Just like a regular pregnant lady

Yesterday I went to see my OB. All by myself. Because our doc had a delivery on Friday, our appointment was rescheduled to Monday, and Husband would have had to really turn himself into a pretzel to make it. Since we'd had the great scan last Wednesday, we both decided we were comfortable with not being there together. Since we've started down this track (the TTC etc.), neither of us ever wanted to miss an appointment where we might get bad news. Uplifting, eh?

So I showed up, got shown to a room immediately, got weighed, got my BP taken (both were pronounced GREAT! by the nurse), got measured, heard the wee heartbeats and was sent on my way! 

One of the things that was surprising to me was that he said that I was carrying small.  Not in terms of uterine size or baby size, both are perfect, but that the way that my uterus was working? Holding the  babies? Not sure...anyhoo some people's uterus grows up and out, and mine seems to be growing wide?, again, not sure. But I think it's my general body style. I tend to be wide rather than thick, so I'm probably using up some internal space that others might not posses. He also said that it looked like I had a good frame for caring and delivering twins. That is just the kind of thing I like to hear.  I'm soaking up the good feedback. I'm pretty convinced that I'm carrying a baby in each breast. My breasts are enormous--they are still much bigger than my belly, once the belly finally surpass the breasts, I think I'll feel like look much more pregnant. I'm mostly wearing sleep bras at home, and suffering the best-of-the-worst in terms of bras when I'm out and about.

I have finally hit the constipation wall. I think it's the type of calcium I've been taking, so I'm switching it up and trying to find the right balance of calcium and magnesium, and hopefully I'll be back to my usual, ahem, self.

We went to our first childbirth class last night. We're going to an independent CB class, so it's 6 weeks long, and focuses a lot on various ways to manage an unmedicated birth. Clearly, that is not all that likely in our case! It made me somewhat wistful for those of you who are pregnant with singletons, and have so many more options than us twin moms. Of course, I could do anything I wanted to, but I know, even with a singleton I'd have a hospital birth, I'm just that anxious, but I would have worked very hard for an unmedicated birth. Oddly, I'm not scared of giving birth. I've been preparing for an unmedicated birth since I was a teenager (really, I used to want to be a midwife), nausea? Pre-eclampsia? Pre-term labor? Fetal death? Yup, terrified of all of them (ok with nausea, it was more dread than fear). Even though only one class is going to directly address our likely path (epidural/vag birth or cesarean), it's so nice to be a part of the club. And, I've finally been shown a picture of where the heck my organs have gone! Nice to know!

Today makes 18 weeks, 1/2 way through. Zowie.  The guest list is being compiled for the baby shower, the stroller has been purchased and the car seats have been chosen, and the registry is going to be compiled. As of October, I'll only be working 2 days a week, and then by the end, none.  Wow. Just like a regular pregnant lady.

Comments

[It is what it is]

It's lovely to be out and about and pregnant. Just like it should be.

As for the birth plan, I think it's prudent to hope for the best and plan for the worst. As I recently said to an IRL friend about to give birth to her b/g twins, they are going to come one, one way or another. And, even when the birth plan doesn't go quite as hoped, and even though we may feel robbed of what we wanted it to be, that feeling fades over time.

[Michele]

Sounds lovely!!! SO happy for you!!!

[Lara]

It's a cliche, but try and pick up the pitted prunes at Trader Joe's. They're actually yummy and popping about 7-8 of those should get those bowels moving again. They were a lifesaver for me during pregnancy and for the weeks after birth.

Glad to hear you're adapting to being a regular pregnant lady!

[Kami]

Just like! Congrats on all going well. I know a lady who had a perfectly healthy twin home birth. You could probably ask your OB about being hooked up to the epi but not have the drug actually turned on. I kind of doubt you would need to have surgery THAT fast to save a kid.

[Sara]

Hooray for normal!

[Erin]

I'm so glad that things are going well, and I cannot believe you are already 18 weeks -- it seems like this is going by very quickly. I can definitely understand your feelings about the childbirth classes. I didn't actually make it to mine, the boys were born before the class (oops! Guess I should have scheduled it before 30 weeks!) -- but during the hospital tour, the nurse was talking about all the feel-good, wonderful new mommy moments (and after the baby is born, it will be placed directly on your chest and left undisturbed, blah blah blah -- and then followed that with, "But for you, having the twins, that won't happen, the first twin will be taken immediately away to allow you to deliver the second." Awesome, thanks.)

One of my friends had her twins without any drugs (they were in a hospital, of course), but she delivered at 38+ weeks and each of her boys was over 7lbs. That being said, my OB probably wouldn't have "allowed" me to go unmedicated because of the inherent risks of a twin delivery -- and sure, I always could have found a different practice, but for me, I wanted to ensure that I was awake in case I ended up needing an emergency c-section, and if you end up needing an emergency c-section with twins, you're most likely put under general if you haven't had the epidural.

A lot of personal choices for you to make, it all depends on your own personal comfort level and the decisions that you make with your OB about what is best for you and your boys.

[Paige]

A regular pregnant lady! Such a wonderful achievement. Sounds like normal, pregnant lady anxiousness to me. Wonderful

[BWUB plus one]

It's wonderful to be "just" a regular pregnant lady! I wanted to comment after I read your post announcing two boys and difficulty in naming them. We have one precious boy, and like you, we had the hardest time coming up with a boy name we could both agree on. My DH, of Dutch descent, kept pulling these zany Dutch names I'd never heard of (with too many vowels and not enough consonants) out of a hat. I just glared at him after a while. I liked "regular" names, and he'd nix those. We finally agreed on a name we've both come to love (a derivation of a biblical name). Now though, realizing how much I adore this baby boy, I sort of wish there were two of him! Congratulations to you and I hope you have a beautiful pregnancy!