Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Finally confirmed

This morning I was finally able to talk to MY doctor.  She confirmed that they are definitely planning on inducing exactly AT 34 weeks.  That is a week from today, on April 1st.

Yep.  We're looking at April Fool's babies!  Somehow that's rather fitting.  When I first realized the date they were planning to induce, I wasn't really happy about it.  One of my friends from high school was killed in a car accident on that day, and since then I haven't really 'celebrated' that day.  

Then I thought on it for a little while and realized that my friend, Sheena, was always the happiest, most upbeat, cheerful person in the world.  Her death made a dark spot on April Fools for me.  What better way to ensure that I didn't mourn her death, but rather celebrated her life on that day than having my little girls born on that day?  My little angels will always be a cheery reminder of the light that Sheena brought to this world and hopefully they will continue her legacy of embracing the pure joy of life.

I truly try to be a positive person.  I sometimes have to work at it, but it has gotten easier over the years.  Hopefully, these little girls help me to continue in that.  I know that it will be rough at times, but these little girls are pretty much exactly what I've wanted for as long as I remember.  I have always wanted a family and to be a mom, and I'm getting that with these ladies.

So the current plan is that I'll get something to 'ripen the cervix' next Monday, and they will begin the induction Tuesday morning.  I'm a bit scared and excited, but also happy and relieved to have an 'end' goal in sight.  What happens from there is yet to be seen, but I know that it will all work out somehow. I can't wait to meet these little ones!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Week 32 Bumpdate

This is going to be a rather strange one, so bear with me a bit.
 

How far along: 32 Weeks

Baby Size: Bok Choy (Estimated weights are 3 pounds, 10 ounces and 4 pounds, 3 ounces as of last Tuesday.)
 
Weight gain:  Haven't been on the scale this week!  

Maternity clothes: Pretty much living in sweat pants and maternity shirts or Dale's old shirts that are about an XL.
 
Stretch marks: All sorts of stretch marks south of my belly button as well as all around my belly button.  I feel like even my belly button has stretched!  Thankfully I can't see most of them, but I can feel them and boy, do they itch.

Sleep: I've been able to get into a bit of a routine this week.  I generally sleep pretty solid with one wakeup around 4am for a potty break and antibiotics.  



Gender: Two troublemaking angels.
 
Best moment this week: 
Our ultrasound that gave us the estimated weights of the girls as well as showing us that both were head-down and facing my back.  This is the ideal positioning for them in order to do a natural birth.
 
Looking forward to: Eventually getting out of the hospital. 
 
What I miss:  Freedom!  I feel pretty trapped being stuck in the hospital.  Though I am glad to be able to get out of my room a bit.


Movement: Yes they do.  ALL OF THE TIME!


Food cravings: Nothing specific, just not hospital food. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope!

Labor Signs: Beyond my water breaking, nothing.  My water broke a week ago today and I've had no other labor signs since! 

Symptoms: Last Saturday I looked like I wet myself.  Thankfully nobody saw and all is well. 
 
Belly Button in or out?  So far out I'm convinced it is trying to reach the next zip code!
 
Rings on or off? They are currently off, but I honestly think that my hands are back down to normal size, so I would be able to wear them.

Mood: excited, anxious, bored of the hospital

Shower Saturday

Today was my Ohio baby shower.  Alas, my little munchkins made it impossible for me to physically attend, so we did a Skype session.  My niece and I established a Skype connection and I got passed around to all of the guests.  I was so happy to get to chat to everyone who was able to come!

Of course, there were a couple who ate right in front of me and explained the food (must be a family tradition) but that just made me send Dale out to pick up lunch.  I also got a bunch of pictures via text of the setup.  It was all rubber duckies and it was so adorable!  Each table had at least one princess duckie.  

There was also a gift-wrapping station set up.  Each of the guests was instructed to not wrap their gifts before the shower.  They could then ooh and aah over the gifts before wrapping them and sending them off to me.  At the end of the shower I was texted a picture of the beautifully wrapped gifts.  They will be delivered to me next weekend when my entourage journeys north to Michigan.

