33 Weeks

long sleeve undershirt / Gap Maternity 

cowl neck sweater / A Pea in the Pod: similar 

dark skinny denim / Loved by Heidi Klum 

How far along? 33 Weeks 2 days

Total weight gain: 32 pounds.  Baby girls are consistently gaining about a 1/2 a pound every week (both weighing over 4 pounds now), and when you have two lil' bits in there growing, the weight comes on.  No matter what I eat or how much I'm eating.. steading gaining about 2 pounds a week.  I attempted to convince the nurse to take off a pound or two after my weigh in.  I was wearing leather boots and this belly of mine prevents the easy removal of said boots.

Maternity clothes?  Now that its a little bit cooler, I'm able to layer some of my tops that don't quite fit with some that do.. getting a longer wear out of my maternity clothes.              

Stretch marks? None and thank goodness. This itchy belly is requiring more and more lotion and coconut oil.  During my NST's, the three bands I have to wear around my stomach (two bands to hold the heart rate monitors for each girl, and one for the contraction monitor) cause insane itching post testing and for a while after I'm through.  I've started to carry heavy cream with me to my appointments. 

Sleep: Insomnia at its best.  Getting up notoriously around 3:30am-4am.  Girls are wide awake and I am ravenous.  For the past 2 weeks I've gotten up every morning around this time to eat a small snack and 'play' with the babies while they decide to host a late night party, and then finally fall back asleep around 7am and nap until around 10am.  If I've ever been more thankful for bed rest, it is now.  Getting minimal sleep at night makes me feel absolutely horrible the next day.         

Best moment this week:  My sweet girlfriends, Ashley, Diana, and Jacqueline came over on Tuesday night to spend the evening organizing the nursery.  There wasn't much to organize- definitely not 4 people's worth of work- but I had some hand-me-down clothes to go through and separate, as well as fill the dresser we got to put in the girls' closet.  I had the best time with these girls- we ordered in food, and ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the precious (and oh-so-tiny) baby girl clothes.  Love them.           

Miss Anything?  A regular sleeping pattern and being able to eat and be comfortable while doing so.  I've resorted to eating all my meals sitting on the floor over the ottoman in the living room.  Sitting in a chair to eat (or do anything else for that matter) is so uncomfortable.

Movement:  Sweet Jesus. Non-stop.  My books and my OB say that now with little room to move, the babies are sleeping 90-95% of the time.  I feel like they are always awake- but I'm sure they don't sleep at the same time, making it feel like I've got constant movement.  I love to feel them move.  It is one of my favorite things to 'do' these days.  Their movements are more like rolling and tumbling rather than random jabs.  I don't know how I'm going to feel when I don't have that anymore.       

Food cravings:  Not at all really.  I asked Jordan to take me to McDonald's after my OB appointment yesterday.  He sweetly told me that he would, but he would hack into my blog and tell the web world that I polished off a Big Mac and fries.  Bully.  So, to save him the trouble of having to do that, I did not have that Big Mac.  We opted for the healthier Chick-fil-A instead.. even though I got the chicken nuggets over the grilled chicken options that they offer.  Still sticking with saying that it's healthier, though. 

Symptoms:  Insomnia + congestion + never ending feeling of having to pee.  I feel like I'm going every 4 minutes.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Labor Signs:  Still taking Procardia twice a day.  This week's NST was super successful.  For the first time in the 8 weeks I've been having these weekly tests I had no signs of uterine irritability.  The monitor was completely flatlined (which is what you want to see on an NST).  I did have 2 or 3 rather large fluctuations showing contractions, but as usual, nothing painful at all.  I have, however, had a few pretty uncomfortable Braxton Hicks over the past week.  Nothing worth tearing to the hospital over, but I have been advised to monitor these and make sure I'm having no more than 6 in an hour. 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: SO excited!  Heading into 34 weeks, I'm feeling like I'm ready for these girls to come... in 3-4 weeks of course.  We are now officially in the home stretch.  We have put the finishing touches on the nursery (still waiting, patiently, on the bedding to arrive- I can't think about the fact that it isn't here, yet.  I might cry.)  My bag and the babies' bag is packed, last big purchases have been made, clothes ordered and organized.  My 'list' of to-do's has finally dwindled.  

Looking forward to:  All of it.  Anything and everything that remotely relates to the babies.  Although I'm ready for them to be here.. I'm pretty confident that I'll make it to the 37-38 week mark before they come.  My OB is super pleased with how well (and how compliant) I am doing.  

Update from last week:

After my appointment yesterday, Dr. Walsh let me come back home for another week.  My cervix was 2.6 (better than 2.4 last week) and so, it has turned into a week by week evaluation on whether or not she is going to admit me.  Again, I'm fine with it, and I feel like there will be a point that it will become inevitable- but you never know.  All I do know is that whatever I'm doing is working enough for me to stay home.     

We've been monitoring my BP all week long and was happy to report that it's been completely normal (my normal).  I told her she needed to start checking my BP after the NST, sono, and hospital discussions.  Clearly my anxiety of what is to come of that appointment gets my blood pumping to uncomfortable levels.

All good things.  God continued to bless me and these little ones for additional weeks.  My continued prayer is that they don't require a NICU stay and that we'll be able to bring them home with us when I'm discharged.  The closer to 37 weeks that I can be, the better off these girls will be:)