Happy Friday!

Today we had a visit from our friend Sony and her almost-six-week-old baby boy, Lucas.  Chloë was very excited to see Baby Lucas today and definitely got in some good practice time for her future role as a big sister!  It was so cute to see her interact with him.  She wanted to hold him right away and when he cried it didn't even phase her or her stress her out.  She just said "Okay Baby Lucas?" It was really sweet to watch.   She sang him "Happy Birthday", "ABC's" and "Twinkle Twinkle" which I got on video.

First time holding a real baby- Lucas got to be the guinea pig!

Diaper changing time

Reading Dr. Suess to Lucas 

Awww!

Kisses!

Sony also brought us a really cute set of onesies especially for twins!  (not to mention she brought me an 1/2 decaf iced caramel latte from Starbucks--my favorite!  Thanks, Sony!) 

The Dinner Table Awaits!!!

At UCSD anyone with a multiple pregnancy has to go get a growth scan done on the babies every four weeks, basically just to make sure everything is in check and to make sure that one baby isn't growing at an alarmingly faster rate than the other.  It's done at the same office where they do the 18-20 week detailed anatomy scan for a single pregnancy so the ultrasound machines are high-tech and even have the 3D/4D capability which is cool to see (IF you have a cooperative baby!).

I was looking forward to this appointment because, for one, it gets me out of the house!!!!!, and also because we get a weight estimate on the boys.  Overall, everything looks good with both babies.  They are weighing in at 3lb 9oz and 3lb 12oz.  I think it was Baby A who was a few oz bigger.  They both have "good size" heads ("Schneider head", I'm sure) and their hearts are looking beautiful.  They also do a cervix measurement-- which was measuring about 7 or 8mm today.  Very short...but at least it's consistently short, right? :)    After the tech gets all the images, the perinatologist (a high-risk prenatal doctor) on staff that day comes in and goes over everything.  Today it was Dr. Kelly-- he is this awesome and very chill doctor who we know from back when pregnant with Chloë (who had enlarged, bright kidneys in utero).   He's just always so upbeat and positive--you can't help but love him.  He basically, said, "Well, you don't have much cervix left and who knows how long it will hold out.  You could go in the hospital if you are more comfortable there (NO THANKS!) but you've already had the 2nd round of steroid shots so there isn't much else they can do except attempt to stop contractions if you start having them." He thought it was totally fine to just continue at home and then asked if I was at least eating meals at the table--which I replied that I was not--and he said I should at least do that!  He also thought it was perfectly fine for me to go sit outside in the yard for a couple hours a day if I wanted to try it!  I was over the moon to hear this!  I can't even tell you!  Obviously, he's not my main doctor, and he's not the UCSD Multiples Clinic specialist that Dr. Schrimmer is, but I loved what he said! He just said to start slowly and to make sure I go back to resting if I start having contractions or am uncomfortable.  So tonight I will eat dinner at the table!  This will be the first time in over 7 weeks!  I might have to get a picture of this momentous occasion.

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30 1/2 weeks

Baby B profile shot

Baby A profile shot

Photo

Let me tell you, it is PAINFUL for me to post the above photo.  Why did I ever decide that horizontal stripes were an OK choice for my comparison prego pics?   I really would just rather stay hidden in my bed and no one will have to see how large I've gotten.  However, I'm going to take it all in stride.  This is just what happens when pregnant...and especially when pregnant with twins.  I've gained over 30lbs already and am at my 9 months size that I was with Chloë, if not larger.  I know my belly doesn't look HUGE like some twin pregnant bellies, but I do have a long torso going for me so it hides them a bit more.  That said, this is HUGE for me.  I'm at a weight where I've never been before and it's scary.  The weight is spread out all over...in the photo it even looks like my butt is pregnant (more than before!).  Oh man, I just have to laugh and hope that the weight comes off as easily as it did the first time around.  It is what it is, right?  It just makes it that much harder that I can't even do a bit of exercise to feel better...AND my mom has been delivering mini-Snickers and mini-Hershey bars to me in bed!  I can't blame her entirely though, because she isn't twisting my arm or forcing them down my throat at gun point!

Oh, and did I mention that the above photo was taken a week ago before I headed out to my DR appt last Tuesday?  I'm even bigger now!  

To make myself feel a little better I just google-imaged "30 weeks pregnant with twins" and found this photo.  That's one big belly!  

Random person

Happy First Day of Spring!

(Having some trouble with posting this...so not sure if it will work for you)

A little clip of Chloë singing her "ABC's".  She was watching herself on my phone as I recorded...so I think she got a bit distracted staring at her little face :)  I'm just glad to have some footage of it!  Notice how she throws in "elbow" in the song.  She used to say "Elmo- P" instead of "L-M-N-O-P".  Gotta love toddlers!

