Pregnancy Ups & Downs

I've been listening to this podcast called PregTastic.  I know, it sounds silly, but it's actually pretty informative.  It's usually a discussion with 4-5 pregnant women and an expert in some area (e.g. an OB or an expert in baby safety or baby wearing).  Usually at the end of the show, they go around the circle and give their pregnancy up & down for the week.  So I thought I might do that this week.

My up for the week is that I'm going to be able to see my family (brother, sister-in-law who is due with her first baby in June, niece and mom) and friends in Pasadena this weekend.  Some of my dear friends are throwing a shower for me on Friday night, and I'm just really excited to see all of them.  They are the best.  I was also able to see my dad at the Atlanta airport yesterday during my layover.  It was great to see him, even if it was only a couple of hours.

I have a couple of downs for the week.  First, I'm feeling my first "wow, I'm getting really out of shape" feelings.  I don't mind feeling round and I love my growing belly, but I'm starting to realize that more than my belly is growing and it makes me uncomfortable.  I'm trying to focus on being sure that I eat responsibly and that my babies get the nutrients that they need instead of worrying about the size of my butt.  And I try to remember that I will be able to run again someday and hopefully make it go back to its normal size.

My other down is from my OB appointment yesterday.  Everything looks good, except that my cervix is shortening.  It was 4.5 cm at somewhere around 12 weeks, and it was 3.1 cm at my Level II ultrasound, which was around 19 weeks.  That sounds like a pretty considerable decrease to me (30%).  This is something that they worry about with twin pregnancies, because it's increased pressure on your cervix, and cervical shortening can lead to pre-term labor.  So they're going to measure it again at my ultrasound on April 27 (that's my growth scan ultrasound).  In the meantime, the OB told me to take it easy and take my 3-4 mile walks down to 2 miles.  I used to run 5 or 6 miles a day, so walking 2 miles a day sounds like barely moving.  Now I'm so paranoid about the cervical length that I don't want to go walking at all.  The idea of not even walking makes me worry more about getting even more out of shape.

Of course, the joy of having these two babies by far outweighs any body issues that I have.  Please pray for my cervical length to hold strong so that these babies stay put for as long as they need to and so that they are born big & healthy.