pregnant...

So while on bed rest with Henry & Sullivan aka baby A and baby B at the time... I had TONS of time to write email updates to all who cared about the progress, the ups & downs, my fears and excitement about the pregnancy.... this time around with our future bambino I often don't even have time to process things myself let alone write it all down in an email...oh how life has changed! So here you go for an update...

I feel great! I am 23 weeks and some change as I write this.... My energy is back....no sickness or twinges of inkiness... I am so very happy about that. I can also feel him move throughout the day...and more so at night. I think the day is so busy I don't get much time to notice....but at night he reassures me that all is well with his squirms and kicks! For all who have been pregnant can relate to that great sense of relief that comes with each movement.

I know that I am conditioned to worry about everything when it comes to pregnancy. We have definitely been through the worst of it.... but I try so hard to refocus and to trust that all will be ok and push the heavy weight of worry aside so that I can enjoy being pregnant.

I do have limitations...I am not to pick the boys up from the ground.... well, the person who came up with that rule sure has never had two 30lb twin boys in their house.... so I do my best to have the boys crawl up the stairs or I pick them up from a sitting position but heck...I pick them up...they are my babies and you get the point. It would be nearly impossible not to do so. I am careful.

I take breaks during my mad dash cleaning expeditions that take place. throughout the day when the boys nap and when they are down for the night...where as I use to never break.... I try to scrub the floors with a mop vs on my hands and knees but I am fully aware that I do a better job with my hands vs the mop...so you see where I'm going with this...
:)

I am also careful/mindful of my cerclage and heavy lifting isn't allowed... no lunges ...no jumping etc... so since the cerclage is my only hope with keeping the baby inside of me during this pregnancy I do worry about my cervix & cerclage and am VERY RELIEVED when I see it holding strong every two weeks during my ultrasound.

Patrick has been a champ about giving me my dreaded IM progesterone injections weekly... I hate them and I hate him usually for a while after the shot...THEY HURT! But my hate passes shortly after... then we're back to normal.... :) The purpose of the progesterone is to help keep my uterus relaxed and it helps prevent pre-term labor. I will continue these shots until week 32 or 34 I think...

My c-section is tentatively scheduled for August 2nd....which is a Monday. Those of you who know me well, know I love a plan.... simply LOVE it! I know it is a way off but I am hoping for a very short hospital stay so I can get home to my boys.... I am already dreading being away from H&S... I have NEVER left them... for more than an hour or two during waking hours... so thinking about it makes me want to cry! boohoo! I am already strategizing how on earth I am going to keep their schedule set and normal during all of the changes that will come with me being gone and then the 5th member of our family at home. Hopefully I will do a good job of keeping them right on schedule...

Due to my moderate umbilical placement during this pregnancy, I will have measurements of the baby done at every other visit... which is every four weeks.... They will monitor his growth to make sure that the not ideal placement isn't causing any delayed growth. So far he measures bigger than his projected due date....so all is well for now in that department. The next measurements will be done at my next appt. I'm excited for that. I know I'm growing so I sure hope he is... otherwise I should stop growing so much! ha!

Pregnancy clothes... just a few words on those... THEY ARE AWFUL. I kind of feel like people think pregnant women enjoy looking frumpy or wearing bows or pleats with TONS of fabric... ick. I am not a fan of A-line shirts or weird gathers or puffed sleeves... not flattering....ONE BIT. I have found some items but it is difficult and I just wish JCrew would make their clothes for pregnant people too... their consumers do get pregnant eventually.... anyway, enough on that.

Names...we often get asked if we have named the baby yet... um no. We haven't picked one just yet. We hope to have a good idea of a name before his arrival but can't be sure. I think we just need to meet him! Then we'll decide. Hopefully it won't take us until the 11th hour like it did last time with poor Sullivan... we just wanted his name to be perfect... and it is :)

Well, as I write this the baby is dancing.... omgoodness....hopefully we don't have a little night owl on our hands.... as the boys would say.... he's happy!

Oh and one more thing...Sullivan and Henry are convinced I have a "ball" under my shirt... they point to it, rub it, slap it(gently of course) and say "ball" ... sometimes they say "baby" but often it is ball..... "momma ball" is what I get a lot... these boys love their balls! :)