Each day at a time

 Any moment now it can happen. Some days are better than others (these are days where I actually GET UP instead of go from sleeping in bed to sleeping on the couch back to sleeping in bed). Some days it feels like the babies are kicking their way out, and some days it feels like they're perfectly content to be where they're at. I like these days because I actually feel like a living person.

The good:

Feeling the heads (and rear ends) of the babies in my belly. Feeling the babies move around. Feeling a kick or a punch, then rubbing the spot and asking, "What is it, baby?"

The bad:

Kicking of the organs. Pushing up against the organs. The morning swollen feet and fingers. The aching fingers and knuckles and the numbness in the right hand. Inability to create a fist. The feeling that the babies are dropping lower and lower (thus making walking and certain sitting positions uncomfortable). Foggy brain.

The funny:

Not feeling a kick but knowing there was a kick because I'll feel my whole body shift, like there was an earthquake but there wasn't.

The ugly:

Maintaining personal hygiene. Saying, "that's good enough" because of limited mobility. I'll leave it at that...

Friday, June 3, 2011 (34 weeks, 6 days - 1 to 3 weeks to go)

NST appointment day. Nothing different, same o, same o.

Monday, June 6, 2011 (35 weeks, 2 days - 1 to 3 weeks to go)

Appointment with the regular OB. Had lab test done for Group B Streptococcus (that's all I'll say about that). Cervix currently 1 cm dilated. Babies look good.

"How are you feeling," doc asks. "Very pregnant," I reply. She takes her measuring tape out and does the usual uterus measurement. "Oh yes, you are very pregnant, my dear."

"I'm guessing maybe 42cm?" I asked (since two weeks ago I had measured 40cm).

"No, more like 45cm," doc says. "That's one big uterus!"

So if I were carrying a single baby, I'd look and feel like I was 45 weeks prego?! No wonder.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 (35 weeks, 3 days - 1/2 to 2-1/2 weeks to go)

NST appointment. The usual stuff: go in for a quick ultrasound to measure the membrane and check fluid levels, and then get hooked up to monitor babies' heartbeats (in direct relation to their kicks) and contractions as well as check my own blood pressure (still relatively low to average numbers, so still in the clear of pre-eclampsia) and temp. Here's how the monitor looks like:

The first number in red (at this point, 146) is monitoring Baby A's heartbeat and the cord underneath is stuck to my belly where her heart is. The green number, I'm not sure. The next red number (at this point, 148) is monitoring Baby B's heartbeat and the cord underneath is also stuck to my belly where her heart is. The middle cord (under the green number, so quite possible that number is monitoring my contraction levels???) is also attached to my belly, just in the middle). The fourth cord (the one that looks different from the other three) is attached to the bp band.

During the ultrasound, the nurse (nurse? don't know what her official title is) says, "Look at all that hair Baby B has" and sure enough, I see all these straight lines, kind of zig-zag like a cartoon character. I respond with, "She must take after her dad," and then pause because it's weird to refer to the hubster as "her dad"... much like how it's weird to refer to him as "my husband". So then I ask, "How about Baby A?" so the nurse rolls the ultrasound wand over and says, "Well, not quite as much as B," so I say, "Oh, she must be bald like her mother."

Friday, June 10, 2011 (35 weeks, 6 days - 1/2 to 2-1/2 weeks to go)

Another NST appointment this morning. This time during the ultrasound, the babies turned and faced forward, and while it's not a clear image like the 3D (or 4D) ultrasounds, it was a trip because baby was looking at me. "That's not my nose," I was able to decipher. The nurses laughed. Or, maybe it could be, but I've just grown into mine. I can't recall if that was Baby A or B.

So upon leaving, I say good-bye to the nurses and, "I'll see you on Monday!" and one responds with, "Maybe." And then she reiterates what to do if I do in fact go into labor before then. Yeeps.

Okay, nap time.