32 Weeks!

Well, actually, 32 weeks and 1 day.

I am so grateful to be here and hope to make it another 13 days, 16 hours and some minutes to our scheduled C-section. 34 weeks has always been our ultimate goal and I want to get there!

Today I had a cervical measurement, and it is still around 1 centimeter, but not changing. Hard to believe a third of an inch is keeping A's head inside my body! The boys' fluid was even and plentiful and we will have our last full growth along with Dopplers on Thursday to ensure the placentas are still doing their jobs. I also had an NST which the boys aced. Baby A was asleep and we need him to be moving to show us his accelerations, so the nurse brought over something called an acoustic stimulator. It looks like a lighter or something but makes a loud buzzing sound to wake up the baby. She put it on my skin and it buzzed loudly- then I felt some swift kicks. Baby A was not happy to be awoken but we saw that his heart rate accelerated and normalized appropriately when he was moving.

Dr. P was all sunshiny again since I am past 32 weeks. We discussed how if I do go into labor, we'll still try to stop it until 34 weeks, and if my membranes rupture, I will be hospitalized but we'll still try to hold off labor. These next two weeks inside of me mean FOUR LESS WEEKS for the babies in the NICU. They are very important, so we'll keep trying to get there.

She also said I do not need to have anymore cervical measurements or fFN's, to which I replied, "No more transvaginal ultrasounds!" She laughed and said, "Not exactly. A's head is so low that a transvaginal is the only way we will be able to measure his head on Thursday for growth." So that should be interesting. I cannot wait to see how big they've grown, however we measure it! It would be a huge deal to have them around or over 4 pounds now.

Not much else to report. I still have low blood pressure and feel pretty good. I know that I will be eating my words in a week or so, but right now, although I am huge and uncomfortable, I want these boys to keep growing inside. I feel so very grateful that this pregnancy is going well for now. I know things can change so quickly, but for today, I am thrilled that we are in a safer place for our sons. I hope, hope, hope we get to bring home three healthy boys sometime soon.

I will say that the discomforts are multiplying (no pun intended). Last night, I counted six bathroom trips, almost on the hour for a while there. I cannot bend over to tie my shoes, and the days of flip flops are gone in Seattle, so I wear my cozy boots everywhere. My back really hurts, right between the shoulder blades, and my pelvis feels like someone is pushing down on it, very hard. (Oh, Wait! Three someones are!) I am sitting on the couch typing and my belly keeps getting in the way of my arms, so the laptop is elevated on pillows. The whole thing is quite a sight!

Here is the 32 week belly. I cannot believe how big it is! Can it really keep expanding? We will see...



And here is one of me and my husband whose waistline is not expanding, much to my dismay. I am happy to report I do not think I will weigh as much as him during this pregnancy.



Oh, and we are buying a minivan. We tried to resist, but as you know, it can be futile. We already have a ginormous SUV but the third row will not accommodate the rear-facing infant seats, and sliding door would be extremely handy with four little ones. That means we'll have to trade in my non-green SUV, which I love, and get a Soccer Mom Mobile. I always made fun of my friends who had them, and this is what I get. :)

I saw an awesome bumper sticker the other day on a van that said, "I may drive a minivan, but at least I still put out." I need one of these, until A starts reading and I have to explain it...