Feeling thankful at 35 weeks

Instead of listing off all the ways I feel miserable and ready for this pregnancy to be done, I was lying in bed early one morning this week and listing off in my head all the things I have to be thankful for at this stage. I want to continue to remain positive so here the top 10 things I am thankful for at 35 weeks pregnant with twins (in no particular order):

1) I don't have any rib or hip pain
2) I honestly thought I would be way bigger by now, but I'm not and that fact enables me to remain pretty mobile and active.
3) I can still get down on the floor and play with my girls
4) No stretch marks (apparently I have genetics or my homemade body butter to thank for that, maybe a combination of both?)
5) I can still roll over pretty easily in bed
6) I have not had any big pregnancy scares like bleeding, real preterm labor, or terrible illness
7) I can still hold my girls and they love to use my belly as a pillow:-)
8) My husband still calls me beautiful
9) My swollen feet don't really cause any discomfort and my shoes still fit
10) Both babies continue to get great reports at each appointment

36 weeks, which is our goal, is just around the corner. Can't wait to be there and know that the chance of babies needing NICU time by that point is pretty slim. I leave you with a few pictures we took today on our wonderfully lazy Sunday.

 I finally got one decent picture of Shaun and I with the belly before church today

 Addie enjoying Mommy's built in pillow

Yikes! Cankles!

34 weeks

34 weeks today, yippee! It's an important milestone for twins and I am so relieved to have made it this far with very few problems. I feel like I've had a pretty easy twin pregnancy up to this point and I hope that continues until these babies are born. My least favorite pregnancy symptom right now is lots of swelling in my ankles and feet. It has really gotten worse this past week, but I guess that's normal right?

Today at the doctor Elaina weighed in at 5 lb 0 oz and Joel at 5 lb 4 oz. He's been behind his sister the entire time but must have just gone through a growth spurt. I was really surprised at how big they are and was expecting their weights to be closer to 4.5 lbs each. It's good to know they are healthy and big!

Sadly, they are still in the same breech/transverse position and seem very content to stay there. My doctor talked for the first time about scheduling a c-section since they most likely won't be moving to a head down position in the next 4 weeks. I have accepted that fact and feel good about it because I prayed every day for months for them to be head down. I trust the Lord and His full knowledge of these babies and what is best.

We don't have anything scheduled yet, but somewhere around 38 weeks I will most likely be having these babies. Things are going so well with healthy babies and healthy mama that my doctor commented today that she predicts they won't be making their entrance into the world until we force them out. So, the week of June 8th sometime we will probably be meeting our little ones. FOUR MORE WEEKS!

34 weeks and feeling good

It's May....what?!

Months ago I wrote a post about how my goal is to make it to May 25th because that is 36 weeks. I can't believe it's already May. On Monday I will be 33 weeks which means it's only 3 weeks until my goal! Actually, ideally I will make it to June 1st because 37 weeks is considered full term by most doctors for twins. Statistically, twins are born at 35 weeks on average but I am feeling confident that if I continue to take it easy then I can keep these babies in for many more weeks. I notice a huge difference in the amount of contractions and back pain I feel when I am sitting and laying around a lot and minimizing the amount of housework I do.

It isn't hard to say no to the housework, but I do have some mommy guilt over the fact that my girls are left to their own devices most of the day as they play together and I am unable to be an active participant in most of their activities. Thankfully, they do a great job entertaining themselves most of the time and it makes me so appreciative that they have each other. I can't even walk down our long driveway and back so that they can ride their bikes. Playgrounds are too difficult to manage because if they start heading in two different directions or need help getting lifted up onto something, I can't physically manage it. So, we are at home most days and the minutes and hours can sometimes tick very slowly by. Shaun reminds me that it's only for a few more weeks. I am so thankful for that! I really don't mean to complain, just letting you know how it has been for me in these last few weeks. I am willing to do anything to make sure these babies stay safe and healthy until they are ready to be born and I think Katie and Addie understand that to some degree.

My goal was to get all my baby prep work out of the way by May and I've pretty much succeeded. Last week I made four freezer crock pot meals and completed the nursery decorations. Shaun will have to set up the second crib in our bedroom at some point in the next few weeks, but we are putting it up against my side of the bed like a co-sleeper, so setting it up now would just make it more difficult for me to get in and out of bed. And trust me, I am already having a hard enough time with that! The hospital bag is partially packed and today I plan on making a few batches of freezer waffles to complete my freezer meal prep. Things are starting to get REAL!

 I think Addie likes my pregnancy pillow a whole lot more than I do. I have a love/hate relationship with sleep right now:-)

32 weeks- I wonder daily how much bigger I will get over the next few weeks!

Hospital visit #1

Yesterday I felt off all day. I tried to lay down and rest a lot but no matter how much I did so, I would get up and feel like I needed to lay back down. I was also having fairly frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions which has become a normal thing with two babies stretching my uterus to capacity.

Shaun and I left for our small group at 7 PM and I started wondering if the contractions were coming at regular intervals. I started timing them as soon as we sat down at small group and for the next hour and a half I had contractions about every 8 minutes. They weren't painful but my doctor had instructed me to go ahead and get checked out at the hospital if I ever noticed them coming at regular intervals. I have never had a baby before so I figured it would be best to be safe than sorry. I have read too many stories of twin pregnancies going into preterm labor and the woman not realizing it because she had painless contractions or she just felt off and by then it was too late to stop them and the babies had to be born.

So, after small group we headed to the hospital. I was strapped to an external fetal monitor and spent the next 3 hours waiting to find out what was going on. As I rested and drank more water the contractions started to subside. The nurse called the person on call at my doctor's office who ordered a bunch of tests to rule out any infections, which can sometimes cause contractions and preterm labor. Everything came back negative so by midnight I was released to go home.

Right now I am sitting in bed writing this and will need to call my doctor when they open to get specific instructions about any precautions she will want me on. I feel better this morning and have had very few contractions. I will be better from now on about resting and letting my mom or Shaun do things for me. It's just hard with 2 four year olds who need things from me all day long. I hope and pray I won't end up on bedrest. How does someone with young children manage that? I really can't comprehend it.

For now I am just very thankful that it was a false alarm. Only 5 -6 more weeks of this take it easy business and hopefully I won't have any more hospital visits until delivery day!

Come on babies!

Everything looked great at my 31 week appointment yesterday. Everything except the fact that Elaina is still breech and Joel is still transverse. They are making what looks like a "T" in my belly with Joel lying on top of his sister like the top of the T. I have read encouraging stories online of twins turning at this late stage but it's not guaranteed. Come on babies!

Elaina measured 3 lb 9 oz and Joel is catching up to her at 3 lb 8 oz. My doctor is really pleased with everything so far. We went over our birth plan with her yesterday and can I just say that I love my OB! One of my points on there is that I strongly hope to avoid a C-section. She emphasized that she strongly hopes to avoid a C-section too. She had no issues with anything we desire which I am so happy and relieved about. It means she really does support a natural birth and will do everything she can to help make that happen. At this point, all our desires for a natural birth really do depend on the position the babies are in. We will be playing it by ear as the big day draws near. If they are both head down when I am in labor she will even allow a delivery in the normal room, rather than making me go to the OR for delivery. Twins is certainly a more complicated situation when it comes to labor and delivery but ultimately I wouldn't change it. Whatever it takes to get these babies and I through it safely is what I care the most about.

Now we are down to a few big milestones....
-32 weeks will mean that I can deliver at Memorial North rather than having to be transferred to Memorial Central
-34 weeks means that they won't need to use steroids on babies.
-37 weeks means full term and most likely no risk of spending any time in the NICU

Woohoo! Just writing all of that makes me realize how quickly these weeks are going to go

The countdown is on!

Yesterday marked 30 weeks. I feel like at this point the countdown is really on. Hopefully it will be at least 7 more weeks until we meet these babes, but maybe it will be 10.....oh, how I hope it's closer to 7!!

Yesterday also marked the start of weekly doctors appointments and ultrasounds. I will be going every Monday until I go into labor or a c-section is scheduled. At this point Elaina has been stubbornly in the breech position for a month straight and she is baby A, so if she doesn't turn head down I will be stuck with a c-section. I am praying daily that she will turn but at the same time I don't want to end up with a vaginal delivery for Elaina and an emergency c-section for Joel, which can happen with twins. So, if I have to have a c-section I'd rather go into it knowing that is what will happen for both babies. Ultimately, I know God is in control of the outcome and I don't need to worry. I feel well prepared and very hopeful for a vaginal delivery but yet I am also realistic that it may not happen.

I have started having pretty frequent braxton-hicks contractions that I can tell come more often when I am trying to do too much. I am learning to ask for help a lot more and being okay with sitting down with my feet up as much as possible throughout the day because I don't want to go into premature labor. I am so thankful my mom lives on the same property as us because she helps with laundry and takes the girls often. I can tell the girls are getting used to lazy mommy because they don't bother me nearly as much as they used to when I am just laying on the couch. I love that they play together so well and have each other. Here is a sweet scene from yesterday that I caught on camera.

 And here I am at 30 weeks for those of you who like to see the belly shots.

Great family pictures just don't happen anymore

I bribed the girls this morning, telling them they could get a fruit snack to eat on the way to church if they would smile for the camera. We haven't gotten a good family picture since August (that's the one you see on the top of this blog:-). Somehow we all always end up looking awkward, but oh well.

Happy Easter! Today in church they had 2 baptisms, one planned and one spontaneous. I found myself tearing up as I thought about the hope of one day witnessing my own children's baptisms. What a glorious celebration that will be!

Other than the sun on Shaun's head, this one is the best. Both girls smiling nicely at the camera is quite the accomplishment!

My four kids and me. Happy to get one decent picture with the girls and my pregnant belly. They are so excited about being big sisters.

On another note, I am 29 weeks tomorrow. Katie and Addie were born at 29 weeks. We didn't meet them until they were four months old, but we are so thankful they are thriving and healthy. Let's just hope these two new babies keep cooking for a while longer though!