33 weeks

it is hot. summer has finally come. I am sitting here with my feet in a bucket of cold water. seriously. and two fans blowing on me at once. I'm melting...

but on the up side, my ultrasound and doc appt went well today. what did we learn...

• good things stayed good: both babies are normal-ish sized and vertex
• babies are more similarly sized now, the girl is measuring at 32.9 weeks, the boy at 32.6 weeks. this is the first time they've been measuring under their actual age but apparently that's still a very good size for twins, they expect their growth to taper some simply because they're running out of room. also, ultrasound measurements actually get less accurate as time passes because there is so much "stuff" in the way of getting a clear reading. my ultrasounds are definitely taking longer and requiring a lot more "roll to this side, now try this side, now try your back again" for them to get the measurements they want.
• my tummy is measuring at 43 weeks for a singleton (blake likes to guess before they tell us, and once again, he guessed right on. it was 40 week-sized two weeks ago)
• my cervix continues to shorten, but at a good pace. I'm happy about this because I didn't know it was shortening at all, and while it's all nice to have a "cervix of steel" (as the doc two weeks ago said) I didn't want to have one come delivery time! but apparently it's been shortening every time, but it's also shortening at a good rate - ie not too fast.
• heart rates are good, 138 for the girl, 135 for the boy. my heart rate etc is also good (means no preeclampsia which is a higher risk w/ twins)
• I'm on for weekly appts from here on out, with non-stress-tests (NSTs) prior to each appt. also ultrasounds every two weeks.
• the docs are still considering whether I get to try a natural birth. I hope so, but they are concerned about my lungs, so they're going to ask a perinatologist (super-special high risk baby doc) who specializes in moms w/ lung issues, what she thinks. if she says I can try a regular birth, great. if she says she wants me to go straight to c-section, blake and I will prob ask to see her ourselves and discuss further. but today we saw our third doc who suggested asking this other doc for her recommendation, so... we'll see. I will have an epidural, although they don't have to dose it high, but there are many things that can go wrong after baby A is born, but before baby B, and they need that epidural in place in case they need to do something fast.
• the carpel tunnel in my hands and wrists should go away 6 weeks after birth (probably). she suggested elevating my hands and feet and not bending my wrists (or typing - oops) to lessen the symptoms so I might try some of that...
• my other aches and pains are normal...
• I need to stay hydrated or it will trigger labor/contractions. so now that it's hot I am just going to be drinking, drinking, drinking...

and the best news of all - the doc said (we saw a new doc - dr. sekijima - today, we're trying to have met most of them pre-delivery so we'll know whomever ends up delivering) that if the kiddos were born today that they would require a lot of NICU time and would be jaundice and have a few other problems, but that they're far enough along now that if they were born, she would expect them to be perfectly healthy after awhile. how cool is that? still trying to hold out for 4 more weeks, until 37 weeks, but that's great to hear.

in non-me baby news: it was crazy to see baby Riley (my cousin's little girl) 's due date pass on my calendar. seems like she's been here forever already, and i've only met her in the blog world! how crazy. also, while my pregnancy is going so well, there are so many out there who aren't having the same experience. seems like every week somebody drops out of our twins class because they're now on bed rest. last night a friend in my book club was whisked in to the hospital and will go home to be on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy - until november. many of these stories end well, but the interim can't be fun. so, in your prayers, please both thank God for the easy road I'm traveling, and lift up those who are traveling a more rocky road.