We had an appointment with the OB yesterday. I think overall it was a successful appointment. I felt as if Kara and I got all our questions answered and we developed a game plan for the remainder of the pregnancy.
The appointment was fairly straightforward. I got the normal weight check and blood pressure check. I have lost three pounds (according to their scale) but I think that is only because I was in a sweatshirt and shoes the last time I got weighed at the OB office. I was in a t-shirt and flip-flops yesterday afternoon. My blood pressure was a bit high at 130/70. However, I was a bit stressed at the office and I was doing more activity than I had done in over a week. Getting dressed can wear a girl out!! So I don't think the OB was concerned at all. I am measuring at 32 weeks (we were 28 weeks yesterday) and both boys sounded good on the fetal doppler. So our plan of action ...
Bed rest. Bed rest. Bed rest. It seems to be doing good things for the contractions. The reduced activity has kept the contractions to a minimum. The OB indicated that the office had received the short term disability paperwork from my insurance company and they would fill it out as soon as possible. The OB thinks at this point continuing to monitor my cervical length via u/s would not be beneficial. We now know that I was having "real" contractions as opposed to braxton hicks contractions. These contractions were probably what was causing my cervix to shorten in size. Plus I was active all the time and the extra weight from the boys was not great for my cervix. We have minimized the contractions and I am on bed rest. Both of these should help to prolong the life of my cervix. Plus my OB said that any numbers obtained from the u/s would only increase my stress level. I agree. This does not mean that the MFM will not check my cervical length at our next growth u/s but my OB will not be checking it in the meantime. I'm okay with this. I am just to immediately call the OB if the contractions become regular at any point.
The OB did indicate that she would probably do a fFN (fetal fibronectin) test at my next OB appointment. I believe that fetal fibronectin is essentially the "glue" that attaches the placenta to the uterus. Therefore, as the placenta starts to pull away from the uterine lining the fetal fibronectin gets released and can be indicative of labor starting in the next 7 to 10 days. However, a positive test result is actually inconclusive to a certain degree because this protein can be released without leading to labor. I believe if a positive test result is received it just prompts the doctor to take other steps to see if preterm labor is imminent. However, a negative test result would actually be a good indicator that labor is not likely within the next 7 to 10 days. So we shall see.
The OB was very proud of my monitoring of my blood sugar levels. However, it does appear based upon my numbers that I do have gestational diabetes. So there is no need to do the three hour glucose tolerance test. I am just to keep checking my blood sugar four times a day and I have to bring a list of my numbers to each OB appointment.
We are due to go back to the OB on April 3rd and April 10th. The OB will also be scheduling my next growth u/s with the MFM office. This will probably be sometime around April 17th.
That is all for now!
Please keep growing boys and stay in my belly!
Mary
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
27w5d
How Far Along: 27w5d
Milestones: Your baby weighs almost two pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode only lasts a few moments and they don't bother him so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
Total Weight Gain: 22.4 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Things have changed in this area! I'm not really in maternity clothes at the moment because I never leave the house. I lounge around in my sweatpants and large t-shirts during the day. However, on the rare occasion I would get to leave the house I would definitely have to be in maternity clothes. I had bought some new clothes from Old Navy before our hospitalization last week. I think most of those clothes will go back because I just won't have a need for them. As long as I have a couple of tops that fit me I should be fine for the remainder of this pregnancy. I guess that's one way to save money!
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: I do this. A lot! I really try not to sleep my day away. I wake-up about 5:30am when Kara gets up for work. And then I try not to take a nap until about 3pm. I usually sleep for about an hour until Kara gets home from work at 4:30pm. Next week Kara's work schedule is changing. She will begin working nights. So there will definitely be some adjustments to our sleeping schedule. But it will be great to have her home during the day. In terms of my comfort level when I sleep ... it is not horrible but it is not great either. I tend to do better with fewer pillows now. I actually end up pushing some of the pillows aside during the night. I also do better with harder surfaces. I still wake-up about once an hour though to flip over because my hips really start to hurt.
Best Moment of the Week: The boys are still in my belly!
It has been difficult to adjust to bed rest at home. I feel rather useless. I know my job is to cook these babies in my belly but it is hard for me to suddenly give up my independence. I have my low moments but overall I think I am doing a good job. I just feel super lucky that I have the chance to let these boys grow a bit more. I think the fear of the unknown gets to me too. We have no idea what is going to happen minute to minute and that alone can drive a person crazy. I have tried to develop a schedule for my day that helps keep things regulated for me. But there are a lot of moments I find myself staring at the wall. I love when I get text messages and phone calls though. They always make me happy! And I have had some visitors which helps too. I also get to hangout with the dogs during the day and they are the best company in the whole world.
How can you resist this bed rest buddy .... ???
Sex: Boys!!
Food Cravings: Let's talk about gestational diabetes! So my diet has changed a bit over the last week. I think for the most part I have done a fairly decent job sticking to my allotted number of carbohydrates at each meal. It helps that Kara has gone above and beyond to make certain there is food in the house that both meets my carbohydrate requirements and that tastes really good. Though I did have one slip-up on Sunday! I really, really wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. And of course my blood sugar level was through the roof when I tested it two hours after breakfast. It was 160. That one meal really threw my numbers off for the rest of the day. It was crazy. I am getting use to sticking myself four times a day. It's really not a problem. And because I am on bed rest it actually gives me something to do. How sad is that?? I will be interested to see what the OB says about my numbers at my next appointment.
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: I'm sure you are all concerned about the contractions. Yes. I still have contractions but the bed rest really has tamed them down quite a bit. I only get one or two "true" contractions an hour and really for the most part I go hour to hour without a contraction. I was getting many more contractions the week leading up to my hospitalization. I was just not aware at the time that I was actually feeling "true" contractions. I feel I can tell a difference now. That helps. Otherwise I feel decent. I am getting big. This is a good thing. I move really slow now. I think a lot of it has to do with a loss of muscle tone due to the bed rest. I allow myself to climb the stairs once a day and it almost does me in each day. It is hard to believe that a week ago I was climbing the stairs with no problem. I also tend to get short of breath very fast. I think I have a pinched nerve in my left leg as it has been bothering me for a couple of days. Again. I think it is from the bed rest. I get a small back rub from Kara each night that really does wonders for me. Overall ... I feel good.
Upcoming Events: We have an OB appointment on March 29th.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
Milestones: Your baby weighs almost two pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode only lasts a few moments and they don't bother him so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
Total Weight Gain: 22.4 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Things have changed in this area! I'm not really in maternity clothes at the moment because I never leave the house. I lounge around in my sweatpants and large t-shirts during the day. However, on the rare occasion I would get to leave the house I would definitely have to be in maternity clothes. I had bought some new clothes from Old Navy before our hospitalization last week. I think most of those clothes will go back because I just won't have a need for them. As long as I have a couple of tops that fit me I should be fine for the remainder of this pregnancy. I guess that's one way to save money!
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: I do this. A lot! I really try not to sleep my day away. I wake-up about 5:30am when Kara gets up for work. And then I try not to take a nap until about 3pm. I usually sleep for about an hour until Kara gets home from work at 4:30pm. Next week Kara's work schedule is changing. She will begin working nights. So there will definitely be some adjustments to our sleeping schedule. But it will be great to have her home during the day. In terms of my comfort level when I sleep ... it is not horrible but it is not great either. I tend to do better with fewer pillows now. I actually end up pushing some of the pillows aside during the night. I also do better with harder surfaces. I still wake-up about once an hour though to flip over because my hips really start to hurt.
Best Moment of the Week: The boys are still in my belly!
