Week 22 - this week I have been mostly...

...outgrowing my body again
I have read that newborns have growth spurts about every 3 weeks - I wonder if this is what is happening to Bruce and Lee now? Before Christmas, I felt like my body had finally caught up with the rapid growth rate of the babies, but now I feel all stretched and achey again. I imagine the 13 hour flights to the UK didn't help much.

...finding out that the average gestation for twins is 37 weeks
which puts my due date of the 7th May back to 16th April. And means I have 15 weeks left.

...trying to work out a good way to work out
I have suspended my gym membership (actually I did that a couple of months ago, back in the days when it didn't really feel real yet) but I can feel my muscles turning to jelly. There must be something I can do...Walking is pretty exhausting, so I reckon that's keeping the cardio aspect more or less under control, but I'm going to need lots of upper body strength to carry around two tigers.

...(re)realising quite how quickly my 10 weeks' maternity leave will go
If recovery from a C-section is 6 weeks (and I need to / choose to have one), that would only leave me 4 weeks at home once I have got over the surgery.


...learning how to talk about babies!
Seeing so many pregnant friends and new mothers over Christmas made me practice a bit, despite my reluctance. It's hard when you have never been one of the people who coos over babies and used to babysit for pocket money, and has lots of little relatives to look after, but I think I am getting there!

...trying to be calm about my labour fears
I bought a magazine which helps a bit. Somehow it all feels a bit detached though, since the stories are generally bound up with NHS procedures, or the Australian equivalent. So only a certain portion relates to me. I'm pretty certain that I will spend a lot of time post-birth alone, as the Queen Mary is renowned for having crap visiting hours. That will be sad. But at least it'll be less lonely than the almost-exclusively-Cantonese Pamela Nethersole Eastern Hospital. And cheaper than the HK Sanatorium!


...trying not to get too freaked out about leaking
It's normal, I know, but it is still mighty strange for stuff to come out of your boobs halfway through pregnancy. And while we're on the subject, why are maternity bras so uncomfortable?

...eating plenty of fruit and veg
And of course, downing prune juice by the litre, yuck.


...keeping my fingers crossed that stretchmarks WON'T be appearing in the next couple of weeks
Not really going to happen huh? I already look like I'm about a million weeks pregnant, and I'm only halfway through incubating TWO babies. I should probably give up hope, and just embrace the battle scars. Authorities on such matters say that stretchmarks affect 60% of women, Bio Oil or no Bio Oil. Regardless, I am slathering it on, because it eases the itching a bit!

...finding it increasingly difficult to focus on work
The concept of prioritising tasks seems laughable now. As if I could possibly have any other priorities! I went through a long and worrying phase of wondering whether this was really what I wanted...but now I just want them here already. As all expectant mothers say in the magazines, I can't wait to meet the boys, and I want to focus all my energy and love on them. I feel guilty if an hour passes when I don't think about them, but to be honest that probably doesn't happen very often!