Apparently we can never have enough drama in our lives. Brad is sick, with what I suspect is the flu-quite possibly the H1N1 virus. He has not been able to see the babies in a week now. He was working all week and not able to go at night, then Friday came down with this. I am staying with my parents, hoping that I don't also get sick. I had gone to the hospital on Thursday, and held and fed babies. I am terrified that I somehow had germs on me then and brought them with me. Then I went to the hospital yesterday so grandparents could see the babies, but I didn't hold or touch any babies-which was quite difficult. When we got home, I had a low grade fever (99.8) for about 45 minutes. It went away on it's own and I haven't had any other symptoms. I am still completely freaked out and so scared that something will happen to our precious little ones. I called the NICU last night and let the nurses know what was going on, since I did touch the blankets that cover their isolettes. As of this morning, they were all doing well. I am praying that continues.
It has been awhile since I have updated this, so I apologize. Now that I am staying away from the hospital for a few days to ensure that I am not sick I figured I should post some info.
Lauren is doing well with her feedings. She is getting 45 ml every four hours now, and she is taking some of those ml by bottle. Some days she flat out refuses to eat from the bottle, mainly because she wore herself out the day/night before! She has a small PDA that we are hoping will close on it's own in the next month. It's supposed to close up when babies are born, but it is pretty common for preemies to have this heart issue. If it doesn't close up on it's own, they will try medication first, then microsurgery if that doesn't work. Although it's common and isn't affecting her heart functioning right now, it's still a bit scary.
Samuel is also doing well. The resident called this morning and told us she heard a heart murmur with him too, so he will be getting his echo tomorrow. She said it sounds just like Lauren's, so we are expecting it to also be a PDA. He is up to 40 ml a feeding, which has increased rapidly during the past week. He was the last one off of the IV, but he is quickly catching up to his siblings on feedings! He took 20 ml by bottle today, but again is not very consistent with the feedings yet.
Logan is also doing really well and is at the same feeding level as Sam. He takes about the same amount by bottle too. During his echo last week they found that one of the valves in his heart is a bit smaller than the others, but they expect it to grow and catch up as he grows. I am not sure what they will do if it doesn't, but we'll cross that bridge when/if we get there.
Overall, they are doing very well and I am so glad we made it to 32 weeks. I am sure they would have had many more problems if they had been born earlier. I can't wait until they come home and we can really have some fun! Obviously, I will have to disinfect the entire house first! We were in the process of putting things away when Brad got sick, so the house is still looking pretty chaotic right now. I wish I could post some pictures on here, but am too paranoid. I think they are pretty darn cute and love how they already have personalities. I will try to keep updating this blog when I can, hopefully I will be too busy visiting the babies and not get sick!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Babies!
After my frustration and venting the other day, my body decided it was done with being pregnant. I was having stronger, more painful contractions so we decided to go into the hospital even though my own doctor said that it didn't sound like true labor. Well, the contractions were 1-2 minutes apart when they hooked me up. The babies started out fine, but as my contractions continued they started to get a little bit stressed out. By this time it was past midnight-we made it to 32 weeks and 1 day! Luckily I had not eaten anything since 3 p.m. the day before because my doctor was on his way to the hospital to deliver the babies!
The nurse had said if they make the decision to deliver, things would go quickly-she was not kidding! They shaved my lower belly, gave Brad scrubs to wear, and we were off. The epidural did not hurt at all, but I hated the feeling of not being able to move. They started the surgery around 3 a.m. and Baby A was born at 3:07, B and C at 3:08. I am not sure who cried, but I was able to hear some of them. Their first APGAR scores were 7, 8, and 8 and their five minute scores were all 9. Not too bad! Our girl weighed 3 lb 9.5 oz., Baby B was 3 lb 8 oz., and Baby C was 3 lb 7 oz. Their lengths were between 16 and 16.5 inches. I was happy that they all weighed more than 3.5 lbs.
While the doctors were finishing up on me, I started to feel extremely sick, so they gave me some drugs for that too. I am a little fuzzy on the details of what was going on with me because I was trying to listen for the babies and what was going on with them. At some point, I started bleeding more than they would've liked. Brad said that there was a lot of blood on the floor and he had his feet up on the stool because he didn't want to get it on his feet. I remember them closing me up and having my stomach pushed on, but that's about it. I don't remember going to the recovery room or being in the hallway, etc.
