Thursday, June 30, 2005

For Stacy...

Since she's offering to go on my diet, should my 3 hour glucose test come back just as bad as the one this past Monday (and I hear she's offering to poke her finger five times a day too! What a trooper!), I'll honor her request and post the sites for the registries:

Babies R Us

Target

Ann Taylor Loft


P.S. S: are you also going to join me in my Iron supplements & Prune Juice??? Puh-leeze?

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Twenty Six Weeks



Your baby weighs approximately 1.5 - 2.0 pounds (850 g) and measures 9.2 inches (23 cm) from crown to rump. At this point, the baby's lungs and brain are much more developed than before. The baby has eyelashes and is able to recognize light from dark that reveals the optic nerve has developed. Your baby can hear you and your bodily functions - heartbeat and digestion, among others - as well as outside noises. So if a sudden sound startles you, imagine what it does to your baby!

Creating a new life is nothing short of a miracle. With this fetal development tool, you can get an insider's view of a baby in the making -- from conception to term. On this quick-time animation, you will be able to watch the entire development, specify portions of the pregnancy (i.e., weeks 15-25), or freeze the frame on a specific week.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Super Size Me!

Yes, I feel like a weeble wobble. I. AM. HUGE. I'm growing out of my maternity clothes. My size larges are now getting a little snug. I must...*gasp* buy XL on my next shopping trip!! I haven't seen anything below my belly button for weeks. My toes touch each other from being so swollen and I contemplate just leaving whatever I've dropped on the floor until someone comes by to pick it up for me. I. AM. HUGE.

Funny thing is, according to my doctor, I lost 5 lbs. over the course of two weeks. She questioned my eating habits!!! My husband and the rest of our family can attest...I have NO problem eating at all. Though...because the girls are growing and pushing my insides out of the way, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to eat. My stomach doesn't have the room to expand that it used to. And if, on any particular meal, my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I decide to overindulge, I feel miserable for the next two hours and try to ease the pain by overdosing on Tums.

In other appointment news, the babies' hearts were beating away and everything looks good so far. Dr. W. was concerned about my extreme drowsiness. J and I now carpool to work after I mentioned to him that I've been falling asleep at the wheel and one day actuallly had to pull into a Meijer for five minutes to snap out of it. She warned me to expect to be taken off work in the next two to four weeks, which terrifies me. I can't even think about it. I will be miserable! I don't know what I'll do on house arrest!! Expect more posts, I guess. I'll be bored out of my mind.

My Kind of Town....



What a great weekend! If you know me, you know I love Chicago! We go every year and I can never get enough of it. I didn't think we'd be going this year because of the girls but at the last minute last week, we decided to make the trip with my parents and my nephew Jack. My dad had a free suite at the Renaissance, so we packed our bags and left Saturday morning. We spent the day at Taste of Chicago where we saw Leann Rhimes in concert and ate a ton of food from restaurants all over the city. My dad had ordered a wheelchair for us to use for the day and J. wheeled me around all day, through the millions of people at the festival. Later, we walked down Michigan Avenue to do a little shopping. The beans were quiet all day long...I don't know if it was the bumpiness of the L, the wheelchair ride up and down the streets of Chicago, or the heat, but they weren't having any of it! On Sunday, we took Jack to the The Navy Pier, where we walked along the water, rode the Ferris Wheel and went to the Children's Museum. I can't wait to bring the girls back next year!!! We've promised Jack that we'd take him back to see the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum, and I definitely need to hit Giordano's, Ghiridelli's, The Cheesecake Factories and H&M, which I missed this trip. I know the girls will love it as much as I do.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Twenty Five Weeks

The babies are becoming more and more aware of their surroundings this week. By this week, a baby is responsive to both light and touch. Additionally, her lungs go through an important developmental process this week.

Light: The baby is responsive to light now, which seems to indicate that the optic nerve is working. If you shine a bright light on your belly, the baby will move away from it. This may become an effective way of getting the baby repositioned when she's sitting in an uncomfortable place. So, it appears that the baby is responding well to stimuli.

