It has been a long 8 weeks since the birth of the twins. I can't even believe 8 whole weeks has gone by! Last I left off, I was awaiting my induction. Here is how it went down:
I was supposed to be induced on June 5th. That morning I woke up, showered and got ready. Mind you, I was in the hospital already so I was so anxious! Joe stayed with me overnight so he was there in the morning with me. We talked about how excited we were, how our lives would never be the same after today. I wasn't sure when I would be going in for my induction, the nurse had said to be ready by 7am. 7 came and went and I had not heard anything yet. The nurse came in around 9am and ssaid that I would be taken to labor and delivery shortly. My heart was racing, I almost cried. Two hours went by and still I was waiting to be taken in for my induction. The nurse came back and said there were a couple of emergencies so I would have to wait a bit longer. A few more hours went by and the nurse came by again to tell me I had been delayed. Apparently 3 twin pregnancies were being delivered at that moment, two c-sections and an emergency c-section. I needed to be delivered in an operating room just in case I needed a c-section and there were none available at the time. Needless to say, at around 4 or so I was told I was not going to be induced that day. I am not quite sure looking back at it now why I was so upset. I cried and cried and cried. I was so ready to be done being pregnant and to meet my babies. Joe was furious. My OB was so sweet and stopped by right after she was done seeing patients at the office to tell me how sorry she was. She felt awful that I was delayed. We planned to be induced the next day and if I was delayed again I was scheduled for a c-section at 5pm. Joe went home and packed a bag, got a few essentials, brought Adrianna in to see me and took her back home later that night. He came back to stay the night with me in case we were told we had to go over to L&D early. The next morning I took my time. I rolled out of bed (literally rolled) at 6:30am. Showered and got ready, no makeup or anything like the day before. I was just about to turn on the news when the nurse came in with a wheel chair and said that L&D was ready for me! Oh the JOY!! I was wheeled over, prepped, given an IV and started on pitocin at 8:30am. By 11am I was starting to have light contractions but nothing painful. I was checked for dilation, remember I was already 5-6cm from the start (preterm labor at 30 weeks got me a 6 week stay at the hospital on bed rest), I was still the same. At around 1pm the pitocin was already at half of the max amount. I was progressing pretty quickly, contraction 3-5 min. Then my OB came in to talk to me. She felt horrible because she had a surgical procedure to do in the GYN dept at the hospital and she wouldn't be done until 6 or so. She had to stop my pitocin. I was a little disappointed but at least I was able to eat. I had the best grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, it was delicious! Because of my gestational diabetes, my blood sugar was checked every hour, my poor fingers. The last meal I could have was at 3pm just in case I needed a c-section. No food 3 hours before potential surgery. We waited and waited. Joe's parents arrived, my mom and Adrianna were already with me. Adrianna got to spend most of the day hanging out with me in the delivery room which was so nice. My mom was also there with me this time, she missed Adrianna's birth so she made sure to not leave my side this time. Joe's parents and his brother Kevin went to go grab some dinner and took Adrianna with them at around 5:30pm, at that time my pitocin was started up again. My OB came in at around 7pm (I know longest day ever!) to check me. She asked if I wanted an epidural and my answer was HELL YEA! I was not going to let them break my waters without it. I remember with Adrianna, after my water was broken labor was strong and fast and I barely had time for an epidural. It actually didn't work with her birth. I was having stronger contractions now, I could barely speak during them. The epidural was pretty painful to get. I felt lots of pinching and pressure. After it was put in, I asked when I would stop feeling pain....because the contraction were VERY painful at this time. It took 3 contractions, by the third I couldn't feel a thing and it was FABULOUS! I heart epidurals. 7:45pm and my OB breaks my waters. Joe goes in to use the restroom and within 5 min Victoria's heart rate dips dramatically. It was all a blur, the nurse was screaming for my OB down the hall, was was being unplugged and hooked up to a bunch of different things and given oxygen. I remember saying that I was sure Victoria was coming down because I could feel pressure. When my OB checked me I was fully dilated. So that is 6-7cm to 10cm in a matter of 5min after breaking my water...that has to be some kind of record somewhere. After I was given oxygen Victoria's heart rate went back up. I was then wheeled to the operating room where I would deliver, just in case I needed a c-section. Joe was allowed in the room in full scrubs only but no one else was allowed in. The room was a very cold and cramped space. there were 9 different people there 2 L&D nurses, one for each baby, an ultrasound tech, the anestisiologist, my OB and NICU staff. It was hectic. To make matters even more hectic Victoria's heart rate dropped yet again. I was told to focus on breathing and to start pushing when I felt pressure. At 8:09pm I began pushing Victoria Rose out and she was born at 8:12pm! A healthy 3 lbs 15 oz! It was such a relief, her first cry was magical to hear! The ultrasound tech scanned me to make sure Isabella was head down and she was. My OB pushed on my stomach to get Isabella to come down more, she was way up by my ribs. I remember my OB saying that my body had to re-dilate to deliver Isabella. Crazy right?! Well 8 minutes later I began pushing again and in 2 pushes out came Isabella Sofia! 8:20pm and a healthy 4 lb 1 oz bundle of cuteness! Her cry was also magical. I was holding VIctoria while they worked on cleaning off Isabella. 8 and 9 APGAR scores, simply amazing! First question I asked my OB was if I tore? Sorry for being so graphic but this was my biggest fear, I did not want stitches! And I didn't get any! YAY! After taking pictures, (Joe actually got some of Isabella crowning, pretty interesting) the girls were sent to the NICU and I went back to the L&D room to recover. I was greeted by my mom, inlaws, and Adrianna who I hugged soooo tightly. It was one of the best days of my life. Having children is such a miracle. It was just as magical as I remembered with Adrianna. I love my three girls! Next post I'll talk about the NICU stay and what happened in the 13 days Isabella spent there and the 30 days Victoria spent there.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Help and Support
Lets talk about support. I have been in the hospital now for 4 weeks straight! In those 4 weeks I have never received more offers of help in my life! Between my military family, most of which I barely know very well, offering to care for my daughter and come to the hospital to keep me company to my parents and Joe's parents dropping everything to come to my house and help clean and maintain it and care for Adrianna (and feed my husband). I am so very lucky to have such a great support system. Some of my friends have even come to the hospital just to chat for a few hours, how nice to have regular girl talk :)
Anyway, as my time being pregnant comes close to ending I have started to think about what life will be like with 3 kids 3 and under....two of which will be newborns. I am never one that likes to ask for help. I actually really hate asking for help unless I really need to, emergency situations and such. I am pretty sure that is why I ended up on hospital bed rest, I didn't ask for help nor did I listen to my body when it would tell me to slow down. I would go food shopping and think "it should be fine to carry all of these bags in myself, it is only a few steps away." You guys, I even carried cases of water 2 weeks before going into preterm labor! That did happen, and I should have never done that. We wont talk about other things I did throughout my pregnancy because, well...my OB has a facebook and I am afraid she will read this ;). Point is, I should have asked for or accepted help when offered. As moms, I feel like we grade ourselves on that kind of shit, "I raised 4 kids and I never needed help and I home-schooled, home birthed and my kids never watch TV and I still nurse my toddler who latched on from the moment they were born." Just because I don't do these things doesn't mean I am less of a mother. I am perfectly perfect for my kids and my husband. I have learned the hard way that help is nothing to be ashamed of. I am making it a point to accept help once the twinkies (I'm back to calling them twinkies, I am not mad at them anymore for misbehaving lol) arrive. My mom has been with Adrianna for about 4 weeks while I have been in the hospital and my MIL is here for about 1 week to give my mom a break. Once the twinkies are here, my mom will be back for maybe a week or so then it is just Joe and I until June 26th....then my 16 y/o cousin is coming in from out of town to be the relief. She will be helping me with everything, mainly keeping Adrianna company while we are tending to the twinkies and prepping our house for the move to VA in the middle of July. I am so glad to have all of this help. I am sure if we need my MIL or mother at any point they will gladly drop what they are doing and come our way. I don't anticipate needing meals made or anything like my wonderful military community likes to do, but I will not be turning away any form of help. I am done feeling bad for looking "weak" because I can't be supermom and handle it all on my own. This includes my feelings after birth.
