Just a quick growth update!!

Had an ultrasound this afternoon with our MFM doctor.  Everyone is doing great!  Our son has flipped again and is breech and our daughter is still head down.  The ultrasound tech said they can see hair on her head and not much on his.  :)

He is weighing about 3 pounds 3 ounces and she is weighing about 3 pounds 7 ounces.  So both growing really well.

The doctor is pleased.  :)  So are we.

The next big milestone is to get to 32 weeks so I can deliver at my hospital of choice closer to the house.  Once I get past that then I don't need the higher level NICU.

After 32 weeks I will be pushing for 35 weeks.  This would give us the best chance of taking them home with us.

YAY!!  Back to the couch for me!

Working on my To Do List

So since I have all this free time on my hands I figure I would work on what still needs to be done by making some lists.  First off on my agenda is to come up with things to pack in my hospital bag and the babies hospital bag.

It seems like so much stuff to bring based off of lists I have found online.  Not sure if I need half of this stuff or not, but I would rather have it then not.

So Todd and Mom will help me pack stuff up this weekend so the bags can be ready to go in case we need to rush out of the house.

I'm feeling pretty good overall.

I get to leave the house today for an appointment at 3:30pm so that makes me happy.  Looking forward to this growth check.  I can't wait to see how much they have grown.  Also hoping for that elusive 3D picture, but not sure that will happen.  :)

Feeling off...

Woke up this morning feeling really off.  I even had some cramping and tightening and pressure so after talking with a twin mom I know I called my OB to get checked out.

Better to be safe than sorry, right?

So everything seemed fine.  The cramps were lessening.  They had no distinctive rhythm or anything.  My OB checked my cervix and it's thinning out but still closed.

I'm officially on bedrest now.  Somewhere between modified and strict.  I can go up and down the stairs once a day.  So once I go up I'm up, if I come down I'm down.  No leaving the house except for appointments.  Bring on the boredom!!  LOL

I think it's time to stream Netflix again and find some TV show to watch on it.  That might help...

Suggestions??

The Nursery Is DONE!

Here are the pictures of our nursery!  We are quite proud!!!  We made the art over their cribs ourselves.  :)

Me at 30 weeks!

Getting quite large...LOL

Now we just need babies!!!

30 WEEKS!! 8 weeks or less to go!!!!

How Far Along: 30 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still up about 13-14 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight which is great.  Was actually told I look great for being 30 weeks with twins, though it obvious to many that see me regularly that I am huge.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Though it seems some of shirts are getting shorter as my belly gets bigger.

Movement: Very frequent now.  I can see it more and more from the outside and they are most active in the morning and evening and when I am relaxing.  I had to start my kick counts and have had no trouble.  Our boy is a little tougher to feel I think because of where he is positioned but our girl makes her presence known!

Sleep: Not bad.  Still getting some broken sleep but no insomnia.

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

Freak-out of the Week: No freak outs!  Everything is going great!  I just hope I can make it 5 more weeks or more!!

Looking Forward To: Finishing up the final touches in preparation.  Have to pack the baby bag and the hospital bag pretty soon!!

Next Appointment: Growth ultrasound 5/30 and OB appointment on 6/6

Miscellaneous: Nursery is ALMOST done!  Pictures to come hopefully today along with some belly shots to show off this 30 weeks bump!!

30 Weeks - At week 30, baby already measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. Her skin continues to get smoother while her brain is getting wrinklier -- to make

MRI results are in!

I just got off the phone with my OB.

He said everything looks fine.  The MRI did not show any cause for concern and showed nothing.  So our little boy is just fine!! 

Thank you all for the prayers and positive thoughts. 

I'm ready to ride this preganancy out until the end and snuggle my babies close and just be thankful they are here and healthy.  But not for another 6-9 weeks at least!!!

29 Weeks!!!

How Far Along: 29 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 13 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Not bad seeing how 5 pounds of that is baby.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Though it seems some of shirts are getting shorter as my belly gets bigger.

Movement: Very frequent now.  I can see it more and more from the outside and they are most active in the morning and evening and when I am relaxing.

Sleep: Not horrible.  Hip pain and frequent peeing are the two things that interrupt it the most.

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

Freak-out of the Week: Just waiting for the MRI results – but not totally freaking out.  I’m sure everything is fine or at least something that can be corrected.

Looking Forward To: Continuing to work on the nursery and installing the car seats.  And of course the MRI results which I hope to have in today.

Next Appointment: OB appointment 5/23 and growth ultrasound 5/30

Miscellaneous: Making good progress on the nursery which is fun.  Finally getting some clothes put away.  Still need to go to the diaper store and pick up some more cloth diapers and then we should be good to go in that department!  Then it will just be keeping them in as long as possible!!

 

29 Weeks - At week 29, baby is getting plumper. Begin to prepare yourself for the absolute cuteness you'll soon experience every day! Right now, she measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. She still has a long way to go, and will be tripling her weight before birth!

While your belly has grown bigger than you probably ever thought possible, there's still only so much it can stretch, so baby's accommodations at Hotel Bump have gotten a little tight these days. With the squirmer inside of you, you probably already realized that. And if you feel a subtle twitch, baby might actually be hiccupping!

 

MRI done

So yesterday the hospital called to schedule my fetal MRI for our little boy.  They managed to get me in this morning at 6:40am. 

I got up at 5:30am and got ready.  It was only a 25 minute ride to the office.  I got there and they got me checked in.  I thought I chose my clothes wisely but I noticed a small metal button on my shorts so I had to ask for something to change into.  They gave me a pair of hospital pants.  I would have needed three of them to go around my big prgenant belly.  They ended up giving me a couple of gowns to use.

Now to load me into the tube.  They get me on the platform which is no wider than a diving board (and about as comfortable I would imagine) and try to jam me in head first.

I use the comparison of stuffing a sausage.  My arms were pinned to my side and the were pushing on my belly trying to get me in.  Well, I freaked!!  Oh hell no!!  They had to find another way.

So they offered to put me in feet first.  Okay sounds better since my head would actually be out of the tube.  So they flipped me around and told me my arms would have to be over my head.  OKay I can handle that. 

They advised that during the test they would be asking me to take a deep breath and to hold it as long as I could until they told me to breathe again.  Sounded easy enough until I realized that after I got my belly smooshed back in the tube that the babies were literally on my lungs.

I had to find my happy place.  I actually used some of my breathing techniques from my childbirth class to find some peace.  Then my shoulders started to ache.  Then my lower back and my hips.

It was easily an hour of being crammed in the tube.  The babies were not happy at all!!  But I got through it even though I wanted to give up.

Now I just have to wait for the results which I should have by Friday.

And as promised, here is my 28 week picture from yesterday!!

28 Weeks!! Hello third trimester!!!

How Far Along: 28 Weeks!! The beginning of the third trimester!!!  84 days left to my 40 week due date!!

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 13 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  Not bad seeing how 5 pounds of that is baby.

 

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Glad it’s warming up because now I can just throw on a dress in the morning, though that means I have to try and shave my legs regularly and that’s getting harder to do!!

 

Movement: Definitely more frequent.  Todd was actually able to feel our son from the outside over the weekend which I am so happy about.

 

Sleep: Still dealing with hip pain, some night being better than others.  Last night I had horrible gas cramping so that kept me up for a while.

 

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

 

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.

 

Cravings: No real cravings.

 

Freak-out of the Week: No freak-outs! Just happy to feel them moving around – it keeps me calm.

 

Looking Forward To: Continuing to work on the nursery and getting the fetal MRI done so we can find out what is going on with our son.  Hoping it’s nothing.

 

Next Appointment: OB appointment 5/23 and growth ultrasound 5/30

 

Miscellaneous: Doing fine with the GD diagnosis.  I see a nutritionist next week though I seem to be doing alright picking the proper foods to eat.  Called to schedule the fetal MRI this morning and they haven’t gotten my paperwork yet.  MFM was supposed to have sent it over on Friday and they can’t locate it so I’m still waiting for that.

