Away To Me

Sorry I've been MIA - no good excuse really

Really all is well and probably should be updating more, but for some reason I haven't felt overly anxious to write posts. 

Baby news:

We had an u/s last Tuesday and all is well. Poncho who has been breech for 7-8 weeks is now head down. I attribute this to our chiropractor appointment and having the webster technique done the day before. I woke up Tuesday morning and told hubby, "Ya know, Poncho didn't try to crawl up my ribs into my arm pit last night". A few hours later at the u/s appointment the u/s tech said, "well this baby is now head down". Awesome news! 

Poncho is big! He is in the 66th percentile. He was estimated at weighing 3 pounds 14 oz. We got an amazing 3D image of him that I will share as soon as I pick up the CD that has the images (hopefully on Wednesday). 

Lefty is small. He is in the 10th percentile. He was estimated at weighing 3 pounds 1 oz. We didn't get any good photos of him. The Perinatologist is a tad worried about Lefty being significantly smaller than Poncho, but his cord blood flow and placenta are perfect and he has no issues with anything else. The twins are fraternal, not ID so they could just be very different size babies. Just to be cautious they want us to come back in 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks for another u/s. He said, the won't worry until Lefty drops below the 10th percentile. So if he isn't worried, I'm not going to worry. Especially since they were able to get such good shots of his placenta and cord blood flow and blood flow to his brain. Of course these u/s weights are just estimates and you can't really say how close to reality they are. 

Baby preparation:

Midwife appointment on Tuesday (followed the u/s appointment) went well and hubby really likes the midwife.  She measured me and I'm measuring 42cm. I'm big! But I feel good and not uncomfortable. I'm able to move with some grace still! She loaned us more videos and gave me a huge work book to read.An entire section is about how to prepare for a homebirth and after reading it today I realize I have a lot more to organize and do. I do have enough clothes and blankets to get us by. And the car seats arrived today. Thanks to Kathy and Camille, I'm feeling much more organized and ready.

I actually worked on Sunday! I had a shoot about 45 mins from home and it felt so good to be out of the house with a purpose. Jake went with me and then we had lunch with my good friend of mine. It was so nice! 

The room is also coming along. Here is a sneak peek at the paint job. 

The fabric below is the crib bumper which is the same fabric for the crib skirts. I think the blues match pretty well. The chair rail stain came out more read than the crib, but it's not a big deal. 

Wednesday I have another doc appointment with my regular OB and then I have a midwife appointment on the 20th and an u/s the following week with the perinatologist. So we are well monitored. 

On the in law front:

We have made some progress. I really don't have much to say on this subject because it just seems to be a never ending drama. So I try not to focus on it much. I just try to look at the good parts and try to move forward as positively as possible. Frustrating though! Some of the manipulations are hard to take, but my husband is worth it. 

That's all the news for now. 

Shopping.

At the demands of my favorite people, who chastised me this week for not having done any baby shopping, I went and shopped today. And boy did I load the back of that SUV up with goodies for the babies! 

2 piece romper set (purchased 2)

The baseball set was on sale. Buy 1 get 50% off the other. So I had to purchase!

These jackets were a steal. I almost bought them the first time I saw them, but felt they were too pricey. Well, they were marked down today. In the basket they went! They were marked down from $24 to $11!

How could I resist, little bro monkey outfits? 

Additionally I got a bunch more oneises, 10 body suit kind and 7 shirt kind and 4 more gowns. I also bought a ton of blankets, 9 flannel receiving blankets and 8 thermal kind. I bought an inexpensive diaper bag and a $70 pack n play and sheets and water proof sheet covers and hangers and closet organizer stuff! 

I still need to pull the trigger and buy the car seats and the stroller and some other stuff. A second crib I guess, but that can wait awhile. I need to get the room painted and the chair rail up. So much to do and I'm beginning to run out of time. 

Sharing

Three people sharing a body can be a challenge. Night time continues to get more interesting. When I lay on my left side, which has always been the side I preferred to sleep on until recently, Lefty squirms and acts as if I'm squishing him. That really makes me feel terrible. So I flip to my right side. Inevitably this causes Poncho to use my ribs like a ladder as he climbs up into my arm pit. I swear that is where this kid wants to be and feels like he is. He is so high up. 