With Adrianna, I had more than just the baby blues. I was down right depressed for a period of time. I did a great job faking it, but I had never felt more alone than I did during her first 6 months or so. I would cry throughout the day, had no motivation to do anything (I would force myself to tidy up the house but I never really went anywhere for 3-4 months), I couldn't sleep at night because I thought for sure Adrianna would stop breathing if I wasn't alert and attentive to her. It was miserable. Once she hit about 5-6 months I did some research and found a mommy and me gym class called Little Gym and it was seriously my saving grace! For the first time as a new mom I interacted with other new moms going through the same hardships of raising a newborn, it was fantastic. I will never forget the first time I brought Adrianna to a restaurant for lunch by myself. She was about 6.5 months old and it was after a little gym class, we went to Panera together and I juggled pushing the stroller around people and tables and getting my food/finding a table. It was hard and exhausting but felt so good once I settled in. Since that day, I began taking Adrianna out to run errands with me. They weren't always smooth, she once threw up EVERYWHERE at a Starbucks, pooped all up her back and on a shopping cart at a Target, I mean it was hard! But it felt good when I was able to accomplish what I need to during the day all while juggling a baby. Now, I am faced with twins. Will I have the same feelings again? Am I going to cry all day long, be stuck at home or stay up all night obsessing over their breathing? Chances are, that may happen again. I don't want it to but it probably will. I have had so much anxiety throughout this whole pregnancy. Now during my hospital stay I have the worst thoughts run through my mind...scary morbid thoughts. What if I die during labor, how will Adrianna handle not having me around forever? What if one of the babies die, will Adrianna keep asking for the other baby because she is so used to there being two babies in my belly? Will one be sick? Will one have Downs? Are the nurses sure they are getting two different babies when they check the heartbeats every night? Why do I think this way??? It is so frustrating because I feel out of control when these thoughts enter my mind, I feel like I can't breath or I just cry myself to sleep. It isn't healthy. So I suspect I will be just as anxious when the twinkies are home with me. Difference is, I will NOT be afraid to ask for help. I will tell the pediatrician the truth when she asks me how I am feeling (she would ask me multiple times whenever I brought Adrianna in to see her and I would lie every time). I will be honest with my OB when asked how I am handling things. I will talk to my husband more about these feelings and not try to hide them, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I hope I can resolve these feelings without medication. I hope that once the babies I will be so over the moon happy there will be no room for these crazy irrational thoughts and feelings. I will be paying more attention to caring for myself as well as them though, healthy me equals better mommy for them, all 3 of my babies :)
BTW, eviction date for the twinkies....JUNE 5TH!!
Anyway, as my time being pregnant comes close to ending I have started to think about what life will be like with 3 kids 3 and under....two of which will be newborns. I am never one that likes to ask for help. I actually really hate asking for help unless I really need to, emergency situations and such. I am pretty sure that is why I ended up on hospital bed rest, I didn't ask for help nor did I listen to my body when it would tell me to slow down. I would go food shopping and think "it should be fine to carry all of these bags in myself, it is only a few steps away." You guys, I even carried cases of water 2 weeks before going into preterm labor! That did happen, and I should have never done that. We wont talk about other things I did throughout my pregnancy because, well...my OB has a facebook and I am afraid she will read this ;). Point is, I should have asked for or accepted help when offered. As moms, I feel like we grade ourselves on that kind of shit, "I raised 4 kids and I never needed help and I home-schooled, home birthed and my kids never watch TV and I still nurse my toddler who latched on from the moment they were born." Just because I don't do these things doesn't mean I am less of a mother. I am perfectly perfect for my kids and my husband. I have learned the hard way that help is nothing to be ashamed of. I am making it a point to accept help once the twinkies (I'm back to calling them twinkies, I am not mad at them anymore for misbehaving lol) arrive. My mom has been with Adrianna for about 4 weeks while I have been in the hospital and my MIL is here for about 1 week to give my mom a break. Once the twinkies are here, my mom will be back for maybe a week or so then it is just Joe and I until June 26th....then my 16 y/o cousin is coming in from out of town to be the relief. She will be helping me with everything, mainly keeping Adrianna company while we are tending to the twinkies and prepping our house for the move to VA in the middle of July. I am so glad to have all of this help. I am sure if we need my MIL or mother at any point they will gladly drop what they are doing and come our way. I don't anticipate needing meals made or anything like my wonderful military community likes to do, but I will not be turning away any form of help. I am done feeling bad for looking "weak" because I can't be supermom and handle it all on my own. This includes my feelings after birth.
