Today I am 35 weeks and 4 days and BOOM, I'm gigantic! I'm now the pregnant woman walking around the store that everyone expects to deliver in the middle of the store. Clean up on aisle 8! Everyone asks or comments, "you must be due any day now!" I respond with "why yes! It COULD be any day now!" I'm actually finding it difficult to sit here and type this while sitting because I've got a very busy girl inside who keeps pushing her head into my pelvis and her feet up into my rib cage. What a weird feeling. But something I know I'll miss as soon as they're out. Except that I'll be able to eat. Ok, they can come out :)
The guys arrived last Wednesday, anxious and excited as ever! Thursday we planned to go to the hospital for a tour. I felt like total shit at work on Thursday and wound up going home early so I could take a nap before meeting up with them at the hospital. Laying down helped a lot, although I didn't sleep. It seems to be a trend, I feel best on the weekends and then go down-hill as the week goes on. Sitting at work is just not good for my health. Imagine that! Working part time has done WONDERS for me, though. I do not regret the work restrictions, it beats being ordered on bed rest due to complications from what work was causing, any day!
The hospital tour was great. The nurse was very friendly as she gave us the tour and she knew who we were and about our special situation, which was really nice. The hospital is very secure, much more than it was when I had Kaleb there, so that was neat to see. We talked about how T&Y would most likely have their own room with the babies and how nice that would be for them. Afterwards they took me to lunch and we chatted for more than 2 hours, which felt more like 5 minutes. I really enjoy spending time with them and feel as though we're family that just haven't seen eachother in a long time! They were able to feel my belly for the first time and every time the babies would move I would let them know so they could feel it, too. They LOVE that and I love seeing their reactions and excitement. It makes it that much more real for us. Y asked if I was still comfortable having them in the delivery room. To which I responded that I want nothing less than having them in there and witnessing the moment they meet their children for the first time. At that time, I decided it was probably the best time to explain what my OB had told me the week before, about how only 2 people were allowed in the operating room at one time. I re-assured them that we wouldn't know for sure until that time arrives and that an OB and anesthesiologist might allow the 3 of them (this includes Terry) to be in the room, knowing our situation. My fingers are still tightly crossed for this one.
The guys are wanting to know everything they can, of course, but I have to laugh when they ask me questions about labor like "will you know about a week in advance before it happens?" and "could it happen in the middle of the night?" I'm not shy to respond and let them know that labor tends to happen at the most inconvenient times. Middle of the night, in the middle of the work day, when you're furthest from the hospital, etc. And no, I will have no idea when it's coming, it will just happen. I still have a very strong feeling that my water will break, like it did with Kaleb. The fact that I feel like Baby A's head is already about ready to hang between my legs, makes me wonder how his water has NOT burst already. Truth be told, I really have no idea what to expect when it comes to labor if my water doesn't break first. I've been having contractions for several weeks and they are getting stronger and stronger as the days pass. Now when I have a contraction, I feel some massive pressure in my pelvis and rectum (sorry if TMI). I've described it to the guys as this; it feels like a boa constrictor is slowly wrapping itself around me and tightening until it can't anymore, and then slowly releasing. It's not painful, but getting more and more uncomfortable, so we're making progress. As I sit here typing this, my contractions are relatively close together and becoming uncomfortable, but as soon as I stand up and walk around, they will become less frequent and not as strong. If not.....you can call my bluff and look for the birth story in the next post :)
On Friday the guys came to the agency to meet everyone in person and then we went to lunch and shopping afterwards. More specifically, they needed to buy car seats. T&Y have a very small vehicle in Israel and while T is usually the one who worries about everything, Y is the more laid back of the two and didn't seem concerned in the least. When we walked around Babies R' Us, they took one look at the carriers and T said "this is going to be a problem." Uh oh! Their rental vehicle is quite a bit bigger than their car at home, but is still a relatively compact car (Chevy Cruze). T&Y are tall guys, they needed to make sure they would still be able to drive and have the car seats secured in the back. So, they borrowed a carrier from the store and out to the parking lot we went. Watching 2 men, who have never so much as carried a car seat before, try to install one into their car.....PURE entertainment! I watched as they finagled the base into the back seat and then the car seat.....and then they tried sitting in the front seats. Fail. I felt so bad for them, I could tell they were really worried about it. T refused to think about buying a bigger car when they got back home. There weren't any car seats that were more compact than the one they tried, so they accepted the idea that they'd have to find a car seat at one of the more expensive European stores. Which they did, and I can tell they are relieved. What a fiasco for them! :(
Saturday we took T&Y to a couple of our favorite apple orchards. It was rainy and a bit chilly so we really only spent time looking through the goodies (hey, no complaints here!). They bought some apples and we chatted while we looked around. I think they probably thought we were pretty crazy with all the hype there is over apples. Terry and I LOVE apples and most Minnesotans really look forward to this time of year just for the apples and cooler weather.
On Sunday, T&Y had us over to their apartment (they are renting a furnished apartment in Minneapolis) for lunch. Their apartment is amazing and they are very happy with it. I'm glad they were able to settle in because I know they had a difficult time trying to find a furnished place that wasn't going to be too far from us (it's about 30 minutes). Y loves to cook and he's very good at it. They cooked for us when we went for the first transfer and while their food is "different", it was still very good. Y made a roast (my favorite!), lasagna, salad, bread, and potatoes. I really hate that I can't eat very much. But when I'm with them I tend to force myself to eat more, knowing full well that I will regret it later, because it's worth it :) I brought some gooey nutella brownie bars that I had made off Pinterest and they LOVE them! So Y and I exchanged recipes, he gave me his roast recipe and I gave him the nutella bars recipe.
On Tuesday T&Y came to my OB appointment and it was the first time they were able to actually hear the heart beats, which was another awesome experience for them. My OB answered their questions and could tell how excited and anxious they are. He also checked my cervix and finally swabbed me (again) for the Group B strep test. We kicked the guys out for this one. I am at 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced and this time my OB seemed a little less confident that I'd make it to 38 weeks, but he still thinks I'll make it to my due date. My due date is now just 9 days away.....I'd be ok with that :)
On Wednesday T&Y came to my ultrasound and NST. I was kind of bummed when the ultrasound tech. said that they weren't going to do the full measurements and only the biophysical like they did the week before, but it still gave the guys the chance to see their babies on the screen, which was awesome. She even pulled out the 3-D wand and got a perfect picture of Baby B's face! Baby A is always so low in my pelvis that there was no way to get his picture, but it was a major bonus to get them on 3-D, period! Both babies passed their tests with flying colors, woo hoo! That evening, my family joined as we took T&Y out for their first hibachi experience at Benihana's. They were so overwhelmed and taken aback by the gifts that my parents, my sister, and I gave to them. But it was TOO much fun for us to shop for them and I'm so happy they loved the gifts. It means so much to me that my family is and has been so supportive throughout this entire experience. I couldn't have done this without them. It was an amazing time spent together!
