Single-digit countdown!

 It has begun. The countdown can now be performed with your fingers alone! So much yet so little has happened since my last (baby) post... blame it on third trimester hiatus. I'm tired, man! There are two kids in there!

Recap... April ended and May began... um. Let's see...

Monday, May 9, 2011 (31 weeks, 2 days)

Had my regular OB appointment and this time it wasn't as long as the previous (when I fell asleep waiting for a period of time of which I don't even remember). During the regular OB appointments, she wheels in the ultrasound machine just to check where the babies are and then puts it away and listens to their heartbeats with the hand-held audio heartbeat monitor thing. So far so good. She looked at my diabetes/glucose log and my kick count cards (most of the time the girls kick 10 times each within 5-10 minutes, sometimes quicker, sometimes they'll take as long as 20 minutes - but so far that's been the longest stretch for 10 kicks: 20 minutes). So far, so good, doctor tells me. Okay.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 (31 weeks, 4 days)

15 years ago this day, the hubster (16 years old at the time) asked me out. Kind of. He was a quiet guy, and didn't exactly verbally ask me out. He put his arm around me and at 16 years old (in those days) it pretty much said it all. Had to throw this in :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011 (31 weeks, 7 days)

Our official baby shower (which we were hosting ourselves because it would be cruel to ask someone else to host an event where 60-70 people - though mostly family - would be attending) was held at the sister-in-law's apartment complex (where she both lives and works in the leasing office at) clubhouse. We like to have events there because it's spacey and accommodating, comes with a good number of tables and seating and best of all, has a full functioning kitchen (refrigerator, stove, microwave, sink). More about this in another post.

Monday, May 16, 2011 (32 weeks, 2 days)

Attended the hospital Maternity Tour. There were a ton of people with women in various stages of pregnancy in attendance. It was at 7pm and lasted about 2 hours. The parents-in-law wanted to attend the tour because when the sister-in-law was in postpartum last fall, finding her location was initially a big ordeal. This time they wanted to be prepared. We ended up arriving early at just before 6:30 and watched a video of a baby in utero until 7pm. The room was packed! A nurse took us through a power point presentation about the process of checking ourselves in and the hospitals and all the other stuff surrounding labor & delivery and postpartum that isn't health related. After that, we broke into smaller groups and were taken around the hospital to see where we would go to when calling into labor & delivery, the various rooms we would be moved into, etc. A lot of big bellies waddling around, especially when we crowded into the elevator. I did not have the biggest belly.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 (32 weeks, 3 days)

Had my every-other-week phone call with my OB case manager regarding my gestational diabetes. So far, so good. Then she gave me a number to call to schedule my twice-weekly NST (non-stress testing) appointments. I called and ended up scheduling an NST appointment for every Tuesday and every Friday from this point until the babies are delivered. That's a lot of doctor visits. But wait, there's more.

Thursday, May 19, 2011 (32 weeks, 5 days)

Met up with former GF girls (well, of the four of us, only 1 still works there) who treated me out to an alternative baby shower lunch at Agora Churrascaria... and that is always a total treat! I was trying to be really good and planning on having a salad from the buffet bar and eating the meats that they waiters would bring around and carve for you... but then I saw the mashed potatoes. I'll have just a spoon of that. And then I saw the roasted potatoes. Okay, just a couple of pieces of that. And then there was potato salad. Um... okay one little spoon. And then, okay, I think one of the sausages that they brought around was actually longanisa and that's gotta be seasoned with sugar. Though the potatoes and the sausages may have nearly killed me, when my doc reviewed the number she was actually impressed that it wasn't any higher than it already was. "Isn't that the Brazilian all-you-can-eat place?" she asked. I nodded and she laughed. I felt better. Just a minor slip-up (in celebration) and I made up for it by having super low numbers the following day. It was a nice afternoon. I have almost forgotten what it was like to go out in the middle of the day and actually socialize.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 (33 weeks, 3 days... 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 weeks to go)

Went to my high-risk OB appointment (hubster attends these appointments) where my first NST appointment would be immediately following. So far I'm doing okay and the babies are doing okay, although she was concerned that Baby A was weighing in at approximately (BIG approximately) 3 lbs 3 oz, which is a bit further from the 4 lbs they should be at this point. Baby B weighed in at about 3 lbs 13 oz which is close enough to 4 lbs that it wasn't a concern. So the biggest thing coming out of this appointment was: if Baby A doesn't start catching up in weight, I may deliver sooner than later (like at 36 weeks). If Baby A does start catching up in weight, we'll hold off and get as close to full term as possible, which is 38 weeks. Also, aside from now having 2 NST appointments per week, I also have a high-risk OB appointment every week (after the next regular one). How do women who work make it to all of these appointments? And oh yeah, my fundus measurement is currently 40cm which means that I look and probably feel the way a singleton pregnant woman does at 40 weeks and some days - already overdue. I keep thinking back to that episode of Friends when Rachel keeps begging for her baby to just get out already. That's my current state...and then some. Unlike her, I still have up to 4 more weeks to go! Yay me!