With Adrianna, I had more than just the baby blues. I was down right depressed for a period of time. I did a great job faking it, but I had never felt more alone than I did during her first 6 months or so. I would cry throughout the day, had no motivation to do anything (I would force myself to tidy up the house but I never really went anywhere for 3-4 months), I couldn't sleep at night because I thought for sure Adrianna would stop breathing if I wasn't alert and attentive to her. It was miserable. Once she hit about 5-6 months I did some research and found a mommy and me gym class called Little Gym and it was seriously my saving grace! For the first time as a new mom I interacted with other new moms going through the same hardships of raising a newborn, it was fantastic. I will never forget the first time I brought Adrianna to a restaurant for lunch by myself. She was about 6.5 months old and it was after a little gym class, we went to Panera together and I juggled pushing the stroller around people and tables and getting my food/finding a table. It was hard and exhausting but felt so good once I settled in. Since that day, I began taking Adrianna out to run errands with me. They weren't always smooth, she once threw up EVERYWHERE at a Starbucks, pooped all up her back and on a shopping cart at a Target, I mean it was hard! But it felt good when I was able to accomplish what I need to during the day all while juggling a baby. Now, I am faced with twins. Will I have the same feelings again? Am I going to cry all day long, be stuck at home or stay up all night obsessing over their breathing? Chances are, that may happen again. I don't want it to but it probably will. I have had so much anxiety throughout this whole pregnancy. Now during my hospital stay I have the worst thoughts run through my mind...scary morbid thoughts. What if I die during labor, how will Adrianna handle not having me around forever? What if one of the babies die, will Adrianna keep asking for the other baby because she is so used to there being two babies in my belly? Will one be sick? Will one have Downs? Are the nurses sure they are getting two different babies when they check the heartbeats every night? Why do I think this way??? It is so frustrating because I feel out of control when these thoughts enter my mind, I feel like I can't breath or I just cry myself to sleep. It isn't healthy. So I suspect I will be just as anxious when the twinkies are home with me. Difference is, I will NOT be afraid to ask for help. I will tell the pediatrician the truth when she asks me how I am feeling (she would ask me multiple times whenever I brought Adrianna in to see her and I would lie every time). I will be honest with my OB when asked how I am handling things. I will talk to my husband more about these feelings and not try to hide them, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I hope I can resolve these feelings without medication. I hope that once the babies I will be so over the moon happy there will be no room for these crazy irrational thoughts and feelings. I will be paying more attention to caring for myself as well as them though, healthy me equals better mommy for them, all 3 of my babies :)
BTW, eviction date for the twinkies....JUNE 5TH!!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Still Here....Preterm Labor Day 20
Still pregnant. And I suppose I should be happy about that. I am, but my being stuck in this hospital is altering my thoughts on this. I don't know what it is about being stuck in the hospital that makes you think delusional things, like it would totally ok for your baby(ies) to be born at 31 weeks because technology and modern medicine can keep them healthy. I might sound like a horrible mom when I, at this very moment, pray that my water breaks and we can just get the ball rolling with this labor and delivery thing...at 33 weeks gestation that I am right now. The truth is, I need for my babies to be as healthy as possible which means not delivering until closer to 37 weeks. The ugly truth is that I pray my water breaks every time I go to the bathroom so we can get the ball rolling on this delivery and I can meet my babies and get on with my normal life. Don't call me selfish and don't judge. If you have never been stuck in a hospital in "preterm labor" not able to leave you will never know the agony....if you have gone past your due date you might have an idea of what I am feeling...minus the fact that my babies will be premature and require a NICU stay. Honestly, this blows. I am trying to keep positive but I am slowly losing my mind. I am trying not to give up but I am reaching my breaking point. I woke up this morning though and was surprised to see my belly, not because I forgot I was pregnant but because it was significantly bigger than it was on Monday.
How much more can my poor belly stretch! Actually, I am kind of curious.
Not much has changed since my last update. I am sitting at 33 weeks 5 days (or 6 or 4 depending on who you speak to here) and am still 5-6 cm dilated with absolutely no change whatsoever. Nothing. Not even braxton hicks. My ultrasound this week showed improvement in baby A's fluid levels which is actually fantastic news. I have been worried about her. With her placenta failing and her fluid levels low I was worried something might happen to her. Both babies look fantastic in their non-stress tests, NST, (a test where they strap you up to a monitor, listen and track the fetal heart rates for accels and leveling out during active periods of movement and look for decels or for contractions and reaction to contractions). They have me doing an NST every day to make sure they remain as healthy as possible and they always look fantastic on the monitor. It is reassuring to say the least. My next ultrasound is a growth scan, which they do every two weeks, where they will measure the approximate weights of the babies. I am anxious because if baby A has not grown much, which is likely, they might not let me be pregnant much longer. I am not even sure what to feel. Ready to be done, scared for my tiny little baby, nervous. I don't know. This all goes down this coming Monday so either things will remain the same or I might be blogging some crazy birth story soon. Stay tuned...
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| Monday. The smile is fake you guys. I cried in the shower that morning |
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| This morning. See, I'm not kidding you guys! It's not pretty. |
Not much has changed since my last update. I am sitting at 33 weeks 5 days (or 6 or 4 depending on who you speak to here) and am still 5-6 cm dilated with absolutely no change whatsoever. Nothing. Not even braxton hicks. My ultrasound this week showed improvement in baby A's fluid levels which is actually fantastic news. I have been worried about her. With her placenta failing and her fluid levels low I was worried something might happen to her. Both babies look fantastic in their non-stress tests, NST, (a test where they strap you up to a monitor, listen and track the fetal heart rates for accels and leveling out during active periods of movement and look for decels or for contractions and reaction to contractions). They have me doing an NST every day to make sure they remain as healthy as possible and they always look fantastic on the monitor. It is reassuring to say the least. My next ultrasound is a growth scan, which they do every two weeks, where they will measure the approximate weights of the babies. I am anxious because if baby A has not grown much, which is likely, they might not let me be pregnant much longer. I am not even sure what to feel. Ready to be done, scared for my tiny little baby, nervous. I don't know. This all goes down this coming Monday so either things will remain the same or I might be blogging some crazy birth story soon. Stay tuned...
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
10 Things I will NOT miss about pregnancy
I hoped and prayed for this pregnancy. I longed for that positive pregnancy test. As I near the end and get ready to meet the twins soon I can't stop thinking of the things I will not miss about pregnancy, or maybe specifically this pregnancy.
10. Constant peeing. I have had a personal relationship with the toilet and toilet paper since about 10 weeks along. The big difference between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Adrianna was that I stopped having the urge to pee every hour around the second trimester. I still get up about every half hour now to pee. It's annoying
9. Hunger. Sounds funny but I am tired of being hungry all.the.time. I hate having to cook food for myself 5-6 times a day, not like I make big meals each time but even making a sandwich gets tedious after a while. I always have to make sure I eat before I go anywhere instead of just winging it like I usually do. Annoying
8. Sleep Issues. Whether it is lack of sleep or feeling sleepy, it really interferes with your daily life. Poor Adrianna has to deal with a lethargic mommy all day and poor Joe has to deal with a talkative wife all night because there are very important topics to discuss at 2am...like nursery decor, boiling bottles etc. haha.
7. Waddling. You know, the pregnancy waddle.Even if I don't want to waddle, the pressure I feel on my hips forces me to do so. And most of the time I get the pity look from anyone that watches me waddle while walking with Adrianna...strangers just make an "aww poor you" face and it's awkward.
