Well here we are: finishing up 32 weeks!  Just over 2 weeks till the safety point (avoiding the nicu), anything after 4 would be fabulous…please, please, boys come before March…it seems ever so far away!

the fam:
Everyone is hanging in there!

■ My mom helped out last week which was marvelous.  The kiddos enjoyed having her to themselves during the last of their Winter break.

■ We’re getting things ready: “oh, you’re nesting,” the designer exclaims, after my expressed desire to spruce up the studio. (The studio is adjacent to our bedroom). “Thank you”, I told him, “it just makes me so happy”. Well there you go…nesting at it’s best, I could have cared less a week ago! 😉

■ The dancer got her 1st shot & 1st round of antibiotics (ever) last night to clear up a staph infection from a sledding crash…grateful to Tiffany for spotting it so quickly merely from photos I sent her.

■ The explorer came down with croup and then two days later broke his wrist jumping out of the apple tree by Grandma’s …again, just tying up loose ends getting ready for these boys to arrive. Let’s get it all out now right!?

■ The designer went to take the builder to school on Thursday…lol, school didn’t start until Monday. The dancer was so very happy. I think it was the first smile she shared today (she loves school & was absolutely devastated to stay home…of course I don’t think the boys mind a bit)!

■ The designer is holding up amazingly well, keeping everyone happy & moving. He started refereeing church ball this week. I’m relieved he’s just through the field should anything start while he is there!

28 & 31 week check ups:
■ Everything looking good, boys growing & me gaining…at 28 weeks I measured 33 weeks & at 31 I measured 36. (But we all know if she measured side to side we’d find an even greater measurement lol).

■ I’d gained another 7 pounds at 28 weeks & 5 more at 31weeks for a grand total of 39 pounds. In previous pregnancies I just stopped keeping track the last month or so. This time I know how crucial it is to give them the best I can nutritionally…which brings me to…

holiday dangers:

■ No, I’m not talking about all the sweets & goodies that they usually warn pregnant gals about…I’m talking about Turkey. Yup, too much turkey. Between Thanksgiving & New Year’s I think we mostly ate turkey & chicken. I remember telling the designer that I just wasn’t getting enough from the turkey…I was nauseated again every day & even sent him for a burger a couple times. Sure enough, when I went to see Richelle for my 31 week check up, I was low in iron. Mom started cooking red meat every day…I think the turkey leftovers got thrown out, & Richelle gave me some Garden of Life Raw Iron…feeling better already!

the boys

■ I’ve been baby mapping (paying attention to where they are in my belly, their orientation, etc.) Happily, they are both still head-down. All 3 of our other kiddos arrived posterior, or “sunny-side-up.” They were difficult labors with back-labor from the get-go. The one beautiful moment was the explorer turning at the last minute thanks to a position Richelle suggested. It made the end a breeze. I’d love to try to deliver these twins anterior…maybe even without the back-labor…well a girl can dream right?! Victoria reminded me there’s always hope and I’m going with it!

■ Baby A is much deeper within & still moving quite a bit, swinging his legs from my center to my right side. He is very sweet about it though, never too rough. Victoria says he’s definitely the bigger one of the two. He’s definitely taking advantage of all the space he can find ;).

■ Baby B is squished between his brother and I. Sometimes I worry about laying on my left side because I feel like we are sandwiching the poor kid. A couple months ago he would protest when he got poked or squished. I would gently rub my belly & talk with him a bit. Now he seems to have settled in, no more protesting, he doesn’t even move around as big as before. I like to think he finds comfort in his brother being there.

■ I’ve seen a video of twins fighting in the womb…these are sweet boys…nothing like that…yet. (Though no guarantees when they are out). We’re getting excited to meet them!

awkwardness:

■ There is something about having two heads between the hips of this 5′ gal…I’ve been waddling since the beginning but lately it has become quite comical. I have to swing my legs around during the process or they get stuck. I think I should get me some chaps, a hat, & a cap gun…seems appropriate!

■ Over the months I’ve found various ways to get on & off the bed. Mostly for variety I think, but I realized yesterday that I’m all out of tricks & only one works now. ;). To climb on, I back myself up like a diesel truck, slow & steady, swing my one leg up, leeean back & somehow swing the other up there. I only missed it a couple times…dangerous business this backing up of a diesel…!

■ Getting off the bed is also a feat: pushing a bit with my arms behind me, swinging both legs around till they teeter a bit off the side of the bed…making sure not to slide off too fast, & making a steady landing. Then I carefully stand up straight, of course with my legs wide, wait a minute to check my balance & then git my cowgirl walk a goin’. The dancer watched me yesterday, we laughed together, and she noted, “it’s hard getting up when you have twins!”

■ The cake of awkwardness right now is my somehow getting high-centered when trying to roll from one side, or my back, to the other. It is really perplexing but there it is! It just started & I’m not sure what to do about it…lol!

most painful

■ Even more than my hips spreading to make room, it’s definitely been my ribs expanding that has caused the most pain (14 inches). There have been 4 strong episodes that were very difficult. We tried massage, a warm bath, & lavendar oil this last time (a week ago), but mostly it just took time…meanwhile it was so hard to breathe!

■ The 2nd most painful part for a while now is the lack of space/skin between this belly & my chest. There is no room for a brazier, & after wearing one for a while, my belly simply falls asleep!

■ Yet with all these struggles, I know we’ll make it & it could always be worse right? While at my appointment last week, one pregnant gal was dealing with candida & yeast infections…and another…gosh can’t remember, but she was sick with some sort of infection & on antibiotics. I can barely walk, but I’ll take it!

random oddities

■ The other night, the designer & I were readying for bed…he went to grab our laundry & when he got back I moaned a bit. “You ok?” he asked. “Oh yeah, I think I just pulled something,” I replied. “Just laying there?” he asked with surprise. I laughed, “I sneezed!”

■ ☆★☆ stars, stars, & more stars…I’ve never seen so many! It’s like being in a tweety bird cartoon. They circle around my head like a halo & I can’t quite pin-point the cause as it seems to occur ever so randomly!

We’re getting so close it seems, looking forward to being up playing with the kiddos outside, inside…reading together on my bed is nice, but so much more to look forward to very soon! What are you looking forward to most in the near future? xo ~ katrina