So music is important to us. This is definitely true for Kara. I'm not sure the girl could function if she did not have music in her life. Anyhow there is a song, "A Thousand Years" (Christina Perri) that has become my song for the babies. I play it for them all the time. Okay ... Yes. The song was originally meant as a love song for the Twilight series (blah). And by all intents and purposes it is a love song. However, if you listen to the lyrics it could really apply to a lot of other situations and in my case it applies to the love I have for these boys. It also applies to the feeling I have that my whole life has led up to this point. And eventually the day that I get to meet them. So you have to look beyond some of the lyrics. If I am in the car and the song comes on the radio I can't help but rub my belly and shed a few tears. I thought I would include some of the lyrics for my readers. You can interpret it however you choose to do so.
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take you away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
Please keep growing little ones (and stay in my belly)!!
Mary
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
our trip to labor and delivery (again)
We had to make another trip to labor and delivery yesterday. Not exactly what I had planned for the day.
The boys were super active all morning. I especially noticed a lot movement from Baby B. I was experiencing a normal amount of braxton hicks contractions. That means I was getting the contractions every 5 or 10 minutes. However, by the afternoon I was noticing some differences in the pain. My back was getting tight each time I had a braxton hicks contraction. And I was getting some cramping really low in my uterus. I decided to go hide in the bathroom at work for a few minutes because I was mentally exhausted. Of course when I went to the bathroom I noticed some bleeding. I actually did a double-take because I really could not believe it. I literally had every cuss word in the world come out of my mouth. It was not a ton of bleeding and it was only noticeable when I actually wiped with toilet paper. I kept checking because I seriously thought I was going crazy. I immediately panicked. I probably need to stop doing that! I knew I had to actually leave the bathroom in order for anything to happen. So I went out to the hallway and talked to Kara on the phone. I knew that I had to call the OB. I made a quick call to the OB and left a message on the nurse line. I got a return call a few minutes later and was told to head to labor and delivery. Didn't we just leave labor and delivery a few days ago?? So off we went ...
The funny part ... I actually felt really good in the car on the way over to labor and delivery. I felt better than I had in several weeks. I felt like I suddenly had more room in my stomach. Weird? I know. I kept thinking, "Jeepers! They are really going to start thinking that I am a crazy lady." We got to the hospital and got all checked-in. We did the usual checks. The nurse was able to pick-up both heartbeats on the monitor (though briefly because both babies move like crazy) and then she put me on a contraction monitor. The monitor picked-up some uterine irritability but nothing too extreme. Like I said ... I was feeling good at the moment. My BP was 116/82 and so it was fairly decent considering the amount of stress I was under at the moment. The resident came in a few minutes later to check me out. The not so fun part.
A funny story ...
The resident came in the room to do an exam. Of course this requires me to assemble the position. So there I was with my feet in the stirrups waiting for the doctor to come back with all the gear. Let's be thankful at this moment I was behind a curtain. The doctor was in front of the curtain at a cabinet getting everything she needed to do the exam. And in busts the maintenance man. There was no knock at the door. The maintenance man just opened the door and entered the room. This is the conversation I hear ...
Resident (now for all my lady readers you have to picture the resident having this conversation with a speculum in her hands): "Can I help you?"
Maintenance Man: "They said there was a clogged toilet in the room." (I imagine the maintenance man holding a plunger.)
Resident: "There is no toilet in this room."
Maintenance Man: "Well they gave me this room number."
Resident: "There is no toilet in this room."
Maintenance Man: "Hmm? Okay." (the maintenance man leaves the room)
The resident immediately peeks her head around the corner with the best face ever and says, "I swear that has never happened before. I don't think he had any idea this was an exam room"
Kara and I just busted out laughing.
Okay ... back to the important part ... the babies.
