I’ve been MIA for the past week because…
The babies were born at exactly 36 weeks on Wednesday, January 7th at 4:22 and 4:25am Baby A weighed 5 lbs 5 oz and Baby B 6 lbs 1 oz.
I’ll follow up with our birth story when I can. I just wanted to let you all know we are home and healthy and learning how to keep these little peeps growing outside of the womb!
Heartburn or acid reflux? Feels like I’ve swallowed a pill but it won’t go down all the way and it slowly creeps back up my esophagus and feels like I can’t get it out it does burn and sometimes I throw up a little in my mouth. I honestly thought I was just full so food wouldn’t stay down, and I actually did think that the pills getting stuck feeling were actually my Ursodiol pills getting lodged in my throat. I’m thinking now that it must be heart burn since it’s happening all the time- especially when I lay down to try and sleep.
Belly hurts all the time. Can’t bend forward to eat at the table so I end up spilling food all over my belly. One great alternative I’ve discovered is using my belly as a stand for food, drinks etc.. Works pretty well!
Swollen feet, legs, thighs- so gross! I did take a picture but I can’t bring myself to post the horrendous sight on my blog. Just imagine 2 pudgy, tight skinned feet, kankles and giant calves that blend into my swollen knees and thighs. Are there words like kankles for those other parts that blend together like calnees and knighs- because I definitely have those!
Belly button is sticking out slightly but not in a cute little prego button kind of way- it just slightly pooches out in the middle of my giant stretched out crater in the center of my belly. It doesn’t even look like a belly button at this point. (Plus the dark scar from my laparoscopic procedure and old belly button piercing don’t help.)
Gained 50 pounds total so far!
At the ultrasound on Monday the boys were looking good! Baby A is over 6 lbs! And Baby B is about 5.5 lbs! Crazy that I could have up to 12 lbs of baby in me plus all that comes with them- placentas and amniotic fluid (both babies have a lot of amniotic fluid) so they could still turn but for now Baby B (the presenting twin) is still head down. He hasn’t dropped yet but it sure feels like it! He also likes to wedge his legs or knees under my ribs and that’s pretty uncomfortable.
I’m measuring 44 cm (at my OB appointment last week) and 41 cm (at my MFM appointment this week) so either way my uterus thinks it’s overdue.
I try to do one unpacking chore everyday. My jobs have been easy compared to my mom and husband who have tackled the larger items. I’ve only been allowed to put together the babies’ room and choose where to put things in the kitchen or telling my husband where to put the furniture. I can also sit and fold laundry and direct my mother where to put the dishes etc.
For the nursery we still need to set up a sleeping place for the peeps, so I finally ordered the Pack ‘n Play I’d been reading reviews about for forever. It was on sale on amazon so we saved about 30-60 bucks!
I ordered my diaper bag. I finally settled on the Skip Hop Forma Pack and Go Diaper Tote. I’m still reading/watching reviews on this giant backpack travel bag from Okkatots that looks super functional but it’s huge and I cannot imagine bringing it everywhere with me. Who knows how I’ll feel or what I’ll actually need on a daily basis once I start going out with the twins. We do plan to travel with the babies so I may splurge and get the travel backpack in addition to the one I ordered and use the smaller one for every day use and the travel backpack for longer outings and trips.
I’m planning to do a big shopping spree of all the things we still need to prepare for the babies! Because of all of our amazing family and friends who gave us gift cards we will be able to purchase most of the last minute items that we need, so that will be fun. This needs to happen like yesterday since shipping takes time and these babies are coming within 2 weeks! Ahh! I’m starting to freak out a little, I mean a LOT, I mean I have no idea if I’m really ready for this- but am so thankful and so excited at the same time to cuddle these babies!
My sister is arriving on January 7th so hopefully these growing peeps will wait at least another week to pop out of my belly! It would be even better if they wait 2 weeks, since my mother in law is coming then. Only The Lord knows the right time for these tiny guys to arrive, so I’m trying not to overthink it.
