Well, whomever came up with the expression "sleeping like a baby" meaning being totally out of it and 'dead-to-the-world' obviously hasn't closely observed a baby sleeping. They are Noisy. They cry, splutter, cough and snore.
On the subject of sleeping babies, Duane and I are rather excited today:
We've been trying to change their routine to something more managable for us since last Thursday. Emma has been sleeping to the new schedule for two days in a row now, and last night Caitlin did too. Caitlin didn't wake up for more food night before last, but instead because she had really dirty nappies. So, after changing them right after the feed and putting them back to bed they now settle in their own bed and sleep 4 hours consecutive at night. We're horribly impressed :) (and rather happy... never thought 3.5 hrs of uninterupted sleep would be such a luxury... ever)
08 July 2008
05 July 2008
Part 3 - I'm a mama - Feeding schedules, twins and (in)sanity
Ok, the last post in this series is about our experiences at home in the last few days.
In the childrens hospital they put us on a feeding schedule of feeding the twins every 3 hours. If they managed to drink at the breast for 10 minutes or less they got a "half-top-up" via their Nasal Gastric Tube and if they drank for longer than 15 they didn't need a top-up at all. After every feed I was expressing, as this is the milk used for the top-ups.
The nurses took care of the 3 am feeds.
Going home, we were send home with the same schedule and we tried to maintain this. however, instead of top-ups via the tube, we were topping up using bottles.
Feeding times:
6 am
9 am
12 pm
3 pm
6 pm
9 pm
12 am
3 am
Every feed would be approximately 15-20 minutes per baby and 20 - 30 minutes for expressing. This meant that I got about 1 - 1.5 hrs sleep inbetween feeds at a maximum and only if the babies settled down straight after a feed. The latter ofcourse hardly happened, and besides that, you have to clean, prepare, cook, eat etc.
Needless to say by Wednesay both Duane and I were ready to crack. Les & Ruth, Duanes parents came to help us on Wednesday night after a frantic call for help from Duane. We finally got a few hours sleep. I had called Tishan, a friend of ours, earlier to ask if she would mind helping out on Thursday and Friday evening.
On Thursday afternoon the maternal health nurse came out to visit us. She took one look at us, and asked how things were going. We were brutally honest, they were not going good. She started talking about making babies stretch from the 10 pm to the 3 am feed.... I was asking her what happened to the midnight feed. Her look then said it all, and the schedule got completely reworked. We were send home with a 'hospital' schedule, which is fine if you have 3 shifts of 8 hours each covering it. However, for two people, it is enough to drive one insane.
Now our feeding times are different. There are still 8 feeds in the day, but only 2 at night. one at 10pm and one at 2am. Then the next one at 6 am. Quantities in feeds have been increased as well, and i'm now only expressing every other feed or when I'm highly uncomfortable. (I have about 1L of expressed breast-milk in the freezer due to the schedule the hospital sent us home with). Mel joined Tishan and between the two of them they gave Duane and me something extremely valuable to new parents, aspecially new parents of twins: Two full nights sleep.
We're still working on getting the girls used to the new schedule, and tonight is the first time Duane and I are on our own again. It was wonderful to have the help, but it is great to have the house to ourselves again too. We feel a lot more confident now, and hopefully we'll manage to have the girls sleep through to 2 am and then to 6 am which would mean we'd get two stretches of 4 hours sleep :) This is our aim at the moment and I hope we can achieve this in a week.
It is now after 10pm, and both are down after a bath and a feed and so-far-so-good. I'll keep you posted.
In the childrens hospital they put us on a feeding schedule of feeding the twins every 3 hours. If they managed to drink at the breast for 10 minutes or less they got a "half-top-up" via their Nasal Gastric Tube and if they drank for longer than 15 they didn't need a top-up at all. After every feed I was expressing, as this is the milk used for the top-ups.
The nurses took care of the 3 am feeds.
Going home, we were send home with the same schedule and we tried to maintain this. however, instead of top-ups via the tube, we were topping up using bottles.
Feeding times:
6 am
9 am
12 pm
3 pm
6 pm
9 pm
12 am
3 am
Every feed would be approximately 15-20 minutes per baby and 20 - 30 minutes for expressing. This meant that I got about 1 - 1.5 hrs sleep inbetween feeds at a maximum and only if the babies settled down straight after a feed. The latter ofcourse hardly happened, and besides that, you have to clean, prepare, cook, eat etc.
Needless to say by Wednesay both Duane and I were ready to crack. Les & Ruth, Duanes parents came to help us on Wednesday night after a frantic call for help from Duane. We finally got a few hours sleep. I had called Tishan, a friend of ours, earlier to ask if she would mind helping out on Thursday and Friday evening.
On Thursday afternoon the maternal health nurse came out to visit us. She took one look at us, and asked how things were going. We were brutally honest, they were not going good. She started talking about making babies stretch from the 10 pm to the 3 am feed.... I was asking her what happened to the midnight feed. Her look then said it all, and the schedule got completely reworked. We were send home with a 'hospital' schedule, which is fine if you have 3 shifts of 8 hours each covering it. However, for two people, it is enough to drive one insane.
Now our feeding times are different. There are still 8 feeds in the day, but only 2 at night. one at 10pm and one at 2am. Then the next one at 6 am. Quantities in feeds have been increased as well, and i'm now only expressing every other feed or when I'm highly uncomfortable. (I have about 1L of expressed breast-milk in the freezer due to the schedule the hospital sent us home with). Mel joined Tishan and between the two of them they gave Duane and me something extremely valuable to new parents, aspecially new parents of twins: Two full nights sleep.
We're still working on getting the girls used to the new schedule, and tonight is the first time Duane and I are on our own again. It was wonderful to have the help, but it is great to have the house to ourselves again too. We feel a lot more confident now, and hopefully we'll manage to have the girls sleep through to 2 am and then to 6 am which would mean we'd get two stretches of 4 hours sleep :) This is our aim at the moment and I hope we can achieve this in a week.
It is now after 10pm, and both are down after a bath and a feed and so-far-so-good. I'll keep you posted.
Part 2 - I'm a mamma - Special Care & Childrens hospital
So the story continues....
With both Emma and Caitlin in special care Duane was run off his feet. He went back and forth between the hospital and home, between me and special care and doing a marvelous job of it too.
Both girls together in an isolette
Caitlin
Emma
The second night after my C-section I woke up all sore and decided to go for a walk to loosen things up. The night nurse suggested I go down to special care and check out the babies. I was to call her when I wanted to go back so she could come and get me with a wheelchair. I did just that, and it was wonderful. The night staff in special care have far more time for you than the day staff - that is, if the babies are sleeping.
Up until that time I felt like I had to appologise for coming to see my babies, and I had to ask permission to pick them up etc. This nurse got that out of me (more-or-less). It was still all so foreign to me. Those little pieces of human being were aparently mine and Duanes and we were going to take them home at some point.
They were out of their isolettes on the second day, and besides some problems with holding down their food all was going well with them.
Day 3 they were improving even more, holding down their food even better, and even getting increased quotas for their food. Feeding was done through a nasal gastric tube. I also started to try and breast-feed on this day. The breastfeeding saga is long and I won't bore you with it, it is now all in the past, but it was not all easy-peasy.
On thursday we gave the girls their first bath:
Caitlin likes the water :)
And Dad is getting really good at dressing her
Emma doesn't like the bath as much
And getting dressed is definately more fun
On Friday the girls were tranferred to the Mater Childrens Private and Duane and I were rooming in with them. We moved across at approximately 2 pm. With some shuffling and re-arranging of the room we got setup with a workable layout and we were waiting on the lactation consultant who showed only a few minutes later. Lactation consultants are mid-wifes who specialise in teaching new mums how to breastfeed. They are amazing. The girls and I had been trying but with not much luck at all. After the first session with the LC Caitlin and I had an understanding and we could achieve latching on and feeding for approximately 5 minutes. Emma could latch but the feeding thing wasn't really happening. Both girls got "top-ups" via their nasal gastric tube.
The second day (saturday) the LC came back and introduced nipple shields. We haven't looked back since. Both Emma and Caitlin started feeding, shorter periods of time for Emma than Caitlin, but she is the smaller one after all.