My blood pressure was initially good after the surgery, but my pulse was in the 120's because of the blood I had lost. They gave me fluids and medicine to help my uterus contract, but I was still pretty groggy and out of it. One of the doctors/residents came in and helped us decide to go with the blood transfusion. I received 2 pints of blood to help stablize everything. While all this was going on, Brad was able to go see the babies and bring our parents down to see them. I was so glad everyone was able to see them and that the babies had people down there who love them so much. It was hard to not be able to go down there myself though, but I knew that it wasn't an option for me to see them yet. They were all doing pretty well at that point, so I was able to relax a little bit.
I was allowed to have Morphine every 2 hours for pain. They normally give patients a different drug and ibuprofen, but because of the bleeding I couldn't have that special cocktail. I slept a lot that first day-just couldn't keep my eyes open! I have now been upgraded to a different drug that works pretty well, although it'll be really nice when I don't have to take anything at all! I am feeling much better now 3 days out from surgery. I have been up and around since Thursday afternoon and I have taken advantage of that! My blood pressure is still iffy and they are keeping a watch on that, but hopefully it'll even out on it's own soon. I spent a little too much time on my feet in the NICU yesterday and had some high BP symptoms when we came back to my room.
As of last night, the babies are doing great! Our girl is off of everything! No breathing assistance (which she hasn't had since right after birth), and they turned off her IV yesterday because she is taking bottles so well. Her nurse yesterday said she was still hungry and interested in eating after her normal amount, so she let her keep going. She ended up eating 50cc's that time! Later she would have to eat 32 or more to stay off the IV. We were down there when she started the feeding and she had eaten 25 before we had to leave. My mom and I noticed a little, tiny fat roll on her arm yesterday! My little overachiever!
Baby B is doing pretty well too, more of what is expected of a 32 weeker. They took him off CPAP in the morning; it was great to finally see his face! He is back on the nasal canula, like his brother, and is doing pretty well. He had some residuals from his feeds, so they have not risen the amount he is receiving which is 5. He was moving constantly each time I saw him yesterday, which is pretty much what he did inside of me!
Baby C has maintained his status too. He is on his canula still, but at room level oxygen. He had been taking feedings well, but started to throw them up a lot. They started to decrease that, but then he had a massive diaper blow-out and we are hoping that was keeping everything backed up. They went back to what they had been feeding him, (10cc), and he was doing well with those as of last night.
I believe I am going to be released tomorrow. I am so excited to go home and sleep in my own bed, but am so sad to have to leave the babies behind. I wish we didn't live so darn far away from the hospital! I will try to visit everyday, but I know there will be somedays that I won't make it down here. The phone number to the NICU is going to save my sanity on those days! The NICU policy is that only parents and grandparents can visit during flu season, which I understand completely. The other part of the policy is that the grandparents can only visit when they are with one of the parents. I had hoped that if there were times I wasn't able to make it down here, that my parents or Brad's parents would be able to come and keep them company. I guess I will be in the car a lot more that I had planned on! Hopefully the bouncing doesn't hurt too much!
I have decided that I am not posting any pictures on here, so I am sorry to those of you who have followed the blog these past few months/weeks. There are just too many creepos out there! I am posting on Facebook, so you can check there if you are one of my "friends." I know our families have shared this blog with their friends to keep everyone in the loop, so hopefully they will share some pictures with those of you who fit into that category.
Time to decide what to have for breakfast! I will continue to update this blog with info on the babies. Sunday is their next weigh-in, so it'll be interesting to see who has started to gain weight back. They suspect our daughter will end up under bili lights soon, which is pretty common and not too serious. And on Monday they will all have brain scans done to make sure they don't have any bleeds going on.
Thanks for all your love and support!
The nurse had said if they make the decision to deliver, things would go quickly-she was not kidding! They shaved my lower belly, gave Brad scrubs to wear, and we were off. The epidural did not hurt at all, but I hated the feeling of not being able to move. They started the surgery around 3 a.m. and Baby A was born at 3:07, B and C at 3:08. I am not sure who cried, but I was able to hear some of them. Their first APGAR scores were 7, 8, and 8 and their five minute scores were all 9. Not too bad! Our girl weighed 3 lb 9.5 oz., Baby B was 3 lb 8 oz., and Baby C was 3 lb 7 oz. Their lengths were between 16 and 16.5 inches. I was happy that they all weighed more than 3.5 lbs.
While the doctors were finishing up on me, I started to feel extremely sick, so they gave me some drugs for that too. I am a little fuzzy on the details of what was going on with me because I was trying to listen for the babies and what was going on with them. At some point, I started bleeding more than they would've liked. Brad said that there was a lot of blood on the floor and he had his feet up on the stool because he didn't want to get it on his feet. I remember them closing me up and having my stomach pushed on, but that's about it. I don't remember going to the recovery room or being in the hallway, etc.
