30 week twin belly

Well we made it to 30 weeks! Babies are the size of a head of cabbage, weighing in at/almost/just over three pounds (depending on which pregnancy app you are consulting). They are doing all kinds of acrobatic moves in there too.

Not a maternity dress!

Today marks three weeks one day of bed rest. It's been a much better week though after getting the negative FFN. A lot less stressful. I am still testing for contractions twice a day and taking it easy. For the most part, I am having one to three contractions an hour (which I can't really feel), with four or more sometimes. I just hydrate, lay down and re-monitor when that happens and the number always goes down below four.

We are having new carpeting installed in the basement/upstairs on Wednesday/Thursday which means we'll be able to put the nursery together next weekend. Darren and his dad painted the nursery dressers and spray painted the handles so it is looking good. I can't wait to get the baby stuff out of the living room and dining room and start to have a somewhat organized house back. My sister and cousin Jackie also came over and did some cleaning for me which was super nice and makes me feel less guilty about not being able to do anything.

I also finished Lost Season 2. Here are my thoughts: What will happen to Michael and Walt? What will the others do with Kate, Jack and Sawyer? Will Hurley and/or Syed somehow save them? What happened when Desmond blew up the hatch? Are Mr. Eckles, Lock and Desmond still alive? What was the deal with Desmond's ex girlfriend tracking for an electromagnetic abnormality? Do I like Jin or do I think he's an ass? Why did Charlie do his best to be such a weirdo/jerk this season, yet why did Claire still kiss him? How come Libby was at the crazy hospital with Hurley, and why did they kill her off so quickly? What is the Dharma initiative anyway? Who are the others?

Twin Ugg boots!

My mom's friend Anne gave us two pairs of Ugg boots for the girls. The twins will be way more fashionable than their mama!

How cute are these?

Negative FFN! No Steroids Needed!

Well after not the greatest news at our appointment yesterday, the FFN test came back negative! Huge shock and awesome surprise. This means I have less than a 1% chance of delivering in the next two weeks. The doctor is going to keep me on bed rest for now and continue the home monitoring, but I won't need the steroids. Huge sigh of relief!

Barr babies are trying to give their mommy gray hair through a series of mini panic attacks. Glad we bought some time though!

http://www.ffntest.com/info/understanding_result/if_negative.html


What a Negative Test Result Means

A negative test result means you have a less than 1% chance of giving birth in the next two weeks,1 which can give you peace of mind and can help you avoid unnecessary drug treatment, bed rest, and hospitalization. This knowledge can provide reassurance so you can get on with your current activities without worry and you don't need to cancel plans unnecessarily.

• The vast majority of women will get a negative test result, indicating that no fetal fibronectin is "leaking" into the vagina
• A negative test result gives you 99.2% assurance that you will not deliver in the next two weeks

What you can do next

After the test, if you still have symptoms or concerns, talk to your doctor — the test can be repeated as often as every two weeks from weeks 22 to 35 of your pregnancy. Also, be sure that you know the symptoms of premature labor and what to watch for.

29 week check up

Saw the doctor again today. Appointment was okay.

I am 1 cm dilated and 60 percent effaced (cervix is thinning). This isn't great news, but you can stay at 1 cm dilated for a while before delivery. As a precaution though, I am going to get steroid shots tomorrow and Wednesday to help develop and mature the babies' lungs. The doctor said its very possible I could still make it to 35 or 36 weeks, or I could deliver sooner. The unknown factor makes me so nervous!

Again, for now my goal is 32 weeks. I'm still on bed rest and drinking lots of fluids. If I can make it to 34 weeks, the chance of any long term problems for the babies would basically be non existent and its possible they wouldn't have any (or a lot) of NICU time. Before that though, the doctor said plan on them staying in the NICU until their due date (which is July 13!) Trying not to think about that though.

29 week twin belly

Babies are the size of butternut squashes!

So happy to make it another week. Hanging in there but so sick of bed rest and worrying. We'll find out more at the doctor's office on Monday.

Bed Rest Blues

Today makes two weeks of modified bed rest. My overall opinion of bed rest is that I do not like it.

I am so bored. There is only so much TV a girl can watch. I have almost finished the first season of Lost. I know I am about ten years behind the times, but hey. Here are my thoughts: What's up with the hatch? And those numbers? Is there a T-rex on the island? Is Charlie going to discover the heroin and relapse? What's up with Claire's baby? Why is the Korean husband guy (Jin?) such a jerk? How come Lock can walk now? Are Kate and Jack going to hook it up or what? So many questions.

It's also hard b/c there is so much that needs to be done before the babies come. I can't even go to the store to return a few things. And I need to find a diaper bag and pick out a nursing bra and tank. Obviously I am a big fan of online shopping but some things you need to be able to see in the store.

I've been able to at least sort and wash the baby items. Every day I prepare a load for Darren and then he brings them upstairs after they are washed. I've been sorting everything into bins by age group and I have all the blankets, bibs, burp cloths, slings, car seat covers, sheets, etc. washed. So that's something.

