Welcome to Amy Beeman’s Baby Blog! As you’re probably aware, Amy & Mark had twins – Lucy & Sam! Follow her blog for updates on how she, Mark & the babies are doing.
17 Months: Leaving My Babies
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I know I’ll look back on this time and think “Why was I so worried? What was the big deal?”
But hindsight is 20/20. And I’m not looking back at this moment, I’m living it.
I’m leaving my babies.
I’m off to Panama! It’s a work trip (quite the perk of the job) and my little sister, Carly, is coming with us. It’s a once in a lifetime experience: staying at a 5-star all inclusive …
17 Months: To Freeze or Not to Freeze the Embryos: That is the Question
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To freeze or not to freeze: that’s what Mark and I asked ourselves when we got the letter from Genesis Fertility Centre.
Do we want to pay a storage fee to keep our embryos frozen for one more year?
When we went through the IVF process, we had two embryos transferred (which resulted in Lucy and Sam) and five frozen. Frozen for what? They were frozen in case we needed, or wanted, to go …
15 Months: 2011 Beeman Family Santa Photo
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No. It was not supposed to be a family Santa photo.
If it had been a planned family Santa photo, I would have worn make-up.
If it had been a planned family Santa photo, I would have worn clean jeans.
If it had been a planned family Santa photo… you get the idea.
Lucy was quite content to sit on Santa’s knee (although he did have to hold her hand to stop her from sucking …
14 Months: No One Wants Mom
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“Can you guys please just give me two minutes?” I plead as I try to scramble some eggs. Lucy and Sam are both hanging off my legs, screaming for me to pick them up.
Welcome to the needy stage! And there’s only one thing more needy than a 14 month old toddler: two 14 month old toddlers. They constantly want to be picked up and carried around, and always at the same time. What Lucy …
Almost a year: 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
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“… take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall…”
There’s no way I’ll make it to 80 bottles, I think, as I sing over the screams. They’ll fall asleep before then.
We are on Night 7 of sleeping training. So far, it’s been a journey of definite peaks and valleys. Some nights have been amazing. Some nights, like tonight, have pushed both Mark and me to the brink of insanity.…
1 year, 2 weeks: Another First… The Poop Incident
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“Good splashing!” I say to Lucy during bath time. She reacts by slapping her hands down even harder on the water around her. Sam gets in on the action, and soon Mark and I are both as wet as the two babies in the tub.
Bath time is a fun time in our house. Its noisy, its messy, its fun. Lucy and Sam love splashing themselves, each other and especially us. We have a couple …
1 year, 1 week: Going back to work…
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5 points to the person who answers this correctly: What is the name of the individual who studies, diagnoses and treats diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity?
Amy: Uhhhhh…. Dental person?
No, that is incorrect. The word we were looking for is dentist.
True story. The other day, I actually could not come up with the word dentist while talking with a friend. I can’t believe that in less than 24 hours, …
1 Year Minus a Day: My Babies Are Almost One!
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It’s Saturday, July 23, 2011 and I’m sitting here thinking about what I was doing exactly one year ago today. I was laying in a bed at BC Women’s Hospital, with two fetal monitors strapped to my stomach, waiting for the contractions to start. (I won’t bore you with all the labour and delivery details; I’ve already written about them here.)
On one hand, I can’t believe my babies will be one tomorrow. Where …
10 Months: Our First Trip to Emergency
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Normally when I write my blog, I try to explain exactly what I was feeling, thinking or experiencing at a particular moment in one of my many adventures with Lucy and Sam. I love writing and sharing these moments with you, plus its great to be able to look back at the posts and remember some of the amazing moments I’ve had since the babies came into my life.
But this blog is different. Trust …
9 Months: Naughty Lucy???
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“Oh she’s so cute,” Marlie says as she snuggles with Lucy.
“Look how much hair she has,” comments Gina. “There’s tons on the top of her head… Uh oh…”
“Uh oh what?” I say as I stand up to take a look at the top of Lucy’s head.
“Is there something wrong?”
I’m afraid her cradle cap has gotten worse or maybe she’s scratched herself again, but I can’t see anything wrong with her head.…
8 Months: 1 girl + 1 boy = identical?
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“Oh what cute babies,” the cashier says.
“Thank you,” I say with a smile, as I continue unloading my groceries at the till.
“A boy and a girl?”
“Yes,” I say. “One of each.”
“Are they identical?”
I bite my tongue. I bite it hard because it is not the first time I’ve been asked this question, even after it’s been established that I have one girl and one boy.