My blood pressure was initially good after the surgery, but my pulse was in the 120's because of the blood I had lost. They gave me fluids and medicine to help my uterus contract, but I was still pretty groggy and out of it. One of the doctors/residents came in and helped us decide to go with the blood transfusion. I received 2 pints of blood to help stablize everything. While all this was going on, Brad was able to go see the babies and bring our parents down to see them. I was so glad everyone was able to see them and that the babies had people down there who love them so much. It was hard to not be able to go down there myself though, but I knew that it wasn't an option for me to see them yet. They were all doing pretty well at that point, so I was able to relax a little bit.
I was allowed to have Morphine every 2 hours for pain. They normally give patients a different drug and ibuprofen, but because of the bleeding I couldn't have that special cocktail. I slept a lot that first day-just couldn't keep my eyes open! I have now been upgraded to a different drug that works pretty well, although it'll be really nice when I don't have to take anything at all! I am feeling much better now 3 days out from surgery. I have been up and around since Thursday afternoon and I have taken advantage of that! My blood pressure is still iffy and they are keeping a watch on that, but hopefully it'll even out on it's own soon. I spent a little too much time on my feet in the NICU yesterday and had some high BP symptoms when we came back to my room.
As of last night, the babies are doing great! Our girl is off of everything! No breathing assistance (which she hasn't had since right after birth), and they turned off her IV yesterday because she is taking bottles so well. Her nurse yesterday said she was still hungry and interested in eating after her normal amount, so she let her keep going. She ended up eating 50cc's that time! Later she would have to eat 32 or more to stay off the IV. We were down there when she started the feeding and she had eaten 25 before we had to leave. My mom and I noticed a little, tiny fat roll on her arm yesterday! My little overachiever!
Baby B is doing pretty well too, more of what is expected of a 32 weeker. They took him off CPAP in the morning; it was great to finally see his face! He is back on the nasal canula, like his brother, and is doing pretty well. He had some residuals from his feeds, so they have not risen the amount he is receiving which is 5. He was moving constantly each time I saw him yesterday, which is pretty much what he did inside of me!
Baby C has maintained his status too. He is on his canula still, but at room level oxygen. He had been taking feedings well, but started to throw them up a lot. They started to decrease that, but then he had a massive diaper blow-out and we are hoping that was keeping everything backed up. They went back to what they had been feeding him, (10cc), and he was doing well with those as of last night.
I believe I am going to be released tomorrow. I am so excited to go home and sleep in my own bed, but am so sad to have to leave the babies behind. I wish we didn't live so darn far away from the hospital! I will try to visit everyday, but I know there will be somedays that I won't make it down here. The phone number to the NICU is going to save my sanity on those days! The NICU policy is that only parents and grandparents can visit during flu season, which I understand completely. The other part of the policy is that the grandparents can only visit when they are with one of the parents. I had hoped that if there were times I wasn't able to make it down here, that my parents or Brad's parents would be able to come and keep them company. I guess I will be in the car a lot more that I had planned on! Hopefully the bouncing doesn't hurt too much!
I have decided that I am not posting any pictures on here, so I am sorry to those of you who have followed the blog these past few months/weeks. There are just too many creepos out there! I am posting on Facebook, so you can check there if you are one of my "friends." I know our families have shared this blog with their friends to keep everyone in the loop, so hopefully they will share some pictures with those of you who fit into that category.
Time to decide what to have for breakfast! I will continue to update this blog with info on the babies. Sunday is their next weigh-in, so it'll be interesting to see who has started to gain weight back. They suspect our daughter will end up under bili lights soon, which is pretty common and not too serious. And on Monday they will all have brain scans done to make sure they don't have any bleeds going on.
Thanks for all your love and support!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Drama
So I have been known to be an emotional girl, but this is getting ridiculous! Once I start crying, I can't stop! I have said it before, but I think this is my payback for not having morning sickness!
