Week 31/32 Update

31 weeks

The big question I keep getting lately is, are you still working? Somehow the answer continues to be yes! The past few weeks I am feeling much more uncomfortable and very tired. But, I tend to feel probably my best at work. This probably has to do with me staying more mobile and distracted from my many aches/pains/discomforts. My patients are starting to get a little belly button to the face or shoulder and maybe even a few baby love taps, and I find myself positioning myself closer and closer to the patient chair to improve my reach. My belly button area is a little sensitive so I do mostly fine unless it starts getting too close to the patient or chair. By the afternoon I am pretty wiped out! I plan to continue working as long as possible and am crossing my fingers I continue on, although it may mean shorter hours with how exhausted I feel.

The three of us (babies and I) attended a breastfeeding class (which I thought was great and alleviated a lot of my anxiety about feeding twins) and daddy joined us for a birthing class. I dreaded the breathing exercises and getting hammered about natural birth (my OB has taken this off the table for me) but I thought it was very helpful and didn't focus too much on either of those topics. In all of my healthcare and physiological training over the years, I have never learned about the birthing process so it was really educational to learn what will happen to me and the babies. We did SOME breathing exercises but didn't dwell on that too much and I even got a nap in while doing some relaxation techniques (if only I could fall asleep like that at night or when I try to nap at home). Abe got to wear the "empathy belly" and complained about shortness of breath when tying his shoe and having pressure on his bladder so it must have worked at least a little! Despite how good the class was, it was difficult and exhausting to sit through about 8 hours of class in my third trimester, harder than a full day at work.

32 weeks. Tired!
I feel like you can see how my stomach is a little lopsided to the right where both babies like to hang out!

Best of all, Abe moved home! After 9 weeks in Des Moines on a rotation for work, he finally got to move back in. It has been so nice to have him home. He has been a wonderful support -- helping with dishes and laundry (as usual), feeding me, helping me get up from the couch or bed, and making sure I am doing and feeling okay as much as possible. In the end, despite my serious misgivings about having to share a bed with someone else again (and not just my pillows), it has been a worthy trade-off, and just in the nick of time as I feel even minor chores like heating up food (not even cooking it!) are becoming daunting feats!

I have been talking about getting pictures taken of us for years. We haven't had "family pictures" since our wedding. So it good timing to get this done. I found myself wishing we had taken care of it about 28 weeks instead of 30 as I was feeling puffy and large that day, but I'm expecting good things of our photographer, Sarah Siler. I'm excited to see how they turned out. (I think I did get some chigger bites while rolling around in the grass which made my already itchy legs that much itchier, so I really hope they turned out!)

Our teaser image from our shoot

I recently bought some more maternity clothes because I had to upgrade a size or two as I entered my third trimester. I bought this denim dress and found it again in a bigger size on sale for only a few bucks. I decided to send the smaller one to my twin sister Amber who is also pregnant and thought it would make for a good chance to get a twin picture. She is about 10 weeks behind me in her pregnancy with a little boy. She always tells me she thinks she is bigger than me, but we can clearly see that even in a baggier version of the dress, I look much more pregnant! I don't think we look super identical in these pictures but it is still fun to compare.

Twins! I think I am about 30.5 weeks here and she is about 22 or 23.

As we get closer to my due date I find myself feeling a little more nervous. My belly has episodes of feeling very tight and uncomfortable. I question whether this sensation is labor or Braxton Hicks (so far I think it is just babies hanging out under my ribs). I have been paranoid about swelling and blood pressure and wondering if my face and nose are looking swollen, knowing my twin sister had complications with HELLP syndrome which can be a deadly form of pre-eclampsia. So far things are checking out and my blood pressure has been better than it was before. I will start weekly checks from now on with the doctor which makes me feel more confident hopefully we will find any symptoms early on.

So, just hanging in there! In a lot of ways I feel optimistic and happy how things are going. I am still working, avoiding complications, and the babies are becoming bigger and healthier each day. But I also feel immobile and sore, tired, itchy, and more and more ready to deliver these babies...oh, and then enjoy them! I think God was wise in making pregnancy, especially the end, pretty uncomfortable so women will be ready to have the baby any way necessary ("I don't care, just get it out!"). Unfortunately for me, I feel like I have been "full term" for about a month now, with over a month still to go.


Week 31:

Weight: 185.7 lbs (Whoah, I gained over 5 lbs in what seemed overnight!)

Total Weight Gain: 43.7 lbs

 

 

Week 32:

Weight: 184.1 (down 1.6 lbs from last week)

Total Weight Gain: 42.2 lbs
BP: 120/78 Pulse: 83

 

Baby A profile (with Baby B booty in her face!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby A: 

Weight: 4 lbs 7 oz (70 percentile)

FHR: 132 bpm

Position: head down

 

Another uncooperative spine pic of Baby B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby B:

Weight: 4 lbs 9 oz (75%)

FHR: 155 bpm

Position: breech (he flipped!)

 

*I feel like those are some big babies! We may be on track for 7-8 pounders!

 

 

Symptoms:

*baby kicks -- big movements from Baby A, Baby B is harder to feel. They both tend to move to the right side (Baby B under my belly button). I guess they like to cuddle? I kind of wish they would stay on their own side though!

*arm/hand numbness

*joint popping

*hand and foot swelling 

*discomfort/immobility -- YUP! 

*poor sleep

*frequent bathroom breaks, especially at night (hourly)

*nee pain -- ouch!

*itchiness with foot swelling -- so uncomfortable! And more white splotches on my lower legs (they are starting to look like constellations of the sky) and extending up my legs

*reflux (more controlled)

*very tired

*occasional dizziness and mild headaches

*smaller appetite

*I've implemented my own form of "modified bed rest" -- doing nothing when I am home! I'm doing pretty well staving off guilt for lazy days and evenings when I am not working because I really just don't have it in me

*getting more excited for babies!

6 weeks to go!