Pregnancy Updates

I know what you all really want... You really want to see pictures of Baby #3, right? Ok, well she finally gave us a decent profile shot at today's ultrasound, so here you go!

Now for the updates. The ultrasound went very well! Her heart rate is 150bpm, which is normal and the same as always. The baby is growing, but still measuring just about a week behind. The good thing is that she's actually picking up days, so she's really measuring less than a week behind now. Yay! My cervix is still awesome at around 3.25cm. This means that we'll have one more ultrasound in two weeks, and if my cervix and the baby both look good then, we don't get any more ultrasounds. (At least not unless they want to do one for another reason in the coming weeks.)

I had my 1 hour gestational diabetes test and passed with flying colors. Woo hoo!!! They like to see results under 140 mg/dl, but under 130 mg/dl is even better. My level? 115 mg/dl!!! Go me! And the orange drink really wasn't all that bad. They also tested me for anemia. My hemoglobin is 10.6 g/dL, and my hematocrit is 32.5%. Both levels are slightly lower than they were at the end of August, but still not so bad. I could probably make them better by actually remembering to take my prenatal vitamin... :-)

The twins are saying more words, so I really need to update their word pages. They're also climbing stairs now!!! (They can only go up so far, but that's awesome because it means we don't have to carry them up stairs.) Very exciting!!

Newest Belly Pic

This won't be a long belly update post, since I don't think it's really changed much in the last two weeks.

We have 20 weeks on the left and 22 weeks on the right.



If anything, I think I shrunk a teensy bit! lol What can you do...at least maybe now I'll take some time to catch up with my twin pregnant self.

In other news, Dovid is sick again...fever, vomiting, the works. Poor little dude! And I had a great appointment with the midwife. She agrees with the MFM doctor that my cervix length is normal and that every baby grows differently, but she agrees with me that we need to keep watching it just to make sure everything really is 100% ok. Honestly, I hope this midwife (Lila) delivers me, because I love her!!!! She's even supportive of me doing placenta encapsulation. In fact, she was excited that I'm doing it. Honestly, my old OB would have probably vomited on the floor and here's my midwife doing jumping jacks because I'm doing this. Awesomeness!!!! My next appt will be with the OB again because the last appt with the OB got cut short, and I'll also have my GD test as well. Fun times!

Whew!

I passed the GTT with flying colors! Here are my results, in case you'd like to see them.

Fasting: 85 mg/dl (normal < 105 mg/dl)
1 hour: 159 mg/dl (normal < 190 mg/dl)
2 hours: 153 mg/dl (normal < 165 mg/dl)
3 hours: 73 mg/dl (normal < 145 mg/dl)

Now go leave a guess on my babies' pool (if you haven't already)!

I Failed

You heard right. The same person who never failed a course or exam (well maybe an exam once or twice) failed her glucose screening test...by 1 point. *sigh* They want to see a glucose reading under 140 mg/dL and mine was 141. Now even 140 isn't good, but 141 means I have to go for the 3 hour glucose tolerance test on Monday. It's going to be hell. I have to fast starting at midnight the night before and I can't eat until the test is over--which probably won't be until at least 1pm. I'm going to starve!! :-(

My hemoglobin is also low, but it's better than last time! At the beginning of December my hemoglobin was 9.8 g/dl and yesterday it was 10.8! Still below normal (which is 12), but at least it's going in the right direction. At the rate I'm going, it should be just about 12 when I deliver. Sweet.

Now for the really good news. I had another ultrasound today and my cervix is back up to 1.8cm! They want me to come in next week for yet another check, but the doctor says to keep doing whatever it is I'm doing. :-) I do have two great pictures that I want to post, but I'm having major trouble getting my scanner to connect to my computer, so I'll get those up when I can.

Last, but not least, my husband and mother share the same brain (oddly enough). This morning I awoke to find a box of Totally Light 2 Go sugar free lemonade powder waiting for me in the kitchen. And then the mail came. And there's a package from my mother with 3 packages of Totally Light 2 Go (different flavors) and hot cocoa mix. They bought the exact same brand (it's sweetened with Splenda, so it's the only sugar substitute I'm supposed to have) and it came on the same day. Go figure! It is delicious, and it's working. I've already had about 2 1/2 tall glasses of lemonade (and gone to the bathroom about 10 times) in the last 2 1/2 hours. I HIGHLY recommend this to all pregnant women who are having a hard time getting enough water. mmmmmm

26 Weeks & Doctor's Appointment

I had a great appointment with my OB today. First, I did my 1 hour glucose test (ewww). Then, the doctor checked my cervix & cerclage--which both look perfect. She measured my belly, which is currently 36cm (36 weeks), so I'm measuring 10 weeks ahead. No wonder I feel like a whale! She also checked the babies heartbeats and my blood pressure. So far so good! She also answered the gazillion questions that I asked. We discussed when the cerclage would come out & when I might go off of bed rest, and she said that most likely I could start increasing activity at 32 weeks and then maybe go off of bed rest at 33 or 34 weeks. As for the cerclage, if I make it to 35-36 weeks, we'd take it out then. If I go into labor before then, the cerclage obviously comes out when I go into labor. She also tried to convince me that a C-Section is a good option, but I want to avoid that at all costs, so it was no deal. :-) Obviously I want my babies born as safely as possible, so if there's a true medical reason for a C-Section I have no problem with that. But I am NOT going to plan a C-Section for any other reasons, and if I do have to plan one, it's going to be for like 38 weeks (so I can go into labor myself anyway). I'd also like to go epidural-free if possible, but because of the circumstances they would probably place an epidural w/ no medication or a very, very low dose (just to keep the line clear) in case something happens during delivery that requires an emergency C-Section. As much as I don't want an epidural, I don't want general anesthesia much more, and if they need to get either one or both of the babies out very quickly and there's no epidural already placed, they would have to put me under.

On another note, the doctor said I can drink as much herbal tea or decaf coffee as I want. So, I don't have to suffer through gallons of plain water to keep hydrated. Woo! She checked the results of the swabs that were taken after my ultrasound last week and I don't have any infections either. She also wants me to lower my dose of progesterone and then possibly stop it altogether if my cervix looks ok in a few weeks.

That's all! I took a new belly picture last night and posted it just now. It doesn't look so different from 24 weeks even though I'm a good 5cm bigger. Oh well, as long as it's growing!