After exhausting both sides of my body, I try to sleep on my back, propped up with pillows. This actually works better than I thought it would. I can get a few hours of comfortable sleep this way. And truth be told, I'm still sleeping very well. I wake up often, but I've been able to go right back to sleep. 

Sharing my body with these boys is an amazing experience and one I'm very thankful for. Feeling them kick and twist and punch me is something that hasn't gotten old yet. I still act like it's the first time, making hubby feel my belly or just staring at my belly watching it move. I suppose if I was very uncomfortable it wouldn't be this much fun. But I'm feeling so well right now that it is still a lot of fun.

30 Weeks - Nesting Chores

I'm 30 weeks pregnant today. Amazing how fast this pregnancy is going. I feel good. Sorry no pic today. Hubby was working all day, so I'll have to try to get one tomorrow. 

I did a bit too much today and I'm sore in my lower back and hips. Not too bad, just need to relax the rest of the evening. I finally washed the baby items I've purchased. I really don't have that much, but it was fun to create a small load of wash, using both the new stuff an a few of the things I saved from Jake's 0-3 month stage. (like 5 items of his). I still had to wash his sheets to make it a full load. 

Sounds like I need to get shopping! 

In lieu of belly pics, here are a few pics of both the new closet (which I'm not happy with but that's another story) and a few of the items I've purchased.

First the terribly designed closet. This is not the color the room will be. We will be painting this room soon. And putting in a chair rail. 

You can hardly reach the hanging racks. So dumb.

Here are the onesies I "made". They were iron on transfers. I think they are adorable.

Here are some cords and sweaters that were on sale that I had to have. 30% off! 

I still have a bunch to do. I need to make the crib skirts, redo the cornice box, finish the quilts (although I'm not liking what I started and I'm thinking of scraping the whole project) I need to finish the crib bumpers (I have half a bumper set done). I may not even use them till the babies are six months as there are some concerns with bumpers and SIDS. I ordered some organizers for the closets. Some for the drawers so you can keep things lined up in big drawers and then also the little hanger markers so you can hang the clothes by size. This is a big deal. I actually saved more of Jake's clothes than I thought, most all of the clothes are 12 months and up. 

Tomorrow we are going to shop for a SUV. We don't think it's going to work to have 3 kids in car-seats in my pick up. It is a 4-door, but it won't be convenient. So new to me SUV's are on the shopping list. Wish us luck! 

Prego update - OB appointment.

Friday I will be 30 weeks along. Wow what a thing to type. I can't believe how smoothly and perfectly this pregnancy has gone thus far. I do NOT take that for granted. Today at, 29W5D I had an OB appointment. It was with a sub OB, as my regular OB was on vacation. 

I didn't like this OB one bit. First, she talked about my weight. I was quite pleased to discuss this as I'm quite happy with my weight gain. The bulk of my weight was gained prior to 28 weeks. Which according to one of the Nation's leading obstetricians who specializes in multiples and high order multiples (trips and more) this is ideal. I actually have not gained any weight in the past 2 weeks and lost 1/2 pound during the 2 week interval before then. So frankly I'd like to see myself gain a bit more. 

This twit doc, claimed I needed to watch my weight gain. She looked at my starting weight and then my weight today and said, "well you've gained 33 pounds". I said, well, yes, it's that good?" She said, "no, not good or bad really, but you can certainly slow it down now". I said, really everything I read seems to say that with multiples you should gain quite a bit of weight early on, and even based on my pre-pregnancy weight (being over weight) I'm still right on track. She said, "No we don't want you to get too heavy". And frankly if she'd read my previous weight taken at the appointment 2 weeks earlier, she would have noticed that I haven't gained a thing in the past two weeks and I'd lost a half pound when weighed at the prior appointment (one month ago).

