33 Weeks

 

Definitely looking tired... 

How Far Along: 33 weeks.  My amniotic fluid has reached its maximum level and will stay constant until the end of your pregnancy.  Our babies brains are growing very fast. Even though their skull bones have hardened, the skull will not be fully joined yet!  The twins are and will be practicing breathing in the water!

Total Weight Gain: 179 lbs (about 47 lbs gained...OMG!)

Sleep: Sleep is getting near impossible.  It's very painful to lay in bed or to rotate in my sleep, so I'm waking up about once an hour.  And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:   Now that I hit this point, the doctor will be measuring/checking my cervix manually for changes.  He said that I was about 3cm dilated, but the cerclage is still holding strong. Baby A is still breached though, so we scheduled a C-Section for July 9th!  Yay, I'm so glad to have this set.  Dr. Paul did say, however, that he thinks I could deliver before that as he will take me off my meds about a week prior.  He increased my dosage of Procardia and did my B-Strep test.  He told me to get my T-Dap Vaccine, and for Jared to get this as well.  Based on my pain and discomfort, he pulled me from work, so I offically started my FMLA.  Looking back 2.5 years ago to where am I today, I cannot believe I'm here.  Much less, the scare I had back in March, I never thought I would make this far.  And to think that in a few short weeks, I'll finally be able to meet my little bundles of joy!

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around. Can see them move when I look my belly - pretty creepy!

Looking Forward To: My next appointment is Thursday...and it will be the last time that these boys get weighed! 

32 Weeks

PICTURE TO BE ADDED LATER

 

 

How Far Along:  32 weeks.

By week 32 of your twins pregnancy your babies are about 12 inches long from crown to rump or a total of 16-17 inches long. Their toenails have grown and their five senses are hard at work.
Up to now babies rate of growth for mothers carrying twins and singletons have been the same.  However, from now on, the rate of growth for twins slows down and differs from singletons.  This is simply due to the fact that you are carrying two babies and there is not much space in there.
 
Total Weight Gain: 174 lbs (about 40 lbs gained...no weight gained for the past 2 weeks)

Sleep: Sleep is getting near impossible.  Both babies move around a lot at night.  I rotate in my sleep to get comfortable, but it's been sore on my pelvis to do so, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. Plus, when I sleep on my side I can feel the babies -- which makes it uncomfortable. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  My cervical length was back to 20 this week.  The doctor didn't seem overly concerned since there was no funneling and I'm at the point were 20 is becoming almost 'normal' for this far along.  Baby A is still breached though.  I've been trying to spend some time at the pool, as he said being submerged would help.  Dr. Paul took me off the Indocin this week and gave me steroids -- 3 pills a day for 3 days. He said the pool would also help reduce the added swelling that the steroids would cause.  He thought he'd have to admit me when he did the steroids, but since I wasn't experiencing a lot of contractions, he sent me home and told me to monitor the contractions myself.

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around. Can see them move when I look my belly - pretty creepy!

Looking Forward To: My next appointment is Thursday...getting so close!

31 Weeks

 

 

How Far Along:  31 weeks. The only organ left to be fully functional is the lungs. Our twins will start to shed lanugo (fine hair on the body) and instead fill in the hair and eyebrow areas.

Total Weight Gain: 174 lbs (about 40 lbs gained...no weight gained this past week)

Sleep: Sleep is getting near impossible.  Both babies move around a lot at night.  I rotate in my sleep to get comfortable, but it's been sore on my pelvis to do so, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. Plus, when I sleep on my side I can feel the babies -- which makes it uncomfortable. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  This week my cervical length increased to 25!  Very excited to hear this, however, Baby A is still breached.  It's very unlikely that he'll flip, but I can keep hoping :-).  I was reminded that by week 33, he'll take me off the Indocin, as it can do more harm than good after that point.  I'll also be given a steroid shot to boost the babies lungs development.  He will admit to the hospital for this, since both things will cause me to have more contractions and he wants to make sure I don't go into labor.

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around. Can see them move when I look my belly - pretty creepy!

Looking Forward To: My next appointment is Thursday...and he may admit me at that point.  Things are really picking up!  Can't believe I only have about 5 weeks to go!

30 Weeks

Tank top is no longer covering my belly.  Getting pudgy in the face now too :-(

How Far Along:  30 weeks. The bone marrow takes over the production of red blood cell for the twins.  Our babies can open and shut their eyes and tell the difference between light and darkness and their hands are fully formed.

Total Weight Gain: 174 lbs (about 40 lbs gained...yikes!).

