Surprise! It's A Prenatal Appointment!

When Cori came to visit today, she brought her Big Black Bag. That can only mean one thing! I got to have a checkup! I am now going to be seeing her every 2 weeks until 28 weeks and then weekly until 36 when I will begin to see her bi-weekly until I give birth.

We went over a LOT today, so I'll just hit the highlights.

• We managed to find both heart beats today. Claire was high 140's and Ben was 130's. His was fainter but surprisingly much easier to pick up. Claire is, er, less cooperative. ;-)

• I gained 3.5 pounds in 2 weeks. YAY!

• Blood pressure was excellent!
  

• My fundus is measuring 30.5 cm. I was a little surprised I didn't measure bigger, but then I 'dropped' a bit this week. I was at my sternum a few days ago and now not quite there. It's pretty common for the babies to move around and change the measurement, which is why it's just a gauge.

• We covered nutrition and I'm off to Whole Foods tomorrow to pick up a few new things. My Vitamin C supplement has been causing some stomach 'issues' so I need to get a different kind. I'm also going to start some iron to be safe, since my blood volume is going to be increasing drastically in the next few weeks. Last but not least is a protein powder to help bulk up my daily smoothies.

• We covered how much rest I need and the dos and don'ts of my body right now. Unfortunately, I have four other children at home, one of which is not even 14 months old yet. So 'rest' is a foreign concept. Another black mark not in my favor is that my husband is very used to me pulling most of the weight around here. Tonight he couldn't be bothered to get off the computer and take care of the little two even though I was having massive contractions. Irritating, to say the least. He's going to have to jump on the ball here soon, or I might just be paying for it in the worst way.

• We talked a bunch about the potential complications so I could get all the protocol straight in my head. I'm comfortable with Cori and what she's asking me to give. I trust that she's going to give me as much space and autonomy as she can. I'm meeting with my doula next week to talk about birth plans and work out some of the things I'm worried about. SO GLAD I decided to hire her!

• I'm trying to decide how many ultrasounds I want to consent to. It's been mentioned that I might want to go with a much more aggressive model but I'm not sure that's the right choice. I'm thinking every 4 weeks is going to be plenty unless we see a problem beginning.

• At 30 weeks, I'm going to need to slow waaaay down and be off my feet 50% of my day. I really don't see it happening, so I'm going to strive for the best I can. Being organized is helping me right now and the more consistent I get now, the more rest I can get later. I see cable in my immediate future! ;-)

• The birth is going to be video taped and used to teach classes on natural twin births! I'm so excited!

• I will be touching base with a perinatologist at the end of my pregnancy. It's sort of a CYA move aimed at getting 'official' care with a doctor to make a possible transfer as smooth as possible. I'll know more about that later when I get insurance next month.

There's lots more birth specific stuff, but that's about all anyone else is going to be interested in!