What were your early signs of labor? I know everyone is different, but I’m still curious to hear about others’ experiences. Okay, so I’ll probably compare your experiences to myself and convince myself that I’m in labor… But really please do share, I’m so curious and excited but scared and can’t believe that all of this could happen any day now!
It’s 4:30am and lately I don’t ever sleep- at night that is. Since we’ve been in our new home (4 nights) I’ve slept about 2-3 hours total at night (interrupted by trips to the toilet to pee). Then by mid-morning I’m able to nap on the couch for a few more hours. I seem to be more comfortable during the day, whereas at night I’m bothered by all of my third trimester pregnancy symptoms (swollen painful legs and feet, itching, back pain, heartburn, this new pelvic girdle pain…). So yesterday I slept a ton during the day (like 3 naps totaling 6 hours!) So I’m up again tonight and decided to rant a bit about my recent moving experience and share some of the reasons why I think pregnant women probably shouldn’t move right before they give birth.
This past weekend we finally made the move into our new place. Let me tell you, as much as we both felt like we needed to move I’m pretty sure we also both felt like we were making a huge mistake in the midst of the craziness that went on. Basically I couldn’t help with anything. All I could do was pack up the boxes and wait for others to do all the lifting and moving. Even though I appeared to be worthless in this moving process I still felt completely wiped out physically (and my swollen feet were out of control just from the standing and walking around gathering things to pack… and then unpack).
On top of the move itself we were moving into a house that needed some love (cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning) before we could unpack any of our things. The first night I refused to bathe in the bath tub (it didn’t seem clean enough) so I actually drove back to the apartment so I could take my nightly bath. This may sound excessive, but this is coming from a girl who has been surviving the Obstetric Cholestasis itchiness by taking between 1-3 baths a day.
I’m thinking that I may be just a bit overly concerned about cleanliness because I’m in full nesting force at this point in my pregnancy. The desire to make our new home perfectly clean and put together before the babies arrive has been making me feel super stressed and anxious. I just want to make a warm, cozy home for the peeps, yet I have such little capacity and almost no time left before they will be born- crazy!
This has lead me to make this strange comparison. Being in nesting mode while moving into a new house is such a bad idea! Just like going to the grocery store when you’re starving and you end up going crazy and buying things you don’t actually need. Like every flavor of JELL-O pudding available (yep, I’ve done that). Back to my comparison. You have so many desires and everything seems so important so you want to start grabbing everything off the shelves (or in my case you want to completely remodel and paint and decorate every corner of your house). Both situations are not advisable because they are usually fueled by irrational thoughts and hunger pangs (or raging mommy hormones).
So after realizing that I can’t create a perfect Pinterest-worthy nursery in 2-3 weeks (while being hugely pregnant) I’m content to relax a little, make due with what we have and trust that these babies are not going to care about the lack of decor in their simple little room. They will have what they need. Clothes, a place to sleep and a mama to feed off of- and some mixture of cloth and/or disposable diapers until we figure out what we are doing in that department.
I sat in the nursery today looking at the 3 lonely items: a dresser, swing and bouncer. I began to imagine nursing my boys in their very own room and I felt peaceful and excited (but don’t get me wrong- these babies are not allowed to come out of me for another 2 weeks.) Actually there are a few more items in the nursery that I forgot to mention: the double stroller with car seats and a twin bed for me, and the chair I was sitting in (a super cute vintage chair that I’ve been meaning to re-cover for the past 3 years).
At this point I plan to throw a baby quilt over the chair, set up a crib we are borrowing from friends, find another dresser to accommodate all of the babies’ clothes and blankets and diapers and random baby stuff that I’m not sure we need, but all the baby websites made us absolutely believe that we must have… so I’m letting go of my expectations and desire for perfection (in regards to what we will bring our babies home to) and I’m trusting that all will be well because soon we will have our little loves in our new home with us.
Yes, we are crazy. We decided pretty last minute to move out of our little apartment (on the third floor) into a one story house. I had this idea when we first found out we were pregnant, but financially it seemed impossible to make the move.