I was so happy and excited to see everyone today and show off my belly, even though it was over the internet.  Thank goodness for technology!  Oh, and any time someone wanted to see my belly, I had to tilt the camera and take about three steps away from the computer in order to fit my entire belly in the frame.  Yeah, I'm that huge.  Hopefully soon I will find a way to upload a picture to the blog.

Finally Friday

It is the day of the nurses!  There have been a number of nurses helping out today.  Of course the girls were troublesome during their NST, so we ended up on the monitors for about an hour total.  Their numbers were great, they just didn't stay under the monitors for a long enough stretch for the doctors to get a baseline.  

The sunny side of this is that during the test I called my mommy and told her to listen as I held the phone up to the speakers.  She was able to listen to the heartbeats of her grandbabies!  Of course, she was very excited to hear them.  And the girls were being good and the speaker was up loud, so she really got to listen to their strong little heartbeats. I'm so happy that my mom was able to listen in to them.  She isn't able to be here in person right now and I feel like she has missed out on a lot of the things that Dale's mom has gotten to do.  

It's not that I need my mommy here with me, but I do wish she was able to experience more of this journey.  My mommy will be here in another week and I can't wait!  I wish our teleporter worked and it didn't take three hours to get from there to here.  Sadly, we haven't gotten to that point yet. 

Friday, March 21, 2014

Overcast Thursday

It was another overcast day, but yet another good day for the girls.  Their heart rates were a little high, but they were properly reactive, so nothing to worry about.  

Our next two ultrasounds are scheduled with the hospital.  Next Monday and the following Tuesday we are scheduled to see our little girls again.  Sadly, Dale will be working during the one on Monday, but I'll be sure to be in awe enough for both of us.  I'm curious to see how much they will have grown in a week!  I'd love for both munchkins to be over 4 pounds so that I can worry about them a little less than I do.

Also, we had a visit from an instructor in the Education Department of the hospital.  She brought a lot of information about the hospital's services, having babies and even the reading material for the birthing class we will be missing.  We were all signed up for a birthing class next Sunday.  Alas, we will not be able to attend since I've been admitted to the hospital.  But she brought me all of the class material and gave me the number I needed to call to cancel the class.  She will also be back to visit again next week in case I have questions.  


Dreary Wednesday

It's such a dreary day outside, but I hear it's at least a bit warm out.  It's definitely a day for comfort food!

Today I got my IV taken out entirely.  No needle or anything sticking in me. That meant I was able to take an entirely normal shower!  Oh, it's the little things in life that make me happy at this point.

And the doctors have cleared me to be allowed to walk down the halls, as well.  I am no longer confined to my room.  (Boy that pacing got boring very quickly.)  So I am able to wander a bit further, so I don't feel quite as cooped up.

I have also been able to start writing out return addresses on envelopes for the thank you notes for my baby showers.  We even received a couple shower gifts already!  A couple were mailed to Dale's parents' house, so his parents brought them up for us to open.  That means I even got to write out some actual thank you notes!  The girls' library is off to a strong start, I must say.  

We also got a new visitor today. Uncle Jim stopped in to say hi and check up on us. We all just sat around and chatted for a while as I sipped on the  shamrock shake he brought me. :) It was definitely nice to see a different person. 

Fifi and I also got to test out Skype last night. It worked! We just have to get it set up on mommy's laptop and we should be all set for the shower. The girls are going to have a table set up with the laptop throughout the shower so anyone can stop by to say hi and it's not a mad rush of people all at once crowding around a little screen. They are so smart!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Sunny Tuesday

Overall, it was a rather uneventful day.  But the main highlight was our ultrasound!  After ironing out some scheduling issues, we ended up with an appointment in the afternoon to check on the girls and do some measurements.

We found out that Baby A has less fluid, so she's the one who started all of this trouble.  But she did flip over, so we'll forgive her.  This means that both of the girls are head-down now.  That's a weight off my shoulders in case I do go into labor soon.  That doesn't mean one of the girls won't flip back over when labor starts, but we'll take that road when it happens.

