Setting the Stage

Bob and I have spent the past couple days preparing our home for the time when we finally get to bring home our daughters. Well, mainly Bob has been doing the work while I sit nearby and direct with my feet elevated. We still have to bring up some of the baby items from downstairs and set them up in the living room, but that will get done tomorrow. Below are the photos showing the progress we have made so far.

Bob putting the mattress protector on:


The finished crib in the downstairs nursery (we chose a minimalist approach for safety and aesthetic reasons):


A view of the fully stocked closet in the nursery:


How the nursery looks now (the daybed on the left will be turned into a twin bed for our moms when they each visit):


The other side of our master bedroom is now set up as an upstairs nursery for us to use the first few months (or until the girls begin to roll over and need to sleep in separate cribs):


Our hall closet is now half filled with our overstock of diapers (in various sizes) and wipes:


We had a second NST done yesterday morning. It took about an hour this time since morning is when the girls are at their quietest and did more sleeping/resting than moving until the very end. Both of their heart rates are still strong, and I did not register any contractions while hooked up this time.
Each day continues to get more challenging for me, with back/rib pain becoming almost constant and intense no matter what position I am in. But we only have (at the most) 3 1/2 weeks left before the scheduled c-section unless labor starts prior to that, so I am doing my best to handle it well.

Closer & Closer

Many things were learned today at the appointment with the OB.

- I am measuring 41 weeks. (currently 33w4d)
- I am dilated 1cm!!! (though I have yet to feel any contractions)
- I will check into the hospital at 7:45am on 9.23.08 for the c-section.
- At this point, since the girls are of good size and health for their gestation, labor will not be stopped if it starts before our scheduled c-section.
- I will start going weekly to the OB for NSTs (non-stress tests) now.

Today I had the first NST where contractions, baby movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to baby movement is measured, and it went fairly quickly despite having twins. It took the nurse about 10 minutes to set me up on 3 monitors (1 for contractions, and 1 for each baby). But once that was complete, we were only there for another 15 minutes before the doctor saw all the activity needed. Bob had to help with the process, since I had to hold one monitor down on Ruby to keep her heart rate audible. He got to press the hand-held button every time I felt them move. It was like being on a game show and hitting the buzzer. I actually had a small contraction while hooked up, but I did not feel it. We just noticed that monitor's number going up and the girls' heart rates also rose quickly. The nurse reaffirmed our reasoning of a contraction when we asked if that is what had happened.
After hearing that they will not stop it if I go into labor between now and our scheduled birth date, I am a bit more anxious to prepare things at home this weekend. We were going to do everything left over Labor Day weekend since Bob has additional time off work, but now we will prioritize the remaining tasks and complete the most important this weekend.

5 Weeks Left!

We went to the high risk doctor yesterday for another growth ultrasound. As the girls get larger and more cramped, it is harder and harder to get accurate measurements, but it is nice to have an estimate of how big they are now. There are not any photos to share from the ultrasound, since the girls were not in the best positions for viewing, let alone the fact that they are quite cramped in the space they have left.
Charlotte is 4lbs 9oz and still head down. Ruby is 4lbs 5oz (though they could not get a good view of her abdomen despite trying repeatedly and having me lay on my side at one point) and breech with her head invading my rib cage randomly. If you do the math, that is almost 9lbs of baby estimated in my uterus already, and we have 5 weeks to go still. The ultrasound tech also mentioned that we have extremely active babies, since they were both moving against and away from her throughout the entire ultrasound. We were able to see Charlotte's diaphragm moving as she practiced breathing for a minute on the screen, which the tech said was impressive because it is a hard task for them. This also explains why I have felt them get hiccups occasionally the past few weeks.
As for me, my weight gain seems to have stalled, when my doctor would like me to be gaining more still. It is very hard for me to eat as of late, since the girls have taken up so much room and left little for my stomach. I'm up 46lbs from January, but my OB wants to see an additional 14lbs added before birth. Bob and I are trying to come up with ideas of how to accomplish that, but no matter what we think of, my stomach is still not accepting larger amounts of food.
At home, we have been preparing a little more each weekend in anticipation of having babies in the house. Below are a couple photos from last weekend's projects.

One of the three loads of baby laundry that I washed & folded (it amazes me how many miniature items fit into a load at once):


Bob installing a new shelving system in his studio for better organization (and to keep expensive art books out of reach from tiny hands):


Labor Day weekend will be the final days of preparation for us. Bob has a total of 5 days off then, so we will use it to make sure our home is staged & ready for our daughters to come home.

Swelling Feet

One of the more impressive changes to my body that we captured on camera for future reference.

Here are my feet normally:


Here is what happens when I have used them to stand or walk as of late:

For some reason, I do not get "cankles", they just swell from the ankle bone down. Thankfully, they do go back to normal after sitting with them raised for an hour or two.