6. Pubic Bone Pain. I had never experienced this with Adrianna but boy is it painful. Let me explain...the pubic bone is really two bones on each side that meet in the middle and during pregnancy gets soft and ready to separate during child birth. Totally normal. Except for some women, the softening happens too early and the bones are very soft and begin separating a tiny bit way before delivery. The minute I hit 20 weeks this pain began and let me tell you; when you have to brace yourself to walk up stairs, turn over in bed, or even worse put on pants because the pain is unbearable, you long for the days where you felt normal and never had aches like this.
5. Anxiety. I have been nervous about this pregnancy since the moment I found out I was pregnant. It got worse when we found out we were expecting twins. I had a hard time feeling happy about my pregnancy and I tried really hard to enjoy this special time. I would blog, take pictures of my growing belly, but even though the positive comments were good to read from friends on social media like Facebook or Instagram, none made me feel happy. I figured if I expose my pregnancy to the world that it would feel more real in my mind. It didn't really work out that way but I am so glad I have documented so many details of this pregnancy. I prayed to hit the 12 week mark. I prayed to hit viability at 24 weeks, I prayed to hit 30 weeks and here I am now praying that they are healthy enough to be born soon since I am on hospital bed rest and baby A is not growing so well. I am currently praying baby A makes it through all of this scary unknown. I hate unknowns. I trust my OB, she reassures me that baby A is doing well and that she would not let anything happen to her. I have to let go and trust in others and in God, I have had to do this throughout the whole pregnancy and I am ready to stop being anxious.
4. All of the attention. Not from friends and family, more so the attention from strangers. People I don't know feel the need to comment on how I must be ready to pop, on how my daughter is going to be jealous, on how I shouldn't be lifting this or doing that, how twins are so hard and double the work and how I will be super busy blah blah blah. All of this coming from friends and family is not annoying, this coming from strangers is annoying. One other thing is also just being the center of attention within my family as well. I love how much they care and how happy they all are but I have always hated being the center of attention in a baby shower, heck I hated that feeling during my own wedding! I'm just a fairly shy person, though most people don't see that about me. I try to work through my shyness and I force myself into social situations where there are people I may not know. I am much less shy than I was a number of years ago.
3. All of the doctor appointments! I see an OB, endocrinologist, nutritionist, get lab work done monthly and sometimes twice a month, maternal fetal medicine (high risk OB) and all of these range from every two weeks to every month. Sometimes I have appointments with one of these every week and end up at an appointment 2-3 times a week for a full month. It is a lot to handle. Plus, I have to take Adrianna along most times. She behaves pretty well but it is a lot of work. Especially if one of these appointments is early in the morning, like at 8am. I am ready to be done seeing a doctor for myself. I know my babies will have a ton of appointments in their first few weeks and months but I can handle that....I think.
2. Feeling BIG! I can't get off the couch without rolling off first, tie my shoes or put on my socks without help or a huge struggle, stand for long periods of time, talk without getting out of breath (yes talking makes me have to catch my breath), walk for long periods of time, eat without feeling sooooo full almost immediately, shave comfortably in the shower (worst thing ever! some parts I can't even reach, yikes!), even trying to wipe after using the bathroom is near impossible (don't worry, I make every attempt to do this successfully and I haven't failed yet lol). It makes you feel helpless. My belly is much bigger than with Adrianna so these things are much more noticeable. I am on bed rest currently because of preterm labor, I am pretty sure it is because my uterus is so big my body is confused and thinks I am full term.
1. The number one thing I will not miss about being pregnant is....I don't really have one. I realize that all of the things I listed are horrible and have made these past 8 months hard and uncomfortable. The truth is, I WILL miss being pregnant. I feel like I have been jipped(sp?) because I will never experience a full term pregnancy, or an 8 lb baby, or the feeling of having a baby placed right on your chest right after that last excruciating push. Ok, many of you who have experienced the 8 lb baby and going past your due date must think I am crazy but I promise you...if you ever experience pregnancy ending sooner than expected you will know just how it feels to miss not having a baby in you when you thought you had just a few more weeks of kicks and jolts within left....a few more weeks just you and your baby and you don't have to share them. It is so much easier to care for a baby within than to care for them when they are born, at least that is my opinion. I may be done with this pregnancy mentally, so over bed rest and ready to meet my twinkies, but a part of me is very sad that it went by so fast and I don't feel like I got the chance to fully savor my last pregnancy ever. This will likely be the last time I will experience growing a life from within. I will, however, continue to plead my case to my husband because I am crazy enough to be contemplating a #4 even though #2&3 aren't even here yet. I LOVE to HATE being pregnant.
10. Constant peeing. I have had a personal relationship with the toilet and toilet paper since about 10 weeks along. The big difference between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Adrianna was that I stopped having the urge to pee every hour around the second trimester. I still get up about every half hour now to pee. It's annoying
9. Hunger. Sounds funny but I am tired of being hungry all.the.time. I hate having to cook food for myself 5-6 times a day, not like I make big meals each time but even making a sandwich gets tedious after a while. I always have to make sure I eat before I go anywhere instead of just winging it like I usually do. Annoying
8. Sleep Issues. Whether it is lack of sleep or feeling sleepy, it really interferes with your daily life. Poor Adrianna has to deal with a lethargic mommy all day and poor Joe has to deal with a talkative wife all night because there are very important topics to discuss at 2am...like nursery decor, boiling bottles etc. haha.
7. Waddling. You know, the pregnancy waddle.Even if I don't want to waddle, the pressure I feel on my hips forces me to do so. And most of the time I get the pity look from anyone that watches me waddle while walking with Adrianna...strangers just make an "aww poor you" face and it's awkward.
6. Pubic Bone Pain. I had never experienced this with Adrianna but boy is it painful. Let me explain...the pubic bone is really two bones on each side that meet in the middle and during pregnancy gets soft and ready to separate during child birth. Totally normal. Except for some women, the softening happens too early and the bones are very soft and begin separating a tiny bit way before delivery. The minute I hit 20 weeks this pain began and let me tell you; when you have to brace yourself to walk up stairs, turn over in bed, or even worse put on pants because the pain is unbearable, you long for the days where you felt normal and never had aches like this.
5. Anxiety. I have been nervous about this pregnancy since the moment I found out I was pregnant. It got worse when we found out we were expecting twins. I had a hard time feeling happy about my pregnancy and I tried really hard to enjoy this special time. I would blog, take pictures of my growing belly, but even though the positive comments were good to read from friends on social media like Facebook or Instagram, none made me feel happy. I figured if I expose my pregnancy to the world that it would feel more real in my mind. It didn't really work out that way but I am so glad I have documented so many details of this pregnancy. I prayed to hit the 12 week mark. I prayed to hit viability at 24 weeks, I prayed to hit 30 weeks and here I am now praying that they are healthy enough to be born soon since I am on hospital bed rest and baby A is not growing so well. I am currently praying baby A makes it through all of this scary unknown. I hate unknowns. I trust my OB, she reassures me that baby A is doing well and that she would not let anything happen to her. I have to let go and trust in others and in God, I have had to do this throughout the whole pregnancy and I am ready to stop being anxious.
