Today is our first day of school after a great summer break. ! All the girls slept past their alarm this morning, which is fine, the alarm is only to keep them IN bed until a decent hour. I had plenty of time this morning to have a cup of tea in solitude, check my email, make breakfast, set the table, and lay out clothes before anyone woke up. And we still had plenty of time to get ready for school before the bus arrived at 7:50am.
Alyssa and Lizzie are playing in the backyard and the house is clean and tidy - beds made, table washed, dishes done. :-) Soon I'll call them inside and we'll start our kindergarten homeschooling. We have group classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Routine OB appointment on Wednesday. I feel great, and feel fetal movements regularly. The contagious portion of the whooping cough has passed (I never caught it) and although some coughing remains we are healthy enough to be around people without fear of infecting others. On September 4th we'll have a lengthy ultrasound to check all aspects of the developing babies, including genders. !
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Movement
I must have completely missed the "flutter" stage, because I've begun feeling little kicks and jabs from the little ones.
I kind-of thought that with twins I would grow twice as quickly (although that seems silly in hindsight because that would mean measuring full-term at 20 weeks) but my fundal heighth today measures 18 weeks which is only one week larger than my dates (currently 17 weeks). It will be interesting to compare fundal heighth measurements with twins to the normal measurements of a singleton.
I suppose I should measure my circumference too? Today I measure 34.5 inches (about 87cm). My pre-pregnancy waist was about 26 inches. I don't own a scale so I can't say how much weight I've gained; pre-pregnancy was 127 pounds. For the last couple of years I've worn only long skirts and dresses (with very few exceptions). This has made dressing my changing figure very simple with only my small fitted-waist skirts no longer fitting - most are elastic waist and fit just fine under the belly. Soon I'll have to get some maternity shirts though, or I'll be walking around with a long skirt, a little shirt, and a great big naked belly sticking out in the middle! Oh no, definately not my style!
I kind-of thought that with twins I would grow twice as quickly (although that seems silly in hindsight because that would mean measuring full-term at 20 weeks) but my fundal heighth today measures 18 weeks which is only one week larger than my dates (currently 17 weeks). It will be interesting to compare fundal heighth measurements with twins to the normal measurements of a singleton.
I suppose I should measure my circumference too? Today I measure 34.5 inches (about 87cm). My pre-pregnancy waist was about 26 inches. I don't own a scale so I can't say how much weight I've gained; pre-pregnancy was 127 pounds. For the last couple of years I've worn only long skirts and dresses (with very few exceptions). This has made dressing my changing figure very simple with only my small fitted-waist skirts no longer fitting - most are elastic waist and fit just fine under the belly. Soon I'll have to get some maternity shirts though, or I'll be walking around with a long skirt, a little shirt, and a great big naked belly sticking out in the middle! Oh no, definately not my style!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Whooping Cough
Southern California (or is it all of California?) is experiencing a whooping cough epidemic. Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria. Vaccinations may have around a 40% failure rate and teens/adults often don't get booster shots to maintain their "immunity". I don't believe vaccinations to be natural or healthy and have elected not to inject foreign proteins and toxins into my children.
All three of my kids (one at a time) recently experienced a two-day fever between 101F and 104F. After about a week of wellness they developed a cough - the oldest one first, then the youngest, and now the middle child. It is the cough of my 2-year-old that is most like whooping cough. She behaves normally until sudden coughing fits wrack her little body until she's gasping for air (whoop!). And then she's fine again. Whooping cough often lasts a good 6 weeks, with the most contagious part being before the coughing begins and for 2 weeks after. Antibiotics taken after the cough begins will do little to affect the course of the "disease" but will shorten the period of contagion.
SO..... I was supposed to see Dr. Biter today, but rescheduled to avoid infecting any babies that would be in his office. Infants have undeveloped immune systems and can die from a bad case of whooping cough. I never seem to get sick during pregnancy.... does the immune system work overtime during pregnancy?
My next appointment will be in exactly three weeks, followed by a lengthy ultrasound appointment on September 4th. We should find out the sex of the babies at that time. :-)
All three of my kids (one at a time) recently experienced a two-day fever between 101F and 104F. After about a week of wellness they developed a cough - the oldest one first, then the youngest, and now the middle child. It is the cough of my 2-year-old that is most like whooping cough. She behaves normally until sudden coughing fits wrack her little body until she's gasping for air (whoop!). And then she's fine again. Whooping cough often lasts a good 6 weeks, with the most contagious part being before the coughing begins and for 2 weeks after. Antibiotics taken after the cough begins will do little to affect the course of the "disease" but will shorten the period of contagion.
SO..... I was supposed to see Dr. Biter today, but rescheduled to avoid infecting any babies that would be in his office. Infants have undeveloped immune systems and can die from a bad case of whooping cough. I never seem to get sick during pregnancy.... does the immune system work overtime during pregnancy?
My next appointment will be in exactly three weeks, followed by a lengthy ultrasound appointment on September 4th. We should find out the sex of the babies at that time. :-)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
15 weeks.
I think tomorrow makes 15 weeks.
I've started sleeping with a big pillow propping up my shoulder/belly/hip/knee. As a stomach sleeper my biggest "hardship" is when I can no longer sleep face down and have to try to sleep on my side. I delay the inevitable as long as I can, with pillows and more pillows!
It's been two weeks since my last email from the Intended Parents. In my last email to them I asked about their plans regarding inducing lactation and did they want to use my milk for the first few weeks after birth (before they fly home to Germany). No response. Maybe breast milk is a taboo topic in Germany - I don't know. California is so liberal we can generally talk openly about ANYTHING. Needless to say, I'm a little bit uncomfortable with being pregnant with someone else's children and losing contact with them.
I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation.
:-)
I've started sleeping with a big pillow propping up my shoulder/belly/hip/knee. As a stomach sleeper my biggest "hardship" is when I can no longer sleep face down and have to try to sleep on my side. I delay the inevitable as long as I can, with pillows and more pillows!
It's been two weeks since my last email from the Intended Parents. In my last email to them I asked about their plans regarding inducing lactation and did they want to use my milk for the first few weeks after birth (before they fly home to Germany). No response. Maybe breast milk is a taboo topic in Germany - I don't know. California is so liberal we can generally talk openly about ANYTHING. Needless to say, I'm a little bit uncomfortable with being pregnant with someone else's children and losing contact with them.
I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation.
:-)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Nothing To Report
I know I should be posting more often, but I don't have much to say at this stage. The meds were very interesting and gave a lot to talk about, but I'm off all meds now...
I've just begun the second trimester and my energy level is pretty much back to normal. My waistline has swelled just a little bit, mostly due to lots of cheese and crackers during the first trimester, and maybe a little bit due to my growing uterus. But I don't feel the babies moving yet and won't expect to for a few weeks. I just feel... normal.
The heat wave in San Diego has abated. I think we hit 89 F. ;-) Lovely San Diego.
I've just begun the second trimester and my energy level is pretty much back to normal. My waistline has swelled just a little bit, mostly due to lots of cheese and crackers during the first trimester, and maybe a little bit due to my growing uterus. But I don't feel the babies moving yet and won't expect to for a few weeks. I just feel... normal.
The heat wave in San Diego has abated. I think we hit 89 F. ;-) Lovely San Diego.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Appointment with Dr. Biter
I had my first appointment with Dr. Biter today. He lived up to his reputation in both the good and the bad. It's known that the wait time to see him is usually around an hour. :-( This is because he never rushes through an appointment, in my case he even chatted for a few minutes with my overly talkative 5yo. The good is his wonderful bedside manner (no rushing) and his belief in a woman's ability to birth naturally, even in the case of twins (given that mom and babies are healthy and in a good birthing position).
Here's today's ultrasound pic of the twosome. Both heads are on the left, with the bodies to the right.
Here's a 3d picture of one of the babies. The other wasn't positioned to get a clear pic. I hope you can see it as clearly as the original printout: head, body, arms and legs. Amazing!
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