We Just Might Make it, Cap'n!

This is how I feel. Triumphant. *Disclaimer: This is not a picture of me.
She kind of reminds me of the girlfriend from 3rd Rock from the Sun, non?

Today is a big day. It’s kind of like the day you FINALLY get asked to go to the Prom when you’ve been waiting for weeks, or even months to be asked. At the time, you’re still just amazed you were asked and aren’t too concerned – yet – about whether or not you like your date or if you’ll have a good time. Yeah. That’s kind of like today.

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant. Why is this so important? Well, if the babies are born from this point forward, the hospital will consider it a “viable pregnancy”, which means they have a fairly good chance of survival and they’ll do everything they possibly can to keep these babes alive. Having said that, I hope my little buns keep roasting in this oven for at least another 2 months.

We did some pretty cool stuff over the last few days.

It only took me 5 hours to
complete. Whoduthinkit?

  1)   We finally got some nursery furniture. We now have one usable non-drop side crib, two non-usable drop side cribs, a large 6 drawer dresser, a cradle and a rocking chair with ottoman. The two non-usable cribs are a disappointment, as they were both given to us, but it looks like they just won’t work for babies.

  2)   I finished one of the baby blankets/quilts. I originally started working on a piece quilt with fancy designs and patterns, but quickly realized I don’t have the time nor the patience for such things right now. I might be able to finish one before November, but not two. And that just wouldn’t be fair to the poor boys.

  3)   I might have broken a blood vessel or perhaps damaged a nerve in my right foot. I have a large red welt on the inside of my foot and when it first appeared, it itched like CRAZY. After that, it became an ugly red blotch that tingles when I apply pressure. So, needless to say, I try not to apply pressure. My toes look like hot dogs and I only have one pair of shoes that fit comfortably. I guess this isn’t so much a “cool stuff I did” thing, but worth noting nonetheless.

Pregnant Puffy Foot reporting for duty, sir!

4)   I was able to sleep through the night without having to get up AT ALL to pee!

5)   I ordered myself a Snoogle. Dumb name, yes, but after tossing and turning like crazy in bed and waking up with horrific headaches from lack of support, I don’t care if they call it a Cleveland Steamer; I just want to actually “rest” while I’m sleeping.

6)   I (sort of) finished my registry. I consolidated them into one site and removed all the duplicates. I also shopped around for who had the lowest prices on what so if/when I do receive gifts, I’ve made sure my ever-so-generous donors get the best deal. See the link over there on the left? You can check it out by clicking “Visit My Registry!” Leave a comment if you think there are things I should register for that aren’t on there.

7)   I painted my toes. They probably look like a 4 year old painted them with a 3” paintbrush if you look at them up close, but from where I stand (and when I bend over far enough to see them), they look pretty.

Pass the Placenta

 Disclosure: This is a gross post. I gagged twice while writing it. You’ve been warned.

An acquaintance of mine recently asked me what I plan “to do” with my placentas after the babies are born.  I didn’t really know what to say because until recently, I forgot there were even options of what to do with said organ after it fulfilled its purpose. I'm going to use cute, cuddly cats to illustrate the sequence of what I felt during this conversation. 



Surprise. Why are you asking me this?



Disgust. I really don't want to think about this.

Sickness. "I don't feel so good right now."

 

Entrapment. How am I going to get out of this conversation?

This person then went on to tell me about all the proven medical benefits of ingesting the placenta after birth, including:

• Increased/faster milk production
• Prevents postpartum depression
• Return to pre-pregnancy size faster

Even after hearing of all these wonderful benefits, I was ready to be done talking about it. I did decide to do some reading about the subject later because I have about 8 hours a day to kill and I can only hit “refresh” on my favorite blogs so often before starting to lose my mind.

The practice seems to be more common in other countries (maybe they don’t have enough chickens or Burger Kings?) and many mammals engage in this act as well, although their motives seem to be different than humans’. There is a new way to “ingest” it: It’s called placenta encapsulation. Basically, they dry it out, grind it up into a powder and put it in capsules for you. Have you ever tried taking a Tylenol but it started to dissolve before you had a chance to swallow it? I would not want to experience that with these things.

Anyway, bottom line for me, I definitely do NOT plan to whip out a Ziplock baggie and take home my left over lady parts for consumption after babies get here. I suppose it isn’t very nice of me to say people SHOULDN’T do this; but as for me and my house, we’ll be serving tacos, not placenta lasagna.

Weekly Stats

How far along: 23 weeks, 1 day

Weight gain/loss:  3 lbs.

Maternity clothes:  This is interesting...I no longer have to wear a safety pin to hold up the giant XL (about size 14/16) pants I bought for work. Clothes continue to get tighter.

Stretch marks: None yet, but I have noticed the ones I already had on my thighs are now diminished from being plumped up with all this extra fat/water/blood/whatever else is in there.

Sleep: Tossing and turning a lot. Still freaking out when I wake up on my back. I imagine I can hear babies screaming for more oxygen as I roll over to my side.

Best moment this week:  Kevin and Justine felt Baby A kick!

Food cravings: No cravings, but eating a lot of dairy to help combat the heartburn.

Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  Almost flat. Another week, and I have an inkling I'll start to see a little nub poking out.

Movement:  Funny...Baby B seems to swim when I eat salty foods while Baby A seems to be more active with sweet foods. Still lots of reassuring movement.

What I miss:  Heels. I really miss my heels. I tried wearing some for spite the other day ("I'll show MY body!") Nope. Couldn't even get to my desk from the car without having to change into flats. Short, fat pregnant lady!

What I'm looking forward to: I know one day I will see this and cringe - Looking forward to hearing those first little cries.

Milestones:  Kevin and Justine feeling kicking, getting some new nursery furniture, finalizing some baby shower details

What Color is Anxiety?

