Delayed

So sorry for the posting delay since last week. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of things like sitting down, composing thoughts, and typing them into Blogger.  My appointment actually went fantastic! The fluid levels around both babies has leveled off nicely and are more even than they have been since concerns were first discovered 5 weeks ago! Another great sign is that Baby B made some growth gains - the growth differential is now slightly under 20% which puts us just within normal range. I am hoping he continues to grow more and catch up to his "big" brother who remains right on target for growth. According to the sonographers and doctors, the boys are really, Really, REALLY active. I have no problems believing this since they have started to mandate a sleep strike for me. Every time I stop moving, they begin their own little World Cup in my uterus, keeping me from falling asleep. It is pretty funny (okay, not at 2 AM it isn't) to feel one guy move and then the other directly respond. Normally they settle down eventually and I am able to grab a few hours before they or Audra wake me up. Can I just state how thankful I am that Audra is such a superb sleeper-inner? I am SO SO SO thankful. There, I said it.

Speaking of Audra, yesterday we talked about baby brothers from breakfast to bedtime. She is really starting to latch on to the idea of new babies in the house as we are getting baby boy clothes and gear into place. Her favorite thing is to do laundry for them. This also is extremely helpful for me too. Thank goodness for our new front-loading machine which she is more than happy to load/unload for me so I don't have to bend down and reach in there.

The big event now looming in the not-distant-at-all future is my return to work. School begins for teachers in just under 3 weeks. Something that is encouraging me, should the return occur, is that my classroom has been moved from within the school building out to a trailer which is air conditioned! While I will miss being so close to everyone and everything, I know that I'd be getting a definite "no" from the doctors about returning if I didn't have AC available to me. I am very pleased that I haven't experienced swelling, my blood pressure has been fine, and my blood glucose levels are good, so these signs all point to my body handling things well. The doctors will be meeting on Friday (though I am unsure as to when they'll let me know of their decision) to discuss my case and whether or not I can go ahead, but it is all with the understanding that things could change at any moment and we all need to continue to be "prepared" for that. I use quotations around that word because, if anything has been made clear through this process, it is that no amount of preparation is really going to get us ready for what is ahead. There are a dozen probable scenarios, so we need to just be as trusting in God's plan and laid back as humanly possible about what may or may not come our way.

It is truly awesome that I will be 24 weeks tomorrow! 24 weeks gestation puts the boys at 50% viability should they be born now. That being said, so far things are looking very solid and my body is holding its own. Apparently, women that have carried a healthy pregnancy to full-term do a little bit better when carrying twins so that is another plus! And now, onto the pictures: