NST Crap

As I mentioned, the doctor has advised me to start having NST (non-stress test) scans weekly. I had my first one Friday night after work.

I told Kevin there was no reason for him to go, it should just be a quick in and out deal and I should be home within an hour so. If only I had fortune telling powers!

I showed up at 6:00 with the script from the doctor. All the nurses were busy, but eventually someone asked me what I needed. I had an appointment, so I gave them my name and insurance info and filled out some quick paperwork, then one of them told me they'd get me to a room shortly. She had a very concerned look on her face and asked if I was doing ok, did I need anything...I told her I was fine. Then she looked confused. She asked me why I was there, and I told her my doctor had asked me to start having these scans so here I am. She saw I was having twins and said that must be why he ordered the scan, but was thrown off a bit by my comfortableness because most women that come in to Labor and Delivery can barely speak or are in mucho pain. But not me!

Eventually, she took me back to one of the rooms and had me strip down and put on a flexy brown belly cover which would hold the monitors in place. I was alone for about 15 minutes while I waited for her to come back. When she finally did come back, she had a heck of a time trying to find the heartbeats. I wasn't concerned; I knew they were there, she just wasn't looking in the right spots. I didn't want to be a PIA patient, so I just patiently laid there while she tried to find them. Eventually she did. But they moved. So she had to find them again. And again. And again. After 5 tries, she finally found them and was able to keep them.

She told me to lie still and relax for about 30 minutes and that she'd be back to review the results with me. 30 minutes came and went. All of a sudden, the machine started shouting this really loud beeping sound. It would NOT shut UP. I thought for sure it was to let the nurses know my time was up. But no one came. I was there for over an hour, lying there listening to this horrible beeping thing, unable to get up due to all the monitors and attachments on me. The nurse call thing was not hooked up so I couldn't call a nurse. FINALLY after an hour and 15 minutes, someone came in. She said, "sorry about the beeping" and started looking at the monitor behind me. She asked me if I'd been feeling "all those contractions" to which I told her yes, I've been having them all week and I told my doctor about them but he didn't seem concerned. She asked if I'd been "checked" recently (which meant had the doctor checked my cervix) and I told her no I'd never been checked. So now she had to call the doctor on call to see what they wanted her to do. Again, I'm alone for another 20 minutes. When she finally came back, she said the doctor wanted me to have a shot of something to slow the contractions because they were so frequent. The side effects of the medication were unpleasant to say the least. My heart was racing, my entire body was shaking and shivering and I couldn't focus. I found it ironic the medication was supposed to be a smooth muscle relaxer but made me feel anything but relaxed. She also "checked" me which was probably the most unpleasant part of this pregancy thus far. But it was in ship shape and there were no signs the babies were ready to come just yet.

NOT a fan!

I had to wait another 30 minutes and drink nearly 80 oz. of water while I waited this time. The nurse came back and said the contractions still hadn't slowed enough and I had to have another shot. ...just when the side effects of the first shot were starting to wear off!

Another 30 minutes and finally - peace. She told me they were calm enough that I could go home. It was now 9:30. I had to leave her with a urine sample, but lucky me - I got to carry said urine sample through the hallway to the nurses desk where she was. There were 2 sets of families in the hallway waiting for visitation who got to see my super cool yellow specimin.

I think this whole ordeal probably caused more stress than it alleviated. Even when the doctor told me to schedule these appointments, he said they weren't really "necessary" since he checks me via ultrasound at all my appointments anyway. So I think I'll ask him if I can shy away from having to do this again. Did. Not. Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Counting Contractions

Earlier in the week, I was having a lot of contractions. Not the kind that would make me think I was in labor, just the subtle tightening-of-the-belly kind. They were pretty constant Monday and Tuesday. I couldn't really count how long they would last or the time between them, because my belly was just tight, all day long. I decided it was a good idea to stay home from work on Wednesday to give things a rest and see if it would calm things down a bit.

Thankfully, it worked. I had hardly any tightening yesterday. Just a few moments here and there. Back to "normal". We also went to see the doctor again last night (34 weeks, wahoo!). I told him about the contractions and he didn't seem too worried after checking the ultrasound. I have had some other new annoyances such as loss of hearing in my left ear, severe headache (the kind that starts in your eye socket and slowly makes its way through the rest of your head) and stabbing pains in the guts. Again, he didn't seem to think any of these things were very serious because my blood pressure is still normal, I don't have any protein in my urine and the babies are doing very well in their little amniotic huts. So as glad as I was to hear all is well, it was a little irritating to hear that I just have to live with these things for a few more weeks.