4. All of the attention. Not from friends and family, more so the attention from strangers. People I don't know feel the need to comment on how I must be ready to pop, on how my daughter is going to be jealous, on how I shouldn't be lifting this or doing that, how twins are so hard and double the work and how I will be super busy blah blah blah. All of this coming from friends and family is not annoying, this coming from strangers is annoying. One other thing is also just being the center of attention within my family as well. I love how much they care and how happy they all are but I have always hated being the center of attention in a baby shower, heck I hated that feeling during my own wedding! I'm just a fairly shy person, though most people don't see that about me. I try to work through my shyness and I force myself into social situations where there are people I may not know. I am much less shy than I was a number of years ago.
3. All of the doctor appointments! I see an OB, endocrinologist, nutritionist, get lab work done monthly and sometimes twice a month, maternal fetal medicine (high risk OB) and all of these range from every two weeks to every month. Sometimes I have appointments with one of these every week and end up at an appointment 2-3 times a week for a full month. It is a lot to handle. Plus, I have to take Adrianna along most times. She behaves pretty well but it is a lot of work. Especially if one of these appointments is early in the morning, like at 8am. I am ready to be done seeing a doctor for myself. I know my babies will have a ton of appointments in their first few weeks and months but I can handle that....I think.
2. Feeling BIG! I can't get off the couch without rolling off first, tie my shoes or put on my socks without help or a huge struggle, stand for long periods of time, talk without getting out of breath (yes talking makes me have to catch my breath), walk for long periods of time, eat without feeling sooooo full almost immediately, shave comfortably in the shower (worst thing ever! some parts I can't even reach, yikes!), even trying to wipe after using the bathroom is near impossible (don't worry, I make every attempt to do this successfully and I haven't failed yet lol). It makes you feel helpless. My belly is much bigger than with Adrianna so these things are much more noticeable. I am on bed rest currently because of preterm labor, I am pretty sure it is because my uterus is so big my body is confused and thinks I am full term.
1. The number one thing I will not miss about being pregnant is....I don't really have one. I realize that all of the things I listed are horrible and have made these past 8 months hard and uncomfortable. The truth is, I WILL miss being pregnant. I feel like I have been jipped(sp?) because I will never experience a full term pregnancy, or an 8 lb baby, or the feeling of having a baby placed right on your chest right after that last excruciating push. Ok, many of you who have experienced the 8 lb baby and going past your due date must think I am crazy but I promise you...if you ever experience pregnancy ending sooner than expected you will know just how it feels to miss not having a baby in you when you thought you had just a few more weeks of kicks and jolts within left....a few more weeks just you and your baby and you don't have to share them. It is so much easier to care for a baby within than to care for them when they are born, at least that is my opinion. I may be done with this pregnancy mentally, so over bed rest and ready to meet my twinkies, but a part of me is very sad that it went by so fast and I don't feel like I got the chance to fully savor my last pregnancy ever. This will likely be the last time I will experience growing a life from within. I will, however, continue to plead my case to my husband because I am crazy enough to be contemplating a #4 even though #2&3 aren't even here yet. I LOVE to HATE being pregnant.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Eventful few days
I just wanted to jot down some of what has happened in the last few days. It has been a crazy turn of events, I could never imagine this would be the way my Monday morning would begin.
Lets start with the week of April 22nd. We were preparing for our last trip to NY so I was busy cleaning a bit, running errands and packing. We were due to leave on that Wednesday. On Tuesday I decided I would go to Target to do a little shopping for my hospital bag...ya know, just in case I went into labor while in NY. It was my biggest fear. I stocked up on essentials and later that night packed everything in my overnight bag along with a baby picture of Adrianna, so I could compare her to her sisters when they are born...like going down memory lane :) The week and weekend came and went without much excitement. On Sunday my nephew had his first birthday party and we were also due to go home the same day. During the party, where I spent most of the day sitting, I had a couple of really painful contractions. They were a little unnerving but I refused to let anyone know I was in pain. I did not want to go to the hospital in NY, besides I had an appointment with my MFM doctor the next day. I made through the car ride home without anymore contractions, well I had some but they were about 15-20 minutes apart and didn't hurt at all...more like Braxton Hicks. That night we arrived home late and after unpacking the car we promptly collapsed on our nice comfy bed. We did take my mom with us, considering I was told that I should start taking it easy and I needed help with Adrianna. At around 1AM I began to cough, choking on my own stomach acid (always wonderful) and then it happened...I threw up all over my bathroom! I aimed for the bath tub, don't ask. After cleaning I fell asleep and woke up around 6AM with stomach pain. It was more muscle pain than anything, understandable since I blew chunks the night before. I ate breakfast, did a little craft shopping and headed to my MFM appointment.
I had my scan, nothing out of the ordinary. It took about 2 hours which always happens when I have scans. It is hard to get two babies to cooperate in an ultrasound! After my scan I always have an internal cervical scan to check the length of my cervix. When I saw the numbers on the screen, I knew it was not good news. The doctor comes in and talks a little about how baby A is still measuring a little smaller than her sister and how she has lower fluid levels as well. The doctor mentioned that my cervix was measuring smaller than the previous week and asked if I had been having contractions. I said yes. She decided it would be best to send me to labor and delivery so I could be monitored for a few hours just in case. Well, thank goodness she decided to do that! When I arrived at L&D, I was put on monitors, given water and told to just hang tight. After a few minutes the doctor came in to check my cervix for any change since my cervical length was short. I was one fingertip dilated, barely 1 cm. About a half an hour went by and I was feeling contractions. They were about 10-15 minutes apart and were a little painful. The nurse would come in and would ask whether or not I was having a contraction, kind of like testing me, and I was right every time. They decided to check me again and I was 1-2 cm dilated! My OB was called and told that I was dilating. She said she would come in and check me in about an hour. In the mean time I was given an IV and was drinking more water as well. Still contracting, this time more like every 7-10 minutes. By the time my OB arrived and checked me I was 3 cm dilated! This was way more progress than they were comfortable with! I am only 31 weeks and their NICU doesn't care for babies younger than 32 weeks. It was then that the decision was made to take me by ambulance to Tufts Medical Center in Boston in case I delivered the babies that night.
