Thirty Eight Weeks, Zero Days

I really didn't want to take another 2 week progress picture, but here we are...

Last Thursday, I had been pretty busy, but hadn't felt the babies move all day. So that night, when they are usually the most active, Steve and I sat on the couch and waited for something. I drank my water, put an ice pack on them (I know this works from having PUPPP), and moved them around for a bit, and still nothing. I then called Aunt Myra...she tells me to drink some caffeine and wait a half hour and they should be jumping around. So Steve gets me a flat, gross coke...still nothing. So I called the doctor around 10pm. She tells me, of course, to head in to Labor and Delivery. Poor Grandma Linda had to come sit with Elias while we went in.

At the hospital, they put me on the monitors for a non-stress test. Brant of course responded pretty quickly, but Brax was taking his sweet time. They checked my cervix (no change), told me they looked fine on the monitors and to call Dr. Soper in the morning to schedule an ultrasound.

The next day, I went in for the Biophysical Profile ultrasound which measures body movements, muscle tone (flexing of the arms and legs), breathing movements, and amount of amniotic fluid. Each criteria is scored with either a 0 if absent or 2 if present. It was extremely uncomfortable laying on my back for an hour and 15 minutes, but I was really excited to see just how big the babies had gotten. Unfortunately, that didn't last long once she was finished. Both babies are measuring two weeks small. I was 37 weeks, 3 days:

Brant measured in at 35 weeks, 4 days; 5 lb 3 oz and had a heart rate of 133.
Brax measured in at 35 weeks, 3 days; 5 lb 15 oz and had a heart rate of 138.

The ultrasound can be off on weight by 14 oz either way. Also, Brax never practiced breathing. So Brant got a perfect 8/8 and Brax only got 6/8. The doctor assures me this is fine, but I can't help but worry a little, especially since Elias still has to get breathing treatments.

So now I'm torn between wanting the babies to be born so I can keep an eye on them and make sure they're not going to lose any weight or have any other trouble and keeping them in as long as possible so they can hopefully get bigger and work on the breathing thing. I guess it doesn't really matter, since I obviously have NO SAY! :)

On an positive note, I no longer suffer (and I mean suffer) from PUPPP. I cried (yes literally cried) at my last doctor's appointment because I thought I might have a nervous breakdown and she prescribed me a medication that is usually given to those with severe poison ivy and after the second day, it stopped itching for the most part, and by day five, most of the rash has gone away. Now it's mostly the scabs from me scratching until I bled. Thank God!

I can definitely wait out the last couple of weeks now with hardly any problems. I can still get around pretty well and I feel good. In fact, I just put together a big piece of furniture in just six hours (I'm very proud) even with a big belly and having to get up and down off of the floor.

Fun fact: My fat feet can no longer fit in any of my sandals or flip flops. I've been wearing my tennis shoes exclusively for about 4 weeks now. BUT...I can still tie my own shoes!

Thirty Seven Weeks, One Day

No sleep + Elias being rude + PUPPP + not being able to take my baby clothes to the resale shop when just the DAY before, the sign said they were taking boys clothes and today it says toys and equipment only + the van sputtering at one stoplight = sobbing preggo. I'm not kidding.

So now that I'm 37 weeks, I've decided that I no longer need to be on my restrictions. I miss exercising and I'm HUGE and getting huger by the day, so we are now going on family walks each night after dinner. What's that? Walking can induce labor? Hmmm....I had no idea. Well, I guess that wouldn't be so awful. ;)

Speaking of huge. I can no longer sit in booths at restaurants. I have to sit sideways.

I finally finished the babies' room. For now, anyway. I still want to get these cute light switch and outlet covers that match the bedding and hang some pictures that I have yet to find or buy. I'd also LOVE to put some pictures of them up there. Maybe someday.