Baby A is still breech! Dang it! However, he said Baby B has turned but it doesn't matter because A is the one that calls the shots when it comes to delivery. He also requested I start doing the non-stress tests. I have my first one tomorrow evening after work. From what I understand, I get hooked up to a monitor that tracks each babys' movements and heart rates and they use the info to detect if there are any problems with the babes. I guess they don't usually do this for first time pregnancies unless it's high risk or there has been a miscarriage or loss before. A friend of mine told me today they lost their first baby at 38 weeks, but had they done a NST, it would have survived. Yikes!

I'm definitely at the point where I'm ready for these kids to get here. I know I'm going to beat myself for saying so later - like when I'm knee deep in diapers, bottles, boobs and poop - but the last few weeks or pregnancy basically suck. I'm super happy they are healthy and growing, though. The more time in the belly, the less time in the NICU. It's appropriate that the suffering and sacrifice start as soon as pregnancy begins, because that's basically par for the course once they're born, too. At least the payoff is totally worth it.

Any Day Now

We had our 33 week appointment last night. I finally got to see the faces of my two boys! This was really cool. They've been in such awkward positions for the past few months, we haven't really had a chance to see them like this.

Baby B profile

Baby A profile (seriously, those lips look HUGE)

This is how their heads are positioned - side by side. They
are constantly butting heads. I have a feeling this will continue
well into adulthood...

 After many weeks of wishy-washiness, Kevin and I finally decided to buy a van. We went out over the weekend and after spending literally the entire day looking for one, we decided on a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Um, I'm totally in van love. It has all the bells and whistles like leather seats (which I DID NOT want initially, but they're ok, and they'll be so much easier to clean with two little babies), stow and go seating, auto doors, power everything including temp control, heated seats, a CD player (sad that this is so exciting for me - I've been driving the Taurus much too long) and a DVD system. It makes me giddy just thinking about it.

The doctor told me last night that my uterus is getting to the point where it's going to think it's labor time, or darn close to it. But the good news? I'm now considered full term! If they are born now, they shouldn't have to spend much, if any, time in the NICU. However, all of us are hoping for them to keep on bakin' for another 2 - 4 weeks. Wow, did I really just type that? 2 - 4 weeks! That's like 14 - 30 DAYS. Wow. Absolutely incredible. I honestly can't believe it's so close and that it's gone by so quickly.

I treated myself to a mani/pedi on my lunch break yesterday. I've been wanting to do one for a quite a while, but I kept making excuses not to go. Who makes excuses NOT to get pampered? Me, I guess. I had to make sure it was a day my legs were shaved. I had to be wearing a dress/skirt/something showing leg so I didn't have to hike my pants up. I had to be able to take a long lunch. Etc etc. Well, I finally went for it yesterday. That was the third pedicure I've received in my life. Not bad, and for sure worth the $20 (free manicure included!).


(Semi) Weekly Stats!

How far along: 33 weeks, 1 day
Weight gain/loss:  I'm at a solid 183-5 and I've maintained for about 2 weeks.
Maternity clothes:  Whatever I can get into. I haven't grown much in the belly so now it's just the same, bland monotonous wardrobe I'm tired of.
Stretch marks: Still none, and I can't believe it! I hope I stay this lucky.
Sleep: Getting better, but it's not easy. The pee breaks are fewer now (I've learned I just have to stop drinking around 6 to be safe) but the heartburn is worse. I've had to start sleeping with an extra pillow propped up under my Snoogle to keep it at bay. A lot of baby dreams going on in my head, too.
Best moment this week:  The new van, totally.
Food cravings: The usuals of the season, still. VERY excited for caramel apples this weekend!
Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  In, and it won't be popping. That's ok, though.
Movement:  Well both babies are now breech. This means a c-section is very likely unless A gets his act together and flips. They are still bouncing off the walls constantly and I've even had to manually move them a few times because they'll get too comfy under my ribs, against my bladder or on top of my stomach. Even Kevin can feel them just about any time he has his hand on my belly.
What I miss:  Being able to get out of a sitting/lying position without help. It's not that I CAN'T do this now, but it's so much more difficult and painful and awkward.
What I'm looking forward to: Nothing immediate, but eventually my second baby shower, the delivery, Thanksgiving and Halloween weekend.
Milestones:  We bought a van! We got to see the beautiful faces of our boys. We made it "full term". I've finally stopped gaining weight.