There was no sign of any bleeding and my cervix was firm and closed. All good signs. The resident also did a cervical u/s and an abdominal u/s at the request of my OB. The cervical u/s indicated that my cervix was still measuring at 3cm. The same as last week. And the abdominal u/s indicated no problems with either placenta. A problem with either placenta could cause some bleeding. However ... the abdominal u/s showed that Baby B was now breech! Huh? That had to have just happened because this morning I felt kicks from Baby B up in my ribs. So what caused the more intense contractions ... probably Baby B turning himself breech. The babies already have zero room in the womb and it probably took every ounce of strength for Baby B to turn himself around. And as a result my uterus went crazy. Does it explain the bleeding? No. But it could explain the pain. And like I said earlier in the blog I had been sitting in the hospital realizing that my uterus was the most relaxed it had been in days. Perhaps by turning himself around Baby B suddenly had more room. Who knows?
So I was discharged and sent home. Again. I now have new requirements for calling the OB ... I love how these keep changing as this pregnancy progresses. A small amount of bleeding is okay. A large amount of bleeding is not okay. I need to call the OB if I have a significant amount of bleeding. The braxton hicks contractions are normal. I only need to call the OB if the pain intensifies over a period of time and eventually becomes unbearable.
I am beyond thankful that the boys are doing just fine. They seem to be unaware of all the stress they are sending in my direction. There is something else that has happened to over the last 24 hours ... It is time for me to say good-bye to all I imagined this pregnancy to be. I thought the hard part would be getting pregnant. I never imagined that there could be any greater stress than what Kara and I went through last year to get pregnant. But then I got pregnant and the pregnancy has not exactly been the way I imagined it was going to be. And because of this I have enjoyed very few moments of this pregnancy. All I can think about is getting to June 2012 and hoping with every ounce of my being that I am holding two healthy baby boys in my arms. I look at other pregnant ladies and I am envious. But then I also think that perhaps their pregnancy is not how they imagined it to be too. I need to get to my viability date. I might be able to breath a bit more at that point. But we are still two weeks away from the point when doctors would even try to medically intervene with the babies. It seems like a very long two weeks. I also need to get over this fear I have of the OB thinking I am a crazy lady. I get nervous each time I call the OB because I feel as if I am "that patient" and I feel as if I am bothering the office for no reason. These are my boys. The most precious gift I have ever been given in my life and at the moment the only voice they have is my voice. So I need to just suck it up and realize that I am not going to be that patient that just shows up for monthly OB appointments and then has a problem free delivery at the end. Nope. I have worries. And my worries need to be addressed. And I do feel as if they are addressed immediately each time I express a concern. I just need to realize that I am probably going to have more worries. And that there will probably be more phone calls to the OBs office. And that's okay. There is nothing I can do to change it.
Please keep growing big and strong little ones.
Mary
The boys were super active all morning. I especially noticed a lot movement from Baby B. I was experiencing a normal amount of braxton hicks contractions. That means I was getting the contractions every 5 or 10 minutes. However, by the afternoon I was noticing some differences in the pain. My back was getting tight each time I had a braxton hicks contraction. And I was getting some cramping really low in my uterus. I decided to go hide in the bathroom at work for a few minutes because I was mentally exhausted. Of course when I went to the bathroom I noticed some bleeding. I actually did a double-take because I really could not believe it. I literally had every cuss word in the world come out of my mouth. It was not a ton of bleeding and it was only noticeable when I actually wiped with toilet paper. I kept checking because I seriously thought I was going crazy. I immediately panicked. I probably need to stop doing that! I knew I had to actually leave the bathroom in order for anything to happen. So I went out to the hallway and talked to Kara on the phone. I knew that I had to call the OB. I made a quick call to the OB and left a message on the nurse line. I got a return call a few minutes later and was told to head to labor and delivery. Didn't we just leave labor and delivery a few days ago?? So off we went ...
The funny part ... I actually felt really good in the car on the way over to labor and delivery. I felt better than I had in several weeks. I felt like I suddenly had more room in my stomach. Weird? I know. I kept thinking, "Jeepers! They are really going to start thinking that I am a crazy lady." We got to the hospital and got all checked-in. We did the usual checks. The nurse was able to pick-up both heartbeats on the monitor (though briefly because both babies move like crazy) and then she put me on a contraction monitor. The monitor picked-up some uterine irritability but nothing too extreme. Like I said ... I was feeling good at the moment. My BP was 116/82 and so it was fairly decent considering the amount of stress I was under at the moment. The resident came in a few minutes later to check me out. The not so fun part.
