Well, I hit 27 weeks today. Yes that's right, the 2nd trimester ends and 3rd finally begins. It has been an interesting, amazing and uncomfortable time.
So, as I reach the end of my 2nd trimester I:
- Have put on 1st 6lbs since becoming pregnant (I maintain that it is all baby weight and not a result of my crisp, cheese and pasta obsession)
- Have grown to the size of a bungalow
- Am still weeing like a racehorse so have not managed to get a single full nights sleep yet
- Am crying at near enough everything; a sad song, stubbing my toe, burning the toast, seeing an old woman waiting alone at a bus stop in the cold
- Am eating anything (and anyone) that stands in front of me. No really I am. I'd advise you not to put your arm or leg directly in front of my face as you may turn around to find me gnawing on it
- Am feeling and seeing stronger kicks and movements which is the strangest and most incredible feeling in the world
So bring on 3rd tri! Let's see what it has in store for me (and here's hoping hubby doesn't finally send his overly emotional and food consuming wife to her mothers for the next 3 months). See you on the other side :-)
Friday, 17 September 2010
Saturday, 11 September 2010
I've finished my book.
But now as well as being more excitable than ever for them to get here, I am also scared shitless. The book I read really hit home just how amazingly rewarding but difficult the whole twin process can be.
I ordered 'Double Trouble: Twins and How to Survive Them' from Amazon as I heard it was informative and a good read. It really was, if a tad scary. I found myself at one point staring at the ceiling, eyes wide open, wondering why on earth my body had decided to release 2 eggs and not just the one like a 'normal' person!
So let's just have a look at the twin vital statistics:
1. The chances of having twins rises as you get older, the peak age is 35 to 39 (I conceived them at 26, I don't think that would be considered 'old'!)
2. Women are more likely to have twins the more children they have (I have none others that i'm aware of.)
3. Fraternal twins are more common if there is a presence on the mothers side of the family, not the fathers (I have no twins in my family. None. Anywhere.)
4. IVF increases the chance of multiples. (No IVF used here)
So in conclusion, I am a freak of nature.
I died with laughter when I read the section about the mens involvement with conceiving twins; 'I haven't met a single father of twins who hasn't puffed up his chest when remembering his own important walk-on part in the twin drama. Of course all women know that this Woody Allen view of sperm is ridiculous, and that all sorts of complicated factors are involved in making conception possible. However there is no harm in encouraging this virile fantasy because a swaggering partner in the early days is more likely to be a helpful one later on'.
Each chapter is very useful and full of the basic but important information (and the fact that the writer wrote the book after having her own boy/girl fraternal twins was definitely a plus for me!)
The book begins stating the most beautiful facts about twins and goes into the basic scientifics of different kinds of twins, eating and exercising, shopping, and when the babies get here. And that's when the book turns itself into another genre altogether: a horror. The first 3 months of the babies lives are considered your 'fourth trimester'. I have much to look forward to here:
* Postpartum dementia (forgetting everything, including even maybe my own name)
* More difficulty getting any sort of your figure back
* The golden rule of 'sleep when your baby sleeps' kind of going out the window with twins.
* Figuring out whether feeding them together/separately/wake one/let them sleep is best... Pros such as getting it done in half the time, getting them into a routine when doing together, but impossibility to burp them at the same time, one may be a faster feeder than the other, amongst many other factors to take into account... Apparently only after those first 3 months does it become easier 'when baby can feed in a few minutes and you can wander around the house, barely noticing you have a child swinging happily from your boob'.
* Settling them when crying which is physically only possible to do one at a time and choosing which to comfort first.
* A holiday never really being a holiday - ' A truer phrase would be same work, different location'
Hmmm... You'd kind of have to be a robot to not get a little worried if you will be able to do it. Especially as I'm a perfectionist, am completely anal and an utter control freak. Of course i'm ecstatic, i'm excited, I feel SO blessed, but i'm also quite anxious about what's to come and feeling quite overwhelmed.
But as Emma Mahoney ends the book, her last sentence sticks like glue in my brain;
'Your twins are a miracle. Enjoy them while they are still yours'.
And that really is exactly what I plan on doing :-)
I ordered 'Double Trouble: Twins and How to Survive Them' from Amazon as I heard it was informative and a good read. It really was, if a tad scary. I found myself at one point staring at the ceiling, eyes wide open, wondering why on earth my body had decided to release 2 eggs and not just the one like a 'normal' person!
So let's just have a look at the twin vital statistics:
1. The chances of having twins rises as you get older, the peak age is 35 to 39 (I conceived them at 26, I don't think that would be considered 'old'!)
2. Women are more likely to have twins the more children they have (I have none others that i'm aware of.)
3. Fraternal twins are more common if there is a presence on the mothers side of the family, not the fathers (I have no twins in my family. None. Anywhere.)
4. IVF increases the chance of multiples. (No IVF used here)
So in conclusion, I am a freak of nature.
