The Life of the Once and Future Preggo Monster

I’m going to write more later.  Right now I’m in the middle of multi-tasking, and one of the things on my list was to start a blog.  So here’s the start!  Heehee, I stink, I know.  Ok ok, let me give you some info on what’s been going on.

One of the things that makes my pregnancy high risk is the increased chance for pre-term labor.  Since I’ve got less room in my uterus with two (big) babies, the blood vessels get compressed easier, which then causes contractions, which may lead to pre-term labor.  The rule is if I have more than four contractions an hour, I chug 2 cups of water, empty my bladder, lay on my left side, and monitor the contractions for an hour.  If they stop or drop below four, goody.  If not, call the doc.  Well, last Wednesday, I had six in one hour, then seven the next.  I was sure it was nothing, but I called the emergency line, and sure enough, I had to go in for monitoring.  Duke had just come in when I got off the phone w/the emergency line, so we headed right back out.  While I was excited and a little nervous, I was confident we weren’t delivering.  But it was still kind of cool…a break to the monotony of incubating

I was even tempered, but Duke was a wreck.  He was SO nervous, I worry what will happen when I actually go into labor!  He was driving like a madman, so much so I had to close my eyes to keep calm!  I also had to keep talking him off the edge, so to speak.  Ah, a woman’s work is never done :D  We finally make it to Pennsy in one piece, score a sweet parking spot, and head for the prenatal floor in the hospital.  I must admit, the closer we got to the building, the more nervous I got.  The more nervous I got, the more contractions I had.  Very annoying indeed.  I already had to pee, and now my bladder was constricting.  Loads of fun

So, we get to the prenatal floor, check-in, get a room, go potty, change into the gown (man, that sucker was thin!), and get into bed.  I answer a bunch of questions re: my vitals and what’s going on, blah blah blah, and then the monitoring hook-ups commence.  The young lady who was hooking me up was so sweet, but was obviously in training.  As she tries to find the babies’ heartbeats to hook the monitors on, Duke and I are freaking out.  She keeps saying she can’t find the heartbeats, and I swear I’m going to die.  Finally, another more seasoned tech comes along and finds them in one shot.  Whew, sigh of relief.  But, of course, then they can’t keep the monitor on me b/c the babies keep moving off the monitors.  Now, when I tell you they strapped these monitors on, they strapped  them on, and they were TIGHT.  They’re like ACE bandages, and were quite snug.  AND I had three of them on!  One for each baby and a contraction monitor, not to mention my bp cuff.  Thank god I wasn’t on an IV, but I tell you what…I’m going to suffer when I go into labor.  I did not like being immobile in that way, and the friggin’ monitors and ultrasound were itching the hell out of me.  I kept moving the monitors to scratch, but got caught so I had to stop.  Grrr!

Finally, the doc on duty (a resident) comes in and asks a bunch of questions I’d already answered, and decides to give me a pelvic exam.  The good news was that my cervix was firmly shut, so I wasn’t in pre-term labor.  She also found out I had a yeast infection, which made me feel vindicated.  I had been complaining to one of the docs in my practice about discomfort, and the dummy just kept telling me it’s normal w/pregnancy.  NO YOU-KNOW-WHAT, SHERLOCK.  I really hope she’s not on duty when I go into labor….So that was the good news.  The bad news was that the exam consisted of the use of a speculum.  Now ladies, you all know how NOT fun that exam is anyway.  Now I’ve got a buddha belly, no flexibility, and an inflamed tighterthanthis area in which this exam is conducted, not the mention the extra sensitivity.  I almost started crying.  I’m going to have to endure multiple instances of this during labor as well, to check the cervix.  No speculum, but fingers are no fun either.  One of the worse parts was my inability to make my hips spread any further.  Unless I loosen up, I’m going to split in two!  Pain, discomfort, the constant urge to pee…the joys of pregnancy never end!
After that unpleasantness, all the tests came back negative for pre-term labor.  I chugged a lot of water, the contractions slowed down, the babies kept on rolling around and going nuts (the heart rates were between 135 and 160 for both), and was sent home w/orders to chug more water a day and lay down on my sides as much as possible.  I’ve been monitoring my water intake to make sure I get at least 8 cups a day if not more, but laying around has been difficult for me.  I try to get out in the daytime just to get some air, but at night I tend to spend more time in bed.  I’m trying!!  It’s boring laying around in bed all day, you know?  But I’ve got to be careful to make sure I don’t actually get put on bedrest.  I’ve been underestimating the pressure on my bottom…I’ll let you figure that one out

That was last week.  I have a prenatal appointment this Thursday with another practitioner in the office, then an ultrasound next week, and then another prenatal with the last new practitioner.  I’m hoping that I can see my doc one more time and maybe even get another ultrasound before I resign myself to any day now.  We were told to do all we can to make it to 32 weeks, and then we’re ok for delivery anytime after that.  Before 37 weeks is premature for twins, but the last hurdle, so to speak, is 32 weeks.  My goal is to keep them in through November; that would put me at 35 1/2 weeks.  Dec 1st is 36 weeks; after that is super gravy.  Speaking of gravy, I’m hoping I can at least get some Thanksgiving grub, now that I can actually eat.  That would probably be the last date night for Duke and I.  Once we get through that holiday, I think we’ll be more than ready to see our new life.

