27 Weeks Update

Last week was all about the babies!  I had three doctor's appointments and attended our first birthing class.  First doctor's visit was with the new patient nurse who loaded me up on free books, pamphlets and coupons.  Second visit was with the actual doctor and my final visit was a glucose screening to test for gestational diabetes.

The word 'thorough' would adequately describe the first visit . . . oh, and 'overbearing'.  The nurse lectured me on not having anyone in town to lend support through the last trimester (yes, I hadn't realized I just moved to a new city where the only person I know is my Realtor).  Fear not folks, I think my Mom is going to come stay at the beginning of June.  

Second lecture topic focused on my nutritional habits which should include a thousand times more protein than I've been eating.  By this point I didn't bother mentioning my current state of transition (i.e. moving) it seemed redundant.  For those of you mildly concerned, I did go out and buy some eggs, nuts, yogurts and other various forms of snackable proteins.  Plus, I'm eating a lot of chicken, seafood once a week and had a yummy steak omelet on Saturday.

Next visit was with one of the seven doctor's working at the practice.  I'll start seeing a new doctor every two weeks.  The first doctor was a woman who had twins herself last year.  It was great talking to her.  She agreed with my doctor in Charlotte about taking a daily double dose of Zantac for my acid reflux.  I started that last week.  I'm now able to sleep in a more natural recline which is putting less pressure on my hips at night.  

As for the hip pain at night, she told me I didn't really need to sleep on my hips if it was too uncomfortable.  Instead, I could wedge a pillow under one side of my back and sleep at a slight angle.  Apparently this still gives the babies their preferred incline and increase of blood flow.  

I tried this for a few nights and it was wonderful.  However, I started developing swelling in my calves and ankles.  Folks, leg swelling is not a pretty thing, it also makes walking painful.  My doctor friend, Kammer, suggested I go back to hip sleeping and try to sit on my side during the day.  He reasons the swelling could be related to lack of oxygen and blood flow because of increased pressure on the major veins feeding into/away from the lower half of my body.  So, back to hip sleeping and side-angle sitting.  No more swelling, but the hip pain is back.  I highly recommend hip pain to leg swelling, it is more manageable.    

Also, my iron levels were borderline.  They prefer a reading of 10 and I was 9.9.  My doctor told me I could go on iron supplements if I wanted but she's not concerned about my levels at the moment.  She did mention the supplements cause constipation.  I begged her to give me two weeks to get more iron in my diet (I know for a fact I haven't been eating enough red meat and green leafy things).  

Third visit was to the lab for the glucose screening.  This is done between 26 - 28 weeks to check for gestational diabetes (pretty sure I failed this test).  Apparently you are not suppose to drink a glass of orange juice or eat a biscuit with grape jelly before the test.  All of which I did before drinking the lab provided 8 oz of sugar syrup and waiting an hour before getting blood drawn.  

In my defense, first pregnancies should be a clear indication of 'cluelessness'.  Therefore writing an obscure note at the bottom of my appointment receipt stating 'eggs and possibly one piece of toast for breakfast' and verbally telling me to have a 'light breakfast' should be deemed too vague for this obviously 'clueless' pregnant chick.

The last baby related adventure experienced was the birthing class.  Dave and I loved this!  Our class has four other couples and the doula/instructor is pretty cool.  There's one other twin pregnancy in our group (two boys for her).  

We were given a brief history of modern birthing and then talked extensively about what to expect when giving birth at a hospital.  All very fascinating information.  Truly the best part was having Dave there.  He can't make my doctor's appointments, so these classes are a great way for both of us to share the pregnancy.

In other news, we are actively searching for a new house right now.  Two of our top three houses have already gone under contract (clearly Wilmington has not received the  'our nation is in economic turmoil' memo).  The goal is to close on something by the end of May and move in at the beginning of June.  Trying desperately not to think about how close we are cutting it with the twins due date.