34 weeks!!!

We've made it- 34 weeks today everyone!!  I woke up with the biggest smile on my face today, just knowing that we've made it through so many hurdles with this pregnancy, and we're still going!  Each time I've set a goal to get to (20 weeks, then 28 weeks, then 32 weeks, and NOW we made it to 34!), I've gotten anxious as the goal approached- I would worry that we were going to get so close to the goal and then just miss it... and I'm so grateful that didn't happen.  Jason and I have been working so hard to just take care of these little peanuts in my tummy.  And it appears that they take after their daddy, as opposed to their rebellious momma, so far- they're following directions (stay in my belly!) like they should be!

So the next goal- always gotta have a goal- is to make it safely to our scheduled C-section on November 8th.  It's so strange to think that in just under three weeks, we'll finally get to hold our sweet little boys in our arms and snuggle them!  I can't wait to see their little faces and see what features they got from me and what features they got from Jason.  I can't wait to hear their cries (I'm guessing that will probably get a teensy bit old after a while!) and little baby noises.  I can't wait to smell their little baby smells.  And I can't wait to get to start learning about their personalities- separate from the kicks and movements that I feel in my belly...

All three munchkins passed their non-stress test yesterday.  At each test, at least one of the boys decides to be a little obtuse- taking a nap when they should be moving, moving too much, continuously moving away from the monitor, etc.  And it's almost like they play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to decide who is going to be the stinker of the day as it's never the same babe!

On the drive to Sutter Memorial Hospital yesterday (where the non-stress tests are conducted and where the boys will be born), both Baby A and Baby C were kicking and moving around like fiends.  It was almost like they were holding a soccer match in there.  But once we got to the hospital, ALL three decided to be little stinkers.  Baby A had decided to move deeper into my pelvis, and the nurse actually had the monitor almost right on my hip- usually he is the easiest to find.  Apparently he thought that was a good way to make the nurse jump through some hoops- I thought babies didn't play hide 'n seek until AFTER they were born!

Baby B passed the test yesterday the quickest (each of the babes has done this at least once!), but then decided it was a great idea to get the hiccups.  For a couple of minutes, the only sound you could hear was the "blip, blip" every few seconds from him hiccuping!  We were all laughing at the regularity of it.

Baby C must have tired himself out from the earlier soccer match with his brother because he basically slept through the first half of the test.  And of course we can't just leave him alone to sleep it off.  Poor little babe was getting poked and prodded by the nurse and myself, just trying to get him to participate!  Once he actually woke up, though, he performed like a champ.

The only slightly disconcerting thing from the test was that Baby A had some greater variability in his heart rate than he usually does.  At the end of the test, the nurse was quick to tell me that she wasn't overly concerned about it, but she did want to let the doctor know and see if they wanted to do anything about it (send me to triage? send me over to the office for an ultrasound?).  Interestingly enough, Dr. McElvey had actually come in to the room during my non-stress test (she was called in to assess a different momma, not me!) and had taken a glance at the heart rate strips at that point.  So I ended up having to wait around another 10-20 minutes for Dr. McElvey to show up and take a look at the entire test strip.  The nurse apologized to me for the additional wait as she didn't think it was going to change the plan of care at all (my next ultrasound is on Monday), but I was actually grateful that she made the call to the doctor.  I am not going to argue with getting additional expertise thrown in my direction!  I had actually noticed the greater variability myself earlier when I was looking at the strips (I'm not an expert by any means, but you start reading multiple strips twice a week and you start to pick stuff up, plus I may possibly have been reviewing my notes on fetal heart rate monitoring from nursing school!). So it put my mind at ease to have the true experts- the perinatologist and multiple nurses who look at these strips all the time- assess the strip and deem it to be just fine.  Whew!!

The nurses at the Antepartum Testing Unit (where the non-stress tests are done) are really starting to just grow on me.  They seem to enjoy working together and helping each other out.  They all get super excited whenever I show up ("I can't believe you've still got those babies in there!") and I just adore them.  They all seem shocked that I am still able to drive myself around- maybe it's because you can see my belly enter a room about five minutes before the rest of me.  I'm very blessed to be slightly taller than the average girl, so it helps me to be able to push the driver's seat back a little bit and still be a safe driver.

And I'm physically doing okay still.  My blood pressure was normal during the test yesterday, and my uterus wasn't contracting.  But it hurts more and more each day to move around and reposition myself.  Finding a comfortable position gets tougher as time goes by.  And the boys' movements can be kind of painful sometimes.  But all of these things tell me that the munchkins are growing and getting bigger and stronger, which can't be a bad thing. :)

I say a little prayer of thanks each night for whatever human discovered Protonix, my anti-heartburn medication.  I no longer wake up at night with massive heartburn- it's a miracle!  Now I just need to keep working on making my newly developing carpal tunnel pain issues better.  Due to hormones and the water retention of third trimester, it's not unusual to have pain and discomfort in the wrists, hands, and fingers.  It's getting to the point where I have a hard time even bending my fingers just a little without grimacing when I wake up, but the problem gets better during the day before it worsens at night.  I'm having to ask Jason to open almost all twist off tops on containers for me as I can't get my fingers to wrap around them like normal- it cracks me up to realize how much of an impact this pregnancy has on my daily activities.  Unlike non-pregnant people with carpal tunnel issues, I've found that typing actually helps the discomfort- weird!  Small price to pay for still being pregnant with these munchkins!


On a lighter note...
Jason told me last night that he has the perfect solution for resolving disputes between the boys when they get older.  He wants to build an octagon, a la the Ultimate Fighting Championship, in the backyard and will have the boys work out their differences there.  As he says, the "outcome will be decided in the octagon!"  I'm not a follower of mixed martial arts and I'm pretty sure Jason's just joking with me about an octagon, but if he brings it up with anyone, please try to discourage him.  :)