28 Weeks =)

I feel kind of like I am neglecting posting about "Baby C" (aka - "Baby Boy H" or "Little Man"). I posted SO much about the girls when I was pregnant, but everything is so different with a twin pregnancy; more doctor's appointments, additional monitoring and ultrasounds, more possible issues...and with one baby, well, it's easier.

Okay, so I think "easier" is open to discussion. I don't know that this has really been any easier than it was with the girls honestly!

I think another big part of my neglecting posting about Baby C is that we have two crazy toddlers running around, being adorable, and keeping us crazy busy. I don't have the time to analyze every little thing going on with this pregnancy, and since I'm only being monitored once a month, if we don't get good ultrasound pictures (we NEVER seem to get good ultrasound pictures), I have little to nothing to post about.

We don't have another OB appointment until next week, but since it's been 4-5 weeks since I've posted anything about baby C, AND 28 weeks is a milestone time point for pregnancy, I figured it's about time I just wrote some items down!

So...

We are 28 weeks this week. Wow! Only 11 weeks to go if we go the C-section route, and about 12 weeks to go if we go the VBAC route. We are on the home stretch for sure! I should probably start buying clothes for this little peanut....too bad baby boy clothes aren't nearly as cute as baby girl clothes! I'd have his little closet filled already! Well that, and I don't really know what size to buy...with the girls I knew they'd come early and likely would be in newborn clothes for a while. But with this little man being full term, he will likely be 8 lbs (or more!) at birth, so I don't know that newborn is the size that I should be shopping for! Any insight mommas?

So what else? This little man is very very active! Brianna was a very active baby too, but I think that this little man may have her beat. He really squirms all over the place and takes full advantage of all the space he has in there. Full, BIG movements are common now. I can watch my entire belly move like a wave. Very cool! The girls continue to be obsessed with my growing belly and belly button. I keep telling them that there is a baby in there, but they still don't really get it. Livvy has started giving my belly kisses though, which is absolutely adorable, so I think she maybe has some tiny bit of understanding that there could be a baby in there.

A couple of things that have been different with this pregnancy (and the reason that I note that this pregnancy may not be any "easier" really than the first pregnancy) is the amount of soreness I have been experiencing. My hips and pelvis are SO sore. So sore! All the time. My OB says that since the two pregnancies are so close together that my ligaments pretty much just stayed loose, therefore not supporting my frame and structure (and are getting more loose by the minute it feels like)! While I may not be carrying as much baby weight around, the whole act of moving around, standing, sitting, etc. is more difficult this time. I have definitely been surprised. I was looking forward to an easy, pain free pregnancy! HA!

The other thing I have been watching for with this pregnancy is Pre-Eclampsia. Since I developed pre-e with the girls I now know what to watch for. It makes the symptoms easier to spot, but I also get concerned a bit easier too when I see a new symptom pop up. My blood pressure has been elevated for about the last 6 weeks, but it's not too high yet to where it's overly concerning. They did a 24 hour urine on me about 4 weeks ago, and my protein was already at 260 (300 is clinical indication for pre-e), so that is being watched as well. I just had my week 28 blood work and Rhogam shot, and they went ahead and added on a CMP (Complete Metabolic Panel) to check my liver function and make sure that all is still well there. I feel like I'm being appropriately monitored, I just wish there was something I could do to prevent the pre-eclampsia from occurring all together! My OB told me that my chances of developing pre-eclampsia in a second pregnancy are lower, only about 15%, but with my numbers already being elevated on several of the clinical markers it makes me think that probably I will end up fitting right into that 15% the longer I progress into my pregnancy. I'm hopeful that won't happen, but I'm not counting on it.

So, that's the story! Now on to belly pictures! Just as I did last time, I will post a comparison shot - one of me now, with a singleton, and one of me at the same point with twins. Definitely smaller this time around =).

Here I am today, at 28 weeks 1 day with "baby C"

Here I am at 28 weeks with the girls

HUGE difference right? LOL!
Okay, so that's all for now! I hope you all are having a great week, and if you have any input for me, clothes-wise, pre-e - wise, or otherwise, please feel free to share it! Thank you!!!

Until next time -
Megan

"28 Week" OB update

We had our "28 week" OB appointment on Friday. I was actually 27 weeks 4 days, but I am getting audited at work Monday through Thursday this week, so I couldn't actually miss a bunch of work this week to go to an appointment. Turns out that was a good decision because it was a BUSY day!

I was scheduled to do my Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) where they have you drink the orange flavored glucose drink, then check draw your blood an hour later to see if your body appropriately metabolizes the glucose. Normally you don't have to be fasting. Unfortunately my OB thinks that results to this test are more accurate if the woman is fasting, so I was very specifically directed not to eat anything after midnight. Pregnant women fasting is NOT a happy thing! LOL! The drink wasn't all that bad really. . . it tasted like a melted orange Popsicle. I think my body was actually happy to get something into it's system. There was a lot of the drink though (10 oz) - more than I thought there would be. I was okay for the hour after I drank it, but once they let me eat again I felt crappy! I continued to feel crappy for the rest of the day. Here's to hoping I passed so I don't have to do the 3 hour test sometime in the near future! I should find out if I passed or failed Monday afternoon. Fingers crossed!

I also got my blood drawn to check for anemia (among other things), an ultrasound, and I got my Rhogham shot. The Rhogham shot was a feat in itself! I have gotten Rhogham shots on two previous occasions. Both times I showed up in the clinic, they pulled the shot out, gave it to me, gave me a card with the date and dosage information and sent me on my way. Both times this was given to me at my RE's clinic. This time I was at the OB, and they don't do these shots in clinic. In fact, I had to go to the ER to get the shot. I had to wait an hour and a half for the shot to be prepared, then they had to do a physical before they gave it to me, then after they gave it to me I had to sit there to 25 minutes to make sure I didn't have a reaction. I had never had to do any of that previously, so I wonder what changed! I got to the hospital at 8:30 and I didn't leave until nearly 1 PM. That was a long day at the hospital!!

So, an update on the girls! They are doing wonderfully in there=). Here are the latest stats (as of 8/13/10)
Baby A - aka - Olivia - 2 lbs 10 oz - measuring 6 days ahead
Baby B - aka - Brianna - 2 lbs 14 oz - measuring 7 days ahead

There's nearly 6 lbs of baby in there! Craziness!! Olivia now has a bigger head than Brianna does (it was opposite up until this point), and Brianna has some long legs (femur measuring over two weeks ahead!). Overall both girls are in the 71st percentile for size and weight for singletons - a GREAT feat for twins. I don't think the girls have any idea yet that they are twins - or if they do they sure aren't acting like they know!! With twins often their growth slows down the bigger they get, and by they are expected to be more around the 25th to 35th percentile for size and weight. . .not my girls! Little over achievers!!

One thing that they don't seem to like though is the ultrasound. We can't get good pictures of them to save our lives! I am posting a couple of pictures, but they aren't great. Olivia had one hand up by her head the whole time, and Brianna had both of her hands in front of her face. Uncooperative they are! LOL. Here are the pictures we did get though, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Here's a picture of miss Olivia


Here's a picture of miss Brianna's head


Here's a picture of miss Olivia's hand, up by her face of course! It's the only 3D/4D picture we were able to get of the girls on Friday. Crazy kids!


That's all folks! We go back to the OB in two weeks on 8/25, so I should have another size update on the girls then. Have a great rest of your weekend! =)