It has been difficult to adjust to bed rest at home. I feel rather useless. I know my job is to cook these babies in my belly but it is hard for me to suddenly give up my independence. I have my low moments but overall I think I am doing a good job. I just feel super lucky that I have the chance to let these boys grow a bit more. I think the fear of the unknown gets to me too. We have no idea what is going to happen minute to minute and that alone can drive a person crazy. I have tried to develop a schedule for my day that helps keep things regulated for me. But there are a lot of moments I find myself staring at the wall. I love when I get text messages and phone calls though. They always make me happy! And I have had some visitors which helps too. I also get to hangout with the dogs during the day and they are the best company in the whole world.
How can you resist this bed rest buddy .... ???
Sex: Boys!!
Food Cravings: Let's talk about gestational diabetes! So my diet has changed a bit over the last week. I think for the most part I have done a fairly decent job sticking to my allotted number of carbohydrates at each meal. It helps that Kara has gone above and beyond to make certain there is food in the house that both meets my carbohydrate requirements and that tastes really good. Though I did have one slip-up on Sunday! I really, really wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. And of course my blood sugar level was through the roof when I tested it two hours after breakfast. It was 160. That one meal really threw my numbers off for the rest of the day. It was crazy. I am getting use to sticking myself four times a day. It's really not a problem. And because I am on bed rest it actually gives me something to do. How sad is that?? I will be interested to see what the OB says about my numbers at my next appointment.
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: I'm sure you are all concerned about the contractions. Yes. I still have contractions but the bed rest really has tamed them down quite a bit. I only get one or two "true" contractions an hour and really for the most part I go hour to hour without a contraction. I was getting many more contractions the week leading up to my hospitalization. I was just not aware at the time that I was actually feeling "true" contractions. I feel I can tell a difference now. That helps. Otherwise I feel decent. I am getting big. This is a good thing. I move really slow now. I think a lot of it has to do with a loss of muscle tone due to the bed rest. I allow myself to climb the stairs once a day and it almost does me in each day. It is hard to believe that a week ago I was climbing the stairs with no problem. I also tend to get short of breath very fast. I think I have a pinched nerve in my left leg as it has been bothering me for a couple of days. Again. I think it is from the bed rest. I get a small back rub from Kara each night that really does wonders for me. Overall ... I feel good.
Upcoming Events: We have an OB appointment on March 29th.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
Sunday, March 25, 2012
our week (day two and day three)
Things started to get a bit crazy around the time the night shift began for the nurses.
My nurse for the night, K (who would also be my nurse the following night), came into my room around 11pm to see if I was feeling any of the contractions that were appearing on the monitor. I was feeling the contractions but they were not extremely painful. My nurse indicated that maybe some ambien would help me to sleep and also cause me to relax enough to get some of the contractions to stop. I agreed. I kind of regret that decision now because unbeknownst to me I would be getting zero sleep that night. I took the ambien and did my best to relax. About an hour later K came back in my room to let me know that the contraction monitor was showing contractions every one to three minutes. These were contractions that I was starting to feel. She indicated that she had put a call into the OB on call and they were going to try to pump me full of fluids to get the contractions to stop. So up went another bag of fluids and K left the room to let me relax for a bit. I was only on the contraction monitor at this time so I decided to lay on my side to see if the contractions would stop. Plus the ambien was making me a bit sleepy. I was not sleeping all that long (maybe ten minutes) when the OB came into my room. He introduced himself and immediately indicated that I was in labor. Huh? He said that he wanted to start me on magnesium sulfate to see if we could get the contractions to stop. Things start to move fast at this point. I immediately had both my nurse, K, and another nurse in the room. I was told that I would be on a clear liquid diet and I would be unable to get out of bed while on the magnesium sulfate. Both of the babies would have to continuously be on the monitor. At this point I was told I would be given the magnesium sulfate for up to 24 hours. The additional nurse did some blood work that needed to be done before administering the magnesium sulfate (this meant another poke) and K started hooking me up to every monitor known in the world. I was put on a blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every five minutes (try sleeping with that). I had the contraction monitor on my belly. And I also had two other monitors on my belly for the boys. I was still attached to my IV (for fluids and eventually the magnesium sulfate) and then I was put on a pulse oximeter. So needless to say I was not going anywhere fast. K did her best to once again explain the side effects of the magnesium sulfate. The OB had explained them briefly but K went into more details. I was told I would feel hot and restless. That I would be extremely groggy and would probably have issues with my muscle control. Great! About twenty minutes after all this chaos started K came in with the bag of magnesium sulfate. Up it went. I immediately got uncomfortable from the cold fluid going into my arm. I think my muscles were just reacting to the temperature change. And then about five minutes later the heat started to overtake me. Off came the sheets on my bed and K immediately turned down the thermostat in my room as low as it would go! The remainder of the night became a blur of activity. Both of the babies are extremely active and as a result K had to spend a lot of time in my room moving the monitors around on my belly to capture their heart rates. This became an impossible task if I laid on my side. Therefore, I spent the night sitting up trying my best to shut my eyes for five minutes stretches. I was not successful. The sleep never came. It was also about this time I remembered that I was no longer able to get out of bed to pee. Great! This should be fun. It is one thing to have to use a bedpan if I was not completely out of it! But let's try it seven months pregnant with twins and on magnesium sulfate that causes me to have zero muscle control. No matter how hard I tried I could not pee! My bladder was in shock. I'm thinking it was a result of the magnesium sulfate. K tried every trick in the book. She even stood over at the sink and ran water for five minutes. I could not pee. It wasn't until I was threatened with a catheter that I suddenly had a massive contraction and my bladder went crazy. I remember saying out loud, "I'm peeing!!" ... oh it is the little things in life that make you excited. The problem ... I hadn't peed for several hours and I had received a ton of fluids. Needless to say I made a major mess. I could only laugh! I did feel a ton better once I was done peeing and I got all cleaned up. I always thought I had a small bladder. I guess I proved that theory wrong! The rest of the night was much of the same. The good news was that my contractions seemed to slow down a bit.
I met with the MFM resident and my OB the following morning. The MFM resident told me at the time that I would remain on the magnesium sulfate for 24 hours. I was able to remain optimistic because I had been given a deadline. This day was fairly uneventful. I was really out of it. Kara had to work in the morning so my mom came to keep me company. I was on a clear liquid diet so I did my best to shove as many Popsicles in my mouth as possible. Of course this skewed all my blood sugar readings for the day but the nurse did not seem concerned. They were just happy I was eating the Popsicles. I don't remember a lot from this day.
Here is a picture of me in all my glory on that second day ... Can you tell I am out of it??
