WHAT I EAT IN A DAY | TWIN PREGNANCY DIET | EATING FOR 3 | 3 UNDR 3

Hi Everyone!

So... Its the end of Week 14 and its time to talk about those dreaded little things all of us women out there hate to even think about let alone mention...  Calories!

Lately it feels like my entire day revolves around them.  Well thats not necessarily anything new, a lot of women spend a whole lot of time counting them every. single. day. and I have admittedly been one of those women at certain times in my life - Now is one of those times!  Except now I'm not counting and hoping to stay under a certain number... now I am adding up every last one in the hopes that I can somehow make my daily (seemingly insurmountable) goal of 3500!

An unlimited calorie budget (well it feels that way) is,... Amazing.  But also completely intimidating.  Knowing that the number of little tiny things called calories that I intake each and every day has a profound impact on the health and well being of the two little humans growing rapidly inside me is scary!  There is a direct link between the quality and quantity of calories that a momma to be eats and the birthweight of her multiples... if that isn't incentive to eat I don't know what is!

In my YouTube video this week I took you through a day in my life when it comes to food.  Obviously this is just ONE day, and each of my days is different as I try to eat a variety of foods to make sure I am getting all of my nutrients and also so that I don't get bored.  But generally speaking my days consist of...

• A breakfast protein shake
• A breakfast meal (usually high in carbs and some form of protein)
• A mid morning snack (and by snack I mean something with about 300-500 calories)
• Lunch - protein, carbs and of course some healthy fats
• A mid afternoon snack (again 300-500 calories)
• Dinner (dinner is my favorite meal, its the largest and its usually the one where I really just have whatever I am craving that day).
• After dinner snack (something sweet - my treat for the day; and always something dairy)  Dairy takes longer to digest but isn't hard on the stomach so it keeps you feeling full longer while you dream and it also tends to make falling asleep a little easier!

Its a lot of food, but I do my best to get it all in every single day.  My goal with this pregnancy is to gain the majority of my baby weight by 28 weeks and to not gain too much past that point.   Studies have shown that this method provides the best fetal outcomes in terms of length of pregnancy and health of the babies at birth!  So far this diet has me on track to meet my goals and hopefully produce two absolutely beautiful, big babies!  

For any of my fellow mamas to be who are interested in learning more about my diet plan and general outlook this pregnancy.  I would highly recommend picking up a copy of THIS BOOK!  It has literally been my bible this entire pregnancy and I truly believe that the information within is valuable and worth considering! 

I wish each of you another amazing week!  See you again next Sunday ... hmmm I wonder what kind of surprises I may have in store for you then... :)

xo

Nichole M

Book:  When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads

TWIN PREGNANCY | THE FIRST TRIMESTER | WEEKS 1-13

Welcome back!!

So I know this is the blog you have all been anxiously waiting for...

All the details about what it feels like to have two babes in there instead of one..  How this pregnancy has been different from my first singleton pregnancy... and of course... the infamous bump pics that everyone always wants to see!!

Well here it all is... :)

Week 4:

I was definitely anxious this time around to see if we hit the mark and I may have jumped the gun a bit with testing... but yep... and 4 weeks on the dot I got a positive test!!  We did it!!

4 Weeks... no bump yet!

Week 5:

So with Em I never experienced any of those pesky and sometimes terrible pregnancy symptoms... like I'm talking none!  This time I was not so lucky.  It was as though the day week 5 came I was hit in the face with the most life altering nausea you could possibly imagine... also note that I went back to work one week earlier so this was not exactly ideal timing wise.  Nothing like coming back after a leave as the worst possible version of yourself... lol.   I woke up every morning as though I drank a 40 of vodka the night before (minus the headache) and this feeling would follow me through the entire day.  Until I shoved a bagel smothered in cream cheese into my face, it would subside for all of 5 minutes before ramping right back up again.  The person who termed it "morning sickness" was a terrible human - it was not just in the morning... it was all day... and night... even during sleep.