The reason for my crying this time started with my last monitoring session for contractions this morning. I felt one-the machine showed 9. Now, that's a big difference! This was the whole reason for me being put on the monitor in the first place. So, the nurse had be give myself a demand dose of the Terb. and was going to have me re-monitor later. I reminded her that today I am supposed to be taken off of everything. She wanted me to still do the demand dose and was going to call my doctor. During that 30 minutes, I managed to get out a good amount of tears. She called back and said he still wants me to stop everything. Is he nuts??? Did I not just prove the need for the home monitoring? How in the world am I supposed to know that I need to go to the hospital, which is an hour and a half away, if I don't realize I am having contractions? Does he think I like risky situations? I do not mind being taken off the medication and am fine with delivering if I go into labor rather than stopping it. I would really feel more comfortable being on the home monitor until that time though. The monitor is what sent me to the hospital almost 3 weeks ago when I didn't realize I was having contractions every 5 minutes. So now they tell me to just plan on going in when I get more "uncomfortable." I just don't want to wait too long and risk the health of the babies or myself. I may try to convince him of my need for monitoring at tomorrow's appointment-if we make it that long. I will say that I like not having any tubes/cords to deal with for this short time, but once I go to the hospital that will be over!
Sorry, but I had to vent my frustrations somewhere-maybe I can stop crying now! :)
The reason for my crying this time started with my last monitoring session for contractions this morning. I felt one-the machine showed 9. Now, that's a big difference! This was the whole reason for me being put on the monitor in the first place. So, the nurse had be give myself a demand dose of the Terb. and was going to have me re-monitor later. I reminded her that today I am supposed to be taken off of everything. She wanted me to still do the demand dose and was going to call my doctor. During that 30 minutes, I managed to get out a good amount of tears. She called back and said he still wants me to stop everything. Is he nuts??? Did I not just prove the need for the home monitoring? How in the world am I supposed to know that I need to go to the hospital, which is an hour and a half away, if I don't realize I am having contractions? Does he think I like risky situations? I do not mind being taken off the medication and am fine with delivering if I go into labor rather than stopping it. I would really feel more comfortable being on the home monitor until that time though. The monitor is what sent me to the hospital almost 3 weeks ago when I didn't realize I was having contractions every 5 minutes. So now they tell me to just plan on going in when I get more "uncomfortable." I just don't want to wait too long and risk the health of the babies or myself. I may try to convince him of my need for monitoring at tomorrow's appointment-if we make it that long. I will say that I like not having any tubes/cords to deal with for this short time, but once I go to the hospital that will be over!
Sorry, but I had to vent my frustrations somewhere-maybe I can stop crying now! :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
And the waiting continues...at home
I was ready to be checked into the hospital today; I had my bag packed of everything I would need until the babies came. We left the bag in the car for the appointment, but I told my mom to be ready to go back out and get it. Well, it stayed in the car until we got back home.
The babies all passed their BPP's today with flying colors! The ultrasound tech was amazed at how much our boys were moving during the ultrasound. I have told people that I don't think they ever sleep anymore because I am constantly being kicked on the left and middle of my belly-their hangout area! Our girl was a bit more reserved and we had to go back to watch her move once she woke up from all the commotion.
My blood pressure was higher again and the protein in my urine from the 24 hour collection was elevated (in the 700's when 300 is the cutoff for normal). My liver and kidneys are still functioning normally though, so we just need to keep an eye on it for now. I will continue to check my blood pressure at home for now.
He did not check my cervix, which I did not appreciate. It's not often that women would like to have cervical exams, but it always makes me feel better knowing where we are at with that. With us living a long drive away from the hospital, I am worried about fast cervical changes. He is taking me off the Terb pump tomorrow, as well as the home uterine monitor-I am terrified! He doesn't seem to think either thing really did anything for us, but now I have no safety net! I am not always consistently identifying contractions, so I am worried that I won't really know when we need to go to the hospital. He is also sending out an e-mail to his partners telling them that if I come into the hospital in labor, we are not going to try to stop anything at this point-we will deliver. Yikes, this is all starting to become a bit more real. I am sure if I wasn't having pre-eclampsia symptoms/issues, it would be a different story. But as of tomorrow I will be 32 weeks along, which is only 3 weeks from my scheduled c-section date. I know everyday they stay in at this point is better, but I don't know how much longer my body can hold out. I have still had consistent contractions, even with the medication. My blood pressure is high and my hands and face are starting to become swollen. I am getting to be huge! I am pretty uncomfortable at this point and looking forward to being able to do things for myself again. I would love to make it another week so we can have one more growth scan, but honestly, I don't know if we'll make it through the weekend. I obviously want to get to tomorrow for 32 weeks, and then Wednesday we have another appointment. I just can't believe we will meet these little ones soon. We have waited so long for this and been through so much to get here; it doesn't seem like we will actually meet them. I am hoping that they are healthy and big, and that they won't have to spend too much time in the NICU. I am starting to let go of the guilt of not making it to 35 weeks-my body can only take so much I suppose.
