Dr appt

I had an appointment this morning. Everything looked great, another good visit. We started with the growth ultrasound. Baby A (boy) is weighing 4 lbs 2 oz and Baby B (girl) came in at 4 lbs 15 oz! She’s one ounce away from 5 lbs! The doctor said there’s no concern for the 13 oz difference between the two. They’re two separate babies and are growing at a different rate. The boy is completely average, right along the 50% percentile on the chart (and that’s for a singleton!). In fact, he's right on target according to this weight chart (remember, I'm 33 weeks tomorrow). The girl takes after her parents. I was almost 11 lbs and Mike was 9 lbs. On the other hand my sister, Christine, was 6 lbs. The doctors weren’t concerned with the discrepancy, said it was fine.

Peri said I was doing ‘swimmingly well’. She’s so confident about my progress she scheduled our next appointment in two weeks. When I asked her guesstimate on the babies’ birth weight, she said they grow about .5 pound/week. Although with twins, it might be a little slower. So if I’ve got about 3 weeks, then they might gain 1 ½ pounds. Girl might be 6 ½ pounds! Boy might be a little over 5 lbs. A lot of people I know have had big babies, including my little 5’ 2” sister, in the 8-9 lbs range. To them, it may sound like our babies are little but if you add them together you’ll realize I’m already carrying over 9 lbs of babies now. Add a liter of amniotic fluid each and the two placentas, well you get the gist. It’s no wonder, I’m a bit uncomfortable.

When my SIL, Karen, guessed the birth weights to be 6lbs 2oz and 7lbs, I was blown away at the thought. Although it’s unlikely I’ll get that big, I may only be a pound or so off her guess. Oh my gosh!

And even though the doctor is pleased with my progress, she suggested having back up car seats when I told her about the back order. Just goes to show, we don’t know when they’re going to arrive. If everything does go according to plan, I’ll have the amnio at 36 weeks and the c section the next day. She doesn’t want me to go too much further than 36 weeks, so we might be looking at having them first week of February! Right before our 7th wedding anniversary.

S H O P P I N G !!!

I was too busy talking about my Friday adventure; I didn’t even mention my much anticipated shopping excursion this past weekend! On Saturday, we rented a wheelchair and made our way to Bergstrom’s (terrible website), a baby specialty store in Anaheim and Irvine. They had an expansive selection and the prices were in line with the manufacturer’s suggested retail. I didn’t find any great deals, but did get to check out the higher quality items I’d researched online. Sunday was all about Babies R Us, wow it's like Baby Costco. So much stuff!

Initially it was fun to go into the store and see all the stuff. But when it came to the nitty-gritty, it got a little overwhelming. Sometimes, it felt like there were too many choices?!?! For double strollers we have a choice of a Snap N Go, a tandem stroller, a side by side and of course a double jogging stroller. From what I’ve read, we’re going to need more than one. My sister has one baby and she’s got 4 or 5 different strollers!

And don’t get me started on cribs. Oh my gosh, why does there have to be so many different kinds of cribs? And what’s the deal with the convertible cribs? What kid is going to want the same bed they’ve had since birth through their teens? Sounds like a good idea for the parents (less furniture to buy over the years), but it really sounds like a scam. I’ve also read reviews and polls and only a few people have actually converted the cribs. Mike likes the idea of a convertible, so then we have to decide on the color. Sounds trivial, right? Originally, I thought we’d get two white cribs and have boy bedding and girl bedding. But if we do get the convertible crib, a white bed frame might be a little too fem for the boy and I really dislike the color of walnut or pine. Argh, what to do?!?!?! Procrastinate! At first we’re going to start with the Arms Reach Co Sleeper. I’ve read it’s good for people recovering from a c section because you don’t have to get up. It’s also great because the twins can lie side by side next to you. So we can hold off on the cribs for a month or two.

I did buy car seats last week online because that is one thing we must have to bring them home. I found a good deal online through TinyRide. Even though they’re located in Santa Monica, they charge no tax and give free shipping. They are also cheaper by $20 for the car seats than other retailers. Unfortunately, I found out this morning the car seats are on backorder until 1/22. Eek! Hopefully the kids will hold out until then. I’ll be almost 35 weeks at that point.

Since so many things are up in the air, we didn’t purchase very much. I wanted to at least get a ‘coming home’ outfit, but we have no idea when the babies are coming much less know their size. They could come tomorrow and would be considered preemies or if they hold out until 36 weeks, then hopefully they’ll be at least 5 lbs and will be able to wear Newborn size.

A few people have asked, so we started a registry. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to shop so it was also a good way for us to note items we wanted to get at a later date. I’m glad we did because after a couple of hours, I suddenly started having some uterine tightening and we left soon after. We had picked out a few items, but had to dump them quick. So although I got to finally go out, it wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. Oh well, it was still nice to get up and about. I also got to check out the new ‘hood. It finally hit me; we’re now living Orange County! After almost 9 years, I’m back in So Cal!

