34 Weeks!!

This is probably the biggest milestone of them all. There is research that shows babies born at 34-37 weeks, without other health problems, are just as likely to lead a normal life as those that are born full term. It is a relief to know that Maggie and William have the odds stacked in their favor!

We had another BioPhysical Profile and growth ultrasound this morning. Miss Maggie gained 13 oz in the last week! She is estimated to weigh 4 lbs 15 oz, so almost 5 lbs!! I'm very excited about her weight gain and am glad that she hit a growth spurt. William gained 4 oz for a total of 5 lbs 6 oz...he's holding strong! The discordance in their weights made a drastic change for the better in the last week. I'm anxious to see how much they actually weight when they are born. I'm now carrying over 10 lbs of baby...Jackson was 7.2, so that's 3 extra lbs of baby than I carried with him.

William has changed to a vertex (head down) position and Maggie is transverse. Because William is now head down there is no need to deliver them asap. The positive side of that is that they will have some more time to gain weight before being born, the negative side (for me) is that it means that I'll be in the hospital for the foreseeable future. The doctors will not discharge me since William can flip transverse again anytime...if he did and my water were to break at home we'd be facing an emergency situation. I am content sitting here for a little while longer so the can get stronger/fatter...my discontent comes from wanting so badly to be at home with Brandon and Jackson.

Jackson had a GREAT weekend in AU with Peppy and Kim. He ran and jumped in my bed last night and gave me the biggest bear hug, saying "mommy" in his special way that translates to "I love you, You are so important to me." He told me that he missed me, then we went through the list of everything he did at Peppy's house. I've seen some pictures from the weekend and can't wait to see more.

Brandon spent Friday night at the hospital with me. He's so exhausted that he fell asleep at 9:00, but it was comforting to look across the room and see him lying there. He is a source of strength and encouragement to me, I am so blessed.

On Saturday we went for a tour of the NICU (which means I got to leave my room in a wheelchair!). Brandon took the long route so I could be out of my room as long as possible. I have mixed emotions about the NICU. All babies that are born before 35 weeks are required to go to the NICU even if it's just to be monitored for a short while. After 35 weeks the babies will be evaluated in the delivery room, but will only go to the NICU if needed. Our hospital has a top-rated NICU and I feel very comfortable with the care that Maggie and William will get if they have to spend time there. They have beds big enough for the babies to share (unless one is too sick). It makes me feel good to know that as long as they are doing well they will be able to be physically close to each other. I am hoping/praying, of course, that they will both do so well that they won't need any NICU time.

I am starting to have more "irritability" in my uterus...it is like having mini-contractions. They were uncomfortable enough on Saturday night that the nurse put me on the monitors and saw that I was also having some real contractions. The doctor had the nurse give me a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions which worked for about an hour. By 3am they had slowed down enough for me to be taken off the monitors and I was able go to sleep. My uterus continues to show some irritability and I have several contractions a day, but nothing that would bring on labor. So, it looks like I'll be pregnant until next week if William stays head down or until my body decides 10+ lbs of baby is it's limit! We shall see!