False Labor and almost 38 weeks

Well, last Saturday night, I had my first experience with false labor.  My doctor told me not to "dilly dally" in getting to the hospital if I had regular contractions at least 5 min. apart for an hour.  Since my cerclage was still placed at the point, then my cervix was at risk for tearing if I started to dilate much.  I definitely wanted to avoid that, so to the hospital we went.  I was also having a lot of shaking, as if I were really cold.  I thought that was unusual, so I figured I probably was in labor.  Once a the hospital, the contractions continued regularly, but then slowly tapered off.  I was so disappointed when the doctor told me I could go home.  My doctor wasn't on call, so I guess it is good that I still have the chance to have him deliver the babies.  He IS on call this weekend, so hopefully they will come then.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday to have my cerclage removed (not fun), and then came back today for a sonogram and just to talk to him about what is to come in the next week.  Babies hadn't grown much. A is 6 lb. 5 oz. still, and B was up to 5 lb. 14 oz.  They are both still head down (yay!) which means that a vaginal delivery is still quite possible.  Today, the doctor told me that I should plan for that, but wanted me to be aware that a c-section might end up happening, depending on how the babies do.  Apparently, when you are this far along in a twin pregnancy, labor can go a little more slowly and inefficiently.  So, if the babies tolerate a longer labor, and as long as my body keeps labor going enough to be productive, then a normal delivery shouldn't be a problem.  If their heart rates drop, if the second baby turns, or if my body isn't handling labor well, then I might have to have a c-section.  My next appointment (hopefully I won't have to keep it!) is on Tuesday.  I'll have a sonogram again and then the doctor will "strip my membranes" and perhaps stretch my cervix.  Sounds like a blast.

I am trying to stay positive and content during this waiting period, but it is tough!  I have to remind myself that I am THANKFUL to have progressed this far, even though it is so tough on my body. I said my goal was to make it to September 1st, which I have!  I am praying that they come sometime during this week or weekend.  My mom's birthday is on Saturday, and my sister's is on Sunday, so one of those days would be a great day for them to come.  I am also praying for a smooth and safe delivery with no c-section.  This weekend, we are scheduling a date night (thanks for the idea Ashleigh!), so that if we have no babies, we'll at least have something to look forward to.  My mom's flight leaves on Wednesday, so I am really hoping they come before then!  She has been such a blessing to us this whole time, and I would be so sad if she had to leave before meeting the twins.

And finally, on a funnier note, I am noticing that I am the object of quite a bit of public staring.  My close friends will tell you that I am not the best at hiding my own staring at someone else, and I can now see why this is a problem!  Today this girl at the Y totally stared me down the whole way as I walked toward where she was sitting and then turned her head to watch me walk away from her.  It was MORE than obvious.  There are lots more incidences of more subtler staring wherever I go.  People ask me when I am due all the time.  I think I need to wear a sign that says, "Yes, I do know that I look very pregnant." or "You don't have to stare."  I guess I should get used to more attention out in public though, since I have been warned that people flock to twins like crazy, and that you can't get much done as far as shopping, etc. without having to talk to lots of people about your twins.

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!

Sally at 2 1/2 years old

 

Sally is just too cute for words and FULL of personality.  I just wanted to remember some things she is doing at this fun and challenging age.

She is STRONGLY opinionated about EVERYTHING.  She makes all kinds of very funny and expressive faces.  Her angry or disgruntled faces are the funniest.  She wants to do everything herself, in contrast to her sister, who almost always prefers to get help from us to do things.  If I try to help her buckle her seatbelt on her carseat when she wants to do it, she will say, "No mommy, that is MY job!"  She is very willful and can be very defiant.  She will scream, "No! I don't want to!" if we tell her to do something that doesn't seem very fun at the moment.  However, if she is sent to her room, she will usually emerge from it in about a minute saying, "I'm sorry for ____.  I am ready to be nice now."

She is very affectionate, as she has always been.  When either of us starts to leave the house without telling her goodbye, she runs after us saying, "Wait!  I want to give you a hug and a kiss!!"   She also still loves to be held and rocked.  She asks me on a pretty regular basis, "Mom, will you rock me and sing rock a bye baby?"  Who could say no to that?!  She always closes her eyes when I do it and moans these little fake cries to imitate a baby, I guess.  It is really cute.

She and Sophie are getting along better these days.  They still have their fair share of fights, but they are learning to play together more cooperatively.  One of the phrases most often heard around here is, "Hey, Soph!  I know what we can do!  Let's play. . . (long pause) Blocks!!!"  (or whatever activity sounds appealing).  They can be very sweet and caring toward one another if one gets hurt.  "Oh, you hurt your leg Sophie?  Are you ok?  Here, I will give you a kiss."  It is fun to see them affirming each other in the same way that we affirm them when they show us something they have done.  "Look Sally, look at my castle!"  Then Sally responds, "Oh, wow.  That's a great castle Sophie!"

She is growing like a weed!  94th percentile for height and 91st for weight.  She is like a constant ball of energy.  Always running, always bumping into things.  I have to watch out for her since I am pregnant and she is likely to hurt me if she bumps into my stomach too hard.  All of her movements are SO not gentle or slow or unintentional.  We started calling her "the wrecking ball" when she was a baby, and that is still a good description of her.  She has to jump everywhere--off of the potty, out of the chair, even getting dressed she will jump as she puts each leg into her pants or panties.

She has a very outgoing personality, and seems to have mo problem hanging out with new kids.  