Today I woke up very tired and could tell it was just going to be another "one of those days." I made it through the work day and went home to scour the internet for the best "postpartum belly wrap" that I could find. I had never heard of them when I had Kaleb, and I was also 21 and he was 5 lbs. 6 oz., so a belly wrap was not necessary at that time. Now, about 8 years later and at least twice the babies......I welcome this idea. After trying to find the best wrap based on reviews and where to order it, I took the plunge (kind of like the Keurig) but I'm sure I won't love it nearly as much as I love my Keurig. That thing......amazing :). For those of you who do not know what a postpartum belly wrap is (I didn't until recently), it is a corset-type of thing that women wear after delivery to help put their organs and waist back in place, to keep it short and simple :) I look forward to trying it out.
Saturday I'm getting my hair cut (I finally jumped on the whole "every 6 weeks" band-wagon with this, even though I've never been keen on spending money on hair, just hair removal :) Saturday afternoon and evening we are taking my mom out to get her nails done and for dinner for her birthday (she turned the big 5-0 on October 1st!). Aside from my weekly OB, ultrasound and NST appointments, I've made sure to keep my schedule clear. If I had to guess, I feel like these babies might come in the next 48 hours. We'll see!
35 weeks.....................
Well after posting these pictures, I ran to get Kaleb from daycare and meant to come back and post the rest of the pictures and.........I felt a little gush when I got home. I questioned it for a bit, then felt it again and then again. Terry was on his way out the door to his son's soccer game (Terry is very active in his son's soccer and also announces the games). I insisted that he go and that I will keep him posted and that we will go to the hospital when he returns because there really is no rush (I'm already reliving Kaleb's birth all over again.....water broke, nothing happened). After having taken a shower, I'm now "gushing", so these babies will be born very soon :). Now just waiting for Terry to get home and heading to the hospital! Next post will be the birth story!
My family and T&Y out to dinner last night.................
T&Y opening their gifts...............................
T&Y and my sister, Abbie, and the blankets that she knit for the babies................
Today marks 34 weeks for us, which is a major milestone in my opinion, because this means that I can deliver at the hospital of my choosing when d-day arrives, whereas I would have had to deliver at a hospital more equipped with a NICU further from home, if I had gone into labor before today. We made it, woot woot!
T&Y are enjoying their trip in Canada and checking in periodically to ask how I'm feeling. I am sure to reassure them that I am still pregnant and, as of this very moment, I think it might stay that way for the next week or so. I know they're anxious and I'm happy that they are, because it seemed just the opposite a few weeks ago when they were telling me that they didn't intend to travel here until October 6th, one week before my due date, as things were "going so well". As mentioned in my last post, I'd rather have them here and watching and waiting for me to go into labor, than having to make an emergency trip and missing the birth. They are also cutting their trip short and arriving on Wednesday, September 25th. I will be breathing a sigh of relief when Wednesday arrives. Well, I won't ACTUALLY be able to breathe a big sigh....but you know what I mean ;)
I feel like I've exploded in growth over the week and I know it shows. My skin burns sometimes, from stretching. I will fully admit I'll lift my shirt and check for stretch-marks, randomly, at any given moment.......although I know I won't escape without them, but I'm still fearful of them. I also have contractions/Braxton Hicks quite frequently and a lot of the times I feel such an intense pressure from Baby A's head on my cervix, I wonder if he's going to come out and wave "hello" :) It will be interesting to see if I've made any progress, come Tuesday's OB appointment. I don't feel so incredibly miserable just yet that I'm begging for it to be over, honestly, which is great, although I'm definitely uncomfortable when sitting and laying and find it very hard to breathe and I tend to try to sleep sitting up at night. When I say "try", it's because I haven't slept in a very long time. Friday night was the first night in weeks that I was able to actually lay down and I slept SO well because of it. I live in leggings because they are far more comfortable than jeans at this point. My bras are not wide enough to accommodate my spreading rib-cage. Heart burn....O...M...G. I won't even go into it at this point. Old story. I regret the hot-dog I ate at the Surrogate Social today (it's still creeping up in my throat and it's been 7 hours). Don't know why I felt the need to eat that, I knew what would happen. My priorities were NOT in check, that's for sure. Think before you leap, Nicole! It's not rocket-science! Oh, that cheese pizza after delivery........drool....it's going to taste soooo good!
Another exciting moment for me this weekend was when I decided to buy myself something I've been wanting for a very long time, AND it was on sale. Yippee! As a reminder, I do not typically buy myself things and when I DO, I second, third, and quadruple guess it before I take the plunge and usually return it in the end. So this is a very big deal! During the week I have my cup of coffee at work (free coffee at work, why not?). But on the weekends, I make my trip to the nearest SA gas station, and sometimes by the time I'm able to get there and out for my errands, I'm already feeling miserably tired and fatigued, not to mention the fact that gas station coffee doesn't really taste that great, I only drink it for the caffeine. Enter....the Keurig! (did you hear the heavenly bells and whistles in the background like I do when I look at it?) I've only had it a couple of days and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Target is having a special on the K-cups that you use with it and I already went crazy on those. We'll have coffee, cocoa, and apple cider to last us the year at this point. What a magical little machine. It's like Disney World on my counter-top...seriously! In second place is when I found a brand new, unopened toaster oven at Goodwill a few weeks ago. It's so pretty and shiny I can't even bring myself to break it in just yet. So, on my counter sits my amazing good morning buddy and toaster oven. I'm set for life.
Today was the Surrogate Social where the agency hosts a little get-together of it's staff and surrogates. It was fun and great to see a few of the surrogates that I screened/educated in the beginning when they were just starting their journeys, and now have just given birth or are about to. I'm proud of them! Everyone had interesting stories to share and I'm hoping we can have another social sooner than a year from now because I think it's a great opportunity for everyone to get to meet other surrogates. I often hear ladies comment how "rare" they thought surrogacy was until they had the opportunity to come to a social or talk with more of us. You just never know, pregnant women are EVERYWHERE and some of them are acting as surrogates without us ever knowing it.