I will try to update on here as things happen, but hopefully I won't be posting anything tonight! :) Thanks again for all the good thoughts and prayers for us. I am so happy we have so many supportive friends and family members rooting for us!
The babies all passed their BPP's today with flying colors! The ultrasound tech was amazed at how much our boys were moving during the ultrasound. I have told people that I don't think they ever sleep anymore because I am constantly being kicked on the left and middle of my belly-their hangout area! Our girl was a bit more reserved and we had to go back to watch her move once she woke up from all the commotion.
My blood pressure was higher again and the protein in my urine from the 24 hour collection was elevated (in the 700's when 300 is the cutoff for normal). My liver and kidneys are still functioning normally though, so we just need to keep an eye on it for now. I will continue to check my blood pressure at home for now.
He did not check my cervix, which I did not appreciate. It's not often that women would like to have cervical exams, but it always makes me feel better knowing where we are at with that. With us living a long drive away from the hospital, I am worried about fast cervical changes. He is taking me off the Terb pump tomorrow, as well as the home uterine monitor-I am terrified! He doesn't seem to think either thing really did anything for us, but now I have no safety net! I am not always consistently identifying contractions, so I am worried that I won't really know when we need to go to the hospital. He is also sending out an e-mail to his partners telling them that if I come into the hospital in labor, we are not going to try to stop anything at this point-we will deliver. Yikes, this is all starting to become a bit more real. I am sure if I wasn't having pre-eclampsia symptoms/issues, it would be a different story. But as of tomorrow I will be 32 weeks along, which is only 3 weeks from my scheduled c-section date. I know everyday they stay in at this point is better, but I don't know how much longer my body can hold out. I have still had consistent contractions, even with the medication. My blood pressure is high and my hands and face are starting to become swollen. I am getting to be huge! I am pretty uncomfortable at this point and looking forward to being able to do things for myself again. I would love to make it another week so we can have one more growth scan, but honestly, I don't know if we'll make it through the weekend. I obviously want to get to tomorrow for 32 weeks, and then Wednesday we have another appointment. I just can't believe we will meet these little ones soon. We have waited so long for this and been through so much to get here; it doesn't seem like we will actually meet them. I am hoping that they are healthy and big, and that they won't have to spend too much time in the NICU. I am starting to let go of the guilt of not making it to 35 weeks-my body can only take so much I suppose.
I will try to update on here as things happen, but hopefully I won't be posting anything tonight! :) Thanks again for all the good thoughts and prayers for us. I am so happy we have so many supportive friends and family members rooting for us!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Pretty Soon!
It looks like the babies will be making their debut into the world sometime soon! At our appointment yesterday they all did pretty well on the BPP's, except our little girl decided to show her stubborn side again, (I wonder who she gets that from??). She did practice breathing, but not for the full 30 seconds needed to make it count. So, while the babies are wonderful again, not so much for me!
My blood pressure has my doctor a bit concerned. He was scheduling the c-section date for November 4, and said, "Oh, yeah you're not not going to make it to then," while looking at my chart. My blood pressure has slowly been rising and at this visit I had a +1 level of protein in my urine. He said that may be normal for me or it may be really elevated. So now I get to collect my urine for 24 hours!! Lucky me! And lucky Brad gets to take it to the lab on Saturday, but at least he doesn't have to take it all the way to our hospital. This way they will have the results at our appointment on Monday. I think I'd better have my bag completely packed and ready to go.
Dr. K did not check my cervix since we are so close to 32 weeks and they wouldn't do too much at this point anyway. He also said that he would be taking me off the Terb. pump during week 32 too. He joked that it doesn't really work anyway! I would beg to differ at this point, but maybe it's the whole placebo effect for me! So it appears that if the blood pressure doesn't get me, it'll be pre-term labor!
At this point I am just praying that we make it 5 more days in order to reach 32 weeks. I have always told our families that 32 weeks was my ultimate goal; anything beyond that would be a bonus. I guess I was pretty close to that! It still does not seem real to me-that we will be a family of five in the near future. Although I am constantly feeling these babies move all around inside me, I can't imagine what it is going to be like when they are out in the world. I am worried about how big they will be and how many complications they will have from being born so early. Then there are times that I think about how wonderful it'll be when everyone is home and we can really begin our lives together. And I also think about how I'll be able to actually do things for myself again-go to the store, clean my house, organize all the baby stuff, etc. I am so grateful that we made it this far, but I feel guilty that I couldn't/won't make it to 35 weeks. I know it is due to things beyond my control, but I can't help to think that if I hadn't gone up the stairs one extra time or refrained from doing those loads of laundry, maybe I could have made it to November. All I can do now is do everything I can to make it to 32 weeks, which is basically nothing! The cool, rainy weather has helped me follow the stricter bed rest-I love fall.
