Okay, yes. I am totally cheating with this week's picture.
I posted this shot earlier in the week on Instagram. I've been really trying to keep up with the Photo In Front Of The Fence shots, but it didn't happen during the week and now Kyle is fall-cleaning out the backyard and it's a mess out there. So. Re-run picture it is!
Twenty-four weeks. HELLO.
This week marks a small milestone for me mentally. Twenty-four weeks tends to be the earliest accepted week of viability outside of the womb. Of course things look better around the 28 week mark, and I have NO signs of pre-term labor or anything like that happening. It's just, like I said, a mental milestone for me.
Earlier this week, I went in for an ultrasound. I have to brag on the Maternal Fetal Medicine office at OU Physicians. Big, cushy, cozy recliners line one wall for all the mamas-to-be to make full use of:
I love that office. Everyone is SO friendly and warm and helpful.
So we took a look inside and I was so SO surprised to find out that these boys who have been breech the whole time have flipped and are both now head down! This obviously doesn't make a difference for delivery for me, but I have been just sure that most of my rib/back pain has been because of little noggins in my rib cage. I have no idea when they flipped!
All of their measurements look great. The sonographer said they both weigh 1.9 pounds. (I wasn't sure if this means 1 lb, 9 oz or almost 2 pounds? She said "one point nine." Any experts who can clarify?) She also noted that neither baby is a skinny baby. They have nice, big round tummies. I laughed that this is par for the course for my children (9 lbs, 12 oz and 8 lbs, 8 oz at birth respectively).
She took all the measurements but was having a hard time getting an accurate read on fluid levels. She finished up, but then came back to look at the fluid levels again. Then she was gone for a long, long time and I started to get pretty nervous. Then, one of the MFM doctors came in to visit with me and my heart was pounding out of my chest! Turns out, it was just on the schedule for me to visit with a doctor this time, and that's what we were waiting on. It gave me quite the scare though.
He assured me everything looks great and doesn't see any reason at this point to increase the frequency of ultrasounds, so I'm still on the every three-week schedule.
The sonographer did turn on the 3-D screen this time and I got to see a pretty impressive slap fight between the two of them, followed my an elbow to the other's head. But then she was able to capture this:
and we both pretty much squealed over the cuteness of them putting their little heads together like that.
I'm starting to get the first round of "so, when are you due?" questions followed by wide-eyed responses to "February." I've had a few "any day now?" questions, too.
When people ask me how I'm feeling, I pretty much say, "big." Which is true. I'm okay in the mornings, but have to lay down for a lot of the afternoon and evening. I'm kind of putting myself on bedrest a little bit, I guess.
I'm having to confront some major vanity issues as we progress. I mostly look at myself straight on, of course, but when I catch a side view, it's shocking to me how big I am. I was looking through the Instagram feed for the #OKBloggers event last night (which was SO FUN!!! by the way), and I saw a few pictures of myself taken by others from the side view and IT IS SOMETHING.
Can I be honest? I didn't allow any pictures of myself toward the end of my first two pregnancies. I was not at all happy with how I looked in those last weeks. To continue to take pictures through the end of this pregnancy is going to be one long exercise in humility.
I absolutely 100% know all of the truth of this: it's just a season, I won't look like this forever, there are plenty of mamas who would lost babies too early who would be grateful to get to this stage, my body is doing miraculous, amazing work in growing two human beings. I self-talk my way through each day with this truth. But it's really, really hard to confront this pride stuff in such a public way - both here on the blog and at the grocery store.
Most days I don't know if I am happy or sad or which end is up. I love, love, love feeling them move and kick and squirm. As close as I am to my sister who is 14 months younger than me, I cannot imagine how close these boys will be. I still - STILL! - cannot imagine how incredible it will be that they will always and forever only know a life with their brother. That is so ridiculous and awesome and amazing.
But I have sad moments, too. Nothing alarming - it's the same sad-type stuff I worked through before each of our girls were born. Just the whole "life is going to change and nothing will ever be how it is right now" kind of things.
Mostly I have to say that I treasure each comment y'all leave on the weekly updates, each tweet or Facebook post sent my way, each email or text with encouragement. Because of my limited ability to sit at the computer, I rarely get to respond back the way I would like to, but I cannot say to you enough that it means the WORLD to me. An embarrassment of riches that I greedily gobble up and hang on in the hard moments. I could never deserve it, but it means so much.
So onward we go to our last Thanksgiving as a family of four! Rock and roll and all things good.