I did receive the second set of steroids around 1pm. I also know that it was difficult for me to follow conversations. I was so tired. I remember getting frustrated because I had to stay sitting up in order for the boys to remain on the monitors. I remember getting super tired of using the bedpan. All I wanted to do was get up and go to the bathroom. I had some visitors in the evening. This was nice. However, I remember about 8pm I wanted nothing more than for everyone to go home. I was exhausted. But I knew I only had to make it until midnight and I would be able to sleep and pee. I had my mom help me get ready for bed (brush my teeth and wash my face) and then I let her go home for the evening. I had K again that night as my nurse. The boys were still on the monitors continually so I was still sitting up for the most part. It was about 9pm when K came into the room and gave me the worst news of the day. This is what I remember, "I debated coming into the room to tell you this. But you need to know. And it's like ripping off a band-aid. You just have to do it. You have to remain on the magnesium sulfate until tomorrow afternoon." I remember looking at her. I didn't say anything for a second and then I managed to squeak out, "I've reached my breaking point. I think I am going to lose it." And immediately K became my favorite person in the entire world. I have several friends who are nurses and I understand how much time they spend going above and beyond for their patients but I had never been on the receiving end of that generosity until these two nights in the hospital. This nurse was simply amazing. She immediately went into overdrive to make certain I was comfortable. All I wanted to do was lay on my side and try to get some sleep. This was no problem for my nurse. She got me all situated and then proceeded to spend the next three hours in my room on her knees beside my bed constantly chasing Baby B around on the monitor. Amazing. I managed to get about three hours of sleep off and on because of the extra effort put into the situation by my nurse. I did eventually offer to sit up for a bit so K could get some relief. I think she was only out of my room for 30 minutes when she came busting back in to let me know that she had called the OB on call and pleaded my case. She told the OB that I needed to sleep. That I had only had about two hours of sleep in 48 hours and that they need to at least let the babies be off the monitors for a couple of hours so I could sleep. Well ... it worked because K announced that I was coming off the magnesium sulfate at 1am! Yippee!! I could make it until 1am. We only had about 60 minutes. But wouldn't you know it ... my contractions started to come back as soon as this conversation ended. I knew I hadn't peed for a long time and I thought the contractions could be tied to a full bladder but I just wanted to make it until 1am to use the restroom. At 1am exactly K busted into my room and announced, "You are having contractions. I called the OB but he has not returned my call. Your chart clearly says that you get to come off the magnesium sulfate at 1am. So that is what we are going to do. I know you are only having contractions because you need to pee." So within minutes I was unhooked from everything and I was up out of bed headed towards the bathroom. I'm not sure why I thought going to the bathroom would be a simple task. My body immediately began to revolt. I managed to get to the bathroom ... only because K literally dragged me there. As soon as I sat down my entire body began to shake uncontrollably. It was crazy! I was able to pee and then get back into bed. Again ... only because of help from K. I got all situated and then I slept and slept and slept. I woke-up about 4am and immediately K was in the room. I thought it was crazy that she would bust into the room anytime I would wake-up but she said she was sitting out watching the monitors and knew I was awake because of the activity from the contraction monitor. K announced that I had zero contractions on the monitors the entire time I had been sleeping. Success!! The labor had officially been stopped by the magnesium sulfate!
The next morning I was able to get up and take a shower with help from Kara. I was still extremely weak but with Kara by my side in case I fell down I was able to take the best shower ever. It felt great. I was also able to get into my own clothes! Nice. I spent the morning on the contraction monitor but it was recording very few contractions. Sweet. Around 10am the MFM resident came into my room and let me know that we were going home! I also met with the nutritionist to learn about the diet changes for gestational diabetes and to learn how to monitor my blood sugar at home. I was finally released around 3:30pm and I was told to not come back for another 10 weeks! We are now home on bedrest. I am confined to the third floor. Kara has done an amazing job changing the house around to make me as comfortable as possible. I am sure I will have more blog entries over the next several days to document my bed rest journey. But for now these boys remain in my belly and I could not be more grateful.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
My nurse for the night, K (who would also be my nurse the following night), came into my room around 11pm to see if I was feeling any of the contractions that were appearing on the monitor. I was feeling the contractions but they were not extremely painful. My nurse indicated that maybe some ambien would help me to sleep and also cause me to relax enough to get some of the contractions to stop. I agreed. I kind of regret that decision now because unbeknownst to me I would be getting zero sleep that night. I took the ambien and did my best to relax. About an hour later K came back in my room to let me know that the contraction monitor was showing contractions every one to three minutes. These were contractions that I was starting to feel. She indicated that she had put a call into the OB on call and they were going to try to pump me full of fluids to get the contractions to stop. So up went another bag of fluids and K left the room to let me relax for a bit. I was only on the contraction monitor at this time so I decided to lay on my side to see if the contractions would stop. Plus the ambien was making me a bit sleepy. I was not sleeping all that long (maybe ten minutes) when the OB came into my room. He introduced himself and immediately indicated that I was in labor. Huh? He said that he wanted to start me on magnesium sulfate to see if we could get the contractions to stop. Things start to move fast at this point. I immediately had both my nurse, K, and another nurse in the room. I was told that I would be on a clear liquid diet and I would be unable to get out of bed while on the magnesium sulfate. Both of the babies would have to continuously be on the monitor. At this point I was told I would be given the magnesium sulfate for up to 24 hours. The additional nurse did some blood work that needed to be done before administering the magnesium sulfate (this meant another poke) and K started hooking me up to every monitor known in the world. I was put on a blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every five minutes (try sleeping with that). I had the contraction monitor on my belly. And I also had two other monitors on my belly for the boys. I was still attached to my IV (for fluids and eventually the magnesium sulfate) and then I was put on a pulse oximeter. So needless to say I was not going anywhere fast. K did her best to once again explain the side effects of the magnesium sulfate. The OB had explained them briefly but K went into more details. I was told I would feel hot and restless. That I would be extremely groggy and would probably have issues with my muscle control. Great! About twenty minutes after all this chaos started K came in with the bag of magnesium sulfate. Up it went. I immediately got uncomfortable from the cold fluid going into my arm. I think my muscles were just reacting to the temperature change. And then about five minutes later the heat started to overtake me. Off came the sheets on my bed and K immediately turned down the thermostat in my room as low as it would go! The remainder of the night became a blur of activity. Both of the babies are extremely active and as a result K had to spend a lot of time in my room moving the monitors around on my belly to capture their heart rates. This became an impossible task if I laid on my side. Therefore, I spent the night sitting up trying my best to shut my eyes for five minutes stretches. I was not successful. The sleep never came. It was also about this time I remembered that I was no longer able to get out of bed to pee. Great! This should be fun. It is one thing to have to use a bedpan if I was not completely out of it! But let's try it seven months pregnant with twins and on magnesium sulfate that causes me to have zero muscle control. No matter how hard I tried I could not pee! My bladder was in shock. I'm thinking it was a result of the magnesium sulfate. K tried every trick in the book. She even stood over at the sink and ran water for five minutes. I could not pee. It wasn't until I was threatened with a catheter that I suddenly had a massive contraction and my bladder went crazy. I remember saying out loud, "I'm peeing!!" ... oh it is the little things in life that make you excited. The problem ... I hadn't peed for several hours and I had received a ton of fluids. Needless to say I made a major mess. I could only laugh! I did feel a ton better once I was done peeing and I got all cleaned up. I always thought I had a small bladder. I guess I proved that theory wrong! The rest of the night was much of the same. The good news was that my contractions seemed to slow down a bit.
I met with the MFM resident and my OB the following morning. The MFM resident told me at the time that I would remain on the magnesium sulfate for 24 hours. I was able to remain optimistic because I had been given a deadline. This day was fairly uneventful. I was really out of it. Kara had to work in the morning so my mom came to keep me company. I was on a clear liquid diet so I did my best to shove as many Popsicles in my mouth as possible. Of course this skewed all my blood sugar readings for the day but the nurse did not seem concerned. They were just happy I was eating the Popsicles. I don't remember a lot from this day.
Here is a picture of me in all my glory on that second day ... Can you tell I am out of it??
