37 Weeks!

Wow! 37 weeks! I know I say it every week but I just can't believe we're here already. It's hard to believe that at this point in my pregnancy with the boys, I was 2 days away from delivery but didn't even know it. I remember crying every night for probably the last week because I was so uncomfortable. I remember asking my mom "can my stomach rip open from the inside?". Everything in there was literally just stretched to the max and I really didn't think that it would be able to stretch anymore without something tearing. It was awful yet awesome at the same time. It was terribly painful but it was awesome that my body had been able to carry those boys for that long. This pregnancy has been no different. Although it may have been a bit easier, I am still amazed at what a woman's body can do. I am amazed that even though my body is worn out from carrying Smith and Sanford, it has also been able to carry this sweet baby boy as well with zero complications. I have a doctor appointment Tuesday so I'll be anxious to see how everything looks. I went for my 37 week appointment with the twins at 37+2 and when they did an ultrasound, they saw that Sanford, who had been Baby B (furthest from my cervix) the whole pregnancy, had actually shifted down to become Baby A and that his feet and cord were right by my cervix. I had not had my cervix checked since 20 weeks because they didn't want to encourage labor in a high risk twin pregnancy. So, since they didn't know what the condition of my cervix was, they decided it would be best to do my c-section that afternoon. Although once I was admitted, they checked my cervix and according to the doctor, it had not budged since my 20 week check but they still decided to deliver them since labor can move quickly so late in a pregnancy and they didn't want to risk cord prolapse. They sent me straight to labor and delivery (we arrived at 12noon exactly) and the boys were born at 5:35pm and 5:37pm. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of last time lol. We're praying for a long cervix, no dilation, and an unengaged baby. We need this boy to keep cooking for another couple of weeks!

37 Weeks

(I feel like although my belly looks huge from the side, it looks even bigger from the front)

How big is baby? BabyCenter says he weighs about 6lbs5oz and a little over 19 inches long (about the size of a bunch of Swiss chard…whatever that is.) Assuming I'm still measuring about 2 weeks ahead, an average baby at 39 weeks weighs over 7lbs and about 20 inches long. Smith and Sanford were born at 37+2 and were 7lbs10oz and 6lbs15oz and being twins, babies usually don't get as big as they would if they were a singleton. So if this boy is anything like his brothers, he's probably bigger than what Baby Center says. He definitely seems bigger than 6lbs5oz. I guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks. 

Total weight gain? Crap! I weighed this morning so I could add it to the blog and now I've totally forgotten what the scale said lol. I think I've gained maybe another pound so I think that puts me at 45lbs. I'll be interested to see what the scale at my doctor's office says when I go Tuesday since last week it said I had lost a pound in 2 weeks. 

What is baby up to? I think his movements are becoming less frequent BUT that doesn't mean they're not violent. They hurt! He's really done a number on my bladder lately. There's been several times that I thought he was going to make me pee on myself. I seriously go pee every 30 minutes because I'm afraid if my bladder gets full at all that he will hit it just right and I'll be changing my own breeches instead of one of his brothers'. 

Started showing yet? Obviously this question is pointless. Most everyone assumes I'm having twins. I like to think it is because since we already have twins, they assume we are going to have a second set (which is highly likely once you have a set of fraternal twins but that is a totally different conversation). But I'm pretty sure everyone thinks that because my belly is so big. Oh well. Little bud just has more room to swim than the average baby. 

Maternity clothes? Most of my shirts are too short. For this pregnancy, I didn't really want to buy an entire new maternity wardrobe since just 2 years ago I bought an entire winter maternity wardrobe that I can't wear now because even though it is mid-October, our highs everyday are still 90*. So I bought a few pairs of shorts and a bunch of tee shirts that I think are meant to get you through the early days of pregnancy. Well, that's all I've worn my entire pregnancy. I rarely get out of the house and when I do, its miserably hot so I don't care to look "cute" while sweating profusely. So, all of those tee shirts have gotten plenty of wear and most have shrunk a bit because I'm too lazy to dry them on anything less than high heat. No, it might not be cute but oh well.

Stretch marks? Still don't think I've got any news ones.

Sleep? I have to get up to pee on average about 6 times from the time I get in bed until I get up with the boys in the morning. That's not counting the initial potty trip while getting ready for bed and the one when I get up to tend to the boys and go straight to the bathroom. So, with all of those trips to the bathroom, my sleep gets interrupted pretty frequently throughout the night. Between trips I sleep pretty well but it does usually take me a little while to fall back to sleep which is frustrating. Its also tough because being pregnant, obviously I can't sleep on my stomach or my back and with my sciatica, I can't sleep on my left side. So my right side sees a lot of sleep time which means I wake up pretty sore every morning. I'll be glad when I don't have a big ol' baby, placenta, and sack of fluid crowding my lungs so I can at least sleep on my back. TMI? Sorry.