One thing we (us and the girls) had to learn was how to drink from a bottle, it sounds simple doesn't it? Duane had the first go:
On Monday the pediatrician was happy with their progress and said we could go home. There was only a small matter to look into, Emma had movement in her hipjoint and he wanted to get that checked out. Off to the ultrasound and she behaved amazingly well. She has something called "immature hips". The deviation is minor. 55° is considered "normal". Her left hip alignment is 54.6° and her right hip alignment is 56.2°. There is a chance that this would resolve over time on its own, but to be on the safe size, the orthopedic surgeon and pediatrician decided to place Emma in a brace for 6 weeks. This is a velcro contraption which keep her legs in a frog-like posture. She can still move a little bit and is annoyed about the restrictions. She is getting used to it and becoming more herself again
With both Emma and Caitlin in special care Duane was run off his feet. He went back and forth between the hospital and home, between me and special care and doing a marvelous job of it too.
Both girls together in an isolette
Caitlin
Emma
The second night after my C-section I woke up all sore and decided to go for a walk to loosen things up. The night nurse suggested I go down to special care and check out the babies. I was to call her when I wanted to go back so she could come and get me with a wheelchair. I did just that, and it was wonderful. The night staff in special care have far more time for you than the day staff - that is, if the babies are sleeping.
Up until that time I felt like I had to appologise for coming to see my babies, and I had to ask permission to pick them up etc. This nurse got that out of me (more-or-less). It was still all so foreign to me. Those little pieces of human being were aparently mine and Duanes and we were going to take them home at some point.
They were out of their isolettes on the second day, and besides some problems with holding down their food all was going well with them.
Day 3 they were improving even more, holding down their food even better, and even getting increased quotas for their food. Feeding was done through a nasal gastric tube. I also started to try and breast-feed on this day. The breastfeeding saga is long and I won't bore you with it, it is now all in the past, but it was not all easy-peasy.
On thursday we gave the girls their first bath:
Caitlin likes the water :)
And Dad is getting really good at dressing her
Emma doesn't like the bath as much
And getting dressed is definately more fun
On Friday the girls were tranferred to the Mater Childrens Private and Duane and I were rooming in with them. We moved across at approximately 2 pm. With some shuffling and re-arranging of the room we got setup with a workable layout and we were waiting on the lactation consultant who showed only a few minutes later. Lactation consultants are mid-wifes who specialise in teaching new mums how to breastfeed. They are amazing. The girls and I had been trying but with not much luck at all. After the first session with the LC Caitlin and I had an understanding and we could achieve latching on and feeding for approximately 5 minutes. Emma could latch but the feeding thing wasn't really happening. Both girls got "top-ups" via their nasal gastric tube.
The second day (saturday) the LC came back and introduced nipple shields. We haven't looked back since. Both Emma and Caitlin started feeding, shorter periods of time for Emma than Caitlin, but she is the smaller one after all.
One thing we (us and the girls) had to learn was how to drink from a bottle, it sounds simple doesn't it? Duane had the first go:
On Monday the pediatrician was happy with their progress and said we could go home. There was only a small matter to look into, Emma had movement in her hipjoint and he wanted to get that checked out. Off to the ultrasound and she behaved amazingly well. She has something called "immature hips". The deviation is minor. 55° is considered "normal". Her left hip alignment is 54.6° and her right hip alignment is 56.2°. There is a chance that this would resolve over time on its own, but to be on the safe size, the orthopedic surgeon and pediatrician decided to place Emma in a brace for 6 weeks. This is a velcro contraption which keep her legs in a frog-like posture. She can still move a little bit and is annoyed about the restrictions. She is getting used to it and becoming more herself again
Part 1 - I'm a mamma - the Birth
Oh boy, do I have a lot to tell you. First of all, for those who haven't read Duanes blog yet, or received any of his emails (or mine) or a birth notice......
Caitlin Yvette and Emma Sophie were born on the 23rd of June 2008.
I'll add a link with photos later, I still have to go through those and haven't had time yet.
OK back to the story. It has all gone so fast, yet at the time it all seemed to be very overwhelming, hec, it still is. We checked in the hospital at 6:45 on the 23rd for a 9 am c-section. Got ready, and went off to surgery. The Anestesists name was Frank and he was absolutely brilliant. Well, the spinal worked great so thats good, but besides that, he kept me up-to-date with what was going on on the other side of the curtain. As a side note, after the spinal was placed I got really nervous and scared. Frank then proceeded to tell me exactly what was going on, letting me know when the skin was opened, when the uterus was opened etc, explaining all the noises I was hearing and his talking kept me calm as I was totally focussing on what he was saying. I kept looking for Duane too, who was told to park his rear-end in a chair but wanted to see what was going on and kept looking over the curtain. The most memorable phrase from him: "I can't see anything honey, there are too many hands in the way..." This was before Caitlin was born.
