Update on the girls and mom

Here is a picture of my belly at 34 weeks and 1 day.

I survived my 24 hour urine collection and fasting blood draw (it's so cruel to make a very pregnant woman fast for any amount of time). Went back to see my OB today and the urine and blood work look great. They don't have the evidence they need to diagnose preeclampsia, but the doctor is still concerned. My blood pressure was down today (128/80) so that is a big improvement. The babies heartbeats sound good at 151 and 152 bpm. My doctor wants me to repeat the 24 hour urine collection and blood work on Monday and see him Tuesday afternoon. He said he's planning on taking the babies as soon as it's safe for them which he said would be 37 weeks (July 14th!!!). So no date for sure yet, but a good idea. For now I am on strict, total bedrest with bathroom privileges. That's ok, that's all I feel like doing now that I am so big and probably have over 10lbs of baby in my tummy.

34 week 1 day appointment with OB

Today I had my 34 week and 1 day appointment with my OB. I gained 4 pounds over the past two weeks. I'm up to 37 pounds total. The doctor said to expect 40 - 45 pounds at the beginning of the pregnancy so I'm on track for that. Hopefully I won't go over it too much. They found the babies heart beats and said they sounded good. One was quieter than the other and the nurse thought a leg might be in the way. Sounds cute. :) They were concerned about my blood pressure today (140/90) and my swelling in ankles and hands. The doctor thinks it's probably pre-eclampsia which is a condition that all pregnant women are at risk for, but more so with multiples. I have to do a 24 hour urine collection starting tomorrow morning and then go in Thursday morning to have my urine analyzed and blook work done. Then I see my OB again Thursday afternoon for a blood pressure check. All of this will aid in the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia or if I just have transient high blood pressure. He said that we'd probably be looking at delivery at 36 or 37 weeks if I have pre-e. Earlier if anything else comes up. I'll keep ya'll posted.

I feel pretty good. I am having contractions pretty frequently, but they are painless and not associated with any other significant symptoms so he's not concerned yet. I did call him on Saturday night right about dinner time (poor guy) just to double check because I was having them so frequently (every 3-5 minutes). He said to just wait them out unless they were painful or I was bleeding.

That's the news. I'll post a picture of me and the belly later tonight!

Nesting

Woke up today not feeling quite right. Lazy on couch until Thomas came home for lunch. Complained to poor Thomas about how messy things were in the house and he said he'd clean for me this afternoon. After he left for lunch I thought, hmm I'll just pick up a few things. Well, I changed the sheets in the guest bedroom (we had a visitor on Friday night), cleaned out the drawers in our bathroom and vacuumed out all the hair and dust, organized under the sink, changed decorations around the house to 4th of July stuff, put away some more baby clothes, cleaned the kitchen counters, cleaned the laundry room, picked up the living and dining rooms, had a snack for more energy, hot glued some decorations back on the front of one of our baby books that fell off, cleaned off piano, went through old magazines to trash, and am finally back on the couch. Thomas called and asked what I was up to. I had to admit I was nesting which doesn't make him too happy because he knows I'm supposed to be taking it easy. Sometimes I just can't help it.

Don't worry, I've had a few bouts of nesting and it never has led to any signs of labor so for those of you who think I might be delivering soon...I hope not! I want at least a few more weeks with the girls inside. For my own goal I'd like to get to 36.5 weeks. I feel like we would be able to avoid the NICU at that point.

We also met with our pediatrician last night. Dr. Watson. We had to wait a little bit in the waiting room, but what can you expect. On a bathroom run I actually ran into him and he appologized that we had to wait and promised he'd be with us soon. At least he acknowledged it. Dr. Watson comes very highly recommended, but we always get the disclaimer from people that he's an amazing doctor, but is hard on the parents. We take it that he just tells you what you're doing right and wrong without sugar coating it too much and some people get offended or take it personally. As far as we are concerned, we want him to just come out and say whatever he is thinking. He's the doctor after all. We also got the comments "Isn't he retired?" We were expecting a 75 year old man...not at all he's 58. People love to talk in Midland. We had a great meeting with him. He spoke with us for about an hour and answered all our questions, told us about his training, his plans for the future (not to retire for at least 10 years and add more ped.s to his practice), who is on call for him, how to get a hold of someone after hours, etc. After we left we were both very pleased with our decision of having him as our pediatrician. He was very personable and even quite funny. I think he will fit our needs with the girls great.

33 week appointment with perinatologist

Well, Thomas and I went to our 33 week appointment with our perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor) this morning. They do our indepth sonograms, track their growth, track their amniotic fluid, and assess all their functions. The girls look great. I cannot believe how big they are. Twin A (closer to cervix) is on my left and head down. She weighs 4 lbs 10oz. Everything looks great on her. Twin B is on my right head down also (yay!). She weighs 4lbs 8oz. Everything also looks great on her. I actually lost 4.5 pounds from last Wednesday. I don't know if it is water weight or if I just had a big lunch last week???!?! My hands and feet are getting a little deformed looking with all the swelling. What a cruel trick to have one of the hottest summers on record and be pregnant with twins! Thomas and I made it to the pool yesterday and that was so nice. I think I'll drag my mom to the pool tomorrow. Ok back to the appointment...my blood pressure is good (117/74) and no other complications. I am feeling more braxton hicks contractions, but the doctor said they are nothing to worry about unless my water breaks or I cannot breathe through them. I go back to see them in 4 weeks when I'll be 37 weeks, but they didn't think I'd make it that far. 50% of twins are born before 37 weeks. We'll see.

We get to meet our pediatrician tomorrow night and I'll update after the meeting. I'm anxious to meet him. Thanks for reading!

More sonogram pictures

Sonogram pictures finally

32 Week appointment with OB

So I went in to see my OB today. I look forward to these appointments so much. It's fun to get to talk about the babies and being pregnant! My blood pressure was good, my urine looks good, I gained 4.5 pounds in the past 2 weeks, and the babies' heartbeats sound good. From where the nurse heard the heartbeats she said they might still both be head down. I can't tell?!?!?! We'll see Monday after we have another sonogram with my peri. My belly measured 39 weeks today even though I'm only 32. That's twins for ya. So far it was all good news. I asked about my OB's philosophy on inductions and he said especially for twins he was a fan of inductions by about 38 weeks as long as there is some thinning of the cervix. He even hinted at possibly inducing before 38 weeks. YAY! I'm not sure I could take going any longer than 38 weeks. Hopefully I won't jinx myself by saying that. I go back in to see him in 2 weeks.

It's been way hot here lately. Most of the days we hit 100 or go over 100. I've gone to the pool some, but mainly try to stay in during the heat of the day. The heat doesn't help with my swelling either. My only defense is airconditioning and water, water, water. Oh, and my naps. Off to a nap right now!

Some pictures

This is my belly at 31 weeks 3 days pregnant. Compare it to the first post I made.
I have stretch marks even if you can't really see them from where you are.

We're famous!

Well, at least at our local HEB (grocery store). It seems that all of the checkers at the store were Thomas's students. I was in line buying some steaks/potatoes/salad when the checker asked how many months I was. I said "7 months with twin girls." She then said "Oh, you're having the LaFarellettes!" I laughed and said that was me. Thomas thinks he knows who it was. I like the nickname. We always seem to run into some of his previous students up there. I suspect that many of you don't know that Thomas has changed jobs recently. The last day of our school year was graduation day on Saturday the 31st. Thomas started his new job Monday of this week. He is a project manager for Nova Safety and Environmental. Yes, he made the move to the oil industry. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. He's been running around doing some training in New Mexico and I make him take his gallon of water everyday because we've had 105+ degree heat all week. At least I can stay home in the air conditioning. My back has been very tired and the babies feel very heavy, but other than that I've been good. I think they were taking turns doing somersaults this morning. They've been calmer this afternoon.