This is our journal as we go through the 49 days (step-by-step) from decision to in-vitro fertilization. Scheduling, details, feelings, thoughts; all are recorded here. It is an amazing process, and we felt it vital to chronicle it.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The 29-Week Visit

Today we visited the perinatal specialist for a routine ultrasound and check-up. The boys are healthy and fine. Grayson weighs 2 lbs 9 oz, and "little" Bennett came in at 3 lbs 2 oz. I jest about "little" Bennett because he was the morula and implanted about 24 hours after Grayson; however, he has made up for it now. Of course, who knows which will be bigger in eighteen years?
 
Bennett is transverse above Grayson. Maybe this is why Grayson has not grown as he's being "squished" by his brother. Of course, this has caused another issue. Grayson is breach and positioned down low in Kristina's pelvis. The doctor said it would be very unlikely he will turn head-down on his own. He is also positioned so that he would be blocking Bennett from coming before him, so....it appears that our hopes for a natural delivery are not very probable.
 
Kristina is very nervous about the cesarean birth, and understandably so. There are many concerns, but she spoke in length with a nurse. There are still many questions, but she is gaining a comfort level about what has to be done.
 
She and I discussed some very serious topics today from the birth to the risks of the procedure to how our lives will change from all of this. We made some very large decisions today (in many ways). Perhaps most noticeable is the larger vehicle we acquired. We decided the Explorer just wasn't enough to seat six people, three of whom require car seats. So, we upgraded to an Expedition, the Extra Long model. Kristina joked that because she was upset about the C-Section her husband bought her a new car.
 
Another large decision, perhaps even more important, is the date we scheduled for the birth...since they have to be delivered by a surgical procedure. For those who did not know, we lost Kristina's mom this past April. In honor and remembrance of Mom, we have scheduled the procedure on her birthday, October 31.
 
While it's possible the boys could surprise us and come earlier on their own, odds are they will be welcomed to the world that morning. And yes, we also realize this is Halloween, but we like to think of it as a national-wide costume party in celebration of the birth of our twin boys.
 
Finally, I suppose I should get to the development summary from BabyCenter.com:
 
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (about the size of a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

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