Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Girls are "Growing Impeccably"


We had another ultrasound today and we are ecstatic! Much to our surprise, our girls are definitely a lot fatter than I thought they'd be. I was rooting for 3 pounds 3 ounces and we far exceeded that goal. I actually belted out a "whoo hooo" in the doctor's ear this morning and had to apologize for it. According to the perinatologist, the girls are "growing impeccably!" {We get great quotes from the perinatologist, don't we?!). Baby A and Baby B have officially switched designations. Baby A is now on my right and Baby B is now on my left. They didn't confuse them, it all has to do with who's closest to the cervix. So, Baby A (right) is the lightweight of the two (as usual) weighing in at 3 pounds 11 ounces!!! This is 50th percentile for twin girls. Baby B (left) is the heavy weight weighing in at 4 pounds 3 ounces, which is the 75th percentile! GO GIRLS!!!! I suppose all the protein I've been eating has really helped (I strive for at least 80-100 grams per day, which is a TON compared to the 40 I used to eat). Did you add up the weight? At 31.5 weeks, I'm already carrying the equivalent of a nearly 8 pound baby!

In more good news, Baby A (which used to be B) is now head down, just like her sister. This means the odds are improving for a regular (not c-section) birth. However, they could still flip again. They will soon run out of room and be too heavy to flip. I'm going with the flow on either way...it's not like this is something I can control!

We are very happy. If you think about it, we have no more than 6.5 weeks to go, so they should have no problem reaching 5lbs 8oz, which is when they are officially low birth weight. Remember, the goals are 37 weeks (April 20th) and 5lbs8oz. If we have a regular birth and no bed rest, we'll have really beaten all the odds. I'm hopeful we can make these important milestones for fat and healthy babies with minimal hospital stays.

Also, the girls continue to hide from us. They are facing towards my spine (anterior), so we only have a picture of their heads together.

BTW, Baby A has the hiccups right now.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

31 Weeks and Still Truckin'


I think I'm supposed to feel terrible by now because everyone is surprised I'm feeling good, still going to the gym and generally have a smile on my face.

The girls are so active! I feel Baby B so much more than I ever have...I sort of think she's now breech and transverse like her sister. It's a relief because I used to have to poke my belly to really feel her moving around, now I feel the bootie bump all day long. Neither of them like to be squished at night when I'm lying on my side, so I get the kick, kick, kick until I flip over, then the other one does it. They are drama queens! So, I've now discovered this side/back sleeping position where I prop a pillow along each of my sides and now I don't squish my belly. They seem to be pleased with this arrangement and sleep quietly...that's until I get up and go to the bathroom around 2am every night, take a drink of water and they are dancing for at least 30 minutes. I think they are like "Woooo, Momma gave us something to drink." They celebrate like it's gin and tonics! Oh, I think we're in store for some pretty sassy ladies! By that point, I'm typically awake for 2 hours thinking about them, work, child care, etc. Surprisingly, while I'm not sleeping solidly anymore, I don't feel super tired. I think it's all prep for when they arrive.

Here's what's going on with the girls, we will get to verify some of these statistics in our ultrasound on Thursday. This week, the babies measure over 16 inches long. They weigh about 3.3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. They can can turn their head from side to side, and their arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath their skin.

Weekend with My Man


David and I haven't had a lot of time to spend together alone lately, so we decided to block off an entire weekend just for the two of us. Friday, we went out for a casual sushi dinner (well, I didn't really have sushi, but he did). Saturday was fun filled -- I made David his favorite breakfast of eggs benedict and then we went out and about. We visited the National Arboretum (see pic of funky tree), Congressional Cemetary where lots of VIPs are buried (or were buried until their home State's wanted them back), went to Old Town for lunch and snacks, checked out a planetarium in Arlington, and then out to dinner at the Melting Pot. I've never been -- it's a chain fondue restaurant -- but was in the mood for chocolate yummies. It was a fun change (and delicious chocolate). We were so tired last night we passed out until 9am this morning (it was still only 8 hours of sleep considering the time change). It was nice to be with David. We've been so consumed with catching up with friends and getting ready for the babies, we were long overdue for some quality time.

Today, my feet are up because 12 hours of running around yesterday was too much. I think I officially have knakles (When you have no ankles between your feet and calves). They aren't terrible, but they are definitely more swollen then they ever have. And, yes, I'm fully aware I need a pedicure...that's coming soon! David is supposed to be rubbing my feet, but he's busy reading the paper. Maybe later.