Grace and Hope

Grace and Hope
Wait for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! Pslam 131:3

Friday, July 22, 2011

Mixed Fruit-A Banana and a Small Cantaloupe

So my question is…how do people think the size of a banana and the size of a small cantaloupe are the same thing? Needless to say, depending on which source you read, the babies are approximately the sizes of one of these fruits. Now at 20 weeks, what most people define as halfway through the pregnancy, the babies will be measured from head to toe, and not just head to rump. So, this will be the last week (I believe) that we will have head to rump measurements. This week, each baby measures about 6 ½ inches from head to rump and a whopping 10 inches if they measure head to toe. Also, each baby should be weighing in at about 10 ounces…they are growing! I have an appointment later today and I’m interested to see how they compare to the averages…More to come.
Our little girls have undergone some pretty rapid development in the reproductive system this week. In fact, the ovaries are now carrying 7 million eggs (WOW!), which will decrease to about 2 million by the time we meet our little girls. Last week, vernix started to form to protect the baby’s skin; this week the baby skin is completely covered with vernix from head to toe. The placenta also now is at its maximum thickness this week. The skin, although still translucent, has developed into four very thin layers at this point and will continue to thicken throughout the weeks to come.
The babies also have their favorite sleeping position already and somehow, have some sort of noticeable cycles of sleep and activity. Which…brings up an interesting point. We went to the multiples class last week ,which I’m glad we had the opportunity to attend, and some moms were really upset that the baby they knew as “A” versus “B” during the pregnancy might not be same “A” and “B” if the babies are a c-section (it all depends how they are  positioned when you are laying on the OR table). Let me tell you…I’m pretty sure once I learn these babies personalities after they are born I will know exactly who was who in the womb because it is no joke, they behave very different. I can’t wait to meet their personalities in person. Baby A is much more laid back like Jason but is an early bird like me and Baby B is feisty and is going to love to exercise her little legs, just like me, but is a night owl like Jason. Trust me when I tell you that we will have our hands full!
The home care nurses would tell me that hyperemesis patients (those like me who have the pleasure of being a little extra sick during their pregnancy) will wave good-bye to their days of nausea and vomiting at 20 weeks or it will stick around for the entire pregnancy. Unfortunately, I’m beginning the think the latter is true in my case because unfortunately I seem to be taking some steps backwards…but I know that if I can just continue to take it one day at a time and remember how far I have come, that this will be small compared to the joy I will have of holding my baby girls. Otherwise, I’m feeling pretty well…getting a little more tired easily, but I guess that is understandable. I’ll post an update later this afternoon/evening with some extra fun happenings about our girls from our appointment and hopefully post pictures as well.

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Well, I have good news and bad news to report. The good news is that our babies have looked so good that we have been "demoted" and no longer get measurements/weights every 2 weeks on our ultrasound visits. The bad news is that our babies look so good that we no longer get measurements/weights every 2 weeks on our ultrasound visits!!! Today we saw both the babies and it was so awesome to see how big they have gotten. They both were rock n' rolling too. Baby "A" is dinstinctly on the left side and head down and Baby "B" is on the right side with feet down. It is nice that they are not only on different sides but also flipped different ways because then it is easier to tell who is who when they are moving around inside:)
Unfortunately, I have no weights to reports, other than the fact that they both look good. We have been bumped to waiting 3 1/2 weeks until our next apppointment which feels like an eternity compared to 2 weeks. Of course, it is all a good sign. With that being said, I'm bumping back (or up--depending how you look at it!) my goal for a healthy delivery at 38 weeks instead of 36 weeks. So we are still over halfway, and hoping that the babies continue to look so good. I know a picture of me is pretty anti-climatic compared to ultrasound pictures, but it is as good as I got this week!!!
P.S. I'm not quite sure why the picture looks so blurry--it looks ok on my end, but when it is uploaded it becomes blurry. Sorry! 
20 weeks!

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