Barach.com

The boys are going to be 6 months old in a few days.  I can hardly believe it.  During the first three months of their lives, I thought the days that stretched into nights that stretched out into days again would never, ever end.  But suddenly, I’m looking back at how fast it all went, and I can hardly remember those long days and nights.  That may be because the sleeplessness caused short-term memory loss…

The news now, apart from the fact that the boys are big and healthy and beautiful and soooo good, is that I am a little bit unwell.  I’ve been having anxiety attacks, excessive weight loss, sleeplessness, sweating (when everyone else is cold), and a variety of other symptoms for a while now – I thought it was the nursing and the having TWINS.  I mean, it seems pretty normal to lose weight when you’re producing copious quantities of fat-filled fluid made just for babies.  And when you have two of them, why wouldn’t you panic a little every now and then?

Turns out, however, that my symptoms are due to a hyperactive thyroid (post-partum Graves disease) – not just the reality of raising two babies at once.  It’s a good thing we figured out what was going on, because some of the symptoms I didn’t mention were actually pretty problematic.  Shaking, itchy skin, serious mood swings and irritability, and worst of all, an extremely elevated heartbeat.  My heart was literally beating 115 BPMs at rest – that’s really high, and if I weren’t young and healthy, very dangerous.  The thyroid can be treated…I’m going in for some more tests next week to confirm the exact problem and determin treatment.  And in the meantime, I’m taking a medicine to slow my heart down a bit.  It’s helping with the anxiety too.

The bad news is that once my thyroid gets treated, I’ll probably gain back a few pounds.  I’m eating lots of ice cream these days, while I can get away with it.

And in the meantime, the boys are amazing – all 3 of them.  I can’t believe how blessed we are – even though we’re tired.  Here are a few pics of my sweet boys…is it just me, or are they just adorable?

These are the real twins.

Play time!

Puppy dog eyes - I can't resist.

So – tomorrow is the big day.  Babies – meet world.  World – meet babies.  Let’s look back at the last 9 months, and then review some important pregnancy-related stats and details.

And now, for some important facts and figures…

Estimated date of conception:  August 6, 2008
Doctor’s official due date:  April 30, 2009
Date of scheduled C-section:  April 23, 2009
Number of babies made:  2
Weeks pregnant at delivery:  39
Final belly circumference – no joke:  54 inches
Total weight gained:  73 pounds
Approximate number of doctor’s appointments prior to surgery:  14
Number of ultrasounds prior to surgery:  3
Number of half-marathons run while pregnant:  1

It’s been a ride.  I couldn’t have asked for a smoother pregnancy.  We are blessed that all of us have been so healthy throughout.  I can’t say I enjoyed being pregnant…I’m definitely looking forward to being done.  But I’m proud of the boys for hanging in there for the duration.  Now begins the fun part, right?

David will update the blog tomorrow with pictures and details, once we have them.  Surgery is scheduled for 3 pm Pacific – we welcome your thoughts and prayers!

April 23.  It is the birthday of William Penn, Will Shakespeare, Shirley Temple, Lee Majors, and my mother, among others.  In 1851, it is the date that Canada issued their first postage stamps.  In 1939, it is the day that Ted Williams (of the Red Sox of Boston) hit his first home run.  It will now additionally forever provide the calendar home for another day of significance:  the birth of our twins.  My OBGYN has scheduled our babies to be delivered by C-section on Thursday, April 23, 2009, and provided I don’t go into labor before then, thereby preempting the reservation, Grandma Hornor will get to share her birthday with Baby A and Baby B Barach.  20 days.  And counting.  We’ll keep you all posted.

We had another check up today with the doctor and Rachel and the babies are doing perfectly well, and by perfectly well we mean that the boys are happily kicking the crap out of Rachel from the inside and making her all swollen and miserable. As for me, I greeted this appointment with my usual enthusiasm!