37 Weeks Pregnant with Twins!
So you are now
37 weeks pregnant
with twins, and probably wondering “will they EVER come?” Luckily, yes, they will…but when is another question. At this point in your pregnancy you are now considered full term, and if your babies are born today, they have a much smaller chance of having to stay in the NICU, then if they would have been born even 1 week ago.
When your babies are born they will most likely weigh somewhere around 5-7 lbs each. That kind of explains why you feel like the size of a house, can’t breath very well, and have lost your appetite! You may be feeling like you will never go into labor…or that you will never see your toes again. You may also be noticing your energy level has changed, either increased or decreased. The whole idea that women go into nesting mode right before they go into labor isn’t necessarily true...especially for a woman carrying around twice the load most pregnant women have. So do not get your hopes up thinking that because you aren’t full of this last minute energy that you aren’t close to labor. This is not an accurate way of judging if labor is near.
Signs of LaborSigns of labor for you are the same as a woman with a singleton. At 37 weeks pregnant, you may notice a change in your appetite, energy level and aches and pains. Many women claim to not feel like themselves the day they go into labor. It is explained as an overall feeling of “yuck”. No appetite, no energy, just feeling blah. I can attest to this. I felt this very way and went into labor a few hours later!
Ways to Kick Start LaborThere are several things you can do to kick start your labor, or to speed it up. ***Do not try anything without talking to your doctor first. If your babies aren’t ready to come yet, you don’t want them to. Trust me. The NICU is not somewhere you and your babies want to live, if you don’t have to.
2.) Sex – Being 37 weeks pregnant (and with twins to boot) you may be thinking of sex as an impossible task. But...if you are sent to the hospital to be induced, they usually put an insert inside of you to ripen and soften your cervix. That insert is nothing more than prostoglandins...the same hormone that is in your husbands sperm. Ask any healthcare professional, and they will tell you that towards the end of your pregnancy, have lots of sex to speed up your labor process. The softer and riper your cervix, the easier labor will be. Dilation leading up to labor means nothing...the ripening of your cervix is a better indicator of when labor will start. I have known women to walk around 4 cm dilated for weeks, and others to be not even 1 cm dilated but 85% effaced and they go into labor a day or two later.
4.) Have a big meal...if you can – If you can, having a large meal can also get things moving along. Being 37 weeks pregnant with twins may make it very hard to stomach a large meal..but try to eat a decent sized meal, like a steak or a pasta dinner. Sometimes the extra food will cause intestinal “upset” and can help the labor process get going.
Being 37 weeks pregnant with twins is very challenging both physically and emotionally. You just want to be done with being pregnant, and you feel like you will never get your body back. All of this is temporary, and this too shall pass. Just remember how incredibly blessed you are. Many couples would love to have a double blessing. Try to relax and enjoy it. Take a lot of pictures of your big belly..even if you feel gross, you will love looking back at them.
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