Ultrasound, July 1, 2011

Today is July 1, 2011, and I’ve been assured that the babies will be out (one way or another) in one month or less. Their lungs are fully developed, and the only thing they have left to accomplish is a little porking up. Yesterday the sonogram measured them at 4 ½ pounds each. It’s great for 33 weeks, but a pound of pudge apiece shy of the 5 ½ pounds I’m shooting for. It's hopefully doable since they each gained a pound in the last three weeks. My doctor says that 5 lbs. is a pretty important threshold; the extra mass helps the babies regulate their own temperatures without an incubator. Since we’d really rather go with the rooming-in option instead of the NICU stay, I’m trying to think of things I can eat that will help the babies keep gaining weight.

Yesterday was probably my last sonogram. Funny, because we thought the first one we had way back in March was first-and-last. The discovery of twins led to many more, and it seems a little weird that I don’t have another scheduled appointment. I’ve seen the sonogram techs and doctors so many times that in my daydreams about delivery I automatically imagine them there: the tech checking the heartbeats, the doctor measuring my contractions. The sonography office has been the one place at UK Medical where everyone seems to have it all together, and they’ve been a big help in dealing with our Humana Student Health Insurance (Need prenatal care? Why? Your grandfather was born in a barn!)



We were very excited to get a rare glimpse of both babies at once! In the bottom of the picture, you can see an over-the-shoulder profile of A: a sloping forehead and a chubby cheek. Twin B is facing her, and if you look for the tech’s arrow you can see her nose and lips pushed up against the membrane between them like it’s a window she’s looking through. We had to stare at it for a while, but see it once and it’s unmistakeable.



Twin B is the camera shy one in general, always pressing her face to A’s shoulder or turning away from the camera, but we got a glimpse of her profile this time…



… as well as her sister’s. We were never bothered because they are identical, but it’s still nice to see B for the first time since week 16.



Twin B’s face shot turned out a little squashed. Poor thing, she has no idea how bad it’s going to get in there soon, with both of them growing and running out of room. Even if this face was a little mask-of-Darth-Vader I still love it because just before the tech snapped the still picture I saw her blink.

I've been trying not to notice how my housekeeping and my parenting have been slipping in the past month. For example, Devon's newest form of self-amusement is to improvise a basketball hoop out of anything round and throw things through it. So far this morning he's thrown Daddy's shoes, all of his Little People, and his Tigger Ball through the seat of the exersaucer and run to pick them up on the bottom. It's fun for me to watch from my beached position on the couch, but the game has it's weird moments. Namely, when I'm sitting on the toilet and he's throwing red car and yellow car through the hoop that my shorts make stretched across my knees. Do I stop him, though? Nope. I'm just glad I can pee before he finds the plunger and decides to stick it to his head.

So we're counting down to delivery, but more importantly we're counting down 12 more days before Grammy comes to stay for a while. Not only is she fresh from a 3-month deprivation and ready to see her grandson, but she's been shopping! Last week she sent me this picture:



I had mentioned that I didn't have enough clothes for two babies that would probably actually wear the newborn sizes for a while. Now I do. She has a favorite children's consignment store, and it just so happens they were having a sale.

She recently posted on facebook that she bought a 20 lb. jug of cat litter to carry around as practice for picking up Devon. It's a good idea. However, Devon does not have a handle, and he doesn't stay still. I suggested that she practice carrying around a 20 lb. bag of cats.

Now that I've had a few more days to think about it, I've devised a list of exercises that anyone anticipating a visit with a 15-month-old can do to physically and mentally prepare. If you'd like to truly empathize with me, you can attempt this list with two 5 lb. sacks of sugar duct taped to your bellybutton.

In the Kitchen: Open a can of kidney beans. Smear 2 T. on high chair tray, 3 T. on cloth seat of high chair. Stick 5 beans to wall. Dump remainder on floor. Let dry 30 minutes. Clean up the mess.

In the Bathroom: Run warm water in tub and add bubble bath. Bathe, lotion, diaper, and dress reluctant raccoon while singing "Take Me out to the Ball Game" and balancing a rubber duck on your head.

In the Living Room: Spread 100 ping pong balls on carpet. Tune 2 different radios to different stations at medium volume. Crawl around coffee table on your knees, pausing to lift jug of cat litter down from the couch, coffee table, or stairs. Continue this action for 30 minutes. Pick up ping pong balls.