I have yet to really write about my pregnancy….either one of them for that matter. As I am now in my 29th week of my second pregnancy (third daughter), I find that while I do try to compare this pregnancy to my first pregnancy, some comparisons are easier to remember than others. This is my attempt to document my first and second pregnancy to date (an abbreviated version) so that years from now I can actually recall (or at least know where to find) the details.
With my first pregnancy my doctor basically told me that I was going to be high risk from the moment we found out we were expecting twins. I knew from fairly early on that I was going to be put on preventive bed rest at some point. I wanted to delay the inevitable as much as possible. I also wanted to keep from getting as big as a house with twins so I really did things by the books when it came to eating, exercising, and other doctor’s orders. Fortunately I had no cravings other than ice towards the end of my pregnancy so it made eating right fairly easy. I also was really good at working out regularly (mostly walking and sometimes slow) until I was told I couldn’t (about 24/25 weeks). I even made it to the gym regularly during my first trimester! As for my first trimester, it was great. There was maybe a week in a half at max where I thought I may have felt nauseous but it was so slight that I even questioned if it was morning sickness. Looking back, I now know for certain it was but the fact that I wasn’t sure at the time goes to show how smooth my first trimester was. The only hiccup was at 12 weeks when I had a little bit of spotting so I had to take it easy for the next two weeks. I don’t recall how often I was at the doctor’s or how often I had a sonogram, but it was a lot. At least every other week I had some appointment and each time I went to the doctor I was glad to walk out of the appointment knowing bed rest wouldn’t occur until at least my next appointment.
I had my baby shower on June 11 (29 weeks) if my memory serves me correctly. My closest friends and family attended; it was a great time, and Justin and I were showered with lots of love and gifts for our twin girls. While I did take it easy, shortly after I got home, I felt lower pelvic pressure that I hadn’t previously felt. After talking with my doctor the following week, I was put on modified bed rest which equated to me working from home and sitting and not doing much else but getting up to go to the bathroom. A week later at 30 weeks I was put on complete bed rest at home where I remained until 35 ½ weeks where I remained on bed rest, only this time in the hospital, where I remained until delivery date at exactly 37 weeks!
Bed rest! What was it like? The first day was HORRIBLE! I remember it vividly. It was a weekend and I stayed in bed all day….BAD IDEA! I think I may have cried that day thinking there was no way I would be able to do this for the remainder of my pregnancy. Justin must have felt my pain because he went out and bought me an IPAD. The next day I moved my “daytime home” from the bedroom to the living room couch. The first three weeks I was on bed rest I was still working from home. It wasn’t easy as I was supposed to be lying down as much as possible. My mom and Justin alternated “babysitting” me and would have to bring me files and get documents off the printer. I certainly wasn’t efficient, but I was still working and it kept me busy. By 34 weeks, I had to go on disability. It was becoming increasingly difficult to work and I had a few close calls where I landed up in the hospital for what turned out to be false labor contractions. By this time I was having trouble sleeping and I stopped trying to go to bed at a decent hour. I would sometimes stay up to 3:00 am or even later before I made my way to the bedroom. I watched a lot of HGTV, So You Think You Can Dance and Master Chef on DVR and played A LOT of Solitaire during this time. The good thing about going to bed so late was that I would sleep very late, which meant my “babysitter” wasn’t necessary until closer to lunchtime. Justin would usually make my breakfast the night before and leave it in a cooler by my bed along with a huge thermos of water. Usually I had fruit salad and some slices of cheese…there wasn’t a whole lot of extra room in my belly for food those days. My mom worked a lot of weekends so that she had more time off in the week to “babysit” me. Justin was still working in Reston at the time so he worked half days from home the afternoons that my mom didn’t have off. For lunch I ate A LOT of egg salad sandwiches and sometimes the occasional Pot Belly’s chicken salad sandwich especially on days that I was coming from a doctor’s appointment. For dinner sometimes mom would cook and other times dad would come over with take out…..Ledo’s, Reston Kabob, and Pei Wei definitely made an appearance in our condo on numerous occasions.
