Peri Appointment #3,294,544....

and counting...

today my little man's cord was doing the same 'ol same 'ol...which is "okay" for now. But when we looked at his sister for little breathing movements, she was just "breathing" away...and he was not. The tech told us he had thirty minutes to "breathe" for 30 seconds...so don't worry!

Yeah he "breathed" for maybe five seconds.

Lovely.

So mommy and daddy got to go do a NST (non stress test) for 40 minutes and got the pants nearly scared off of them when they were told that if he didn't pass the test, they would have their birthday TODAY.

Okay I know that one of these times I go I will probably get that news....but it's still scary!! Try to stay in until 34 weeks little ones...please??

Yeah the kids both passed (PHEW) so we were sent on our merry way. We have to do an NST every time we go (twice a week) now...and won't do another growth scan until Tuesday so I have to wait to see how much I'm lugging around :o)

Since our appointment went an hour over schedule we could not go swimming...I had to grab lunch and go to work. It was a great half day...and it felt so weird leaving...for "good". But as I left I could feel the stress peel off of me...which was a wonderful feeling...especially with my little man's new "diagnosis"...it just let me know that "yeah...you should not be working now...focus on you and your little guys!"

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

44 weeks...

Or at least that's what my belly is measuring at 32 weeks...NICE.

First I gotta send out some LOVE to Carol (fellow mommy preggo with b/g twins) for knitting these ADORABLE hats for my little ones..these are so going in the hospital bag so they can rock them at the hospital...way too cute!!

Here is one of my students' interpretations of how I look right now! :o)

And the belly is measuring a little over 48 inches...nice...

Please ignore the double chin...there I am in all my glory...still no stretch marks...okay...none on the belly anyways...I have four on my heinie...on the sides...but thankfully its under the panties so that means a bathing suit would cover them too!! (BTW I totally bought a swimsuit on sale...a PREGGO suit...if this is the only time I get to be preggo...I want to experience it ALL...and I hear swimming is divine and helps with swelling! I get to go with hubby tomorrow after my dr. appointment! YAY!)

Ahh...yeah cover that thing up girl! :o)

My husband has quite the manly job...but he left his shoes at work...so he decided to wear MY PINK CROCS TO WORK...and wasn't home when I left...so I was frantically trying to find anything that fit my enormous feet...ended up wearing flip flops...it wasn't pretty.

*****SO GLAD TOMORROW IS MY LAST DAY OF WORK*****

And its our 100th day of school, so it will be a fun filled day (well...I'll only enjoy half of it because I get to take a half day so I can go to my specialist appointment.

The past specialist appointment went well...nothing new to report...except BOTH my kids have hair...unbelievable...my whole family (and DH's family) were baldies when we were born...wonder if its dark hair or light?? Guess we'll see SOON... :o)

Just a quick update...

No new news from the specialist appointment yesterday...baby boy's cord is still functioning the same way. The good thing is that he said the blood isn't stopping every time his heart beats, so that tells him we shouldn't have to worry about me having the kids TOO soon. I still need to pack my hospital bag this weekend I think.

Yikes!

Interesting...

No real news to report...just had an OB appointment today...cervix still 5cm...

But...I saw a new OB today (I see a different one nearly every time) and when he saw my ankles he was like "Oh wow...we're getting a little puffy aren't we? Make sure you're drinking lots of fluids so you won't retain so much water."

I was like "Um...well that's hard when you're teaching kindergarten and have to pee every fifteen minutes as it is."

"You're still working??! How far along are you? 31 weeks?? We usually take our twin moms out of work at 28 weeks!!"

Hmmmm...that would have been nice to know...THREE WEEKS AGO!!!

I told him I am definitely getting tired but I was kindof waiting for them to say something...like if my cervix looks bad or something. He said that everything looked great but whenever I needed a note to get out of work he'd write it right up!

I also asked if me not working would be better for my baby boy and he said to definitely consult the specialist....but obviously it wouldn't hurt because me laying down increases the blood flow to the babies.