Let’s think about this for …
8 Months: Lucy’s Moving Out!
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After 9 months in utero and 8 months in the real world, it’s finally time for Lucy to say goodbye to Sam. She’s moving out!
After months of sharing cramped quarters in my uterus, then just as many months sharing cramped quarters in a crib, we agree it’s time to separate the twins to give them a little more space.
We decided early on that we wanted to have the twins share a bed. We …
6 Months: U(B)FC- Ultimate Breast Feeding Challenge… Mom vs Sam
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Picture it: you are a wild animal, deep in the forest. You live your days in peace, existing in harmony with the world around you. The snow-capped mountains, the babbling brooks and the lush vegetation complete your picturesque life.
(Cue ominous music)
One day, an unknown creature enters your wilderness. This creature is cold, jagged and deadly. It has invaded your world and you don’t see it until it’s too late.
The pain is immediate …
6 Months: Two is Hard
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Two is hard.
That’s what I say to myself as I walk out the front door of our condo. Two is hard.
It’s been one of those days. I can’t even pinpoint any one thing that made the day seem so long. It just was.
There were a couple instances of Sam biting Lucy, but that’s not new. He did that even before he had teeth. There was Lucy’s disastrous dirty diaper that required a …
5 Months: Boys Will Be Boys
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We knew this was going to happen eventually. It happens to everyone in our situation. We’ve seen it happen to friends. We knew one day it would happen to us. We just didn’t think it would happen this soon.
Sam has found his boyhood. And he’s holding on for dear life.
Every chance he gets, his hand is down there grabbing. Bath time: his hand is down there. Changing time: his hand is down there. …
5 Months: The More I Love You, The Worse I Smell
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3 months: Buckle Up: Babies’ First Road Trip
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Buckle up babies, it’s going to be a long ride!
Mark and I know the 800 km between Vancouver and Prince George quite well. We have driven it together, we have driven it alone, we have driven it in the summer, we have driven it in the winter. We know where to stop for lunch, which gas stations have the best bathrooms and we know exactly how long it will take us to get from …
11 Weeks: Unfit mother
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Lucy reduced me to tears tonight. Or, more appropriately, my inadequacy as a mother reduced me to tears tonight.
Lucy and Sam are almost three months old now. It’s a fantastic age because you can lay them down on a play mat and they can entertain themselves for a good fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of quiet time for a mom, especially a mom of twins, can feel like blissful eternity.
I was enjoying one of …
Almost 9 Weeks: I’m Leaving You
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7 Weeks: 170 Diapers
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“170 diapers… that’s the most I’ve ever delivered to one house.”
That’s what Rick, our Happy Nappy delivery guy said as he hauled two massive bags of cloth diapers into our condo.
We were originally having 140 diapers delivered each week, but we quickly found that was not enough. Two babies, eating every three hours equals an awful lot of dirty diapers.
Looking at the massive mound of smelly diapers at the end of each …
6 Weeks: Adventures in Breastfeeding
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4 Weeks: The Crying Game
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21 Days: “Bowl Full of Jelly” Uterus
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Alright. Why don’t more women talk about this? Why don’t doctors warn you about it? Do they think that new moms will be so distracted by the new bundle(s) of joy in our arms that we won’t notice that we still look six months pregnant?!?!
Yes, I’m talking about the “Bowl Full of Jelly” uterus. I’m not an idiot. I didn’t expect to walk out of the hospital at my pre-pregnancy weight, but I also …
11 Days: Introducing Lucy and Sam!
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11 days old and already they’ve had their first photo shoot!
Lucy and Sam had the honour of being photographed by Jillian Kirby. Jillian and Sarah, her assistant, set up a mini-studio in our livingroom and took some stunning photos!
I was amazed at how Jillian and Sarah could manipulate Sam and Lucy into the most unbelievable positions.
I think the pictures are adorable, although I am a bit biased. 
Take a look for …
37 Weeks: Delivery Day!!
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37 Weeks Minus 2 Days: Kasha’s Wedding
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35 Weeks: The boredom sets in…
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34 Weeks: Who ya gonna call? A carseat technician!
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Carseat installation is as complicated as rocket science… not that I’ve actually tried to master rocket science, but I have tried to master carseat installation, and that didn’t go very well.
I’d like to think that I am a somewhat intelligent woman who can follow directions and figure things out. But then again… maybe I’m not. Especially when I’m carrying an extra 40-odd pounds, have a massive stomach, can’t bend over for more than 8 …
33 Weeks: Bizarre Dreams
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I was told pregnant women have weird dreams, and I am definitely no exception.
