24 Weeks (6 Months) Pregnant

I remember one fleeting moment about 2 and a half years ago, when I was around 12 weeks pregnant with Adam and lying in bed, miserable and nauseous, and had been for almost 2 months (and would continue to be for another month after that). I remember briefly fantasizing that in my next pregnancy I would hope to be pregnant with twins because while I knew I wanted three kids, I had already gathered enough information about pregnancy to realize that I didn't want to be pregnant three times.

Of course, there was about a 2% chance of this ever happening, so I never thought about it again. And while it was a fun daydream that lasted a good 15 minutes, it was probably one of the most naive 15 minutes of my lifetime so far. Twin pregnancy does not mean that you get a two-for-one special, tricking the pregnancy gods into allowing you a free pass.

The nausea, which I didn't think could get much worse than with Adam, is more intense, more unpredictable, and starts earlier. I was (am) tired constantly -- even after a good 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, I'd wake up and feel like I ran a marathon. The headaches are constant, the heartburn appeared faster, and every possible early pregnancy symptom that they write about appeared and magnified itself like it wanted to be sure I noticed it. If it wasn't one thing it was another. The only relief is that the nausea disappeared around week 12 (whereas with Adam I was sick until weeks 16-18). These are not complaints; I am only attempting to be clear when I reiterate just how naive I was.

Then, for about 2 months, I felt "pretty good." I never felt "great," mind you, but I was able to function like a human being and I was more tired than "normal" but WAY better than I had been for the first 3 months.

And now, at 24 weeks (6 months), it has become clear to me that it is (already) the beginning of the end of any productive or "normal human being" days... hell, let's face it, we're doing well if I have a good hour in me. Showering and dressing now requires a 45 minute "rest" period before any further activities can be tackled. Changing Adam's diapers gives me back spasms, I can hardly put on my own shoes let alone his, I don't sleep well because I have to use every muscle in my body to roll over in the middle of the night, and early on I had to relinquish my duties of Adam-daycare-drop-off to Shannon.

My doctor has now advised me to work from home, if that's at all possible, so I'm working on figuring out the details for that. Also, my rights to pick Adam up from school are revoked as well since a recent episode when I was feeling particularly frisky and ambitious, and after picking him up and trying to get everything in the car, ended up having to chase him through the parking lot (and trust me, he's little but he's fast). He planned his escape, spotted the playground, and made his move, abandoning me at the car while he's sprinted away, giggling the whole way. You haven't lived until you get to see a 6 month pregnant woman with twins going for a jog after her toddler in a parking lot.


The reason for my miisery and lack of any remaining indications of "normality" this clear: I have two healthy, growing babies to carry around who are literally sucking every last calorie out of me. And they can have them! It's a full time job to remind myself to take every supplement, every vitamin, drink every gallon of water and eat enough to allow them to grow and allow me the opportunity to blink, let alone walk. I am lucky that when I don't get enough to eat, my body is allowing them to take what they need and I suffer the consequences . . . and that's a good thing, because I can do something about that!

Right now at just barely 6 months pregnant, I'm as big as I was when I was 7 and a 1/2 months pregnant with Adam. (I was always small when I carried Adam and then he came out almost 9 lbs - which no one expected). However, I've been told that I'm hiding them well. My torso creates some kind of illusion, I believe. I may not look it, but I definitely FEEL it.

And, I'm growing FAST... The two pictures below are just two days apart. The one in the gray shirt was from Tuesday and the one in the brown from Thursday. Both are at 24 weeks.

At my appointment yesterday, I got to see the little ones again. The sonogram technician told me that this was about the time we'd see which one of the twins would "pull ahead," as in, now is the time where one starts to get bigger than the other, as they have amazingly remained almost eerily symmetrical to date. When she measured the little girl, she commented that at 1 lb, 8 oz, she is growing very well, "as if she thinks she's in there all by herself." This size is actually big even for a "singleton" baby of this gestation (not huge, but a good-sized little girl).

At the last appointment the little girl was head-down, but since then she has turned herself around and is in a breech position. They say she's about out of time to turn herself around, but this is fine; since I plan on a c-section they can do whatever they want as long as it's grow and stay healthy. She is comfortably sitting with her head up under my ribs and her feet pressed and kicking up against my bladder, literally. I didn't need the ultrasound to be able to tell that, though.

Because of her position, we were unable to get any good pictures of her face, but she was stretching out to show off her muscular legs and arms.

Her leg - already getting definition for future soccer games (wink, wink).

Her arm - you can see her fingers curled backwards.

As for our little boy, who I have to say... does not move nearly as much as his sister does, but when he does move, he MEANS it... his kicks are visible from a few feet away and he's not messing around. During the ultrasound he was showing off by stretching out straight (aka, putting his feet on his sister's head) and throwing his head back, and then just when the ultrasound technician commented that it would be nice if he'd tilt his head back up so we could get a good face shot, he did just that... right on cue.

In the last ultrasound pics I thought he might have a similar profile to what Adam did, but now I'm not so sure. They do have the same chin though, at least from what I could tell when she was looking at them. To end the ultrasound session, he then showed off by showing how well he can swallow and then threw his legs up over his head... (the quality of the photo isn't incredibly great, but I couldn't help but share.)

Curling into a ball.

And then, to see just who was "pulling ahead" in the who-is-bigger-than-who competition, she measured him... only to be shocked that he, as well, is exactly 1 lb 8 oz, just like his sister. Not only was the ultrasound technician in shock, but the doctor said it was pretty incredible as well - not only their size in general, but that they are completely symmetrical still. We decided that they are just incredibly competitive, and neither one is willing to back down. I have to say, I'm already a proud mom.


We're aiming for 38 weeks here... that's my goal, at least, and I've had many discussions with these babies about it, so I'm fairly certain they understand the terms. So here's to another 14 weeks!