The specialist only made that one little comment..but didn't demand I leave work then so I guess if he's okay with it I'll see how I do this next week and play it by ear. We shall see.

Okay...that's all for today...specialist appointment 8:30am tomorrow. Oh boy!

Appointment...

After my first day back to work after nearly a week and a half off I went to see the specialist.

We had the last appointment of the day so everyone was ready to get out of there. Not the best when you're trying to figure out what's wrong with your little man! But I did get to see the doctor that I LOVE and he actually sat down with us and explained things...so here's what he said:

First of all....he wants to see me TWICE a week now. He said he is a "paranoid old man" and just wants to keep any eye on things. He said he doesn't want me to freak out because both my kiddos are thriving right now. If things were really bad some red flags would be 1) low amniotic fluid 2) low birth weight.

He said that when the heart beats, blood flows through the umbilical cord. Baby boy has high blood pressure in his cord, so when his heart beats, it pushes the blood and in the second it doesn't beat, the blood stands still (when it should still be moving) because of the pressure pushing from the other side. They are concerned when the blood starts backing up...in which case he said we would take the babies out right then.

Ahhh...NOW it all is clear. Way more clear than "functioning abnormally"...how deliciously vague. I am going to personally request the doc that I love from now on...forget Mr. Vagueness. From the sounds of it he wants to keep a personal eye on my little guy and said (probably because I was lookin' a little scared) "We aren't going to let anything happen to that little boy...we are going to keep a close eye on him...don't worry!"

He said that normally this is something they would see in twins who share a placenta, but for some reason my boy has this issue. He said we may never know what's causing it.

In lighter more enjoyable news...my baby boy has hair! DH and I (and our siblings) were bald as bald can be when we came out...but the u/s tech said there was definitely some hair on that little guys head! Too funny. We'll see what's going on when he comes out!

My sister came in town for the appointment and is now helping me out around the house (vacuuming the stairs...carrying laundry downstairs)...what a great sister!! :o)

I go back to the specialist Friday morning (thank goodness for our two hour delays for the rest of the week!!!

When I told the doctor I am a teacher he asked me what grade and when I said kindergarten his eyes got big and with a smile on his face he said...

"Oh wow...we're going to have to figure out a way to get you out of that soon!"

I told him "Yes please, any time." *wink*

Ooooh swollen piggies...

How in the world am I supposed to go to work (WITH SHOES ON, IN WINTER) when I sit on my heinie and my feet get THIS BIG??!! Okay I didn't sit on my heinie all day...I went to the baby store for an hour...then I just got back from babysitting my friend's little 10 week old...but I didn't stand much there either! GOOD GRIEF. I just need to keep chugging that water I guess...but can a girl use the bathroom any MORE??!! I'm tempted to flush every three times I go because our water bill is going to be sky high!! (tempted...but I won't...ew)

Guess I'm gonna have to rock honey's shoes soon. Lets see...I'm usually a women's 8 1/2...and he's a men's 10 1/2...hopefully they'll fit!

Yesterday we had our marvelous multiples class. It was quite informative...even got to see an actual birth...placenta and all. Now...I've see an "unedited" birth before...our 10th grade biology teacher thought it was essential to our education to show us....not good (10th grade boys are...well 10th grade boys...they freaked). Maybe she thought it'd be good birth control for us. I dunno. But seeing it NOW...when I have two little beings (and two placentas) that will be needing to make an exit soon definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing.

Yeah I'm scared now.

I know our bodies are made for this...that it can handle it...and that there are glorious things called EPIDURALS....BUT....

Yikes.

My friend with the 10 month old is terrified of having her wisdom teeth pulled out. She refuses to have it done. After seeing that video I told her "GIRL...if you can do THAT...getting your wisdom teeth out is NOTHING!!!" Though you don't have the cute little baby in the end...just a chipmunk face and jello to eat.