Best moment this week? This week was pretty uneventful but after an emotional week last week, this week was a welcome change. Even though Zach works his tail off all day every day, he has really stepped up in helping me. He realizes that I just can't do much these days other than taking care of the boys, who are a full time job and he has been so understanding and hasn't complained a bit. We all loaded up into the truck yesterday evening, dogs included, and drove around until we found a big nice pond. We dropped the tailgate and let the dogs swim and chase the tennis ball and each other. Zach and I sat on the tailgate and talked while the boys napped in the truck. Then, Zach gave the dogs a much needed bath while I watched lol. Even as little time as they spend outside in the yard because of the heat, they get so dusty and gross. We had a late dinner at Five Guys where Smith talked to a family behind us the entire time and Sanford just stared rather rudely lol. I've been having a whole lot of pain these last few days, probably due to just being on my feet and doing too much. Zach got up with the boys this morning, turned off the monitor, and turned on white noise on my phone so I could keep sleeping. I got an extra hour to hour and a half in the bed this morning and it was awesome. He got the boys up, changed diapers, fed them breakfast, gave them baths, got them ready for church (I guess he thought I had an alarm set but typically the boys are my alarm), swept and mopped the "dog room" (our front living room is where the dogs spend the majority of their time so that's where 90% of their hair ends up), and then put the boys down for their morning nap. All that before I even got out of bed. It was magical and I don't think I can tell him thank you enough. We had planned to go to church but like I said, I didn't set an alarm and I guess he felt bad waking me up. To be honest, I wasn't really feeling like I could do all the walking involved with going to our church. I was in some serious pain and just walking across the house was miserable today. I think homeboy has shifted once again which is putting a ton of pressure on my pelvis and as soon as I stand up and all that weight shifts to my hips, it hurts. (Geez, how much complaining can I do?) 

Miss anything? Sleeping on my back and being able to kick my leg over to where I'm halfway on my side and halfway on my tummy. It gets old sleeping in the same position every. single. night. Also, I miss my lap. I haven't really been able to comfortably hold my babies for weeks. Yea, we make do but it's just not the same. 

Feeling movement yet? Oh yea. He's still pretty active but has slowed down a bit. Maybe due to running out of room. The movements he does muster up are pretty intense though. My belly regularly "dances" so much that it takes my breath away. And I don't mean because it's so cool. It literally takes the breath away from me.

Food cravings? Both pregnancies I have really loved breakfast food. I wouldn't say I "crave" it but when Zach gives me the option of choosing where to eat, IHOP is usually at the top of my list. Ice cream is usually a safe bet too.

Food aversions? Nothing really. 

Symptoms? Where to begin. I feel like I have been so whiney lately. I'm to the point where I don't want to push my body too hard because I know that at any time, too much could push me into labor and I'm just not ready for this boy to be stateside yet. He's got some more cooking to do in there. I've been feeling pretty good over the last few weeks but just these last few days have been tough. I was feeling awesome the other day so I got cocky. Cocky enough to get myself and the boys ready to go to my bi-weekly women's bible study for 3 hours, then took them to Chick Fil A by myself for lunch which was fine and was uneventful but being 36+ weeks pregnant in this heat, getting two almost 30lb 17+ month olds out of the truck and into the restaurant, ordering our food while still keeping them from wandering off with some random stranger, getting them into high chairs and fed. Then dealing with throwing away trash and cleaning up after ourselves, then back to the car carrying one because he just wasn't in the mood to walk. Thankfully his brother was pumped about walking. Then getting them both strapped into their car seats. Again, SW Florida HEAT! Then, if that wasn't tiring enough, we went to Target to grab a few things. I was actually feeling pretty great until about 30 minutes into our trip. Then all of the sudden it felt like this child was going to fall through the bottom of my tummy. Its no joke when each side of your ab muscles haven't been closer to each other than 3 inches in about 2 years. By the time we got home, I was so spent, I didn't know if I was going to make it inside lol. Thankfully, Zach was able to come home at a decent time that day so it took a little bit of the load off. I think we had leftovers that night because my butt was NOT standing in front of the stove for any length of time. Friday, I woke up and actually felt pretty good again. I'm still not sure how but I was determined to take advantage of it. So, I decided to do about 5 loads of laundry, do some random nesting tasks that seem irrelevant to anyone else but I felt really good about getting it done, and cleaned the kitchen. I even took a long hot shower before Zach got home. It was a good day. I guess those two days are why the last 2 have been pretty miserable. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be so ambitious again for at least the next month or so lol.

Anything making me queasy or nauseous? Not really. Just my sense of smell is off so random things kind of gross me out. 

Signs of labor? Nothing. Thank goodness. 2 more weeks!

Rings, on or off? One ring on when I leave the house. Otherwise, nothing.

Mood? Its been a little up and down but thinking back to my last pregnancy, I don't feel like it has been ANYWHERE near as bad as last time.

Looking forward to anything? I'm looking forward to having this sweet baby boy! I'm looking forward to Zach's job being over! I'm looking forward to seeing family very soon! There's going to be a lot happening over the next 2 months and I'm looking forward to it all.

36 Weeks vs. 37 Weeks

 

37 Weeks (Twins) vs. 37 Weeks (Singleton)

I know it's just because my body is still so stretched out from my last pregnancy but I can't help but laugh at how similar my comparison belly pictures look each week. There was a lot more baby in there last time yet my belly wasn't THAT much bigger. Yikes! I did look pretty miserable though.

Here's a picture from our lunch date to Chick Fil A. They were too into eating their chicken to humor Mom in taking a picture.

Smith being crazy and lounging with Mommy on the couch.

These boys learned how to be lazy from the best. They're mommy would win a gold medal if it were an Olympic sport!