Thirty Six Weeks, Zero Days

The picture is from my stress test today. Everything went well, and the charge nurse took this picture of my crazy belly. I also now have PUPPP. From Baby Center:

"PUPPP usually begins in the third trimester and is more common among women carrying twins and those having their first baby. The eruptions usually show up first on the abdomen around or in stretch marks (if you have any(Yeah, I have just a few ;). PUPPP is harmless for you and your baby, but it can itch like crazy! (And it does! I can scratch til I bleed.)"

I also had another doctor's appointment today. At 36 weeks exactly, I am a little over 2 cm dilated and 25% effaced. My goal was 36 weeks, so now that we're here, I'm ready to have these babies! But, I wouldn't mind holding off until Monday (today is Tuesday) because:

1. I want to make sure the babies are a good size, and I don't want to see them with any tubes or
anything else attached to them.

2. We have a Meet the Coaches night for t-ball tomorrow night, and the first practice is
Saturday.

3. Friday, Cars 2 comes out, and we really want to take Elias.

4. Saturday is also a birthday party for Elias that he's been very excited about and that night is
Libby and Josh Barker's wedding reception, and I'd like to go.

5. Finally, if I go into labor on Monday, Steve gets a solid two weeks off work.

Otherwise, the bags are packed, the beds are up, the clothes are washed and put away, the rooms are painted and so on and so on, and we're ready to meet our little men!

Thirty-Five Weeks, Five Days

A lot has happened in these two weeks. I finished painting the babies' room. I still have the bedding to buy and some decorations to put up, but it's looking pretty good (just don't go in the closet). And my feet only turned purple a few times.

We had the baby shower. Amanda did a fantastic job and we had a really good turn out. The weather was nice, not too hot, and the kids had fun. The food was yummy and there wasn't much to clean up afterward.

My mom volunteered to wash all the preemie, newborn, and 0 - 3 month clothes for me, so that rocks. I did get all the bottles washed and put together. After the shower, I went out and got the necessities, so the babies now have car seats to come home in and a bassinet to sleep in, bottles to drink from and some clean clothes to wear.

Elias has made up a song to sing to the babies when they cry. It starts out, "Oh poor babies..."

Daddy got to "play" with the boys for a little while one night. After he would tap on my belly, the boys kicked back. This went on for about ten minutes and was very cute.

Elias found his gift that he gets to open after the babies get here. So now, when people ask if he's excited about the babies, he says, Yes! I get to open my gift when they are born! Nevermind his brothers.

At my last appointment, my fundal height was 42cm. Hopefully this will be the last two week picture I take!

Thirty-Four Weeks, Zero Days

So the contractions have started again. This time, they're pretty far apart. One night, I could barely walk after school and had contractions about every 20 minutes. Daddy was not happy and yelled at me (he really yelled) for still working and doing too much around the house. He also told me that if I ruined his four-day weekend (over Memorial Day), that I would be in big trouble. :)

I had another doctor's appointment. I only gained 1 pound this time which made me feel much better. I am now dilated to 1 1/2 cm. I know...watch out! :) I'm also scheduled to start the baby stress tests once a week. She is going to let me do both appointments in one day, so that will be much better than losing two mornings a week. They last until delivery. She also said that 34 to 36 is good for twins, so after next Tuesday, they will no longer stop labor. I'm hoping to make it to 36 weeks, but after that, I'll be running around the block daily. :) It's crazy and very scary to think that I'll have two babies in the next few weeks and I have NOTHING done for them. I still need to paint their room and wash/organize clothes and bottles and make sure my pump works and find someplace for them to sleep and so on. I am notorious for procrastinating, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me too much.

Fun fact: Public bathrooms are becoming an obstacle. Depending on where I go, I can no longer fit in the stalls where the door folds in unless I stand behind the toilet, which is just gross. The handicap toilets sit up higher anyway. :)

Thirty-One Weeks, Two Days

These two weeks have been pretty quiet. Really only complaints that I'll just keep to myself. :)

The day after I took this picture, we had an ultrasound. The babies looked great. The tech mentioned several times that there wasn't much fluid in there and the babies were really smashed in there. I asked the doctor about the fluid, and she said it was 10 cm and normal is between 5 and 25. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any 3D pictures due to the lack of fluid.