We will keep everyone updated, but hopefully you won't hear anything until after Tuesday next week! Thanks for your good thoughts and prayers!
My blood pressure has my doctor a bit concerned. He was scheduling the c-section date for November 4, and said, "Oh, yeah you're not not going to make it to then," while looking at my chart. My blood pressure has slowly been rising and at this visit I had a +1 level of protein in my urine. He said that may be normal for me or it may be really elevated. So now I get to collect my urine for 24 hours!! Lucky me! And lucky Brad gets to take it to the lab on Saturday, but at least he doesn't have to take it all the way to our hospital. This way they will have the results at our appointment on Monday. I think I'd better have my bag completely packed and ready to go.
Dr. K did not check my cervix since we are so close to 32 weeks and they wouldn't do too much at this point anyway. He also said that he would be taking me off the Terb. pump during week 32 too. He joked that it doesn't really work anyway! I would beg to differ at this point, but maybe it's the whole placebo effect for me! So it appears that if the blood pressure doesn't get me, it'll be pre-term labor!
At this point I am just praying that we make it 5 more days in order to reach 32 weeks. I have always told our families that 32 weeks was my ultimate goal; anything beyond that would be a bonus. I guess I was pretty close to that! It still does not seem real to me-that we will be a family of five in the near future. Although I am constantly feeling these babies move all around inside me, I can't imagine what it is going to be like when they are out in the world. I am worried about how big they will be and how many complications they will have from being born so early. Then there are times that I think about how wonderful it'll be when everyone is home and we can really begin our lives together. And I also think about how I'll be able to actually do things for myself again-go to the store, clean my house, organize all the baby stuff, etc. I am so grateful that we made it this far, but I feel guilty that I couldn't/won't make it to 35 weeks. I know it is due to things beyond my control, but I can't help to think that if I hadn't gone up the stairs one extra time or refrained from doing those loads of laundry, maybe I could have made it to November. All I can do now is do everything I can to make it to 32 weeks, which is basically nothing! The cool, rainy weather has helped me follow the stricter bed rest-I love fall.
We will keep everyone updated, but hopefully you won't hear anything until after Tuesday next week! Thanks for your good thoughts and prayers!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
31 Weeks
Tuesday marked 31 weeks of our pregnancy! I am hoping that we make it to 32-I keep telling the babies that it is so close, just stay in there for one more week!
We had another appointment on Monday for BPP because they didn't all pass last week. Baby A and B were stubborn and didn't feel like showing us their practice breathing. Also, my doctor wants to keep an eye on my blood pressure, which has increased since being on the Terb. pump. I ate some sugary cereal and a Fruit Roll-up right before going in, hoping that would help the babies move around more! Well, it worked because all three were moving around and "breathing" within 30 minutes! Baby C was holding out this time on the breathing, but as soon as the ultrasound tech asked him to breathe, he did! I told her she could come babysit anytime since he listened so well to her!
Gained a few more pounds (I'm really packing it on now!), blood pressure was a little elevated, and cervix is still the same. It was a different doctor that I hadn't met yet, but he said he doesn't think it is 50% effaced and it still has a lot of length to it. So, even though I am dialated to 1, hopefully the fact that I have a lot of length left will help us eek out a few more days. This doctor seemed confident that I will make it to 32 weeks and beyond, but then joked that he probably just jinxed me and I'll end up in the hospital again. Thanks! He may be right though. I had only been having minimal contractions last week, but this week they have started picking up again. I am hoping that they relax again, but would feel better if they could up my dose. I am pretty sure that is out of the question with my blood pressure though. He didn't seem too concerned with my blood pressure and said that I only have a trace amount of protein in my urine, so they aren't worried about pre-eclampsia right now.