ANYHOO...

We also got to meet a couple who brought in their twin 4mo old girls...it was really fun to chat with them and see that they are still alive, showered and sane. They were definitely very real with us and pretty much said our lives are over as soon as those two little darlings arrive...but its a happy kind of over. :o)

I am off to bed...tomorrow I shall enjoy my last day of freedom before I try working again...this snow has been awesome for this point in my pregnancy...still worried about getting back into the work routine though!

Happy Valentines Everyone!!!

30 weeks!

Here I am at 30 weeks...on my fourth snow day of the week. (last week we had a two hour delay, a two hour early dismissal and a snow day...wow). I decided I'd better get out and play in the snow...so here are my two SNOW BABIES!! :o)
And I made the decision to chop my head off for this picture...yes I showered and blow dried my hair this morning...but I have no makeup on...and I'm thinking my face is starting to swell more than ever...it was quite frightening. I haven't been able to find my make-up case all week...I need to go on a hunt for that....now that I see what poor DH has had to put up with!!!


Can't wait til next year when those little snow babies will be real and can play with me in the snow! :o)

Randomness...

First order of business...CHECK OUT THIS CUTENESS MY MOM MADE FOR BABY GIRL!!! She said she made it during the superbowl...I wish I could say I did something even remotely this productive in the near week I've had off of work...just a little too cute!!!

Second order of business...WHY DID NO ONE EVER TELL ME GAP SELLS BABY GEAR??? Yeah...found this diaper bag on gap..com. Um...WAY too cute....too bad I'm already committed to my other bag...but this one is just so...pretty. And it totally goes with my carseats (see below) and my stroller....oh AND the babies' room! *SIGH*. I actually got another diaper bag for my shower (I took it off the registry as soon as I bought the camo one and I guess someone had already bought it) and DH keeps telling me to keep it in case we need an extra. I kept telling him there is no way I'm keeping it...I won't need an extra...you just need one.

Hmmmm....I may be changing my mind.... :o)

Semi-Update

Got in contact with my OB office...they don't have the information from my scan yesterday, but the nurse told me that if there was a really big issue, baby boy would be a lot smaller...and if they were concerned about oxygen getting to the baby they probably wouldn't have let me go home...they would need to see me before a week passed. So I guess that's comforting...I'm satisfied with that answer...and will have LOTS of questions that I will not leave without getting answered on Wednesday!!

I definitely slept on my left side pretty much the whole night last night...I figure if baby boy is having trouble with blood flow, I'll give him the best flow he can get!!! Now my left hip and knee are killing me...but you gotta do what you gotta do!!! :o)

Thanks for the support ladies!

Gotta gear up for blizzard #2...seriously...you'd think I live in Alaska!

Not so uneventful...

perinatologist appointment.

I don't like those kind. This is the first one I've had...and I don't like it. Its a lot easier when they say "Everything's good...see you in a month!". *sigh*

So they measured the kiddos...baby girl is 3.7lbs (78th percentile!) and baby boy is 3.3lbs (62nd percentile!). Baby girl's head is measuring about a week ahead of her body...LOL...that's quite a noggin! My mom said I had a pretty big head...probably still do!

Then the specialist came in and said that my baby boy's umbilical cord is "functioning abnormally" and he wants to see me once a week until the kiddos are born!! I'm still not certain what that means exactly...I'm going to call my OB tomorrow and find out...but I would think that if his umbilical cord was messed up he'd be really really thin...and while he's a bit smaller than his sister...he's still in the 62nd percentile. Hmmmm.

Hopefully I'll understand this a bit better tomorrow.

I do feel comforted by the fact that I am 30 weeks this week...and by the time I see him again I'll be 31 weeks...so if they said "Head to the hospital, we need to get those kids out of there!" they will have a pretty good chance of survival. If this was all happening at 20 weeks I think I would be freaking out a little bit more. Of course I want them to stay in there a bit longer though!! (even though my ribs could use a break!! Wait...not a literal "break"....better be careful how I choose my words!)