The ambulance ride was quite interesting. It was like feeling helpless and defenseless. I appreciate all the work EMT and paramedics do, it is a scary job! There was a new guy on the ambulance training and he was being quizzed while we were on our way to Boston. He was asked what the first major concern would be if I had to deliver my twins in the ambulance. That poor 22 year old's face went pale white, it was kind of funny (only because I most certainly was not in danger of delivering on the ambulance). Apparently the correct answer would be that they would need to call for two more ambulances because they don't have the capacity to care for 3 humans out of one ambulance. Good to know. Well we arrived at Tufts and I was taken to a dark and scary L&D room where I was quickly settled and given 2 mL drip of magnesium sulfate (a strong muscle relaxer) to try and stop contractions. It was not working! I was contracting every 5 minutes and was at this point 5-6 cm dilates and 50% effaced with +1 presentation (head of baby A was right at my cervix)! Scary!!! My drip was upped to 2.5 (I could barely see straight) and prep was being done to deliver me. I was going to have these babies that night at the rate I was going. After an hour I actually began to contract less. It became less and less until finally I only felt slight tightening, sort of like the BH I was having that did not really call for concern. My labor was successfully stopped overnight, at 5-6 cm dilated. Amazing. This is where I am now...this far dilated, +3 station (Baby A's head is way back up into the uterus) and still about 50% effaced (thinned out). I was taken off of the magnesium drip last night at around 5pm. It really wont have much of an affect on stopping labor progression any more at this point and since it makes you feel horrible (heart palpitations, nasal drip, hot flashes, constipation possible fluid in lungs, inability to eat or walk well, nausea) it makes no sense to continue being on the medicine. If I go into labor before 32 weeks again they will start it again only because apparently it has a positive effect on baby brain development when faced with pre term delivery. I was also given 2 steroid shots to help mature the lungs of the babies, which I am now past the 24 hour window of its fullest effect. This means that I have officially done all I can do to give my babies the best chance of a healthy start to life. I have met some wonderful nurses in my short stay here and have even heard two babies being born. Made me cry of course. I was moved to an ante-partum room where I am able to shower, move around freely and watch TV. I can't leave the L&D floor or walk around the halls because of how far dilated I am. I also will likely not be sent home if I don't have contractions because the chances of me lasting more than a week at the point I am in is very extremely rare. I am upset that my OB cannot deliver me. I am upset I can't deliver at Winchester Hospital. I am upset that the nurses and doctors I feel most comfortable with, the main reason we wanted to have another baby while stationed here at Hanscom, will in fact not be caring for me in these last few weeks of my pregnancy. This is just another plan from God. A test to see how resilient we are maybe? If we can handle pre-term twins in a setting that is unfamiliar and a little scary we can handle packing, moving to VA, potty training Adrianna, and settling into our new home with the twins in tow with no issues. Please, let this be the last test of our resilience, I don't know how much more we can handle and I don't want to find out. But maybe, hopefully a few weeks out but looks like sometime next week, I will be posting a welcome to the world entry for Victoria and Isabella! Scary, am I ready to be a mother again?
Lets start with the week of April 22nd. We were preparing for our last trip to NY so I was busy cleaning a bit, running errands and packing. We were due to leave on that Wednesday. On Tuesday I decided I would go to Target to do a little shopping for my hospital bag...ya know, just in case I went into labor while in NY. It was my biggest fear. I stocked up on essentials and later that night packed everything in my overnight bag along with a baby picture of Adrianna, so I could compare her to her sisters when they are born...like going down memory lane :) The week and weekend came and went without much excitement. On Sunday my nephew had his first birthday party and we were also due to go home the same day. During the party, where I spent most of the day sitting, I had a couple of really painful contractions. They were a little unnerving but I refused to let anyone know I was in pain. I did not want to go to the hospital in NY, besides I had an appointment with my MFM doctor the next day. I made through the car ride home without anymore contractions, well I had some but they were about 15-20 minutes apart and didn't hurt at all...more like Braxton Hicks. That night we arrived home late and after unpacking the car we promptly collapsed on our nice comfy bed. We did take my mom with us, considering I was told that I should start taking it easy and I needed help with Adrianna. At around 1AM I began to cough, choking on my own stomach acid (always wonderful) and then it happened...I threw up all over my bathroom! I aimed for the bath tub, don't ask. After cleaning I fell asleep and woke up around 6AM with stomach pain. It was more muscle pain than anything, understandable since I blew chunks the night before. I ate breakfast, did a little craft shopping and headed to my MFM appointment.
I had my scan, nothing out of the ordinary. It took about 2 hours which always happens when I have scans. It is hard to get two babies to cooperate in an ultrasound! After my scan I always have an internal cervical scan to check the length of my cervix. When I saw the numbers on the screen, I knew it was not good news. The doctor comes in and talks a little about how baby A is still measuring a little smaller than her sister and how she has lower fluid levels as well. The doctor mentioned that my cervix was measuring smaller than the previous week and asked if I had been having contractions. I said yes. She decided it would be best to send me to labor and delivery so I could be monitored for a few hours just in case. Well, thank goodness she decided to do that! When I arrived at L&D, I was put on monitors, given water and told to just hang tight. After a few minutes the doctor came in to check my cervix for any change since my cervical length was short. I was one fingertip dilated, barely 1 cm. About a half an hour went by and I was feeling contractions. They were about 10-15 minutes apart and were a little painful. The nurse would come in and would ask whether or not I was having a contraction, kind of like testing me, and I was right every time. They decided to check me again and I was 1-2 cm dilated! My OB was called and told that I was dilating. She said she would come in and check me in about an hour. In the mean time I was given an IV and was drinking more water as well. Still contracting, this time more like every 7-10 minutes. By the time my OB arrived and checked me I was 3 cm dilated! This was way more progress than they were comfortable with! I am only 31 weeks and their NICU doesn't care for babies younger than 32 weeks. It was then that the decision was made to take me by ambulance to Tufts Medical Center in Boston in case I delivered the babies that night.
