The Plan

Some time ago, a blog reader requested a picture from the front. No, it isn't an optical illusion. The babies actually prefer my left side and seem to migrate that direction. You can really see my swelling and water retention in this picture. It had been a busy day and I had ingested a lot of sodium.

We'll here we are...

On the brink of induction...

After being in labor for 8 weeks...

After nearly a week of hospital bedrest and weeks of restrictions at home...

Dilated to more than a 4 for nearly 5 weeks...

Spurts of contractions 2 to 3 minutes apart...

We still have babies that are still firmly inside my uterus...

Tomorrow morning, I'll call labor and delivery around 5:30 am and hope that they have a bed available for me. If they do, we'll hop in the car, drive the 2 hours to Champaign and settle in to have some babies. (My mom will be at our house with Bo while I'm having babies. I know they'll be fine, but I'm not looking forward to being away from my little guy!) The plan is to try for a vaginal birth. Dr. F will be breaking my water first thing and starting pitocin to kick start the process soon after.

I do plan to have an epidural and I can have it at any point -- as I'm already dilated past a 4, which is the stage when epidurals are typically administered. I see no reason to be a martyr. No one is going to give me a medal if I have a drug-free delivery and I had an excellent epidural experience with Bo.

I know that labor provides no guarantees. I could end up with a c-section. I could end up with one vaginal birth and one c-section. I could end up with no epidural or my epidural may not work. Truly, I have no real expectations. I do not have an elaborate birth plan. For me, this is the best way to enter this situation - which probably seems odd given my Type A personality. I just know that I'll endure whatever it takes as long as I end up with two healthy girls in the end. I think that's been my philosophy all along...

37 weeks 4 days pregnant with twin girls. A part of me is embarrassed to post this photo here -- let's face it, I look awful. But another part of me is ridiculously proud of my huge body, swollen ankles, and puffy eyes. I've beat the odds! I made it FULL TERM with twins!!! Besides, we need a baseline picture to monitor my weight loss journey. :)

*****

I've published some "never before seen here" posts from before Bo's birth. They are from the original Sticky Feet blog and as I went back to read about my birth experience with Bo I thought they might make for some entertaining reading while everyone waits for me to have these girls. :) You can find all of the new posts here. The picture of my feet shows that my swelling at the end of this pregnancy is NOTHING compared to my pregnancy with Bo. I also found the post that talked about my mint cravings amusing. Apparently my babies like peppermint. Bo crunches on Breath Savers right along with me now. :)