Still Incubating-8 Days to Go

I seriously NEVER thought I would be pregnant, with two babies, this long. I can't believe how stretched my belly is. No noticeable marks, but very big for a person of my size. And I am feeling it. The aching and tightness are sooooo uncomfortable. I'm in pain with every single step I take. Standing feels like a torturous activity. Walking even worse. For the first time, I'm actually more comfortable laying down on one side, with pillows, strategically tucked. And laying down is no picnic either.

Thank goodness for http://www.albertsons.com or I would probably not have food in the house. The only thing I leave the house for, is my doctor appointments and to take Max to preschool twice weekly.

The itching: It has become so profuse, that I literally spend hours, daily, just scratching and applying useless lotions and creams. I take a useless Aveeno Colloidal Oatmeal bath every day too. At night, I take useless oral Benadryl in addition to the topical stuff I apply during the day. Now that I'm off of the Prednisone again, I'm going to ask the OB for a prescription strength hydro-cortisone cream that I'm also certain will be useless. What started out mainly on my lower back, sides and upper thighs, has now spread to my entire back, my arms, my legs, a small patch on my upper belly and my chest area.

36 Weeks

This photo of my belly does not really do it justice, because of the angle, I think. I will try to post something else, with a better depiction, so you can get the FULL effect!

Today I had another NST, which did go well, as the babies are very reactive and move around enough for me to usually get out of there quickly. The bad thing was that this is my second test in a row (urine test) where they said I had ketones in my urine. And this is only the second time I have ever had it tested, so who knows how long that's been going on. So, apparently, I've been keeping my blood sugar in check with my diet, but at the expense of eating enough. Not good. I will have to call my dietician tomorrow to talk about it and I will have to go over it with the OB, when I see him on Thursday.

Currently, I'm on 875mg., daily, of Amoxicillan, more Prednisone, more Hycodan and more Albuterol. Already I've noticed a reduction in the coughing...again. I'm worried about the Prednisone raising my blood sugar, but I'm also hoping it will help my rash.

I also saw the perinatologist today and found out that the babies are still doing well, getting enough oxygen, have plenty of amnio fluid and she confirmed that my rash does look like a PUPPP rash. The strange thing is that I don't have it all over my stomach, which is where you usually get it. It's mostly on my torso sides, the backs of my thighs and my lower back. Just a teeny bit on my stomach. The babies are estimated to be 5lbs., 12 ozs. and 6 lbs., 2 oz. So my small, 5'3" frame is carting around almost 12 pounds of baby alone. When you add that up to the weight of the placentas, etc. and all the water weight I'm sporting, I don't feel so bad about my 40 pound weight gain. I figure half of it will disappear pretty darned fast. Also, the babies are sitting "very low."


I also asked my perinatologist about the possibility of doing an amnio to see if the babies lungs were mature enough to deliver them early. Originally, this was my OB's suggestion and responce for all the begging and pleading I was doing to get an earlier delivery date than at 38 weeks. The first time I asked the perinatal office about this, I had the stress-case Doctor, who definitely advised against it. (mainly due to having to go through the placenta) Since a few weeks have passed, I asked the laid-back Doctor, who said it was no problem to do it (in spite of the placenta issue), but that they will only do it if my OB is ready to deliver me today or the next day. Apparently, there are some legal issues about them doing this and then not delivering the babies right away. Anyway, I felt stuck in the middle, as she telephoned my OB, who told her to tell me that he would discuss it with me when I come in on Thursday. I call bullshit!!! It was his suggestion and his deal with me that if the perinatal office would do this, he would deliver early. Now he wants to "discuss" it again???? Ugh!!!!

Here is a picture of my foot from last night. Last night I thought this was the worst I've seen the swelling on my feet and legs, but today is even worse.

You can see the huge crease where the leg and foot meet. Also, there is no ankle. And that leg...that leg is HUMONGOUS! Normally, I have veins popping out along the surface of my feet because they're pretty slim. Yikes!

2nd Relapse

I'm starting to feel like I should start all my blogs out like this..."As if I don't have enough to complain about"...

Yes, I'm having yet another complication on top of everything else going on. I'm having my second relapse of some kind of upper respiratory trouble that started a couple of months ago.

I have been on Zithromax, Prednisone, Albuterol, Tessalon Pearls and Hycodan...all to get rid of this sinus, bronchial, asthmatic condition. In the two months, it has never been completely gone and now, this is the second time it had tapered off and then hit me like a ton of bricks again.

So I'm back to coughing deeply, spitting up goo and wheezing. I'm going through pads like crazy, as I tend to leak when I cough. My head is throbbing from the coughing, my voice is getting raspy and sore, my stomach muscles (what's left of them) are getting sore and I have to keep getting up just to go spit up into the bathroom sink. Oh the fun never ends!!!!!!