What irks me is I am probably more mobile and move better than 90% of the pregnant ladies carrying singletons at 30 weeks. I feel great! Our sex life is still great, I can still sleep well at night, etc. Sure I get sore if I over do it, but to give you an idea of my day today this is what my morning consisted of (starting at 6:15):

• Got showered, blowed dried hair, make up, dressed
• Got Jake's lunch made, breakfast made.
• Got Jake's hair brushed, teeth brushed, face washed, dressed, etc.
• Had Jake to school by 8:15
• Made it to my doc's appointment (Hour long drive). Had to park way out in the parking lot. 
• Made my appointment on time despite the detour and the parking situation.
• Drove the hour back to our town. 
• Went to the Super market. Shopped for at least half a week's groceries.
• Went to the post office, stood in line for 15 mins to send a certified return receipt letter.
• Took the groceries home, unloaded them.
• Drove to Jake's school to pick him up.

All this by 12:30! Not to shabby I don't think for someone who is measuring at 41cm (full term)!  I guess that's why it double irked me that this doc was criticizing my weight gain, or more appropriately my research on weight gain. I said, "well I have been focusing on protein and making sure I get my ....." before I could finish my sentence she interrupted me and re-stated her claim that I should "Slow it down now".  

Next she went on and said, "okay your RH negative and you are to get your Rhogram shot today". I said, "yes". She said, "I'm also going to run an antibody test to see where your titers are". I said "I've already had that checked and I'm fine, it's in my chart". She said, "well we are going to retest again today". I asked why. She said, because sometimes the baby's blood and the mother's blood mix. Now, I know this is a possibility, but everything I have read says that this is only an issue if you have some sort of trauma to your womb and at time of delivery or if you have been spotting or bleeding. Besides, I was already taking the shot so I have NO idea why she would want me to test for something I'm already taking a shot for. So I asked her. "If I'm already taking the shot and will have another shot after the babies are born if they have positive blood type, why would I need to have my antibodies tested". She said, "to make sure I give you enough". 

I refused the test. I have read about this enough to feel confident in my decision. Needless to say, I offended the doctor and she made it quite clear she was offended by my decision and said, "Well..... I'll be marking your chart that you refused". 

Okay then. 

Then unlike my normal OB who uses her doppler to check the babies' hear beats. This doc said, "I'm going to bring in the u/s machine so we can make sure we are getting the correct heartbeat for the each baby. My OB never has an issue with this using her doppler,  but whatever it gave me a chance to see where the babies are.

The good news is that Lefty is head down! And he is presenting as Baby A. Which is very good news if he remains head down. For the past 8 weeks he has been presenting as my Baby A. Poncho, the little stinker is still breech. But honesty I'm okay with this and I know he has plenty of time to turn yet. Although, according to twit doc, "this is probably how things will remain". I said, really, at 30 weeks they probably won't change?" Again, I don't think she liked being questioned especially after I opted out of the test she wanted to run. So her answer was curt. 

No big deal. She was pleasant when I met her and pleasant when she left the room. The nurse came in, gave me my shot. Funny thing is, I asked the nurse how many CC's she was giving me and she said, "Oh I don't know it's a pre-filled syringe from the manufacturer. It's just a standard dose".  Hmmm, so the doc wanted to run a test on me, a test I'd already taken in the past 3 months, so that she could give me what? A second standard dose of a medicine I'd already agreed to take. Seriously, it makes no sense to me. Really, no sense. I could see if I'd had bleeding or spotting or a fall that might have cause some trauma to my womb. But NOTHING like that has happened.

So there you have it. My morning! LOL

I'm feeling great, hope to have a belly pic up on Friday when I turn 30 weeks. 

My boy - the giver.

Jake gave me his tiny cold. I'm sure he picked up from his new school. He feels fine. He gave me a bit of a scare on Wednesday, but basically other than a few hours feeling very yucky that day, he's been back to about 100%. 

Me, not so much as of 2am this morning. I don't often get sick or colds. I forget how much "fun" they are. NOT! I'm okay, just not feeling great. My nose isn't plugged up but I have that gross phlegmy thing going on. I ache a bit and have a nagging headache. I thought I was okay enough to go up the mountain this morning and take Jake and the dogs to play in the snow. We stayed about 30 minutes and then headed home. On the way down the mountain I started to feel gross. I got that ear ringing sensation and my throat felt hot. I came home and slept two hours. I'm a bit better now. Just taking it easy.

