31 Weeks! I say it every time, but each week that goes by is a cause to celebrate that the twins are still internal and still growing and thriving in there. One of my biggest fears through this pregnancy has been early labor or complications that necessitate early delivery. I’m so grateful to have gotten this far without either of those things happening.

  
The Babies are the Size of: Two heads of romaine lettuce, if you like your comparisons in the form of super-boring produce. BUT WHY WOULD YOU? Because this week, the animal size comparison is: TWO OTTERS! Minus the tails. But still. I’ve got a raft of babies in there!

How I’m Doing: Well, if you read my post from Monday you’ll know that I have been having hard days now and then. I don’t always or even often feel bad, but occasionally all those little discomforts, stresses, and annoyances rear their heads at the same time and I temporarily lose my shit. I’m okay now.

I really try not to complain because being pregnant with twins is such a wonderful thing to happen in my life — it’s even better than I dared to hope for during the time we were struggling to conceive. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m less than grateful for it. I know plenty of others out there who are in the midst of that TTC struggle right now and it feels awful to think of complaining about pregnancy discomforts in front of them. Completely insensitive of me. If that’s you out there reading this, I apologize for the bad attitude. Know also that I am holding on to hope for you.

I’m doing well. I’m feeling good, still able to work pretty comfortably, still getting decent sleep, and so on. I’ve hit the stage of swelling, stretching, and generally feeling huge and stuffed at all times, though. So there’s that. Not unusual or unexpected, but very keenly felt nevertheless.

Belly Button Status, et Cetera: I normally have a very deep belly button, probably in part because of the slightly loose, saggy skin around it from my weight gain & loss in my late 20s/early 30s. Normally my belly button is so deep you can’t see the bottom of it and the skin around it sags down to make a frown in the middle of my stomach. (It matches the one on my face when I catch sight of it in the mirror.) At the current time, my navel is still an “innie,” but it’s pushed out enough that you can actually see the bottom of it and the frown is nowhere to be seen. Very exciting. I wonder if it will pop out in the next few weeks? I still don’t have any new stretch marks, but the old ones from getting fat are really enjoying their chance to spread out and luxuriate in their full glory. It’s like a topographical river map or some shit.

Doctor Visit: I had a basic check-up today and my doctor reminded me it’ll be the last “short” appointment of this pregnancy. From here to the end, I’ll be going to weekly appointments that will all involve at the very least the usual checkup stuff (weight, BP, heartbeats, fundal height measurement, urine screening) AND a Non-Stress Test every week. For the NSTs, the twins and I will be monitored to measure any contractions and to see how their heart rates respond. (As far as I understand it.) That starts next week. In addition, I have at least one more growth ultrasound scheduled for 33 weeks.

At this visit, everything was looking good. I’ve officially gained 50 pounds (yay?) and my uterus is measuring the same size as that of a woman who is 40 weeks pregnant with only one baby, aka full term. It sure feels like it!

Since everything is going so well my doctor seems really pleased and said she thinks we won’t have any trouble making it to 34 weeks, which is a good health milestone for the babies and which also means they can be born and cared for at our local hospital. Just three weeks until we hit that mark! Next week, 32 weeks, is also a big milestone for their growth and development, so I am looking forward to hitting that as well.

So babies, please stay put for at least three more weeks, if not seven. Listen to your mother.