30 Weeks

My blog looks live I've been seriously trucking along the last couple days - 3 weeks in 2 days ;) If only it actually went that fast, right? There is still a list of things I'd like to tackle and get done before D-Day arrives but I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. I'm ready to stop lugging around this huge belly. Ready to be able to lay down in bed again. Ready to have shirts that actually cover my belly. Ready to have more patience with the kids.....well, at least I like to blame my lack of patience some days on the hormones ;) I'm ready to not go to the doctor every week. Ready to get outside and get my kids in and out of the car on my own more often - it would also help if Spring would hurry up and show it's face.

Anyway, today was my 30 week appointment and growth ultrasound. It was the first time we've attempted to take the kids with us to an ultrasound & it was scheduled right at lunch time. I endured an epic tantrum from Hadley all the way to town and to the doctor's office all because she saw the snack cups I made and then watched me pack them in my purse instead of giving them to her. That girl has a serious temper. Anyway, the ultrasound went well & the kids behaved. They sat and ate quietly for the majority of the time we were in there. Elliot was very excited to see his baby sisters & he did a good job narrating everything that was going on. Jessica, our ultrasound extraordinaire has kids relatively close in age to mine so she did great talking to them and asking questions.

Baby A is mostly head down - for now at least. It looked like she was way down there but I've thought that before and she's managed to flip around. Both girls have their heads on my right side with their bodies laying on top of each other. It's so interesting to see them on the ultrasound & see the positions they're able to get themselves into. At this point it's getting harder and harder to tell what belongs to who & we eventually gave up trying to differentiate which cord belonged to which baby since we couldn't follow it on the ultrasound (there was always some body part in the way). Their growth discrepancy was 12% at our last ultrasound but today was only 7%. They're now back measuring within 4ish days of each other as opposed to being a week apart last time. Baby A measured in at 29 weeks, 6 days with a weight of 3lb. 4oz. with a heartrate of 130 and Baby B is measuring about 29 weeks, 2 days with a weight of 3lb. 1oz. and a heartrate of 132. Jessica was still pretty confident about their sizes being accurate but did say that as they get bigger it will probably get harder to get really accurate weight estimates. Still, it is a bit crazy to think that at 30 weeks pregnant I already have over 6lb. of baby in there!! Amniotic fluid was measuring at just over 6cm in each sac and my cervix was measuring 5.75 which is awesome. Everything else at my appointment checked out well - my blood pressure was back down into it's "normal" (normal for this pregnancy at least) range and my fundal height was 41cm. this week which seems a little more in line.

Yesterday was my initial consultation with the diabetes center. I hate that I have to do the gestational diabetes stuff but it is what it is. I was rather enjoying eating when I felt like it and not thinking too much about it. Still, I think this time will be better than my last rodeo with GD. I was in the hospital and severely limited on food choices. This time I am able to cook, shop and make my own choices and therefore have a lot more variety. I've got the finger pricking thing down & that doesn't bother me but having to think about my snack before I grab it and stuff it in my mouth is new territory. So far the only number I've had trouble with is my fasting blood sugar which I take first thing in the morning - oh and the unfortunate incident the fast food burger caused after lunch today (OOPS!!). I was told that the extra hormones I'm making could very well lead to a higher than normal fasting blood sugar & it could have nothing to do with what I'm eating. This first week is really a trial and error week for me as I figure out which foods I can handle well and which ones seem to be more of a trigger for high blood sugars. It's a learning process that's for sure but it is a good one. It's never a bad thing to have to learn how to be concious about what I'm eating and how healthy it might be for me!

********I'll be back later to add some 30 week pictures of myself and at least one of the girls!!

Egg Hunt

Sunday, April 10, 2011

It's that time of year again!! I love Easter. I love that it means Spring is here (usually at least) and I love the reminder of what my Savior did for me. I'll also admit I do enjoy some of the cheesier aspects of the holiday as well - like coloring eggs, filling and hunting for eggs, the bunnies, ducks and getting together with family. We're planning to have an egg hunt for the kids at home but we also wanted somewhere for them to go in the community. We knew we were going to miss the egg hunt in Peosta since we were planning to visit family the weekend it was happening so we happened to hear about one at Heritage Manor in Dubuque.