The ambulance ride was quite interesting. It was like feeling helpless and defenseless. I appreciate all the work EMT and paramedics do, it is a scary job! There was a new guy on the ambulance training and he was being quizzed while we were on our way to Boston. He was asked what the first major concern would be if I had to deliver my twins in the ambulance. That poor 22 year old's face went pale white, it was kind of funny (only because I most certainly was not in danger of delivering on the ambulance). Apparently the correct answer would be that they would need to call for two more ambulances because they don't have the capacity to care for 3 humans out of one ambulance. Good to know. Well we arrived at Tufts and I was taken to a dark and scary L&D room where I was quickly settled and given 2 mL drip of magnesium sulfate (a strong muscle relaxer) to try and stop contractions. It was not working! I was contracting every 5 minutes and was at this point 5-6 cm dilates and 50% effaced with +1 presentation (head of baby A was right at my cervix)! Scary!!! My drip was upped to 2.5 (I could barely see straight) and prep was being done to deliver me. I was going to have these babies that night at the rate I was going. After an hour I actually began to contract less. It became less and less until finally I only felt slight tightening, sort of like the BH I was having that did not really call for concern. My labor was successfully stopped overnight, at 5-6 cm dilated. Amazing. This is where I am now...this far dilated, +3 station (Baby A's head is way back up into the uterus) and still about 50% effaced (thinned out). I was taken off of the magnesium drip last night at around 5pm. It really wont have much of an affect on stopping labor progression any more at this point and since it makes you feel horrible (heart palpitations, nasal drip, hot flashes, constipation possible fluid in lungs, inability to eat or walk well, nausea) it makes no sense to continue being on the medicine. If I go into labor before 32 weeks again they will start it again only because apparently it has a positive effect on baby brain development when faced with pre term delivery. I was also given 2 steroid shots to help mature the lungs of the babies, which I am now past the 24 hour window of its fullest effect. This means that I have officially done all I can do to give my babies the best chance of a healthy start to life. I have met some wonderful nurses in my short stay here and have even heard two babies being born. Made me cry of course. I was moved to an ante-partum room where I am able to shower, move around freely and watch TV. I can't leave the L&D floor or walk around the halls because of how far dilated I am. I also will likely not be sent home if I don't have contractions because the chances of me lasting more than a week at the point I am in is very extremely rare. I am upset that my OB cannot deliver me. I am upset I can't deliver at Winchester Hospital. I am upset that the nurses and doctors I feel most comfortable with, the main reason we wanted to have another baby while stationed here at Hanscom, will in fact not be caring for me in these last few weeks of my pregnancy. This is just another plan from God. A test to see how resilient we are maybe? If we can handle pre-term twins in a setting that is unfamiliar and a little scary we can handle packing, moving to VA, potty training Adrianna, and settling into our new home with the twins in tow with no issues. Please, let this be the last test of our resilience, I don't know how much more we can handle and I don't want to find out. But maybe, hopefully a few weeks out but looks like sometime next week, I will be posting a welcome to the world entry for Victoria and Isabella! Scary, am I ready to be a mother again?
Monday, April 22, 2013
Look how far I've come
When I think back to the losses we experienced last year, I still can't believe I have made it through all of that with my sanity almost intact. Sure my anxiety is through the roof some days, but we all have bad days. What is even more amazing is that I am 30 weeks into this pregnancy with the twins. I couldn't be more thankful for this gift God has given me and my little family. I know it has been quite a while since I have blogged, but I haven't had much happen that is blog worthy really. Which is a good thing, this pregnancy has been fairly uneventful with a few tiny hiccups here and there.
At around 23 weeks or so, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions (non painful false contractions). With each one I had, my heart felt like it would beat very fast. I called the OB, thinking she would just tell me to drink extra water or something but she sent me to get a STAT EKG at the emergency room! Talk about scary! It ended up being nothing and I had no contractions that were being read on the monitor so I was sent home.
26 weeks rolled around and I was still having BH pretty frequently, except this time they came with a pain in the pit of my stomach. It was strange so I called the OB again and was sent to L&D. The contractions were not even registering on the monitor which was a good thing. It ended up I had a horrible UTI, who knew that pain felt like painful contractions ? So after 2 antibiotics, a yeast infection due to said antibiotics (being a girl is rough, and disgusting) and endless amounts of water I finally am UTI free. I still get BH pretty frequently and some are painful! A different kind of painful though, more like tightening pain and cramping which is normal at this stage of pregnancy with twins. Apparently my uterus is irritable. Sounds great.
My 28 week checkup, just like every other check up, starts with BP and urine sample. Then my OB checks the heart rates of the babies and measures my uterus....which at 28 weeks measured in at a whopping 40 weeks. So I am measuring as if I were full term. At 28 weeks. WTF am I going to measure at when I am 33 or 34 weeks, 48 weeks? Is that even possible? I don't want to know. I am 4'11 and have gained like 26 lbs so far. I have no shame in my weight anymore, I am weighing in at 187.5 lbs. I'm sure I will see close to 200 before I give birth. I can't even imagine. In between UTI, peeing every time I sneeze, peeing 20,000 times a day and the dreaded H word most women experience while pregnant (yes hemorrhoids I don't even give a shit that you know that about me...how's that for no filter) revealing that I am 187 lbs doesn't even phase me. Pregnancy is beautiful, and disgusting. I can write more on that after I give birth...did I mention baby B is breech? Thaaats right, I get to be cut open like a friggen science project and have two babies yanked out of my stomach while trying not to pull out one of my organs along with it.
30 weeks today, eviction date is June 19th. It can't come fast enough! Today baby A had low fluid and was measuring a little smaller than her sister, but they are both still healthy. Baby A is 2 lbs 5 oz and baby B is 2 lbs 11 oz. They are busy kicking my bladder, hiding under my ribs and I am pretty sure baby B is trying to poke her feet out of my vagina she kicks my nether regions so hard. If in a year I say I miss being pregnant and want to have another one, remind me how much I love wine and punch me in the stomach so I remember the pain I am in right now with these babies constantly beating up my insides. Please and thank you.
At around 23 weeks or so, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions (non painful false contractions). With each one I had, my heart felt like it would beat very fast. I called the OB, thinking she would just tell me to drink extra water or something but she sent me to get a STAT EKG at the emergency room! Talk about scary! It ended up being nothing and I had no contractions that were being read on the monitor so I was sent home.
26 weeks rolled around and I was still having BH pretty frequently, except this time they came with a pain in the pit of my stomach. It was strange so I called the OB again and was sent to L&D. The contractions were not even registering on the monitor which was a good thing. It ended up I had a horrible UTI, who knew that pain felt like painful contractions ? So after 2 antibiotics, a yeast infection due to said antibiotics (being a girl is rough, and disgusting) and endless amounts of water I finally am UTI free. I still get BH pretty frequently and some are painful! A different kind of painful though, more like tightening pain and cramping which is normal at this stage of pregnancy with twins. Apparently my uterus is irritable. Sounds great.
My 28 week checkup, just like every other check up, starts with BP and urine sample. Then my OB checks the heart rates of the babies and measures my uterus....which at 28 weeks measured in at a whopping 40 weeks. So I am measuring as if I were full term. At 28 weeks. WTF am I going to measure at when I am 33 or 34 weeks, 48 weeks? Is that even possible? I don't want to know. I am 4'11 and have gained like 26 lbs so far. I have no shame in my weight anymore, I am weighing in at 187.5 lbs. I'm sure I will see close to 200 before I give birth. I can't even imagine. In between UTI, peeing every time I sneeze, peeing 20,000 times a day and the dreaded H word most women experience while pregnant (yes hemorrhoids I don't even give a shit that you know that about me...how's that for no filter) revealing that I am 187 lbs doesn't even phase me. Pregnancy is beautiful, and disgusting. I can write more on that after I give birth...did I mention baby B is breech? Thaaats right, I get to be cut open like a friggen science project and have two babies yanked out of my stomach while trying not to pull out one of my organs along with it.
