24 weeks

Hooray! Anytime you talk to women pregnant with multiples, there are 2 major turning points in your pregnancy. I thought it was quite an accomplishment to get through the first trimester, apparently, that isn't a bid deal (easy for docs to say who weren't spending time over the toilet). Anyway, these major milestones come at 24 weeks and 30 weeks. The 24 week mark is when doctors begin to use the word viable. This is a cold and horrible word, but what it means is that the babies are now big enough and their internal organs are developed enough to survive in the "real world". Now don't get me wrong, we don't want them arriving anytime soon, a delivery between 24-30 weeks is dangerous and they would spend the first part of their lives in the NICU and have some long-term complications. But 24 weeks is a great sign. The next obstacle is 30 weeks. Our personal goal date of August 21 is still 6 weeks beyond that, but 30 weeks means that the babies would be born with minimal complications (decreased lung development, asthma, etc) and it would be an easier ride.

It seems bizarre to talk about our little girls in this way as they are so real to us. (Especially when they are boxing at 3 a.m. and waking me up. I woke Jeremy up on Saturday night and told him that if I wasn't sleeping he shouldn't be either. His quick and witty, middle of REM, response was "I'm not sure what the policy should be for that.") But we are trying to be as cautious as we can as the doctor has said these next 6 weeks are VERY critical. He has me on "limited activity" which means no heavy lifting, no exercising (which is good cause I eliminated this when exhaustion took over about week 10), and no s#% (again, good because it is what got us in to this in the first place and not necessarily what is on your mind when you are toting around an extra 30 pounds).

Anyway, I'm hoping to work another 10 weeks, so keep the prayers coming, they seem to be working. And the big news of the week is it is baby shower week! A few of my Indianapolis girlfriends and mother-in-law will be throwing me a shower on Saturday and I'm so excited. Some of my very best friends will be flying in and I'm sure we'll have a blast. I'll get pictures up next weekend.