It's November. Where did the time go?

Well, I'm now at 32 weeks. If I just had one baby baking in the oven, I'd still have up to two months to get things straightened out and ready. But since there's two, it's five weeks tops -- and according to the docs, it may even be sooner.

When the heck did this happen? One day I was at work, letting Baby A and Baby B squirm away while I went about my business. Now due to elevated blood pressure I'm on short term disability, told to "take it easy", getting my vitals checked every week and hoping the boys can stay cozy in their little aquaworld for just a bit longer.

Yes, it's been an eventful month. It started with me feeling fine, so much so that I volunteered to stay at work beyond my original October 31 leaving date due to some turmoil in my department. Halloween was fantastic -- we spent a fun, warm night with all the neighbours and the neighbourhood ghouls and goblins who stopped by to take in our annual front lawn set-up, and upstairs neighbour Monique brought her little guy Gabriel (10 months old) out as Winnie the Pooh and her husband Vince as Barack Obama. Everyone in our little "quad" made it, including Judy upstairs who missed the last few due to work and next door neighbour Michael, who did a great job putting together the glow sticks that were handed out to the kiddies. Take that, pirate ship Captain from down the street!

Sunday, November 2 saw my best friends Jackie, Robin and Rowena hosting a baby shower for me, an event totally unexpected and absolutely appreciated. It was a small but lovely gathering, with friends from all sides there to celebrate the imminent arrival of the boys. And everyone's generosity was quite overwhelming; I still get choked up thinking about it. I can't wait to get the little guys in the super-sharp little outfits they've been given, they'll be drawing that "awwws" from everyone they pass, I'm sure.

But then came Wednesday. We went to our scheduled appointment with Dr. Thomas, where the nurse gave a listen to the babies' heartbeats (strong and steady still) and then took my blood pressure... hmmm, kind of high. We'll wait for Dr. Thomas, she said, she'll want to take it again. Then Dr. T came in, strapped my arm, and lo and behold, it was even higher: right in the danger zone, 140/90. OK, so now there's bloodwork to be done to check for pre-eclampsia (a serious condition for both mum and babies, of course with risk doubled because I'm carrying twins) and I have to stop working (well, that's not so bad) and take it easy. Woo hoo, official permission to be lazy. Except that I have to keep going to the doctor every week for monitoring.

So this week? This week, Nov. 12, I saw Dr. Grossman as Dr. T was off. My blood pressure was still up but the bloodwork was OK. So far no pre-eclampsia, but just the hypertension on its own is no good. So back to the lab, bloodwork all over again, another appointment, and the knowledge that now we're "week by week" -- YIKES!

Well, all we can do is prioritize what we need to get ready: ie, the cosleeper, the car seats, the hospital kits for me and them, a paediatrician -- and get it ready as soon as we can. And I have to take it easy. Right.