We talked to the kids about hunting for eggs before they took a nap on Sunday and when Elliot woke up he was ready to go! He helped me find their baskets and then anxiously waited for his sister to get up. When Daddy got home from church we loaded up the munchkins and headed to town.

It was such a beautiful day but unfortunately it was pretty toasty inside the building and it was a bit difficult to keep our little people occupied while we waited for things to get underway. The children were all split up according to ages & fortunately both Elliot & Hadley were in the same group. They can be pretty lost without each other sometimes. They had a great time walking the halls with the other kids and when they were given the word to begin collecting they got right down to business. Elliot was a little machine and had his basket full in no time at all. Hadley was a bit more methodical but it didn't take her long to get her basket mostly filled up as well. It was so much fun watching them snatch the eggs and fill their baskets!!

29 Weeks

Twenty-nine weeks. It seems sort of hard to believe we're already this far along but believe me when I say I am ready for this to be over with! Of course I don't want these girls to come NOW - they need more baking time before they're ready to come out but I am ready to not be pregnant anymore!

This was probably one of my worst doctor appointments :( Fortunately it was with one of my favorite doctors so I was able to discuss some things with him. The Saturday before this appointment I sat in the lab for 3.5 hours taking my second glucose tolerance test. I did manage to get half way though a book and the ladies drawing my blood did a great job. I can be a hard stick sometimes so I was pleased that the bruising was minimal & everyone was really great. The one good piece of news from my doctor's appointment is that my cervix is still closed. The not so good news is that my blood pressure was high: 140/86 high which shocked me. It's been high for me this whole pregnancy but those numbers just sound SCARY. I mentioned it to the doctor and he didn't seem overly concerned about it but we'll definitely keep an eye on it. Then, I got the news I failed my glucose test. It wasn't a total surprise but still a major bummer to actually hear it. I failed the first draw by a few points, the 1st hour after the drink by 15ish and then passed the other two hours with flying colors. So, I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes & a referral to the diabetes center was sent in. At least I got to see the girls again and watch them moving around. Neither of them were head down but they were in some odd looking positions all curled around each other.

I'm also at the point where my body is feeling like it's reaching it's limit. I was measured at 45 centimeters at this appointment. Which means if I was carrying a single baby that would be the equivalent of being 45 weeks pregnant. I mean I knew I was big but wasn't prepared for THAT big of a number. So, add up all the little bummers from this appointment and it really made my mood take a nosedive. My aches and pains have gotten exponentially worse in the last week. It's now at the point where I can no longer lay down in bed and when I do try to lay down I last about 5 minutes before my body is screaming in pain. So, I've been sleeping in a chair in our living room or propped up on pillows in our bed. It's not the most comfortable solution but at least I feel like I can walk when it's time to get up & I don't want to spew expletives while trying to get in and out of bed. I talked this over with the doctor and it sounds like it's something I will just have to deal with until after delivery. Yet another reason for the next several weeks to go quickly!! We're hoping for 6-7 more weeks until baby girls make their appearance. It seems so far away yet there's so much we'd like to get accomplished in that time and I'm sure it will be here before we know it!

28 Weeks

Yikes - I'm behind! I can't believe the last time I sat down to post anything was April 1st.

So, here is my brief 28 week update :)

The baby bump is continuing to grow. It feels like it will soon be at astronomical proportions although I'm guessing I'll feel like I wasn't so big at 28 weeks when I compare it to the the belly I'm sporting on delivery day. Still, for now, it feels BIG and I can tell it's definitely riding lower than it was even a week ago. Not only can I feel it but I could see a difference just from looking at the weekly pictures. Doctor's appointment went well & there wasn't much to report. Blood pressure normal, weight about the same, cervix still long and closed. I finally met the last doctor in the practice so I can officially say I've met everyone. My opinions on my "favorite" haven't changed. I have pretty good confidence in all of them but there are a couple I feel much more comfortable and at ease with.

I'm definitely starting to feel very pregnant. My body is also telling me when I do too much. I haven't had consistent contractions but they are popping up more and more as well as those pesky braxton hicks. Fortunately none of them have changed anything so I don't have cause for concern. A lot of my parts that have been sort of achy the last few weeks are entering into the full on OUCH stage. Not looking forward to any of that getting worse although I'm sure it will. In the end it will be worth it and I'm sure I'll look back and think "oh it wasn't THAT bad" - well maybe.