I remember asking "head-first or feet-first" when they told me baby no 1 was on her way. They told me "head first"... they must have thought it an odd question, but we had already named the babies beforehand and seeing one was head down and one was breach... it was kinda important to us.
So Caitlin was born at 9:15, and Emma followed a little later at 9:16. They used forceps to deliver Emma, and the little bugger was holding her breath so she was whisked away fast to get her to breathe. Both babies were a lot smaller than expected. On the last scan we had (35 wks) both babies were calculated at approximately 2400 grams. A week later, they should have both been over 2.5 kgs, however Caitlin weighed 2265 gr and Emma only 1945 gr. Because of that, and because they had problems staying warm and my gestational diabetes, the girls were send to Special Care. Duane was quite torn whether to stay with me or his daughters.
I told him to stay with them so off he went. I got to see the girls for a quick few seconds, and got to kiss both of them.
At 9:50 I was wheeled into recovery and regulary a nurse/mid-wife came and gave me updates. According to her Duane was a natural and spend a lot of time caring for his daughters. I was alone in recovery, and feeling it. It was a bit of an anti-climax. I just had two babies, and here I was, on a bed, not being able to move my legs and alone and listening to other parents who were together and had their babies with them. The nurse/mid-wife told me I was going to be allowed to see my girls on the way to the ward. The nurse who came to collect me wasn't too happy about that but did allow a quick de-tour to special care. I was there for less than a minute according to Duane. I got to see and touch one of them, but only her back as they had placed both babies in the same isolette and I couldn't get up to look at them propperly.
Off to the ward I went. Duane followed a little later. He told me that the girls were meant to come out of the isolettes later that afternoon and that they could come and visit me if they were ok in their little cots. Unfortunately they didn't do too well out of the isolettes and couldn't come to me. I had a drip and a catheter and wasn't allowed off the ward so I couldn't visit them.
So approximately 24 hours after giving birth, I finally got to hold one of my babies. The other one had just been fed so I had to wait until just before her next feed to be allowed a cuddle there.
My first cuddle with Emma
Finally, both my girls are in my arms
and all of us together
Caitlin Yvette and Emma Sophie were born on the 23rd of June 2008.
I'll add a link with photos later, I still have to go through those and haven't had time yet.
OK back to the story. It has all gone so fast, yet at the time it all seemed to be very overwhelming, hec, it still is. We checked in the hospital at 6:45 on the 23rd for a 9 am c-section. Got ready, and went off to surgery. The Anestesists name was Frank and he was absolutely brilliant. Well, the spinal worked great so thats good, but besides that, he kept me up-to-date with what was going on on the other side of the curtain. As a side note, after the spinal was placed I got really nervous and scared. Frank then proceeded to tell me exactly what was going on, letting me know when the skin was opened, when the uterus was opened etc, explaining all the noises I was hearing and his talking kept me calm as I was totally focussing on what he was saying. I kept looking for Duane too, who was told to park his rear-end in a chair but wanted to see what was going on and kept looking over the curtain. The most memorable phrase from him: "I can't see anything honey, there are too many hands in the way..." This was before Caitlin was born.
I remember asking "head-first or feet-first" when they told me baby no 1 was on her way. They told me "head first"... they must have thought it an odd question, but we had already named the babies beforehand and seeing one was head down and one was breach... it was kinda important to us.
So Caitlin was born at 9:15, and Emma followed a little later at 9:16. They used forceps to deliver Emma, and the little bugger was holding her breath so she was whisked away fast to get her to breathe. Both babies were a lot smaller than expected. On the last scan we had (35 wks) both babies were calculated at approximately 2400 grams. A week later, they should have both been over 2.5 kgs, however Caitlin weighed 2265 gr and Emma only 1945 gr. Because of that, and because they had problems staying warm and my gestational diabetes, the girls were send to Special Care. Duane was quite torn whether to stay with me or his daughters.
