I have been super bad about blogging lately, but in my defense, I have been super busy getting ready for two little babies! However, given that I still get lots of questions, I thought I'd go back to the blog and start writing while I have a minute.
Q: How are you feeling?
A: Very, very pregnant. Overall, I think I'm doing well--I mean, I'm 30 weeks pregnant with twins and I'm still moving, so that's good, right? I feel tired a lot, especially since it's really hard to get comfortable enough to sleep. I try to squeeze in naps during the day, but that doesn't always work. My belly hurts a lot of the time, just from the weight of two babies and their placentas and everything. My ankles and feet are pretty swollen and sometimes it's hard to walk. I'm just worn out and have kinda hit the point where I wonder how I can keep doing this until they actually get here! Emotionally...I've also hit the hard stuff. It's been super fun doing baby showers and registries and shopping and things like that, but now that we've got most of that done, there's more time to worry about stuff--like, how the heck we pay for two babies, especially with me quitting my job, and whether or not I'll be able to breastfeed both of them and if they'll stay in there full term or decided to come early, etc. So, yeah, it's gotten harder mentally and emotionally just as much as it has physically. We're still super excited, but the fear/anxiety is starting to creep in, too. And those dumb hormones are making me cry a lot. (Not like every day, but definitely more than I have in earlier months in the pregnancy.)
Q: What's your due date again?/How far along are you?
A: Well, as of this moment I'm 29 weeks, 6 days along. I don't exactly have a due date. I know only like 3% of women deliver on their due date anyway, but with twins, it's even more random when they'll actually come. So...hopefully sometime in May. Forty weeks would be May 29, but we will not make it that far. 50% of twins are born by 36 weeks--which would be May 1 for us; full-term is 37 weeks (May 8). We're hoping for at least May 8, so it gives the babies' lungs and everything time to develop. The doctor hasn't given us an absolutely firm date, but he did say he wouldn't let me go to 40 weeks...which I was happy to hear. We have the added complication that we are pretty much all but guaranteed to have to have a c-section because I have marginal placenta previa and the odds of the placenta moving enough to deliver vaginally are not good.
Q:Do you have names yet?
A: No...and please stop asking! It's stressing me out! I am no closer to having names than I was last time I posted (in December). And...I wouldn't tell you the names anyway, so you don't really need to know if I have them picked out, right? So stop asking and just wait 'til they're born, please.
Q:How much longer are you going to work?
A: I have 4 more days of work, with 2 days off in there. Next Monday is my last day, which is kinda surreal. I've been at the library for nearly 4 years (plus an 8 month stint as page a couple years before that) and even though I'm ready to be done physically because it's hard doing anything these days, I'm not sure I'm ready emotionally and mentally. I have really great co-workers and it's going to be really weird not talking to them all the time. There are definitely certain parts of my job (like certain wacko patrons) that I won't miss, but overall, this is the best job I've ever had. I'm certainly looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom...but those weeks in between while I'm sitting around trying not to go into labor are a weird concept for me.
Q: Are you going to have to go on bed rest?
A: Um...not exactly, but close. Once I quit, I pretty much spend the next several weeks trying to not to have babies early. I'm allowed to get up, but my doctor said I should spend most of my time being horizontal. I asked him what I can do and he said, "Check your email and catch up on your chick flicks." We'll hash out more details at my appointment next week, but for now, I'm just looking forward to nap time, as many times a day as I want.
Q: How are the babies?
A: Good! They are healthy and growing. As of today, my little girl was 3.2 pounds and my little boy was 3.0 pounds. (They always flip flop who is bigger, though; last week he was bigger.) So that means I pretty much have the equivalent weight of one full-term baby inside me...and double the length. No wonder I'm huge! They are progressing nicely and I was told today that their hearts look great...which makes me happy, even though I don't know how exactly they know that. They're not super, super active (probably because they don't have enough room), but they're definitely doing some moving And no, I can't tell which one is which when they move, other than the fact that I know roughly which side they're on. So if I get kicked in the lower right side, it's probably the boy. Top left would probably be the girl, but that's not a common spot for me to feel movement. Any movement in the middle is anyone's guess. I did have a few minutes yesterday when I wondered if they were hitting each other because I kept feeling one movement followed very closely by a second movement...but then again, it could have just been one baby using two appendages.
Um...I think that's all for now. Plus, I'm hungry and have to go eat...again. (I'm getting a little tired of eating all the time!)
