Twin Pregnancy Diary - 31 weeks 4 days

The appointment with the midwife went well yesterday. I like getting the first appointment of the day as it means I don't need to worry so much about getting a parking space for the minibus. It is funny, the things I think about for the simplest of reasons. Another example is travelling a new route or going to a new place and we need to research height restrictions for things like car parks etc beforehand, due to the minibus being so tall.

Anyway, I digress.

The appointment went well. My blood pressure is fine, nothing abnormal detected in my urine and the babies both have good, strong heartbeats. Twin 2 played a game of hide and seek. The midwife confirmed, as I suspected, that it is lying differently to Twin 1 as it always takes a while to pinpoint the heartbeat with a doppler and sounds more muffled. It also feels different. My belly feels less firm over on the right whereas you can feel firmness and a definite roundness where Twin 1 is lying.  I am now measuring the equivalent of a 37 week singleton pregnancy.

Both are head down, with Twin 1 apparently lodged right the way down into my pelvis. I mentioned my concerns regarding the Braxton Hicks contractions and was advised to head on straight to the delivery unit for monitoring and precautionary steroids in order to strengthen the twins' lungs in case the BH contractions do develop further. Like the midwife said, it's better for them to get the steroids and not need them than for them to be born now and not have had them. I was also advised to treat this pregnancy differently to my previous singleton pregnancies, and to be more cautious. Suddenly it seems real that the babies will be here soon!

And just as an aside, I am annoyed to the hilt with Asda Direct. I ordered some items from them two weeks ago which were split into two lots. The first batch was delivered with only one problem (I had ordered a 12-18 month top and trousers outfit for Joseph. I received the top part of the outfit only in a 3-6 month size. What's that all about then?). The second parcel was not delivered but was meant to have been. The second parcel contains the two white blankets I am waiting for, for the twins' hospital bags. I chased Asda up last week, was apologised to and promised it would be sorted out. I'm still waiting. This isn't the first time I've had problems with them. Asda, I am not happy. And I am also hormonal. And currently sitting here with a nosebleed. Please sort this out for me.

If you are a new reader (please do leave a comment and say "hello!") and would like to catch up on this pregnancy diary from the start you can go back to where it begins with the Twin Pregnancy Diary - The First Nine Weeks (Part One). 

If you've caught up, or you've already been following to date you can continue to keep up with our journey by subscribing to a full feed in your reader.

And don't forget, if you'd like to chat with me or keep up to date with all the little stuff in life you can leave a comment after any post or join on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter too.

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Twin Pregnancy Diary - 31 weeks 2 days

31 week twin pregnancy

I am feeling a mixture of emotions this week.  On the one hand, I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by.  It seems such a short time ago since discovering I was pregnant again, and then of course we embarked once again on the rollercoaster of hope and then despair when I began bleeding early on during the pregnancy, thinking that we were miscarrying again.  It seems like only yesterday that I went along to the Early Pregnancy Clinic, bracing myself to be told we had lost our baby, only to return home with the news that we were expecting two!

But while I can't help feeling that this pregnancy has gone fast, I am also beginning to feel quite ready for the end of it.  The physical discomfort is making the simplest of tasks difficult.  Even picking things up from the floor requires the maximum of effort.  Sitting, standing, lying... no position is comfortable.  By the end of the day the heaviness in my legs feels tremendous.

Night times brings its own set of frustrations.  My legs and hips often go numb if I stay lying in one position for too long.  Carpal tunnel symptoms have begun in my hands and I have sat bolt upright in bed on more than one occasion with heartburn, reaching desperately for the Rennie.

As the weeks go by the Braxon Hicks contractions are increasing in intensity and frequency.  I experience the same during singleton pregnancies for weeks on end, so I don't automatically consider it a sign that my body is limbering up for labour already.  I am not a woman who tends to labour early in pregnancy and even though I am expecting twins, I still believe I will go to at least 37 or 38 weeks and while I know that it is better for the babies to go as long as I can, I also can't help thinking, "How can I go on like this?  I am so big already.  Can I possibly grow any more?!" but then again, what do I know?!  After all, whatever will be will be!

A combination of all the above plus by depleted iron stores means that tiredness is becoming more and more of an issue.  I am thankful that I do not need to worry about school runs and can remain at home for much of the time, allowing me to take things easy and at a pace I am comfortable with.  Catnaps are becoming a necessity during the day.  A five minute snooze on the sofa can make a lot of difference in getting through the day.

The babies are very active with Twin 1 taking the lead in the fidgety stakes.  Twin 2 is definitely a lot more mellow and less active.  The little tsunami waves across my belly remain mainly on the left side of my body, while more subtle movements and shapes tend to occur on the right.  I do wonder though, if it's just the case of how they are positioned.

According to the app on my phone each baby now measures over 41cm long and weighs approximately 1.5kg.  They are now beginning to plump up, laying down their fat stores in preparation for birth.  Not only do they seem to be laying the fat stores down in their own bodies, they seem to be doing a pretty good job of laying them down all over mine too!

I just took and uploaded the photo at the beginning of this post.  Comparing it to last week it looks like a ginormous growth spurt has occurred.  What do you think?

If you are a new reader (please do leave a comment and say "hello!") and would like to catch up on this pregnancy diary from the start you can go back to where it begins with the Twin Pregnancy Diary - The First Nine Weeks (Part One). 

If you've caught up, or you've already been following to date you can continue to keep up with our journey by subscribing to a full feed in your reader.

And don't forget, if you'd like to chat with me or keep up to date with all the little stuff in life you can leave a comment after any post or join Larger Family Life on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter too.

(You can also share posts on Facebook, Twitter, Stumble them or Digg them too so don't be shy! It's good to share, after all!)


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Subscribe to Larger Family Life and get the latest news directly in your inbox or reader.  You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Larger Family Life is also available on Kindle!