Another ultrasound today…by far the best we’ve had so far! Our tech was awesome; she was so funny and cool. Gemini, what can I say? She spent a nice bit of time reviewing each of the baby’s vitals with us, as well as confirming, yet again, that we’re having two girls. Nice. We got some neat new pics as well. It’s amazing to see how big they’ve gotten in one month! And how they’ve moved! Baby A is now breech, as is her sister. Their heads are side by side, and are kicking my bladder and cervix. Nice, huh? Not to mention that now Baby B is the bigger baby. She’s now 2 pounds, 14 ounces, while her sister is 2 pounds, 9 ounces.

Just an FYI here: At this stage in pregnancy, a singleton baby will weigh approximately 2-3 pounds. Since multiples are typically lower weights than singles, you may expect the babies to weigh approximately 2 pounds total. Not my girls! Not counting placenta, amniotic fluid, and all the other baby extras, I’m already carrying over 5 pounds of baby. If this growth rate continues, I’m looking at almost 10 pounds of baby by my next ultrasound in a month. Imagine carrying 10 pounds all in your lower belly in a month…10 pounds that kick and punch!

Ok, so the babies look great. It’s so cool to see how much they’ve grown and how much more they look like little humans now. We even got to see some peach fuzz hair on one of them! I’m really getting excited now. While 40 weeks still seems a ways away, when I think of how far I’ve come already, and how close we are to welcoming our new daughters into the world, it really makes me appreciate what my life is all about. We are so blessed, and there is nothing more important to me than keeping these babies healthy and happy. All the other things that occupy my mind, like work, money, worry about “doing it right,” other folks’ opinions…all that takes a flying leap when I think about our impending family. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! This is what Duke and I worked for, what we want to build our lives around, and it’s happening. It’s so amazing.

Thankfully, there’s still some work to be done in the nursery and around the house in general. I tire very easily, but the nesting influence is creeping up on me. I have an overwhelming desire to make casseroles and knit scarves. There’s also a nice amount of nursery decorating to be done. If I can remain vertical for more than an hour, I’ll have plenty to do to while the time away! I can also go visit my poor fellow preggo who is now on bedrest. She’s about 29 weeks, but the strain of working brought on preterm labor and possibly pre-eclampsia. What’s worse is that she’s only pregnant with one. Whereas we all prepared for me to have such complications, it’s my singleton preggos who seem to be going through it now. I’m so glad I didn’t let guilt and other people’s opinions stop me from going on leave; trusting in self is so key, especially now. I don’t even want to think about where I may be if I tried to force myself to continue working.

Babies are kicking, and mama’s hungry. Until next blog!!

Both babies are moving around pretty good now.  I think they have the hiccups these days.  Other than that, life is going on, same old same old.  I never thought I’d actually WANT to be working, but it does pass the time.  The worse part for me is the fact that it’s best for me to take it easy physically, but that doens’t mean I’m comfortable while taking it easy.  I won’t bore you with a description of the aches and pains of pregnancy, but it can wear on your mental state, that much I can attest to.

Gosh…I’ve been pregnant the better part of 2006.  It’s crazy to think about it in those terms.  I wonder how different my pregnancy experience would’ve been in another country?  Europe is renowned for its more reasonable treatment of pregnant women and expectant fathers.  Just thinking about what I went through in my own job makes my blood pressure go up a few points.  But you do what you can with what you have.

Nothing much going on this weekend.  Just a lot of relaxing and fear of the upcoming events.  I’m 27 weeks as of Saturday; 13 more weeks (or less) to go.  I’ve also been kind of nervous b/c Baby B, who is laying across my tummy, suddenly stopped moving as much as I was used to her moving.  I checked online twin moms’ blogs to see if anyone else was in a similar situation, and was relieved to find it’s common.  I have a prenatal appointment on Wednesday, so we will hear the heartbeats again, which will be a joy.  I mean, I do feel her moving around now and then, but it’s just not as much as before.  I guess she could’ve gotten herself in a weird position, or maybe she’s just kicking her sister.  I do feel Baby A rumbling around deep in my uterus, so I feel good about that.

I tell ya, the closer I get to my due date, the more worried I become about something going wrong.  I’m working on spreading good vibes in my body, in the form of EXERCISE!  I can’t believe I’m actually working out now, but I needed something new.  So, I did a prenatal aerobic workout today, and it was F-U-N!  I’ll see how I feel tomorrow; I may do it again!  I will probably try a yoga CD in the daytime, and try the aerobic workout at night.  I was pumped w/so much energy I cleaned the kitchen!!  And my back isn’t even hurting as badly now (now that I’ve stretched it out :))  I must say, I’m in quite a good mood since exercising…feeling more positive about the future, which is what has been lacking lately.  Not that I’ve been feeling negative, but I’ve certainly been in a bad mood or less-than-cheery mood more often than I’d like to be.  Sure, hormones are part of it, but it’s also life.  Sometimes happiness is a choice more than a condition.  And boy, do I have a lot to be happy about.  So I’m choosing to be happy.

C’mon Baby B!  Give momma a good swift kick!!