35 week Belly Pictures

Thirty Five Weeks, One Day

35 Weeks, One Day

My Beautiful Swollen Feet, 35 weeks

Just some pictures of the belly, continually growing. I can't wear my wedding ring anymore and thankfully it is nice out, because even the flip flops struggle to get on my beautiful feet. :) I never have had very attractive feet. LOL, but this is certainly a stretch.

I feel pretty good, definitely have moments of not feeling well, but so far, they have just been moments. I can't do much anymore (nor should I, as I am constantly reminded). I am thankful for Dustin, who is very instrumental in getting me off the floor, helping me out of bed, etc.

We avoided the NICU. I have been in Pre-Term labor for 4 weeks, but manged to keep it quiet with medicine and rest. Pretty amazing.

Thank you to Dustin's Aunt Candy for the very sweet package we received yesterday in the mail. How fun!

And lastly, Happy 26th Birthday to the twin's Auntie Betsy. Baby G-Funk and his brother love you very much. When I was just pregnant (before I even knew we were having twins), I CRAVED BBQ chips one day. I was at work and Betsy works in the same town I do. I had the baby send her an e-mail to get us some chips and it was signed of course, Baby G-Funk.

Love to All, Sara

May Day!

Happy May Day!!

We made it! Any time after tomorrow (35 weeks) the boys can be born in Princeton at Fairview Northland Hospital. No NICU, no University, etc. I am so incredibly excited about that. One of my biggest fears was having these little guys too early and to try to manage my time between two Neonatal Intenstive Care Unit Incubators, trying to find a place to eat/sleep and worrying about leaving them, etc. I could never leave, I know that. I am just thankful now that I don't have to worry about it.

I am still having a few breakthrough contractions, despite the increase in Procardia. I still get a headache and a backache, but it is nothing compared to what Zachary & Maxwell would have to go through as preemies. Full term for twins is 36-38 weeks, so almost there.

And our little guys have been SO incredibly active. Despite their increase in size, I can still feel them kick and squirm and move. I actually feel MORE movement now than I did before when they were little and like I said before, I can pretty much tell what is what now. I know where their little body parts are and what is jabbing at me. :) Last night, I held my breath and just watched my tummy, they looked like little kick boxers. I just laugh, it brings me such joy. They hear Dustin's voice & always kick. I know they miss him when he is at work.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you, at the ultrasound on Wednesday, the tech commented on how much hair baby A (Zachary) has. She just smiled and said, "Wow, he has a FULL head of hair!" It showed up on the machine as a white shadow. VERY VERY cool. :) Dustin had hair as a baby, but this Mama, BALD until my 2nd birthday maybe? She didn't mention hair on Baby B. LOL. I can not wait to see their little faces, kiss their little cheeks and get to be a Mommy to TWO earth angels.

Love, Sara

Proof that we are STILL in Pre-Term Labor

I guess I never really had any doubts that it had stopped... But I was feeling pretty good for the last few days. I had a really good weekend, a decent Monday and a normal Tuesday. I laid down to go to bed last night and starting having contractions about 7 minutes apart. I figured it was because I was just at the end of my Procardia dose. I took it, drank some water, did fetal kick counts and fell asleep. I have Narcolepsy, so I think I fell asleep about 10 minutes into kick counts and Zach was ahead, 8-5. They want you to get 10 per baby in one hour.

I woke up this morning and felt ok, but I was so incredibly uncomfortable. I had the back ache, the headache, and my contractions were still strong. I drank some water and laid down to do kick counts and after 45 minutes, only had ONE per baby! Way decreased fetal movement, especially considering I had just ate breakfast and had drank a ton of water.

I had rescheduled my OB appt. from tomorrow to today earlier in the week and it was at 11:30 a.m. I tossed around whether I should wait for my appointment or call Labor & Delivery. I decided to call. They wanted me to come right in, since I had all ready done all the things I could do at home.

I go to check in and had the sweetest registration lady. She told me I looked like I was ready to have the babies, NOW! She said I just have this look in my eye? Whatever that means, I thought it was cute.

I got upstairs, went on the monitor right away. Babies were pretty good, my contractions were strong. I had to stay on the Non-Stress Test monitors for a while until the Labor & Delivery nurse spoke with Dr. Roberts. She wanted me to have an ultrasound.

Zach is still head down, Max is still breech. The weights today, which are probably off and have a one pound margin of error were Zachary at 4 lbs. 11 oz. and Max at 4 lbs. 5 oz. I am certain that Max has gained weight in the past two weeks! The ultrasound machine is only a 2D here and certainly a low model compared to the 4D ultrasound at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Center.

I had to take 20 mg of Procardia at the hospital, which just about knocked me on my ass and now, I need to increase my meds to four times a day, instead of three. Holy Hannah, I don't know how I am going to deal with the migraines that come along with it though.

So, still cooking Twins...

Hugs, Sara

34 Week Belly Picture

23 weeks

11 weeks later, 34 weeks.

I tried to find some pictures that looked similar to compare the belly. It is continue to get bigger and bigger. I am not entirely uncomfortable all the time, but I certainly can not be without my Procardia either.

