Viability!!!

Last Saturday I hit 24 weeks in my pregnancy. It's so amazing how fast the time has gone, and it's hard to believe how soon baby girl #3 is going to be here.

The newest nursery in our house still looks like a guest room. It's painted blue and has a full sized bed and large desk. I've been searching for a nice crib on Craigslist, but nothing really has come up. W's parents have a dresser we can paint and also use as a changing table. I think I've picked a theme/colors for the room, but sometimes it's hard to tell online. I ordered a crib skirt and am hoping it helps us with the rest of the room. It still hasn't shipped though, so progress isn't exactly happening yet. I know we have all summer, but I also feel like we were so much more ready last time. 

I'm feeling lots of movement and baby girl has even gotten the hiccups a few times. I love feeling those little movements. 

I'm still experiencing nausea and food aversion. Eating can be challenging. We spent last weekend in NJ for a bridal shower and eating was the most difficult part. I don't want just anything, so it was tough. Otherwise, we had a great time with family. It was a nice chance to re-set some of the patterns the girls seemed to be stuck in, like waking up before 6:30 and not eating well. Since getting back they've been napping better, sleeping in later, and inhaling all the food we give them.

I had my first appointment with my new OB yesterday. Unfortunately, the wait times weren't any better and I spent 45 minutes in the waiting room before being called back. Once I got called back I had to answer what felt like a million questions. It took quite a while before I got to see the dr. The dr was great! I learned this practice has a cesarean rate somewhere between 6 and 8% and a VBAC success rate above 80%. All of these things sounded great to me. The dr said my platelets were a bit low with my last round of blood work so they wanted to draw more blood that day and continue to monitor that. I was informed of the risks (and benefits) of a VBAC and signed a consent form. I then learned that this little baby is breech. I know I have a ton of time to get her to flip, but I didn't like hearing that. I feel like had it been my old practice they would have had a "told you so" attitude about it all. They would have been trying to schedule my c section then. Instead, this new dr stressed that we have tons of time to get baby to move and offered me exercises that can help. She also said there are things that can be done around 36 week to help if baby hasn't flipped by then. The chiropractor I see is trained in the Webster technique and is able to get a lot of babies to flip. I texted her and told her we better make this happen!

As I was leaving the office I was tempted to take a picture of their bulletin board. It was full of things that totally appeal to me: my prenantal yoga class fliers, breastfeeding help and support as well as a breastfeeding cafe, doula information, reiki and massage, chiropractic care, etc. It was like a breath of fresh air!

In other news we have hired a doula. She came to the house last week to meet with us and talk and I loved her. I actually talked to her when I was having difficulty with breastfeeding as she is a LLL leader locally. She's actually the one who referred me to the really great IBCLC that identified Lucy's problem and helped me work through it. Jen will come again next week for our first prenatal appointment. I'm really excited about having someone to help and support me through this process.

I've gained a total of 10 pounds now but am at the weight I was when I got pregnant with the girls. It's crazy to compare the pictures from last time to this time. Two babies make a huge difference! My belly is definitely obvious and I feel like people give me looks when I'm out with my toddler twins and big belly. I keep hearing about how I must have my hands full. I have developed diastasis recti of my upper abdominals, but my chiropractor is confident she can help me fix this once the baby gets here. I think all of the lifting of the girls has contributed to that since I didn't have it last time.

I'm feeling lots of movements, and learning about how the baby is positioned helps to try to figure out what I'm feeling. W has been able to feel a few movements, but none are huge yet. I'm craving salad like crazy as well as iced tea. I'm really trying to pair protein with most meals in an attempt to avoid gestational diabetes, but we'll see in 4 weeks when I take my test.

I can't believe we're already at 24 weeks! I'm hoping we can start to make some progress with the nursery so I can feel a little more confident about things. I'm so glad my appointment went so well yesterday, but baby girl better get on the move and start flipping!