October 10, 2019
OMG — talk about panic for nothing.
I literally just left my BPP/NST (bio physical profile/non-stress test) and for the last 1.5 hours thought I was going to be admitted for low fluid. Long story short, it was a miscommunication on the phone between the ultrasound tech and nurse, and everything is TOTALLY ok! I swear I nearly had a panic attack. I don’t want these babies to come yet, and I don’t want to spend a night in the hospital yet, either!
In case you don’t follow me on social media, I wanted to share what I shared yesterday…
I got to church and realized my maternity shirt is now a midriff shirt and I wore birkenstocks in OCTOBER to church because my other shoes felt uncomfortable because my feet were swollen. HAHA!
All of a sudden many of my shirts are exposing a bit of my belly — and NOT intentionally, LOL! Plus, the past few days, my feet are fatter than normal. (I have really, really wide feet as it is — some have coined the term "grape stomping". Really.) So, add a twin pregnancy to the mix, and hello pregnancy feet!
Makes sense given my belly is essentially the size of a full term singleton pregnancy. Annnnnd, it means those babies are GROWING, which is all I can ask!
32 weeks is a HUGE milestone for a twin pregnancy,
I'm incredibly grateful we've made it this far. It's crazy (and slightly terrifying) that they really could come any day now! But I'm praying they stay in the full 6 weeks longer. I told my daughter the twins would be here in 6 weeks or less and she says, "6 isn't very much!" No, it certainly isn’t. They will be here before we know it!
On another note...
Surprisingly, (since we are about to have babies 4 & 5) many have asked: Are you done? Will you have more?
These 2 will be out last kiddos — and it actually breaks my heart a little.
NOT because we want any more, haha! My husband and I always talked about having 3 or 4. I was always leaning toward 4, he was more for 3. But together, we agreed to do one final IVF cycle to grow our family yet again! And we were blessed with a 4th AND 5th baby on the way!
But as I mentioned last week, I love being pregnant! I find it such a blessing! Particularly given that all of our kiddos were a result of fertility treatments, I think every child is a serious miracle. I mean… embryo to breathing, living baby in 9 months?! Still blows my mind!
But I have no doubt our family will soon be complete.
And I'm beyond grateful for that. Because 6 years ago if you had told me I'd be a mom of 5, I'd have thought you were NUTS! At that point, I was told the only way I'd become pregnant is with fertility treatments. And as much a I wanted to believe I'd become a mom, I wasn’t convinced it was possible.
Have you been diagnosed with infertility or know someone who has?
I want to invite you to join my Fertility Health & Support Group on Facebook. It's a safe environment for those who struggle with fertility issues — whether that is in the past, present, or you know you will endure it in the future.
Week 32 Twin Pregnancy Update
Babies Update:
According to my pregnancy apps, they are currently the size of a pomelo. I honestly had to google what that was as I have never heard of it or eaten one. LOL! My last ultrasound/growth scan was this past week (at 31 weeks 1 day) and Baby A was 3lbs 6oz. Baby B was 3lbs 9oz. I officially have more baby weight in me than I ever have (my oldest was our biggest babe at 6lbs 12 oz). My boys were 6lbs 5 oz.
Today (32 weeks, 1 day), I had a biophysical profile (BPP) and non-stress test (NST) and the babies are doing great. Unfortunately baby A (boy) is still breech. Hoping he decides to flip before delivery!
Frequency of Doctor Appointment:
I now will have a BPP/NST weekly and my OB appointments are currently every 2 weeks. That means this week I had my BPP/NST AND OB appointment is Thursday.
Labor Signs:
Nada! I mean, I have the occasional braxton hicks, and some stronger than other, but nothing long lasting or too intense. They mostly happen in the late afternoon/evening on walks.
Weight Gain:
Just shy of 30 pounds!
For some reason it’s slowed a bit (despite my best efforts with nearly nightly kettle corn, ice cream sundaes with my mom’s hot fudge), and ensuring I’m eating every few hours with protein at every snack and meal. However, as I mentioned before, my doctor is thrilled with my weight gain and I’m still on track to hit at least 37 by delivery (average weight in 3rd trimester is ¾-1 pound per week), and often slows for most twin moms in the third trimester.
