I last posted around 20 weeks and a lot has happened since then, at least as far as the pregnancy is concerned. First and foremost (other than how huge I am now) is that the boys are moving all the time now. Initially it was exciting and reassuring to feel the little flutters and kicks, soft little taps here and there that have now escalated to a full blown assault on my internal organs. There are short periods throughout the day where my activity level lulls them into complacency but for the most part it's a pretty consistent barrage of flips and turns that make me think we have future kick boxers in there. Both babies are in good positions and at our last ultrasound they resembled rock'em sock'em robots, righty kicking lefty in the head and lefty punching righty wherever he can, hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.
As we head into our 27th week and the beginning of the third trimester we have begun our baby care classes. First was breastfeeding and childcare and though informative, it was a little disheartening as well. I've been around a lot of babies in my life so I wasn't terribly worried about the baby care part. I am however very concerned about the breastfeeding part. I've invested in several books and done lots of online research on how to successfully breastfeed twins. I know it will be a challenge, I know it will be one of the hardest things I will ever do and I am determined to do whatever it takes, my instructor however seemed pretty intent on making it seem as daunting a task as possible. Not every set of twins is able to nurse in tandem, and we are prepared for the fact that if ours are not I will probably be breastfeeding for something like 10-12 hours out of every day, a point our instructor seemed amused in pointing out. I'm prepared for the massive amounts of calories I will have to consume to help maintain my supply for two babies and we have talked with our doctor about renting a hospital pump so that somewhere around two weeks Brady will be able to help out with a feeding or two so that I might actually be able to get a shower or nap in :) This weekend we have our childbirth preparation class, the one where we hopefully learn all kinds of wonderful positions and techniques for helping to ease the pain and discomfort of labor, our goal is to go as long as we can without the drugs but I have no illusions of grandeur regarding my ability to tolerate pain. I have known women who have delivered babies all natural (my amazing mother, with her first set of twins no less) but I'm pretty sure that isn't something I will be able to do, then again I might just surprise myself (and everyone else) I guess I should never say never.
The farther along I get the bigger the belly gets, a few weeks ago we started measuring my girth with a measuring tape and currently I am at about 41.5 inches around. My belly button, once an innie has become flat and bulging. I've gained 35 lbs to date and it appears to be all belly, my back is wickedly uncomfortable and though I've invested in a back support brace I find that I can't last more than a couple of hours on my feet or sitting up before it's screaming at me to lay down. My amazing and wonderful husband treated me to a soft and comfy new sectional for Christmas and I spend a lot of my time with my feet up resting. It's hard to not be able to be as active as I'd like but I take one day at a time, making specific lists and tackling necessary tasks as my body allows it. I've come a long way and I just have a few more weeks to go, I know in a couple of months I will be longing for an afternoon on the couch of watching old movies and sipping tea so I try to remind myself of that every time I get frustrated that I can't clean the entire house in a couple of hours like I used to.
After months of guarded optimism it's starting to become real to both Brady and myself that in fact, in a few short weeks our little guys will be here. I cannot wait to meet them and get more excited with every day. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were just starting down this path, every time I find myself lamenting about my growing discomfort or my inability to put my own socks on (seriously I can't bend over) I try to remember how very lucky we are. How blessed we are to have made it this far in our journey to have our family and I know it is all worth it.
Per request, here is a pic of me today @ exactly 27 weeks.