Still Growing!

Last weekend, we finally finished getting Angel's room put together. We got her headboard hung as well as the rest of the pictures. While we were working on it, the girls took some pictures for us. Here I am at 31 weeks and 3 days:

Also shown, the side of Angel's super cute homemade headboard!

Then, Kevin and I compared bellies again. I think I'm winning...

Finally!

I finally took pictures of the nursery with the Frog and Toad pictures we got hung over the weekend. I LOVE them. Kevin is a genius. I probably shouldn't say that too often, though. It's starting to go to his head.

Remember these guys? They fit right into their new home.

I am totally taking credit for the ribbons, though. I thought that would add a nice "baby" touch to the pictures. Originally I was going to go with bows, but I ran out of ribbon so I just did a tie instead. Turned out better that way. Bows were apparently a little too girly for the boys.

Baby Shower, Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, my BFF Megan hosted a baby shower for me and my friends. It was so much fun! We played a few games, I got to see some friends I haven't seen in way too long, and I was given some super awesome gifts! Megan took some pictures of the day. Enjoy!

Check out the cute sign! She MADE it! I love the little owls.

Guess who won the bottle on the right? Me. That's who. And I'm
not exactly sure what they were, but they were delicious. Emilee
won the Tootsie Rolls.

Back to Front: Cherise, Ellie, Angel, Jenn and Steph.

One of the games we played: Everyone tore off a piece of toilet
paper to wrap around my belly to guess what size they thought
I was. Everyone guessed way more than I actually was, except
Steph and Emilee. Both of them were right on the money!

This was the gift tag on the bag from Megan. I loved the addition
of the "S". He he.

This is Megan and I behind the adorable diaper cake she made
(larger picture below). Pay no attention to how swollen I am here.

Handmade card from Ellie! I have it displayed on my desk at work
because I think it's just to cute not to keep looking at it. My friends
rock!

Here I am with Cherise and Ellie. You know what's funny? My
face is so swollen, my eyes are almost shut in all of my pictures!
These two also brought diapers for the raffle game. Cherise ended
up as the winner. Hope she enjoys her free dinner!

Left to right: Hillary, Steph and Jenn. I really like this picture of
my friends. It looks a bit like a magazine ad for something...and
it doesn't hurt that they're all babelicious. So lucky to have friends
like them!

Steph and I, being a bit precocious. Two of my fingers were numb
in this picture. Weird.

Delicious punch! I remember it had Sprite, lemon juice and lots
of berries and bananas, but I don't remember the recipe. Just that
Megan is incredible.

Here I am with Jenn. She brought me 3 BOXES of clothes which
I had lots of fun going through. Baby clothes are adorable, as was
Jenn's little girl (she played at the park while we played our games).

Here's another shot of that beautiful punch Megan
made. It's hard to describe how yummy everything was.

The almost-too-cute-to-disassemble diaper cake
Megan made.

Me and Hillary. She is getting MARRIED in just a few days! So
excited for her. Not only because she's getting married, but because
she's getting married in Maui. As in Hawaii. So lucky.

Just in case you missed it. We're having
boys. 2 of them.

You Know What's Weird?

Things are starting to feel weird. My belly changes sizes and shapes every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Right now, for example, it looks like I swallowed a UFO. My belly doesn’t stick out too far, but the sides look wide and heavy. But when I woke up this morning, this same belly was poking out so much, I couldn’t find a maternity shirt to cover it.

Not only that, but the babies are getting bigger and so are their kicks, rolls and stretches. I sometimes can’t tell if they are stretching out and pushing against my skin making it feel hard, or if it’s a Braxton Hicks contraction.

I still have a big appetite, but can only eat small portions or I feel (as I often have over the last few weeks) like a whale. I ate a plum on my way to work this morning. It felt like I just finished a 16 oz. steak.

I’m starting to wonder how much longer I can handle being at work. My job is not physically, mentally or in any other way too demanding, but it does take some work to get ready in the morning and to find clothing appropriate for the workplace that doesn’t make me uncomfortable. Additionally, it would be nice to have some buffer time between working full time and delivering and bringing home the boys. On the other hand, it sure is nice to keep getting paid, especially with massive hospital bills coming our way.

Man, Utah is a pretty place.

By the way, it snowed yesterday. Seems a little early this year, but yet another reminder that life is moving forward – and quickly. I’m so ready to meet these little boys, but I so don’t feel ready for them to be here. We’ve done all the planning and prepping we can. We have just about everything we need. Yet I feel like I’m about to close my eyes and take a giant leap right off of a huge cliff, hoping my parachute will open and I’ll land safely.

