28 Week Appointment

Our 28 week appointment went well. Not too much to report. The doctor wanted to make sure that I knew bedrest of some sort could eventually become a reality in the next couple of months. She also emphasized that the average twin pregnancy lasts only 35-36 weeks (which puts us in the middle of March). We then had the following conversation:

Dr: Have you been experiencing any contractions.
Me: No
Dr: (Placing the Doppler on my abdomen to check the babies’ heartbeats which sound great). Do you feel how hard your abdomen is right now?
Me: Yes
Dr: That’s because you are having a contraction!
Me: Oh, well, then yes, I guess I have been experiencing contractions.

Future Appointments: Jeff and I are attending our Child Birth class on February 6th, and the next appointment is February 8th and our next ultrasound is February 10th. The ultrasound appointment is with a perinatologist (this is a high-risk obstetrician , not to be confused with a person who studies dinosaurs) so we maybe will be able to see the babies in 3D.

Toledo Family Babies Shower

This past Saturday one of my dear sister’s hosted a wonderful shower for her soon-to-be niece and nephew. Many family members and friends were in attendance. After eating a wonderful lunch of soup and salad the party moved to the living room to play a few games. The games included who can measure the soon-to-be Mom’s waist the closest. The winner was Aunt Candy who just barely beat out Aunt Nancy and in last place was Uncle Gregg who was a good 2 feet off. (Good thing he doesn’t have to measure anything at work….oh, wait a minute Dad, you better doublecheck that last window and cabinet order).

Another favorite game was the diaper game where everyone had to guess what the baby ate to produce such a disgusting diaper. A picture says a thousand words:


The babies received many wonderful gifts from some too generous friends and relatives. Their little wardrobes have grown exponentially.


I can't wait to dress them in all the new outfits!!!

See more pictures at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/#/album.php?aid=140289&id=646284753

Also, if you know of any other shower pictures circulating around or sitting on a memory card please forward me a link or a few pictures to add to the blog.

3 Hour Glucose Test

Monday (Martin Luther King Day) also known as a company holiday I spent the majority of the day at the testing center. I arrived at 9:30am sharp (after fasting all morning) and had my blood drawn at 9:50am. I was given the fabulous orange drink, but this time it was double the strength of the test before and I had half the time to drink it (5 minutes). Then I sat in the waiting room and read the latest Danielle Steele novel (Southern Lights - save your money ladies, it was not up to par with her usual romance novels).
I subsequently had to have my blood taken again at 10:50, 11:50 and 12:50 . My arm looked like I was a druggy with all those needle marks. By 12:50 the kiddies and I were starving after not eating for so long. So, we stopped at Taco Bell which was a few doors down from the testing center on the way home and ate a burrito before we even had time to leave the parking lot. After arrriving home, we fell asleep until dinner time…….not a good sign at all, and I was pretty sure we failed again, but.....

The doctor called yesterday and we passed all four blood tests with flying colors!!!! Yeah!!!

26 Week Appointment

The kids studied last night and the grades were better today than yesterday. The children are weighing in at 2lb 3 oz (boy) and 2lb 1 oz (girl). Thier weight, amniotic fluid levels and other measurements put them in the 60% percentile for babies at 26 weeks. So they are beating out at least 60% of all the other kids (including singles, not just twins). Both babies are postioned head down and are getting ready for their big debut.

The doctor was not too worried about all the F grades that we received earlier this week. She changed the thyroid medication dosage, prescribed an over-the-counter iron supplement and scheduling a follow-up glucose test for next week. For the glucose test I have to go to the testing center after fasting for 8 hours, have my blood drawn, drink the orange drink again, and then have my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. Hopefully we will be able to get a grade better than F on the next test!!

First Bad Report Card!

At our last appointment I was sent home with the dreaded orange drink to take home. For all of you that don’t know what the dreaded orange drink is, it is a glucose substance that you have to drink and then have your blood drawn to test you blood sugar levels and determine if you have gestational diabetes. We were told that I should take my blood sugar test sometime before our next appointment (which is tomorrow). So, this past Saturday I finally bit the bullet and drank the orange drink. It wasn’t so bad, kind of like flat orange soda, but then it just sits in your stomach, and you feel like you’re a kid (or an adult) who just ate way too much Halloween candy. After I finished the wonderful orange tonic Jeff drove us to the testing center and I had my blood drawn. We thought all went well until we arrived home last night to a blinking light on the answering machine with an ominous message from the doctor’s office wanting to discuss my bloodwork….


I called bright and early this morning, and my results were less than stellar. It appears you can’t cram for blood tests like you can for exams in college. Who knew? First, I failed the blood sugar test. The acceptable grade to receive a grade of a D- ore better would have been a 130. I scored a 167 which =F. Thank goodness they give you a make-up exam. I also had my thyroid level tested (as I have had Hypothyroidism since my high school days), and the individuals who have taken up residence in my body started turning my Hypothyroidism into Hyperthyroidism about 6 months ago. I scored a big fat .28 on that test. The acceptable range is .5 to 5.0 ( huge range) so I have now gone back to having too low levels instead of too high levels. Finally, I was given the results of my iron levels in my blood. I didn’t even know I took this exam. My iron levels are a little low causing me to be anemic, so once again, the twins and I were given a big fat F!

All these are common in pregnancy especially with multiples. Stay tuned to see what the doctor recommends at tomorrow's appointment and to see if the kids get their grades up anytime soon.

Pack-n-Play Training

We had dinner at our neighbors' home a few weeks ago. Their brother and sister-in-law were visiting from out of town, who are also soon to be first-time parents. Mike and Beth thought it would be amusing to have the two soon-to-be Dads practice putting together a pack-n-play (also known as a playpen). Click on the link below to watch them in-action. It should be noted that the manufacturer advertises that it can be assembled in less than a minute!
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/8b6325445689bb10f1a35921f2bf54b9/video/8741824