We’re only one week away from full term! More than 50% of twins have been born by this point and I’m feeling fortunate to be here and looking ahead to 37 weeks. I was just telling Mike that I feel like I’m living between two worlds – our pre-twins life and our post-twins life. If all goes well, we should live more of our lives with the twins in it than without them, and that’s crazy to think about! We don’t even know them yet, but they’re going to be such a HUGE part of the rest of our lives. What will they be like? Will they be similar or complete opposites? Will they be best friends for life or go their separate ways? I can’t wait to find out!
This last week was super busy (hence why I didn’t get any other blog posts out even though I have 3 I’m working on) and at times I felt overwhelmed by everything that I needed to get done. Now I’m feeling a lot more on top of things but still not 100% ready for these babies to join us yet (are you ever truly ready!?). I’ve also have a few fleeting moments of sadness that I’ll never be pregnant again, but overall I’m ready to be done with the pregnancy phase and move on!
How Many Weeks: This update covers 36 weeks pregnant with fraternal girl twins.
Babies Update: According to my Ovia Pregnancy app the twins are the size of a ripe papaya or a cabbage patch doll. Both babies are still head down and it’s highly unlikely they’ll flip at this point.
Frequency of Doctor Appointments: At my appointment last Friday I was surprised by my doctor who told me that I would be having routine non-stress tests (NSTs) TWICE a week from here on out. I have to go to the hospital to have them (luckily it’s just 10 minutes away) so these are in addition to my now weekly doctor appointments. At my first NST on Tuesday I was there for nearly 2 hours because Baby A wasn’t giving them the reading they needed (she kept coming off the monitor). they made me drink cold water and eat a sugary snack to get her moving. It’s funny because it seems like Baby A is always the trouble maker and Baby B is the laid back one. We’ve actually named them according to these in-womb personalities so it’ll be interesting to see how their personalities differ when they come out. Everything looked just fine and I was let go (I feel like every time I go for one of these I’ll wonder if I’ll be staying).
Between the doctor appointments, nesting and naps, this twin pregnancy thing is now officially a part time job and I’ve reduced my hours of my digital marketing manager consulting role and will officially be transitioning that role to someone else on April 1st. I’ll be continuing with some of my responsibilities after the babies come and some I’ll be handing off completely, scaling my hours back by about 50% in total. I will be continuing to host my monthly fitness challenge groups but will be co-hosting with two other coaches to make sure that everyone is getting the attention they need!
In other news, my doctor delivers all his patient’s babies except for the ONE weekend he takes off per month. Luckily he was out of town last weekend and won’t be out of town again until after my induction date (which I’m just assuming would be exactly 39 weeks, April 12th at this point, we do NOT have an official date yet).
Labor Signs: I’ve been having slightly more Braxton Hicks (which were caught on the NST), and on Sunday I had a few with some light cramping but nothing crazy. I’ve also had a few sharp, quick stabbing pains in my lower pelvic area. Besides that, no signs that they’re coming. It doesn’t feel like Baby A has dropped at all.
Just like he did my last pregnancy, every night now Mike asks me, “Is tonight the night?” and for now, I say “No!”
Weight Gain: One more pound this week, 44 pounds total.
Symptoms: Feeling gigantic and emotional. I officially struggle to put my shoes on, a new milestone for this pregnancy that I didn’t achieve with my previous one. I’m winded super easily, am very tired, and am starting to have a hard time falling asleep, but I think that’s all mental. I am waking up more often in the night as well. People officially stare at me in public now and ask if I’m due any day. But besides that, I still count my blessings that my main complaint is just feeling very, very pregnant. I’ve also found myself crying and getting teary-eyed more often. Hormones!
Cravings/Food Aversions: This week I was craving corn chips and guacamole or dip.
Purchasing/Borrowing: Big week for borrowing – we borrowed my good friend Allison’s car seat, car seat adapter for our City Select stroller and the glider board for Siena to stand on. Mike put the stroller together and Siena had fun pretending to push her sisters around.
Maternity Clothes: I don’t have many tops that aren’t slightly short anymore (see photo above – not sure midriff tops on pregnant women are exactly in style). I avoid wearing jeans as much as possible and pretty much live in workout clothes and pajamas.
Exercise: I intend to work out most days (at least a long walk) because that’s my routine, but I just go with the flow and see how I feel. Some days I just don’t feel like it, so I don’t! This week I went to a prenatal yoga class, did a prenatal yoga workout on Beachbody on Demand, did one strength training workout on BOD, and went for two long walks, one with Mike and another with a friend. One day I spent two hours cooking and freezing sweet potato lentil kale pockets for easy to grab snacks and meals for when the babies come and counted that as my workout.
Interesting Moments: Mike organized all of the “baby seats” that we have in our garage – he counted them up and we have 20! Not to mention the three we have out on loan right now. These babies have plenty of options (some of them they’ll use when they’re bigger, not now so it’s not really 20….). Most of these have been borrowed from friends or family – we’re very lucky to have a lot of generous friends! I’m pretty sure Siena has tried out all of the seats herself – she’s been having fun pretending to be a baby lately.
Best Moments: Celebrating Mike’s birthday last weekend! We had a really good time at dinner on Saturday night, slept in Sunday and went out for coffee and then a long walk on the coast, more coffee and lunch! That afternoon we got a ton of stuff done at home and then Mike’s parents brought Siena back home and we had them and my sister and brother in law over for dinner to celebrate the March birthdays. 
Missing: Cuddling. It just doesn’t work right now.
Looking Forward To: A fun weekend ahead – we have dinner plans with friends tonight, we’re taking Siena to an easter egg hunt and brunch with the North County Moms of Multiples group that I joined (our friends who have triplets are also members), I have a walk planned with my friend Kelley, and a birthday party Sunday.
See my Twin Pregnancy page for previous updates!
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