This week's planned adventures; Monday I have my weekly Chiropractic appointment (I'd go everyday if I could or, better yet, have her come and live at my house), Tuesday I have an OB appointment in the morning (think he'll be shocked when he sees that I haven't really gained those 5 lbs. and it was all water weight the last time?!), an ultrasound and NST right after my OB appointment, Wednesday the guys arrive, Thursday we go and tour the hospital, and Friday.....who knows what will happen Friday. This is only the "surrogate stuff", this doesn't take into account my own work schedule, Kaleb's appointment this week, and whatever else I need to do. When people inquire how I could possibly feel comfortable with intended parents who live so far away, I simply tell them that I couldn't have it any other way, knowing full well that my life is busy as it is, I couldn't fathom accommodating intended parents' busy schedules and trying to arrange appointments so that they could come to every one of them (although the thought is amazing and it would be nice) I just couldn't swing it.
34 weeks...................whoa!!
We are at 33 weeks and 2 days now and have had another OB appointment since my last posting. I have to make it 5 more days to deliver at "my" hospital, and obviously I hope to make it even further and probably will, but will feel much more relaxed when Sunday comes around, for that reason alone. My head......is.......spinning, with everything that I feel needs to be done before T&Y get here and before the babies arrive. I still need to pack my hospital bag, for which I have already purchased a nursing bra (I'm pumping for the babies while they're here) and some sexy grannie panties to fit the big diaper pads I'll be wearing afterwards. Can't forget those! I can't believe that was an exciting purchase for me just 8 years ago. It was almost just as exciting this time around, too! Aside from some toiletries and comfy clothes, I really don't know what else to bring, or if I'll need anything else. The guys are getting more and more anxious and excited to travel here, and so am I, of course. But I still have so much to do! I wonder what it will be like when they get here. Will they want to spend a lot of time together when I'm not working? Will I be able to show them around? Will I be a sitting duck until d-day arrives? But then again, I'd much rather be a sitting duck than go into labor before they get here. I'll take the pressure of being watched, over the chaos of making an urgent last-minute phone call from the hospital, any day. When T&Y arrive, we also hope to pay a visit to the hospital for a tour.
I typically see my OB in the mornings before work, which is before I swell up like a balloon. Friday was a very difficult day for me and I also had a list of questions that I kept forgetting to ask. It took all I had to stay at work and manage the entire day. Thankfully I made my appointment for Friday afternoon, although I didn't do it on purpose entirely for this reason, my OB was able to see just how much I swell after sitting sedentary all day. I think he was a bit surprised. First of all, there was a 5 lb. weight gain from just 10 days before when I saw him, while I hadn't really been gaining much weight, if any, over the past few weeks and that was consistent. This gain was allllll water weight. All day Friday I felt like I was on the verge of throwing up, passing out, I couldn't breathe, couldn't focus, was crabby.....etc. I was miserable, to say the least. So when my OB came in to ask how I was doing, I told him just how I had been feeling. While I hated to admit it, I just can't work 40 hours at this point, but what's strange is that I know that if my job involved more walking/standing/moving around, I wouldn't be having as many issues as I am while I sit all day long and I would probably be able to continue working full time. Our weekends are so incredibly busy and yet I feel more rejuvenated, energized, and do not have any swelling on the weekends. The very moment I plant my ass in my chair at work, I can feel the pooling in my ankles. By the end of the day I can't feel my feet. I really wasn't expecting to experience the start of swelling as early as I did (I want to say 24 weeks or so is when it began). I typically lose 3-4 lbs. of water weight over night and then we start the process ALLL over again the next day. Friday night I lost 5 lbs. of water weight and I laid in bed all day Saturday from the fatigue. By the end of the week, I can't handle it. Sitting also makes it incredibly hard to breathe. My OB was more than agreeable to restricting my work hours. At first he said 3 hours and I said "how about 4 or 5?" Although this week is the worst week possible for me to be go part time because I have so much to do while a co-worker is out, I've kind of waved the white flag and decided that I have to take care of myself first, and if that means that work comes 2nd, so be it. Today was my first real day of only working part time and it already feels strange. I took a nap when I got home. A NAP?!?! Crazy. It felt good though, once I got "comfortable". There's that "C" word again. The one I miss A LOT. I threw a roast in the crockpot before I went to work, knowing that I'd be home in time to take it out. Bam. A nap AND dinner is ready when dinnertime comes around. I can't say I'll enjoy working half days for very long, and I'm so glad to know it's very temporary, but today I behaved and did what I was supposed to and I have very minimal swelling and fatigue because of it. I am allowed to move around and do things, I'm not on bed rest, so it feels weird to say that I need to work part time to go home and be active, but I'll take that over bed rest ANY DAY. I also asked my OB if I was allowed to get the epidural catheter placed in my spine, without having the epidural medicine given at that time, because I want to go as long as I can, unmedicated, to see what "non-pit labor" is like. I also understand that I will need the epidural placed at some point, just in case I wind up having an emergency C-section. He didn't seem to like the idea, so we'll see what happens when it comes time, but he did say that I don't need to get the epidural right away and can wait until I felt like I really needed it. Then came the dreaded question that I really kind of already knew the answer to, but needed confirmation......."how many people are allowed to be with me in the operating room?" He said that 2 people would be allowed, for sure, and it would be up to the delivering OB and anesthesiologist to allow a 3rd person. All along, I've wanted both T&Y to be in the delivery room to watch their children enter into this world. I want to see their faces when they meet their children for the very first time. It's very important to me and I know it is to them as well. It will be a very magical moment and I'll cry like a baby, I know it. But, I also feel like I need Terry by my side to physically and emotionally support me through the delivery process and this means T&Y might have to pick who gets to be a part of the delivery. However, I am still feeling somewhat optimistic that the stars will align and it will be my OB who is delivering and that something will work out so that Terry, T&Y can all be in the room with me. Both babies are head down just as I have hoped and dreamed of all along, so that HAS to mean that everything will go our way in the end, am I right?!
T&Y are traveling to Canada tomorrow and when I talked with them on the phone this afternoon, they mentioned possibly cutting their Canada trip short and coming here sooner. I'm all for it! I think they are really getting anxious and are realizing that it could happen any day now. Their sweet babies will be here before we know it!
My grandma is here visiting from AZ. She is the only person that is unaware that T&Y are a same-sex male couple because she is what I would call "anti-gay" and very close-minded. My mom told me a few weeks ago that she was going to tell my grandma about the guys because she felt that she should be accepting of it and why should I feel the pressure of having to refrain from some of the things I share, just to keep her happy? I was indifferent and left it up to my mom. I wasn't told by my mom whether she had had the conversation with my grandma yet or not, but on Saturday when we went to visit and have dinner, as soon as I walked in the door and saw my grandma for the first time in over a year.....I knew my mom had said something to her. I'm glad she knows, but I can tell she doesn't agree with it and it doesn't affect me in any way.