To be honest, I think I'm starting to finally feel "pregnant". I have contractions daily now, I've had two today and they have left my uterus feeling irritated and tight. I told Hubby last night, I think my days of feeling good are coming to an end. It's been a nice long haul and I'm so thankful that I made it to 7 months feeling as good as I have. 

I am going to try to get into the chiropractor tomorrow. Maybe he can fix some of my aches and pains. 

Oh Ya, Can you believe ...

.... I'm 7 months pregnant and in my third trimester! Yep! As of today I'm 28 weeks along. I'm amazed at how quickly this pregnancy has gone. It really has been such an amazing experience. I feel very privileged to be able to experience mommyhood two different ways.

On Wednesday I had an OB appointment. Things are great. I'm measuring at 37 weeks. LOL! I certainly don't feel like I'm that big. The babies' heartbeats are pounding away perfectly. My blood pressure is awesome. And, I passed my last glucose tolerance test, so I'm officially no longer checked for gestational diabetes. My level was 111 which was really good. 

I go back in two weeks, New Years Eve, Dec 31, to be exact, for another OB check and then on January 6 I have an U/S appointment. The OB appointment on the 31st will be with a different doctor as my doc will be on vacation. I'll have my Rhogram shot for my RH- status. There are many mixed opinions on having this shot. I have done my research and feel very comfortable taking the shot.

Honestly I feel really good. I have some issues with food, I'm hungry but can't get full as there is no room really. So I'm eating a little bit of food ALL the time. If I'm not eating I'm peeing. I've been keeping up with my fluid intake, which certainly helps keep me in the bathroom. The past week I've been more sore and experiencing a bit of joint pain. As of yesterday I feel very tender in my rib area when I take a deep breath or twist. I'm sure this is just growing baby stuff. Overall none of it is too bad. 

Tomorrow we have a meeting with a midwife. This midwife sounds really nice on the phone, but I'm not sure she is as experienced as I would like. I guess I'll find out more tomorrow. Then the following Tuesday I meet with another midwife. That one is probably the most experienced in our area. 

Some people expressed, via comments on the post as well as some emails to me that I'm putting too much pressure or putting too much into the home birth idea or specifically the natural birth idea. I guess I haven't been clear enough on my position. We would like to see if home birth is an option. Much of that decision depends on how this pregnancy continues. If I make it to 36+ weeks and the baby who is first to exit the womb is head down and all my other vitals continue to be awesome, than it is a viable option for us and one we will probably do. If not, then we will give birth at a hospital. If both babies are breech than we will for sure go to a hospital and more than likely have a c-section. My position is this, I will not allow a doctor to induce me unless one of the babies is in distress or I develop some complication myself that is severe enough to warrant immediate delivery. We have lots of time to figure everything out. One thing is for sure. I will not be holding hard and fast to any one scenario. If I need a c-section I'll be jumping on the OR table with a smile on my face knowing that I'm doing what is best for my baby. I've had "My" birth experience. Labor and delivery for my twins is their birth experience. I'm going to try to make it as safe, and perfect as possible. But honestly this isn't about ME. The whole reason we are looking into home birth is for them. I hope this clarifies some of the concerns. 

Another reason ... (updated with a second article)

...... to avoid a c-section whenever possible. Here's the link.

C-SECTION BABIES AT HIGHER RISK OF ASTHMA

" The incidence of asthma in the control group was even higher when researchers took into account the medical history of parents. Analysis of these documents revealed that children who had at least one parent who was allergic or asthmatic were almost sure to develop similar respiratory conditions by the time they turned 8."

Here is another article that better explains the "why" of it.

9am on a Saturday

And I'm already stir crazy. Thank goodness I've not been put on bed rest or anything. Reading with Jake around is impossible. There is no quality TV. And I'd love to sit in a chair and do my Christmas cookie stuff, but I woke up with very swollen feet and hands. So it's probably best I drink my water and keep my feet elevated today.

I'm not good at sitting still. Jake is really not good at sitting still. 

I am so thankful my hubby has a great job and that he makes good money and that he loves his job. So many people are unemployed and struggling. But I'm really not liking the 12 hour days, 6-days a week that he is gone right now. But I much rather have this problem than the unemployment. 

