Made it to 31 weeks...

before having to check-in to the hospital! I went in for my routine perinatology sonogram, and the first thing she saw was that Summer's cord was looped around beneath her, and my cervix was funneling to an unsafe length (less than 15 mm). She called my OBGYN up to look, and as we waited, explained that should my water break at home or at work, Summer's cord would be the first thing to come out and would create a dire emergency known as cord prolapse. Summer would likely die from suffocation since her body would compress the cord on her way out of the birth canal. My OBGYN looked at the images and confirmed that I needed to stay put. I couldn't even drive home to pack a bag! I called Kason and told him as best as I could what was going on, and an hour later, he brought some essentials to me. I was still processing all the information mentally and felt pretty numb as the nurse walked me to Labor & Delivery and I checked in. But as I looked up more information on cervix funneling and cord prolapse, the seriousness of the situation became much clearer to me. Will it be a long four or five weeks until my scheduled C-section (35 weeks at the earliest)? Yes. Will I get homesick and miss the independence of being able to move around and go places? Yes. But this is what is best for my daughters, and I will do all I can do to make sure they bake for another month at least. I am restricted to going to the bathroom and taking a shower. Any other time, I have to be in bed.

The girls are doing fine except for the cord issue. Summer weighs 4 lbs, and Scarlett weighs 4 lbs 2 oz. It's interesting how they trade off being the heavier baby. :) The girls' heart rates are 136 and 139, respectively. I am relieved they are growing just fine, but the cord problem worries me. Part of me feels relieved that my doctor has gone ahead and said I will have a C-section, but another part is dreading it. I've talked with the nurses, and they assure me that the anesthesiologists are so good at administering epidurals that they could do it in their sleep. I am impressed with this hospital thus far, especially the food. :) The menu is so extensive, I'm not worried about getting tired of what they offer. Kason has brought me other foods from home, and I have a few people bringing me goodies.

The outpouring of support and encouragement has been so touching! People are asking me what they can do and bring to me and want to visit me. I feel so blessed to have the friends that I do. And most of all, I feel incredibly lucky to have such a caring, attentive, hard-working, selfless husband who will always be behind me 100%. He is already such an amazing father!

I will post updates as time progresses. Right now, the nurses monitor the girls' heart rates three times a day. Scarlett really hates the monitor and kicks it each time. It's supposed to stay on there for at least 20 minutes, but she prolongs the time by kicking it. I wonder if she is getting all this feistiness out of her system, or if Kason and I are in for an exceptionally fun adventure in parenthood!

30th week

Eek! I can't believe I'm already in my 30th week! Well, I was overambitious about getting the nursery all done during the break, but Kris did come and help me paint the walls, thank goodness for her! They look fabulous, and I've sketched the trees and heart. My concept is two cherry trees whose branches form a heart in the middle over the two cribs, which will contain the girls' names. I will paint cherry blossoms around the heart and on the branches. I might get some decals to help me out since that is a lot of painting. I overdid myself last weekend in helping to paint the walls and had to stay in bed for the majority of the day on Sunday. It's hard to remember that I physically can't handle nearly as much as I used to earlier in my pregnancy. Sleeping is really uncomfortable now because of all the extra weight causing my arms, legs, butt, and hands to fall asleep. I have tried sitting up in bed to sleep, but it's not much more comfortable since all the weight is focused on my tailbone and lower back. Kris got us a recliner that will be delivered on Saturday, and that will be one of the best days of my life!!!!! I fell asleep in it at Havertys while waiting for her to settle the bill, so I have test-drove it successfully. :)

I had minor swelling in my right ankle this morning when I woke up, and as the day progressed, my right leg swelled quite a bit. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow and see what she says. Hopefully it's just because I didn't drink enough water today, but better safe than sorry. I'm just going to stay off my feet for the rest of the evening and hope it doesn't happen again tomorrow. My next sonogram will be during my 32nd week. I am measuring at 34 weeks already--a month ahead!!!! My doctor says it's normal for twins, but I am worried about measuring at 38 weeks when I'm 34 weeks. I'm afraid I won't be able to walk by then, especially if the swelling doesn't improve. Then I will have to throw in the towel and get the doctor's note for bed rest. I'm hoping to be able to work until early May. We'll see!!

29th Week

Time is just flying by now. We went to Tyler last weekend for the family baby shower, which Lauren and Karen hosted. It was a small, intimate affair mainly because none of my family could make it, and Liz and Buckley had three showers (two of which she hosted) this weekend. I appreciated Kason's family throwing me a shower, though, and Kris got the girls soooo many adorable, handmade outfits! They're going to be the best-dressed little girls in Texas. We have mostly the big-ticket items from our registry, which is reassuring. I plan to have the nursery all painted and cribs/changing table assembled by the end of this week. Thank goodness it's spring break! It wasn't too fun losing an hour of sleep, but at least we get a week to adjust to the time change. Once the nursery is ready, I'll feel like it's more real. I have nine more weeks, which feels like so little time! I've started my two-week appointments now. Life is going to change so much. Part of me is excited beyond words, and the other part is terrified! It will be quite an experience, I know!

Third Trimester Already?!

Time has just flown by! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was finding out I was expecting twins and telling Kason about it and calling everyone. I'm 28 weeks 3 days today, and I went in for my sono with the perinatologist and regular check-up with my OBGYN.

The perinatologist is a very personable lady! She's a twin herself, so she is a real expert. She had a high school student in there for part of the sono and was quizzing her, and I learned quite a lot along with the student. Both girls are doing fine, and they're getting very big. Twin A is almost in the 90th percentile for weight!!! She's 3 lb 4 oz. while Twin B is 3 lbs exactly. Twin A is breech, and Twin B is vertex. Hopefully Twin A flips head-down when it's time for birth! She's the one who's been kicking my bladder and other parts down there! I'm happy that the girls are at such healthy weights, but part of me worries about how much heavier they'll be in a month. I have ten more weeks to go, and already I feel like it's too much weight somedays. I am sitting more at work, thankfully, but just a full workday takes a lot out of me. I walked only one day last week, and I had to go at a grandma's pace, which took me 40+ minutes. My OBGYN said that she is going to have me go to 38 weeks but that if I need to be put on bed rest, to tell her and she'll write the note. She's leaving it up to me and how I feel in terms of whether I work for that long.

Twin A had hiccups, which was adorable to watch on the screen, but I can't feel them. Twin B was squirmy as usual. :) I'm measuring at 32 weeks, and I've gained 5 pounds in the past two weeks. Hoping that BFing works out so these extra pounds just melt off. Plus BFing is so much better than formula hands-down. I am determined to make it work! My cervix is still long and didn't budge at all when the perinatologist pushed down on my belly. Sonos don't feel so great lately because of how much I'm stretched out, I guess. The pressure isn't comfortable at times, but as long as both girls are doing fine, I am not complaining.

I'm getting a haircut later today and will take my baby bump pic then. We got a DVD of the sonogram, but only one pic of Twin A. :( You can see her little face, though, which is precious.