I did receive the second set of steroids around 1pm. I also know that it was difficult for me to follow conversations. I was so tired. I remember getting frustrated because I had to stay sitting up in order for the boys to remain on the monitors. I remember getting super tired of using the bedpan. All I wanted to do was get up and go to the bathroom. I had some visitors in the evening. This was nice. However, I remember about 8pm I wanted nothing more than for everyone to go home. I was exhausted. But I knew I only had to make it until midnight and I would be able to sleep and pee. I had my mom help me get ready for bed (brush my teeth and wash my face) and then I let her go home for the evening. I had K again that night as my nurse. The boys were still on the monitors continually so I was still sitting up for the most part. It was about 9pm when K came into the room and gave me the worst news of the day. This is what I remember, "I debated coming into the room to tell you this. But you need to know. And it's like ripping off a band-aid. You just have to do it. You have to remain on the magnesium sulfate until tomorrow afternoon." I remember looking at her. I didn't say anything for a second and then I managed to squeak out, "I've reached my breaking point. I think I am going to lose it." And immediately K became my favorite person in the entire world. I have several friends who are nurses and I understand how much time they spend going above and beyond for their patients but I had never been on the receiving end of that generosity until these two nights in the hospital. This nurse was simply amazing. She immediately went into overdrive to make certain I was comfortable. All I wanted to do was lay on my side and try to get some sleep. This was no problem for my nurse. She got me all situated and then proceeded to spend the next three hours in my room on her knees beside my bed constantly chasing Baby B around on the monitor. Amazing. I managed to get about three hours of sleep off and on because of the extra effort put into the situation by my nurse. I did eventually offer to sit up for a bit so K could get some relief. I think she was only out of my room for 30 minutes when she came busting back in to let me know that she had called the OB on call and pleaded my case. She told the OB that I needed to sleep. That I had only had about two hours of sleep in 48 hours and that they need to at least let the babies be off the monitors for a couple of hours so I could sleep. Well ... it worked because K announced that I was coming off the magnesium sulfate at 1am! Yippee!! I could make it until 1am. We only had about 60 minutes. But wouldn't you know it ... my contractions started to come back as soon as this conversation ended. I knew I hadn't peed for a long time and I thought the contractions could be tied to a full bladder but I just wanted to make it until 1am to use the restroom. At 1am exactly K busted into my room and announced, "You are having contractions. I called the OB but he has not returned my call. Your chart clearly says that you get to come off the magnesium sulfate at 1am. So that is what we are going to do. I know you are only having contractions because you need to pee." So within minutes I was unhooked from everything and I was up out of bed headed towards the bathroom. I'm not sure why I thought going to the bathroom would be a simple task. My body immediately began to revolt. I managed to get to the bathroom ... only because K literally dragged me there. As soon as I sat down my entire body began to shake uncontrollably. It was crazy! I was able to pee and then get back into bed. Again ... only because of help from K. I got all situated and then I slept and slept and slept. I woke-up about 4am and immediately K was in the room. I thought it was crazy that she would bust into the room anytime I would wake-up but she said she was sitting out watching the monitors and knew I was awake because of the activity from the contraction monitor. K announced that I had zero contractions on the monitors the entire time I had been sleeping. Success!! The labor had officially been stopped by the magnesium sulfate!
The next morning I was able to get up and take a shower with help from Kara. I was still extremely weak but with Kara by my side in case I fell down I was able to take the best shower ever. It felt great. I was also able to get into my own clothes! Nice. I spent the morning on the contraction monitor but it was recording very few contractions. Sweet. Around 10am the MFM resident came into my room and let me know that we were going home! I also met with the nutritionist to learn about the diet changes for gestational diabetes and to learn how to monitor my blood sugar at home. I was finally released around 3:30pm and I was told to not come back for another 10 weeks! We are now home on bedrest. I am confined to the third floor. Kara has done an amazing job changing the house around to make me as comfortable as possible. I am sure I will have more blog entries over the next several days to document my bed rest journey. But for now these boys remain in my belly and I could not be more grateful.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
our week (day one)
I'm not even sure where to start this blog entry.
We had our MFM appointment on March 20th. I felt good. It was the first appointment that I went to feeling somewhat confident in this pregnancy. The office was really busy. The u/s tech finally called us back and I was thrilled to get a peek at the boys. We started the u/s with a quick check of my cervix. I knew the moment the image popped up on the screen that my whole world was about to change. I quickly glanced over at Kara but I'm not certain she was actually concerned at that point because she did not understand what we were looking at on the screen. So I remained quiet as the u/s tech started to take measurements of my cervix. Or more precisely ... what was left of my cervix. Only a month ago my cervix was measuring between 4cm - 4.6cm. It was now measuring 1.9cm. Not good. You could see Baby A's head right there ready for departure! Only 2cm separating my boys from the world! If the u/s tech put pressure on my abdomen my cervix all but disappeared into nothing. I finally got the nerve to say to the u/s tech, "It looks really short." and she responded, "Yes. It's short. But we will have to wait for the MFM to take a look at it." I knew it was not good but honestly I just assumed that this would be the beginning of bedrest for me. The u/s tech continued with the remainder of the u/s. Both boys looked awesome! It is getting crowded in my belly now so it is simply a tangle of arms and legs on the screen. I really had no idea what we were looking at! I could identify an arm, or a leg, or a belly, or a brain, but I never really had any idea if the appendage belonged to Baby A or Baby B! The good news ... Baby A is measuring at 2lb4oz and Baby B is measuring at 2lb5oz. The u/s tech finished with the u/s and had me get dressed to go get my blood pressure check and weight check. I then returned to the exam room to wait for the MFM. Kara and I waited about 15 minutes before the u/s tech returned to the room and indicated that the MFM wanted to put me on the contraction monitor for about 20 minutes to see if I was having any contractions. I knew I was having braxton hicks contractions but I did not believe I was having any real contractions. I was not concerned. I did not think anything would show up on the monitor. The nurse got me all hooked up and within minutes I could see a rather large contraction on the monitor. A couple of minutes later another contraction registered on the monitor. Hmm? I remember glancing at Kara and I think I said, "I'm really having contractions." It was at that moment the MFM entered the room (after only about 5 minutes of monitoring) and said, "I'm just going to cut to the chase. You are going upstairs to be admitted for a few days. You are having frequent contractions and your cervix is short. You are in preterm labor." It was at this moment my world crashed down around me. I surprisingly remained calm. The only question I asked the MFM was whether or not the boys could survive on the outside should they be born today. The MFM immediately indicated the that the boys could survive on the outside. This was all I needed to know at the moment. The next several hours are a blur.
We were upstairs on the high risk section of the L&D floor within minutes. I know that I made a point to not make eye contact with anyone as the nurse took us upstairs but Kara later indicated that we were getting a lot of concerned looks from the nurses in the MFM office. I'm glad I did not realize that at the time. I got assigned to a room and got undressed. It was bizarre to suddenly be in a hospital room and in a hospital bed. The chronological order of things gets really fuzzy at this point. I know I was starving! I remember the nurse asking me about what I ate for breakfast and I remember laughing when she replied, "I bet you wish you would have eaten more." The MFM resident entered my room within a few minutes and indicated the first thing they were going to do was my 1 hour glucose tolerance test. Because I would be receiving steroids to mature the boys lungs and brains my blood sugar number would naturally increase. I guess the steroids impact the pancreas in some manner. The MFM also indicated that I would be placed on Procardia to try and stop the contractions and in addition he wanted to do a few other tests to just make certain all was okay with the pregnancy. The nurse brought in the glucola drink within minutes. I had to drink it within a five minute time period. I think I downed the drink in under 60 seconds! What can I say? I was thirsty and hungry! The nurse continued to ask me a ton of admitting questions. At some point I told Kara it was okay to run home for a bit. We had an appointment scheduled with our lawyer for the afternoon that needed to be changed and I knew that the dogs would need to be let outside. So Kara left. The next thing I knew my room was full of people. There were three nurses in the room and two MFM residents. I suddenly felt like a piece of meat! I was being poked and prodded from every direction. All modesty was suddenly out the door! I don't remember much about the poking and prodding but I do remember being extremely frustrated with the MFM resident actually doing all the poking and prodding because she never once said a single word to me. Huh?? I know they did manually check my cervix (this is the third time during this pregnancy that I have had that done and I hate it every time) and it was firm and closed. This was great! Once the MFM residents left the room I was hooked up to the contraction monitor and both babies were hooked up to the monitors so their heart rates could be continuously monitored. The nurse then worked to get an IV set-up in my arm. Ouch. The nurse did a good job but do we want to talk about blood!! It went everywhere ... it was even up on the rails of the bed! The nurse was like, "Well you are definitely not dehydrated." They then just put me on some IV fluids and drew a bunch of bloodwork.