Touch: The baby responds to outside touch now. It is recommended that this time is used as a way of bonding, by trying to tickle the baby's foot or roll back and forth to see how the baby responds.

Lungs: This week, the lungs begin to secrete surfactant, a fatty substance that covers the inner lining of the air sacs and allows the lungs to expand normally so breathing can occur. Although it will be approximately 10 more weeks before the lungs are fully operational, the production of surfactant is an essential step in making the fetus viable outside the womb."
If you were to go into labor now, your baby would have a strong chance of surviving. Some of the greatest advances in medicine over the past years has been the care of premature babies.
Your baby at this stage weights only 2 pounds and is still extremely small, and although the chances of him/her surviving should he be born now, he/she would probabaly spend serveral months in hospital.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Yes....another appointment....

I swear, I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to start the non-stress test appointments every week in 6 weeks! I think I'll just do bi-weekly updates because this is getting ridiculous! Thank God for insurance!
Everything is going smoothly so far. Cervix is long & closed, babies are both at 150 BPM and are growing well and have a good level of fluid. Audrey was moving around a bit, but when Dr. P put the dopplar on Maggie she laughed out loud. Maggie was rambunctious and causing a lot of commotion in there. Poor Audrey!
I was given a prescription for Abuterol (Yessss!) to help with my shortness of breath/asthma and instructed to sleep in a semi-upright position or in a Lazy-Boy. Gee, that should be very comfortable. And in the same breath she told me to continue getting a full night's sleep (hah!) and try to nap or lay down as often as possible (hah! hah!). She also suggested reducing my work hours, which I'm definitely not ready for yet. Yes, I'm feeling them a lot more and I'm getting more and more tired and uncomfortable, but I was planning on going at least to 35 weeks. J thinks I'm living in a dream world, but a girl can hope, right? The truth is, I'm terrified of being at home all day with Avery. She's a little hellion and I think I rest more at work than I would at home with her running around!
And yes, I've gained another 3 lbs. TWENTY POUNDS! The total number itself doesn't phase me anymore, because I know I can't do anything about it. So I just go by pounds gained from Day 1 to Day ?. And so far, my doctors are happy with the 20 lbs. and the girls are doing well. But driving back to work and contemplating stopping by McDonald's for a sausage biscuit, I thought...I'm going to gain at least 10 more in the next 10 weeks! If not 20! (The famous Dr. Luke suggests 1.5 lbs. per week!). AND THEN I've got to lose it starting in October/November!!!!!! Needless to say, I didn't stop by Ronald's house. Sigh. At least everyone is being kind and saying, "It's all baby!" since I don't seem to be growing anywhere else. It only looks like I swallowed a watermelon! And...my clothes are starting to not fit anymore!!! Specifically, my work slacks. Aaarrrggghhhh!!!!!

Monday, June 13, 2005

"Gray skies are going to clear up, put on a happy face!"

And I repeat, my dear, my love, my sweetie pie: "Who can be grumpy with a wiggly belly? 'Not I,' said the fly."

Just look at your beans and smile.

Have a wonderful day.

I love you more than anything.


And I have a feeling...so do the girls. Even if they won't high-five you anymore!

24 Weeks

Your baby weighs in at one pound, six ounces, and measures 21 centimeters crown to rump. Rapid eye movement has begun. She can hear everything now, and also has a sense of equilibrium. She can tell the difference of what would feel upside down as opposed to right side up, even in such a small amount of space to move around! Now that she's almost completely formed, your baby will build up body fat to help her retain heat.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Future Soccer Player??


June 9, 2005. Maggie tried to kick at the ultrasound tech at the beginning of the examination, and we were rewarded with a great shot of her foot. Obviously she doesn't take after her mother in the foot department! Look at that thing!!

