Friday – January 20, 2006 – Almost 33 Weeks
I had my weekly NST and bi-weekly OB appointments this afternoon. The babies did wonderfully for the NST, but the nurse was a little concerned because my blood pressure was a bit higher than normal, so she monitored me a little longer than usual. Then I went upstairs for my regular OB appointment and was shocked to get right in! Anyway, my BP was fine by the time I got upstairs and my weight is good too. I’ve gained about 30 lbs so far this pregnancy and my doctor is very happy with that amount.
She reviewed the ultrasound results from last Thursday. Baby A is slightly bigger (4lb) than baby B (3.7lb) but NOT enough to worry about. One of the babies does have a slightly “dilated” kidney (so did Jeremy during an ultrasound). So again, we won’t worry about it, but it is subject to observation. My cervix has shortened a little, again, still in the safe range. These are things we’ll be watching to be sure they don’t become problems.
I feel like I’m kind of in a strange place in the pregnancy. On the one hand we should be excited that I made it to 33 weeks, but reality is that I still DO NOT consider myself far enough along to be safe. I truly want to get these babies to at least 36 weeks! There’s part of me that thinks they’ll have to induce at 38 weeks, but another part is a little concerned by the amount of cervical pressure I’m feeling right now! Couple that with some of the early potential warning signs that I mentioned above (shortening cervix, etc) and I think that there’s reason for me to wonder and pay attention!
A bit about the physical aspect of 33 weeks into a twin pregnancy – The fact that I’m writing this at 11 pm because I can’t get to sleep (even though I’m absolutely exhausted!) should say something 🙁 Though Insomnia isn’t a nightly factor right now, I do occasionally battle with it. I get up to use the bathroom at least 4 times every night (can be 8 times), the one good thing about this is that I change sides when I lay back down so my hips don’t hurt quite as bad (haha). The drawback would be that occasionally I can’t get back to sleep. I frequently get cramping in my lower abdominal muscles (like a charlie horse) and the muscle on my upper left abdominal wall has gone from searing pain to tearing pain. I’m not noticing many more new stretch marks, but the ones I have are getting bigger. It is difficult to get up out of chairs, walk and bend down. I liken it to moving beyond trying to bend over a basketball, now it’s like bending over one of those huge beach balls!
Outside of the confustion of trying to figure out who’s who in there all the time, the babies are very busy. I feel baby A in my right hip and rib a lot and he gets hiccups at least once a day (he’s the presenting baby right now so it feels rather odd). Baby B ALWAYS has body parts sticking out! Much to the amusement of his brothers and my friends – but it can get painful for me. He is VERY busy and seems to be awake often during the day.
My lower back has no relief. I have to admit that this does get a little depressing. It would be nice to be able to find a position that relieves all of the pain – but that does not seem to exist. So for the next (hopefully) 4-6 weeks – we survive!
Post Note: This was the last entry into my journal before the premature birth of our twin sons on February 1st, 2006.