To put things in perspective...in 2 short months we should be preparing ourselves for the early arrival of the Burchell Babies! Holy cow that's fast! Luckily (or un-luckily)...work is so incredibly busy that I haven't had time to allow my self to worry anymore about the babies and if "we're ready" or allowing my brain to go baby-crazy anymore. Life NEEDS to slow down and I NEED to soak it all in, but I'll wait for June to really start hunkering down :) I'm thankful for my job and being busy; it's not stressful work per say, just a lot of it.
Updates since the last post - we had 2 visits/sonograms, went to 2 classes, and took some more pictures. Woo hoo! The frequency of doctors appointments are much more frequent now, we'll be looking at weekly visits starting in mid June. The "due date" is still 8/6, that hasn't changed but after the next measurement sonogram it may change depending on how big these babies are. The doctor said that everything looks great - healthy heartbeats, I look good, I'm carrying them well. No signs of complications.
2 weeks ago we had a measurement sonogram. The appointment started as a regular boring check up but the nurse wanted to get better readings on the heartbeats and check their size. Baby girl was 2 weeks advanced in size - 1 pound 12 oz and baby boy was 1 pound 9 oz. Both of them were at least a week a head in "growth". They were very active. 2 weeks ago I felt bits of kicks, nothing painful or that Todd could feel...it's amazing what changes in 2 weeks! My guess is these babies are a good 2.5 pounds each now.
I feel them all day now, sometimes it's painful kicks, sometimes its just uncomfortable tightening as the babies move around. At today's visit I did the 26-week glucose test to measure for gestational diabetes. If you know me, you know my LOVE for candy and sweets...so hopefully my body is processing sugar just fine since I have a constant flow of sugar in my blood but we'll see in a few days. The test consists of drinking a small bottle of orange drink. I thought it was delicious! It tasted like flat orange soda, or one of those Mr. Freezy pops that isn't frozen. Towards the end of the bottle it started burning as it went down because it was so sweet but nothing intolerable. Since the babies were doped up on sugar, it made the ultrasound fun to watch with the kicking, rolling, and punching! Poor baby boy was getting kicked in the head by his bully sister nonstop! What was particularly cool about this appointment was the stenographer took 3D pictures. My sister said these are creepy, and all I can focus on is how gigantic their heads are! They surely have Todd's cranium and my pouting face.
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| Baby boy |
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| Baby girl |
Last night we also went to another education class - the Infant Safety & CPR class. Overall takeaways from the class...First, essentially everything is a danger! It's going to be impossible to raise these babies in the protective bubbles that are recommended. Second, we know infant CPR now which is scary, but a relief as well. we hope to never need to use it but it's nice to know we're educated. Third, there's a lot cool products out there to make safety easier for the babies. A big plastic protective bubble would be easier, but some cool things out there like faucet protectors, door latches, blinds cord covers, and table ends. Oh yea, and don't feed infants french fries, no matter how mushy and smushy they are. (I learned that the hard way about 6 months ago, but it continues to be a traumatizing memory for me. Sorry Ryleigh!)
We also got a hospital tour, the official nickle tour two Sundays ago. Great information, helpful hints. Turns out Tampa General has 2 Labor rooms that also have a jacuzzi in the private bathroom so you can relax in a hot tub while you're going through early labor. Too bad I probably won't enjoy the beautiful labor and delivery rooms at TGH since I'll be in the operating room. We also confirmed again that we'll have the bigger private rooms, and we are the least picky parents-to-be regarding "needs". There was one couple there that was very open about their displeasure with the size of the post partum rooms...I think they missed that this is a hospital and not a hotel...and I think they were actually hoping to have labor or post partum complications so they get a bigger room. They probably are the couple that still calls an airline flight attendant a "waitress".
A few picture updates as well - I've been hesitant to post pictures because I'm not comfortable with my size but it's a part of pregnancy. I officially feel like I look pregnant now and not just fat which is a good thing, but now the mental and emotional part of growing is getting to me and stretch marks are coming with a vengeance...and sitting is becoming uncomfortable. At the end of the day my tailbone really hurts, and I need to sit and drive "gangsta" style to stretch out my stomach so I'm not squishing.Laying down at night is the best feeling in the world to just stretch out flat...until i decide to go to sleep when I toss and turn. I can't wait to be a stomach sleeper again!
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| 25 Weeks |
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| This is a bit of an exaggeration. I wore a tiny t-shirt to accentuate. On Wisconsin! |
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| Mom's response was "Oh my". |
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| 26 weeks, going to work. i thought this was a smile... |
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| Pulling off the motherly look, not yet in flippy flops |
Next doctor's appointment is the first week of June; the next few weeks will have a lot of excitement including a baby shower, family visits in town, and our labor & delivery class. Busy weekends to look forward to, makes the long hours at work worth it to know that I'm working for the weekend!