But the girls' measurements estimated their weights at 3 pounds, 10 ounces and 4 pounds, 3 ounces.  They are both looking healthy and both have hair on their heads!  It was kinda funny to see their hair/fuzz on the screen.

At this point, they've confirmed that it is mostly a waiting game.  We really want to have them inside for another two weeks, but they are at least looking like very healthy little girls in case they decide to be early.  (We hope they are like daddy and running a bit late all the time.)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

St. Patrick's Day!

And I'm back to feeling like a normal human being!

I still have the IV hookup in my hand, but other than that I am back to full-human status.  I got to take a shower as well as wear normal clothes.  I'm in jammies, but it is still SO much better than that horrible hospital gown.  I'm even wearing green today!  I have my green shirt and green, white and orange socks!  

I've gotten a few phone calls checking up on me today and it's great to hear from everyone.  Even grandma called to thank me for the flowers that my sister and I sent for the holiday.  She even told me that she put them on the table in front of *her* chair in the living room so she can always see them when she's sitting down.  I love that something as simple as sending her flowers makes her so happy.

This has by far been the least exciting St. Patrick's Day I ever remember, but I got to live vicariously through my friends and family.  I had a few people drinking for me since I can't have my own at this point.  See?  Aren't they so thoughtful?  

Anyway, I had a visit from one of the doctors that may be delivering the girls.  There is a plan for all of the possible delivering doctors to come visit at some point so that I don't have a stranger down there when this all happens.  

This doctor was trying to get stuff set up for me to have a few more consultations and an actual ultrasound this week.  So in the next day or two I will have consults with the high-rick doctor and another meeting with the lactation consultant.  I actually already spoke to the lactation consultant on Saturday, but didn't realize exactly how loopy I already was from the medicine.

We have an ultrasound set up for Wednesday to do a thorough checkup on the girls, as well.  We hope to get their measurements to see how big they are as well as simply get to see them.  We are hoping that they are already big enough to come out in the world, just in case, but still hope they stay inside.  I'm also curious to see how much 'water' has been replaced already since the little tantrum that sent us here.  

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day and got home safe and sound. 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Foggy Sunday

Sunday was mostly uneventful.  I spent most of the day counting down until I was scheduled to be taken off the Magnesium.  It was making me feel pretty crummy.  It was the reason that I was on bed rest, it made me VERY foggy and made feel very heavy, and it was even the reason I was put on a catheter.  That was just not a lot of fun.  There is no question in my mind that it was the worst part of my visit.

But, the doctor's verdict for me is that I am admitted in the hospital until these little munchkins arrive.  She doesn't care if they come tomorrow or in two months.  I'm grounded.  I understand the reasoning, but my mind doesn't like feeling trapped.  

But at least I got off the Mag and look and feel like a more normal person.  They even took off all of my IV lines, so I'm not attached to the rolling pole of medicine either.  I was so excited to be able to freely walk to Dale when he got here!  (I use the term 'walk' VERY liberally here.  I waddled.  There is no doubting that for a second.  It didn't even really resemble a walk at all.  Not even a little bit.)

Finally more of my family is in the loop with what is going on and texting me good wishes.  I'm really glad for the technology right now.  I'm very happy to be able to chat with my family at my own pace without having to hang up when the nurses come in.  With texting, I just ignore them until the nurses are done with me.  That way I avoid the major rudeness factor and can still keep up!

Anyway, being the day before St. Patrick's Day, and the last day of the weekend... Dale's mom's friend was hosting dinner.  She was kind enough to send full plates of leftovers for both myself and Dale.  And Dale's mom was kind enough to bring the food and a Shamrock Shake to the hospital for me.  I'm so glad I'm not stuck with just hospital food, lol!  It was some great food and I'm so glad that they were so thoughtful to not only make up plates, but deliver them to me.  Thank you so much ladies!

And Dale worked until late and didn't get to the hospital until around 9pm.  Yet he hung out with me and kicked my butt at a round of checkers while we had dinner.  All while knowing that he had to be at work at 6:30 in the morning.  I truly appreciate that.  I wouldn't have blamed him one bit if he had just passed out at home, honestly.  But he still came to the hospital knowing that he would be sleeping on a couch for the few hours he had and he'd also have to listen to the nurse coming in to check up on me.  And to think, this guy is worried that he won't be a good daddy.  He did all of this for his girls and didn't think twice.  I have no doubts that he is a great daddy already! 

