Pick A Date

I set myself up for disappointment this week. I convinced myself that the doctor would tell us we needed to deliver a week or two earlier than planned, but that did not happen. We are still on the same target week, just one day different because of our change in choice for the delivery location.
 

I guessed how big the boys would be this week, based on their weights two weeks ago. As we went through the ultrasound, my ego was pleased to have done the math correctly. I was a little high on one and a little low on the other, but total baby weight was spot on for my guess. Currently, Grayson is 4 pounds 4 ounces, and Bennett is 5 pounds 4 ounces.
 

We know that one of the major criterion for not needing the NICU is birth weight over 5 pounds. Also, we know that roughly 12 to 14 pounds is the maximum weight the typical uterus can hold before going into labor. Additionally, there is a small risk of uterine rupture associated with twins carried over 11 pounds total weight. Based on all of that information, I was near certain the doctor would want to move up the delivery. And as all the numbers rolled in, I become more and more self-convinced this would happen.
 

Now, in no way do I want to endanger the boys or have them delivered before they are ready. But I understand the statistic risks between now and 37 weeks are basically the same. So, I thought the doctor would look at the other risks, like uterine rupture, and suggest an earlier date. Well, I was wrong.
 

It turns out the risks of uterine rupture due to uterine distention from multiples is still quite low. And mostly the risk occurs once labor has started. Even then, the odds of being injured by soap in the shower is a higher risk than uterine rupture for this pregnancy. So, I suppose if the doctor is going to accept the risk of continued showering, then I can accept that my concern over this risk is basically unfounded.
 

Now that doesn't discount the possibility of Kristina's maximum volume being reached prior to the scheduled date. What happens then? Well...you know...the same thing that happens when any other woman's water breaks; go to the hospital and deliver those babies. Needless to say, I am obviously getting anxious and nervous as it gets closer to the time to meet the boys. I was all but convinced of my prediction last night, but now that I've heard these explanations, the doctor's plan seems fairly rational -- not that I could admit my thoughts were silly or anything.
 

Anyway...after all that rhetoric, here's what everyone keeping up with the saga wants to know. We will be delivering the boys on November 1 at six o'clock in the morning. It will likely be closer to the hour of eight before visitors will be allowed. Of course, this is the scheduled delivery. There is always the chance the boys will get too big and you'll find me driving 104 between the garage and the front door.
 

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark (about the size of a pineapple). He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.