Here is a picture of my lifeline to the boys (aka. The IV) ...
The nurse also gave me my first steroid injection. Ouch. It was a big needle. And it hurt. I made them do the next steroid shot the following day in the other butt cheek because my butt was still sore 24 hours later! I felt immediate relief to know that the boys were getting the steroids. The MFM entered the room a bit later (probably about an hour) and announced, "You failed the one hour glucose tolerance test ... miserably." Joy! So I now also have gestational diabetes (perhaps). The MFM indicated that I would be treated as a gestational diabetes patient while in the hospital. This meant a restricted diet and testing my blood sugar five times a day. And then when I left the hospital I would monitor my blood sugar at home until I was able to get with the OB to do the three hour glucose tolerance test. My blood sugar number was 180. The passing number is 130. So ... I really, really failed the test! The nurse also gave me my first dose of procardia. And then we just waited. The next several hours were quiet. I was having a few contractions on the monitors but nothing out of the ordinary. I was probably only having 2 or 3 contractions an hour.
Kara managed to get hold of our lawyer and we made arrangements for the lawyer to come meet with us in the hospital that afternoon. Kara and I really needed to get a Medical POA and a Living Will in place especially because I suddenly found myself hospitalized. The Medical POA would allow Kara to make any medical decisions on my behalf should I become unable to do so and the Living Will is put in place to make certain no one keeps me hooked up to life support should all hell break loose. The lawyer arrived for the meeting sometime in the late afternoon. We had been meeting for only a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. It was a neonatologist from the NICU. Huh? Our lawyer kindly stepped out of the room for a few minutes and Kara and I spent the next 30 minutes discussing what would happen should the boys be born at 27 weeks. This is when I started to panic. I strangely did not cry during the discussion but I remember repeating over and over again in my head, "This is not happening. This is not happening." We were given a lot of information but basically it all came down to ... Yes. The boys could survive on the outside. There would be a lot of areas of concern (breathing, eating, bleeding in their brains, problems with their eyes) but each area would be tackled one day at a time. And that most 27 week preemies do eventually make it home. The time a preemie spends in the NICU is a marathon not a sprint. We also discussed feeding options for the boys. They would be able to receive my breast milk and the NICU would encourage pumping from the moment the boys are born. I would be able to store breast milk in the NICU. If my breast milk supply was low then the boys would receive donor breast milk. The NICU wants to avoid formula at all cost. This all made me very happy. The neonatologist kept asking us if we had any questions and to be honest I could not formulate a sentence. I was just in shock. Once our meeting finished with the neonatologist our lawyer came back into the room to finish our meeting. We briefly discussed the other legal documents we want to get in place. We signed the Medical POA and the Living Will and then concluded the meeting because I was becoming super overwhelmed! My brain was in shutdown mode.
The remainder of the day was fairly quiet. My contractions were minimal. My parents came over in the evening in order to let Kara be able to go home to tend to the animals. My mom helped me get settled for the evening and left around 9pm. I thought it was going to be a quiet night ...
Mary
We had our MFM appointment on March 20th. I felt good. It was the first appointment that I went to feeling somewhat confident in this pregnancy. The office was really busy. The u/s tech finally called us back and I was thrilled to get a peek at the boys. We started the u/s with a quick check of my cervix. I knew the moment the image popped up on the screen that my whole world was about to change. I quickly glanced over at Kara but I'm not certain she was actually concerned at that point because she did not understand what we were looking at on the screen. So I remained quiet as the u/s tech started to take measurements of my cervix. Or more precisely ... what was left of my cervix. Only a month ago my cervix was measuring between 4cm - 4.6cm. It was now measuring 1.9cm. Not good. You could see Baby A's head right there ready for departure! Only 2cm separating my boys from the world! If the u/s tech put pressure on my abdomen my cervix all but disappeared into nothing. I finally got the nerve to say to the u/s tech, "It looks really short." and she responded, "Yes. It's short. But we will have to wait for the MFM to take a look at it." I knew it was not good but honestly I just assumed that this would be the beginning of bedrest for me. The u/s tech continued with the remainder of the u/s. Both boys looked awesome! It is getting crowded in my belly now so it is simply a tangle of arms and legs on the screen. I really had no idea what we were looking at! I could identify an arm, or a leg, or a belly, or a brain, but I never really had any idea if the appendage belonged to Baby A or Baby B! The good news ... Baby A is measuring at 2lb4oz and Baby B is measuring at 2lb5oz. The u/s tech finished with the u/s and had me get dressed to go get my blood pressure check and weight check. I then returned to the exam room to wait for the MFM. Kara and I waited about 15 minutes before the u/s tech returned to the room and indicated that the MFM wanted to put me on the contraction monitor for about 20 minutes to see if I was having any contractions. I knew I was having braxton hicks contractions but I did not believe I was having any real contractions. I was not concerned. I did not think anything would show up on the monitor. The nurse got me all hooked up and within minutes I could see a rather large contraction on the monitor. A couple of minutes later another contraction registered on the monitor. Hmm? I remember glancing at Kara and I think I said, "I'm really having contractions." It was at that moment the MFM entered the room (after only about 5 minutes of monitoring) and said, "I'm just going to cut to the chase. You are going upstairs to be admitted for a few days. You are having frequent contractions and your cervix is short. You are in preterm labor." It was at this moment my world crashed down around me. I surprisingly remained calm. The only question I asked the MFM was whether or not the boys could survive on the outside should they be born today. The MFM immediately indicated the that the boys could survive on the outside. This was all I needed to know at the moment. The next several hours are a blur.
We were upstairs on the high risk section of the L&D floor within minutes. I know that I made a point to not make eye contact with anyone as the nurse took us upstairs but Kara later indicated that we were getting a lot of concerned looks from the nurses in the MFM office. I'm glad I did not realize that at the time. I got assigned to a room and got undressed. It was bizarre to suddenly be in a hospital room and in a hospital bed. The chronological order of things gets really fuzzy at this point. I know I was starving! I remember the nurse asking me about what I ate for breakfast and I remember laughing when she replied, "I bet you wish you would have eaten more." The MFM resident entered my room within a few minutes and indicated the first thing they were going to do was my 1 hour glucose tolerance test. Because I would be receiving steroids to mature the boys lungs and brains my blood sugar number would naturally increase. I guess the steroids impact the pancreas in some manner. The MFM also indicated that I would be placed on Procardia to try and stop the contractions and in addition he wanted to do a few other tests to just make certain all was okay with the pregnancy. The nurse brought in the glucola drink within minutes. I had to drink it within a five minute time period. I think I downed the drink in under 60 seconds! What can I say? I was thirsty and hungry! The nurse continued to ask me a ton of admitting questions. At some point I told Kara it was okay to run home for a bit. We had an appointment scheduled with our lawyer for the afternoon that needed to be changed and I knew that the dogs would need to be let outside. So Kara left. The next thing I knew my room was full of people. There were three nurses in the room and two MFM residents. I suddenly felt like a piece of meat! I was being poked and prodded from every direction. All modesty was suddenly out the door! I don't remember much about the poking and prodding but I do remember being extremely frustrated with the MFM resident actually doing all the poking and prodding because she never once said a single word to me. Huh?? I know they did manually check my cervix (this is the third time during this pregnancy that I have had that done and I hate it every time) and it was firm and closed. This was great! Once the MFM residents left the room I was hooked up to the contraction monitor and both babies were hooked up to the monitors so their heart rates could be continuously monitored. The nurse then worked to get an IV set-up in my arm. Ouch. The nurse did a good job but do we want to talk about blood!! It went everywhere ... it was even up on the rails of the bed! The nurse was like, "Well you are definitely not dehydrated." They then just put me on some IV fluids and drew a bunch of bloodwork.