A funny story ...
The resident came in the room to do an exam. Of course this requires me to assemble the position. So there I was with my feet in the stirrups waiting for the doctor to come back with all the gear. Let's be thankful at this moment I was behind a curtain. The doctor was in front of the curtain at a cabinet getting everything she needed to do the exam. And in busts the maintenance man. There was no knock at the door. The maintenance man just opened the door and entered the room. This is the conversation I hear ...
Resident (now for all my lady readers you have to picture the resident having this conversation with a speculum in her hands): "Can I help you?"
Maintenance Man: "They said there was a clogged toilet in the room." (I imagine the maintenance man holding a plunger.)
Resident: "There is no toilet in this room."
Maintenance Man: "Well they gave me this room number."
Resident: "There is no toilet in this room."
Maintenance Man: "Hmm? Okay." (the maintenance man leaves the room)
The resident immediately peeks her head around the corner with the best face ever and says, "I swear that has never happened before. I don't think he had any idea this was an exam room"
Kara and I just busted out laughing.
Okay ... back to the important part ... the babies.
There was no sign of any bleeding and my cervix was firm and closed. All good signs. The resident also did a cervical u/s and an abdominal u/s at the request of my OB. The cervical u/s indicated that my cervix was still measuring at 3cm. The same as last week. And the abdominal u/s indicated no problems with either placenta. A problem with either placenta could cause some bleeding. However ... the abdominal u/s showed that Baby B was now breech! Huh? That had to have just happened because this morning I felt kicks from Baby B up in my ribs. So what caused the more intense contractions ... probably Baby B turning himself breech. The babies already have zero room in the womb and it probably took every ounce of strength for Baby B to turn himself around. And as a result my uterus went crazy. Does it explain the bleeding? No. But it could explain the pain. And like I said earlier in the blog I had been sitting in the hospital realizing that my uterus was the most relaxed it had been in days. Perhaps by turning himself around Baby B suddenly had more room. Who knows?
So I was discharged and sent home. Again. I now have new requirements for calling the OB ... I love how these keep changing as this pregnancy progresses. A small amount of bleeding is okay. A large amount of bleeding is not okay. I need to call the OB if I have a significant amount of bleeding. The braxton hicks contractions are normal. I only need to call the OB if the pain intensifies over a period of time and eventually becomes unbearable.
I am beyond thankful that the boys are doing just fine. They seem to be unaware of all the stress they are sending in my direction. There is something else that has happened to over the last 24 hours ... It is time for me to say good-bye to all I imagined this pregnancy to be. I thought the hard part would be getting pregnant. I never imagined that there could be any greater stress than what Kara and I went through last year to get pregnant. But then I got pregnant and the pregnancy has not exactly been the way I imagined it was going to be. And because of this I have enjoyed very few moments of this pregnancy. All I can think about is getting to June 2012 and hoping with every ounce of my being that I am holding two healthy baby boys in my arms. I look at other pregnant ladies and I am envious. But then I also think that perhaps their pregnancy is not how they imagined it to be too. I need to get to my viability date. I might be able to breath a bit more at that point. But we are still two weeks away from the point when doctors would even try to medically intervene with the babies. It seems like a very long two weeks. I also need to get over this fear I have of the OB thinking I am a crazy lady. I get nervous each time I call the OB because I feel as if I am "that patient" and I feel as if I am bothering the office for no reason. These are my boys. The most precious gift I have ever been given in my life and at the moment the only voice they have is my voice. So I need to just suck it up and realize that I am not going to be that patient that just shows up for monthly OB appointments and then has a problem free delivery at the end. Nope. I have worries. And my worries need to be addressed. And I do feel as if they are addressed immediately each time I express a concern. I just need to realize that I am probably going to have more worries. And that there will probably be more phone calls to the OBs office. And that's okay. There is nothing I can do to change it.
Please keep growing big and strong little ones.
Mary
Sunday, February 12, 2012
21w3d
How Far Along: 21w3d
Milestones: The baby is 10.5 inches long and weighs about 12.2 ounces. He is big enough now that you have probably been feeling his movements.
Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs (I guess I gained some weight this week.)
Maternity Clothes: Not much has changed in this area. I am still in maternity pants. I wear a mix of maternity shirts and non-maternity shirts. I can still fit into my sweatshirts which make me very happy. However, I did have to go through my t-shirt drawer this week and pull out most of my small t-shirts. They have been put away until after the boys make their arrival. Kara and I made a trip to the thrift store this week to get some large t-shirts. I need them to sleep in and eventually I will need them to wear during the day! I might be getting close to moving over to Kara's sweatshirts.
The belly shot for the week...
Sleep: My sleep is not too bad. The cold this week made it very difficult but in terms of pregnancy related problems the only issues I have are the braxton hicks contractions in the middle of the night. They tend to wake me up. I am still using the same pillow arrangement and it seems to work for me. My hips are sore in the morning but I think it is from laying on my side all night long. I cannot wait to sleep on my belly again.
Best Moment of the Week: There were not too many good moments this week. I think between the horrible cold and the braxton hicks contractions I was about ready to throw in the towel. However, the best moment of the week ... I know that the boys are continuing to grow big and strong and that for the time being they are still hanging out inside of my belly. Each morning I wake-up I am grateful for another day with them inside of me. I also enjoy every kick I feel. I feel like I am getting to know them.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: Okay ... I am addicted to hershey kisses. It is bad at the moment. And can probably be a bit of a factor in the weight gain. Otherwise I am still digging orange juice. I am also really enjoying muffins. I love my muffin in the morning (especially blueberry and banana nut).
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: We have already discussed the braxton hicks contractions in-depth so we will avoid that topic for now. I thought I would mention some of the other changes I have noticed ... My belly has become a road map of blue veins. It is crazy! I know it is because of the increase blood flow through my body and I think I can see them more prominently on my belly because my skin is so light. It is amazing. I think it is freaking Kara out a bit. I am also very close to having an "outie" belly button. That is weird. I would say within the next couple of weeks it will be completely out.
Upcoming Events: We have our MFM appointment on February 21st and then we have scheduled an elective 3d / 4d ultrasound on February 22nd. We have several family members who will be joining us for that appointment and we are really excited to get a really good look at the boys. We should be able to get some really good images of their faces.
Please keep growing little ones and please stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Milestones: The baby is 10.5 inches long and weighs about 12.2 ounces. He is big enough now that you have probably been feeling his movements.
Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs (I guess I gained some weight this week.)
Maternity Clothes: Not much has changed in this area. I am still in maternity pants. I wear a mix of maternity shirts and non-maternity shirts. I can still fit into my sweatshirts which make me very happy. However, I did have to go through my t-shirt drawer this week and pull out most of my small t-shirts. They have been put away until after the boys make their arrival. Kara and I made a trip to the thrift store this week to get some large t-shirts. I need them to sleep in and eventually I will need them to wear during the day! I might be getting close to moving over to Kara's sweatshirts.
The belly shot for the week...
Sleep: My sleep is not too bad. The cold this week made it very difficult but in terms of pregnancy related problems the only issues I have are the braxton hicks contractions in the middle of the night. They tend to wake me up. I am still using the same pillow arrangement and it seems to work for me. My hips are sore in the morning but I think it is from laying on my side all night long. I cannot wait to sleep on my belly again.
Best Moment of the Week: There were not too many good moments this week. I think between the horrible cold and the braxton hicks contractions I was about ready to throw in the towel. However, the best moment of the week ... I know that the boys are continuing to grow big and strong and that for the time being they are still hanging out inside of my belly. Each morning I wake-up I am grateful for another day with them inside of me. I also enjoy every kick I feel. I feel like I am getting to know them.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: Okay ... I am addicted to hershey kisses. It is bad at the moment. And can probably be a bit of a factor in the weight gain. Otherwise I am still digging orange juice. I am also really enjoying muffins. I love my muffin in the morning (especially blueberry and banana nut).
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: We have already discussed the braxton hicks contractions in-depth so we will avoid that topic for now. I thought I would mention some of the other changes I have noticed ... My belly has become a road map of blue veins. It is crazy! I know it is because of the increase blood flow through my body and I think I can see them more prominently on my belly because my skin is so light. It is amazing. I think it is freaking Kara out a bit. I am also very close to having an "outie" belly button. That is weird. I would say within the next couple of weeks it will be completely out.