NST today wasn't too long. Basically you sit in this recliner (all about mama's comfort) and have two monitors (in my case because there are two babies) stuck to your belly to capture the babies' heartbeats on those printing charting graph things. They look for 3 big jumps in heart rate (from each baby) before they let you leave - the jumps in heart rate are directly related to their kicks and they want to monitor regularly (and frequently) to make sure the babies are okay. And they also do a quick ultrasound to check the fluids. I don't mind these appointments. I usually sit there sipping water and flipping through the magazines they have available.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 (33 weeks, 4 days... 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 weeks to go)

The hubster's co-workers wanted to throw us a small baby shower, which was very nice of them considering some went to our baby shower. It was held at their office in one of the small conference/lunch rooms (which was labeled as "Floppy Room" - I thought that was funny, because the larger rooms are labeled as "Hard Drive Room" or "Hard Disc Room") and they wanted me to come in. There were decorations, favors, lots of food and of course, gifts. It was nice and I wish I was able to have enjoyed it but right before the shower luncheon, I got this bad stomach ache that just wasn't going away. I made it through the shower and headed back home (thankfully just 5 minutes away) and had a nice long nap after chewing some more Tums.

Friday, May 27, 2011 (33 weeks, 6 days... 2 to 4 weeks to go)

Second NST appointment. I go alone to these as well because there really isn't a point of the hubster accompanying me to these unless he had absolutely nothing to do. Or, of course, if I wasn't able to drive myself anymore (it's still not a problem for me; the doc said as long as I don't feel any discomfort and don't mentally have any issues about driving, then I should be okay and you know me. I love driving. Well. To an extent of course.). This time the babies were less active than before so it took longer to get those three elevations, but eventually after some cold water drinking (suggested to maybe get them to move away from my stomach) and a little bit of prodding, it was acceptable.

Saturday, May 28, 2011 (33 weeks, 7 days... 2 to 4 weeks to go)

I have officially welcomed the stretchy pants over jeans (yes, I am still wearing my regular jeans at this point; most I stopped buttoning, but one pair I can actually still button since it sits below my belly). Leggings are now appreciated and I no longer feel so naked wearing them. As long as my shirt covers my bum, of course. I just wish that Jasper didn't shed so much. I don't even have to touch him - just walking past him on my way out will turn my black cotton leggings into tan German Shepherd leggings.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 (34 weeks, 3 days... 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 weeks to go)

Third NST appointment. Strangely enough I was feeling particularly chipper this morning. My appointment was at 11:20 but I didn't get in until a few minutes later, and I didn't get into the NST room until around 11:45 (other uncooperative babies not kicking fast enough). My girls gave their three elevations each and I had a quick ultrasound and was out at around 12:15. It now appears that Baby B has turned herself into the proper head-down position, but Baby A who is still breeched is blocking the exit. They better not be fighting already. Afterwards, spent the afternoon with my sister, Emma and my mom - more in another post later.

Thursday, June 2, 2011 (34 weeks, 5 days... 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 weeks to go)

Hey, that's today! Spoke to my OB case manager this morning... since my doctor appointments have increased to every week now, it would be our last phone call together until a month after I deliver the babies. Aside from a couple of glucose elevations from the weekend (specifically lunch and dinner with the family) she said I've been doing well with my numbers and when I'm in labor and delivery, I'll be monitored and probably be hooked up to some insulin IV and when the babies are born, they will be monitored for their glucose and insulin levels as well. But as soon as they are born, I can stop my insulin and I can stop my 6-month+ long sugar and carb deprivation. I had originally figured I'd ease myself into sugar and carbs again when I leave the hospital (my stay will probably be between 48-72 hours), but hey. She said the minute the babies are out... I think I would like my first post-prego meal to be an order of mashed potatoes and country gravy from Claim Jumpers, accompanied by a White Gummy Bear smoothie from Jamba Juice (I've never had this but the sister-in-law says it's totally yummy, and not on the menu but they make it). Well, my case manager did request that once home and when I have a chance/remember to occasionally check my fasting and after meal glucose levels just to make sure everything is okay, which is what I had intended on doing anyway. At about a month to 6 weeks after delivery, I'll head back in for another official glucose test.

So! in a nutshell that's how the pregnancy is going so far. It's quickly coming to an end. It seems like it just flew by, but at the same time, the past few weeks have seemed so grudgingly slow. But you know, that's expected. I AM nearly 35 weeks pregnant with TWINS. So aside from the inability to sleep longer than 3 hours at any given time (some nights when I wake up after 2-3 hours of sleeping, I can either fall asleep again after 10-15 minutes or it may take up to 2 hours to fall back asleep again... this morning I woke up at 4 and aside from dozing off lightly for a few minutes here and there, I officially gave up trying by 8am) and the slight swelling of the feet and hands (which isn't too bad because I can still wear my same shoes and I can still wear my wedding band) and the aching legs and joints and hips and stiffness and feeling like I have carpel tunnel syndrome and how easy it is for my right hand and feet to feel numb and the lower back aches and the (mild) contractions throughout the day and night and how quickly my bum feels sore after sitting for a (rather short) period of time and the feeling that the babies are dropping and want to kick their way out and how they keep pressing up against my diaphragm/lungs and heart making my heart pound super hard and making it hard to breath, while at the same time pressing down on my bladder and intestines keeping me wondering if I need to go to the bathroom or not and at the same time keeping me in a constant 24/7 fatigue (though half the time I can't sleep)...

...what was I saying?

Oh yeah. It's getting close. And it shows. And I feel it.

But other than that, I feel fine.