The week of appointments continues.

Today was Radiology. Unfortunately my appointment was early which meant I had to be out of the house by 7 to make it to the hospital by 8:30. Gotta love grid lock.

Best news: Baby B has turned! Both girls are head down!!! Yay yay yay, super dance of joy! This gives me the highest chance of a natural birth. Now I'm crossing my fingers that they stay that way!

The babies were measured today too. Baby A is a whopping 6.8 pounds! She is a whole 3 days ahead of growth rate based on the due date. Baby B is smaller at 5.10 pounds. Which I think for a twin is awesome, but she's in the 19th percentile, so they almost used it as a reason to keep me in the hospital today - but lucky for me, I got to go home!

I am so happy that these girls are growing well and hanging in there. Yay for happy babies! Thanks to everyone for their support, advice and encouragement. Lots of love sent to all of you.

Two more appointments to go this week: NST and Glucose test. Then the weekend off!

Rollercoaster

Today my docs visit was cake. Easy peasy. The heartbeats were strong, the babies were reactive. All my stats are good (despite the fact that I have to take another 3-hour Glucose on Friday, just for double checking).

Officially I am 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. Which in "official doc voice" probably means no time soon. Good happy thoughts.

Goodness Gracious

I have four doctors appointments this week. Four. That much I can handle, but the further along I get it seems like there are more false alarms. That drives me bonkers. I am all for what's best for the girls, but it seems like every time there is the smallest glitch they not only want to send me in for more monitoring, but they also try to prepare me for the dreaded C word. I have full faith in these babies to make it through a natural delivery, but none of the professionals seem to.

Today I went in for my Monday morning Non-Stress Test at 9am. As usual, Baby A responded immediately, but Baby B was sleepy. Mostly she manages to squeek by the test and I don't have to do anything else, but today that was not the case (which I kinda think was my fault because I didn't have breakfast beforehand to help wake her up). Her little heartbeat dipped down a few times which put up a red flag. The nurse thought maybe she was laying on the cord. My doc came by and put in the order for me to go down to Zion for additional monitoring. She also was fairly convinced that since I am now past 36 weeks (full term for twins), that they would just book me for a Cesarean today. Pouty face.

I figure the only thing I can do in these situations is remain calm and take things as they come. So I called D and told him not to worry, then I drove the 40 min to the hospital. Labor and Delivery was packed when I arrived at 11ish. They didn't seem concerned with rushing me into a room, and it took almost an hour before I was hooked up to anything. All the nurses were sweet and thanked me for my patience, but each one of them said the same thing: Oh! You've made it to 36 weeks! That's so good, when is your C-Section scheduled?
Ugh.

It really bothers me that Cesareans are so common place that no one even assumes that I'd attempt a vaginal birth. Isn't this what my body is made for?

Thankfully, Baby B's heart was nice and strong. She was also responsive when the doctor on duty came in. I was released and finally got home to D (and food!), by 2:30.

Three more appointments to go this week. I am crossing my fingers (and toes) that they are routine and will not take forever.

Again - I have full faith in these babies. Together we can do it.

Preggo pics.

Thanks to my friend Connie for taking these!

35 weeks

One whole week before the girls are considered full term!

Doctor stats: My perinatologist thinks I look great and is very impressed with my pregnancy. Despite all the worry I really have had a great time with it. And I think I'm even enjoying it more now that I'm on the home stretch and it seems like most of the doctor doom and gloom is over. Happy stats: Thyroid, Iron, Glucose all look good. Based on the last measurements Baby A is weighing in at 6 pounds and Baby B is a good 5, pure awesomeness for twins! No wonder my belly feels so giant and tight - there's 11 pounds of baby in there!
My scheduled visits: I have Non-Stress tests every Monday and Friday, and various other appointments sprinkled in between. The docs seem to think that the girls will come at any time, but I hope they stick around till December, I'd love them to be able to be born and not have any NICU time!

Mommy training: I have started going to two groups: La Leche League and Moms of Multiples. La Leche is for breast feeding support - which I really hope will not be the nightmare that it has been made out to be. The Moms of Multiples is nice because its all women in my area that have twins themselves. Its great to meet with them and share experiences. Its amazing to me that birthing/child rearing is done by so many but really is a unique and individualized experience.
I am also reading three books at the moment: Hypnobirthing, Journey into Motherhood, and Mothering Multiples. I'm excited about Hypnobirthing since I didn't take any birthing classes. I like the idea of a self-induced hypnosis that's like meditation. I think anytime I've ever had pain I manage it by breathing and relaxing my mind and body together - so as I read I hope the book will just help me get better at that.
The Journey into Motherhood book is all about natural births. Having twins I feel like everyone s already on super high alert. I have had so many doc visits and extra tests and ultrasounds already. I know that when labor happens we'll have to do our part to convince the hospital that things really can be ok with twins. I really want a non-medicated vaginal birth. Actually - full on truth - I'd have all the drugs and c-sections in the world if their were no risks, but there are so many. And based on lots of reading and two fabulous documentaries (Business of Being Born and Pregnant in America), I've realized that my fear of medical bullying is not mine alone.
My goal is to let the girls work with my body and come as they want. I understand that there might be complications, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep them safe, but I am not willing to schedule a c-section for no reason. Basically I'm gonna go with the flow (and cross my fingers that the doc on duty when I check in is flexible and not on a tight schedule).

Babies, babies, babies: My world has been consumed with them! Maybe its cause I'm such a nerd, but I feel like I need to read and prepare and over-prepare and double check again! At the same time I'm a procrastinator, so there are things that need to be done that haven't been started. Oh! Vicious Cycle! :)

Not your typical Friday night.

These girls keep me on my toes! The night before last I started to feel my tummy tighten. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now so I didn't think anything of it, until it didn't get softer. Ever.
The night was uncomfortable and the next day my tummy was still hard. It wasn't painful, and I could still feel the girls moving about, so I kept trying different things to soften it. After noon or so I decided to call my doc. They didn't seem worried as long as I wasn't in pain and there was movement, so they advised me to relax and drink lots of fluid.
By the time dinner was finished I decided to call again. This time I spoke with a mid-wife and she wanted me to come in immediately. 7pm and off to the hospital. Not my ideal Friday night.
We drove the 40 minutes down to Zion and found our way through the hospital maze. Dan had to laugh at me cause I insisted on going up the stairs - all three flights (I have this thing about elevators. Just seems that I'd be pushing my luck by hopping into one. 8 months pregnant, possibly in labor, and I had to pee - it's like a sitcom plot line!)
They admitted me and began to monitor the babies right away. The heartbeats looked fine, but the contractions were kinda fast and frequent. The nurse was actually surprised that they weren't painful. By the time the doctor came in, she was in labor mode. At thirty four weeks they weren't gonna stop things if the girls were ready. Uh oh!
Fortunately, they let the monitors talk, and they gave me lots of water. After an hour or so everything had calmed down. I didn't even need the shot of Tribultaline to slow down the contractions. Sigh o' relief.
So first big hospital scare is out of the way. Lets not plan on having any others!

8 months

Once again, can't imagine getting any bigger! But, everyday I savor having them in my belly.

Halloween

Yay! I survived Halloween! I had a stress test in the morning, Radiology in the afternoon, and about 10 blocks of Trick O' Treating that evening. Gold stars for me all around!



(the old woman who swallowed the fly)