 

Otherwise, everything else is going well.  I am doing laundry like crazy and trying to work on the nursery in my spare time and when I have the energy.  I’ll post pictures of my large bump later; I want Todd to take some of me since mine didn’t come out that great this morning.  J

 

28 Weeks - At week 28, baby is putting on layers of fat and weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, measuring about 13.6 to 14.8 inches. Her skin has a smoother and less wrinkled appearance too. And her

Ultrasound Update!

So this morning I had an ultrasound with Maternal Fetal Medicine.  Babies are measuring good.  Our boy is measuring around 2 pounds 4 ounces and our girl is measuring 2 pounds 5 ounces.

On the ultrasound though, they found a spot on our son's brain.  It's about 1.0cmx1.3cm.  It was not present on his previous ultrasound four weeks ago.  The MFM was trying to verify if it was an artifact (a glitch on the ultrasound) but was unable to confirm this.  It was recommended that I schedule a fetal MRI so take a look at his brain to try and determine what it is.

She told me it could be an artifact, a viral infection, a bleed or a tumor.  The pediatric radiologist will perform the MRI and she is married to the pediatric neurosurgeon so they will both look at the MRI and determine what it is and if it needs to be attended to.  My OB will also perform an infection blood panel to see if it's something viral that caused the spot. 

Best case scenario it is nothing.  Worst case is our little guy will need brain surgery as soon as he is born and we will have to deliver at a different hospital where they neurosurgeon and his team will be waiting to take care of him. 

So I am just waiting for the hospital to call and set up the MRI, which should take about an hour.  I hope to have it done next week and to get answers quickly.  I'm staying away from Google because I know it will just scare me to death.

If you can keep our son in your prayers I would appreciate it.

27 Weeks!!!!!

How Far Along: 27 Weeks!!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up 9 pounds as of my last appointment. Probably up a few more…I have no idea. My OB doesn’t say much about it…

Maternity Clothes: Yuppers!  Some of my shirts are getting too short because I am so big…LOL

Movement: More and more every day, now to get Todd to feel them from the outside.  Every time he puts his hand on them they stop!  Little stinkers!!!

Sleep: The hip pain is still there in the wee hours of the morning it kicks in. Thankfully I am able to reposition myself and fall right back to sleep.

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.

Cravings: No real cravings.

Freak-out of the Week: No freak-outs! Just happy to feel them moving around – it keeps me calm.

Looking Forward To: Finishing up the nursery.  Worked on it a little bit after we got home yesterday from our babymoon.

Next Appointment: Growth ultrasound is May 8^th. OB appointment on May 9^th.

Miscellaneous: Found out I have gestational diabetes (though I think my OB is being a tad cautious…) so I have to watch what I eat and check my blood sugar.  I also have to meet with a nutritionist to go over my diet…though I have altered what I am eating and am seeing numbers in a good range, so we’ll see.  Still getting used to checking all the time.  Went on our babymoon and forgot to bring extra test strips so I basically took the weekend off and ate what I wanted and didn’t check my sugars.  I am back on track today.

Also amazed that these two will be here in less than 11 weeks!!!  I have to tell myself I am in the homestretch and I can really stop worrying so much about them actually getting here!!!

 

27 Weeks - At 27 weeks, baby is breathing (it’s amniotic fluid, not air, but it still counts) and even showing brain activity. You’ve got a lot on your brain, too, from wondering what labor and delivery is going to be like to trying to find the best pediatrician for baby. The annoying symptoms you’ve been having probably aren’t going away, but at least you’ve probably found some ways to deal with them -- and hey, maybe you’re used to them right now. As you say goodbye to the second trimester, you can look forward to some pretty embarrassing stuff (like having to pee all the time -- and maybe even when you don’t mean to at all) that’s all par for the late-pregnancy course. It’s time to head down the home stretch. Are you ready?

Your baby's the size of a rutabaga!

At 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, she's not just getting bigger, she's getting smarter.