Category: Ultrasound

I made it to 36 weeks! That was my goal so long ago, and it’s here.

Not without further incident; yesterday I felt really lightheaded and dizzy all day, so I called my doctor and went in to have my blood pressure checked. It was high, so to be on the safe side she sent me up to Labor & Delivery again for more monitoring and bloodwork to make sure my organs were still doing what they were supposed to (or something like that). The babies really didn’t want to cooperate and kept moving around, so it took 2 hours to get their heartbeats monitored. It finally took 2 nurses each holding a monitor on my stomach for 20 long, painful minutes. I thought my back might just die.

In the end, blood work was good, babies were great, and we were sent home with instructions for me to be on modified bed rest (meaning a lot of laying down).

We had a sonogram with our specialist today to check fluids and make sure everything was ok with the babies. Our doctor said the babies are pretty much cooked now, and if I end up in the hospital again with high blood pressure, I’m not going home without babies. The babies are breathing and a good size and doing everything they should be, so at this point if there’s any question, they’re better off out than in.

My bag is packed, the nursery is ready, clothes are washed, carseats are installed and checked, and we’re about as ready as we’re going to be. It might still be 2 weeks and 1 day, but it could be any day now. I guess I’m as ready as I will be.

Pretty crazy.

There were so many times when I didn’t think we would reach this point, but here we are – 35 weeks! And even past that; I’m technically 35 weeks and 2 days today. It’s insane.

The babies got measured on Wednesday. They told us that the margin of error is one pound at this point, since it’s so hard to get accurate measurements of 2 very squished up babies. We can barely tell what’s what on the screen – it’s just a jumble of parts.

Baby B measured 6 pounds and Baby A measured 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Woo hoo!

So if those are accurate, I’m carrying around 12 1/2 pounds of babies right now. Plus fluids, which apparently each baby has a lot of (which is fine, not a problem). Plus all the other stuff that goes along with that. Big fun!

People keep asking me if I’m ready. My answer is usually “no,” because honestly, who’s ever ready for a baby? And who could ever be possibly ready for two? But really my answer is probably “yes and no.” I’m getting excited about meeting them, but I’m not quite ready for them to come out. I think we’re prepared “practically” about as well as we can be – we got a few last things from our registry last night and we’ve had the essentials for awhile: cribs, carseats, stroller, etc. The room is pretty much done! I need to post pictures, which I’ll try to get done this weekend.

The babies move around like crazy. I see these huge lumps moving around on my stomach on a regular basis; I feel like they’re trying to escape. I guess it’s just not very roomy in there. B is pretty much right on top of A and it looks pretty violent in there.

I decided to have a planned c-section, and it’s on the calendar – August 9! My doctor says there’s no telling if they’ll come before then though, so it really could be anytime. But at 35 weeks we’re in a good place. I’m hoping they stay in there until 8/9, but if they decide to come early, that’s ok too. At least, ok for them – for me, I’d rather have a few more weeks!

I woke up yesterday and thought “oh my gosh, 33 weeks?! I need to get ready!”

It’s bizarre.

Our last measuring appointment was 2 weeks ago, at 31 weeks. Both babies measured at 4 pounds (give or take a few ounces; it’s not exact) so 2 weeks ago I was carrying around about 8 pounds of babies. This week, 9 or maybe even close to 10. They’re so big that it’s getting hard to make anything out on the ultrasounds; it’s just a big jumble of baby parts. In past ultrasounds we’ve gotten 20 or so pictures, but for the last one we only got one, because you could barely see what was going on. They’re in the 70th percentile, so they’re big babies, especially for twins.

The fluid levels have gotten better and are evening out a bit. Baby A’s fluid has gone from over 13 to around 8, and baby B’s fluid has gone from around 4 to around 6. The doctor says he doesn’t know why the fluid levels did what they did, but the babies should be fine.

I feel and see baby parts moving around on a regular basis; sometimes I’m pretty sure I feel them doing advanced gymnastics, based on the way my stomach jumps all over the place and the way it feels. I wish I knew what was what – what was a hand or foot or elbow, etc. But they seem to be healthy, strong babies. That never sleep. They move all. the. time. They also don’t seem to like being laid on – whoever is on the bottom starts flopping and kicking around when I lay on the side they’re on. We have a little talk and I shift a little and we usually work it out, but not always.

