Nearly 9 Pounds of Baby!

Today we had our 33 week ultrasound. The girls have now grown to 4 lbs 5oz and 4 lbs 7oz.  I’m so happy that they’ve both crossed the 4 pound mark and are continuing to do well. It's also comforting that they're close in size again. If it had gone the other way, that could have earned me an emergency c-section. We're proud of them for continuing to share!

I asked about the meds that I’m on to keep the contractions under control and whether there was any risk to the babies being on it. No risks that they’re aware of, and it’s actually routinely given to newborns to help their breathing right after they are born (it’s meant to be an asthma/breathing medication). So that was good to hear – I was a bit paranoid because it seemed to be the contraction drug of last resort.

I also asked the doctor about scheduling my c-section and what she was thinking in terms of timing. At 10 weeks I was told that I would deliver at 36 weeks at the latest, which is Thanksgiving Day. Given our previous discussions and the size of the girls at this point, I really didn’t think I’d make it anywhere close to 36 weeks. She wants to plan for the Monday afternoon after Thanksgiving, 11/28, which would put me at 36 weeks and 4 days. I’m glad she thinks the girls and I are healthy enough to make it that far, but I didn’t think going past Thanksgiving was even an option, so I have mixed feelings about it. On the bright side, if the girls stay on the track they’re on, they could potentially avoid the NICU all together and come home with us right away.

I had a rough night last night (admittedly it was my own fault – I was on my feet more than I should have been and I got myself dehydrated), so I was asking if the doctor really thought I’d make it to the end of the month. She basically said she doesn’t know what’s going to happen but wants to try to wait as long as I can. It sounded like she is open to delivering as soon as next week if I really get uncomfortable, but doesn’t want to take them out without having a good reason. She seemed surprised by how well I was doing and mentioned that her partners were trying to convince her to do an emergency c-section at 26 weeks when I was having all the breathing issues.

We go back on Friday for another ultrasound and we’ll revisit c-section timing at that point and get something scheduled. In the meantime I’m still on home bed rest. I asked about whether I was allowed out of the house for good behavior but she laughed at me and said “no, I just told you that you were doing good, why do you want to screw it up?” Fair enough I suppose. She said maybe after next week’s visit I’ll be allowed to leave the house for meals, but I’m not getting my hopes up yet.