So throughout my entire pregnancy every time I tried to imagine leaving the apartment with 2 babies in tow I had major anxiety. I couldn’t conceive how I could carry them both down the cement stairs to the other side of the building to put them in the car. I also couldn’t imagine trying to return home with anything else besides the babies (so grocery shopping was out of the question). I had concluded that I would just never leave the apartment on my own. Then about a month ago my husband declared “I think we should move into a house”.
Besides the fact that I was 8 months pregnant, had already organized the babies’ closet and changing area and was in the middle of all of my baby sewing projects, moving to a house sounded like a wonderful idea. So for the past month I’ve put my nesting on hold and instead started slowly packing up our things. As of last Thursday, most of the apartment still looked pretty normal- in other words I wasn’t making much progress.
My husband had the week off so he spent all of his time at the new house doing yard work, cleaning the gutters and doing the major cleaning of the floors and bathrooms. My mom has been wonderful- making sure to deep clean the kitchen appliances and the bathrooms multiple times- because she knows how much I want to move into a clean environment for the babies. She even tried to use all of my natural cleaners- but sometimes there is a time for bleach and ammonia when my natural cleaners just can’t cut it.
This whole week I’ve only spent a few hours at the new house- because my husband and mother won’t let me do anything there. I just wander around obsessing over all the things that need to be done. So they started leaving me back at the apartment to pack up the little things that I can handle. Seriously, not being able to dive in and do housework and packing is torturous! I’ve also had a few dear friends help me with packing and cleaning- and am so thankful for their willingness to help!
We finished our Bradley Method birth classes. Not sure if I’m actually prepared for birthing these babies, but at least I have some good tips and techniques that will hopefully serve us well when the time comes. Also, part of the program is to practice with my coach (husband), so I get to say things like “honey, we have to practice our relaxation massage for 10 minutes” and sometimes he agrees to pamper me!
Like I said before, I’m behind on my posts, but this is my update for 34 weeks with my 34 week belly shots taken last week when I actually was 34 weeks. Just to be clear 🙂
My college roommate came to visit me for the weekend. It was a short visit but so special to get to spend time together before the babies get here. The weekend was pretty uneventful, we basically sat around so I could put my swollen feet up and she got to feel the tiny peeps moving around in my belly. We did get to go out for a few good meals together- and this is where my funny/embarrassing story begins.
We decided to go out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Before going out in public I squeezed into one of the only maternity tops that still kind of fits (but doesn’t quite cover the belly band on my jeans). Then the search for a pair of shoes began. Seriously- NONE of my shoes fit at this point. I finally settled on a pair of jelly flats that “fit” but were by no means comfortable in any way. I hobbled down the stairs to the car wincing with every step- man were my feet swollen!
Before dinner we walked around the shopping center by the restaurant and took cheesy pictures by the trees covered in white lights. Then we went to the restaurant. We ordered a bunch of tapas to share including these Cuban nachos that were ah-may-zing! Blue corn chips with black beans, a fried plantain, melted queso fresco with a pickled jalapeno on top. That was a tangent- the story is not actually about the food- but did I mention the crispy pork belly? Mmm…
Okay, so after our delightful evening chatting over tapas I excused myself to the ladies room. As I walked to the back of the restaurant my pinching shoes reminded me of how swollen my feet had gotten (even bigger than when I left the house). I made it to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet- I looked down at my feet and lo and behold my shoes were on the wrong feet! That’s right, just like a three year old- I had shoved my puffy pink little sausage toes into the wrong shoes.
In my defense, when I switched my shoes to the proper feet they were still almost as uncomfortable as they had been all evening- but visually when they were on the wrong feet there was no mistaking the toes pointing out in opposite directions. Like I said- just like a three year old!
We all had a good laugh once I got back to the table. I still don’t know how it was possible for me to go all evening without noticing this fashion faux pas, hence I’m blaming it on pregnancy brain.
Overall week 32 was a pretty good week. Having two of my favorite ladies in the world with me helped to distract from my itching and all of the other stresses that are coming up in the next few weeks (moving and you know, that whole giving birth thing).
I do have to mention that I had an acupuncture appointment last Friday and that could also be why my itching was more bearable over the weekend. Either way, I was one happy, giant bellied, thirty-year-old mismatched shoe wearing (not to be confused with a three year old) mama to be this week.
