38 Weeks and Counting

I just got back from my OB appointment and not much going on. She didn't do an internal exam and I got the impression that she wouldn't do another one. Blood pressure and weight were fine and no protein in the urine so still smooth sailing.

Also, I must have misunderstood when she said I would have an ultrasound around 38 weeks because she said they will do one when I get to the hospital and am in labor to double check the Matteo's position. If at that point they see that he is breech, they will get the OR ready for a repeat c-section. To be honest, I'm kind of bummed because I would like a little more heads up than that. Either way, I'm sure everything will be fine but I am mentally preparing for a VBAC and will be very disappointed if I can't have one.

I realized I haven't talked a lot about why I am so intent on having this baby the old-fashioned way. So, here are my reasons:

1. My first c-section was traumatic. Not so much the operation itself, although that was no fun. Being pinned down crucifix-style and vomiting off to the side while your baby is being born is not what we all dream about. The recovery was the really traumatic part, most of which had to do with my blood pressure/preeclampsia but still. Those memories will always be associated with the c-section and its hard for me to separate the two. I'm sure labor will be painful like I can't even imagine but so was trying to walk to the bathroom for the first time after the twins were born. It was excruciating and humiliating and not something I want to relive, regardless of how painful labor will be. I'd rather have the pain giving birth than after the baby is here. I don't want my pain to get in the way of caring for him. (I know that I probably won't experience that same kind of pain if I have a c-section this time, but like I said, it's hard for me to separate the two in my mind)
2. I'm curious to know what labor feels like. That may sound silly but it's the truth.
3. I'd rather let Matteo come on his time than on my time. Having premature babies who had no interest in leaving the womb, this issue is a sensitive one for me. So, if he wants to cook until the end of July, so be it! (Although I'd be cool if he were ready to come some time next week. I promise I'll have clean clothes for you, TaterTot)
4. I don't like doctors and an operation involves a lot more doctors than a traditional birth. I assume that there is more doctor follow up after as well, but that's just my guess. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
   

And here is my latest belly picture, taken at 37 weeks, 1 day (I'm 38 weeks as of tomorrow). Holy stretch marks!


I look so much bigger than last month. Yikes!

32 Weeks: Belly Pic

My belly at 32 weeks:


My guess is that I am still measuring right on time, which is perfect. Since I was measuring about 6 weeks ahead with the twins, this is as it should be for my body and one baby. Although being sick and not eating more than toast for 3 days definitely set my weight back a bit. And I'm slightly anemic. But nothing some iron supplements can't help.

So, it seems that all is back to normal and I can just try and do my best to get through these next 8 weeks. It is getting increasingly difficult to do certain tasks, like washing dishes (my belly is the same height as the counter-top), laundry (I can't reach the bottom of the laundry sorter), lifting Sebastian and Collette, and anything else that involves bending over. I remember when I was pregnant with the twins, bending over wasn't so bad - I did the "stripper" bend where I would crouch and come up butt first and then stand straight. But when I have to bend down and pick up toys about 20,530 times per day, that's just not gonna happen. Either way, my back is mad at me and I'm mad at all the toys. And dirty dishes. And dirty clothes. It's gonna be a long 8 weeks... :)

21 Weeks Belly Picture

Here I am at 21 weeks (1 week ago) - definitely showing plenty but not too big yet, thank goodness! So far, I've only put on about 10 lbs. It's hard to eat as much as I should when there are so many other things to do. Darn kids. But I'll be stocking the house with ice cream and cookies, so that shouldn't be a problem going forward. So far so good with everything else. Keeping my fingers crossed that this pregnancy keeps going so smoothly!

17 Weeks Belly Shot

One week late but here it is! Sadly, I don't think I look much bigger than my 12 week picture. I'm so used to a huge twin belly, I can barely believe I'm still sleeping on my stomach at this point. But this time, I guess I'll be pregnant for 6 WEEKS LONGER than I was with the twins so I should be glad everything is going slower. :)

Also, I have been feeling this little nugget move around - very cool! Billy is jealous because he can't feel it through my stomach but hey, us girls need to have some perks if we're in charge of actually growing and housing the new human.

Saturday we find out if it's a boy or a girl - any guesses??

Belly Pics: 8 Weeks and 12 Weeks

For posterity, we are doing belly pics for this pregnancy every 4 weeks. Every week was just way too much last time. And, as you can see, not a lot changed in 4 weeks. Don't mind my stretch marks.

8 weeks pregnant

12 weeks (and 5 days) pregnant

Also, I had my first OB appointment last week (I graduated from my REs office right before we left for ES) and everything went well. Our one and only ultrasound is scheduled for February 20th - mark your calendars! I think it's a girl and Billy thinks it's a boy. At least one of us will be right. And I still can't believe I only have one ultrasound. I'm sure that I couldn't even count the number of ultrasounds I had with the twins. This pregnancy is going to seem like such a breeze!

Way Back Whenesday: Belly Pictures

Cheryl at Twinfatuation hosts Way Back Whenesday! Hop on over to see lots of other fun stories from way back when...

When I was pregnant with the twins, I bought one of those pregnancy record-keeper books called the Belly Book. Among other things, it has pages for you to paste a belly picture every week. With a twin pregnancy, the growth happens pretty fast so you can see changes in just a week. With this pregnancy, I don't think I will see such big differences from week to week so I may just do month to month photos. This weekend I will take my first one. I am already *showing* - I have been for about 1 year. The abdominal separation the twins left me with makes me look perpetually 3 months pregnant. So, stay tuned for some shameless half-nakedness.



In the meantime, here is a picture from WAY back, my last twin belly picture. I was 34 weeks pregnant when this picture was taken and, although I didn't know it at the time, my babies were just a few days away.

November 17th, 2008

I think this will be fun as a comparison shot as I grow with baby #3. I wonder if/when I will get this big!