Mary Anne drove me to my weekly appointment yesterday. She sat in while they did the NST, and both babies did well. Surprisingly, their heartbeats were very similar. All along, Baby A has been consistently lower than Baby B by about 15 beats per minute. So it was strange to see them both in the 140s range. Sadly, I only had one tiny surge (contraction) show up on the monitor.
At the office visit, Lynne checked my cervix. I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. The cervix is definitely funneling as the outside is open 3 cm. So it is nice to know that the surges are actually doing something down there! I have started visualizing them pulling up the uterine muscles that open the cervix. Lynne checked Baby A's head position and she is now in station -2, which is just above the pelvic bones. (I posted a diagram of stations back in the fall of 2008, during Thomas' pregnancy, if you want to go through old blogs to find it.) Then Lynne swept my membranes. It was a little uncomfortable but it didn't hurt.
I asked her if she had concerns about me going past 38 weeks, because Dr. Wickstrom had stated her concern the week before. Lynne said that if/when I come in next Friday (38w4d), they'll talk about induction. But I know the office really doesn't like inducing because it generally ends up in requiring medical intervention (i.e. c-section). So we'll see. As one of my friends on Facebook said, "I never thought you'd be stripping membranes to get labor started at almost 38 weeks with TWINS." I seriously can't believe I'm still pregnant, either! But it's a good thing for the most part. Other than the pitting edema I have on my very swollen feet and legs and the dry cough I get from my stressed-out diaphragm.
She also measured my fundus which is a huge 54cm, or the equivalent of being 54 weeks pregnant with one baby! Two weeks ago, the number had been holding steady at 46cm. The number doesn't mean anything in a twin pregnancy, it is just done for a laugh, really. I wasn't too surprised by the number because on Thursday night, as I walked by the mirror I said, oh my gosh, I have just really popped out and down in two days! Look at the belly pic from 37 weeks compared to two days later.
Tuesday morning:
Thursday night:
My blood pressure is still good and low, and my urinalysis is still normal. I do have that pitting edema mentioned earlier, but no swelling in my hands or face. Lynne said I would make a great surrogate mother -- I can really cook my babies!
So the waiting game continues. Mary Anne continues to be a big help around here with doing laundry, making meals, driving, etc., and Tim is tackling all the things I keep adding to his to-do list! (The latest is to paint a 4-peg board to hang on the wall, so I can hang things in the nursery, like a hat or a cute outfit on a hanger.) I haven't done the bonnets, yet, but I keep thinking about them. My mom has sent me two adorable knitted caps for the girls, hoping they arrive today. Might not need bonnets if those will work, lol!
If anything happens to indicate it is time to head to the hospital, I'll be sure to post a small blog update from home. Fingers crossed it is sooner rather than later!
2 comments:
Holy crapola lady look at that belly!! You are doing awesome, hang in there!
As soon as I wake up in the morning, I check my blackberry for "the email." Still can't believe I haven't gotten it yet. You sure can tell a difference between the Tuesday-Thursday pics! You're doing great Susan!
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