27 Weeks

How far along? 27 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain: I think still around 22 although I am definitely getting bigger as I now measure the size of a 35 week pregnant person.
Maternity clothes? To say the least and even they are getting too small!  I have stayed consistently the same size all over my body except for my big ole belly which means  that the extra-small tops that fit my upper body and arms are like a '98 spring break midriff for my poor stomach ... awesome.
Stretch marks? Not yet ... I am almost scared to answer this question as for the possibility of jinxing myself.
Sleep:  I jinxed myself here.  I now get up a minimum of 4 times per night and I am having a hard time getting back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Getting to eat dinner with friends visiting from our home town and going to a beautiful wedding on the Charleston marshes.
Miss Anything? Still missing normal clothes.
Movement: When I got into bed last Friday night my stomach became so distorted that I began to wonder if there were more than two hiding in there ... or are they really human.  I knew someone was doing an acrobatic move to get more space but I couldn't tell who it was so thankfully I was scheduled for an ultrasound on Monday.  Low and behold it was the dark horse daughter who decided to move her tush from the left side of my body to the right side right by her brother's face.  I think she is slowly taking her time in dominating his poor little world.  She weighs in a 2 pounds 4 oz and he weighs in at 1 pound 15 oz.
Food cravings:  Nothing strange ... salty food still does the trick ... although I have been through an absurd amount of cadbury eggs.    
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week .. so far.
Gender: Still a boy and a girl!
Labor Signs:  Ah ... now this is where 27 weeks went from we are just moving along to Holy Shit!  We spoke about isolated contractions last week ... well apparently they were full blown contractions that just luckily were caught during my ultrasound on Monday.  I was immediately hooked up to a contraction monitoring system and when the sweet nurse came in and said "Oh are you feeling all these contractions?" I began to sob like a baby because I wasn't feeling all of the mild ones that were apparently running 3 to 4 minutes apart which scared me to death.  After the monitoring my doctor spoke to me about the next steps.  He put me on a blood pressure medicine that is actually supposed to help with contractions and we were to wait 24 hours to see if it was helping.  I was also going to have to come back for what is called a fetal fibronectin test - this is a protein that will show up if you are possibly in pre-term labor.  However, a negative result  from this test is much more accurate than a positive result.  A negative result gives you a 99% chance of not delivering in the next two weeks.  I was also given the first dose of steroids just in case I was to deliver - this is to help with lung development and quite honestly this is where I wanted to have the nervous breakdown I was fighting off.  Well, I went back the next day and was again put on the contraction machine as well as tested for the fetal fibronectin.  Good news is that I was not having any contractions, bad news is that the nurse mid-wife, who did the fibronectin test, put the sample in the wrong tube and you can only be tested for this once every 24 hours.  That's right, I got to go back to the doctor for a third day in a row, still with no answer ... fabulous.  I went back yesterday and thankfully my test returned a negative result which was relieving for all involved.  I will probably be monitored every week from here on out which is alright with me because this is the scariest thing I have ever been through.  I monitor my own contractions on a daily basis just to see what is going on and I will remain on the prescribed medicine to help calm them down.  It has been an extremely stressful week and I am trying to stay calm and move forward.
Symptoms:  Other than contractions I have still seemed to skirt the water retention issue .. .I hope I didn't just screw myself by actually saying that out loud.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  This week would be scared.  My doctor asked C-note if I was always this stoic which I think is quite fascinating.  I am not known for having a poker face in any situation.  In fact I am known for my uncontrollable facial expressions that get me in trouble more often than not.  However, in situations of like these I know that I must remain calm and listen to all of the information.  For all the expressions that my face can make I am still quite good at keeping my calm and trying to focus on the information being presented to me and the matter at hand.  Don't get me wrong, I broke down like a baby when I left that office and the fear that resides in me is like none other but I know that in order to keep these babies in my belly as long as possible that I must be stoic in some way and do exactly as I am told.
Looking forward to: Three of my best girlfriends in the world are coming for a visit ... unfortunately we are two women down because one is pregnant too and the other is on Spring Break with her own little ones.  However, now that we all have children (or are all close the having children) there is much less time for our annual girl trips so I am thankful that the few of us are getting a chance to shoot the breeze like old times.  It is amazing what a little time with your best friends can do for you isn't it?  I'm also looking forward to being 28 weeks on Sunday which is a huge milestone for these little babies.