35 weeks

Well I made it past the weekend and am 35.5 weeks.  I'm still taking a medication called procardia every six hours to slow down contractions and thus far it has been working.  The side effects are definitely present and with the last few weeks of pregnancy kicking in full force I haven't done much besides sleep... I wish I were able to run around and do fun things the last couple of weeks of this pregnancy but I can barely stand without getting lightheaded for a few minutes and take about 3 naps a day.  So I suppose whenever these little girls are going to get here I'll hopefully feel well rested.  I do know for one thing that we are ready for them, perhaps daddy is a little more than I am, and when the next round of labor pains hit we won't be sent home!!! Super exciting 2.5 weeks left (if I get that far)

 Yo Babies!  My stomach is getting pretty large.  Sometimes pictures don't do it justice.  10+ pounds of baby in there!

 Here's my lazy 35 week picture.  I've been in my PJ's all day!

How Far Along: 35 weeks 3 days

Total weight gained:  46 pounds

Cravings: none

Stretch Marks: nothing new

Sleep: with the help of some medicine I have slept like a little baby

Nausea or Queasy: of course... About 5 times or more this week and it ain't pretty.  Imagine me on all fours heaving over the toilet.  So so gross

Wedding rings on or off: off

Signs of labor: some cramping and contractions.  Just not as frequent as last week though 

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: no more procardia on Thursday!

Belly Button in or out: in... Barely. 

Movement: yes and lots of it. My belly rolls all over. 

Baby Dreams: I had a few breast feeding dreams this week.  

Complaints: am I done yet

Hospital visit #2

Well the baby girls thought that June 21st or June 22nd would have been a great day to make their debut into this world but my doctors thought otherwise.  I woke up Monday night with pain and cramping that was not going away so at 3:00 am Matt and I headed into the city to check things out.  I have to be a little extra cautious and give myself plenty of time to get to the hospital because we live in the suburbs and we have to drive all the way to the city for the delivery... I know I'm crazy for picking a doctor so far away but I'm only doing it because I fully trust my doctor there and didn't want to pick a new one when we moved to the burbs.  

Once we got to the hospital they did determine I was having contractions and as close as 4 minutes apart at one point.  They determined that the babies were safe and my cervix was not dilated (super hard to tell because I have a surgically placed band that prevents me from dilating) from what they could tell and I didn't need an emergency c-section.  34.3 week babies do great but if possible they wanted to keep them in a little longer.    So the plan was to just wait and see what happens. I was either going to fully go into labor or my body was going to stop them.  Well wouldn't you know... With a little help from medicine and iv fluids they slowed down.  So back home I went and now I am literally just taking it day by day to see when these little ladies want to pull a fast one and enter the world.   He said he would deliver me at 36, 37, or 38 weeks so I have just a tiny bit more to go.... 

I was not real happy the moment when the doctor told me they were just going to watch me and not deliver the babies... Hello contractions = pain and all they care about is the babies but not the mom.  I toughed it out.... I had a natural labor with my 22.5 week delivery so it wasn't nearly as bad as that and I knew I would be fine.  

So for the next week I am taking a medicine called procardia to hopefully help me get to 36 weeks.  The only downfall of this medicine.... It's making me swell and makes me tired.  The tired part I can live with, I can sleep to pass the time, but the swelling is annoying.  In Jenn fashion here are some pictures from my week.  

On a positive note we did have a growth scan and the girls are still growing!  Baby A is 5.01 pounds and in the 23rd % and Baby B is 4.13 pounds and in the 15th %.  So little but not small enough that they are worried about their growth!! 

 Pretending I don't really want this... Well kind of

 Look closely... You see the crease.  The beginning of cankles !!!

I didn't want my picture taken.  Matt didn't care.

Growing belly and happy to go home!

34 Weeks

  Hard to believe that I made it to 34 weeks.  After my little visit to the hospital a few weeks ago my doctor told me he would really like to see me get to 34 weeks but it was going to take some positive thinking and energy to get there.  He said 32 weeks is great but 34 weeks is just that much better.  Well here I am... 34 weeks and still going strong.                                        

Hard to tell in the picture but just this past week it feels like my stomach is starting to drop a little.  I have felt some pain and cramping here and there but nothing constant like I did before.  So perhaps these little ones will be here before July 18.  Matt and I are hoping that they come in about a week or two... We will see when tnI y make their entrance. 