My sister asked our grandma to teach her how to crochet, so now my sister is busy crocheting blankets for the babies, which is SO sweet! It will put my gift to shame, that's for sure. I wish I was more creative and crafty. Speaking of which, I still need to get the gifts and I really hope to do it on Saturday. I've been indecisive on what to get and want to do a few things for both babies and T&Y. This Sunday is the "Surrogate Social" that the agency has each year. It will be a fairly small gathering this year as it's a busy time of year for most, but it was fun last year and I'm looking forward to it again this year, big or small. Truthfully, I didn't even know if I would make it when we were choosing the date. I keep threatening that I can't plan on anything right now. It makes me a little anxious, but it's also kind of exciting. People keep asking me when I think "it will happen" and I have to say that I feel like the 35th week really sticks out. I would be happy to carry the babies to 36 weeks, don't get me wrong, but I'm going with my gut instinct on this one. Thankfully T&Y will be here by then.
Right now the babies move A LOT. Which is a great sign. I believe that means they still have room, so they aren't too cramped or out of space at this point. I also hope they don't move TOO much because I don't want them to flip at this point. I do feel, however, that I'm squishing them when I lay on my side at night. I can't get the image out of my head when I'm trying to fall asleep and I can feel them squirming. Are they happy in there and just moving around, or are they telling me to move so they can "breathe"? It's like they're having their own disco dance party. I'm also getting up to pee about every 45-60 minutes now and BOY is it harder and harder to get out of bed with each passing night?! Big pregnant women weren't kidding when they complained about having to roll and brace themselves on things to get out of a chair or out of bed. I waddle and don't even try to hide that anymore. I see a chiropractor to help with my upper/mid back discomfort, but the worst times are at night and it has become quite painful, most likely due to my over-abundance of pillows and lack of proper posture. I also have this weird hip muscle thing going on where, all of a sudden, one of the babies will move and I'll either have one of my hip muscles cramp up into a Charlie-horse or I'll have searing pain (sciatic pain) shooting down my leg. Again, I've realized that I am a real pregnant woman this time around. My pregnancy with Kaleb was cake. But while I carry these babies closer to term, without bed rest or any complications, I will continue to count my lucky stars.
I can't forget to mention my "after birth plans". I've been so excited about this for the past few weeks. After the babies are born, I want to order a cheese pizza from my favorite place that's just down the road from the hospital. I think once all of the pressure is off my stomach, I might be able to actually eat like a real human again! I can't TELL you how excited I am! Who woulda thunk, I shrank during pregnancy and will most likely get fat afterwards (from all the binge eating I'm going to do after having missed out). Thanks to my new addiction to Pinterest, I have plans......oh yes......I have plans :)
33 weeks.........they seem to be stretching out from top to bottom now, rather than out
Today marks 32 weeks which is absolutely amazing to me! I feel like the last few weeks have gone the quickest, when compared to my post at 28 weeks, although things have become more trying. I've, of course, grown quite a bit, grown even more exhausted, and have even less space to fit any food in my stomach. I eat small meals/snacks frequently throughout the day just to try to keep the weight on or even gain more if it's possible. What's strange is that I haven't had any particular cravings during this entire pregnancy. Food, in general, sound good all the time, especially sweets! I'm at 11 lbs. of weight gain total at this point and have been at that point for a few weeks now (no weight gain in a few weeks). This is not my intention, trust me. Hopefully the candy corn Oreos that somehow managed to make it into my Target bag today will help with that :) PS: They are really good, I made sure 3x's over already, and tonight I'll have to try more, just to be sure ;). I rely on lots of Zantac and a shot of puke flavored Apple Cider Vinegar each night to keep stomach acid from spewing into my mouth (it's happened, seriously, weirdest thing to wake up to) while I sleep. Sleeping, if that's what you want to call it, has become interesting, to say the least. Comfortable is no longer in the vocabulary. Terry has even gone as far as pushing on my back when I go to sit up, to be helpful, which is too funny. I flip from side to side, up to pee every hour, back to bed, flip, flip, flip, re-adjust pillows, all night long. I think this could be the reason my right eye lids have been twitching constantly for roughly 4 weeks now which is driving me insane. I've already threatened to commit myself if it doesn't go away after birth! It will continue to rub me the wrong way when people think, just because I LOOK small for carrying twins, that I can not possibly be uncomfortable. If anything, I'm in an even worse position while my body is small-statured (and shrinking) and the babies are bigger than "typical twins". This is another interesting, yet important fact of surrogacy to remember; because these babies have no genetic relation to me and my small baby-birthing family, they are going to be big like their parents are, and there's nothing I have to do with it, but to deal with it and make room. True story. But I'd rather the babies be on the bigger side, than not, honestly! Although I now feel like I might be giving birth to two toddler-sized tots when d-day arrives, I feel that they will be healthy and thriving. They move ALL the time which is still very enjoyable and fun to watch outside my belly....except for the random punches to my cervix, I swear Baby A is wielding an ice-pic! I feel feet up under my ribs and heads down into my pelvis. I have had quite a bit of pressure in my pelvis for quite some time and with each ultrasound, Baby A's head is still tightly wedged in my pelvis and resting on my cervix, what a good boy he is :). During our last ultrasound 2 weeks ago, it was determined that, while I thought I was pushing on Baby B's little head on my right side, it's actually been her little tush! She is now following suit, head-down, and I felt like crying with tears of joy when the ultrasound tech. told me this. That is the optimal vaginal-delivery position, so I hope they stay that way. At our last ultrasound, Baby A was measuring 3 lbs. 10 oz. and Baby B was 3 lbs. 7 oz. Those are some pretty sizeable babies!
Terry and I took a day off of work to enjoy the Minnesota State Fair. I look forward to the State Fair every year as I am very much a "foodie" and have to have my cheese curds and mini doughnuts. I was SO looking forward to going this year, come hell or high water, it was going to happen. I was disappointed I'd be missing out on my beloved beergarita, but I had plans for what I was going to eat (and I brought baggies to take leftovers:) It was over 90 degrees that day and I dressed as light as I possibly could, without going naked. After about 2 hours of walking around, we sat in the shade and I had a fainting episode and had a lot of trouble getting out of it. I am a fainter, as it is, and so is my mom, but we always try to be as "quiet" about it as possible, so as not to freak people out. Well when I tried, non-nonchalantly to get my head between my knees and couldn't fit because of my belly, it just wasn't happening. People noticed. I remember beginning to panic, myself, when I realized I was most likely going to be exiting the State Fair via stretcher. Enter the magical marvelous baggie filled with ice. Problem solved! Medics came over to make sure we were ok and I reassured them that the ice baggie was doing the trick. After about 15 minutes of cooling down, we were off to enjoy another 4-5 hours of the fair and it was the longest we've stayed and very well worth it. I tried the new "mini doughnut batter flavored ice-cream" that I had been looking forward to and, while it was good, I don't have to get it again. I had my cheese curds, mini doughnuts, and a bite of Terry's chicken taco.
