31 Weeks and Counting

Whenever I'm asked how I'm feeling, my standard reply is, "pregnant...with twins." Everything falls under that category. My main discomforts right now are all pregnancy related, and just more increased than my last pregnancy because of this being a twin pregnancy. My most difficult "symptom" is carpal tunnel syndrome. It's normal to occur with pregnancy, and it usually goes away after. I had a mild case with my first pregnancy, but this has become very inconvenient, uncomfortable, and painful. I wake up at least every 1-2 hours in the night because of the painfulness of my hands being numb. Which leads to a great night's sleep, as you might imagine. In case you're not familiar with what carpal tunnel syndrome is, this is from the Baby Center site, "The carpal tunnel is a bony canal formed by the wrist bones on three sides and a ligament that runs across the wrist on the other. The swelling and fluid retention that's so common during pregnancy can increase the pressure in this relatively narrow and inflexible space, compressing the median nerve that runs through it." So...more babies, more water retention, more weight gain, more pressure on that nerve = numb hands. The frustrating part is that there's not much to do about it. I have braces that I wear periodically to help keep my wrists aligned, and I go to bed with an ice pack...but I'm looking forward to the ultimate relief after the babies are born. I have found temporary relief for swelling by going to a water aerobics class at least once or twice a week, which has been really nice. A friend of mine said that her mom had carpal tunnel syndrome during each of her pregnancies (a mother of six) and they would have to help their mom brush her hair and fasten buttons - things that required a lot of finger dexterity. I noticed in the shower this morning it was difficult to hold the razor - so I'm wondering who helped her shave her legs?

At around 26 weeks, I had a growth scan ultrasound to make sure the twins were growing appropriately, and that everything looked okay. (I have another one next week, at 32 weeks, when they will also start doing non stress tests monitoring weekly). The ultrasound showed that the twins were doing great, in fact they were about the same size as singleton babies at the same time. Their estimated weight was 2.1 and 2 lbs respectively, so it's great that their sizes are so close. At that time they were both transverse (laying sideways). From the ultrasound, they say the twins have their own amniotic sacs, and most likely separate placentas. Separate placentas means fraternal (non-identical) twins. There is still a chance they could be identical, but most likely not.

I found a new OB and am very happy about it. I already mentioned how risk-focused my other OB was, and it just wasn't a communication style that meshed with me. I asked about doctors in the practice that were more non-interventional in their practice and was referred to a Dr. Johnson. This is actually just a plan B. Plan A - the babies go past 37 weeks, twin A (at least) is in the head-down position, and no other complications present themselves and I deliver with my midwife in the Birth Center in the water. Plan B - the babies come earlier, present breech, or a number of other situations. However, like many medical practices, it just ends up being whoever is on call that day. So, while I'm very comfortable with Dr. Johnson, plan B may not even include him. I am please however that he will be monitoring the rest of my care. He made me feel so confident and comfortable in his experience and his willingness to go along with my wishes. He mentioned that early in his practice (it may have even been his first twin experience) that he had a mother with twins where both twins were breech breech. She wanted to deliver vaginally, but in the research he found, books he read, and doctors he talked to there was no experience with breech breech presentation other than to deliver via c-section. Dr. Johnson was honest with the mother and told her he hadn't done that before, and what the books said, but that he would give it a try. And he did, he delivered both of those breech babies vaginally - kudos to him. He said it was the easiest twin delivery he had.

Twin Pregnancy class - so, if you've read a pregnancy book, you know there isn't much in there about twin pregnancies. You've got to get one specifically for twin pregnancies to get accurate information, and to find out how to meet the needs of your pregnancy more specifically. The same is true for labor classes...or so I thought. I've been to a regular birth class during my first pregnancy and there was nothing in there about twins. So, even though I know what to expect during a singleton delivery, I felt a twin pregnancy class would be more helpful for my current condition. This weekend we went to a 3.5 hour twin pregnancy class taught by a mother of twins and a lactation consultant. Part of the class was educating on care after the twins were born - yes, you can successfully breastfeed two. I'm thinking because the instructor was a lactation consultant she ended up spending a lot of time educating about breastfeeding, and not just breastfeeding two. This ended up being a bit of a waste of time, since I've already successfully breastfed one child to the age of two, I feel like I know how this works. (True, I know kids can be different...but we'll take that when it comes). Anyhow, my husband, seeking to find the positive agreed that the most useful thing we learned about was Kangaroo Mother Care and that if we took away one thing from the class then it was worth our time. Kangaroo Mother Care focuses on skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their babies and how beneficial it is. For instance, the skin-to-skin contact is more reliable in regulating baby temperature than an incubator. If the babies temp is low, the mother's temp rises and vice versa until the baby temp is regulated. I'm only very minimally covering this, but it just reminds me how amazing our bodies are. If you want to know more, click on the link and check it out.

I suppose I've rambled enough for now. I'll plan to post after next week's ultrasound.Thought I'd post a pregnancy pic...not as great at showing the belly as a sideways shot, I'll get one of those up later.