30 Week Ultrasound / I'm Blessed / Pictures

30 Week Ultrasound

Today I went for my monthly ultrasound at the hospital to check on Thing 1 and Thing 2's growth.  Here's the stats...

*Last month, Thing 1 weighed 2lb 8oz.  Today he weighed 3lb 15oz!  

*Last month, Thing 2 weighed 2lb 2oz.  Today she weighed 3lb 9oz! 

... [I was a little concerned before the U/S because I had only gained maybe a pound and a half the last 4 weeks. (sinus mess, stress from losing Ben's grandpa and dad, etc)  But, evidently they are getting what they need.] ...

"Baby Center" says that the average baby at 30 weeks weighs almost 3lb.  

*Both babies are still head down.  Yay!  I coulda swore that Thing 1 flipped the other day, but he's being cooperative.  Hoping that they both stay head down so I have a greater chance of a VBAC.  Although, I am fully aware that I could deliver 1 baby and then have the 2nd baby flip around with all the newly acquired space.  If that happens, I could deliver 1 offspring vaginally and have the other delivered via C-section.  Ooooooo....sounds like fun.  

*Thing 1 was chewing/sucking on the cord.  Strange.  Ha.  He was also the thumb sucker earlier in the pregnancy.  

*I'm seeing the chiropractor now once a week. (Either the hubby or one of the doctors he works with)  It does wonders for a few days!  Then the giant gut gets the best of my spine / muscles.  

*Lil man still stares at my belly in amazement almost everyday and says ... "Mommy... it's SO BIG!"  Thank you child.  

*Hubby still stares at my belly in amazement almost everyday and says ... "Wow... it's SO BIG!"  Thank you hubs. ;)  

I'm Blessed 

I have people ask me all the time, "How are you feeling??"  Hmmm.  Not sure how I'm always supposed to answer that question.  Typically, I say "fine."  Unless you are one of the few lucky people I talk to a bunch, I don't like to complain about pregnancy symptoms.  It gets under my skin when I hear people go on and on about their aches and pains.    

Soooooo.... since carrying twins has proven to be much harder than I ever thought w/ lots of lovely symptoms/aches/pains...  My new official response to that question is "I'm blessed."  

I'm blessed to have back pain, aches, fatigue, an elephant that resides on my chest when I lay down, lack of bladder control & not being able to walk and talk w/o getting completely out of breath.  

Why?  Because I have been blessed to carry these lil babies!  Just like most things in life, there is a price to pay.  I will gladly carry these lil bladder 'n rib kickers for another 10 weeks if that is what my God wants.  There are far worse things in life than temporary aches and pains. 

Pictures

Here's me at 30 weeks with Thing 1 and Thing 2 ...

( The ultrasound pics were not very good this time.  The babies are getting really squished.  See the 26 week ultrasound post for much better pics. )

 Thing 1

As I said, not their best pics...

Thing 2

Not feeling so photogenic today... 

Sweet Big Brother

My lil man <3

29 Week Comparison / Delayed Cord Clamping / Stress

29 Week Comparison

Holy cow.  Literally.  I'm 29.5 weeks pregnant... and my belly measures 42 weeks!  When I went to my appointment last time, the midwife said I measured 36 weeks at 27.5 wks pregnant.  I didn't put it on my blog b/c I thought she must have surely measured me wrong.  Nope. 

Me @ 29 weeks with lil man...

29 weeks - 1st pregnancy

Me @ 29 weeks with Thing 1 and Thing 2 ...

29 weeks - Twins

Delayed Cord Clamping

One of the many things I've discussed with my midwife is the issue of wanting delayed cord clamping.  I never really thought about it until sometime after lil man was born when my husband opened my eyes to it. 

Luckily, the midwife I saw today is very pro-delayed cord clamping.  She reiterated several facts I already knew.  

(Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, but this is the info that I've gathered via my research and my midwife.)

  

-Most doctors / nurses / midwives are taught to cut the baby's cord immediately. It's more of a medical convenience than a health issue.

-In the last 5 years or so, they have started researching and/or recognizing the benefits of having the cord clamped at least 1-3 minutes after birth.  

-WHY?? When the baby is born, a significant portion of its blood is still in the umbilical cord.  Right after birth, the cord is thick and pulsating.  (blood flowing through it from the placenta)  Typically a few minutes after birth, the cord has flattened and is no longer pulsating.  (blood has gone into the baby)  

     

*POSITIVE IMPLICATIONS:  There are many!  A few are less jaundice, less anemia, and less brain bleeding (due to vitamin K "deficiency", making the vitamin K shot less necessary).  

Stress

The last couple weeks have been a bit stressful.  

(Side note:  I've known my husband's family since I was in 5th grade.  I was friends w/ his sister and spent the night with her countless times growing up.  My family also spent many holidays with their family since we lived so far from mine.)  

The Saturday after my last appointment, my husband's grandfather passed away.  He had a couple heart attacks, open heart surgery, complications from medicine, then a stroke.  He went from running around in the yard chasing my lil man to going downhill very quickly in 2 months.  He was such a sweet man, but I'm so thankful that he knew Jesus and is no longer in pain.  

One week after my hubby's grandpa passed away, his dad had a massive heart attack and also passed.  He was my husband's best friend and needless to say, it's been really really tough.  I seriously could not have asked for a better father-in-law.  He is already dearly missed.  One of the hardest parts?  .... Explaining to a 2.5 year old why he can't see or call his papa.  Lil man called him just about every day.  He "knows" that Papa now lives w/ Poppy and Jesus in Heaven... but still thinks he will see him soon. ... Leaning on God's strength.

Poppy and lil man 

Papa and lil man

(Kinda ironic that both of these pics were taken inside in the same chair when both men LOVED being outside as much as possible.)

Lastly, my heart has been so heavy this week as I think of a sweet friend and her husband at my church whose first baby went to Heaven at only a few days old.  I cannot even imagine what they are going through, but I think about them and pray for them several times throughout the day.  

3rd Trimester / How many diapers?! / Wet Nurse Accessories

3rd Trimester

Hellllllo third trimester!!  Wow.  My 1st pregnancy seemed like it was never going to end.  But since I'm chasing around a 2.5 year old this time, it is flying by!  

This week ....

28 weeks pregnant with twins
(Not sure what I'm doing with my fingers. Ha)

Last week...

27 weeks pregnant with twins

-- Why is my head cropped out of this pic?  B/c it was FREEZING outside, and I asked my sister (who is 17wks pregnant now) to take my pic.  She snapped 1 quick shot before jumping into the car.  When I said, "Ohhhhhhh... my face is fat in this pic" she peeks out the door and says "WELL??? I can't do anything about THAT!!"  Hahaha  The joys of working with your pregnant sister.  ;)  We joke, but I love it!  

What Thing 1 and Thing 2 supposedly look like now....

Fraternal Twins - 28 weeks pregnant
http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-twins-images-28-weeks

How many diapers??!!

I remember w/ my first child that we went through a LOT of diapers the first 2 months.  But, who counts?? I've read several sources that have done the math for me.  

For the first 60 days, the average newborn goes through 8-12 diapers during a 24-hour period.  Let's just say 10 diapers per day.  

So....

10 diapers x 2 babies = 20 diapers a day

20 diapers x 60 days = 1,200 DIAPERS THE FIRST 60 DAYS!!!!

SAY WHAT???!!  

I had really considered using cloth diapers before I found out I was having twins.  But now... considering how much I HATE doing laundry ... there's no way. Not in the very beginning anyway.  Once they cut that number way down, I might consider doing it part time.  In the meantime, I'm just going to close my eyes as Thing 1 and Thing 2 help to pollute the Earth.  :/  

Wet Nurse Accessories

The UPS man delivered the 1st piece of equipment for my new job... aka: full time wet nurse.  :)  

http://www.doubleblessings.com/sdbbtkl.html

(The giant pillow-table ... not the people.)  I learned my lesson w/ my son.  I made the mistake of using a bottle at night so the hubby could help me and my baby wouldn't fall asleep as easily while eating.  Well, by 3 months, lil man REFUSED to nurse.  He wanted the bottle only.  That left me pumping exclusively for a year.  Ughhhh!! It was very hard, but since I messed up, I was still determined to give him the best nutrition possible. I could go into more details, but I'll just leave it at that. Any questions on the subject, feel free to ask!  I've sold all of my Dr. Brown bottles / warmer / other accessories.  I did register for ONE small set of Tommee Tippee bottles in case the twins for some reason need me to pump in the beginning.  I do not plan on opening them at all.  I'm not naive.  Nursing 2 babies will be a scary and exhausting task.  But, I'm hard-headed.  :)