Comfort standpoint....not so much. Lol.
Well I don't know what was going on with my body but everything is fine now. All of my labs came back normal and my blood pressure has been great. Though I occasionally have a trace amount of protein in my urine, it's not much and usually I'm fine. The swelling in my feet is still present but it's not nearly as bad as it was. So overall from a medical standpoint, things are going good.
Comfort standpoint....not so much. Lol.
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Well I was fortunate enough to have my glucose come back with only one abnormal so no gestational diabetes! But we're not done yet....
My feet have been constantly swollen since they started up. On top of that, I had a blood pressure spike that landed me in the hospital for several hours to monitor and do some testing to make sure it wasn't Pre-eclampsia. Once at the hospital my bp was fine and my urine was good so they sent me home and just told me take it easy and be on modified bed rest for now to be safe. The following week (this last week) on Wednesday I went in to my OB's office to have a 3D ultrasound done for the guys. While I was there, I was told that my blood work from the hospital showed elevated liver enzymes so they gave me a lab order to have it checked again. Since I had a regular OB appointment the following day, I went to the lab right away hoping to have the results for my appointment. So I went back to the doctor on Thursday. Oy vey. My urine had a small amount of protein in it, my first bp was 140/90 (second one later was 122/88), and my liver test came back even more elevated then it had been a week before in the hospital. My doctor said it wasn't high enough to worry yet but wanted me to have a bunch more blood tests done to figure out what's going on. Of course, she also asked me a bunch of questions about whether I was experiencing certain symptoms to try to narrow it down. Problem is, I'm not. No jaundice, no itching, no abdominal pain, etc, etc. I went the next day for the lab work since I had to fast for it and they did a CBC workup, bile acid test, bilirubin, hepatitis, IgG, you name it. I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow for a follow up so I'm hoping the lab works quickly and they'll have the results in by then because I've heard these tests can take 3-5 days. I don't like not knowing what's going on with my body! 29 weeks today. The babies are still measuring a week or two ahead at an estimated 3 lbs each or so. I'd like to keep them in until at least 32 weeks but frankly, at this point, I would not be disappointed if they make their debut soon after that. This has been one hell of a pregnancy and I'm ready for it to be over with. I just realized that not only have I not posted anything in about a month but I never did post about the last ultrasound, if that's any indication of the month I've had!
So first, the ultrasound... It went great! Grant and Russ both made it down and Russ's mom was even able to come along and see the babies! We made a day of it by going to the appointment, shopping at the Tervis Tumbler store, and then grabbing something to eat. The doctor said that everything looked great. Both of the babies were just under two pounds and growing great for their age. They were both also seen practicing breathing already. They also checked my cervix this time and it too looked good and was long and closed. Now, the last couple of weeks.... One word, miserable. I'm so ready to be done and all I can think is that I still have about 10 weeks to go!!! TMI alert but I've been dealing with some pretty severe constipation/bloating issues even with daily Colace, LOTS of water and plenty of fiber in my diet. It makes me so uncomfortable and even sometimes painful. Also, I'm just physically done. My back is constantly aching from carrying my giant belly, my round ligaments often hurt when I'm walking around and I feel like at any minute my belly is just going to burst open and then rip off from my body from the weight. My feet are still swelling a bit and are sore from it. It's not serious but enough that they hurt by the end of the day. I'm constantly exhausted because my sleep is crappy and I wake up nearly every couple of hours to use the bathroom. It's even worse when I'm suffering from that bloating and gas I mentioned. I took my glucose screening a couple of weeks ago and of course, it came back abnormal so I then had to go back in to take the more extensive three hour test. I'm hoping to hear back on the results from that sometime today. However, with the way everything else has been going this pregnancy, I've decided to accept that fact that I will probably have gestational diabetes and end up needing a cesarean. It'd just be my luck. I won't lie...I'm ready for this to be over. The babies move so much that sometimes it's annoying! LOL. Um, excuse me but I'm trying to relax and when you're both punching me from the inside out, it's a little difficult.