I have done a bit of internet shopping today. I used my $25 gift certificate from Target (the one they sent when the denied the Britax car seat order I placed because of their price mix up on the web site). I purchased a birthing ball! Sort of cool. I feel like I'm getting into the birthing spirit.  

Sorry for bitching. I really don't mean to whine. I really have so much to be thankful for, but I'm anxious right now. I feel the need to do more than watch my ass flatten the recliner. 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend! 

27 Weeks & Back to the drawing board!

Today I'm 27 weeks pregnant. I'm tickled to death each day to make it another day with a healthy, normal, uncomplicated pregnancy. To say I'm fortunate would be the understatement of the year.

I know many of you who read this blog thought I was crazy when I mentioned a home birth. Then you were relieved when I decided against it. Well, I'm probably going to drive you crazy again because we are revisiting the idea. In fact, right now, a home birth is the top priority. I've been doing my homework. I mean lots and lots of reading of books, surfing of the internet and even watching the movie The Business of Being Born (TBOBB). 

On a side note. I don't care if you never intend on giving birth. You really should watch the documentary TBOBB.  It explains so clearly what is wrong with our maternal health care. It is fact, not fiction or hype. I won't go into detail, but needless to say the system is flawed and ruled by two things, the all mighty dollar and the fear of lawsuits. A woman's health and a baby (or babies') health should not be compromised by those two factors. And yet sadly it is in the United States. Here we live in a beautiful country that has so much to offer us and the best health available in so many fields and yet we treat pregnancy and birth as something to be feared or to make money off of. 

I won't be a product of that system, but more importantly my babies won't be. I won't have a doctor determine their due date. Pregnancy is healthy, natural and normal. It is not an illness or pathology. My body is handling pregnancy well as our my babies. Two things that I just can't over look. I can't doubt what I've been given. 

I love modern medicine. I love my OBGN. I love knowing that if there is something abnormal in my pregnancy I have the option of going to one of the finest hospitals around and giving birth with some of the best pediatric and maternal fetal medical doctors at my feet.  Had it not been for modern medicine I would not be pregnant. So I do not for one moment take it for granted.

But I also, believe that my body is made to carry babies and give birth. I trust my body to do it's job. What I don't trust is denying my body the opportunity to labor and deliver as naturally as possible. And the hospital will deny me that right. 

I want to be able to move around freely during labor. I want to be able to squat and walk and sway and sit in a bath tub or take a shower. I want to drink or eat if I feel like it. I want to be able to give birth standing up or in a tub. Gravity will be my friend during labor, I want to use it to help these babies, not be forced horizontal! I want to be able to listen to my body and allow my body to release these babies in a calm, natural way.

I don't want my babies to receive drugs through me. Odds are if I go to the hospital I will end up with either drugs and/or drugs and an epidural. I don't want to be on a clock and forced to give birth in a certain amount of time so that the hospital has its turn over rate. The claim it is for the babies' health. But that isn't true in most cases. Babies can handle natural labor for looooong periods of time. What they can't handle is artificial labor on pitocin with harder and longer contractions. I don't want to be strapped to monitors. I don't want my pelvis to be closed 15% by laying flat on my back. I don't want to be denied water or food because of a small chance of something bad happening. It makes no sense! All these interventions compromise the health and safety of me and my babies. It's been proven time and time and time again. 

Sunday hubby and I meet with a midwife that is supposed to be awesome. She's come highly recommended by two doulas and she's a teaching midwife. Wednesday morning I meet with a third midwife who isn't as experienced. If I like how Sunday goes, I may cancel Wednesday's meeting. 

The plan as it stands now is to continue with my regular medical care. I'll see my OB every two weeks, have my ultra sound every month, etc. If something should go wrong, I'll be all set to take advantage of a hospital where they can do what they are supposed to do, fix a problem. If everything continues to go along perfectly and the babies make it to 36+ weeks, than I will have a home birth. All this pends on finding the right midwife of course. 

I'm feeling more and more confident about this. I'm feeling like I'm really doing my babies justice. For the first time I'm feeling relaxed about the idea of giving birth, instead of dreading the conversations I'd be forced to have a the hospital about what I will and will not agree to. I feel like we are making a very informed decision.