I died with laughter when I read the section about the mens involvement with conceiving twins; 'I haven't met a single father of twins who hasn't puffed up his chest when remembering his own important walk-on part in the twin drama. Of course all women know that this Woody Allen view of sperm is ridiculous, and that all sorts of complicated factors are involved in making conception possible. However there is no harm in encouraging this virile fantasy because a swaggering partner in the early days is more likely to be a helpful one later on'.
Each chapter is very useful and full of the basic but important information (and the fact that the writer wrote the book after having her own boy/girl fraternal twins was definitely a plus for me!)
The book begins stating the most beautiful facts about twins and goes into the basic scientifics of different kinds of twins, eating and exercising, shopping, and when the babies get here. And that's when the book turns itself into another genre altogether: a horror. The first 3 months of the babies lives are considered your 'fourth trimester'. I have much to look forward to here:
* Postpartum dementia (forgetting everything, including even maybe my own name)
* More difficulty getting any sort of your figure back
* The golden rule of 'sleep when your baby sleeps' kind of going out the window with twins.
* Figuring out whether feeding them together/separately/wake one/let them sleep is best... Pros such as getting it done in half the time, getting them into a routine when doing together, but impossibility to burp them at the same time, one may be a faster feeder than the other, amongst many other factors to take into account... Apparently only after those first 3 months does it become easier 'when baby can feed in a few minutes and you can wander around the house, barely noticing you have a child swinging happily from your boob'.
* Settling them when crying which is physically only possible to do one at a time and choosing which to comfort first.
* A holiday never really being a holiday - ' A truer phrase would be same work, different location'
Hmmm... You'd kind of have to be a robot to not get a little worried if you will be able to do it. Especially as I'm a perfectionist, am completely anal and an utter control freak. Of course i'm ecstatic, i'm excited, I feel SO blessed, but i'm also quite anxious about what's to come and feeling quite overwhelmed.
But as Emma Mahoney ends the book, her last sentence sticks like glue in my brain;
'Your twins are a miracle. Enjoy them while they are still yours'.
And that really is exactly what I plan on doing :-)
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Hubby surprised me by booking us a 4D scan of our babies :-)
Yesterday we went for our second 4D scan. Generally people don't go for more than one, but last Wednesday our cheeky girl stopped us getting any decent images. The stubborn little monkey had her bum over her brothers face and refused to show her own face, deciding she'd rather hide behind her arm. Our lovely sonographer told us that usually with twins they don't guarantee to get any decent shots of them, but said we can go back the following week to try again if we liked.
So we did. Once the sonographer started having a look the first thing I wanted to know was if all was looking ok; She said that all was looking great which helped me to relax a bit. Then I started wondering if we would finally get any decent shots, but once again little princess was hiding herself. Little prince was happy to pose and show himself off and the sonographer confirmed that they were 'definitely a little boy and girl'. Even though we've had the sexes confirmed on about 5 different occasions now hubby and I do still wonder if we are going to get a big surprise when they eventually get here!
The sonographer told us to go for a walk for half an hour and get a sugary drink to get the babies moving a bit and then come back. So after going to Starbucks and downing a tall caramel macchiato we went back to see if the caffeine and sugar had done anything (even thought I felt HORRIBLY guilty as I NEVER drink caffeinated drinks. I could just imagine the 2 of them in there twitching and bouncing from the walls from the high they must have been on!)
But it did seem to do the trick! We got some lovely pictures (albeit princess had her legs up by her head in some sort of yoga ball pose) and a 10 minute DVD of our bubbies, so we finally left the scan grinning from ear to ear with our bag of pictures.
Every day that passes is a day closer to finally holding our little mini-me's, and I am beyond excited for it :-)
So we did. Once the sonographer started having a look the first thing I wanted to know was if all was looking ok; She said that all was looking great which helped me to relax a bit. Then I started wondering if we would finally get any decent shots, but once again little princess was hiding herself. Little prince was happy to pose and show himself off and the sonographer confirmed that they were 'definitely a little boy and girl'. Even though we've had the sexes confirmed on about 5 different occasions now hubby and I do still wonder if we are going to get a big surprise when they eventually get here!
The sonographer told us to go for a walk for half an hour and get a sugary drink to get the babies moving a bit and then come back. So after going to Starbucks and downing a tall caramel macchiato we went back to see if the caffeine and sugar had done anything (even thought I felt HORRIBLY guilty as I NEVER drink caffeinated drinks. I could just imagine the 2 of them in there twitching and bouncing from the walls from the high they must have been on!)
But it did seem to do the trick! We got some lovely pictures (albeit princess had her legs up by her head in some sort of yoga ball pose) and a 10 minute DVD of our bubbies, so we finally left the scan grinning from ear to ear with our bag of pictures.
Every day that passes is a day closer to finally holding our little mini-me's, and I am beyond excited for it :-)
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