And to prove it- look how giant my belly has become!
P.S.
I’m still about 1 week behind on publishing my weekly pregnancy updates, but I am making sure to take my belly shot photos every week- so they are still accurate. Hopefully I will get caught up with Week 34 before Week 35 rolls around! Ahhhh- time is going by way too fast!
After my rough week last week my sweet Mama surprised us by deciding to fly down to help me for the remainder of my pregnancy! This means that she will definitely be here when the babies are born and she’ll stay for as long as we need her. For now we get to have some special mother daughter time before the babies come. Talk about getting spoiled!
Over this past week my mom has been reminding me to take my vitamins and is preparing little meals for me throughout the the day. She also insists on doing the dishes so I can stay on the couch with my feet propped up. I was so tired after taking a shower the other day, so she offered to blow dry my hair. It was so relaxing- and it reminded me of why I love going to the salon to get my hair done. We’ve decided that we will bring the hair dryer to the hospital when I go into labor- since it is definitely something that calms and relaxes me.
As far as my OC symptoms go, nothing new- still itchy. I do feel like I’m having better days though where I am only super itchy at certain times rather than all the time. This is progress! I am happy to announce that my blood work showed that one of my bile salt levels has gone down a little bit! I’m now taking the maximum dose possible (2100 mg per day) instead of the 1800 mg I was taking last week. My bile salts are still elevated, but I’m encouraged that the higher dose of Ursodiol must be working to at least partially bring down my levels. Even though the itching is still there, I’m feeling less stressed knowing that hopefully the babies will not be as affected by the bile acid in my blood!
Edema (Swelling in my feet): oh my goodness I didn’t know it was possible for my feet and ankles to swell so much! I’ve noticed that my shoes haven’t been fitting very well for a while now, but this week it was almost impossible to find any shoes that would fit. I’ve been resorting to some cheap plastic flats that have no support, but at least I can squish my feet into them. My ankles also have been really swollen- especially on my right leg. The skin gets so tight that it hurts to bend or rotate my ankle and my jeans feel tight around my ankles too. Also if I press on my foot or ankle (and lower leg) the dent remains for a really long time! Elevating my feet helps temporarily. I need to check with the doctor to make sure everything is okay, but I’m guessing this is just part of the last stretch of pregnancy.
-twins are moving like crazy- and hurting their mama (ribs, cervix, bladder etc)
-having to pee immediately at this moment or else I might pop (waddling to the bathroom and holding onto the walls to sit down)
-needing my husband to help push me up off the couch to stand up
-ordering a breast pump through my insurance company- which one to get? Medela vs. Freemie
-moving- starting to move into a new place- these babies better wait to get here until we are all moved in!
-leaking nipples (especially the right side)
-veiny hands and arms. Hands turning red in the shower and pulsing from all the blood pooling- scary but normal for pregnancy.
-crazy puffy feet and ankles (blood pressure was high and the cuff hurt last time the nurse checked it)
I almost wish I took some pictures of my swollen feet to show you, but I’m too embarrassed to share them on my blog because they are so gross! So here is my growing belly instead:
Although I did not post these photos last week they were taken last Wednesday when I was 31 weeks pregnant with my twins. It has been a difficult week emotionally and physically. Having a dear friend pass away is not something I’ve had to deal with many times- and even though this is not the first friend I’ve lost it doesn’t make it any easier. This is why I felt like I needed to take a break from my blog and just process things before continuing to write. I still feel guilty writing about my how happy I am to be carrying these two babies and how much I am eagerly anticipating their arrival. I do want to continue to press on and stay consistent with my weekly updates, so here is a recap from last week.
As far as my physical symptoms for this past week- I’ve also been pretty miserable and overwhelmed with how to deal with Obstetric Cholestasis (OC). In a previous post I described the itching in detail. That has been pretty much the same even while taking the Ursodiol medication. After being on the increased dose of Usodiol (600mg every 8 hours) I am still experiencing the same amount of itching (mainly on my hands, feet, ankles, arms, belly- well, it’s basically everywhere). I have found some ways to get on top of the discomfort and soothe my skin so that I can stay somewhat sane.
