Update: 22.02.19 - 31 weeks in

I'm having a wee break from decorating while I wait for the first coat of paint on the nursery walls to dry. Obviously, I've only painted what I can safely reach, the hubby can do the tops of the walls and the cutting in around the ceiling over the weekend in between all the woodwork (which I won't do because of the fumes). We will still have the feature wall to do after that, but we can do it together over the weekend. And then the husband can get the new flooring laid, and we will finally be able to start getting the furniture in and the room organised! yay.

So while I wait for the paint to dry, I figured I would give a little update on how the pregnancy is progressing and where I'm at. Then I can start work on another post about a pregnancy related topic, although I can't decide which one yet! lol

I am now over 31 weeks pregnant and should have no more than 7 weeks to go, as my obstetrician had indicted that they'd be looking to bring me in for my c-section around 37-38 weeks if everything is going well. I had a scan last week that showed both babies looking healthy except for Baby 1 being a bit on the small side. She has continued to grow since the last scan, but not at a pace that they are completely happy with, so we are going back again next week for another scan to check her growth. I am not very worried as Baby 1 is extremely active and strong - I'm expecting actual bruises from her punches and kicks before the pregnancy is over. Baby 2 is fine size wise, and is starting to move and kick more, which is nice for me to have the reassurance that she too is okay. In fact, my belly is beginning to resemble something from the film Alien, , constantly rippling and moving from side to side as the girls fight for space. It's not great when I've just eaten or am trying to sleep, but it is lovely at the same time. The husband is more keen to feel the movement now it is so strong and unmistakable too, which is great bonding for the both of us.

Today, we are expecting a huge delivery of baby items we ordered a few weeks ago. This includes their bedside cots, car seats and loads of other essentials (plus a few luxuries, of course). We still have a list of must-have items that we are slowly chipping away at, attempting to purchase a few items every week so to spread the cost. Of course, if the girls arrive early they are likely to be in neonatal for a little while anyway, so we can go online and order everything in one go, or get the grandparents to go stock up for us getting home. I'm not opposed to them coming a little early, but I would like them to remain in there until at least 35 weeks when the health risks are much lower obviously. Having said that, I am so ready to meet them, and to not be pregnant anymore! 7 weeks seems like a long time to go!

Although being rather heavily pregnant now is starting to take its toll on me, I haven't had a bad pregnancy really. Morning sickness was a pain in the beginning, but at least I didn't have hyper. grav. and my sickness pretty much stopped after the first trimester with just the odd few days of it flaring up mildly after that. I've also not had any major complications like being rhesus negative, clotting issues, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia or, most importantly, anything being wrong with the babies, other than being a little small which is not unexpected with twins. So, I know I have been extremely lucky, especially as one of my best friends is going through her pregnancy at the same time with so many issues to deal with. I really admire her strength and ability to still empathise when I'm getting frustrated with the pregnancy symptoms considering hers have been so much worse.

So, what symptoms have I got at the moment that are causing me to be such a moany cow? Well, my PGP has calmed down to mild discomfort because I'm resting so much more, but I still struggle if I have been on my feet too much. I have the lovely addition of cankles and can no longer fit my swollen feet in some of my shoes. My sleep has been very disturbed of late, between moving babies, frequent urination, crazy dreams and over-heating. I've developed bad heart-burn too, which is apparently associated with babies having lots of hair - so I'm hoping that one of the babies has a mop of hair and the other doesn't so it will be easy to tell them apart! I feel bloated and full with no real appetite, but still have a desire to eat constantly just for the sake of it. When I give in to this desire to pick at something I usually end up feeling sick afterwards and have to down some Gaviscon. So that's fun. I won't go into deals about my bowel movements but I will say, yes, I have constipation and piles! The joys... And there is also the mood swings, but more about that in my next post because I've just decided that this deserves it's own post.