Growing, kicking, charming all the ladies...

Wednesday, September 10 saw the latest visit to 700 University Ave. for a new ultrasound and quick visit with the doctor. I was lucky enough to get to see the boys throughout this time, wriggling about, swallowing fluid, and generally being silly. The technician commented several times on how active they are -- well, I know that already and all too well. Sometimes it feels like I have the entire Brazilian soccer team in my belly, although usually the kicks come from one at a time. Baby A on the left tends to go during the day (hence his new nickname, "The Day Shift") while Baby B is usually on "The Night Shift" taking evenings. Ultimately, my fluid's good, my cervix is holding up (making it less likely that I'll go into premature labour) and all continues to be well.

After the ultrasound we hiked it over to Dr. Thomas's office for the weigh-in (I'm 70 kilos now!) and the requisite peeing on a stick (for blood sugar and proteins, so far so good) but Dr. T was nowhere in sight as she was called to the labour ward at the hospital. So we had a chat with another doctor (whose name escapes me now) who promptly declared the little guys "beautiful", growing equally and normally with no concerns whatsoever. I will never get tired of hearing that.

I then battled a bit of a traffic jam (thanks, crazy Toronto drivers) to visit my dad in the hospital (Trillium Health Centre Mississauga) to show him the latest and greatest ultrasound printouts. Baby A was a bit camera shy this time, turning down, but the shot is still cool, as you can see his spine, ribs, and his little legs curled up. Baby B was definitely performing, as it looks quite distinctly like he's blowing bubbles. Dad's face lit up like a spotlight hit it, and as he continues his recovery he's sure to keep those images in his head. Mom and their friend Lidia (one of only two other people I know who share my name and its spelling) showed up and also fell in love with those little black and white blobs, amazed at the detail that ultrasounds render these days. Lidia has twin grandchildren too, a boy and a girl. She told me her daughter-in-law got so big she couldn't wrap her arms around her belly, and that she endured a 60 hour (!) labour. Note to self: tell Dr. Thomas I'm not really interested in three days' worth of pain.

On a side note, Robert and I have been doing our usual annual cinematic pilgrimage all the way to downtown Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and it looks like the little guys are joining in. Seems that the louder and more action-oriented the scenes, the more they let me know they're there. So the 80s heavy metal that populates Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" got them going, as did the power chord soundtrack of the Australian B-movie documentary "Not Quite Hollywood," as well as the scares of "Sauna" from Finland and "The Burrowers" from the US. Wonder how that'll translate when they're born? Will I have to play Quiet Riot to get them to stop crying? Hmmmm....