Sleep: I rotate alot in my sleep to get comfortable, but it's been sore to do so, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. Plus, when I sleep on my side I can feel the babies -- which makes it uncomfortable. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  This week my cervical length dropped down to 19 again.  Ugh!  It's so frustrating that it changes so much from week to week.  Baby A is still breached as well.  We got their weights:  Baby A is 3lbs 3oz and Baby B is 3lbs 7oz...so about 7 lbs of baby and they are right on track!!  The doctor said he wasn't overly concerned with the 19 in length, since there was no funneling.  He did give me a couple of things to look forward to though.  At week 33, he'll take me off the Indocin, as it can do more harm than good after that point.  At week 35, if Baby A flips around, then he'll remove my cerclage and also take me off the Procardia.  However, if Baby A stays breached, then he'll schedule a c-section and remove the cerclage at that point.  The doctor also said my uterus is at "fullsize" if I were having a singleton.   He told me that contractions could be more intense and more frequent now, so I should monitor them closely. Getting so close!!

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around. Can see them move when I look my belly - pretty creepy!

Looking Forward To: My next appointment is Thursday. 

29 Weeks

PICTURE TO BE ADDED LATER -- Sorry, been lazy with the pictures :-)

 

How Far Along: 29 weeks. Our babies’ brains are in full control of breathing and body temperature by now. They are about 15-16 inches long from head to toe and weight about 2.5 lbs -- we'll get their true weights next week!  Our baby twins digestive system should be fully functional.  As space is becoming sacred, our twins’ movements will begin to slow down. 

Total Weight Gain: 171 lbs (almost 40 lbs gained...yikes!).

Sleep: I rotate alot in my sleep to get comfortable, but it's been sore to do so, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. Plus, when I sleep on my side I can feel the babies -- which makes it uncomfortable. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  During my doctor's appointment on Thursday, my cervical length measured 27!!!   OMG!  I was so happy to hear this!  My fundal height was 41cm -- I'm getting huge!!!    Baby A is still breeched, so hopefully he'll turn around soon.  About 6-8 weeks left to go!!! Since everything checked out okay, I was able to go home -- so no hospital bed rest for this girl!!

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around.  Can see them move when I look my belly - pretty creepy!

 

Looking Forward To: My next appointment is Thursday-- let's hope for good weights!  They should be about 3.5lbs each -- wow!  7 pounds of baby!

28 Weeks

PICTURE TO BE ADDED LATER

 

How Far Along: 28 weeks. Their eyebrows and eye lashes are visible now.  The amount of brain tissue is increasing at the time as well.  From this week, our babies will try to put on more fat. They have also started to store iron, calcium and other essential nutrients.

Total Weight Gain: 165 lbs (so about 33 lbs gained...yikes!).

Maternity Clothes: All maternity clothes now - Belly is getting too big!

Sleep: I rotate alot in my sleep to get comfortable, but it's been sore to do so, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  I had two doctor visits this week -- one on Monday and one on Thursday.  On Monday, my cervical length went back to 22 from 19.  On Thursday, it remained at 22.  I saw the nurse practitioner, Missy, both times this week.  She told me to keep working from home and then laying down as much as possible when I'm not working.

 

 

Movement: The boys are actively kicking and rolling around.

 

Looking Forward To:  My next appointment is Friday -- let's hope things improve!

27 Weeks

 

How Far Along: 27 weeks. Our babies’ lungs and brains are developing rapidly and they are practicing breathing!

Total Weight Gain: 165 lbs (so about 33 lbs gained...yikes!).

Maternity Clothes: All maternity pants. Very few of my non-maternity tops cover my belly, so pretty much in all maternity tops as well.

Sleep: Some positions are starting to get uncomfortable for me or the babies, so I end up rotating alot in my sleep. It's been sore to rotate in my sleep though, so I'm never really getting a "good" sleep. And I'm still waking up at 2am to take my medicine.

Best Moment This Week:  My cervical length went from 22-19.  I saw the nurse practitioner, Missy, this week as Dr. Paul was busy with another patient.  Missy at first didn't seem that concerned, but when I told her what the doctor had told me last week about possible bed rest or the pessary, she decided to manually check my cervix.  She said she didn't feel any pressure against it so she didn't think I was a good candidate for the pessary.  In regards to bedrest, she told me I could go home this weekend to attend my baby shower, however, she wanted me laying down whenever possible and to come back on Monday to check my cervix again.  Thank God I wasn't admitted!!

 

 

We had our second baby shower this weekend and it was a success!  It was great seeing all of our friends and coworkers.  And most importantly, my best friend, Tasha, flew in from Dallas just for this event!  Our boys received so many gifts - from onesies and books to shoes and diapers.  We are so blessed to have so many friends and family that love and support us and can't wait for our boys to meet everyone!

 

Movement: The boys are actively kicking -- mainly during the evening and early morning.

 

Looking Forward To:  This week I have two appointments set up -- one on Monday and one on Thursday.  Praying for no hospital bedrest!