Last weekend was Labor Day weekend and my parents spoiled us kids with a nice long weekend at Breezy Point Resort up north. It was heaven. I had been looking forward to that time with my family, away from home, kid-less, for quite some time. Saturday we spent the afternoon out in the sun on the pontoon, swimming, exploring the sandbars and "Goat Island". Apparently there are lots of goats on Goat Island to help keep the vegetation manageable. My sisters and my youngest sister's boyfriend were VERY adamant that we go visit Goat Island to find these awesome goats. They were obsessed. We pulled up to the island where there were lots of other people swimming around, dropped anchor and while Terry, my sisters and my sister's boyfriend went to find goats, my parents and I stood in the water, relaxing and sipping on our drinks (green tea for me) and hoped to hear all about their goat-finding adventure when they returned. After a while we began to wonder if maybe they were eaten by goats (but we still stood, sipping on our drinks, relaxing), until we saw the 4 of them return with somber looks on their faces. Turns out...some bachelor party got a hold of the 4 goat-hunters for some beer-bonging good times and told them that the goats were no longer on the island. Long story short, there were supposed to be 2 goats, according to the resort workers, but apparently the bachelor boys didn't want to lose their new found friends to their goat-hunting adventures, rather, they wanted to have some fun with them and made up a story that the goats weren't there this year. Bummer. Imagine how pissed my sister was to find this out when we returned. Those goats were all they had looked forward to all damn day. I also had my own little adventure when I assured my mom that pregnant women are very buoyant, so "no", I didn't really need a dorky life-jacket when we jumped into 30 ft. deep water. Turns out...I am actually carrying an anchor :) I got quite the work-out treading water and "looking calm" until it was time to climb back up. I'm still the only one who knows that I just about drowned. After we returned to our lodge, we got ready for dinner at a nice restaurant nearby (best steak I've ever had and it was a perfect 5 oz. just for my little stomach!) and then returned to listen to Elvis sing his heart out terribly, from our dock. We sat around the fire until it was time for bed and spent Sunday at the Casino and lunch with my aunt and uncle and playing cards indoors due to the crappy weather. I could repeat that weekend every weekend of my life, it was amazing. My parents spoiled us way too much, as always, but time with my family is my favorite time in the world, whether it be here or there.
After we returned home from the weekend up north, I noticed that my Braxton Hicks contractions had really picked up that night. I was well hydrated and resting, so there didn't seem to be any real reason why this should happen, but I paid close attention to it over the course of the next day and a half. On Wednesday I was absolutely miserable at work (this seems to be the trend while I'm sedentary at work, I feel like total crap, and that's putting it nicely). I kept having the Braxton Hicks more frequently and just felt "off". My next OB appointment wasn't until this next Friday, but I feel so much more responsibility to be cautious with these babies during this pregnancy that I decided I had better go in and get checked out, just to be safe. I refused to go straight to the hospital, knowing full well that I was not in labor, I just really wanted my doctor to check my cervix. I kind of gave the triage nurse some lip when she asked me the 50 questions about how I was feeling "off". I felt like crap and didn't have the energy to talk, much less describe to a non-pregnant woman why I was feeling "off". I finally said "ok then, I'll just spend the next hour counting my contractions and I'll give you a call with that important magical number for you to decide whether I can see my doctor for a quick cervical check, or not, how does that sound?" ....and BOOM, I was able to squeeze in with my OB within that hour. He checked my cervix and reported that I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Based on my progression, he also performed the fetal fibronectin to see what the chances of me going into labor within the next 2 weeks would be. Honestly, going into the appointment I fully expected to hear that I was slightly dilated and also that the fetal fibronectin result was negative. So there weren't any surprises. He told me that I should just be more careful and take it easy. So, I'll basically go back to sitting on my ass at my desk for 40+ hours per week, which is what is killing me fatigue/exhaustion-wise, and continue to be busy, but not so busy, on the weekends. No real changes. If it wasn't for my manager taking these next two weeks off for her honeymoon, I have actually really been on the verge of burning all of my vacation time so I can be home and active, rather than at work, to keep a grip on my sanity, however, I've taken on a few of her tasks (not willingly, let me tell you) and know that I would catch hell if I didn't take care of them while she is away. I'm stuck. I know that when I go back to work tomorrow, after a weekend of keeping active and feeling a "normal tired", I will be plagued with exhaustion, fatigue, the inability to catch my breath, so tired I could vomit, feeling........I don't know how much longer I can do it (be sedentary). I NEED to move to feel "normal".
On a brighter note (and please, all of you who read my blog, understand that I whine here to vent and I really do feel that I've been lucky with only having complications for those first few weeks and the amazing ability to still be carrying twins, without many restrictions, at 32 weeks)...............T&Y have announced that they will be traveling to Canada starting September 19th (I think to explore?) and then HERE to MN on September 28th, unless anything changes. Woo hoo!! We have an arrival date! Knowing that they will be here in just a few short weeks, takes a lot of pressure off. I keep wondering "what if the babies come earlier?", and want everything to go as planned, but doesn't everyone? Truthfully, I wish they would just come straight here on the 19th because I have this weird feeling that my water is just 2 weeks away from breaking and then they will have to urgently change their plans. I feel overwhelmed with everything that I feel I need to do before they arrive. I want to deep clean my house (it's clean, but you know what I mean, they're guests!), get baby gifts (haven't done that yet!), clean hedgehog cages so I won't have to for a while, get dinners scheduled with my family to include T&Y (my family offered to have them for dinner, which is very thoughtful and I can't wait!), I had intended to throw them a little mini-baby-shower for little things to take home with them and include whoever wanted to be a part of it, etc. I DID get one thing done that was no small feat. I Kaleb's pack-n-play out of storage, hosed it down, soaped it up, and dried it out so it's all ready for T&Y to use when they get here. I can sleep now :)
At my last ultrasound appointment almost 2 weeks ago, I was instructed to start scheduling my "weekly ultrasounds", which means that, beginning this week, I will have weekly ultrasounds to keep tabs on the babies' growth, as well as non-stress tests (NST). These appointments are roughly 2-2.5 hours long and they don't include my now bi-weekly to weekly OB appointments. From now until the birth, I'll be living at the doctor's office. I don't mind and am actually looking forward to it. It gives T&Y even more chances to see and hear about the babies. They are SO excited and I am so excited for them! We are really in the home stretch now. Things could happen at any time. We want the babies to bake a little longer, of course, but if they were to come now, they would have a very good chance of being born without complications and much time spent in the NICU. I have to make it to 34 weeks in order to deliver at the hospital of my choosing, which is something I will worry about until we reach 34 weeks. If I go into labor between now and 34 weeks, I will have to deliver at a hospital in the cities that is equipped with a NICU. Fingers crossed we still have another 2+ weeks in us!!! Bake, babies, bake!
