Finally, a New Belly Pic

So sorry I haven't posted a new belly pic in over a month, but I've been really lazy. :-) But, without further ado, here is the newest pic (compared with the last one I took at 30 weeks). Today's pic is on the right.



I feel like the belly isn't growing outward as much as it's growing vertically. So I don't look that much bigger outwardly than I did at 30 weeks, but you can see how low my belly goes. The belly also seems to be changing shape and becoming more round. And, if nothing else, my butt is getting bigger (as is my face). Check out the sequential pictures on my tripod page and you'll see what I mean. *sigh* Now, let's compare this latest picture with the last pictures taken during the twins' pregnancy. The comparisons are the twin pregnancy weeks 28 and 30.





I look much bigger than at 26 weeks with the twins (both vertically and outwardly), I'm vertically larger than my 28 week picture with the twins, and I'm about the same vertically as with the twins at 30 weeks. But at 28 and 30 weeks with the twins I am much larger outwardly than I am with this pregnancy.

My fundal height yesterday (Thursday) was 35.5cm, which is perfect for where I am. The midwife also ordered a BPP ultrasound for next Tuesday, just to check up on the baby's placenta since something went funky with Dovid's placenta just at 35 weeks. She doesn't suspect anything is wrong since the baby's heart rate is perfect, and her movements are strong and frequent. But it's more for peace of mind...and who doesn't like more ultrasounds, right? :-D

And speaking of such...have you noticed? I MADE IT!!! I am now 35 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Yes, I do need to make it through the day without exploding, but based on last night's midwife appointment I'm not really worried about it. Whee!

5 Years

Five years ago today I met my husband. It's not the exact date (that was yesterday), but we met on the Friday just after Thanksgiving, so that's when we celebrate. Our yearly tradition is to have a Shabbos meal at the friend's house where we met. For several years they were out of town for Thanksgiving weekend, so we had to push it off until the next week, but this year they are here! We met at the Friday night meal, and that's when we'll be going (ie tonight). Our first date was the Sunday after we met (November 27), but with Shmuel working every Sunday there isn't any way we can go out to celebrate then.

I can hardly believe that it's been five years. The years have literally flown by, and they've been some of the best years I've ever had (if not the best). We have so much to be thankful for, and it's very appropriate that the anniversary of our meeting (and first date) happens just after Thanksgiving. It's also just one week until the magical 35 weeks and 1 day. Wheeeee!

The twins are doing well, too. They are adding words to their vocabulary all the time, and I'm just too lazy to update their word pages here. :-) Dovid calls everything "that" and loves to say "no". Both of them use the word "mine" a lot, even though I thought that was a two-year-old thing. haha Dovid has also figured out how to clip himself into his booster seat and will do this even when it's not meal time. The problem is that he doesn't know how to undo the buckles, so he gets upset once he's clipped in and wants to keep playing with the buckles.

And now, for your enjoyment, here is a video clip from play time a few days ago. They are playing with Daddy's kippa, which they really enjoy (especially since Daddy has to then cover his head with another object).



Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

Two Weeks...

Can anyone guess what happens exactly two weeks from today? My husband guessed it (and it only took him about 60 seconds with no hints). Look at your calendar...it will be Friday, December 3rd. Take a look at my little baby ticker and it might give you a hint as well. In just two short weeks I will be 35 weeks and 1 day pregnant. It will be the exact gestation that I gave birth to the twins. It is a milestone I am *so* excited to be reaching (and passing right by). I am fully confident that I will still be pregnant when I finish that day, and that I'll continue to be pregnant for a few weeks after that. :-) Yay!

In other news, the baby is doing well. I had an appointment with the midwife yesterday and it went great. I'm having random Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are normal, and the most obnoxious leg cramps in the universe. I wake up and move my leg and then holy heck, my calf muscle seizes up and feels like someone plunged a knife right in. Luckily, I know that you're supposed to pull your toes upward (toward the knee) and it does help, although it takes a few seconds to work. Unfortunately all day it's been kind of achy, as if the muscle really needs to stretch out.

In other, other news....I'M GOING TO SEE HARRY POTTER ON SUNDAY!!!!! I seriously could not be more excited. WHEEEE!!

Whooops!

Wow...it's been over two weeks since my last update. I'm really falling down on the job here!! In any case, no news is good news (for the most part). My pregnancy is progressing as normally as in a text book, which is fantastic. I love my midwives almost as much as I love my husband. lol And the twins are as adorable as ever.

My mom, her boyfriend, my sister, brother-in-law and their foster son all came to visit this past weekend. We had a great time hanging out and playing with all of the kids. Then this morning Chana woke up not feeling so great, but since she had a normal temperature I sent her to day care anyways. Well, she then developed a temperature so I had to pick her up early. Luckily I was able to get some Tylenol into her, and she's now happily eating matzo, talking and smiling like my normal, happy girl.

