The countdown begins!

In 10 days we will meet our boys! At my 36 week checkup this past Tuesday I was only dilated to 1 1/2 cm. That's only 1/2 cm in 3 weeks, looks like these boys are in no hurry to make their way out anytime soon. (That is the Lindtveit stubbornness: they tried to come too early at 29 weeks, were told to stay put, now refuse to come out.) Since I haven't made any huge progress towards active labor we scheduled a C-Section for Oct 4th at 38 weeks. Garrett and I are so excited to finally meet these two. We can't believe that Tuesday will be our last doctor's appointment before they are born...so weird! At our NST both boys looked great and were moving a lot so we only had to be there for an hour. I did have some pretty big contractions, but unless they are 10 mins apart for an hour the hospital will not admit me. Now we just wait to see if I go into labor before the 4th!

Music can tell me what my kids will be like?

One of my pregnancy books has a theory that music you listen to while pregnant will influence who your children become. If this is true my kids are coming out dancing like Michael Jackson, dressing like Lady Gaga, and rapping like Jay-Z. Lets hope this theory isn't totally true.

35 weeks. It's time to come out boys, I'm running out of room!

Jack can predict the future.

We got Jack while I was unemployed to keep me company. Two days later, I thankfully was hired at a new job. Since I was home with him in the beginning, I was Jack's favorite. As soon as I went back to work, Garrett lost his job. This made Garrett home all day with Jack, and his new favorite. Most dogs can sense when their owner does not feel well, is sad, or is happy. Jack is not one of those dogs. He is solely concerned with three things: where is a warm body to lay with, how quickly can he bury under a blanket, and when is the next time he gets to eat. If Garrett is home, I am Jack's second choice. As soon as Garrett is on the couch, Jack is right next to him. If you ask Jack "where is Dad?" he races around the house looking for him. When Garrett leaves Jack watches his car pull away, while crying. Their codependent relationship is both cute and annoying. Today that changed...
This morning while laying on my lap with his head on my belly, Jack got a huge kick to the nose from Baby A. He picked his head up, looked at my belly, looked at me, and put his paw right where Baby A had just kicked. It was beyond adorable. Since then Jack won't leave me alone. Not just sitting with me on the couch or following me around the house, but he has to be touching me constantly. Usually he will lay on the couch with me and if I get up he will stay put and wait for my return. (He's no fool, he isn't going to lose a perfectly good spot on the couch.) Today he laid on my lap all morning, followed me into the bathroom, and jumped halfway into the tub while I was in the shower.
While writing this Jack has pushed my hand away from the keyboard to pet him. It's like he knows he will not be the only "child" for much longer and wants attention while he can get it. Maybe Jack can predict the future and knows the boys are coming soon. I just wish he could tell me when...

35 week update (and what I wish I knew before I was pregnant)

At our 35 week checkup yesterday our doctor told me that if the babies were to be born now, they would do just fine with only a day or two in the NICU! Since I had steroid shots at 29 weeks to mature their lungs we have the doctors approval to go into labor any time. Usually he would like to see how long I can "hang in there", but because of their size and mine (I measure 44 1/2 weeks) they are ready to go! He gave me the OK to do any activity I want to build my strength back up, as long as I rest for four hours a day. He also stopped my weekly progesterone shot to try and "move things along". In case I don't go into labor soon, I have a tentative C-section scheduled for Oct 4th. (Oct 4th is when I will be 38 weeks and our doctor can not schedule a C-section earlier then 2 weeks before my due date if there are no complications) Garrett and I, mainly me, are really hoping that I go into labor soon rather then wait another three weeks! Either way I will be having a C-section. Baby A is still breech (yesterday the doctor could feel a little butt during my exam) and has been for a month. At this point in my pregnancy they have settled into their final position and the chances of one of them flipping is extremely low. We have our weekly stress test on Thursday and continue to wait to meet these boys!

Garrett and I are the first of our friends to be having children and doing it two at a time. There are lots of gross pregnancy things no one tells you about until you are pregnant that I have had to find out for myself. (I plan on keeping them a secret from our friends so they have to learn on their own. Why buck tradition?) However, I feel that the "physically gross" things are way easier to prepare for then the "socially gross" stuff. Everything with a twin pregnancy is different from a single pregnancy. The amount of hormones, the number of doctor visit, the possible complications, the amount of weight gain, and the "socially gross" encounters...

Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem #1- Everyone will want to touch you. I will NEVER understand this. When people hear you are expecting, they feel the need to grope your belly. Personally, I would never grab a friend's belly without an invite, much less a strangers. When I was 9 weeks along, a woman visiting my work jumped over a man in a wheelchair, a stool, and a fellow employee, to grab my belly. (Keep in mind I didn't start showing until I was 5 months along, there was nothing to feel) Once she heard it was twins, she had both hands roaming all over my non-existent belly. My message- "See with your eyes, now with your hands" (thanks Mom, because of that rule, your children will not grope strangers).

Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem #2- Everyone will want to know how big you are. Especially since I am expecting more then one baby people seem fascinated with how big I am. It seems to be the question Garrett is asked the most- How big is Mag? She is growing two people...she is big. Not only does everyone want to know how big I am, how much weight I have gained, they want proof! Everyone seems to want a picture of how big my stomach is I don't get it... put the camera away or take a picture of your own belly.

My 3rd and final Pregnancy Related Socially Gross Problem- You will be asked completely inappropriate questions by strangers. For the past few months, when out in public, I would be asked "When are you due, you look like you could burst!" First of all, thanks, that makes waddling through Target much easier, and second, "not for a few months I'm having twins." Then the questions start...Were you using fertility drugs? How are you going to deliver them? You look too small to be having twins, are you eating enough? My son/daughter/neighbor/bingo partner always wanted twins do you have any tips on getting pregnant? What are you having? Is that what you wanted?

Before I was pregnant, I had no idea how many times I would have to protect my body and avoid strangers...these are the real things you need to prepare for before getting pregnant.

34 Weeks and 4 hours of activity!!!

Our 34 week checkup on Tuesday went great! The boys are getting huge! Baby A (who is still breech) is 4.9 lbs and Baby B is 4.13 lbs. It's so nice to know that they are growing at such a close rate and we do not have to worry about one getting more nutrients then the other. Our doctor said they are growing right on track and the fluid around them shows that I am feeding them enough and drinking plenty of fluids. (I could have told him my 45 pound weight gain showed I am feeding them enough...) Since we made it to our first goal of 34 weeks and are now past the "scary too early to be born stage" I got partial activity back!!! I can now be up moving about and doing "essential errands" for 4 hours a day! I'm pretty sure our doctor is teasing me with the thought of doing any kind of errands knowing very well I am way too uncomfortable walking to do anything productive. (After all, I'm lugging around 9 plus pounds of babies!) Our doctor would like to see me make it to 36 weeks. At 36 weeks we will have a greater chance of the boys leaving the hospital when we do. He has also bribed me with complete activity at 36 weeks. Even though he would like us to go another two weeks, because I am already 1cm dilated, the boys can arrive any day. (Meaning, I'm making it a priority during my 4 hours of activity to shower, not knowing when my last will be) For my first "outing" I went to get my hair done. I considered this a very essential errand considering my last appointment was at the end of July and blond hair is not cute with brown roots. (I could be sitting the whole time, which is how I reasoned with myself that this was an ok activity.) While I was there, there was a wedding party with their photographer, who was more interested in chatting up strangers then taking pictures of the bridal party. This is the actual conversation he had with me:

Photographer- "Do you know what you are having?"
Me - "We know that it is two boys"
Photographer- "Are they twins?"
Me (thinking, is there another way you have two at once?) "Umm, yes"
Photographer - "Oh! I have twin girls! They are 29 now. I am also a medical photographer. Do you have someone to capture the birth?"
Me (now thinking, you should know how twins work...and EWWW!!!) "No, that is not something we are going to do"

This belly should have come with a warning: You will have bizarre interactions with strangers.

NST in under 45 minutes!!!

Yesterday we had another NST (non-stress test). Our schedule from now on is Dr. on Tuesday and NST on Thursday. Since the boys seem to nap in the afternoon (they are crazy active early in the morning and late at night) the nurse recommended that I eat or drink something sweet on our way to our appointments to wake them up. I had Garrett stop at my favorite coffee place for a decaf-frozen-something super sweet and delicious. It worked like a charm! I got hooked up to the monitors and within 45 minutes the boys had moved around enough that we were allowed to go home! I guess they are going to be iced coffee addicts like their mama.
This weekend Garrett's job is to finish putting together furniture for the boy's room so that after our appointment Tuesday, at 34 weeks (!!!) I can finally get organized. Tuesday we will also have measurements done of the boys so we can find out how much they weigh. On Aug. 10th they were 3.7 and 3.9 pounds so we are very curious how big they are now. For now, I continue to read and lay around with Jack, who doesn't mind a warm body and the all day company at all.