Today is Doctor Appointment day!!! I really do look forward to these appointments because I get to see the babies but I am a little nervous about today. I am entering the time when complications like preeclampsia and preterm labor start up for moms carrying multiples. Not to mention I have been in pain this week like NO OTHER. It was so bad Monday I was near tears. Its a burning, stretching, aching that is under my ribs in both front and back and radiates down my sides (or flanks as WebMD calls it...appropriate because I feel about the size of a horse and that's what they call their sides too). I have also been having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions especially at night. They aren't painful, they just make my belly really tight and I have to slow my breathing a little until they pass. The babies have still been moving around a lot (Owen more so than McKenna) although now, when Mason puts his hands on my belly they stop...sneaky little things.
Anyway, I have been adding to my running list in my phone of everything that needs to happen before the babies come and its getting longer and longer and more overwhelming really. Here are just a few tidbits:
* Finish Nursery
* Finish shower thank you notes
* Clean out the office
* Research/Interview/Select Pediatrician
* Pack bags
* Get coming home outfits
* Install carseats
* Get all Disability/FMLA Paperwork completed
* Get contact list together for Mason
* Figure out dog arrangements
* Call insurance about breast pump
And the list goes onnnnnn to include things like "make freezer meals" "schedule housekeeper for the week after we come home" etc. Some of these things are obviously not going to get done like clean out the office, pssssshhhhh, thats been on my list to do since 3 summers ago, and every Christmas break, and Spring break etc. since then. Anyway, what will get done will get done and they are coming regardless so I just hold onto that little piece of knowledge.
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Doctor visit(s) were a SUCCESS!!! Dr. Richards and I discussed everything from cord blood banking to childbirth classes to what happens if I go into labor prior to my C-section. He said that after 34 weeks he won't stop labor, he will just deliver me. We also talked about the NICU and the Special Care Nursery and whether or not I would get to hold them immediately in the delivery room if they come on time at 37 weeks. I really, really love Dr. Richards...he's the best. I also told him all my pregnancy
I have made previous posts about the wait time at Rhinehart's and I was expecting the same today. I signed in at 2:32 (appointment time was 3:15) and settled into a chair with my phone ready for the marathon wait. 5 minutes later they called me back. I immediately texted Mason and told him it was our lucky day and to go buy lottery tickets! I got on the table and figured this would be where I would wait...maybe 6 minutes later, in comes the tech. She was wonderful and started her measurements and taking pictures of the babies. She measured Owen first and her exact words were "his head is GIANT" and he was facing my back nearly the entire time so she couldn't get great photos of him but she also said his femur bone was "looooooong" and that he was going to be tall if that kept up. So after she measured his head, his belly, and his femur he weighed in at 3 pounds 9 ounces! She moved over to McKenna who I was so glad was still there because she never moves. She said "she has an average size head but a large belly" to which I replied "hmmmm kind of like her mother". She also had an average size femur bone and weighed in at 3 pounds 6 ounces. I was so glad a) they have put on nearly a pound and a half in 4 weeks and b) their weights are still very close. I've been told that if one starts to drastically outweigh/outgrow the other then that's a big problem. To recap, my son has a giant head and my daughter has a Buddha Belly...and I can't WAIT to see that giant head and belly!!! She checked my cervix...long and closed and I also wondered aloud if they may have hair yet. She checked McKenna...no hair. She couldn't check Owen's head because it was jammed so low in my cervix...yummy. Owen is head down with his feet in my ribs and McKenna is head up in my ribs and feet down at my cervix...no wonder my rib cage burns all.the.time. She finished up and told me the Doctor would be in momentarily.
I got to see Rhinehart again!!! He came in and put the wand on me and his first comment was "they're huge"...thaaaaaaaaanks! He looked around a bit and asked how I was feeling. I told him IN PAIN and he agreed with Dr. Richards...sounds like 3rd trimester with twins! He cautioned me to really watch my back because I have no more core and only the use of about 50% of my abdominal muscles. He also told me that babies born past 28 weeks have a 97% survival rate so I am in a great spot time wise. He looked at me and said "awesome kids and lets go three weeks this time"! So I cleaned up and scheduled my next appointment (I will be 32 weeks) and I was out of there by 3:15...my actual appointment time! It was fabulous! I was back in Rockwall by 4!
I leave a belly shot...a giant, 43 week measuring belly shot!!
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