I told him to stay with them so off he went. I got to see the girls for a quick few seconds, and got to kiss both of them.
At 9:50 I was wheeled into recovery and regulary a nurse/mid-wife came and gave me updates. According to her Duane was a natural and spend a lot of time caring for his daughters. I was alone in recovery, and feeling it. It was a bit of an anti-climax. I just had two babies, and here I was, on a bed, not being able to move my legs and alone and listening to other parents who were together and had their babies with them. The nurse/mid-wife told me I was going to be allowed to see my girls on the way to the ward. The nurse who came to collect me wasn't too happy about that but did allow a quick de-tour to special care. I was there for less than a minute according to Duane. I got to see and touch one of them, but only her back as they had placed both babies in the same isolette and I couldn't get up to look at them propperly.
Off to the ward I went. Duane followed a little later. He told me that the girls were meant to come out of the isolettes later that afternoon and that they could come and visit me if they were ok in their little cots. Unfortunately they didn't do too well out of the isolettes and couldn't come to me. I had a drip and a catheter and wasn't allowed off the ward so I couldn't visit them.
So approximately 24 hours after giving birth, I finally got to hold one of my babies. The other one had just been fed so I had to wait until just before her next feed to be allowed a cuddle there.
My first cuddle with Emma
Finally, both my girls are in my arms
and all of us together
22 June 2008
We know... you will soon
So, I guess I should post a short update here on what is happening :)
Nearly two weeks ago now, I had a check-up with my endocrynologist for my Gestational Diabetes. I had some blood tests which all came back ok except for some minor abnormalities in my liver enzyme levels. Fast forward to last monday (16th June) when Duane and I had another growth scan to make sure both babies are growing ok.
This scan went well. Both babies were estimated to be about 2400 grams (5 lb 3 oz)each. For 36 wks gestation with twins this is not bad at all. I had an appointment with my OB the day after which luckely Duane joined me at. More bloodwork to make sure my liver enzymes hadn't deteriorated.
Anyways, to make a long story short, we had a LONG chat with Murray and we basically had 3 options:
1. Wait until labour starts naturally and see if I can deliver vaginally
2. Induce me to bring on labor
3. Book a C-section
The main reason we discussed these options is because sleeping has become a problem. I need to take painkillers to be able to get a little bit of sleep, The pressures are really starting to take its toll on my body. Murray is happy for these babies to be born, their weights at 36 weeks was excelent, and a lot of twins are delivered at 37 weeks anyway. Because the induction has a 50-60% chance of turning into an emergency C-section, we elected to schedule a C-section instead. Less pressure, and we know what is happening. This was all organised on tuesday and we have known from that day what day the babies will be born. It will be next week (between 23 jun & 27 jun).
Part of me is happy that it will be over, and that we will finally be able to meet our babies. Another part of me isn't all that happy about it. It is filled with doubts, can we do it, are we doing the right thing, will they be ok, will we be ok..... it feels a little bit like being on the upward climb of a rollercoaster just before it comes to the crest and you really want to yell out, 'STOP THIS THING, I WANT TO GET OFF THIS RIDE, THIS IS A MISTAKE'......
Anyways, I'm sure it will all be fine. I will update with pictures and information once I'm home again. After the delivery I have to stay in hospital for 5 days (4 nights) because of the surgery. Check Duanes blog, he might have time to update beforehand.....
Take care all, and see you on the flip-side.
Nearly two weeks ago now, I had a check-up with my endocrynologist for my Gestational Diabetes. I had some blood tests which all came back ok except for some minor abnormalities in my liver enzyme levels. Fast forward to last monday (16th June) when Duane and I had another growth scan to make sure both babies are growing ok.
This scan went well. Both babies were estimated to be about 2400 grams (5 lb 3 oz)each. For 36 wks gestation with twins this is not bad at all. I had an appointment with my OB the day after which luckely Duane joined me at. More bloodwork to make sure my liver enzymes hadn't deteriorated.
Anyways, to make a long story short, we had a LONG chat with Murray and we basically had 3 options:
1. Wait until labour starts naturally and see if I can deliver vaginally
2. Induce me to bring on labor
3. Book a C-section
The main reason we discussed these options is because sleeping has become a problem. I need to take painkillers to be able to get a little bit of sleep, The pressures are really starting to take its toll on my body. Murray is happy for these babies to be born, their weights at 36 weeks was excelent, and a lot of twins are delivered at 37 weeks anyway. Because the induction has a 50-60% chance of turning into an emergency C-section, we elected to schedule a C-section instead. Less pressure, and we know what is happening. This was all organised on tuesday and we have known from that day what day the babies will be born. It will be next week (between 23 jun & 27 jun).
