34 weeks!!

Brief recap of doc appt:

• All looks good.
• Doc thinks decent chance I'll make it to 36-37 weeks.  Told the hubby I'm likely to get REALLY cranky now...  We'll probably end up scheduling week 36-37 if we make it that far, which would be mid-September.
• I don't need to time my contractions anymore, now he's only concerned about the big ones.  Yay!
• But, I need to start pricking again, just to see what the GD is doing.  Boo.
• We're definitely have a C-section.  But, doc says recovery is often not much worse than v*******.  Stairs are fine, picking up babies is fine (he said, don't go unload a beer truck, but you're not an invalid!), lots of the rumor mill no-nos are fine.  Of course, unless I want an excuse.
• He did suggest as much help as possible the first month, particularly if we're going to try to breast feed (and he's speaking from his wife's experience with twins). Hint, hint...  :)
• I'm also allowed to move around a little more, make myself lunch, refill my water, etc.  I may have already started doing that a little bit, and I'll tell you, it's not like I have a whole lot of energy to do much more than what I'm doing anyway, but I do feel a little less like a prisoner, even if it's just that slight mental change and not much actually changes in my life.

Home stretch!  Now I need to start preparing mentally for what's to come...

cool kids' stuff

Props to my sis for coming across this stroke of genius. It's a chalkboard that came as a giant wall sticker. They had various shapes, but we wanted something whimsical to go with Seussville, so we cut out the Dali mirror-inspired shape. Then we just peeled off the backing and stuck it on the wall. Instant chalkboard! How fun is that?! Or am I already turning into a Martha Stewart mom?...

Oh, yeah, and still no babies.   My dad is starting a pool to guess the date if anyone wants in...

for the kids

I don't really know if I've left the impression throughout my pregnancy that I love it or I hate.  I like to think I'm like most women, who, if they are really honest with themselves are somewhere in the middle, and it's just that you only hear from the ooshy gooshy ones who love it.  In any case, lest these kiddos read this one day in the future (Mom, I can't believe you blogged, that is so 2000s!), I think it's important to keep a list of all the things I have been through for them these past 8 months.  You never know when it'll come in handy, and from what I've been told, God provides pregnancy amnesia to convince women to have more children.

• Extreme exhaustion - I think I fell asleep standing up at work once...  The exhaustion also ruined our social life since I was sleeping about 11 hours at night the first trimester.  The hubs kinda loved it, though, no lie.  The other side of this is during the third trimester, I'm exhausted again, but this time it's due in part because I only sleep about an hour at a time and never more than 2.5 hours.  Perhaps it's preparation for feeding the kiddos, but it sure feel like I'm starting the race a marathon behind...
• Worry - Yeah, this started early.  Sure, that's partly my fault for being a worrier (do people still say "worry wart"?), but I was getting better until I suddenly had 5,398,392 new things to worry about.  Like, whether or not these kiddos would be healthy and who we could con into coming to care for them for a week so we can continue taking marvelous trips...
• Dietary restrictions & modifications - No sushi.  No alcohol.  And when the gestational diabetes issue crept up, No ice cream (except when I sneak into the kitchen and help myself to a spoonful...), No cereal, carbs and sugars only with proteins, only eating at certain times, making sure to eat at certain times, etc., etc.  For all of you out there who live in some kind of fantasyland that a pregnant woman gets to eat for two (or three!) in my case, eating while pregnant is not that kind of joy.
• Carpal tunnels - some of the other things I'd heard of, but carpal tunnels from pregnancy was a shocker.  It started late in pregnancy and is worst at night, but it's steadily worsening, so it'll be a battle whether I do something about it (can you?) or have the babies first...
• Reflux - I have nothing to say about this.  It's just gross.  And awful.  And has contributed to the destruction of the enjoyment of food.
• Constipation - You would rather I have nothing to say about this.  Everything was going along swimmingly until I had to eat more protein to counterbalance the carbs/sugars for GD, then my mostly vegetarian body struggled to keep up with the more difficult to digest meats and animal products. 
• Round ligament pain - This is the pain from the stretching or pulling on the ligaments around my uterus (I think).  Suffice to say, I think it's been worse from carrying two and is getting worse as they are growing, growing, growing!
• Gas/Indigestion - More to ruin eating.  Funny thing is that now that I have a watermelon as a belly, I have a really hard time distinguishing among anything that's going on.  Contraction, gas, baby kick, full bladder?  Who knows?...  It's all just discomfort at this point.
• General discomfort - Which deserves its own heading.  Everything from trying to pick something off the ground, get into bed, get comfortable in bed, roll over (it's REALLY HARD now!!!!) sit, stand.  I think the only place I was comfortable from the 2nd trimester on was in the pool and since I've been on bed rest for much of my late pregnancy, that hasn't been an option.  My mother sweetly said, when I got up and walked by her (on my every 15-20 minute trip to the loo), "I'm glad that's not me!"  Thanks, Mom!  :-)  She's always trying to make me feel like a strong woman...  I have to admit, even sitting on the toilet seat (and we got some pretty spiffy new ones when we remodeled) is MUCH more uncomfortable with the extra weight.  Take a watermelon with you next time and put it in your lap.  It feels REALLY different and not in a good way.
• Headaches & vision floaters - OK, so these may or may not be pregnancy related, but since these crazy hormones seem to cause everything else and if they're at all related to fatigue...
• Nausea - I thought I had escaped this really common one, and then it hit me today.  Probably my punishment for starting this list.

