32 weeks: First NST

I had my first non-stress test this morning at the MFM office. They hooked up heart rate monitors and a contraction monitor to my belly and watched the lines print out on a piece of paper. They looked for two episodes of increased heart rates for each baby - a sign that they were active and that their little hearts responded accordingly.

Baby boy was finished in about 15 minutes, but baby girl was peacefully sleeping. So the nurse took this little device that buzzed and vibrated and stuck it on my belly near her little head. It totally startled both of them. They started kicking pretty hard. Both their heart rates jumped from 145ish to 165-170 instantly. It made me so sad that they were scared! I wanted to give them hugs. :-( Anyway, both babies passed just fine.

We had another nosy nellie comment today. Chris and I went to Chipotle for lunch and were sitting outside when a lady at the next table struck up the following conversation:
Lady: Hey, are you having a boy?
Me: Yes, and a...
Lady: I knew it! You don't look pregnant from behind and that means you are having a boy.
Me: Well, I was just about to add that we are also having a girl.
Lady: Oh. Twins! You look too small for twins.
Me: ::sigh:: Everyone is growing just fine.
Lady: How far along are you?
[WAIT! You just decided that I'm too small for twins and you have no idea if I'm 20 weeks or 38 weeks? Besides, how many twin bellies have you been around to know whether I am the right size?!]
Me: 32 weeks
Lady: Well, good luck. I wish I had gotten my two over with in one shot.

I really wanted to say, "As you thought it fair to tell me I look too small for twins I thought I'd tell you that you look too old for that skirt." Damn high road.

And, this is for our fellow UW/Seattle friends and family - we had a technician out to do some work today and he saw our degrees hanging on the wall. He said, "Washington? Cool! That's the Washington Huskies, right?" Yep! "We went there last summer. But we stayed in Virginia and just took a day trip in." Oh...so close!

32w0d

31w5d: MFM Growth Scan

The babies had a growth scan and fluid check this morning. They continue to do well! Both are currently head-down and I hope they have run out of room to do any more flips. Here are their stats:

Baby A
Sex: Boy
Position: Vertex (head-down)
Heart rate: 156
Estimated weight: 3lbs 15oz

Baby B
Sex: Girl
Position: Vertex (head-down)
Heart rate: 153
Estimated weight: 3lbs 9oz

The margin of error on the estimated weights increases as the babies get older. It is a calculation that averages three measurements: head circumference, abdominal circumference, and femur length. Not only is it harder to get very clear shots of all these parts as they get more squished, but each baby is a different shape.

Baby boy's head measured 35 weeks, but his abdomen only measured 29 weeks. By the time these averaged out, he is right on track. Baby girl presented a little more challenge this morning. She has always been harder to measure and after the first round came out at 3lbs 3oz. The tech was concerned about the size difference between the babies so she redid the measurements and came up with 3lbs 6oz. At this point she also looked at the cord flow and placenta and everything looked fine. Then she left and the doctor looked at everything, did his own calculations and determined she weighs 3lbs 9oz. Our baby girl gained almost a half pound in 15 minutes! Bottom line: these size estimates are just that - estimates. The important thing is that we see continued growth. The MFM was happy enough with what he saw that we don't have another growth scan for four more weeks. That should be our last one!

Their little heads are together!

Baby boy has hair! It's the little spikes at the top of his head. 

Baby girl continues to hide her face. She is going to be a complete
surprise when she is born. She actually has both her arms over her face.
For reference, she is looking slightly to the left, hand up at her left eye.

Baby boy. The pic is labeled B, but the tech just forgot
to change the label.

31 weeks: Revenge of the Chocolate 'Shake'

Thankfully, it has been a pretty uneventful pregnancy week. I'll just give some highlights:

• Protein shakes seek revenge: About 20 minutes after I posted about my distaste for protein shakes last week, I knocked a FULL glass of chocolate goo onto our new carpet. After lots of sopping up using every dishtowel in our house (seriously, I think this is the first time I've done a load of laundry that was just dishtowels), and pouring water over it and vacuuming with the shop vac repeatedly, I think we got most of it out. Carpet is still a little bit crunchy. There's karma for you. 
• Tdap vaccine: Check!! The new CDC guidelines for who should have the vaccine now includes pregnant women in the third trimester. I checked with my OB first and she highly encouraged me to get it done now. I really wanted to get the pertussis portion before the babies arrived. No side effects besides a sore arm and the comfort of knowing I won't accidentally pass on pertussis to my babies before they can be immunized.
• Discovered my daily energy exertion limit is one errand and one meal out. Last week we ran to Old Navy so I could pick up some comfortable cotton gym-type shorts for hanging around the house (NOT maternity pants with the hot, itchy panel) and then out to lunch. Neither of these involved a ton of walking. On the way back home, we swung by the grocery store for a few items. By the time I walked into the store I had to wave the white flag and waddle back out to the car while Chris did the shopping. I just could not move anymore. Too much ligament pulling in my belly and I felt really light headed. We got home and I took an hour and a half nap. I am SO grateful to be on orders to work from home as I'm not sure I could get a full day in the office anymore.

31w0d
Happily wearing my new shorts! This is one of my
last maternity shirts that still covers my entire belly.

29w-30w: Protein 'Shakes' Are Gross

Things have been pretty uneventful since I started working from home. It has really helped the contractions. I had an OB appointment at 29w6d and everything is still looking great. She took a quick look at the babies and we saw baby girl kicking her legs and baby boy practicing his breathing. The best part - they were both head down!! I would love for them to stay this way so we could avoid starting with a c-section, but I know there is plenty of time for them to flip (and flip back).

I was warned by the dietitian at 10 weeks that I wouldn't be able to eat enough to store any extra weight by 28 weeks. I honestly thought she was crazy because I was so hungry at the time. Well, she was right. I have very little appetite anymore. The babies must have crowded out my stomach. I'm still eating, of course, but I just don't have the desire to eat like I did a few weeks ago.

I'm trying to drink protein shakes to make sure I at least keep that up. Only I have a bone to pick with whoever had the indecency to label these as "shakes". What do you think of when someone offers you a shake? Hmm...ice cream, milk, maybe chopped up Oreos, blended together in a frosty tin with a big red straw. Yeah, that would be delicious. These disgusting protein goos come in cartons with warnings to refrigerate for palatability and to shake well before serving. Well, I guess that answers my question as to why theses are called shakes - that last little instruction tipped the marketing team off to damn near false advertising.

Mmmm, doesn't that look appetizing? Please feel free to swing on
by anytime for a drink. I'll even refrigerate it for you.

29w1d
Now refusing to wear paneled pants. Too hot and
my belly has actually outgrown a couple of them.

30w2d
Chris was happy to see a return of the curly hair. There have
been a couple days where I decided not to spend the time to straighten it.