Here is a picture of my lifeline to the boys (aka. The IV) ...
The nurse also gave me my first steroid injection. Ouch. It was a big needle. And it hurt. I made them do the next steroid shot the following day in the other butt cheek because my butt was still sore 24 hours later! I felt immediate relief to know that the boys were getting the steroids. The MFM entered the room a bit later (probably about an hour) and announced, "You failed the one hour glucose tolerance test ... miserably." Joy! So I now also have gestational diabetes (perhaps). The MFM indicated that I would be treated as a gestational diabetes patient while in the hospital. This meant a restricted diet and testing my blood sugar five times a day. And then when I left the hospital I would monitor my blood sugar at home until I was able to get with the OB to do the three hour glucose tolerance test. My blood sugar number was 180. The passing number is 130. So ... I really, really failed the test! The nurse also gave me my first dose of procardia. And then we just waited. The next several hours were quiet. I was having a few contractions on the monitors but nothing out of the ordinary. I was probably only having 2 or 3 contractions an hour.
Kara managed to get hold of our lawyer and we made arrangements for the lawyer to come meet with us in the hospital that afternoon. Kara and I really needed to get a Medical POA and a Living Will in place especially because I suddenly found myself hospitalized. The Medical POA would allow Kara to make any medical decisions on my behalf should I become unable to do so and the Living Will is put in place to make certain no one keeps me hooked up to life support should all hell break loose. The lawyer arrived for the meeting sometime in the late afternoon. We had been meeting for only a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. It was a neonatologist from the NICU. Huh? Our lawyer kindly stepped out of the room for a few minutes and Kara and I spent the next 30 minutes discussing what would happen should the boys be born at 27 weeks. This is when I started to panic. I strangely did not cry during the discussion but I remember repeating over and over again in my head, "This is not happening. This is not happening." We were given a lot of information but basically it all came down to ... Yes. The boys could survive on the outside. There would be a lot of areas of concern (breathing, eating, bleeding in their brains, problems with their eyes) but each area would be tackled one day at a time. And that most 27 week preemies do eventually make it home. The time a preemie spends in the NICU is a marathon not a sprint. We also discussed feeding options for the boys. They would be able to receive my breast milk and the NICU would encourage pumping from the moment the boys are born. I would be able to store breast milk in the NICU. If my breast milk supply was low then the boys would receive donor breast milk. The NICU wants to avoid formula at all cost. This all made me very happy. The neonatologist kept asking us if we had any questions and to be honest I could not formulate a sentence. I was just in shock. Once our meeting finished with the neonatologist our lawyer came back into the room to finish our meeting. We briefly discussed the other legal documents we want to get in place. We signed the Medical POA and the Living Will and then concluded the meeting because I was becoming super overwhelmed! My brain was in shutdown mode.
The remainder of the day was fairly quiet. My contractions were minimal. My parents came over in the evening in order to let Kara be able to go home to tend to the animals. My mom helped me get settled for the evening and left around 9pm. I thought it was going to be a quiet night ...
Mary
Sunday, March 18, 2012
26w3d
How Far Along: 26w3d
Milestones: Your baby opens his eyes for the first time. He will open and shut his eyes as he gets used to his new ability. Your little one is still on the small side. His body may look fully formed on the outside, but inside there's fine-tuning taking place, including his lungs and his brain. Your unborn baby still has some growing to do.
Total Weight Gain: 20.2 lbs
Maternity Clothes: The weather has gotten a bit warmer this week. Yippee!!! This means I have moved away from the sweatshirts and I am in maternity shirts all the time when I am out and about. I still sleep and lounge in regular t-shirts at home. I went back to the thrift store this weekend and got a few more large t-shirts so that I am comfortable. I was down to four t-shirts that fit! It is also flip-flop season. Yippee!! I no longer have to bend down and tie my shoes. This means I don't look like a beached whale. I was starting to think I was was going to fall down and hit my head when I was trying to tie my shoes.
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: It's not bad at all. I sleep a lot more on my right side. I think this is because Baby A gets pushed down a bit when I am on my right side and then Baby B has room to stretch out. This is really the only way I can feel Baby B. Otherwise Baby B is my quiet child. I think he is just super scrunched in the womb. Otherwise I only wake-up to pee a couple of times a night. I also wake-up to flip over. But my sleep is definitely better now than it was several weeks ago.
Best Moment of the Week: We got a copy of the "Baby Shower" (we aren't really calling it a Baby Shower as it is co-ed and more of a BBQ) invitations to put in the baby books. It is exciting to think that the baby shower is coming up in only about a month. I really hope I continue to do well because I am so excited to see the people I care about the most all in one location. It will be amazing. I even have a really good friend I have not seen for a couple of years coming from out of state to come to the shower. Amazing. I feel so blessed. I am sure I will have a lot to share after the party.
I can feel a change in the movement from the boys. I think things are getting a bit more cramped in the womb. There is less jabbing and punching and more rolling and pushing. My stomach can still look super crazy moment to moment when Baby A gets going. It looks even better when both Baby A and Baby B are moving at the same time.
We continue to buy odds and ends for the boys. I mostly purchase random items when there is a good sale. But I love to keep bringing home stuff that we will need. I love to organize!!!
Sex: Boys!!!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time! (notice a pattern) My weight gain has slowed down a bit. I'm trying not to let that worry me even though I sometimes fear the boys are not growing as they should be. Typical! Kara thinks the weight gain has slowed down because more of my calories are going to the boys. I am doing much better at increasing my protein. I'm back to craving milk! I also crave chocolate like it is going out of style.
Food Aversions: Nope
Symptoms: These have not really changed a whole lot. I do notice some swelling in my feet at the end of a workday. But it is minimal. I also randomly have tingling in my arms and fingers which I think is totally normal. Both of these are not really bothersome in the least bit though. My back will hurt on occasion but I have been really lucky in that area too. My biggest downfall still remains to be the braxton hicks contractions. I still have really good days and really bad days. I love my good days!!! My belly button is definitely all the way out. It also feels weird to touch my stomach. I think the skin is pulled so tight that I'm losing some nerve sensation. I scratch my belly and it feels super bizarre. It is almost numb.
Upcoming Events: We have our next growth u/s with the MFM on March 20th. I am super excited and super nervous all at the same time. Kara and I are also meeting with our lawyer on March 20th to start putting together all the necessary paperwork to protect our little family. It saddens me that we have to take so many additional steps just to put in safe guards but it also makes me excited because this means the boys have a chance of surviving on the outside should they be born today.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Milestones: Your baby opens his eyes for the first time. He will open and shut his eyes as he gets used to his new ability. Your little one is still on the small side. His body may look fully formed on the outside, but inside there's fine-tuning taking place, including his lungs and his brain. Your unborn baby still has some growing to do.
Total Weight Gain: 20.2 lbs
Maternity Clothes: The weather has gotten a bit warmer this week. Yippee!!! This means I have moved away from the sweatshirts and I am in maternity shirts all the time when I am out and about. I still sleep and lounge in regular t-shirts at home. I went back to the thrift store this weekend and got a few more large t-shirts so that I am comfortable. I was down to four t-shirts that fit! It is also flip-flop season. Yippee!! I no longer have to bend down and tie my shoes. This means I don't look like a beached whale. I was starting to think I was was going to fall down and hit my head when I was trying to tie my shoes.
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: It's not bad at all. I sleep a lot more on my right side. I think this is because Baby A gets pushed down a bit when I am on my right side and then Baby B has room to stretch out. This is really the only way I can feel Baby B. Otherwise Baby B is my quiet child. I think he is just super scrunched in the womb. Otherwise I only wake-up to pee a couple of times a night. I also wake-up to flip over. But my sleep is definitely better now than it was several weeks ago.
Best Moment of the Week: We got a copy of the "Baby Shower" (we aren't really calling it a Baby Shower as it is co-ed and more of a BBQ) invitations to put in the baby books. It is exciting to think that the baby shower is coming up in only about a month. I really hope I continue to do well because I am so excited to see the people I care about the most all in one location. It will be amazing. I even have a really good friend I have not seen for a couple of years coming from out of state to come to the shower. Amazing. I feel so blessed. I am sure I will have a lot to share after the party.
I can feel a change in the movement from the boys. I think things are getting a bit more cramped in the womb. There is less jabbing and punching and more rolling and pushing. My stomach can still look super crazy moment to moment when Baby A gets going. It looks even better when both Baby A and Baby B are moving at the same time.
We continue to buy odds and ends for the boys. I mostly purchase random items when there is a good sale. But I love to keep bringing home stuff that we will need. I love to organize!!!
Sex: Boys!!!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time! (notice a pattern) My weight gain has slowed down a bit. I'm trying not to let that worry me even though I sometimes fear the boys are not growing as they should be. Typical! Kara thinks the weight gain has slowed down because more of my calories are going to the boys. I am doing much better at increasing my protein. I'm back to craving milk! I also crave chocolate like it is going out of style.
Food Aversions: Nope
Symptoms: These have not really changed a whole lot. I do notice some swelling in my feet at the end of a workday. But it is minimal. I also randomly have tingling in my arms and fingers which I think is totally normal. Both of these are not really bothersome in the least bit though. My back will hurt on occasion but I have been really lucky in that area too. My biggest downfall still remains to be the braxton hicks contractions. I still have really good days and really bad days. I love my good days!!! My belly button is definitely all the way out. It also feels weird to touch my stomach. I think the skin is pulled so tight that I'm losing some nerve sensation. I scratch my belly and it feels super bizarre. It is almost numb.
Upcoming Events: We have our next growth u/s with the MFM on March 20th. I am super excited and super nervous all at the same time. Kara and I are also meeting with our lawyer on March 20th to start putting together all the necessary paperwork to protect our little family. It saddens me that we have to take so many additional steps just to put in safe guards but it also makes me excited because this means the boys have a chance of surviving on the outside should they be born today.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Sunday, March 11, 2012
25w3d
How Far Along: 25w3d
Milestones: Your baby now measures about 13.5 inches and weighs about 1.5 lbs. He is beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he will start to look more and more like a newborn. He is also growing more hair.
Total Weight Gain: 19.8 lbs
Maternity Clothes: I am starting to wear some of Kara's sweatshirts. I think I can squeeze a few more weeks out of these sweatshirts and then hopefully it will be warm anyhow. It is also getting difficult to fit into a lot of my t-shirts. This could be a problem for lounging around at home. I am in all maternity clothes for work.
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: It is not too bad. I really have the pillow situation down pat. I just wake-up to flip over. And of course whenever I flip over I get a braxton hicks contraction.
Best Moment of the Week: We had an OB appointment. It was fairly uneventful. My blood pressure continues to remain fairly stable at 115/65. It still amazes me that for the most part my blood pressure has been lower during pregnancy. I got the glucola to drink before my next OB appointment in a month. I choose orange. Both the nurse and the OB indicated that the fruit punch flavor was horrible. So it is now chilling in the fridge waiting for me to consume it in a month. We will move to biweekly appointments with our OB after our next appointment.
Can we say ... nesting?? I am a crazy woman. I just want to organize, organize, organize. I think I realize that in a few weeks I am going to be all but useless in terms of helping around the house. I just love to go into the nursery and move things around. I know I'm not accomplishing anything but I just love that room. Kara and I end up sitting in the nursery almost every night. It is the best room in the house.
We have our cloth diaper stash almost finished for the newborn stage! I have ordered the last of the supplies and I also ordered the laundry detergent we want to use for the diapers and the baby clothes. Next will be prepping the diapers. Kara and I are both moving to our new work schedule on April 1st (a good thing and a bad thing) so I have already told Kara that she will probably get a honey-do list each day! There will be a lot of laundry! I can't wait to get the diapers all ready to go. Once the diapers are all prepped I will be certain to take a picture of the stash!
I finally did it ... I gave away one of the names! It happened during a meeting a work with two of my co-workers. Thankfully these co-workers are actually my really good friends. I was already suffering from horrible pregnancy brain (don't laugh it is real) so I was all frustrated because I seriously could not understand anything that was being discussed in the meeting. Baby A started to hold aerobics class in my uterus and without even realizing it I said, " (name) is going crazy!" I wasn't even all the way through the sentence before the room erupted in screams. I'm surprised no one else came busting in the room to see what was wrong. Of course my head immediately hit the table. I felt horrible. I had made it six months (actually longer because one name was picked out before I even got pregnant) without making a mistake with the names. Oh well. My coworkers were of course beside themselves with excitement. Let's just hope I don't do it again. And both coworkers have been sworn to secrecy. I hope they can keep the secret.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time. I was super surprised to have only gained a pound this week. I really think the boys are taking more calories as they continue to grow. I did much better with adding protein and calcium to my diet this week. I did not do all that great of a job staying away from the candy. Oh and my friend at work surprised me with a Shamrock shake from McDonald's this week. Yum!!! No worries ... there are only like 600 calories in a Shamrock shake. It was so delicious! I am going to try to keep up with the protein this week. I want some chunky baby boys come my next growth u/s on March 20th.
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: Same old. I have good days and I have bad days. I know as soon as I wake up in the morning what kind of day it is going to be in terms of back pain and braxton hicks contractions. Today is a bad day. I am constantly having braxton hicks contractions. The severity of the contractions vary though. There are some that tend to stop me in my tracks and others tend to only impact a portion of my stomach. I try my best to ignore them but I still get super stressed out whenever I have a bad day. Otherwise I don't have many new symptoms.
Upcoming Events: We have our growth u/s with the MFM on March 20th and our next OB appointment is on April 3rd.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Milestones: Your baby now measures about 13.5 inches and weighs about 1.5 lbs. He is beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he will start to look more and more like a newborn. He is also growing more hair.
Total Weight Gain: 19.8 lbs
Maternity Clothes: I am starting to wear some of Kara's sweatshirts. I think I can squeeze a few more weeks out of these sweatshirts and then hopefully it will be warm anyhow. It is also getting difficult to fit into a lot of my t-shirts. This could be a problem for lounging around at home. I am in all maternity clothes for work.
The belly shot for this week ...
Sleep: It is not too bad. I really have the pillow situation down pat. I just wake-up to flip over. And of course whenever I flip over I get a braxton hicks contraction.
Best Moment of the Week: We had an OB appointment. It was fairly uneventful. My blood pressure continues to remain fairly stable at 115/65. It still amazes me that for the most part my blood pressure has been lower during pregnancy. I got the glucola to drink before my next OB appointment in a month. I choose orange. Both the nurse and the OB indicated that the fruit punch flavor was horrible. So it is now chilling in the fridge waiting for me to consume it in a month. We will move to biweekly appointments with our OB after our next appointment.
Can we say ... nesting?? I am a crazy woman. I just want to organize, organize, organize. I think I realize that in a few weeks I am going to be all but useless in terms of helping around the house. I just love to go into the nursery and move things around. I know I'm not accomplishing anything but I just love that room. Kara and I end up sitting in the nursery almost every night. It is the best room in the house.
We have our cloth diaper stash almost finished for the newborn stage! I have ordered the last of the supplies and I also ordered the laundry detergent we want to use for the diapers and the baby clothes. Next will be prepping the diapers. Kara and I are both moving to our new work schedule on April 1st (a good thing and a bad thing) so I have already told Kara that she will probably get a honey-do list each day! There will be a lot of laundry! I can't wait to get the diapers all ready to go. Once the diapers are all prepped I will be certain to take a picture of the stash!
