Another good appointment!

Yesterday I had an appointment with the perinatologist as well as with my OB's office, and everything was very positive! At the peri's, they took measurements of the babies, and our little boy's estimated weight is 3 lbs. 4 oz., and our daughter's estimated weight is 3 lbs. 6 oz. - that's 6 lbs. 10 oz. of baby! That is more than I weighed when I was born, so no wonder I've been feeling so big. These are really good weights for 30 weeks, so I'm hoping that they will be up to 5 pounds by about 34 weeks.

Also, the peri felt comfortable having me come back in 2 weeks, instead of next week, so that was good, and if everything is still looking good, she may "graduate me," meaning I don't need to see her anymore. She said that after about 32 weeks, everyone's cervix starts to get shorter, so it's less of a concern.

Then, the on-call OB that I saw even mentioned that at my next appointment (also in 2 weeks, when I'll be about 32.5 weeks), they may allow me to increase my mobility! That would be fantastic, because all I want to be able to do is get some stuff ready around the house, and be able to go out to dinner (and maybe a movie) with my husband - I know that once these babies arrive it will be awhile before we get to do stuff like that, so it would be nice to have the chance before they get here!

So, good news all around yesterday - now the next major milestone is 32 weeks!

Last week of July

I'm so excited that the end of this week will be August! Also by the end of this week, the bathrooms should be looking much more like bathrooms. Yesterday the plasterers were here, and tomorrow the tilers should be coming! Once the tile is down I'll take some new pictures. 

Katie and my Aunt Cheryl stopped by yesterday for a visit, which was fun! We had a great time just catching up and talking. We also took some pictures of my 30 week belly:

30 weeks today!

Another week down, and another week my babies are healthy and safe inside me. I found out today that I actually have a surprise baby shower next weekend! My family had tricked me into believing that my shower would be on August 17, so this is a huge surprise. Because I'm on bedrest, we'll be moving the party to our house, instead of my parents' house in New Hampshire. I'm so excited to see everyone!

I'm also looking forward to my doctors appointments next week - I'm hoping that once again my ffn test will be negative, so there'll be a good chance I'll make it to 33 weeks without any problems. Plus, any opportunity to get to see these babies is a good one!

On the bathroom front, they're putting up the dry wall and blue board today, so we will actually have walls, floors and ceilings in the bathrooms, which is definitely an improvement. They're coming back tomorrow to do the plastering so that the tile guys can start on Monday. Thankfully, things are starting to pick up, and it looks like I could have a working shower by the end of next week! 

A little bit lonely

My grandfather passed away on Monday (here is a link to the obituary). I wasn't able to visit him in the nursing home to say goodbye, and I'm unable to attend the wake and the funeral. I know that what I'm doing is important, but I just feel terrible. Not only did I not get to see my Papa, but I won't get to spend time with the rest of my family as they lay him to rest. Larry keeps reminding me that it's the circle of life - that he lost his grandmother this past April, and I just lost my grandfather, and now we're bringing two new people into the world. I know he's right, but that doesn't make it any easier. I just feel lonely, and sort of useless.

I had another checkup with the perinatologist yesterday; everything still looks good. Plus, we got to see a 3D image of our little boy! Our daughter was facing my back, so we couldn't get a shot of her, but I think our son looks like Larry already.

As crazy as it seems that the last 4 weeks have gone by relatively quickly, I don't know if I can do this for another 4-6 weeks. I mean, I know that I CAN, but it's just tough. I just feel so out of control. I think once the bathrooms are completed and I can take a shower every day like a normal person, I'll feel better. Plus it will help to be able to have a clean house again.

Updated Nursery Pics

Katie, Larry and my Dad put together the cribs this past weekend - now all we need to do is put up the hutch (which goes on top of the changing table) and add the drawers to the bottoms of the cribs. Plus add all the bedding, once we get the mattresses.

29 weeks today!

Today I am 29 weeks along.... not as big a milestone as 28, 30 or 32 weeks, but progress nonetheless. I will try to take a new belly picture this weekend - I've definitely gotten bigger in the last couple of weeks. My sister Katie is coming over again this weekend to help Larry put together the cribs. We have our glider, we have our new carpet... all we need now is some of the stuff on our registry like the crib mattresses and changing table pad. I might end up just buying some of that stuff myself because I feel so out of control, with my house in such disarray, I know I will feel so much better to have the nursery at least somewhat organized.

Here's a 29 week belly pic I took myself:

An extra appointment, and some good news

I had been having some pain in my back, around my rib cage on my left side, for a few days. On Tuesday I decided to call my OB's office just to see if they had any suggestions for how I could feel better. Since back pain (specifically lower back pain) is often associated with preterm labor, they suggested that I come into the office. Luckily, everything looked good, and the on-call OB suggested Tylenol or a heating pad. She performed another ffn test, which was again negative, so that was reassuring as well.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I went to see the perinatologist for an ultrasound to check my cervix. My mother in law came with me, and I think she really enjoyed seeing her grandchildren on the screen! The best part was, our little boy has flipped, and is now head down. This is great news, for a couple of reasons - the biggest one of which is that if he stays in this position, there is a good chance I can try for a vaginal delivery!

