34 Weeks + Baby Update
black lounge pants / Target Maternity * scarf/ Loft (last season) * hair pin / Loft
How far along? 34 Weeks 2 days
Total weight gain: 32-33 pounds. Babies are gaining by the day- and keeping me starving thats for sure. My 4am wake-up calls now consist of a Greek yogurt and dry cereal (typically I reach for the Multi-grain Cheerios) The Greek yogurt by itself doesn’t cut it anymore.
Maternity clothes? Yea buddy. I have made note of a couple of staple pieces that have carried me through the past 8 months (carrying twins, mind you). The t-shirt I’m wearing in the picture above- I have it in 4 different colors and could/should have gotten them in all 14 that they come in. See here, here, and here. I LOVE these shirts- very true to my XS pre-pregnancy size, and continues to do well in covering this bump of mine. Also, the gap pure body tanks that I have raved about before- love those, too. I have multiple- and see me wearing them here, here, here, here, and here.
Stretch marks? None. There isn’t any secret to keeping these away.. there isn’t a special cream or oil to use- although this helps with serious itch from a tight belly. I will say I have good genes and seriously good luck. My mom doesn’t have a stretch mark on her little body from carrying 4 kids.
Sleep: Comes and goes. I did ‘sleep in’ until 5 two days this week.. and once until 7am! I’ll take that over 4am any day, thats for sure. But this morning.. 4:30am came and I was wide awake and read for a snack. Boo.
Best moment this week: The notification that the nursery bedding was shipped and should be here in the next few days. Seriously ecstatic about this as it was the last thing to make the girls’ room complete!
Miss Anything? I decided that this week I really, really, reeeeeaaalllllyyyy miss getting my hair done. I’m one of those that go every 6 weeks- like clockwork- for a cut and color. Occasionally I’ll stretch it to 8 weeks if my schedule is slammed, but not very often. I haven’t had a cut or color since August 29th- two days prior to my last day of work before going home bound at 24 weeks (I looked back in my calendar.) So, although I do for sure miss regular sleep, the freedom of driving, a normal bladder, and occasionally my pre-pregnancy wardrobe- I really miss my hair appointments. Please excuse my split-ends and dark brown roots that are making their appearance more than I am comfortable to admit.
Movement: You betcha. At this week’s appointment, the sonogram showed both girls to be head down. It doesn’t surprise me due to the simple fact that sitting up makes it difficult on me to breath because of all their flips and turns.. and now I know it is their little feet giving my heart and lungs a good beating for most of the day.
Food cravings: Not at all really. Food in general sort of grosses me out right now. I have been living on cottage cheese, dry cereal, and Greek yogurt.. sounds kinda like my first trimester all over again.
Symptoms: Aside from the fact that I (appear to be) am 42 weeks pregnant- nothing out of the ordinary. This week someone threw “bless your little heart” at me. I almost laughed out loud. I don;t really know how big I actually am until I go out in public. Other items in the symptom list? Regular insomnia, congestion, and sore back pain. Even just sitting up in bed to eat makes my back hurt. I guess I deserve all the ‘bless your little heart’ and ‘poor thing’ comments I get when I’m out in public. I wonder sometimes if the ‘poor thing’ is related to the fact that a slug could out walk.. err.. waddle me these days. Jordan is usually 5 or 6 (..or 10) steps ahead of me. We don’t hold hands anymore more for fear I’ll fall on my face from attempting to walk too fast.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope- but if I stick too big of a bite in my mouth I’m likely to gag. My husband finds this to be incredibly hilarious.
Labor Signs: Nothing terribly painful. Procardia twice daily seems to hold off most of the BH I have, but occasionally I’ll have one or two that are uncomfortable and strong enough to take my breath away. One woke me up in the middle of the night this week. That was fun trying to go back to sleep after that. My OB says all that is totally normal.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Emotions continue to run high. As of this week, everything is finished and has it’s place for the babies. Now we just wait. The past couple days have been rough.. crying a lot. (reasons being for the update below.)
Looking forward to: All of it. Anything and everything that remotely relates to the babies. Also.. looking forward to the results of the sonogram at the perinatologist’s office this morning..
Another Momma and Baby Update
I know.. I have you all on the edge of your seats.
As I’ve mentioned, over the past couple weeks there has been some talk of a hospital admission for monitoring preterm labor for the last few weeks of pregnancy.. just to be on the safe side of things and completely understandable at this point. I went to my weekly appointment on Tuesday morning- completely prepared for her to tell me it was time for admission (I even brought my (over) packed hospital bag and pillow- and not to forget my Lovie, of course).
