Today marks 25 weeks gestation for Lincoln and Cooper! According to many parenting and pregnancy websites this is when the boys start to pack on the fat and they are learning a sense of equilibrium. If you like to measure your babies by vegetables then you're looking at a couple little cauliflowers in there. My weight gain is on track and the babies are also ahead of the curve. Today's measurements have them at roughly 1 pound 12 ounces each! I was feeling stretched to the limit yesterday so knowing how much weight they have gained in only a week feels a little reassuring that what I was feeling is legit. It also confirms what I keep hearing about being bigger every time people see me. That would be insulting if I wasn't pregnant with twins but not as insulting as my 5 year old telling me I looked like a fat monster the other day. To be fair, I was making a crazy angry face and she's very uncomfortable with my changing body.
My appointment today was with my OB so I was able to ask her some more questions about my delivery options. One major goal of mine is to have realistic expectations about my chances for VBAC versus ceasarean birth. I have heard from other women in my area that other doctors will schedule a c-section at a certain point in a twin pregnancy. There are concerns about the placenta breaking down after a certain point causing intra-uterine growth restriction for one or both babies and basically becoming a situation of diminishing returns. Dr. B has made notes for my OB regarding her suggestions for delivery and between that and my OB we have a plan. I will receive steroid shots at 35 weeks in order to help the babies lungs develop a little faster than they otherwise would. If I haven't gone into spontaneous labor by 37 weeks and both boys are in a good position then we'll attempt a gentle induction. So the best guess for the birth of these boys is between April 6th and the 20th.
April is all of a sudden a very busy month for us! We already have two birthdays to celebrate that month and are looking at adding two more. The funny thing is that we worked on timing this pregnancy to avoid the time around Thanksgiving and Christmas because we have two birthdays around then and didn't want to jam them all together. It looks like that planning didn't work out so well!
There's one other thing I wanted to touch on. I have been a huge fan of the nonprofit Every Mother Counts for several years and was reminded of it the other day by a podcast I've been listening to as I prepare to birth these babes. I feel a large amount of anxiety about the prospect of a c-section but I am so so lucky to be living in a country where I have easy access to medical care. Where I can complain about the fact that I have to drive almost an hour to have the privilege to attempt a vaginal birth. Even knowing how lucky I am, I recognize that the US is one of 13 countries with a rising maternal mortality rate. We rank 60th in the world in maternal health. Around the globe 303,000 women die every year as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. I encourage you to check out the website and learn a little about what they do and why I have supported them over the years. They usually have an awesome assortments of gifts around Mother's Day that go towards their goals around the world while giving your mama something nice.
I hope you're having a great week out there in the world! One of the kids asked Amazon's Alexa yesterday how many more days until spring and I believe the answer was 54. Since Michael and I are currently suffering from colds I have been dreaming of sunlight and pool days so that number was a little discouraging.
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