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! :)

Twenty Seven Weeks, Two Days

I missed a two-week picture, so you get a whole month's worth of updates in one post. :)

So after I told Steve that I didn't want to bet on the NCAA tourney to name the kids...I won the NCAA tournament! I also won the NIT. Which means, had I not been a huge wimp, I could have won the right to name the babies outright and shut him up. Oh well....at least I won.

I had a small baby shower with people from work. They wanted to have one with just them, at my house, on a weekend night so they could drink. Crazy girls. It was very nice and the babies got some cute clothes and other necessities. We should be having another shower in June that will be a baby shower/housewarming/party at our house. Hopefully I'll at least have the painting done!

We went to Branson, MO for Spring Break. Besides the van breaking down, the wet, rainy weather, Steve recovering from Gall Bladder surgery and me having to go to the ER for wheezing, the week was great! Since I'm pregnant with twins, they immediately sent me to labor and delivery where I got yet another ultrasound. Baby A is now head down and everything else looked fine. After watching for contractions for an hour or so, they sent me on my way. The other fun part of the vacation was having Daddy push me in the wheelchair up and down the steep hills at Silver Dollar City. Elias usually rode along too. And the doctors told him he was supposed to be resting. Psht. Not our soldier.

I had my follow-up Doctor's appointment. The baby has moved off of my cervix. Yay! No more previa and all of my restrictions have been lifted. She also told me that the babies could now survive, but of course, to keep taking it as easy as possible to keep them in there. I also drank my glucose drink which wasn't as bad as I remembered. And my fundal height is now measuring as large as a full term woman for single baby. Fantastic. :)

I guess that could explain why work is getting harder and harder. My back hurts all the time, especially when I'm sitting. But if I stand too long, the pressure is insane. I got a belly band to help hold those babies up. It doesn't help my back all that much, but it does make me potty less, which is worth every penny. I'm still working on painting the kitchen (6 weeks after I started) and the babies' room and playroom are next. I hope I make it!

The babies are kicking like crazy ALL the time. Elias got to feel them finally. He was so excited. He wanted to walk around with his hand on my belly all day. :) Steve says he feels them at night when I'm sleeping too. Maybe they'll tire themselves out now and sleep through the night when they get here. It's possible....right?

Twenty Two Weeks, Four Days

Daddy finally felt the babies move. I won't tell you what he said because it included a cuss word, but he was very excited!

I also had another ultrasound. The babies were head to head and Baby A (Ryne?) is taking up most of the space. The tech said not to worry though because Baby B (Brax) is kicking him in the head. :) Nice to know they're already fighting.

We also got to see Baby A pee. The tech said she's never seen a baby do that. Later we noticed he was drinking it. Both babies are measuring right on time with B 23wks 4 days at 1 lb 5oz and A 23 wks 2 days at 1 lb 3 oz.

Twenty Weeks, Six Days

I went back to the doctor today for my normal visit. Everything was good...heart rates were 160 and 140. I gained ANOTHER three pounds this week. Seriously...if I keep going at this rate, I'll gain another 50 pounds before the babies are born. I did talk to her about feeling dizzy and light headed in the past few days. She just told me to make sure I eat every two hours or so and not to get up too fast. She also said blood sugars can do crazy things when you're pregnant. Don't have to worry about me eating...I think we've figured out that I do plenty of that!

I started feeling the babies move around 15 weeks, but just last night, I finally felt Brax kick on the outside too! I was so excited. However, Steve was already in bed, so he still hasn't felt anything.

On another note, Steve has been complaining lately that he didn't get a chance to pick a name even though he okayed the ones that I picked out. He even tried to bet that the winner of the NCAA bracket tourney got to pick the names. No way. However, if you ask, he'll say he doesn't know what he would want to name the babies...it's only 20 weeks. I can't figure out if he's just trying to cause trouble or if he's really going to put an effort into being a pain in the neck. :)

Final thought: the picture of me is in front of our new fireplace in our new house!

Doctor's Visit

I called the doctor today because I was feeling a ton of extra pressure after moving into the new house (yay!) all weekend. Good news: everything was fine. She said I have a case of the twins. Bad news: I gained 8 pounds in 3 weeks!

Eighteen Weeks, Four Days

Wow...the difference a month makes! I'm officially due in 5 months. The babies are kicking around in there a lot now. Still not strong enough for Steve or Elias to feel, but I love it! Sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant, and it takes me a minute to figure out what I'm feeling when they kick. Crazy, I know.

I finally gave my maternity leave notice at work. I'm hoping to work until the end of April which would put me around 29 weeks and come back in September. They kept hounding me about submitting my letter, so I just guessed. I can't figure out if they're worried about getting a good replacement or anxious to get me out of there. :)

We also went ahead a bought the cribs. I didn't really want to buy anything until at least 20 weeks, but I found such a good deal on them. I got two of the same, since we're gonna try the share a room thing, for less than the cost of one normally. Oh, and I ordered the valance for the bedding set so I could pick out a paint color. Just the valance though!