The bizarre dreams started as soon as I became pregnant and they haven’t let up.
Here are a couple of the ones I remember:
-Sting serenades me on stage (even though I am wearing two different shoes).
-I am hanging out with Lindsay Lohan (this one is re-occurring which I find especially disturbing).
-somehow I miss the birth of the babies …
31 Weeks: Unsolicited Comments and Advice
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I was walking down the street today, minding my own business, when I heard a woman laugh. I looked up and realized she was laughing at me. How did I know she was laughing at me? Well, the fact that she pointed at my stomach and said “You’re going to explode!” sort of gave it away.
WTF?!?!?!!? Who says that????
I have found that when you’re pregnant, you suddenly become “public property.” People feel like …
30 Weeks: Sparkle time, Mark!
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Apparently, Mark was a little jealous of my belly shots with Ela Blue Photography (scroll down a bit to see the pictures), so my wonderful friend Kim Culbert stepped in to give him a chance to sparkle in front of the camera.
We met Kim at Deer Lake Park to do some “happy couple belly shots.” My sister, Carly, was in town so she jumped in for some “happy sister belly shots.”
With Carly doing …
30 Weeks: Express Yourself… or at least your breasts
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28 Weeks: My last day :(
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This is a very surreal day: it is my last day at work for a year.
I’m not due until the end of July, but my doctor wants me off work early to relax and let the twins grow in my belly. My pregnancy has been fantastic so far, but I don’t want to take any chances. There are studies that show women who stop work around 28 weeks (I’ll be 29 tomorrow) are more …
28 Weeks: Hide the wine… already?!?!?
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Danger zone.
Pit of destruction.
The devil’s playground.
Okay, it’s not quite that bad, but it’s definitely not baby safe. I’m talking about our condo.
We had Erin, from Child Safety Professionals, come in to assess our condo and tell us what we have to do to make it “baby safe.”
She was fantastic! It took about an hour for her to go through everything with us (remember- we have an 800 square foot …
28 Weeks: Bending over is not an option
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The other morning I dropped my car keys on the ground in my parking garage. I was on my way to work and I was carrying my laptop bag, my work bag and my purse.
I stared at the keys, lying at my feet and assessed my options:
1. Go upstairs, wake up Mark and tell him he has to come down into the parking garage to pick up my keys.
2. Go upstairs, call …
27 Weeks: Letting it all hang out… literally
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Pulling up my shirt and flashing my stomach is not something I normally do in pictures (not since 2001 anyway, and that was a crazy trip in Central America, but I digress….).
But it felt totally natural to do it last weekend with Vicki from Ela Blue Photography. I went to her studio to have some maternity photos done. Within five minutes of arriving, I was pulling up my shirt and flashing my baby …
27 Weeks: Belly Story Time
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I am now in the third trimester!!!!! It’s all downhill from here
Every week I get fabulous emails from Baby Center that tell me exactly what is going on in my still-growing belly.
Apparently the babies are hearing a lot now… this is our latest update from Baby Center:
Your baby’s becoming more sensitive to sound as the network of nerves in her ears develops. If dad talks to her now, she might learn to …
26 Weeks: New Invention: Belly Bibs!
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I know how I’m going to make my first million: belly bibs!
It’s an invention all pregnant women can use. It is the same idea as bibs for babies, but instead of covering the chest to catch food as it dribbles out of baby’s mouth, it will cover the belly to catch food as it dribbles out of mom’s mouth.
It is amazing how far a pregnant belly sticks out and it is even more …
25 Weeks: Cloth or disposable?
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The question that has plagued parents-to-be for centuries (or, at least, decades).
Should we use disposable diapers or cloth diapers? Disposable diapers are convenient. Cloth diapers are better for the environment. Both have pros and cons.
So let’s look at financial costs (a lot of things boil down to dollars and cents). Surprisingly, we found a diaper service that costs LESS than the average amount most people spend on disposable diapers each week. Did I …
24 Weeks: New Car!
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24 Weeks: Giant Underwear :(
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Oh, another joy of being pregnant: buying bigger underwear.
It’s every woman’s dream to walk into a lingerie store and buy underwear that can be stretched from one side of the store to the other. (Men reading this- please sense the sarcasm.)
It’s insulting to have to wear the massive underwear and it’s even more insulting to have to PAY for it!
