Week 26 - October 6, 2012

How Far Along: 26 weeks

[caption id="attachment_373" align="aligncenter" width="266"] 26 weeks, obligatory hand on the belly pic[/caption]

Twenty Six Weeks...otherwise known as the week where pregnancy tried to defeat me.  But more about that in symptoms.  Most notably, 26 weeks brought the twins first shower which was expertly planned by my dear mother-in-law, Rose ('shower' is her middle name) with some St. Louis family and friends.  As expected, the food was delicious, the cake to-die-for, and the company - second to none.   We got so many wonderful things for the babies; I can't believe how lucky we are.  Now, to find a place for everything. :)   Because St. Louis BBQ Bash was happening and many of the family were involved in the BBQ competition, we stopped by to steal some free BBQ say hello.  Much to my surprise and delight, some of Nick's cousins put together a little mini-shower on the team's site and took a break from preparing delicious food to have a few more presents and of course, cake.  It was such a fun weekend and we had an equally great time at all the events we crammed in, as we did just hanging out with the family.  Just a few pictures, for the non Facebook folks.

[caption id="attachment_377" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Aunt Pat, Sister in Law Becky, Rose and Moi[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_375" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I had the genius idea to take a picture with my also expecting friend, Jean. Nick took the picture but made sure we knew we were being utterly ridiculous. You be the judge.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_374" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Mobile shower at the St. Louis BBQ Bash (where, coincidentally, Slabs a Smokin took 4th place in ribs - go team!)[/caption]

Size of Babies:  Cucumber...an English hothouse cucumber to be specific

Doctor's Appointment Update:  We had a 'quick'  check-up this week (doctor's appointments are never quick, but this one was slightly shorter than normal).  No ultrasound - just checking in on me and the baby's heartbeats.  All continues to go well - good blood pressure, good weight gain, good heartbeats.  Twice now I've been told I'm the most boring high risk patient ever and that's the way I intend to keep it!

Cravings:  Chicken noodle soup - you'll see why further down.

Sleep:  What's this 'sleep' you speak of?

Sex of Babies:  Now that we are starting to get gifts, I'm realizing just how AWESOME having a boy and a girl is...it's really the best of both worlds, especially when it comes to all things adorable - blankets, clothes, hats, socks, hats, etc, etc, etc.

Nursery Update:  No progress here.  In fact, it's sort of a disaster - we just sort of threw everything in there.  Tomorrow we have plans to work on a few things.  And by we, I mean mostly Nick.  I will sit next to him and entertain him.

Symptoms:  So, I felt really good most of the weekend.  A little tired from all the excitement, and my feet were a little sad and piggy-like, but overall, good.  And then Monday hit.  It's like...at week 26, all of the pregnancy symptoms I've been reading about hit simultaneously.  I had been operating under a false sense of security, thinking that I was 'winning' at pregnancy.  Oh, my friends, I bow down to the pregnancy gods.  First up, I caught a cold...which turned into a worse cold...which turned into a cough...which nearly killed me.  Oh, okay, I'm exaggerating.  But there isn't much you can take for a cold/cough when you are pregnant and when my doctor told me what I could take, she followed it up with..."but only take it if you REALLY need it".  Well, geez, lady - you might as well not have told me anything because as soon as I heard her say that, I thought to myself "I will tough this out and take NOTHING.  Do you hear me?  NOTHING."

The first sign that perhaps I really 'needed' it was mid-week when Nick mentioned in passing that my mouth breathing and groaning had kept him awake the previous night.  I briefly imagined what he would look like roasting on a spit.  I recovered, of course, but already I was planning when I could make a run for the drugstore.  Wanting to kill your spouse (even briefly) is surely a sign that you need some relief.  Essentially, I sneezed, sniffled, coughed, hacked and generally spewed mucous throughout the entire week.  This was particularly fun when I attended several important work meetings and lunches.  Nothing says "professional" like a stash of kleenex stuffed up your sleeves.   At night, I (apparently) mouth-breathed, groaned, and did my best to expel my lungs through my mouth.  By Wednesday, I was operating on next to no sleep and that's where the fun REALLY started.

Some of the other symptoms of pregnancy then decided to make their appearance - SEVERELY swollen feet - check; um - intestinal distress - check; lower back pain - check; several instances of bleeding - check; leg cramps - check and so on and so forth.  Despite his comments about my mouth breathing, Nick handled me quite well - offering lots of sympathy and care, but mostly steering clear of my misery (wisely).   Hence, why it took me so long to write this week's entry - I was too busy dying.  Now, of course, things could always be worse and we are very lucky that I've been so healthy all along, but week 26 - you (mostly) sucked.  Good riddance!  I am feeling a lot better now, but am humbled by the pregnancy gods and whatever I did to upset them, I promise never to do it again, sohelpmegod,amen.

Fetal Movement:  Baby girl has moved away from my ribs, slightly. So when she kicks and punches, that's slightly less moan-inducing.  Their movement gets pretty crazy at night still.  It's weird - I feel less kicks and more...re-positioning if that makes sense.  I'm pretty sure I can feel their little butts moving from side to side and flipping around.

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Week:  A shower with family and friends in Kansas City held by my best friend, Jenni - so looking forward to this!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To Next Week: Ugh, the childbirth classes.  We started them last week.  Might as well be called Childbirth for Dummies.  More about this later, but it's not a good sign when three of the ten couples in class are due within a week of the first of four sessions.  (Did it really not occur to them that perhaps this was poor timing?)

Best Moment of the Week:   Well, I think I've waxed poetic enough about the shower, so I will just be honest and say the moment that I decided to give into the sweet sweet relief of doctor-approved cold medicine.   :)  Oh, also - my good friend Ali gave birth to her baby boy this week, so I'm excited that once I stop dying, I'll be able to meet little Tyler!

Special Thanks To: My Neti Pot.  I love you so.  Never leave me.

What I Want The Babies To Know This Week:   Should your dad and I ever both get sick at the same time, you should probably just call your grandparents and hope that they take sympathy on you.  Or perhaps make friends with the cats.