36 weeks. . . and still pregnant!

I have mixed feelings about being pregnant at this point.  Obviously, the overwhelming emotion is gratitude to God for such a healthy and long twin pregnancy.  However, I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable, and ready for these babies to come on out!

My mom got here this past week, and she has been a tremendous help already.  It is so nice to get to visit with her and enjoy her company for a little while without the chaos of having twins around too.  She will be here till September 11th, so the little ones better show up before then!

I had a doctor's appointment today, and everything still looks great.  My cervix is still 80-90% effaced, and I am now dilated about 1.5 cm.  I have gained about 33 lbs. so far.  Babies are still growing well.  Baby A is 6 lb. 5 oz.  Baby B is 5 lb. 12 oz.  I will have my cerclage removed next week, so I am hoping that if they haven't come by then, that the cerclage removal will help get things going.

I am feeling uncomfortable almost all the time.  It hurts to sit too long or stand too long.   I am not sure how my feet could possibly be more swollen.  By the end of the day, I feel like I am walking on balloons that are about to pop.  I still have a hard time sleeping, and wake up usually every hour or two.  Some nights, I have to come sit on the couch and be completely upright in order to be comfortable.  I can't sleep in a recliner because even that is really painful.  I usually just sit there and then realize I have fallen asleep still mostly sitting up and then try to go lay back down in bed to see if that will be comfortable again or maybe I will just be too tired to notice my discomfort laying down.  For whatever reason, my joints get really stiff and painful at night, so when I get up, my hips literally have to "pop" back into socket before I can walk or turn over or anything.  When they pop back into place it is really painful.  Ryan said he woke up one morning and watched me as I tried to turn over in a half asleep state.  He said it took me about a minute and a half to just turn over and that I was making faces and noises of pain that he hadn't seen since I was in labor with Sally!  Ha!

It sounds like I am complaining a lot, but this is just the reality of my daily life!  I really am so thankful that my mom is here because during the day, when normally I would be solely responsible for the girls, she is making it possible for me to take naps and just rest in general when I need to as well as get some "nesting" tasks done.

The next post I do will hopefully be when the babies are born!  Hard to believe!  If I am still pregnant at 39 weeks, I will do one more post like this.  I sure hope I don't have to though :)

Maternity/Family Pictures

A wonderful friend took these pictures for us.  If you are in the Wichita area looking for a photographer, she actually has her own photography business.  Let me know if you would like her contact information.  I just loved so many of these, but here are a few of my favorites.

34 weeks

Well,  today might not be the best day to write this post about how I am feeling at 34 weeks since I got no sleep last night and have been feeling crappy/grumpy all day.  But, I went to the doctor today, and I am waiting for the girls to settle down and sleep so I can take a nap, so I guess now is as good a time as any.

Here I am!  About to pop!  Or so it feels.  I am measuring completely full term for a single baby, and as I waddled into my appointment today, a lady said, "You look like you are DUE!"  Why, yes, and I feel like it too.  My doctor thinks I might still eek out a good 2-3 weeks before they come, and for their sake, I hope so too.  Baby A weighs 5 lb. 15 oz.  Baby B weighs 5 lb 1 oz.  65th and 37th percentiles.  That is almost a pound difference between them, but their movement, fluid, and breathing are all good, and they are within normal range, so it isn't a concern to the doctor.  My cervix is dilated one cm, and I am 80% effaced.  That really doesn't mean a whole lot to me though since I went for several weeks pregnant with Sally and dilated about 5 cm and 90% effaced.  There ARE two babies in there now, so I guess that might make a difference.  We'll see.

As far as weight goes, the babies sound (to most people) like they are big enough to be born any time.  However, weight is really not the first concern when determining whether a baby is ready to be born or not.  I remember when Sophie was in the hospital, people kept asking, "How much does she weigh now?  How much does she have to weigh in order to come home?"  The bigger concerns are that they have mature respiratory systems, that they can eat well enough on their own in order to gain weight, and that they can maintain their body temperature without assistance.  So, those are the main things I am hoping will be taking place as they continue to develop over the next few weeks.  My goal is September 1st or later, but we'll see what happens.

I am feeling pretty tired of this pregnancy.  I hardly ever sleep well.  I am up and down all night long either in the bathroom or sitting on the couch.  My stomach discomfort (digestive system, that is) is what keeps me up, mainly.  That and my squished bladder.  Oh, and children who still randomly wake up at night asking for milk or wanting to sleep in our bed.  They usually do sleep well, but when they don't it just adds to my frustration if I have just fallen asleep.  The babies kick me a LOT!  It used to be sweet and fun, but now it is painful!  There is one spot on my ribs that is always kicked, and it is getting really sore.  My feet are really swollen, at least the past couple of days.  I have some joint (mainly hip) pain, but overall, that hasn't been nearly so bad this pregnancy.  I am in full nesting mode, wanting to get all kinds of things done, but lacking the physical ability to do it most of the time.  Thankfully, a good friend has been coming over to help me get some things done.  She mopped our entire upstairs floors yesterday, and I kept telling Ryan how excited I was that all the floors were clean AT THE SAME TIME!!!!  I usually only can do one room before I have to stop.  Ryan has been helping a lot too, but he works, so his free time isn't as open to help me.

And, to end on a good note, some sweet friends from church surprised me last weekend with a pedicure, a delicious lunch, and movie watching time while we made some super cute bows for the twins.  I had no idea they were doing it, and it made me feel so loved!!  I am so thankful for our church and the way they have served us and taken care of us!

Next post I do, I will share some maternity/family pictures that a wonderful friend from church took for us.  I was thrilled with how well they came out!  The picture at the top is one she took.  I wish I had been looking at the camera too, but that is the best one of the four of us.  Hard to get little ones to cooperate at the same time!