The doctor I saw on Monday said that if I went back into the hospital for pre-term labor, he doesn't know how much they would do to stop it. At this gestational age, depending on the situation, they may just decide to deliver the babies. Scary! I want so badly to make it to at least 32 weeks, I don't want to think about having them out yet! I was a bit more active than I should have been over the weekend with folding clothes and helping to organize the closet-yes, I had to label shelves and drawers. I have scolded myself and have been doing real bed rest up in our bedroom for the past 2 days. All the other things can wait until after we have the babies. Brad has gotten a lot of things done, so that makes me feel a bit better. My mom has been my "room service" person, bringing me breakfast and lunch. Over the weekend I opened up all the bedding and blankets, so she has been doing a loads of laundry to help us out too. I just can't wait until I can get up and do all these things myself, but hopefully it won't be too soon!
We have another appointment tomorrow morning for BPP and to check me out, so hopefully everything is still stable. I have been bringing a packed bag to my appointments though, just in case. I have to get a doctor's note so I can get a regular flu shot-they say they want pregnant women to get the shot, but won't give you one without a note! So, hopefully everything will be uneventful tomorrow and the babies will show off again for us! I will try to be better about posting, but usually no news is good news in my world.
We had another appointment on Monday for BPP because they didn't all pass last week. Baby A and B were stubborn and didn't feel like showing us their practice breathing. Also, my doctor wants to keep an eye on my blood pressure, which has increased since being on the Terb. pump. I ate some sugary cereal and a Fruit Roll-up right before going in, hoping that would help the babies move around more! Well, it worked because all three were moving around and "breathing" within 30 minutes! Baby C was holding out this time on the breathing, but as soon as the ultrasound tech asked him to breathe, he did! I told her she could come babysit anytime since he listened so well to her!
Gained a few more pounds (I'm really packing it on now!), blood pressure was a little elevated, and cervix is still the same. It was a different doctor that I hadn't met yet, but he said he doesn't think it is 50% effaced and it still has a lot of length to it. So, even though I am dialated to 1, hopefully the fact that I have a lot of length left will help us eek out a few more days. This doctor seemed confident that I will make it to 32 weeks and beyond, but then joked that he probably just jinxed me and I'll end up in the hospital again. Thanks! He may be right though. I had only been having minimal contractions last week, but this week they have started picking up again. I am hoping that they relax again, but would feel better if they could up my dose. I am pretty sure that is out of the question with my blood pressure though. He didn't seem too concerned with my blood pressure and said that I only have a trace amount of protein in my urine, so they aren't worried about pre-eclampsia right now.
The doctor I saw on Monday said that if I went back into the hospital for pre-term labor, he doesn't know how much they would do to stop it. At this gestational age, depending on the situation, they may just decide to deliver the babies. Scary! I want so badly to make it to at least 32 weeks, I don't want to think about having them out yet! I was a bit more active than I should have been over the weekend with folding clothes and helping to organize the closet-yes, I had to label shelves and drawers. I have scolded myself and have been doing real bed rest up in our bedroom for the past 2 days. All the other things can wait until after we have the babies. Brad has gotten a lot of things done, so that makes me feel a bit better. My mom has been my "room service" person, bringing me breakfast and lunch. Over the weekend I opened up all the bedding and blankets, so she has been doing a loads of laundry to help us out too. I just can't wait until I can get up and do all these things myself, but hopefully it won't be too soon!
We have another appointment tomorrow morning for BPP and to check me out, so hopefully everything is still stable. I have been bringing a packed bag to my appointments though, just in case. I have to get a doctor's note so I can get a regular flu shot-they say they want pregnant women to get the shot, but won't give you one without a note! So, hopefully everything will be uneventful tomorrow and the babies will show off again for us! I will try to be better about posting, but usually no news is good news in my world.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Most recent appointment info
Wednesday we traveled back to the hospital for a scheduled appointment, but I did bring my packed bag in case Dr. K decided to check me back in for some reason. I was hoping that my cervix would still be stable since I had not had too many contractions since being released, except for that one session of 8. The Terb pump seems to be doing it's job, knock on wood. I am also dealing with the side effects better and some have diminished, except for the elevated blood pressure. I am afraid that is the thing that might do us in now, but hopefully it'll settle down too.
This appointment we had our first Biophysical Profiles for the babies since the previous week we were in the hospital. We did not do the Non-Stress Test portion of the BPP because they had done well on that everyday they were tested in the hospital. Of course, the babies were awake the whole 1.5 ride to the appointment and then decided they would nap during the ultrasound! Baby C was the most cooperative of the trio and showed off his "breathing" skills right away. He also passed the other portions, and received an 8 out of 8 on the BPP! His siblings did not show the practice breathing, although Baby B did hiccup for a bit. Unfortunately, we did not catch him doing that for a full 30 seconds, so it didn't count. I think our ultrasound tech jumped back and forth too much and may have missed the beginning of the hiccups! They did receive points for everything else, so they scored 6 out of 8. Technically a score of 6 or less would mean another BPP within 24 hours, but our doctor said that would be out of 10 points. He doesn't seem too concerned that they didn't get those other 2 points because they did so well on everything else, and they had done well during the NST in the hospital. He decided he wants to see us Monday though to repeat the test and to keep an eye on my blood pressure. I am fine with going twice a week-it will help my nervousness about being home.