Home Stretch

We finally got our Frog & Toad posters! They turned out great. Kevin is a Photoshop genius (as if this is news to anyone) and you can’t even see where the edits were made to make them look just like the book covers.

These additions just about complete the room. We also have just about all our equipment. We haven’t installed the car seats yet, but we at least have them. And they are so cool.

We have SO MANY BABY CLOTHES. All I did for about 6 days straight was loads of laundry, washing all the clothes that have been given to us so far. We have so many, I ran out of room in the dresser and there are piles sitting on top. Unfortunately, the cat likes to walk on them which defeats the purpose of the washing, so I’ll probably end up washing them again. They are mostly newborn to 6 months, but we’ve gotten quite a few 2T and 3T. I’m sure we’ll be hitting the D.I. for much of the 6 months to 2T clothes.

I had my first baby shower just over a week ago. My friend Megan put it together for me with the help of her sister in law. It turned out so awesome! I was impressed with her craftiness. I’ll post more about it later when she sends me the pictures.

We’ve hired my replacement at work. I’ve been getting her trained to take over once I’m out. Although it’s good to have everything in place before I go, it’s been somewhat stressful trying to find something for her to do. We have two people doing the job of one person which makes for some slow days.

I have my 31 week appointment tonight. I’m happy about the timing, because I haven’t been feeling Baby B very much the last few days. I’m sure he’s changed positions and just isn’t able to move as much as he did before, but it’s always reassuring to hear good news from the doctor that all is well. Plus I’m hopeful to get a good ultrasound picture. The ones we’ve been getting lately look like melted marshmallows and not much else.

Weekly Stats!

How far along: 30 weeks, 6 days
Weight gain/loss:  I don’t know, but I know I’m up 43 pounds overall. Ugh.
Maternity clothes:  Leggings are highly desirable these days. My belly actually seems to have shrunk a tad, so some of my smaller clothes are fitting again.
Stretch marks: None that I can see yet. Kevin did an inspection for me a few days ago and he couldn’t see any either. I do have some wryly dark hairs growing sporadically, though. I blame it on the boys.
Sleep: Not much of it to be had. Waking up a lot from heartburn during the night. I have frequent dreams of fire, drinking acid, swallowing pine needles and other horrific events that ultimately lead to me waking up and making my way to the bathroom in the dark to try and find the bottle of TUMS, then trying to chew, swallow and return to bed before falling asleep while standing up. I try to take advantage of the fact that I’m already up and make a quick pee trip, too. Sometimes I remember. But not always. Oh, and still having to check to make sure the fluffy seat cover isn’t down before plopping to tinkle. Kevin is a dear and always puts the seat down. But he also puts the lid down, so I have to pay attention.
Best moment this week:  The baby shower was super fun. I also really enjoyed getting the posters ready for the room. They turned out really cute.
Food cravings: Sugary crap. It seems to be the only thing I want to eat lately. I also have my usual fall cravings (nothing I wouldn’t have without pregnancy, though): Pumpkin pie, banana bread, almond poppyseed bread, pumpkin bread…basically anything with starch and sugar. No wonder I’ve gained 43 pounds.
Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  In. And my belly ring piercing is gross. I’m going to take a picture and post it as a PSA for young ladies not to pierce their belly button if they plan to ever have kids, because it looks so gross. It’s all red, stretched out, and looks like I have a big lesion on my otherwise cute belly!
Movement:  Baby A is my little monster. He is so active. He changes positions on me constantly. Right now he is in a transverse position, or at least he was at the last appointment. I’m sure he’s moved multiple times since then, though. Baby B still seems to be the same as usual – vertex. He is head down, but I can actually feel where his skull is in my bump. It’s the creepiest feeling when he stretches out because it feels like an orange-sized tumor on my side. He hasn’t been moving much the last couple of days, or at least not that I can feel.
What I miss:  Weekend freedom. As thankful as I’ve been to have time to get many of my to do projects taken care of, I really miss the relaxation of hanging out with Kevin and the kids on the weekends. We constantly have more to do, and with every item we cross off, we add two more. The most unfortunate thing about this is it is only going to get worse. Goodbye, leisure time!
What I'm looking forward to: My appointment this evening
Milestones:  My belly shrunk! The nursery is now 97% complete. Clothes are all washed and put away.