I also talked to the peri about receiving steroid shots for the babies' lungs, at the advice of the on-call OB from the day before. Since the shots last for about 2 weeks, and its not advisable to receive multiple rounds of the shots, and it takes 48 hours for the shots to start working, my doctors want to be able to time the shots as accurately as possible. For that reason, instead of waiting 2 weeks for my next appointment, I have another appointment next Tuesday. I would rather be safe than sorry, and this way if they start to notice any further shortening, they can do the injections. That said, with the negative ffn test, the liklihood that I will go into labor between now and the 29th of July (which is when I'll receive another ffn test) is fairly slim.

28 weeks today

Today is an important milestone - 28 weeks! That's a full seven months, and 2 weeks further along than 26 weeks, when my doctors thought there was a chance of going into preterm labor. Today also marks 2 weeks on bedrest, which has actually gone by relatively quickly. With any luck, I can hang out here for another 8 weeks or so (ideally, though not necessarily likely).

I had appointments this week with the perinatologist and also my OB; the good news is that things haven't changed - I still have about 1cm of cervix left. When they did the transvaginal ultrasound, you could actually see Baby A's foot IN my cervix, in the funneled area that has been created by the shortening. I go back next week for 2 more appointments, and if everything looks the same, the peri said she doesn't have to see me for another 2 weeks after that. They'll also do another ffn test, which as I said before is a good negative indicator against going into labor, and it's good for about 2 weeks. So if I make it to next week, which I should since last week's ffn test was negative, and if next week's ffn test is negative, we'll know that I should at least make it to 31 weeks. 31 is not as good as 32, or even 36 weeks, but it's better than 28. I also had my glucose tolerance test; I haven't gotten the results back yet, but I'm expecting it to be negative.

Also, our bathroom renovations are moving right along! The 2 full baths are completely gutted, and they took down a wall in the half bath (which will be the laundry room) so you can see into the closet in the office. Here are some pictures:

Let the renovations begin!

Yesterday the work officially began on our bathroom renovations - between yesterday and today (and maybe a little bit of Wednesday), all the demolition work will be done. We're actually on a little vacation in Southborough right now, so that I don't have to inhale all the dust that will be created from smashing tile and cast iron tubs.  I can't wait to take pictures of the progress! I think the only thing left for us to really pick out is a shower door for the master bath. It's just exciting that it's finally underway - this was something we knew we wanted to do from the day we bought our house, and we're finally doing it! 

So far so good with being on bedrest. I love Fridays, because they are my milestone days. Even though the days seem to go by relatively quickly, I get a little discouraged when I realize that I won't really be out of the woods until at least a month from now.

In other news, our new carpeting is being installed next Monday, the 14th. And, our glider is ready at Babies R Us. So, next week Larry will get to put together the cribs and pick up the glider, and it will finally start to look like a nursery up there! Maybe later on this week I will start to wash some of the clothes we have already, and the bedding. I wish we had the crib mattresses... I may just order them myself because I am so impatient!

27 Weeks Today

Today we are 27 weeks along, and I've been on bedrest for one week. Every time I feel these babies kick I remember that I'm not alone all day long - they are with me, growing bigger and stronger every day! The babies have been moving around a whole lot lately, especially when I'm trying to fall asleep at night, and very early in the morning (when I'm trying to fall back asleep after getting up to use the bathroom).

We had a follow-up ultrasound yesterday, and luckily things haven't gotten any worse. The perinatologist measured my cervix again, and this time he included the part that is funneling, so he said it's about 1.6cm, which is better than only 1! They also performed another ffn test, which was negative, so all in all it was a pretty good appointment. We go back next Wednesday for another peri appointment, as well as an appointment with my OB. Hopefully bedrest is working and we'll continue to get good news at each appointment.

To celebrate the 4th of July tonight Larry is making lobster rolls, which is one of my favorite summer foods! We have watermelon, chips, ice cream... we should be all set! We're planning to watch the Boston Pops on television tonight - hopefully they won't get rained out. 

Here's a picture of me at 27 weeks - I still don't feel like I look too big, but I'm sure I will soon:

An important month

Today is July 1st. This is the crucial month - if we can get through July, I'll be over 30 weeks along, which is great. I know that every single day that these babies stay inside is an accomplishment, but when I have weeks and weeks to go, getting through each long day is tough. I'm not bored yet, thankfully! I'm working on the thank-you notes from my shower, I have a few books to read... plus Larry brought home some lawn chairs yesterday so that I can lay out in the backyard and get some sun if I want :)

My sister Katie came over on Sunday and helped Larry paint the babies' room - I was so grateful! I think he was not very excited at the prospect of having to do it all by himself. Not only were they able to get all the painting done in one day, but they kept each other company, which was really nice. I kept hearing them laughing from downstairs in the tv room. Now all we need to do is a fresh coat of paint on the trim, and get that new rug installed (just waiting for Home Depot to call and let me know that it's in). We have all the furniture and the bedding, so everything is falling into place. Oh, and we're still waiting for our glider to come in as well.

Here are Larry and Katie painting: