Big big big belly

Last year, on my birthday, I thought I had lots of big news. I had a big new-to-me floor loom, for instance.

This year, the birthday news is bigger. You may remember from my posts this fall that I felt under the weather a lot...with both asthma and with nausea. I was also on a medicine that made me feel stoned and made it hard to drive.

That is because, with the help of a little technology, I am pregnant. With twins.

(Apparently, twin fetuses offer twice as many hormones--so twice as much nausea.) Yup, it's been a long haul so far.

I am celebrating tonight because the professor and our visiting resident student took me out for a birthday dinner. So far, I am even keeping it down, which is wonderful. I've learned to be grateful for small things!

These twin fetuses, formerly nicknamed Nausea & Vomit, have now been renamed. The professor objected to those nicknames, but then, he was only a helpful bystander to why I called them that! (A bystander who did the shopping, cleaning, cooking, and all sorts of other things to help me cope.) Lately I've been calling them the kugel twins, after Lokshen Kugel...one of my favorite childhood foods. Lokshen and Kugel are doing fine so far. The stork should deliver them in May or early June. Their due date is in early June, but twins often arrive early, just like I tend to do, if you know me!

Locally, people already know about this because I've already got quite a belly and have been wearing maternity pants since November now. Twin fetuses take up a lot of room! It's hard to hide such a big belly!

In order to head off any questions:
We are adhering to traditional Jewish customs and will not be announcing any names, genders, or other details before the babies are born. We're not acquiring anything for these guys until they are born healthy--so no baby shower before the big day, no nursery acquisitions, etc. Of course, if you had a big urge to knit baby clothes or soakers or longies or something for no baby in particular, well, I can't stop you...and I'll send you grateful thanks and my address in May/June!

Thanks to all of you who have been cheering quietly behind the scenes for me as I went through many years of trying to get pregnant. Thank you so much for your gentle support. I appreciate you more than you will know.