Saturday, August 16, 2008

Another day!

Well, we made it another day. That's what we're aiming for...one day at a time. I had a few contractions this morning, but the doctor says they are normal. I'm half way through one book, have a bunch of thank you cards complete and have watched 2 movies. Todd and Angela came to visit this morning and Christian will be back tonight.

When I asked the doctor today what my chances are of making it quite a ways further, she could only say that is her hope and they will do what they can to get us there, but there are no promises. The babies will most likely be here early...it's just a matter of how long we can hold them off. It's also very possible that I could go to 34 weeks, you just never know!

The doctor did confirm that when I do go home, it will be bed rest with bathroom privelages. That means bathroom breaks and showers, and limited times up and down our stairs. I will obey, I promise!

Friday, August 15, 2008

When am I going home?

UPDATE:

Looks like I will be here till Tuesday/Wednesday IF insurance will cooperate. Apparently if you remain stable, insurance becomes an issue. I had some minor cramping last night and today so the dr. wants to keep an eye on that. I just had another cervical exam and there has been no change which means the meds are working and I’m not going into labor as of right now. I’ll feel much better about being home after giving these two a little more time to cook.
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I don't know. The doctors have all told me to expect to be here for weeks. At first, that was the last thing I wanted to hear. Yesterday, the doctor that will be here today stopped in to see me and said she might send me home today. While one would think that might make me happy, it doesn't. I will not put these babies in jeopardy in anyway. I'm not comfortable leaving, at least not right now. I have no idea when she'll be in to see me today, but I'm going to let her know that I'm not comfortable with leaving. My parents are away and will be back on Tuesday... and Tuesday will be 27 weeks. If god forbid anything would happen that I would need to go to L&D, it would take 45 minutes for Christian to come get me and then another 45 minutes to get to Magee. I would feel even better waiting till 28 weeks, but if I remain stable until Tuesday, I'd feel more comfortable being sent home. Of course home means doing the same thing I do here. Lie down and get up for the bathroom/shower only. My gut is what had me call to get my cervical length checked and that same gut feeling is saying I need to be here.

I will of course, update when I have new news. The babies did well at their non-stress test again today. I was told yesterday that their heart rates are a little more mature than 26w3d which is another great sign. Last night their daddy read to them and they kicked and moved around the whole time. It was so very cute!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

So far, so good.

As far as I know, I've had no new contractions since Tuedsay, which is fantastic. Last night I actually slept for a few hours :) My friend Jen visited me yesterday morning and Misty and Christian at lunch and my friend Maria and her husband in the evening. I have tons of books and movies... my laptop and DS, and tons of design stuff to do to keep me occupied most of the time. I still wish I was in my bed with Christian and the kitties. I'm hoping that if the contractions stay quiet, they'll let me go home at some point. I obviously have a lot more time to keep up with the blog, so I'll probably have daily updates.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

26 weeks

I didn't get a chance to post this on Tuesday!

Here's where the kids are now:
They are about 14 inches tall and 2 lbs. each. Amazingly, they still have room in my belly for acrobatics. We witnessed a full summersault on the ultrasound yesterday. The eyes — which have been closed for the past few months — are now beginning to open. They are now able to see what's going on (unfortunately the view the uterus isn't all that exciting).

The babies brain-wave activity is kicking in, which means they can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them.

I talked to the NICU doctors both days that I've been here. The babies are definitely viable at this point, but it's obviously not ideal for them to come out anytime soon. They would have breathing and eating problems and could have a host of other complications. Every day I can keep them in me, they will gain strength and grow and develop further. Our ultimate goal at this point is 34 weeks, but our first goal is to get to 28 weeks.

Oh, and I forgot to say that we even saw one of the babies eyelashes at the ultrasound. Simply amazing! They looked right at us for a couple shots as well. I will post pictures at some point.

STAY PUT LIL' ONES!!!

I'm okay, the kids are okay, but we're in the hospital :(

We went in Tuesday AM for our growth scan. Babies looked GREAT. Measuring roughly the same at 2lbs. Heartbeats are good, fluid good, etc. Next was the transvaginal which I had to call back and request because I've had a LEEP procedure in the past which can apprently cause complications with the cervix during pregnancy. The tech then asked where our doctors office was and we knew something wasn't right. My cervix measured .5cm (It should be around 4) and the ultrasound doctor reported it as basically no cervix left.

Then I was sent to my doctors office since it's in the same building. She told me this might be okay, but she would send me in for monitoring for sure. She wanted to do an exam first. I was shaking like a leaf this entire time. The cervical exam showed that I was 2 cm dilated.

So we ended up in L&D Triage at Magee at 11am and stayed there until we were admitted to the post partum unit at 7pm. They think I may have had some tiny contractions or it might have just been uterine irritablity. I am not and was not in any pain except for the horrific 2nd cervical exam in triage.

I'm now in the post partum unit and will be here for awhile, most likely the rest of the pregnancy. They gave me steroid shots for the babies lungs and are giving me pills to stop labor. They'll re-evaluate me after Friday and we'll go from there... most likely figuring out a new plan week to week.

The great thing is the babies look good, and as of today I'm not contracting. They keep giving me that tiny glimmer of hope that I can do some of my bed rest at home, but with the hospital being 45 minutes away with traffic and me being admitted without really having "signs" that this was even happening scares them.

I'm sad, lonely and scared. I miss Christian sooo much. He has stopped to see me once or twice a day, but I wish I was at home with him. We have 4 kitties at home, one of them has kidney failure and has to be tended to. Most likely he'll only be able to stay with me one or two times a week. I know I'm the one here, but I feel so bad for him having to work hard all day and after hours, come see me, go care for our sick kitty and do all that's on my honey-do list.

I only slept for 1/2 hour last night. I'm not good at sleeping away from home, especially without Christian. It's amazing how every journey we go through with our pregnancy makes us even stronger as a couple and we realize how truly lucky we are to have each other.

On top of all this, all I can think about is how this time may take away from time with them after they are born and it's breaking my heart. they (and of course, Christian) are the most important things in the world to me, but we need my income too... especially with 2!

Please don't worry, right now all is good, and I'm in the best place I can be for all of us. They monitor me several times a day and are taking good care of me. I'm not letting these babies leave their mommy for 8 more weeks.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Finally, a few picture from the shower.

I thought I'd post a few pictures from the shower :) Next on my list: get to the thank you cards! It was a great shower and we are so thankful for everything we received and everyone who could be there! It was at my parents house in their incredible backyard.











These are my stuffed animals from when I was a kid! It's also the "stage" where I opened my gifts.