As for me – I don’t post much about how I’m doing because I don’t want to complain and I really don’t think it’s very interesting, but people keep asking, so in case you’re interested – it’s rough. Everything hurts. My back is killing me. Sleeping is quite the challenge – I wake up constantly to switch sides because I get so sore on the side I’m laying on, especially in my hips – and I have to get up to go to the bathroom several times throughout the night. My feet ache and swell up so much they’re unrecognizable as my feet (and almost feet in general). I’m exhausted all the time; I get tired doing barely anything. Breathing is awful; sometimes I feel like I can get barely any air. I get out of breath just talking on the phone. I have carpal tunnel in my hands; some mornings I can’t even move them when I wake up, and I can’t open things like water bottles without serious pain. I have reflux, which is lovely. Getting off the couch takes a ton of effort. Everything does.

But I’m so lucky to be where I am – 33 weeks with twins and no bedrest or complications. I hesitate to write that because I don’t want to jinx myself, but I know how good I have it and I don’t want to complain about all the discomforts.

Oh! And our babies apparently haveĀ  lots of hair. Four separate people commented on how much hair they have. So lucky for the babies they got Darek’s hair and won’t be bald until kindergarten like I was.

We’ll be meeting them soon!

25 weeks

May 9th, 2012

I’m amazed to be 25 weeks, and incredibly grateful to have gone this long without any major issues.

(Knock on wood please.)

The fluid situation is about the same – a little worse actually – but our doctor is very optimistic and encouraging. To have made it this far is huge, and every week is a milestone and a blessing. I love being pregnant and want it to go on as long as possible, despite the major discomforts. Our doctor basically said that as long as I don’t get too uncomfortable, he won’t do any procedures. Baby B’s fluid has remained stable – around 4cm – which is a really good thing, and even though Baby A’s fluid keeps going up, the main problem seems to be that I’ll be uncomfortable (like not being able to breathe). I asked if I could just deal with the discomfort, and the doctor said yes.

So that’s the plan – suck it up and keep the babies procedure free. “Too uncomfortable” is relative, and unless I feel like I’m dying, I’m going to just deal with everything. I can’t lay down without being in pain and I can’t get the mail without getting out of breath, but it’s all worth it.

Another big thing is my cervix; if that was getting smaller, we’d have problems, but my cervix is “a mile long” and that’s a really really good thing.

We’ll be keeping up the weekly sonograms with our doctor as well as every-other-week appointments with my regular ob-gyn. That’s 6 doctor visits a month. It’s really wonderful to be able to see the babies every week and hear their heartbeats on the doppler twice a month as well. That’s the best part of this whole thing for sure.

I passed my gestational diabetes test, so that’s another great thing. The risk of gestational diabetes is very high with twins.

Baby A weighed in at 1 pound, 11 ounces, and B at 1 pound, 12 ounces. So they’re really close in size, and, according to the doctor and sonographers, we “have really big babies.” They’re both in the 60th percentile. They told me that whatever I’m doing is working, and to keep it up. So I ignore all the naysayers and continue to keep up the crazy calorie and protein consumption and get a lot of rest.

I’m trying to stay positive and hopeful – the doctor felt we could make it to 36 weeks, and I’m sticking with that hope.

Let’s go babies!

another fluid check

April 30th, 2012

I’m running a little behind on the pictures, due to one being held hostage in a car en route to the other side of the world and the other being in my camera all the way across the room.

Today we had a fluid check, and unfortunately baby A’s fluid has increased from about 8cm to about 10cm. We’re now in the danger zone, although the doctor said that if it stays below 12cm we should be all right. We’re being switched back to weekly ultrasounds, possibly for the duration, to keep a close eye on things.

We’re trying not to worry too much or think too far ahead, but since people ask, the “treatment” would be to stick a big needle in my stomach and drain some of the fluid. Unfortunately, this comes with risks. The doctor wants to avoid it unless it’s absolutely necessary, so we’re just hoping hoping hoping it doesn’t come to that.

I’ll be 24 weeks on Wednesday, so we’re getting closer and closer.