30 weeks today, eviction date is June 19th. It can't come fast enough! Today baby A had low fluid and was measuring a little smaller than her sister, but they are both still healthy. Baby A is 2 lbs 5 oz and baby B is 2 lbs 11 oz. They are busy kicking my bladder, hiding under my ribs and I am pretty sure baby B is trying to poke her feet out of my vagina she kicks my nether regions so hard. If in a year I say I miss being pregnant and want to have another one, remind me how much I love wine and punch me in the stomach so I remember the pain I am in right now with these babies constantly beating up my insides. Please and thank you.
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| 9 weeks |
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| Very large at 29 weeks 5 days |
Monday, February 25, 2013
22 weeks
I can't believe I am 22 weeks pregnant today! We found out a few weeks ago we are expecting two more girls, it's about to be a girlie Dolce household! My husband is a lucky man ;) Lots of people I know are so curious to see how big I have gotten or how big I am getting so here it is:
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| 9 weeks |
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| 13 weeks |
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| 20 weeks |
The answer is clear, I am getting pretty big and still have 3 months to get even bigger! This is fun to see, not so fun to experience. I have had the pleasure of dealing with painful heartburn and my fingertips going numb due to nerve pressure. The twinkies are also both head down, which means pressure in my pelvis and excrutiating pubic bone pain! I'm talking I can't even lift my leg to put pants on pain! And the peeing, oh the peeing. I hate sneezing....use your imagination with that one kids. Pregnancy is not glamorous and twin pregnancy is even less so. I keep all things in perspective though. I have never been happier. I get a huge smile on my face when I get to see the twinkies in an ultrasound. They are so amazing and so darn cute already! Adrianna has started to tell everyone she is going to be a big sister and that momma has two babies in her belly. It is adorable. She cuddles with my belly, she hugs and kisses my belly, and she has felt the babies move already through my belly. She loves this and I am so happy I get to share this experience with her.
I am in a good place mentally. I try not to worry about what I cannot control and I take good care of myself. I know the babies will be fine. We have slowly started to buy a few things for them too, I bought a bouncy seat and boppy and have been gifted cute outfits. All of this has made me very excited. I day dream constantly about what they will look like, when they will be born, what it will be like once they are here. Did I mention we named them as well? Baby A is Victoria Rose and baby B is Isabella Sophia. I have always hated using short names or nick names, but I think I will be allowing myself and others to call them "Vicky" and "Bella." I love their names and can't wait to get monogrammed things with their names on it! My latest maternal fetal medicine ultrasound (high risk OB, perinatologist, are the only ones allowed to do an ultrasound on me) showed that the girls had no abnormalities and were growing great. Baby A is 13 oz and baby B is 12 oz. It did show that my cervix was opening slightly, it went from 5cm to 3.2cm, which is still in the normal range. I need to be seen March 11th again which is in 2 weeks versus being seen every 4 weeks. They want to be sure I don't continue to open, which my Braxton Hicks contractions could be causing. Never a dull moment! So I have been making it a point to put my feet up as much as possible and to rest when I feel I need it. I do not need to go into early labor or deal with the stress of bed rest, which ironically is suppose to be less stressful....yea maybe if you don't already have a child that needs your attention! All in all, I'd say I have been doing well so far. Adrianna is as cute as ever and learning new things every day and my wonderful hubby doesn't have a business trip planned for quite a while, that's always nice! Hopefully my next blog will be about our house hunting success and I will be sharing pictures of our new home in DC (or Virginia or Maryland). Here are some stats to leave you with:
I am in a good place mentally. I try not to worry about what I cannot control and I take good care of myself. I know the babies will be fine. We have slowly started to buy a few things for them too, I bought a bouncy seat and boppy and have been gifted cute outfits. All of this has made me very excited. I day dream constantly about what they will look like, when they will be born, what it will be like once they are here. Did I mention we named them as well? Baby A is Victoria Rose and baby B is Isabella Sophia. I have always hated using short names or nick names, but I think I will be allowing myself and others to call them "Vicky" and "Bella." I love their names and can't wait to get monogrammed things with their names on it! My latest maternal fetal medicine ultrasound (high risk OB, perinatologist, are the only ones allowed to do an ultrasound on me) showed that the girls had no abnormalities and were growing great. Baby A is 13 oz and baby B is 12 oz. It did show that my cervix was opening slightly, it went from 5cm to 3.2cm, which is still in the normal range. I need to be seen March 11th again which is in 2 weeks versus being seen every 4 weeks. They want to be sure I don't continue to open, which my Braxton Hicks contractions could be causing. Never a dull moment! So I have been making it a point to put my feet up as much as possible and to rest when I feel I need it. I do not need to go into early labor or deal with the stress of bed rest, which ironically is suppose to be less stressful....yea maybe if you don't already have a child that needs your attention! All in all, I'd say I have been doing well so far. Adrianna is as cute as ever and learning new things every day and my wonderful hubby doesn't have a business trip planned for quite a while, that's always nice! Hopefully my next blog will be about our house hunting success and I will be sharing pictures of our new home in DC (or Virginia or Maryland). Here are some stats to leave you with:
How far along? 22 weeks. Measuring at 28 weeks, however. Huge!
Maternity clothes? LOL! Most likely for a few months after delivery as well
Stretch Marks? Check!
Sleep? I nap like a champ and snore my life away at night. Besides being woken up by my inscesant need to be and the acid burning through my esophogus, I'd say I sleep pretty well for a pregnant woman.
Movement? They are both head down and press their legs against my ribs. I feel them more and more every day!
Genders? Twin GIRLS!
Weight Gain: Check! LOL I have no shame in admitting that I have gained a good 24 lbs so far. I just wont tell you what number exactly the scale says, that scares me.
What I miss? Not feeling out of breath just from getting up off the couch
Food cravings? Check.
Food aversions? I love it all
Labor signs? Braxton Hicks. Nothing alarming
Belly button in or out? In. Stretched as wide as I have ever seen it
What I’m looking forward to? I take it one day at a time. Savor every moment
Milestones? They both weigh almost 1 pound each!
Things I wish people knew: I am not yet in my 3rd trimester. I can't tell which baby is which when they move, they are both so close together. I don't know how to answer the "when are you due" question. I don't have morning sickness. Nothing is worse with this pregnancy than with a singleton pregnancy other than I am more tired and am gaining weight faster this time around.
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