Third Trimester: Part 2
32 weeks: we made it with no babies yet! Phew! Baby A still breech. Bummer. Bed-rest isn't so bad. Can my belly really get any bigger? I'm down to flip flops and two pairs of pants and the same three shirts. Nothing fits. More swelling...Headaches. Severe pain in my pelvis-is it breaking? Pain with every step-which most days are only taken to get to the bathroom or the kitchen. Not working is nice. Netflix...Breaking Bad Season One. Breaking Bad season Two. Season three, season four. Now what?? Thank you cards...more thank you cards. Aching back. Ouch! Beautiful weather-too bad I can't take a walk.
Week 33: Giant swollen feet. Sigh. Weekly appointments...bi-weekly appointments...tri-weekly appointments. I live at the hospital and The Women's Clinic! Everyone knows my name and my face...and my GIANT belly. "Oh, your poor feet!" everyone says. Weekly iron infusions in the oncology center. (I'm thankful I don't have cancer-feeling very guilty and very sorry for the people on either side of me during these appointments.) Back is KILLING me! Pressure in my you-know-what! Owie! Is my colon collapsing?? Swollen toes, feet, knees--what knees?--thighs, face...will my skin split open?? Belly of massive proportions! 48 1/2 inches to be exact! I'm a complete sphere! Appointment after appointment. Platelets dropping. Protein in urine. Signs of pre-eclampsia...come back on Monday. Pain...Tears. More tears. No sleep what-so-ever. SO uncomfortable at night! Getting in and out of bed to pee feels like I ran a marathon. Still CAN'T get comfortable. Frustration! Crying some more.
34 weeks: Wow. I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE! One day at a time. I'm almost there. Sigh. I can't move or breathe or sleep. Eating doesn't work at a table or on the couch. My feet are going to explode! Maybe we can have the babies this week? I'm dying!! Okay---I only have to hang in 2 more weeks, right? I CAN do it. Two more weeks. That's my goal. That's it. Okay.
34 weeks 6 days...Almost daily visiting the Women's Clinic. Non-stress test. Another non-stress test. Blood work. Urine samples. More protein. Lower platelets. How can there be MORE swelling!?Rapid weight gain. I feel like I weigh 200 pounds-oh wait I do! Guess what? "You're having these babies tomorrow!!!" What??? Tomorrow?!? Baby A STILL breech= C-section for me. Major bummer and major relief at the same time. Holy crap! We're having babies! Shoulda finished those thank you cards before now, and cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, and ran to Babies R Us again, and ordered cute baby photo props--darn it! Brain won't stop. Tears. No Sleep WHATSOEVER. What if this? What if that? What about early babies and the NICU? Stop! More and more tears...tears of fear...tears of relief...tears of exhaustion...tears of excitement...Ready or not, here we go babies!
