The Rest of It

Here are the details:

Two babies. One boy, one girl. Both look WONDERFUL and healthy.

Baby B is our boy. He's 11 ounces and head down. They are laying 'on top of' each other instead of next to each other (which is the preferred birthing position, actually).

Baby A is our girl. She's 13 ounces and also head down. Our sonographer, Mary, who has a lot of experience says that it's unlikely they will move much in this particular position. They should hopefully stay that way until birth.

Our birth plans have changed a little bit:

We'll still be delivering them at home, as long as everyone stays healthy and I make it to 36 weeks. BOTH of those factors really rely on my nutrition. It's so important that I eat 100 grams of protein a day as well as drink more water than seems possible. I have to keep both babies well hydrated (keep their fluid levels up) as well as meet my own needs. I might as well get used to it because nursing two babies will ALSO take a lot of water. There will be additional help at our birth. Rather than just Cori and an assistant, we're calling in one of the local midwives who has years of experience with twin births and a student will attend as well so she can learn. We'll also still have our photographer and doula present. LOTS of people, in other words.

In the case of preterm labor, we'll be heading to a local hospital where they will hopefully stop contractions and where we would go from there will depend on me and the babies. Obviously, there is a greater chance of that happening now. We are hoping for the best, and making contingency plans for the worst. Obviously my chances of needing a surgical birth go up now. I'm really, actually OK with that. Now, no one hit the floor! But I know my care is in good hands and that that decision would be made with my input and the best interests of my babies at heart. I, of course, don't want that for any of us. So my goal is to eat well, rest much, drink a LOT, and go to the chiropractor to keep these boogers well positioned.

I'm in shock. I'm scared. I'm thrilled. I'm so worried about our transportation situation! We cannot fit 6 children in our van. Dave is going to ask for a demo from work but that's a long shot. We may not be able to go anywhere as a family for a long time. We'll see how it pans out. God gave us this double blessing, against everything I wanted/had planned, so He'll make this work out as well.

So, that's the scoop. We'll be having another sono at 28 weeks as long as growth looks good and healthy from the outside. After that, we'll go again at 33 weeks and then not again until/if the need arises. There won't be any other interventions unless they are warranted. We are still approaching this from the "body can handle it" position. So far, my body is doing is Goddess of Fertility thing with ease (as usual). We ruled out all risk factors so far. So as long as we keep baking, we keep baking!

Thank you all for your support now and always. I am certainly going to need it more now than ever!