28 Weeks

Today was cervical check day. It's shortening, but apparently not at a rate to send me to bedrest. Yet. Last week, it was over 3, and today it was just under 3. If it's shorter again next week, I'll definitely be looking at bedrest. I'm doing what I can to keep these babies in as long as possible. At least if I did go into preterm labor and they couldn't stop it, the babies have a 90% survival rate now. They'd be in NICU for a long time, but they'd make it. That's a huge weight off my shoulders, but the longer we can hold off delivery the better.

I also got the results from my glucose test today. I wasn't too worried about it since my doctor's office hadn't called. No news is good news, right? Sure enough, I passed with flying colors. The nurse said the normal is range is 60-140, and I was at 92. Phew! That's definitely the test I wanted to pass! Now, I can continue to eat like a horse without having to carefully monitor every bite.

Things are definitely getting tight in my belly. Baby A (on my right) is constantly kicking my ribs and pelvis trying to make more room for herself. We call her Trouble because she kicks so hard is always on the move. Baby B is now Whisper because she doesn't kick nearly as much as her sister. I feel more movement than kicks from her. Already, they're both on different schedules. Trouble is up most of the day, while Whisper tends to be at her most active right as I'm trying to go to sleep. She's up a lot at night when I get up to go to the bathroom too.

Oh sleep, how I miss you! I can't remember the last time I got more than a couple hours of sleep between bathroom breaks. It's only gotten worse the last few weeks too. It doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I spend at least 2-3 hours going to the bathroom every 10 minutes. What's worse is that it takes me that long to try and get comfortable, just to have to get up again. It doesn't seem to stop until I'm so exhausted I finally fall asleep. Rarely before 2. Then, I'm up every hour the rest of the night. On a good night, I get right back to sleep every time. Only 9 more weeks to go.

Babycenter has another picture update for twins this week. Go here to read about their development this week.

27 Weeks

I had a prenatal appointment this morning. Things are getting interesting. I was really uncomfortable and just plain miserable for most of the weekend, so I mentioned it to my doctor. He had me go in for a cervical length ultrasound right then and there with his u/s tech. The tech said that it was within the normal range, but something spooked them. I now have to go to my doctor's office for an ultrasound to check my cervix every week, along with my prenatal appointments every other week. Plus, I still have to go to Maternal Fetal Medicine at the hospital every four weeks for ultrasounds to check the babies' growth. Whew!

On the bright side, the babies heartbeats were nice and strong so they're fine. The biggest worry at this point is that I'll go into preterm labor. While all these appointments are a pain, it's a comfort to know that my doctor is really staying on top of it. I'd much rather have to go in constantly than get blown off.

I've also been told to slow down even more. I'm lazy, so it's no hardship, but I'm already barely leaving the house. If I take it any easier, I'll be on bedrest before I'm required to be!

The weather's been great around here, so we've been spending some time in the backyard the last couple weekends. It's so great for both Abby and me to get out and enjoy it!

I was handwashing a few dishes yesterday when my back started to hurt. After thinking about it, I realized I COULDN'T REACH THE SINK! My belly's so big now that my arms just barely reached the running water if I hunched way over.

25 Weeks

Last Friday, the ultrasound tech called me fat! Ok, he didn't actually say fat, but it was what he meant. He kept going on and on about how huge I look even for having twins. That's because I'm all belly! He's lucky I'm not easily offended. I am growing like crazy these days though.

Last week:


Today:




Despite calling me fat, the tech was really good at his job. It helped that he was funny too, so he made us feel pretty comfortable. The doctor I saw this time was really great too. She explained everything in so much more detail than the other doctors. I wish I would've requested her when I made my next appointment!

When I started going to Maternal Fetal Medicine at the hospital for ultrasounds, they switched babies on me. Baby A used to be the one on my left and Baby B on my right, but the first time I went to them they switched their "names" because the one on my right was now the one closest to my cervix. They kept the same names this time, so from now on (I hope) Baby A is now the one on my right and Baby B is on my left.

Now that I've totally confused everyone...Baby A weighed 1lb. 10oz. and Baby B weighed 1lb. 9oz. Just a little under average for twins at this gestational age. They were also able to get a better shot of the placenta and are pretty confident the twins are fraternal. What really surprised us was when the tech switched wands and did a "4-D" ultrasound! We had no idea they'd be doing that, so it was a huge surprise to be able to get a better look at their little faces. Unfortunately, he forgot to label them "Baby A or B" so I have no idea which baby is which.