Good news– no hospital stay this week. My cervical length was down from a 2.6 to a 2 and funneling has begun to occur again, but Dr. Walsh isn’t worried at all whatsoever about this. All to be expected, as she says. Ok- all good things. However, we did get some unexpected news though.
It appears as if Jolie has started trending down- like she hasn’t grown in the last two weeks (based on abdominal measurement- the tummy is the first thing that stops growing if there is placental problems). I typically see my Perinatologist (Dr. Koster) every other week on top of my regular OB appointments- and Koster’s measurements have been good and trending up on Jolie thus far- even though she is and always has been smaller than her sister. Walsh compares Dixie to Dixie and Koster to Koster- not in comparison to each other’s results on the babies. Dixie’s measurement on Jolie two weeks ago shows no change compared to what she measured her on Tuesday. Ugh. Stressful. We are going to Koster this morning for a second opinion on her little belly measurement.
At this point Jolie is VERY low, and pretty much lodged in my pelvis, making it tough to get an accurate measurement- but the image Dixie captured if her belly was pretty clear on Tuesday, raising concern for my oh-so-conservative OB.
SO.. All that being said- if the Perinatologist (Koster) shows no growth in Jolie, too, the plan is that I will most likely be admitted for delivery.
Delivery.
I was so not ready for that news.. Not at all. Not one bit. But whatever needs to be done, I’m in on it at this point. Everything else is completely normal for her.. Great fluid levels, excellent blood flow through her cord, etc. So this is all so confusing/frustrating/disappointing to me that she may have a small tummy.
Other news.. Parker (affectionately called ‘fatty-fatty-two-by-four‘ by Walsh) is doing exceptionally well, and continues to show absolutely perfect growth for age. Sweet baby girl. So proud of her. She has long legs- Jordan keeps calling her ‘our little Volleyball player’. I’m planning to start her and her long legs in modeling classes. Perhaps a little Toddlers and Tiaras? Totally kidding.. even though Jordan would totally be a pageant dad. Ashley and I have conversed over this on multiple occasions.
Prayerfully all shows good with Jolie tomorrow and I’ll get another week under my belt for incubating these baby girls. It’s been an emotional roller coaster for me to say the least. I’ve cried multiple times due to a couple things: A. I’ve decided I’m pretty terrified of labor/csection. No particular reason for this, it just makes me nervous to think about it possibly being here so very soon. and B. I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around leaving them in the NICU and coming home without them with me. For 8 months they have been right with me inside my belly and close to my heart and then for that to be gone, and not even have babies to ‘show for it’- I am not sure how I’ll handle that emotionally.
What I do know and can cling to through all this is that God has had his hand in every single moment with these babies- and I have no doubt I am right where He has intended me to be:) just keeping faith and seeking His wisdom throughout all this.
Dr. Walsh says ‘she is on the 5 yard line and will not fumble.’ I am so very thankful for her medical experience and trust her completely with everything that has gone on through this entire pregnancy. Even though I feel like every time I go in for a visit these days there continues to be something else we need to watch out for/monitor/ or is raising concern, but with all that, she repeatedly reassures me and compliments me in how proud she is of me for all of my efforts and work through the past 34 weeks.
Please pray for me, for Jolie, and if it comes down to it, for the ease and safety of delivery. Will keep you all posted!!
November 15, 2012
I found your blog through Shay (I went to jr. high with Jordan & Shay). Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you the C-sections are not that bad.
2 bad parts: 1. Running all the water through your IV. It makes you SO COLD. Your nerves are already going haywire and the cold water makes you shake and even more nervous. Just know that's normal. 2. The spinal – for me, the cold IV made me much more uncomfortable. The spinal hurts for about 5 seconds, then you are fine. Most hospitals though won't let your spouse in the OR with you for this early part, so make friends with your anesthesiologist and talk about their kids or their college to keep your mind off of it.
You and Jordan will make such beautiful parents! Congrats!
I love you mama! You are doing a fantastic job & I cant wait to meet the babes… well, I mean I can wait, like a few weeks, but I am still excited… always here for you four! Xoxo!
Praying for you and Jolie! Hope all goes well. He knows what He is doing 🙂
PS: You still look so freaking adorable at 34 weeks pregnant!
Hi, I just found your blog recently on Pinterest. I have twins myself so I am always interested in reading twin stories. Just wanted to say "yay for making it 34 weeks!" That is a huge deal. I had to make several ER visits and each visit I was told that I wouldn't make it another week. I was put on strict bed rest at 27 weeks and took procardia every day and some how managed to make it till 37 weeks. Every situation is different for sure but be encouraged that 34 weeks is huge and those sweet girls will be fine!! I will pray for you as you come to mind that you can keep them in even longer.
C-sections are really scary, I have had 2, but when we are done I always say it wasn't as bad as I built it up to be. The girl that commented above is correct, nerves and coldness make it seem worse and the epidural only hurts for a few seconds. I remember both times asking if they were about to start because I was so scared I would feel them cutting and both times they would say "oh, we started a few minutes ago " that was probably the point I was really able to relax. You will do fine and before you know it you will be holding those girls!
Praying for you all! God's got you in His hands! Agreed – you're still looking beautiful at 34 weeks preggos! Don't worry, every little thing will be alright.
Hi Amber, I had to have an emergency c-section with my daughter at 34 weeks. Please know that all you are feeling is completely normal. Reading this post, I had the exact same feelings & emotions that you are experiencing now.
My daughter ended up spending 4 weeks in the NICU, which was hard but it ended up being such a blessing. I was able to give myself time to recover from the c-section & had peace of mind knowing she was in the care of the nurses in the NICU. Those nurses have such a gift & take such good care of the babies.
Due to our circumstances I was not able to see her until she was almost a week old…She had to be flown to another hospital that had a NICU & I had to stay in the hospital because of my Preeclampsia. The day I was discharged from the hospital was so hard, I did not have my baby to take home with me, not at all how I pictured that day. While I was waiting on my husband to get the car, I watched another new family that was also going home loading their car, & kept thinking that should be us. God knew what he was doing the whole time & it is such a blessing to look back on that time and realize that. Let me tell you, it was worth wait. The day we finally brought Lizzy home was made that much more special for us & we could not have been more proud to be going home as a family of 3!
Being my first baby, I was able to learn so much from the nurses. In the NICU she was on a strick schedule that made the transition home very easy.
I was so worried that with her being born so early that she would have developmental delays…All of her milestones she did on her time & now you would never know that she was a premie. She is now 4 years old and doing great.
I am praying for you, your sweet baby girls, & your husband.
-Sarah
First off you look Amazing for 34 weeks & Twins!! I will be praying for you & your girls. Its completely normal to be nervous, I cried many times about the labor & the whole experience. The day came & a calmness came over me. God was in control that day.
Our son had to be in the NICU due to an infection in my placenta & meconium. I didn't get to hold him right away & was crushed, the NICU nurses were rushing all around & honestly we weren't sure if he was going to make it. But luckily they were just being overly cautious. He stayed in the NICU for a week, for antibodics. It was so tough being in there, but we learned so much from the doctors & nurses & gained so much experience that we never would have gotten. It wasn't my first choice, but we have a healthy happy little guy that we are so thankful for.
You will do amazing & will have those precious girls home in no time. 🙂
First, I hope I look as amazing as you when I get to that point. And I'm only carrying one baby!! Prayers for those sweet babies and you!!
Hey! As a mommy of 2 csection babies (one at 36weeks, one at 38) I can tell you that you are right on track with your feelings but it is not as bad as you think. Agree with everyone above-but to me the worst part was that the dr. "shaved" the area before..and i got bad razor burn (so you might want to handle that prior 🙂
Other than that- a little tugging and such and then WHAM babies are here! You are going to be such a cute mom! Can't wait to see their nursery!
You are on the home stretch!!! You look and sound like you are doing amazing. I just wanted to tell you something that I wish I would have known when I had my Csection with my twin girls. I had an emotional breakdown of sorts on day 2 or 3 after delivery. Apparently, that's normal! There is so much stuff still happening in your little body after the birth (hormones, drugs from surgery, etc.). Everything was so overwhelming…from trying to figure out nursing, one baby in NICU, recovering from surgery, swollen EVERYTHING!!!, being a brand new mommy, etc. I had a saint of a lactation nurse and a supportive hubby and mom to help me through it all. Please know that an emotional roller coaster is normal if it happens to you. And also know that I would go through all of that again in a heartbeat because holding those brand new, perfect and precious baby girls was worth it all. I am so excited for you to experience that joy, and everyday of happiness after that which will be brought to you by your girls. Hang in there, Momma!!!!! Best of luck to you. 🙂