27 weeks - this week I have been mostly...

…feeling like a gigantic burden…
Not in any way because Ross is complaining, just because I am not blind, I see how much he is looking after me (and cooking for me) and it makes me feel guilty. I should probably get over it, but I can’t help thinking that life is not much fun for him right now (unless you call getting 4 stitches in your chin fun)

…finding out I need another Glucose Test…
Eugh. Not looking forward to that. I don’t know if everyone has these, I’m sure it’s no big deal, but me and needles don’t mix very well.

…having a scan without passing out…
Yay! This ultrasound lady was much more considerate and gentle, and she let me have a few breaks too. We got to see Lee’s face, which was good, because Bruce’s big ole head was in the way last time.

…having a doctor’s appointment…
Somehow I was feeling fragile anyway, and the bossiness and utter lack of care coupled with the complete absence of the English language, made me burst into tears and feel very home sick. Of course, as with so many things about living abroad, it’s easy to think that the grass is always greener back home, but I’m sure there are plenty of rude and miserable nurses / midwives working for the NHS, or any other healthcare system in the world for that matter. Anyway, once I had got over my issues, I had my appointment. The Queen Mary is a teaching hospital, so I had one dr plus one student, both male (which I wasn't expecting). They tried to chat and cheer me up a bit, which was appreciated, and I had to give in and smile by the end! However, they were not all that gentle, so I was very sore by the time I left, having been dopplered and fundal heighted. FH is 11 inches, (28 cm) so a bit big for a single pregnancy but OK for twins I think. This is based on my investigation today, which informs me that from 24 weeks on, your FH in cm should be similar to the number of weeks. All the poking and prodding somehow made the boys very active and I think they turned into an awkward position. For the rest of the day, it felt like both of them were back-to-front, instead of up-and-down. They settled overnight, and I feel fine now, but I was seriously uncomfortable all afternoon and evening.

...feeling the less desirable side-effects for the first time…
Until now, everything has felt relatively normal - other than being very tired, and a slightly strange shape, I was still me. But this last week or so, I have really noticed that my lungs are a bit squished, I am getting heavy, I have frequent leg cramps, I sleep very badly, I’m getting a bit of heartburn at night, and I cry lots! I think I have been very lucky until now, but it does make me feel different.

...feeling shapes push out of my belly…
Think I have someone’s bottom under my ribs right now. Fairly certain it’s not Ross ;-)

…going to a twins class…
It was great to find out lots about what’s different with twins. The midwife who did the class (she set up a private midwifery clinic here) has loads of experience, so she can tell you exactly what the procedure is for twin labour at any hospital in HK. The other two couples on the course seemed pretty nervous about the whole thing. I came out of the class feeling very confident - I learned lots, but didn’t feel completely overwhelmed, Ross asked loads of questions (so he was paying attention after all!) and the midwife said that if she was having another baby herself, she’d go to the Queen Mary without hesitation. Which is v reassuring. Essentially Ross’ job is to chase after the babies - as there are 2, it’s more likely that they’ll need attention, even for a short time, so they’ll probably be wheeled off somewhere. He also has to be very insistent that they are not formula-fed (80%+ of local mothers never try to breast feed) and that they come to me, or me to them for feeding. I’ll be in hospital about 3-5 days. One thing that worried me slightly Is that she said epidurals lower your blood pressure, and since mine is always low already, I wonder if this will effect whether I have one.
Actually I think the best thing about this class was the step by step descriptions - I realized I had no idea about how much I can move around in labour, then after the birth where I will be, where the babies will be, whether I will get to hold them straightaway, who’ll be in the room (2 paeds, 2 obs and a midwife-type person) etc.