23 Weeks

I have officially entered the phase of pregnancy known as the buying-stuff-mester.

Adam and I have been to IKEA twice over the past two weekends, and we need to go back again next weekend. I spent $350 at Toys-R-Us today, just picking out a few things on my list like bottles, towels, sheets, blankets, etc.

I usually love shopping, but this is exhausting. We spent six hours at IKEA the other day and I had to take a three hour nap when we got home. Three hours at Target and Toys-R-Us on a 95 degree day made me feel like my legs would give out. I suppose that such fast weight-gain is really taking a toll on my muscles. My lung capacity has also shrunk already. I wish I had been in better shape to begin with (although I wasn't in horrible shape). I briefly considered taking up my Curves workout again during pregnancy, but the biggest problem with that is time. I have no time for such inconsequential matters.

Tomorrow I have my last monthly OB appointment. From now on, I'll be going every two weeks (until the end when I go every week). I was lucky to get away with so few appointments up until now. Some OBs go with bimonthly appointments from the start with twins. But not mine.

I have to say, I am very, very pleased with my doctor. I found him by accident during my third miscarriage, when I was between doctors and needed someone to do the D&C. I basically just looked him up on the internet and called and begged him to take on my case. He got me through the last two miscarriages and I liked him enough to stick with him for the pregnancy. He is a high-risk OB, and I think he's a bit of an interventionist when it comes to the delivery, but I could care less about that for this pregnancy. With twins, there's not much point in having a birth plan. I'll argue if he wants to induce me for no good reason, or give me pitocin to speed up labor, or give me an episiotomy, but otherwise, I pretty much have to do what he and the hospital folks say. I'll probably have to deliver in an OR, even if I deliver vaginally with no complications. I also think they might require me to get an epidural (but I'm checking on that) which I assume is for the purpose of being prepared for a C-section (which I think is about a fifty/fifty proposition). That all sounds reasonable to me.

What I like about my OB, though, is that he doesn't buy into the "any risk is unacceptable" school of thought. He has not given me one bit of advice about diet, he has not recommended that I do Kegels, he has not warned me off of alcohol, cigarettes, caffiene, or sushi, and he even tells me that sleeping on my back is ok. I've asked him about some of these issues, and instead of giving me the usual, blanket "avoid that behavior," he explains the precise risk of each concern and gives me his advice about it. (I also hate doctors who will give you statistics and then just say, "you decide." Sorry, but your job as a doctor includes giving me recommendations. Just don't treat me like a moron.)

He is also very good about helping both Adam and me through some of our worries due to our history. For instance, before we went in for the 20-week ultrasound, he warned us that the doctor might tell us about some "anomalies" that sound very scary when you have no context for them. One that I recall had something to do with a particular measurement that means an increased chance of Downs' Syndrome. The u/s doctor might tell us about that measurement, but neglect to tell us that five other measurements made during the u/s were normal, and when you put all six together, we come out of the room with a lower chance of Downs than we had going in. We ended up having no anomalies at all, but it would have been a great comfort if something like that had come up.

Tomorrow I'll get to see Leo and Zoe again for the first time in a month. I've missed seeing them. Oh, if you missed the comments in my 22 Weeks post, you should check it out for more on the reasons for our name choices (including what "Leo" is short for). Now that we've let the cat out of the bag, and also started calling the babies by their names, we're even more sure that these will be their names. My only problem with the names is that I never got the chance to sit down and browse through the baby-name books and make lists and that whole thing. I loved doing that with Sam. But, I just can't imagine finding any names we'd like better, so I think it's settled.