Matt and I are enjoying the last little bit of time we have together as just us.  We went on an ice cream date and sat downtown along the river walk in Naperville.  We also hung a little book shelf in the girls room and have almost everything ready to go.  The only thing left is getting the hospital bag packed... We have everything in piles just not in the bag.  Here are some pictures from this weekend... 

 Here are the little shelves we hung.

Here is Matt trying to get ready for these girls making sure he is strong enough to lift all of our "stuff" 

And here I am hanging out on the couch where I spend most of my time these days!  

How Far Along: 34 weeks 2 days

Total weight gained:  41 pounds

Cravings: mint chocolate chip ice cream sounded amazing today

Stretch Marks: nothing new

Sleep: I have slept ok this week.  Just a lot of rolling from my left to my right side to get comfy.  My stomach is feeling really heavy.  I feel like I have a backpack of 35 pounds on my front. 

Nausea or Queasy: oh man ... I am my own enemy.  I brushed my teeth this morning and gagged myself and started liking yellow bile... That was fun.  Another new experience was barely making it as I picked up Matt from the train station.  I just pulled into the parking lot and puked in my mouth not once but twice.  I was able to drive far enough to reach a sewer grate and puked more into the sewer... That was an all time low.  

Wedding rings on or off: off

Signs of labor: some cramping here and there... Perhaps some light pelvic pressure.  

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: my doctor appointment on Thursday to see how much these girls have grown in the past couple of weeks

Belly Button in or out: in... Barely. 

Movement: yes and lots of it. My belly rolls all over. 

Baby Dreams: I had a weird dream yesterday.  I must have been subconsciously thinking about my fears of a c-section.  I had a dream that I was in Africa and having surgery in a tent.  I needed an emergent lung surgery and while I was having surgery there they told me they would just go ahead and fix my knee since I had also noted it was giving me problems.  Since I was in remote Africa they were not able to put me out so I was awake for the surgery.  After the lung surgery was over I started having intense pain in my knee because the pain medicine and drowsy medication started to wear off.  It was awful... I felt everything... And abruptly woke up. 

Complaints: just your typical complaints, swelling in fingers, back aches at night, night sweats, etc... Nothing too horrible this week

33 weeks

Well another week done and another week closer to the arrival of these baby girls.  Hard to say how many more weeks I'll go but as long as I continue to take it easy and they both are safe in the womb I actually could make it a few more weeks.... Maybe even to 38 weeks.  

The past week was pretty uneventful.  My mom stayed with me and "babysat" me while Matt worked.  I'm allowed one field trip per day ( per Matt) so my mom and I made the best out of our trips out.  Here I am taking advantage of Meijers Amigos....

My mom and I of course had to capture the moment.  I only took out one end cap but thankfully stopped in time so I didn't destroy anything. We stocked up on lots of supplies for the house, finished getting the rest of the baby things we needed, and washed and folded all the baby clothes. I finally feel like I'm ready I just need to officially pack my hospital bag and we will be set.

Matt and I had a low key weekend .... He had to fix my closet because my closet rack fell down (whoops) 

Thankfully he is handy enough and was able to properly put it back together.  We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the 90+ degree weather soaking in a mini kiddie pool we bought at Aldi.  Can't go wrong for $19.99.  Here's what I call a white trash pool and a totally enjoyable afternoon ! 

I've been a little lazy so I haven't gotten around to my 33 week belly picture but I think these do it justice!  

How Far Along: 33 weeks 3 days

Total weight gained:  38 pounds

Cravings: nothing this week

Stretch Marks: a tiny new on on my left upper butt cheek/ hip.  I thought it was scarring from all of my shots but after further examining I was wrong.... My first true baby battle wound or a sign that the "secretary spread" is happening to my booty.  

Sleep: I have been soo hot at night.  Holy third trimester night sweats.  I feel like I'm on mile 23 of 26 sometimes.  Poor Matt's covered in blankets and I'm barely clothed, no blankets, fan on high wanting to die of heat!  Might be a long few weeks with these high temperatures.

