Monthly Archives: May 2012

I reached the 24-week milestone – yay!  Not that I want these babies to be born before they are fully ready, but it’s a reassuring milestone nonetheless.

I am regularly uncomfortable – sitting, standing, walking.  My OB appointment is in 2 days and I am going to advocate for reducing my work schedule to part time.  I want the opportunity to lie down more often.  I just am not feeling great these days.

For Mother’s Day I planned a gift to myself:  the local newspaper printed pictures that kids drew of their moms.  I got a form and had my mom help Scout draw a picture of me.  I sent it in (with the payment, of course) and forgot all about it until my mother called me early Mother’s Day morning to remind me.  I grabbed the newspaper, opened it up….and there was Scout’s drawing!  It brought tears to my eyes.   We spent a good part of the day with my mother and mother-in-law (read: unnerving chaos), but my joy was my boy.  Then tonight, as I kissed him goodnight and said, “I love you, Darling” he replied, “I hove oo too, Mama.”

Melt.

Ok, 22 week belly shot.

Forgive my grubby look and my Fre/ d is R. ed pj bottoms.  I think I took this photo after finishing Scout’s closet.  Yup.  I did it.  I got it done.  It took me 2 hours (including cleanup) but I’m happy with the result.  I installed the lower dowel, sorted and boxed up some of Scout’s clothes to go to storage and decided to hang his clothes on the bottom.  He LOVES that he can get his own clothes out of the closet!  And sometimes I DON’T!

I have a few things for the twins on the top.  Plastic bins on the shelf above will hold hats, blankets, etc.  I really need to go through Scout’s newborn things to retrieve those that we can use (um, tons).

On the medical front, I saw the perinatologist yesterday.  The babies’ growth is right on target.  The tech measured head and abdominal circumference, bone length and checked organs and heart function, and double checked gender at my request (still boy/girl!).  Based on the measurements they estimate the babies’ weight at about 1 pound 1 ounce each.  So the babies are great.

They also wanded me (! unexpected!) to check my cervix.  My cervix is long, closed and arc shaped, like a banana, the doctor noted.  This is very good apparently.  She was especially glad that my cervix was in this condition when I told her that, after being on my feet for a while, or after walking moderate distances, I feel like the babies get really heavy and sink low into my pelvis.  That worried her.  She said that if my cervix were shortened, she would be really worried.  She said (in a gentle and non-accusatory way) that it is time to prioritize my pregnancy – more.

Mind you, with Scout’s pregnancy, everything was a dream and I was on the move and didn’t slow down until about week 34 or so, as I recall.  This is a very different experience for me.

First, this wonderful doctor gave me her *schpiel* about how our society does not prioritize pregnancy and provide support to pregnant women to the extent that other countries do.  That, yes, we women expect so much from ourselves, but so does our society.  We are so used to doing it all – working outside the home, managing a household, caring for a family, managing pregnancy, finances, car repairs….everything.  Our society is one of equality and partnership – and women carrying as much (ahem – more) of the burden than men.  She acknowledged that it is difficult to let go of that need to care for everyone and everything – but she reminded me that a full term pregnancy is 280 days – multiples get less – and each of those days is critical and cannot be replaced.

Then she gave me her recommendation.  She will recommend to my OB that I be taken out of work.  I can telecommute part time, but I need to limit being on my feet to a maximum of 1 hour at a time – and that doesn’t mean 45 minutes several times a day, she pointed out.  She wants me home, in my jammies, reclining.  The babies are not in danger, but we want to keep it that way.  Her recommendations are preventative – to keep things safe and going well.  She acknowledged that I will surely be throwing a load of laundry in the wash and picking up Scout occasionally, but I need to limit those activities.  Stop vacuuming.  Hire a house cleaning service.  Let others take care of things and learn to let things go.

Wow, that’s the hard part.  I’m the go, go, go girl. I vacuum the carpets because I care that the floor gets dirty and needs to be vacuumed.  My husband would probably vacuum monthly if it were up to him.  And he’d clean the bathrooms even less frequently.  I pick up Scout’s toys/clothes/stuff because I want the room to be neat at the end of the day.  I wash his clothes because…. I’m the one who does it.  After talking to my husband about the doctor appointment and her recommendations, he says he will do all that he can (when he is home), but I’m already finding that I need to ask him to pick things up, do this, do that – because it’s not intuitive for him to do those things.  He’s been pretty receptive, although he huffs and puffs a lot (as though it’s exhausting work.  Um.  It is.  And welcome to my world.)  He has been home this week, but will return to his out-of-town project by the weekend.  And once again I don’t know how long he will be gone.

I see the OB in 2 weeks and I’m sure we’ll discuss the perinatologist’s recommendations.  After that, I may be lounging around at home for the next 3 1/2 months.  I’m glad I got the kids’ closet done!