Week 27

Since I posted last, I've had mostly low contraction numbers, in the 0-3 range. J and I have figured out that I can handle brief outings to the grocery store and Target if I ride on an electric scooter. He needs to be there to reach things for me, though. This let me to finally update our baby registry, which was my plan to do the day I had to go into the hospital. hehe We also got some outdoor things for the kids at the baby shower. Who knew they made scented bubbles?

We had one minor hiccup last Thursday when I had a series of mildly painful contractions right in a row. I talked to the contractions monitor nurse and she said it was probably the babies going through a growth spurt. I've been more tired than normal, so that seemed pretty logical to me. They haven't come back since then.

Today at the MFS appointment the doctor said that both babies seemed to have gained a little fluid. He seemed to think that was a initial indicator that I'm eating too much sugar. Long term high sugar will lead to excess fluid and really large babies. He wants me to go on a protein, fat, and vegetable diet for now. My one treat a day is gone. No more juice or carbs that help with my acid reflux. J got a gleam in his eye, though, since now the ice cream bars in the freezer are all his. hehe

Both babies had a good check-up. They were feisty and had heartbeats in the 150's like normal. Baby A went back to his usual spot on my right side but opted for the head up position. I'm really, really glad to see him keeping up with his brother when it comes to moving around. He had me worried for a while.

So things are pretty much the same as last week, minus the removal of fun things to eat from my diet. I'm looking forward to the baby shower in a few weeks. The cats aren't much for conversation. hehe

Week 26

It's still pretty early in the week but we had our MFS growth check-up today.  Everything with the babies is looking really good.  They are both 2lb 2oz, which puts them in the 60th percentile for weight.  Yay for being above average, even for singletons!

Bladders, stomaches, and fluid all looked great.  Baby B was in his "treehouse" and curled up under my ribs.  Baby A actually switched sides.  He's never moved from his spot before so we were pretty excited to see that.  Both babies are starting to get chubby cheeks and behinds, making them look less like aliens.

The MFS seems to think that even if everything goes smoothly from here on out, we're probably looking at a 34-36wk delivery.  It's even possible they could arrive as early as 30wks, but we're hoping that's not the case.  My contractions have been under control enough that right now the doctor isn't pushing for me to get a terbutaline pump.  It's a lot like a wearable insulin pump, but a different drug.  This isn't something I really want to go through.

This week I hit the 30lb over prepregnancy mark.  From here on out I'm supposed to gain 2lb per week to produce healthy babies.  It's already maternity shirts or nothing, so I'm not sure how another 15-20lbs is going to look - probably bad.  hehe

My cervix has stopped funneling but remains short at about 2cm.  The ideal length is 4cm.  While it will never be that long again, it's a good sign that it's stable.  I go back in another week for a check-up.

Here are some cute chubby cheek pictures.

Week 25

After all of the excitement from last week, I wanted to give a mini-update just so everyone would know that things are just about back to normal around here.

Thursday evening I started having contractions again. At my request they hooked up the IV again to be sure I was getting enough fluids. They also reattached me to not only the contraction monitor but also both baby ones for the night. For the record, this isn't a comfortable way to sleep. They also gave me a relaxer/sleep medication. I pretty much looked like roadkill (mouth open, tongue hanging out) until about 5am when it wore off. hehe

By Friday morning the contractions had nearly stopped so they let me go home. J and I got some lunch on the way and I took a few hour nap once I said hello to the kitties. The at-home monitor and the nurse to show us how to use it arrived later in the evening.

Basically twice a day for an hour I strap myself to this little box. It records whatever it is that's going on, then we transmit it to the monitoring company. Within about 15-20min of getting my data, they give us a call with the results. If I have 5 contractions or more they will ask me to retest. If the second test is also at or over 5 contractions, they will call my doctor. I also have to measure my bloodpressure and pulse once a day.

Friday night they called to report "a lot" of contractions, apparently to the point that they stopped counting. I was instructed to drink as much water as I could for 20 min then retest. I barely passed with a 4 the second time. Saturday went much the same way with one retest after a 7. It seemed like if I chugged enough water before the test I could score a 4 and squeak by.

Barely beating the monitor during 2 random hours during the day doesn't seem like a good system to ensure healthy babies long-term, though. So when they called with my results Sunday morning (another 4 after downing about 1.5 liters of water), I asked them how much I should be drinking ALL of the time. She recommended 10oz every hour from when I get up until I go to bed. If I take a nap during the day, I needed to make-up the amount I missed.

