38 Weeks

38 weeks

How Your Baby’s Growing (from Babycenter.com):
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long (about the size of a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

How far along: 38 weeks

Pregnancy symptoms: heartburn; carpal tunnel syndrome; trouble sleeping; lower back pain; mega stretch marks; tiredness; hip, pelvic, pubic pain; anemia; swollen everything – feet, legs, hands, belly  :); constant need to pee; pregnancy rash; super intense itching everywhere (I think it’s a histamine thing.)

Food Cravings: ice cream

Food Aversions: I guess things that I know are going to cause heartburn aren’t high on my list to eat.  :)

Sleep: I have found a couple of positions that, when perfectly executed, allow me to sleep relatively comfortably for as many as a few hours at a time.  Typically I will fall asleep and sleep for an hour or an hour and a half.  I pee, change positions in the bed, sleep another two to three hours, pee, change positions, and then wake/get up for good at about 7:00.  Sometimes I’m awake for awhile before that, but usually my bladder is empty enough that I don’t necessarily need to get up immediately.  Walking and moving at night is soooooo painful.

Measurement: 234.6lbs; inches around

Movement: Amazingly still a lot, even though there can’t be much room in there!

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks contractions, cervix is dilating

What I miss: being able to do anything physically, goooood sleep, more than the approximately three outfits I can wear right now.

What I’m looking forward to: meeting my babies!!!! 

Milestone: 38 weeks is considered full term for twins.

Thoughts from the children: When I ask James when the boys will come, he tells me Christmas.  Ha!  Natalie always asks me if my feet are swirlin (swollen).  We should eliminate the word swollen from the English language and replace it with swirlin.  It’s so much better.

Doctor’s visit: Kathryn took me to the doctor’s office this morning, and it was a pretty uneventful visit.  (Yay!)  Instead of doing a NST (not so fun), we got to do a biophysical profile, which is a fancy word for an ultrasound.  Much more fun!  The babies are so huge that I can’t tell a damn thing on the screen, but my doc was just checking that their heartbeats looked good and that they were still head down. Check and check!  She said it looks like they’re heads are right next to each other and they’re vying for first place.  :)  She also checked my cervix, and I’m 5-6cm dilated.  Y’ALL.  Seriously.

Other thoughts: We, under the advice and guidance of my doctor, have decided to go ahead with an induction tomorrow morning.  We have to be there at 6am, which hopefully means those boys will be born before too late in the day.  My doc will get to deliver them IF they come before 2pm.  She has a surgery to do then.  I really hope she’ll be able to deliver them – she hasn’t delivered any of the others!

This is definitely a different experience – preparing to head to the hospital in the morning, knowing they’ll be born tomorrow.

Baby-related projects:

• I’m putting this on the list kind of after the fact: Work on potty training James.  Hallelujah that boy is doing so so well!
• Clean up/organize the girls’ room to make space for eventual James.
• Go to IKEA.  Look at and possibly purchase the Kura low loft bed and shallow mattress for the girls.  **I’ve been putting this off since it is logistically hard, but we are ready to get this done!
• Move the majority of the toys into the main living area to make space for sleeping and clothes in the bedrooms. I still need to sort through and organize the books, which are in a giant pile on the floor.
• Do some research on the best sleeping arrangements for newborn twins.  *I’m currently planning to use a standard sized pack and play with the newborn “shelf” in it for our bedroom when they’re bitty.  If we discover they don’t sleep well with each other, we can always switch to two pack and plays or just use the cribs.
• Figure out number of diapers that would be ideal for the babies.  **I think at this point we’ll just get a few more newborn sized diapers and then wait and see what works when they come.
• Pick out infant car seats.
• Organize James’ closet.  (This is where the not-in-use clothes live as well as a lot of baby things, and it’s a super-pit.)
• Shop for a king sized bed.  We really really really really want one.  :)  But the logistics and expense may mean this isn’t the best time.
• Tinker with a baby registry.  We don’t need much, but I have started putting some things on an Amazon registry when I think about them
• Pull the baby boy clothes from the attic and take inventory.
• Possibly get some maternity/family pictures made.
• Wash, dry, fold, put away the 0-3 months clothes.
• Pull the new infant car seats out of the boxes and make sure they are what we think they are and work as they should. **Done! And I’ve started stalking Joanna’s new car seat, waiting for a great price.  **We got Joanna’s new seat last week!  “We” have yet to put it in the car and make sure it’s going to work, but it’s here!
• Preregister at the hospital.
• Work on a birth plan (mainly just for us but also to bring up any questions I want to ask my doctor about this different kind of birth coming up!)
• Hospital bag lists – one for labor/delivery/right away, another of things I’d like to have if I stay a few days.
• Work on “decorating” the nursery.  **This may be more of an ongoing thing.  :) 
• Pack the hospital bags, including a list of things to add at the last minute.
• Pick up the Arms Reach Co-sleeper from a friend and get bedding washed, master bedroom organized for the boys to sleep there.
• Print some preggo pictures and get them up on the wall!
• Have one last pedicure.  :)
• Install the infant seats in the van.  Maybe also clean it out?  **Just about finished.  Matt moved James’ seat back with the girls’ and did a bit of cleaning out.  The infant seats are in the living room, ready to go in the van!
• Prep for the supremely wonderful maids who are coming on Tuesday.  **We’re pretty picked up around here.  I’m the only one who’s sort of good at it, and I’m unavailable, but everyone else is doing okay.  :)  We’ll pick up the last of the toys and clear off some more flat spaces tonight before bed.  AND THEN, how fantastic will it be to come home to a magically clean house this week?!!!