Both girls must have been riled up after the exam, because on the way back to work, I was treated to a flurry of kicks and punches from the two of them. There are a few things that are sure to get them kicking like mad...on the rare occasion that I have to use one of the antique typewriters in my office, when we go to the movie theater, or if I've gone a little too long without eating. Posted by Hello

June 9, 2005 ~ 23 Weeks 3 days


Maggie ...Can you see her? I know these ultrasound photos can be difficult to make out sometimes. When I'm describing them to people, I sometimes get confused myself. This is Maggie laying on her back. You see her chest and abdomen to the left of the photo, and her chin, lips, nose, eyes and head toward the middle of the photo and what appears to be her placenta to the right. She's rubbing her eyes right now. Maggie was, as usual, rambunctious and wiggly during her photo shoot. She is currently head down. She weighs the same as her sister, 1 lb. 4 oz. I've verified the culprit. She's the one who's been kicking me so furiously. Posted by Hello

June 9, 2005 ~ 23 Weeks, 3 days


Audrey was non-cooperative as usual. She weighed in at 1 lb. 4 oz. and is currently in breech position. She had her head tucked and facing down, so we weren't able to get a good shot of her face. Everything looked fine though and she's growing like a weed! Hopefuly next time she won't be camera shy! Posted by Hello

Monday, June 06, 2005

Twenty Three Weeks

Your baby is now about 8 inches (20 cm) crown to rump and hovering around the one-pound (500 grams) mark. Her body is well proportioned, but it still slender, with little fat.

She's also sporting new developments from head to toe. Meconium, the baby's first bowel movement, is forming in her intestines. The lanugo that covers her body is darkening. Your baby's lungs have begun to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs to expand following birth. The nerve cells are all in place now. Soon they will begin to join together to form a full nervous system. The dental buds are in place now and the enamel that will create the milk teeth starts to construct itself. Tiny lines begin to appear on the fingers and palms. These will become the future fingerprints. And her fingernails are now completely formed.


You're probably feeling a lot of movement and may even notice some early, relatively painless contractions, called Braxton Hicks. Don't worry -- these contractions don't mean you're going into labor, and your baby is unaffected by them.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Another appointment...

PSA: Beginning with this one, I'll start to go every two weeks, so you may start to get a little more than bored at my progress reports. But, this is mainly for documentation purposes, since I find myself too busy or exhausted to pick up a pen, so feel free to skip them.

Now that that is out of the way...I was late again to my appointment. And to think, I'm the only one in my family who is close to being on time! I arrived to discover that as of August 1, Dr. P will no longer be practicing obstetrics, just gynecology. I'm a little upset by this, since she is my primary doctor. But, during this pregnancy, I've been able to meet with all of the doctors and have no complaints about any of them. In order to maintain their on-call practice, they will be working with three OBs from Farmington Hills...and one is a MAN!!! YIKES! A young man! I'm sure he's seen it all but I am crossing everything that he won't deliver the beans. My first choice would be Dr. W. She's wonderful and just had a baby, so she knows.

On to our progress...I've gained 17, yes SEVENTEEN POUNDS (eat that CVS cashier!), since the beginning of the pregnancy. Dr. W. was beginning to worry that I wasn't gaining as much weight as I should (Dr. Barbara Luke suggests at least 24 lbs. by Week 24!) and asked if I have been eating enough. I had to giggle at that one...I feel like a vacuum cleaner or garbage disposal! Put a plate of anything in front of me and it'll be gone before you know it! The beans had good heartrates, at 150 bpm and 140 bpm and everything else looks great! She said I've developed carpal tunnel in both, not just my right hand, and that I have to reduce my salt intake (No!!) and elevate my feet & legs every evening. Poor J. - he's been so good about everything...he goes to work and then comes home and takes care of me, the condo and the dog. And always with a good attitude and no complaints.

Starting at my next appointment, they will be monitoring me for pre-term labor. I'll be going for check-ups every two weeks beginning June 14th and for non-stress tests at the hospital every week, beginning August 8th. They will also be monitoring the babies' growth with ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks, beginning June 8th. Finally, my next glucose test is on June 28th to double-check for gestational diabetes. I'm very impressed with how thorough these doctors are with regard to this multiple pregnancy. After watching what Angie and James went through, I have been terrified that something will be missed. But with this sort of treatment, I think all of us are in good, capable hands.