Part of me is happy that it will be over, and that we will finally be able to meet our babies. Another part of me isn't all that happy about it. It is filled with doubts, can we do it, are we doing the right thing, will they be ok, will we be ok..... it feels a little bit like being on the upward climb of a rollercoaster just before it comes to the crest and you really want to yell out, 'STOP THIS THING, I WANT TO GET OFF THIS RIDE, THIS IS A MISTAKE'......
Anyways, I'm sure it will all be fine. I will update with pictures and information once I'm home again. After the delivery I have to stay in hospital for 5 days (4 nights) because of the surgery. Check Duanes blog, he might have time to update beforehand.....
Take care all, and see you on the flip-side.
11 June 2008
Keeping busy.
So, the count-down is in full swing now. Today I've reached the 35 wk mark, which means that the lungs of the babies are fully developed and if I were to go into labor right now, they would let me deliver. It would be better for the babies to stay in for another week or two, but whether that is good for my sanity, I'm not entirely sure.
We're on-target for getting the house ready for these bubs. The hospital bag is packed (Finally, I kinda kept putting it off and off and off and off........)
So now I'm down to chores I can do from my chair I guess. Not much more in the way of "active" work to do. This is a good thing, When something falls on the floor I look at it and try to decide how much I really want it, and if it isn't detrimentally important I'll wait for Duane to come home to pick it up for me. Mobility is becoming a real issue.
So: Nursery is mostly done. Sewing is done, house is clean & tidy-ish. Birth notices have been designed and are ready to be sent to the printers once the last details are known (Length, weight, birthdate etc). Enveloppes have been written and hopefully Duane will bring home some more stamps so I can finish sticking those on. We have 'beschuit met muisjes' organised, I'd love to make a wooden stork, but haven't even broached the subject with Duane yet. I've got the design.... just not the wood to start on it.
We know where to go at the new hospital, we have the numbers etc to call in emergencies, Tomorrow we're getting capsules installed in our car (babyseats).
Next week I'll pick up feeding pillow & breast pump.
So, really for today, I have nothing much to do bar make a few phonecalls. BORING. I'm not really good at this 'waiting' thing..... I'll keep you posted on how i"m going with that
We're on-target for getting the house ready for these bubs. The hospital bag is packed (Finally, I kinda kept putting it off and off and off and off........)
So now I'm down to chores I can do from my chair I guess. Not much more in the way of "active" work to do. This is a good thing, When something falls on the floor I look at it and try to decide how much I really want it, and if it isn't detrimentally important I'll wait for Duane to come home to pick it up for me. Mobility is becoming a real issue.
So: Nursery is mostly done. Sewing is done, house is clean & tidy-ish. Birth notices have been designed and are ready to be sent to the printers once the last details are known (Length, weight, birthdate etc). Enveloppes have been written and hopefully Duane will bring home some more stamps so I can finish sticking those on. We have 'beschuit met muisjes' organised, I'd love to make a wooden stork, but haven't even broached the subject with Duane yet. I've got the design.... just not the wood to start on it.
We know where to go at the new hospital, we have the numbers etc to call in emergencies, Tomorrow we're getting capsules installed in our car (babyseats).
Next week I'll pick up feeding pillow & breast pump.
So, really for today, I have nothing much to do bar make a few phonecalls. BORING. I'm not really good at this 'waiting' thing..... I'll keep you posted on how i"m going with that
07 June 2008
Maternity leave week two
So I'm slowly getting better at this 'being at home' thing. I am surprising myself and actually managing to keep the house in a moderately tidy state. For those of you who know me, this is a near-impossibility.
How am I doing this? Well, I'm working of my lists. The big list with all the chores for the house(*), and my own personal private list with other stuff I want to get done. I know it sounds rather sad, having ones life 'controlled' by lists, but hec, it works for me. There are still a few things that need doing this week, but well, I'm just not mobile enough anymore to clean all the windows so Duane and I will do this together one day on the weekend.
