gift for our girls and was able to deliver it in person at dinner. Pattie has followed the story of Thomas and wanted to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the newest members of our family.
She crocheted two baby blankets is soft pink with white trim. The gift bag they came in was adorable, too. I draped one across the crib in the photo above. (Click on all images to enlarge.)

And then last week we received five boxes throughout the week! Two of them were filled with cloth diapers and accessories that I had ordered, two were packed with more hand-me-downs from my friend Christina, and the fifth was a gift sent by my sister Amy!

Amy knew she would have a hard time NOT buying things once we learned I was having baby girls. This is her second gift she has sent! They are a set of five adorable onesies, perfectly sized for small newborns. The colors and patterns are wonderful!
The two pairs of little pink shoes are very soft inside. They match the onesies perfectly.

Christina sent me more small clothes, since she knew we were all set pretty much for 6 to 9 months sizes. She'll be sending another two boxes of sizes 0 to 3 months, whenever she and her twin girls can get out through the snow to the post office! But the two boxes we received last week are sizes 3 to 6 months. I lined up all the adorable dresses on top of the couch, and then from left to right, she sent: sleepers, jeans, shorts, shirts, pants, and onesies.I've pulled out the smaller outfits labeled 3 months to put in the drawers, and boxed the rest for when they start growing. My mother-in-law is going to have a lot of laundry to help me with when she arrives!!

I spread out on the floor of the nursery all of the cloth diapers and accessories we have received so far. I've begun washing them and putting them away. I actually diapered one of the Peter Rabbit stuffed animals Thomas received, just to see how hard it was. It wasn't at all, even using safety pins.
Something I just ordered today is called a "onesie extender". It makes the bottom of a onesie a little longer so a baby can wear a cloth diaper, which tends to be a little larger than a disposable diaper, with the correctly sized clothing. So many things to think about!

A little update on me and the girls, since I know that is all anyone is *really* interested in... ;-)

I am doing pretty well. I have really cut back on household chores. I am still trying to sew baby layette (picture below showing what I've completed so far). Tim has picked up the chores of going to the supermarket, a lot of the cooking and cleaning up, ironing shirts, and carrying things around for me. I get exhausted just showering now. When I walk up and down the stairs, I feel like my pelvis is going to split! I don't go outside if it is the slightest bit slippery; I do not want to risk a fall.

The girls move around quite a bit. Some days they can be pretty quiet, but nearly every night they come out to play! Tim and I laugh to see the bumps roll across my belly. I can feel their hiccups nearly every day. We are trying to talk to them more, and play with them by pressing back on their limbs. I am rereading my Hypnobirthing book, trying to prepare myself for another natural childbirth. I'll be writing up our birth plan this week, and next week we will have our tour of the hospital (again). I'll be meeting with my doula, Lynn, soon, and hiring her for the delivery.

We have discussed our name choices and finally made a "short list". (Sometimes I forget what I've already written about, so if I am repeating myself, blame it on my pregnancy brain!) We had done the same thing with Thomas, but didn't pick any of the names on our short list after all! So these girls will just have to wait to be born to be named. We are thinking of baptism dates and godparents, now. So many things to figure out!

Sometimes I think they will be here in three weeks, and I just want to be prepared! At least I finished up our tax paperwork, so that is something we won't have to worry about. The nursery could use some tidying up. I will be moving all of Thomas' things (funeral programs, ultrasound pictures, memory box, etc.) out of the nursery furniture and into a chest his grandfather (my dad) made for this purpose. And when Tim's mom arrives in March, I am sure she will help me with washing everything all over again, since things have been sitting here for over a year.

We did buy our car seats, but our stroller is on back order. Tim will bring up the two bassinets in a few weeks and put them in our bedroom, for the babies to sleep in for the first six months. We will have them share the crib for their naps, I think. I bought an infant carrier (aka wrap or sling) to be able to carry the two babies around with me, at least until they weigh 10 pounds each.

And as you can see below, I finally finished sewing the purple dress. I will work on their jackets next!