Rooth Family: Weeks 20-22

Currently in week 22 (day 2) and overall still feeling good but have begun to face some challenges. I am definitely feeling more aches and pains, mostly in my back and sacrum. It seems no matter what I do, how I sit / lay / sleep, what my posture is, what exercise / stretches I do, etc. - they are always there at the end of the day. I could take more Tylenol I suppose, but prefer not to. As of last week, I had gained 15 lbs total with the pregnancy. (As evident by my belly button. During the day the top part is an outtie, which can be seen through my clothes. And by the end of the night it's a full around outtie jr.) And this seems to only be picking up speed now. The doctor told me I should expect for my body to be the size of a full term singleton (40 weeks) when I am only 28 weeks! (That's only 6 weeks away!!) You can say I'm a little freaked out, or you can say I'm a LOT freaked out which would be more accurate.

Not sure if it's weight gain / size increase related, but I did take a trip to the ER last week. (Well specifically, OB Triage - which is amazing by the way!) I had started to notice my heart rate would increase above normal pace (tachycardia). The crazy thing was this was happening while I was at rest; just sitting doing nothing and even while laying down trying to go to sleep. Typically in the past, I've been able to slow my heart rate down just by focusing on being calm, taking deep breaths, etc. However, this was not working at all. These "episodes" were lasting anywhere between 30-60 minutes, from what I noticed. They were also accompanied by shortness of breath (though not severe) and then even tightness in the chest (it felt like someone was sitting on me). After having what seemed to be the worse and scariest episode, I called my OB. Unfortunately, he wasn't working until the afternoon and his staff advised me to go to OB Triage or make an appointment. Instead, I called my nurse (through my insurance's maternity program) and asked her what to do. After a lot of questioning, she too advised me to go to OB Triage. At this point, I had just started work and had a super busy day ahead of me. Knowing there was no way to leave, Kenny and I decided I would finish my work day and go to OB Triage after work. We said if I had another episode, then I would leave work and go in at that time. Well, I had another episode and this time I was so freaked out after talking to the nurses, that I began to panic and lost it (in front of my boss :( ).

My boss wouldn't let me drive myself, so she took me to SJ's. Kenny met us there since he was already on the SJ's campus, in the middle of a training class for work. I was waiting for Transportation to arrive at the ER to take me over to OB Triage, when my knight in shinning armor arrived. :) It was awesome, he just told the gals at the front desk he was taking over, put me in a wheel chair and off we went.

They ended up running an EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, checked the babies & their heart rates (which were perfect - 140 something & 150), and monitored my pulse ox and heart rate. They told me overall everything looked great and was "normal" (that's my current favorite word). I did have an erratic heart beat and it was tachycardia. Blood test showed I was "slightly" anemic and fighting off some sort of virus. These paired with my high stress and how tired I was, were the apparent causes. They gave me a prescription for Iron pills that I have to take x2 a day, and told me to rest.

I've been doing much better since. I've increased the number of times I'm doing yoga each week & have reduced (kinda) my work hours. I'm still working 6 days a week right now, but my boss has been really trying to make sure I’m out the door on time each day. I also just had the president of my company pull me aside this week and talk to me about everything. She was encouraging me to reduce my hours even more than they are now. But with the current status of our work, this simply isn't a good option right now. We only have 2 more weeks where we have to work 6 days, so I figure I can hang in there. Maybe in a couple weeks I'll truly reduce my hours where I'm not just getting out on time, but not working as much. I really have been getting exhausted lately, and so much more regularly.

OTHER NEWS...

I'm still eating popsicles but now only 1 at a time, and only occasionally. However, I have moved onto baked goods! Yeah, much worse I know. I've been trying to be careful. The first week was a mess, but since then I've reined the cravings in a bit. :) I'm also eating a lot more in general. Not sure if the girls are just hungry and need the extra nutrients, or if I'm burning more calories with my work and/or weight load, or if I'm just giving into being pregnant and "eating for 3" (though I really don't think it's the latter).

Feeling the girls move a lot more, and regularly. I can feel them playing/fighting with one another, which was confirmed when I watched them on the ultrasound doing this. I simply tell them to stop fighting now, lol. And I swear Isabella has her back to my belly and is pushing with all her might to break out of there! This is truly a bizarre feeling! I keep asking her to stay put for a while longer, and then we can play. :)
We finally decided on some major items: double stroller & car seats, bedding & room theme & baby carrier (sling). *Actually, today a young tech that Kenny works with bought the stroller and both matching car seats for us! They are being shipped to the house now. A-mazing!* We're also getting ready to pick up their furniture soon! Let the nursery work begin!

OH and the girls now have their wardrobe started! Here's a sneak peek.

Party dresses with socks and hair accessories

*1st present / outfit ever received*