29 weeks.............................
30 weeks...............................
31 weeks..............................(Labor Day Weekend)
32 weeks................................TODAY!
Today marks 28 weeks, phew! I don't know why, but this pregnancy seems to be taking forever! Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to bask in the 2nd trimester and enjoy pregnancy, but with how tired I am, how big I am all of a sudden, the discomforts of carrying twins, the fact that I feel like my skin is literally about to bust wide open....basking is not happening.
Since my last post I have had my hemoglobin checked (twice) amongst a couple other levels, "taken" the infamous glucose "tolerance" test, and G-R-O-W-N....exploded! The first results from checking my hemoglobin, ferritin, and thyroid levels, revealed that my hemoglobin was low, but not so incredibly low that I needed any type of treatment. Bummer. I was really hoping there was an easier solution to this problem. Or an answer to why the hell I'm always so lethargic/exhausted/tired. My hemoglobin is the same as it was during my pregnancy with my son, it was something like 10 and the average is 12 and higher. But I feel a LOT different now than I did with my son. I was instructed to take more iron (now I'm taking 65 mg TWICE per day, and the main side-effect of taking iron supplements is constipation....yipee!). Skip ahead a few weeks to the "sugar test", I arrived at 8:30am for my appointment and the nurse so kindly provided me with the orange flavored bottle of syrupy stuff that I was given a maximum of 2 minutes to drink. I think I downed it in roughly 30 seconds because I figured why prolong the torture? My OB checked in with me and everything seems to be going well. My fundal height measured at 32 cm, YIKES! That's supposed to be typical for twins, but that doesn't necessarily mean it makes a big pregnant lady feel any better. He has yet to check my cervix during any of my appointments, which makes me a little nervous. Don't get me wrong, I don't really WANT him to check my cervix if it's not absolutely necessary, but because I AM at a higher risk for delivering early, I'm carrying other peoples' precious cargo, I have braxton hicks contractions every day and have been for a long time, and just the pure fact that I'm carrying twins.......I would have thought he'd be more concerned and would take the 30 seconds to have a little check-aroony. I just don't want to go in for my next appointment and find that I'm dilated to 5 cm or something. Ya know? Baby A's head is so tightly wedged in my pelvis, that HAS to do something, doesn't it?! Or maybe I'm just paranoid. Whatever the case, I just want to be as aware and prepared as possible, or maybe I don't. Now that I think about it, it would really suck to be put on bed rest this early on in the game (it would suck to be put on bed rest, period). Actually, my next appointment is the day before I go up north with my family for the weekend and I seriously considered re-scheduling it for after the weekend just so they couldn't come up with a reason for me not to go.......I'm terrible, I know.
After my appointment, I waited patiently in the waiting room to have my blood drawn. I kept waiting to feel some sort of sugar-high, because that would have been awesome, even if for only a minute or two. Nope, I skipped the sugar-high part of it and went straight to crash mode. I remember thinking to myself "I feel funny. Uh oh". I went to have my blood drawn and left the clinic to head to work. I pass my house after leaving the clinic when heading to work and this time I looked back a few times, seriously contemplating taking the ditch and going home to sleep the rest of the day. I resisted temptation and arrived at work in a complete fog. The drive was one of those "how did I wind up here?" types of drives. My results were ready by the time I got to work and opening them made me nervous, like I was seriously passing a test, which I guess I really was. The normal range was something like 60-139.........mine....130. WOOP WOOP! Now, there is no doubt my blood sugar is definitely elevated more than usual, but I passed and that's all that matters.
I am at a weight gain of 9 lbs. total so far, but that will quickly change, if it hasn't already in the last 72 hours. I tend to give in to my cravings more and more (sweets, unfortunately). I don't have a lot of room in my stomach anymore, and some days I'm absolutely miserable with how full I am after eating even the smallest portions. It is definitely hard to breathe already, and not just due to exhaustion. I haven't slept comfortably in quite a while, but I'm thankful for the hours that I DO sleep, because I know that will get worse as I get bigger. At night I'm finding that my hips really hurt from sleeping on my side, my acid reflux is back with a vengeance (at night mostly) and if I even attempt to lay on my back for a bit (naughty, I know, you're not supposed to lay on your back), I can't breathe and have to stuff about 3 out of my 7 pillows under me to sleep sitting up. I am losing the ability to bend over, I now roll whenever I need to get up off the couch or out of bed and it takes some serious effort, I can't believe I've turned into a real pregnant lady. My left leg/ankle swells a lot some days (most days now), even after elevating it all day at work. It seems to resolve for the most part by the time I wake up in the morning. If I haven't mentioned it already, the blood vessels in my left ankle burst a few months ago, so I have a lovely cankle with burst veins to sport, not pretty :) I'm still forcing myself to drink about 96 oz. of water every day. It's still as hard as it was in the beginning (I don't like water and I'm not a water drinker), but I know it's good for us. I enjoy feeling the babies kick and jab as they both have their own "typical" moves, but are still somewhat small enough where it isn't painful (it tickles when their feet reach under my ribs). Baby A gets the hiccups a lot, so I wonder what it will be like when Baby B gets them and they are both causing my belly to jump and jiggle uncontrollably. Kaleb had the hiccups in-utero a lot of the time and that was consistent after birth, too. I remember not appreciating that feeling because it was very distracting, but now that I know it's helping the babies prepare to breathe, I can definitely appreciate it. Each week that passes without complications, I breathe a little easier (well, not physically :).
I will fully admit that I have been very naive this entire pregnancy with thoughts and the assumption that I'd be working full-time, like normal, all the way up to the day I deliver, just as I did with my son. As time goes on, as I get bigger, as I lose motivation and focus at work, as the stairs become something I avoid like the plague, I am realizing that this may not be the case this time. I am still hoping to continue to be able to work as much and for as long as possible, but I will have to learn to let go if and when my OB tells me it's time to take a step back. The thought of strict bed rest makes me very anxious, so it would be great if I could avoid that and, worst case scenario, only have to go on modified bed rest towards the end. Terry has been awesome with stepping it up and taking on some of the tasks, even the very minor ones, to help me out around the house. I didn't even have to ask. How awesome and sweet is that? He's been great this entire journey, although he still avoids touching my stomach. When we went to my cousin's wedding last weekend (picture below), family members were not shy to touch my stomach and I was totally fine with it. I told one of them "he won't touch it" and he retorted "they're not mine!". Ah, so THAT'S it :)
Now that I'm very visibly and unmistakeably pregnant (I think I look "due" to the general public who would assume I'm carrying just one baby), I have ladies approaching me often to ask when I'm due and then they go on to talk about their own pregnancies/children. Most of them are older ladies who go on to talk about how they have 9 children and I stand there and listen to their story. I often wonder what their expression would be if I told them that I'm carrying twins for another couple and that I have just 1 child of my own and that 1 is sometimes 1 too many for me. But, for now I keep it to myself, smile, accept the congratulations, pray that I can walk away before my son begins with his "my mom is carrying twins for two daddies" speech that he so often gives, and move on. If I know that I will see someone again, I DO tell them that I am a gestational carrier, so as not to confuse them when I see them again, am no longer pregnant, and do not have 2 babies in tote. One of those people that I plan to see again, quite often, is the lady at Super America where I go to get my coffee on the weekends :)
T&Y are getting more and more excited for their babies' arrival (me, too!) and really starting to prepare for what they will need when they travel. They are wondering what the weather will be like and I am quick to respond with "you can not plan on what Minnesota weather will be like from one day to the next, it's impossible". I hope it's nice enough for them to enjoy the outdoors as they really want to go canoeing or at least explore. I send them weekly belly pictures so they can see just how much we've grown and they really seem to enjoy that. We still Skype message back and forth every day to check in and see how things are going.
Ever since I started bleeding around 6 weeks, my gym membership has been on-hold and not active. My OB told me I could go back to the gym (and obviously work out within reason) after my first appointment with him. I haven't gone back to the gym to report this for two reasons, 1.) I didn't want to risk it that early on and 2.) I'm lazy and wanted a reason NOT to have to work out. Well, every month since May I've been watching my account to see when my membership would be re-activated, knowing that it would be soon and apparently today is the day.........and I'm so not excited. This means I have to put it to good use. Treadmill, here I come. At least I will wind up at the same place I started and not have to worry about waddling all the way home if I push myself too hard like I would on our bike path :)
Terry and I at my cousin's wedding last weekend.......
25 weeks..................
26 weeks...................
27 weeks...................
28 weeks...................
Can you tell at which week I gave up on my diet?! :)
Today marks 24 weeks 3 days and we're still chugging along. I had my regular OB appointment last week and an ultrasound yesterday to keep tabs on the twins' growth. At my regular OB appointment I mentioned to my OB that I started having some sciatic and back pain and had still not seen much, if any, relief from the severe fatigue/weakness/exhaustion that I feel every day. In fact, my exhaustion has become quite unbearable for most of every day now. My blood pressure was 84/54, which I understand is low for most people and can be a major contributor to lack of energy and lethargy, but mine has always been that low and hasn't ever given me this many issues. My OB said he'd check my hemoglobin next visit, along with my glucose intolerance test. I wasn't thrilled about waiting another 4 weeks to find out whether or not I'm anemic, but I figured I didn't really have a choice. Fast forward to today, we're 3 days into the work week and I've contemplated going home from work every single morning (don't even get me started on the mental process it takes just to get to work every morning) because I just can't handle it. It's even hard to breathe. I sent my OB a message basically begging him to send me to the lab and VIOLA, I go tomorrow evening. This is one of those rare occasions where I really HOPE they FIND something, so they can FIX it :) At 24 weeks my uterus was measuring 28 cm, which is about 28 weeks. Although it's very normal to measure 4 weeks ahead during a twin pregnancy, it doesn't chase away the panicky feeling of "just how big are we going to get?!" I think about it a lot.
I've gained 9 lbs. so far, and that doesn't go without a lot of hard work and resistance. I resist VERY strong urges to eat sweets ALL the time. I still indulge occasionally, mostly on the weekends. But I don't have the energy to get much exercise, so I try my best to eat as healthy as I can to make up for part of my lack of activity. Back to the indulging on certain occasions, last weekend was one of those occasions. Kaleb and I went with a friend of mine and her little girl to a city festival with lots of fun things for the kids and lots of junk food. I was totally focused on getting my mini-doughnuts fix. I L-O-V-E mini doughnuts, as long as they're "done right" and fresh. They were well worth the wait and SO delicious :) The kids visited the petting zoo and we walked around quite a bit. It was a fun day for us.
Tuesday I had an ultrasound at the perinatologist (this will continue throughout the pregnancy to check on the babies' growth and will become more and more frequent as we move along). I was very anxious to find out the positions of the babies because as much as I can guess, you just never know until you get them on camera. As I guessed, Baby A is head down (yay!) and Baby B is breech. Baby B is harder to tell because I feel movement from her all over the place and I couldn't really tell whether she was breech or head down, or transverse. I'm just happy that Baby A is being cooperative, although I know that things can and will most likely change a few times over the next few weeks. Both babies are doing very well. Baby A is estimated to be 1 lb. 13 oz. and Baby B is estimated to be 1 lb. 10 oz. They are in the 75th and 60th percentile for their sizes, which is what would be expected for a singleton. The perinatologist assured me that they expect to see them "drop off the chart" and get down to about the 30th percentile eventually and that I will most likely not be giving birth to twins that are 8.5 lbs. each. I'm going to hold her to that! I know these babies are big and I'm happy that they are still growing so well, but it's scary to think about how much room they will take up as they get even bigger, while I already feel pretty stretched out. If I didn't say this in my last post, I am definitely bigger now than I was when I gave birth to Kaleb. T & Y have re-assured me that they were not monstrous in size when they were born, and their egg donor is "petite" (I didn't think so, but T & Y are very tall, so average is petite to them). We just won't know until these babies make their appearance.
I will go back for the infamous glucose intolerance test, or "sugar test" as T & Y refer to it, in another 3 weeks. I don't remember it being so bad when I was pregnant with Kaleb. I remember the sugary drink wasn't the most appetizing, but it didn't make me sick, either. I don't recall feeling any effects from all the sugar, either. But after reading about all these other ladies' experiences with the glucose testing, I feel like I should expect a totally different experience than what I had. Maybe the fact that I'm older now, carrying twins, and really not used to sugar, will really throw me for a loop that day. I could stand to have whatever energy it might give me, even if only for 30 seconds. I just hope it doesn't make me feel "off" the rest of the day. Maybe having the appointment at 8:30am isn't such a good idea?? I don't really think I'll have issues with gestational diabetes, but it's been mentioned, due to Baby A's size, that it very well could be, although I'm not showing any other signs of it. I have a feeling I'll pass. I just hope it's the 1 hour test that I pass and that I don't have to go through the shenanigans of the 3 hour test.