5 Weeks... it looks like a bump - its bagels!

Week 6:

Lets just say it continued on where week 5 left off... and add on cramping and that little scare I talked all about in my last post!  So needless to say, week 6 was probably one of the worst weeks in my first trimester! Sorry... no photo this week... it was rough.


Week 7:

Nausea is still kicking it in full force with no signs of lightening up at all.  Oh well... they say that the sicker the mama the happier the babies... Right?!

7 Weeks - Bump or Bagels... who knows!?

Week 8 - 9:

This week my nausea seemed to lighten a little, and I was finally able to lay off the bagels a little which my pants were thankful for.  But... being pregnant does a major number on your immune system and lets just say that mine tanked!  Being back at work means that I was around a lot more people and of course I picked up something.  This week was just an annoying cough though which wasn't really so bad... it could have been caused by me losing my breath finding out that we were having twins... Lol!  I will say that after I found out I was expecting twins, all of the little things I noticed prior finally made sense... the intense nausea (double the hormones), the mood swings like you have never seen (thanks again hormones), the early bump (see below)... oh and did I mention the pounds? I mean those could have been due to my diet of bagels with loads of cream cheese but I choose to believe it was the two tiny little beans growing away in there... lol

8 Weeks - Okay seriously - how did I not know there were two in there?

Week 10:

Merry Christmas! We had an amazing Christmas with all of our closest family and friends!  We announced our amazing news on Christmas eve and were met with so much love and support!  Everyone was so excited for us and all that we have to look forward to this year!  As for how I was feeling... my nausea had completely disappeared but my little cough got much worse... cue bronchitis - Perfect!

10 Weeks - No growth this week, but I did lay off the bagels so... hmmm?

Week 11:

Happy New Years!  Ours wasn't exactly one of the books...  I was in bed by 7:30, red stuffy nose, headache, and an awful cough still going strong.  However,  I firmly believe that your New Years eve doesn't dictate the rest of the year... so bring on 2019!!  By the end of week 11 I felt so much better... Just in time to plan and execute Emilia's second birthday party!  Yes... I will do a full post on all things Emilia Turns 2 - Next Sunday!

Week 12:

We had an amazing birthday weekend celebrating our little princess Emilia!  Her birthday was so much fun and she had the best time playing with all the kiddles and family/friends.  Thank you so much to everyone who came out to celebrate her with us!  It was a long year but she is the strongest, most amazing little girl and I know that this year is going to be so much fun watching her grow and learn so much every day!  As for me.. I am feeling so so much better!  It seems that the babies have finally decided to chill out with the nausea and other icky symptoms - thanks babies!  Towards the middle of this week I experienced another middle of the night spotting session which led me back into the doctor and for another U/S appointment - UGH!  It was another very stressful day but at the end I learned that all is well in the Twins world! They are growing and developing right on schedule!

12 Weeks - Still about the same as at 8 weeks.. not really sure why but my pants are okay with it!

Another view of 12 Weeks!

Week 13:

This week was a good one... Lots of growing and stretching in there as the babes take another leap in their development and leave the Embryo world behind in favor of the Fetal world!  All of their major organ systems are now developed and in place and its time to start growing and getting nice and chubby for their big debut into the world in only a few short months! 


Thanks again for sharing our twinning journey here on 3 Undr 3!  Check back next Sunday for Week 14's photos and recap and check out my Youtube channel for more fun content and videos!

xoxo

Nichole M

OH TWOODLES!! HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY EMILIA!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

I cannot believe that my little tiny 6lb baby girl is already two!  Where has the time gone... like really!

Emilia: It feels like only yesterday I was anxiously awaiting your arrival; folding and re folding tiny sleepers and blankets wondering who exactly you were and counting the seconds until I would get to hold you in my arms.   I remember the first moment I held you and looked into your beautiful face - you changed my life forever!  I will never forget the way you smelled, the way that you would hold my finger so tight and of course the first time you smiled at me.  You are amazing, you have always been amazing, you will always be my Amazing Emilia! 

This post is all about taking a little behind the scenes look at Emilia's 2nd Birthday!  When it comes to planning a party I am all about committing to a theme and trying to make it as unique and special as possible... and this one was no exception!


When I first started thinking about what to do for Em's birthday I had my heart set on a Sesame Street (Elmo) theme... because for a lonnnnggg time Elmo was king around here!  However, in the last few months poor Elmo has been replaced by a new King and Queen... Mickey and Minnie!!  So... it seemed only fitting to change gears and go with a Minnie theme to really try and put the biggest smile on Em's face!  It was so much fun to plan and put together everything for her... especially knowing how excited she would be to see it all!

For those of you who don't know, I am somewhat of a craft/hobbyist and I love to DIY as much as I can!  This year I had most of the food catered including the cake and pops, so that I would be able to focus on the little decor details that really make a difference!  Take a look at Em's dreamy cake and cake pops, made by the incredible Laura of Fine Sweets!  They were everything I could have hoped for and fit the theme perfectly! They were my inspiration for the entire sweet table and I feel like they totally stole the show!

It was such a perfect day with all of our favourite people here to celebrate our princess!  Emilia loved all the attention and of course the cake!  And lets not forget our very special visitor - Minnie Mouse!  Emilia was so surprised when she answered the door to find Minnie waiting for her... it was completely worth the hours of searching for the perfect costume (I will link the place I rented it from below!)

Overall I feel like her birthday was an absolute success and everyone seemed to have an amazing time celebrating with her!  Here we go TWOs... I know you are going to be a wild ride!

xoxo

Nichole M


If you guys are interested in knowing where I got or how I made anything please leave me a comment and I will post a video or link for you asap!

Minnie Costume - The Party Kingdom

HOW 3 UNDR 3 CAME TO BE | CONGRATS ITS TWINS!!!

Welcome back everyone!!

Thanks so much for stopping by 3 Undr 3!  I am so glad to have you following along on this amazing journey...  I guess its time to go into a few more deets about how 3 Undr 3 came to be isn't it?  Well... lets just get right into it!

After we found out that we were pregnant I booked my 5-6 week doctors appointment, you know the usual blood work, height, weight, blood pressure (make sure you are alive and well enough to carry a baby for 9 months) check.   While there you get all the usual forms... and for anyone new to making babies, its quite the stack... Immediate blood work, 11-13 week blood work, 20 week blood work,  10 week ultrasound and 20 week ultrasound... now go get busy booking!

We booked our 10 week ultrasound for Dec. 18!  This is a day I was so looking forward to because it is the first time you get to actually see that there really is a baby in there - Eeeee!

... Pause for a minute...

At 6 weeks I started to experience some pretty intense cramping and pain.  Followed by some *very light* but still concerning spotting... so back to the Doc I went only 2 days after my first appointment.  She ordered me to go for a stat ultrasound and blood work every second day for a week to make sure everything was okay.  Obviously I was very concerned... was I losing the baby?  Did I do something wrong?  So many things go through your head and its really hard to do the one thing that I was told to do... "Relax!".

At the emergency U/S (Ultrasound) the tech was great.  She was super patient and sweet and assured me that she did find a heartbeat and that all was still well from what she could see... finally I felt a sense of relief.  I packed up my things and headed home.

Fast Forward 3.5 weeks to Dec.18... My husband Joseph met me at our local Ultrasound office and waited ever so patiently while I headed in for our long awaited "first peek"!  When I entered the room I had the same technologist as my previous - not to exciting - visit.  She asked me to please place my coat and bag on the chair next to her desk and lie down.  As I was doing so I noticed a piece of paper on the edge of the desk.... I know what your thinking... "why would you look at it?  It probably doesn't pertain to you... how rude!".  But heres the thing... this paper had a Bright Pink sticky note smack dab in the middle that had "Twin A - July 22, Twin B - July 22" written on it in black sharpie, it was kind of hard to miss!  I found myself feeling sorry for the girl who was in the room before me, assuming it belonged to her and thinking how much work she had coming her way.  HA-HA!  Thats when my eyes glanced upwards and noticed that that ominous little pink sticky... was stuck on a paper with my name on it!!... Wait, WHAT!?