The boys have been very active lately, which I love. I can tell what all of their little body parts are. Today, Zach was twisting his feet around and I could feel all of his little foot going back and forth. Dustin usually gets to catch most of it and feel it too. I think that is the one thing I will miss when I am not pregnant.

At 34 weeks, we would still have to deliver at the University and spend some time at the NICU. We need to get to next Saturday to be able to deliver in Princeton. We are almost, almost there!! :)

I go to the doctor again on Thursday. I will update more after then.

Hugs & Love to All,
The Grieser's

Feel Bad Tuesdays

I think I am going to start naming Tuesday's, "Feel Bad Tuesday's" because again yesterday, I felt bad. I woke up several times on Monday night with contractions, a few of them were VERY painful and woke me out of a deep sleep. I could not get comfortable and I had a nasty, middle back ache. I was a little reassured since my backache was in the middle of my back & not my lower... But, I still felt terrible nonetheless. I took some Tylenol that did not even TOUCH the pain.

I woke up when Dustin went to work because I just couldn't stand to toss and turn in bed anymore. I ate some breakfast, drank some water, took my procardia and laid back down. At one point, before the procardia, my contractions were pretty regular & intense. I drank more water and laid on my left side and it eventually subsided.

I tossed around the idea of going into Labor & Delivery all morning, but as soon as the medicine kicked in, the contractions stopped. I have no idea what brought them on, I imagine the interrupted sleep. That is not going to get any better unfortunately.

I am so big and so awkward. I can not turn in bed on my own. I can barely get up to go to the bathroom. I am ready to have these babies, but I just want to avoid the NICU. At 35 weeks, they can be delivered in Princeton with no Neonatal ICU. Just a few more days I NEED them to hang around.

I have another doctor appointment next Thursday, April 30th. It feels like forever away, but of course, if I need to go in sooner, L & D is only a few minutes away.

Love, Sara

Thirty Three Weeks, Belly Pictures!

If I hear, "Oh, you aren't that big for twins" one more time, I am going to get a backpack that weighs approximately 30 pounds (or more) and make the commenter wear it for one day. And then, make them have to pee every hour or less!! (Just so they get the whole experience). Our neighbor said that to Dustin yesterday and he kindly reminded her that I still have seven weeks until full term. :)

I feel really good today, it is so nice to have the extra fluid gone and my little fingers no longer look like sausages. My feet fit into shoes again as well, which I am pleased with.

I have been so tired the last two days. I don't know what it is, but every time I sit down, I fall asleep. I don't know if it is from the narcolepsy or the pregnancy. With all of this sleeping, there is absolutely NO nesting going on! I was fortunate enough to have my sister Betsy, her husband and their boys come over yesterday to help me get a few extra things accomplished while Dustin was at work. We still need to pick up the second rocking chair and we are ready.

I do enjoy being pregnant. I am doing exactly what the doctor said and enjoying what we wanted so much and waited for. :)

Love To All,
Sara, Dustin, Zachary & Maxwell

*Auntie Corrie, I sent a message to the boys about May 17th. It sounds like a beautiful day to me! I will remind them when it gets closer as well! :) *

32 week Appointment Update

Tomorrow, we will be 33 weeks! I can not believe it!!! (My back on the other hand, can totally believe it!!!)

I went to the doctor in Zimmerman yesterday, to see my regular OB, Dr. Roberts. She couldn't believe how much better I had looked from the previous week and was very glad that we have been able to calm the pre-term labor. Her words were, "by trying to do it all, you really upset your babies, so now, by being on bed rest, you've made everyone happy again."

My vitals were great- BP was 110/74, I lost 4 lbs. of fluid from the previous week (yeah, I would say that everyone is happier now!)

The babies were excellent. She is funny, she has always termed Baby A (Zachary), the naughty one, because every time she would try to find his heartbeat, he would squirm and wiggle away. Well, now, because they have no room to hide, she was able to find his heartbeat within seconds. She made some comment about how now he couldn't even be naughty if he tried. :) I really do appreciate her sense of humor. When she needs to be serious though, she is VERY serious.

We talked about the birth plan too! (Still in awe that it is time to plan for the BIRTH!) I go to the University of Minnesota again on Wednesday, May 13th for a final growth scan, the next day I see Dr. Roberts in Zimmerman and based on their positions, we will decide to have a vaginal delivery or a C-Section. However, currently, they have no room to change positions, so, I am 99% sure that I will have a C-Section. Maxwell is laying over Zach, and he (Max) is also breech. He will be the difficult one to deliver. I could deliver Zach vaginally and then deliver Max via C-Section, but I don't really see the point in that... Plus, I am worried that Max will go into distress when his brother is gone.

I think we will look at delivery at 37 weeks, sometime between May 18-22nd, but that is just my guess.

I do see Dr. Roberts again on April 30th for a quick check-up. I am going to continue to take Procardia, three times a day, every 8 hours, round the clock, like I have been. This is truly giving our boys so much extra & vital time in the womb.

Well, I am getting dizzy, so I better go lay down. Thank you all for the love & prayers. And thank you to my amazing husband who has done so much for me and helped in so many ways. He is a saint and I know we ALL love is hilarious blog posts!

Love, Sara