Beware the Ides of March

Warning, this is a long post and it hasn't gone through much editing.  ;)

Saturday was the Ides of March (March 15th) and, for some reason I like to at least note the Ides of March.  Mostly because it starts with "beware" I think.  I am just strange like that, I guess.

Well, The plan for the day was for Dale and I to meet my up with my sister for dinner that evening and we would pretty much trade off and I'd go back to my parents' house in Ohio to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  St. Patrick's Day has always been a huge affair in my family and grandma goes all out for the party.  It's always a great time but I haven't been able to enjoy it quite as much since moving to Michigan.  But, as per usual, I didn't really spread the word that I was planning on going to Ohio for the party.  Plans weren't really all that solid and it's more fun to surprise people that I was able to come rather than getting their hopes up and then not being able to be there.

Well, as it turns out, God decided to belly-laugh at my 'plans' again.  After dropping Dale off at work that morning, I decided to stop at the store and grab a gallon of milk.  I had just finished off the last gallon and thought it would be good for him to have milk while I was gone for a couple days.  Well, before heading into the store, I had to grab something off the floor of the car.  Isn't it great to be twice as huge, which translates to half as mobile, but also twice as klutzy and always dropping things?!

But, anyway, when I went to reach down, my water broke!  Thankfully, I had already opened the car door because I jumped out of the car in search of something to protect the seat from my wet bum!  (I have the strangest priorities, huh?)  I finally found something and set it on the seat and called the doctor's office.  Well the on call physician was my usual doctor, so I was told she would call me right back.

At that point, I abandoned all hope of milk and drove home.  Don't worry, it was just a couple miles... :)  Since I really only wanted to ask my doc if I needed to go to the hospital for water breaking or if I needed to wait until contractions started.  Since my doc hadn't called back before i got home, I called mommy.

Mommy hadn't had her coffee yet, but I counteracted that need for caffeine when I asked her about my water breaking.  She did tell me that when her water broke with me she didn't go in right away.  She suggested that I hop in the shower and change before going straight to the hospital.  I did just that!  When my doc called back she wanted me to go straight to the hospital and she was going to call ahead and let them know to expect me.

At that point, I called Dale (while finishing packing my 'go bag') and told him that I was heading to the hospital, but I didn't think it was anything huge.  Of course, he was out picking up breakfast for the guys at work and was waiting on the eggs to be done.  He later told me that it was the longest five-to-seven minutes that he ever waited in his life!

Thankfully, we had done the hospital tour of the maternity area about a week prior, so I knew exactly where to go when I got to the hospital.  Though, there is something uncool about looking for a parking spot in the garage after your water broke!  (In the hospital's defense, there is also valet, but I didn't want to pay $4 because I'm cheap, lol!)

But when I got to the hospital, I pretty much went right into Triage.  I giggled at the sign at the entrance to my Triage room that read "Wet Floor" since I was there after my water broke.  It doesn't take much to amuse me most days.  They checked everything out and got me prepped to get a room.  Dale and his parents met me in Triage and we all went to my new room.

When I got into the room, they hooked me up to all sorts of stuff.  I ended up with wires everywhere!  They also put me on a couple medicines to help the girls in case they did come out to visit.  Let me see if I can get these all straight... 
  • Magnesium to strengthen their nervous system and the added bonus of minimizing any contractions I may have.  Unfortunately it also put me on bed rest, a clear liquid diet, and made me feel like a zombie on fire.  My body temperature felt SO high and I couldn't move very well.  That was a 24 hour course of medicine.
  • Steroids to improve the girls' lungs function.  This was two shots across two days administered in my booty.  Lovely.
  • Antibiotics to avoid infection.
  • IV fluids to keep me hydrated.  Hey, why not, the lines are already run for the magnesium, so why not just throw IV fluids in there, too?  ;)
After getting all settled in my room, I finally felt like I could start telling people about what happened.  I didn't want to say anything until I was certain what the plans were.  It just about killed me, but at least I was kept busy in the meantime.  

