34 weeks

We made it another 2 weeks.... woo whoo for those girls! :) It still seems surreal that we're at 34 weeks. That means in 3 weeks from now I'll for sure have the babies, if not before then. It's starting to really scare me to be completely honest. I guess it seems like we've been planning for and thinking about the arrival of the girls for so long now, but reality is definitely setting in. Sometimes I cry because I wonder how in the world I'm going to manage 2 newborns and a 3 yr. old, and then other times I feel so excited to see our family grow and change. Of course there are also the nerves thrown in there with their delivery, health, and transitions for all of us.

Here's the scoop on me. Let's just be completely honest here, okay? Physically I'm done. I know that it's best for the girls to stay in there as long as possible, and really it hasn't been too bad, but I'm over it now. My carpal tunnel pain has gotten a lot worse and the wrist splint isn't really working, so I've adjusted to a numb right hand all of the time and lots of pain at night. I have heartburn all.day.long. I think my stomach just doesn't have any room to expand and digest any of the food I eat. Since Baby A is nestled in there so nicely, she has decided to make her home near lots of nerves, which send lots of shooting pain down my leg (most likely sciatic nerve). My lower back has also begun to hurt from carrying around almost 10lbs of baby, plus all of the other parts in there. I don't sleep well at night, therefore I'm tired most of the time. I've resorted to my fall beverage of choice a few times a week to give me energy to make it through the day- Pumpkin Spice Latte's from Starbucks. Totally worth the rip-off price at this point in my pregnancy. Let's see, what else.... lots of puffiness in my ankles, which means that literally NONE of my shoes fit- it makes it interesting when I need to leave the house. I'm also really congested and apparently I snore badly at night as a result (sorry, Andy, it's the least you can endure given my situation! :) Everyone keeps telling me that I look great, so I keep trying to believe them! :) My ob/gyn says everything is going so well that I could be a model patient of twin pregnancies. I hope she meant that and wasn't just trying to flatter me! :) My NST's have gone well over the past couple of weeks. For the most part the girls cooperate and show off a bit, getting their heart rates to vary enough to please the doctors. Only had to use the noise-maker once (definitely don't like that thing), otherwise apple juice and some poking around my stomach seems to do the trick. I am having a few contractions that show up on the NST, but I don't feel any of them and I'm not dilated at all, so no one seems to be concerned about them at this point.

The girls are likely between 4-5lbs each at this point, and we won't get another weight estimate until Sept.27. They are both breech, so it is very likely that I will have a c-section since there isn't much room for them to turn at this point. This week I have 2 more NST's, a visit with my ob/gyn, and a visit to the high risk doctor to check my fluid levels. Yes, that's 4 appointments in one week. Makes life interesting.

The pivotal point, so my doctors say, is our full ultrasound on Sept.27, when I'll be past my 36 week mark. This will give us full measurements of the girls at this point, their approximate weight, and will determine if they're ready to enter the world. Hard to believe that this big date/appointment is only 2 weeks from Tuesday.

I better quit before I get all emotional and think really deeply about that appointment. For now, we celebrate 34 weeks! :) I'll probably do a 35-week update instead of my usual every 2 weeks, since we know that a lot can change in a short amount of time. Till next time...