The babies get a talking to

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I’ve heard doctors and nurses say that patients are really the best advocates for their care, and as a social worker I believe wholeheartedly in that.

Today during my ultrasound I wasn’t scheduled to have growth done on the babies, and knowing that it’s been two weeks, I asked that it be done and I’m thankful I did. While both babies are now over two pounds (yay!), Twin A is 2.4 pounds, while B is 2.1. That really doesn’t seem like such a big difference, but baby B isn’t growing at the rate she was and has dropped from the 45th percentile to around the 26th, while baby A has stayed consistent. There’s a couple reasons that could happen and while that’s a significant drop, it’s not so concerning yet. I am now going to the hospital for monitoring and ultrasounds every other day. If there is no change, I am expecting to be re-admitted in the new year.

So, I sat both girls down and told B to start eating more and swimming less, and told A to stop stealing yummy amniotic fluid from her sister. So that should take care of that!

Belly update! Week 28

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I’ve officially made it to 28 weeks and my third trimester! This was my goal so everything after today is gravy!

Our little ladies are now about the size of an eggplant and are hopefully around two pounds. I should find out tomorrow what they’re weighing now!

They’re pretty much good to go if they were born, though they would still need help. Over the next four weeks, their lungs will get stronger and they’ll be practicing their breathing in their little swimming pool as well as basically getting fatter and continuing to develop their lovely little brains.

On the adorable side, they should be able to recognize the sound of my voice and maybe even Daddy’s? 

This week has been a bit rough on us as our house is still without power, I’m hoping we can go home soon to continue getting ready for our girls and to get back to our comfy bed! Besides feeling tired and a bit achey, I feel pretty fantastic and can’t wait to meet our girls in four weeks.

Home for the holidays

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Despite the fact that we still don’t have power at home and are spending Christmas as nomads, I’m still thankful to be home. Sure, it’s not as planned but it’s better than being in hospital.

Today we were running errands and Buds wanted to hold my hand in the car as we drove around. Is there a better Christmas gift than having chubby toddler fingers to keep you warm in the car? I dunno,  Santa,  that’s some tough competition.

The ice storm cometh

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So winter is officially upon us, and so the lovely Mother Nature decided to dump a ton of ice on us. Not cool lady, not cool.

Waking up this morning,  we had no power, heat, or hot water and downed power wires and trees on either side of us and in the back alley where our lovely new car is.

Since it’s freezing out and we essentially had no way of feeding Buds, we packed up and shipped ourselves off to Grandma’s house.

Even our hospital is without power in areas and we’re wondering if daycare will be open tomorrow. With our lovely city telling us to expect 72 hours without power (oh, Merry Christmas to you too) we may have to hunker down here after heading home to check on the dog (she’s a furball so actually loves it cooler) and stock up.

I have been banned by Jason from leaving the house unassisted as I am clumsy at the best of times, so massive and unbalanced as I am, I’m slightly like a weeble. 

So, ice and snow, please go away so we can enjoy our holidays. Much appreciated!

Best ever Christmas gift

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Buds Christmas

The other day Buds came home from school with a package wrapped in a red bow and said, “For Mama,” and handed it to me. I pulled off the ribbon and unfolded the package to reveal his beautiful painting, complete with a picture of my little dude in a Santa hat.

“Did you make this for Mama?” I asked, already teary-eyed. “Uh-huh,” he told me, “for Mama.”

My first gift from Buds, and just such an adorable reminder of why I’m so lucky to be home and spending Christmas with my boys.

Belly update! Week 27

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belly week 27

27 weeks! Another important milestone as soon I’ll be in my third trimester! Here’s hoping that the babies are around 2 pounds, about the size of a rutabaga, if that’s helpful at all to anyone. Also, this means only 5 weeks until our scheduled C-section, crazy!

The babies are starting to breathe inside the womb, swallowing amniotic fluid (yummy!!), but that’s good news as hopefully they’ll be able to breathe on their own when they’re born, or at least, with minimal assistance. Every day and week that goes by without delivering means that they’re both getting bigger and stronger and starting to look more and more like the chubby babies we all love.

I am definitely feeling massive, I seem to be carrying them low and out, as opposed to my first who was high and in, and my belly just feels so heavy all the time. Just a small price to pay to keep these lovely ladies swimming a little bit longer.

Just a bit of a mess…

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Naturally when my doctor gave me the ok to head back home for a couple weeks, I was thrilled to get to spend Christmas with my family, and wasn’t thinking much about the state of our house.

So, when my husband and I pulled up and Jas turned to me and said, “The house is just a bit of a mess,” I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I should have known. To put it simply, the house was chaos. Mountains of laundry, empty fridge, sink full of dishes, dirty bathrooms and kitchen, but surprisingly Buds’ room was the worst of all, looking slightly as I imagine it will again when he’s a teenager.

So the past couple of days have been filled with errands galore and about 18 loads of laundry. Needless to say, I was completely exhausted and after getting back from groceries,  I collapsed in bed while Jason put everything away and then put together the crib. And honestly,  I didn’t feel bad about it all. Not even a little bit.

Homeward Bound

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After a very emotional morning, filled with tears and consultations, my doctor and I have decided that I no longer need to be in the hospital, and I get to go home. At the very least I’ll be home for Christmas, and hopefully will be able to stay home until mid-January. My heart is swollen with happiness just picturing Buds’ face when I get to pick him up from daycare, and then next week, when I get to see first-hand how his Christmas day is.

Of course, if something goes wrong, I’ll be admitted right away, but because the girls are thriving and growing so well, the concern has dropped ever so slightly. I’ll still be spending the majority of my time here at the hospital being monitored and getting ultrasounds, but I get to go home and actually sleep in my bed. It’s been almost three weeks, and I haven’t slept more than a few hours at night since I arrived.

I’ve packed my bags, and I’m ready to go!

(I just need to wait for my husband to pick me up)

I hate you, little egg

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I think it’s a pretty well known fact that hospital food is terrible. It’s definitely hard for a self-described picky person as myself since the options are quite limited. I think I’ve been given 15 cheese sandwiches since I’ve been here.

My favourite meal has always been breakfast, I just love myself a big breakfast whether it’s eggs or oatmeal, it’s something I look forward to that impacts my whole day. Unfortunately, even the breakfasts here are, well, unimaginative, and unfortunately, not super healthy. One of the most popular items is a hard-boiled egg, served with scones usually. I don’t know exactly why, but every time I see that little egg sitting there on my plate, it angers me. I hate that egg. Seeing that egg first thing in the morning depresses me. I refuse to eat it, and those days I usually make myself a bagel or oatmeal from my supply. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I would never normally eat a hard-boiled egg on the outside, or maybe it’s just because it sits on the plate, boring and blah looking.

Whatever reason, I hate that damn little egg.