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, thankfully.  So that my Saturday.  Hopefully everyone else had a lot less excitement than I did!  My girls just didn't want to go on a road trip. 


 

 

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Week 31 Bumpdate

How far along: 31 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of asparagus.
 
Weight gain:Around 25 pounds.  I've been a bum and avoided the scale.

Maternity clothes: Always!  Some of my shorter shirts are letting my belly to peek out the bottom, though.
 
Stretch marks: From my belly button down to my waistband.  They are yucky looking, but at least I don't see them unless I look in a mirror.

Sleep: I'm often up every couple hours for potty breaks.  I take the opportunity to switch which side I'm sleeping on.  



Gender: Little girls!
 
Best moment this week: 
Finally getting some of our classes straight.  I even did the breastfeeding class already.
 
Looking forward to: In a week we get to see the girls again!  Then we have a a baby shower to get to.  
 
What I miss: Pop, and being able to reach my shoes.


Movement: Yup, they are definitely active little ones!


Food cravings: Not so much... Though I am on a bit of a cereal kick lately. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Labor Signs: Nope!  Though it seems that we are starting to warm up with some Braxton-Hicks contractions every now and then. 

Symptoms: I'm so BIG!  Though, I continue to get the comment that I'm so small for having twins in a couple months.  I continue to appreciate that compliment. 
 
Belly Button in or out? Out 
 
Rings on or off? Just took it off.

Mood: Excited and nervous.  Definitely not feeling prepared, that's for sure.

Friday, March 7, 2014

New deadline...

At our last appointment the doctor kinda threw us for a loop.  She told us that they don't like to let twins go past 38 weeks.  That pushes our "due date" up to the beginning of May.  It's a bit crazy to think that there is a chance of inducing these munchkins.  

It's causing a bit more anxiety, but I'm trying not to stress about it.  I know that they will come when they are ready, but I never had the concern about having to induce previously.  Plus there is now a slightly higher chance of them sharing my birthday.  Not that we would schedule it on my birthday, but it feels more likely with the timeline being moved up.

But, in better news, I've rescheduled our birthing class so we will actually be able to attend!  I swear, I cannot be trusted with scheduling.  Lately my brain has been everywhere except where I need it to be.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Week 30 Bumpdate

How far along: 30 Weeks

Baby Size: Large Cabbage
 
Weight gain: 25 pounds!

Maternity clothes: Definitely rockin' the baby bump!  (It's also been referred to as a mountain.  Lovingly, of course, lol!)
 
Stretch marks: Yuppers.  From my belly button to my waistband.  At least, those are the only ones I know about yet.

Sleep: There seems to be a pattern to the insanity.  The girls keep me up around midnight to one, I have random itches or my brain keeps me up until around one or two.  There is at least one adventure to the potty in the middle of the night.  I wake up on my own between eight and nine in the morning.

It seems to be a continuing trend...


Gender:  My world is turning PINK!

Best moment this week:
We got to visit the maternity section of the hospital in which we are planning to deliver.
 
Looking forward to: Finally meeting these girls!  Though, I have two baby showers coming up quickly that I am excited for, as well. 
 
What I miss: Mobility.  It takes way more work to simply move around lately!


Movement: All the time!  When they are hungry, when they get fed, when they just feel like it, when they feel the seat belt is attacking them...


Food cravings: I lean more toward spicy food lately, but I don't HAVE to have it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Labor Signs: Nothing overt just yet.  Though, my belly likes to tense up a little.  It doesn't usually hurt, but from what I've read, these could be some kind of Braxton-Hicks contractions and my muscles are just getting ready for the action.

Symptoms: Itchy skin, random leaks sprung, tight belly muscles, waddling, swolen ankles, inability to reach the TV remote without a couple rocking warm-up reaches... 
 
Belly Button in or out? All the way out and trying to go further!
 
Rings on or off? On, but will probably be off soon.  My finger is starting to swell...

Mood: A bit anxious and underprepared, but trying to get all of the preparedness out of the way.