However, we did learn that Brant is measuring a day behind at 3 lbs 9 oz (give or take a pound) and Brax is measuring right on at 3 lbs 11 oz and has hair! They are both head down, locked and loaded....ready to go. Hopefully, they hang in there a few more weeks.

The doctor said that everything looked good...no more dilating. She told me I was disgustingly healthy. I also gained 8 pounds in a week after not gaining anything for 3 weeks. Ugh.

Twenty Nine Weeks, Two Days

Someone is having the hiccups. The first time I only noticed because I put my hand on my belly and could feel them from the outside but not the inside. Now, I can watch my belly go up and down!

We went to a Cub's game at Wrigley field to celebrate our one year anniversary. I was a little worried about the car ride and the walking and the stairs and the sitting, but I went anyway. The car ride was fine...except for my back which always hurts so whatever...we found a man on a bike with a little carriage thing (rickshaw?) to ride us to the stadium from our car...which Elias found extremely exciting...I only had to go up a ramp and down like 8 stairs...and I stood up between every inning and stretched. The only hiccup was the first time the Cubs hit a long ball...which was, I don't know, the very first batter...I stood up too fast and blacked out, started to fall over, caught myself on Steve which then caused him to spill his one and only beer for the day on the girls in front of us. Oops.

So the whole family came in for Easter, and it was so nice to see them all. The topic of discussion for the day: my cankles. Love you all too! :)

Doctor appt. update: I gained more weight. Even the doctor mentioned the jump in my weight when she came in (11 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks). I asked her if I should be concerned and she said it's perfectly normal for twins. My blood count had also dropped which means that I'm now anemic and going on iron supplements. Hopefully that will help with the tiredness. Everything else sounded/looked/measured great!

That was Tuesday...

The Great American ER Tour Continues...
Friday night, I woke up several times with painful pains like I was gonna start my period. The babies weren't moving around very much either. I tried to ignore it for most of the day. But I couldn't do much, the cramps were coming and going and getting stronger, I felt nauseous and a little dizzy, and I was about to cry. So I finally called the doctor who of course sent me directly to labor and delivery. I thought for sure that they'd check my cervix, find it long and closed, monitor me for an hour and send me home. It was such a beautiful day and I didn't want to spend it in the hospital.

So we get to Methodist, they hook me up to all the monitors and everything looks fine...until they check my cervix and find it had opened to 1 cm. The good news is that it's still really thick. So they gave me a steroid shot for the babies' lungs right then and another one 24 hours later.

Once I got moved up to my own room, the monitors were all hooked back up. The babies heart rates were great and they started kicking at the monitors a lot,but I've never had a true, stomach-hardening contraction...even with Elias, so I wasn't surprised when the nurse told me that I was having contractions a couple times a half hour. Also, the cramps were getting worse and worse, so they gave me a shot of Terbutaline to relax my cervix. It made my heart race and I got very shaky, but it finally gave me some relief.

I also got to spend the night. They gave me a sleeping pill, which I was extra excited about...but I still woke up 3 or 4 times. Oh well...the cramps stopped and I was able to get some sleep. Doctor sent me home the next day with instructions of no work for the week, bed rest only the first 2 days, and light movement the rest.

Only when I'm on bed rest does Elias do things like spill an entire cup of chocolate milk on the floor, pee the bed (for the first time in years), fill the family room with little sytrofoam pieces, and throw his hat in the van, which then makes me have to crawl around in the van until I can find it. I was a little worried that I was gonna kill him, but instead, I scheduled his kindergarten shots for tomorrow morning. Payback!

Fun facts: I am now the size I was when Elias was born, and I'm already starting to leak! :)