36 1/2 weeks

Here's the update you've all been waiting for! I was SO nervous for our appointment this morning. Apparently my blood pressure was through the roof when we first arrived, which showed my anxiety over what we'd find out (it did end up coming way down at the end of the appointment). However, the ultrasound went really well, and I made it through without any complications or feeling sick- praise God! We got some awesome pictures of the girls, as you can see below. We were even able to see the hair on Baby B, which is just crazy to me. Baby B turned back into the breech position, so as of right now, both of them are breech. Yesterday at my OB appointment I was measuring at 48 weeks, which just makes me laugh. I wasn't dilated at all yet, and things seemed pretty steady in there. The weight estimates from today are: Baby A weighing in around 5 lbs 7 oz, and Baby B weighing in around 7 lbs. They are definitely following the growth pattern of singleton pregnancies, especially knowing that I'm still about 3 weeks early from full-term for singletons. 37 weeks is considered full-term for twins, so I'm pretty close to that. I know these are just estimates and that their weights could be quite different when they're born, but it's nice to know that they're growing so well. We talked to the high risk doctor for quite awhile today, weighing all of our options and all of our information. The weight difference is starting to become more significant, although not significant enough to label it twin-to-twin or a big concern. The girls have plenty of fluid, are growing well, and the placenta seems to be acting okay, although starting to slightly favor Baby B. Their movement is pretty good yet, although slowing down due to lack of room in there. I continue to pass my NST's with flying colors, which is also good. So, the question remained of when to induce. Technically they like to wait until I'm 37 weeks, but a day or two early isn't too significant, so the expert says, especially seeing how well they're growing. The problem of "turning" another week on the weekend is that you either go a day or two early or you wait until Monday. So, after weighing all the options, the high risk doctor recommended that we keep our tentative day of Thursday this week, since that is when my doctor can do the c-section. I was worried about whether or not we'd be able to get a spot in the OR that quickly, but in less than a half an hour, my OB's office already had called me to say that everything worked out perfectly and they were able to schedule me for a c-section at 7:30am on Thursday. So, in about 40 hours from now, we'll have our girls here with us. I still worry about whether or not we're allowing them to enter the world too early, but I keep remembering that twins are a different situation and will be considered almost full-term when they are born. So, it's final. September 29, 2011 will be their birthday, and I'm excited. The doctors don't anticipate that I'll go into labor on my own before then, and at this point I plan to take it easy tonight and tomorrow to make sure that happens. My parents are driving out this afternoon and then finishing the drive tomorrow, so they will be here with Kaden while we're in the hospital. I plan to blog tomorrow with one final baby belly picture and gush a little bit as to how I really feel right now, knowing that the end is so closely in sight. If you think of it, say a prayer for us, that my nerves will subside, but most importantly that everything will go well with the delivery and that the girls will be healthy.

It's crazy to me how much she looks like Kaden in this picture. They definitely have my nose. This picture makes it seems so real to me. They look like they belong in our family! :)

Baby A taking a little snooze.

So adorable. Their heads are leaning against each other. The head of Baby A is pretty obvious, hence the nose and mouth that you see. The head of Baby B is in the upper left-hand corner, resting on Baby A. I love that they're already buddies.