35 weeks!!!!!!!!!!! - Follow up, breakfast sausage & birth plan!

I cannot believe that we are exactly one week away from meeting our precious little piglets!!! 35 weeks, WOOOOOOO!! I'm getting more excited now than terrified, but I'm sure the night before they start me I will be singing a different tune, lol! Had my weekly BPPs with the high risk office yesterday. Both babies are champion practice breathers, look very healthy and are still quite wiggly. Such great news. It was fun to see their little feet kicking away on the screen yesterday. It cracks us up that their legs are all in one spot, my left side by ribs. Blake calls it the "foot pool". Ha ha. It's always pretty active there. I honestly don't know how they have room to wiggle ha ha, but they definitely manage. Has to be so smooshed in there :( They're both still head down. Claire is still stacked on top of her brother. You can tell on the ultrasound cause her chubby little belly is pushed in somewhat from her partially laying on his little head. My Gpa and his twin sister were so squished that he came out with a caved in rib cage. They were 7 and 8 lbs though, that is gigantic for twins. Hopefully our babies aren't that squished! They did let you go a lot longer back in the day though, I'm sure my great gma went past 36 weeks for sure. But, the babies fluid is still great, and the blood flow in their cords and placentas are still flowing properly. Tech said everything looks great. Only one more BPP appointment to go!!

Also had my weekly appointment with Dr. O yesterday. He did the strep test, checked my cervix and we went over my birthing options. Strep test was a cinch, not what I thought it was. Just a few quick swipes with a big qtip. My cervix still hasn't changed from 3cm but he said it's nice and soft, so we are on our way. We have decided to for sure do a vaginal birth with an epidural. This is the safest route for me and the babies, just incase we need to convert to a csection for one or both babies at some point. This way the epidural will already have been administered and working should a csection need to happen. Plus, I'm not about ready to be one of the super determined mothers who insists on no pain killers. There are TWO babies to push out afterall, ha ha! Yikes!! Plus, Dr. O said if Cameron flips after Claire comes out he will need to reach in and pull him out. My face was probably priceless and one of utter terror when he said the following... "If he flips, I'm gonna have to reach in and pull him out. And to be honest it isn't just going to be my hand, we're talking my arm...you DON'T want to feel that, so I'm glad you're choosing to have an epidural!" So...thank the dear Lord for epidurals, lol. Anyways, on a less terrifying note, Blake and I will head to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning next Friday. They will start me on a low dose of Pitocin, Dr. O will come break Claire's water awhile later and insert a catheter with a sensor on it that tells us how strong my contractions are. They will then administer the epidural and hopefully the babies both have a safe arrival! Dr. O said he was so proud of me for being so good on bed rest. I saw him as I came out of the bathroom before he came in the exam room and he said, "You're still pregnant!!!" I threw my arms up and said, "Yes I am! Woo hoo, one more week!!!" He and the nurses laughed, ha ha. I'm just waiting for Emma (whom I love!), Dr. O's medical assistant, to call with my exact hospital arrival time. It's going to be interesting going in at that hour because we are usually sleeping, ha ha. Hopefully I can nap Thursday and get some rest so I can get these two babies out! Very exciting and so very weird at the same time. I told Blake and my mom as we left yesterday that I feel like I'm the twilight zone, ha ha. It's almost baby time!! Just one more visit next Thursday morning with Dr. O and one more NST appointment. Sooo close!!! And who knows, maybe the munchkins will come sooner. Ya never know. When Dr. O heard that my contractions were 1.5 - 2 minutes apart at the hospital on Monday, he said the babies just may get here before next Friday. I'm thinking probably not since I'm only feeling a very small amount of the contractions I'm having. We shall see! Dr. O said that Cindy, my favorite nurse from the hospital, asked him the other day if I have a scheduled induction date yet because she wants to be sure she's working that day so she can see me and the babies, he he. I love amazing nurses!! Hopefully we see her. She's the one who mailed me the Preeclampsia and preterm labor info packets and cds. Soo sweet of her. 

I'm feeling alright considering my big ol belly and how hard bedrest is on your body! I've definitely started to puff up this last week, my legs are huge and my face is definitely more puffy. All a part of pregnancy! I can't fit in my maternity pants and lots of my shirts anymore, ha ha. Belly is too big now and my legs are too puffy for my pants. I'm super lucky to have only gotten really puffy my last week of pregnancy! Most poor women are super puffy for at least a month. I have started to feel super tired and nauseated lately. Again, just end of pregnancy symptoms. I have though started craving breakfast sausage, orange juice and peanut butter on toast like you wouldn't believe!! I could eat nothing but that for the rest of the week. One day I drank an entire carton of orange juice in like 1.5 hrs, ha ha. Babies love it and are super wiggly when I drink it. That and ginger ale make them do dances :) Early and mid way during the pregnancy I ate lottts of things with spaghetti sauce in it, apple juice, bananas, spinach salads, jazz apples, squash, baked potatoes, tomatoes, apples with peanut butter, stax chips, turkey sandwiches...and now I love breakfast sausage links, orange juice, pot pies, baked potatoes, toast with peanut butter, Immaculate brand cookies, ginger ale, fish sticks, tuna and other sandwiches. I'm definitely craving more protein, but that's good for the babies cause they need to pack on the chub!

Here are some recent pictures...

Mine and mom's fortune cookies from Pei Wei, ha ha! So true! She will be doing my shower after I'm recovered and I will be nurturing TWO babies!

What my face looked like about 1.5 months ago versus now :(

At the hospital for NSTs 

My sister said my tightly pulled belly button looks like a little mouth, so I added some sunglasses, lol ;)

Daddy putting together Clairebear's owl bouncer while I relax in my recliner :)