Friday, December 18, 2009

34 Weeks

Yesterday, the gals and I started our 34th week. Whew! The date Dr. Mac wanted us to make it to. Now, we're just going one week at a time to see how we do. I had an appointment yesterday. Sweet sistah came and picked me up and took me and David was able to meet us at the hospital. We had another growth measurement ultrasound thingy...took for.e.ver. The girls are all kinds of twisted and squished in there and she couldn't figure out who was who and what belonged to who...whom. So, she finally just did a guesstimated measurement. At this stage, one baby should weigh between 4.5 and 4.75 pounds. Well, my little chonkers weigh roughly 5 pounds and 5 pounds 15 oz. Of course, once again, I was like...what about the weight difference? She said it was perfectly normal and they had both gained weight proportionally since the last time and it was incredibly rare for twins, even identical, to weigh the same at birth. Relief.

Then, I met with the nurse, who weighed me...50 pounds total so far. I think she should have subtracted about a pound and a half, though, because I had on heavy shoes and jeans...but whatever.

Then, we met with Dr. Mac. He said he couldn't be happier with the girls' progress and that they were doing great, etc. And I'm like, well, yeah...they're super stars. I asked again about the weight difference and he reassured me everything was totally normal. He did say that if their weight difference increased by a good bit more, they might take them a little earlier than planned, but he didn't foresee that happening. So, I'm just praying they kind of start matching up a little bit. But, all in all, it was a great check-up and everybody's doing great! I have +1 edema, he determined after looking at my legs/ankles. I'm assuming that means I have semi-cankles. Awesome. But, my blood pressure is still really good. The range has been 110/70 to 120/80. I can totally control my BP. I can raise and lower it at will...like those airplane pilots. I'll teach you sometime how to do it.


GIRLS ONLY!!!!!!!!! If you're a guy and you read past this, you have been warned and you have no one to blame but yourself. Here, look at these pretty pictures to keep yourselves occupied, while the girls keep reading...








So...Dr. Mac sprung a surprise exam on me...one of THOSE exams...and wanted to check for dilation. I am dilated 1/2 a centimeter...which is like pansy dilation, but still...a start. He did the whole check-up...it was ugh...and then tells us that he thinks we can make it to 37.5 weeks...January 11. He also said he thought I was an excellent candidate for a natural birth. (Just to clarify...when I say "natural", I mean the normal way a baby comes out WITH an epidural. I just say "natural" instead of using the "v" word in case some dumb boy read past the warning.) After a good little talk about how you have to be 100% interested in doing a natural birth with twins because "it's an adventure" and you can't go into with the thought of "well, I'll give it a try and see if I can do it"...like, you have to be hard-core into it...he kind of looked at my face and said, "I'm just not seeing that you reaaaaaaally want to do that." And I said, "Well, I know that natural births are easier on the babies and of course a much quicker recovery for me, but I'm afraid I'll get in there, have one naturally and then still have to have a C-section to get the other one out and I really don't want to hurt in two places." And he said, "I've done over 100 twins births here and never once have I ever had to section the second baby. I always get them out the same way." So, that was really comforting to hear.

But, he said..."Let's tentatively schedule a C-section and if you go into labor before then, alrighty!" So, he looked at his calendar and asked what a good day would be and we picked January 8!! Elvis Presley's birthday. Not that I care about Elvis...it was just ironic because that's David's nickname in my family. January 8 is also a Friday and I wanted either a Thursday or Friday so it'd be easier for my family and his family to both come. He said if I changed my mind about the C-section, we could still keep the date for an induction and just let me see if I went into labor naturally or they'd induce then.

So, that's my dilemma...I don't know what to do. Sure, I would love to do it naturally. But I've watched a lot of Baby Stories on TLC and those women with the epidurals suuuuure seem to be hating it and not much better off. Is it really still that bad, even with the drugs? What would you do? I feel like I'm pretty tough...I'm just afraid of not having the endurance to get through it. And also, if I go into labor on my own, what if I get a doctor who's not Dr. Mac and he gets one out naturally, but can't get the other out and has to do a C-section anyway? Is the natural way really bad? If you were in my place, what would you do? Less pain now with a longer recovery or more pain now but shorter recovery? Agh...it's a huge decision. I have no idea and it's bothering me. I don't care about a C-section scar...you can take them out through my face if you want...it's really just the pain that scares me. And stitches/staples...aaaaaaaaaah...it's worse than the dentist. I can't even look at stitches. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to see them anyway, what with the flap o skin left over, but still. I'll know they're there. But, then, what if I have to have an episiotomy? Ouch much. So, my lady friends (that sounded sketchy), you guys have to tell me what to do. I would appreciate it if you'd make the decision for me. Thanks in advance.

