How Many Weeks: 32 weeks pregnant with twins.
Babies Update: This week was an exciting milestone in that if the babies were born now they’d have a 99% chance of survival! That being said, my doctor will still try to stop labor if it happens before 34 weeks. The babies themselves are approximately 4-4.5 lbs and potentially 18 inches long or longer. That explains why I feel Baby A in my crotch and Baby B as high as my ribs. As of my last doctor appointment they were both head down and based on kicks I’m 99% sure they still are.
Frequency of Doctor Appointments: OBGYN every 2 weeks and specialist every 4. Haven’t seen either since my last update.
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks – I think I’ve actually been getting fewer of them since I started tracking my water intake about a week ago. Dehydration is one of the causes of preterm labor and with two placentas, two babies and two sacs of amniotic fluid, I need a lot of water! I’ve been using the app WaterMinder and trying to drink a minimum of 120 oz a day (some experts recommend a gallon/128 oz a day for women pregnant with twins; my doctor did not give me any guidance on how much water to drink). It actually isn’t that hard for me to drink that much and I usually go over 120 oz, but once I started doing it I realized I was not drinking that much before because I now have to pee even more frequently.
Weight Gain: 37 pounds. Again just one pound this week which is about equivalent to the weight the babies have put on themselves (1/2 pound per week per baby is estimated growth at this point). Related: I still don’t have stretch marks but the belly still has a ways to go so I’m not getting my hopes up that I’ll avoid them quite yet.
Movement: They definitely make themselves known especially in the evening when I’m eating dessert or trying to go to sleep. I still feel Baby A a lot more than Baby B due to the position of the placentas.
Symptoms: I felt pretty good this week. My main complaint is being sleepy but it wasn’t as bad as other weeks. I didn’t have much back pain (maybe because I’ve been doing so much prenatal yoga?) and have felt pretty energized. Besides that, it’s just the normal symptoms of not being able to lay on my back without feeling weird and being easily winded (laundry feels about as tough as a 5 mile run used to feel…I’m only kind of kidding).
Cravings/Food Aversions: Nothing unusual – eating dessert nightly but that’s not out of the norm for me.
Purchasing/Borrowing: A friend lent us a Rock n’ Play and a bouncer – we are going to have several of these now but I’m thankful because I’ve heard you want a place to put the babies in every room.
Maternity Clothes: I’m officially growing out of some of my maternity shirts! My belly is now too large and my skin peeks out the bottom.
Exercise: Still exercising most days of the week and trying to do prenatal yoga at a minimum of three days a week. This past week I went on two long walks/hikes (3+ miles) with friends, did three prenatal yoga workouts and two strength training workouts. PS I am hosting a free 10 day bootcamp starting Monday, Feb 23 – get more info and join by filling out this form (this can be modified to be pregnancly friendly but is geared towards those who aren’t pregnant). You’ll get 30 minute daily workouts, healthy recipes, and support from me and a few other coaches.
Interesting Moments: I’m 99.9% sure we’ve settled on the girls’ first names. We’ve had these names in mind for a while (so if I’d told you the names it’s probably still those) but we weren’t ready to say they were the ones yet. We’re still working on middle names and will probably wait to announce the names til they’re born.
Best Moments: I had my Baby Sprinkle last Saturday, hosted by my friends Allison and Rachel. I intentionally kept the guest list pretty small and it was the perfect day. Alison did a diaper raffle at the shower which meant that most guests brought a bag/box of diapers and got entered in a raffle for a prize – we ended up with a lot of diapers which is a good thing because the twins alone will be using about 600 diapers a month (and we’re not potty training Siena before they come).
Leading up to the shower I got a little pampered and got my nails done with friends and got a blow out which was also really nice!
Missing: My energy! Guess I won’t be getting that back anytime soon though once the twins arrive!
Looking Forward To: My prenatal massage today! My sister in law is treating us to a little spa morning. Can’t wait!
See my Twin Pregnancy page for previous updates!
Are you pregnant or recently had a baby? I’d love to connect with you in my Healthy and Happy Pregnancy and Postpartum Support group. Join us!
Looking so good and positive!! Very exciting!! Just a few more weeks!!
Thanks Leslie!
Love reading your blog, thank you for the updates! I am 16w+3d pregnant with twins and was a fairly avid runner/ trail runner before becoming pregnant but read so much conflicting advice about running in a twin pregnancy.
I had planned to run a half marathon at 6 months when I thought I was having one, but since about 12 weeks I have been struggling mentally to go longer than 5K. The last few workouts I have just felt like my uterus is really heavy and I get worried that something is going to go wrong – like they are going to just fall out or something lol (I know they wont but it is a weird feeling). I don’t have pain and my biggest discomfort is just lack of energy.
I am curious how you actually felt physically in your belly as you were progressing with running during the pregnancy. Did you struggle with any changing sensations?
I am seeing a twin specialist on Friday and will tell them my concerns but I am worried they are just going to tell me to stop running which I really hate to do…
Thanks!
Andrea
Congrats to you!
My doctor was super supportive of running during my twin pregnancy but I know some are more conservative than others. I don’t think I would have been able to do a half marathon (or maybe just wouldn’t have wanted to?) at 6 months but it really depends on your individual fitness level – plus I think I would have been incredibly tired and it would have taken me a few days to recover from it and I have to take care of my toddler and I can’t sleep in to make up for it.
I was surprised that most of the time my belly didn’t hurt at all! Some days I’d have round ligament pains and have to walk more, but like you, it was mostly that I felt like I was slow and had a lack of energy more than anything else. It just was harder to actually run, not painful. Since I gave it up I’ve been surprisingly OK with it.
Please let me know what your specialist says! Feel free to email me fitnessfataleblog@gmail.com or add me on Facebook Nicole Dobransky and keep in touch!