37 Weeks with Twins

37 weeks and still going strong...wait, strong may be an over statement.  I am whipped!! 

Since my last update I have hit my limit, I have had many breakdowns thinking I just cannot do this anymore. Yet, I have managed to make it another week.  In my last post I wrote about having some pain near my c-section scar, I believed it was scar tissue.  Last Tuesday that pain got much worse and I could barely walk, after a visit with my doctor we learned that I have a hernia.  It's fairly common for pregnant women to get a hernia during pregnancy.  I have trudged along, thanks to Tylenol! I will have the hernia repaired during my c-section with the twins.

That wasn't the end of week 36 surprises though, I had been dealing with very itchy belly and stretch marks as I also mentioned in my last post.  Well I noticed that itchiness started to spread to my legs, chest and arms. PUPPPS rash! It's the most horrid thing ever! I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I find myself awake numerous times at night just itching and scratching.  I guess it's a good way to prepare for night feedings with the boys. I am basically sucking it up and using an antihistamine and Sarna Lotion to cope. From what I have read it should go away about a week after delivery. Fingers crossed!

I have read that it's smart to keep the babies in the same infant carrier, mainly to cut down on any illness if one were to come down with something.  It obviously won't stop it from happening but it can help.  I saw lots of people using ribbons tied on the carrier, pink for the girl and blue for the boy. Uh, doesn't help when you are having same sex twins.  So I decided to use the same concept but paint their names on the ribbon.  Picture below!  It should also help if they end up looking a lot alike.

I had an ultrasound this morning, it was pretty much impossible to see much at this point. They are both head down and quite cramped.  According to the u/s Baby A is measuring 6lbs. 6 oz. and Baby B is measuring 6lbs. 10 oz.  I can't believe it and I don't think my doctors can either, of course these are only estimates of very crowded babies so we will see.  

No signs of delivery at this point so we are planning to have them on Tuesday morning, July 2nd at 7:30am. That has been my scheduled date for a month now. 

FIVE days until we become a party of 5!!

32 Weeks with Twins

               View from my NST's.

Not much has changed since my last update other than being another week farther along. 32 weeks was another milestone for me, at this point in my pregnancy my doctors and I are just hoping for another two weeks at a time. My next goal is 34 weeks, if I can get to 34 then the percentage of possible issues and NICU time will drop significantly.  Next week I have a growth ultrasound scheduled where we can see how big they are and how much room/ fluid they have. 

Fatigue has returned, it's horrible in the first trimester and returns again in the third.  So if you call or text me and I don't respond right away it's probably because I am snoozing!

31 Weeks with Twins

I can't believe we are getting down to the last few weeks before our baby boys will be here. It brings all kinds of emotions, we are excited, anxious, scared and the list goes on.  

Quick update on what is happening at this point, at 28 weeks I failed my 1 hour glucose test. Yay for me, this meant I got to do the 3 hour glucose test.  I had the same scenario when pregnant with Madelyn but I passed the 3 hour test with  her, this time I wasn't so fortunate.  I guess it's more common to get gestational diabetes with fraternal twins because I have two placentas, something about hormones and having to regulate 3 people. I now monitor my blood sugar 4 times a day and have a specific diet to follow, I also take a small dose of insulin in pill form twice a day.

Last week I started twice weekly Non- Stress Tests (NST) at the hospital. I go to labor and delivery and the nurses hook me up to two fetal heart rate monitors and a contraction monitor for an hour.  They are watching for contractions but more importantly they want to see both babies heart rates fluctuate by 15 beats per minute over the baseline for 15 seconds.  My first NST was a little difficult because it was hard to determine two seperate heart beats, they were very similar and the nurse felt she kept getting Baby A's heartrate and Baby B wouldn't stay still.  She eventually got it and both babies passed. 

I will also see my doctor in the office once a week from here on out. This is to see how I am doing and monitor my blood pressure for any signs of preeclampsia and pre-term labor.

Many people ask how I am feeling, I have really tried not to complain (except to Adam) because I know how fortunate we are to be having another baby, let alone two. I have been doing well overall but at 30 weeks something changed and this got a lot harder.  Both babies are very low and putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis and bladder. Some days I feel like I might as well hang out in the bathroom. Sleeping is becoming much more difficult and uncomfortable, I can't seem to find a good position and as soon as I do, I wake up to use the bathroom. As most of you know I am only 5'3" on a good day so the babies have no place to go but straight out, this is causing increased back and hip pain. All in all I am trying to stay positive, I know it will all be worth it when we see our boys faces for the first time!!