While I was on bed rest I looked forward to taking showers, meals, going to the bathroom, and my weekly doctor’s visits as those were the only times I was able to not be lying down. But even those things had time limits and while Justin might try to tell you I took advantage sometimes, I really didn’t. Foot plays…Justin gave me INCREDIBLE foot plays while on bed rest and they were GLORIOUS!!!!!!! To this day, I still crave them as they put me into a state of blissful peace! I also had a handful of good friends come visit me while I was on bed rest and they brought me either lunch or dinner and their company also made the time more bearable.
By 35 ½ weeks I was HUGE; thankfully it was mostly all belly. I had once again escaped being admitted to the hospital (my cervix had also been shortening for some time now in addition to the constant Braxton Hicks contractions) at early 35 weeks and when I called my doctor at 35 ½ weeks finally ready for these babies to come out of me she made a deal with me in that if she admitted me to the hospital for hospital bed rest, then she could likely make a case for delivery within a day or two. I reluctantly agreed. Well as it turns out a day or two turned into 10! Every day my doctor would come to visit and be surprised at how well my body was holding up physically and each day she said maybe the next day. I played A LOT of solitaire in the hospital as well. I found a few lunch and dinner items on the hospital menu that weren’t bad (the veggie wrap and the veggie stir fry actually became desirable) and I ordered dessert with lunch and dinner every meal! I had visitors every day…..mostly my parents and Justin but also a few friends. The nursing staff was exceptional, and I did look forward to my daily monitoring. I put on 1 -2 pounds each week the last few weeks and it was all going straight to my belly. That was hard as I continued to watch my maternity tank tops no longer fit over my belly which made it easy to constantly take notice of my stretch marks. I escaped a single stretchmark up to 34 weeks but at 34 weeks they started to appear and they had no mercy. I still get upset about it especially as they get worse again as my stomach expands during this pregnancy. Anyway, I had a feeling the girls were going to be big but I think they surprised everyone at just how big they were for twins! In the end I am glad that I held out to 37 weeks as I delivered two healthy baby girls weighing 6.7 pounds each.
I always envisioned that if my first pregnancy was only a singleton, I would have had such an easy pregnancy. With the girls I gained 41 pounds total, which I was actually pretty happy with considering the last 10 pounds didn’t come on until the end of the pregnancy and I know it was all baby weight. I was certain that I would have gained only 25 give or take a few with a singleton. I was also convinced with a singleton my belly would be much smaller. I also envisioned working out throughout my entire pregnancy and that I would have more energy. Fast forward two years and all those things I envisioned proved false for me. To start, I had morning sickness this time; from weeks 6 ½ to 14 weeks. And while I wasn’t throwing up tons, I did throw up a handful of times, my gag reflux was horrible especially with dirty diapers, and I felt nauseous ALL the time. The second trimester actually proved to be pretty good and I did get my energy back and felt like I could finally be a good mom again to Avery and Emerson. But I certainly wasn’t working out as much as I envisioned myself doing with a singleton. But I guess life is different now with two kids vice having no kids and the ability to go to the gym. In terms of size though, I was BIG. Again mostly belly but I was gaining weight at the same exact pace as I did with my first pregnancy and my stomach was nearly the same size in comparison to the same week in my first pregnancy.
To date I am 29 weeks and I already started having Braxton Hicks contractions and lower pelvic pain over a week ago. I think I overdid it during Memorial Day Weekend and based on doctor’s orders have been taking it easy the last 5 days. Tests were done and it was confirmed that the contractions were inactive; so I got the okay to increase activity a little; however, I have to be smart about it. I think my body is prone to Braxton Hick’s contractions and if I don’t minimize them, then I could land up on bed rest, which would be WAY worse than the first time considering I have two toddlers to take care of. So here I am taking it easy….10 weeks to go…sometimes that seems like A LOT (especially when I see the size of my big belly) and other times seems like VERY LITTLE (especially when I think about the fact that in two months I am going to be a mother of three)! With each pregnancy, comes the good and the bad, but the truth is I do like being pregnant. I LOVE that I am carrying and nurturing a little being inside me and that little being is going to come out an innocent human being who is already so loved by her mommy, daddy, and big sisters! We can’t wait to meet you in 10 weeks by baby girl!