So I started drinking that much Sunday afternoon. Sunday night's reading was a 3. Monday was two 1's. This morning I had a 0. I was so excited I called J at work with the news. This doesn't mean that I won't end up with contractions again, but at least now we feel like there's something we can do about them.

I had a normal check-up with the MFS on Monday. Both babies have been kicking me a ton since I got home and you could see their feet aiming for the ultrasound probe. There was one cute moment when they had their heads together, probably planning their next assult on my ribs. Their bubbles looked really good and for the first time the membrane between them was moving with the babies, instead of pulled taunt around Baby A's area. Bladders and stomaches were all full and looking good.

My cervix hasn't changed since before the fluid reduction. It's not as long as it used to be, but it's hanging in there. Next week the boys will get their growth measured again. Those are my favorite appointments.

It's taken me a few days to either get over whatever meds I had at the hospital or adjust to the higher dosage of procardia they have me on. One of the side effects of the procarida is lower blood pressure. Unfortunately this means my pulse has to increase to make up for it, and that makes me feel kind of out of it. Today is the first day that I've began to feel normal and able to concentrate on more than the tv.

I felt kind of down over the weekend with the high contraction numbers but now I'm feeling pretty opimistic again. We still have a long way to go before these babies are done cooking and I'm hopeful we can make it.

Week 24, Day 3-4

Well, things are looking pretty positive at this point.  I only had 1 contraction all night.  The rest are just random irritation.  My MFS came in first thing and took the belly strap off.  I'll only need to be monitored periodically with it.  Baby A immediately stretched out and kicked me in the ribs.  Baby B also got fired up and has been poking around.

Later today once my last dosage of antibiotics is done, I'll be leaving the IV behind.  I've also been "ordered" to take a shower.  hehe  No complaints there!  So by this afternoon I should resemble any number of humans you might pass on the street.  Yay!

The plan is still for me to stay another night for observation, I guess under normal habitat conditions.  If I can behave, I'll be released on Friday with a follow-up visit to the MFS on Monday.  The MFS will come back by tomorrow, I assume to check on me and give me any additional restrictions I should follow.  I would be kind of surprised if there wasn't some sort of at least partial bedrest condition.  The contractions have stopped but I'm not sure if the funneling has eased up due to less fluid or not.

There is a possibility that the excess fluid will return around Baby A.  If/when that happens, I'm not sure what the procedure would be.  It depends on what problems it causes and how far along the babies are at the time.

But right now they seem happy stretching, kicking me in the ribs, and generally goofing off in there.

Week 24, Day 2

Yesterday was a pretty busy one.  I spent the night on magnesium, which helped reduce the intensity of the contractions but didn't seem to slow them much.  Around 10am my MFS came in to check on me.  There really wasn't anything else to try except doing a fluid reduction from Baby A's bubble.

They started prepping me for the procedure around noon.  They gave me a medication to help speed up the babies' heart valve development (for the same reason as the steroid shot earlier).  I also got a dose of pain killer and a local numbing agent applied to the injection site.

There are two main concerns when doing a fluid reduction - the bubble bursting or the placenta separating from the uterus wall.  We had neither occur.  Yay!  Everything went really smoothly and about 1 liter of fluid was removed, making Baby A's bubble a normal size.  Both babies are just as squirmy as before and have good heart rates.

For me, the pain killer was really strong, on top of the fuzziness I feel from the magnesium.  I was awake for the procedure but couldn't keep my eyes open.  I felt like I was drunk.  Everything that people said made sense to me but what I tried to say came out kind of garbled.  The first needle was too short but the second needle worked well.  It felt like a normal needle pinch, nothing more.

What's left is a bit of a bruise that I can only feel when I'm moving around.  The contractions dropped off sharply from about 1 every 10min to 1 every 30min-1hr.  The plan as it stands right now is to wean me off the magnesium and back onto the pills I was taking before.  If everything goes well I should be released on Friday.

Week 24 Day 1

I wanted to post a semi-quick update.

I went in for my normal MFS check-up this morning.  My sister was in town so she went with me instead of J.  After all, it was just another in a long line of "stable" appointments.  First the good news:  Baby B has more fluid this week than previously.  This couldn't be better for him and really makes us happy.  Also, their heartbeats continue to be strong and they're not shy about moving around in there.

The not so great discovery is that I've started funneling, meaning my cervix has gotten shorter from the inside.  I am not dilated, though, so the exit is still blocked.  They also found that I'm still having "irritable" contractions despite the medicine I've been taking.  The only option was for me to go to the hospital so they could be stopped.