11 comments:

  1. I totally don't know you but I thought I'd share way too much information with you!
    I had a little boy last year- through induction. It was MAGICAL! the very worst part was the dialation checks, which I got one of before they started the epidural. WIth the epidural I felt NOTHING! Not a thing. Right before time to push I felt pressure in my back- so I told them I was dying in pain :)and they gave me more epidural!I didn't even know when I was having contactions- I had to look on the monitor to know when to push!I did tear to the 2nd degreee, which sounds horrific but suprsingly wasn't (I still dont even know which direction I tore). I was sore for a week or two (sat down carefully, but was able to go out comfortably. I did have hemoroids- those were the most painful part! So, if You've ever had hemroids, you've experienced the worst part of "natural" childbirth, from my experience anyway!

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  2. P.S. My sister had 2 c-sections- I was able to hold the babies comfortaly right away, where she wasn't. She was sick and sleepy and did't get to hold the babies for several hours, but was sleepy and recovering from surgery. To make a short story long (as my dad says) the truth of the matter is you'll be soo happy to get the babies out and breathe and bend and go for more than an hour without needing to pee again that you won't care. Healthy babies will be here either way you do it. 5 years from now it will be of little consequence. I'll pray for a healthy delivery, either way.

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  3. since this blog is about labor i thought it was funny that the letters you have to type to prove you are not spam are these-no kidding- "idshoutt".

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  4. I gave birth 6 weeks ago and it was naturally and without epidural. I think it was better without it, because the woman who was giving birth in the room next to me had one and she didn't know when to push, felt no urge and still was in pain. She totally gave up. But I just HAD to push, my body pushed instead of me. And as I pushed, I was concentrating the pain into the push so it wasn't horrible. Plus, your babies will be smaller, that means much less pain :D

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  5. Okay. I had one baby in my belly. And he was big. My whole experience was pretty awful because my stupid anesthesiologist didn't do my epi right and shot a nerve (KILL ME NOW) and then I experienced natural HARD childbirth for 3 hours straight. I kept crying and saying my epidural didn't work, but no one believed me. FINALLY, they believed me.
    They gave me a new one and I was good as gold.

    Then I pushed for TWO STRAIGHT HOURS, EVERY OTHER MINUTE, and that baby wasn't coming out. So they had to get a suction after him and they sucked him out by the head. And you know what that did to me? Well, it ripped me from TOP to BOTTOM - ALL.THE.WAY.

    The recovery? Absolutely horrifyingly terrible. Worse pain I've ever experienced. For about 2 weeks straight. I couldn't even walk the entire time I was in the hospital.

    I hope I lifted your spirits. ;)

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  6. Well, I also don't know you, but feel like I do after following your blog the last few months. I found it through Erin's blog. I met her, Taylor, and Eric, in Ecuador on a student life scouting trip a couple of years ago. I found her blog and then saw these two funny names, bogue and weejer, and had to see who that was. It was shortly after you found out you were pregnant and I am also pregnant, and with you being so hilarious I had to keep coming back to read more. :) I am one month behind you..due Feb. 24 with only one girl. I had a little boy just over two years ago and I was different from you....I was really scared of the idea of having a c section. I prayed so much that I wouldn't have to have one. I went a week past my due date and had to be induced. That is the only thing I would have changed. The downside to being induced is that you have more wires that you are connected to which makes it harder to get up and move...which totally helps with the pain. Even if you get an epidural, which I did, you prob. will have to wait awhile to be dilated enough to get one. The contractions hurt more when lying down which they prob. told you in your class. Also, the pitocin makes the contractions come closer together so you have less time to recover between them. But, since I had waited that week, my body was ready to have the baby and so I was only in labor for 12 hours and pushed for one at the end. My epidural didn't work completely....I had what they call a hot spot where I could feel the pain right above my right hip bone, but it wasn't so bad because then I could feel my contractions which helped me know when to push. Other than that the epidural was a life saver. I was able to rest and save my strenght for the pusing and they let you push a button if you need more stuff pumped in you. You don't have that urge to push since you can't feel anything, but the nurses and dr. help to tell you when and how to do it. I doubt you have to worry about an episiotimy since most dr.'s don't do that anymore, but even if you tear, it isn't that bad. I bled a lot during labor but most of my pain later came from what felt like a bruised tail bone or something. It just made it more uncomfortable to sit. The first week the dr. said that you heal pretty fast and then slower after that. I did use some of the pain meds they sent me home with a couple of the nights after sitting all day. But it wasn't really so bad since my husband and mom did so much for me. I know that the healing time for c sections is supposed to be much longer and with two little babies to try and feed and take care of, it would be better to heal faster. I know it makes breasteeding more of a challenge with the belly soreness. The second baby should be easier for you to have since your body will already be ready for it and all opened up and all. If you are going to have two kids, it seems like the way to do it, get it over with at once. That way you only have the labor pains once and one recovery time. There is a reason they call it labor, and either way you end up doing it, there will be some type of pain, but God has prepared our bodies for it and also helps us to forget it too. :) Everyone has a different experience so don't let someone else's horror story make your decision for you. You are going to be so glad to meet your little girls that the rest won't really matter.