Movement:
Holy toledo, these kiddos move like CRAZY. I can literally see limbs across my abdomen when they move, and it is hilarious!
Symptoms:
This week, the fatigue has certainly hit me! I was ready for bed at 5pm last night. And I keep waking around 4:30am, unable to fall back asleep. As I mentioned earlier, my feet have also been a bit swollen. I also still have the mild carpal tunnel symptoms I noted in my last update, but nothing too bothersome. Thankfully, I’m feeling great, otherwise!
Cravings/Food Aversions:
Nothing. Still loving the same things and nothing sounds terrible.
Purchasing/Borrowing:
I was gifted a pregnancy pillow which I am super excited to try out. I also had one of my baby showers last week and got some seriously ADORABLE clothes & books. It really hit home for me seeing the matching outfits and boy/girl outfits. It’s still hard to believe sometimes that we will have TWO more babies joining us shortly!
Maternity Clothes:
Nothing new. But some of my shirts are getting quite short!! HAHA!
Exercise:
I just finished my 100 workout program and LOVED it
I can tell you that this has by far been one of my FAVORITE programs.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure when I began this program if I’d be able to do it (and complete it) while pregnant with twins — 100 workouts seemed daunting. But I started and was immediately hooked. The variety is amazing. No repeat workouts. The moves are challenging and innovative. It’s the perfect mix of cardio, strength training, flexibility, & active recovery. The music is awesome!
Modifications: There are two modifiers to follow if needed. I skipped the core inferno day each week and instead swam those days as I avoid most core specific moves during pregnancy. I do wall push-ups instead of regular ones. And otherwise, rarely had to modify!
And despite my growing belly, I definitely noticed a significant difference in my strength and tone of my arms, legs & bootay! (WOOT WOOT!)
I would recommend this to anyone and everyone in a heartbeat. 20-30 minutes per workout is absolutely do-able for ANYONE (As a working mom of 3 and pregnant with twins), I assure you, if I can do this, you can, too!!
Saying that, I started a new program today, 6 Weeks of the Work, and already can tell this is likely going to be a top contender for my favorite program. It is AWESOME. I had to modify just 2 moves (most push-ups I do against a wall or on my knees as to not stress my core), but I otherwise was able to follow right along with the cast and trainer. It is going to be ESPECIALLY amazing postpartum to whip me back into shape!
Our triathlon club did start up again, and I LOVE love our club and community. I’m not running of course, and shortening the workouts. But the last two weeks I have swam and biked (for a total of about an hour), and am so thankful I am still able to do so at 32 weeks pregnant!
Interesting Moments:
Only the stress today of thinking I was going to be admitted to the hospital, when in reality, everything looked GREAT.
Best Moments:
Definitely my baby shower. Being my fourth pregnancy, I never would have expected to have a shower. But my incredible friends (and the world’s best hosts) insisted on one and truly threw the classiest, most beautiful, love filled day I could have ever imagined.
The food was delicious. The games were delightful. The company was incredible. The gifts left me speechless. And OMG — carrot cake is my favorite cake, and the one they had ordered for my shower was honestly the best I’ve ever had. It was SO SO good from a bakery in Everett called Choux Choux. The cake was delicious and moist, and I am TOTALLY a frosting girl (most cakes I ditch the cake and go for the frosting), the frosting was phenomenal. They had goodie bags of kettle corn… MAN do they know me well! Honestly, one of the most incredible group of women surrounded me that day! I feel so lucky and grateful our twins get to come into a world with women like these — such good, loyal, loving and kind people that I am blessed to call my friends and family.
Missing:
Being able to get off the ground with ease, HAHA!
Looking Forward To:
This week I have an OB appointment (always love seeing them on ultrasound), and my grandfather’s 85th birthday party. Can’t wait to see my parents and grandparents!
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