So it's been exactly two weeks since the positive FFN test. From what I've read online, a positive means you have a 30 to 50% chance of going into labor in the two weeks following a positive. Luckily we are now at that two week mark and no labor. I'm not really sure what that means then moving forward. Guess we'll find out when we see the doctor on Monday. For now, I keep hooking up to the monitor twice a day. I usually have one to three contractions in an hour, though I did have seven once (I had to drink water, lay down, and re-test, and the second test only showed one luckily.). The goal is to stay under four an hour.

Being a hormonal pregnant women (times two) and having to worry every day about going into early labor is tough emotionally. I am just so scared and nervous every single day and freaking out over every little sensation in my body. At least the girls are moving a lot. I've been doing kick counts where you track how many times you feel movement. The goal is to feel ten kicks in an hour. I usually feel ten kicks in less then fifteen minutes, one time it only took a minute and a half. So they are good and active.

29 weeks tomorrow. If I could make it to 32, I would be so happy. 35 would be better though. And 37 would be even better than that. I just don't want my little ones to have to be in the NICU for weeks on end.

Baby shower!

Diaper cake made by my mother in law!

My baby shower was this Sunday. And yes the doctor gave me permission to come off bed rest and attend, I just had to stay seated for most of it. It was such a nice shower and people were so generous!

My sister was in charge and did a great job of getting everything together. She got a lot of help from the rest of the family with the decorations and food so it was a group effort!

There were so many cute little girl outfits from everyone. It makes me so excited for the girls to get here and dress them up.

The food table (sans food).

Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2!

I was able to get (mostly) everything left on my registry after the shower with the gift cards I've gotten. Big delivery should be coming from Target/Babies R Us in the next few days! I guess we are pretty much ready for the babies? Except that the house looks like an episode of hoarders. The entire living/dining room is just covered with baby stuff. As soon as the nursery is done (painting is finished, just waiting on carpet! Dresses are painted too!) we'll be able to put most of it away and that will help. And by we'll, I mean Darren since the doctor said I'm not even allowed to climb stairs.

Dr. Seuss theme.

Twin facts, home made cake pops and baby bottle center piece.

Costco cake - so yummy!

Twin bassinet with my childhood Cabbage Patch twin dolls. They were a bit dirty, ha.

Chair for bed rest girl.

Presents!

28 week twin belly

THIRD TRIMESTER!

Babies are the size of Chinese cabbage this week.

28 weeks was my second major goal (24 being the first). Next goal is 32 weeks!

So I've been on bed rest for a little over a week now and I am going a bit stir crazy. It is super boring and a little disheartening. I have to hook up to a home monitoring machine twice a day to check for uterine activity. I've had a few contractions but nothing major enough to go to the hospital. I guess its comforting every time they tell me it looks good. But it is still scary having to be monitored so closely!

Tomorrow is my shower and the doctor gave me permission to go, thankfully.She said as long as I stay seated for most of it and refrain from walking around.  Last week my co-workers had a surprise duel shower for me and the other Maggie who was 38 weeks pregnant. It was really nice with Pot Belly sandwiches, a milkshake and homemade cookies. We also got a very generous gift card to Babies R Us.

On Thursday night the doctor let me go to our birthing class which was a tour of Fairview Hospital as long as I used a wheel chair. I really like Fairview Hospital and the rooms seemed really big. Hopefully though we won't be delivering there too soon!

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Bar of soap in sheets for leg cramps?

So a lot of pregnant women get awful leg cramps/charlie horses in the middle of the night. I've only had one really bad one but I read that regular exercise usually keeps them at bay. Which is comforting news until you get put on bed rest and your only exercise consists of getting up to pee 50 times a day.

My mom told me a trick she heard from my Aunt Phyllis who swears by this home remedy. Put a bar of soap between your mattress and your sheets and you won't have leg cramps anymore. Something about the magnesium in the soap. I was a little skeptical but if you Google anything about it, you'll find a ton of posts and articles. Even snopes.com said it can't determine if its true or not. So I've been sleeping with a bar of soap under my sheets for the past few days. No leg cramps yet....

27 week twin belly

Babies are the size of a head of cauliflower.

This was a tough week. I feel super pregnant and giant and am pretty uncomfortable. I've been getting heart burn the last few weeks, my fingers and feet are starting to swell a little and my back is still hurting. Ugh. On top of all this, I am now on modified bed rest because of the FFN test. I was really bummed to miss my yoga class today. Going to focus on taking it easy this week.

On the upside, the girls are super active and doing really well. It is the weirdest feeling when they both move at the same time and I can see my belly stick out in two different places.

Ten more weeks till full term twin pregnancy. Since the doctor won't let me go longer than 38 weeks, they'll be here within 11 weeks (or sooner!). Really crazy thinking about that.