The tech seemed to notice my hesitation and politely asked me to come lie down.  I turned to her and as calmly as I could manage asked her... "Am I having twins?" She seemed shocked and kind of laughed ... "well according to what we saw last time... yes!  Why did you think you were coming in today?"

Not precisely the way you should find out news like this... I laid down and had a mild to severe panic attack all the while trying to keep my outward self looking cool as a cucumber.  I mean really... I am a planner - like its my middle name, Nichole Planner Majerovich; and twins were not a part of my plan!

So hold on... before you get upset and angry at me... let me just say that my shock, terror and panic lasted about 5 minutes... then I came to the realization that our family was about to receive an incredible BLESSING! Being chosen by God to bring two more beautiful souls into this world is such an honour and I am officially beyond excited!!

Our little babes A and B at 9 weeks

Joseph... was shocked to say the least when the tech brought him back and showed him our little Miracle(s)!  It was terrific to watch his face as his brain processed all the same emotions mine had just finished reeling through... Shock, sadness, stress, acceptance, excitement and finally joy and love!!

And so began 3 Undr 3!!  I have been wanting to get back into the blog/vlog/online world for a little while now and it seems like God has challenged me to pick up where I left off and create something even better to share with each and every one of you!  I hope that 3 Undr 3 will bring a smile to your face as you read all about our little babes, all the craziness we have coming and the ups and downs of twinning with a toddler! We are so excited to have you along for the ride!

Check back next week for my first trimester overview (weeks 1-12) and of course pictures of the bump progression... because what is a maternity blog without bump pics right!?

xoxo

Nichole M

YouTube video is live now!!   CLICK HERE

WELCOME TO 3 UNDER 3

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2018 was a whirlwind year and I for one am so excited to start 2019!! I know it is going to be an incredible year!!

Thank you so much for popping by to check out the newest addition to my blogging adventure!  I am sure that most of you know how, why and what sparked this new little addition to my social media ...

A new little addition of course!!... Well, actually... make that TWO!!!

For those of you who have been following along for a while, you know all about our eventful 2018 with our baby girl Em!  Our little superstar, warrior, and just all around amazing little girl!  She is still fighting her battles against Retinoblastoma and I promise to continue to post LOTS of updates on her progress, treatments and how it is affecting her as well as our family as a whole!  - But for now, lets just say that she is AMAZING!! We are incredibly blessed and we really could not have asked God for more than he has given us!

My hubby and I always wanted to have two babies, preferably close in age so that they could play and grow up together!  Our plans start trying for another babe over the summer were put on hold with all that was happening with Em.  We felt like it wasn't fair to her, nor was it in the best interest of the baby to be growing and developing during such a stressful and uncertain time.... so we held off.   It was hard... waiting, hoping and never really knowing if and when a good time would be to grow our little family.   However, after the amazing outcome of Em's surgery in September, we decided that once we got the results of her 1 month out checkup we would start thinking about trying.

So we were kind of thinking that getting pregnant our first time trying with Em was a coincidence since most couples (like the vast majority) have to try for at least a couple of months to conceive... well I guess we were wrong.   This time around we once again... tried and... first month... BINGO!  We were both very surprised by this!  Of course at this point we had absolutely no idea about what was really to come...  but thats a story for another day...

Check back to read all about how and when we found out we were having twins... as well as all the weird and wonderful ways this pregnancy is so different from my first!  I will be posting every week to update you on the babes progress and well... my rapidly growing belly of course, because there just are not enough blogs about Twinning pregnancies - yes I looked!

xoxo

Nichole M