Tales from the Whale...

I try not to complain too much...but some days bed rest is just more difficult than others.  Lately, those more challenging days are seeming more and more frequent.  I feel like a beached whale on a regular basis now.  I guess that I just need to accept that as my new life for awhile.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that rolling over or getting up to walk to the bathroom has become a major feat of strength and endurance.  I can only hope that I don't LOOK as bad as I feel...but I have my doubts (and friends and family who are too nice to tell me otherwise).  

On a good note, I DID get to come home to continue bed rest here for the time being.  My hospital discharge papers said I could do the stairs 1x per day if needed so I'm allowed to come down from my 3rd level tower and join the world of the living on a regular basis.  That's definitely nice and important for my mental state.  It gives me a change of scenery, the chance to spend more time with Chloë (even if just from the couch), and it is easier for Mom & Myke to take care of me when I'm down there.  It is really difficult to have to depend on others for almost everything, but it was much harder earlier on when I physically felt great, yet was confined to the bed.  At this point I almost would just rather not move than deal with trying to lift my enormous beached self.  Man, do I sound disgusting or what? :)   I'm just feeling a little worse than normal the past couple days because I think I picked up a small cold at the hospital.  So I'm congested and have a slight sore throat on top of everything else.  Just feeling run-down.

Anyways, I'm glad the weekend has arrived.  That means Myke is off work and it gives my mom a bit of a break from toddler-wranglin'.  She went and did some shopping and errands today and Myke went on a "get-stuff-done" rampage in the guest room/ future babies room.  Thank goodness he had the energy to plow through a bunch of jobs because we have a lot to get done and we have no idea how much time we have left before life gets even crazier.  I hate not being able to pitch in.  I so badly want to be up and able to help get things in order for the babies.  I want to organize, go shopping for cute little baby things, decorate, spend one-on-one time with Chloë while I can, etc.  I do what I can...but I wish I could do more.  Thank goodness for online shopping!  

So today Myke put together one of the baby cribs (we are only going to put one together for now), installed a ceiling fan, and put together a little storage shelf, all for the twins' room.  I took photos from my spot on the bed.  Chloë loved the new crib and spent almost an hour playing in it with her animals and books.  We kept asking her who the bed was for and she says "da brudders" (the brothers).  Hopefully, she remembers that!   She seems to have some sort of idea about what is going on.  She always pats or kisses my belly and says "brudders" and then counts "one...two...two brudders" and then says "brudders...coming soon!"  Then she tells us that she is going to read to them, play with them, feed them (uh oh...I'm imagining her trying to put raisins in their little mouths!), and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with them.  It's really sweet!  We'll see how she feels once they are actually here!  

Chloë helping daddy with her toy tool set

IKEA crib!  $45 on sale--gotta love a bargain! (and it has great safety ratings/user reviews)

They say fans help reduce risk of SIDS

We need as much storage space as we can get!

Thursday

Looks like I will be going back home today!  Yay!

It's not even 7am and I've already had 3 people come in to flush my IV port, check my vital signs and then do the ultrasound to measure the cervical length.  I had my fingers crossed for a "stable" looking cervix.  The resident doctor who did the ultrasound watched as my cervix length changed in front of her eyes.  It's just THAT dynamic.  It started at over 2cm!..then within five seconds she watched as Baby A's head (he is now back to head down after being breach two days ago at my last ultrasound) moved away from the cervix.  As his head moved (or disengaged the cervix) it suddenly funneled and and shortened down to 1.3cm (still WAY better than 5mm!).  Basically, when he puts his head down there it tightens up and closes to hold him in, and then when he moves away it relaxes.  She said that it was one of the coolest things she's seen in a long time.  She said it looks VERY reassuring that it's doing it's job and that it's a good sign that this pregnancy will last longer.  So that was great to hear.  Anyways, she said seeing this "coolest thing she's seen in a long time" just made her day today.  I guess that's a good thing?  The next step is for the report and ultrasound photos to get seen by Dr. Ramos, the perinatologist on duty today.  She has the final say in what happens next, but I should definitely be going home today to continue bed rest at home!  :)  

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

Wednesday Visitors

Chloë and my mom came to visit for a couple hours this morning.  Chloë called the hospital "Mommy's house" again and she had a blast playing in the room, bouncing on my bed, running in the halls, and showing her belly button to anyone who would look.  When she meets new people her first move is to pull her shirt up and show her belly.  I hope this is just a phase...because if she's 13 and still doing this it will be a serious problem!  

Playing with the curtain!

Snack time!

Now eating my yogurt...

Story Time