So I shall keep you all posted...say a prayer for my little man if you think of it... :o)

Beta # question...

Here is some cute randomness before we get to the question...I so need to get this for my kids...LOL.

Okay...so one of my friends just got the good news that she's PREGGO *clap clap clap*...hooray!! :o) But she doesn't have the lovely blog world to bounce questions off of (she doesn't know what she's missin' *wink*) so I told her I'd ask for her. :o)

So what do you think ladies...

She went in for a blood test...hmmm...I think it was 14dpo and her beta was 215.

Then she went back for her second beta at 21dpo and it was 2702!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now mine at 21dpo was 1320...with TWINS.

I'm thinking that either there is one little guy in there that isn't going ANYWHERE or she's having twins...

What do you all think? I know these numbers are so crazy and everyone can be different...but I just wanted to throw the question out there and see what you all think!

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

Yes my husband is 6 ft 2in tall...and that is how deep the snow is...and its STILL coming...wild. I'm going to stay inside and make a casserole and some yummy hot chocolate. I feel a little bad about not being able to help shovel the driveway....just a little. *wink*

I'm a bit bummed because our marvelous multiples class was cancelled today...pretty sure it'll be cancelled for tomorrow too. Hopefully they'll reschedule it for soon so we can go! But seriously, with all the snow days and two hour delays we've been having, I just might be working up to my due date!!! I've been getting plenty of rest! :o)

Hopefully I'll be able to see the perinatologist on Monday...I always look forward to those appointments. Its at 3:15 so I'm thinking most of the roads should be fairly clear by then.

If you're stuck in the snow like us....STAY SAFE!!!! (NO BABIES ARE ALLOWED TO BE BORN THIS WEEKEND!!! *wink*) And if you're enjoying sunny warm weather...well...I'm a bit jealous... :o)

Picture post!

Baby girl...look at those cute little lips! What a sweetie!

Baby boy ...is that a smile for momma???

Baby boy.....yeah I've been up close and personal with that boney little elbow!! :o)


Baby girl! Poor baby is behind her placenta...don't worry kiddo...we'll get some glamour shots when you make your grand appearance! :o)

Don't forget to check out the post below...its easier for me to do "blab" posts and picture posts separate!

29 weeks OB appt!

Since we had ANOTHER snow day today I decided to switch my OB appointment to today so I wouldn't have to skip out of work a little early. I am SO glad that I did!!! We had the best u/s tech ever...she showed us our kiddos for a while....actually let us hear the heartbeats and took some 4D shots as well!! Turns out she's a fellow IF gal...and has endo like me. She's gearing up for her first IUI soon...so what did I tell her??? What I tell all my friends who are battling IF....GET A BLOG!!!! :o) I gave her my blog address so hopefully she'll consider making one as well...its so great to have the support of others who are going through the same thing!

Then we went to another room and talked with the doc. That was kindof nice too...that way I could really focus on my questions and now how cute my kiddos are! :o)

I had never met this doctor but she was really great. She basically said lets NOT take the glucose test again *phew*...that made my day! She also said all my swelling is normal, and its only going to get worse so keep those feet UP! She was a little surprised that I was still working, but said since my cervix is still a little over 5cm...she sees no problem with it. She just wants me to take time out of the day to lay down and prop my feet up....which I do at lunch and lots when I'm teaching.

We also talked about c-section vs vaginal and by the end of it we decided to schedule a c-section, but if I go into labor see what the kiddos are doing and decide then. So the c-section will be around April 8th...we haven't set it in stone yet. I'll also have to see what doctors are in then and make my decision. I like the idea of the kiddos having an April birthday...but they are going to be HUGE then (which is very good of course...) and will be putting out some SERIOUS kicks...and can momma get that big??? Probably...but WOW. :o)

Blogger hates me these days so I have put the kiddos pics into another post!