#1: Scratching does NOT help! It is so hard to not scratch, and sometimes I wake up scratching in my sleep- which is pretty much unavoidable. I do know that once I start scratching I can’t stop and then the burning and itching becomes much more intense.
#2: Resisting the urge to scratch is mainly a mental exercise. I have to focus on other things, try to distract myself and stay calm. As soon as I get upset about the itching it overcomes me and I want to rip off my skin. This leads to me turning into a child throwing a tantrum yelling “make it stop”!
#3: Soothing massages help distract me from the itching. I’ve been asking my husband to run his fingers through my hair or tickle my back whenever he has a chance. This really helps to calm me down and keeps me from focusing on the irritating itchiness.
#4: Benadryl helps with sleep. I have been assured again and again by my doctors and other friends who have been pregnant that it is safe to take Benadryl during pregnancy. I have been hesitant to take any type of medication during this pregnancy, but I finally gave in and started taking Benadryl regularly. It doesn’t actually relieve the itchiness, but it does make me drowsy enough to fall asleep at night (and during the day when I desperately need to catch up on sleep). I guess OC is helping me prepare for interrupted sleep after the peeps are born.
#5: Soaking in a warm(ish) but not hot bath helps relax and soothe the skin. If the bath is too warm it can make me more itchy, but if it is just about body temperature it feels pretty nice on my skin. I am able to float in the tub and escape the itching. I have been taking a bath as soon as I wake up- when the itching is unbearable, at night before bed when the itching starts to get worse. I sometimes take multiple baths during the day or in the middle of the night when I wake up scratching myself. I always use Dr. Bronner’s Pure Peppermint Castille Soap as a body wash and this leaves my skin feeling cool and tingly- which helps with the itching too.
#6: Aloe gel is soothing on my skin. Rubbing the gel from a fresh aloe plant works too. I also have been using the Honest Company Healing Ointment- especially in areas where I’ve broken through the skin from scratching too much.
This post is probably pretty boring for those of you who are not suffering from OC. But, hopefully this post will be helpful for those of you pregnant mommies who are dealing with OC during your pregnancy.
Finally I’ll leave you with my 31 week bare belly shots:
This is just a super quick update to share my 30 week pregnant belly shots with you all! It’s Thanksgiving, so we are planning to drive about 2.5 hours away for the weekend and I’m just about packed and ready to head out the door. We’ve been a bit apprehensive as to whether or not we should make the drive due to our exciting week full of contractions, cramping and cholestasis.
My OB wasn’t comfortable with us going so far and she gave me a good list of possibilities of things that could happen like- you could be hospitalized away from home, your babies could be born there, they could end up in the NICU for a month or more and you’d be stuck in a hotel for their entire stay. She succeeded in freaking me out pretty good, but honestly I just don’t think these babies are coming this weekend. I know things can happen that we never expect, but even with all of my contractions and cramping my cervix is still completely closed- and has not changed at all!
I had an appointment with my MFM specialist and asked him what he thought about me traveling for Thanksgiving and he was okay with me going 2.5 hours away. He did give me a copy of my ultrasound report to give to an ER doctor in the other city if for some reason we end up needing to go in. All in all my husband and I still feel good to go, but we will be praying the entire time we are away and I will be taking it extremely easy (couch potato status). If you think of us this weekend please pray that there wouldn’t be any complications while we are out of town!
I mentioned in my last post that after taking Ursodiol for a few days I thought the itching was improving, but then it started to be even worse than before. It has continued to stay pretty consistently irritating. I found out while talking to my OB that the dose I was originally given (300 mg 3 times a day) was actually the wrong dose! I was supposed to be taking 600 mg 3 times a day. I’m told that this is why my itching hasn’t cleared up. I’m now on day 2 of taking the higher dose, so I’m hoping it will start to work. More importantly when the itching goes down this should be a sign that the bile acid levels in my blood are also going down- which is what I’m mainly concerned about.
That’s all for now, hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
growing peeps 