Those Are Definitely Kicks!

Not my belly. But how crazy, right!

I mentioned before that I was a little worried about the boys since I couldn't feel any regular movement in there. Well for the last week or two, I've finally been feeling little flutters. They'd usually come when I was busy concentrating on other things so they'd only get my attention as an after-thought. Wait, was that a kick? Then I'd drop everything and sit really still, trying to feel something again. Of course, I never did. The boys were messing with me.

Then this week they've been a little more pronounced. You know when you're riding in a car, and the car hits a little dip in the road and your bladder does this little jumping wheeeeeeeee thing? It kinda feels like tiny versions of that. Like they're tickling my bladder. Again, very faint. But I could tell they definitely weren't my imagination.

Well, this morning was kinda awesome. Greg was already up, out of bed, showered and being productive. I, like most mornings, was completely awake but hadn't even attempted to move out from under the fluffy duvet. I'm a slow starter and like to savor my morning laziness. It's necessary.

Greg was cleaning out the litter box, like he does every morning. And like every morning, he pulled out the DustBuster to vacuum up all the little loose bits of kitty litter that the brats like to kick everywhere. I hate the DustBuster. Especially first thing in the morning. It is so. damn. loud! The sound seems to travel down the hall & into our room and bounce off all the walls, gaining intensity the whole time. By the time it hits my sleepy ears, it feels like a physical assault. Usually I just cringe, grab another pillow and bury my head underneath it until he's done.

Well, I think the boys are with me on this one because soon after Greg turned on that DustBuster, I started feeling kicks. Kicks! Multiple, distinctive kicks! On each side of my tummy! There were some on my left side right under my ribs and another set on my right side that were much lower. It was so cool!

I yelled to Greg, they're kicking! They're kicking! Greg cut off the dreaded DustBuster, and the kicks subsided and then faded. I told Greg, Ok, they've stopped. So he went about finishing his business. As soon as he turned the DB on again, they started kicking again! Of course I got all kinds of excited and started yelling again so Greg ran in to see if he could get a feel. By the time he got a hand to my belly though, they had stopped again. Poor Greg missed the show. But I didn't, and I've been a little giddy ever since.

Tonight I fully plan on testing this little DustBuster theory. Maybe we'll get lucky, and Greg can join in on the fun. :)

Bump Expansion

(22 weeks & 3 days)

Greg and I both have had moments this past week where we stop mid-sentence and stare, wide-eyed & stunned at the belly expansion. It seems to be growing on a daily basis. And of course, it is. But it's growing at such a rate that we can actually SEE the difference between my bump today and my bump from 2 days ago. Or I think we can anyway. Maybe it's just taking that long to get used to this new, pregnant, expanded version of Larisa. That's entirely possible too.

I read that between now and the next four weeks, the babies will actually double in size! Double! How is it possible that a belly is designed to stretch that much? I mean, of course you always know that's what happens. Who hasn't seen a crazy big pregnant belly? But until it's happening to you, I don't think you can really appreciate how amazing it truly is.

I feel like such a nerd, being so shocked at the capabilities of my own body but WOW, man! Wow!

22 Weeks PG

Today marks the beginning of my now weekly visits with the nurse practitioner who runs the multiples program in my perinatologist's office. With Margaret, we now add one more to the ever-growing number of people (besides my husband) who get to see my nether regions on a semi-regular basis. Lovely. Another chip in my quickly crumbling sense of modesty.

Margaret's specialty is coaching/regulating on women carrying multiples, and the program's sole purpose is to prevent pre-term birth, the biggest & most common danger to multiples. My goals are to make it to 36 weeks with the twins and to gain at least 40 pounds so these babies will emerge fat & healthy & ready to go home with me. No NICU. No NICU. No NICU. That's my new mantra. (NICU = neonatal intensive care unit)

She plied me with all kinds of questions about my medical history and current job situation and physical work load. She didn't seem too thrilled with the fact that I'm planning on finishing my degree this semester and said several times - just in case I didn't grasp the gravity of her words the first time - that stress can induce early labor.

Yeah.

There is simply no way writing a dissertation, preparing a presentation and defending my work in front of a committee of experts in their respective fields will NOT be stressful. I am well & truly screwed in that department. But I'm trying not dwell on that fact right now.

Some interesting things I learned:

• In just 6 weeks, my uterus will be almost FULL TERM size. That means I'll be hefting myself around for another 2 months after that with a bigger than full term belly. Whaaaa!?!
  
• In 6 weeks, she also wants me to decrease to part time, that's 4 hours a day. I tried convincing her that sitting at the computer & typing all day is just as good. She was not impressed.
  
