Now baby weighs almost 6.5 pounds and her total length is about 21 inches long. But she hasn't stopped growing yet; she'll continue to develop about a half ounce of fat a day. Still, overall growth does slow from here on out. That's fortunate since there is very little available space left in the womb.
Here are a few final developments taking place in week 37:
Immune system. It continues to strengthen and will continue to get stronger after birth yet will not be completely functional until early adulthood.
Dexterity. Your baby can now grasp with her fingers as dexterity improves.
Monday we had a Dr.'s appointment. Greg is home until after the first of the year so he was able to go with me. Yeah!! We are both so relieved that he is home!! There were still no changes in my cervix. I did have protein in my urine and my blood pressure was elevated. When Dr. Meeks came in he said "have you been up more this weekend" and I said "yes". Since Greg was home I finally felt like I could do some stuff without worrying that it was going to make me go into labor and Greg not be here. Guess that was the wrong thing to be doing. They had me lay down on my left side for awhile and relax and then they took my blood pressure again. It did make it go down some. They did another urine test and the same results came back. He sent me down to get some blood work done because these were the signs of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. He wanted to make sure that all of my organs were functioning properly. He told me to go home and stay down on my left side as much as possible and he wanted to see me first thing Thursday morning. He told me to be prepared to go to the hospital just in case
The past 3 days have been the longest of this whole pregnancy. We got the lab results back Tuesday and everything on there was fine. That was a huge relief to me. Tuesday I spent the whole day either on the couch or in the recliner. Wednesday I did get out for awhile. I went and got a manicure and pedicure. I figured that was the last time for awhile that I would get to do that. Lesa met me there so it was a lot of fun and very relaxing.
My last belly picture. My total weight gain was 37 lbs.
Last night I got everything packed and ready to go to the hospital just in case. I showered so that I wouldn't have to be up for very long this morning getting ready. Of course, I did not sleep good. I was too anxious about our appointment. Things went good this morning. I got up and got ready and was able to make sure the house was picked up before I left. The last thing I want to come home to with two little ones is a messy house. We left about 10 minutes later than what I wanted too but we made it to the appointment on time. Dr. Meeks was running a little behind so it was about 8:45 before we saw him. He measured me and listened to the heart beats. I still had protein in my urine and my blood pressure was still elevated for me. He said he would be back and we would talk.
When he came back he explained that I do not have Pregnancy induced hypertension. He said I do have the indicators for the beginning but the only way to know if it is getting worse is to do a 24 hour protein test and see if it is elevated more. He said with twins that it could worsen faster. He said I was not an easy decision to make because I still was not dilated and at this point all of the test were showing that I was OK. He presented my case to 2 of the other Dr.'s in the office and 1 said he would induce and the other said they would wait. He gave us the option of either choosing to go ahead and induce or to wait 3-4 more days. He explained that if the protein continued to increase that it is taking a chance with one or both of the babies and me. As soon as I heard that our decision to me was easy. I wasn't even able to say a word before Greg started talking. He said that if there was a chance that something could happen to me or the babies that we were not willing to take that chance. He wanted to go ahead. Of course, I felt the same way so we all agreed to go forward.
We left the office and came straight to the hospital. We have been here since 9:30. When we got here it was so busy that they didn't have a room so they put us in a semi-private room to start. They put my IV in and got the monitors on the babies. After that they did a sono to make sure before they started the Patossin that both babies were still head down. They are both still down but Baby B has pushed his way over to come out first. Baby B is such a bully. He always wants all of the room. He!! He!!
After they were sure that they were down they started the Patossin. They started it about 11:30. It is now 2:30 and I still have not dilated. I am telling you these babies are going to be so stubborn now. Wouldn't you know we went all of this time praying that we would make it to term with them and now that we are they still have no desire to come out.....The contractions are getting stronger for sure. I am hoping that soon we will make some progress. I won't be considered in labor until I am dilated to a 2. She said then with first time Moms that it could be 14-16 hours of labor. So, it looks like we are going to be waiting for awhile. Greg just left to get something to eat and go check on our puppies. He is so anxious right now so he has not sat still since we got here. He is going to wear himself out if he doesn't take a break and relax.
I just had my 2nd Popsicle. I am starving!!!! I have not had anything to eat or drink since last night. I can have Popsicles and ice chips but that is it. I'm sure these babies are wondering what I am doing to them. I will want a big breakfast in the morning!!
I am starting to get sleepy so I think I am going to try and nap for awhile. Maybe that will make the time go by faster.
Keep us in your prayers
I will keep y'all posted throughout the day!
