Nothing scheduled...

I had a sonogram and doctor's appointment yesterday. I saw my actual doctor who I'll continue seeing now through the end.

The sonogram was great but sad because it's likely our last one until delivery day in the hospital (to make sure they're in the right position for delivery). We still can't believe it but the girls' estimated weight is 6 pounds each! Even if that estimate is on the high side they still should be well over 5 pounds which is great! So we're excited about that.

We got to see their faces again and it makes us so excited to meet them; they are adorable and have round cheeks! They also look more alike in these pictures than they did at the last ultrasound. The technician let us watch the girls in 4D so it's like watching a live video of them - Rylie kept sticking out her toungue and Addison nose was getting pressed against something and was squished down. They are so tight in my belly right now.

I talked with my doctor about how at my last appointment, the doctor I saw seemed to be recommending that I opt for a c-section and I wanted to get his opinion on that. I was definitely considering it based on the risks I was told, the intense amount of work it will be to push out 2 babies and the fact that I would schedule it at like 7:30 and have my babies by 7:45!! But my doctor said he felt that there's no reason I shouldn't try to deliver them like I've wanted to all along and that he thought I could definitely do it. He also said that there are risks but since I'll already be in the operating room, everything will be set up for an emergency c-section already and that they are prepared for anything that may come up. He also said that the recovery for a c-section will be much longer for me and that won't be any fun with 2 newborns to care for.

So I feel much better and am sticking with my original plan to deliver them. The negative side of this is that he said it's much better to let things happen naturally so we didn't get to schedule anything!! Each doctor is different so it was weird to hear last week that that doctor would let me schedule a date next week to be induced or have a c-section but my doctor wants me to keep waiting. The longest he'll make me wait is 38 - 38 1/2 weeks so that is about 2 weeks or less from now. And he said there's a good chance I'll go before that on my own.

I have been having lots of contractions still and though sometimes they are coming 8 minutes or so apart, after awhile they slow down instead of coming closer. So I'm just suffering through this and hoping this doesn't go on for the next couple weeks - hopefully it's the start of it all and that it means we'll be having babies in the next few days!

I have slept so much these past 2 days. I had been having trouble sleeping at night or napping during the day the past week or two. I think getting to see my doctor yesterday and his opinion on everything has made things in my head settle down a little too so that has helped. I just feel so tired all the time.

We're getting the final things ready for them to arrive and cleaning everything one last time. It seems like there is always more we find that should be done before they're here. I want to go out to dinner this week sometime too since I feel like it may be a long time until we get to do that after they're born!

Hopefully we'll have some news soon...

I can't grow anymore

I have gotten so big over these past few weeks. I have a sonogram tomorrow and am thinking the girls must be well past 5 pounds at this point for me to have grown so much so fast. I am looking forward to hearing their estimated weights and seeing them again...hopefully this is my last doctor's appointment!

At my last appointment the doctor that I saw said that I can schedule to be induced or have a c-section between 37 & 38 weeks. I'll finish week 37 on Sunday so I think sometime next week we'll have babies! I see my own OB tomorrow who has the final say on when I can schedule so depending on what he says will I guess decide when we can schedule. It's so close yet still a ways away but there's always the chance that I'll go before the scheduled date as well...

During week 35 I spent 2 different days back in the hospital for contractions. Tuesday the 8th I got no sleep b/c i had contractions all night long. I called the doctor's office around 5 and she said I could go right to the hospital or come in to the doctors office 1st thing around 7:30. I opted to go to the doctor's office and they did a non stress test and sent me over to the hospital anyways b/c one of the baby's heart rate wasn't reactive - it's supposed to fluctuate up and down so many beats in a certain time frame and hers wasn't doing that.

At the hospital they monitored the girls and after an hour or so both heart rates were fluctuating properly so they gave me a medicine - Terbutaline - to stop the contractions. It kicked in and I went home a few hours later with a prescription to take 4 times a day until I finished week 36.

On Saturday night the contractions started up again and were coming 6 minutes apart and they were by far the most intense I had ever had. So we went back to the hospital around midnight where they gave me another shot of the Terbutaline. My contractions started coming 3-4 minutes apart so they gave me another shot and about an hour later a pill form of the same medicine.

It slowed down the contractions finally but the side effects of the medicine is that it makes you feel jittery, shaky and your heart races so that much in such a short time for me made me feel like crawling out of my skin. I could not lay still and my eyes and legs were twitching, it was so weird. It was such a relief to finally head home and I slept most of the day Sunday after getting no sleep during the night.

So this past Sunday I finished 36 weeks and took my last Terbutaline pill. If I would go in to labor now they wouldn't stop it and they're no longer trying to prevent it. It's been 2+ days and though I've had contractions, they're not consistent or super intense so for now we're just waiting. After tomorrow we should be able to schedule something and know the absolute last day of this misery.