Could it be PUPPP?

Apparently, I have started to get a few red spots underneath and on the sides of my itchy belly. I noticed that yesterday. Today, when I woke up, I noticed a few more on the outsides of my breasts, underneath my arms...sort of mid-torso. I think what I'm coming down with is a case of PUPPP rash. I guess it wouldn't be such an unusual thing, considering the degree that my stomach has distended. Especially with the edema in my belly. So now, in addition to the extremely painful, waterlogged, lower belly that I can barely stand to touch, I'm going to be blessed with an additional symptom that will make me want to scratch it because it will be itching. Which, by the way, is how I first noticed I was getting a rash...I started itching like crazy!!!!! Ugh...two more weeks and 4 days...oh please come sooner, please come sooner!!!!

Two Big Ones

Yes, that's what I weigh!!! I just got on my scale and clocked in at two hundred pounds. GOOD LORD!!! I'm only 5'3". It's going to be a long road back to "normal." Whatever THAT is. In all honesty though, I started out just over 160, with about 25-35 excessive pounds to begin with. So while I am HUGE, my weight gain from this pregnancy has not qualified as obscene.

I think the diabetic diet has had a positive impact on my interest in food. I have mostly lost interest in eating and now eat to sustain my pregnancy. There is just no joy at all in this diet. Not for me anyway. I am so sick of protein foods and find myself skipping meals and snacks, just because I can't stomach another serving of cottage cheese, tofu, eggs, cheese or peanut butter. I think I feel really motivated to limit my sweets and such after this pregnancy, for fear that I end up with type II diabetes and have to actually eat this way forever.

My last NST showed mild contracting. I was given Procardia something or other and sent home after that. I guess Turbutaline is normally indicated, but not when you have gestational diabetes. My next NST is on Saturday.

Water Retention

Who knew water retention was actually painful?! Not I! I had some water retention with my previous pregnancy, but I don't remember it being like this. Not even close.

First, let me tell you about the droopy, jiggly little chin hanging off the end of my belly, right above my prior Cesarian scar...okay, I've already said it's jiggly and droopy and looks like a little chin. At first, I thought it was just a chubby spot, somewhere that my pre-existing belly fat had migrated to. But, after talking with the doctor, he said it was more likely water retention and I agree. There's no reason my belly fat would be in any pain. If anything accidentally bumps into that spot, I cringe in pain. I've taken to wearing a spandexy thingy around my middle, although I don't know that it's helping anything.

And my legs...my legs actually hurt when Max bumps into those too. I didn't realize how swollen my legs were, but it's obvious, looking at my feet. I have creases in places I shouldn't and the creases (and veins) are missing where they should be. I've been trying to keep my legs elevated, but that's not easy and not that comfortable.

So I decide to do a little "googling" about natural diuretics and learn that there's actually a lot of evidence that shows women who had water retention also had healthier babies. It has to do with blood volume levels. Also, forcing diuretic action can actually backfire and cause more retention and swelling. So it doesn't seem like there's much I can do. I don't typically salt my food, so I can't really cut back there. The most salt intake I have right now is from processed foods and I don't even think I'm eating a lot of those.

Sigh, sigh...

Faring Quite Well...Sigh...

Today was another appointment with the OB/GYN. I can't believe how well I'm doing. Dammit!!! Low blood pressure...107/72...low, stable blood sugar-without meds, no dilation, no effacing, good amnio levels, etc. And the babies are doing really well too...lots of movement, good heart rates.

The uterus, it turns out was not even irritable. The monitor readout was making a spike every time I coughed. Ugh. And to think I was medicated over that. I don't have to go back for another two weeks. But...I do have to continue with twice weekly monitoring at the hospital and 1 more high tech ultrasound with the perinatal group. By that time, I should be ready to deliver...either by choice of these twins or by the scheduled C, whichever comes first.

The babies are big, but my doctor doesn't seem to think it's because of the gestational diabetes. He thinks they're just big, healthy girls. I've been starting to retain some fluid and my feet and hands have been a bit swollen. Another strange place I'm retaining water is at the droopiest part of my belly. And that area is really sore because of it. Accidentally touching or bumping it makes me jump out of my skin in pain. I think I need to start watching my sodium intake, as I don't really know what else to do. I'll see if that helps.

Anyway, plugging ahead...