Nausea or Queasy: no pukies this week but I did wake up last night with some intense nausea.  The babies were kicking pretty hard and I think one of them got me pretty good, hard enough to wake me up.

Wedding rings on or off: off

Signs of labor: not really.

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: hitting 34 weeks

Belly Button in or out: in... Barely. 

Movement: yes and lots of it. My belly rolls all over. 

Baby Dreams: hmmm can't remember any

Complaints: I am experiencing some pretty intense fatigue again.  I felt like this in the beginning of my pregnancy and now it's back again.  So since I have the time I have been napping pretty hard (like 3.5 hour naps).  It's all in preparation for these baby girls though... When I'm not sleeping very much!  

3D ultrasound

I had my 33 week appointment this week which consisted of a non-stress test, biophysical profile ultrasound, and a doctor appointment.  The girls passed both tests and my doctors appointment went well, everything is status quo for now.  We even were able to finally get a good 3D image of one of the babies.  Usually they are smushed against each other or against their sac and the picture doesn't come out.  Only one of the babies cooperated but it's pretty cool.  

 Here is baby b.  Curled up with her feet by her head. Matt and I think she's pretty cute.  Look at those pouty little lips.  

The only thing we will need to continue to watch is the babies growth ... They didn't didn't measure their weight this time, in a few weeks.  We just need to keep them above the 10th percentile.  And this time baby B had some increased pressure on her umbilical cord so they will continue to monitor.  For now they are safe but if anything changes (no weight gain/growth) or the pressure increases they will be here before their July 18th due date.

32 Weeks

I did it.  I finally made it to my ultimate goal of reaching 32 weeks.  I'm not going to lie if you would have asked me a few months ago if this was actually going to happen I would have said no.  5 miscarriages, multiple failed rounds of ivf, bleeding in the early months of this pregnancy, and 1 hospitalization for pre-term labor I am still kicking and cannot believe it.  I have been so guarded this pregnancy only to protect my heart and emotions that it's actually coming to and end and I can't believe it. 

 I've had a few moments lately that really make it seem like Matt and I could actually be walking out of the hospital with our own babies pretty soon.  Setting up the nursery and having two little cribs in the room was a big moment for me.  I was sitting on the ground and looked up at the cribs and kind of thought holy shit, we are having not one but two babies.  Reaching 32 weeks and being far enough to allow my family to host a shower for us was huge.  I also had a moment with my aunt this weekend.  I was showing her the babies nursery and all of the cute little clothes the girls have accumulated.  She looked at me and said "can you even believe it, in only a few short weeks these precious little miracles will be here."  I couldn't even really respond, I just got super teary eyed and said no, not really its been such a long journey.  And a long jouney it has been but I'm trying my best to be happy and look forward to he next few weeks so I'm not a basket case in the delivery room.  I can't pro,ishe that I won't though. 

I had a doctors appointment last Thursday and the girls are both still doing well.  They are still on the small side 3.4 lbs (13th%) and 3.10 (20th%) so my doctor is going to monitor their growth pretty closely from here on out.  If they don't continue to gain weight than he babies might be here a little sooner.  If they are gaining weight and doing well than he will allow me to go longer.  So for now it's just week by week.  Here's my 32 week picture.  Oh and I have had a guest in my house this whole week.. Mom... Helping out so to honor all her hard work we took a picture of her too. 

   

 

How Far Along: 32 weeks 4 days

Total weight gained:  37 pounds 

Cravings: I am still craving that DQ blizzard... Maybe this weekend.

Stretch Marks: no new ones.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well minus sweating to death and peeing a few times throughout the night (thank you hormones)

Nausea or Queasy: yes... But I only puked 1 time this week!

Wedding rings on or off: off

Signs of labor: no just some. Easton nicks here and there 

Gender: 2 baby girls

Looking forward to: hitting 33 weeks.... One week at a time

Belly Button in or out: in... Barely. 

Movement: yes and lots of it. My belly rolls all over. 

Baby Dreams: hmmm can't remember any

Complaints: I am not miserable but by the end of the day I feel quite pregnant.