Week 15

As bad as last week was, this week has been pretty great. Tuesday we had a regular OB appointment. The doctor was able to find both babies' heartbeats (still 150 & 160). We're lucky that they're side-by-side so the dopler thing can measure both.

I told her about my vitamin adventures. I've tried about 6 different kinds with the same consquences. In the end, I'm just going to take a Flinstones vitamin once a day until the end of the month. At that point my MFS will stick me on an iron supplement. They tested my current iron levels just to be safe and they were fine.

They also gave me a flu shot. It's taken 2 days for my arm to stop hurting but it's still sore. I have declared a "No More Shots" policy, effective immediately.

This week I've "popped" and look like I'm pregnant. J's pretty excited. I think he's been bummed since our G'ville Hospital tour that I wasn't really showing (and those women WERE!). I'm not one of those people that run up to pregnant women and touch their bellies, so I had no idea it would be so firm feeling. I expected it to be squishy, like J's. It's like having very concave abs of steel! hehe

My now apparent belly also means I'm much more uncomfortable. I snagged a full body pillow from BB&B, although it never occurred to me to buy a pillow sheet for it. hehe J's talking about getting a king size bed because I now take up the space of two people. I also require a 65°F-68°F room to sleep in. Otherwise I feel like I'm going to have a heat stroke. J is very sad and lonely clinging to the edge of the bed, grabbing whatever covers he can find. The Wall-E blanket our nephews used when they stayed over last summer? J's been using it when the shivering becomes too much!

Thursday night we had our St. Francis Eastside (SFE) tour. The Labor and Delivery floor is very nice. About half of it is new and the other half has been remodelled. I am going to admit that the mom/baby rooms aren't quite as nice as Anderson's. They are about twice as big as G'ville's, though, and in a better neighborhood. I also really liked that they have twin pregnancies start out in the private labor/delivery rooms, rather than immediately in the OR. It's nice to be given a chance to behave normally.

SFE a Catholic, non-profit hospital but the level of care is high. It's not like you have a bunch of nuns working on you. hehe There are a lot of crucifixes, though, sporting what looks to be a kind of "Buddy Christ" wearing robes and, I think, a smile.

J and I had a pretty lengthy conversation about the care facilities at each hospital. It doesn't matter if the sofa is nice, but that the babies can be well taken care of should anything happen. SFE is a level II NCU, meaning they can cover the most common issues like jaundice, breathing problems, temperature control issues, and general feeder/grower monitoring. This is the same level of care AnMed has, as reference.

G'ville Hosptial is a level III NICU. They can do everything a level II can but are also able to do surgeries and long-term breathing assistance. They also handle the really premature babies (25-32wks).

Our plan at this point is to go to St. Francis unless something serious shows up on an u/s or I go into labor before 32wks. If one of the babies ends up needing level III care, they'll just be transported to G'ville Hospital, about 20 min away. Ideally for twins you want to deliver between 35 and 38wks.