My Gastronomic Hit List

Here are a few of the foods/drinks that I am going to waste no time indulging in, after I finally deliver these two babies:

• 1 entire Lindt, milk chocolate truffle bar (sorry, honey, I'm not sharing this one)!
• A sushi/sashimi dinner!
• A meal consisting of brie, french bread, apple wedges and some wine!
• Haagen Daaz ice cream!
• Watermelon!
• A very syrupy, off the fountain, coke or cherry coke!
• A bowl of cereal, any kind at this point sounds good!
• Starbucks, grande, mocha espresso...with whip!

It's not a long list, but these are probably the things I've felt most deprived of with this pregnancy...either because it's an off limits item in general or because of the gestational diabetes.

Irritable Uterus

That's not all that's irritable. I'm getting more and more irritable with each passing day, sometimes each passing hour.

I went in for the "non stress test" today and the girls responded well. The nurse told me it was the first time she's ever seen anyone with twins finish that test in the minimal 20 minutes. They performed like troopers.

My uterus, on the other hand, was irritable. I wasn't having any "contractions," yet there were a bunch of spikes on the chart, showing increased activitie there. They ended up giving me a couple of pills, I can't recall what medication, to quiet and calm my uterus and sent me on my way.

I have to go back for another non-stress test on Monday and also another test to measure the water around the babies.

After the test today, I was in more pain than I've been in for some time. I thought I was going to throw up. The pain in my groin area is increasing and the pain under my ribs is also. The surface of my stomach is also aching and extremely sensitive to touch, in a 4-5 inch radius around my navel. Of course I keep bumping into things with my belly, just because it's so big and in the way.

I've Graduated

Isn't this lovely...I've graduated from STRESS incontinence, like being leaky when I sneeze, cough, laugh too hard or run water from the sink, with a full bladder...to just general incontinence with a full bladder...just generally leaking here and there, for no apparent reason.

The really unsatisfying aspect of this is, even when I feel like my bladder is going to pop, I go to the bathroom and it's like "dribble, dribble, dribble." The only time my bladder actually gets FULL is in the middle of the night.

I did learn, recently, that when you are on bedrest, trying to avoid preterm labor, they advise you to empty your bladder every couple of hours because it can contribute to contractions. So now, I have to ask myself, do I help them along or not? Hmmm....even as desperate as I feel about getting these babies out of me, I just don't have the gumption to "force" myself into preterm labor. Sigh.

My doctor really pissed me off though, when I got a call from his nurse, telling me my C Section is scheduled for July 8, which is exactly the day after my 38th week. Besides 38 weeks just feeling like waaaaaaaaaaay toooooooo loooooong, I resent the arrogance at setting my children's birthdate himself. Shouldn't I have some input about that!!!!?

On the bright side, I know fully well, that these babies will more than likely be on a timetable of their own. I just hope they're in sync with their mommy and that they're plenty healthy. It wouldn't be worth it if they take the babies out a little early, only to whisk them down to another hospital where they have a NICU ward.

How I'm Doing

Currently, my gestational diabetes is being controlled with diet. I've gotten the hang of it and I've really whittled my diet down to eggs, cottage cheese, tofu, vegetables, a small amount of fruit, some whole grain breads, peanut butter, lunch meats, a few artificially sweetened "treats" (and I use the word loosely) and not much else. I guess I can live with this for the sake of these babies, as it won't be for a terribly long time.

My blood pressure is quite low, most of the time, and there is no protein in my urine, which is great, because it means I don't have pre-eclampsia. I have a good amount of water surrounding the babies and my placenta is very good with no signs of placenta previa.

I've recently had some upper respiritory problems, but am taking a few meds to help me get rid of it. One of the meds is a steroid (prednisone) and may actually help develop the babies lungs. Not a bad thing, as far as I'm concerned.

Today I started getting the Non Stress Test, which I will have to do twice a week. The babies proved to be doing just fine and I only had one contraction. My cervix is measuring in at 33 cm (anything over 25 is good), so no signs of preterm labor.

The babies are estimated to be large for twins, specifically in the 51st percentil and the 67th percentile, if they were each singletons. So for being twins, these numbers make them large...they estimate baby A at about 4 lbs. 12 oz. and baby B at about 5 lbs. 8 oz. So, I am already carrying around 10 pounds of baby. Ironically, the weight of these babies have flip-flopped. At last measure, baby A was the bigger of the two. Not sure what happened there, but the Dr. was quick to remind me that these weights are merely estimates...sort of like trying to guess someone's weight by knowing their clothing size. That being said, I can concur that my babies are large.

I don't have any stretch marks on my belly and with each day that passes, I hope, pray, that I remain this way. Baby A is sitting down low in my pelvic area and I am feeling the pressure. All things considered, I'm doing well and hanging in there. With any luck though, things will progress to delivery around 36 weeks...that is what I'm hoping for. Of course I would not want that to happen at the expense of the babies.

Wish me luck!