31 Week Update

This week I had an appointment with the specialist, and it was a very helpful and exciting conversation.

It looks like at this point, I will be having my VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)! Baby A, Maverick, is head down and most likely will stay that way now. When he flipped head down, he must have crowded his brother because now Tucker is transverse (sideways). The doctor was not at all worried about that. If after delivering Maverick, Tucker is still breech, we have a few options. He will try to turn the baby externally first, and if that doesn't work, he will do a breech extraction (with a strongly recommended epidural... oh, darn).  He does not foresee any problems with a vaginal delivery as of right now. He will continue to watch the size of the babies to make sure one isn't much bigger than the other, but that hasn't been an issue thus far. They measured 3 pounds, 5 ounces, and 3 pounds, 6 ounces this week.

He calmly discussed a few of the things that could go wrong, just so I am aware of what could happen. Not once did he try and talk me out of a vaginal delivery, so I'm very happy about that. He did say there is a 15% chance that one baby will be born and they could need to do a C-section for the second. That would be my worst nightmare... I'm going to ignore that possibility. I will have my doula there making sure we have exhausted all options before I have to have a c-section.

I asked him lots of questions about delivery, many of which weren't answered the way I had hoped. After taking my child birth class, I was hoping that I would be able to use a lot of the pain management options they suggested. Unfortunately, with the added risks that come with a VBAC, I won't be able to move around during labor as freely as I wanted. I will be hooked up with 3 monitors (one for contractions and one for each baby) as well as an IV. The nice thing is that I don't need to go to the hospital until contractions are 5 minutes apart. That gives me time to labor at home in the shower or bath tub, on the yoga ball, etc. I'll just have to be cautious since the hospital is about 50 minutes away!

He briefly mentioned induction around 38 weeks, by breaking my water. I've learned a lot from the VBAC community. So many of them are crazy DOCTORS ARE EVIL people, but they have some good points about what is medically necessary and what isn't. I could be wrong, but in my head, if they break my water too early there's got to be a bigger chance that I'll have a repeat c-section. Once water is broken, there are only so many hours before the baby needs to be out. What if my body isn't ready? What if I have the typical "failure to progress"? I guess I don't see the rush. I understand that twins are pretty full term at 38, but will it really hurt to wait until my body decides to start labor?

I'm pretty obsessed with reading birth stories, twins and singletons alike. It seems to me the ones where labor starts naturally tend to be faster and require less intervention. Those who are induced seem to have long labor and more interventions. There are only so many beds in a hospital, and if you have crazy preggo ladies lined up waiting to have their babies, they might try to hurry the process for those sitting pretty at 4 cm.

I'm hoping he gives me a say in the matter. Who knows though, I might be begging him to induce me at 38 weeks. I will have made it through almost all of July by that time and I know I will be huge and probably pretty miserable. But the doctor and I agreed the best case scenario would be for me to go into labor on my own.

I guess I need to relax a little! And trust God. My goal is to have healthy babies. I can't focus on what could go wrong.

So, I have around 7 or 8 weeks left, and I am going to try to enjoy my sleep and being pregnant. I will try to enjoy the time I have with my son, the last few weeks of him being an only child. I'll do my absolute best to not hate every day I still have to be at work. I will definitely enjoy the "go sit and put your feet up!" that I get from family and friends. I will enjoy the last weeks of having two sets of feet poking me to say, "Hi Mommy!".

I can't help but be excited and anxious though. I have a business card in my purse with numbers to call when I'm in labor... I have the diaper bag ready to go... I have two car seats ready to be put in my van...and I have two little boys inside of me that I am dying to meet!

And no matter what it takes to meet them, I am ready!

This Week's Stats:
How far along? 31 Weeks, 2 days.
How big are the twins? over 3 pounds each, and about 18 inches long! Picture a pineapple or coconut! 
Total weight gain/loss? About 35 pounds... Hopefully breastfeeding two babies will get that gone quickly!
Maternity clothes? Of course, or anything I can find that will fit this big belly! 
Sleep? Getting difficult. Sometimes I wake up and can't go back to sleep for an hour or two. I get a lot of leg cramps or restless legs. Heartburn is gone thanks to the prilosec! 
Best moment this week? Hearing that Maverick is head down!
Symptoms? Exhaustion. Leg cramps. Swollen hands and feet. Some back pain. Typical 3rd trimester stuff. It's nothing I can't handle!
Food cravings? Not much... I hardly finish meals, for the first time in my life. Guess my stomach is just too crowded.
Food aversions? Nothing really.
Labor signs? I've had a Braxton Hicks contraction a few times. Some pelvic pain, not enough to ever worry about. 
Belly button in or out?Neither. It's neutral. 
What I miss? Diet Pepsi. Being able to bend over.
What I'm looking forward to?  Calling Jer and saying "IT'S TIME!" 
Bump? See below...

