I am 32 weeks! Just trying to make it to at least 34 weeks, and anything after 36 weeks would be gravy (for the babies, but probably not for me). I feel huge and heavy and it's very unwieldy getting around. But my belly is incredibly sharp - all pointy and no sides.
One of the moms in my twins group got scheduled for a C-section at 37 weeks and she said she never thought she'd get so uncomfortable that she was happy to be cut open, but I guess that's the kind of relief all moms of multiples are looking forward to.
At the latest ultrasound appointment I went to, we could barely make sense of heads or stomachs or legs and arms, it was just a blurry mass of black and white and grainy gray. But there was one part that had me laughing, which was when my whole belly was shaking and you could clearly see one twin kicking the other twin - but I just wasn't sure where the foot was landing - maybe the stomach? The neck? Gosh, already wanting more privacy and space, poor things.
I am definitely running out of room in there - my stomach looks like a torpedo and my belly button not only has become an outie but is basically a mini-projectile itself. I don't know where the babies will find more room! But overall I am still feeling pretty good, just a lot more easily tired and I often find myself accidentally scraping my belly on a door or a chair because I underestimate the size of my belly.
I feel the babies' movements a lot more "sharply" this time around than last, if that makes sense - I can't tell which baby is moving but sometimes there seems to be a lot of movement that happens all at once. I suspect this is when both babies are moving (or fighting or kicking or bouncing off of each other). And then of course because they're so packed in there, I have felt a few very sharp scrapes and kicks in some inopportune places, like my ribs and my bladder. I have had way more freakishly knob-like protrusions on my stomach this time around than last. They are particularly active right before I go to bed and sometimes, sitting on my bed, I just watch my belly shift up and down and undulate with their activities (visible through pajamas).
The babies are on track (for twins - there's a different scale for size that will help you compare to a singleton) size-wise and weight wise, and are a little over 3 pounds each. They're pretty close in size to one another, which helps relieve everyone's worries about twin-to-twin transfusion (TTS) or other issues. (Quick background, basically, very early on my doctor here was pretty sure that they were DCDA twins (each in their own amniotic sac, each in their own placenta) which is the least risky combination of twins to have, and a pretty good indication that they are fraternal. But the only time you can really clearly be certain is during the nucal translucency scan in a very short time during weeks 10-12. And I got my scan at Weill Cornell in New York over the summer, and I have not been able to get access to my sonogram pictures from there to verify. But the sonographer who did my scan at the time seemed very confident that there were two placentas and put that in the report. So we're going with that. If the twins did share a placenta, however, then there would be additional risks of TTS which is when one twin grows and the other doesn't, perhaps because one is siphoning off all of the nutrients from the other.)
Otherwise, all well here. The gestational diabetes are still a pain but I have some psychological relief knowing that the end is near now. The insulin shots, as awful as they are, are actually manageable once you become used to it (and you have to inure yourself to it pretty quickly, because it happens every meal) and I am feeling much less stressed now that my numbers have steadied and are a little more predictable. The only thing is that I've managed to bruise up my right thigh completely from the shots - probably because I'm right handed and just much more forceful than I need to be. Unfortunately going on insulin doesn't mean you're allowed to eat whatever you want - it's still eating the strict GD diet but with more needles and finger pricks in addition. I think my worst cravings have been when I sit down next to Lola for breakfast when she has a thick, fluffy, hot pancake drizzled in honey and paired with fruit or fresh squeezed orange juice, while I sit with my egg omelette and 1 slice of multi-grain wheat bread with peanut butter. Auuuugh! Today I cheated and ate a whole apple instead of half of one - yes, this is the kind of guilty indulgence we are talking about!
One of the moms in my twins group got scheduled for a C-section at 37 weeks and she said she never thought she'd get so uncomfortable that she was happy to be cut open, but I guess that's the kind of relief all moms of multiples are looking forward to.
At the latest ultrasound appointment I went to, we could barely make sense of heads or stomachs or legs and arms, it was just a blurry mass of black and white and grainy gray. But there was one part that had me laughing, which was when my whole belly was shaking and you could clearly see one twin kicking the other twin - but I just wasn't sure where the foot was landing - maybe the stomach? The neck? Gosh, already wanting more privacy and space, poor things.
I am definitely running out of room in there - my stomach looks like a torpedo and my belly button not only has become an outie but is basically a mini-projectile itself. I don't know where the babies will find more room! But overall I am still feeling pretty good, just a lot more easily tired and I often find myself accidentally scraping my belly on a door or a chair because I underestimate the size of my belly.
I feel the babies' movements a lot more "sharply" this time around than last, if that makes sense - I can't tell which baby is moving but sometimes there seems to be a lot of movement that happens all at once. I suspect this is when both babies are moving (or fighting or kicking or bouncing off of each other). And then of course because they're so packed in there, I have felt a few very sharp scrapes and kicks in some inopportune places, like my ribs and my bladder. I have had way more freakishly knob-like protrusions on my stomach this time around than last. They are particularly active right before I go to bed and sometimes, sitting on my bed, I just watch my belly shift up and down and undulate with their activities (visible through pajamas).
The babies are on track (for twins - there's a different scale for size that will help you compare to a singleton) size-wise and weight wise, and are a little over 3 pounds each. They're pretty close in size to one another, which helps relieve everyone's worries about twin-to-twin transfusion (TTS) or other issues. (Quick background, basically, very early on my doctor here was pretty sure that they were DCDA twins (each in their own amniotic sac, each in their own placenta) which is the least risky combination of twins to have, and a pretty good indication that they are fraternal. But the only time you can really clearly be certain is during the nucal translucency scan in a very short time during weeks 10-12. And I got my scan at Weill Cornell in New York over the summer, and I have not been able to get access to my sonogram pictures from there to verify. But the sonographer who did my scan at the time seemed very confident that there were two placentas and put that in the report. So we're going with that. If the twins did share a placenta, however, then there would be additional risks of TTS which is when one twin grows and the other doesn't, perhaps because one is siphoning off all of the nutrients from the other.)
Otherwise, all well here. The gestational diabetes are still a pain but I have some psychological relief knowing that the end is near now. The insulin shots, as awful as they are, are actually manageable once you become used to it (and you have to inure yourself to it pretty quickly, because it happens every meal) and I am feeling much less stressed now that my numbers have steadied and are a little more predictable. The only thing is that I've managed to bruise up my right thigh completely from the shots - probably because I'm right handed and just much more forceful than I need to be. Unfortunately going on insulin doesn't mean you're allowed to eat whatever you want - it's still eating the strict GD diet but with more needles and finger pricks in addition. I think my worst cravings have been when I sit down next to Lola for breakfast when she has a thick, fluffy, hot pancake drizzled in honey and paired with fruit or fresh squeezed orange juice, while I sit with my egg omelette and 1 slice of multi-grain wheat bread with peanut butter. Auuuugh! Today I cheated and ate a whole apple instead of half of one - yes, this is the kind of guilty indulgence we are talking about!
The end is in sight! I was induced at 38 weeks and had them at 38+3. Induction was dreadful, but I felt SO much better once the babes were in the outside-it was night and day! All of my symptoms disappeared pretty immediately. Good luck in your final weeks, I hope it goes as smoothly as possible!
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