I'm having an awful time sleeping - part of it is I'm not really comfortable and I think a lot of it is my mind is constantly moving...and the hourly bathroom breaks don't make for a good night's sleep either. I feel like I function pretty well for not getting much sleep so I think it's been good preparation for the girls' arrival.

My cousin Jes was over with her new baby today and he slept for nearly the entire time she was here...made it look easy. I hope we get atleast one baby that is content and loves to sleep and I wouldn't mind if both were "easy" babies!

I'll update tomorrow with what my doctor says.

Hospital visits, massage and stretch marks!

33 weeks in white shirt, 34 weeks in the black shirt

So much has happened over the last few weeks...

Shortly after my last post, I got the flu and had to go into the hospital for a couple days because I got dehydrated. I looked and felt so awful and the dehydration brought on contractions. The day after I was discharged from the hospital, I started having stronger, more frequent, contractions. So Nichole took me to the hospital after work where I stayed a few hours where they monitored the babies and rehydrated me. I've heard that many people who have had twins have had to be in the hospital from week 20 - 30 (or whenever they delivered) to be monitored constantly on bedrest. I feel so bad for them! It was miserable being there; not being in my own bed, having the nurses flip the lights on every two hours in the middle of the night, and hooked up to monitors constantly!

During my 2nd hospital visit, I noticed a weird mark on my belly near my belly button and I asked the nurse if it was a stretch mark. She said it looked like it was! I was disappointed and she said, "Really? did you think you were going to have twins and not have stretch marks?" and I said, "Yes, I was hoping!" Since then, around my belly button, I've gotten several and they've gotten bigger and darker. I keep slathering on the lotion, as I have the ENTIRE pregnancy, but it only does so much. Now I'm hopeful they'll go away over time...

One thing I am looking forward to about going back to the hospital is the food was really good. Before I was discharged on Wednesday, I had turkey and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was delish! AND the nurse let me have chocolate ice cream! MMM!

Ever since then, I've been having contractions daily. Thankfully so far I'm not dialating - I just need to be drinking more water. So now I've been chugging as much as I can stand.

The only good thing about the hospital visit was that it got me a sonogram 2 weeks ahead of my next scheduled sonogram. Since Rylie hasn't been facing forward, we haven't seen her face since March. So before we went in, Eric told Rylie that she better show her face or she was going to get a spankin'! And the threatening worked! We got to see her face and she looked like she was scowling - she's a sassy girl!

Even better news is that she had rotated and was head down again! We're really excited about that because the doctors require both girls be in this position for me to deliver vaginally.

I've had two doctors appointments since that sonogram and they both are still head down! We pray they will stay that way! Another exciting milestone we learned at the sono is that both girls' estimated weight is just over 4 pounds!

The doctors have told me that I need to start counting their movements daily. Rylie definitely meets her quota well before the day begins. Addison, however, moves much less and sometimes has me worried. But I was reassured at this last appointment as the doctor said Rylie is overactive, not that Addison is "under-active".

We can't wait to see if their personalities after birth match how they are now. Rylie is active and wild and Addison is restful and calm. We still love to watch their movements in my belly. Sometimes we can figure out which body part it is, other times, we have no clue. Because Rylie is so active, she gives everyone who touches her a little kick!

Because my blood sugar levels were high, the doctor had me start taking a pill called Glyburide. At first it made me sick because the dosage was too high. It made my sugar levels super low which made me shaky, dizzy, and sweaty. So now I take only a quarter of a pill and it has regulated my blood sugar and it's been at much more reasonable levels most of the time. I have a few high readings once in a while, but it's when I know I've been eating things I shouldn't have eaten.

Last week, Lori treated me to a pregnancy massage. It was so heavenly, I scheduled another one for this week! My back and body ache so much and during the massage, it was the first time in forever where I felt comfortable and not miserable. I wish that I would have gotten one (or a few!) sooner.

At last Tuesday's appointment, the doctor gave me some good news that previously I had dreaded. Now, because I feel so miserable, I willingly accept his advisement that I stop working. So Friday, June 4th, at nearly 34 weeks, was my last day of work. When I left that day, I was really sad and sentimental because I'll be off for nearly 3 months and will miss my co-workers and the work. But, it will be so nice to not have to get up and ready in the mornings and be uncomfortable all day. Rather, I can just rest and relax and wait for the babies.
Though I'm looking forward to a couple weeks of rest and getting last minute things prepared, I'm hopeful that this doesn't stretch into weeks and weeks of waiting.

At my doctor's appointment today, she told me to have my bags packed and, though there's no reason to think I'll go really early, the normal twin pregnancy doesn't last much longer than where I'm at now so it could be any time. We're definitely ready and really excited!