At the same time I've been battling the cold from hell, started with a really sore throat, and got worse after that. more than a week later and I still have the sniffles. I sure hope i'll be able to shake this before I go into labor.
As for the pregnancy, the rest of Maternity leave is doing my body good even if it is driving my mind to sleep. Mind you, I'm still quite capable to overdo things and pay for that later (read: mopping floors is not the most brilliant of ideas whilst heavely preggers). My cold is doing weird things to my sugar levels, there doesn't really appear to be much consistency in it at all. Next week I have an appointment with Dr. Lee (the endocrinologist) for my GD, and the week after I have another scan and a check up with my OB. That is, unless these two decide they have had enough inside and want to check out whats out there. Duane and I are getting to the point were we're like "ok, next stage pls, lets get this show on the road". We're 34 wks now, so ideally they remain inside for another two weeks....
Oh, and for you singleton mums: Both babies now weigh approximately 5lbs (2200 gr) So I'm carrying 10lb (4.5kg)of baby + two placentas + amniotic fluid + HUDGE boobs around (GG cup... god knows what'll happen once my milk comes in *sigh*)
And completely full-term would be another 6 weeks (to the 40 wk mark). Fullterm for twins is another 2-4 weeks.
Edit: I forgot to include the (*) thingy from earlier.
(*) How anal am I when it comes to organising things I'm not good at: I made a spreadsheet room-by-room of all the chores I could come up with I felt need doing atleast once a year. Then I plotted all this on a 52 wk scale to make sure it is "equally distributed". This was too hard, so I changed it to a 12 wk schedule instead, which ofcourse means there are things I can pike on 3 times a year *YEY*.
Anyways, with the finished spreadsheet, I then use my outlook calendar and put in repeating appointments for each item on a saturday. Once a week I print off all the appointments on a saturday and this gives me the to-do list for the week.
I know it sounds involved, but atleast we now remember to do things like wash curtains, and check batteries in smoke alarms etc.....
How am I doing this? Well, I'm working of my lists. The big list with all the chores for the house(*), and my own personal private list with other stuff I want to get done. I know it sounds rather sad, having ones life 'controlled' by lists, but hec, it works for me. There are still a few things that need doing this week, but well, I'm just not mobile enough anymore to clean all the windows so Duane and I will do this together one day on the weekend.
At the same time I've been battling the cold from hell, started with a really sore throat, and got worse after that. more than a week later and I still have the sniffles. I sure hope i'll be able to shake this before I go into labor.
As for the pregnancy, the rest of Maternity leave is doing my body good even if it is driving my mind to sleep. Mind you, I'm still quite capable to overdo things and pay for that later (read: mopping floors is not the most brilliant of ideas whilst heavely preggers). My cold is doing weird things to my sugar levels, there doesn't really appear to be much consistency in it at all. Next week I have an appointment with Dr. Lee (the endocrinologist) for my GD, and the week after I have another scan and a check up with my OB. That is, unless these two decide they have had enough inside and want to check out whats out there. Duane and I are getting to the point were we're like "ok, next stage pls, lets get this show on the road". We're 34 wks now, so ideally they remain inside for another two weeks....
Oh, and for you singleton mums: Both babies now weigh approximately 5lbs (2200 gr) So I'm carrying 10lb (4.5kg)of baby + two placentas + amniotic fluid + HUDGE boobs around (GG cup... god knows what'll happen once my milk comes in *sigh*)
And completely full-term would be another 6 weeks (to the 40 wk mark). Fullterm for twins is another 2-4 weeks.
Edit: I forgot to include the (*) thingy from earlier.
(*) How anal am I when it comes to organising things I'm not good at: I made a spreadsheet room-by-room of all the chores I could come up with I felt need doing atleast once a year. Then I plotted all this on a 52 wk scale to make sure it is "equally distributed". This was too hard, so I changed it to a 12 wk schedule instead, which ofcourse means there are things I can pike on 3 times a year *YEY*.
Anyways, with the finished spreadsheet, I then use my outlook calendar and put in repeating appointments for each item on a saturday. Once a week I print off all the appointments on a saturday and this gives me the to-do list for the week.
I know it sounds involved, but atleast we now remember to do things like wash curtains, and check batteries in smoke alarms etc.....
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