Upcoming Events: We have our MFM appointment on February 21st and then we have scheduled an elective 3d / 4d ultrasound on February 22nd. We have several family members who will be joining us for that appointment and we are really excited to get a really good look at the boys. We should be able to get some really good images of their faces.
Please keep growing little ones and please stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Friday, February 10, 2012
our trip to labor and delivery
I guess it was bound to happen at some point. A trip to labor and delivery.
I had an OB appointment on Tuesday afternoon. It was not a great appointment. The office was super busy and I felt like my concerns regarding the braxton hicks contractions were not taken serious enough. However (and I say that with emphasis) I have also been struggling with a very bad cold all week long and I know that my emotions at that appointment were off the chart. So I am starting to think I may have overreacted a bit after the appointment. Essentially I was told that as long as I could get the braxton hicks contractions to reduce in number by laying down I should not worry about a thing. Okay. Got it. So that takes us to yesterday ...
I always get a horrible cough with any cold. And I was severely coughing on both Wednesday and Thursday. Needless to say when I woke-up on Thursday morning I felt completely awful. I quickly made a decision that work was out for the day and crawled back into bed to try to get as much rest as possible. I was still coughing and started to notice that I could not get the braxton hicks contractions to stop. I just assumed the coughing was irritating my uterus. I finally decided to give the OB a call around 11am. I explained the situation. I explained that I had a bad cold. And I explained that I was probably overreacting. So cue jaw drop when the nurse got back on the phone and told me the OB wanted me to go over to labor and delivery. Huh? I immediately thought ... Now you all get panicked??
I immediately called Kara at work and told her that I was headed to labor and delivery. But that I did not feel a need for both of us to miss work. It is really hard for Kara to leave suddenly for the day. I knew if I really did need for her to come over to the hospital she could be there in only a few minutes. I got dressed (debated on showering and thought nope I do not have energy for that one) and hopped in the car. Much to my amazement the entire experience was not a bad one.
I actually found a parking spot immediately (a rarity at the hospital where I will be delivering) and walked up to the 2nd floor of the hospital. I got all checked in by the receptionist (who was simply amazed that I was 21weeks pregnant with twins by how tiny my belly is ... I made a mental note to send her a thank you note). I was taken back to a triage room and I changed into a hospital gown. My nurse for the afternoon came in to introduce herself and to send me off down the hall for the customary urine sample. I noticed several times during this visit why it is nice to have another person with you at the hospital. For example ... tying a hospital gown or picking something up off the floor when you are hooked up to monitors or getting you something to drink when you are thirsty. Thankfully the nurse helped me with tying the hospital gown so that I didn't show the world my undergarments while walking down the hallway.
We came back to the room and the nurse tried to get both babies on the monitor. The nurse was amazed that both babies were laying vertical in my uterus and both were head down. She indicated that I was on the right track to delivering these babies without a c-section (fingers crossed). The nurse was able to get Baby A on the monitor right away. Our wiggle worm ... Baby B was a whole other story. She tried repeatedly but could not locate Baby B on the monitor for any extended period of time. We picked-up his heart rate for a brief second but then it would go right back to swishing noises indicating that Baby B was moving like crazy. I think it is interesting because Baby B seems to move much more than Baby A but I only feel Baby B kick me every so often.
The nurse then put me on the contraction monitor and left me for some time to see if the monitor would pick up the braxton hicks contractions. I experienced a couple of contractions but when the nurse came back in the room she said the monitor was not picking them up. It turns out the monitor was too lose on my tummy. So we started all over again ... immediately I could see the contractions on the monitor. See ... I'm not crazy! I knew I was having contractions. They monitored me for about two hours. I would get a braxton hicks contraction every 5 or 10 minutes. However, the intensity of the contractions never increased and that is the most important factor in determining whether or not these were bad contractions.
