33 Weeks and Updates!

[warning: this post could be overly long.]

Although reaching 33 weeks of pregnancy has brought new meaning to the word exhaustion, I am trying to find joy in simply making it another week. Only three more weeks to go! I've got this!

The last couple of days, I have really struggled with the complete lack of control I have right now. Me? Care about control? WHAT!? Yes. I do like having a plan and knowing what to expect. It's just part of my nature. So, feeling like I cannot I have a "normal" day and plan on spending my evenings doing something other than staying in bed has become quite difficult.

I have become so large that it is painful to walk even short distances. I waddle everywhere and can't help but think of Nathan's words the last time I was pregnant. We were walking into Walmart, and he was patiently waiting for me to catch up to him. I let him know that it was hard for me to keep up with his fast pace, and his response was, "I can't wait for this pregnancy to be over so I can walk fast again." Oh, Nathan. Such honesty.

The waddling isn't anything different, but I have started the new habit of sleeping most of the day. I simply cannot stay awake.  I don't even have enough energy to watch episodes of Law and Order on Netflix these days. That is serious.  Apparently, hibernation suits me well because I still show no signs of contractions and the babies are thriving.

We had two appointments yesterday: one with the perinatologist and another with our new OB/GYN. The first appointment, which included an hour long biophysical ultrasound, went well. Baby A and Baby B somehow switched (or either I have been confused this entire time), and Baby A (formerly Baby B) is now closer to my cervix and the "lead" baby. He weighs in at an estimated 4 pound 10 ounces, while his brother is 4 pounds 11 ounces. That means I have over 9 pounds of baby in me. I guess I have good reason to waddle.

We met briefly with the doctor before leaving and he again stressed the importance of having the babies before 36 weeks. He mentioned a conference he attended, where the discussion involved the sudden death of monochorianic-diamniotic twins (pregnancies like mine with one placenta, two sacks). I nodded that I understood the gravity of delivering right at 36 weeks, but what I wanted to say was: "WHY are you telling me this!? PLEASE STOP TALKING."

So yes, our children will definitely be here before December 4th.

Nathan and I then went to our next appointment to meet Dr. O, who will deliver our sons. I had read  Dr. O was notorious for ridiculously long waiting times, so I scheduled our appointment for the last opening of the day. My thinking: If the office closes at 5, then an appointment which begins at 5 will not last long. Who wants to stay later than scheduled hours? This, for some reason, made sense in my mind.

Imagine my surprise when Nathan and I walked into the office, only to see approximately 20-25 people waiting. Angry, tired people. The frustration was almost palpable. We checked in and the nurse said the doctor was running about 40 minutes behind. 40 minutes? I can handle that. We live an hour away from the office, so we figured it would be better to wait than to reschedule. Three and a half hours later, we met the doctor. 

Three and a half hours. When you spend the majority of your day laying down, this amount of time feels like an eternity. The woman beside me had gestational diabetes, was also pregnant with twins, and had driven 45 minutes for her appointment. She waited over 4 hours to be seen, so I really had no room to complain. By the time the doctor came into the room, I was tired, angry, frustrated, and hungry. I had been crying and trying not to freak out on the nurses. One nurse told Nathan and I that the doctor is typically two to three hours behind schedule. She said people are angry every day and patients constantly yell at her. Obviously, they have a problem with scheduling. 

Nathan was going to "have some words" with the doctor, but after a minute of chatting, we were charmed. He is an incredibly nice man, and I immediately felt like I could trust him. Because he does not practice with a group of other doctors, he has to run back and forth between appointments and delivering babies at the hospital. Naturally, this makes him one busy man. We spoke to him about our birth plan and he is determined to do a natural birth. Both babies are head down and hopefully they will stay that way. Unlike the other doctors we met this summer, he did not ask, "When do you want to schedule your c-section?" or "Would you like your tubes tied afterward?" I could understand why people are willing to put up with the horrible waiting time once we spoke with him. He also let us know that most patients check in and then go to dinner or run errands during their "waiting time." Nathan and I will not make the same mistake twice!

I will continue to see Dr. Miu for my weekly appointments and non-stress tests in order to avoid driving an hour each way. Dr. O was perfectly fine with this arrangement, and we won't see him again until December 2nd. Everything ended up working out well, and I am glad we like and trust our delivering doctor.

Things are going to be incredibly different in 20 days (or so)!