She loves to play outside, swim, play with play-doh, color, play with blocks, dress up, and create a gymnastics center out of the furniture and couch cushions in the living room.  She has NO fear of "big kid" activities.  We took them to a bounce house type facility one day, and Sally was in heaven!  She did not stop running for about 2 hours straight except to ask for water.  She was up and down the 20 feet high slide all by herself before I even knew where she went.  I feel like she needs this kind of activity on a daily basis just to get all of her energy out!

She is a major night owl, and is usually awake till at least 10:00 every night.  We put them to bed around 9-9:30, but she usually sits in her room and sings or plays for a while.  She wakes up anywhere between 7:30 and 9 and takes a nap for at least a couple of hours every day.

Potty training is hit or miss with her.  For a while she was doing great, but she broke her leg and had to have a thigh high cast, forcing us to use diapers again for a while.  She has transitioned back to panties now, but doesn't seem so great at telling us when she needs to go all the time.  She'll get there soon though, I think.

She is not a picky eater, and her favorite foods are probably avocados, yogurt, cheese, broccoli (she asks for it sometimes before bedtime--cracks us up), ice cream, nectarines, bananas, really any kind of fruit.

Sometimes, I can't believe how old she seems already!  Her speaking abilities easily match Sophie's, and she is just so independent!  She is such a precious blessing!

Here she has a splint on her leg.  It was just a day or two after she broke it, and she hadn't gotten her cast yet.

typical Sally-the entertainer, typical Sophie-entertained by Sally

I LOVE watching her sleep.

silly girl

One of her late night activities that she wanted to show us--playing  dress up instead of sleeping.

Whoa Baby! 32 weeks!

Here I am at 32 weeks, looking more like I am about to give birth than that I have a good 5-6 weeks (we hope!) left.  In fact, every time I go somewhere out of the house, people comment on how big I am looking and ask when I am due (assuming I will say any day now).  It is a little annoying to have to constantly answer those questions, but I understand that I look bigger than normal. 

I have been feeling more and more uncomfortable, mostly because of digestive/stomach issues.  I already have IBS, and so being this pregnant plus being unable to engage in vigorous physical activity kind of exacerbates all of those issues.  I am not really sleeping well.  Getting up to empty my bladder every 2 hrs or so plus stomach issues keep me awake a lot.  When I am not having these issues though, I feel pretty good.  I am just pretty slow getting around.  I was walking into the grocery store the other day, and a man looked at me sympathetically and asked, "How are you doing today?"  I think he could tell I was having trouble just making it across the parking lot.  I am imagining that the next few weeks for me will hold fewer and fewer outings and activities.

As far as doctor appointments, things are still going well.  I found out I do NOT have gestational diabetes!  Praise the Lord!  My last appointment was at 30 weeks, and I got to see the babies on a sonogram.  They were both still head down (which explains why I feel most movement on my upper left side--all four feet are there!).  Baby A weighed 3 lb. 6 oz. and Baby B weighed 3 lb. 2 oz.  They are in the 37th and 43rd percentiles for weight, so they are pretty normal size.  My doctor said my cervix is starting to thin a little because one baby's head is right on it, but the cerclage is holding it all together well still.  He didn't seem too concerned.  I have another appointment in a week, and then after that, I will see him every week AND have a sonogram every week. 

It is funny how differently you approach pregnancy and getting ready for baby after you have had one (or more!) already.  There are still some things we need to buy (most importantly, a carseat! so we can take both babies home!) and we still haven't really figured out the whole sleeping situation and when we will transition the babies to a bedroom and have the older girls share a room.  We still need a second crib (maybe?) I still haven't bought more cloth diapers.  I haven't gone through any of the baby stuff/breast pump stuff to wash it and see what we might need more of.  Basically, I haven't done anything!  And the babies really could come any time now.  But I am not too stressed out about it.  Honestly, I have been more concerned about getting our household projects and garage sale preparation completed than anything.  And then taking care of Sally and Sophie all day kind of gets in the way of any organizing/preparing for the babies.  We did have some very nice things lent to us from a friend who has 9 month old twins, which I am SO thankful for.  It will all come together when it needs to, I am sure.

If you think to pray for us, pray that the babies and I will continue to be healthy and that the babies will go full term.  Also, pray for our financial situation as we sort out how to pay for all our insurance deductibles.

Bathroom Renovations

We are SO excited to finally be done with our bathroom.  There are a few little details we need to finish up.  But, for all practical purposes, it is done!  All we need to do is add a row of rectangular tiles to the top of the shower (just like the ones that line the side).  They didn't have enough in stock when we first tiled.   We also need to caulk in a few places and touch up some paint.

My parents were SO generous to come and spend a week here to help us.  My dad and Ryan worked on the bathroom, and my mom landscaped our front flower beds (will do a separate post for that) and helped me with the girls.  Not only did they offer their manual labor, but they also funded the cost of all our renovations!  Wow!  We had planned on doing it anyway, but when they offered to pay for it, we were blown away and so thankful.

The before pictures of the bathroom really give you an idea of what the whole house was like before we fixed it up.  They are almost embarrassing to share, but they really make the new bathroom seem like a MAJOR upgrade (which it is).

 

I just love how clean and bright it feels.  All total, it took us three weeks to finish.  The first week, they worked pretty much nonstop.  The second and third week, we took our time a little more.  We have learned that projects always take 2-3 times longer than you think.   My dad helped us with some major plumbing stuff that we wouldn't have been able to do on our own, and my handy husband was able to deal with some pretty irritating plumbing issues under the sink all on his own!  I am so proud of him for learning as he goes with all our household projects.