I may have forgotten one (or five) already and reserve the right to come back and supplement the list.  But, kids, all's I gotta say is that you better be really stinkin cute!

Work day...work away

The deal I've been working on for years is this close to being final. I worked more than I've worked in awhile today moving it forward. Nevertheless, my boss and I decided it was time for me to give it a rest and transition it over. So, at the end if my work day, my partner came to the house and took away all my files. Good thing because my contractions did increase and I was zonked and slept hard during my nap. There might have even been drooling....

The other fun thing from today is that this is my first post from my phone! I found an app that I can use to post from anywhere. This will be handy when I need to share the news that the real excitement is about to begin. So, don't worry, you won't miss a thing. Supposedly, it posts pictures easily, too, although I haven't tried, yet. Perhaps an activity for tomorrow...

diapers galore

Every baby is different and I currently don't have any, but it sounds like on average, we're looking at 10 diapers per baby day (it's also a nice round number that multiplies easily).  This will also change over time, but this ain't science, so it'll do.  That makes for 20 diapers per day, 140 diapers per week, 600 diapers per month, or 7300 diapers in the next year!  Well, they'll probably need fewer towards the end, so maybe just SIX THOUSAND...  Our environmental footprint is about to explode.  (And that's whether we use cloth or disposable, still lots of waste, just different forms.)

We are already stockpiling as if we are about to be hit by a hurricane, thanks to many generous family members and friends.  And by those calculations, this is but a mere dent in what we'll use...

the time is nearing...

Just got out of the doc's office.  Sylvia is now 4 lb. 8 oz. and growing steadily around the 37 percentile.  Rafael is now 5 lb. 6 oz. and growing rapidly.  That's a grand total of just shy of 10 lbs. of baby in my belly (not to mention the extra parts they each come with).  So, please excuse the waddle.  I asked about the difference in sizes (almost a whole pound) and the doc didn't seem concerned since Sylvia is still growing at a good rate, which I'm guessing means that Rafael isn't stealing her lunch, perhaps he's just trying to avoid wimpy white boy syndrome.  If they keep growing like they did the past 2 weeks, at 36 weeks ("term" for twins), Sylvia would be 6 lbs. and Rafael would be 7 lbs. 10 oz.!

Doc said, no question, definitely a C-section, which we had pretty much decided on anyway.  Since the second baby is so much bigger than the first, it would not be safe to have a v****** delivery.  She didn't think there was any reason to schedule one, though, and so, we're still on the SURPRISE waiting game.  Not my fave, but I'm supposed to try to learn to let go of control...  In the end, doc said everything looks good, I'm just big, explained how I have no ab muscles, and concluded with, "See you in 3 weeks, if you're still pregnant!"  I'll take that as a good sign!

Some profile pics of the kiddos from today.  Either Rafa also has the fat lips or the tech got the pics backwards (which is also possible--note the scratching out of one letter to the other...)

Rafa (or maybe Sylvia) facing up, forehead right, chin left

Sylvia (or maybe Rafa), facing up, forehead left, chin right.  This one didn't scan so well, so apologies if it's hard to tell what's going on.

33 weeks

OK, one day shy of 33 full weeks, but here's the belly update and a reminder of where we started...

Week 4

Week 33