No, I’m not advocating stealing underwear. But I did find a bit of …
24 Weeks: My Weird *ss Stomach
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Okay, the sticky-outy belly button I expected. It’s now sticking so far out that it arrives in a room a full 30 seconds before I do. But I’m getting used to it, and I’m even embracing it… although I did cover it in scotch tape the other day to try to tone it down a bit.
But this new development is even weirder (is that a word?).
I realized the other day that my feet …
23 Weeks: It’s twins, people!!!!!
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23 Weeks: Pull my toes!!!!!!!
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“Pull my toes!” I screamed to Mark while lying in bed the other night.
No, it’s not a kinky bedroom fetish I have. Thanks to the babies growing in my belly, I have just entered the wonderful world of leg cramps.
They can strike at any time, but they seem to like to sneak up on me in the middle of the night. After tossing and turning, trying to find that one comfortable position that …
22 Weeks: Mama Pamper Time!
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If there is ever a time when you don’t feel guilty about pampering yourself, it’s when you’re hauling around two extra people in your uterus.
Mamas-to-be have to make sure they take time out of their schedules to take care of themselves, and I am definitely doing that.
Last week, Kyle from Som Visao Spa invited me to indulge in a couple of their Maternity Treatments. Somewhere between my Baby Belly Facial and my Leg …
21 Weeks: The first kick! … or punch…
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Finally! I felt a baby! Although, which baby… I’m not sure.
Mark and I were lying in bed, and we both had a hand on my stomach. My hand was over Baby B and Mark’s hand was over Baby A. We both felt the kick (or was it a punch?) at the exact same time.
I assumed it was Baby B, Mark thought it was Baby A. Maybe it was a joint effort- they are …
21 Weeks: Shopping for gender neutral babies
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Mark and I have decided we don’t want to find out the sex of the babies before they are born. We want the big surprise when they arrive sometime in July.
What that means, however, is shopping for a lot of yellow, green and white clothing and nursery items!
Fortunately, we have found some incredibly adorable items.
Check these out:
Snug as a Bug Organic Duvet Covers
Wendy and Jill, from Snug as a Bug …
20 Weeks: Yes, the Adoption is Still On!
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19 Weeks: Am I a Bad Parent Already?
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We had our third ultrasound appointment this week. As far as I know, everything looked good (knock on wood); we’ll get the results at our doctor’s appointment next week.
There were a couple of things that happened during the ultrasound that made me question my ability to be a good parent, and I’m sure it made the ultrasound tech question the same thing.
- I fell asleep during the ultrasound. If you lay me down in
…
19 Weeks: Cleavage, How I Love You
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Okay… my stomach is bigger (obviously), my hips are wider and my legs are flabbier. But there is a silver lining…
Oh yes… hello cleavage!!
Let me start by pointing out that I have never had cleavage, even with the help of chicken cutlets (aka boob boosters), water bras or breast tape. But now… well, hello! And it’s not just me who has noticed the transformation. I think my sister’s exact quote was “Wow, where …
18 Weeks: Blurry vision from Baby Landlords
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Swollen ankles, achy back, itchy stomach (from the skin stretching)… this I expected. But blurred vision? That was not on my radar.
My eyes are starting to go a little squirrelly. You know that tired, blurry vision you get after staring at your computer screen for four hours? Well, that’s how my eyes now feel after looking at a computer screen for four minutes now!
Apparently, your eyesight can change when you’re pregnant. A friend …
18 Weeks: Beer, How I Miss You
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To all of you who will be out celebrating and drinking green beer tonight… bite me.
I’m sorry if I sound a bit harsh, but saying no to beer is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do since being pregnant. As much as I miss martinis and wine, it’s the mere mention of beer that makes me salivate.
So tonight, a night when it’s expected that you’ll partake in …
17 Weeks: IVF
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16 Weeks: Baby Shopping
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Here’s a way to test your marriage: on a Saturday, take your husband to a baby store, and ask him to pick a crib from the hundreds of models.
That’s what I did last weekend. Five hours and three stores later, we were both overwhelmed, cranky and willing to buy anything, just to get out of the store.
But I think we made some good purchases. Now we can tick crib, mattress, dresser and stroller …
15 Weeks: Cat Out of the Bag
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YAY! The news is finally out! No more fake drinking and baggy shirts.
Yes, I am pregnant… with twins.
We knew twins were a possibility (we did fertility treatments), but I still wasn’t prepared for the shock of the doctor saying “There’s one… and there’s the other one.” All Mark and I could do was laugh.
I think reality is starting to sink in now. Two babies. Two babies in my belly. Two babies in …