Kevin finally felt Baby A kick! We were watching a movie and he was going nuts doing flips, kicks and flutters. I grabbed Kevin’s hand and within a couple of minutes, he felt a soft “thump”. Aaaaaaah! I was so excited. Probably more than Kevin.  Justine, my oldest step daughter, was also able to feel him while we were at the lake last weekend. I think she was expecting more, because she said, “oh, that’s what it feels like? I just thought that was your pulse”. So, even though they feel like gymnastics to me, apparently they just feel like soft, faint flubs to everyone else at the moment.

Baby B is still a tough bugger to catch. I don’t feel him squirming nearly as much. But this morning, I’ve felt him rubbing against my ribs and rocking back and forth. It’s comforting, because I haven’t felt him move much the last few days.

Here is a picture of me and Kevin at the lake last weekend. I love my silly husband.

It’s getting harder to stay comfortable. I have all but given up on pants with the exception of one XL pair of lycra dress pants I bought on clearance for $5. They are long enough I can pull them up over my bump and safety pin them to stay put. Other than that, though, it’s pretty much strictly dresses and skirts. I’ve even outgrown most of my pajamas! Who outgrows pajamas?? So many unexpected surprises.

A woman from my work is having her baby this week. Her due date was yesterday, but her little guy hasn’t given any indication he’s ready to leave his home, so it sounds like she’ll be induced on Saturday.

My thoughts have been turning to labor recently. I suppose I haven’t thought about it much this far because it seemed so far away. But now, it’s less than 100 days away. 100 days! I’m not a big worrier by nature (thank goodness), but since the inevitable is getting closer, I’ve noticed some annoying “what if’s” creeping into my mind. Even though it’s a real possibility, pre-term labor really hasn’t scared me much. I just assumed that everything is normal and progressing as it should right now, no need to panic. But what if it does happen? What if I start to have contractions and I don’t even know I’m having them? Apparently, I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past few weeks, but I didn’t know it. I didn’t know what they were supposed to feel like, I just thought what I was feeling was a growing uterus and round ligament pain. What if my babies are born on Bangerter highway because I was too clueless to recognize that I was in labor??

I’m glad I signed up for the labor class at the hospital. It may terrify me to learn about all the stuff that I didn’t know I didn’t know, but at least I’ll feel better prepared and know what I should expect. This is all so foreign to me, as I’m usually such a passive person. I usually just handle things as they come and have the mentality that everything will work out one way or another…but now that these babies are involved, I feel like I HAVE to be prepared, for their sake. Aaawe, motherhood instincts! Cute!

Speaking of preparedness, I’m worried about buying nursing bras. I have no idea where to get them, or what to get, or how to know if I’m getting the right kind/size. Totally clueless! And nursing pads? What are those? I’ve seen what they look like, little white circles…I’d guess I stuff them in my bra to keep any leakage milk from seeping through? I have no idea. All I know is every blog said I need them, and I need them before I go to the hospital.

Weekly Specs

How far along: 22 weeks, 1 day

Weight gain/loss:  No gain from last week

Maternity clothes:  Still wearing the same things, but noticing less give in the less stretchy stuff

Stretch marks: None to be had! I've also noticed I don't have that dark line thing running under my belly button. Maybe I'll be lucky?

Sleep: Still peeing a lot during the night. More so now. The sleep itself is ok, but getting less comfortable.

Best moment this week:  Taking time off to go hang with the family at the lake

Food cravings: Ice cream. So cliche.

Gender:  Same as last week...still boys

Belly button in or out?  Looking more and more like a manhole cover every day.

Movement:  Baby B has been much more active this week. I can feel lots of kicks in my ribs and feel a lot of swirling around when I rest my hand on top of my bump

What I miss:  Being able to eat what I wanted without worrying about heartburn, indigestion, or nausea.

What I'm looking forward to: Time at the lake and figuring out plans for the nursery

Milestones:  None this week. No news is good news at this point!

Hot Belly!

Here are some pics I took today...in the bathroom. I know, super classy.

Super cool dragon to represent the fire breathing power
of Baby A

Outrageous flaming skull to show the sheer treachery
of Baby B

This is what my feet look like when I look down.

And here she is in all her glory. Check out my giant freckle! It
keeps growing, right along with my belly. You can also
kind of see my belly button starting to make it's way into
the daylight. And yeah, you can even see a little bit of my
underwear. Pretend you can't see that.

Happy Days

I’m feeling really happy today. I was getting caught up on all of my “internetting” (Facebook, blogs, etc) while drinking some apple juice, all while feeling the babies kick away. I’m totally going to chalk it up to the hormones, but I have such a sense of excitement and peace right now.

We picked up a crib this weekend that a co-worker of mine generously donated to us. It’s sitting in our hallway right now because we don’t have anywhere to put it yet. But just looking at it makes me happy. It’s tangible proof that these little boys are going to be here pretty soon.

I visited with my dad and step mom on Saturday. My step mom’s cousin made me a couple of baby blankets that are pretty cute. They also gave me a two photo albums which will definitely come in handy when it’s time to start putting all of this pregnancy, birth and baby stuff together for them.

My oldest step-daughter bought me some bad-ass tattoos at the Chinese buffet Friday night. She picked up one for each of the babies and we put them on my belly. All I need now is a frosty 40, some Marlboro lights and a pair of cut off jeans and I’m set!

We tried using the flashlight to encourage some movement yesterday morning. It didn’t work very well. However, Emilee was able to feel a couple of kicks last night after dinner. I used Riley’s stethoscope to see if I could hear any heartbeats. I know it was a long shot. I could hear a very, very, very faint thump thump around where Baby A is, but couldn’t hear a darn thing except a gas bubble or two where Baby B is.