Friday M.I.A.

On Friday you probably noticed I missed my post. Now when that happens it means something has happened. I’d hardly forget to post my daily entry (weekends and holidays excluded). Before anyone starts sending us congratulatory messages, the babies are not here yet. It was just another trip to L&D, my home away from home.

I’d had some leaking. I wasn’t sure what it was, but didn’t think it was amniotic fluid. However, every book and message thread I’ve read and every nurse/doctor I’ve spoken to always say to check out things when something feels amiss. I’ve heard ‘better safe than sorry’ more times during this pregnancy than in my life. So I mentioned it to my home care nurse who administers my weekly progesterone injection. I told her it could be excess discharge (sorry, TMI) from the cerclage (the body’s reaction to a foreign object in the body) or just pregnancy hormones going crazy. I didn’t think it was amniotic fluid because it was consistently a small amount (compared to the gush when your water breaks). There are instances where small leaks do occur, i.e. sometimes after an amnio or CVS testing. I figured the babies were far enough along that if it was a small leak, it would be ok until my next doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. The nurse said otherwise. If it is a small leak, then the sterility of the placenta has been compromised which could be a dangerous thing (infection!) for the baby. She suggested I call my doctor’s office, which I did. I called and spoke to Mary (the nice nurse that gave me the negative results from the GD test) and she consulted with another nurse since no doctors were in the office. They advised me to go to L&D to get it checked out. Once again, it was ‘better safe than sorry’. I dislike going to L&D because I can never get out of there in less than 6 hours. Most of the time, I’m lying on an extremely uncomfortable bed with one pillow (if I’m lucky) and Mike has to wait downstairs. There are other women there that are about to give birth any minute and I hear them grunting, panting or moaning. At least this time, we didn’t go in late evening, rather we went in the afternoon and it was pretty crowded. For the first hour or so, I just lay there reading my book. Finally, they hooked me up and monitored the babies’ heart beat for 30-40 minutes. Finally, they tested for amniotic fluid and did an ultrasound. Everything looked ok, I had not ruptured (yay!) and got to go home after only 3 ½ hours!

So what was it? Well it wasn’t completely determined, but it could’ve been discharge or incontinence. I’ve never been so happy to pee in my pants or at least hope that was it. I worry discharge may be an indication of something bad, but incontinence is completely normal. Before you stat grossing out or start sending me packages of Depends, walk in my shoes for 10 feet. Not a mile, but a couple feet because you would then know what it feels like to carry so much weight in front of you. We’re talking about achy back, major pressure down there, basically feeling like the babies are going to fall out at any moment. I’d like to see how you guys would react if you had a (not so) little pea pod rolling over your bladder or kicking it. How long could you hold out before running to the bathroom? There’s a reason God made women have babies, men can’t handle it :-).

OMG - 32 weeks!

It’s hard to believe this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. 32 weeks! I’ve been pregnant for 225 days and I’m in my 8th month of pregnancy. Now that it’s here, it seems too early for them to arrive. Just 4 more weeks, guys! Hang in there! According to I-am-pregnant.com, here’s what’s going on with the pea pods -

“A baby born now has an excellent chance of survival, but will still need intensive help with breathing and feeding. Your baby is 42 centimetres long and weighs about 2.2 kilos (four and a half pounds). The body growth slows down from now on. Because of the lack of space in the uterus, the legs are drawn up in what is known as the fetal position. The baby sleeps 90-95% of the day, and sometimes experiences REM sleep, an indication of dreaming (what the heck can they be dreaming about considering they’ve only known the womb and its darkness?). As a preparation for breastfeeding, your baby has learned to root for the breast. The baby will turn its head if touched on the cheek and open its mouth if the bottom lip is tickled. By this time the baby can also suck and swallow in a coordinated way.”

Also, Mike has redeemed himself for not reading this blog. Last night he stayed up creating the birth announcement for the babies. Many of you know Mike’s pretty talented as a graphic artist. He’s mostly self taught, which impresses me. As I’ve mentioned, he’s got great taste and appreciates quality over fads. Had we not met, I might still have shabby chic or Santa Fe furniture (I’m exaggerating to make a point, I’m not that bad!). To get back to my original point, we spent last night creating the announcements and they’re really cool. I’m glad we did this, we created our own wedding invitations (which I think is still one of the most beautiful invites) and so it seems appropriate we create the birth announcements. If you’d like to receive one of the announcement cards, email me (lisarj@gmail.com) your home address (as well as email addy). Even if you’re sure we still have it, send it anyway. As my friend Marky-mark liked to remind me I have a major case of ‘B.I.B.O.’ (Babies In, Brain Out).