I have now officially gained almost 50 pounds (going by pre-IVF weight), and I am really starting to feel it. It is much more difficult to get out of bed or the couch to use the bathroom. I am also more easily winded when I do move around. I think, and hope, that the babies are growing rapidly now based on how quickly my belly has been growing. I have very few clothes, shirts specifically, that still fit. Everything is too short, so my belly hangs out all the time! I have pretty much given up on actually caring about it though!
Dr. K decided that we should pick a c-section date, so he decided on November 4th. The look on my face caused him to ask, "What, you don't think you'll make it that far?" I am skeptical, to say the least. While I would love to keep them in until 35 weeks, I just don't see how my body can continue to hold out that long. I am grateful we did not have many complications up until last week, but I feel like the issues are starting to pile up and get in line for their turn on us. At this point, I am really looking at 32 weeks as my main goal and it is still 12 days away. I will be so excited if we get there, and each day after that will be a bonus in my mind. I am extra cautious about getting my hopes up of going longer than that, so we'll take it one day at a time. Even if we don't make it to 32 weeks, at least the steroid shots are in and the babies were estimated at weights between 3 and 3.4 pounds a week ago. If they are following the rule of .5 pound a week, we are close or past the crucial weight milestone-thanks Carrie for reminding me of that one!
Thanks so much to all of our family and friends that are supporting us right now-physically and emotionally. We could not get through this without all of your help and well wishes! These babies are blessed to have such wonderful people rooting for them as they get ready to enter this world.
This appointment we had our first Biophysical Profiles for the babies since the previous week we were in the hospital. We did not do the Non-Stress Test portion of the BPP because they had done well on that everyday they were tested in the hospital. Of course, the babies were awake the whole 1.5 ride to the appointment and then decided they would nap during the ultrasound! Baby C was the most cooperative of the trio and showed off his "breathing" skills right away. He also passed the other portions, and received an 8 out of 8 on the BPP! His siblings did not show the practice breathing, although Baby B did hiccup for a bit. Unfortunately, we did not catch him doing that for a full 30 seconds, so it didn't count. I think our ultrasound tech jumped back and forth too much and may have missed the beginning of the hiccups! They did receive points for everything else, so they scored 6 out of 8. Technically a score of 6 or less would mean another BPP within 24 hours, but our doctor said that would be out of 10 points. He doesn't seem too concerned that they didn't get those other 2 points because they did so well on everything else, and they had done well during the NST in the hospital. He decided he wants to see us Monday though to repeat the test and to keep an eye on my blood pressure. I am fine with going twice a week-it will help my nervousness about being home.
I have now officially gained almost 50 pounds (going by pre-IVF weight), and I am really starting to feel it. It is much more difficult to get out of bed or the couch to use the bathroom. I am also more easily winded when I do move around. I think, and hope, that the babies are growing rapidly now based on how quickly my belly has been growing. I have very few clothes, shirts specifically, that still fit. Everything is too short, so my belly hangs out all the time! I have pretty much given up on actually caring about it though!
Dr. K decided that we should pick a c-section date, so he decided on November 4th. The look on my face caused him to ask, "What, you don't think you'll make it that far?" I am skeptical, to say the least. While I would love to keep them in until 35 weeks, I just don't see how my body can continue to hold out that long. I am grateful we did not have many complications up until last week, but I feel like the issues are starting to pile up and get in line for their turn on us. At this point, I am really looking at 32 weeks as my main goal and it is still 12 days away. I will be so excited if we get there, and each day after that will be a bonus in my mind. I am extra cautious about getting my hopes up of going longer than that, so we'll take it one day at a time. Even if we don't make it to 32 weeks, at least the steroid shots are in and the babies were estimated at weights between 3 and 3.4 pounds a week ago. If they are following the rule of .5 pound a week, we are close or past the crucial weight milestone-thanks Carrie for reminding me of that one!
Thanks so much to all of our family and friends that are supporting us right now-physically and emotionally. We could not get through this without all of your help and well wishes! These babies are blessed to have such wonderful people rooting for them as they get ready to enter this world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)