32 Weeks Pregnant Update

Hi All,

We had a long but good day at the doctor and hospital today.

First of all, we are celebrating a milestone today. We are 32 weeks pregnant and entering our 33rd week. This means we have moved into the next critical time zone of development. Acccording to our twins reference book, weeks 33 - 35 are considered pre-term for multiples. Twins are often born during this time frame. In general, they may need to spend up to two weeks in the hospital, but are unlikely to experience any long term effects from their pre-term birth (assuming they have grown well thus far). So, we are very happy to have made it this far!

We started out at the doctor's office this morning for our weekly appointment. This was also an ultrasound day for us, and my mom was able to attend.

Here are a few pictures of our son from the today's ultrasound. Our daughter is now facing my back side, which our ultrasound technician said is exactly what she is supposed to be doing as we prepare for labor. At any rate, for this reason we were unable to get any shots of her face or profile.

Profile of our son at 32 weeks

Our son's face at 32 weeks

Key Measurements from our ultrasound/doctor appointment:

Baby A (girl) Weight Estimate = 3 lbs 14 oz. (24th percentile)

Baby B (boy) Weight Estimate = 4 lbs 8 oz. (64th percentile)

Baby A Heart rate = 125

Baby B Heart rate = 136

My Belly Measurement = 37 centimeters

My Pregnancy Weight Gain = 37.5 pounds

My cervix length is also still measuring well, per the ultrasound.

The doctor also detected a small amount of cervix dilation (less than 2 cm.) during my pelvic exam. I need to continue to wear my maternity support belt/girdle to keep pressure off my cervix.

We are also keeping an eye on our daughter's weight. At this point, our doctor is mostly concerned that she stay above the 10th percentile. We will see where she is at in 3 weeks when we are scheduled for our next ultrasound (if we are still pregnant!)

Next, my mom and I were on to the hospital for my NST. Our daughter passed the NST quickly today, but apparently our son decided it was nap time. The nurse, Tracia, brought in what she called a little alarm clock for him. She placed a little vibrating tool on my belly over my son. That seemed to do the trick. The other interesting part of the NST session was the contraction monitor. I noticed several contractions on the monitor (although I still could not feel them) - many more than I'm used to seeing. We are not getting concerned yet, since as long as the contractions continue to be this mild, we are likely not in danger of pre-term labor.

My mom mentioned the babies appear to be sitting much lower than before. I think she is right, and perhaps they have started dropping into position. To be honest, this makes me a little nervous! We'd like to keep the babies gestating for a while longer yet. The good news is we feel pretty confident they can handle the outside world with all little help at this point.

Other than that, I am continuing to take it easy. I have taken up residence on our couch. I find I sleep better there, between the support from the back rests and arm rests. We are continuing to finalize our preparations. Jim has strongly suggested I pack my hospital bag, so it has made it's way out of the closet.

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm updating our baby ticker on the blog to reflect our scheduled c-section date. We're really excited this is scheduled!

30 Weeks Pregnant Update

Hi All,

I had my weekly doctor appointment today, as well as another NST.

Results of the Doctor's exam:

Belly Measurement = 35 centimeters (approximating someone pregnant for 35 weeks)

My Pregnancy Weight Gain = 34 lbs.

That's pretty much all I got, as once again the doctor was not able to reach my cervix for a check during my pelvic exam (or what we are now affectionately calling my torture session). We are assuming that means the cervix is still very high and not at all dilated, which is all good. The pelvic exams have been insanely uncomfortable for me, so the doctor has opted to put me out of my misery if he does not get to the cervix pretty immediately. I'm not sure if it's me and my lack of tolerance, or if the nature of the exam is that uncomfortable for many pregnant women.

Other than that, I was a little taken aback that I gained 3 pounds over the past week. I was expecting (or maybe hoping) for 1 - 1.5 lbs./week from here on out. But the doctor is not at all concerned. This is the time when the babies are growing quickly and additional water retention could be happening. So we'll maybe cut back on the sweets a bit and otherwise take it as it comes.

Then, I was on to the hospital for my 3rd NST. Apparently, the third is a charm. Everything went wonderfully - the monitors went right on and the babies were very cooperative and adequately active in the first 20 minute monitoring session. So, we were out of there in record time.

So, I'm happy to report all signs are good for now!