The Waiting Game

2 Days. 2 DAYS! I can hardly contain myself. I have a stupid grin on my face at work this morning, behind all the snot from this lovely cold I caught. In two days, we are heading to Baby's Bungalow to find out my twin's gender. Baby's Bungalow is this cute little place that does elective ultrasounds, and boasts gender determination at 13 weeks gestation. By Saturday, I will be 13 weeks, 3 days and we are hoping to find out both genders. We have both families coming with us to watch the ultrasound, followed by a big party in the evening with the whole family from both sides. There we will all find out together and eat and party the night away (or until about 8pm... my new bedtime). I cannot wait!!

I had my second prenatal appointment last week and my mom got to go with me. She was thrilled that they did an ultrasound to look at the heartbeats. I'm pretty sure these two babies have her wrapped around their fingers already! Other than the normal pap smear/physical (with Mom in the room... AWKWARD!), we just chatted about the babies. My doctor is surprisingly supportive of my desire to have a VBAC which is wonderful! The only stipulation: one or both have to be head down. I also have to deliver at a bigger hospital that is more accustomed to doing these types of deliveries. The doc said that she used to do breech deliveries during her residency, but isn't comfortable with them anymore. I love my doctor. She is so blunt, like me.  She said when a lady comes in "with legs hanging out of her vagina" then she will have to do a breech delivery. Such a wonderful image. Just think about it.

In other news, I have a doula! I'm very excited to have her help me through this. I'm not going to lie, the delivery scares me just a little bit, so it will be great to have a positive, encouraging lady by my side.  Her business is called Baby's Breath and she is a friend of mine. She is just starting out and will get to throw a VBAC with twins on her resume if all works out. I'm so glad her and I can help each other out. It's safe to say our friendship will be different after she sees me in labor and delivering babies. It like being drunk, some people are happy drunks and some are absolutely miserable drunks. I'm sure there are people out there that go through labor with a smile on their face, but the majority probably does some yelling/punching/fit-throwing. If anything, I probably won't take out my pain on my doula, it will be my poor husband. I remember my sister in labor and her husband turned the TV to Braveheart... maybe not the movie you want to make your wife watch during labor. I can just picture Jer doing the same thing. But I guess we will see! Should be interesting.

Last update: yes, I'm showing! The bump is not entirely made up of the chicken fingers and honey mustard I've been eating. Doc says I should be feeling movement in two or three weeks! So exciting. Babies are the size of peaches this week. Precious! Makes me thing of Psalm 139:

"For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

15 

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be."

It is crazy to think that every day of my twin's lives are already known by God. He knows what they will look like, what their personalities will be like, what hobbies they will have, what friends they will make, when they will get married. What an awesome God we serve! And to think that he is carefully knitting them together in my womb right now! What a miracle.

Well, thanks for reading all my rambling, so much is going through my head right now! It's nice to write it all out. I will be sure to update on Saturday with genders!

10 Week Update

Yesterday, Jeremy and I went to the first "official" ultrasound for the twins. I can't put into words how I feel watching an ultrasound. It is so amazing how little, black and white blobs on a screen can make you feel! Both babies were squirming around, and both had perfect heartbeats. We are in love already.

As far as the technical side goes, there are two amniotic sacs, two chorionic sacs, and two placentas. This is the safest way to have twins, we were told.  It also means that they most likely are fraternal. There is a small chance they could be identical, but it makes more sense to assume they are fraternal. They both are the exact same size, measuring right on time (10 weeks as of today).  The hope is that they continue to be the same size.  The ultrasound tech also told us that I ovulated from my left ovary... I don't know why you need to know that, but I found it interesting anyway.

The doctor we spoke to went through pretty much all the information we needed to know about twin pregnancy. I'm considered high risk because of the twins, but the doctor assured us that all of the risks are small and manageable. I have a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes, and a higher chance of preterm labor.  Apparently, around 50% of twins are born between 32-36 weeks. I am praying to make it to 38-39 weeks. If family history is any indication, I believe I can make it that long (my mother was 5 days LATE with her twins!). Even if they are born in that 32-36 week range, there would be no long term complications.

Quite a bit of the time we had with the doctor was spent talking about delivery. With Easton, I had to have a C-Section because he was breech. I remember crying after scheduling my C-Section. If you don't go through labor, you can't be a real mom, I thought. I came to terms with it and did fine with the surgery, but recovery was no piece of cake.  Before knowing it was twins, I was determined to do a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). After much talk with the doctor, it looks like that still may be an option! I was so glad to hear that. I can't imagine trying to recover from major surgery with two newborns and a 2 year old! I would be so hard to breast feed, too. And yes, I'm going to do that... My mom did it, so I can do it!  But anyway, my delivery will have to be a last minute decision. There are just too many variables that will have to be taken into consideration.

We made the announcement on Facebook yesterday after we got done with our appointment. It was killing me! I was ready to tell the world. Easton was NOT thrilled about me making him pose with a frame, but somehow I got some cute pics!

We are just so excited about this! And by "we," I mean me. Jeremy is excited, too, but he's not at the talk-about-it-every-second-of-every-day point that I am. Men have a different way of showing their excitement, I guess.

Alright, I'm done rambling.  Next thing I'll be posting about should be our gender reveal! We are going to try Baby Bungalow in Buffalo to see if they can tell the gender at 13 weeks.

I'll leave you with another cute picture. The "Hill Twins" just sounds so great, doesn't it?