31 Weeks + Dr.'s Appointment #8

Nothing much new.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. My blood pressure is still perfect, so I'm still able to work and coach basketball, which was music to my ears. I've been really nervous for each appointment since 2011 began because I don't want to be put on bed rest. I think I would go crazy! Plus, it's too soon to leave work. Almost all of my duties have been trained away, but we're super busy so I don't want to leave them just yet. Luckily, I don't have to yet!

Baby A (boy)'s heartrate was between 145 /150 bpm, and Baby B (girl)'s heart rate was between 150/155 bpm.

I'm now measuring 40 weeks. Yikes. I still have 7 more to go. Yikes. Actually, it's not really that bad. I don't feel big at all...to be honest, I even forget that I have an extra large belly sometimes.

The babies continue to move around like crazy. It's not a visible from the outside as it was a few weeks ago (I could actually see what looked like arms move across my stomach), but my stomach is definitely always moving. I've noticed that the boy (Baby A) has really increased his activity this past week. He woke me up a couple nights ago because he was moving around so much. I swear he was actually jumping in my pelvis. I sent him "go to sleep" thoughts, and he calmed down. It's been nice that he's been more active because I thought he might not have had enough room to move around. Now I know he does. Whenever he moves it causes me a little more discomfort/annoyance because of the tight quarters he's living in. A few times I've let out a little "oh!" due to the sudden feeling of him moving. The girl's favourite place to move around is right underneath my belly button. All I have to do is touch my belly button and I can feel her move around....and eventually push up under it. It's surprising that my belly button hasn't popped out at all.

I've really started to notice my increased body temperature. I'm used to being really cold during the winter, but now I never am. I'm so glad I'm not this pregnant in the middle of the summer because I don't think I could handle it. I start to go a little crazy even now because I feel like I can't breathe because it's so warm. It's gross. Luckily, it's not 24-7!

Total weight gain so far: 35lbs. Not bad.

My next ultrasound is on February 7th, doctor's appointment on February 9th, and then a fetal monitoring appointment on February 16th. I'm looking forward to seeing what that will be like.

I'll post an update with an updated picture again in a couple weeks.

29 Weeks + Dr.'s Appointment #7 + Ultrasound #6 Results

It's been busy since the last time I updated!

I went for my gestational diabetes screening/blood work and it came back fine! No diabetes for me...thank goodness! My iron was a little low, but it must not have been concerning as my doctor didn't mention anything today.

I had an ultrasound done at Surrey Memorial this past Friday, and that went really well. Baby B (the girl) is now head down as well! Hopefully they both stay head down so that I can deliver naturally.

The night before, I was laying on the couch when Jon came home and he asked what I had been doing, and I said "playing with the kids."

I explained that the girl's butt kept pushing up at my stomach, and I would push back at it and it would move over and push up. We did that for about 5 minutes. Now that I know she's head down, I realize that it was her head I was poking at! Oh well :)

Here are their two heads, side by side:

Here are the results/stats from the ultrasound:

DATA	BABY A	BABY B
Heart Rate	139	154
Lie/Position	Cephalic	Cephalic
Est. Fetal Weight	1254 g (2.75 lbs)	1380 g (3 lbs)
MEASUREMENTS
Head Circ.	269 mm	264 mm
BPD	75 mm	72 mm
Abdominal Circ.	219 mm	254 mm
Femur	51 mm	53 mm
Gestational Age	27 weeks + 5 days	28 weeks + 1 day

My mom's first comment when she saw that the girl was heavier than the boy was "what a little porker". hahaha. Reminds me of pictures of Jon as a toddler (he was skin & bones) and myself (I was a porker). According to my "What to Expect..." book for singletons at 28 week they should be 2.5 lbs, so when both babies were more than that I was definitely super-excited! Let's hope I can keep them inside for as long as possible!

I was nervous for my doctor's appointment today because I know that at any time they could put me on bed-rest, and I'm not ready to stop working/having a normal life yet. It was definitely not worth it to worry though! My blood pressure is still "very nice" and the doctor said that there was no need for me to make any changes to my working hours. Phew. She took my fundal measurement again this time, and I'm measuring between 36 and 37 weeks. And everyone tells me I'm small. Pshh. :)

My hunger level has definitely increased these past couple of weeks. I feel like I could eat ALL THE TIME. I feel like I am eating ALL THE TIME! It's nice getting special treatment now that I have to intake so many calories for the babies. I get the bigger portion of dinner if I want it, I get double the dessert if I want it. Yum. The only downside is having to force myself to eat even if nothing seems appealing.

The babies have also been kicking/elbowing/kneeing up a storm the past couple of weeks as well. It's simply amazing. The best time to see them "in action" is right when I climb into bed. As soon as I lay down and let my body relax, they start going crazy! My stomach looks like rolling hills, literally. You can actually see them push up against my stomach and move all over. Their favourite spot is right under my belly button (and yes, it's still an innie...barely there, but definitely not popping out...yet...). I don't get tired of feeling them kick. Annoyed at times, yes, when they are distracting me from work or if they are kicking at my ribs, but overall, I love it. I never thought it would be possible to grow so attached to it. How could you not? It's amazing.

Jon and I are getting excited now that the end is approaching. Yes, it's going to be a huge adjustment for us. But man, it's going to be great. The baby room is coming along. I had Jon hang up a couple shelves last night, so as soon as his tools are out of that room I can start moving things around a bit. Once we have it 'finalized'

then I'll post some pictures.

I can't believe we only have 9 weeks to go (max). CRAZY. Crazy good though :)

I don't think I have much else to 'report'. I start seeing my doctor every two weeks now, and ultrasounds will continue to be a monthly occurrence. Starting at around 33 weeks I will have to go to Surrey Memorial every week for about 30 minutes of fetal monitoring, where they strap two fetal monitors to my stomach and monitor the babies' activity. It's going to be busy! I'm definitely grateful for a job that is completely flexible for whatever appointments/basketball practices & games I have. I'm also grateful for the number of vacation/personal/sick days I've been saving over the past three years so that I don't have to worry about making up missed hours!

I'll end with a current picture of myself: