Not only are we 31 weeks today.... one week shy of 8 months... but we had a full day of Dr appts, hospital tours, tons of info and a great look at the babies. All in a days work...
At 9:15am our appt was scheduled with Dr McFarland (high risk) and we ended up sitting till a little after 10:20am in the waiting room.
(Finally found and purchased one of those funny preggo t-shirts... mine says: Expecting to kick your ass if you touch my bump! Just had to buy it and I get laughs quite a bit.)
I dealt with the boredom and back pain knowing that being pushed back that far with a morning appt is not good for someone elses baby. Sadly when I was called back and getting ready for my cervix measuring I could hear a Mom To Be crying hard. I started to hum immediately not wanting to over hear anything being said. I feel for her but gosh... such a sad thing. So... cervix measured about 4.5cm and once again looks like it's continuing to hold this twin pregnancy in still. Missy and Jaren joined me shortly after I was dressed again for our lengthy sono. Here's the scoop: Baby A, Aidyn, was not cooperating again today and faced my back. No 3D sono picture of her again. Ugh... maybe next time. Missy was looking down at her notes a split second and missed it but Jaren and I saw what the sono tech pointed out to be Aidyn's hair. Funny, I've never seen hair on a sono. Kinda reminded me of a much shorter version of Lisa Simpson's hair. :-) This little girl is doing wonderful growing! She weighs about 4 pounds now with a heart rate of 163bpm. Baby B, Kylar, was wiggling around with his feet up near his face and fists in defense position. :-) He weighs right under 4 pounds with a heart rate of 153bpm. They're both measuring about 1 week ahead. Dr McFarland was pleased with what she saw today and said looks like both babies are growing very well.
My blood pressure looked good and I've now gained 30 pounds. Not too bad for twins almost 8 months along. Dr McFarland said she would like to see us back in three weeks so next appt with her will be the morning of January 20.
(Missy held Kylar's monitor and I held Aidyn's during our NST since they're so active... hearts beats and fetal activity once again looked great!)
The three of us left Dr McFarland's office to see Tim made it by before work. Long hours at work have kept him from joining us recently but he wanted to be sure he was able to stop by for a bit before heading to work. Glad he did because him and Jaren caught up while Missy and I filled out the pre registration forms.
When Tim left we were able to get a well informed tour the best the nurses could giving L&D (Labor & Delivery) was BUSY!! The nurse we spent a majority of the time with was super nice and let us know they'll be as accommodating as possible when our delivery time comes. That's nice to know. The hospital has changed quite a bit in the last two years since I delivered my first Surro Twins. More room, better guidelines and policies to go from. We did find out we'll meet with the hospital's Patient Advocate is our next step to prepare as best we can before the birth.
(During our tour we walked into this Post Partum room... this was our room when Maggie and August were born a little over two years ago! Talk about making a full circle!)
Grabbed a quick sandwich in the cafeteria then back up to floor 2 in the Atrium for our appt with Dr Murdock (my OB). You know what that meant... back on the scale again! Ugh! Only 1 1/2pounds heavier after lunch and LOTS to drink so not bad. It's hard to watch that scale move to the heavier side quicker come this time of a pregnancy... especially growing two babies! We didn't do too much at this appt besides take my blood pressure and what since we saw Dr McFarland that morning and brought the report with us. Missy and Jaren used the appt time to fire away questions to Dr Murdock. Hopefully after all their questions and a few of mine we'll be able to get everything figured out as far as what will/could happen with possible birth scenarios. All four of us want to be as prepared as possible for Aidyn and Kylar's arrival. Sure makes life simpler during a stressful and anxious time to begin with. Gosh.... THE BIG DAY is right around the corner now!!!!!!!
Missy and Jaren's goal at this point is to get as prepared as possible for their soon arriving babies. Stocking up on diapers, sterilized bottles, pacifiers, burp cloths, baby bath and lotions, sleepers, car seats and more!!!!
My goal at this point is to make it safely to 36 weeks in pregnancy knowing at that point Aidyn and Kylar will most likely be in the clear. Each day after that simply gives their little bodies more time to gain weight and their lungs to mature more on their own. I'm not planning to deliver before then! The "Wiggles" and I are cheering "No NICU for us... two healthy babies are a must!"
I'm starting to keep Tim up at night with all my tossing and turning and multiple trips to the bathroom. We're both wearing a nice set of raccoon eyes on a daily basis now. :-) Makenzie and Mason are really ready now to meet these babies and have their "Mom" back. They've been great sports and both helpful in their own 11 and 6 year old ways so far during this journey. I'm proud of them as much as I am of Tim for willing to make another surrogacy journey with me helping another family grow. It really takes a lot from so many people to get there and make it. So thank you to my loving family and wonderful close friends for your support thus far!
