Where did the day go?

Here’s my day – woke up, called a retailer regarding the crib we wanted, bought it (yay!), had lunch, fell asleep and it’s now almost 6pm. I feel like I had a one hour day before it turned to night. Now I have to run and take my shower. Because the uterus is active all day with the babies' kicks and movements, it gets tired at night and is prone to more contractions. I’m a shower at night person and so I’ve been showering between 5-6pm to keep the contractions at a minimum.

So, today is short and sweet but I’ll have more to write about tomorrow including my doctor’s appointment in the morning. Just didn’t want anyone thinking that I had gone into labor today.

8 days!

I don't think I look that big, do I?

Yes, the countdown is on! 8 more days now. It’s so surreal. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve miscounted the weeks and I’m actually in my 20’s, instead of 34 ½ weeks. Although my waist measures at almost 47”, can I really be so close to meeting the little ones? That Mike and I are about to become parents? Is anyone really prepared for the birth of their first? Or am I just freaked out at the thought of delivery?

We’ve been scrambling to get things ready. Mike stayed up until 2am (I did my part by keeping him company) on Saturday night washing clothes, blankets, bibs, etc. We got a lot of clothes on loan from friends and family. At least I’m confident our babies won’t be naked. But this morning, I’ve spent following up on our car seats (ordered on January 4th) and doing research on cribs (I’m so burnt out on researching!). Of course, the ones that we like is not in stock or is so darn elusive. I’m also trying to find the best deals since we have to buy 2 of each. Initially, we thought we had a few months to shop for cribs, but after washing all the clothes we realized we had no place to put the clothes. Hence, we need to find dressers (with matching cribs) asap.

Suddenly, the pregnancy has gotten a whole lot harder. Rolling over in bed at night is almost impossible without pain. My belly is rock hard and the weight just knocks the breath out of me (or squishes it out of me). I’m also having a hard time differentiating between contractions or their head and butt. Both are pretty hard and solid to the touch. And even though I’m taking Pepcid, my acid reflux is back with a vengeance. I realize now TUMS are for amateurs. Unfortunately, I can’t take as many Pepcid as I did with TUMS – bummer!

But I did get to go to Target this weekend. I missed Target! I got to ride around in one of those electric scooters. They’re pretty tricky to navigate. I don’t know how the elderly are supposed to maneuver them. Granted I’m not the most coordinated person, but some of the aisles are pretty narrow. Got some more diapers (which is always needed). I’m also trying out different brands. Some people swear by Pamper Swaddlers, others love Huggies and a few loved Luvs. Mike also got White Cloud (at Wal Mart) just because they had John Lennon illustrations on them. Apparently, you won’t know which brand works best on the babies until you try them. What works on girl, may not be so good for boy. So it’s all trial and error. Hopefully we’ll find the right ones sooner than later. I can’t imagine a leaky diaper is very much fun!

1 week, 4 days

Just had to include another sun worshipping picture of good ol' Ollie. Did I mention, he moves with the sun? He's such a good puppy, I really hope he gets along with his new roommates!

Mike left this morning at 6.15am for a flight to Sacramento. His dad is meeting him up there and they’re packing up the rest of our stuff left at our house. All the stuff that didn’t fit in his car the last time he was there. They’re also bringing down our fridge which is great. I know we’ll need an extra fridge in the upcoming months.

Our house was supposed to close today, but frustratingly the buyer’s agent forgot to have them sign one document. So now we’re back at our original close date of 1/23. I’m just anxious for the deed to be done. I won’t completely relax until it’s totally complee. I worry that something could change at the last minute. It would be a relief to have this over and done with. After all, we moved out almost 3 months ago!

Mike probably won’t be home until late tonight. I just hope he doesn’t get stuck at the grapevine. Yesterday, they shut it down for awhile due to icy conditions. There were reports of snow in Malibu! Quite a change considering they had the major fire last week that burned down Suzanne Sommer’s home.

I get nervous when Mike’s away. What if I go into labor? What if the babies decide to come when Mike’s 425 miles away? I’ve got to stop and relax. If I don’t, I might work myself into a frenzy and start labor on my own! Yesterday, I had a pretty active day. So it’s not surprising my belly was contracting frequently last night. Not regular contractions, just more of the Braxton Hicks. That coupled with my increased appetite (I'm back to my hobbit frequent meals i.e. 1st dinner, 2nd dinner) has me feeling huge. Belly looks the same, but it feels much heavier and is tauter. Getting up is much more of a challenge now as is rolling over. Wow, how do women with triplets or quads handle it?

I really hope I can go to Target this weekend. I’m going to borrow their electric scooter (I always wanted to ride one of those!) to get around. And hopefully, we’ll be able to pick up some more essentials - namely diapers. Believe it or not, it’s not easy to find diapers in newborn size. We have a couple packages, but from what I hear it’s not going to last us very long.

Oh, and I checked with the doctor’s office yesterday to see if we could move the amnio and c section back by a few days but no luck. The Peri won’t be there. So it looks like these kids will be January babies. The countdown is on! 1 week and 4 days to go!

34 weeks!

34 weeks today! Here’s what Babycenter.com say about this milestone.

“Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her central nervous system is still maturing and her lungs are well developed by now.”

All good stuff, so how come I’m not ready for them to come out? Is it fear that wants to keep them inside as long as possible instead of having them in 1 week and 5 days?

I had my second NST appointment today. Babies are doing great. They were very cooperative and I was at the doctor’s office for only an hour. She also checked the amniotic fluid level and everything was right on track. Even though I have no reason to be concerned (no telltale signs of labor), it’s always a relief to hear that everything looks perfect.

Yesterday we had our first pediatrician appointment. One of the suggestions I’ve read is to start interviewing pediatricians before the babies arrive. I asked my Peri for a recommendation, someone who could handle me and my incessant questions. I think we found our doctor on the first try. It’s always good to get a recommendation, especially from someone who knows you. My Peri is very familiar with me and my green notebook that I always bring to each appointment. Some of the questions we asked were to circumcise or not? Immunization? On demand or schedule feeding? She also said she could help answer the basic questions too like how do we get them to sleep? Give a bath? That’s especially helpful because the newborn care class I signed up for isn’t until February 5th, which is a little too late for us now.

I have to go now. Mike's coming home early so we can attend the hospital breastfeeding class. As I've mentioned before, we're really going to give the breastfeeding a good try.

p.s. To Rachel - No, I didn't get the Hawaiian Punch. Mike brought me home Tropicana Fruit Punch. He couldn't understand when I was crying 'It's not the same thing!!!!'

To Lorelei - I read through your Baby Notes at my NST appointment today. What an awesome compilation! I'd love to post it on my blog, but it is kind of lengthy. If anyone's interested, please email me at lisarj@gmail.com and I'll send it to you. It's the nitty gritty wealth of info on how to prepare. Stuff you wouldn't find in books, but definitely need to know! Tons of helpful tips!