Both Chana and Dovid have been saying more words lately, and I really need to update their word list. Chana is doing so well with imitating new words...it's just incredible. They both had their 6 month Early Intervention evaluation last week, and both passed in all areas except for eating/self care/toileting. In some areas they gained more than just 6 months worth of development, which is fantastic. I'll go more in depth on the results when I get a copy of them from Early Intervention later this week.

I'll do my best to update you after my midwife appointment on Thursday and maybe get a new belly pic up too. :-) In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of the twins taken by my sister and brother-in-law this past weekend.

Belly Picture Time!

I think I grew! Here's a comparison between my 28 week picture and my 30 week picture (30 weeks is on the right).



Now let's compare my 30 week picture from this pregnancy to several pictures from the twins' pregnancy. I can only fit two pictures per line, so each one will have the one from the twins on the left and my most recent, 30 week pic on the right. The first line is 26 weeks with the twins, then 28 weeks, then 30 weeks.





I think I look like somewhere between 26 and 28 weeks with the twins, but my fundal height was only about 31cm at my last midwife appointment (not even close to where it was when I was 28 weeks with the twins). Either way, the belly and baby are growing well. :-)

Final Ultrasound

I made it! We had our last ultrasound today and everything looks perfect. The baby is measuring exactly 3 lbs, which is about 5 days behind schedule. My cervix is also fantastic, still measuring over 3.5cm. WOO HOO!!!! My cervix is officially competent. Here's our final ultrasound picture...it's a profile shot.  You can see her nose around the middle of the screen with her lips just below.  And her hand is to the left of that.

Keep Forgetting to Post

Yes, it's been over a week since my last post. I'm sorry but life just sort of gets away from you. In any case, things over here are interesting as always. :-)

I had a midterm exam in Human Growth and Development which was a complete nightmare / joke. First of all, the exam questions were repetitive, so you kept second guessing yourself. Second of all, many of the questions had multiple plausible answers, so if you guessed wrong, that stinks for you. Also, several questions were about material that was not covered in our book nor was it discussed in detail in class...so there was no way we could have known about it. Then, once I got my exam back all corrected, the professor had marked several questions wrong that were clearly correct.

For example, do any of you know how many days after ovulation a blastocyst implants into the uterus? Probably most of you (former) infertiles and many fertiles know that this happens 7-10 days post ovulation. It says so point blank in my Anatomy and Physiology textbook, and it's more ambiguous in my Human Growth and Development text (saying that it starts around 5 days and could go until 16 days after ovulation). The possible answers for this question on the test were a) 2-6 days; b) 8-12 days; c) 10-14 days; d) 12-16 days. Who can tell me first what is wrong with these answers? THEY OVERLAP! Plus the fact that, according to our text book, b, c and d could all technically be considered correct. According to every single RE, OB/Gyn and infertility expert out there - and my A&P text book, answer b is the "best" answer. The prof marked it wrong and insisted c was the answer...and refused to give me credit.

Here's another example. What is the baby called right after it implants into the uterus? An embryo, of course. I got marked wrong for that even though my Human Growth text book says so VERBATIM... The prof says it's something called a "cytoblast" (which I've never even heard of and isn't in my text book). He wouldn't give me credit for that one even though the text book he assigned says I'm right. (By the way, a cytoblast is the nucleus of a cell...and has nothing whatsoever to do with this question.)

On another question which seemed to me to have two plausible answers, he couldn't give me a good reason (any reason at all really) why my answer was incorrect.

These are just some of my "favorites". I'm planning to have a meeting with the dean next week and some of my classmates may come with me as well, since the vast majority of people failed the exam (I didn't) in all of his 3 classes. Seriously, when almost all of your students fail an exam I don't think it's because the students are all slacking off...

The twins are doing great. Chana has actually put together a few two/three word sentences! One was "No, mine". hehehe The other was "pick me up". She also asks specifically for her sippy cup (saying "cup cup cup cup" and going to the fridge). Also cool was the other day when after a bath I asked Shmuel if he had brushed her hair. He said no, and I turned around to see her running her fingers through her hair. She knew exactly what I was talking about!!! Dovid's language skills aren't even close, but they are getting better. I've heard that boys can take longer than girls for these things, so I'm not too worried.

Both twins can go up stairs really well now, and early intervention is beginning to teach them how to go back down. They're going to have their follow-up assessment in a few weeks, so we'll see if they still qualify. I'm almost positive that Dovid will qualify for speech, and both will probably qualify for self care (feeding, toileting).

That's all for now! I have another cervix check tomorrow, and then that's it. If that ultrasound comes back all good, then my cervix will officially be labeled "competent". Woo!! The baby moves a lot, which is so reassuring, and I'm definitely getting bigger. I'll have another belly picture taken on Thursday as I will be crossing the line over to 30 weeks!!! That means I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with this pregnancy. How insane. It's gone by super fast, and I can't believe that I'll have this baby in less than 3 months and could be as soon as 2 months from now. ACK!!! :-)