This is the only one properly labeled:

Babycenter

I just discovered something neat at Babycenter. One thing I've really liked aobut the developmental weekly emails is the picture showing what the baby looks like inside the uterus that week. I just realized they also offer the picture for women having twins!




One thing I forgot to mention before was that the babies are at the point of viability. If for some reason they had to be delivered this week, they have a better than 50% survival rate. And that goes up every week we can keep them in there! So far, we've been really fortunate not to have any complications, and it'll hopefully stay that way.

24 Weeks

Has it really been 4 weeks since my last post? Oops!

A lot has happened in these four weeks. The day of those appointments, Abby threw up all over town. It started at Target after my prenatal visit, in the Lawn & Garden section where I'd stopped to sit. At least we were in a convenient place since we could buy her a clean outfit to wear. Unfortunately, that meant taking her with us to the ultrasound appointment instead of to my friend's house. After a couple false alarms in the bathroom while we waited our turn, she threw up again all over the ultrasound room right before we got started! This was a really long ultrasound, so she got bored. Poor Damon had to take her to the bathroom a dozen times since she kept saying she was going to throw up again. She threw up again in the car when were about a block from our house. She's now in a booster seat because I can't stomach cleaning it and Damon hasn't gotten around to it (that car seat is going in the trash!).



About a week later, I caught her stomach bug. I was up all night throwing up again, which is so much worse after having a several week break from it. Once again, we ended up in the hospital in the morning. This time, I was not only severely dehydrated, but my potassium level was very low. I ended up there for about 12 hours because I had to get hooked up to a potassium drip. That took 5 hours to empty. Then another 2 hours before they could draw blood to retest me. It was a loooong day! Thankfully, that seems to have been the last of the pukiness for me!

In other news, my neighbors threw us a baby shower about a week ago. Damon's mom, Rita, was able to make the trip here for it. I couldn't believe how many gifts we got! Particularly from strangers! We received gifts from people who haven't even broken ground on their houses yet! Several of those who haven't even met us yet couldn't make the party, but sent a gift anyway. I think we received a gift from almost every single person in the neighborhood! I spent all of last weekend making cinnamon rolls and delivering them to everyone who already lives here.

I had another prenatal appointment this morning. Surprisingly, I haven't gained any weight in the last 4 weeks despite eating everything in sight! If only it were that easy when I'm not pregnant! My blood pressure was fine, and I measured 31 weeks, right where I should be. The babies' heartbeats were also good and strong. I've now been given official orders to "slow down" and "take it easy." I'm so not one of those people who can't sit still and must be doing something at all times, so taking it easy isn't that hard for me to do. Lately, I can't even make it through the grocery store without getting really sore! I go in Friday to MFM for another ultrasound. Hopefully I'll upload the last ultrasound pictures before then!

20 Weeks

I've been feeling much better since I went to the hospital. I got a little sick a couple days in the week after, but that's it. Now, I'm just fat and uncomfortable! And hot! I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the summer if I'm already cooking when it's only in the 50s and 60s! At today's prenatal visit, I measured 28 weeks. One thing my doctor mentioned was that at my 28-week appointment, we'll be talking about putting me on bed rest. It's not a matter of if, but when.

The really big news was that I had my first ultrasound appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists and we found out what we're having! 2 more girls! Everything looked good at the ultrasound. Both babies weigh 12 ounces each, which is right on target for 20 weeks. They didn't measure their lengths, just individual body parts, but everything was where it's supposed to be. They are definitely active little girls! They were all over the place, and we almost left with "I think one of the babies might possibly be a girl" for an answer, but luckily she flipped around at the last minute, so they were able to clearly see that she's a girl. Now we have to seriously think of names, so we need ideas. The first initials have to be C and E.

One interesting thing about the ultrasound was that there's a possibility they'll be identical. They are in separate sacs, but it's not clear whether the two placentas fused together or if there was only one all along. If they fused together, they're fraternal. If there's only one, they're identical. Unfortunately, they can't know for sure until they're born, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Pictures tomorrow!