35 wks 1 day Babies this Friday April 12, 2010

Well we were expecting to have babies today by a scheduled C-section, but Big baby A decided that she and her sister would like to stay in my womb for another 5 days.
 
My Dr did an amnio on her this morning just to confirm that her lungs were mature. We all expected her results to come back positive. But instead her numbers were just a few points shy of where they wanted them to be. The thinking is that if A’s lungs are mature, Baby B’s lung will definitely be as stressed baby’s lungs mature faster. Of course, Xandon and I aren’t sure that baby B knows she’s ‘stressed’. She looks pretty happy swimming around on all the Ultra sounds.
 
I’m pretty proud of Baby A opting to stay in a few more days. I got to be sweet and compliant with my Dr. after being a bit feisty for 10 wks. and it feels like the right thing for Little baby B. It feels like the bigger sister was looking out for the little one.
 
And as an added bonus, they also let me continue my bedrest at home. The heart rates looked great and the girls were active and happy on the ultrasound.

Of course this morning, I was the proud owner of a new bumper crop of stretch marks on my belly. I guess on a positive note, they aren’t on my ass. At least if my stomach is stretching I know it is the girls getting bigger.

And my kankles have company. My feet are almost too swollen for any shoes and the swelling has moved up my calves all the way to my knees and thighs. My inner thighs feel bruised when I touch them and I’m afraid there are varicose veins brewing there although I can’t see them yet.

I feel a little better if I walk around a bit. Getting up from the couch after a long sit-down is really difficult and I feel like a muscle-less sumo wrestler. Actually my feet are so swollen, they look like baby feet. I have dimples on my toes. It’s much cuter on babies.
 
This Friday will put us just 2 days short of my original goal of 36 wks. And we are keeping our fingers crossed that the girls will need little to no time in the NICU. If the girls are happy& healthy this will all be more than worth it.

34wks 7days Babies Tomorrow April 10, 2010

Oh my goodness. I go in tomorrow and they do a amnio at 9 am to make sure baby A’s lungs are matured and if they are we have a C-section around noon. I’ll be exactly at week 35.

It’s all so unreal at this point and exciting. I can’t wait to meet the girls.

All the Dr.s we’ve talked to seem to agree that taking them out now is for the best. They say 35 wks for twins makes them barely premies. In fact Baby A might come home with us. They both might be able to come home with us. Or they both might have a wk in NICU. Drs say it is better to take them out while  they appear happy and healthy and not stressed. There’s still a chance that Baby B’s cord could detach — although her dopplers appear to be getting more and more normal.I feel like I’ve fought the Drs off for 10 wks and I’m too exhausted to fight for one more week. Plus I trust their opinion.My ankles are huge and the swelling has gone all the way up to my knees. Standing is really hard and I tremble — perhaps because of 10 wks on bedrest. Breathing is difficult. I’ve only gained about 35 lbs but it feels like more. And my stomach measures 4 ft. around. I kid you not. Plus I’ve tipped the scale over 200 lbs. I don’t know how woman do this for 40 wks. The human female body is truly amazing.

The girls have been moving around in my stomach a lot today and I know I’m going to miss that feeling for the rest of my life. The rest of being pregnant rather sucks but feeling them wiggle around in there and respond to my touch is awesome.

Here’s hoping for happy, healthy baby girls.

33 wk growth UltraSound April 1, 2010

Babies looked good today! Baby A is up to 4 lbs 15 oz estimated weight and Baby B is 3 lbs 11 oz. I am so proud of them. Baby A has grown a full pound in a little over 2wks. Wow. Yay, protein powder. And baby B has grow 12 oz. Very  respectable and it shows her growth is accelerating.

The dopplers looked normal on both babies today. So B’s blood flow through her cord and brain came up completely normal for the first time in wks. She was at elevated normal — which was just slightly higher than it should be. But today she’s just showing normal.

And their heartbeats on the NST (Non Stress Test) looked great and I showed no contractions.

I’m thrilled that they are doing so well and I’m surviving for the most part. They are both moving tentacle-like limbs across my belly in response. You can see the ripples under my sweater. So sci-fi weird. I love it.

My Dr. wants to schedule a C-section on April 11th. I’ll be at 35 wks that day. She’s planning on doing an amnio that morning on baby A just to make certain her lungs are mature. The thought is that if A’s lungs are mature, B’s definitely will be because babies w/ restricted growth mature faster. If the amnio results are good we do a C-section that day. It is 11 days from now.

I’m not sure if I should fight for an extra week so that I’m at 36 wks instead. I’m tired and my vagina feels like it is going to fall out. So there’s that. And Baby B is still at risk while she’s in me and her risk is less outside at that point because the Dr. can jump in. Plus I think the risk is that her cord could detach.

It’s possible that Baby A could come home with us at 35 wks and even Baby B. Or they might both enjoy a few days in the NICU while my stitches heal. But neither of them should be in there for more than 2 wks — and it should be less. And they both should be breathing on their own.

My Dr. said that 35 wk old twins are barely considered preemies. I can’t wait to see them. I feel panicked over it but we are so ready. I just need more sleep. I wish I could bottle it and store it for later.