24 Weeks - *Viability* & the CERVIX

It is 24 weeks! We had a growth and cervix scan today.

The babies are doing great and are weighing in at 1lbs 7oz (baby girl) and 1lbs 5oz (baby boy). They were moving around a lot and looked like they were having a good time in there. 24 weeks is viability and I am very glad we made it to this big milestone... every week from here on is going to be a greater milestone in this journey to have two healthy and chunky babies!

Now for my cervix :(... Up until now, I have been measuring at around 3.4 cm (since 16w)... today it was 2.4 cm. That is 1 cm less than what it was 2 weeks ago! Till now I have been going in every two weeks for the cervix check, however this time I have been asked to come in (at the hospital) for my next check with in a week! I am worried and I know I still have quite a bit of cervix there, but that is a big difference in 2 weeks. It is always reassuring for us to get the checks done towards the end of the week, but this time with it being Christmas weekend, I can't really talk directly to my OB till around Monday/Tuesday (unless I call him on his emergency line) and that is not making me happy.

We were planning for a baby shower in January and I wanted to start gearing up towards all that... but right now I don't want to think of where I will be 4 weeks from now!

I have never really mentioned this before, but I was laid off earlier this year and we decided it was better for me to stay back home during this whole crazy ride... which essentially means that I have been resting a hell lot more than I would have had I been working full time. Which means that even if I get on to a pretty strict bed rest, it still wouldn't be very much different than what I have been up to thus far.

I guess right now I am just panicking and I just need to wait and watch. The babies are doing a great job in there... it is the Mommy who needs to keep her stuff together!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everybody! Please say a little prayer for me! Thank you for all your support!

22 Weeks

Well, 22w4d!

Quite a few things to update, so I am going for the bullet points...

• I had my H1N1 vaccination last Tuesday (12/08/09)... I was ready to take what was available, but fortunately they had the Thimerosal free one available, so I got that. Haven't had any side effects till now... hope it stays that way!
  
  
• Had an OB appointment last Wednesday (12/09/09 - 21W6d)... we discussed c-section again. We tentatively scheduled a c-section date for April 2 (38w1d). My OB does not like to go beyond 38w... and he seems to be highly optimistic :). As much as I want the babies to stay in there for that long, I very well know that that is an absolute best case scenario and things can change like crazy before that! I am trying to stay cautiously optimistic and positive, yet realistic!
  
  
• After the 20w scan, I will be continuing with my cervix check every 2 weeks along with growth scan every 4 weeks (at least as of now)... so the next growth scan will be on 12/24/09 (24w). OB appointments continue to be every 4 weeks as of now (next one will be 01/05/10).
  
  
• Cervix check on last Friday (12/11/09 - 22w1d) went well, I am still measuring around the same... I hope I can hold up the same way for the next several scans!
  
  
• The babies are dancing in there and I can sometimes see the whole tummy move! I might have felt the baby girl hiccup yesterday - it was a continuous rhythmic nudge on the top right side - a little too rhythmic to be kicks... though I am not very confident it was hiccups either... since I have never felt it before!
  
  
• Starting (around) 2 weeks ago, I can hear my left side groin/pelvic area "pop"... it normally happens when I have laid in one position for long. At night when I change positions or get up to pee, it is the most common. It doesn't hurt much, but it definitely makes me want to make any movements slowly. I guess it is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)... I didn't really mention it to my OB, but I will be bringing it up the next time I speak with him. Has anyone experienced this... what did you do to reduce it?
  
  
• I signed up for Marvelous Multiples and the Breastfeeding classes (for January) at the hospital I will be going to. I would like to take the Baby Care class as well, but that seems to be conflicting with the other classes and the next one I can go to is in late February... and I am not sure if I am really going to be super mobile at that time. I would imagine that class is going to be pretty general and the other class contents would overlap with this one to some extent... also, my mom will be with us starting Jan mid, so hopefully even if we can't make it to that class we should be okay.
  

H1N1 Vaccination?

The H1N1 vaccination is finally (kind of) available in our area! I am planning on taking it... but what is making me uncomfortable is that the Thimerosal (mercury preservative) free ones are either unavailable or are available in limited quantity and there is no guarantee that it will be available when I go in to take the shot!

The Thimerosal free ones are supposed to be "safer"... but there is no (super) concrete study as to whether the ones with the preservative truly cause any issues or make you (your offspring) 100% more susceptible to autism etc! Though it is something I definitely would like to avoid... the less crap in my body the better... (honestly, thinking of how many shots I have taken with IUI/IVF... I wonder how many preservatives I have put in to my system already and does 1 extra shot matter!?)

I am not sure what I want to do (as in take the regular shot)! If you have already been vaccinated, which shot did you get?