Eventually a medical student came into the room to go over my history and indicated that a resident would be in to examine me. The resident came in about an hour later and indicated that I was most certainly experiencing contractions but that they appeared at the moment to be harmless. I also did not have any signs of an infection (no fever and my urine was awesome). The resident wanted to check my cervix and then do another u/s to measure the length of my cervix. The resident indicated that as long as both check out okay then my official diagnosis is an irritable uterus. Essentially that means I will continue to have these contractions through the remainder of my pregnancy. Great. The resident checked my cervix ... um? not fun ... I cannot imagine the fun that will be when I am 30+ weeks pregnant with twins. All looked good. The u/s also indicated that my cervix was still measuring between 3cm and 3.2cm. The same it was a week ago. It is good to know that after another week of braxton hicks contractions there has not really been a change to the length of my cervix. Because of this the resident was comfortable with sending me home as long as my OB agreed. A quick call to my OB and I was sent on my way. I did talk briefly with the attending physician (a requirement before I am allowed to leave) and he indicated that I now have a good basis for the intensity of the contractions. Therefore, I am not to worry as long as the intensity of the contractions does not increase or move to my back. The frequency of these contractions I must now ignore. It might be normal for me to have one an hour or it might be normal for me to have 15 an hour. I just have a really irritable uterus that gets upset anytime I do anything. I also need to pay attention to the other signs of preterm labor.
So that is where we stand at the moment. I am very glad I went to get checked out at the hospital. It has brought me a tiny bit of reassurance. These boys have already become my world and I just need to get to a point where they have a chance of surviving outside of my body. We need a few more weeks for them to even get a fighting chance. But each morning I wake-up and I am thankful that we have made it another day. Please keep sending all the positive vibes you can muster in our direction.
Mary
I had an OB appointment on Tuesday afternoon. It was not a great appointment. The office was super busy and I felt like my concerns regarding the braxton hicks contractions were not taken serious enough. However (and I say that with emphasis) I have also been struggling with a very bad cold all week long and I know that my emotions at that appointment were off the chart. So I am starting to think I may have overreacted a bit after the appointment. Essentially I was told that as long as I could get the braxton hicks contractions to reduce in number by laying down I should not worry about a thing. Okay. Got it. So that takes us to yesterday ...
I always get a horrible cough with any cold. And I was severely coughing on both Wednesday and Thursday. Needless to say when I woke-up on Thursday morning I felt completely awful. I quickly made a decision that work was out for the day and crawled back into bed to try to get as much rest as possible. I was still coughing and started to notice that I could not get the braxton hicks contractions to stop. I just assumed the coughing was irritating my uterus. I finally decided to give the OB a call around 11am. I explained the situation. I explained that I had a bad cold. And I explained that I was probably overreacting. So cue jaw drop when the nurse got back on the phone and told me the OB wanted me to go over to labor and delivery. Huh? I immediately thought ... Now you all get panicked??
I immediately called Kara at work and told her that I was headed to labor and delivery. But that I did not feel a need for both of us to miss work. It is really hard for Kara to leave suddenly for the day. I knew if I really did need for her to come over to the hospital she could be there in only a few minutes. I got dressed (debated on showering and thought nope I do not have energy for that one) and hopped in the car. Much to my amazement the entire experience was not a bad one.
I actually found a parking spot immediately (a rarity at the hospital where I will be delivering) and walked up to the 2nd floor of the hospital. I got all checked in by the receptionist (who was simply amazed that I was 21weeks pregnant with twins by how tiny my belly is ... I made a mental note to send her a thank you note). I was taken back to a triage room and I changed into a hospital gown. My nurse for the afternoon came in to introduce herself and to send me off down the hall for the customary urine sample. I noticed several times during this visit why it is nice to have another person with you at the hospital. For example ... tying a hospital gown or picking something up off the floor when you are hooked up to monitors or getting you something to drink when you are thirsty. Thankfully the nurse helped me with tying the hospital gown so that I didn't show the world my undergarments while walking down the hallway.
We came back to the room and the nurse tried to get both babies on the monitor. The nurse was amazed that both babies were laying vertical in my uterus and both were head down. She indicated that I was on the right track to delivering these babies without a c-section (fingers crossed). The nurse was able to get Baby A on the monitor right away. Our wiggle worm ... Baby B was a whole other story. She tried repeatedly but could not locate Baby B on the monitor for any extended period of time. We picked-up his heart rate for a brief second but then it would go right back to swishing noises indicating that Baby B was moving like crazy. I think it is interesting because Baby B seems to move much more than Baby A but I only feel Baby B kick me every so often.
The nurse then put me on the contraction monitor and left me for some time to see if the monitor would pick up the braxton hicks contractions. I experienced a couple of contractions but when the nurse came back in the room she said the monitor was not picking them up. It turns out the monitor was too lose on my tummy. So we started all over again ... immediately I could see the contractions on the monitor. See ... I'm not crazy! I knew I was having contractions. They monitored me for about two hours. I would get a braxton hicks contraction every 5 or 10 minutes. However, the intensity of the contractions never increased and that is the most important factor in determining whether or not these were bad contractions.
Eventually a medical student came into the room to go over my history and indicated that a resident would be in to examine me. The resident came in about an hour later and indicated that I was most certainly experiencing contractions but that they appeared at the moment to be harmless. I also did not have any signs of an infection (no fever and my urine was awesome). The resident wanted to check my cervix and then do another u/s to measure the length of my cervix. The resident indicated that as long as both check out okay then my official diagnosis is an irritable uterus. Essentially that means I will continue to have these contractions through the remainder of my pregnancy. Great. The resident checked my cervix ... um? not fun ... I cannot imagine the fun that will be when I am 30+ weeks pregnant with twins. All looked good. The u/s also indicated that my cervix was still measuring between 3cm and 3.2cm. The same it was a week ago. It is good to know that after another week of braxton hicks contractions there has not really been a change to the length of my cervix. Because of this the resident was comfortable with sending me home as long as my OB agreed. A quick call to my OB and I was sent on my way. I did talk briefly with the attending physician (a requirement before I am allowed to leave) and he indicated that I now have a good basis for the intensity of the contractions. Therefore, I am not to worry as long as the intensity of the contractions does not increase or move to my back. The frequency of these contractions I must now ignore. It might be normal for me to have one an hour or it might be normal for me to have 15 an hour. I just have a really irritable uterus that gets upset anytime I do anything. I also need to pay attention to the other signs of preterm labor.
So that is where we stand at the moment. I am very glad I went to get checked out at the hospital. It has brought me a tiny bit of reassurance. These boys have already become my world and I just need to get to a point where they have a chance of surviving outside of my body. We need a few more weeks for them to even get a fighting chance. But each morning I wake-up and I am thankful that we have made it another day. Please keep sending all the positive vibes you can muster in our direction.
Mary
Monday, February 6, 2012
20w4d
I don't have the energy for the weekly survey. I'm just going to type.
I feel like crap. I'm in the middle of a cold. I started to get a sore throat last week and I am now in the all plugged up and can't breath portion of this wonderful experience. I also spent yesterday with braxton hicks contractions every couple of minutes. I kid you not. A normal person would have hauled ass to the hospital. That's what makes this "normal" for me so very difficult. I am freaked out all the time but I have really zero idea when I should be calling the doctor. I then think the stress of the situation causes the contractions to intensify and then I get freaked out even more. Oye. I could get the braxton hicks contractions to slow down to a few an hour when I laid down in bed. The only problem ... I do have to go to work. Unless I am put on bedrest by a doctor I cannot just say ... "Sorry. I have an extremely irritable uterus so I won't be into work today." I'm just stuck in this vicious cycle and I am terrified of giving birth to these babies way too soon. And add a horrible cold on top of all the braxton hicks. Joy. The good news ... I have an OB appointment tomorrow and I am letting it all hangout with the OB. She needs to understand the amount of stress these braxton hicks contractions are giving me. We shall see what happens. I am also nervous because I always get the cough from hell when I get a cold and I need to find out preemptively what I can and cannot take for the cough. I know I can take Robitussin DM but unfortunately that only ever scraps the surface with my coughs. I plan to work only a half day at work today and then I also plan to work a half day tomorrow. I hope some rest in the afternoon will help me out.
I did weigh myself like normal on Saturday morning and I am still up 12.2 lbs. So there was no weight gain this week. Interesting.
So for some good news ... I can feel the babies kick like crazy now. And even better you can feel the babies kick from the outside of my belly. It is truly the most amazing thing in the world. The first time Kara felt the babies kick was awesome. Her face was priceless. We both started to laugh and scream and the dogs started barking from the kitchen. It was funny. I can feel Baby A kick much more often than Baby B. Baby A is up higher in my uterus. Baby A just seems to have more room to stretch out. So I feel his kicks quite a bit. I tend to only feel Baby B when I am laying down in bed. Though yesterday afternoon Baby B gave me a really swift kick to the side. That's my boy!
We bought our first major baby related purchase last week. We are now the proud owners of a 2012 Honda CR-V EX AWD. Yikes! It makes me so nervous and super excited at the same time to think that in under 18 weeks we could have two car seats in the back of that car. The car is really nice and has a lot of safety features that we appreciate for toting two little boys around town. It will also be a great car for long trips. It is also weird to suddenly be a two car household. Kara and I shared a car for so long that it is going to take us some time to get acclimated to our new set-up. We really are glad we were able to share a car for so long. It cut back tremendously on expenses and allowed us to purchase this car without too much of a problem. Now we just have to not crash it anytime soon ... !!!!
Okay. I think that is all for now. Please continue to send positive vibes in our direction. We need to keep these boys in my belly for several more weeks.
Please keep growing little ones.
Mary
I feel like crap. I'm in the middle of a cold. I started to get a sore throat last week and I am now in the all plugged up and can't breath portion of this wonderful experience. I also spent yesterday with braxton hicks contractions every couple of minutes. I kid you not. A normal person would have hauled ass to the hospital. That's what makes this "normal" for me so very difficult. I am freaked out all the time but I have really zero idea when I should be calling the doctor. I then think the stress of the situation causes the contractions to intensify and then I get freaked out even more. Oye. I could get the braxton hicks contractions to slow down to a few an hour when I laid down in bed. The only problem ... I do have to go to work. Unless I am put on bedrest by a doctor I cannot just say ... "Sorry. I have an extremely irritable uterus so I won't be into work today." I'm just stuck in this vicious cycle and I am terrified of giving birth to these babies way too soon. And add a horrible cold on top of all the braxton hicks. Joy. The good news ... I have an OB appointment tomorrow and I am letting it all hangout with the OB. She needs to understand the amount of stress these braxton hicks contractions are giving me. We shall see what happens. I am also nervous because I always get the cough from hell when I get a cold and I need to find out preemptively what I can and cannot take for the cough. I know I can take Robitussin DM but unfortunately that only ever scraps the surface with my coughs. I plan to work only a half day at work today and then I also plan to work a half day tomorrow. I hope some rest in the afternoon will help me out.
I did weigh myself like normal on Saturday morning and I am still up 12.2 lbs. So there was no weight gain this week. Interesting.
So for some good news ... I can feel the babies kick like crazy now. And even better you can feel the babies kick from the outside of my belly. It is truly the most amazing thing in the world. The first time Kara felt the babies kick was awesome. Her face was priceless. We both started to laugh and scream and the dogs started barking from the kitchen. It was funny. I can feel Baby A kick much more often than Baby B. Baby A is up higher in my uterus. Baby A just seems to have more room to stretch out. So I feel his kicks quite a bit. I tend to only feel Baby B when I am laying down in bed. Though yesterday afternoon Baby B gave me a really swift kick to the side. That's my boy!
We bought our first major baby related purchase last week. We are now the proud owners of a 2012 Honda CR-V EX AWD. Yikes! It makes me so nervous and super excited at the same time to think that in under 18 weeks we could have two car seats in the back of that car. The car is really nice and has a lot of safety features that we appreciate for toting two little boys around town. It will also be a great car for long trips. It is also weird to suddenly be a two car household. Kara and I shared a car for so long that it is going to take us some time to get acclimated to our new set-up. We really are glad we were able to share a car for so long. It cut back tremendously on expenses and allowed us to purchase this car without too much of a problem. Now we just have to not crash it anytime soon ... !!!!
Okay. I think that is all for now. Please continue to send positive vibes in our direction. We need to keep these boys in my belly for several more weeks.
Please keep growing little ones.
Mary
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