Unmasked

Finally WT are starting to look less like Hubble-transmitted constellations and more like humans. Two days ago we obtained "4D" images of WT--essentially a 3D ultrasound with movement. This service is offered by third party companies who take your two hundred bucks and hand you a DVD with a half-hour video of your trapped fetus squirming about, plus a CD of several dozen still images. Until I enlist the services of the Geek Squad, or at least Squad Captain Jeff Hamilton, I'm unable to post the video here. But check out these two pics below.

The first orange face is Twin B, giving a half-hearted salute to the camera. Next is A. Not quite as sharp, due to her position, but equally dashing, and equally orange. Mr. Fancy-pants Ultrasound promised us a free return visit for a second attempt at Twin A.

My apologies to our regular readers for not breaking down yesterday's baby shower. Kelly perhaps will blog about that shortly. I and the guys stayed outside in the comfort of the patio, where the beer flowed freely, and our involvement was limited to moving some chairs and deciphering the word scramble. Still, Kelly and I most graciously thank you all for your presence and presents!

Two-Thirds Through Two-Thirds Of It

On January 5th, I wrote about Kel's miseries at the conclusion of the 1st trimester. Now, nearly three months later we're about to finish up the second. In that entry, I had challenged the 2nd trimester to "bring it on!" as we were confident that much of the discomfort of the first three months would ease up. Didn't really happen. It just shifted--from nausea to back pain.

I'm perhaps not the most qualified for this assertion, but had I been the pregnant one, I'd sign up for back pain over nausea any day of the week (except Thursdays; that's soccer night and a sore back just wouldn't do). Am I right, people? A sore back can be massaged, prodded, acupunctured, cursed, have hot wax poured on, and on, and on. But that incapacitating stomach pain, tormented fist-clenching grimace, and angst-ridden cry of "take me to the vomitorium!"...who wants that? To be fair, Kel's back is not the only part that gave out in recent months: I've been hearing repeated complaints of swollen ankles, headaches, lower abdominal pressure, trouble sleeping (this one's the worst; I hear these complaints when I'm sleeping), and now there's news of a mysteriously painful horizontal line across her lower chest. To top it all off, just five minutes ago Hana sat on Kel's bladder while she was resting on the carpet.

Still, despite the recent unpleasantries, the third trimester could be even more miserable. (And possibly for her, too). I've learned my lesson. This time I'm not so eager for the next period of pregnancy to "bring it on!"

WT update

Karl seems to have left out a few important details from our perinatologist visit last Thursday. So I thought I’d fill in. It was our 3rd visit and we’ve seen a different doctor every time. This one was Dr. Busowski, a humorous, personable fellow whom we both really liked. After the tech measured the babies, recorded their heart rates and weights, and took pictures, we had a nice talk with the doc, who reassured us that everything is going well with them and that my aches and pains will only get worse as I get bigger and more uncomfortable. Which is ok, really. I’m now feeling the end is in sight. In the distant, must squint to see it sight, but nevertheless, at this point I don’t have months and months of uncertainty, symptoms, and worry.

As of last Thursday, at 22 weeks, 4 days, B weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces and A was 1 pound, 3 ounces. According to doc, both are still on the hefty side for their age, great news in case they are born early. A very handy average weight chart on babycenter.com supports this. Posted below are the averages for weeks 22 and 23.

22 weeks 10.94 inches 15.17 ounces 27.8 cm 430 grams
23 weeks 11.38 inches 1.10 pound 28.9 cm 501 grams

The docs haven’t been measuring the lengths, but the estimate is that they are on target, if not above, for that as well.

This Sunday, at 24 weeks, they will hit the ‘viability’ mark. Of the babies born at 24 weeks, 50% will survive. With every passing week, this % will increase by approximately 10%. Of course, we all want them to stay put for at least another 10 weeks, as these are not great odds, plus babies born this early do face multiple challenges. However, I do feel somewhat reassured by these ‘just in case’ facts. Although we haven't made many purchases or done a thing to prepare their room yet, the reality of this is beginning to sink in.

Baby-GAGa

It's no easy task crafting a daily pregnancy-related entry,* as was quite evident during our six-blog February--we really deserved to get booted from Blogger for account inactivity. More challenging yet is to spin humor from your average day. At least in a manner that won't offend the 51 to 68 crowd.

So for today's attempt at comic relief I turn to our pals at Baby-Gaga.com. If you'll scroll to the end of this page (and please do; otherwise you'll miss this whole thing), you'll see a rainbow strip tracking a baby's progress from protozoa to sunburned infant. (Well, there's not much humor in lobster-red babies; they really should cover up outside). Below it is our weekly one-liner, this time striking an analogy between a giant greasy hot dog and nature's precious miracle. Hmm. Hardly appetizing, hardly legal, and hardly humorous. Let's see what we're in for next week. Perhaps a return jab at mommy's varicose veins.


* I maintain a promise to myself and a faithful WT reader that our blog will branch out beyond gestational concerns; as of March 24, I've utterly failed. Somehow I hesitate to drone on about astronomy or the Spanish Civil War or my thoughts on wallpaper. One day, though, I'll find the courage.

Names Withheld

We may be among the minority of prospective parents in that we choose to keep a tight lid on our chosen names. Sure, we've mentioned a few favorites and some least favorites, but no finalists. Strangely, we announce all the details from our latest doc visit without delay: WT's exact size and weight, organ function, bone structure, scalp geometry, elbow appeal, etc. But what about their names? Ahh, we're none too eager to discuss that. One small reason is that we were clueless about what to call them.

Over the last week, however, we've made quite the progress on that front. In fact, I dare say "we have a winner!" Two gold medals, in fact. From last Saturday's scrutiny of the Social Security Administration's top 1000 names of 2006, we initially agreed on a handful. As of yesterday, however, there is a clear front runner for A and B. We're only telling the dogs.