On top of that, I've been getting real strong Braxton Hicks quite often lately. Not anything that worries me. I mean, after two of my own kids I know what to expect. They are just fairly strong and I'm curious to know if they're having any effect on my cervix this early. We have another ultrasound on Friday and they will start doing a transvaginal ultrasound each time as well to measure my cervix. From what I've been able to deduce from the things I've read online, 2.5 cm and longer is really no concern unless there is a significant change from one measurement to the next. However, if it's already shorter than 2.5 cm, they take a little more concern and may check it more often or even order bed rest. So, I'm interested to see where I'm at. We're officially past 24 weeks now so the babies viability is pretty decent should they come early and it sky rockets after 28 weeks. Obviously, as tired as I am, I don't want them to come too early because of complications but it's weird to think that technically they could come at anytime. Sleeping officially sucks. Well, it already sucked just because of the SPD. I can't sleep on my side because it makes my symphysis pubis hurt so bad when I try to move that it can literally bring me to tears. So I've been sleeping on back with pillows propping my back up and pillows under my knees.
Now that I've got a big baby belly, it just makes getting comfortable impossible. I manage and some nights even go many hours without waking up but it's obviously not the best sleep because I'm constantly tired and ready for a nap! My back hurts more now too. Walking around with all of this extra weight is hard work. If I'm going shopping or anything where I'll be up walking for a while, I have to stop and take short breaks intermittently to let my back rest either by sitting or leaning over the cart. Now that I'm roughly the size I was nearly full term with my kids, I'm remembering that "Are we done yet?" feeling when you just want them to come out. Unfortunately for me, it's far too early with these two to wish them out. Good thing twins generally come before 37 weeks though...I don't know my sanit make it knowing I might have to go the full 40! Well, this weekend was the first time that I really started feeling the babies kick from the outside! I even had my husband feel to confirm to me that others could feel it and he said yes. Now in that last five or six days, it's amazing how well you can feel them if you can have the patience to keep your hand on my belly long enough for them to kick!
When they're moving a lot, I can even just watch my tummy and see it bump out with each kick. I think it's starting to set in more with me that I am in fact pregnant....and with two babies at that!! Between knowing the sexes (and names!) and feeling them kick from the outside, it's becoming more real. There is still a much different connection with Ava and Barrett then there was with my own children so I feel that I'm still emotionally distanced from them just enough to keep me in check that these aren't my babies. It's just such an amazing miracle no matter how many times you've been through it or whether they're your babies or not! To be able to nurture and grow human life in your body is beyond explanation! Russ (who has been staying with his parents up north since the last ultrasound) drove down yesterday to see us one more time before he headed back home to Tennessee. He brought Sorrell and I and each of the kids some Valentine's chocolates and took us out for lunch. It was nice to be able to just "hang out" and not have appointments or medical things to take care of. It was a very nice Valentine's Day. :) It's official....a boy and a girl!!
Today was our first big ultrasound for the anatomical survey and the chance to see what the sex of the babies are. Both Grant and Russ were able to come down for the ultrasound today which made it even more special. When the tech first started looking around, she couldn't tell what Baby A was because they were straddling the umbilical cord. She finished the rest of the organs and measurements and then moved over to Baby B, occasionally checking back to Baby A to see if they moved enough to see the genitals. It was clear right away that Baby B was a boy! I jokingly told Grant and Russ that Baby A must be a girl because she was already giving them attitude and trouble. After a while, the tech suggested that we take a break and I do some toe touches to see if we can get them to move around. I wasn't allowed to use the restroom yet since I needed to keep my bladder full. So I went into the bathroom and VERY CAREFULLY maneuvered myself on the toilet into the Inversion position from SpinningBabies.com for 30 seconds. This position helps balance the uterus, often facilitating babies to turn head down. When I came back out, Baby A hadn't turned head down but had moved off of the umbilical cord. The tech was able to announce, "It's a girl!" Grant, Russ and I were all so excited. How perfect!! Baby A will be Ava and Baby B will be Barrett. Too cute. If anyone ever tells you that twins are trouble makers...believe them!!
I've had more issues this pregnancy than I had in both of my other pregnancies combined. Now to top it all off, my feet and ankles are swollen. This picture may not look that bad but trust me, it is. I normally have very defined ankles and now it's just one continuous blob from my toes up to my thighs!
I'm four and half months pregnant. So far I've had bleeding, spotting, nausea that's far worse than my other pregnancies, headaches, stuffy nose or drainage (like, all the time), hip/pelvis/low back pain, I cry at anything for no reason, my skin looks like I'm a snake in shedding no matter how much moisturizer I use, my hair is frizzy, and now the swelling! Geesh! These twins are kicking my butt. I had an OB appointment this morning. Nothing exciting just the regular weight, urine, heartbeat, etc. However, in having just a general discussion with my doctor about how the delivery may go depending on whether its vaginal or cesarean I learned something rather distressing. Since even in a vaginal delivery of the babies I'll be laboring in the OR, only one person can be in there with me. What!?
I assumed that they would only allow one person in the room if it ends up being a cesarean but really? Only one person for a vaginal delivery too? That seems stupid to me. If shit goes down, just kick everyone out. It's really more the principle of it all that bothers me. I don't mind if my husband is in the room or not. Ideally, I'd like for it to be him and Grant and Russ in there. But at the very least, both Grant and Russ should be there...they're the parents! I just feel bad that they have to decide to either both wait in the waiting room together while Sorrell goes in with me or have just one of them come in with me. It sucks. Oh well. I suppose that as long as the babies are both healthy and I am healthy and don't have to go through anything crazy then it's the least of my worries. I just hate not having control over it just because someone else says so. On a lighter note, everything else is looking good and Grant and Russ will both be here next Monday for the ultrasound to find out the sexes!! 17 weeks...almost halfway there! :) I've suffered from the occasional tension headache for as long as I can remember thanks to years of horrible posture. Since I've been pregnant, they've been more frequent. I assume this has a lot to do with the poor sleep I've been getting. I had a really bad headache about a week ago that actually made me throw up it hurt so bad. That was my last straw. Since the pain relievers I can take while pregnant don't do anything and might as well be skittles, I knew I had to consider other options.
I had thought about a deep tissue massage but I was reluctant because even though I have a very high pain threshold, that apparently didn't carry over in the massage department. I'm a big baby when it comes to massages with too much pressure. I looked into acupuncture, which I had never done before. There is a place here in Bradenton that does it in a community setting like they do in Asia and allows you to pay what you can afford so I figured, what did I have to lose? I called and made an appointment. When I went in for my consultation I told the lady that my primary concern was the tension headaches but I also mentioned the Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. She took my pulse on both sides and then asked me to stick out my tongue. When I did, she said, "You're not sleeping well are you?" When I said no she informed me that she could tell from my tongue. We went into the room and she placed a total of 12 needles in various spots. It didn't hurt at all. Kind of like someone just poking you really quick with their fingernail. She said that she'll let me sit for about 30 minutes and then check on me. She told me I'd know when the needles were done working because I'd feel like I had just taken a nap and was well rested and ready to get up. If I didn't feel that yet, I could keep sitting there until I did. I laid back and closed my eyes to relax. First I felt this light tingly sensation but it was good. Then, I could suddenly feel my energy flowing. The best way to describe it is like being aware of the blood flowing through your body, as if you could actually feel the blood pump through your veins. It was strange and different but felt really good. Next thing I knew, it was about 40 minutes later and I was waking up from the best nap I've ever had in my life! And she was right...I just could just feel that I was done. She removed the needles and I scheduled another appointment. Best of all, I've slept like a baby every night since!! I will definitely be going back for as long as I feel I'm getting relief. |
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