I finally did it ... I gave away one of the names! It happened during a meeting a work with two of my co-workers. Thankfully these co-workers are actually my really good friends. I was already suffering from horrible pregnancy brain (don't laugh it is real) so I was all frustrated because I seriously could not understand anything that was being discussed in the meeting. Baby A started to hold aerobics class in my uterus and without even realizing it I said, " (name) is going crazy!" I wasn't even all the way through the sentence before the room erupted in screams. I'm surprised no one else came busting in the room to see what was wrong. Of course my head immediately hit the table. I felt horrible. I had made it six months (actually longer because one name was picked out before I even got pregnant) without making a mistake with the names. Oh well. My coworkers were of course beside themselves with excitement. Let's just hope I don't do it again. And both coworkers have been sworn to secrecy. I hope they can keep the secret.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time. I was super surprised to have only gained a pound this week. I really think the boys are taking more calories as they continue to grow. I did much better with adding protein and calcium to my diet this week. I did not do all that great of a job staying away from the candy. Oh and my friend at work surprised me with a Shamrock shake from McDonald's this week. Yum!!! No worries ... there are only like 600 calories in a Shamrock shake. It was so delicious! I am going to try to keep up with the protein this week. I want some chunky baby boys come my next growth u/s on March 20th.
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: Same old. I have good days and I have bad days. I know as soon as I wake up in the morning what kind of day it is going to be in terms of back pain and braxton hicks contractions. Today is a bad day. I am constantly having braxton hicks contractions. The severity of the contractions vary though. There are some that tend to stop me in my tracks and others tend to only impact a portion of my stomach. I try my best to ignore them but I still get super stressed out whenever I have a bad day. Otherwise I don't have many new symptoms.
Upcoming Events: We have our growth u/s with the MFM on March 20th and our next OB appointment is on April 3rd.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly for a long time!
Mary
Sunday, March 4, 2012
24w3d
How Far Along: 24w3d
Milestones: Your 10.5 inch to 11.8 inch fetus weighs about 12.7 ounces to 20.8 ounces. He is closer to being ready to survive (and thrive) in the outside world.
Total Weight Gain: 18.8 lbs. I was up a total of 19.5 lbs at 23 weeks but seem to have lost a bit of weight this week. No worries. Kara and I went to dinner for her birthday last night and I think I gained all the weight back in only an hour.
Maternity Clothes: I can still fit into a lot of non-maternity sweatshirts and t-shirts. I can also still fit into my sweatpants. So that is nice. My underwear are starting to become an issue. Hmm??
So I got brave this week and took a couple of bare belly shots. And I am going to be even braver and share them with the world!
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Please don't puke up your lunch!!
Sleep: It's okay. I just wake-up a lot. I don't really wake-up because I have to pee. I wake-up because my hips start hurting like crazy. So I'm really up at least every two hours to flip over. I am sure it will only get worse. I also still wake-up sometimes when I get a braxton hicks contraction.
Best Moment of the Week: We have a semi-finished nursery. Please take a look at the nursery page! This is exciting! It is also super nerve-wrecking.
You can really see the boys kicking and punching from the outside of my belly. This is my absolute favorite thing about being pregnant. Baby A can really get going at times. I really like when he does log-rolls in my belly. You can just see a tidal wave cross across my belly. Baby A has also taken a liking to using my bladder as a trampoline. Not the best! It is fun to watch when both boys are moving at the same time. You can see both sides of my belly getting kicked and punched. I imagine them kicking each other. Too fun.
I also feel blessed to have just gotten through another week. Each day counts now.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time. I know I sound like a broken record. But I really can pound back the food. I need to get better at getting more protein. I think I am getting too many carbohydrates. I think simply because I crave the carbohydrates. So my goal for this week is to be more mindful of increasing my protein intake. My latest craving ... Tootsie Roll Pop. Love!
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: Oye! The braxton hicks contractions. They just simply wear me out. I am getting a braxton hicks contraction at least every 5 or 10 minutes. This means by the end of the day my muscles are extremely sore and I am mentally drained. It is also getting difficult to sit at my desk all day. My back really starts to ache by the end of the day. I also notice a bit of swelling in my legs and feet by the end of the day. I think this is just from sitting at my desk all day. I had one other instance of some minor spotting but it did not last long and I really tried not to worry about it. I also officially have an outie belly button. My belly button has never been so clean!
Upcoming Events: We have an OB appointment on March 6th.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
Milestones: Your 10.5 inch to 11.8 inch fetus weighs about 12.7 ounces to 20.8 ounces. He is closer to being ready to survive (and thrive) in the outside world.
Total Weight Gain: 18.8 lbs. I was up a total of 19.5 lbs at 23 weeks but seem to have lost a bit of weight this week. No worries. Kara and I went to dinner for her birthday last night and I think I gained all the weight back in only an hour.
Maternity Clothes: I can still fit into a lot of non-maternity sweatshirts and t-shirts. I can also still fit into my sweatpants. So that is nice. My underwear are starting to become an issue. Hmm??
So I got brave this week and took a couple of bare belly shots. And I am going to be even braver and share them with the world!
.JPG)
.JPG)
Please don't puke up your lunch!!
Sleep: It's okay. I just wake-up a lot. I don't really wake-up because I have to pee. I wake-up because my hips start hurting like crazy. So I'm really up at least every two hours to flip over. I am sure it will only get worse. I also still wake-up sometimes when I get a braxton hicks contraction.
Best Moment of the Week: We have a semi-finished nursery. Please take a look at the nursery page! This is exciting! It is also super nerve-wrecking.
You can really see the boys kicking and punching from the outside of my belly. This is my absolute favorite thing about being pregnant. Baby A can really get going at times. I really like when he does log-rolls in my belly. You can just see a tidal wave cross across my belly. Baby A has also taken a liking to using my bladder as a trampoline. Not the best! It is fun to watch when both boys are moving at the same time. You can see both sides of my belly getting kicked and punched. I imagine them kicking each other. Too fun.
I also feel blessed to have just gotten through another week. Each day counts now.
Sex: Boys!
Food Cravings: I eat all the time. I know I sound like a broken record. But I really can pound back the food. I need to get better at getting more protein. I think I am getting too many carbohydrates. I think simply because I crave the carbohydrates. So my goal for this week is to be more mindful of increasing my protein intake. My latest craving ... Tootsie Roll Pop. Love!
Food Aversions: None
Symptoms: Oye! The braxton hicks contractions. They just simply wear me out. I am getting a braxton hicks contraction at least every 5 or 10 minutes. This means by the end of the day my muscles are extremely sore and I am mentally drained. It is also getting difficult to sit at my desk all day. My back really starts to ache by the end of the day. I also notice a bit of swelling in my legs and feet by the end of the day. I think this is just from sitting at my desk all day. I had one other instance of some minor spotting but it did not last long and I really tried not to worry about it. I also officially have an outie belly button. My belly button has never been so clean!
Upcoming Events: We have an OB appointment on March 6th.
Please keep growing little ones and stay in my belly!
Mary
Thursday, March 1, 2012
viability day
I am 24 weeks pregnant today! This is a big day as it is considered viability day across the medical world. This means that if I were to end up in the hospital today the doctors would try to save the babies if they were born. We by no means want them to be born anytime soon but it does provide me some reassurance that at least attempts would be made to save their lives should they be born today. The babies would have a 39% chance of survival if they were born at 24 weeks. Each day that they stay inside me is huge from this point forward. My next big goal is 28 weeks when their survival rate jumps to between 90% and 95%. So please keep growing big and strong boys. Your mom does not want you to make an appearance until at least May.
Please keep growing little ones (and stay in my belly).
Mary
Please keep growing little ones (and stay in my belly).
Mary
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