I checked in around lunch time.  They put me on an IV and gave me a dosage of the same medicine I had been taking.  They took the edge off the contractions but didn't stop them completely.  They also gave me a steroid shot to help improve the babies' lungs should they need to be delivered.  Don't let this last part worry you.  It's one of those things that they do as a precaution since it takes at least 24hrs for the steroid to be effective.  It's not something they could do in an emergency later.

Around 10pm they called the OB on call for further instructions.  He ordered some additional testing and for them to start a magnesium sulfate treatment.  This was the second stage at stopping the contractions.  The side effects didn't sound that bad, but I could tell J was worrying about me.  The look he gets on his face...  That's worse than anything the nurse could do.

The first 30 min of the treatment was not pleasant, but I tried to keep a smile on my face.  I think it helped me as much as it helped J since it gave me something to think about besides the pain in my arm.  Over all it hasn't been as bad as the stuff the MS gave me a few weeks ago.

So it's 2am and the nurse is going to slip me some sleeping meds if I don't at least lay down.  I won't be going home until Wednesday at the earliest since the magnesium treatment takes 24hrs to complete.  On the bright side, an IV is far easier than the bottles of water I've been having to drink at home.

Week 23

Today it's been a month since the last time I went into work. I had a dream the other night that I was allowed to go in for one day and I messed everything up. hehe

This week it snowed. My MFS appointment was on Tuesday but they were still trying to catch back up from Monday's cancellations. This meant our appointment happened in record time. Everything looks good. Baby A is 1lb 7oz and Baby B is 1lb 6oz. This puts them above average on weight. Heartbeats were still in the 155-160's and they were just as squirmy as normal.

My cervix is closed up tight. I'm at almost 26lbs over my prepregnancy weight. My belly has been doing a lot of stretching, with a couple of sore days this week. Within the next month the boys will experience a growth spurt. I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

At the regular OB's office, they ran their normal tests. My iron looks good but my sugar and protein were high. For the sugar, it was probably the rootbeer I had with lunch. The last vice I have is gone. It's only water, milk, and juice for me now.

The doctor thinks the protein might be an indicator of a bladder infection. Apparently one of these while you're pregnant is typical and doesn't have the same symptoms as a normal one. I feel fine and can't tell the difference. I'm supposed to go back in next week for a follow-up.

Next week is a big milestone for the boys. It's when they become officially viable, meaning that if something were to happen, they could be born and have a chance to survive. For me, this means I'm going to be put on a home monitor for contractions. I'm still taking medication to stop them but I think they're just being extra cautious.

We had our first 2 Multiples classes this week at Greenville Hospital. They pretty much take you through the whole pregnancy and birth process as it relates to having two babies. There are 2 other couples in the class and it's boys all around. hehe Last night we watched a video of 3 different women going through 100% natural labor and birth. J grabbed my hand in the middle of it and we gave each other the "uh, I think a c-section looks mighty good about now" look. hehe

I think J is leaning back towards wanting to have the babies at Greenville Hospital. We haven't officially signed up at either one, so it's not a problem if we change our minds. He feels like the quality of people might be better, even if the rooms are small. I'm sure the built-in Chik-Fil-A and Starbucks aren't hurting his opinion of the place, either. I think either location would work fine.

There weren't too many pictures of the boys this week. Here's the best one, of Baby B resting his head against Baby A.

Week 22

Sorry for the late post. My mom was in town last week. Plus it was pretty quiet on the baby front.

Monday I had my follow-up MFS appointment. After the previous week's good times, I was expecting the worse (in terms of the poking and proding). Luckily things were quick and relatively painless. The boys have good heartbeats and I'm still locked up tight. Baby A still prefers to huddle down at the bottom, headbutting the exit whenever possible. This leaves a huge empty area that Baby B would love to have access to.

At this point it's just a waiting game. As long as neither baby is in distress, the doctor is going to put off doing the amnio fluid reduction. I'm showing no signs of prelabor due to the extra pressure, so that's a good thing, too.

This week I'm at 23lbs over my prepregnancy weight, and exactly where I should be on that front. Both boys are late night kickers. They are pretty quiet during the day but come about 11pm, the rolling and double kicking begins. They're getting feisty compared to only a week ago and I can feel Baby A a lot more.

We took a CPR class at St. Francis. We thought it was going to be kind of boring but the program was really good. It covered adult, child, and infant CPR, plus choking strategies. Another girl was there that was due about the same time as me and she was barely showing. I was jealoous. hehe