Forty-Six Weeks Twenty-Three Weeks

I went to my check up on Friday to see how things were in the gestational tank. Wait, that doesn't sound right...but uterus sounds so clinical and forboding. Any suggestions?

Any how, the tech we had was absolutely delightful and we got some really good shots:

Baby girl on left sucking her thumb. Baby boy on right with his legs crossed

The boy was, for then, head down, with his legs crossed and curled up. Baby girl was breech, with her butt in her brother's face.

Seriously.

And she kept kicking his face.

Evidence:

Baby girl's bottom in baby's boy face, and then baby girl's foot smushing poor baby boy's face

It was wild to see them interacting as much as they did. We'll get measurements on how they're growing on December 20th.

Now, the icky part: my cervix is shortening. I can't say I was terribly surprised with the amount of contractions I've had. The good news is, however, it is still considered "long" and "safe", but I'll be back this week for another scan to see if full bed rest helped.

I went outside for fresh air on an allotted bathroom break. No, I did not use the restroom in the yard, despite how poorly constructed that previous sentence sounded.

The doctor, at first, wasn't terribly concerned about the length of my cervix, but once she realized it had shortened by a centimeter in two weeks, she told me I was on full bed rest. And then she started talking about the what-ifs.

I didn't like that part.

Dora is wondering why I'm hiding a watermelon under my shirt.

If the at-home bed rest doesn't work, I'm looking at hospital bed rest.

And steroid shots for the babies' lungs. And progesterone therapy to try preventing pre-term labor.

There was talk about viability and statistics and that's pretty much when I tuned out. I stared at the ceiling and tried to blink away my tears.

I am still currently refusing to be photographed in my belly bra maternity belt. Although it holds up the gut well, it is the singular most unattractive thing I've ever worn.

Robert and I talked about things, and prayed about things. And I decided that stress wasn't going to help me out, so I've plugged into mindless TV and fluffy chic-lit books and listened to relaxation tapes over and over. Worrying won't help anything. I am doing what I can, and I know that. No sense getting in a tizzy over it a fussy uterus.

It hasn't been easy being in bed so much, especially with a rambunctious toddler...but we're doing it. We have to. This is my job; to keep these babies cooking as long as I can. My goal date of March 20th is 99 days away from today. I can do that.

And if for some reason I don't make it that far, I know that I've done all I can.

I asked Dora who had a bigger belly and she made a noise, hence the look on my face.

PS - The belly is now a whopping 37" around (up 13.5" from my pre-pregnancy size) and weight gain? Holding steady at 14.5 15 pounds. The doctor said we'd round up for posterity's sake.