22 weeks...........................
23 weeks 1 day......................
24 weeks...............................
We are finally getting some decent weather here in Minnesota. Yes! Terry and I have been going on walks almost daily while Kaleb rides his bike. It is good exercise for me and therapeutic with this heat (I LOVE the heat and even welcome the extreme humidity).
I'm not sure if it's due to the added heat, or the fact that I don't typically have a chance to get off my feet until I crawl into bed at night, but my ankles are already swelling a little. Lately, when I'm planning on a busy day, I use the term "I'm going to plan it by cankles" :).
I'm feeling the babies move more and more every day, which is a good feeling. Baby A is definitely not head down anymore, unless he has ape-like arms and the freakish ability to reach over his head to punch my cervix, I'm willing to bet it's the pitter-patter of little dancing feet on my cervix that I feel. I had an appointment with my OB over the past week and a half and T&Y were able to join in via phone to "meet" the doctor. They mentioned the difference in the babies' sizes and how Baby A didn't appear to be as active as his sister. I was sure to let them know that Baby A IS very active lately and that I could feel him on my cervix and they were happy to hear that and wondered if it was a "nice feeling" or uncomfortable. I told them it was a weird feeling, but not at all painful....yet. Baby B is still tucked transverse breech across the top of my uterus. She moves quite a bit, too, mostly kicking me in various places, which proves that she is still finding room to do her somersaults. It is very odd to feel 4 sets of limbs instead of just 2.
I have been looking into the "Spinning Babies" theory online for a while now because I want to be sure that I do everything possible to help the babies remain head down for a vaginal birth (well, Baby A at the very least). It's an interesting concept and I'll admit I'm still skeptical. There is an exercise where a pregnant woman inverts herself into a forward position, with the bottom half of her body propped and elevated (on the couch) and her upper body bracing herself on the floor (almost like a supported headstand), to allow stretching of the uterine ligaments, giving the baby/babies more room to move and allow gravity to take it's course to help them into the vertex (head down) position. I figured I'd give it a shot last week. You invert yourself for 30 seconds, or 3 breaths, and then you're done. No big deal, right? Ha! It warned women who were at risk for a stroke, not to do this exercise. Now, I am not at risk of having a stroke, that I'm aware of, but after that exercise......I might be! The amount of blood that immediately rushed to my head was horrendous. Thankfully it's only 30 seconds. I'll try to keep it up once every day. I'm interested to see if it works, or at least helps. So far I feel like it has "lifted" my uterus out of my pelvis a bit more, which is nice for all 3 of us.
At my last appointment I had put on a total of 7 lbs. Now, 7 lbs. isn't a lot, I know, but more than half of it had been gained over the course of just 3 weeks. Whoa! And I'm still steadily gaining. I've tried to keep myself from doing the math because I know it will just freak me out. I kept thinking "at this rate......" but I know that things change constantly throughout pregnancy. I already have, what seems like, an insatiable appetite and the babies will take more and more from me so things should even out, right?! At week 20 I was really starting to show and I think I passed the "is she fat? or...?" stage. But THIS week......holy shit is all I can say. Again, at this rate......really freaks me out. Everyone seems eager to point it out to me, too. I keep getting comments from people like "whoa, you're belly sure has grown!" and this is coming from people I see EVERY day. I've been taking pictures every week to share with T&Y, but I swear the camera makes me look MUCH smaller than I am. I know I'm not big yet, but when I look down, I see belly......lots and lots of belly. I definitely feel the stretching in my muscles in my back and it's pretty uncomfortable already. I totally dismissed the thought of needing a chiropractor at the beginning of this and now I totally get it when surrogates insist on putting chiropractic care in their contracts. I missed that train by a long shot. I will need a chiropractor if I'm going to survive this pregnancy. I totally underestimated what it would feel like to have this rapid growth. I'm now the size I was when I gave birth to my son.
Because of the winter weather we were having up until the past few weeks (hard to believe we had a snow storm just last month?!), I had a hard time gauging what to buy for maternity clothing. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post or not, but any type of shopping causes a strange anxiety for me. I don't like shopping. I constantly second, no wait, quadruple guess everything I put in my cart, or put back, or take back and put back in my cart, or purchase, or return, or buy again.........I shop alone. Most store employees probably assume I'm casing the place or have some neurotic OCD issue (which I kind of do, too :). Maternity clothes shopping........oh man. Now, not only do I have to make a decision on whether or not to buy it because "will I wear it enough to make it worth it?", now add in the "will this fit me in a few weeks?" "is this practical?" "will I find it cheaper somewhere else?", etc. One word.....Goodwill. I will never bash that place again. I've been a Goodwill stalker for the past year and am KICKING myself for all the wasted purchases of brand new things (mostly Kaleb's clothes) when I could have saved and been more practical. Well, I made the mistake of shopping at the mall last Saturday, with the assumption that I'd finally find the maternity capris that I so badly needed. I battled with and finally began to accept the fact that pretty much every store that had maternity capris was charging $50 for a pair of pants that I didn't even like. We shopped for hours. I bought a couple of shirts, a couple of dresses, but did not find the much needed capris. I learned right away during this pregnancy that maternity sections are scarce and we're lucky to find more than one rack of clothing to choose from. The selections are moo-moo or non-moo-moo? XXXL, or XXS/invisible? Hmmmmm. I went home discouraged, stressed (I'm serious, this is how bad I am with shopping, I despise what it does to me). I spent about 2 hours on the computer looking for capris on craigslist, ebay, other stores online. Nothing (well, I FOUND them, but then it's "will they fit?"). I decided to hit up the local Goodwill the next morning. I promised Terry I'd be about 5 minutes because I'd most likely leave empty handed. Boy was I wrong! I spent an hour and left sweaty, smiling, and with a bag chalk full of the solution to my massive irrational problem. I bought a pair of white maternity pants, maternity jeans, maternity shorts, maternity CAPRIS, a jean jacket to go with the dresses that I bought the day before, and a couple more dresses! I'm still so incredibly giddy over that trip. I wore my new white pants and a shirt today. Loved it! Would you believe I'm already battling with what to do with the maternity clothes when this is all over? I could stand to never maternity shop again :)
20 weeks....--->
and 21 weeks 1 day....--->
Ok, so now that I see them side by side, it doesn't look much different........maybe next week.