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  7. I had my daughter naturally with the fabulous epidural. She was induced but they said they didn't need much pitocin to get me going. I still felt the contractions and the pain of childbirth. I had no problem knowing when to push. The nurse helps you know which muscles to use to push. I had hemroids and tore some. Recovery was tough for me and took a lot longer than i expected. I had to be very careful sitting down for a long time. I loved being able to hold her and nurse her immediately after having her. Since I had a good experience, I would say go natural with the epidural.

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  8. I'm pretty sure I should've not only stoppped reading with the men but also should not have indulged my curiosity by reading the comments.

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  9. Hey love.

    Jackson was a section. Ira was natural... like might as well have been in the woods by a tree natural. (Pretty sure both birth stories are on my blog.)

    Recovery is a BIG deal. And my recovery with Ira was ridiculously easier than recovery with Jackson. Yeah, your bum is uncomfortable for a week or so, but dang, you don't have to grab the headboard every.single.time you want to roll over in bed for the next six months. When you're making that decision to have a section, you don't realize the true implications of having someone cut through your abdominal wall. You will FEEL every cough, sneeze, and good laugh for the next 4 months. Not to mention that you have a really hard time sitting up, rolling over, and leaning over to pick up the laundry basket for a few months. That being said... recovery is a big deal.

    My biggest reason for having a VBAC was because I knew having a baby brother would be difficultfor Jackson and it would be even worse if I couldn't pick him up and hold him every once and a while.

    Rufus... you can do it. I vote natural.

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  10. Ruthie

    You know I've never had children but, I do have many friends who have. Most have chosen the natural way without an epidural...(now I'm not saying to go that route).

    I vote for natural because:

    1) Most obvious reason--there are TWO babies! You will be so tired just from feedings. You don't want to be in pain the entire two weeks to 4 months after giving birth.

    2) Recovery time is so much shorter for a V-birth!

    3) You don't want to be drowsy and not know who you are after they're born--I know you'll want to hold them first thing when they arrive.

    Those are my real reasons--my soap box reason is that doctor's now often suggest it b'c it's so much easier on them. It's like a dentist appointment; they just write it in their calendar...la la la. I can get pretty heated up about it. You are special and the girls are special. I know you love Dr. Mac but, don't let him push you into a C-section if that's not what you want.

    Love you sister! We are
    praying everyday for you, David and the girls.

    Bec :)

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  11. I have just stumbled on your blog from another blog that I "stalk" and what fun this has been to read!! I found out a few weeks ago that I am pregnant with twins, thus I keep up with you. I have a 13 month old now. I had her "naturally" and it was a breeze. I had an epidural, and for me, I would never try without it, but I'm not as hardcore as some gals! I had some tearing but not bad and it was really only uncomfortable for about a week. And your babies will be a bit smaller than a single baby so maybe not so much tearing (at least that is what I hope for :) I have had a few friends have C Sections and they have commented that it wasn't that bad to heal from. I too am nervous about actually birthing 2 babies in the same wack, one wasn't too bad but she was out and that was the end of it. Ultimately the Lord knows what will happen and He will prepare you. I went to the dr with my daughter at 39 weeks, he did an exam and said I was dialted to 3. I had had no pain with contractions up to that point. I went to the hospital the next morning and was dialated to 5, had the "wonder epi" and it was smooth sailing from there. They may just come when you least expect it. I will pray that things go easily. Looks like you have had an excellent pregnancy and that will help.

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I like your comments.
Mom, keep it clean.
Have a fabtastic day!