• In 10 weeks (32 week pregnant), she informed me that I'll "tolerate very little activity". I'm guessing this is when most multiples moms tend to be put on bedrest. I'm expected to stop work completely at this point and not leave the house for more than 2 hours at a time.
• At 34 weeks, they won't attempt to stop any early labor, but the babies would probably have to spend a few weeks in the NICU while their lungs & all that vital stuff continued to mature.
  
• Only at 36 weeks will the babes usually be able to go home without any NICU time.
• Delivery at 37-38 weeks is ideal, but in my experience of talking with other twin moms, this also seems rare. Whatever happens, my doc won't let me carry them past 38 weeks. If they haven't come on their own, we'll schedule a c-section to put me out of my pregnant misery. And if I'm already a bit uncomfortable now, I can only imagine how cumbersome 38 weeks will be! My doc said I'll probably be begging for a c-section by that point, but I'm hoping the babes will be the cooperative sort and decide 36 weeks is the way to go. I can always hope anyway.
  

Next week, Margaret is teaching me all about diet & what to eat. Should I tell her about my bubble tea addiction and recent sugar rampage? Hmmm, probably not...

19.5 Week Ultrasound

I just realized I haven't shared a single picture of the boys on this blog. How naughty of me! Especially since I'm fortunate enough to have so many.

Being in the "high risk" pregnancy category, I've had ultrasounds once every month with my perinatal group. What's even more cool is that I then have an appointment with my regular obstetrician the following week. They have a portable ultrasound machine at their office so every time she wheels it in, and I get to see them again. The perks of being high risk! Yay!

So in the beginning we had tons of cutesy shots of the two of them hanging out in there. As they've grown, things have gotten a bit more cramped, and they're now too big to catch together on one screen. But here's an adorable profile picture of Left Baby.


Greg thinks he looks just like his daddy. :) He was head down with his little feet right up under my ribs.


Right Baby was flipped in the opposite direction. His head was under my ribs with his feet pointing down. He was also much less cooperative with the profile picture this time, but the ultrasound tech was able to position the sensor just right so we could almost make out his little face! We saw him opening and closing his little mouth over and over again, almost like he was trying to talk to us. Everybody in the room was oohhhing and ahhhing at the cuteness.


Later I read that they are swallowing several ounces of amniotic fluid every day. AND they can actually taste what I've been eating because the amniotic fluid takes on the flavors of my food day after day. So Right Baby probably wasn't so much trying to chat as he was savoring the delicious root beer that I drank before the scan.


And since the boys were hopped up on root beer, they were both crazy active in there, kicking and punching each other the entire time. Is this perhaps foreshadowing things to come? Probably. *Note to self: stock up on first aid supplies.*

We caught them playing footsie so the tech was trying to nab a shot with all four feet in the mix. But my boys were too fast for her - future soccer stars, I'm telling you. She did manage to catch these three together though.


Too cute! I can't wait to nibble on those little toes!

It's amazing how big they look on that huge screen, but in reality they're still only about the size of a large banana. Every time I get itchy to hold them in my arms, I have to remind myself that they still need quite a bit of incubating before they're ready to greet the world.

All measurements were fantastic. One baby weighed about 13.5 oz, the other 12.5 oz. Their weights are starting to get a bit further apart, but the doc assured us that they're right on target. He also checked out the internal organs. All systems are go.

I still can't feel them yet, which really bothers me, but the doc said I should consider myself lucky. Once I start feeling them thrashing around in there, he said I'm liable to get absolutely no sleep whatsoever. I guess I will work on my patience instead.

Tough Guy

I think my boss must have the wrong impression about me. He just sent me this:

Hi Larisa
Too bad that you are pregnant. Otherwise you could try your hand at this.

He apparently believes that I'm much more hard-core than I am. That little race looks B.R.U.T.A.L.

Bump Progress: 19 weeks

Today I am 19 weeks pregnant!

My OB won't let me go past 38 weeks before these babies have to come out, so that means today I am already halfway there! Wow...


And by the way, in case you were wondering, my belly feels much larger than this looks... I'm having a hard time getting my socks on every morning because I keep forgetting there's something there to impede my progress. I end up squishing the boys every single time before I remember that the feet must now come to me across my lap - no more bending straight down. Rolling over at night is becoming much more of a production. I'm usually a pretty sound sleeper, but soon I will be tossing and turning as much as Greg does. (We'll see how he likes it - ha ha ha!)

Overall, though, I feel wonderful. I love that my belly looks more and more like a baby bump every time I see it. Even Greg is taken by surprise sometimes. The pregnancy is definitely becoming more real for him now that the bump is here.

Apparently the boys can hear noises now so he talks to them, trying to convince them to give me a few good kicks because he knows I worry. (Still no steady movement but I'm sure it will come soon.) He's always asking, "How are the boys?" and bends down to give my belly two little kisses. These boys are going to adore him as much as I do. :)