32 Weeks, Easy Does It...

32 weeks, y'all. 2 weeks to "won't stop labor," 6 weeks to scalpel time. Nearly there.

 I'm trying to get a few things taken care of for Christmas, as I'll be spending a majority of December recovering and not "overdoing it." Doing some shopping on Amazon, bought Christmas dresses today, and on and on. I'd like to make up a plan for a few things to bake and give to friends around Thanksgiving. I think some would say that that is shooting for the moon, but I think you'd really have to be here to see how it's going. I'd like to get the girls into their dresses and outside for some Christmas card photos so that all I need to do is newborn photos when the boys make their appearance, but we'll see. It'll depend on my contractions!

Some days I have a decent amount of energy, but each day I'm getting a little closer to complete rest. In order to prepare for holiday fun, I'm trying to plan according to what I could realistically do from the couch or within a 20 minute span. Things like roll-out cookies are out of the question, but things like fudge and pumpkin bread are doable. Attending the Christmas parade downtown won't happen, but I could feasibly enjoy the light display at the Texas Motor Speedway. For instance, we did a large shopping trip at Target yesterday and I was able to come home and do a couple more things. This morning we had to venture out to a second Target store for the second baby crib, and I only did well because we stopped at the Church nursery to sit and visit for an hour before heading home. Sitting is nice.

I'm feeling pretty terrible, but that's not really a complaint, just an observation. I have no idea how you'd be feeling great at this point. I think it's a lot easier to handle now that we're in the home stretch. Feeling enormous and bummed out was tough at 26 weeks, but now it feels like we're really getting somewhere, so the pain and exhaustion feels like it's really paying off. We're really moving on the nursery now, and having the distraction of needing to finish things makes it easier to get through the days.

I'm having lots of contractions just this week, and since I've never really "gone into labor" on my own, I have no idea what I'm doing. Mostly they're Braxton-Hicks, and they're all under the "call your OB" limit, so I'm just sort of sucking it up and keeping an eye on things. Generally I have Braxton-Hicks all day and then painful, crampy contractions in the evening when I lie down. Since labor with each baby can be different and labor with multiples can be very different from singletons, I'm going with a 1st pregnancy approach and being cautious. The past few days have felt very different in terms of my physical condition, so I think it's really just my body asking me to rest more and slow down even more than I have. For instance, I've been sitting quietly for almost an hour and I'm in the middle of a massive contraction. I'm just adding it to my sticky note on my laptop and hoping I stay under 6 for the 8pm to 9pm hour. So help me, I'm not driving to Labor and Delivery on a Friday night so they can tell me I'm not having contractions!

I still don't really know what to do about sleeping. I'm not really sleeping well, but not losing enough to really do anything about it. The boys are active absolutely all night long, and they play off each other most of the day. It's neat, but seeing as I have to get up to use the bathroom 5 or 6 times a night, I wake up one or both babies 5 or 6 times a night, and then I have to wait for them to settle down enough to let me sleep. Their kicking and rolling is VERY powerful, and there have been several times that they've actually moved my whole body. I thought there was supposed to be a slowing down point, but I guess we're not there yet!

We start weekly appointments in three days, and I think all of us are dreading it and somehow excited at the same time. It's a long drive to the hospital district, and every trip is long and trying. I come home super tired and crabby, and it takes a lot out of the kids. There is a good chance I'll get to twice-weekly appointments before this circus is over, so I guess we just need to get through it as best we can!

Our November is going to be mildly busy, but we're trying to figure out how to have Thanksgiving and making a few contingency plans, should we end up delivering babies during the third and fourth weeks of the month. It's just FUN at this point of a pregnancy. I love the waiting and wondering and tension. I'm so cut out for third-trimesters.

The nursery is coming along, and I think we'll be building cribs by next weekend! FUN! Andrew's mom is painting like a mad woman every little break she gets, and the painting should be done by tomorrow night. We were going to wait until January to put things together and assemble the room, but our wise nurse said, "Well multiples often come home with apnea monitors and equipment. You're going to need bigger beds if there's a chance they're coming home wired to anything." Hmm....good point, there...so we are going to build the cribs ahead of time to make sure that the babies have a safe place just in case they need more room than we're currently prepared for. I have a crib bumper and a skirt to finish, and I'm working on fabric banners to put at the tops of the windows. If I have enough fabric I'm going to try to sew a diaper stacker, but sitting in front of the sewing machine is pretty rough these days, so I'm prioritizing! I've got one skirt and 90% of a bumper done, and they look super cute! I actually created a custom breathable bumper, and it's HOT. I can't wait to put up a "how I did it" post! I can't wait to get things together! I also have grand plans for a giant mobile, but that's going to be a whole family project as far as I can tell. The little origami balloons are all done, but I am still completely puzzled as far as how to string them up, and really, I'm still not sure what to hang them FROM anyway...but I want it done this weekend. It's going to be a rough weekend.