Soooo

I'm trying to take it easy. I had a rough week last week & it just seems to be getting worse. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but it's really hard to when there are reasons for valid concern.

I'm 25 weeks along today. The reality is, it's way to early to have these babies. They would only have a 50% survival rate this week & a 25% chance of lifelong disabilities if they did survive. Each day that I keep them in the womb takes days and days off of a potential NICU stay.

I've been having contractions a lot lately. Nighttime is especially scary. I think it's because I have been active (if you can call it that) during the day & my uterus just gets tired. I have a lot of pain and fullness in my lower abdomen, and often feel crampy. To top it off, I have lower back pain. These are all signs of preterm labor, so they are not to be taken lightly.

Last Wednesday, after a very rough night of pain & limping around, I called the doctor. I got in right away & got checked out. My urine and bacterial/yeast cultures were all negative, so no infection. They also took a fetal fibronectin test, which you can read about here: Fetal Fibronectin Mine was negative. After researching more about it on my own, I found out that it is less accurate with twin pregnancies. Great. Sometimes, I hate Dr. Google.

Most concerning is that I am 1 cm dilated & my cervix is soft. I have another appointment on Wednesday the 29th & I will have him check me again, since I am still symptomatic. I do have another symptoms, which is really too much information for me to get into!

I am not on bedrest, but I have put myself on sort of a modified bedrest of sorts. When Jon is home, I have him do most everything. I try not to bend over or pick up anything unless there's no other way around it. Corbin's toys have to stay on the floor until Jon gets home. The laundry doesn't come out of the dryer, b/c it's too much to bend over & lift up. My weak spot, of course, is Corbin. When he's begging to be picked up, it's extremely difficult to say no, although I am going to have to learn to try & distract him for the sake of these babies.

Other news... my weight gain has really taken off in the past 4 weeks. 2 weeks ago, the babies were weighing approximately a pound and a half each, so they are getting bigger. I'd rather gain to much rather than not enough. With twins, it's just too important. So, I am up 34 pounds now (eek!) and I'm probably looking at another 20+ more. My blood pressure is doing great & so far, not a lot of swelling. And thankfully (Lord, I hope I didn't jinx myself!) no stretch marks yet!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've just been so tired lately. I will try and update the Follow the Belly pics later this afternoon sometime with current belly pics. I would bet I am measuring about 32/33 weeks now.

Updates

I've had another appt since I last posted.

The babies are looking great. They are more active now- kicking all of the time.

I've gained 19 pounds according to the doctor, but 24 pounds according to my home scale. They should be about a pound each now- we have a growth ultrasound next week & I can update more after that.

Everything is great. I've been able to keep babysitting Ethan & can move (slowly) around the house & do errands in the mornings. By the afternoon, I am tired. I almost always take a nap & by the end of the day, I just sit on my butt.

I'm 23 weeks on Monday, which means that in 15 weeks or less, we will have these babies. I'm excited, but it's also very intimidating to think about!